Report of a Tour through the Bengal Provinces/Naulakhagarh
NAULAKHAGARH.
A few miles south of Indappe is an old fort, known as Naulakhagarh, so named, it is said, because in its construction 9 lacs of each sort of current coin from the rupee down to cowries was used. This, of course, is an idle tale. The fort is ascribed to either Akbar or Sher Shah. It is said that after it was finished, the Emperor ordered a cannon to be taken up to the peak of the adjacent range of hills,—known generally as the Kauwakol hills—and on firing it at the fort with shot, the shot was found to fall within the fort; it was consequently abandoned as untenable! The walls are in fair order; the fort is small, built of rubble and mortar; some few buildings may probably have once stood inside, but none of any consequence, and no remains exist. Details of the fort will be found in plate; the walls are 38 feet high; the fort has four gates, one on each side; the north entrance appears to have been the principal one; it is defended by a weak outwork, which is entered at its east corner; it is apparently an after-thought. The pillars that adorn the jambs of the various gates appear to have been obtained from older Hindu structures, and several have been piled on each other to obtain the necessary height. The outer archway of the gate springs from a height of 10 feet, the inner from a height of 6 feet only; the arches are of the usual Muhammadan pointed style; the towers that adorn the fort are large, and form an important feature of the fort.
This closes my account of the antiquities of Magadha. In conclusion, I wish to offer a few remarks on General Cunningham's supposition that the Son-Bhândâr cave is the Sattapanni cave, and the inference therefrom that stone-cutting was an art known to Indians as early as Buddha's period (p. 143, Vol. III, Reports).
I believe I have been able to shew that General Cunningham has erred in considering the Son-Bhândâr cave to be the Sattapanni cave, and his argument, based on this supposition, consequently falls to the ground; but as the cave, although not the Sattapanni cave, is nevertheless one in which Fa-hian says Buddha used to meditate, the bearing of General Cunningham's argument, though based differently, would be the same as regards the knowledge of the art of stone-cutting in India.
With every deference for his experience and judgment, I cannot allow this position to pass unchallenged. I submit that, although there is no doubt Buddha used to meditate in the Son-Bhândâr cave, it by no means follows that the cave as we see it is the same as Buddha used it. I maintain it as highly probable that after Buddha's death, and probably when Asoka reigned, the original rude natural cavern was chiselled into an elegant, or at least a regularly smoothed cave. If we assume that the cave as we see it now is as Buddha used it, then we must be prepared to grant an indefinite extension of time to the introduction of the art of stone-cutting in India; for as existing records do not make any mention of the cave having been especially prepared for Buddha, the chisel-cut cave must have been in existence before, and must have been simply appropriated by Buddha, so that it may have been cut in the time of the first of the 24 Buddhas, for all that we can prove to the contrary. But, independently of this consideration, if the cave existed ready cut in Buddha's time, it must have had an owner, and could not have been going a begging for the first beggar that chose to squat in it. If it had an owner, Buddha could not have taken possession of it without the owner giving it to him; and as we have detailed records of various gifts, even trifling ones, that Buddha received, we should expect to find a record of the gift of this cave. No such record has yet been found, and so far then we are justified in considering, not that Buddha appropriated a ready-cut cave, but that the cave which he appropriated was a natural cavern which no one cared to own.
So far I have kept quite clear of the argument derivable from my proposed identification of the Sattapanni cave; with its aid the argument is even more strongly in my favor. The Sattapanni is the one cave which of all others would have been artificially smoothed if the art of stone-cutting were known in Buddha's period, but we find no trace of stone-cutting in or about it; it is highly improbable that the less important cave should have been cut and smoothed, while the one in which the synod was held was left in its natural ugliness.
That the art of stone-cutting was known in Asoka's time I have no desire to dispute; but it does not necessarily follow, because we see the art carried to great perfection then, that therefore the Indians must have been practising it for a long time. There are two modes by which they may have attained to the high state of improvement: (1) by a slow and gradual process of improvement, (2) by learning the art from artists of another nation, who had already attained excellence in it (by whatever means does not now concern us). If they learnt it by the first mode, we should expect to see the remains of a period when the art was in its rude infancy, and we should expect that the energy which brought the art so high would advance it further. I need not add that we have not a single authentic example of Indian stone-cutting in its earlier stages of progress, nor have we any material improvement in the art over what it was in Asoka's period. But if they learnt it from artists of another nation, we should expect no remains shewing the ruder stages of development of the art; we should, on the contrary, expect the sudden appearance of the art in a highly advanced state; and we should further expect that a people who had been unable or unwilling to use its energies in discovering the art themselves, should, even when it was communicated to them from outside, remain stationary or retrograde. The history of Indian sculpture is one of retrogression; not a single step forward have the Indians made since Asoka's time, but backwards they have been only too readily moved.
It is my conviction—a conviction I have been forced to regretfully—that the Indians knew nothing of stone-cutting or stone sculpture till the Greeks under Alexander, or perhaps Darius, invaded India, and communicated the art to its people. In support of this, I point to the vast difference in the art of sculpture between the remains found in and near the Punjab, where Greek influence was strongly felt, and those of the same age found further east; more than this, there is positively an appearance of a graduated deterioration, proportioned in some measure to the distance of the locality from Greek influence; and finally, as Greek power and influence declined, a corresponding decline affected the art of Indian sculpture.[1]
Before passing on to other places, it may be interesting to give what appears to me to have been the ancient names of the ranges of hills at the extremity of which the ruins just noticed are situated, and of the rivers issuing from it; the hills are now known locally as the Kawa Kol hills.
HILLS AND RIVERS.
If we consult the Bhagavata Padma and Mârkandeya Purânas, we find among the mountains one range called the Konwa or Kolahala (Vish. Pur., Vol. II, p. 141, Notes, FitzEdw. Hall's edition), and there is every probability that the Kawa Kol hills are meant. I have, however, other evidence of the probability of my identification, which is to be found in the Mahábhárat Adi Parvan, Chap. 63, V.V. 29–38, which I translate:—
"Bye and bye to the possessor of boundless power and energy, Vasu (Rájá of Chedi), were born five sons. The paramount sovereign Vasu anointed them sovereigns of various kingdoms. The name of one of Rájá Vasu's sons was Vrihadratha; this hero was famous in Magadha; the name of another was Pratyagraha, another son's name was Kasasva; many used to call him Manivâhana; another son's name was Mavella; and another of the King's son's name was Yadu; he was never defeated (in battle). Oh Rájá! these five were the sons of the Rajârshi Vasu of abundant energy, and from each of these five sons of Vasu a separate long-abiding ruling race has been produced.
"The high-souled Rájá Vasu, when dwelling in air in the Indra-bestowed crystal Mindra, used to be served by all the Gandharvas and Apsaras, and from his thus living up above, he became known by a corresponding name. Near his city was a river named Saktimati; the living mountain Kolahala, moved by desire, arrested her course. Vasu learning of the robbery, kicked the mountain, and through the passage opened by his kick, the grateful river, rendered pregnant by intercourse with the mountain, issued and addressed the King. The Rajârshi Vasu appointed Vasuprada, son of the river, his victorious Sanapati, and married the daughter" Girika, &c, &c, &c.
This valuable passage establishes (1st) that the Kolahala range of mountains was not far from the puri of the Rájá, and (2nd) that the Saktimati river passes through a gap in the range. As a matter of fact, the Sakri river does pass through a rather large gap in the range of which the portion to the east of the river is still called the Kawa Kol mountains, and these hills are not far from Girivraja or Râjgir; it therefore appears probable that the river known now as the Sakri is the Saktimati, and the Kolahala or Konwa range is the Kawa Kol range.
But we know from numerous instances that a river took its name from the mountain whence it issued, as for instance, Mekhalanandini, a name of the Narmmada, from the Mekhala hills; and Mainakaprabha for the Son from the Mainaka mountain; and the Ganges is well known as the daughter of Himâlaya; and as the Pauranic lists mention a range of hills as the Saktimat range, there seems little doubt that it is the name of that range which gives rise to the Saktimati river.
As a matter of fact, the Saktimati, or Sakri, river rises in the range to the south of the Kawa Kol range, and passes through, or at least hugs, the foot of the Kawa Kol range for several leagues before emerging into the plains; hence the legend of her being the daughter of the Saktimat mountains and the wife (by force) of the Kolahala mountains.
But we have other evidence for the probability of my identification of the Saktimat range of hills. The Vishnu Purân says that the Rishikulya Kumâri and others flow from the Saktimat mountains.
This Rishikulya must not be confounded with another Rishikulya, which flows past Ganjam.
As a matter of fact, the Kiyul and the Kaorhari rivers actually do flow down from the range I have identified as the Saktimat range; the Kiyul I take to be the Rishikulya, and the Kaorhari to be the Kumâri of tile Vishnu Purân.
I would in passing suggest that the name Giriyak is derived, not as General Cunningham suggests, from Giri and eka, but from Girika, the allegorical daughter of the Saktimati river; this would imply that a branch from the Saktimati river went eastwards close to the place; as a matter of fact, traces of an old channel of the Sakri are still to be seen to the east of Giriyak, starting from the Sakri near Bellari, and Government at the present day expend annually a small sum of money to keep in repair a bund at the spot to prevent the waters of the Sakri flowing down this channel to the injury of the zemindars. The works were under my charge when I officiated as Executive Engineer of the Burhee Division.
The Saktimati is said in the Mahábháratá to flow past the capital of Chedi; this would, if the identification be correct, place the Chedi country about the sources of the Kiyul and Sakri rivers, and its capital somewhere on the Sakri. I have heard of extensive ruins at Dumduma, and near Mahâvar hill and in the vicinity; but the country has hitherto not been examined. I will note, however, that General Cunningham tells me the capital of Chedi was Tripura, modern Tewar, near Jabalpur, and this would be fatal to my identification; but there is no river at all approaching in name or features the Saktimati as described in the Mahábhárat flowing past it, for the Narmmada is evidently not the Saktimati. I give my speculation for what it is worth, and only note from personal knowledge that, in the district indicated by me, and also in the vicinity, the name Chedia is a very common one among the lower classes. I also append a description of the Chedi country from the Mahábháratá, Chap. 63, sl. 8:—
"Oh, King of Chedi! the Chedi country abounds in wealth and grain, and is suited for the habitation of animals, very clean, deserving of being cherished like heaven, very beautiful; the land possessed of fertility, possessed of various gems of value—the land of that country is full of wealth; therefore go and live there: the people of this country are pious, always happy and learned,[2] to say nothing of other occasions no one here, even in jest, utters a falsehood; the sons do not separate from the fathers, and always remain devoted in obedience to their religious preceptors. In this country no cultivator subjects oxen to carrying loads or dragging the plough, or gives them any kind of pain."
There is, however, one theory which reconciles the apparently conflicting conclusions arrived at by General Cunningham and myself regarding the Chedi country. The Mahábhárat distinctly states (vide supra) that each of the five sons of Vasu, Rájá of Chedi, became the founder of a distinct dynasty of kings; it is evident that Vasu could not have given to his sons kingdoms which he himself did not possess. One of them we find to have been Vrihadratha, Jarâsandha's father, King of Magadha; so that it is perfectly certain that Magadha formed a part of the Chedi Raj of Vasu Rájá. Inscriptions from Tewar shew that Tewar (ancient Tripura) was in the Chedi Raj; hence we have the Chedi Raj extending from Magadha in the east to at least Jabalpur in the west; the northern limits must have been the Ganges, for we know that to the north of the Ganges were the dominions of Rájás not of Vasu's lineage. We know further that at Mânikpur, which must have been somewhere near the present Ratanpur, reigned kings not of Vasu's lineage, nor in Odra, Anga, Kalinga; hence the southern limits appear to have been the present southern limits of the Chutia Nagpur commissionership and the southern limits of Riwa. We have accordingly the large tract of country, including the present districts of Patna, Gaya, the Chutia Nagpur commissionership, Riwa, Jabalpur, and possibly Ara and Mirzapur, as comprising the kingdom of Vasu Rájá, which after him became divided into five separate kingdoms, of which Magadha was certainly one, and Chedi Proper with capital at Tripura, or Tewar, another.
This being admitted as highly probable, if not rigidly accurate, it is no longer difficult to suppose that the capital of Vasu Rájá on the Saktimati (modern Sakri river), on the break-up of the old king's kingdom, became deserted or comparatively neglected, each of his sons naturally selecting a city more centrally placed in his own territory; and hence there is really no discrepancy or contradiction in supposing the ancient capital of Vasu Rájá to have been at or near Dumduma, and the capital of Chedi Proper (one division only of Vasu's empire) to have been at Tripura or Tewar. I have not the time now to wade through the Mahábhárat for positive evidence on this point; but I trust that this statement of the question will induce others, who may be in a position to contradict my views, to bring forward their evidence, and thus throw light on this knotty point. I shall, without regret, abandon my theory in favor of a better supported one.[3]
That the empire of Vasu Rájá did include Magadha is placed beyond doubt by the passage which relates the births of Matsya Rájá and Satyavati. The passage is too broadly obscene for reproduction; but from it, it is evident that a Jamna river flowed between the forest where Vasu Rájá went hunting and the city where his wife Girika lived. Even supposing that his wife did not live in the city or village now known (and as I conjecture named after her) as Giriyak, yet the Yamuna river could not obviously have been the well-known river which flows past Mathura; we must look for another Jamna south of the Ganges and below Allahabad, and the only river which answers our requirements is the small stream known as Jamna, which flows from the Barabar hills and crosses the present Patna-Gaya road about 8 miles south of Jahânâbâd. The passage referred to is in continuation of the passage from the Adiparvan already quoted, and the capital of the Rájá and the forest where he went to hunt must have been within a reasonable distance of each other, on opposite sides of the river, say a three or four days' journey.
On the east side of the Kiyul river, about 6 miles east by a little north from Nongarh, is a place of pilgrimage and some springs; they are situated among the wild Singhol hills. The places of interest here are a small temple at the base of the hill which runs east and west, a waterfall and a spring, and to west of temple a kund. A fair is held annually on the Sivaratri festival in Falgun and in Kartik; people carry their children there to shave off the hair. The kunds and the temple are situated in a plain. Tradition says that here was the residence of Rishyasringa, who was enticed away from his retreat by the gay women sent there by the King of Champa for the purpose. The story is to be found in the Râmâyana, Griff., pp. 51–59, vol. I. A little rivulet, which is now almost dry, is said to have been the channel up which the raft with the maidens was floated to near the hermit's residence; it is believed by the people that pilgrims who go to the shrine there with firm faith are not molested en route by wild beasts, while others are. To west of the temple, which is Saivic, is the site of the Tapasya of Dastratha (?), and the remains of a natural cave; to the east of the temple is a sculptured slab, evidently a sati pillar. The sculpture is in thee compartments: the first represents a lingam, showing the religion of the man; the second has two elephants—he was, therefore, probably a great man who rode an elephant in the fight; the last compartment shews three women, being probably the number of his wives who were burnt with him.
There are three inscribed statues or fragments near the temple, one known as Hara Gauri, one of a four-armed female, and one a fragment; all three inscriptions contain merely the Buddhist creed Ye Dharmma, &c., in Kutila characters; they evidently date to the later days of Buddhism, judging from the characters.
- ↑ Since the above was written, the discoveries at Bharhut prove that the earliest temples or buildings (as there sculptured) were wooden; at least the style and constructive features are purely wooden.
- ↑ Contrast this with the notorious saying regarding the people of Bundelkhand.
- ↑ Since this was written I have found that the Sakri river flowed down the bed of the present Khuri river, and consequently that Rajagriha was on the river Sakri. I now hold therefore that Râjgir was the capital of Vasu and was situated on the Saktimati—see reports for 1877–78.