No. XV.
THE SACRED TREE AT GYAH, IN THE PROVINCE OF BAHAR.
By the natives this favourite Tree is called the Bhur, and by Europeans the Banyan. It is a species of the fig, and bears a small red fruit. In every village they are to be met with. Small temples are usually built under them, where frequently may be observed fragments of mutilated idols, the work of Mahommedan intolerance, which are again often collected by the patient Hindoos, and, though defaced, are still regarded with veneration.
This Tree, the Bramins assure the people, proceeds from another more sacred one, which is growing within a very ancient temple, under ground, in the fort of Allahabad; and, notwithstanding the distance is not less than two hundred miles, the story obtains an easy belief from credulous devotees, who cheerfully pay the sacred fee that admits them to a ceremonial adoration of it.
Gyah is near three hundred miles N. W. from Calcutta.
The Sacred Tree at Gyah, in the province of Bahar.