Page:Gazetteer of the province of Oudh ... (IA cu31924073057345).pdf/449

MAL 441 lost possessions in Malláuwán and Kachhandan. Further to the east they were forced out of their settlements at Kursat kalin, near the Sai, and Bánsa by Kurmis from Gharka and Barba headed by Bhim and Bársú. There are no distinct traces of Buddhism in the antiquities of the pargana. Perhaps a tradition which attributes to Indra, king of the Deotas, an emblem of Mahadeo said to have been set up hy him before Mallanwán was founded, and still to be seen in a shrine on the mound of Sonási Náth, two miles south of Mallánwán, may have a Buddhistic signi- ficance. For Indra, the god of the sky, who marshalled the wind as his armies had battled against the clouds for the release of the welcome rains was always regarded as an enemy by the Brahmans, and ancient centres of his worship have been strongholds of Buddhism. " Indra is still a great favourite with the Buddhist population of Burmah, who regard him as king of the gods” (Wheeler's History of India, chapter III, pages 21 and 330). And the Ara Debi at Mallanwán Khás has a seven-headed Naga hood which may be presumed to be of Buddhist origin. The next historical event, of which any trace is to be found, is the inva- sion of Sayyad Sálár in A.D. 1033. The tomb of one of his companions in arms is shown in Muballa Úncha Tila of Mallánwán, and the Shekhs of the place claim to have sprung from an early Muhammadan settlement made during the invasion. Tradition next connects Mallánwán with Jai Chand of Kanauj, and his alliance with and subsequent conquest by Muham. mad Ghori. Jai Chand is said to have quartered his wrestlers here. Mál is the country name for a wrestler, and to their origin the qanungos trace the name Mallánwán. The favourite account, however, is that when the Ghori invader marched through on his way fronı Kanauj to the east, certain humble Ahírs conciliated him with an offering of cream (malái), which pleased him so much that he forth with ordered a settlement to be made, and called Mallanwan in memory of the event. The early Shekh settlement mentioned above is said to bave been discovered in 1415 A.D., by a wandering saint named Makhdúm Shah, Misbah-ul-Ashiqin, who found a few Shekhs living here, without know- ledge of their religion. His pupil Misbáh-ul-Islám, generally called Qázi Bhikhari, was appointed qázi of the pargana by one of the Lodi emperors (about 1470 A.D.). A book written in 1529 A.D., by Molvi Wali-ud- dín, and sent me by the qazi's descendant Amánat-ul-la Shah, recounts the saint's adventures. It tells how on his way from Jaunpur towards Kanauj he met one Wajha-ud-dín, a Sayyad, who pressed the saint to visit his home at Chandwara On his way thither the holy man halted at a mud fort which then stood in Mállánwán, and received presents from certain Shekhs who lived in the neighbourhood. At this period there were only a few Brahman and Káyath cultivators at Mallán- wán, and a few houses of people who called themselves “Gobáns," and professed to be connected with Abu Bakr Siddiq. But their usages and appearance did not enable the saint to recognize them as Musalmans. The loveliness of the place pleased his fancy and he decided to live the life of an ascetic there.