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March, 1873.] ASIATIC SOCIETIES. 91 circles. Mothers come here for their purification on the sixth day after child-birth—chhathi-pujd—And it is visited by enormous crowds of people for several days about the anniversary of Krishna’s birth in the month of Bhadon. A representation of the infant god’s cradle is displayed to view, with his foster- mother’s churn and other domestic articles. * The place being regarded not exactly as a temple, but as Nandaand Jasodas actual dwelling-house, Europeans are allowed to walk about in it with perfect freedom. Considering the size, the antiquity, the artistic ex¬ cellence, the exceptional archeological interest, tho celebrity amongst natives, and the close proximity to Mathurd of this building, it is perfectly marvel¬ lous that it found no mention whatever in the ar¬ chaeological abstract prepared in every district by orders of Government a few years ago, nor even in the costly work compiled by Lieutenant Cole, the Superintendent of the Archaeological Survey, which professes to illustrate the architectural antiquities of Mathura and its neighbourhood. “ Let into the outer wall of the Nand Bhavan is a small figure of Buddha; and it is said that when¬ ever foundations are sunk within the precincts of the fort, many fragments of sculpture—of Buddhist character, it may be presumed—have been brought to light: but hitherto they have always been buried agaiu, or broken up as building materials. Doubt¬ less, Mahaban was the site of some of those Buddhist monasteries which the Chinese pilgrim Fa- llian distinctly states existed in his time on both sides of the river. And further, whatever may be the exact Indian word concealed under the form Klisoboras, or Clisobora, given by Arrian and Pliny as the name of the town between which and Mathura the Jamuna (lowed—A main Jomanes in Gangem prr Palibolhroa decurrit inter oppida Methora el Cliso¬ bora—Pliny. Hist. Nat. vi, 22—it may be concluded with certainty that Mahaban is the site intended. Its other literary names are Brihad-vana, Brihad- aranya, Gokula, and Nanda-grama; and no <>ih of these, it is true, in the slightest resembles the woid Clisobora, which would seem rather to be a corrup¬ tion of some compound in which ‘ Krishna’ was the first element; possibly some epithet or descriptive title taken by the foreign traveller for the ordinary proper name. General Cunningham in his ‘ Ancient Geography’ identifies Clisobora (read in one MS. as Cyrisoborka) with Brindaban, assuming that KA- likavartta, or * Kalika’s Whirlpool,’ was an earlier name of the town, in allusion to Krishna’s combat with the serpent KAlika. But in the first place, the JainuuA docs not flow between Mathurd and Blind A- ban, seeing that both are on the same bank ; secondly, the ordinary name of the great serpent is not KAlika, but KAliya ; and thirdly, it does not appear upon what authority it is so boldly stated that “ the earlier name of the place was KAlikavartta.’ Upon this latter point a reference has been made to the great BrindAban Pandit, Swdmi RangAchAri, who, if any c ne, might be expected to speak with positive knowledge ; and his reply was that, in the course of all his reading, he had never inct with BrindAban under any other <iame than that which it now bears. In order to establish the identification of Clisobora with Mahaban, it was necessary to notice General Cunningham’s counter-theory and to condemn it as unsound ; ordinarily the accuracy of his research and the soundness of his judgment are entitled to the highest respect. “ The glories of Mahaban are told in a special (in¬ terpolated) section of the Bralnnanda PurAna, called the Brihad-vana MahAtinya. In this, its tirthas, or holy places, are reckoned to be twenty-one in num¬ ber as follows :— Eka-vinsati-tirthena yuktam bhurigunmvitam. Yamal-drjuna punyatamam, Nanda-kupam ta- thaira cha, Chintd-harana Brdhmdndam, kundam Sdrasvatam tothd, Sarasvati slid tatra, Vishnu-kunda-samanvitam, Kurna-kupam, Krishna-kutulam, Gopa-kupam tathaira chat Ramanam-ramana-sthdnam, Kdrada-sthdnam era cha, Piitana-patana sthdnam, Trindvartt'ikhyapdtanam, Nanda-harmyam, Nanda-geham, Ghdtam Ra- mana-samjnakam, Mafhurdndthodbhavam-kshetram punyam pdpa- prandsanam, Jamna-sthdnam tu Sheshasya, jananam Yoga- mdyayaP In connection with this paper it may be mentioned that Mr. Growse has addressed the Government of the North-West Provinces, representing that the des¬ truction of the temple of Govind Deva would be a national and irreparable loss, which immediate steps for its preservation can alone avert. “ The TAj at Agra has been declared national property as the finest specimen of Muhammadan architecture; and it is in every way highly desirable that the same course should be followed with reference to this building as the recognized master-piece of Hindu architecture. ’ He accordingly suggests “ that the Government ad¬ dress theMah&rAjA of Jaypur, representing the exi¬ gency of the case, and enquiring whether he is pre¬ pared himself to undertake the repair of the building, or whether he will cede it to the State as national pro¬ perty. The latter plan would be far preferable : and it is probable that if the MaharajA himself undertook the repairs, he would not only repair but also re¬ novate, and further again devote it to religious ser¬ vice, by which means it would become closed to Eu¬ ropeans. As regards the temple of Harideva atGo- bardhan the remedy is simpler. One compartment of the roof still remains as a guide for restoring the re¬ mainder, nor are funds wanting. The village of Bha- gosa is a permanent endowment, and it has been de¬ cided in the Civil Court that the revenue must be expended strictly on religious uses, and cannot be appropriated by the shareholders as private income.