Report of a Tour through the Bengal Provinces/Párvati
PÁRVATI.
Párvati, or rather more correctly Daryâpur Párvati, contains numerous ancient remains, mostly on and about the Párvati Hill or Garh Parávat as it is also called. General Cunningham has suggested that this may be the site of Hwen-Thsang's Parvata, or pigeon monastery, and if coincidence of name, and the occurrence of undoubted Buddhist remains, can compensate for its want of coincidence in position with recorded bearings and distances, it is certainly entitled to be considered as the site of the ancient pigeon monastery.
The hill rises with a very steep slope, almost vertical on the west, where the river Sakri during floods washes its base. On the south-east it sends out a long gentle spur with plenty of level ground on it. On the top of the hill is a small space of tolerably even ground. The easiest ascent is up the long spur. On this, at various spots of level ground, are the ruins, or rather traces, of ancient buildings; these appear to have been built, not of stone alone, as fragments of bricks are scattered profusely all over the place. There are altogether 13 mounds of a large size, and 5 or 6 of a smaller size; of these, that on the northernmost peak is the ruin of a tope 15 or 18 feet in diameter; it had been dug into before, and the poor laborer that dug into it was rewarded by finding some coral beads and a few coins; the man had left the village, and my efforts to obtain a sight of the coins failed. I dug down to the rock below, but without finding anything. The tope was built of brick and was covered with strong lime plaster; a part of the lower circumference was still intact, and I left it undisturbed.
To the west of it another and a larger mound appears, also said to be the ruins of a tope. It was dug into by the Executive and Assistant Engineers when the head-quarters of the Bihár Local Roads Division was at Giriyak; it is said to have yielded only some ashes, so that this was clearly a tope built on the ashes of some Rahat. Two other mounds, one at the south-east end of the hill (not of the spur), and one to north-west of it, are also said to have yielded coins; the coins were found only a few years ago, and the result was that every one began actively to dig in search of treasure; the last find was, as I have related, from the small tope on the extreme north peak, but the whole of the ruins were in the meanwhile dug up; and as the result of the diggings, brick-bats, could be easily disposed of as road metal (of which large quantities are here stacked,) there was no fear of the labor of the diggers going entirely to waste, even if they found no treasure.
The two mounds which are said to have yielded coins are clearly the remains of buildings, monasteries or temples, not of topes, as the straight walls can yet be traced, though for the most part dug up by the depressed line of hollows thus left; they are traditionally said to have been respectively the Baithak and the Kachari of Báwan Subáh. On the largest piece of level ground on the hill, which, however, is not in the highest part, are the ruins of extensive buildings, traditionally said to have been the palace of Báwan Subáh; the building really appears to have been a large monastery, with rows of cells round a court-yard; perhaps a temple, now dug up, existed in the middle; at present there is, just where it ought to have been, a suspicious-looking depression.
There are no statues on the hill; one solitary mutilated block exists to show that statues were not wanting, but the demand for stone metal for roads is said to have operated very effectually in bringing about the destruction of all conveniently movable stone blocks. At the foot of the hill on the north side are a few statues in fair preservation; a remarkably fine one lies in the mango tope near the well at the foot of the hill, and two or three others lie further off; these last are, however, mutilated considerably. I could see no remains of structures about the foot of the hill; any that existed on the west, north-west and south-west sides must have long ago been washed away by the river Sakri, which began flowing down this, its present, bed not very long ago, its original course having been far to the west about 3 miles off; the old bed is still distinctly traceable all the way to its point of separation; the channel which is now the bed of the river was a small irrigation channel, but, as I have before remarked, the universal tendency of rivers here and hereabouts is to run east of their present beds. Aheady a great portion of the waters of the Sakri goes down an irrigation channel, which was taken from its east bank about 6 miles above Wahari, near Roh, east of Nowâdah, and but for the circumstance that constant efforts are made to keep the flow within bounds, this channel would before now have become the main river; as it is, it has become 100 feet wide, while it originally was barely 8.
About two miles due north of Párvati, the Sakri, in cutting away its banks, is said to have laid open a deposit of coins; these are said to have been in an earthen pot, and were of gold; some boys, playing about, found the pot, and each ran with a handful to his parents, who, of course, lost no time in securing the prize; but so ignorant were they, that they imagined the coins to have been of brass, and sold them as such; the place was probably the site of an old monastery or stûpa; it has now been entirely cut away by the river, but the high banks there show that the site was a small eminence.
One of the statues at the foot of the hill has the usual Buddhist formula, Ye Dharmma, &c., inscribed on it in Kutila characters; the statues are all of black basalt.
Besides these Buddhist ruins, there is a small Muhammadan dargâh. Tradition says that an old Hindu fakir was once living here, when a corpse came floating down the Sakri, and the fakir dreamt that the corpse told him its name was Chán Haji, and that it wanted a decent burial in a grave to be dug on a spot near the south-east end of the hill, which he described, and as a reward, he promised the Raj (sovereignty) of the district to the fakir. The fakir did as directed, and became king afterwards. The dargâh that now stands was the one built by him. It is no way interestrng, except for some Hindu stones used in it. Chán Haji is a saint of wide celebrity in Bengal; he is known universally as Chán Saudágar, and many are the spots where this benevolent saint is said to have kept silver and gold vessels, &c., for the use of travellers. A traveller, on arriving at one of these fortunate spots, which was generally either a well or the banks of a tank, had only to make known his wants, when Chán Saudágar’s vessels of gold and silver would float up and allow themselves to be used by the traveller, who had, however, scrupulously to return them when done with; but men are covetous, and at each of the places where I have heard the legend, some unlucky man was too weak to resist the temptation of appropriating them, and since then the miracle has ceased.
The legend of Kunwar Bijaya Mall is so intimately connected with this place, that it will be interesting to give a brief sketch of the story; it is generally sung, and is a universal favorite.
Kunwar Bijaya Mall used to live in Jhunjhunwá Garh; he came here to be married to Báwan Subáh’s daughter; he was accompanied by his father and his elder brothers, he himself being then a child. Báwan Subáh treacherously seized his father and brothers and put them into prison. Kunwar Bijaya Mall’s horse, however, fled with his rider and carried him safe back to Jhunjhunwá Garh. Here he grew up in ignorance of the fate of his father and brothers, and there being no male relatives of the boy to avenge his wrongs or take his part, his female relatives, of whom his sister-in-law was chief, kept him in ignorance of the fate of his father and brothers lest he should rashly venture to fight and lose his life. This sister-in-law, named Sonmat Rani, took great care of him, had him taught all arts, and intended, when he should grow up, to live with him as his wife. When Bijaya Mall grew up, he wanted bows and arrows and the gili and danda to play with. Sonmat Rani gave him the ordinary wooden ones, but he broke them, and wanted stronger ones, till finally he got manufactured for his special use an iron danda of 84 maunds weight and an iron gili of 80 maunds. Kunwar Bijaya Mall took them and went to play with his companions, but they refused, saying they could not use his danda, so it was agreed that each was to use his own danda and gili. When Kunwar Bijaya Mall’s turn came, he hit his iron gili so forcibly that it flew to Garh Paravat, and smashed in a part of Báwan Subáh’s palace. His companions searched for the gili for seven days, but not finding it, they came disgusted to Kunwar Bijaya Mall and asked him why, when he was so strong, he did not go and release his father and brothers from confinement. Hearing this he went to his sister-in-law and demanded to be told the circumstances of their confinement; she long tried to evade, but finding him persist, she went and adorned herself superbly and radiant with gems and beauty and came out; he asked her why she had adorned herself, she said—"Your brother and father went west to fight, and I expect them back to-night;" he would not believe but drew his sword, threatening to kill her; then she told him the whole truth. The groom of the horse Jingna Khawas was called and confirmed her story, and Bijaya Mall ordered the horse and arms to be brought, and prepared to go. Soumat Rani begged him to eat before going; he sat down and finished his supper; then she beseeched him to lie down and rest a while; he did so and fell asleep; she then went and laid herself beside him; on waking and seeing her he said—"I consider you as my mother; don't be uneasy, I will go and rescue your husband and my father in four days;" she then left him and he went to Garh Paravat.
At that time a covered passage led from the palace of Báwan Subáh to the tank at Afsand. Kunwar Bijaya Mall, on arriving, alighted near that tank; a female servant of Báwan Subáh's daughter soon arrived at the tank to carry water, and seeing him there, asked him who he was, and how he dared to walk about near that tank; this led to hot words between them, and the young man, having very ungallantly seized the damsel and torn her clothes, she beat a hasty retreat, and went and informed her mistress Rani Tilko; meanwhile Rani Tilko, the wife of Kunwar Bijaya Mall, had seen the young man from the roof of her house, and had taken a fancy to him, and when the maid complained of his conduct, she pacified her and desired her not to let her father hear of it; she then went with her companions, all dressed exactly like her, to the tank on pretence of bathing, but really to see the audacious young man. On reaching the place she saw the young man still there, and went up to him to ask him his name, and whence he came. On hearing his name she immediately covered her face, as she saw she had met her husband, and on being asked in her turn who she was, her reply showed Kunwar Bijaya Mall that he had met his wife. There was then a very tender scene between them, she beseeching him to take her and fly, and he refusing to run away with her like a thief, but expressing his determination to win her with his sword. Tilko Rani returned sorrowful to her apartments, and prayed for her husband's success against her father. Kunwar Bijaya Mall on the other hand went to the prison where his father and brothers were confined; but finding the walls and gate of adamant (Bajr) he despaired; here his horse seeing his grief came forward and smashed in the gates, so that he got in and released the prisoners; he then went and pillaged the favorite bazar of Báwan Subáh. News of these events having now reached Báwan Subáh, he sent the chief of his forces to fight Kunwar Bijaya Mall, and on his defeat, he sent his son with fresh troops; these shared the same fate. Báwan Subáh then went out himself. Long the battle raged, Kunwar Bijaya Mall not wishing to kill but to capture his enemy; in this he at last succeeded, and he cut off one of Baiwan Suhdh's hands, and put out one eye of his son; he then set them free, and demanded that his wife, Báwan Subáh's daughter, should be sent to his house with due pomp and ceremony as she was now of age. There was no alternative for Báwan Subáh, so he sent his daughter to her husband's house with due ceremony and pomp, and Kunwar Bijaya Mall returned to his own house accompanied by his brother, Sonmat Râni's husband, his father and his own wife.
This legend serves the Important purpose of showing that the ancient name of the hill was Garh Parávat, or rather this was the name of the fort on the hill. The origin of the name is not difficult to ascertain. The hill has an almost perpendicular face to the west and portions of the south, and in the vertical cliffs, wild pigeons in great numbers habitually build their nests, as they are safe from man or beast. Three years ago, when employed as an Engineer in this district, I had often occasion to travel past this hill, and could count with certainty on finding wild pigeons here; this year, consequent, I am told, on the famine which visited the district, all the pigeons were caught and eaten up by the people; there are now, therefore, very few left, but the convenience for nest-building and security are so great, that it must always have been a favorite resort of pigeons. The name Parávata is thus accounted for.
But whether this be or be not the true origin of the name, there can be no doubt that it was named Parávata in ancient times, and as, besides the identity of names, it contained numerous and important Buddhist structures, I think we may safely regard it as the site of Hwen Thsang's pigeon monastery, although Its bearing and distance from Giriyak do not agree with his account.
Párvati retained some importance even so late as Akbar. There is mention of Dariyâpur[1] in Stewart’s Bengal, page 155, where it is described as situated 50 miles from Patna, which is very near the actual distance viâ Bihár. Since then the place has lost its importance, and is now only a second-rate village.
There is another legend which makes Párvati a place of importance in the age of the Pandus. According to it, when the sacrificial horse was let loose, Rájá Sankhadhwaj of this place seized the horse and prepared to fight. Before joining battle, however, he performed a jug. The Rájá's Guru demanded that orders be given for every one to be ready and present at a given spot by a certain hour. The Rájá's son Surat Dhwaj was newly married, and his bride happened to arrive that very day, and at her entreaty Surat Dhwaj delayed a short time. The Brahman demanded the punishment of the young man, and accordingly he was thrown into a caldron of boiling oil, but he came out unhurt. The Guru suspected the oil was not hot enough, so he heated it well, and to try the heat threw in a piece of the husk of a cocoanut; the violence of the heat caused the husk to be thrown up against the Guru’s face, blinding his right eye and burning away the right half of his face. The Rájá’s son, it was found, had escaped because he had prayed to Mahadeo and had held a tulsi leaf in his mouth when jumping into the caldron!
- ↑ Párvati is known as Dariyâpur Párvati.