Report of a Tour through the Bengal Provinces/Râjgir
RÂJGIR.
Râjgir, the ancient Girivraja, is one of the oldest cities in India, and has deservedly obtained a prominent place in the writings of all who have treated of the antiquities of Magadha. My task is therefore greatly lightened, for it is unnecessary for me to do more than refer to the writings of General Cunningham, which contains, as it were, a summary of all that had been discovered and published till his visit last year, and to the later discoveries embodied in Mr. Broadley’s paper. A few points alone, which either have not received the requisite attention, or wherein I differ from the writers named, need be considered in detail.
Among the new discoveries are two inscriptions obtained from an old well at the side of the path leading through old Râjgir from the north entrance to the Báwan Gangá defile. The well is situated in the southern portion of the fort outside the long south ramparts of the inner town. These inscriptions are both in brick, and are much mutilated from the effects of weather and saline efflorescence. They are imbedded within the well ring at some distance below the mouth of the well; one is dated in Samvat 1007, the legible portion giving the name "Sri Râma Dharmin," who probably dug the well. The rest is illegible, being too far worn to give even two consecutive letters entire.
Besides these inscriptions I wish to invite attention to the long rambling inscription on the flat rock, over which the present path from the north to the Báwan Gangá defile passes. Kittoe conjectured, and conjectured rightly, that the curious marks are letters. I am quite satisfied that it is a long inscription, written in the curious shell characters which have hitherto to a great extent defied the acuteness of antiquarians. The inscription is not in good order, partly from the nature of the rock on which it is cut, but chiefly from having been to a great extent rubbed away beneath the tread of passengers and cattle for a thousand years; but enough yet remains perhaps to show what it was about, and whether in its loss we are not to deplore the loss of a valuable record. The curious characters have long attracted the attention of the people of the place, who suppose them to be the marks of the hands and feet and nails of the combatants Bhima and Jarâsandha. The place is known as Ranbhûm.
There is, however, another spot equally called Ranbhûm; this is properly not Ranbhûm, but Rangbhûm, being the spoken form of "Ranga Bhûmi," "the coloured earth," from the deep red colour of the earth there found. Tradition ascribes the colour to the blood of Jarâsandha, who was killed by Bhim after having fought with him at the Ranbhûm described before. This spot is situated on the western or main branch of the Saraswati at the point where it enters the western ramparts of the inner town.
My attention was especially directed by General Cunningham to the exploration of the long defile which stretches away between the Baibhár and Sonar hills to the west of the old city. I tried to carry out my instructions, and twice attempted to penetrate the pathless jangal which literally chokes up the valley, but on both occasions without success, having in both cases returned after losing my way and wandering about to no purpose in the jangal. The importance of a thorough exploration of the valley will be evident when it is remembered that Hwen Thsang describes the existence of a great cave (natural probably) at the foot of the northern mountain, and of a tope near Jaktiban, close to a small isolated hill. Hwen Thsang's description is perfectly accurate; for although I failed to penetrate the valley from below, I could nevertheless look down into it from the heights of Baibhárgiri. The two ranges of Baibhár and Sona are thus seen to approach each other, but without meeting. At the point where the distance is least is a high hill close to, but isolated from, the Baibhár range; a short way to the south-west of it is a small detached hill close to Sonagiri; close to this I could see a small tumulus having precisely the appearance of an old stûpa. The position corresponds accurately with Hwen Thsang's description, and I have no doubt in my own mind that it is the long and vainly-looked for stûpa; but all my attempts to get to it were vain, for on descending the hill only a short way, the dense jangal hides the smaller hill and the stûpa, and from the valley through the pathless jangal I found it impracticable to get to it.
There is a large cave, but quite inaccessible, on the side of Baibhárgiri, near the source of the northern tributary which joins the Saraswati before it enters the inner city. The cave appears to be natural, but from its position it appears too far east to coincide with Hwen Thsang's Asur's cave. A second small cave, and equally inaccessible, exists further east, also on the southern slope of Baibhárgiri.
If, however, the necessary time could he spared to cut down a portion of the jangal in the valley, I have no hesitation in saying that the stûpa described by Hwen Thsang could be got at. Of its existence I had ocular proof, and I think it very unlikely that I could have mistaken a natural mound or hill for a stûpa, the more so as I carefully looked at it with a powerful binocular.
Beyond this, but quite invisible even from the top of the Baibhár hill, are the bot springs of Tapoban; a thin vapour over the spot where they exist declare their position. I did not see them. The outer wall of the great fort, beginning at the north entrance and going eastwards, ascends the Vipulagiri to its summit, then descends down a spur in a southern direction and ascends Ratnagiri. From the summit of this hill two branches diverge; one descends southwards, merging into the Nekpai embankment across the eastern defile leading to Giriyak, and emerging on the opposite side it ascends Udayagiri. The other branch stretches away towards Giriyak; and tradition says it goes right up to, and embraces within its circuit, the Giriyak hill. Whether it stretched unbroken right through or not I have not been able to ascertain, but certain it is that a line of walls stretches westwards from Giriyak along the crest of the long range of hills. On the summit of Udayagiri the wall on ascending also divides into two; one descending westwards to the Báwan Gangá defile, the other stretching away towards Giriyak, and said to extend, or to have originally extended, unbroken till it met the branch which, as already noticed, runs in the same direction from the summit of Ratnagiri. The two ranges of walls thus extended along the converging crests of the two ranges of hills which enclose on the north and the south the eastern Báwan Gangá defile; the spot where the walls cross the defile to complete the circuit being just above the Gidhadwar cave, where Nature has so disposed the spurs of the two ranges that they meet, and the stream rushes down the steep barrier in cascades and rapids to join the Pamchana. Art has taken advantage of the natural features to construct a dam or rather to carry the wall across here, forming, as it were, a dam. (Plates 41, 44, Vol. III, Archæological Report.)
The branch that descends the western spur of the Udayagiri is taken up across the defile by a similar line of walls running up the spur up the Sonar to its nearest peak; here it divides into two, one running down northwards, and merging into the west ramparts of the inner city; the other stretching away towards Tapoban. I have been told by the people that it stretches away right up to Tapoban, where it descends the hill, but cannot speak of it from personal observation.
From the summit or peak stretch out three long arms;——the one west carries the main chain of hills onwards to the west; the south or south-east one slopes down to the south gate or Báwan Gangá defile; the eastern one, however, juts out into the interior of the outer fort, and divides the southern portion of the space between it and the inner ramparts into two portions. The valley between this spur and the south-east one is watered by a rivulet with broad sandy bed. This rivulet, before its junction with the Báwan Gangá stream, receives a tributary from the north; near the point where the tributary joins it, the two main spurs spoken of send out minor spurs toward each other, and the space between was once shut in by a massive wall, through which the river has burst its way. Within this little triangular space are the ruins of two temples, one of which appears to have been Brahmanical; they are of brick. Besides these there are remains of a third, larger than either of the others, but they do not appear to be of any special interest. One of the small ones appears a later restoration, and is perched on a mound which itself was the ruin of a temple, as the straight walls are still traceable where the rain and floods have washed away the debris, and excavation may yield objects of interest.
The main line of walls of the outer fort according to the people is the one stretching away towards Tapoban, then descending and re-ascending Baibhár hill and running along it to the Saraswati rivulet; but this portion of the outer walls, if it really exist, has not yet been explored; the inner western ramparts which cross the Saraswati stream at Rangbhum having alone been explored, and the portion from the crest of Baibhár eastwards down to the rivulet at the north entrance into the valley.
It will thus be seen that the great fort consisted of an outer fort with walls running along the crests of the surrounding hills, and an inner fort consisting of ramparts in the valley on all sides, except the west, where alone, from the outer walls not having been explored, it is not possible to speak with certainty; but I am inclined to accept the statements of the people, who assert the existence of outer walls here also, because without it this side would not correspond in main features with the other sides.
There are several caves in and about Râjgir. Of these the following have distinct names, and are connected with various legends:—
1.—The Asur's cave or palace of the Asuras, mentioned by Hwen Thsang as somewhere near Yashti Vana; it has not yet been found (see ante).
2.—A cave close to it (sec Geogr. Anc. India by Cunningham, p. 462).
3.—The cave in which Buddha used to sit in profound meditation.
4.—The cave of Ananda.
5.—Devadatta’s cell.
6.—The Pippal cave or palace of the Asurs.
7.—The Sattapanni cave.
Of these four have been discovered, but three alone described by General Cunningham. One of these is the Pippal cave behind Jaràâsandha’s Baithak, i. e., No. 6 of the list.
Of the remaining two, one is called by him the Sattapanni cave; the other is a small broken cave close to it.
As I differ in toto from General Cunningham’s identifications here,—identifications adopted also by Mr. Broadley,—it is necessary to discuss the subject in detail.
Before doing so, it is best to dispose of those that I do not contest. Nos. 1 and 2 have not yet been found.
No. 6 is the Pippal cave discovered by General Cunningham during his last visit.
No. 5 is the cave discovered by General Cunningham, but strangely enough omitted from his report. During my visit to Râjgir the people told me that General Cunningham had seen it, and from the original manuscript map of Râjgir drawn by himself from his own surveys, which he kindly permitted me to use, and of which I have at this moment before me a tracing executed by myself, I see the position of the cave distinctly marked as a cave, so that I feel that, although he has omitted to notice it, this discovery is his by right. This cave is situated on the slope of Vipula, and is indeed marked in plate 41, 3rd volume reports, with the letter M, which on reference to the explanatory column attached is seen to be Devadatta’s house, but there is no allusion to it in the text. This cave is thus noticed by Fa-hian: "Leaving the old city and going north-east 3 li, we arrived at the stone cell of Devadatta, fifty paces from which there is a great square black stone". The cave is also noticed by Hwen Thsang. This cave, therefore, may be appropriately called Devadatta’s cave.
It now remains for me to discuss the identity of the three caves, Nos. 3, 4, and 7.
I must, however, show that our authorities prove the existence of three distinct caves; for this purpose I quote Fa-hian:—
"Entering the valley and skirting the mountains along their south-eastern slope for a distance of fifteen li, we arrive at the hill called Gridhra Kuta. Three li from the top is a stone cavern facing the south. Buddha used in this place to sit in profound meditation (dhyâna). Thirty paces to the north-west is another stone cell, in which Ananda practised meditation (dhyâna). The hall in which Buddha delivered the law has been overturned and destroyed; the foundations of the brick walls exist however.
"Returning towards the new city after passing through the old town, and going more than 300 paces to the north, on the west side of the road we arrive at the Kalanda Venouvana Vihara (the chapel in the bamboo garden of Kalanda). This chapel still exists, and a congregation of priests sweep and water it. Two or three li to the north of the chapel is the Shi-mo-she-na (Samasana), which signifies the field of tombs for laying the dead.
"Skirting the southern hill and proceeding westward 300 paces, there is a stone cell called the Pippal cave, where Buddha was accustomed to sit in deep meditation (dhyâna) after his midday meal. Going still in a westerly direction, five or six li, there is a stone cave situated in the northern shade of the mountain and called cheti. This is the place where 500 Rahats assembled after the nirvan of Buddha to arrange the collection of sacred books.
"Leaving the old city and going north-east three li, we arrive at the stone cell of Devadatta."
The italics are all mine.
From the first quotation we learn of two caves close together, in the south-eastern slope of the Baibhár mountain, one of which, that in which Buddha used to sit in profound meditation, faced the south.
From the next quotation we learn of the existence of two other caves in the Baibhár hill also, one of which is the Pippals cave, and the other the Sattapanni cave; this last situated to the west of the former and in the northern shade of the mountain.
From quotation 3 we learn of a cave in Vipulagiri.
Of these five distinct caves, two have been identified,—the Pippala and Devadattas caves.
There still remain three to search for and identify.
We have, however, only two hitherto described caves to dispose of; these are situated close together, and one of them faces the south (I quote General Cunningham's own words), "in front of which the rock has been cut away to form a level terrace 90 feet in length by upwards of 30 in breadth. Two caves have been excavated out of the solid rock behind; that to the west now called the Son Bhândâr or treasury of gold, being 34 feet long by 17 feet broad; and that to the east perhaps somewhat less in length, but of the same breadth." (Arch. Rep., Vol. I, pp. 24 & 25.)
Referring to plate 41, Vol. III, we see at once that "entering the valley and skirting the mountains along their south-eastern slope for a distance of 15 li," we arrive at these two caves; further, the caves face nearly south. Is it possible to resist the conviction that these two caves are the two caves referred to by Fa-hian in the first quotation?
But neither of these two is the Sattapanni cave; of these one is Buddha's cave, the other is Ananda's cave according to Fa-hian.
General Cunningham alludes to the socket-holes in front of what I may now venture to say he erroneously calls the Sattapanni cave, as in some way confirming his identification; but Fa-hian distinctly tells us that "the hall where Buddha delivered the law" was overturned and destroyed in his time; we thus have clear proof that Buddha's cave was adorned with a hall in front, so that the circumstance of the socket-holes does not affect the question in any way.
General Cunningham also ingeniously tries to make out that, because the range of the Baibhár runs north-east and south-west, and the cave is situated near the northern end, that it may therefore be considered as being in the northern shade. I disallow his position entirely; the cave is indeed in the northern end of the mountain, but instead of being in the northern shade, it is precisely in the opposite predicament, being in the southern glare of the hill, and the sun from sunrise to about 2 p. m. blazes furiously into the cave.
Having now disposed of the two caves in hand, there remains to find out the true Sattapanni cave.
Following Fa-hian's direction, we come from the plain between old and new Rajagriha to the Baibhár hill. We do not enter the valley of old Rajagriha at all; 300 paces west from the extreme east toe of the Baibhár hill is the Pippal cave. I appeal to Plate 41, Vol. III, Reports, to show that the Pippal cave is not within the valley; it is on the ridge which forms the boundary of the valley. Now, as this ridge runs not west or north-west, but south-west, it is clear that going due west from the Pippal cave we cannot possibly enter the valley, but travel along the northern toe and in the northern shade of the Baibhár hill. Going 5 or 6 li or about a mile west from here, in the northern shade of the hill is the famed Sattapanni cave. I travelled as Fa-hian directs. I went even 2 miles, but without seeing any cave that could have served the purposes of the synod. I turned back hopeless, when straight in front of me on the side of the hill was the cave sought for! I had passed it unnoticed. It is so situated that, going from east to west, it is not seen, but is seen distinctly coming from west to east; it is situated rather less than a mile from the Pippal cave, and to west of it; a diagram will illustrate how it escapes notice in going from east to west.
The above is a rough plan of the cave. A B is a steep scarped face of the rock, extending a long way. D. C. is also a steep scarped face of the rock extending a long way on both sides, the hill here appearing to rise in ledges over each other; the entrances of the caves or cave face west, so that going from east to west no cave is seen at all.
In position, the cave corresponds to Fa-hian's Cheti cave. I have now to establish its identity with the Sattapanni cave.
For this purpose I quote various writers:—
(1) First, from "the sacred and historical books of Ceylon" we learn that the true name of the cave was "Sapta Parnna."
(2) From the Mahâwanso, page 12:—
"On the completion of the repairs of the sacred edifices they thus addressed the monarch: 'Now we will hold the convocation on religion.' To him (the king) who inquired what is requisite, they replied a session hall; the monarch inquiring 'where,' in the place named by them, by the side of the Webhára mountain at the extrance of the Sattapanni cave, he speedily caused to be built a splendid hall like unto that of the devas.
"Having in all respects perfected this hall, he had invaluable carpets spread there corresponding to the number of the priests, in order that being seated on the north side the south might be faced; the inestimable pre-eminent throne of the high priest was placed there. In the centre of that hall facing the east the exalted preaching pulpit fit for the deity himself of felicitous advent was erected."
(3) Spence Hardy, Eastern Monachism, p. 175:—
"One of their first acts was to request a suitable place for the holding of the convocation from the monarch of that city, Ajasat, now in the 8th year of his reign, who appointed for this purpose the cave Saptaparni near the rock Webhára. This cave was painted in a beautiful manner, representations of various kinds of flowers and creepers appearing upon its sides, whilst many parts were inlaid with gold and silver and gems. The floor was sprinkled with perfumes, and curtains of many colours were hung round. There were 500 seats covered with cloth for the priests, and in the centre, looking towards the east, a throne for the person who recited the bana, with an ivory fan placed near it."
(4) Bigandet's Gandama, p. 354:—
"Adzatathat joyfully assented to the proposal and demands of the Buddhists' Patriarch. He gave full liberty for the holding of the council, saying: 'my power and that of the law are now at your command.' He gave immediate order for putting in perfect order the dwelling place of the Rahans. On the southern face of Mount Wehbára there was a cave, which had been a favorite place of resort with Buddha during the season that he spent at Radzagio in the Weloowon or bamboo grove monastery. That spot was fixed upon as the fittest for the holding of the assembly. Adzatathat summoned in his presence the most skilful workmen, and commanded them to exert all their skill and talents in erecting a hall, worthy of the members of the assembly that was to meet within its precincts. The ground was at first encircled with a fence. A fine flight of steps made wifh the utmost care led from the bottom of the hill to the spot where was built the magnificent hall. The seat of the president was placed opposite in the northern part. In the centre, but facing the east, a seat resembling a pulpit was raised; upon it was laid a beautiful fan made of ivory."
(5) Page 356:—
"On the 5th of the waxing moon of Wakhaong, the 499 venerable members attired with their cloak and carrying the mendicant's pot assembled in the hall at the entrance of the Webhára cave."
The words of Hwen Thsang are (I quote in second hand from J. A. S., 1872, p. 242, the original not being within my reach):—
(6) "Au Nord d'une Montagne Situe au midi au Melieu d'une vaste bois de bambous il y a une grande Maison en pierre."
The question to be discussed is a complex one: first, we have to ascertain the name of the cave where the assembly was held; and secondly to fix its position.
The Ceylonese records, quotations 1, 2, and 3, clearly give the name as Sattapanni or correctly as Saptaparnna cave. Mr. Alabaster, in the eighth note at page 167 of the Siamese life of Buddha, calls it the Sattapanni cave, but I am unaware of the source of his information.
But if we turn to the Barmese version, we find from 5 that the cave is named the Webhára cave and from Fa-hian we find it to be named Cheti.
But this is not all. The Ceylonese record describes the seats of the Rahans as being placed facing the south, and that of the president opposite; it is clear, therefore, that the Rahans were seated at the north end or side facing south, while the president's chair was at the south end or side facing north. The Barmese version, however, says exactly the reverse. They, however, agree in making the preaching pulpit face east. Referring then the description to this common point, and remembering that the Barmese version distinctly states that the cave was on the southern slope of the hill, we find that according to this version the president was to the left and the congregation to the right of the pulpit; but this Barmese version exactly inverts the arrangement as given in the Ceylon records. The arrangement, according to the Ceylon records, referred also to the pulpit, shows the president's chair on the right and the congregation on the left of the pulpit.
It is now clear that the Barmese version is incorrect; for the seat of the president could not have been placed in the inferior position to the left of the pulpit. I accordingly consider that by some strange mistake the Barmese version has just inverted the position of the president and of the congregation, and as a necessary consequence the distinct statement that the cave was on the southern slope of hill should be corrected and made to state that it was on the northern slope of the mountain.
Making this correction, the Barmese version tallies in every particular with the accounts from the Ceylon records, and with the statement of two independent visitors of the cave, Hwen Thsang and Fa-hian.
In saying that after the proposed correction the Barmese record agrees with Fa-hian and Hwen Thsang's statements, I consider that the expression, "in the northern shade," necessarily places the cave on the northern slope of the hill. I have already combated General Cunningham's ingenious attempt to make out this expression as meaning that the cave faced the south.
The substantial agreement of all the accounts regarding the cave where the synod was held being thus obtained, it is easy to consider that the names Sattapanni, Cheti, and Webhára are all names of the same cave.
The name Webhára is clearly derived from the hill Baibhár, so is Cheti from Chhata, the name of the highest peak in the Baibhár range; the third name, Sattapanni, is derived, Turnour says in his index, from the Sattapanni plant. In accepting his derivation, we necessarily assume that there was some legend or tradition or circumstance connecting the cave with the plant. The assumption, though perfectly possible, is purely gratuitous, and if we can find any derivation for the name which does not involve a gratuitous assumption, it is evidently entitled to more consideration.
Saptaparnna means seven-leaved, and indeed the plant Saptaparnna is so named from its leaf; a cave that was divided into seven sapta by any means would not inaptly be called the Saptaparnna cave.
The cave I now propose as the Saptaparnna cave fulfils this condition. It is a large natural cavern which has been untouched by art, and portions of it have fallen in and over. The cavern is divided by natural septa of rock into compartments, six of which I counted, and there was space between the last one I counted and the vertical face of the ledge above it for a seventh compartment, but the jangal was too dense to allow me to penetrate to it and establish its existence by actual sight. At the time I explored Râjgir I was not aware of the important connection between the name Sattapanni and seven compartments,—in fact, I had not attempted to trace the meaning of the name, but as soon as I mentioned the discovery to a friend of mine, a Sanskrit scholar, and said that I regarded it as the Sattapanni cave, he at once told me that the very fact of the seven compartments gave the cave a right to the name Saptaparnna, which he said was doubtless the original of the Pali Sattapanni. Subsequently, when at the close of the field season I could procure the necessary books bearing on the subject, I found the surmise of my friend verified, as Spence Hardy and the sacred and historical books distinctly give its name as Sapta Parnna.
It is now a matter of regret to me that, although quite satisfied in my own mind of the existence of a seventh compartment, I did not actually wait at Râjgir till men could be sent up first to clear a path for themselves (I ascended alone at the sacrifice of my thick woollen clothes), and then to clear out the cave.
The cave may now be described in detail; the sketch shows its general plan. A series of chambers separated by natural walls of rock running east and west; I counted six chambers, and there was room between the south wall of the last chamber and the steep side of the hill for a seventh. The accompanying is a section through the hill-side just in front of the cave looking east; the various chambers are neither regularly shaped nor equal in size, they are in fact natural fissures in the rock.
In front of the caves runs a long narrow flat ledge of rock which is tolerably even, and 25 or 30 feet wide; the outer edge of it has partially fallen. I did not examine the vertical face B C; it was not easily to be got at on account of dense undergrowth and overhanging branches, and creepers and lichen completely hide the face of the rock from view; but had I at the time I explored the cave been aware of the importance of a thorough examination of this wall rock, I should have waited and cleared it all out. The ledge runs on in a direction nearly due west from the month of the cave for about 150 feet; there is then a large natural boulder beyond which the ledge continues, but the distance from the cave to the boulder is greater than the distance on the other side, so far as I could judge, actual measurement being impossible through the dense jangal.
The cave is situated in the middle third of the hill; there is about one-third of the hill above the cave, and two-thirds or somewhat less below; it is quite inaccessible from the top.
A long winding path led up from the bottom of the hill to a point near the great isolated boulder on the ledge; the path had three turns; it was once paved with brick throughout, but the path which running obliquely up the hill was necessarily formed by cutting into the side of the hill, has long ago become the water-course, and no portion of the pavement exists entire, although the entire distance along this line is marked by brickbats of various sizes from pieces 6 inches square to the size of coarse gravel. At the centre bend in the path was a platform about 15 feet square, remains of which still exist; possibly a chaitya once existed here, but no remains of it are to be found, and I only infer its existence from the roughness of the middle portion compared to the evenness of the edge portions.[1] Of course a good deal of the platform has crumbled down, but enough exists to distinctly show that it was meant to be a sort of half-way resting place, and is not an accidental adjunct to the steps.
I infer the road that led up the hill to have been in steps, from the circumstance of bricks alone having been used, the smallness of whose dimensions and weakness would have made them less suitable for a ramp than for evenly-laid steps.
There are traces of two paths from the bottom of the hill converging to the platform, both paved or rather stepped with brick. I examined both; the one which is shorter and steeper appears to have been far narrower than the other, but the fragments of bricks lie thicker in it than in the longer and broader one; this is strange. The whole of the toe of the hill here is covered with brickbats and rolled brick gravel, not thickly but sparsely; it is no doubt possible that many fragments have got buried beneath the soil.
Let us now compare the cave and its adjuncts described above with existing accounts of the Saptaparnna cave.
First, as to position. It corresponds with the position assigned to it minutely by both Fa-hian and Hwen Thsang, and generally with other accounts, except the Barmese one, with which also it agrees after making the correction suggested before.
Its features sufficiently explain the reason of the name Saptaparnna assigned to it.
It was approached by a flight of steps, and is situated on the side of the hill high enough to make the flight of steps a necessity.
A great natural boulder is placed, not indeed in the exact middle of the flattish space in front of the cave, but nearly so, and this boulder may reasonably be identified with the preaching pulpit facing east described in the accounts.
The length of the platform being east and west, the hearers had naturally to sit facing north and south.
The president’s throne to face north would have had to be erected against the vertical rock bounding the ledge on the side of the hill, and the congregation would sit on the outer side, facing the blank rock in front and the president’s throne; further, the president would be to the right and the congregation to the left of the preaching pulpit.
There is ample space for the 500 Rahats, and the allowance for each need not be cut down to 7 square feet, leaving not a bit of clear space between the president’s throne and the congregation; on the contrary, a clear lane could be left straight in front of the pulpit separating the president’s throne from the Rahats' seats.
The position of the cave on the northern side of the hill and outside the city is a more likely one (independently of all accounts we have), from its seclusion, for the purposes of a solemn religious assembly, than any possible position that could have been selected on the south face, and within the distance of 1 mile from the Pippal cave, as the whole of this south face of the hill was within the limits of the old city.
The Barmese account implies that the cave selected was in the bamboo forest; Hwen Thsang’s account does the same. The cave I have suggested is in the bamboo forest, but no cave in any part of the south face of the hill could be considered as being within the Venouvana or bamboo forest.
I here close the discussion.
There are numerous small natural caves on the north slope of Baibhárgiri. I examined two which, from their regularity, appeared at a distance to have been improved by art, but I found them natural caves with nothing of interest about them.
I should not pass Râjgir without some notice of what Mr. Broadley calls the "older type" of Buddhist temple. Comparing his own accounts of it, pages 222 and 241, J.A.S. for 1872, with his own plan of it, nothing can be clearer than that this "older type" of Buddhist temple is a clumsy modern restoration of an ancient temple. No sane architect or workman, I venture to assert, would go and chisel smooth four sides of a pillar three of which were to be "embedded" in brick-work; for, apart from the waste of labour, the smoothing of imbedded faces is the very reverse of what should be done to secure the adherence of the pilasters to the brickwork. Further comment is needless.
Leaving Râjgir by the road which, skirting the northern slope of the range of hills, goes to Giriyak, there is seen on the right, between the road and the foot of the hills, a large lake or marsh. The road in fact runs on the crest of the embankment of this sheet of water, and its artificial origin is abundantly attested by the numerous large stones with which it is lined, and of which it is built; this long embankment is named the Asraenbandh or Asurenbandh, and although the purpose of the embankment is obviously to obtain a store of water for irrigation, tradition connects it with a curious legend which I relate.
When Jarâsandha was king, he built the tower on the Giriyak hill as his bythak; here he would sit and lave his feet in the waters of the Panchana below. Close to his bythak was Bhagavân’s garden, which in a year of unusual drought was nearly destroyed. Bhagavân accordingly, after fruitless efforts to keep it flourishing, caused it to be proclaimed that he would grant his daughter and half his Raj to him who should succeed in saving his garden from the effects of the drought by watering it plentifully during a single night with Ganges water.
The chief of the Kahârs, Chandrawat, at once came forward and undertook the task; first he built the great embankment to bring the waters of the Báwan Gangá rivulet to the foot of the hill below the garden, and then began lifting it up to successive stages by means of the common native chanr (swing basket) and ropes. It is necessary here to remark that the Báwan Gangá is considered to be a part of the Ganges and to equal in holiness the united sanctity of Ganges waters from the Báwan Tirthas, or fifty-two places of pilgrimage (the belief is based on a legend which I will narrate below). The Kahârs who were to labour at the work were provided with cakes of bread and balls of rice; with these for sustenance the sturdy Kahârs (still the hardiest and sturdiest tribe in Magadha) laboured all night and succeeded in watering the garden; but when Bhagavân saw their success, unwilling to ally his daughter with a Kahâr, he looked about for means to cheat the Kahâr chief of his fairly earned reward. Now the Pipar came forward and offered his services to Bhagavân, proposing to assume the form of a cock and crow, while Bhagavân was to urge the Kahârs to hasten the operations, as the garden was not yet sufficiently watered.
This ruse succeeded completely. The Kahârs, hearing the cock crow simultaneously with Bhagavân's urging them to hasten, concluded that all was lost, as the garden had not been, they thought, sufficiently watered before the crowing of the cock, the signal for morning, so, afraid of their lives for their presumption in venturing to seek Bhagavân’s daughter as the bride of their chief, they all fled and lay exhausted on the banks of the Ganges at Mokáma, where the railway station now is.
When day fairly broke, Bhagavân ordered the Kahârs to be brought that he might give them their wages; for though he said they had been unsuccessful in winning his daughter and half his Raj, they had nevertheless laboured hard and were deserving of some consideration, but not a Kahâr was to be found. At last news reached the Kahârs at Mokáma, and a few came up to receive their wages. Bhagavân gave each man 3½ seers of anáj (food-grain), and ever since that period 3½ seers of anáj has been the legitimate wages for a day’s work to Kahârs. To this day the Kahârs can legally claim, and as a matter of fact actually receive, the value of 3½ seers of food-grain in current coin as a day's wages. Subsequently, thus re-assured that their lives were not in danger, they returned to their villages and lived in peace. The bread cakes and rice balls they had abandoned in their flight from the hill still exist turned to stone.
LITHOGRAPHED FROM AN ORIGINAL SUPPLIED BY THE ARCHÆOLOGICAL SURVEY DEPARTMENT
At the Surveyor General's Office, Calcutta, June 1878
- ↑ General Cunningham tells me that Hwen Thsang states distinctly the existence of a tope situated to westward of the cave and close to it. The position of the chaitya, which I here notice, occupies the precise position required by Hwen Thsang’s account.