English
And lemons, pineapples, cocoa- nuts, betelnuts, palm-fruits, jack-fruits and plantains have no end. And grapes and melons, <fcc., do not grow here ; though the seeds of melons and grafts of vines have been often planted in this country, they have never thrived. Sngarcanes, good, delicate and sweet, red, white and black in colour, grow here cin abundance • pnger and pepper in some parts grow abundantly, and betel leaves also grow in abundance, and silk is also produced well and in abundance here. Good silk-stuffs are manufactured in this country, and cotton-fabrics of good quality are turned out here Rivers, small and large, are plenty in this country, and the prac- ticeof d,gging tanks is very common. People in this country seldom drink the water of wells, because everywhere the-water of tanks and rivers is found in abundance. And generally the wnt but with * w"-::::: aoa muk , s) flow tI h the |iroTiu j 7- bad, Alal.al,ad, and Behar into Bengal, and in r , called Qazihata,' within the Sarkfir of Barbakabad it"; * P Padda. From this place, a branch of the Ganges seP a™ 1 7 down Mursbidabad, and at Nadiah joins the Jafang XeT d tu" flows in to the sea. This branch is called Bha-riati Wards Chittagong, flowing though the sea' The' C g °“ ahabad joins the rivers Jonn (or Jamna, and Sursati, an™ appear, t„ be onlhel'ett b^nlf "f ££? by °" r riace, near the entrance of tb. Bnra, 24 Hajiphr it unites also with the Gandak, the Saru and the Son, and becomes very broad. And the place where the three rivers unite is called Tirbini by Hindus, and its sanctity in the eye of the Hindus is immejasurable. And the Ganges, Sursati, and Joun or (Jamna), in flowing towards Chittagong and the sea, • branch off in a thmisaud rivulets. And Hindus lmve written volumes on the sanctity of these rivers. Considering the water of these rivers sacred, they fancy that bathing there washes off the sins of a lifetime; especially bathing at certain ghats of the Ganges, such as Benaras, Alahahad, and Hard war, is regarded as very sacred. The rich amongst the Hindus, getting their supplies of the Ganges water from long distances, take particular care of it, and on certain auspicious days, worship the same. The truth of the matter is, that the water of the Ganges, in sweetness, lightness, and tastencss has no equal, anti the water of this river, however long kept, doe* not stink. There is no river bigger than it in Bengal. And another of the big rivers of Bengal is the Brahmaputra, which flows from the regions of Khata towards Koch, and thence by the way of Bazuha flows down into the sea. In the environs of Chittagong, it is called the Megna. The smaller rivers are countless. On both banks of most of the rivers, naddy is culti¬ vated. Another feature of this country, unlike that of other coun¬ tries of Hindustan, is that they cut grafts of mango and lemon-trees, and plant them, and these, in the very first year, bear fruit. SECTION III.—RELATING TO A DESCRIPTION OF CER- TAIN TOWNS AND FOUNDATION OF CERTAIN CITIES IN THE COUNTRY OF BENGAL. The city of Lakhnauti, which in past times was the Capital of Bengal, was founded by Sangaldib. It :s said that at the time when Firuz Rai, the Rajah of Hindustan, being defeated by Rus¬ tam Vastan,' fled to Tirhut, and from there fleeing to the moun¬ tain-of Jharkhand 8 and Gnndwarah , 8 died, Rustam Dastan, who 1 Dastan was the title of Rustam, the Persian Hercules—otherwise called ^“'jharkand ” was the name by which, what we now call, “ Chutia Nagpur ’ was known in Muhammadan times 5 whilst Bharkundah ” denoted “ Sonthal Parganas inclnding Biibbura.’* . . , - „ 8 I think “ Gnndwarah ” in the U*<t here is a copy.st s mistake for Gon wanah ” which has been identified with the “ Central Provinces,’ of winch the capital is Garha-Katanga (Jabalpur). 25 was displeased with his insolence, not bestowing the kingdom of Hindustan on the Rajah’s children, awarded the sovereignty of Hindustan to a Hindu, named Suraj . 1 Suraj became a powerful Rajah, subjugated the kingdom of the Dakhlnand also the king¬ dom of Bengal. When Suraj died and the sovereignty passed to his son, Bahraj, disturbances occurring in all parts of the kingdom, ambition showed itself in every head, and at length a Brahmin, named Kedar, coming out from the mountains of Sawalik, and be¬ coming victorious after fightings possessed himself of the reins of sovereignty. Towards the end of his reign, a person named Sangal- dib , 8 emerging from the environs of Kuch, which adjoins the limits of Bengal, brought to his subjection, first, the countries of Bengal and Behar, and then fighting against Kedar became victorious, and buildiug the city of LakhnautI , 8 made it his capital. And for 1 It is worthy of note that there is a town called Suraj-garh (or fort of Suraj) in UoDghyr district, on the southern banks of the Ganges, and close to Maulanagar, where there is also an old Muhammadan Khanqah founded by Mahabat Jang. 8 In Firishta, * §haogal.' in the list of Hindu kings given in the Ain-i- Akbari, I do not find this name. 8 The authentic history of the city begins with its conquest in 1198 A.C. (694 A.H.) by the Muhammadans, who made it [their first capital in Bengal. (See Tabaqat-i-Na?iri, p. 151, Pers. Text). This was the period when were erected numerous mosques and other Muhammadan buildings. (See Hunt. Imp. Gazetteer, Vol. Ill, p. 333, also Ravenshaw’s and Creighton’s “ Ruins of Gaur When the Musulman kings of Bengal established their inde¬ pendence, they transferred the seat of government to Sunargaon and Pan- duah. Panduah was soon after deserted, and the royal residence re-transferred to Gaur, whilst Sunargaon continued as capital of East Bengal. Minbajus Siraj visited the city in 641 H. or 1245 A.C., and gives an account of it in his Tabaqat-i-Nasiri. (p. 162, Pers. Text) Abul Fa?l in the Ain notices it (see p. 123, Vol. 2, Ain, Jar. Tr.), and states that the city was known in his time both as LakhnautI and Gaur, and that the latter epithet was ohanged to Jinnatabad” by Emperor Humoyun. Bad&iui (p. 58, Vol. 1, Pers. Text) states that Bakhtiyar Gliori founded a city and named it after himself ‘ Gour.’ The capital was shifted in Snlaiman Kararani’s timo further westward to Tandah. During the oonquest of Bengal by the Mughuls under the Em¬ peror Akbar, Gaur again became the headquarters of the Mughal Govern¬ ment, and the Moghul Imperialists under Munaim Khan. Khan-i-Khanan, the first Mughul Viceroy of Bengal, occupied it. A pestilence, however, broke out, in conrse of which Munaim died—and also thonsands of troops aud people daily (see pn. 318 and 376, Ain, Vol. 1, Bloch’s Tr. aud Badaoni, Vol. 2, 26 two thousand years it remained the Capital of Bengal. In the time of the Mughul Emperors it became ruined, and instead of it Tandah became the Viceregal Capital. Afterwards Tandah was also ruined, and Jaliangirnagar, and lastly Murshidabad, became the Viceregal Capital. The reason for the name of Gaur is un¬ known, but it is guessed that in the period of the rule of the sons of Nojgoriah, perhaps this name was given. And Emperor Humayun, considering Gaur an inauspicious name, changed it to Jinnatabad. This city at present is in complete ruin, and has become the haunt of lions and tigers. Excepting traces of gates of the fort, and dilapidated buildings, and the mosque, and founda¬ tions of the building of Qadam-Rasul, nothing else exists. The place where monarchs dwelt in gai'dens with friends, Has become the abode of crows and vultures and the haunt of lions and jackals! Gaur contained a large fort, traces whereof are still visi¬ ble. On the eastern side of the city are the lakes of Jbatiah and Bhatiah and other lakes, and the embankment 1 continues from that to this time, though it was stronger and kept out the flood of water in the rainy season, when the city was in a flourishing condition. At present, in the rainy season, boats pass across it, and every¬ thing is inundated. Towards the north of the Fort, to the dis- p. 217), and the Mughal metropolis of Bengal was removed to Tandah, and thence shortly after to Raimahal or Akbarnagar, which remained the capital of Bengal, until it was removed to Dacca or Jahang.rnagar, and lastly to Murshidabad. Dr. Buchanan-Hamilton places the inhabited area of Gaur at 20 square miles, containing over 000,000 souls. The author of Khurshed Jahaonuma notes the following principal buildings as still existing:— 1 The Qadam-Rasul, a square, one-domed building in the enclosure of the Fort, erected by Sult.au Na 5 rat Shah, son of Sultan Allandin Husain Shah in 937 A.H. (1530 A.C.). 2. The Minar, north-east of the Qadam-Rasul, built by Sultan Firuz Shh The height of the Minar is about 50 cubits, and its circumference about 5. cubits. Firuz reigned in 893 A.H. (1487 A.C.). When I visited Gaur from Maldah in 1887 I found also portions of the rampart, the gateway, and the Qadam-Rasul building yet extant. I The embanked road a bridge is described in Tabaqat.x-Uatxn (p. 162). It connected Lakhnauti with Lakhnur in Rar on the western side, and La. hnauti with Deocoto in Barind on the eastern side, and was constructed by Hussamuddin Iwuz aims Sultan Ghiasuddin. 27 tance of one koi, a large building of ancient times existed, and also a tank called Peasbari—the water whereof was noxious, who¬ ever drank it became attacked with bowl-diseases and died. It is said that in past times, criminals were imprisoned in that tank, and by drinking the water of it they immediately died. And Em¬ peror Akbar, taking pity, put a stop to this form of punishment. -o- CITY - OF MURSHIDABAD. The city of Mur^hidabad 1 is a large town situate on the banka of the river Bbiglrati. Both banks of the river are populated.