This to the east-north-east of the Bela Dâk Bungalow. hill is quite inaccessible, as it is formed entirely of huge masses of granite piled precipitously above one another, and crowned with a single lofty block that frowns grandly over the plains below. It is said that this pinnacle was formerly topped by another block, which was so nicely balanced that it used to rock even when a crow alighted upon it. From this belief the hill acquired the name of Kauwa-Dol, or the "crow's swing," or "rocking-stone." At the northern foot of the Kauwa-Dol there has formerly been a temple of hewn granite. A large village must also once have existed on the north and east sides of the hill, as the foot of the hill, which is considerably raised above the fields, is strewn with broken bricks, hewn stones, and fragments of pottery. There are several Muhammedan tombs on this mound, built chiefly of pillars and other squared and ornamented stones of some Hindu temple. The name of this old place is said to have been Samanpur. Major Kittoe, however, was told that this name applied only to the northern portion of the ruins, the eastern portion being called Sarain. On the rocks of the northern face of the hill, numerous rude figures have been sculptured. One of these is a figure of Ganes, 2 feet high, beside a lingam. Several of them represent Gauri Sankar or Hara Gauri; but the most common of these sculptures is the favourite figure of the four-armed Durgâ slaying the Mahesasur, or Buffalo Demon. In her two right hands she holds a sword and a trident, and in her upper left hand a shield, while her lower left hand grasps the tail of the Buffalo. All of these are Brahmanical figures; but there are also rude figures of Buddha seated, and one female figure which is said to be Padmavati, or Máyá Devi, but which is most probably only a representation of Dharmma. In a recess on the east side of the hill, and amidst the ruins of a large temple, of which several pillars are still standing, there is a colossal figure of Buddha the ascetic, as he appeared when seated in mental abstraction under the Bodhi tree at Buddha-Gaya. A drawing of this figure has been given in Buchanan Hamilton's Eastern India.* It is the largest statue that I have seen, the figure *Vol. I., Plate XIV., Fig. 5. F alone being 8 feet high, with a breadth across the shoulders of four feet, and of six feet across the knees. But the great statue in the temple of Buddha-Gaya, which was seen and described by Hwen Thsang, was somewhat more than onethird larger, its dimensions being 11 feet 5 inches in height, 8 feet 8 inches in breadth across the knees, and 6 feet 6 inches across the shoulders. In the Barâbar group of hills there are several distinct peaks, of which the most conspicuous are the Murali Peak to the north, and the Sanda Giri on the south, both of which join the Barâbar or Siddheswara Peak on the east. On the summit of the Barâbar Peak there is a small Hindu temple dedicated to Mahâdeva, which contains a lingam called Siddheswara, and which, from an inscription in one of the caves mentioning this name, we know to be at least as old as the 6th or 7th century. Immediately to the south of the Barabar Peak there lies a small valley, or basin, nearly square in shape, and entirely surrounded by hills, except at two points on the north-east and south-east, where walls have been built to complete the enclosure. Its greatest length, measured diagonally from peak to peak, is just half a mile, but the actual basin is not more than 400 yards in length by 250 yards in breadth.* Towards the southern corner of the basin, there are two small sheets of clear water, which find an outlet under ground to the south-east and re-appear in the sacred spring called Pátál Gangá, where an annual assembly is held in the month of Bhadrapada for the purpose of bathing. On this side is the principal entrance to the valley, which lies over large rounded masses of granite, now worn smooth and slippery by the feet of numerous pilgrims. I ascended by this path without any difficulty, after having taken off my shoes, but in descending I found a shorter and quicker way down the mass of loose rough stones at the foot of the enclosure wall on the same side. These stones are the ruins of buildings which once crowned the wall on this side. Immediately to the south of the water, and in the southern angle of the valley, there is a low ridge of granite rock lying from west to east, about 500 feet long, from 100 to 120 * See Plate XVIII. feet thick, and from 30 to 35 feet in height. The top of the ridge is rounded, and falls rapidly towards the east. It is divided longitudinally by natural cleavage into three separate masses. The block towards the north is much the smallest, being not more than 50 feet long by 27 feet in thickness. Originally it was probably about 80 or 100 feet in length, but its eastern end has been cut away to obtain access to the face of the central mass of rock, in which the Karna-Chopár Cave has been excavated. A lingam and two rude Brahmanical figures are sculptured on the end of the northern rock. The middle rock is between 200 and 300 feet in length, with a perpendicular face towards the north. The largest mass of rock which faces towards the south is rounded at top, but the lower part has been scarped to form a perpendicular wall for the two large caves now called Sudama and Lomas Rishi. A level piece of ground, about 100 feet in width, intervenes between this great rock and the foot of the southern hill. Sheds and temporary buildings are erected on this spot during the annual fair time, when the caves are visited by thousands of pilgrims. The ground is strewn with broken bricks and fragments of pottery, and the rubbish has now accumulated to a height of three feet above the floors of the caves. This will account for the fact of there having been one foot of water in this cave when visited by Buchanan. The water was drained away by Major Kittoe, who dug a trench along the foot of the rock, and brought to light several pieces of stone pillars which probably belonged to some portico or cloister in front of the caves. The Barabar Basin is naturally a strong defensive position, as it possesses plenty of water, and is only accessible at two points, on the north-east and south-east. Now, both of these points have been closed by walls, and as there are also traces of walls on the surrounding hills, and more particularly on the Siddheswara Hill, it seems certain that the place must once have been used as a stronghold. There is indeed a tradition of some Raja having been besieged in this place, and that he escaped by the narrow passage over the Siddheswara Hill. Its very name of Barâbar, that is, bara and awara, or Barawara, the great enclosure," points to the same conclusion, although this may have been originally applied to the much larger 66 |