CHAPTER 12

=The Whirlpools of the Chambal=, _December 3_.—Having halted several days at Barolli to admire the works of man, we marched to contemplate the still more stupendous operations of nature—the Chulis, or ‘whirlpools,’ of the Chambal. For three miles we had to hew a path through the forest for our camels and horses; at the end of which, the sound of many waters gradually increased, until we stood on the bleak edge of the river’s rocky bed. Our little camp was pitched upon an elevated spot, commanding a view over one of the most striking objects of nature—a scene bold beyond the power of description. Behind us was a deep wood; in front, the abrupt precipices of the Patar; to the left, the river expanded into a lake of ample dimensions, fringed with trees, and a little onward to the right, the majestic and mighty Charmanvati, one of the sixteen sacred rivers of India, shrunk into such a narrow compass that even man might bestride it. From the tent, nothing seemed to disturb the unruffled surface of the lake, until we approached the point of outlet, and beheld the deep bed the river has excavated in the rock. This is the commencement of the falls. Proceeding along the margin, one rapid succeeds another, the gulf increasing in width, and the noise becoming more terrific, until you arrive at a spot where the stream is split into four distinct channels; and a little farther, an isolated rock appears, high over which the whitened spray ascends, the sunbeams playing on it. Here the separated channels, each terminating in a cascade, fall into an ample basin, and again unite their waters, boiling around the masses of black rock, which ever and anon peeps out and contrasts with the foaming surge rising from the whirlpools (_chulis_) beneath. From this huge cauldron the waters again divide into two branches, encircling and isolating the rock, on whose northern face they reunite, and form another fine fall [715].

A tree is laid across the chasm, by the aid of which the adventurous may attain the summit of the rock, which is quite flat, and is called ‘the table of the Thakur of Bhainsror,’ who often, in the summer, holds his _got_ or feast there, and a fitter spot for such an entertainment can scarcely be imagined. Here, soothed by the murmur of foaming waters, the eye dwelling on a variety of picturesque objects, seen through the prismatic hues of the spray-clouds, the baron of Bhainsror and his little court may sip their _amrit_, fancying it, all the while, taken from the churning of the little ocean beneath them.

On issuing from the Chulis, the river continues its course through its rocky bed, which gradually diminishes to about fifteen feet, and with greatly increased velocity, until, meeting a softer soil, under Bhainsror, it would float a man-of-war. The distance from the lake first described to this rock is about a mile, and the difference of elevation, under two hundred feet; the main cascade being about sixty feet fall. It is a curious fact that, after a course of three hundred miles, the bed of a mighty river like this should be no more than about three yards broad. The whirlpools are huge perpendicular caverns, thirty and forty feet in depth, between some of which there is a communication underground; the orbicular stones, termed roris, are often forced up in the agitation of these natural cauldrons; one of them represents the object of worship at Bal-rori. For many miles down the stream, towards Kotah, the rock is everywhere pierced by incipient Chulis, or whirlpools, which, according to their size and force, are always filled with these rounded stones.

From hence the Chambal pursues its course through the plateau (sometimes six hundred feet high) to Kotah. Here nature is in her grandest attire. The scene, though wild and rugged, is sublime; and were I offered an estate in Mewar, I would choose Bhainsror, and should be delighted to hold my _got_ enveloped in the mists which rise from the whirlpools of the Chambal [716].

=Gangabheva=, _December 4_.—The carpenters have been at work for some days hewing a road for us to pass to Gangabheva, another famed retreat in this wild and now utterly deserted abode. We commenced our march through a forest, the dog-star nearly south; the river dimly seen on our right. On our left were the remains of a ruined circumvallation, which is termed Rana-Kot; probably a _ramna_, or preserve. At daybreak we arrived at the hamlet of Kherli; and here, our course changing abruptly to the south-east, we left the river, and continued our journey through rocks and thickets, until a deep grove of lofty trees, enclosed by a dilapidated wall, showed that we had reached the object of our search, Gangabheva.

What a scene burst upon us, as we cleared the ruined wall and forced our way over the mouldering fragments of ancient grandeur! Gangabheva, or ‘the circle of Ganga,’[11.12.1] appears to have been selected as a retreat for the votaries of Mahadeva, from its being a little oasis in this rock-bound valley; for its site was a fine turf, kept in perpetual verdure by springs.

=The Saiva Temple.=—The chief object is the temple, dedicated to the creative power; it stands in the centre of a quadrangle of smaller shrines, which have more the appearance of being the cenotaphs of some ancient dynasty than domiciles for the inferior divinities. The contrast between the architecture of the principal temple, and that of the shrines which surround it, is remarkable. The body of the chief temple has been destroyed, and with its wrecks a simple, inelegant mandir has been raised; nor is there aught of the primitive structure, except the portico, remaining. Its columns are fluted, and the entablature (part of which lies prostrate and reversed)[11.12.2] exhibits a profusion of rich sculpture. In front of the temple is a circular basin, always overflowing, and whence the term _bhevo_ or _bheo_, ‘a circle,’ added to the name of the spring, which is feigned to be an emanation of _Ganga_. The surface of its waters is covered with the flower sacred to the goddess, that particular lotus termed _kamadhan_, which may be rendered ‘the riches of love.’

The chief temple evinces the same skill and taste as the structures of Barolli, and the embellishments are similar. We here recognize the groups of Mahadeva and Parbati, with the griffins (_grasda_), the Naginis, half serpent, half female, etc., though not in so finished a style as at Barolli. Whatever be the age of this temple (and we found on the pavement the name of a votary with the date S. 1011, or A.D. 955), it is many centuries more recent than those which surround it, in whose massive simplicity we [717] have a fine specimen of the primitive architecture of the Hindus. Even of these, we can trace varieties. That of which we present a drawing (_vide_ Plate) shows, in its fluted columns, a more ambitious, though not a better taste, than the plainer supporters of the pyramidal roofs, which cover all the ancient temples of Bal-Siva. Five of these small shrines filled up each face of the quadrangle, but with the exception of those on the east side, all are in ruins. The doors of those which possess an enclosed sanctum face inwards towards the larger shrine: and each has a simple low altar, on which are ranged the attendant divinities of Mahadeva. The sculpture of all these is of a much later date than the specimens at Barolli, and of inferior execution, though far superior to anything that the Hindu sculptor of modern days can fabricate. They may possibly be of the date found inscribed (the tenth century), posterior to which no good Hindu sculpture is to be found. As this spot is now utterly deserted, and the tiger and wild boar are the only inhabitants that visit the groves of Gangabheva, I shall be guilty of no sacrilege in removing a few of these specimens of early art.[11.12.3]

Nature has co-operated with the ruthless Turk in destroying the oldest specimens of the art. Wherever there is a chink or crevice, vegetation fixes itself. Of this we had a fine specimen in a gigantic but now mouldering _kur_, which had implanted itself in the _mandap_ of the principal temple, and rent it to its foundation. On examining its immense roots, large slabs were actually encased with the wood, the bark of which nearly covers a whole regiment of petty gods. This fact alone attests the longevity of this species of tree, which is said to live a thousand years. The fountain temple has, in a similar way, been levelled by another of these kur-trees, the branches of which had gradually pressed in and overwhelmed it. The Singar-chaori, or nuptial hall, is also nearly unroofed; and although the portico may yet survive for ages, time is rapidly consuming the rest.

I should have said that there are two distinct enclosures, an interior and exterior, and it is the first which is crowded with the noblest trees, everywhere clustered by the Amarvela, ‘the garland of eternity,’ sacred to Mahadeva, which shades the shrine, overhanging it in festoons. This is the giant of the parasitic tribe, its main stem being as thick near the root as my body. I counted sixty joints, each apparently denoting a year’s growth, yet not half-way up the tree on which it climbed. That [718] highly-scented shrub, the _ketaki_,[11.12.4] grew in great profusion near the _kund_, and a bevy of monkeys were gambolling about them, the sole inhabitants of the grove. The more remote enclosure contained many altars, sacred to the manes of the faithful wives who became Satis for the salvation of their lords. On some of these altars were three and four _putlis_, or images, denoting the number of devotees. It would require a month’s halt and a company of pioneers to turn over these ruins, and then we might not be rewarded for our pains. We have therefore set to work to clear a path, that we may emerge from these wilds.

=Nauli=, _December 5_; twelve miles.—The road runs through one continued forest, which would have been utterly impassable but for the hatchet. Half-way is the boundary between Bhainsror and Bhanpura, also an ancient appanage of Mewar, but now belonging to Holkar. Nauli is a comfortable village, having the remains of a fort to the westward.

In the evening I went to visit Takaji-ka-kund, or ‘fountain of the snake-king.’ It is about two miles east of Nauli; the road, through a jungle, over the flat highland or Patar, presents no indication of the object of research, until you suddenly find yourself on the brink of a precipice nearly two hundred feet in depth, crowded with noble trees, on which the knotted _kur_ was again conspicuous. The descent to this glen was over masses of rock; and about half-way down, on a small platform, are two shrines; one containing the statue of Takshak, the snake-king; the other of Dhanvantari, the physician, who was produced at the “churning of the ocean.” The _kund_, or fountain, at the southern extremity of the abyss, is about two hundred yards in circumference, and termed _athah_, or ‘unfathomable,’ according to my guide, and if we may judge from its dark sea-green lustre, it must be of considerable depth. It is filled by a cascade of full one hundred feet perpendicular height, under which is a stone seat, sacred to the genius of the spot. At the west side issues a rivulet, called the Takhaili, or serpentine, which, after pursuing a winding course for many miles, some hundred feet below the surface of the Patar, washes the eastern face of Hinglajgarh, and ultimately joins the Amjar. Ghasi, my native artist, is busy with the effigy of the snake-king, and Dhanvantari, the Vaidya. From the summit of the plateau we had a view of the castle of Hinglaj, celebrated in Lord Lake’s war with the Mahrattas, and which was taken by Captain Hutchinson with a few men of the Bengal artillery.[11.12.5]

=Bhānpura=, _December 6_, eight miles.—This was a delightful march, presenting [719] pictures at every step. Two miles, through jungle, brought us to the abrupt crest of the Patar. For some distance the route was over a neck or chine, with deep perpendicular dells on each side, which, at its extremity, the point of descent, termed the ghat or pass, became a valley, gradually expanding until we reached Bhanpura. At the ghat are the remains of a very ancient fortress, named Indorgarh, which must have been one of the strongholds of this region long anterior to the Chandrawat feudatories of Mewar. Some fragments of sculpture indicate the presence of the artist of Barolli; but all search for inscriptions was fruitless. From hence we saw the well-defined skirts of the plateau stretching westward by Rampura to the Lasaughat, Tarapur, and Jawad, the point of our ascent last year.

It was pleasing, after a week’s incarceration amidst these ruins and scenes of natural grandeur, where European foot had never trod, to see verdant fields and inhabitants of the plains; such alternations make each delightful in its turn. We had been satiated with the interminable flats and unvarying cornfields of Haraoti, and it was a relief to quit that tame tranquillity for the whirlpools of the Chambal, the _kunds_ of Ganga, and the snake-king in the regions of the inaccessible Durga.

=Mausoleum of Jaswant Rāo Holkar.=—As we approached Bhanpura, we crossed a small rivulet, called the Rewa, coming from the glen of the pass; near which is the mausoleum of Jaswant Rao Holkar, adjoining the scene of his greatest glory, when he drove an English army from his territory.[11.12.6] The architecture is worthy of the barbarian Mahratta; it is a vaulted building, erected upon a terrace, all of hewn stone; its only merit is its solidity. There is a statue of this intrepid chieftain, of the natural size, in the usual ungraceful sitting posture, with his little turban; but it gives but a mean idea of the man who made terms with Lake at the altars of Alexander. It is enclosed by a miniature and regularly built fortress, with bastions, the interior of which are hollow and colonnaded, serving as a Dharmsala, or place of halt for pilgrims or travellers; and on the terrace are a few _rahaklas_, or swivels. On the right of the temple destined to receive the effigy of Jaswant, is a smaller cenotaph to the memory of his sister, who died shortly after him. The gateway leading into this castellated tomb has apartments at the top, and at the entrance is a handsome piece of brass ordnance, called Kali, or ‘death.’ There is a temporary building on the right of the gateway, where prayers are recited all day long for the soul of Jaswant, before an altar on which were placed twenty-four _dewas_, or lamps, always burning. A figure dressed in white was on the altar; immediately behind which, painted on the wall, was Jaswant himself, and as in the days [720] of his glory, mounted on his favourite war-horse, Mahua. The _chamar_ was waving over his head, and silver-mace bearers were attending, while the officiating priests, seated on carpets, pronounced their incantations.

I left the master to visit Mahua, whose stall is close to the mausoleum of Holkar, whom he bore in many a desperate strife. The noble animal seemed to possess all his master’s aversion to a Farangi, and when, having requested his body-clothes to be removed, I went up to examine him, he at first backed his ears and showed fight; but at last permitted me to rub his fine forehead. Mahua is a chestnut of the famed Bhimthadi[11.12.7] breed; like his master, a genuine native of Maharashtra, he exhibits the framework of a perfect horse, though under 14-3; his forelegs show what he has gone through. His head is a model, exhibiting the highest quality of blood; ears small and pointed, eye full and protruding, and a mouth that could drink out of a tea-cup. He is in very good condition; but I put in my _arzi_ that they would provide more ample and sweeter bedding, which was readily promised. The favourite elephant is a pensioner as well as Mahua. Even in these simple incidents we see that the mind is influenced by similar associations all over the world.

Bhanpura is a town of five thousand houses, surrounded by a wall in good order; the inhabitants apparently well contented with the mild administration of Tantia Jog,[11.12.8] the present Diwan of Holkar’s court; but they are all alive to the conviction that this tranquillity is due to the supervising power alone. I was greatly gratified by a visit from the respectable community of Bhanpura, merchants, bankers, and artisans, headed by the Hakim in person, nor could the inhabitants of my own country, Mewar, evince more kind and courteous feeling. In fact, they have not forgotten the old tie; that the Rao of Bhanpura, though now holding but a small portion of his inheritance, was one of the chief nobles of Mewar, and even still receives the tilak of accession for Amad from the hands of his ancient lord, though nearly a century has elapsed since Holkar became his sovereign _de facto_: but associations here are all-powerful.

=Garot=, _December 7_; distance, thirteen miles; direction, S.S.E.—It was delightful to range over the expansive plains of Malwa, and not to be reminded at every step by the exclamation “_thokar!_” of the attendant, that there was some stony impediment ready to trip one up, the moment one’s vision was raised above the earth. A singular contrast was presented between the moral aspect of these plains and of Haraoti. Here, though the seat of perpetual war, still visible in sterile fields, we [721] observe comfort displayed in the huts and in the persons of the peasantry; there, amidst all the gifts of Annapurna, the miserable condition of the ryot provokes one to ask, “Whence this difference?” The reason is elsewhere explained.

Garot is a thriving town of twelve hundred houses, the chief of a _tappa_ or subdivision of Rampura, whence a deputy Hakim is sent as resident manager. It is walled in; but the inhabitants seemed to feel they had now a better security than walls. Here there is nothing antique; but Moli, with its old castle, about midway in this morning’s journey, might furnish something for the _porte-feuille_, especially a fine sculptured _toran_ yet standing, and fragments strewed in every direction. Tradition is almost mute, and all I could learn was, that it was the abode of a king, called Satal-Patal, whom they carried back to the era of the Pandus.

I was much surprised to find the plain strewed with agates and cornelians, of every variety of tint and shape, both veined and plain, semi-transparent and opaque, many stalactitic, in various degrees of hardness, still containing the fibre of grass or root, serving as a nucleus for the concretion. There are no hills to account for these products in the black loam of the plains, unless the Chambal should have burst his bed and inundated them. Nor are there any _nalas_ which could have carried them down, or any appearance of calcareous deposit in the soil, which when penetrated to any depth, was found to rest upon blue slate.

=Caves of Dhamnār=,[11.12.9] _December 8_; direction, south 10° west; distance, twelve miles.—The country reminded us of Mewar, having the same agreeable undulations of surface and a rich soil, which was strewed throughout, as yesterday, with agates. As we approached the object of our search, the caves of Dhamnar, we crossed a rocky ridge covered with the _dhak_ jungle, through which we travelled until we arrived at the mount. We found our camp pitched at the northern base, near a fine tank of water; but our curiosity was too great to think of breakfast until the mental appetite was satiated.

The hill is between two and three miles in circumference; to the north it is bluff, of gradual ascent, and about one hundred and forty feet in height, the summit presenting a bold perpendicular scarp, about thirty feet high. The top is flat, and covered with _bar_ trees. On the south side it has the form of a horse-shoe, or irregular crescent, the horns of which are turned to the south, having the same bold natural rampart running round its crest, pierced throughout with caves, of which I counted one hundred and seventy;[11.12.10] I should rather say that these were merely the entrances to the [722] temples and extensive habitations of these ancient Troglodytes. The rock is a cellular iron-clay, so indurated and compact as to take a polish. There are traces of a city, external as well as internal, but whether they were cotemporaneous we cannot conjecture. If we judge from the remains of a wall about nine feet thick, of Cyclopean formation, being composed of large oblong masses without cement, we might incline to that opinion, and suppose that the caves were for the monastic inhabitants, did they not afford to the contrary in their extent and appropriation.

On reaching the scarp, we wound round its base until we arrived at an opening cut through it from top to bottom, which proved to be the entrance to a gallery of about one hundred yards in length and nearly four in breadth, terminating in a quadrangular court, measuring about one hundred feet by seventy, and about thirty-five feet in height; in short, an immense square cavity, hollowed out of the rock, in the centre of which, cut in like manner out of one single mass of stone, is the temple of the four-armed divinity, Chaturbhuja. Exclusive of this gallery, there is a staircase cut in the north-west angle of the excavation, by which there is an ascent to the summit of the rock, on a level with which is the pinnacle of the temple. Apparently without any soil, some of the finest trees I ever saw, chiefly the sacred pipal, bar, and tamarind, are to be found here.

The ground-plan of the temple is of the usual form, having a mandir, mandap, and portico, to which the well-known term pagoda is given, and there is simplicity as well as solidity both in the design and execution. The columns, entablatures, with a good show of ornament, are distinct in their details; and there are many statutes, besides flowers, not in bad taste, especially the carved ceilings. It would be regarded as a curiosity if found on a plain, and put together in the ordinary manner; but when it is considered that all is from one block, and that the material is so little calculated to display the artist’s skill, the work is stupendous.

Vishnu, who is here adored as the ‘four-armed,’ was placed upon an altar, clad in robes of his favourite colour (_pandu_, or yellow ochre), whence one of his titles, Pandurang. The principal shrine is surrounded by the inferior divinities in the following order: First, on entering are the Poliyas or ‘Porters’; Ganesa is upon the right, close to whom is Sarasvati, “whose throne is on the tongue”; and on the left are the twin sons of Kali, the Bhairavas, distinguished as Kala (black), and Gora (fair); a little in advance of these is a shrine containing five of the ten Mahavidyas,[11.12.11] or ministering agents of Kali, each known by her symbol, or vahan, as the bull, man, elephant [723], buffalo, and peacock. The Mahavidyas are all evil genii, invoked in jap, or incantations against an enemy, and phylacteries, containing formulas addressed to them, are bound round the arms of warriors in battle.[11.12.12]

At the back of the chief temple are three shrines; the central one contains a statue of Narayana, upon his hydra-couch, with Lakshmi at his feet. Two Daityas, or evil spirits, appear in conflict close to her; and a second figure represents her in a running posture, looking back, in great alarm, at the combatants. Smaller figures about Narayana represent the heavenly choristers administering to his repose, playing on various instruments, the _murali_, or flute, the _vina_, or lyre, the _mayura_, or tabor, and the _mridang_ and _thal_, or cymbals, at the sound of which a serpent appears, rearing his crest with delight. The minor temples, like the larger one, are also hewn out of the rock; but the statues they contain are from the quartz rock of the Patar and they, therefore, appear incongruous with the other parts. In fact, from an emblem of Mahadeva, which rises out of the threshold, and upon which the ‘four-armed’ Vishnu looks down, I infer that these temples were originally dedicated to the creative power.

We proceeded by the steps, cut laterally in the rock, to the south side, where we enjoyed, through the opening, an unlimited range of vision over the plains beyond the Chambal, even to Mandasor and Sondwara. Descending some rude steps, and turning to the left, we entered a cavern, the roof of which was supported by one of those singularly shaped columns, named after the sacred mounts of the Jains; and here it is necessary to mention a curious fact, that while everything on one side is Buddhist or Jain, on the other all is Saiva or Vaishnava. At the entrance to the cave adjoining this are various colossal figures, standing or sitting, too characteristic of the Buddhists or Jains to be mistaken; but on this, the south side, everything is ascribed to the Pandus, and a recumbent figure, ten feet in length, with his hand under his head, as if asleep, is termed “the son of Bhim,” and as the local tradition goes, “only one hour old”: a circumstance which called forth my conductor, who gravely swallowed the tale, the exclamation—“What would he have been if _nau mahine ka balak_, 'a nine months’ child'!”[11.12.13] The chief group is called the Five Pandus, who, according to tradition, took up their abode here during their exile from the Jumna; and the other figures are performing menial offices to the heroes.[11.12.14]

Fortunately, I had my Jain Guru with me, who gave me more correct notions of these groups than the local _cicerone_. All these figures are representations of the [724] deified pontiffs of the Jains,[11.12.15] and the group of five are the most celebrated of the twenty-four, and distinctively called the Panch-Tirathi, namely, Rishabhadeva, the first; Santinath, the sixteenth; Neminath, the twenty-second; Parsvanath, the twenty-third; and Mahavira, the twenty-fourth. Each has his sacred mount, or place of pilgrimage (_tirath_), and each is recognized by his symbol, namely, the bull, black antelope, conch-shell, hooded serpent, and tiger; and it is quite sufficient to find one of these symbols upon the plinth to ascertain the particular pontiff to which it belongs. There was also, in a sitting posture, Chandraprabha, known by his sign, the crescent.[11.12.16] All the figures are from ten to eleven feet high. That in a recumbent position, my friend said was one of the pontiffs, about to “shuffle off this mortal coil,” preparatory to apotheosis. “When such an event took place, the throne of Indra shook, and he sent a deputation to convey the deceased through the Kshira Samudra (sea of curds), to the great temple of deification, whither the whole heavenly host advanced to conduct him.”

Next to, and communicating by a passage with, this hall of the Jain pontiffs, is the most extensive excavation of Dhamnar, locally designated as “Bhim’s Bazar.”[11.12.17] The extreme length of this excavation is about a hundred feet, and the breadth eighty. Although the name of this leader of the Pandus designates every subdivision of this cave, yet everything is Buddhist. The main apartment is that called Bhim’s armoury or treasury, the entrance to which is through a vestibule, about twenty feet square, supported by two columns, and having four lateral semicircular niches, now empty, but probably intended for statues: this opens to the armoury, which is a vaulted apartment, about thirty feet by fifteen, having at the further end a dagoba, supporting the roof. These singularly formed columns, if we may so term them, are named after their sacred mounts; and this is called Sumeru, which being sacred to Adinath, the first pontiff, we may conclude he was here adored. An extensive piazza, full twenty feet wide, evidently a Dharamsala for the pilgrims, runs round this apartment, supported by rows of massive square columns, all cut out of the rock; and again, on the exterior, are numerous square cells, called the apartments of the Srawaks, or Jain laity; in one of which there is a supporting dagoba, and in another two statues of the twenty-third pontiff, Parsva. A part of the vaulted roof of Bhim’s treasury, as it is called, has fallen in so that the vault of heaven is seen through the aperture of the mountain. This is also attributed to Kaurava Chor (thief), whose statue appears on the pinnacle of the temple of Barolli, indicating the old enemy of [725] the Pandus, who robbed them of their kingdom. Close to the armoury is an apartment called the Rajloka, or for the ladies; but here tradition is at fault, since with the exception of Kunti, the mother, Draupadi alone shared the exile of the Pandavas.

Still further to the right, or south-west, is another vaulted and roof-ribbed apartment, thirty feet by fourteen, and about sixteen in central height, supported by another image of Sumeru. The sacred _bar_, or fig-tree (_Ficus religiosa_), had taken root in the very heart of this cavern, and having expanded until checked by the roof, it found the line of least resistance to be the cave’s mouth, whence it issued horizontally, and is now a goodly tree overshadowing the cave (_vide_ Plate). Around this there are many Pausiddhsalas, or halls for the Yatis, or initiated disciples, who stand in the same upright meditative posture as the pontiffs.

But it is impossible, and the attempt would be tedious, to give, by any written description, an adequate idea of the subterranean town of Dhamnar. It is an object, however, which will assist in illustrating the subject of cave-worship in India; and though in grandeur these caves cannot compare with those of Ellora, Karli, or Salsette, yet in point of antiquity they evidently surpass them. The temple dedicated to the Tirthakaras, or deified Jineswars (lords of the Jains), is a rude specimen of a rude age, when the art of sculpture was in its very infancy; yet is there a boldness of delineation, as well as great originality of design, which distinguishes them from everything else in India. In vain we hunted for inscriptions; but a few isolated letters of that ancient and yet undeciphered kind, which occurs on every monument attributed to the Pandavas, were here and there observed. There were fragments of sculpture about the base of the hill, differing both in design and material from those of the mountain. Altogether, Dhamnar is highly worthy of a visit, being one of the most curious spots in this part, which abounds with curiosities [726].

Footnote 11.12.1:

[The name may mean ‘Ganges fissure.’ The place is not mentioned by Erskine.]

Footnote 11.12.2:

It will be requisite to view this fragment in a reversed position to see the intended effort of the artist.

Footnote 11.12.3:

Of the style of these specimens the curious are enabled to judge, as several are deposited in the museum of the Royal Asiatic Society. These mark the decline of the arts; as do those of Barolli its perhaps highest point of excellence.

Footnote 11.12.4:

[_Pandanus odoratissimus._]

Footnote 11.12.5:

[The fort was captured in July 1804 (Mill, _Hist. British India_, ed. 1817, iii. 674).]

Footnote 11.12.6:

[He became Chief of Indor about 1802; was defeated by Lord Lake; became insane in 1806, and died October 20, 1811.]

Footnote 11.12.7:

[See Vol. II. p. 1045.]

Footnote 11.12.8:

[Tāntia Jog was a Karhāda Brāhman from Khāndesh, who attached himself to one of Holkar’s European officers, and by managing the districts assigned for the support of the troops, provided funds for their pay. He was with Holkar till the murder of the European officers, before Jaswant Rāo invaded Hindustān. He then returned to Ujjain, and carried on the business of a Sahukār or banker. See Malcolm, _Memoir of Central India_, 2nd ed. i. 286.]

Footnote 11.12.9:

[In Indor State, Central India. For accounts of them see Fergusson-Burgess, _Cave Temples of India_, 392 ff.; Cunningham, _ASR_, ii. 270 ff.; _IGI_, xi. 283.]

Footnote 11.12.10:

[There are not more than seventy actual caves (_ASR_, ii. 275; Fergusson-Burgess, _op. cit._ 392).]

Footnote 11.12.11:

[According to the Tantras, there are ten Mahāvidyas, or female incarnations of Sakti, the principle of productiveness.]

Footnote 11.12.12:

[For a plan of this temple see Fergusson, _Hist. Ind. Arch._ ed. 1910, ii. 129.]

Footnote 11.12.13:

[The figure is fifteen feet in length, and represents Buddha entering Nirvāna (Fergusson-Burgess, 395).]

Footnote 11.12.14:

[The figures are Buddha and Dwārpālas or door-keepers (_ibid._ 394 f.).]

Footnote 11.12.15:

[The Guru was mistaken in supposing these figures to be Jain.]

Footnote 11.12.16:

[The Author was misled by his Guru. The figures are Buddhist (Fergusson-Burgess, _op. cit._ 392, note 2).]

Footnote 11.12.17:

[This is a Buddhist Chaitya cave surrounded by a Vihāra. These caves are probably the last constructed Buddhist caves in India, and can hardly be dated before the eighth century A.D. (_ibid._ 393; _ASR_, ii. 272 f.).]