Page:Gazetteer of the province of Oudh ... (IA cu31924073057345).pdf/506

 498 MIS Under the description of the town of Misrikh will be found particulars of the sacred tank Saraset and Dadhich temple in that town, and of the fairs held there. These fairs are parts of the holy pilgrimages or parkarma which begins at Nímkhár, and after passing through 8 or 10 holy places ends at Misrikh. The chief community of the non-sanad holding zamindars is the Gaur brotherhood which owns the Bihat ilaqa. The rája of Pawayan who owns Wazírnagar is also a Gaur-Chhattri. The pargana is not famous in history, nor is it remarkable for any- thing in the present day. Any notoriety it may possess is acquired from the facts that it is the headquarters of a tahsildar, and that the town is a very holy one in the eyes of the people. MISRIKH*-Pargana MISRIKH-Tahsil MISRIKH-District SITAPUR.--- Misrikh is a very ancient town, indeed, and there are numerous legends connecting its foundation with the mythological Rája Dadhích. The name is said to be derived from the Sanskrit participle misrita, which means mixed; because in the large tank which is here the waters of all the holy places in India are supposed to have been mixed. The town contains a population of 2,113, of whom only 226 belong to the creed of Islám, the rest being chiefly Brahmans. It is 13 miles south from Sitapur, the Hardoi road running through it; and it is also comected by an unmetalled road six miles in length, with Machhrehta on the east. It lies in 27°26' north and 80°34' east. The tank abovementioned is apparently of very ancient construction. Local tradition asserts that it was built by Bikramáját 19 centuries ago, before which time the holy springs had not been surrounded by any masonry protection. In more nodern times, 125 years ago, it is said, a Mahratta princess, Abilya Bái by name, repaired the damages which time had occasioned in the gháts: and it is now a very fine specimen of the Hindus' sacred tank. On one brink of it is a very old temple sacred to Dadhich abovemen- tioned, who seems to have been not only a secular rája but also a spiri- tual leader--a great Rikh (Mahá-rishi). He was probably the Rishi, Rikh Dadhiánch of the Rig Veda. The town is but a poor one; it has 472 mud-built and only three masonry houses, two insignificant inosques, and no manufactures. It is the beadquarters however of a tahsildar, and has consequently a police station, a post-office, a registry office, distillery, and schools. There is no saráe, as the Brahmans entertain all strangers. The bazar is held twice a week, and requires no notice. But at the large fair held during the Holi, and at which 5,000 sinners flock to purify their bodies in the holy waters of the tank, a brisk trade is carried on the annual value of all the sales being put down at Rs. 39,428. There is a smaller fair held in the autumn. The schools desorve more than a passing notice, for there is not only the usual boys' school, with 69 scholars, but there are also torce separate schools for the instruction of girls, the aggregate attendance of
 * By Mr. M, L Ferrar, CS, Assistant Commissioner,