Page:Report of a Tour Through the Bengal Provinces of Patna, Gaya, Mongir and Bhagalpur; The Santal Parganas, Manbhum, Singhbhum and Birbhum; Bankura, Raniganj, Bardwan and Hughli in 1872-73.djvu/124

100 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.