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/224

200 moment under a particular tree; they have with them a stone in which I have taken up my abode; take it and set it up to be worshipped, for I am pleased with you, and will remain with you." The Rájá accordingly sent men and stopped the mahajans and cartmen, and seized the stone in payment of ground-rent for the ground they had occupied during the night; he then set it up in the temple which we now see.

The temples of laterite are not worth special notice, there being nothing remarkable about them.  

Two miles south-east of Bánkurá, on the left bank of the Darikeswara river, is the small village and temple of Ekteswar; the temple is remarkable in its way; the mouldings of the basement are the boldest and finest of any I have seen, though quite plain; the temple was built of laterite, but has had sandstone and brick additions made to it since; there are traces of three different restorations or repairs executed to this temple; the first was a restoration of the upper portion, which had apparently fallen down. In the restoration, the outline of the tower and general appearance of the temple before its dilapidation appears to have been entirely ignored, and a new design adopted. After this, repairs on a small scale were carried out, of which traces are to be seen in various patchy portions of brick and mortar; lastly, a series of brick arches were added in front of the temple. The object of worship inside is a lingam, which is said to have thrust itself up through the ground. Several pieces of sculpture, both broken and sound, and almost all Brahmanical, lie in groups on platforms outside, none of any special interest and none inscribed.  

Two miles north-east of Ekteswar is the village of Sonátapan; it is situated at the point where the Darikeswara river splits into two, to join again lower down. Of the two channels, the one to the left is the main one now, but, I think, the other one was the principal one before; the sandy bed marking its former extent shows that it was larger than the left channel. Near the junction or fork of the two channels is a tall brick temple, solidly built of bricks measuring 12" x 8½"; thirty-three courses of bricks with the interposed mud cement make up 7 feet of height. The temple is remarkably solid, the 