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 BENARES

266

CITY.

furniture and jewels. The by numbers of devotees. But the Bisheswar or golden temple, dedicated to Siva, may perhaps be selected without first

and

in wealth

temple

in the richness of its

daily attended

is

among

invidiousness as the holiest It

all

stands a short distance from

venerated symbol

of

the god,

the holy places of the sacred city.

the

a

Bisheswar rules Benares as spiritual

observatory,

and contains the

Linga of uncarved stone. monarch, under whom Bhaironath plain

and magistrate. The building has a central and each corner is crowned by a dome. The temple was erected by Ahalya Bai, the Maratha Princess of Indore. The Maharaja Ranjit Singh of Lahore had the spire and domes covered with gold leaf, from which the temple derives its ordinary title. The Buddhist remains at Sarnath, about 4 miles from the city, will be described under their acts merely as minister

spire,

proper heading.

The most remarkable relic of early antiquity in Benares itself is the Lat Bhairo, a broken pillar, supposed to be a fragment of one among the many columns set up by the great Buddhist Emperor Asoka in

the

century

third

monuments

Many

b.c.

other fragmentary or

strew the ground outside the

or form

city,

mutilated

portions of

Muhammadan edifices, into which they have been built as ready-made Few buildings of European origin deserve special mention.

masonry.

The most noteworthy

is

the

Government

college, a large structure in

the perpendicular style, faced with Chanar freestone.

Next

to

rank

it

the Prince of Wales Hospital, built by the gentry of Benares in com-

memoration of the the

Town

visit

of His Royal Highness to the city in 1876



and

Hall, a fine building, constructed at the expense of the late

Maharaja of Vizianagram, where the special magistrates hold their and where public and other important meetings are held. The wealth of Benares depends largely Manufactures., Trade, etc upon the constant influx of opulent pilgrims from every part of India, whose presence lends the same impetus to the local trade as that given Many of the to European watering-places by the season visitors. courts,

.

—

pilgrims are Rajas or other persons of importance,

able retinues,

Hindu

temples.

ing up a

and become

‘

who

bring consider-

and upon keepBut besides the wealth which

large benefactors to the various shrines

princes of distant States pride themselves

town residence’

in holy Kasi.

thus flows passively into the bazars of Benares, a considerable trade

is

on by the merchants and bankers. The sugar, indigo, and The trans-Gogra saltpetre of the District find a market in the city. products of Gorakhpur and Basti, and the raw materials of Jaunpur, Manchester goods form large items in the through traffic of Benares. are imported in considerable quantities, and distributed to the neighbouring local centres. The chief manufactures comprise silks and carried

shawls,

cloth embroidered in

gold and

silver

thread,

gold filagree