Page:The Indian Antiquary Vol 2.djvu/396

 '350 THE INDIAN ANTIQUARY. and—except the doli, a seat 18 inches square, slung from two poles and carried by four Kolis— no mode of conveyance would be even tolerably comfortable either for ascent or descent. The winding path is paved with rough stones all the way up,—only interrupted here and there by regular flights of steps. At frequent intervals also are the rest-houses already mentioned, more pretty at a distance than convenient for actual use, but still deserving of attention. High up, when near the top, we come to a small temple of Hanuman,—the image of course bedaubed with red lead in ultra-barbaric style ; at this point the path bifurcates—to the right leading to the northern peak, and to the left to the valley between, and through it to the southern summit. Asconding by the first of these, we enter through a narrow door into an outer enclosure, at the left comer of which, un¬ der a tree, is the shrine or dargah of Hengar, a Musalman yir; so that Hindu and Muslim alike contend for the representation of their creeds on this sacred hill of tho Jainas. This Hengar or Angarsa Pir, they say, when living, “could control the elements,” bathe was foolish enough to try his mace on A d i n a t h a, and the Jaina, though unable to protect himself from the blow, struck his enemy dead. His ghost, however, was malicious enough to annoy the pujd ns at their prayers, and in a solemn council they summoned him to state his wishes : “ Lay my bones on that corner of the hill,” t-aid the ghost, and the matter was settled. Our endeavours to discover who this saint was, and when he flourished, were equally fruit¬ less with those of Colonel Tod; there seems to be no information respecting him “ beyond tho i radition that it was in the time of G h o r i 13 el am, nephew of the king of Dehli, who re¬ sided in Palitana, and by whom the mosks and ’ idgaks, both inside and outside, were erected.” attendants on the tomb of their saint have found i t requisite to conform to the rules of the place, and never touch food on the rock, nor partake of animal food below.” The view that presents itself from this point may well arrest the attention. It is magnificent in extent; a splendid setting for the unique picture—this work of human toil we have reach- Ptolemy under the designation of Codr a na or Sodrona. [December, 187J. ed. Just under the brow of the hill to the north, surrounded by clumps of trees, is the town of Palitana, and in all directions the eye wanders over a vast plain, with gentle undula¬ tions here and there, and declining away to the east and south-east; generally it is cultivated, though not nearly to the extent it admits of. At intervals the eye falls on groups of umbrage¬ ous trees, from beside which peep out the temples and huts of many a village. To the east the prospect extends to the Gulf of Khambhat about Ghogo and Bhaunagar; to the north it is bounded by the granite range of S i h o r and the Chamardi peak ; to the north-west and west the plain extends as far as the eye can reach, except where broken, in the far distance due west, by the summits of Mount Gi r n a r—revered alike by Hindu, Buddhist, and Jaina—the latter of whom claim it as sacred toNeminatha, their twenty-second Tirthah- kara, whom they represent as having, after seven hundred years’ austerities, become fit to leave this and all worlds on yonder six-peaked moun¬ tain, at some date in the far past that would astonish even a geologist. From west to east, like a silver ribbon, across the foreground to the south, winds the Satrunjaya* river, which the eye follows until it is lost between the T a - 1 a j a and Khokarii hills in the south-west. The nearer scene on the hill itself is thus de¬ scribed by the author of the Ras Maid :—“ Street after street, and square after square,” he says, “ extend these shrines of the Jaina faith, with their stately enclosures, half palace, half fortress, raised in marble magnificence upon the lonely and majestic mountain, and, like the mansions of another world, far removed in upper air from the ordinary tread of mortals. In the dark re¬ cesses of each temple, one image or more of* Adinatha, of Ajita, or of some other of the Tir- thaiikaras, is seated, whose alabaster features, wearing an expression of listless repose, art? rendered dimly visible by the faint light shed from silver lamps; incense peifumes the air, and barefooted, with noiseless tread, upon the polish¬ ed floors, the female votaries, glittering in scarlet and gold, move round and round in circles, chanting forth their monotonous, but not un- melodious, hyjnns. Satrunjaya indeed might fitly represent one of the fancied hills of Eastern Jour. Bomb. Br. It. Asiat. Soc. vol. III. pt. ii. pp. 88, 89. Ptol. Geog. lib. vii.
 * At present, however,” he adds, “ the darvesh
 * I)r. Wilson thinks this is the river mentioned by