Page:The Seven Cities of Delhi.djvu/112

 seven cities of Delhi. Now we come to the question, "What were the reasons which induced these monarchs to build new cities, instead of being content with the walls of the first, extended, if necessary, to contain a larger population ?" To this, for answer, we may quote a native proverb, "Three things make a city — Daria, Badal, Badshah." That is to say, a river, rain-bringing clouds, or an emperor (who can enforce his wishes). Two of these three causes emphasize the necessity for water, without large quantities of which life in a hot country would soon become unendurable. The storage of rain- water In tanks may prove sufficient for ordinary purposes, but the river comes first In the estimation of the Hindu, because It is sacred, and In it he must bathe on festival days. All the great cities of Hindustan are situated on the banks of a river ; Muttra, Kanauj, Allahabad, and Benares are examples, which might easily be supplemented. It Is, therefore, suggested that it was found necessary to move the cities of Delhi to the north-east, to follow the river, which once flowed not so very far from Old Delhi, but has gradually set further and further east — a process which is going on to-day, the extent of which has been considerable, even during the last century. In Daniell's "Oriental