Mathura A Gazetteer-7

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General Features Agriculture And Commerce The People Administration And Revenue History Directory of Places - A . B . C . D . E . F . G . H . J . K . M . N . O . P . R . S . T . U . W

MATHURA A GAZETTEER,
edited and compiled by, D.L. DRAKE-BROCKMAN [1911]

DIRECTORY

BACHHGAON, Tahsil MUTTRA

A large agricultural village in 27°24'N. and 77°29'E., close to the Bharatpur border, at a distance of 15 miles from Muttra and 2 miles from Sonkh. The village has a total area of 5,592 acres and is assessed to a revenue demand of Rs. 5,000; but the proprietary rights have for the most part passed out of the hands of the Jat zamindars into those of the Marwari Brahman, Bohra Ram Lal. The predecessors of the Jat com munity were Kirars. The place is said to derive its name from, and to have been the scene of a famous incident in Krishna's life, who, when the jealous god Brahma took away the calves (bachche) from his herd, at once created others to supply their place. The village is only remarkable for its size, the popula tion in 1901 being 3,151 persons, of whom 3,082 were Hindus and 69 were Muhammadans. There is an aided school in the village.

BAJANA, Tahsil MAT

This village is situated in the extreme north of the dis trict in 27°53'N. and 77°41'E. It is distant 33 miles from Muttra, via Jait and Shergarh, and 19 miles from Mat; unmetalled roads connect it with Nohjhil and Shergarh, and with Surir and Mat. Bajana has been from time immemorial occupied by Jats. Many years ago, the three leading men divided it into as many estates, called after their own names, Sultan Patti, Dilu Patti and Siu Patti. These are now practically distinct villages, each with several subordinate hamlets, where most of the proprietors reside, while the old bazar still remains as a common centre, but is mainly occupied by trades people. Bajana once contained a policestation, but this was subsequently reduced to an outpost and finally abolished; and at the present time there are a post-office and primary school in the place. The village, however, is still a market town of some importance, markets being held every Thursday and Saturday, on the former day exclusively for cattle and on the latter for all commodities. Some interest is taken in the neighbourhood in horse and mule-breeding, but the Government stallion stud has been now withdrawn. The combined area of Bajana is 5,457 acres and the revenue demand amounts to Rs. 12,900. Jats are still the chief proprietors, but part of the estate has passed into the hands of Banias. Some of the property which belonged to Umrao Bahadur was confiscated at the Mutiny and conferred on Seth Lakhmi Chand; and the shares of some of the other zamindars were also forfeited because they took part in the assault on Nohjhil fort. The population has increased from 4,427 persons in 1881 to 4,880 persons in 1901, of whom Hindus numbered 4,006 and Muhammadans 106, there being three persons of other religions.

BALDEO, Tahsil MAHABAN

The town of Baldeo lies in 27°24'N. and 77°49'E., on the metalled road from Muttra to Sadabad, at a distance of 10 miles from Muttra and some 5 miles from Mahaban. The place is familiarly called Dauji and is generally known by that name among villagers. The original village was called Rirha and still exists, but only as a mean suburb occupied by the labouring classes; the total area is returned at 458 acres. Baldeo contains a police station, sub-post-office, primary school attended by over 100 boys, and cattle-pound; while a short distance away on the Sadabad road is an inspection bungalow maintained by the district board. The town has been administered since 1859 under Act XX of 1856. Income is raised by the usual house-tax and averages some Rs. 1,500 per annum. It is expended in the maintenance of some town police, a small staff of sweepers for conservancy, and simple improvements. The population has increased of late years, for in 1881 it numbered 2,835 persons. This rose to 3,253 in 1891, and at the last enumeration in 1901, the inhabitants were returned at 3,367 souls, of whom 3,148 were Hindus and 141 were Musalmans. The prevailing Hindu castes are Jats, Banias and Brahmans.

The town derives all its celebrity from the famous temple of Balaram or Baladeva, Krishna's elder brother. This is about 150 years old, but, despite its popularity among Hindus, it is neither handsome nor well-appointed. The temple itself, built by Seth Shiam Das of Delhi, stands at the back of one inner court, and on each of its three disengaged sides has an arcade of three bays with broad flanking piers. On each of these three sides a door gives access to the calla, which is surmounted by a squat pyramidal tower. In addition to the principal figure, Baladeva, who is generally very richly dressed and bedizened with jewels, it contains another life-sized statue, supposed to represent his spouse, Revati. In an adjoining court is shown the small vaulted chamber which served the god as a residence for the first century after his epiphany. The precincts of the temple include as many as eleven cloistered quadrangles, where accommodation is provided for pilgrims and the resident priests. Each court, or kunj as it is called, bears the name of its founder as follows:—the Kunj of Rashk Lal of Agra and Lucknow, 1817 A.D.; of Bachharaj, Bania, of Hathras, 1825; of Nawal Karan, Bania, of Agra, 1768; of Bhim Sen and Hulas Rai, Banias, of Muttra, 1828; of Das Mal, Khattri, of Agra, 1801; of Bhattacharya of Jaipur, 1794; of Gopal, Brahman, of Jaipur; of Chiman Lal, of Muttra, 1778; of Jadu Ram, Khattri, of Agra, 1768; of Chunna, Halwai, of Bharatpur, 1808; and of Puran Chand, Pachauri, of Mahaban, 1801.

Adjoining the temple is a brick built tank, over 80 yards square, called variously Kshir Sagar, the "Sea of Milk," Kshir Kund, or Balbhadr Kund. It is in a dilapidated condition, and the surface of the water is always covered with a thick green scum which, however, does not deter the pilgrims either from drinking or bathing in it. Here it is said that Gosain Gokul Nath was warned in a vision that a god lay concealed. Immediate search was made, and the statue of Baladeva, that has ever since been regarded as the tutelary divinity of the place, was revealed to the adoring gaze of the assembled multitude. Attempts were made to remove it to Gokul; but as every cart broke down, either from the weight of the stone or the reluctance of the god to change his abode, a shrine was erected for his reception on the spot, and an Ahivasi of Bhartiya, by name Kalyan, was con stituted guardian. From his two sons Jamuna Das and Musiya or Sukadeva are descended the Pandes who now manage the temple. They have acquired considerable landed property, besides the old village of Rirha. This brings in a substantial income but forms only a small part of their wealth, for the offer ings at the shrine in the course of the year are estimated to yield a net profit of about Rs. 30,000. The Kshir Sagar and all the fees paid by pilgrims bathing in it belong not to the temple Pandes, but to a community of Sanadh Brahmans. The temple Pandes, however, assert rights to the tank, and there is a standing quarrel between the two parties which has caused some litigation. Near the tank is a shrine dedicated by Bihari Lai, Bohra, of Mursan, in 1803 to the honour of the god Harideva, and two stone chhatris in memory of the Pandes, Harideva and Jagannath. Two annual fairs are held at Baldeo, one on the sixth day of the light half of Bhadon, commonly called Deo Chath, the other on the full moon of Aghan; but there is probably not a single day in the course of the whole year in which the temple courts are not occupied by at least one hundred pilgrims, drawn from all parts of northern India. A charitable dole of one anna apiece is given to every applicant. The Pandes and their families have now multiplied exceedingly, and the annual cost of their mainten ance must be considerable. Ordinarily there is a division of the profits among the shareholders at the end of every three months: an allotment is made into twelve portions, that being the number of the principal subdivisions of the clan, and then each subdivision makes, a separate distribution among its own members.The Village Sanitation Act (United Provinces Act II of 1892) is in force in the town.

BARAULI, Tahsil MAHABAN

An agricultural village in 27°20'N. and 77°53'E., on the unmetalled road from Baldeo to Agra. It is 11 miles distant from Mahaban and 17 miles from Muttra. This place is one of no importance: market is held on Sundays and Wednesdays, and there is a primary school in the village. The population has risen from 2,158 persons in 1891 to 2,317 in 1901; of the lat ter 2,123 were Hindus, 180 Muhammadans, and 14 of other religions.

BARSANA, Tahsil CHHATA

Barsana lies in 27°39'N. and 77°23,E., at a distance of 31 miles north-west from Muttra and 10 miles south-west from Chhata. In 1901 it had a population of 3,542 persons, compared with one of 2,773 in 1881; and of the whole number 3,291 were Hindus, 248 Musalmans and three persons were of other religions. The principal Hindu caste is that of Rajputs. The village has a total area of 2,157 acres and is assessed to a revenue of Rs. 3,254; the proprietor being Raja Sarat Chandra Sen, the heir of the Lala Babu. There are a police station, cattle-pound, Post-office and school in the town; and the following description taken from Mr. Growse's memoir supplies all the available information regarding the place. "Barsana, according to modern Hindu belief the home of Krishna's favourite mistress Radha, is a town which enjoyed a brief period of great prosperity about the middle of the last century. It is built at the foot and on the slope of a hill, originally dedicated to the god Brahma, which rises abruptly from the plain near the Bharatpur border of the Chhata tahsil to a height of some 200 feet at its extreme point, and runs in a south-east direction for about a quarter of a mile. The hill is still to a limited extent known as Brahma-ka-pahar (Brahma's hill); and hence it may he inferred with certainty that Barsana is a corruption of the Sanskrit compound Brahma Sanu, which bears the same meaning. The four prominent peaks of the hill are regarded as emblematic of the four-faced divinity, and are crowned with different buildings, the first with the group of temples dedicated to Larliji, the other three with buildings known as the Man Mandir, the Dangarh, and the Mor-Kutti. A second hill of less extent and elevation completes the amphitheatre in which the town is set, and the space between the two ranges gradually contracts to a narrow path which barely allows a single traveller on foot to pass between the sloping rocks on either side. This pass is famous as the Sankari Khor, literally the narrow opening, and is the scene of a fair in the month of Bhadon (August-September), often attended by as many as 100,000 people. The crowds divide according to their sex and cluster about the rocks round two little shrines erected on either side of the ravine for the temporary reception of figures of Radha and Krishna, and indulge to their heart's content in all the licentious banter appropriate to the occasion. At the other mouth of the pass is a deep dell between the two high peaks of the Man Mandir and the Mor-Kutti, with a masonry tank in the centre of a dense thicket called the Gahwar ban; and the principal feature in the diversions of the day is the throwing of sweetmeats by the better class of visitors, seated on the terraces of the "Peacock Pavilion" above, among the multitudes that throng the margin of the tank some 150 feet below.

The summit of Brahma's hill is crowned by a series of temples in honour of Larliji, a local title of Radha, meaning the beloved. These were all erected at intervals within the last 250 years, and-now form a connected mass of buildings with a lofty wall enclosing the court in which they stand. Each of the successive shrines was on a somewhat grander scale than its predecessor, and was for a time honoured with the presence of the divinity; but even the last and largest is an edifice of no special preten sions, though seated as it is on the very brow of the rock and seen in conjunction with the earlier buildings, it forms an imposing feature in the landscape to the spectator from the plain below. A long flight of stone steps, broken about half way by a temple in honour of Radha's grandfather, Mahaban, leads down from the summit to the town, which consists almost entirely of magnificent mansions all in ruins and lofty but crumbling walls now enclosing vast desolate areas which once were busy courts and markets or secluded pleasure-grounds. All date from the time of Rup Ram, a Katara Brahman, who, having acquired great reputation as a pundit in the earlier part of last century, became family priest (purohit) to the Raja of Bharatpur, Sindhia and Holkar, and was enriched by those princes with the most lavish donations, the whole of which he appears to have expended on the embellishment of Barsana and other sacred places within the limits of Braj, his native country. Before his time Barsana, if inhabited at all, was a mere hamlet of the adjoining village Unchagaon, which now under its Gujar landlords is a mean and miserable place, though it still boasts the remains of a fort and an ancient and well-endowed temple, dedicated to Baladeva.

Rup Ram was the founder of the now superseded temples of Larliji with the stone staircase up the side of the hill, and also constructed the largest market-place in the town with as many, it is said, as 64 walled gardens, a princely mansion for his own residence, with several chapels and other courts and pavilions, one of which, a handsome arched building of carved stone, has been occupied by the Government as the police station for several years. Three cenotaphs (chhattri) commemorating Rup Ram himself and two of his immediate relatives, stand by the side of a large stone tank, with broad flights of steps and flanking towers, which he restored and brought into its present shape. This is reputed sacred and commonly called Bhanokhar, that is, the tank of Brikhbhan, Radha's reputed father; and in connection with it is a smaller tank, called after the name of her mother, Kirat. On the margin of the Bhanokhar is a pleasure house in three storeys known as the Jai-Mahal, supported on a series of vaulted colonnades opening on to the water, for the convenience of the ladies of the family, who could thus bathe in perfect seclusion, as the two tanks and the palace are all enclosed in one courtyard by a lofty bastioned and battlemented wall with arched gateways. Besides these works Rup Ram also faced with stone ghats the sacred lake called Prem Sarovar, opposite which is a walled garden and elegant monument in the form of a Greek cross to his brother Hemraj; and on the opposite side of the town he constructed another large masonry tank for the convenience of a hamlet which he settled and called after his own name, Rup Nagar.

Contemporary with Rup Ram two other wealthy families were resident at Barsana and his rivals in magnificence, the head of the one family being Mohan Ram, a Lavania Brahman, and of the other Lalji, a Tantia Thakur. It is said that the latter was by birth merely a common labourer, who went off to Lucknow to make his fortune. There he became first a harkara, then a jamadar, and eventually a prime favourite at court. Towards the close of his life he begged permission to return to his native place and there leave some permanent memorial of the royal favour. The Nawab not only granted the request, but further presented him with a carte blanche on the state treasury for the prosecution of his design. Besides the stately mansion, now much dilapidated, he constructed a large baoli well, still in excellent preservation, and two wells sunk at great expense in sandy tracts where previously all irrigation had been impracticable. The sacred tank at the outskirts of the town, called Priya Kund or Piri Pokhar, was faced with stone by the Lavanias, who are further commemorated by the ruins of the vast and elaborate mansion where they resided and by two elegant stone cenotaphs at the foot of the hill. They held office under the Raja of Bharatpur and their present representative, Ram Narain, was formerly tahsildar in the territory.

Barsana had scarcely been built when by the fortune of war it was destroyed beyond all hopes of restoration. In 1774 A.D. the Jats, who had advanced upon Delhi in support of the cause of Zabita Khan, and in consequence of ill success were retiring to their own country, were met at Hodal in Gurgaon by Najaf Khan hastening up from Agra. Dislodged from their position they fell back upon Kotban and Kosi, which they occupied for nearly a fortnight, and then finally withdrew towards Dig; but, at Barsana were overtaken by the wazir and a pitched battle ensued. The Jat infantry, 5,000 strong, were commanded by Sumru, who had first taken service under Suraj Mal, and was still with his son, Nawal Singh, the then Raja of Bharatpur. The ranks of the imperialists were broken by his gallant attack, and the Jats, feeling assured of victory, were following in reckless disorder when the enemy, rallying from their sudden panic, turned upon their pursuers, who were too scattered to offer any solid resistance, and totally routed them. They contrived, however, to effect a retreat to Dig, while the town of Barsana was given ever to plunder, and the stately mansions so recently erected there were reduced to their present state of ruin in the search for hidden treasure. Nawal Singh died some 20 days after the bettle, but whether in consequence of wounds there received is not certainly known. He was succeeded by his brother Ranjit Singh, who found his dominions reduced to the fort of Bharatpur with an income of 9 lakhs from the adjacent territory. Barsana never recovered from this blow, and in 1812 sustained a further misfortune when the Gaurua Thakurs, its zamindars, being in circumstances of difficulty and probably distrustful of the stability of British rule then only recently established, were mad enough to transfer their whole estate to the Lala Babu for the paltry sum of Rs. 602 and the condition of holding land on rather more favourable terms than other tenants."

BATHAN KALAN, Tahsil CHHATA

The large village of Bathan Kalan lies in 27°46,N. and 77°24'E., 30 miles north-west of Muttra, and three miles south-west of Kosi. Combined with Dhanot Khera and Kokilaban, it has a total area of 5,248 acres and a population which, in 1901, numbered 3,215 persons, 3,134 being Hindus, 73 Musalmans and eight of other religions. Close by lies the village of Bathan khurd with an area of 1,272 acres and a population of 1,657 persons. Both are inhabited for the most part by Jats, and as they are closely connected, they can conveniently be treated together. According to popular belief, the name Bathan is derived from the circumstance that Balaram here "sat down" (baithen) to wait for his brother Krishna; but the word probably is really descriptive of the natural features of the spot, bathan being still employed in some parts of India to denote a pasture-ground for cattle. On the outskirts of the village is a large tank with a stone ghat built by Rap Ram, the Katara of Barsana; it is called Balbhadr-kund and this name has either occasioned or serves to perpetuate the belief that Balaram was the eponymous hero of the place. Hare, on the third day of the dark half of Chait, is held the Holanga Mala when between 15,000 and 16,000 persons assemble, and a sham-fight takes place between the women of Bathan, armed with clubs, and the men of Jau, who defend them-selves with tamarisk (jhau) branches. At a distance of two miles from Bathan, between two smaller groves, each called Padar Ganga, the one in Bathan and the other in Jau, is Kokilaban, the most celebrated in Hindu poetry of all the woods of Braj. It is 212 bighas in extent, the trees becoming thicker towards the centre, where a pretty natural lake spreads cool and clear. The latter is connected with a masonry tank of very eccentric configuration, also the work of Rup Ram. On the margin of the tank are several shrines and pavilions for the accommodation of pilgrims, who assemble here to the number of 10,000 on the tenth day of the light half of Bhadon, when the Ras Lila, is celebrated. There is also a walled garden planted by a Seth of Mirzapur, which is rapidly going to ruin; and adjoining this there is a barahdari or pavilion constructed in 1870 by a Kosi Bania called Nem Ji. A fair is held in the grove every Saturday and a larger one on every full moon, when the principal diversion consists in seeing the immense swarms of monkeys fight for the grain that is thrown among them. Between Kokilaban and the village is another holy place, called Kabirban.

At Bathan Khurd a curious ridge of rock, called Charan Pahar, crops up above the ground, the stone being of precisely the same character as at Barsana and Nandgaon. This, it is said, was one of the places where Krishna most delighted to stop and play his flute, and many of the stones are still supposed to bear the impress of his feet, charan. This hill is of very insignificant dimensions, having an average height of only some 20 or 30 feet, and a total length of at most a quarter of a mile. Both Bathan Kalan and Bathan Khurd are owned by Jat commu nities in bhaiyachara tenure, the revenue demand on the former being Rs. 8,442 and on the latter Rs. 3,576. Bathan Kalan has a small primary school.

BERI, Tahsil Muttra

This is a large agricultural estate in 27°19'N. and 77°41'E., ying between the Agra canal and the Cawnpore-Achnera railway, four miles west of Farah. It is 11 miles distant from the civil station of Muttra. In 1881 the village had a population of 2,278 souls and in 1901 the number had increased to 2,322, of whom 1,982 were Hindus, 309 were Musalmans and 31 were of other religions. Beri has an area of 1,899 acres and is assessed to a demand of Rs. 3,422, the present proprietor being Pandit Ksilash Nath Kashmiri. At the Mutiny the village was held by a body of Rajput zamindars, but was confiscated for rebellion and conferred on Rao Mahendra Singh of Poona and Agra. It was subsequently purchased by Pandit Kashi Nath, from whom it descended to its present owner. There are a post-office and primary school in the place, and market is held on Tuesdays in each week.

BHARTIYA, Tahsil MAHABAN

This is a large village, lying on the boundary of tahsil Sadabad, in 27°23'N. and 77°55'E., 16 miles from Muttra city and 10 miles from Mahaban, about two miles south of the metal-led road to Sadabad. The village has a total area of 1,351 acres and is assessed to a revenue demand of Rs. 3,896, the zamindars being Jats and Brahmans. The population in 1901 numbered 2,318 souls, of whom 2,256 were Hindus and 62 were Muham­madans. There is a primary school in the place. A weekly market is held on Mondays.

BISAWAR, Tahsil SADABAD

Bisawar is a large village on the west of Sadabad tahsil, a little over a mile south of the metalled road from Muttra to Sa dabad. It lies in 27°23'N. and 77°56'E., at a distance of eight miles from Sadabad and 16 miles from the civil station of Muttra. The area of the village is 4,495 acres and there is a large number of subsidiary hamlets, the revenue demand being Rs. 11,782. A large proportion of the total area of the village was, in 1829, ghana or woodland, but this has been gradually brought under cultivation and very little now remains. The village is said to have been founded as early as the eleventh century by one Ram Ben, a Jadon Rajput from Mahaban; but his descendants have for many generations been reckoned as Jats of the Hags sub-division and they assumed the title of chaudhri. The village is still owned for the most part by Jats, but Brahmans and Banias have also obtained shares. The population is large, and has increased from 4,774 in 1881 to 5,443 in 1901; of the latter 5,029 were Hindus, 373 Muhammadans and 41 of other religions. Jats are the numerically strongest Hindu caste. Bisawar has a pri mary school and a large market is held every Friday in it. There are two temples and a Muhammadan shrine in the place. The latter is in honour of a faqir known as the Bara Miyans, and was first established in 1855. It is visited by a considerable number of people every Wednesday and Saturday throughout the year, except in the months of Pus and Sawan.

BRINDABAN, Tahsil MUTTRA

The celebrated town of Brindaban is situated in 27°33'N. and 77°42'E., on the banks of the Jumna, nine miles north of the district capital. The river makes at this point an eccentric bend and the town stands on a peninsula, washed on three sides by the stream. The name of the place is, according to Mr. Growse, derived from an obvious physical feature and means "the tulsi grove", brinda and tulsi being synonymous terms for the aromatic herb Ocymum Sanctum. The place is connected with Muttra by a metalled road; and there is a branch line of rail from Muttra cantonment station on the Cawnpore-Achnera railway. The high road from Muttra to Brindaban passes through two villages, Jaisinghpur and Ahaliaganj, and about half way crosses a deep ravine by a bridge, which, as the inscrip tion on it shows, was built in sambat 1890 (1833 A.D.) by Balla Bai, the daughter of Madhoji Sindhia. Close by is a masonry tank, built in 1872 by Lala Kishan Lal, Dhusar, a banker of Dehli. This road is of comparatively recent construc­tion, for the old road kept much closer to the Jumna river. For the first two miles out of Brindaban its course is still marked by lines of trees and several works of considerable magnitude. The first of these is a large garden surrounded by a masonry wall and supplied with water from a distance by long aqueducts. It was constructed by Kushal, a wealthy Seth of Gujerat, who also founded one of the largest temples in the city of Muttra. A little beyond, on the opposite side of the way, in a piece of waste ground which was once an orchard, is a large and handsome baoli of red sandstone with a flight of 57 steps leading down to the level of the water. This was the gift of Ahalia Bai, the celebrated Maratha queen of Indore, who died in 1795. Further on, in the hamlet of Akrur, on the verge of a cliff overlooking a wide expanse of alluvial land is the temple of Bhatrond, a solitary tower containing an image of Bihari Ji. Opposite is a large garden belonging to the Seths, and, on the roadway that runs between, a fair, called Bhatmela, is held on the full moon of Kairtik. The word Bhatrond is popularly connected with an incident in Krishna's life, which the fair commemorates. This is that he and his brother Balaram, having one day forgotten to supply themselves with provisions before leaving home, had to borrow a meal of rice (bhat) from some Brahmans' wives.

There are within the limits of Brindaban municipality about 1,000 temples, but this number includes many which are, properly speaking, only private chapels. There are thirty-two ghats, constructed by various benefactors, but only two tanks of reputed sanctity. The first of these is the Brahm Kund, at the back of the Seths' temple, now in a ruinous condition; and the other, called Gobind Kund, is in an out of the way spot near the Muttra road. It was originally merely a natural pond, but about 1875 was enclosed on all four sides with masonry walls and flights of steps, at a cost of Rs. 30,000, by Chaudhrani Kali Sundari from Rajshahi in Bengal. To these may be added as a third a Masonry tank in what is called the Kewarban. This is a grove of pipal, gular and kadamb trees, which stands a little off the Muttra road near the turn to the Madan Mohan temple. It is a halting place in the Banjatra, and the name is popularly said to be a corruption of kin-vari, " who lit it?," with reference to the forest conflagration, or davanal, of which the traditional scene is more commonly laid at Bhadraban on the opposite bank of the river There is here a small temple of Davanal Behari with a cloistered courtyard for the reception of pilgrims. . Adjoining the ban is a large walled garden belonging to the Tehri Raja, which has long been abandoned on account of the badness of the water there are also some fifty chhattras or dole houses in the town for the distribution of alms to indigent humanity.

TEMPLES

The first shrine erected at Brindaban was one in honour of the eponymous goddess Brinda Devi. It is said to have stood in the Seva Kunj, now a large walled garden with a masonry tank near the Ras Mandal, but no traces remain of it. The fame of the Gosains who built it spread so rapidly that in 1570 the emperor Akbar was induced to pay them a visit. He was taken blindfold into the Nidhban, where so marvellous a vision was revealed to him that he was compelled to acknowledge the place as holy ground, and gave cordial support to the attendant Rajas when they expressed their wish to erect a series of buildings more worthy of the local divinity. The four temples commenced in honour of this event bear the titles of Gobind Deva, Gopinath, Jugal Kishor and Madan Mohan.

THE GOBIND DEO TEMPLE

The first named is not only the finest of this particular series, but cne of the most impressive edifices raised by Hindu art in northern India. The body of the building is in the form of a Greek cross, the nave being one hundred feet in length and the breadth across the transepts the same. The central compartment is sur mounted by a dome of singularly graceful proportions; and the four arms of the cross are roofed by a waggon vault of pointed form, constructed of fine radiating arehes as in Gothic cathedrals. The walls have an average thickness of ten feet and are pierced in two stages, the upper stage being a regular triforium. This triforium is a reproduction of Muhammedan design, while the work above and below it is purely Hindu. At the east end of the nave there is a small narthex, fifteen feet deep; and at the west end, between two niches and incased in a rich canopy of sculpture, a square headed doorway leads into the choir, a chamber some twenty feet square. Beyond this was the sacrarium, flanked on either side by a lateral chapel.; each of these three cells being of the same dimensions as the choir and Iike it vaulted by a lofty dome. It would seem that, according to the original design, there were to have been five towers, one over the central dome and the other four covering respectively the choir, the sacrarium, and the two chapels. The sacrarium has been utterly razed to the ground, the chapel towers were never completed, and that over the choir, though the most perfect, has still lost some of its upper stages. The loss of the towers and of the lofty arcaded parapet that surmounted the walls has terribly marred the effect of the exterior and given it a heavy stunted appearance, while, as a further disfigurement, a plain masonry wall was at one time run up along the top of the centre of the dome. So much of a mutilated inscription at the west end of the wall as can be deciphered records the fact that the temple was built in sambat 1647 or A.D. 1590 under the direction of two gurus, Rupa and Sanatana, by Raja Man Singh of Jaipur, a famous governor in the days of Akbar. In the reign of Aurangzeb, owing to a fear of desecration at the hands of that monarch, the image of the god inside the temple was removed to Jaipur, and the Gosain of the temple at that place has ever since been regarded as head of the endowment. From that time onwards the building was allowed to fall into disrepair and many portions became ruinous. Mr. Growse, when collector of the district, tried ineffectually to enlist the sympathies of the Government in its restoration; but the Maharaja of Jaipur generously supplied Rs. 5,000 for the purpose, on the facts being brought to his knowledge. Work was begun in August 1873: the obtrusive wall on the top of the dome was demolished, the interior was cleared of several unsightly party-walls, and all the debris was removed which had accumulated round the base of the plinth to the height of eight feet or more and entirely concealed the handsomely moulded plinth. Many of the houses, too, which had been allowed to crowd the precincts of the temple were removed. At the same time a domed and pillared chhattri of very hand-some design, which stood on the south side of the choir and was erected in 1636 A.D. by the daughter-in-law of Rana Amar Singh of Mewar, was taken down and re-erected on the platform that marks the site of the old sacrarium. These works had more than exhausted the money provided by the Maharaja of Jaipur, but in 1875, Sir John Strachey, Lieutenant-Governor of the North-Western Provinces, came to the help of Mr. Growse with a liberal grant of money from provincial revenues, and thorough repairs were carried out under the personal superintendence of the latter before March 1877, at a total cost of Rs. 38,365. The fixed estate of the temple is small, consisting only of one village in Jaipur, another in Alwar and some property in Brindaban, which has been diminished by encroachment; but the income is supplemented by votive offerings and amounts to about Rs. 20,000 a year. The temple, however, is now regularly kept in repair by the Government, the work being entrusted to the Public Works department.

THE MADANMOHAN TEMPLE

The Madan Mohan temple stands at the upper end of the town on a high cliff near the Kali Mardan, or as it is commonly called, the Kalidah ghat. It is said to have been built by a merchant from Multan in the Punjab, a Khattri by caste, named Ram Das, but more familiarly known as Kapuri. As he was coming down the river with a boatload of merchandise bound for Agra, he stuck on a sand bank near the Kali Mardan ghat and, after trying in vain for three days to get of, he determined to discover the local divinity and implore his assistance. So he came on shore, climbed the Duhsasan hill and there found Sanatana, who was living in a little hut with the image of Madan Mohan. Sanatana told him to address his prayer to Madan Mohan: this the merchant did, and his boat immediately began to float. When he had sold his goods at Agra he came and brought their price to Sanatana, who told him to build a temple with it. The temple, as it now stands, consists of a nave fifty-Seven feet long, with a choir of twenty feet square at the west end and a sanctuary of the same dimensions beyond. The nave would seem to have been only about twenty-two feet high, but its vaulted roof has entirely disappeared and the upper part of the choir has also been destroyed. That surmounting the sacrarium is a plain octagon of curvilinear outline tapering towards the summit. Attached to its south side is a tower-crowned chapel of similar character but much more highly enriched, the whole of its exterior surface being covered with sculptured panels. The nave, ruinous as it is, was evidently to a great extent rebuilt in compara tively recent times, the old materials being utilized as far as possible, but when they ran short, the place of stone being supplied by brick. In 1875 the appearance of the temple was greatly improved by Mr. Growse, who had the ground round the plinth reduced and a number of buildings inside the nave and in the front of the chapel removed. The original image of Madan Mohan, which is said to have been given to Sanatana, is now at Karauli, where Raja Gopal Singh, who reigned from 1725 to 1757 A.D., built a new temple for its reception after he had obtained it from his brother-in-law, the Raja of Jaipur.

TEMPLE OF GOPINATH

The temple of Gopinath, which is possibly the earliest of the series, is said to have been built by Raesil Ji, a grandson of the founder of the Shaikhawat branch of the Kachhwaha Rajputs. He distinguished himself so greatly in the repulse of an Afghan invasion that the emperor Akbar bestowed on him the title of darbari, with a grant of land and the command of 1,250 horses. The temple corresponds very closely both in style and dimensions with that of Madan Mohan, and has a similar chapel attached to the south side of the sacrarium. It is, however, in a far more ruinous condition, the nave having entirely disappeared, the three towers levelled with the roof, and the entrance gate way of the courtyard being much dilapidated. The special feature of the building is a curious arcade of three bracket arches, serving apparently no construetural purpose but merely added as an ornamental screen to the south wall, The terrace on which this arcade stands has a carved stone front, which was only uncovered in the course of some repairs carried out by Mr. Growse. The choir arch is of handsome design elaborately decorat ed with arabesque sculptures, but the north side is blocked by a modern temple built about the year 1821 by a Bengali Kayasth, Nand Kumar Ghose.

TEMPLE OF JUGAL KISHOR

The temple of Jugal Kishor, the fourth of the old series, stands at the lower end of the town near the Kesi ghat. Its construction is referred to the year sambat 1684 or 1627 A.D., in the reign of Jahangir, and the founder's name is preserved as Non Karan: he is said to have been a Chauhan Rajput. The choir, which is slightly larger than in the other examples, being twenty-five feet square, has the principal entrance at the east end, but is peculiar in having also, both north and south, a small doorway under a hood supported on eight closely-set brackets carved into the form of elephants. The nave has been com pletely destroyed.

TEMPLE OF RADHA BALLABH

The temple of Radha Ballabh is somewhat later than the series of four already described, one of the pillars in the front giving the date of its foundation as sambat 1683 or 1626 A.D. It was built by a Kayasth named Sundar Das, who held the appointment of treasurer at Dehli; he was a disciple of Braj Chand, the ancestor of the present Gosains of the temple and the son of the reformer Hari Vans, the founder of the Radha ballabhi sect. The ground plan of the temple is much the same as that of Harideva at Gobardhan and the work is of the same Character but carried out on a larger scale. The nave has an eastern facade, thirty-four feet broad, which is in three stages, the upper and the lower Hindu, and the one between them purely Muhammadan in character. The temple in fact is of special architectural interest as the last example of the early eclectic style. The interior is a fine vaulted hall, measuring sixty-three feet by twenty feet, with a double tier of openings north and south, those in the lower storey having brackets and architraves and those above being Muhammadan arches as in the middle storey of the front. The actual shrine or cella was demolished by Aurangzeb and only the plinth remains, on which a modern room has been built.

MODERN TEMPLES

Of the modern temples five claim special notice. The earliest as regards time of erection is the temple of Krishna Chandrama, built about the year 1810, at a cost of 25 lakhs by the wealthy Bengali Kayasth, Krishna Chandra Sen, better known as the Lala Babu. It stands in a large courtyard, which is laid out as a garden and is enclosed by a lofty wall of solid masonry, with an arched gateway at either end. The building is of quadrangular form, one hundred and sixty feet in length with a front central compartment of three arches and a lateral colonnade of five bays reaching on either side towards the cella. The Workmanship throughout is of excellent character.

TEMPLE OF RANG JI

By far the largest of the modern temples is that founded by Seths Gobind Das and Radha Krishn, brothers of Seth Lakhmi Chand. It is dedicated to Rang Ji or Sri Ranga Nath, that being the special name of Vishnu most affected by Ramanuja, the foun der of the Sri Sampradaya. It is built in the Madras style in accordance with plans supplied by their guru, Swami Rang acharya. The works were commenced in 1845 and completed in 1851 at a cost of 45 lakhs of rupees. The outer walls measure 773 feet in length by 440 in breadth, and enclose a fine tank and garden in addition to the actual temple-court. This latter has lofty gate towers or gopuras, covered with a profusion of coarse sculpture. In front of the god,is erected a pillar, or dhvaja stambha, of copper gilt, sixty feet in height, and also sunk some twenty-four feet more below the surface of the ground: this alone cost Rs. 10,000. The principal or western entrance of the outer court is surmounted by a pavilion, ninety-three feet high, con structed in the Muttra style after the design of a native artist. A little to one side of the main entrance is a detached shed, in which the god's rath or carriage is kept. It is an enormous wooden tower in several stages, with monstrous effigies at the corners, and is brought out only ones a year in the month of Chait during the festival of the Brahmotsav. This Meta lasts for ten days, on. each of which the god is taken in state from the temple along the road, a distance of about 700 yards, to a garden where a pavilion has been erected for his reception. The procession is always attended with torches, music and incense, and some military display is contributed by the Raja of Bharatpur.T.On the day when the rath is used, the image of the god composed of eight metals, is seated in the centre of the car with attendant Brahmans on either side to fan it with chauris. The cars dragged with the help of ropes to the garden, and at night there is a grand display of fireworks. On other days, when the rath is not used, the god is borne now on a palki, a richly gilt tabernacle, called punya kothi, a throne (Sinhasan) or a tree, generally a kadamb or the tree of Paradise (kalpa-vriksha); now on some demi-god, as the sun or moon, Garura, Hanuman or Sesha; now again on some animal, as a horse or elephant. The ordinary cost of one of these celebrations is about Rs. 5,000, while the annual expenses of the whole establishment amount to no less than Rs. 60,000. Every day 500 of the Sri Vaishnava sect are fed at the temple, and every morning up to ten o'clock a dole of flour is given to anyone of any denomination who choses to apply for it.

TEMPLE OF RADHA RAMAN

The temple of Radha Raman was completed about 1876. If was founded by Sah Kundan Lal of Lucknow, who built it on a design suggested by the modern secular buildings of that city. The temple itself is constructed of the most costly mate rials and fronted with a colonnade of spiral marble pillars, each shaft being of a single piece. Ten lakhs of rupees are said to have been spent in its construction.

TEMPLE OF RADHA INDRA KISHOR

In striking contrast to the tasteless edifice of Radha Raman is the temple of Radha Indra Kishor, built by Rani Indrajit Kunwar, widow of Het Ram, a Brahman zamindar of Tikari near Gaya. It was six years in the building, and was completed at the end of 1871, at a cost of three lakhs. It is a square of seventy feet divided into three aisles of five bays each, with a fourth space of equal dimensions for the reception of the god. The sikhara is surmounted with a copper kalas or final, heavily gilt, which alone cost Rs. 5,000.

TEMPLE OF RADHA GOPAL

The temple of Radha Gopal was built by the Maharaja of Gwalior under the direction of his guru, Brahmachari Giridhari Das. It was opened for religious service in 1860 and had then cost four lakhs of rupees to build, and an entrance gateway was subsequently added at an additional outlay. The interior is an exact counterpart of an Italian church: it consists of a nave feet fifty-eight long, with four aisles, two on either side, a sacrarium twenty-one feet in depth and a narthex of the same dimensions as entrance.

To this list may be added a large temple now being built by the Maharaja of Jaipur and still in an incomplete condition. It lies on the Muttra road, about three-quarters of a mile from the town of Brindraban. There are in Brindaban no secular buildings of any great antiquity. The oldest is the court, or ghera as it is called, of Sawai Jai Singh, the founder of Jaipur, who made Brindaban an occasional residence during the time that he was governor of the province of Agra (1721-1728 A.D.). It is a large walled enclosure with a pavilion at one end consisting of two aisles divided into five bays by piers of coupled columns of red sand-stone. The river front has a succession of ghats reaching for a distance of about a mile and a half. The one highest up the stream is the Kali Mardan ghat with the kadamb tree from which Krishna plunged into the water to encounter the great. Serpent Kaliya: and the lowest at the other end is Kesi ghat, where he slew the equine demon of that name. Near the latter are two handsome mansions built by the Ranis Kishori and Lachhmi, consorts of Rajas Ranjit Singh and Randhir Singh of Bharatpur; and a little lower down the river front are the kunjs mansions built by Thakur Badan Singh, the father of Raja Suraj Mal, the first Raja of Bharatpur, and by Gangs, the queen of Suraj Mal.

Brindaban was constituted a municipality in 1866: details regarding the board, its income and expenditure have already been given in Chapter IV. Previous to that year the town is said to have been exceedingly dirty and ill kept; but improve- ment rapidly set in soon after: many of the streets have been paved or metalled, and the surface water is now passed off by side drains. The general health of the inhabitants is good, but the death-rate is always high owing to the number of persons, especially Bengalis, who come to Brindaban in order to die on holy ground. The water, as is usually the case near the Jumna, is brackish, though there are plenty of wells, and most people use the water of the river. The population has slightly increased of late years: in 1872 it numbered 20,350 and in 1881 it was 21,467. At the last enumeration in 1901, the population was returned at 22,717 persons, of whom 10,364 were females. Clas sified according to religions there were 21,088 Hindus, 1,409 Musalmans, 156 Christians, 40 Jains and 24 persons of unspecified religions. There are no manufactures in the town, but considerable quantities of plain cloth are imported into it and are there stamped with patterns. Flannel called loi is also brought from Marwar and Bikanir and skilfully repaired by the local tailors, who are chiefly of the Bania and Bairagi castes. The chief imports into the town consist of grain, refined and unrefined sugar, ghi and other articles of food and drink.

Brindaban has a first-class police station, post-office, registra tion office, second-class branch dispensary, Anglo-vernacular middle school, a primary school for boys and a school for girls. The dispensary was built in 1868, and stands outside the town beyond the municipal office and police station: near it is the Municipal inspection bungalow. The Anglo-vernacular school is embellished with a pillared front; the building was completed in 1868 at a cost of Rs. 3,710, which included a donation of Rs. 500 from Swami Rangachariya.

HISTORY

Though Brindaban is mentioned in all the Puranas as one of the chief tirthas, or places of pilgrimage of Braj, it is probable that for many centuries it was merely a wild, uninhabited jungle. In the latter half of the 16th century several holy men from different parts of India, of whom the two most famous were named Rupa and Sanatana, made it their abode, and by their rigid asceticism acquired a great repution both for themselves and for the locality. The foundation of the chief temples dates, as already noticed, from Akbar's visit in A.D. 1570. There was a mint established here by Daulat .Rao Sindhia in 1786, from which the street called Taksalwali Gali derives its name. When the Jats were in possession of the country they transferred the mint to Bharatpur, where what are called Brindabani rupees are still coined: they are especially used at weddings and are valued at annas 12.

BUKHARARI, Tahsil CHHATA

An agricultural village lying in 27°52'N. And 77°30'E. Close to the Agra canal. It is six miles north-east of Kosi and 34 miles distant from Muttra. It is a place of no importance, but had a population in 1901 of 2,059 persons of whom 1,850 were Hindus, 73 were Mahammadans and 136 of other religions, chiefly Jains. Jadon Rajputs are the numerically strongest Hindu caste and own most of the village, which has an area of 2,329 acres. There is a primary school in the village and also a substantial house built about 100 years ago by a wealthy Bania of the place named Bhika.