Nearly opposite Patna, is the district of Tirhoot, famous for the cultivation of indigo and sugar-cane; but the latter suffers greatly from the destructive rats which abound there. Tirhoot is near the Nepaul frontier.
About fifty-five miles south of Patna, in Lat. 24° 49´ N., and Long. 85° 5´ E., in the Province of Bahar, lies the city of Gaya, or Gyah. This ancient city is one of the most holy places of Hindoo pilgrimage, being held by tradition to have been the residence of Buddha, the great prophet and legislator of the nations east of the Ganges; and it is usually termed "Buddha Gyah." The temple is of course had in great veneration. The following extract from an inscription on one of the stones, will shew the estimation in which it was held: "This place is renowned, and it is celebrated by the name of Bhood Gaya. The forefathers of him who shall perform the ceremony of the Sraddha at this place, shall obtain salvation. A crime of a hundred-fold shall undoubtedly be expiated from a sight thereof; of a thousand-fold from a touch thereof; and of a hundred thousand-fold from worshipping thereof." The frightful image of the idol is placed in the temple, and is open to the worship of all pilgrims. A vow of sanctity is often taken here by women, and especially by widows, not unlike the Roman Catholic vow of celibacy; for they shave their heads, and promise to renounce the world. The Bengal government was wont to derive a net annual revenue of £15,000, collected from the pilgrims, a sum even exceeding that gathered from the pilgrims at the famous Juggernauth, being levied at a fixed ratio according to the magnitude of the sins which the individual had come to expiate, and, therefore, of the ceremonies which he was to perform.
The town is divided into two parts, one of which, more holy than the other, is the residence of the Brahmins and their families, called "Gyah Proper"; the other inhabited by the merchants and tradesmen, is called "Sahibgunge." The town lies inland at some distance from the river.
About fourteen miles to the north of Gyah, is a hill, or rather rock, in which a remarkable cavern has been excavated, called "Nugur-jenee" ("Nugur" a town, and "Jenee" the Jains). Being unable to visit it, I will give the account of it as communicated to me by our Captain. The cave, it seems, is about two-thirds distant from the summit of the hill; and the entrance, which is about six feet and a half high, by two and a half wide, leads to a chamber of an oval form, having a vaulted roof: this room is forty-four feet in length, eighteen in breadth, and ten in height in the centre. The whole cavity is dug out of the solid granite rock; altogether the excavation extends full a hundred feet. It was probably made for the purposes of worship by the Buddhists, whose religion differs from that of the Brahmins, and who were subjected to great persecutions on account of their tenets. We know that this was the case with the early Christians, who, in consequence of the ruthless tyranny of their heathen oppressors, were compelled to take refuge in the caves of the earth. The cavern at Gyah has two inscriptions, which have been translated by the late Sir Charles Wilkins, and published in the first volume of the "Asiatic Researches." From these inscriptions, it would appear that it is a place of great antiquity, but no dates are given.
Passing Futwa, which lies near the confluence of the Pompon and the Ganges, and is noted for the manufacture of its table linen, and for the remains of an extensive saltpetre manufactory, we reached Phoolbarea, and sometime after the little town of Bar. The whole place swarms with beggars, many of whom afforded no little amusement to our passengers, by their anxiety to pick up the coppers, which they threw from the steamer to the water's edge.
FOOTNOTES:
[102] Vide Major Rennel.