Gwalier, most of the savage state, along 
GWA 
with the wealth and 
luxury of commercial cities. It affords equally striking 
specimens of the extremes of population, which is thin- 
ly scattered over the western districts, but unusually 
crowded in the vicinity of Surat, and some of the other 
cities, The whole number of inhabitants in this,ex- 
tensive province is estimated at six millions, in the pro- 
portion of one Mahommedan to ten Hindoos. See Ren- 
nels Memoir of a Map of Hindostan; Milburn's Ori- 
ental, Commerce ; Hamilton’s East India Gazetteer ; and 
Forbes’s Oriental Memoirs. (q) 
GWALIOR, Guattor, or GUALIAR, is the name of 
a sireng fortress of Hindostan, in the district of Gohud, 
and province of Agra. This fort stands on a hill about 
1,4, mile long, 300 yards wide at its greatest breadth, 
and 342 feet high at its north end. The sides of this 
hill are nearly perpendicular, and a stone parapet 1s 
carried all the way round: close to the brow of it. 
At the north end of the hill, and near the middle of 
the fort, are two remarkable pyramidal buildings of 
redstone, in the ancient Hindoo stile of architecture. 
The only gate to this fort is at the northern extremity 
of the east side, from which there is an ascent to the 
top of the rock by several flights of steps. The garri- 
son is supplied with excellent water, from several na- 
‘tural cavities in the rock; and about half way up the rock, 
-on the outside, there are many artificial excavations, 
containing the figures of men and animals carved out 
-of the solid rock. : 
The town is situated on the east side of the hill. It 
is large and populous, and contains many good stone 
houses. The stone is obtained from the neighbouring 
hills, which surround the fort.like an amphitheatre, at 
the distance of from one to four miles. They chiefly 
consist of schistus, with apparently a large portion of 
iron, and their surface is rugged, and nearly destitute 
of vegetation. The small river Soonrica rises to the 
-eastward of the town, and beyond it is the tomb of 
Mahommed Ghous, a learned man; it is a handsome 
stone building, with a cupola covered with blue ena- 
mel, Within the inclosure of this monument is ano- 
ther tomb erected tu the memory of Tan-Sein, a great 
‘musician. The leaves of the tree which over. Ws 
this tomb, are supposed by the vulgar to give great 
melody to the voice when chewed. About 700 yards 
‘from the northern -extremity of the fort, is a conical 
hill, having on its summit two high pillars joined by an 
_ arch, which is supposed to be of very ancient workman- 
ship. 
The town of Gwalior carries on a considerable trade 
in cloth with Chanderi, and also in indigo, About 
14 miles from Gwalior, on the road to Narwar, is a 
mine of iron, near the village of Beerch, which is work- 
ed to advantage. 
Gwalior was always considered by the natives as 
‘impregnable, till it was taken by escalade by Major 
Popham, on the 3d August 1780. In the time of the 
Mogul government, it was a state prison, where the ob- 
‘noxious members of the family were secured, anda large 
collection of lions, tigers, and wild beasts was kept here 
‘for their amusement. It was appropriated to the same 
purpose by Madajee Sindia, who, on account of its se- 
curity, also made it a grand depot for artillery and 
‘military stores. 
When the Mogul empire was dismembered, this fort 
came into the possession of the Ranah of Gohud, from 
whom it was taken by the Mahrattas. After the British 
‘took it in 4780, it was given up to the Ranah. Sindia 
invested the fort, and after a siege of many months, 
596 
GYM 
he succeeded in taking it by corrupting the garri- ¢ 
son. In 1804, it was ceded to. the British; but, by — 
the y of 1805, it:came into the possession of Dow 
let Row Sindia, Distance from Agra 80 miles ; from 
Delhi 197 ; and from Calcutta 480. East Long. 78° 
14’, and North Lat. 26° 18’. See Hamilton’s Gazeiteer. 
GYMNASTIC Exercises. See A: 
reer ET2&, vol, iii, 
p. 45—48. 
GYMNOSOPHIST is.a word of Greek origin, and 
literally signifies a philosopher who goes It 
is particularly applied to the sages:of India, who are 
understood to have wandered from place to place, -ei- 
ther wholly without clothing, ox-only partially covered. _ 
‘described by Quintus ~ 
Hence the sapientes Indie are 
Curtius, under the designation of genus horridum et 
agresle. ; 
S Though the Gy 
belonging exclusively to India, they were not in an- 
cient times confined ‘to that part of the world. . There 
were likewise African Gymnosophists. These last in- 
habited a mountain in ees near the riyer Nile; 
and appear to have lived in celibacy and solitude, 
subjecting themselves to various penances and priva- 
tions, after the manner of hermits or monks in more 
modern times. They were understood to hold anjim~ 
mediate intercourse with the immortal | Ifany one 
had killed his nei by accident, he had recourse 
to those recluses for absolution, and received it, upon 
the performance of certain ceremonies pores en oo 
quired. They were skilful in the medical art, and Lu- 
can ascribes to them several i i in 
important discoveries i 
astronomy. Indeed, it may be inquired, whetherthere _ 
were not Gymnosophists (using that term in a more ge~ 
neral sense) in every nation, the early hi of which 
has come down to us in any thing like detail, or with 
any measure of certainty ; and whether the Brahmins 
of India, the Priesthood in Egypt, the Persian Magi, 
and the Druids of Great Britain, were not all branches 
of the same philosophical school, holding certain doc- 
trines in common, though distinguished from one ano- 
ther by the degree of improvement to which they had 
respectively attained, or the political and moral circum- 
stances of the countries to which they belonged. 
One principal tenet of the Gymnosophists appears'to . 
have been that of the mete hosis, or transmigra~ 
tion of souls ; whether we understand by this term the 
passage of the soul from one human body to another, 
or the transmission of the immortal spirit through the 
bodiesof different animals, till having been defeeeated 
and refined in its progress, it enters at length into-the 
immediate and beatific presence of the Supreme Divini- 
ty. The doctrine of the metempsychosis was afters 
wards taught with greater celebrity ae Pythagoras ; 
and, as the philosopher just named is known to have 
travelled into India, there is reason to believe that he 
borrowed it from the Gymnosophists. In many features 
of their character, however, the sapientes Indie ap- 
pear to have resembled the stoics. They undervalued 
and despised the awn of fortune, and lived chiefly in 
the woods and rt places, su ing themselves 
upon the spontaneous productions of the-earth, ‘Hence 
they are called, by Clement of Alexandria, alo}i, or hy- 
lobii ; and he relatesofthem, that inhabit neither 
cities nor villages, but eat acorns, and drink water out of 
their hands.. They abstained from marriage ‘and the 
society of women. They held that every man was suf. 
ficient for himself, neither dependant, upon others for 
the supply of his wants, nor requiring their assistance. 
They cherished a spirit of lofty independence. When 
, FP 
Gymnosophists are usually considered as . 
en a ae a oe 
a 
a rl 
