340 Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal. [Sept., 1914. 



east, 1 and that its distance was three yojanas or twenty-four 

 miles" 2 from Campa where the houses of the women were 

 situated, make it highly prohable that Rsyasrnga's hermitage 

 was at this spot rather than in any other. 



Just in front of Sultanganj, which is about 15 miles to the 



Jahnu-aSrama. west OI Bhagalpur, the rocky hill of 



Jahngira stands out boldly from the 

 middle of the Ganges which here takes a northerly course. It 

 is said to have been the hermitage of Jahnu Muni. According 

 to General Cunningham Jahngira is Jahnu's grha or house, 3 and 

 according to Dr. Rajendralala Mitra it' is Jahnu s gin or hill.* 

 Whether Jahnu's grha or Jahnu's gin, the' name has now 

 been corrupted to Jahngira which, however, has no connection 

 with the Emperor Jahangir as is supposed by some. It consists of 

 neaps of irregular masses of granite forming ledges and terraces, 

 and surrounded at the base with blocks rounded by the action 

 ot the water and weather. The whole face of the cliff is 

 covered with the the images of Nrsimha, Surya, Gahga and 

 other deities of the Hindu pantheon cut in high relief. On the 

 top it la surmounted by a temple of Mahadeva called Gaibi- 

 natn. Jahnu s place of meditation is pointed out in a cave 

 cut in the rock which is reached by a flight of stairs leading to 

 the temple of Gaibinath. The river Gahga (Ganges) on her 

 way to the ocean to relieve the sons of Sagara, was drained off 

 in a draught by Jahnu Muni who was disturbed in his worship 

 and meditation by the rush of the water, but owing to the 

 intercession of Bhagiratha who was leading the way? he re- 

 lented and let her out from his ear,* or according to some 

 account, from his thigh: hence the Ganges is called Jahnavi or 

 the daughter of Jahnu. Evidently in times past, this hill was 

 connected with a rocky bluff in front of it on the bank of the 

 rivet called Baiskaran, also carved with sculptures and crowned 

 with a mosque of the Pathan style. The inscriptions on the 

 Jahng,ra rock are in Gupta character, and therefore it 

 appears that the whole place belonged to the Hindus and not 

 to the Buddhists, and there can be no doubt th.it the sculp- 

 tures were executed in the 3rd century a.d under the early 

 uupta Emperors as supposed by General Cunningham,* though 

 Duitanganj itself contains many sculptures and remains of a 

 monastery which belonged to the Buddhists.' But I should 

 nZ .? m Ve la , the he «nitage of Jahnu Muni is also pointed 

 tion of ^ aiF m aghAti bdow Gan 8°trl in" Garhwal at the junc- 

 tion ol the BhagirathI and the Jahnavi, and also at Gour, Sib- 



also !oL°xliv! e p T Vement ° f th " riveF Kusi s,!e JAS - l! - ' *»P **' 



Arch- S. Bep., xv , 24. 7 JASB xxxiii (|s<54 361 . 



