618 Description of the ancient [Dec. 



as Jychandra's kote, and two buildings (remaining of 12) are still 

 shown as the places where he and his son Lakhun held their durbars. 

 The Utala dewal, and one at Chachakpur, are mentioned in the His- 

 tory of Jaunpur as having been built by him in 1416 Samvat. 



The following temples are said to have been destroyed by Feroz 

 Shah and his successors : 

 The temple of Kerarbir, of whose materials and on whose site the fort 



was built ; 

 The Utala Dewal ; 



The Dewal of Bijichand, (Vijaya chandra) a former Raja, 

 And the temple at Chachakpur. 



Numerous other Hindu buildings were thrown down in Zaffeia- 

 bad as well as Jamunpur. The Kerarbir dewal was destroyed with- 

 out opposition ; but the attempt on the Utala dewal was resisted, and 

 the Emperor with his attendants forced to retreat. On the arrival of 

 assistance from the camp, a severe conflict ensued, which ended in 

 favor of the Hindus. The Emperor was forced not only to desist for 

 the present, but to promise to refrain in future from such offensive 

 acts. Under the government of Ibrahim Shah, the Moslem popu- 

 lation seems to have outnumbered the Hindus. In that spirit of 

 bigotry which invariably accompanies the Muhammedan power, the 

 Hindus were greatly oppressed. They were forbidden to worship 

 idols, or to sound the sankh, and at length, besides being taxed, were 

 prohibited residing within a certain distance of the city. The splen- 

 did houses which they had built were given to the favorites of the 

 court, and the attempts of Feroz Shah were renewed. The Utala 

 dewal was destroyed, and the present Utala Masjid erected in its place. 

 The other two temples, viz. that of Chachakpur, and that of Biji- 

 chand shared the same fate. In the erection of the mosques, the 

 builders were ordered to turn inwards any figures which might be 

 carved on the stones. As this injunction was strictly obeyed, I have 

 no doubt many inscriptions have been by this means preserved. 



The stones from the tank of Bijichand were used for the building 

 of the mosque of Jumai-ushark, and those of the temple on the bank, 

 for the mosque of Khdlis Mukhlis. The great extent of the present 

 buildings, composed wholly of the remains of Hindu temples, are 

 proofs of the magnitude of the latter. 



Vanity or ignorance might lead the Mussalman historian to ascribe 

 the foundation of so large and celebrated a city, to a prince of his own 

 caste. That its conquerors improved it, or at least renovated it, I 

 doubt not ; but the foundations were laid (most probably) ages before 

 it fell into their hands. 



