1 837. 1 Lodiana to Mithankot by the Satlaj river. 191 



has the appearance of a citadel perched on the summit of a lofty 

 eminence. It is built on the thae or site of the ancient fort of Aj- 

 wadin or Ajodin, and is a place of great sanctity, having been the 

 residence for a number of years of the celebrated Mussalman saint 

 Shekh Farid-u'-din, to which circumstance it owes its present name 

 of Vdkpatan, or the ferry of purity. Under its former name of 

 Ajwadin it is celebrated as the spot near which the Satlaj has been so 

 often passed by Mussalman conquerors in their invasions of Hindu- 

 stun. In A. D. 997 Ajwadin was taken and plundered by Sultan Nasir- 

 u'-din Sabactagi'n ; but accounts vary as to whether he crossed the 

 Satlaj in that expedition : in some he is stated to have extended his 

 ravages as far as Bhatnir, the capital of the Bhatti country. In A. D. 

 1001, Sultan Mahamed Ghaznavi, the renowned son and successor 

 of Sabactagi'n, forded the Satlaj in the vicinity of Ajwadin and 

 plundered Bhatner. In his subsequent numerous invasions of Hindu- 

 stdn he followed this route more than once. 



In A. D. 1079 Sultan Ibrahim crossed the Satlaj at this point in 

 his second Indian expedition. After the Ghaznian dynasty, Sultan 

 Mahamed Ghorf, called Shahab-u'-din, passed by this route and by 

 Bhatner when he took Asi (or Hansi) in his battles with raja Pithaura. 

 In A. D. 1397-8 the conqueror Amir Timour in his invasion of Hin- 

 dustan, after laying in ruins Dibalpur and Ajwadin, proceeded across 

 the river with part of his forces and destroyed Bhatner, whither the 

 inhabitants of the two former towns had fled for protection. 



Close under the town to the north is the dry bed of a river which 

 they call the Dandi, propably the Dond mentioned by Major Ren- 

 nell. Four kos more to the north is another dry bed of a river 

 which they call the Sohag ; and beyond this about ten kos from Pdk- 

 patan is the old bed of the Beds, which, separating from the Satlaj 

 below Hari-ke, formerly ran close under Kasur and did not again 

 join that river till within twenty miles of Neh. In the time of Akbar, 

 the Dodb Bist Jalindar extended to Hamadpur Dar Behli, fifteen kos 

 above Neh. 



To the south of Pdkpatan in coming from our boats we crossed 

 a nala which had a very high bank ; its bed was in some places dry, 

 in others it had one and half feet of water. I inquired of the villagers 

 if they had any particular name for it, but they said not ; neither did 

 they know any thing about the Harari Narnay or Qoud mentioned by 

 Major Rknnell. The ground between this nala and the Satlaj was 

 low, covered with thick jungle of the tamarisk and patches of fine- 

 looking wheat. It is no doubt overflowed in the rainy season, when 



