1835.] Ruins at Chdrchvdr in Assam. 187 



that this and the other buildings were overthown at the same period 

 by some hostile power opposed to the propagation of Hinduism, as- 

 sisted perhaps subsequently by a convulsion of nature. Earthquakes, 

 I need scarcely observe, are more frequent in Assam than in any other 

 quarter of our Indian possessions, and that they accomplish so small 

 an amount of mischief must be attributed to its never having been the 

 custom to employ stone and brick in the construction of dwellings. 

 All classes, from the king to the serf, build with such slight and pe- 

 rishable materials as grass, bainbus, and timber ; thus houses sustain 

 little injury from a shock however violent, and even if thrown down 

 could not do much mischief to their inmates*. Had time been the 

 sole instrument of overthrowing these structures, it is but fair to sup- 

 pose from the great solidity of the materials that the ruin would have 

 been less complete, and that the fragments would have lain in a nar- 

 rower compass. 



Chardwar at one period undoubtedly formed a part of the ancient 

 and extensive kingdom of Kamrup, but whether the city at Pora was 

 destroyed by the Muhammedans during their invasions, or by the 

 Ahom kings prior to their conversion to the Hindu faith ; or was 

 overthrown at a later period by the Vaishnavas in their struggles 

 for pre-eminence with the Saivas, is alike matter for conjecture. In 

 the absence of inscriptions and other precise information we must 

 have recourse to the traditions current in the country, and to such 

 historical records as are within our reach ; these I now purpose to 

 advert to. 



The inhabitants of Chardwar assert, that Raja Banh, the founder 

 of Pora, was a demi-god, sixth in direct descent from Brahma ; thev 

 add on the authority of some work whose name has escaped me, that 

 his dominions were situate on the banks of the Neimada river ; that 

 he journeyed into Kamrup, Chardwar, and other parts of Assam, and 

 was the first person who introduced the worship of Mahide'va into 

 that quarter of India. The extensive walls which encompass the tem- 

 ples at Pora, are said to have made part of a fort or city founded by 

 him called Lohitpur, Sonitpur or Tejpiir, all three signifying the 



*In an ancient MS. I have met with, written according to the custom of the 

 country on the inner surface of the bark of the sachi tree, a very destructive 

 earthquake is recorded to have happened in the A. S. 1529 (A. D. 1607), when the 

 earth opened and vomited a vast quantity of sand and water. On the 31st March 

 last, two severe shocks were felt throughout Assam ; the first cast down the stone 

 spire of a temple at BishnAth, fractured an idol within the shrine, and effected 

 other damage in the province, and on the 3rd of November following there was 

 another quake of less violence. 

 B B 2 



