950 Notes, principally Geological, from [No. 130. 



and slain by the combined armies of the four Mahomedan kings of the 

 Deccan ; viz. those of Bijapore, Golconda, Bider, and Ahmednugger. 

 Few, if any, of the present Hindu inhabitants of the place, however, 

 had any tradition of this having been the site of the battle ; and even 

 Mahomedan historians differ, placing it farther south. Talicota is now* 

 (1838,) the capital of a small territory held in jaghire from the British, 

 by a Mahratta chief of the Rastia family, named Bala Sahib. It is 

 situated in a plain on the left bank of the Doni river, which flows into 

 the Kistnah, and separates the jaghire from the Mudibhat talook. The 

 river is about 150 yards broad, and was easily fordable when I crossed 

 it in the month of July. The banks are steep and clayey ; the bed, as 

 before mentioned, consists of great slabs of laminar limestone. Talicota 

 is erroneously placed in some maps on the right bank of the stream. 

 Besides the town walls, which are of stone, it possesses an inner fort, or 

 citadel, in which the palace of the Rastia, a high stone house with small 

 windows and loopholes, is situated. The palace has nothing but a 

 guarded gateway to distinguish it from the substantial dwellings of the 

 Bunnias and Lingayet merchants of the place. Near it, is the holy 

 and celebrated Mahomedan shrine of the Five Saints, " Durgah-i-punj- 

 Pir." The pettah is large and spacious, and has a broad street, in 

 which are the shops of the Jain venders of brass-ware, numerous calico 

 printers, dyers, &c, for whom the place is noted. There is a small 

 private Jaina shrine here, into which I was shewn by the Jaina merchant 

 who accompanied me. It contained several white marble images of the 

 principal Tirthunkars, brought from the north, (JJttara D4s,) together 

 with the Pancha Purmestri in brass. There was also a brazen bas- 

 relief of all the twenty-four Tirthunkars, the gigantic Ardeswara stand- 

 ing naked in the midst of the saintly group. The following is an ap- 

 proximative statement of the population of the town : — 



Mussulmans, principally weavers and soldiers, . . . . 1,500 



Vaisya Comptis, grain and provision sellers, . . . . 1 25 



Mahratta dyers and cloth printers, . . . . . . 500 



Lingayet cloth merchants, .. .. .. .. .. 1,000 



„ weavers, .. '.. .. .. .. .. 250 



„ oil-makers, . . . . . . . . . . 50 



Kunbis, agriculturists, . . . . . . . . . . 1,000 



Carried over, . . . . . . . . . . 4,425 



