64 Description of Ancient Remains of [No. 2, 



We shall now proceed to describe such ruins and remains of ancient 

 edifices, whether Hindu or Buddhist, which we have discovered in 

 Benares or in its immediate suburbs. 



Buddhist Vihdr — No. I. 



The remains of this vihar are in the interior of the fort at Raj 

 Ghaut, in the outskirts of the city on its northern boundary. There 

 is a small tongue of high land, about fifty feet above the plain below, 

 extending to the junction of the Ganges and the Burna, which, in the 

 mutiny, was strongly fortified, and has been styled ever since, the 

 Raj Ghaut Fort. There is a tradition amongst the natives, that this 

 spot was selected, ages ago, for a similar object by the famous Rajah 

 Banar. It is probable that formerly the whole of this elevated tract 

 was inhabited, and that the Rajah governing the city had his chief 

 residence there. It is the natural key not only of modern Benares, 

 but also of the country for several miles around ; and a well-eqiiipped 

 force in possession of it would, with difficulty, be approached and 

 dispossessed. The Government has lately abandoned this grand 

 strategical position on the ground of its alleged unhealthiness. 



A short distance to the right of the main road leading into tho 

 Fort, may be seen the remains of the vihar, which I will now describe, 

 and which, next to the Buddhist temple at Bakarya Kund, are the 

 most complete, and certainly are the most beautiful, of any ancient 

 remains yet discovered in Benares. They consist of two cloisters in 

 a continuous line, each being sustained by a quadruple colonnade, but 

 differing both in height and in length. The smaller cloister is 66 

 feet long, and the larger 84 feet, and therefore the entire facade is 

 exactly 150 in length, whilst the breadth of both is uniform, and is 

 25 feet. There are 8 columns in each row in the one room, or 32 in 

 all; and in the other, there are 10 in each row, or 40 in all ; so that 

 the number of stone pillars standing in the entire building is 72. 

 Those in the smaller cloister are barely 9 feet high, and are all square 

 and of a uniform pattern, a slight difference only being traceable in 

 the capitals, which are of the old cruciform shape. There is not 

 much ornamentation on these pillars, but the chess-board and serrated 

 patterns are abundantly carved upon the architraves. The pillars in 

 the larger cloister, including the capital and base, are 10 feet in 



