1870.] Antiquities of the Cuttack Hills. 159 



The Mahabinayaka Hill lias also another name, Barunibanta. 

 This is the high hill of Qil'ah Darpan which, in almost all weathers, 

 is visible from the banks of the Mahanadi near Cuttack. 



Ndlti Girt. The name Nalti is said to be merely a corruption 

 of the Arabic word la'nat (o^*J) or " curse," so named from a tra- 

 dition hereafter detailed. The hill has two peaks of unequal 

 height, bearing little vegetation, except a few sandal trees, being 

 the only places in Orissa where that valuable plant is met with. 

 On the lower peak, I found the ruins of two very ancient struc- 

 tures, placed at the distance of about four hundred yards from each 

 other. One of these stands on a bold prominence, the heads and 

 sides of the rocks around being bald, moss-covered, and jagged. The 

 ruins appear to be the remains of an old Buddhist temple ; they con- 

 sist of massive slabs of granite whitened with age. The ' ' mandapa' ' 

 or porch, is a complete ruin, portions of monolithic pillars 7 to 8 

 feet in height, only standing on the corners of the basement with the 

 figure of a Hindu (?) god cut in the pedestal of one. The structure 

 had been raised on a substantial foundation, and it is probable 

 that some other force than the wasting influence of time only, has 

 been at work to pull it down. This appears the more probable 

 from the ruins of a Musalman's tomb standing by, perhaps built 

 from the debris of the more ancient building. 



The other structure, which stands on the pass between the two 



j peaks, was built on precisely the same plan as the first, consisting 



of a porch and a cella, surmounted by a small pyramidal tower. 



This is in a better state of preservation. The roof of the porch 



has given way, but that of the cella still stands. It has no 



i columns, and is formed of solid walls with niches in the interior 



| for the figures of Buddha or " Ananta Purushottama," as the people 



, on the spot call them. The figures are all erect, about five feet in 



j height, holding in the left hand a lotus with a long stem, cut in 



' high relief. The other hand is mutilated ; so is the nose. The 



! eyes have all a meek expression, and the curled hair is tied with a 



I fillet round the middle of the head. The ears, breast, arms, 



I and wrist have ornaments similar to those of the figures in the 



( Bhubanesvar and other old temples of Orissa ; the style of their 



| execution point clearly to the same age and the same state of the 



