1870.] Antiquities of the Cuttach Hills. 161 



good style of art. There can be no doubt that more images are 

 concealed in the brushwood and jungle around. 



The people in the vicinity informed me that the images and the 

 temples on the Nalti hill had been constructed by Raja Bashokalpa ; 

 but I should think, that was an attempt to transfer the tradition of 

 another (the Chulia) hill, and localise it in this place. The inscrip- 

 tion, being unmistakably Buddhist, leaves no doubt as to the origin 

 of the shrine. 



Evident traces of buildings, scattered bricks, broken capitals, 

 cornices, and images of gods with inscriptions now daubed with 

 vermilion by the villagers, lie scattered on and at the foot of the 

 hill, which clearly shew that a better people once lived there than 

 those who at present inhabit it. 



Assia Giri. These hills cover a larger extent of the country 

 than any other in the district. The locality is now known as 

 'Alamgir, a name given to it by its Muhammadan conquerors. The 

 ancient Hindu name was Chatushpitha, subsequently corrupted 

 into Chdr-pulie, or the "four seats" or " shrines, " and was so 

 called after the four highest peaks of the chain. One of these 

 peaks, which overlooks the stream of the Birupa, is now known 

 as the 'A'lamgir hill, on which stands a mosque on the summit 

 of a precipice, about 2,500 feet above the level of the country, 

 one of the most prominent and commanding spots in Orissa; 

 The mosque is a plain building, consisting of a single room, 

 29 X 19 X 9*4, surmounted by a dome, and bearing an inscription 

 of three couplets in Persian engraved on three slabs of black 

 chlorite which form the freize. 



The inscription has been partly read by Mr. J. Beames, and from 

 his reading, it would appear that the Tdrikh of the Mosque is given 

 in the words 



Rashk i Firdaus i barm. 

 1 It vies with Paradise.' 

 The sum obtained by adding the numerical values of the letters 

 composing the Tdrikh is 1132 of the Hijra era, corresponding with 

 A. D. 1719-20, when Shuja'uddin reigned in Orissa as Deputy 

 of Nawab Murshid Quli Khan. 

 22 



