1870.] Antiquities of the Ctdtack Hills. 165 



Bhuvanesvara, Khanda Giri, or any other temple in Orissa. 

 Between this image and the Bapi or large well, situated about 

 fifty feet higher up the ground, the place is spread with the 

 ruins of ancient edifices, the ground plans of which may still be 

 traced. 



Passing over the ruins we come to the Bapi or well cut in the 

 rock. The Swarga Ganga on the Khanda Giri hill is insignificant 

 compared to this reservoir. It is 23 feet square, cut 28 feet deep 

 from the top of the rock to the water's edge, surrounded by a stone 

 terrace, 94 feet 6 inches long, and 38 feet 11 inches broad. The 

 entrance to the terrace is guarded by two monolithic pillars, the 

 tops of which are broken. The edge of the well and the extremity 

 of the terrace are lined with battlements of large blocks of 

 wrought stone, rounded on the top, and three feet in height, 

 leaving a wide passage or walk behind. The well is situated 

 towards the southern extremity of the terrace. From the north 

 and in the middle of the terrace, a few yards off the en- 

 trance, a flight of steps (3 feet in breadth, and 31 in number) 

 runs down the rock as an approach to the water. The rock be- 

 tween the lowest step and the well has been cut into an arch, and 

 on its face there is an inscription of which a transcript is given 

 below — 



The same inscription appears in another part of the rock on the 

 right side of the steps, and also on the eastern wall of the terrace. 

 The rock appears to have been quarried, marks of the chisel 

 being evident ; but I should suppose from the cracks and smoky 

 stains on the rock down the well, that fire or some other force was 

 also used to split it. 



About fifty feet higher up in the jungle, there is another platform 

 on which once stood a sanctuary of Buddha. Numbers of images 

 of gods and goddesses, engraven on slabs of different shapes, are 

 scattered around. A group, with the heads and arms mutilated, 

 is still worshipped by the people who had succeeded in effacing 

 all trace of its original character, by painting the figures with 

 repeated layers of vermillion and turmeric. These images, no 



