OR CUTTACK. 167 



neral of Akber, marched with an army into the country in 1580, A. D. he 

 was struck with amazement at the sight of its sacred river the Mahanadi, 

 its vast crowds of Brahmins, its lofty temples of stone, and all the won- 

 ders of the ancient capital Bhuvaneswar, and exclaimed, " This country is 

 not a fit subject for conquest, and schemes of human ambition. It belongs 

 wholly to the Gods, and is one entire Tirt'h." He accordingly interfered 

 little in its affairs and soon returned to Hindustan, leaving a large share of 

 authority in the hands of its Native Princes. 



The Hindus of modern times however, freely admit, that the estimation 

 in which Orissa is or was held, is to be ascribed entirely to its temples, places 

 of pilgrimage, and its Brahmanical institutions. At all events, the European 

 observer will soon discover, that notwithstanding its Puranic celebrity, the 

 soil of the country is generally poor and unfruitful, all its natural produc- 

 tions of an inferior quality, and that its inhabitants rank the lowest, in 

 the scale of moral and intellectual excellence, of any people on this side of 

 India. 



The modern Orissa or Cuttack, comprises, as is well know r n, an exten- 

 sive, little explored region, on the west, consisting chiefly of hills and fo- 

 rests, intersected by many fertile plains and vallies ; and a plain level 

 country, extending from the foot of that barrier to the sea, evidently of al- 

 luvial formation, the uniform surface of which is not disturbed by a single 

 rocky elevation throughout its whole extent — nor does a single stone occur 

 between the beds of iron clay lying on the western frontier, and the ocean, 

 if we except the curious spheroidal concretions of calcareous matter or 

 limestone nodules which are found very generally dispersed. The province 

 may be considered as divided both naturally and politically into three re- 

 gions, distinguished from each other by their climate, general aspect, pro- 

 ductions and the institutions prevailing on them, viz. 1st. The marshy 

 wooodland tract which extends along the sea shore, from the neighbour- 

 hood of the black Pagoda to the Subanrekha varying in breadth from five 

 miles to twenty : 2ndly. The plain and open country between this and the 



