FEBRUARY 1766. 
69 
the former one, this being near 2 miles broad, the River Talmang running thro’ the 
middle of it. 1 
Dubonee 2 a large Village & Bazar is 3 miles from this Intrenchment having the 
Chowery a Rivulet running by the West side of it. The Limit of Bodaw is within a 
mile & half SW from Dubonee so that only a narrow slip of Bateese-Hazary runs 
into the Bodaw Province from hence to Nabobgunge. From Dubonee proceeded to 39 
the NWBN for Gaatra-Haat, leaving the limits of Bodaw about a mile & half or two 
miles on our left. Gaatra-Haat is 9 miles from Dubonee, & between those places are 
3 small Rivers ; namely the Corto, Saon, and Doank, neither of them is more than 90 
yards broad or more than 2 foot deep at this Time. The Countrey here is mostly 
uncultivated Plains, & thinly inhabited. 
Sanashygotta 3 * * is \\ miles NWBN from Gaatra-Haat. This Place is remarkable 
by having a Fort in it belonging to the Rungpour Phousdar/ who collects a Tribute 
in Bateese-Hazary. The Sanashy Facquirs 6 had once a Mud Fort in this Place & the 
remains of it are now to be seen. The Phousdar’s Fort is very small, & capable of 
mounting only six or eight guns. 
The Mahanada* another Boutan River runs by Sanashygotta, seperating Bateese- 
Hazary from Boutan in this Place. 
The Latitude of Sanashygotta is 26°-33' N. The Countrey round it is tolerably 40 
well cultivated. The Bateese-Hazary Province ' extends about 7 or 8 miles farther to 
1 These are the ruins of Bhitargarh, believed to be the city of Prithvu Raja, one of the kings of the earliest Kamrup 
dynasty. A full account of the ruins is given in Hunter’s Statistical Account of Bengal, Vol. X, p. 265, quoted from 
Dr. Buchanan Hamilton’s MS. account of Rangpur, written in 1809 The city consists of four concentric enclosures, 
each surrounded by a rampart and ditch. The innermost is said to have been the abode of the Raja, and contains a 
deep tank, which is still held sacred by the natives. It is said that the Raja, being attacked by an impure tribe of 
Kichaks or gypsies, and afraid of having his purity sullied by contact with them, threw himself into this tank and was 
drowned with his guards, who followed him. The outer rampart is said to be six miles in length from north to south. 
There are no remains of any considerable buildings. Buchanan Hamilton gives a plan of the place in Martin’s History, 
Vol. Ill, p. 443 (also see List of Ancient Mon. Beng., p. 176). 
2 Dhubni. Buchanan Hamilton mention', a tank here where Prithvu Raja’s washerman is said to have dwelt, and 
a square mound, containing some bricks, is pointed out as the foundation of his house {op. cit., p. 446), 
3 Sanyasikata, a thana or police circle in Jalpaiguri district. The place derives its name from a Hindu temple, 
concerning which tradition has it that “ when the first of the Raikats or Rajas of Baikuntpur, Sira Kumar, was building 
a fort, the workmen in digging the foundations came upon a religious ascetic (Sanyasi) who was passing his time under- 
ground in devout retirement. This person was wounded by the diggers before they were aware of his presence ; but he 
made no complaint, and only requested to be covered up again This was accordingly done and a monastery (akhra 
for persons of his order was built on the spot.” The ascetic is now worshipped as a god, and the village has become a 
place of pilgrimage (Hunter, Stat. Acc. Beng., Vol. X, p. 265). 
* Phousdar=Faujdar, commander of a military force, or the military governor of a province. 
6 Sanashy =Sanyasi, a Hindu religious mendicant, Pakir has the same meaning. The name was applied in Bengal 
to a body of banditti claiming to belong to a religious fraternity, who had their headquarters in the forest tracts at the 
foot of the Himalaya ; Buchanan Hamilton says at Nidautora, in the dominions of ‘ Gorkha ’ or Nepal (Martin. History. 
Vol. Ill, p. 517). Not long before this (1760) they had penetrated to and plundered the city of Dacca. -In 
account of a skirmish with these bandits, in which Rennell was wounded and nearly killed, will be found below. 
a The Mahananda, one of the principal rivers of Bhutan. It traverses the Darjiling, Jalpaiguri, Purniah aud 
Maldah Districts and joins the Ganges near Godagiri. 
I Bateese-Hazary. Hind. Battis- or Battris-hazari, signifying thirty-two thousand. The name of the province 
is of high antiquity, having been given to it in the time of Biswa Singh, the founder of the Kuch Beliar family. This 
portion of the country was bestowed upon the descendants of his cousin Sib Sinb , and as it produced an annual revenue 
of Rs. 32,000 it was called Battris-hazari (Hunter, Stat. Acc. Bengal, Vol. X, p. 404). The royal family formerly lived 
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