238 
A. M. Broadley — The Buddhistic Remains of Bihar. [No. 3, 
is very striking, for you see at once both entrances of the valley and all the 
five hills. A little to the west of this, at the foot of Sonargir, is a ridge of 
rock called the wrestling ground of Bhim, and various indentations in its 
surface are pointed out as the marks of the feet of the combatants. Be- 
neath this, to the west of the city walls, and between Mounts Baibhar and 
Sonar is Baubluim, the traditionary scene of the battle mentioned in the 
Mahfibharata. 
A rugged path leads from this place to the southern outlet of the valley 
at Banganga. Certain marks on the stones are considered by Captain Kit- 
toe to be inscriptions, but if this be the case, the letters are far too imperfect 
to admit of being deciphered. The valley terminates in a rocky ravine of 
the most inconsiderable width, having Son.-irgir to the west and Udayagir 
to the east. The Banganga torrent, which rises at the foot of the former, 
rushes over the slippery rocks into the southern plain of Hisua-Nowada. 
The pass is literally only a few feet wide, and its entrance was jealously 
guarded by fortifications of enormous strength, which will be fully described 
when I come to speak of the antiquities of the hills. 
The first mountain I ascended was Baibhar to the north-east of the 
northern entrance of the valley. At the foot of the hill runs the Sarasvati, 
from the banks of which a large stone staircase leads to the sacred wells and 
temples, which, though still venerated by the Hindus of Bihar, yield but a 
scanty subsistence to the numerous Brahmans who attend them. The wells 
are vaults of stone, about 10 feet square and 12 deep, approached by steps ; 
and the temples are quite modern, and of the poorest proportions and work- 
manship. Most of them contain fragments of Buddhist idols, mouldings, 
cornices, &c., and here and there I noticed a chatty a, now doing duty as a 
linga. All of these carvings, however, are very inferior to those found by 
me in the mounds of Bargaon, Bohoi, and Kalyanpur. The wells at the 
foot of Baibhar are seven in number, and arc all clustered round the great 
Brdhmakund, which is larger, deeper and more highly esteemed than the 
rest. Tho one nearest the ascent of the mountain is the Gangd-Jamuna- 
Jcund. The water is warm, and enters the vault by means of two stone 
shoots, the ends of which are carved to represent the heads of tigers or lions. 
They remind one strangely of the gargoyles of early English Architecture. 
These pipes were clearly mentioned by II wen Thsang in the narrative of his 
travels. He says “ a toutes les ouvertures par oil s’echappe l’eau des sour- 
ces, on a posd des pierres sculptces. Tantot on a figure des tetes de lions, 
etc.”* Below tills are the Anand Ri7chi,Mdrkanda, and Byds Tcund springs. 
Next to these comes the Hat, dwdra — a vault some 60 feet long by 10 feet 
wide, which receives seven distinct streams on the west side, from the moun- 
tain above. Several of these springs enter the reservoir through “ tuyaux 
* Memoires, Tom. II., p. 23. 
