251 
1872.] A. M. firoadley — The Buddhistic Remains of Bihar. 
entirely of Buddhist materials is falling to decay on the eastern outskirts of 
the village, and the ruined verandahs, courtyards, and tombs, which meet 
the eye in all directions, serve only to testify to the fact, that oven dur- 
ing the later days of Musalman rule, Tillarah had not altogether lost its 
pristine importance. Hwen Thsang tells us a good deal about the splendour 
of the Tillarah monastery, when ho visited it in February, 637 A.I). # He 
writes : — “ The convent of Tillarah has four courtyards, and is ornamented 
with verandahs, three-storied pavillions, lofty towers, and a series of gates. 
It was built by the last scion of the house of Bimbis&ra, who was a man of 
more than ordinary attainments, and who assembled around him men of 
talent and worth for every quarter. Men of letters from distant countries 
flocked there in crowds. There are a thousand recluses here who study the 
doctrine of the Greater Vessel. In the road which leads to the eastern gate, 
there are three viharas, each of them surmounted by a cupola hung with 
bells. These buildings are several stories high, and are surmounted by ba- 
lustrades. The doors, windows, rafters, columns, etc., are covered with bas- 
reliefs in gilded copper, decorated with still choicer ornaments. A casket of 
relics is deposited in each vihara. From time to time a supernatural light 
proceeds from these, and wonders and marvels occur there.” The site of 
this once magnificent pile of buildings is now marked by an enormous 
mound of irregular shape, near the banks of the Sonanadi, about fifty feet 
high, and covered, I regret to say, with Muhammadan tombs. Nearly every 
grave that has been dug there, has yielded some specimen of Buddhistic art, 
and idols of brass and basalt are constantly found there. I have secured some 
very beautiful specimens of the latter, but the former are sold as soon as 
discovered and quickly converted into the heavy ‘ batisi’ and ‘ kara’ which 
decorate (?) the wrists and ancles of the women of the lower castes of the Hin- 
dus. Few places in India, I feel sure, would yield more archaeological treasure 
than this great Tillarah mound, and a shaft might be very well cut through 
it, without interfering with or in any way injuring the tombs on its surface. 
At the eastern side of the village is a large masjid raised by a platform 
a few feet above the surrounding plains. This platform is composed almost 
entirely of pillars, portions of cornice, etc., which once belonged to some great 
Buddhist temple. The building is surrounded by a brick wall, and the en- 
closure is entered by a porch facing the east, both doors of which are purely 
Buddhistic. One bears an inscription of two lines, but is so much defaced as 
to be quite illegible. The word ‘ Sam vat,’ however, is decipherable. The 
masjid itself consists of one oblong chamber forty-one feet by twenty-two 
broad, the roof of which, is supported by three rows of pillars numbering 
fourteen in the centre of the building, while several others are almost com- 
* MemoiroB, Vol. II., p. 439. 
