156 ANCIENT GEOGRAPHY OF KAS'MIR. [Extra No. 2, 
quent references to the Ksiptika as flowing near to the royal palace 
(rajadhani) enable us to fix the position of the latter with fair accu¬ 
racy. In the note on the above passage I have shown that the Sada- 
siva temple stood opposite to the Samudramatha which occupies the 
right river bank just below the Second Bridge. Exactly in the posi¬ 
tion thus indicated we find now an ancient Linga, on the river Ghat of 
Purus a yar, which the tradition of the local Purohitas knows by the 
name of Sadasiva. 
It is in this neighbourhood, then, that the palace stood which had 
witnessed so many tragic scenes related in the last two Books of 
Kalhana’s Chronicle. Its great height is specially referred to by 
Bilhana. This suggests that it was in part at least built of wood, just 
like a later palace described by Mirza Haidar. 1 “Sultan Zainu-l-‘abidin 
built himself a palace in the town which in the dialect of Kashmir is 
called Rcijdan [i.e., Skr. rajadhani']. It has twelve stories, some of which 
contain fifty rooms, halls and corridors. The whole of this lofty struc¬ 
ture is built of wood.” This construction of the palace would well 
explain the rapidity with which it was burned down by the pretender 
Uccala on his final attack upon Harsa. 2 We can thus also understand 
why there are no particularly striking remains at the site which could 
be attributed to the ruins of this royal residence. 
The last-named incident gives Kalhana occasion to mention also 
some other data regarding the royal palace. Close to it was a garden 
in which Harsa and his ill-fated son Bhoja enjoyed a deceptive rest 
before the rebels’ last assault. 3 The gardens near the palace are also 
elsewhere mentioned. Harsa had their trees cut down because they 
obstructed the view, and at a later time the besieging Damaras fed their 
camp-fires with wood brought from the same gardens. 4 * Even at the 
present day there are numerous old gardens across the Ksiptika close 
to the site where the palace once stood. In front of the palace was the 
boat-bridge already mentioned which the king had himself constructed, 
and which was the scene of his last desperate struggle. 6 
Where the old palace stood which was abandoned by King Ananta, 
we cannot say with accuracy. It is, however, probable that its site was 
in the old part of Pravarapura on the right bank. Kalhana mentions it 
twice as purdnarajadhani (‘the old palace’), but gives no particulars. 6 
Its deserted ground was built over with a Matha in Kalhana’s own time. 
1 See Tdrikh-i-Rashidi, p. 429. 
2 See Rdjat. vii. 1565 sq., 1583. 
s Rdjat. vii. 1538 sqq. 
4 Rdjat. vii. 1223; viii. 1056. 
* See Rdjat. vii. 1539, 1549. 
& See Rdjat. viii. 837, 2417. 
