1899.] 
THE ENVIRONS OF S'RINAGARA. 
157 
The embankments on the left side of the river as well as the 
walls of Ziarats show ample remains of ancient buildings. But we have 
no means of identifying any particular sites. At the western ex¬ 
tremity of this part of the city, however, we may locate with some 
probability the temple of Ksemagaurisvara, built by Queen Didda’s weak 
husband Ksemagupta. Bilhana in his description of S'rinagar mentions 
it as an imposing building, the 1 2 * 4 Mandapas * of which extended to a 
4 Samgama ’ of the Vitasta. 1 I have shown elsewhere that the confluence 
meant is probably that of the Vitasta with the Dugdhasindhu or 
Chatg^kul which lies opposite to the quarter of Diddamatha. 2 
Section V. The Environs of S'RINAGARA. 
101 . Having completed our survey of old S'rinagara we may now 
proceed to examine the ancient sites of its environs. They are almost 
all situated to the north of the Yitasta within the Pargana now known 
as Phakh , and designated as Phakhuvd in S'rlvara’s Chronicle. 8 It 
comprises the tract lying between the east shore of the Anchor, the 
range towards the Sind Valley and the hills which enclose the Dal on 
the east and south. Owing to the facility of communication across the 
lake and the manifold attractions of its shores, Phakh seems to have 
always been a favourite resort for the inhabitants of the capital. This 
fact is fully illustrated by the numerous places of ancient date which 
we find dotted around the lake. 
Starting from its southernmost corner in the immediate vicinity 
, of the city we come first to the hill popularly 
(Gopadri ) known as lakht-i-feulaiman. Its bold pyrami¬ 
dal form and the old temple which crowns its 
summit, make this hill a most conspicuous object in the land-scape of 
S'rinagar. The present name of the hill, meaning 4 Solomon’s throne,’ 
is undoubtedly of Muhammadan origin. Its alleged derivation from 
Samdhimat, the saintly hero of a well-known legend recorded in the 
Rajatarangini, is nothing but an invention of the Bachbattas of S'ri¬ 
nagar. 4 
1 Vikram. xviii. 23. 
2 Compare Rdjat. vi. 172-173 note. 
8 S'riv. iv. 306. The Lokaprakasa writes Phagvd while the modern Mahatmyas 
of Isalaya or I4^bar and Suresvarl affect the form Phdlaka. 
* The name Takht-i-Sulaiman is common enough in the local nomenclature of 
Muhammadan countries; compare, e.g ., the peak of this name in the Sulaiman 
