ib99.] 
NORTHERN DISTRICTS OF MADAVARAJYA. 
165 
Kalhana. King Jalauka had built at S'rinagari his shrine of Jyestha- 
rudra whose original place of worship was at Bhutesvara, below 
Mount Haramukuta, He then wished to have by the side of the new 
shrine also the Sodara spring which adjoins the site of Bhutesvara. 1 
To fulfil the king’s pious desire “ there broke forth from a waterless 
spot a spring which was alike to Sodara in colour, taste and other 
respects.” A golden cup thrown into the original Sodara spring appear¬ 
ed after two and half days in its Avatara near STinagaii. This miracle 
removed all doubts as to their identity. 
Close to the mosque of Sudar a bal and by the lake shore are two 
pools fed by perennial springs. These according to a local tradition 
were in old times visited by numerous pilgrims. Now all recollection 
of this Tirtha has been lost among the Brahmans of STinagar. But the 
name of a portion of the village area, Battvpor, points to a former 
settlement of Battas or Purohitas. It is curious, too, that we find only 
half a mile from the village the Ziarat of Hazrat Bal, perhaps the most 
popular of all Muhammadan shrines in the Valley. It is supposed to 
be built over the remains of the miracle-working Pir Dastagir Sahib. 
Is it possible that the presence of this rather ubiquitous saint at this 
particular spot had something to do with the earlier Hindu Tirtha P 
Section VI.— Northern Districts of Madavarajya. 
105. Our circuit through the Phakh Pargana has brought us back 
to the purlieus of the capital. We must leave them now once more 
and start on our tour through the outlying districts. We may direct 
it first to the upper half of the Valley, the ancient Madavarajya. 
This again is divided by the Vitasta into two portions, one to the north 
and east, the other to the south and west of the river. We shall begin 
with the Parganas on the right bank, starting from S'rinagar. 
The Pargana which adjoins $Tinagar from the south-east, is now 
District of Khaduvl known as Vihi. It extends from near Parana- 
dhisthana to the spur of Vast a rvau, near 
Vant i p5r (Avantipura), aud comprises a wide semi-circular tract of 
fertile Karewa lands. In ancient times the district took its name from 
the village of Khaduvi, the present Khruv . 2 The Damaras of the 
Khaduvl district are repeatedly mentioned by Kalhana along with those 
of Holada, the modern Vular Pargana. 
1 For Sodara , the present Naran Nag, see notes i. 123; v. 55-59. 
2 Compare Raj at. viii. 733 note. 
