1899.] 
NORTHERN DISTRICTS OF MADAVARAJYA. 
173 
Vijayesvara. 
Whatever the origin of the legend here told may have been, it is 
clear that popular tradition in Kalhana’s time looked upon the barren 
ground which stretches along the river between Tsak a dar and the 
present Vij^bror as the site of an ancient city. The ruins which in the 
12th century were pointed out as the remains of the burned Narapura, 
may have supplied the immediate starting point of the legend. 
What these remains were we cannot say. As the ground referred 
to is subject to annual inundation it is possible that the remains meant 
have since disappeared under alluvial deposits. The habitation of the 
‘ Susram ’ Naga was still shown to me in a hollow, generally dry, close 
to the south-east foot of the Udar. The name of Narapura and its king 
are no longer remembered. But the main features of the legend as 
heard by Kalhana, still live in the local tradition. 
109. The ancient town which once stood in the position indicated, 
was evidently succeeded by Vijayesvara, the 
present Vij^bror. The latter place, situated 
less than two miles above Cakradhara, received its name from the 
ancient shrine of S'iva Vijayesvara (Vijayesa, Vijayesana). 1 This 
deity is worshipped to the present day at Vij^bror. The site has evi¬ 
dently from early times been one of the most famous Tirthas of Kasmir. 
It is mentioned as such in the Rajatarangini and many old Kasmirian 
texts. 2 The tradition regarding Asoka’s connection with it supplies 
historical proof for its antiquity. According to Kalhana’s account 
which may well have been based on genuine local tradition or even 
inscriptional evidence, Asoka had replaced the old stuccoed enclosure 
of the temple by one of stone. The great king was also credited with 
having erected within this enclosure two temples called Asokesvara. 
This old temple which is often mentioned by Kalhana and was the 
scene of many a historical incident, has now completely disappeared. 
According to the tradition of the local Purohitas it stood at a site close 
the river-bank and nearly opposite to the bridge over the Vitasta. 
When I first visited Vij^bror in 1889 I still found some ancient slabs 
and fragments at this spot. It was then some 15 feet below the level of 
the surrounding ground, 3 and has since been partly built over. Stone 
materials are said to have been removed from here for the new temple 
1 Compare for detailed references, Bujat. i. 38, 105 notes. 
2 The legend of the Tirtha is given at length in the x. Prakasa of the Haracari* 
tacintdmani. 
3 General Cunningham who saw these remains in 1847, rightly attributes them 
to the temple of Vijayesa, but calls the place ‘ Vijayapara.’ He justly points to the 
difference of level as an indication of the antiquity of the structure; see Anc. 
Geogr. } p. 98. 
