26 A visit to Kharakpur , in the District of Munger (Monyhyr). [No. 1, 
was built; for it was here that the Rani of the fugitive Raja 
sacrified herself on hearing that her husband had been taken a 
prisoner to Delhi, and there put to death. This last item of news 
appears to have been false; for as I have already observed, the 
Raja after all was not put to death as he had expected, but was 
converted to Islam and made to marry the emperor’s daughter. 
The five daughters who had taken refuge in the hill above, were 
pursued by the cruel enemies for the sake of their beauty ; but, like 
the Rajput maidens of old, preferring their honor to their lives, 
they leaped from the precipice into the frightful gorge of the 
hill below, and there met a watery grave. It is this circumstance 
which has given name to the hill,—‘ Panchkumari,’ or the ‘five 
virgins.’ 
The hill, which is the source of the Man, is famous for a waterfall 
during the rains. In the cold season, the water only trickles down 
its side from a height of about twenty feet from the ground, but 
the prospect is a very beautiful one. Having, however, all along 
expected a grand waterfall from a great height, we were na¬ 
turally disappointed. But our guide told us that the great water¬ 
fall which has made the place famous, existed over the top of 
the hill, where we might also see the tremendous gorge in which 
the five virgins sacrificed their lives. We accordingly ascended 
the hill, though by one of the steepest and most difficult pas¬ 
sages, instead of taking the easy, but circuitous, route. As we 
reached the top, exhausted and panting for breath, our guide 
pointed out to us a miniature intrenchment of stone, said to have 
been thrown up by the Raja before taking refuge in Musakhol, 
when, driven from his guddee, he made preparations for defend¬ 
ing himself and his family at this last stronghold with his 
handful of troops. But to have a view of the Panchkumar as 
well as of the waterfall, we were required to follow the course of 
the stream as it leaped down from precipice to precipice till it was 
lost amidst the waters of the Man. To descend so great a declivity 
was no easy task. We were all obliged not only to doff our shoes, 
that we might not miss our footsteps, but also to crawl on all 
fours for more than half an hour. In this condition we trudged 
on our way to the base of the great waterfall overlooking a height 
