158 
Antiquities of Jajpdr in Oris a. [No. 2, 
Biraja, whose profits are derived from the contributions of 
pilgrims. These men have carefully kept records of the names of 
those who have visited the shrine, and from them trace out the 
names of the ancestors, of newcomers, and establish claims to 
officiate as their priests. 
Jajpdr has also a few families of the sect of ‘ Agni-Hotris,’ 
or fire-worsliipers, who keep the fire burning day and night in 
their houses, and in that respect resemble the Parsis of Western 
India, or the followers of Zoroaster of High Asia. These men are 
ranked as Brahmans of great purity, and afford an instance, though 
solitary, of the prevalence of fire-worship among the Hindus in 
that peculiar shape which is commonly believed to have originated 
among people living beyond the Indus. 
The remaining portion of the inhabitants are artizans and trad¬ 
ers who supply the common necessaries of life. There are only a 
few agriculturists. 
Jajpdr has nothing to boast of in natural or artificial products. 
An intelligent observer, who had occasion to visit the place some 
twelve years ago, had nothing to take note of but the lofty crests 
of its cocoanut groves, and the apathy of its inhabitants to educa¬ 
tion. 
The scenery of the place is by no means pleasant, the ground 
between the houses being covered with primitive jungle. The 
groves of tall cocoanuts and the forests of palm and date, which 
abound here, give it a picturesqueness which is not to be met 
with anywhere else in Orisa. The most striking objects from the 
opposite side of the river are the minarets of the mosque of Abu 
Napir Khan, and the cluster of steeples of the Jagannath and other 
temples which overlook the old ghat. The ground between these 
is occupied by the sub-divisional buildings, the Police and the 
School bungalows, and the Lock-up, which serve to break the 
monotony of the jungles and mud hovels. 
Jajpdr is the head quarters of a sub-division, a Mungifi, 
and a police station. There is also a post office, a small P.W. 
bungalow, and a charitable dispensary supported by the public. 
The aided school at Jajpur is the best middle class English 
school in Orisa. 
