1877.] Chandrasekhara Banurji —The Kaimur Range. 27 
principal gali is much grander than any of the approaches to Rohtas, 
and when seen from the north side has an appearance resembling, as 
observed by an European traveller, “ the Castle of Durham.” 
Antiquities. The peak of Mungesvara, which rises to the height of 
1,936 feet, has no fortress on it, but for years it was held by two Chian 
robbers, named Nora and Kora, who infested the Son valley, and, armed 
with bows and arrows, committed many daring robberies and murders. 
Their arrest could not be effected, as after each of their crimes, they 
ascended the stiff cliffs of Mungesvara, and were harboured by the rude 
villagers on the summits. “ They were afterwards captured by the villagers, 
and were brought in tied on string beds*.” 
The northern slope of the range has been the seat of many Rajput 
chiefs, who, avoiding the open country in front, made the mountain range 
the back-ground of their kots or castles. The ramification of these Rajput 
chiefs extends from Chyapur to Sawar, and the fortresses they raised, with 
the high ridge and forest on one side and deep trenches on the other, plainly 
show that they came and held the country by military force. As the foremost 
spot to be taken in the line of march from the North-West, Chyapur appears 
to have been the field where each successive conqueror had to unsheath his 
sword. In the race of ascendancy it was here that the Rajput and the Pa- 
than appear to have first met in battle, and the remains of a fort 
and very large tanks and scattered tombs and shooting minars of the 
Afghan period, clearly point out that the importance of the place did not 
lie in tradition alone. At present, however, Chyapur is a decayed and de¬ 
caying place, and the splendid dome and minarsf which “ obtrude to the 
sky”, and which in magnificence can be compared to the tomb of Sher 
Shah alone, threaten to tumble down at no distant time. There is one 
religious institution, however, which has survived the storms of ages, and 
which continues to keep up a permanent interest in Chyapur. It is the 
shrine of Harsha Brahma. If Harsha Brahma had a tongue to speak, we 
could hear from him the story of centuries. But his votaries, who have 
sanctified him from a Brahman to a god, assign a comparatively recent 
date, Sambat 1485, for his deification. He occupies a fane within the pre¬ 
cincts of a very ancient fort whose walls have crumbled down, whose tren¬ 
ches have filled up, and whose ample gateway is the only high edifice of stone 
and brick which is still standing. But the massive stone walls of this gate 
are surmounted by an arch of small bricks, whose foils continued through 
its ceilings, and raise a suspicion that the fort must have been once taken and 
* Dr. Oldham. 
f This is the octagonal tomb of Ikhtiyar Khan, son-in-law of the emperor Sher 
Shah, situated on the banks of a small stream and overshadowed by a huge ridge of 
the hill. 
