as that at Bagha, but smaller and built of solid stone instead of bricks. It has 6 domes and there are 2 pillars only along the centre of the interior. The arches are of the same shape as those in the Bagha mosque; there are nine arches lengthways and 8 arches transverse, including those cut into the side walls. At each end of the building there are 2 recess windows. On the east side are 3 doors. On the west side are 2 decorated recesses for the leaders of devotion, adorned with dark green stone into which ornamental devices, very elegant and chaste, have been carved. The mosque was roughly measured as 40 haths long by 30 haths broad, and the walls of stone are 4 haths in depth. On the outside of massive stone there is very little ornamentation. Over the middle doorway is an inscription of which I annex a copy to the following effect: "May God pour forth blessings on the Prophet who said, "The man that maketh a place for the worship of God on earth shall in turn be made happy by God in the day of judgment." The founder of this mosque was a powerful and benevolent Emperor, one who was victorious in worldly and religious affairs, namely Abool Muzaffar Bahadur [Abu-l-Muzaffar Bahadur], son of Sultan Mahamed Gazee [Sultan Muhammad Ghāzi]. May God keep him and his country and empire in safety. He was a mighty Emperor full of glory and had a large army. Constructed by Suleyman Ram in the year 903 of the Hegiral." "In the interior on the west side but to the north of the recesses are first a stone pulpit with stairs and next reaching to the north-west corner a stone Dargah with stairs. "Rough sketches of these and of one of the pillars are attempted below. "The pillars are massive as shown on the margin. The roof is overgrown with heavy jungle which threatens in time to bring down the whole building. This would be a great pity as the building is the finest and oldest of its kind in the district. Close to the mosque is an immense tank of fine clear water: it looks quite like a lake and is said to extend over an area of 70 bighas. If proper care were taken of this property it would be a most interesting and picturesque neighbourhood, but it has fallen into the the hands of a Hindu Mooktear [Mukhtar], who does not appear to find it worth his while to keep it in good order. "The following is the popular tale about this mosque : " A zemindar, by name Chilman Mazumdar, who lived in Kalisaffa, fell into arrears of rent, and for his debts was imprisoned at Moorshidabad by the Nawab. In the month of Aswin one night of the Durga Poojah he sang some pathetic songs so beautifully as to enchant one of the Nawab's Begums who was listening to his singing. She spoke about him next day to the Nawab, and he gave orders to the jailor to produce forthwith the man who had been singing in the Jail during the previous night. The jailor accordingly produced Chilman Mazumdar, who was informed that he was then and there to marry the Begum whom he had enchanted and also to turn Mahomedan. He declined at first and expostulated strongly, on which the Nawab sentenced him to death as the alternative. The Mazumdar, to save his life, consented and turned Musalman, took the name of Soleem Khan and was married to the Begum. Then the Begum urged to the Nawab that this husband of her had not the means to support her, on which the Nawab gave them in a sanad a lakhraj grant of Perganah Kaligaon, and authorized them to take from his Treasury as much wealth as they could load themselves with, in one prohar's time. So the Begum and her Khan went into the Treasury and carried off as much wealth as they could manage to stow away about their persons within the time allowed. They went to Kushamba near the Khan's old home and built themselves a fine house, which is now in utter ruins and quite inaccessible on account of the thick jungle. Then they erected first a smaller mosque which is also now inaccessible, and then the larger masjid under notice. Two tanks were excavated, and the Khan dedicated one to his Gooroo Thakur according to the Hindu Shastras, and the other is known by the name of the Shonadighee, after his wife the Begum, who was named Shona Beebee. Sona Bibee soon bore him a son, and the family occupied their property happily for many years. But in the time of Soleem's great-grandson, Rajah Baidyanath of Dinajpur made an inroad, looted the property, and took possession of Perganah Kaligaon. Subsequently the Perganah came into the hands of the British Government and was disposed of to several zemindars. Gaur, but the carvings of the latter exhibit greater skill and elegance. The ques: tion of compelling the Rais of Bagha to do the repairs at his own cost is at present under consideration. -T. BLOCH. 1 See below for a correct transcript and translation of this inscription. "The water of the large Dighee is said to be very clear. No jungle grows in it and from this fact, and also from the comparatively high temperature of its water during the cold season, it is generally alleged that there are metals lying in it." NOTES. To the north of Rampur-Boalia, the present headquarters of Rājshāhi, and west of the Naugaon Sub-Division, on the west bank of the Atrai river, is situated-Manda, a considerable village and the headquarters of the thana of that name. About four miles south of it 3 is Kūsambā or Kūsambi, where the mosque which is not, however, the oldest mosque of the District, is situated. It is to be regretted that these interesting archæological remains are at present in a very bad state of preservation. Only three out of six domes now remain, which are broken, and the débris from them cover the inner floor of the mosque. Fortunately the walls are still standing, but some of their stones have fallen or been removed by unscrupulous villagers. It appears that the base of the building was erected on a platform, supported by arches with passages underneath. Although jungle has grown, and the passages have thereby been blocked up, the entrance to the passages can still be seen. Though dilapidated, the mosque was entire till the terrible earthquake of 1897, when the top portions of the domes fell, killing two persons who had gone into the interior of the building, while the ta'ziya procession had assembled in the neighbourhood of the masjid. The mimbar can be reached by stone steps, though it is not very safe, at their present state, to do so. The large area towards the back of the Masjid is covered with thick vegetation. It contains moats, smaller tanks, and the remains of two or three brick-built buildings for the use of Muhammadan nobles and officials. The tale as to the origin of the Masjid, as heard by Mr. Carstairs, and still repeated by the villagers, I am loath to believe in its entirety. Gaur can easily be substituted for Murshidabad, as the latter city was not then founded. Revenue Collectors were often incarcerated till they had paid their dues or satisfied the authorities in other ways. There is nothing strange in this. Sonā Bibi, if that was her name, could not be the Begum: most probably she was one of her maid-servants. The fable may be thus modified: -The zamindar used to play on a flute. Being pleased with the music, Sonā Bibi begged the king to liberate him and allow her to be united with him in holy matrimony. As Sonā Bibi was a Musalman woman, and the zamindar a Hindu, the king could not allow such an interdicted alliance. The zamindar having adopted the safe course, the king allowed the couple to depart as husband and wife, having given them money enough from the Royal Treasury for their immediate needs, and a Jāgīr of Mauza Kusambi with 327 other villages in its neighbourhood for their future wants. It is impossible to suppose that the prisoner would have fared better if he was foolish enough to please one of the Royal ladies. No sovereign would put away a wife, because his wife desired it. 1 I hear that there are other ruins of ancient tanks, tombs and temples as well as the traces of a city some six or seven miles from Bagmārā thana in Rājshāhī Two of the mosques are at Madariganj, and one at Namaz-gāon. The locality is called Mirkāl. From the inscription copied below, it will be observed that the Kusamba Mosque was built by Sulaiman in the reign of Sultan Ghiyasuddin Abu-l-Muzaffar Bahadur Shah, the son of Muhammad Shāh Ghāzi of the family of Sür Afghans, in the Hijri year 966 A.H., corresponding to 1558-9 A.D., some thirty-five years after the Bagha Mosque. Sultan Ghiyasuddin Bahadur Shah reigned from Α.Η. 962 to 938 only. It appears that Sulaiman obtained his buildingmaterials from ruined and unused Hindu temples, but showed great toleration in preserving those that were in good order or till then used. Babu Jageswar Biswas, late Deputy Magistrate of Rājshāhi, who visited the Masjid on the 11th December 1901, saw that the stone containing the inscription about the foundation of the mosque had fallen down at the earthquake or later on, and that it was kept inclined against the wall of the middle-arched door of the mosque. In September, 1902, I learnt that it was removed by one Khudi Munshi of the village to his own house, and there it now rests. I take this opportunity of suggesting that when steps are being taken to preserve the ruins of Gaur and Panduah, it is worth while to repair this ancient and stone-built Masjid of the District, and preserve it from further dilapidation. The following is the text of the inscription engraved in bold Tughrā character. It is in two lines, each line measuring 2 ft. 7 in. by 8 in. (1) قال النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم من بني الله مسجدا يبتغي به وجه الله بني الله له في الجنة مثله في عهد السلطان المعظم المكرم غياث (2) الدنيا والدين ابو المظفر بهادر شاه السلطان ابن محمد شاه غازي خلد الله ملكه وسلطانه واعلى امره و شانه و عز جنده و بوه نه بنا کرده سليمان دام عدله في سنة ست ستين تسعماية Translation : The Prophet, may 'God's blessings and favour be on him, has said, "He who maketh a mosque for God, desiring thereby God's honour, will have one like it built for him by God in paradise." In the time of the exalted and benevolent Sultan, Ghiyāsu-d Dunyā-wad-Din Abu-lMuzaffar Bahadur Shah, the Sultan, son of Muhammad Shah Ghāzi, (may God perpetuate his kingdom and his sovereignty, and exalt his command and dignity, and may his army and example be honoured!) constructed by Sulaiman, (may his justice be lasting!) in the year 966 A list of Tibetan books brought from Lhasa by the Japanese monk, Mr. Ekai Kawa Gochi.-By E. H. C. WALSH, I.C.S. The books which are contained in the following list are a collection which was brought from Lhasa by a Japanese monk, Mr. Ekai Kawa Gochi, who kindly placed them at my disposal when in Darjeeling on his way back from Lhasa in the summer of 1902. Mr. Ekai Kawa Gochi who is a doctor of the Tokio University visited Tibet with the purpose of studying Tibetan Buddhism at Lhasa and also of making a collection of such valuable books from the point of view of Buddhist religion and Doctrine, as he could obtain, to take back to Japan for his University, and the result of a year's, work in this respect, during the time that he remained as a monk in the great monastery of Sera, and practiced as a doctor of medicine in Lhasa itself is contained in the present list. Before referring more fully to the ist I will therefore give a short description of Mr. Ekai Kawa Gochi himself. Mr. Ekai Kawa Gochi, who is a Japanese and a Buddhist by religion, is 34 years of age. He came to India in 1898, with letters of recommendation from Mr. Bonio Nanju, Professor of Sanskrit in the Tokio University, to Rai Sarat Chandra Das, Bahadur. He remained for two years in Darjeeling where he lived with Rai Sarat Chandra Das, Bahadur, and under his supervision studied Tibetan, from Lama Shab Dung. When he had acquired a sufficient knowledge of Tibetan he started in February, 1900, for Tibet. Having first visited Gaya he went on to Nepal and after staying there a month with a Lama at the Temple of Muktanath at Kathmandu he went on to Tsha rong, on the frontier of Tibet, where he remained for a year studying Tibetan with a Geshe (Professor) of the Sera Monastery who lived there. He then started on his journeys in Tibet. He first visited Lake Mansarowar and Mount Kailash where he spent three months at the Monastery of "Pretapuri." From here he went to Harjye, a journey which took him three months and lay through desert, of sandy and grass land, where he used to obtain accommodation in the Tents of the Nomads, who graze large herds of yaks. From Harjye |