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THE INDIAN ANTIQUARY.
(DECEMBER, 1891.
his house or his wife his own. The learned amongst them have allowed their legal and ceremonial observances to fall into diguse. The natives are generally feeble and short-lived.
“Varendra is a tract abounding in water, and very fertile, lying east of the Padmavati. The chief cities are, Pudila near the Nárada river; Natari, famous for dancers, mimes, and jugglers, the capital of a large district in the centre of Varendra, called Natara ;* Chapala, on the banks of the Varala river; Kakamari, a city full of the writer-caste; and Syamataka on the Chalana Bil. The people of Varendra are the ready servants of the Mlechhas, or foreign barbarians. They are worshippers of 'Siva, eat meat and drink wine. They are weak and contemptible. The country abounds with beggars, and the Brahmans follow heterodox and unrighteous doctrines.
“Nivrittis lies on the north of Varendra, and on the west of Banga, near the country of Viratha. ' It abounds in pasture grounds, and dogs, goats, buffaloes, and kine. Another name for it is Matsyaka, derived from its plentiful supply of fish; but this nante is specially applied to the parts which lie along the skirts of the track occupied by Pulindas (foresters and mountaineers). The chief towns are Varddhana-kuta, governed by a Yavana; Kachhapa on the banks of the Gura7 river; and Sriranga, or Viharika, where the women are remarkable for flat noses.
"The inhabitants of Nivritti are of short stature, very dirty and ignorant. Under the dominion of the Yavanas all distinction of caste was confounded, and the people are sank in meanness and immorality.
“Narikhanda is a district abounding in thickets. It lies west of the Bhagirathi; north of the Dwarikeswari river. It extends along the Panchakata hills on its west, and approaches Kikntalo on the north. The forests are very extensive, chiefly of sákhota, arjuna, and sál trees, with plentiful addition of brushwood. The district is celebrated for the shrine of Vaidyanath.11 The deity is worshipped by people from all quarters, and is the source of every good in the present age. In the division of Virabhômi, the no less eminent form of the same divinity, named Bakrebwara, 12 is present in the world. Three-fourths of the district are jungle, the remaining fourth is cultivated. The soil of a small part of it is very fertile ; but far the greater portion is saline and unproductive. There is no want of water, and numerous small streams run through the forest : the principal of these is the Ajaya.13 in many places there are iron mines. The people are in general small, black, and of immoral propensities and ignorant of religions duties, & few only are attached to the name of Vishna. They are dexterous bowmen and industrious cultivators.
“In that part of the district called Viradebs is the city of Nagara ;also Sipulya, and other towns. On the western borders are the villages Mayanpur, Chabagrams, and Suvernadi. On the southern confines towards the Odrs country, is Kindavishna. Suvarnamukhya is in the forest, and Panchala in the stony and gravelly tract. In the eastern parts are Mandaravani and Kasganj, and on the west of the jungle near Vaidyanath are Patrakola and Bharawani.
: Varendra or Barendra appears to include RAjashAhi and part of Maimansingh.
Now Nator. ." This seems to include Dinajpur, Rangpur, and Kuch Bihar; but we are not aware what country is intended by Viratha."
• "These seem intended for the Mech tribe, a race once occupying the tracts in Rangpur on the south of the Brahmaputra."
The Tista or Tri-arota, the river of three streams. # "Thin comprimes the north portion of Bishanpur, part of Birbham, and part of Bhagalpur and Manger." . "Corrupted into Dalkisore; Wilford says it is named from Darikesvara Mahadeva." ** Synonymous with Magadha.
11 At Devagadh. 19 Probably the same place as Bucolesore' in Hamilton's Gazetteer, called 'Bhdm BAkoswar' Imp. Gas. Vol. I. P. 449.-J. B.
18 « The Aji, called also Ajavatt and Ajamatt according to Wilford." 14 Nagar, the capital of Birbhum till the 13th century.
