________________
जैनत्व जागरण.......
२३४
on the same bank of the river, another Dalmi and other adjoining places on the west Bank, all contain traces of early Jain and Brahmanical civilisation, and Dalmi would certainly appear to have been a very considerable town. Further west, the route would pass Ranchi and Palamau where also there are remains. Gross roads connecting the main Benares and Gaya routes explain the large collection of remains in the neighbourhood of Pakbira and Buddhpur; from this point to Palganj the route is marked by ruins at Balarampur and Charra near Purulia, at Para, at Chechaongarh and various neighburing villages on the Damodar, and at Katras. Another route which Mr. Beglar has omitted, i.e. from Dalmi to Palganj, would after crossing the Ajodhya range pass Boram on the Kasai river where also there are extensive remains of about the same period as those at Dalmi. An intervening place on this routhe, Arsha Karandihi, also contains ruins which have not been examined. This route would, like the other, cross te Damodar near Chechangrh and find its way via Katras to Palganj. सराकों का वैशिष्ट्य
::
सराकों की विशिष्टताएँ उल्लेखनीय हैं । मध्यकाल में वीर शैवों के उपद्रवों के फलस्वरूप अधिकांश लोगों को अत्याचारों से बचने के लिये अपने धर्म को परिवर्तित करना पड़ा। इसके बावजूद इन्होंने आज भी अपनी प्राचीन परम्पराओं को बचाकर रखा है । इनकी कुछ प्रमुख विशिष्टताएं हैं जो हमें आज भी आकर्षित करती है
१.
२.
३.
यहाँ के सराकगण पूर्णतः निरामिष भोजी हैं । सराक स्त्रियाँ भोजन बनाते समय काटा शब्द तक का भी व्यवहार नहीं करतीं ।
सराक समाज का कोई भी मनुष्य भिक्षा वृत्ति को नहीं अपनाता । स्वयं को नीच या मर्यादा रहित पेशे में नियुक्त नहीं करते ।
