distance of 1 mile from the Pippal cave, as the whole of this south face of the hill was within the limits of the old city.
The Barmese account implies that the cave selected was in the bamboo forest; Hwen Thsang’s account does the same. The cave I have suggested is in the bamboo forest, but no cave in any part of the south face of the hill could be considered as being within the Venouvana or bamboo forest.
I here close the discussion.
There are numerous small natural caves on the north slope of Baibhárgiri. I examined two which, from their regularity, appeared at a distance to have been improved by art, but I found them natural caves with nothing of interest about them.
I should not pass Râjgir without some notice of what Mr. Broadley calls the "older type" of Buddhist temple. Comparing his own accounts of it, pages 222 and 241, J.A.S. for 1872, with his own plan of it, nothing can be clearer than that this "older type" of Buddhist temple is a clumsy modern restoration of an ancient temple. No sane architect or workman, I venture to assert, would go and chisel smooth four sides of a pillar three of which were to be "embedded" in brick-work; for, apart from the waste of labour, the smoothing of imbedded faces is the very reverse of what should be done to secure the adherence of the pilasters to the brickwork. Further comment is needless.
Leaving Râjgir by the road which, skirting the northern slope of the range of hills, goes to Giriyak, there is seen on the right, between the road and the foot of the hills, a large lake or marsh. The road in fact runs on the crest of the embankment of this sheet of water, and its artificial origin is abundantly attested by the numerous large stones with which it is lined, and of which it is built; this long embankment is named the Asraenbandh or Asurenbandh, and although the purpose of the embankment is obviously to obtain a store of water for irrigation, tradition connects it with a curious legend which I relate.
When Jarâsandha was king, he built the tower on the Giriyak hill as his bythak; here he would sit and lave his feet in the waters of the Panchana below. Close to his bythak was Bhagavân’s garden, which in a year of unusual drought was nearly destroyed. Bhagavân accordingly, after fruitless efforts to keep it flourishing, caused it to be proclaimed that he would grant his daughter and half his Raj to him who should succeed in saving his garden from the effects of the
