Report of a Tour through the Bengal Provinces/Old Lines of Road
OLD LINES OF ROAD.
The old road from Gaya runs along the east bank of the Nairanjana river from Gaya northwards, passing close to Islâmpur and Telâda, through Hilsa. From Telâda, however, a road must once have gone direct to Patna, as Hwen Thsang travelled by it from Patna. Of this road, however, at present few traces exist; and it certainly is not now a great or even a much-frequented road, but it is still used by numerous pilgrims. From Gaya to Telâda, however, the old road is still not only extensively used, but is the best natural road that could have been laid out between the two places.
The present great road from Gaya to Bânkipur necessarily follows a different line; the shifting of the head-quarters of the district from Patna to Bânkipur made it a necessity to select a new line; but with Patna for the capital, the old great road, though not very pleasant for the portion between Patna and Telâda, was no worse than any other that could have been chosen, while beyond Telâda, following closely as it does the high banks of the Nairanjana or Phalgu river, is the line marked out by Nature herself.
The branch from Telâda, which went past Hilsa (written “Milse Buzurg” in the Indian Atlas sheet), is now the main route for travellers from Fatuha, and is also naturally a good fair-weather road. It is difficult to determine whether the cities of Fatuha and Hilsa were the cause of the existence of this road, or whether the road being in existence caused the rise of Fatuha and Hilsa. I am inclined rather to think that the natural difficulties of the road direct from Patna to Telâda, which in ancient times would have had to cross the Son, which then flowed between the two places, caused the existence, for commercial purposes, of the comparatively easy road from Telâda to Fatuha, just below the embouchure of the ancient Son. This road, therefore, apparently owes its existence to a physical necessity, and it accordingly appears more reasonable to attribute the rise of Hilsa and Fatuha, or at least of Hilsa, to the road. Hilsa is situated just at the point where the road from Telâda to the junction of the old Son and Ganges crosses the main arm of the Nairanjana river, and thus necessarily became a place of some importance, as testified by its traditions and the ancient remains existing there.
The importance of tracing the old great lines of roads may he illustrated in this district. Admitting the great antiquity of Patna, Gaya, Râjgir, Ara, Benares, Nongarh, Mongir, and admitting that roads connected these great cities, it will not be uninteresting to trace the consequences.
The road from Patna to Gaya would be crossed by the following roads.—
By the Benares-Râjgir road at Jâru, at the bank of the Lilâjan.
By the Ara-Râjgir road at Telàḑa.
The Benares-Râjgir road would cross the old Son at Son-Bhadr (vide supra). The Murhar at Bishânpur Ghenjan, the Nairanjana at the Nâgârjum hills, and at Jâru.
It would pass through or very close to Dharâwat, and Mirapur Nâdera.
The Ara-Râjgir road would cross the old Son near the village Bhagwânganj, where the Drona stûpa exists (vide supra), the Nairanjana at Telâḑa, and pass through or very close to Islâmpur.
The Patna-Râjgir road would cross the old Son somewhere near Fatehpur Kalân or Mahiuddinpur Khera; it would cross the Nairanjana and the Fatuha branch of the Gaya-Patna road at Hilsa, and pass through Nâlanda and Silao.
The Gaya-Benares road must have struck the Benares-Râjgir road at the Son, for from the life of Buddha we learn that to go from Buddha Gaya to Benares, he went through Gaya, and the name of the Son crossing, the "Son-Bhadr," shows that this was the usual crossing for pilgrims to Gaya; it therefore becomes a branch of the great Râjgir-Benares road, branching out from it at the old Son crossing, and it would pass through Konch, and cross the Murhar opposite Páli, to avoid crossing two branches of the river, which it would have to do if it crossed either above or below.
The Râjgir-Nongarh road would cross the Panchâna at Giryak, the Sakri near Afsar or Parvati hill, and would pass through or very close to Sikandra.
The Râjgir-Mongir road would cross the Panchana somewhere near Ghoserâwan, pass through Titrâwan, cross the Sakri near the Parvati hill, pass through or close to Shekpura, and cross the Kiyul river at Rajjhâna or Hasanpur.
The Gaya-Râjgir road, it is needless to mention, passes through a whole chain of old places.
Of the places mentioned above, all except Fatehpur Kalân, Mahiuddinpur Khera, and Sikandra, are known to possess ancient remains. These places have not been examined, but I have heard that Sikandra possesses a famous old dargah, which may safely be taken as a sign that some Hindu or Buddhist structure existed here ready made to allow of being converted into a dargah. Of the other two places I have no account.
It thus appears that, given a series of important points, we can with tolerable accuracy fix upon the sites of other secondary points, provided we take into consideration the physical features of the intervening country.
This process is applicable, I believe, on a very extended scale. So far I have taken only a part of Magadha as an illustration; let the process now be extended, and let us take Tamluk, the ancient Tamralipti, into consideration.
Roads would naturally lead up front Tamluk to Patna, to Mongir, and elsewhere.
There would be a choice of several routes to Patna; the most direct route would be through Bishânpur, Bahulâra, Sonatapan, Ekteswar (where the Darikeswar river would be crossed), Chatna, Raghunâthpur, Telkuppi, Jhâria, Rajauli, mid Râjgir. It would cross the Salay river near or at Ghátál, the Darikeswar between Bahulâra and Ekteswar, the Damuda at Telkuppi, the Barâkar close to Palgunjo, the range of hills near Rajauli, and pass into Râjgir by the great south gate and out by the north on to Patna. This road would be a great thoroughfare, and we see that, at every great obstacle, large cities sprang up, as attested by the remains about Ghatal, about Bishanpur, at Telkuppi, about Pâlganj, and near Rajauli. There are, besides these, ruins at Chatna and at Jhâria. Of these, Chatná is the point whence a road, yet in existence and use, branched off, going close past Pachaet through Pándrá, Kharakdihá, between the rivers Sakri and Khuri (where there are ancient remains still on the Sakri near Maháwar hill), through Nowádá to Râjgir. Jhâria appears to have been the capital of the country which anciently was called Jhârkhand.
After crossing the Darikeswar, a branch probably started from near Ekteswar to Mongir, passing close to Râniganj, crossing the Ajay at or near Bhimgarh, where remains yet exist on both banks of the river, then through or close past Nagore, where exists a place of pilgrimage known as Bakeswar, close past Bhaskinath, Mandar hill, Kherhi, to Mongir.
Of the places mentioned, all except Râniganj contain ancient remains.
Another great road would go to Benares; this road would naturally go past Pakbirrá and Buddhpur, through or close past Barabhum, through or close to Dulmi (which I shall subsequently show to be Hwen Thsang’s Kirana Suvarna), there crossing the Suvarna Riksha, close past Rânchi, Palâmow, across the Son to Benares. There are remains about Palâmow and Rânchi (see notices in Journal, Asiatic Society), and there are extensive remains at Pakbirrá and Buddhpur. Their occurrence is well explained by the circumstance that the cross road connecting the two great roads from Tumluk to Patna and to Benares started from Pâlgunj, going through Katrás, Chechgáongarh, Pârá, and Chorrá, and striking the great Benares road at Pakbirrá and Buddhpur. Kâtras was once a place of importance and succeeded Jhâria as the capital of Jhârkhand; Chechgáongarh is at the crossing of the Damuda; Pâra is at the intersection of this cross road with the road between Dulmi and Jhâria, Chorrá alone enjoys no particular advantage of location, but nevertheless possesses ancient remains, and is therefore an anomaly.
Thus we may trace the great old roads, and by their aid fix upon the sites or lines which on examination would be likely to yield any return. It appears to me quite a mistake to imagine that districts like Mânbhum, Palâmow, the Sântal Parganas, Jhârkhand, &c., could ever have been extensively cultivated and peopled densely like the plains of Magadha or the valleys of the Jamna and the Ganges; the occurrence of ruins among the wilds of Chutia Nagpur can only be due to cities having from some generally intelligible natural cause sprung up at points along a great road; and by no means to the whole district, or even a considerable portion of the district, having been in a flourishing condition, densely peopled and highly cultivated. The contrast between the profusion of remains scattered broadcast in the fertile and known densely-peopled plains of Magadha and the isolated remains in the wilder districts is too great to be explained away by any amount of imaginary dilapidations and destruction from any causes; indeed, so far as destruction goes, built remains, in the civilised tracts, are generally in a far more advanced stage of decay (even when they have not absolutely disappeared as structures, leaving only the materials as witnesses) than those in the wilder places.