Mathura A Gazetteer-6

MATHURA A GAZETTEER,
edited and compiled by, D.L. DRAKE-BROCKMAN [1911]

DIRECTORY

AIRA KHERA, Tahsil MAHABAN
Aira Khera lies in 27°31'N. and 77°50'E., nearly 4 miles north-east from Raya and 11 miles from Muttra. It is an old township with no arable land attached to it, and is popularly said to be the mother of 360 villages. It is still the recognised centre of eighteen, namely, Aira, Baron, Bhankarpur, Bhura, Bibaoli, Bindu Bulaki, Barahna, Birbal, Gainra, Gaju, Kakarari, Lalpur, Manina Balu, Misri, Nimgaon, Piri, Sabali and Sampat Jogi The founder is said to have been a Pramar Rajput, by name Nain Sen, who himself came from Daharua in this tahsil, but whose ancestors had migrated from Duar in the Deccan. He had four sons among whom he portioned out his property; and they in turn had eighteen sons, who settled the villages mentioned above. The bazar is considered the joint property of the descendants of Rupa, the eldest son of Nain Sen; while the market, which is held on a spot close the bazar on Wednesdays and Saturdays, is the property of the zamindars of the four villages founded by the sons of Sikhan, another son of Nain Sen. The lands of the eighteen villages are all intermixed and are occupied almost exclusively by the Jat community, with the exception of Lalpur which is held by Brahmans, the descendants of the founder's purohit. The old occupants of the place whom Nain Sen dispossessed are said to have been Kalars. Though Nain Sen himself was a Rajput, his des cendants are all reckoned as Jats of the Godha subdivision. This they explain by saying that the new settlers, being unable to secure any better alliances, intermarried with Jat women from Karil in Aligarh, and the children followed the caste of their mothers. The population of Aira Khera has increased of recent years. In 1891 it numbered 1,955 souls and this rose to 2,072 in 1901: of the latter 1,906 were Hindus, 134 were Muhammadans and 32 were of unspecified religions, Brahmans being the numeri cally strongest Hindu caste. The village contains a primary school and a post-office. There is a general meeting for the members of the clan at the festival of the Phut Dol, which is held on the fifth day of the dark half of Chait.

AKOS, Tahsil MAHABAN
This is a large village situated on the banks of the Jumna in 27°17'N. and 77°53'E., at a distance of 18 miles in a direct line from Muttra and of 14 miles from Mahaban by the unmetalled road which leads from Baldeo to Agra. Near the village is situated a curious hill known as the Bhim Tila; and the village lands cover 3,568 acres, the revenue demand being Rs. 6,600. The proprietary rights are owned by Jats and Brahmans; and the population of the village has increased from 2,819 persons in 1891 to 3,193 in 1901. Of the latter number 3,016 were Hindus, 115 Muhammadan and 62 of unspecified religions, Jats being the prin cipal Hindu caste. Market is held every Monday and there is a primary school in the village, while a private ferry plies over the Jumna.

ARING, Tahsil MUTTRA
Aring is a large agricultural village lying in the centre of tahsil Muttra; it is situated in 27°29'N. and 77°32'E., at a dis tance of 12 miles from headquarters on the metalled road from Muttra to Dig in Bharatpur. The name of the place is popularly derived from Aringsaur, a demon slain here by Krishna. Other suggestions are that the name is from the root ar, to hesitate, because the tax which Krishna imposed was here reluc tantly paid; or that arang is the local name for a mart, which Aring has always been, thanks to its favourable situation on the high road between two large towns. Mr. Growse however would derive the name from Arishta-grama, arishta being the original Sanskrit form of ritha, the Hindi name of the soap-berry tree (Sapindus Detergens). Aring is generally accounted one of the 24 Upabans: it has a sacred pond called Kilol Kund, and three small temples dedicated respectively to Baladeva, Bihari-ji and Pipalesvar Mahadeva; but there are no signs of a wood. There are also the ruins of a mud fort built during the last century by one Phunda Ram, a Jat, who held a large tract of territory in jagir under Raja Suraj Mal of Bharatpur. A trigonometrical survey station lies in the fort at an elevation of 670.5 feet above the level of the sea. The upper markstone of the survey is on the vaulted roof of the old fort, and is about 57 feet above the level of the surrounding country. Aring contains a police station, a vernacular secondary school with a primary branch attended by about 100 pupils, a branch post-office and a cattle-pound. A weekly market is held on Sundays. The population in 1901 numbered 4,225 persons, of whom 3,932 were Hindus and 291 Musalmans, and appears to have largely increased of late years for in 1881 it amounted to 3,579 souls. The Agra canal passes close to the site, and is bridged at the point where the road to Dig crosses it. The Hindu inhabitants are for the most part Chamars, Brahmans, Gaurua Rajputs and Jats. For many years Aring was the headquarters of a pargana of the same name; but in 1868 the offices were all transferred to the capital of the district and the parganas of Muttra and Aring were amalgamated. Until 1818 the village was held in jagir by a Kashmiri Pandit named Baba Biswanath. On his death it was resumed and assessed to revenue of Rs. 6,447, settlement being made with the resident Gaurua Rajputs. In 1852 their estate was transferred by auction sale to Seth Gobind Das, who made it part of the endowment of the temple of Rangji at Brindaban. Aring was the scene of a defeat of the Maratha army under Holkar by Lord Lake in October 1804. At the Mutiny rebels marched upon the place with the intention of plundering the treasury, but were stoutly opposed by the zamindars and resident officials, and driven back after a few shots had been fired. Lala Ram Baksh, the hereditary pat wari, who also acted as the Seth's agent, was conspicuous for his loyalty, and subsequently received from the Government a grant of Rs. 1,000, and a quarter of the revenue of the village of Kothra, on the Bharatpur border. Munshi Bhajan Lal, who was tahsil dar at the same time, also received a grant of Rs. 1,200, and smaller rewards were conferred on several other inhabitants of the village, chiefly Brahmans.The avenue of trees extending from Muttra through Aring to Gobardhan was mainly planted by Seth Sukhanand. The village of Aring has an area of 5,459 acres and is assessed to revenue of Rs. 9,995.

ARUA, Tahsil MAT
Arua lies in the south of tahsil Mat about three miles off the metalled road from Raya to Mat, in 27°37'N. and 77°47'E. It is 12 miles by road from Muttra and only 4 miles from Mat. The area of the village covers 4,118 acres and includes a large number of inhabited sites, including the deserted site of Bindrauli. The population has somewhat decreased since 1881 and in 1901 amounted to 3,389 souls, of whom 3,308 were Hindus and 81 were Musalmans. Market is held on Thursdays in Darwa, the largest hamlet, where there is also a primary school. Arua is an old Jat village, but much of the land has been now alienated to Banias of Raya and to Brahmans. The revenue demand amounts to Rs. 9,901. At the time of the Mutiny, Udha, one of the zamindars, was put to death by the people of the next village, Jawara. Hereupon his friends at Arua and Airs Khera assembled a large force for an attack upon Jawara, and in the engagement many lives were lost on both sides. For this and other acts of depredation Arua was fined Rs. 10,000. On the borders of the village is a lake called Man Sarovar, and there are the ruins of two old indigo factories.

AURANGABAD, Tahsil MUTTRA
Aurangabad lies on the metalled road from Agra to Dehli, two miles south of Muttra, in 27°26'N. and 77°45'E. The population in 1901 numbered 2,141 persons, out of which 1,425 were Hindus, 681 Musalmans and 35 of other religions, the prevailing castes being Banias, Brahmans, Jats and Mewatis. A reach of sandy and broken ground, extends from the town to the Jumna, where a bridge-of-boats affords means of communication with Gokul and Mahaban on the opposite bank. On the banks of the river is an extensive garden, and beside the high road are the ruins of a handsome red sandstone mosque built in the time of Aurangzeb. From the name of that monarch the village derives its name: he is said to have made a grant of it to one Bhim Bhoj, a Tomar Rajput, with whose descendants it continued for many years. For sometime previous to 1861 however, it was, held revenue free by a faqir, commonly called Bottle Shah from his bibulous propensities, who was. a grantee of Daulat Rao Sindhia. On his death it was assessed at Rs. 691, but at the present time the revenue is Rs. 699, the total area of the village being 713 acres. The place is frequently, but incorrectly, called Naurangabad. It has also the subsidiary name of Mohanpur, from one Mohan Lal, a Sanadh Brahman and a man of some importance who came from Mat and settled here in the 18th century. Aurangabad is the chief place in Muttra for the manufacture of wicker chairs and couches: and a weekly market is held on Fridays, the articles of traffic being for the most part cotton and thread. The village has a police outpost and a primary school, attended by some 40 boys. For the accommoda tion of the latter Mr. Growse had a handsome and substantial building erected, with pillars and tracery of carved stone, which now forms the most conspicuous ornament of the place.

BACHHGAON, Tahsil MUTTRA
A large agricultural village in 27°24'N. and 77°29'E., close to the Bharatpur border, at a distance of 15 miles from Muttra and 2 miles from Sonkh. The village has a total area of 5,592 acres and is assessed to a revenue demand of Rs. 5,000; but the proprietary rights have for the most part passed out of the hands of the Jat zamindars into those of the Marwari Brahman, Bohra Ram Lal. The predecessors of the Jat com munity were Kirars. The place is said to derive its name from, and to have been the scene of a famous incident in Krishna's life, who, when the jealous god Brahma took away the calves (bachche) from his herd, at once created others to supply their place. The village is only remarkable for its size, the popula tion in 1901 being 3,151 persons, of whom 3,082 were Hindus and 69 were Muhammadans. There is an aided school in the village.

BAJANA, Tahsil MAT
This village is situated in the extreme north of the dis trict in 27°53'N. and 77°41'E. It is distant 33 miles from Muttra, via Jait and Shergarh, and 19 miles from Mat; unmetalled roads connect it with Nohjhil and Shergarh, and with Surir and Mat. Bajana has been from time immemorial occupied by Jats. Many years ago, the three leading men divided it into as many estates, called after their own names, Sultan Patti, Dilu Patti and Siu Patti. These are now practically distinct villages, each with several subordinate hamlets, where most of the proprietors reside, while the old bazar still remains as a common centre, but is mainly occupied by trades people. Bajana once contained a policestation, but this was subsequently reduced to an outpost and finally abolished; and at the present time there are a post-office and primary school in the place. The village, however, is still a market town of some importance, markets being held every Thursday and Saturday, on the former day exclusively for cattle and on the latter for all commodities. Some interest is taken in the neighbourhood in horse and mule-breeding, but the Government stallion stud has been now withdrawn. The combined area of Bajana is 5,457 acres and the revenue demand amounts to Rs. 12,900. Jats are still the chief proprietors, but part of the estate has passed into the hands of Banias. Some of the property which belonged to Umrao Bahadur was confiscated at the Mutiny and conferred on Seth Lakhmi Chand; and the shares of some of the other zamindars were also forfeited because they took part in the assault on Nohjhil fort. The population has increased from 4,427 persons in 1881 to 4,880 persons in 1901, of whom Hindus numbered 4,006 and Muhammadans 106, there being three persons of other religions.

BALDEO, Tahsil MAHABAN
The town of Baldeo lies in 27°24'N. and 77°49'E., on the metalled road from Muttra to Sadabad, at a distance of 10 miles from Muttra and some 5 miles from Mahaban. The place is familiarly called Dauji and is generally known by that name among villagers. The original village was called Rirha and still exists, but only as a mean suburb occupied by the labouring classes; the total area is returned at 458 acres. Baldeo contains a police station, sub-post-office, primary school attended by over 100 boys, and cattle-pound; while a short distance away on the Sadabad road is an inspection bungalow maintained by the district board. The town has been administered since 1859 under Act XX of 1856. Income is raised by the usual house-tax and averages some Rs. 1,500 per annum. It is expended in the maintenance of some town police, a small staff of sweepers for conservancy, and simple improvements. The population has increased of late years, for in 1881 it numbered 2,835 persons. This rose to 3,253 in 1891, and at the last enumeration in 1901, the inhabitants were returned at 3,367 souls, of whom 3,148 were Hindus and 141 were Musalmans. The prevailing Hindu castes are Jats, Banias and Brahmans.
The town derives all its celebrity from the famous temple of Balaram or Baladeva, Krishna's elder brother. This is about 150 years old, but, despite its popularity among Hindus, it is neither handsome nor well-appointed. The temple itself, built by Seth Shiam Das of Delhi, stands at the back of one inner court, and on each of its three disengaged sides has an arcade of three bays with broad flanking piers. On each of these three sides a door gives access to the calla, which is surmounted by a squat pyramidal tower. In addition to the principal figure, Baladeva, who is generally very richly dressed and bedizened with jewels, it contains another life-sized statue, supposed to represent his spouse, Revati. In an adjoining court is shown the small vaulted chamber which served the god as a residence for the first century after his epiphany. The precincts of the temple include as many as eleven cloistered quadrangles, where accommodation is provided for pilgrims and the resident priests. Each court, or kunj as it is called, bears the name of its founder as follows:—the Kunj of Rashk Lal of Agra and Lucknow, 1817 A.D.; of Bachharaj, Bania, of Hathras, 1825; of Nawal Karan, Bania, of Agra, 1768; of Bhim Sen and Hulas Rai, Banias, of Muttra, 1828; of Das Mal, Khattri, of Agra, 1801; of Bhattacharya of Jaipur, 1794; of Gopal, Brahman, of Jaipur; of Chiman Lal, of Muttra, 1778; of Jadu Ram, Khattri, of Agra, 1768; of Chunna, Halwai, of Bharatpur, 1808; and of Puran Chand, Pachauri, of Mahaban, 1801.
Adjoining the temple is a brick built tank, over 80 yards square, called variously Kshir Sagar, the "Sea of Milk," Kshir Kund, or Balbhadr Kund. It is in a dilapidated condition, and the surface of the water is always covered with a thick green scum which, however, does not deter the pilgrims either from drinking or bathing in it. Here it is said that Gosain Gokul Nath was warned in a vision that a god lay concealed. Immediate search was made, and the statue of Baladeva, that has ever since been regarded as the tutelary divinity of the place, was revealed to the adoring gaze of the assembled multitude. Attempts were made to remove it to Gokul; but as every cart broke down, either from the weight of the stone or the reluctance of the god to change his abode, a shrine was erected for his reception on the spot, and an Ahivasi of Bhartiya, by name Kalyan, was con stituted guardian. From his two sons Jamuna Das and Musiya or Sukadeva are descended the Pandes who now manage the temple. They have acquired considerable landed property, besides the old village of Rirha. This brings in a substantial income but forms only a small part of their wealth, for the offer ings at the shrine in the course of the year are estimated to yield a net profit of about Rs. 30,000. The Kshir Sagar and all the fees paid by pilgrims bathing in it belong not to the temple Pandes, but to a community of Sanadh Brahmans. The temple Pandes, however, assert rights to the tank, and there is a standing quarrel between the two parties which has caused some litigation. Near the tank is a shrine dedicated by Bihari Lai, Bohra, of Mursan, in 1803 to the honour of the god Harideva, and two stone chhatris in memory of the Pandes, Harideva and Jagannath. Two annual fairs are held at Baldeo, one on the sixth day of the light half of Bhadon, commonly called Deo Chath, the other on the full moon of Aghan; but there is probably not a single day in the course of the whole year in which the temple courts are not occupied by at least one hundred pilgrims, drawn from all parts of northern India. A charitable dole of one anna apiece is given to every applicant. The Pandes and their families have now multiplied exceedingly, and the annual cost of their mainten ance must be considerable. Ordinarily there is a division of the profits among the shareholders at the end of every three months: an allotment is made into twelve portions, that being the number of the principal subdivisions of the clan, and then each subdivision makes, a separate distribution among its own members.The Village Sanitation Act (United Provinces Act II of 1892) is in force in the town.

BARAULI, Tahsil MAHABAN
An agricultural village in 27°20'N. and 77°53'E., on the unmetalled road from Baldeo to Agra. It is 11 miles distant from Mahaban and 17 miles from Muttra. This place is one of no importance: market is held on Sundays and Wednesdays, and there is a primary school in the village. The population has risen from 2,158 persons in 1891 to 2,317 in 1901; of the lat ter 2,123 were Hindus, 180 Muhammadans, and 14 of other religions.

BARSANA, Tahsil CHHATA
Barsana lies in 27°39'N. and 77°23,E., at a distance of 31 miles north-west from Muttra and 10 miles south-west from Chhata. In 1901 it had a population of 3,542 persons, compared with one of 2,773 in 1881; and of the whole number 3,291 were Hindus, 248 Musalmans and three persons were of other religions. The principal Hindu caste is that of Rajputs. The village has a total area of 2,157 acres and is assessed to a revenue of Rs. 3,254; the proprietor being Raja Sarat Chandra Sen, the heir of the Lala Babu. There are a police station, cattle-pound, Post-office and school in the town; and the following description taken from Mr. Growse's memoir supplies all the available information regarding the place. "Barsana, according to modern Hindu belief the home of Krishna's favourite mistress Radha, is a town which enjoyed a brief period of great prosperity about the middle of the last century. It is built at the foot and on the slope of a hill, originally dedicated to the god Brahma, which rises abruptly from the plain near the Bharatpur border of the Chhata tahsil to a height of some 200 feet at its extreme point, and runs in a south-east direction for about a quarter of a mile. The hill is still to a limited extent known as Brahma-ka-pahar (Brahma's hill); and hence it may he inferred with certainty that Barsana is a corruption of the Sanskrit compound Brahma Sanu, which bears the same meaning. The four prominent peaks of the hill are regarded as emblematic of the four-faced divinity, and are crowned with different buildings, the first with the group of temples dedicated to Larliji, the other three with buildings known as the Man Mandir, the Dangarh, and the Mor-Kutti. A second hill of less extent and elevation completes the amphitheatre in which the town is set, and the space between the two ranges gradually contracts to a narrow path which barely allows a single traveller on foot to pass between the sloping rocks on either side. This pass is famous as the Sankari Khor, literally the narrow opening, and is the scene of a fair in the month of Bhadon (August-September), often attended by as many as 100,000 people. The crowds divide according to their sex and cluster about the rocks round two little shrines erected on either side of the ravine for the temporary reception of figures of Radha and Krishna, and indulge to their heart's content in all the licentious banter appropriate to the occasion. At the other mouth of the pass is a deep dell between the two high peaks of the Man Mandir and the Mor-Kutti, with a masonry tank in the centre of a dense thicket called the Gahwar ban; and the principal feature in the diversions of the day is the throwing of sweetmeats by the better class of visitors, seated on the terraces of the "Peacock Pavilion" above, among the multitudes that throng the margin of the tank some 150 feet below.
The summit of Brahma's hill is crowned by a series of temples in honour of Larliji, a local title of Radha, meaning the beloved. These were all erected at intervals within the last 250 years, and-now form a connected mass of buildings with a lofty wall enclosing the court in which they stand. Each of the successive shrines was on a somewhat grander scale than its predecessor, and was for a time honoured with the presence of the divinity; but even the last and largest is an edifice of no special preten sions, though seated as it is on the very brow of the rock and seen in conjunction with the earlier buildings, it forms an imposing feature in the landscape to the spectator from the plain below. A long flight of stone steps, broken about half way by a temple in honour of Radha's grandfather, Mahaban, leads down from the summit to the town, which consists almost entirely of magnificent mansions all in ruins and lofty but crumbling walls now enclosing vast desolate areas which once were busy courts and markets or secluded pleasure-grounds. All date from the time of Rup Ram, a Katara Brahman, who, having acquired great reputation as a pundit in the earlier part of last century, became family priest (purohit) to the Raja of Bharatpur, Sindhia and Holkar, and was enriched by those princes with the most lavish donations, the whole of which he appears to have expended on the embellishment of Barsana and other sacred places within the limits of Braj, his native country. Before his time Barsana, if inhabited at all, was a mere hamlet of the adjoining village Unchagaon, which now under its Gujar landlords is a mean and miserable place, though it still boasts the remains of a fort and an ancient and well-endowed temple, dedicated to Baladeva.
Rup Ram was the founder of the now superseded temples of Larliji with the stone staircase up the side of the hill, and also constructed the largest market-place in the town with as many, it is said, as 64 walled gardens, a princely mansion for his own residence, with several chapels and other courts and pavilions, one of which, a handsome arched building of carved stone, has been occupied by the Government as the police station for several years. Three cenotaphs (chhattri) commemorating Rup Ram himself and two of his immediate relatives, stand by the side of a large stone tank, with broad flights of steps and flanking towers, which he restored and brought into its present shape. This is reputed sacred and commonly called Bhanokhar, that is, the tank of Brikhbhan, Radha's reputed father; and in connection with it is a smaller tank, called after the name of her mother, Kirat. On the margin of the Bhanokhar is a pleasure house in three storeys known as the Jai-Mahal, supported on a series of vaulted colonnades opening on to the water, for the convenience of the ladies of the family, who could thus bathe in perfect seclusion, as the two tanks and the palace are all enclosed in one courtyard by a lofty bastioned and battlemented wall with arched gateways. Besides these works Rup Ram also faced with stone ghats the sacred lake called Prem Sarovar, opposite which is a walled garden and elegant monument in the form of a Greek cross to his brother Hemraj; and on the opposite side of the town he constructed another large masonry tank for the convenience of a hamlet which he settled and called after his own name, Rup Nagar.
Contemporary with Rup Ram two other wealthy families were resident at Barsana and his rivals in magnificence, the head of the one family being Mohan Ram, a Lavania Brahman, and of the other Lalji, a Tantia Thakur. It is said that the latter was by birth merely a common labourer, who went off to Lucknow to make his fortune. There he became first a harkara, then a jamadar, and eventually a prime favourite at court. Towards the close of his life he begged permission to return to his native place and there leave some permanent memorial of the royal favour. The Nawab not only granted the request, but further presented him with a carte blanche on the state treasury for the prosecution of his design. Besides the stately mansion, now much dilapidated, he constructed a large baoli well, still in excellent preservation, and two wells sunk at great expense in sandy tracts where previously all irrigation had been impracticable. The sacred tank at the outskirts of the town, called Priya Kund or Piri Pokhar, was faced with stone by the Lavanias, who are further commemorated by the ruins of the vast and elaborate mansion where they resided and by two elegant stone cenotaphs at the foot of the hill. They held office under the Raja of Bharatpur and their present representative, Ram Narain, was formerly tahsildar in the territory.
Barsana had scarcely been built when by the fortune of war it was destroyed beyond all hopes of restoration. In 1774 A.D. the Jats, who had advanced upon Delhi in support of the cause of Zabita Khan, and in consequence of ill success were retiring to their own country, were met at Hodal in Gurgaon by Najaf Khan hastening up from Agra. Dislodged from their position they fell back upon Kotban and Kosi, which they occupied for nearly a fortnight, and then finally withdrew towards Dig; but, at Barsana were overtaken by the wazir and a pitched battle ensued. The Jat infantry, 5,000 strong, were commanded by Sumru, who had first taken service under Suraj Mal, and was still with his son, Nawal Singh, the then Raja of Bharatpur. The ranks of the imperialists were broken by his gallant attack, and the Jats, feeling assured of victory, were following in reckless disorder when the enemy, rallying from their sudden panic, turned upon their pursuers, who were too scattered to offer any solid resistance, and totally routed them. They contrived, however, to effect a retreat to Dig, while the town of Barsana was given ever to plunder, and the stately mansions so recently erected there were reduced to their present state of ruin in the search for hidden treasure. Nawal Singh died some 20 days after the bettle, but whether in consequence of wounds there received is not certainly known. He was succeeded by his brother Ranjit Singh, who found his dominions reduced to the fort of Bharatpur with an income of 9 lakhs from the adjacent territory. Barsana never recovered from this blow, and in 1812 sustained a further misfortune when the Gaurua Thakurs, its zamindars, being in circumstances of difficulty and probably distrustful of the stability of British rule then only recently established, were mad enough to transfer their whole estate to the Lala Babu for the paltry sum of Rs. 602 and the condition of holding land on rather more favourable terms than other tenants."

BATHAN KALAN, Tahsil CHHATA
The large village of Bathan Kalan lies in 27°46,N. and 77°24'E., 30 miles north-west of Muttra, and three miles south-west of Kosi. Combined with Dhanot Khera and Kokilaban, it has a total area of 5,248 acres and a population which, in 1901, numbered 3,215 persons, 3,134 being Hindus, 73 Musalmans and eight of other religions. Close by lies the village of Bathan khurd with an area of 1,272 acres and a population of 1,657 persons. Both are inhabited for the most part by Jats, and as they are closely connected, they can conveniently be treated together. According to popular belief, the name Bathan is derived from the circumstance that Balaram here "sat down" (baithen) to wait for his brother Krishna; but the word probably is really descriptive of the natural features of the spot, bathan being still employed in some parts of India to denote a pasture-ground for cattle. On the outskirts of the village is a large tank with a stone ghat built by Rap Ram, the Katara of Barsana; it is called Balbhadr-kund and this name has either occasioned or serves to perpetuate the belief that Balaram was the eponymous hero of the place. Hare, on the third day of the dark half of Chait, is held the Holanga Mala when between 15,000 and 16,000 persons assemble, and a sham-fight takes place between the women of Bathan, armed with clubs, and the men of Jau, who defend them-selves with tamarisk (jhau) branches. At a distance of two miles from Bathan, between two smaller groves, each called Padar Ganga, the one in Bathan and the other in Jau, is Kokilaban, the most celebrated in Hindu poetry of all the woods of Braj. It is 212 bighas in extent, the trees becoming thicker towards the centre, where a pretty natural lake spreads cool and clear. The latter is connected with a masonry tank of very eccentric configuration, also the work of Rup Ram. On the margin of the tank are several shrines and pavilions for the accommodation of pilgrims, who assemble here to the number of 10,000 on the tenth day of the light half of Bhadon, when the Ras Lila, is celebrated. There is also a walled garden planted by a Seth of Mirzapur, which is rapidly going to ruin; and adjoining this there is a barahdari or pavilion constructed in 1870 by a Kosi Bania called Nem Ji. A fair is held in the grove every Saturday and a larger one on every full moon, when the principal diversion consists in seeing the immense swarms of monkeys fight for the grain that is thrown among them. Between Kokilaban and the village is another holy place, called Kabirban.
At Bathan Khurd a curious ridge of rock, called Charan Pahar, crops up above the ground, the stone being of precisely the same character as at Barsana and Nandgaon. This, it is said, was one of the places where Krishna most delighted to stop and play his flute, and many of the stones are still supposed to bear the impress of his feet, charan. This hill is of very insignificant dimensions, having an average height of only some 20 or 30 feet, and a total length of at most a quarter of a mile. Both Bathan Kalan and Bathan Khurd are owned by Jat commu nities in bhaiyachara tenure, the revenue demand on the former being Rs. 8,442 and on the latter Rs. 3,576. Bathan Kalan has a small primary school.

BERI, Tahsil Muttra
This is a large agricultural estate in 27°19'N. and 77°41'E., ying between the Agra canal and the Cawnpore-Achnera railway, four miles west of Farah. It is 11 miles distant from the civil station of Muttra. In 1881 the village had a population of 2,278 souls and in 1901 the number had increased to 2,322, of whom 1,982 were Hindus, 309 were Musalmans and 31 were of other religions. Beri has an area of 1,899 acres and is assessed to a demand of Rs. 3,422, the present proprietor being Pandit Ksilash Nath Kashmiri. At the Mutiny the village was held by a body of Rajput zamindars, but was confiscated for rebellion and conferred on Rao Mahendra Singh of Poona and Agra. It was subsequently purchased by Pandit Kashi Nath, from whom it descended to its present owner. There are a post-office and primary school in the place, and market is held on Tuesdays in each week.

BHARTIYA, Tahsil MAHABAN
This is a large village, lying on the boundary of tahsil Sadabad, in 27°23'N. and 77°55'E., 16 miles from Muttra city and 10 miles from Mahaban, about two miles south of the metal-led road to Sadabad. The village has a total area of 1,351 acres and is assessed to a revenue demand of Rs. 3,896, the zamindars being Jats and Brahmans. The population in 1901 numbered 2,318 souls, of whom 2,256 were Hindus and 62 were Muham­madans. There is a primary school in the place. A weekly market is held on Mondays.

BISAWAR, Tahsil SADABAD
Bisawar is a large village on the west of Sadabad tahsil, a little over a mile south of the metalled road from Muttra to Sa dabad. It lies in 27°23'N. and 77°56'E., at a distance of eight miles from Sadabad and 16 miles from the civil station of Muttra. The area of the village is 4,495 acres and there is a large number of subsidiary hamlets, the revenue demand being Rs. 11,782. A large proportion of the total area of the village was, in 1829, ghana or woodland, but this has been gradually brought under cultivation and very little now remains. The village is said to have been founded as early as the eleventh century by one Ram Ben, a Jadon Rajput from Mahaban; but his descendants have for many generations been reckoned as Jats of the Hags sub-division and they assumed the title of chaudhri. The village is still owned for the most part by Jats, but Brahmans and Banias have also obtained shares. The population is large, and has increased from 4,774 in 1881 to 5,443 in 1901; of the latter 5,029 were Hindus, 373 Muhammadans and 41 of other religions. Jats are the numerically strongest Hindu caste. Bisawar has a pri mary school and a large market is held every Friday in it. There are two temples and a Muhammadan shrine in the place. The latter is in honour of a faqir known as the Bara Miyans, and was first established in 1855. It is visited by a considerable number of people every Wednesday and Saturday throughout the year, except in the months of Pus and Sawan.

BRINDABAN, Tahsil MUTTRA
The celebrated town of Brindaban is situated in 27°33'N. and 77°42'E., on the banks of the Jumna, nine miles north of the district capital. The river makes at this point an eccentric bend and the town stands on a peninsula, washed on three sides by the stream. The name of the place is, according to Mr. Growse, derived from an obvious physical feature and means "the tulsi grove", brinda and tulsi being synonymous terms for the aromatic herb Ocymum Sanctum. The place is connected with Muttra by a metalled road; and there is a branch line of rail from Muttra cantonment station on the Cawnpore-Achnera railway. The high road from Muttra to Brindaban passes through two villages, Jaisinghpur and Ahaliaganj, and about half way crosses a deep ravine by a bridge, which, as the inscrip tion on it shows, was built in sambat 1890 (1833 A.D.) by Balla Bai, the daughter of Madhoji Sindhia. Close by is a masonry tank, built in 1872 by Lala Kishan Lal, Dhusar, a banker of Dehli. This road is of comparatively recent construc­tion, for the old road kept much closer to the Jumna river. For the first two miles out of Brindaban its course is still marked by lines of trees and several works of considerable magnitude. The first of these is a large garden surrounded by a masonry wall and supplied with water from a distance by long aqueducts. It was constructed by Kushal, a wealthy Seth of Gujerat, who also founded one of the largest temples in the city of Muttra. A little beyond, on the opposite side of the way, in a piece of waste ground which was once an orchard, is a large and handsome baoli of red sandstone with a flight of 57 steps leading down to the level of the water. This was the gift of Ahalia Bai, the celebrated Maratha queen of Indore, who died in 1795. Further on, in the hamlet of Akrur, on the verge of a cliff overlooking a wide expanse of alluvial land is the temple of Bhatrond, a solitary tower containing an image of Bihari Ji. Opposite is a large garden belonging to the Seths, and, on the roadway that runs between, a fair, called Bhatmela, is held on the full moon of Kairtik. The word Bhatrond is popularly connected with an incident in Krishna's life, which the fair commemorates. This is that he and his brother Balaram, having one day forgotten to supply themselves with provisions before leaving home, had to borrow a meal of rice (bhat) from some Brahmans' wives.
There are within the limits of Brindaban municipality about 1,000 temples, but this number includes many which are, properly speaking, only private chapels. There are thirty-two ghats, constructed by various benefactors, but only two tanks of reputed sanctity. The first of these is the Brahm Kund, at the back of the Seths' temple, now in a ruinous condition; and the other, called Gobind Kund, is in an out of the way spot near the Muttra road. It was originally merely a natural pond, but about 1875 was enclosed on all four sides with masonry walls and flights of steps, at a cost of Rs. 30,000, by Chaudhrani Kali Sundari from Rajshahi in Bengal. To these may be added as a third a Masonry tank in what is called the Kewarban. This is a grove of pipal, gular and kadamb trees, which stands a little off the Muttra road near the turn to the Madan Mohan temple. It is a halting place in the Banjatra, and the name is popularly said to be a corruption of kin-vari, " who lit it?," with reference to the forest conflagration, or davanal, of which the traditional scene is more commonly laid at Bhadraban on the opposite bank of the river There is here a small temple of Davanal Behari with a cloistered courtyard for the reception of pilgrims. . Adjoining the ban is a large walled garden belonging to the Tehri Raja, which has long been abandoned on account of the badness of the water there are also some fifty chhattras or dole houses in the town for the distribution of alms to indigent humanity.

TEMPLES
The first shrine erected at Brindaban was one in honour of the eponymous goddess Brinda Devi. It is said to have stood in the Seva Kunj, now a large walled garden with a masonry tank near the Ras Mandal, but no traces remain of it. The fame of the Gosains who built it spread so rapidly that in 1570 the emperor Akbar was induced to pay them a visit. He was taken blindfold into the Nidhban, where so marvellous a vision was revealed to him that he was compelled to acknowledge the place as holy ground, and gave cordial support to the attendant Rajas when they expressed their wish to erect a series of buildings more worthy of the local divinity. The four temples commenced in honour of this event bear the titles of Gobind Deva, Gopinath, Jugal Kishor and Madan Mohan.

THE GOBIND DEO TEMPLE
The first named is not only the finest of this particular series, but cne of the most impressive edifices raised by Hindu art in northern India. The body of the building is in the form of a Greek cross, the nave being one hundred feet in length and the breadth across the transepts the same. The central compartment is sur mounted by a dome of singularly graceful proportions; and the four arms of the cross are roofed by a waggon vault of pointed form, constructed of fine radiating arehes as in Gothic cathedrals. The walls have an average thickness of ten feet and are pierced in two stages, the upper stage being a regular triforium. This triforium is a reproduction of Muhammedan design, while the work above and below it is purely Hindu. At the east end of the nave there is a small narthex, fifteen feet deep; and at the west end, between two niches and incased in a rich canopy of sculpture, a square headed doorway leads into the choir, a chamber some twenty feet square. Beyond this was the sacrarium, flanked on either side by a lateral chapel.; each of these three cells being of the same dimensions as the choir and Iike it vaulted by a lofty dome. It would seem that, according to the original design, there were to have been five towers, one over the central dome and the other four covering respectively the choir, the sacrarium, and the two chapels. The sacrarium has been utterly razed to the ground, the chapel towers were never completed, and that over the choir, though the most perfect, has still lost some of its upper stages. The loss of the towers and of the lofty arcaded parapet that surmounted the walls has terribly marred the effect of the exterior and given it a heavy stunted appearance, while, as a further disfigurement, a plain masonry wall was at one time run up along the top of the centre of the dome. So much of a mutilated inscription at the west end of the wall as can be deciphered records the fact that the temple was built in sambat 1647 or A.D. 1590 under the direction of two gurus, Rupa and Sanatana, by Raja Man Singh of Jaipur, a famous governor in the days of Akbar. In the reign of Aurangzeb, owing to a fear of desecration at the hands of that monarch, the image of the god inside the temple was removed to Jaipur, and the Gosain of the temple at that place has ever since been regarded as head of the endowment. From that time onwards the building was allowed to fall into disrepair and many portions became ruinous. Mr. Growse, when collector of the district, tried ineffectually to enlist the sympathies of the Government in its restoration; but the Maharaja of Jaipur generously supplied Rs. 5,000 for the purpose, on the facts being brought to his knowledge. Work was begun in August 1873: the obtrusive wall on the top of the dome was demolished, the interior was cleared of several unsightly party-walls, and all the debris was removed which had accumulated round the base of the plinth to the height of eight feet or more and entirely concealed the handsomely moulded plinth. Many of the houses, too, which had been allowed to crowd the precincts of the temple were removed. At the same time a domed and pillared chhattri of very hand-some design, which stood on the south side of the choir and was erected in 1636 A.D. by the daughter-in-law of Rana Amar Singh of Mewar, was taken down and re-erected on the platform that marks the site of the old sacrarium. These works had more than exhausted the money provided by the Maharaja of Jaipur, but in 1875, Sir John Strachey, Lieutenant-Governor of the North-Western Provinces, came to the help of Mr. Growse with a liberal grant of money from provincial revenues, and thorough repairs were carried out under the personal superintendence of the latter before March 1877, at a total cost of Rs. 38,365. The fixed estate of the temple is small, consisting only of one village in Jaipur, another in Alwar and some property in Brindaban, which has been diminished by encroachment; but the income is supplemented by votive offerings and amounts to about Rs. 20,000 a year. The temple, however, is now regularly kept in repair by the Government, the work being entrusted to the Public Works department.

THE MADANMOHAN TEMPLE
The Madan Mohan temple stands at the upper end of the town on a high cliff near the Kali Mardan, or as it is commonly called, the Kalidah ghat. It is said to have been built by a merchant from Multan in the Punjab, a Khattri by caste, named Ram Das, but more familiarly known as Kapuri. As he was coming down the river with a boatload of merchandise bound for Agra, he stuck on a sand bank near the Kali Mardan ghat and, after trying in vain for three days to get of, he determined to discover the local divinity and implore his assistance. So he came on shore, climbed the Duhsasan hill and there found Sanatana, who was living in a little hut with the image of Madan Mohan. Sanatana told him to address his prayer to Madan Mohan: this the merchant did, and his boat immediately began to float. When he had sold his goods at Agra he came and brought their price to Sanatana, who told him to build a temple with it. The temple, as it now stands, consists of a nave fifty-Seven feet long, with a choir of twenty feet square at the west end and a sanctuary of the same dimensions beyond. The nave would seem to have been only about twenty-two feet high, but its vaulted roof has entirely disappeared and the upper part of the choir has also been destroyed. That surmounting the sacrarium is a plain octagon of curvilinear outline tapering towards the summit. Attached to its south side is a tower-crowned chapel of similar character but much more highly enriched, the whole of its exterior surface being covered with sculptured panels. The nave, ruinous as it is, was evidently to a great extent rebuilt in compara tively recent times, the old materials being utilized as far as possible, but when they ran short, the place of stone being supplied by brick. In 1875 the appearance of the temple was greatly improved by Mr. Growse, who had the ground round the plinth reduced and a number of buildings inside the nave and in the front of the chapel removed. The original image of Madan Mohan, which is said to have been given to Sanatana, is now at Karauli, where Raja Gopal Singh, who reigned from 1725 to 1757 A.D., built a new temple for its reception after he had obtained it from his brother-in-law, the Raja of Jaipur.

TEMPLE OF GOPINATH
The temple of Gopinath, which is possibly the earliest of the series, is said to have been built by Raesil Ji, a grandson of the founder of the Shaikhawat branch of the Kachhwaha Rajputs. He distinguished himself so greatly in the repulse of an Afghan invasion that the emperor Akbar bestowed on him the title of darbari, with a grant of land and the command of 1,250 horses. The temple corresponds very closely both in style and dimensions with that of Madan Mohan, and has a similar chapel attached to the south side of the sacrarium. It is, however, in a far more ruinous condition, the nave having entirely disappeared, the three towers levelled with the roof, and the entrance gate way of the courtyard being much dilapidated. The special feature of the building is a curious arcade of three bracket arches, serving apparently no construetural purpose but merely added as an ornamental screen to the south wall, The terrace on which this arcade stands has a carved stone front, which was only uncovered in the course of some repairs carried out by Mr. Growse. The choir arch is of handsome design elaborately decorat ed with arabesque sculptures, but the north side is blocked by a modern temple built about the year 1821 by a Bengali Kayasth, Nand Kumar Ghose.

TEMPLE OF JUGAL KISHOR
The temple of Jugal Kishor, the fourth of the old series, stands at the lower end of the town near the Kesi ghat. Its construction is referred to the year sambat 1684 or 1627 A.D., in the reign of Jahangir, and the founder's name is preserved as Non Karan: he is said to have been a Chauhan Rajput. The choir, which is slightly larger than in the other examples, being twenty-five feet square, has the principal entrance at the east end, but is peculiar in having also, both north and south, a small doorway under a hood supported on eight closely-set brackets carved into the form of elephants. The nave has been com pletely destroyed.

TEMPLE OF RADHA BALLABH
The temple of Radha Ballabh is somewhat later than the series of four already described, one of the pillars in the front giving the date of its foundation as sambat 1683 or 1626 A.D. It was built by a Kayasth named Sundar Das, who held the appointment of treasurer at Dehli; he was a disciple of Braj Chand, the ancestor of the present Gosains of the temple and the son of the reformer Hari Vans, the founder of the Radha ballabhi sect. The ground plan of the temple is much the same as that of Harideva at Gobardhan and the work is of the same Character but carried out on a larger scale. The nave has an eastern facade, thirty-four feet broad, which is in three stages, the upper and the lower Hindu, and the one between them purely Muhammadan in character. The temple in fact is of special architectural interest as the last example of the early eclectic style. The interior is a fine vaulted hall, measuring sixty-three feet by twenty feet, with a double tier of openings north and south, those in the lower storey having brackets and architraves and those above being Muhammadan arches as in the middle storey of the front. The actual shrine or cella was demolished by Aurangzeb and only the plinth remains, on which a modern room has been built.

MODERN TEMPLES
Of the modern temples five claim special notice. The earliest as regards time of erection is the temple of Krishna Chandrama, built about the year 1810, at a cost of 25 lakhs by the wealthy Bengali Kayasth, Krishna Chandra Sen, better known as the Lala Babu. It stands in a large courtyard, which is laid out as a garden and is enclosed by a lofty wall of solid masonry, with an arched gateway at either end. The building is of quadrangular form, one hundred and sixty feet in length with a front central compartment of three arches and a lateral colonnade of five bays reaching on either side towards the cella. The Workmanship throughout is of excellent character.

TEMPLE OF RANG JI
By far the largest of the modern temples is that founded by Seths Gobind Das and Radha Krishn, brothers of Seth Lakhmi Chand. It is dedicated to Rang Ji or Sri Ranga Nath, that being the special name of Vishnu most affected by Ramanuja, the foun der of the Sri Sampradaya. It is built in the Madras style in accordance with plans supplied by their guru, Swami Rang acharya. The works were commenced in 1845 and completed in 1851 at a cost of 45 lakhs of rupees. The outer walls measure 773 feet in length by 440 in breadth, and enclose a fine tank and garden in addition to the actual temple-court. This latter has lofty gate towers or gopuras, covered with a profusion of coarse sculpture. In front of the god,is erected a pillar, or dhvaja stambha, of copper gilt, sixty feet in height, and also sunk some twenty-four feet more below the surface of the ground: this alone cost Rs. 10,000. The principal or western entrance of the outer court is surmounted by a pavilion, ninety-three feet high, con structed in the Muttra style after the design of a native artist. A little to one side of the main entrance is a detached shed, in which the god's rath or carriage is kept. It is an enormous wooden tower in several stages, with monstrous effigies at the corners, and is brought out only ones a year in the month of Chait during the festival of the Brahmotsav. This Meta lasts for ten days, on. each of which the god is taken in state from the temple along the road, a distance of about 700 yards, to a garden where a pavilion has been erected for his reception. The procession is always attended with torches, music and incense, and some military display is contributed by the Raja of Bharatpur.T.On the day when the rath is used, the image of the god composed of eight metals, is seated in the centre of the car with attendant Brahmans on either side to fan it with chauris. The cars dragged with the help of ropes to the garden, and at night there is a grand display of fireworks. On other days, when the rath is not used, the god is borne now on a palki, a richly gilt tabernacle, called punya kothi, a throne (Sinhasan) or a tree, generally a kadamb or the tree of Paradise (kalpa-vriksha); now on some demi-god, as the sun or moon, Garura, Hanuman or Sesha; now again on some animal, as a horse or elephant. The ordinary cost of one of these celebrations is about Rs. 5,000, while the annual expenses of the whole establishment amount to no less than Rs. 60,000. Every day 500 of the Sri Vaishnava sect are fed at the temple, and every morning up to ten o'clock a dole of flour is given to anyone of any denomination who choses to apply for it.

TEMPLE OF RADHA RAMAN
The temple of Radha Raman was completed about 1876. If was founded by Sah Kundan Lal of Lucknow, who built it on a design suggested by the modern secular buildings of that city. The temple itself is constructed of the most costly mate rials and fronted with a colonnade of spiral marble pillars, each shaft being of a single piece. Ten lakhs of rupees are said to have been spent in its construction.

TEMPLE OF RADHA INDRA KISHOR
In striking contrast to the tasteless edifice of Radha Raman is the temple of Radha Indra Kishor, built by Rani Indrajit Kunwar, widow of Het Ram, a Brahman zamindar of Tikari near Gaya. It was six years in the building, and was completed at the end of 1871, at a cost of three lakhs. It is a square of seventy feet divided into three aisles of five bays each, with a fourth space of equal dimensions for the reception of the god. The sikhara is surmounted with a copper kalas or final, heavily gilt, which alone cost Rs. 5,000.

TEMPLE OF RADHA GOPAL
The temple of Radha Gopal was built by the Maharaja of Gwalior under the direction of his guru, Brahmachari Giridhari Das. It was opened for religious service in 1860 and had then cost four lakhs of rupees to build, and an entrance gateway was subsequently added at an additional outlay. The interior is an exact counterpart of an Italian church: it consists of a nave feet fifty-eight long, with four aisles, two on either side, a sacrarium twenty-one feet in depth and a narthex of the same dimensions as entrance.
To this list may be added a large temple now being built by the Maharaja of Jaipur and still in an incomplete condition. It lies on the Muttra road, about three-quarters of a mile from the town of Brindraban. There are in Brindaban no secular buildings of any great antiquity. The oldest is the court, or ghera as it is called, of Sawai Jai Singh, the founder of Jaipur, who made Brindaban an occasional residence during the time that he was governor of the province of Agra (1721-1728 A.D.). It is a large walled enclosure with a pavilion at one end consisting of two aisles divided into five bays by piers of coupled columns of red sand-stone. The river front has a succession of ghats reaching for a distance of about a mile and a half. The one highest up the stream is the Kali Mardan ghat with the kadamb tree from which Krishna plunged into the water to encounter the great. Serpent Kaliya: and the lowest at the other end is Kesi ghat, where he slew the equine demon of that name. Near the latter are two handsome mansions built by the Ranis Kishori and Lachhmi, consorts of Rajas Ranjit Singh and Randhir Singh of Bharatpur; and a little lower down the river front are the kunjs mansions built by Thakur Badan Singh, the father of Raja Suraj Mal, the first Raja of Bharatpur, and by Gangs, the queen of Suraj Mal.
Brindaban was constituted a municipality in 1866: details regarding the board, its income and expenditure have already been given in Chapter IV. Previous to that year the town is said to have been exceedingly dirty and ill kept; but improve- ment rapidly set in soon after: many of the streets have been paved or metalled, and the surface water is now passed off by side drains. The general health of the inhabitants is good, but the death-rate is always high owing to the number of persons, especially Bengalis, who come to Brindaban in order to die on holy ground. The water, as is usually the case near the Jumna, is brackish, though there are plenty of wells, and most people use the water of the river. The population has slightly increased of late years: in 1872 it numbered 20,350 and in 1881 it was 21,467. At the last enumeration in 1901, the population was returned at 22,717 persons, of whom 10,364 were females. Clas sified according to religions there were 21,088 Hindus, 1,409 Musalmans, 156 Christians, 40 Jains and 24 persons of unspecified religions. There are no manufactures in the town, but considerable quantities of plain cloth are imported into it and are there stamped with patterns. Flannel called loi is also brought from Marwar and Bikanir and skilfully repaired by the local tailors, who are chiefly of the Bania and Bairagi castes. The chief imports into the town consist of grain, refined and unrefined sugar, ghi and other articles of food and drink.
Brindaban has a first-class police station, post-office, registra tion office, second-class branch dispensary, Anglo-vernacular middle school, a primary school for boys and a school for girls. The dispensary was built in 1868, and stands outside the town beyond the municipal office and police station: near it is the Municipal inspection bungalow. The Anglo-vernacular school is embellished with a pillared front; the building was completed in 1868 at a cost of Rs. 3,710, which included a donation of Rs. 500 from Swami Rangachariya.

HISTORY
Though Brindaban is mentioned in all the Puranas as one of the chief tirthas, or places of pilgrimage of Braj, it is probable that for many centuries it was merely a wild, uninhabited jungle. In the latter half of the 16th century several holy men from different parts of India, of whom the two most famous were named Rupa and Sanatana, made it their abode, and by their rigid asceticism acquired a great repution both for themselves and for the locality. The foundation of the chief temples dates, as already noticed, from Akbar's visit in A.D. 1570. There was a mint established here by Daulat .Rao Sindhia in 1786, from which the street called Taksalwali Gali derives its name. When the Jats were in possession of the country they transferred the mint to Bharatpur, where what are called Brindabani rupees are still coined: they are especially used at weddings and are valued at annas 12.

BUKHARARI, Tahsil CHHATA
An agricultural village lying in 27°52'N. And 77°30'E. Close to the Agra canal. It is six miles north-east of Kosi and 34 miles distant from Muttra. It is a place of no importance, but had a population in 1901 of 2,059 persons of whom 1,850 were Hindus, 73 were Mahammadans and 136 of other religions, chiefly Jains. Jadon Rajputs are the numerically strongest Hindu caste and own most of the village, which has an area of 2,329 acres. There is a primary school in the village and also a substantial house built about 100 years ago by a wealthy Bania of the place named Bhika.

CHAUMUHA, Tahsil CHHATA
Chaumuha is situated on the high road to Dehli at a distance of 10 miles from Muttra, in 27°37'N. And 77°36'E. The village has a total area of 5,030 acres, and in 1901 the popula tion was returned at 3,735 persons, of whom 272 were Musal mans and 11 of other religions than Hinduism. The predominant Hindu caste was Gaurua Rajputs. Until the year 1816 the vil lage was included in the home tahsil. It contains the remains of a large brick-built sarai, said to have been erected in the reign of Sher Shah; and immediately opposite its upper gate, though at some little distance from it, stands one of the old imperial Kos minars. In the old topographies the sarai is described as situated at Akbarpur. This is still the name of the adjoining village, which must at one time have been of much wider extent, for the name Chaumuha is quite modern and is derived from an ancient sculpture supposed to represent the four-faced (chaumuha) god Brahma, which was discovered in a field close by: it is in reality the pedestal of a Jaini statue or column. There is a small temple in the village dedicated to Bihari Ji, and two ponds known as Bihari Kund and Chandokhar. When Madhoji Sindhia was the paramount power in Muttra, he bestowed the village as an endowment for educational purposes on a pandit by name Gangadhar, and it was confirmed to his sons in 1824. Settle ment was made with the local zamindars, and three quarters of the whole revenue of Rs. 5,120 go to the Agra College. A weekly market is held in the village on Tuesdays; and there is an upper primary school for boys, attended by some 40 pupils. As a punishment for misbehaviour during the Mutiny the village was burnt down, and for one year the revenue demand was raised to half as much again. The village now forms part of the endowment of the great temple of Rangji at Brindaban.

CHHATA, Tahsil CHHATA
The town of Chhata is situated in 27°44,N. and 77°3O,E., on the high road between Muttra and Dehli, at a distance of 21 miles from the district capital. Since the Mutiny it has been the headquarters of the tahsil of thex same name. The principal feature of the town is a large fort-like sarai covering an area of 12 acres, with battlemented walls and bastions and two lofty entrance gateways of decorated stone-work. The interior is now disfigured by a number of mean mud houses and shops, the erection of which has been allowed although the land belongs to the Government. It is locally said to have been built in the reign of Sher Shah but may, with greater probability, be ascribed to that of Akbar, in whose time it was, if not begun, at least almost certainly completed. In 1857 it was occupied by the rebel zamindars, and one of the towers had to be blown down before an entrance could be effected. At the same time the town was set on fire and partially destroyed, and twenty-two of the leading men were shot. It was originally intended to confiscate the whole village; but eventually only one and a half times the revenue was taken for one year. The name is locally derived from Chhatra-dharana-lila, which Krishna is said to have celebrated here; but there is no legend regarding such an event, and in all probability the name refers merely to the stone ceno taphs that surmount the sarai gateways and form prominent objects in the landscape from a, considerable distance. The town contains a police station, post-office, primary school, an inspection house belonging to the Public Works department, and an encamping ground for troops. Weekly market is held on Fridays.
Chhata has been administered under Act XX of 1856, since the year 1859. The income which averages some Rs. 1,235 per annum is raised by the usual house-tax and expended in the maintenance of a small force of police, a staff of sweepers for conservancy and on simple works of improvement. The popula tion has increased of late years; in 1872 it numbered 6,720 persons, and this figure fell to 6,014 in 1881. In 1891 there was a recovery to 6,607, and at the last enumeration in 1901 the population was returned at 8,287 persons, of whom 3,853 were females. The inhabitants comprised 6,691 Hindus, 1,486 Musalmans and 110 others. The Hindus have nine small temples and the Muhammadans four mosques.The Village Sanitation Act (U. P. Act II of 1892) is in force in the town.

CHHATA Tahsil
This subdivision is the north-western tahsil of the district. It lies between the parallels of 27°33', and 27°56'N. and 77°17' and 77°42,E., and is bounded on the north by the Gurgaon district of the Punjab and the Jumna; on the east by the Jumna, which separates it from Mat tahsil; on the south by tahsil Muttra; and on the west by the state of Bharatpur. In shape the tahsil is almost a square twenty miles broad and equally long, but the northern face is somewhat shortened by an easterly bend in the stream of the Jumna near Shergarh ghat. The southern portion differs in some respects from the northern, which formed the old pargana of Kosi; and for purposes of detailed description it is better to keep them separate. The southern or Chhata portion, which is situated between the rocky ranges which obtrude on the district in the west and the Jumna valley on the east, has an exceptionally level and uniform surface. There is no stream or river to break the level of the country, and the one line of drainage known as the western depression, which has already been described, forms a series of depressions only at long and uncertain intervals. At a distance of three miles to the east of it runs a narrow belt of sand which rises slightly above the general level of the country. From this belt to the sand hills and ravines that flank the Janina, the surface is only broken by a line of light sandy soil which runs generally parallel to the Dehli road. With the exception of these sandy ridges the upland soil is a light but firm loam of excellent fertility, containing a sufficient admixture of sand to render it easily workable and friable. The low land along the river, except in the bend in the north-east and between Basai and the border of the Muttra tahsil in the south-east is nowhere extensive. The soil in it is purely alluvial and varies from a pure white sand to a rich and firm dark loam; while the Jumna ravines are not of sufficient extent to form an important physical feature of the tract.
The uplands of the Kosi or northern portion resemble generally those of Chhata; but there are no hills in it except the low rocky outcrop of Charan Pahar. The level is diversified by low sand ridges. One of these runs parallel to the Bharatpur hills, which can be seen from the district border, and forms the boundary of the tahsil on the west and north-west; whilst on the east there are the usual ravines and sandy downs along the Jumna. Besides these two sand ridges, there is a star-shaped system of sand ranges, branching out in four directions from a centre at Goheta. One runs northwards into Gurgaon, another north-eastwards to the Jumna, joining the. ravines of that river near Barhs, a third projects south-westwards into Chhata, and a fourth runs due south. This system divides the upland portion into four distinct plains. The largest of these lies to the west with the Charan Pahar in the centre; it is a level plain of rich friable loam, but the depth of water in it is great and the water itself is brackish. The next largest plain lies between the north-western and north-eastern rays of the star; it resembles the plain just described in many features. The soil is the same, though a trifle lighter, except in depressions; the water also is far from the surface and brackish. The third plain is that on the Chhata side to the south-east; it is a continuation of the great eastern loam plain of Chhata, the description of which applies equally to it. The fourth and smallest plain comprises the northern end of the central loam tract of Chhata and lies between the two southern rays of the star. The surface is not so uniform as in the plains already described but slopes gradually from the edge of the sand hills towards the centre, where there is a depression. In this depression the soil is hard and cloddy, while nearer the sand ranges it become almost bhur. The Jumna khadar is distinctly marked by a line of cliff that rises abruptly out of it to the height of some twenty-five feet; behind this cliff there is a belt of ravines or sandy downs which separates the bangar from the, khadar. All the village sites bordering on the river are built along this cliff.
The total area of the tahsil is 260,013 acres or 406.2 square miles. Of this 15,358 acres or 5.90 per cent. are returned as barren, and 40,582 or 15.61 per cent. as culturable waste. For the five years ending in 1907 the cultivated area averaged 204,073 acres: this represents a proportion of 78.48 per cent. on total area, and exceeds the percentages of both Muttra and Mat tahsils. The Agra canal traverses the tahsil from north to south and irrigation is extensively practised. The average area irrigated between 1903 and 1907 was 74,152 acres or 34.37 per cent. of that cultivated. Practically the whole of this area was watered from canals and wells, the former irrigating over 83 per cent of the whole. The principal harvest is the kharif, averaging 129,522 acres as against 95,161 acres in the Rabi. The double-cropped area amounts on an average to 20,963 or 10.27 per cent of the cultivation. The principal crops in the kharif are juar, alone or in combination with arhar, cotton and bajra, while a fair amount of guar and khurti are also grown. In the Rabi the bulk of the area sown is occupied by barley, alone or intermixed with gram, and by gram alone.
Owing to the introduction of canal irrigation and its subsequent extension to the tract round. Nandgaon the development of agri culture is fairly high. The chief cultivating castes are Jats, Brahmans, Rajputs, Chamars, Kachhis and Gujars. Of the total holdings area in 1908, 18.11 per cent was in the hand of ex-pro prietary and occupancy tenants, 34.49 per cent was tilled by tenants-at-will and 44.60 per cent. by the proprietors themselves, 3,042 acres being rent-free. Chhata contains 172 villages, at present divided into 389 mahals. Of the latter 86, representing 22.07 per cent of the area, are in the hands of single zamindars; 26 or 3.60 per cent are held in perfect and 207 or 63.76 per cent in imperfect pattidari tenure; while 30 or 7.39 per cent. are bhaiyachara and 40 or 3.17 per cent are revenue free. Jats hold the largest area with 70,765 acres; and after them come Rajputs, 55,595; Brahmans 27,270; Kayasths, 17,702; Musalmans, 9,796; and Banias, 9,777 acres. The largest landholders are the Lala Babu, eleven villages paying a revenue of Rs. 23,129; Babu Kalyan Singh of Muttra, the heir of Lala Jagan Prasad, six whole villages and parts of 7 others assessed to Rs. 14,499; Kunwar Mahendra Pratab Singh, 8 villages with a revenue of Rs. 9,414; and the temple of Rangji at Brindaban which owns one village assessed to Rs. 4,000.
In 1881 the two parganas of Chhata and Kosi had a com bined population of 149,891 souls, and since that time the total has steadily increased. At the following enumeration in 1891 the number had risen to 153,465, while at the last census there were 173,756 inhabitants, of whom 82,161 were females. The average density is 428 persons to the square mile-the smallest figure in the district. Classified according to religions, there were 151,306 Hindus, 21,067 Musalmans, 1,203 Jains, 120 Chris tians, 28 Sikhs, 20 Aryas and 12 Parsis. Chamars are the most numerous Hindu caste, numbering 31,294 persons, while after them come Brahmans, 24,864; Rajputs, 24,448; and Jats, 20,843. Other castes with over two thousand members apiece are Banias, 7,206; Gujars, 5,737; Gadariyas, 3,342; Koris, 3,173; Barhais, 3,054; Kumhars, Nais, Kahars and Bhangis. Jadons are the numerically strongest Rajput clan, exceeding all others by a large number: they are followed by Kachhwahas, Chauhans and Tomars. The chief Muhammadan subdivisions are Qassabs, Sheikhs, Mewatis, converted Rajputs, and Bhangis, Pathans, Bhishtis and Faqirs. The tahsil is mainly agricultural in character, though Kosi is a commercial and industrial centre of growing importance, especially with regard to the cotton trade. The number of cattle-breeders and graziers is also larger than in most parts of the district, as Kosi is a famous cattle-market and the whole tahsil has a long-standing reputation for the quality and breed of its cattle.
The only towns in the tahsil are the municipality of Kosi and the Act XX towns of Shergarh and Chhata: besides these there are a few places of importance. Kamar, though now a declining place, was once administered under Act XX of 1856 and is the centre of a small local trade. Nandgaon and Barsana are famous places of pilgrimage; and Sahar was from the days of Akbar up to the Mutiny the headquarters of a pargana. Majhoi possesses a police station; and there are several large villages such as Bathan, Taroli, Hatana and others. Lists of the markets, fairs, schools and post-offices in the tahsil are given in the appendix.
Chhata is well supplied with means of communication. The Agra-Dehli Chord railway traverses it from north to south, and close by, parallel to this, runs the metalled road from Muttra to Dehli. Uumetalled roads run from Chhata to Shergarh, where there is a ferry over the Jumna, to Barsana and to Sahar; and from Kosi to Kamar, Nandgaon, Shergarh Majhoi and Shahpur. The south-eastern portion of the tahsil is traversed by the road which leaves the Dehli road at Jait and runs to Shergarh. Besides the ferry at Shergarh, there are other ferries at Chaundras near Shahpur, Majhoi, Bahta, Siyara and Bhaugaon: but that at Shergarh is far the most important.
In early times Chhata was probably occupied by Meos. Next came the Gujars, Rajputs and Jats who settled in it. In the days of Akbar it fell within the mahals of Sahar and Hodal and possibly Kamah in the sarkar of Agra. The Jats appear to have been responsible for the creation of par ganas Shergarh, Kosi and Shahpur out of the Ain-i-Akbari pargana of Sahar, the last of which became later merged in Kosi. At the cession in 1803 Shergarh was given as a revenue-free jagir to Balla Bai, daughter of Madhoji Sindhia; but was resumed in 1808 along with other parganas in lieu of a cash payment. From the cession until the Mutiny the head-quarters of the old Sahar tahsil remained at Sahar; but the records and establishments were removed to Chhata in 1857 and have ever since remained there. The last change came in 1894 when the tahsil of Kosi was abolished and the Kosi pargana was amalgamated with that of Sahar or Chhata to form the Chhata tahsil.
At the present day the tahsil constitutes a revenue and criminal subdivision which is generally entrusted to the senior joint, assistant or deputy magistrate on the district staff. For purposes of police administration there are stations at Chhata, Kosi, Sahar, Barsana, Shergarh and Majhoi.

DAGHAITA, Tahsil MAHABAN
This village lies in 27° 25' N. and 77° 54' E., nine miles east of Mahaban and thirteen miles from the civil station of Muttra. It has a total area of 2,392 acres and is assessed to a revenue demand of Rs. 5,246, the zamindars being Brahmans, who purchased from the original Jat proprietors. In 1901 the population numbered 2,333 persons, of whom 116 were Muhammadan and 43 of other religions than Hinduism, Chamars being the numeri cally strongest Hindu caste. The place contains a primary school; and a market is held every Monday, at which traffic in agricultural stock is mostly carried on.

FARAH, Tahsil MUTTRA
Farah lies not far from the right bank of the Jumna in 27° 19'N. and 77° 45' E., sixteen miles south of Muttra, on the metalled road to Agra. The town contains a police station, post-office, a small inspection house belonging to the district board, and an encamping-ground for troops. When it was the headquarters of a pargana, it also contained a tahsili school, but at the present time there is only a primary school for boys. Markets are held on Mondays and Fridays. The town was founded by Hamida Begam, the mother of Akbar. About 1555 A.D., during the exile of Humayun, it was the scene of a battle between Sikandar Shah, a nephew of Sher Shah, and Ibrahim Shah, in which the latter was defeated. After the sack of Ol in 1737 A.D., Suraj Mal removed the tahsil to Farah; and it is since this time that the town has been of importance. Eighty-four villages in the pargana of Farah, including the town, were detached from Agra and added to Muttra in 1879.
Farah has been administered under the provisions of Aet XX of 1856 since 1866. The income under the house assessment averages some Rs. 760 yearly and is expended in the usual way on the maintenance of extra police, a small conservancy staff and works of improvement in the town. The population in 1881 was returned at 3,642 persons, and this fell to 2,569 in 1891. At the last enumeration in 1901 the inhabitants num bered 2,795 of whom 1,302 were women. Classified according to religions there were 1,641 Hindus, 1,150 Musalmans and 4 others.
The town site is the property of the Government. There is a station called Farah close to the town on the Agra-Dehli Chord section of the Great Indian Peninsula railway; and the Village Sanitation Act (U. P. Act II of 1892) is in force.

GIROI, Tahsil CHHATA
A large agricultural village lying in 27° 45' N. and 77° 23' E., on the western border of the district, nine miles west of Chhata and 27 miles north-west of Muttra. In 1901 the village had a population of 2,186 persons, of whom 2,121 were Hindus and 65 were Musalmans, Jats being the predominant Hindu caste. The total area of the village is 3,013 acres and it is assessed to a revenue demand of Rs. 5,724. The zamindwrs are Jats and of the same pal as those of the adjoining village of Nandgaon, in eoncert with whom they annually celebrate the Phul Dol on the banks of a pond called Gendokhar Kund, on the thirteenth day of the light half of Phagun. The place contains a primary school, and is also known as Gindoh or Gandwa.

GOBARDHAN, Tahsil MUTTRA
Gobardhan is situated sixteen miles from Muttra, on the metalled road to Dig in Bharatpur, in 27° 30'N. and 77°28E. Accord ing to the literal meaning of the Sanskrit compound, Gobardhan is "the nurse of cattle." It is a famous place of Hindu pilgrimage, and occupies a recess in a narrow sandstone hill some four or five miles in length. This hill has an average elevation of one hundred feet above the plain, and is ordinarily styled by the Hindus the Giriraj or royal hill, but in the earlier literature is more frequently designated the Annakut. It is the hill which Krishna is fabled to have held aloft on the tip of his finger for seven days and nights to cover the people of Braj from the storms poured down upon them by Indra. The ridge attains its greatest elevation towards the south between the villages of Jatipura and Anyaur. Here, on the summit, was an ancient temple founded in the year 1520 A.D. by the famous Valla bhacharya of Gokul and dedicated to Srinath. In anticipation of one of Aurangzeb's raids the image of the god was removed to Nathdwara in Udaipur territory and has remained there ever since, while the temple on the Giriraj has fallen into ruins. In the little village of Jatipura, at the foot of the hill, there are several temples, one of which, dedicated to Gokul Nath, has considerable local celebrity. It is the annual scene of two religious solemnities both celebrated on the day after the Dip-dan at Gobardhan. The first is the adoration of the sacred hill called the Giriraj Puja and the second the Annakut, or commemoration of Krishna's sacrifice. The dusty circular road which winds around the base of the hill has a length of seven Kos, or about twelve miles, and pious pilgrims may frequently be seen measuring their length along it the whole way round. This ceremony, called Dandanati pari-karama, occupies from a week to a fortnight, and is often performed vicariously for the wealthy by the Brahmans of the place.
The town clusters round the margin of a very large irregu larly shaped masonry tank called the Manasi Gangs which, as the name denotes, is supposed to have been called into existence by the operation of the divine will. At one end its boundary is formed by the jutting crags of the sacred rock; on all the other sides the water is approached by long flights of steps. It is said to have been first made into its present shape by Raja Man Singh of Jaipur in the reign of Akbar; but it has been since repeatedly repaired at great cost by successive Rajas of Bharatpur. During half the year it is almost dry;; but at the annual illumination (Dip-dan), which occurs at the festival of the Diwali in November, a fine broad sheet of water reflects the light of the innumerable lamps ranged tier above tier along the ghats and adjacent buildings by the pilgrims who then throng the town. The metalled road from Muttra to Dig passes through a break in the hill. This break is called Dan-ghat from the tradition that it was there that Krishna stationed himself to intercept the milk maids (gopis) and to levy a toll (dan) on the milk they were bringing in
Close to the Manasi Gangs is the famous temple of Harideva, erected during the reign of Akbar by Raja Bhagwan Das of Ambar on a site long previously occupied by a succession of humbler shrines. It consists of a nave sixty-eight feet in length and twenty feet broad, leading to a choir twenty feet square, with a sacrarium of about the same dimensions beyond. The con struction is extremely massive, and the exterior is still imposing though the two towers which originally crowned the choir and sacrarium were long ago levelled with the roof of the nave. The material employed throughout the superstructure is red sandstone from the Bharatpur quarries.
On the opposite side of the Manasi Ganga are two stately cenotaphs or chhattris to the memory of Randhir Singh and Baladeva Singh, Rajas of Bharatpur. Both are of similar design, but from an architectural point of view they are not of any great merit. In that which commemorates Baladeva Singh, who died in 1825, the British army figures conspicuously in the paintings on the ceilings of the pavilions. Raja Randhir Singh, who is commemorated by the companion monument, was the elder brother and predecessor of Baladeva Singh, and died in 1823. A mile or so from the town, on the borders of the village of Radhakund, is a much more magnificent architectural group erected by Jawahir Singh, in honour of his father Suraj Mal, the founder of the family. The principal chhattri, which is fifty-seven feet square, is of the same style as those already noticed. The Raja's monument is flanked on either side by one of smaller dimensions, commemorating his two queens, Hansiya and Kishori; while attached to Rani Hansiya's monument is a smaller one in commemoration of a faithful attendant. Behind is an extensive garden, and in front, at the foot of the terrace on which the chhattris stand, is an artificial lake called the Kusum Sarovar, 460 feet square. On the north side some progress had been made in the erection of a chhattri, for Jawahir Singh, when the work was interrupted by a Muhammadan in-road and never renewed. On the same side the ghats of the lake are partly in ruins, and it is said were reduced to this condition, a very few years after their completion, by Gosain Himmat Bahadur,. who carried away the materials to Brinda ban, to be used in the construction of a ghat which still com memorates his name there. A third cenotaph is being con structed in memory of Raja Jaswant Singh.
Gobardhan has been administered under Act XX. of 1856 since the year 1859. The income, which is raised by an assess ment according to circumstances and is usually known as the house-tax, averages some Rs. 2,635 yearly: it is expended in maintaining a small force of police for watch and ward, a staff of sweepers for conservancy and in simple works of improve ment to the town. The population of the town has considerably increased of late years: in 1881 it numbered 4,944 persons: by 1891 this figure had risen to 5,447, and at the last enumer ation in 1901 the inhabitants amounted to 6,738 souls. Classified according to religions there were 6,276 Hindus, 441 Musalmans and 21 others.
After the cession by Sindhia, in 1803, Gobardhan and a considerable number of villages were granted free of assessment to Kunwar Lachhman Singh, youngest son of Raja Ranjit Singh of Bharatpur, but on his death in 1826 they were annexed by the Government to the district of Agra. For many years the Rajas of Bbaratpur repeatedly solicited the Government to cede the place to them in exchange for other territory of equal value, as it contained so many memorials of their ancestors, but the requests were not granted. The town contains a police station, post-office, cattle-pound and lower primary school attended by some 80 boys. Market is held on Saturdays.The Village Sanitation Act (U. P. Act II of 1892) is in force in the town.

GOKUL, Tahsil MAHABAN
The town of Gokul lies in the west of tahsil Mahaban on the banks of the Jumna River in 27°27'N. and 77°44' E. It is only one mile from Mahaban and four miles south-east of Muttra, and is connected both with the railway bridge over the river opposite Muttra and the bridge-of-boats on the Muttra-Mahaban road by a metalled road. Though bearing a name of many legendary associations, it is in reality only the modern river-side suburb of the inland town of Mahaban. All the traditional sites of Krishna's adventures, though described in the Puranas as being at Gokul, are shown at Mahaban. However, in consequence of its retaining the ancient name, the modern suburb is considered much the more sacred place of the two. Its modern celebrity is derived from the great heiresearch Vallabhacharya, of whom some account has been given in Chapter III; and it is much frequented by pilgrims from the Bombay side, where the doctrines of the Vallabhacharya sect have been very widely propagated. From the opposite side of the river Gokul has a very picturesque appearance, but a nearer view shows its tortuous streets to be mean and crowded in spite of the fact that a large number of the buildings are of masonry. None of the temples, of which the number is very large, present a very imposing appearance. The three oldest, dedicated respectively to Gokul Nath, Madan Mohan and Bithal Nath, are ascribed to the year 1511 A.D. The most notable of the remainder are those of Dwarka Nath, dating from 1546 A.D.; of Balkrishn, from 1636 A.D.; and the two shrines erected in honour of Mahadeva by Bijai Singh, Raja of Jodh pur, in 1602. The principal melas are the Januma Ashtami in Bhadon and the Annakut on the day after the new moon of Kartik. The Trinavart Mela is also held on the fourth day of the dark half of Kartik, when paper figures of the demon are first paraded and then torn to pieces. The prin cipal gate of the town is that called the Gandipura darwaza: it is of stone with two corner turrets, but has never been com pletely finished. From it a road runs down to Gandipura on the bank of the river, where there is a baoli and a large house built by one Manohar Lal, a Bhattia. Below it is the Ballabh ghat, with Koila on the opposite bank of the stream. This road is much frequented by pilgrims, and a ferry plies over the river. The only other noteworthy ornament of the town is a large masonry tank constructed about 1850 by one Chunni Seth.
Gokul has been administered under Act XX of 1856 since the year 1859. The annual income of the town is some Rs. 1,525, which is expended on watch and ward, conservancy and simple improvements. The town is not a very clean one, its condition being attributed to the numerous cattle which are stalled in it every night and render it in reality what the name denotes, a cowpen (gokul). There is a small school in the town, and a combined post and telegraph office. The population appears to have somewhat decreased of late years: in 1881 it numbered 4,012 persons; this rose to 4,199 in 1891, but at the last enumeration in 1901, there were only 3,880 persons in the town, of whom 1,910 were females. Of the whole population 3,803 were Hindus and the remaining 77 were Musalmans. One small speciality of the place is the manufacture of silver toys and ornaments: these have already been described in Chapter II.The Village Sanitation Act (U. P. Act II of 1892) is in force in the town.

GUTAHRA, Tahsil SADABAD
This large village is situated in the south-east of the district, close to the Agra border, in 27°23'N. and 78°8'E. It lies six miles south-east from Sadabad and thirty-two miles from the dis trict headquarters. The total area of the village is 2,527 acres, and the revenue demand is Rs. 6,900. The place was founded by one Sheoraj, a Gahlot Rajput from Chitor, who ejected the Ahirs then in possession. The population has increased from 1,985 persons in 1881 to 2,595 persons in 1901; and the Hindu popu lation numbers 2,372 souls as against 223 Muhammadans. Rajputs still own a portion of the estate, but much of it has passed to Brahmans, Ahirs and Banias. Chamars are the predominant Hindu caste. The place contains an aided school and is also known by the name of Khera Ali Saiyid.

HASANPUR, Tahsil MAT
This is a large village situated in 27°50'N. and 77°47'E., near the boundary of the Aligarh district, sixteen miles from Mat, seven miles due east of Nohjhil and twenty-two miles from the city of Muttra. The village was founded in the seventeenth century by a Jat of Barauth, named Hansa. There is still a gateway in it called Chaukhat Hansa, and an old khera or deserted site bears the name Mahona. In 1901 Hasanpur had a population of 2,240 souls, 1,837 being Hindus, 135 Muhammadans and 268 of other religions, for the most part Aryas. The number of the inhabitants has increased from 1,910 in 1881. The total area of the village is 2,232 acres and it is assessed to a revenue demand of Re. 4,655, the zamindars being Jats. Hasanpur Contains both a boys' and a girls' school.

HATANA, Tahsil CHHATA
Hatana lies in 27°52'N. and 77°26'E., in the extreme north of the district near the Gurgaon border. The metalled road to Dehli and the Agra-Dehli Chord railway run about two and a half miler to the west of the village, and about a mile and a half to the east flows the Agra canal. The village has an area of 3,418 acres, assessed to a revenue demand of Rs. 5,237, the zamindars being a large community of Jats of the Sorot subdivision. The population increased from 2,117 in 1881 to 2,718 in 1901: of the latter 2,640 were Hindus and 78 were Muhammadans. Beyond the canal near Sessai lies the dahar or depression of Nandban, 365 bighas in extent. The latter is considered a hamlet of Hatana, but is really an offshoot of Sessai in Gurgaon. Here a temple of some size and very considerable local celebrity, dedicated to Lakshmi Narain, stands on the margin of an extensive lake faced on the temple side with masonry ghats. This is known as the Kshir Sagar or "Milky Sea."

JAIT, Tahsil MUTTRA
Jait lies on the provincial road from Muttra to Dehli, in 27°35'N. and 77°38'E., at a distance of nine miles from Muttra. Unmetalled roads lead from it to Shergarh, Brindaban, Ral and Sahar. The village has a total area of 3,569 acres and is assessed to a demand of Re. 4,419, the proprietor being Kunwar Sarat Chandra Sen, the heir of the Lala Babu, to whom the proprietary rights were transferred in 1811 A.D. for a very small considera tion. The population in 1881 numbered 1,512 souls; but in 1901 the number had risen to 2,291, of whom 2,145 were Hindus, 120 Musalmans and 26 of other religions. The predominant Hindu caste is that of Rajputs, who are for the most part of the Kachh waha clan, the clan of Raja Jasraj of Kotah, the founder of the village. Until 1808 the village was included in the pargana of Sonsa and formed part of the jagir granted to Balla Bai, the wife of Daulat Rao Sindhia: it was resumed in that year. Jait possesses a police station, post-office, cattle-pound and an aided school.
JALESAR ROAD RAILWAY STATION, Tahsil SADABAD. Vide MANIKPIIR.

JARAU, Tahsil SADABAD
This is a large agricultural village lying in 27°21'N. and 78°4'E., two miles east of the metalled road which runs past Sadabad to Agra, at a distance of seven miles from Sadabad. In 1881 it had a population of 2,123 souls, but this number had risen in 1901 to 2,635, 2,484 being Hindus, 148 Musal mans and three persons of other religions. The village is said to have been founded in the fourteenth century by Dip Singh, a Chauhan Rajput from Baman; but, besides his decendants, Brahmans and Banias now own shares in the village. The total area of the estate is 3,221 acres; it is assessed to a reve nue demand of Rs. 7,686. Market is held every Monday and Friday.

JAWARA, Tahsil MAT
Jawara is a large village nearly four miles due east of Mat in 27°38'N. and 77°47'E. The village has an area of 4,295 acres and is assessed to a revenue of Rs. 11,468, the zamindars being a mixed community of Jats, the original proprietors, Banias, Brahmans and Bairagis. The old name of the place was Jhunagarh; and here is situated the sacred grove of Chandraban, named after the sakhi, Chandravati, and a Bairagi's cell under the tutelage of Balmakund. The trees in the grove are pilu, babul and pasendu, with a few large and venerable kadambs. Jawara possesses a primary school, and market is held every Monday and Friday in Nagla Bari, a hamlet of the village. Fairs are held in the village on the second and third day of the Holi festival, and there is a dargah of Mir Sahib Sheikh Saddu where people assemble every Wednesday and Saturday. The population has increased from 4,066 souls in 1881 to 4,631 souls in 1901, 4,361 being Hindus, 258 Musalmans and 12 of other religions. Jats are the numerically strongest caste, and at the Mutiny a pitched battle was fought between these Jats and those of Aira Khera, in which as many as 450 lives are said to have been lost.

JHUNDAWAI, Tahsil MUTTRA
Jhundawai lies in the extreme south of the district in. 27°15'N. and 77°42'E., close to the Agra canal; it is sixteen miles distant in a direct line from the civil station of Muttra. It is a large village with an area of 2,990 acres and is assessed to a demand of Rs. 5,771, the zamindars being partly Jats and partly Kashmiri Brahmans, represented by Pandit Bishambar Nath. The place contains a primary school, but is otherwise one of no importance, and the population has somewhat decreased; for in 1881 there were 3,347 inhabitants whereas in 1901 the number had fallen to 3,039, of whom 2,861 were Hindus, 168 were Musal mans and 10 of other religions.

KAMAI, Tahsil CHHATA
This large village lies about four miles due west of Sahar, at a distance of ninteen miles from Muttra, in 27°38,N. and 77°26'E. It has a total area of 4,108 acres, assessed to a revenue demand of Rs. 5,000, and the population in 1901 numbered 2,612 persons, of whom 2,526 were Hindus, 80 Muhammadan and six of other religions. The village is owned by a large community of Jadon Rajputs, and is one of the stations in the Banjatra. The Ras Lila is celebrated here on the sixth day of the light half of Bhadon and the Phul Dol fair is kept on the fifth day of the dark half of Chait. The village contains a primary school, four small temples and three sacred ponds called Hari-kund, Baladeva kand and Piri-pokhar.

KAMAR, Tahsil CHHATA
The town of Kamar lies in 27°49N. and 77°21'E., at a distance of thirty-three miles from Muttra and six miles from Kosi. The village has an area of 3,544 acres, and the town, though still a considerable place with a large trade in cotton; was of much greater importance during the early part of the 18th century, when Thakur Badan Singh, the father of Raja Suraj Mal, married a daughter of one of the resident families. A walled garden outside the town contains some monuments of the lady's kinsmen, and in connection with it is a large masonry tank supplied with water brought by aqueducts from the surrounding rakhya or woodland. This is more than a thousand acres in extent, and according to the village computation is three kos long, including the village which occupies the centre. At a little distance is a lake with unfinished stone ghats, the work of Raja Suraj Mal; this is called Durvasakund. A temple of Suraj Mal's foundation, dedicated to Madan Mohan, is specially affected by all the jats of the Bahinwar pal, who are accounted its chelas or disciples, and assemble here to the number of 4,000 on the second day of the dark fortnight of Chait to celebrate the Phut Dol mela. In the town are several large brick mansions built by Chaudhris Jaswant Singh and Sita Ram, connections of Raja Suraj mal: but they are all in ruins.
Kamar was formerly administered under Act XX of 1856, but the provisions of the Act were withdrawn before 1891. In 1881 the town had a population of 3,771 persons: this fell to 3,458 in 1901. Of the whole number 3,262 were Hindus, 159 were Musalmans and 37 persons were of other religions. Jats are the predominant Hindu caste, and there are some Jains resi dent in the place. It contains a school, and a weekly market is held on Mondays. Kamar is owned for the most part by a large community of Jats, and is assessed to a revenue demand of Rs. 4,679.

KANJAULI, Tahsil SADABAD
A large agricultural village, eight miles south of Sadabad and thirty-two miles from Muttra via the metalled road and Sadabad. The village lies about two miles west of the provincial road from Sadabad to Agra, in 27°20'N. and 78°2'E. The area of the village is 2,007 acres and it is assessed to a revenue demand of Rs. 6,104, the proprietors being Jats. The population in 1881 was 2,644 persons, but in 1901 the number had increased to 3,193, of whom 3,004 were Hindus and 189 were Musalmans. The village contains a primary school, but is otherwise a place of no importance.

KARAB, Tahsil MAHABAN
Karab lies on the metalled road from Raya to Baldeo in 27°28'N. and 77°48'E., at a distance of six miles from Mahaban and Raya, and fourteen miles from Muttra city via Raya. The village has an area of 3,121 acres and is assessed to a demand of Rs. 7,382. The original owners were Jats of the Hag got, but much of the property has passed into the hands of Brahmans, now represented by Bohra Gajadhar Singh. The village contains a primary school, and the market, which is held every Thursday, is the largest in the district for the sale of leather. The population in 1901 numbered 2,689 souls, of whom 2,577 were Hindus, 87 Muhammadans and 25 of other religions, Chamars being the numerically strongest Hindu caste.

KARAHRI, Tahsil MAT
This village is situated in the centre of the tahsil, 27°44N and 77°47'E., at a distance of eight miles from Mat and eighteen miles from the city of Muttra. The area of the village is 2,724 acres and its revenue Rs. 6,453; while its population in 1901 was 3,096 souls, an increase of 275 persons over the figure of 1881. Of the whole number 2,685 were Hindus, 317 were Musalmans and 94 were of other religions, chiefly Aryas; and the predomi nant Hindu caste was that of Chamars. The zamindars were once Dhakara Rajputs; but now most of the area has passed to Musalmans of Salimpur in Aligarh, Jais Rajputs, Jats and Banias. There are an old sarai, a ruined indigo factory, two; small temples and a primary school in the village; and markets are held in it every Tuesday and Friday, the latter day being-confined to the sale of cattle. A large orchard of mango, jamun, amla, labera and other trees forms one of the pleasantest camp ing-grounds in the tahsil.

KHAIRA, Tahsil CHHATA
This large village is situated in 27°42'N. and 77°27'E., four miles west-south-west from Chhata and twenty miles north-west from Muttra city. The name is said to be derived from khadira ban, where there is a pond called Krishna-kund, the scene of an annual fair. It has two masonry ghats and the same Raja of Burdwan, who constructed the Pan Sarovar at Nandgaon, had commenced facing the whole of it with stone, but the work was stopped almost at the beginning by his death. On its margin is a temple of Baladeva with a handsome chhatri in memory of one Rup Ram, Bohra, built about 1845 by his widow. Another temple with the title of Gopinath is said to have been founded by the famous Todar Mal of Akbar's time. There are three other temples called respectively Madan Mohan, Darsan Bihari and Maha Prabhu, and two small lakes bearing the names of Bhawani and Chinta-Khori. In 1881 Khaira had a popu lation of 2,629 souls, but in 1901 the number had risen to 3,253, of whom 3,092 were Hindus, 139 Muhammadans and 22 of other religions, chiefly Jains. The area of the village is 4,153 acres and the revenue demand on it amounts to Rs. 7,200, the zamindars as well as the numerically strongest Hindu caste being Ahiwasis. Thera is a primary school in the place, and market is held every Saturday.

KOSI, Tahsil CHHATA
Kosi is the largest town in the Chhata tahsil and is situated in 27°48'N. and 77°26,E. on the Agra-Dehli road at a distance of twenty-eight miles from Muttra. The name is popularly supposed to be a corruption of kusasthali, another name for Dwarka. In 4confirmation of this belief it is pointed out that there are in Kosi places named Ratnakar Kund, Maya Kund, Bisakha Kund and Gomati Kund, just as there are at Dwarka.
The town lies in a low situation and is surrounded by hollows full of water. The Agra canal runs at a short distance from the site and the whole country round about is saturated with water. For many years it was found impossible to drain the place because there was no proper outfall, a drain leading into the canal being quite inadequate for the purpose. Conse quently Kosi was very unhealthy, the death-rate from fever being particularly high, In 1903-4, however, the Kosi arterial drain was constructed by the Irrigation department, and at the same time the municipal board made a branch drain to join it: this has had the effect of reducing the water level in the hollows round the town. In the centre stands a large sarai, covering nine and a half bighas of land, with high embattled walls, corner kiosks and two arched gateways, all of stone. This is ascribed to Khwaja Itibar Khan, governor of Dehli in the reign of the emperor Akbar. The principal bazar lies between the two gateways. A large masonry tank, of nearly equal area with the sarai, dates from the same time, and is called the Ratnakar Kund, or more commonly the pakka talao. Three other tanks bear the names of Maha-kund Bisakha-kund and Gomati-kund: the last, near which the fair of the Phul Dol is held on the second of the dark fortnight of Chait, is accounted the most sacred and is certainly the prettiest spot in the town. The pond is of considerable size, but of very irregular shape and has a large island in the centre. There are two or three masonry ghats, constructed by wealthy traders of the town, and on all three sides of it there are numbers of small shrines and temples. A little beyond the site on the northern side, close to the canal and not far from the idgah is a tirath or place of pilgrimage called Mabhai, with a masonry tank and temple.
Kosi contains a first-class police station, a combined post and telegraph office, second-class branch dispensary and primary school. There is also a municipal bungalow available as a rest-house. The town was constituted a municipality in 1866, and has always been a flourishing market town. Market is usually held on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. The chief articles of traffic are food grains, cotton, cloth, cattle and ghi. As a cattle-mart Kosi is well known in this portion of India: animals come from all parts, especially the Punjab, and some 30,000 are annually bought and sold. The nakh-khas or cattle-market is of large extent and supplied with every convenience—a fine masonry well, long ranges of feeding troughs and so forth. The trade in cotton is extensive; and there are six cotton ginning mills and presses employing between them some 580 hands. The popula tion of the town has considerably decreased since 1872: in that year the inhabitants numbered 12,770 persons. In 1881 the number had fallen to 11,231, and by 1891 there was a further decrease to 8,404. At the last enumeration in 1901 the popula tion was returned at 9,565 souls of whom 4,577 were women. Classified according to religions there were 5,496 Hindus, 3,552 Musalmans, 470 Jains, seven Christians and 40 others of un speefied religion. The Jains, or Saraogis as they are generally called, are an important community in the town. They have heres three temples, dedicated respectively to Padma Prabhu, Nem Nath and Arishtanemi. A festival is held at the temple of Nem Nath on the day after the full moon of Bhadon when water is brought for the ablution of the idol from a well in a garden at some distance. No processional or other displays however are permitted.
On May 31st, 1857, the rebels on their march to Dehli stopped at Kosi and, after burning down the customs bungalow and pillaging the police station, plundered the tahsil of the small sum of Rs. 150, which was all that they found there. The records were scattered to the winds but were to a great extent subsequently recovered. The towns-people and the inhabitants of the adjoining villages remained well affected and gave what help they could in maintaining order. As a reward for their good behaviour one year's revenue was remitted and a grant of Rs 50 was made to each lumbardar. Kosi has now a station called after it on the Agra-Dehli Chord section of the Great Indian Peninsula railway. This has fostered the direct trade with Bombay, to which place most of the cotton is exported.

KOTBAN, Tahsil CHHATA
Kotban lies at a distance of thirty-two miles from Muttra and four miles from Kosi, close to the Dehli road, in 26°51'N. and 77°25'E. The village has a total area of 2,943 acres and the zamindars are for the most part Jats, who hold it in bhaiyachara tenure, paying a revenue demand of Rs. 4,783. The village contains an aided school and a population of 2,175 persons, of whom 2,074 are Hindus and 101 Muhammadans. Kotban is the northern limit of the Banjatra. A pond bears the name of Sital-kund, and there is a temple of Sita Ram, also two large brick houses and a masonry tank constructed by Chaudhri Sita Ram, a con nection of the Rajas of Bharatpur.

KURSANDA, Tahsil SADABAD
Kursanda is rather a group of villages than a single village, which lie close to the Aligarh-Agra metalled road, three miles south of Sadabad and twenty-three miles east of Muttra, in 27°24'N. and 78°2'E. The village was first settled by a Jat of the Hags got Puran Chand, who bestowed part of the land on his family priest, Chandu Pande. Their descendants still hold the bulk of the village, which has an area of 4,541 acres and is assessed to a revenue demand of Rs. 15,994. Kursanda was the home of the outlaw Deo Karan, who plundered Sadabad in the Mutiny and was subsequently, along with Zalim of the same village, hanged for rebellion. The village contains a primary school and is an old market town of some importance, bazar days being Sundays and Thursdays. The population of the combined hamlets amounted to 5,625 souls in 1881, and in 1901 the number of the inhabitants had risen to 6,663, of whom 6,193 were Hindus, 382 Muhammadans and 88 of other religions, chiefly Jains. Jats are the numerically strongest Hindu caste.

MAGORRA, Tahsil MUTTRA
This town lies in 27°24'N. and, 77°34'E., twelve miles west-south-west of Muttra and two miles north of the metalled road to Bharatpur. The real name of the place is Mangotla, and it was, both under the Mughals and the Jats, the head of a revenue subdivision: it is also reputed to be a place of great antiquity. After being long deserted it was resettled by a family of Tomar Rajputs who divided it into four estates, which they called after their own names—Ghatam, Ram, Ajit and Jajan. These four pattis are now to all intents and purposes distinct estates with the Magorra bazar as their common centre, and there is no such mauza as Magorra. The population of the united township in 1901 was 4,759 persons, 4,445 being Hindus, 312 Muhammadans and two of other religions. Jats are the numerically strongest Hindu caste, and the zamindars are a mixed community of Jats, Banias and Brahmans. The total area of the pattis that form the township of Magorra is 4,359 acres and the revenue demand is Rs. 5,945. A weekly market is held every Thursday, and there is a primary school in the place, besides a railway station on the Nagda-Muttra railway.

MAHABAN, Tahsil MAHABAN
The headquarters town of the tahsil of the same name lies in 25°27'N. and 77°45'E. near the left bank of the Jumna. It is distant some six miles from Muttra on the metalled road to Sadabad, and may be approached either by the railway bridge near Muttra city or by the bridge-of-boats over the river on the direct road, some two miles further south.
Though the country in its neighbourhood is now singularly bare the name Mahaban denotes that there must have been at one time a wood in the loeality; and so late as the year 1634 A.D., the emperor Shahjahan ordered a hunt here and killed four tigers. The connection between Muttra and Mahaban has always been of a most intimate character; for, according to the legend, Krishna was born at the one and cradled at the other. Both places too make their appearance in history together, having been sacked by Mahmud of Ghazni in 1018 A.D. From the effects of this catastrophe it would seem that Mahaban was never able to recover. It is casually mentioned by Minhaj as one of the gathering places for the imperial army sent by the emperor Altamsh against Kalinjar in 1234 A.D. and the emperor Babar incidentally refers to it, as, if it were a place of importance still, in the year 1526 A.D. At the present day, however, though it is the seat of a tahsili, it can scarcely be called more than a considerable village. One or two large private residences have been built since 1870 with fronts of carved stone in the Muttra style; but the temples are all exceedingly mean and of no antiquity. The largest and also the most sacred is that dedicated to Mathura nath, but it is only built of brick and plaster. There are two other small shrines of some interest: in one the demon Trinavart is represented as a pair of enormous wings overhanging the infant god; the other bears the dedication of Maha Mall Rae "the great champion prince," a title given to Krishna.
A great part of the town is occupied by a high hill, partly natural, partly artificial, where stood the old fort. This is said to have been built by the same Rana Katira of Mewar to whon is ascribed also the fort at Jalesar. According to one tradition he had been driven from his own country by the Musalmans and took refuge with the Raja of Mahaban, by name Digpal his son Kant Kunwar married Digpal's daughter, and apparently succeeded to his father-in-law's dominions. He made a grant of the whole township of Mahaban to his family priests, who were Sanadh Brahmans; their descendants bear the title of chaudhri and still own shares in Mahaban known as thok chaudhriyan. The fort was recovered by the Muhammadans in the reign of Ala-ud-din by Sufi Yahya of Meshed, who intro duced himself and a party of soldiers inside the walls in litters disguised as Hindu ladies who wished to visit the shrines of Shiam Lala and Rohini. The Rana was killed, and one-third of the town was granted by the sovereign to Sufi Yahya. The place where he was buried is shown at the back of the Chhathi Palna, but is unmarked by any monument. The share granted to him is still owned by his descendants and is known as thok Saiyidat.
The shrine of Shiam Lala still exists as a mean little cell, perched on the highest point of the fortifications on the side which looks towards the Jumna. It is believed to be the spot where Jasoda gave birth to Maya, or Joganidra, substituted by Vasudeva for the infant Krishna. But by far the most interest ing building is a covered court called Nanda's palace, or more commonly the Assi-Khamba, i.e., the eighty pillars. In its present form it was erected by the Muhammadans in the time of Aurangzeb out of old materials to serve as a mosque, and, as it now stands, it is divided, by five rows of sixteen pillars each, into four aisles or rather into a centre and two narrower side asiles, with one broad outer cloister. These columns were certainly sculptured before the sack of Mahaban in 1018, and it is possible that they are the wreck of several different temples. The Bud dhist character of the building or buildings which supplied the columns is decided by the discovery of Buddhist remains let into parts of the building. Krishna's reputed cradle, a coarse struc ture, covered with calico and tinsel, still stands in the pillared hall, while a dark blue image of the sacred child looks out from a canopy against the wall. The churn from which he stole his foster-mother's butter is shown, and consists of a carved stone in which a long bamboo is placed, while a spot in the wall is pointed out as the place where the sportive milk-maids hid Krishna's flute. In addition to the steady stream of devotees from all parts of India, the pillared hall is resorted to by Hindu mothers from the neighbouring districts for their purification on the sixth day after childbirth, whence the building derives its local name of the Chhatthi Palna, or place of the Chhatthi Puja, i.e.,"the sixth day of worship." Mahaban was doubtless the site of some of those Buddhist monasteries which the Chinese pilgrim Fa-Hian distinctly states existed in his time on both sides of the river; and the town is probably the site intended by the Kliso boras or Clisobora of Arrian and Pliny.
Mahaban has been administered under Act XX of 1856 since the year 1859. It has an annual income of Rs. 1,150 which is raised by house assessment in the usual way, and expended in the maintenance of extra police, a small conservancy staff and in the carrying out of small improvements. The popula lation has steadily decreased of late years: in 1872 it numbered 6,930, but at the last enumeration in 1901, the number of inhabitants was returned at 5,523, of whom 2,640 were women. Classified according to religion there were 3,711 Hindus, 1,791 Musalmans, and 21 others. The town has a police station, cattle-pound, middle-vernacular school, and a post-office. A weekly market is held on Wednesdays. The Village Sanitation Act (U. P. Act II of 1892) is in the force in town.

MAHABAN Tahsil
Mahaban tahsil which is conterminous with the pargana of the same name lies between the parallels of 27°14' and 27°41' north latitude and 77°41' and 77°57' east longitude. The tahsil lies wholly to the east of the Jumna river which forms its boun dary on the west and south; tahsil Mat is on the north, tahsil Sadabad on the south-east, and parganas Gorai and Mursan of the Iglas and Hathras tahsils of the Aligarh district are on the north-east. The tahsil is somewhat irregular in shape. It narrows to a point on the extreme north, where it runs wedge-like between parganas Mat and Gorai; and in the extreme south it juts out into two narrow promontories, near Akos and Nera, which are almost encircled by the Jumna. In the centre the pargana widens considerably and opposite the city of Muttra it reaches its maximum breadth of fourteen miles. Its maximum length from Nimgaon to Sehat is thirty-two miles, or nearly two and a half times its greatest breadth. The most striking physical feature that distinguishes the tahsil from other parganas situated in the Doab further east is the fact that it borders the windings of the Jumna river for at least fifty miles. For a distance varying from one to three miles inland from the high banks of the stream the effect of the river on the character of the country is most marked. This belt of country is uneven in surface, broken up either by ravines or obtrusive sand-hills. The ravines do not here run in an unbroken chain along the whole course of the stream but often entirely disappear, giving place to the sand-hills which are a more common feature of the landscape higher up the river; while in those parts where these sandhills are most developed the ravines never extend far inland and are nowhere very deep, rugged or intricate. Thus from Panigaon to Muttra city, where for a distance of six miles the river sweeps in an outward curve from the Mahaban bank, there are no ravines of any consequence, but a series of sandhills instead; while on the opposite side, along the road from Muttra to Brindaban, the ravines are both deep and extensive. After the Muttra railway bridge is passed the curve of the river changes, and ravines begin to appear in Gopalpur. These get wider and deeper as Gokul is approached; but beyond Gokul the river takes a sudden bend outwards, and in that bend the soil is a pure drifting sand. Beyond this bend the curve of the river again turns inwards with the result that ravines are found at Jogipur, Nabi pur and Nurpur; next comes the loop of Sherpur and Bassi with its heavy sand, followed in turn by the most marked inward curve in the pargana. This extends from Bassi to Nagla Azim, and in it extensive ravines, the worst in the tahsil, are formed. This belt of sand and ravines is for the most part uncultivated, and exercises but little influence on the general rent-rate of the pargana. It is valuable for grazing purposes, as some of the ravines are wooded with scrub jungle, and in the sandy tracts sarpat grass grows in profusion. As soon as the zone influenced by the river is passed the country becomes level and uniform in surface, similar in almost every respect to the tahsil of Sadabad. The prevailing soil is good piliya or light loam. As in Sadabad isolated tracts of bhur or sand occur oven in this inland por tion, but they are on the whole of comparatively small area. If the conventional soils demarcated at the last settlement be divided among the natural soils that most closely correspond to them, 78 per cent. of the cultivated area in the upland is piliya, 14 per cent. is bhur, 7 per cent. is puth and one per cent. is tarai. Owing to the continuous action of the river the area and conformation of the Jumna valley or khadar land change yearly, as well as the proportion of it under cultivation. The soil is all alluvial and, as a large portion of it depends on the nature of the deposit left by the yearly flood, it varies in quality from year to year. The higher fields under the bangar cliff are generally of firmer soil and of better quality than those which are subject to inundation.
As the total area is thus apt to vary from year to year a better idea of the conformation of the tahsil will be gained from an average taken over a series of years than from the statistics of a single year. Thus for the five years ending in 1907 the total area amounted on an average to 153,697 acres or 240.1 square miles. Of this only 12,199 acres or 7.93 per cent. were recorded as barren waste, including, besides the land unfit for cultivation, that which was covered with water or with sites, roads, buildings and the like. The culturable area out of cultiva tion amounted to 19,209 acres or 12.49 per cent., well over half or 11,333 acres being returned as old fallow. During the same period the area under the plough averaged 122,288 acres or 79.56 per cent. of the whole, a higher proportion than in any other tahsil except Sadabad. Of this acreage 37,254 acres on the average were irrigated. Cultivation is close and good, and irrigation is extensively practised; but the area twice-cropped within the year averages only 12,101 acres or 9.88 per cent. of the cultivation, a smaller percentage than in any other tahsil except Sadabad. For many years the Mahaban and Sadabad tahsils were remark able for the amount of irrigation carried on from wells; but the continuous fall in the spring level from the famine of 1877-78 onwards and the increasing brackishness of the water in the wells which became alarming after the famine of 1896-97 seriously curtailed the available supply and resulted in a diminu tion of the area so irrigated. Since the opening of the Mat branch extension of the canal however, at the end of 1903, a marked improvement has taken place; and, of the total area watered during the five years ending in 1907, 17,648 acres have on an average been watered from the canal as against 19,557 served by wells. It is probable that as irrigation from the canal develops wells will be to a large extent displaced by the canal. At the same time the spring level in the wells will probably rise and the quality of the water will be improved. Another effect of canal irrigation will be to check the growth of the weed baisuri, which is prevalent in the tract extending from Raya on the north-west to Bisawar in Sadabad on the south-east. The kharif is the principal harvest and averages some 78,083 acres as against 55,503 acres sown in the rabi. The chief crops grown are juar, cotton and bajra, alone or mixed with arhar, in the autumn, and barley, alone or in combination with gram, and wheat in the spring. Small areas are devoted to maize, guar or khurti, moth, gram and peas.
The excellence of the cultivation in Mahaban is almost entirely due to the presence of the careful and industrious Jat husbandmen. These form about half the whole agricultural population; the other chief cultivating castes being Chamars, Brahmans, Rajputs, Ahirs, Barhais and Gadariyas. In 1907-08 proprietors as such held 16.23 per cent. of the holdings area, occupancy and ex-proprietary tenants 31.08 per cent., and tenants at-will 51.28 per cent., the small remainder being rent-free. Mahaban contains 201 villages, at present divided into 736 mahals. Of the latter 124, representing 13.02 per cent. of the area of the tahsil, are in the hands of single landholders, 109 or 10.16 per cent. are held in joint zamindari, 209 or 23.62 per cent. in perfect pattidari, and 246 or 45.08 per cent. in imperfect patti darri tenure; while six or less than one per cent. are recorded as bhaiyachara. The rest of the tahsil, 7.28 per cent. comprised in 42 mahals, is held revenue-free. Jats own 50,600 acres or just one-third of the pargana, and are closely followed by Brahmans with 44,632 acres or 29 per cent. After them come Banias 25,020, and Musalmans, 6,306 acres. The largest proprietor in the tahsil is Bohra Gajadhar Singh of Jagdispur in Mahaban who owns portions of 32 villages assessed to a revenue demand of Rs. 28,690. Ten whole villages and parts of four others are held by Raja Datt Prasad Singh of Mursan who pays revenue to the extent of Rs. 6,389; while Babu Kalyan Singh of Muttra holds portions of eight villages assessed in all to Rs. 3,900. The wealth iest proprietors of the Bania caste are those residing at Raya. The head of the family is Lala Radha Ballabh, an honorary magistrate. Among the Musalmans the Saiyids of Mahaban take the first place, having claims to an ancient and honourable pedigree.
In 1881 the tahsil had a population of 116,829 souls, and since that time the total has steadily increased. At the folio wing enumeration of 1891 the number had risen to 133,488, while in 1901 there were 136,566 inhabitants, of whom 62,520, were females. The average density is 569 persons to the square mile—a higher figure than in any other tahsil of the district except Sadabad and Muttra, in the latter of which the rate is swollen by the inclusion of a large city population. Classified according to religions there were 126,655 Hindus, 8,973 Musalmans, 582 Christians, 195 Jains, 158 Aryas and three Sikhs. Jats are the most numerous Hindu caste, numbering 32,842 persons, while after them come Brahmans, 23,150. Chamars, 17,915 and Banias, 8,704. Other castes with over two thousand members apiece are Gujars, Bairagis, Lodhas, Koris, Barhais, Nais, Kumhars and Rajputs. The last named are fewer in Mahaban than in any other tahsil of the district, and of the clans specified at the census the best represented were Chauhans and Gahlots. On the other hand converted Rajputs formed the most numerous subdivision of the Muhammadan population, and were followed by Qassabs, Sheikhs and Julahas. The tahsil is mainly agricultural in character and there is no commercial or industrial centre in it, practically the entire population being dependent for its live lihood on agriculture or the trade in agricultural produce.
There are four towns in the tahsil which are administered under Act XX of 1856. Mahaban is the headquarters of the tahsil establishment; Gokul and Baldeo are important religious centres, and Raya is a township and market town, situated on the Cawnpore-Achnera railway. Besides these there are some large and important villages, such as Wairni, Pachawar, Akos, Daghaita, Barauli, Karab and Sahora, which are agricultural estates containing over two thousand inhabitants. Lists of the markets ,fairs,schools and post-offices will be found in the appendix.
The communications of Mahaban are equal to its need .The metalled roads from Muttra to Sadabad and Hathras run from west to east across it from the railway bridge at Mattura city. From Raya a metalled road runs north to Mat, and there are second-class unmatelled roads to Baldeo and Sadabad, and a sixth class road direct to Mahaban. Other unmatelled roads run direct from Mahaban to Agra past Barauli and Nera, and from Baldeo to Kanjauli in Sadabad where the Aligarh-Agra metelled road is met. Besides the railway bridge at Muttra which ensures communication at all seasons of the year, the passage of the Jumna is effected by a bridge-of-boats in the hot and cold weather at gokulghat on the direct road to Mahaban, and by ferries at Koila, Basai, Lahroli, Tatrauta and Kanjauli, the ferries in the three last cases being worked from the Muttra side.
The early history of the tahsil is bound up with that of the district and has been sufficiently set fourth in chapter V. In the days of Akber, Mahaban was one of the 33 mahals of sarkar Agra. In addition to its present area, it then contained the present paragna of Mat and a part of paragna Sadabad. Immediately after the cession in 1803 it was attached to the Aligarh district, and was one of the paragna held in farm by Thakur Daya Ram of Hathras until 1808. In 1815, on the constitution of the sub-collectorate of Sadabad, it became a part of it and continued so until, in 1824,Sadabad was raised to the rank of an independent district. In 1832 it became a part of the newly formed Muttra district. Since then its boundaries have been enlarged by the addition of tappas Raya and Sonai, formerly recognized as two district subdivisions; taluqas Ar lashkarpur, Madim and Sonkh, with three villages besides from paragna Mursan; nine villages from Mat, two villagas from Sadabad; and one village from Aligarh.
For administrative purpose the tahsil constitutes a subdivision in the charge of a full-powered officer on the district staff. In police matters the jurisdiction is divided between the police station of Mahaban , Raya and Baldeo; while there are also bodies of town police at Mahaban, Gokul, Baldeo and Raya.

MAJHOI, Tahsil CHHATA
Majhoi is an agricultural village of no great size in 27°52'N. and 77°35'E., on the banks of the Jumna, twenty-eight miles north from Muttra and nine miles east-north-east from Kosi. With the latter place it is connected by an unmetalled road, and there is a ferry over the river which is annually leased by the dis trict board. The population of the place has declined from 657 souls in 1881 to 412 souls in 1901. The Hindu inhabitants num bered 404 persons, the Muhammadans seven and there was one Jain. The predominant Hindu caste is that of Gujars, who were originally the proprietors of the village; but it was confiscated at the Mutiny for rebellion and conferred on Raja Gobind Singh of Hathras. The present owner is Kunwar Mahendra Pratap Singh, the adopted son of Raja Har Narain Singh, the heir of Raja Gobind Singh. The village has a total area of 2,132 acres and pays a revenue demand of Rs. 1,000. Two large baghs in it commemorate the names of Chaina and Serhu, two members of the Gujar community; and there are two old sati tombs here. Majhoi contains a police station, post-office and primary school; the last is maintained from funds contributed by Kunwar Mahendra Pratap Singh and is a large one. Two small fairs are held in honour of Debi on the eighth day of the light half of Chait and the corresponding day of the light half of Kuar.

MANIKPUR, Tahsil SADABAD
This is a small village in the extreme east of the district, distant thirty-three miles from Muttra and nine miles from Sadabad. It lies in 27°27'N. and 78°11'E., and is only of importance because it contains the railway station on the East Indian railway which goes by the name of Jalesar Road. The population of the village in 1901 was 263 persons, to which must be added 38 for the population of the railway station, making 301 in all. Of this number 252 were Hindus, 43 Musalmans and six were Jains. Jats are the numerically strongest Hindu caste. There is a post-office at the station.

MAT, Tahsil MAT
The headquarters town of the tahsil lies in 27°36'N. and 77°48'E., at a distance of twelve miles from Muttra. Though it stands immediately on the high bank of the Jumna, it is separated from the actual bed of the stream by a mile of sand, and the ferry which connects it with Sakariya on the opposite bank is therefore very little used. Four miles lower down the stream is the bridge-of-boats at Brindaban, the road leading to it skirting for some distance the margin of a large morass, called the Moti jhil. A metalled road, eight miles long, connects the place with Raya sta tion on the Cawnpore-Achnera railway; and at the end of this road in Mat is a comfortable inspection house belonging to the district board. Though it gives its name to a tahsil, Mat is a small and unimportant place. It contains a police station, pound, vernacular secondary school and post-office, the tahsil and police station standing within the enclosure of an old mud fort. Though there is no grove of trees to justify the title, Mat is still designated one of the Upabans, and is a station in the Ban jatra, the name being derived from the milk-pails (Mat) here upset by Krishna in his childish sports. At Chhahiri, a little higher up the stream, is the sacred wood of Bhandirban with a small modern temple, rest-house and well in the centre. A large fair, chiefly attended by Bengalis, is held here on the ninth of the dark fortnight of Chait, and is called the Gwal-mandala. The township is divided into two parts, called Raja and Mula and was administered for some years under Act XX of 1856: but the provisions of the Act were subsequently withdrawn. The area of the revenue mauza is 5,149 acres and it is assessed to a demand of Rs. 7,390, the zamindars being Rajputs, Brahmans, Banias and Musalmans. The popula tion which in 1881 numbered 2,550 persons had increased to 3,882 at the last enumeration in 1901. Of the whole number 1,736 were females; Hindus numbered 3,346 and Musalmans 519, there being 17 persons of other religions. The predominant caste among the former was that of Rajputs. Market is held on Thursdays.