Mathura A Gazetteer-3

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

THE PEOPLE

EARLY ENUMERATIONS

Owing to the interchange of villages between Muttra and the neighbouring districts, any even approximately accurate statement of the population for the earliest periods is im­possible. Moreover in 1874 the Jalesar pargana was trans­ferred to Etah and 84 villages of pargana Farah were received in 1878 in compensation from Agra. As, however, Jalesar has ceased bodily to form a portion of the district, it is possible by excluding it to obtain from the earlier censuses an appro­ximate idea of the changes in the population for all but 84 villages in the district; and as the Farah portion differs little in characteristics from the rest of the Muttra tahsil, the enumerations may be accepted as representative of the whole. The first census taken in Muttra was that of 1848: but it was in reality little more than an estimate. The total population returned amounted to 583,705 persons. The results were generally discredited, and their unreliability was proved six years later when a far more accurate enumeration was made. The population in 1853 was 718,512 persons, the density being 542 persons to the square mile on a total area of 1,326.5 square miles. This was an increase of 134,807 persons or over 23 per cent. on the figures of 1848. The rate ranged from 1,424 persons to the square mile in the Sadr tahsil to 391 in the pargana of Sahar, now represented by south-western Chhata. The next census was taken in 1865, details as to castes, occupations, and other important matters being for the first time recorded. During the interval since 1853 the district had passed through the Mutiny, suffered from two severe epidemics of cholera and small-pox, and the famine of 1861. The returns showed a total of 667,847 souls, the decrease in the twelve years being 50,665 or 7 per cent: The density had fallen to 504 persons per square mile. The next enumeration was that of 1872. The district, still excluding Jalesar and the Farah villages, was found to contain 729,580 inhabitants, the resultant density on an area of 1,325 square miles being 551 persons to the square mile. If now the population and area of the Farah villages be added, the total area amounts to 1,408 square miles and the population to 782,460 persons or 556 persons to the square mile. From this point onwards comparisons for the whole district as now constituted can be made.

CENSUS OF 1881

By the time of the next enumeration in 1881, the number of inhabitants was found to have decreased by no less than 110,770. The population was returned at 671,690 persons and the area by the survey at 1,452.7 square miles. The density was thus 462 persons per square mile. The most thickly populated pargana was that of Muttra with 591 persons to the square mile, but the figure was swollen by the inclusion of the city population. Next came the fertile pargana of Sadabad with 493 and lowest in the scale was Chhata with only 370 persons to the square mile. The decrease may be attributed principally to the famine of 1878. This famine caused extensive migration. Severe epidemics of fever too prevailed after it and raised the rate of mortality to an abnormal figure. All tahsils lost heavily in population.

CENSUS OF 1891

During the following decade there was continuous progress and prosperity. By 1891 the population had increased to 713,421 souls, and the density to 490 persons to the square mile. On this occasion the increase was common to Muttra, southern Chhata, Mahaban and Sadabad; but Kosi or northern Chhata and Mat lost over 5,000 inhabitants each. The relative position of the tahsils, however, had not changed. Muttra was still the best populated pargana, the density being 593 persons to the square mile. Chhata tahsil came last and had only 370 persons to the square mile.If the city population be excluded from the returns, the density is only 439 persons to the square mile.

CENSUS OF 1901

The last census was taken in 1901 and it was then ascertained that the increase of population had been maintained and at an even higher rate than between 1881 and 1891. This is all the more remarkable because there had been famines in 1897 and 1900. The total number of inhabitants was returned at 763,099 persons. The average density was 524 persons to the square mile, or 482.4 if the city population be excluded. Every tahsil had shared in the rise, but the increase was most noticeable in Chhata and Muttra and was ascribed principally to immigration. This immigration had been encouraged by the extension of canal irrigation. The density was highest in Muttra tahsil, where it amounted to 623 persons to the square mile. Next in order came Sadabad with 605, Mahaban with 569 and Mat with 437 persons to the square mile. The least densely populated tahsil was Chhata, the number of persons to the square mile being only 428. The urban population living within the municipalities and Act XX towns numbered 142,655 souls or 18.7 per cent of the whole.

TOWN AND VILLAGES

In 1853 there were ten places possessing over 5,000 inhabitants, namely Muttra, Brindaban, Kosi, Mahaban, Gobar­dhan, Chhata, Shergarh, Kursanda, Ramgarh and Bisawar; but the population of the last three appears to have been swollen by the inclusion of that of many outlying hamlets. In 1872, however, Ramgarh was no longer on the list, and the number was reduced to nine. Moreover the place of Gobardhan had been taken by Surir. In 1881 the district contained 856 towns and villages, of which 698 contained less than 1,000 persons, while 101 others had less than 2,000 and 50 less than 5,000 inhabitants apiece. The remainder comprised Muttra, Brindaban and Kosi, which were then as now municipalities, and Chhata, Surir, Mahaban and Kursanda. Ten years later there were 850 towns and villages in Muttra, of which 674 had populations of less than 1,000, while 113 others had less than 2,000 and 54 between 2,000 and 5,000. The towns with over five thousand inhabitants included, besides those existing in 1891, Gobardhan and Shergarh. At the last census the total had increased by one: 654 villages contained under 1,000 persons, 122 others under 2,000, and 65 under 5,000. There remain ten and these were the three municipal towns and the Sadr bazar at Muttra, Gobardhan in tahsil Muttra, Surir in tahsil Mat, Mahaban, and Kursanda and Bisawar in Sadabad. The largest number of villages with over 500 inhabitants is to be found in the Muttra and Chhata tahsils, and after them comes Mahaban. In most parts, of the district the villages resemble those to be seen thoughout the west of the United Provinces. They generally consist of a single compact site, which when viewed from without is a mud-walled enclosure pierced by a few openings. The houses within are simi­lar mud-walled enclosures: inside is a small courtyard surrounded by low rooms or thatched sheds. In western Muttra, however, the sites are generally perched on hillocks. They have thus a fort-like appearance. They were constructed in this form, as has already been noted, in the days when the country was harried by Jat and Maratha marauders. In some of the older established towns such as Gobardhan, Barsana, Mahaban and Gokul, substantial edifices of masonry or stone are to be seen and these cities have an air of comfort and wealth. In Muttra city the houses are for the most part built of brick or stone. The general design common to all modern buildings is a front of carved stone with a grand central archway and arcaves on both sides; the latter are let out as shops on the ground floor. Storey upon storey above are projecting balconies supported on quaint corbels, the arches being filled in with minute reticulated tracery of an infinite variety of pattern and protected from the weather by broad eaves. Owing to the free use of stone both the buildings and the streets in Muttra city have an unusually tidy appearance, which is only marred by the many unsightly screens which are erected in front of the shops.

MIGRATION

The population is more affected by migration than that of any other district in the province, Dehra Dun and Naini Tal alone excepted. Nor is the fact surprising considering the close proximity of Rajputana. At the last census only 83.42 per cent. of the people enumerated in Muttra were born in the district, while 13.44 per cent. came from adjacent tracts, and 3.12 per cent. from other parts of India. The proportion of immigrants was thus 16.6 per cent. and the majority of these were women. This addition to the population, however, was practically all counteracted by emigration; for of all the persons who in 1901 gave Muttra as their birthplace 83.72 were enumerated in the district, 9.97 were found in other districts of the United Provinces and 6.31 per cent. in other parts of India. The total proportion of emigrants was thus 16.28 per cent. Resides the emigrants within India a certain number of natives of Muttra go further afield every year in search of labour, being recruited by agencies for British Guiana, Jamaica, Fiji and elsewhere. As regards internal migration there are no figures to form a basis for exact conclusions; but it is a well-known fact that during the decade from 1891 to 1901 a considerable number of persons left their homes in the trans-Jumna tahsils for those portions of the district which were protected by canal irrigation. Since the year of the census, however, the Mat branch extension of the canal has been opened and there will be no inducement for the people to migrate as they did before.

SEX

In 1853 the proportion of females to every hundred males was 86.2, and since that time there has been practically no increase. In 1865 it decreased to 84.1. In 1872 the proportion recorded was 85.2; in 1881 it rose to 86.1; in 1891 to 86.4; and in 1901 to 86.6. The proportion, however, is the highest in the Agra division, and differs little from that obtaining generally in the western portion of the province. The deficiency of females to males is more marked among the Hindus than among the Musalmans. This has been noted in many other districts; but none of the theories so far advanced, such as female infanticide or emigration, are entirely sufficient to account for the difference. The disproportion is found equally among nearly all the Hindu castes in the district, from the lowest to the highest: Kayasths are the only important caste in which females exceed males. In the city, where, however, the figures are to some extent affected by the influx of persons coming to be married in it, there appear to have been some curious fluctuations. In 1872 there were 92.6 females to every hundred males. This proportion declined to 91.1 in 1881 and to 83.8 in 1891, but rose at the last census to 87.2. The last figure is slightly in excess of the district average.

RELIGION

Of the total population recorded at the last census 680,096, or 89.12 per cent. were Hindus, 77,087 or 10.10 per cent. Musal­mans, 2,512 Jains, 2,262 Christians, 1,018 Aryas, 105 Sikhs, 16 Parsis and 3 Brahmo Samajists. The proportion of Hindus is larger than in the majority of the districts in the west of the province or the Agra division; but it falls short both of Etawah and Mainpuri. It is not as high as might be expected from the purely Hindu character of the district, the place Muttra holds in popular Hindu estimation or the vigour of its religious life. Moreover the Hindu population appears to have steadily dimi­nished since 1881; for in that year it exceeded 91 per cent. and in 1891 it was 90.60 per cent. On the other hand Musalmans have shown a decided increase. The proportion borne by members of this creed to the total was 8.65 per cent. in 1881 and fell to 7.78 in 1891. Even its present figure, however, is lower than in other district in the division except Mainpuri and Etawah. The same phenomenon has been observed in almost all parts of the provinces and is ascribed to the greater longevity and fertility of the Musalman population, and to the fact they do not form so large a portion of the very poor as the Hindu community.

MUSALMANS

Of the whole Musalman population at the last census 68,580 or 88.9 per cent. were returned as Sunnis. This is considerably lower than the provincial average, and is in part accounted for by the number of Lalbegis, of whom there were 7,311. Lalbegis are more numerous only in Agra and Meerut. They are sweepers who, in spite of their profession of the faith of Islam, still preserve the cult of their special deities: they derive their name from Lal Beg, round whom a whole cycle of legends centres. Of the rest 1,024 were Shies, 31 followers of the Saints, 9 Ahmadias and 6 Wahabis; while in the case of 126 persons no sect was specified. The returns of the last census showed that there were representatives of 37 different sub-divisions in the district, while in the case of 227 persons no subdivision was specified. Only one of these had over 10,000 members, namely the Sheikhs, making up 17.13 per cent. of the Musalman population. Five others occurred in numbers exceeding 5,000, and five more amounted to over 2,000 in each case. Very few of them are of any interest or importance; most have their Hindu counterparts and none are found in unusual numbers. It is, however, curious to note that in every instance the Musalman castes are far more numerous to the west of the Jumna than to the east.

SHEIKHS

First on the list come Sheikhs with 13,204 representa­tives, over half of whom are in the Muttra tahsil. The majority of these reside within municipal limits, while elsewhere they are most numerous in the towns of Chhata, Shergarh and Kosi, or in tahsil Mahaban. They belong to many subdivisions, but over half of the total are Qurreshis and one-seventh Siddiqis.

RAJPUTS

Musalman Rajputs follow Sheikhs with 8,885 members. They are found for the most part in Muttra, Chhata and Mahaban; but they are also numerous in Sadabad. They belong chiefly to the Bhale Sultan and Chauhan clans. The Bhale Sultans are more numerous, according to the census of 1901, in Muttra than in any district of the province except Sultanpur. In the province of Agra their largest settlement is in Bulandshahr. Those in that district claim descent, according to one story, from Siddh Rai Jai Singh, the Solankhi chief of Anhulwara Patan in Gujerat. After the defeat of Prithviraj, Sawai Singh, the ancestor of the family, obtained the title of Bhale Sultan, or "Lord of the Lance", from Shahab-ud-din Ghori. Another story is that they are descended from Sarang Dee, a nephew of the Raja of Gujerat, who took service under Prithviraj and perished in the war against Kanauj, when his descendant was rewarded with the lands in Bulandshahr. It was his grandson, Hamir Singh, who took service with the Raja of Kanauj, and obtained through him and Shahab-­ud-din the title of Bhale Sultan. The seventh in descent from him, Kirat Singh, distinguished himself in the campaign of Ghias-ud-din against the Meos, and obtained their lands as a reward; while Khan Chand, the seventh in descent from Kirat Singh, turned Musalman to please the Muhammadan governor under Khizr Khan. The Musalman Rajputs of Sadabad are mainly Malkanas. Originally they were mostly Jats and Gaurua Rajputs who were converted to Islam by the sword; but they retain many Hindu Customs and are known by Hindu names.

PATHANS

Pathans amounted 6,701 persons. They reside for the most part in Muttra and Chhata tahsils; and belong chiefly to the Ghori, Yusufzai and Lodi clans. But members of several other clans are found, such as the Bangash, Rohilla and Afridi.

SAIYIDS AND MUGHALS

Saiyids numbered 2,121 souls, and Mughals only 614, neither being in any sense important.

OTHER MUSALMANS

The other Musalman castes call for no special mention. The numerically strongest are Bhangis, 6,758; Qassabs, 6,542, half of whom belong to tahsil Chhata; Bhishtis,5,128; Faqirs, 4,867; Telis, 4,130, for the most part in Sadabad;Meos or Mewatis,3,813,two-thirds in Chhata; and Julahas,2,375, nearly half of whom are in Mahaban. After them come Dhobis, Nais and Darzis with numbers exceeding one thousand. None of the reminder are of any importance.

JAINS

The Jains are not a large community in the district, though their number exceeds that of most other districts in the province. They are usually known as Saraogis, and are almost exclusively recruited from the Bania caste. A few belong to the Agarwala subdivision, but the majority are of the Khandel gachcha or got. They are making no progress in the district, for in this centre of orthodoxy the “naked gods " are held in unaffected horror by the mass of the Hindu population. The temples of the sect are few and far between, and the Jains themselves are usually to be found in the neighbourhood of the large trading marts. It is not surprising therefore that the largest number reside in tahsil Chhata, particularly in or around Kosi, which possesses a Jain temple. Next to Chhata comes Sadabad, where they are concentrated for the most part in Sahpau; after that comes Mut­tra. In the city the creed of Jainism gained some prominence from its profession by the late Seth Raghunath Das, who owns the principal Jain temple in muhalla Kesopur. It is said that Jambu Swami here practised penance and that his name is record­ed in an old and almost effaced inscription on a stone slab that is still preserved under the altar. He is reputed to be the last of the Kewatis, or divinely inspired teachers, being the pupil of Sudharma, who was the only surviving disciple of Mahavira, the great apostle of the Digambara, as Paras Nath was of the Svi­tambara, sect. The temple was built by Mani Ram, who enshrined in it a figure of Chandra Prabhu, the second of the Tirthankaras. Some sixty years ago, however, Seth Raghanath Das brought from a ruined temple at Gwalior a large marble statue of Ajita Nath, which now occupies the place of honour, The site, as well as the temple, is popularly known by the name of Chaurasi; and an annual fair is held here lasting for a week from Kartik 5th to the 12th (October-November). This fair was instituted in 1870 by Nain Sukh, a Saraogi of Bharatpur. There are two other Jain temples in the city. They are both dedicated to Padma Prabhu; one is in the Ghiya mandi, and the other in the Chaube's quarter.

CHRISTIANITY

According to the returns of the last census the Christian population comprised 2,031 natives of India, 222 Europeans and nine Eurasians. It may be noted that on the date when the enumeration of 1901 was made, all but the dept of the cavalry regiment in the cantonments was away on active service. The district contains several missions, and to these must be attributed the remarkable increase in the number of converts; for in 1881 not more than 57, and in 1891 only 173 natives professed this religion. Of the native Christian population 1,858 belonged to theMethodist Church, 85 to the Anglican Communion, 47 were Roman Catholics, 15 Baptists and 8 Presbyterians, the denomina­tion of the remainder not being specified. The great majority of Christians were enumerated in the Muttra tahsil; but 582 were found in Mahaban and 382 in Sadabad, the smallest number being in Chhata tahsil.

BAPTIST MISSION

The earliest mission in the district was that of the London Baptist Missionary Society, whose connection with Muttra dates back to very early in the last century. The Agra missionaries of the society visited the place very soon after the establishment of their mission in that city in 1811; but the first official notice of Muttra is found in the society's report for 1826. From this it appears that Muttra was made a separate station in February 1825 under Mr. R. Richards, who was deputed there from Fatehgarh. In 1828, however, Mr. Richards returned to the communion of the Episcopal Church; and the native preacher who assisted him, by name Ram Das, was sent to Benares. Muttra was again treated as an outstation of Agra for the next fourteen years. In September 1843 another missionary, the Revd. J. Phillips, left Agra and took up his residence at Muttra; here he built a small chapel and baptised, two months later, his first convert. Both the house and chapel of the mission were destroyed in the Mutiny; and work was restarted in 1858 by Mr. Evans. For some years a determined attempt was made by the inhabitants of the city to obstruct the mission­aries, firstly by contesting in the law courts their title to the land on which their church was situated, and secondly by systematically hindering preaching in the city. The law suit, however, was unsuccessful, and the opposition to preaching after some years died down. In 1882 a suggestion was put forward is the London committee of the society to abandon the station on account of the scarcity of workers. This was not carried out entirely, though the staff was withdrawn and the place was only occasionally visited by the Agra missionaries until 1893. In that year the Revd. R. McIntosh took charge of the station and built the present mission house on the site of the bungalow destroyed by the rebels in 1857. The only part of the original buildings that remains is the baptistry of the old chapel, which is still in use. The Baptist Mission has two outstations and schools at Chhata and Kosi; and some medical mission work is also carried on in the city and district.

CHURCH MISSIONARY SOCIETY

The mission of the Church Missionary Society was started by the Revd. H. W. Shackell of Agra about 1860, though occasional visits had been paid to Muttra for nearly 20 years previously. From its inception the mission at Muttra was always treated as an outstation either of the Agra or Aligarh mission; but in 1882 the committee, being desirous of taking up the work of evangeliza­tion more vigorously, raised Muttra to the position of an independent mission station and placed the Revd. P. M. Zenker in charge. The society possessed at the time only a limited plot of ground in the cantonments, not far from the English and Roman Catholic churches, and on this ground a small bungalow was built which still serves the purposes of both chapel and school. In 1891 two ladies were sent out to carry on work among the women of the city; and in 1899 the two mission bungalows, lying in the civil lines, were purchased from Seth Lachhman Das, C.I.E. The mission has two outstations, and several schools, both for boys and girls, at Muttra and Brindaban.

METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH MISSION

The Methodist Episcopal Church Mission commenced opera­tions in the city of Muttra in 1887, by appointing an ordained native catechist under the superintendence of the Revd. Rockwell Clancy, then missionary in charge at Agra. In January of the following year the Muttra circuit was formed, embracing the towns of Muttra, Brindaban, Hathras and Sikandra Rao, and the Revd. J. E. Scott was appointed to its charge. Both evange­lical and educational work was at once commenced, and during the year 13 secular and 17 Sunday schools were organised. An eligible site near the city was secured, and a mission house was erected thereon. In 1889 a deaconess home and a training school for assistants and Bible readers were opened, the necessary buildings being purchased with funds provided by Mr. W. E. Blackstone of Chicago. Medical work was started at Muttra in the same year, and in Brindaban in 1897. In the city there are two boarding schools for Christian boys and girls, and at Brindaban a mission house and a dispensary, all the buildings, including the hostels, having been provided by private donors. The school for boys, to which non-Christians as well as Christians are admitted, is held in the Flora hall in the heart of the city, and the instruction given is up to the middle standard. Evangelistic work has always been carried on from many centres. The mission has a soldier's chapel and coffee-shop in the canton­ments, and the Revd. Dr. Scott is acting chaplain to the Noncon­formist troops in the station.

OTHER DENOMINACTION

There is an Anglican church in cantonments, which was consecrated by Bishop Dealtry in December 1856: it has a tall Italian campanile, which forms a land-mark for some miles round. The adjoining compound was for many years occupied by a mean and dilapidated shed, dedicated to St. Francis, which served as a Catholic chapel. This was taken down in January 1874, and on the site was laid the first stone of the present building, which is known as the Church of the Sacred Heart. The church owes everything to the late Mr. F. S. Growse, former collector of the district, and is a mixture of Gothic and Oriental architecture. The building was never completed owing to Mr. Growse's transfer from the district. The chief points lacking are the upper portions of the two stone stair turrets on the western facade.

ARYA SAMAJ

The description of the Arya Samaj movement in the district should perhaps find a place after rather than before one of the religion, from which it may legitimately be held to have sprung: but its dissociation from Hinduism as known at Muttra is complete enough to justify its treatment as a distinct creed: and it will be more convenient, before dealing with the Hindus, to give some account of its position and progress in the district. The founder of the Arya Samaj was a Brahman of Kathiawar, born in 1827, who, after his initiation as a Sannyasi, was known as Swami Dayanand Saraswati. At the age of 21 he ran away from home and devoted himself to the study of religion and the pursuit of true knowledge: he was much attracted by the practice of yoga, studied it with great ardour, and claimed to have been initiated into the highest secrets of yoga vidya. In 1860 he visited Muttra and studied with Virjananda, from whom he appears to have imbibed his contempt for the later Sanskrit philosophy. About 1863 he commenced missionary work; and during the next 20 years continued preaching and disputing in various parts of India, till be died in 1883 at Ajmer. Muttra may thus be looked upon practically as the cradle of the Arya Samaj; but of its principal beliefs, its ritual, or its social aims it is not necessary here to speak. The disciples of the movement have rapidly increased in most districts of the province since Swami Dayanand lectured and taught, and in this increase the district of Muttra has shared, though in a less degree than many others. In 1891 only 209 adherents of its tenets were recorded in the district, but at the last enumeration in 1901 the number had risen to 1,018. A lodge was estab­lished in the city in January 1882: it then comprised some 50 members, who met every Sunday in muhalla Mandavi Ram Das with the object of propagating the Vedic religion. Three years later a hall was erected near the Hardinge gate, where the Sunday evening meetings were continued; but for many years little progress was made in the acceptance of the Society's teachings. Indeed, it is prima facie improbable that the move­ment will make rapid progress in a locality where the older forms of worship have so strong a hold on the populace; for its followers denounce idol worship and deny the spiritual virtue of bathing in the rivers, the latter the most important ceremony;onnected with the sacred city. But it is not in Muttra city that the bulk of the Arya Samajists are to be found; for 591 or considerably over one half of their total number exist in Mat tahsil-the result apparently of a vigorous propaganda which has spread thither from Aligarh. In Muttra tahsil there are 183 adherents of the sect, and in Mahaban 158; while 66 reside in Sadabad and only 20 in Chhata. These are drawn from many different castes, no fewer than 20 being represented at the time of the last census. Most of them are Jats, and of these there were 343; after Jats come Brahmans, 198; Banias 153; Rajputs 131; and Kayasths 75. Converts have not been recruited in numbers from any other caste, but it is noticeable that there are Aryas among the lowest castes, such as Chamars, Nais and Mallahs.

OTHER RELIGION

The Sikhs are mainly in Government service and are not natives of the district. Out of the whole number, 74 were found in the Muttra tahsil, while the rest were distributed over Chhata and Mahaban. Twelve out of the 16 Parsis in the district were in Chhata; they are immigrant traders and consequently live for the most part in Kosi, a town which has some connection with Bombay through its cotton trade. Lastly, the three members of the Brahmo Samaj were all residents of Muttra. We may now proceed to deal with Hinduism, the chief religion of the district, and with the Hindus who make up the vast majority of its inhabitants.

HINDUISM

It is a fact of peculiar significance that among the cities which to a Hindu are the holiest of the holy, there are three, namely Gaya, Benares and Muttra, which are equally sacred to the Buddhists. The inference is almost irresistible. The leaders of the movement which centuries ago resulted in the final and complete overthrow of Buddhism by Brahmanism, decided to yield to popular custom in appearance in order to make themselves undisputed masters in reality. Prohibiting pilgrimage to the three cities might have aroused dangerous opposition; hence they sagaciously made the sanctuaries of their foes the places whither the pilgrims of Brahmanic persuasion might resort in order to obtain particular blessings. Whilst, however, this applies to the three cities in general, there is one feature which applies exclusively to Muttra. The sacredness of neither Gaya nor Benares can be condensed into a single phrase; but with Muttra this is possible, for Muttra is the birthplace of Krishna, the hero of the last and most successful phase of Hinduism. A Hindu scholar, Mr. K. M. Banerji, writing on this subject says " The Brahmans saw on regaining their supremacy after the fall of the rival (i.e., Buddhist) school, that it would be impossible to enlist the popular sympathy in their favour without some concession to the shudras. They accordingly pitched on the well-known, and perhaps already deified, character of Krishna and set it up as an object of universal worship. And in order to make it the more fascinating to the popular mind and to give that mind a strong impulse in a direction the very opposite of Buddhism, they invested their new god with those infirmities of the flesh from which Sakya-muni is said to have been somewhat unnaturally free. The rude mind of the populace, devoid of education, is easily led in the direction of sensuality...." Thus Muttra became, through its tutelary deity, the " locale" whence originated that influence which has largely moulded Hinduism as it presents itself to our eyes to-day; and this fact manifests itself in the almost daily arrival and departure of hundreds of pilgrims from and to all parts of India, especially Marathis, Gujratis and Bengalis. As regards the last, there is a signifi­cant saying to the effect that"the wealth of Bengal is in Brindaban". Nor is it Muttra itself alone that is the centre of Hindu veneration; for, though one-third the size of Benares, it possesses two features which render its position quite unique in India. First, for miles and miles round it, every inch of the ground is holy; and secondly, at a distance varying from four to thirty miles it is surrounded by a circle of especially sacred localities. A popular saying asserts that Benares is good for one thing, namely, to die in; but Muttra is good for four, namely, to be born in, to live in, to marry in as well as to die in. Nearly every one of these places is intimately associated with Krishna, the tutelary deity of the place; and it is to the stories connected with his life and career that we must now turn.

KRISHNA

In the days when Rama was king of Ajodhya there stood on the banks of the Jumna a dense forest, once the stronghold of the terrible giant Madhu, who called it after his own name, Madhuban. On his death it passed into the hands of his son, Lavana, who in the pride of his superhuman strength sent an insolent challenge to Rama, provoking him to single combat. The godlike hero disdained the easy victory for himself, and sent his youngest brother, Satrughna, who vanquished and slew the oppressor, hewed down the wood in which he lived and on its site founded the city of Muttra. The family of Bhoja, a remote descendant of the great Jadu, the common father of all the Jadav race, occupied the throne for many generations. The last of the line was king Ugrasen. In his house was born Kansa who was nurtured by the king as his own son. As soon as he came to man's estate he deposed the aged monarch, seated himself on the throne and filled the city with carnage and bloodshed. Heaven was besieged with prayers for deliverance from such a monster: and a supernatural voice declared to Kansa that an avenger would be born in the person of the eighth son of his kinsman, Vasudeva. Now Vasudeva had married Devaki, a neice of king Ugrasen, and was living in retirement at the hill of Gobardhan. In the hope of defeating the prediction, Kansa immediately summoned them to Muttra, kept them closely watched; and, as each successive child was born, it was duly consigned to death. When Devaki became pregnant for the seventh time the embryo was miraculously transferred to the womb of Rohini, another wife of Vasudeva, living at Gokul; and the child thus preserved was first called Sankarshana, but afterwards became famous as Balaram. On the eighth of the dark half of Bhadon (August-September) in the following year, the day now devoutly celebrated as the Janam-Ashtami, Devaki was delivered of her eighth child, the immortal Krishna. Vasudeva took the babe in his arms, passed through the prison guards, who where miraculously charmed to sleep, and fled with his burden to the Jumna. It was then the season of the rains, and the river was pouring down a resistless flood of waters. He, however, fearlessly breasted the torrent, which at the first step rose as high as the foot of the slumbering child; but, marvellous to relate, the waters were stilled at the touch of the divine infant, and in a moment the wayfarer passed over and emerged in safety on the opposite shore. Here he met Nanda, the chief herdsman of Gokul, whose wife, Jasoda, at that very time had given birth to a daughter. Vasudeva dexterously exchanged the two infants, and returning placed the female child in the bed of Devaki. The tyrant Kansa, assured that this was the very child of fate, with his own hands dashed the unconscious infant to the ground: but what was his horror to see it rise resplendent in celestial beauty and ascend to heaven there to be adored as the great goddass Durga. Savage orders were next issued for the diligent search of every infant in the kingdom, in order that Devaki's child might perish among the number; but Vasudeva and Devaki were set at liberty, as nothing more was to be feared from them. The former hastened to see Nanda, and begged him to take Rohini's child back to Gokul and let the two children be brought up together. To this Nanda assented, and so it came to pass that the two brothers, Balaram and Krishna, spent the days of their childhood together at Gokul. Many are the stories told of the miraculous child during this period; how he drained of her life blood the witch Putana; how, infant though he was, he upset Jasoda's big cart full of milk pails; how he thwarted the demon Trinavart, who carried him off in a whirlwind; and how his childish frolics could not be stopped even by tying him with a cord to a heavy wooden mortar fixed between two immense arjun trees. Alarmed by these portents, Nanda resolved to remove his home elsewhere, and selected Brindaban as affording the best pasturage for his cattle. Here the boys lived until they were seven years old, frolicking about in the thickets on the opposite side of the river near Mat, and sporting with other herdsmen's children under the shade of the great bhandir tree. It was near here one day while they were grazing their cattle on the banks of the Jumna that the demon Bachhasur made an open onset upon them; that the serpent Aghasur swallowed Tosh and other playmates of Krishna, who caused the serpent's body to swell to such an extent that it burst; that the divine boy created children and cattle to take the place of those whom the jealous god Brahma had stolen; that he subdued and danced on the head of the savage dragon, Kaliya; that Balaram obtained his name of Rama the strong, by defeating the demon, Prelamba; and that Krishna stole the garments of the maidens of Braj, while they were bathing in the Jumna. Next Krishna persuaded the people of Braj to withhold their sacrifice in honour of Indra and to repair to Gobardhan, in order to worship the spirits of the hills. Arrived here he assumed himself the character of the mountain god, and accepted the adoration of the assembled crowd. Indra, thus defrauded of his sacrifice, called the clouds from every quarter of heaven and bade them descend upon Braj in one fearful torrent. But Krishna, undismayed, uprooted the mountain from its base, and balancing it on the tip of his finger, called all the people under its cover; here they remained for seven days and nights, while the rain beat harmlessly on the summit. Indra then descended to earth on his elephant Airavata, and saluted Krishna by the new titles of Upendra and Gobind, in token of adoration. "Beholding all the glorious deeds that he had performed, the maidens of Braj could not restrain their admiration. Drawn from their lonely homes by the low,sweet notes of his seductive pipe, they floated around him ins rapturous love, and through the moonlit autumn nights joined with him in the circling dance, passing from glade to glade in ever increasing ecstasy of devotion. Radha, fairest of the fair, reigned queen of the revels, and so languished in the heavenly delight of his embraces that all consciousness of earth and self was obliterated." Such is the description given of the celebrated amours of Krishna with the Gopis or milkmaids of Braj. It is the one incident on which modern Hindu writers love to lavish all the resources of their eloquence, and which appeals most strongly to the devout worshipper.

When Kansa heard of the marvellous acts performed by the two boys at Brindaban, he recognized the fatal avengers and trembled with fear. After pondering awhile what stratagem to adopt, he proclaimed a great tournay of arms, making sure that if the boys were invited and induced to enter the lists, they would inevitably be destroyed by his two champions, Chanur and Mush­tikha. Too impatient, however, to await their coming, he sent the demon Kesin, terror of the woods of Brindaban, to try his strength against them before they left their homes. Disguised as a wild horse the monster rushed amongst the herds; scattering them in all directions. Krishna alone stood calmly in his way and thrust his arms down his throat, so that he burst the huge body asunder. Soon after Akrur arrived with Kansa's invita­tion. This was at once accepted. On the way to Muttra they met the king's washerman with the king's apparel, tore open the bundles, decked themselves out in the clothes and entered the city like young princes. As they went along they met the hump-backed woman Kubja; and Krishna, as he passed, putting one foot on her feet and one hand under her chin, stretched out her body as straight as a dart. After seeing all the sights of the city they returned to Nanda; and on the morrow repaired to the arena. First they were confronted with the savage elephant Kuvalayapida; but Krishna, after sporting with it for a while at length dashed it to the ground. Then, each bearing one of its tusks, the two boys stepped into the ring and challenged all-comers. Chanur was matched against Krishna and Mushtika against Balaram: but the unequal contest was soon ended, for both the king's champions were thrown and rose no more. Then Kansa started from his throne and cried aloud to his guards to kill the two rash boys with their father, Vasudeva, and the old king Ugrasen. But Krishna with one bound sprang upon the dais, seized the cowering tyrant by the hair and hurled him down the giddy height into the ravine below. Then the two boys dragged the lifeless body to the banks of the Jumna, and there by the water's edge at last sat down to rest, whence the place is known to this day as the " Visraint ­ghat". Lastly king Ugrasen was reseated on his ancient throne, and Muttra once more knew peace and security.

Krishna and Balaram then underwent the ceremonies of caste initiation; and after a few days proceeded to Ujjain to pursue the prescribed course of study under the Kasya sage, Sandipani. Mean-while the widows of king Kansa had fled to Magadha, their native land, and implored their father, Jarasandha, to take up arms and avenge their lord. Scarcely had Krishna returned to Muttra than the assembled hosts prepared to invest the city. The gallant prince did not wait to be attacked; but accompanied by Balaram, sallied forth, routed the enemy and took Jarasandha prisoner. Pitying the utterness of his defeat, they allowed the captive king to return to his own country, where, unmoved by the generosity of his victors, he immediately began to raise a new army. Seventeen times did he renew the attack, only to be repulsed; till at last he called to his aid king Kalayavana, who with his barbarous hordes from the far west bore down upon the devoted city. That very night Krishna bade arise on the far distant shore of the Bay of Cutch the stately fort of Dwarka, and thither in a moment of time transferred the whole of his faithful people. He then returned alone to do battle with the invaders. The barbarian was put to flight and his army annihilated. But it was only by stratagem that Krishna and Balaram continued to secure themselves from the fury of the survivors. So Muttra fell into the hands of Jarasandha, who forthwith destroyed all the palaces and temples, and erected new buildings in their place as monuments of his own conquest. Henceforth the place knew Krishna no more.