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Imperial Gazetteer of India, v. 8, p. 143.

BHOPf1L CITY 143 Midland section of the Great Indian Peninsula and Bhopal-Ujjain Railways, 521 miles from Bombay. The city stands on the edge of a great lake, the Pukhta-Pul Talao (` lake of the bridge of stone'), with a larger one, the Bara Talao (` great lake'), lying to the west. Few places can boast so picturesque a situa tion as Bhopal. From the borders of the great lakes to the summit of the ridge 500 feet above it, the city rises tier on tier, an irregular mass of houses, large and small, interspersed with gardens full of big and shady trees, while in the centre the tall, dark-red minarets of the Jama Masjid of Kudsia Begam, crowned with glittering golden spikes, tower above the city. Near the dam which separates the two lakes is a great pile of white palaces, from which a broad flight of steps leads, through a lofty gateway, to the water's edge, while upon the heights, to the west, stands Dost Muhammad's fort of Fatehgarh. Two lines of fortification embrace the city, the inner ring enclosing the old town, the Shahr-i-khds or `city proper,' and the outer the more modern quarters and suburbs. The two great lakes which lie at the foot of the town are a notable feature. The larger is held up by the dam which now separates the two lakes, built, it is said, by a minister of Raja Bhoj of Dhar. The second dam, which retains the lower lake, was built about 1794 by Chhote Khan, when minister to Nawab Hayat Muhammad. The area of the great lake is z4 square miles, and that of the lower lake ā square mile. The two are connected by an aqueduct, admitting of the control of the flow and the regulation of the water-supply of the city, which is drawn from the lakes. Water is pumped up from the upper lake by an engine, and from the lower by a water-wheel worked from the overflow. Tradition relates that the city stands on the site of an old town founded by Raja Bhoj of Dhar (1010-53), who is credited with the erection of the old fort, near the quarter of the town still known as Bhojpura, and till lately used as a jail. A Rani of Raja Udayaditya Paramara (1059-8o), grandson of Bhoj, is said to have founded a temple known as the Sabha-mandala, which was completed in 1184, and occu- pied the site on which the Jāma Masjid of Kudsia Begam now stands. It appears, however, that no town of any size existed here, though - possibly one was in contemplation or even commenced. This is easily accounted for by the declining power of the Paramara chiefs of Dhar at the period. In 1728 Dost Muhammad built the Fatehgarh fort, and connected it with the old fort of Raja Bhoj by a wall, which he carried on till it enclosed a site large enough for the city; the area so enclosed is that still known as the Shahr-i-khds, or `city proper.' In Nawab Yar Muhammad's time the capital was situated at Islām- nagar (23° 22' N., and 77° 25' E.); but Faiz Muhammad returned to Bhopal, which has since been the chief town. In 1812-3, during the attacks by the Nagpur and Gwalior forces, the whole town outside the