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88 B UNDI TO WN
and yet the whole so well harmonizes and the character of the architec-
ture is so uniform that its breaks or fantasies appear only to arise from
the peculiarity of the position and serve to diversify its beauties.'
Above the palace is the fort of Taragarh, and a spur of the same hill is
surmounted by a large and very handsome chhatri, called the Suraj or
sun-dome,' whose cupola rests on sixteen pillars and is about 2o feet in
diameter. Beyond this to the north-west lies the Phul Sagar or ° flower
tank,' and a small palace, the summer residence of the chief ; and to the
south-west of this is the Naya Bagh or Bajrangbilas. To the north-east
of the town is another tank, the jet Sagar or Bara Talao, on the embank-
ment of which stands an open palace called the Sukh Mahal ; and a little
farther on is the Sar Bagh, the place of cremation for the Banmdi chiefs.
Immediately to the east of the town rises an abrupt cliff 1,426 feet above
the sea; and on its summit is a small mosque said to have been built
before the Hara Rajputs came here, and called after Mlran, a Muham-
madan saint, whose tomb is at Ajmer.
Bundu.-Town in the Khunti subdivision of Ranch! District,
Bengal, situated in 23° 1o' N. and 850 36' E. Population (1901), 5,469.
Bundu is the centre of the lac industry in the District and a flourish-
ing trade mart.
Buner.-A tract of country lying between 34° 22' and 34° 37' N.
and 72° 15' and 72° 48 E., on the north-east border of Peshawar Dis-
trict, North-West Frontier Province. Its boundaries are: on the north,
Swat Kohistan; on the west, Swat and Sam Ranizai; on the south,
dependent tribes and Peshawar District; on the east, the Black Moun
tain and Hazara District. Political control is exercised by the Deputy-
Commissioner of Peshawar through the Assistant Commissioner at
Mardan. Buner comprises the basin of the Barandu river, which
joins the Indus near Amb. The main valley of the Barandu is about
1o miles broad, well cultivated and level; and though the side valleys
are narrower and less fertile, they are better wooded. The aloofness of
the inhabitants, arising from the fact that no trade arteries pierce the
country, is very marked. They are, however, recognized by the clans
who live between Buner and Peshawar District, such as the Gaduns,
Salarzai, Khudu Khel, &c., as the head of their confederacy.
The history of the tract is given in the article dealing with SWAT.
Buner with the neighbouring countries was included in the ancient
kingdom of Udyana, and abounds in archaeological remains of great
interest, which date from the Buddhist era. The places most interest-
ing from an archaeological view in Buner, or in the territory of tribes
dependent on it, are Mahaban, Banj, Asgram, Panjkotai, Gumbatai, and
Girarai. Mahaban has been conjecturally identified with Aornos, the
rock besieged by Alexander; but the latest view, that of Dr. Stein, who
visited Maliaban under tribal escort in 1904, is that the topography of
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