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Imperial Gazetteer of India, v. 21, p. 72.


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7 2 R,4JGARH TO WN
a post office, and a hospital with accommodation for 7 in-patients.
The lahsil contains 187 villages, and more than 36 per cent. of the
inhabitants are Jats. As most of them belong to the Pùniya clan, the
tract used to be called locally the Pùniya pargana. The Katli river
sometimes flows in the south for a few miles.
Rajgïr.-Ruined town in the Bihar subdivision of Patna District,
Bengal, situated in 25° 2' N. and 85° 26' E. Population (igoi), 1,575.
It was identified by Dr. Buchanan-Hamilton with Rajagriha, the resi-
dence of Buddha and capital of the ancient Magadha ; and by General
Cunningham with Kusa-nagara-pura (`the town of the kus grass'),
visited by Hiuen Tsiang and called by him Kiu-she-lo-pu-lo. Rajagriha,
meaning `the royal residence,' was also known as Giribraja, I the hill
surrounded'; and under this name the capital of Jarâsandha, king of
Magadha, is mentioned in both the Ramayana and the Mahabharata.
It is also described by Fa Hian and Hiuen Tsiang, the Chinese
pilgrims, the latter of whom gives an account of the hot springs found
at this place. The five hills surrounding the town, mentioned in the
Mahabharata and in the Pali annals, have been examined by General
Cunningham. The first, Baibhar, is identified with the Webhars moun-
tain of the Pali annals, on the side of which was the famous Sattapanni
Cave, where the first Buddhist synod was held in 543 s. c. The second
hill, Ratnâgiri, is that called by Fa Hian `The Fig-tree Cave,' where
Buddha meditated after his meals, and is identical with the Rishigiri of
the Mahabharata, and the Pandao of the Pali annals. A paved zigzag
road leads to a small temple on the summit of this mountain, which
is still used by Jains. The third hill, Bipula, is clearly the Wepullo
of the Pali chronicles and the Chait-yaka of the Mahabharata. The
other two hills have Jain temples.
Traces of the outer wall around the ancient town of Rajagriha may
still be seen, about 4us miles in circumference. The new Rajgir is about
two-thirds of a mile north of the old town. According to Buddhist
records, it was built by Srenika or Bimbasara, the father of Ajatasatru,
the contemporary of Buddha. Dr. Buchanan-Hamilton stated that the
town stood upon the north-west corner of a fort, which is an irregular
pentagon in form and apparently of great antiquity. At the south-west
extremity are traces of a more modern fort, with stone walls, which
might have been a kind of citadel. It occupies a space of about
Goo yards. The eastern and northern faces had no ditch, but there
is a strong stone wall about 18 feet thick, with circular projections at
intervals. The eastern approach to Rajagriha was protected by a stone
wall, 20 feet in width and running zigzag up the southern slopes of the
hills. A watch-tower on the extreme eastern point of the range
corresponded with a similar tower immediately over the town. One
tower still exists, and also the foundations of the second tower. South
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