Principal
Towns.

Sirpúr.

Mangrul Pír,

Púsad.

sized tank near the town. Near it in 1858 was fought the action of Chichamba. It is said, too, that it was the scene of a great fight about 120 years ago. As its then lord, one Piráji Powar, had forcibly taken to himself a very beautiful woman, the wife of a Bráhman of Básim, Nizám Alí espoused the injured husband's cause with a goodly army, defeating Piráji and recovering the woman.

Sirpúr is also a pargana town. Origin of name unknown. Famous now for the shrine of Antariksh Parasnáth, the most sacred resort of Jains and Bhátias. To these people Sirpúr is as holy as Benáres to the orthodox Hindús. The tradition connected with this idol would seem to show that the Rájas of Elichpúr once held sway down here. For the story is, I believe, that one Yelluk Rája of Elichpúr, hunting near Sirpúr, found the image on the banks of a river. He prayed the god that he might be allowed to transport it to Elichpúr. The reply was that the image would follow him as long as he did not look back. In faith the king started, but on reaching the site of Sirpúr his faith became weak, and he looked back to see if all was right; the image then stuck there and could not be moved. Subsequently for many years the image hung in air above the ground unsupported in any way, hence the name Antariksh, I believe. There still exists here a small but ancient Jain temple or shrine having a horizontal dome with pendants richly carved.

The population of the town is 3,585. There is a school and police

station.

Mangrúl, with a population of 5,753, is also the chief town of a pargana. It is distinguished from several other Mangrúls by the word Pir being affixed to it-a distinction due to the dargáhs of Badar-ud-din and Shanam Sáhebs, said to be four hundred years old or thereabouts. The principal dargáh, which is well endowed, is now enclosed by a substantial wall with bastions. I have been able to discover nothing of peculiar interest connected with Mangrúl. The evidences of old mosques and other buildings partially and wholly in ruins indicate that once it was very much more prosperous than it is at present, and further that it was a place which the Mahomedans delighted to honour. Its population still is largely Musalmán, but there is here also a settlement of Ragbansi Rajputs.

Púsad, with a population of 3,497-the chief town of the pargana bearing its name-shows the signs of great decay. It takes its name from the Pús river, on which it is situated. It has been for at least 150 years the head-quarters of the revenue officials, and a tahsildár now resides here. Here are two old Hemár Panti temples, which are worth examination, and the ruins of some others; also the remains of a very fine tank largely used for irrigation, and said to have been constructed at the expense of a dancing girl. Originally imperfectly constructed, it has silted up, and is now quite useless.

The town contains a few well-to-do shopkeepers and dealers in country produce, and its weekly market is well attended. It has a middleclass school, a police station, a post of the salt customs, and a post-office. The place is distant from Básim about twenty-five miles south-east : the road from Básim is good in fair weather.

Wu'n.

Principal Towns.

There are not any towns of importance in this district. The following may be briefly noticed :—

Kota is situated fourteen miles north-east of Yewatmál, and contains 453 houses. It is remarkable for the immense weekly market held here, the largest in the district.

Bábúlgaon is also situated to the north of Yewatmál. It numbers 226 houses, and is also remarkable for its large weekly market for horned cattle.

Kalam, now containing only 548 houses, bears the signs of having once been a large town. It gave its name to one of the sarkárs or interior subdivisions of the old Berár subah. Broken foundations of large houses indicate the former dimensions of this town. There is a remarkable temple dedicated to Chintaman. It is one of those underground architectures of bygone days. There are three tanks around this place, all of which are out of repair.

Bhám, though now deserted, is famous for its historical connections. On the top of a small plateau overlooking the A'ran river, and raised about three hundred feet above the level of the valley, Raghoji Bhonsla, with good taste, selected a site for his residence, while a sardeshmukh of Berár, and called the place Bhám. The ruins of immense buildings of stone, and the large area over which these ruins extend, indicate the large army of followers that in those troubled times followed Raghoji's standard. The number of trees still fresh and beautiful dotted over this dreary wilderness attest forcibly that they had been planted by hands now mingled in the dust. It is said that of bairágis alone there were no less than 5,000 houses at Bhám. The ruins of palaces, being now covered with dense jungle, are the resort of bears and tigers. It was at this place that Raghoji Bhonsla had, it is said, a divine intimation of the bright future that lay before him of rising to regal power, and it was from this place that he fled on one horse to Deogarh, to escape assassination from Kánoji and his son Ráyalji. These ruins are sixteen miles south of Yewatmál, in the Kurár

pargana.

Wún is a pretty little town surrounded by groves of tamarind and mango trees and by several tanks. It gives the name to the district. It contains 876 houses, and can boast of some fine temples. A fair is held here, about the "Holi" (March), remarkable for the trade carried on in carts, bullocks, and hardware. The inhabitants are poor. The soil about the town consists of a very fine sand, which penetrates through everything. There is a station-house here and a post-office, together with an English-Vernacular school. This town is situated on the road from Haidarábád to Nágpúr. The postal line to the city passes through the town.

To the south of Wún is the small historical village of Mandúr, the scene of Kánoji Bhonsla's capture, about 1730 A.D., by Raghoji Bhonsla, on the former disregarding the injunctions of the Rájá of Sattára to return to his court.

Principal
Towns.

Kota,

Bábúlgaon.

Kalam.

Bhám.

Wún.

Mandár.

Principal Towns. Pandarkaura.

Dárwa.

Digras.

Ner.

Pandarkaura has 242 houses. It is of no importance except from an historical point of view. It was here that the Peshwa Báji Rao was signally defeated on the 2nd of April 1818 by the combined forces of Colonels Scott and Adams; and his flight to Nágpúr, to aid the treacherous A ́ppa Sáheb, finally checked.

Dárwa is situated in a basin, surrounded on three sides by hills. It contains 613 houses. It is the head-quarters of the tahsildar. There is here a police station, a post-office, and a school attended by forty scholars. It is a very old town, and was the seat of one of the Bhonslas, viz., Sábháji, son of Musláji, who resided here. There are no buildings with any pretensions to fine architecture, but some old tombs belonging to the kázi's family are beautifully built in stone of a fine grain.

Digras, situated 18 miles south of Dárwa, is a petty commercial town. It is a small entrepôt for the cotton of the western half of the district. Some Bombay dealers come here during the cotton season to make purchases. The village is a collection of small thatched huts, and, but for the circumstances above noticed, of no importance. There are 639 houses.

Ner is a small town to the north of Dárwa. It has a police stationhouse and a school. It is essentially a town famed for the number of Rangáris, or dyers, who here carry on a thriving trade. A weekly market is held here, but not a large one. It has no remarkable edifices worth mentioning.

Population.
Census
Returns.

CHAPTER XI.

POPULATION.

I.-Census Returns and Statistics.

The subjoined Returns, obtained by the Census of 1867, will give a sufficient general idea of the population, and its distribution, in Berár :— Statement of Area, Population, &c., of Berár.

Statement of the Distribution of Population of Towns and Villages of Berúr.

Statement of the Proportion of Sexes among Adults and Infants.

Population.
Census
Returns.

731,142 704,232 422,055 374,136 1,153,197 1,078,368 96.3 88.6 93.5

55.4

District reports furnish ample details. And the following Census tables attempt to give social divisions of the people by distinguishing between sects, races, hereditary professions, and pure castes.

The object has been to define the various denominations by placing them in categories or classes, whence some understanding may be obtained of the actual state of existing social and religious institutions here in Berár; and the difficulty has been to distinguish between sects, races, professions, or pure castes; for the whole tendency of the Hindú society seems to be toward a continued "morcellement." Where tribal distinctions have blended into nationalities according to the ordinary civilizing process, the community, instead of becoming homogeneous, is continually being split up by diversities of creed, manner of life, or profession, into bodies which only eat and intermarry among themselves, thereby preserving isolation. New prophets are continually arising, who lead away disciples and found heresies; certain shrines come into fashion, and the devotees become known by a separate name, or a peculiar worship. Holy men are canonized constantly after death (as miracle-working saints), or even attain apotheosis as incarnations of the elder gods; and these also have their recognized followers. Then we have laymen who have turned religious anchorites, changing their names; and men who, bearing the title of some religious order, have long ago taken to worldly callings; so that any classification based on mere denominations must lead to confusion. Therefore the classes have been made very broad, and a few details only have been added.

The Musalmáns bear a proportion of 694 per cent. to the whole population. The categories given at foot of Table VIII. are very illdefined, and of course the name "Shekh" means only that no particular descent or opinion is claimed, while the name "Pathán" carries with it a flavour of foreign birth and the profession of arms.

* This list is imperfect.