Page:The Ancient Geography of India.djvu/429

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CENTRAL INDIA. 381


before the use of cannon the height alone must have made Kanoj a strong and important position. The people point out the sites of two gates, the first to the north, near the shrine of Haji Harmáyan, and the second to the south-east, close to the Kshem Kali Búrj. But as both of these gates lead to the river, it is cer- tain that there must have been a third gate on the land side towards the south-west, and the most pro- bable position seems to be immediately under the walls of the Rang Mahal, and close to the temple of Ajay Pál.

According to tradition, the ancient city contained 84 wards or Mahalas, of which 25 are still existing within the limits of the present town. If we take the area of these 25 wards at three-quarters of a square mile, the 84 wards of the ancient city would have covered just 2½ square miles. Now, this is the very size that is assigned to the old city by Hwen Thsang, who makes its length 20 li, or 3 miles, and its breadth 4 or 5 li, or just three-quarters of a mile, which multi- plied together give just 2 square miles. Almost the same limits may be determined from the sites of the existing ruins, which are also the chief find-spots of the old coins with which Kanoj abounds. According to the dealers, the old coins are found at Bála Pir and Rang Mahal, inside the fort; at Makhdum-Juhaniya, to the south-east of the fort; or Makarandnagar on the high-road; and intermediately at the small villages of Singh Bhawani and Kútlúpur. The only other produc- tive site is said to be Rájgir, an ancient mound covered with brick ruins on the bank of the Chota Gangú, three miles to the south-east of Kanoj. Taking all these evidences into consideration, it appears to me almost