Star.
London, England, 1824-10-09 00:00:00

besides the town of Bato, the Government, or Chief of
that Island has Aramra, Positra, Bhurwalia, and some
other places. The whole revenue does not exceed 30,000/.
per annum, from the temple and all other sources.
44 In 1816 I belonged to the field force sent against the
pirates of Okamundtl. After rooting out several nests,
we invested Dwarka, and the Chief of that place was
forced to surrender it. The town is small., It is sur-
rounded by a weak wall and towers. An arm of the
sea runs up along one of its faces, and forms a fine
bathing place. The charms of this delightful sheet of
water, which flows over sand so sparkling that the
bottom can be seen at all times, perhaps suggested the
idea to some artful Brahman of establishing his wor-
ship here, under an incarnation of Vishnu. When the
temples were built is quite unknown. Where the ma-
terials were procured is doubtful. The natives say they
were built in one night by the gods. I could not ob-
tain any information whatever respecting their early
history, except such fables as my judgment itronounced
absurd. They are, however, wo, ks of unquestionable
magnificence ; prodigious expense and labour must
have been incurred in their erection. It does not ap-
pear to me that the antiquity of these pagodas is near so
great as some others I have seen in India. There is a
heshness about them which the great pagodas in the,
south of India have not. 1

6' Yet their antiquity is certainly great, and there is
proof that they have existed nearly in their present state'
for upwards of 800 years. Bate was taken in 1462 by
Sultan Mahmood Begra, of Ahmedabad, and at that
time there were accounts of the Dwarka pagoda for
.500 years back. The priests pretend that the original
island of Dwarka sunk, when Chr ishna was translated to
heaven ; and that their pagodas were built by the gods
to keep up his worship, where they now are, but that
they are not near so magnificent as the old pagodas. In
their books it is pretended that they have accounts of the
present pagodas firr some thousands of years ; in short,
since the death of Chrishna. Krisnu was the eighth
avater, or incarnation of Vishnu. His era is not exactly
known. Budha was the ninth avater of Vishnu, and
Sir William Jones was of opinion that he existed in the
year 1014 before the birth of Christ.
" On approaching Dwarka, I was struck with the
magnificent external appearance of the temples. Within
the wall which surrounds the town there are two very
large ones, and four much smaller. They stand on very
elevated ground. One is an immense pyramid, at least
140 feet high, crowned with glittering balls, having a
flag near the top, with a sun and moon. It is curiously
carved from bottom to top, like the pagodas in the south
of India, and composed of prodigiously large stones.
There are seven stories in the pyramid, and two in the
base on which it rests. The other great pagoda is not
so high, but it is broader ; the roof is carried up curi-
ously, by one retirement after another, till it ends in a
' circular form, surmounted by a ball and flag. Round
the outside of that temple, both above and below, there
are curious galleries or virandas, which were crowded
with Brahmans, who live in the upper part of the
temples. The four small pagodas are pyramids, with
flags and glittering tops, but they are not very striping
objects, compared with the two large temples. All these
are built in the ancient Egyptian style of architecture.
A handsome dome is put over the entrance to one of the
pagodas, but I conceive this to have been a ma
Idern addition.

" You go from the bathing-place up to the temples
by a long flight of stairs, and pass through a strong
gate, when the whole at once breaks upon the sight
with a wonderfully grand effect. Indeed the bathing•
place is also an object of curiosity. It extends along the
shore in front of the town for 400 yards, and there are
noble flights of stone steps down to the water, which is
so clear, that you can see the sacred fishes sporting
about, quite tame, and feeding from thepilgrims' hands.
Along the bank, below the walls of the town, there are
hundreds of little temples in the Grecian and Egyptian
styles, supported on pillars, to screen the pilgrims from
the sun, and for the Brahmans, barbers, &c. to sit in,
who prepare the devotees for visiting the idols.
Runchor, the supreme idol, is on a throne in the
great temple, and I could only see that he was gorge-
ously dressed, and covered with gold brocade. His face
was frightfully painted, and he looked horrible amidst
the glare of lamps that surrounded him in his abode,
from which the light of day is excluded. In the other
temples there are idols called Trincongee, Cullangee,
&c. &c. which relate to the exploits of Runchor, if my
information be correct. I was nearly crushed to death
by the pressure of the crowd. The great drums were
beating ; the trumpets were sounding, large conch shells
were roaring : shrill instruments of music were heard
in all directions; the Brahmans were praying aloud,
and extorting offerings from the unwilling devotees,
some of whom were most anxious to purchase their cer-
tificates at as cheap a rate as possible; the devotees were
prostrating themselves and muttering various dialects;
and, in short, the whole was a scene of noise and confu-
sion, which to be conceived must be experienced.
64 Nye went afterwards to Aramra and Bate ; but
the temples are not worth description alter Dwarka.—
Game is very plentiful in Okamundel. Hares, par-
tridges, quails, foxes, &c. are numerous, with a wild hog
starting from every copse. The camel breeds here, and
thrives well on the various shrubs that grow into almost
impenetrable jungles in many parts of Okamundel. It
is said that there are wild camels in the jungles of
Okamundel.

" It should be mentioned that the Dwarka pagodas
are enclosed in a square, whose side is about two hun-
dred yards, by a wall fourteen feet high, and of consi-
derable thickness. Besides the great gate from the sea
face, there are other small ones, which communicate with
the town. I think there are about 1000 houses within the
walls of the town, well built of stone and lime, with tiled
roofs; but there is a petah, or suburb, near the bathing
place, which contains a great many people, and I think
the population does not fall short of 10,000 persons.—
The town of Dwarka was taken by escalade by our
troops in 1820 ; upon which occasion the pirates and
Arabs, in the service of Mooloo Manick, took post in
the pagodas, where they might have defended them-
, selves for a long time. Their priests, apprehensive for
the safety of the temples, persuaded the garrison to
.
evacuate the sacred precincts, when our men were get-
' ring over the wall, aster sustaining some loss. The
Arabs and pirates then took post in a swamp, where they
were surrounded, and forced to surrender by dischafges
of grape shot,
bin not till they had killed and wounded
several of our officers and soldiers. To prevent the pi.
' rates from re-forming their forces, I understand there is.
a 13ritish detachment now stationed in the Okamundel."

Shoreham, in Sussex, is now become quite a port of
importance ; the trade is increased to an astonishing de-,
tee: indeed, in the last twelve years the receipt of
du.ks is rad, upted.