Shenandoah herald. [volume] (Woodstock, Va.) 1865-1974, 1893-02-10
DELHI, THE INDIAN CITY OF
THRONES AND PALACES.
A Chair OF State Worth So, 600, 600
The Venerated Pillar of Asoka-
An Ancient Princes Tomb
Guarded by His Ancestors.


a city Of thrones aud palaces, containing
the famous glittering peacock throne-a
chair of state which in its gorgeous dis
play of gold, silver and precious stones
surpassed, probably, anything of its
kind ever known before or since. Its
value Is placed at Sc, 1000 900. Upon
this magnificent throne, placed on
carved and inlaid marble platform in the
magnificent marble audience chamber,
sat the most powerful rulers of the ori.
ent, dealing out favors and penalties to
their subjects as they lay PROSTATE be-
fore the august sovereigns. The fame Of
this chair alone eventually created Gu
pidity enough to wreck the kingdom.
Delhi, with its wonderful fort, mosques
and temples and the ruins Of ancient
tombs, gardens, serais and palaces,
covers an area OF about forty-fvc square
miles, and presents remarkable con-
trast between the old and the new Delhi.
Here on the banks Of the sacred Jumna
are the remains Of seven great cities,
built IN the olden times by as many
powerful rulers. The Hindu scriptures
declare that a city inhabited for longer
period than thousand years is sure to
be visited by disaster if not destruction,
hence the invarlable practice Of building
new cities and forsaking the old about
each ten centuries.
According to this computation Delhi,
or ancient Indraprestha, should be 1000
years old, and perhaps it is, for we find
that Yudhishthira, one Of the first kings
OF whom we have any recori, was sue.
ceedcd by thirty generations OF his
family; the next dynasty held the throne
for 500 years; then came the Gautamas,
who ruled through toe lifetime of fifteen
sovereigns. These were followed by the
Mayuras until nine Of them la / occupied
the throne, the last OF whom, the R4jah
Pala, was conquered by Vikrlmaditya,
of Ujjain, in Maliva, fitty-seyen years
before the birth of Christ. How old
the first city OF Delhi really is has not
been determined The fourth or fifth
city contains the famous pillar OF Asola.
upon which is an authentic inscription
dated the third century before Cdrist
1t is Of interest to note how we'll pre-
served these ancient tombs and temples
are in Delhi. Tnc dry atmosphere seems
to preserve the faintest trace on the
chiseled stone. Remarkable Hindu sculp-
turing several thousands Of years old
seems as fresh as though it were finished
but a few years ago. Many Of the IN.
scriptions in Sanscrit are legible to thi;
day.
The ancient pillar of Asoka stands in
khe middle Of what was once a magni6-
cent three story building, rising nearly
forty-fve feet. 1t was brought from
Tophar. at the foot of the Siwalik hills,
where the Jumna enters the plains. 1t
is a monoith of pink sandstone, now
broken at the top in serrated manner,
and measures nearly eleven feet in cir
cumierence, where it issues from the third
story roof. Its great value lies in the
fact that it bears the oldest Pail inscrip-
ton and the oldest written characters
found in India, dating as they do from
the middle of the third century 3. c.
The characters are clearly cut and per
fectly lcgble to this day. The iuscrip-
tions are noteworthy, as they contain the
edict of Asoka, which prohibits the TAX
ing of life. To think that this great and
good man, living nearly twenty three
centuries ago, should have been so far
in advance of our boasted civilization
as to prohibit the taking Of life under
and all circumstances seems a remark
able commentary upon civilization. We
are wont to look back 5000 years upon
the people of India and pity their saw
age state and untutored minds. We
may we'll look back admiriugly.
Among these ancient ruins at Delhi is
the Kadam sharif or "EInly Footstep.
It is near the tomb of Prince Fatch
Khan, built in 1874. The "Holy Foot
step" consists of piece Of marble with
the miraculous impress Of Moham nel's
foot. It is about eighteen inches long
by six inches wide, and was brou !ht
from the holy city Of Mecca by thc
Princes tutor. This piece of marble is
bowed to, prayed to, kissed and wor.
shipped as have been other pieces ol
marble in Christian lands with Christian
enlightenment.
The tomb Of Mira Jehangir is pecu.
liarly interesting, from the fact that 1t is
guarded by his descendants. Mirzi
Jchangir was the son of Albar II, and /,
now a saint. In and about his sacred
tomb ono encounters fifty descendants Of
the saints sister, for he never Marie
The family are Sufs, aud guard the sa
cred resting place Of their sain,ed rels.
tive as reyerently and constantly as lies
within human DOVER. For many hun.