Juniata sentinel and Republican. [volume] (Mifflintown, Juniata County, Pa.) 1873-1955, 1894-02-07
THE R0ME0F ASIA.
DELHI, THE INDIAN CITY O1
THRONES AND PALACES.
4 Chair OF State Worth So, 900. ooo>
The yenerated Pillar of Asoka-
An Ancient Princes Tomb
Guarded by His AnceztarS

Guar0eu Dy III Is AnCS=SSs>
~ NE of the most historic cities
in India is the old and far
Y i famed mogul city of Delhi OF
Indraprestha. It was the
Rome of Asia for many centuries, ruling
over millions long before the dawn of
the Christian era. Dslhi was from time
imnemorial the city of Indian poten.
t4,es, seat of great strength and power
whose treasures were at once the pride
and envy OF the oriental world. 1t was
city Of thrones and palaces, containing
tue famous glitteriug peacock throne
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
valus Is placed at $1,000, 600. Upon
this magnificent throne, placed on 4
carved and inlald marble platform in the
magnificent marble audience chamber,
sat the most powerful rulers of the ori-
ent, dealing out lavors and penalties to
their subjects as they lay PROSTATE be.
fore the august sgrereign:. The fame OF
this chair alone eventually create cI.
pidity enough to wreck the kingdom.
Delhi, with its wonderful fort, mosque
and temples and the ruins of ancient
tombs, gardens, seIais and palaces,
covers an area Of about forty.fve square
miles, and presents remarkable con-
trast between the old and the new Delhi.
Here on the banks or 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 city inhabited for longer
period than a thousand years is sure tO
be visited by disaster if not destruction,
hence the iuvariab!e practice OF building
new cities and forsakiug the old about
each ten centuries.
According to this compilation Delhi
or ancient Indraprestha, should be 1000
years old, and perhaps it is, for we itnl
that Yudhishthla, one of the first ktdgi
of whom we have any recor /, was sue,
ceeded by thirty generations OF hi:
family; the next dynasty held the throne
.or 500 years; then came the Gautamas,
who ruled through the lifetime Of fifteen
sovereigns. These were followed by tht
Mayuras until nine OF them had occupied
the throne. the last OF whom, the Rajah
Pala, was conquered by Vlkramaditya,
of UUain, in Mafva, tifty-se7en 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 Asoka,
upon which is an authentic inscription
dated the third century before Christ.
1t is of interest to note how well pre-
served these ancient tombs' and temples
are in Delhi. The dry atmosphere seems
to preserve the faintest trace on th,
chiseled stone. Remarkable Hindu sculp
turing several thousands of years oid
seems as fresh as though it were finished
but few years ago. Many of the IN.
scriptions in Sanscrt are legible to thi,
day.
The ancient pillar of Asoka stands it
the middle of what was once magnif.
cent three, story building, rising nearly
forty-fve feet. 1t was brought froT
Tophar, at the foot of the Siwatik hills,
where the Jumns enters the plains. 1t
is a monolith of pink sandstone, now
broken at the top in a serrated manner,
and measures nearly eleven feet in cir
cumierence, where it issues from the third
story roof. Its great value lies in tn,
fact that it bears the oldest Pail ipscrip.
found in India, dating as they do from
the middle of the third century B. c.
The characters are clearly cut and per.
fectly legible to this day. The inscrip
tions are noteworthy, as they contain tn,
edict of Asoka, which prohibits the tax
ing of life. To think that this great ant
good man, living nearly twenty-five,
centuries ago, should have been so IA
in advance of our boosted civilization
as to prohibit the taking of life under
and all circumstances seems remark
able commentary upon civilization. We
are wont to hook back 5000 years upoa
the people of India and pity their saw.
age state and unsutored minds. w,
may we'll look back admiringly.
Amoug these ancient ruins at Delhi 1
tie Kadam Sharif or ''Holy Footstep.'
1t is near the tomb of Prince Fatei
Khan, built in 1874. The "Holy Foot.
step" consists OF piece OF marble with
the miraculous impress of Mohammed's
foot. 1t is about eighteen inches long
by six inches wide, and was brought
from the holy city of Mecca by tn,
Princes tutor. This piece of marble i,
bowed to, prayed to, kissed and wor.
shipped as have been other pieces OF
marble in Christian lands with Christian
enlightenment.
The tomb of Mira Jehangir is pecu
iarly interesting, from the fact that 1t i.
guarded by his descendants. Mirz,
Jehangir was the son of Albar II, and i
now a saint. In and about his sacred
tomb one encounters fifty descendants o.
the saints sister, for he never married
The family are Sufs, and guard the sa
cred resting place of their sainted rela
tive ss reverently and constantly as lie.
within human power. For many hun.
dred years these descendants hav,
guarded this tomb night and day, and il
is probable that they will continue to dc
30 for many hundred years to come
There is something touching in the self
sacrifice of these peo~i" San Francisco
Chronicle.