DOI Page / Citation link:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.9541#0457
Chap. II.
JAJEPUB AND CUTTACK.
433
quite a different style from anything at Bhuvaneswar or Kanaruc,
and probably more modern than anything at those places.
Cuttack became the capital of the country in a.d. 989-1006, when
a certain Markut Kesari built a stone
revetement to protect the site from en-
croachment of the river.1 It too, how-
ever, has suffered, first from the intoler-
ant bigotry of the Moslem, and after-
wards from the stolid indifference2 of
the British rulers, so that very little
remains; but for this the nine-storeyed
palace of Mukund Deo, the contem-
porary of Akbar, might still remain to
us in such a state at least as to be intel-
ligible. We hear so much, however, of
these nine-storej'ed palaces and viharas,
that it may be worth while quoting
Abul Fad's description of this one, in
order to enable us to understand some of
the allusions and descriptions we after-
wards may meet with :—" In Cuttack,"
he says, " there is a fine palace, built by
Rajah Mukund Deo, consisting of nine
storeys. The first storey is for ele-
phants, camels, and horses; the second
for artillery and military stores, where
also are quarters for the guards and
other attendants; the third is occupied
by porters and watchmen; the fourth is
appropriated for the several artificers;
the kitchens make the fifth range; the sixth contains the Rajah's
public apartments; the seventh is for the transaction of private
business; the eighth is where the women reside ; and the ninth is the
Rajah's sleeping apartment To the south," he adds, " of this palace
is a very ancient Hindu temple."3
As Orissa at the period when this was written was practically a
part of Akbar's kingdom, there seems little doubt that this description
was furnished by some one who knew the place. There are seven-
storeyed palaces at Jeypur and Bijapur still standing, which
were erected about this date, and one of five storeys in Akbar's
own palace at Futtehpore Sikri, but none, so far as I know, of nine
Hindu Pillar in Jajepur.
(From a Photograph.)
' Asiatic Researches,'vol. xv. ji. 367. 3 ' Ayeen Akbery,' Gladwin's trans-
Ibid., p. 335 ; Hunter's ' Orissa,' vol. ; lation, vol. ii, p. 13.
i. p. 266.
2 F
JAJEPUB AND CUTTACK.
433
quite a different style from anything at Bhuvaneswar or Kanaruc,
and probably more modern than anything at those places.
Cuttack became the capital of the country in a.d. 989-1006, when
a certain Markut Kesari built a stone
revetement to protect the site from en-
croachment of the river.1 It too, how-
ever, has suffered, first from the intoler-
ant bigotry of the Moslem, and after-
wards from the stolid indifference2 of
the British rulers, so that very little
remains; but for this the nine-storeyed
palace of Mukund Deo, the contem-
porary of Akbar, might still remain to
us in such a state at least as to be intel-
ligible. We hear so much, however, of
these nine-storej'ed palaces and viharas,
that it may be worth while quoting
Abul Fad's description of this one, in
order to enable us to understand some of
the allusions and descriptions we after-
wards may meet with :—" In Cuttack,"
he says, " there is a fine palace, built by
Rajah Mukund Deo, consisting of nine
storeys. The first storey is for ele-
phants, camels, and horses; the second
for artillery and military stores, where
also are quarters for the guards and
other attendants; the third is occupied
by porters and watchmen; the fourth is
appropriated for the several artificers;
the kitchens make the fifth range; the sixth contains the Rajah's
public apartments; the seventh is for the transaction of private
business; the eighth is where the women reside ; and the ninth is the
Rajah's sleeping apartment To the south," he adds, " of this palace
is a very ancient Hindu temple."3
As Orissa at the period when this was written was practically a
part of Akbar's kingdom, there seems little doubt that this description
was furnished by some one who knew the place. There are seven-
storeyed palaces at Jeypur and Bijapur still standing, which
were erected about this date, and one of five storeys in Akbar's
own palace at Futtehpore Sikri, but none, so far as I know, of nine
Hindu Pillar in Jajepur.
(From a Photograph.)
' Asiatic Researches,'vol. xv. ji. 367. 3 ' Ayeen Akbery,' Gladwin's trans-
Ibid., p. 335 ; Hunter's ' Orissa,' vol. ; lation, vol. ii, p. 13.
i. p. 266.
2 F