During my stay at the Kutb, I made a very careful examination of all the figure arvings in order to trace, if possible, the Jaina origin of the ornamental stone columns. The plain pillars in the south-east, north, and outer Colonnades are, I think, unquestionably Brahminical. The carved pillars in the Mosque itself, and in the courtyard, are Jain in style, but I could discover no one figure so perfect as to be undoubtedly a Jain emblem; and here I would remark that in the temple of Karkotuk Nag on the banks of the Bandelkhand side of the Jumna, a few miles below Mhow, there are pillars which arc; very similar to the pillars in the Kutb Masjid (Photograph IV.); but it is quite certain that the temple of Karkotuk Nag was erected by the Hindus, and by them dedicated to the god Siva, although the character of the pillars partakes of the so-called Jain style of architecture. It appears to me that of the existing pieces of figure carving at the Kutb, those which are least damaged are Hindu. There are four in which the figures can be traced, but before describing these, it may be as well to explain that the Hindu "Triad" consists of three Gods:—

Brahma was never very much worshipped as a separate divinity, although he is daily invoked in the religious services of the Hindus. With Vishnu and Siva the case is, however, widely different, they are worshipped as heads of almost distinct religions, and various sects ujmold the supreme divinity of each as being paramount and the sole object of adoration: whilst their various incarnations or "Avatars" attract a very large share of veneration.

The most popular and principal objects of native predilection throughout all Hindustan and the outlying countries inhabited by Hindus are to be found in the various incarnations of the god Vishnu who, for the attainment of different results and benefits, assumed the character of nine different god-heads. The number of his elementary incarnations is said to be ten, but the tenth has yet to come. As Vishnu pur ct simple, he was commonly represented as a comely young man of a dark azure colour, and his first out of the ten principal incarnations is that of a fish, a character assumed for the purpose of regaining the possession of the Holy "Vedas," a book supposed to have been borne away by a fiend in a deluge. His second incarnation was that of a boar, and on his tusks he is stated to have raised the world, which had sunk into the depths of the ocean. A third impersonation was that of a tortoise; a fourth that of a man with head and paws like a lion. The fifth was that of a Brahmin dwarf; the sixth was "Parusa Kama," a Brahmin hero; the seventh was Rama Chandra; the eighth Krishna, a hero who delivered the earth from giants. The ninth incarnation was Buddha, a teacher, as is stated by Hindus, of a false religion, but which more probably was a clever device for explaining the Buddhist religion, that formerly had so powerful a sway over the greater portion of India and to which so large a number of Hindus became converted.

1. A piece above and inside the North Gateway; subject, several figures seated.

2. This piece consists of a stone measuring about four feet three inches long by seven inches deep, and is situated above one of the openings between the North Gateway and North-east Angle. See L on plan No. II. and Photograph III. a. The sculpture is somewhat of a primitive character, but appears to have been chiselled by a native sculptor whose power of art delineation was not of a finished character, although possessing the elements of true art feeling and sentiment. In the centre of the carving is a half-open door, which resembles the rude doors commonly to be seen in many native dwellings of the present day. The subject of the sculpture is repeated in the two halves of the stone. A female figure is reclining on a bedstead of a rather classical shape, shaded by a canopy. She is guarded by two sentinels, and beside her on the bed lies a child. There is a slight variation in the grouping in the two compartments. In that to the left a female is seated on a low stool chafing her feet, and three women are carrying two infants towards the half-open door in the centre. In the right compartment there are three women carrying three children, two appear to be engaged in washing them round a "Gharra," (a vessel in common use for holding water) . On the extreme right are two cows and a young calf. The heads of the figures have not all been defaced by the Muhammadans, but have suffered from the natural decay of the stone.

The meaning of this scene is somewhat obscure, but, from the incidents of Krishna's birth, it may perhaps be not improbable that the female figure is intended to represent Dewaki, his mother. The seven children may also be accounted for as representations of the infant Krishna, in the different positions of being suckled, carried and washed. The cows and calf on the extreme right of the carving may be connected with "Ananda," the cowherd, who protected Krishna after his escape from Kansa—the open doorway in the centre of the panel suggests a connection with this escape. In Moor's "Hindu Pantheon" there is a plate (No. 58) representing the miraculous escape of the infant Krishna over the Yamuna, or Jumna, conveyed by his father, Vasudeva (t. e. giver of wealth) and protected by Sesha (or immortality), the guards placed by Kansa over his pregnant sister having failed in their vigilance. Kansa being enraged, ordered all newly-born infants to be slain, but Krishna escaped his various snares: one of which was sending a woman named "Patnia" with a poisoned nipple to nurse him. He was fostered by an honest herdsman named Ananda or "happy," and his amiable wife Yasuda or the "giver of honour," and passed the gay hours of youth, dancing, sporting and piping amongst a multitude of young "Gopas" or cowherds and "Gopias" or milkmaids, from whom he selected nine as favourites. The grouping of the figures bears some resemblance to the birth of Christ in the manger. Krishna was believed to be an incarnation of Vishnu as early as the period of the Chandra Gupta's,1 and whatever similarity the circumstances of his birth may bear to that of Christ, it cannot be said that the Hindus borrowed the traditions of the Christian religion. (I brought back a cast of this carving, which may be seen at the South Kensington Museum.)

3. A carved architrave in the north-east corner of the inner courtyard. Subject, Vishnu lying on a couch, with a lotus rising from his navel and covered by a canopy. Indra on an elephant. Brahma, with three heads, on a goose. Siva on a bull.

4. A piece of stone carving on an architrave measuring about four feet long by nine inches deep, situated inside the north-east corner of the Colonnade. See M on plan No. II. and Photograph III. b. Subject: on the left are two men carrying circular vessels {i.e. "Gharras") in "Banghis," [i.e. slung at both ends of a bamboo, which is carried on the shoulder.] They probably contain milk, for next to them is a female figure engaged in churning milk into butter and she is doing this in the same way as frequently practised in India at the present day. A long bamboo stick with prongs at the end is being twisted in a vessel by means of a leather strap which is passed two or three times round it. The operation is very similar to that practised by sailors in spuming the water out of a mop. The next figure is carrying a vessel on her head, then follows a sentinel holding a stick, and in the centre of the carving is a small building or temple, inside which is a standing figure. Outside this and on the right is another sentinel, with his hand placed over his mouth as if to restrain a burst of laughter. Beyond are four figures seated on low stools round a Rajah and his wife; the latter is being fanned by a female attendant. The party seem to be enjoving a feast, and their fun has no doubt excited the merriment of the sentinel. In most native entertamments butter is very largely used and its preparation in the left compartment is probably in reference to the repast here portrayed. The heads of all the figures are a good deal mutilated, but the remarkable mode of dressing the hair into a sort of "chignon" may be easily traced. It resembles the Buddhist head-dresses in the sculptures on the Gateways of the Sanchi Tope, in Central India, and is very likely an adaptation from them. (A facsimile of this may be seen in the Kensington Museum.) M. De Tassy. in describing the buildings about Delhi and that at the Kutb, adopts, in reference to the latter, the text of Syud Ahmed, and has fallen into the local error of supposing this identical building to have been a Hindu palace and temple previous to the Muhammadan invasion. His description runs as follows:—

"Near the palace of the Rajah Pithora was a large temple, which was very celebrated. At the four corners of this temple were four apartments, and in the centre was a court-yard. There were doors on the north, south, and east, the sacred image being situated to the west. The Palace and Temple were erected in the year 538 of the Hejira (A.D. 1143). The construction is so admirable, and the artists were so clever in the sculpture of the stonework, that it is impossible to conceive anything more perfect. On each stone were engraved such beautiful scrolls of flowers as to outdo description. On all the doors, walls and pillars, were carved figures of idols and bells hanging from chains. At the present time the north and east sides exist us formerly. In conformity with the usage of the Vislmi religion, an iron -pillar2 was erected in the temple and, since the sculptures on the doors and walls represent the Avatar or incarnation of Krishna, (this probablj refers to the carving just described, page 52, ^ 2) figures of Mahadeo, Ganesh and Banuman, it follows thai the temple w;ts dedicated to the religious service of the Vislmi sect of Hinduism. Although at the time of the Muhammadans the statues were destroyed, one can still easily recognise, by the remains, what was intended to be represented.' 3

General Cunningham has stated that, with the; exception of the iron column and one stone pillar in the Colonnade having a Buddhist or a Jaina figure, there is nothing older than the tenth or eleventh century in the Great Mosque or in its neighbourhood.

• 1. Lassen's "Indische AJterthums Kunde." Vol. ii. p. 1107.
• 2. It is possible that the iron Lat or pillar may have been worshipped as a Lingam, hut it is an emblem of Siva rather than of Vishnu.
• 3. M. Garcin de Tassy, "Description des Monuments de Delhi en 1852, d'apiv^ le Tezte Hindustani de Saiyid Ahmad Khan."