The Commentary of Father Monserrate 2.3
The Commentary of Father Monserrate (Hoyland) 2.3
- Language
- English
2.3.1
The principal town of this tract of country, in which the emperor of these mountaineers himself resides, is called Avazus, just as the mountains are. The circuit of its walls is indeed great, but its huts are very mean and wretched. At last, having crossed the mountains and penetrated the defiles along a rough and dangerous track, we reached Surana. While we were there, at 11 P.M. on January 31st, there was an an eclipse of the moon. In the following year we learnt that at that very time the pious and devout King Henry of Portugal, the royal pontiff, had passed away. This exalted and mighty monarch died on his own birthday. Many people also regard it as a portent that, on the day when he was born, the district of Ulyssipon was whitened with snow; for it is very unusual for it to snow in that province, on account of the mildness of the climate. At any rate on the day of his death the moon suffered eclipse. In regard to the life and character of King Henry, he was a signally pious and devout man. This eclipse may also be reckoned to have foreshadowed the trials and griefs which came upon Portugal after the death of King Henry.
2.3.2
Not very far from Surana the river Nerbada is crossed, which after passing Amadabaea flows into the sea at Barocium. In the stormy season the very wide and deep bed of this river is filled with rapidly-flowing muddy water, so that it can only be crossed by means of a bridge or a boat. But in the summer, when the water of the rains has subsided, it can be crossed on foot. It is full of fish, and its water is so clear that the fish (?) and turtles, and even the smallest pebbles, can be counted. Its banks are covered with thick reed-beds, and with the health-giving herb marjoram. Two days after crossing the Nerbada we reached the great city of Mandho, the former importance of which, in the days of its prosperity, is indicated by the huge circuit of its walls, the vastness of the buildings which remain standing, and the ruins of those which have fallen. The walls are still perfect in those places which are not defended by precipitous crags; their total circuit is nearly 24 miles. The city stands on the level top of a hill, and is everywhere defended by deep gorges and inaccessible cliffs. It has only one very narrow entrance. It can never lack water, as there are many tanks and springs in it, as well as never-failing wells of abundant and sweet water. In that quarter where the single entrance to the town is situated there are five walls placed one above the other at the head of a steep approach, so that the city is impregnable and can only be subdued by lack of food.
2.3.3
No one can tell with any degree of certainty by whom and at what time this great city was founded; for the Musalmans, whose nature is indeed that of barbarians, take no interest in such things: their chronicles being scanty and unreliable, and full of old wives' tales. However, judging from the structure of the walls, one may venture a confident conjecture that the town is fairly modern and was built by Musalmans. I was told that its builders were Mongols, of a different tribe from that which has become so celebrated in our own time. For it is said that two hundred years ago the Mongols, being in search of a fresh country to occupy, left their ancestral encampments, invaded India, and settled at Mandho, both because it is by nature very easily defended and also because it is the most fertile part of the district, and indeed of the whole province of Malwa. These Mongols, however, were afterwards crushed by the Pathans in a number of battles, were driven into the single stronghold of Mandho, were besieged there for seven years, and finally, having been compelled to submit, were destroyed. For the Pathan King, who was in command of the besieging army, after many vain attempts to storm the city, fully perceived that it could only be subdued by compelling it to surrender through hunger.
2.3.4
He therefore summoned masons, smiths, contractors and workmen, and ordered them to build walls, defences and houses for the soldiers to live in—indeed a whole city—in the very place, close to the gate in the walls, where his camp was at that time pitched. He gave strict injunctions also that all provisions intended for the city should be intercepted by his cavalry, who occupied all roads to the town and especially one path which approached the city from behind and was so rough and precipitous that soldiers could scarcely climb it even on their hands and knees. Finally he captured the city and ordered it to be razed to the ground. Inside the city is to be seen a fragment of a huge iron gun which for some superstitious reason or other the heathen revere and worship. It is smeared with oil and coloured red. There is also a great palace, the home of the ancient kings, in which the governor of the province now lives. There is an excellently fortified citadel, and a half-finished royal tomb, which I suppose will never be completed ; but it is worth seeing for its architecture and huge size. It stands in the middle of a square platform, which is raised five cubits above the ground, is eighty feet wide at the top, and is everywhere surrounded below by arches and colonnades. The tomb itself, which is crowned by a dome, measures twenty feet across, forty feet from the floor-level to the base of the dome, and forty feet from that point to the top of the dome.
2.3.5
At the four corners of the platform rise minarets, seven storeys high and octagonal in shape. Each storey of these minarets is five cubits high. They have windows directed towards the four winds, out of which the Musalman call to prayer is pronounced. Opposite this tomb is another great building of similar magnificence and costliness. In the tomb are buried three Mongol kings, and also the tutor of one of these kings. Each sepulchre is embellished with mosaics, bass-reliefs and inlaid work. In front of these sepulchres are preserved the gilded thrones of the three kings, these being regarded as the emblems of royal rank, just as we regard the crown and sceptre as such emblems.
2.3.6
There is also a temple built like a Christian Church. Beneath, one on each side of the building, are two shrines with arched roofs, in which altars might be placed. Above these are two rooms, also with arched roofs, opening into each other and thus forming a passage towards the sanctuary of the High Altar. Probably it will appear to many an incredible traveller's tale when I declare that outside the walls of the city is a graveyard six miles long. This may sound an exaggeration; but no one who knows with what magnificence and costliness the Musalmans are wont to build tombs will wonder at it. For, believing as they do that those whose life here is ended can only be admitted amongst the saints of Heaven through the name of Muhammad, they therefore honour their dead with elaborately built tombs, which, as they esteem, are worthy of those who are now holy saints in Heaven. Indeed in this respect — namely their belief that fitting honours should be paid to heavenly saints and seemly tombs made for the dead — these Musalmans are wiser and better than certain abandoned creatures of our own age.
2.3.7
The above is a description of Mandho. The party arrived at Usena, near the river Machipara, on the second day after leaving this vast city. The founder of Usena is said to have been Birbitcremas, who is venerated as a God, and as the inventor of all the mechanic arts, by the people of the whole of Gedrosia and the neighbouring provinces. This superstition may probably be accounted for by Birbitcremas' interest and skill in such arts. For he was a very powerful and wealthy king, and the designer of many great works, which he left as a memorial of his glory, and which are still to be seen in the shape of numerous ancient temples. If one comes across an ancient temple of this type anywhere in this part of India and asks who was its builder, the reply is sure to be 'Birbitcremas.' And if a builder or carpenter is asked whom he honours and worships as his god, he will surely answer 'Birbitcremas.' The said Birbitcremas' style of architecture possesses a distinctive character of its own, and is not unpleasing to the eye, though it is infinitely inferior to the glories of the Roman workmanship.
2.3.8
While the party was at Usena, the Hindus carried to the pyre an old man who had died and whom they regarded as a god. The bier was gaily painted and gilded. The funeral procession took place at night, and was conducted with such exact observance that even tiny pieces of chaff and straw were removed from the path by which the bier was to be carried. Incense and sweet-smelling spices were placed in censers around the bier and there burnt. How extraordinary it is that the heathen should pay these honours to men whom they mistakenly regard as saintly, while wicked renegades from the Christian Faith refuse such honours to true saintliness!