History of Indian and Eastern Architecture v2.c25.29

v2.c25.29

In the very centre of India, at Amarakantak, near a place marked Ajmîrgadh on the map, is a sacred tank, from which it is said that the Sôn flows to the north, the Mahânadî to Katak in the Bay of Bengal, and the Narbadâ to the Indian Ocean. All these rivers have their sources in the hill. The spot has always been held sacred, and is surrounded by temples, two or three of them—as far as can be gathered from the imperfect accounts available—of considerable age.¹ On the south and east of this hill extends the great and fertile table-land of Chhattîsgarh. This is now, and has always been, so far as our knowledge extends, one of the principal seats of the native tribes. If that country and the surrounding districts were carefully surveyed, we might find temples, some of which would add very materially to our knowledge of the history of this style.²