The Antiquities of Orissa v2.c18.98

v2.c18.98

Mundaka Hill. The first of the four peaks owes its name to the circumstance of the rite of ordeal by rice ( maṇḍa ) having been performed there, but it is now known by the name of Ālamgir Hill. It is the highest of the four, being 2,500 feet above the level of the surrounding country. On its crest stands a mosque, built by Shujauddin Muhammad, in the Hijra year 1132, i. e. A. D. 1719-20. The monument is of no pretension, measuring only 29 ft. x 19 ft. x 9 ft. 4 in. It is covered in, not by a dome as stated by Babu Chandrasekhara Banurji, but by two arching roofs terminating in a ridge with a Kalasa at each end. This arrangement is very like that of an ordinary hut, only the roofs are more arched near their spring than what obtains in thatched roofs. The frieze over the doorway of the mosque is of chlorite and on it are inscribed three couplets in Persian, which supply the name of the dedicator and date³⁵. The mosque faces the east and in front there is a platform surrounded by a thick wall with a gate. Towards the west, high and rough rocks overlook the building. But to its north, a high terrace has been raised for the reception of darveshes and pilgrims. The structure is, on the whole, very common-place, if not mean, but it commands the benefit of a legend which endows it with a high measure of sanctity. According to the story as related to Babu Chandrasekhara Banurji, when Muhammad was once travelling in mid air on his miraculous throne, the time for prayer appeared, and he descended on the top of the hill to attend to his religious duty. Finding no water ready at hand to perform the necessary ablutions before prayer, he struck the earth with his wand and a bubbling fountain immediately sprung up. Thus was the hill made most sacred. Mr. Beames was informed that it was Solomon, and not Muhammad, who had descended on the hill. Certain it is that the story of the miraculous carpet is connected with the elder prophet, and Mr. Beames' informant was more plausible. But as the story is, in either case, a myth, it is of no importance; particularly as it did not serve to raise the place to any consequence until the 17th century, when a Darvesh took possession of it and daily recited his call to prayer from its stupendous eminence. The army of Shuja-uddin, when marching to Cuttack, [161] was encamped in the neighbourhood, heard the call, and the prince, on his return from his successful expedition, caused the mosque to be built.