The Geographical Dictionary of Ancient and Mediaeval India c5.s2.56.3

c5.s2.56.3

The names of Mahâdeva Tilabhâṇḍeśvara and Daśâśvamedheśvara are also mentioned in the *Śiva Purâṇa* (Pt. 1, ch. 39). The Maṇikarṇikâ is the most sacred of all cremation ghats in India, and it is associated with the closing scenes of the life of Râjâ Hariśchandra of Ayodhyâ, who became a slave to a Caṇḍâla for paying off his promised debt (Kṣhemeśvara's *Caṇḍa-Kauśika*; *Mârkaṇḍeya P.*, ch. viii). The old fort of Benares which was used by the Pâla Râjâs of Bengal and the Rathore kings of Kanauj, was situated above the Râj-ghâṭ at the confluence of Barṇâ and the Ganges (Bholanath Chunder's *Travels of a Hindu*, vol. I). Benares is one of the Pîṭhas where Satî's left hand is said to have fallen, and is now represented by the goddess Annapûrṇâ, but the *Tantrachūḍāmaṇi* mentions the name of the goddess as Viśâlâkṣhî. There are two Brahmanical Universities in ancient India, one at Benares and the other at Takṣhaśilâ (Taxila) in the Punjab. For the observatory at Benares and the names of the instruments with sketches, see Hooker's *Himalayan Journals*, vol. I, p. 67. Benares is said to be the birth-place of Kaśyapa Buddha, but Fa Hian says that he was born at Too-wei, which has been identified by General Cunningham with Tadwa or Tandwa (Legge's Fa Hian, ch xxi; Arch S. Rep, XI), nine miles to the west of Srâvastî. Kaśyapa died at Gurupada hill (see Gurupâda-giri).