Footfalls of Indian history . y see the Math of Sankaracharyas order, thehigh caste Dandis, whose line is unbroken andorthodoxy unimpeached from the days of theirfounder, early in the ninth century, till the presenthour. Again, we see the palace of the NagporeBhonslas (now in the hands of the Maharaja ofDarbhanga), connecting Benares with the memoryof the Mahratta power, and further on the royalbuildings of Gwalior and even of Nepal. Nor iseverything here dedicated to Shiva, Shivas citythough it be. For here again we come on thetemple of Beni Madhab, one of the favourite namesof Vishnu. Even M
Footfalls of Indian history . y see the Math of Sankaracharyas order, thehigh caste Dandis, whose line is unbroken andorthodoxy unimpeached from the days of theirfounder, early in the ninth century, till the presenthour. Again, we see the palace of the NagporeBhonslas (now in the hands of the Maharaja ofDarbhanga), connecting Benares with the memoryof the Mahratta power, and further on the royalbuildings of Gwalior and even of Nepal. Nor iseverything here dedicated to Shiva, Shivas citythough it be. For here again we come on thetemple of Beni Madhab, one of the favourite namesof Vishnu. Even Mohammedan sovereigns couldnot submit to be left out. Secular science is em-bodied in the beautiful old Man Mandir of Akbarstime, with its instruments and lecture-hall, andthe Mussulman faith in the towering minarets ofAurungzebs mosque. But what is true of the Ganges front becomesstill more .clear when we pass behind and considerthe city as a whole. Ranjit Singh made no sepa-rate building, but he linked Vishweswar irrevocably. P/ioio: Johnston andHoffinanu THE GHATS, BENARES A STUDY OF BENARES > 269 with Amritsar, when he covered its roof with of Bengal, Sirdars of tiie Punjab, andnobles of Rajputana, all have vied with one anotherin leaving temples and shrines, charities and bene-factions, dotted over the Panch Kos. Or we may see the same thing industrially. Wecan buy in Benares, besides her own delicate webs,the saris of Madras and the Dekkan alike. Or wemay go to the Vishwanath Bazar for the carpentryof the Punjab. We may find in the same city thebrass work of Nasik, of Trichinopoli, and of theNepalese frontier. It is there, better than anywhereelse in India, that we may buy the stone vesselsof Gaya, of Jubbulpur, and of Agra, or the Shivasof the Nerbudda and the salagrams of the Gumtiand Nepal. And the food of every province maybe bought in these street^, the language of everyrace in India heard within these walls. On questions of religio,» and of custom,
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