CHAPTER VII.
AN OLD DECCAN FORTRESS.
AT one point in its course the Penganga, the southern boundary of the modern province of Berar, turns suddenly northwards, and, after flowing in a northerly direction for upwards of thirty miles resumes its course eastwards. In the curve thus formed, and to the south of the river at a distance of rather more than two miles, are situated the old town and fort of Mahur. About a mile from the river the ground rises abruptly and a rocky road leads up to a plateau. Scattered over this plateau is a medley of tanks, shrines, and mosques, most of them ruinous but some still in good repair. The extent of the ruins enables us to judge of the size of the ancient town, now a dreary and sleepy village, but at one time the capital of a province of the Muhammadan empire of the Deccan. Narrow roads, ankle deep in dust, lead us now between mean houses, and anon between the ruins of more pretentious buildings, taking us at length out to what were formerly the suburbs of a large town. Here in days of old we might have found stately pavilions and luxurious summer-houses, half hidden in cool gardens, kept green by pleasant tanks. Of all this the tanks alone remain, and even they are for the most part dry. The rest is dust and decay. To the south-west and north the Penganga may be seen winding through its fertile valley. Beyond this valley the low hills which lie between it and the Berar valley on the north, and form the Balaghat of Berar, stretch away to the horizon. Immediately behind the town rises a steep and, in most parts, inaccessible hill. Half way up its side rises the glistening white dome of a Mahanubhava temple; its crest is fringed with battlements, the battlements of the old fort of Mahur, which has played its part in the history of Berar and the Deccan. It is an imposing structure, but has long since lost its strategical importance. Its walls, still in good order, are built of blocks of dressed stone, some of which are as much as six feet in length, and encircle the hill crest. The fort is entered on the north by a gate well provided with flank defences and approached by a road which must surely resemble the
