is now probably the second in the province with respect to size and population. It is a place of extensive trade, and has long been celebrated throughout Europe as well as Asia for its beautiful muslins and other fine cotton fabrics. DAIKCHEES, metal boilers, used in Hindostan.

DAKSHA. Daksha, in Hindoo mythology, was an avatar or appearance of Brahma upon earth in a human shape. He was the father of Suti, the consort of Siva, whose son, Vira Badra (produced from the jatta or locks of Siva), cut off his head for treating his father with indignity, and causing the death of Suti. On the intercession of the gods, Daksha was restored to life; but his head having during the battle fallen into the fire, and been burnt, it was replaced by that of a he-goat, in which form he is seen. DALIM, the Hindostanee word for the pomegranate (Punica Granatum). From Spain to Persia, and from Persia to China, the pomegranate is held in high repute not only as a delicious, cooling, and highly wholesome fruit, but as a remedy, a principal ingredient in many drinks, sherbets, and sweetmeats, and finally, as a favourite source of allusions for lovers, poets, warriors, and orators. In intertropical India, except at considerable elevations, it is rarely found of a fine quality, being mostly not of the sweet kind, but of the sour, acid sort, becoming even stringent as the fruit approaches more to the common wild kind. It is an object of much care and attention in the south of Europe and Barbary, both as a fruit, as a flowering plant, and as one proper for garden hedges and covering of walls in espaliers, or something between the espalier and the creeper. This it is to a very considerable height and extent, its numerous branches forming a close covering, and its brilliant flowers and excellent fruit making it an

object of great beauty and even of value in some situations, where the flowers and fruit are all saleable to the druggists or the dyers. The bark of its root is also, there is no doubt, an invaluable remedy against that frightfully severe disease, the tape-worm, which, before the knowledge of it, had baffled, both in India and Europe, all the skill of physicians. DALLEE, a basket of fruit, flowers, and vegetables; a frequent present from a native of India to his employer; much valued by those who do not boast of gardens.

DAMAUN, a seaport in the province of Guzerat, in India, Lat. 20 deg. 25 min. N., Long. 72 deg. 58 min. E. It belongs to the Portuguese. It was formerly a place of much commerce, but at present it is noted chiefly for ship-building.

DAMMER, a kind of pitch used in India to cover wooden roofings, tanks, chests, and other objects which it may be important to render water-tight or impervious to rain. DANDIES, the boatmen of the Ganges.

DARAPOORUM, a town in the province of Coimbatore, in India, in a fine open country, about half a mile from the Amravutti river, near the southern end of the province. It is populous and well built, and the surrounding country produces abundance of rice and tobacco. DAROGAH, superintendent or inspector. Formerly the word was much in vogue to denote a Gomastah or factor in the service of Indian native princes. It is now bestowed almost exclusively on inspectors of police and overseers of large public establishments, but is often assumed by inferior functionaries for the sake of the importance it gives to a man in the eyes of the natives. DATYAS, ASURAS, RAKSHASAS, Hindostanee. Demons, giants. DAUM, a copper coin, the twenty-fifth part of a pisa, or according to some, an ideal money, the fortieth part of a rupee.

DAUR-UL-SULTANAT, Persian. The abode of royalty, the capital. DAWK, literally "the Post." There

are various ways of carrying the post over India. In some places there are horse-dawks, mounted runners, who carry their letter-bags either across their own or their horse's shoulders; in others, a camel is employed, and in one or two places a mail cart is used. But by far the most common description of "dawk" is the foot-runner, who carries a bag of letters slung across his person, with which he runs for an hour or two at the rate of nearly four miles an hour, transferring his charge to another, who stands at a given point prepared to relieve him. Large parcels are conveyed in petarrahs or boxes, suspended by ropes to either end of a pliant bamboo placed across the shoulders, and to this mode of carriage the term dawk-banghy is applicable. Travelling dawk implies journeying by palankeen, an agreeable, safe, but somewhat tedious description of locomotion. Eight or twelve bearers (sufficient for one or two reliefs, four being the number that bear a palankeen), a mussalchee carrying a torch, and a couple of banghy bearers with the luggage, usually constitute the equipment of a dawk traveller. Within the palankeen he carries his books, biscuit, bottle of brandy, and such light articles as he may require on alighting at one of the stage bungalows for purposes of refreshment, ablution, &c.

These bungalows stand fifteen or twenty miles apart on the principal roads in India (there being no friendly hotels for the accommodation of the traveller), and are provided with a khetmutghar and a bearer, the former of whom will catch and cook a barn door fowl for the visitor, while the latter will provide him with a pleasant bath of cool water, and assist at his toilette. The dawk is entirely under the control of the government post-masters, to whom applications must be made

for the necessary accommodation some days before it is required. The expense of a palankeen-dawk, with eight bearers, &c., is about half a rupee per mile, to which is to be added a small gratuity at the end of a stage to each relay of bearers. DECCAN, the, a division of Hindostan, bounded on the north by the Nurbudda, and a line drawn from the source of that river eastward to the mouth of the Hoogly; on the south it is bounded by the rivers Kistna and Malpurba. It is divided into the provinces of 1. Candeish 2. Gondwana; 3. Berar; 4. Orissa; 5. Aurungabad; 6. Beder; 7. Hyderabad; 8. the Northern Circars; and 9. Bejapoor.

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DECOITS, Indian gang robbers. DECOITY, gang robbery. DEESA, a town in India, situated on the Banas river, in the province of Guzerat, in Lat. 24 deg. 9 min. N., Long. 72 deg. 8 min. E. It is the most advanced military station of the British on the Guzerat frontier. DEEWAI KHANEH, the name given indifferently in India to a hospital, a dispensary, or an apothecary's shop.

DEHBASHEE, a Persian officer in command of ten men.

DEHDAR, village-keeper, under the peninsula native government of India. An inferior officer of police in a village, one of whose duties was to distrain the crop, when necessary, to secure the rent.

DEKINEH, Persian. Mouth or entrance of a pass.

DEL-GAHA, the bread-fruit tree of Ceylon. It grows as high as the jack tree, and has very large branches which, twice a-year, in March and June, are hung with round, rough fruit, about the size of an infant's head. The fruit is everywhere used, both by natives and Europeans, as an article of food. When boiled

it resembles a potato, but is more watery. It is often cut into slices and fried, in which state it is very crisp. The wood, which is white

and rather coarse, is not much used. The leaves are large, and of a dark green. The fruit grows from the ends of small branches, and does not rise immediately from the trunk as the jack fruit. There is another tree of the same species, called the foreign bread-fruit tree (rata-del-gaha). Its leaves are not so large as those of the common bread-fruit, and are not gashed. The fruit is a thick pod, about six inches long, and when split contains a number of white seeds, as big as peas; these are eaten by the natives when boiled. This tree is much used for making canoes, its trunk being frequently long, straight, and thick, and the wood light and durable. DELHI, a province in Hindostan, bounded on the north by Sirmoor, Gurwal, and Kamaoon; east, Oude and Agra; south, Agra and Ajmere; west, Ajmere and the Punjab. This province is divided into a number of districts, of which the principal are the following: Sirhind, Suharunpoor, Meerut, Delhi, Aligurh, Rohilkhund. The rivers are the Jumna and Ganges, with several smaller rivers. On its northern and western frontiers this province is hilly, but otherwise it is generally level and open. In former times it was fertile and well cultivated; but having subsequently been for a series of years exposed to the ravages of numerous armies, the means of irrigation were destroyed, and large districts became almost desert from the prevalence of moving sands blown over the surface by the winds. During the last twenty years, however, the attention of the British government has been given to the restoration of the canals, of which there were formerly three, much celebrated in that part of India, viz.: Ali Murdan Khan's, constructed during the reign of the Emperor Baber; Sultaun Feroz Shah's, and Zabita Khan's. Ali Murdan Khan's canal, running from Kurnal to Delhi, 180 miles in length, was restored in 1820, after a labour of about three

years, and has produced the most beneficial effects over a large extent of country. The principal productions of the province are wheat, bajra, and other grains, sugar, and cotton. The principal towns are Ferozepore, Loodiana, Kurnal, Suharunpore, Delhi, Meerut, Moradabad, Rampore, Bareilly, Aligurh, and Shahjuhanpore. The inhabitants consist of Hindoos of various tribes, and a large proportion of Mahomedans; of the latter class there are considerable numbers in the district of Rohilkhund, called Rohillas, or Patans. They are descendants of Afghans, and retain much of the Afghan manners and appearance.

DELHI, the ancient city of the Mahomedan empire in India. It is situated on the banks of the Jumna, in Lat. 28 deg. 41 min. N., Long. 77 deg. 5 min. E. Long before the Mahomedans invaded India, Delhi appears to have been a city of considerable importance, and the capital of one of the most powerful of the Hindoo sovereigns. Under its Mahomedan sovereigns it became one of the most splendid cities in Asia, and in the time of Aurungzebe, had a population estimated at not less than two millions. The ruins of numerous buildings, extending over a space of nearly twenty square miles, remain to attest its former magnificence, and there are still many beautiful mosques, and other edifices in good preservation, particularly the Jumna Musjid, built by the Emperor Shah Juhan, and the Mausoleum of Hoomayoon. The Kootub Minar or Minaret of Kootub (q. v.), which stands at a few miles distant from the city, is also a very remarkable object. Under the British Government, Delhi has again become a thriving town, and is one of the principal marts for the interchange of commodities between India and the countries to the north and west. Its present population is believed to be about 250,000. Fifty miles to the north

ward of Delhi, stands the town of Paniput, celebrated in history as the scene of two of the greatest battles ever fought in India. The legitimate descendant of the Great Mogul is still permitted to exercise a nominal sovereignty in Delhi, but he is, in fact, a mere pensioner of the British Government, restricted to dominion within the walls of his palace.

DERVISE, or DERVISH, a Turkish anchorite or fanatic. The different orders originated in the two sects of Ebu Bakir and of Ali. The title is derived from a Persian word which means the sill or threshold of a door, and infers" a mind filled with humility, desirous of retreat, and persevering in practice." When assembled for the ceremonial of the dance the dervises all leave their places, and range themselves on the left of the superior, and advance towards him very slowly. When the first dervise comes opposite the Sheik he makes a salutation, and passing on begins the dance. It consists of rapidly turning round upon the right foot, with the arms widely extended.

DESMOOK, headman of a district. Collector of a district, or portion of a Country: an officer corresponding with Zemindar, but more ancient. DEVANAGARI, the Sanscrit alphabet. It is composed of fifty-two letters and a great number of signs; it is written from left to right, and it is the model after which are formed several alphabets peculiar to different idioms of the peninsula of India, as well as the alphabet of Thibet, and the alphabets which are used in writing several of the IndoChinese languages.

DEWAN, originally a place of assem bly; and under the native government of India a minister of the revenue department, and chief justice in civil causes within his jurisdiction; receiver-general of a province. The term has, by abuse, been used to designate the principal revenue

servant under an European collector, and even of a Zemindar. By this title the East India Company are receivers-general, in perpetuity, of the revenues of Bengal, Bekar, and Orissa, under a grant from the Great Mogul.

DEWANNEE, the office or jurisdiction of a Dewan.

DEWANNEE COURT OF ADAWLUT, an Indian court for trying revenue and other civil causes. DEWOTTER, a Hindoo grant of land for the expense of a deity. DHAL BAAT, Hindostanee. Rice and yellow pease stewed together. DHANGAH, hill coolee. See PURHA

RIES.

DHARWAR, a town in India, situated in the Dooab, or Southern Mahratta Country; it is called in Mahomedan geography Nusseerabad, and is in Lat. 15 deg. 28 min. N., Long. 75 deg. 8 min. E. It consists of a large fort and open town, and is the principal station of the civil authorities of the province.

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DHERNA, a mode of caption or arrest adopted by the Brahmuns to gain a point which cannot be accomplished by any other means; and the process is as follows :-The Brahmun who adopts this expedient for the purpose mentioned, proceeds to the door or house of the person against whom it is directed, or wherever he may most conveniently interrupt him. there sits down in dherna, with poison or a poignard, or some other instrument of suicide, in his hand, and threatening to use it if his adversary should attempt to molest or pass him, he thus completely arrests him. In this situation the Brahmun fasts; and by the rigour of the etiquette, which is rarely infringed, the unfortunate object of his arrest ought also to fast; and thus they both remain until the institutor of the dherna obtains satisfaction. In this, as he seldom makes the attempt without resolution to persevere, he rarely fails; for if the party thus arrested were to suffer the Brahmun sitting in dherna

to perish by hunger, the sin would, for ever be upon his head. This practice has been less frequent of late years, but the interference of our courts has often proved insufficient to check it; as it has been deemed in general most prudent to avoid for this purpose the use of coercion, from an apprehension that the first appearance of it might drive the sitter in dherna to suicide. The discredit of the act would not only fall upon the officers of justice, but upon the government itself. The practice of sitting in dherna is not confined to the Brahmuns only, it is adopted by all classes, with the same views, or, often for mere purposes of revenge. DHINGY, a small Indian boat, with a sharp prow, propelled by oars, and chiefly used to communicate from the shore with ships at anchor. DHOBEE, an Indian washerman. He differs in some respects from the English washerwoman, as well as in being of a different sex. For instance, while she is up to her elbows in a washtub, he is up to his knees in a tank, or may be in a river:-while she rubs her knuckles into a shrivelled and blistery-looking skin, he bangs the linen raiment of master, mistress, and child, against a serrated log, or a roughened stone:-while she is all suds, the frothy article is scarcely known to him, and yet he is well off for soap, but the modus operandi is unfavourable for the accumulation of the frothy pile:-while she mangles, he is ironing with an enormous brazen iron, of which the weight has an effect, equivalent to mangling, on the cloth:-and finally, while she brings home her linen as yellow as saffron, he brings his home as white as snow. The dhobee of a bachelor gets five or six rupees per mensem; but where there is a lady in the case, his wages are at least doubled, and increased also by a rupee or two for every child.

From

DHOMBA SHEEP, the broad-tailed sheep of Afghanistan. 66 dhomb," a tail.

DHOTEE, a long narrow strip of cotton cloth, used by the Hindoos instead of pantaloons.

DHOU, a tree, which abounds in the jungles of Hindostan. It is the lythrum fructuosum of botanists. DHOW, a large rudely constructed vessel, with a single mast and a latteen sail, much elevated at the stern. It is used in the Persian Gulf and Red Sea, and carries the produce of their shores to the Malabar Coast and other parts of India. Until the year 1821, the dhows were the piratical vessels of the Arabs, but at that time an expedition, sent from Bombay, destroyed all that could be found in the piratical ports, and put an end to buccaneering. DHURMAPORE, a town in Kachar, one of the Bengal dependencies, situated in an extensive valley on the banks of the river Kapili. DHURM SALEH, a species of caravanserai, or resting-place for travellers in India.

DHYE, a wet nurse, or child's nurse, more generally an attendant upon native ladies in India. DINAPORE, a town in India, on the south side of the Ganges, ten miles to the westward of Patna, in the province of Bahar. It is one of the principal military stations of the province.

DINDIGUL, the capital of the district so named, in the province of Southern Carnatic, in India. It was formerly the capital of an Hindoo kingdom, and is situated in Lat. 9 deg. 55 min. N., Long. 78 deg. 14 min. E., near the western entrance of an extensive plain, about thirty miles from east to west, and twenty-five from north to south, almost surrounded by mountains. It is a clean and neatly built town, and has a strong fort built upon a rock about 400 feet high, on the summit of which is a Hindoo temple. Under the northern ledge of the rock there is a remarkable natural cavern, inhabited by some Mahomedan fukeers.

DIVAN, the Sultan's privy council at