Kosam
Kosam, 1908
The name of two villages, distinguished as Kosam Inam and Kosam Khiraj, in the Manjhanpur tahsil of Allahabad District, United Provinces, situated in 25° 20' N. and 81° 24/ E., on the bank of the Jumna. Population (1901), 2,374. For many years the ancient remains buried beneath these villages were believed to be the site of the city of Kausambhi, one of the most celebrated cities of ancient India to both Hindu and Buddhist. If the distances recorded by Hiuen Tsiang are correct, Kausambhi must be looked for at some distance south or south-west of Kosam, and the most recent writer has located it at Gurgi in the State of Rewah. The remains at Kosam include those of a vast fortress with earthen ramparts and bastions, four miles in circuit, with an average height of 30 to 35 feet above the general level of the country. Near the centre is a small modern Jain temple, and a large collection of Jain sculptures of the eleventh century were dug up close by. A large stone monolith stands at an angle in a mound of brick ruins, bearing inscriptions by pilgrims dating from the fifth or sixth century. An inscription, dated in 1564, mentions the name of Kausambhi. Numerous terra-cotta figures, stone carvings, and coins are found in the neighbourhood, the latter ranging over the whole period of Indian numismatics. One variety of coins found here bears the names of a series of kings who appear to have reigned in the first or second century b. c. Three miles north-west of the fort stands a rocky hill called Pabhosa, high on the face of which is a cave where important inscriptions have been found.
[Cunningham, Archaeological Reports, vol. i, pp. 301-12 ; vol. x, pp. 1-5; vol. xxi, pp. 1-3; Coins of Ancient India, p. 73; Major Vost, Journal, Royal Asiatic Society, 1903, p. 583.]
This article has been extracted from THE IMPERIAL GAZETTEER OF INDIA , 1908. OXFORD, AT THE CLARENDON PRESS. |
Note: National, provincial and district boundaries have changed considerably since 1908. Typically, old states, ‘divisions’ and districts have been broken into smaller units, and many tahsils upgraded to districts. Some units have since been renamed. Therefore, this article is being posted mainly for its historical value.
