"On the western side is the shrine of Achil-eswar, the tutelary divinity of Aboo. There is nothing striking as to magnitude, and still less as to decoration, in this, but it possesses a massive simplicity which guarantees its antiquity. It occupies the center of a quadrangle, surrounded by smaller fanes, alike primitive in form, and built of blocks of blue slate. But it is the object of worship which confers celebrity, being nothing less than the great toe of the devil, for so we must translate Patal-eswar, the Lord of Hell. On entering, the eye is attracted by a statue of the mountain nymph, Mera, the wife of this multiform divinity, which, at first sight, appears to be the object of adoration; and it is only on stooping to look into a deep fissure of the rock, termed the Brimh-khar, that the bright nail of Siva is visible, which has attracted homage from myriads of votaries from the remotest ages. In front of the temple is a brass bull, of colossal size, bearing the marks of violence on his flanks, the hammer of the barbarian having penetrated them in search of treasure, Mahomed Beyra, Padsha or king of Ahmedabad, has the credit of this sacrilege; but whether it was rewarded by the discovery of any secret hoard, is not told: though the legend details the manifestation of Siva’s wrath upon the “barbarian king” for the ill-treatment of his favorite. In descending from Aboo, after the reduction of Achilgurh, his banners “fanned by Conquest’s crimson wing,” confusion waited on them from an unlooked-for source. A legion of bees, issuing from their pinnacled retreats, attacked and pursued the invaders even to Jhalore. To commemorate this victory over the spoiler, the name of Bhomar-t’hal, or ‘Bees Valley,’ was given to the spot. A temple was erected, and from the captured arms thrown away in their flight, a vast tridanta (trident) was formed, and placed in front of the divinity who thus avenged the insult to Nanda."
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James Tod
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