Chapter VIII: JACQUES BERNOULLI (1759-1789), younger brother of the preceding, (7)

_Three- and Four-Handed Bezique._--When three play, three packs are
used together. All play against each other. The player on the left of
the dealer is first dealt to and has the first lead. The rotation of
dealing goes to the left. If double bezique has been scored, and one
pair has been played, a second double bezique may be made with the
third pair and the pair on the table. Triple bezique scores 1500. All
the cards of the triple bezique must be on the table at the same time
and unplayed to a trick. All may be declared together, or a double
bezique may be added to a single one, or a third bezique may be added
to a double bezique already declared. The game is 2000 up. Sometimes
the three players cut, the one who cuts the highest card plays against
the other two in consultation, and continues to do so till the allies
win a game, when the two cut as before to see who shall be the single
player. Only two packs are then used.

When four play four packs are used. The players may then score
independently or may play as partners. A second double bezique or
triple bezique may be scored as before; to form them the beziques may
be declared from the hand of either partner. A player may declare when
he or his partner takes a trick. In playing the last eight tricks, the
winner of the last trick and the adversary to his left play their
cards against each other, and then the other two similarly play
theirs. Four people may also play in pairs by consultation, only two
packs being then required.

_Polish Bezique_ (also called "Open Bezique" and "Fildniski") differs
from ordinary bezique in the following particulars. The game is not
less than 2000 up. Whenever a scoring card is played, the winner of
the trick places it face upwards in front of him (the same with both
cards if two scoring cards are played to a trick), forming rows of
aces, kings, queens, knaves and trump tens (called _open_ cards).
Cards of the same denomination are placed overlapping one another
lengthwise from the player towards his adversary to economise space.
When a scoring card is placed among the open cards, all the sevens,
eights, nines, and plain suit tens in the tricks are turned down and
put on one side. Open cards cannot be played a second time, and can
only be used in declaring. Whether so used or not they remain face
upwards on the table until the end of the hand, including the last
eight tricks. A player can declare after winning a trick and before
drawing again, when the trick won contains a card or cards, which
added to his open cards complete any combination that scores. Every
declaration must include a card played to the trick last won. Aces and
tens must be scored as soon as won, and not at the end of the hand.
The seven of trumps can be exchanged by the winner of the trick
containing it; and if the turn-up card is one that can be used in
declaring, it becomes an open card when exchanged. The seven of trumps
when not exchanged is scored for by the player winning the trick
containing it.

Compound declarations are allowed, i.e. cards added to the open cards
can at once be used, without waiting to win another trick, in as many
combinations of different classes as they will form with the winner's
open cards. For example: A has three open kings, and he wins a trick
containing a king. Before drawing again he places the fourth king with
the other three, and scores 80 for kings. This is a simple
declaration. But suppose the card led was the queen of trumps, and A
wins it with the king, and he has the following open cards--three
kings, three queens, and ace, ten, knave of trumps. He at once
declares royal marriage (40); four kings (80); four queens (60); and
sequence (250); and scores in all, 430. Again: ace of spades is turned
up, and ace of hearts is led. The second player has two open aces, and
wins the ace of hearts with the seven of trumps and exchanges. He
scores for the exchange, 10; for the ace of hearts, 10; for the ace of
spades, 10; and adds the aces to his open cards, and scores 100 for
aces; in all, 130. If a declaration or part of a compound declaration
is omitted, and the winner of the trick draws again, he cannot amend
his score.

The ordinary rule holds that a second declaration cannot be made of a
card already declared in the same class. Thus: a queen once married,
cannot be married again; a fifth king added to four already declared
does not entitle to another score for kings. The fundamental point to
be borne in mind is, that no declaration can be effected by means of
cards held in the hand. Thus: A having three open queens and a queen
in hand cannot add it to his open cards. He must win another trick
containing a queen, when he can declare queens. Declarations continue
during the play of the last eight tricks just the same as during the
play of the other cards.

_Rubicon Bezique._--Four packs are used. Nine cards are dealt by three
to each player. The rules of Polish bezique hold good in regard to
dealing, leading, playing to lead, drawing and declaring; but a player
who receives a hand containing no picture-card (king, queen, or knave)
scores 50 for _carte blanche_, which he shows. If he does not draw a
picture-card, he can again score for _carte blanche_. The trump suit
is decided by the first sequence or marriage declared. As four packs
are used, triple and quadruple bezique may be made. Triple bezique
counts 1500, quadruple 4500. Tricks are left face upwards till a
_brisque_ (ace or ten) is played, when the winner takes all the played
cards and puts them in a heap; their only value is the value of the
_brisques_, which are only counted when the scores are very close;
then they are used to decide the game. They may be counted during the
play, provided there are not more than twelve cards in the stock.
Declarations can only be made after winning a trick and before
drawing. In addition to the ordinary bezique declarations, sequence,
counting 150, can be made in plain suits. Declared cards, except
_carte blanche_, remain on the table. If the holder of _carte blanche_
hold four aces and wins the first trick, he can declare his aces. With
the exceptions already made, the scores for declarations are the same
as at ordinary bezique. Declaration is not compulsory. Cards led or
played cannot be declared. There are three classes of declarations,
their order being (1) marriage and sequence, (2) bezique, (3) fours. A
card once declared can be used for a second declaration, but only in
an equal or superior class. If a card of a declared combination be
played to a trick, another card of the same rank may be used to form a
second similar combination; e.g. if aces be declared and one of them
be played by the playing of a fifth ace, aces can be declared again.
If a player has a chance of a double declaration he can declare both,
but can only score one at the time. As in other variations of bezique
he announces, say, "forty, and twenty to score." He should repeat,
"Twenty to score," after every trick, until he can legally score it,
but if he plays a card of the combination he cannot score the points.
To the last nine tricks, after the stock is exhausted, the second
player must follow suit and win the trick by trumping or over-playing,
if he can. The winner of the odd trick scores 50. The game consists of
one deal. In reckoning the score all fractions of 100 are neglected;
the winner scores 500 for game in addition to the difference between
his own points and his opponent's. The loser is "rubiconed" if he does
not score 1000 points, in which case the winner adds the loser's
points to his own, takes 300 for _brisques_ and 1000 for game, but the
loser may claim his _brisques_ to save a rubicon, though they are not
reckoned among his points. If a rubiconed player has scored less than
100 the opponent counts the score as 100.

BEZWADA, a town of British India, in the Kistna district of Madras, on the left bank of the river Kistna, at the head of its delta. Pop. (1901) 24,224. Here are the headquarters of the Kistna canal system, which irrigates more than 500,000 acres, and also provides navigation throughout the delta. The anicut or dam at Bezwada, begun in 1852, consists of a mass of rubble, fronted with masonry, 1240 yds. long. Here also is the central junction of the East Coast railway from Madras to Calcutta, 267 m. from Madras, where one branch line comes down from the Warangal coalfield in the Nizam's Dominions, and another from Bellary on the Southern Mahratta line. Ancient cuttings on the hills west of Bezwada have been held by some to mark the site of a Buddhist monastery; by others they are considered to have been quarries. At Undavalle to the south are some noted cave-shrines.

BHAGALPUR, a city of British India, in the Behar province of Bengal, which gives its name to a district and to a division; situated on the right bank of the Ganges, 265 m. from Calcutta. It is a station on the East Indian railway. Pop. (1901) 75,760, showing an increase of 9% in the decade. The chief educational institution is the Tejnarayan Jubilee college (1887), supported almost entirely by fees. Adjacent to the town are the two Augustus Cleveland monuments, one erected by government, and the other by the Hindus, to the memory of the civilian, who, as collector of Bhagalpur at the end of the 18th century, "by conciliation, confidence and benevolence, attempted and accomplished the entire subjection of the lawless and savage inhabitants of the Jungleterry of Rajmahal."

The DISTRICT OF BHAGALPUR stretches across both banks of the Ganges. It has an area of 4226 sq. m. In 1901 the population was 2,088,953, showing an increase of 3% in the decade. Bhagalpur is a long and narrow district, divided into two unequal parts by the river Ganges. In the southern portion of the district the scenery in parts of the hill-ranges and the highlands which connect them is very beautiful. The hills are of primary formation, with fine masses of contorted gneiss. The ground is broken up into picturesque gorges and deep ravines, and the whole is covered with fine forest trees and a rich undergrowth. Within this portion also lie the lowlands of Bhagalpur, fertile, well planted, well watered, and highly cultivated. The country north of the Ganges is level, but beautifully diversified with trees and verdure. Three fine rivers flow through the district-the Ganges, Kusi and Ghagri. The Ganges runs a course of 60 m. through Bhagalpur, is navigable all the year round, and has an average width of 3 m. The Kusi rises in the Himalayas and falls into the Ganges near Colgong within Bhagalpur. It is a fine stream, navigable up to the foot of the hills, and receives the Ghagri 8 m. above its debouchure.

In the early days of British administration the hill people, the Nats and Santals, gave much trouble. They were the original inhabitants of the country whom the Aryan conquerors had driven back into the barren hills and unhealthy forests. This they avenged from generation to generation by plundering and ravaging the plains. The efforts to subdue or restrain these marauders proved fruitless, till Augustus Cleveland won them by mild measures, and successfully made over the protection of the district to the very hill people who a few years before had been its scourge. Rice, wheat, barley, oats, Indian corn, various kinds of millet, pulses, oil-seeds, tobacco, cotton, indigo, opium, flax and hemp and sugar-cane, are the principal agricultural products of Bhagalpur district. The jungles afford good pasturage in the hot weather, and abound in lac, silk cocoons, catechu, resin and the _mahua_ fruit, which is both used as fruit and for the manufacture of spirits. Lead ores (chiefly argentiferous galena) and building stone are found, and iron ore is distributed over the hilly country. Attempts made to work the galena in 1878-79 and 1900 were abandoned, and the iron ore is little worked. Gold is washed from the river sand in small particles.

The climate of Bhagalpur partakes of the character both of the deltaic districts of Bengal and of the districts of Behar, between which it is situated. The hot season sets in about the end of March, and continues till the beginning of June, the temperature at this time rising as high as 110 deg. Fahr. The rains usually begin at the end of June and last till the middle of September; average annual rainfall, 55 in. The cold season commences at the beginning of November and lasts till March. During December and January the temperature falls as low as 41 deg. Fahr. The average annual temperature is 78 deg. Bhagalpur formed a part of the ancient Sanskrit kingdom of Anga. In later times it was included in the powerful Hindu kingdom of Magadha or Behar, and in the 7th century A.D. it was an independent state, with the city of Champa for its capital. It afterwards formed a part of the Mahommedan kingdom of Gaur, and was subsequently subjugated by Akbar, who declared it to be a part of the Delhi empire. Bhagalpur passed to the East India Company by the grant of the emperor Shah Alam in 1765.

There are indigo factories, and other industries include the weaving of tussur silk and the making of coarse glass. A large trade is carried on by rail and river with Lower Bengal. The tract south of the Ganges is traversed by the loop-line of the East Indian railway, and there is also a railway across the northern tract.

The DIVISION OF BHAGALPUR stretches across the Ganges from the Nepal frontier to the hills of Chota Nagpur. It comprises the five districts of Monghyr, Bhagalpur, Purnea, Darjeeling, and the Santal Parganas. The total area is 19,776 sq. m.; and in 1901 the population was 8,091,405.

BHAMO, a town and district of Burma. The town was in ancient times the capital of the Shan state of Manmaw, later the seat of a Burmese governor. It is now the headquarters of a district in the Mandalay division of Upper Burma (Chinese frontier). It is situated about 300 m. up the river from Mandalay. It is the highest station on the Irrawaddy held by British troops, and the nearest point on the river to the Chinese frontier. In 1901 it contained 10,734 inhabitants, of whom a considerable number were Chinamen, natives of India and Shan-Chinese. It stretches for a distance of nearly 4 m. along the Irrawaddy bank in a series of small villages, transformed into quarters of the town, but the town proper is confined mainly to the one high ridge of land running at right angles to the river. The surface of the ground is much cut up by ravines which fill and dry up according to the rise and fall of the river. When the Irrawaddy is at its height the lower portion of the town is flooded, and the country all round is a sheet of water, but usually for no very long time. Here or hereabouts has long been the terminus of a great deal of the land commerce from China. For years after its annexation by Great Britain in 1885 the trade routes were unsafe owing to attacks from Kachins. These have now ceased, and the roads, which were mere bridle-tracks, have been greatly improved. The two chief are the so-called Santa and Ponlaing route, through Manyun (Manwaing) and Nantien to Momein, and the southern or Sawadi route by way of Namhkam. Cart roads are now being constructed on both routes, and that south of the Taiping river could easily be continued through Manyun to Momein if the Chinese should be induced to co-operate. There is a fairly large military garrison in Bhamo distributed between two forts to the north and east of the town. There are in general stationed here a native regiment, two sections of a battery and the wing of a European regiment. Besides the barracks there are a circuit house, dak bungalow, courthouse, and post and telegraph offices. There is a branch railway from Myitkyina to Katha, whence there is daily communication by river to Bhamo.

The DISTRICT OF BHAMO lies wholly in the basin of the Irrawaddy, which, as well as its tributaries, runs through the heart of it. On the east of the river is the Shan plateau, running almost due north and south. West of the Irrawaddy there is a regular series of ranges, enclosing the basins of the Kaukkwe, Mosit, Indaw and other streams, down which much timber is floated. Beyond the Kaukkwe there is a ridge of hills, which starts at Leka, near Mogaung, and diverges to the south, the eastern ridge dividing the Kaukkwe from the Mosit, and the western forming the eastern watershed of the Nam Yin and running south into Katha. It is an offshoot from the latter of these ridges that forms the third defile of the Irrawaddy between Bhamo and Sinbo. The district covers an area of 4146 sq. m., and the population in 1901 was 79,515. It is mainly composed of Shan-Burmese and Kachins. The Shan-Burmese inhabit the valleys and alluvial plains on each side of the river. The Kachins, who probably came from the sub-regions of the Himalayas, occupy the hills throughout the district. There are also settlements of Shans, Shan-Chinese, Chinese and Assamese. There are extensive fisheries in the Shwegu and Mo-hnyin circles, and in the Indaw, a chain of lakes just behind the Mosit, opposite Shwegu. The district abounds in rich teak forests, and there are reserves representing 60,000 acres of teak plantation. The whole of the country along the banks of the Irrawaddy, the Mole, Taiping and Kaukkwe, is generally in a water-logged condition during the rains. The climate in the district is therefore decidedly malarious, especially at the beginning and end of the rains. From November to March there is very bracing cold weather. The highest temperatures range a few degrees over 100 deg. F. up to 106 deg., and the lowest a few degrees under 40 deg. The average maximum for the year is about 87 deg., the average minimum about 62 deg. The rainfall averages 72 in. a year. (J. G. Sc.)

BHANDARA, a town and district of British India, in the Nagpur division of the Central Provinces. The town (pop. in 1901, 14,023) is situated on the left bank of the river Wainganga, 7 m. from a station on the Bengal-Nagpur railway. It has considerable manufactures of cotton cloth and brass-ware, and a first-grade middle school, with a library.

The DISTRICT OF BHANDARA has an area of 3965 sq. m. In 1901 the population was 663,062, showing a decrease of 11% since 1891 compared with an increase of 8% in the preceding decade. The district is bounded on the N., N.E. and E. by lofty hills, inhabited by Gonds and other aboriginal tribes, while the W. and N.W. are comparatively open. Small branches of the Satpura range make their way into the interior of the district. The Ambagarh or Sendurjhari hills, which skirt the south of the Chandpur pargana, have an average height of between 300 and 400 ft. above the level of the plain. The other elevated tracts are the Balahi hills, the Kanheri hills and the Nawegaon hills. The Wainganga is the principal river in the district, and the only stream that does not dry up in the hot weather,--its affluents within the district being the Bawanthari, Bagh, Kanhan and Chulban. There are 3648 small lakes and tanks in Bhandara district, whence it is called the "lake region of Nagpur"; they afford ample means of irrigation. More than one-third of the district lies under jungle, which yields gum, medicinal fruit and nuts, edible fruits, lac, honey and the blossoms of the _mahua_ tree (_Bassia latifolia_), which are eaten by the poorer classes, and used for the manufacture of a kind of spirit. Tigers, panthers, deer, wild hogs and other wild animals abound in the forests, and during the rainy season many deaths occur from snake-bites. Iron is the chief mineral product. Gold is also found in the bed of the Sone river. Laterite, shale and sandstone occur all over the district. Native cloth, brass wares, pot-stone wares, cartwheels, straw and reed baskets, and a small quantity of silk, form the only manufactures. The principal crops are rice, wheat, millet, other food-grains, pulse, linseed, and a little sugar-cane. The district is traversed by the main road from Nagpur to the east, and also by the Bengal-Nagpur railway. It suffered in the famine of 1896-1897, and yet more severely in 1900.

Bhandara district contains 25 semi-independent chiefships. These little states are exempted from the revenue system, and only pay a light tribute. Their territory, however, is included within the returns of area and population above given. The climate of Bhandara is unhealthy,--the prevailing diseases being fever, small-pox and cholera. Nothing is known of the early history of the district. Tradition says that at a remote period a tribe of men, called the Gaulis or Gaulars, overran and conquered it. At the end of the 17th century it belonged to the Gond raja of Deogarh. In 1743 it was conquered by the Mahrattas, who governed it till 1853, when it lapsed to the British government, the raja of Nagpur having died without an heir.

BHANG, an East Indian name for the hemp plant, _Cannabis sativa_ (see HEMP), but applied specially to the leaves dried and prepared for use as a narcotic drug. In India the products of the plant for use as a narcotic and intoxicant are recognized under the three names and forms of Bhang, Gunja or Ganja, and Churrus or Charas. Bhang consists of the larger leaves and capsules of the plant on which an efflorescence of resinous matter has occurred. The leaves are in broken and partly agglutinated pieces, having a dark-green colour and a heavy but not unpleasant smell. Bhang is used in India for smoking, with or without tobacco; it is prepared in the form of a cake or manjan, and it is made into an intoxicating beverage by infusing in cold water and straining. Gunja is the flowering or fruit-bearing tops of the female plants. It is gathered in stalks of several inches in length, the tops of which form a matted mass, from the agglutination of flowers, seeds and leaflets by the abundant resinous exudation which coats them. Churrus is the crude resinous substance separated from the plant. The use of preparations of hemp among the Mussulman and Hindu population of India is very general; and the habit also obtains among the population of central Asia, the Arabs and Egyptians, extending even to the negroes of the valley of the Zambezi and the Hottentots of South Africa. The habit appears to date from very remote times, for Herodotus says of the Scythians, that they creep inside huts and throw hemp seeds on hot stones.

BHARAHAT, or BARHUT, a village in the small state of Nagod in India, lying about 24 deg. 15' N. by 80 deg. 45' E., about 120 m. S.W. of Allahabad. General A. Cunningham discovered there in 1873 the remains of a _stupa_ (i.e. a burial mound over the ashes of some distinguished person) which were excavated, in 1874, by his assistant, J.D. Beglar. The results showed that it must have been one of the most imposing and handsome in India; and it is especially important now from the large number of inscriptions found upon it. The ancient name of the place has not been yet traced, but it must have been a considerable city and its site lay on the high road between the ancient capitals of Ujjeni and Kosambi. The _stupa_ was circular, 70 ft. in diameter and 42 ft. high. It was surrounded by a stone railing 100 ft. in diameter, so that between railing and _stupa_ there was an open circle round which visitors could walk; and the whole stood towards the east side of a paved quadrangle about 300 ft. by 320 ft., surrounded by a stone wall. On the top of the _stupa_ was an ornament shaped like the letter T, and as the base of the _stupa_ was above the quadrangle, the total height of the monument was between 50 and 60 ft. But its main interest, to us, lies in the railing. This consisted of eighty square pillars, 7 ft. 1 in. in height, connected by cross-bars about 1 ft. broad. Both pillars and cross-bars were elaborately carved in bas-relief, and most of them bore inscriptions giving either the name of the donor, or the subject of the bas-relief, or both. There were four entrances through the railing, facing the cardinal points, and each one protected by the railing coming out at right angles, and then turning back across it in the shape of the letter L. This gave the whole ground plan of the monument, and no doubt designedly so, the shape of a gigantic _swastika_ (i.e. a symbol of good fortune). By the forms of the letters of the inscriptions, and by the architectural details, the age of the monument has been approximately fixed in the 3rd century B.C. The bas-reliefs give us invaluable evidence of the literature, and also of the clothing, buildings and other details of the social conditions of the peoples of Buddhist India at that period. The subjects are taken from the Buddhist sacred books, more especially from the accounts given in them of the life of the Buddha in his last or in his previous births. Unfortunately, only about half the pillars, and about one-third of the cross-bars have been recovered. When the _stupa_ was discovered the villagers had already carried off the greater part of the monument to build their cottages with the stones and bricks of it. The process has gone on till now nothing is left except what General Cunningham found and rescued and carried off to Calcutta. Even the mere money value of the lost pieces must be immense, and among them is the central relic box, which would have told us in whose honour the monument was put up.

See A. Cunningham, _The Stupa of Bharhut_ (London, 1879); T.W. Rhys
Davids, _Buddhist India_ (London, 1903). (T. W. R. D.)

BHARAL, the Tatar name for the "blue sheep" _Ovis_ (Pseudois) _nahura_, of Ladak and Tibet. The general colour is blue-grey with black "points" and white markings and belly; and the horns of the rams are olive-brown and nearly smooth, with a characteristic backward curvature. In the absence of face-glands, as well as in certain other features, the bharal serves to connect more typical sheep (q.v.) with goats.

BHARATPUR, or BHURTPORE, a native state of India, in the Rajputana agency. Its area covers 1982 sq. m. The country is generally level, about 700 ft. above the sea. Small detached hills, rising to 200 ft. in height, occur, especially in the northern part. These hills contain good building stone for ornamental architecture, and in some of them iron ore is abundant. The Banganga is the only river which flows through the state. It takes its rise at Manoharpur in the territory of Jaipur, and flowing eastward passes through the heart of the Bharatpur state, and joins the Jamna below Agra.

Bharatpur rose into importance under Suraj Mall, who bore a conspicuous part in the destruction of the Delhi empire. Having built the forts of Dig and Kumbher in 1730, he received in 1756 the title of raja, and subsequently joined the great Mahratta army with 30,000 troops. But the misconduct of the Mahratta leader induced him to abandon the confederacy, just in time to escape the murderous defeat at Panipat. Suraj Mall raised the Jat power to its highest point; and Colonel Dow, in 1770, estimated the raja's revenue (perhaps extravagantly) at L2,000,000 and his military force at 60,000 or 70,000 men. In 1803 the East India Company concluded a treaty, offensive and defensive, with Bharatpur. In 1804, however, the raja assisted the Mahrattas against the British. The English under Lord Lake captured the fort of Dig and besieged Bharatpur, but were compelled to raise the siege after four attempts at storming. A treaty, concluded on the 17th of April 1805, guaranteed the raja's territory; but he became bound to pay L200,000 as indemnity to the East India Company. A dispute as to the right of the succession again led to a war in 1825, and Lord Combermere captured Bharatpur with a besieging force of 20,000 men, after a desperate resistance, on the 18th of January 1826. The fortifications were dismantled, the hostile chief being deported to Benares, and an infant son of the former raja installed under a treaty favourable to the company. In 1853 the Bharatpur ruler died, leaving a minor heir. The state came under British management, and the administration was improved, the revenue increased, a system of irrigation developed, new tanks and wells constructed and an excellent system of roads and public buildings organized. Owing to the hot winds blowing from Rajputana, the climate of Bharatpur is extremely sultry till the setting in of the periodical rains.

In 1901 the population was 626,665, a decrease of 2%. The estimated revenue is L180,000. The maharaja Ram Singh, who succeeded his father in 1893, was deprived of power of government in 1895 on the ground of intemperate conduct; and in 1900 was finally deposed for the murder of one of his personal attendants. He was succeeded by his infant son Kishen Singh. During his minority the administration was undertaken by a native minister, together with a state council, under the general superintendence of the political agent. Imperial service cavalry are maintained. The state is traversed for about 40 m. by the Rajputana railway.

The CITY OF BHARATPUR is 34 m. W. of Agra by rail. The population in 1901 was 43,601, showing a decrease of over 23,000 in the decade. The immense mud ramparts still stand. It has a handsome palace, a new hospital and a high school. There are special manufactures of _chauris_, or flappers, with handles of sandalwood, ivory or silver, and tails also made of strips of ivory or sandalwood as fine as horse-hair.

BHATGAON, a town of Nepal, 8 m. from Khatmandu. It is a celebrated place of Hindu superstition, the favourite residence of the Brahmans of Nepal, and contains more families of that order than either Khatmandu or Patan. It has a population of about 30,000, and its palace and buildings generally are of a more striking appearance than in other Nepalese towns. The town is said to possess many Sanskrit libraries.

BHATTIANA, a tract of country in the Punjab province of India, covering the Ghaggar valley from Fatehabad in the district of Hissar to Bhatnair in Bikanir. It derives its name from the Bhattis, a wild Rajput clan, who held the country lying between Hariana, Bikanir and Bahawalpur. It skirts the borders of the great sandy desert, and only contains a small and scattered population. This tract was ravaged by Timur in his invasion of India; and in 1795 paid a nominal allegiance to George Thomas, the adventurer of Hariana. After the victories of Lord Lake in 1803 it passed with the rest of the Delhi territory under British rule, but was not settled until 1810. A district of Bhattiana was formed in 1837, but in 1858 it was merged in the Sirsa district, which was divided up in 1884. The Bhattis number some 350,000, and are a fine tall race, making capital soldiers.

BHAU DAJI (RAMKRISHNA VITHAL) (1822-1874), Hindu physician of Bombay, Sanskrit scholar and antiquary, was born in 1822 at the village of Manjare, in the native state of Sawantwari, of humble parents dealing in clay dolls. Dr Bhau's career is a striking instance of great results arising from small accidents. An Englishman noticing his cleverness at chess induced his father to give the boy an English education. Accordingly Bhau was brought to Bombay and was educated at the Elphinstone Institution. He relieved his father of the cost of his education by winning many prizes and scholarships, and on his father's death two years later he cheerfully undertook the burden of supporting his mother and a brother (Narayen), who also in after-life became a distinguished physician and surgeon. About this time he gained a prize for an essay on infanticide, and was appointed a teacher in the Elphinstone Institution. He began to devote his time to the study of Indian antiquities, deciphering inscriptions and ascertaining the dates and history of ancient Sanskrit authors. He then studied at the Grant Medical College, and was one of the first batch who graduated there in 1850. In 1851 he set up as a medical practitioner in Bombay, where his success was so great that he soon made a fortune. He studied the Sanskrit literature of medicine, and also tested the value of drugs to which the ancient Hindus ascribed marvellous powers, among other pathological subjects of historical interest investigating that of leprosy. Being an ardent promoter of education, he was appointed a member of the board of education, and was one of the original fellows of the university of Bombay. As the first native president of the students' literary and scientific society, and the champion of the cause of female education, a girls' school was founded in his name, for which an endowment was provided by his friends and admirers. In the political progress of India he took a great and active interest, and the Bombay Association and the Bombay branch of the East Indian Association owe their existence to his ability and exertions. He was twice chosen sheriff of Bombay, in 1869 and 1871. Various scientific societies in England, France, Germany and America conferred on him their membership. He contributed numerous papers to the journal of the Bombay branch of the Royal Asiatic Society. He found time to make a large collection of rare ancient Sanskrit manuscripts at great cost and trouble. He died in May 1874. His brother, Dr Narayen Daji (who helped him to set up the charitable dispensary in Bombay), did not long survive him. Dr Bhau was a man of the most simple and amiable character and manners; his kindness and sympathy towards the poor and distressed were unbounded, and endeared his memory among the Hindus of Bombay. (N. B. W.)

BHAUNAGAR, or BHAVNAGAR, a native state of India in the Kathiawar agency, Bombay. Its area covers 2860 sq. m. In 1901 the population was 412,664, showing a decrease of 12% in the decade; the estimated revenue is L255,800, and the tribute L10,300. The chief, whose title is thakor sahib, is head of the famous clan of the Gohel Rajputs of Kathiawar. The enlightened system of administration formed during the rule of the thakor sahib maharaja Sir Takhtsinghji Jaswatsinghji, G.C.S.I., was continued with admirable results under the personal supervision of his son, the maharaja Bhausinghji, K.C.S.I. (b. 1875), and forms a model for other native states. The Gohel Rajputs are said to have settled in the district about 1260. Bhaunagar suffered terribly from the famine of 1899-1900. About 60 m. of the Bhaunagar-Gondal railway run through the state, with its terminus at the town of Bhaunagar, which is the principal port. The town of Bhaunagar is situated on the west coast of the gulf of Cambay. The population in 1901 was 56,442. It is the chief port in Kathiawar, though only admitting vessels of small burden. It was founded in 1723 by the thakor sahib Bhausinghji, after whom it is named, in place of his former capital, Sihor, which was considered too exposed to the Mahratta power.

BHEESTY (from the Persian _bihisti_, paradise), the Hindustani name for a water carrier, the native who supplies water from a pigskin or goat-skin bag.

BHERA, a town of British India, in the Shahpur district of the Punjab, situated on the river Jhelum. Pop. (1901) 18,680. It is the terminus of a branch of the North-Western railway. It is an important centre of trade, with manufactures of cotton goods, metal-work, carving, &c. Bhera was founded about 1540 on its present site, but it took the place of a city on the opposite bank of the river, of far greater antiquity, which was destroyed at this period.

BHILS, or BHEELS ("bowmen," from Dravidian _bil_, a bow), a Dravidian people of central India, probably aborigines of Marwar. They live scattered over a great part of India. They are found as far north as the Aravalli Hills, in Sind and Rajputana, as well as Khandesh and Ahmedabad. They are mentioned in Sanskrit works, and it is thought that Ptolemy (vii. I. 66) refers to them as [Greek: Phullitai] ("leaf wearers"), though this word might equally apply to the Gonds. Expelled by the Aryans from the richer lowlands, they are found to-day in greatest numbers on the hills of central India. In many Rajput states the princes on succession have their foreheads marked with blood from the thumb or toe of a Bhil. The Rajputs declare this a mark of Bhil allegiance, but it is more probably a relic of days when the Bhils were a power in India. The Bhils eagerly keep the practice alive, and the right of giving the blood is hereditary in certain families. The popular legend of the Bhil origin assigns them a semi-divine birth, Mahadeva (Siva) having wedded an earth maiden who bore him children, the ugliest of whom killed his father's bull and was banished to the mountains. The Bhils of to-day claim to be his descendants. Under the Moguls the Bhils were submissive, but they rebelled against the Mahrattas, who, being unable to subdue them, treated them with the utmost cruelty. The race became outlaws, and they have lived their present wild life ever since. Their nomad habits and skill with their bows helped them to maintain successfully the fight with their oppressors. An unsuccessful attempt was made in 1818 by the British to conquer them. Milder measures were then tried, and the Bhil Agency was formed in 1825. The Bhil corps was then organized with a view to utilizing the excellent fighting qualities of the tribesmen. This corps has done good service in gradually reducing their more lawless countrymen to habits of order, and many Bhils are now settled in regular industries.

The pure Bhil is to-day much what he has always been, a savage forest dweller. The Bhils are a stunted race, but well built, active and strong, of a black colour, with high cheek-bones, wide nostrils, broad noses and coarse features. Like all Dravidians the hair is long and wavy. The lowland Bhils are not now easily distinguished from the low-caste Hindus. Surgeon-major T.H. Hendley writes:--"The Bhil is an excellent woodman, knows the shortest cuts over the hills; can walk the roughest paths and climb the steepest crags without slipping or feeling distressed. Though robbers, and timorous owing to ages of ill-treatment, the men are brave when trusted, and very faithful. History proves them always to have been faithful to their nominal Rajput sovereigns, especially in their adversity. The Bhil is a merry soul, loving a jest." The hill Bhils wear nothing but a loin-cloth, their women a coarse robe; lowland Bhils wear turban, coat and waist-cloth. The Bhils have oaths none of them will break. The most sacred is that sworn by a dog, the Bhil praying that the curse of a dog may fall on him if he breaks his word. Their chief divinity is Hanuman, the monkey-god. Offerings are made to the much-feared goddess of small-pox. Stone worship is found among them, and some lowland Bhils are Moslems, while many have adopted Hinduism.

The Bhils of pure blood number upwards of a million, and there are some 200,000 Bhils of mixed descent.

See Gustav Oppert, _The Original Inhabitants of India_ (1893); T.H.
Hendley, "Account of Marwar Bhils," in _Bengal Asiatic Journal_, vol.
44; W.I. Sinclair in _Indian Antiquary_, vol. iv. pp. 336-338; Col. W.
Kincaid, "On the Bheel Tribes of the Vindhyan Range," _Jour. Anthrop.
Institute_, vol. ix.

BHIMA (Sanskrit, "The Terrible"), in Hindu mythology, a hero, one of the Pandava princes who figure in the _Mahabharata_. He was distinguished by his huge body, strength and voracity.

BHIWANI, a town of British India, in the Hissar district of the Punjab, 38 m. S.E. of Hissar town by rail. Pop. (1901) 35,917. It is an important centre of trade with Rajputana, and has factories for ginning and pressing cotton, and metal manufactures. Its rise dates from 1817, when it was made a free market.

BHOPAL, a native state of India, in the central India agency. Its area is 6902 sq. m., and its population in 1901 was 665,961, showing a decrease of 30% in the decade. This seems to be in part due to a difference in numeration, but the state suffered heavily from famine in 1896-1897 and 1899-1900. Bhopal is the principal Mussulman state in central India, ranking next to Hyderabad among the Mahommedan states of India. The surface of the country is uneven, being traversed by the Vindhya ranges, a peak of which near Raysen is upwards of 2500 ft. above sea-level. The general inclination of the country is towards the north, in which direction most of the streams of the state flow, while others, passing through the Vindhya ranges, flow to the Nerbudda.

Bhopal state was founded in 1723 by Dost Mahommed Khan, an Afghan adventurer. In 1778, when General Thomas Goddard made his bold march across India, the state of Bhopal was the only Indian power that showed itself friendly; and in 1809 when another British expedition under General Close appeared in the same parts, the nawab of Bhopal petitioned earnestly but in vain to be received under British protection. But in 1817, at the outbreak of the Pindari War, a treaty of dependence was concluded between the chief and the British government. Since then Bhopal has been steadily loyal to the British government, and during the Mutiny it rendered good services. The throne has descended in the female line since 1844, when Sikandar Begum became ruler. Succeeding begums have taken a great interest in the work of governing the state, which they carried on with marked success. The sultan Jahan Begum, succeeded on the death of her mother, Shah Jahan Begum, in June 1901, being the only female ruler in India.

The estimated revenue of the state is L250,000, and the state pays a subsidy of L13,000 for the Bhopal battalion. Besides the Bhopal battalion, a regiment of imperial service cavalry is maintained, under the name of the Victoria Lancers. There is a branch railway from Itarsi to Bhopal city, continued to Jhansi. The British currency has been introduced, and in 1897-1898, Rs. 71,00,000 of Bhopali coins were converted. The residence of the political agent and the headquarters of the Bhopal battalion are at Sehore, 20 m. west of Bhopal city. The city of Bhopal, a railway station, had a population in 1901 of 76,561. The palace, with its rock fortress, is called Fatehgarh. An excellent water-supply has been provided from two large artificial lakes. There are two hospitals. There is an export trade in opium.

BHOPAL AGENCY, an administrative section of central India, takes its name from the state of Bhopal, which is included in it. The Bhopal agency is administered by the agent to the governor-general in central India. Its area is 11,653 sq. m., and its population in 1901 was 1,157,697. It was created in 1818. In 1900 this district suffered severely from famine owing to the complete failure of the monsoon, and the cultivated area decreased by 50 or 60%; but, on the whole, trade has improved of late years owing to the new railways, which have stimulated commerce and created fresh centres of industry.

BHOPAWAR, an agency in central India. It consists of the Dhar and Barwani states, three minor states, Ali Rajpur, Jhabua and Jobat, and a number of districts and estates. Its total area is 7684 sq. m., and its population on this area in 1901 was 547,546. But in 1901 and 1904 certain districts were transferred from this agency to the Indore residency, created in 1899, and the area of Bhopawar was thus reduced by 3283 sq. m. The chief towns are Dhar (pop. 17,792), Barwani (6277) and Kukshi (5402).

BHOR, a native state of India, in the Poona political agency, Bombay, forming one of the Satara Jagirs; situated among the higher peaks of the Western Ghats. Its area covers 925 sq. m. The population in 1901 was 137,268, showing a decrease of 12% in the decade; the estimated gross revenue is L21,437; the tribute, L310. The chief, whose title is _pant sachiv_, is a Brahman by caste. The town of BHOR is 25 m. south of Poona. In 1901 the population was 4178. The Bhor Ghat, on the northern border of the state, has always been the main pass over the Western Ghats, or means of communication between the sea-coast and the Deccan. Since 1861 it has been traversed by the main line of the Great Indian Peninsula railway.

BHUJ, a town of India, the capital of the native state of Kach, in the Gujarat division of Bombay, situated at the base of a fortified hill. Pop. (1901) 26,362. It contains some interesting examples of architecture of the middle of the 16th century and later; it was a place sacred to the snake-god Bhujanga.

BHUTAN, an independent kingdom in the Eastern Himalayas, lying between the Brahmaputra and the southern face of the mountains. It is under various commercial and other arrangements with the government of India, from whom it receives an annual subsidy of L3333. It is bounded on the N. by Tibet; on the E. by a tract inhabited by various uncivilized independent mountain tribes; on the S. by the British province of Assam, and the district of Jalpaiguri; and on the W. by the independent native state of Sikkim. The whole of Bhutan presents a succession of lofty and rugged mountains abounding in picturesque and sublime scenery. This alpine region sends out numerous rivers in a southerly direction, which, forcing their passage through narrow defiles, and precipitated in cataracts over the precipices, eventually pour themselves into the Brahmaputra. Of the rivers traversing Bhutan, the most considerable is the Manas, flowing in its progress to the Brahmaputra under the walls of Tasgaon, below which it is unfordable. At the foot of Tasgaon Hill it is crossed by a suspension bridge. The other principal rivers are the Machu, Tchinchu, Torsha, Manchi and Dharla. Information respecting the country accumulates but slowly. In 1863 Captain Godwin Austen accompanied Sir Ashley Eden's mission to the court of the Deb raja, and made a survey of the route to Punakha. There has also been a certain amount of geographical sketching combined with trigonometrical observations; and there are the route surveys of native explorers. In 1887-1888 two native Indian explorers "R. N." and "P. A." traversed a part of Western Bhutan, but were forced to retire owing to the disturbed state of the districts. They re-entered the country on the east from Dewangiri. Here they explored the Kuru, or Lhobrak Chu, which proves to be the largest river in Bhutan. It drains the tract between the Yamdok Tso and Tigu Lakes, and is fed by the glaciers of the Kulha Kangri and other great ranges. The Lhobrak was finally identified with the Manas river, a geographical discovery of some importance. A previously unknown tribe, the Chingmis, were discovered in Eastern Bhutan, who are socially on a higher level than the Bhutias, and differ from them chiefly in the matter of wearing pigtails. Some excellent survey work was done in Bhutan by a native surveyor during the progress of the Tibetan Expedition in 1904. The Monla Kachung pass (17,500 ft.), by which "R. N." crossed into Tibet, is nearly on the meridian of Gualpara, and is one of the most important passes between Bhutan and Tibet. East of Bhutan, amongst the semi-independent hill states which sometimes own allegiance to Tibet and sometimes assert complete freedom from all authority, the geographical puzzle of the course of the Tsanpo, the great river of Tibet, has been solved by the researches of Captain Harman, and the explorations of the native surveyor "K. P." The Tsanpo has been definitely ascertained to be the same river as the Brahmaputra. The tracts inhabited by the aboriginal tribes entitled Lo Nakpo, Lo Karpo and Lo Tawa ("Lo" signifies "barbarous" in Tibetan), are described as a pleasant country; the lands on either side of the Tsanpo being well cultivated and planted with mangoes, plantains and oranges.

Nothing is known certainly about the area and population of Bhutan, the former being estimated at 16,800 sq. m. At the head of the Bhutan government there are nominally two supreme authorities, the Dharm raja, the spiritual head, and the Deb raja, the temporal ruler. Recently official correspondence has been written in the name of the Dharm raja, but it is not known whether this change really signifies anything. To aid these rajas in administering the country, there is a council of permanent ministers, called the Lenehen. Practically, however, there is no government at all. Subordinate officers and rapacious governors of forts wield all the power of the state, and tyranny, oppression and anarchy reign over the whole country. The Dharm raja succeeds as an incarnation of the deity. On the death of a Dharm raja a year or two elapses, and the new incarnation then reappears in the shape of a child who generally happens to be born in the family of a principal officer. The child establishes his identity by recognizing the cooking utensils, &c., of the late Dharm raja; he is then trained in a monastery, and on attaining his majority is recognized as raja, though he exercises no more real authority in his majority than he did in his infancy. The Deb raja is in theory elected by the council. In practice he is merely the nominee of whichever of the two governors of East and West Bhutan happens for the time to be the more powerful. The people are industrious, and devote themselves to agriculture, but from the geological structure of the country, and from the insecurity of property, regular husbandry is limited to comparatively few spots. The people are oppressed and poor. "Nothing that a Bhutia possesses is his own," wrote the British envoy in 1864; "he is at all times liable to lose it if it attracts the cupidity of any one more powerful than himself. The lower classes, whether villagers or public servants, are little better than the slaves of higher officials. In regard to them no rights of property are observed, and they have at once to surrender anything that is demanded of them. There never was, I fancy, a country in which the doctrine of 'might is right' formed more completely the whole and sole law and custom of the land than it does in Bhutan. No official receives a salary; he has certain districts made over to him, and he may get what he can out of them; a certain portion of his gains he is compelled to send to the durbar, and the more he extorts and the more he sends to his superior, the longer his tenure of office is likely to be."