1 TUE INDUS. . 3
2 sudden floods and freshets. On one occasion Ranjit Singh lost a force,
3 variously stated at from 1,200 to 7,000 horsemen, in crossing the river at snivs
4 one of these fords. In 1809, Shah Shwja forded it above its confluence
5 with the K4bul river, but this was considered an extraordinary exploit. The
6 effect of the junction of these rivers and of their tortuous course through
7 the rocks is such that, even when the water is at its lowest, waves and eddies
8 are formed, causing a sound like that of the sea; but the case becomes quite
9 different when the volume of water is increased by the fall of rain and the
10 melting of the snows on the high mountains. A terrific whirlpool is created
11 the roar of which, like the waves of an angry sea, may be heard at a great
12 distance, to the amazement of the traveller whose ears are unaccustomed to
13 such a noise. The swollen stream not unfrequently engulfs boats, or
14 dashes them to pieces on the rocks. There is a story associated with two
15 black rocks, named Kamialia and Jallalia, which are situated a little below
16 its junction with the Kabul stream; and which, jutting into the river,
17 make the passage dangerous. The rocks are named after the brothers
18 Kamal-ud-din and Jalldl-ud-din, sons of Pir Roushan, the founder of a sect
19 of Mahomedans, called the Roushnais, in the middle of the 16th century,
20 who were flung from their summits by order of the Emperor Akbar. The
21 doctrine of the sect was that nothing existed but God, whose worship was
22 not necessary. They ignored the Quran and disbelieved in revealed reli-
23 gion. As the two advocates of the Roushnai heresy had caused such a
24 great destruction of souls, the Mahomedans, who abhorred their doctrines,
25 named these rocks after them, from the danger of their situation and the
26 great loss of life caused by the whirlpools at their base.
27 But its vast floods and prodigious rises, coupled with enormous accretions of
28 ice, which, sliding down the lofty mountains, suddenly burst forth from their
29 flanks, make the Indus a most violent and dangerous river. From time
30 to time the barriers formed by landslips and avalanches burst and the accumu-
31 lated waters rush down with great fury, causing destruction in their course.
32 A debacle or cataclysm, caused by a landslip in 1841, produced terrible devasta-
33 tion along the course of the river, down even to Atak.* On 10th August
34 1858, the river suddenly rose 90 feet.
35 The Kabul river possesses a peculiar advantage over the Indus, above
36 its confluence with the latter, in that it is navigable for forty miles above
37 that point, while a violent and rapid current renders the Indus impractic-
38 able immediately above the junction. Gold is found in various places
39 in the vicinity of Atak, along the upper course of the Indus and its
40 tributaries. Reaching Atakf im 33°54’ N. latitude and 22°18’ E. longi-
41 * This great catastrophe occurred in the reign of Mahdraj4 Shersingh. An eye-witness
42 describes it thus :—For many weeks the course of the river had become very slow owing to
43 a stoppage at some distance above Atak. One day in the afternoon the villayers saw in the
44 north an enormous cloud of a black colour, reaching to the sky, They took it for a storm of
45 wind. The supposed cloud came nearer and nearer, and the ground shook with great violence.
46 People thought it was a tremendous earthquake accompanied by a storm of unusual severity.
47 Immediately after, there was observed a vast sheet of water rolling down with great velocity,
48 extending over miles around and carrying everything before it. People began to fly, but it was
49 now too late. Some ascended to the tops of trees to save their lives. From 5,000 to 6,000
50 lives were lost, hundreds of villages were destroyed and thousands of people rendered home-
51 less. The fort of Atak was filled with water, which subsided on the third day, after great
52 damage to life and property.”
53 + Atak, a Hindiword, means obstacle, restraint or check, signifying that the river was the
54 sacred boundary of Hindostdn on the west, and laying the Hindus under the prohibition of
55 crossing it in that direction. The fort of Atak is situated on a commanding height, on the
56 left or cast bank of the Indus, and overhanging the river. The fort of Khairabdd, built,
57 according to some, by Akbar, and according to others, by Nadir Shah, is situated on the right
58 bank of the river opposite Atak. The fort of Atak was built by the Emperor Akbar in 1583,
59 to command the passage of the river. It was constructed under the direction and supervi-
60 sion of Khwaja Shams-ud din, Khwafi. Itis in the form of a parallelogram having the shortest
61 faces about 400 yards long, and the other sides about double that extent. The wallsare of
62 The Indus forded by
63 Ranjit Singh and Shah
64 uja.
65 The rocks Kaméalia
66 and Jalldlia,
67 .
68 A remarkable land-
69 slip.
70 The Kabul river.
71 Atak,
72 Sri Satguru J agjit Singh Ji eLibrary NamdhariElibrary@ gmail.com