PLACES OF INTEREST

LOHARA.

Lohara Bk. (Padroni taluka, 20° 40' N, 75° 30' E; p. 1,263), a village ten miles south-east of Maheji R. S. Varkhedi Bk. 2-0 (railway station) (Bombay-Itarsi line), was in Akbar's time the head of a sub-division, mahal, with a yearly revenue of Rs. 22,06,600 (2,47,965 tankhas). In 1818, Captain Briggs proposed that twelve Lohara villages closely mixed with British villages should be obtained from Shinde. In 1820 an agreement was made to this effect, and the twelve villages were taken over by the British in the same year. But they were again restored to Shinde in 1837, and not recovered till, according to the terms of the treaty of Gwalior, Lohara was again made over to the British, though actual possession was not obtained by the British until after great opposition. Of the many interesting remains of its former greatness, Lohara has about a mile and a half to the south, an old temple of Tapeshvar Mahadev. Built for the most part in Hemadpanti style, it contains an outer hall, sabhamandap eight feet square and sixteen high, and a shrine eight feet square and eight high. The roof, now fallen in, was supported on eight-sided stone pillars, and there is a carved doorway opening to the east. The temple has neither legend nor inscription. It has a money allowance of Rs. 15 and land yielding a yearly rental of Rs. 4.50.

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