COROMANDEL
C o a s t .
P a g o d a o f C h i -
LAMBARAM.
twenty miles diitance, the water deepens to fifty fathoms, and
a little farther to lixty or feventy-. 'Midway between Tran-
quebar and the Nicobar iiles, there is no ground to be found
with feven hundred fathoms of line. I may include the whole
coait of Coromandel under this defcription, an extent-of not lefs
than four hundred miles, reaching from Calymere point to the
mouth of the Kifinab. On all the Ihore breaks a moil dangerous
and high furf, which appals the ilouteft feaman; no
European boat can attempt to land. The Catamarans of boats
are o f a particular conftruftion, being formed without ribs or
keel, with flat bottoms, and having their planks fewed together ;
iron being totally excluded throughout the whole fabric. By this-
conltrudtion they are rendered flexible enough to elude the-
effects of the violent fhocks which they receive, by the daihing
of the waves or furf on the beach, and which either overfets
or breaks to pieces a boat of European conilrudlion.
T h e pagoda o f Chilambaram is the moll celebrated for its
fandlity of any in India; it is placed a little to the fouth of
Porto Novo, in Lat. xi°. All thofe on this coafbare built on the
fame plan'; a large area o f a fquare form, bounded by a wall
fifteen or twenty feet high ; within are feveral temples or chapels,
inferior in height to the precinfl, as i f they were meant
to be concealed from vulgar eyes. In the middle of the lides
of the wall is one or more gateways, over which is built a lofty
tower, o f a pyramidal form. That at Cbilambaram is truncated
at top, and finifhes with an ornament. The fronts of the
towers are adorned with infinite numbers of fculptures, ufually
o f the deities, and their wild hiftory, and oftentimes with
- b ' animals
animals of various kinds, fuch as in that at Madura. I have
feen at Mr. Anfon's o f Sbugborougb, two lions cut in a dark
porphyry, brought from this pagoda. Mr. Ives fays, that it
has three precindls, and that the towers are in the inner, and
that it has a tank or refervoir o f water for, the purpofes of
ablutions ; and that the chief deity was kept in a darkfome
repofitory.
In the eruption made by Ayder Ali into thefe parts in 1781,
he flung a garrifon into this pagoda. It was attacked by Sir
Eyre Coote on June 18th, who was repulfed with great lofs.
This misfortune was fpeedily repaired by the great abilities o f
our commander. The enemy hemmed him in on one fide, the
fea on the other. He was threatened with deftrudlion from an
army of eighty thoufand men, well appointed in all refpeéts, to
which he had to oppofe only feven thoufand, and thofe in
danger of famine from the difficulty o f fupplies. The fate
o f India was decided near Porto Novo on July lit. Ayder, elate
with fuccefs, was deaf to the remonftrances of the early genius
o f Tippoo Saeb, his eldeft fon, and offered battle. The dilpofition
and wonderful manoeuvres o f our commander procured the
merited fuccefs : a general route enfued, and Ayder's troops
fled on every fide.
T h e architedlure of thefe temples varies; thofe of Malabar,
and thofe of Bengal, have a different, form. The enthufiaftic
refpeil paid to the pagodas by the unfeigned piety of the Indians,
is cxemplarily great. Thofe buildings are o f fuch
ilrength as frequently to induce the Europeans to fling fmall
bodies of troops into them, and make them temporary for-
E 2 j treflès.
P o r t o Nov®,
b a t t l e .