Kanoj, formerly known as Ra Kanoj, was a town destroyed whose ruins are stretched for a mile. They are located in Lakhpat Taluka of

Kutch district Kutch district (), officially spelled Kachchh is a district of Gujarat state in western India, with its headquarters (capital) at Bhuj. Covering an area of 45,674 km2, it is the largest district of India. The area of Kutch is larger than ...

Gujarat Gujarat () is a States of India, state along the Western India, western coast of India. Its coastline of about is the longest in the country, most of which lies on the Kathiawar peninsula. Gujarat is the List of states and union territories ...

, India.

History

On the north bank of the Kinnar river, the town stretches in ruined heaps for about a mile. Among the ruins are indistinct traces of an old fort and of the line of the city walls. The town would seem to have been destroyed by Muslim invaders, but of its date nothing is known. About five miles south-west of Ra Kanoj is the tomb of Kasim, who according to the local story, took and destroyed the city. Kasim is said to have sent as a prize to his sovereign the king of

Ghazni Ghazni (, ), historically known as Ghaznayn () or Ghazna (), also transliterated as Ghuznee, and anciently known as Alexandria in Opiana (), is a city in southeastern Afghanistan with a population of around 190,000 people. The city is strategica ...

, two of the chief's daughters. At Ghazni they were treated with every kindness, but refused to be comforted, saying, that while they were under his charge, Kasim had violated them. Enraged at the story the king, without inquiry, ordered Kasim to be put to death and his head sent to Ghazni. When it was shown them his accusers rejoiced that they had avenged their father's death, and confessed that Kasim had done them no harm. On account of his undeserved punishment Kasim became a saint. The place was not of any note till, in the beginning of the 19th century, minister of

Cutch State Cutch State, also spelled Kutch or Kachchh and also historically known as the Kingdom of Kutch, was a kingdom in the Kutch region from 1147 to 1819 and a princely state under British rule from 1819 to 1947. Its territories covered the present ...

Fateh Muhammad started the practice of visiting it every year with much state. So greatly in their opinion do they gain from being buried near this tomb, that the Jats bring their dead from great distances, and the country for two miles round is one great graveyard. Kasim's tomb, thirty-five feet long and five broad, is made of stones piled up without cement. It is on the site of a Shiva temple, and the

linga A lingam ( , lit. "sign, symbol or mark"), sometimes referred to as linga or Shiva linga, is an abstract or aniconic representation of the Hindu god Shiva in Shaivism. The word ''lingam'' is found in the Upanishads and epic literature, wher ...

once broken has been cemented, and is now worshiped both by Hindus and Muslims as Kasameshvar. The temple pool, ''kund'', also remains. The Muslims call the pool Kara and the saint Kara Kasim.

References

* This article incorporates

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text from Villages in Kutch district {{Kachchh-geo-stub