Patur

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This article has been extracted from THE IMPERIAL GAZETTEER OF INDIA , 1908. OXFORD, AT THE CLARENDON PRESS.

Note: National, provincial and district boundaries have changed considerably since 1908. Typically, old states, ‘divisions’ and districts have been broken into smaller units, and many tahsils upgraded to districts. Some units have since been renamed. Therefore, this article is being posted mainly for its historical value.

Patur

Town in the Balapur taluk of Akola District, Berar, situated in 20 27' N. and 76 59' E. Population (1901), 5,990. In the side of a low hill just east of the town are two caves hewn in the rock. These are simple viharas with a veranda. The inscriptions on the pillars and architraves have not yet been deciphered, and the caves are otherwise unadorned, and contain no images except a portion of a seated figure with the legs crossed, which has been held to be a Jain saint, but may possibly be Buddhist.

The town is commonly known as Patur Shaikh Babu from the shrine of Shaikh Abdul-Aziz, commonly known as Shaikh Babu, who is said to have come to Patur from Delhi in 1378, and to have died here eleven years later. According to the legend the saint was highly regarded by Muhammad bin Tughlak, whom he cured of fever on one occasion, and who built the shrine over his grave. But unfortunately for the legend, Muhammad bin Tughlak died thirty-nine years before the shrine was built. An inscription in the interior of the shrine con- tains a chronogram giving the date of the saint's death, while another over the principal gate records the fact that the shrine was repaired in 1606-7 by Abdur Rahlm, Khan-i-Khanan, son of Bairam Khan. A Hindu fair is held annually in January-February, lasting upwards of a month. A Musalman fair, lasting for three days, is held at the shrine of Shaikh Babu. The gates in the walls of the town bear some inscriptions, now illegible.