KALINJAR

kalinjar, a town and hill fort of british india in the banda district of the united provinces. pop. (1901), 3015. the fort stands on an isolated rock, the termination of the vindhya range, at an elevation of 1203 ft., overlooking the plains of bundelkhand. kalinjar is the most characteristic specimen of the hill-fortresses, originally hill-shrines, of central india. its antiquity is proved by its mention in the _mahabharata_. it was besieged by mahmud of ghazni in 1023, and here the afghan emperor sher shah met his death in 1545, and kalinjar played a prominent part in history down to the time of the mutiny in 1857, when it was held by a small british garrison. both the fort and the town, which stands at the foot of the hill, are of interest to the antiquary on account of their remains of temples, sculptures, inscriptions and caves. kalir [qalir], eleazer, hebrew liturgical poet, whose hymns (_piyyutim_) are found in profusion in the festival prayers of the german synagogal rite. the age in which he lived is unknown. some (basing the view on saadiah's _sefer ha-galuy_) place him as early as the 6th century, others regard him as belonging to the 10th century. kalir's style is powerful but involved; he may be described as a hebrew browning. some beautiful renderings of kalir's poems may be found in the volumes of davis & adler's edition of the german festival prayers entitled _service of the synagogue_.