THE IRON PILLAR "HINDU REMAINS" (MEHRAULI) -
Iron pillar, although not in situ, as per strong bardic tradition, was .brought here from an unknown place by Anangpal, the Tomar king, who is believed to have founded Delhi. It is made up of pure malleable Iron with a total length of7.20 m, of which 93 ern lies buried below the ground. The tapering shaft is
topped by an amalaka capital and the knobby base of the pillar holds it to its foundation.Palaeographically, the Sanskrit inscription over the shaft in the Gupta script can be assigned to fourth century A.D. which describes that the pillar was set up as a standard (dhvaja) of god Vishnu on the hill known as Vishnupada, in the memory of a mighty king, named Chandra, who is now regarded as identical with
Chandra Gupta II (A.D. 375-413) of the imperial Gupta dynasty. Further, a deep hole at the top of the pillar indicates that an additional member, perhaps an image of Garuda, was fitted into it. This pillar is a standing testimony to the metallurgical skill of ancient India, as it is built of non-rusting wrought iron.
