Pennar,
are only a few hours' journey west of Cuddapah. The Diamond bed here
seems to follow the course of the river, and is of varying width. Here
the Diamonds always occur in more rounded crystals. Those found still
further west are the best.
The
villagers around the old Vanniapenta workings state that at a distant
period, which they vaguely describe about a hundred years ago, some
"great people" came to the place and dug into a fissure in the blue
limestone, whence they extracted a large quantity of Diamonds. Other
pits were then dug in the neighbourhood, but none of them proved
productive.
In
the Brahat Sanhita, which dates from about the Sixth Century of the
Christian era, it is said that Diamonds were divided into four classes,
according to their castes, 1st, Brahmans, clear and of "pure water/' white as the flower of the lotus, or as crystal, 2nd, Kshatriyas, clear and of the colour of honey, or red like the eye of the hare. 3rd, Vaysias, cream-coloured or green like the fresh plantain leaf. 4th, Sudras, greyish-white,
or like polished steel. The Sudra is said to be worth one-fourth, the
Vaysia one-half, and the Kshatriya three-fourths of the value of the
Brahman Diamond. The Sudras are the Diamond seekers who carry on their
work without inspection, and pride themselves on their honesty. The
pits which they dig are square excavations, not more than sixteen feet
deep.
Among
the Diamond-bearing localities in the district round Bellary may be
mentioned Wajra Karur, Gunjee-goonta, and Guti or Gutidrug.
The
native village of Wajra Karur ("Diamond Town " is situated about nine
miles from Goondacal,on the Madras Railway, in the Gooty Taluk. The
Diamonds are found
