2_ LIBRARY OF THE Theological Seminary, r‘ Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2016 https://archive.org/details/viewofhistoryNt02ward_0 ) A VIEW nstorjn literature, ant* fteltgion, OF THE HINDOOS : Includin' a minute Description of their Manners and Customs. TRANSLATIONS from their principal works. IN TWO VOLUMES. !y TV', w By TV. WARD. THE SECOND EDITION, CAREFULLY ABRIDGED, AND GREATLY IMPROVED. VOLUME II. cs5S5SSfe SERAMPORE : PRINTER AT THE MISSION PRESS, 1815. v‘*~V 4 I • - • * i ' V' " ■ iMtgfott, •j ' • •'* 4 PRONUNCIATION OF HINDOO NAMES. In endeavouring to give the sounds of Sungskritu words, the author has adopted a method, which he hopes unites correctness with simplicity, and avoids much of that confusion, which has been so much complained of on this subject. If the reader will only retaiu in his me- mory, that the short u is to be sounded as the short o in son, or the u in Burton; the French 6, as a in plate, and the ee as in sweet, he may go through the whole work with a pronuncia- tion so correct, that a Hindoo would understand him. At the beginning and end of a word, the inherent vowel (u) has the soft sound of au. ERRATA. Introduction, page xxiv. line 2, for northern, read southern. In page xxv. line 7, for, the Hindoo philosophers, read, some Hindoo philosophers. In page li. line 1, for, new, read, clean. In page Ivi. line 16, for, deceased, read diseased. In page li, line 4, for, in the second volume, read, in page 167. In page 100, line 28, for, soon destroyed them, read, soon destroyed the giants. In page 166, line 14, for, among the dead bodies, read, among the bodies. In page 167, line 7, for, when Ramu called, read, when Ramu was called. In page 170, line 27, for, friend Havana's body, read, piercing Havana's body. In page 204, line 23, for, actions are declared, read, which actions are de- clared. In page 212, line 7, for, to whom one bramhun, read, for whom one bramhnn. In page 231, line 16, for, been endowed with lands, read, has been endowed with lands. In page 279, line 4, for gods, read, god. In page 330, line 26, read, which has made Koovoo- kshutriyn. CONTENTS. — »©«— INTRODUCTION. — The Hindoo theology founded on the same philosophical notion as that of ' the Greeks, that the Divine Spirit is the soul of the world — proved from the Greek writers, i. — from the Vedantu-Saro, ii. — A system of austerity founded on this system, iii.- — Extract from the Slnee-Bhaguvutii on this subject, iv, v.— Account of the ceremony called yogu, by which the Divine Spirit, dwelling in matter, becomes purified, extracted from the Patunjulu Durshunu and the Gorukshn-sunghita, vi, vii. — No real vogees to be found at present — Absurdity of these opinions and practises, vii. — Another class of Hindoos place their hopes on devotion, viii. — The great mass of the population adhere to religious ceremonies ix, x. — Conjectures on the Origin of the Hindoo Mythology — on images, as originating in moral darkness, and the depravity of men - — those of the Hindoos not representations oftheoneGod — nor of his perfections — nor of hu- man virtues — nor of the objects of natural science, but in general the invention of kings, to please the multitude, xi, xii. — The doctrine of all the East, that God in his abstract state is unknown, aud unconnected with the universe — the object of worship, the divine energy, subject to pas- sions, in consequence of its union to matter — the creation, of the gods first, xiii. — Proofs that the divine energy is the object of adoration, from' the forms of the gods — the modes of worship — the common observations of the Hindoos on the phenomena of nature, xiv, xv. — The divine energy, the object of worship among the Egyptians, Greeks, Persians, &c. proved by quota- tions from various authors, ibid. — The subjects embraced by the Hindoo mythology, xvi. — The ancient idolatry of this people confined to the primary elements, the heavenly bodies, and aerial beings — the succeeding objects of worship, Brumha, Vishnoo, and Shivu, the creator, the pre- server, and destroyer, ibid. — next the female deities, as the representatives of nature — then sundry deities connected with corrupt notions of Divine Providence, and afterwards deified heroes, xviii. — The number of the Hindoo gods, ibid. — Benefits sought from different gods by their worshippers — Brumha — his form— allusions of these attributes — conjecture of Mr. Pa- terson’s examined, xx. — Vishnoo— -the attributes -of his image explained — conjecture of Mr. Paterson’s noticed — Shivu, and the attributes of his image — remarks on the worship of the Lingn — resemblance between Bacchus aud Shivu — two other forms of Shivu noticed, Kalu- Bhoiruvu,andMuha-Kalu,xxii, xxiii. — Indrn — Yumu — Guneshu — Kartik£yu,xxiv. — Sooryu A 2 CONTENTS. - — Ugnee — Pfivnnu, xxv. — Vuroonn, Sihnoodru, Prit’hivee, the heavenly bodies, xxvi.— Doorga, xxvii. — Kalee— LQUshmee, xxviii. — Saruswutee— Sheetala— Man isa— -Shusht’hee, xxix. Krish- na— Jugunuat’hu, xxx. — •Rama-- Choitiinyu — Vishwa kurma, xxxi. — Kamu-devu — Sutyu-Na- rayfian- -- -Punchanuuu — Dhurma-t’hakoora — -Kaloo-rayu- — deified beings in strange shapes — worship of human beings, xxxii. — Worship ofbeasts — birds- — trees, xxxiii. — Worship of rivers - — fish- — books- — stones — a log of wood, xxxv.* Remarks on this system of mythology — on the use of idols in worship, xxxv.— In lelicacy of many of the Hindoo images, xxxvi—Corrupt ef- fects of idol worship in this country — especially after the festivals, xxxvii.— The history of the gods, and religious pantomimes, exceedingly increase these effects, xxxviii. — Practises of the vamacharees add to the general corruption, xxxix, xl, xli. — Reflections on this state of things — causes of the popularity of the festivals- -remarks, with a view of correcting the false estimate made of the Hindoo character by the Rev. Mr. Maurice and others, xlii, xliii, xliv. — Idolatry exciting to frauds, — setting up of gods, a trade, ibid. Hindoo Temples — their use -dedication of them, xlv.— Images, of what materials made, xlvi. —Priests- Ceremoniesattemples, xlvii.— Periodical ceremonies —daily duties of a bramhnn — form of initiation into the Hindoo rites — the spiritual guide, xlix. — Bathing — forms of worship before the idol, 1 — Extract from the Aiu Akburee -forms of praise and prayer— meditation — repeating the names of the gods, li. — Vows- -fasting— gifts to bramlnius — hospitality-— d igging pools— planting trees — rehearsing and hearing the pooranus, &c. liii. — Burning widows, and burying them alive — an affecting relation by Captain Kemp -number of these victims, lv.- Visiting sacred places — atonements, lvj.— Offerings to the manes— heavens and hells, lvii. — Confession of faith made by a bramhnn,. lviii. — Remarks on it, lix. — Sum of the Hindoo system — view of its effects — Remarks of the same bramhnn on the present state of religion among his countrymen, lx, Ixi. — Appearances in the streets, reminding the passenger of the different Hindoo ceremonies, lxii. — ' This system incapable of producing moral effects, notwithstanding the doctrine of future rewards and pu- nishments, lxiii. — Errors inculcated in the Hindoo writings respecting God, lxv, lxvi.— Impure actions of the gods— the go Is counteracting each other in the government of the world, Ixvii. Irreverence of the people towards the gods, ibid.— Contras* betwixt Hindooism and Christia- nity, lxviii.— Hindoo system ascribes all sin to God— teaches the bramhnn to despise the slioo- dru— exhorts to the extinction of every virtuous passion -declares that sin is removed bv the most trifling ceremony— supplies prayers for the destruction of enemies, l\ix.-~ Permits false- '* In this Introduction, the author has gone over the whole of the Hindoo Pantheon, that he might supply uuuber of omissions in the body of the work, and hence it forms an epitome of the whole.. CONTENTS. hood, and theft even from a slave, lxx. — Works, said to raise men to heaven, not beneficial to others— -remarks on the impurities and cruelties connected with this system, lxxi. — Impossi- ble to know the Hindoo idolatry, as it is, without initiation. The dispensations of Providence towards the Hindoos unfolded by this state of things— Happiness under the British government, lxxii.— Misrepresentations of European writers noticed and reprehended, lxxiii, lxxiv, lxxv. — Scripture Testimony against idolatry, Ixxvi, lxxvii.— Of the seceders, or heterodox Hindoos, the Joinus, Bouddhus, Shikhs, and followers of Choitunyu— the founders of all these sects, religi- ous mendicants, Ixxvi ii. — Observations on the tenets of these seceders, Ixxx, Pages CHAP. I. Of God, — The one God an object of speculation only; not a single temple erect- ed to his honour throughout the whole of Hindoost’hanu, 5 Of the gods — their number. Three Hundred and Thirty Millions, 6 Vishnoo, the so nice of all the Hindoo uvutaius, 6. — Accounts of the ten uvutarus, 7 — Other uvutarus, 11 — Meaning of these fables, 12 — Images of Vishnoo — mark of his fol- lowers— his names, 13— His wives — his heaven,— 14 ShivU. Forms of this god, 15— The lingu — resembles the phalli of the Greeks, 16 — Form ot this god as Muha-Kalo — names and mark of the sect, 17-,— Festivals — also the sunya- see and swinging, ditto -Stories, 18 -Origin of these horrid rites, 23 — Marriage of Shivd — fables respecting Shivu— -names, 25— Description of Shiva’s heaven, 20 Brtimha. Account of the Creation — foim c.f this god, 29 — Worship paid to him— be at- tempts to commit incest, 30 — Heaven of Brurnha— his names, 31 IndrU. His image-— festivals, 32 -account of a criminal intrigue, 33- -Other fables, 35 — Heaven of Indru — scenes in this heaven, in several stories-— names of this god, • • 3G—40, 41 Soon/ H. His descent— -his festivals, 42 — anecdotes of this god, 44 — 45— his Names, 46 GfineshU. His image — descent, 47 — Birth — worship — names, 49 KaHiktyil. His image- — descent, 50 — Festivals— names, 51,52 Ugnee. His Form — descent — festival — wives — names, 53, 54 PUviinit. His birth- — a story — his impure character — names, 55,56 V&roonii. His image — worship — fables — his heaven — his names, 57 — 59 Y&mU. His image— festivals— his court as judge of the dead— his palace— fables respecting him, 00—66— His heaven — marriage — names, • 67 ** Host of heaven .” Pte marks, 68, 69 4* CONTENTS, Planets. Worshipped in a body, 70 —Rtivee. His form — worship — commits a rape, 7i — SoTfiH. His image — worship — names, 72 — MftngfilA. His image — an evil planet, 74 — Boodhii. His form — account of his birth, 75 — Vrihiisphtee. An auspicious planet — his image-names, 76 — ShookrA. His form — a fable — his blindness — a propitious planet — a fable — names, 77, 78 — Shitnee. His image — an evil and much dreaded planet, 79 — Rahoo. His image — received this form at the churning of the sea — names — unaccountable coin- cidence in the customs of different nations respecting an eclipse — Ketoo. Ilis image, 80, 81, 82 Doorga. Her descent —reason of her name, a fable, 83 — 86— Festivals — image — ceremonies at her festival minutely described — bloody sacrifices — offerings — dances — a scene at Raja Raj-krishnu’s at Calcutta-Frowning the image, 87, 96 — fables — the cow a form of Doorga — names, 97 — Ten forms of Doorga. Story from the Markundevu pooranu, and another from the Chundee, relative to the wars of Doorga — names of the ten forms, 98 — 101 — Descriptions of each of these goddesses, their images, festivals, &c. 102 — 112 — Other forms of Doorga, 113, 115 Kalee. Her image — ancedotes connected with it, 117 — Human sacrifices, 118 — Other hor- rid rites, 120 — Thieves worship her — a singular fact, Ibid. — Festivals — a scene at Kalee- Shnnkaru-Ghoshu’s, at Calcutta, 122, 123 — The degree of honour formerly paid to this goddess by the Hindoo rajas, 124 — Image and temple at Kalee-ghat described, 125 — This image much honoured, presents made to it by kings, merchants, and even by Chris- tians, 127, 128 — Statement of the value of the monthly offerings, 131 — Other forms of Kalee, 132 — 134 L&kshmee. Her descent — festivals, 135 — -Another form of this goddess, • • • 136 S&rtiswutie. — Her descent- — festival— indecencies practised at this time--names, 137 Sheetula. Her image — worshipped during the small pox, • • 139 M&ntisa* Form and descent — festival, 140 Shiishtee. Her six festivals described, 142 — 145 Inferior Celestial Beings worshipped. — Usoorm. Their conduct at the churning of the sea, a story, 146 — Rakshftsfts. Story of Koombhu-kurnu, 148 — Gundhurvus, Kinnurus, VidyadhurHs, Nayikas, Yukshus, Pishachiis, Goohyiilcds, Siddhus, B hod tits, Chartintis, * goddess is honoured as she who protects from serpents : but the author is assured , that, in the upper pro- vinces, the serpent itself is worshipped, and that the image is formed into a circle, the head and tail of the serpent being joined. The legend respecting this serpent-god is, that die earth rests on his thousand heads. CONTENTS. 5 Fu’c. Krishnii. His birth — juvenile actions — image — festivals, 153 — 157 — Image of Radha — • number of his followers, 158 -Stories ofKrlshnu, 15D GopalU. His image — a story of this image found in a field,. — •• •• JGO Gopee-nat'hu. A celebrated image of him at Ugru-dweepu, •••• 161 Jtigfinnat’hu. Form of his image — origin of it — temples, 163 — Festivals, 165 Btil&ramii. Description of his image- — worship, Ramii. His history— war with Ravunu, 167 — 170 — His image — festival, 171 Choihinyii. History of this mendicant-god — festival, 172—174 — Another mendicant-god, . 175 FishwHkurmd. Form of his image — festival, Kamii-devU. Image — festival — a story — names, 178 Siityii- Naray Unit. Form of the image, SePta, Radha , Rookminee and Siilyiibhama, and Soobhtidra, 180, 181 Pi'inchaniinii. Form of the image — times of worship — a story, 182,183 Dh&rmii-T’hakooru. A form of Shivu, 184 Kaloo-rayu, Kulu-bhoiruvu, &c. 185 — 186 Beings, in strange shapes , worshipped, 187 — 191 Deified men and women , — unutterable abominations practised, 192 — 194 Worship of beasts. The cow, 195 — The monkey (Hunooman) — marriage of two given by the raja of Nudeeya, who spent 100,000 roopees on the ceremony — anecdotes of this god, 197 — the dog — the jackall — and other animals, 199 Worship of birds. Gurooru — a fable — names, -201 — Other birds worshipped, * 202, 203 Worship of trees. The Toolusee, &c. &c 204 Worship of rivers. Gunga — her image — descent — worship — festivals — strong attachment of the natives to this river — its saving virtues held up by the shastrus — stories relative to this superstition — children and grown up persons drowned in the Ganges — many dying on its banks — extracts from the Skuudu pooranu and the Gunga-Vakya-Vulee — other deified rivers, 206 — 217 Worship of fish, 219 — Worship of books, Worship of stones. The shalgramu* — different kinds — reason of its deification — constant representative of the gods in worship — other stones worshipped, 221—223 * One of-these stones, by a fall, being split asunder, was lately shewn (o the author. The inlernal appear- ance of this strongly indicates, that these stones are not, as has been supposed (see Asiatic Researches, vol. vii. p. 210) perforated stones, but petrified shells: the shell in the inside of this was the Argonauta Argo.— May S, 1815. 6 CONTENTS. A log of wood worshipped, P^e. 224 CHAP. II. Of the Temples. Nine different kinds described, 226 — Temples of many deities in a square, 227 — Dedication of temples — ceremonies, 229 — Endowment of temples, . 231 Of the Images.-— Of what made, 232-— Consecration of an image, 234 — 235 Of the Priests. Different orders — and their employments, 236 — 238 Of the worship in the Temples. In Shivii’s temples — in those dedicated to Vishnoo, 239, 240 CHAP. III. Of the times of Worship. On Lunar days — weekly ceremonies — monthly and annual ditto — the festivals in each month — an extract from the Tit heeTottwu, 241 — \ 243 — Daily duties of a bramhun, from the Anhiku-tuttwu, 244—250 — Present practice among bramhuns, shoodrus and women, as it respects the daily duties of religion,* • 251,252 CH AP. IV. Duties and Ceremonies. Form of initiation into the Hindoo religion, 253- — Qualifications of a gooroo, or spiritual guide, 254— Duties of a disciple to his gcoroo, 255- — Anecdote of a dying gooroo, 2o6 Religious austerities,* Sacrifices — rules for them — prayers, 259 — Human sacrifices — proofs from the shaslius of their having been offered — facts relative to present times, 260, 262 - Sacrifice of a bull — a horse — an ass — at the birth of a son — after death— to the nine planets — ottier sa- crifices, 263,267 — Burnt-offerings, 268 — Bloody sacrifices, 269,210 Bathing — ceiemonies at, 271 — Drink-offerings to the gods, and ancestors, 272 Ceremonies of worship (pooja,) Ibid. Forms of Meditation, 275 Repeating the names of (he gods, /, id. Forms of Prayer and Praise to the gods, lid, 277 Petitions and Vows — Vows, 278 — 281 Fasting — Gifts — Entertaining bramhuns, 282 — 285 Hospitality to travellers — digging pools — planting trees, &c. (anecdotes) 285 — 288 Reading and Hearing the Pooranns, 288 Sacred Rehearsals, 290 Suspending of Lamps in the air, - * ......... t ... . oyi • These are not penances for sin : the yojee is not a penitent, bat a proud ascetic. CONTENTS. 7- Page. Method of preventing Family Misfortunes, 292 Ceremonies to remove the evils following Bad Omens, Ibid. Ceremonies while sitting on a dead body, * 293 Ceremonies for injuring or destroying enemies, Ibid. Impure orgies with flesh, spirituous liquors, &c. 295 — 297 Burning of widows alive. Passages from the shastru on this subject, 298, 299- — Ceremonies preceding the immolation, 300, 301— Many affecting relations of the burning of widows alive, 332— 308— Widows of weavers buried alive, 309— Reflections on the state of mind of the widow, and on the conduct of the bramhuns— -calculation of the numbers burnt, 310 — 312 Voluntary Suicide- — drowning in the Ganges — several shocking instances, 313-—3K7 Persons casting themselves from precipices, 317 Dving under the wheels of Jugunnat’hu’s car, Ibid. Infanticide, still very prevalent, ..... 318— -320 Ascetics devoured in forests, 321 Pilgrims perishing in cold regions, Ibid. Calculation relative to the number of Hindoos who annually perish, the victims of supersti- tion, 322, 323 Ceremonies performed on visiting holy places, 324, 325 Holy Places, the resort of pilgrims — anecdotes relating to pilgrims, 326 — 330 Ceremonies at death, • • 331 Rites for the repose of the soul, * 332 — 336 Purifications, 337 Atonements for offences, 338 — 34G CHAP. V. Of a future state. Of the transmigration ofsouls— extracts from the Karma vipaku, and the Ugnee pooranu — conversations on the subject of transmigration amongst the Hindoos, 347—352 Judgments passed on the dead by Yumu, 353, 354 Of future happiness- — different kinds — the heavens described — works of merit raising to heaven- — conversations respecting the state of the dead— absorption- — method of ob- taining it, 355 —362 s CONTENTS. Page. Of future punishments— extract from the Shree-bbaguvutu-*- names and nature of the Hin- doo hells — a story, 362— -366 CHAP, VI. Hindoos saints, or mendicants — extract from Mdnoo — remarks on the present state of mendicity, 367 — 370 - -Description of twenty kinds of mendicants, 371 — 375 — A scene at Gunga-sagurd,— - a remarkable account— -number of Hindoos living in a state of mendicity — reflections, 376 -380 CHAP. VII. Hindoo Sects-— Those among the orthodox Hindoos, 381,382 BouddhiLs. The same with the followers of Fo, 383 — Rise of Bouddhism— mra of it rise, 384 — Persecution of the Bouddhns, 385 — Shastrus and doctrines of this sect, 387 — Temples— -worship — colleges— festivals, 389—393 — Translation of the Substance of the TemeeJata, aBurmanwork on the incarnation of Booddhu, 394— -410 The Joiniis. Rise of this sect-account of Muha-veeru — doctrines of the sect-— duties- — sects, 411,421 — Bramhinical account of this sect— extract from the.Booddhu poo- ranu, * 421— -427 The Shikhs. Account of Nanukh and other leaders— -their shastrus — sects — form of ini- tiation-— festivals — other facts, 431 — 439 — Translations from the Adee-Grunt’liu, elu- cidating the opinions of Nauuku, 440—445 ChoitHnyH, and the sect founded by him, 446 — 448 An analysis of all the Hindoo Sects, from the Vid wunmodu-Turunginee, • 449 — 457 Concluding Remarks - The object of worship the same throughout India, Tartary, Chi- na, Japan, the Burman empire, Siam, and the Indian isles, proved from the preceding accounts, and from different works, 458 .._4G2 Stricture Illustrations, from Hindoo manners and customs, 463—438 INTRODUCTORY REMARKS ON THE IDmtfoo Beltgtom THE whole system of Hindoo theology is founded upon the doctrine that the Divine Spirit, as the soul of the universe, becomes, in all animate beings, united to matter; that spirit is in- sulated or individuated by particular portions of matter, which it is continually quitting, and joining itself to new portions of matter;* that the human soul is, in other words, God him- self; that the knowledge of this, leading men to seek complete deliverance from the degrading and polluting influence of material objects, is the only means of being reunited to the divine nature; that this deliverance from matter may be obtained in the present state by separation from human intercourse, the practise of bodily austerities, and entire abstraction of mind; and that if not obtained in one birth, is to be sought through every future transmigration till obtained. * There are two opinions among the Hindoos on this subject, some philosophers maintaining, that it is one soul which is united to sentient creatures, while others support a contrary opinion, and affirm, that human souls must be emanations from the Great Spirit, otherwise, when one person obtained absorption into the divine na- ture, all would obtain it at the same moment. The vedan it philosophers teach, ‘ that God exists in millions of forms, from the ant to Bruinha, the grand-father of the gods, as one moon is seen at once in twenty different pans of water.’ The agreement betwixt these opinions and those of the Greek philosophers is very' remarkable : ‘ Almost all ancient philosophers agreed in admitting tw o principles in nature, one active and the other passive, but they dif- fered in the manner in which they conceived these principles to subsist. Some held God and Matter to be two principles, which are eternally opposite, not only differing in their essence, but having no common principle by which they ean be united. This was the doctrine taught by Anaxagoras, and after him by Plato, and the w hole Old Academy. Thissystem, for the sake of perspicuity, we will call the Dualistic system. Others were convinced, that nature consists of these two principles; but finding themselves perplexed by the difficulty with which they saw the Dualistic system to be encumbered, that of supposing two independent and opposite principles, they supposed both these to be comprehended in one universe, and conceived them to be uni ted by a necessary and essential bond. To effect this, two different hypotheses were proposed : some thought God to have been eternal- ly united to matter in one whole, w hich they called Chaos, whence it was sent forth, and at a certain time brought into form, by the energy of the divine inhabiting mind. This was the System of Emanation, commonly em- braced by the ancient barbaric philosophers, and afterwards admitted into the early theogonies of the Greeks. Others A INTRODUCTORY UEMADK3 ii This ocfiine is taught in many parts of the Hindoo writings, especially in the Durshunus; mIi ch works, though almost wholly speculative, make known a method of abstraction, to as* sist ascetics in obtaining deliverance from mortal birth. Udwnyanundu, a sunyasee, and the compiler of ‘the Essence of the Vedantu,’ says, ‘ Brumhii and life are one: that which pervading all the members of the body, gives to them life and mo- tion, is called jeevu, life : thatwhich pervading the whole universe, gives life and motion to all, is Brumhii ; therefore these tw o are one. Every kind of matter is without life ; that which is created cannot possess life : therefore all life is the creator, or Brumhu : God is the soul of the w orld. This is the substance of the Vedantu philosophy,’ Not only is God thus declared to be the soul of the world, but the writer of the above work admits, that the world itself is God — God expanding himself in an infinite variety of forms: All things past, present, and to come ; all that is in the earth, sky, &c. of every class and de- scription, all this is Brumhu, who is the cause of all things, and the things themselves.’ Yet this writer, in another part of this work, seems to affirm, that the universe is the work ofGod : ‘ The principle of life is Brumhu ; that w hich is animated is the work of Brumhu,* who directs every thing, as the charioteer directs the chariot. Brumhu is everlasting and unchangeable; the w orld, which is his work, is changeable.' / This work represents Brumhu, in his state of repose, as destitute of ideas or intelligence, and entirely separated from all intelligences. It describes this repose by comparing it to wliat- Others attempted to explain the subject more philosophically, and , to avoid the absurdity which they conceived to attend both the former systems, asserted, that God, the rational aud efficient principle, is as intimately con- nected with the universe, as the human mind with the body, and is a forming power, so originally and necessa- rily inherent in matter, that it is to be conceived as a natural part of the original chaos. This system seems not only to have been received by the Ionic philosophers, Thales and Anaximander, but by the Pythagoreans, the follow ers of Heraclitus, and others. Zeno, determining to innovate upou the doctrine of the Academy, and neither chusing to adopt the Dualistic, nor the Emanative System, embraced the third hypothesis, which though not originally his own, we shall distinguish by the name of the Stoical System. Unwilling to admit, on the one hand, two opposite principles, both primary and independent, and both absolute and infinite, or outlie other, to suppose matter, which is in its nature diametrically opposite to that of God, the active efficient cause, to have been derived by emanation from him ; yet finding himself wholly unable to derive these two principles from any common source, he confounded their essence, and maintained that they were so essentially united, that their nature was one and the same.’ Enfield, page 329, 330. * Or, as 6ome writers explain it, exists as an effect, as heat is an effect of fire. ever may communicate the idea of undisturbed tranquillity ; to the bosom of the unruffled ocean; or to the rest enjoyed in a deep sleep, in which there is an entire cessation even of the faculties of the mind. The Vedantu writers add, that at certain revolutions of time, ‘Brumhu, awaking from this repose, unites to himself his own energy, and creates the universe;* that as soon as souls are united to matter, they become impressed, according to their destiny, with more or less of three qualities, + as 1st, with that which gives rise to excellence of character; 2dly, with that which excites to anger, restlessness, wordly desire, &c. and 3dly, that which leads to inactivity, ig- norance, and such like errors. The character is formed, and the future destiny regulated, by the preponderance of any one of these qualities. Krishnu is represented in the Shree Bhagu- vut-Geetu as teaching Urjoonii, that, ‘the man who is born with divine destiny is endued with certain qualities, [here follow' a number of excellent qualities ;] that those who come into life under the influence of the evil destiny, are distinguished by hypocrisy, pride, presump- tion, harshness of speech, and ignorance ; that divine destiny is for eternal absorption into the divine nature ; and that the evil destiny confinelh the soul to mortal birth. '% The soul then, by these writers, is considered as separated from the source of happiness when it takes mortal birth, and as remaining a miserable wanderer in various births and states, till it regain its place in the divine essence. A devotee, sighing for absorption, is de- scribed as uttering his feelings in words to this purport, ‘When shall I be delivered iroui this world, and obtaiu God !’ In consonance w ith these ideas, a system of devotion has been formed, to enable men to eman- cipate themselves from the influence of material objects, and thus to prepare them for absorp- tion. In the first place, the devotee is to acquire the right know ledge of Brumhu, namely, that * ‘ When Brumhu withdraw s his energy, the destruction of the w orld succeeds ; when he employs it, creation springs to birth.’ The Vtdantu-sara. + The possession of more or less ofanyoneof these c; uali ties is ow ing to the balance of merit or demerit in the preceding birth. Many Hindoo philosophers, however, have no idea of accountability as the cause of reward or suffering : they suppose that all actions, good and bad, produce certain natural effects, which ripen in a future irth, as poverty, disease, and wickedness, or riches, health, and works of merit. J See Wilkins’s translation of this work. A 3 IV INTRODUCTORY REMARKS God and matter are the same ; that Brumhu is the soul of the world. * That error* which excites earthly desires, and impels to worldly exertions, is destroyed,' says the writer of the work already quoted, ‘ by the knowledge of Brumhu.' The person possessed of these ideas of God is called ‘ the wise man,' BrUmhi i gnanee, and he who is destitute of this knowledge is considered as in a state of pitiable ignorance, like an insect incrusted w ith matter. Further, to enable him to subdue his passions, and renounce all natural desires, he is direct- ed to retire from the world ; to counteract all his natural propensities, and to confine him- self to intense meditation on Brumhu, till he has thoroughly established in his mind this prin- ciple, that, * seeing every thing proceeded from Brumhu, and that, at the end of the four j oogus, when the universe shall be dissolved, every thing will be absorbed into him again, therefore Brumhu is every thing.’ The Vedantu-saru says, ‘ There are four w ays by which the know ledge of Brumhu is perfect- ed : 1st, By that reflection, in which the person decides upon what is changeable and what is unchangeable inthew'orld; — 2dly, By cultivating a distaste of all sensual pleasures, and even of the happiness enjoyed by the gods; 3dly, By the following qualities, an unruffled mind, the subjugation of the passions, unrepenting generosity, contempt of the world, the rejection of whatever obstructs the acquisition of the knowledge of Brumhu, and 4thly, By unwavering faith in the shastrus, added to the desire of absorption.’ Krishnu, in his conversation with Urjoonu, makes the perfection of religion to consist in subduing the passions, in perfect abstraction from all objects of the senses, and in fixing the whole mind on Brumhu : I extracta few paragraphs from Wilkins: ‘A man is said to be con- firmed in wisdom, when heforsaketh every desire w hich entereth into his heart, and of himself is happy, and contented in himself. His mind is undisturbed in adversity, he is happy and contented in prosperity, and he is a stranger to anxiety, fear, and anger. Such a wise man is called a sage. The wisdom of that man is established, who, in all things, is without aflfecti- on, and having received good or evil, neither rejoiceth at the one, nor is cast down by the other. His wisdom is confirmed, when, like the tortoise, he can draw in all his members, and restrain them from their w onted purpose.’ * The wise neither grieve for the dead, nor for the living.’ * Error here refers to the false idea, that a man’s self and spirit are different, as that I is any thing dif- ferent froia spirit. This idea of the separate existence of I, leads to the idea of wine, and thus to every worldly desire. « ON THE HINDOO RELIGION. V 'The vise man, to whom pain and pleasure are the same, is formed for immortality.’ * The heart, which followeth the dictates of the moving passions, carrieth aw ay the reason, as the storm the bark in the raging ocean.’ ‘ The man whose passions enter his heart as w aters run into the unswelling placid ocean, obtaiueth happiness.’* * Even at the hour of death, should he attain it, he shall mix with the incorporeal nature of Brumhu.’ ‘The man who may be self- delighted and self-satisfied, and who may be happy in his own soul, hath no interest either in that w hich is done, or that which is not done.’ ‘ The learned behold Brumhu alike in the reverend bramhun perfected in knowledge, in the ox, and in the elephant; in the dog, and in him who eateth of the flesh of dogs.’ * Those whose minds are fixed on this equality, gain eternity even in this world. They put their trusUin Brumhu, the eternal, because he is every where alike free from fault.’ ‘ The enjoyments which proceed from the feelings, are as the w ombs of future pain.’ * To the yogee, gold, iron, and stones, are the same.’ * The yogee constantly exerciseth the spirit in private. He is recluse, of a subdued mind and spirit; free from hope, and free from perception. He planteth his ow n seat firmly on a spot that is undefiled, neither too high nor too low, and sitteth upon the sacred grass which is call- ed kooshu, covered with a skin and a cloth. There he, whose business is the restraining of his passions, should sit, with his mind fixed on one object alone, in the exercise of his de- votion for the purification of his soul, keeping his head, neck, and body steady without motion, his eyes fixed on the point of his nose, looking at no other place around.’ ‘ The man whose mind is endued with this devotion, and lookelh on all things alike, beholdeth the supreme soul in all tilings, and all things in the supreme soul.’ * He who having closed up all the doors of his faculties, locked up his mind in his own breast, and fixed his spirit in his head, standing firm in the exercise of devotion, repealing in silence, Om ! the mystic sign of Brumhu, shall, on his quitting this mortal frame, calling upon me, without doubt, go the jour- ney of supreme happiness.’ * He my servant is dear unto me who is unexpecting, just, and pure, impartial, free from distraction of mind, and who hath forsaken every enterprize. He is worthy of my love, who neither requireth, nor findeth fault, who neither lamented), nor co- veteth, aud being my servant, hath forsaken both good and evil fortune ; who is the same in friendship and in hatred, in honour and in dishonour, in cold and in heat, in pain and in plea- sure ; who is unsolicitous about the events of things ; to w hom praise and blame are as one ; who is of little spirit, and pleased with whatever cometh to pass ; who owueth no particular * This is strange doctrine in the mouth of Krishnii, w ho spent his youth in licentious amours, and afterwards cohabited withRadha, the wife of Ayanu-ghoshu, while he retained 1600 mistresses. VI INTRODUCTORY REMARKS home, and who is of a steady mind.’ ‘ Wisdom is exemption from attachments and affection for children, w ife, and home ; a constant evenness of temper upon the arrival of every event w hether longed for or not ; a constant and invariable worship paid to me alone ; worshipping in a private place, and a dislike to the society of man.’ A most singular ceremony, called yogii, is said to have been formerly practised by ascetics to prepare them for absorption. I giv c an account of this ceremony from the first part of the Patunjulu Dftrshnnu, and the Gorukshu-sunghita: The yogee must in the first place, by me«b^ines (here described) reduce the appetites of the body, and increase its strength; lie-must then learn the proper posture for the ceremony : this posture may be various, buta particular one is here enjoined : the yogee is to put his legs across in a sitting posture, and to hold his feet with his hands crossed behind him. The next act of austerity is that of learning to inhale and discharge his breath, in doing which he is to take apiece of cloth fifteen cubits long and four fingers in breadth, and swallow it repeatedly, drawing it up and taking it dow n his throat, drinking water at intervals. He must next choose a seat on some sacred spot, at the bottom of a virtu tree, at some place frequented by pilgrims, near an image of an uncreated lingu, or in any place peculiarly pleasant to a yogee ; but it must be a secret one. That on w hich he must sit may be either kooshu grass, or the skin of a tyger or a deer, or a blanket ; lie must not sit on wood, nor on the earth, nor on cloth ; his back, neck and head must be exactly erect, and he must remain motionless, keeping his eyes fixed on his uose. The act of yogu consists of several parts: the devotee must first with his thumbs and fingers prevent the air from issuing through his eyes, ears, nostrils and mouth, and with his feet bind up the two other avenues of respiration. This he is to practise by de- grees till he is able to exist without inspiration and respiration. He who is thus far perfected will be able to subdue his passions, and to disrelish all the pleasures of the senses. Should the mind, at any time, be again entangled in worldly attachments, the devotee must study the essential viitue of things, as, that the world is a dream; that God is the all in all, and thus bring back the mind to abstraction. He is next to meditate on his guardian deity according to the rules cf the shastru. After thus annihilating, as it were, the body and the world, he is then to fix in his mind that, he and Brumhu are one, and so to settle this point as never to lose sight of it, nor return to earthly attachments. From this state ofmind arises complete pleasure ; hp becomes dead to food and to every other bodily want. ON THE HINDOO RELIGION. Vll The ycgee who lias attained this state of perfection becomes emancipated in the following manner : while he sits confining the air within his body, and closing his eyes, by the power of wisdom all his members become dead to action; he unites the energy which is lodged in the body to the soul, and they both ascend by means of the veins and arteries to the skull, from which the soul escapes, by the basilar suture, and, the body being thus shaken off, he is reunit- ed to the supreme soul.* The V6dantu-saru also pronounces in favour of an oplniou of the philosopher Shunkuru, that the practice of ceremonies is to be renounced by the person seeking absorption, in whom all desires respecting himself are to be annihilated. From the preceding sketch, the reader will be able to form some idea of this system of Hin- doo theology, w hich is doubtless very ancient. No yogees, however, now exist, who perform these bodily austerities to the extent laid down in the shastrus. A number of mendicants may be seen, who profess to aim at abstraction of mind, and contempt of the world; but they are in ge- neral the greatest sensualists in the country. Amongst the learned, a few are to be found, who consider the attainment of divine wisdom, as the only means of securing future beatitude: these persons cither renounce all worldly con- nections and become pilgrims, or they remain in a secular state, and ground their expectations (if they have any) of future happiness, on their speculative opinions being less gross than those of the vulgar. As an apology for not practising severe austerities, and tor continuing in a se- cular state, they quote a sentence of Junuku, ‘ A man does not become a hermit by residing in a forest; but he is a hermit, w ho, even in his own house, subdues his passions.’ Some of these persons despise the popular superstition. The absurdity and impiety of the opinions upon which the practices of these yogees are found- ed, need not be exposed : the doctrine which destroys all accountability to the Cieatoi, and tc- moves all that is criminal in immorality, must be condemned by every good man ; and the ab- surdity of rejecting those rational enjoyments which at once prove the beneficence of the Crea- tor, and contribute to the refinement of our nature, is so flagrant, that the sligniest notice ot * For further remarks on absorption, and on those mendicants who practice ansteritiesleading to it, the reader is referred to pages 361, 376, 377, and 378. INTRODUCTORY REMARKS viii it may surely be considered as more than necessary to the discharge of our duty to the inte- rests of Christian morals. The author may however remark, that he has had many opportunities of witnessing the per- nicious effects of the belief, that it is God in man who is the author of every volition, and that evil and good actions are both to be referred to him. A Hindoo, perverted by these ideas, does not perceive the evil of ascribing every villainous action to God; though when the dread- ful and unavoidable result of this doctrine has been pointed, out, many revolt from the conclu- sion. Under the influence of this doctrine, that the human soul is God, the crimes of a male- factor lose their turpitude, and he is bewailed as a person who has acted under unfortunate influ- ence, or as one born with evil destiny. It is also easy to perceive, that where such a belief prevails, all efforts to fly from evil, and to attain moral perfection, are out of the question : ‘God does every thing;’ ‘My evil destiny follows me every where, as a shadow the body,’ is the me- thod by which the Hindoo accounts for all his evil propensities and unjust actions. Another class of Hindoos place a greater reliance on devotion than on divine knowledge. They derive their opinions from different parts of the Hindoo writings, and from favourite books of their own, as the Madhyii-bhashyu, Bhuktee-rusamritu sindhoo, at the different festivals, and on the sixth day after the birth of a child. 13. Prit’hivee, the earth, is worshipped daily by the Hindoos. She is a form of Bhuguvulet*, and may be called the Indian Ceres. The Hindoos have divided the earth into ten parts, and assigned a deity to each ; these are, Indru, Ugnee, Yumu, Noiritu, Vuroonu, Vayoo, Kooveru, Eeshu, Brumha, and Ununtu. 14. The heavenly bodies. It is a remarkable fact, that almost all heathen nations have fallen into the w orship of the heavenly bodies. Perhaps the evident influence which the sun and moon have over the seasons and the vegetable kingdom, might, in the primeval ages, lead men to make them objects of worship; after the introduction of judicial astrology, this species of idola- try becomes less surprising. Whatever may be the antiquity of the vedus, it is very plain, that the worship of the sun, moon, and other planets, is there inculcated ; many of the forms of praise and petition in those books, are addressed to the heavenly bodies; and to this day the worship of all the planets in one service, and of different planets on separate occasions, has place among the Hindoos. Ruvee* the sun. See the article Sooryn. Somd, f the moon. We do not perceive the least agreement betwixt this god and Diana. The Hindoo feasts are regulated by the revolutions of the moon, but Somu is not greatly honoured in the Hindoo mythology, being esteemed a malig- nant planet, as is also or Mars . Booddhh ,§ or Mercury, is a fortunate planet, * From this god the first day of the week is named Ruvee-varii, as Sunday derives its name from the Sun : day and varu are synonymous. + Hence Somu-varu, Monday. J Mungulu-varn, Tuesday, ^ Booddh-varu, Wednesday. ON THE HINDOO RELIGION. XXVI) and so is ViihuspiUee* or Jupiter, who is the preceptor of the gods. ShookrU,f or Venus, preceptor to the giants, is also a fortunate planet. This god is represented as blind of one eye. SMnee,% or Saturn, the son of Sooryu, an evil planet. Rahoo and Ketoo, the ascend- ing and descending nodes. The planets are not honoured with temples, images or festivals, in Bengal. When hope or fear, respecting their benign or malignant influence, is excited in the mind of a Hindoo, he is drawn or driven to worship them. 15. Doorga. The image of this goddess and that of Minerva, in one or two instances, ex- hibit a pretty strong resemblance : both are described as fond of arms; and it is remarkable, that Doorga derives her name from the giant Doorgn, whom she slew, as Pallas (Minerva) ob- tained hers from the giant Pallas, whom she destroyed. She resembles Minerva also as a god- dess difficult of access, which is one signification of the name Doorga. Sir W. Jones says, “ As the mountain-born goddess, or Parvutee, she has many properties of the Olympian Ju- no: her majestic deportment, high spirit, and genera! attributes, are the same ; and we find her both on Mount Koilasii, and at the banquets of the deities, uniformly the companion of her husband. One circumstance in the parallel is extremely singular: she is usually attend- ed by her son Kartikevu, who rides on a peacock ; and in some drawings, his own robe seems to be spangled with eyes; to which must be added that, in some of her temples, a peacock, without a rider, stands near her image.” The image of Doorga is that of a yellow female w ith ten arms, sitting on a lion. The weapons she wields, the trident, the scimitar, the discus, the arrow, the spear, the club, the bow', the serpent- weapon, the hook for guiding an elephant, and the axe, are to point out, that with these ten arms and weapons she protects the ten points. She has one foot on Muheshu, a giant, to shew that she subdues the enemies of her worshippers ; and she sits on a lion, a form of Vishnoo, as the giver of success to her worshippers, and as ex- citing fear in their enemies. The quarrels of this goddess with Shivu, her husband, strongly remind us of those betwixt Jupiter and Juno, arising from the jealousy of the latter. The festivals in honour of Doorga and of Krishnu draw’ the whole Hindoo population to the temples, while those in honour of other sods are comparatively neglected. Before the temples of this goddess, thousands of victims are annually slaughtered, and offered to her image. She is not merely honoured as Doorga, but, under other names, distinct temples, images, festivals, and ceremonies, have been instituted. Doorga, as has been already observed, is also the repre- sentative of matter in the creation of the universe, and in this character she is called 1 nnui- Yriuuspniee-varu, Thursday. t Shookru-varu, Friday. D 2 J Shunee-varu, Saturday. XXviii INTRODUCTORY REMARKS tee.* Her wars with the giants also add to her fame, and make her extremely popular among the Hindoos: she is adopted by many, who take the name of shaktus,f as their guardian deity. In Bengal, the greater number of bramlnins are shaktus. In the western and southern pro- vinces this sect is less numerous. 16. Kalee, the Indian Diana Taurica. Though this is another form of Doorga, her fame is so great, that it seems necessary to devote a few lines exclusively to her. The dark image of this goddess is a truly horrid figure: her air is disheveled; her tongue hangs out; she holds in one hand a scimitar, in another a giant’s scull; with another, she forbids fear, and with the last is bestowing a blessing. Her colour is that by which time is designated, and she stands upon her husband, the destroyer, to keep him in subjection till the time of the universal con- flagration, when, with the eye in the centre of his forehead, he will burn the universe. Her four arms represent the four vedus, the two inspiring terror point out those portions of the -vedu which relate to the destruction of enemies and the government of the world, and the other two allude to those parts of the vedu which belong to devotion. Her disheveled hair re- presents the clouds, and intimates too that time has neither beginning nor end. Her tongue is the representative of lightning. She exhibits altogether the appearance of a drunken fran- tic fury. Yet this is the goddess whom thousands adore, on whose altars thousands of vic- tims annually bleed, and whose temple at Kalee-ghatu, near Calcutta, is the resort of Hindoos from all parts of India. This temple, it is said, frequently receives presents from persons of the highest rank, and not unfrequently from persons called Christians. There are two things respecting Kalee which remind us ofLaverna: she is the protectress of thieves, and her image at Kalee ghatu is a head without a body. Another form of this goddess, under the name of Siddheshwuree, is to be seen in clay temples all over Bengal. Human victims, it is said, have often been immolated on the altars of Kalee and Siddheshwutee. 17. Lukshmee, the goddess of Fortune, is the wife of Vishnoo; she is said to have been pro- duced at the churning of the sea, as Venus was said to be bom of the froth of the sea. At her birth, all the gods were enamoured of her. She is painted yellow, with a water-lily in her right hand ; in which form she is worshipped frequently by Hindoo women; but no bloody sacrifices are offered to her. The Hindoos avoid all payments of money on the Thursday (Lukshmee-varu) from the fear of offending this goddess. Literally, the chief; or nature. f Shaktu means energy. ON THE HINDOO RELIGION. XXIX 18. Stiritswtitee, the goddess of learning, another wife ofVishnoo. She is painted white, and stands on the water-lily. In some images she is seen holding a lute; and in others as pos- sessed of three eyes, with a fan in one hand and a book in the other. Her colour is to point out, that she is the source of wisdom ; the lute reminds the worshipper that she is the author of melody; her three eyes represent the three vedus ; the book and pen obviously belong to her character as the goddess of learning. I find no goddess in the Roman or Grecian pantheon who resembles her. She has an annual festival, when clay images are set up, and worshipped all over Bengal. Some of her worshippers, on the last day of the festival, dance naked before the procession of the image through the streets. Even prostitutes, at this festival, make an image of this goddess, and set it up near their houses, to draw the spectators to their brothels. On this day, students, merchants, and others, refuse to touch a pen ; for the Hindoos ascribe their ability to read, write, and even to speak, to the favour of Suruswiitee. 19. Sheet# la, the goddess who cools the body when afflicted with the small pox, receives many honours from the lower orders of Hindoos, among whom the ravages of the small pox are often dreadful. This goddess is also worshipped to procure the removal of cutaneous dis- eases. ‘20. MunUsa, the queen of the snakes, or she who protects men from their fatal bite. The lower orders crowd to the three annual festivals held in honour of this goddess. 21. Shtisht’hee, the goddess of fecundity. She is honoured with six annual festivals, celebrat ed chiefly by females. Her image is that of a yellow woman, sitting on a cat, and nursing a child; though, in general, a rough stone, painted on the top, and placed under a tree, is the object worshipped. These may be considered as the celestial deities worshipped by the Hindoos. The ter- restrial goddesses are, Seeta, the wife of Ramil;* lladha, the mistress of Krishnu ; Rookminee and Siityubbama, the wives of Krishnu, and Soobhudra, the sister of Jugunnat’hu.f The ter- restrial gods are the following : — * This goddess, it is said, was dug out of the ground by king Junuku, when he was ploughing his field. A boy who was ploughed up out of theground among the Tuscans, gave rise to the order of Roman priests, whose business it was to divine from appearances, in the annual sacrifice. + It does not appear that Jugunnat’hu was ever married. XXX INTRODUCTORY- REMARKS J. Krishnu resembles Apollo in bis licentious intrigues; in his being a herdsman,* and an archer; in his destroying a dreadful serpent; in his love of music, and in the celebrity to which he attained. Krishna's image is that of a black man, with a flute in his hand. His colour points out, that he fills the mind with sensual desires, and the flute designates him as the author of musical sounds. Apollo had in one hand a harp, and in the other a shield of arrows. The history of Krishnu is chiefly found in the Shree-Bhaguvutu ; the outlines of which will be seen in page 153, &ceof this volume. Several festivals in honour of this god are held annually, at which times the greatest licentiousness prevails among all ranks. A great proportion of the Hindoo population in Bengal are devoted to Krishna. t His in- trigues with the milk-maids, and especially with Radha, his favourite mistress, are familiar to every Hindoo, being incorporated into their popular songs, and the image of Radha being placed by that of Krishnu in many of the temples. Under several other names Krishnu is worshipped, to which forms separate temples have been erected ; among the rest to Gopalu, the herdsman ; to Valu-gopalu, the infant Gopalu; to Gopee-nat’hu, the lord of the milk- maids. Krishnu is one of the ten incarnations of Vishnoo. The Rev. Mr. Maurice calls him * the amiable Krishnu !’ 2. JugHnnat'ha , another deified iiero, complimented with the title of lord of the world, a form of Vishnoo. He is honoured with several annual festivals, but the car festival is the most po- pular: imitations of his ponderous car abound in many of the large towns in Bengal :J that in Orissa, connected with the ancient temple erected in honour of this god, has crushed to * Tlie pooranus contain a story of this god much resembling that of Mercury’s stealing a cow from Apollo. In the Hindoo fable, Brumha is the thief. + Sometimes Hindoos are seen licking up the very dust of the place where the crowd are celebrating the praises of Krishnu ; and others are said to faint w ith joy on these occasions. In memory of Ki ishnu s lew d con- duct with the milk-maids in the forest of Vrindavunu, persons of property sometimes spend a day in the fields, and entertain their friends. J Krishnu-vtisoo gave to the temple of Jugunnat’hu near Ferampore, an immense car, which could not cost less than four or five thousand roopees. He also added an allowance of six roopees a day for the expences of the worship of this idol. Gouru-mulliku, a goldsmith of Calcutta, who gave the interest of his mother s weight in gold to different temples, added six roopees more to the daily offerings at this temple; but these two benefactors, perceiving that the brainhuns of the temple, instead of expending these sums in offerings to the god, and in alms to strangers, applied the greater part to their private use, reduced the six roopees to one roopee four anas a day. To extort more money from the donors, the bramhuns of this temple, at two succeeding festivals, prevented the car from proceeding to an adjoining temple in which the donors were interested, pretending that the god was angry with them for their parsimony, and w ould not go. ON THE HINDOO RELIGION. XXXI death hundreds of victims, perhaps thousands, and immolates a number every year. This god receives the homage of pilgrims from all parts of India, for whose accommodation roads have been cut, and lodging-houses erected. Such, however, is the great mortality among the pilgrims, that a Hindoo of property always makes his will before he sets out on this journev, and takes a most affecting farewel of his disconsolate relations. Southey’s description,* in his curse of Keharaa, though not literally correct, conveys to the mind much of the horror which a Christian spectator of the procession of the car cannot but feel. Mr. Paterson finds in the images of this god, and his brother and sister, which are worshipped together, an hiero- glyphic of the mystical word Om, (3). 3. Ramti, a deified monarch, and the hero of the Ramayunu, comes in for a considerable share of the wretched devotion of the Hindoos, especially in the western provinces. His his- tory, found in Valmeekee’s epic poem, is partly before the public. He is adored as the seventh Hindoo incarnation ; has an annual festival, and is daily worshipped in the temples dedicat- ed to him, his brother, and his friend Hnnoomanu ; in which temples he appears as a green man, with a bow and arrows in his hands, sitting on a throne, having Seeta on his left : his bro- ther Lfikshmunu holds a white umbrella over his head, and Hunoomanu stands before him as his servant with joined hands. He is considered as a beneficent deity. Some think that Ramii was deified on account of a successful attack on Ceylon, when he was king of Mut’hoora. 4. Choitunyii, i.e. the wise, a form of Krishna; the god of a sect of voiragees, whose lead- er was a religious mendicant. His most famous temple in Bengal is at Ugru-dweepu, where an annual festival is held, and to which crowds resort from all parts of Bengal. The bramhuns despise this sect. 5. VishvL'u-kurmu, the son of Brumha, as architect of the gods, may be regarded as the Hin- * “A thousand pilgrims strain, Arni, shoulder, breast and thigh, with might and main, To drag that sacred wain, And scarce can draw along the enormous load. Prone fall the frantic votaries in its road, And, calling on the god, Their self-devoted bodies there they lay To pave his chariot way ; On Jiigimnat’h they call, The ponderous car rolls on, and crushes all. Through blood and bones it ploughs its dreadful path; Groans rise unheard; the dying cry, And death and agony Are trodden under foot by yon mad throng, AVho follorv close, and thrust the deadly wheels along.” XXXLl INTRODUCTORY REMARKS doo Vulcan. He is worshipped at an annual festival, the implements of each artificer being the representative of the god. He employs no cyclops with one eye, but has a workman named Mayu, a giant, who is capable of exhibiting all manner of illusive edifices. 6. KamU-de vti, the Indian cupid. This god is also said to be the son of Brumha: he is painted as a beautiful youth, carrying a bow and arrow of flowers. He has an annual festival, but his image is not made ; nor does this festival command much celebrity. Petitions are addressed to him by the bride and bridegroom anxious for offspring. 7. S&tyit Narayunii. I have not discovered the origin of this idol : the name implies that be is the true Vishnoo. He is worshipped frequently in the houses of the rich, from the desire of insuring prosperity. 8. P iinchanunfi, a form of Shivu, worshipped by the lower orders, who consider him as the destroyer of children. The image used as his representative is a misshapen stone, anointed, painted, and placed under the vulu and other trees. 9. Dhtirmii t’ hakoorii, another form of Shivu, held in much the same estimation as Piincha- nunu. 10. Kaloo-rayix, the god of forests, another form of Shivu. He is painted as sitting on a tyger, and carrrying a bow and arrows : is worshipped by the wood cutters in the forests, to insure protection from wild beasts. 11. Deified Beings in strange shapes. Urd/iii- nareesh war fi . This compound deity is Shivii and Doorga united in one body. Tire fable respecting this singular transformation will be found in p. 187. Religious worship is paid to this idol. — KrishnA-Kalee. In this image, of Krishnu and Kalee united in one body, vice itself is personified and worshipped. See page 189. — lluree-HUru. Another compound deity, Vishnoo and Shivu. The worship paid to these idols appears to owe its origin to stories in the pooranus ; but tire original idea, meant to be conveyed by two of them, no doubt, was, that the Great Spirit and matter are one. 12. The worship of human beings. The Hindoos worship their spiritual guides: also brain* ON THE HINDOO RELIGION. XXxiii hans, and their ivives and daughters ; and, among the vamacbarees, women of the lowest cast, and even prostitutes, are worshipped with rites too abominable to be recorded, see p. 193. 13. The worship of beasts. The cow, as a form of Bnuguvutee, is ail object of worship, and receives the homageofthe Hindoos at an annual festival.* (p. 195.) Hunoomatiii, the monkey, has also been placed among the gods, as a form of Shiva. Temples to this god are to be seen, and in some places his image is worshipped daily ; he is even chosen by many as their guardi- an deity. Hunoomanu bears some resemblance to Pan, and like him owes his birth to the god of the winds. The dog, the jackal, and a number of other animals, have also places among the Hindoo deities, though they are not greatly honoured. 14. Worship of birds. Gurooru, the carrier of Vishnoo, half a bird and half a man, has re- ceived deification, as well as his brother Uroonu, the charioteer of Vishnoo. Jutayoo, another bird, the friend of Ramu, receives divine honours, as do the eagle of Coromandel, (said to be an incarnation of Doorga), the wag tail, the peacock, the goose, and the owl ; but the honours they receive are not of the highest kind. 15. Worship of trees. The Hindoos do not seem ever to have consecrated groves, but seve- ral trees they esteem sacred. Toolusee, a female raised to deity by. Vishnoo, was cursed by Lukshmee, his wife, in a fit of jealousy, and turned into the tree of this name, which the Hin- doos preserve with great care near their houses, erect pillars to its honour, + esteem its leaves and wood sacred, and with the latter make the beads with which they repeat the names of their guardian deities. Several other trees receive almost an equal homage, see page 205. It is con- sidered as a great sin among the Hindoos for any member of a family to cut down trees plant- ed by an ancestor, and the misfortunes of many a family have been ascribed to such an act of \ f indiscretion. * The very dung of the cow is eaten as an atonement for sin, and, with its urine, is used in worship. A Hindoo does not carry any thing out of his house in the morning till he has rubbed his door-way with cow-dung. Not- withstanding this reverence, the bullocks employed in carrying burdens and at the plough, are used more cruelly by the Hindoos than any other animals. “ The Athenians and almost all other nations thought it a very great crime to kill the ox, insomuch that the offender was thought to deserve death.” Potter’s Antiquities of Greece, vol. i,p, 217. + The heads of these pillars, which commonly open like a cup, are filled with earth, and the plant is placed in them, “ The Romans and Grecians, says Potter, consecrated certain trees to their gods.” E XXXIV INTRODUCTORY REMARKS 16. River worship. The Hindoos not only reverence their rivers, but actually worship them, dividing them into male and female deities. But Gunga (the Ganges,) both in their poems, their pooranus, and in the superstitious customs of the natives, appears to rank highest among the river deities. She is declared to have descended from Vishnoo’s heaven, the anniversary of which event is celebrated by particular festivities. The most extravagant things are re- lated in the pooranus respecting the purifying nature of these waters ; and several works have been written to extol the saving properties of the Ganges.* Its waters are carried to im- mense distances; every thing they touch becomes purified ; crowds of Hindoos perform their worship on the banks of the river daily, after purifying themselves in its stream ; the sick are laid on its banks expecting recovery from the mere sight of this goddess; ( » xlii INTRODUCTORY REMARKS idolatry alw ays tends to sink, but never to raise its votaries. In the account of Kalee (p. 1*21) the reader will find a fact respecting the execution of two Hindoos, who, when under sentence of death, became Roman catholics, in pure revenge upon Kalee, who did not, as she was believ- ed to have done in many other cases, protect them in the act of robbery. One of the pundits who assisted me in this work, begged, if I mentioned this fact, that I would assure the English leader, that although this goddess assisted public robbers, she always informed them that they must suflei hereatier for their crimes, though she did assist them in their perpetration. ihe Reverend Mi. Maurice seems astonished that a people so mild, so benevolent, so benig- nant as the Hindoos, * who (quoting Mr. Orme) shudder at the very sight of blood,’ should have adopted so many bloody rites. But are these Hindoos indeed so humane? — these men, and women too, who drag their dying relations to the banks of the river at all seasons, day and night, and expose them to the heat and cold in the last agonies of death, without remorse; — who assist men to commit self-murder, encouraging them to swing with hooks in their backs, to pierce their tongues and sides, to cast themselves on naked knives, to bury themselves alive,* throw themselves into rivers, t from precipices, j and under the cars of their idols; — who mur- der their own children, by burying them alive, throwing them to the alligators, or hanging them up alive in trees for the ants and crows before their own doors,§ or by sacrificing them to the Gan- * I nstances are not unfrequent, where persons afflicted with loathsome and incurable diseases, have caused themselves to be buried alive.” — Asiatic Researches, vol. vii. p. 257. + Mr. W. Carey, of Cutwa, in a letter to the author, dated the 4th November, 1814, says, “ Two or three days ago I witnessed a scene more shocking than any I ever saw in this place : A poor weaver was brought here, and cast into the river, with a pan of water tied round his waist to make him sink; but providentially the river was shallow, and he w as taken out, after being in the water a day and a night. Hearing of the circumstance, I went to see him, and found the poor man only affected with rheumatic pains. I had him brought to my house, but could not prevail on the unfeeling natives to carry him up till I procured an order from an officer of the po- lice. I hope he will be restored to health in a fortnight, when he will return home, with some knowledge of the gospel. IVhat adds to the horror of this narration, is, that the perpetrators of this intended murder were the mo- ther and brother of this unfortunate Hindoo.” * “ A very singular practice prevails among the low est tribes of the inhabitants of Berar and Gondwunu. Suicide :s not un’frequently vowed by such persons in return for boons solicited from idols, and to fulfil his vow, the successful votary throws himself from a precipice named Kalu-Bhoiruvu, situated in the mountains between the Taptee and Narmuda rivers. The annual fair held near that spot at the beginning of spring, usually wit- nesses eight or ten victims of this superstition.” — Asiatic Researches vol. vii. p. 257. $ 1 fancy this is done when (he child is born with bad omens, or is supposed to be afflicled by some evil spirit. OX THE HINDOO IlELIGION. xliii ges j — who burn alive, amidst savage shouts, the heart-broken widow, by the hands of her own son, and with the corpse of a deceased father;*— who every year butcher thousands of animals, at the call of superstition, covering themselves with their blood, consigning their carcases to the dogs, and carrying their heads in triumph through the streets?— Are these the ‘benignant Hindoos !’— a people who have never erected a charity-school, an alms’-house, nor an hospital; who suffer their fellow-creatures to perish for want before their very doors, refusing to adminis- ter to their wants while living, or to inter their bodies, to prevent their being devoured by vultures and jackals, when dead ; — who, when the power of the sword was in their hands, impaled alive, cut off the noses, the legs, and arms, of culprits; and inflicted punishments exceeded only by those of the followers of the mild, amiable, and benevolent Booddlui in the Burman empire !t * At Benares and near Buxar numerous brick monuments have been erected to perpetuate the memory of women who have been burnt alive with the bodies of their deceased husbands. + It is well known, that the Burmans are the followers of Booddhu, whose principal aim was to excite in man- kind a horror of shedding blood, and of destroying animal life. The following facts will show how much huma- nity there is among a people far exceeding the Hindoos in their care not to injure whatever contains life. Mr. F. Carey thus writes to his friends in Bengal : “ I will now relate what has taken place in this single town of Rangoon since my residence in this country ; which does not exceed four years. Some of the criminals I saw executed with my own eyes; the rest I saw immediately after execution. One man had melted lead poured down his throat, which immediately burst out from the neck, and various parts of the body. Four or five per- sons, after being nailed through their hands and feet to a scaffold, had first their tongues cut out, then their mouths slit open from ear to ear, then their ears cut off, and finally their bellies ripped open. Six people were cru- cified in the following manner : their hands and feet were nailed to a scaffold ; their eyes were then extracted with a blunt hook ; and in this condition they were left to expire ; two died in the course of four days ; the rest were liberated, but died of mortification on the sixth orseventh day. Four persons were crucified, viz. not nailed but tied w ith their hands and feet stretched out at full length, in an erect posture, in which they were to remain till death ; every thing they wished to eat was ordered them, with a view to prolong their lives and mi- sery. In cases like this, the legs and feet of the criminals begin to swell and mortify at the expiration of three or four days ; some are said to live in this state for a fortnight, and expire at last from fatigue and mortification. Those which I saw were liberated at the end of three or four days. Another man had a large bamboo run through his belly, w hich put an immediate end to his existence. Two persons had their bellies ripped up, just sufficient to admit of the protrusion of a small part of the intestines, and after being secured by the hands and feet at full stretch with cords, were placed in an erect posture upon bamboo rafters, and set adrift in the river, to float up and down with the tide for public view. The number of those who have been beheaded I do not ex- actly recollect ; but they must be somewhere between twenty and thirty. One man was sawn to death, by ap- plying the saw to the shoulder bone, and sawing right down until the bowels gushed out. One woman was heat to death with a large cudgel. — These are most of the punishments I have seen and heard of during my stay in th.. place, but many other instances happened during my absence, which I have not related. As for the crimes ior u hich these punishments were inflicted, I shall only add, the crimes of some deserved death ; some w ere of a trivial nature, and some of the victims were quite innocent.” F 2 xliv INTRODUCTORY REM AUKS and who very often, in their acts of pillage, murder the plundered, cutting off their limbs with the most cold-blooded apathy, turning the house of the murdered into a disgusting shambles !— Some of these cruelties, no doubt, arise out of the religion of the Hindoos, and are the poison- ed fruits of superstition, rather than the effects of natural disposition: but this is equally true respecting the virtues which have been so lavishly bestowed on this people. At the call of the shastru, the Hindoo gives water to the weary traveller during the month Voishakhu, but he may perish at his door without pity or relief from the first of the following month, no re- ward being attached to such an act after these thirty days have expired. He will make roads, pools of water, and build lodging-houses, for pilgrims, and travellers, but he considers himself as making a good bargain with the gods in all these transactions. It is a fact, that there is not a road in the country made by Hindoos except a few which lead to holy places, and had there been no future rewards held out for such acts of merit, even these would not have ex- isted. Before the kulee-yoogii it was lawful to sacrifice cows, but the man who does it now, is guilty of a crime as heinous as that of killing a bramhun : he may kill a buflaloe, how ever, and Doorga will reward him with heaven for it. A Hindoo, by any direct act, should not destroy an insect, for he is taught that God inhabits even a fly, but it is no great crime if he should permit even his cow to perish with hunger; and he beats it without mercy, though it be an incarnation ol’ Bhuguvutee — it is enough, that he does not really deprive it of life, for the indwelling Brumhu feels no stroke but that of death. The Hindoo will utter false- hoods that would knock down an ox, and will commit perjuries so atrocious and disgusting, as to fill with horror those who visit the courts of justice ; but he will not violate his shastru by sw'earing on the waters of the Ganges. Idolatry is often also the exciting cause of the most abominable frauds: Several instances are given in this volume: one will be found in p. 97, and another respecting an image found under ground by the raja of Nudeeya, in p. 1G0.* Indeed keeping gods is even a trade among the Hindoos : the only difficulty to be overcome, is that of exciting attention to the image. To do this, the owner of the image frequently goes from village to village, to call the attention of the neighbourhood; he also persuades someone to proclaim, that he has been warned in a dream to perform vows to this image, or, he repeats to * Plutarch says, that Romulus, when he instituted the Ludi Consuales, to surprize the Sabine virgins, gave out, that he had discovered the altar of the god Consus hid under ground, which discovery attracted great multi- tudes to the sacrifice. ON THE HINDOO RELIGION. xlv all he sees, that such and such cures have been performed by it. In the years 1807 and 1808, almost all the sick aud imaginary sick Hindoos in the south of Bengal presented their offerings to an image called Taruk-eshwuru, at a place bearing this name. The bramhuns owning this image became rich. This excited the attention of some bramhuns near Nudeeya, who pro- claimed another image of Shivu, in their possession, to be ‘the brother of Taruk-eshwuru,’ and the people of those parts flocked to this image as others had done to the original one. The author has devoted 224 pages of this work to the gods. The next article relates to the Hindoo temples, none of w hich appear to be distinguished for the elegance of their ar- chitecture ; they are not the work of a people sunk in barbarism ; neither will they bear any comparison with the temples of the Greeks or Romans. They are not constructed so as to hold a crowd of worshippers, who are always accommodated in an area opposite the temple. The room in which the idol is placed is considered sufficiently spacious if it hold the officiating priest, the utensils for w'orship, and the offerings. These temples answer none of the ends of a lecture room, nor of a Christian temple. Here the passions are never raised to heaven by sacred music, nor by the voices of a large and de- vout congregation celebrating the praises of the Deity in the strains of sacred poetry; here no devout feelings are awakened by the voice of prayer and confession, nor are the great truths of religion explained, or enforced upon the mind of an attentive crowd by the eloquence of a public speaker: the daily worship at the temple is performed by the solitary priest with all the dulness, carelessness, and insipidity necessarily connected with a service always the same, repeated before an idol made of a cold stone, and in which the priest has no interest whatever: when the crowd do assemble before the temple, it is to enter upon orgies which destroy every vestige of moral feeling, and excite to every outrage upon virtue. * The dedication of a temple is a work of great ceremony, f if the building belong to a man * We learn from the Ain Akburee, however, that the entire revenues of Orissa, for twelve years, were ex- pended on erecting a temple to the sun. — Maurice's Indian Antiquities. + Circumambulating a temple is an act of merit, raising the person to a place in the heaven of the god orgod- dess whose temple he thus walks round. At Benares the devout do it daily. If the circumambulator be a learned man, he repeats the praise of the god as he is walking, and bows to the image every time he arrives at the door of the temple. The ignorant merely walk round, and make the bow. The right hand is always kept towards the object circumambulated. xlvi INTRODUCTORY REMARKS of wealth ; the expeuce incurred in presents to the bramhuns and others is also very great. The person who employs lys wealth in this manner is considerably raised in the estimation of his countrymen : he frequently .also endows the temple, as well as raises it, which is generally done by grants of land. The annual produce of the land thus bestowed, is expended in wages to the officiating priest, in the daily offerings to the idol, and in lighting and repairing the temple. Many temples, however, do not depend entirely on their endowments: they receive considerable sums from occasional offerings, and from w hat is presented at festivals.* Some temples are supported at an expence so trifling as to astonish a reader not acquainted with the forms of idolatry: many individuals who officiate at temples obtain only the offerings, the va- lue of w hich does not amount, in many instances, to more than tw enty shillings a year. Some few temples are, however, splendidly endowed, and many families receive their maintenance from them. Where an idoi has become very famous, and the offerings have amounted to a * large sum, even Kings have been anxious to lay hold of such a source of revenue. The images of the gods may be made of almost all the metals, as well as of wood, stone, clav, &c. Most of the permanent images are made of wood or stone ; those which are destroy- ed at the close of a festival, are made of clay. Small images of brass, silver, and gold, are not uncommon. The sculpture of the stone images resembles that of the Popish images of the 12th century ; those cast in brass, &c. exhibit a similar progress of the arts. The consecration of an image is accompanied w ith a number of ceremonies, the most singular of which is that of conveying sight and life to the image, for which there are appropriate formulas, with prayers, inviting the deity to come and dwell in it. After this ceremony, the image becomes sacred, and is carefully guarded from every offensive approach. The shastriis contain directions for making idols, and the forms of meditation used in worship contain a description of each idol: but in many instances these forms are disregarded, and the proprietor, though compell- ed to preserve the identity of the image, indulges his own fancy. Some images are very dimi- nutive, especially those made of the precious metals, but others, if for temporary use, are very large: a stone image of the lingu is to be seen at Benares, which six men with joined hands can hardly grasp. At the festival of Kartikeyu, the god of war, an image is sometimes made thirty cubits high. Whatever may have been the case in other countries, idolatry in this has certainly not contributed to carry the arts of painting or sculpture to any perfection. * In (lie year 1809, at the temple of Jngunnat’hu, near Serampore, at (he car festival, about 570roopees were presented to the idol, in vegetables, fruits, sweetmeats, garments, and money. About 150 bramhaus, 50 females, and 150 shoodrus, were entertained daily ; and, at the close of the festival, the priests of the temple received 420 loopees. & ON THE HINDOO RELIGION. xlvii Any bramhun, properly qualified by rank and knowledge, may officiate in a temple, and perform the general work of a priest. There is no order of bramhuns to whom the priesthood is confined ; many bramhuns employ others as priests ; a shoodrii must employ a bramhun, but he has his own choice ot the individual; he cannot repeat a single formula of the vedus himself without being guilty of the highest offence. There are different offices in which priests are employed, but any bramhun, properly qualified, may perform the ceremonies attached to them all, p. 237. In general, a family, able to bear the expence, employs a priest on a regular allowance: some priests are retained by many families of the same cast: such a person is call- ed the joiners’ priest, or the weavers’ priest, Ac. The bramhuns employed as priests to the shoodrus are not in high estimation among their brethren, who never fail to degrade the shoo- dru in every stage and state of life. The fees of the priest are in general very small: on some occassions, at the dedication of a temple, at the ceremonies for the dead when performed for a rich man, at the great festivals, &c. the priest receives very liberal presents. Female priests are almost unknown to the Hindoos : one or two instances are recorded in p. 182, 184. The ceremonies at the temples are in most cases performed daily, morning, noon, and even- ing, at which times food is presented to the idol : the services are short, consisting of a few forms of petition and praise, during the presentation of flowers, leaves, and (except to Shivu,) a few articles of food : the priest is commonly the only person present. The doors of the lin- gii temples are generally open all day ; multitudes of these temples are never honoured with worship, though they contain an idol : this is accounted for by there beiug several ot these tem- ples erected in one spot belonging to the same individual. Hindoos in general bow to the image as they pass the temple, whether the doors be open or shut. Where the deity is honour- ed by bloody sacrifices, a post is erected in front of the temple, for the slaughter ofanimals. No assemblies can be formed in these edifices; but od particular occasions the people are collected before the door, and sit or stand under an awning. The idols in honour of Vishnoo are laid down to sleep in the day, if the image be not too large,— a poor compliment to a god, that he wants rest. The utensils employed in the ceremonies at the temples are, several dish- es to hold the offerings, a hand bell, a lamp, jugs for holding water, an incense dish, a copper * I insert a short extract from Bryce’s “ Sketch of the state of British India,” in order to assure the author, that, as it respects Bengal, it is wholly \ ithout foundation. “ The laws have always confined a ceitain propor tion of bramhuns, to the service of the pagodas, to the education of youth, and to study, p. 57. - ° I are spared in rendering accomplished those females, who, as the fascinating instruments of superstition, are cm ployed in the service of their temples.” p. 54. xlviii INTRODUCTORY RE M ARKS cup to receive drink-offerings for deceased ancestors and the gods, another smaller one to pour from, a seat of kooshu grass for the priest, a large metal plate used as a bell, and a conch or shell. All these articles do not cost more than twenty shillings, unless the owner wish them to be costly. Daily, weekly, monthly, and annual ceremonies abound among this people, to w hom may tru- ly be applied the remark of Paul to the Athenians (Acts xvii. 22); the festivals are noted iu the Hindoo almanacks, and are generally held at the full or total wane of the moon. In the month of February, they have one festival in honour of the goddess of learning, Suruswutee, which continues one day. In March, three, in honour of Shivu, Krishna, and Gunga. In April, two, one the anniversary of the birth of Rarnu, and the other the horrid swinging festi- val. In June, two, one in honour of Gunga, and the other Jugunnat’hu’s car festival ; the lat- ter is again revived in July, when the car returns to the temple. In August, the cow is worship- ped, and the birth ot Krishuu celebrated. In September, the memory of deceased ancestors is commemorated, and the Doorga festival held. In October, one, in honour of t lie goddess Rii- tuntee, and in November another in honour of Kartikeyu, the j*bd of w ar. On all these occa- sions the public offices are closed; but many other holidays are kept by the Hindoos, which are not honoured as public festivals. The reader w ill find, in page 244, an account of the daily duties of a bramhun, by which it appears, that if he strictly conform to the rules of his religion, he must spend almost his whole time in religious ceremonies. The present race of bramhuns, curtail these ceremonies, espe- cially those engaged in secular affairs, who spend perhaps ten or twenty minutes in the morn- ing, after their ablutions, in repeating the usual formulas before the lingu, or the stone called the shalugramu, or a pan of water. Many, however, content themselves w ith bathing, and repeating the name of their guardian deity. The form of initiation into the service of a person’s guardian deity consists in giving him the name of this deity, and exhorting him to repeat it continually. The ceremony of initia- tion is given in p. 253. From this time, the initiated becomes intitled to ail the privileges of the Hindoo religion, is placed under the protection of the gods, and receives the benediction of his spiritual guide. The Hindoos are careful to conceal the words of initiation, and do not wish to declare to strangers what god they have chosen for their guardian deity. OX THE HINDOO RELIGION. xlix The spiritual guide, who is chosen by the person himself, feceives the highest reverence from the disciple, and is sometimes worshipped by him as a god. Disobedience to this guide is one of the highest offences a Hindoo can commit, and his anger is dreaded more than that of the gods. When the disciple approaches him, he prostrates himself at his feet, and the priest places his foot on his head. To such a state of degradation does the Hindoo superstition reduce the people! These priests are notorious for covetousness and impurity: some of them plunder the disciples of their all, and others violate the chastity of their wives. They are not distinguished by any particular dress, nor do they perform any offices of worship for their dis- ciples. Bathing in the Ganges, or in some other sacred river, or pool, is one of the most constant and necessary duties enjoined upon the Hindoos ; the bramhuns, after bathing, frequently com- plete their devotions on the banks of the river: others go home, and repeat the requisite forms before the shalugramu, or a pan of water. The people are taught that bathing is a religious ceremony, by which they become purified from sin!* They are never directed to bathe to pro- mote bodily health. In the act of bathing, they pour out driuk-offerings to deceased ancestors. — To be convinced how entirely the present race of Hindoos are influenced by the promises of salvation held out in their sacred books on this subject, it is only necessary for a person to attend to what is passing around him, viz. to the crowds bathing at landing-places of the Gan- ges; to the persons bearing the sacred water into distant countries, in vessels suspended from their shoulders; to the shraddhus and other religious ceremonies performed on its banks; to the numbers of temples on both sides of the river ; to so great a part of the Bengal population having erected their habitations near the river; to the number of brick landing-places, built as acts of holiness, to assist the people in obtaining the favours of Gunga; to the houses erect- ed for the sick by the sides of the river; to the people bringing their sick relations, and lay- ing them on bedsteads, or on the ground, by the side of the Ganges, waiting to burn them * Anil yet so far are the Hindoos from having any moral feelings even in I heir acts of purification, that few men bathe in a retired situation : the majority choose those places to which ihe female bathers resort, and cn their ac- count remain in the water long beyond the time necessary for (heir ablutions. Many an infamous assignment is made by looks, &c. while they’ are thus washing away their sins. A number of bramhuns engage as cooks to opuleut families, to facilitate licentious intrigues: this is become so common, that the bramhuns, proverbially known by the name of cooking bramhuns, are treated with the greatest su-pieion by those who care for the chas- tity of their w ives. Multitudes of bramhuns likewise are employed as priests to prostitutes, and actually perform the offices of religion in houses of ill-fame; — so completely absent is the moral principle from the religion of the Hindoos. G 1. INTRODUCTORY REMARKS there, and to throw their ashes into the river; to the immense crowds on the banks, waiting for a junction of the planets, at which moment they plunge into the stream with the greatest eagerness; to the people committing the images of their gods to the sacred stream, at the close of their festivals; and, finally, to the boats crowded with passengers going to Sagur island (Gunga saguiu) every year.* The forms of worship (pooja)t before the idol are particularly laid down in p. 272. The * Till lately, people used to throw themselves, or their children, to the alligators, at this place, under (he idea that dying at Gunga-sagurti, ia the jaws of an alligator, was the happiest of deaths. This is now prevented by a guard of sepoys sent by government. + The Ain Akbnree says, the Hindoos “ divide pooja into sixteen ceremonies. After the devotee ha; per- formed his usual and indispensable ablutions, w ith the sandhya and homii, he sits down, looking towards the east or the north, with his legsdrawn op in front. Then, taking in his hand a little w ater and rice, he sprinkles the idol, and conceives this act to bea proper preface to the commencement of his adoration. Next follows the worship of the idol’s flaggou. Then succeeds the worship of the conch-shell. Last in order, a ceremony which consists in plastering the bell with ashes of sandal-wood. When he has finished, he throws down a little rice, and wishes that his god may be manifested. These various duties are all comprized in the first of the six- teen ceremonies. In the second, he prepares and placesa table of metal, eithergold, silver, or copper, as a seat or throne for a deity. In the third, he throws water into a vessel to wash his feet; for, in Hindoost’hanu it is the custom, that, when a superior enters the house of an inferior, he w ashes his feet. In the fourth, he sprinkles water thrice, to represent the idol rincing his mouth, since it is also the custom for an inferior to bring to a superior water to rince his mouth w ith before meals. In the-fifth, sandal, flowers, betel, and rice, are of- fered to the idol. In the sixth, the idol and his throne are carried to another spot : then the worshipper takes in his righthand a white conch-shell full of water, which he throws over the idol, and w ith his left hand rings the bell. In the seventh, he wipes the idol dry with a cloth, replaces it upon its throne, and adorns it with vest- ments of silk or gold stuft’. In the eighth, he puts the zennar upon the idol. In the ninth, he makes the tilfik upon the idol in twelve places. In the tenth, he throws over the idol flow ers or green leaves. In the ele- venth, he fumigates it with perfumes. In the tw elfth, he lights alatnp w ith ghee. In the thirteenth, he places before the idol trays of food, according to his ability, which are distributed amongst the by-standers, as the ho- ly relics of the idol’s banquet. In the fourteenth, he stretches himself at full length with his face towards the ground, and disposes his body in such a manner, as that his eight members touch the ground, namely, the two knees, two hands, forehead, nose, and cheeks. These kinds of prostration are also performed to great men in, Hindoosfhanu. In the fifteenth, he makes a circuit around the idol several times. In the sixteenth, he stands in the posture of a slave, with his hands uplifted, and asks permission to depart.”— — At some of the great fes- tivals, boys in play make an image, paint it, and beg from house to house for the offerings, as rice, fruits, &c. When all things are ready, some one becomes the priest, and performs the ceremonies. Thus early are the Hindoo children initialed into their idolatrous rites. If, how ever, the parents of these children discover what is going on, they forbid it, and warn thechildren, that the god will be displeased. If it be an image of Kalee, or any ferocious deity, they endeavour to terrify the children, by telling them that the goddess is a fury, and will certainly devour them. If any elderly boy be concerned, and the image made be a good one, the parents will sometimes, rather than destroy it, call a bramhun, and have the ceremonies performed in a regular way. ON THE HINDOO RELIGION. )i priest wLo officiates lias the common dress of a bramliun; it must, however, be new: lie has occasionally one or two bramhuns to assist him in presenting the offerings. Short forms of praise and prayer to the gods/ are continually used, and are supposed to pro- mote very highly a person’s spiritual interests. The following is an example of praise ad- dressed to Gunga: O goddess, the owl that lodges in the hollow of a tree on thy banks, is exalted beyond measure, while the emperor, whose palace is far from thee, though he may pos- sess a million of stately elephants, and may have the wives of a million of conquered enemies to serve him, is nothing.” Example of prayer: “O god ! I am the greatest sinner in the world ; but thou, among the gods, art the greatest saviour; I leave my cause in thy hands.” Praise is considered as more prevalent with the gods than prayer, as the gods are mightily pleased with flattery. Some unite vows to their supplications, and promise to present to the god a handsome offering if he be propitious. Another act of Hindoo devotion is meditation on the form of an idol. Mr. Hastings, in his prefatory letter to the Geeta, says the Rev. Mr. Maurice, describes the bramhuns as devoting a certain period of time to the contemplation of the deity, his attributes, and the moral duties of life. The truth is, that in this Hindoo act of devotion there is not a vestige of reference to the divine attributes nor to moral duty. The Hindoo rehearses in his mind the form of the god, his colour, the number of his heads, eyes, hands, Arc. and nothing more. Repeating the names of the gods, particularly of a person’s guardian deity, is one of the most * Instead of hymns in honour of the gods, the Hindoos, at present, as has been already noticed, introduce be- fore the idol little beside filthy songs. Some bramhuns acknowledge, that not a single Hindoo seeks in his religion any thing of were written, they therefore at once believed the assertions of the bramhuns, and their friends, that their antiquity was unfathomable. The Reverend Mr. Maurice has attempted to describe the Hindoo ceremonies, which lie ne- ver saw. in the most captivating terms, and has painted these “abominable idolatries’’ in the most florid colours. It might have been expected, (idolatry being in itself an act so degrading to man, and-so dishonourable to God,) that a Christian divine would have been shocked while writing in this manner. If Mr. Maurice think there is some., mg in Iiindcoism to excite the most sublime ideas, let him come and join in the dance before the idol, — or assist the bramhuns in crying Hiiree bid ! Iliiree bid !* while the fire is seizing the limbs of the young and unfor- tunate Hindoo widow, — or, let him attend at the sacrificing of animals before the images of Kalee and Doorga— »or, come and join in the dance, stark naked, in the public street, in open day, before the image ofDoorga, in the presence of thousands o:' spectators, young and okl, male and female. He will find, that the sight will never make these holy bramhuns, these mild and innocent Hindoos, blush for a moment. Seriously, should sights like these raise the ardour of enthusiasm, or chill the blood, of a Christian minister ? Say, ye who blush for human nature sunk in shame. As a clergyman, Mr. Maurice should have known, that antiquity sanctifies nothing: “ The sinner, being an hundred years old, shall be accursed.” What will a sober Christian say to the two following paragraphs, inserted in the fifth volume of the Indian Antiquities ?+ “Mr. Forbes, of Stanmore-Hill, in his elegant museum of Indian rarities, numbers two of the bells that have been used in devotion by the bramhuns. They are great curiosities, and one of them in particular appears to be of very high antiquity, in form very much resembling the cup of the lotos, and the tune of it is uncommonly soft and me- lodious. I could not avoid being deeply affected with the sound of an instrument which had been actually employed to kindle the flame of that superstition, which I have attempted so ex- tensively to unfold. My transported thoughts travelled back to the remote period, when the bramhnn religion blazed forth in all its splendour in the caverns of Elepbanta: I was, for a mprnent, entranced, and caught the ardor of enthusiasm. A tribe of venerable priests, array- * Sounds of triumph, which the bramhuns use when the fire of the funeral pile begins to burn, and when they are choaking a dying person with (he water of the Ganges. These words literally mean, “call upon floree,” or, repeat the name of HCree, viz. Krishnu. In their popular use, they are like the English phrase, huzza! huzza l + While the author cannot but withhold li is assent from Mr. Maurice’s application of the Hindoo triad, and the whole of his attempt to illustrate scripture doctrines from the ancient systems of idolatry, he embraces this opportunity of expressing his admiration of the great merit of Ihis singular and masterly work. J 2 ixxvi INTRODUCTORY REMARKS ed in flowing stoics, and decorated with high tiaras, seemed assembled around me, the mystic song of initiation vibrated in my ear ; I breathed an air fragrant with the richest perfumes, and contemplated the deity in the fire that symbolized him.” In another place, “she [the Hindoo religion] “ wears the similitude of a beautiful and radiant Cherub from Heaven, bearing on his persuasive lips the accents of pardon and peace, and on his silken wings benefaction and blessing.” The sacred scriptures, of which this writer professes to be a teacher, in every part, mark ido- latry as the abominable THING WHICH Godhateth. Mr. Maurice calls it a “ beautiful and radiant cherub from heaven.” How this Christian minister will reconcile his ideas of ido- latry with those of his Great Master in the great day of final account, I must leave; but I recommend to him, and to all Europeans who think there is not much harm in Hindooism, the perusal of the following passages from the word of the TRUE and living God: “ If thy brother, the son of thy mother, or thy son, or thy daughter, or the wife of thy bo- som, or thy friend, which is as thine own soul, entice thee secretly, saying. Let us go and serve other gods, which tiiou hast not known, thou, or thy fathers ; namely, of the gods of the peo- ple which are round about you, nigh unto thee, or far off from thee, from the one end of the earth, even unto the other end of the earth, thou shalt not consent unto him, nor hearken unto him; neither shall thine eye pity him, neither shalt thou spare, neither shalt thou conceal him, , but Ikon shalt surely kill him ; thine hand shall he first upon him to put him to death, and af- terwards the hand oi alt the people. And thou shalt stone him witli stones, that he die ; be- cause he hath sought to thrust thee away from the Lord thy God, which brought thee out of die land ot Egypt, from the, house of bondage. And all Israel shall hear and fear, and shall do no more any such wickedness as this is among you.” Dcut. xm. G, 7, 0, 9, 10, 11. I «juote this remarkable passage, not because I tbink the Christian dispensation allows of punish- ing idolators with death, but to shew how marked is the divine abhorrence of this sin. And I will destroy your high places, and cut down your images, and cast your carcases upont he carcases of your idols, and my soul shall abhor you.” — Leviticus xxvi. 30. “ Cursed be the man that maketh any graven image, any graven or molten image, an abomination unto the Lord, the work ot the hands of the craftsman, and putteth it in a secret place. And all the people shall answer and say, Amen.”— Deut. xxvii. 15. “ Thus saitli the Lord of Hosts, the God ot Israel, \e have seen all the evil that I have brought upon Jerusalem, and upon ON T11E HINDOO RELIGION. Ixxvii all the- cities of Judah ; and, behold, this day they are a desolation ; and no man dwelleth there- in. Because of their wickedness which they have committed, to provoke me to anger, in that they went to burn incense, and to serve other gods, whom they knew not, neither they, ye, nor your fathers. Howbeit, I sent unto you all my servants the prophets, rising early and send- ing them, saying, O do not this abominable thing that i hate. But they hearken- ed not, nor inclined their ear to turn from their wickedness, to burn no incense unto other gods. Wherefore my fury and mine anger was poured forth, and was kindled in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem; and they are wasted and desolate, as at this day.” — Jeremiah xliv. 2, 3, 4, 5, 6. “ And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols?” — 2 Cor. vi. 16. “ For the time past of our life may suffice us to have wrought the will of the Gentiles, when we walked in iaciviousness, lusts, excess of wine, revellings, banquetings, and abomi- nable idolatries.” — 1 Peter tv. 3. “ But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolators, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone : which is the second death.” — Bey. XXI. 8. Let every conscientious Christian fail ly weigh these portions -of the divine w ord, and then say, whether there be not, according to the spiiit of these passages, a great degree of crimi- nality attached to the person who in any way countenances idolatry. I am not ashamed to confess, that I fear more for the continuance of the British power in India, from the encour- agement which Englishmen have given to the idolatry of the Hindoos, than from any other quarter whatever. The Governor of the world said to the Israelites, in particular reference to idolatry’, “ If ye walk contrary to me, I will walk contrary to you.” Moses, in the name ot Jehovah, thus threatens the Jews, if they countenance idolatry — “I call heaven and earth to witness against you this day, that ye shall soon utterly perish from off the land wliereunto ye go over Jordan to possess it: ye shall not prolong your days upon it, but shall utterly be destroyed. It cannot be doubted, that in every case in which either a person, or a nation, begins to think favourably of idolatry, it is a mark of departure in heart and practice from the living God: it was always so considered among the Jews. There is scarcely any thing in Hindooism, when truly known, in w hich a learned man can delight, or of which a benevolent ■o.<.n can approve ; and I am fully persuaded, that there will soon be but one opinion on the subject, and that this opinion will be, that the Hindoo system is less antient than the Egypti- an, and that it is the most puerile, impup.e, and bloody, of any system of ido- latry THAT WAS EVER ESTABLISHED ON EARTH. Ixxviii INTRODUCTORY REMARKS To this description of the Hindoo mythology, the author has added accounts of the princi- pal Hindoo Seceders, including the sects founded by Booddhu, Rishubhii-devu, Nauiiku, and Choitunyu. J a All the founders of these sects appear to have been religious mendicants, who, animated by excessive enthusiasm, have attempted to carry certain points of the Hindoo system farther ilian the regular Hindoos, particularly those which respect severe mortifications. Nanuku and Choitunyu were less rigid, and do not seem to have pressed the importance of religious austerities. Booddhu and Rishubhu-devu evidently adhered to the systems of those Hindoo philosophers who were atheists.* Both these systems are comprised in two or three doctrines: the world is eternal, and pos- sesses in itself the energy which gives rise to what we call creation, preservation, and resuscita- tion ; religion (Dhurmu) regulates all states, and is in fact what Christians call providence, con- nected with absolute predestination ; the person who acquires the greatest portion of dhiir- mu becomes a personification of religion, procures happiness for himself, and deserves the wor- ship of others. Amongst all excellent qualities, compassion is the cardinal virtue, especially as manifested in a rigid care not to hurt or destroy sentient beings. Without abating an atom of our abhorrence and contempt of a scheme of religion which excludes a God, it is a singular feature of this system of atheism, that it has placed the scep- tre of universal government in an imagined being under the name of Religion, or, to speak more correctly, in the hands of two Beings, Religion and Irreligioo, who have the power of re- warding and punishing the virtuous and the vicious. In short, these lieresiarchs have not pro- mulgated a system of atheism without making some provision for the interests of morality, in their way; and if the idea of punishment alone would make men virtuous, a Bouddhu and a Joinu might attain a place in the niche of fame not much below thousands who believe in a first cause. As men are born under'a certain destiny, and as every action produces its destined fruit, little is left to human exertion, and in consequence religious ceremonies have little place in tnese systems. The only object of worship is a deceased or living perfect ascetic : the former * The Slire'e-bhaguvutu mentions Booddhu as the son of Unj'.na, of Keekutn,and that Charvvaku (a celebrat- ed atheist) embraced and published the real opinions of Booddhu. See Shree-bhaguviku, chap. l,sect. iii. ON THE HINDOO RELIGION. Ixxix has temples erected to his memory, which contain his image, and before which a few cere- monies are performed similar to those before the Hindoo idols ; and the living mendicant is worshipped by the devout wherever he happens to rest from his peregrinations. These men have almost entirely excluded from their system a social life, and at present those Joinus who find the rules of their guides too strict, are obliged to solicit the forms of mar- riage at the hands of some Hindoo priest. In the translation of the Teruee Jatu, a Bouddhh work, (see p. 409) the reader will perceive, that a monarch and all his subjects abandoned a civil life, at the call of the monarch’s son, an ascetic, and sought in a forest that abstraction from secular concerns, which they considered as an essential preparation for re-union to the divine essence. The ceremonies of these two sects are all comprised in the worshipping of their saints, re- hearsing their praises, listening to their sayings or written works, and a rigid care to avoid the destruction of animal life, even in its most diminutive forms. The Bouddhus and Joinus have not excluded, it is true, every thing pleasant from their religion, for a number of festivals are celebrated among them monthly or annually, but there is reason to suppose, that these are no parts of the original system, but the additions of mendicants less rigid in their principles and less austere in their manners. The Joinus speak of the Bouddhus with a degree of comtempt, as being very loose in their practice, particularly as it regards the destruction of animal life. From this circumstance, and from the Joinus being still found in Hindoosf hami, as well as from the fact that they trace their religion up to a very early Hindoo monarch, it may be conjectured, that they are the old- est of the two sects, and are the scattered remnants of those persecuted under the name of athe- ists, after the destruction of the Goutiamu dynasty, or, as they were then called, Bouddhus. Nanuku, the Shikh leader, does not appear to have had any connectioh with the atheists ; he disapproved of the excessive polytheism of the Hindoos, and wished to draw them to the worship of the one God, whom, however, he called by the names usually adopted bv the Hin- doos: Brumliu, Pnrum-eshwuru, Unadee, isirakaru, &c. He did not publicly reprobate those parts of the Hindoo system to which he was most averse, but contented himself vfi Ii observing, that while he left them indifferent, the practice of them would not be accompanied the benefits held out by the Hindoo writers, He formed, from the bramhinical system, a lx.vx. s 1NTEODDC I'dSY REMARKS new one, having little polytheism in it) but borrowing all its principal doctrines from the Hin doo writings; and he and his successors incorporated the whole in two volumes. The princi- pal tenets of this seceder are : There is one invisible God, who is to be w orshipped or honour- ed in holy men ; his name is to be repeated; the spiritual guide is to be reverenced ; all evil avoided; if images be adopted, they should be those of eminent ascetics. Future happi- ness, consisting in union to the divine nature, is secured to those Shikhs who observe the rules laid down by their sacred books. Choitunyn, the last of these seceders, departed still less from regular Hindooism : his prin- cipal opposition w as aimed at the rising sect of the shaktus, or those w ho worship the female deities with bloody sacrifices: he testified his abhorrence of the destruction of animal life in sacrifices, and professed to be a rigid Voishnuvu, adopting Krishuu, or Huree, as his favour- ite deity. He did not proscribe the other gods, but set up Vishnoo as uniting all in him- I self; nor did he explode any tenet of Hindooism beside that relating to bloody sacrifices : a devout attachment to Krishuu ; a strict union among all his followers ; reverence for religious mendicants ; visiting holy places ; repeating the name of Huree, and entertaining mendicant voishnuvus, compose the prime articles in the creed of this sect. / Such are the systems established by these Hindoo hercsiarchs, each of which, though differ- ent in many essential points, is distinguished by one remarkable feature, reverence for mendi- cant saints, especially those who seem to have carried abstraction of mind, seclusion from the world, and religious austerities, to the greatest lengths. Among the atheistical sects, these mendicants are regarded as personifications of religion, and among the two last, as partial in- carnations, or persons approaching the state of re-union to the Great Spirit. Respecting the priority of the atheistical or the bramhinical systems, the author has not been able entirely to satisfy his own mind : some persons conjecture, that they see a coinci- dence betwixt the doctrines of the vedus, and of the atheistical sects, respecting the origin of things, and the worship of the elements. It may be safely added, that to these systems suc- ceeded the pouranic mythology, and after that the worship of the female deities with bloody sacrifices. The whole of these systems, however, when more generally known, will, no doubt, exceedingly endear the ‘Word of Truth' to every sincere Christian, and more and morepro\e, how deep and important a stake he has in the “ glorious gospel of the blessed God.” ed and was worshipped, and others from the actions he performed. t At the time of a prulavii, when every thing is reduced to the element of water, "k ishnoo sits on the snake Unfinth which has 1000 heads. 34 HISTORY, LITERATURE, asd RELIGION, [Pamhi. Chap. i. world. — Junarddunu, or, he who afflicts the wicked, and, he of whom emancipation is sought. — Pudmu-nabhu, or, he whose navel is like the water-lily. — Vishwumvuru, or, the protector of the world. — Koitubhujit, or, he who overcame the giant Koitubhu. Vishnoo has two wives,* Lukshmee, the goddess of prosperity, and Suruswutee, the goddess of learning. The former was produced at the churning of the sea. Surus* jvutee is the daughter of Brumka. The following description of the heaven of Vishnoo is taken from the Muhabharutu*' This heaven, called Voikoont’hu,t is entirely of gold, and is eighty thousand miles in circumference. All its edifices are composed of jewels. The pillars of this heaven, and all the ornaments of the bu ildings, are of precious stones. The chrystal waters of the Ganges fall from the higher heavens on the head of Droovu, and from thence into the bunches of hair on the heads of seven rishees in this heaven, and from thence they fall and form a river in Voikoont’hu. Here are also — fine pools of water, con- taining blue, red and white water-lilies, the flowers of some of which contain one hundred petals, and others a thousand; gardens of nympheeas, &c. On a seat as glo- rious as the meridian sun, sitting on water-lilies, is Vishnoo, and on his right hand the goddess Lukshmee. From the body of Lukshmee the fragrance of the lotus ex- tends 800 miles. This goddess shines like a continued blaze of lightning. The de- vurshees, rajurshees, and suptiirskees constantly celebrate the praises of Vishnoo and Lukshmee, and meditate on their divine forms. The brumhurshees chant the vedus. The glorified voishnuvus approach Vishnoo, and constantly serve him. The gods£ are also frequently employed in celebrating the praises of Vishnoo; and GuroorUj the bird-god, is the door-keeper. • One of the Hindoo poets, in answer to the question, Why has Vishnoo assumed a wooden shape? (alluding to the image of Jugunnat’hu), says. The troubles in his family have turned Vishnoo into wood : in the first place, he has tw* wives, one of whom (the goddess of learning) is constantly talking, and the other (the goddess of prosperity) never remains in one place : to increase his troubles, he sits on a snake; his dwelling is in the water, and he rides on a bird. All the Hindoos acknowledge that it is a great misfortune lor a man to have two wives ; especially if both live in one house, t The work called Kurmu-Vipaku says, that the heavens of Vishnoo, Brumha, and Shivu are upon three peaks oftkg fountain Soom^rco ; and that at the bottom of these peaks are the heavens of twenty-one other gods, V * ? These gods are supposed to be visitors at Visbnoo’s. Of THE GODS ShiviuJ) OF THE HINDOOS. 1$ SECTION III. Shivu. SHIVU, the destroyer, has the second place among the Hindoo deities, though in general, in allusion to their offices, these three gods are classed thus : Brumka, Vish- noo, Shivu. This god is represented in various ways. In the form of meditation used daily by the bramhunshe is described as a silver coloured man, with five faces ; an additional eye* * * § and a half-moon grace each forehead ;+ he has four arms ; in one hand he holds a piiruslioo ; in the second a deer ; with the third he is bestowing a blessing, and with the fourth he forbids fear ; he sits on a lotus, J and wears a tyger-skin garment. At other times Shivu is represented with one head, three eyes, and two arms, riding on a bull, covered with ashes, naked, his eyes inflamed with intoxicating herbs, ^ hav» ing in one hand a horn, and in the other a drum. Another image of Shivu is the lingu, a smooth black stone almost in the form of ft SUgar-loaf, with a projection at the base like the mouth of a spoon. • One of the names of Shiva is Trilochuna , viz. the three-ej'ed. One of the names of Jupiter was Trioculus,' (Triophthalmos) given him by the Greeks, because he had three eyes. An image of this kind was set up in Troy, which, beside the usual two eyes, had a third in the forehead. t At the churning of the sea, Shivu obtained the moon for his share, and fixed it, with all its glory, in his forehead,' t It appears that this plant was formerly venerated by the Egyptians as much as it is now by the Hindoos. The Sacred iinagqe of the Tartars, Japanese, ar.d other nations are also frequently represented as placed upon it. § Bacchus, who appears to bear a pretty strong resemblance to Shivu, is said to have wandered about naked, or to have had no other covering than a tyger’siskin, which is I he common garment of Shivu, and ol his followers, the sunya. sees. The bloated image of Shivu corresponds with that of Bacchus, and though the Indian god did not intoxicate himself with wine, yet his image is evidently that of a drunkard, Shivu perpetually smoked intoxicating herts. HISTORY, LITERATURE, and RELIGION,* [Part hi. Chap. i. There are several stories in the pooranus respecting the origin of the lingii wor« ship, three of which I had translated, and actually inserted in this work, leaving out as much as possible of their offensive parts : but in correcting the proofs, they appear- ed too gross, even when refined as much as possible, to meet the public eye. It is true I have omitted them with some reluctance, because 1 wish that the apologists for idolatry should be left without excuse, and that the sincere Christian should know what those who wish to rob him of the Christian Religion mean to leave in its stead. From these abominable stories, temples innumerable have arisen in India, and a Shivu Lingii placed in each of them, and worshipped as a god ! ! These temples, indeed, in Bengal and many parts of Hindoost’han, are far more numerous than those dedicated to any other idol ; and the number of the daily worshippers of this scanda- lous image, (even among the Hindoo women,) who make the image with the clay of the Ganges every morning and evening, is beyond comparison far greater than the wor- shippers of all the other gods put together. The account of the origin of the phalli of the Greeks bears a strong and unaccount- able resemblance to some parts of the pouranic accounts of the lingu : Bacchus was angry with the Athenians, because they despised his solemnities, when they were first brought by Pegasus out of Boetia into Attica, for which he afflicted them with a grievous disease that could have no cure till by the advice of the oracles they paid d.ie reverence to the god, and erected phalli to his honour ; whence the feasts and sacrifices called Phaliica were yearly celebrated among the Athenians. — The story of Priapus is too indecent, and too well known, to need recital. Should the reader wish for farther informal ion on this subject, he is referred to an extract from Diodorus Siculus, as given in the Reverend Mr. Maurice’s second volume of Indian Antiquities'. The perusal of this extract may help further to convince the reader that the old idolatry, and that of the present race of Hindoos, at least in their abominable nature, and in some of their prominent features, — arc one. i Beside the clay image of the lingu, there are two kinds of black stone lingus : these Of the gods — Shivii.'] OF THE HINDOOS. 17 are set up in the Hindoo temples.* The first is called swuyumbhoo, (the self-existent), or unadec,+ that which has no beginning. The second they call vanu-lingu, because Vanu, a king, first instituted the worship of this image. Thesestones are brought from the neighbourhood of the river Gundhiikec, w hich falls into the Ganges near Patna. The images are made by Hindoo and Musulman stone-cutters. % There is another form in which Shivii is worshipped, called Muha-kalu. This is the image of a smoke-coloured boy with three eyes, clothed in red garments. His hair stands erect; his teeth are very large; he wears a necklace of human skulls, and a large turban of his own hair; in one hand he holds a stick, and in the other the foot of a bedstead; he has a large belly, and makes a very terrific appearance. Shivu is called Muha-kalu, because he destroys all ; by which the Hindoos mean, that all is absorbed in him at last, in order to be reproduced.^; Images of this form of Shivu are not made in Bengal, but a pan of water, or an unadee-lingu, is substituted, before which bloody sacrifices are offered, and other ceremonies performed, in the month Choitru, at the new moon. Only a few persons perform this w’orship. Except before this image, bloody sacrifices are never offered to Shivu, who is himself called avoishnuvu, i. e. a worshipper of Vishnoo, before whose image no animals are slain, and whose disciples profess never to eat animal food. Under different names other images of Shivu are described in (he shastrus, but none of these images are made at present, nor is any public worship offered to them. Those who receive the name of Shivu from their spiritual guides, are called Soivy us. The mark on the forehead which these persons w ear, is composed of three curved lines • It is remarkable, that a stone image, consecrated to Venus, bore a strong resemblance to the lirgu. Of this stone it is said, that it was “ from the top to the bottom of an orbicular figure, a little broad beneath ; the circum- ference was small, and sharpening toward tl.e top like a sugar-leaf. H;e reason unknown.” t At the time of a great drought, the Hindoos after perfuming its worship, throw very large quantities of w a. ter upon this unadee-lingu, in order to induce Shivu to give them rain. t Some say Saturn received his name because he was satisfied with tLe years he devoured. S..turr. was also represented as devouring his children and vomiting them up again. c 28 HISTORY, LITERATURE, and RELIGION, [Part hi. Chap. r. like a half-moon, to which is added a round dot on the nose. 1 t is made either with the clay of the Ganges, or with sandal wood, or the ashes of cow-dung. Worship is performed daily at the temples of the Lingu ; when offerings of various kinds are presented to this image. If the temple belong to a shoodni, a bramhun is em- ployed, who receives a small annual gratuity, and the daily offerings.* These ceremo- nies occupy a few minutes, or half an hour, at the pleasure of the worshipper. Many persons living in Bengal employ bramhuns at Benares to perform the worship of the lingu in temples which they have built there. Every year, in the month Phalgoonu, the Hindoos make the image of Shivu, and worship it for one day, throwing the image the next day into the water. This wor- ' ship is performed in the night, and is accompanied with singing, dancing, music, feast- ing, &c. The image worshipped is either that of Shivu with five faces, or that with one face. In the month JVIaghu also a festival in honour of Shivu is held for one dfty, when the image of this god sitting on a bull, with Parvutee on his knee, is worshipped. This form of Shivu is called Huru-Gouree.t In the month Choitru an- abominable festival in honour of this god is celebrated ; when many Hindoos assuming the name of sunyasees, inflict on themselves the greatest cruelties. Some of the chief sunyasees purify themselves for a month previously to these ceremonies, by going to some celebrated temple or image of Shivu, and there eating on- ly once a day, abstaining from certain gratifications, repeating the name of Shivu, danc- ing before his image, &c. Other sunyasees perform these preparatory ceremonies for fifteen and others for only ten days ; during which time parties of men and boys dance in the streets, having their bodies covered with ashes, &c. and a long piece of false hair mixed with mud wrapped round the head like a turban. A large drum accompanies each party, making a horrid din. On the first day of the festival, these sunyasees cast themselves from a bamboo stage *The shaslrus prohibit the bramhuns from receiving the offerings presenter! to Shivu : the reason I have not dis- covered. The bramhuns, however, contrive to explain the word6 of the sliastrn in such a maimer, as to secure the greater part of the things presented to this idol. ♦ HO1"' is O'” name of Shivu, and Gouree that of Doorga. Qf the gods — Shiva. ~\ &¥ THE HINDOOS.. 19 with three resting places, the highest about twenty feet from the ground. From this height these persons cast themselves on iron spikes stuck in bags of straw. These spikes are laid in a reclining posture, and when the person falls they almost constantly fall down instead of entering his body. There are instances however of persons being kil- led, and others wounded, but they are very rare. A few years ago, a person at Kidur- pooru, near Calcutta, cast himself on a knife used in cleaning fish, which entered his side, and was the cause of his death. He threw himself from the stage twice on the same day, the second time, (which was fatal) to gratify a prostitute with whom he liv- ed.— In some villages, several of these stages are erected, and as many as two or three hundred people cast themselves on these spikes, in one day, in the presence of great crowds of people. The worshippers of Shivu make a great boast of ike power of their god in preserving his followers in circumstances of such danger. The next day is spent in idleness, the sunyasees lying about Shivii’s temple, and wandering about like persons half drunk, or jaded with revelling. On the following day, a large fire is kindled opposite Shivii’s temple, and when the burnt wood lias been formed into a great heap, one of the chief sunyasees, with a bunch of canes in his hand, flattens the heap a little, and w alks over it with his feet bare. After him, the other sunyasees spread the fire about, walk across it, dance upon it, and then cast the embers into the air and at each other. The next morning early the work of piercing file tongues and sides commences : In the year 1S06 I went to Kalee-ghatu, in company with two or three friends, to wit- ness these practices ; at which place we arrived about five o’clock in the morning. We overtook numerous companies who were proceeding thither, having with them drums and other instruments of music, also spits, canes, and different articles to pierce their tongues and sides. Some with tinkling rings on their ancles were danc- ing and exhibiting indecent gestures as they passed along, while others rent the air with the sounds of their filthy songs. As we entered the village where the temple of this great goddess is situated, the crowds were so great that we could with diffi- culty get our vehicles along, and at last were completely blocked up. We then alighted, and went amongst the crowd. But who can describe a scene like this ? — •C2 20 HISTORY, LITERATURE, and RELIGION, [Part hi. Chap, i Here, men of all ages, who intended to have their tongues pierced, or their sides bored, were baying garlands of flowers to hang round their necks, or tie round their heads— there, others were carrying their offerings to the goddess ; above the heads of the crowd were seen nothing but the feathers belonging to the great drums, and the instruments of torture which each victim was carrying in his hand. These wretched slaves of superstition were distinguished from others by the quantity of oil rubbed on their bodies, and by streaks and dots of mud all over them ; some of the chief men belonging to each company were covered with ashes, or dressed in a most fan- tastic manner, like the fool among mountebanks. For the sake of low sport, some were dressed as English women, and others had on a hat to excite the crowd to laugh at Europeans. As soon as we could force our way, we proceeded to the temple of Kalee, where the crowd, inflamed to madness, almost trampled upon one another, to obtain a sight of the idol, W e went up to the door-way, when a bramhun, who was one of the owners of the idol, addressed one of my companions in broken English : Money — monej' — for black mother.” My friend, not much liking the looks of his black mother, declared he should give her nothing. From this spot we went into the temple-yard, where two or three blacksmiths had begun the work of piercing the tongues and boring the sides of these infatuated disciples of Shivu. The first man seemed reluctant to hold out his tongue, but the blacksmith, rubbing it with some- thing like flour, and having a piece of cloth betwixt his fingers, laid firm hold, dragged it out, and, placing his lancet under it in the middle, pierced it through, and let the fellow go. The next person whose tongue we saw cut, directed the blacksmith to cut it on a contrary side, as it had been already cut twice. This man seemed to go through the business of having his tongue slit with perfect sangfroid. The company of natives were entirely unmoved, and the blacksmith, pocketing the trifling fee given by each for whom he did this favour, laughed at the sport. ] could not help asking, whether they w ere not punishing these men for lying.— After seeing the operation performed on one or two more, we went to another group, where they were boring the sides. The first we saw undergoing this operation was a boy who might be twelve or thirteen years old, and who had been brought thither by his elder brother to submit to this cruelty. A thread rubbed with clarified butter was drawn through the skin on each side with a kind of lancet having an eye like a needle. lie did not flinch, but hung by his hands over the shoulders of his brother. Op the gods — OF THE HINDOOS. 21 1 asked a man who had just had his sides bored, why he did this ? lie said he had made a vow to Kalee at a time of dangerous illness, and was now performing this vow. A bye-stander added, it was an act of holiness, or merit. Passing from this group, we saw a man dancing backwards and forwards with two canes run through his sides as thick as a man’s little finger. In returning to Calcutta we saw many with things of different thicknesses thrust through their sides and tongues, and several with the pointed handles of iron shovels, containing fire, sticking in their sides. Into this fire every nowand then they threw Indian pitch, which for the moment blazed very high. I saw one man whose singular mode of self-torture struck me much : his breast, arms, and other parts of his body, were entirely covered with pins, as thick as nails or packing needles. This is called vanu-phora.* The person had made a vow to Shivu thus to pierce his body, praying the god to remove some evil from him. Some sunyasees at this festival put swords through the holes in their tongues, others spears, others thick pieces of round iron, which they call arrows. Many, as a bravado, put other things through their tongues, as living snakes, bamboos, ramrods, &c. Others, to excite the attention of the crowd still more, procure images of houses, gods, temples, &c. and placing them on a single bamboo, hold them up in their hands, and put the bamboo through their tongues. In 1805, at Calcutta, a few base fellows made a bamboo stage, placed a prostitute upon it, and carried her through the streets, her paramour accompanying them, having one of her ancle ornaments in the slit of his tongue. Another year a man put his finger through the tongue of another person, and they went along dancing and making indecent gestures together. Others put bamboos, ropes, canes, the stalk of a climbing plant, the long tube ofthehoo- ka, &c. through their sides, and rubbing these things with oil, while two persons go be- fore and two behind to hold the ends of the things which have been passed through the sides, they dance backwards and forwards, making indecent gestures. These people pass through the streets with these marks of self-torture upon them, followed by crowds of idle people. They are paid by the towns or villages where these acts are performed, and a levy is made on the inhabitants to defray the expense. On the evening of this Piercing with arrows, 2? HISTORY, LITERATURE, and RELIGION, [Part hi. Chap. t. day some siinyasees pierce the skin of their foreheads, and place a rod of iron in it as a socket, and on this rod Listen a lamp, which is kept burning all night. The persons bearing these lamps sit all night in or near Shivii’s temple, occasionally calling upon this god by different names. On the same evening, different parties of sunyasees hold conversations respecting Shivu in verse. On the following day, in the afternoon, the ceremony called Churukii, or the swing- ing by hooks fastened in the back, isperformed. The posts are erected in some open place in the town or suburbs. They are generally fifteen, twenty, or twenty -five cubits high. In some places a kind of worship is'paid at the foot of the tree to Shivu, when two pi- geons arc let loose, or slain. In other parts, i. e. in the neighbourhood of Calcutta, the worship of Shivu is performed at his temple, after which the crowd proceed to the swinging posts, and commence the horrid work of torture. The man who is to swing prostrates himself before the tree, and a person, with his dusty fingers, makes a mark where the hooks are to be put. Another person immediately gives him a smart slap on the back, and pinches up theskinhard with his thumband lingers ; while another thrusts the hook through, taking hold of about an inch of the skin ; the other hook is then in like manner put through the skin of the other side of the back, and the man gets up on his feet. As he is rising, some water is thrown in his face. He then mounts on a man’s back, or is elevated in some other way, and the strings which are attached to the hooks in his back are tied to the rope at one end of the horizontal bamboo, and the rope at the other end is held by several men, who, drawing it down, raise up the end on which the man swings, and by their running round with the rope the machine is turned. In swinging, the man describes a circle of about thirty feet diameter. Some swing only a few minutes, others half an hour or more. I have heard of men who continued swinging for hours. In the southern parts of Bengal a piece of cloth is wrapt round the body underneath the hooks, lest the flesh should tear and the wretch fall and be dashed to . pieces, but the, whole weight of the body rests on the hooks. Some of these persons take the wooden pipe, and smoak while swinging, as though insensible of the least pain. Others take up fruit in their hands, and either cat it or throw it among the crowd. I have heard of a person’s having a monkey’s .collar run into his hinder parts,* in which state the man and the monkey whirled At KidiirpooriS. Of the cods — Shivu.'] OF TIIE HINDOOS. 23 round together. On one occasion, in the north of Bengal, a man took a large piece of wood in his mouth, and swung for a considerable time without any cloth round his body to preserve him should the flesh of his back tear. On some occasions these sun- yasees have hooks run through their thighs as well as backs. About the year 1S00 five W077iet? swung in this manner, with hooks through their backs and thighs, at Kii durpoorunear Calcutta. It is not very uncommon for the flesh to tear, and the person to fall : instances are related of such persons perishing on the spot. A few years ago a man fell from the post at Kidiirpooru, while whirling round with great rapidity; and, falling on a poor woman who was selling parched rice, killed her on the spot : the man died the next day. At a village near Bujbuj, some years since, the swing fell, and broke a man’s leg. The man who was upon it, as soon as he was loosed ran to another tree, was drawn up, and whirled round again, as though nothing had hap- pened. I have heard of one man’s swinging three times in one day on different trees r and a bramhun assured me, that he had seen four men swing on one tree ; while sn ing- ing, this tree was carried round the field by the crowd. On the day of swigning, in some places, a sunyasee is laid before the temple of Shivu as dead, and is afterwards carried to the place where they burn the dead. Here they read many incantations and perform certain ceremonies, after which the (sup- posed) dead sunyasee arises, when they dance around him, proclaiming the name of Shivu. The next morning the sunyasees go to Shivu’s temple, and perform worship to him, when they take off the poita which they had worn during the festival. On this day, they beg, or take from their houses, a quantity of rice, and other things, which they make into a kind of frumenty, in the place where they burn the dead. These things they offer, with some burnt fish, to departed ghosts. Each day of the festival the sunyasees worship the sun, pouring water, flowers, &c. on a clay image of the alligator, repeating muntrus. These horrid ceremonies are said to derive their origin from a king named Vanu, 24 HISTORY, LITERATURE, ano RELIGION, [Part hi. Chap. i. whose history is related in the Muhabharutu. This work says, that Vane, in the month Choitru, instituted these rites, and inflicted a number of the cruelties here de- tailed on his own body, viz. he mounted the swing, pierced his tongue and sides, danced on fire, threw himself on spikes, &c. At length he obtained an interview with Shiva, who surrounded his palace with a w all of fire, and promised to appear when- ever he should stand in need of his assistance. Those w ho perform these ceremonies at present, expect that Shivu will bestow upon them some blessing either in this life or in the next. Doorga is the w ife of Shivu. This goddess is known under other names, as Bhiigu- viitee, Sutee, Parvutee, &c. In one age Shivu was married to Sutee, the daughter of king Duksliu, and in another to the same goddess under the name of Parvutee, the daughter of the mountain Ilimaluyu ; hence she is the mountain-goddess. When Doorga was performing religious austerities to obtain Shivu in marriage, the latter was so moved that he appeared to her, and enquired why she was thus employ- ed ? She was ashamed to assign the reason, but her attendants replied for her. He, in jest, reproved her, observing that people performed religious austerities to obtain something valuable ; in the article of marriage they desired a person of a good family, but he (Shivu) had neither father nor mother ; — or a rich person, but he had not a garment to wear ; — or a handsome person, but he had three eyes. When Shivu w as about to be married to Parvutee, her mother and the neighbours treated the god in a very scurrilous manner: the neighbours cried out, u Ah ! ah! ah ! This image of gold, this most beautiful damsel, the greatest beauty in the three worlds, to be given in marriage to such a fellow — an old fellow with three eyes ; w ithout teeth ; clothed in a tyger’s skin ; covered with ashes ; incircled with snakes ; wearing a necklace of human bones; with a human skull in his hand ; with a filthy juta (viz. a bunch of hair like a turban), twisted round his head ; who chews intoxicating drugs ; has inflamed eyes ; rides naked on a bull, and wanders about like a madman. Ah! Of THE GODS — S//ll>!<.] OF THE HINDOOS. 2i they have thrown this beautiful daughter into the river !”* — In this manner the neigh- bours exclaimed against the marriage, till Narudu, who had excited the disturbance, interfered, and the wedding was concluded. A number of stories are related in some of the Hindoo books of an inferior order, res- pecting the quarrels of Shivuand Parvutee, occasioned by the revels of the former, and the jealousy of the latter. These quarrels resemble those of J upitcr and J uno. Other stories are told of Shiva’s descending to the earth in the form of a mendicant, for the preservation of some one in distress ; to perform religious austerities, &c. Skivu is said, in the pooranus, to have destroyed Kuiidiirpu (Cupid) for interrupt- ing him in his devotions, previous to his union with Doorga. We find, however, the god of love restored to existence, after a lapse of ages, under the name of Prud- yooranu, when he again obtained his wife Rutee. After his marriage with the moun- tain goddess, Shivii on a certain occasion offended his father-in-law, king Dukshu, by refusing to bow to him as he entered the circle in which the king was sitting. To be revenged, Dukshu refused to invite Shivii to a sacrifice which he was about to perform. Sutee, the king’s daughter, however, was resolved to go, though uninvited and forbid- den by her husband. On her arrival Dukshu poured a torrent of abuse on Shivii, which affected Siitee so much that she died.t When Shivu heard of the loss of his beloved wife, he created a monstrous giant, whom he commanded to go and destroy Dukshu, and put an end to his sacrifice. He speedily accomplished this w ork, by cutting off the head of the king, and dispersing all the guests. The gods, in compassion to Duk- shu, placed on his decapitated body the head of a goat, and restored him to his fami- ly and kingdom. This god has a thousand names, among which are the following : Shivii, or, the be- * In allusion to thethrowingofdead bodies into the river. This resembles the surprize said to have been ex- cited by the marriage of Venus to the filthy and deformed Vulcan. Another very singular coincidence betivixt the European idolatry and that of the Hindoos is furnished by the story of Vulcan and Minerva and that respecting S-.ivi •nd Mohirtee as given in the RIarkfind6yu pooranh ; but which 1 have suppressed on account of its offensive nature, t In reference to this mark of strong attachment, a Hindoo widow burning with her husband on tLe funeral pile is called Sitee. D 25 HISTORY, LITERATURE, axd RELIGION, [Part hi. Chap. i. Jiefactor. Muheshwuru, the great gocl.* Eeshwuru, the glorious god. Chundru- sbekiiru, he whose forehead is adorned with a half-moon. Bhooteshu, he who is lord of the bhootus.t Mriru, he who purifies. Mrityoonjuyu, he who conquers death. Krittivasa, he who wears a skin. Oogru, the furious. Shree-kuntu, he whose throat is beautiful 4 Kupalubhrit, he whose alms’ dish is a skull. ^ Smuru-huru,,the destroyer of the god of love. Tripoorantukii, he who destroyed Tripooru an usoorij. Gungadhuru, he who caught the goddess Gunga in his hair. || Vrishu-dwuju, he whose standard is a bull.* Shoolee, he who wields the trident, t St’hanoo, the everlasting. Shurvu, he who is every thing. Gireeshfi, lord of the hills, he who dwells on the hills, c - . . ' . • ' - . . , • . _ . i 1 1 ■ The following account of the heaven of Shivu is translated from the work called Krityu-tutwu. This heaven, which is situated on mount Koilasu, and called Shivu- pooru, is ornamented with many kinds of gems and precious things, as pearls, coral, * The phndits give proofs from theshastrSs, in which Shivu is-acknowledged to be the greatest of the gods, or M3- ha-devo : from Muha, great, and, devu, god. tBhootus are beingspartly in human shape, though some of them have the faces of horses, others of camels^ others of monkeys, See. Some have the bodies of horses, and the faces of m3n. Some have one leg and some two; Some have only one ear, and others only one eye. Shivu is attended by a number of these hhobtus, as Bacchus had a body of guards consisting otdruDken satyrs, demons, nymphs, See. $ After Shivu, to preserve the earth from destruction, had drank the- poison which arose out of the sea, when the gods churned it to obtain the water of immortality, he fell into a swoon, and appeared to be at the point of death, Allthe gods were exceedingly alarmed; the Ssoorus were filled with triumph, under the-expeetation that one of th* .gods, (even Shivu himself) was about to expire. The gods addressed Doorga,svho took Shivu in her arms, and began to repeat certain incantations to destroy the effects of the poison : Shivu revived. Ibis was the first time incanta- tions were used to destroy the power of poison. Though the poison did not destroy Shivu, it left a blue mark ca his throat ; and hence one of his names is Neelii-kuntu, the blue-throated. § This is Brumha’s skull. Shivu in a quarrel cut off one of Brumha’s five heads, and made an alms’ dish of it. ..Brurnha and other gods, in the character of mendicants, are represented with an earthen pot in the hand, which contains their food. This pot is called a kumunduloo; % * j] In Gunga’s descent from heaven, Shivu caught her in the bunch of hair tied at the back of his head.. • Shivu’s conduct, on the day of his marriage with Parvutee puts us in mind of Priapus. The Indian god roue through Kamu-rooph on a bull, naked, with the bride on his knee. t Here Shivu appears with Neptune’s sceptre, though I cannot find that he resembles the watery god in any ‘thing else. . 57 tfv the gods— Skh&.] . - OF THE HINDOOS. gold, silver, 8rc. . . . .Here reside gods, danimis,1 gundhurviis,2 upsuriis,3 siddhus,4 cha-*- riinus,5 bruraliurshees,6 deviirshees,7 and mukhrshees ;8 also oilier sages, as Siinalunuj Sunuikoomaru, Simirndu, Uguslyu, Ungira, Poolustyu, Pooluhu, Chitru; Angiriisu,. Goutumu, Bkrigoo, Purashurii, Bliuriidwaju, Mrikundu, M ark find eyu, Shoonushepliu, Ushtavnkrii, Dkoumyu, Valmeekee, Vushisht’hii, Doorvasa, &c. These persons con* staidly perform the worship of Ski vu and Doorga, and the upsuras are continually em- ployed in siHging, dancing, and other festivities The flowers of every season are always in bloom here : among which are, the ybothee,9 jatee,10 mullika,1 1 malutee,12 doru,,s tuguru,14 kuruveerh,15 kulharu,16 kurnikaru,17 keshurii,18 poonnagu,19 drona,20 gundhuraju,21 shephalika/2 clnimpuku,53 bkoomce-ckumpuku,21 nagu-keshuru,25 mooch ukoondii,'6 kanchunu,27 pioolee,28 jhintee,29 neelu-jhintee,30 rdktu-jhintee,31 Kudumbu,32 rSjnneegundhu,33 tmkii,34 turooldta,35 parijatu,36 &c. &c. Cool, odori- ferous and gentle winds always blow' on these flowers, and diffuse their fragrance all over the mountain. The shade produced by the parijatu tree is very cooling. This mountain also produces the following trees and fruits : shala,37 talii,38 tumalii,39 liin* tain,1*0 kurjobru,41 amru,42 jumveeru,43 goovaku,41 punusu,45 shreephulu,46 draksha,47 ingoodee,48 vutu,49 ushwut’hu,50 kupitt’hu,51 &c. A variety of birds are constantly singing here, and repeating the names of Doorga and Shivu, viz. the kaku,52 skooku,53 paravutiiy54 tiltiree,55 ckafuku,56 chasu,57 bkasii,58 kokilu,59 sarasu,60 datyooku,61 chu- kiuvaku,6- &c. &c. The waters of the heavenly Ganges (Mundakinee) glide along 1 A particular kind of giants. 2 The heavenly choiristers. 3 Dancers and courtezans. 4, 5 Cods •who act as servants to some of the other gods. 6 Sacred sages. 7 Divine sages. 8 Great sages. 9 Jasmiuum auriculatum, 10 J. grandiflorum. It J. zanibae. 12 Grertnera racemosa. 13 Unknown, 14 Tabernasmontana coronaria. 15 Neriura odorum. 16 Nyruphasa cyanca. 17 Pterospermutn acerifoliuni. 18 Mimusups elengi. 19 Rottlera tinctoria. 20 Phlomis zeylanica. 21 Gardenia florida. 22 Nyctanthesarbor tristis. 23 Michelia champaca. 24 Kempferia rotunda. 25 Mesua ferrea. 26 Pterospermum suberifolia. 27 Baubiuia (several species.) 28 Linum trigyr.um. 29 Barleria cristata. 30 Barleria coerulea. liornenesesban. 38 Erythrina fulgens, 42 Mangifera Indica, 46 /Egle marmelos, 51 Feronia elephantiurn. 56 The sparrow. 61 Tbe gallinule. 31 Barleria ciliata. 32 Nauclea orientalis. 33 The tuberose. 34 Aoschy. 35 lpomea quamoclit. 36 Phoenix paludosa. 37 Phoenix sylvestris. 59 Shorea robusta. 40 Borassus flabelliforrais. 41 Diospyrus cordi folia. 43 Tbe citron or lime tree. 44 Arcca catechu. 45 Artocarpus integrifolin. 47 The grape vine. 48‘Unknown. 49 Ficus Indica. 50 Ficus religiosa. 52 The crow. 53 The parrot. 54 The pigeon. 55 The partridge. 57 Coracias Indica. 62 Anas casarca, 58 Unknown. 59 The Indian cuckcw, 60 The Siberian crane. D2 28 HISTORY, LITERATURE, and RELIGION, [Part m. Chap. *. In purling streams. The six seasons are uninterruptedly enjoyed on this mountain, viz. Vusnntn (spring), greeshmu (summer), vursha (rainy), shiirut (sultry), shishiru (dewy), and sheetu (cold). On a golden throne, adorned with jewels, sit Shiyu and Doorga, engaged in conversation. The Slnee-bhaguvutu contains another description of the heaven of Shivu : Six- teen thousand miles from the earth, on mount Koilasu,* resides this god, in a palace of gold, adorned with jewels of all kinds. This palace is surrounded with forests, gar- dens, canals, trees laden with all kinds of fruit, flowers of every fragrance. The kul- pu tree also grows here, from which a person may obtain every kind of food and all other things he may desire. In the centre of aroodrakshuf forest, under a tree, Shivu frequently sits with his wife Parvutee. The fragrance of the parijatu flowers extends £00 miles in all directions ; and all the seasons are here enjoyed at the same time. The winds blow softly, filled with the most refreshing odours. At the extremities of this heaven southwards and northwards Shivu has fixed two gates, one of which is kept by Nundee, the other by Muha-kalu. A number of gods and other celestial beings con- stantly reside here, among whom are Kartikeyu and Guneshu, the sons of Shivu ; also the female servants of Doorga, Juya and Vijuya, eight nayikas, and sixty-four yo- ginees, with bhootiis, pisliachus, Shivii’s bull, and those disciples of Shivu (shaldus)t who have obtained beatitude. The time is spent here in the festivities and abomina-* tions of the other heavens. • Sonini, during his travels in Greece and Turkey, made a journey into ancient Macedonia, and paid a visit to mount Olympus, the abode of the gods. It was the middle oUuly when this excursion was made, and although the heat was extreme towards the base of the mountain, as well as in the plain, vast masses of snow rendered the summit inaccessible. “It is not astonishing,” says Sonini, " that the Greeks have placed the abode of the godson an eminence which mortals cannot reach.” The monks of the convent “ who have succeeded them in this great elevation,” confirmed what ha3 been sometimes disputed, the perpetual permanence of icc and snow on the top of the mountain. W ith the exception of chamois and a few hears, there are hardly any quadrupeds to be seen beyond the half of the height of Olympic. Birds also scarcely pass this limit. * Eleocarpns ganitrus. Of tuz cods — Briimha ."} OF THE HINDOOS. 29 SECTION IV. Brumha- AS has been already mentioned, Brumha, Vishnoo and Slrivu derived their exist- ence from the one Briimha. The Hindoo pundits do not admit these to be creatures, but contend that they are emanations from, or parts of, the one Brumhu. Briimha first produced the waters, then the earth, nextr from his own mind, he caus- ed a number of sages and four females to be born r among the sages was Kushyupu, the father of the gods, giants, and men. From Uditeewere born the gods; from Ditee the giants, from Kudroo the hydras, and from Vrnuta, Gurooru and UYoonu. After creat- ing these sages, w ho were of course bramhuns, Briimha caused a kshiitriyii to spring from his arms, a voishyu from his thighs, and a shoodru fi om his feet. In this order, ac- cording to the pooranus, the whole creation arose. The Hindoo shastriis, however, contain a variety of different accounts on the subject of creation. I have thought it necessary to give this brief statement, as it seems connected with the history of this god. Briimha is represented as a man with four faces, of a gold colour ; dressed in white garments ; riding on a goose. In one hand beholds a stick, and in the other a kiimiin- dfiloo, oralmsTdisk. lie is called the Grandfather (pita-muhii) of gods and men.* He is not much regarded in the reigning superstition f nor does any one adopt him as his guardian deity. The bramhuns, in their morning and evening worship, repeat an incantation con- taining a description of the image of Brumha ; at noon they perform an act of worship in honour of this god, presenting to him sometimes a single flower ; at the time of a burnt * Jupiter was called tire father and king of gods and men. HISTORY, LITERATURE, and RELIGION, [Part hi. Ckap. I. 33 offering clarified butter is presented to Briimha. In the month Maghii, at the full moon, an earthen image of this god is worshipped, with that of Shivu on his right hand, and that of Vishnoo on his left. This festival lasts only one day, and the three gods are, the next day, thrown into the river. This worship is accompanied w ith songs, dan- ces, music, &c. as at all other festivals ; but the worship of Briimha is most frequently celebrated by a number of young men of the baser sort, who defray the expences by a subscription. — Bloody sacrifices are never offered to Briimha. Briimha, notwithstanding the venerable name of grandfather, seems to be as lewd as any of the gods. At the time that intoxicating spirits were first made, all the gods, giants, gundhurvhs, yiikshus, kinnuriis, &c. were accustomed to drink spirits, and no blame was then attached to drunkenness: but one day Brurnha, in a state of intoxica- tion, made an attempt on the .virtue of his ov.'n daughter, by which he incurred the wrath of the gods. Some time afterwards, Brurnha boasted in company, that he was as great a god as Shivu. Hearing w hat Brurnha had been saying, the latter inflamed with anger was about to cutoffone of Brumha’s heads, but was prevented by the interces- sions of the assembled gods. Brurnha complained to Doorga, w ho appeased him by saying, that Shivu did not attempt to cut oft’ his head because he aspired to be greater than he, but because he (Brurnha) had been guilty of a great crime in endeavouring to seduce his daughter. Brurnha was satisfied w ith this answer, but pronounced a £urse on w hatever god, giindhurvu, or upsura should hereafter drink spirits. The above is the substance of the story as related in the Muhabharutu. The Kashee- khunduof the Skundapooranii says that Briimha lost one of his heads in the following manner : This god was one day asked by certain sages, in the presence of Krutoo, a form of Vishnoo, who was greatest, Brurnha, Vishnoo, or Shivu ? Brurnha affirmed that he was entitled to this distinction. Krutoo, as a form of Vishnoo, insisted that the superi- ority belonged to himself. An appeal was made to the vedus ; but those books declared in favour of Shivu. On hearing this verdict, Brurnha was filled with rage, and made many insulting remarks upon Shivu ; who, assuming the terrific form of Kalu-Bhoiru- ■vfi, appeared before Brurnha and Krutoo, and, receiving farther insults from Brurnha, with his nails tore off one of Brumha’s five heads. Brurnha was now thoroughly hum- bled, and with joined hands acknowledged that he was inferior to Shivu. Thus this Of the gods — B)'umha.~\ OF THE HINDOOS. 3f quarrel betwixt the three gods was adjusted ; and Shivu, the naked mendicant, was at> knowledged as Muha-devii, the great god. Brumha is also charged with stealing several calves from the herd which K rishna was feeding. This god assuming the appearance of a religious mendicant, is said to have appear- ed many times on earth for different purposes. Stories to this effect are to be found in several of the pooranus. The Miihabharutu contains the following description of the heaven of Brumha r This heaven is 800 miles long, 400 broad, and 40 high. Narudu, when attempting to describe this heaven, declared himself utterly incompetent to the task ; that he could not do it in two hundred years ; that it contained in a superior degree all that was in the other heavens ; and that whatever existed in the creation of Brumha on earth, from the smallest insect to the largest animal, was to be found here.. A scene in tlie heaven of Brumha : — Yrihiisputee, the spiritual guide of the gods, on a particular occasion, wrent to the palace of his elder brother Ootut’hyu, and became enamoured of his pregnant wife. The child in the womb reproved him. Yrihiisputee cursed the child, on which account it was born blind, and called Deerghu-tuma.* ^Yhen grown up, Deerghu-tiima followed the steps of his uncle, and from his criminal amours Goutumu and other Hindoo saints were born. Deer^hu-tuma was delivered from the curse of Yrihusputee by Yoodhist’hiru.. This god has many names, among which are the following : Brumha, or, he who multiplies [mankind]. Atmubhoo, the self-existent. Puriiniest’hee, the chief sa- crificer.t Pita-muhu, the grandfather. Himnyu-gurbhu, he who is pregnant with gold. Lokeshu, the god of mankind,, the creator. Chutoor-anunii, the four-faced* * From BeerghS, long; tuma, darkness. ila. is, as the first bramhun he performed all the great sacrifices of the Hindoo law. To every sacrifise a hramhun is necessary. 32 HISTORY, LITERATURE, and R ELIGIOtf, [Part iii. Ghap. u Dhata, the creator. Ubju-yonce, he who is bom from the water-lily. Dioohinii, lie who subdues the giants. Prujapulee, the lord of all creatures. Suvitree-putee, the ^husband of Savitree., SECT :ON V. Indru. \J9 9 INDRU is called the king of heaven, and his reign is said to continue 100 years of the gods, after which another person, from among the gods, the giants, or men, by his own merit, raises himself to this eminence. The sacrifice of a horse* one hundred times raises a person, to the rank of Indru, The Shree-bhaguviitii gives the following list of the persons who have been or will be raised to the rank of king of the gods during the present kulpu; Iluree, Rochunii, Siityu-jit, Trishikhu, Vibhoo, Muntru-droomu, and Poorunduru, the present Indru. To him will succeed Bulee, Shrootu, Shhmbhoo, Voidhritu, Gundhu-dhama, Divus-pii- tee, and Shoochee, Indru is represented as a white man, sitting on an elephant called Oiravutii, with iv thunderbolt in his right hand, and a bow in his left. He has 1C00 eyes. The worship of Indru is celebrated annually, in tbe day time, on the I4tli of the lunar month Bbadru. The usual ceremonies of worship are accompanied with sing- ing, music, dancing, &c. In Bengal the greater number of those who keep this fes- tival are women ; in whose names the ceremonies are performed by officiating bram- hiins. It lasts one day, after which the image is thrown into the river. This festival, which is accompanied by the greatest festivities, is celebrated all over Bengal ; each One repeating it annually during fourteen years. On the day of worship, a few * The horse, srr account of his usefulness iu war, was sacrificed to Mars. Or TUB GODS TrtclfiL] OF THE HINDOOS, S3 blades of doorva grass arc tied round the right arm of a man, and the left of a woman. Some persons wear Allis string, which contains fourteen knots, for a month after the festival is over. Fourteen kinds of fruits, fourteen cakes, &c. must be presented to the image. This worship is performed for the purpose of procuring riches, or a house, or a son, or pleasure, or aresidence after death in Indru’s heaven. Indrti is supposed to preside over the elements, so that in times of drought prayers are addressed to him as the giver of rain. He is also one of the ten guardian deities of the earth, and is said to preside in the east. To render the worship of any other god acceptable, it is necessary that the wor- ship of these deities be previously performed, viz. of Indrii, Ugnec, Yumu, Noiritu, Viiroonii, Puvunii, Eeshu, Ununtii, Kooverii, and Briimhaj also that of ‘ the five deities,* viz. Sooryu, Guneshu, Shiva, Doorga, and Yishnoo ; and of the nine planets, viz. Riivee., Some, Miingfilii, Boodhii, Vrihfispntee, Shookru, Shunee, Rahoo, and Ketoo. In consequence of this rule, a few ceremonies of worship are performed to lndru at the ■commencement of every festival. The pooranns and other writings contain a number of stories respecting this king of the gods, who is represented as particularly jealous lest any persons should, by the performance of sacred austerities, outdo him in religious merit, and thus obtain his kingdom. To prevent these devotees from succeeding in their object, he gene- rally sends a captivating female from his own residence to draw away their minds, and thus throw them down from the ladder of religious merit, and send them back again to a life of gratification among the delusive forms of earth. But that which en- tails the greatest infamy on the character of this god is, liis seducing the wife of his spiritual guide G autumn. This story is related in the Ramayunu as follows : c After receiving the highest honours from Prumiitee, the two descendants of Rughao, hav- ing passed the night there, went towards Mil’hila. When the sages beheld at a dis- tance the beautiful city of Junuku, they joyfully exclaimed e Excellent! excellent !* Itaghuva, seeing a hermitage in a grove of alit’hila, asked the chief ofsages, ‘ What solitary wilderness is this, O divine one? I desire to hear whose hermitage this is, beautiful, of impenetrable shade, and inhabited by sages.* Vislnvamitrii hearing E 54 HISTORY, LITERATURE, and RELIGION, [Part nr. Cua?. v. these words, in pleasing accents, thus answered the lotos-eyed Rnnui, ‘•Attend, I will inform thee whose is this hermitage, and in what manner it became solitary, cursed by the great one in his wrath. This was the sacred hermitage of the great Goutumu, adorned with trees, flowers and fruits. For many thousand years, O son of Rtighoo, did the sage remain here with Uhulya, performing sacred austerities. One day, O Ram.fi, the sage being gone far distant, the king of heaven, acquainted w ith the oppor- tunity, and sick with impure desire, assuming the habit of a sage,* thus addressed Uhulya, c The menstrual season deserves regard, + O thou ******** * * * * *. * ********************** *********************** * * * * * * *# This depraved woman, O afHicter of enemies, knowing Shiikni,^; in the disguise of a sage, through wantouness consented, he being king of the gods. The chief of the gods having perpetrated his crime, she thus addressed him, ‘ O chief of gods, thou hast accomplished thy design, speedily depart unobserved. O sovereign of the gods, effectually preserve thyself and me from Goutumii. ’ Indr i smiling, replied to Uhulya, c O beautiful one, I am fully pleased ; I will depart ; forgive my transgres- sion.’ After this, he, O Ramu, witli much caution, left the hermitage, dreading (he wrath of Goutumu. At that instant he saw Goutumu enter, resplendent with energy, and, through the power of sacred austerities, invincible t ven to the gods :|] wet with the waters of the sacred teeit’hu,§ as the fire moistened with clarified butter,* lie saw him coming to the hermitage, laden with sacrificial wood, and t he sacred kooshii. Per- ceiving him, Slmkrii was overwhelmed with sadness. The sage clothed in virtue, be- * That is, the habit ofGoutama. This resembles Jupiter’s seducing Alcmena, the wife of Amphytrion, in her husband’s absence, in the likeness of Ampliytrion. t ' According to the shastrus, sixteen days from the appearance of the menses breckened the menstrual sea- son. AfW connubial, intercourse is forbidden during the first threeof these day>. The guilt incurred by a violation of ibis rule, on the first day is equal to that ot a criminal connection with a female cliundala, on the second day equal to the same act with a washerwoman, and on the third to the sa ue act with a lemaie shoodru, | A name of Indru,. signifying strength. || The Hindoos believe that the merit of works is such as to be sufficient to raise a person higher than the gods themselves. $ Taerl’hus are certain places esteemed peculiarly sacred by the Hindoos. Bathkig in these places is reck- oned highly meritorious. * That is, the fire of the burn! offering. OF TIIE HINDOOS. Or TU2 gobs — Indnu] 3V holding the profligate lord of the gods in the disguise of a sage, in dreadful anger thus addressed him : fO profligate wretch, assuming my form thou hast perpetrated this crime : therefore become an eunuch.’ At the word of the magnanimous and angry Gou- tumu, the thousand-eyed god instantly became an eunuch. Deprived of manly energy , and rendered an eunuch by the anger of the devout sage, he, full of agonizing pain, was overcome with sorrow.* The great sage, having cursed him, pronounced a curse upon his own wife : ‘ Innumerable series of years, O sinful wretch, of depraved heart, thou, enduring excessive pain, abandoned, lying constantly in ashes, invisible to all creatures, shalt remain in this forest. When Kamu, the-son of DushuriilTiu, shall en- ter this dreadful forest, thou, beholding him, shalt be cleansed from thy sin. Having, O stupid wretch 1 entertained him without selfish views, thou, filled with joy, shalt again approach me without fear.’ Having thus addressed this wicked woman, the illustrious Go u tumu, the great ascetic, abandoned this hermitage, and performed au- sterities on the pleasant top of Himuvuf, frequented by the siddhus and charunus.’t Indru was also guilty of stealing a horse consecrated by king Siigurii, who was about to perform, for the hundredth time, the sacrifice of this animal. Indru, though king of the gods, has been frequently overcome in war : Meghu- nadu.j; the son of Ravunu, the giant, once overcame him, and tied him to the feet of his horse. On condition of releasing the king of the gods, Brumlia conferred on Meghii-nadii the name Iudrii-jit, that is, the conqueror of Indru. lie was called Meghii-nadii because he fought behind a cloud (meghii), and this enabled him to overcome Indru, who, in the engagement, was unable to see him, though lie had a thou- sand eyes. Kusliyupu, the sage, once performed a great sacrifice, to which all the gods were invited. Indru, on his way to the feast, saw CO, 000 dwarf bramhuns trying in vain i » * Other accounts say, (hat Goutuma imprinter] a thousand female marks upon hint as proofs of his crime, and t'aat Indru was so ashamed, that he petitioned Goutumfi to deliver him from his disgrace. The sage, therefore, changed these marks into eyes, and hence Indru became the thousand-eyed god. t Carey and Marshman’s translation of the ttarr.ayunu, to!. }, pag3 435. t This word signifies thunder. E 2 38 HISTORY, LITERATURE, and RELIGION, [Part itu Cuap. *. to cross a cow’s footstep which was filled with water ; and had the misfortune to laugh at these pigmies, at which they were so incensed, that they resolved to make a new Indru, who should conquer him and take away his kingdom. Indrii was so frighten- ed at these CO, 000 pigmy bramhuns, who could not get over a cow's footstep, that he entreated Briimha to interfere, who saved him from their wrath, and continued him. oil his throne. Description of Umuravulte , the residence of Indr u, from the Muhabharulu : This hea- ven was made by Vishwu-kurma, the architect of the gods. It is 800 miles in circum- ference, and 40 miles high; its pillars are composed of diamonds.; all its elevated seats* beds, &c. are of gold ; its palaces are also of gold. It is so ornamented with all kinds of precious stones, jasper, chrysolite, sapphire, emeralds, &c. &c. that it exceeds in splen- dour the brightness of twelve suns united. It is surrounded with gardens and forest* containing among other trees the parijatu, the fragrance of the flowers of w hich exteuda 800 miles, that is, fills the whole heaven.* In the pleasure grounds are pools of wa- ter, warm in winter and cold in summer, abounding with fish, water-fowl, water-lilies, &c. the landing places of which are of gold. All kinds of trees and flowering shrubs abound in these gardens. The winds are most refreshing, never boisterous ; and the heat of the sun is never oppressive. Gods, sages, upsuras, kinnurus, siddhiis, saddhyus, de- vurshees, brumhurshees, rajiirshees, Vrihiisputee, Shookrii, Shanee, Boodku, the winds, clouds, Oiraviitii, (Indru’s elephant), and other celestial be mgs, dwell in this heaven. The inhabitants are continually entertained w ith songs, dances, music, and every spe- cies of mirth. Neither sickness, sorrow, nor sudden death, are found in these re- gions, nor are its inhabitants affected with hunger or thirst. When the god Narudfi was sitting in an assembly of princes at king Voodhist'hiiu’s, the latter asked him whe- ther he had ever seen so grand a scene before. Narudii, after some hesitation, declar- ed he had beheld a scene far more splendid in ludrii's heaven, of which he then gave the above account ; but confessed that the place exceeded all Iris powers of descrip- tion. A scene in Indru' s heaven On a certain occasion an assembly of the gods was held in this place, at which, beside the gods, Nariidii and the rishees, the gunus, dukshus, * It is a curious fact, that though this flower is so ce'ebrated in the pooranus for its fragrance, it has no scent at all. Or Tin: gods — Indru.] OF TIIE HINDOOS. 37 gundhurvus. &c. were present. While the courtezans were dancing, and the kinnuriis •inging, the whole assembly was filled with the highest pleasure. To crown their joys, the gods caused a shower of flowers to fall an the assembly. The king of tha gods, being the most distinguished personage present, first took up a flower, and, after holding it to his nose, gave it to a bramhun. The assembled gods laughing at the bramhun for receiving what Indrfi had used, he went home in disgrace ; but curs- ed Indru, and doomed him to become a cat in the house of a person of the lowest cast. Suddenly, and unknown ta all, he fell from heaven, and became a cat in the house of a hunter. After he had been absent eight or ten days, Shuchee,. his wife, became very anxious, and sent messengers every where ta enquire for her husband. The gods also said among themselves, ‘What is became of Indru ? — A total silence reigns in his pa- lace, nor are we invited to the dance and the usual festivities ! What can be the mean- ing of this ?r — All search was in vain ; and the gads assembled to enquire where he was ? They found Shuchee in a state of distraction, of w hom Briimha enquired respecting the lost god. At length Briimha closed his eyes, and by the power of meditation discover- ed that Indru,. having offended a bramhiin,had become a cat. Shuchee, full of alarm, asked Briimha what she was to do T lie told her lo-go to the house of the bramhun, and obtain his favour, upon which her husband would be restored to her. Shuchee obeyed the directions of Briimha, and went to the house of the bramhun, who was at length pleased with her attentions, and ordered her to descend to the earth, and go to the house of the hunter, whose wife would tell her what to do that her husband might be restor- ed to his throne in heaven. Assuming a human form, she w ent !o the house of the hun- ter, and, looking at the cat, sat weeping. The wife of the hunter, struck wi;h the di- vine form of Shuchee, enquired w ith surprize who shewms. Shuchee hesitated, and expressed her doubts whether the hunter’s wife would believe her if she declared her real name. At lengthsheconfessed who she was, and, pointing to the cat, declared that that was her husband, Indru, the king of heaven ! The hunter’s wife, petrified with astonishment, stood speechless. Sh chee, after some farther discourse, said, she had been informed that she (the hunter’s wife) alone could assist her in obtaining the deli- verance of her husband. After some moments of reflection, this woman diiected Shu- chee to perform the Kalika-vriitii. She obeyed ; and poor Indru, quitting the form cf the cat, ascended to heaven, and resumed his place among thegods. No doubt he took care iu future not to offend a bramhun. 3* HISTORY, LITERATURE, and RELIGION, [Part iii. Chap.*. Another scene in the heaven of Jndrh, from the Shree-hhaguvutu. — On a certain oc« casion, the heavenly courtezans and others were dancing before the gods, when Indrw was so charmed with the dancing, and the person of Oorvushee, one of the courtezans, that he did not perceive when his spiritual guide Yrihusputee entered the assembly, and neglected to pay him the usual honours* Yrihusputee was so incensed at this, that he arose and left the assembly. The gods, perceiving the cause, in the ut- most consternation,* went to India, and made him acquainted with what had passed. The latter intreated the gods to join him in seeking for the enraged Yrihusputee ; but the spiritual guide had., by the power of yogu, rendered himself invisible. At last they found the angry gooroo in his own house, and the gods joining their petitions to those of I ndrii entreated that the offence might be forgiven. Yrihusputee declared that he had for ever rejected Indru, and that his resolution would not be changed. In- dio, offended that for so small an offence he should be so harshly treated, declar- ed that he would make no farther concessions, but seek another religious guide. The gods approved of his resolution, and advised him to choose Yishwu-roopii, a giant with three heads. In process of time, at the suggestion of his mother, Yish- wu-roopii began a sacrifice to procure the increase of the power of the giants, the natural enemies of the gods. Indru heard of this, and, hurling his thunders on the head of the faithless priest, destroyed him in an instant. The father of Yisli- wu-roopu heard of his son’s death, anil, by the merit of a sacrifice, gave birth to a giant, at the sight of whom indru ffed to Briimha, who informed the king of the gods that this giant could not be destroyed by all his thunders unless he could persuade Dudheechee, a sage, to renounce life, and give him one of his bones. The sage consented, and by the power of yoga renounced life ; when Vishwukurma made this bone into a thunder-bolt, and the giant was destroyed. But immediately on his death, a terrific monster arose from the body to punish Indio for his bramhunicide. Wher- ever the king of the gods fled, this monster followed him with his mouth open, ready to swallow him up, till Indru took refuge in a place where the monster could not ap- proach him; however lie sat down, and watched the trembling culprit. After some time the gods began to be alarmed : there was no king in heaven, and every thingwas falling into complete disorder. After consultation, they raised to the throne of hea- * A Hindoo considers the anger of his spiritual guide as the greatest possible misfortune. Of the god* — Inch'd.} OF THE HINDOOS. 39 yen, in his bodily state, Nuhooshii, who had performed the sacrifice of a horse one hundred times. When Nuhooshii enquired for Shuchee, the queen of heaven, he found she was in the parijutu forest. He sent for her ;.but she declared she would not come, as he had a human and not a divine body. The messengers remonstrated with her, but she fied to Brumha, who advised her to send word to the new Iudrii, that she would live with him, if he would come and fetch her with an equipage superior to whatever had been seen before in heaven. This message was conveyed to the new Indru, who received it with much joy, but took several days to consider in what way he should go- to fetch home the queen. At last, he resolved to becarried to her in the arms of some of the principal sages. As the procession was moving along, tire king, in his excessive anxiety to arrive at the parijatu forest, kicked the sacred lock of a hair on the head of Ugustyu, who became filled with rage, and, pronouncing a dreadful curse on the new Indru, threw him down, and he fell, in tire form of a snake, upon a mountain on the earth. — Vishnoo, preceiving that one Indru was kept a prisoner, and that another had been cursed and sent down to the earth, resolved to find a remedy for this evil , and cursing the monster who had imprisoned the former king of the gods, re~ storedhim to his throne and kingdom.. Another scene in Indrids heaven , from the Muliabharutu : — Narudu one day called at Krishna’s, having with him a parijatu flower from the heaven of Indru. The fra- grance of this flower filled the whole place with its odours. Narudu first called on Rookmiuee, one of Krishna’s wives, and offered the flower to her. She recommend- ed him to give it to Krishna, that he might dispose of it as he chose. He next went to Krishna, who received him with great respect : £ Welt— Narudu — you are come after a long absence : What flower is (hat ? ‘ Can’t you tell by its fragrance V said Narudu, c It is the parijatu : I brought it from Indru’s garden ; and I now pre- sent it to you.’ Krishna received it with pleasure, and, after some further conver- sation, Narudu retired into another part of the house and watched Krishnu, to see to which of his wives he would give this flower, that lie might excite a quarrel in Krishna’s family, and ultimately a war betwixt Krishnu and Indiiu Krishnu, after Narudu had retired, went to Rookminee, and gave the flower to her, warning her to keep it secret, lest Sutya-bhama (another of Krishna’s wives) should hear of it. As soon as Narudu saw to whom Krishna had given the flower, he paid a visit to 40 niSTORY, LITERATUR E, AND RELIGI ON, 1_Part hi. Chap. i. Siityu-bharaa : she received him with great attention, and, after the first compli- ments were over, Narndti fetched a deep sigh, which Sutyii-bhama noticing, enquir- ed the cause. He seemed to answer with reluctance, which made Sutyii-bhama still more inquisitive. He then acknowledged that his sorrow was on her account. Her anxiety was now inflamed to the highest degree, and she begged him to tell her without delay what he meant. 4 1 have always considered you,* says Nariidu, 4 as the moat be- loved wife of Krishnu. The fame of your happiness has reached heaven itself; but from what I have seen to-day, I suspect that this is all mistake.* 4 Why ? — Why f * asked Sutyii-bhama most anxiously. Nurudu then unfolded to her, in (he most cautious manner, the story of the flower : 4 1 brought from heaven,’ says he, 4 a parijatu flower ; a flower which is not to be obtained on earth, and gave it to Krish- na. I made no doubt but he would present it to you ; to whom else should he pre- sent it ? But instead of that he went secretly to the apartments of Bookminee, ;:nd gave the flower to her. Where then is his love to you?* — Siityu-bhama asked what kind of flower this was Nariidu declared that it was not in his power tode- , scribe it. 4 Do you not perceive,1* said he, 4 its odours ?* 4 1 perceived,’ said Siit- yu-bhama, ‘the most delightful fragrance, but I thought it was from your body.’ Nariidu declared that his boJy was offensive, and that it was the parijatu that dif- fused its odours all around. ‘But,* says lie, 4 when you see Krishna, ask him to let you look at it.’ 4 And do you think then,* said Sutyii-bhama, 4 that I shall speak to Krishna, or see his face, any morel’ — ‘You are riglY,’ said Nariidii : 4 he did not even let you see so precious a jewel ; but secretly gave it to another.’ — - The enraged Siifyii-bbama made the most solemn protestations that she had done with Krishnii for ever. Nariidu praised her for her resolution, but hinted, that if she •ever did make up the matter with Krishna, she should insist upon his fetching one of the trees from heaven, and giving it to her. Nariidii having thus laid the founda- tion of a dreadful quarrel betwixt Krishna and his wife, and of a war with Indrh, withdrew, and Sdtyu-bhama retired to the house of anger.* Some days after this, Krishna went to see Siityii-bhamn, but could not find her; on asking the ser- vants, they told him that she had on some account retired to the house of anger. Not being able to discover the cause, he went to her, and made use of every southing ex- * A house let apart fur an angry wife, where t,be retires till her husband reconcile* liimielf to her. Or tue cods — Indru .] OF TIIE HINDOOS, 41 pression ; but in vain. At last be threw himself at her feet, when, after many entrea- ties, she consented to be reconciled, on condition that he should fetch one of the trees from heaven, and plant it in her garden. This he engaged to do, and sent Guroo- ru to Indru with his respects : but commissioned Gurooru in case of refusal to threaten him with war ; and if this did not avail, to add that Krishna would come and trample on the body of his queen, overturn his throne, and take the tree from him by force. Neither the entreaties nor threats of Krishna moved Indru; who, on the contrary, sent him a defiance. Krishna, on the return of Gurooru, collected his forces, and invaded heaven. Dreadful havock was made on both sides. All the heavens were in a state of frightful uproar ; and the gods, full of alarm, advised Indru to submit, as he would certainly be overcome. At length Krishna let fly a weapon called Soodurshunu, which pursued the foe wherever he went. The gods again exhorted Indru to sue for peace, to prevent his immediate destruction : he at length took this advice, and submitted to the enraged Krishnu, svho carried off the tree in triumph, and appeased his jealous wife Sutyubhama. The following are some of the names of this god : Indru, or, the glorious. — Muroo- twan, he who is surrounded by the winds. — Paku-shasunu, he who governs the gods with justice. — Pooroohootu, he who was invited to a sacrifice performed by king Poo- roo. — Pooriindura, he who destroys the dwellings of his enemies. — Jishnoo, the con- queror.— Shukru, he who is equal to every thing. — Shutumunyoo, he who perform- ed a hundred sacrifices. — Divusputee, the god of the heavens. — Gotrubhid, he who dipt the wings of the mountains.* — Biijree, he who w'ields the thunder-bolt, t — Vri- truha, he who destroyed the giant Vritru. — Vrisha, the holy. — Sooru-putee, the king of the gods. — Biilaratee, the destroyer of Bulu, a giant. — Hurihuyu, he who is drawn by yellow horses. — Numoochisoodunu, the destroyer of Numoochce, a giant. — Sun- krundunu, he who causes the wives of his enemies to weep. — Toorashat, he who is It is said, that formerly the mountains bod wing.', and that they flew into all parts of the earth and crushed to atoms towns, cities, &c. 1 In this Indio resembles Jupiter Fulmfnator. F 42 HISTORY, LITERATURE, and RELIGION, [Part iii. Chap, if able to bear all things.— Meghu-vahunii, he who rides on the clouds.— Suhusrakshu, he who has a thousand eyes.* SEC l ION VI. Suori/uA THIS cod is said to be the son of Kushyupii, the progenitor of gods and men. lie is represented as a dark-red man, w ith three eyes, and four arms ; in two hands he holds the water-lily ; with another he is bestowing a blessing, and with the other for* bidding fear. He sits on a red water-lily, and rays of glory issue from his body. The bramhuns consider Sooryii as one of the greatest of the gods, because in glory he resembles the one Briunhu, who is called (ejomuyu, or the glorious. In the vedus also this god is much noticed : the celebrated incantation called thegayiitree, and ma- ny of the forms of meditation, prayer, and praise, used in the daily ceremonies of the bramhuns, are addressed to him. He is at present worshipped daily by the bramhuns, when flowers, water, &c. are oIFered, accompanied with incantations. On a Sunday, at the rising of the sun, in any month, but especially' in the month Maghu, a number of persons, chiefly w omen, perform the w orship of Sobryu. I shall give an account of this w orship in the words of a respected friend : £ The sun is annually worshipped on the first Sunday in the month Maghu. The name of this worship is called Dhiirmu-Lhaoo, or Sooryu-bhaoo. The ceremonies vary indifferent places, but in this district the women appear to be the principal actors ; though none are excluded, and even Mtisulmans are so far hindooized as to join in the idolatry. I saw it once thus conducted : At the dawn of the morning a great number of offerings were carried into the open field, and placed in a row. The offerings consisted of fruits, sweetmeats, pigeons and kids. A small pot was placed by each person’s offering, cou- * Mr. Wilkins considers Indiu, with his thousand eyes, as a deification of the heavens. . t The Sun. Of the gods — Sodryu.~\ OF THE HINDOOS. 44 taining about a pint and a half of water. A device made of a wafer-plant, a species of Millingtonia, intended to represent the Sun, was placed on the edge of the pot, and a small twig of the mango-tree, with a few leaves on it, put into it, as people in England keep flowers. The pot with all its appendages represented the sun, perhaps as the vivifier of nature. By each offering also was placed — what shall I call it, an incense- altar, or censer called dhoonachee. It resembled a chaffing-dish, made of copper, and stood upon a pedestal abolit a foot long. It contained coals of fire, and a kind of incense from time to time was thrown into if, principally the pitch of the salu-tree, called dhoona. Near each offering was placed a lamp which was kept burning all day. The women also took their stations near the offerings. At sun-rise they walked four times round the whole row' of offerings, with the right hand towards them and the smoking dhoonachees placed on their heads, after which they resumed their stations again, where they continued in an erect posture, fasting the w hole day, occasionally throwing a little incense into the dhoonachee. Towards evening the bramhun w ho at- tended the ceremony threw the pigeons up into the air ; which, being young, could not fly far, and were scrambled for and carried away by the crowd. The officiating bramhun perforated the ears of the kids with a needle ; after which they were seized by the first person who touched them. About sun-set the offerers again look up the smok- ing dhoonachees, and made three circuits round tlie rows of offerings. After this the offerings and lighted lamps were taken away by their respective ow ners, who threw the lamps into a pool of water.’ Women frequently make a vow to Sooryu to worship him, on condition that he give «— -to one, a son ; to another, riches; to another, health, &c. Some perform these cere- monies after bearing a son. This worship is sometimes attended to by one woman alone; at other times, by five, six, or more in company. Socryu and the other planets are frequently worshipped in order to procure health. This the Hindoos call a sacrifice to the nine planets, when flowers, rice, water, a burnt- sac i:ace, &c. are offered to each of these planets separately. It is said, that two or tinee bundled years ago, Muyooru-bhuttu, a learned Hindoo, in order to obtain a cure foi the lepiosy, began to write a poem of one hundred Sungskritu verses in praise of 44 HISTORY, LITERATURE, and RELIGION, [Part hi. Chap. i. Sooryu ; and that by the time he had finished the last verse he was restored to health. These verses have been published under the title of Sooryu-shutiikfi, the author at the close giving this account of his cure. Sometimes a sick person procures a bramhun to rehearse for him a number of verses in praise of Sooryu, offering- at the same time to this god, rice, water and jiiva* flowers. If the person be very ill, and a man of property, he employs two or three bramhuns, who repeat as many as a thousand verses. This ceremony must be performed standing in the sun: when a thousand verses are rehearsed, the recitation occupies more than a day. The origin of this method of obtaining re- lief from sickness is ascribed to Shambii, the son of Krishnu, one of the most beautiful youths in the three worlds, who was directed in a dream to repeat, twice a day, the twenty-one names of Sooryu then revealed to him. The persons who receive the name of Sooryu, and adopt this god as their guardian deity, are called Sourfis: they never eat till they have worshipped the sun, and when the sun is entirely covered with clouds they fast. On a Sunday many Sourus, as well as Hindoos belonging to other sects, perform, in a more particular manner, the wor- ship of this idol, and on this day some of them fast. The Ramayunii contains the following story respecting Sooryu, Hunoomanu, &c. In the war betwixt Ramu and Ravunu, an arrow discharged by Piivunu pierced the bo- dy of Lukshmunu : Ramu and all his friends were exceedingly alarmed for the life of Lukshmunu ; the physicians tried all their efforts in vain. At last one physician declared that if four kinds of leaves could be brought from the mountain Gundhu-madhunu, and applied to the wound, Lukshmunu might probably be restored to health. The god who had given this arrow to Ravunu had declared, that whoever was wounded with it in the night should not recover if a cure were not obtained before day -light. It Was night w hen the wound v'as inflicted, but Hunoomanu engaged to bring the leaves before morning. To secure the fulfilment of his promise, he leaped into the air, and alighted on the mountain ; but searched in vain for the medicinal leaves. While in his search, Ravunu, who had heard what was going forward, sent Sooryu to arise on the mountain at midnight. Ilunoomanu, in a rage, leaped up and seizing Sooryu’s cha- • Hibiscus rosa Sinensis, Or tiie gods — Sooryu.'] OF THE HINDOOS. 45 riot wheels, placed the blazing god under his arm and the mountain on his head, and carried them to the camp of Iiamu, where the friends of Liikshmunu searched out the plants, applied the leaves, and restored him to health ; after which Hunoomanu permitted Sooryii to depart. Sooryii has two wives, Suvurna and Chaya. The former is the daughter of Vishv/u- kurma. After their marriage, Savurna, unable to bear the power of his rays, made an image of herself; and, imparting life to if, called it Chaya,* and left it with Sooryii. She then returned to her father’s house, but Vishwiikurma reproved his daughter for leaving her husband, and refused her an asylum ; but promised that if she would re« turn, he would diminish the glory of Sooryii’s rays. Suvurna resolved not to return, and, assuming the form of a mare, fled into the forest of Diinduku. Chaya and Yumu, whom Suvurna had left with Sooryii, could not agree; and Yumu one day beating Cha- ya, she cursed him, so that he has ever since had a swelled leg. Yumu, weeping, went to his father Sooryii, shewed him his leg, and related what had happened ; upon which Sooryii began to suspect that this woman could not be Suvurna, for no mother ever curs- ed her own son, and if she did, the curse could not take effect. He immediately pro- ceeded to the house of his fatlier-in-laAV, who received him with great respect, but un- perceived gave him a seat consisting of different sharp weapons, by which be became divided into twelve round parts. Sooryii was enraged, and could not be pacified till his fatlier-in-law informed him that his daughter, unable to bear the glory of his rays, had forsaken him. On enquiring wheie she was gone, the father said he had sent her back to him immediately on her arrival, but that where she now was he could not say. Soor- yii, by the power of dhyanu,+ perceived that Suvurna had become a mare, and was gone into some forest. The story here becomes too obscene for insertion.— S5oryu and Suvurna in the forms of a horse and a marc had two children, to whom they gave the names ofUshwinee and Koomaru.J When Sooryu returned to his palace, he asked his wife who this woman (Chaya) was. She gave him her history, and pve- • This word means a shadow. t When the o!d Hindoo ascetics wished to ascertain a fact, they performed what is called dhy anfi, Viz. they iliat their eyes, and begau to meditate, when, it is said, th : information they sought was revealed to them. t That is, the sons of a mare : these are now physicians to the gods. 43 HISTORY, LITERATURE, and RELIGION, [Part in. Ciiap. r. seated her to him as his wife, and from that time Chnya was acknowledged as Sooryu’s second wife. There are no temples dedicated to Sooryu in Bengal. The heaven of this god is called Scoryii-loku. A race of Hindoo kings, distinguished as the descendants of the sun, once reigned in India, of which dynasty Ikshwakoo was the first king, and Ramu the sixty-sixth. The following are the principal names of Sooryu : SoSru, or, he who dries up the earth. — Sooryu, he who travels, he who sends men to their work. — Dwadushatma, he who assumes twelve forms.* — Divaki rii, the maker of the day. — Bhaskiirii, the creator of the light. — Vivuswut, the radiant. — Siiptashwu, lie who has seven horses in his cha- riot. — Vikurttunn, he who was made round by Yishivfikurma in his lathe. — Urku, the maker of heat. — Mihiru, he who wets the earth.! — FSoshunii, he who cherishes all. — ■ Dyoomunee, he who sparkles in the sky. — Turunee, the saviour. — Mitru, the friend of the water-lily.* — Griihuputee, the lord of the stars. — Suhusrangshoo, the thousand* rayed. — Ruvee, he who is to be praised. * SECTION VII. Guncs.hu. THISgod is represented in the form of a fat short man, with a long belly, and an elephant’s head.§ lie has four hands j holding in one a shell, in another a chukru, ’Alluding to bis progress through the twelve signs. t The Sooryti- shulul-.u say s, the sun draw s up the w aters from the earth, and then lets them fall in showers again. t At the rising of the sun this flower expands itself, and when the sun retires shuts up its leaves again. I S.r W . Jones calls Guneshu the god of wisdom, and refers, as a proof of it, to his having an elephant’s head. I cannot find, however, that this god is considered by any of the Hindoos as properly the god of wisdom, for though he is said to give knowledge to those who worship him to obtain it, this is what is ascribed alsoto ot.ier gods. The Hin- doos, in general, I believe, consider, the elephant as a stupid animal, and it is a biting reproof to be called as stupid a» an elephant. I Of TttE sods — Guneshu. "| -OF THE HINDOOS. 47 in another a club, and in the fourth a water-lily. lie sits upon a rat. In an ele- phant’s head are two projecting teeth, but in Guneshu’s, only one, the other having been torn out by Vishnoo, when, in the form of Purusoo-ramu, he wished to have an interview with Shi vu. Guneshu, who stood as door-keeper, denied him entrance, upon which a battle ensued, and Piirusoo-ramu beating him, tore out one of his teeth. The work called Gineshu-khiindu contains a most indecent story respecting the birth of this god, which, however necessary to the history, is so extremely indelicate that it cannot possibly be given. It is mentioned in this story, that Doorga cursed the gods so that they have ever since been childless, except by criminal amours with females not their own wives. When it was known that Doorga had given birth to a son, Shunee, and the rest of the gods went to see the child. Shiinee knew that if he looked upon the child it w ould be reduced to ashes, but Doorga took it as an insult that he should hang down his head, and refuse to look at her child. For some time he did'not regardher reproofs ; but at last, irritated, he looked upon Guneshu, and its head was instantly consumed.* The goddess seeing her child headless, t was overwhelmed with grief, and would have destroyed Shiinee ; but Brumha prevented her, telling Shiinee to bring the head of the first animal he should find lying with its head towards the north. He found an elephant in this situation, cutoff its head, and fixed it upon Giineshu, who then assumed the shape he at present wears. Doorga was but little soothed when she saw her son w ith an elephant’s head. To pacify her, Brumha said, that amongst the worship of all the gods that of Guneshu should for ever bear the preference. In the beginning of eve- ry act of public worship therefore certain ceremonies are constantly performed inho- Tliis property is ascribed to Shiinee) (Saturn) to point out, no doubt, the supposed baneful influence of this pla- net. This resembles the table of Saturn’s devouring all his male children. The Ramayunu contains a story respecting Dushunu f.u and Sh »nee, in which it is said, that Dnshartit’hu was once angry with this god for preventing tue fall of tain in his kingdom. He ascended his chariot to make war with him, when Shiinee, bv a single glance of bis eyes, set the king s chariot on Are, and Dashurut’he, iu the mos^dreadful state of alarm, fell from the skies. t One cause of this misfortune is said to be this : Doorga had laid her child to sleep with its head to the north, which is forbidden by the shastrti. The Anhika-tiitwu declares, that if a person sleep with his head to the east, \ili oe ricli, if to the south, he will have long life; if to the north, he will die ;and if to the ne,l, (except when pn a journey) he will have misfortunes. 48 HISTORY, LITERATURE, and RELIGION, [Paht iii. Chap. r. nour of Guneshu.* Not only is Guneshu thus honoured in religious ceremonies, but in almost all civil concerns he is particularly regarded : as, when a person is leaving his house to go a journey, he says, 1 Oil ! thou work-perfecting Guneshii, grant me success in my journey : Guneshu ! Guneshu! Guneshii!’ — At the head of every letter, a salutation is made to Guneshu. + When a person begins to read a book he salutes Guneshu ; and shop-keepers and others paint the name or image of this god over the doors of their shops or houses, expecting from his favour protection and success. No public festivals in honour of Guneshu are held in Bengal. Many persons how- ever chuse him as their guardian deity ; and are hence called Ganuputyus. At the full moon in the month Maghu, some persons make or buy a clay image, and perform the worship of Gun6shfi, when the officiating bramhun performs the ce- remonies common in the Hindoo worship, presenting offerings to the idol. This god is also worshipped ai considerable length at the commencement ofa wedding, as well as when the bride is presented to the bridegroom. Great numbers, especially from the Western and Southern provinces, celebrate the worship of Guneshu on the 4th of the new moon in Bhadru, when several individuals in each place subscribe and defray the ex pence. Many persons keep in their houses a small metal image of Gun6shu, place it by the side of the shalgramu, and worship it daily. At other times a burnt-offering of clarified butter is presented to this idol. Slone images of Guneshu are worshipped daily in the temples by the sides of the Ganges at Benares j but I cannot find that there are any temples dedicated to him in Bengal. Gun6shu is also called IIuridra-Gim&shu. This name seems to have arisen out of the following story : When Uoorga was once preparing herself for bathing, she wiped offihe turmerick, &c. with oil, and formed a kind of cake in her fingers. | This * It will occur to the reader, that in a!l sacrifices among the Romans prayers were first offered to Janus. t Guneshu is famed as writing in a beautiful manner: so that when a person writes a fine hand people say, • Ah ! he writes like Gcnishti.’ Ibis god is said to have first written Ike Aloliabbatu a from the mouth of Vyasfi. diva. $ The Hindoos have a custom of cleaning their bodies bv rubbing them all over with turmerick j and then, Ink* ing oil iu tbeir hands, wiping it off again, when it Jails as a paste all aiound them. 0f the gods — Kartikeju.~\ OF THE HINDOOS. 49 she rolled together, and made into the image of a child ; with w hich she w as so much pleased, that she infused life into it, and called it Huridra-Guneshii.* The image of this god is yellow, having the face of an elephant. lie holds in one hand a rope ; in another the spike used by the elephant driver; in another a round sweetmeat, and in another a rod. The principal names of Ganeshu are: Giineshu, or, the lord of the gunnudevtas.+— Dwoimatoorii, the two-mothered 4 — Eku-duntu, the one toothed. — Herumbu, he who resides near to Shivu. — Lumboduru, the long bellied. — Gujanunu, the elephant-faced. SECTION VIII. Kartikcyu. THIS is the god of war. He is represented sometimes with one and at other times with six faces ; is of a yellow colour ; rides on a peacock and holds in his right hand an arrow, and in his left a bow. The reason of the birth of Kartikeyu is thus told in the Koomaru-sumbhtrvii, one of the kavyus : Tariiku, a giant, performed religious austerities till he obtained the bles- sing of Briimha, after which he oppressed both bramhuns and gods. He commanded that the sun should shine only so far as was necessary to cause the v ater-lily to blos- som ; that the moon should shine in the day as well as in the night. He sent the god * Huridra is the name for turraerick. t These are the companions of Shiv5, * One of Gun6shii’s mothers was Doorga, and the other the female elephant whose head he wears. $ Judo’s chariot was said to be drawn by peacocks. G SO HISTORY, LITERATURE, and RELIGION, [Part iii. Cuap. j. Yunni to cut grass for liisliorses ; commanded Puviinii to prevent the wind from blow- ing any stronger than the puff of a fan; and in a similar manner tyrannized over all the gods. At length Indru called a council in heaven, when the gods applied to Brum- ha ; but the latter declared he was unable to reverse the blessing he had bestowed on Tariiku; that their only hope was Kartikeyu, who should be the son of Shivu, and destroy the giant. — After some time the gods assembled again to consult respecting the marriage of Shivu, whose mind was entirely absorbed in religious austerities. After long consultations, Kundurpu* was called, and all the gods began to flatter him in such a manner that he was filled with pride, and declared he could do every thing: he could conquer the mind even of the great god Shivu himself. c That, says Indru, is the very thing we want you to do.’ At this he appeared discouraged, but at length declared, that he would endeavour to fulfil his promise. He consulted his wife Rutee ; w ho reproved him for his temerity, but consented to accompany her husband. They set off, with Vusuntfijt to mount Himalaya, w here they found Shivu sitting under a roodrakshu X tree, performing his devotions. Previously to this, Himaluyu^ had been to Shivu. and proposed that Doorga, his daughter, should wait upon him, that he might uninterruptedly go on with his reli- gious austerities ; which offer Shivu accepted. One day, after the arrival of Kundurpu and his party, Doorga, w ith her two companions Juyi and V ijuya, carried some flowers and a necklace to Shivu. In the moment of opening his eyes from his meditation, to receive the offering, Kundurpu let fly his arrow ; and Shivu, smitten with love, awoke as from a dream, and asked w ho had dared to interrupt his devotions. — Looking to- wards the south lie saw Kundurpu, when fire proceeded from the third c}re in the centre of his forehead, and burnt Kundurpu to ashes. || The enraged god left this place for another forest, and Doorga, seeing no prospect of being married to Shivu, returned * The god of love. t The spring. The Hindoo poets always unite love and spring together. J From the fruit of this tree necklaces are made, the wearing of which is a great act of merit among the Hin- doos. $ The mountain of this name personified. || Throcgh the blessing of Shiva to Rutee, Kundurpu was afterwards horn in the family of Krishna, and look ■ the name of Kama-devh, after which Rules (then called Mayavu.te) was again married to him. Or tue gods — Kartik6yu.~\ OF TIIE HINDOOS. 51 home full of sorrow. She sought at last to obtain her object by the power of religious austerities,* in which she persevered till Shivu was drawn from his devotions, when the marriage was consummated. The Muhabharutu and Ramayunu contain accounts of the birth of Kartikeyu, the fruit of this marriage, but they arc so indelicate that the reader, I doubt not, will excuse their omission. On the last evening in the month Kartiku, a clay image of this god is worship- ped, + and the next day thrown into the water. These ceremonies differ little from those at other festivals : but some images made on the occasion are not less than twenty-five cubits high ; that is, a whole tree is put into the ground, and worshipped as a god. The height of the image obliges the worshippers to fasten the offerings to the end of a long bamboo, in order to raise them to the mouth of the god. This fes- tival is distinguished by much singing, music, dancing, and other accompaniments of Hindoo worship. The image of Kartikeyu is also made and set up by tbe side of his mother Doorga, nttlre great festival of this goddess in (he month Ashwinu; and each day, at the close of the worship of Doorga, that of her son is performed at considerable length. In the month Choitru also the worship of Kartikeyu accompanies that of his mother. — No bloody sacrifices are offered to this idol. At tbe time when the above festival is held, some persons makej: or purchase clay * When this goddess, says a kavyii shastr u, told her mother ihat she would perform austerities to obtain Shivu, hernrother, alarmed, exclaimed — ■' Ooma ! (Oh! mother!) how can you think of going into the forest to perform religious austerities? Stay and perform religious serwees at home, and you will obtain the god jou desire, flow can your tender form bear these severities. The flower bears the weight of tbe bee, but if a bird pitch upon it, it breaks directly.” t Vast numbers of these images are made ; in some towns as many as 500. It is supposed that in Calcutta more than five thousand are made and worshipped. f He who makes an image for his own use is supposed to do an act of much greater merit than the person who purchases one. G 2 52 HISTORY, LITERATURE, AND RELIG ION, [Part in. Chap, j. images, which they place in their houses, and before which the officiating bramhun per- forms the appointed ceremonies, preceding which, a prayer is made for offspring. This is repeated sometimes on the anniversary of this day, for four years together. If the person, long disappointed, should, in these years, or soon after, happen to have a child, particularly a son, the whole is ascribed to Kartikeyu.* When persons have made a vow to Kartikeyu, they present offerings to this idol at the completion of the vow. These vows are sometimes made to obtain (he health of a child, or a son : a wo- man, when she makes this vow, thus addresses the god : 4 Oh ! Kartikeyu, t’kakoo- rfi,+ give me a son, and I will present to thee [here she mentions a number of offerings, as sweetmeats, fruits, &c.] — I do not want a female child.’ This vow may be made at any time, or place, without any previous ceremony. When several women are sitting together, another woman perhaps comes amongst them, and, in the course of conversation, asks the mistress of the house: 4 Has your daughter-in-law any children yet ?’ She replies, in a plaintive manner, 4 No — nothing but a girl.’ Or, she answers altogether in the negative, adding, 4 1 have again and again made vows to Kartikeyu, and even now 1 promise before you all, that if the god will give her a son, 1 will worship him in a most excellent manner, and my daughter-in-law will do it as long as she lives.’ There are no temples in Bengal dedicated to Kartikeyu, nor are any images of him kept in the houses of the Hindoos except during a festival. The principal names of Kartikeyu are: Kartikeyu, or, he who was cherished by six females of the name of Kritlika.J — Miiha-senu, he who commands multitudes. * A part of the Mubabharutii is sometimes recited to obtain offspring. The part thus read is a list of the an- cestors ol Hiiree, (a name of Vishnoo). When a person wishes to have this ceremony performed, he employs a learned native to recite these verses, and another to examine, by a separate copy, whether the verses be read without mistake ; if they be read improperly, no benefit will arise from the ceremony. If the person who seeks offspring be jumble to attend bimselfduring the ceremony’, be engages some friend to bear the words in his stead. — Some verse* of praise> addressed to Shivu, are also occasionally read in the ears of a husband and wife who are anxious to obtain offspring. t A term of respect, meaning excellent. t Six stars, (belonging to ursa major) said to be the wives of six of the seven rishees. These females are called Krittika. They cherished Kartikeyu as soon as he was horn in the forest ol writing-reeds, and hence his name is a regular patronymic of Krittika, because they were as his mothers. Of tut gods — Ugnee.] OF THE HINDOOS. 53 yj — Shuraniinu, (lie six-faced. — Skundii, be who afflicts the giants. — Uguibhoo, he who u arose from Ugnee. — Goohii, he who preserves his troops in w ar. — Tariikujit, he who conquered Tarukii. — V ishakhu, he w ho was born under the constellation of this name. — Shikhi-vakunUj he who rides oa a peacock. — Shuktee-dhiirn, he who wields the wea- pon called shuktee. — Koomaru, he who is perpetually young. * — Krounchu-darunti,, he who destroyed the giant Krounclnu It is said that Kartikeyu was never married, but that Indriigave him a mistress named Devusena. He has no separate heaven, nor has Guneshu : they live w ith Shivu on mount Koilasu. SECTION IX. Ugnee. THIS god is represented as a red corpulent man, with eves, eye-brows, beard, and hair, of a tawny colour. He rides on a goat ; wears a poita, and a necklace made with the fruits of eleocarpus ganitrus. From his body issue seven streams of glory, and in his right hand he holds a spear. He is the son of Kushvupuand Uditee. Ugnee has his forms of worship, meditation, &c. like other gods, but is especially worshipped, under different names, at the time of a burnt-offering, when clarified but- ter is presented to him. The gods are said to have two mouths, viz. that of the bram- hunj and of fire (Ugnee). At the full moon in the month Maghu, w hen danger from fire is considerable, some persons worship this god before the image of Briimha with the accustomed ceremonies, for three days. “When any particular work is to be done by the agency of fire, as when a kiln of bricks is to be burnt, this god is worshipped ; also when a trial by ordeal is to be performed. * Under sixteen years-of age. HISTORY, LITERATUR E, and R E L I G 1 0 N, [Pi rt iit. Chap. r. j t Some bramliiins arc distinguished by die name sagniku, because they us e sacred fire in all the ceremonies in which this element is used, from the time of birth to the bum- V_/ ing of the body after death. This fire is preserved in honour of the god Ugnee, and to make religious ceremonies more meritorious.* u V/ Ugnee as one of the guardian deities of the earth, is worshipped at the commence- ment of every festival. lie presides in the S. E. Bhrigoo, a sagniku bramhun and a great sage, once cursed his guardian deity Ug- nee, because the latter had not delivered Bhrigoo’s wife from the hands of a giant, who attempted to violate her chastity w hen she was in a state of pregnancy. The child, however, sprang from her womb, and reduced the giant to ashes. Bhrigoo doomed the god to eat every thing. Ugnee appealed to the assembled gods, and Brum- ha soothed him by promising that whatever he ate should become pure. Ugnee was also once cursed by one of the seven rishees, who turned him into cinders. \J o Orjoonu, the brother of Yoodhisthiru, at the entreaty of Ugnee, set fire to the forest Khunduvu, in order to cure him of a surfeit contracted in the following manner : Mu- root o, a king, entered upon a sacrifice which occupied him twelve months, during the whole of which time clarified butter had been pouring on the fire, in a stream as thick m '-J # w as an elephant’s trunk : at length Ugnee could digest no more, and he intreated L rjoonu to burn this forest, that he might eat the medicinal plants and obtain his appetite again. 9 Swaha, the daughter of Kushyupii, was married to Ugnee. Her name is repeated at the end of every incantation used at a burnt offering, as W'ell as in some other ce- remonies. The reason of this honour is attributed to Ugnee s uxoriousness. The heaven of this god is called Ugnce-loku. His principal names aic : v iinhee, or, he who receives the clarified butter in the burnt sacrifice (horn ) \ eetiholiu, he who purifies those who perform the liomu. — Dhununjiiyu, he who conquers (dc- * There may be some resemblance in this to the custom of the Ramans in preserving a perpetual fire in the tem- ple of Vesta. Of the gods — Piivunu.~\ OF THE HINDOOS. 55 strojs) riches. — Kripeetuyonee, lie who is born from rubbing two sticks together. — O O T w v V u wuhinu, be who burus. — Ugnee, he to whom fuel is presented. section x. Jruvunu, THIS is the god ot the winds, and the messenger of the gods.* His mother Udi- tee, it is said, prayed to her husband, that this son might be more powerful than In- dru : her request was granted ; but Indi a, hearing of this, entered the womb of Udifee, and cut the foetus, first into seven parts, and then each part into seven others. Thus Piivunu assumed forty-nine forms. + lie is meditated upon as a white man^ sitting on a deer, w ith a white flag in his right hand. Puvunii has no separate public festival, neither image, nor temple. As one of the ten guardian deities of the earth, he is worshipped, with the rest, at the commencement of every festival. He is said to preside in the N. W. Water is also oflhred to him in the daily ceremonies of thebramhuns ; and whenever a goat is offered to any deity, a service is paid to Vayoo, another form and name of Piivunu. In the work called Udikiirunu-mala, a burnt sacrifice of the flesh of goats,! is ordered to be offered to this god. The following story is related of Puvunii in the Shree-bhaguviitu : On a certain oc- casion Narudu paid a visit to Soomeroo,^ and excited his pride in such a manner, that he protested the god Pjvunu could not approach his summit. Narudu carried the * I can find no agreement betwixt this god and ebher Mercury or JEolus. 1 The forty-nine points. The Hindoos have 49 instead of 32 points, and the pooranus, which contain a story on every distinct feature of the Hindoo philosophy, have given this fable; and in the same manner, all the elements are personified, and same remarkable story invented to account for their peculiar properties. } The goat, it will be remembered, was slain in the sacrifices of Bacchus. § The mountain of this name personified. so HISTORY, LITERATURE, and RELIGION, [Part hi. Ciiap. r. ■news of Soomeroo’s insolence to Puvunii, and advised liim to go and break down the summit of Soomeroo, which, even to the depth of 800 miles below the surface, was of solid gold ; Puvunii wrent, and produced such a tempest, that the earth trembled to its centre ; and the mountain god, terribly alarmed, invoked Gurooru, who came to his re- lief, and, covering the mountain with his w ings, secured it from the wrath of Puvunu. For twelve months, however, the storm raged so that the three worlds were hasten- ing to destruction. The gods desired Nariidu to prevail on Puvunu to compose the difference with Soomeroo; instead of complying with which the mischievous rishee went, and calling Puvunu a fool for exciting such a storm to no purpose, told him that as long as Gurooru protected the mountain with his wings, there wras no hope ; but that if he would attack Soomeroo when Gurooru was carrying Vishnoo out on a journey, he might easily be revenged. This opportunity soon occurred : All the gods (330,000,000) were invited to Shivu’s marriage with Parvutee, among whom were the mountains Soomeroo, Trikootu, Ooduyu,* Ustu,+ Vindhyu, Malyuvanu, Gundhuma- dunii, Chitrhkootu, Muluyu, Nilu, Moinaku,J &c. Yishnoo, riding on Gurooru, also went to the marriage, and all the heavens were left empty. Seizing this opportunity, Puvunu flew to Soomeroo, and, breaking the summit of the mountain, hurled it into the sea.§ Puvunu is charged with an adulterous intercourse with Unjuna, the wife ofKeshu- ree, a monkey. TIic fruit of this intercourse vvasHunoomanii. Puvunu wras once inflamed with lust towards the hundred daughters of Kooshuna- bhu, a rajurshce, and because they refused his offers, he entered the body of each, and produced a curvature of the spine. They were made straight again by a king named Brumhu-duttii, to whom they were married. The name of the heaven of this god is Vayoo-loku. His principal names arc : * Mountains over which the sun rises. f Behind which the sun sets. $ Someef these belong to the snowy range north of India, and others to the tropical range dividing South from North India. These and other mountains are personified, and by the Hindoo poets are designated as the residence of the gods, and by poetical licence ranged among the inferior gods. $Here it became the island of Ceylon, (Lunlsa). Of the gods — Vuroonu.~\ OF THE HINDOOS. 57 Shwusunfj, or, he who is the giver of breath.' — Spursliunu, the toucher. — Vayoo, he who travels. — .Matiirishwa, he who gave his mother sorrow.* — Pi ishudiishwa, he who rides on the deer. — Gundhuviihu, he who carries odours.— Ashoogii, he who goes swiftly. — Marootu, without whom people die. — Niibhuswulu, he who moves in the air. — Puvunu, the purifier. — Prubhungjuuu, the breaker. SECTION XI. Vuroonu. THIS is the god of the waters. His image is pointed white; he sits on a sea-animal called miikuru, with a ropet in his right hand. Yuroonu’s name is repeated daily in the worship of (he bramhiins ; but his image is never made for w orship, nor has he any public festival or temple in Bengal. He is worshipped however as one of the guardian deities of the earth ; and also by those wh farm the l ikes in Bengal, before they go out a fishing ; and in times of drought people repeat his name to obtain rain.| A story of this god is contained in the Piidmu pooranu to this purport : Raviinu wasorce carryingan iinadee-lingu from Himalaya to Lunka,^ in order that he might accomplish all his ambitious schemes against the gods, for it was the property of this stone, also called kamu[]-lingu, to grant the worshipper all his desires, whate- * When Indru cut him into forty-nine pieces in the womb. t This weapon is called pasb”, and has this property, that whomsoever it catches, it binds so fast that he can never get loose. All the gcds, giants, rakshiisrs, &c. len^n the use of this weapon. $ At (he tone o'1 a drouel'l, it is common for bramhnns to sitin crowds by the sides of the Ganges, or any other liver, and address their pia\ ers to this god. A bramhun once informed me that he remembered when Krisbnfi- Chundrj, the raja of Nuvu-dweep”, gave presents to vast multitudes of bramluns thus employed ; and that in the midst of their prayers, Vuroouu sent a plentiful supply of rain, U Katnu means desire- $ Ceylon. II 58 HISTORY, LITERATURE, and REL IGION, [Part m. Chap. i. ver they might be. Sliivu, however, when permitting Ravunu to remove this his image to Lunka, made him promise that wherever he suffered it to touch the ground, there it should remain. When the gods saw that Ravunu was carrying this stone to Lunka, all the heavens were in a state of agitation ; for the gods knew, that if Ravunu could be permitted to accomplish his wishes, neither Indrii nor any other god would continue on his throne. Council after council was held, and applications made to different gods in vain. It was at last resolved that Vuroonu should enter the belly of Ravunu, who would thereby be compelled to set the stone down, while discharging his urine.* Vuroonu accordingly entered the belly of Ravunu, as he was carrying the lingu on his head ; and the latter soon began to feel the effects of his visit. His belly swelled prodigiously, — he proceeded however on his journey, till at last he could wait no longer. At this moment Indru, in the form of an old bramhun, meeting him, Ravunu, after asking who h was, and where he was going, entreated him to hold the lingu for a short time, promising to bestow on him the greatest favours ; to which the bramhun consented, agreeing to hold the stone an hour, but no longer. Ravunu told him he would not detain him half that time; and squatted on his hams to rid himself of Vuroonu. After he had thus sat for four hours, thebramhiin complaining he could hold the stone no longer, threw it down — when the lower part sunk into the world of the hydras, and the top is said to be visible to this day at Voidyu-nat’hu, a place in the zillah of Beerbhoom, where the river Khursoo is believed to have arisen from the urine of this enemy of the gods.t Ravunu, when he arose, and saw what had taken place, went home full of rage and disappointment : some accounts add, that he went and fought with the gods in the most furious manner. The heaven of this god, called Vuroonu-loku, is 800 miles in circumference, and Was formed by Vishwiikurma, the divine architect. In the centre is a grand canal of pure water. Vuroonu, and his queen Varoonee, sit on a throne of diamonds ; and * Ravunu could not hold the lingu while in this act, as a person hereby becomes unclean until he has bathed. This is the strict rule of the shastru: at pYesent, however, should a person, in the midst of his wurship, be compel- led to discharge urine, he does not bathe, but only changes his clothes. t The Hindoos do nut drink the water of this river, but bathe in and drink tite water of a pool there, which thej hjtve called Nuvu-gungu, viz. the New Gungu. Of TriE god3 — Vuroonu .] OF THE HfNDOOS. 19 around them the court, among whom are Sumoodru, Gunga, and other river gods and goddesses;* the twelve Aditjus, and other deities; the hydras; Oiravulu; thedoityiis; the'danuvus, &c. The pleasures of this heaven consist in the gratification of tbe senses, as in the heavens of Ind u and others. There does not seem to be a vestige of any thing here, but what w ould exactly meet the wishes of a libertine. A scene in the heaven of Vuroonu: — Nimee, a king, invited Viishisht’hu to pre- side as priest over the ceremonies at a sacrifice he was about to perform. Vushish- t*hu being engaged at that time as priest to perform a sacrifice for some other king, from whom he expected very large presents, excused himself for the present ; w hen Ni- mee, after using entreaty in vain, employed another sage as priest. Vushisth’hn hav- ing concluded the sacrifice in which he was engaged, proceeded to the palace of Ni- mee ; but hearing that the king had employed another priest, was filled with rage, and pronounced a curse on the king, by which he was reduced to ashes. Before the curse took effect, however, the king cursed Vusliisht’hu, and reduced his body also to ashes. The soul of Vushisht’hu ascended to Brumha, to enquire how he was to procure a body again. Brumha said, 4 Go to the gods Vuroonu and Sooryu.’ He wrent and obtained his body in the following manner : Sporyu, captivated with the sight of Oorvushee, a courtezan, as she was dancing in lndru’s heaven, invited her to his house. As she was going, Vuroonu met her, and became enamoured of her also. [Here the story becomes too filthy to be written. ]. From the inflamed passions of these two gods, Ugustyu, an eminent ascetic, was born, and Vushisht’hu, one of the most exalted of the Hindoo saints, obtained a new body. The priests w ho had been employed by Nimee, fearing they should lose all employment hereafter if they suffer- ed the king thus to perish, at the close of the sacrifice formed from the ashes a young man, to w hom they gave the name of Juniiku, w ho became the father of Scefa, the wife of ltamu. The meaning of the name Vuroonu is, he who surrounds. — This god is also called Pruchdta, or the wise. — Pashee, he who holds a rope. — Yadiisang-putee, the lord of the watery tribes. — Upputee, the lord of waters. * Among these deities are included gods of wells, pools, lates, basins, whirlpools, &c. H 2 CO HISTORY, LITERATURE, a\’o RELIGION, [Part hi. Chap. r. i0- SLCTION XII. Yumu . * THIS god is called the holy king, who judges the dead. His image is that of a green man, with red garments ; inflamed eyes ; having a crown on his head, and a flower stuck in his hair j* sitting on a buffaloe, with a club in his right hand. II is dreadful teeth, grim aspect, and terrific shape, fill the inhabitants of the three worlds w ith ter- ror. An annual festival is held in honour of Yumu on the second day of the moon’s in- crease in the month Kartikii, when an image of clay is made, and worshipped with the usual ceremonies for one day, and then thrown into the river. No bloody sacrifices are offered to this god. Yumu is also worshipped at the commencement of other festivals as one of the ten guardian deities of the earth. He presides in the South. * Every day the Hindoos offer water to Yumu, in the ceremony called tiirpunu, as well as annually on the 14th of the month Ugruhayunu, when they repeat several of his names. At the time of other festivals the Hindoos sometimes make an image of the mother of Yumu,t and worship it. At other times children in play make this image, and pretend to worship it. 0 It is very common to see a flower, which has been presented to an image, stitch in the bunch of hair which the Hindoos tie behind the head. This is done under the idea that the flower has some virtue in it. Several shastrns prescribe this practise, and promise rewards to the person who places in bis hair fljwers winch have been presented to his guardian deity, or to any other god. f A very old woman whoisatlhe same time a great scold, is called by the Hindoos the mother of Yuma. Of tiie gods — Yumu .] OF TIIE HINDOOS. Cl On the first of the month Kartiku, a curious ceremony takes place in every part of Bengal : the unmarried girls of each house engage a near relation to dig a small pit near (he front of the house, at the four corners of which they sow rice, or barley, or wheat, and plant some stalks of the plantain or other tree. They also plant other bran- ches in the midst of the pit. The place being thus prepared, every morning for a month, these girls, after putting on clean apparel, and sprinkling (heir heads with (he water of the Ganges to purify themselves, present flowers, &c. to Yumu by the side of this small pit, repeating an incantation. Each day they put a single kouree* in an earthen pot, and at the end of the ceremony present the thirty kourees to the person who dug the pit. They perform this ceremony to procure from Yumu either hus- bands, or sons, or happiness, and also that they may escape punishment after death. I have heard of some Hindoos, who, rejecting the worship of other gods, worship only Yumu, alleging that their future state is to be determined only by Yumu, and that they have nothing therefore to hope or to fear from any beside him. \ umii is judge of the dead. He is said to hold a court, in which he presides as judge, and has a person to assist him, called Chitru-gooptu,+ who keeps an account of the actions of men. A number of officers are also attached to the court, w ho bring the dead to be judged. If the deceased persons have been wicked, Yumu sends them to their particular hell, or if good, to some place of happiness. The poor Hindoos, at the hour of death, sometimes fancy they see Yuma’s officers, in a frightful shape, coming to fetch them away. Yumu is said to reside at Yumaluyu, on the south side of the earth, + All souls, wherever the persons die, are supposed to go to Yumu in four hours and forty mi- nutes ; and a dead body cannot be burnt till that time have elapsed. * Shells from the Maidive islands which pass for money in Bengal. More than six tlousand of these shells may be bought for a roopee. t That is, he who paints in secret ; or he who writes the fates of men in secret. t On_ Hindoo sometimes jokes with another, by asking him where he is going, as he seems to be proceeding soothwanU. 32 * HISTORY, LITERATURE, and RELIGION, [Part in. Chap, u The following account of Yumajuyu, and of Voiturunee, the river to be crossed after death, is taken from the Muhabhariitu : After Brfimha ha I created the three worlds, viz. heaven, earth, and pafulu, he recollected ihnt a place for judgment, .and for the punishment of the wicked, was wanting. He therefore called Viskwukurma, tike architect of (he gods, and gave him orders to prepare a very superb palace. Op- posite the south door Yishwukurma made four pits for the punishment of the wicked. Three other doors were reserved for (he entrance of the good, that they might not seethe place of punishment when they went to be judged. Brumlia, taking with him the gundhurvus, the giants, &c. w ent to sec the place, and gave it the name of Sunjee- vunee. The gundhurvus asked Brumlia to give them this beautiful palace. Brumlia asked them if they were willing to inflict the punishments on the wicked ; to which they replied in the negative. The giants were next about to seize the place by force, to prevent which Brumka ordered Yishwukurma to form a vast trench around, and to fill it with water, which became the river Voiturunee. Brum ha next ordered Ugnee to enter the river, and the waters became hot. Having thus surrounded the hall of judg- ment with a river of boiling water, the creator ordered, that after death each one should be obliged to swim across. This, however, subjected the good to punishment, to pre- vent which, it was ordained that the offering of a black cow to a bramhun should cool the river, and render the person’s passage easy.* It was still necessary, tl^ut some one should occupy this place, and judge the dead, and Brtimha assigned (his work to Yumfi. The Ramayunu contains the following story about Yijmu : Soon after Giinga came down to the earth, Yumu was very angry witli the gods, as she left him nothing to do in his ollice of judge, all the people, however sinful, through her power, ascending to heaven. II is officers, in a rage, were about to give up their places and leave him. On applying to Indru, he advised him not to place his messengers in any situation where the w ind, passing over Giinga, blew,, for that all persons touched even by the wind of this sacred liver had all their sins removed, and would go to heaven. + i * I do not find that the Hindoos have any ferryman, like Charon, or boat to cross this river, though they talk of crossing it by laying hold of the tail of the black cow which they offered in order tooblaiu a safe passage. It is very common in Bengal fur a herdsman to cross a river by taking hold of a cow’s tail. t Whatever the Hindoos may think of Giinga’s taking away their sins, it is acknowledged by all, that the in- habitants who live on iLe banks of the Ganges are the most corrupt and profligate of all the Hindoo*. Of the gods. — Yumu.~\ OF THE HINDOOS. 03 Many other stories are to be found in the pooraniis, some of them supposed to be re- lated by persons who have been at Yumaluyu : the two following are of this descrip- tion : In a certain village lived two persons of the same name : one of whom had lived out his whole time, theo her had many years to live. Chitru-gooptu, examining his register, sent Yiimu’s messengers to fetch the person whose appointed time was ex- pired; the messengers went, but brought the wrong person. On re-examining his re- cords, Chitru-gooptu found out the mistake, and directed the officers to hasten back with the soul before the relations had burnt the body. While at Yumaluyu, this person looked all around, and saw, in one place, the punishments inflicted on the wicked: Yiimu’s officers were chastising some, by casting them into pits of ordure ; others, by throwing them into the arms of a red hot image of a woman ;* others, by making their bellies immensely large, and their mouths as small as the eye of a needle ; others, by feeding them with red hot balls ; others, by throwing them into pits filled with de- vouring worms and insects, or with fire. In other places he saw those who had practised severe mortifications living in a state of the greatest magnificence ; and wo- men who had been burnt on the funeral pile, sitting with their husbands, enjoying the greatest delights. As he was coming away, he saw preparations making for the reception of some one in the highest style of grandeur, and asked the messengers who was to enjoy this. The messengers replied that it was for one of his neighbours, a very holy man, w hose appointed time was nearly expired, and who, in fact, died soon afterwards. A story very similar to this is often related of a person named Buluramu, of the voidyii cast, who lived some years ago at Choopee, near Nudeeya. This man, to all appearance, died ; and was lying by the side of the Ganges, while his relations were collecting the wood and other materials to burn the body. Before the fire was lighted, however, the body began to move, and in a little while, the dead man arose, and told his friends of his having been carried by mistake to Yumaluyu, where he saw terrific sights of the punishments of the w icked. This man lived fifieen years after this journey to Yumii’s palace. * This instrument is used for the punishment of adulterers. When Ravuna was carrying off Seela by force, she reminded him, that for this crime he would have to go into the burning arms of this image after death. HISTORY, LITERATURE, and RELIGION, [Part iii. Chap. r. bi The following slory was invented, no doubt, in order to check excessive sorrow for deceased relations. A rich biamkun had only one son, w ho grew up to manhood, and was loved almost to distraction by his parents.* This son, however, died in his youth, and his w'ife was burnt with him on the funeral pile. The father and mother were so overwhelmed with distress, that for years they refused all comfort. Daring this time, an old servant, who had served the bramhun many years, and had eaten of his food.t died, and, for his merit, was made one of Yuinu’s officers. This man was going one day to fetch the soul of some one from the village where he had once lived, and saw his former master weeping l>y the side of the road for the loss of his son. Assuming his old form, he raised up his master, and endeavoured to comfort him, but in vain. He then told him, that he was become one of YiiraiTs officers, on account of the merit he had obtained by serving him (the bramhun) and eating of his food ; ancl that nowr, to remove his sorrow, he would take him and shew him his son. The old man got on Iris back, and the officer immediately carried him to the residence of Yuinu, and shewed him his son and daughter-in-law in the greatest happiness, sur- rounded with every delight, playing at chess. Bit the son having lost all affection for his parent would not even look at him, though exhorted to it by lfs wife. He replied, that in numerous transmigrations it was very likely that this old man might have been his son again and again. The old man was so incensed, to see that his daughter-in-law had more affection for him than his ow n son, for w horn he was dying . with grief, that he desired the constable to carry him back. The old bramhunee would not believe that her son’s affections were thus alienated from them : the con- stable, therefore, carried her also to see him, but she met with the same treatment. They both immediately renounced their grief for a son who had lost all his filial affection, and resolved to think no more about him. Other stories abound in the pooranus respecting Yumu, some of which relate to disputes betw ixt the messengers of this god and those of some other god, about the * The Hindoos in general carry their attachment to children, especially to sons, to the greatest excess. — They are amaz?d at the supposed w ant of affection in Europeans, who leave their parents in order to traverse foreign coun- tries, some of them w ithout the hope of ever seeing them again. t Its a very meritorious action for a shoddra to eat the leavings of a bramhun. Hence a shoocra will serve a. biamhaa for rather less wages than another person. Cftiie GODS. XwtflS.j OF TIIE HINDOOS. (j.j soul of a departed person, whether it shall be happy or miserable. I insert two of these stories : When the sage Unimandtivyu was a child of five years old, he put a straw into the tail of a locust, and let it fly away. In advanced years, while once employed in performing religious austerities, he was seized as a thief by the officers of justice, and, as he gave no answer on his trial, the king took it for granted that he was guilty, and ordered him to be impaled. After he had been impaled four years, his body had undergone no change, and though he appeared perfectly insensible to human objects, he was evidently alive. The king, being informed of this, was filled with astonishment, and declared that he was certainly some great ascetic, equal to otie of the gods. He then immediately ordered him to be taken down, but in endeavouring to extract the wood upon which he had been impaled, it broke within his body. The sage was then suffered to depart, and, after some time, his religious abstraction ~was interrupted, though his mind had been so set upon his god, that neither impal- ing him for four years, nor breaking the stake within his body, had disturbed his intense devotion. On awaking from this state he discovered what had been done to him, and that he had suffered all this from the hands of Yiimu, for having pierced thelocust when he was a child. He was exceedingly angry with Yiimu for such unrighteous judgment. To punish a person for a sin committed at the age of five years, and for so small a crime to impale him for four years, was what he could nofc bear. He then cursed Yiimu, and doomed him to be born on earth, and to take the name ofVidooru, the son of a servant girl in the house of the mother of Vedii-vya- su- How t he administration of justice in the other world was carried on after Yu- mu assumed human birth, this story does not relate. What an excellent religion for a^jjficked man ! The criminal can punish his judge l Ujamilu had committed the most enormous crimes, having killed cows and bram- hiins, drank spirits, and lived in the practice of evil all his days. He had four sons ; the name of one was Narayunu. In the hour of death Ujamilu was extremely thirsty, and thus called to his son— 4 Narayunu, Narayunu, Narayunu, give me some water.’ After his decease, the messengers of Yiimu seized him, and were about to drag him to a place of punishment, when Vislinoo’s messengers came to rescue him. A furi- ous battle ensued, but Yishnoo’s messengers were victorious, and carried off Ujami* I 66 HISTORY, LITERATURE, and RELIGION, [Part hi. Chap. i. lii to Voikoontu, the heaven of Vishnoo. The messengers of Yumu enraged, returned to their master, threw their clothes and staves at his feet, and declared that they would serve him no longer, as they got nothing but disgrace in all they did. Yumu ordered Chitru-gooptu, the recorder, to examine his books. He did so, and repprted that this Ujiunilu had been a most notorious sinner, and that it was impossible for him to reckon up his sins, they were so numerous. Yu mu hastened to Voikoontu, and de- manded of Vishnoo an explanation of this affair. Vishnoo reminded him, that however wicked this man might have been, he had repeated the name Narayunu in his last mo- ments ; and that he (Yumu) ought to know, that if a man, either when laughing, or by accident, or in anger, or even in derision, repeated the name of Vishnoo, he would ^ * certainly go to heaven though, like Ujamilu, covered with crimes, he had not a single metitorious deed to lay in the balance against them. — This is the doctrine that is uni- versally maintained by the great body of the H indoos : hence, when a person in a dy- ing situation is brought down to the riverside, he is never exhorted to repentance, but is urged in his last moments to repeat the names of certain gods, as his passport to heaven. A Hindoo shop-keeper one day declared to the author that he should live in the practice of adultery, lying, &c. till death, and that then, repeating the name of Krishna, he should, without difficulty, ascend to heaven. How shocking this sen- timent! How dreadful this mistake ! Description of the heaven of Yumu, from the Muhabharutu. This heaven, formed by Vishwukurma, is £00 miles in circumference. From hence are excluded the fear of enemies, and sorrow both of body and mind ; the climate is mild and salubrious ; and each one is rewarded in kind, according to his works : thus, he who has given much away on earth, receives afar greater quantify of the same things in heaven. He who has not been liberal, will have other kindsjof happiness, and will see food, houses, lands, &c. but will receive nothing. All kinds of excellent food are here heaped up into mountains.* To this heaven have been raised a great number of Hindoo kings, whose names are given in (he Muhabharutu. The pleasures of this heaven are like those of Indrii-pooru : the senses are satiated with gratifications as gross as the writer of this pooranu, the licentious Vyasu, could make them. This seems to be a heaven for gluttons! Of the gods. — Fuwjm.] OF THE HINDOOS. 67 Yumu married Vijfiyu, the daughter of Veeru, a bramhun. The Bhuvishyut poo- ranu contains the following story respecting this marriage: Yumu was so pleased with this female, on account of her having performed the Boodhashtumee vrutu, that he appeared to her, and offered her marriage. She was alarmed at the sight of this stranger, and asked him who he was. When she found it was Y umu, the judge of the dead, who was thus paying his addresses to her, she was filled with terror. Yumu calmed her fears, and permitted her to acquaint her brother, as he would be full of distress after her departure if he were left in ignorance. Her brother told her she wras certainly mad — £ What to be married to Yumu ! A fine husband truly f^She however consented, and Yumu conveyed her to his palace, but charged her never to go to the southwards. She suspected that there Yumu had ano- ther favourite, and would not be satisfied till he had explained to her, that his reasons for forbidding her to go southwards, were, that there the wicked were punished, and that she would not be able to bear so dreadful a sight. All these warnings, however, were given in vain : while Yumu was one day busy, she took another female or two, and went southwards, till the cries of the damned had nearly terrified her to distracti- on. To add to the horror of the scene, she saw her mother in torments. On her return, Yumu found her in a state of the greatest distress, and soon discovered the cause. She insisted on Yumu’s delivering her mother that very day, or he should see her face no more. Yumu declared this to be impossible; that her own bad conduct had brought her there, and that she could only be delivered according to the forms of the shastru, after suffering the punishment due to her. Yijuyii became impa- tient and clamorous; till Yumu told her, that if she could get (he merit of the Boo- dhastumee vrutu transferred to her by some one, she might deliver her mother. Yumu further informed her, that on eartli a certain queen, who had performed the Boodhash- tumee vrutu, had been three days in the pains of child-birth, and that if she would perform a certain ceremony, which he described to her, the queen would be delivered, and would in return transfer the merits of this vrutu to her mother, w ho would imme- diately be delivered from torments. Vijuyutook this advice, and thus procured the deliverance of her mother from hell. 68 HISTORY, LITERATURE, avd RELIGION, [Part iit. Cha?. t. Yumu’s principal names are : Dhurmu-rajii, or, the holy king. — Pitripatee, the lord of the ancients. — Sumuvurttee, he who judges impartially. — Pretu-rat, the lord of the dead. — Kritantu,the destroyer. — Yumoona-bhrata, the brother of Yumoona.* — Shu- munh, he who levels all. — Yumii-rat, the chief of the fourteen Yumus.+ — Yumii, he w ho takes out of the world. — Kalu, time. — Dundjdhuru, he w ho holds the rod of pu- nishment.— Shraddhu-devu, the god of the ceremonies paid to deceased ancestors ; or, he who eats his share of the shraddhu. — Voivuswutii, the son of Vivuswut, or, Sooryu. • — Untiiku, he who kills, or puts an end to life. SECTION XIII. The worship of the £( Host of Ileaven.” THE Hindoos, like other idolatrous nations, have gone into the worship of the heavenly bodies. The planets, the constellations, the signs of the zodiac, the stars in general, the star Canopus,^ the star Kalu-poorooshii, &c. have all been deified, and are worshipped with appropriate forms of petition, praise, &c. some of them at the festivals of other gods, and others at different times. The constellations are wor- shipped separately at the births of children, as well as at the anniversaries of these births till the time of death. Some persons suppose, that the worship of the elements w’as the primitive idola- try of the Hindoos, and that of heroes the invention of later times. It is plain, howr- cver, that the vedus, supposed to be the most ancient of the Hindoo writings, coun- tenance the worship of deified heroes. These books contain accounts of Briimha, Yishnoo, and Shivu, and most of the other deities. A paragraph in the Rig-vedu speaks of the gods choosing Indruto be their king, whom they placed on a throne fan- * The river Yomoona. t Yamu has thirteen assistants, whose names are here given as different names of this judge of the dead. t Called bj the Hindoos Ugustjh, the sage. Of the cods. — iiThc JIusl of Heaven.*’] OF THE HINDOOS. G9 cifully constructed with texts of the vedu. Amongst all the gods none are charged with greater crimes than Indrii, who seduced the wife of his spiritual guide ; indeed, from a variety of facts it is highly probable, that to the vedus we are to attribute the foundation of this whole fabric of superstition. These books contain prayers to procure the destruction of enemies, as well as encourage the burning of widows alive,* which is surely a far greater crime than any thing done in the presence of the images of Ramu or Krishna. The ancient idolatry therefore, seems to have been as corrupt as any thing practised at present. Is it not probable that the horrid worship of Moloch was really that of the element of fire ? I do not find, however, that the heavenly bodies are worshipped on the tops of houses, as appears to have been the case among those nations from whom the Jews learnt their idolatry. It is said of Manasseh, that ‘lie worshipped all the host of heaven, and served them.’ Josiah, the son of Manasseh, put down all that burnt incense unto Baal, to the sun, and to the moon, and to the planets, and to all the host of heaven. By the prophet Jeremiah, God threatens, that the people shall bring out the bones of the king of Judah, of the princes, priests, prophets and people, and adds,{ And they shall spread them before the sun, the moon, and all the host of hea- ven, whom they have served; they shall not be gathered nor be buried ; they shall be for dung upon the face of the earth. By the prophet Zephaniah, God threatens to cut off them c that worship the host of heaven upon the house-tops.’ Stephen, in rehearsing the history of the children of Israel before the Jewish council, declares, that God formerly gave up their forefathers to worship the host of heaven, and men- tions among other objects of worship the star of the god Remphan. This worship, which has been so general among heathen nations, seems to have originated in judicial astrology, and in the belief that the haavenly bodies have a great influence upon human events. Hindoos, whose birth under a supposed evil planet has been ascertained, are often filled with melancholy; some abandon them- selves to despair, careless of what becomes of an existence connected with such omens. ’ O fire.let these women, with bodies anointed with ghee, eyes (coloured) with stibium and roid of tears, enter the ■parent of water, that they may not be separated from their husbands, may be in uuion with excellent husbands, be -sinless, and be jewels among women.” Kig-vidH. 70 HISTORY. LITERATURE, and RELIGION’, [Part hi. Chap. r. The reader will perceive, in reading the account of Saturn, to what a degree the Hin- doos dread the influence of this planet, especially at the time when it is in a certain sign. Against fears of this kind the prophet Jeremiah warned the Jews : < Learn not the way of the heathen, and be not dismayed at the signs of heaven, for the heathen are dismayed at them.’ SECTION XIV. The worship of the Nine Gruhtis,* or Planets. AT the great festivals a small offering is presented to all the planets at once ; but except on these occasions they are never worshipped together. They are, however, frequently w orshipped separately by the sick or unfortunate, w ho suppose themselves to be under the baneful influence of some planet. At these times the nine planets are worshipped, one after the other, in regular succession. The ceremonies consist of the common forms of worship before other images, and close with a burnt-offering to each planet. To Sooryu are offered in the burnt sacrifice small pieces of the shrub iirku ;+ to Chundru, those of the pulashu to Mars, those of the kluidiru to Mercury, those of the upamargu :|| to Jupiter, those of the iislrwutt'hu ;* to Venus, those of the ooroomburu; to Saturn, those of theshumee;t to Rahoo, blades of doorva grass; and to Ketoo, blades of kooshu grass. In honour of Sooryu boiled rice mixed with molasses is burnt ; milk is to be mix- ed with the rice offered to Chundru ; with that to Mars, curds ; with that to Mercury, clarified butter ; to Jupiter is offered frumenty ; to Venus, boiled rice alone ; to Sa- turn, various kinds of food ; to Rahoo, goat’s flesh or fish ; to Ketoo, blood from the ear of a goat, mixed with rice. * These stars are called gruhus, because they make known to people good and evil. t Asclepias gigantiae. J JButea frondosa. £ Mimosa catechu. U Achyranthes aspera. * Ficus religiosa. t Mimosa albida. Of the sods. — Ruvee.'] t OF TIIE HINDOOS. 71 The image of Sooryu is to be a round piece of mixed metal, twelve fingers in diame- ter ; that of Chundru is to be like a half moon, a cubit from end to end ; that of Mars, a triangular piece of metal measured by the thickness ofsix fingers ; that of Mercury, a golden bow measuring the thickness of two fingers from one extremity to the other; that of Jupiter like a flower of the water-lily ; that of Venus, a four-square piece of silver ; that of Saturn, an iron scymitar ; that of Kahoo, an iron miikuru ; and that of Ketoo, an iron snake. The fees accompanying the worship of the different planets are various : at that of Sobryu, a milch cow ; of Chundru, a shell ; of Mars, a bull : of Mercury, a morsel of gold ; of Jupiter, a piece of cloth ; of Venus, a horse ; of Saturn, a black cow ; of Rahoo, a piece of iron ; and of Ketoo, a goat. When the officiating bramhun performs the worship of separate planets, he must put on vestments of divers colors, and ofler different kinds of flowers. SECTION XV. Ruvee,* l/te sun. THIS god, the son of Kushyhpu, the sage, is painted red. lie holds a water-lily in each hand, and rides in a chariot drawn by seven yellow + horses. Ruvee as one of the planets is worshipped only at the great festivals. The Jyo- tish-tutwu says, that if a person be born under the planet Ruvee, he will possess an anxious mind, be subject to disease and other sufferings, be an exile, a prisoner, and endure much sorrow from the loss of his wife, children, and property. This god has been already noticed under the name of Sooryu; but in that ac- * Hence Ruvee-vavu, or Sunday. t Not green, as mentioned by Mr. Maurice. 71 HISTORY, LITERATURE, and It E L IG 1 0 X, [Part nr. Chap. i. count several particulars were omitted by mistake ; and which I insert here, though they properly belong to another form of this idol : While batlring, the Hindoos re- peat certain incantations, in order to bring the waters of all the holy places in the heaven of this god into the spot where they are standing, and thus obtain the merit of bathing not only in Gunga, but in all the sacred rivers, Sec. in the heaven of Sooryu. After bathing too the Hindoos make their obeisanceto this god in a standing posture; the more devout draw up their joined hands to the forehead, gaze at the sun, make prostration to him, and then turn round seven times, repeating certain forms of petition and praise. On these occasions they hold up water in their joined hands, and then 4 pour out a drink-offering’ to the sun. When the terrific being which sprung out of Shivu’s bunch of hair went with all the bh55tus, &c. to destroy Diikshu’s sacrifice, all the gods being present, this monster seized on So5ryu and knocked out his teeth : in consequence, at the time of worship, only soft things, as flour, Sec. are now offered to this god, such as a toothless old man might cat. Sooryu is charged in the Muhabharutu with ravishing Koontee, a virgin, from whence Kurnnii, a giant, was born. SECTION XVI. Somity* or Chundri ?, the moon. THE image of Somu is that of a white man, drawn by ten horses, or sitting on the water-lily. With his right hand he is giving a blessing, and in the other he holds a club. In Hie work called Udhikurunu-mala, a sacrifice is ordered fo be performed to Somtij and the worshipper is promised a place in the heaven of this god. * Hence Somu-vnru, or Monday. Of the god?. — S*0/ttS.] OF TIIE HINDOOS. 73 All the Hindoo ceremonies are regulated by the rising or setting, the waxing or waning of the moon. The Jyotish-tutwu says, If a person be born under the planet Somii, he will have many friends; will possess elephants, horses, and palanqueens; be honourable and powerful ; will live upon excellent food ; rest on superb couches, &c. A race of Hindoo kings arc said to have descended from Somii by Hohinee,* and are called the children of the moon. The first of these was Eoodhu, and the forty- sixth Yoodhist’hiru. This god on a certain occasion was forcibly carried away by Gurooru, the bird on which Vishnoo rides, and delivered up to the giants. The giants, anxious to become immortal, as well as the gods, promised Gurooru that if he would bring the moon by force, so that they might drink the nectar, supposed to exist in the bright parts of that planet, they would deliver his mother from the curse pronounced against her u by her son Uroonu, by which she had been doomed to become the slave of her sister. Gurooru soon seized the god, and placed him trembling among the assembled giants; but while the latter were gone to bathe, and prepare for partaking of the waters of immortality, Indru arrived and delivered the captive, and thus disappointed these implacable enemies of the gods. Somu is charged with seducing the wife ot V nhusphtee, his preceptor. See the next page. The chief names of this god are : Somii, or, he from w hom the water of immorta- lity springs. — Himangshoo, he whose beams are cooling.-— Chiindru, he at whose ris- ing people rejoice.— Indco, the great — Koomoodu-banduvii, the friend of the flower Koomoodu.f — Vidhoo, he who causes the gods to drink the water of life. — Scodhang- shoo, he whose rays are as the water of life.— Oshidleeshii, the loid of medicinal plants. — Nishaputte, the lord of night. — Ubju, he who was born from the waters. — * The Hyades. t Nymph flea lotus. Alter the rising t;f the moon Ibis flower is sa:d by the Hindoos to expand. J 74 HISTORY, LITERATURE, and RELIGION, [Part iii. Chap. i. Joivafrikfi, (lie preserver of men. — Clou, be who decreases. — Mrigranku, be on whose lap sits a deer.* — Kiilanidbee, be with whom are the kulas.+— Dwijuraj.fi, the chief of (he bramhims. — JNukshutreshii, (he lord of the planets Kshupakuru, he who illu- mines the night, SECTION XVII. JSIi'.ngulU)% or Mars. THIS god is painted red ; rides on a sheep ; wears a red necklace and garments of the same colour; and has four arms: in one hand he holds a weapon called shuk- tee ; with another he is giving a blessing ; with another forbidding fear ; and in the fourth he holds a club. If a person be born under the planet Mungulu, hewill be full of anxious thoughts, be wounded with offensive weapons, be imprisoned, be oppressed with fear from rob- bers, fire, &e. and will lose his lands, trees, and good name. — Jyotish-tutwu. SECTION XVIII. J Boodhii)% or Mercury. THIS god has four arms : in one hand he holds the discus, in another a club, in another a scymitar, and with the fourth is bestowing a blessing. He rides on a lion; is of a placid countenance; and wears yellow garments. • Sec a story of the birth of Boodhu in the following page. t Kula is the one 16tb part of (he disk of (lie moor, via. that quantity whir h it increases or decre ases in one day, J Mangulu-varli, or Tuesday. JUfingiilQ is a'so called Ungaruku, or, he who travels ; Koojii, the son of the earth ; and Lohitangu, the blood-coloured. $ Boodhc-varfi, nr \Vcdne5da3'. The meaning of Bocdhii is, the wise. lie is also called Itcuhinfyu, the son of Rohinee, and Soum\3, the son of SomQ. Of tiie cods. — lioodhu.~\ OF TIIE HINDOOS. 7 b The following is an account of the birth of Boodliu : On a certain occasion Vri- husputce, the spiritual guide of the gods, made a great feast, to which he invited all the gods : Chundrii was present among the rest; who, during the festival, fell in love with Tara, the wife of Vrihusputee. Not knowing how to accomplish his wishes, after his return home he invited Vrihusputee to a sacrifice, begging him to bring his wife with him. Vrihusputee and his wife proceeded to the palace of Chundru, but saw no preparations for the sacrifice. The former expressing his surprize at this circumstance, Chundru told him that the sacrifice was unavoidably delayed, and ad- vised him to return for a short time to his devotions leaving his wife at his house. Vrihusputee consented, and during his absence Chundru dishonoured the wife of his spiritual guide, who, on his return, finding his wife pregnant, cursed Chundru, and hurled him into the sea, where he continued like a cinder, leaving the earth in dark- ness for two kulpus, or 804,000,000 years. Vrihusputee compelled his wife to deliver herself, and, on the birth of the child Boodlm, reduced her to ashes. Brumha after- wards raised her from her ashes, and, thus purified, Vrihusputee took her to his em- braces again. Sfunoodru, (the sea) incensed at his son for this horrid crime of dis- honouring the wife of his divine teacher, disinherited him. Chundru then applied to his sister Ltikshmee,* the w ife of Vishnoo, by whose power part of his sin was removed, and he became light like the moon when three days old. She also applied in his behalf to Parvutee, who resolved to restore Chundru to heaven, and for this purpose planted him in the forehead of her husband, t who went, thus ornamented, to a feast of the gods. Vrihusputee, on seeing Chundru again in heaven, was great- ly incensed, and could only be appeased by Brumha’ s ordaining that the lascivious gixl should be excluded from heaven, and placed among the stars ; and that the sin by which his glory had been obscured should remain for ever. Chuudru now asked Brumha to remove the vomiting of blood, w ith which he had been seized since his fall from heaven, w ho directed him, as a certain cure, to hold a deer on his knees. If a person be born under the planet Booilhu, he will be very fortunate, obtain an excellent wife, &c. — Ji/otish-tiilwu. Lukshmee was born, like Ckundru, at the churning of the sea by the gods, t in Slnvu s forehead i? placed a half moon. J 2 75 HISTORY, LITERATURE, ivn RELIGION, [Part hi. Cii'ap. i. SECriON’ XIX. Vrihusputee ,* or J upiler. TH E image of this god, the son of the sage Ungira, is painted yellow. He sits on the water-lily ; has four arms ; in one hand he holds a roodrakshu bead-roll ; in another an alms’ dish; in another a club; and with the fourth he is bestowing a blessing. Vrihusputee is preceptor and priest to the gods ; in whose palaces he explains the Vedus, and performs a number of religious ceremonies. If a person be born under the planet Vrihusputee, lie will be endowed with an amiable disposition ; possess palaces, gardens, lands, and be rich in money, corn, &c. ; obtaining the affections of all, his honours will increase ; he will possess much religious merit ; and in short will have all his wishes gratified. Kshufriyus, Voishyus, and Shoodrus, if born under this planet, will be prosperous and happy ; but bramhuns will not be so fortunate : the reason given is, that Vrihusputee is a bramhun, and there- fore does not wish to exalt those of his own cast. — Jyolish-tutwu. This god is charged in the Muhabharatu with deflouring the wife of his eldest bro- ther Ootiit’hyu. Names. Vrihusputee, or, preceptor to the gods. — Sooracharyu, the priest of the gods. — Gishputce, the eloquent. — Gooroo, the preceptor. — Jeevu, he who revives the gods.d — Angirusu, the son of Ungira. — Vachusputee, the lord of words, viz. the eloquent. * Vribnspnti-varn, or Thursday, restores them to life. t That is, when the gods die in battle, Vribaspo ee by incantations Of the cods — Shookru.~\ OF TIIE HINDOOS. 7/ SECTION XX. Shookru,* or the planet Venus. THIS god, the son of the sage Bhrigoo, is dressed in white ; sits on the water-lily ; has four hands : in one he holds a roodrakshu bead-roll ; in another an alms’ dish ; in another a club, and with the other is bestowing a blessing. Shookru is preceptor and officiating priest to the giants. He is represented as blind of one eye ; the reason of which is thus related : W hen Yamuna went to king Bulee, to solicit a present, Shookru, being Bailee’s preceptor, forbad his giving him any thing. The king disregarding his advice, the priest was obliged to read the necessary formulas, and to pour out the water from a vessel, to ratify the gift. Shookru, still anxious to withhold the gift, which he foresaw would be the destruction of his master, entered the water in an invisible form, and by his magic power prevented it from fall- ing ; but Yamuna, aware of the device, put a straw into the bason of water, which entered Shookru’s eye, and gave him so much pain, that he leaped out of the bason : the water then fell, and the gift was offered. If a person be born under the planet Shookru, he will have the faculty of know- ing things past, present, and future ; will have many wives ; have a kingly ura+ brella, (the emblem of royalty); and other kings will worship him; he will possess elephants, horses, palanqueens, footmen, &c. — Jyotish-tulwu. Shookru’s daughter Devujanee, wras deeply in love with one of her father’s pupils, Kuchu, the son of Vrihusputee. This youth had been sent by his father to learn from Shookru an incantation for raising the dead. One day Devujanee sent Kuchu to bring some flowers to be used in worshipd from a forest belonging to the giants. Previously * Sbookru-varu, or Fr.day. f Gathering flowers for the worship of the gods is often at present the em- ployment of young persons. '7i HIST OH Yj LITE RAT LIRE, a\*d RELIGIOX, [Part hi. Cuaf. i. to this, Kiichu had been devoured several times, by different giants, but Shookrii, by the above incantation had restored him to life, when he tore open the bellies of these cannibals and destroyed (hem. The giants now resolved to make Shookrii himself eat this boy, for which purpose they caught him in the forest, cut him into the smallest pieces, boiled him up inspirits, and invited Shookrii to the entertainment. Kuchu not returning from the forest, Bevujanee wept much, and told her father that she would certainly kill herself* if he did not bring back her lover. Shookrii at length, by the power of meditation, discovered that he had eaten (his youth, so beloved by his daugh- ter, and he knew not how to bring him back to life without the attempt being fatal to himself. At laA, however, while the boy continued in his belly he restored him to life, and taught him the incantation for raising the dead, after which Kuchu, tearing open Sliookrii’s belly, came forth, and immediately restored his teacher to life. Kuchii, having obtained the knowledge of revivifying the dead, took leave of his preceptor, and was about to return to his father Vrihusputee, when Deviijanee insisted upon his marrying her. Kuchii declined this honour, as she was the daughter of his preceptor ; at which she was so incensed that she pronounced a curse upon him by which he was doomed to reap no advantage from all his learning. In return Kuchu cursed Dsviija- nee, and doomed her to marry a kshutriyu; which curse, after some time took effect, and she was married to king Yiijatee. After Deviijanee had borne two children, she discovered that the king maintained an illicit connection with a princess of the name of Summisht’lia, by whom he had three sons. She appealed to lier father Shookrii, who pronounced a curse on Yiijatee, — when his hair immediately became grey, his tectli fell from his head, and he was seized with complete decrepitude. Yiijatee remon- stratedwitli his father-in-law, and asked him who should live with his daughter, w ho was yet young, seeing that he had brought old age upon him. Shookru replied, that if he could persuade any one to take upon him this curse, he might still enjoy connu- bial felicity. Yiijatee returned home, and asked his eldest son by Deviijanee to take this curse for a thousand years, and possess the kingdom, at the close of w hich time he should become young again, and continue iu tiie kingdom ; but this son, his brother, ° nd the two eldest sons of Summisht’ha refused the kingdom on these conditions : which „ so enraged the father, that he cursed them all. The youngest son, however, by Siim- Tiie Hindoo children often resort to this threat to extort some favour from iheir parents. Of the gods. — Shunee.'] OF THE HINDOOS. 7* miskl’ha accepted the conditions, and instantly became weak and decrepid ; when the fathor assumed his former youth, and returned to the company of his wives. Names. Skookrii, or, he who sorrows at the destruction of the giants. — Doityu- gooroo, preceptor to the giants. — Kavyu, the poet. — Ooshuna, the friend of the giants. — Bharguvu, the descendant of Bkrigoo. * * SECTION XXI. Shunee,* or Saturn. THIS god is dressed in black ; rides on a vulture ;+ has four arms ; in one he holds an arrow ; in another a javelin ; in another a bow, and w ith the other is giving a blessing. He is said to be the son of Sooryu by Chaya. All the Hindoos exceedingly dread the supposed baneful influence of this god, and perform a number of ceremonies to appease him. M any stories of him are to be found in the writings of the Hindoos, such as that of his burning offthe head of Gtine- shu ; his burning Dushuriit’hu’s chariot in his descent from heaven ; his giving rise to bad harvests, ill fortune, &c. » If a person be born under the planet Shunee, says the Jyotisli-tutwu, he will be slan- dered, his riches dissipated, his son, wife, and friends destroyed ; he will live at va- riance with others ; and endure many sufferings. The Hindoos are under constant fear of bad fortune from this planet. Some persons, if absent from home at the time * Shanee-varu,or Saturday. One of the nnmesof Shunee is Sbunoishcburtl, viz. he who travels slowly. t This eod is represented as silting on this bird, probably to denote his destructive power. Saturn, in the Grecian system of idolatry , was represented as devuuiing 1 is i hildren. The vultures in Bengal are highly useful :n devour- ing the dead bodies of men and beasis, many ol w hich are left in the roads and on the banks of rivers. It is asto- nishing how swiftly these birds co lect wherever a dt ad body falls, though one of them should not have been seen in the place for weeks or months befoie, frustrating, in the most striking manner, the words of our Lord : “ W licrcso- ever the carcase is, there will the vultures be gathered together.” Malt. xxiv. 28. II [STORY, LI T ER AT U R E, axd R E L I G 10 N, [Part iii. Ciiap. r. 30 of his appearance, return through fear, and others forsake their business lest they should meet with misfortunes. If one person persecute another, the latter sometimes takes it patiently, supposing it to arise from the bad fortune which naturally springs from the influence of this star- The Hindoos believe that when Shfmcc is in the ninth stellar mansion, the most dreadful evils befal mankind : hence when llamu broke the bow of Shivu,Avkichwasess£s.- — Doorga.] OF TIIE HINDOOS. Of the goddesses. SECTION XXIV. Doorga. \ IN those parts of the Hindoo shastrus which treat of the production of the world, this goddess is spoken of as the female power, under the name of Prukritee or Bhii- guvntee. She was firstborn in the house of Dukshu, one of the progenitors of man- kind, and called Sutee ; under which name she was married to Shivu, but renounced her life on hearing her father reproach her husband. On her second appearance, we recognize her under the name of Parvutee, the daughter of Himaluyii ;* w hen she was again married to Shivu, by whom she had two children, Kartikeyu and Guneshu. Doorga has had many births to destroy the giants.E The reason of her being call- ed Doorga is thus given in the Kashee-khundu : On a certain occasion, Ugustyii, the sage, asked Kartikeyu, why Parvutee, his mother, was called Doorga. Kartikeyu replied, that formerly a giant named Doorgu, the son of Rooroo, having performed religious austerities in honour of Briimha, obtained his blessing, and became a great oppressor: he conquered the three worlds, and dethroned Indru, Vayoo, Chiindru, o ^ umtt, Ugr.ee, Vuroonii, Kooverfi, Biilee, Eeshanu, Roodrii, Sooryii, the eight Vu- soos, &c. The wives of the rishees were compelled to celebrate his praises. He sent all the gods from their heavens to live in forests; and at his nod they came and wor- shipped him. He abolished all religious ceremonies ; the bramhuns, through fear of him, forsook the reading of the v edits ; the rivers changed their courses ; lire lost its energy ; and the terrified stars retired from sight ; he assumed the forms of * The mountain of this name. ♦ Sir W. Jones, not improperly, considers Doorga as bearing a pretty strong resemblance to Jono, as well as to Minerva. K 2 81 HISTORY, LITERATURE, and RELIGION, [Part m. Chat. i. the clouds, and gave vain whenever he pleased ; the earth through fear gave an abund- ant increase; and the trees yielded flowers and fruits out of season. The god3 at length applied to Shiva. India said, 4 He has dethroned me’ — Sooty u said, 1 He has taken my kingdom;’ and thus all the gods related their misfortunes. Shiva, pity- ing their case, desired Parvutee to go and destroy the giant . She willingly accepting of the commission, calmed the fears of the gods, and first sent Kalu-ratree, a female ■whose beauty bewitched the inhabitants of the three worlds, to order the giant to re- store things to their ancient order. The latter, full of fury, sent some soldiers to lay- hold of Kalu-ratree; but, by the breath of her mouth, she reduced them to ashes. Doorgii then sent £0,000 other giants, w ho were sucli monsters in size that they cover- ed the surface of the earth. Among them were the following: Doordhfiru,1 Door- mookhiy2 Khuru, 3 Skiru-pane;-,4 Pashu-panee,5 Soorendru,6 Dumunii,7 Hunoo,8 Yuguuhance,9 Khurgu-roma, 10 Oograsyu,1 1 Devu-kiimpunu,12 &c. At the sight of these giants, Kalu-ratree fled through the air to Parvutee, and the giants followed her. Doorgu, with 100,000,000 chariots, 200 urvoodus (or 100, 000, 0C0, 000) of elephants, ten millions of swift-footed horses, and innumerable soldiers, went to fight with Par- vutee on the mountain Vindhu. As soon as the giant drew near, Paryutee assumed 1000 arms, and called to her assistance different kinds of beings, as jumbhu,13 miika- jumbliu,1-4 vijumbhu,'5 vikutanfinu,16 pingakshu,17 muhisliii,38 nmhogrfi,49 iityoogru, 0 vigruhu,-1 kroorakshii,2- krodhunu,23 krundfmn, 4 sunkriindumi,25 muha-bhfiyu,26 jitan- tuku,27 muha-vahoo,28muha- vuktru,-9 muheedhriru,30 doondoobhii,31 doondoobhiruvu,32 mfiha-doondoo-bhinasiku,33 oograsyu,34 deergu-dushunu,35 m£ghu-k6shii,S6 vrikanu- nn,37 singhasyu,38 shookuru-mookhu,39 shiva-ruvu-nniliotkutfi,40 shookut-oondu,41 piu- chundasyu,4- bheemakshu,43 kshoodru-manusii,44 oolooku-uetru,46 kunukasy ii,46 kaku- 1 Difficult to catch. £ Fcul-mouthetl. 3 Cruel. 4 Holding n human skull in the hanrl. Wieldcrs ofthepasl.5. 6 Sovereigns of tlie puds. 7 Bullies. 8 Of high cheek bones. 9Sacri- fice-dcstroyers. 10 They whose hair is like scymitars. li Of terrific countenance. :2 They who make the gods tremb’e. 13 Malicious. 11 Very malicious. 15 In various way s malicious. 16 Ot fear-exciting countenance. 17 Of yell, w eyes. 18 Like buffalos. 19 Wrathful. £0 Exceedingly wralhlul. 21 Warriors. 22 Cruel-eyed. 53 Wrathful. 24 Causers of crying. 25 Causing to cry excessively. 26 Fear-exciting. 27 Death conquering. i8 L rg-- armed. £9 Large-faced. 30 Muuntain-like. 31 Noisy like the doondoobhee. 3c Ditto. 33 With noses like the dootidoobhee. 31 With wrathful co ;ntenance. 35 Long-toothed. 06 W ;>h hair like clouds. 37 Leo| aid-faced. 38 Lie n-faccd. 39 Pig-faced. 4Ct Exciting terrors by making sounds like the jack I. 41 With bills like a parrot. 42 Terrible-faced. 43 lenific-eytd, 41 Little minded. 45 Owl-eyed. 46 Gold-faced. Of tiie goddesses. — Doorga.~\ OF TIIp HINDOO^. 85 toondii,1 kli rauiiui.hu,2 deergugreevu," muliajiinghu,4 shiroddhviru,5 ruktu-vrindu-juva- netru,6 vidyoofjivhii,7 figninetruk.fi,8 tapunii,9 dhoomrakshu,10 dhoomiinisliwasu,11 shooru-chundangshoo-tapuuu,12 muhabheeshunri-mookhu,13 &c. She also brought a number of weapons out of her body, as usee,14 chukru,'5 bhooshoondee,'6 guda,17 mood- guru,18 lomuru, 19 bhindipalu,20 purighu,21 koontii,22 shulyu,23 shuktee,24 urdhu-chun- jdru,2-’ kshoorupru,26 narachu,27 shileeinookLii,*8 muhabhullu,29 piimskoo,30 bhidooru,31 and murmiibhedu.32 The troops of the giant poured their arrows on Parvutee sitting on the mountain Vindhu thick as the drops of rain in a storm ; they even tore up the trees, the mountains, &c. and hurled at the goddess, who however threw a weapon which carried aw ay many of the arms of the giant ; when he, in return, hurl- ed a flaming dart at the goddess, which she turning aside, he discharged another ; but this also she resisted by a hundred arrows. He next let fly an arrow at Parvu- tee’s breast, but this too she repelled, as well as two other instruments, a club and a pike. At last Parvutee seized Doorgu, and set her left foot on his breast ; but he disengaged himself, and renewed the fight. The beings (9,000,000) whom Par- voice caused to issue from her body then destroyed all the soldiers of the giants; in return Doorgu caused a dreadful shower of hail to descend, the effect of w hic h Par- vulee counteracted by an instrument called shosliunii.* He next, breaking ofF the peak of a mountain, threw it at Parvutee, who cut it into seven pieces by her arrows. The giant now assumed the shape of an elephant as large as a mountain, and ap- proached the goddess, but she tied his legs, and with her nails, which were like scy- mitars, tore him to pieces. He then arose in the form of a buffalo, and with his horns cast stones, tree®, and mountains at the goddess, tearing up the trees by the breath of lr.s nostrils. The goddess next pierced him with her trident, when he reeled to and fro, and, renouncing the form ofthe buffalo, assumed his original body as a giant, with 1 Crow-faced. S Sharp-nailed. 3 Lono-necked. 4 Long-thighed. 5 Larue-veined. 6 Wnh eyes red like the y 8 va flower. 7 With tongues like lightning. 8 Fiery-eyed. 9 lnflamers. 10 Smol;e-eycd. 11 With breath like smoke. 12 Giving pain to the sun and moon. 1$ Of horrid countenance. 14 A scymitar. 15 A discus. 18 A hammer. 19 An iron crow. ■ to A s' ort arrow. So A javelin. 24 Another. An arrow like a hall moor, arrow. -.fl A round arrow, £9 A very long spear, derbolt full of sp.kes. 32 A bearded arrow. 16 Hatchet. 17 A bludgeon or club. 21 A bludgeon. 22 A bcardtd dart. 26 A weapon like a spade. 27 A small 50 A hatchet like a half moon. 31 A ibun- A weapon which dries cp liquids. HISTORY, LITERATURE, akd RELIGION, [Part ni. Chap. t. .•SS a thousand aims and weapons in each. Going up fo Parvulee, the goddess seized hira Ly li is thousand arms, and carried him into the air, from whence she threw him down with dreadful force. Perceiving however that this had no effect, she pierced him ia Hie breast with an arrow, when (he blood issued in streams from his mouth, and he ex- pired. The gods were now tilled with joy : Sooryu, Chandra, Ugnee, &c. obtain- ed their former splendour, and all the other deities, who had been dethroned by this giant, immediately reascended their thrones; the bramhuns resumed the study of the vediis ; sacrifices were regularly performed, and every thing assumed its pristine state : the heavens -rang with the praises of Parvulee, and the gods in return for so signal a deliverance honoured her with the name of Doorga. % Muhishu, king of the giants, at a certain period, overcame the gods in war, and reduced them to such a state of indigence that (hey were seen wandering about the earth like common beggars. Indrii, after a time, collected them together, and they went in a body to Brumha, and afterwards to Shiva, but met with no redress. At last they applied to Vishnoo, who was so enraged at beholding their wretchedness, that streams of glory issued from his face, from which sprang a female named Miiha- naaya (Doorga). Streams of glory issued also from the faces of the other gods, and entering Muha-maya, she became a body of glory resembling a mountain on fire. The gods then gave their weapons to ibis female, and, with a frightful scream, she ascend- ed into the air. [The work Chiindee, in this place, contains along account of the dreadful contest betwixt Muha-maya and this giant, avhicli ended in the destruction of the latter. J After the victory the gods chanted the praises of Muha-maya, and the goddess, pleased with their gratitude, promised to succour them whenever they were in dis- tress, and then disappeared. The H indoos believe that (he warship of Doorga has been performed through the four yoogiis, but that Soorutu, a king, in the end of (lie d wa purii-y oogii, made kuown the present form of worshipping the goddess, and celebrated these orgies in the month Of the goddesses. — Doorga.~\ OF THE HINDOOS. 82 Choitrti, hence called the Vasuntee, or spring festival. Soorutu offered a very great number of goats, sheep, and buffalos to Doorga, believing, according to the shas- trfi, that he should enjoy happiness in heaven as many years as there were hairs upon the different animals offered. After his death, however*, his case excited much discussion in the court of Yumii, who at length decided, that though Soorutu had much merit, he had destroyed the lives of many animals, and that he must be born and suffer death from all these beasts assembled j.u one place, when he should im- mediately be advanced to heaven. Others interpret this passage of the shastru as meaning, that the king was to assume in succession the forms of all these beasts, and be put to death in each form before he could ascend to heaven. In the tretii yooga Kama is said to have performed the worship of Doorga in the month Ashwinfi ; and froru him it is continued in this month, and called the Sharu-deeya cr autumnal festival. This festival, celebrated in the month Ashwinij, the most popular of all the annual festivals held in Bengal, l shall now attempt to describe. Immense sums are ex- pended upon it;* all business throughout the country is laid aside for several days, and universal festivity and licentiousness prevail. A short time before the festival, the learned men and sirkarst employed in Calcutta almost universally return home-; some of them enjoy a holiday of several wceks_ The image of Doorga has ten arms. In one of her right" hands is a spear, with which she is piercing the giant Aluhishu ; with one of the left she holds the tail of a serpent, and the hair of the giant, whose breast the serpent is biting. Iler other hands are all stretched behind her head, and filled with different instruments of war. Against her right leg leans a lion, and against her left the above giant. — The images of Luksh- rnea, Suruswiitee, Kartikeyu, and Guneshu, are very frequently made and placed by the side of this goddess. * In the city ofCalculta alone, it is’supposcd,’ upon a moderate calculation, that half n mi'lion sterling is expend, f d annually on this festival. About fifty years ago ( 181 l) Kundurpu-gooro, a kuist’hu, expended in this worship 38,000 pounds, and spent 12,500 pounds annually as long as he lived in the same manner. t Natives who direct the business of Europeans are c.ommouly called sirkarsi The proper name is Moonuddee, or Mooburee. ss HISTORY, LITERATURE, and RE L I G I O N, [Part iii.' Chap. i. On (lie 9th day of the decrease of (he moon, this festival begins, when (he cere* rnony called siinkulpii is performed, by the officiating bramhfm’s taking into his joined liands a metal kosha, which contains water, flowers, fruits, sesamum, rice, and a blade of koosh i grass, reading an incantation, and promising that on the succeeding days such a person will perform the worship of Doorga. After this, Doorga is worshipped before a pan of water with the accustomed formularies. On the JOth, 11th, 12th, 13lh, 14th, and 15th days of the moon, the same ceremo* nies are performed before the pan of water; and, with some trifling variations in the offerings, continued on the 16th, 17th, 18th, 19th, and 20th. On the 21st day of the moon, at the close of the worship, what is called udhivasu is performed. This also is a preliminary ceremony, and consists in taking rice, fruits, &c. and touching with them a pan of water, and afterwards the forehead of the image, at intervals repeating incantations. Oil the 224, early in the morning, the officiating bramhun consecrates the image, placing it on the spot prepared for it in the temple, and repeating the proper formu- las. After this the principal ceremonies before (lie image begin. First, the business of giving eyes and life to the images is performed; when they become objects of worship. In this curious ceremony, the officiating bramhiin touches with the two fore-fingers of his right hand the breast, the two c! eeks, the eyes, and the forehead of the image. When he touches these places lie says, { Let the soul of Doorga long continue in happiness in this image.’ After this, he takes a leaf of the vil- wii tree, rubs it with clarified butter, and holds it over a burning lamp till it be co« vered-with soot, of which betakes a little on the stalk of another vilwu leaf and touches the eyes, filling up with the soot a small white place left in the pupil of the eye. The worship of Guneshu and other gods is now performed; then that of the de- mi-goddesses, the companions of Doorga in her wars, who are represented by the dots of paint on the canopy which covers the image of the goddess. The offerings presented to them consist of very small slices of plantains, on each of which are stuck two or three grains of rice, &c. Then follows the worship of the other images set Of the GODDtssE?. — Dooi'gn.~\ OF THE HINDOOS. £9 up with that of Doorga ; to which succeeds the principal worship, that of Doorga. First, the officiating bramhun performs dhyanu, in which, sitting before the image, he closes his eyes, and repeats the proper formulas, meditating on the form of the goddess, and repeating to himself, { I present, to the goddess all these flowers, fruits, Sec. [here he goes over all the offerings ;] I slay all these animals,’ &c. fie then calls the goddess saying, 1 O goddess, come here, come here ; stay here, stay here. Take up thine abode here, and receive my worship.’ The priest next places before the image a small piece of square gold or silver, for the goddess to sit upon, and asks if she has arrived happily ; adding the answer himself, { Very happily.’ After this water for washing the feet is offered, by taking it with a spoon from one vessel, and pouring it out into another, w:hile the incantation is repeated. Ten or fifteen blades of doorvu grass, a yuva fiow'er, sandal powder, rice, See. are then offered with an incantation, and laid at the feet of Doorga. Next follows water to wash the mouth ; curds, sugar, and a lighted lamp. Then water to wash the mouth, and to bathe ; then cloth, or garments ; then jewels, or ornaments for the feet, arms, fingers, nose, cars, Sec. with sandal wood, and red or white lead; then flowers of different kinds, one at a time, with a separate incantation for each flow er, also a vilwu leaf, with some powder of sandal wood put upon it. Then are offered thrice successively two handfuls of flowers of different kinds; afterwards incense, a lighted lamp, and meat-offerings. At'tlie close, the bramhun walks round Ihe image seven times, re- peating forms of petition and praise. Now the blooJy sacrifices are offered. If the animal be a sheep or a goat, as is always the case on the first day, the officiating bramhun, after bathing it either in the river or in the house, puts his left hand on its forehead, marks its horns and fore- head w ith red lead, and reads an incantation, in which lie offers it up to the goddess thus, 1 O goddess, I sacrifice this goat* to thee, that I may live in thy heaven to the end of ten years.’ lie then reads an incantation in its ear, and puts flowers, and sprinkles water, on its head. The instrument with which the animal is killed is consecrated by placing upon it flow ers, red lead, Sec. and writing on it the incantation which is given to the disciples of Doorga. The officiating bramhun next puts the instru- On'y male animals arc offered; L su HISTORY, LITERATURE, and RELIGION, [Partiii. Chap. i. ment of death on the neck of the animal, and, after presenting him with a flower as a blessing,* then into the hand of the person appointed to slay the animal, who is ge- nerally the blacksmith, + but sometimes a bramhun. The assistants put thegoat’s neck into an upright post excavated at the top so as to admit the neck betwixt its two sides, the body remaining on one side of the post, and the head ontheotlier. An earthen vessel t containing a plantain is placed upon a plantain leaf, after which the blacksmith cuts off the head at one blow, and another person holds lip the body, and drains out the blood upon the plantain in the bason. If the person who performs (he sacrifice does not intend to offer the flesh to Doorga,;}: the slayer cuts only a small morsel from the neck and puts it on the plantain, when some one carries it, and the head, and places them before the image, putting on the head a lighted lamp. After all the animals have been thus killed, and some of the flesh and the heads carried before the image, the officiating bramhun repeats certain. prayers over these offerings, and presents them to the goddess, with the blood which fell on. the plantains*, then, taking the blood from the bason, he puts it on a plantain leaf, and cuts it in fourparts, presenting it to. the four goddesses who attend upon Doorga. Offerings of rice, plantains, sugar, sweetmeats, sour milk, curds, pulse of different sorts, limes, fruits, &c. are next presented with prayers. Now the names of Doorga are repeated by the priest, who afterwards presents camphorated water to the goddess ; then betle-nut, limes, spices, &c. made into what is called panu.V After repeating a number of forms of praise, this part of the service closes with the prostration of the officiating bramhun before the idol. Next,. food is presented with mauy prayers to the goddess, which food consists of what is called kheclHiru,]j fried fruits, fried fislx and flesh, &c. About four in the afternoon, large quantities of food. are presented to * It is common among tlie Hindoos for a superior to give a blessing while presenting a flower. t The Hindoos covet the honour of cutting off the head of an animal dexterously at the time of these sacrifices. If it be not done at one blow, they drive the blacksmith away in disgrace. The shastrns have'denounced vengeance on the person who shall fail to cut off the head at one blow : his. son will die, or the g .ddess of fortune (Lukshmee) will forsake him. } This is rarely or never done at present. There are no parts of the animal, however, which may not be offered. ^ Chewed by almost all the natives. | || A common dish in Bengal, made of rice, boiled up with turmeric, pease, spices, clarified butter, &c. Or the go!'desse\ — Doorga.'] OF TIIE HINDOOS. 91 (he goddess; amongst which are, prepared greens of three or four kinds; prepared peas of three or four kinds ; fried fruits, sweet potatoes, &c. ; fried fish mixed with fruits of four or five different sorts; the flesh of sheep and goats, stewed in two or three ways; preparations of tamarinds, two or three sorts ; rice boiled in milk, two or three sorts ; fifteen or sixteen sorts of sweetmeats, &c. all w hick are offered with se- parate prayers ; after which water, belle, &c. are presented. The bramhuns are entertained either with sweetmeats, or prepared food, by the person at whose house the worship is performed : some of them are expressly invited, and others attend to see the ceremonies. The food which has been presented to the goddess, being considered almost as ambrosia, is given to the guests with a sparing hand ; some of whom (mothers) beg to take a morsel home to cure their children, or relatives, of diseases. Food is also sent to the neighbours, and persons of inferior cast carry away great quantities.* In the evening the officiating bramhun waves a brass candlestick, or lamp with five lights, before the goddess, repeating incantations ; afterwards a shell with water in it, and then a piece of cloth. At night the temple is lighted up, and, about eight o’clock, unleavened bread, butter, fruits, sweetmeats, curds, milk, &c. are presented to the goddess. At midnight some persons repeat the worship ; but in this case the offerings are few, and there are no bloody sacrifices. After the worship of the day, many rich men engage a number of prostitutes, richly dressed and almost covered with ornaments, to dance and sing before the idol. The songs are exceedingly obscene, the dances highly indecent ; and the dress of the danc- ing women no less so, their clothing being so fine as scarcely to deserve the name of a covering. The tresses of some are thrown loose hanging down to the waist. Dur- ing the dances, the doors are shut to keep out the crowd, as well as Europeans, w ho arc carefully excluded. Six, seven, or eight women thus dance together, assisted • In some places a family or several families of bramh&ns are supported by the revenues attached to a tem- ple, andhy the offerings presented to the idol. At the lime of a festival the heads of these families wait on those who come to make offerings to the idol, and present them with betle, sweetmeats, fruits, water, &c. according to their quality. 92 HISTORY, LITERATURE, axd RELIGION, [Partiii. Cuap. i. by music, for about four hours. Rich spectators, when remarkably pleasec^witha part of the song, throw to the singer as much as four, eight, or sixteen roopees ; beside w hich, those who engage these women make them presents of garments, and of considerable sums of money. The sons of the rich natives are highly pleased with these dances. On the second day, the worship and sacrifices are much the same as on the first, ex- cept that the bathing of the goddess, called the great snanii, is attended with more ce- remonies. In this ceremony the priest first brings some earth said to have been thrown up by the teeth of a wild hog, and, mixing it with water, presents it with prayers to the goddess, to be used as soap. Then in succession earth from before the door of the king, or lord of the soil ; from before that of a courtezan — from the side of the Gan- ges— earth raised by ants, and lastly earth from any riverside, not the Ganges, is presented with the same ceremonies. After this, turmeric, fruits, and spices; the wa- ter of the cocoa-nut, and of the water melon ; the juice of the sugar cane; honej', clari- fied butter, sour milk, milk, cow’s urine, cow-dung, sugar, treacle, and different sorts of oil, arc presented in succession, with the necessary formulas. While the officiating bramhfm is going through these ceremonies, lie revolves in his mind that he is mak- ing these gifts to assist the goddess in bathing. At the close, he presents some water of the Ganges, and after this the water of four seas ; or, if unable to obtain this, the water of the Ganges again, and then the water of some other river. The bathing ceremonies are closed by a present of cloth for the loins. In the evening, or else in the night, according to the conjunction of the stars, worship is again performed, in which only one bloody sacrifice is offered ; and in some cases none. Widows fast on this day, particularly a widow with children, the latter deriving great benefits from the meritorious actions of the mother. On the third day, the goddess is worshipped only once, but the offerings and sa- crifices are many ; buffalos are offered only on this day. A respectable native once told me he had seen one hundred and eight buffalos sacrificed by one Hindoo at this festival : the number slain in the whole country must therefore be very great. For- merly some of the Hindoo kings killed a thousand animals on these occasions.4' The * The father of the present king cf Nudieya, at one of these festivals, off.red a great number of goats and sheep Or the goddesses. — Doorga."] OF TIIE HINDOOS. 93 males only are sacrificed ; and they are in general young and very tame, costing from five to sixteen roopees each. Noneof the Hindoos eat the sacrificed buffalos except the shoe- makers.* Each animal is bathed before it is slain ; after which the officiating bramhun puts red lead on its horns, and, with a red string, ties a piece of wool smeared with red lead on the forepart of (he breast ; he also puts a piece of cloth coloured over with turmeric orr his back, and a necklace of vilwu leaves on bis neck, repeating pray- ers during these actions. The ceremony of cutting off the heads of the buffalos and presenting them to the goddess, is similar to those already described respecting the sacrifice of goats and sheep. After the beasts are all slain, the multitude, rich and poor, daub their bodies all over with the mud formed with the blood which has collected where the animals were slain, and dance like furies on the spot ; after which they' go into the street, dancing and singing indecent songs, and visit those houses where images of the goddess have been set up. At the close of the whole, the officiating bramhun presents a burnt-offering, and gives to the goddess a sum of money, commonly about four roopees : some indeed give one hundred, and others as much as a thousand roopees ; w hich at length return into the hands of the officiating bramhun. In the year 1800, I was present at the worship of this goddess, as performed at the house of Raja Raj-krishnu at Calcutta. Tliebuildings where the festival was held were on four sides, leaving an area in the middle. The room to the east contained wine, Eng- lish sweetmeats, &c. for the entertainment of English guests, with a native Portuguese sheep to Doorga. He began with one, and, doubling the number each day, continued it for sixteen days. On the last day lie killed 33,168, and in the whole he slaughtered 65, >35 animals. lie loads d boats w ith the bodies, and sent them to the neighbouring bramhuns, but they could not devour them fast enough, and great numbers were thrown away. Let no one, after this, tell us ol the scruples of the bramhuns about destroy ing animal life, and eating animal food. In some places the tame hog is offered to D »orga by the lowest casts, who, among other offerings, present sp’mtnoos liquors to the goddess. At the end of the ceremonies these persons cook and eat ti e flesh, diink the . .it., nd then, n a state ol intoxication, the men and women dance together, and commit the greatest indecencies. > bra. nh .n, on pain of los.ng cast, can assist at these ceremonies ; and indeed all brauihlius who perform ceremo- nies for persons of low cast, sink in society. HISTORY, LITERATURE, and RELIGION, [Part in. Chap. i. fSi *er two to wait on the visitors. In the opposite room was placed the image, with vast heaps of all kinds of offerings before it. In the two side rooms were the native guests, and in the area groups of Hindoo dancing women, finely dressed, singing, and danc- ing with sleepy steps, surrounded with Europeans who were sitting on chairs and couches. One or two groups of Musulman men-singers entertained the company at in- tervals with Hindoost’hanee songs, and ludicrous tricks. Before two o’clock the place / •was cleared of theclancinggirls, and of all the Europeans except ourselves, and almost all the lights were exlinguished, except in front of the goddess, — when the doors of the area were thrown open, and a vast crowd of natives rushed in, almost treadingone upon another ; among whom were the vocal singers, having on long caps like sugar loaves. The area might be about fifty cubits long and thirty wide. When the crowd had sat down, they were so wedged together as to present the appearance of a solid pavement of heads ^ a small space only being left immediately before the image for tliemotions of the singers, who all stood up. Four sets of singers were present on this occasion, the first consisting of bramhuns,* the next of bankers,* the next of voishnuviis,* and the last of weavers,* who entertained their guests with filthy songs, and danced in indecent attitudes before the goddess, holding up their hands, turning round, putting forward their heads towards the image, every now and then bending their bodies, and almost tearing their throats with their vociferations. The whole scene produced on my mind sensations of the greatest horror. The dress of the singers — their indecent gestures — the abominable nature of the songs, — the hor- rid din of (heir miserable drum — the lateness of the hour — the darkness of the place . — with the reflection that I was standing in an idol temple, and that this immense multitude of rational and immortal creatures, capable of superior joys, were, in the very act of worship, perpetrating a crime of high treason against the God of heaven, while they themselves believed they were performing an act of merit — excited ideas and feelings in my mind which time can never obliterate. I would have given, in this place, a specimen of the songs sung before the image, but found them so full of broad obscenity that I could not copy a single line. All those actions which a sense of decency keeps out of the most indecent English songs, r Distinguished among the natives by the name of Hiiroo-t’hakoora, Bhuvan”ind3, Nitaee, and Liikshiuee. 0f tiie goddesses. — Doorga. f OF THE HINDOOS. S'5 are here detailed, sung, and laughed at, without the least sense of shame. A poor ballad-singer in England would be sentto the house of correction, and flogged, for performing the meritorious actions of these wretched idolaters.* The singing is couth nued for three days, from about two o’clock in the morning- till nine* The next morning, between eight and nine, a short time is spent in worship, but no bloody sacrifices are offered. Amongst other ceremonies at this time the offi- ciating braruhiin, in the presence of the family, dismisses thegoddess, repeating these ' words : i O goddess ! I have, to the best of my ability, worshipped thee. Now goto thy residence, leaving this blessing, that thou wilt return the next year after which the priest immerses a looking-glass, the representative of the goddess, in a pan of wa- ter, and (hen takes some of this water and sprinkles himself and the company with it» "When the goddess is thus dismissed, the women set up a cry — some even shed tearsj In the afternoon the mistress of the house and other women go to the image, put a roo- peeand some belle in its hand, strew some turmeric at its feet, aad rub the dust of its feet on their own foreheads and those of their friends. On their retiring, the crow d assemble,, with their bodies daubed with turmeric, oil, and sour milk, and bringing out the image, place it on .a^stage, to which they fasten it w ith cords, and carry it on their shoulders to the water* It is here placed in the center of two boats lashed to- gether, and filled with people, among w hom are dancers, musicians, singers, &c. At this time, in many instances, men dance stark naked on (lie boat before many thou- sands assembled, who only laugh at this gross indecency. Perhaps in one place on the river twenty or thirty images will be exhibited at once, while the banks are crowded with spectators rich and poor, old and young, all intoxicated with the scene. f The- * The reader will recollect that the festivals ofBacchus and Cybele were equally noted for the indecencies practised by the worshippers both in their words and actions. 1 In a memorandum of my own, dated Sept. 26, 1806, 1 find these remarks, made one evening in the course of a journey: ' About five in the afternoon we came to Bulagiir. The people of about twenty villages, more than 2000 in number, including women and children, were assembled to throw their ima tes into the river, this being the termination of the Doorga festival. I observed that one of the men standing before the idol in a boat, danc- ing and making indecent gestures, was naked. As the bout passed along, he was gazed at by the mob, nor could 1 perceive that this abominable action produced any thing beside laughter. Before other images \ oung men, r!rts-.ed in women’s clothes, were dancing with other nven, malting indecent gestures. 1 cannot help thibking that the most vulgar mob in England would have turnedwhh disgust from these abominable scenes. 1 have seen the same abo- minations exhibited before our own house at Scraropore. 9G HISTORY, LITERATURE, and RELIGION, [Part iii. Chap. i. last ceremony is that of letting down the image, w ith all its tinsil and ornaments, into the river. The women of the house to which the temple belongs go to the room from w hence the goddess has just been taken, and place a pan of water upon the spot where the image stood, and put upon the top of the pan a branch of the mango tree. After the goddess has been drowned, the crowd return to the temple, and the officiating bramhun, taking his place by the side of the pan of water, dips the branch of the ' mango tree into the water, and sprinkles all the people, repeating incantations; and thus blessing the people they are dismissed, when each one clasps his neighbour in his arms. Adjourning to their own houses, they partake of sweetmeats and ot an intoxicating beverage made w ith hemp leaves. In a vast number of instances this festival is thus closed with scenes of the most shameful intoxication : almost all the Hindoos in Bengal think it duty to indulge to a certain degree in drinking this li- quor at this festival. Presents to the bramhfms and their w ives are made on each of the fifteen days of the festival by the person at w hose house the image is set up, if he be very rich. If he be not rich enough to bear so great an expence, he gives presents on the nine or three last days of worship, and if he be still poorer, on t lie last day. These presents consist of gold and silver fimale ornaments, silk and cloth garments, brass and other metal dishes, basons, &c. 8ome persons expend the greatest sums on the dances and other exhibitions, and others in feasting and giving presents to brambuns. Seme classes of Hindoos, especially those who are the disciples of Vishnoo, do not offer bloody sacrifices to Doorga, though they celebrate this festival with much shew. These persons, instead of slaying animals, cut pumkins in two, or some other substitute, and offer them to the goddess. In the month Choitru a number of Hindoos hold a festival to this goddess, after the example of king Soorutu. Of TirE good'esses. — Doorga .] OF THE HINDOOS. J/7 Many Hindoos arc initiated into the rites by which this goddess becomes their guar- dian deity ; and as she is considered as the image of the divine energy , her disciples are called Shaktus ; a word signifying energy. Images of Doorga made of gold, silver, brass, &c. arc preserved by many and worshipped daily. In the year 180S, a bramhim of Calcutta, who had celebrated the worship of Door- ga, pretended that he had seen the goddess in a dream, w ho had declared that she would not descend into the liver till he had sacrificed his eldest son to her ; and that when the people went to convey the image to the river, it was found so heavy that it could not be lifted. Vast crowds of people flocked to see this new miracle, many of whom made offerings to this terror-inspiring goddess, and others assisted the poor man, by their contributions, to pacify the goddess in some way consistent with the preservation of his son. One of the Tiintrus contains an account of an incarnation of Doorga in the form of the jackal, in order to carry the child Krishna over the river Yumoona, when he wras flying from king Kungsu. Some of the heterodox Hindoos, called vamacharees, feed the jackal daily, by placing the offerings in a corner of the house, or near (heir dwell- ings, and then calling the goddess (in the form of some one of these animals) to come and partake of th-em. As this is done at the hour when the jackals come out of their lurking places to seek for food, one of these animals sometimes comes and eats the offerings in the presence of the worshipper j and this is not wonderful when he finds food in this place every day. Images of the jackal are made in some parts of Ben- gal and worshipped, sometimes alone and at others with the images of Doorga and Shmushanu-Kalee. Some Hindoos bow to the jackal ; if it pass by a person on his left, it is a fortunate omen. The cow is regarded by the Hindoos as a form of Doorga, and called Bhiiguvutee. This goddess has a thousand names, among w hich arc Kafyayenee, or, the daugh- ter ofthesage Kafyu. — Gouree, the yellow coloured. — Kalee, the black. — Ilonne- M 98 HISTORY, LITERATURE, and RELIGION, [Part in. Cuap.i. vutee, the daughter of Himalaya. — Eeshwuree, the goddess. — Shiva, the giver of good. — Bhuvanee, the wife of Shivu. — Survu-mungula, she who blesses all. — Upur- na, she who amidst religious austerities abstained from eating even leaves. — Parvutee, the daughter of the mountain. — Doorga, she who destroyed the giant Doorgu ; the in- accessible.—Chundika, the terrible.— Umbika, the mother of the universe. » V SECTION XXV. The ten forms of Doorga . THIS goddess is said to have assumed ten different forms in order to destroy two giants, Shoombhu and Nishoombhu. The following account of these wars is translated from the Markimdlyii pooranu : At the close of the treta yoogti, these two giants performed religious austerities for 10,000 years, the merit of which actions brought Shivu from heaven,* who discover- ed that by these works of extraordinary devotion they sought to obtain the blessing of immortality. Shivu reasoned long with them, and endeavoured to persuade them, though in vain, to ask for any other blessing short of immortality. Being denied, they entered upon more severe austerities, which they continued for another thousand years, when Shivu again appeared, but refused to grant what they asked for. They now suspended themselves with their heads downwards over a slow fire, till the blood streamed from their heads; and continued thus for 800 years, till the gods began to tremble, lest, by performing such rigid acts of holiness, they should be supplanted on their thrones. The king of the gods assembled a council and imparted to them his fears : the gods admitted (hat there w as great ground for fear, but asked what remedy there was. Agreeably to (he advice of Indru, Kiindurpii, (Cupid) with ltumbha and Tiloltuma, the most beautiful of (he ceslesti il courtezans, w ere sent to fill the minds of these giants with sensual desires ; and Kundhrph letting fly his arrow, wounded them both ; upon which, awaking from their absorption, and seeing two beautiful • It is a maxim of the Hindoo religion, that by perfoiming religious austerities the gods become subject to the wishes of men. Of tiie goddesses. — Doorga. 1 OF TIIE HINDOOS. 01) women, they were taken in the snare, and abandoned their devotions. With these women they lived 5000 years, after which they began to think of the folly of thus renouncing their hopes of immortality for the sake of sensual gratifications. They suspected that this must have been a contrivance of Indru’s; and driving the courte- zans back to heaven, renewed their devotions, cutting the flesh off their bones, and making burnt offerings of it to Shivu ; which they continued for another 1000 years, till they became entire skeletons, when Shivu again appeared, and bestowed upon them this blessing — that in riches and strength they should excel the gods. Being thus exalted above the gods, they soon began to make war with them. After various success on both sides, the giants were every where victorious, and Indru, and all the gods, reduced to the most deplorable state of w retchedness, solicited the in- terference of Brumha and Vishnoo ; but they referred them to Shivu ; w ho also declared that he could do nothing for them : when, however, they reminded him that through his blessing they had been ruined, he advised them to perform religious austerities to Doorga. They did so ; and after some time the goddess appeared ; gave them her blessing, and immediately, disguised like a common female carrying a pitcher of water, passed the assembled gods. This female asked them whose praise they were chanting? While she uttered these w'ords, she assumed her proper form, and re- plied— ‘ They are celebrating my praise.’ The new goddess then disappeared, and ascended mount Himaluyu, where Chundu and Miindu, two of Shoombhu and Psi- shoombhu’s messengers, resided. As these messengers wandered on the moun- tain, they sawr thegoddess, and were exceedingly struck with her charms, which they described to their masters; and advised them to engage the affections of this female even if they gave her all the glorious things which they had obtained in plundering the heavens of the gods. Shoombhu sent Shoogreevu, a messenger, to the goddess, to inform her that the riches of the three wodds were in his palace; that all the offer- ings which used to be presented to the gods were now offered to him; and that all these riches, offerings, &c. should be lier’s, if she would come to him. The god- dess replied that this offer was very liberal; but she had resolved, that the person whom she manied must first conquer her in war, and destroy her pride. Shoogreevu, unwilling to return unsuccessful, still pressed for a favourable answer; promising that he would engage to conquer her in war, and subdue her pride; and asked in an au- M 2 100 - HISTORY, LITERATURE, and RELIGION, [Part m. Chap. i. ihoritative strain : £ Did she know his master, before whom none of the inhabitants of the three worlds had been able to stand, whether gods, hydras, or men ? How then could she, a female, think of resisting his offers If his master had ordered him, he would have- compelled her to go into his presence immediately .’ She said all this was very correct, but that she had taken her resolution, and exhorted him, therefore, to persuade his raas-- ter to come and try his strength with her. The messenger went to his master, and relat- ed what he had heard from this female; on hearing which Shoombhu was filled with rage, and without making any reply, called for Dhoondochunu, his commander in chief, and gave him orders to go to Himaluyu, and seize a certain goddess (giving him particular directions), and bring her to him, and if any attempted to rescue her, utterly to destroy them. The commander went to Himaluyu, and acquainting the goddess with his master’s orders, she, smiling, invited him to execute them; but, on the approach of this hero, she set up a dreadful roar, as is usual among the Hindoo warriors when two combatants meet, by which he was reduced to ashes ; after which she destroyed the army of the giant, leaving only a few fugitives to communicate the tidings. Shoombhu and Nishoomblui, infuriated, seat Chunduand Miindu, who, on ascending the mountain, perceived a female sitting on an ass, laughing ; but on seeing them she became full of rage, and drew to her, ten, twenty,. or thirty, of their army at a time, devouring them like fruit. She next seized AJundu by the hair, cut off' his head, and, holding it over her mouth, drank the blood. Chundti, on seeing the other commander destroyed in this manner, came to close quarters with the goddess; but she, mounted on a lion, sprang on him, and dispatching him as she had done Miindu, devoured part of his army, and drank the blood of the greater part of the rest. The two giants no sooner heard this alarming news, than they resolved to go themselves, and engage the furious goddess ; for which purpose they collected all their forces,, an infinite number of giants, and marched to Himaluyu. The gods looked down with astonishment on this army of giants, and all the goddesses descended to help Muha- maya (Doorga), who however soon destroyed them. Kiiktu-veeju, the principal com- mander under Shoombhu and Nishoorabhu, seeing all iiis men destroyed, encountered the goddess in person ; but though she filled him with wounds, from every drop of blood which fell to the ground arose a thousand giants equal in strength to Ituktu-veeju himself j* hence innumerable enemies surrounded Doorga, and the gods were filled * Tliis^rose fiom a blessing given by Briimlia. Of the goddesses. — Doorga.~[ OF THE HINDOOS. tot with alarm at this amazing sight. At length Chundee, a goddess who had assisted Kalee in the engagement, promised that if she would open her mouth, and drink his blood before it fell on the ground, she (Chundee) would engage the giant, and destroy the whole of his strangely-formed offspring. Kalee consented, and this commander and his army were soon dispatched. Shoombhu and Nishoombhu, in a state of des- peration, next engaged the goddess in single combat, Shoombhu making the first on- set. The battle was dreadful, inconceivably dreadful, on both sides, till at last both the giants were killed, and Kalee sat down to feed on the carnage she had made. The gods and goddesses then chanted the praises of the celestial heroine, and she in return bestowed a blessing on each. After the destruction of these enemies of the gods, the sun (Sooryn) shone resplen- dency forth ; the wind (Vayoo) blew salubriously y the air became pure ; the gods ascended their thrones ; the hydras attended to the duties of their religion without fear; the sages performed their devotions without interruption ; and the people at large were restored to happiness. The Chundee; a part of the Markuiuleyu pooranu, places these forms of Doorga in the follow ing order : First, as Doorga,- she received the messenger of the giants; 2. as Dii- shubhooja,* she destroyed part of their army ; 3. as Singhu-vahinee,t she fought with Kuktu-veeju; 4. as Muhishu-murdinee,^: she slew Shoombhu, in the form of a buffalo ; 5. as Juguddhatree,^ she overcame the army of the giants ; 6. as Kalee, [| she destroy- ed lluktu-veeju; 7. as Mooktu-keshee,* she again overcame the army of thegianfs ; S. as Tara, + she killed Shoombhu; 9. as Chinnu-mustuka,^: she killed Nishoombhu j 10. as Jiigudgouree,§ she was praised by all the gods. Such of the above forms as are honoured by separate festivals, w ill be noticed here*’ after under their different names. * Having ten arms. t Sitting on a lion. f Destroyer of the buffalo, [viz. ofShoombhii in this form). £ Mother of the worb1. . |[ The black. * With flowing hair, t Saviour. } Headless, § The yellow.- 105 HISTORY, LITERATURE, and RELIGION, [Part in. Ciiap. i. SECTION XX vr. S ingh u-vahitne .* THIS goddess with yellow garments is represented as sitting on a lion ; she lias four hands ; in one a sword ; in another a spear ; with a third is forbidding fear, aud with the fourth bestowing a blessing. Many people make this image, and worship it in the day time, on the 9th of the increase of the moon, in whatever month they please, but in general in the month Ashwinuor Choitru, for two, or three days. The ceremonies, including bloody sacrifices, are almost entirely the same as those before the image of Doorga. Some- times a rich man celebrates this worship at his own expense, and at other times seve- ral persons join in it ; who expect heaven as their reward. Some Hindoos keep in (heir houses images of all the follow ing forms of Doorga, made ofgold, silver, brass, copper, crystal, stone, or mixed metal, aud worship them daily. SECTION XXVII. JSluhishu-murdiucc . + THIS is the image of a yellow woman, silting on a lion ; having either six or ten arms. In her hands are seen a conch, a discus, a club, a water-lily, a shield, a laige spear, and the tail of a snake. Some persons make this image, and worship it with the accustomed ceremonies, including bloody sacrifices, on the 9ili oi the month Choitru. She wlio sits upon a lion; t She who destroyed ZVIuhislm, a giant. Of the goddesses. — Juguddhatrec.'j OF THE HINDOOS. 103 The Tuntru-saru declares that those who worship this goddess will obtain present riches and future happiness. Many of the regular Hindoos, as well as the heterodox sects, receive the initiatory- rites of this goddess, and adopt her as their guardian deity. SECTION XXVIII. Juguddhatrec .* THIS is the image of a yellow woman dressed in red, and sitting on a lion. In her four hands she holds a conch, t a discus, a club, and a water-lily. A very popular festival in honour of this goddess is held in the month Kartiku, on the 7th, 8th, and 9th of the increase of the moon, when bloody sacrifices are offered as at the Doorga festival: the formulas are necessarily different. Very large sums are frequently expended on these occasions, especially in the illuminations, dances, songs, entertaining of bramhuns, &c. as many as one hundred and fifty persons being em- ployed as singers and dancers, beside others who sing verses from the Chundee, the Krishnu-mungulu, the Ramayunii, &c. A number of men like guards arc also hired and placed near the temple for the sake of shew. Much indecent mirth takes place, and numbers of men dance naked before the image — and call this the way to heaven, the venerable bramhuns smiling with complacency on these works of merit , so acceptable to the gods. The benefits expected from this worship are, the fruit of meritorious actions, riches, the gratification of every desire, and future happiness. These four things are commonly mentioned in the Hindoo shastrus, as promised by the gods to their worshippers. * The mother of the world; t This shell is blown at the times of worship, and at other festivals. HISTORY, LITERATURE, and RELIGION, [Part m. Chap. i. JO i SECTION XXIX. Moolitu-lces h te . * THIS Is the image of a naked woman, painted blue, standing on the breast ofShi- vii, and having four arms : the upper right arm is placed in the posture of bestow- ing a blessing ; with the other she is forbidding fear, and in her left hands she holds a sword and a helmet. The festival of this goddess is held on the 14th of the decrease of the moon in the month Maghu : the ceremonies are like those before the image of Kalee, but the bloody sacrifices are very numerous. Spirituous liquors are privately presented to the god- dess, at a late hour at night, or rather early in the morning. Some of the Hiq^oo shastrus allow of this practice, yet it is far from being honourable. I have been credibly informed, that numbers of bramhiins, in different places, at the annual fes- tival of this goddess, join in drinking the spirits which have been offered to her, and, in a state of intoxication, pass from the temples into the streets, preceded by lighted torches, dancing to the sound of music, and singing indecent songs. Some are hugging one another ; others fall down quite intoxicated ; others lose their way, and go along lifting up their hands, dancing and singing alone. The purer Hindoos stand gazing at a considerable distance, lest they should be dragged among this crowd of drunken bramhiins. The benefits promised to the worshippers of this goddess are riches now, and hea- ven hereafter. Very many persons are initiated into the rites of this goddess as their guardian deity. * Of flowin® hair. Or TIIE GODDESSES. — Tara.~\ OF TIIE HINDOOS. 10» SECTION’ XXX. Tara.* THIS is tlie image of a black woman, with four arms, standing on the breast of Sliivu : in one hand she holds a sword, in another a giant’s head, with the others she is bestow'ing a blessing, and forbidding fear. The worship of Tara is performed in the night, in different months, at the total wane of the moon, before the image of Siddheshwfnee, when bloody sacrifices are of- fered, and it is reported, that even human beings were formerly immolated in secret to this ferocious deity, who is considered by the Hindoos as soon incensed, and not unfrequently inflicting on an importunate worshipper the most shocking diseases, as a vomiting of blood, or some other dreadful complaint which soon puts an end to his life. Almost all the disciples of this goddess are from among the heterodox ; many of them, however, are learned men, Tara being considered as the patroness of learning. Some Hindoos are supposed to have made great advances in knowledge through the favour of this goddess; and many a stupid boy, after reading some incantations con- taining the name of Tara, has become a learned man. SECTION XXXI. Chinnu-muslulca. + THIS is the image of a naked yellow woman with her head half severed from her body,$ wearing a necklace of skulls, and standing on the body of Sliivu. She is * The Deliverer. t The headless. t The Tiintrus give the following explanation of this monstrous feature in the image of this goddess: At a certain time, not being able to procure any of the giants for her prey, to satisfy her thirst of blood, Chinnu-mustuka actually cut her own throat, that the blood issuing thence might spout up into her mouth. I have seen a picture of this image, agreeing with this description ; and at Chachra, in Jessore, such an image may be seen at present, the half-severed head resting on the left hand of the goddess, and streams of blood falling into her mouth. HISTORY, LITERATURE, axd RELIGIO TPart hi. Chap. i. 109 surrounded with dead bodies, has a scymitar in one hand, a giant’s skull in another, and with two others is forbidding fear, and bestowing a blessing. This image is not made at present, but the worship may be celebrated before the images of any other female deities. Those who receive the initiatory rites of this god- dess worship her daily before the shalgramu, or water, or flowers, or an incantation written on a metal dish.* She promises her disciples riches, learning, or absorption, t but principally riches. Some people are afraid of becoming her disciples, lest, in a fit of anger, she should bring upon them a violent death 4 SECTION XXX IE. Jugudgouree. $ THIS is the whole length figure of a yellow woman, with four arms; holding in her hands a conch, a discus, a club, and a water-lily. She is mostly worshipped on the 7th, Sth, and 9th of the increase of the moon in Maghu. Very few persons learn the initiatory rites of this goddess. * Before any one of itrese things, the worship of any of the gods may be performed ; but ibe si a'gramuis mostly preferred. t A person can receive only one blessing at a time from bis god. The Hindoos, however, relate a story of a blind man who put a trick on his guardian deify by obtaining three blessings from him at once: be asked that he might see — his child — eat from off a golden dish every day. He was then childless. } The following story, current among the Hindoos, I give as a proof of the dread in which they lire of some of their deities: A brain Y':n wh > had received the initiating incantation of this goddess, to avoid dying an unnatural death used to confine himself to his house, w he. e, how s ver, a hatchet, hung up tor sacrificing au.mals, fell upon and killed him as he lay asleep. § The yellow. 0 f THE GODDESgEs. — J'ugNamookhee.'] OF THE II I X D 0 0 S. 107 SECTION NX XIII. I l a moo Mi ee . * Til E image of this deify is never made; though she is sometimes worshipped on the Tth, bill, and Pth of the moon in Maghu, before a pan of water, or some other proper substitute. The officiating bramhim, in yellow garments, presents yellow flowers, flesh, fish, and spirituous liquors, to her : the animals sacrificed are not numerous. This goddess is frequently worshipped in the hope of procuring the removal, the injury, or the destruction, of enemies, or whatever else the worshipper desires — which is sometimes the wife of another. He makes no doubt, if he can please the goddess by presents, or flattery, or by inflicting, for her sake, certain cruelties on his body, that she will be disposed to grant him even this last favour. If the ceremonies be not performed in strict conformity to the rules laid down in the shastru, it is believed that the w orshipper will be deprived of reason, or of speech, or that some other dreadful calamity will befal him. In the burnt sacrifice presented to this goddess, turmeric, oil, and salt, form the principal ingredients. The Hindoos believe that after performing the proper ce- remonies for the destruction of an enemy, the goddess soon complies with the prayers of the worshipper. Shoodrus, of course, employ bramhuns in thus attempting to accom- plish their murderous wishes. Particular forms of praise and of petition, referring in many cases to the injury or destruction of enemies, addressed to this goddess, are con- tained in the Tuntru-saru. • Of fcar-exciting countenance. N 2 IIIS T 0 11 Y, LITERATURE, and RELIGION, [Part nr. Chat. r. 10* SLCTICX XXXIV. Prutyungira.* THE image of this idol is never made, but is worshipped in the night when- ever a person chooses, which is, generally, when he wants to injure or destroy ano- ther. The officiating bramhun dressed in red, and wearing a roodrakshti necklace, of- fers, among other things, red liowers, spirituous liquors, and bloody sacrifices. The flesh of crows, or cats, or of some other animal, after having been dipped in spirituous li- quors, sometimes makes a part of theburnt-offerings, the worshippers believing that the flesh of the enemy for whose injury these ceremonies are performed, will swell on his body as the sacrificed flesh does on the fire. Particular forms of praise are also re- peated before this image to accomplish the destruction of enemies. I here give a spe- cimen: u Oh ! Prutyungira, mother ! Destroy, destroy my enemies ! Kill! kill ! Reduce cc them to ashes ! Drive them away ! Devour them ! Devour them ! Cut them in two ! u Drink, drink their blood ! Destroy them root and branch 1 With thy thunder-bolt, il spear, scymitar, discus, or rope, destroy them.” A story to the following purport is very current among the Hindoos : Jafur-alee-kha, the nabob of Aloorshudubad, was much attached to Ramu-kantu, his Hindoo treasurer, who was at enmity with Kalee-shunkuru, a very learned Hindoo, and a great worship- per of the female deities. The latter, to effect the destruction of Ramu-kantu, be- gan to worship the goddess Prutyungira. He had not performed the ceremonies long, before Ramu-kantu became sick, and it was made known to him and the nabob, that Kalee-shunkuru was thus employed. The nabob, full of rage, ordered that Kalee- shunkurii should be brought before him : but he fled before the messengers could seize him, and began to perform these ceremonies for the destruction of the nabob. A servant, mistaken for Kalee-shunkuru, was, however, seized, but he bribed the messengers, that (hey might protract his journey as much as possible. They did so, and the * The well proportioned. Unnu-poQrnu .] OF THE HINDOOS. 109 Of tiie goddesse-. — day before they arrived at Moorshikliibad the nabob died. — I give tin’s story to shew, what a strong possession the popular superstition has taken of the minds ot the people, who, while smoaking together, listen to these stories with the utmost eager- ness and surprize, as the villagers in England tell stories current amongst them while sitting round the w inter’s fire. SECTION XXXV. Vnnu-ptorna .* THIS image maybe made standing, or sitting on the water-lily : in the right hand is a spoon, like that with which the Hindoos stir their boiling rice, and in the other a rice dish : Shivu, as a naked mendicant, is standing before the image asking relief. The worship paid to this form of Doorga is performed on the 7th, 8th , and 9th days of the moon’s increase in the month Choitru : bloody sacrifices, fish, and spirituous liquors are among the offerings. Unnu-poorna being the guardian deity of many of the Hindoos, (who have a proverb amongst them, that a sincere disciple of this god- dess never wants rice,) very great festivities take place at this festival, accompanied with music, dancing, filthy songs, and every thing else calculated to deprave the heart. A Hindoo rising in a morning, before his eyes are well open, repeats the name of this goddess — ‘Unnu-poorna — Unnu-poorna, T and hopes, that through her favour he shall be well fed that day. When one Hindoo wishes lo compliment another on his riches or liberality, he says, ‘ Oh ! Sir, your house is as full of i iches as that of Unnu-poorna :’ or, if he speak of another when absent, he says, ‘Such a onet, in \j liberality, is like Unnu-poorna. She 'vho fills wilh food ; from arum, food, snd poorn\ full. 1 iO III ST O R Y, LITE II A T U RE, and R E L I G I O N, [Part hi. Chap. i. SECTION xxxvr. GuncsJt u-jununZe.* THIS name Doorga assumed after the birth of Guneshii: she is here represented as sitting on the water-lily, dressed in red, and supporting with one arm the infant Gi:- ueshu at the breast, while the other hand rests on the knee of the infant. A small festival in honour of this goddess is celebrated in the month Ugruhr.yunii, or Phalgoonu, on the 7th, 8th, and 9th of the increase of the moon. Some years ago, at Ciooptee-parn, a village about forty miles north of Calcutta, a great festival was held in honour of Giineshu-juminee, when fifty thousand roopees or more were ex- pended. The bramhiins of the village collected money to defray the expences ; some gave one thousand, others two, and others five thousand roopees ; and crowds came two or three days journey to be present. The dancing, singing, music, See. began a month before the principal day cf worship : all the visitors were entertained, and more than two thousand animals were slain. SECTION XXXVII. Krishnu-krora. + THIS is an image of Doorga givingsuck to Krishna, to destroy the poison which he had received in a quarrel with Kaleeyu, a hydra. A festival in honour of this goddess is held on the 7th, Sth, and 9th of the increase of the moon, in the day, in the month Maghu. The history of this idol is thus related: In the west of Hindoost’han a stone image • The mother ol Gaueahu. t She who holds Krishna in her arms. Of tue goddesses. — Krishnu. krora ."] OF THE. HINDOOS* 111 was once found in a pool ; and no information could be obtained to what it related, un- til a Brumliuchaiee referred them to the following story in one of the Tnntrus : lathe neighbourhood of Vrinda-vunu, by the river Yumoona, Soubhiiree, a sage, for a long time performed religious austerities. One day, while in the midst of his devotions, be saw a shukoolu and some other fish playing together ; with which sight he was much pleased, till Gurooru, the king of the birds, descended into the water, and snatch- ed up the shukoolu fish. The sage, unable to punish Gurooru, pronounced a curse upon this bird-god, or any other bird, who should hereafter come to destroy the fish in this spot '; and this curse was afterwards the means of preserving the king of the hydras from the wrath of Gurooru in the following manner : The mountain Mtiluyu was the resort of many serpents, who daily collected a number of frogs, &c. and pre- sented them to Gurooru, to conciliate him, and to prevent his devouring them. At last Kaleeyu, the king of the hydras, commanded his subjects to give the frogs to him, promising to protect them from Gurooru; but the latter on Iris arrival finding no food, attacked and overcame Kaleeyu ; w ho, though defeated, amused Gurooru by rehearsing some verses which no one understood but himself, .*• till he had m ale good his retreat into a deep place of the river, where Gurooru durst not follow him for fear of the curse of the sage. In consequence of the serpent’s remaining in this spot, the poison pro- ceeding from his body had destroyed all the trees, water, &c. for two miles round, and whoever drank of the wafer, died ; about which time Krishnu was born, who in his childhood, on a certain day, discovering that a dreadful mortality existed among the cows and the boys who kept them, asked the reason, and was informed that they had been ppisoned by the waters of the Yumoona. Krishnu then jumped from a tree into the river ; overcame the serpent, and clrave him out of the place. Kaleeyu, full of fear, asked where he was to go, for that Gurocrii would certainly kill him. Krishnu putting his foot on his head, assured him that when Gurooru discovered the mark of his foot, he would not destroy him. The waters now became wholesome ; (he tiees gained their verdure; and the boys and cows were restored to life ; but the pain aris- ing from the poison in the wounds which Kaleeyu had given to Krishna was intolera- ble. He therefore prayed to Doorga, who made him suck the milk from her own breast, by which he was immediately restored to health. * These verses, it is said, now compose one of the ltav^us calLd Pin^alS, ] 12 HISTORY, LITERATURE, and RELIGION, [Taut hi. Chap. i. SECTION XXXVIII. Visit alakshee .* A CLAY image of this goddess is set up at Shyeniihaiee, a village ifi Burdwan, which is become a place of great resort for pilgrims : vast multitudes of buffalos, sheep, goafs, &c. are offered at different times to this goddess, not unfrcquently for thede- * struction of enemies : sheep and goats are offered every day ; and it is said that for- merly human sacrifices w ere offered to this goddess. Many persons, it is affirmed, have obtained the privilege of conversing w ith their guardian deities in consequence of wor- shipping this image with very shocking ceremonies, while others thus employed are said to have been driven mad; yet some persons receive the name of Vishalaksbee as their guardian deity. SECTION xxxix. ChundceA IMAGES of this form of Doorga are not made at present in Bengal, but this god- dess is worshipped by many of the bramhuns, &c. before a metal cup containing the water of the Ganges. This worship is celebrated daily, or at the lime of the full or change of the moon, or when the sun enters a new sign, or on the 9th of the moon. The Kaliku pooranu directs that birds, tortoises, alligators, fish, buffalos, bulls, he-goats, ichneumons, wild boars, rhinoceroses, antelopes, guanas, rein-deer, lions, tygers, men, and blood drawn from the offerer’s own body, be offered to this goddess. The following horrid incantation is addressed to the goddess Chundee, w'hen offer- ing an animal in older to effect the destruction of an enemy i ^ O goddess, of horrid % * Of large or beautiful eyes. t The wrathful. Of the goddesses. — Doorgn,\ OF I’ II E HINDOOS. in •' form, O Chundika ! cal, devour, such a one, my enemy, O censor! of lire ! Salida. £ tio.i to fire! This is lire enemy who lias done me mischief, now peisor.ated by ail ( animal : destroy him, O Miihamaree ! Spheng ! spin ng ! oaf, devour.’ 1 - "Women sometimes make a vow (o Chiindee to engage her to restore their chil- dren to hcHth, or to obtain some other favour. If a person recover in whose came such a vow has been made, his neighbours ascribe it to Chiindee. The exploits of tills goddess are celebrated in a poem w ritten by the pcet Kunkumi, ami recited on various occasions, under the name of Chundee-gami, or Chundee-yatra, SECTION XL. Ollier forms of Dcorga. Kamaliliya.* — This goddess is worshipped daily by persons of property before a pan of water, or some other subst itute ; and also by many shaktus on the 8th of the moon in both quarters. Those who worship her monthly, generally present some parti- cular request in favour of themselves or families. At the Doorga festival this goddess is also worshipped with many ceremonies and at a great expence. A few persons receive the initiatory rites of this goddess, and worship her as their guardian deity. Vindhyu-tasiriic A — This is the image of a j’ellow female, sitting on a lion, with ei- ther four or eight arms : she is worshipped in the month Voishakhn, on the 9th, or on theTth, 8th or 9lh, of the increase of the moon : at Benares she is worshipped daily. The destruction of several giants is ascribed to this goddess. Mmgulu-Chundika.% — This is the image of a yellow female, sitting on three skulls, clothed in red, having in her right hand a book, and in her left a roodrakshu bead- roll. She is mostly worshipped by females, or rather by bramhuns employed by t She who dwelt on mount VindhjS. $ The fervent Benefactress. o She who is called Desire. HISTORY, LITERATURE, a.vd RELIGION, [Pari hi. Chap, t m them, in consequence of some particular distress in their families ; when they make a vow to the goddess to worship her a certain number of times if she will deliver them. Even the wives of Musulmans sometimes send offerings to the house of a bram- hfm to be presented to her with prayers. In the month Pousku a small festival is held in honour of this goddess. v ' . V . Kumulckaminee .* — This is the image of a female sitting on the water-lily, swallow- ing an elephant, while with the left hand she is pulling it out of her throat, t — She is worshipped on the Sth ofVoishak.hu, with the usual ceremonies and festivities. Raju-rajishwuret.% — This goddess is represented as sitting on a throne, the three feet of which rest on the heads of Brumha, Vishnoo, and Shivu. She is worshipped on the 7th, 8th and 9th of Voishakhu, with the ceremonies common to all the female deities to whom bloody sacrifices are offered. Yoogadya% is represented as sitting on a lion, having ten arms. — A festival in honour of this goddess is held on the last day of Voishakhu, at Ksheeru, a village in Burdwan, where many animals are slain, and large quantities of spirituous liquors offered : the goddess at the time of worship is taken out of a tank near the temple. It is supposed that not less than 100,000 people assemble at this place on this occasion. Human sacrifices, I am informed, were formerly offered to this goddess. — So numer- ous are the sacrifices, that the water of the pool in which the dead bodies are thrown immediately after decapitation, becomes the colour of blood. These bodies are taken out of the pool again in a little time after the sacrifice. The disciples of this goddess arc very numerous. Kuroonamuyee.\\ — In some places the image of this goddess is set up and worship- ped daily. At the festivals of Doorga, Kalee, &c. she is worshipped in a more splendid manner. Some persons make vows to this goddess in times of distress, and many receive the initiatory rites by which she becomes their guardian deity. • She who sits on the water-lily. t This image is said to one its rise to a vision at sea ascribed to Shree- railntSt a merchant, the particulars of which are related in the Kuvee-kSnkanu. 1 The goddess who governs Br&mha, Vishnoo, and Shiva. § She who eiisted before the yoog&s. II The compassionate. Of the g,jdde63e'5> — Doorga.'] OF THE HINDOOS. SECTION XLI. Other forms of Doorga. Tripoora,1 Tripoora-soondurt*,9 Gouree,17 Swudha,-5 Twurifa,2 Vunu-devee,10 Pudma,18 Swaha,2G Nitya,3 Chundu-nayika,1 1 ■Shuchee,!9 Shantee,27 Priistabinee,4 Prucbunda,12 Medha,20 Toostee,28 Juyu-doorga,5 Chtindagra,13 SavitrS;,-1 Poostee,59 Shoolinee,6 Dhooma-vutee,14 Vijuya,** Dlnitee,50 Muha-liikshmee,7 Ubhuyay5 Juya,23 Atmu-devta,31 Shrtxi-vidya,8 Sutee,16 Devu-sena,54 Koolu-devta, 32 &c All these goddesses are worshipped at the festivals of Doorga, as well as at other times, before the proper representative of a god, as water, the shalgramu, &c. but their images are not now made in Bengal. Many persons receive the initiatory rites of these deities, and pay their devotions daily to the particular goddess whom they have chosen as their guardian deity. Bloody sacrifices, fish, and spirituous liquors, are presented to these goddesses* The last sixteen are worshipped when rice is first given to a child, at the investiture with the poita, at the time of marriage, and in general at all the ceremonies performed for a son before marriage. Juyu-doorga is worshipped to obtain deliverance from danger. 1 She who governs the three worlds, heaven, earth, and the world of the hjdras. 2 She who speedily executes her will. 3 The Everlasting. 4 The praise-worthy. 5 The destroyer of the giant Boorgu. 6 She who wields the weapon of this name, 7 The Great Goddess of Fortune. 8 The Learned. 9 The beauty of the three worlds. 30 The goddess of forests. 11 The destroyer of the giantChundu. 12 The wrathful. 33 The furious. 34 She who is the colour of smote. 35She who removes fear. 16 The wife of Shiv u. 17 The yellow. 38 She who sits on the water-lily. 39 She who tells the truth of alL 20 The wise. 21 The cause of all. 22 The victorious. 23 Ditto. 24 The celestial heroine. 23 She who presides over the manes. 26 Ditto. 27 The Comforter. 28 Ditto. 29 The Nourishes 30 The Patient. 31 The goddess of seuls, 32 She wb* preside* over the generations of men. O 2 Ill S 1 OR \ , LI I ERA f LIRE, and RELIGION, [Part hi, Cjiap. r. 1H5 Beside the above forms of Doorga, there are many others, whose names end with the word Blioiruvee, viz. the terrific ; and temples consecrated to Bhoiruvuand Bhoi- ruvee are erected at many of the holy places visited by the Hindoo pilgrims. ’NVhen a person performs any of the ceremonies of Hindoo worship at these places he must first, on pain of meeting with some misfortune, worship these two deities. ' SECTION XLII. Kalec. THIS goddess may also be considered as a form of Bhnguvulee, or Doorga. Ac- cording to the Chundee, the image of Ivalee at present worshipped in Bengal, had its 01 igin in the story of Riiivtu-veeju, already inserted in page 100. Ivalee was so overjoy- ed at the victory she had obtained over this giant, that she danced till the earth shook to its foundation, and Shivu, at the intercession of the gods, was compelled to go to the spot to persuade her to desist. lie saw no other way, however, of prevail- ing, than by throwing himself among the dead bodies of the slain. When llicgod- desssaw that she was dancing on her husband, she was so shocked, that to express her surprize she put out her tongue to a great length, and remained motionless; and she is represented in this posture in almost all the Images now made in Bengal. \s The Udhyatmu Ramayunii* gives another story from which the image of Kalee may have originated : Ramu, when he returned home with Seeta from the destruction of Ravunu, began to boast of his achievements before his wife; who smiled and said, ‘ You rejo:ce because you have killed a Ravunu with ten heads ; but w hat would you say to a Ravunu with lOOOheads V ‘ Destroy him.,’ said Ramu. Seeta, again smil- ing, advised him to stay at home; but he, collecting all the monkies, the giants, and his own soldiers together, with Seifa, I mkshmunu, Shut r ugh nu, and Bhurutu, immedi- ately departed for Shutu-dweepu to meet this new Ravunu, sending II unoomanu before * There arc four Wumayiinus, one written by Yalmeekee, anoilier by Yyasu-dev", and two others ca’led die Udbootu and the Udhyatmu Ramayuuus, Lut the others are in little estimation compared with the work of \ almec- kee. O F TIIE CODDESSES. — Kalcc.~\ OF THE HINDOOS. U7 to discover the residence of this thousand-headed monster, and bring a description of his person. Hunoomanu, after a little play with him, returned to Ramu, who soon af- ter attacked the giant : but he, looking forward,' beheld Ramii’s army as so many children: and discharged three arrows, one of which sent all the monkies to Kishkin- dka, their place of residence; another sent all the giants to Lunka (Ceylon), and the third sent all the soldiers to Uyodhya,Ramu’s capital. Ramu, thunderstruck at being thus left alone in a moment, and thinking that all his adherents had been at once an- nihilated, began to weep : when Seeta, laughing at her husband, immediately assum- ed the terrific form of Kalee, and furiously attacked this thousand-headed Ravunu. The conflict lasted ten years, but she at length killed the giant, drank hisblood, and began to dance and toss about the limbs of his bod}'. Her dancing shook the earth to its centre, so that all the gods, filled with alarm, applied to Shivu ; but he declared that lie almost despaired of calming her passions, for she was mad w'ith joy ; lie promised, however, to do all that could be expected from a god in so desperate a case; but, paus- ing for some time, and seeing no other alternative, he, in the presence of the assembled gods, threw himself among the dead bodies under her feet : Brumlia called to the god- dess, and said, ‘ O goddess ! what art thou doing ? Dost thou not see that thou art trampling on thy husband V She stooped, and saw Shivu under her feet, and was so ashamed, that she stood still, and threw out her tongue to an uncommon length.* By this means Shivu saved the uni verse ; and Sects, again assuming her proper form, went home with Ramu and Ids brothers. I.i the images commonly worshipped, Kalee is represented as a very black female, with four arras, having in one hand a scymitar, and in another the head of a giant which she holds by the hair; another hand is spread open bestowing a blessing ; and with the other she is forbidding fear. She wears two dead bodies for ear-rings, and a necklace of skulls; and her tongue hangs down to her chin. The hands of several giants ate hung as a girdle round her loins, and her tresses fall down to her heels. Having drank the blood of the giants she has slain in combat, her eye-brows are bloody, and the blood is falling in a stream down her breast ; her eyes are red like those of a f Vv lien the Hindoo women are shocked or ashamed at an}- thing, they put out their tongues, os a nr cl : of Oxp.ssiisg ilici.- feelings. 118 HISTORY, LITERATURE, and RELIGION, [Part m. Cii Ar. i. drunkard. She stands with one leg on the breast of her husband Shivii, and rests the ■other on his thigh.** This deity is equal in ferocity to any of the preceding forms of Doorga. In tire Kalika pooranu men are pointed out, amongst other'animals, as proper for sacrifice. It is here said that the blood of a tyger pleases the goddess for one hundred years, and the blood of a lion, a rein-deer, or a man, a thousand. But by the sacrifice of three men, she is pleased 100,000 years ! I insert two or three extracts from the Sanguinary Chapter of the Kalika pooranu : ‘ Let a human victim be sacrificed at a place of holy worship, or at a cemetery where dead bodies are buried. .Let the ob- lation be performed in the part of-the cemetery called heruku, or at a temple of Ka- makshya, or on a mountain. Now attend to the mode : The human victim is to be immolated in the east division, which is sacred to Bhoiruvu; the head is to be pre- sented in the south division, which is.iooked upon as the place-of skulls sacred to.Bhoi- ) uvu, and the blood is to be presented in the west division, which is denominated h£- lukii. Having immolated a human victim, with all the requisite ceremonies at a ce- metery, or holy place, let the sacrificer be cautious not to cast his eyes upon it. The victim must be a person of good appearance, and be prepared by ablutions, and re- quisite ceremonies, such as eating consecrated food the day before, and by absti- nence from flesh and venery ; and must be adorned with chaplets of flowers, and be- smeared with sandal wood. Then causing the victim to face the north, let the sacri- ficer worship the several deities presiding over the different parts of the victim’s body : let the worship be then paid to the victim himself by his name. Let him worship Brumha in the victim’s rhundru, i.e. cave of Briimha, cavity in the skull, under the spot where the saturce eoronalis and sagittalis meet. Let him worship the earth in his nose, &c. Worshipping the king of serpents, let him pronounce the following incantation : ‘O best of men ! O most auspicious ! O thou who art an ‘assemblage of all the deities, and most exquisite ! bestow thy protection on me, ‘ save me, thy devoted ; save my sons, my cattle, and kindred ; preserve the state, ‘the ministers belonging to it, and all friends; and as death is unavoidable, part ‘ with (thy organs of) life, doing an act of benevolence. Bestow upon me, O most * The image of Minerva, it will be recollected, was that of a threatening goddess, exciting terror. On her shield she bore the head of a gorgan. Sir W. Jones considers Kalee as the Proserpine of the Greeks, Of the goddesses. — Kalec.~\ OF THE HINDOOS. 119 c auspicious ! the bliss which is obtained by the most austere devotion, by acts of c charity, and' performance of religious ceremonies ; and" at the same time, O most 4 excellent .r attain supreme bliss thyself. May thy auspices, O most auspicious ! 4 keep me secure from rakshusus, pishachirs, terrors, serpents, bad princes, enemies, 4 and other evils; and, death being inevitable, charm Bhugiivutee in thy last moments 4 by copious streams of blood spouting from the arteries of thy fleshly neck.’ When this has been done, O my children ! the victim is even as myself, and the guardian deities of the ten quarters take place in him ; thenBrumha and all the oilier deities assemble in the victim, and be he ever so great a sinner, he becomes pure from sin, and when pure, his blood changes to ambrosia, and lie gains the love of Muha- devee, the goddess of the yoga nidru, (i.e. the tranquil repose of the mind from art abstraction of ideas), who is the goddess of the whole universe, the very universe itself. He does not return for a considerable length of time in the human form-, but becomes a ruler of the giinu devtas, and is much respected by me myself. The victim who is impure, from sin, or ordure and urine, Kamakshya w ill not even hear named. The blind, the crippled, the aged, the sick, the afflicted with ulcers, the her- maphrodite, the imperfectly formed, the scarred, the timid, the leprous, the dwarf- ish, and the perpetrator of muha patukii, (heinous offences, such as slaying a brara- hiin, drinking spirits, stealing gold, or defiling a spiritual teacher’s bed), one under twelve years of age, one who is impure from the death of a kinsman, &c. one who is impure from the death of muha gooroo, (father and mother), which impurity lasts one whole year: these severally are unfit subjects for immolation, even though ren- dered pure by sacred texts. Let not a bramhun or a chundalii be sacrificed ; nor a prince, nor that which has been already presented to a bramhun, or a deity ; nor the offspring of a prince; nor one who has conquered in battle ; nor the offspring of a bramhun, or of a kshutriyu r nor a childless brother; nor a father ; nor a learned per- son ; nor one who is unwilling ; nor the maternal uncle of the saerificer. The day previous to a human sacrifice, let the victim be prepared by the text manushtuku and three devee gundhu shuktus, and the texts wadrungii, and by touching his head with the axe, and besmearing the axe with sandal, &c. perfumes, and then taking some of the sandal, &c. from off the axe, and besmearing the victim’s neck therewith. If the severed head of a human victim smile, it indicates increase of prosperity and long life to the saerificer, without doubt; and if it speak, whatever it says will come to pass.5- 12) II l i. 0 .t, i j Li i i'i ; i. A F (J R, It,, axd It ! , 0 1 G I O ISf, j] Pa iit hi. Cxiap. i. This work further lay* clown directions for a person’s drawing- blood from him, self, anil offering it to the goddess, repeating the following incantation*. 4 Hail! ‘ supreme delusion ! Ilail ! gc tkless of the universe ! Hail ! thou who fulfil est thede- ‘ sires of all. May I presume to offer thee the blood of my body ; and wilt thou deign 4 to accept if, and be propitious towards me.’ A person’s cutting off his own flesh, and presenting it to the goddess as a burnt sa- crifice is another method of pleasing this infernal deity : 4 Grant me, O goddess ! bliss, c in proportion to the fervency with which I present thee with my own flesh, invok- 4 ing thee to be propitious to me. Salutation to thee again and again, under the my 3, 4 tenons syllables ting, vtig.' A person’s burning his body, by applying the burning wick of a lamp (o it, is also very acceptable to Kalee, &c. On this occasion this incantation is used : 4 Hail ! god- 4 dess ! Salutation to thee, under the sy 11 tbles ung, ting. To thee I present this auspici- ous luminary, fed with the flesh of my body, enlightening all around, and exposing 4 to light also the inward recesses of my soul.’* If is observed in this work, that the head or the blood of an animal, in its simple state, forms a proper offering to a goddess, but that flesh must be presented as a burnt- offering. Other Tuntrus observe, that the eating of the flesh of men, cows, and swine, aiul drinking spirits, after these things have been offered to an idol, must be done in secret, or lire person will commit a great crime, and sink into poverty. I am credibly informed that very many bramhiius in Bengal eat cow’s flesh, and, after they have been offered to an idol, drink spirits, though none of them will publicly acknowledge it. _ Thieves frequently pay their devotions to Kalee and to all the goddesses to whom bloody sacrifices are offered, under the hope of carrying on their villainous designs with security and success. i A gang often persons, perhaps, agree to plunder a house, * See Mr. Blaquiere’s translation of the Sanguinary Chapter, Asiatic Researches, to!, v. The author hopes Air. Blaquiere w ill excuse the liberty he has takc.i of alteiing his spelling of S&ngskritu words, as he has done it mere- ly to preserve uniformity throughout the work. t One of Jupiter's names, it i> well known, was Pracdator, because plunder was offered to him. 0? ruts goddesses. — KuleZ.^ - OF TUI; HINDOOS. hi i who meet together in adark night, under a tree where an image ofSiddeshwuieeis plac- ed, and bring to the spot spirituous liquors, fish, and other offerings. One of the company, a bramhun, goes through the ceremonies of worship, at the close of which a bloody sacrifice is offered, and the instrument worshipped which is to cut through the wall of the house; at which time the following incantation from the Choru- pimehashika is read : c0 ! Sindhukatee ! (the name of the instrument) formed by 4 the goddess Vishaee ! Kalee commanded thee to cut a passage into the house, to 4 cut through stoues, bones, bricks, wood, the earth, and mountains, and, through 4 the blessing of Unadya,* to make a way by cutting the earth from the house of 4 the Malinee to that of Vhdyajt and that the soil brought out should be carried away 4 by the wind. Haree-jheeif: and Chnmunda have given this blessing, and Kamak- ‘ shya (Kalee) has given the command.’ After the reading of this incantation, the thieves sit down to eat and drink the things that have been offered; and when near- ly intoxicated, they gird their garments firmly round their loins; rub their bodies well with oil ; daub their eyes with lamp-black, and repeat an incantation to enable them to see in the dark; and thus proceed to the spot, when they cut a hole through the wall, plunder the house, and sometimes murder the inhabitants. Some time ago, two Hindoos were executed at Calcutta for robbery. Before they entered upon their work of plunder, they worshipped Kalee, and offered pray- * A name of Kalee, which means without beginning. t Soonduru, the son of Goonfi-sindhoo, raja of K.mchee-pooru, was overcome by the charms ofVidya, the daughter of Veeru-singhu, the raja of Burdwan. For the purposes of cuortship he concealed himself at the house of a flower-seller (Malinee) near the palace of Veeru-singhu, and began to pay his devotions to the goddess Ka- lee, who gave him this incantation, and the instrument Sinahukr.tee, that he might cut his way to his fair one. One night, however, Soonduru was caught in the palace, and seized as a thief. As he was led from prison to the place of execution, he composed fifty verses in praise of the raja’s daughter, which verses have since received the name of Choru-p&nchashika. The Hindoos add, that when they were about to execute Soonduru, the cords by which he was bound miraculously burst asunder, and the executioners fell senseless to tire ground ; in conse- quence, the execution was postponed, and the next night Kalee appeared'to Veeru-singhu in a dream, and di- rected him to marry his daughter to Soonduru, who w as not a thief, but the son of the raja of Kanchee-pooru, a very proper person to become his son-in-law. The marriage was soon after celebrated in the most splendid manner. t The Hindoos say, that a female of the Haree cast was once honoured with an interview by the goddess Kamahshya, who delivered to her a variety of incantations, now used by the lowest casts for the most ridiculous as well as brutal and wicked purposes. P 122 HISTORY, LITERATURE, and RELIGION, [Part iii. Chap. i. ers before her image, that they might be protected by the goddess in the act of thiev- ing. It so happened, that the goddess left these disciples in the lurch ; they were de- tected, tried, and sentenced to be hanged. While under sentence of death, a native catholic, in the same place and circumstances, was visited by a Roman Catholic priest to prepare him for death. These Hindoos now reflected, that as Kalee had not protected them, notwithstanding they had paid their devotions to her, there could be no hope that she would save them after death : they might as well, therefore, re- nounce their cast; which resolution they communicated to their fellow-prisoner, who procured for them a prayer from the Catholic priest, translated into the Bengalee language. I saw a copy of this prayer in the hands of the native catholic v.ho gave me this account. These men at last, out of pure revenge upon Kalee, died in the faith of the Virgin Mary, and the catholics, after the execution, made a grand fune- ral for them, as these persons, they said, embraced the catholic faith, and renounc- ed their east— from conviction. Agum-vageeshu, a learned Hindoo, about five hundred years ago, formed the image of Kalee according to the preceding description, and w orshipped it monthly, choosing for ibis purpose the darkest nights in the month : he made and set up the image, worshipped it, and destroyed it, on the same night. At present the greater number of the worshippers of Kalee hold a festival to her honour on the last night of the decrease of the moon in the month Kartiku, and call it the Sliyama* festival. A few persons celebrate tl.e worship of Kalee at the full moon in Kartiku ; the ce- remonies of which are performed before a picture or this goddess drawn on a slit] mat of reeds seven or eight feet long. This festival lasts three days, and on the fourth the picture is thrown into the river- Some also w orship Kalee for one night on the 14th of the decrease of the moon, in the month Magbu : and a few rich men do so monthly, on the last night of the moon ; while others worship this goddess in the month Jyoishfhn, when it is called the Phulu.huree festival, on account of the many mangoes, jak fruits, &c. ottered to or. * A name of Ka!'C£» meaning black. Of tue goddesses. — Art/ic.] OF TIIE HINDOOS. 123 A fewyrars ago, I went to the house of Kalee-shfinkuru-ghoshu at Calcutta, at the time of the Shyama festival, to see the animals sacrificed to Kalee. The buildings where the worship was performed were raised or lour sides, with an area in the mid- dle. The image was placed at the north end with the face to the south ; and the Iw o side rooms, and one of the end rooms opposite the image, were tilled with spectators : in the area were the animals devoted to sacrifice, and also the executioner, with Ka- lee-shunkuni, a few attendants, and about twenty persons to throw the animal down, and hold it in the post, while the head was cut off. The goats were sacrificed first, then the buffalos, and last of all two or three rams. In order to secure the ani- mals, ropes were fastened round their legs ; they were then thrown down, and the neck placed in a piece of wood fastened into the ground, and made open at the top like the space betwixt the prongs of a fork. After the animal’s neck was fastened in the wood by a peg which passed over it, the men who held it palled forcibly at the heels, w hile ihe executioner, with a broad heavy axe, cut off the head at one blow ; the heads were carried in an elevated posture by an attendant, (dancing as he went) the blood running down him on all sides, into the presence of the goddess. Kalee-shun- kurii, at the close, went up to the executioner, took him in his arms, and gave him several presents of clclb, &c. The heads and blood of (he animals, as well as different meal- offerings, are presented with incantations as a feast to the goddess, af- ter which clarified butter is burnt on a prepared altar of sand. Never did I see men so eagarly enter into the shedding of blood, nor do I think any butchers could slaugh- ter animals more expertly. The place literally swam witli blood. The bleating of (lie animals, the numbers slain, and the ferocity of the people employed, actually made me unwell, and I returned about midnight, filled with horror and indignation. * The gifts to bramluins and guests at this festival are numerous, and in some in- stances very expensive. The bramhiins, and then the family and other guests, are entertained, when the spirituous liquors w hich have been presented to the goddess awe drank privately by those who are in the secret. The festival closes with the dances auu songs before the goddess. The reader may form an idea how much idolatry prevailed at the time when the P 2 121 HISTORY, LITERATURE, and RELIGION, [Part hi. Chap. r. Ilifidoo monarchy flourished, from the following circumstance, which belongs to a modern period, when the Hindoo authority in Hindoost’haau was almost extinct: Raja Krishnu-chundru-rayii, and his two immediate successors, in the month Karti- ku, annually gave orders to all the people over whom they had a nominal authority to keep the Shyama festival, and threatened every offender writh the severest penal- ties on non-compliance. In consequence of these orders, in more than ten thou- sand houses, in one night, in the zillah of Krishnu-nuguru, the worship of this god- dess was celebrated. The number of animals destroyed could not be less than ten thou- sand. The ofheiating bra nhitr.s, especially those who perform religious ceremonies for shdodrus, w ere greatly perplexed, as a single bramhfm had to perform the ceremo- nies of worship at two hundred houses, situated in different villages, in one night. AH the joiners, barbers, or blacksmiths, in fifteen or twenty villages, in many in- stances, have but one officiating priest, the bramhiius in general being unwilling to incur the disgrace which arises from performing religious services for shoodrus. Eeshanu-chiindru-rayii, the grandson of Krishnu-chundru-rayu, in certain years, pre- sented to Kalee eighty thousand pounds weight of sweetmeats, the same quantify of sugar, a thousand women’s cloth garments, the same number of women’s China silk garments, a thousand offerings, including rice, plantains, peas, &c. and immolat- ed a thousand buffalos, a thousand goats, and the same number of sheep, which alto- gether could not cost less then ten thousand roopees, while the other expences amount- ed to scarcely less than twenty thousand. To defray these expences, this raja sold the greater part of his patrimony, and in this and other idolatrous customs he and other Hindoo rajas have expended almost the whole of their estates. Raja Ram-Krislinu also expended very large sums of money upon the worship ol Kalee. He set up a stone image of this goddess at Vurahu-nuguru, on which occasion he is said to have spent a lack of roopees. He alsojendowed this image with such a large revenue, that at present five hundred persons are maintained there daily. In the service of this goddess he has nearly reduced himself to poverty, though former- ly from the rents of the lands, See. he used to pay fifty-two lacks of roopees annual- ly into the Company’s treasury. Of the GO'i>wESSsi.-*itafi?£<} Db fl ilk HINDOOS. 12S Kalce is (he guardian deity of very many of the Bengalees, especially of (he bram- • buns. At Kalee-ghatii, near Galcittta, is a celebrated image of (his goddess, 1 •whom (in the opinion of the Hindoos) all Asia, and the whole world worshipped.’ Having obtained an account of this temple from a bramhun whom I sent to Kalee-ghatu for the purpose, I here lay it before my readers : The temple consists of one room, with a large pavement around it. The image is a large black stone to which a horrid face, partly cut and partly painted, has been given ; there are neither arms nor legs, a cloth covering all the lower part which should be the body. In front of the temple is a very large building capable of seat- ing two hundred people, in which and on the pavement around the temple many bramhuns daily sit reading the Chundee, a work on the wars of Kalee : on some days as many as a thousand bramhuns may be seen thus employed. Beyond this build- ing, in front of the image, the animals for sacrifice are slain. Not fewer than four thousand persons assemble on particular occasions at this temple, especially at the Shyama and Doovga festivals; and, twice a week, on the Chetula* market days, two thousand people or more visit this place, multitudes of whom (my informer says, not less than a thousand) present offerings. At these times it is common for a Hindoo to go up to the temple, and presenting himself at the door with joined hands, to ad- dress himself thus to the idol : ‘ Oh ! mother ! I am going to the market for such and ‘such a purpose. If thou grant me success, I will on the next market-day present ‘ offerings to thee to the amount of .’ Or he says to another person standing near — ‘See, Brother, I have promised to mother so and so, if she will accomplish my ‘ wishes in the market. ’+ About nine o’clock each day, the bramhun who in turn performs the duties at the temple, and who receives the offerings of (he day, after cleaning and bathing the image, puts on it (he garlands of flow ers and other ornaments, sweeps (he temple, and * An adjoining village. 1 It is said that formerly, especially in times o( scarcity, numbers of men were sold at this raarLet. 1 23 HISTORY, LITE II AT J R E, amo II ELI G I O N, [Part ixi. Chap. i. (ken throws open the doors, calling out ‘ Victory to IheGreat Kaleel Victory to the Great Kaleel* These compliments on different mornings he changes at pleasure. After this, persons going to bathe, or coming from bathing, approach the door of the temple, and bow to the goddess; and now the daily worship is performed, which oc- cupies about an hour, after which men and w omen are seen bringing their offerings to the idol, and these continue to be presented during the greater part of the day : some merely present them, without asking for any blessing: these persons take away a few flowers, or any other trifle of what they have offered, as something that will secure the good of the family ; and friends on a visit at the house of such a person beg any thing of (his kind, and cat if, or wear it in their hair. Ollier visitors to the temple leave part of the offerings there, and take away the other part to present to their friends. Others make a vow while the offering is presented to the image, in sorac such words as these : 4 Oh! goddess! mother Iyalee ! If thou ivilt deliver me out of such or such a trouble, 4 or wilt bestow such or such a blessing, I will present to thee [here the petitioner re- 4 peats the names of all the offerings or bloody sacrifices], * Disputes arise almost daily in the temple betwixt the worshippers and the priests respecting the offerings, and not unfrequently a violent scramble takes place for the meat-offerings in the pre- sence of thegoddess herself: the officiating bramhun says, ‘Who is to have these of- ‘ ferings ?’ to which the worshipper repilies, ‘Oh ! Sir ! our family priest always re- { ceives these things. I must carry them home for him.’ Or a man bringing offerings procures a bramhun to go and tell a lie in the presence of 1 lie goddess, saying to him, 4 Sir, the bramhiins at the temple of Kalee aresucb notorious cheats, that of all I give to thegoddess, she will probably get nothing but a few flowers ; and they are so rapacious that I shall never get theseofferings out of their hands on w hich thisbram- hun carries the offerings to the temple, and declares, that they belong to (he bramhiins of such a temple, and must be returned to them. By these contrivances the offerer obtains what he has given to the goddess ; and, giving part to the bramhun who has extricated him from the rapacious hands of the proprietors of the temple, he takes the remainder home. About three o’clock in the afternoon, food is placed before the goddess, consisting of rice, greens, roots, fruits, milk, curds, clarified butter, ffesb, spirituous liqours,* (in a concealed form) sweetmeats, &c. &c. Generally about 2j0 * It is affirmed that the greater number of grown up persons in this vi'lage drink spirits. Bramhiins may be seen in front of the temple, drinking spirits at noon day. and religious mendicants walling about, naked, without the least sense of shame. Of the goddesses. — Kalec.~\ OF THE HINDOOS. 127 pounds of rice arc cooked daily, but at particular times twice or thrice as much. After reserving as much as is necessary for his own family, the officiating bramlwin sells the rest of the offerings to devout visitors or neighbours, and gives awaj what he cannot sell. When a bloody sacrifice is offered, the offerer either pays the priest for his trouble, or gives up the slaughtered animal. The slayer also receives a fee. Of this flesh the officiating brainkiin keeps what he pleases,, and sells the rest to brassa- huns, shoodrus, Portuguese, and persons from all parts of the neighbouihood.* The daily offerings tothis goddessarc astonishingly numerous : On days when the weather is very unfavourable, not less than three hundred and twenty pounds of rice, twenty-four of sugar, forty of sweetmeats, twelve of clarified butter, ten of flour, ten quarts of milk, a peck of pease; eight hundred plantains, and other things, the price of which may amount to about five shillings, are offered, and eight or ten goats sacri- ficed. On common days, of all these things, three times the quantity ; and atgrent festivals, or when'a rich man comes to worship, ten, twenty or forty times this quantity, and as many as forty or fifty buffalos, and a thousand goats, are slain. Raja Nuvu-Krishnu, of Calcutta, about fifty years ago, w hen on a visit to Kalee- ghatu, expended, it is said, not less than 100,000 roopees on the worship of this god- dess. Amongst the offerings wras a gold necklace valued at 10,000 roopees, and, be- side other ornaments, a rich bed, silver plates, dishes, and basons ; sweetmeats, and other food sufficient for the entertainment of a thousand persons, and trifling pre- sents of money to near two thousand of the poor. About twenty years ago Jiiyu-Narayunu-Ghoshalu, ofKiddurpooru,near Calcutta, expended 25,030 roopees at this place ; when he sacrificed twenty-five buffalos, one hundred and eight goats, and five sheep ; and presented to the goddess four silver arms, two gold eyes, and many gold and silver ornaments.. About ten years ago, a- merchant from the east of Bengal expended 5000 roopees The women belonging te the temple have become such geod cooks, that il is not uncommon for persons !© Pa3 a diacer fro,n hands, preferring it to ahv- thing tbev coaid get elsewhere. m. Chap, i. •23 HISTORY', LITERATURE, mo RELIGION, [Part on the worship of this goddess, beside the price of a thousand goats which were slaugh- tered. In the year IS 10, a bramhun from the east of Bengal expended on this idol about four thousand roopees, with part of which he bought agolden necklace, the beads of which were in the shape of giants’ skulls. In theyear 1811, Gopee-mohunfi, a bramhun of Calcutta, expended 10,000 roo- pees in the worship of this goddess, but, being a voishnuvu, he did not offer any bloody sacrifices. The Hindoos, it seems, are not the only persons wlio worship this black stone: I have received accounts several times of Europeans, or their native mistresses, go- . ing to this temple, and expending thousands of roopees in offerings. Thebr<\mhun with whom I wrote this account declares, that when he was a student at Vurisba, near Kalee-ghatu, he several times saw the wives of Europeans come in palanqueens with offerings; though I suppose, these ladies were born in India. But the pro- prietors of the temple positively assured this bramhun (as he says) that very fre- quently European men presented offerings, soliciting some favour at the hands* of the goddess, and that very lately a gentleman in the Hon. Company’s service, who had gained a cause at law, presented thank-offerings to Kalee which cost two or three thousand roopees. + I confess that I very reluctantly insert these accounts, because I should hope they mostly originate in wilful misrepresentation on the part of the bramhuns of the temple, or in mistake. I suppose some Portuguese (who also go by the name Sah6b) may present offerings, and pray to this goddess — hence one source of misinformation : the mistresses of Europeans are supplied with money by their retainers, and hence the worship not unfrecpiently passes off, with many * Silver hands and gold Ungues and eyes are among the presents made by rich men to this goddess. Such is the stupidity of idolators. t It is probable, that the real worshipper in this instance was a head-servant of this gentleman’s ; though the expenre might be defrayed by the master. Without thinking of the guilt of such conduct, I have known frequent instances of Europeans making presents to their servants for the avowed purpose of idol worship. t \ Of tub &ODDUi3E3. — l[alee.~\ OF THE HINDOOS. I‘2U a triumph over degraded Christianity, as the worship of such a European; and many Europeans w ho go for curiosity to see the temple and the image, inconside- rately or wantonly give presents to the clamorous and greedy bramhuns, who pro- claim it as an offering to their goddess. Actions the most innocent, (even going to vietv the image,) are construed by these ignorant idolaters into an approval of ido- latry. A European who was lately there, says my informant, to make a drawing of the image, when he departed gave the officiating bramhun a goldmohur, and this present was probably enrolled among the gifts to the temple. It is further affirmed, that many Musulmans (four or five hundred) present offer- ings to Kalee monthly, — so strangely has the veneration for this image seized the minds of the natives! — and it is added that an equal number of prostitutes from all parts of Bengal pay their devotions at this temple : some pray for the health of their paramours, and others that great numbers may visit their houses of ill fame. It is not uncommon for a loose female to say to her paramour, after his recovery from sickness, * I made vows to Kalee, that if she would restore you to health, I would present 4 her with such and such offerings : you are recovered; arid I must now go and pcr- * form my vows.’ Such a female sometimes thus prays for her paramour — 4 O Mo* c ther Kalee ! T pray for . If thou wilt increase his wealth [or remove 4 sickness from him — or make him successful in such a concern — or increase his at- tachment to me, that he may always follow my advice], I will present to thee all 4 these offerings, (here she repeats the names of what she intends to give).’ When she returns home she takes off all her ornaments, laying them aside till her vow be either fulfilled or abandoned. Merchants* and Tradesmen present offerings to Kalee, once, twice, or thrice a year, to obtain success in their concerns; — many rich men (thirty or foity) place bramhuns at this temple to worship the goddess, to walk round the temple, and read the Chundee, daily in their names ; — others place bramhuns here for these purposes, • Hindoo merchants engaged in foreign commerce, after the successful voyage of a ship in which they had propertj, frequently present thank-offerings to this goddess. Q HISTORY, LITERATURE, ahd RELIGION, [Part in. Chap.*. UO for two or three months in the year ; — sepoys from all parts of Ilindoost’banu resort to this temple as often as they can obtain leave of absence ; — mothers present offerings, praying for the recovery of their children, and promising to bring the restored child in their arms when they come to fulfil their vows ;* or, that it shall be invested with the poita,+ or pass through some other ceremony, at the temple ; — servants in search of employment make vows to the goddess to present her with a month’s wages if she will raise them to such a situation ; — in a word, the occasions of drawing people to this famous temple are as endless as the superstitious hopes and fears, the crimes, and the wants of the worshippers. Goats aredevoted to Kalee, and kept, in some cases, for a long time, till the owner be able to meet the other expences attending the offerings and worship. These ani- mals are called the goats of Kalee. The village of Kalee-ghuttu.(or Kalee -gliatu) owes the greater part of its present population to this temple; from which near two hundred persons derive their sub- sistance, exclusive of the proprietors, w ho amount to about thirty families.. Some proprietors have a day in.turn, others half aday, and others two or three hours ; to whom all the offerings presented in the portion oftime thus apportioned belong. All these families have become rich. Irvthe month Maghu a festival is lieldin various places of Bengal in honour of Ghatoo, the god who presides over blotches on the skin ; but the assembly at Kalee- ghatii is very great. At the time of swinging in Choitru also, the concourse of people at this place is also very large. See the account of Shivu. * The hair of some children is not cut at all till the tow be fulfilled ; .others onlj separate a lock of the child’s hair tjing it up in a hunch. A large hillock of human hair, collected at the times of sharing when rows-have been fulfilled is formed near the temple. t A bramhan once assured me that hr had seen not less than threehundred bojs inrested with the poita in onedaj at this place; on which occasion man j bloodj sacrifices were olfiered, The concourse of people was imaenst, Of the goddesses. — Kalec.'] OF THE HINDOOS. t 31 1 lierc add a rough account of what is expended on this idol monthly: Tvs. As p. Buffalos slain, (5) Goats ditto, <1000) Sheep, ditto, (30) - Rice, (200 cwt.) Salt, Spices, Pease, Fish, &c. Clarified Butter, Milk and Curds, Sugar, (11 cwt.) Sweetmeats, (22 cwt.) Plantains, (25,000) Evening offerings, Meat offerings, - - Dressed food, - Fees, - - - Travelling Expences, - - Alms given to the poor by visitors, Exiraordinaries from rich mea, and at festivals, 50 0 0 S00 0 0 40 0 0 410 O 0 200 o O 7 0 0 5 0 0 105 0 O 360 0 0 50 0 0 60 0 O SO 0 0 80 0 0 233 0 0 500 0 0 200 0 0 SO 00 0 0 Sa. Rs. 6000 0 0 Seventy-Two Thousand Roopees annually, or Nine Thousand Pounds sterling. Q 2 132 HISTORY, LITERATURE, and RELIGION, [Part nr. Chat. i. SECTION XLllL Other forms of Kalee, 8, c. Chamunda.* — This image, which is similar to that of Kalee, except that Chamutida is represented with two giants’ heads in her hands, and as sitting on a dead body, is seldom or never made. The goddess is worshipped at the festival of Doorga, on three different days. S hmushanu- Radii. + — When this image is made, other figures are introduced, as those of the giants Shoombhii, and Nishoombhii, of jackals, dead bodies, &c. These giants are represented as sittingon elephants, throwing arrows at the goddess, while the latter is standing on her husband, and aiming blows at them with a sword. The ceremonies of worship are like those performed in honour of Kalee : the wor- ship begins at the total wane of the mooii in Maghii, and continues for three nights. Revelling is carried to the greatest pitch : some of the worshippers, and not unfre- quently the sons of rich men, dance before the image naked, ‘glorying in their ihame.’ A few Hindoos adopt this goddess as their guardian deity. M an uvu- Kalee. \ — Another form of Kalee, whose image it resembles except in the colour, which is blue. The worship is celebrated on the fifteenth night of the decrease of the moon in Maghii, — the present fruit, diversion, — and hereafter, heaven. Such are the ideas of the poor deluded Hindoos. A whole village sometimes joins to de- fray the expence ; at other times a rich man bears it alone. Many bloody sacrifices are offered, and a great shew made, especially with illuminations, to which are added dancing, singing, music, &c. * She who seized Chundc end Mundu, two giants. t This name denotes, that Kalee dwells in the place of burning the dead, and presides over cemeteries. Sliniu- shanu means a cemetery. $ Viz. in the form of roan. Of tiie goddesses. — Kulie.\ OF THE HINDOOS. 133 Phulu-huree.* — This form of Kalee is (hat of a black female, with four arms, standing on the breast of Shivu. She is worshipped at the total wane of the moon in the month Jyoishl’hii, or in any other month, at the pleasure of the worshipper. The offerings are numerous, especially of fruits : buffalos, goats, and sheep, are sa- crificed ; and the day after the worship, the image is thrown into the river. Bhudru- Kaldc. t — An image similar to that of Kalee ; the worship also resembles that which is paid to that goddess. The image is in some places preserved, and wor- shipped daily. >n I Oogru-chunda% is worshipped at the total wane of the moon in the month Kartiku: in some places temples made of clay are erected in honour of this goddess, in which she is worshipped either daily or monthly. Anundu-muyee .% — A black female, with four arms, sitting on a throne ; to whom a number of temples are dedicated, containing stone or clay images of the goddess. She is worshipped daily ; also on fortunate days, at the pleasure of her numerous disciples, as well as at the great festivals of Doorga, Kalee, &c. Avhen bloody sacrifices are of- fered to her. Nuvu-putrilca.^ — These nine goddesses are worshipped at the great festivals, but with the greatest shew at that of Doorga : when these assistants of Doorga in her wars arc represented by nine branches of different trees : Kumbha by a plaintain ;* Kuch- wee-roopa, by a ktichwee Huridra, by a huridra ;1 * 3 Juyuntee, by a Juyuntee ;4 Vilwa- KJ roopa, by a vilwii;5 Darimee, by a darimu ;e Ushoka, by an ushoku \7 Manuka, by a roanu ;8 and Dhanyu-robpa, by a dhanyu.9 Bhcemu-chundde* — This image is made and worshipped at Benares : in Bengal * She who receives much frc;t. t The Beneficent. J The furious. $ The Juyf'ur. | The nine godde8ses. 1 Musa paradisaica. 2 Arum esculentum. 3 Curcuma kmga. 4 /Escb ynomene sesban. 5 .35'le rourmelos. 6 Punica grauaturo. 7 Joncsia asoea. C Arum mucrorhyzoD. 9 Co- riandrum sativum, • The terrific. 131 HISTORY, LITERATURE, a^d RELIGION, [Part hi. Chap. i. also the goddess is worshipped, especially on a Tuesday, before another image, or a pan of water, or some appointed representative of an idol. Upura-jita .* — There is no public festival in honour of (his goddess ; nor is her image set up for worship ; but in times of sickness she is worshipped before the shalgramu, \vhen forms of praise from the Tiintrus are addressed to her. VimuiaA — A stone image of this idol is worshipped in one of the temples erected in Orissa, near the famous temple of Jugunnat’hu, Bloody sacrifices are offered to this goddess; but as this place is sacred to Vishnoo, these offerings are made in se« eret. Vimiila is also worshipped in Bengal at the festivals of Doorga and Kalee. Siddheshzouree.X — In many villages in Bengal one, and in some large villages seve- ral of these images are set up. They are in general made of clay ; but some arc of stone. The image is commonly the property of one family, who worship her every day ; others in the village worship her when they choose ; but all the gifts and offer- ings come to the person w ho owns the image. If a child have a fever, the parents worship the goddess that it may recover, and promise to present various offerings to her if she be propitious. If a woman want a son, she procures a bramhiin to w or- ship the goddess in her name; — if another person be seeking employment, he prays the goddess to favour him ; — if a koolinu bramhun wish his daughter to be married, he intercedes with the goddess, and promises to celebrate her worship if she be fa- vourable. On all occasions of particular distress, or w ant, the people resort to these images with their presents and vows. Thi ves also worship Siddbeshwuree, that they may be favoured with her smiles and be protected in thieving. $ Honest and poor people also worship this image to obtain protection from thieves.. An annual festival is held in honour of Siddb6shwuree on the same day as the Shyama festival. • The unconquerable. t She who purifies. } She who fulfils the wishes of her worshippers. $ The goddess L'lvernn, it 5s well known, was (he protectress of thieves, who, from her, were named Laverni* ones, and who worshipped her, that tlick designs ami intrigues might be successful : her image was a head without a body. N Op TiiE-GC-DBSssBa. — JLuksbmec OF TI1L HINDOOS. 125 SECTION XL1T. / JLukshmec IS called tHe goddess of prosperity : sfie is painted yellow, and sits on the water- lily, holding in her right hand the pashu, (a rope) and in the left a necklace. Vishnoo is said to have obtained this goddess at the churning of the sea,* at which time all the gods were so charmed with her beauty that they desired to possess her, and Shivu was entirely overcome by his passion. The reader will remember something similar to this in the account of Venus, who is also said to have sprang from the froth of the sea, and whom, on being presented to the gods, they all desired to marry. The worship of Lukshmee is celebrated in five different months, viz. in Bhadru, on the first Thursday of the increase of the moon, in the morning; in Ashwinh, at the full moon, in the evening; in Kartiku, on the last day of the decrease of the moon, in the night ; on the last day in Poushu, in the morning ; and in Choitru, on the first Thursday of the increase of the moon ; either in the day or night. The ceremonies are performed before a basket used as a corn measure, painted red : the worshippers fill this measure with rice in the husk ; and put round it a garlandof flowers ; then cover it with a white cloth ; and, encircling it with a number of small shells, place before it a box containing red paint, a comb, &c. The officiating bramhun performs the usual ceremonies, varying but little fronr those at the worship of Vishnoo, in the name of the master or mistress of the house. No bloody sacrifices are offered. Bramhons are entertained rather liberally at this festival ; but on the day of worship no alms must be given to the poor, except cooked food, nor any money lost, lest this goddess, who is supposed to preside over wealth, and to have taken up her abode at the worshipper’s house, should be angry at her riches being-wasted. * Slit is also called the daughter of Bhrigot.* J 33 HISTORY, LITERATURE, and RELIGION, [Part ui. Cuat. ». This worship is celebrated in almost every Hindoo family five times a year, the fre- quency of which is not to be wondered at, when it is considered (hat Lukshmee is the goddess of prosperity. If a man be growing rich, the Hindoos say Lukshmee is gone to abide at his house; if he be sinking into poverty, they say Lukshmee has forsaken him. If they wish to abuse another, they call him Lukshmee-cliara.* The morning after the festival, thew.omen take up the corn measure, and preserve it for some future time of worship : the rice is used in worship during the whole year. At the close of the festival, if a female of the family remember any stories respecting Lukshmee, she relates them, and the rest of the family, joined by two or three neigh- bouring females, sit around and hear. In some places a number of persons subscribe towards the ex pence of making an image of Lukshmee, and worship it on any of the days before-mentioned. % Names. Lukshmee, or, the goddess of fortunate signs ; — Pfidmaluya, she who dwells on the water-lily ; — Piklma, she who holds in her hand the water-lily ; — Shree, she in whom all take refuge ; — Huree-priya, the wife of Huree. . .. t;fi o.i ! : „ • u ' mi >' i 1 iryi n ' ; < '.<•:> • : •SECTION XL V. KojagurH-ljuIcshmee. f THIS form of Lukshmee is worshipped at the full moon in Ashwinu, in the even- ing, before acorn-measure, surrounded by four plantain trees ; though some persons worship this goddess before an image of Lukshmee. Bloody sacrifices are offered. The worshippers invariably drink the water of the cocoa-nut at this festival, and numbers keep awake the whole night ; listening to the filthy songs, and the horrid din of Hindoo music. • In the provincial dialect, it is Lfikhie-chara, that is, luckless; thus forming an extraordinary coincidence of sound and meaning in languages so extremely different. t The shastrus have commanded that each Hindoo shall remain awake during the night of the full moon in Ashwinu, when a festival is held in honour of this goddess, and from this circumstance this name is derived. Of Tiir. cor>DLS3F. . — Silrusxu/Ze.] OF THE HINDOOS. 137 SECTION XLVI. SurusWulee. THIS Is the goddess ofleatning, the daughter of Brumha, and (lie ife of Vish- noo. She is represented as a white woman, standing on the water-lily, and playing on a lute. On the 5th clay of the increase of the moon, in Maghii, the worship of this god- dess is performed before her image, or a pen, inkstand, and book ; the latter articles are supposed to form a proper substitute for the goddess, w ho is called Vagvadinee, the eloquent. The image is placed on a table, either at the west or south side of the house. After the officiating bramhim has read the formulas and presented the offer- ings, each worshipper whose name has been read in the service takes flowers in 1: is hands, and, repeating a prayer, presents them to the goddess; after which follow gifts to the bramhuns, and a feast. Every Hindoo who is able to read and write endeavours to celebrate the worship of this goddess : the raja of Burdwan is said to expend 15,000 roopees annually at this festival. In every Hindoo college, the students keep the festival with great joy : many of them dance naked, and are guilty of every indecency. The day after the festival, the image is carried in procession through the town, and then thrown into the river. In passing through the streets of Serampore, at (he time of this festival in the year 1S06, I was exceedingly shocked at observing among the crowd, who were dancing, playing on music, bearing flags, &c. two or three young men quite naked, the mob triumphing in this shocking insult on public de- cency. To induce young men to resort to their houses, many prostitutes keep R 138 HISTORY, LITERATURE, and RELIGION, [Part hi. Chaim. this feast, and connect with it all that low merriment which corrupts the mind and draws the attention of the crowd.* On this day the Hindoos neither read nor write;+ though they will do any other secular business. They eat only once during the day, and those who are accustom- ed to eat fish abstain from it on this day. The Hindoos believe, that from this goddess they derive their learning and pow- ers of eloquence,^ as well as their ability to read and write. Some of those who can neither read nor write, insist upon it, that they ought to worship her, as they derive their powers of speech from her.§ Others however complain, ‘ Suruswutee has be- stowed nothing on us, why should we perform her worship.’ The image of Suruswutee is sometimes painted blue, and placed in temples, when she is called Neelu-Siiruswutee, Names. Brambee, or, the daughter of Brumha ; — Bharulee, she who presides over words ; — Bhaslia, she who bestows the power of speech ; — Suruswutee, she who through the curse of a bramhun was turned into a river. * In the year 3 808, 1 saw a group of performers reciting the Ramajunu in the street; and on enquiry I found it was before the door of some prostitutes, who had subscribed to bear the expence. The reason assigned was, that it would be an act of merit, helpingthem in another world, and would also draw men into whoredoru. Offerings arc sometimes brought home, and shared by- a prostitute with her paramour, like the harlot, in the book oi Proverbs, who is represented as saying to the young man she met in the stteet, “ 1 have peace-offerings with iuc ; this day have I payed my vows.” Prov. vii. 14. t The only reason I can find for this is, itis the command of the shastro. } Ofan eloquent man, the Hindoos say SimiswQtee sits on his tongue. $ Of this fact, they give the example of Raviim', who, when Ramu was about to kill him, procured a re prieve by flattering his adreisary ; but the gods, afraid lest Ravunii should be spared, sent SarSswutee into his tbroat, aud caused him to say provoking things to Rami. t • Of the goddesses. — Sheetula.'] OF THE HINDOOS. W SECTION XLVII. Sheetula * IS painted as a yellow woman sitting on the water-lily, dressed in red, and giving suck to an infant. Before this image, or a pan of water, the worship of this goddess is performed, in any part of the year; but in general on the 7th, 8th , and 9th of the increase of the moon, in the day time. Bloody sacrifices are not offered. On the 10th the imasre is thrown into the water’. O This goddess is also worshipped to obtain preservation from the evil effects of the small-pox. In the months Clioitru and Voishakhu the Hindoos inoculate those of their children who are two years old, on which occasion the inoculating bramhunf presents offerings and prayers tothisgoddessin the name of the child, promising for the parentsL, that if she be kind to the child, they will present to her certain offerings, &c. as soon as it is recovered. At the close of the ceremony, the bramhun places the flow- ers which bave been offered in the hair of the child, telling the parents that the god- dess will be favourable, and then performs the operation. When the child becomes affected with the disease, the family priest (if the parents be rich enough to pay for it) comes to the house every day, and repeats certain forms of prayer and praise to Sheetula ; after recovery she is again worshipped. If the child become danger- *. ously ill, it is carried to an image of Sheetula, and bathed in the water which has been offered to this goddess, some of which is given it to drink. Beggars of different descriptions procure a stone, gild a small part of it, and carry * it from place to place, singing the praises of Sheetula. These mendicants sometimes proclaim in a village, that Sheetula has appeared to one of them in a dream, andor- • Or, she who cools ihe body at tbe time of the small pox. ♦ The regular Hindoo doctors (voidyu) do not inoculate, but a lowet order of bramhans called doiv5gnes, or astrologer*. R 2 UO HISTORY, LITERATURE, and RELIGION, [Part m. Chap. i. ilered, that in this village the mistress of each house shall beg at three, four, or more doors, and take whatever is given her, and eat it in some neighbouring garden or fo- rest.* I he most dreadful misfortunes being threatened in case of disobedience, the affrighted women beg from door to door, and fulfil the supposed commands of the goddess. SECTION XLVirl, Munusa.T THIS goddess, the sister of Vasookee,:}: and the’wife of Jurutkaru, a sage, is called the queen of the snakes, and is worshipped to obtain preservation from their bite. She is represented as sitting on the water-lily, clothed with snakes. In the month Jyoisht’hu, on the I Olh of the increaseof the moon ; also on the 5th of the mioon’s increase and decrease in Ashwinu and Shravunu, as well as on the last day of Shravunu, this goddess is worshipped. On the three last occasions, the wor- shippers plant branches of the Euphorbia before the house, and worship them. In Shravunu the worship is celebrated w ith the greatest shew ; on which occasion as* image, or some branches of the same tree, or a pan of water surrounded with snakes made of clay, is placed as the object of worship t in some places, twenty or thirty thousand people assemble ; and amidst singing, dancing, music, See. some persons play with snakes of different kinds, particularly the cobra capello, suffering them to bite them. This play, however, ends fatally when the venomous fangs have not been carefully extracted. The cast called Mai, who play with snakes fora live- lihood, profess great regard for Minusa. On the days of the festival, the Hindoos do not kindle a fire, alleging that one of the names of Munusa is Urundhuna, she * This is a (rick to extort some port of tlie alms from these deluded women, t Or, Mun6sa-d6vee; the goddess who possesses pleasure in herself. $ lhe king of the serpents. Of the goddesses. — JJifntita.'] OF THE HINDOOS. 1 11 who does not cook. A day or two before the festival, in some places, the women of the village (pei haps fitly or a hundred, or even two hundred), beg rice, cither in their own or an adjoining village, which lliey offer, in a field in the neighbourhood, in the name of Man us a, but without an image. After thus offering rice, milk, curds, sugar, &c. to the goddess, they eat them on the spot ; and this act of holiness, they say, preserves their children from the bite of snakes, as well as assists the parents themselves on their way to heaven. A song founded upon the following story con- cludes the whole : Chandii, a merchant, not only refused to worship the goddess, but professed the utmost contempt, for her. In process of time, however, she caused his sis youngest sons to be kilted by (he bite of snakes ; to avoid the fate of w hom, the eldest son Lukinduru made an iron house, and retired to it ; yet Munusa caused the snake Tiikskuku to enter by a crevice, which deslroyed Lukinduru on his wcdd'ng- day : his widow escaped, and went weeping into the presence of her mofher-in-law. The neighbours again attempted to reason with Chanda, but he continued obstinate, declaring that Munusa was no goddess. She appeared to people in dreams, and Commanded them to persuade him tocelebrate her worship r and, after much entreaty, to pacify the goddess, he w as induced to comply, but declared he would present the ■offerings only with the left hand and, turning back bis head, he threw a flower at her image with the left hand. Munusa, however, was so pleased, that she restored his seven sons ; and from this circumstance, the worship of this goddess has since been very much celebrated. When the worship is performed before an image, sheep, goats and buffalos are offered to Munusa, and even sw ine.f When a Hindoo has been bitten by a snake, the persons who pretend to cure him read different incantations containing the names of Munusa. Jf one or two persons in a village have died by the bite of snakes, all the inhabitants become alarmed, and ce- lebrate the worship of Munusa- * The liana «s“d in washing after .-tools. 1 Among the Egyptians swine, ii is well known, were offered to Eacel.oa. 142 HISTORY, LITERATURE, and RELIGION, [Part m. Cuaf. i. SECTION XLIX. Shushtet* IS a yellow woman, silting on a cat, nursing a child. The Hindoos regard her as the protectress of their children. Six annual festivals are held in honour of this goddess, viz. in Jyoisht’hu, Bhadru, Ashwinii, Magbu, and two inChoitru, on the 6th of the increase of the moon, before ten o’clock in the forenoon. The worship celebrated in Jyoisht’hu is performed by abramhiinee or an officiating bramhun, under the vutii tree,+ or under a branch of this tree planted in the house. At the time of this worship every woman of the village, dressed in her best clothes, with her face painted, her ornaments on, and her body anointed with oil, goes to the place of worship under the tree, taking in her hand an offering ; over each of which the offi- ciating bramhun performs the usual ceremonies. The offerings are sent to the house of the officiating bramhun, or distributed amongst the eager by -standers. Among others who are eager to obtain some of these offerings, are w omen w ho have not been blessed with children ; each of whom sits down pensively among the crowd, and opens the end of her garment to receive what the assembled mothers are eager enough to bestow; when the giver says, “ May the blessing of Shushtee be upon you, and, next year may you bring offerings — witha child in your arms.” The receiver adds with eagerness, “ Ah ! if she bestow this blessing, I w ill celebrate her worship ; I will keep my vows, and bring offerings every year.” This festival is called Arunyu- shushtee, because the worshippers are directed to walk in some forest on this day, with fans in their hands. • She is whjis worshipped on the sixth lunar day. t Ficus ludica. Of tiie coddesses. — ShusklZc .] OF THE HINDOOS. 143 In those houses where the daughter is married, but has not left her parents, they send tor t lie son-in-law, and at the close of the worship the girl’s father sends to him, on a metal plate, a flower, some unhusked rice, a piece of string consecrated to the goddess, five or six blades of dobrva grass, a garment, &c. The son-in-law, if a person of respectability, contents himself with sticking the flower in his hair. If a poor man, he puts on the garment, and raises all the other presents to his head. If the son-in-law neglect to stick the flower in his hair, the girl’s father becomes very sorrowful, and all the spectators pronounce the former a dead man — for throwing away a flower which has been offered to Shushtee. The worship in the month Bhadru does not differ from the preceding, except in its being performed by the river side, or at a pool of water, before the stick which is whirled round in churning butter, upon which a fan is placed. In the midst of the worship the women make little paste images of children, and, placing them on leaves of the kimtukee tree,* present them to the goddess, and afterwards throw them into the river. This festival is called Chapura-shushlee.t The Ashwinu festival, distinguished by the name Doorga-shushlee is in almost every particular the same as the preceding. At the Maghu festival, called Sheetula-shushtee, the women, on the night preceding, boil a large quantity of rice and pulse, for offerings, mixing with the latter, in boil- ing, a kind of kidney beans and varttakoos.i The next morning they bathe very early, and on their return go through the ceremonies of worship, in the house, be- fore the two stones with w hich they grind their spices ; and upon w hich they throw a .yellow cloth, smeared with red lead. The worship is finished before ten o’clock^ and at noon they eat what the goddess has left, i.e. every thing they gave her. The two festivals in Choitru are held on the 6th, and on the last day but one, of the month ; on the 6th, in the morning, either before a branch of the vutu, the shalgramu, * Artccarpus rutegrifolia. f In allusion to the making of these images. $ The fruit of Solanum melongena. HIST OB. V, LITERATURE, and RELIGION, [Part III. Chap. i. Hi or some proper representative of an image; and at the close of the month, in the evening, before an image of Siiivu, On the Gth the worshippers eat the bud of the Euphorbia inclosed in a plantain, and at the latter festival they fast during the day, and after worship eat some fruit, and some bailey flour mixed with curds or water. W Rich persons eat sweetmeats. These festivals are called Ushoku-shushtee and Neelu- shush tee. Another festival is held in honour of this goddess in some parts of Bengal in the W month Ugruhayunu, called Huree-Shushtee. The w orship is celebrated before a clay pot filled w ith water having six spouts. In addition to all these times of worship, females who have lost all their children by death, worship this goddess every month ; beside w hich, after a child is six days old, every father, to preserve the child, perform tiie worship of the goddess, while the officiating bramhun reads the incantations ; and on the 2 1st day of the child’s age, the mother presents offerings to the goddess with her own hands., while theofliciat- ing bramhun reads the prayers. The first of these ceremonies takes placein the even- ing, before a branch of the viitii tree, fastened in the house floor: the two stones with which spices are ground being placed against the wall in the inside of the house, covered with a piece of cloth. The husband, at the close, asks the blessing of the god less on the child, promising to prese it to her a number of offerings when the child shall be twenty-one days old. Before the door the family place the skull of a cow, rubbing some red lead on its forehead ; and in ii ee lumps of cow-dung, put on the forehead, they stick three couries ; upon which also they spread a yellow cloth. The head remains a month at the door of the house, as a kind of charm for the gond of the children. On the 21st day of the child’s age, the mother invites ten or fifteen female neigh- bours, who, with the officiating bramhun, accompany her to a stone placed at the foot cf the viitii tree, which is supposed to be the representative of the goddess ; around which they put a large necklace or garland of flowers, and go through the ceremo- nies of worship in the usual manner ; at the close the mother promises, on condition that the goddess blesslier child, that she will w orship her every year. The mother dis- Of the goddesses. — Shus/itte.'] OF THE HINDOOS. 115 tributes the sweetmeats, &c. that have been offered to the idol among the females present. This festival is called ekooshiya.* Shushtee has no temples in Bengal; her common representative, a rough stone, smeared with red paint, about as large as a man’s head, is commonly placed at the root of the sacred vutii, to which passengers, especially women, pay a degree of reverence. In fulfilling particular vows to Shushtee, some worshippers surround the vfitii tree with garlands of flowers, and great numbers of artificial lamps made of clay : others fulfil their vows by building an earthen or brick seat around one of these trees. A female of property, as a thank-offering after child-birth, presents by the hands of a bramhun a child made of curds, which the bramhun never fails to de- vour. Bloody sacrifices of bullocks, goats, sheep, and sometimes of tame hogs, are of- fered to Shushtee. For receiving these latter offerings some persons call the god- dess a cannibal. At the close of the different festivals held in honour of Shushtee, it is common for women to entertain the company with marvellous stories relating to this goddess. The wives of some of the lower casts beg for a share of the offerings at the doors of the bramhuns. Shushtee rides on a cat: hence the Hindoos, especially mothers, avoid hurting this animal, lest the goddess should revenge herself on their children. * From akooshu, twenty-one. S 11$ HISTORY, LITERATURE, and RELIGION, [Part. iu. Chap-i. SECTION L. Inferior Celestial Beings , objects of worship . THESE beings are either the enemies of the gods, as the usoorus and rakshusus; or their companions ; or those who are employed as dancers, singers or musicians in the heavens of the gods. They are worshipped at the great festivals ; but have no separate images. The Usoorus, or Giants. — These enemies ofthe gods are the offspring of Kiisliyupif, the progenitor of gods, giants, men, serpents and birds, by his different wives. They bear a resemblance to the tita is or giants of the Grecian Mythology, and stories of their wars with the gods (seme of which will be found in this work) abound in the poor an iis. Indru, Vishnoo, Kartiku, and Doorga, are distinguished among the Hin- doo deities for their conflicts w ith these beings.* King Vulee, a giant, is worshipped by the Hindoos on their birth-days, with the same forms as are used in the worship of the gods. Story of the churning of the sea by the gods and usoorus. The most rancorous ha- tred has always existed betwixt the usoorus and the gods although half brothers, the former having been excluded by the gods from succeeding to the throne of heaven; and dreadful conflicts were carried on betwixt them with various success, till both parties sought to become immortal : the giants performed the most severe religious austerities, addressing their prayers alternately to Vishnoo, Shivu and Brumha; but were always unsuccessful. The gods, however, at last obtained this blessing at the churning of the sea of milk; which story is related at length in the Miiha- bharutu and other works: The gods first took mount Munduru, placed it in the sea, and wrapping round it the serpent Vasookce, began to whirl it round as * Jupiter was represented as aiming the thunder in his right hand against a giant under his feet : Docrgsv jS a;ming the spear in her right hand against an usooru under her feet. Of the giants , <$•<:.] OF THE HINDOOS. 147 the milk-men do the staff in making butter. The gods took hold of the head of the snake, and the giants of the tail ; but being almost consumed by the poison from the mouth ofthe serpent, the gods privately entreated Vishnoo to prevail upon the giants to lay hold of the head, upon which he thus addressed them : 1 Howr is it, said Vish- noo, that you, giants as you are, have taken hold of Vasookee’s tail V The gods and the giants then changed places ; and the elephant Oiravutu first arose from the churn- ed sea to reward their labours ; afterward the gem Koustoobhn — the horse Oochoi- shruva — the tree Parijatu; many jewels — the goddess Lukshmee — and then poison. Full of alarm at this sight, the gods applied to Muha-devu (Shiva) — who, to save the world from destruction, drank up the poison, and received no other injury than a blue mark on his throat.* Next came up the water of immortality, when the 330,000,000 gods, and the usoorns without number, took their stand on each side, each claiming the mighty boon. Vishnoo proposed to divide it with his own hands; but while the usoorus w ent to prepare themselves by bathing in the sacred stream, the gods drank up the greatest part of the nectar, and, to give them time to drink the whole, Vish- noo assumed the form of a most captivating female, with which the giants were so charmed that they totally forgot the nectar. One of them, however, having changed his shape, mixed with the gods, and drinking of the water of life, became immortal; but Vishnoo, being informed of this circumstance by Sooryii and Chiindrn, (the sun and moon) cut off the head ofthe giant. The head and trunk being thus immortaliz- ed, were made the ascending and descending nodes, under the names IvkIigo and Ketoo. "The Rakshusus.— Many stories respecting the wars of the rakshusus, or cannibals, with the gods, are contained in the pooranus and other shastrus, and several will be found in different parts of this work. They are represented as assuming at pleasure the different shapes of horses, tvgers, lions, buffalos, &c. : some have a hundred heads, and others as many arms.t In the Hindoo writings Malec, Soomalee, Ra- vunu, Koombli u -kiirnu, V ibheeshunu, Indru-jit, Utikavu, and others, are distinguish- ed as renowned rakshusus. As soon as bom, these giants are said to arrive at ma- * Hence this god is called Neelu-kmtu, the blue-throated. t Some of the giants of the Grecian mythology, it will be remembered, had a hundred arms. S 2 J4S HISTORY, LITERATURE, and RELIGION, [Part hi. Chap, i turity : they devour their enemies. All the rakshusus are bramhuns, and are said to dwell in the S. W. corner of the earth. Noiritd, a rakshusd, is one of the ten guardian deities of the earth, and presides in the S. W. In this character he is worshipped at all the great festivals. He is re- presented in the form of meditation used by the bramhuns as a black man, having in his right hand a scimitar. Story of KoomLhu-kiirnu. Immediately after his birth, this cannibal stretched his arms, which were in proportion to his body, and gathered into his mouth every thing within his reach. At one time he seized 500 courtezans belonging to Indru; at ano- ther the wives of 100 sages, and cows and bramhuns without number. Brdmha at length threatened to destroy him, unless he contented himself with less, as he would presently eat up the earth. He now became more moderate, and began to perform the most severe austerities in honour of Brumha, which he continued for ten thousand years. The gods trembled on their thrones, lest Koombhu-kurnu, obtaining the bles- sing of Brdmha, and especially the blessing of immortality, should swallow up every thing, — gods and men. They appealed to Brumha, and persuaded Sdrdswuttee, the goddess of learning, to enter into Koombhu-kdrnd, and excite him to ask this blessing, that he should continue to sleep day and night; which request Brdmha granted, and sent the voracious rakshusu to enjoy his everlasting sleep. The friends of Koombhu- kdrnd however persuaded Brumha to change his destiny : who now ordered that he should sleep uninterruptedly six months, but on the last day of the sixth should awake; during halfof which day he should fight with and conquer Brdmha, Vishnoo, andShivu, and during the other half be permitted to devour as much as he chose. At one meal he devoured C000 cow s, 10,000 sheep, 10,000 goats, 500 buffalos, 5000 deer, and drank 4000 hogsheads of spirits, with other things in proportion. After all, he was angry with his brother Ravdnd, for not giving him enough to satisfy nature. His house is declared to have been 20 or 30,000 miles long, and his bed the whole length of the house. Lanka itself, says the Ramayunu, is 800 miles in circumference. Where then was the place for this bed ? I have heard this question put by a person to the Of the giants, <$c.] OF TIIE HINDOOS, J 49 bramhuns, who, unable to find room for Koombha-kurna’s bed, were laughed at by the shoo dr as, their disciples. The Gundhurcus and Kinnuriis are celestial choiristers, male and female. The latter have horses’ beads ! ! !* The Vidya-dhurits are male and female dancers. The Upsuras are also female dancers, greatly celebrated for their beauty : they have been frequently sent down to earth to captivate the minds of religious devotees, and draw them from those works of merit which were likely to procure them the thrones of the gods. Eight of the upsuras are mentioned as beyond all others beautiful, Oorvvushee, Men ilka, Eimbha, Punch ii-choora, Tilottuma, Ghritacliee, Boodbooda, and Mishru-keshce. The five first of these are the mistresses of the gods; and keep houses of ill-fame in the heaven cf Indrii. When any one of the gods visits the king of heaven, he gene- rally spends some time with one or more cf these courtezans. £lcrp respecting the son cf Indrii and an Upsiira. On a certain occasion, many of the gods were invited to an entertainment at the palace of Indrii. In the midst of the dance, Gundhurvti-senu, the sen of Indrii, was fascinated with the charms of one of the upsuras, and behaved so indelicately, that his father commanded him to descend to the earth in the form of an ass.. Ail the gods joined the son in endeav ouring to appease the angry father, who ultimately directed that Guncmuiv u-sewu should bo an ass in the day and a man in the night : he promised his son too, that when Dhara, the king, should burn him, lie should recover his place in heaven. W ith this modi- fication of the curse, Gundhurvii-senu sunk to the earth, and alighted in the form of an ass near a pond at Dhara-nuguru. In the day the fallen son of Indrii remained in this form near the pond: and in the night, in that of a man, lie wandered from place to place to appease his hunger. One day a bramhun came to this pond to bathe, when Gtindhurvu-senu told him that he was the son of Indru, and requested him tospeaktokingDharii, to give him liis daughter in marriage. The bramhun consent- * Some idea may be formed of the taste of the early Hindoo poets, who here represent heavenly music as com- ing from beiDgs with the mouths of horses ! IvO-. HISTORY, LITERATURE, and RELIGION, [Fart m. Chap, i. cl, but on speaking to the king, the latter refused to believe that he was Indru s son, unless he himself had some conversation with him. The next day the king, went, with his counsellors and courtiers, and held a conversation with the ass, who re- lated his history, and the cause of his degradation ; but the king still refused assent unless he performed some miracle. To which the ass consented; and in one night rais- ed a fort of iron forty miles square, and six high. The next day the king seeing the fort finished, was obliged to consent, and to appoint the day of marriage. He in- vited brdmhuns, kings, and other guests without number, to the wedding, and, on the day appointed, with dancing, songs, and a most splendid shew, the bride being adorned with jewels and the richest attire, they marched to the iron fort to give the beautiful daughter of king Dharu in marriage to the ass. In that country weddings are celebrated in the day. When all was ready, they sent a bramhun to call Gun- dhurvu-senu from the pond; who, elated in the highest degree, having bathed, accom- panied the bramhun to the assembly. Hearing music and songs, Gundhurvu-senu could not refrain from giving them an ass’s tune : but the guests, hearing the braying of the ass were filled with sorrow : some were afraid to speak their minds to the king; hut they could not help whispering and laughinguone amongst another, covering their mouths with their garments; others muttered to the king, ‘ O king, is this the son of Indru!’ 6>0 great monarch! you have found an excellent bridegroom ; you are peculiarly happy in having to give your -daughter in mairiage to the son of Indru; don’t delay the -wedding; in doing good delay is improper; we never saw so glorious a wedding: we have heard of a camel being married loan ass, when the ass, looking upon the camel, said, — ‘ Bless me! what a fine form!’ and the camel, hearing/the voice of the ass, said — ‘ Bless me! what a sweet voice!’ The bramhuns continued: ‘In that wedding, however, the bride and bridegroom were equal, but in this marri- age, that such a bride should have such a bridegroom is ‘truly wonderful.’ Other bramhuns said, ‘ O king, at other weddings, as a sign of joy, the sacred shell is blown, but thou hast no need of that,’ (alluding to the braying of the ass). The females cried out, ‘ O mother! what is this ! at the time of marriage to have an ass ! What a miserable thing! What! will he give such an angelic female in marriage to an ass !’ The king, ashamed, held dow n Lis head. At length Gundhurvu-senu began to con- verse with the king in Sungskritu, and to urge him to the fulfilment of his promise. Of the giants, #c.] OF THE HINDOOS'; KX reminding him, that ‘ there was no act more meritorious than speaking truth (putting ‘the king in mind of his promise) ; that the body was merely a garment, and that wise ‘ men never estimate the worth ofa person by the clothes he wears : moreover, he was ‘in this shape from the curse of his father, and during the night he should assume ‘the body of a man. Of his being the son of Indru. there could be no doubt.’ Tr.e minds of the guests were now changed, and they confessed, that though he had the outside of an ass, he was unquestionably the son of Indru : for it was never know* that an ass could speak Siingskritu. The king, therefore, gave his daughter to him in marriage. By the time the guests were dismissed night drew on, when Gundhurvii- senu assumed the form of a handsome man, and, having dressed himself, respectfully went into the presence of the king. All the people, seeing so fine a man, and re- collecting that in the morning he would become an ass, felt both pleased and sor- rowful. The king brought the bride in great state to the palace, and the next day gave her servants, camels, jewels, &c. and dismissed the guests with many presents. Dhara, however, in the midst of his ether cares, could not but feel anxious that Gixndhurvu-senu should throw off his ass’s body. After a thousand contrivances, he said to himself, ‘ Gundhurvu-senu is the son of Indru; therefore he can never die: at night he casts effhis ass’s body, and it lies like a dead body: I will therefore burn this body, and thus keep him constantly in the shape of a man.’ Accordingly, one night, he caused the ass’s body to be burnt, — when Gundhiirvu-senu appeared in it is presence, told him that now the curse was removed, and that he should immediate** ly ascend to heaven. After sayingthis he withdrew', and tlie king sawT him no more. ilayikas. — These are female companions of Doorga, and are worshipped at the fes- tivals of this goddess. Eight of them have a pre-eminence over the rest. The Tuntrii-shastrus declare, that these females visit the worshippers either as their wives, or as mothers, and declare to them how they may obtain heaven, or, as sisters, bring to them any female they choose, and reveal whatever they desire to know of the present or future. He who w'ishes to obtain the company of a Xayika must wor- ship hei thiice a day, and repeat her name at night in a cemetry, for seven, or fifteen, Cj thiity days. On the last night he must continue to repeat her name till she appears to aim, and asks what he wishes for. She remains with him during the night. 152 HISTORY, LITERATURE, and RELIGION, [Part iii. Chap^t, and departs the next morning, leaving with him presents to a large amount, which, however, he must expend the next day, or they will all evaporate. If the worshipper wishes to go to any place in the three worlds, the Nayika takes him thither in a mo- ment. If after cohabiting with one oftlie Nayikas, he cohabit with any other female, the Nayika immediately destroy shim. Anundu-chundru, a bramhun of Soopooru in Veeru-bhoomee, who died only a few years since, is said to have obtained the fruit of his worshipping the Nayikas. The Yukshus are the servants of Kooveru, the god of riches, and fly through the world preserving the wealth of men. A number of stories, not worth detailing, prin- cipally referring to their wars or intrigues, are contained in the pooranus. In the form of meditation, Kooveru isdescribed as a white man, having a hammer in his right hand. He is worshipped at the festival of the goddess Lukshmee, and at all the other great festivals, but has no separate feast, image, nor temple. The Ramayunu relates that Kooveru, by prayer to Brumha, accompanied with religious austerities, obtained Lanka (Ceylon); the very mire of whose streets is gold. Here he reigned till Ravunii dispossessed him. Brumha also gave to this god the chariot Pooshpuku ; which had the property of expansion, and of going wherever the cha- rioteer wished. From Liinka, Kooveru went to mount Koilasu, where he is sup- posed to be at present. Pishachus. — These messengers of the gods guard the sacred places, the resort °f pilgrims. Si common fora Hindoo nurse (o offer the breast to a neighbour’s child when she happens to be on a visit. + Mothers frequently lay their infants exposed lo the rays of the sun to sleep, after rubbing their breasts w ith oil. T I5h HISTORY, LITERATURE, and RELIGION, [Part hi. Chap.i, a surprizing view of the three worlds, with Bruraha, Vishnoo and Shivu sitting on their thrones; — at the age of eight years he took up mount Govardfrinii in his arms, and held it as an umbrella over the heads of the villagers and their cattle during a dreadful storm, with which the angry king of heaven was overwhelming them; — he created a number of cattle, and also of boys and girls, to replace those which Brumha had stolen from Vrinda-vunu; — he destroyed a large hydra which had poisoned the waters of the Yumoona; — he seduced the wife of Ayun"i-ghoshu, avoishyfi, and sport- ed with 16 000 milk maids in the wilderness of Vrindu ; — he next assumed four arms, destroyed Kungso, and placed Kungsu’s father on the throne; after this he was enga- ged in various quarrels, and had to combat with many formidable enemies, wiiieh induced him to build a fort at Dwaruka, where he resided, and married tw o wives ; — > he next joined the family of Yoodhisht’hirii in their war with the race of Booryodhii- nu, — and lastly destroyed Shishoo-palu. He closed his life with an act w orthy ofsueh a character, by destroying his whole progeny,* and was at length himself accidentally hilled by an arrow while sitting under a tree. 3t is very possible, if any real Hindoo history could be discovered, that many of these facts would be found recorded in the life of a Hindoo king of this name; which facts have been embellished ly the Asiatic poets till they have elevated the hero in- to a god. The imts god, even among those vtho hope for salvation through him, that Yilw u-mungulu, a blind poet, wrote the following verse, which certainly contains the severes; possible censure of this p rotligate deity ; “ Oh ! Krishna 1 tnou who didst destroy thy own offspring ; Thou w ho didot renounce (Sesta) the spotless daughter of ZunukQ, in the w ilderness; Tnou who didst cast down to hades Vulee, who had given thee his alT — "Who would think on thee, if thou wert not the deliverer from death 1” s In exa"t agreement with this SungskritCi verse, was the declaration made before several persons In comps- ny in the year 181?, by Ram-nat’hii, the second Sungskritu pundit in the College of Fort-W fflfam, who, speak- ing of the nni versal prodigacy cf manners in Calcutta, declared, that every house contained a Rrisknu, Of the gobs. — Rrisknu.~\ OF THE HINDOOS. 155 This god is represented as a black man; holding a flute to his mouth with both hands ; his mistress Radha stands on his left. On the 8th of the moon’s decrease in the month Ehadra, an annual festival is held in the night, to celebrate the birth of this god. On this day all the worshippers fast.* The regular Hindoos, and the disciples of the Gosaees,+ sometimes differ a day or two in celebrating this feast. After the ceremonies of worship are concluded, the worshippers assemble before the temple near a hole cut in the ground, into which have been thrown water, oil, curds, turmerick, and earth, and seize first one person and then another, and throw them into this hole; and others jump into it. Music, dancing, singing obscene songs, &c. accompany these acts of rude merriment, at the close of which, dancing through the streets, the crowd go to some pool, or to the river, and wash themselves; and thus the festivity ends. In the month Shravunn another festival is held in honour of Krishnu, called Jhoo- lunu-yatra.p On the 1 1th night of the increase of the moon this festival begins, when a chair or throne containing the image being suspended from the ceiling of an adjoining room in the temple, the proprietor begins to swing the image, and other bramhun guests continue it at pleasure. At ten o’clock the god is taken to his usual place, when the different forms of worship are repeated, amidst the offering of flow- ers, incense, sweetmeats, fruits, and other acts of adoration. During the celebration of worship in the house, the crowd out of doors sing, dance, and make a horrid dis- cord with barbarous instruments of music, connecting with the whole every kind of indecency. At twelve o’clock, the owner of the image entertains a great multitude of * In a Hindoo fast, the person abstains, for three days, from anointing himself with oil, from connubial intercourse, from fish, every thing fried, and eats only once a day. At the time of a Jewish fast, th^“ person is said to hive “ afflicted his soul but among the Hindoos fasting and merriment go together. The Jewish fast was connected with moral sentiment. The Hindoos fast as an act of mere ceremonial purity , + The Gosaees are the religious leaders of a large portion of the worshippers of Krishnu. Gosaee is a term of respect equivalent to Sir. t The swinging festival. T 2 15G HISTORY, LITERATURE, and RELIGION, [Part iii. Chap. j. bramhtms. After eating and drinking,, they literally ‘rise up to play:’ youths, dres- sed so as to represent Krishna and his mistress Radha, dance together ; and the fes» tivities are thus continued till the crowd retire at day-light. Some keep this feast for five nights, beginning on the eleventh, and others for three nights, beginning on the thirteenth. On the 15th of the increase of the moon in the month Kartiku, another festival is held during three nights to celebrate the revels of this impure god with the milkw maids. It is called the Rash. Each night, after the ceremonies in the temple are closed, the crowd carry the image out with much noise, music, singing, and dancing, and place it in a brick building in the street, which is open on all sides, and has one highly elevated sitting place. This building is annually gilt, ornamented, and grand- ly illuminated for this festival. Sixteen small images of Krishna are necessary on this occasion, but a very small goldimage, about the size of a breast-pin, is placed as the object of adoration, and afterwards given to the officiating bramhun. At the close of the festival, the clay images are thrown into the river. Round the building in the street, booths are erected, filled w ith sweetmeats, play- things, and other articles, as at an English fair. Here fathers and mothers, lead- ing their children by the hand, or carrying them on their hips,* come for fairings. Thieves and gamblers are very busy at these times ;+ and upon the whole it is amazing- how much a European is here reminded of an English race-ground. At these times I have seen the grey-headed idolator and the mad youth dancing together, the old man lifting up his withered arras in the dance, and giving a kind of horror to the scene, which idolatry itself united to the vivacity of youth would scarcely be able to * This is the way in which all Hindoos carry their children. A child is rarely seen in a person s arms as in Europe. The same custom appears to have existed among the Jews; “ ye shall be borne upon he. sides, and be dandled upon her knees.” Isaiah lxvi. 12. + In the year 1810, on account cf the depredations of preceding jears, the Magistrate of Serampore for- bad the erection of booths and all games at this festival : in consequence of which an ex pence of near four hundred roopees, incurred in performing the ceremonies of worship, fell upon the owner of the image of Krishna, who would otherwise have received as much from the proprietors of the booths and gaming shops. Of the gods.— Krishnu.'] OF THE HINDOOS. J57 inspire.* In England the bait to corrupting amusements is merely a horse-race; but in Bengal the Hindoo is at once called to what he considers divine worship and to a licentious festival ; no qne imagining, but that worship and adultery may be perform- ed in the same hour. About four or five in the morning the crowd carry the god back to the temple ; and then retir e to cure their hoarseness and rest their wearied bodies. On the fourth morning, having brought the god home, after the usual ceremonies, they singsongs in celebration of the actions of Krishna; and continue them from ten till twelve or one o’clock in the day. Many come to hear, who present various offer- ings to the god ; after which a grand feast is given to the bramhans. The expences of this festival are defrayed either by rich natives, or from the revenues of the temple?. At the full moon in Phalgoonu, the Dolu,f another swinging festival, is held.— Fifteen days before the full moon the holidays begin, from w hieh time the Hindoos assemble in the night to sing and dance, aitd in the day they wander about the streets throwing red powder! at the passengers, either with their hands or through a syringe. On the night before the full moon, the ceremonies of worship are performed ; at the cfose of which, having besmeared themselves with red powder, they carry the god from his house to some distance, amidst the sounds of music, dancing, fireworks, singing, &c. A bamboo with a straw man tied to it, having been erected in seme •» Illuminations, fireworks, and the guilding of their temples, give a very shewy effectrto Hindoo ceremo- nies, which are often performed at the time of the full moon, and at midnight. A moon-light night in India is high- ly pleasant. At the time of the RasG festival, I have seen a scene so gaily illuminated and adorned, that the whole seemed enchantment; every native, as he approached the god, threw1 himself on the ground with the most pro- found reverence, and muttered his praise w ith rapture as he mingled in the delighted crow d. Could I have for- gotten that these people w ere perpetrating a dreadful crime, and that these nightly festivals w eie connected with the greatest impurities, I should have been highly gratified., + All these festivals are intended to represent the obscene acts or pfety of Krishna. This is the play of swinging common to young folks in Europe. I am told, that on this occasion, in variousplaces in Hindoost’hanii, many families sit up all night swinging by the light of the moon. They suspend a cord betw ixt two trees, and while some are swinging, others are singing impure songs, and others dancing. + This powder is made with the roots of w ild giDgcr, coloured with sappan wood. Other ingredients arc added to make superior kinds. 158 HISTORY, LITERATURE, and RELIGION, [Part iii. Chap, j . -plain, they place the god here, and again worship him. After three hours have been spent in various sports, especially with fireworks, they set fire to the bamboo and straw, carrying back the image to the temple. Very early in .the morning, they bathe the god, set him on a chair, and then worship him, rocking him in this chair, and throwing upon him red powder. At twelve o’clock at noon these ceremonies are re- peated with greater splendour, when many offerings are presented, and the bramhuns entertained. About four the festival closes by another repetition of the same cere- monies. The god is then washed, anointed, clothed, and put into the temple, where food remains before him for some time, and is then given to the bramlnins. Reside these many other festivals less popular are held in the course of the year. Many small black stones, having images of KrishnQ cut in them, are to be found in the houses of the Hindoos ; to which different names are given, but they are all forms of Krishna. The temples dedicated to Krishnu are very numerous ; and it is a scandalous fact that the image of Radha, his mistress, always accompanies that ©/Krishna, and not those ofhis wives Rookminee and Sutyii-bhama. Many persons may be heard in the streets, and when sitting in their shops, repeating to themselves and to parrots, the names of Radha and Krishnu, as works of merit. Pantomimical entertainments are frequently represented, in which the lev/d actions of this god are exhibited. Six parts out of ten of the whole Hindoo population of Bengal are supposed to be the disciples of this god. The far greater part of these, however, are of the low er orders, and but few of them bramhuns.* The mark on their foreheads consists of two straight lines from the tip of the nose to the back of the head. A story of Krishnu. — The death of Shishoo-palii is thus related : A quarrel arose at a sacrifice between Krishna and this monarch, respecting the point of precedency, ■which Shishoo-paln would not resign to Krishnu : ‘ What !’ says he, ‘shall I be pre- * The greater part of the bramhuns are disciples of the female deities (Shaktus). Of tub cons. — Krish}iu.~\ OF THE HINDOOS, 159 ceded by the son of a cow-herd ; one who has eaten with a cow-keeper, who has led cows to pasture ; and has been guilty of all manner ofabominations !’ Krishnu restrain- ed his rage for some time, but at length became exceedingly angry, and cut off his head at one blow. It was prophesied of Sliishoo-palu that as soon as he saw the person by whose hands he should die, two of his four arms would fall off; and this i3 said to have happened the moment he saw Krishnu at the meeting of the kings at. this sacrifice. Another Story. — On a certain occasion the lascivious Krishnu heard, that king Dan-* dee possessed a horse, which every night assumed the form of a beautiful female. Krishnu asked for this horse; but the king refused him, and fled to Bheemii, Krishna’s friend, who, rather than abandon a person who had claimed his protection, resolved to break the ties of friendship with Krishna, and go to war with him. A war com- menced, which continued to rage with the utmost fury, till the horse, assuming the shape of a kinnuree, ascended to heaven, the period of the curse under which it lay being expired. Krishnu ruining his friend by urging him to declare a deliberate falsehood. — In the war betwixt the family of Dooryodnunu and the Pandixvus, Dronacharjyu was so mighty a warrior that the Pandhvhs had no hopes of success unless they could cut him off; to accomplish which, Krishna contrived to throw Dronacharjyu off his guard, by causing it to be reported through the army, that his son Ushwutt’hama was killed. The father refused to believe the report unless Yoodhist’hiru would say it was true. Krishna pressed Yoodhist'hiru to tell this lie, as it would insure success to their af- fairs ; and, in cases of extremity, the shastru had declared it lawful to employ false- hood. Yoodist’hiru at first positively refused, but was at length persuaded by the entreaties of Krishna, Urjoonu, and others, who told him the assertion would not be a lie, for an elephant of Boory odhhn ds, of the same name, had actually been killed in battle. Dronacharjyu was so overcome when he was thus brought to believe the news, that Uijoonu soon oispatchei him ; which completely changed the face oi the battle. Cn account of this xalsehood, Yoodhist’hiru, in going to heaven, was terrifi- ed by a sight of the torments of hell. Where did Krishnu, the father of this lie, go ? ICO HISTORY, LITERATURE, and RELIGION, [Part m. Chap, i. Theft and murder committed by Krishnu. — When Krishna was going to Mht’hoora, to destroy Kungsii, as he approached the city, he felt ashamed of the meanness of his dress, which consisted only of some shreds of cloth, like ropes, tied round his loins; and said to his brother Bulu-ramu, 4 Ail are going to this sacrifice elegantly dress- ed; we cannot go in this condition.’ Krishna then sent his brother to a washerman, who however would not part with the clothes in his possession, as they belonged to king Anngsd. A quarrel ensued, in the midst of which Krishna killed the washerman, and carried off the clothes ; these free-booters next went to a shop and stole two necklaces ; and afterwards seized some sandal-w ood, which a deformed woman was taking to the palace ofKungsu: but, to reward her, Krishnu pulled her straight, and made her more beautiful than the upsiiras. The woman asked Krishna, since he had made her so beautiful, w ho should marry her. Krishnu asked her to whom she wished to be unit- ed. She said to himself: — and from that time she became his mistress. SECTION Lit, Gopalu.* THIS is an image of Krishnu in his childhood. He is resting on one knee, with his right hand extended, craving some sweetmeats from his mother. This infant god is worshipped at the festivals in honour of Krishnu: the ceremo-* nies are the same, though the formulas are different. Those who preserve stone, or brass, or other images of this god in their houses, as many do, worship them every day, or whenever they choose. Many persons receive the initiating incantation of Gopalu as their guardian deity. Gireeshu-chundru, the raja of Nudeeya, in the year 1807, had two dreams, in which the god Gopal.i appeared to him, and told him, that in a certain place in * The cowherd. Of tiie gods. — Gopec-naChu .] OF THE HINDOOS. 161 Niideeya, a beautiful image of him was buried deep in the ground. The raja paid no attention to his dreams, till the god appeared to him a third time, telling- him the same thing; when he consulted his principal servants, who sent labourers to dig up the image, but none wras found. A few nights after, Gopalu appeared again, and told the raja that he was to be found in such a place, describing the spot in a more particular manner. The raja again sent his servants, who found the image. The great- est rejoicings took place at Nudeeya on this occasion ; learned bramhuns were cal- led ; and a vast concourse of people collected from the surrounding country to behold this miraculously discovered god, and to witness his installation, at which four thou- sand roopees were expended : a temple was afterwards erected on the spot, and the god placed in it. This image is now become very famous : the offerings presented to it do not amount, it is said, to less than two hundred roopees monthly. Another image of the infant Krishna, called Balii-gopalu, made of stone or metal, is kept in the houses of many, and worshipped daily, as well as at the festivals in ho- nour of Krishna. SECTION LIII. Gopee-nat'liu .* THIS is another form of Krishnu : In some places the image is worshipped every day, as well as at the festivals in honour of Krishnu. A celebrated image of this god is set up at Ugvu-dweepu, where an annual festival is held, on the 11th and five following days of the decrease of the moon, in Choitru. The origin of this image is so recent, that the story is known to every Hindoo : two religious mendicants, since become famous among the followers of Krishna, Choitunytt and Nityannndu, sent their disciple Ghosha-t’hakooru, w ho did not relish an austere life, to Ugrd-dweepu, and directed him to take a certain stone with him, and make * The god of the milk-maids. ir 152. 11 ISTOU V, LITERATURE, andRELIGTON, [Part iiLGhaf.i.. an image of Gopee-nat’lm, which he should set up there and worship. GhoshiA- t’liakooru obeyed lii> spiritual guides ; took the stone on his head ; set it up as a god* the gift of Choitunyu and iSityanundii, and began to worship it in public daily. The sod soon appeared to him in dreams, and revealed a number of secret things; so that bv degrees Gopeenat’hfi of Ugru-dweepu became very famous. One night a stranger came to the temple at a very late hour, when no one was awake to giva him refreshment. TJie god himself, however, in the form of Ghosliu-t’hakooru, took an ornament from lii.s ancle, and purchased some food for the stranger, at an adjoining shop. In the morning there was -a great noise in the town about this ornament, when the shopkeeper and the stranger declared these facts, so creditable to the benevolence of the god; and from this circumstance the fame of Gopeenat’ha spread still wider. After the death of Ghoshu-t’hakooru, the god appeared to h’j successor, and directed him to perform the funeral rites: in the celebration of which it was contrived that the god himself should present the offering to the manes; for when the kooshii grass, the rice, and the water were put into the hands of the image, the god (a little more water than usual being poured into his hand) poured out the offering, when the crowd set up a great shout, declaring that the god him- self had presented the offering to the manes. At present, it is said, this god brings in not less than 25,000 roopees annually to his owner. At the above-mentioned festival, it is supposed that 100,000 people assemble each v_/ ray at Ugru-dw eepu, among w'homare great multitudes of lewd women, who accom- pany the religious mendicants. Filthy songs about Krishnu and his mistresses are sung by the crowd, and all manner of indecent diversions practised. Different casts eat together here. After the death of Ghosh u-t’hakoorii- the image fell into the hands of the raja, orloi at of the soil, who sent bramhuns to perform the ceremonies before the image, andre-% ceive the offerings. Raja Nuvu-krishnu of Calcutta once seized this image for a debt of three lacks of roopees, due to him from the owner, raja Krishnu-chundrii-rayu.Th<£ latter afterwards regained the image by a suit at law; but not till Nuvu-krishnu had made another Gopee-nat’hu exactly like it. Of the gods.— Jugunmibru^ OF THE HINDOOS. Ail this has arisen out of a stone given by two mendicants to one of their compa- nions ! Who can avoid feeling a mingled sensation of disgust and pity, while he be- holds such multitudes, the abject slaves of a superstition so degrading. SECTION LIT, Jugurmatfhu .* THE image of this god has no legs and only stumps of arms ;t the head ahd eyes are very large. At the festivals the bramhuns adorn him with silver or golden hands*. Krishna, in some period of Hindoo history, was accidentally killed by Ungudir, a, hunter; wholeft the body to rot under the tree where it fell. Some pious person, how- ever, collected the bones of Krishna, and placed them in a box, where they remained till Indru-dhoomnu, a king, who was performing religious austerities to obtain some fa- vour ofVishnoo, was directed hy the latter to form the image of Jugunnat’hu, and pift into its belly these bones of Krishna, by which means he should obtain the fruit ofhb religious austerities. Indrn-dhoomnu enquired who should make this image ; and was commanded to pray to V ishw u-kurmu. | He did so, and obtained his request ; but ¥i>h- wu-kurmu at the same time declared, that if any one disturbed him while preparing the image, he would leave it in an unfinished state. He then began, and in one night built atemple upon the blue mountain in Orissa, andjiroceeded to prepare the image in the temple ; but the impatient king, after waiting fifteen days, went to the spot: on which Vishwu-kurmu desisted from his work, and left the god without hands or feet. The king was very much disconcerted ; but on praying to Brumba, he promised to make the image famous in its present shape. * The lord of the world, from jugut, the world; and nat'hS, lord. d The Athenians placed statue-sat their doors to drive away thieves, which they ^called ETermse,fTom Mercury. These images had neither hands nor feet, and hence Mercury was called Cyllenias, and by contraction Cyllius, frfta Kullos, viz. without hands or feet. f The architect of the gods. U2 16* HISTORY, LITERATURE, and RELIGION, [Part iii. Chap. i. Indru-dkoomnu now invited all the gods to be present at the setting up of this image : Brumlia himself acted as high priest, and gave eyes and a soul to the god, which com- pletely established the fame of Jiigunnat’hu. This image is said to lie in a pool near the present temple, at Jugunnat’hu-kshtftru in Orissa, commonly known among the English by the name of Jugunnat’hu’s pagoda. The particulars of this place will be found in the account of the Hindoo holy places, the resort of pilgrims. Jugunnat’ha has many temples in Bengal, built by rich men as works of merit, and emjowed either with lands, villages, or money. The worship of this god is perform- ed in these temples every morning and evening; at which times people come to see the god, or prostrate themselves before him. During the intervals of worship, and after the god has partaken of the offerings, he is laid down to sleep,* when the tem- ple is shut up till the next hour of worship. Bramhuns may make offerings of boiled rice to this or to any other god, but shoo- drus cannot: they are permitted to offer only dried rice.f The food which is offered to Jugunnat’hu is either eaten by the bramhuns and their families at the temples, or by passengers and others, who purchase it of those shop-keepers that have bought it of the bramhuns ; a little is given to the poor. There are two annual festivals in Bengal in honour of this god; the Snanu-yatra, and the R it’hu-yatra. At the snanu-yatra in the month Jyoisht’hu, this lord of the world, wrapped in a cloth, is carried out and placed in a seat on a large terrace built in an open place near the temple. Here the bramhuns, surrounded by an immense concourse of specta- tors, bathe the god by pouring water on his head, during the reading of incantati- ons. The people at the close of the ceremony make obeisance, some by lifting their * The images of the gods in all the Hindoo temples, at certain hours, are laid down as to sleep ; at least, all those that are small enough to be laid down and lifted up again. + The bramhuns do not eat the boiled rice of the shoodrus. Sweatmeats, fruit, the water of the Ganges, &c. are thing, received from shoodrus., i et there are a few bramhuns who refuse even sweetmeats and water from the hands of shoodrus. Of the cons. — Ji(gurmalhu.~\ OF THE HINDOOS. 105 hands to their foreheads and others by prostration, and then depart, assured by the shastras that they shall be subject to no more births, but be admitted to heaven af- ter the death of this body. The bramhiins then wipe this creator of the world, and car- ry him back to the temple, after which the ceremonies of worship are performed be- fore him with great shew. This snanii, however, is not confined to Jugunnat’hu, but at this time all the different images ofVishnoo, throughout the country, are bathed. It is the custom of the Hindoos to feed their children with rice for the first time when they are six, seven, or nine months old. On this day, before the ceremony of feeding the child, they bathe it, repeating incantations. Krishnu partook of his first rice at the full moon in Jyoisht’hu ; in commemoration of which, this snanu-yatra is performed annually by the w orshippers of any separate form of Vishnoo. About seventeen days after the snanu-yatra, on the second of the increase of the moon in Asharhu, the Ru’thu or car festival is held. Before the god is taken out of the temple to be placed on the car, the usual ceremonies of w orship are performed. The car belonging to the image near Serampore is in the form of a tapering tow'er, be- tween thirty and forty cubits high. It has sixteen wheels, two horses, and one coach- man, all of wood. Jugunnat’hu, his brother Bulii-ramu, and their sister Soobhudra are drawn up by ropes tied round the neck, and seated on benches in an elevated part of the carriage, when a servant on each side waves a tail of the cow of Tartary, called a chamuru.* The crowd draw the carriage by means of a hawser; their shouts, as the carriage proceeds, may be heard at the distance of a mile. Being arrived at the appointed spot, the bramhiins take out the images, and carry them to the temple of some other god, or to a place prepared for them,. where they remain eight days : At Serampore, Jugunnat’hu, and his brother and sister, visit the god Radha-vullubhu :t and here the w ives of bramhuns, who are never seen at shews, and who seldom leave home, come to look at Jugunnat’hu. The car stands empty during this time, and the crowd flock to gaze at the indecent figures, J alluding to the abominations of the gods, which are painted all over it. Temporary shops are erected near the place where * Thechamuru is a necessary appendage to royalty among tlic Hindoos. -I Another form of Krishnu. The name intimates that this god is the paramour of Radha, $ Romans i. 27. 166 HISTORY, LITERATURE, and ^RELIGION, ^Faut nr. Cita^. K the car stands, like booths on a race-ground.* At the end ofeight days, the god is a m u arrived by the sea side, and I have not known it !” He then directed Rami; to apply to king Nulu, to whom he had given a blessing, that whatever he threw into the sea should become buoyant. Ai the coirunan ' of -\ulu, the monkeys tore up the neighbouring mountains, and cast them into the sea. Hunooman brought three mountains on his head at once, each 64milesin circumference; and one on each shoulder, equally large; together with one under each arm; one in each paw, and one on his tail. All these mountains being thrown into thcsca, and becoming buoyant, a .complete bridge was formed. V i . 3 HlSXOili) LI i LIIATL RE, and RE.LIGi.0Kj [Part in. Chain n ears, and escaped. The terrified monkeys fled, but Ramii with his arrows first'cut off his arms, then his legs. Still he waddled round, and endeavoured to devour all within his reach, till Ramu gave him r mortal' wound in the neck. Next after Koom- bhuknrnii, Indriijit engaged in lire contest. He seized Ramu, and, by the power of enchantment, carried him down to patalii ; where Hunooman went in search ofhim, and, while Muhee-ravanu was there instructing Indriijit' how to prostrate hiinself before an image of the goddess Rhudru-kulee, Hunooman cut off his head, and res- cued Ramii. At length R'avnnu himself entered the combat; but after many con- flicts, finding himself very w eak,, he resolved to restore Seeta, and put an end to the war; to this Ramu consented; but while Ravunii was on the point of bringing Seeta, ha thought wiithin himself, “If I do this, every one will charge me with cow- ardice : shall I, a giant; refuse to fight?” The' combat was again renewed, and Ravunii was slain.* Ramu then obtained his wife; but as a trial of her innocence while in the hands of Ravunii,. he compelled her to pass through a fiery ordeal, which she did unhurt. He then returned to Uyodhya, and mounted the throne. After this, however, some person objected to Ramii, that it was not proper for him to receive Seeta, atter she had been in keeping of a giant. He therefore sent her into the forest to \ almeek.ec* the writer of the liftmayunir, where she was delivered of two * The engagement betw ixt Rama and Ravunu las ed seven days ; Ramu cut otT the ten heads of P.avunu a hundred times, but they were always miraculously restored. Ramu then discharged an arrow which had thes» properties, that if it went into the air, it became 1000 ; if it entered the body of an enemy, it became an innume- rable multitude : Hav ana, at the sight of this arrow was filled w ith fear, and would have fled ; but recollecting that Shiva had once given him as arrow- that wasto Tescue him in a time of extreme peril, he discharged it, and destroyed Rainu’sterrible arrow ; still however be was ful!-of fear, for whichever way he turned, hesaw Railing lie shut his eyes, but “till he saw him in his mind. At length, perceiving no way of escape, he began to flatter Ra- mii, who was so softened, that be declared he would never destroy Raviinn. The gods alarmed lest Ravunii should be spared, excited him to reproach Ramu, w ho, indignant at such conduct, let fly an arrow w hich, friend Ravu- nh’s body, proceeded through the earib into the regions below, and having there bathed, returned in the form of a goose, and again entered the quiver in its original shape. The gods were so much in fear of. Ravunii, that they- durst not begin to rejoice till they were sure he was dead : in whispers, they asked each other, “ Is he dead ?’ — “ Is he really dead, ?”&c. When it was know n that he w as certainly dead, the gods, Ramii, the monkeys, ar.d the bears, all began to dance. Miindodiiree, the chief w ife of Ravunii, and mother of Indriijit, after the death of her husband, went to Ramu, weeping. Ramu, not knowing who she was, gave her this blessing, that she should never become a widow. Finding his mistake, (having just killed her husband) he ordered llunoo- man continually to throw wood into the fire, according to a proverb among the Hindoos, that as long as the bo- dy of ihe husband is burning, a woman is not called a widow. To this day, therefore, HPnooman keeps laying logs on the tire ; and every time a Hindoo puts his fingers in his ears and hears a sound, he says, he hc*rs the bones of Ravunii burning. Of the gods. — Ramu.'] OF THE HINDOOS. 171 sons, Luvu and Kooshu; the latter of whom was afterwards stolen by the god Pun- chananu, when Yalmeekee, to comfort the mother, took a blade of kooshu grass, and secretly made a child so much like Kooshu that Sceta did not know it from her own son. In a short time, however, Punchanunti, not being- able to destroy a child of lla- ma’s, restored Kooshu, and Yalmeekee caused the two boys to become one. Before his death Ramii performed the sacrifice of a horse;* Seeta and her two sons, .Luvu and Kooshu, were restored to him ; but Ramu wishing Seeta again to pass through a fiery ordeal, she entered the fire, but the goddess Prut’hivee,+ (Seeta’s mother), opened her mouth, and received her into patalu. At length Kalu-poorooshu, the angel of death, went to Ramu, expressing a wish for a secret conference. Ramu promised that while he was present no one should be admitted, and placed Luksh- Hauniiatthe door to keep out all intruders, but while .Ramu and Kalu-poorooshu were closeted, Doorvasa, the sage, arrived, and demanded an interview; with Ramu. This sage was so very passionate that every one dreaded contradicting him ; Lukshmunu, therefore, through fear, went in and announced his arrival. Ramu, for this offence, rejected his brother, who in a paroxysm .of grief drowned himself in the sacred river Suruyoo, and went to heaven. Ramu afterwards put an end to his life in the same manner. Luvu and Kooshu succeeded him.t The image of Ramu is pointed green ; he is represented as sitting on a throne, or on Hunooman, the monkey, with a crown upon his head. lie holds in one hand a bow, in another an arrow, and has a bundle of arrows slung at his back. The worship paid to hkn is cT the same kind as that io Krishna: lout the formulas are different. On the ninth of the increase of the moon in Choitru, on which day Ramu was born, an annual festival is held, Avhen multitudes of clay images are worshipped. The dolu festival also is observed in honour of this god, on this day, * ThTs sacrifice was performed by many of the ancient IlindQp princes, and was considered as highly meri- torious. t The earth personified. t There are a few sentences in this history, which are not to be found in Yalmeeker’s RamayGnii ; but they may be scervin-the Bengalee trant'.aiion. Y 2 172 HISTORY, LITERATURE, and RELIGION, [Part hi. Chap. i. v/hich is also kept as a fast : when Rama’s three brothers, Bhui atu, Lukshmunu, and Shutrughnu are worshipped, but the images of the first and last are never made. At ether festival; also a few ceremonies in honour of Ramu are performed. The birth of Rama forms the seventh of the Hindoo incarnations. On the birth- nd fasts of the Hindoo calendar except those in honour of.Krislmu. The images most regarded among this sect are those of Choitunyu and Nityanun- da set up at Umbika, in the district of Burdwan. About a hundred years ago, another man rose up in Bengal, as the leader of a sect, whose dress of many colours is said to be so heavy that two or three people can scarce- ly carry it. This and his string of beads are preserved as relics at Ghoshparu, wheie he continued five years, and died at the house of Ramu-Shurunu-Palu, a fehocdru of the Sud-gopu cast, to whom he communicated his supernaturalpowers ; and who, af- ter the death of this mendicant, began to teach che doctrine of a constant incarnation, and that God then dwelt in him. He persuaded many that he could cure the leprosy, and other diseases; and preached the doctrines of Choitunyu, imitating him in con- forming, for convenience sake, to many of the superstitions of the Hindoos. He also gave a new initiating incantation to his followers,* who, of whatever cast, ate toge- ther privately. Vast multitudes joined this man; both Musuhnans and Hindoos ; and carried him presents, eating together once or twice a year. By this means, from a . state of deep poverty he became rich, and his son now lives in affluence. * The following is r. translation of this incantation : “O sinless Lord, O gr^at Lord; at" thy pleasure 1 go ana. return : not a moment am I without thee, l am ever with thee ; save, O gre t Lorm” 176 HISTORY, LITERATURE, and RELIGION, j Pkrt in. Chap. s. A number of Ramii-Shuriinu’s disciples adhere to his son Doolalu : others follow Shivu-Ramu and some others of the old man s disciples, who pretend to have receiv- ed the power of their master to cure diseases, &c. Though part of the father’s fol- lowers have thus apostatized, Doolalu pretends that he lias now 20.000 disciples. SECTION LVI1F. .Vishwu-Jcurma * Is the son ofBrumha, and architect of the gods; he is painted white, has three eyes, holds a club in his right hand; wears a crown, a necklace of gold, and rings on his wrists, lie presides over the arts, manufactures, &c. The worship of this god is performed once, twice, or four times a year, in the month Ugruhayiinu, Poushu, Choitru, or Bhadru, by all artificers, to obtain success in busi- ness. The ceremonies may be performed either in the day or night, before any im- plements of trade: the joiners set up their mallet, chissel, saw, hatchet, &c. as the representative of this god. Weavers choose their shuttle, &c. putting them into the hole in the earth w herein they place their feet when they sit at work. The razor is 1 the barber's god on this occasion. The potter, after a month1 s fast, adopts and -wor- ships the wheel w ith which he turns his pots. Masons choose their trowel ; washermen take the beetle or stamper, their smoothing irons, Sec. as their god ; blacksmiths wo; - ship their hammer and bellows; the farmer his plough : spinsters their wheel. Tue shoemaker chooses his awl and knife, and bows down to them; and thus, amongst all the artificers, each one chooses the j rncipal tool or instrument with which he works; and makes it a god, or the representative of Visliwu-kurma.+ The ceremonies ara * Vishwu,the world; kurmij, work. + This worship affords another strons proof . r : he low and sordid nature of idolatry, and strikingly illustrates the vcrrls of our Lord, “ after all the-? tuir _ do the gentiles seek.” L. ea-1 of raising their u: bids to the Circa' foiirce of all good, there persons are tough; to orship the tools belonging to tiirir trades, as the cause of thei- tcmporal happiness. This conduct se.-.rrs v, I— reproved in the fir-! chapter of the book of Habakkuk, “ They sacrifice unto their net, and burn incense unto !heir drag; because by them their portion is f^t, and their meat plenteous.” Op the gods. — Kamu-dcvu.~\ OF TIIE HINDOOS. 177 not long ; but according to their ability the worshippers provide as good a feast as possible. At the close of the festival, the crowd form themselves into parties of plea- sure ; some go upon the river in boats, singing songs, and playing on different in- struments of music; others sit in companies, smoke, and relate the news of the vil- lage, others spend their time in gaming, and some resort to houses of ill fame. Though the illiterate consider this god, who may be called the Indian Vulcan, as the inventor of all the mechanic arts, the shilpu shastrus, apart ofthe original vedfr, are more properly considered as their source. These works are not now read in Bengal, iF they really exist : they describe, it is said, the proper shape and dimensions of all the various images of the Hindoo gods. SECTION LIX. JCamu-devu , the Indian Cupid.* THE image of this god, the son of Briimha, is that of a beautiful youth, holding in his hands a bow and arrow of flowers* He is always supposed to be accompanied by his wife Rhtee,t by spring personified, the cuckoo, the humming bee, and gentle breezes; and is represented as wandering through the three worlds. The image of Kamii-devn is never made in Bengal, but on the 13th of the increase of the moon in Choitrii, an annual festival is held, when the ceremonies of worship are performed before the shalgramn. At the time of marriage, and when a wife leaves her father’s house to go to her husband for the first time, petitions are addressed to this god for children, and for happiness in the marriage state. * Kamu, desire ; d6vii,god. + Fro"i R- jnii, to play ; or to give pleasure. It is said that the god of love found Itfitee in the bou e of -huii** burii, a git. ik tvlij.a he destroyed. "W 178 HISTORY, LITERATURE, and RELIGION, [Chap.x. Part in. The pooranu and kavyu shastrus abound with stories respecting Kamu-devu, one of which I here give from the Kaliku pooranu : The god of love, the most beautiful crea- ture in the three worlds, with whom every one was pleased, immediately after his cre- ation solicited the commands of Briimha, who assured him, that, with his five arrows, he should wound with love the hearts of the inhabitants of the three worlds; that all beings should be subject to his sway, not excepting even Briimha, Vishnoo, andShivu; and that through him the uni verse should be peopled. Kundurpu first discharged his- ar- row at Brumha himself, who became enamoured of his own daughter, Sundhya. Mu* reechee, and the other sons of Briimha, also smitten by his arrows, were inflamed with unlawful desires toward their sister. Shivii said to Brumha — “ What ! art thou infla- med with lust towards thy own daughter 1” Briimha was covered with shame, and, VJ from the perspiration which issued from his body, Ugnislnvuta and other progenitors of mankind,* to the number of 1 19,(100, were born. Brumha, full of rage against Kim- diirpn, cursed him, and declared that he should be burnt to ashes by the fire from the eye of Shivii, but on his intercessions, promised, that when Shivii should be married to Doorga, he w'ould restore to him his body. Names. Mndhnn, or, he who intoxicates with love; Mun-miit’hu, he who agitates the mind ; Marti, he who wounds with love ; Priidyoomnii, he who overcomes all ; Meenu-ketunu, he whose flag is a fish; Kimdiirpii, he ivho bloats the mind with de- sire; Unungii, he who is destitute of body ; Kamii, the creator of desire ; Fiinchu- shiirii, he who has five arrows ; Smuru, he who inflames; Shiimbiiraree, the enemy of the giant Shumburii; Munusiju, he who is born in the heart; Koosoomeshco, he whose arrows are flowers; Ununyuju, he who is born only in the mind; Pooshpii-dhiinwa, he whose bow is made of flowers ; Rutee-ptitee, the husband of Rutee; Mukf;ru-dhwu- jii, he whose flag is the animal Mukurii ; Atmubhoo, he who is self -created. * In performing the ceremony called turpunu, seven names are used in pouring outdrink-offe.mgs to -j1 these ancestors. Op the gods. — Sixty u-Naray unit, .] OF THE HINDOOS. m SECTION LX. Sufyu- Narayunu . THIS is a form of Vishnoo ; but the image is never made : a pan of water is the substitute. This god is worshipped several times in the year, in the houses of the richer Hin- doos, when all the bramhuns in the village are invited. The object of worship, painted red, and covered with leaves of the mangoe tree, is placed near a square board, at the four corners of which four arrows are set up, and from which garlands of flowers are suspended ; a piece of clean linen is laid on the board, and then the offerings of flowers and sweetmeats. At the close of the festival, some one present reads different marvellous stories in praise of this god. The sweetmeats are given to the guests, especially to the bramhuns : the acquisition of riches, recovery from sickness, the birth of children, the obtaining of any of the blessings, or the removing any of the miseries, of life, are objects sought in the worship of this god- THE preceding account of the terrestrial gods contains the names of all the principal deities of this description worshipped in Bengal. I am aware , however , that worship is paid to some idols not mentioned here ; but these arc only different forms of the deities whose history is given ; and the worship is merely an appendage to the ceremonies at the great festivals. ISO HISTORY, LITERATURE, and RELIGION, [Part hi. Chap. i. SECTION LX1, Terrestrial Goddesses. Seeta. i IIIS is the image of a yellow woman, covered with jewels : it always accompli* iiies and is worshipped with that of her husband. Seeta was the daughter of king Januku,* whose capital was Mit’hila. Her history, after her marriage with Ramu, will be found in the account of that god.f Radhct. RADII A was the wife of Ayunu*ghoshu, a cowherd of Gokoolii, where Krishna in his youth resided: through Vuraee, a procuress, he seduced Radha, and led her into the forest near the river Yumoona, where they continued till Krishnu left her to begin the war with Kungsu. This mistress of Krishnu has been deified with her paramour. Her image is set up in temples with differenif orms of Krishnu, and worshipped at the festivals of this god. The act of looking upon these images together, is declared by the shastrus to be an act of peculiar merit ! * Shivfi gave to Jiinuk'u a bow so heavy that a thousand men could not lift it, and which the father placed in a separate room, and commanded Seeta to sweep the room daily ; in doing which she used to lift up the how with her left hand, and sweep under it with her right. One day the king saw her thus move the bow, and, filled with astonishment, was at aloss to whom he should give this daughter in marriage. After some time, he came to this resolution, that whoever should be able to break this bow, should obtain Seeta. Udhyatmu-Ramayunu. + While Seeta was detained at I/’nkashe was fed w ith ambrosia for tw elve months by Indru, as she would not eat in the house of a giant. That Itavunu could not destroy her virtue is thus accounted for by the pooranus : This giant had before seized the wives of the gods, and dishonoured them ; and one day he dishonoured his neice, the wife of king Nulu, for which crime Kooveru cursed him, and caused fire to proceed from the his ten heads at once. By the entreaty of Brumha , this curse w as mitigated ; with the proviso, however, that if he ever defiled the wife of another, it should be renewed in full force. — Ibid. Of the goddesses. — Roohnince.~\ OF THE HINDOOS. 181 If a Hindoo be charged with any particular act of which he wishes to express his abhorrence, he exclaims, “ Radha-Krishini !” Many persons repeat “ Ramu! Ramu! Rama !” on such occasions, but no one says Seeta-Ramii; yet when Krishnu’s name is to be repeated they always join to it that of his mistress Radha. One of the Hindoo learned men has written a work (the Radha-tuntru) to prove that Radha was an incarnation of Bhuguvutee, and this opinion is quoted by the Hin- does of the present day to cover this abominable transaction. SECTION LX IT. Roolmlnel and Suti/ubhama * THESE are the most distinguished wives ofKrishnu, but their images are never made, Krishna being always associated with Radha his mistress, and not with his law- ful wives. At the festivals of Krishna, hoivever, these women are worshipped, as well as six other wdves of this god, viz Jambibutee, Mitruvinda, Liigunujitee, Luksh- muna, Kalindee, and Bhudra; but Rodkminee and Sutyubhama are the most distin- guished. SECTION LXIII. / Soobliudra. THIS sister of Jugunnat’hii is worshipped at the same time with her brother, and placed w ith him in the temples dedicated to his honour. ■m HISTORY, LITERATURE, and RELIGION, [Part m. Chap. i. section L>:ir. Deities worshipped by the lower orders only. P unchanunu* IS a form of Shivii : the image has five faces, and in each face three eyes. Some persons make a clay image, and worship it with the usual forms, adding bloody sacri- fices ; while others worship Pimchanunu before a stone placed underneath the vutu,+ nshwut’ht’hd,^ or koolu,^ trees. This stone is painted red at the top, and anointed with oil. || Offerings of flowers, fruits, water, sweetmeats, and fried peas, accompany the worship, and sometimes bloody sacrifices. In almost, every village this worship is performed beneath some one of these trees. In some villages several of these shapeless stones* are to be seen thus anointed, and consecrated to the worship of tins god. In other places the clay images x>f Panchanunu are placed in houses or under trees, and old women called dyasineest devote themselves to his service : they sweep the inside of the clay temple, and repeat the ceremonies of worship for others, con- stantly remaining near the image; and receiving all offerings and presents. Not more than one woman waits upon one idol, unless she admit a pupil, who expects to suc- ceed her. These women, either married or widows, are treated almost as witches. There is no appointed time for the worship «f this god, but Tuesdays or Satur- days are preferred to other days. There are some places in Bengal where images of Punchanunu are in great cele- brity for bestowing the blessing of children, and other favours on the worshippers. * The five faced. f Ficus Indica. J Ficus religiosa. ^ Zizyphus jujuba. || The statue of the god Terminus was eithera square stone, or a log of wood, which the Romans usually per- fumed with ointments and crowned with garlands. * The representative of the goddess Passinuntia was a shapeless stone. The Arabians arc said to have nror- ghipped a stone without the form or shape of a deity. t is probable that these dyasinees resemble the priestesses of Cybele. Of ruE Gons^P’uttchanam.J OF THE HINDOOS. m ^ Tue Hindoo women are terrified at this god, and are exceedingly afraid lest their children should, in play, injure the sdone under the tree.* Some therefore warn t-ieir children against going near these stones, by declaring that Punchanunu will as- suredly kill them, if they touch or play with his image* Children in fits of epilepsy are supposed to be seized by this god, aild thrown into a state of frenzy, till they foam at the mouth, tear their hair, &c. The mother asks tfie supposed evil spirit his name, who answers, through the child, “ I am Puncha- nlmu : jour child has cast dust on my image, kicked it,, and is the ringleader of all the childi en of tlie village in this wickedness. I will certainly take away his life.” Tho dyasince is now called, who comforts the weeping and alarmed family, and ad- oresses the god thus, O Punchaiiimj ! I pray thee restore this child : these are thy worshippers : the offender is but a child; and it is not proper for thee to be angry with such paltry offenders* If thou restore the child, the parents w ill sacrifice a goat to thee, and present to thee many offerings.” If this should fail in render the god propitious, they take the child to the image, before which they sit doAvn, and offer the most excessive flattery to the god, causing the child to beat its head on die ground. After using every contrivance, they retire, and, at the close or the fit, fce~ lieving that Punchanunu has cured the child, they present to him offerings accoi ding to their ability. * The late JugSnnat’hu-Turkku-Poiichanunij, who died in the year 1S07, at the advanced age of 112, and who was supposed to be the most learned Hindoo in Bengal, used to relate the following anecdote of himself: Till he was twenty years old, he was exceedingly ungovernable, and refused to apply to his studies. One day his parents re- baked him very sharply for his conduct, and he wandered to a neighbouring village, where he hid himself in the vututree, under which was a very celebrated image of Punchanunu. While in this tree, he discharged his urine on the god, and afterwards descended and threw him into a neighbouring pond. The next morning, when the per: son arrived whose livelihood depended on this image, he discovered that his god was gone ! ! He returned into the village distracted, and the village was very soon all in an uproar about the lost god. In the midst of this con- fusion, the parents of Jogunndt’hi'i-TOrkku-Punchanono arrived to search for their son ; when a man in the crcwd declared that he had seen a young man sitting in Punchanunu’s tree, but what was become of the god he could not say. The run-away at length appeared, and the suspicions of all the villagers fell upon him, as the stealer 01 Piin- chaniinu. After some time he confessed the fact, pointed out the place w here he had thrown the stone, and added moreover that he had discharged his urine on the god. All hands w ere lifted- up in amazement at this atrocious crime, and every one present pronounced his death as certain; for Punchanunu would certainly revenge such a daring insult. Our young hero was himself terribly affrighted, and from that hour sat down so sedulously to h?5 studies, that he became the most learned man in Bengal. He was employed by the government in ludia for many years, at a salary of 300 roopees per month, and used to give advice on the subject of the Hindoo law in all difficult cases. 184 HISTORY, LITERATURE, and RELIGION, [Part iii. Chap. ?. SECTION LXV. Dhurmu T'haJcooru, ANOTHER form of Sliivu. A black stone of any shape becomes the representative of this god. The worshippers paint the part designated as the forehead, and place it under a tree ; others place the stone in the house, and give it silver eyes, andanoint it with oil, and worship it. Almost every village has one of these idols. A festival in honour of this god is observed by some of the lower orders in Voishaku, in the day. The ceremonies are like those at the swinging festival, with the addition of bloody sacrifices, the greater number of which are goats. At this time devotees swing on hooks; perforate their sides with cords; pierce their tongues with spits; walk upon fire, and take it up in their hands; walk upon thorns; and throw them- selves upon spikes, keeping a severe fast. The people who assemble to see these feats of self-torture, are entertained with singing, music, and dancing. On the 14th day, a great feast is held, when people bring their offerings, and, giving them to the officiating bramhun, request him to present them to the idol, to fulfil a vow, or w ith petitions to the god for some particular favour, as the birth of a child, recovery from sickness, or any other blessing. Wherever this idol is placed in a house, a -woman called a dyasinee attends upon if, and repeats the daily ceremonies. At two villages in Bengal, Poosooree and Rayii-kalee, the worship ol this god is constantly attended by crowds from a great distance. Jf a woman’s eldest child die, she makes a vow before witnesses, that she will not cut her hair for two years, and that then, going to one of these villages, she will cut it off, and present an offering to the god, provided he will preserve her second child. Some women, as an ac- knowledgment of a favour, or to beg a blessing, take a young child in their arms, and putting on wet clothes, place an earthen pot full of burning coals upon some cloth Of the gods. — Kaloo-rayuJ] OF TIIE HINDOOS. 1S5 on their heads, and sitting before the god in a supplicating posture, continue for some time offering incense throwing Indian pitch into the pan of coals. A poor man sometimes places the black stone, adorned with garlands, &c. in a bas- ket, and the offerings which he collects at the doors of housekeepers in another, and, tying the baskets to a bamboo w hich he lays on his shoulder, carries the god from door to door, as a shew, while another plays on a rude instrument of music, and joins in singing the praises of Dhurmii-t'hakooru. Householders give a handful of rice, and the beggars present in return a flower which has been offered to the god. SECTION LXVI. Kaloo-rayu. THIS is another form of Shivii : the image is that of a yellow' man sitting on a ty’§er5 holding in his right hand an arrow, and in his left a bow. A few of the lower orders sei up clay images of this god in straw houses, and worship them at pleasure. The wood-cutters in the Eastern, Western and Southern forests of Bengal, in order to obtain protection from w lid beasts, adopt a peculiar mode of worshipping this idol. The head-boatman raises elevations of earth three or four inches high, and about three feet square; upon which he places balls of clay, painted red, and among other ceremonies, offers rice, flow ers, fruits, and the water of the Ganges carried from the river Ilooglee, keeping a fast : the god then directs him in a dream where to cut wood free from danger. There is no au- thority for this worship in the shastrus. Duksliina-rayu is another god worshipped in the same manner, and by the same class of persons. x 186 HISTORY, LITERATURE, and RELIGION, [Part iii. Chap, it. SECTION LXVII. Kalu- Bhoiruvu. A naked Shivu, smeared with ashes ; having three eyes, riding on a dog, and hold- ing in one hand a horn, and in the other a drum. In several places in Bengal this image is worshipped daily. Shivu, under this name, is the regent of Xashee (Benares.) All persons dying at Benares are intitled to a place in Shivu’s heaven; but if any one violate the laws of the shastru during his residence there, Kalu-Bhoiruvu at death grinds him betwixt two mill-stones. SECTION LXVITI. Worship to cure the Itch and Scurvy. THE goddess Sheetula is worshipped by the Hindoo females whenever their fa- milies are afflicted with the itch; and the god Ghctoo (a black boiling pot) is wor- shipped to remove the scurvy or any kind of blotches on the skin. In the preceding sections of this work, the god Prit'hivee , regent of the earth , slioutd have been noticed; he has no separate worship , but certain formulas are repealed in his name at all the great festivals. Vishnoo is revered as the JIousiiold god ; he is worshipped when a person enters a new house, or at any other time to procure the remov- al of family misfortunes. Doorga should have been mentioned also as the l id- l.4ge goddess : she is worshipped by the villagers in the month Asharhu, before a jar of water , when bloody sacrifices are offered. An annual festival is also held in each village in Asharhu, in honour of Vishnoo , Indru, Koovcru, and Lukshmee, when the persons pay the first instalment of their rents. The land-owner is at the expence . Of the gods.-— Urdhu-narelshwuru.] OF THE HINDOOS. 1S7 SECTION LXIX. Worship of beings in strange shapes. Urdhu-nareeshwuru.* HERE Shiva and Doorga are united in one body, white and yellow. The origin of this image is thus given in the Lingo pooranu : Shiva and Doorga, after their marriage, lived on mount Koilasu, where Doorga kept the house, cooked, and nurs- ed her two children, Gunesha and Kartiku ; and Shivu supported the family as a men- dicant. On a certain occasion, Shivu having one day smoked intoxicating herbs to excess, was unable to go his daily rounds. Doorga informed him that there was no- thing in the house ; that the family had eaten half of what was collected the day be- fore, and that Gdneshii’s rat and Kartiku’s peacockf had devoured the rest. After much altercation, Shivu left his hut, and Doorga, to avoid perishing for want, went to her father’s, taking her children with her. On the way, Narudu met her, and advis- ed her to assume the form of the goddess Unnu-poorna,J and lay an embargo on all the food where Shivu would ask for alms. She did so ; and Shivu begged in vain for a handful of rice. Naradu at length meeting Shivu also, persuaded him to return to his wife : Doorga received him with joy, and relieved his hunger, which so pleased the old mendicant, that in pressing her in his arms both bodies became one. In the Radha-tuntru it is said, that Shivu and Doorga assumed this form in order to prove that Shivu is the one Brnmhu, in whom both the male and female powers are united. In one of the smaller Hindoo poems, a different account of the origin of this image is given : Shivu finding it very difficult to procure a subsistence by the alms which * Urdhu, halfjnaree, woman ; eeshwurO, a name of Shivu. + Guueshuridesonarat, and Kartiku on a peacock. £ One of the forms of Doorga, as the regent of food. X 2 18S HISTORY, LITERATURE, and RELIGION, [Part hi. Chap. i. he daily collected, especially as Doorga had ten mouths, and Guneshu a very large belly, agreed with his wife, that they should assume one body, which would be sup- ported with less labour. Notwithstanding this apparently close union of Shivu and Doorga, the Shivopa- khyanu, a poem, contains a story in which Doorga is represented as quarrelling with Shiva in a fit of jealousy, on account of his begging in that part of Shivu-poora* where the women of ill-fame live : On another occasion, as related in the Ramayunii, a dread- ful quarrel took place betwixt Shiva and Doorga, because Purushoo-ramu had beaten Kartiku and Guneshu, the two sons of Doorga. Another account of these quarrels is given both in the Ramayunu and the Muhabliaratu : Ramu’s efforts to destroy Ra- vunu proving abortive, in consequence of the protection afforded the giant by Shivu, all the gods whom Ravunu had oppressed joined Ramil in supplications to Shivu ; and on the seventh day, when Ravunu was to be slain, the gods resolved to be present ; and Shivu was about to join them, when Doorga interfered, and asked him how he could witness the destruction of his ow n disciple : that disciple, who had stood pray- ing to him all day in the sultry weather, surrounded with four fires ; who had con- tinued his devotions in the chilling cold standing in the water ; and had persevered in his supplications, standing on his head in the midst of torrents of rain. Here she poured a volley of abuse upon Shivu, as a withered old fellow who smoked intoxi- cating herbs ; covered himself with ashes ; dwelt in cemeteries ; a beggar; whose name would never be remembered ; — ( and dost thou think,’ said she, ‘ that I shall be present at such a sight!’ — Shivu could no longer smother his resentment, but re- proached her in the severest terms, reminding her that she was only a woman, and knew nothing ; and indeed that she did not act like a woman, for she was continually wandering from place to place ; engaged in wars ; was a drunkard ; spent her time with degraded beings; killed giants, drank their blood, and hung the skulls round her neck. Doorga was enraged to madness by these cutting reproaches, so that the gods became alarmed, and intreatcd Ramu to join in supplications to Doorga, or there would be no possibility of destroying Rav nu. He did so, and so pleased the god- * Shivu’s heaven. Of the gods. — Krishna- Kalee.~\ OF THE HINDOOS. 189 dess by his flatteries, that she was at length brought to consent to the destruction of Ravunu. At the new or full moon, or on the 8th or 14th of the moon, in any month, or on the last day of any calendar month, in the day, the usual ceremonies of worship are performed before this disgusting image, which is thrown into the water the succeed- ing day. The formulas are those used in the worship of Doorga, not of Shivu. Animals are slain and offered to the goddess. SECTION LXX. Krishnu- Kalee. THIS scandalous image is worshipped annually at the total wane of the moon* in Kariiku, in the night. Of all the milkmaids that used to collect aroun This expense is incurred in the meat offerings, consisting of rice, peas, salt, oil, ghee, butter, sugar, sw eet- Keats, fruits of different kinds, herbs, spices, beetle nuts, &c. in the offerings of cloth, metal vessels, and other things, and in the wages of the bramhuns and shoodros employed. About ten bramhiins and fourteen shoddru? constantly attend on the service of this image. / m HISTORY, LITERATURE, and RELIGION, [Part iii. Chap. i. SECTION LXX1I. Worship of human beings. Deified Men and Women. ALL the bramhuns, but especially the religious guides (gooroo), are objects of wor- ship among the Hindoos, and have divine honours paid to them. The spiritual guide, in the estimation of the disciple, is literally a god. Whenever he approaches, the disciple prostrates himself in the dust before him, and never sits in his presence without leave. He drinks the water with which he has washed the feet of his goo- roo,* and relies entirely upon his blessing for final happiness. 1 have heard some Hindoos speak with comparative contempt of all other ways of salvation. When the claims of the bramluins to deity have been disputed by any one, I have seen the poor besotted shdodru prostrate himself at the feet of the nearest bramhun, and, rais- ing his head, and closing his hands, say, 4 You are my god.’ At the same time the character of the bramhun has perhaps been notorious for every vice. The shastrus declare that the daughters of bramhiins, till they are eight years old, are objects of worship, as forms of the goddess Bhuguvutee ; and some persons wor- ship these girls daily. The worshipper taking the daughter of some neighbouring bramhun, and placing her on a seat, performs the ceremonies of worship, in which he presents to her flowers, paint, water, garlands,! incense, and, if a rich man, offer- ings of cloth and ornaments. He closes the whole by prostrating himself before the girl. At the worship of some of the female deities also, the daughters of bramhuns have divine honours paid to them. * Doing reverence to the very feet of superiors prevailed among the Jews. Hence the woman washed the feet of Christ, and wiped them with the hair of her head. Paul was brought up at the feet of Gamaliel. i Bo tli the Greeks and Romans, it is well known, used to adorn their images with garlands at the time of worship, Of DEIFIED MEN AND WOMEN.] OF T II E HINDOOS. 103 The wives ofbramhuns are also worshipped occasionally as an act of great merit. A man of property sometimes invites ten, twenty, or one hundred of these females, and repeating before them forms of prayer, praise, See. worships them, and at the close entertains them with the offerings. This is frequently done at Benares. On the 14th of the decrease of the moon in Shravunu, at the time of the Savitreo vratu, the wives ofbramhuns very generally worship their husbands. The worship- per, having placed a seat for her husband, and presented him with new garments, en- treats him to be seated, and puts round his neck a garland of flowers. She then anoints his body with fragrant ointments, and performs before him the various cere- monies which belong to the worship of the gods. In presenting the offerings she says, regarding her husband as a form of Vishnoo, “ Oh ! husband, grant that I may long live in the marriage state, and never become a widow.” The husband then partakes of the offerings, and the wife having walked round him either three or seven times, the service ends. The origin of this ceremony is given in the Brumhu-voi- vurttu pooranu, but the story is too long for insertion. Many of the tuntrus, and particularly the Roodru-yamulu, the Yonee-tiintru, and the Neelu-tuntru, contain directions respecting a most extraordinary and shocking mode of worship, which is understood in a concealed manner amongst the Hindoos by the name of Chiikru. These shastrus direct that the person who wishes to perform this ceremony must first, in the night, choose a woman as the object of worship. If the person be a dukshinacharee he must take his own wife, and if a vamacharee, the daughter of a dancer, a kupalee, a washerman, a barber, a chundalu, or of a Mu- siilman, or a prostitute, and place her on a seat, or mat ; and then bring broiled fish, flesh, fried peas, rice, spirituous liquors, sweetmeats, flowers, and other offerings ; which, as well as the female, must be purified by the repeating of incantations. To this succeeds the worship of the guardian deity ; and after this that of the female, — who sits naked.— y m HISTORY, LITERATURE, AND RELIGION, [Part m. Chat. i. Here things too abominable to enter the ears of man , and impossible to be revealed to a Christian public^ are contained in the directions of the shastru. The learned bram- hun who opened to me these abominations, made several efforts — paused and began again, and then paused again, before he could mention the shocking indecencies pre- scribed by his own shastrus. As the object of worship is a living person, she partakes of the offerings, even of the spirituous liquors, and of the flesh, though it should be that of the cow. The re- fuse is eaten by the persons present, however different their casts; nor must any one refuse to partake of the offerings. The spirituous liquors must be drank by mea- sure ; and the company while eating must put food into each other’s mouths. The priest then — in the presence of all, — behaves towards this female in a manner which decency forbids to be mentioned; after which the persons present repeat many times the name of some god, performing actions unutterably abominable ; and here this most diabolical business closes. The benefits promised to the worshippers are riches, absorption in Brumhu, &c. At present the persons committing these abominations (vamacharees) are becom- ing more and more numerous ; and in proportion as they increase, the ceremonies are more and more indecent. They are performed in secret ; but that these practices are becoming very frequent among the bramhuns and others is a fact known to all. Those who abide by the rules of the shastrus are comparatively few ; the generality confine themselves chiefly to those parts that belong to gluttony, drunkenness and whoredom, without acquainting themselves with all the minute rules and incantati- ons of the shastrus. Of drified beasts.] OF THE HINDOOS. 195 SECTION LXXIII. The Worship of beasts. The Cow. yj BR31HA. created the bramhuns and the coav at the same time : the bramhuns to read the formulas, and the cow to afford milk, (clarified butter) for the burnt of- ferings. The gods by partaking of the burnt offerings are said to enjoy exquisite pleasure, and men by eating clarified butter destroy their sins. The cow is called the mother of the gods, and is declared by Brumha to be a proper object of worship. The shastru appoints that the images of the gods shall be anointed with milk, curds, clarified butter, cow-dung, and cows’ urine, whereby they become free from impu- rity ; and all unclean places are purified with cow-dung. Indeed many bramhfms do not go out of the house in a morning, till the door-way has been rubbed with cow-dung. The cow Avas created on the first of Voishakhu, and on this day, or on the second of the moon in Jyoisht’hu, she is worshipped annually. No image is used, but the worship is performed in the cow-house before a jar of water. The ceremonies are the same as those before the images of the gods ; the prayers are necessarily pecu- liar to the object worshipped. The officiating bramhun, at the close of the service, reads the Avhole of the Chundee, a poem relating to the Avars of Doorga. On the 13th of Phalgoonu, the milk-men paint the horns and hoofs of their cattle yellow, and bathe them in the river. Persons strict in their religion, worship the coav daily : after bathing, they throAV floAvers at her feet, and feed her with fresh grass, saying, “ O Bhuguvutee ! eat j” and then Avalk round her three or seven times, mak- ing obeisance. Y 2 J95 HISTORY, LITERATURE, and RELIGION, [Part. hi. Chap. i. If you speak among Hindoos of eating the flesh of cows, they immediately raise their hands to their ears : Yet milk-men, car-men, and farmers, beat the cow as un* mercifully as a carrier of coals beats his ass in England ; and many starve them to death in the cold weather rather than be at the expence of giving them food.* Thus is the cow at once a beast of burden and a goddess. Some of the poor think them* selves happy if they can support a cow, as by serving this animal they expect reward in a future state. If a man sell his cow, the shastrus threaten him with the torments df hell during as many thousand years as there are hairs on her body. If any one neglect to burn cow-dung, &c. in the cow-house, whereby smoke is raised, and the musquitoes prevented from hurting the cows, he will descend into the hell of mus* quitoes and gad-flies. The gift of a cow to a bramhun is an act of great merit. The dung of the cow is gathered and dried as fuel amongst the Hindoos. Some cows are of more value for their dung than for their milk, for the Bengal cow gives very little milk indeed, compared with the Europe cow. SECTION LXXIV. The monkey . v THE black-faced monkey, Hunooman,+ the son of the god Puvunu, by Unjiina, a female monkey,^: is believed to be an incarnation of Shivu. The Hindoos worship Hnnooman on their birth-day to obtain longlife, which they suppose this monkey can bestow, as he is immortal. In some temples his image is set up alone, and in others with that of Ramu and Seeta, and worshipped daily. The worship of Ramu is always preceded by a few ceremonies in honor of Ilunooman. * In the year 1812,abramh”mwa' convicted before the magistrate of Serampore, of stealing from a relative, a now in calf, and offering this gtuldess for sale to a butcher. + IJ'nooman broke his cheek-bone by afall from the sun's orbit: and his name is derived from honoo, the cheek bone. t There is nothing too filthy for idolatry : here the god of the winds pays his addresses to a monkey, as Jupiter is said to have done to a sw an. Of deifieb beasts.] OF THE HINDOOS. 197 Stone images of Hunooman are kept in the houses of some of his disciples, and worshipped daily. The worshipper of this animal is promised every gratification he can desire. Many Hindoos receive the initiating Incantation by which this monkey becomes their guardian deity. The mark which these disciples make on their foreheads is the same as that made by the followers of Shivu,. About twenty years ago, Eeshwurn-ehundru, the raja of Nudeeya, spent 100,000 roopees in marrying two monkeys,* when all the parade common at Hindoo marri- ages was exhibited. In, the marriage procession were seen elephants, camels, horses richly caparisoned, palanqueens, lamps, and flambeaus; the male monkey was fas- tened in a fine palanqueen, having a crow n upon his head, with men standing by his side to fan him ; then followed singing and dancing girls in carriages, every kind of Hindoo music ; a grand display of fireworks, &e. Dancing, music, singing, and every degree of low mirth, were exhibited at the bridegroom’s palace for twelve days together. At the time of the marriage ceremony, learned bramhuns were employed in reading the formulas from the shastrus !. Amongst men of sense the performance of the ceremonies of w orship before the image of this monkey is attended w ith a degree of disgrace. I have heard of a quar- rel between two bramhuns, one of whom was paid by a rich Hindoo to repeat the ceremonies of Hindoo worship before the image of Hunooman daily at his house : amidst the quarrel the other said — ‘ Thou refuse of bramhuns ! thou gainest a sub- sistence by worshipping a monkey.’' Stories of this god . — When Hunooman first saw the rising sun, thinking it a ripe fruit, he leaped up to the residence of the god of day, and seized his chariot : India fearing Hunooman would sw allow the glorious luminary, with his thunderbolt smote him to the earth, where he lay lifeless. His distracted mother applied to his father ■* At this time none of these monkeys were to be seen about Nudeeya t now they arc so numerous that they devour almost all the fruit of the orchards, as the inhabitants are afraid of hurting them. 108 HISTORY, LITERATURE, and RELIGION, [Part iii. Chap. i. Puvunu, who, enraged at the loss of his son, retired into an inaccessible chasm, and bound up the wind, till both men and gods began to perish. Brumlia, Vishnoo, Shi- vu, and other gods now petitioned Puvunu, but he refused them the privilege of breathing, unless they would make Hunooman immortal. Brumha then bestowed on Hunooman the water of life, and Puvunu restored to men and gods the vital air. When ten years old, Hunooman was possessed of immense strength. He brought a stone, from a mountain, sixteen or twenty miles in circumference, and threw it into a pool of water where a number of sages were at worship. This raised the water, so that the sages, who had closed their eyes in the act of meditation, be- gan to sink. After a few struggles they regained the land, and again sat down with dosed eyes to their work. Hunooman next took out the stone, and the waters retir- ed ; and when the sages put out their hands to take up water for worship they were again disappointed. Opening their eyes, they saw the water had sunk exceedingly ; and following it, again closed their eyes, and sat down. Hunooman again flung in the stone, and the sages began to sink. He continued to repeat these frolics, till the eages discovering the culprit, took away his strength. The sagacious monkey now began to flatter the sages ; brought them fruits, &c. from the forest, and performed with agility every act of menial service. After three years they blessed him, and assured him that when he should see Rarau upon mount Rishyumocku, he should obtain tw ice his former strength. On a certain occasion Hunooman wras resolved to put the strength of Bheemu to trial, as he was reputed to be so tremendous a giant: and lengthening his tail, he threw it across the path. As the Hindoos never stride across a person’s body, or even his shadow, Bheemu requested Hunooman to take up his tail : but he complained he was grown old and could not. At last Bheemu stooped to lift it out of his way ; he tried at the end, and then at the middle, but found, giant as he was, he could not lift up this monkey’s tail. Overcome with astonishment, he began to praise Hunooman, and at length prevailed on him to promise that he w ould help the Panduvus in their expected war with Dooryodhiinu. Ol' DEIFIED BEASTS.] OF THE HINDOOS. 199 SECTION LXXV. The Dog Carries Kala-Bhoiruvu, a form of Shivu, and therefore receives the worship of the Hindoos whenever his master is worshipped.* I have heard also that there are many Hindoos in the west of Hindoost’hanii who pay their devotions to the dog, and be- come his disciples. Though the dog is thus placed amongst the objects of worship, he is mentioned in the Muhabharutn as an unclean animal : every offering which lie approaches is rendered unacceptable to the gods, and every one w ho touches him must purify himself by bathing. SECTION LXXVI. The shackal. THETuntras mention an incarnation of Doorga in the form of the shackal, when she carried the child Krishnu over the Yumoona, in his flight from king Kiingsu. All the worshippers of the female deities adore the shackal as a form of this goddess, especially the vamacharees, who present offerings to him daily. Every worshipper lays the offerings on a clean place in his house, and calls the god to come and partake of them. As this is done at the hour when the shackals leave their lurking places, one of these animals sometimes comes and eats the food in the presence of the wor- shipper ; this will not appear wonderful when it is considered, that the same animal finds food placed for him in this place every day. In temples dedicated to Doorga and other deities, a stone image of the shackal is placed on a pedestal, and daily wor- shipped. When a shackal passes a Hindoo he must bow to it : and if it pass on the left hand, it is a most lucky circumstance. SECTION LXXVII. Ollier animals worshipped. — THE elephant, the lion, the bull, thebuffaloe, the rat, the deer, the goat, &c. are worshipped at the festivals of the gods whom they respec- tively carry, that is, oflndru, Doorga, Shivu, Yumii, Guneshu, Piivunu, and Briunha. The dog, it will be remembered, was consecrated to Mars, 200 HISTORY, LITERATURE, and RELIGION, [Part iii.Chap.i. SFXTION LXXVIII. , Worship of Birds. Gurooru.* THIS god, with the head and wings of a bird;i and the rest of his body like that of a man, is called the king of the birds, and the carrier of Vishnoo. Vinuta, the wife of Kushyiipii, the progenitor of gods and men, laid an egg,i and became the mother of this bird-god. As soon as Guroora was born, his body expanded till it touched the sky ; all the other animals were terrified at him ; his eyes were like lightning; the mountains fled with the wind of his wings, and the rays which issued from his body set the four quarters of the world on fire. The affrighted gods sought the help of Dgnee, conceiving that Garooru must be an incarnation of the god of fire. In consequence of a dispute betwixt Vinfita, the mother of Garoora, and Kiidroo, the mother of the serpents, respecting the colour of the horse procured at the churn- ing of the sea, a continual enmity has subsisted betwixt the descendants of these females; and Garooru once obtained permission from one of the gods to devour all the serpents he could find.§ The story of Gurooru’s becoming the carrier of Vishnoo, is thus related in the Mahabharutu : His mother in the above dispute, having laid a wager, and being the loser, was reduced to a state of servitude to her sister; and the serpents, wishing to * Some suppose Guroora to be a large species of vulture, and others the gigantic crane. + Guroorfi in some degree resembles Mercury, viz. in his having wings, and being the messenger of Vishnoo, as Mercury was of Jupiter. + Jupiter is said to have been enamoured o-fthc goddess Nemesis in the shape of a goose, and that she laid an egg, from which was born Helena. i When the Hindoos lie down to sleep, they repeat the name of Guroorfi three times, to obtain protection .from snakes. Of deified birds.] OF THE HINDOOS. 201 become immortal, promised to liberate his mother on condition that Gurooru should bring- Chun dr a (the moon), whose bright parts, the Hindoos say, are filled with the water of immortality. Before Gurooru departed, he asked his mother for some food. She advised him to go to the sea shore, and gather up whatever he could see; but conjured him to beware of eating a bramhun, adding, i Should you at any time feel, a burning heat in your stomach, be sure you have eaten a bramhun.’ Thus in- structed, he began his journey : at his flight the three worlds were agitated like the sea at the great deluge. Passing by a country inhabited by fishermen, he at one in- spiration drew in houses, trees, cattle, men, and other animals ; but, among the inha- bitants swallowed, one w as a bramhun, w ho caused such an intolerable burning in his bowels, that Gurooru, unable to bear it, called, in the greatest haste, for him to come out! The bramhun refused, unless his wife, a fisherman’s daughter, might accompany him; to which Gurooru consented. Pursuing his journey, Gurooru met his father, Kushyupu, who directed him to appease his hunger at a certain lake where an ele- phant and a tortoise were fighting. The body of the tortoise was eighty miles long, and the elephant’s one hundred and sixty. Gurooru with one claw seized the elephant, with the other the tortoise, and perched with them on a tree eight hun- dred miles high ; but the tree w as unable to bear the pondrous weight, and unhap- pily thousands of pigmy bramhuns w'ere then worshipping on one of its branches. Trembling lest he should destroy any of them, he took the bough in his beak, continu- ing to hold the elephant and tortoise in his claw's, and flew to a mountain in an uninha- bited country, where he finished his repast on the tortoise and elephant. Gurooru, having surmounted astonishing dangers, at last seized the moon, and concealed it un- der his wing; but on his return was attacked by Indru and other gods, all of whom, however, except Vishnoo, he overcame; and even he was so severely put to it in the contest, that he came to terms with Gurooru, who was made immortal, and promis- ed a higher seat than Vishnoo, while G uroorti on his part became the carrier of Vish- noo. Since this time Vishnoo rides on Gurooru, while the latter, in the shape of a flag, sits at the top of Vishnoo’s car. Gurooru is worshipped at the great festivals before the different images of V ish» z 202 HISTORY, LITERATURE, and RELIGION, [Part hi. Chap. i. noo; but has no separate time of worship. His image is placed in the temples dedi- cated to various forms of Yhshnoo ; and some persons receive liis name as their guar- dian deity, and repeat it daily. Guroorii s two sons, Sumpatee and Jutayoo, once flew, as a trial of strength, up to the sun ; but the wings of Sumpatee rvere burnt off. Guroorii resides in Kooshii- dweepu, one of the seven islands into which the Hindoos divide the earth. Names. Guroomut, or, he who is clothed with feathers. — Guroorii, he who swal- lows [serpents, and throws up their bones.] — Tarksln u, from Tnrkshyii, the father of Guroorii. — Voinuteyii, from Viniita. — Khugeshwurii, the lord of the feathered tribes. — Nagantukfi, the destroyer of the serpents (nagiis). — Vishnoo-rut’hu, the car- rier of Vishnoo. — Soopiirnii, he whose feathers are of the colour of gold. — Punnuga- shunii, the devourer of the serpents. SECTION I. XXIX. UroonSy THE elder brother of Guroorii, is the charioteer of Soorvu, the sun, and is wor- shipped with hrs master, as well as at the festivals of other gods. The image of this god is that of a man without thighs. SECTION LXXX. Jutayoo. THIS bird is the friend of Ramil, and is worshipped at the same festival with him. He is mentioned in the preceding account of Ramu. SECTION LXXXI. Shunk uru Chill u, or the eagle of Coromandel. THIS is the white-headed kite, commonly called the bramhiinee kite. It is con- sidered as an incarnation of Doorga. and is reverenced by the Hindoos, who bow to it whenever it passes them. Of deified birds.] OF T II E II I N D O O S. 90.1 SECTION LXXXII. Khunjunu , or the wag-tail. IS considered as a form of Visknoo, on account of the mark on its throat suppos- ed to resemble the Shalgramu. The Hindoos honour it in the same manner a.' hey do the eagle of Coromandel. SECTION L XXXIII. Other Birds worshipped. THE peacock, the goose, and the owl,' * are worshipped at the festivals ofKar- tiku, Brumha, and Lakshmee. * If, however, the owl, the vulture, or any other unclean birds, perch upon the house of a Hindoo, it is an unlucky omen, and the effect must be removed by the performance of the following expiatory ceremony : “If a vulture, a heron, a dove, an owl, a hawk, a gull, a kite, a Bhasha, or a Pundura, should settle upon a house, the wife, or a child, or some other person belonging to the master of the house, will die, or -ome other calamity will befal him within a year afterwards. To prevent which, the house, or its value in money, must be given to liramhnns; or a peace-offering of an extraordinary nature must be offered : five productions of the cow ; the five gems ; the five nectareous juices; the five twigs of trees; and the five astringents, are to be put into a pot of water; the guardian deities of the quarters of the universe must then be worshipped, ar.d an hundred and eight oblations of clarified butter must be made with a ;acrificial piece of the wood of the Khadira tree, w hile the prayer of Mrityoonjoyu is repeated. The oblation, called the muha-vyadhee homu, is to he performed at the commencement, or at the end of this ceremony. Oblations of clarified butter, at each of which the gay itree is re- peated, are then to be mnde to Vishnoo, the nine planets, Udbhootii, and the household gods, w hich being done, the bramhuns must be entertained with clarified butter and rice milk. The sacrificial fees must then be paid, and water sprinkled with appropriate incantations; when an assurance that all has been duly performed being given, a prostration is made to the bramhuns, and the benediction received from them.’* Z2 20 i HISTORY, LITERATURE, and RELIGION, [Part iii. Chap. *. SECTION LXXXIV. Worship of Trees. TREES are worshipped by the Hindoos as the forms of particular gods : (he ush- wiitu and vutu are representatives of Vishnoo ; and the vilwu that of Shivu. T ie devout Hindoos worship them, water their roots, plant them near their houses, &c. The Hindoo females who are never seen in the streets, plant a sacred tree within the compound, that they may not lose the merit of watering it in the sultry months. The female shoodrus, to honour the wives of bramhuns, carry water to these trees, and on a fortunate day make offerings to them. SECTION LXXXV. The Toolusee .* THE Hindoos have no public festival in honour of this plant, but they occasionally prostrate themselves before it, repeating a form of prayer or praise; they have great faith also in the power of its leaves to cure diseases, and use it with incantations to expel the poison of serpents. They plant it also before their houses, and in the morning cleanse the place around it with water and cow-dung ; and in the evening place a lamp near it. Throughout the month Voishakhii they suspend a large pot over it filled with water, and let the water drop upon it through a small hole. When- ever any of these plants die, it is considered a sacred duty to commit them to the river; and when a person is brought to the river side to die, his relations plant a branch of the toolusee near the dying man’s head. A pillar, hollow at the top, is erected by many Hindoos, in which they deposit earth, and set the plant. They walk round these pillars and bow to the plant, actions are declared by the shastrii to be very meritorious. * Basil Ocimumgratissimum, and O — sanctum. The myrtle was sacred to Venus. Of deified trees.] OF THE HINDOOS. £05 The origin of the worship of the Toolusee is thus related in the Yishnoo pooranu, and in the Toolusee-Mahatmii : Tooliisee, a female,- was engaged for a long time in religious austerities ; and at length asked this blessing of Yishnoo, that she might become his wife. Liikshmee, Vishnoo’s wife, hearing this, cursed the woman, and changed her into a Toolusee plant ;* but Yishnoo promised, that he would assume the form of the shalgramu, and always continue with her; The Hindoos, therefore, continually keep one leaf of the toolusee under and another upon the shalgramu. SECTION LXXXVI. Other sacred Trees ». THE ushwuttu,t vutu,i vukoolu,S| liuritukee,j] amtilfikee,* vilwut and nimbu^ trees receive divine honours from the Hindoos, and are set apart with the same ce- remonies as are common at the setting up of an image of the gods. These ceremonies take place either at the time of planting the tree, or after the person has watered and nourished it for some time. An individual who consecrates an ushwuttu or a vatu, considering these trees as continuing to flourish many years, says, 1 Oil! Vish- noo ! grant that, for planting this tree, I may continue as many years in heaven as this tree shall remain growing in the earth !’ The person expects too, that as he has set apart this tree to afford shade to his fellow creatures, so after death he will not be scorched by excessive heat in his journey to Yuma, the regent of death. *■ Apollo changed the youth Cyparissus into a cypress tree. Daphne was changed into a laurel. + Ficus religiosa. This and other trees are never in jured, nor cut down, nor burnt by devout Hindoos. I was once informed by a bramhun, that his grand-father planted one of the?e trees near his house, which ha* vow spread its branches so widely, that, as my informant affirmed, 2000 persons may stand under it; and so much is this tree reverenced by his family, that they do not sull'er its w ithered branches to be burnt. + Ficus Indica, vulgarly called the banyan tree. Mimusops elengi. |] Termmalia citrina. * Phillanthu* (tmblica. + .■Egle marinelos. j ilelia azodaracta. 20G HISTORY', LITERATURE, and RELIGION, [Part hi. Chap. i. SECTION LX XXVII. The worship of Rivers. RIVERS ai-e to be placed among the objects of Hindoo worship:* they are of both genders, Nudu, and Nndee. The worship of these rivers is performed at auspicious seasons, as laid down in the shastru, and at some of the great festivals. Certain places also of these rivers are peculiarly sacred, and draw to them great numbers of devotees, as, the source of the Ganges; the union of the Ganges, the Yumoona, and the Siiruswiitee at Prayagu the branching of this united river into three streams at Trivenee; the place where the Ganges disembogues itself into the sea, See. Their waters are used for food, bathing, medicine, religious ceremonies, &c. and formerly when a Hindoo king was crowned, they were poured upon his head as a part of his consecration. SECTION LXXXVIII, Gunga. THIS goddess is represented as a white woman, wearing a crown, sitting on the sea animal M.tkuru, and having in her right hand a water-lily and in her left the lute. She is called the daughter of mount Himavut, though some of the pooranhs declare that she was produced from the sweat of Vishnoo’s foot, which Brumha caught and preserved in his alms’ dish. * The nation of certa;n rivers being sacred, seems to have prevailed amongst other heathen nations. Hence Naaman, the Syrian, said, “ Are not Abana and Pitarpar, rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Is- rael ? May I not wash in them and be clean ?” + Tt is ascertained, that there are six places of this name, five of which are situated on the river Ulukanhnds. See Asiatic Researches, vo’. 11 Ih. Oy deified rivers.] OF 1' 11 B al 1 In L* . 1 0 $. 207 The grand-father of Beeshmii was one day performing religious austerities near the Ganges, when the goddess fell in love with him, and, in order to peisuaue him .» a union, went and sat upon his right knee. He told her that the leu knee ivas the proper place for the wife, and the right for the son: that therefore she should not become his, but be united to his son ; whose name was Santunoo. After Santunoo andCiinga had been married some time, she was about to leave him; but consented to stay on condition that she might kill all her children at their birth. When the first child was born, she threw it into the river, and so on to the seveath inclusive. As she was destroying the eighth, Santunoo forbad her, in consequence of which the child was saved, but she abandoned her paramour. The whole of this was to fulfil a curse pronounced by Vishnoo on the eight gods named Ushtu-vuseov The Ramayunu, the Muhabhardtu, and the Gnnga-khnndn, a part of the Skun- du pooranu, give long accounts of the descent of Giinga from heaven : — Snguru, a king, having no children, entered upon a long course of austere cieiotions, in the midst of which Bhrigoo appeared to him. and promised, that from the eldest queen should be born sixty thousand children, and from the other only a single child. Al- ter some time, the queen was delivered — of a pumpkin ! which the king in anger dashed to the ground, when the fruit was broken, and, to his astonishment, he saw children rising from it ; and, calling sixty thousand nurses, put each child into a pan of milk. The other wife had a son, whom they called Ungshooman. After these -sons were grown np, the king resolved to perform once more the sacrifice of a horse before his death, and committed the victim to the care of his sixty-thousand sons. The person who performs this sacrifice one hundred times, succeeds to the throne of heaven. On this occasion, the reigning Indru was alarmed, this being Sugaru’s hundredth sacrifice. To prevent its taking effect, therefore, he descended to the earth, and assuming another form, privately carried off the horse, w'hich he placed in patalu, near to Kupilu, a sage. The sixty thousand sons, after searching through- out the earth in vain, began to dig into patalii,* where they found the horse standing by the side of Kupilu, who w'as absorbed in his devotions. Incensed at the old man, * The Hindoo writers say, that the seven seas were thus formed by the sons of Stigiiru. Some accounts add, that net finding a place large enough to contain the earth which they thus dug up— they devoured it 203 HISTORY, LITERATURE, and RELIGION, [Part iii. Chap. i. whom they supposed to be the thief, they began to beat him, when awaking’ from his abstraction of mind, be reduced them all to ashes. The king for a long time heard no more of his sons ; but at length Nariidu informed him of the catastrophe. He then sent his son L ngshooman down to the sage, who delivered up the horse, and informed the king that if he could bring the goddess Gunga from heaven,* his sons might be restored to him. The king offered the sacrifice, and placing Ungshooman on the throne, took up his residence in a forest as a hermit, where he died. Ung- shooman, in his turn, making his son Dwileepu his successor, died also in a forest. Dwileepu had two wives, but no children ; he therefore abdicated the throne, and embracing the life of a hermit, sought of the godse. son, and the deliverance of the sons of Sugurn. Shiva promised him, that by means of his two queens a son should be born. These women lived together, and after some time the youngest had a son, whom they called Bhrigeeriit’hu,+ who, however, was only a mass of flesh. Though greatly moved at the sight of such a child, they preserved it, and in time it grew up to manhood. One day Ushtu-viikru, a moonee, who was hump-backed, and wriggled in walking, called to see these females, when Bhugeerut’hu, in rising to salute the sage, trembled and wriggled in such a manner, that Ushtu-viikru, thinking he was mocking him, said, ‘ If thou canst not help wriggling thus, be a perfect child; but if thou art mocking me, be destroyed.’ The boy immediately became perfect, and the sage gave him his blessing. When Bhugeerut’hu was grown up, he addressed liis prayers to different gods for the restoration of his sixty thousand relations, but in vain ; at length Brumha, moved by his piety, gave him a single drop of the wa- ter, and Vishnoo giving him a shell which he blew, G Inga folloAved him. As she had to fall from heaven to earth, Bhugeerut’hu was afraid lest the earth should be crushed by her fall : wherefore Shivii, "Standing on mount Himavut, caught Gunga in his bunch of matted hair, and detained her there for sometime; but at length suf- fered one drop to fall on the mountain, and from thence, on the tenth of the increase of the moon in Jyoisht’hu, the goddess touched the earth, and whichever way Bhu- geerut’hu went blowing the conch, there Gunga followed him. * Or, as it is explained, if he could perform the funeral rites for these sixty thousand persons -with the effi- sacious waters of the Ganges, they would be delivered from the curse, and ascend to heaven. ■f This story is so extremely indelicate, that it is impossible to translate it. Or deified rivers.] OF THE HINDOOS. 209 Several very curious circumstances happened to Giinga as she passed along. In one place she ran near Junhoo, a sage, and washed away his mendicant’s dish, the flowers for Avorship, &c. upon which he, in anger, took her up, and swallowed her. At the intreaties of Bkugeerut’hu, however, the sage let her pass out at his thigh, on which account Gunga received the name of Janhuvee. On they went, till Giinga asked Bhugeerut’hn where these sixty thousand relati- ons Avere Avhom she Avas to deliver. He being unable to inform her, she, to make sure of their deliverance, at the entrance of the sea, divided herself into one hundred streams,* and ran down into patalii; Avhere, as soon as the Avaters of Gunga touched their ashes, they Avere delivered from the curse, and ascended in chariots to heaven. When Gunga was brought from heaA'en, the gods, conscious that their sins also needed Avashing aivay, petitioned Brumha on the subject, who soothed them by pro- mising that Giinga should remain in heaven, and descend to the earth also. This goddess, therefore was called Mundakinee in heaven, Gunga on earth, and Bhogu- vutee in patalu. All casts worship Gunga, yet most of the ceremonies at the time of the daily ab- lations, with the exception of some forms of praise to this goddess, are in the name of Shivu and other gods. The Hindoos particularly choose the banks of this river for their worship, as the merit of works performed here, according to the promise of the shastrus,+ becomes exceedingly augmented. In Voishakhu, Jyoisht’hu, Kartiku, and Maghu, the merit is greater than in other months ; and at the full moon * The mouths of the Ganges. + “ tie who thinks upon Gunga, thoogh he may be £00 miles distant from the river at the time, is deliver- ed from all sin, and is entitled to heaven. — At the hour of death, if a person think upon Gunga, he will obtain a place in the heaven of ShivO. — If a person, according to the regulations of the shastru, be going to bathe in Guaga, and die on the road, he shall obtain the same benefits as though he had actually bathed. — There are 3,500,000 holy places belonging to Gunga: the person who looks at G^nga, or bathes in this river, will obtain all the fruit which arises from visiting all these 3,500,000 holy places. — If a person who has been guilty of killing cows, bramh'ns, his gooroo, or of drioking spirits, &c. touch the waters of Gunga, desiring in his mind the re- mission of these sins, they will be forgiven. — By bathing in G''nga, accompanied with prayer, a person will re- move at once the sins of thousands of births.” — Cunga-Vak^A-Vulu. A a 210 HISTORY, LITERATURE, and RELIGION, [Part hi. Chaim. in these months, is still more enhanced. In every month, on the first, sixth, and eleventh of the moon, and at its total wane also, bathing in Gunga is much recoup* mended. On the third of the moon, in Voishakhu, a few Hindoos perform the ceremonies of worship by the side of the river, under the expectation that the benefits will be uridecayable : such is the promise of the smritee shastrus. On the 10th of the moon’s increase in Jyoisht’hii, in the forenoon, the Dushuhura festival is held, in commemoration of Gunga’ s descent to the earth. Crowds of people assemble from the different towns and villages near the river, especially at the most sacred places of the river, bringing their offerings of fruit, rice, flow ers, cloth, sweetmeats, &c. and hang garlands of flowers across the river, even where it is very wide. After the people have bathed, the officiating bramhiin ascends the banks of the rivet with them, and after repeating siingknlpu,* places before him a jar of lva- ter, and sitting with his face to the north or east, performs what is called ghuth-st’ha- purri.t After this, the bramhiin performs other ceremonies, as as" mi shooddhee,| iingu-nyasn,§ knrangu-nyasu,^ bhjot-shooddhee,|| dig-vundhtinu,* bhTtotsar"nu,+ .■ e Sabine war Dedication of temples.] OF THE HINDOOS. S29 SECTION II. Dedication of Temples. WHEN a Hindoo lias erected a temple, he appoints a day to dedicate It to some god. The follow ing account of the dedication of one hundred and eight temples to Shiva, some years ago, at Talitii, in the district of Burdwan, by the mother ot Tejush-chundru, the raja of Burdwan, will give an idea of the manner in which this ceremony is performed. The foundation of these temples being about to be laid, a place wras dug in the earth about a cubit square, into which water was poured, and a brick placed in the hole, after w'hich the worship of the houshold god (Vishnoo), of Vuroonu, and the lingii, was performed. At the close of the worship, a flower was thrown into the water, the floating of which to- the right was considered as a good omen, and decided the point that the temple should be raised on that spot. The following prayer w as then addressed to this brick, 4 As long- as the earth and the mountains remain, so long do thou remain immoveable.’ After the temples w ere nearly finished, many bramhuns and the relations of the queen were invited, and on an auspicious day the ceremony of consecration was performed. An altar was raised before each temple, and four priests chosen for each altar, who purifying them, performed the worship of the five gods,* the nine planets, the ten guardian deities of the earth, and of Shi- va, Vishnoo, and Doorga. To this succeeded the burnt-sacrifice. One hundred and eight officiating priests then celebrated the worship of Shiva Avhile sitting at the doors of the temples. A person, in the name of the queen, next made a present to the builder, and hinted to him that she now wished to consecrate these temples to Shi- va. The trident of Shiva was next worshipped, and fixed on the steeple. The princess then, sitting in an inclosure below the steps of one of the temples, in the presence of one of the priests and her attendants, devoted these temples to Shivu, say- ing, 4 O Shivu ! I present to thee these one hundred and eight temples, made of brick : * Brcmha, Vishnoo, Shiva, Guaeshu, and Soorju. 230 HISTORY, LITERATURE, and RELIGION, [Part hi. Chap. u. May I be rewarded with an everlasting residence in heaven.’ In making this offer- ing, a number of minute ceremonies took place. The princess next sent one of her relatives to perform the worship of Indi a near a bamboo bearing a trident with a flag1 fastened thereto. The same person, after professing to animate one hundred and eight w ooden images of the bull, worshipped them, and placed them in the temples thus dedicated. A representative of the princess next walked round the temples three times. The princess herself began to perform the ceremony of circumambula- tion, but being very corpulent she resigned it to one of the priests. — One hundred and eight priests, bringinggarlands* and the other articles used in worship, now perform- ed the worship of the lingu in the temples. At the close of these ceremonies, the princess presented a roopee to each of the four hundred and thirty-two officiating tramhuns, and one hundred and eight roopees to her own private priest, who also obtained the offerings. She also presented twelve kinds of offerings to Shiva, among which were vessels of gold, silver, and other metals, cloths, &c. An entertainment to the bramhuns succeeded, and at length the guests were dismissed with presents from among the offerings, or in money, from ten to fifty roopees each bramhnn. One .hundred thousand roopees, it is said, were expended upon these buildings. + The ceremonies are nearly similar to the above when idols are dedicated and set up in temples ; when pools or trees are consecrated to the public use ; when cars are presented to some god ; and when a person is finishing the ceremonies of a vru- t u or vow. * At the time of worship the priest always puts upon the image a garland of flowers. This seems to have been practised^nmong other idolators, for wiien the priestof Jupiter came to worship Paul and IJarnabas, (Acte xiv. 13.) he brought oxen and garlands. No doubt the latter were intended to be put upon the heads or necks of the apostle and his companion, the persons about to be worshipped. f Tejush-chundru has since built one hundred and eight temples, at Umbika, and dedicated them to Shivii. Endowment of TEBtriiErs.] OF THE HINDOOS. 231 SECTION I’ll. Endowment of Temples. THE worship in some temples is conducted, and the offerings supplied, by the fa- mily which has erected the temple ; but in others by a hired bramhun, who receives monthly wages : the offerings are in general distributed among the bramhuns of the village. To a temple particularly celebrated, rich men make grants of houses, sometimes of whole villages ; and of lands, orchards, pools, &c. to a large amount ; and the produce of these grants is applied to the uses of the temple. The temple of Radha-bullnbhn at Bullubhu-pooru, about twelve miles North of Calcutta, has been endowed with lands, houses, See. and to the annual amount of 3000 roopees, by Raja Niivu-Krishnu, which is divided among sixteen families of bramhuns. The temple of Jugunnathu at Mviheshu, about the same distance from Calcutta, has been endowed with lands, &c. to the annual amount of 1400 roopees, by Raja Anundu-chundra-rayu.. The temple of Gopee-nat’hn at Ugru-dweepu been endowed with lands, &c, to the annual amount of 6 or 7000 roopees by Raja Rrishnu-Chundru-Rayu. The temple of Jugunnat’hu in Orissa has been endowed by several rich Hindoos : Raja Ram-Krishnti-devu gave two villages, the rents of which bring in about 4000 roopees annually ; Nimoo-mulliku of Calcutta gave daily one roopee, or 365 annu- ally ; and his children continue the donation. Other rich men make similar annual presents. It is supposed that not less than 100,000 roopees a year are drawn from the Hindoos by the bramhuns of this temple. 232 IIISTORV, LITERATURE, and RELIGION, [Part iii. Chap. h. SECTION IV. Of the Images. THE images of the Hindoo gods are made either of gold, silver, quicksilver mix- ed with tiie powder of tin, brass, copper, iron, mixed metal,* crystal, stone, wood, or clay.t The common workmen in gold, silver, brass, &c. make these images. The images made ofgold are generally those of Doorga, Lukshmee, Radha, Krish- na, and Surfiswutee, which are kept in private houses, and worshipped daily. These images must not be less in weight than one tolu;£ they are generally three or four. The image ofSheetula is often made of silver, kept in the house, and worshipped daily. It is as heavy as ten or twelve roopees. The images of Shivii only are made of quicksilver and crystal. They are very small, and are kept in the houses of the rich, and used for daily worship. Small brazen images of many of the gods are kept in private houses and worship- ped daily. These are very small, weighing only an ounce or two. Very small copper images ofSuoryu, and of Shiv u riding on a bull, are preserved m private houses, and worshipped daily. The images of mixed metal are those of Radha, Doorga, Lukshmee, Shivii, &c„ * Containing, as the Hindoos say, eight ingredients, viz. gold, silver, tin, copper, iron, zink, lead, and brass. + The shastrfis allow images to be made of no other substances than these. The image of Shiinee alone is made of iron. $ Three to’.us are rather more than one ounce. At Kidderpore, adjoining to Calcutta, is a golde h image of Putitu-pavunee, two cubits high. Near Serampore is a golden image of JPgudhatree, aheutacubit and a half high. Of the priests.] OF TITE HINDOOS. §37 to eat with him. Such a person can only be priest to one cast, and is called the- joiners’ bramhun, or the blacksmiths’ bramhun, &c. The yogees (mostly weavers),, the chandalus, and the basket-makers* have priests- ef their own casts, and not from among the bramhuns. The shastrus point out the proper qualifications of a poorohitu, which are similar- to those of a spiritual guide* mentioned in a following article. Some enjoy this of- fice by hereditary succession. When a person, immediately after the performance of a religious ceremony in his family, meets with success in his connections or business, he not unfrequently attributes his prosperity to his priest, and rewards him by liberal presents. On the other hand, if a person sustain a loss after employing a new priest,, he lays it at the door of the priest. If at a bloody sacrifice the slayer happen to fail in cutting off the head at one blow, the priest is blamed for having made some blunder in the ceremonies, and thus producing this fatal disaster. • The Acharyu. — The person who taught the vedus used to be called acharyu ; and' at pi’esent the bramhun who reads a portion of them at the time of investiture with the poita, is called by this name ; as well as the person who reads the formularies at a sacrifice. This latter person is generally the poorohitu, but he then assumes the name of acharyu. A considerable number of bramhuns are qualified to discharge the duties of an acharyu, and any one thus qualified may perform them, without any previous consecration or appointment. Twenty or thirty roopees is the amount of the fee of the acharyu at festivals. The Sudusliyu. — The Sudiishyu regulates the ceremonies of worship, but is not employed on all occasions; he is however generally engaged at the festivals : at the first shraddhu after a person’s death ; at the dedication of images, temples, flights of steps, ponds, &c. At the reading of the pooraniis also, he attends, and points out where the reading or the copy is defective. He receives a fee of ten or fifteen roopees ; and, sometimes as much as one hundred and fifty. On extraordinary oeca~ sions, five or ten sudushyus are employed. 238 HISTORY, LITERATURE, amd RELIGION, [Part hi. Chap. n. The Brtimha sits near the fire at the time of a burnt-offering, and supplies it with wood. The fee to this person is five roopees in cases where the Siidushyu receives fifteen ; to which is added a gift of rice, &c. The Hotel throws the clarified butter on the fire in the burnt-offering, repeating the proper formulas. He receives the same fee as the acharyu. The .our last-mentioned persons divide the offerings presented to Ugnee; and are worshipped at the commencement of a sacrifice, when rings, poitas, clothes, seats of cloth or wood, pillows,* awnings, brass and copper vessels, &c. are presented to them. The Hindoo priests wear their usual dress during the performance of any cere- mony. Other priests. — A number of persons are employed as assistants to the priests : as, the A iiroo, who gathers flowers to present to the image, sweeps the temple, &c. The person vvhobuys and collects the things for the offerings is called Udhikaree ; he who performs the ceremonies of worship is called Pdojuku ; he who cooks for the image, Pachuku ; he who recites the pooranu in an assembly is called Pat’huku ; he who holds the book and corrects the reading and the copy, Dharuku; he who hears the words as the representative of the person who is to enjoy the merit arising from the hearing of these stories, is called Shrota ; and he who repeats in the evening the meaning of what has been read in the day, Kut’huku. * The rich Hindoos sit with a large pillow placed at tlieir backs. Of the 'worship in' temples. 1 OF THE HINDOOS. 239 SECTION VI. Of the JVorship in Temples. THE daily ceremonies in the temples erected in honour of Shiva are as follows: In the morning the officiating bramhon, after bathing, enters the temple,* and bows to Shivu. He then anoints the image with clarified butter or boiled oil,+ after which, he bathes the image with water which has not been defiled by the touch of a slidii- dru,nor of a branihun who has not performed his ablutions, by pouring water on it, and afterwards wipes it with anapkin. He next grinds some white powder in water, and, dipping the ends of his three fore-fingers in it, draws them across the lingii, marking it as the worshippers of Shiva mark their foreheads. He next sits down before the image, and, shutting his eyes, meditates on the work he is commencing ; then places rice and doorva grass on the lingii ; next a flower on his own head and then on the top of the linga ; then another flower on the linga ; then others, one by one, repeating incantations; he then places white powder, flowers, vilwu leaves, in- cense, meat offerings, and a lamp before the image ; also some rice and a plantain ; he next repeats the name of Shivu, with some forms of praise, and at last prostrates himself before the image. These ceremonies, in the hands of a secular person, are concluded in a few minutes ; a person w ho has sufficient leisure spends an hour in them. In the evening the officiating bramhun goes again to the temple, and after washing his feet, &c. prostrates himself before the door ; then opening the door,i he places in the temple a lamp, and, as an evening oblation, persents to the image a little milk, some sweetmeats, fruits, &c. when, falling at the feet of the image, he locks the door and comes away. At the temple of Shiva, on the 14th of the increase of the moon in Phalgoond, in * Pulling off his shoes at the bottom: of the steps. + The Greeks used to smear the statues of their gods with ointments, and adorn them with garlands. $ It is reported of some Hindoo saints, that when they went to a temyle to awake the god, while repeating the words of the shastrfi used on these occasions, the doors always flew open of themselves, reminding us of the European superstition, that ‘ the temple of Cybele was opened not by hands, but by prayers.’ 240 'HISTORY, LITERATURE, and RELIGION, [Part hi. Ciiap. m. 4he night, a festival in honour of Shivu is kept : the image is bathed four times, and four separate services performed during the night. Before the temple, the wor- shippers dance, sing, and revel all night, amidst the horrid din of their music. The occasion of this festival is thus related in the Bhuvishwu-pooranii : A bird-catcher, ■detained in a forest in a dark night, climbed a vilwu tree under which was an image of the lingu. By shaking the boughs of the tree, the leaves and drops of dew fell upon the image, with which Shivu was so much pleased, that he declared, the wor- ship of the lingu on that night should be .received as an act of unbounded merit. 'The worship at the temples in honour of the different forms of Vishnoo, is nearly the same a3 that at the temples of the lingu. V ery early in the morning the officiating bramhun, after putting on clean apparel, and touching the purifying water of the Ganges, comes to the temple to awake the god. He first blows a shell and rings a bell ; then presents water and a towel, and mutters certain prayers, inviting the god to awake, &c. The offerings made to the forms of Vishnoo are much greater in quantity than those presented to'Shivu. About noon, fruits, roots, soaked peas., sweetmeats, &c. are presented to the image, and after this, that which answers to the English idea of dinner, consisting of boiled rice, fried herbs, spices, &c. Vishnoo neither eats flesh, fish, nor fowl. After dinner, betle-nut, &c. in leaves of the betle vine are given to be chewed. The god is then left to sleep, and the temple is shut up. While he sleeps the bramhuns eat the offerings. In the evening, curds, butter, sw eetmeats, fruits, &c. are presented, and at this hour people come to the temple to look at the god and make their obeisance. After the setting of the sun, a lamp is brought into the temple, and a small quantity of milk, sweetmeats, &c. are offered. The priests wave a lamp of five lights before the image, ring a small bell, present water to wash the mouth, face and feet, and a towel.* After the offerings have continued before the god about ten minutes, they are withdrawn, as well as the lamp, and the god is shut up in the dark all night. * When I enquired into the meaning of these reremonies, J was informed, that they were in imitation of the service paid to Krishna w hen he used to return from tending the cattle. Water to wash himself, a towel, lights to examine where the thorns had entered his feet or any other parts of the body, a bell to testify their joy ihat he was arrived in safety, and some food to refresh him after the fatigues of the day in following the herds. Of the images.] OF THE HINDOOS. $33 The images of any of the gods may be made with this mixed metal; and may be wor- shipped either in private houses or in -temples. The images of all the gods and goddesses may be made of stone ; the greater num- ber are placed in temples ; a few small ones are found in private houses. All images of stone are worshipped daily: the greater number are of the lingo, or the various forms of Vislinoo. A few exist of the lingu nine or twelve cubits high.* The men- dicant followers of "V ishnoo carry small images of Krishnu w ith them in their peri- grinations, which are from one to two cubits high : All the stone images in Bengal are of black marble; but there are some at Benares which are white. The sculpture on these stones is in much the same state of perfection as that to be seen in the oldest churches in England. These stones are brought into Bengal from the upper pro- vinces, and cut by men who are to be found in all the great towns, and to whom it is an employment. Some stone images are miraculously found under ground. t See page 16Q. The nimbui tree supplies the images-of Vishnoo in his different forms ; also of Doorga, Radha, Lukshmee, Shivu, Gnrooru, Cboitunyu, &c. None of the wooden images are kept in private houses, but in separate temples. They are generally from one to three cubits in height. All the images which, after worship, are thrown into the water, are of clay baked in tne sun, about lour cubits high : The images of the lingu made daily and worship- ped, aie immediately thrown away. In some places clay images ofKartiku, twenty one cubits high, are setup, and after the festival -committed to the river. The images of Doorga, Siddheshwnree, Unnii-poorna, Krishnu, Punclianunu, Shust’hee, Munusa, Dukshmu-rayu, &c. are however constantly preserved in temples. The Hindoo pot- ters are the principal god-makers, though many other casts, and even MusulmansfoK * An image of the lingii is set up at Benares which six men can hardly grasp. + An image of Cybele is said to have fallen from heaven into a certain field in Phrygia, t Melia azadarachta. _ . ‘J3i HISTORY, LI TERATURE, and RELIGION, [Part hi. Chap. ii. low this e Deployment. The maker first takes a board, and raises upon it a little frame work, to Avhich he fastens bamboos covered with straw, for the back bone, the arms, legs, &c. Round these he lays clay mixed with cow-dung, chaff and straw, which he suffers to dry; having made the head of clay, he lays it to dry, and afterwards joins it 1o the trunk very carefully. lie again clothes the body, arms, and legs, with more cow-dung and clay, and covers the whole with a cloth, that it may not crack. When ready, he carries it to the person’s house who may have ordered it, and, according to the size, obtains two, four, seven, or eight roopees for it. Sometimes the maker paints it at his own house, which costs two, three, four, or five roopees more. The evening before the consecration, the person at whose temple this image is to be setup, brings twenty-two different articles, among which are fruits, flowers, gold, silver, rice, a stone, turmerick, sugar, cow-dung, clarified butter, a shell, peas, red powder, &c. With all these things the officiating bramhun touches the forehead and other parts of the image, repeating incantations. This is called iidhivasu, or inviting the goddess to come and dwell in the image. The next day eyes and a soul, (pranu) are given. No one reverences the image till this work is done. When an image of Doorga is to be consecrated, in addition to the above ceremo- nies, a plantain tree is brought, and bathed either in the house or in the river. At this time the service occupies about an hour, after which the tree is clothed like a woman, with two vilwu fruits for breasts; and nine sorts of leaves, smeared with red paint, are hung round the neck. The trees from which these leaves are taken, are said to have assisted in different wars the deities whose images accompany that of Doorga: The Hindoo shastrns make no hesitation in giving tongues to stones, or making trees into soldiers. It may be allowed in a romance; yet the modern Hin- doos are silly enough to believe most gravely that all this is the very truth. They say, Why not? God can do every thing. If a woman, a dog, or a shoodru, touch an image, its godship is destroyed, and the ceremonies of deification must be again performed. A clay image if thus defiled must be thrown away. There are degrees of impurity imparted by the touch of different animals. Breaking the hand or foot of an image is an evil omen. If Of the images.] OF THE HINDOOS. 235 an image be unequal in any of its parts, or if the eyes be made to look upwards or downwards, and not straight forwards, something evil will befall the owner. If it be set up with ease, the spectators declare, that the god himself is pleased. * Godsliip of Images tried. — By performing a ceremony called shorn, it is imagined, a person may obtain the power of ascertaining whether the deity dwell in an image or not. In this ceremony, which must be repeated during fifteen days and nights, the devotee bathes an image of the goddess Vipiireetri-priityungira, with milk, curds, clarified butter, cow dung, and cow’s urine; worships it, having on red garments, and repeats the initiating incantation of this goddess ten thousand times. In the night, he walks round the image, in a triangular manner, onehundred and eight times, prostrating himself after every circumambulation. On the last day, the ceremonies are continued to a greater extent, and the burnt-sacrifice is added. When such a person bows to an image, if the deity dwell not in it, it will break in pieces. A person of Krishnu-niiguru is mentioned as having obtained this power; he bowed to an image of Mudunu-Mohunu, at Vdshnoo-poorti, when the image became bent in the neck, and continues so to this day. At Reboona, a village near Balasore, several stone images are said to have been broken by a man named Kalaparhu, who bowed to them. D d 2 233 HISTORY, LITERATURE, and RELIGION, [Partiii.Cuap.iL SECTION V. Of the Priests. TIIE Poorohilil. — Every bramhun may perform the ceremonies of his religion. The priest, called a poorohitu, is, however, called in to assist in the shraddhu, the ten ceremonies called sungskarii, in those at the offering of a temple, at the different vrutus, at the festivals, and at a burnt sacrifice, and he is sometimes called to fast, and bathe, in the name of another. A man of property, in some cases, unwilling to fast himself, gives his poorohitu a roopee to do it for him ; and, in the cold wea- ther, he gives him a fee, to bathe for a month' and perform the ceremonies connect- ed with bathing, instead of himself. Some rich men retain a family priest, who re- ceives the fees and separate presents of cloth, sweetmeats, rice, fruits, &c. as his re- > ward. Any bramhun, who is acquainted with the different formulas of worship, may be- come an officiating priest. In some cases, one person is priest to a thousand fami- lies ; but he employs assistants, and gives them a stipulated share of the perquisites. If the priest do not arrive in time, or if he blunder in performing the ceremonies, the person employing him reproves him. When several families have the same priest, and wish to perform certain ceremonies on the same day, the priest is sure to offend, and never fails to be told of his partiality to one family, and neglect of the other. These priests are generally very avaricious, and take care to have their full share of the presents at the close of a ceremony. The amount of the fees depends upon the ability and generosity of the person who employs the priest ; who is not unfrequent- ly very much dissatisfied with what he receives, and complains to others, that u the duties at such a man’s house are very heavy, but that he gives only a very trifling fee, and no more of the offerings than a crow might eat.” This man subsists upon the fees and offerings, engaging in no otlnr employment. The higher orders despise a bramhun who becomes priest to shoodrus, and refuse CHAPTER III. SECTION I. Of the Times of Worship. LUNAR days. — TSie eighth, eleventh, fourteenth, and fifteenth lunar days, both of the increase and decrease of the moon, in each month, are considered as lortunate days. At the full moon in Asharhu, Kartiku, Maghu, and Voishakd, religious cere- monies are peculiarly meritorious, especially gifts to learned bramhiins ; but on the third lunar day in Voishaku, their merit is imperishable. Bathing in the Ganges on the tenth lunar day in Jyoislit’hn, is extremely meritorious. The second lunar day in Asharhu, and the eleventh in Shravunu are auspicious times for religious cere- monies. The performance of the shraddhu during the decrease of the moon in Bhadrii is a work of great merit. On the seventh, eighth, and ninth lunar days of Ashwinu, the eleventh in Kartiku, the fifth lunar day in Maghu, the thirteenth in Phalgoonu, and the seventh in Choitru, and at the full moon in Poushu, very great benefits flow from religious acts. On all these days the Hindoos are particularly occupied in the different ceremonies of their religion. Weekly Ceremonies. — Some Hindoos fast every Sunday, and perform the worship of their guardian deity Sooryu. Others, to fulfil a vow, fast on a Monday,* perform- ing the worship of Shivu. Others, who suppose themselves to be under the baneful influence of the planet Saturn, fast on a Saturday, and endeavour to propitiate this god by acts of devotion. Monthly Ceremonies. — The Shyama festival is held monthly by certain Hindoos. The shraddhu should be repeated monthly. Some persons not able to attend to the weekly ceremonies connected with their vows, perform them monthly. * It is rather singular that both in the European and Hindoo mythology the two first days of the week should be called after the same gods : R&vee-varu, Sunday, from Ruvee, the sun ; and Somu-varu, Monday, from Somu, the moon. Ee 242 HISTORY, LITERATURE, and RELIGION, [Part hi. Chap. iii. Annual Festivals. — The festivals ofDoorga, Shyama, Jugiiddhatree, Kartiku, Mii- hish-murdinee, Rutuntee, Unnu-poorna, Phuluharee, Shivu, Krishnu, Guneshu, &c. are held annually. Two festivals of Shivu and nine of Krishnu are annual. The following account of the Hindoo festivals in each month of the year is taken from the Tit’hee-Tuttwu : Voishakhu. — On the third lunar day, (the anniversary of Gimga’s descent), the worship of Gunga, of the mountains Koilasu and Himaluyu, of Bhiigeerut’hu, and of Shivu. On the twelfth lunar day the bathing and worship of Vishnoo. Ji/oisht'hu. — On the tenth lunar day (the anniversary of the birth of Gunga), the .worship of Munusa, and of the nagus (serpents). At the full moon, the bathing of Jugunnat’hu; and on the fourteenth of the wane of the mom, the worship of the goddess Savitree. Asharku. — On the second lunar day, the drawing of JugunnatTiu’s car, with the worship of this god, and of Buluramu and Soobhudra. On the tenth, the return of the car, and the worship of these three gods. The next day is the anniversary of Vishnoo’s lying down to sleep. f * •' * ’ V Shravunu.— At the full moon, the dolu festival. On the eighth ofthe wane, (the anniversary of the birth of Krishnu), the worship of this god, of his father, Jushoda, Kohinee, Chundika, Buluramii, Dukshu, Gurgu, Brumha, Lukshmee, and Shust’hee. Bhadrii.— On the seventh lunar day, the worship of Shivn and Doorga ; and on the seventh, the worship of Munusa, before small sheaves of doorva grass On the twelfth, the worship of Indru before a kind of flag-staff made with a tree called du- munu. On the fourteenth, the worship of Ununtu. The shraddhu is performed every day during the wane of the moon. Or the times or woRSiiTp.] OF THE HINDOOS. 213 Ashvainfc — From the first to the ninth lunar day, the worship of Doorga. At the full moon, the worship of Luk-hmee, and the game of Chutoorajee; and on the last day of the moon, the Shyama festival. i Kartiku. — On the first lunar day, the worship of king Biilee ; and on the second that ofYurnu, and the feasting of own brothers by their sisters.* On the eighth, the worship of Gurooru ; and on the ninth that of Juguddhatree. At the full moon, the rasu festival, and the worship of Shyama before a picture. At the entrance of the sun into a new sign, or, on the last day of Kartiku, the worship of Kartiku. Ugruhayunu. — On the sixth lunar day, the worship of Kartiku; and on the se- venth, eighth and ninth, that of Muhishu-murdinee. On the fourteenth that of Goiiree ; and on the seventh of the wane of the moon, the offerings to the dead. Poiishti. — On the eighth of the decrease of the moon, the offerings to the dead. On the fourteenth, the Shyama festival. Maghit. — On the fourth, the worship of Gouree; on the fifth, that of Suruswu- tee, and of the ink-stand; on the sixth, that of Shusht’hee ; on the seventh, that of Sooryn, and on the eighth, that of Bheeshmu. On the eighth of the decrease of the moon, the offerings to the dead, and on the fourteenth the anniversary of the rise of the lingu. Phalgoonii. — On the eighth, the worship of Mungulu-chundika, and at the full moon, the dolu festival. Choitril. — On the sixth, the worship of Kartiku ; on the eighth, that of Vishnoo with ushoku flowers ; on the ninth, the anniversary of the birth of Ramu. On the * The. smritee shastr“s ordain this custom. The manner of keeping it is as follows : The sisters mark the fore- heads of the brothers with w'dte powder, and present them with garments, poitas, &c. and provide a great feast. Kt is said that Yumu aud his sister Yumoona established this custom. Ee2 HISTORY LITERATURE, and RELIGION, [Part iii. Chap. ih. seventh, eighth, and ninth, the worship of Doorga, and on the ninth, that of Unnu- poorna. On the fourteenth, the worship of Kamu-deva. On the thirteenth of the decrease of the moon, the worship of Gunga. On the entrance of the sun into a new sign at the close of this month, the presenting of water, rice, &c. to bramhuns. Daily Ceremonies. — The shastrixs prescribe daily duties towards the gods, deceas- ed ancestors, strangers, and the cow. The worship of Vishnoo, before the shal- gramu; ofShivu, before the lingo; of a person’s guardian deity, before the shalgra- ffiii or water, and of any image constantly preserved, is performed daily. If the fa- mily of a bramhun, where such an image is set up, has become unclean by the death of one of its members, or by any other cause, they do not omit the daily w orship, but invite another bramhun to perform the ceremonies. Sometimes a person makes a vow to perform for a certain time the daily worship of Vishnoo, Shivfi, and his guardian deity. Bathing also, and repeating' the names of the gods, with or with- out a bead-roll, especially the name of a person’s guardian deity, are acts of daily worship. The daily shraddhu is performed by very few, but at the time of bathing, in the ceremony called turpunu, the Hindoos pour out water from a copper vessel, or from their hands, for their deceased ancestors. Some religious acts are performed daily for three or four months together : as during the time of Vishnoo’s sleeping, (viz. from the twelfth or fifteenth of the moon in Asharhu, to the twelfth or fifteenth in Kartiku)a person vows that no razor shall come on his head, that he will abstain from flesh, fish, salt,* peas, oil, curds not made at home, &c.; that he will not visit at the house of a shoodru, nor eat there nor any where else more than once a day. During this period he engages particularly to attend to his daily duties, as batning, repeating the name of his god, &c. Agreeably to the directions of the Anhiku-tuttwu, the daily uuties of a bramhun, walking in strict conformity to the rules of his religion, are as follow : He must divide the day, from five o’clock in the morning till seven at night, into Seven equal parts. The duties of the first part are thus described : first, awaking Rock salt may be eaten. Of the times of worship.] OF THE HINDOOS. £4j from sleep, and rising up in his bed, he must repeat the names of different gods and sages, and pray that they would make the day prosperous. He must then repeat the name of Urjoonu, and pray to- him, that whatever he may lose during the day may be restored to him ;* and then the names of any persons celebrated for their re* ligious merit. Next the names of Uhfilya,t Dropfidee,!: Seeta,$ Tara,|| and Mun- doduree,* After this, he must meditate with his eyes closed on the form of his spiritual guide, and worship him in his mind, repeating these two incantations : c Oil! *»***; according to thy commands I descend from my bed.’ 4 Oh ****** I [ know what is right, but I do it not. I know what is wrong, but I forsake it not. But do thou reside within me, and whatever thou commandest I shall do.’ Then follows another incantation, and obeisance to Huree. He now descends from his bed, placing first his right foot on the ground. On going out, if he see a Shrotriyu bram- him, a beloved and excellent wife, fire, a cow, an Ugnihotree bramhun, or any other bramhun, the day will be auspicious. If he see a wicked or naked person, a wretched woman, distilled spirits, or a man with a great nose, the day will be inauspicious. By repeating the names of Kurkotuku,+ Damuyuntee,! Nnlu,§ and Ritoopurnu,|| no quarrel will arise during the day. He must then, after discharging wind, washing his mouth, &c. go at least a hundred and ten yards from his house into the field, and taking water, choosing a clean place, scattering some grass to the S. W. tying a tur- ban round his head, remaining silent, with his face to the North, refraining from spitting, and holding his breath, perform the offices of nature. His poita must remain on his right ear till he has washed his hands. It is unlawful to attend to the offices of nature on a road, in the shade, where cattle graze, in the fire, or water, in a ploughed field, where dead bodies are burnt, upon a mountain, on the ruins of a temple, on an ant-hill, in a ditch, or by the side of a river.* After this, he must go to a more clean spot, and taking some good earth, cleanse the left hand ten times, * Tt is said (hat when Urjoonu was king-, there w-ere no robberies, or if such a thing did happen, by repeating his name, the loser was sure to find his property again, + The wife of Goutumij ; she was guilty of adultery with Indrii. J The wife of Yoodhisht’hirn and his brothers. § The wife of Ramu, || The wife of Balee and Siogreevu, two monkies. * The wife of RaTunr. + A serpeot. J The wife of king Nulii. § A king. )| Another king. * So little is this regarded, that almost all the lower orders of Hindoos go to the Ganges. 216 HISTORY, LITERATURE, and RELIGION, [Part hi. Chap, iii, then both hands seven times, the back of the left hand six times; and then his nails; then wash his hands ; each foot three times; and then rinse both feet. If he per- ceive any evil smell remaining on his hands or feet, he must wash them again. If the bramhun had no water-pot, he must wash himself in this manner in a common pool or river, and take care that he come out of the water clean. His water-pot must neither be of mixed metal, copper, nor gold : an earthen pot must be thrown away as soon as used. If the pot be of brass or silver, he must scour it well after he return. If a bramhun attend not to these modes of cleansing, all his other reli- gious actions will be void of merit.* The bramhun must next attend to his morning ablutions. Taking a dry towel, he must go to a pool or river, and placing the cloth on the ground, wet his feet and hands ; then perform acluimunfi, by taking up water in the palm of his right hand three times, and drinking it as it runs toward his wrist ; then with his right hand touch his lips, nose, eyes, ears, navel, breast, forehead, and shoulders, repeating an incantation ; wash his hands again and perform achumunu, repeating an incantation ; then sitting to the N. or E. before sunrise, cleanse his teeth with the end of a green stick, t about six or seven inches long. If he clean his teeth after sunrise, in the next birth he will be born an insect feeding on ordure. He must now wash from his face the mark on his forehead made the day before ; then scrape and wash his tongue, taking care that the blood does not flow. If in cleansing his teeth he should make them bleed, he becomes unclean, and is disqualified for performing any religious ceremo- ny on that day. If, however, he make his teeth bleed by the side of the Ganges, he does not become unclean. He must next gather flowers for worship on the banks of a pool or river. If any one forbid him, he must willingly desist; if any are given him by a bramhun, he * One of the things* in the conduct of Europeans, which gives most ofl'ence to the Hindoos, is the omitting these modes of cleansing. + On the 1st, 6th, 8th, 10th, and 14th days of the increase and wane of the moon, and at the full and new moon ; on the last day of the calender month ; on a fast day, and on the day of performing a shra ldhn, it is un- lawful for a bramhun to clean his teeth with a stick. If he should do thison these ,dajs, he will sink into a dread- ful hell. If Ills Bible had lain down rules and penalties like these, what occasion for ridicule to unbelievers ! Or THE TIMES OF WORSHIP.]} OF THE HINDOOS. 247 .must receive them ; but not if a shoodru offer them ; if a person have them to sell, he must give him what he asks. If in carrying these flowers to the side cf the water, a person of mean cast touch them, or he touch any unclean thing-, he must throw them away. If a person of any cast make a bow to him while the flow ers are in his hand, he must also throw them away.* Returning to the river, and sitting in silence, he must rub himself all over with mud; then descending into the river as high as his breast, with his face towards the East or North, he must repeat certain incantations, by which (in his imagination) all other sacred rivers w ill flow into that in which he stands, as well as all other holy places; he must afterwards repeat many incantations, and perform moodra, viz. cer- tain motions by twisting his fingers into several curious shapes ; then, dividing his hair behind, and bringing it into his hands before, with his thumbs he must stop his ears ; with the three first fingers of each hand cover his eyes, and with his two little fingers, his nostrils, and then immerse himself three or four times; then with his hands joined throw up water to his head ; then repeat other incantations ; then taking up water with hisjoined hands, he must offer it three times to the sun ; then washing his body, and repeating certain prayers, that he may ascend to some heaven, or re- ceive some temporal good, he must again immerse himself in the water. After this he must ascend to the side of the river, and wipe his body with a towel; then re- peat certain forms of praise to Gunga, Sooryu, Vishnoo. and other gods ; then put dry and newly-washed cloth round his loins ; and sitting down cleanse his poita by a rinsing it in the water ; then taking up some earth in his hand, and diluting it with water, put the middle finger of his right hand in this earth, and make a line betwixt his eyes up to the top of his forehead; then draw his three first fingers across his forehead ; make a round dot with his little finger in the center at the top of his head ; another on the upper part of his nose ; another on his throat; then with his three first fingers make marks across his breast and arms; then make dots on his sides, The meaning of this is, that the sin of the person who made the bow being transferred to the bramh' n, the sin, instead of entering the fire said to lodge in a bramh n's hand, by w hich it would be consumed , enters the bowers, and they thereby become unclean. If a bramhun, with flowers in his hand, meet a shoodru who is ig- norant of the rules of the shastrii, he forbids him to bow to him, but in general the lower orders know this cus- tom. *13 HISTORY, LITERATURE, and RELIGION, [Taut hi. Chap. hi. and another on the lower part of his back. After this he must take up water in his right hand three times and drink it. To this succeeds the morning siindhya, in which the person must offer many pray- ers ; pour out water to different gods, repeat certain form3 of praise in honour of the sun, which he must worship, and repeat the gayntree ; then take up water with his kosha,* and pour it out to his deceased ancestors; after which he must return home, and read some part of the vedu.t After this, if the bramhun be a house-keeper, he must seek the provisions for his family for the day. If he be diligent in discharging social duties, he will obtain heaven ; but if not he will sink into hell. About eleven o’clock, taking the flowers, his koslia and kooshee, some seeds of sesamum, leaves of the vilwfi tree, blades of the kooshu grass, and a towel, he must proceed to the river. Placing these things by the side of the river, he must prepare a place for worship ; take some proper earth, and cleanse itj so that neither insects, hair, nor any thing impure remain ; and then make the earth into a ball, lay it down, and wash his own body, rubbing himself with his toivel. Then he must descend into the water up to the middle, and perform his ablutions as in the morning. After bathing, he must ascend to the side, wipe himsylf, put on a dry piece of cloth (not a black one); sit with his face to the East or North; tie a lock of hair into a knot, and having repeated a prayer, the w hole of his hair in a knot ; mark his forehead as in the morning; then perform the ceremony called achumunu; and then the sundhya. After this he must make an image of thelingu with the pure earth which he haspre-^ pared ; and laying it aside, descend into the water, or sit by it, and pour out water (containing a few seeds of the sesamum) from his kosha to three or four of the gods, repeating incantations: then to certain sages, and deceased ancestors, viz. to three generations on the father’s and three on the mother’s side, (males). If a bramhun * A small copper cup. Another still smaller is called kooshee. + If it this time he copy a part of any of the shastrus, and pre'cnt it to some hramh'n. he will receive ever- lasting happiness. Daily worship.] OF THE HINDOOS. 249 do not present drink-offerings to deceased relations, all his works of merit lose their virtue. 1 he next thing is the act of worship, (pooja) in which the bramhun must sit with his face to the North, and placing the lingo towards the same point, bathe it by sprink- ling it with water, then closing his eyes sit for some time in the act of meditation, (dhyanu) after which, placing some flowers on his own head, he must perform the worship of Shiva ; then meditate on the image, and placing flowers on the lingo, re- peat other incantations, to communicate a soul (pranu) to the lingii; then another prayer to bring Shivo himself into his presence ; and then perform a ceremony called yonee-moodra, which consists of five curious motions with the hau if then he must offer to the lingii a morsel of silver or gold ; or, if he be poor, water , reading a pray- er. He must after this offer water for the god’s feet ; also a little dry rice, and a few blades of doorva grass, with a prayer; then a number of rawr vegetables. He must next repeat the name of Shivu a certain number of times; offer water, and repeat an incantation offering water or flowers, and worship Shivu in his eight forms,* re- peating eight incantations; then follow forms of praise in honour of Shivu, during wdiich he must prostrate himself before the lingo; and afterwards make a drumming noise w ith his thumb or fingers on the right cheek, and beat against his sides w ith his arms. If he has been worshipping by the side of the Ganges, he must throw the lingii into the river, or if by the side of a pool or any other river, he must throw away the lingo on the land. To this should succeed the worship of Vishnoo before the shalgi'amu, or before water. Next that of Sdoryu, Ugnee, Doorga, Briimha, the gayutree, the spiritual guide, the nine planets, the ten guardian deities of the earth, and lastly of the person’s guardian deity. The offerings in this last act of worship are the same as in the worship of the lingu, but the prayers are more nu- merous. When all these ceremonies have been performed by the side of a pool, or a river, the worshipper having presented the burnt-offering, must return to his house, per- * These eight forms of Shiva are representatives of the earth, water, fire, air, space, sacrifice, the sun, and the moon. I' f 200 HISTORY, LITERATURE, and RELIGION, [Part iii. Chap. nr. form the daily shraddlm, and offer to the gods plantains, dry rice, peas, sweetmeats, cocoa nuts, Sec. . The day’s work must be closed by entertaining several poor bramhuns or other guests who may be in his house. If no guests should arrive, about three o’clock in the afternoon he must sit down to dinner; which may consist of boiled rice, fried fruits, split peas, greens, sour curds, or milk, but neither fish nor fiesh. First, he must offer the whole food to his guardian deity, sprinkling water on the rice, and re- peating incantations; and then put morsels of the different articles of his food in five places on a clean spot, which, after sprinkling with water, he must offer to the five winds, Nagii, Kwr^'U, Kreekutu, Devu-dntto, and Dhumm-juyu. After this, drink a little water, repeating an incantation, and then put a little rice into his mouth w ith his right hand at five different times, and repeat incantations containing the names of five airs which the Hindoos say are lodged in the body : he may then, remaining in silence, finish his repast, afterwards drink a little water, wash his hands and mouth, and cleanse his teeth. After washing his feet, he must sit upon a mat of kooshu-grass and chew betle-nut, mixed w ith some or all of the following articles, lime, treacle, catechu, cardamums, cloves, nutmeg, mace, camphor, coriander seed, Sec. Before he begins to chew the betle, he must offer it with prayers to his guar- dian deity. If he do not chew betle, he must eat fruit of the terminalia citrina, and repeat the name of Vishnoo once. Tc this must succeed the evening si ndhya, either in his own house or by the side of the river. The ceremonies are the same as those already described. After this, repeating the name of his guardian deity during two hours, he may take a little re- freshment, as sweatmeats, milk, plantains, curds, or something of the same nature ; and about ten retire to rest. At present, those bramhuns who live without secular employment, spend about four hours daily in worship, an hour in the morning, two at noon, and one in the even- ing. Such a person s first act in the morning, as he rises, is to repeat the name Daily worship.] OF THE HINDOOS. 25 1 of liis guardian deity, after which he goes into a field with a pan of water, and re- turning, bathes : then taking the water of the Ganges, he sits down in his house, or by the river, and pours out drink-offerings to his deceased ancestors ; repeats certain forms from the vedu, the meaning of which he himself does not understand ; wor- ships Shivu with the usual forms of praise, as, ‘ Oh ! Shivu ! thou art every thing ; thou unitest all the gods in thyself; thou cans’t do all things,’ &c. during which he offers with proper forms water, flowers, &c. to the god ; and then repeats for some time the name of his guardian deity. At noon after bathing, he repeats certain forms from the vedu, and worships Shivu, his guardian deity, and other gods, with the usual forms and offerings; pours out drink-offerings to deceased ancestors, and repeats the name of his guardian deity. At this time, the worshipper prays for any thing he may be anxious to obtain, as the health of his child, a lucrative situation, &c. but this is done only when sickness, poverty, or any other necessity, forces a person to ex- press his complaints to his god. The worship in the evening is similar to that in the morning. Bramhims in employment unite the first and second services together in the morn- ing, and finish the whole in half an hour, confining themselves to the repetition of the name of their guardian deity, the forms from the vedu, including the gayutree, and pouring out a drink-offering to deceased ancestors. - Most of these persons omit the evening service altogether. Though these ceremonies are in general performed in the house, the family do not unite in them: during their performance, the family business is transacted, and the children play as usual ; the worshipper himself not unfrecpiently nnxes in conversati- on, or gives directions respecting matters of business. I he children sometimes sit as spectators, so that by the time they grow up, they learn the different forms of daily worship. The women, though not allowed to touch a consecrated image, (beasts, women, and slioodrus are forbidden) worship the gods daily in their own houses, or by the Ff 2 252 HISTORY, LITERATURE, and RELIGION, [Part hi. Chap. m. riverside, (repeating- certain forms from the Tun tr 5 sliastrus) before an earthen image of the lingu, or the water of the Ganges : if they should worship before a con- secrated image, they must keep at a respectable distance from the idol. Some merely repeat a few forms while standing in the water, bow to the god, without an image, and thus finish the religion of the day ; others spend half an hour in these ceremo- nies, and females who have leisure, an hour or more. The shoodriis in general repeat the name of their guardian deity while bathing, and this comprises the whole of their daily religion : yet rich men of the lower casts spend an hour in religious ceremonies, in the house or by the side of the river. As there is nothing of pure morality in the Hindoo writings, so in the ceremonies of this people nothing like the rational and pure devotion of a Christian worshipper is to be found. In performing their daily duties, as might be expected from a ritu- al possessing little meaning and no interest, the Hindoos are sometimes precise, and at other times careless, muttering forms of praise or prayer to the gods while their attention is drawn to every surrounding object. To expect that services like these would mmd the heart, is out of the question. CHAPTER IV. furious Religious Duties and Ceremonies. SECTION I. Form of initiation mlo the Hindoo religion. EVERY Hindoo receives an initiating incantation from some bramhnn,* who then becomes his spiritual guide (gooroo) : the principal thing in this incantation is the name of some god, who becomes his (ishtu) chosen deity, and by repeating whose name he is to obtain present and future happiness. When the ceremony of initiation is to be performed, an auspicious day is chosen, which is preceded by a fast. On the morning of the day appointed, the disciple bathes ; after which, entreating the priest to sit down, he presents him with some cloth, kourees, betle-nut, and a poita: after which he performs the ceremony called snnkhlpu, in doing which he first takes in his joined hands a small copper dish, with some water in it, lays a plantain, some flowers, sesamum, kooshu-grass, rice, &e. upon it, and then says, 4 For the removal of all my sins, and to obtain happiness after death, I take the incantation from my gooroo.’ The gooroo then performs at some length the worship of the god whose name is to be given ; to which suc- ceeds the burnt-offering. He next thrice repeats in the right ear of the disciple the incantation; after which the disciple presents a fee of from one to twenty roopees, and worships the feet of the gooroo, presenting sweetmeats, cloths, flowers, fruits, and other offerings commonly presented to the gods. He next repeats certain forms, and in his meditation brings into his mind that his spiritual guide is in fact his guar- dian deity, from whom he is to receive salvation. Another fee is then given ; after which the disciple drinks the water in which the gooroo’s feet have been washed, There are some rare examples among the poor of persons who never receive the initiatory incantation. 2j± HISTORY, LITERATURE, and RELIGION, [Part iii. Chap. iv. and prostrates himself at his feet, when the spiritual guide putting his right foot on his head, and, stretching forth his right hand, gives him a blessing. The gooroo is then feasted, with other bramhuns. Two or three persons only are permitted to be present at this ceremony. The above incantation is called veeju muntru.* It generally consists of a single sound ; as, when it is to be taken from the name of a god, a consonant is taken out of this name, and a vowel added to it : thus when Krishnu is about to become the chosen god of a person, the gooroo takes the consonant k, and adds to it a or oo, or some other vowel, and then the miintru becomes ka, or koo. Very frequently the sound ung is united to a consonant, to form the initiating incantation, of which there are many specimens in the Tuntru-sara. It is probable that no meaning was ever in- tended to be attached to these sounds. SECTION II. Duties of a disciple to his Spiritual Guide , ( Gooroo ) , THE following article respecting the qualifications of a gooroo, is taken from the Tuntru-saru : A spiritual guide must be free from the following faults : he must not be subject to his passions, so as to become an adulterer, a thief, &c. ; be born of a good family ; possess suavity of manners ; be attentive to religious duties ; honourable in the eyes of others ; always keep his body pure ; be ready in religious ceremonies ; faithful in the discharge of the duties of his cast ; wise, able to keep in order as well as to cherish his disciples ; learned in the shastrus, &c. From a gooroo thus qua- lified it is proper to receive the initiatory rites. A person who is a glutton, who has the leprosy, is blind of one or both eyes; very small in stature, or who has whit- lows; whose teeth standout; who is noisy and talkative ; subject to his wife; or whose toes or fingers are unnaturally unequal, or of an improper number; an asth- matic person, or in other respects diseased, is disqualified. * Tlte original incantation, or that which gives rice to works of merit, wealth, the desire of happiness, and absorption. Doties of a disciple.] O F T H E HINDOOS. £[». 3 The allowing are the duties of a disciple to his preceptor, as given in the Tiintrii- saru : A disciple must be docile ; keep his body pure ; be obedient in receiving all that the shastrus make known ; be capable of understanding w hat he is taught, &c. If the disciple consider hi3 gooroo as a mere man, and not the same as his guardian deity, he will sink into misery. A pupil must worship his father and mother, as those who gave him birth ; but he must honour his gooroo in a superior degree, as he who rescues him from the path of sin, and places him in the way of holiness; the goo- roo is in fact the disciple’s father, mother, and god ; if even Shivu be offended with a disciple, his gooroo is able to deliver him. The disciple must promote the welfare of his gooroo by all his actions; if he injure him, in another birth he will become a worm feeding on ordure. If a disciple renounce the initiating incantation, he will die; if he reject his gooroo, he will become poor; if both, he will fall into the hell Rouruva ; if he, leaving his guardian deity, worship another god as his guardian dei- ty, he w'ill sink into torments. A disciple must honour his gooroo’s son and grand- son as he honours the gooroo. Whether the spiritual guide be learned or ignorant, a vile or a holy person, a disciple has no other resource, no other- way to happiness, > but his gooroo. Other shastrns prescribe, that the disciple shall make prostration to. the gooroo three times a day, if he live in the same village, viz. in the morning, at noon, and in the evening. If he meet him at any time, he must prostrate himself at his feet, and receive his blessing. When a gooroo dies, a disciple becomes unclean^ When the gooroo arrives at the house of a disciple, the whole family prostrate- themselves at his feet, and the spiritual guide puts his right foot on the heads of the prostrate family. One of the family washes his feet, and all afterwards drink some of the dirty water with which his feet have been washed; the water which remains is preserved. Others present to him flowers, or anoint his body with oil, or bathe him by pouring water on his head. After they have all bathed, they again wor- ship the gooroo’s feet, by presenting flowers, sweetmeats, &c. repeating incanta- tions. The gooroo is then entertained. Of the little that he leaves, each one seizes a morsel with eagerness. At length he departs with presents according to the dis- ciple’s ability. Some give a piece of cloth, others from one to ten roopees. The disciple sometimes sends presents to his gooroo’s house. 2j6 HISTORY, LITERATURE, and RELIGION, [Part hi. Chap. iv. As a proof how rigidly many of the Hindoos adhere to the commands of the shastrfi on this subject, it may not be amiss to record the following circumstance : In the year 1804, Huree-Tihku-Bhooshunu, a bramhun of Calcutta, aged about 60, Avas carried to the river side, at the point of death, and while there one of his disciples Ubhuyu- churnnii-Mitru, a kaist’hu, Avent to see him. The disciple asked his dying gooroo if there Avas any thing that he Avished from him. The gooroo asked him for 100,000 roopees. The disciple hesitated, and said he could not give so much. The gooroo then asked him Avhat heAvas Avorth. He said, he might be Avorth about 100,000, but it was not all in roopees. The gooroo asked him to give his children half this sum. This the disciple surrendered ; and then asked him Avhat else he could do for him. He pretended not to Avant any thing else, but his youngest son then present was in Avant of a pair of gold rings for his Avrists, and Avhich he had been unable to give him. The disciple had a son standing near Avho had on a pair. These rings, worth about five hundred roopees, were immediately taken off', and put on the Avrists of the old gooroo’s son. The disciple again asked Avhat else he could do for him. The gooroo requested him to give his eldest son a piece of ground in Cal- cutta. He gave it. This land Avas worth tAventy thousand roopees. The disci- ple again asked, if there Avas any thing further he could do to please him. The old fellow made apologies, but at length requested him to make a present of five thousand roopees toAvards the expences of his shraddhu.* This Avas added. The next morning the gooroo died. His w ife was burnt Avith his body. At the time of his shraddhii, the disciple added another five thousand roopees toAvards defraying the expences. This man’s memory is execrated by all the Hindoos; Avho say, he Avould certainly have gone to hell, if his Avife had not burnt herself Avith him. — Since this eArent Ubhuyu-churnnu died at Muttra, and his vridoAv, taking his clog and stick, re- nounced life at Calcutta on a funeral pile prepared for the purpose. At present, the office of spiritual guide is often hereditary, and of course is fre- quently in the hands of persons really disqualified. Neither do the modern Hin- doos pay much regard to the qualifications of their teachers ; these guides too are equally careless respecting their disciples : they ghre the incantation, and receive in * Rites for the repose of (he soul. Duties of a disciple.] OF THE HINDOOS, 257 return reverence and presents. To become a religious guide it is only necessary to be a bramhun, and be acquainted with the incantations. In many cases indeed the wives of bramhuns become gooroos to their own children, as well as to others, both male and female. It is considered as a happy circumstance to receive the form of initiation from a mother. Among the followers of Choilunyu, some shbodrus are gooroos. The business of a religious guide is very profitable. Some obtain a thousand dis- ciples; and all are ambitious ofguiding the rich. Upon a moderate calculation, the gooroo of a thousand disciples receives in presents much more than a thousand roo- pees annually. A poor man generally gives his gooroo a roopee a year, or if he visit him twice a year, two roopees. One or two of the Gosaees, descendants of Choitunyu, have two or three thousand disciples. Instances of disputes betwixt a spiritual guide and a disciple are not uncommon, in which case the former does not fail to curse such a disobedient disciple in terms like these : ‘ May your posterity perish.’ * May all your wealth evaporate.’ The disciple Is exceedingly alarmed at the curse of his gooroo, and if in a short time any of the family die, his neighbours ascribe it to this curse. If the children do not choose their father’s gooroo, he curses the family. If a bramhun consider himself as hav- ing claims on any member of a family to become his spiritual guide, and this person or the family be unwilling, the bramhun goes to their house, and refuses to eat till they consent. The family dare not eat till the gooroo has eaten. — On some occa- sions, the gooroo is called in to adjust family differences. If two brothers quarrel about an estate, an appeal is made to the gooroo, w ho generally gives his judgment in favour of the brother who can afford the greatest bribe. The gooreos are not distinguished by any particular dress, and many pursue se- cular employment. I have heard of some religious guides who, taking advantage of the profound re- verence in which they are held, are guilty of improper conduct with their female G3 258 HISTORY, LITERATURE, and RELIGION, [Part hi. Chap. iv. disciples; and others of these derai-gods are guilty of crimes which they expiate on a gallows. Assislant-Gooroo. — These persons are sometimes employed in teaching the disci- ple how to worship his guardian deity. If the chief gooroo be a female, or be ig- norant of the proper incantation, the assistant-gooroo is called in. section nr. Religions Austerities, ( Tiipusi/a .) THOSE reli gious works which require bodily sufferings, are, in general, deno- minated tupusyas. Among other acts which fall under this description, are, — severe abstinence ; repeating the name of an idol, and sitting in particular postures, for a long time ; a person’s surrounding himself with five fires;* and the severities practised by ascetics. These works of severity towards the body are not done as penances for sin, but as works of extraordinary merit, producing large rewards in a future state. SECTION IY. Burnt- Sacrifices, ( Yugnii.) IN these sacrifices, the following ceremonies are commanded by the shastru: — The names of deceased ancestors for six generations must be repeated in the morn- ing before the sacrifice; to this succeeds the appointment of the sacrificial priests; then a ceremony for the success of the sacrifice, in which the priest, taking up dry rice, scatters it on the ground, repeating incantations ; after this, siinkulpu, in which the * In January, 1812, the author witnessed the performance of some uncommonly severe acts of religious au- sterity in the suburbs of Calcutta: A number of Hindoo mendicants had erected huts near one of the descents into the Ganges, and several devotees on this spot daily surrounded themselves with fires of cow-dung, and for three or four hours each day rested on their shoulders w ith their legs upward, repeating the names of the gods in silence, and counting their bead rolls. Crowds of people were coming and going, astonished spectators of these infatuated men; who continued their religious austerities in the night, by standing up to the neck in the Ganges for two or three hours, counting their beads. Of BunxT-SAcniFicss.] OF THE HINDOOS. 259 person, repeating the name of the day, month, &c. declares that he is about to per- form this ceremony to obtain such and such benefits ; lastly follows a sacrifice of mus- tard seed to drive away evil genii and enemies. On the altar are placed things ne- cessary for the different ceremonies, as pans for water, branches of the mango tree, fruits, flowers, garlands, sandalwood, toolnsee* and vilwut leaves, doorva andkoosha grass, rice, seeds of sesamum, curds, red lead, small twigs of sacred trees to be burnt, a mortar and pestle, spoons, meatofferings, garments, &c. The priest sitting qn the altar worships certain gods ; after which the altar is set in order for the sacri- fice, and the fire prepared ; the worship of Ugneethen takes place, at the commence- ment of which the priest repeats a prayer from the vedu to this purport : ‘ Oh ! VO Ugnee ! thou who sittest on a goat, and hast seven columns of fire; thou art ener- gy itself; thou art the mouth of the gods — I worship thee; come.’ One of the priests next purifies with incantations the vessels, the wood for the sacrifice, and the clarified butter; he then boils the rice, and afterwards performs the burnt-sacrifice either with clarified butter, the flesh of some animal, pieces of wood, vilwu leaves, flowers of the kuruveeruj or the water-lily, boiled rice, seeds of sesamum, or fruits. To this succeeds a burnt-sacrifice to certain gods with rice, clarified butter, sugar, curds, milk, flesh, and other articles, and a sacrifice to the nine planets, and to all the gods whom the priest can remember. An atonement for any mistake which may have occurred is next made by a burnt-offering of clarified butter. The officiating priest must then put on the fire a new poita, cloth, flowers, a plantain, betle, and rice, when the sacrificer, standing behind the priest, must put his right hand on his shoulder, while the latter pours clarified butter on the fire, till the flame ascends to a great heighth. If the flame be free from smoke, and surround the altar in a southerly direction, the blessings sought by the sacrificer will be obtained; after this, the priest, sprinkling some water on the fire, dismisses the god Ugnee. The sacrificer now presents fees to the priests, and the whole ends with a feast to the bramhuns, and the dismissing of the guests with presents. I have obtained from several works accounts of the following’ burnt-sacrifices. ♦Ocymum gratissimum. t^Egle marmelos. J Nerium odcrunu G g 2 260 HISTORY, LITERATURE, and RELIGION, [Part hi. Chap. nr. The sacrifice cf a MAN //—First, a covered altar* is to be prepared in an open place near the house of the offerer; sixteen posts are to be erected, six of vilvu, six of khudirii, and four of oodoomburii ; a golden image of a man, and an iron one of a goat, are then to be set up, and also golden images of Yislmco and Lukshmee, a sihcr one of Shivn, with a golden bull on which Shivu rides, and a silver one of Gurooru. Brass pans are alsQ to be provided for holding water, &e. Animals, ass. g oats and sheep, are to be tied to the posts, one of the khudirii posts being left for the man who is to be sacrificed. Fire is next to be procured with a burning glass* or with flint, or brought from the house of a devout bramhiin. The priest called brum ha sits on a seat of kooshu grass at one corner of the altar with an alms’ dish in his hand, and consecrates the different utensils. ‘The priest called beta then performs certain minute ceremonies, and lays blades of kooshu grass all round the fire on the altar; to which succeeds the burnt-sacrifice to the ten guardian deities of the earth, to the nine planets, to Roodru, Bruinha, Vastoo-poorooshu, and Vishnoo : to each of the two latter clarified butter is to be poured on tire fire a thousand times, l^ext follows another burnt-sacrifice, and the same sacrifice to sixty-four gods, be- ginning with Douvariku. After this, in the name of all the gods above-mentioned, is made the burat- sacrifice with the flesh of the other animals tied to the different posts. To this succeeds the human sacrifice. The victim must be free from bodily distem- per, be neither a child nor advanced- in years. + After slaying the victim, the hota, with small pieces of flesh, must offer the sacrifice to the above-mentioned gods, walk- ing round the altar after each separate offering. In the third book of the Muha-bhariftu, a story is related respecting a king of the- name of Somuku, who obtained from the gods a hundred sons in consequence of hav- ing offered a human sacrifice. The Ramayunu contains a story respecting Muhee-Ravimu, who attempted to of- fer Ramii and Lukshmunii, when in patulu, as a sacrifice to Bhudra-Kalee, in order to obtain success in Avar for his father Ravimu. * The Hindoo altar may have brick-work around it, but in the inside it is to be filled up with pure earth. 3n the centre some persons make a hole for thefire,and others raise on the centre a small elevation of sand, and on this kindle the fire. d These victims w ere formerly bought for sacrifice. Human Sacrifices!] OF TIIE HINDOOS. 2G 1 Another story is contained in the Ramayiirn, that Umvareeshii, king of Uyodhya, once resolved on offering a human victim, which, after being prepared, was stolen by Indra. The king traversed many countries unable to obtain another victim, till at last Kichecku, sold his second son to him, for ‘heaps of the purest gold, jewels, and a hundred thousand cows.’ The father refused to sell his eldest son, and the mother would not give up the youngest. The second son, after lie had been sold, claimed the protection of the sage Yishwa-mitru, who directed each one of his sons to give him- self up tobesacrified instead of this youth; but they all refused; when Yishwa-mitru cursed them, and gave this youth an incantation, by repeating which the gods would deliver him from death. After he had been bound for execution, he repeated this incantation from the Rig-veda, when Indra delivered him, and bestowred on the king the blessing he sought by this sacrifice. — The Shree-bhaguvutu gives a similar story, respecting an ascetic, J urj-Bhurutu ; but in this case the goddess worshipped burst from the image, rescued the devotee,* and destroyed those who were about to sacri- fice him. The Institutes ofMunoo contain the followmgparagraph : ‘The sacrifice of a bull, of a mariy or of a horse, in the kulee age, must be avoided by twice-born men; so must a second gift of a married young wroman, whose husband has died before con- summation, the larger portion of an eldest brother, and procreation on a brother’s widow or wife.’ However shocking it may be, it is generally reported amongst the natives, that human sacrifices are to this day offered in some places in Bengal. At a village called Ksheeru, near the town of Burdwan, it is positively affirmed, that human sa- crifices are still offered to the goddess Yoogacya, a form of Docrga; at Kireetu- kona, near Moorshudi.bad, to Ivalec, — and at many other places. The discovery of these murders in the name of religion is made by finding the bodies with the heads cut off near these images ; and though no one acknowledges the act, yet the nati\es well know that these people have been offered in sacrifice. * This man observed a voluntary silence, and refused all intercourse with human beings* that he might avoid injuring any one. 2G2 HISTORY, LITERATURE, amd RELIGION, [Part iii. Chap. iv. About seven years ago, at the village of Serampore, near Kutwa, before the tem- ple of the goddess Tara, a human body was found without a head, and in the inside of the temple different offerings, as ornaments, food, flowers, spirituous liquors, &c. All who saw it knew, that a human victim had been slaughtered in the night, and search was made after the murderers, but in vairu At Brumha-neetdla, near Nudeeya, is an image of Munusa, before which the wor- ship of Doorga is performed. It is currently reported that at this place human victims are occasionally offered, as decapitated bodies are found there. Ramu-nat’hu-Yachusputee, the second Sungsl ritu pundit in the college of Fort- William, once assured me, that about the year 1770, at the village of Soomura, near Gooptipara, he saw the head of a man, with a lamp placed on it, lying in a temple before the image of the goddess Siddheshwuree, and the body lying in the road op- posite the temple. A similar fact is related respecting an image of Bhurga-Bheeraa at Tumlooku, where a decapitated body was found. At Chit-pooru, and at Kalee-ghatu,* near Calcutta, it is said, that human sacri- fices have been occasionally offered. A respectable native assured me that at Chit- pooru, near the image of Chittreshwiiree, about the year 1788, a decapitated body was found, which, in the opinion of the spectators, had been evidently offered on the preceding night to this goddess. The following story respecting raja Krishnu-chindru-rayu is believed by a great * About the year 1S00, according to Ubhuju-churKnS, a learned bramhnn, who has assisted the author in this work, two Hindooscut out their ow:n tongues, and offered them to the idol atKalee-ghatu: both these men came from Hindoost’hanu : one of them was seen by my informant lying on the ground after the actiou, the blood run- ning from his mouth. At Jwala-mookhii, to the N. W. of Delhi, from time immemorial infatuated Hindoos have cut out their tonguer, and offered them to Sfitee, to whom this place is sacred, and where the tongue of this goddess is supposed to have fallen when Shivu threw the members of her body into ditferent parts of the earth. Ill the inside of ihe temple at this place (which appears to be part of a burning mountain) fire ascends, exhibiting to this degraded people a constant miracle. The same person informed the author, that two diseased persons, w ho had gone to the idols at Tarrkcshwuru and at Muoola, in Bengal, some years ago, despairing of a cure, sa- crificed themselves to these idols by stalbing themselves, and letting the blood fall into the pans placed to receive the blood of slaughtered animals. Human sacrifices !] OF THE HINDOOS. 2G3 number of the most respectable natives of Bengal : A bramh.ichavee of Kritukona, after repeating (j ipu) the name of his guardian deity for a long time, till he had established a great name as a religious devotee, at length had a dream, in which he supposed that his guardian, deity told him to make a number of offerings to her, which he understood to mean human sacrifices, and that then she would become vi- sible to him, and grant him all his desires, lie was now very much perplexed about obtaining the necessary victims, and, as the only resource, he applied to Krishnu- chundru-raya, and promised, that if he would supply the victims, he should share in the benefits to be derived from this great act of holiness. The raja consented to this, and built a house in the midst of a large plain, where he placed this brumhucharee, and directed some chosen servants to seize persons of such and such a description, and forward them to the brumhiicharce. This was done for a considerable time (some say for two or three years) till at length the brumhncharee became weak and ema- ciated through the perpetration of so many murders, and the raja began to suspect that there must besoms mistake in the business- He consulted a learned man or two near him, who declared that the brhmhucharee had very likely mistaken the words spoken to him in his dream, for that these words might mean simple offerings of food, &c. A thousand victims are said to have been thus butchered.. The sacrifice cf a Hull. — In this sacrifice four altars are required for offering the flesh to four gods, Liikshm ie-Narayunn, Ooma-muheshwaru, Briimha, and Ununtik Before the sacrifice, Prit’hivje, the nine planets, and the ten guardian deites of the earth are worshipped. Five vilwii,* five khudiru,+ five pulashu,i and five oodoomburii§ posts are to be erected, and a bull tied to each post. Before the burn- ing of the flesh, clarified butter is burnt on one altar, and afterwards small pieces oi the flesh of the slaughtered' animals on the four altars. The succeeding ceremo- nies are common to all burnt-sacrifices. This sacrifice was formerly very common. The Pudmu-pooranu and Miiha-bhariitii contain accounts of a great sacrifice of a •bull performed by Runtee-devu. * marmelos. + Mimosa catechu. t Butea frondosa. $ Ficus gtomerata. £61 HISTORY, LITERATURE, and RELIGION, [Part m. Chap- iv. The sacrifice of a Horse ( Uth'jsii-medhu). — The animal must be of one colour,* ■without blemish, of good signs, young, and well formed. On an auspicious day, the sacrificer must touch the head of the horse with clay from the Ganges, sandal •wood, a pebble, rice not cleansed from the husk, leaves of doorva grass, f flowers, fruits, curds, clarified butter, red lead, a shell, lamp-black, turmerick, mustard, gold, silver, metal, a lamp, a looking glass, and other things, repeating the prescribed for- mulas. The horse is next bathed with w ater in which has been immersed a ball com- posed of the bark of different trees, and spices ; and afterwards superbly caparison- ed. The god Indru is then invoked by a number of prayers, and invited to come and preserve the horse, which is about to be let loose. A paper is next fastened on the forehead of the horse, containing an inscription in Sungskritu to the following pur- port : ‘ I liberate this horse having devoted it to be sacrificed. Whoever has strength to detain it, let him detain it.^; I will come and deliver it. They who are unable to detain it, will let it go, and must come to the sacrifice, bringing tribute,’ The horse is then liberated, and runs at liberty for twelve months, followed by servants belonging to the sacrificer. At the close of the year, he is brought and bound ; and at the time appointed, a proper place is chosen and cleansed, and an altar of earth, walled round with bricks, sixteen cubits square, and one cubit high, is built, with a roof over it resting on posts. At the east end a hole is made, and lined with bricks, to contain the fire; or a small terrace of sand may be raised on the altar for receiv- ing the fire. Under the roof is suspended a canopy, with elegant curtains on all sides. A rope is fastened round the posts of the altar, also branches of the mango tree, tails of the cow of Tartary, bells, and garlands of flowers. The sacrificer then, acom- panied with presents, and the reading of different formulas, appoints to their different Work in the sacrifice, the acharyu, the sudusyu, the brumha,^ the hota,|| and the oodgata, the latter of whom repeats portions of the Samu vedii, sitting on the altar. Twenty-one posts, eighteen cubits and ten fingers high, are fixed in the ground, six * A white horse is preferred. + A grostis linearis. J The poorancs give accounts of dreadful wars both among gods and men to obtain this horae. $ He mast sit within a cubit of the fire. D In this sacrifice sixteen hotas are employed. Sacrifice of a house.] OF THE HINDOOS. ‘JG5 of vilwu, six of the khudiru, six of pulasho, one ofpiyalu,* and two of devu-daroo.t Each post is to have eight points at the top, to be covered with painted cloth, and encircled with garlands. The six pulashu posts are to be put into the ground with their heads bent towards the altar. The horse is to be tied to one of the khudiru posts ; and thirty animals and birds for sacrifice to the other posts. All these animals and birds are to be purified by sprinkling water on their faces, and by repeating in- cantations. A silver image of Gurooru w'ith gold feathers, and sixteen gold bricks, are then to be brought; after which the sacrificer and his wife are to wash the feet of the horse, and caparison him afresh. A fan of deer’s skin is provided to blow the coals, also some kooshu grass, w ith piles of thin twigs of the fig or the piilashn tree ; a large pestle and mortar for bruising the rice ; a bowl made of the fig-tree for hold- ing the holy water; a wooden spoon to stir the boiling rice; another large one with two holes in the bowl to pour the clarified butter on the fire ; another kind of spoon, to pour the boiled rice on the fire; a pan of water, having on its top some branches, fruits and fiowrers, w ith the image of a man painted on it, and smeared over with curds, &c. ; round the neck of the pan a piece of new cloth is to be tied, and five ar- ticles, viz. gold, silver, a pearl, a coral, and a gem, put into the pan; five smaller pans of water are also to be placed near the other, ornamented without in the same manner. The horse is then killed by the hota, w ho divides the flesh into pieces, and casts it on the fire, adding clarified butter, and repeating the formulas. When the serum is put on the fire, the sacrificer and his w ife are to sit upon the altar, and re- ceive the fumes. The other animals are to be next sacrificed, amidst the repeating of incantations. These sacrifices are offered to Brumha, Vishnoo, Shivu, and the ten suardian deities of the earth. At the close of these ceremonies, the hota casts a small quantity of curds on the fire towards the North East ; sprinkles a little wa- ter on the face of the sacrificer and his wife; bathes them by pouring upon them wa- ter from the large pan, repeating incantations ; and marks their foreheads, should- ers, throats and breasts, with the ashes from the burnt curds. ± This sacrifice w as * Chironjia-sapida. + Pine or fir. t The manners of the Hindoos at the time this sacrifice used to he offered, must have been very different from what they are now : a Hindoo female of rank never appears at present in a public assembly, permitting ano titer man to mark her forehead with paint, &c. H h 263 HISTORY, LITERATURE, and RELIGIOxN, [Part iii. Chap. iy. performed by many of the Hindoo kings, as mentioned in several pooraniis. He who performed one hundred was entitled to the throne of Indru, the king of the godth The sacrifice of an Ass. — The sacrifice is to be performed by a diindee, or other religious mendicant, as an atonement for some fault, by which he has lost his station as a devotee. After the fire is prepared, Noiritu is worshipped: the sacrificer then anoints the ass with turmerick, bathes it, and ties it to a vilwu post, and afterwards purifies it by repeating incantations and sprinkling it with water. A burnt-sacrifice with clarified butter is then offered to the ten guardian deities of the earth ; and the ceremonies by which a person is created a dundee, are repeated. The relapsed mendicant is now placed near the altar ; the ass is slain and its flesh offered to Noiritu in the burnt-sacrifice, after which the staff is put into the hand of the diindee, who addresses petitions to the god Ugnee, and to the dtindees who are present. He next performs the sacrifice, thinking on Briimha, and then closes the whole by dis- missing Ugnee, or, in other words, he quenches the fire by pouring curds upon it. This sacrifice is supposed to be effectual to all spiritual purposes, but it does not restore the diindee to his rank among the same class of mendicants. Sacrifice at the birth of a Son. — A father, on first visiting his son, is commanded to take a piece of gold in his hand ; and with fire produced by rubbing two pieces of wood together, to offer a sacrifice to Brumha, and then anoint the forehead of the child with the clarified butter left on the fingers at the close of the sacrifice. The mother must sit near the altar, and receive the scent of the offerings, having the child in her arms. To secure the strength of the child, clarified butter and curds must be burnt, and prayers repeated. The father must also bind a string of seven or nine threads, and five blades of ddbrva grass, round the wrist of the child ; and sprinkle water on its forehead with blades of kooshii grass. He must also present oil and betle to ten or twelve married females, and entertain them at his house. This ceremony is never performed at present. Sacrifice after death. — The sagnikii bramhuns, who burn the bodies of the dead with the fire kindled at their birth, are directed to make this sacrifice. First, a Bull NT-OFF BRINGS.] OF THE HINDOOS. 267 burnt-offering is made with clarified butter ; then the corpse, being washed, islaid upon the altar, and the person officiating puts some of the clarified butter to the mouth of the deceased ; after which the fire is made to surround the body, and a prayer is repeated, that all the sins collected in this body may be destroyed by this fire, and the person obtain an excellent heaven. Sacrifice to the Nine Planets. — Most of the formulas in the preceding sacrifices are u«ed in this. The only differences belong to the wood and food burnt, to the images of the planets, the dress of the priests, and to the fees presented at the close of the ceremony. This sacrifice is made to remove the supposed baneful influence of an evil planet. The author once witnessed this ceremony at Calcutta. Other sacrifices. — Beside these, many other sacrifices are mentioned in the Hindoo writings : I select the names of a few : Rajii-sooyu, offered by the kshutriyu kings to atone for the sin of destroying men in Avar. — Ugnishtomu, a sacrifice to Lgnee. — Jyotishtomu, to obtain a glorious body, and Ayooshtonm, to obtain long life. — Sarpugnu, to destroy snakes. — Moha-vrutu, to obtain theheaAen of Brumlia. At the close of this sacrifice, a bramhun and his wife are brought out, worshipped, feasted, and loaded with presents. — Poundureeku, performed with the flowers ofthe water- lily dipped in clarified butter, in order to obtain Vishnoo’s heaven. — Utiratrn, per- formed in the last stages of the night, to the god Brumha. — Vishwn-jatu, to obtain universal conquest. — Oindru-dudhee, performed Avith curds, made from milk taken from thecoAv while the calf is kept at a distance Avith a twig of the pulashu tree; the whey to be given to a horse. — Pruja-yagu, performed by a king for the good of his subjects. — Ritoo-yagu, attended to for six years, the time being Aaried according to the six seasons. — Survvn-dukshinu ; so called because the fees to the officiating bramhuns, at the close of the sacrifice, amount to the whole property of the sacrifcer .* — Nuvu- shus-yshtee, a sacrifice Avith first fruits to obtain good harvests. * One of the gifts proper to be presented to bramhuns is a person’s irhole property See a succeeding arti- cle, Danu. Here the fee at the close of a sacrifice is a person s all ! Such is the rapacitj of these priests of ido- latry. H h 2 2GS HISTORY, LITERATURE, and RELIGION, [Part iii. Chap, jlv. SECTION V. Burnt- Offerings, ( Homii ).* THIS is a particular part of the sacrifice called yfignu, but at present it is often performed separately. The things offered are clarified butter, sesamum, flowers, boiled rice, rice boiled in milk and sweetened with honey, doorvu-grass, vilvvu leaves, the tender branches, half a span long, of the nshwutt'hut the doomvhru,! tlieptfla- shu,^ the akmidii,!} the shumee,* and the khudiriit trees. Clarified butter alone is sufficient, but any or all of these things may he added.! The person who wishes to perform this ceremony, provides a bramhfln acquaint- ed with the usual forms, and on the day before the service observes a fast. The next day he rises early and bathes, performing in the morning his usual worship r then coming home, he begins the ceremony in the presence of his friends, with the as- sistance of the bvamhun w hom he has chosen. First he sits down, either in the house or before the door, with his face towards the east, and makes a square altar of four cubits with clean dry sand, upon which, with a blade of kooshh-grass, he writes the proper incantation. He then takes a little straw in each hand, lights that in his left, and throws the other away. He repeats this action again, and then laying down the wisp of lighted straw on the altar, repeating incantations, lays upon it tlie wood, and worships the god Ugnee (fire). Having already provided clarified butter, and placed twigs, half a span long, by his side, he takes up one of them at a time, and, dipping it in the clarified butter, lays it on the fire, repeating a prayer. He may offer either eight twigs, tw enty -eight, one hundred and eight, two hundred and eight, or three hundred and eight, and so on till he be satisfied, or till he think the gods have had clarified butter enough. § At the close, he puts or pours upon * From hoo, to offer by fire. + Ficus religiosa. J Ficus racimosa. § Br.tea frondosa. D Asclepias gigantea. * Mimosa albida. f Mimosa catechu. J The flesh of goats may be ■sed in the homo; but it is not customary at present. § The god Ugnee was once surfeited with clarified butter, and to relieve him Urjoonu burnt a whole forest containing medicinal plants. Bloody- sacrifices.] OF THE HINDOOS. 2G9 the fire, plantains, the leaves of the piper betle, and sour nulk. He does this, as they say, to cool the earth, which, being a goddess, is supposed to have sustained some harm by the heat of the fire. Finally, he makes presents, and entertains bramhun s. SECTION VI. Bloody Sacrifices, ( Bulee-danu).* THE reader will have observed, that for the burnt-sacrifices, animals were slain and offered on the altar. In these sacrifices (Biuee-danu) animals are slain, but the flesh is offered raw, and not burnt on the altar : this is the difference between the two sacrifices. Among the things proper for sacrifice are men, buffalos, goats, sheep, horses, camels, deer, fish, and birds of various kinds. At present only buffalos, goats and sheep, are offered. When an animal, for example a goat, is sacrificed, the following forms are used : First, the animal is bathed either with or in water, and then brought before the idol, when the officiating bramhun paints its horns red, and whispers an incantation in its right ear; after which, taking the right ear of the goat in his left hand, with a blade of kooshu-grass he sprinkles the head of the animal with water, and repeats many incantations; the goat is then worshipped and fed with the offerings; after which, it is led out and fastened to the stake. The instrument of death is next brought, bathed, smeared with red lead, during the repetition of an incantation, worshipped, and made to touch a burning lamp, that its edge may not be blunted by the power of any incantation. The officiating bramhun next puts the instru- ment and a flower into the hand of the slayer, (perhaps the blacksmith), who pla- ces the flower in his hair, and prostrates himself before the idol. Then laying down the weapon, he binds his cloth firmly round his loins, and wails at the post, in the excavation of which the neck of the goat is to be placed, till the bramhun has * From hulee, a sacrifice, and da, to give. The shastriis include all offerings under tire name bulee ; but at present this term is confined to the offering of the 3esh of animals. %Q HISTORY, LITERATURE, and RELIGION, [Part hr Chap. iv. anointed the post with red lead, and placed a saucer containing a plantain to catch the blood. The goat’s neck is now fastened in the excavation of the post, with its head on one side and the body on the other. One man pulls its head by the cord round its neck, which has been smeared with red lead, and another pulls the body. The officiating bramhun sprinkles the neck with w ater, and divides the hair on the neck, after which he goes into the presence of the idol, and offers a cloud of incense ; and then he and all present, putting their loose garment around their necks, rise, and stand before the idol with joined hands; and while they remain in this attitude, the executioner, at one blow ,* strikes off the head. The man w ho holds the body, suspends it over the dish containing the plantain, and the blood runs into it ; after w hich he lays the body down. The officiating bramhun pours some water on the head, wdiicli another person holds in his hand, and afterw ards places it before the idol, fastening it on each side with two sticks put into the ground to prevent its moving. The slayer then going to the body, cuts a morsel ofthe flesh from the neck, and casts it among the blood preserved in the dish, which is now carried and placed before the idol. The doors are then shut; a light made with clarified butter is placed on the head, and the head is offered to the idol, with appropriate prayers. The whole of the blood is next offered, and afterwards divided into four parts and offered, which closes the ceremony. * A person in the east of Bengal, who was accustomed to lay aside part of his monthly savings to purchase offerings for the annual worship of Doorga, was exceedingly alarmed during thefestival one year, when the per- son who was to cut off the head of the sacrifice (a buffalo) failed to sever the head from the body at one blow. Leaving the sacrifice struggling and half killed, he went up to the image, ar.d with joined hands cried out, ‘ Oil ! mother ! why art thou displeased with me? What have I done V His female relations came into the temple, anJ wept before the image in the most bitter manner. The spectators began to reason upon this dreadful circum- stance, imputing the failure in slaughtering the buffalo to different causes, according to their fancies. One opinion, among the rest, was, that the owner of the Image was in no fault, but that the goddess was angry be- cause the officiating braaihun had let fall saliva upon the offerings w bile reading the formula^. Drink-offerings.] OF TIIE HINDOOS. SECTION VII. Bathing , ( Snanu ).* BATHING, as an act of purification, always precedes and sometimes follows other ceremonies. It may be performed by pouring water on the body in or out of doors, or by immersing the body in a pool or a river, A bramhhn bathes in the following manner: He first rubs his body with oil, and fakes with him to the river a towel, a brass cup called a kosha, floivers, leaves of the vilwu tree, and a few seeds of sesamum. Some take along with them a little rice, a plantain or two, and sweetmeats . Arrivingat the riverside, the bramliun, hanging a towel round his neck, makes a bow, or prostrates himself before the river; then rising rubs his forehead with the water, and offers praise to Gunga. If he has omitted his morning duties, he performs them nowr. After this he makes a clay image of the lingo, then descends into the water, and immerses himself twice, hav- ing his face towards the north or east. Rising, he invokes some god, and, with his fore-finger making circles in the water, prays, that all the holy places of the river may surround hint at once, or rather that all the fruit arising from bathing in them may be enjoyed by him. He again immerses himself tw ice, and, rising, cleanses his body, rubbing himself with his toivel. He then comes up out ot the water, w ipes his body, and repeats many forms ofprayer or praise. This is w hat properly belongs to bathing ; but it is succeeded by repeating the common forms of worship, for which the person made preparations in bringing his kosha, flowers, leaves, sesamum, making the lingo, &c._ Bathing, in cases of sickness, may be performed without immersing the head in- water, by rubbing the arms, legs, and forehead, with a w et cloth, or by changing the clothes, + or by sprinkling the body with water, and repeating an incantation or two, or by covering the body w ith the ashes of cow-dung. * From shna, to purify or bathe. + A Hindoo considers those clothes defiled in which he has been employed in secular concerns. 272 HISTORY, LITERATURE, and RELIGION, [Paut iii. Chad. iv. SECTION VIII. Drink-offerings to the gods and deceased ancestors , ( TiirpunU ).* THE Hindoos at the time of bathing, present water daily, to the gods, the sages, ybkshus, nagus, giindhiirvus, upsurds, usoorus, vidyadhurus, pishachus, siddhus, and to their deceased ancestors. h This they call turpuna ; which should be performed three times a days : those who use the kosha, take up water in it, putting in sesa- mum, repeating the proper formulas, and then pouring out the water into the river or pool where they are bathing. Those who perform this ceremony without the kosha, take up water with their hands, and, repeating a prayer, present it to the gods, by pouring it out from the ends of the fingers ; to parents, by letting it fall betwixt the fingers and thumb of the right hand; and to the sages, by pouring the water out at their wrists. For those who have died in a state of extreme poverty, and have no one to perform the ceremonies for the repose of the soul, instead of pour- ing it out of the hands, they offer the libation by wringing the cloth with which they bathe. If the person bathe in any other water, and not in the Ganges, he cannot use sesamum, but performs the ceremony with w ater alone. SECTION IX. The ceremonies of Worship , ( Pouja.) THE following ceremonies in the presence of the idol are what the Hindoos call p5cja : Previously to entering on this act of idolatry, the person bathes; returning home,]: he washes his feet, spreads a blanket, or some other proper thing to sit upon, and then sits down before the idol, having the articles necessary for worship * From Tripu,to satisfy. + Seeds of sesamum are also presented to deceased ancestors, and, among the gods, to YumQ, the regentof death. J These ceremonies are frequently performed by the river side. Cjsremo.vies of worship.] OF T Ii F HINDOOS. before him : a kosha, or metal bason, and a koshee, or smaller one; a small wooden stand, a metal plate, an iron stand to hold five lamps, a censer, a brass stand with a small shell placed on it, a metal plate on which to place flowers, a metal bowl into which the water and flowers are thrown after they have been presented to the idol, a metal jug- for holding water, a metal plate to be used as a bell, a shell, or sacred conch,* w hich sounds like a horn, with a number of dishes, cups, and other utensils for holding- rice, paint, incease, betie, water, milk, butter, curds, sweetmeats, flowers, clarified butter, &c. Having all these articles ready, + the worshipper takes water from the kosha, with the koshee, and letting it fall into his right hand, drinks it, he then takes a drop more, and then a drop more, repeating incantations. After this, with the finger and thumb of his right hand he touches his mouth, nose, eyes, ears, navel, breast, shoulders, and the crown of his head, repeating certain forms. He then washes his hands, makes a number of motions with his fingers, and strikes the earth with his left heel three times, repeating incantations. W hen this is done, he flirts the first finger and thumb of his right hand, waving his hand towards the ten divisions of the earth; closes his eyes, and repeats incantations to purify his mind, his body, the place where he sits, as well as the offerings about to be presented, which it is supposed may have become unclean, by having been seen or touched by a cat, a dog, a shackal, a shoodrti, or a Musulman. Next, he takes a flower, which he lays on his left hand, and, putting liis right hand upon it, revolves in his mind the form of the god he is worshipping. He then lays the flower on his head, and, joining his hands together, closes his eyes, thinks upon the form of the god, that lie has a nose, eyes, four arms, four heads, &c. and then recites the outward forms ■of worship in his mind. He now presents the offerings : first, a square piece of gold or silver, as a seat for the god, inviting him to come and sit down, or visit him, and then, asking the god if he be happy, repeats for him, i Very happy.1 After this, he presents water to wash the feet; takes up water with the koshee, and pours it into the metal bowl; and presents at once, rice, a vilwu leaf, eight blades of door- * Both men and women, on entering a temple, often blow the coach or ring the be!!, to entertain tlie god. + In general, w hen the worship is performed in the house, a bramhun’s v. ife against the arrival of her hu»» band from bathing, seisin proper order ail the articles used in worship, llowers, water, utensils, &c. I i 274 ITISTORV, LITERATURE, and RELIGION, [Part hi. Chap. iv. va grass, paint, and water, with incantations. lie then presents water to wash the mouth, curds, sugar, honey ; then water to wash the mouth again, and w ater to bathe in, with prayers; then cloth, jewels, gold, silver, ornaments, bedsteads, curtains, abed, pillow, cloth, printed cloth, clothes for men, women, or children, shoes, brass drinking cups, candlesticks, and whatever would be proper presents to the bramhuns.* After this, paint, either red or white, is presented on a flower; then eight or ten flowers; leaves of the vilwu tree; a necklace of flowers; incense of three kinds, and a lighted lamp, with incantations. After the bloody sacrifices, the of- ferings are presented, comprising rice, split peas, different kinds of peas, shaddocks, pomegranates, pine-apples, netted custard-apples, another species ofcustard-apples, bread fruit orjakus, mangos, water-melons, cucumbers, plantains, oranges, ginger, cocoa nuts, almonds, raisins, t guavas, dates, jambiis, jujubes, wood-apples, melons, sugar-canes, radishes, sweet-potatoes, kesooru,| water, milk, curds, another sort of curds, cream, butter, sour-milk, clarified butter, sugar, sugar-candy, &c. &c. After presenting the offerings, the person repeats the name of a god for some time, and then prostrates himself, (the spectators doing the same) ; putting the cloth round his neck, and joining his hands, lie offers praise to the god, and prostrates himself again : the dinner follows, consisting of fried greens, and several other dishes made up of kidney beans, varttakee,$ cocoa nuts, &c. fried together ; split peas and several kinds of fried herbs or fruits; four kinds of fish; b6iled and fried goats’ flesh, veni- son and turtle; different fruits prepared with treacle; rice and milk boiled with sugar; things prepared with pounded rice; curd’s, sweetmeats, &c. The fish, flesh, fried greens, and every thing of this kind is eaten with boiled rice. A dish called kechooree, consisting of rice, split peas, clarified butter, turmerick, and spices, boiled together, is also presented, and then water to drink. W ith every article of food a separate prayer is offered. Water is next presented to wash toe mouth, and a straw, to pick the teeth, with prayers; then the burnt-offering is made, and a * It must not be supposed that all these articles are presented daily by the Hindoos. This account describes what is performed at festivals. In the daily worship, flowers, leaves, sacred grass, a little rice, &c. are presented. f These and several otherarticles are imported from foreign countries, and though they have been prepared by the hands of the unclean, yet the Hindoos make no difficulty in presenting them to their gods, and afterwards eating them. % The root of scirpus maximus. ( Solar, um moiongena. Meditation.] OF THE HINDOOS. 275 present of money given. At Inst the person prostrates himself before the object of worship, and then retires to feast on the offerings with other bramhuns. This is a detail of the form of worship on a large scale, at which time it occupies the officiat- ing bramhun two hours. SECTION x. Meditation , ( Dliyanu.)* IN this actofdevotion, the worshipper (of Sliivu for instance) closes his eyes, places his arras before him, and repeating the names of the god, ruminates thus : ‘his co- ‘ lour is like a mountain of silver ; his bodj’ shines like the moon ; he has four arms ; ‘ in one hand he holds an ax, in another a deer, with another bestows a blessing, and ‘ with the other forbids fear ; he has five faces, and in each face three eyes ; he sits on ‘the water-lily ; the gods surround him and celebrate his praise ; he is clothed with ‘the skin of a tyger; he was before the world; he is the creator of the world; he re- ‘ moves fear from every living creature.’ While he meditates on the offerings, he proceeds thus: ‘Oh! god, I give thee all these excellent things; (recounting in hi? mind the names of all the offerings, one by one). Both these forms of meditation are constantly used at the time of worship (pooja). Many things are related in the pooranus respecting the meditation known to asce- tics, who, by the power ofdhyanu, discovered things the most secret. SECTION XI. Repealing the names of the gods, (Jupu.)\ THE Hindoos believe that the repetition of the name of God is an act of adora- tion : some add that the name of God is like fire, by which all their sins are consum- ed: hence repeating the names of the idols is a popular ceremony among the Hin- doos. From dhyoi, to think. t To speak. I i 2 276 HISTORY, LITERATURE, and RELIGION, [Paht hi. Chap. iv. In this act the worshipper, taking- a string of beads, repeats the name of his guar- dian deity, or that of any other god, counting by his beads, 10, 28, 108, 208, and so on, adding to every 108 not less than one hundred more. This act is not efficacious, however, unless the person keep his mind fixed on the form of the idol. Many secu- lar persons perform jiipu without beads, by counting their fingers. It is said that a person obtains whatever he seeks by persevering in this act of ado- ration. If he be desirous of a wife; or of children ; or of money, (say a lack of roo- pees) ; or seek recovery from sickness, or relief from misfortune, he begins to repeat the name of his god, and believes that he soon becomes subject to his wishes. Jupu makes an essential part of the daily worship of a Hindoo : some mendicants continue it day and night, year after year, except when eating, sleeping, bathing, &c. The Tuntru-saru contains the following account of the consecration of the bead- roll : The person sits down on the floor of his house, and taking some green, red, black, yellow, and white paint, draws a water-lily on the floor, upon which he places a small brass dish; and upon this, nine leaves of the ushwiit’hu tree, and upon the leaves a string of beads, cow’s urine, cow dung, sour milk, milk, and clarified but- ter, mixing them together, and repeating an incantation ; he then places honey, sugar, sour milk, milk, and clarified butter, upon the bead-roll, repeating another in- cantation; then some red lead and spices, and then, with incantations, he gives the bead-roll a soul (pranu), and according to the usual froms, worships it, and offers a burnt-offering to the god whose name he intends to repeat with this string of beads, SECTION XII. Forms of praise to the gods (S/uvu.) FORMS of praise to the gods constitute a part of the daily worship of the Hin- doos. They spring not from emotions of gratitude, but are repeated as acts of merit, to draw down favours on the obsecpiious worshipper : In this act, the per- son draws his upper garment round his neck, joins his hands in a supplicating man- Foe'.is of prayer.] OF TIIE HINDOOS. £77 ner, and repeats the forms of praise with a load voice. Example s: — £ Oh ! Shivii ! thou art able to do every thing ! Thou art the preserver of all ! Thou art the fountain of life !’ — To Kartikii : ‘ Thou art the god of gods ; therefore I come to thee, to en- quire how I may repeat the praise of Sheetula, that she may remove swellings on the body.’ — To Sheetula : ‘ I salute Sheetula, the goddess, for she can remove the fear of boils/ The Hindoos say, that by praise a person may obtain from the gods (who are fond of flattery) whatever he desires. The forms are taken from the shastru, though on some occasions a person may recite words of his own invention. SECTION XIII. Forms of prayer to the gods , ( Kuvuchu ). THESE prayers are principally found in the Tuntros ; a few in the pooranus. They relate to the welfare of the petitioner here and hereafter: and are given by a spiri- tual guide to his disciple. Ex. c O ! Hunoornan ! when I go eastward, do thou pre- 4 serve me ! O ! son of Puvunti ! when 1 proceed southward, do thou keep me. O ! 6 beloved son of Keshuree !* vrhen I go westward, do thou preserve me. O ! Ka- £magnu !t keep me from danger when I go northward. O! Sagnru-parugu save c me when I descend. O ! burner of Lunka ! (Ceylon) deliver me from all danger. 6 O ! counsellor of Soogreevti ! preserve my head.’ In this manner the person ad- dresses petitions to this monkey-god, as for his head, so for the preservation of eve- ry member of his body, from the forehead to the toes. He who repeats this form twelve times beneath the urfen tree, will obtain long life, be the strongest man on earth, and the goddess of fortune will never forsake his * Keshuree was married to the mother of Hunoornan (if marriages take place among monkies), and Hunoo- anan was the illegitimate son of Pnvunn. + This monkey-god is called by this name, as the destroyer of evil desire, from kamn, desire, and him, to destroy. J Saguru, sea. parfigu, the crosser, alluding to his leaping across the sea to Ceylon. ‘>78 HISTORY, LITERATURE, and RELIGION, [Paht iii. Chap. iy. dwelling. If he repeat this kuvjchu seven times, at midnight, standing in water, lie will be able to drive away from his body every kind of disease; if at any time, in any place, he will obtain beauty, eloquence, wisdom, strength, victory, patience, and be free from fear and disease. If any one bind this kuvuchu (as a charm)* or. his arm, he will obtain every desire of his heart SECTION XIV. Petitions and vows, ( Kamunu and Manunu.) THE Hindoos are continually resorting to their gods for particular favours: if a person wish for a son,+ or any other blessing, he takes rice, plantains, and sweet- meats, and goes to some idol: and after worshipping it, and presenting offerings, asks the god to bless him with a son. This petition is called kamunu ; after putting up which, he vows, that if the god grant his request, he will offer to him two goats, or present him with two loads:]: of sweetmeats : this vow is called manunu. In this manner, the Hindoo asks for different blessings from his god, such as to become the servant of some European, or to have sickness removed, or for riches, a house, a w ife, or for a son to be married. A woman prays for a husband who is absent. A mother prays that her sick child may recover. Thus the poor Hindoo carries his property to dumb idols, and knows nothing of the happiness of casting all his cares on the glorious Being, “ whocareth for him.” The vows made at such times are various. One promises to sacrifice a goat, a sheep, or a buffalo; * Not only the Hindoos but the Musulmans also are much attached to charms. I once saw a MusSIman woman dropping slips of paper into the river, and, upon inquiry, found that they contained some sacred words, and that the woman was presenting these papers to the river-saint, Khajakhejur , in hopes of obtaining relief from sickness, service, or the like. + The Hindoos in general never pray for daughters, because they do not bring much honour to the family; they are expensive, and they can do nothing for the family when the father is dead : whereas a son preserves his father’s memory, performs the ceremonies for the repose of his soul, and nourishes the family by his labours. J That is, as much as a man can carry at twice in the way the bearers carry water, nho put a bamboo yoke on ilie shoulder, and suspend a jar of water from each end of the bamboo. Petitions and vows.J OF THE HINDOOS. 27b another to present sweetmeats, or cloth, ornaments, money, rice, a house, a neck- lace, one hundred water-lilies, one thousand toolusee leaves, ora grand supper. All these offerings come to the bramliuns.* If the gods do not grant the requests and regard the vows made at these times, the worshipper sometimes vents his rage in angry expressions, or, if the image be in his own house, he dashes it to pieces. Such an enraged worshipper sometimes says — ‘ Oh ! thou forsaken of the goddess Fortune, thou blind god; thou canstlook upon others, but art blind to me.’ ‘ The gods are dying,’ says another, ‘other- wise my five children would not have died ; they have eaten my five children at once.’ ‘ After having worshipped this god so faithfully, and presented so many offerings, this is the shameful manner in which I am requited.’ Words like these are common; but this is in times when the passions of the worshippers are touched by the death of a child, or by some dreadful misfortune; and those who treat the gods so roughly are generally of the lower orders. SECTION xv. Vows , ( Vrutu.) CERTAIN ceremonies, performed at stated times, frequently by females, are cal- led by the name vratii. The following is an example of one of these ceremonies : At the fifth of the increase of the moon, in the month Maghu, ivhat is called the Eunchumee-V rutu is performed. On the day before the commencement of this ce- remony, the woman who is to perform it, eats food without salt and only once in the day, refrains from anointing her body with oil, eats rice that has not been made wet in cleansing, and puts on new apparel. The following morning she bathes, after which-the officiating bramhun arrives at her house, and the things necessary for the * The shastrii has declared that no gifts are to be received from the hands of shoodrfs, except land or virgins. If, however, a bramhun have received a forbidden gift, he is directed to ofTer it to Vishnoo, and then distribute it among bramliuns, repeating, for the removal of his sin, the gayutree one hundred and eight times, or more. 289 lltSTOHY, LITERATURE, and RELIGION, [Part m. Chap. iv. worship are brought, as, a new earthen jar, rice, sweetmeats, a new poita, a piece of new cloth, clarified butter, fruits, flowers, &c. The woman presents to the of- ficiating bramhun, who sits in the house on a mat made of koosh '-.-grass, with his face towards the north or east, a piece of new cloth, and, putting a cloth over her shoulders, and joining hep hands, informs him that she intends to perform this vrfitl every month for six years, and prays him to become her representative in this work. She then rises, and the bramhun, taking the shalgramu, places it before him, and performs the worship of Vishnoo and Lukshmee. In the third and fourth years, on the day preceding and on the day of the worship, she eats rice not made wet in cleansing ; the next year, on these days, only fruits ; the following year, on these two days, she fasts. On the last day, (at which time the six years expire), the of- ficiating bramhuns attend, to whom she says, ‘ 1 have now finished the six years’ vrutu I promised : I pray you to perform another vrutu.1 She then gives to each a piece of cloth, a poita, and some betle-nut, and putting a cloth round her neck, and join- ing her hands, begs them to perform the necessary ceremonies. Placing the shalgra- mu before them, they then perform the worship of Shivu, Saoryfl, Guneshu, Vishnoo, and Doorga, in which offerings are made of cloth, sweetmeats, &c. Next they wor- ship the woman’s spiritual guide, in which, amongst other things, an offering is made of a bamboo plate having on it a number of articles, and among the rest a piece of cloth. To this succeeds the worship of Vishnoo, Lukshmee, and the officiating’ priests. A priest next prepares an altar four cubits square, by spreading sand upon the ground. At three of the corners he fixes three pieces of w ood, lights some straw, and then worships the fire; next he boils rice, and, with clarified butter, presents the burnt-offering. The female now puts a bamboo plate on her head, and walks round the fire seven times; then, standing still, she says, ‘ O Cgnee ! I call thee to witness, that I have performed this vrutu six years.’ She says the same to the sun, the shalgramu, and to the bramhuns. Next she gives a fee, and distri- butes the gifts to the priests and bramhuns. The bamboo plate which she placed on her head is laid up in the house, and the whole closes with a grand dinner to the bramhuns and others. This is the form of a vrutu on a large scale. The Hindoos Itave, it is said, two or three hundred ceremonies called by this name. 4 Vows.] OF THE HINDOOS, 281 Savitree-vrdtu. In this ceremony the wife of a Hindoo, in the month Asharhu, worships her husband: she first presents to him a new garment, hangs a garland of flowers round his neck, rubs his body with red lead and ointments, and while he sits on a stool, worships him, by presenting different offerings to him, repeating in- cantations, and praying that she may never be separated from him as her husband, nor ever become a widow. After a number of other services paid to him, among which she makes him partake of a good dinner, she walks round him seven times, and then retires. Adnru-singhasfma-vrutu is observed every day in Voishakhu for one year. During the thirty days, thirty women, the wives of bramhuns, are entertained ; a different female each day. When the bramhiinee arrives, a seat is given her on the porch, and the mistress of the house washes her feet, fans her, anoints her head with oil, combs her hair, ornaments her forehead with paint, anoints her body with perfumes, and employs a female barber to paint the edges of her feet. After this she conducts her into the house, where she is fed with all the dainties the house can afford, and dismissed with a gift of kourees. On the last of the thirty days, in addition to this entertainment, a piece of cloth is presented to a bramhiinee. The benefit expected from this vrdtu is, that the female who thus honours the wives of bramhuns shall be highly honoured by her husband in another birth. It would be easy to multiply, examples, for almost every Hindoo female performs one or another of these vrntiis ;* but this will be sufficient to give the reader an idea of these ceremonies; from the merit of which some expect heaven, others children, others riches, others preservation from sickness, &c. — The vrutus are a very lucra- tive source of profit to the bramhuns. * Vrfitns are unconditional vows to perform certain religion' ceremonies; but what is called manun"i (see a preceding article) is a conditional vow, promising to present offerings on condition that the god bestow such or such a benefit. Jj £82 HISTORY, LITERATURE, and RELIGION, [Part hi. Chap. iy. SECTION XVI. Fasting, ( Oopuxasii.) FASTING is another work of merit among- the Hindoos. A common fast is con- ducted in the following manner : the person abstains on the preceding day from rub- bing his body with oil, and from eating, except once in the former part of the day. The next day he eats nothing ; and on the following day he eats once, worships some god, and entertains one or more bramhuns. If a person be unable to fast to such a degree, he is permitted to take a little milk on the second day; if he be very weak, he may add fruit, curds, sweetmeats, &c. Some Hindoos fast on the 11th* of the increase, and the 12th of the decrease of the moon in every month; on the 11th in Shravunu, Bhadru, and Kartiku ;+ on the 12th in Shravunu; on the 14th, of the decrease of the moon in Phalgoonu ; ;£ on the 9th in Choitra on the 8th in Bhadru ;|| and on the 8th in Ashwinu.* In this month many natives of Hindoost’han fast on the first nine days of the moon, in honour of Doorga, and observe, as they say, a total abstinence even from water. Fasts precede some of the festivals ; after the death of parents Hindoos fast three days ; after that ofa husband, a wife fasts three days; before offering an atonement, a fast is observ- ed; the day any pilgrim arrives at a holy place he fasts ; in fulfilling vows, the Hin- doos keep many fasts ; some persons enter into a resolution to fast every other day, and persevere in this for years. Some renounce rice altogether, and keep a per- petual fast, living on milk, fruits, &c. Others (pilgrims) offer a certain fi uit to some * Widows keep this fast so strictly, that if a widow were dying, and a draught of water would prolong life, her friends would scarcely give it. + On the first of these days Vishnoo goes to sleep; on the second he turns to the other side ; and on the third he awakes. J The occasion of this fast is thus related : On a certain occasion, Doorga asked Shivu what would please him most, and be a work of the greatest merit. He replied, to hold a fast in his name on the 14th of the wane of the moon in Phalgoonu. <) The hirth-day of Ramil. fl Krishna's birth-day. * The time of the Doorga festival. Gifts.] OF THE HINDOOS. 283 idol, and renounce this kind of fruit, promising never to eat of it again to the end of life. The gods, it is said, delight to see their followers renounce any thing as an act of devotion or attachment to them. This person presents to bramhuns fruit, thus re- nounced, on the anniversary of the day on which he renounced it. — Another custom bearing a similarity to fasting also prevails among the Hindoos : in the months Ashar- hu, Shravunu, Bhadrii, and Ashwinu, many renounce certain articles of diet, and others omit to be shaved, as acts of devotion to the gods. The blessing expected from fasting is, that the person will ascend to the heaven of that god in whose name he observes the fast. SECTION XVII. Gifts, (Danu.)* PRESENTS to learned bramhuns ; to those less learned ; to unlearned bramhuns; to one whose father was a bramhun but his mother a shoodru, and alms to the poor, are called by the name of danu. The things which may be presented are, what- ever may be eaten, or worn, or is in use among Hindoos. These are the common gifts, but theshastrus have pointed out extraordinary gifts; a daughter in marriage w ithout receiving a fee ;+ a pool of water a shalgramu; a house containing food, * From da, to give. + Tile generality of the respeclable Hindoos say, that receiving a fee for a daugh- ter is like selling flesh ; yet the lower orders of bramhuns commonly receive money on giving a daughter in marri- age. Formerly the Hindoo ra jas assisled the bramhuns by giving them money for the expences of their weddings. A story is related of a raja who was intreated by a bramhun to bestow a gift upon him for the expences of his mar- riage. The ra ja ordered him to put a garland round the neck of the first woman he met, and let her become his wife. The bramhun went out, and met the raja’s mother returning from bathing. When about to put the garland round herr.eck, she demanded the reason of this strange conduct, which the bramhun explained. The old lady told him to wait, and she would bring about what he wanted : she sat at the door of the palace, and compelled herson to come and invite her in. She replied, tliatshe was become the wife of such a bramhun, and that she must go with her new husband. The raja, thunderstruck, called for the bramhun, gave him a thousand roopees towards his wedding, and brought his mother into the house again. j Pools are dug every year in all parts of Bengal, and offered to all creatures, accompanied with a number of Jj2 ceremonies. 2SA HISTORY, LITERATURE, and RELIGION, [Part iii. Chap, iy clothes, &c. for twelve months; gold; cows; elephants; horses; palanqueens ; a road ; a copy ofapooranu ; a mountain of gold,* silver, brass, rice, or other articles ; land;+ a person's whole property ; yea , even his life. / There are three ways of presenting a gift, one in which the person worships the receiver; another in which he gives as an act of benevolence; and the last, in which the giver prays for some blessing on presenting his gift. If a shoodru wish to pre- sent a gift to a bramhun, he bathes, and carries it fasting : on arriving in the pre- sence of the bramhun, he sprinkles the gift with water, repeating an incantation that it uaay be thereby purified, and then presents it with such words as these : 4 Sir, I have presented to you this gift : let me have your blessing, that 1 may obtain hea- ven, or, that my father may obtain heaven, or that it may be imputed to me as an act of merit.’ If a man present land to bramhiins, he will obtain heaven ; if a cow, he will after death ride on a cow across the river Voiturunee; if water, after death he will find refreshing water in his journey to Yumaluyu (the residence of Yurau, the regent of death) ; if a house to bramhuns, he w ill obtain a palace in heaven ; if an umbrella to a bramhu 1, he w ill not suffer in another world from the rays of the sun ; if shoes, in his way to heaven he will not suffer from the heat of the ground ; if perfumes to bramhuns, he will never after death receive an offensive smell; if medicine to the blind, he will be delivered from darkness hereafter; if a daughter to a bramhun without a fee, he will gain as much as if he had given the whole world. * The height of these mountain-gifts is given in the Pooshkiiru-khundu of the Pudmupooranu. It must not be supposed that they are very large ; but it is necessary that figures of trees, deer, &c. should be seen on them. In one of die sinritees is an account of a prostitute who offered a mountain of gold. About the year 1794, Chiinoo- ghoshn, a kaist’hii of Midnapore, gave to the bramhuns an artificial mountain of gold. A litte before this, Gopa- 18-krishnQ, avoidyuof Raju-niiguru, presented to the bramhuns three mountains, one of gold, another of rice, and another of the seeds of sesamum. + It is very common for rich land-owners to make presents of land to bramhuns. At a shraddhii for a father or a mother, a piece of land, or its value in money, is invariably given to bramhuns, unless the person be poor. Many of the Hindoo rajas sought out poor bramhuns, and gave them grants of land. A story is related of Kxerttee- chundru, raja of Burdwan, who once found a poor fatherless boy, the son of a bramhun, tending cattle ; he gave him a village, with asmuch land as he could run over without stopping ; and disinherited the shoodru who had dared to employ the son of a bramhun in so mean an occupation. The same raja ordered a man to be cut in pieces for refusing to restore to a bramhun a grant of laud which the former had bought in a lot offered for sale. Works of merit. J OF THE HINDOOS. 2S5 / SECTION XVIII. Entertaining Bramhuns. AS might he expected, in a system formed by bramhuns, honouring them with a feast is represented as an act of the highest merit. At the close of all religious ce-* remonies, bramhuns are entertained ; private individuals, during particular holidays, make a feast for one or more bramhuns ; a person on his birth-day, on the anniver- sary of the day in which he received the initiating incantation, or at the full moon, or at any feast, entertains bramhuns. During the whole of the month Voishakhu, it is very meritorious to give feasts to bramhuns. SECTION XIX. Various works of merit. THE Hindoo lawgivers have established several customs which, if separated from idolatry, would be worthy of the highest commendation: they promise to the obedi- ent the greatest rewards in a future state. Among these we may place hospitality to strangers.* The traveller, when he wishes to rest for the night, goes to a house, and says, c 1 am utit’hee,’ i. e. I am to be entertained at your house. The master or mistress of the house, if of a hospita- ble disposition, gives him water to wash his feet, a seat, tobacco, water to drink, &c. After these refreshments, they give him firewood, a new earthen pot to cook in,t rice, split peas, oil, spices, &c. The next morning he departs, sometimes without * Miinoo says, ‘ No cues! must he dismissed in the evening by a house-keeper : he is sent by the returning sun, and whether he come in fit season or unseasonably, he must not sojourn in the house without entertainment. Let not himself eat any delicate food, without asking his guest to partake of it : the satisfaction of a guest will assur- edly bring the house-keeper, wealth, reputation, long life, and a place in heaven.’ t Almost every Hindoo is either constantly or occasionally his Own cook. 2S6 HISTORY, LITERATURE, and RELIGION, [Part iii. Chap. iv. saying- any thing, and at other times he takes leave.* In the houses of the poor or the covetous, a stranger meets with w orse entertainment. Not unfrequently the mistress of the house excuses herself to a person wishing to become a guest, and among other tilings alleges, that there are none but women and children at home. It is not very uncommon, for a traveller to go to several houses, and to be refused at all. This is partly owing to fear, that the stranger may plunder the house in the night. Where persons have porches at the outside of their houses, they have less fear, as the stranger is then kept at a distance. This hospitality to strangers is in- deed sometimes abused by a thief, who robs the house and decamps. Yet if a per- son refuse to entertain a stranger, the shastru declares that all the sins of the guest become his, and his works of merit become the guest’s. The traveller sometimes murmurs on going away, exclaiming that the people of this village are so depraved, that they refuse a handful of rice to a traveller. If a family are unable through poverty to entertain a guest, the shastru orders that they shall beg for his relief. T he stranger after eating must take nothing uncooked from the house. A person of the name of Goluku-Chundru-Rayu, ofSerampore, formerly sirkarto the Danish East India Company, has particularly distinguished himself in the pre- sent day as the most eminent Hindoo in Bengal for liberality to strangers. Upon an average, two hundred travellers or mendicants >yere formerly fed daily at and from his house; and it is said that he expended in this manner fifty thousand roopees an- nually. * The Hindoos have no word for ‘ thank you,’ in their common language, and gratitude itself appears to ron- slitute no part of their virtues. The greatest benefits conferred very rarely meet « ith even the least acknou lodg- ment. I have known European physicians perform the most extraordinary cures on the bodies of the natives gratu- itously, without a solitary instance occurring of a single individual returning to acknowledge the favour. Amongst the higher orders of Hindoos, however, the master of a house sometimes says to a guest on his departure, ou wiH excuse all inattention,’ and the guest replies, ‘■Oh ! Sir, vou areof a distinguished cast ! What shall I say in return for the manner in which I have been entertained : Such food ! such a bed ! But this is like yourself. No one entertains a guest as you do. May Ltikshmee (the goddess of riches) ever dwell in your house.’ 1 suppose, that in all Eastern countries it is a custom for guests to be thus entertained at private houses. The address ofour Lord to his disciples seems to intimate that such was the case among the Jews : “ And into what- soever city or town ye shall enter, enquire who in it is worthy ; and there abide till ye go thence. And whoso- ever shall not receive you, when ye depart out of that house,” &-e. Works of merit.] OF THE HINDOOS. 287 Another work of charity is the digging of pools by the side of public roads, to sup- ply the thirsty traveller with water. The cutting of these ponds, and building flights of steps in order to descend into them, is in many cases, very expensive: four thou- sand roopees are frequently expended in one pond, including the expence attending the setting it apart to the use of the public; at which time an assembly of bramhuns is collected, and certain formulas from the shastrus read by a priest, amongst which, in the name of the offerer, he says, 4 1 offer this pond of water to quench the thirst of mankind.’ At the close of the ceremony a feast is given to the assembled bram- huns, who are also dismissed with presents. It is unlaw ful for the owner ever af- terwards to appropriate this pond to his owm private use. If the water be very clear and swreet, the offerer is complimented as a person w ith w hose merits the gods are pleased. A person of Burdwan, of the name of Ramu-palfi, is mentioned as having prepared as many as a hundred pools in different places, and given them for public use. Persons inhabiting villages where wrater wras scarce, used to petition this pub- lic benefactor to cut a pool for them, and, after obtaining leave of the raja, he be- stowed upon them this necessary blessing.* The planting of trees to afford shade to travellers is another act of merit among the Hindoos, and, in a hot climate like this, deserves to be classed among actions that are commendable. Some trees also are considered as sacred, and the planting of them is therefore deemed a religious act. The trees thus planted are generally the ushwut’ha,1 the vutu,2 vilwu,3 ushoku,4 vukoola,5 plukshu,6oodoomburn,7 shing- shupa,8 tumaln,9 jeevn-pootree,10 &c. At the time of planting these trees, no re- ligious ceremony takes place, but when they are dedicated to public or sacred uses, the ceremony called protisht’ha is performed. The person who plants one usliwu- t’hn,11 one nimbu,12 two chumpiiku,13 three nagukeshvvuru,14 seven talu,10 and nine cocoa nut trees, and devotes them with their fruit, shade, &c. to public uses, is promised heaven. * Cuting wells made a man famous >n patriarchal times : a well. =aid to be Jacob s well, existed in Sama- ria at the commencement of the Christian aera. John iv. 6, 12. 1 Ficus religiosa. 2 Ficus Indira. 3 /Egle marmelos. 6 Ficus venom. 7 Ficus gloinerata. 8 Dalbergia Sisso. tained. 11 Ficus religiosa. 12 Melia azadirachta. 15 Borassus flabellit'ormis. 4 Jonesia asoca. 5 Mimusops elengi. 9 Xanthochvmus pictorius. 10 Unascer- 13 Micbelia champaca. 14 Mesua ferea. 288 HISTORY, LITERATURE, and RELIGIOM, [Part iii. Chap. iv. About twenty years ago, a land-owner of Patu-duhu, about fourteen miles from Calcutta, planted an orchard by a public road, placed a person to keep it, and de- dicated it to the use of travellers of all descriptions, who are permitted to enter it, and take as much fruit as they can eat on the spot. Krishnu-vusoo, of Calcutta, made a road* from Kutuku to the temple of Jugfmnat’hu in Orissa, and planted a double row of fruit trees on the sides of this road for the use of pilgrims going to the temple. The pilgrims cook their food, sleep under the shade of these trees, and eat the fruit which they yield. He also cut a large pool near the temple, to supply these pilgrims w'ith water. Raja Sookliu-mnyu of Calcutta, who died in the year 1811, left 100,000 roopees to be appropriated to the repairs and improvement of the road to the temple of Jugunnat’hu in Orissa, and to assist pilgrims going there in paying the tax to government. In some parts, in the sultry months A oishakhu and Jyoisht hu, rich Hindoos, as an act of merit, erect sheds by the public roads, and supply travellers gratis with water and other refreshments. For the comfort of travellers, lodging-houses are erected by opulent Hindoos on the side of public roads, in some of which travellers are supplied with refreshments, gratis. SECTION XX. Reading and hearing the Pooranus. . ° » AT the close of most of the pooranus, the writers affirm, that it is an act of the greatest merit, extinguishing all sin, for the people to read these works, or hear them read. Those principally recited in Bengal, as an act of merit, are the Miiha- bharutu, the Shree-bhagimitu, the Kaliku pooranu, the Ootkulu and Kashee khundus.i * There are very few good public roads in Bengal. + These two last works are parts of the Skundu pooranu. Reading the Poouantjs.] OF TIIE HINDOOS. 2S9 Some auspicious day, in the month Kartiku, Maghu, or Voishakhti, is chosen, on the day preceding which the bramhuns are entertained. A shed, covered with thatch and open on all sides, is prepared, sufficiently large, if the ceremony be on a grand scale, to accommodate four or live 'thousand people. At one end, a place ra- ther elevated is prepared for the person who is to read, and the other end, if there be a portico to the house, is enclosed by a curtain, from whence the women hear, and peep through the crevices. Mats are spread for the people to sit on, the bramhuns in one place, the kayust’hus in another,* and the shoodriis in another. On the appointed day all take their places : the people, on entering, make prostration to the shalgramu and to the bramh ns. The person at whose expence this is per- formed, after bathing, enters the assembly, acquaints the pundits with his design, and asks leave to choose those who are to read: to each of whom he presents a piece of cloth, directing him what to do. The reader (Pat’huku) sits on the elevated seat; below him, on the right and left, sit the examiners (Dharukus), and before him the Sadusyus, who decide upon the exactness of the copy. Two persons (Shrotas), sit in front, and, in the name of the householder, hear it read. Before the recitation be- gins, abramhun in his name, presents a garland of flowers, and some white paint to the shalgramu, places very thick garlands on the neck, arms, and head, of the read- er, and anoints his breast and forehead with white paint, and afterwards places gar- lands round the necks of the bramhuns and some of the slioedrus. The Pat’huka then, (about nine or ten o'clock in the forenoon), begins to read one of these poo- ranus aloud. The first day they sit about an hour; but on the succeeding days they begin at seven, and continue till twelve ; and in the afternoon meet again, when the meaning of what was read in the forenoon in Sungskritu is to be given in Bengalee, by the Kut’hukii, (or speaker), who takes the seat of the Pat’huku, placing the shal- gramu upon a stand before him. At times the passions of the multitude are greatly moved ; when some one perhaps presents the reader with a piece of money. The whole is closed at dusk, when the people retire, and converse upon what they have * When a kayosfhu has a poorann read at his own house, before the recital commences the officiating bramhnn worships the book, the author, and the person whose actions are celebrated in this work. flowers, rice, a burnt-offering, &c. are presented to the book, and to the persons u orshipped. li k i 290 HISTORY, LITERATURE, and RELIGION, [Part iii. Chap. iv. heard. This method is pursued from day to day till the book is finished : the reci- tation of the Muha-bharutu occupies four months, of the Shrec-bhaguvutu, about one. Some persons entertain the guests on the last day instead of the first, dismissing the bramhuns with presents. It is said, that not less than 100,000 rocpees have been sometimes expended by rich men at such recitals. The person who causes these books to be read, is promised great future rewards. SECTION XXI. Sacred Rehearsals , ( Gcclu.) * TIIE Hindoos, as an act of merit, employ persons to sing those parts of their shastrus, w hich contain the history of their gods. These songs have been composed in the Bengalee from the follow ing, among other shastrus, the Chiindee, Ramayunu, the Muha-bharutu, the Shree-bhaguvutu, the Gunga-vakyu-vulee, the Kaliku, Pud- mu, and Shivii pooranus, and the Kashee-khfmdu. The names of the songs are : Kalee-kecrtunii, Unnuda-mungulu, Ki ishnu-mungiilu, Gunga-bhnktee-turinginee, Kuvee-kunkunu, M unusa- miingiilu, Huree-sungkeertunu, Peerer-ganu, Dhuper-ganu. As a specimen of the manner in which this singing is conducted, I insert an ac- count of the performance called Kuvee-kunkunu. Sometimes a rich man bears the expence, and at others half a dozen persons join in it. If the former, he has the re- hearsal in his own yard, and if several unite, it is done in some suitable place in the village, after the place has been swept, and an aw ning put over it. Eight or ten singers of any cast, attended by four or five musicians, are employed. Upon the ancles ofall the singers are loose brass rings, which make a jingling noise; in the left hand is held a brush made from the tail of the cow of Tartary, and in the right, round fiat pieces of metal, which by being shook, make a jingling noise. The drum continues to beat till all the people have taken their places ; after which the chief * From goi, sing. Sacked Rehearsals.] OF THE HINDOOS. 291 singer steps forth, and after a short preface, begins to sing, moving his feet, wav- ing his hands, and now and then dancing. The softer music also plays at intervals, and the other singers take parts, waving the cow-tails, and dancing with a slow mo- tion. When the passions of the hearers are affected, some throw small pieces of money at the feet of the principal singer. The performance continues during the day for nearly six hours, and is renewed again at night. These rehearsals are in some instances continued a month : each day a new song is chosen. The inferior singers receive about eight-pence a day each; and for this trifle, sing till they are black in the face, and become quite hoarse. The perform- ance being out of doors, is very unfavourable to vocal efforts, and the exertions of the singers are in consequence very painful. The gifts to those singers who excel often increase the allowance considerably; and at the time of their dismission, the performers have garments, &c. presented to them. A feast to the bramhuns con- cludes the rehearsal. Sometimes women are employed, though not frequently. The hearing of these songs, however filthy some of them may be, is considered as an act of religious merit. SECTION XXII. Hanging lamps in the air. IN the month Kartiku, the Hindoos suspend lamps in the air on bamboos, in ho- nour of the gods, and in obedience to the shastriis. I cannot learn any other origin of this custom than this, that as the offerings of lamps to particular gods is consider- ed as an act of merit, so this offering to all the gods, during the auspicious month Kartiku, is supposed to procure many benefits to the giver. K k 2 2Q2 HISTORY, LITERATURE, and RELIGION, [Part hi. Chap. iv. SECTION XXIII. Method of preventing family misfortunes . IF a Hindoo die on an unlucky day, the shastrus declare that not only the whole race of such a person, but the very trees of his garden, will perish. To prevent these direful effects, a ceremony called Pooshkura-shantee is performed in the night, by the river side, or in some plain; where two bramhuns sit on an altar, and wor- ship the nine planets, also Yfmri, Chitru-gooptfl, Pcoshkhru-poorooshu,* and the shalgraniu ; and afterwards offer a sacrifice. One of the bramhuns then makes the the images of Ymmi and Pooshkuru-poorooshu, one with cow-dung and the other with paste made of rice. To these images he imparts souls ; worships the knife, slays a fish, and offers it in two parts, with some blood, to the cow' dung and paste images. The person who performs this ceremony then dismisses the two bramhuns with fees, and avoids seeing their faces any more on that night. SECTION XXIV. Ceremony for removing the evils following had omens. IF a thunder-bolt fall on a house ; if a vulture, or hargilla, (the gigantic crane), alight on it; or if shackals or owls lodge in it ; or if a shackal howl in the yard in the day time, — some evil will befall the persons living- in this house. To prevent this, the ceremony called Udbhootii-shantee is performed ; which comprises the wor* ship of Brnraha, and other gods, the burnt-sacrifice, repeating the name of a certain deity, &c. * Yflmu is the judge of the dead ; Chitru-gooptS is bis recorder, awl Poosbkuru-pooroosbu, a kind of inferior deity, who resides with Yuaiu. Worship on a dead body.] OF TIIE HINDOOS. SOS SECTION XXV. Ceremonies performed while silling on a dead body. IN the former edition of this work I inserted a pretty long; account of a number of strange ceremonies, principally drawn from the tnntrus, and known under the name ofSadhunu. One of these rites is performed while sitting’ on a dead body; and the whole are practised under the superstitious notion that the worshipper will obtain au interview with his guardian deity, and be impowered to work miracles. The late Ramu-Krishnu, raja of Natorii, employed the greater part of his time in repeating the name of his guardian deity, and in other gloomy and intoxicating rites. The princess who had adopted him, and w ho had become his spiritual guide, was offended on perceiving- his turn of mind. A little before his death, he perform- ed the Shuvu-sadhunu, and his house steward, a bramlum, provided for him a dead body and other necessary articles; and it is affirmed, that while the raja was sit- ting on the dead body, (which was placed in the temple of Kalee, built by the raja at Natoru),* he was thrown from it to the river Nanidu, a distance of about half a mile. After a long search, the raja was found on this spot in a state of insensibili- ty, and in a few days after he died. I give this story as it was related to me by two or three bramhuns. That the raja performed the Shuvu-sadhunu is very probable. SECTION XXVI. I Ceremonies for removing ', subduing or destroying , enemies. THE tuntrfi shastriis and even the vedus have laid down the forms of an act of worship to remove an enemy to a distance, to bring him into subjection, or to de- stroy him. This worship is addressed to theyoginees, or other inferior deities, be- * The raja is said to have endowed this temple with lands, &c. of the annual value of 100,000 roopees. 291 HISTORY, LITERATURE, and RELIGION, [Part hi. Chap. iv. fore a female image made of cow-dung, or a pan of water, on a Tuesday or Satur- day, at the darkest hour of the night. Many incantations are repeated, and some bloody sacrifices offered. The worshipper expects, that by the power of these in- cantations his enemy will be seized with some dreadful disease, and will thus perish by the unseen hand of the yoginees. If a person hear that his enemy is performing these ceremonies for his destruction, he pays another person to perform similar rites, to prevent any evil arising to him. The Hindoos have also a great variety of incantations which are supposed to possess the same power as charms in Europe.* For destroying the cattle or goods of an enemy, incantations. are used; as well as to hinder cows from calving, milk from yielding butter, &c. Another incantation is used to extract fish bones from the throat. They have incantations also for almost every disease; as, the head-ach, tooth-ach, fever, dysentery, leprosy, madness, burns, scalds, eruptions on the skin, &c. In the tooth-ach they are taught to imagine that by the power of the incanta- tion a small grub is extracted from the tooth. An incantation is repeated to make a tree grow in the belly of an enemy, as well as to obtain preservation from snakes, tygers, witches, ghosts, and all other destructive things ; and to drive away serpents, or wild beasts. If any one has been robbed, he prevails upon a person to read an incantation to discover the thief. If any one, who has power to injure another, be offended, the Hindoos read an incantation to appease him. It a person has a trial depending in a court of justice, he reads an incantation while putting on his turban, that he may gain his cause. The cast of Hindoos who keep snakes for a shew, re- peat incantations that they may handle these snakes without harm. Other incanta- tions are mentioned by which a person is able to conceal himself, when in the act of doing any thing requiring secreey. + Some incantations must be read every day, others preserve their power three, and some eight days; but no incantation will keep good longer than eight days w ithout being read afresh. Impure Orgies.] OF THE HINDOOS. : 295 SECTION XXVII. Impure Orgies, with Jfesk, spirituous liquors, S, e. ( Poornabhishchu.) SOME of the worshippers of the female deities assume the profession ofbriim- hacharees, among Avliom the ceremony cabled poornabhisheku is known, and which is performed in the night, in a secret manner, at the house of the person who un- derstands the formulas. He who wishes to be initiated into these rites, raises an altar of earth in the house appointed, and scatters some peas on it, which sprout out by the time the altar is used. On the day preceding the rites, he performs the vriddhee shraddhu in the name of his deceased ancestors, and during the whole of the following night, repeats the name of the goddess to be worshipped, rehearses her praise, eats flesh, drinks spirits, &c. On the following day, he takes to the house appointed some flesh (of any animal), spirituous liquors, rice, fish, and many other offerings, with nine females of different casts, one of which must be a bramhun’s daughter, and nine men, (brumhucharees), with one female for the priest and ano- ther for himself. The priest next takes nine pans of water, and places on them branches of different trees, and sets up some plantain trunks around them, after which the person to be initiated presents a garment to the priest, and intreats him to anoint him. The priest then offers to the goddess, an intoxicating beverage made with the leaves of hemp, of which all present, both women and men, partake. He next rubs on the foreheads of the persons present some red lead, and worships the goddess, the guardian deity of the person to be initiated, making the latter repeat it, and worships the men and women who are present, presenting to each a piece of cloth and other offerings. Next the priest gives to the women spirituous liquors, in cups made of the cocoa nut, or of human skulls. What they leave is taken out of the cups, mixed together, and given to the men. The w omen then arise one by one, and, dipping the branches into the pans of water, sprinkle the per- son to be initiated, repeating incantations. This action is repeated by the priest, who changes the name of the disciple, and gives him one expressive of the state 39a HISTORY, LITERATURE, and RELIGION, [Part hi. Chap. iv. into which he is entering, as, Anundu-nat’hu, i. e. the lord of joy. If after this the disciple should become a religious mendicant, he is called a Vyuktavu-dhootu. If he continue in a secular state, he is called a Gooptavu-dhootii.* All the persons pre- sent continue repeating the names of their guardian deities, and at intervals par- take of the offerings, without considering the distinctions of cast, or the unlawful- ness of the food. After midnight, acts of obscenity are prepetrated, so abominable, that the bramhun who gave me this account could only repeat them in part.t After this, the priest worships one or more females, the daughters of bramhuns, and sa- crifices a goat to Bhuguvutee. The initiated then offers a present of money to the priest, and to the females and males, present. The remainder of the night is spent in eating, drinking spirits, and repeating the names of different deities. These abo- minable ceremonies are enjoined in most of the tuntru shastrus. The bramhun who gave me this account had procured it from a brumhuchaiee by pretending that he wished to perform these rites. In the yearlSOO, Trikonu-goswamee, a vyi.ktavu-dhdotu, died at Kalec-ghatn, in the following manner: Three days before his death he dug a grave near his hut, in a place surrounded by three vihvu trees, which he himself had planted. In the evening lie placed a lamp in the grave, in which he made an offering of flesh, greens, rice, &c. to the shackals, repeating it the next evening. The following day he obtained from a rich native ten roopees worth of spirituous liquors, and invited a number of mendicants, who sat drinking with him till twelve at noon, when he asked among the spectators at what hour it would be full moon ; being informed, he went and sat in his grave, and continued drinking liquors. Just before the time for the full moon, he turned his head towards the temple of Kalce, and informed the spec- tators, that he had come to KaleS-ghatu with the hope of seeing the goddess, not * The first of these two names implies, that the person makes no secret of his being in the order into which he is initiated. lie therefore becomes a religious mendicant, and publickly drinks spirits and smokes intoxi- cating herbs. The latter, after initiation, continues in a secular state, and drinks spirituous liquors in secret. + Ramu-nat'hu, the second SungskritS pundit in the college, informed a friend of mine, that heonce watched One of these groups unobserved, when spirits w ere poured on the head of a caked woman, while another drank them as they ran frum her body. Impure Orgies.] OF THE HINDOOS. 207 the image in the temple. He had frequently been urged by different persons to visit the temple, but though he had not assigned a reason for his omission, he now asked, what he was to go and see there : a temple ? He could see that were he was. A piece of stone made into a face, or the silver hands ? He could see stones and sil- ver any where else. He wished to see the goddess herself, but he had not, in this body, obtained the sight. However, he had still a mouth and a tongue, and he would again call upon her: he then called out aloud twice c Kalee ! Kaleel’ and almost immediately died; — probably from excessive intoxication. The spectators, though Hindoos, (who in general despise a drunkard), considered this man as a great saint, who had foreseen his own death when in health : he had not less than four hundred disciples. The persons who have gone through the ceremony of Poornabhisheko conceal this fact as much as possible, as the drinking of spirits is disgraceful. They renounce all the ceremonies of the other Hindoos, as far as they can do it without incurring dis- grace and loss of cast. Two bramhuns who sat with me when I was finishing this account, assured me, that the drinking of spirits was now so common, that out of sixteen Hindoos, two drank spirits in secret, and about one in sixteen in public.* Several of the Hindoo rajas, who had received the initiating incantations of the female deities, are said to have given themselves up to the greatest excesses in drinking spirits. * They offer, or pretend to offer, these spirits to the idols, and then, the drinking, or drinking to excess, is no crime, in the opinion of these brumhucharees. Amongst the regular Hindoos, the eating of flesh is a crime, but eating fle5h that has been offered to an image is an innocent action. LI §rs HISTORY, LITERATURE, and RELIGION, [Part iii. Chap, iy. section XXVIII. Burning of Widows alive. * THE following and other passages from the Hindoo shastrus have no doubt gi- fen rise to this singularly shocking practice. ‘ O Fire, let these women, with bodies anointed with clarified butter, eyes (colour* ed) with stibium, and void of tears, enter thee, the parent of water, that they may not be separated from their husbands, but may be in union with excellent husbands, be sinless, and jewels among women.’ — Rig-vedic . £ There are 35,000,000 hairs on the human body. The woman who ascends the pile with her husband, will remain so many years in heaven.’ £ As the snake catcher draws the serpent from its hole, so she, rescuing her husband (from hell) rejoices with him.’ £ The woman who expires on the funeral pile with her husband purifies the family of her mother, her father, and her husband.’ £ If the husband be a bramhi’nicide, an ungrateful person, or a murderer of his friend, the wife by burning with him purges away his sins.’ £ There is no virtue greater than a vir- tuous* woman’s burning herself with her husband.’ ‘No other effectual duty is known for virtuous women, at any time after the death of their lords, except casting themselves into the same fire.’ £ As long as a woman, in her successive transmi- grations, shall decline burning herself, like a faithful wife, on the same fire with her deceased lord, so long shall she not be exempted from springing again to life in the body of some female animal.’ — Ungira . » The terms Sadhwee and Sutee, here rendered virtuous, are thus explained by Hareetu, ‘ commiserating with her husband in Uouble, rejoicing in his joys, neglecting herself when he is gone from home, and dying at his death.’ In the M&tshyfi poorano it is said, 4 By the favour of a chaste woman ( Sadhwee), the universe is pre- served, on which account she is to be regarde d by kings and people as a goddess.’ Burning of widows alive.] OF THE HINDOOS, 293 4 If a woman who had despised her husband, and had done what was contrary to his mind, should (even) from mercenary motives, as fear, or a suspension of the reasoning powers, die with her husband, she shall be purged from all (crimes).’— Muha-bliarutd . 1 Though he have sunk to a region of torment, be restrained in dreadful bonds, have reached the place of anguish, be seized by the imps of Yvimu ; be exhausted of strength, and afflicted and tortured for his crimes ; still, as a serpent-catcher unerringly drags a serpent from his hole, so does she draw her husband from hell, and ascend with him to heaven by the power of devotion.’ ‘ If the wife be within one day’s journey of the place where the husband died, and signify her wish to burn with him, the burning of his corpse shall be delayed till her arrival.’ ‘ If the hus- band die on the third day of the wife’s menstrual discharge, and she desire to burn with him, the burning of his corpse shall be delayed one day to accommodate her,’ « — Vyasu. ‘ If the husband be out of the country when he dies, let the virtuous wife take his slippers (or any thing else which belongs to his dress) and binding them (or it) on her breast, after purification, enter a separate fire.’ — Brumhti poorantc. ‘ A bramhunee cannot burn herself on a separate pile. — Goutumu. But this is an eminent virtue in another woman.’ — Ooshuna . ‘ A woman with a young child, pregnant, doubtful whether she is pregnant or not, or menslruous, cannot ascend the pile.’ — Vrihiin-mrudeeyu poomnu. The Vishnoa pooranu adds, ‘ or lately brought to bed (within 20 or 30 days), cannot,’ &c. 1 do not find, that it is common for women to reveal their intention of being burnt with their husbands while both parties are in health. A few, however, avow this in confidence to their husbands, and there may be circumstances in the family which may lead to the expectation of such an event. In some families, for several gene- L l 2 300 HISTORY, LITERATURE, and RELIGION, [Part nt. Chap. iv. rations, the widow invariably perishes at the death of her husband ; and thus, esta- blished custom exacts this self-immolation from every woman who has been so un- happy as to have become united to such a family. How shocking to the female her- self, had she Christian feelings, to know that such a death awaits her I How shock- ing to the son, had he the feelings of a man, to know that he is doomed to perpe- trate so horrible a matricide ! When the husband is directed tty the physician to be carried to the river side, there being then nohopes of his recovery, the wife declares her resolution to be burnt with him.* In this case, she is treated with great respect by her neighbours, who bring her delicate food, &c. and when the husband is dead, she again declares her resolu- tion to be burnt with his body. Having broken a small branch from the mango tree, she takes it with her, and proceeds to the body, where she sits down. The barber then paints the sides of her feet red ; after which she bathes, and puts on new clothes. During these preparations, the drum beats a certain sound, by which it is known, that a widow is about to be burnt with the corpse of her husband. On hearing this all the village assembles. The son, or if there be no son, a relation, or the head man of the village, provides the articles necessary for the ceremony. A hole is first dug in the ground, round which stakes are driven into the earth, and thick green stakes laid across to form a kind of bed ; and upon these are laid, in abun- dance, dry faggots, hemp, clarified butter, pitch, &c. The officiating bramhun now causes the widow to repeat the formulas, in which she prays, that ‘as long as four- teen Indrus reign, or as many years as there are hairs on her head, she may abide in heaven with her husband ; that the heavenly dancers during this time may wait on her and her husband, and that by this act of merit all the ancestors of her father, mother, and husband, may ascend to heaven.’ She now presents her ornaments to her friends, ties some red cotton on both wrists, puts two new combs in her hair, paints her forehead, and takes into the end of the cloth that she wears some parched l ice and kourees. While this is going forward, the dead body is anointed w ith '* Dying in the sight of the Canges is not considered as absolutely necessary, however, if a woman perish with the dead body, and sometimes a wife forbids the removal of her sick husband, assuring her frienjs, that she means to be burnt, and this make the salvation of her husband certain without the help of Gun^a. Burning or widows alive.] OF THE HINDOOS. 301 clarified butter and bathed, pl*ajers are repeated over it, and it is dressed in new clothes. The soil next takes a handful of boiled rice, prepared for the purpose, and, repeating- an incantation, oilers it in the name of his deceased father. Ropes and another piece of cloth are spread upon the wood, and the dead body is then laid upon the pile. The widow next walks round the funeral pile seven times, strewing- parched rice and kourees as she goes, which some of the spectators endeavour to catch, under the idea that they will cure diseases.* The widow now ascends the fatal pile, or rather throws herself down upon it bv the side of the dead bodv. A few female ornaments having been laid over her ; the ropes are drawn over the bo- dies which are tied together, and faggots placed upon them. The son, then, averting his head, puts fire to the face of his father, and at the same moment several persons light the pile at different sides, when women, relations, &c. set up a cry: more fag- gots are now thrown upon the pile with haste, and two bamboo levers are brought over the whole, to hold down the bodies and the pile.t Several persons are em- ployed in holding down these levers, and others in throwing Avater upon them, that they may not be scorched. While the fire is burning, more clarified butter, pitch, and faggots, are thrown into it, till the bodies are consumed. It may' take about two nours before the Avhole is burnt, but I conceive the woman must be dead in a few minutes after the fire has been kindled. At the close, each of the persons who have been employed, takes up a burning stick and throws it on the remaining fire. The bone's, See. that may be left, are cast into the Ganges. The place Avhere the bodies have been burnt is plentifully washed Avith Avater, after Avhich the son of the deceas- ed makes Iavo balls of boiled rice, and, with an incantation, offers them in the name of his father and mother, and laj's them on the spot Avhere they Avere burnt. The persons who have been engaged in burning the bodies noAV bathe, and each one, tak- ing up Avater in his hands three times, and repeating incantations, pours out drink- offerings to the deceased. The son binds upon Ids loins, in coming up out of the water, a shred of new cloth, Avhich he Avears, if a bramhhn, ten days : after this the * Mothers hang the kourees round the necks of sick children. + A person sometimes takes one of these bamboos, after the bodies are burnt, and, making a bow and arrow with it, repeats incantations over it. He then makes an image of some enemy with clay, and lets fly t lie arrow into this image. The per* son whose image is thus pierced is said to be immediately seized with a pain in his breast. 3Q2 HISTORY, LITERATURE, and RELIGION, [Part iii. Chap. iv. family return home, or remain till evening, or, if the burning has taken place in the evening, till the next morning. Before entering the house, they touch a piece of hot iron, and also fire. This is done as a charm against evil spirits. Soon after my arrival in Bengal, I was an eye-witness to two instances of the burn- ing of widows to death : On the latter occasion two women were burnt together ; ene of them appeared to possess great resolution, but the other was almost dead with fear. In theyear 1812, I saw another widow burnt to death at Soondura-pooru, a distance of about three miles from Serampore ; and in the month of November, 1812, the wife of Ramu-nidhee, a banker, of Serampore, w as burnt alive with the dead body of her husband, not half a mile from the Mission-house. These facts respect- ing the murder of the helpless widow as a religious ceremony, are indeed so notori- ous, that the most careless traveller may convince himself, if he take the least notice of what is doing on the banks of the river. The natives do not attempt to hide these murders, but rather glory in them as proofs of the divine nature of their reli- gion. The facts hereafter inserted have been voluntarily given to me by respectable tatives, most of whom were eye-witnesses of >vhat they here testify. Several years ago, Ram-Nat’hu, the second Sungskritu pundit in the college of Fort- William, saw thirteen women burn themselves with one Mooktua-ramu, of Oola, near Shantee-pooru. After the pile, which was very large, had been set on fire, a quantity of pitch being previously throw n into it to make it burn the fiercer, another of this man’s wives came, and insisted on burning: while she was repeating the for- mulas, however, her resolution failed, and she wished to escape ; but her son, per- ceiving this, pushed her into the fire, which had been kindled on the sloping bank of the river, and the poor woman, to save herself, caught hold of another woman, a wife also of the deceased, and pulled her into the fire, where they both perished. About the year 1789, Ubhuyu-churunu, a bramhun, saw four ivomen burnt with Ramu-kantu, a koolinu bramhun, at Vasu-duroonee, near Kalee-ghatu. Three of these women were already surrounded by the flames when the fourth arrived. She insisted on being burnt with them : accordingly, after going rapidly through the Burning op wibows alive.] OF THE HINDOOS, SOS preparatory ceremonies (the bramhuns in the mean time bringing a large quantity of combustible materials), some fresh wood was laid near the fire already kindled, upon which this infatuated female threw herself. In a moment faggots, oil, pitch, &c. were thrown upon her, and, amidst the shouts of the mob, she expired. Ramu-Huree, a bramhon, had three wives living at Khuruduh, near Calcutta, at the time of his death, about the year 1802. One of them was deranged ; with ano- ther he had never cohabited, and by the other he had one son. The latter had agreed with her husband, that whenever he should die, she would burn with him ; and he promised her, that if he died at Patna, where his employer lived, the body should be sent down to Khuruduh. This woman touched her husband’s body at the time of this agreement as a solemn ratification* of what she said.t After some time this man died at Patna, and a friend fastened the body in a box, and sent it down on a boat. As soon as it arrived at Khuruduh, the news was sent to his relations. The wife who had made the agreement failed in her resolution, and sat in the house weep- ing. Her son, who was grown to manhood, ordered her repeatedly, in the most brutal manner, to proceed to the funeral pile; and reminded her, that it was through her that his father’s body had been brought so far; but she refused, and still remained weeping. While this was going forward, the deranged wife, hearing that her hus- band was dead, and that his body had arrived at the landing-place, instantly declared * The Hindoos also make oath while touching-one of (he sbastrus, or the siialgramu, or a cow, or fire, or the toolosee, or a roodrakshu string of heads, or rice. W hen made before a fcramhun, or in a temple, or by lay- ing the hand on the head of a son, an oath is ratified. + The Hindoos relate a number of stories respecting women who promised their husbandstobumwith them, but afterwards shrank from the task. A story of this kind is related of a man named Gopalu-bharri, w ho pre- tended to die, in order to try the faithfulness of his w ife. As soon as she thought he was really dead, she declar- ed she would not die on his funeral pile, when the (supposed) dead man arose, and upbraided her for her insince- rity. Another story is related of Shumbhoo-ramfi, of Araehya, in Burdwan, who had three wives, but was most attached to the youngest. This woman had promised her husband to burn with him after his death, and he had in consequence behaved w ith the greatest coolness towards his other w ives, and had heaped all his wealth on this favourite. A person suggested doubts respecting the sincerity of this woman’s declaration. To try her, on a certain occasion, w hen absent from home, her husband sent a relation to say he was dead, and to urge her to go to the spot to be burnt with him. As soon as she heard he tidings, instead of proceeding to the spot where the body was supposed to be waiting, she locked up all the jew els, &c. her husband had given her, and set her husband s relations at defiance. In a few hours the (dead) husband arrived, degraded this w ife, and for tbq future became more attached ;0 the other two. sot HISTORY, LITERATURE, and RELIGION, [Part iii. Chap. iv. that she would burn with him. The people endeavoured to terrify her, and divert her from her purpose ; but she persisted in affirming that she would positively burn. She came to the house, and poured the most bitter reproaches on the wife who was unwilling to die. This poor deranged wretch had a chain on her leg : a spectator proposed to take it off, and lead her to the funeral pile ; and the third wife arriving, she was led with this deranged woman to the body : the wood and other articles for the funeral pile were prepared, and a large crowd had assembled by the river side. As soon as the deranged wife saw the dead body, which was very much disfigured, and exceedingly offensive, she declared it was not her husband; that in tact they were going to burn her with a dead cow. She poured curses on them all, and pro- tested she would not burn with a dead cow.* The other female, w ho had never touched her husband, except at the marriage ceremony, was then bound to this putrid carcase, and devoured by' the flames. About the year 1796, the follow ing most shocking and atrocious murder, under the name of suhu-rnurunu,+ was prepetrated at Mujil-poorii, about a day’s jour- ney south from Calcutta. Bancha-ramu, a bramhun of the above place, dying, his w ife at a late hour went to be burnt w ith the body : all the previous ceremonies w'ere performed ; she was fastened on the pile, and the fire was kindled ; but the night was dark and rainy. When the fire began to scorch this poor woman, she contriv- ed to disentangle herself from the dead bodv, and creeping from under the pile, hid herself among some brush-w ood. In a little time it w as discovered that there was only one body on the pile. The relations immediately took the alarm, and search- ed for the poor wretch ; the son soon dragged her forth, and insisted that she should throw herself on the pile again, or drown or hang herself. She pleaded for her life at the hands of her own son, and declared that she could not embrace so horrid a death — but she pleaded in vain : the son urged, that he should lose his cast, and that therefore he w ould die, or she should. Unable to persuade her to hang or drown herself, the son and the others present then tied her hands and feet, and threw her on the funeral pile, where she quickly perished. * In the month of January, 1813, a poor deranged woman was burnt alive with the corpse of her husband, Uughoo-nat’hii, a brambfm, at Bijcra-pooru, in the zillali of Krishiiu-ncguru. t S£!i3, with; murtlnu, death. Burning of widows alive.] OF TIIE HINDOOS. 305 Gopee-nat’hii, a bramhun employed in the Serampore printing-office, was inform- ed by his nephew that in the year 1799, he saw thirty-seven females burnt alive with the remains of Ununta-ramu, a bramhun of Bagna-para, near Niideeya. This koo- leenil bramhun had more than a hundred wives. At the first kindling of the fire, only three of them were present; but the jire was kept burning three days ! When one or more arrived, the ceremonies were performed, and they threw themselves on the blaz - ingjire ! On the first day, three were burnt; on the second fifteen, and on the third nineteen ! Among these some were forty years old, and others as young as sixteen. The three first had lived with this bramhun; the others had seldom seen him. From one family he had married four sisters ; two of these ivere among the slaughtered victims. In the year 1812, a kooleenh bramhun, who had married twenty-five women, died at Choona-khalee. Thirteen died during his life time; the remaining twelve perish- ed with him on the funeral pile, leaving thirty children to deplore the fatal effects of this horrid system. Some years ago, a kooleenu bramhun, of considerable property, died at Sookhu- chura, three miles east of Serampore. He had married more than forty women, eighteen of whom perished on the funeral pile. On this occasion a fire extending ten or twelve yards in length was prepared, into which they threw themselves, leav- ing more than forty children. About the year 1802, the wife of a man of property of the writer cast, was burnt at Kashee-poorn, in the suburbs of Calcutta. The bramhun who witnessed this scene informed me that, when he went to the spot, he saw a vast crowd of people assem- bled, and amongst the rest the above female, a girl about fourteen years old, and another female, ofa different cast, who had cohabited with the deceased. The girl addressed herself to the mistress of her husband, and asked her what she did there : it was true, her husband had never loved her ; nor had he for one day since their marriage lived with her, yet she was now resolved to enjoy his company after death. M m SQ6 HISTORY, LITERATURE, and RELIGION, [Fart hi. CiiAP.r?. She added, (continuing- her address to the mistress of her husband), 1 If, however, you will accompany him, come, let us burn together; if not, arise and depart.’ She then asked the woman what her husband' had bequeathed to her, and was answered that he had given her twenty -five roopees, and some clothes. To this the wife- of the deceased added twenty-five more. After this conversation, the bramhuns has- tened the ceremonies ; her friends entreated her to eat some sweetmeats, but she declined it, and declared that she would eat nothing but that which she came to eat (fire). At this time the clouds gathered thick, and there was the appearance of heavy rain : some persons urged delay till the rain was over ; but she requested them to hasten the business,, for she was ready.. A bramhui?* now arrived, and entreated the favour of this woman to forgiv e a debt due to her husband for which his brother was in confinement. She forgave it, leaving a written order behind her, to which she affixed her mark. After the ceremonies by the side of the river, and near the pile, were concluded, she laid herself down on the pile, placing one arm under the head of the deceased, and the other over his breast, and they were thus tied together. At the time of lighting the pile, the rain fell in torrents, and the fire was so partially lighted that during half an hour it only singed her clothes and her hair. This devo- ted female, however, remained in- the same posture on the pile till the rain ceased, when, in a few seconds, the fire devoured her. It was reported that she had coha- bited with others, but she denied it before she ascended the pile. An English clergyman, now’ deceased, once related to me two scenes to which he had been an eye-witness : one was that of a young woman who appeared to possess the most perfect serenity of mind during every part of the preparatory ceremonies : calm and placid,, she acted although unconscious of the least danger ; she smiled at some, gave presents to others., and walked round the funeral pile; and laid herself down by the dead body, with as much composure as though she had been about' to take rest at night. The other scene was ye-ry different : the woman, middle aged and corpulent, appeared to go through the business with extreme reluctance and agitation: the bramhuns watched her,, followed her closely, held her up, and led ker round the funeral pile,, and seemed to feel uneasy till they had tied her fast to Burning op widows alive.] OF TIIE HINDOOS. SO 7 the dead body, and had brought the faggots and bamboo levers over her. This clergyman, added, that he saw one of this woman’s arms move, as in convulsive mo- tion.-, ior some time after the pile was lighted. The Hindoos -say, that it is a proof the woman aa as a great sinner, if any part of her body is seen to move after the pile has been lighted ; and, on the contrary, if she is not seen to move, they exelaira — ‘ Aii! AAnat a perfect creature she was ! What a blessed suhu-miiriinii Avas her’s.’ A i expectable native once told me, that he had heard of a woman’s shrieking dread- fully after she was laid on the pile, which, however, did not save her life.* Instances of children of eight or ten years of age, thus de\roting themselves are viol uncommon. About the1 year 1804, a child eight years old Avas burnt with the dead body of Hfiree-nat’hu, a bra nth fm of Elo, near Calcutta. At the time the news arrived of the death of this child’s husband, she was playing Avith other chil- dren at a neighbour’s house. Having just before been severely chastised by her aunt, and having formerly suffered much from her, she resolved to burn with the dead bodv, in order to avoid similar treatment in future ; nor could her relations in- duce her to alter her resolution. She said she Avould enter the lire, but Avould not go back to her aunt. As soon as she was laid on the pile she appeared to die, (no doubt from fear) even before the lire touched her. The Hindoos say, it is often the case, that the female Avho is really SadhAvee, is united to her husband immediately on hearing the ocavs of his death, Avithout the delay of the fire. — Another instance of the same kind occurred in the year 1805, at Vurisha, near Calcutta, a child, eight years old, Avas burnt Avith her husband. Before she Avent to the funeral pile, sire was compelled to put her hand upon some burning coals, and hold it there for some time, to convince her friends that she should not shrink at the sight of the fire. — About the year 1794, a girl, fifteen years old, who had been delivered of her first child about three weeks, Avas burnt with her husband, Devee-churunu, a bramhun of Muniramu-pooru, near Barrack-pooru. Hey friends remonstrated with her, and * I am credibly informed, that on the banks of the BrSmho-pootrc, the Hindoos do not lay fapgots on the bo- dies, nor are bamboos used as levers to hold them down, but the widow lies on the pile with her arms round her husband, and the fire is kindled beneath them. Mm2 30S HISTORY-, LITERATURE, and RELIGION, [Part iii. Chap. iv. did all except (what they ought to have done) use force. When they urged the situation of the infant she would leave, she begged they would not disturb her mind with such things : it was only a female child, and therefore the leaving it was of less consequence. After she had mounted the pile, she sat up, and assured the officia- ting bramhun she then recollected, that in a former birth he was her father. Women eighty years old and upivards sometimes burn with their husbands. About theyear 1791, Gopalu-nayalunkarii, a very learned bramhun died at Nudeeya. He was supposed to have been one hundred years old at the time of his death; his wife about eighty. SheWas almost in a state of second childhood, yet her grav hairs avail- ed nothing against this most abominable custom. A similar instance occurred about the year 1809 at Shantee-pooru, when the wife of Ramu-chdndru-vusoo, akayust’hu, at the age of eighty or eighty-five, was burnt with the corpse of her husband. Mrityoonjuyu, the first Sungskrilu pundit in the College of Fort-William, once saw a bramhunee at Rungu-poorn, who had escaped from the pile. She was carried away by a mat-maker, from whom she eloped, and afterwards lived with a Musul- man groom. About the year 1804r, a woman who had lived with a man as his wife burnt herself w ith his body at Kalee-ghatu, near Calcutta. Some years ago, a sepoy from the upper provinces died at Khiddiru-pooru, near Calcutta. The woman w ho had cohabited with him went to the head land-owner, and requested him to provide the materials for burning her w'ith the dead body. He did so, and this adulteress entered the flames, and was consumed with the dead body of her paramour. In Orissa the defenceless widow is compelled to cast herself into a pit of fire. If, on the death of a raja, his wife burn herself with him, his concubines are seized, and, by beating, dragging, binding, and other forcible methods, are compelled to throw themselves into the pit, where they are all destroyed together. On this subject I beg leave to insert a letter drawn up by Purushoo-ramu, a learned bramhun : 4 Shree Pu- * rushoo-ramu writes : I have myself seen the wives of one of the rajas of Oorisya burn 4 with their husband : these are the particulars : After the death of raja Gopee-nat’hu- Burning op widows alive.] OF TIIE HINDOOS. 309 ‘ devil, the head queen, of her own accord, being prepared to be burnt with the body, ‘ a pit was dug, and quantities of wood piled up in it, upon which the corpse was laid, { and upon this more faggots : when the fire blazed with the greatest fury, the head * queen cast herself into the flames and perished. The two other wives of the raja ‘were unwilling to follow this example ; but they were seized by force, and thrown ‘into the pit, and consumed. This happened about the year 1793.’ The widows of the yogees, a description of weavers, are sometimes buried alive with their deceased husbands. If the person have died near the Ganges, the grave is dug by the side of the river; at the bottom of which they spread a new cloth, and on it lay the dead body. The widow then bathes, puts on new clothes and paints her feet, and after various ceremonies, descends into the pit that is to swallow her up: in this living tomb she sits down, and places the head of her deceased husband on her knee, having a lamp near her. The priest (not a bramhun) sits by the side of the grave, and repeats certain ceremonies, while the friends of the deceased walk round the grave several times repeating ‘Huree bid ! Huree bul !’ that is, literal- ly, ‘ Repeat the name of Huree but in its common use it is equivalent to Huzza ! Huzza ! The friends (if rich) cast into the grave garments, sweetmeats, sandal wood, roopees, milk, curds, clarified butter, or something of this kind; and the widow directs a fewr trifles to be given to her friends or children. The son also casts a new garment into the grave, with flowers, sandal wood, &c. after which earth is carefully thrown all round the widow, till it has arisen as high as her shoulders, when the re- lations throw earth in as fast as possible, till they have raised a mound of earth on the grave, when they tread it down with their feet, and thus bury the miserable wretch alive. They place on the grave, sandal wood, rice, curds, a lamp, &c. and then, walking round the grave three times, return home. Among the voishnu- vus also are instances of widows being buried alive with the dead bodies of their husbands. On enquiring among the bramhuns and other Hindoos employed in the Serampore printing-office, I found that these murders were much more frequently practised than 1 had supposed : almost every one had seen widows thus buried alive, or had heard of them from undoubted authority. 310 HISTORY, LITERATURE, and RELIGION, [Part iii. Chat. iv. I could easily increase the number of these accounts so as to form a volume : but I am not anxious to swell this work w ith mere facts of this nature : these are suf- ficient to fill the mind of the benevolent with the deepest compassion for the miser- able victims of this shocking superstition. The Hindoo shastriis permit a w oman to alter her resolution, even on the funeral pile, and command such a person to observe a severe fast as an atonement. This fast, however, may be commuted by gifts to bramhuas. The Visbno© pooranu di- rects such a female to become a bruiuhucharee, which profession obliges the person to abstain from every pleasure, from chewing betle or other exhsliratkig herbs, from anointing herself with oil,* & c. Notwithstanding this pro\ ision of the shastrfi, I am informed that at present a widow, if she go to the dead body, declaring that she will be burnt with it, is never permitted to return : or, should such a case occur, she Is delivered up to persons of the lowest cast to do w hat they w ill with her : she never goes back to her relations. The desire of Hindoo women to die with their husbands; and the calmness of many in going through the ceremonies which precede this terrible death, are cir- cumstances almost, ifnot altogether, unparalleled. It is another proof of the amaz- ing power which this superstition has over the minds of its votaries. + Anions; other circumstances which urge them to this dreadful deed we may rank the following First, the vedas, and other shastriis, recommend it, and promise the w idow that she shall deliver her husband from hell, and enjoy a long happiness with him in keaven ; secondly, long custGm has familiarized their minds to the deed; thirdly, * This anointing is -called tbhishekB : when oil is applied to the crow n of the head, and reaches to all the limbs, it is called ubhyiingn.” There seems to be a strong affinity betwixt the Jewish and fiindoo methods of anointing in this respect : “ It is like the precious ointment upon the head, that ran down upon the beard, even Aaron's beard, that went down to the skirts of his garmeut;."’ * Such a widow reflects thus : It is right that the w ife leave the world r. ith her husband ; a son can never be to a mother what a husband is to a wife; the extinction of life is the work of a minute; by strangling, by drown- ing, how soon does the soul leave the body : there are no terrors then in the funeral pile, and I shall at once enter on happiness: what multitudes have died in thissuaaner before me; and if Ilive, 1 havenothingbutsorrow to expect* HcitNlIFG OF WIDOWS ALIVE.] O F T H E HINDOOS. 311 by this act they escape the disgrace of widowhood, and their names are recorded among the honourable of their families;* fourthly, they avoid being starved and ill- treated by their relations ; and lastly, the Hindoos treat the idea of death with com- parative indifference, as being only changing- one body for another, as the snake changes his skin. If they considered death as introducing a person into an unalterrj- blc state of existence, and God, the judge, as requiring purity of heart, no doubt these ideas would make them weigh well a step pregnant with such momentous coir- sequences. The conduct of the bramhuns at the burning of widows is so unfeeling, that tftos£ who have represented them to the world as the mildest and most amiable of men, need only attend on one of these occasions to convince them, that they have great- ly imposed on mankind. Where a family of bramhuns suppose that the burning of a mother, or their brother s or uncle’s w ife, or any other female of the family, is necessary to support the credit of the family r the woman knows she must go, aird that her death is expected# She is aware- also that if she- should not burn, she will be treated with the greatest cruelty, and continually reproached, as having entailed disgrace on the family. The bramhun who has greatly assisted me in this work has very seriously assured me; that he believed violence was seldom used to compel a woman to ascend the pile ; nay, that after she has declared her resolution, her friends use various arguments to discover whether she be likely to persevere or not, for if she go to the water side, and there refuse to burn, they consider it an indelible dis- grace on the family ; that it is not uncommon for them to demand a proof of her re- solution, by obliging her to hold her finger in the fire; if she be able to endure this, they conclude they are safe, and that she will not alter her resolution. If, how ever, she should flinch at the sight of the pile, &c.. they remain deaf to whatever she savs ; they hurry her through the preparatory ceremonies, attend closely upon her, and go through the work of murder iiube most determined manner. % It is common- at Benares toset up by the side of the river, stone monuments to the memory of widows who have been burnt w ith the bodies of deceased husbands. Persons coming from bathing bow to these stones, and sprinkle Water on them, repeating the words Suite, Suite, i. e. chast(. 312 HISTORY, LITERATURE, and RELIGION, [Part hi. Chap. iv. Some years ago two attempts were made, under the immediate superintendance of Dr. Carey, to ascertain the number of widows burnt alive within a given time. The first attempt was intended to ascertain the number thus burnt within thirty miles of Calcutta, during one year, viz. in 1S03. Persons, selected for the purpose, were sent from place to place through that extent, to enquire of the people of each town or vil- lage how many had been burnt within the year. The return made a total of FOUR HUNDRED AND THIRTY-EIGHT. Yet very few places east or west of the river Hoogly were visited. To ascertain this matter with greater exactness, ten persons were, in the year 1804, stationed in the different places within the above- mentioned extent of country ; each person’s station was marked out, and he conti- nued on the watch for six months, taking account of every instance of a widow’s be- ing burnt which came under his observation. Monthly reports were sent in ; and the result, though less than the preceding year’s report, made the number between TWO AND THREE HUNDRED for the year ! — If within so smali a space se- veral hundred widows were burnt alive in one year, HOW MANY THOUSAN DS OF THESE WIDOWS MUST RE MURDERED IN A YEAR— IN SO EXTENSIVE A COUNTRY AS HINDOOST’HAN ! * So that, in fact, the funeral pile devours more than war itself ! llow truly shocking! Nothing equal to it exists in the whole work of human cruelty. What a tragic history w ould a com- plete detail of these burnings make ! * It will easily occur to a person familiar with the holy scriptures, what a great difference there is be- twixt the commands of these scriptures respecting the widow and the orphan, and ihe Hindoo shastrns. In the former the Divine Being declares himself to be “ the father of the fatherless, the husband of the widow.” Voluntary Suicide.] OF THE HINDOOS. 313 SECTION XXIX. Voluntary Suicide , ( Kamyu Murunii.)* A NUMBER of expressions in several shastrus countenance the practice of vo- luntary suicide ;+ and some of the smritees, and pooranus, lay down rules for Kamyn- murunn; declaring- it. however, a crime in abramhun; but meritorious in a shoodru. The person is directed first to offer an atonement for all his sins by making a present of gold to bramhuns, and honouring them with a feast ; afterwards, putting on new apparel and adorning himself w ith garlands of flowers, he is accompanied to the river by a band of music. If he has any property, he gives it to whom he pleases: then, sitting down by the side of the river, he repeats the name of his idol, and proclaims, that he is now about to renounce his life in this place in order to obtain such or such a benefit. After this, he and his friends proceed on a boat, and, fastening pans of water to his body, he plunges into the stream. The spectators cry out ‘ Hiiree bull Hureebiil!’ Huzza! Huzza! and then retire. Sometimes a person of property kindly interferes, and offers to relieve the w ants of the victim if he w ill abstain from drowning himself; but the deluded man replies that he wants nothing, as he is go- ing to heaven ! When a person is afflicted with a supposed incurable distemper, or is in distress, or despised, it is common for him to form the resolution of parting w ith life in the * From kamii, de-ire, and miirunu, death. + .Many modern works in the English language give too much coun'enance to this dreadful crime. What is It that unites nominal Christians and heathens in so many points of doctrine and practice ? Miinoo says, ‘ A man- ‘ sion infested by age and by sorrow, let its occupier always cheerfully quit.’ Mr. Hume says, ‘ W henever pain * or sorrow so far overcome my patience, as to make me tired of life, I may conclude that I am re-called from * my station in the plainest and most express terms.’ 1 Where is the crime of turning a few ounces of blood from * their natural channel ?’ These are the opinions of M non and Hume. The Christian sys em, in every part, teaches us to say, “ All the days of my appointed time will I wait, till my change come.” In England, h here theidea prevails that self-murder excludes from the hope of mercv in tile next world, suicides are very common. " ’ ‘i ’ ,,>n must they be in a r ounfrj’ convening so much unrel’eved distress as this, and w here the inhabitants are per.uaded, chat self-murder in the Ganges is the very road to future happiness! .N n 324 HISTORY, LITERATURE, and RELIGION, [Part iii. Ciiap.iv. Ganges; or, the crime is committed after a vow, at the time of making which the person prayed for some favour in the next birth, as riches, freedom from sorrow, &c. Sick persons sometimes abstain from food for several days while sitting near the river, that life may thus depart from them in sight of the holy stream ; but the greater number drown themselves in the presence of relations; and instances are mentioned, in which persons in the act of self-murder have been forcibly pushed back into the stream by their own offspring ! There are different places of the Ganges where it is considered as most desirable for persons thus to murder themselves, and in some cases auspicious days are chosen on which to perform this work of religious # merit ; but a person’s drowning himself in any part of the river is supposed to be fol- lowed with immediate happiness. At Sagaru island it is accounted an auspicious sign if the person is speedily seized by a shark, or an alligator: but his future happiness is supposed to be very doubtful if he should remain long in the water before he is drowned. The British Government, for some years past, has sent a guard of se- poys to prevent persons from murdering themselves and their children at this junc- tion of the Ganges with the sea, at. the annual festivals held in this place.* Some years ago, as Shivu-Shiromunee,t a bramhun, was returning from bathing with Kashee-nat’hu, another bramhun, at Shantee-pooru, they saw a poor old man sitting on the bank of the river, and asked him what he was doing there. lie replied, that he was destitute of friends, and was about to renounce his life in the Ganges. Kashee-nat’hu urged him not to delay then, if he was come to die but the man seem- ed to hesitate, and replied, that it w as very cold. The bramhun, (hinting to his com- panion that he wished to see the sport before he returned home), reproached the poor trembling wretch for his cowardice, and seizing his hand, dragged him to the edge of the bank, where he made him sit down, rubbed over him the purifying clay of the river, and ordered him to repeat the proper incantations. While he was thus, with his eyes closed, repeating these forms, he slipped down, and sunk into the water, which was very deep, — and perished ! * In (he year 180j, at this place, I saw a bramhunee (dripping with wet, and shivering with cold), who had just been prevented by the sepoys from drowning herself ; — and during my continuance there Iheard of several r..o'liers who had been prevented from murdering their children. + This in lii i elated the fact to me himself. Voluntary Suicide.] OF TIIE HINDOOS. 315 About the year 1790, a young man of the order of dundees, took up his abode at Kakshalee, a village near Nudeeya, for a few months, and began to grow very cor- pulent. Reflecting that a person of his order ivas bound to a life of mortification, and feeling his passions grow stronger and stronger, he resolved to renounce his life in the Ganges. He requested his friends to assist him in this act of self-murder, and they supplied him with a boat, some cord, and two water pans- He then proceeded on the boat into the middle of the stream, and, filling the pans with water, fastened one to his neck, and the other round his loins, and in this manner descended into the Water — to rise no more! in the presence of a great multitude of applauding specta- tors. A few years after this another dundee, while suffering under a fever, renoun- ced his life in the Ganges at Nudeeya ; and nearly at the same time, a dundee at Ariyaduh, about four miles from Calcutta, in a state of indisposition, refusing all medical aid (in which indeed he acted according to the rules of his order), cast him- self into the river from a boat, and thus renounced life. Gunga-dhuru-shastree, a learned bramhun, informed me, that in the year 1806 he spent near two months at Pruyagu, during which time he saw about thirty persons drown themselxes ! Almost every day he saw or heard of one or more sunnyasecs who thus terminated their existence: and several instances occurred in which a man and his wife, having no children, drowned themselves together, praying for some blessing in the next birth. A friend, in a letter written in the year 1813, says, ‘ The circumstance which you ‘heard me relate of the poor leper, took place at Futwra, a little more than a year ‘ago. On hearing the people ol my boat declare that a man was going to be drown- ‘ed, I looked out, and saw the poor creature, who had been deprived by disease of ‘ his fingers and toes, but who in other respects appeared healthy, eating very hear- ‘tily in the presence of his friends. The bank being high, I could not leave the boat ‘till we had proceeded to a considerable distance from the place where the man sat. ‘As I was running towards the spot, I heard the people on the top of the boat call ‘ out, ‘ lie is drowned ! he is drowned !’ His attendants, who appeared to be his re- N n 2 316 HISTORY, LITERATURE, and RELIGION, [Part hi. Chap. iv. ‘latives, had assisted him to descend the bank, but whether they pushed him in, or ‘whether he went into the water of his own accord, I cannot tell. He made great ‘ efforts to resist the stream, and reach the side, and struggled much before he sunk. 4 — I endeavoured to impress on the spectators the heinousness of this crime, but they 4 smiled at my concern, and said, they had only complied with the wishes of the de- ceased, who had been deprived by disease of his hands and feet.’ Another friend, in a letter written at Cutwa in the year 1812, says, ‘ Last week I ‘ witnessed the burning of a leper. A pit, about ten cubits in depth was dug, and ‘ a fire placed at the bottom of it. The poor man rolled himself into it, but instant- ly on feeling the fire begged to be taken out, and struggled hard for that purpose. 4 His mother and sister, however, thrust him in again ; and thus, a man who to all 4 appearance might have survived several years, was cruelly burnt to death. I find 4 that the practice is not uncommon in these parts.’ This poor wretch died with the notion, that by thus purifying his body in the fire, he should receive a happy transmigration into a healthful body : whereas, if he had died by the disease, he would, after four births, have appeared on earth again as a leper. Mr. C. in a letter from Agra, dated in the year 1812, says, 4 I went out a few 4 mornings ago, and came to an enclosed place, which, on enquiry, 1 found had been 4 rendered sacred by ten persons having been buried alive there : I am informed, that i many persons visit the place every Monday afternoon for worship ; and that once or 4 twice a year large crowds assemble here, and at another similar place near the city. 4 There is gnat reason to fear that this practice is very common in these parts. At 4 Allahabad many drown themselves every year; and at Vrinda-vunu many are bu- ' ried alive or drowned every year, probably every month.’ The Hindoos relate that there existed formerly at Kshefru, a village near Nu- d3tya, an instrument called kuruvut, w hich was used by devotees to cut off their own beads. The instrument was made in the shape of a half moon, with a sharp edge. Voluntary SuicrnE.] OF TI1E HINDOOS. SIT ami was placed at the back of the neck, having chains fastened at the two extremi- ties. The infatuated devotee, placing; his feet in the stirrups, gave a violent jerk, and severed his head from his body. SECTION XXX. Persons casting themselves from precipices, &;c. ANOTHER way in which the Hindoo shastrns allow' a person to renounce life, is by throwing himself from a mountain, or some other eminence. Bengal is a per- fect plain : and I have not learnt how far this permission of the shastru is acted upon in the mountainous parts of Hindoost’hanu. SECTION XXXI. Dying under the wheels of JugunnaC hit’s car. AMONGST the immense multitudes assembled at the drawing of this car, are numbers afflicted with diseases, and others involved in w orldly troubles, or worn out with age and neglect. It often happens that such persons, after offering' up a prayer to the idol, that they may obtain happiness, or riches in the next birth, cast themselves under the wheels of the car, and are instantly crushed to death. Great Dumbers of these cars are to be seen in Bengal, and every year, in some place or other, persons thus destroy themselves. At Jugunnat’hu-ksbetru, in Orissa, several perish annually. Many are accidentally thrown down by the pressure of the crowd, and are crushed to death. The victims who devote themselves to death in these forms have an entire confidence that they shall, by this meritorious act of self- murder, attain to happiness. I beg leave here to insert the following extract of a letter from an officer, to a friend, to conhrm the facts related in this and the two preceding sections : 4 1 have 3 IS'. HISTORY, LITERATURE, and RELIGION, [Part iii. Chap. iv. ‘ known a woman, whose courage failed her on the pile, bludgeoned by her own dear ‘ kindred. This 1 have told the author of “The Vindication of the Hindoos.” ‘ 1 have taken a Gentoo out of the Ganges : I perceived him at night, and called ‘out to the boat-men. — Sir, he is gone; l:e belongs to god. Yes, but take him up, ‘ and God will get him hereafter. We got him up at the last gasp : 1 gave him 4 some brandy and called it physic. O Sir, my cast is gone ! No, it is physic. It is ‘ not that, Sir ! but my family will never receive me. I am an outcast! What! for ‘saving your life ? Y^es. Never mind such a family. 1 let above one hundred ‘ men out of limbo at Jiigiinnat’hu : there were a thousand dead and dying, — all in ‘limbo starving, to extort money from them.* SECTION XXXII. Infanticide. THE people in some parts of India, particularly the inhabitants of Orissa, and of the Eastern parts of Bengal, frequently offer their children to the goddess Gun- ga. The following reason is assigned for this practice : When a woman has been long married, and has no children, it is common for the man, or his wife, or both of them, to make a vow to the goddess Gunga, that if she will bestow the blessing of children upon them, they will devote the first-born to her. If after this vow they have children, the eldest is nourished till a proper age, which may be three, four, or more years, according to circumstances, when, on a particular day appointed for bathing in any holypart of the river, they take the child with them, and offer it to this goddess : the child is encouraged to go farther and farther into the w ater till it is carried away by the stream, or is pushed off by its inhuman parents. Some- times a stranger seizes the child, and brings it up, but it is abandoned by its parents from the moment it floats in the water, and if no one be found more humane than they, it infallibly perishes. The principal places in Bengal where this species of murder * I have not the authority of this gentleman for inserting this extract ; but I rely on his known benevolence to excuse the freedom l have thus taken. Infanticide.] OF THE HINDOOS. 319 is practiced, are, G.'mga-Saguru, where the river Hoogly disembogues itself into the sea; Voidyuvatee, a town about fourteen miles to the north of Calcutta; Triveuee, Nudeeya, Chakduli, and Pruyagu. The following shocking custom appears to prevail principally in the northern dis- tricts of Bengal. If an infant refuse the mother’s breast, and decline in health, it is said to be under the influence of some malignant spirit. Such a child is sometimes put into a basket, and hung- up in a tree where this evil spirit is supposed to reside. It is generally destroyed by ants, or birds of prey, but sometimes perishes by neg- lect, though fed and clothed daily. If it should not be dead at the expiration of three days, the mother receives it home again, and nurses it, but this seldom hap- pens. The late Mr. Thomas, a missionary, once saved and restored to its mother, an infant which had fallen aut of a basket, at Bholahatu, near Malda, at the mo- ment a shackal was running away with it. As this gentleman and Mr. Carey were afterwards passing under the same tree, they found a basket hanging in the branches containing the skeleton of another infant, which had been devoured by ants. The custom is unknown in many placos, but, it is to be feared, it is too common in others. In the North Western parts of Hindoost’hanu, the horrid practice of sacrificing female children as soon as born, has been known from time immemorial. The Hin- doos ascribe this custom to a prophecy delivered by a bramhiin to Dweepu-singhu, a raju-pootu king, that his race would lose the sovereignty through one of his female posterity. Another opinion is, that this shocking practice has arisen out of the law of marriage, which obliges the bride’s father to pay almost divine honours to the bridegroom :* hence persons of high cast, unwilling thus to humble themselves for the sake of a daughter, destroy the infant. In the Punjab, and neighbouring dis- tricts, to a great extent, a cast of Sikhs, and the raju-pootus, as well as many of the bramhuns and other casts, murder their female children as soon as born. I have made particular enquiry into the extent of these murders, but as the crime is per- * At the time of marriage, the boy's father taking hold of the knee of the boy, worships him, by presenting offerings of rice, flowers, paint, &c. and promising to give to him his daughter. 320 HISTORY, LITERATURE, and RELIGION, [Part hi. Chap. iv. petrated in secret, have not been able to procure very exact information. A gen- tleman whose information on Indian customs is very correct, imforms me, that this practice was, if it is not at present, universal among- all the raju-poots, who, he sup- poses, destroy all their daughters : he expresses his fears, that, notwithstanding their promises to the Government of Bombay, made in consequence of the very be- nevolent exertions of Mr. Duncan, the practice is almost generally continued. He adds, the custom prevails in the Punjab, in Malwa, Jcud-pooru, Jesselmera, Guze- rat, Kutch and perhaps Sind, if not in other provinces. A friend at Ludhana, in a letter written in the year 1812, says, ‘ The horrible * custom of murdering female infants is very common among the raju-pootus. One ‘of these fellows had been induced, by the tears of his wife, to spare the life of a ‘ daughter born to him. The girl grew up, and had arrived at the age of thirteen, ‘ but, unfortunately for her, had not been demanded in marriage by any one. The ‘ raj it-pootu began to apprehend the danger of herbringing a disgrace upon the fami- ‘ ly, and resolved to prevent it by putting the girl to death. Shortly after forming ‘ this atrocious design, he either overheard, or pretended to have overheard, some ‘ of his neighbours speak of his daughter in a way that tended to encrease his fears, ‘ when, becoming outrageous, he rushed upon the poor girl, and cut her head off. ‘ The native magistrate confined him for a year, and seized all his property. But ‘ this was only because the girl was marriageable ; infants are murdered with per- ‘ feet impunity.’ 1 The Jatus, a people who abound in these parts,’ says a friend, fn a letter from Agra, dated May, 1812, ‘ destroy their female children as soon as born, but being * now afraid of the English, they remove their pregnant women before the time of ‘ delivery into the district of the raja of Bhurutu-pooru, that they may there commit ‘these horrid murders with impunity. Oh ! the dark places of the earth are full of ‘the habitations of cruelty ! In these parts there are not many women burned with ‘ their husbands, and when they do burn, they are not held down with bamboos, but * left to themselves and the fire ; but if any one run away or jump out, they cut her Voluntary Suicide.] OF THE HINDOOS. 32 i ‘down with a sword, and throw her into the fire again. This was done at a flight of ‘steps just by, a little before the English took this place ; since which time I have ‘not heard of any such events occurring.’ / SECTION XXXII*. Ascetics devoured in forests by zeild bcasis. BESIDE the dreadful waste of human life, in practising superstitious austerities, great numbers of Hindoo devotees, who visit forests as an act of seclusion from the world, perish by wild beasts. The author, when on a visit to Sagiiru island in the year 1S06, was informed by a yogee that six of kis companions had been devoured there by iygers in the three preceding m-onths ; that while absent in the forest gather- ing sticks, he heard their cries, and looking over the w all of the temple yard in w hich they lived, he saw the tygers dragging them by the neck into the forest. Other forests infested by w ild beasts are visited by these yogees, many of w'hom are devour- ed every year. Numbers of secular persons too, drawn to the annual festivals cele- brated in these forests, fall victims to the tygers. SECTION XXXIV. Perishing in cold regions . THE Hindoos have a way to heaven without dying. If the person who wishes to go this wray to heaven, through repeating certain incantations, survive the cold, lie at last arrives at Himalaya, the residence of Shiva. Such a person is said to go the Great Journey.’ Yoodhist’hirfi, according to the pooranus, went this way to heaven; but his companions Bheemn, Lrjoond, Nukoolu, Suhu-dcvu, and Diou- piidse, perished by the cold on the mountain. This forms another method in which the Hindoos may meritoriously put a period to tneir existence. It a~° °-‘c the Hindoo atonements for great offences. 3 Co 322- HISTORY, LITERATURE, and RELIGION, [Part hi. Chap.iv. It is difficult to form an estimate of the number of Hindoos who perish annual- ly, the victims of superstition ; and the author fears any reasonable conjecture would appear to many as highly exaggerated, and intended to prejudice the public mind against the Hindoos as idolaters. He wishes to feel and avow a just abhorrence t5 of idolatry, and to deplore it as one of the greatest scourges ever employed by a Being, terrible in anger, to punish nations who have rejected the direct and simple means which nature and conscience supply of knowing himself; but he would use no unfair means of rendering even idolatry detestable; and with this assurance, he now enters on as correct a conjecture respecting the number of victims annually sa- crificed on the altars of the Indian gods, as he is able : Widows burnt alive on the Funeral pile , in Hindoos? hanily - - 5000 Pilgrims perishing on the roads and at sacred places,* - 4000 Persons drowning themselves in the Ganges , or buried or burnt alive , « 500 Children immolated, including the daughters of the raju-pootiis, - - 500 Sick persons whose death is hastened on the banks of the Ganges, f - 500 Total, 10,500 * “Buddruck in Orissa, 31ay30th, 1803. We know that we are approaching Juggernaut (and yet we are more than fifty miles from it) by the human bones which we have seen for some days strewed by the way. At this place we have been joined by several large bodies of pilgrims, perhaps 2000 in number, w ho have come from vari- ous partsof Northern India. Some old persons areamong them who wish to die at Juggernaut. Numbers of pilgrims die on the road ; and their bodies generally remain unburied. On a plain by the river, near the pil- grim’s Caravansera at this place, there are more than a hundred skulls. The dogs, jackals, and vultures, seem to live here on human prey. “ Juggernaut, 14 Ih June. — I have seen Juggernant. The scene at Buddruck is but the vestibule to Juggernaut. No record of ancient or modern history can give, 1 think, an adequate idea of this valley of death; it may he tru- ly compared with the “ valley of Hinnom.” I have also visited the sand plains by the sea, in some places whitened with the bones of the pilgrims; and another place a little way out of the town, called by the English, the Golgotha, where the dead bodies are usually cast forth ; and where dogs and vultures are ever seen. “Juggernaut, 21s< June. I beheld another distressingscene this morning at the Place of Skulls; a poor woman lying dead, or nearly dead, and her two children by her, looking at the dogs and vultures which were near. The people passed by without noticing the children. 1 asked them where was their home. They said, “ they had no home but where their mother was.” O, there is no pity at Juggernaut ! no tenderness of heart in Moloch’s king- dom.” Buchanan's Researches in India . A person who has lived several years near the templeof Jugunnat’hu, in Orissa, in a letter to the author, says, “ I cannot pronounce on the numbers who annually perish at Ji gfinnat’h“', and on their way thither ; in some years they do not amount to more than 200 perhaps ; but in others they may exceed 2000.” + A gentleman, whose opinion is of great weight, says, “ I believe this estimate is far below the truth. t Voluntary Suicide.] OF THE HINDOOS, 323 Supposing there to be five thousand towns and large villages in Hindoost’hanu, and that one widow is burnt from each of these places in one year, no less a num- ber than fve thousand helpless zvidozss are annually burnt alive in this country; but if we are guided by the calculation made at Calcutta (see page 312) it will appear, that at least two widows in every large village must be murdered annually, includ- ing all the large towns in the same ratio. If so, instead of five thousand murders, the number must be doubled ; and it will appear that TEN THOUSAND WI- DOWS PERISH on the funeral pile in the short period of twelve months ; nor is this havock like the irregular return of war ; on the contrary, it is as certain and as fatal as the march of death itself. The second calculation will not appear exaggerated, I am persuaded, when wre consider the testimony of Dr. Buchanan, added to that of an officer inserted in the 319th page of tins work ; to which 1 could add, that of many respectable natives : by fevers, by the dysentery, and other diseases arising from exposure to the night air, and the privations of a long journey, crowds are carried off in a few days : sometimes numbers involuntarily fall under the wheels of the monstrous car of Ju- ghnnat’hu : five or six hundred persons, principally women, I am informed, were crushed to death before the temple of Jiigunnat’hu, in the year 1810, by the mere pressure of the crowd. The reader must consider that these sacred places, the resort of pilgrims, are spread all over Hindoost' liana, and that pilgrims travel to them from •distances requiring jouruies of three, four and five months. In the opinion of every person to whom I have shewn the manuscript, the other calculations fall far below the real fact. But if these calculations are not beyond the truth, what a horrible view do they present of the effects of superstition. Since the commencement of the bramhinical system, millions of victims have been immolated on the altars of its gods; and, not- withstanding the influence of Europeans, the whole of Hindoost’hanu may be term- ed u a field of blood unto this day.” O o 2 324 HISTORY, LITERATURE, and RELIGION, [Part iii. Chaf.iv. I must leave it to the pen of the future historian and poet to give these scenes that just colouring which will harrow up the soul of future generations : I must leave to them the description of these legitimate murders, perpetrated at the command and in the presence of the high-priests of idolatry ; who, by the magic spell of su- perstition, have been able to draw men to quit their homes, and travel on foot a thousand miles, for the sake of beholding an idol cut out cf the trunk of a neigh- bouring tree, or dug from an adjoining quarry ; — to prevail on men to commit mur- ders to supply human victims for the altars of religion ; — on mothers to butcher their own children ; — on friends to force diseased relations into the arms of death, while struggling to extricate themselves ; — on children to apply the lighted torch to the pile that is to devour the living mother, who has fed them from her breasts, and dandled them on her knees. To crown the whole, these priests of idolatry have persuaded men to worship them as gods, to lick the dust of their feet, and even, to cut off lumps of their own flesh,* their own headst as offerings to the gods- SECTION XXXV. Ceremonies performed on ~i tiling holy placets THE founders of the Hindoo religion have taught that certain places, (Teert’hu- et’hann)t are peculiarly sacred ; that the performance of religious rites at these places is attended w ith peculiar merit, and followed by extraordinary benefits. The source and confluence ofsacred rivers; places where any of the phcenomena of nature have been discovered ; or where particular images have been set up by the gods them- selves:^ or where some god or great saint has resided; or where distinguished re- ligious actions have been performed — have been pronounced sacred. Excited by the miraculous accounts inserted in the shastrlrs, multitudes visit these places; others reside there for a time ; and some spend the last stages of life at a * Seepage 120. + Seepage 316- J The place where persons obtain salvation : from tree, salva- tion, and st' hanu, place. ^ At Benares Shiva is said to have set up with his own hands an image of the lingn Pilgrimages.] OF THE HINDOOS. S25 holy place, to make sure of heaven after death. Rich men not unfraquently creel temples and cut pools at these places, for the benefit of their souls. When a person resolves to visit any one of these places, he fixes upon an auspi- cious day, and, two days preceding' the commencement of his journey, has his head shaved ; the next day he fasts; the following day he performs the shraddhu of the three preceding generations of his family on both sides, and then' leaves his house. If a person act according to the shastro, he observes the following rules : First, till he returns to his own house, he eats rice which has not been wet in cleansing, and that only once a day ; he abstains from anointing his body with oil, and from eating fish. If he ride in a palanqueen, or in a boat, he loses half the benefits of his pilgrimage. If he walk on foot, lie obtains the full fruit. The last day of his journey he fasts. On his arrival at the sacred spot, he has his whole body shaved ;* after which he bathes, and performs the shraddhu. It is necessary that he stay seven days at least at the holy place; he may continue as much longer as he pleases. Every day during his stay he bathes, pays his devotions to the images, sits before them and repeats their names, and worships them, presenting such offerings as he can afford. In bathing he makes kooshu grass images for his relations, and bathes them. The benefit arising to relations will be as one to eight, compared with that of the person bathing at the holy place. When he is about to return, he obtains some of the offer- ings which have been presented to the idol or idols, and brings them home to give to his friends and neighbours. These consist of sweetmeats, flowers, toolusee leaves, the ashes of cow-dung, &c. After celebrating the shraddhu, he entertains thebram- huns, and presents them with oil, fish, and all those things from which he abstained. Having done this, he returns to his former course of living. The reward promised to the pilgrim is, that he shall ascend to the heaven of that god who presides at the holy place he has visited. The following are some of the principal places in Hindoost’hanu to which persons go on pilgrimage : * If itbe a woman, she has only the breadth of two fingers of her hair behind cutoff. If a widow, her whole Read is shaved. 3£o HISTORY, LITERATURE, and RELIGION, [Part hi. Chap, iv ,Guya, rendered famous as the place where Vishnoo destroyed a giant. To pro- cure the salvation of deceased relations, crowds of Hindoos perform the shraddha here, on whom government levies a tax. Rich Hindoos have expended immense sums qt this place^ iKasJiee (Cenares). To this place multitudes of Hindoos go on pilgrimage ;the ceremonies of religion, when performed at the different holy places in this city, are supposed to be very efficacious. It is the greatest seat of Hindoo learning in Hin- dpost’hana. Many Hindoos spend their last days here, under the expectation, that dying here secures a place in Shivu’s heaven. To prove that a man dying m the very cct of sin at this place obtains happiness, the Hindoos relate, amongst other sto- ries, one respecting a man who died in a pan of hot spirits, into which he accident- ally fell while carrying on an intrigue with the wife ofa liquor merchant. Shivii is said to have come to this man in his last moments, and, whispering the name of Briimha in his ear, to have sent him to heaven. .Even Englishmen, the Hindoos. allow, may go to heaven from Kasliee, and they relate a story ofan.Englishman .who had a great desire to die at this place. After his arrival there, he gave money to his head Hin- doo servant to build a temple, and perform the different ceremonies required, and. in a short time afterwards obtained his desire, and died at Rashee. .1 suppress the name of my countryman from a sense of shame. .Pruijagu (Allahabad). -The Hindoos suppose that the Ganges, the Yumoona ond the Suruswutee, three sacred rivers, unite their streams here. Many personfe from all parts of.India bathe at this place, and many choose a voluntary death here. Government levies a tax on the pilgrims. He w ho has visited Goya, Kashee and Prijyagu, flatters himself that lie. is possessed of extraordinary religious merits. J ugunnat'hu-ksliutru (in Orissa). Several temples and pools attract the atten- tion, of pilgrims at this place; but the great god Jiigunnat’hu is the most famous object of attention to pilgrims, who come from all parts of India at the times of the thirteen annual festivals held in honour of this wooden god. All casts eat together here, the rise of which custom is variously accounted for. The Hindoos say, that Pilgrimages.] OF THE HINDOOS. 327 £00,000 people assemble at this place at the time of drawing the car, when five or six people are said to throw themselves under the wheels of the car every year, zs a certain means of obtaining salvation. When Tasked a bramhun in what way such persons expected salvation, he said, that generally the person who thus threw away hislife was in a state of misfortune, and that he thought, as he sacrificed his life through his faith in Jhgunnat’hu, this god would certainly save him. — The pilgrims to this place, especially at the time of the above festival, endure the greatest hard- ships, some from the fatigues of a long journey, others from the want of necessary support, or from being exposed to bad weather. Multitudes perish on the roadsy very often by the dysentery, and some parts of the sea shore at this holy place may be properly termed Golgotha, the number of skulls and dead bodies are so great. In no part of India, perhaps, are the horrors of this superstition so deeply felt as on this spot : its victims are almost countless. Every third year they make a new image, when a bramhun removes the original bones of Krishnu* from the belly of the old image to that of the new one. On this occasion, he covers his eyes lest he should be struck dead for looking at such sacred relics. + After this, we may be sure, the common people do not wish to see Krishnu’s bones. It is a well-authenticated fact, that at this place, a number of females of infamous character are employed to dance and sing before the god. They live in separate houses, not at the temple. Persons going to see Jugunnat’hu are often guilty of criminal actions with these females.]: Multitudes take loose women with them, ne- ver suspecting that Jugunnat’hu w ill be offended at their bringing a prostitute into his presence, — or that whoredom is inconsistent with that worship from which they ex- pect salvation, and to obtain which some of them make a journey of four months. * The tradition is, that king Indrf-dyoomn?, by the direction of Visbnoo, placed the bones of IvrishnQ, who had been accidentally killed by a hunter, in the belly of the image of J*gunnat’lni. + The raja of Burd wan, KeErtee-Chun Iro, expended, it is said, twelve lacks of roopees in a journey to Jugun- nat be, and in brib.ng the bramhiins to permit him to see these bones. For the sight of the bones he paid two lacks of roopees ; but he died in six monlhs afterwards— for his temerity . 1 The officiating bramh&Qs tnere continually live in adulterous connection with them. 323 HISTORY, LITERATURE, and RELIGION, [Part iii. Chap.it. Before this place fell into the hands of the English, the king, a Marhatta chief, exacted tolls from pilgrims for passing through his territories to Jugunnat’hu. At one place the toll was not less than one pound nine shillings for each foot-passen- ger, if he had so much property with him. When a Bengalee raja used to go, he was accompanied by one or two thousand people, for every one of whom he was obliged to pay the toll. The Honorable Company’s government levies a tax of from one to six roopees on each passenger. For several years after the conquest ofKutuku by the English, this tax was not levied, when myriads of pilgrims thronged to this place, and thousands, it is said, perished from disease, want, &c. Some persons, on leaving this holy7 place, deposit with the bramhuns of the tem- ple one or two hundred roopees, with the interest of which the bramhuns are to purchase rice, and present it daily to J itgunnat’hu, and afterwards to dimdees or bramhuns. Deeds of gift are also made to Jugunnat’hu all over Hindoost’hanu, which are received by agents in every large town, and paid to the Mut’hu-dharees* at J ugunnat’hn-kshutru, who by this means (though professing themselves to be mendicants) have become some of the richest merchants in India. HamcsJiwurii. (Ramiseram). This place forms the southern boundary of the bram- hinical religion. It is famous for containing a temple said to have been erected by Raimi on his return from the destruction of the giant Ravunu. None but wandering mendicants visit it. Ch&ndru-shtkiiril , a mountain n'ear Chittagong, on which stands a temple of the lingo. Over the surface of a pool of water inflammable air is.said to be perceived, from the fire of which pilgrims kindle their burnt-offerings. The water oozes from one side of the rock, and as it falls below, the pilgrims stand to receive the purifying stream. * MM’ho-dharees are found at every ho!v place. One person presides over the house, which is the com- mon report of pilgrims, who are entertained there. Pilgrimages.] OF THE HINDOOS. 329 Gunga-Sagurti , (Safari- island). At this place the Ganges runs into the sea; and this circumstance, it is supposed, gives an efficacy to the waters. Vast crowds of Hindoos visit this island twice in the year, and perform religious ceremonies for the good of themselves and ancestors : some are guilty of self-murder, in which they are assisted by a number of alligators which visit this spot : the infant is cast into the jaws -of this voracious animal by its infatuated mother; and thus the religion of Drum- lia transforms the mother into a monster, and tears asunder the tenderest ties of na- ture.— Ruins and pools still exist on this island, which prove, that though now the haunt of wild beasts, it was once inhabited. # Uyodhya, (Dude), the ancient capital of Ramu, situated by the river Suruyoo, is still inhabited. The pilgrims are generally Ramats. Mit'hila , (Tirhoot), the birth- place of Seeta, and the capital of her father J nnuku, is resorted to by pilgrims, as well as Mud hoora^ the birth-place of Krishna, and Vrinda-vunu, the scene of the revels of this licentious deity, whose followers visit many sacred retreats, the resort of Krishnu and the milkmaids. - Gokodla , the place where Krishnu was educated, is also visited by pilgrims, who are shewn various spots which have been consecrated by the gam- bols of their favourite god. The forest of Noimishu, near Lucknow, is celebrated as the place where SJotu, the sage, read the pooran as to 60,090 disciples. VoidyZnafhu^ a place in Birboom, contains a celebrated image called Ramu-linga. Some pilgrims, afflicted with incurable distempers, fast here till they die ; others make vows, sometimes in some such words as these: ‘ Oh! Voidyunat’hu, give me a wife, and I will bring a pan of w ater from the Ganges and bathe thee,’ or, ‘ 1 w ill present to thee a muu of milk, for frumenty.’ u m At VuIcresJtfVurii, another place in Birboom, an image of the sage Lshtavukru is set up, where several warm springs attract the attention of devotees, who bathe in their waters, not to heal their bodies, but their souls. P P 330 HISTORY, LITERATURE, and RELIGION, [Part hi. Chap. iv. Kooroo-kshutrit , a place near Delhi, where the dreadful battle betwixt Yoodist’hiru and Dooryodhiinii was fought. Here Purushoo-ramu also is said to have filled five pools with the blood of the kshetriyus, from which he ofiered a bbation to his decea- sed father.* Hiugoola , a cave or excavated rock on the sea shore.. Offerings are presented to. the regents of the place on a stone in the cave. Ekamru-kanunu, a place on the borders of Orissa, containing 6000 temples dedi- cated to Shivu. Not less than 70 or 80,000 people are said to visit this place at the drawing of the car of Jugumuu’hu, when all casts eat together. Huree-dtL'aru, from Iliiree, a name of Vishnoo, and dwaru, a door, or the mouth from which the Ganges issues. An account of this place, inserted in the 6th volume of the Asiatic Researches, declares, that 2,500,000 people assembled here at a fes- tival in 1796. Kanchtc , a tow n inTelinga, divided into two parts, Shivu -Kanchee and Yishnoo- Kanchee. At a festival held here in the month Choitrti, the disciples of Shivu and of V ishnoo quarrel, and often murder one another. Multitudes of other places in India are venerated and visited by pilgrims. When 1 was writing this account, on describing Bristol hot wells, with all its gilt crutches hanging in the pump-room, to the learned bramhun who assisted me, he confessed that it would make a famous holy place, and attract immense crowds of pilgrims. It is a deplorable circumstance, that such a waste of time, of life, and of property, should be incurred, through the fatal deception, that the sight of a holy place will be accepted by the J udge of heaven ami earth, instead of repentance and conversion, instead of a contrite heart, and a holy life.. * To satisfy his revenge. There Is nothing revoltingto the feelings of the Hindoos in this dreadful act of re- venge: has made Ko oroo-Kshu ru a holy place When a Hindoo is describing a dreadful quarrel, lie says, “ It was a perfect Kooroo-ksh jtru.” Ceremonies at death.] OF TI1E HINDOOS. 331 SECTION XXXVI. Ceremonies at dentil. A sick person after his removal to the hanks of the Ganges, if he possess suffici- ent strength, directs quantities of food, garments, &c. to be presented to the bram- huns. That he may not be compelled to cross Yoituriinee, whose waters are hot, m his way to the seat of judgment, he presents to a branih .n a black cow. When about to expire, the relations place the body up to the navel in the river, and direct the dying man to call aloud on the gods, and assist him in doing so. The burning of the body is one of the first ceremonies which the Hindoos per- form for the help of the dead in a future state. If this ceremony have not been at- tended to, the shraddhn, turpinii, See. cannot be performed. If a person be unable to provide wood, cloth, clarified butter, rice, water pans, and other things, beside the fee to the priest, he must beg among his neighbours. If the body be thrown into the river, or burnt, without the accustomed ceremonies, (as is sometimes the case) the ceremonies may be performed over an image of the deceased made of kooshii grass. Immediately after death, the attendants lav out the body on a sheet, placing two piecesofwood under the head and feet; after which they anoint t lie corpse with cla- rified butter, bathe it with the water of the Ganges, put round the loins a new gar- ment, and another over the left shoulder, and then draw the sheet on which the body lies, over the whole. The heir at law next bathes himself, puts on new garments, and boils some rice, a ball of which and alighted brand lie puts to the mouth of the deceased, repeating incantations. The pile having been prepared, he sets fire to it, and occasionally throws on it clarified butter and other combustibles. When the body is consumed, lie washes the ashes into the river ;the attendants bathe, and, present- ing a drink-offering to the deceased, return home ; before they enter the house, how- ever, each one touches fire, and chews some bitter leaves, to signify that parting with relations by death is an unpleasant task. P p 2 332 HISTORY, LITERATURE, and RELIGION, [Part hi. CiiAr.iv. SECTION XXXVII. It lies for the repose of the soul, ( Shraddhu.) THE Hindoo shastrus teach, that after death the soul becomes pretu,* viz. takes a body about the size of a person’s thumb, and remains in the custody of Yu mu, the judge of the dead. At the time of receiving punishment the body becomes enlarg- ed, and is made capable of enduring sorrow. The performance of the shraddhu delivers the deceased, at the end of ayear, from this state, and translates him toth® heaven of the Pitrees, where he enjoys the reward of his meritorious actions,, and afterwards, in another body, enters into that state w hich the nature of his former ac- tions assign to him. If the shraddhu be not performed, the deceased remains in the pretu state, and cannot enter another body. We are here strongly reminded of the 325th and six following lines of Virgil, in the Cth book of his iEnied, as well as of the 28th ode of the 1st book of Horace. The offerings made in a person’s name, after his decease, and the ceremonies which take place on the occasion, are called his shraddhu, which the Hindoos are very anxious to p erform in a becoming manner. The son who performs these rites obtains great me.-it : and the deceased is hereby satisfied, t and, by gifts to the bram- huns in his name, obtains heaven. There are three shraddhiis for the dead : one,, eleven days after death ; another, every month ; and another at the close of a year after a person’s decease. During the ten! days of mourning, the relations hold a family council, and consult on the means of performing the shraddhu ; on the last of these days, after making an offering for the dead by the side of the river, they are shaved. This offering consists of boiled rice, * A departed ghost. + Mimoosays, ‘ What sort of oblation, given duly to the manes, 16 capable of satisfying the:n for a long time, or for eternity, I will now d clare without omission.’ J Bramhuns are unclean ten days after the death of a relation ; kshotriyus, twelve; voishyus, fifteen ; and shdodrus, thirty. Offerings to the manes.] OF THE HINDOOS. S3 5 curds, sugar, sweetmeats, milk, plantains, &c. made into ten balls, and presented with prayers. The next day, after bathing,* the family prepare an open place for the ceremo- nies. If it be the shraddhu of a rich man, all the learned Hindoos and respecta- ble people of the neighbouring villages are invited. The company being seated under an awning, the sons and the other relations of the deceased, dressed in new garments, place themselves in the midst of the company with their faces eastward, having near them sixteen different gifts, as brass cups, candlesticks, umbrellas, shoes, &c. Next are brought, seeds of sesamum, a small piece of gold, and another of a different metal, wrapt up in new cloths. The son of the deceased now puts a piece of new cloth across his neck, and offers an atonement for the sin of having killed insects in sweeping the room, in cooking, grinding spices, and in moving the water jar; then follows an offering to the sun ; then, rising, and bringing his hands for- ward in a supplicating posture, he solicits leave from the company to make the of- fering; after which he offers the sesamum, gold and metal, for the happiness of the deceased ; takes the kosha, and sprinkles the sixteen gifts with water; then placing a flower on each, and repeating prayers, he offers them in the presence of the shal- gramu, one by one, in the name of the deceased, that he may obtain heaven. The son after this, if in circumstances sufficiently affluent, presents large gifts to the bram- hiins, as elephants, horses, palanqueens, boats, &c. the receiving of which, however, is not honourable. A bramhun then marks the foreheads of all present with sandal powder, and puts round the neck of each a garland of flowers. To the figrudaneef bramhuns and others are now given, amidst much confusion among the receivers, the sesamum, the morsel of gold, the metal, a large bason full of kourees, and a couch or two, as well as the sixteen different gifts, after which the assembly breaks up. The son then goes into the house, and placing a bramhun and his wife on a seat, covers them with ornaments, worships them, and, adding a large present of money, dismisses them. * At the timeof bathing, the person who will perform the shraddhu, purifies himself by putting water, seeds, fruits, &c. in parts of the trunks of four plantain trees, repeating incantations. He sends some of this water home to purify the family. i Bramhuns who receive the first gifts at shraddhus are called by this name. 331 HISTORY, LITERATURE, and RELIGION, [Part iii.Chap.iv. After this, the son of the deceased requests five bramhnns, of some note for learn- ing, to offer a male calf, in doing which they take two cloths each, four poitas, four betle-nuts, and some kourees, provided for the purpose, and go with the company to a spot where an altar has been prepared, one cubit high, and four cubits squar \ Four of the bramhiins sit on the four sides of the altar, and there worship c *rtain gods, and offer a burnt-sacrifice. Near the altar are placed the shalgramh, four female calves, a male calf, and a vilwii post. The fifth bramhiin reads certain parts of a pooranu, to drive away evil spirits. The female calves are tied to four vilwu posts, and the male calf to a post called vrishu post.* To the necks of the female calves four small slender baskets are suspended, in which are placed, among other things, a comb, and the iron instrument with which the Hindoo women paint their eyebrows black. A sheet of metal is placed under the belly of the male calf; on the back a sheet of copper; the hoofs are covered with silver, and the horns with gold, if the sliraddhu be performed by a rich man.t On the hips of the male calf marks of Shivu’s trident are impressed with a hot iron. After this, tire son of the deceased washes the tail of the male calf, and with the same water presents a drink-offering to his de- ceased ancestors; and afterwards marries the male calf to the four female calves, re- peating many formulas, in which they are recommended to cultivate love and mu- tual sympathy. The son next liberates the female calves, forbidding any one to de- tain them, or partake of their milk in future. In liberating the male calf, he says, 4 have given thee these four wives live with them. Thou art the living image o< Yumu ; thou goest upon four legs. Devour not the corn of others, go not near a cow in calf,’ &c. The female calves are generally taken by bramlums.§ The male calf is let loose, to go where he pleases. |j * Vrishu is the niune for a bull. A rough image of one of these animals is carved in the middle of the post, which is afterwards set up in a public road till it rots or falls down. It is often full of rough carved figures. A good one costs about four roopees. + If by a poor man, imitations of these things are used. J TIerethc Hindoos marry cattle ! In another part of this volume the reader will find an account of the mar- riage of monkies! ! ^ Yet the receiving of these and other gifts at shraddhus is supposed to disgrace a person. |) These bulls wander about, and are treated by tile Hindoos with great respect. No one can claim anv re- dress for the injury they do, and no Hindoo dare destroy them. In large towns they are often mischievous. The English call them bramhunee bulls. O-FFEIIOGS TO THE MANES.] OF THE HINDOOS. 335 To this succeeds what is peculiarly termed the shraddhu. The river side, or the cow-house, or some retired place, is chosen; after cleansing which, they collect all kinds of eatables, cloth, sesamum, flowers, &c. and place them in dishes made of the excavated trunks of the plantain tree. The son then washes his feet, and sits with his face towards the east, with a shalgramu before him, and repeats many incan- tations to purity himself ; he then warships the shalgramu ; presents to his deceas- ed parent the seven dishes placed to the east, repeating various incantations; and worships Gunga,’ Vishnoo, and the houshold god, adding an offering to the ances- tors of the king, as an acknowledgment for using the king’s land at worship. He then, turning his face to the south, reads many incantations, and with five, seven, or nine blades of kooshii grass, makes the image of a bramhun, which he places on a plantain before him; then with joined hands he repeats before this image many in- cantations, to the following purport : 4 Before thee, O bramhun, 1 perform my father’s shraddhu next, he offers to his deceased parent, on a plantain-trunk dish, seven hlades of kooshii and seven of doorva grass, flowers, dry rice, cloth, red paint, and a brass lamp. He next cleanses the place before him with his hands, and scattering upon it a few blades of kooshii grass, presents other offerings to his deceased father, repeating many incantations, which contain the names ol the offerings, and an invita- tion to the deceased father to partake of them. F rom what remains of these offer- ings the son makes two balls, the smallest of which is offered in the name ot those of the family who have not received the benefits of the shraddhu, and the other he pre- sents to his deceased father, and then lays it on some kooshu grass as before, and worships it, presenting flowers, water, &c. He now places both hands open against a lamp which is burning, as though he were warming himself, after which he pros- trates himself to the sun, and presents a fee of from one roopee to five to the officiat- ing bramhun ; salutes all the bramhuns present, and makes prostrations to the shal- gramu, which he afterwards sends into the house. All the offerings are sent to the houses of bramhuns. The family now return home, where an entertainment is pro- vided, both for bramhuns and others, consisting principally of sweetmeats, milk, curds, sugar, cakes, &c. The bramhuns eat in an enclosed spot ; the uninvited bra ru- The skastru directs that a living bramhun shall be chosen ; but a grass bramhun is generally substituted. 338 IIISTOll Y, LITERATURE, and RELIGION, [Part hi. Chap.iv. huns near the house, and the poor in the street or road. At the close of the entertain- ment, if the person making the shraddhu be rich, he gives presents to all those who are not guests, whether bramhuns or the poor, and thus dismisses them. The next morning he dismisses the learned bramhuns with presents : to the most learn ad ..e gives five roopees perhaps, and to those less learned, one. The bramhnns who were invited are also dismissed with presents. About one o’clock a feast is provided for the relations, who are dismissed the next morning with presents of money, cloth, &c. and on this day another dinner is provided for nearer relations. At the close of the shraddhu a number of mendicant musicians play on certain instruments of mu- sic, and sing verses celebrating the revels of Krishna 4 they are often dismissed w ith large presents. The next day the family return to their accustomed diet; but the sons, for twelve months after the decease of the father, must refuse every gratification, a~nd cook with their own hands, or eat what has been prepared by a wife, or some near relation dwelling in the house. Ginga-Govindi-Singhu, a person of the writer cast, head-servant to Mr. Has- tings, expended, it is said, 1,200,000 roopees at his mother’s shraddhu; and Raja Nuvu-Krishnu of Calcutta, nearly as much in the shraddhu for his mother. This expense was principally incurred in presents to the bramhuns, such as bedsteads, at two or three hundred roopees each ; water-pitchers of silver and gold, some worth a thousand, and others two thousand roopees; dishes of silver and gold, at five hundred, two hundred, and one hundred ; silver and gold cups and lamp-stands, at two hundred, one hundred, &c. ; covered bow ls for betle-nut, and gold and silver water jugs, at from five hundred down to one hundred; cloths at ten or fiileen roo- pees a piece. Vast crowds of mendicants* and poor people fill the roads at the time of a large shraddhu for tw'O or ihree days together, each of whom obtains a roopee, or half a * Some of these ctendicauts couxe jounties of four or five days. Purifications.] OF THE HINDOOS. 337 roopee; sometimes nothing. The lower orders expend three hundred, two hundred, or one hundred roopees at a shraddhu. Many persons reduce themselves to beggary to procure the name of having made a great shraddhu. If a man delay this ceremo- ny, the priest urges him repeatedly to what he calls his duty. According to the Hin- doo law, a person cannot inherit an estate who has not performed the shraddhu. The monthly shraddhu for the first year after the death of the parent is upon a very small scale, and the expence is from ten roopees to twelve anas. Beside these, there are other shraddhus for deceased ancestors, as, in every month at the total wane of the moon; on the last fifteen, or ten, or five days of the moon in Bhadru ; once during the first fifteen days of the moon in Ugruhayunu ; and again in the same month,* in Poushu,+ and Maghu,* on the 8th of the wane of the moon; in Voishakhu^ and Shravunu,|| on any of the first fifteen days of the moon. At some of these times all Hindoos perform this ceremony ; at other times only a few persons. The expence is trifling, as scarcely any persons are entertained at them. SECTION XXXVIII, Purifications. A HINDOO becomes unclean by various circumstances, during which he is inter- dicted almost every religious ceremony, and forbidden to shave or cut his nails. In the act of purification the person shaves the head, bathes, and puts on clean apparel. A Hindoo becomes unclean after the death of persons related to him by birth. If a child die before he has teeth, the family bathe immediately, and become clean: or * In (his shraddhu the flesh of rows was formerly offered in sacrifice. In the kulee-yoogff tbii is forbid- den, and that of deer or goats is substituted. + This shraddhu is performed principally with herbs. + this shraddhu bread is chiefly used. ^ Barley is the principal thing used in this shraddhu. At this time the Hindoo women scatter the husks of barley in the public roads, in imitation it is sa;d of the mother of Riighoo-nundtinu, compiler of a number of the smritees. || The newly descended rain is the principal article in this shraddhu. Q q * i - 333 HISTORY. LITERATURE, and RELIGION, [Part iii. Cuap.iv. if a child die before its ears are bored, the family remain unclean one night. If a woman miscarry, the family become impure for ten days. After a birth, all the mem- bers of the family in a direct line become unclean. A woman in her courses, is unclean for three days; but on the fifth day, after bathing, she may again perform religious ceremonies. Every person is considered as in some measure unclean while in a state of sickness, and from some religious services a sick person is wholly ex- cluded. A bramhun becomes unclean by the touch of a shoodru, a dog, a Mu3al- man. a barbarian, &c. and all casts, by touching a woman in her courses, a deati body, ordure, urine, the food of other casts, &c. SECTION XXXIX. Atonements for offences. THE ancient Hindoo laws on this subject are veiy numerous, and in many in- stances very severe and unjust. By these laws the whole property of the country was put into a state of requisition by the bramhnns. At present, very few offences expose a person to the penalties of the canon law : among these, however, are the killing a bramhun, a religious mendicant, or a woman ; striking a bramhun ; killing a cow. Slight atonements are also offered by some when labouring under certain, diseases, and for unintentional offences. I here insert some extracts from the work on atonements called Prayushchittii- Nirnnyd: — There are nine sorts of sins requiring atonements : E jatee-bhrung- shu-kurh, in w hich is included the eating of onions, defrauding relations, &c. 2. shun- karee-kuranu, viz. sodomy. 3. upatrac-khrunu, which includes receiving presents from barbarians ; bramhlms entering into trade ; and bramhuns serving shobdrus.* 4. mulavuhu, in which is included, destroying insects ; eating fruit which has lain near a person w ho has drank spirits ; excessive grief for a trilling loss, and stealing wood, fruit or flowers. 5. prukeernniiku, which includes various offences against tiie cast. G. oopapatik i, which includes manv actions : among the rest, killing cow s ; be- coming priest to the low casts : a person’s selling himself; forsaking father, mother, * In manj places bramirlns, at present, become clerks, eooks, &c. to the higher cla-.-e; o' sbOSdr&s. Atonements.] OF T1IE HINDOOS, 530 sons; neglecting the vedus, or consecrated fire; giving a daughter in marriage to a younger brother before the elder ; giving a younger son in marriage before the elder ; in the two last cases also becoming priest at the time of such marriage; usury in lend- ing goods ; not completing a vriitii; selling a pool of water, a garden, a son, &c. ; not performing any one of the sungskarus; forsaking a friend ; obtaining instructions from a disciple ; killing a woman, or a shobdru, a voishyu, a kshutriyu, &c. ; cutting green trees for fire wood; neglecting to pay debts ; subduing or driving away a person not an enemy by the power of incantations ; denying a future state, &c. 7. unoopatnkfi, which includes many different actions, viz. a son’s having intercourse with a woman who is wife {though of another cast) to his father; adultery with an uncle’s wife; with the wife of a grandfather; with an aunt by the mother’s side; with the wife of a king; with a father’s sister ; with the wife of a shrotriyu bramhun ; with the wife of a priest ; w ith the wife of a teacher of the vedus ; with the wife of a friend ; with the friend of a sis- ter ; with any woman in the line of consanguinity ; with any woman of a cast superior to that of the man; with the wife of a chandalu; with a virgin, the daughter of a bram- hun ; with a woman while in her courses; with a w oman who has embraced the life of a brumhticharinee. 8. muhapati.ku, which includes five different offences, viz. killing bramhims; a bramhun’ s drinking spirits, or a shoedru’s intercourse with the wdfe of a bramhun; stealing gold from a bramhun to the amount of a gold mohur; adultery with the wife of agooroo, viz. with the wdfe of a father, if she be of a superior cast, or if she be of the same cast. Whoever commits these actions is called muhapatukee, and wdioever lives in familiar habits with this person becomes also mfihapatukee : this includes sleeping on the same bed; sitting together on one seat; eating together; drinking- out of one cup; eatl .g together of food cooked in one vessel ; becoming priest to a muhapatukee; teaching the vedus to such an offender. If a person con- verse with a muhapatukee, or touch him, or if the breath of this offender fall upon him, and these familiarities be continued for twelve months, this person also be- comes a muhapatukee. 9. utipatuku includes incest w ith a person's own mother, or daughter, or son’s wife. If a person kill a bramhun, he must renounce life, or offer the prajapufyu atone- Q q 2 340 HISTORY, LITERATURE, and RELIGION, [Part hi. ChAp.W. ment for twenty-four years ;* or, in case of inability, he must, offer 360 cows with their calves, and 100 cows as a fee, or 470 roopees, besides 24 roopees as a fee. If a person murder a bramhfinee, whose husband is ignorant of the vedus, the offen- der must perform the prajaputyu atonement for six years. This may be commuted for ninety cows and calves, or 270 kahunus of kourees. For murdering the wife of a kshutriyii, this atonement must be repeated three years ; of a voishyu, one year and a half, and of a shoodru, nine months. If the woman were with child, or in her courses, the atonement must be doubled. If a bramhun, or a kshutriyii, murder a kshutriyii, the prajapiityu atonement must be repeated for three years. This may be commuted for forty-five milch cows and their calves, or 135 kahunus of kourees. If a bramhiin, a kshutriyii, or voishyu, murder a voishyu, the above atonement must be repeated for one year and a half. This may be commuted for twenty-three cows and their calves, or 67| kahunus of kourees. For murdering a shocdru, the above atonement must be repeated for nine months. This may be commuted for tvyelve cows and their calves, or 36 kahunus of kourees ; about one pound sterling. If a bramhun have killed a cow belonging to a bramhun, be must oiler the fol- lowing atonement : he must have his head shaved; for thirty days, dwell with cows; eat barley boiled in the urine of cows, and wear a cow’s skin. For the next two months, he must eat only once a day. For the two following months he must bathe with the urine of cows. During these days of penance he must abstain from sin; he must follow a herd of cows ; stand when they stand, t and eat the dust which they throw up with their feet. At night, after putting the cows in the stall, he must * The following is the law respecting this atonement : The offender, for three days, fs to eat, each day, only tw enty-six mouthfuls of rice, clarified butter, milk, Sic. boiled together ; for the next three days he must eat in the evening twenty- two mouthfuls ; for the nevt three days he is to ask for nothing, and, unless spontaneously given him, to eat nothing. If any food be given him, it must he twenty-four mouthfuls of the same kind of food as mentioned above ; for the next three days he must eat nothing. If he abstain from food on those days in which he is allowed to take food if given to him , he does not commit a fault. If a person be unable to fast solong, he may make a commutation by fasting six days. If a person be not able to fast six days, he may be exempted, on making an offering of a cow and calf; or in case of inability to do this, he may offer three kahunus of kourees. + If, however, part of the herd be lying down, and part be standing, he must do as the greater number do. If the number lying down and th« number stauding be equal, he must do that which is most painful to himself; of course he must stand. Atonements.] OF THE HINDOOS. 241 bow to them, and then sit upright, cross-legg’d, and watch them all night. If one of the herd be sick, or have met with any misfortune, he must expose his own life for its preservation. He must not seek the preservation of his own life from the scorching sun, the chilling cold, the pelting rain, or the driving storm, till he have secured the herd. If the cows be feeding on another person’s ground, he is not to drive them away, nor inform the owner. He must not prevent the calf from suck- ing, though the cow should not have been milked. After the person has thus gone through this atonement without fault, he must offer to a learned bramhun ten cows and a bull. If this be beyond his ability, he must give up all he has. If an offen- der be unable to go through all this penance, he must, besides the above fee, offer seventeen new-milch cows. If he be poor, he may offer sixty-six kahunus of kou- rees.* This is the atonement if the cow was wilfully killed by a bramhun. If ac- cidentally killed, the offender must go through half the penance, and offer one cow. Besides offering the atonement, the person who has wilfully or accidentally killed a cow, must give to the owner another cow equally good. If he cannot give such a cow, he must give a proper price, to be ascertained by five respectable neighbours. If a bramhun castrate a bull, he must offer the six months’ atonement as for killing a bramhun’s cow. If a cow die accidentally in the field, it is taken for granted that it was not properly taken care of, and an atonement must be offered. Such a person must have his head shaved; bathe three times a day; wear a cow’s skin with the horns, hoofs, &c. on it; follow the herd; watch the herd by night, &c. If the animal died at night in the cow-house, and the keeper was permitted to go home, in- stead of watching over the cattle, the atonement must be offered by the owner. If in consequence of the falling of a bell from a cow’s earf the cow die, the owner must offer half of the prajaputyu atonement. If a Hindoo sell a cow to a barbarian, he must eat only one mouthful in the morning for four days, and for the next four days four mouthfuls each day in the evening. If the buyer kill and eat the cow, the * In the work called Prayiishchittii-vivekn, it is declared, that if a person be unable to pay this fine, he must beg for twelve years, and whatever he is able to procure, he must give as a commutation for the atonement. At the present period, persons may be seen, having the head shaved, making a noise like the lowing of a cow, having a rope, with which cows are tied by the leg, in the hand, &c. begging for this avowed purpose ; yet most of these persons make this a contrivance to obtain money. + Hung there like an car-ring, or ornament, but with the intention of keeping tbe herd together by the sound. 312 HISTORY, LITERATURE, and RELIGION, [Part iii. Chap.iv. poison who disposed o; the animal must offer the same atonement as a bravnliun for killing- a cow. It a man Kill a horse, he must make an offering of cloth to a bramhun.* If an ele* pliant, he must give to the bramhuns five blue bulls. If an ass, a goat, or a sheep, a male calf, one year old, must be given to a bramhun. If a goose, a peacock, a ivliite heron, or a hawk, lie must give a cow to a bramhun. If a tvger, a milch cow. If a camel, or a buffalo, he must forfeit a rutuki of gold. If a hog, he must present to a bramhun a pitcher of clarified butter. If a. parrot, a calf, one year old. If a snake, an axe for cutting wood. If a cat, a guano, an ichneumon, or a frog, he must for three days partake of nothing but milk. If any one of these offences have been done repeatedly, the offender must offer a fourth of the prajaputyfi atonement. If a person have killed a thousand larger insects, he must offer the same atonement as for accidentally killing a shoo drib For killing a few small insects, the person must repeat an incantation, while squeezing his nose with his fingers. If a bramhun, ignorantly, have intercourse once with the wife of a chandalu, he must offer the prajaputyfi atonement during twelve years. If done wilfully, he must renounce life as the expiation of his sin. If done repeatedly, the offence cannot be expiated. If a bramhun have improper intercourse with a virgin, or with his own daughter, or with his son’s wife, he must become an ennuch, and renounce life. If a person of any other cast commit such sin, lie must renounce life by the toosh-anulu atonement. t If a shoodru live with a bramhunee of bad character, lie must renounce life by cast- ing himself into a large fire. Ifa shoodru live with a bramhunee oi unsullied character, * The atonements for killing horses and other animals, as well as insects, are alike to aH the casts. Shoolu- panee, a pundit, however, maintains, that in all these cases, a shoodru, afemale, a child, and an aged person, are to offer only one half of the atonement. t In the work called prayushchittu-viv£kii, the method in which this person must renounce life is thus relat- ed: After shaving his head, bathing, &c. he must cover himself with chaff, and, lying down, the Are mustbe kindled at his feet; and in this way, by slow degrees lie must give up his life, to expiate his crime. In another work Atonements] OF THE HINDOO?. 343 he must tie straw round the different parts ol uis body, and. cast mnise.i into the fi.c. The woman, must be placed on an ass, and led round the city, and then dismissed, never to return. If a voishyu commit the same offence with a bramh ; nee, or a fe- male kshutriyu, he must renounce life, tying- kooshu grass round his limbs, and then throwing himself into the fire. If a person defile the bed of his mother-in-law, he must put a red hot piece of stone or iron into Ins mouth, and become an eunuch. 11 any person have unnatural connection with a cow, he must repeat the prajaputyu atonement four times. If a person marry his paternal or maternal niece, lie must perform the chandra- yunu atonement, and the marriage becomes void, though the maintenance or this woman for life will fall upon the offender. [For marrying within the degrees ot con- sanguinity, many different atonements arc ordered, according to the nearness of relationship. ] If a bramhun eat without having on his poita, he must repeat the gayutree 100 times, and partake of nothing that day but the urine of cows. If a person eat cow's flesh unknowingly, he must offer the-prajaputyu atonement. If he have repeat- work, the following story is related, respecting this method of expiating sin : In former times, it- was common for very learned p'mdits to go from kingdom to kingdom, challenging eaeh king to bring forth his pundits, to hold disputations on the subjects contained in the shastrus, Obdny ttnacharyu had, in this manner, obtained the victory over all the pundits in the world. He was also the great instrument in overcoming the bouddh.-.s, and in re-establishing the practice of the vediis ; but in arming the kings against the bonddlivs he had been in- strumental in destroying many bouddhu bramhf.ns. Towards the close of his life he w ent to Jug-'nnat’hu-k-lie- tru; but when he arrived at the temple, the door-shut of itself agaiust him, and he sat at the door, sorrow fill, and keeping a fast. In the midst of his fast, the god appeared to him in a dream, and told him, he had been guilty of killing-many bramh ins; he could not, therefore, see his face: he must renounce life by olTcring the toosh-anulu atonement. OodnyGnacharyu was angrv with.J ugunnat'hu, and pronouneeda-cuFse upon him, telling him, that in some future period, when he should be destroyed by the bouddhhs, he would remember his benefactor. This pandit, soon afterwards, however, obeyed the command of Jugf.nnat'hu : when he had been several days suffering in the chaff-fire, and his lower parts were burnt, Shunkfracharyu called, on him, and challenged him to dispute. Ooduy 'nacharyii declined it, on account of the pain which he endured ; but Sh.vn- k'rachiry a promised to cure the burnt parts, and told him, that after the dispute was o\er, he might offer the atonement. Oad jyenacharyu ridiculed him far pretending to dispute with him, since he had not sense to judge in a case so obvious: half his body was burnt already ; and yet he (Shunkiiracharyu) advised him to have the burnt parts restored, in order to dispute with him, in which case he would have to endurethese sufferings twice over. Shunkiiracharyu, being thus overcome at the commencement, .retired. The other continued tile atone- ment, and thus expiated his sin of killing the bouddau bramhCns. 344 HISTORY, LITERATURE, and RELIGION, [Part hi. Chap. iv. edly eaten con ’s flesh, he must perform the chandrayiinii vrdtu, and forfeit a bull and a cow. If a person eat the flesh of elephants, horses, camels, snakes or dogs, he must continue offering the prajaputyu atonement during tw elve months. If a bram- hun drink spirits, he must again undergo investiture with the poita. If a bramhun repeatedly eat onions, he must perforin the chandrayunii vratu, and be again invest- ed with the poita. If a person drink the milk of a cow, before the expiration of ten days after she has calved, he must fast two days. If any man drink the milk of sheep, or buffalos, he must fast two nights. If a bramhun eat once with a person w'hose father was a shoodru and his mother a bramhunec, he must perform the chandrayfmu vrutu, or make an offering of eight cow's and their calves ; or kahunus of kourees. If a bramhun eat the food, or semen, or urine, or ordure of a voishyu, he must perform the prajaputyu vrutu ; or perform the other things prescribed instead of this atonement. If any person be compelled to eat the boiled rice of a chandalu, he must fast twelve days; but this may be commuted by giving to a bramhun five cows with their calves, or 15 kahunus of kourees. If the rice be unboiled, the eater must fast three days. If a bram- hun unknowingly drink water from the pitcher with which a chandalu draws water from his well, he must fast three nights, and the next day he must eat cow-dung, cow’s urine, milk, clarified butter, and curds, mixed together.* If he do this designedly, the atonement must be doubled. If a bramhun drink water from, or bathe in, a pool dug by a chandalu, he must eat cow-dung, cow’s urine, milk, curds and clarified butter, mixed together. If a dog touch a bramhun while he has food in his hand, the latter must fast one day. If a chandalu touch a bramhun before he have washed his hands and mouth after eating, the latter must fast three days, and repeat the gayutree a thousand times. If a chandalu, or mlechchu, break a bramhun’s poita, the bramhun must offer the muha-santupunu atonementt twice. * In proportion to (he quantity of cow-dung, he must take twice as much urine, four times as much milk, eight times as much clarified butter, and of curds the same as clarified butter. + In this atonement the person must mix water steeped in kooshn-grass, milk, curds, clarified butter, cow-dung and cow’s urine together, aad eat them, and the day after he must fa9t. Atonements.] OF TI1E HINDOOS. 345 A person, having finished the ceremonies of an atonement, must Jay a handful of grass before a cow ; which, if she eat, it is a proof, that the sin of the offender is re- moved. If she refuse it, the atonement must be offered asrain.* If sins be not expiated by the necessary atonements, the offenders will descend into hell, from whence, after expiation, they will again arise, perhaps, to human birth, in consequence of some fragment of merit which they possessed in the preced- ing birth; but they will continue to wear the marks of the sin in which they died.t Such persons must offer the proper atonements, when these sins will be removed. Ifsuch a diseased person die without having offered the atonement, the funeral rites must be refused. Should any one burn his body, he must perform the chandrayunu VX’fltu. * Some years ago, a rich Hindoo of Calcutta, -who had committed many sins, thought it necessary to expiate them by an atonement. He invited learned natives from Nudeeya to ascertain the proper atonement, which he afterwards offered, but when he came to finish the ceremony by giving grass to the cow, she would not receive it. This excited the greatest anxiety', and several pundits were consulted, to ascertain whether the law for the cere- mony had been properly laid down. They all affirmed that it had, but on Jugunnat’hu-turku-punchanunu be- ing interrogated, be declared, that the commutation, instead of three should have been five kahunus of kourees for each cow. Upon this information the increased sum was paid ; the cow then ate the grass, and the offender’s sin was known to be expiated ! ! Several other anecdotes of this kind are in circulation among the natives. There is a remarkable coincidence betwixt this story and that related of Apis, the ox worshipped by the Egyp- tians, of whom it is said, that he took food from those that came to consult him ; but that he refused to eat from the hands of Germanicus Caesar, who died not long after. + Munoo says, “ A stealer of gold from ahramhun has whitlows on his nails; a drinker of spirits, black teeth; the slayer of a bramhun, a marasmus ; the violater of his gooroo’s bed, shall be a deformed wretch. — For sinful acts mostly corporeal, a man shall assume after death a vegetable or mineral form. For such acts mostly verbal, the form of a bird or a beast ; for acts mostly mental, the lowest of human conditions. — The slayer of a bramhun must enter, according to the circumstances of his crime, the body ofa dog, a boar, an ass, a camel, a bull,agoat, a sheep, a stag, a bird, achandalu, or a puccassa. — A priest, who has drank spirituous liquors, shall migrate into the form of a smaller or larger worm or insect, of a moth, of a fly feeding on ordure, or of some ravenous animal. He who steals the gold of a priest, shall pass a thousand times into the bodies of spiders, of snakes and cameli- ons, of crocodiles and other aquatick monsters, or of mischievous blood-sucking demons. He who violates the bed of his natural or spiritual father, migrates a hundred times into the forms of grasses, of shrubs w ith crow d- ed stems, or of creeping and twining plants, of vultures and other carnivorous animals, and other beasts w ith sharp teeth, or of tigers, and other cruel brutes. — They w ho hurt any sentient beings, are born cal eaters of raw flesh ; they, who taste what ought not to be tasted, maggots or small flies, they , who .teal ordin y things, devourers of each other ; they who embrace very low women, become restless ghosts. If a man leal grain in the husk, he shall be born a rat; if a yellow mixed metal, a gander ; if water, a plava, or diver , i. R r honey 546 HISTORY, LITERATURE, and RELIGION, [Part hi. Chap. iv. If a person weep for the death of a self-murderer, or for a person killed by a cow, or by a bramhun, he or she must offer an atonement. If a woman repent after as- cending the funeral pile, or after resolving, to renounce life in any way allowed by the shastru, he or she must perform the prajapntyu vrutu. For expiating the sin of falsehood, a person must repeat the name of Vishnoe once.* To preserve the life of a bramhun, and to appease an angry wife, falsehood may be spoken innocently. When there are many offenders in his kingdom, who are unable to offer the pro- per atonements, a king must perform the cliandrayunu vrutu; by which. he will ob- tain the pardon of the sins of these subjects, and deliver his kingdom from the effects of sin remaining unexpiated. f hoDey, a great stinging gnat ; if milk, a crow if expressed juice, a dsg r if clarified butter, an ichneumon. — If exquisite perfumes, a musk-rat ; if potherbs, a peacock ; if dressed grain in any of its various forms, a porcu- pine ; if raw grain, a hedge bog. — If a deer or an elephant, he shall be born a wolf ; if a horse, a tiger ; if roots or fruit, aa ape; if a woman, a bear; if water from ajar, the bird cbataca; if carriages, a came] ; if small cattle, a goat. — Women, who have committed similar thefts, incur a similar taint, and shall be paired with those male beasts in tbe form of their females. — As far as vital souls, addicted to sensuality, indulge themselves in forbid- den pleasures, even to the same degree shall the acuteness of their senses be raised in their future bodies, that they may endure analogous pains. — They shall first have a sensation of agony in Tamisru, or utter darkness, and in other seats of horror; in Usipf.truvunn, or the sword-leaved forest, ami in different places of binding fast and of rending. — Multifarious tortures await them: they shall be mangled by ravens and o\\ Is ; shall swallow cakes boiling hot; shall walk over infiamed sands, and shall feel the pangs of being baked like the vessels of a pot- ter.— They shall assume the forms of beasts continually miserable, and suffer alternate afflictions from extremi- ties of cold and of heat, surrounded with terrors of various kinds. — More than once shall they lie in different wombs, and, after agonizing births, be condemned to severe captivity and to servile attendance on creatures like themselves. — Then shall follow separations from kindred and friends ; forced residence with the wicked; painful gains and ruinous losses of wealth; friendships hardly acquired, and at length changed into enmities. — Old age v, ithout resource -T diseases attended with anguish; pangs of innumerable sorts, aad, lastly, unconquer- able death.” * On the other hand, it is a common saying among the Hindoos, derived from some of their sbastrus, that if a persou utter alie, his family, for fourteen generations, will successively fall into hell. ■f I have heard a native Christian, when preaching to his countrymen, mention this atonement, to illustrate the fact of God's having given his Son as an atonement for sins committed in his earthly kingdom. CHAPTER V. Doctrines of the Hindoo Religion. The reader is referred to another pari of this work for the speculative theories of the Hindoo mythology. The author has begun these theories where they appear to be interwoven with the popular superstition . SECTION I. Of the transmigration of souls. AFTER death, the person is conveyed by the messengers of Ydmn through the air to the place of judgment. After receiving his sentence, he wanders about the earth for twelve months, as an aerial being or ghost, and then takes a body suited to his future condition, whether he ascend to the gods, or suffer in a new body, or be hurled into some hell. This is the doctrine of several pooranus ; others maintain, that immediately after death and judgment, the person suffers the pains of hell, and removes his sin by suffering ; and then returns t© the earth in some bodily form. I add a few particulars respecting the transmigration of souls from the work called Khrma-vipaku : He who destroys a sacrifice will be punished in hell ; he will after- wards be born again, and remain a fish for three years ; and then ascend to human birth, but will be afflicted with a continual flux. He who kills an enemy subdued in war, will be cast into the hell Krukuchu ; after which he will become a bull, a deer, a tyger, a bitch, a fish, a man ; in the last state he will die of the palsy. He who eats excellent food without giving any to others, will be punished in hell 30,000 years, and then be born a musk-rat ; then a deer ; then a man whose body emits an offen- sive smell, and who prefers bad to excellent food. The man who refuses to his father and mother the food they desire, will be punished in hell, and afterwards be born a crow; then a man. In the latter birth he will not relish any kind of food. The It r 2 348 HISTORY, LITERATURE, and RELIGION, [Part hi. Chap.v. stealer of a water-pan, will be born an alligator, and then a man of a monstrous size. The person who has lived with a woman of superior cast, will endure torments in hell during seventy-one yoogus of the gods ; after this, in another hell, he will con- tinue burning like a blade of grass for 100,000 years, lie will next be born a worm, and after this ascend to human birth, but his body will be filled with disease. The stealer of rice will sink into hell ; will afterwards be born and continue eighteen years a crow ; then a heron for twelve years : then a diseased man. He who kills an ani- mal, not designing it for sacrifice, will, in the form of a turtle, be punished in hell ; then be born a bull, and then a man afflicted with an incurable distemper. He who kills an animal by holding its breath, or laughs at a pooranu at the time of its recital, will, after enduring infernal torments, be born a snake, then a tyger, a cow, a white heron, a crow, and a man having an asthma. He who steals alms, will sink into hell, and afterwards be born a blind man, afflicted with a consumption. A beautiful woman who despises her husband, will suffer in hell a variety of torments ; she will then be born a female, and, losing her husband very soon after marriage, will long suffer the miseries of widowhood. v The Ugnee pooranu says, that a person who loses human birth, passes through 8,000,000 births among the inferior creatures before he can again obtain human birth; of which he remains 2,100,000 births among- the immoveable parts of creation, as stones, trees, &c. ; 900,000 among the w atery tribes ; 1,000,000 among insects, worms, &c. ; 1,000,000 among the birds ; and 3,000,000 among the beasts. In the ascending scale, if his works be suitable, he continues 400,000 births among the low- er casts of men ; during 100 births among bramhuns; and after this he may obtain absorption in Brumhu. Whether the doctrine of the metempsychosis originated with the politician or the philosopher, its influence on the state of society might form an interesting sub- ject of enquiry. As far as 1 have been able to trace its influence, it appears to have the most unhappy effects upon the present race of Hindoos. All their sins are con- sidered as necessarv consequences of actions done in a former life, on which aecount they seldom charge their consciences with guilt for committing them. If a Hindoo be Transmigration of souls.] OF THE HINDOOS. 345 attacked with some disease, or fall into peculiar misfortunes, he immediately traces the cause to;the sins of a former birth ; and, instead of using measures to extricate him- self, he sits down in despair, thinking that these things are inseparably attached to his birth, and that he can get rid of them only with life itself. In a religious view, this doctrine is very pernicious : the Christian is taught, that every thing depends upon the present state, and he therefore “ works out his salvation with fear and trem- bling;” but the Hindoo, like all other men, being always disposed to procrastinate in religion, finds this disposition greatly encouraged, by the hope that a future birth will be more favourable to him: that he shall be born to better fortunes, be rich, or be placed in happier circumstances for pursuing the concerns of relig ion. The next birth, in the mouth of a Hindoo, is the same as ‘to-morrow’ in the mouth of a no- minal Christian. The faith of the Hindoos in the doctrine of the transmigration of souls often ap- pears in their conversation, especially when either prosperous or adverse circum- stances have arisen in a family. When a person is in deep sorrow for the loss of a child, and is addressed by another on the subject, the former perhaps utters her grief in some such words as these : 4 What have I done, that I am thus grievously 4 afflicted? When I examine my life from my childhood, I cannot see that I have 4 done any harm. Why then does God thus afflict me ? Why did he give me a 4 child ? Why did he take it away ?’ — She next vents her grief in a torrent of abuse on Yuma : 4 Oh ! Yuma ! What did I do to thee ? I am sure I never injured thee ! Thou 4 knewest that I had none else : I am in this world like a blind creature; this child 4 was my staff, — and thou hast taken him away. O thou wicked Yu mu — I will put 4 a wisp of fire in thy face. I will flog thee with the broom. My breast is rent 4 with grief.’ Another female now joins her, and says, ‘Oh! sister, What! is cyour child gone ! Ah! Ah ! Ah ! — that vile Yuma — he is full of injustice. Il I 4 could see him, I would cut him into a thousand pieces. He has taken all mine ; 4 but he has left you one.* Ah ! if I were stone, I should spilt into pieces; but 1 am * Tue Hindoo women are excessively fond of their children. When a mother pays her respects to an aged female, she presents her child to receive her blessing, and says, ‘ Mother! — give my child jour blessing/ The old woman says, ‘ Live, live, as many years as there are hairs on my head.’ When a mother takes her child into company, to prevent its being hurt by a witch, she rubs its forehead with earth thrown up by worms, or with the end of a lamp- wick, and spits on its breast. >50 HIS 1 0R\ , LITERATURE, and RELIGION, [Part hi. Chap. v. dearth only flesh and blood, and therefore I am sunk into nothing. But why do £ I thus complain ? I am not singular; every one’s house is plundered.’ Anot her poison now comes in, and says, * Why do you blame Ytiruu ? What fault has he done'? In former births you must Tiave committed -many crimes; otherwise l cannot see i why you should suffer in this dreadful manner : you have done nothing but works 6 of merit in this birth. You -must have injured some one’s child in a former birth, ■ and now yours is taken from you. Yumalias done nothing wrong. He isjustice c itself. Tie never errs. Nor ought you to think it extraordinary that a person dies. 4 It is more extraordinary that a person desires to live. If you confine a bird in a c ca»e> though -you cherish him with the greatest care, if the door be open lie flies away. But though there are nine openings in the body 'by which the soul may make its 4 escape, and though the person be suffering the deepest distress, yet the soul is not 4 willing to depart; — this desire of life is more wonderful than death itself. — ‘"U hen the -soul has taken its flight, then, w hy should you think it such an extraor- 4 dinary thing ? You are-suffering for the sins of many former births, -which sins, like ‘ a shadow, will pursue you, go whereyou will, and assume whatever shape you may, 4 till they be expiated by suffering. If this were not so, why is it that a good man 4 suffers while a wicked man is raised to the pinnacle of prosperity ? If men suffered 4 only for the sins of this life, the good w ould have nothing but happiness, and the i wicked nothing but sorrow.’* Sometimes the doctrine of transmigration appears in the conversation of widows, when they are talking over their sorrows one amongst another : One begins the conversation, by addressing one of the company, recently become a widow, in some such w'ords as these : ‘ Ah ! why is so much trouble fallen upon you ? You have con- 4 tinually performed works of merit. 1 have observed, that from your childhood 4 you have been very religious. ’+ Another replies — 4 IIovv you talk ! "W hat ! do * I have heard it urged, in proof of the reality of successive births, that, if a child had not drawn the breast in a former birth, it would not, as soon as born, cling to the breast, and know how to suck. A person before whom this argument was once urged, asked how this was to be accounted for w hen the person arose from the state of a fish to human birth ? + When a Hindoo female child shews her attachment to religion, she gathers vilwu leaves and flowers, and, making Transmigration of souls;] OF THE HINDOOS. Sol cyou think she is suffering for sins committed in this birth !’ The widow addres- sed now adds — ‘Ah! my sorrows are indescribable. i am now suffering' for the * sins of many births ; the sins of birth after birth, birth after birth, are fallen up- 1 on me. If the sins-of numerous births had not been cast upon me, would my hus- * band (a lack of lives in one), have been taken from mef O God, do not bring up- ( on my worst enemy the misery which I endure. What had I done against God, ‘and what against him (her husband) that I suffer thus ? I must have injured him 4 in a former birth,, and therefore he was married to me on purpose to bring upon ‘ me the sorrows of widowhood. He was born in one womb, and I in another;- 4 we were perfect strangers; fate brought us together, and I began to flatter my- 4 self that I should long enjoy the blessings of a married state, when he was seiz- ‘ ed with sickness, and, without making. the least provision for me, has left me to- ‘ crouch and fawn for a handful of rice.. When waiting upon him in his last ino- ^ments he did not sayr I leave you this or that; you will not be destitute ; but, ‘shutting up my food and garments, he has thus abandoned rue. He! he was my. ‘greatest enemy. If I. meet. him in a future state, I’ll certainly revenge myself. ‘ Instead of putting fire into his mouth after death, if I had known that he would have- ‘ served me thus, ! would have put fire in his mouth while living. I entreat the. ‘gods, that in the next birth I may be a man, and he my wife, and that I may bring. ‘ upon him exactly what he has brought upon me; and that this may be continued ‘ through numerous births. Vile enemy Continuing her. address to a married woman, she says — ‘ See ! you have two meals a day, while I have but one ; you haver ‘ all manner of ornaments, and I am naked ; you are invited to all the feasts ;* you ‘can* eat of all kinds of delicacies, but I must live on the meanest food ; I must 3ist ‘ twice a month ;t there is no end of my sorrows.’ making a* image of the lingo, attempts to worship it ; or she sits down attentively and watches others while they' perform the ceremonies of worship;, or she goes- to a festival, and assists the females in making the necessary preparations. When she isgrown to maturity, she performs different ceremonies to obtain the blessing of a good husband. After marriage, she worships Shivh and other gods, and prays that her husband may love her, and live long, so that she may not endure the hardships of w idowhood . When she becomes a mother, she daily bows to the gods, repeats their names, and prays that they will bless her child. ■* A widow can take no share in marriage ceremonies, &c. She is not even permitted to touch the bride. + This fast iskept by widows on the eleventh of the increase and decrease of ihe moon in every month, which is observed so strictly among the higher casts, that notwithstanding a widow has- eaten od!v once on the preced- ing day, she does not touch the least aliment, not even a drop of water, on this day. 352 HISTORY, LITERATURE, and RELIGION, [Part iii. Chap.v. If a person die an untimely death, it is attributed to crimes committed in a for- mer state of existence. A person born blind is supposed to have destroyed the eyes of some one in a former birth. A few neighbours sitting together, as a person afflicted with an incurable distemper, passes along, observe, ‘Ah! no doubt, that man was guilty in a former birth of such or such a crime, and now the consequen- ces appear in his present state.’ The prosperity of persons, especially if they have suddenly risen from poverty to affluence, frequently gives rise to remarks on the merits of such persons in a for- mer birth : ‘ See, says one, ‘ such a person was poor, and is now worth so many lacks of roopees. He must have performed acts of extraordinary merit in former births, or he could not have so suddenly risen to such a state of affluence.’ When conversing on this subject ivith a Hindoo, he instanced the case of Ramu-Hfiree- Vishwasu, late of Khurduh : ‘ He was so poor,’ said he, ‘ that he was indebted to others for a place to lodge in. After a few years of service with a European, he obtained a fortune of thirty lacks of roopees. He bought an estate; erected a num- ber of temples to Shiva, and then went to Kashee, (Benares) where he died in a ve- ry short time. Such an auspicious life and death* can only be attributed to some wonderful acts of devotion or liberality in former births.’ A very learned man is complimented with having given learning to others in a former birth. When the Hindoos see any of the animals used cruelly, especially cows, they exclaim : ‘ Ah ! — How many sins must that creature have committed in a former birth !’ They say the same if they see a dog eating ordure. When they see a dog riding with his master in his palanqueen, they say — ‘ True, thou art born a dog, but some good works have made thy fate tolerable.’ The pooranns and other shastrus promise deliverance from future birth upon the performance of different religious ceremonies. * Every one who dies at Kashee become; a ged. JUDGMENT AFTEII DEATH.] OF THE HINDOOS. 353 ' SECTION ir. I Judgment of men after death. [From the Pfidmu pooranfi.] AT the extremity of the earth southwards, floating on the waters, is Sfmgyumnnee, the residence of Yu mu, the judge of the dead, and of his recorder Chitru-gooptu, and his messengers. Yuma has four arms, is of a dark colour, with eyes like the petal of the water-lily ; in his hands he holds a shell, a discus, a club, and a lotus ; he rides on Gfirooru ; wears a golden poita, and pearl ear-rings, and has a crown on his head, and a garland of flowers round his neck. Chitru-gooptii, the recorder, and Yuma’s attendants, appear in the most pleasing forms. Those who perform works of merit are led to Yumu’s palace along the most ex- cellent roads, in some parts of which the heavenly co urtezans are seen dancing or singing: and gods, gundhnrvus, &c. are heard chanting the praises of other gods; in others showers of flowers are falling from heaven ; in other parts are houses con- taining cooling water, and excellent food ; pools of water covered with m mpheeas ; and trees, affording fragrance by their blossoms and shade by their leaves. The gods are seen to pass on horses or elephants, with white umbrellas carried over them, or in palanqueens or chariots, fanned with the chamiirus of the gods, while the devurshees are chanting their praises as they pass along. Some, by the glory issuing from their bodies, illumine the ten quarters of the world. Yumu receives the good with much affection, and, feasting them with excellent food, thus addresses them : ‘ Ye are truly meritorious in your deeds ; ye are wise ; 1 by the power of your merits ascend to an excellent heaven. He who, born in the i world, performs meritorious actions, — he is my father, brother, and friend.’ 36L HISTORY, LITERATURE , and RELIGION, [Part m. Chap.v. The wicked have 688,000 miles to travel to the palace of Yuma, to receive judg- ment. In some places they pass over a pavement of fire; in others the earth in which their feet sink, is burning hot ; or they pass over burning sands, or over stones with sharp edgesy or burning hot ; sometimes showers of sharp instruments, and at others showers of burning cinders, or scalding water, or stones fall upon them ; burning winds scorch their bodies ; every now and then they fall into concealed wells full of darkness, or pass through narrow passages filled with stones, in which serpents lie concealed ; sometimes the road is filled with thick darkness ; at other times they pass through the branches of trees the leaves of which are full of thorns ; again they walk over broken pots, or over hard clods of earth, bones, putrifying flesh, thorns, or sharp spikes; they meet tygers, shackals, rhinoceroses, elephants, terrible giants, 8zc. ; and in some parts they are scorched in the sun without obtaining the least shade. They travel naked ; their hair is in disorder; their throat, lips, &c. are parched ; they are covered with blood, or dirt ; some wail and shriek as they pass along ; others are weeping; others have horror depicted on their countenances ; some are dragged along by leathern thongs tied round their necks, waists, or hands; others by cords passed through holes bored in their noses ; others by the hair, the ears, the neck, or the heels ; and others are carried having their heads and legs tied together. On arriv- ing at the palace, they behold Yumu clothed with terrer, two hundred and forty miles in height ; his eves distended like a lake of water ; of a purple colour; with rays of glory issuing from his bodv ; his voice is loud as the thunders at the dissolution of the universe; the hairs of his body are each as long as a palm-tree ; a flame of fire proceeds from his mouth ; the noise of the drawing of his breath is greater than the roaring of a tempest ; his teeth are exceedingly long; and his nails like the fan for winnowing corn. In his right hand he holds an iron club; his garment is an ani- mal’ss kin ; and he rides on a terrific buffalo. Chitru-gooptii also appears as a terrible monster, and makes a noise like a warrior when about to rush to battle. Sounds terrible as thunder are heard, ordering punishments to be inflicted on the offenders. At length Yumu orders the criminals into his presence, and thus addresses them : ‘ Did you not know that I am placed above all, to award happiness to the good, and ‘punishment to the wicked ? Knowing this, have you lived in sin? Have you ne- ‘ ver heard that there are different hells for the punishment of the wicked ? Have 355 Of future happiness.] OF THE HINDOOS. c you never given your minds to religion ? To-day, with your own eyes, you shall ( see the punishment of the wicked.— P'rom yoogu to yoogu stay in these hells ! — 1 You have pleased yourselves in sinful practices : endure now the torments due to c these sins. What will weeping avail ?’ Yuma next directs Chitru-gooptu to ex- amine into the offences of the criminals, who now demand the names of the witness- es : let such, say they, appear, and give their evidence in our presence. Yumu snail- ing, though full of rage, commands Sooryu,1 Chundro,2 Pfivunu,3 Ugnee,4 Akashu,5 Prit’hivee,6 Vuroonu,7 Tit’hee,8 Dinu,9 Ratree,10 Pratu-kalu,11 Sundhya-kalu,12 and Dhurmu,13 to appear against the prisoners ; who, hearing the evidence, are struck dumb; and remain trembling and stupified with fear. Yumn, then, gnashing his teeth, beats the prisoners with his iron club till they roar with anguish ; after which he drives them to different hells. SECTION III. Of future happiness. THE shastrus teach that there are four kinds of happiness after death, 1. That possessed in the heavens of the gods ;* — 2. that, when the person is deified ; — 3. that which arises from dwelling in the presence of the gods;+ — and, 4. in absorption.il In the three first, the person is subject to future birth, but not in the last. The three first are obtained by works ; the last by divine wisdom. 1 The sun. 2 The moon. 3 Wind. 4 Fire. 5 .Ether. 6 Earth. 7 Water. 8 A lunar-day. 9 Day. 10 Night. 11 Morning. 12 Evening. 13 A representative of Yearn. Ail the elements, and the divisions of time, are thus called upon to witness against the prisoners. * Tire Meemangsu writers have decided, that there is uo separate place of future happiness ; that whether a person enjoy happiness orendure misery, the whole is confined to the present life. The poeranus, on the other hand, declare, that there are many places of happiness and misery, and that persons go to these places after death. + All raised to heaven are net permitted to approach the god in whose heaven they reside. This privilege be- longs only to favourites. + The vedantu shastrus teach, that wherever a person possessing divine wisdom dies, he is immediately receiv- ed into the divine nature, as air, escaping from a vessel when broken, immediately mixes with the surrounding air. The pooraniis, however, teach, that the soul of such a person ascends to God inhabiting a certain place, and is there absorbed into the diviae nature. S s 2 356 HISTORY, LITERATURE, and RELIGION, [Fart hi. Chap.v. The descriptions which the pooranus give of the heavens of the gods are truly in the Eastern style : all things, even the beds of the gods, are made of gold and pre- cious stones. All the pleasures of these heavens are exactly what we should expect in a system formed by uninspired and unrenewed men : like the paradise of Maho- met, they are houses of ill-fame, rather than places of rewards for ‘the pure in heart.’ Here all the vicious passions are personified, or rather deified ; — the quarrels and licentious intrigues of the gods fill these places with perpetual uproar, while their impurities are described with the same literality and gross detail, as similar things are talked of among these idolators on earth. It would be a flagrant insult to compare these heavens with the place which our Saviour went to prepare for his disciples ;* but the serious enquirer after truth wijl be struck with this addi- tional proof, that the Christian religion is 1 worthy of all acceptation.’ I here subjoin an account of the heaven of Kooveru, the god of riches, from the Muhabharhtu : It is eight hundred miles long, and five hundred and sixty broad. The wind, perfumed with ten thousand odours, blows in soft breezes, and the place, in every part adorned with gold and jewels, displays a glory like that produced by the rays of the full moon. Here are also canals of the purest water filled with fish, water-fowl, water-lilies, &c. with flights of steps made of gold; with forests and gardens in which Kooveru and his courtezans divert themselves. In the treasury of this god are immense heaps of jewels, gold, silver, &c. from which the gods and goddesses supply themselves with ornaments. Kooveru sits on a throne glorious as the meridian sun, and reposes on a bed equally splendid. He is surrouned by different gods, among whom are Shivu, JDoorga, Shiva’s bull, his servants Nundee, Muha-kalu, Shiinkoo, Kuril u, &c. and by a thousand goddesses, or concubines, shin- ing like the lightning, and adorned with loads of jewels ; by the titans, by Ravunu, Vibheeshunu, and other rakshiisus, the pishacluis, the gundhurvfs, the kinnurus, the iips.ras, the vidyadhiirus, the mountain gods, &e. Before this assembly the upsuras dance : the kinnurus, (with horses’ mouths), and the gundhurvus, sing and play on heavenly instruments. All the pleasures of the other heavens are to be found here. * John xiv. 2. Of future happiness.] OF THE HINDOOS. 357 The following are esteemed works of merit capable of raising a person to celes- tial happiness : Honouring, entertaining, serving, and giving gifts to bramhuns : the more learned the bramhun, the greater the merit. Worshipping, and repeating the names of the gods, and particularly that of a person s guardian deity. Visiting, or residing at, holy places, and performing the accustomed religious ceremonies there. Performing the shraddhu for deceased ancestors. Bathing in the Ganges and other sacred rivers. Offering sacrifices. Building temples, cutting roads and pools, plant- ing trees, especially sacred trees; making and setting up images. Repeating the gayutree, and other parts of the vedus. Reading the vedu and other shastrus, or hearing them read. Honouring and serving a spiritual guide. Hospitality to guests, especiallv to bramhuns. Fasting, particularly at times directed by the shas- trus. Burning with a deceased husband. Parting with life in sacred places. King Soortft’hn was raised to the heaven of Indru for performing the sacrifice of a horse.* King Trishunkoo obtained heaven by the power of the merits which Vushisht’hn, a bramhun, transferred to him.+ Umbureeshu, a king, was about to perform a human sacrifice, in order to obtain heaven ; but when going to slay the victim, through the interference of Vishwamitru, a bramhun, his sacrifice was accept- ed of the gods, though the victim was not slain,]: and the king ascended to the heaven of Indru. § King Indrd-dyoomno, by performing austerities, offering sacrifices, and presenting gifts to bramhuns, obtained the power of going to heaven whenever he chose. || Beside these c works of merit,’ performed by Hindoos under the hope of obtain- ing a heaven of sensual pleasures after death, there are a number of other actions performed by them, supposed to be meritorious in their nature, but which, in the opinion of a Christian, deserve punishment, even in this life : — The Hindoo widow, burning with the dead body of her husband, is promised a residence in heaven during' the reigns of fourteen Indrus ; yet no Christian doubts whether these are real mur- * Shree-bhagwSta. + Ibid, which destroyed the power of the fire. J He repealed an incantation gi?en him by Visbwamitrii, <1 Shree-bhaguvutu, || Mababharutu. 3bS HISTORY, LITERATURE, and RELIGION, [Part iii. Chap.v- tiers or not. The deaths of vast multitudes of Hindoos are procured or hastened annually by immersing a part of the body, in a state of dangerous sickness, in the Ganges, and by pouring large quantities of this water into the body of the dying per- son : vet the Hindoos think it a work of great merit. Many persons voluntarily renounce life in the Ganges, under the hope of obtaining immediate entrance into heaven ; and 3 et a jury of Englishmen would pronounce it self-murder. Infatuated mothers devote their children to this sacred river, not doubting but they are send- ing them to heaven ; yet we feel certain that every such infant is murdered. Many -of the practices in the presence of the Hindoo idols, in the very midst of worship, are so dreadfully obscene, that I am persuaded even a Billingsgate mob would not suffer the actors to escape w ithout some marks of their disapprobation ; and yet the Hindoos expect nothing Less than heaven for these works oj merit. A great num- ber of the Hindoo modern saints live in a state of perpetual intoxication, and call this stupefaction, which aries-from smoking intoxicating herbs, fixing the mind on God. Nor do the Brumhucharees, w ho follow the rules of the Tuntru shastrus, and practice unutterable abominations,* under w hat they call the forms of religion, ever doubt whether these acts are meritorious, and capable of raising the person to heaven or not. Even women of the town have worship performed by bramhuns in brothels, from which the}' expect rew ards in a future state : so completely absent from the Hin- doo mind is the christain idea of purity of hearty and of the necessity of this in or- der to approach. God. The Hindoos profess to have a great reliance upon the merit of their works, though they do not depend upon any one ceremony to procure future happiness : One Hindoo travels to the south ; another to the north, to obtain some salvation-giv- ing charm : but after all, he listens to any new nostrum with as much eagerness as though he had hitherto done nothing towards obtaining heaven. + As a person’s * Though the author has drawn away the veil from some of these scenes, yet the Christian public must give him credit respecting the rest, for they are so intolerably gross, that they cannot be fully dragged intopublic view. + The Hindoos have as great a propensity to embrace new theories of religion as any other heathens what- ever, where the east does not interfere. Of fututie happiness.] OF THE HINDOOS. S5& continuance in heaven depends on the quantity of his merit, this may be another reason why the-Hindoo performs so many different works to obtain the same thing. After the death of a Hindoo who has been particularly diligent in practising the ceremonies of his religion, his neighbours speak of him with much respect : one person perhaps asks another : ‘ Who has been burnt at the landing-place to-day V The other answers — ‘ Such an one : he was an excellent character : he assisted others : he was very strict in performing his daily ablutions; he visited such and such holy places ; he was very generous to bramhuns and to strangers : he venerated the godsr &c. No doubt he will obtain a place in heaven.’ When a person dies who has not’ been liberal to bramhnns, nor expended anything in the ceremonies of his religion,- his neighbours doom him to hell without ceremony. When a neighbour mentions him, the person to whom he speaks, affects perhaps to be alarmed that the sound of such a person’s name has entered his ear, and, to remove the etui effects of such a circumstance, he repeats the names of several gods in some such form as this : c Ah! — Ah! — Muhabharutu! Muhabharntu! Muhabharutu ! Doorga ! Doorga ! Door- ga ! I must fast to-day, I fancv, for hearing this vile person’s name repeated.’ If the person has lived in all manner of impurity, and, in the language of scripture u has drank iniquity like water,” and yet has performed the popular ceremonies with a degree of regularity, he is spoken of with respect, for it is a principle of the 11 in- doo religion that good works absolutely atone for bad ones.* Notwithstanding it is common for survivors to speak in high terms of the future state of those who were zealous idolators, it is a doctrine repeatedly inculcated in tire Hindoo shastrus, that those who have not overcome their passions, (pure and impure), though they may have performed the usual ceremonies of their religion, cannot obtain celestial hap- piness. The doors of heaven are therefore shut against the great bulk of the peo- ple: they have neither performed splendid religious actions, nor subdued their pas- sions, nor fixed their minds on God, nor performed severe religious austerities. The shoodru, also, having no inheritance in the vedus, is placed in far worse circum- stances than the bramhun. Heaven was made for bramhuns, as well as the earth; * Nominal Christians little imagine how heatheni5h many of their religious notions are. 360 HISTORY", LITERATURE, avd RELIGION, [Part hi. Chap.v. and in general a Hindoo must be raised to bramhinieal birth before he can raise his ej'es towards heaven as his home.* Very few therefore indulge the hope of hea- ven.+ On the contrary, when at the point of death, almost every Hindoo is in a state of the most perplexing anxiety, like mariners in a storm when the vessel has become wholly unmanageable. Such a wretched Hindoo, in these moments, is of- ten heard giving vent to his grief and fears in the midst of his relatives, as he lies by the Ganges. If he be advanced in years, they endeavour to comfort him by re- minding him, that he could not expect to have lived much longer ; that he leaves a numerous family in comfortable circumstances ; and further, that his merits will certainly raise him to heaven. The dying man, however, finds no comfort in the merit of his works, but gives utterance to excessive grief in some such language as this : ( I ! what meritorious deeds have 1 performed? I have done nothing but sin. Ah ! where shall I go! — Into what hell shall I be plunged ! — What shall I do ? — How long shall I continue in hell ? — What hope can I have of going to heaven ? — Here I have been suffering for sin ; and now I must renew my sufferings ! — How ma- ny births must I pass through ? — Where will my sorrows terminate ?’ — As a forlorn and miserable hope, he calls upon his friends to give him their blessing, that Giin- ga may receive him ; and he takes leave of them in the utmost perturbation of mind. A Hindoo knows nothing of that hope which is “ as an anchor to the soul, both sure and stedfast.” When I urged upon a bramhnn with whom I was in conversation, that the shas- trus made large promises * to those who repeated the name of a god, or bathed in sacred rivers, or visited holy places, &c. I was told by a learned bramhun, that the * IIow different the spirit of the true religion : “ To the poor is the gospel preached.” “ Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” + As all other ways of obtaining heaven are rendered so difficult to the poor, this is one reason which recon- ciles a Hindoo widow to the funeral pile, as by this act she is quite certain of obtaining future happiness both for herself, her husband, and several generations of her ancestors. t He who bathes in the Ganges at an auspicious junction of certain planets, is assured that by this act he delivers himself and 3,030,000 of ancestors from hell. Of future happiness.] OF THE HINDOOS. 3C1 same shastrus declared, that these promises were only made to allure men to tie performance of their duty, and were not meant to be literally fulfilled.* Absorption. — God, as separated from matter, the Hindoos contemplate, as a being-re- posing m his own happiness, destitute of ideas ; as infinite placidity ; as an unruffled sea of bliss ; as being perfectly abstracted, and void of consciousness. They therefore deem it the height of perfection to be like this being. Hence Krishnu, in his discourse to Urjoomi,+ praises the man c who forsaketh every desire that entereth into his ‘ heart ; who is happy ofhimself; who is without affection; who rejoiceth not either ( in good or evil ; who, like the tortoise, can restrain his members from their wonted ‘ purpose ; to whom pleasure and pain, gold, iron, and stones are the same.’ £ The ‘learned,’ adds Krishnu, 4 behold Brumhu alike in the reverend bramhun, perfected e in knowledge ; in the ox, and in the elephant ; in the dog, and in him w ho eateth c of the flesh of dogs.’ The person whose very nature, say they, is absorbed in di- vine meditation, whose life is like a sweet sleep, unconscious and undisturbed, wdio does not even desire God, and who is thus changed into the image of the Ever- blessed, obtains absorption into Brumhu.]; The ceremonies leading toabsorption are called by the name oftupushya, and the person performing them a tupushwee. Forsaking the world; retiring to a forest; fasting, living on roots, fruits, &c. remaining in certain postures, exposure to all the inclemencies of the weather, &c. — these, and many other austere practices, are pre- scribed, to subdue the passions, to fix the mind, habituate it to meditation, and fill it * What a contrast is this to the doctrine of the gospel : “ Wherein God, willing more abnndantly to shew nnto the heirs of promise the immutability of h'rs counsel, confirmed it by an oath : that by two immutable things, in which it was impossible for God to lie, we might have a strong consolation, w ho have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us.” Heb. vi. 17, 18. t Bhaguvutu Geeta. t Some of the followers of Vishnoo (voishniivus) are not pleased with the idea of absorption, or of losing a distinct and conscious state of existence. They are represented as praying thus : ‘ O Vishnoo ! wre do not wish for absorption ; but for a state of happiness io which wre shall for ever see and serve thee as our Lord ; in which thou wilt continue a; our beloved master, and we as thy servants.’ Agreeably to this prayer, they believe that devoted voishnuvus after death will be freed from future birth, and remain for ever near \ ishnoo in the heaven of this god. 362 HISTORY, LITERATURE, and RELIGION, [Part iii. Chap.y, with that serenity and indifference to the world, which is to prepare it for absorption, and place it beyond the reach of future birth. The reader will easily perceive, that this part of the Hindoo religion, separated, as it confessedly w as in some measure, from the popular idolatry, instead of pro- ducing any good effects, drew men away from the practise of all the social duties in- cluded in the second table, ‘ thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself,’ and left the mind a prey to pride, moroseness and ignorance. It should also be observed that ma- ny of these austerities were both senseless and cruel in the extreme: one tupushwee is represented as hanging for hundreds of years with his head downwards ; another, as living on leaves ; another, on air ; another, as surrounding himself with four fires, and enduring intolerable heat and thirst ; another as standing up to the neckin wa- ter ; Valmeeku, it is said, stood in one posture, repeating the name of Ramu, till the white ants (termes belli cosus) surrounded his body with a case of earth, and de- voured the flesh from his bones. These tiipushwees are supposed to have been the authors of the most ancient of the Hindoo writings, in some of which, it is admitted, sentiments are to be found which do honour to human nature. I3ut it is equally certain that these sages were very little affected by these sentiments ; and perhaps the same might be said of almost all the heathen philosophers. Vushisht’hii inflicted on himself incredible acts of se- verity, but in the midst of his devotions he became attached to a heavenly courte- zan, and cohabited with her 5000 years.* Purashuru, an ascetic, violated the daugh- ter of a fisherman, who was ferrying him over a river ; from which intercourse sprang the famous Vyasu, the author of the M ii h abh a r util . + The father of Rishyn-shringu cohabited with a deer, and his son had doers’ horns. t Kupilu, an ascetic, re- duced king Saguru’s GO, 000 sons to ashes, because they mistook him for a horse- stealer.§ Bhrigoo, in a fit of passion, kicked the god Vishnco on the breast. |j Ri- cheeku, for the sake of a subsistence, sold his son for a human sacrifice.* Deorvasa, a sage, was so addicted to anger, that he was a terror both to gods and neen.t Ourv- * Muliabharutu. 1 1'oid. } Haaiayunn. § Muhabharatu. || Shrec-bhaguv&tS. - Ramayunu. + Ibid. Of future punishments.] OF THE HINDOOS* 363 vu, another sage, in a fit of anger, destroyed the whole race of Hoihiiyu with fire from his mouth,* and Doorvasa did the same to the whole posterity of Krishna. t Javalee, an ascetic, stands charged with stealing cows’ flesh, at a sacrifice : when the beef was sought for, the saint, to avoid detection, turned it into onions; and hence onions are forbidden to the Hindoos. ± The pooraniis, indeed, abound with accounts of the crimes of these saints, so famous for their religious austerities : anger and lust seem to have been their predominant vices. As it respects the modern devotees, none of them expect absorption : they content themselves with performing the popular ceremonies, and thus fall under the censures of Krishna, who says, 4 numbers prefer a transient enjoyment of heaven to eternal absorption.’ It is true, now and then a poor wretch is seen, naked, covered with ashes, and his hair clotted with dirt, whose vacant, brutish looks indicate that he is ap- proaching a state of complete abstraction, and that he may soon hope to enter into this perfect state, viz. to live in a world full of wonders, without a single passion left to be affected by them. Yet even this abstraction, or contempt of the world, if it can deserve such a name, is brought on by shunning the presence of man, and continually smoking intoxicating herbs, SECTION IV. Of future punishments. THE Shree-hhaguvutu contains the following account of the punishments endur- ed in different hells : The person guilty of adultery or fornication, the thief, and the stealer of children, are to be cast into the hell Tamisru, and continually famished ana beaten. He who defrauds others, is to be cast into a hell of darkness. The pioud person, who also neglects the ceremonies of religion, is to be tormented by the animals Kooroo. The glutton, who has also been guilty of destroying animals, is to be thrown into a hell of boiling oil. He who disregards the vedu and bramhuns, is to be punished in a hell of burning metal for 3,500,000 years. He ivho injures a * ttaraayuna. + Sbree-bhaglivatS. • + Ibid. T 1 2 SGi HISTORY, LITERATURE, and RELIGION, [Part hi. Ciiap.v* man of a superior order, is to be torn by swine. The unmerciful are to be torment* ed by snakes, flies, deer, birds, lice, wasps, &c. The bramhun, brambunee, bramha- charee, voishya, or king, who drinks spirits, shall be thrown into pans of liquid fire. He who despises a religious devotee, shall be punished by sticking fast in mud with his- head dowmvards. lie who kills a man, and offers him to the gods, and he who de- vours any animal, without having slain it in sacrifice, are to be fed on flesh and blood. He who betrays and afterwards destroys a person, is to be pierced with spears and arrows. The person who causes sorrow to others, is to be bitten by snakes with five heads. He who is inhospitable to guests, must have his eyes torn out by vul- tures and other ravenous birds. The covetous are to be fed with impure substan- ces. He who cohabits with a woman of another cast, or a virgin, or the wife of ano- ther man, is to be inclosed in the arms of an iron female image made red hot. The person who professes different religions, and is familiar with all casts, is to be pu- nished by being continually cast down from lofty trees. The bramhun who com- V mits adultery with the w ife of a bramhun, is to be fed with blood. Highway rob- bers, those who burn houses, or poison others, are to be bitten by dogs w ith enor- mous teeth. False-witnesses are to be cast from rocks 800 miles high.* I here insert the names of some of the Hindoo hells. Tamisru, or the hell of dark- ness; Undhu-tamisru, the hell of great darkness; Rouruvu, a hell full of animals called Rooroo ; Muha-rourdvii, a similar but more dreadful hell; Koombhee-paku, a hell of boiling oil; Kalu-Sootru, a hell of burning copper; Usiputru-vunu, a wil- derness in which criminals are punished by the thorns of the talu tree ; Shookru- mookhu, a hell where criminals are bitten by animals having the faces of swine ; Undhu-koopu, a hell dark and full of reptiles; Krimee-bhojunu, where criminals become worms feeding on ordure; Sundungshu, where sinners are burnt with hot irons ; Tuptu-shoormee, in w hich adulterers are tormented in the embraces of a red- hot iron female image ; Vujru-kuntuku-shalmulee, where men are throw n on trees full of dreadful thorns ; Voiturunee, a river full of filth: Pdoyodu, a similar hell; * It is to be understood, that punishments in bell may be prevented in many cases by offering the ap- pointed atonement. Punishment by the magistrate is also considered as an atonement, exempting the culprit from sufferings in a future state. fVhat good title.- this voould be to English malefactors who die by the hands of th* Htecuiioner — if they could believe it. Or FUTURE PUNISHMENTS.] OF THE HINDOOS. 365 Pranu-nirodhu, where sinners are pierced with arrows ; Vishhsunu, where they are beaten with clubs, &c . ; Lala-bhukshu, where they are fed with saliva, &c. ; Sharu- meyadunn, in w hich dogs continually bite the wicked ; Uvee-chimuyu, where false witnesses are thrown head-long upon a hard pavement; Patunii, where sinners are pinched with hot tongs; Ksharu-kurddumu, where they are hurled into mire; Ruksh- yogunii-bhojanu, where cannibals feed on the flesh of sinners ; Shoolo-prot’hu, wrhere the wicked are punished by spears and birds of prey ; Dundu-shooku, where snaked with many heads bite and devour sinners ; Uvutii-nirodhunu, w here offenders are punished in darkness with the fear of the approach of w ild beasts ; Upurya-vurtanu, where the eyes of sinners are picked out by birds of prey ; and Soocnee-mookha, where sinners are pricked with needles. Beside these, the Shree-bhaguvutu says, there are 100,000 hells, in which different kinds of torments are inflicted on cri- minals, according to the directions of the shastrus, and the nature of their guilt. The Hindoos in general manifest great fear of future punishment. Sometimes, after committing a dreadful sin, these fears are expressed to a friend in some such words as these : 4 I have committed a shocking crime, and I must endure great and long-continued torments ; but what can I do l There is no remedy now.’ Some- times these fears are so great that they drive a man to perform many works of me- rit, particularly works of atonement. If the offender be rich, they extort large sums of money from him, which are expended in gifts to bramhuns, or in religious cere- monies. if he be poor, he bathes in the Ganges with more constancy, or goes on pilgrimage to different holy places* The Hindoos consider some sins as sending whole generations to hell. A false witness is to suffer future torments, and with him fourteen generations of his family ; the man ivho sw’ears by the w aters of the Ganges involves himself and family in the same sufferings.* If a Hindoo at the lime of worship put a stalk of dobrva grass on the lingu, he and seven generations sink into hell. * I have heard a Hindoo say, that such a person not only incurs all this future misery, hut that the hand that touches the sacred water becomes w hite. This person said he had seen several Hindoos who bore this mark *if the wrath of the gods. 3G6 HISTORY, LITERATURE, and RELIGION, [Part hi. Chap. y. Emancipation of the zcicked, a story, from the Muhabhariitu.— Ravunu at one time had conquered the three worlds, heaven, earth, and patalu, and, as is said of Alexan- der, he sighed that there were no more worlds to conquer. When meditating where he should go next, the world of misery came into his mind ; and he immedi- ately resolved to pay a visit to Yumu. Before his arrival, it was announced that Ravunu was coming ; Yumu, filled with fear, sent word, that he had already sur- rendered to him, and was become his vassal. Ravunu, however, pushed forward, and found Yumu all submission. The conqueror, before his return, resolved to visit the place of the damned; but on his arrival, he was petrified with horror at the cries of the miserable w retches ; and, reflecting on what he saw, said, 4 I have 4 conquered the three worlds, and there remains nothing which my prow ess has not 4 performed. It will be a glorious thing for me to set all these -wretches at liber- 4 ty:’ — he immediately attempted to comfort the sufferers, by assuring them that he would not depart without accomplishing their deliverance. A transient gleam of hope visited the regions of despair. Ravunu then commanded 4 the spirits from the fiery deep,’ and, with his twenty arms, began to drag them up ; but as fast as he landed them on the side, they fell in again : still he continued his efforts, till he saw that tliev were unavailing, and that he could not reverse the decree which had fixed them in misery. Acknowledging his disappointment to the poor prisoners, he left them, and returned to Lucka (Ceylon). CHAPTER VI. SECTION I. Hindoo saints, or mendicants. THE Hindoo shastrus have described four different states (ashrumii) into which it is proper for each bramhun to enter, viz. Brumhucharyu,* Grihust’hu,t Vanu-pru- st’hu,]; and Brumhu-gnanee :§ and it appears to have been the design of the founders of the Hindoo religion, that these orders should be suited to the four distinguishing periods in the life of man : while the youth continues in a state of instruction, he is called a Brumhucharee, and the daily duties of this state are laid down for him ; af- ter marriage he becomes a Grihust’hu, and performs the several duties of civil life as a housholder. At the age of fifty he renounces the world, and enters a forest ; and lastly, by the power of religious austerities, he becomes prefectly insensible to all ; human things, and is absorbed in divine meditation. - The duties of a br'amhun student are laid down at large by JMunuu and other wri- ters. When the youth is about to leave this state, and to enter on the duties of a housholder, he takes a staff in his hand, and pretends-to leave the house, and go into1 a forest, to read the vedus, and to obtain his food by begging, — but the parents stop' him, saying, c Oh ! child, return ; thou shalt not go into the wilderness ; we w ill sup- ply thee wfth alms. Besides, become a housholder, marry, and perform the duties of a Grihust’hu.’ From the first to the twelfth day, the face of the boy is not to be seen by any shoodru, nor is he to see the face of a person of this cast. (| He bathes early in the morning with a cloth over his face as he passes through the streets, one person going before and another behind him, and if a shoodru should approach they direct him to pass another way as a Brumhucharee is going to bathe. He must eat * A student. + A housholder. $ A hermit, from vBnu, a forest, and prust’hu, going, § A person possessed of divine knowledge. H It is a shocking circumstance, and proclaims the true origin of the Hindoo religion, that it seeks all occasions to degrade and wound the feelings of the shdodru. How different the Holy Scriptures : “ Honour -all men.'’ 3G S HIST011V, LITERATURE, and RELIGION, [Part iii. Ciiap.v. only once a day ; abstain from flesh, fish, &c. ; and perform the proper ceremonies three times a day. On the twelfth day, wfith his staff in his hand, he bathes, and casts his staff into the stream, repeating incantations, intimating that he renounces the state of the Briimhiicharee, and becomes a Grihust’hu. On this day, some persons, for the sake of obtaining a few roopees, permit their son to receive alms from the hands of a female shoodru, who, from that time, calls this child the son of her alms. Having no son of her own, she visits the child, and takes him asavisitor to her own house, where she feasts and clothes him. I have heard of very large sums being given to the child of a bramhun when he has thus become the son of a person’s alms. I can find no other reason for this practice, than that a woman w ithout children is pleased even with such a son ; especially as he is the offspring- of a bramhun. In a short time after the child has thus resolved to enter the state of a GrihusPhn, he is generally married. The duties assigned to him by the shastrus as a housholder are, the daily offerings to the manes, and of clarified butter in the burnt-offering ; the dally worship of the shal- gramfi, and the cow ; the raising of offspring; his daily business ; the feeding of stran- gers ; the hearing of the shastrus, bathing, repeating the names of the gods, the wor- ship of the gods, &c. The next state is called Vanu-prust’hu, or, that of a hermit ; for which order Mu- noo gives the following directions : 4 When the father of a family perceives his mus- cles become flaccid, and his hair grey, and sees the child of his child, let him then seek refuge in a forest. Abandoning all food eaten in towns, and all his houshold utensils, let him repair to the lonely w ood, committing the care of his w ife to her sons, or accompanied by her, if she chuse to attend him. Let him take up his con- secrated fire, and all his domestic implements of making oblations to it, and depar- ting from the tow n to the forest, let him dwell in it with complete powrer over his organs of sense and of action. With many sorts of pure food, such as holy sages used to eat, w ith green herbs, roots, and fruit, let him perform the five great sacra- ments, introducing them with due ceremonies. Let him wear a black antelope’s hide, or a vesture of bark ; let him bathe evening and morning ; let him suffer the hairs of his head, his beard, and his nails to grow continually. From such food as he may eat, let him, to the utmost of his power, make offerings and give alms ; and with Religious Mendicants.] OF THE HINDOOS. 369 presents of water, roots, and fruit, let him honour those who visit his hermitage. Let him be constantly engaged in reading the vedus ; patient of all extremities, uni- versally benevolent, with a mind intent on the Supreme Being ; a perpetual giver, but no receiver of gifts ; with tender affection for all animated bodies. Let him slide backwards and forwards on the ground ; or let him stand a whole day on tip-toe; or let him continue in motion rising and sitting alternately ; but at sunrise, at noon, and at sunset, let him go to the waters and bathe. 1 In the hot season, let him sit exposed to five fires, four blazing around him, with the sun above; in the rains, let him stand uncovered, without even a mantle, and where the clouds pour the heaviest showers ; in the cold season, let him wear humid vesture ; and let him increase by degrees”the austerity of his devotion. Then, having reposited his holy fires, as the law directs, in his mind, let him live without external fire, without a mansion, wholly silent, feeding on roots and fruit. Or the hermit may bring food from a town, having received it in a basket of leaves, in his naked hand, or in a potsherd, and then let him swallow eight mouthfuls. A bramhun, becoming void of sorrow and fear, and having shuffled off his body by any of those modes which great sages practised, rises to exaltation in the divine essence.’ The reader is not to expect any such ascetics now, if they ever did exist. There are, howeveiy many things among the religious mendicants of the present day which remind us of the descriptions of a tiipushwee in the shastrus. To suggest the idea of their having subdued their passions, some are almost naked, or entirely so ; 01 to point out that they belong to the sect of ascetics who lived in forests, they ueai ti- gers’ skins ; some keep the arm in an erect posture, and permit their nails to grow till they resemble the claws of a bird of prey. Yet these persons renounce the world, because it has frowned upon them, or be- cause the state of a religious beggar in a warm climate is preferred by an idle peo- ple, to that of the lowest order of day-labourers. When I asked a learned bramhhn, whether there were not some instances of persons, from religious motives, renouncing the world and becoming mendicants, he said there might be, but he did not know of a single instance. V ▼ STD HISTORY, LITERATURE, and RELIGION, [Part hi. Chap. vi. These mendicant?, so far from Laving subdued their passions, frequently curse those who refuse to give them food ; many are common thieves ; almost all live in an un- chaste state, and others are almost continually drunk by smoking intoxicating drugs They are total strangers to real purity of heart, and righteousness of life. They dread to kill an insect, to reproach a bramhiin, or to neglect a ceremony ; but their impure thoughts, or unjust actions, never disturb their peace, indeed some of the most exalted of the Hindoo saints, as has been already shewn, burned with rage so as to become a terror to all who approached them ; and their impurities, as record- ed in the pooran'.s, are too offensive ever to reach a European ear. Even the god Shivu, one of the greatest tupiisInveTs of all the Hindoo ascetics, was once so capti- vated,. says the Muhabharutn, with the charms of the goddess Mohineo, that he de- clared he would part with the merit of all his religious austerities for a single grati- fication of his impure desires. In some parts of the upper provinces, these mendicants unite in bodies, and be- come public plunderers, the inhabitants of whole villages abandoning their houses on their approach. They generally live in a mixed intercourse of the sexes, though few women are to be s^en among them ; they nearly approach the gypsies in Europe in the grossness of their manners, but far exceed them in the filthiness of their out- ward appearance. Sometimes two or three thousand, though more frequently two or three hundred, are seen in bodies, having leaders to guide them.* Many are armed with swords and spears, and all have some weapons. They carry with them images of the shalgramu, and stone images of Krishnu, which they worship once a day, a3 devoutly as thieves can be supposed to do. They are not likely to feel any remorse on account of their crimes when bowing before the image of the lascivious Krishnu. * Al a particular junction of the heavenly bodies, sometimes as many as twenty thonsand Srnyasets and an equal numberof Voiragees meet, at HOridwarii, and fight, to determine v. ho shall descend and bathe in Gunga first. The SuDya^ees say, ‘ Gunga descended from the bunch of hair on the head of our god Shivu ; therefore tve will bsthe first.’ The Voiragees rejdy, ‘ Gaogadesceaded from the foot of our god Viahnoo, therefore the right to bathe first is ours.’ Religious Mendicants.] OF THE HINDOOS. 371 I here subjoin a brief account of the different orders of religious mendicants, as they exist at the present day : m Vuishnuvus or Voiragees. All the followers of Vishnoo are called Voishnnviis. The term voiragee denotes a person destitute of passions. Most of the mendicant voiragees are the followers of Choitunyu, and have what are called Gosaees at their head. Persons of this sect take new wives (voiraginees) from among the female disci- ples of the Gosaees : these are generally unchaste women, who enter into this order when their youth is tied. The Gosaees have a form of marriage peculiar to them- selves,* the principal ceremony in which is an exchange of necklaces by the bride and bridegroom, and the alteration of the bride’s name : she generally wanders from place to place with her new husband. Some of these female disciples become pro- curesses, and others beg for their food as the followers of Choitunyh. Many wan- dering voiragees sing the praises of Krishna and Choitiinyu before the doors of per- sons where they beg ; a few continue in a secular state, rear and sell calves, or lend money on exorbitant interest. + The voiragee mendicants are much more social in their manners than any other tribe of Hindoo wanderers ; they generally remain in towns, and mix with the inhabitants. The voiragees contend as strongly with the followers of the deities who receive bloody offerings, as a Christian could do against idolatry 4 Sant/asecs. These mendicant worshippers of Shivu are very numerous in Ben- gal, but are not much honoured by their countrymen. They smear their bodies with the ashes of cow-dung, wear a narrow cloth tied with a rope round their loins, and throw a cloth dyed red over their bodies. T he artificial hair worn by some of these persons reaches down to their feet, and is often clotted with dirt till it ad- heres together like a rope. Some tie the teeth of swine, as ornaments, on their • * Tiie better sort of Hindoos consider these marriages as convenient methods of committing adultery. As much as 75 per cent, is given in some coses ; but 3» per cent, is commonly giveD. t '■ :• ' DATE DUE L027- •W2 GAYLORD PRINT CO IN U S A. « . *►*»*•»•*•** »*•»**»»»*#* - *