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age of Radha being placed by that of Krishnu in many of the temples. Under several other names Krishnu is worshipped, to each form a separate temple has been erected; among the rest to Gopalu, the herdsman; to Valu-gopalu, the infant Gopalu; to Gophe-nat-hu, the lord of the milk-maids.

2. The Temple of Juggernaut-is esteemed the most sacred of all the religious establishments of the Hindoos, and is annually visited, on the lowest calculation, by 1,200,000 people. The idol is a carved block of wood, with a frightful visage painted black, and a distended mouth of a bloody colour. His arms are of gold, he is dressed in a gorgeous apparel. On festival days, the throne of the idol is placed upon a stupendous moveable tower, about sixty feet high, resting on wheels, which indent the ground deeply as they turn slowly under the ponderous machine. The horses which are fixed to the car, with the driver and the little figures, are all made of wood. Attached to the principal tower, are six ropes, of the length and size of a ship's cable, by which the people draw it along. Upon the tower are the priests and satellites of the Idol, surrounding his throne, who occasionally address the worshippers in libidinous songs and gestures. Both the walls of the temple and the sides of the car are covered with the most indecent emblems, in large and durable sculpture. Obscenity and blood are the characteristics of the idol's worship. As the tower moves along, devotees throwing themselves under the wheels, are crushed to death; and such acts are hailed with the acclamations of the multitude as the most

acceptable sacrifices.* A body of prostitutes are maintained in the temple for the use of the worshippers; and various other systematic indecencies, which will not admit of description, form a part of the service.

A vast portion of the pilgrims to this temple die by the way from want, fatigue or disease. At a distance of 50 miles, the approach to this spot is known by the quantity of human bones which are strewed by the way. Many old people take the journey on purpose to die within the sacred precincts, The sand plains around the town are in some places whitened with the bones of the pilgrims. There is a spot at a little distance, called by the Europeans, Golgotha, where the dead bodies are usually cast forth, and where dogs, vultures

* One poor wretch has just been crushed by the wheels, and the infatuated people are throwing cowries on his body; another victim is in the act of meeting his death. The idol is so placed as to be seen by those who draw the car. In the front are people selling refreshments, little images, &c.

and jackalls are seen continually feeding upon them.

Such is the mortality among the pilgrims, that a Hindoo of property always makes his will before he sets out on the journey, and takes a most affecting farewell of his disconsolate relations.

Multitudes are crushed to death by the pressure of the crowd; at one time 150 were thus killed around the temple gate. A considerable revenue arises from the taxes paid by the pilgrims; which, after defraying the expenses of the temple, goes to the government. The receipts per annum have been stated at upwards of sixty thousand dollars, of which sum near thirty thousand dollars have been applied for the support of this temple worship.

Imitations of this ponderous car abound in many of the large towns in Bengal.

3. Ramu,-a deified monarch, and the hero of the Raymayunu, comes in for a considerable share of the wretched devotion of the Hindoos, especially in the western provinces. He is adored as the seventh Hindoo incarnation; he has an annual festival; and is daily worshipped in the temples dedicated to him, his brother, and his friend Hunoomanu. In these temples, he appears as a green man, with a bow and arrow in his hands, sitting on a throne, having Seeta on his left; his brother Lukshmunu holds a white umbrella over his head, and Hunoomanu stands before him as a servant with

joined hands. He is considered as a benificent deity. Some think that Ramu was deified on account of a successful attack on Ceylon, when he was king of Muthoora.

4. Choitunyu,-i. e. The wise, a form of Krishnu; the god of a set of voivagee, whose leader 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. Vishwu-kurmu,--the son of Brumha, as architect of the gods, may be regarded as the Hindoo 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-devu,--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. Sutyu Narayunu. This name implies that he is the true Vishnoo. He is worshipped frequently in the houses of the rich, from the desire of insuring prosperity.

8. Punchaunnu,-a form of Shivu, worshipped by the lowér 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 vatu and other trees. 8. Dhurmut'hakooru,-another form of Shivu, held in much the same estimation as Punchanunu.

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10. Kaloo-rayu,-the god of forests, another form of ShiHe is painted as sitting on a tiger, and carrying a bow and arrow and is worshipped by the wood-cutter, in the forests, to insure protection from wild beasts.

11. Deified Beings in strange shapes.-Urdhu-nareeshworu. This compound deity is Shivu and Doorga united in one body. Religious worship is paid to this idol. Krishnukalee. În this image of Krishu and Kalee united in one body, vice itself is personified and worshipped. Huree-Huru. Another compound deity, Vishnoo and Shivu. The worship paid to these idols appears to owe its origin to stories in the Poora nus; but the 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, Bramhuns, and their wives and daughters; and, among the Oamacharees, women of the lowest cast, and even prostitutes, are worshipped, with rites too abominable to be recorded.

12. The Worship of Beasts. The cow, as a form of Bhuguvutee, is an object of worship, and receives the homage of the Hindoos at an annual festival. 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, Notwithstanding this reverence, the bullocks employed in carrying burdens, and at the plough, are used more cruelly by the Hindoos than any other animals. Hunoomanu, the Monkey, has also been placed among the gods, as a form of Shivu. The temples of this god are to be seen, and in some places his image is worshipped daily; he is even chosen by many as their guardian 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,

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half a bird and half a man, has received 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 tò have consecrated groves, but several 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 a tree of this name; which the Hindoos preserve with great care near their houses, and erect pillars to its honour. The heads of these pillars, which commonly open like a cup, are filled with earth, and the plant is placed in them. Its leaves and wood are esteemed sacred; and, with the latter they make their beads, with which they repeat the names of their guardian deities. Several other trees receive almost an equal homage. It is considered as a great sin among the Hindoos for any member of a family to cut down trees planted by an ancestor; and the misfortunes of many a family have been ascribed to such an act of indiscretion.

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 rauk highest amongst the river deities. She is declared to have descended from Vishnoo's heaven; an anniversary of which event is celebrated by particular festivities. The most extravagant things are related 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 immense distances; every thing they touch becomes purified; crowds of Hindoos perform their worship on the river daily, after purifying themselves in the stream; the sick are laid on its banks, expecting recovery from the mere sight of this goddess; and it is reckoned a great calamity not to die within sight of Gunga. Many other rivers receive the honours of divine worship.

Bathing in the Ganges.-The engraving exhibits a view of a bathing scene in the holy waters of the river Ganges, the persons in the water and on the banks are the devotees, or the superstitious worshippers and bramhuns, or priests, who assist them in their worship, and who, after the people have bathed, perform a number of ceremonies, and incantations,

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