(HEO: 

SIAtf 







VIEW 



OF THE 



HISTORY, LITERATURE, AND RELIGION 



OF 



THE HINDOOS: 



INCLUDING 

A MINUTE DESCRIPTION OF 

&3M9S9 



TRANSLATIONS FROM THEIR PRINCIPAL WORKS, 






IN TWO VOLUMES. 

VOL. I. 



BY THE REV. W. WARD, 

ONE OF THE BAPTIST MISSIONARIES AT SERAMPORE, BENGAL. 



THE THIRD EDITION, 
CAREFULLY ABRIDGED AND GREATLY IMPROVED. 



LONDON: 

Printed, by Order of the Committee of the Baptist Missionary Society, for 

BLACK, PARBURY, AND ALLEN, BOOKSELLERS TO THE 

HON. EAST INDIA COMPANY, LEADENHALL-STREET ; 

By W. H. Pearce, High-street, Birmingham. 

1817. 



-HEOL. 



(=1491 
2.4-4 









ef 



THE REV. SAMUEL PEARCE, OF BIRMINGHAM j 
THE REV. JOHN SUTCLIFF, OF OLNEYj 

AND 

THE REV. ANDREW FULLER, OF KETTERING; 

antJ to 

THE REV. JOHN RYLAND, OF BRISTOL; 
THE REV. JOHN FAWCETT, OF HEPDEN-BRIDGE; 

AND 

THE REV, ROBERT HALL, OF LEICESTER j 
antr to 

THE REV. WILLIAM AREY, 

AND ALL THE OTHER EUROPEAN AND OTHER 
COLLEAGUES OF THE AUTHOR IN INDIA ; 

THIS WORK IS VERY AFFECTIONATELY INSCRIBED, 

BY 

THE AUTHOR. 

&ERAMPORE, June, 1815. 



VOL. I. 



PRONUNCIATION OF HINDOO NAMES, 



IN endeavouring to give the sounds of Siingskritu 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 retain in his memory, that the short ii is to be sounded as 
the short o in son, or the u in Burton j the French &, as a in 
plate ; and the ee as in sweet; he may go through the whole 
work with a pronunciation so correct, that a Hindoo would un 
derstand him. At the beginning and end of a word, the inherent 
vowel (u,) has the soft sound of au. 



ERRATA. 

Vol. I. p. Ixxxvi. 1. 9. for " adorating," read " adoring." 

p. 9. 1. 7. for " eight," read " eighth." 

p. 256. 1. 12. for " fled," read " fled away." 

Vol. II. p. 138. 1. 3. for " Bristol Hot-wells, with all its gilt crutches," 
read " the warm waters at Bath, with all the gilt crutches." 



CONTENTS 

OF VOL. I. 



INTRODUCTORY REMARKS. 

X HE 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-Saru, iii. A system of 
austerity founded on this system, v. Extract from the Shree-Bhagu- 
vutu on this subject, vi. Account of the ceremony called yogti, by 
which the Divine Spirit, dwelling in matter, becomes purified, ex 
tracted from the Patunjiilu Durshunu and the Gorukshu-simghita, viii. 
No real y ogees to be found at present, ix. Absurdity of these 
opinions and practices, x. Another class of Hindoos place their hopes 
on devotion, ibid. The great mass of the population adhere to religi 
ous ceremonies^ xii. Conjectures on the origin of the Hindoo Mytho 
logy, xiii. on images, as originating in moral darkness, and the depra 
vity of men, ibid. those of the Hindoos not representations of the One 
God, xiv. nor of his perfections, ibid. nor of human virtues, xv. 
nor of the objects of natural science, ibid. but in general the inven 
tion of kings, to please the multitude, ibid. The doctrine of all the 
East, that God in his abstract state is unknown, and unconnected with 
the universe, xvi. the object of worship the divine energy, subject to 
passions, in consequence of its union to matter, ibid. the creation of 
the gods first, xvii. Proofs that the divine energy is the object of 
adoration, from the forms of the gods, xviii. the modes of worship, 
xix. the common observations of the Hindoos on the phenomena of 
nature, xx. The divine energy the object of worship among the 
Egyptians, Greeks, Persians, &c. proved by quotations from various 
authors, xxi. The subjects embraced by the Hindoo mythology, xxii. 
The ancient idolatry of this people confined to the primary elements, 
the heavenly bodies, and aerial beings, ibid. the succeeding objects 
of worship, Brumha, Vishnoo, and Shivti, the creator, the preserver, 
and destroyer, ibid. next the female deities, as the representatives of 
nature, ibid. then sundry deities, connected with corrupt notions of 
Divine Providence ; and afterwards deified heroes, xxiv. The number 
of the Hindoo gods, ibid. Benefits sought from different gods by their 
worshippers, xxv. Brumha his form allusions of these attributes 



vi CONTENTS. 

conjecture of Mr. Paterson s examined, xxvi. Vishnoo the attributes 
of his image explained conjecture of Mr. Paterson s noticed, xxvii. 
Shivu, and the attributes of his image remarks on the worship of the 
Lingu resemblance between Bacchus and Shivu two other forms of 
Shivu noticed, Kalii-Bhoiruvft and Muha-Kalu, xxviii. Indrii, xxx. 
Yumu,xxxi. Gimshu,xxxii. Kartikeyu,ibid. S66ryii,ibid. Ugnee, 
xxxiii. Puvtinu, xxxiv. Vuroonfi, ibid. Sumoodru, ibid. Prit hivee r 
ibid. The heavenly bodies, xxxv. Doorga, xxxvi. Kalee, xxxvii. 
Lukshmee, xxxviii. Siiruswutee, ibid. Sheetula, ibid. Munusa, ibid. 
Shusht hee, ibid. Krishnu, xxxix. Jugunnat hu. xl. Ramu, xli. 
Choitunyu, xlii. Vishwti-kurma, ibid. Kamu-devu, ibid.- Siityu-Na- 
rayunu, ibid. Punchaniinu, ibid. Dhurmu-t hakooru, ibid. Kaloo- 
rayu, ibid. Deified beings in strange shapes, xliii. worship of human 
beings, ibid. Worship of beasts, ibid. birds, xliv. trees, ibid. 
Worship of rivers, ibid.- fish, xlv. books, ibid. stones, ibid. a log 
of wood, xlvi .Remarks on this system of mythology, ibid. on the 
use of idols in worship, ibid. Indelicacy of many of the Hindoo 
images, xlvii. Corrupt effects of idol worship in this country, xlviii. 
especially after the festivals, xlix. The history of the gods and religi 
ous pantomimes exceedingly increase these effects, I. Practices of the 
vamacharees add to the general corruption, li. Reflections on this state 
of things, ibid. causes of the popularity of the festivals, Iv. remarks, 
with a view of correcting the false estimate made of the Hindoo cha 
racter by the Rev. Mr. Maurice and others, ibid. Idolatry exciting to 
frauds, lix. setting up of gods a trade, ibid. Hindoo Temples their 
use, Ix. dedication of them, ibid. Images, of what materials made, 
Ixi. Priests, Ixii. Ceremonies at temples, Ixiii. Periodical ceremo 
nies, ibid. daily duties of a bramhiin, Ixiv. form of initiation into the 
Hindoo rites, ibid. the spiritual guide, Ixv. Bathing, ibid. forms of 
worship before the idol, IxvL Extract from the Ain Akbiiree, ibid, 
note. forms of praise and prayer, Ixviii. meditation, ibid. repeating 
the names of the gods, Ixix. vows, fasting, and gifts to bramhiins, 
ibid. hospitality, digging pools, planting trees, rehearsing and hearing 
the pooranus, &c. Ixx. Burning widows, and burying them alive, ibid. 
an affecting relation by Captain Kemp, ibid. note. number of these 
victims, Ixxiv. Visiting sacred places, ibid. atonements, and offerings 
to the manes, Ixxv. heavens and hells, Ixxvi. Confession of faith 
made by a bramhun, ibid. Remarks on it, Ixxix. Sum of the Hindoo 
system, Ixxx. view of its effects, ibid. Remarks of the same bramhun 
on the present state of religion among his countrymen, ibid. Appear- 

* In this Introduction, the author has gone over the whole of the Hindoo Pantheon, 
that he might supply a number of omissions in the body of the work ; and hence it forms 
an epitome of the whole. 



CONTENTS. vii 

ances in the streets, reminding the passenger of the different Hindoo 
ceremonies, Ixxxii. This system incapable of producing moral effects, 
notwithstanding the doctrine of future rewards and punishments, 
Ixxxiv. Errors inculcated in the Hindoo writings respecting God, 
Ixxxv. Impure actions of the gods, Ixxxviii. the ods counteracting 
each other in the government of the world, Ixxxix. Irreverence of the 
people towards the gods, xc. Contrast betwixt Hindooism and Chris 
tianity, ibid. Hindoo system ascribes all sin to God, xci. teaches the 
bramhun to despise the shoodrti, xcii. exhorts to the extinction of 
every virtuous passion, ibid. declares that sin is removed by the 
most trifling ceremony, ibid. supplies prayers for the destruction of 
enemies, xciii. permits falsehood, and theft even from a slave, ibid. 
Works, said to raise men to heaven, not beneficial to others, ibid. 
Remarks on the impurities and cruelties connected with this system, 
xciv. Impossible to know the Hindoo idolatry, as it is, without initia 
tion, xcv. The dispensations of Providence towards the Hindoos un 
folded by this state of things, xcvi. Happiness under the British 
government, ibid. Misrepresentations of European writers noticed 
and reprehended, xcvii. Scripture testimony against idolatry, ci.- Of 
the seceders, or heterodox Hindoos, the Joinus, Bouddhiis, Shikhs, and 
followers of Choittinyu the founders of all these sects religious men 
dicants, ciii. Observations on the tenets of these seceders, civ. 



BOOK I. 

OBJECTS OF WORSHIP. 

CHAP. I. 

OF GOD. 

PAGE. 

The One God an object of speculation only ; not a single temple 
erected to his honour throughout the whole of Hindoost hanu, . . 1 

CHAP. II. 

OF THE GODS. 

Their number, three hundred and thirty millions, 2 

SECT. I. VISHNOO, The source of all the Hindoo incarnations, 2. 
Accounts of the ten incarnations, 3. Other incarnations, 
10. Meaning of these fables, 11. Images of Vislmoo, 



Till CONTENTS. 

SECT. PAGE. 

11. Mark of his followers, 12. His names, ibid. His 

wives, 13. His heaven, IS 

II. SHIVU. Forms of this god, 11. The lingu, 15. Resembles 
the phalli of the Greeks, 16. Farm of this god as Mtiha- 
Kalu, 17. Names and mark of the sect, 18. Shivii s 
festivals particularly the siinyasee and swinging ditto, 
10 26. Origin of these horrid rites, 26. Marriage of 
Shivu, 27. Fables respecting Shivu, 28. Names, 29. 
Description of Shivii s heaven, 30 

III. BRUMHA. Account of the creation, 33. Form of this god, 

ibid. Worship paid to him, 31. He attempts to commit 
incest, ibid. Heaven of Brumha, 35. His names, .... 36 

IV. INDRU. His image and festivals, 37. Account of a criminal 

intrigue, 38. Other fables, 41. Heaven of Indrii, 42. 
Scenes in this heaven, in several stories, 43. Names of 

this god, ...., 49 

V. SOORTU. His descent, 50. His festivals, 51. Anecdotes 

of this god, ibid. His names, 55 

VI. GUNESHU. His image, 56. Descent and birth, 57. Wor 
ship, 58. Names, 59 

VII. KARTIKEYU. His image and descent, 60. Festivals, 62. 

Names, 64 

VIII. UGNEE. His form and descent, 65. Festival, ibid. Names, 66 
IX. PUVUNU. His birth, 67. A story respecting him, 68. His 

impure character, 69. Names, 69 

X. VUROONU. His image and worship, 70. Fables, ibid. His 

heaven, 72. His names, 73 

XI. YUMU. His image and festivals, 73. His court as judge 
of the dead, 75. His palace, ibid. Fables respecting 
him, 76 82. His heaven, 82. Marriage, 83. Names, 84 
XII. " Host of Heaven." Remarks on their worship, 85 

XIII. Planets. AYorshipped in a body, 89 

XIV. RUVEE. His form and worship, 89. Commits a rape, . . 90 
XV. SOMU. His image and worship, 90. Names, 91 

XVI. MUNGULU. His image, 92. An evil planet, 92 

XVII. BOODHU. His form, 92. Account of his birth, 93 

XVIII. VRIHUSPUTEE. His image, 94. An auspicious planet, 95. 

Names, 95 

XIX. SHOOKRU. His form, 95. A fable respecting his blindness, 

96. A propitious planet, ibid. A fable, ibid. Names, 98 
XX. SHUNEE. His image, 99. An evil and much-dreaded 

planet, 99 

XXL RAHOO. His image, 100* Received this form at the churn- 



CONTENTS. ix 

PAGE. 

ing of the sea, ibid. Names, 101. Unaccountable coin 
cidence in the customs of different nations respecting an 

eclipse, 101. note 

XXII. KETOO. His image, 102 

CHAP. III. 

OF THE GODDESSES. 

SECT. I. DOORGA. Her descent, 103. Reason of her name, a 
fable, ibid. Festivals, 108. Image, 109. Ceremonies 
at her festival minutely described, ibid. Bloody sacri 
fices, 111. Offerings, 113. Dances, 114. A scene at 
Raja Raj-krishnu s at Calcutta, 117. Drowning the /-. 

image, 120. Fables respecting this goddess, 422 

II. The ten Forms of Doorga. Story from the Markundeyu 
pooranii, and another from the Chundee, relative to the 
wars of Doorga, 123. Names of the ten forms, . . 128 

III. SINGHU-VAHINEE, a form of Doorga. Her image, 128. 

And worship, 129 

IV. MUHISHU-MURDINEE. Her image and worship, 129. Be 

nefits attending it, 129 

V. JUGUDDHATREE. Her image, 130. A popular festival 

held in her honour, 130 

VI. MOOKTU-KESHEE. Her image, 131. Her festival, and 

the benefits promised to her worshippers, 131 

VII. TARA. Her image and worship, 132 

VIII. CHINNU-MUSTUKA. Her image, 132. Her worship, and 

the benefits resulting from it, 133 

IX. JUGUDGOUREE. Her image and worship, 134 

X. VUGULAMOOKHEE. Her festival, 134. Benefits resulting 

from her worship, 134 

XI. PRUTYUNGIRA. Petitions addressed to this goddess, 135. 

Story respecting her, 136 

XII. UNNU-POORNA. Her image, and festival, 136 

XIII. GUNESHU-JUNUNEE. Her image, 137. Regular and occa 

sional festival, 138 

XIV. KRISHNU-KRORA. Her image, and festival, 138. The 

history of this goddess, 188 

XV. VISHALAKSHEE. Offerings to this goddess, 140 

XVI. CHUNDEE. Her worship, and festivals, 141. Offerings to 

her, 141 

XVII. & XVIII. Other forms of Doorga of inferior note, 141, 144. 

XIX. KALEE. Her image, and anecdotes connected with it, 



x CONTENTS. 

SECT. PAGE. 

145. Human sacrifices, 148. Other horrid rites, 150. 
A singular fact, that thieves worship her, 151. Festi 
vals a scene at Kalee-Shunkuru-Goshu s, at Calcutta, 
154. The degree of honour formerly paid to this god 
dess by the Hindoo rajas, 156. Image and temple at 
Kalee-ghatii described, 157. This image much honoured, 
presents being made to it by kings, merchants, and 
even by Christians, 160. Statement of the value of the 

monthly offerings, 165 

XX. Other forms of Kalee of inferior note, 166 

XXI. LLKSJIMEE. Her image, 169. Her descent and festivals, 170 
XXII. KojAGURU-LuKSHMEE, another form of Lukshmee. Her 

worship, and festival, 171 

XXIII. SURUSWUTEE. Her descent, 172. Indecencies practised 

during her festival, 173 

XXIV. SHEETULA. Her image, 174. Worshipped during the 

small-pox, 174 

XXV. MUNUSA *. Her image and descent, 176. Her festival, 176 
XXVI. SHUSIITEE. Her six festivals described, 178 

CHAP. IV. 

INFERIOR CELESTIAL BEINGS OBJECTS OF WORSHIP. 

SECT. I. Usoorlis. Their conduct at the churning of the sea, a story, 184 
II. Rakshtis&s. Story of Koombhu-kurnu, 186. The Gund- 
liurvus and Kinnurus, 187. Vidya-dhurus andUpsurus, 
ibid. Nayikas, 190. Yukshus, 191. Pishachus, Goodg- 
hukus, Siddhus, Bhdotus, Charuntts, &c 102 



CHAP. V. 

OF THE TERRESTRIAL GODS. 

SECT. I. KRISHNU. His birth, 193. Juvenile exploits, 194. His 
image and festivals, 195. Image of Radha accompanies 
Krishnu s, 200. Number of his followers, ibid. Stories 

of Krishna, 20rt 

II. GOPALU. His image, 203. A story of this image found 

in a field, 203 

* Tliis goddess is honoured as she who protects from serpents: but the author is 
assured, that, in the upper provinces, 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 the earth rests on his thousand heads. 



CONTENTS. xi 

. PAGE. 

III. GOPEE-NAT HU. A celebrated image of him at Ugrii- 

dweepii, 204 

IV. JUGUNNAT HU. Form of his image, with the origin of it, 

206. His temples, 207. Festivals, 208 

V. BULU-RAMU. His image generally accompanies Jugun- 

nat hu s, 210 

VI. RAMU. His history, including his war with Ravunu, 211. 

His image and festival, 218 

VII. CHOITUNYU. History of this mendicant god, 219. His 

festivals, 222. Another mendicant-god, 223 

VIII. VISHWU-KURMU. Form of his image and festival, 224 

IX. KAMU-DEVU. His image and festival, 225. A story re 
specting him, 226. His names, 227 

X. SUTYU-NARAYUNU. His image and worship, 227 

CHAP. VI. 

TERRESTRIAL GODDESSES. 

SECT.I. SEETA, 229 

II. RADHA, ibid. 

III. ROOKMINEE, and SUTYU-BHAMA, 230 

IV. SOOBIIUDRA, 231 

CHAP. VII. 

DEITIES WORSHIPPED BY THE LOWER ORDERS ONLY. 

SECT. I. PUNCH ANUNU. Form of the image, 232. A story respect 
ing him, 233, note 

II. DHURMU-T HAKOORU. A form of Shivfi,235. His image 

andfestival, 235 

III. KALOO-RAYU, 236 

IV. KALU-BHOIRUVU, 237 

V. AVorship to cure the itch and scurvy, ibid. 

CHAP. VI11. 

WORSHIP OF BEINGS IN STRANGE SHAPES. 

SECT.I. URUHU NAREESHWURU. Origin of this image, as related 

in the pooranus, 239. Its festival, 2 11 

II. KRISHNU-KALEE, 242 

III. HLREE HURU. Form of the image, 242. Different ac 

counts in the pooranus of its origin, 242 



xii CONTENTS. 

SECT. PAGE. 

CHAP. IX. 

WORSHIP OF HUMAN BEINGS. 

Deified men and women Bramluins, especially religious guides, 

245. Daughters of bramhuns, ibid. Wives of bramhttns, 

246. A female, 247. Unutterable abominations practised, ibid* 

CHAP. X. 

WORSHIP OF BEASTS. 

SECT. I. The Cow, 249 

II. The Monkey, (Hunooman,) 251. Marriage of two given 
by the Raja of Nudeeya, who spent 100,000 roopees on 
the ceremony, ibid. Anecdotes of this god, 252 

III. The Dog, 254 

IV. The Shackal, ibid. 

V. Other animals worshipped, ibid. 

CHAP. XI. 

THE WORSHIP OF BIRDS. 

SECT. I. GUROORU. His image and descent, 250. A story re 
specting him, 257. His names, 258 

II. UROONU, 259 

III. JUTAYOO, , . . . ibid. 

IV. SHUNKURU CHILLU, or the Eagle of Coromandel, ibid. 

V. KHUNGUNU, or the Wag Tail, 260 

VI. Other birds worshipped, ibid. 

CHAP. XII. 

THE WORSHIP OF TREES. 

SECT. I. The Toolusce, 261 

II. Othersacredtre.es, 263 

CHAP. XIII. 

THE WORSHIP OF RIVERS. 

SECT. I. GUNGA. Her image, 264. Descent, 265. Worship, 268. 
Festivals, 269. Attachment of the natives to this river, 
272. This attachment encouraged by the shastrus, 
ibid. note. Anxiety of the Hindoos to die in sight of 



CONTENTS. xiii 

PAGE. 

the Ganges, 274. Children and grown-up persons 
drowned in it, 275. Extracts from the pooranus, 276. 

Reflections, ...* 277 

II. Other deified rivers, 27S 

CHAP. XIV. 

THE WORSHIP OF FISH. 281 

CHAP. XV. 

THE WORSHIP OF BOOKS. 282 

CHAP. XVI. 

THE WORSHIP OF STONES. 

The Shalgramu*. Different kinds, 283. Reason of its deification, 

284. Constant representative of the gods in worship, 

285. Other stones worshipped, 280 

CHAP. XVII. 

A LOG OF WOOD WORSHIPPED. 

The Pedal. Origin of its wo rship, 287. Festival given in honour of 
it by the Raja of Nulu-danga, 288 

* One of these stones, by a fall, being split asunder, was lately shewn to the author. 
The internal appearance of this strongly indicates, that these stones are not, as has beea 
supposed, (see Asiatic Researches, vol. vii. p. 240.) perforated stones, but petrified shells : 
the shell iu the inside of this was the Argouauta Argo. May 8, 1815. 



VOL, I. *** 



INTRODUCTORY REMARKS 



ON THE 



HINDOO RELIGION. 



JL HE whole system of Hindoo theology is founded upon the 
doctrine that the Divine Spirit, as the soul of the universe, be 
comes, 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 a ; that the human soul is, in other words, God himself; 
that the knowledge of this, leading men to seek complete de 
liverance 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 practice of 

a 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 nature, all would obtain it at 
the same moment. The vedantft philosophers teach, * that God exists in 
millions of forms, from the ant to Brumha, the grandfather 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 philoso 
phers is very remarkable : Almost all ancient philosophers agreed in 
admitting two principles in nature, one active and the other passive ; but 
they differed 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 com- 
VOL. i. a 



ii INTRODUCTORY REMARKS 

bodily austerities, and entire abstraction of mind -, and that, if 
not obtained in one birth, it is to be sought through every future 
transmigration till obtained. 

This doctrine is taught in many parts of the Hindoo writings, 
especially in the Durshunus; which works, though almost 

mon principle by which they can be united. This was the doctrine 
taught by Anaxagoras, and after him by Plato, and the whole Old Aca 
demy. This system, for the sake of perspicuity, we will call the Dualistic 
system. Others were convinced, that nature consists of these two prin 
ciples; but rinding 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 united by a 
necessary and essential bond. To effect this, two different hypotheses 
were proposed : some thought God to have been eternally united to mat 
ter in one whole, which they called Chaos, whence it was sent forth, and 
at a certain time brought into form, by the energy of the divine inhabit 
ing mind. This was the System of Emanation, commonly embraced by 
the ancient barbaric philosophers, and afterwards admitted into the early 
theogonies of the Greeks. 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 and 
efficient principle, is as intimately connected with the universe, as the 
human mind with the body, and is a forming power, so originally and 
necessarily 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 Pytha 
goreans, the followers of Heraclitus, and others. Zeno, determining to 
innovate upon the doctrine of the Academy, and neither choosing to adopt 
the Dualistic nor the Emanative System, embraced the third hypothe 
sis, 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 on the 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 rinding 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. 1 Enfield, p. 329, 330. 



ON THE HINDOO RELIGION. iii 

wholly speculative, make known a method of abstraction, to- 
assist ascetics in obtaining deliverance from mortal birth, 

Udwiiyaniindu, a sunyasee, and the compiler of the Essence 
of the Vedantu, says, Brumhu and life are one: that which, 
pervading all the members of the body, gives to them life and 
motion, is called jeevii, life ; that which, pervading the whole 
universe, gives life and motion to all, is Brumhu ; therefore 
these two are one. Every kind of matter is without life ; that 
which is created cannot possess life: therefore all life is the 
creator, or Brumhu j God is the soul of the world. This is the 
substance of the Vedantii philosophy. 

Not only is God thus declared to be the soul of the world, but 
the writer of the above work affirms, that the world itself is 
God God expanding himself in an infinite variety of forms: 
* All things past, present, and to come j all that is in the earth,, 
sky, &c. of every class and description ; 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 of God : f The principle of life is Brumhu ; 
that which is animated is the work of Brumhu b , who directs 
every thing, as the charioteer directs the chariot. Brumhu is 
everlasting and unchangeable j the world, which is his work, is 
changeable. 

This work represents Brumhu, in his state of repose, as desti 
tute of ideas or intelligence, and entirely separated from all in 
telligences. It describes this repose by comparing it to what 
ever may communicate the idea of undisturbed tranquillity ; to 
the bosom of the unruffled ocean j or to the rest enjoyed in a 
deep sleep, in which there is an entire cessation even of the 
faculties of the mind. 



b Or, as some writers explain it, exists as an effect, as heat is an effect 
of fire. 



iv INTRODUCTORY REMARKS 

The Ve"dantu writers add, that at certain revolutions of time, 
Briimhu, awaking from this repose, unites to himself his own 
energy, and creates the universe ; that as soon as souls are uni 
ted to matter, they become impressed, according to their destiny, 
with more or less of three qualities d : as 1st, with that which 
gives rise to excellence of character j 2dly, with that which ex 
cites to anger, restlessness, worldly desire, &c. and 3dly, that 
which leads to inactivity, ignorance, and such-like errors. The 
character is formed, and the future destiny regulated, by the 
preponderance of any one of these qualities. Krishnii is repre 
sented in the Shree-Bhagiivutii-Geetu as teaching Urjoonu, 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, presumption, harshness of 
speech, and ignorance j that divine destiny is for eternal absorp 
tion into the divine nature ; and that the evil destiny confineth 
the soul to mortal birth e . 

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 described as uttering his feelings in words to this 
purport : < When shall I be delivered from this world, and obtain 
God! 

c When Briimhu withdraws his energy, the destruction of the world 
succeeds j when he employs it, creation springs to birth. The Ftdantii- 
sarti. 

A The possession of more or less of any one of these qualities is owing 
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, pro 
duce certain natural effects, which ripen in a future birth ; as poverty, 
disease, and wickedness, or riches, health, and works of merit. 

See Wilkins s translation of this work. 



ON THE HINDOO RELIGION. v 

In consonance with these ideas, a system of devotion has been 
formed, to enable men to emancipate themselves from the in 
fluence 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 God and matter are the same ; 
that Brumhu is the soul of the world. That error f which ex 
cites earthly desires, and impels to worldly exertions, is de 
stroyed, says the writer of the work already quoted, s by the 
knowledge of Brumhu. The person possessed of these ideas of 
God is called the wise man, Brumhu gnanee j and he who is 
destitute of this knowledge is considered as in a state of pitiable 
ignorance, like an insect incrusted with matter. 

Further to enable him to subdue his passions, and renounce 
all natural desires, he is directed to retire from the world ; to 
counteract all his natural propensities ; and to confine himself to 
intense meditation on Brumhu, till he has thoroughly established 
in his mind this principle, that, seeing every thing proceeded 
from Briimhii, and that, at the end of the four yoogus, when the 
universe shall be dissolved, every thing will be absorbed into 
him again, therefore Brumhu is every thing. 

The Ve\lantu-saru says, There are four ways by which the 
knowledge of Brumhu is perfected: 1st, By that reflection, in 
which the person decides upon what is changeable and what is 
unchangeable in the world $ 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, unreperiting 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. 

f Error here refers to the false idea, that a man s self and spirit are 
different, as that 1 is any thing different from spirit. This idea of the 
separate existence of J, leads to the idea of mine, and thus to every 
worldly desire. 



vi INTRODUCTORY REMARKS 

Krishna, in his conversation with Urjoonu, makes the perfec 
tion 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 extract a few paragraphs from Wil- 
kins. A man is said to be confirmed in wisdom, when he for- 
saketh every desire whjch entereth into his heart, and of him 
self 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 affection, 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 wonted purpose. 
The wise neither grieve for the dead, nor for the living. ( The 
wise man, to whom pain and pleasure are the same, is formed 
for immortality, * The heart, which followeth the dictates of 
the moving passions, carrieth away the reason, as the storm the 
bark in the raging ocean. The man whose passions enter his 
heart as waters run into the unswelling placid ocean, obtaineth 
happiness &.* Even at the hour of death, should he attain it, he 
shall mix with the incorporeal nature of Brumhu. f 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 which is 
done, or that which is not done. The learned behold Brumhii 
alike in the reverend bramhim perfected in knowledge, in the 
ox, and in the elephant 5 in the dog, and in him who eateth of 
^he flesh of dogs. Those whose minds are fixed on this 
equality, gain eternity even in this world. They put their trust 
in Brumhu, the eternal, because he is every where alike free 
from fault. < The enjoyments which proceed from the feelings, 
are as the wombs of future pain. < To the yogee, gold, iron, 
and stones, are the same. The yogee constantly exerciseth 

K This is strange doctrine in the mouth of Krishnti, who spent his 
youth in licentious amours ; and afterwards cohabited with Radha, the 
wife of Ayanu-ghoshu, while he retained 1600 mistresses. 



ON THE HINDOO RELIGION. vii 

the spirit in private. He is recluse, of a subdued mind and 
spirit} free from hope, and free from perception. He planteth 
his own seat firmly on a spot that is undefiled, neither too high 
nor too low, and sitteth upon the sacred grass which is called 
kooshii, covered with a skin and a cloth. There he, whose busi 
ness is the restraining of his passions, should sit, with his mind 
fixed on one object alone, in the exercise of his devotion 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 looketh on all things alike, beholdeth 
the supreme soul in all things^ 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, repeateth in si 
lence Om ! the mystic sign of Brumhii, shall, on his quitting 
this mortal frame, calling upon me, without doubt go the 
journey of supreme happiness. He my servant is dear unto 
me, who is unexpecting, just, and pure, impartial, free from dis 
traction of mind, an(l who hath forsaken every enterprize. He 
is worthy of my love, who neither requireth, nor findeth fault ; 
who neither lamenteth, nor coveteth ; and being my servant, hath 
forsaken both good and evil fortune ; who is the same in friend 
ship and in hatred, in honour and dishonour, in cold and in heat, 
in pain and in pleasure ; who is unsolicitous about the events of 
things ; to whom praise and blame are as one ; who is of little 
spirit, and pleased with whatever cometh to pass ; who owneth 
no particular home, and who is of a steady mind. Wisdom is 
exemption from attachments and affection for children, wife, and 
home ; a constant evenness of temper upon the arrival of every 
event, whether longed for or not ; a constant and invariable wor 
ship 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 



viii INTRODUCTORY REMARKS 

give an account of this ceremony from the first part of the Pa- 
tunjulii Durshunu, and the Goriikshii-sfmghita : 

The yogee must in the first place, by medicines (here de 
scribed) reduce the appetites of the body, and increase its 
strength} he must then learn the proper posture for the cere 
mony : this posture may be various, but a 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 a piece of cloth fifteen 
cubits long and four fingers in breadth, and swallow it repeat 
edly, drawing it up and taking it down his throat, drinking 
water at intervals. He must next choose a seat on some sacred 
spot, at the bottom of a viitu tree, at some place frequented by 
pilgrims, near an image of an uncreated lingu, or in any place pe 
culiarly pleasant to a yogee ; but it must be a secret one. That 
on which he must sit may be either kooshu grass,. or the skin of 
a tyger or a deer, or a blanket ; he must not sit on wood, nor on 
the earth, nor on cloth j his back, neck, and head must be ex 
actly erect j and he must remain motionless, keeping his eyes 
fixed on his nose. The act of yogii 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 degrees 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 virtue 
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 of 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 



ON THE HINDOO RELIGION. ix 

to earthly attachments. From this state of mind arises complete 
pleasure; he becomes dead to food and to every other bodily want. 

The yogee who has 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 reunited to the supreme soul m . 

The Vedantii-saru also pronounces in favour of an opinion of 
the philosopher Shunkurii, that the practice of ceremonies is to 
be renounced by the person seeking absorption, in whom all de 
sires respecting himself are to be annihilated. 

From the preceding sketch, the reader will be able to form 
some idea of this system of Hindoo theology, whidi is doubtless 
very ancient. No yogees, however, now exist, who perform 
these bodily austerities to the extent laid down in the shastriis. 
A number of mendicants may be seen, who profess to aim 
at abstraction of mind, and contempt of the world ; but they 
are in general 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 fu 
ture beatitude: these persons either 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 hap 
piness, on their speculative opinions being less gross than those 
of the vulgar. As an apology for not practising severe austeri 
ties, and for continuing in a secular state, they quote a sentence 

" For further remarks on absorption, and on those mendicants who 
practise austerities leading to it, the reader is referred to vol. ii. pp. 177, 
178. 197201, 

VOL. I. b 



x INTRODUCTORY REMARKS 

of Junuku : A man does not become a hermit by residing in a 
forest j but he is a hermit, who even in his own house subdues 
his passions. Some of these persons despise the popular su 
perstition. 

The absurdity and impiety of the opinions upon which the 
practices of these yogees are founded, need not be exposed : the 
doctrine which destroys all accountability to the Creator, and 
removes all that is criminal in immorality, must be condemned 
by every good man ; and the absurdity of rejecting those ra 
tional enjoyments which at once prove the beneficence of the 
Creator, and contribute to the refinement of our nature, is so 
flagrant, that the slightest notice of it may surely be considered 
as more than necessary to the discharge of our duty to the in 
terests of Christian morals. 

The author may however remark, that he has had many op 
portunities of witnessing the pernicious 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 t>y these ideas, does not perceive the evil of ascribing 
every villainous action to God ; though when the dreadful and 
unavoidable result of this doctrine has been pointed out, many 
revolt from the conclusion. Under the influence of this doctrine, 
that the human soul is God, the crimes of a malefactor lose 
their turpitude, and he is bewailed as a person who has acted 
under unfortunate influence, 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 method 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 book* 



ON THE HINDOO RELIGION. xi 

of their own, as the Madhyii-bhashyu, Bhuktee-rusamritii-sind- 
hoo, &c. One of the sentiments of this sect is thus given in the 
Shree-bhaguvutu : He who, renouncing the service of God, 
enters the path of wisdom, (practises religious austerities,) works 
hard at bruising the straw, but obtains only chaff. Another of 
their poets has a verse to this purport : He who dies at Kashee 
obtains absorption : true ; but the cause of his emancipation is 
his devotion. Vurahii, a poet belonging to the court of Vik- 
rum-adityu, says, personifying a person of this sect, ( O God ! 
I ask not for the merit of works ; nor for riches j nor for fame j 
1 leave all this to fate ; nor do I refuse to endure the fruit of my 
actions : but this I ask, that, through every transmigration, I 
may be thy devoted servant. Vilwu-mungulu, another poet of 
this sect, says, addressing himself to Vishnoo, < O God! I desire 
not absorption. I ask for a distinct existence, and to be always 
near thee, as my lord and master. Some of these persons ex 
press attachment to their guardian deity in the most familiar acts 
of devotion as his friends, or servants ; in songs or prayers ; 
by bowing or making offerings to his image, by washing its feet, 
by repeating his name, or listening to his praise, or meditating 
on his qualities. These persons are mostly found among the 
followers of Krishnii and Choitiinyu. 

Such a worshipper presents himself before the image of Krish- 
nu, and says, Oh, t hakoorii ! thou art God, the maker of the 
world, the saviour, the friend of the friendless : I am destitute j 
I am thy servant; save me! Others, more fervent in their 
attachment, omitting the usual purifications and ablutions before 
morning worship, hasten, as soon as they rise, to pay all those 
marks of respect and attention to the image which belong to the 
character under which they worship it. For instance, one man s 
image is that of the infant Krishna : he imagines it necessary, 
that the god should be honoured as a child, and he therefore 
makes an offering of sweetmeats to him early in the morning; 
he is very careful too that the image should be laid down to rest, 
and raised up again, only at the appointed hours ; he bathes, 
anoints it, and adorns it with the utmost fondness. Songs in 

b 2 



xii INTRODUCTORY REMARKS 

praise of Krishnu are very common amongst -this sect ; and 
sometimes an enthusiast falls to the ground while singing, and 
exhibits all the symptoms of superstitious frenzy. These per 
sons reject many of the Hindoo ceremonies j but they repeat the 
name of Krishnu, worship the common images of this god, and 
observe the national festivals to his honour. Some individuals 
are directed in their religious duties by the Hindoo writings : 
but the great body are enthusiasts, following the impulse of 
feelings enkindled by their own impure imaginations. Some of 
them wander from village to village, proclaiming the name and 
reciting the praises of Krishnii. 

Those who reverence the philosophical doctrine, and those 
who thus adhere to devotion, form however but a very small 
part of the Hindoo population. The great majority of the com 
munity are attached to the popular ceremonies, considering them 
as at least leading to the knowledge of God, or as laying in a 
stock of merit which will influence their condition in this or a 
future birth. 

The other branch of Hindoo theology enjoins RELIGIOUS DU 
TIES, as preparing a person for that state which leads to absorp 
tion. Krishnu, in his address to Urjoonii, thus holds up the 
value of religious practice : Perform thy duty, and make the 
event equal whether it terminate in good or evil. The miserable 
are so on account of the event of things. Wise men, who have 
abandoned all thought of the fruit of their actions, are freed 
from the chains of birth-, and go to the regions of eternal happi 
ness 1 . Juniikii and others have attained perfection even by 

* Mr. Wilkins has thus translated this part of the Bhaguvutii ; but the 
fact is, that there is no disiitict happiness in the Hindoo absorption, be 
cause there is no remaining individuality. The spirit being liberated 
from every thirig which is not spirit, and absorbed in the ocean of univer 
sal spirit, or deity, there can be no such thing as individual enjoyment. 
The Hindoos illustrate their idea on this subject, by comparing the soul 
to air confined in a vessel, which, when the vessel breaks, is immediately 
lost in the vast body of air which composes the atmosphere. 



ON THE HINDOO RELIGION. xiii 

works. Wise men call him a pundit, whose every undertaking 
is free from the idea of desire. He abandoneth a desire of a 
reward of his actions ; he is always contented and independent, 
and although he may be engaged in a work, he as it were doth 
nothing. God is to be obtained by him who maketh God alone 
the object of his works. The speculative and the practical doc 
trines are but one, for both obtain the self- same end, and the 
place which is gained by the followers of the one is gained by the 
followers of the other. The man who, performing the duties of 
life, and quitting all interest in them, placeth them upon Brumhii 
the supreme, is not tainted by sin j but remaineth, like the leaf 

of the lotus, unaffected by the waters. If thou shouldest be 

unable, at once, steadfastly to fix thy mind on me, endeavour to 
find me by means of constant practice. If after practice thou 
art still unable, follow me in my works supreme, for by per 
forming works for me thou shalt obtain perfection. 

This brings us to the popular superstition of the Hindoos, of 
which I shall now endeavour to give a summary account, begin 
ning with their mythology. 

It is very difficult, perhaps, to speak decisively on the precise 
origin of any of the Ancient Systems of Idolatry ; but not so diffi 
cult to trace idolatry itself to certain natural causes, and to 
prove, that the heathen deities owe their origin to the common 
darkness and depravity of men 5 who, rejecting the doctrine of 
the divine unity, and considering God as too great or too spiri 
tual to be the object of human worship, chose such images as 
their darkness or their passions suggested. Hence idolatry has 
arisen out of circumstances common to all heathen nations ; 
which fact, and another hereafter mentioned, will account for 
many coincidences in the mythology of nations the most remote, 
while differences in manners and customs, and in the degrees of 
civilization, may account for most of the diversities found in the 
images and worship of different idolatrous nations. 

It is not to be supposed that any of the images invented by the 



xiv INTRODUCTORY REMARKS 

heathen were intended to be representations of the One God, 
according to the ideas given of this adorable Being in the sacred 
Scriptures ; they are images of beings formed by the fancies of 
men, who by wisdom knew not God. It is probable, indeed, 
that no heathen nation ever made a single idol in honour of the 
one living and true God; and that direct worship to Him was 
never offered by any heathens. 

Nor does it appear, from the various systems of idolatry, that 
the heathen regarded the gods as intercessors with the Supreme 
Being. It is certain that no such idea exists among the Hin 
doos, who never worship the One God, either directly or through 
the intercessions of others. The gods are regarded as the only 
divine beings from whom evil is to be dreaded, or good to be 
expected. It is true, I have heard the bramhuns often speak of 
the worship of the gods as introducing the worshipper to a 
greater approximation to final beatitude, but this has nothing to 
do with the Christian doctrine of mediation. 

Writers on heathen mythology have frequently supposed, that 
the extraordinary bodily organs of the gods were intended to 
represent the perfections of Deity. Such writers, in elucidating 
the Hindoo system, would have said, Indrii is represented as full 
of eyes k , to exhibit the divine omniscience; Brumha with four 
faces, to display the perfect wisdom of God ; and Doorga with 
ten hands, to teach that God is almighty. It is a fact, however, 
that the Hindoos are never thus instructed by the forms of their 
idols. When the author once interrogated a learned bramhun 
on this subject, he rejected this Christian explanation of the forms 
of his idols, and referred him to the image of Raviinu, the can 
nibal, who is painted with a hundred arms, and ten heads ! . 



k The Hindoo fable on this subject is so insufferably gross, that it can- 
not be printed. 

1 Thus Bi iareus, one of the monsters brought forth by the earth, is said 
to have had a hundred arms, with which he threw up to heaven the rocks 
from the sea shore against Jupiter. 



ON THE HINDOO RELIGION. xv 

It has been common too to represent the idols as personifica 
tions of the virtues, and as teaching, by hieroglyphics, a theory 
of morals. As it respects the Hindoos, however, the fact is, that 
they have still, for popular use, a system of morals to seek : 
some of their idols are actually personifications of vice; and the 
formularies used before the images, so far from conveying any 
moral sentiment, have the greatest possible tendency to corrupt 
the mind with the love of riches and pleasure" 1 . 

To the author it seems equally improbable, that the original 
framers of idols designed to teach by them a system of natural 
science. The distance of time betwixt the formation of different 
images, militates strongly against such an idea : men of science, 
also, have generally held idolatrous rites in contempt j but be 
fore a man would sit down to frame an image, to teach the 
sciences, his mind must have been enthusiastically attached to 
idolatry. Nor does it appear probable, that the Hindoo poets 
were the first who set up idol worship j though we admit, that 
many ideas on this subject were borrowed from their extravagant 
descriptions, and ethereal visions. The introduction of new idols 
seems, in most instances, to have been the work of kings, who 
sought the gratification of the populace, rather than their instruc 
tion ; and the exhibition of popular sentiments, rather than the 
teaching of profound mysteries, or the principles of science. It 
appears from the Brumhu-voiviirttu pooranu, that king Soo- 
rut hii first set up the image of Doorga 5 king Miingulu, that of 
Lukshmee ; Ushwu-putee, that of Savitree, the wife of Brumha; 
king Sooyugnii, that of Radha, the mistress of Krishnii j Rum- 
yu-rut hu, king of Oojjunyinee, that of Kartike yu ; king Shivu, 
that of Sooryu j and the sage Boudhayunu, that of Guneshu. 

The author imagines, that the disclosure of real facts respect 
ing the Mythology of the Hindoos, would greatly tend to eluci- 

m See Mr. Colebrooke s translation of many of these formularies, in 
his excellent Essays on the Religious Ceremonies of the Hindoos, in the 
vth and viith volumes of the Asiatic Researches. 



xvi INTRODUCTORY REMARKS 

date the origin of that of ALL THE EASTERN NATIONS ; and he 
here offers to the consideration of his readers a conjecture or two, 
the fruit of his own enquiries. The philosophers of all these 
nations conceived, that the Great Spirit remains for ever un 
known, that he neither comes within the thoughts nor the speech 
of men. In the Chandogyu oopunishud of the Rig vedu, we 
have a discourse on this subject, in which Shwe tu-ketoo enquired 
of Boudhayunii respecting Briimhu : the sage answered him by 
an impressive silence : on being called upon for the reason of 
this silence, he answered, Brumhu is undescribable : he who says^ 
" I know Brumhu," knows him not ; he who says, " I know 
him not," has obtained this knowledge. The vedu declares, that 
( he is that which has never been seen nor known. In other 
words, he is the Athenian unknown God. The One God is 
never worshipped by the Hindoos as a mere spiritual being, but 
always as united to matter, and before some image. 

When Brumhu resolved to create, according to the pooranus n , 
he looked upon that which is denominated by the Hindoo phi 
losophers delusion, or inanimate energy P, and became subject to 
the three qualities (gooniis) of which it is composed that which 
leads to truth, and is called suttuj that which excites desires, 
(rujiij) and that which leads to sensuality, (tumu.) He now 
created time, nature, and future consequences j the primary 
elements ; the organs of sense, of action, and of intellect : he 

n The Shree-Bhaguvutu, &c. The Noiyayikus declare, that the uni 
verse was created from atoms ; while the Meemangsukus, equally wise, 
affirm, that the consequences of actions were the only things united to 
birth. 

Or, as the word is explained by some Hindoo scholars, * the first 
inclination of the Godhead to diversify himself, by creating worlds. Sir 
IV. Jones. 

r It is called delusion, or appearance, to shew, that it is something 
assumed for an occasion, and which, when that occasion is served, will 
be destroyed : hence they say, that matter is from everlasting, but is 
subject to destruction. It is called inanimate energy, as it supplies the 
forms of things, though the vivifying principle is God. 



ON THE HINDOO RELIGION. xvii 

next became the first form,, or pattern, or the aggregate, of life, 
and individuated himself into separate portions of animal life j 
and then, under the name of Vishnoo, he created the universe 
from the waters, and entered it as the soul of the world. 

While Vishnoo lay asleep on the waters, a lotus ascended 
from his navel, from which sprung Brumha, the creator. Shivu, 
Vishnoo, and Brumha, are considered as the representations of 
the three gooniis: Vishnoo of the suttu goonu, Brumha of the 
ruju, and Shivu of the tumu. We have no regular account of 
the creation of VishnOo and Shivu. Almost all the other Hindoo 
deities are found to be derived from the three principal gods : 
Indrfi, Kamu-devfi, Doorgtf, Sooryu, Ugnee, Puviinu, Vfiroonu, 
Guroorii, Vishwu-kurma, Suriiswutee, Yumii, &c. are the de 
scendants of Brumha; Gvmeshu, Jugunnat hu, Buluramu, Ra- 
mii, Krishnu, Gopalu, Gopee-nat hu, Valu-Gopalu, Choitunyu, 
Siityu-Narayunu, Lukshmee, &c. are forms of Vishnoo; Karti- 
kyu, Piinchanunu, Roodrii, Kalii-Bhoiriivu, &c. are forms of 
Shivu. Thus, as Sir W. Jones has observed, we must not 
be surprised at finding, on a close examination, that the charac 
ters of all the Pagan deities, male and female, melt into each 
other, and at last into one or two. 

But the enquiry returns, What is the object of worship 
among the Hindoos ? It is not the ONE GOD, but this com 
pound being, the soul of the world inclosed in matter, the 
primeval energy, the prolific and vivifying principle dwelling in 
all animated existences 1, or in other words the personification of 

i When the following lines of Pope were read to Gopalu-turkalunkaru, 
a learned bramhtin, he started from his seat, begged for a copy of them, 
and declared that the author must have been a Hindoo : 

All are but parts of one stupendous whole, 

Whose body Nature is, and God the soul ; 

Warms in the sun, refreshes in the breeze, 

Glows in the stars, and blossoms in the trees ; 

Lives through all life, extends through all extent, 

Spreads undivided, operates unspent. 
VOL. I. c 



xviii INTRODUCTORY REMARKS 

whatever the disordered imaginations of the Hindoos have attri 
buted to this God encompassing himself with delusion 1 ". This 
energy is said to have created the universe j and therefore this, as 
displayed in the grandest of the forms it assumes s , is the object 
of worship. Hence the gods, the heavens collectively, the sun 
and moon, as well as the stars, the sea, mighty rivers, and ex 
traordinary appearances in nature, receive the adorations of the 
Hindoos 1 . This energy itself has been personified and wor 
shipped, not only in the form of Bhugiivutee u , but, as it is 
manifested equally in creation^ in the government of the world, 
and in the work of destruction, in Briimha, Vishnoo, and Shivu. 
The universe being full of the divine majesty, a deity has been 
consecrated as the regent of every element ; and, to complete 
this mass of folly, the bramhiin and the devout mendicant, as 

* Tiie Tuntrus teach, that after Brumhii had entered the world, he 
divided himself into male and female. 

s It seems a well-founded opinion, that the whole crowd of gods and 
goddesses in ancient Rome, and modern Vanares, mean only the powers 
of nature, and principally those of the Sun, expressed in a variety of 
ways, and by a multitude of fanciful names. Sir W. Jones. Nature 
herself, and its plastic powers, originating solely in the sovereign ener 
gies of the supreme creative source of all being, they (the Asiatics) 
absurdly dignified by the majestic denomination of God. This supreme 
creative energy, diffused through nature, they distinguished by various 
names: sometimes it was Osiris, the fountain of LIGHT, the SUN, the pro 
lific principle by which that was invigorated ; sometimes it was the life- 
generating FIRE, the divine offspring of the solar deity; and it was 
sometimes called by an appellation consonant to the SOUL OF THE 
WORLD. The FIRST VIVJFIC PRINCIPLE, emanating from the primeval 
source of being, is visibly of Chaldaic origin ; and thence, through the 
medium of the Egyptians, the Stoic philosophers doubtless had their doc 
trine of the fiery soul of the world, by which they supposed all things 
to be created, animated, and governed. Maurice- 

* They (the pagans) called the elementary fire Pitha, Vulcan, Ugnee ; 
the solar light they denominated Osiris, Mithra, Sooryu, Apollo; and the 
pervading air, or spirit, Cneph, Narayunu, Zeus, or Jupiter. Maurice. 

u Many Hindoos are denominated shaktus, as devoted to the worship 
of this shuktee, or energy. It is remarkable, also, that all the goddesses 
are called the energies of their lords, as well as matrees, or mothers. 



ON THE HINDOO RELIGION. xix 

sharing more largely of the indwelling deity, have received the 
adoration of the multitude. 



If we recur to the bodily powers of the different images wor 
shipped by the Hindoos, we see the same principle exhibited : 
hence Unimtii has a thousand heads ; Briimha has four faces j 
Indru is full of eyes ; Doorga has ten, and even Ravunii, the 
giant, has an hundred arms : the formidable weapons x of the 
gods too, have evidently the same allusion, as well as their 
symbols and vehicles, among which we find the eagle y, the ser 
pent, the lion, the tiger, the elephant, the bull, the buffalo, 
&c. The abominable lingii worship too, (the last state of de 
gradation to which human nature can be driven,) no doubt took 
its rise from the same doctrine. 

Under the influence of this doctrine, the philosophic mind 
chose, as the objects of its adoration, the forms in which this 
energy displays itself with the greatest magnificence, and almost 
confined its worship to the primary elements, the heavenly 
bodies, and aerial beings; the great body of the community 
became attached to this energy in its forms of preservation ; 
persons of gloomy habits, as ascetics and yogees, adored it in the 
work of destruction, as connected with emancipation and with 
return to ineffable repose in the divine essence. The first class 
chose the retirement of forests as the scene of their contempla 
tions; the second, the public streets, to adore the prolific power; 
and the last retired to gloomy caverns 2 , for the celebration of 

* Indrti s thunder-bolt ; the Brimihastru, a weapon Wielded by the 
gods, which infallibly destroys an enemy. * Vishnoo s chukra, a weapon 
in the form of a circle, continually vomiting flames. Maurice. 

y l Vishnoo riding upon his Giirooru, or eagle, says Maurice, puts us in 
mind of the thunder-bearing eagle of the Grecian Jupiter. 

The Scythians, the Druids, and other ancient nations, it is well 
known, worshipped this energy in its destructive forms in gloomy re 
cesses, and there offered human and other victims. In the caverns of 
Salsette and Elephanta, too, the same horrid rites were practised by 
gloomy ascetics. 

c 2 



xx INTRODUCTORY REMARKS 

those horrid rites, which took their rise in the common error, 
that the energetic principle is the chief object of worship. 

Thus the indwelling principle is adored in whatever form it is 
supposed to display itself: in the cow, as a form of Bhuguvutee j 
in the boar, as an incarnation of Vishnoo ; and in an ascetic, who 
has passed through religious austerities supposed to be too 
dreadful to be borne without support from the divine inhabiting 
energy. Exactly conformable to the Hindoo idea was the decla 
ration respecting Simon Magus, This man is the great power 
of God. 

The object of adoration being thus simple power, or energy, 
wherever this is supposed to reside, the impiety of the possessor 
forms no obstacle to his becoming an object of worship : it is 
sufficient that he be a god or a bramhun. The learned, says 
Krishnu, * behold Brumhu alike in the reverend bramhun, per 
fected in knowledge, in the ox and the elephant ; in the dog, 
and in him who eateth of the flesh of dogs. Upon the same 
principle the Hindoo, when he sees the force with which the 
flood-tide comes into the Ganges, or any other similar pheno 
mena of nature, recognizes it as God, or the energy of God. 
The blessing which he supposes a yogee obtains, as the fruit of 
his religious austerities, he confines to power power to heal or 
to kill others, to ride in the air on the back of a tiger, to foretel 
future events, &c. Benevolent dispositions and actions procure 
for a man praise, but not reverence. Howard would have obtain 
ed the encomiums of this people, and would have been compli 
mented on trie exaltation he was likely to have in the next birth, 
but nobody would have worshipped him ; this honour is always 
reserved for men of pretended supernatural powers. 

If these conjectures be just, they may perhaps afford a solution 
of the difficulties attending the worship of the Egyptians 3 , the 

* i Taut, or Thoth, was the true Anubis of the Egyptians, one of their 
eight greater gods. Thoth considers the cosmogony of Phoenicia as 



ON THE HINDOO RELIGION. xxi 

Scythians, the Greeks, the Persians, and other idolaters j some 
of them adoring, by sanguinary rites, this principle in its destruc 
tive forms, and others in its prolific forms, fire, and the solar 
orb b . It is the same energetic principle that is also worshipped 
in the wonderful motions of the heavenly bodies, and in the con 
flicting gods and the giants, shaking to its centre the solid 
world j in the warring elements ; and even in all the forms of 
brute matter in which it appears. 

These ideas the author offers to the examination of men of 
greater leisure and erudition, not without the hope, that they 
may tend to elucidate a subject exceedingly complicated, and 
upon which a great variety of opinions have been held. As the 
same ideas respecting the divine energy were held in common by 
almost all the ancient philosophers, it is not wonderful that the 
same objects of worship should be seen among all nations, sub 
ject to those variations and additions which might be expected 
when man had abandoned the doctrine of the divine unity, and 
had resolved to worship every form and appearance of this 
energy. 

The Hindoo mythology, in its present mixed state, presents 
us with gods of every possible shape, and for every possible pur- 
founded on the doctrine which maintains two principles in nature, matter 
or darkness, and spirit or intelligence. By the former, he would under 
stand the chaos, obscure and turbid ; by the latter, the agitative wind 
or spirit, which put that chaos in motion, and ranged in order the various 
parts of the universe. Maurice. 

b In this island of Albion, the image of the sun was placed upon an 
high pillar, as half a man, with a face full of rays of light, and a flaming 
wheel on his breast. He was worshipped in the same manner as Mithra 
in Persia, and the divinities of the East. The Persian Magi preserved a 
continual fire upon an altar in honour of the sun and the lights in the 
firmament, as the Romans did their holy fire dedicated to Vesta. The 
Jewish writers affirm, that this was the god Abraham refused to worship 
in Ur of the Chaldees. Galtruchius. The sun became the deity adored 
by the Sabian idolaters. Maurice. 

e * Sees God in clouds, and hears him in the wind. 



xxii INTRODUCTORY REMARKS 

pose, (even to cure the itch !) but most of them appear to refer to 
the doctrine of the periodical creation and destruction of the 
world d , the appearances of nature c , the heavenly bodies f , 
the history of deified heroes s, the poetical wars of the giants 
with the gods h , or to the real or imagined wants of mankind . 

It cannot be doubted, from what has been published of the 
vedus, said to be the most ancient of the Hindoo writings, that 
the PRIMARY ELEMENTS, fire, air, water, earth, and space, with 
the HEAVENLY BODIES, and AERIAL BEINGS, were the first objects 
of worship among this people. 

The worship of the primary elements possibly originated in the 
doctrine of the vedus respecting the eternity of matter; for we 
find in these writings the elements deified, and called by appro 
priate names, as in the modern mythology of the Hindoos. 

The worship of the heavenly bodies may probably be attributed 
to the astronomical notions of the Hindoos : and, as the worship 
of heathens has always been dictated by their fears and hopes 
rather than by their reason, it is not a matter of surprise that 
they should have worshipped the host of heaven, while they be 
lieved the stars to have such a mighty and immediate influence 
on their destiny here and hereafter. In the prayers of the vedus, 
the name of Indru is found, who was probably considered as a 

d As Brumha and Shivti. 

e The deified elements, as Puvtinu, Vuroonii, &c. 
Sodryti, Chundru, &c. 

K Ramu, who, in reference to his forest residence, is painted green, 
and carries a bow and arrows. 

b Doorga, who has a giant at her feet, and the head of another in her 
hand. The author will not presume to decide, whether these wars of the 
gods have reference to human contests, and as such are to be regarded as 
real history disguised in fable ; or whether images of this class have been 
borrowed merely from the reveries of the poets. 

Suruswutee, the goddess of learning; Unnu-pbornu, the goddess of 
plenty, &c. 



ON THE HINDOO RELIGION. xxiii 

personification of the heavens : his name, Inclru, signifies the 
glorious j and his body, covered with stars, might easily be sup 
posed to resemble f the spangled heavens. 

The worship ofai rial beings, under the general name of spirits, 
is easily accounted for from the proneness of mankind to super 
stitious fears respecting invisible existences, and from the notion 
found in the Hindoo writings, that every form of animated 
existence has its tutelar divinity presiding over it k . 

These appear to have been the first gods worshipped in India, 
though such a system of mythology could in no way account for 
the existence and government of the universe ; which exhibited 
a process for T vhich this system made no provision. This might 
therefore induce later Hindoo theologians to add three new gods, 
under the characters of the CREATOR, the PRESERVER, and the 
DESTROYER, Brumha, Vishnoo, and Shivii ; and the pooranus 
exhibit each of these gods at his post, committing faults and 
absurdities that would disgrace beings destitute of every spark of 
divinity, and even of reason. 

A philosophical doctrine found in the Tuntrus, having refe 
rence to the supposed union of spirit and matter in the formation 
of the world 1 , has introduced an order of FEMALE deities among 
this people, at the head of which stands Bhuguvutee, or Doorga 
Of this goddess, many forms are worshipped among the Hin 
doos j and indeed almost all the goddesses are only different 
forms of Bhuguvutee, as the image of Prukritee, or nature. 

.Tiigiinnat hu, the lord of the world ; Kooveru, the god of 



k Diseases also, and divisions of time, as well as places, have their 
tutelar deities. The god Bliugu, who is blind of both eyes, presides over 
the members of the body. 

1 Mr. Paterson thinks, that the mixed image of Huru-Gouree, in which 
Slrivti and Doorga are united in one image, is intended to represent this 






xxiv INTRODUCTORY REMARKS 

riches ; Kamu-de*vu, the god of love; Kartikeyu, the god of war j 
Yumti, the regent of death ; and Vishwii-kvirmii, the architect of 
the gods ; seem to have originated in the fables of the Hindoos, 
and in the imagined necessities of a people destitute of just ideas 
respecting Divine Providence. 

Krishnil, Ramu, and other terrestrial gods, are evidently deified 

HEROES. 

These general remarks may probably account for the whole 
system of Hindoo idolatry, without the absolute necessity of 
admitting that this people borrowed their gods from their neigh 
bours. That they borrowed some, or the features of some, 
many striking coincidences hereafter mentioned seem to indicate ; 
but, these coincidences excepted, we have found no further 
evidence of this fact 1 ". 

I shall now give some account of the gods found in the HIN 
DOO PANTHEON", as a very brief notice of what the reader has 
to expect in this volume. 

It may be necessary, however, to premise, that the Hindoos 
profess to have 330,000,000 of gods : not that they have even 
the names of such a number; but they say, that God performs 
all his works by the instrumentality of the gods, and that all 
human actions, as well as all the elements, have their tutelar 
deities. 

Images have been chosen to fix the mind of the worshipper, 

ln Should the reader, however, be inclined to pursue this subject, he 
will find much ingenious conjecture, and many apparent resemblances 
betwixt the Egyptian, Greek, and Roman mythology and that of the 
Hindoos, in Mr. Paterson s essay already alluded to. 

II The Hindoos have no temple like the Pantheon at Rome ; but the 
palaces of some Hindoo rajas contains courts filled with idols, each of 
which has an establishment of priests, who daily perform the ceremonies 
of worship. 



ON THE HINDOO RELIGION. xxr 

and attributes of power and splendour, and various fables, having 
been added in the forms of devotion and the addresses to the 
gods, all these attributes are recognized, and the contents of 
these fables rehearsed, to raise in the mind of the worshipper the 
highest thoughts of the power of the idol. 

He who approaches an idol, seeking the happiness of a future 
state, is required to fix in his mind only one idea, that the 
god can save him : and in this respect all the gods, however 
various their images, are equal. But when a Hindoo is anxious 
to obtain any . peculiar favour, he applies to the god whose 
province it is to bestow it : thus> he who prays to Brfimha, 
entreats that he may be like him, in order to absorption ; 
but he who is anxious that his members may continue perfect, 
and that he may enjoy the pleasures of the senses, worships 
Indrfi ; he who desires children, prays to the progenitors of man 
kind ; he who seeks worldly prosperity, worships Liikshmee; 
he who prays for a shining body, supplicates Ugnee j the person 
who is anxious for strength, applies to Roodru ; the glutton 
prays to Uditee ; he who pants for a crown, applies to Vishwu- 
devii or Swayumbhoovii j a king intreats Sadhyii, that his king 
dom may be free from sedition ; he who prays for long life, 
addresses himself to Ushwinee-koomarii 5 he who desires corpu 
lence, addresses Prit hivee ; he who prays that he may preserve 
his homestead, petitions Prit hivee and the regents of space j he 
who seeks beauty, prays to the Gundhurvus ; he who prays for 
a good wife, calls on Oorvusee, a celestial courtezan ; he who 
seeks honour, prays to Yugnii j he who is anxious for store 
houses full of wealth, calls on Prucheta j the seeker of wisdom, 
solicits the favour of Shivu ; he or she who seeks union and 
happiness in the marriage state, addresses Doorga j he who 
wishes to destroy his enemy, supplicates Noiritii j he who is 
anxious for strength of body, prays to Vayoo ; he who prays to be 
preserved from obstruction in his affairs, calls on Kooverii j he 
who prays for the merit of works, applies to the regent of verse ; 
he who prays for pleasure in the enjoyment of earthly things, 
addresses Chundrii j he who desires freedom from worldly pas- 

VOL. i. d 



xxvi INTRODUCTORY REMARKS 

sions, he who asks for the completion of all his desires, he who 
prays for absorption,, and the person free from all desire, worship 
Brumha. Hence it appears, that all the Hindoo gods, except 
Brumha, are considered as bestowing only temporal favours j 
and it has been already observed, that this god has been aban 
doned, and left without either temples or images. Thus the 
whole system excites in the mind of the worshipper only cupi 
dity and the love of pleasure ; and to this agrees what I have 
repeatedly heard from sensible bramhiins, that few if any per 
sons now attend the public festivals with a direct view to a 
future state. 

It is common for the Hindoos to speak of some of their gods 
as benevolent, and to treat others as malignant beings : Shivu, 
as well as other gods, unites both these qualities ; in one hand 
he holds a dreadful weapon, and with two others he blesses a 
worshipper, and invites him to approach. Not one of these 
images,, however, conveys the least idea of the moral attributes 
of God. 

1. Brumha, This god may be properly noticed first, as he is 
called the creator, and the grandfather of gods and men ; in the 
latter designation he resembles Jupiter, as well as in the lasci- 
viousness- of his conduct, having betrayed a criminal passion to 
wards his own daughter. Brumha s image is never worshipped, 
nor even made ; ~but the Chundee describes it as that of a red 
man with four faces?. He is red, as a mark of his being full of 
the riiju goonu ; he has four faces, to remind the worshipper 
that the ve*dus proceeded from his four mouths. In one hand he 
has. a string of beads, to shew that his power as creator was 

Hindoo women, and the lower orders, regard Punchanunti, Dukshinu- 
rayii, Mtinusa, Sheetiila, Shush t hec, as malignant- demons, and worship 
them through fear, still praying to them for protection. The superior 
deities, though arrayed with attributes of terror, are considered as using 
their power only in favour of the worshipper. 

P Brumha had five heads, but Shivu deprived him of one, as a punish 
ment for his lust. 



ON THE HINDOO RELIGION. xxvii 

derived from his devotion. The pan of water in his left hand 
points out, that all things sprang from water, It has excited 
much surprise, that this deity, so pre-eminent, should be entirely 
destitute of a temple and of worshippers. Mr. Paterson sup 
poses, that, in some remote age, the worshippers of Shivu car 
ried on a contest with the followers of Brumha, and wholly 
suppressed the worship of this god. This conjecture opens a 
wide field of enquiry j but this gentleman does not adduce any 
historical evidence of the fact. The story of Shivu s cutting off 
one of the heads of Brumha, and the existence of violent conten 
tions betwixt different sects of Hindoos at the present day, can 
scarcely be considered as establishing it, though the conjecture 
appears not altogether improbable. These contentions for supe 
riority are annually renewed at Hiiree-dwaru, Uyodhya, &c. 
betwixt the Voishnuviis (Ramatus) and the followers of Shivu,, 
in which quarrels many perish^. 

2. Fishnoo. This is the image of a black man, with four 
arms, sitting on Gurooru, a creature half- bird, half-man, and 
holding in his hands the sacred shell, the chukru, the lotus, 
and a club. His colour (black) is that of the destroyer, 
which is intended to show, that Shivu and he are one j he 
has four hands, as the representative of the male and female 
powers ; the shell (blown on days of rejoicing) implies that 
Vishnoo is a friendly deity -, the chukru is to teach that he 
is wise to protect 5 the lotus is to remind the worshipper 
of the nature of final emancipation, that, as this flower is 
raised from the muddy soil, and after rising by degrees from 
immersion in the waters, expands itself above the surface to the 
admiration of all, so man is emancipated from the chains of 
human birth; the club shews that he chastises the wicked. 

i Raja-Ramu, a learned shikh, employed as a translator in the Serani< 
pore printing-office, says, that about forty years ago, not less than 10,OOQ 
persons, and, about twenty years ago, 4 or 5,000 perished in these con 
tests at Htiree-dwarti. Another proof, added to that respecting the 
Bouddhus, that the Hindoo is not free from the fiercest spirit of perse 
cution. 

d 2 



xxviii INTRODUCTORY REMARKS 

Giirooru is a portion of Shivu ; his body represents the vedti. 
Vishnoo is distinguished as being the source of most of the 
Hindoo incarnations j in which forms he commands the worship 
of the greatest division of the Hindoo population. I know of 
no temples nor festivals in honour of Vishnoo. He is called the 
Preserver., but the actions ascribed to him under this character 
are referred to other forms and names. The shalgramii, a stone, 
is a form of Vishnoo. During four months of the year, all the 
forms of this god are laid to sleep. From the agreement of this 
fact with what is said of Horus, Mr. Paterson gathers a resem 
blance betwixt Vishnoo and Horus, and supposes that the Hin 
doos derived their system from the Egyptian : he conjectures, 
also, that the fable of Vishnoo s lying down to sleep, turning to 
one side, and rising, refer to the increase, the greatest rise, and 
the retiring of the waters of the Ganges, the Indian Nile. The 
state of the river in these four months agrees with this supposi 
tion, though the bramhuns I consulted were not aware that this 
ceremony had any connection with the Ganges. Vishnoo is 
Sometimes called the household god. 

3. Shivu is a white man with five faces and four arms, riding 
. on a bull. In one hand he holds an axe, as the destroyer of the 
wicked ; in another a deer, alluding to a sacrifice, when the 
deer, fleeing from the sacrificial knife, took refuge with Shivu j 
with another hand he is bestowing a blessing, and with the last 
forbidding fear. Four of his faces are designed to point out the 
sixty-four tuntriis, and the other a different tuiitru. The bull is 
a form of Vishnoo, as the personification of religion ; its four 
feet are, religious austerities, purity, compassion, and truth. In 
some particulars, this god strongly reminds us of Vulcan and 
Bacchus. The few Hindoos in Bengal who adopt Shivu as their 
guardian deity, are called soivyiis. Except those of the lingu 
and Piinchanunu, very few temples exist in honour of any other 
form of Shivii : and none of his form riding on a bull. Before 
the lingu, Shivu is however daily worshipped under eight sepa 
rate names, answering to the sun, moon, wind, fire, water, earth, 
air, and an officiating priest at a sacrifice, Mr. Paterson thinks, 



ON THE HINDOO RELIGION. xxix 

that there were once fierce contentions amongst the four prin 
cipal sects, and that as the soivyus first prevailed against the 
worshippers of Brumha, so, in its turn, this sect was subdued by 
the followers of Vishnoo and of the female deities. The filthy 
appearance of Shivii as a mendicant covered with ashes, and his 
quarrels with Doorga, his wife, have given rise to several ludi 
crous stories found in the pooranus. This marriage excited the 
same surprise as that betwixt Venus and Vulcan, and seems an 
unaccountable event, unless it was intended to illustrate the 
gross idea of the Tiintru writers respecting the origin of the 
universe. Shivu has three eyes like Jupiter, wears a tiger s skin 
like Bacchus, and like him wandered about when on earth as a 
bloated mendicant, accompanied by satyrs. Bacchus wore a 
deer s skin ; and Shivu is represented as holding a deer in his 
hand. The worship of the lingii, also, strongly resembles the 
worship of the phallus in honour of Bacchus. The sunyasee 
festival in honour of Shivu (see vol. i. p. 19.) appears to resemble 
much the orgies of Bacchus, especially in the behaviour of the 
devotees 1 , who are said to have run up and down the streets 
with their hair disheveled, and with lighted torches in their 
hands. In the months Voishakhu and Kartiku, the lingii is 
worshipped daily in the numerous temples dedicated to this 
abomination throughout Bengal. It is difficult to restrain one s 
indignation at the shocking violation of every thing decent in 
this image 5 nor can it be ground of wonder, that a chaste 
woman, faithful to her husband, is scarcely to be found among 
all the millions of Hindoos, when their very temples are polluted 
with filthy images, and their acts of worship tend to inflame the 
mind with licentious ideas 5 . Another form of Shivu is that of 

r A most singular coincidence appears to exist here betwixt the 
Hindoo and the Roman ceremonies. These siinyasees, though taken from 
the lowest order, wear the poita as bramhuns during this festival. Ken- 
nett, in his Roman Antiquities, book v. p. 305, says, respecting the shews 
after a funeral, l Though the exhibitors of these shews were private per 
sons, yet during the time of the celebration, they were considered as of 
the highest rank and quality, having the honour to wear the Praetexta. 

I am credibly informed, that a Hindoo, once on a visit at a temple 



xxx INTRODUCTORY REMARKS 

Kalu-Bhoiruvu, in which form he cut off Brumha s head, which 
is seen in one of his hands. A sect of mendicants, called yogii- 
bhogu-vadees, who wear a large stone inserted through an inci 
sion in each ear, live at the temples of this god, and are some 
times seer, with a prostitute in one hand, and a pan of hot coals 
in the other, with each of which (the representatives of pleasure 
and pain) they profess to be equally pleased. Another form of 
this god is that of Mulia-kalu, in which he appears as the de 
stroyer. ( Muha-kalu, as represented in the caverns of Elephanta/ 
says Mr. Paterson, has eight arms; in one hand he holds a 
human figure ; in another, a sword or sacrificial axe ; in a third, 
a basin of blood ; and with a fourth he rings over it the sacrificial 
bell : two other arms are broken off, but with the two remaining 
he is drawing behind him a veil, which extinguishes the sun, 
and involves the whole universe in one undistinguished ruin. In 
the hieroglyphic of the Muha Pruluyu, (or grand consummation 
of all things,) Shivii is represented as trodden under foot by 
Muha Kalee 1 , or Eternity. He is there deprived of his crescent, 
trident, and necklaces, to show that his dominion and powers 
are no more ; and is blowing the tremendous horn, which 
announces the annihilation of all created things. 

4. Indru. This is the king of heaven, and the infamous 
violator of the wife of his religious guide : he is painted as a 
yellow man, sitting on an elephant, with a thunder-bolt in one 
hand, and a club in the other ; and, like Argus, is full of eyes. 
All the attributes of his image are only the signs of his office as 
a king. He has one annual festival, and is very famous in the 

near Serampore, asked the officiating bramhun to give him a proof that 
the idol was able to converse with him. The bramhun entered the 
temple, shutting the door after him, and the visitor, astonished at imme 
diately hearing voices, interrogated the priest respecting it, who solemnly 
affirmed from within, that it was Jugunnafhii who was speaking; but 
the visitor, determined to ascertain so interesting a fact, forced open the 
temple door, and whom should he see, inquisitive reader, but the 
mistress of the officiating bramhun ? 
* This is the famous image worshipped at Kalee-Ghatu, near Calcutta. 



ON THE HINDOO RELIGION. xxxi 

pooranus for the number of wars and intrigues in which he has 
been engaged. His throne changes masters at the end of seventy- 
one yoogiis of the gods. Jupiter was called the king of heaven, 
and the Fulminator: Indrii s names, Divus-putee and Vujree, 
are significant of similar offices. 

5. Yumu, the Indian Pluto, is a dark-green man, clothed in 
red, with inflamed eyes ; he sits on a buffalo, has a crown on his 
head, and holds in his right hand a club with which he drives 
out the soul from the body, and punishes the wicked. This is 
his form of terror, as king of the souls of the dead) but he is 
also worshipped in a form less terrific, which he is said to assume 
when he passes a sentence of happiness on the meritorious. Be 
side his annual festival, he is worshipped on other occasions; 
and receives the homage of the Hindoos in their daily ablutions. 
There are several remarkable coincidences between Yumu and 
Pluto, as will be seen by comparing the fables respecting the 
latter and those in vol. i. page 75. of this work : the images of 
both Grin horribly a ghastly smile. Pluto had a rod in his 
hand; Yiimu is called Dundii-dhuru, because he holds in his 
hand the rod of punishment. Yumii is the shraddhu devu, or 
the regent of funeral rites ; and the institution of funeral obse 
quies is ascribed to Pluto. The dead, in going to Yumii s judg 
ment-hall, cross Voitiirimee, the Indian styx u ; the waters of 
which, like those of Phlegethon, the fourth river of hell which 
the dead were obliged to cross, are said to be boiling hot. Yumii 
has several assistants, like Minos, who keep a register of human 
actions. There is something in the story inserted in vol. i. page 
83, which seems to coincide with Pluto s being obliged to steal 
his wife Proserpine, because he could obtain no other goddess^ 
his visage being so horrible and his habitation so gloomy. The 
Hindoos consider hell as situated at the southern extremity of 
the earth ; the Greeks and Romans thought it was a large sub 
terraneous spot in the earth. 

This river encircled the infernal regions nine times: Voiturtmee 
encircles this hall six times. 



xxxii INTRODUCTORY REMARKS 

6. Gun&hu. A fat short red man, with four arms and an 
elephant s head, sitting on a rat. His corpulency is a type of 
Briimha, as the aggregate of all things. In one hand he holds 
a bell, which is the pattern of a temple, and also points out that 
this god banishes fear ; in another he holds a serpent-weapon, 
to show that he throws impediments in the way of the wicked ; 
another grasps the hook by which elephants are guided, which 
points out that he guides the mind ; and with the other he forbids 
fear. His elephant s head is a sign of the mystical sound Om, and 
the trunk is the type of the instrument with which clarified butter 
is poured on the fire at a sacrifice. The author of the Roodrii- 
yamiilii, from whom this is extracted, assigns no reason for 
Guneshu s riding on a rat. Though he has been compared to 
Janus, I find but two instances of coincidence betwixt them : 
every act of worship (pdoja) is preceded by an invocation to 
Guneshii x ; and men in business paint his image over the doors 
of their shops, or suspend it amongst their merchandize, to insure 
prosperity. Giineshu has been complimented as the god of 
wisdom 5 but the Hindoo deity presiding over knowledge, or 
wisdom, is Suruswutee, a goddess. Gune shii receives many 
honours from the Hindoos, and is considered as bountiful in be 
stowing wisdom and other favours, though there are no temples 
erected to his honour in Bengal. Those who adopt him as their 
guardian deity, are called Ganuputyus. 

7. Kartikcyii is the Indian Mars, or commander in chief to the 
gods. He has in some images one, and in others six faces ; is of 
a yellow colour 5 and rides on the peacock, an incarnation of 
Indru. In one hand he holds a bow, and in the other an arrow. 
He is worshipped as the giver of bodily strength. 

8. Sooryu, (the sun.) I do not find the least resemblance 
betwixt this Hindoo deity and Sol, either in their images or 
history. The Hindoos, in a most indelicate fable respecting this 
god, have described the twelve signs of the zodiac. Yihnu, the 

* * In the Roman sacrifices, the priest always mentioned first the name 
of Janus. Kennett, p. 85. 



ON THE HINDOO RELIGION. xxxiii 

regent of death, is his son ; and Chaya, a shadow, the name of 
one of his wives y. The image of Sooryii is that of a dark-red 
man, from whose body issue a thousand streams of light : he 
has three eyes, and four arms ; in each of two of his hands he 
holds a water-lily, with another he is bestowing a blessing, and 
with the last forbidding fear. He sits on a red lotus, in a chariot 
drawn by seven horses. He is painted red, to show that his 
glory is like flame; his three eyes represent the day, evening, 
and night ; and his four arms indicate, that in him are united 
prukritee and poorooshu, or matter and spirit. One lotus ex 
plains the nature of emancipation, (see Vishnoo-J and the other, 
upon which the rays of Sooryii are reflected, is a type of sound, 
which some Hindoo philosophers believe to be eternal. The red 
lotus represents the earth ; his chariot, the measure of time ; arid 
the seven horses, the seven poetical measures of the vedus. The 
image of this god is never made, but the sun itself is worshipped 
daily ; the shalgramu is also his constant representative in the 
bramhinical worship. The disciples of this god are called Sourfis. 

9. Ugnee, the regent of fire, is represented as a corpulent man, 
riding on a goat, with copper-coloured eye-brows, beard, hair, 
and eyes ; his belly is the colour of the dawn j he holds a spear 
in his right hand, and a bead-roll in his left; from his body 
issue a thousand streams of glory, and he has seven flaming 
tongues. His corpulency points out, that he grants the desires 
of his worshippers ; the colour of his eye-brows, &c. represents 
the flame of the burnt-ottering when it ascends of a copper- 
colour, at which time he who desires secular blessings offers his 
clarified butter; but he who desires emancipation, pours his 
offering on the fire when its colour is like that of the dawn. 
The goat teaches, that Ugnee devours all things ; his spear, that 
he is almighty; and his bead-roll, that he is propitious. The 
rays of glory are to encourage the worshipper to expect that he 



y The pooranus contain a fable respecting Sooryii and his wife, which 
almost literally corresponds with the filthy story of Neptune and Ceres, 
when the latter turned herself into a mare. 
VOL. i. e 



xxxiv INTRODUCTORY REMARKS 

shall obtain the greatest blessings from this god. Ugnee has 
neither temples nor images consecrated to him, but has a service 
in the daily ceremonies of the bramhiins ; and one class of his wor 
shippers, called sagnikii bramhuns, preserve a perpetual fire like 
the vestal virgins 2 . He presides over sacrifices, and is called 
the mouth of the gods. 

JL 

10. Puvumt, the god of the winds, and the messenger of the 
gods, is represented as a white man, sitting on a deer, holding 
in his right hand the hook used by the driver of an elephant. He 
is painted white, to shew that he preserves life. The deer re 
presents the swiftness of his flight -, the elephant driver s hook 
explains his power over the body. He is worshipped daily, but 
has neither separate festival, image, nor temple. I can find 
little or no resemblance betwixt this god and Mercury. 

11. Vuroonv, the Indian Neptune, is a white man, sitting on 
a sea animal, having a serpent- weapon in his right hand. He is 
painted white, to shew that he satisfies the living) and he 
wields a terrific weapon, to point out, that he is approached 
with fear by the worsiiipper. His name is repeated in the daily 
worship of the bramhuns, but he has neither public festival nor 
temple. 

12. Sumoodru, the sea, is worshipped by the Hindoos when 
they visit the sea, as well as at the different festivals, and on the 
sixth day after the birth of a child. 

13. Prithwee, the earth, is worshipped daily by the Hindoos. 
She is a form of Bhuguviitee, 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, 

z There seems to be no order of females among the Hindoos resembling 
these virgins ; but many Hindoo women, at the total wane of the moon, to 
fulfil a vow, watch for twenty-four hours over a lamp made with clarified 
butter, and prevent its being extinguished till the time for the appear 
ance of the new moon. 



ON THE HINDOO RELIGION. xxxv 

Noiritu, Vuroonu, Vayoo, Kooveru, Eeshu, Brumha, and 
Uniintu. 

1 4. The heavenly bodies. It is a remarkable fact, that almost 
all heathen nations have fallen into the worship 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 idolatry be 
comes less surprising. Whatever may be the antiquity of the 
v&lus, 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 j 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 Sooryii. Somu b , 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 malignant planet, as is also Mun- 
gulu c , or Mars. Booddhu d , or Mercury, is a fortunate planet; 
and so is Frihusputee e , or Jupiter, who is the preceptor of the 
gods. Shookrii f , or Venus, preceptor to the giants, is also a for 
tunate planet. This god is represented as blind of one eye. 
Shunee*, or Saturn, the son of Sooryu, an evil planet. Rahoo 
and Ke*too, the ascending and descending nodes. The planets are 
not honoured with temples, images, or festivals in Bengal. 
When hope or fear, respecting their benign or malignant influ 
ence, is excited in the mind of a Hindoo, he is drawn or driven 
to worship them. 

* Front this god the first day of the week is named Ruvec-varu, as 
Sunday derives its name from the Sun: day and varii are synonymous. 
b Hence Somu-varii, Monday. c Mungulu-varu, Tuesday. 

d Booddh-varu, Wednesday. e Vrihtisputee-varu, Thursday. 

f Shookrii-varu, Friday. K Shimee-varu, Saturday. 



xxxvi INTRODUCTORY REMARKS 

15. Doorga. The image of this goddess and that of Minerva, 
in one or two instances, exhibit a pretty strong resemblance : 
both are described as fond of arms j and it is remarkable, that 
Doorga derives her name from the giant Doorgu, whom she 
slew, as Pallas (Minerva) obtained 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 Parviitee, she has many properties of the Olympian Juno : 
her majestic deportment, high spirit, and general attributes are 
the same ; and we find her both on Mount Koilasu, and at the 
banquets of the deities, uniformly the companion of her husband. 
One circumstance in the parallel is extremely singular : she is 
usually attended by her son Kartikeyii, 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 7 female with 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 Muheshii, 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 worship 
pers, and as exciting 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 Krishnii draw the 
whole Hindoo population to the temples, while those in honour 
of other gods 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, festi 
vals, and ceremonies have been instituted. Doorga, as has been 
already observed, is also the representative of matter in the 
creation of the universe, and in this character she is called Prii- 






ON THE HINDOO RELIGION. xxxvit 

kritee h . 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 shaktfis 1 , as their guardian 
deity. In Bengal, the greater number of bramhuns are shaktus : 
in the western and southern provinces 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 hair 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 conflagra 
tion, when, with the eye in the centre of his forehead, he will 
burn the universe. Her four arms represent the four vediis; the 
two inspiring terror point out those portions of the vedii which 
relate to the destruction of enemies and the government of the 
world, and the other two allude to those parts of the vedii which 
belong to devotion. Her disheveled hair represents the clouds, 
and intimates too that time has neither beginning nor end. Her 
tongue is the representative of lightning. She exhibits alto 
gether the appearance of a drunken frantic fury. Yet this is the 
goddess whom thousands adore, on whose altars thousands of 
victims annually bleed, and whose temple at Kalee-ghatii, 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 of Laverna : she is the protectress of thieves, and her image 
at Kalee-ghatii is a head without a body. Another form of this 
goddess, under the name .of Siddheshwiiree, 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 Siddheshwuree. 

h Literally, the chief, or nature. 4 Shaktii means energy. 



xxxviii INTRODUCTORY REMARKS 

17- Lukshmee, the goddess of fortune, is the wife of Vishnoo .- 
she is said to have been produced at the churning of the sea, as 
Venus was said to be born 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 sacri 
fices are offered to her. The Hindoos avoid all payments of 
money on the Thursday, (Lukshmee-varii,) from the fear of 
offending this goddess. 

18. Surtiswutee, the goddess of learning, another wife of Vish 
noo. She is painted white, and stands on the water-lily. In some 
images she is seen holding a lute j and in others as possessed 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 obvi 
ously 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 Suruswutee. 

19. Sheetula-, 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 re 
moval of cutaneous diseases. 

20. Munusa, the queen of the snakes, or she who protects men 



ON THE HINDOO RELIGION. xxxix 

from their fatal bite. The lower orders crowd to the three 
annual festivals held in honour of this goddess. 

21. Shush? hee, the goddess of fecundity. She is honoured 
with six annual festivals, celebrated chiefly by females. Her 
image is that of a yellow woman, sitting on a cat, and nursing 
a child j 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 terrestrial goddesses are, Seeta, the wife of 
Ramii k ; Radha, the mistress of Krishnii j Rookminee and Sut- 
yii-bhama, the wives of Krishnii ; and Sooblmdra, the sister of 
Jugunnat hu 1 . The terrestrial gods are the following : 

1. Krishnii resembles Apollo in his licentious intrigues j in his 
being a herdsman m , and an archer j in his destroying a dreadful 
serpent 5 in his love of music j and in the celebrity to which he 
attained. Krishnu 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 Krishnii is chiefly found 
in the Shree-Bhaguvutii j the outline of which will be seen in 
vol. i. p. 193, &c. 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 Krishnii n . His intrigues with the 

k This goddess, it is said, was dug out of the ground by king Juniiku, 
when he was ploughing his field. A boy who was ploughed up out of 
the ground among the Tuscans, gave rise to the order of Roman priests, 
whose business it was to divine from appearances in the annual sacrifice. 

1 It does not appear that Jugunnat Iiu was ever married. 

m The 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. 

D Sometimes Hindoos are seen licking up the very dust of the place 



xl INTRODUCTORY REMARKS 

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 
Krishna is worshipped, to which forms separate temples have 
been erected; among the rest to Gopalii, the herdsman j to 
Valu-gopalii, the infant Gopalii j to Gopee-nat hii, 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. Jugunnat hu, another deified hero, 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 
popular. Imitations of his ponderous car abound in many of 
the large towns in Bengal : that in Orissa, connected with the 
ancient temple erected in honour of this god, has crushed to 
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 

where the crowd are celebrating the praises of Krishnu ; and others are 
said to faint with joy on these occasions. In memory of Krishna s lewd 
conduct with the milk-maids in the forest of Vrindavunii, persons of pro 
perty sometimes spend a day in the fields, and entertain their friends. 

Krishnu-vusoo gave to the temple of Jugunnat hu, near Serampore, 
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 
expenses 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 bramhuns 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, pre 
vented 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 would not go. 



THE HINDOO RELIGION. xli 

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 journey, and 
takes a most affecting farewel of his disconsolate relations. 
Southey s description P, in his Curse of Kehama, 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 hieroglyphic of the 
mystical word Om. 

3. Ramu, a deified monarch, and the hero of the Ramayunii, 
comes in for a considerable share of the wretched devotion of 
the Hindoos, especially in the western provinces. His history, 
found in Valmeekee s epic poem, is partly before the public. 
He is adored as the seventh Hindoo incarnation j has an annual 
festival, and is daily worshipped in the temples dedicated to him, 
his brother, and his friend Hunoomanu 5 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 brother Luksh- 
munu holds a white umbrella over his head, and Hiinoomanu 
stands before him as his servant with joined hands. He is con 
sidered as a beneficent deity. Some think that Ramu was deified 

P c A thousand pilgrims strain, 
Arm, 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 Jugunnat 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, 

Who follow close, and thrust the deadly wheels along. 
VOL. i. f 



xlii INTRODUCTORY REMARKS 

on account of a successful attack on Ceylon, when he was king 
of Mut hoora. 

4. Choitunyu, i. e. the wise, a form of Krishnii ; the god of u 
sect of voiragees, whose leader was a religious mendicant. His 
most famous temple in Bengal is at Ugrii-dweepu, where an 
annual festival is held, and to which crowds resort from all parts 
of Bengal. The bramhiins despise this sect. 

5. Vishwu-Mtrmu, 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 Mayii, a giant, who is capable of 
exhibiting all manner of illusive edifices. 

6. Kamu-dcvu, 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 flow r ers. He has an annual festival, but his 
image is not made ; nor does this festival command much cele 
brity. Petitions are addressed to him by the bride and bride 
groom anxious for offspring. 

7. Sutyu Narayunu. I have not discovered the origin of this 
idol : the name implies that he is the true Vishnoo. He is wor 
shipped frequently in the houses of the rich, from the desire of 
insuring prosperity. 

8. Pimchanunu, a form of Shivii, 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 viitu and other trees. 

9. Dhurmii-t hakooru, another form of Shivu, held in much 
the Same estimation as Punchanunu. 

10. Kaloo-rayu, the god of forests, another form of Shivu. 



ON THE HINDOO RELIGION. xliii 

He is painted as sitting on a tiger,, and carrying 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. Urdhu-nareeshwuru. This 
eompound deity is Shivii and Doorga united in one body. The 
fable respecting this singular transformation will be found in 
vol. i. p. 239. Religious worship is paid to this idol. Krishnu- 
Kalee. In this image of Krishnu and Kalee united in one body r 
rice itself is personified and worshipped. See vol. i. p. 24O. 
Huree-Hitru. Another compound deity, Vislmoo and Shivu. 
The worship paid to these idols appears to owe its origin to 
stories in the pooraniis ; but the original idea, meant to be con 
veyed by two of them, no doubt, was, that the Gre^at Spirit and 
matter are one. 

12. The worship of Human Beings. The Hindoos worship their 
spiritual guides ; also bramhims, and their wives and daughters : 
and, among the vamacharees, women of the lowest cast, and 
even prostitutes, are worshipped with rites too abominable to be 
recorded. See vol. i. p. 247- 

13. The worship of Beasts. The cow, as a form of Bhuguviitee, 
is an object of worship, and receives the homage of the Hindoos 
at an annual festival 11 : (see vol. i. p. 249.) Hunoomanu, the monkey, 
has also been placed among the gods, as a form of Shivii. Tem 
ples to 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 

i 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 bur 
dens 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. 

f 2 



xliv INTRODUCTORY REMARKS 

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 received deification, as w r ell as his 
brother Uroonu, the charioteer of Vishnoo. Jutayoo, another 
bird, the friend of Ramii, 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 several trees they esteem sacred. Toolu- 
see, 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 Hindoos preserve with great care near their 
houses, erect pillars to its honour 1 , 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 p. C 263.) 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 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 related in the pooranus respecting the 



* 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. 



ON THE HINDOO RELIGION. xlv 

purifying nature of these waters ; and several works have been 
written to extol the saving properties of the Ganges 5 . Its waters 
are carried to immense distances ; every thing they touch be 
comes 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 ; and it is reckoned a great calamity not to 
die within view of Gunga. Many other rivers receive the 
honours of divine worship, as will be seen in page 278. 

17. Worship of Fish. Even the finny tribes are honoured by 
the Hindoos, though the worship paid to them is of an inferior 
nature. 

18. The worship of Books is very common among this people. 
The lower orders have such a profound respect for a book, that 
they think eveiy thing in such a form must be divine. On 
several occasions a book is converted into an image, and wor 
shipped with all the forms used before the most popular idol. 

19. Worship of Stones. The shaliigramii, as a form of Vish- 
noo, is more frequently worshipped than any other idol in India 1 , 
not excepting the lingu itself 5 which perhaps ought to be placed 
next, and which is also a stone. The representatives of Pun- 

The Gunga-vakya-vulee, &c. 

1 The shalugramus are black stones, found in a part of the Giindukee 
river, within the limits of Nepal. They are mostly round, and are com 
monly perforated in one or more places by worms, or, as the Hindoos 
believe, by Vishnoo in the shape of a reptile. According to the number 
of perforations, and of spiral curves in each, the stone is supposed to 
contain Vishnoo in various characters. For example, such a stone per 
forated in one place only, with four spiral curves in the perforation, and 
with marks resembling a cow s foot, and a long wreath of flowers, con 
tains Lukshmee-Narayunu. In like manner stones are found in the Nur- 
niiula, which are considered as types of Shivii, and are called Vanu-Lingu. 
The shalugramu is found, upon trial, not to be calcareous : it strikes fire 
with steel, and scarcely at all effervesces with acids. Asiatic Researches, 
vol vii. p. 240. 



xlvi INTRODUCTORY REMARKS 

chanunu and other gods are shapeless stones. Many images of 
idols sold in the markets are made of stone, and worshipped. 

20. A log of wood. The pedal with which rice is cleansed from 
the husk lias also been raised to godship by the Hindoos. See 
vol. i. p. 287. 

Such are the objects adored by the Hindoos. Such is the 
deplorable state into which the mind continues to sink, after it 
has once renounced the doctrine of the UNITY of GOD. Divine 
Worship is confessedly the highest act of reverence and homage 
of which man is capable. How shocking then, how afflicting to 
a philanthropic mind, to see man prostrated before a beast, or a 
log of wood! How greatly is the horror increased, when this 
prostration of intellect respects many millions ! 

I have repeatedly conversed with learned Hindoos on the use 
of idols in worship : the best account I have ever received may 
amount to this. God is every where ; this is allowed, but his 
spirituality perplexes the mind. To collect and fix the ideas on 
the object of adoration, therefore, an image is chosen; into which 
image, by the power of incantations, the deity is imagined to be 
drawn. Hence, in dedicating an image, they call upon the god 
to come and dwell in it. I have urged in reply, that if this were 
the whole end to be answered, any image might do u , but that I 
saw amongst them many sorts of idols. To this the bramhun 
says, God has made himself known in these forms, and directed 
these various images to be made, that men may be fascinated 
and drawn to the love of worship ; that none of these images 
are intended to exhibit the natural perfections of God, but his 
actions when incarnate ; and that images are only necessary 
while men continue in a rude state, and may be laid aside by 
those who can attain to devotion by means of rational specula 
tion. This is the best apology I have obtained for the worship 



u They admit this : a pan of water is indeed often substituted for 
an idol. 



ON THE HINDOO RELIGION. xlvii 

of idols. Yet, surely, instead of elevating the mind, and carry 
ing it to a Being so glorious as God, images debase a subject so 
sublime, and destroy all reverence for Him, who is glorious in 
holiness, fearful in praises, doing wonders. Images of God are 
therefore highly offensive, and their makers and worshippers 
justly expose themselves to the cutting reproof of Isaiah : To 
whom then will ye liken God ? or what likeness will ye compare 
to him ? Behold, the nations are as a drop of a bucket, and are 
counted as the small dust of the balance : all nations before him 
are as nothing, and are counted to him less than nothing, and 
vanity. But that idols are not necessary, even to the rude and 
ignorant, let the experience of every protestant country bear 
witness. Where shall we find piety more elevated, or morals 
more correct, even among individuals in the lowest orders of 
society, than in our own land ? 

But what shall we say, when many of these idols are mon 
strous personifications of vice; and w r hen it is a fact, that not a 
single virtuous idea is ever communicated by any of them ? The 
image of Kalee exhibits a female with inflamed eyes, standing 
on the body of her husband, her hair disheveled, slavering the 
blood of her enemies down her bosom, her tongue hanging from 
her mouth, wearing a necklace of skulls, and holding a skull in 
the left hand, and a sword in the, right. Another image, that of 
Krishnu-Kalee, exhibits Krishnii and Radha, his mistress, united 
in one body, to conceal Radha s infidelity from her husband 
Another image is the lingu ! Another that of a monkey, an in 
carnation of the great god Shivii ; the offspring of the god of 
the winds by a female monkey x ! The image of Doorga is that 
of a female warrior : and one form of this goddess is that of a 
female so athirst for blood, that she is represented as cutting off 
her own heac^ and the severed head, with the mouth distended, is 
seen devouring the blood streaming; from the trunk. This god 
dess stands upon two other deities in an attitude so abominably 
indecent that it cannot be described : the common form of 

x Pan is said to have been the sou of Mercury. 



xlviii INTRODUCTORY REMARKS 

Kalee, standing on her husband Shivu, has a secret meaning, 
well known to a Hindoo, but which is so indelicate that even 
they, licentious as they are, dare not make it according to the 
genuine meaning of the fable to which it belongs y. Some of 
the formulas used at the festival in honour of this goddess, 
called the Shyama-pooja, relate to things which can never become 
the subject of description ; but perhaps in this concealed state 
they are more pernicious than if painted, and exhibited to the 
open gaze of the mob. To this it may be added, that amidst all 
the numerous idols worshipped by the Hindoos, there is not one 
to represent any of the Virtues. In this respect, the Hindoo 
mythology sinks far below the European $ for the Greeks and 
Romans adored Virtue, Truth, Piety, Chastity, Clemency, Mercy, 
Justice, Faith, Hope, and Liberty, and consecrated images and 
temples to these deities. Among the Hindoos, the most inno 
cent part of the system, and that which existed in the purest 
ages, was the worship of the primary elements, the adoration of 
inanimate matter ! 

The manifest effect of idolatry in this country, as held up to 
thousands of Christian spectators, is an immersion into the 
grossest moral darkness, and a universal corruption of manners. 
The Hindoo is taught, that the image is really God, and the 
heaviest judgments are denounced against him, if he dare to 
suspect that the image is nothing more than the elements of 
which it is composed. The Tuntru-saru declares, that such an 
unbeliever will sink into the regions of torment. In the appre 
hensions of the people in general, therefore, the idols are real 
deities ; they occupy the place of God, and receive all the 
homage, all the fear, all the service, and all the honours which 
HE so justly claims. The government of God is subverted, and 
all the moral effects arising from the knowledge of his perfections, 
and his claims upon his rational creatures, are completely lost. 

y Hindoos of the baser sort may be seen whispering to each other 
before this image, and dilating on that which is too filthy for them to 
ntter in an audible voice. 



ON THE HINDOO RELIGION. xlix 

It is a fact too, that the festivals in honour of the gods have 
the most pernicious effects on the minds of the people. During 
the ceremonies of worship before the image, the spectators are 
very few, and these feel no interest whatever in the mummery 
going forward ; and were it not for those who come to pay a 
visit of ceremony to the image, and to bring their offerings, the 
temple would be as little crowded on festival, as on common 
days : but as soon as the well-known sound of the drum is 
heard, calling the people to the midnight orgies, the dance and 
the song, whole multitudes assemble, and almost tread one upon 
another ; and their joy keeps pace with the number of loose 
women present, and the broad obscenity of the songs. Gopalu- 
Turkkalunkarii, a pundit employed in the Serampore printing- 
office, and a very respectable man among the Hindoos, avowed 
to a friend of mine, that the only attractives on these occasions 
were the women of ill-fame, and the filthy songs and dances j 
that these songs were so abominable, that a man of character, 
even amongst them, was ashamed of being present ; that if ever 
he (Gopalii) remained, he concealed himself in a corner of the 
temple. He added, that a song was scarcely tolerated which did 
not contain the most marked allusions to unchastity j while those 
which were so abominable that no person could repeat them out 
of the temple, received the loudest plaudits 2 . All this is done in 
the very face of the idol j nor does the thought, f Thou God 
seest me, ever produce the slightest pause in these midnight 
revels. In open day, and in the most public streets of a large 
town, I have seen men entirely naked, dancing with unblushing 
effrontery before the idol, as it was carried in triumphant proces 
sion, encouraged by the smiles and eager gaze of the bramhuns. 
Yet sights even worse than these, and such as can never be 
described by the pen of a Christian writer, are exhibited on the 
rivers and in the public roads, to thousands of spectators, at the 



1 Sometimes the Hindoos open a subscription to defray the expense of 
a grand act of worship in honour of some idol. If 400 roopees be sub 
scribed on such an occasion, I am assured, that 300 wiJl be spent on the 
-iongs and dancing-girls. 

. g 



1 INTRODUCTORY REMARKS 

Poorga festival*, the most popular and most crowded of all the 
Hindoo festivals in Bengal; and which closes with libations to 
the gods so powerful, as to produce general intoxication. What 
must be the state of morals in a country, when its religious in 
stitutions and public shows, at which the whole population is 
present, thus sanctify vice, and carry the multitude into the very 
gulph of depravity and ruin ! 

There is another feature in this system of idolatry, which in 
creases its pernicious effects on the public manners : The history 
of these gods is a highly coloured representation of their wars, 
quarrels, and licentious intrigues ; which are held up in the 
images, recitations) songs, and dances at the public festivals. 
At the separate recitations, which are accompanied with some 
thing of our pantomime, these incredible and most indecent 
fables are made still more familiar to the people; so familiar 
indeed, that allusions to them are to be perceived in the most 
common forms of speech. Many works of a pernicious tendency 
in the European languages are not very hurtful, because they 
are too scarce and expensive to be read by the poor; but the 
authors of the Hindoo mythology have taken care, that the 
quarrels and revels of the gods and goddesses shall be held up to 
the imitation of the whole community. 

In some of these histories and pantomimes Shivu is repre 
sented as declaring to Lukshmee, that he would part with all the 
merit of his works for the gratification of a criminal passion ; 
Briimha as burning with lust towards his own daughter ; Krishna 
as living with the wife of another, murdering a washerman and 
stealing his clothes, and sending his friend Yoodhist hirii to the 
regions of torment by causing him to utter a falsehood ; Jndru 
and Chundru are seen as the paramours of the wives of their 
spiritual guides. But these stories are so numerous in the poo- 

The author has more than once been filled with alarm, as this idola 
trous procession has passed his house, lest his children should go to the 
windows, and see the gross obscenity exhibited by the dancers. 



ON THE HINDOO RELIGION. li 

ranus, that it seems unnecessary to drag more of them to light . 
The thing to be deplored is, that the Hindoo objects of worship 
were themselves monsters of vice. 

Painful as this is, it is not all: there is a numerous and grow 
ing sect among the Hindoos m Bengal, and perhaps in other 
provinces, who, in conformity with the rules prescribed in the 
works called Tuntru, practise the most abominable rites. The 
proselytes to this sect are chiefly bramhiins, and are called vama- 
charees. I have given some account of them in vol. i. p. 247. arid 
vol. ii. p. 92. and should have declined blotting these pages with 
any further allusion to these unutterable abominations, had I not 
omitted in those accounts an article which I had prepared, and 
which throws much additional light on the practices of a sect so 
singularly corrupt. 

The rules of this sect are to be found more or less in most of 
the Tfmtrus \ but particularly in the Neelu, Roodru-yamulu, 
Yonee, and Unnuda-kulpu. In these w r orks the writers have 
arranged a number of Hindoo sects as follows : Vedacharees, 
Voishniivacharees, Shoivacharees, Dukshinacharees, Vamacha- 
rees, Siddhantacharees, and Koulacharees -, each rising in succes 
sion, till the most perfect sect is the Koulacharu. When a 
Hindoo wishes to enter into this sect, he sends for a person who 
has been already initiated, and who is well acquainted with the 
forms of initiation ; and presenting to him garments, ornaments, 
&c. begs him to become his religious guide. The teacher then 
places this disciple near him for three days, and instructs him in 
the ceremonies of the sect : at the close of which period, the 
disciple spreads some loose soil on the floor of the house in 
which the ceremonies of initiation are to be performed j and 
sows a small quantity of barley, and two kinds of pease, in this 
soil, sprinkling water upon it. He next proceeds to perform 
some parts of the ten ceremonies practised by the regular Hin 
doos from the time of birth to that of marriage : after which he 
makes a declaration, that he has from that period renounced all 
the ceremonies of the old religion, and is delivered from their 

g a 



Hi INTRODUCTORY REMARKS 

yoke ; and as a token of joy celebrates what is called the 
Vriddhee shraddhu. All these ceremonies are to be performed 
in the day ; what follows is to be done in darkness : and there 
fore, choosing the darkest part of the night, the seed sown in 
the house having sprung up, the disciple and his spiritual (it 
would not be too harsh to say infernal) guide enter the house, 
with eight men, (vamacharees,) and eight females, (a dancing- 
girl, a weaver s daughter, a woman of ill- fame, a washer 
woman, a barber s wife or daughter, a bramhunee, the daughter 
of a land-owner, and a milkmaid.) Each of the vamacharees is 
to place by his side one of the females, and the teacher and his 
disciple are to sit close to each other. The teacher now informs 
his disciple, that from henceforward he is not to indulge shame, 
nor dislike to any thing, nor prefer one plan to another, nor 
regard ceremonial cleanness or uricleanness, nor cast ; and that, 
though he may freely enjoy all the pleasures of sense, the mind 
must be fixed on his guardian deity: that is, he is neither to be 
an epicure nor an ascetic, but to blend both in his character, 
and to make the pleasures of sense, that is, wine and women,, 
the medium of obtaining absorption into Briimha; since women 
are the representatives of the wife of Cupid, and wine prevents 
the senses from going astray. A pan of spirits, or of water 
mixed with spirits, is placed near each man and woman ; and in 
the centre another pan of spirits, different kinds of flesh, (of 
which that of the cow makes a part,) rice, fruits, &c. and upon 
each of the eight pans different branches of trees, and garlands 
of red flowers are placed ; the, pans also are to be marked with 
red paint : all these are surrounded with eighty pounds of flour 
formed into different colours. A pan of intoxicating beverage, 
called siddhee, is next consecrated ; of which each partakes: after 
which they chew the panu leaf. Next, before all the things 
placed in the centre of the room, the spiritual guide rehearses 
the common ceremonies of worship, addressing them to any one 
of the female deities who happens to be the guardian deity of 
this disciple. The vessels from which the company are to drink, 
and the offerings, are next consecrated : these vessels may be 
formed of earth, copper, brass, silver, gold, or stone, the cocoa- 



ON THE HINDOO RELIGION. liii 

nut, or a human skull ; but the latter is to be preferred. The 
Spiritual guide then gives as much as a wine glass of spirits to 
each female, as the representative of the divine energy j and the 
men drink what they leave. At this time the spiritual guide 
declares, that in the sutyii yoogii the people were directed in 
their religious duties by the ve"diis, in the tre"tu by the writings 
of the learned, in the dwapuru by the different pooraniis, and, in 
the kulee yoogu, the tuntrus are the only proper guides to duty. 
As if well pleased with this sentiment, each one of the company 
now drinks two more glasses of the spirits. The disciple next 
worships each male and female separately, applying to them the 
names of Bhoiruvu and Bhoiruvee, titles given to Shivii and 
Doorga, and presents to each of them spirits, meat-offerings, 
garments, ornaments, &c. j after which the spiritual guide offers 
a burnt- sacrifice, with the flesh and other meat-offerings, pour 
ing on them, as they burn, clarified butter : the disciple also 
repeats the same ceremony. The eight females now anoint the 
disciple by sprinkling upon him, with the branches which were 
placed on the pan, spirits and water j and after mixing together 
the whole of the spirits, or spirits and water, from all the pans, 
the spiritual guide, with all the branches, again sprinkles the 
disciple : to whom he declares that he has now, for the good of 
his soul, instructed him, according to the commandment of the 
great god Shivii, in all the ceremonies belonging to the profession 
of a vamacharee ; urging him, in practising these ceremonies, 
to keep his mind on Shivii, and that he will be happy after 
death : at the close, he causes him to drink the liquor thus 
mixed, repeating separate incantations. During his initiation 
he is not to drink so as to appear intoxicated, or to cause his 
mind to wander j but having habituated himself to a small quan 
tity, he may take more, till he falls down in a state of intoxica 
tion ; still however so as to rise again after a short interval : 
after which he may continue drinking the nectar, till he falls 
down completely overcome, and remains in this state of joy, 
thinking upon his guardian deity. He is now known as an 
Uviidhootu, that is, as one who has renounced all secular affairs ; 
and receives a new name, perhaps Anundu-nat hu, or the joyous. 



liv INTRODUCTORY REMARKS 

He is to drink spirits with all of the same profession ; to sleep 
constantly in a house of ill-fame j and to eat of every thing he 
pleases, and with all casts indiscriminately. The next thing is 
to offer a burnt-sacrifice ; after which the spiritual guide and the 
guests are dismissed with presents, and the new disciple spends 
the night with an infamous female. These vamacharees adore 
the sex, and carefully avoid offending a woman. They also 
practise the most debasing rites, using the heads of persons who 
have been guilty of suicide, also when sitting on a dead body, 
and while naked and in the presence of a naked female. It 
might seem impossible to trace ceremonies gross as these to any 
principle except that of moral depravity ; but the authors of this 
system attempt to reconcile it with the pursuit of future happi 
ness. The reader is aware that the regular Hindoo theologians 
attribute all the vices to the passions, and consider their subju 
gation, or annihilation, as essential to final beatitude ; they 
therefore aim at the accomplishment of this object by means of 
severe bodily austerities. The vamacharees profess to seek the 
same object, not by avoiding temptation, and starving the body, 
but by blunting the edge of the passions with excessive indul 
gence. They profess to triumph over the regular Hindoos, 
reminding them that their ascetics are safe only in forests, and 
while keeping a perpetual fast j but that they subdue their pas 
sions in the very presence of temptation. 

Thus, that which to the Hindoo should be divine worship, is 
the great source of impiety and corruption of manners : and, 
instead of returning from his temple, or from religious services, 
improved in knowledge, grieved for his moral dcficiences, and 
anxious to cultivate a greater regard to the interests of morality 
and religion, his passions are inflamed, and his mind polluted to 
such a degree, that he carries the pernicious lessons of the 
temple, or the festival, into all the walks of private life. His 
very religion becomes his greatest bane, and where he should 
have drank of the water of life, he swallows the poison that 
infallibly destroys him. 



ON THE HINDOO RELIGION. Iv 

In conversation with a learned bramhun, in the year 1813, he 
acknowledged to the author, that, at present, reverence for the 
gods made no part of the attractions to the public festivals. 
One man celebrates a festival to preserve himself from disgrace, 
another to procure the applauses of his countrymen, and a third 
for the sake of the songs, dances, c. This bramhun instanced 
cases of images being made without any reference to the rules 
of the shastru. At one place, a Hindoo, having prepared an 
image, at an expense which he could not meet, permitted it to 
be broken, and its head, arms, and legs to be trodden upon in 
the streets ; another, who had been thus disappointed, threw 
tlie image into the water ; and a third, having made an enor 
mous image, had fastened it to a cart, but on the first motion of 
the vehicle, the head of the idol had fallen off, and the rest of 
the image was permitted to lie in the street as a dead carcase. 
I give these instances, to confirm what I have already said, that 
it is not devotion that leads the Hindoo to the temple, but a 
licentious appetite , and to afford another proof, that idolatry 
always tends to sink, but never to raise its votaries. In the 
account of Kalee, (vol. i. p. 153,) the reader will find a fact 
respecting the execution of two Hindoos, who, when under sen 
tence of death, became Roman Catholics, in pure revenge upon 
Kalee ; who did not, as she was believed 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 reader, that although 
this goddess assisted public robbers, she always informed them 
that they must suffer hereafter for their crimes, though she did 
assist them in their perpetration. 

The Reverend Mr. Maurice seems astonished that a people so 
mild, so benevolent, so benignant as the Hindoos, c who (quot 
ing 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, clay and night, 
and expose them to the heat and cold in the last agonies of 



hi INTRODUCTORY REMARKS 

death, without remorse j 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 b , throw themselves into rivers c , from pre 
cipices 11 , and under the cars of their idols; who murder 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 e , or by sacrificing them to the 
Ganges; 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 f ; who every year butcher thousands of 

b Instances are not unfrequent, where persons afflicted with loath- 
some and incurable diseases, have caused themselves to be buried alive. 
Asiatic Researches, vol. vii. p. 257. 

c Mr. W. Carey, of Cutwa, in a letter to the author, dated the 4th of 
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 water, with a pan of water tied round his waist 
to make him sink ; but providentially the river was shallow, and he was 
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 police. I hope he will be restored to health in a 
fortnight, when he will return home, with some knowledge of the gospel. 
What adds to the horror of this narration, is, that the perpetrators of 
this intended murder were the mother and brother of this unfortunate 
Hindoo. 

d A very singular practice prevails among the lowest tribes of the 
inhabitants of Berar and Gondwunii. Suicide is not unfrequently 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 Kalti- 
Bhoiruvu, situated in the mountains between the Taptee and Nurmuda 
rivers. The annual fair, held near that spot at the beginning of spring, 
usually witnesses eight or ten victims of this superstition. Asiatic Re 
searches, vol. vii. p. 257. 

e I fancy this is done when the child is born with bad omens, or is 
supposed to be afflicted by some evil spirit. 

f At Benares and near Buxar numerous brick monuments have been 



ON THE HINDOO RELIGION. hii 

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 t be 
nignant Hindoos V 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 
administer 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 Booddhu in the Burman 
empires ! and who very often, in their acts of pillage, murder 



erected to perpetuate the memory of women who have been burnt alive 
with the bodies of their deceased husbands. 

% It is well kno\vn, that the Burmans are the followers of Booddhu, 
whose principal aim was to excite in mankind a horror of shedding blood, 
and of destroying animal life. The following facts will show how much 
humanity there Ls 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 hud 
melted lead poured down his throat, which immediately burst out from 
the neck, and various parts of the body. Four .or five persons, 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 
crucified 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 or seventh 
day. Four persons were crucified, viz. not nailed, but tied with 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 misery. 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 
VOL. i. h 



hriii INTRODUCTORY REMARKS 

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 poisoned fruits of supersti 
tion, 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 shastrii, the Hindoo 
gives water to the weary traveller during the month Voishakhii 5 
but he may perish at his door without pity or relief from the first 
of the following month, no reward 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 travel 
lers 5 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 existed. Before 
the kiilee-yoogu 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 buffalo, however, and Doorga will 
reward him with heaven for it. A Hindoo, by any direct act, 

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, which put an immediate 
end to his existence. Two persons had their bellies ripped up, just suffi 
cient 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 \vho have been beheaded I do not exactly recollect; but 
they must be somewhere between twenty and thirty. One man was sawn 
to dentil, by applying the saw to the shoulder bone, and sawing right down 
until the bowels gushed out. One woman was beat to death with a large 
cudgel. These are most of the punishments ! have seen and heard of 
during my stay in this place ; but many other instances happened during 
my absence, which I have not related. As for the crimes for which these 
punishments were inflicted, I shall only add, the crimes of some deserved 
death, some were of a trivial nature, and some of the victims were quite 
innocent. 



ON THE HINDOO RELIGION. lix 

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 ev.en his 
cow to perish with hunger; and he beats it without mercy, 
though it be an incarnation of Bhuguvutee it is enough, that 
he does not really deprive it of life j 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 j but he will not violate his shastru by 
swearing on the waters of the Ganges. 

Idolatry is often also the exciting cause of the most abomina 
ble frauds. Several instances are given in this work : one will- 
be found in vol. i. p. 122. and another respecting an image 
found under ground by the raja of Nudeeya, in vol. i. p. 203 h -. 

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 neighbour 
hood : he also persuades some one to proclaim, that he has been 
warned in a dream to perform vows to this image $ or he repeats 
to all he sees, that such and such cures have been performed by 
it. In the years 18O7 and 18O8, almost all the sick and imagi 
nary sick Hindoos in the south of Bengal presented their offerings 
to an image called Taruk-eshwuru, at a place bearing this name. 
The bramhims owning this image became rich. This excited 
the attention of some bramhims near Nudeeya, who proclaimed 
another image of Shivii, in their possession, to be the brother 
of Taruk-eshwurii; and the people of those parts flocked to this 
image as others had done to the original one. 

The author has devoted a volume of this work to the gods. 

h Plutarch says, that Romulus, when he instituted^he Ludi Consuales, 
to surprise the Sabine virgins, gave out, that he had discovered the altar 
of the god Census hid under ground ; which discovery attracted great 
multitudes to the sacrifice. 



Ix INTRODUCTORY REMARKS 

The next article relates to the Hindoo temples,, none of which 
appear to be distinguished for the elegance of their architecture : 
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 worship, 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 devout 
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 ex 
plained, 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 ; and when the crowd do as 
semble 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 k , if 

* We learn from the Ain Akburee, however, that the entire revenues 
of Orissa, for twelve years, were expended on erecting a temple to the 
sun. Maurices Indian Antiquities. 

k Circumambulating a temple is an act of merit, raising the person to 
a place in the heaven of the god or goddess 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 w alking, 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. 



ON THE HINDOO RELIGION. Ixi 

the building belong to a man of wealth j the expense incurred in 
presents to the bramhuns and others is also very great. The 
person who employs his wealth in this manner is considerably 
raised in the estimation of his countrymen : he frequently also 
endows the temple, as well as raises it j which is generally done 
by grants of land. The annual produce of the land thus be 
stowed, 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 what is presented at festivals 1 . Some 
temples are supported at an expense so trifling as to astonish 
a reader not acquainted with the forms of idolatry : many in 
dividuals who officiate at temples obtain only the offerings, the 
value of which does not amount, in many instances, to more than 
twenty shillings a year. Some few temples are, however, splen 
didly endowed, and many families receive their maintenance from 
them. Where an idol 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, clay, &c. Most of the permanent images 
are made of wood or stone ; those which are destroyed 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 with a 
number of ceremonies, the most singular of which is that of 
conveying sight and life to the image, for which there are ap 
propriate formulas, with prayers, inviting the deity to come and 

1 In the year 1809, at the temple of Jugunnat hu, near Serampore, at 
the car festival, about 570 roopees were presented to the idol, in vegeta 
bles, fruits, sweetmeats, garments, and money. About 150 bramhuns, 50 
females, and 150 shoodrus, were entertained daily ; and, at the close of the 
festival, the priests of the temple received 420 roopees. 



Ixii INTRODUCTORY REMARKS 

dwell in it. After this ceremony, the image becomes sacred, and 
is carefully guarded from every offensive approach. The shas- 
trus contain directions for making idols, and the forms of medi 
tation used in worship contain a description of each idol : but in 
many instances these forms are disregarded, and the proprietor, 
though compelled to preserve the identity of the imnge, indulges 
his own fancy. Some images are very diminutive, especially 
those made of the precious metals ; but others, if for temporary 
use, are very large : a stone image of the lingii is to be seen at 
Benares, which six men with joined hands can hardly grasp. 
At the festival of Kartikeyii, the god of war, an image is some 
times made thirty cubits high. Whatever may have been the 
case in other countries, idolatry in this has certainly not contri 
buted to carry the arts of painting or sculpture to any perfection. 

Any bramhvin, 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 con- 
lined" 1 : many bramhuns employ others as priests ; a shoodrii 
must employ a bramhiin, but he has his own choice of the indi 
vidual ; 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 : (see 
vol. ii. p. 16.) In general, a family, able to bear the expense, 
employs a priest on a. regular allowance : some priests are re 
tained by many families of the same cast j such a person is 
called the joiners priest, or the weavers priest, &c. The bram 
huns employed as priests to the shoodrii s are not in high estima 
tion among their brethren, who never fail to degrade the shoodrii 

TO 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 without foundation. The laws have always confined a certain 
proportion of bramhuns to the service of the pagodas, to the education of 
youth, and to study. p. 57. No pains are spared in rendering accom 
plished those females, who, as the fascinating instruments of superstition, 
are employed in the service of their temples. p. 54. 



ON THE HINDOO RELIGION. Ixiii 

in every stage and state of life. The fees of the priest are in 
general very small : on some occasions, 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 vol. \. pp. 232, 
235. 

The ceremonies at the temples are in most cases performed 
daily, morning, noon, and evening, at which times food is pre 
sented 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 Shivii) a few articles of food, the priest 
is commonly the only person present. The doors of the lingu 
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 being several of these temples 
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 honoured by 
bloody sacrifices, a post is erected in front of the temple, for the 
slaughter of animals. No assemblies can be formed in these 
edifices; but on particular occasions the people are collected 
before the door, and sit or stand tinder 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 dishes to hold the offerings, a hand bell, a lamp, 
jugs for holding water, an incense dish, a copper cup to receive 
drink-offerings for deceased ancestors and the gods, another 
smaller one to pour from, a seat of kooshii 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 whom may truly be applied the remark of Paul 



Ixiv INTRODUCTORY REMARKS 

to the Athenians, (Acts xvii. 22;) the festivals are noted in 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, Suruswiitee, which 
continues one day. In March three, in honour of Shivii, 
Krishnu, and Gunga. In April two ; one on the anniversary of 
the birth of Ramu, and the other the horrid swinging festival. 
In June two 5 one in honour of Gunga, and the other Jugiin- 
nat hu s car festival ; the latter is again revived in July, when 
the car returns to the temple. In August the cow is worshipped, 
and the birth of Krishnf: celebrated. In September the memory 
of deceased ancestors is commemorated, and the Doorga festival 
held. In October one, in honour of the goddess Riitimtee; and 
in November another, in honour of Kartikeyii, the god of war. 
On all these occasions the public offices are closed j but many 
other holidays are kept by the Hindoos, which are not honoured 
us public festivals. 

The reader will find, in vol. ii. p. 9,7. an account of the daily duties 
of a bramhun j 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, especially those engaged in secular affairs, who spend 
perhaps ten or twenty minuter in the morning, after their ablu 
tions, in repeating the usual formulas before the lingu, or the 
stone called the shalugramu, or a pan of water. Many, however, 
content themselves with 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 ex 
horting him to repeat it continually. The ceremony of initiation 
is given in vol. ii. p. 38. From this time, the initiated becomes 
entitled to all 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 word.* 



ON THE HINDOO RELIGION. Ixv 

of initiation, and do not wish to declare to strangers what god 
they have chosen for their guardian deity. 

The spiritual guide, who is chosen by the person himself, re 
ceives 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 ap 
proaches 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 no 
torious 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 disciples. 

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 complete 
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 cere 
mony, by which they become purified from sin n ! They are 
never directed to bathe to promote bodily health. In the act of 
bathing, they pour out drink-offerings to deceased ancestors. 

n And yet so far are the Hindoos from having any moral feelings, even 
in their acts of purification, that few men bathe in a retired situation : the 
majority choose those places to which the female bathers resort, and ou 
their acconnt remain in the water long beyond the time necessary for 
their 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 opulent families, to facilitate their licentious intrigues : 
this is become so common, that the bramhuns, proverbially known by the 
name of cooking bramhuns, are treated with the greatest suspicion by 
those who care for the chastity of their wives. 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 prin- 
. ciple from the religion of the Hindoos ! 
VOL. i. i 



Ixvi INTRODUCTORY REMARKS 

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 the 
landing-places of the Ganges ; to the persons bearing the sacred 
water into distant countries, in vessels suspended from their 
shoulders ; to the shraddhus and other religious ceremonies per 
formed on its banks ; to the number of temples on both sides 
of the river ; to so great a part of the Bengal population having 
erected their habitations near the river j to the number of brick 
landing-places, built as acts of holiness, to assist the people in 
obtaining the favour of Giinga; to the houses erected for the 
sick by the sides of the river j 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 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 Sagiir island (Gunga-saguru) every 
year . 

The forms of worship (poojaP) before the idol are particularly 

Till lately, people used to throw themselves, or their children, to the 
alligators at this place, under the idea that dying at Gunga-sagurii, in 
the jaws of an alligator, was the happiest of deaths. This is now pre 
vented by a guard of sepoys sent by government. 

P The Ain Akburee says, the Hindoos divide pooja into sixteen cere 
monies. After the devotee has performed his usual and indispensable 
ablutions, with the sundhya and homu, he sits down, looking towards the 
east or the north, with his legs drawn up in front. Then, taking in his 
hand a little water and rice, he sprinkles the idol, and conceives this act 
to be a proper preface to the commencement of his adoration. Next fol 
lows the worship of the idol s flagon. 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. 



ON THE HINDOO RELIGION. Ixvii 

laid down in vol. ii. p. 64. The priest who officiates has the 
common dress of a bramhiin j it must, however, be clean : he 
has occasionally one or two bramhuns to assist him in presenting 
the offerings. 

duties are all comprised in the first of the sixteen ceremonies. In the 
second, he prepares and places a table of metal, either gold, 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 washes 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 with before meals. In the fifth, sandal, flowers, 
betel, and rice are offered to the idol. In the sixth, the idol and his 
throne are carried to another spot : then the worshipper takes in his right 
hand u white conch-shell full of water, which he throws over the idol, 
and wivh 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 vestments 
of silk or gold stuff. In the eighth, he puts the zennar upon the idol. 
In the ninth^ he makes the tiluk upon the idol in twelve places. In the 
tenth, he throws over the idol flowers or green leaves. In the eleventh, 
he fumigates it with perfumes. In the twelfth, he lights a lamp with 
ghee. In the thirteenth, he places before the idol trays of food, accord 
ing to his ability ; which are distributed among the by-standers, as the 
holy 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 hLs eight members touch the ground, namely, the 
two knees, two hands, forehead, nose, and cheeks. These kinds of pro 
stration are also performed to great men in Hindoost hanu. In the 
fifteenth, he makes a circuit around the idol several times. In the six 
teenth, he stands in the posture of a slave, with his hands uplifted, and 
asks permission to depart. At some of the great festivals, 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 chil 
dren initiated into their idolatrous rites. If, however, the parents of 
these children discover what is going on, they forbid it, and warn the 
children, 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. 

i 2 



Ixviii INTRODUCTORY REMARKS 

Short forms of praise and prayer to the gods^ are continually 
used, and are supposed to promote very highly a person s spiri 
tual interests. The following is an example of praise addressed 
to Gimga : O goddess, the owl that lodges in the hollow of a 
tree on thy banks, is exalted beyond measure j while the emperor, 
whose palace is far from thee, though he may possess a million 
of stately elephants, and may have the wives of a million of con 
quered enemies to serve him, is nothing. Example of prayer : 
O god ! I am the greatest sinner in the world j 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 cer-. 

i Instead of hymns in honour of the gods, the Hindoos, at present, as 
has been already noticed, introduce before the idol little beside filthy 
songs. Some bramhuns acknowledge, that not a single Hindoo seeks in 
his religion any thing of a moral nature. A real Christian, when he 
approaches God, prays, Create in me a clean heart, and renew a right 
spirit within me. Lead me not into temptation, but deliver me from 
evil. Give me neither poverty nor riches. Guide me with thy 
counsel, and afterwards receive me to glory. A Hindoo, when he sup 
plicates his god, prays for riches, or for recovery from sickness, or for a 
son, or for revenge upon his enemy. Sometimes the worshipper places 
himself before the image in a sitting posture, and, closing his eyes, prays, 
Oh, god ! give me beauty, let me be praised, give me prosperity, give 
me a son, give me riches, give me long life, or, give me health, &c. The 
eldest female of the house, throwing her garment over her shoulder, and 
sitting on her hams, joining her hands, in the same manner, prays, * O 
god! preserve these my children, and my son s wife ; do not suffer us to 
have sorrow again in our family, (referring to some death in the preceding 
year,) and then I will present offerings to thee every year: saying this, 
she prostrates herself before the image. Sometimes a woman, after bath 
ing, stretches her arms towards the sun, and says, O god of day ! such 
a one has ill-treated me; do thou afflict her. See! I supplicate thee 



ON THE HINDOO RELIGION. Ixix 

tain period of time to the contemplation of the deity, his attri 
butes, 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, &c. and nothing more. 

Repeating the names of the gods, particularly of a person s 
guardian deity, is one of the most common, and is considered as 
one of the most efficacious acts of devotion prescribed in the 
shastriis. The oftener the name is repeated, the greater the 
merit. Persons may be seen in the streets repeating these names 
either alone, or at work, or to a parrot ; others, as they walk 
along, count the repetitions by the beads of their necklace, which 
they then hold in the hand. 

A great number of prescribed ceremonies, called vrutus, exist 
among the Hindoos, which are practised with the hope of 
obtaining some blessing : females chiefly attend to these cere 
monies. 

Fasting is another act of religious merit among the Hindoos. 
Some fasts are extremely severe, and a Hindoo who is very reli 
gious must often abstain from food. It is commended, not as 
an act of preparation for some duty, calling for great attention 
of mind, but as an instance of self-denial in honour of the gods, 
which is very pleasing to them. One man may fast for another, 
and the merit of the action is then transferred to the person pay 
ing and employing another in this work. 

Gifts to bramhiins are highly meritorious, as might be ex 
pected in a system exclusively formed for their exaltation : the 
more costly the gift, the more valuable the promissory note, 

without having touched or tasted food. A poor man, in the presence of 
an image, sometimes prays, O god ! fill me every c^ay with food. I ask 
no more. 



Ixx INTRODUCTORY REMARKS 

i 

drawn on heaven, and presented to the giver. Giving entertain 
ments to bramhuns is also another action which procures heaven. 

Hospitality to travellers is placed among- the duties of the 
Hindoos, and is practised to a considerable extent, though the 
distinctions of cast destroy the feelings which should give effi 
cacy to this excellent law. So completely do these distinctions 
destroy every generous and benevolent feeling, that many unfor 
tunate creatures perish in the sight of those who are well able 
to relieve them, but who exonerate themselves from this duty, 
by urging, that they are of another cast : a bramhun finds friends 
every where, but the cast has sunk the afflicted shoodru to the 
level of the beasts : when a bramhun is relieved, however, he is 
not indebted to the benevolence of his countrymen, so much as 
to the dread which they feel lest neglect of a bramhun should 
bring upon them the wrath of the gods. 

Digging pools, planting trees for fruit or shade, making ro_ads 
for pilgrims, &c. are other duties commanded by the shastrii, 
and practised by the modern Hindoos. 

Reading and rehearsing the pooraniis are prescribed to the 
Hindoos as religious duties, and many attend to them at times 
in a very expensive manner. 

Other ceremonies contrary to every principle of benevolence 
exist among this people, one of which is to repeat certain for 
mulas, for the sake of injuring, removing, or destroying enemies. 
Here superstition is made an auxiliary to the most diabolical 
passions . 

But what shall we say of the murder of widows on the funeral 
pile ? this too is an act of great piety. The priest assists the 
poor wretch, in her last moments, before she falls on the pile, 
with the formulas given by the Hindoo legislators ; and, to com 
plete this most horrible of all religious customs, the son of this 
wretched victim kindles the fire in the very face of the mother 



ON THE HINDOO RELIGION. Ixxi 

who gave him birth. Can there possibly be a greater outrage 
on human nature ? Is there any thing like it in all the records 
of the most wild and savage nations ? The North American 
Indian proceeds with the utmost coolness, it is true, in the work 
of scalping and murder, but the victim is his enemy, taken in 
battle j here the victim is an innocent woman a mother a 
widow, her heart fresh bleeding under the loss of the companion 
of her youth the murderer, her own child dragged to the 
work by the mild bramhun, who dances, and shouts, and drowns 
the cries of the family and the victim in the horrid sounds of the 
drum. Such is the balm which is here poured into the broken 
heart of the widow. Nor are these unheard of, unparalleled 
murders, perpetrated in the night, in some impenetrable forest ; 
but in the presence of the whole population of India, in open 
day: and oh! horrible, most horrible ! not less than five thousand 
of these unfortunate women, it is supposed, are immolated every 
twelve months. I have heard that the son sometimes manifests 
a great reluctance to the deed 1 ", and that some of these human 
sacrifices are almost dead before they are touched by the flames s . 
It is certain, that in many cases the family do much to prevent 
the female from being thus drawn into the flaming gulph ; but 
such are the effects of superstition, and the influence of long- 
established customs, joined to the disgrace and terrors of a state 
of widowhood, that, in the first moments of grief and distraction 
for the loss of her husband, reason is overpowered, and the 
widow perishes on the funeral pile, the victim of grief, supersti 
tion, and dread. Many widows are buried alive with the corpses 
of their husbands *. 

r The shastru prescribes, that he should do it with his head turned 
from the pile. Kennett, describing the Roman funeral, says, l The next 
of blood performed the ceremony of lighting the pile, which they did 
with a torch, turning their face all the while the other way, as if it was 
done out of necessity and not willingly. 

* These barbarous murderers say, that when a \voman is thus frightened 
to death, the gods, charmed with her devotion, have taken her before 
she entered upon this holy act*. 

* The following circumstance took place at Gondul-para, about 20 



Ixxii INTRODUCTORY REMARKS 

Voluntary suicide is not only practised to a dreadful extent 
among the Hindoos, but the ahastrus positively recommend the 



miles N. of Calcutta, on the 18th of March, 1813, and was communicated 
to the author by Capt. Kemp, an eye-witness. The description is nearly 
in his own words : * On Thursday last, at nine in the morning, Vishwu- 
nat hu, one of our best workmen, who had been sick but a short time, 
was brought down to the river side to expire : he was placed, as is cus 
tomary, on the bank, and a consultation held respecting the time he 
would die ; the astrologer predicted, that his dissolution was near at 
hand. The sick man was then immersed up to the middle in the river, 
and there kept for some time ; but death not being so near as was pre 
dicted, he was again placed on the beach, extended at full length, and 
exposed to a hot sun, where he continued the whole of the day, excepting 
at those intervals when it was supposed he was dying, when he was again 
immersed in the sacred stream. I visited him iu the evening; he was 
sensible, but had not the power of utterance ; he however was able to 
make signs with his hand, that he did not wish to drink the river water, 
which they kept almost continually pouring into his mouth by means of a 
small shell. He remained in this situation during the night: in the 
morning the immersions commenced, and were continued at intervals 
till about five in the evening, when he expired, or was literally murdered. 
His wife, a young woman about sixteen years of age, hearing of his death, 
came to the desperate resolution of being buried alive with the corpse. 
She was accompanied by her friends down to the beach where the body 
lay, where a small branch of the Mango tree was presented to her, which 
(as I understood) was setting a seal to her determination ; from which, 
after having accepted the branch, she could not retreat. I went to her, 
and questioned her with respect to the horrid act she was about to per 
form, whether it was voluntary or from persuasion : nothing of the latter 
appeared ; it was entirely her own desire. I spoke to her relations on 
the heinousness of the crime they were guilty of, in allowing the young 
creature thus to precipitate herself into the presence of her Creator un 
called for. Mrs. K. spoke both to the mother and the daughter a good deal, 
but all to no purpose. The mother declared, that it was her daughter s 
choice, who added, that she was determined to " go the road her husband 
had gone. There was not the least appearance of regret observable in 
the mother s countenance, or conduct. A woman, then, can " forget her 
sucking child, and forsake the child of her w r omb :" the prophet seemed 
to think it only possible that there might exist such a monster, but here 
it was realized ; here was a monster of a mother, that could resign her 
child, the gift of a gracious Providence, and designed to be the comfort 



ON THE HINDOO RELIGION. Ixxiii 

crime, and promise heaven to the self-murderer, provided he die 
in the Ganges ! Nay, the bramhfms, as well as persons of other 
casts, assist those who design thus to end life, of which the 
reader will find instances recorded in vol. ii. pp. 113, 114, 117. 
In some places of the Ganges, deemed peculiarly sacred and 
efficacious, infatuated devotees very frequently drown them 
selves. A respectable bramhiin assured the author, that in a 
stay of only two months at Allahabad, he saw about thirty per 
sons drown themselves ! Lepers are sometimes burnt alive with 



and support of her old age ; could, without the least apparent emotion, 
consign this child alive to the tomb, and herself continue an unmoved 
spectator of the horrid deed. At eight P. M. the corpse, accompanied 
by this self-devoted victim, was conveyed to a place a little below our 
grounds, where I repaired, to behold the perpetration of a crime which 
I could scarcely believe possible to be committed by any human being. 
The corpse was laid on the earth by the river till a circular grave of about 
fifteen feet in circumference and five or six feet deep was prepared ; 
and was then (after some formulas had been read) placed at the bottom 
of the grave in a sitting posture, with the face to the N. the nearest rela 
tion applying a lighted wisp of straw to the top of the head. The young 
widow now came forward, and having circumambulated the grave seven 
times, calling out Huree Bui ! Huree Bui ! in which she was joined by 
the surrounding crowd, descended into it. I then approached within a 
foot of the grave, to observe if any reluctance appeared in her counte 
nance, or sorrow in that of her relations : in hers no alteration was per 
ceptible ; in theirs, there was the appearance of exultation. She placed 
herself in a sitting posture, with her face to the back of her husband, 
embracing the corpse with her left arm, and reclining her head on his 
shoulders ; the other hand she placed over her own head, with her fore 
finger erect, which she moved in a circular direction. The earth was 
then deliberately put round them, two men being in the grave for the 
purpose of stamping it round the living and the dead, which they did as 
a gardener does around a plant newly transplanted, till the earth rose to 
a level with the surface, or two or three feet above the heads of the 
entombed. As her head was covered some time be-fore the finger of her 
right hand, I had an opportunity of observing whether any regret was 
manifested; but the finger moved round in the same manner as at first, 
till the earth closed the scene. Not a parting tear was observed to be 
shed by any of her relations, till the crowd began to disperse, when the 
usual lamentations and howling commenced, without sorrow. 
VOL. J. k 



Ixxiv INTRODUCTORY REMARKS 

their own consent, to purify themselves from disease in the next 
birth. Others throw themselves under the wheels of Jiigun- 
nat hii s ponderous car, and perish instantly. Thousands perish 
annually by disease and want on idolatrous pilgrimages , and 
notwithstanding the benevolent efforts of Mr. Duncan, it is 
pretty certain, that infanticide is still practised to a great extent 
in various parts of Hindoosfhanu, (see vol. ii. p. 123.) I have, 
in vol. ii. p. 127> ventured to offer a calculation respecting the 
probable number of persons who perish annually, the victims of 
the bramhinical superstition, and find, that it cannot be less than 
Ten Thousand Five Hundred. 

Another very popular act of Hindoo devotion is that of visit 
ing sacred places". There are few Hindoos grown up to mature 
age, who have not visited one or more of these places, the 
resort of pilgrims ; many spend their whole lives in passing 
repeatedly from one end of Hindo6st hanu to the other as 
pilgrims : nor are these pilgrimages confined to the lower orders, 
householders and learned bramhuns are equally infatuated, and 
think it necessary to visit one or more of these spots for the 
purification of the soul before death. In some instances, a 
river ; in others, a phenomenon in nature ; and in others a 
famous idol, attracts the Hindoos. Large sums are expended 
by the rich, and by the poor their little all, in these journies, in 

u A journey to Benares, &c. and the performance of religious ceremo 
nies there, are actions in the highest repute for religious merit amongst 
the Hindoos. Many sirkars in Calcutta indulge the hope, that they shall 
remove all the sins they commit in the service of Europeans (which every 
one knows are neither few nor small) by a journey to Benares, before 
they die. The Hindoo pundits declare, that even Europeans, dying at 
Benares, though they may have lived all their days upon cow s flesh, will 
certainly obtain absorption into Brumhu. On this subject, they quote a 
couplet, in which Benares is compared to a loose female, who receives 
all, and destroys their desire of sin, by quenching their appetites. The 
Hindoo learned men also admit, that Englishmen may partake of the 
blessings of their religion in two other instances, viz. if they become firm 
believers in Gunga, or die at Jugunnat hu-kshetru. In all other respects, 
the Hindoo heavens are all slftjt against eaters of cow s flesh. 



ON THE HINDOO RELIGION. Ixxv 

the fees to the bramhiins, and in expenses at the sacred place. 
I have given an account of the ceremonies preparatory to the 
pilgrimage, as well as of those which are performed when the 
pilgrims arrive at the consecrated place j to which are also added 
particulars of the most frequented of these haunts of super 
stition. 

For the expiation of sin, many different methods of atone 
ment are prescribed in the Hindoo writings ; many of which, 
however, have fallen into disuse. 

Lest the observance of all these acts of religious homage 
should fail to secure happiness in a future state, the Hindoos 
are taught to repeat the names of the gods in their last hours j 
and are also enjoined to make presents to the bramhuns, espe 
cially to their spiritual guides : their relations also immerse the 
body of a diseased person up to the middle in the Ganges, and 
pour copiously of this sacred water into the dying man. 

To procure relief for the wandering spirit after death, they 
make to it offerings of rice, &c. in a religious ceremony, almost 
universally attended to, called the shraddhu, and on which very 
frequently a rich man expends not less that 3 or 40O,OOO roo- 
pees. To make this offering at Guya, is supposed to be at 
tended with the certain deliverance of the deceased from all 
sorrow x . 

The pooraniis teach, that after death the soul becomes united 
to an aerial body, and passes to the seat of judgment, where it is 

x Ah ! said a Hindoo one day, in the hearing of the author, lament 
ing the catastrophe, it is not every one, even of those who set out for 
Gtiya, who reaches the place. Another Hindoo, in the presence of the 
author, reproving a young bramhun, who refused to afford pecuniary 
help to his aged infirm parent, asked him, if this was not the grand 
reason why a person entered into the marriage state, that he might have 
a son, who, by offerings at Gtiya, might procure for him happiness after 
death? 



Ixxvi INTRODUCTORY REMARKS 

tried by Yiimu, the Indian Pluto, who decides upon its future 
destiny. It, however, remains in this aerial vehicle, till the last 
shraddhii is performed, twelve months after death; when it 
passes into happiness or misery, according- to the sentence of 
Yumu. 

The same works teach, that there are many places of happi 
ness for the devout, as well as of misery for the wicked ; that 
God begins to reward in this life those who have performed 
works of merit, and punishes the wicked here by various afflic 
tions j that indeed all present events, prosperous or adverse, are 
the rewards or punishments inevitably connected with merit or 
demerit, either in a preceding birth, or in the present life ; that 
where merit preponderates, the person, after expiating sin by 
death and by sufferings in hell, rises to a higher birth, or ascends 
to the heaven of his guardian deity. 

The joys of the Hindoo heavens are represented as wholly 
sensual, and the miseries of the wicked as consisting in corporal 
punishment : the descriptions of the former disgust a chaste 
mind by their grossness, and those given of the latter oflend the 
feelings by their brutal literality. 

Anxious to obtain the CONFESSION of FAITH of a BRAMHUN, 
from his own pen, I solicited this of a man of superior under 
standing, and 1 here give a translation of this article : 

e God is invisible, independent, ever-living, glorious, uncor- 
rupt, all-wise, the ever- blessed, the almighty ; his perfections 
are indescribable, and past rinding out j he rules over all, sup 
ports all, destroys all, and remains after the destruction of all ; 
there is none like him ; he is silence ; he is free from passion, 
from birth, &c. from increase and decrease, from fatigue, the 
need of refreshment, &c. He possesses the power of infinite 
diminution, and lightness, and is the soul of all. 

He created, and then entered into, all things, in which he 



ON THE HINDOO RELIGION. Ixxvii 

exists in two ways, untouched by matter, and receiving the fruits 
of practice y. He now assumes visible forms, for the sake of 
engaging the minds of mankind. The different gods are parts 
of God, though his essence remains undiminished, as rays of 
light leave the sun his undiminished splendour. He created the 
gods to perform those things in the government of the world of 
which man was incapable. Some gods are parts of other gods, 
and there are deities of still inferior powers. If it be asked, 
why God himself does not govern the world, the answer is, that 
it might subject him to exposure, and he chooses to be con 
cealed : he therefore governs by the gods, who are emanations 
from the one God, possessing a portion of his power : he who 
worships the gods as the one God, substantially worships God. 
The gods are helpful to men in all human affairs, but they are 
not friendly to those who seek final absorption ; being jealous 
lest, instead of attaining absorption, they should become gods, 
and rival them. 

* Religious ceremonies procure a fund of merit to the per 
former, which raises him in every future birth, and at length 
advances him to heaven, (where he enjoys happiness for a limited 
period,) or carries him towards final absorption. 

Happiness in actual enjoyment is the fruit of the meritorious 
works of preceding births ; but very splendid acts of merit pro 
cure exaltation even in the birth in which they are performed. 
So, the misery which a person is now enduring, is the fruit of 
crimes in a former birth : enormous crimes however meet with 
punishment in the life in which they are committed. The mise 
ries of a future state arise out of sins unremoved by former suf 
ferings : an inanimate state, and that of reptiles, are also called 



y Here an objection presses hard on the bramhnn, that it is God, or 
Spirit, then, in matter, that suffers, since matter cannot suffer. To this 
he answers, that the heart, though it be inanimate, and, in consequence, 
unconscious matter, by its nearness to spirit, becomes capable of joy and 
sorrow, and that this is the sufferer. 



Ixxviii INTRODUCTORY REMARKS 

states of suffering. Absorption can be obtained only by quali 
fications acquired on earth j and to obtain this, even an inha 
bitant of heaven must be born on earth. A person may sink to 
earth again by crimes committed in heaven. *The joys of heaven 
arise only from the gratification of the senses. A person raised 
to heaven is considered as a god. 

Every ceremony of the Hindoo religion is either accompanied 
by a general prayer for some good, or is done from pure devotion, 
without hope of reward ; or from a principle of obedience to the 
shastru, which has promised certain blessings on the performance 
of such and such religious actions. 

Various sacrifices are commanded, but the most common one 
at present is the burnt-offering with clarified butter, &c. It is 
performed to procure heaven. The worship of the gods is, 
speaking generally, followed by benefits in a future state, as the 
prayers, praise, and offerings, please the gods. Repeating the 
names of the gods procures heaven, for the name of god is like 
fire, which devours every combustible. Bathing is the means of 
purification before religious services, and when attended to in 
sacred places, merits heaven. Gifts to the poor, and to persons 
of merit, and losing life to save another, are actions highly meri 
torious, and procure for the person future happiness. Fasting is. 
an act of merit, as the person refuses food in devotion to the 
gods. Vows to the gods procure heaven. Praise offered to the 
gods in songs, is efficacious in procuring future happiness. Vi 
siting holy places, a spiritual guide, a father or a mother, destroys 
all sin. Compassion, forbearance, tenderness, (regarding the 
shedding of blood,) speaking truth, entertaining strangers, be 
coming the refuge of the oppressed, planting trees, cutting pools 
of water, making flights of steps to holy rivers, and roads to holy 
places, giving water to the thirsty, building temples and lodging- 
houses for travellers, hearing the praise of the gods or a sacred 
book, &c. are actions which merit heaven. Religious austerities 
are useful to subdue the passions, and raise the mind to a pure state. 
These austerities are rewarded either by heaven or absorption. 



ON THE HINDOO RELIGION. Ixxix 

Thus far this bramhinical Confession of Faith. Its author has 
scarcely noticed the amazing efficacy ascribed to religious abstrac 
tion, and the austerities practiced by anchorites, though the doc 
trine of the vedus evidently favours an ascetic life. Indeed, 
retirement from the world and abstraction of mind, assisted by 
bodily austerities, is considered as the direct way to final bea 
titude j yet it is not denied, but that a person who continues in a 
secular state, may, by performing the duties of his religion, acce 
lerate his approach, either in this or some future birth, to divine 
destiny. The yogee being thus exalted in the Hindoo system of 
theology, and in consequence honoured by his countrymen, it has 
become very common to embrace the life of a religious men 
dicant ; to do which, indeed, among an idle, effeminate, and dis 
solute people, there are^many inducements very different from 
those of a religious nature : disappointments in life, disagreeable 
domestic occurrences, wandering propensities, illicit connections, 
and very often a wish to procure impunity in the commission of 
flagrant crimes z , induce many to embrace such a life. Perhaps 
there is not a single instance at present known, of a person s be 
coming an ascetic from the pure desire of absorption. In cases 
where there is the greatest appearance of such a desire, the her 
mit possesses a motive no higher than that of exemption from 
the troubles of mortal existence. I have given in this work an 
account of nearly twenty orders of mendicants, (vol. ii. p. 19O, 
&c.) the followers of different deities : these are the scourge of 
the country, though the legitimate offspring of this baneful super 
stition. Nor need we now expect to see realized the description 
of a yogee as laid down in the shastru : this description never 
was realized j those who have received the highest fame as yogees, 
were as corrupt, perhaps, as the present wretched imitators of 
these austerities. Many actions are attributed to them which 
put human nature to the blush. 

1 I have noticed in vol. ii. p. 189 the fact, that many hordes of men 
dicants are armed, and live by public plunder ; but perhaps there are 
quite as many secret robbers to be found in the garb of religious men- 
dicants. Since this fact has become more generally known, many hare 
suffered the punishment of their crimes. 



Ixxx INTRODUCTORY REMARKS 

The sum of the Hindoo doctrine, then, is this : spirit dwelling 
in bodies, and partaking of the passions incident to residence in 
matter, is punned by austerities and numerous transmigrations, 
and at length re-obtains absorption into the divine nature. Reli 
gious practice leads to better destiny, and divine destiny draws 
the person to abstraction and religious austerities. 

Such is the Hindoo religion ; let us examine how far it is prac 
tised at present. The ceremonies most popular are the daily 
ablutions, repeating the names of the gods, the daily worship of 
some idol, and visiting holy places. The works of merit in 
greatest estimation are, entertaining bramhuns, building temples, 
cutting pools, erecting landing-places to the Ganges, and ex 
pensive offerings to deceased ancestors. 

The strict bramhuns are distinguished by a scrupulous regard 
to bathing, the daily worship of their guardian deity, and a proud 
contempt of the lower orders. The voishnimis are more soci 
able, and converse much among each other on their favourite 
Krishnii, and the accidents connected with religious pilgrimages. 

f At present, says the bramhiin whose confession of faitji has 
been given in the preceding pages, nine parts in ten of the whole 
Hindoo population have abandoned all conscientious regard to the 
forms of their religion. They rise in the morning without re 
peating the name of god, and perform no religious ceremony 
whatever till the time of bathing at noon, when, for fear of being 
reproached by their neighbours, they go and bathe : a few labour 
through the usual ceremonies, which occupy about fifteen mi 
nutes 5 the rest either merely bathe, or hypocritically make a few 
of the signs used in worship, and then return home, and eat. 
This constitutes the whole of their daily practice. Among these 
nine parts, moreover, there are many who spend the time of 
bathing in conversation with others, or in gazing at the women ; 
and some are to be found who ridicule those who employ a 
greater portion of time in religious ceremonies : " What ! you 
have taken an ass s load of religion." " Faith ! you are become 



ON THE HINDOO RELIGION. Ixxxi 

very religious a very holy man. Rise, and go to your proper 
work." Three-fourths of the single tenth part attend to the daily 
duties of their religion in the following manner : when they rise, 
they repeat the name of their guardian deity make a reverential 
motion with the head and hands in remembrance of their absent 
spiritual guide, then wash themselves in the house, and pursue 
their business till noon. Should the wife or child have neglected 
to prepare the flowers, &c. for worship, the master of the family 
scolds his wife in some such words as these : " Why do I labour 
to maintain you ? It is not because you can answer for me, or 
preserve rne from punishment at death; but that you may assist 
me in these things, that I may repeat the name of God, and pre 
pare for a future state." If the son is to be reproved for such a 
neglect, the father asks him, if he is not ashamed to spend so 
much time in play, careless how much fatigue he undergoes to 
please himself, while he is unwilling to do the smallest trifle to 
please the gods. He declares himself ashamed of such a family, 
and desires to see their faces no more. He then gathers the 
flowers himself, and going to the river side, takes some clay, 
examines whether it be free from every impurity, lays it down, 
taking a morsel with him into the water, immerses himself once, 
and then rubs himself with the clay, repeating this prayer, " O 
earth ! thou bearest the weight of the sins of all : take my sins 
upon thee, and grant me deliverance." He then invites to him 
the river goddesses Yiimoona, Godaviiree, Suruswiitee, Nurmuda, 
Sindhoo, and Kaveree, that he may, in Giinga, have the merit of 
bathing in them all at once, and again immerses himself, after 
repeating, <f On such a day of the month, on such a day of the 
moon, &c. I (such a one) bathe in the southwards-flowing Giin 
ga." He then offers up a prayer for himself in some such words 
as these ; " Ubbuyu-ehurunu, praying for final happiness for ten 
millions of his family, bathes in Giinga:" and then immerses 
again. Next, he repeats the day of the month, of the moon, &c. 
and immerses himself, while he utters, " Let my guardian deity 
be propitious j" and then ascends the bank, wiping his hair, and 
repeating the praises of Gunga, as, O Giinga, thou art the door 
of heaven, thou art the watery image of religion, thou art the 
YOL, i, 1 



Ixxxri INTRODUCTORY HEMARKS. 

garland round the head of Shiva : the very craw-fish in thee are 
happy, while a king at a distance from thee is miserable." He 
then sits down, and repeats certain prayers to the sun for the 
removal of his sins, among which is the celebrated gayiitree, 
"" Let us meditate on the adorable light of the divine Ruler, (Savitree :) 
may it guide our intellects." He next pours out drink-offerings to 
Yumii, to Brumha, Vishnoo, Roodru, the eight progenitors of 
mankind, to all the gods, and all living things in the three 
worlds, to certain sages, and at length to his forefathers, praying 
that they may hereby be satisfied. Now he forms, with the clay 
he had prepared, an image of the lingu, and worships it; which 
act includes praise to one of the gods, prayers for preservation, 
meditation on the form of the idol, hymns on the virtues of some 
deity, and repetitions of the names of the gods. He then returns 
home, and repeats, if he has leisure, certain portions of one of 
the shastrfis. Before he begins to eat, he offers up his food to 
his guardian deity, saying, " 1 offer this food to such a god;" and 
after sitting, with his eyes closed, as long as would be requisite 
to milk a cow, he takes the food and eats it. In the evening, 
just before sun-set, if he have a temple belonging to him, he 
presents some fruits, &c. to the image, repeats parts of the cere 
monies of the forenoon, and the name of some deity at consi 
derable length. When he retires to rest, he repeats the word 
Pudmu-nabhii, a name of Vishnoo. Perhaps one person in ten 
thousand carries these ceremonies a little farther than this. 

As a person passes along the streets and roads he is continually 
reminded of one or other of these ceremonies : here sits a man in 
Jiis shop, repeating the name of his guardian deity, or teaching 
it to his parrot b there go half a dozen voiragees, or other per- 

b This ceremony is supposed to bring" great blessings both on the 
teacher and the scholar : the parrot obtains heaven, and so does its mas 
ter. Numbers of Hindoos, particularly in a morning and evening, may 
be seen in the streets walking about with parrots in their hands, and re 
peating aloud to them, Radha-Krishnu, Radha-Krishnu, Krishnu, Krish- 
ni!, Radha, Radha, or Shivii-Doorga, or * Kalee-turau. Some are thus 
employed six months, others twelve or eighteen, before the parrot has 



. ON THE HINDOO RELIGION. Ixxxiii 

sons, making their journey to some holy place here passes a 
person, carrying a basket on his head, containing rice, sweet 
meats, fruits, flowers, &c. an offering to his guardian deity 
here comes a man with a chaplet of red flowers round his head, 
and the head of a goat in his hand, having left the blood and 
carcase before the image of Kalee there sits a group of Hin 
doos, listening to three or four persons rehearsing and chanting 
poetical versions of the pooranus here sits a man in the front 
of his house reading one of the pooraniis c , moving his body like 
the trunk of a tree in a high wind and (early in the morning) 
here comes a group of jaded wretches, who have spent the night 
in boisterously singing filthy songs, and dancing in an indecent 
manner, before the image of Doorga add to this, the villagers, 
men and women, coming dripping from the banks of the Ganges 
and the reader has a tolerable view of the Hindoo idolatry, as 
it stalks, every day, along the streets and roads, and as it may be 
recognized by any careless observer. 

The reader will perceive, that in all these religious ceremonies 
not a particle is found to interest or amend the heart ; no family 
bible, c profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for instruction in 
righteousness, that men may be thoroughly furnished unto all 
good works 5 no domestic worship d j no pious assembly where 

learnt his lesson. The merit consists in having repeated the name of a 
god so great a number of times. 

c Reading a book, or having it read at a person s house, even though the 
person himself should not understand it, is a most meritorious action. 
The love of learning for its own sake is unknown in Bengal: a Hindoo, 
if he applies to learning, always does it to obtain roopees or heaven. 
When he opens one of the shastriis, or even an account-book, he makes a 
bow to the book. A shopkeeper, when he is about to balance his books, 
uncertain how the balance will fall, makes a vow to some god, that if by 
his favour he should not find himself in debt, he will present to him some 
offerings. 

d The women and children take no share in the worship performed by 
the master of the family. It is not supposed to belong to them. See 
vol. ii. p. 30. 

1 2 



Ixxxiv INTRODUCTORY REMARKS 

the village preacher attempts each art, reproves each dull delay, 
allures to brighter worlds, and leads the way. No standard of 
morals to repress the vicious ; no moral education in which the 
principles of virtue and religion may be implanted in the youth 
ful mind. Here every thing that assumes the appearance of 
religion, ends (if you could forget its impurity) in an unmeaning 
ceremony, and leaves the heart cold as death to every moral 
principle. Hence the great bulk of the people have abandoned 
every form and vestige of religious ceremony. The bramhun 
who communicated this information, attributed this general dis 
regard of their religion to the kulee-yoogii; and consoled himself 
with the idea, that this deplorable state of things was an exact 
fulfilment of certain prophecies in the pooranus. 

Some persons may plead, The doctrine of a state of future 
rewards and punishments has always been supposed to have a 
strong influence on public morals : the Hindoos not only have 
this doctrine in their writings, but are taught to consider every 
disease and misfortune of life as an undoubted symptom of 
moral disease, and the terrific appearances of its close-pur 
suing punishment can this fail to produce a dread of vice, and 
a desire to merit the favour of the Deity ? I will still further 
assist the objector, and inform him, that the Hindoo writings 
declare, that till every immoral taint is removed, every sin 
atoned for, and the mind has obtained perfect abstraction from 
material objects, it is impossible to be re-united to the Great 
Spirit ; and that, to obtain this perfection, the sinner must linger 
in many hells, and transmigrate through almost every form of 
matter. Great as these terrors are, there is nothing more palpa 
ble than that, with most of the Hindoos, they do not weigh the 
weight of a feather, compared with the loss of a roopee. The 
reason is obvious : every Hindoo considers all his actions as the 
effect of his destiny j he laments perhaps his miserable fate, but 
he resigns himself to it without a struggle, like the malefactor 
in a, condemned cell. To this may be added, what must have 
forced itself on the observation of every thoughtful observer, 
that, in the absence of the religious principle,, no outward terrors, 



ON THE HINDOO RELIGION. Ixxxv 

especially those which are invisible and future, not even bodily 
sufferings, are sufficient to make men virtuous. Painful expe 
rience proves, that even in a Christian country, if the religious 
principle does not exist, the excellency and the rewards of virtue, 
and the dishonour and misery attending vice, may be held up to 
men for ever, without making a single convert. 

But let us now advert to the pernicious errors inculcated in 
the Hindoo writings, and to the vices and miseries engendered 
by the popular superstition : 

The Bhuguvut-Geeta contains the following most extraordi 
nary description of God : Sunjuyu. The mighty compound 
and divine being Hiiree, having, O raja, thus spoken, made 
evident unto Urjoonu his supreme and heavenly form j of many 
a mouth and eye ; many a heavenly ornament ; many an up 
raised weapon ; adorned with celestial robes and chaplets ; 
anointed with heavenly essence -, covered with every marvellous 
thing j the eternal God, whose countenance is turned on every 
side ! The glory and amazing splendour of this mighty being 
may be likened to the sun rising at once into the heavens, with 
a thousand times more than usual brightness. The son of 
Pandoo then beheld within the body of the god of gods, stand 
ing together, the whole universe divided into its vast variety. 
He was overwhelmed with wonder, and every hair was raised 
an end. He bowed down his head before the god, and thus 
addressed him with joined hands : Urjoonu. I behold, O god! 
within thy breast, the devus assembled, and every specific tribe 
of beings. I see Brumha, that deity sitting on his lotus-throne ; 
all the rishees and heavenly oorugus : I see thyself, on all sides, 
of infinite shape, formed with abundant arms, and bellies, and 
mouths, and eyes ; but I can neither discover thy beginning, thy 
middle, nor again thy end. O universal lord, form of the 
universe ! I see thee with a crown, and armed with club and 
chukrii, a mass of glory, darting refulgent beams around. I see 
thee, difficult to be seen, shining on all sides with light immea 
surable, like the ardent fire, or glorious sun. I see thee of 



Ixxxvi INTRODUCTORY REMARKS 

valour infinite; the sun and moon thy eyes ; thy mouth a 
flaming fire ; and the whole world shining with reflected glory ! 
The space between the heavens and the earth is possessed by 
thee alone, and every point around; the three regions of the 
universe, O mighty spirit ! behold the wonders of thy awful 
countenance with troubled minds. Of the celestial bands, some 
I see fly to thee for refuge ; whilst some, afraid, with joined 
hands sing forth thy praise. The muhurshees, holy bands, hail 
thee, and glorify thy name with adorating praises. The roodrus, 
the adityus, the viisoos, and all those beings the world esteemeth 
good ; iishwinu, and koomaru, the muroots and the ooshmupas, 
the gundhurviis and yiikshiis, with the holy tribes of usoorus ; 
all stand gazing on thee, and all alike amazed ! The worlds, 
alike with me, are terrified to behold thy wondrous form gigan 
tic ; with many mouths and eyes ; with many arms, and legs, 
and breasts ; with many bellies, and with rows of dreadful teeth ! 
Thus as I see thee, touching the heavens, and shining with such 
glory ; of such various hues ; with widely-opened mouths, and 
bright expanded eyes; I am disturbed within me; my resolution 
faileth me, O Vishnoo ! and I find no rest ! Having beholden 
thy dreadful teeth, and gazed on thy countenance, emblem of 
time s last fire, I know not which way I turn ! I find no peace ! 
Have mercy then, O god of gods ! thou mansion of the universe ! 
The sons of Dhriturashtru, now, with all those rulers of the 
land, Bheeshmu, Dronii, the son of Sootu, and even the fronts 
of our army, seem to be precipitating themselves hastily into thy 
mouths, discovering such frightful rows of teeth ! whilst some 
appear to stick between thy teeth with their bodies sorely man 
gled e . It should be observed, that this frightful description of 
the Hindoo Supreme Being does not relate to the ferocious 
Kalee, drinking the blood of the giants; but it is the playful 
Krishnu who thus shews his dreadful teeth, with the mangled 
bodies of the family of Dhriturashtru sticking between them. 

No question occurs so frequently in the Hindoo shastru^ as this 
Wilkins s translation of the Bhugtivutu-Geeta. 



ON THE HINDOO RELIGION. Ixxxvii 

- What is God? To know whether he exists or not, page upon 
page has been written ; and this question has been agitated in 
every period of Hindoo history, wherever two or three pundits 
happened to meet, with a solicitude, but, at the same time, with 
an uncertainty, which carries us at once to the apostolic declara 
tion, The world by wisdom knew not God. Some pundits call 
him the invisible and ever-blessed ; others conceive of him as 
possessing form : others have the idea that he exists like an in 
conceivably small atom j sometimes he is male j at other times 
female j sometimes both male and female, producing a world 
by conjugal union ; sometimes the elements assume his place, 
and at other times he is a deified hero. Thus in 330,OOO,OOO 
of forms, or names, this nation, in the emphatical language of 
St. Paul, has been, from age to age, feeling after the Supreme 
Being, like men groping ( in the region and shadow of death ; 
and, after so many centuries, the question is as much undeter 
mined as ever What is God ? 

One day, in conversation with the Sungskritii head-pundit of 
the College of Fort William, on the subject of God, this man, 
w^o is truly learned in his own shastrus, gave the author, from 
one of their books, the following parable : In a certain country 
there existed a village of blind men, who had heard of an 
amazing animal called the elephant, of the shape of which, 
however, they could procure no idea. One day an elephant 
passed through the place : the villagers crowded to the spot 
where the animal was standing; and one of them seized his 
trunk, another his ear, another his tail, another one of his legs. 
After thus endeavouring to gratify their curiosity, they returned 
into the village, and sitting down together, began to communi 
cate their ideas on the shape of the elephant to the villagers : 
the man who had seized his trunk said, he thought this animal 
must be like the body of the plantain tree ; he who had touched 
his ear was of opinion, that he was like the winnowing fan ; 
the man who had laid hold of his tai] said, he thought he must 
resemble a snake ; and he who had caught his leg declared, he 
must be like a pillar. An old blind man of some judgment was 



Ixxxviii INTRODUCTORY REMARKS 

present, who, though greatly perplexed in attempting to recon 
cile these jarring notions, at length said < You have all been to 
examine this animal, and what you report, therefore, cannot be 
false : I suppose, then, that the part resembling the plantain 
tree must be his trunk 5 what you thought similar to a fan must 
be his ear; the part like a snake must be the tail; and that 
like a pillar must be his leg. In this way the old man, uniting 
all their conjectures, made out something of the form of the 
elephant. Respecting God, added the pundit, we are all blind ; 
none of us have seen him ; those who wrote the shastrus, like 
the old blind man, have collected all the reasonings and conjec 
tures of mankind together, and have endeavoured to form some 
idea of the nature of the divine Being . It is an irresistible argu 
ment in favour of the majesty, simplicity, and truth of the Holy 
Scriptures, that nothing of this uncertainty has been left on the 
mind of the most illiterate Christian. However mysterious the 
subject, we never hear such a question started in Christian coun 
tries What is God ? 

The doctrine of a plurality of gods, with their consequent in 
trigues, criminal amours, quarrels, and stratagems to counteract 
each other, has produced the most fatal effects on the minds of 
men. Can we expect a people to be better than their gods ? 
Brumha was inflamed with evil desires towards his own daugh- 
ter f . Vishnoo, when incarnate as Bamunu, deceived king 
Bulee, and deprived him of his kingdoms. Shivii s wife was 
constantly jealous on account of his amours, and charged him 
with associating with the women of a low cast at Cooch-Behar. 
The story of Shivu and Mohinee, a female form of Vishnoo, is 
shockingly indelicate 11 . Vrihiisputee, the spiritual guide of the 
gods, committed a rape on his eldest brother s wife 1 . Indrii 
was guilty of dishonouring the wife of his spiritual guide k . 
Sooryu ravished a virgin named Koontee 1 . Yiimu, in a passion, 
kicked his own mother, who cursed him, and afflicted him with 



Acts xvii.27. f See Kalika pooranu. See Muhabharutfc. 
Ibid. l Ibid. k Ibid. l Ibid, 



ON THE HINDOO RELIGION. Ixxxix 

a swelled leg, which to this day the worms are constantly de 
vouring 111 . Ugnee was inflamed with evil desires towards six 
virgins, the daughters of as many sages ; but was overawed by 
the presence of his wife n . Buliiramu was a great drunkard . 
Vayoo was cursed by Diikshii, for making his daughters crooked 
when they refused his embraces. He is also charged with a 
scandalous connection with a female monkey P. When Vuroonii 
was walking in his own heaven, he was so smitten with the 
charms of Oorvushee, a courtezan, that, after a long contest, 
she was scarcely able to extricate herself from him 9. Krishna s 
thefts, wars, and adulteries are so numerous, that his whole 
history seems to be one uninterrupted series of crimes r . In the 
images of Kalee, she is represented as treading on the breast of 
her husband s . Lukshmee and Suruswutee, the wives of Vish- 
noo, were continually quarrelling 1 . It is worthy of enquiry, 
how the world is governed by these gods more wicked than men, 
that we may be able to judge how far they can be the objects of 
faith, hope, and affection. Let us open the Hindoo sacred 
writings : here we see the Creator and the Preserver perpetually 
counteracting each other. Sometimes the Preserver is destroy 
ing, and at other times the Destroyer is preserving. On a cer 
tain occasion", Shivu granted to the great enemy of the gods, 
Ravunii, a blessing which set all their heavens in an uproar, and 
drove the 330,OOO,OOO of gods into a state of desperation. 
Brumha created Koombhii-kurnu, a monster larger than the 
whole island of Lunkaj .but was obliged to doom hirn to an 
almost perpetual sleep, to prevent his producing an universal 
famine. This god is often represented as bestowing a blessing, 
to remove the effects of which Vishnoo is obliged to become in 
carnate : nay, these effects have not in some cases been removed 
till all the gods have been dispossessed of their thrones, and 
obliged to go a begging ; till all human affairs have been thrown 
into confusion, and all the elements seized and turned against 

m See Muhabharutu. " Ibid. Ibid. P See Ramayunii. 

* Ibid. See the Shree-bhagtivtittt. See the Markundeyii 

pooranii. * See the Vrihuddhunnii pooranti. 1 u See the Ramayunij, 

VOL. i, n 



xc INTRODUCTORY REMARKS 

the Creator, the Preserver, and the Reproducer. When some 
giant, blessed by Brumha, has destroyed the creation, Vishnoo 
and Shivii have been applied to -5 but they have confessed that 
they could do nothing for the tottering universe. 

Reverence for the gods, especially among the poor, as might 
be expected, does not exceed their merits ; yet it is a shocking 
fact, that language like the following should be used respecting 
what the Hindoos suppose to be the Providence which governs 
the world : when it thunders awfully, respectable Hindoos say, 
Oh ! the gods are giving us a bad day 5 the lower orders say, 
* The rascally gods are dying. During a heavy rain, a woman 
of respectable cast frequently says, Let the gods perish ! my 
clothes are all wet. A man of low cast says, These rascally 
gods are sending more rain. 

In witnessing such a state of gross ignorance, on a subject of 
infinite moment to men, how forcibly do we feel the truth and 
the wisdom of the declaration of the Divine Author of the 
Christian religion, This is life eternal, to know thee the only 
true God! A correct knowledge of the Divine perfections, in 
the mind of a sincere Christian, is a treasure which transcends 
in value all the riches of the earth : for instance, how much does 
the doctrine of the Divine Unity tend to fix the hope and joy of 
the Christian ! but the poor Hindoo knows not, amongst so 
many gods, upon whom to call, or in whom to trust. In the 
spirituality of the Divine Nature, united to omniscience and 
omnipresence, the Christian finds a large field for the purest and 
most sublime contemplations j but the degraded idolater, walk 
ing round his pantheon, sees beings that fill him only with 
shame or terror : he retires from the image of Kalee over 
whelmed with horror, and from those of Radha-Krishnu with 
confusion and contempt or else inflamed with concupiscence. 
How effectual to awaken the fears and excite the salutary appre 
hensions of those who neglect their best interests, is the scripture 
doctrine of the Divine Purity and Justice ; but the wretched 
Hindoo has the examples of the most corrupt beings, even in his 



ON THE HINDOO RELIGION. xci 

gods, to lead him to perdition. How necessary to the happiness 
of a good man, are just ideas of the wisdom, and equity, and 
beneficence, of providential dispensations : the reader has seen 
how impossible it is for a Hindoo to derive the smallest consola 
tion in adversity from the doctrine of the shastrus respecting the 
government of the world. How consoling to a person, sensible 
of many failings, is the doctrine of the Divine Mercy > but these 
heathens have nothing held out to encourage the hopes of the 
penitent ; nothing short of perfect abstraction, and the extinc 
tion of every desire, qualify for deliverance from matter. The 
sincere Christian, with his knowledge of God, casteth all his 
care on his Father, who is in heaven ; and the language of his 
mind, invigorated by the living waters flowing from the foun 
tain of eternal truth, is, Thou shalt guide me with thy counsel; 
Though I walk through the valley and even the shadow of 
death, I will fear no evil, for thou art with me j thy rod and 
thy staff they comfort me. 

The Hindoo writings farther teach, that it isjLhe Great Spirit 
which is diffused through every form of animated matter ; that 
actions of every kind are his j that he is the charioteer, and the 
body the chariot x j that it is the highest attainment of human 
wisdom to realize the fact, that the human soul and Brumhii are 
one and the same. By this doctrine alL accountability is de 
stroyed, and. liability to punishment rendered preposterous. How 
often has the author heard it urged by the most sensible Hin 
doos, that the moving cause of every action, however flagitious, 
is God j that man is an instrument upoa which God plays what 
tune he pleases. Another modification of this doctrine is that of 
fate, or unchangeable destiny, embraced, without a dissentient 
voice, by all the Hindoos. Thus the Deity on his throne is in 
sulted as the author of all crimes, and men are emboldened to 
rush forward in the swiftest career of iniquity. 

The sacred writings of the Hindoos encourage the bramhuns 

* See the V6dantu-saru. 
m. 2 



xcii INTRODUCTORY REMARKS 

to despise the great body of the people, and teach them, that the 
very sight and touch of a shoodrii renders them unclean. To be 
contented in ignorance is the duty of a shoodrii, as well as to 
drink with reverence and hope the water in which the bramhun 
has dipped his foot. The services too and the hopes held forth 
by this religion, are almost exclusively confined to the bramhuns. 
The shoodru is supposed to be born to evil destiny ; and the only 
hope he can indulge is, that after a long succession of transmi 
grations he may probably be born a bramhun. 

Tlie subjugation of the passions, so much insisted upon in the 
Hindoo shastriis., applies to all virtuous as well as vicious desires. 
The person who is divested of all desire, even that of obtaining 
God, is described as having arrived at the summit of perfection. 
The love of parents, of children, c. is an imperfection, accord 
ing to the Hindoo code : hence says Krishnu, Wisdom is ex 
emption from attachment and affection for children, wife, and 
homey. 

These shastrus also teach, that sin may be removed by the 
slightest ceremony ; and thus, instead of reforming, they pro 
mise impunity in transgression. See different stories in vol. i. 
pp. 82, 272, 2/7. 

The ut hurvii vedu contains many prayers for the destruction 

y At the time a learned native was assisting the Rev. Mr. Carey in the 
translation of the New Testament into the Sungskritu, when such passages 
as these were translating, Henceforth know I no man after the flesh ; 
* We are dead, and our life is hid, &c. I am crucified to the world; 
We are fools for Christ; We are made a spectacle, &c. he exclaimed, 
This is pure voaageeism : Paul was a true Purtim-hungseeV Yet the 
divine principles upon which Paul trampled upon the world, and devoted 
himself supremely to God, have no existence in the shastrus. The Hin 
doo principle is mere stoicism ; its origin is either selfishness, or infatu 
ated ambition: but the principle of the apostle, was the love of Christ 
\vho died on a cross for his enemies as he himself says, The love of 
Christ, like an irresistible torrent, bears us away; l If we are beside 
ourselves, it is for your sakes. 



ON THE HINDOO RELIGION. xciii 

of enemies - } and gives a list of offerings proper to be presented 
to Bhugiivutee, that she may be induced to assist in the gratifi 
cation of revengeful passions : among the rest, the worshipper 
is to make a paste image of a man, cut off its head, and offer 
this head to the goddess, with a burnt- sacrifice, &c. Is it not 
reasonable to suppose, that human sacrifices preceded the cutting 
off the head of this man of paste ; and that one man was sacri 
ficed and offered to the gods to induce them to destroy another ? 

In the Institutes of Munoo a man is allowed to commit adul 
tery, if the female consent ; to steal, for the sake of performing 
a religious ceremony j and to perjure himself, from benevolent 
motives : they also allow of lying, to preserve the life of a 
bramhiin, to appease an angry wife, or to please a mistress 2 . 
What is still worse, in this code a bramhun, in case of want, is 
permitted to steal, not from the rich merely, but from his 
slave ! It is a common sentiment among this people, that in 
secular transactions lying is absolutely necessary j and perjury is 
so common, that it is impossible to rely upon the testimony of 
Hindoo witnesses. The natives ridicule the idea of administer 
ing justice by oral testimony. 

I have given in vol. ii. p. 172, a few examples of persons 
raised to heaven by their own works, to shew that these works 
have nothing to do with real morality. But how shall we de 
scribe the unutterable abominations connected with the popular 



z If a man, by the impulse of lust, tell lies to a woman, or if his own 
life would otherwise be lost, or all the goods of his house spoiled, or if 
it is for the benefit of a bramhun, in such affairs falsehood is allowable. 
Halhed s Code of Gentoo Laws. How can we wonder that the Hindoos 
should be so addicted to falsehood, when even in the rig-vedu, ap 
proached with profound reverence by so many Christian infidels, we find 
monstrous exaggerations like the following ? * Bhurutu distributed in 
Mushnaru a hundred and seven thousand millions of black elephants 
with white tusks, and decked with gold. A sacred fire was lighted for 
Bhurutu, son of Dooshiintu, in Sachigoonu, at which a thousand bramhuns 
shared a thousand millions of cows apiece. See Mr, Cokbrovke* s Essay. 



xciv INTRODUCTORY REMARKS 

superstition? The author has witnessed scenes which can be 
clothed in no language, and has heard of other abominations 
practised in the midst of religious rites, and in the presence of 
the gods, which, if they could be described, would fill the whole 
Christian world with disgust and horror. Let impenetrable 
darkness cover them till f the judgment of the great day. 

Men are sufficiently corrupt by nature, without any outward 
excitements to evil in the public festivals j nor have civil nor 
spiritual terrors, the frowns of God and governors united, been 
found sufficient to keep within restraint the overflowings of 
iniquity : but what must be the moral state of that country, 
where the sacred festivals, and the very forms of religion, lead 
men to every species of vice ! These festivals and public exhi 
bitions excite universal attention, and absorb, for weeks toge 
ther, almost the whole of the public conversation : and such 
is the enthusiasm with which they are hailed, that the whole 
country seems to be thrown into a ferment : health, property, 
time, business, every thing is sacrificed to them. In this 
manner are the people prepared to receive impressions from 
their national institutions. If these institutions were favourable 
to virtue, the effects would be most happy j but as, in addi 
tion to their fascination, they are exceedingly calculated to 
corrupt the mind, the most dreadful consequences follow, and 
vice, like a mighty torrent, flows through the plains of Bengal, 
with the force of the flood-tide of the Ganges, carrying along 
with it young and old, the learned and the ignorant, rich 
and poor, all casts and descriptions of people into an awful 
eternity ! 

In short, the characters of the gods, and the licentiousness 
which prevails at their festivals, and abounds in their popular 
works, with the enervating nature of the climate, have made the 
Hindoos the most effeminate and corrupt people on earth. I have, 
in the course of this work, exhibited so many proofs of this fact, 
that I will not again disgust the reader by going into the subject. 
Suffice it to say, that fidelity to marriage vows is almost unknown 



ON THE HINDOO RELIGION. xcv 

among the Hindoos j the intercourse of the sexes approaches very 
near to that of the irrational animals. The husband almost inva 
riably lives in criminal intercourse during the pupilage of his in 
fant wife ; and she, if she becomes a widow, cannot marry, and 
in consequence, being destitute of a protector and of every moral 
principle, becomes a willing prey to the lascivious. 

Add to all this, the almost incredible number of human victims 
which annually fall in this Aceldama. I have ventured on an 
estimate of the number of Hindoos who annually perish, the vic 
tims of the bramhinical religion; (vol. ii. p. 127,) and have sup 
posed, that they cannot amount to less than 10,5OO ! Every 
additional information I obtain, and the opinions of the best in 
formed persons with whom I am acquainted, confirm me in the 
opinion, that this estimate is too low, that the havock is far 
greater, however difficult it may be to bring the mind to con 
template a scene of horror which outdoes all that has ever been 
perpetrated in the name of religion by all the savage nations put 
together. These cruelties, together with the contempt which the 
Hindoos feel for the body as a mere temporary shell, cast off at 
pleasure, and the disorganizing effects of the cast, render them 
exceedingly unfeeling and cruel : of which their want of every 
national provision for the destitute ; their leaving multitudes to 
perish before their own doors, unpitied and even unnoticed ; the 
inhuman manner in which they burn the bodies of their deceased 
relations, and their saVage triumph when spectators of a widow 
burning in the flames of the funeral pile, are awful examples. 

But to know the Hindoo idolatry, AS IT is, a person must 
wade through the filth of the thirty-six pooraniis and other po 
pular books he must read and hear the modern popular poems 
and songs he must follow the bramhun through his midnight 
orgies, before the image of Kalee, and other goddesses ; or he 
must accompany him to the nightly revels, the jatras, and listen 
to the filthy dialogues which are rehearsed respecting Krishna 
and the daughters of the milkmen j or he must watch him, at 
midnight, choking, with the mud and waters of the Ganges, a 



xcvi INTRODUCTORY REMARKS 

wealthy rich relation, while in the delirium of a fever j or, at the 
same hour, while murdering an unfaithful wife, or a supposed 
domestic enemy j burning the body before it is cold, and wash 
ing the blood from his hands in the sacred stream of the Ganges , 
or he must look at the bramhun, hurrying the trembling half- 
dead widow round the funeral pile, and throwing her, like a log 
of wood, by the side of the dead body of her husband, tying her, 
and then holding her down with bamboo levers till the fire has 
deprived her of the power of rising and running away. After he 
has followed the bramhiin through all these horrors, he will only 
have approached the threshold of this temple of Moloch, and he 
will begin to be convinced, that to know the Hindoo idolatry, 
AS IT is, a man must become a Hindoo rather, he must become 
a bramhiin j for a poor shoodrii, by the very circumstances of his 
degradation, is restrained from many abominations which bram- 
hiins alone are privileged to commit. And w*hen he has done 
this, let him meditate on this system in its effects on the mind of 
the afflicted or dying Hindoo, as described in vol. ii. pp. 163, 164, 
and 176; on reading which description he will perceive, that in 
distress the Hindoo utters the loudest murmurs against the gods, 
and dies in the greatest perplexity and agitation of mind. 

The state of things serves to explain the mysterious dispen 
sations of Providence, in permitting the Hindoos to remain so 
long in darkness, and in causing them to suffer so much formerly 
under their Mahometan oppressors. The murder of so many 
myriads of victims has armed heaven against them. Let us hope 
that now, in the midst of judgment, a gracious Providence has 
remembered mercy, and placed them under the fostering care of 
the British government, that they may enjoy a happiness to which 
they have been hitherto strangers. 

If then this system of heathenism communicates no purifying 
knowledge of the divine perfections, supplies no one motive to 
holiness while living, no comfort to the afflicted, no hope to the 
dying ; but on the contrary excites to every vice, and hardens its 
followers in the most flagrant crimes - } how are we to account for 



ON THE HINDOO HELIGION. xcvii 

the conduct of its apologists, except in the recollection, that the 
sceptical part of mankind have always been partial to heathenism. 
Voltaire, Gibbon, Hume, &c. have been often charged with a 
strong partiality for the Grecian and Roman idolatries } and many 
Europeans in India are suspected of having made large strides 
towards heathenism. Even Sir "VVm. Jones, whose recommen 
dation of the Holy Scriptures (found in his Bible after his death) 
has been so often and so deservedly quoted, it is said, to please 
his pundit, was accustomed to study the shastriis with the image 
of a Hindoo god placed on his table : his fine metrical translations 
of idolatrous hymns are known to every lover of verse d . In the 
same spirit, we observe, that figures and allusions to the ancient 
idolatries are retained in almost all modern poetical compositions, 
and even in some Christian writings. 

However wonderful this partiality of professed Christians to 
heathenism may be, it is not more extraordinary than the ex 
travagant lengths into which some learned men have gone in 
their expectations from the antiquity of the Hindoo writings. 
Mr. Halhed seems to prefer Hindooism to Christianity purely 011 
account of its boasted antiquity d . Dr. Stiles, president of Yale 

d I could not help feeling a degree of regret, in reading lately the 
Memoirs of the admirable and estimable Sir William Jones. Some of his 
researches in Asia have no doubt incidentally served the cause of religion ; 
but did he think the last possible direct service had been rendered to Chris 
tianity, that his accomplished mind was left at leisure for hymns to the 
Hindoo gods ? Was not this a violation even of the neutrality, and an of 
fence, not only against the gospel, but against theism itself? I know what 
may be said about personification, license of poetry, and soon : but should 
not a worshipper of God hold himself under a solemn obligation to abjure 
all tolerance of even poetical figures that can seriously seem, in any way 
whatever, to recognize the pagan divinities, or abominations, as the pro 
phets of Jehovah would have called them ? What would Elijah have said 
to such an employment of talents ? It would have availed little to have 
told him, that these divinities were only personifications (with their ap 
propriate representative idols) of objects in nature, of elements, or of 
abstractions. He would have sternly replied And was not Baal, whose 
prophets I destroyed, the same ? See Foster s incomparable Essays. 

e Is Mr. Halhed an example of the amazing credulity of unbelievers In 
VOL. i. n 



xeviii INTRODUCTORY REMARKS 

College, in North America, formed such an enthusiastic expecta 
tion from the amazing antiquity of the Hindoo writings, that he 
actually wrote to Sir William Jones, to request him to search 
among the Hindoos for the Adamic books. Had not this gentle 
man been a zealous Christian, it is likely his extravagant expec 
tations might have led him to ask Sir William to translate and 
send him a book two or three millions of years old, written in 
some kulpu amidst the endless succession of worlds. 

For some time, a very unjust and unhappy impression appeared 
to have been made on the public mind, by the encomiums passed 
on the Hindoo writings. In the first place, they were thus ele 
vated in their antiquity beyond the Christian scriptures, the writ 
ings of Moses having been called the productions of yesterday, 
compared with those of the bramhuns. The contents of these 
books also were treated with the greatest reverence ; the primitive 
religion of the Hindoos, it was said, revealed the most sublime 
doctrines, and inculcated a pure morality. We were taught to 
make the greatest distinction between the ancient and modern re 
ligion of the Hindoos ; for the apologists for Hindooism did not 
approve of its being judged of by present appearances. Some 
persons endeavoured to persuade us, that the Hindoos were not 

every case wherein the Holy Bible is not concerned ? When he wrote his 
* Code of Gentoo Laws/ he hesitated to believe the Bible, because it was 
outdone in chronology by the histories of the Chinese and Hindoos. With 
sacred reverence he exclaims, at the close of his account of the four yoo- 
gus, To such antiquity the Mosaic creation is but as yesterday ; and to 
such ages the life of Methuselah is no more than a span ! He says, in 
another page, The conscientious scruples of Brydone will always be of 
some weight in the scale of philosophy. If the age or reign of Brumha, 
viz. 55,987,200,000,000 years, excited such sacred awe in the mind of this 
gentleman, what would have been his sensations, and how strong his faith 
in the < holy writ of the Hindoos, if he had happened to read in the 
Ramayiinu the account of Ramu s army ; which, this * holy writ says, 
amounted to 1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 soldiers, or rather monkies P 
Again, two thousand times the four yoogiis, or 8,640,000,000 years, is the 
age of the sage Markfmdeku ! What, in the name of Mr. Halhed, is the 
life of Methuselah to this ? This unbeliever in Moses became at last, it i$ 
said, a firm believer in Richard Brothers ! 



ON THE HINDOO RELIGION. xcix 

idolaters, because they maintained the unity of God ; though 
they worshipped the works of their own hands as God, and 
though the number of their gods was 330,000,000. It is very 
probable, that the unity of God has been a sentiment amongst 
the philosophers of every age ; and that they wished it to be un 
derstood, that they worshipped the One God, whether they bowed 
before the image of Moloch, Jupiter, or Kalee : yet mankind 
have generally concluded, that he who worships an image is an 
idolater; and I suppose they will continue to think so, unless, in 
this age of reason, common sense should be turned out of doors. 

Now, however, the world has had some opportunity of decid 
ing upon the claims of the Hindoo writings, both as it respects 
their antiquity, and the value of their contents. Mr. Colebrooke s 
essay on the vedus, and his other important translations ; the 
Bhugiivut-Geeta, translated by Mr. Wilkins ; the translation of 
the Ramayunii, several volumes of which have been printed j 
some valuable papers in the Asiatic Researches ; with other 
translations by different Siingskritu scholars; have thrown a 
great body of light on this subject : and this light is daily in 
creasing. 

Many an object appears beautiful when seen at a distance, and 
through a mist ; but when the fog has dispersed, and the person 
has approached it, he smiles at the deception. Such is the exact 
case with these books, and this system of idolatry. Because the 
public, for want of being more familiar with the subject, could 
not ascertain the point of time when the Hindoo shastrus were 
written, they therefore at once believed the assertions of the 
bramhuns and their friends, that their antiquity was unfa 
thomable. 

The Reverend Mr. Maurice has attempted to describe the 
Hindoo ceremonies, which he never 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 

n 2 



c INTRODUCTORY REMARKS 

to God,) that a Christian divine would have been shocked while 
writing in this manner. If Mr. Maurice think there is some 
thing in Hindooism to excite the most sublime ideas, let him 
come and join in the dance before the idol 3 or assist the bram- 
hiins in crying Huree bull Huree bul f ! while the fire is seizing 
the limbs of the young and unfortunate Hindoo widow j 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 of 
Doorga, in the presence of thousands of spectators, young and 
old, 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 : c The sinner, being an hundred years old, 
shall be accursed. 

What will a sober Christian say to the two following para 
graphs, inserted in the fifth volume of the Indian Antiquities s ? 
{ Mr. Forbes, of Stanmore-hill, in his elegant museum of Indian 
rarities, numbers two of the bells that have been used in devo 
tion 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 melodious. I could not avoid being 

f Sounds of triumph, which the bramhiins use when the fire of the 
funeral pile begins to burn, and when they are choking a dying person 
with the water of the Ganges. These words literally mean, * call upon 
Huree, or repeat the name of Huree, viz. Krishnu. In their popular 
use, they are like the English phrase, huzza! huzza! 

s While the author cannot but withhold his 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 this 
singular and masterly work. 



ON THE HINDOO RELIGION. .ci 

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 extensively to unfold. My transported 
thoughts travelled back to the remote period, when the bramhun 
religion blazed forth in all its splendour in the caverns of Ele- 
phanta : I was, for a moment, entranced, and caught the ardour 
of enthusiasm. A tribe of venerable priests, arrayed in flowing 
stoles, 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 bene 
faction and blessing. 

The sacred scriptures, of which this writer professes to be a 
teacher, in every part, mark idolatry as THE ABOMINABLE THING 
WHICH GOD HATETH. Mr. Maurice calls it, a beautiful and 
radiant cherub from heaven. How this Christian minister will 
reconcile his ideas of idolatry with those of his GREAT MASTER 
in the great day of final account, I must leave j but I recom 
mend 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 : 

e If thy brother, the son of thy mother, or thy son, or thy 
daughter, or the wife of thy bosom, or thy friend, which is as 
thine own soul, entice thee secretly, saying, Let us go and serve 
other gods, which thou hast not known, thou, nor thy fathers j 
(namely, of the gods of the people 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 con 
sent unto him, nor hearken unto him j neither shall thine eye 
pity him, neither shalt thou spare, neither shalt thou conceal 
him : but thou shalt surely kill him ; thine hand shall be first 
upon him to put him to death, and afterwards the hand of all 



cii INTRODUCTORY REMARKS 

the people. And thou shalt stone him with stones, that he die j 
because he hath sought to thrust thee away from the Lord thy 
God, which brought thee out of the land of 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. Deut. 
xiii. 6, 7) 8, 9, 10, 11. I quote this remarkable passage, not 
because I think the Christian dispensation allows of punishing 
idolaters with death, but to shew how marked is the divine 
abhorrence of this sin. 

e And I will destroy your high places, and cut down your 
images, and cast your carcases upon the 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 of the hands of 
the craftsmen, and putteth it in a secret place. And all the 
people shall answer and say, Amen. Deut. xxvii. 15. e Thus 
saith the Lord of Hosts, the God of Israel, Ye have seen all the 
evil that I have brought upon Jerusalem, and upon all the cities 
of Judah j and, behold, this day they are a desolation, and no 
man dwelleth therein. 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 sending them, 
saying, O DO NOT THIS ABOMINABLE TING THAT I HATE. But 
they hearkened 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 lasci- 
viousness, lusts, excess of wine, revellings, banquetings, and 
abominable idolatries: 1 Peter iv. 3. But the fearful, and un 
believing, and the abominable, and murderers, and whore- 



ON THE HINDOO RELIGION. ciii 

mongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have 
their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone : 
which is the second death/ Rev. xxi. 3. 

Let every conscientious Christian fairly weigh these portions 
of the divine word, and then say, whether there be not, accord 
ing to the spirit of these passages, a great degree of criminality 
attached to the person who in any way countenances idolatry. 
I am not ashamed to confess, that I fear more for the continu 
ance of the British power in India, from the encouragement 
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 of 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 wheretmto 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 which a learned man 
can delight, or of which a benevolent man can approve j 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 ancient than the Egyptian, and that it is the most PUERILE, 

IMPURE, AND BLOODY OF ANY SYSTEM OF IDOLATRY THAT WAS 
EVER ESTABLISHED ON EARTH. 

To this description of the Hindoo Mythology, the author has 
added accounts of the principal Hindoo Seceders, including the 
sects founded by Booddhu, Rislmbhu-devu, Nanuku, and Choi- 
tunyu. 

All the founders of these sects appear to have been religion* 



civ INTRODUCTORY REMARKS 

mendicants, who, animated by excessive enthusiasm, have at 
tempted to carry certain points of the Hindoo system farther 
than the regular Hindoos, particularly those which respect 
severe mortifications. Naniiku and Choitunyu were less rigid, 
and do not seem to have pressed the importance of religious 
austerities. Booddhu and Rishiibhii-de vu evidently adhered to 
the systems of those Hindoo philosophers who were atheists h . 

Both these systems are comprised in two or three doctrines : 
the w r orld is eternal, and possesses 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, connected with absolute predestina 
tion ; the person who acquires the greatest portion of dhurmii 
becomes a personification of religion, procures happiness for 
himself, and deserves the worship of others. Amongst all excel 
lent 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 sceptre 
of universal government in an imagined being under the name 
of Religion j or, to speak more correctly, in the hands of two 
beings, Religion and Irreligion, who have the power of reward 
ing and punishing the virtuous and the vicious. In short, these 
heresiarchs have not promulgated 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 Bouddhii and a Joinii might attain a place in the 
niche of fame not much below thousands who believe in a First 
Cause. 



h The Shree-bhaguvutu mentions Booddhu as the son of Unjunti, of 
Kcekutu ; and that Charvvakfi, a celebrated atheist, embraced and pub 
lished the real opinions of Booddhu. See Shree.bhaguvutu, chap. i. 
sect. 3. 



THE 



HINDOO MYTHOLOGY, 



BOOK I. 

OBJECTS OF WORSHIP. 



CHAP. I. 

OF GOD. 

IT is a painful reflection to every benevolent mind, that 
not a single Hindoo temple, dedicated to the ONE GOD, is 
to be found in all Hindoost han; nor is any act of worship, 
in any form, addressed by this people to God. The doc 
trines respecting the Divine Nature are considered as mere 
philosophical speculations, totally unconnected with reli 
gious services. 

It is true, indeed, that the Hindoos believe in the unity 
of God. ( One Brumhu, without a second, is i phrase very 
commonly used by them when conversing on subjects 
which relate to the nature of God. They believe also that 
God is almighty, allwise, omnipresent, omniscient, &c. 
and they frequently speak of him as embracing in his 
government the happiness of the good, and the subjection 
or punishment of the bad : yet they have no idea of God s 
performing any act, either of creation or providence, ex 
cept through the gods; and thus are prevented all the 
beneficial effects which might have ariscir out of their 

VOL. r. B 



* THE HINDOO MYTHOLOGY. 

notions of the divine perfections : for in the whole of the 
reigning superstition the gods alone are seen ; and these 
gods bear no more resemblance to the one true God, than 
darkness to light, than vice to virtue. 

Perceiving, therefore, that the speculations of the Hin 
doo philosophers on the divine nature have no place what 
ever in the religion of the country, I have placed these 
dogmas in the preceding volume. 



CHAP. II. 

OF THE GODS. 

THE deities in the Hindoo pantheon amount to 330,000,000. 
Yet all these gods and goddesses may be resolved into the 
three principal ones, Vishnoo, Shivu, and Brumha; the ele 
ments; and the three females, Doorga, Lukshmee, and Su- 
ruswutee. The following pages will contain accounts of 
all those at present worshipped by the Hindoos, particularly 
in the provinces of India under the English government, 



SECT. I. Vishnoo. 

THIS god is represented in the form of a black man, 
with four arms; in one of which he holds a club, in 
another a shell, in the third a chukru a , and in the fourth a 
water-lily. He rides on Guroorti, an animal half-bird 
an4 half-man> and wears yellow garments. 

An iron instrnmcnt of destruction like a wheel. 



THE HINDOO MYTHOLOGY. 3 

The Hindoo sliastrus give accounts of ten appearances 
or incarnations of Vishnoo, in the character of the Pre 
server; nine of which are said to be past. 

The first is called the Mutsyu incarnation. Brumhu b , 
the one God, when he resolves to recreate the universe 
after a periodical destruction, first gives birth to Brumha, 
Vishnoo, and Shivu, to preside over the work of creation, 
preservation, and destruction. After a periodical dissolution 
of the universe, the four ve dus remained in the waters. In 
order to enter upon the work of creation, it was necessary 
to obtain these books, for the instruction of Brumha. Vish 
noo was therefore appointed to bring up the ve dus from 
the deep ; who, taking the form of a fish, (some say one 
kind and some another,) descended into the waters, and 
brought up these sacred books. 

In the Kuchyupu incarnation Vishnoo assumed the 
form of a tortoise, and took the newly created earth upon 
his back, to render it stable. The Hindoos believe that to 
this hour the earth is supported on the back of this tor 
toise. 

The Vurahu incarnation happened at one of the pe 
riodical destructions of the world, when the earth sunk into 
the waters. Vishnoo, the preserver, appearing in the 
form of a boar (vurahu), descended into the waters, and 
with his tusks drew up the earth. What contemptible 
ideas on such a subject ! The earth, with all its mountains, 
&c. &c. made fast on the back of a turtle, or drawn up 
from the deep by the tusks of a hog ! 

b The reader will please to keep in mind that Brumhu means the one 
God, and that Brftmhu meaus the idol of that name. 

B 2 



4 THE HINDOO MYTHOLOGY. 

The fourth incarnation is called Nuru-singhu . Among 
other descendants of Dukshu, (the first man that Brumha 
created,) was Kiishyupu, a moonee, and his four wives, 
Ditee, Cditee, Vinuta, and Kudroo. From Ditee, sprang 
the giants ; from tfditee, the gods ; from Vinuta, Gurooru 5 
and from Kudroo, the hydras. The giants possessed 
amazing strength, and amongst them two arose of terrific 
powers, named Hirunyakshu and Hirunyu-kushipoo, both 
of whom performed religious austerities many thousand 
years to obtain immortality. Brumha at length gave them 
a blessing apparently equivalent to that which they desired. 
He promised, that no common being should destroy them; 
that they should not die either in the day or in the night, in 
earth or in heaven, by fire, by water, or by the sword. After 
this these giants conquered all the kingdoms of the earth, 
and even dethroned Indru, the king of heaven. Indru, 
collecting all the gods, went to Brumha, and intreated him 
to provide some way of deliverance, as the universe which 
he had created was destroyed. Brumha asked the gods, 
how he could destroy those who had obtained his blessing ? 
and advised them to go to Vishnoo. They obeyed, and in 
formed this god of the miseries brought upon the universe 
by these giants whom Brumha had blessed. Naraytinu 
promised to destroy them, which he did in the follow 
ing manner: Hirunyu-kushipoo s son Prulhadu was con 
stantly absent from home performing religious austerities, 
at which his father became angry, and, tying a stone to his 
body, threw him into the water ; but Vishnoo descended, 
and liberated him. His father next threw him under the 
feet of an elephant ; but the elephant took him up, and put 
him on its back. He then built a house of sealing wax, 
put his son into it, and set it on fire ; the wax melted, and 

c From niirii, a man ; and singhu, a lion. 



THE HINDOO MYTHOLOGY. 5 

fell upon Prulhadu, but he received no injury. The father 
next gave him poison, but without effect. At length, wea 
ried of trying to kill him, he said, Where does your pre 
server Vishnoo dwell ? c He is every where, says Prulhadu. 
f Is he then in this pillar ? ( Yes/ said the son. Then, said 
Hirunyu-kushipoo, ( I will kill him, and gave the pillar a 
blow with his stick when Vishnoo, in the form of half- 
lion, half-man, burst from the pillar; laid hold of Hirunyu- 
kushipoo by the thighs with his teeth, and tore him up the 
middle. This was in the evening, so that it was neither 
in the day nor in the night; it was done under the drop 
pings of the thatch, about which the Hindoos have a 
proverb, that this place is out of the earth ; he was not 
killed by a man, but by a being half-man, half-lion : so 
that the promise of Brumha to him was not broken. Vish 
noo next destroyed Hirunyakshu. After the death of his 
father, Prulhadu began to worship Vishnoo under the form 
which he had assumed, and with tears enquired into the 
future fate of his father. Vishnoo assured him, that as he 
had died by his hands, he would surely ascend to heaven. 
Vishnoo was so pleased with the praises which Prulhadu 
bestowed on him, that he began to dance, hanging the 
entrails of Hirunyu-kushipoo round his neck. By Vishnoo s 
dancing the earth began to move out of its place, so that 
Brumha and all the gods were frightened, but durst not go 
near him. However, at the entreaties of Prulhadu, Vishnoo 
gave over dancing; the earth became fixed, and Vishnoo 
gave Prulhadu this promise, that by his hand r s none of his 
race should die. 

The fifth is the Vamunu incarnation. Prulhadu s grand 
son Bulee followed the steps of his great-grandfather, and 
committed every kind of violence. In contempt of the 
gods, he made offerings in his own name. He performed 
the ushwum^dhu sacrifice one hundred times, by which he 



<J THE HINDOO MYTHOLOGY. 

was entitled to become the king of the gods ; but as the 
time of the then reigning Indru was not expired; the latter 
applied for relief to Vishnoo, who promised to destroy this 
giant : to accomplish which he caused himself to be born of 
Uditee, the wife of Kushyupu, the moonee. Being exceed 
ingly small in his person, he obtained the name of Vamunu, 
i. e. the dwarf. At a certain period king Bulee was making 
a great sacrifice, and Vamunu s parents, being very poor, 
sent him to ask a gift of the king. It is customary, at a 
festival, to present gifts to bramhuns. Vamunu was so 
small, that in his journey to the place of sacrifice, when 
he got to the side of a hole made by a cow s foot, and 
which was filled with water, he thought it was a river, and 
entreated another bramhun to help him over it. On his 
arrival, he went to ask a gift of Bulee. The king was so 
pleased with him, on account of his diminutive form, that 
he promised to give him whatever he should ask. He peti 
tioned only for as much land as he could measure by three 
steps. Bulee pressed him to ask for more, intimating that 
such a quantity was nothing; but Vamunu persisted, and 
the king ordered his priest to read the usual formulas in 
making such a present. The priest warned the king, 
declaring he would repent of making this gift; for the little 
bramhtm was no other than Vishnoo himself, who would 
deprive him of all he had. The king, however, was deter 
mined to fulfil his promise, and the grant was made. Vam 
unu then placed one foot on Indru s heaven, and the other 
on the earth, when, lo ! a third leg suddenly projected 
from his belly, and he asked for a place upon which he might 
rest this third foot. Bulee, having nothing left, and being 
unable to fulfil his promise, was full of anxiety* His wife, 
having heard what was going forward, came to the spot, 
and, seeing the king s perplexity, advised him to give his 
head for Vamunu to set his foot upon. He did so; but 
Vumunu then asked for what is called diikshinUj a small 



THE HINDOO MYTHOLOGY, 7 

present which accompanies a gift, and without which the 
gift itself produces no fruit to the giver. B ulee knew not 
what to do for dukshinu : his all was gone. Mis wife 
advised him to give his life to Vamunu as dukshinu. He 
did this also; but the latter told him, that as he had pro 
mised Prulhadu not to destroy any of his race, he would not 
take his life. He therefore gave him his choice either 
of ascending to heaven, taking with him five ignorant 
persons ; or of descending to patulu, the world of the hy 
dras, with five wise men d . Bulee chose the latter, but sard 
that as he had done much mischief on earth, he was afraid 
of going to patulu, lest he should there be punished for his 
crimes. Vamunu told him not to fear, as he would, in the 
form of Vishnoo, become his protector. At the close, this 
god, having restored every thing on earth to a state of 
order and prosperity, returned to heaven. 

The sixth is the Purushoo-ramu incarnation. Purushop 
is the name of an instrument of war. The occasion of this 
appearance of Vishnoo is thus related : The kshutriyus, 
from the king to the lowest person of this cast, were be 
come very corrupt. Every one did as he pleased, the king 
was without authority, all order was destroyed, and the earth 
was in the greatest confusion. In these circumstances 
the goddess Prit hivee 6 went to Vishnoo, and prayed for 
relief. Her petition was heard, and one part of Vishnoo 
was incarnate as the son of Jumudugnee, a descendant of 
Bhrigoo the sage. After twenty-one different defeats the 
kshutriyus were exterminated by Purtishoo-ramu; but after 
a lapse of years they again became numerous : Crjoonu, a 

d It is a proverb among the Hindoos, that there is no pleasure in the 
company of the ignorant in any place or circumstances ; and that a bad 
place, in the company of the wise, is better than a good one in that of the 
ignorant. 

The earth personified. 



8 THE HINDOO MYTHOLOGY. 

kshutriy u king with a thousand arms, overcame the greatest 
monarchs, and made dreadful havock in the world : he beat 
Ravunu, and tied him to the heels of a horse; but Briimha 
delivered him, and reconciled them again. One evening 
in the rainy season, Urjoonu, being in the forest, took 
refuge in the hut of Jumudugnee, the learned ascetic. He 
had with him 900,000 people; yet Jumudugnee entertained 
them all. Urjoonu, astonished, enquired of his people how 
the sage, living in the forest, was able to entertain so many 
people ? They could not tell ; they saw nothing except a 
cow which Briimha had given him ; but it was by her means 
perhaps that he was able to entertain so many guests : its 
name was Kamu-dhenoo f . In fact, when Urjoonu was 
to be entertained at the sage s house, this cow in a mi 
raculous manner gave him all kinds of food, clothes, &c. 
The king on his departure asked for the cow; but the sage 
refused it to him, though he offered for it his whole king 
dom. At length, Urjoonu made war on Jumudugnee ; and 
though the cow gave an army to her master, he was unable 
to cope with Urjoonu, who destroyed both him and his 
army. After the victory, however, Urjoonu could not find 
the cow, but went home disappointed. Purushoo-ramu, 
hearing of the defeat and death of his father Jumudugnee, 
went to complain to Shivu, on the mountain Koilasu; but 
could not get access to him till he had knocked down the 
gods Guneshu and Kartikti, Shivu s door-keepers. Shivu 
gave Purushoo-ramu the instrument purushoo, and pro 
mised him the victory. On his return Purushoo-ramu met 
his mother, who was about to throw herself on the funeral 
pile of her husband. After attending upon this ceremony, 
Purushoo-ramu went ta the residence of Urjoonu, and 
killed him s. 

f Th&t is, the cow which yields every thing desired. 

s This story is told variously in the poorantis : according to the 



THE HINDOO MYTHOLOGY. 9 

These six incarnations are said to have taken place in the 
sutyu yoogu 1 . There are no images respecting them made 
for worship. 

The seventh incarnation is that of Rarnu to destroy the 
giant Ravunu ; for the history of which see the Translation 
of the Table of Contents of the Ramayunu, toward the close 
of this volume. The eight incarnation is that of Buluramu, 
to destroy Prulumbu and other giants. This latter incar 
nation is said to have taken place in the dwapuru-yoogu. 
The ninth is the Booddhu incarnation, in which Vishnoo 
appeared as Booddhu, to destroy the power of the giants. 
In order to effect this, Booddhu produced among mankind 
by his preaching, &c. a disposition to universal scepticism; 
that having no longer any faith in the gods, the giants might 
cease to apply to them for those powers by which they had 
become such dreadful scourges to mankind. In this appear 
ance the object of Vishnoo, the preserver, was accomplished 
by art, without the necessity of war; though the dreadful 
alternative to which he was driven to accomplish his object, 
that of plunging mankind into a state of universal scepti 
cism, affords another proof how wretchedly the world would 
be governed if every thing depended on the wisdom of 
man. The tenth incarnation is still expected, under the 
name of the Kulkee Uvutaru. See translation from the 
Kulkee pooranu, in the second volume. 

The appearance of Vishnoo, when he took the name of 
Krishna to destroy the giant Kungshu, is called the descent 

Ramayiinu, Vushis thu was the owner of this cow, and Vishwumitrft the 
person who fought with the moonee to obtain it. 

h These ravages of tyranny, and bloody contests, form a sad specimen 
of the happiness of the Hindoo sutyii yoogu, could we believe that there 
ever had been such a period. 



10 THE HINDOO MYTHOLOGY. 

of Vishnoo himself, and not an incarnation of this god. 
There are, however, beside the preceding ten incarnations, 
and this of Krishna, many others mentioned in the poora- 
nus, all having their source in Vishnoo. The Shree-bhagu- 
vutu contains accounts of the following : Soo-yugnu created 
certain gods, and removed distress from the three worlds ; 
Kupilii taught his mother the knowledge of Brumhu, by 
which she obtained absorption ; Duttatreyu delivered all 
his disciples, by means of the ceremony called yoga, from 
future birth, and obtained for them absorption ; Koormaru 
declared the events that had happened in a former age; 
that is, previous to the dissolution of things which preceded 
his incarnation; Nuru-Narayunu was such a perfect ascetic 
that the courtezans, sent by the gods to allure him from his 
religious austerities, were unsuccessful ; Vishnoo himself 
created a female on purpose to divert him from his devotions, 
but her attempts were equally abortive ; Prit hoo opened 
the bowels of the earth, and brought forth its treasures ; 
Rishuvu was an incomparable yogee, who was worshipped 
by the purum-hungsus and other ascetics ; Huyugreevu 
was so great a saint, that the words of the vedu were uttered 
every time he breathed; Huree delivered his disciples 
from all their enemies, whether among men or the inferior 
animals; Hungsu taught his disciples the mysteries of 
yogu, and obtained absorption himself while performing 
the ceremonies of a yogee ; Munoo s fame filled the three 
worlds, and ascended even as far as Sutyu-loku; Dhun- 
wunturee delivered all diseased persons from their disorders 
on their mere remembrance of his name, and gave the 
water of immortality to the gods ; Vyasti arranged the 
vedus, was the author of the pooraniis, &c. Vibhoo was 
the spiritual guide of 80,000 disciples, whom he taught the 
knowledge of Brumhu, anjcl the ceremonies of yogu; 
Sutyusenu cleared the earth of hypocrites and wicked per- 



THE HINDOO MYTHOLOGY. 11 

sons ; Voikoont hti created the heaven of Vishnoo known 
by this name, and performed other wonders ; Ujitu in 
structed the gods to churn the sea to obtain the water of 
immortality, and did other things which distinguished him 
as an incarnation; Molmnee was incarnate, to prevent the 
giants from obtaining the water of immortality at the 
churning of the sea; Narudti revealed the work called 
Voishnuvu. Tuntru. The following incarnations are ex 
pected : Sarvubhoumu to dethrone the present Indru, and 
instate Bulee in his stead ; Vishwukse nu as the friend of 
Shurnbhoo, when he becomes the king of heaven ; Dhur- 
mu-se too to nourish the three worlds ; Soodhama to assist 
Roodru-savurnee, the twelfth of the fourteen munoos; 
Yogdshwum to place Divus-putee on the throne of Indru; 
Vrihudbhanoo to make known many new religious ceremo 
nies. The reader, however, is not to suppose that there 
are no other incarnations mentioned in these marvellous 
books : every hero, and every saint, is complimented by 
these writers as an incarnate deity. 

I have not discovered any proof in the Hindoo writings, 
or in conversation with learned natives, that these incarnate 
persons are personifications of any of the divine attributes; 
or that these stories have any other than a literal meaning. 
No doubt they were written as fables, which the ignorance 
of modern Hindoos has converted into facts ; or many of 
them may relate to common events here magnified into 
miracles. 

Stone images of Vishnoo are made for sale, and wor 
shipped in the houses of those who have chosen him for 
their guardian deity. There are no public festivals in honour 
of this god, yet he is worshipped at the offering of a burnt 
sacrifice; in the form of meditation used daily by the 

e 2 



12 THE HINDOO MYTHOLOGY, 

bramhuns at the times when c the five gods are worshipped, 
and also at the commencement of each shraddlm. No 
bloody sacrifices are offered to Vishnoo. The offerings 
presented to him consist of fruit, flowers^ water, clarified 
butter, sweetmeats, cloth, ornaments, &c. 

Many choose Vishnoo for their guardian deity. These 
persons are called Voishntivus. The distinctive mark of 
this sect of Hindoos consists of two lines, rather oval., 
drawn the whole length of the nose, and carried forward in 
two straight lines across the forehead. This mark is com 
mon to the worshippers of all the different forms of Vishnoo. 
It is generally made with the clay of the Ganges j sometimes 
with powder of sandel wood. 

Vishnoo has a thousand names , among which are the 
following : Vishnoo ; that is, the being into whom, at the 
destruction of the world, all is absorbed. Narayunu, or, 
he who dwelt in the waters k , and he who dwells in the minds 
of the devout. Voikoont liu, or, the destroyer of sorrow. 
Vishturu-shruva, or, he who, in the form of Viratu, is all 
eye, all ear, &c. Rhisheekeshu, viz. the god of all the 
members, and of light. Keshuvu, or, he who gave being 
to himself, to Rrumha and Shivu ; or, he who has excellent 
hair. Madhuvu, or, the husband of Lukshmee. Mudhoo- 
soodhunu, the destroyer of Mudhoo, a giant. Swumblio<3, 
or, the self-existent. Doityaree,, or, the enemy of the 

The meaning of the principal names of some of the gods 18 to be 
found in the comment upon the Umurii-koshii, by Bhiirutu-miilliku. 

Jupiter had so many names, they could scarcely be numbered ; some 
of them derived from the places where he lived and was worshipped, and 
others from the actions he performed. 

* At the time of apruliiyn, when every thing is reduced to the element 
of water> Vishnoo sits on the snake Ununtft, which has 1000 heads. 



THE HINDOO MYTHOLOGY. 13 

giants. Poondureekakshu, or, he whose eyes are like the 
white lotus. Govindu, or, the raiser of the earth. Pitam- 
vuru, or, he who wears yellow garments. Uchyootu, or, 
the undecayable. Sharungce, or, he who possesses the 
horn bow. Vishwukshenu, or, he whose soldiers fill all 
quarters of the 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. Vishwum- 
vuru, or, the protector of the world. Koitubhujit, or, he 
who overcame the giant Koitubhu. 

Vishnoo has two wives 1 , Lukshmee, the goddess of pros 
perity, and Suruswutee, the goddess of learning. The 
former was produced at the churning of the sea: Surus 
wutee is the daughter of Brumha. 

The following description of the heaven of Vishnoo is 
taken from the Mtihabharutu. This heaven, called Voi- 
koonfhu 111 , 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 
buildings, are of precious stones. The chrystal waters of 
the Ganges fall from the higher heavens on the head of 



1 One of the Hindoo poets, in answer to the question, Why has 
noo 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 two wives, one of whom (the goddess of learning) is 
constantly talking, and the other (the goddess of prosperity) never re 
mains 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 for a man to have two wives ; 
especially if both live in one house. 

m The work called Kurmu-Vipakii says, that the heavens of Vishnoo^ 
Brtunha, and Shivu are upon three peaks of the mountain Soomroo j and, 
that at the bottom of these peaks arc the heavens of twenty-one other gods. 



14 THE HINDOO MYTHOLOGY. 

Droovu, and from thence into the bunches of hair on the 
heads of seven rishees in this heaven, and from theuce they 
fall and form a river in Vo koont hu. Here are also fine 
pools of water, containing blue, red, and white water-lilies, 
the flowers of some of which contain one hundred petals, 
and others a thousand; gardens of nymph os as, &c. On a 
seat as glorious 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 devurshees, rajurshees, and supturshees 
constantly celebrate the praise of Vishnoo and Lukshmee, 
and meditate on their divine forms. The brumhurshees 
chant the vedus. The glorified voishnuvus approach Vish 
noo, and constantly serve him. The gods" are also fre 
quently employed in celebrating the praises of Vishnoo ; 
and Gurooru, the bird-god, is the door-keeper. 



SECT. II. 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 : Brumha, Vish 
noo, Shivu. 

This god is represented in various ways. In the form of 
meditation used daily by the bramhuns he is described as 
a silver coloured man, with five faces; an additional eye 

n These gods are supposed to be visitors at Vislmoo s. 

One of the names of Shivu is Trilochunu, viz. the three-eyed. 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. 



THE HINDOO MYTHOLOGY. 15 

and a half-moon grace each forehead?. He has four 
arms ; in one hand he holds a purushoo ; 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 % and wears a 
tyger-skin garment. 

At other times Shiva is represented with one head, three 
eyes, and two arms, riding on a bull, covered with ashes, 
naked, his eyes inflamed with intoxicating herbs r , having 
in one hand a horn, and in the other a drum. 

Another image of Shivii is the lingu, a smooth black 
stone almost in the form of a sugar-loaf, with a projection 
at the base like the mouth of a spoon. 

There are several stories in the pooranus respecting the 
origin of the lingu worship, 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 appeared 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 I wish that the 

p At the churning of the sea, Shivti obtained the mooi> for his share, 
and fixed it, with all its glory, in his forehead. 

q It appears that this plant was formerly venerated by the Egyptians 
as much as it is now by the Hindoos. The sacred images of the Tartars, 
Japanese, and other nations are also frequently represented as placed 
upon it. 

r Bacchus, who appears to bear a pretty strong resemblance to Shivu, 
is said to have wandered about naked, or to have had no other coverinj? 
than a tyger s skin, which is the common garment of Shivii, and of his 
followers, the sunyasees. The bloated image oti 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, Shivii per- 
pttiially smoked intoxicating herbs. 



10 THE HINDOO MYTHOLOGY. 

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 lingu 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 scandalous 
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 unaccountable resemblance to some 
parts of the pouranic accounts of the lingti: Bacchus was 
angry with the Athenians, because they despised his solem 
nities, when they were first brought by Pegasus out of 
Boeotia 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 due" reverence to the god, and 
erected phalli to his honour ; whence the feasts and sacri 
fices called Phallica 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 information 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, are ONE. 



THE HINDOO MYTHOLOGY. 17 

Beside the clay image of the lingu, there are two kinds 
of black stone lingus: these are set up in the Hindoo 
temples 5 . The first is called swuyumboo, (the self- 
existent,) or unadee^ that which has no beginning. The 
second they call vanu-lingu, because Vanu, a king, first 
instituted the worship of this image. These stones are 
brought from the neighbourhood of the river Gundhukee, 
which falls into the Ganges near Patna. The images are 
made by Hindoo and Musulman stone-cutters. 

There is another form in which Shivti 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 j 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 bed 
stead; 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 11 . 

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 cere- 

* It is remarkable, that a stone image, consecrated to Venus, bore a 
strong resemblance to the lingu. Of this stone it is said, that it was 
" from the top to the bottom of an orbicular figure, a little broad beneath ; 
the circumference was small, and sharpening towards the top like a sugar 
loaf. The reason unknown." 

1 At the time of a great drought, the Hindoos, after performing its 
worship, throw very large quantities of water upon this unadee-lingu, in 
order to induce Shivu to give them rain. 

u Some say Saturn received his name, because he was satisfied with 
the years he devoured. Saturn was also represented as devouring his 
children, and vomiting them up again. 

P 



18 THE HINDOO MYTHOLOGY. 

monies performed, in the month Choitru, at the new moon. 
Only a few persons perform this worship. Except hefore 
this image, bloody sacrifices are never offered to Shivu, 
who is himself called a voishnuvu, 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 de 
scribed in the 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 Soivyus. The mark on the forehead 
which these persons wear, is composed of three curved 
lines like a half-moon, to which is added a round dot on 
the nose. It is made either with the clay of the Ganges, 
or with sandal wool, 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 shoodru, a bramhun is employed, 
who receives a small annual gratuity, and the daily offer 
ings *. These ceremonies 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 

x The shastrua prohibit the bramhuns from receiving the offerings pre 
sented to Shivu : the reason I have not discovered. The bramhuns, 
however, contrive to explain the words of the shastrii in such a manner, 
as to secure the greater part of the things presented to this idol. 



THE HINDOO MYTHOLOGY. 19 

the image the next day into the water. This worship is 
performed in the night, and is accompanied with singing, 
dancing, music, feasting, &c. The image worshipped is 
either that of Shivu with five faces, or that with one face. 
In the month Maghu also a festival in honour of Shivu is 
held for one day, 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 y . 

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 
only once a day, abstaining from certain gratifications, re 
peating the name of Shivu, dancing 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 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 

y Hftrii is the name of Shivu, and Gouree that of Doorga. 
D 2 



20 THE HINDOO MYTHOLOGY. 

however of persons being killed, and others wounded; but 
they are very rare. A few years ago, a person at Kidur- 
pooru, near Calcutta, c^st himself on a knife used in clean 
ing 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 lived. 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 Shivii make a great boast of the power of their god in 
preserving his followers in circumstances of such danger. 

The next day is spent in idleness, the sunyasees lying 
about Shivu s temple, and wandering about like persons 
half drunk, or jaded with revelling. On the following day, 
a large fire is kindled opposite Shivu s temple \ and when 
the burnt wood has been formed into a great heap, o*ie of 
the chief sunyasees, with a bunch of canes in his hand, 
flattens the heap a little, and walks over it with his feet 
bare. After him, the other sunyasees spread the fire about, 
walk across it, dance upon it, and then east the embers into 
the air and at each other. 

The next morning early the work of piercing the tongues 
and sides commences. In the year 1806 I went to Kalee- 
ghatu, in company with two or three friends, to witness 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 instru 
ments of music ; also spits, canes, and different articles to 
pierce their tongues and sides. Some with tinkling rings 
on their ancles were dancing and exhibiting indecent ges 
tures as they passed along, while others rent the air with the 



THE HINDOO MYTHOLOGY. 21 

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 difficulty 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 ? Here, men of all ages, who intended to have 
their tongues pierced, or their sides bored, were buying 
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 no 
thing but the feathers belonging to the grea" drums, and 
the instruments of torture which each victim was carrying 
in his hand. These wretched slaves of supersti ion were 
distinguished from others by the quantity of oil rubbed on 
their bodies, and by streaks and dots of mud all over them j 
some of the chief men belonging to each company were 
covered with ashes, or dressed in a most fantastic 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 tem 
ple of KaleC, where the crowd, inflamed to madness, almost 
trampled upon one another, to obtain a sight of the idol. 
We went up to the door-way, when a bramhtm, who was 
one of the owners of the idol, addressed one of my compa 
nions in broken English : " Money money 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 something like flour, and 
having a piece of cloth betwixt his fingers, laid firm 



22 THE HINDOO MYTHOLOGY. 

dragged it out, and, placing his lancet under it in the mid 
dle, 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. 1 could not help asking, whether they were 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 under 
going 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. He 
did not flinch, but hung by his hands over the shoulders of 
his brother. I asked a man who had just had his sides 
bored, why he did this ? He said, he had made a vow to 
Kalee at a time of dangerous illness, and was now perform 
ing this vow : a bye-stander added, it was an act of holi 
ness, 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 now and 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 nee- 



THE HINDOO MYTHOLOGY. 23 

dies. This is called vanu-phora z . 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, tem 
ples, &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 of the 
hooka, &c. through their sides, and rubbing these things 
with oil, while two persons go before and two behind to 
hold the ends of the things which have been passed through 
the sides, they dance backwards and forwards, making inde 
cent 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 
day some sunyasees pierce the skin of their foreheads, and 
place a rod of iron in it as a socket, and on this rod fasten a 
lamp, which is kept burning all night. The persons bear 
ing these lamps sit all night in or near Shiva s temple, 

* Piercing with arrows. 



*4 THE HINDOO MYTHOLOGY. 

occasionally calling upon this god by different names. On 
the same evening, different parties of sunyasees hold conver 
sations respecting Shivu in verse. 

On the following day. In the afternoon, the ceremony 
called Churuku, or the swinging by hooks fastened in the 
back, is performed. 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 
pigeons are let loose> or slain. In other parts, i. e. in the 
neighbourhood of Calcutta, the worship of Shivu is per 
formed 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 the skin hard 
with his thumb and fingers ; 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 mi~ 
nutes, 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 under-* 



THE HINDOO MYTHOLOGY. <25 

neath 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 insen 
sible of the least pain. Others take up fruit in their hands, 
and either eat 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 arid the monkey whirled 
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 sunyasees have hooks run through their 
thighs as well as backs. About the year 1800 five women 
swung in this manner, with hooks through their backs and 
thighs, at Kidurpooru near Calcutta. It is not very uncom 
mon 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 Kidurpooru, while 
whirling round with great rapidity ; and, falling on a poor 
woman who was sell ng 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 ano 
ther tree,was drawn up, and whirled round again, as though 
nothing had happened. I have heard of one man s swing 
ing three times in one day on different trees ; and a bramhun 
assured me, that he had seen four men swing on one tree ; 
while swinging, this tree was carried round the field by the 
crowd. 

On the day of swinging, in some places, a sunyasee is 

* At Kidurpoorft. 
VOL. I. E 



26 THE HINDOO MYTHOLOGY. 

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 (supposed) dead sunyasee arises, when they 
dance around him, proclaiming the name of Shivu. 

The next morning the sunyasees go to Shivti 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 alligat" 
tepeating rnuntrus. 



;or. 



These horrid ceremonies are said to derive their origin 
from a king named Vanu, whose history is related in the 
Muhabharutu. This work says, that Vanu, in the montk 
Choitru, instituted these rites, and inflicted a number of the 
cruelties here detailed 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 Shivu, who surrounded his palace with a wall 
of fire, and promised to appear whenever he should stand iii 
need of his assistance. Those who perform these ceremo 
nies at present, expect that Shivu will bestow upon them 
some blessing either in this life or in the next. 

Doorga is the wife of Shivu. This goddess is known 
under other names, as Bhuguvutee, Sutee, Parvutee, &c. 
In one age Shivu was married to Sutec, the daughter of 



THE HINDOO MYTHOLOGY. 27 

king Dukshu, and in another to the same goddess under the 
name of Parvutee, the daughter of the mountain Himalaya^ 
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 tlrus employed ? 
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 mo 
ther; or a rich person, but he had not a garment to 
wear ; -or a handsome person, but he had three eyes. 

When Shivu was about to be married to Parvutee, her 
mother and the neighbours treated the god in a very scurri 
lous manner; the neighbours cried out, "Ah! ah! ah 1 
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 ; without 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 ! they have 
thrown this beautiful daughter into the riverM" In this 

b In allusion to the throwing of dead bodies Into the river. This resem 
bles the surprise said to have been excited by the marriage of Venus to 
the filthy and deformed Vulcan. Another very singular coincidence be* 
tvvixt the European idolatry and that of the Hindoos is furnished by the 
story of Vulcan and Minerva, and that respecting Shivu and Mohinee as 
iven in the Markundeyu pooranii - } but which I have suppressed on a$- 
countof its offensive nature. 



W THE HINDOO MYTHOLOGY. 

manner the neighbours 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, respecting the quarrels of Shivu 
and Parvutee,, occasioned by the revels of the former, and 
the jealousy of the latter. These quarrels resemble those 
of Jupiter and Juno. Other stories are told of Shivu s 
descending to the earth in the form of a mendicant, for the 
preservation of some one in distress ; to perform religious 
austerities, &c. 

Shivu is said, in the pooranus, to have destroyed Kun- 
durpu (Cupid), for interrupting him in his devotions, pre 
vious to his union with Doorga. We find, however, the god 
of love restored to existence, after a lapse of ages, under the 
name of Prudyoomu, when he again obtained his wife Rutee, 
After his marriage with the mountain-goddess, Shivu 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 Shivu to a sacrifice which he was about to perform. 
{Sutee, the king s daughter, however, was resolved to go, 
though uninvited and forbidden by her husband. On her 
arrival Dukshu poured a torrent of abuse on Shivu, which 
affected Sutee so much that she died c . When Shivu heard 
of the loss of his beloved wife, he created a monstrous 
giant, whom he commanded to go and destroy Pukshu, and 
put an end to his sacrifice. He speedily accomplished this 
work, by cutting off the head of the king, arid dispersing all 
the guests. The gods, in compassion to Dukshu, placed on 

" In reference to this mark of strong attachment, a Hindoo widow burn- 
Ing \vith her husband on the funeral pile is called Sutee. 



THE HINDOO MYTHOLOGY. 29 

bis decapitated body the head of a goat, and restored him 
to his family and kingdom. 

This god has a thousand names, among which are the 
following: Shiva, or, the benefactor. Muheshwuru, the 
great god d . Eeshwuru, the glorious god. Chiindrushe- 
kuru, he whose forehead is adorned with a half-moon. 
Bhoote shu, he who is lord of the bhuotus 6 . Mriru, he who 
purifies. Mrityoonjiiyu, he who conquers death. Kritti- 
vasa, he who wears a skin. Oogru, the furious. Shree-^ 
kuntu, he whose throat is beautiful f . Kupalubhrit, he 
whose alms dish is a skulK Smum-huru, the destroyer of 
the god of love. Tripoorantuku, he who destroyed Tripoo- 

a The pimdits give proofs from the shastrus, in which Shivu is acknow 
ledged to be the greatest of the gods, or Muha-devti : from muha, great, 
and dvu, god. 

e Bhootus are beings partly in human shape, though some of them have 
the faces of horses, others of camels, others of monkeys, &c. Some have 
the bodies of horses, and the faces of men. 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 bhootus, as Bacchus had a body of guards consisting 
of drunken satyrs, demons, nymphs, &c. 

1 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. All the gods were exceedingly alarmed ; the usooriis were 
filled with triumph, under the expectation that one of the gods (even 
Shivft himself) was about to expire, The gods addressed Doorga, who 
took Shivu in her arm, and began to repeat certain incantations to destroy 
the effects of the poison : Shivu revived. This 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 on his throat; and hence one of his 
names is Neelu-kuntu, the blue-throated. 

8 This is Brumha s skull. Shivu in a quarrel cut off one of Brumha s 
five heads, and made an alms dish of it. Brumha and other gods, in the 
character of mendicants, are represented with an earthen pot in the* hand 
fybich contains their food. This pot is called a ktimmi-diiloo. 



30 THE HINDOO MYTHOLOGY. 

ru, an iisooru. Gunga-dhuru, he who caught the goddess 
Gunga in his hair h . Vrishu-dwiiju, he whose standard is 
a bull . Shdolee, he who wields the trident k . St hanoo, 
the everlasting. Shurvu, he who is every thing. Gireeshu, 
lord of the hills, he who dwells on the hills. 

The following account of the heaven of Shivu is trans 
lated from the work called Krityu-tutwu. This heaven, 
which is situated on mount Koilasii, and called Shivupoom, 
is ornamented with many kinds of gems and precious things, 
as pearls, coral, gold, silver, &c. Here reside gods, danu- 
vus 1 , gundhurvus m , upsurus n , siddhus , charunus?, bruirr- 
hurshees^, devurshees r , and muhurshees s $ also other sages, 
as Sunatunu, Sunutkoomaru, Sunundu, tjgustyii, Cngira, 
Poolustyu, Pooluhu, Chitru, Angirusu, Goutumu, Bhrigoo, 
Purashuru, Bhurudwaju, Mrikundu, Markundeyu, Shoo- 
nush^phu, t T shtavukru, Dhoumy ti, Valmeekee, Vushisht hu, 
Doorvasa, &c. These persons constantly perform the wor 
ship of Shivu and Doorga, and the upsurus are continually 
employed in singing, dancing, and other festivities. The 
flowers of every season are always in bloom here : among 
which are, theyoothee 1 , jatee", mullika x , malutetfy, doru z , 
tuguru a , kuruveSru b 5 kulharu , kurnikaru d , kshuru% 

h 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 Parviitee, puts us hi 
mind of Priapus. The Indian god rode through Kamu-roopu on a bull, 
naked, -with the bride on his knee. 

11 Here Shivu appears with Neptune s sceptre, though I cannot find that 
he resembles the watery god in any thing else. 

1 A particular kind of giants. m The heavenly choiristers. " Dancers 
and courtezans. Gods who act as servants to some of the other gods, 
i Sacred sages. r Divine sages. 5 Great sages. * Jasminum 

auriculutum. u J. grandirlorum. x J. zambae. y Gactnera racemosa, 

* Unknown. TabernaHnontana coronaria. b Ncrium odorum. 

* Nyinphii a cvanea. d Ptero^permum ac^rifolium. e Miniusu 



THE HINDOO MYTHOLOGY. 31 

poonnagu d , drona e , gundhuraju f , she*phalikas, chumpu- 
kii h , bhoomee-chumpuku , nagu-ke*shuru k , mooch tikoondu 1 , 
kanchunu 1 ", pioolee", jhintee , neelu-jhinteeP, ruktu-jhin- 
teei, kudumbu 1 , rujuneegundhu 8 , turku 1 , turooluta u , pari- 
jatli*, &c. &c. Cool, odoriferous, 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^, talu z , tumalu a , hintalii b , kurjooru c , 
amru d , jumveeru 6 , goovaku f , punusus, shreephulu 11 , drak- 
sha , ingoodce k , vutu 1 , ushwut liu" 1 , kupitt hu", &c. A variety 
of birds are constantly singing here, and repeating the names 
of Doorga and Shivu, viz. the kaku. , shookuP, paravtitu^ 
tittiree 1 ", chatuku 8 , chasu 1 , bhasii", kokilu x , sarasu^, daty- 
oohu z , chukruvaku % &<j. &c. The waters of the heavenly 
Ganges (Mundakinee) glide along in purling streams. The 
six seasons are uninterruptedly enjoyed on this mountain, 
viz. vusuntu (spring), greeshmu (summer), vursha (rainy), 
shurut (sultry), shishim (dewy), and sheetu (cold). On a 
golden throne, adorned with jewels, sit Shiva and Doorga, 
engaged in conversation. 



4 Rottlera tinctoria. e Phlomis zeylanica. f Gardenia florida. 
s Nyctantbesarbor tristls. h Michelia champaca. Kempferia 

rotunda. k Mesua ferrea. 1 Pterospermum suberifolia. m Bauhinia 
^several species). " Linum trigynum. Barleria cristata. f Barleria 
cocrulea. * Barleria ciliata. r Nauclea orientalis. * The tuberose. 

* ./Eschynomenesesban. u Ipomea quamoclit. * Phoenix paludosa. 
r Phoenix sylvestris. * Erythrina fulgens. * Shorea robusta. 
b Borassus flabelliformis. c Diospyrus cordifolia. d Mangiferalndica. 
e The citron or lime tree. f Areca catechu. Artocarpus integrifolia. 
fc /Egle marmelos. The grape vine. fc Unknown. l Ficus Indica. 
Ficus religiosa. n Feronia elephantium. The crow. p The parrot. 
< The pigeon. r The partridge. * The sparrow. * Coracias Indica. 

* Unknown. * The Indian cuckow. y The Siberian crane. z The 
galliaule. Anas casarca. 



32 THE HINDOO MYTHOLOGY. 

The Shree-bhaguvuta contains another description of the 
heaven of Shivu: Sixteen 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, gardens, canals, trees laden with all kinds of 
fruit, flowers of every fragrance. The kulpu tree also grows 
here, from which a person may ohtain every kind of food 
and all other things he may desire. In the centre of a 
roodrakshu" forest, under a tree, Shivu frequently sits with 
his w r ife Parvuiee. The fragrance of the parijatu flowers 
extends 200 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 Shivii has fixed 
two gates, one of which is kept by Nundee, the other by 
Muha-kalu. A number of gods and other celestial beings 
constantly reside here, among whom are Kartikeyu and 
Guneshu, the sons of Shivu; also the female servants of 
Dporga, Juya, and Vijuyar, eight nayikas, and sixty-four 
yoginees, with bhootus, pishachus, Shivti s bull, and those 
disciples of Shivu (shaktus) who have obtained beatitude. 
The time is spent here in the festivities and abominations 
of the other heavens. 

1 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 of July 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 gods on an eminence which mortals cannot reach." The 
monks of the convent," who have succeeded them in this great elevation," 
confirmed what has been sometimes disputed, the perpetual permanence 
of ice and snow on the top of the mountain. With the exception of cha 
mois and a few bears, there are hardly any quadrupeds to be seen beyond 
the half of the height of Olympus. Birds also scarcely pass this limit. 

Eleocarpus ganitrus. 



THE HINDOO JNfYTHOLOGY. 33 



SECTION III. Briimha. 

As has been already mentioned, Brumha, Vishnoo, and 
Sliivti derived their existence from the one Brumhu. The 
Hindoo pundits do not admit these to be creatures, but 
contend that they are emanations from, or parts of, the one 
Brumhu. 

Brumha first produced the waters, then the earth ; next, 
from his own mind, he caused a number of sages and four 
females to be born : among the sages was Kushyupu, the 
father of the gods, giants, and men. From Uditee were 
born the gods ; from Ditee the giants ; from Kudroo the 
hydras; and from Vinuta, Gurooru and Croonu. After 
creating these sages, who were of course bramhuns, Brumha 
caused a kshutriyu to spring from his arms, a voishyu from 
his thighs, and a shoodru from his feet. In this order, ac 
cording to the pooranus, the whole creation arose. The 
Hindoo shastrus, 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. 

Brumha is represented as a man with four faces, of a 
gold colour ; dressed in white garments ; riding on a goose. 
In one hand he holds a stick, and in the other a kumun- 
duloo, or alms dish. He is called the grandfather (pita- 
muhu) of gods and mens. He is not much regarded in 
the reigning superstition ; nor does any one adopt him as 
his guardian deity. 

Jupiter was called the father and king of goda and men. 
VOL. I. F 



34 THE HINDOO MYTHOLOGY. 

The bramhuns, in their morning and evening worship, 
repeat an incantation, containing 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 offering clarified butter is 
presented to Brumha. 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 with songs, dances, music, &c. as at all other 
festivals ; but the worship of Brumha is most frequently 
celebrated by a number of young men of the baser sort, 
who defray the expences by a subscription* Bloody sacri 
fices are never offered to Brumha. 

Brumha, notwithstanding the venerable name of grand 
father, seems to be as lewd as any of the gods. At the 
time that intoxicating spirits were first made, all the gods, 
giants, gundhurvus, yukshus,kinnurus,&c.were accustomed 
to drink spirits, and no blame was then attached to drunken 
ness : but one day Brumha, in a state of intoxication, made 
an attempt on the virtue of his own daughter, by which he 
incurred the wrath of the gods. Some time afterwards, 
Brumha boasted in company, that he was as great a god as 
Shivu. Hearing what Brumha had been saying, the latter, 
inflamed with anger, was about to cut off one of Brumha s 
heads, but was prevented by the intercessions of the as 
sembled gods. Brumha complained to Doorga, who ap 
peased him by saying, that Shivu did not attempt to cut 
off his head because he aspired to be greater than he, but 
because he (Brumha) had been guilty of a great crime in 
endeavouring to seduce his daughter. Brumha was sati.s- 
tied with this answer, but pronounced a curse on what- 



THE HINDOO MYTHOLOGY. 35 

ever god, gundhurvii, or upsura should hereafter drink 
spirits. 

The above is the substance of the story as related in the 
Muhabharutu. The Kashee-khundu of the Skunda poo- 
ran u says, that Brumha lost one of his heads in the follow 
ing manner : this god was one day asked by certain sages, 
in the presence of Krutoo, a form of Vishnoo, who was 
greatest, Brumha, Vishnoo, or Shivu ? Brumha affirmed 
that he was entitled to this distinction. Krutoo, as a form 
of Vishnoo, insisted that the superiority belonged to him 
self. An appeal was made to the vdus ; but those books 
declared in favour of Shivu. On hearing this verdict, 
Brumha was filled with rage, and made many insulting 
remarks upon Shivu ; who, assuming the terrific form of 
Kalu-Bhoiruvu, appeared before Brumha and Krutoo, and, 
receiving farther insults from Brumha, with his nails tore 
off one of Brumha s five heads. Brumha was now thoroughly 
humbled, and with joined hands acknowledged that he was 
inferior to Shivu. Thus this quarrel betwixt the three gods 
was adjusted; and Shivu, the naked mendicant, was ac 
knowledged as Muha-devu, the great god. 

Brumha is also charged with stealing several calves from 
the herd which Krishnu was feeding. 

This god, assuming the appearance of a religious mendi 
cant, is said to have appeared many times on earth for 
different purposes. Stones to this effect are to be found 
in several of the pooranus. 

The Mtihabharutu contains the following description of 
the heaven of Brumha : this heaven is 800 miles long, 400 
broad, and -10 high. Narudti, when attempting to describe 

F 2 



3(5 THE HINDOO MYTHOLOGY. 

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 
anima], was to be found here. 



A scene in the heaven of Brumha: Vrihusputee, the 
spiritual guide of the gods, on a particular occasion went to 
the palace of his elder brother Ootut hyu, and became en 
amoured of his pregnant wife. The child in the womb 
reproved him. Vrihusputee cursed the child; on which 
account it was born blind, and called Deerghu-tuma c . 
When grown up, Deerghu-tuma followed the steps of his 
uncle, and from his criminal amours Goutumu and other 
Hindoo saints were born. Deerghu-tuma was delivered 
from the curse of Vrihusputee by Yoodhist hiru. 

This god has many names, among which are the following : 
Brumha, or, he who multiplies [mankind]. Atmubhoo, the 
self-existent., Purume st hee, the chief sacrificed. Pita- 
mtihu, the grandfather. Hirtmyu-gurbhu, he who is preg 
nant with gold. Loke shu, the god of mankind, the cre 
ator. Chutoor-antinu, the four-faced. Dhata, the creator. 
Ubju-yonee, he who is born from the water-lily. Droohinu, 
he who subdues the giants. Prujaputee, the lord of all 
creatures. Savitree-putee, the husband of Savitree. 

* From deerghii, long ; tiima, darkness. 

* That is, as the first bramhun he performed all the great sacrifices of 
the Hindoo law. To every sacrifice a branihiin is necessary. 



THE HINDOO MYTHOLOGY. 37 



SECTION IV. Indru. 

Iiidru 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 6 one hundred times raises a person to the rank 
of Indru. 

The Shree-bhagtivutu gives the following list of the per 
sons who have been or will be raised to the rank of king 
of the gods during the present kulpu : Huree, Rochunu, 
Sutyii-jit,Trishikhu, Vibhoo, Mttntru-droomu, and Poortm- 
duru, the present Indru. To him will succeed Bulee, 
Shrootu, Shumbhoo, Voidhritu, Gundhu-dhama, Divus- 
putee, and Shoochce. 

Indru is represented as a white man, sitting on an 
elephant called Oiravutu, with a thunderbolt in his right 
hand, and a bow in his left. He has 1000 eyas. 

The worship of Indru is celebrated annually, in tlo day 
time, on the 14th of the lunar month Bhadru. The usual 
ceremonies of worship are accompanied with singing, music, 
dancing, &c. In Bengal the greater number of those who 
keep this festival are women; in whose names the cere 
monies are performed by officiating bramhuns. It lasts 
one day, after which the image is thrown into the river. 
This festival, which is accompanied by the greatest festivi 
ties, is celebrated all over Bengal ; each one repeating it 



c The horse, on account of his usefulness in war, was sacrificed to 
Mars. 



38 THE HINDOO MYTHOLOGY. 

annually during fourteen years. On the day of worship, 
a few hlades of doorva grass are tied round the right arm 
of a mail; and the left of a woman. Some persons wear 
this 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 a residence after death in Irwlru s 
}ieaven 

Indru is supposed to preside over the elements, so that in 
times of drought prayers are addressed to him as the giver 
of rain. 

f 

He is also one of tlie 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 worship 
of these deities be previously performed, viz. of Indru, 
Ugnee, Yumu, Noiritu, Vuroonu, Ptivunu, Eeshu, ftnuntu, 
Kooveru, and Brumha ; also that of f the five deities, viz. 
Sooryu, Guneshu, Shivu, Doorga, and Vishnoo ; and of the 
nine planets, viz. Riivee, Somu, Mungulu, Boodhu, Vrihu- 
sputee, Shookru, Shunee, Ralioo, and Ketoo. In conse 
quence of this rule, a few ceremonies of worship are per 
formed to Indru at the commencement of every festival. 

The pooranus 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 per 
formance of sacred austerities, outdo him in religious merit, 
and^thus obtain his kingdom. To prevent these devotees 
from succeeding in their object, he generally sends a capti 
vating female from his own residence to draw away their 
minds, and thus throw them down from the ladder of relir 



THE HINDOO MYTHOLOGY. 39 

gious merit, and send them back again to a life of gratifica 
tion among the delusive forms of earth. But that which en 
tails the greatest infamy on the character of this god is, 
his seducing the wife of his spiritual guide Goutumu. This 
story is related in the Ramayunu as follows : After receiv 
ing the highest honours from Prumutee, the two descendants 
of Rtighoo, having passed the night there, went towards 
Mit hila. When the sages beheld at a distance the beauti 
ful city of Junuku, they joyfully exclaimed, c Excellent! 
excellent ! Raghuva, seeing a hermitage in a grove ofMit - 
liila, asked the chief of sages, What solitary wilderness is 
this, O divine one ? I desire to hear whose hermitage this 
is, beautiful, of impenetrable shade, and inhabited by sages. 
Vishwamitru, hearing these words, in pleasing accents thus 
answered the lotus-eyed Ram LI : e 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 Rughoo, did the sage remain here with Chulya, perform 
ing sacred austerities. One day, O Ramu, the sage being 
gone far distant, the king of heaven, acquainted with the 
opportunity, and sick with impure desire, assuming the 
habit of a sage f , thus addressed Uhulya, The menstrual 
season deserves regards, O thou 



f That is, the habit of Goutumu. This resembles Jupiter s seducing 
Alcmena, the wife of Amphytrion, in her husband s absence, in the like 
ness of Amphytrion.. 

g According to the shastrus, sixteen days from the appearance of the 
menses is reckoned the menstrual season. All connubial intercourse is 
forbidden during the first three of these days. The guilt incurred by a 
violation of this rule, on the first day is equal to that of a criminal connec 
tion with a female ckundalu, on the second day equal to the same act with 
a washer woman, and on the third to the same act with a female shoodru. 



40 THE HINDOO MYTHOLOGY. 

This depraved woman, O afflicter of enemies, knowing 
Shukru d in the disguise of a sage, through wantonness 
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, speedi 
ly depart unobserved. O sovereign of the gods, effectually 
preserve thyself and me from Goutumu. Indrti smiling 
replied to Uhulya, c O beautiful one, 1 am fully pleased ; I 
will depart; forgive my transgression. After this, he, O 
Ramu, with much caution left the hermitage, dreading the 
wrath of Goutumu. At that instant he saw Goutumu enter, 
resplendent with energy, and, through the power of sacred 
austerities, invincible even to the gods e ; wet with the waters 
of the sacred teer thu f , as the fire moistened with clarified 
butter^, he saw him coming to the hermitage, laden with 
sacrificial wood, and the sacred kooshu. Perceiving him, 
Shukru was overwhelmed with sadness. The sage clothed 
in virtue, beholding the profligate lord of the gods in the 
disguise of a sage, in dreadful anger thus addressed him : ( O 
profligate wretch, assuming my form thou hast perpetrated 
this crime: therefore become an eunuch. At the word of 
the magnanimous and angry Goutumu, 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 h . 

u A name of Indrti, signifying strength. 

c The Hindoos believe that the merit of works is such as to be sufficient 
t<> raise a person higher than the gods themselves. 

f Teert hfls are certain places esteemed peculiarly sacred by the Hin 
doos. Bathing in these places is reckoned highly meritorious. 

e That is, the fire of the burnt offering. 

h Other accounts say, that Goutumu imprinted a thousand female mark* 
upon him as proofs of his crime, and that Indrti was so ashamed, that he 
petitioned Gontumti to deliver him from his disgrace. The sage, therefore. 



THE HINDOO MYTHOLOGY. 4i 

The great sage, having cursed him, pronounced a curse upon 
his own wife : Innumerable series of year, 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 Ramu, the son of Dushurut hu, 
shall enter this dreadful forest, thou, beholding him, shalt 
be cleansed from thy sin. Having, O stupid wretch, enter 
tained him without selfish views, thou, filled with joy, shalt 
again approach me without fear. Having thus addressed 
this wicked woman, the illustrious Goutumu, the great 
ascetic, abandoned this hermitage, and performed austerities 
on the pleasant top of Himuvut, frequented by the siddhus 
and charunus c . 

Indru was also guilty of stealing a horse consecrated by 
king Suguru, who was about to perform, for the hundredth 
time, the sacrifice of this animal. 

Indru, though king of the gods, has been frequently over 
come in war: Meghu-nadu d , the son of Ravtiilu, the giant, 
once overcame him, and tied him to the feet of his horse. 
On condition of releasing the king of the gods, Brumha 
conferred on Me ghii-nadu the name Indru-jit, that is, the 
conqueror of Indru. He was called Meghu-nadu because 
he fought behind a cloud, (meghu;) and this enabled him to 
overcome Indru, who, in the engagement, was unable to 
sec him, though he had a thousand eyes. 

Kushyupu, the sage, once performed a great sacrifice, to 

changed these marks iqto eyes, arid hence Indrti became the thousand- 
eyed god. 

c Carey and Marshman s Translation of the Ramaytinii, vol. i. page 433. 
d This word signifies thunder. 
VOL. I. 



42 THE HINDOO MYTHOLOGY. 

which all the gods were invited. Indru, on his way to the 
feast, saw 60,000 dwarf bramhuns trying in vain 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. In 
dru was so frightened at these 60,000 pigmy bramhuns, 
who could not get over a cow s footstep, that he entreated 
Brumha to interfere ; who saved him from their wrath, and 
continued him on his throne. 

Description of Umnfavutee, tlie residence of Indru, from f/" 7 
Muhabharutu : This heaven was made by Vishwu-kurma, 
the architect of the gods. It is 800 miles in circumference, 
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 splendour the brightness of twelve suns united. 
It is surrounded with gardens and forests, containing among 
other trees the parijatu, the fragrance of the flowers of 
which extends 800 miles, that is, fills the whole heaven e . 
In the pleasure grounds are pools of water, warm in whiter 
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, siddhus, saddhyus, de>urshees, brumlmrshees, 
rajurshees, Vrihusputee, Shookru, Shunee, Boodhu, the 
winds, clouds, Oiravtitu, (Indru s elephant,) and other celes 
tial beings, dwell in this heaven. The inhabitants are con- 

" It is a envious fact, that though this flower is so celebrated in the 
poorarms for its fragrance, it has no scent at all. 



THE HINDOO MYTHOLOGY, 43 

tmually entertained with songs, dances, music, and every 
species of mirth. Neither sickness, sorrow, nor sudden 
death, are found in these regions, nor are its inhabitants 
affected with hunger or thirst. When the god Narudu. was 
sitting in an assembly of princes at king Yoodhist hirii s, 
the latter asked him whether he had ever seen so grand a 
scene before. Narudu, after some hesitation, declared he 
had beheld a scene far more splendid in Indru s heaven, of 
which he then gave the above account ; but confessed that 
the place exceeded all his powers of description. 

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, Narudu and the rishees, the gunus, dukshus, 
gundhurvus, &c. were present. While the courtezans were 
dancing, and the kinnurus singing, the whole assembly was 
filled with the highest pleasure. To crown their joys, the 
gods caused a shower of flowers to fall on the assembly. 
The king of the gods, being the most distinguished person 
age present, first took up a flower, and, after holding it to 
his nose, gave it to a bramhtin. The assembled gods laugh 
ing at the brumhun for receiving what Indru had used, he 
went home in disgrace ; but cursed Indru, and doomed him 
to become a cat in the house of a person of the lowest cast. 
Suddenly, and unknown to 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 to enquire for her 
husband. The gods also said among themselves, What is 
become of Indru? -A total silence reigns in his palace, nor 
are we invited to. the dance and the usual festivities ! What 
can be the meaning of this ? All search was in vain ; and 
the gods assembled to enquire where he was. They iound 
ShucheS in a state of distraction, of whom Brumha enquired 

G 2 



44 THE HINDOO MYTHOLOGY. 

respecting the lost god. At length Brtimha closed his eyes> 
and by the power of meditation discovered that Indru, having 
offended a bramhun, had become a cat. Shuchee, full of 
alarm, asked Brumha what she was to do. He told her to 
go to the house of the bramhun, and obtain his favour; 
upon which her husband would be restored to her. Shu- 
che"e obeyed the directions of Brumha, and went to the house 
of the bramhun; who was at length pleased with her atten 
tions, 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 restored to his throne in heaven. 
Assuming a human form, she went to the house of the hun 
ter, and, looking at the cat, sat weeping. The wife of the 
hunter, struck with the divine form of Shuchee, enquired 
with surprise who she was. Shuchee hesitated, and ex 
pressed her doubts whether the hunter s wife would believe 
her if she declared her real name. At length she confessed 
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. Shuchee, 
sifter some farther discourse, said, she had been informed 
that she (the hunter s wife) alone could assist her in obtain 
ing the deliverance of her husband. After some moments 
of reflection, this woman directed Shuchee to perform the 
Kalika-vrutu. She obeyed ; and poor Indru, quitting the 
form of the cat, ascended to heaven, and resumed his place 
among the gods. No doubt he took care in future not to 
offend a bramhun. 

Another scene in the heaven of Indru, from the Shrce-bhu- 
guviitu. On a certain occasion, the heavenly courtezans 
and others were dancing before the gods, when Indru was 
so charmed with the dancing and the person of Oorvusheo, 
one of the courtezans, that he did not perceive when his 



THE HINDOO MYTHOLOGY. 4 X 5 

spiritual guide Vrihusputee entered the assembly, and 
neglected to pay him the usual honours. Vrihusputee 
was so incensed at this, that he arose and left the assembly. 
The gods, perceiving the cause, in the utmost consterna 
tion^ went to Indru, and made him acquainted with what 
had passed. The latter intreated the gods to join him in 
seeking for the enraged Vrihusputee; 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 Indru, entreated that 
the offence might be forgiven. Vrihusputee declared that 
he had for ever rejected Indru, and that his resolution would 
not be changed. Indru, offended that for so small an offence 
he should be so harshly treated, declared that he would 
make no farther concessions, but seek another religious 
guide. The gods approved of his resolution, and advised 
him to choose Vishwti-roopu, a giant with three heads. 
In process of time, at the suggestion of his mother, Vishwu- 
roopu 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 Vishwu- 
roopu heard of his son s death, and, by the merit of a sacri 
fice, gave birth to a giant, at the sight of whom Indrii fled 
to Brumha; who informed the king of the gods that this 
giant could not be destroyed by all his thunders, unless he 
could persuade Dudheeehee, a sage, to renounce life, and 
give him one of his bones. The sage consented, and by 
the power of yogu renounced life; when Vishwu-kurma 
made this bone into a thunder-bolt, and the giant was 
destroyed. But immediately on his death; a terrific mon- 



* A Hindoo considers the anger of his spiritual guide as the greatest 
possible misfortune. 



46 THE HINDOO MYTHOLOGY, 

ster arose from the body, to punish Indru for his brani- 
hunicide. Wherever 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 approach him ; however he sat down, and watched 
the trembling culprit. After some time the gods began to 
be alarmed : there was no king in heaven, and every thing 
was falling into complete disorder. After consultation, 
they raised to the throne of heaven, in his bodily state, 
Nuhooshu, who had performed the sacrifice of a horse 
one hundred times. When Nuhooshu enquired for Shu- 
chee, the queen of heaven, he found she was in the 
parijatu 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 
fled to Brumha; who advised her to send word to the new 
Indru, that she w r ould live with him, if he w r ould come 
and fetch her with an equipage superior to whatever 
had been seen before in heaven. This message was con 
veyed to the new Indru; who received it w r ith much joy, 
but took several days to consider in what way he should go 
to fetch home the queen. At last, he resolved to be car 
ried to her in the arms of some of the principal sages. As 
the procession was moving along, the king, in his excessive 
anxiety to arrive at the parijatu forest, kicked the sacred 
lock of hair on the head of Cgustyu; who became filled 
with rage, and, pronouncing a dreadful curse on the new 
Indru, threw him down, and he fell, in the form of a snake, 
upon a mountain on the earth. Vishnoo, perceiving that 
one Indru was kept a prisoner, and that another had been 
cursed and sent down to the earth, resolved to find a re 
medy for this evil, and, cursing the monster who had im 
prisoned the former king of the gods> restored him to his 
throne and kingdom. 



THE HINDOO MYTHOLOGY. 47 

Another scene in Indru s heaven, from the Miihabharutu. 
Narudu one day called at Krishna s, having with him a 
parijatu flower from the heaven of Indru. The fragrance 
of this flower filled the whole place with its odours. Na 
rudu first called on Rookminee, one of Krishna s wives, 
and offered the flower to her. She recommended him to 
give it to Krishnu, that he might dispose of it as he chose. 
He next went to Krishnu, who received him with great 
respect : ( Well, Narudu, you are come after a long ab 
sence : what flower is that? Can t you tell by its fra 
grance? said Narudu, f it is the parijatu: I brought it 
from Indru s garden, and I now present it to you/ 
Krishnu received it with pleasure, and, after some further 
conversation, Narudu retired into another part of the house 
and watched Krishnu, to see to which of his wives he would 
give this flower; that he might excite a quarrel in Krishna s 
family, and ultimately a war betwixt Krishnu and Indru. 
Krishnu, after Narudu had retired, went to Rookminee, 
and gave the flower to her, warning her to keep it secret, 
lest Sutyu-bhama (another of Krishna s wives) should hear 
of it. As soon as Narudu saw to whom Krishnu had given 
the flower, he paid a visit to Sutyu-bhama, who received 
him with great attention. After the first compliments 
were over, Narudu fetched a deep sigh, which Sutyu- 
bhama noticing, enquired the cause. He seemed to answer 
with reluctance, which made Sutyu-bhama still more inqui 
sitive. 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. * I have always considered you, says Narudu, 
as the most beloved wife of Krishnu; the fame of your 
happiness has reached heaven itself: but from what I have 
seen to-day, 1 suspect that this is all mistake. Why ? 
Why? asked Sutyu-bhama most anxiously. Narudu tlipn 



48 THE HINDOO MYTHOLOGY. 

unfolded to her, in the most cautious manner, the story of 
the flower : I brought from heaven, says he, ( a parijatu 
flower, (a flower which is not to be obtained on earth.) and 
gave it to Krishnu. I made no doubt but he would pre 
sent it to you to whom else should he present it ? But 
instead of that he went secretly to the apartments of Rook- 
minee, and gave the flower to her. Where then is his love 
to you ? Sutyu-bhama asked what kind of flower this 
was. Narudu declared that it was not in his power to de 
scribe it. Do you not perceive, said he, 6 its odours? 
c 1 perceived, said Sutyu-bhama, ( the most delightful fra 
grance, but I thought it was from your body. Narudu 
declared that his body w T as offensive, and that it was the 
parijatu that diffused its odours all around. But, says 
he, when you see Krishnu, ask him to let you look at it.* 
f And do you think then, said Sutyu-bhama, ( that I shall 
speak to Krishnu, or see his face any more !* ( You are 
right/ said Narudu : ( he did not even let you see so pre 
cious a jewel ; but secretly gave it to another. The 
enraged Sutyu-bhama made the most solemn protestations 
that she had done with Krishnu for ever. Narudu praised 
her for her resolution, but hinted, that if she ever did make 
up the matter with Krishnu, she should insist upon his 
fetching one of the trees from heaven, and giving it to her. 
Narudu, having thus laid the foundation of a dreadful 
quarrel betwixt Krishnu and his wife, and of a war with 
Indru, withdrew, and Sutyu-bhama retired to the house of 

angers. Some days after this, Krishnu went to see 

Sutyu-bhama, 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 soothing 

* A house set apart for an angry wife, where she retires till her husband 
reconciles himself to her. 



THE HINDOO MYTHOLOGY. 49 

expression; but in vain. At last he threw himself at her 
feet, when, after many entreaties, 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 Gurooru 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 Krishnu 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 Krishnu- moved 
Indru; who, on the contrary, sent him a defiance. Krish 
nu, on the return of Gurooru, collected his forces, and in 
vaded heaven. Dreadful liavock was made on both sides. 
All the heavens were in a state of frightful uproar; and 
the gods, full of alarm, advised Inclru to submit, as lie 
would certainly be overcome. At length Krishnu let fly 
a weapon called Soodurshunu, which pursued the foe 
wherever he- went. The gods again exhorted Indira to sue 
for peace, to prevent his immediate destruction : he at 
length took this advice, and submitted to the enraged 
Krishnu, who carried off the tree in triumph, and appeased 
his jealous wife Sutyu-bhama. 

r< The following are some of the names of this god : Indru, 
or, the glorious. Murootwan, he who is surrounded by the 
winds. Pakushasunu,he who governs the gods with justice. 
Pooroohootu, he who is invited to a sacrifice performed by 
king Pooroo. Poorunduru, he who destroys the dwellings 
of his enemies. Jishnoo, the conqueror. Shukrti, he who 
is equal to every thing. Shutumunyoo, he who performed 
a hundred sacrifices. Divusputee, the god of the heavens. 
Gotrubhid, he who clipt the wings of the mountains 1 . 

i It is said, that formerly the mountains had wings, and that they flew 
into all parts of the earth, and crushed to atoms towns, cities, &c. 
VOL. I. H 



50 THE HINDOO MYTHOLOGY. 

Bujree, he who wields the thunder-bolt k . Vritruha, he 
who destroyed the giant Vritru. Vrisha, the holy. 
Sooru-putee, the king of the gods. Bularatee, the de 
stroyer of Bulu, a giant. Hurihuyu, he who is drawn by 
yellow horses. Numoochisoodunu, the destroyer of Nii- 
mooehee, a giant. Sunkrundunu, he who causes the wives 
of his enemies to weep. Toorashat, he who is able to bear 
all things. Me ghu-vahunu, he who rides on the clouds. 
Suhusraksliu, he who has a thousand eyes 1 . 



SECT. V.Sooryu m . 

THIS god is said to be the son of Kushyupu, the proge 
nitor of gods and men. He is represented as a dark-red 
man, with three eyes, and four arms ; in two hands he 
holds the water-lily; with another he is bestowing a bles 
sing, and with the other forbidding fear. He sits on a red 
water-lily, and rays of glory issue from his body. 

The bramhuns consider Sooryu as one of the greatest of 
the gods, because in glory he resembles the one Brumhu, 
who is called tejomuyu, or the glorious. In the vedus also 
this god is much noticed : the celebrated incantation called 
the gayutree, and many 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 offered, 
accompanied with incantations. 

k In this Indrtt resembles Jupiter Fulminator. 

1 Mr. Wilkins considers Indrii, \rith his thousand eyes, as a deification 
of the heavens. 
* The Sun. 



THE HINDOO MYTHOLOGY. $1 

On a Sunday, at the rising of the sun, in any month, but 
especially in the month Maghti, a number of persons, 
Chiefly women, perform the worship of Sooryu: I shall 
give an account of this worship in the words of a respected 
friend. The sun is annually worshipped on the first Sun 
day in the month Maghti. The name of this worship is 
called Dhurmu-bhaoo, or Sooryu-bhaoo. The ceremonies 
vary in different places, but in this district the women ap 
pear to be the principal actors ; though none are excluded, 
and even Musulmans 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 con 
sisted of fruits, sweetmeats, pigeons, and kids. A small pot 
was placed by each person s offering, containing about a 
pint and a half of water. A device made of a water-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 
rach offering also was placed (what shall I call it?) an in 
cense-altar, or censer called dhoonachce. It resembled a 
Chafing-dish, made of copper, and stood upon a pedestal 
about a foot long. It contained coals of fire, and a kind of 
Incense from time to time was thrown into it, 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 
snn-rise they walked four times round the whole row of 
offerings, with the right hand towards them, and the smok 
ing dhoonachccs placed on their heads; after which they re 
sumed their stations again, where they continued in an erect 
posture, fasting the whole day, occasionally throwing a 

H 2 



52 THE HINDOO MYTHOLOGY. 

little incense into the dhoonachee. Towards evening the 
bramhun who attended 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 took up 
the smoking dhoonachees, and made three circuits round 
the rows of offerings. After this the offerings and lighted 
lamps were taken away by their respective owners, who 
threw the lamps into a pool of water, 

Women frequently make a vow to Sooryu to worship him, 
on condition t*hat he give to one, a son ; to another, riches ; 
to another, health, &c. Some perform these ceremonies 
after bearing a son. This worship is sometimes attended 
to by one woman alone; at other times by five, six, or 
more in company. 

Sooryu and the other planets are frequently worshipped 
in order to procure health. This the Hindoos call a sacri 
fice to the nine planets, when flowers, rice, water, a burnt - 
sacrifice, &c. are offered to each of these planets separately. 
It is said, that two or three hundred years ago Muyooru- 
bhuttu, a learned Hindoo, in order to obtain a cure for the 
leprosy, began to write a poem of one hundred Sungskritu 
verses in praise of Saoryu; and that by the time lie had 
finished the last verse he was restored to health. These 
verses have been published under the title of Sodryu- 
shutuku, 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 Suoryu, 
ceding at the same time to this god rice, water, and juva 1 

n Hibiscus rosa Sincnsis. 



THE HINDOO MYTHOLOGY. 53 

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 relief from sickness is ascribed to 
Shambu, 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 Sourus: 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 worship of this 
idol ; and on this day some of them fast. 

The Ramayunu contains the following story respecting 
Sooryu, Hunoomanu, &c. In the war betwixt Ramu and 
Ravunu, an arrow discharged by Pu.vu.nu pierced the body 
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, (hut who 
ever was wounded with it in the night should no; recover, 
if a cure were not obtained before day-light. It was night 
when the wound was inflicted, but Hunoomanu engaged 
to bring the leaves before morning. To secure the fulfil 
ment of his promise, hejeaped into the, air, and alighted on 



54 THE HINDOO MYTHOLOGY. 

the mount sin ; 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. Hunoomariu, in a rage, leaped up, and seizing 
Sooryu s chariot wheels, placed the blazing god under his 
arm and the mountain on his head, and carried them to the 
camp of llamu ; where the friends of Lukshmunu searched 
out the plants, applied the leaves, and restored him to 
health : after which Hunoomanu permitted Sooryu to 
depart. 

Sooryu has two wives, Suvurna and Chaya. The former 
is the daughter of Vishwukurma. After their marriage, 
Suvurna, unable to bear the power of his rays, made uu 
image of herself ; and, imparting life to it, called it Chaya % 
and left it with Sooryu. She then returned to her fa 
ther s house ; but Vishwukurma reproved his daughter for 
leaving her husband, and refused her an asylum; but 
promised that if she would return, he would diminish the 
glory of Sooryu s rays. Suvurna resolved not to return, 
and, assuming the form of a mare, fled into the forest of 
Dunduku. Chaya and Yumu, whom Suvurna had left with 
Sooryu, could not agree ; and Yumu one day beating Cha- 
ya, she cursed him, so that he ever since has had a swelled 
leg. Yumu, weeping, went to his father Sooryu, shewed 
him his leg, and related what had happened ; upon which 
Sooryu began to suspect that this woman could not be 
Suvurna, for no mother ever cursed her own son; and if she 
did, the curse could not take effect. He immediately pro 
ceeded to the house of his father-in-law, who received him 
with great respect, but unpcrccived gave him a scat con 
sisting of different sharp weapons, by which he became 

* This word means, a.^h.-dow. 



THE HINDOO MYTHOLOGY. 55 

divided into twelve round parts. Sooryu was enraged, and 
could not be pacified till his father-in-law informed him 
that his daughter, unable to bear the glory of his rays, had 
forsaken him. On enquiring where 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. 
Sooryu, by the power of dhyanu p , perceived that Suvuma 
had become a mare, and was gone into some forest. The 
story here becomes too obscene for insertion. - Sooryu 
and Suvurna, in the forms of a horse and a mare, had two 
children, to whom they gave the names of tfshwinee 
and Koomaru <*. When Sooryu returned to his palace, he 
asked his wife who this woman (Chaya) was. She gave 
him her history, and presented her to him as a wife ; and 
from that time Chaya was acknowledged as Sooryu s second 
wife. 

There are no temples dedicated to So5ryu in Bengal. 
The heaven of this god is called Sooryti-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 Rain a the sixty-sixth. 



The following are the principal names of Sooryu : 
or, he who dries up the earth. Sooryu, he who travels, he 
who sends men to their work. Dwadushatma, he who 
assumes twelve forms r . Divakuru, the maker of the day. 
Bhaskuru, the creator of the light. Vivuswut, the 

p When the old Hindoo ascetics wished to ascertain a fact, they pej - 
formed what is called dhyanii, viz. they shut their eyes, and began to 
meditate, when, it is said, the information they sought was revealed to 
them. 

q That is, the sons of a mare : these are now physicians to the gods. 
1 Alluding to hi* progress through the twelve signs. 



56 THE HINDOO MYTHOLOGY. 

radiant. Suptashwu, he who has seven horses in his cha 
riot. Vikurtttmu, he who was made round by Vishwukurma 
in his lathe. Urku, the maker of heat. Mihiru, he who 
wets the earth 8 . Pooshunu, he who cherishes all. Dyoo- 
munee, he who sparkles in the sky. Turunee, the saviour. 
Mitrti, the friend of the water-lily 1 . Griihupiitee, the 
lord of the stars. Siihusrangshoo, the thousand-rayed. 
j he who is to be praised. 



SECT. VLGun&hu. 

THIS gdd is represented in the form of a fat short man, 
with a long belly, and an elephant s head 11 . He has four 
hands; holding in one a shell, in another a chukru, in an 
other a club, and in the fourth a water-lily. He sits upon a 
rat. In an elephant s head are two projecting teeth, but in 
Gune shu s only one, the other having been torn out by 
Vishnoo, when in the form of Purtisoo-ramu he wished to 
have an interview with Shivu. Guneshu, who stood as 
door-keeper, denied him entrance, upon which a battle en 
sued, and Pumsoo-ramu, beating him, tore out one of his 
teeth. 

s The Sooryu-shutiiku says, the sun draws up the waters from the earth, 
and then lets them fall in showers again. 

1 At the rising of the sun this flower expands itself, and when the sun 
retires shuts up its leaves again. 

u Sir W. Jones calls Guneshu the god of wisdom, and refers, as a proof 
of it, to his having an elephant s head. I cannot rind, how r ever, that this 
god is considered by any of the Hindoos as properly the god of wisdom ; 
for though lie is said to give knowledge to those who worship him to 
obtain it, that i- what is ascribed also to other gods. The Hindoos in 
general, I believe, consider the elephant as a stupid animal, and it is a 
biting reproof to be called as stupid as an elephant. 



THE HINDOO MYTHOLOGY. 57 

The work called Gune shu-khundu contains a most inde 
cent 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. 
Shunee knew that if he looked upon the child it would 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 regard her reproofs ; but at last, 
irritated, he looked upon Guneshu, and its head was in 
stantly consumed x . The goddess, seeing her child headless y, 
was overwhelmed with grief, and would have destroyed 
Shunee; but Brumha prevented her, telling Shunee to bring 
the head of the first animal he should find lying with its 
head towards the north. He found an elephant in this situ 
ation, cut off its head, and fixed it upon Gune shu, who then 
assumed the shape he at present wears. Doorga was but 

x This property is ascribed to Shunee, (Saturn,) to point out, no doubt, 
the supposed baneful influence of this planet. This resembles the fable 
of Saturn s devouring all his male children. The Ramayunii contains a 
story respecting Dushurut hu and Shunee, in which it is said, that Dushti- 
rut hii was once angry with this god for preventing the fall of rain in his 
kingdom : he ascended his chariot to make war with him, when Shunce, 
by a single glance of his eyes, set the king s chariot on fire, and Dushu 
rut hu, in the most dreadful state of alarm, fell from the skies. 

y 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 shastru. 
The Anhiku-tutwti declares, that if a person sleep with his head to the 
east, lie will be rich; if to the south, he will have long life; if to the 
north, he will die ; and if to the west, (except when on: a journey,) he will 
have misfortunes. 

VOL. I. I 



58 THE HINDOO MYTHOLOGY. 

little soothed when she saw her son with an elephants 
head : to pacify her, Brumha said, that amongst the wor 
ship of all the gods that of Gun^shu should for ever bear 
the preference. In the beginning of every act of public 
worship therefore, certain ceremonies are constantly per 
formed in honour of Gune shu 2 . 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, <Oh 1 thou work- 
perfecting Guneshu, grant me success in my journey ! Gu 
ne shu! Guneshu! Gune shu ! At the head of every letter, 
a salutation is made to Guneshu a . When a person begins 
to read a book he salutes Gune shu; 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 protec 
tion and success. 

No public festivals in honour of Guneshu are held in 
Bengal. Many persons however choose him as their guar 
dian 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 Gu 
ne shu; when the officiating bramhun performs the ceremo 
nies common in the Hindoo worship, presenting offerings 
to the idol. This god is also worshipped at considerable 
length at the commencement of a wedding, as well as when 
the bride is presented to the bridegroom. Great numbers, 
especially from the western and southern provinces, ce- 

* It will occur to the reader, that in all sacrifices among the Romans 
prayers were first offered to Janus. 

* Gtmeshft is famed as writing in a beautiful manner: so that when a 
person writes a fine hand, people say, Ah I he writes like GuneshiV This 
god is said to have first written the Miiliabhartitu from the mouth of Vy- 
asudevu, 



THE HINDOO MYTHOLOGY. 59 

lebrate the worship of Gune shu on the 4th of the new moon 
in Bhadrti, when several individuals in each place subscribe 
and defray the expence. Many persons keep in their houses 
a small metal image of Guneshu, 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 Stone 
images of Guneshu are worshipped daily in the temples by 
the sides of the Ganges at Benares ; but I cannot find that 
there are any temples dedicated to him in Bengal. 

Gune shu is also called Huridra-Guneshu. This name 
seems to have arisen out of the following story : When 
Doorga was once preparing herself for bathing, she wiped 
off the turmerick, &c. with oil, and formed a kind of cake 
in her fingers b . This she rolled together, and made into the 
image of a child ; with which she was so much pleased, that 
she infused life into it, and called it Huridra-Guneshu c , 
The image of this god is yellow, having the face of an 
elephant. He 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 Gune shu are : Guneshu, or, the 
lord of the gunnii de*vtas d . Dwoimatooru, the two-mother 
ed 6 . Eku-duntu, the one-toothed. Herumbu, he who 
resides near to Shivu. Lumboduru, the long-bellied. 
Gujanunu, the elephant-faced. 

b The Hindoos have a custom of cleaning their bodies by rubbing them 
r all over with turineiick ; and then, taking oil in their hands, wiping it off 
again, when it falls as a paste all round them. 

c Htiridra is the name for turmerick. 
d These are the companions of Shivu. 

One of Gtineshti s mothers was Doorga, and the other the female ele 
phant whose head he wears. 

I 2 



60 THE HINDOO MYTHOLOGY. 



SECTION VU.Kartiteyu. 

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 1 ; 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-sumbhuvu, one of the kavy us : Taruku, a giant, 
performed religious austerities till he obtained the blessing 
of Brumha, after which he oppressed both bramhuns and 
gods. He commanded that the sun should shine only so 
far as was necessary to cause the water-lily to blossom; 
that the moon should shine in the day as well as in the night. 
He sent the god Yumu to cut grass for his horses ; com 
manded Puvunu to prevent the wind from blowing any 
stronger than the puff of a fan; and in a similar manner 
tyrannized over all the gods. At length Indru called a coun 
cil in heaven, when the gods applied to Brumha : but the 
latter declared he was unable to reverse the blessing he had 
bestowed on Taruku ; 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 respect 
ing the marriage of Shivu, whose mind was entirely absorbed 
in religious austerities. After long consultations, Kun- 
durpu 8 was called, and all the gods began to natter 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. Th ,t, says Indru, is the very 
tiling we want you to do. At this he appeared discouraged, 

f June s chariot was said to be drawn by peacocks. 
s The god of love. 



THE HINDOO MYTHOLOGY. 61 

but at length declared, that he would endeavour to fulfil his 
promise. He consulted his wife Rutee ; who reproved him 
for his temerity, but consented to accompany her husband. 
They set off, with Vusuntu h , to mount Himalaya, where 
they found Shivu sitting under a roodrakshu 1 tree, per 
forming his devotions. 

Previously to this, Himalaya k had been to Shiva, and 
proposed that Doorga, his daughter, should wait upon him, 
that he might uninterruptedly go on with his religious aus 
terities; which offer Shiva accepted. One day, after the 
arrival of Kundurpa and his party, Doorga, with her two 
companions Java arid Vijuya, carried some flowers and a 
necklace to Shivu. In the moment of opening his eyes from 
his meditation, to receive the offering, Kundarpu let fly his 
arrow ; and Shivu, smitten with love, awoke as from a 
dream, and asked who had dared to interrupt his devo 
tions. Looking towards the south he saw Kundurpa, when 
fire proceeded from the third eye in the centre of his fore 
head, and burnt Kandurpu to ashes 1 . The enraged god 
left this p ace for another forest, and Doorga, seeing no 
prospect of being married to Shiva, returned home full 
of sorrow. She sought at last to obtain her object by the 
power of religious austerities 111 , in which she persevered till 
Shivu was drawn from his devotions, when the marriage 
was consummated. 

h The spring. The Hindoo poets always unite love and spring together. 

i From the fruit of this tree necklaces are made, the weaving of which 
is a great act of merit among the Hindoos. 

* The mountain of this name personified. 

1 Through the blessing of Shivu to Rutee, Kundftrpti was afterwards 
born in the family of Krishuu, and took the name of Kamu-devu ; after 
which Rutee (then called Mayavutee) was again married to him. 

w When this goddess, says a kavyu bhastru, told her mother that she 



6* THE HINDOO MYTHOLOGY. 

The Muhabharutu and Ramayunu contain accounts of the 
birth of Kartike*yu, the fruit of this marriage; but they are 
so indelicate that the reader, 1 doubt not, will excuse their 
omission. 

On the last evening in the month Kartiku, a clay image 
of this god is worshipped", 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 festival is distinguished by 
much singing, music, dancing, and other accompaniments 
of Hindoo worship. 

The image of Kartikeyu is also made and set up by the 
side of his mother Doorga, at the great festival of this god 
dess in the month Ashwmu ; and each day, at the close of 
the worship of Doorga, that of her son is performed at con 
siderable length. In the month Choitrti also the worship 
of Kartikeyu accompanies that of his mother. No bloody 
sacrifices are offered to this idol. 

At the time when the above festival is held, some persons 

wonld perform austerities to obtain Shivu, her mother, alarmed, exclaim 
ed "Ooma! (Oh! mother!) how can you think of going into the forest 
to perform religions austerities? Stay and perform religious services at 
home, and you will obtain the god you desire. How can your tender 
form ber these severities? The flower bears the weight of the bee, but 
if a bird pitch upon it, it breaks directly." 

n Vast numbers of these images are made ; in some towns as many as 
five hundred. It is supposed that in Calcutta more than five JionsamJ 
are made and worshipped. 



THE HINDOO MYTHOLOGY. 63 

make or purchase clay images, which they place in their 
houses, and before which the officiating bramhun performs 
the appointed ceremonies; preceding which a prayer is made 
for offspring. This is repeated sometimes on the anniver 
sary of this day, for four years together. If the person, long 
disappointed, should, in these years, or soon after, hap 
pen to have a child, particularly a son, the whole is ascribed 
to Kartikeyu 1 . When persons have made a vow to Karti- 
ke"yti, they present offerings to this idol at the completion 
of the vow. These vows are sometimes made to obtain the 
health of a child, or a son ; a woman, when she makes this 
vow, thus addresses the god : c Oh ! Kartike yu t hakooru^, 
give me a son, and I will present to thee piere 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 the conversation, asks 
the mistress of the house, Has your daughter-in-law any 
children yet? She replies, in a plaintive manner, c No, no 
thing but a girl/ Or she answers altogether in the ne 
gative, adding, <I have again and again made vows to Kar- 

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. 

p A part of the Muhabharutu is sometimes recited to obtain offspring. 
The part thus read is a list of the ancestors of Huree, (a name of Tishnoo.) 
When a person wishes to have this ceremony performed, he employs a 
learned native to recite these verses, and another to examine, by a sepa 
rate 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 unable to attend himself during the ceremony, he 
engages some friend to hear the words in his stead. Some verses of 
praise, addressed to Shivu, are also occasionally read in the ears of a hus 
band and wife who are anxious to obtain offspring. 

* A term of respect, meaning excellent. 



64 THE HINDOO MYTHOLOGY. 

tike*yu, and even now I promise before you all, that if the 
god will give her a son, I will worship him in a most excel 
lent manner, and my daughter-in-law will do it as long as 
she lives. 

There are no temples in Bengal dedicated to Kartike yu, 
nor are any images of him kept in the houses of the Hindoos 
except during a festival. 

The principal names of Kartike yu are : Kartike yu, or, 
he who was cherished by six females of the name of Krit- 
tika r . Muha-senu, he who commands multitudes. Shu- 
ranunia, the six-faced. Skundu, he who afflicts the gi 
ants. frgnibhoo, he who arose from Ugnee. Goohu, he 
who preserves his troops in war. Tarukujit, he who con 
quered Taruku. Vishakhu, he who was born under the 
constellation of this name. Shikhi-vahunu, he who rides 
on a peacock. Shuktee-dhuru, he who wields the wea 
pon called shuktee. Koomarti, he who is perpetually 
young 8 . Krounchu-darunu, he who destroyed the giant 
Krounchu. 

It is said that Kartikeyu was never married, but that 
Indru gave him a mistress named De vuse na. He has no 
separate heaven, nor has Gune*shu : they live with Shivu 
on mount Koilasu. 

r Six stars, (belonging to ursa ma or) said to be the wives of six of the 
seven rishees. These females are called Krittika. They cherished Kar 
tikeyu as soon as he was born in the forest of writing-reeds, and hence 
his name is a regular patronymic of Krittika, because they were as his 
mothers. 

* Under sixteen years of age. 



THE HINDOO MYTHOLOGY. 65 



SECTION VIII. Ugnee. 

THIS god is represented as a red corpulent man, with eyes, 
eye-brows, beard, and hair, of a tawny colour. He rides on 
a goat 5 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 Kushyupu and t)ditee. 

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 bramhun, and of fire (Ugnee). 

At the full moon in the month Maghu, when danger from 
fire is considerable, some persons worship this god before 
the image of Brumha, 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 per 
formed. 

Some bramhuns are distinguished by the name sagniku, 
because they use sacred fire in all the ceremonies ip which 
this element is used, from the time of birth to the burning 
of the body after death. This fire is preserved in honour 
of the god Ugnee, and to make religious ceremonies more 
meritorious 1 . 



There may be some resemblance in this to the custom of the Romans, 
in preserving a perpetual fire in the temple of Vesta. 

VOL, I. K 



66 THE HINDOO MYTHOLOGY. 

tlgnee, as one of the guardian deities of the earth, is wor 
shipped at the commencement of every festival. He pre 
sides in the S. E. 

Bhrigoo, a sagniku bramhun and a great sage, once cursed 
his guardian deity Cgnee, because the latter had not deli 
vered Bhrigoo s wife from the hands of a giant, who 
attempted to violate her chastity when 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, tignee appealed to the assembled gods, 
and Brumha soothed him by promising, that whatever he 
ate should become pure, tfgnee was also once cursed by 
one of the seven rishees, who turned him into cinders. 

tfrjoomi, the brother of Yoodhisthiru, at the entreaty of 
Cgnee, set fire to the forest Khunduvu, in order to cure him 
of a surfeit contracted in the following manner: Murootu, 
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 as an ele 
phant s trunk : at length tlgnee could digest no more, and 
he intreated IJrjoonu to burn this forest, that he might eat 
the medicinal plants, and obtain his appetite again. 

Swaha, the daughter of Kushyupii, was married to Ognee. 
Her name is repeated at the end of every incantation used 
at a burnt-offering, as well as in some other ceremonies. 
The reason of this honour is attributed to tfgnee s uxori- 
ousness. 

The heaven of this god is called t?gnee-loku. His principal 
names are: Vunhee, or, he who receives the clarified but 
ter in the burnt-sacrifice (horn a). Veetihotru, he who puri- 



THE HINDOO MYTHOLOGY. 67 

fies those who perform the homu. Dhununj uy u, he who 
conquers (destroys) riches. Kripeetuyonee, he who is born 
from rubbing two sticks together. Jwulunu, he who 
burns. Ugnee, he to whom fuel is presented. 



SECTION IX.Puviinu. 

THIS is the god of the winds, and the messenger of the 
gods". His mother Uditee, it is said, prayed to her hus 
band, that this son might be more powerful than Indru : 
her request was granted ; but Indru, hearing of this, enter 
ed the womb of IJditee, and cut the foetus, first into seven 
parts, and then each part into seven others. Thus Puvunu 
assumed forty-nine forms x . He is meditated upon as a 
white man, sitting on a deer, with a white flag in his right 
hand. 

Puvunu 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 offered to him in the daily ceremonies of the bram- 
huns $ and, whenever a goat is offered to any deity, a service 
is paid to Vayoo, another form arid name of Puvunu. In 

u I can find no agreement betwixt this god and either Mercury or ^Eolns. 

* 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 some remarkable story invented to ac 
count for their peculiar properties. 

K 2 



68 THE HINDOO MYTHOLOGY. 

the work called tJdikurunu-mala, a burnt-sacrifice of the 
flesh of goats y is ordered to be offered to this god. 

The following story is related of Puvunu in the Shret"- 
bhaguvutu : On a certain occasion Narudu paid a visit to 
Soomeroo 2 , and excited his pride in such a manner, that he 
protested the god Puvunu could not approach his summit. 
Narudu carried the news of Soomeroo s insolence to Puvu 
nu, and advised him to go and break down the summit of 
Soomeroo; which, even to the depth of 800 miles below the 
surface, was of solid gold. Puvunu went, and produced 
such a tempest, that the earth trembled to its centre ; and 
the mountain god, terribly alarmed, invoked Gurooru, who 
came to his relief, and, covering the mountain with his 
wings, secured it from the wrath of Puvunu. For twelve 
months, however, the storm raged so that the three worlds 
were hastening to destruction. The gods desired Narudu 
to prevail on Puvunu to compose the difference with Soo- 
me roo : 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 pro 
tected the mountain with his wings, there was no hope ; 
but that, if he would attack Soomeroo when Gurooru was 
carrying Vislmoo out on a journey, he might easily be re 
venged. This opportunity soon occurred : all the gods 
(330,000,000) were invited to Shiva s marriage with Parvu- 
teT, among whom were the mountains Soomeroo, Trikdotu, 
Qoduyu a , Ustu b , Vindhyu, Malyuvanu, Gundhuma-dunu, 

y The goat, it will be remembered, was slain in the sacrifices of 
Bacchus. 

z The mountain of this name personified. 
* Mountains over which the sun rises. 
b Behind which the sun sets, 



THE HINDOO MYTHOLOGY. 69 

Chitrukootu, Miduyu, Nilu, Moinaku , &c. Vishnoo, rid 
ing on Gurooru, also went to the marriage, and all the hea 
vens were left empty. Seizing this opportunity, Puvunu 
flew to Soomeroo, and, breaking the summit of the moun 
tain, hurled it into the sea 3 . 

Puvunu is charged with an adulterous intercourse with 
tfnjuna, the wife of Keshuree, a monkey. The fruit of 
this intercourse was Hunoomanu. 

Puvunu was once inflamed with lust towards the hundred 
daughters of Kooshunabhu, a rajurshee; and because they 
refused his offers, he entered the body of each, and pro 
duced a curvature of the spine. They were made straight 
again by a king named Brumhu-duttu, to whom they were 
married. 

The name of the heaven of this god is Vayoo-loku. His 
principal names are: Shwusunu, or, he who is the giver of 
breath. SpUrshunu, the toucher. Vayoo, he who tra 
vels. Maturishwa, he who gave his mother sorrow 6 . Pri- 
shudushwn, he who rides on the deer. Gundhuvuhu, he 
who carries odours. Ashoogu, he who goes swiftly. 
Marootu, without whom people die. Nubhuswutu, he who 
moves in the air. Puvunu, the purifier. Prubhungjunu, 
the breaker. 

c Some of 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 hy the Hindoo poets arc designated as the 
residence of the gods, and by poetical licence ranged among the inferior 
gods. 

4 Here it became the island of Ceylon, (Liinka.) 

f When Indrii cut him into forty-nine pieces in the womb, 



70 THE HINDOO MYTHOLOGY. 



SECTION X. FWOCTOM. 

THIS is the god of the waters. His image is painted 
white ; he sits on a sea-animal called mukuru, with a rope f 
in his right hand. 

Vuroonu s name is repeated daily in the worship of the 
brainhuns ; but his image is never made for worship, nor 
has he any public festival or temple in Bengal. He is wor 
shipped however as one of the guardian deities of the 
earth; and also by those who farm the lakes in Bengal, 
before they go out a fishing : and in times of drought peo 
ple repeat his name to obtain rain&. 

A story of this god is contained in the Pudmu pooranu 
to this purport : Ravunu was once carrying an unadee-lingu 
from Himalaya to Lunka h , in order that he might accom 
plish all his ambitious schemes against the gods : for it was 
the property of this stone, also called kamu -lnigu, to grant 
the worshipper all his desires, whatever they might be. 
Shiva, 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. 

f This weapon is called pashii, and has this property, that whomsoever 
it catches, it binds so fast that he can never get loose. All the gods, gi 
ants, rakshfisus, &c. learn the use of this weapon. 

B At the time of a drought, it is common for bramhuns to sit in crowds 
by the sides of the Ganges, or any other river, and address their prayers 
to this god. A bramhiin once informed me, that he remembered when 
Krishnu-Chundru, the raja of Nuvu-dwee pii, gave presents to vast multi 
tudes of bramhuns thus employed ; and that, in the midst of their prayers, 
Vuroonii sent a plentiful supply of rain. 

h Ceylon. 

Kama means desire, 



THE HINDOO MYTHOLOGY. 71 

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 accom 
plish his wishes, neither Indru 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 Ravu 
nu, who would thereby be compelled to set the stone down, 
while discharging his urine k . 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 Jiow- 
ever 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 he 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, 
the bramhun, 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 ! . Ravunu, when he 

fc 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 shas- 
trii: at present, however, should a person, in the midst of his worship, he 
compelled to discharge urine, he does not bathe, but only changes his 
clothes. 

1 The Hindoos do not drink the water of this river, but bathe in and 
drink the water of a pool there, which they have called Nuvu-gtinga, viz. 
the New Gunga. 



72 THE HINDOO MYTHOLOGY. 

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 Vishwukurma, 
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 around them the court, among whom are 
Sumoodru, Gunga, and other river gods and goddesses" 1 ; 
the twelve Adityus, and other deities; the hydras; Oira- 
vutu; the doityus; the danuvus, &c. The pleasures of this 
heaven consist in the gratification of the senses, as in the 
heavens of Indru and others. There does not seem to be a 
vestige of any thing here, but what would exactly meet the 
wishes of a libertine. 

A scene in the heaven of Vuroonu : Nimee, a king, invited 
Vushisht hu to preside as priest over the ceremonies at a 
sacrifice he was about to perform. Vushisht 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 ; when Nimee, 
after using entreaty in vain, employed another sage as priest. 
Vushisth hu, having concluded the sacrifice in which he 
was engaged, proceeded to the palace of Nimee ; but hear 
ing 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 Vushisht 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. 

m Among these deities are included gods of wells, pools, lakes, basins, 
whirlpools, &c. 



THE HINDOO MYTHOLOGY. 73 

Brumlra said, Go to the gods Vuroonu and Sooryu. 
He went, and obtained his body in the following manner : 
Sooryu, captivated with the sight of Oorvushee, a courtezan, 
as she was dancing in Indru 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 thesi: 

two gods, ftgustyu, an eminent ascetic, was born, and 
Vushisht hu, one of the most exalted of the Hindoo saints, 
obtained a new body. The priests who had been employed 
by Nimee, fearing they should lose all employment here 
after if they suffered the king thus to perish, at the close 
G,f the sacrifice formed from the ashes a young man, 
to whom they gave the name of Ju.nu.ku; who became 
the father of Seeta, the wife of Ramu. 

The meaning of the name Vuroonu is, he who surrounds. 
This god is also called Prucheta, or the wise. Pasheo, 
he who holds a rope. Y r adusang-putee, the lord of the 
watery tribes. Cpputee, the lord of waters. 



SECTION XL 

THIS god is called the holy king, who judges the deaf 1 ,. 
His image is that of a green man, with red garments ; in 
flamed eyes ; having a crown on his head, and a flower stuck 
in his hair "5 sitting on a buffaloe, with a club in his right 

" It is very common to sec a flower, which has been presented to an 
image, stuck 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 
shastius prescribe this practice, and promise rewards to the person who 
places in his hair flowers which have been presented to his guardiun 
deity, or to any other god. 

VOt. I, T 



74 THE HINPOO MYTHOLOGY. 

hand. His dreadful teeth,, grim aspect, and terrific shape, 
fill the inhabitants of the three worlds with terror. 

An annual festival is held in honour of Yumu on the 
second day of the moon s increase in the month Kartiku, 
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 othev 
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 cere 
mony called turpunu, as well as annually on the 14th of 
the month Cgruhayunu, when they repeat several of his 
names. 

At the time of other festivals the Hindoos sometimes 
make an image of the mother of Yumu , and worship it. 
At other times children in play make this image, and pre 
tend to worship it. 

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 
the 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 branches in 
the midst of the pit. The place being thus prepared, every 
morning for a month these girls, after putting on clean ap- 



A very old woman, who is at the same time a great scold, is called by 
Hindoos the mother of Yttmti. 



THE HINDOO MYTHOLOGY. 75 

parel, and sprinkling their heads with the 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 p 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 husbands, or sons, or happi 
ness, and also that they may escape punishment after death. 

I have heard of some Hindoos, who, rejecting the wor 
ship 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. 

Yumu 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 Chitrti-gooptui, who keeps an account of the 
Actions of men. A number of officers are also attached to 
the court, who bring the dead to be judged. If the deceas 
ed 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 Yumu 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 r . All souls, wherever the persons die, arc sup- 

p Shells from the Maldive islands, which pass for money in Bengal. 
More than six thousand of these shells may be bought for a reopee. 

<i That is, he who paints in secret; or, he who writes the fates of men 
hi secret. 

* One Hindoo sometimes jokes with another, by asking him where l| 
is jjoing, as lie seems to be proceeding southwards. 



re THE HINDOO MYTHOLOGY. 

posed to go to Yiimu in four hours and forty minutes ; and 
a dead body cannot be burnt till that time have elapsed. 

The following account of Yumaluyu, and of Voiturunee, 
the river to be crossed after death, is taken from the Muhab- 
harutu: After Bruinha had created the three worlds, viz. 
heaven, earth, and pattilu, he recollected that a place for 
judgment, and for the punishment of the wicked, was want 
ing. He therefore called Vishwukurma, the architect of 
tlie gods, and gave him orders to prepare a very superb 
palace. Opposite the south door Vishwukurma made four 
pits for the punishment of the wicked. Three other doors 
were reserved for the entrance of the good, that they might 
not see the place of punishment when they went to be 
judged. Brumha, taking with him the gundhurvus, the 
giants, &c. went to see the place, and gave it the name of 
Sunjee-vunee. The gundhurvus asked Brumha to give 
them this beautiful palace. Brumha 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 Brumha 
ordered Vishwukurma to form a vast trench around, and to 
fill it with water, which became the river Voiturunce. 
Brumha next ordered Ugnee to enter the river, and the 
waters became hot. Having thus surrounded the hall of 
"judgment with a river of boiling water, the creator ordered, 
that after death each one should be obliged to swim across, 
Tiiis, 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 9 . It was still necessary, that some 

* I do not find that the Hindoos have, any ferryman, like Charon, er 
b jut to cross tliis river ; though they talk of crossing it by laying hold of 



THE HINDOO MYTHOLOGY. 77 

one should occupy this place, and judge the dead; and 
Brumha assigned this work to Yumu. 

The Ramayunu contains the following story about Yu 
mu : Soon after Gunga came down to the earth, Yumu was 
very angry with the gods, as she left him nothing to do in 
his office of judge; all the people, however sinful, through 
her power ascending to heaven. His officers, in a rage, 
were about to give up their places, and leave him. On ap 
plying to Indru, he advised him not to place his messen 
gers in any situation where the wind, passing over Gunga, 
blew; for that all persons touched even by the wind of this 
sacred river had all their sins removed, and would go to 
heaven 1 . 

Many other stories are to be found in the pooranus, 
some of them supposed to be related 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, the 
other had many years to live. Chitrti-gooptu, examining 
Lis register, sent Yumu s messengers to fetch the person 
whose appointed time was expired : the messengers went, 
but brought the wrong person. On re-examining his re 
cords, Chitrti-gooptu found out the mistake, and directed 
the officers to hasten back with the soul before the rela 
tions had burnt the body. While at Yumaluyu, this person 
looked all around, and saw, in one place, the punishments 

the tail of the bluck co\v which they offered in order to obtain a safe 
passage. It is very common hi Bengal for a herdsman to cross a river by 
tdkin<< hold of a cow s tail. 

i Whatever the Hindoos may think of Giinga s taking away their sin?, 
it is acknowledged by all, that the inhabitants who live on the banks of 
thf Ganges arc the most corrupt and profligate of all the Hindoos 



78 THE HINDOO MYTHOLOGY. 

inflicted on the wicked: Yumu s officers were chastising 
some, by casting them into pits of ordure; others, by throw 
ing them into the arms of a red hot image of a woman 1 ; 
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 rilled with devouring worms and insects, or with fire. 
In other places he saw those who had practised severe mor 
tifications living in a state of the greatest magnificence ; 
and women 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 messen 
gers replied that it was for one of his neighbours, a very 
holy man, whose 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 Bu uramu, of the voidyu cast, who lived some years 
ago at Choopee, near Nudeeya. This man, to all appear 
ance, 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 wicked. This man lived fifteen years 
after this journey to Yumu s palace. 



u This instrument is used for the punishment of adulterers. When 
Ravuiui was carrying oil Seeta by force, she reminded him, that for this 
crime he would have to go into the burning arms of this image after 
death. 



THE HINDOO MYTHOLOGY. 79 

The following story was invented, no doubt, in order to 
check excessive sorrow for deceased relations. A rich 
bramhun had only one son, who grew up to manhood, and 
was loved almost to distraction by his parents 31 . This son, 
however, died in his youth, and his wife was burnt with him 
on the funeral pile. The father and mother were so over 
whelmed with distress, that for years they refused all com 
fort. During this time an old servant, who had served the 
bramhun many years, and had eaten of his foody, died, and, 
for his merit, was made one of Yumu 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 by the side of the road for the loss of his son. 
Assuming his old form, he raised up his master, nd endea 
voured to comfort him, but in vain. He then told him, 
that he was become one of Yumu s officers, on account of 
the merit he had obtained by serving him (the bramhun), 
and eating of his food; and that now, to remove his sorrow, 
he would take him and shew him his son. The old man 
got on his back, and the officer immediately carried him to 
the residence of Ytunu, and shewed him his son and daugh 
ter-in-law in the greatest happiness, surrounded with every 
delight, playing at chess. But the son, having lost all affec 
tion for his parent, would not even look at him, though 
exhorted to it by his wife. He replied, that in numerous 
transmigrations it was very likely that this old man might 



* The Hindoos in general carry their attachment to children, especi 
ally to sons, to the greatest excess. They are amazed at the supposed 
want of affection in Europeans, who leave their parents in order to tra 
verse foreign countries ; some of them \vithout the hope of ever seeing 
them again. 

y It is a very meritorious action for a shoodru to eat the leavings of a 
bramhun. Hence a shoodru will serve a bramhun for rather less wages 
than another person. 



80 THE HINDOO MYTHOLOGY. 

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 own son, for whom 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 constable, therefore, 
carried her also to see him; but she met with the same treat 
ment. 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 betwixt the messengers of 
this god and those of some other god, about the soul of a 
departed person, whether it shall be happy or miserable. 
I insert two of these stories: When the sage Unimanduvyu. 
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 an 
swer 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 ob 
jects, 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 one 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 ab 
straction was interrupted; though his mind had been so 
set upon his god, that neither impaling him for four years, 
nor breaking the stake within his body, had disturbed his 



THE HINDOO MYTHOLOGY. 81 

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 Yumu, for having pierced the locust 
when he was a child. He was exceedingly angry with 
Yumu 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 
not bear. He then cursed Yumu, and doomed him to be 
born on earth, and to take the name of Viclooru, the son of 
a servant girl in the house of the mother of Vedu-vyasu. 
How the administration of justice in the other world was 
carried on after Yumu assumed human birth, this story 
does not relate. What an excellent religion for a wicked 
man : the criminal can punish his judge ! 

tjjamilu had committed the most enormous crimes, hav 
ing killed cows and bramhuns, 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 tjjamilu 
was extremely thirsty, and thus called to his son: f Nara 
yunu, Narayunu, Narayunu, give me some water. After his 
decease, the messengers of Yumu seized him, and were 
about to drag him to a place pf punishment, when Vish- 
noo s messengers came to rescue him. A furious battle 
ensued, but Vishnoo s messengers were victorious, and car 
ried off Cjamilu 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. Yijinti ordered Chitru-gooptu, 
the recorder, to examine his books. He did so, and re 
ported that this Ujamilu had been a most notorious sinner^ 
and that it was impossible for him to reckon up his sins*, 
llicy were so numerous. Yumti hastened to Voikponttij 

Vox i . in 



$2 THE HINDOO MYTHOLOGY. 

and demanded of Vishnoo an explanation of this affair. 
Vishnoo reminded him, that however wicked this man 
might have been, he had repeated the name Narayiinu in 
his last moments; and that he (Yurnu) ought to know, that 
if a man, either when laughing, or hy accident, or in anger, 
or even in derision, repeated the name of Vishnoo, he 
would certainly go to heaven, though, like fljamilu, covered 
with crimes, he had not a single meritorious deed to lay in 
the balance against them. This is the doctrine that is uni 
versally maintained by the great body of the Hindoos: 
hence, when a person in a dying situation is brought down 
to the river side, 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 shopkeeper 
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 diffi 
culty, ascend to heaven. Plow shocking this sentiment! 
How dreadful this mistake ! 

Description of the heaven of Yumit,from the Muhabharutii, 
This heaven, formed by Vishwukurma, is 800 miles in cir 
cumference. 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 a far greater quantity of the same things in heaven ; 
he who has not been liberal, will have other kinds of 
happiness, and will see food, houses, lands, &c. but will 
receive nothing. All kinds of excellent food are here 
heaped up into mountains 2 . To this heaven have been 
raised a great number of Hindoo kings, whose names are 

z This seems to be a heaven for gluttons! 



THE HINDOO MYTHOLOGY. 83 

given in the Miihabharutu. The pleasures of this heaven 
are like those of Indru-pooru : the senses are satiated with 
gratifications as gross as the writer of this pooranu, the 
licentious Vyasu, could make them. 

Yumu married Vijuyu, the daughter of Veeru, a bram- 
hun. The Bhuvishyut pooranu contains the following 
story respecting this marriage : Yumu was so pleased with 
this female, on account of her having performed the Bood- 
hashtumee vrutu, that he appeared to her, and offered her 
marriage. She was alarmed at the sight of this s ranger, 
and asked him who he was. When she found it was 
Yumu, 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 old her she was certainly mad: 
c What, to be married to Yumu ! A fine husband truly! 
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 another 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, how 
ever, were given in vain : while Yurnu was one day busy, 
she look another female or two, and went southwards, till 
the cries of the damned had nearly terrified her f o distrac 
tion : to add to the horror of the scene, she s w 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 de 
clared this to be impossible ; that her own bad conduct had 

M 2 



I 
S4 TUB HINDOO MYTHOLOGY. 

brought her there, and that she could only be delivered, 
according to the forms of the shastru, after suffering the 
punishment due to her. Vijuyu became impatient and 
clamorous ; till Yumu told her, that if she could get the 
merit of the Boodhastumee vrutu transferred to her by 
gome one, she might deliver her mother* Yumu further 
informed her, that on earth a certain queen, who had per 
formed the Boodhashtumee 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, who would immediately be de 
livered from torments. Vijuyu took this advice, and thus 
procured the deliverance of her mother from hell. 

Yumu s principal names are: Dhurmu-raju, or, the holy 
king. Pitriputee, the lord of the ancients. Stiniuvurttee, 
he who judges impartially. Pre tu-rat, the lord of the dead. 
-. Kritantti, the destroyer.- Yumoona-bhrata, the brother of 
Yumoona*. Shumunu, he who levels all. Yumu-rat, the 
chief of the fourteen Yumus b . Yumu, he who takes out 
of the world. Kalu, time. Dundudhuru, he who holds 
the rod of punishment. Shraddhu-devu, the god of the 
ceremonies paid to deceased ancestors ; or, he who eats his 
share of the shraddhu. Voivuswutu, the son of Vivuswut, 
or Sooryu. ITntuku, he who kills, or puts an end to life. 

The river Yumoona. 

b Yumu has thirteen assistants, whose names are here given as different 
names of this judge of the dead. 



THE HINDOO MYTHOLOGY. 85 



SECT. XIL The Worship of tlie " Host of Heaven." 

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-poorooshu, &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 o hers at different times. The constellations are 
worshipped 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 
was the primitive idolatry of the Hindoos, and that of heroes 
the invention of later times. It is plain, however, that the 
vedus, supposed to be the most ancient of the Hindoo 
writings, countenance the worship of deified heroes. These 
books contain accounts of Brumha, Vishnoo, and Shivu, and 
most of the other deities. A paragraph in the Rig-vedu 
speaks of the gods choosing Indru to be their king, whom 
they placed on a throne fancifully constructed with texts of 
the ve"du : (amongst all the gods none are charged with 
greater crimes than Indru, 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 founda 
tion of this whole fabric of superstition. These books 
contain prayers to procure the destruction of enemies, a 
well as encourage the burning of widows alive d , which is 

c Called by the Hindoos Ugustyu, the sage. 

u * O fire, let these women, with bodies anointed with ghee, eyes, 
(coloured) with stibium and v;;id of tears, enter the parent of water, that 
they may not be separated from their husbands, may be in union with 
excellent husbands, be sinless, and be jewels among women. Rig-i^dii. 



86 THE HINDOO MYTHOLOGY. 

surely a far greater crime than any thing done in the pre 
sence of the images of Ramu or Krishnu. 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 r 

I do not find, however, that the heavenly bodies ar<* 
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 he 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 heaven, 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 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, th t God formerly gave up their forefathers to 
worship the host of heaven; and mentions 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 heavenly bodies have a great influ 
ence upon human events. Hindoos, whose birth under a 
supposed evil planet has been ascertained, are often filled 
with melancholy; some abandon themselves to despair, 



THE HINDOO MYTHOLOGY. 87 

careless of what becomes of an existence connected with 
such omens. The reader will perceive, in reading the ac 
count of Saturn, to what a degree the Hindoos 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 hea 
then, and be not dismayed at the signs of heaven, for the 
heathen are dismayed at them. 



SECT. XIILThe Worship of the Nine Gruhfa*, 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 
worshipped separately by the sick or unfortunate, who sup 
pose 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 urku f ; to Chundru, those of the pulashu g ; to 
Mars, those of the khudiru h ; to Mercury, those of the up- 
amargu ; to Jupiter, those of the ushwutt hu k ; to Venus, 
those of the ooroombum; to Saturn, those of the shumee 1 ; 

e These stars are called griihus, because they make known to people 
good and evil. 

f Asclepias gigantiae. a Butea frondosa. 

h Mimosa catechu. ; Aohyranthes aspera. 

* Ficiia religiosa. J Mimosa alblda. 



85 THE HINDOO MYTHOLOGY. 

to Rahoo, blades of duorva grass; and to Ketoo, blades of 
kooshu grass. 

In honour of So5ryu boiled rice, mixed with molasses, is 
burnt; milk is to be mixed with the rice offered to Chan 
dra; with that to Mars, curds; with that to Mercury,, cla 
rified butter: to Jupiter is offered frumenty j to Venus, 
boiled rice alone; to Saturn, various kinds of food; to 
Rahoo, goat s flesh or fish; to Ke"too, blood from the ear of 
a goat, mixed with rice.. 

The image of Sour yu is to be a round piece of mixed 
metal, twelve fingers in diameter ; that of Chandra 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 of six 
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 Rahoo, an iron mukuru; and that of 
Ketoo, an iron snake. 

The fees accompanying the worship of "the different pla 
nets are various: at that of Sooryu, a milch COW T ; of Chan 
dra, a shell ; of Mars, a bur ; of Mercury, a morsel of 
gold; of Japiter, a piece of cloth; of Venus, a horse; of 
Saturn, a black cow; of (taboo, 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 colours, 
and offer different kinds of flowers. 



THE HINDOO MYTHOLOGY. 89 



SECT. XIV. Ruvee m , the Sun. 

THIS god, the son of Ktishyupu, the sage, is painted red. 
He 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 Jyotish-tutwti 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 account several particulars were 
omitted by mistake; and which I insert here, though they 
properly belong to another form of this idol. While bath 
ing, the Hindoos repeat 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 sn- 
cred rivers, &c. in the heaven of Sooryu. After bathing 
too the Hindoos make their obeisance to 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 c pour out a drink- 
offering to the sun. 

When the terrific being which sprung out of Shivu s 

ni Hence Ruvee-varu, or Sunday. 
11 Not green, as mentioned by Mr. Maurice. 
VOL I. N 



90 THE HINDOO MYTHOLOGY. 

bunch of hair went with all the bhootus, &c. to destroy 
Dukshu s sacrifice, all the gods being present, this monster 
seized on SoSryu and knocked out his teeth: in conse 
quence, at the time of worship, only soft things, as flour, 
&c. are now offered to this god, such as a toothless old man 
might eat. 

S5oryu is charged in the Muhabharutu with ravishing 
Koontee, a virgin, from whence Kurnnu, a giant, was born. 



SECT. XV. Somu , or Cliundru, 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 the work called tJdhikurunu-mala, a sacrifice is or 
dered to be performed to Somu, and the worshipper is 
promised a place in the heaven of this god. 

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 Somu, 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 are said to have descended from 
Somu by Rohinee p , and are called the children of the moon. 

Hence Somu-vaiii, or Monday. P The Hyades. 



THE HINDOO MYTHOLOGY. 91 

The first of these was Boodhti, and the forty-sixth Yood- 
hist 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 by her son Croonu, by which she had been 
doomed to become the slave of her sister. Gurooru soon 
seized the god, and placed him trembling among the as 
sembled 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 disap 
pointed these implacable enemies of the gods. 

Somu is charged with seducing the wife of Vrihusputee, 
liis preceptor. See p. 93. 

The chief names of this god are: Somu, or, he from 
whom the water of immortality springs. Himangshoo, he 
whose beams are cooling. Chundru, he at whose rising 
people rejoice. Indoo, the great. Koomoodu-banduvu, 
the friend of the flower KoomoodtK Vidhoo, he who 
causes the gods to drink the water of life. Soodhangshoo, 
he whose rays are as the water of life. Oshudheeshu, the 
lord of medicinal plants. Nishaputee, the lord of night. 
ftbju, he who was born from the waters. Joivatrikti, the 
preserver of men. Glou, he who decreases. -Mrigranku, 

i Nymphcea lotus. After the rising of the moon this flower is said by 
the Hindoos to expand* 

N 2 



92 THE HINDOO MYTHOLOGY. 

lie on whose lap sits a deer r . Kulanidhee, he with whom 
are the kulas 5 . Dwijuraju, the chief of the bramhuns. 
Nukshutreshu, the lord of the planets. Kshiipakurti, he 
who illumines the night. 



SECT. XVLMimgulii*, 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 shuktee ; 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, he will 
be full of anxious thoughts, be wounded with offensive 
weapons, be imprisoned, be oppressed with fear from rob 
bers, fire, &c. and will lose his lands, trees, and good 
name. Jyotish-tutwu. 



SECT. XVIL Boodhu", 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 

p See a story of the birth of Boodlw in the following page. 

* Kula is the one IGth part of the disk of the moon, viz. that quantity 
which it increases or decreases in one day. 

1 Mungulu-varti, or Tuesday. Mungtilfi is also called Ungarukti, or, he 
who travels; Kooju, the son of the earth; and Lohitangu r the blood- 
coloured. 

u Boodku-varu,. or Wednesday. Tke meaning of Boodhu is, tke wise- 



THE HINDOO MYTHOLOGY. 93 

fourth is bestowing a blessing. He rides on a lion ; is of 
a placid countenance; and wears yellow garments. 

The following is an account of the birth of Boodhu : On 
a certain occasion Vrihusputee, the spiritual guide of the 
gods, made a great feast, to which he invited all the gods. 
Chundru was present among the rest ; who, during the fes 
tival, 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 pro 
ceeded to the palace of Chundru, but saw no preparations 
for the sacrifice. The former expressing his surprise at 
this circumstance, Chundru told him that the sacrifice was 
unavoidably delayed, and advised him to return for a short 
time to his devotions, leaving his wife at his house. Vri 
husputee consented, and during his absence Chundru disho 
noured 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 darkness for two kulpus, or 864,000,000 years. 
Vrihusputee compelled his wife to deliver herself, and, on 
the birth of the child Boodhu, reduced her to ashes. 
Brumha afterwards raised her from her ashes, and, thus pu 
rified, Vrihusputee took her to his embraces again. Su- 
moodru, (the sea,) incensed at his son for this horrid crime 
of dishonouring the wife of his divine teacher, disinherited 
him. Chundru then applied to his sister Lukshmee x , the 
wife of Vishnoo, by whose power part of his sin was re- 



He is also called Rouhineyu, the son of Rohinee, and Souinyu, the son of 
Somu. 

x Liikshmee was born, like Chundru, at the churning of the sea by tlu- 
gods. 



94 THE HINDOO MYTHOLOGY. 

moved, 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 y; who went, 
thus ornamented, to a feast of the gods. Vrihusputee, on 
seeing Chundru again in heaven, was greatly incensed, and 
could only be appeased by Brtimha s ordaining, that the 
lascivious god 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. Chundru now 
asked Brumha to remove the vomiting of blood, with which 
he had been seized since his fall from heaven ; who directed 
him, as a certain cure, to hold a deer on his knees, 

If a person be born under the planet Boodhu, he will be 
very fortunate, obtain an excellent wife, &c. Jyotlsh- 
tutvcu. 



SECT. XVI1L Vrihuspuiee*> or Jupiter. 

THE image of this god, the son of the sage tfngira, 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 ve dus, and performs a num 
ber of religious ceremonies. 

y In Shivu*s forehead is placed a half moon. 
* Vrihttapttti-varu, or Thursday. 



THE HINDOO MYTHOLOGY. 95 

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. Kshutriyus, Voishytis, and Shoo- 
drus, 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 therefore does 
not wish to exalt those of his own c^ist. Jyotish-tiitwu. 

This god is charged in the Muhabharutu with deflower 
ing the wife of his eldest brother Ootut hyu. 

Names. Vrihusptitee, or, preceptor to the gods. Soo- 
racharyu, the priest of the gods. -Gishputee, the elo 
quent.^ Gooroo, the preceptor. Jeevu, he who revives the 
gods a . Angirusu, the son of tTngira.- Vachtisputee, the 
lord of words, viz. the eloquent. 



SECT. XIX. Sliookrii*, 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 

a That is, when the gods die in battle, Vrihusptitee by incantations 
restores them to life. 

b Shookru-varu, or Friday. 



69 THE HINDOO MYTHOLOGY. 

is thus related : When Vamunu went to king Bulee, to 
solicit a present, Shookru, being Bulee s preceptor, forbad 
his giving him any thing. The king disregarding his 
advice, the priest was obliged to read the necessary formu 
las, 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 pre 
vented it from falling; but Vamunu, aware of the device, 
put a straw into the bason of water, which entered Shook- 
ru 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 knowing things past, present, and fu 
ture ; will have many wives ; have a kingly umbrella, (the 
emblem of royalty;) and other kings will worship him; he 
will possess elephants, horses, palanqueens, footmen, &c. 
Jyotish-tiitwu. 

Shookru s daughter, Devujanee, was deeply in lore 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 
worship from a forest belonging to the giants. Previously 
to this, Kuchu had been devoured several times by diffe 
rent giants; but Shookru by the above incantation had 
restored him to life : when he tore open the bellies of these 
cannibals, and destroyed them. The giants now resolved 
to make Shookru himself eat this boy; for which purpose 
they caught him in the forest, cut him into the smallcsi 

c Gathering flowers for the worship of the gods is often at present 
the employment of young persons. 



THE HINDOO MYTHOLOGY. 97 

pieces, boiled him up in spirits, and invited Shookru to 
the entertainment. Kucha not returning from the forest, 
Devujanee wept much, and told her father that she would 
certainly kill herself d if he did not bring back her lover. 
Shookru at length, by the power of meditation, discovered 
that he had eaten this youth, so beloved by his daughter; 
and he knew not how to bring him back to life, without the 
attempt being fatal to himself. At last, 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 Shookru s belly, came forth, and 
immediately restored his teacher to life. Kuchu, having 
obtained the knowledge of revivifying the dead, took leave 
of his preceptor, and was about to return to his father 
Vrihusputee, when Devujanee insisted upon his marrying 
her. Kuchu 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 Devujanee, and doomed her to marry a kshutriyu; 
which curse after some time took effect, and she was 
married to king Yujatee. After DeVujanee had borne two 
children, she discovered that the king maintained an illicit 
connection with a princess of the name of Summisht ha, 
by whom he had three sons. She appealed to her father 
Shookru, who pronounced a curse on Yujatee; when his 
hair immediately became grey, his teeth fell from his head, 
and he was seized with complete decrepitude. Yujatee 
remonstrated with his father-in-law, and asked him who 
should live with his daughter, who w r as yet young, seeing 
that he had brought old age upon him. Shookru replied, 



d The Hindoo children often resort to this threat to extort some favour 
from their parents, 

VOL. I. O 



1)8 THE HINDOO MYTHOLOGY. 

that if he could persuade any one to take upon him this 
curse, he might still enjoy connubial felicity. Yujatee 
returned home, and asked his eldest son by De"vujanee to 
take this curse for a thousand years, and possess the king 
dom ; at the close of which time he should become young 
again, and continue in the kingdom : but this son, his 
brother, and 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, how 
ever, by Summisht ha accepted the conditions, and instantly 
became weak and decrepid ; when the father assumed his 
former youth, and returned to the company of his wives. 

Names. Shookru, or, he who sorrows at the destruction 
of the giants. Doityu-gooroo, preceptor to the giants. 
Kavyu, the poet. Ooshtina, the friend of the giants. 
Bharguvu, the descendant of Bhrigoo. 



SECTION XX. Shiinee*, or Saturn. 

THIS god is dressed in black; rides on a vulture f ; has 
four arms ; in one he holds an arrow ; in another a javelin ; 

e Shtmee-varu, or Saturday. One of the names of Shtinee is Shimoish- 
cliftru, vizi he who travels slowly. 

f This god is represented as sitting on this bird, probably, to denote hi* 
destructive power. Saturn, in the Grecian system of idolatry, was repre 
sented as devouring his children. The vultures in Bengal are highly 
useful in devouring the dead bodies of men and beasts, many of which 
are left in the roads and on the banks of rivers. It is astonishing how 
swiftly these birds collect wherever a dead body falls, though one of them 
should not have been seen in the place for weeks or months before ; illus 
trating, in the most striking manner, the words of our Lord, " Whenso 
ever the carcase is, there will the vultures be gathered together." Mutt. 
xxiv. 28. 



THE HINDOO MYTHOLOGY. 99 

in another a bow ; and with the other is giving a blessing. 
He is said to be the son of Sooryii by Chaya. 

All the Hindoos exceedingly dread the supposed baneful 
influence of this god, and perform a number of ceremonies 
to appease him. Many stories of him are to be found in 
the writings of the Hindoos, such as that of his burning oft* 
the head of Guneshu; his burning Dushurut hu s chariot 
in his descent from heaven; his giving rise to bad harvests, 
ill fortune, &c. 

6 If a person be born under the planet Shunee/ says the 
Jyotish-tiitwu, c he will be slandered, his riches dissipated, 
his son, wife, and friends destroyed; he will live at variance 
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 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 Shunee is in the ninth stellar 
mansion, the most dreadful evils befal mankind : Jhence 
when Ramu broke the bow of Shivu, which was the condi 
tion of obtaining Sceta in marriage, and when the earth 
sunk, and the waters of the seven seas were united in one, 
Purushoo-ramu, startled at the noise of the bow, exclaimed, 
c Ah ! some one has laid hold of the hood of the snake, 
or fallen under the ninth of Shunee. At present, when a 
person is obstinate, and will not hearken to reason, a bye- 
stander says, I suppose he has fallen upon Shunee, or he 
lias laid his hand upon the hood of the snake, viz. he is 
embracing his own destruction. When Ramu found that 

o 2 



100 THE HINDOO MYTHOLOGY. 

some one had stolen Se^ta, in the midst of his rage he 
exclaimed, e This person must have been born when Shunee 
was in the ninth mansion/ 



SECTION XXL Rahoo\ 

THIS god, the son of Singhika, is painted black : he 
rides on a lion; has four arms, in three of which he holds 
a scymitar, a spear, and a shield, and with the other hand 
is bestowing a blessing. 

c If a person be born under the planet Rahoo, says the 
work already quoted, c his wisdom, riches, and children will 
be destroyed ; he will be exposed to many afflictions, and 
be subject to his enemies/ 

Rahoo was originally a giant, but at the churning of the 
sea he took his present name and form ; (that is, he became 
one of the heavenly bodies 1 ;) which transformation is thus 
described in the poorantis : At the time when the gods 
churned the sea to obtain the water of life, Sooryu (the 
sun) and Chundru (the moon) were sitting together. When 
the nectar came up, these gods hinted to Vishnoo, that one 
of the company who had drank of the nectar was not a 
god, but one of the giants. Vishnoo immediately cut off 
his head ; but after drinking the water of life, neither the 

h The ascending node. 

i We are here reminded of Jupiter s deflowering Calisto, the daughter 
of Lycaon, king of Arcadia. It will be remembered, that when her dis- 
grace became known, Juno turned her into a bear, which Jupiter after 
wards advanced into heaven, and made it a constellation, now called Ursa 
major. 



THE HINDOO MYTHOLOGY. 101 

head nor the trunk could perish. The head taking the 
name of Rahoo, and the trunk that of Ke"too, were placed 
in the heavens as the ascending and descending nodes ; 
and leave was granted, hy way of revenge on Sooryu and 
Chundru, that on certain occasions Rahoo should approach 
these gods, and make them unclean, so that their bodies 
should become thin and black. The popular opinion, how 
ever, is, that, at the time of an eclipse, Rahoo swallows the 
sun and moon, and vomits them up again k . 

Many persons perform a number of ceremonies on these 
occasions, as, those to the manes; pouring out water to 
deceased ancestors ; repeating the names of the gods ; set 
ting up gods; making offerings, &c. The Jyotish-tutwu 
declares, that performing these duties now is attended with 
benefits infinitely greater than at other times. Nobody 
must discharge the faeces or urine, or eat any food, un 
til they have seen the sun or moon after the eclipse, 
though it be till their rising the next day. He who does 
not observe this law, will have a million of hells in one. 

Names. Tumu, the dark, or, he who is possessed of a 
great proportion of the quality of darkness. Rahoo, he 



k It is a most unaccountable coincidence in the notions of remote 
nations, that the Chinese and the Greenlanders, as well as the Hindoos, 
should think that the sun or the moon is devoured at the time of an eclipse. 
* As soon as they (the Chinese) perceive that the sun or moon begins to 
be darkened, they throw themselves on their knees, and knock their fore 
heads against the earth. A noise of drums and cymbals is immediately 
heard throughout the whole city. This is the remains of an ancient 
opinion entertained in China, that by such a horrid din they assisted the 
suffering luminary, and prevented it from being devoured by the celes 
tial dragon." Crantz in his History of Greenland asserts, that a similar 
custom exists among this people, who could certainly never have learut 
it either from the Hindoos or the Chinese, 



102 THE HINDOO MYTHOLOGY. 

who swallows and afterwards vomits up the sun or moon. 
Swurbhanoo, he who shines in the heavens. Soinghike yu, 
the son of Singhika. Vidhoontoodii, he who afflicts the 
moon. 



SECTION XXIL K&oo 1 . 

KETOO is the headless trunk of Rahoo, which became 
Immortal at the churning of the sea. This god is painted 
of a light green colour. He rides on a vulture; in one 
hand holds a club, and with the other is bestowing a 
blessing. 



THE preceding may be called the Hindoo CELESTIAL 
GODS. I dare not say, that I have given every deity of this 
order, as I have not found any book containing an exact 
list of them. I could easily have enlarged the number, by 
inserting accounts of other forms of these gods ; but this 
would have swelled the work, without adding to its value, 

1 The descending node. 



THE HINDOO MYTHOLOGY. 303 

CHAP. IIL 

OF THE GODDESSES. 



SECT. I. Doorga. 

IN those parts of tlie 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 Bhuguvutee. 
She was first born in the house of Dukshu, one of the pro 
genitors of mankind, 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 appear 
ance, we recognize her under the name of Parvutee, the 
daughter of Himaluyu a ; when she was again married to 
Shivu, by whom she had two children, Kartike yu and 
Gune shu. 

Doorga has had many births to destroy the giants b . The 
reason of her being called Doorga is thus given in the 
Kashee-khundu : On a certain occasion tTgustyu, the sage, 
asked Kartike yu, 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 Brumha, obtained his blessing, and 
became a great oppressor : he conquered the three worlds, 
and dethroned Indru, Vayoo, Chundni, Yumu, Cgnee, Vu- 
roonu, Koove ru, Bulee, Eeshanu, Roodru, Sooryii, the eight 
Vusoos, &c. The wives of the rishees were compelled to 

a The mountain of this name. 

b Sir W. Jones, not improperly, considers Doorga as bearing; a pretty 
strong resemblance to Juno, as well as to Minerva. 



104 THE HINDOO MYTHOLOGY. 

celebrate his praises. He sent all the gods from their 
heavens to live in forests ; and at his nod they came and 
worshipped him. He abolished all religious ceremonies ; 
..the bramhuns, through fear of him, forsook the reading of 
the vedtis ; the rivers changed their courses ; fire lost its 
energy ; and the terrified stars retired from sight : he 
assumed the forms of the clouds, and gave rain whenever 
he pleased; the earth through fear gave an abundant in 
crease; and the trees yielded flowers and fruits out of 
season. The gods at length applied to Shivti. Indru said, 
e He has dethroned me ; Sooryu said, ( He has taken my 
kingdom: and thus all the gods related their misfortunes. 
Shivu, pitying their case, desired Parvtitee 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 restore 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. Doorgu. then sent 30,000 other 
giants, who were such monsters in size that they covered 
the surface of the earth. Among them were the following: 
Doordhuru c , Doormookhu d , Khuru e , Shiru-panee f , Pashu- 
panees, Soorendru h , Dumunu 1 , Himoo k , Yugnuhanee 1 , 
Khurgu-roma m , Oograsyu n , De vu-kumpunu , &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 tirvoodtis (or 120,000,000,000) 
of elephants, 10,000,000 of swift-footed horses, and innu- 

c Difficult to catch. d Foul-montbed. c Cruel. f Holding a 
human skull in the hand. s Wielders of the pashu. h Sovereigns of 
the gods. Bullies. k Of high cheek bones. Sacrifice-destroyers. 
ra They whose hair is like scymitars. n Of terrific countenance, 

They who make the gods tremble. 



THE HINDOO MYTHOLOGY. 1O5 

rnerable soldiers, went to fight with Parvutee on the moun 
tain Vindhu. As soon as the giant drew near, Parvutee 
assumed 1000 arms, and called to her assistance dif*- 
ferent kinds of beings, as jumbhtiP, muhajiimbhu^, vi- 
jumbhu r , vikutanunu 8 , pingakshu 1 , inuhishti", muhogrii*, 
utyoogrtiy, vigruhii 2 , kroorakshu a , krodhunu b , krundunii c , 
sunkriindunu d , muha-bhuyu e , jitantukii f , muha-vahoo% 
muha-vuktru h , muheedhum , doondoobhu k , doondoobhU 
ruvu 1 , muha-doondoo-bhinasiku m , oograsyu n , deergu-dus - 
hunu, meghu-k^shu p ? vrikanunu% singhasyu r , shookum- 
mookhu 8 , shiva-ruvu-muhotkutu 1 , shookut-oondu u , pru- 
chundasyu x , bheemakshuy, kshoodm-manusu 2 , oolooku- 
netru a , kunukasyu b , kakutoondti c , khurunLtkhu d , deergu^- 
greevu e , muhajunghu f , shiroddhuru^, ruktu-vrinda-juva^ 
netru h , vidyootjivhu" 1 , ugninetruku k , tapunu 1 , dhoomrak- 
shu m , dhoomunishwasu n , shooru-chundangshoo-tapunu. , 
muhabheeshunu-mookhuP, &c. She also brought a number 
of weapons out of her body, as usee \ chukrti r , bhooshoon- 
dee% guda 4 , moodguru 11 , tomuru x , bhindipalii> r , purighu*, 

P INIalicious-. <J Very malicious. r In various ways malicious. 

* Of fear-exciting countenance. l Of yellow eyes. u Like buffaloe*. 
x Wrathful. v Exceedingly wrathful. z AVarriors. a Cruel-eyed. 
b Wrathful. c Causers of crying. d Causing to cry excessive! ;. 

* Fear-excituig. f Death-conquering. s Large-armed. h Lar? - 
faced. * Mountain-like. k Noisy like the dooudoobhee. ] DJu<{. 
tn With noses like the doondoobhee. u With wrathful countenance. 
" Long-toothed. P With hair like clouds. Leopard-faced. 
r Lion-faced. Pig-faced. t Exciting terrors by making sounds 
like the jackal. With bills like a parrot. x Terrible-faced. 
> Terrific-eyed. Little-minded. a Owl-eyed. b Gold-faced/ 
c Crow-faced. d Sharp-nailed. e Long-necked. f Long-thigiied. 
^Large-veined. h With eyes red like the yuva flower. * With 
tongues like liglrning. k Fiery-eyed. Inflameis. - Smoke-eyed. 
" With breath like smoke. Giving pain to the sun and moon. P Of 
horrid countenance. q A scymitar. * A discus. A hatchet. 

* A bludgeon or club. - A hammer. * An iron crow. y A skor t 
arrow. * A bludgeon. 

VOL, I. P 



10G THE HINDOO MYTHOLOGY. 

koontu% shulyu b , shuktee% urdhu-chundru d , kshoorupru e , 
narachu f , shileemookhu *, muhabhullu 11 , purushoo , bhi- 
doom k , and murmubhedu 1 . 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 away many of the 
arms of the giant : when he, in return, hurled 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 Parvtitee 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 Parvutee caused to 
issue from her body then destroyed all the soldiers of the 
giant ; in return Doorgu caused a dreadful shower of hail 
to descend, the effect of which Parvutee counteracted by an 
instrument called shoshunu m . 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 approached 
the goddess; but she tied his legs, and with her nails, 
which were like scymitars, tore him to pieces. He then 
arose in the form of a buffalo, and with his horns cast 
stones, trees, and mountains at the goddess, tearing up the 
trees by the breath of his nostrils. The goddess next 
pierced him with her trident, when he reeled to and fro, 
and, renouncing the form of the buffalo, assumed his ori- 

A bearded dart. b A javelin. c Another. * An arrow like a 
half-moon. e A weapon like a spade. f A small arrow. & A round 
arrow. fe A Tery Ibeg spear. * A hatchet like a half-moon. 

k A thttn lerbolt full of spiked l A bearded arrow. A weapon 
which dri is wp liquids. 



THE HINDOO IvIYTHOLOGY. 107 

ginal body as a giant, with a thousand arms, and weapons 
in each. Going up to Parvutee, the goddess seized him 
by his thousand arms, and carried him into the air, from 
whence she threw him down with dreadful force. Perceiv 
ing however that this had no effect, she pierced him in the 
breast with an arrow; when the blood issued in streams 
from his mouth, and he expired. The gods were now filled 
with joy : Sooryu, Chundru, tfgnee, &c. obtained 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 vdus j 
sacrifices were regularly performed, and every thing assumed 
its pristine state: the heavens rang with the praises of Par 
vutee, 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 over 
came the gods in war, and reduced them to such a state of 
indigence, that they were seen wandering about the earth 
like common beggars. Indru, after a time, collected them 
together, and they went in a body to Brumha, and after 
wards to Shiva, but met wi.h 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 Muha-maya (Doorga). 
Streams of glory issued also from the faces of the other 
gods, and entering Muha-maya, she became a body of glory 
resemb ing a mountain on fire. The gods then gave their 
weapons to this female, and, with a frightful scream, she 
ascended into the air. 

[The work Chundee, in this place, contains a long ac 
count of the dreadful contest betwixt Muha-maya and this 
giant, which ended in the destruction of the latter ] 



log THE HINDOO MYTHOLOGY. 

After the victory the gods chanted the praises of Muha- 
maya; and the goddess, pleased with their gratitude, pro 
mised to succour them whenever they were in distress, and 
then disappeared. 

The Hindoos believe that the worship of Doorga has 
been performed through the four yoogus; but that Soorutu, 
a king, in the end of the dwapuru-yoogu, made known the 
present form of worshipping the goddess, and celebrated 
these orgies in the month Choitru ; (hence called the Va- 
suntee, or spring festival.) Soorutu offered a very great 
number of goats, sheep, and buffaloes to Doorga; believing, 
according to the shastrti, 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 Yumu \ who at length de 
cided, that though Soorutu had much merit, he had de 
stroyed the.iives of many animals, and that he must be born 
and suffer death from all these beasts assembled in one 
place, when he should immediately be advanced to heaven. 
Others interpret this passage of the shastrti as meaning, 
that the kiag was to assume in succession the forms of aH 
these beasts, and be put to death in each form before he 
could ascend to heaven. In the tre tu-yoogu Ramu is said 
to have performed the worship of Doorga in the month 
Ashwinu. 5 and from him it is continued in this month, and 
called the Sharu-deeya, or autumnal festival. 

This festival, celebrated in the month Ashwinu, the 
most popular of all the annual festivals held in Bengal, I 
shall now attempt to describe. Immense sums are ex 
pended upon it n ; all business throughout the country is 

B In the city of Calcutta alone, it is supposed, upon -a moderate calcu- 



THE HINDOO MYTHOLOGY. 109 

laid aside for several days, and universal festivity and licen 
tiousness prevail. A short time before the festival, the- 
learned men and sirkars employed in Calcutta almost 
universally return home; some of them enjoy a holiday of 
several weeks. 

The image of Doorga has ten arms. In one of her right 
hands is a spear, with which she is piercing the giant 
Muhishu; with one of the left she holds the tail of a ser 
pent, and the hair of the giant, whose breast the serpent is 
biting. Her 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 Lukshmee, Suruswutee, Kartike yu, 
and Giineshu, are very frequently made and placed by the 
side of this goddess. 

On the 9th day of the decrease of the moon this festival 
begins, when the ceremony called sunkulpu is performed, 
by the officiating bramhun s taking into his joined hands a 
metal kosha, (which contains water, flowers, fruits, sesa- 
muin, rice, and a blade of kooshti grass,) reading an incan 
tation, 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 accus 
tomed formularies. 

On the 10th, llth, 12th, 13th, Hth, and 15th days of 

lation, that half a million sterling is expended annually on this festival. 
About fifty years ago (1811) Kundurpu-goorii, a kaiat hu, expended in 
this worship 38,000 pounds, and spent 12,500 pounds annually as long as 
he lived in the same manner. 

Natives who direct the business of Europeans are commonly called 
sirkars. The proper name is Mootsuddee, or Moohtiree. 



110 THE HINDOO MYTHOLOGY. 

the moon, the same ceremonies are performed before the 
pan of water; and, with some trifling variations in the offer 
ings, continued on the 16th, 17th, 18th, 19th, and 20th. 

On the 21st day of the moon, at the close of the worship, 
what is caUed udhivasu is performed. This also is a preli 
minary 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. 

On the 22d, early in the morning, the officiating bram- 
hun consecrates the image, placing it on the spot prepared 
for it in the temple, and repeating the proper formulas. 
After this the principal ceremonies before the 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 bramhun touches with the 
two fore-fingers of his right hand the breast, the two cheeks, 
the eyes, and the forehead of the image. When he touches 
these places he says, Let the soul of Doorga long con 
tinue in happiness in this image. After this, he takes a 
leaf of the vilwu tree, rubs it with clarified butter, and 
holds it over a burnmg lamp till it be covered with soot; of 
which he takes 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 Gune*shu and other gods is now per 
formed; then that of the demi-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 



THE HINDOO MYTHOLOGY. Ill 

set up with that of Doorga; to which succeeds the princi 
pal worship, that of Doorga. FirsP^i^.j officiating bram- 
hun performs dhyanu ; in which, sitting before the image, 
he closes his eyes, and repeats the proper formulas, me 
ditating on the form of the goddess, and repeating to 
himself, e I present to the goddess all these flowers, fruits, 
&c. [here he goes over all the offerings;] 1 slay all these 
animals, &c. He then calls the goddess, saying, ( O god- 
gess, come here, come here; st?y here, stay here. Take up 
thine abode here, and receive my worship. 5 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 an 
other, while the incantation is repeated. Ten or fifteen 
blades of doorvu grass, a yuva flower, sandal powder, rice, 
&c. 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, ears, 
&c. with sandal wood, and red or white lead ; then flowers 
of different kinds, one at a time, with a separate incan 
tation for each flower; also a vilwii leaf, with some powder 
of sandal wood put upon it. Then are offered thrice suc 
cessively two handfuls of flowers of different kinds; after- 
\vards incense, a lighted lamp, and meat offerings. At the 
close, the bramhun walks round the image seven times, 
repeating forms of petition and praise. 

Now the bloody 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 



11 THE HINDOO MYTHOLOGY. 

in the house, puts his left hand on its forehead, marks its 
horns and foreheac >Ji red lead, and reads an incantation, 
in which he offers u up to the goddess thus: ( O goddess, I 
sacrifice this goat p to thee, that I may live in thy heaven to 
the end of ten years. He 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 flowers, red lead, &c. and writing on it 
the incantation which is given to the disciples of Doorga. 
The officiating bramhun next puts the instrument 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 ap 
pointed to slay the animal, who is genera 1 ly the black 
smith 1 ", but sometimes a bramhun. The assistants put the 
goat 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 on the other. An 
earthen vessel containing a plantain is placed upon a plan 
tain leaf; after which the blacksmith cuts off the head at one 
blow, and another person holds up the body, and drains out 
the blood upon the plantain in the bason. If the person 
who performs the sacrifice does not intend to offer the flesh 
to Doorga 8 , the slayer cuts only a small morsel from the 
neck, and puts it on the plantain ; when some one carries it, 

P Only male animals are offered. 

i It is common among the Hindoos for a superior to give a blessing 
while presenting a flower. 

r 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 shastrus have de 
nounced vengeance on the person who shall fail to cut off the head at 
one blow : his son will die, or the goddess of fortune ^Ltikshmee) will 
forsake him. 

B This is rarely or never done at present. There are no parts of the 
animal, however, which may not be offered. 



THE HINDOO MYTHOLOGY. 113 

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 god 
dess, 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 into four parts, 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 campho 
rated water to the goddess; then betle-nut, limes, spices, 
&c. made into what is called panu 1 . 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 many prayers to the 
goddess; which food consists of what is called khechurii", 
fried fruits, fried fish and flesh, &c. About four in the 
afternoon, large quantities of food are presented to the 
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 which are 
offered with separate prayers : after which water, betle, &c. 
are presented. 

* Chewed by almost all the natives. 

u A common dish in Bengal, made of rice, boiled up with turmeric, 
pease, spices, clarified butter, &c. 
VOL. I. Q 



114 THE HINDOO MYTHOLOGY. 

The bramhtins are entertained either with sweetmeats, 
or prepared food, by the person at whose house the wor 
ship 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, 
arid 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 ornamen-s, to dance and sing before the idol. The 
songs are exceedingly obscene; the dances highly indecent; 
and the dress of the dancing women no less so; their cloth 
ing being so fine as scarcely to deserve the name of a 
covering. The tresses of some are thrown loose, hanging 
down to the waist. During the dances, the doors are shut 

* In some places a family or several families of bramhuns are sup 
ported by the revenues attached to a temple, and by the offerings pre 
sented to the idol. At the time of a festival the heads of these families 
wait on those who come to make offerings to the idol, and present them 
Vith betle, sweetmeats, fruits, water, &c. according to their quality. 



THE HINDOO MYTHOLOGY. 115 

to keep out the crowd, as well as Europeans, wlio are care 
fully excluded. Six, seven, or eight women thus dance 
together, assisted by music, for about four hours. Rich 
spectators, when remarkably pleased with a part of the 
song, throw to the singer as much as four, eight, or six 
teen roopees; beside which, those who engage these 
women make them presents of garments, and of consider 
able 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, except that the bathing of the 
goddess, called the great snanu, is attended with more 
ceremonies. In this ceremony the priest first brings some 
earth said to have been thrown up by the teeth of a w r ild 
hog, and, mixing it with water, presents it witfi 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 Ganges ; 
earth raised by ants; and, lastly, earth from any river side, 
not the Ganges, is presented with the same ceremonies. 
After this, turmeric, fruits, and spices; the water of the 
cocoa-nut, and of the water melon; the juice of the sugar 
cane; honey, clarified butter, sour milk, milk, cow s urine, 
cow-dung, sugar, treacle, and different sorts of oil, are 
presented in succession, with the necessary formulas. 
While the officiating bramhun is going through these cere 
monies, he revolves in his mind that he is making 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 

d 2 



116 THE HINDOO MYTHOLOGY. 

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 sacrifices are many; buffaloes are 
offered only on this day. A respectable native once told 
me, he had seen one hundred and eight buffaloes sacrificed 
by one Hindoo at this festival: the number slain in the 
whole country must therefore be very great. Formerly 
some of the Hindoo kings killed a thousand animals on 
these occasions y. The males only are sacrificed; and they 
are in general young and very tame, costing from five to 
sixteen roopees each. None of the Hindoos eat the sacri 
ficed buffaloes, except the shoemakers 2 . Each animal is 
bathed before it is slain; after which the officiating bram- 
htm puts red lead on its horns, and, with a red string, ties 
a piece of wool smeared with red lead on the forepart of the 

y The father of the present king of Nudeeya, at one of these festival?, 
offered a great number of goats and sheep to Doorga. He began with 
one, and, doubling the number eacli day, continued it for sixteen days. 
On the last day he killed 33,708, and in the whole he slaughtered 65,535 
animals. He loaded boats witli the bodies, and sent them to the neigh 
bouring bramlutns; but they could not devour them fast enough, and great 
numbers were thrown away. Let no one, after this, tell us of the scru 
ples of the bramhuns about destroying animal life, and eating animal 
food. 

z In some places the tame hog is offered to Doorga by the lowest casts, 
who, among other offerings, present spirituous liquors to the goddess. 
At the end of the ceremonies, these persons cook and eat the flesh, drink 
the spirits, and then, in a state of intoxication, the men and women dance 
together, and commit the greatest indecencies. No bramhun, on pain of 
losing cast, can assist at these ceremonies ; and indeed all bramhuns, who 
perform ceremonies for persons of low cast, sink in society. 



THE HINDOO MYTHOLOGY. 117 

breast; he also puts a piece of cloth coloured over with tur 
meric on his back, and a necklace of vilwti leaves on his 
neck, repeating prayers during these actions. The cere 
mony of cutting off the heads of the buffaloes, and present 
ing 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 pre 
sents 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; 
which at length return into the hands of the officiating 
bramhun. 

In the year 1806, I was present at the worship of this 
goddess, as performed at the house of Raja Raj-Krishnii at 
Calcutta. The buildings where the festival was held were 
on four sides, leaving an area in the middle. The room to 
the east contained wine, English sweetmeats, &c. for the 
entertainment of English guests, with a native Portuguese 
or 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 dancing with sleepy steps, surrounded 
with Europeans who were sitting on chairs and couches. 
One or two groups of Musulman men-singers entertained 



118 THE HINDOO MYTHOLOGY 

the company at intervals with Hindoost hanee songs, and 
ludicrous tricks. Before two o clock the place was cleared 
of the dancing girls, and of all the Europeans except our 
selves ; and almost all the lights were extinguished, except 
in front of the goddess ; when the doors of the area were 
thrown open, and a vast crowd of natives rushed in, almost 
treading one 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 the motions of the singers, who all stood up. Four 
sets of singers were present on this occasion, the first con 
sisting of bramhuns, the next of bankers, the next of 
voishnuvtis, and the last of weavers a ; who entertained 
their guests with filthy songs, and danced in indecent atti 
tudes 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 tear 
ing their throats with their vociferations. The whole 
scene produced on my mind sensations of the greatest 
horror. The dress of the singers their indecent ges 
tures the abominable nature of the songs the horrid 
din of their miserable drum the lateness of the hour the 
darkness of the place with the reflection that I was stand 
ing 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 them 
selves believed they were performing an act of merit 



Distinguished among the natives by the name of Hiiroo-t hakoorii, 
Bhftvan&ndti, Nitaee, and Lukshmee. 



THE HINDOO MYTHOLOGY. 119 

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, are here detailed, sung, and 
laughed at, without the least sense of shame. A poor 
ballad-singer in England would be sent to the house of 
correction, and flogged, for performing the meritorious 
actions of these wretched idolaters b . The singing is conti 
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 officiating bram- 
hun, in the presence of the family, dismisses the goddess, 
repeating these words : O goddess ! I have, to the best of 
my ability, worshipped thee. Now go to thy residence, 
leaving this blessing, that thou wilt return the next year : 
after which the priest immerses a looking-glass, the repre 
sentative of the goddess, in a pan of water ; and then 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 tears. In the afternoon the 
mistress of the house and other women go to the image, 
put a roopee and some betle in its hand, strew some tur 
meric at its feet, and rub the dust of its feet on their own 
foreheads and those of their friends. On their retiring, the 

b The reader will recollect that the festivals of Bacchus and Cybele 
were equally noted for the indecencies practised by the worshippers, 
both in their words and actions. 



120 THE HINDOO MYTHOLOGY. 

crowd 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 with cords, and carry it on 
their shoulders to the water. It is here placed in the cen 
tre of two boats lashed together, and filled with people, 
among whom are dancers, musicians, singers, &c. At this 
time, in many instances, men dance stark naked on the 
boat before many thousands 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 c . The last ceremo 
ny is that of letting down the image, with all its tinsil and 
ornaments, into the river. 

The women of the house to which the temple belongs 
go to the room from whence 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 

c In a memorandum of my own, dated Sept. 20, 1803, I find these re 
marks, made one evening in the course of a journey : About live in the 
afternoon we came to Bulargur. The people of about twenty villages, 
more than 2000 in number, including women and children, were assem 
bled to throw their images 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, dancing and making indecent gestures, was naked. As the 
boat passed along, he was gazed at by the mob ; nor could I perceive that 
this abominable action produced any thing beside laughter. Before other 
images young men, dressed in women s clothes, were dancing with other 
men, making indecent gestures. I cannot help thinking the most vulgar 
mob in England would have turned with disgust from these abominable 
scenes. I have seen the same abominations exhibited before our own 
house at Serampore. 



THE HINDOO MYTHOLOGY. 121 

branch of the mango tree into the water, and sprinkles ail 
the people, repeating incantations ; and thus blessing the 
people they are dismissed, when each one clasps his neigh 
bour in his arms. Adjourning to their own houses, they 
partake of sweetmeats, and of an intoxicating beverage 
made with hemp leaves. In a vast number of instances 
this festival is thus closed with scenes of the most shame 
ful intoxication: almost all the Hindoos in Bengal think 
it duty to indulge to a certain degree in drinking this 
liquor at this festival. 

Presents to the bramhuns and their wives are made on 
each of the fifteen days of the festival by the person at 
whose house the image is set up, if he be very rich. If he 
be not rich enough to bear so great an expense, he gives 
presents on the nine or three last days of worship; and if 
he be still poorer, on the last day. These presents consist 
of gold and silver female ornaments, silk and cloth gar 
ments, brass and other metal dishes, basons, &c. Some 
persons expend the greatest sums on the dances and other 
exhibitions, and others in feasting and giving presents to 
bramhuns. 

Some classes of Hindoos, especially those who are the 
disciples of Vishnoo, do not offer bloody sacrifices to Door- 
ga, 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 festi 
val to this goddess, after the example of king Soorutu. 

Many Hindoos are Initiated into the rites by which this 

VOL. I. R 



122 THE HINDOO MYTHOLOGY. 

goddess becomes their guardian deity ; and as she is con 
sidered as the image of the divine energy, her disciples are 
called Shaktiis ; a .word signifying energy. 

Images of Doorga, made of gold, silver, brass, &c. are 
preserved by many, and worshipped daily. 

In the year 1808, a bramhun of Calcutta, who had cele 
brated the worship of Doorga, pretended that he had seen 
the goddess in a dream 5 who had declared that she would 
not descend into the river 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 nocked to see this new 
miracle, many of whom made offerings to this terror-inspir 
ing 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 Tuntrus contains an account of an incarna 
tion of Doorga in the form of a jackal, in order to carry the 
child Krishna over the river Yiimoono, when he was 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 their dwellings, and then 
calling the goddess (in the form of some one of these animals) 
to come and partake of them. 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 ; and this is 
not wonderful, when he finds food in this place every day. 
Images of the jackal are made in some parts of Bengal, and 
worshipped, sometimes alone, and at others with the images 
of Doorga and Shmushanu-Kalee. Some Hindoos bow to 



THE HINDOO MYTHOLOGY. 123 

the jackal ; if it pass by a person on his left, it is a fortu 
nate omen. 

The cow is regarded by the Hindoos as a form of Doorga, 
and called Bhuguvutee. 

This goddess has a thousand names, among which are 
Katyayunee, or, the daughter of the sage Katyu. Gouree, 
the yellow coloured. Kalee, the black. Hoimuvutee, the 
daughter of Himaluyu. Eeshwtiree, the goddess. Shiva, 
the giver of good. Bhuvanee, the wife of Shivu. Survu- 
mungula, she who blesses all. trpiirna, she who amidst 
religious austerities abstained from eating even leaves.- 
Parvutee, the daughter of the mountain. Doorga, she who 
destroyed the giant Doorgu \ the inaccessible. Chundika, 
the terrible, ftmbika, the mother of the universe. 



SECT. II. The ten Forms of Door ga. 

THIS goddess is said to have assumed ten different forms 
in order to destroy two giants, Shoombhu and Nishoombhti. 

The following account of these wars is translated from 
the Markundeyu pooranu : At the close of the treta yoogu, 
these two giants performed religious austerities for 10,000 
years; the merit of which actions brought Shivu from 
heaven 6 , who discovered that by these works of extraordi 
nary devotion they sought to obtain the blessing of immor 
tality. Shivu reasoned long with them, and endeavoured 



e It is a maxim of the Hindoo religion, that by performing religious 
austerities the gods become subject to the wishes of men. 

R 2 



124 THE HINDOO MYTHOLOGY. 

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 sup 
planted on their thrones. The king of the gods assembled 
a council, and imparted to them his fears : the gods ad 
mitted that there was great ground for fear, but asked what 
remedy there was. Agreeably to the advice of Indru, Kun- 
durpu (Cupid), with Kumbha and Tilottuma, the most 
beautiful of the elestial courtezans, were sent to fill the 
minds of these giants with sensual desires ; and Kundurpu, 
letting fly his arrow, wounded them both : upon which, 
awaking from their absorption, and seeing two beautiful 
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 gratifica 
tions. They suspected that this must have been a contri 
vance of Indru s ; and driving the courtezans 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 thousand 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; till Indru 



THE HINDOO MYTHOLOGY. 125 

and all the gods, reduced to the most deplorable state of 
wretchedness, solicited the interference of Brumha and 
Vishnoo ; but they referred them to Shivu : who also de 
clared that he could do nothing for them. When, however, 
they reminded him that through his blessing they had been 
ruined, lie advised them to perform religious austerities to 
Doorga. They did so ; and after some time the goddess 
appeared, gave them her blessing, and immediately, dis 
guised 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 
words, she assumed her proper form, and replied, They 
are celebrating my praise/ The new goddess then disap 
peared, and ascended mount Himaluyu, where Chundu and 
Mundu, two of Shoombhu and Nishoombhu s messengers, 
resided. As these messengers wandered on the mountain, 
they saw the goddess, 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. Shoom 
bhu sent Shoogreevu, a messenger, to the goddess, to in 
form her that the riches of the three worlds were in his 
palace ; that all the offerings which used to be presented 
to the gods were now offered to him ; and that all these 
riches, offerings, &c. should be her s, if she would come to 
him. The goddess replied, that this offer was very liberal; 
but she had resolved, that the person whom she married 
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 authoritative strain, Did she know his master, before 
whom none of the inhabitants of the three worlds had been 



126 THE HINDOO MYTHOLOGY. 

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 hjm, therefore, to persuade his master to come 
and try his strength with her. The messenger went to his 
master, and related what he had heard from this female ; 
on hearing which Shoombhu was filled with rage, and 
without making any reply, called for Dhoomlochunu, his 
commander in chief, and gave him orders to go to Hima- 
luyu, 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 fu 
gitives to communicate the tidings. Shoombhu and Ni- 
shoombhu, infuriated, sent Chundu and Mundu, 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 Mundu 
by the hair, cut off his head, and, holding it over her mouth, 
drank the blood. Chundu, 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 Mundu, 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 



THE HINDOO MYTHOLOGY. 127 

goddess j 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 the giants. Ruktu- 
veeju, the principal commander under Shoombhu and Ni- 
shoombhu, seeing all his 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 Ruktu-veeju himself f ; 
hence innumerable enemies surrounded Doorga, and the 
gods were filled 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 desperation, next 
engaged the goddess in single combat, Shoombhu making 
the first onset. The battle was dreadful, inconceivably 
dreadful, on both sides, till at last both the giants wer 
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 bles 
sing on each. 

After the destruction of these enemies of the gods, the 
sun (Sooryu) shone resplendently forth ; the wind (Vayoo) 
blew salubriously ; 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 

f This arose from a blessing given by Brftmha. 



128 THE HINDOO MYTHOLOGY. 

without interruption ; and the people at large were restored 
to happiness. 

The Chundee, a part of the Markunddyu pooranu, places 
these forms of Doorga in the following order: First, as 
Doorga, she received the messenger of the giants ; 2. as 
Dushtibhoojae, she destroyed part of their army; 3. as 
Singh u-vahinee h , she fought with Ruktu-veeju; 4. as 
Muhishu-murdinee , she slew Shoomhhu, in the form of a 
buffalo; 5. as Jugtiddhatree k , she overcame the army of 
the giants; 6. as Kalee 1 , she destroyed Ruktu-veeju; 7- as 
Mooktu-k^shee m , she again overcame the army of the 
giants; 8. as Tara n , she killed Shoombhu; 9. as Chinnu- 
mustuka , she killed Nishoombhu; 10. as Jugudgouree P, 
she was praised by all the gods. 

Such of the above forms as are honoured by separate 
festivals, will be noticed hereafter under thair different 
names. 



SECT. III. Singhu-vahinee*. 

THIS goddess with yellow garments is represented as* 
sitting on a lion. She has four hands ; in one a sword ; in 
another a spear ; with a third is forbidding fear, and with 
the fourth bestowing a blessing. 

Many people make this image, and worship it in the day 

K Having ten arms. h Sitting on a lion. > Destroyer of the buf 
falo, [viz. of Shoombhu in this form.] k Mother of the world. l The 
black. m With flowing hair. n Saviour. Headless. t The 
yellow. i She who sits upon a Hon. 



THE HINDOO MYTHOLOGY. 129 

time, on the Oth of the increase of the moon, in whatever 
month they please, but in general in the month Ashwinu 
or Choitrii, for two or three days. The ceremonies, in 
cluding bloody sacrifices, are almost entirely the same as 
those before the im;ige of Doorga. Sometimes a rich man 
celebrates this worship at his own expense, and at other 
times several persons, who expect heaven as their reward^ 
unite in it. 

Some Hindoos keep in their houses images of all the 
following forms of Doorga, made of gold, silver, brass, 
copper, crystal, stone, or mixed metal, and worship them 
daily. 



SECT. IV. Muhishii-murdinee T . 

THIS is the image of a yellow woman, sitting 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 large spear, 
and the tail of a snake. 

Some persons make this image, and worship it with the 
accustomed ceremonies, including bloody sacrifices, on the 
9th of the month Choitru. 

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 tire heterodox 
sects, receive the initiatory rites of this goddess, and adopt 
her as their guardian deity. 

* She who destroyed Mtihishti, a giant. 
VOL. I. S 



130 THE HINDOO MYTHOLOGY. 



SECT. V.Juguddhatrce*. 

THIS is the image of a yellow woman, dressed in red, and 
sitting on a lion. In her four hands she holds a conch *, 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 in- 
creuse of the moon, when bloody sacrifices are offered as 
at the Doorga festival : the formulas are necessarily diffe 
rent. Very large sums are frequently expended on these 
occasions, especially in the illuminations, dances, songs, 
entertaining of bramhuns, &c. as many ns one hundred and 
fifty persons being employed as singers and dancers, beside 
others who sing verses from the Chundee, the Krislmu- 
mungulu, the Ram 3 y an u, &c. A number of men like 
guards are 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 com 
monly mentioned in the Hindoo shastrus, as promised by 
the gods to their worshippers. 

The mother of the world. 

* This shell is blown at the times of worship, and at other festivals. 



THE HINDOO MYTHOLOGY. 131 



SECT. VLMooktii-k&liee\ 

THIS is the image of a naked woman, painted blue, 
standing on the breast of Shivu, and having four arms : the 
upper right arm is placed in the posture of bestowing 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 ceremo 
nies are like those before the image of Kalee, but the 
bloody sacrifices are very numerous. Spirituous liquors 
are privately presented to the goddess, at a late hour at 
night, or rather early in the morning. Some of the Hindoo 
shastrus allow of this practice, yet it is far from being 
honourable. I have been credibly informed, that numbers 
of bramhuns, in different places, at the annual festival 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, danc 
ing to the sound of music, and singing indecent songs. 
Some are hugging one another; others fall down quite 
intoxicated ; others lose their way, t and go along lifting up 
their hands, dancing and singing alone. The purer Hin 
doos stand gazing at a considerable distance, lest they 
should be dragged among this crowd of drunken bramhuns. 

The benefits promised to the worshippers of this goddess 
are riches now, and heaven hereafter. 

Very many persons are initiated into the rites of this 
goddess as their guardian deity. 

u Of flowing hair. 

s 2 



132 THE HINDOO MYTHOLOGY. 



SECT. VII. Tara*. 

THIS is the image of a black woman, with four arms, 
standing on the breast of Shivti : in one hand she holds a 
sword; in another a giant s head; with the others she is 
bestowing a blessing, and forbidding fear. 

The worship of Tara is performed in the night, in diffe 
rent months, at the total wane of the moon, before the 
image of SiddheshwurCe; when bloody sacrifices are offered, 
and it is reported, that even human beings were formerly 
immolated in secret to this ferocious deity; who is consi 
dered by the Hindoos as soon incensed, and not unfre- 
quently 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 containing- 
the name of Tara, has become a learned man. 



SECT. Vm.--aunnu-mwtukaT. 

THIS is the image of a naked yellow woman, with her 
head half severed from her body 2 , wearing a necklace of 

* The deliverer. * Tl e headless. 

* The Ttintrus give the following explanation of this monstrous feature 



THE HINDOO MYTHOLOGY. 133 

skulls, and standing on the body of Shiva. She is sur 
rounded 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 goddess wor 
ship her daily before the shalgramu, or water, or flowers, or 
an incantation written on a metal dish a . She promises her 
discip es riches, learning, or absorption b ; 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 c . 

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-mus- 
tiika 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 au 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. 

a Before any one of these things, the worship of any of the gods may 
be performed ; but the shalgramu is mostly preferred. 

b A person can receive only one blessing at a time from his god. The 
Hindoos, however, relate a story of a blind man, who put a trick on his 
guardian deity, by obtaining three blessings from him at once : he 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 live of some of their deities : A brarnhun who 
had received the initiating incantation of this goddess, to avoid dying an 
unnatural dvath, used to con^ne himself to his house; where, however, 
a hatchet, hung up for bacriticmg animals, fell upon and killed him as 
lie lay asleep. 



134 THE HINDOO MYTHOLOGY. 



SECT. IX. Jugtidgource*. 

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 7*h, 
8th, and 9th of the increase of the moon in Maghu. Very 
few persons learn the initiatory rites of this goddess. 



SECT. X. 



THE image of this deity is never made ; though she is 
sometimes worshipped on the 7th, 8th, and 9th of the 
moon in Maghu, before a pan of water, or some other pro 
per substitute. The officiating bramhun, in yellow gar 
ments, 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 inflict 
ing, 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 wor 
shipper will be deprived of reason, or of speech, or that 
some other dreadful calamity will befal him. 

d The yellow. Of fear-exciting countenance. 



THE HINDOO MYTHOLOGY. 135 

In the burnt-sacrifice presented to this goddess, turmeric, 
oil, and salt, form the principal ingredients. The Hindoos 
believe that after performing the proper ceremonies for the 
destruction of an enemy, the goddess soon complies with 
the prayers of the worshipper. Shoodrus, of course, em 
ploy bramhuns in thus attempting to accomplish their 
murderous wishes. Particular forms of praise and of peti 
tion, referring in many cases to the injury or destruction of 
enemies, addressed to this goddess, are contained in the 
Tuntru-saru. 



SECT. Xl.Prutyungira f . 

THE image of this idol is never made, but is worshipped 
in the night whenever a person chooses, which is, generally, 
when he wants to injure or destroy another. The officiat 
ing bramhun dressed in red, and wearing a roodrakshu 
necklace, offers, among other things, red flowers, spirituous 
liquors, and bloody sacrifices. The flesh of crows, or cats, 
or of some other animal, after having been dipped in spiri 
tuous liquors, sometimes makes a part of the burnt-offer 
ings; 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. Parti 
cular forms of praise are also repeated before this image to 
accomplish the destruction of enemies. I here give a spe 
cimen : ( Oh ! Prutyungira, mother ! Destroy, destroy my 
enemies ! Kill ! kill ! Reduce them to ashes ! Drive them 
away ! Devour them ! Devour them ! Cut them in two ! 
Drink, drink their blood ! Destroy them root and branch ! 

f The well-proportioned. 



136 THE HINDOO MYTHOLOGY. 

With thy thunder-bolt, spear, scymitar, discus, or rope, 
destroy them. * 

A story to the following purport is very current among 
the Hindoos : Jaf ur-alee-kha, the nabob of Moorshudubad, 
was much attached to Ramu-kantu, his Hindoo treasurer; 
who was at enmity with Kalee-shunkuru, a very learned 
Hindoo, and a great worshipper of the female deities. The 
latter, to effect the destruction of Ramu-kantu, began 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"- 
shunku.ru. was thus employed. The nabob, full of rage, 
ordered that Kalee-shunku.ru 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 
they might protract his journey as much as possible. They 
did so, and the day before they arrived at Moorshudubad 
the nabob died. I give this story to shew, w r hat a strong 
possession the popular superstition has taken of the minds 
of the people ; who, while smoaking together, listen to these 
stories with the utmost eagerness and surprise, as the 
villagers in England tell stories current amongst them 
while sitting round the winter s fire. 



SECT. XII. Unnu-poorna*. 

THIS image may be made standing, or sitting On the wa 
ter-lily : in the right hand is a spoon, like that with which the 

K She who fills with food ; from unnii, food, and poornu, full. 



THE HINDOO MYTHOLOGY. 137 

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 Chqitru : bloody sacrifices, fish, and spirituous 
liquors are among the offerings. Onnu-poorna being the 
guardian deity of many of the Hindoos, (who have a pro 
verb amongst them, that a sincere disciple of this goddess 
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 Onnu-poorna ! 
ft nnii-poorna ! and hopes, that through her favour he shall 
be well fed that day. When one Hindoo wishes to com 
pliment another on his riches or liberality, he says, e Oh ! 
Sir, your house is as full of riches as that of tJnnu-poorna : 
or, if he speak of another when absent, he says, Such a 
one, in liberality, is like trnnu-poorna/ 



SECT. XLlI.~Gun&hu-jiinvnee h . 

THIS name Doorga assumed after the birth of Gun^shu : 
she is here represented as sitting on the water-lily, dressed 
in red, and supporting with one arm the infant Gune shu, 
at the breast, while the other hand rests on the knee of the 
infant. 

* The mother of Guneshu. 
VOL. I. T 



138 THE HINDOO MYTHOLOGY. 

A small festival in honour of this goddess is celebrated 
in the month ftgruhayunii or Phalgoonu, on the 7th, 8th, 
and 9th of the increase of the moon. Some years ago, at 
Gooptee-para, a village about forty miles north of Calcutta, 
a great festival was held in honour of Guneshu-jununee, 
when fifty thousand roopees or more were expended. The 
bramhuns of the village collected money to defray the 
expenses ; 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, &c. 
began a month before the principal day of worship : all the 
visitors were entertained, and more than two thousand 
animals were slain. 



SECT. XIV. Krishnu-krvra 1 . 

THIS is an image of Doorga giving suck to Krishnu, 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, 
8th, 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 was once found in a pool ; and 
no information could be obtained to what it related, until 
a Brumhticharee referred them to the following story in one 
of the Tuntrus. In the neighbourhood of Vrinda-vunu, by 
the river Yumoona, Soubhuree, a sage, for a long time 
performed religious austerities. One day, while in the 

* She who holds Krislmtt in her arms. 



THE HINDOO MYTHOLOGY. 139 

midst of his devotions, he 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 snatched 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 
Muluyu was the resort of many serpents, who daily collect 
ed a number of frogs, &c. and presented them to Gurooru, 
to conciliate him, and to prevent his devouring them. At 
last Kaleeyii, the king of the hydras, commanded his sub 
jects to give the frogs to him, promising to protect them 
from Gurooru : but the latter on his arrival, finding no 
food, attacked and overcame Kaleeyu; who, though de 
feated, amused Gurooru by rehearsing some verses which 
no one understood but himself k , till he had made 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 conse 
quence of the serpent s remaining in this spot, the poison 
proceeding from his body had destroyed all the trees, water 
&c. for two miles round, and whoever drank of the water 
died. About this 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 poisoned by the waters of the Yumoona. Krishnu 
then jumped from a tree into the river; overcame the ser 
pent, and drave him out of the place. Kaleeyu, full of fear, 
asked where he was to go, for tlv t t Gurooru would certain 
ly kill him. Krishnu, putting his foot on his head, assured 

k These verses, it is said, now compose one of the kavytts called 
PingtiW. 

T 2 



HO THE HINI>00 HYTHOLOGY. 

him that when Gurooru discovered the mark of his foot, he 
would not destroy him. The waters now became whole 
some; the trees gained their verdure; and the boys and 
cows were restored to life : but the pain arising from the 
poison in the wounds which Kaleeyu had given to Krishna 
was intolerable. He therefore prayed to Doorga, who made 
him suck the milk from her own breast, by which he wa 
immediately restored to health. 



SECT. X\. Vislialaksliee\ 

A CLAY image of this goddess is set up at Shye nuhatee, 
a village in Burdwan, which is become a place of great 
resort for pilgrims. Vast multitudes of buffaloes, sheep, 
goats, &c. are offered at different times to this goddess, not 
unfrequently for the destruction of enemies : sheep and 
goats are offered every day, and it is said that formerly hu 
man sacrifices were offered to this goddess. Many persons, 
it is affirmed, have obtained the privilege of conversing 
with their guardian deities in consequence of worshipping 
this image with very shocking ceremonies, while others 
thus employed are said to have been driven mad ; yet some 
persons receive the name of Vishalakshee as their guardian 
deity. 



SECT. XVI.Chundee m . 

IMAGES of this form of Doorga are not made at present 
in Bengal ; but this goddess is worshipped by many of the 
bramhuns, &c. before a metal cup containing the water of 

1 Of large or beautiful eyes. * The wrathful. 



THE HINDOO MYTHOLOGY. 141 

the Ganges. This worship is celebrated daily, or at the 
time 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, alliga 
tors, fish, buffaloes, 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, when offering an 
animal in order to effect the destruction of an enemy : ( O 
goddess, of horrid form, O Chundika ! eat, devour such a 
one, my enemy, O consort of fire ! Salutation to fire ! This 
is the enemy who has done me mischief, now personated 
by an animal : destroy him, O Muhamaree ! Sphe ng ! 
sph^ng ! eat, devour. 

Women sometimes make a vow to Chundee to engage 
her to restore their children to health, or to obtain some 
other favour. If a person recover in whose name such a 
vow has been made, his neighbours ascribe it to Chundee. 

The exploits of this goddess are celebrated in a poem 
written by the poet Kunkunu, and recited on various occa 
sions, under the name of Chundee-ganu, or Chundee-yatra. 



SECT. XVIL Other Forms of Door ga. 

Kamakhya n . This goddess is worshipped daily by per 
sons of property before a pan of water, or some other 
substitute ; and also by many shaktus on the 8th of the 
moon in both quarters. Those who worship her monthly, 

n She who is called desire. 



142 THE HINDOO MYTHOLOGY. 

generally present some particular request in favour of them 
selves or families. At the Doorga festival this goddess is 
also worshipped with many ceremonies and at a great 
expense. A few persons receive the initiatory rites of this 
goddess, and worship her as their guardian deity. 

Findhyii-vasinee . This is the image of a yellow female, 
sitting on a lion, with either four or eight arms : she is 
worshipped in the month Voishakhu, on the 9th, or on the 
7th, 8th, or 9th of the increase of the moon : at Benares 
she is worshipped daily. The destruction of several giants 
is ascribed to this goddess. 

Mungulu-Chiindikav. This is the image of a yellow 
female, sitting on three skulls, clothed in red; having in her 
right hand a hook, and in her left a roodrakshu. bead-roll. 
She is mostly worshipped by females, or rather by bram- 
huns employed by 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 some 
times send offerings to the house of a bramhun, to be pre 
sented to her with prayers. In the month Poushu a small 
festival is held in honour of this goddess. 



* This is the image of a female sitting 
on the water-lily, swallowing an elephant, while with the 
left hand she is pulling it out of her throat r . She is wor- 

She who dwelt on mount Vindhyti. 

P The fervent benefactress. 

<i She who sits on the water-lily. 

This image is said to owe its rise to a vision at sea ascribed to 
Shreemuntu, a merchant, the particulars of which are related in the 
Kuvee-kunktmiK 



THE HINDOO MYTHOLOGY. 143 

shipped on the 8th of Voishakhu, with the usual ceremonies 
and festivities. 

Raju-raj&kwuree*. This goddess is represented as sit 
ting on a throne, the three feet of which rest on the heads 
of Brumha, Vishnoo, and Shivti. She is worshipped on the 
7th, 8th, and 9th of Voishakhti, with the ceremonies com 
mon 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 spi 
rituous 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 numerous 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 god 
dess are very numerous. 

Kuroonamuyee. In some places the image of this god 
dess is set up r.nd worshipped 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 rece ve the initiatory rites by which 
she becomes their guardian deity. 

The goddess who governs Briimha, Vislmoo, and Shivti. 

* She who existed before the yoogus. 
u The compassionate. 



144 



THE HINDOO MYTHOLOGY. 



SECT. XVIII. Other Form* ofDoorga. 



Pruchunda , 


Juya", 


Chundagra k , 


D^vu-sena x , 


Dhooma-vutee ] , 


Swudha y, 


tlbhuya m , 


Swaha z , 


Sutee n , 


Shantee % 


Gouree , 


Toostee b , 


Piidma p , 


Poostee c , 


Shuchee q , 


Dhritee d , 


Medha r , 


Atmu-d^vta c , 


Savitree s , 


Koolu-devta f , 


Vijuya 1 , 


&c. &c. 



Tripoora x , 
Twuritay, 
Nitya z , 
Prustabinee a , 
Jiiyu-doorga b , 
Shoolinee c , 
Muha-lukshmee d , 
Shree-vidya e , 
Tripoora-soondiiree f , 
Vunu-deVee*, 
Chiindu-nayika h , 



All these goddesses are worshipped at the festivals of 
Doorga, as well as at other times, before the proper repre 
sentative 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 



* She who governs the three worlds, heaven, earth, and the world of 
the hydras. * She who speedily executes her will. z The everlasting. 
11 The praise-worthy. b The destroyer of the giant Doorgti. c She 
who wields the weapon of this name. d The great goddess of fortune. 
e The learned. f The beauty of the three worlds. e The goddess 
of forests. h The destroyer of the giant Chundu. * The wrathful. 
k The furious. ! She who is the colour of smoke. m She who 
removes fear. n The wife of Shivu. The yellow. P She who 
sits on the water-lily. < She who tells the truth of all. * The wise. 
The cause of all. e The victorious. u Ditto. * The celestial 
heroine. y She who presides over the manes. z Ditto. The 
comforter. b Ditto. c The nourisher. d The patient. The 
goddess of souls. f She who presides over the generations of men. 



THE HINDOO MYTHOLOGY. 145 

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. Juyti-doorga is worshipped to obtain deliverance 
from danger. 

Beside the above forms of Doorga, there are many others, 
whose names end with the word Bhoimvee, viz. the terri 
fic; and temples consecrated to Bhoiruvu and BhoiruvSe 
are erected at many of the holy places visited by the Hin 
doo pilgrims. When a person performs any of the cere 
monies of Hindoo worship at these places, he must firs% on 
pain of meeting with some misfortune, worship these two 
deities. 



SECT. XIX. Katie. 

THIS goddess may also be considered as a form of Bhur 
guvutee, or Doorga, According to the Chundee, the 
image of Kalee, at present worshipped in Bengal, had its 
origin in the story of Ruktu-veeju, already inserted in page 
127. Kalee was so overjoyed at the victory she had ob 
tained over this giant, that she danced till the earth shook 
to its foundation; and Shivii, at the intercession of the 
gods, was compelled to go to the spot to persuade her to 
desist. He saw no other way, however, of prevailing, than 
by throwing himself among the dead bodies of the slain. 
When the goddess saw that she was dancing on her hus 
band, she was so shocked, that to express her surprise she 
put out her tongue to a great length, and remained motion 
less ; and she is represented in this posture in almost all 
the images now made in Bengal. 
VOL. i. u 



146 THE HINDOO MYTHOLOGY. 

The Udhyatmu Ramayunus 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 rejoice because you have 
killed a Ravunu with ten heads ; but what would you say 
to a Ravunu with 1000 heads? Destroy him, said 
Rtimu. Seeta, again smiling, advised him to stay at home ; 
but he, collecting all the monkies, the giants, and his own 
soldiers together, with Seeta, Lukshmunu, Shutrughnu, 
and Bhumtu, immediately departed for Shutu-dweepu to 
meet this new Ravunu ; sending Hunoomanu before to dis 
cover 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 after 
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 Kishkindha, their place of 
residence; another sent all the giants to Lunka, (Ceylon;) 
and the third sent all the soldiers to tJyodhya, Ramu s capi 
tal. Ramu, thunderstruck at being thus left alone in a 
moment, and thinking that all his adherents had been at 
once annihilated, began to weep : when Seeta, laughing at 
her husband, immediately assumed the terrific form of 
Kalee, and furiously attacked this thousand-headed Ra 
vunu. The conflict lasted ten years, but she at length 
killed the giant, drank his blood, and began to dance and 
toss about the limbs of his body. Her dancing shook the 
earth to its centre, so that all the gods, filled with alarm, 
applied to Shivu : but he declared that he almost despaired 

8 There are four Ramayiintos, one written by Valmeekee, another by 
Vyastt-de vu, and two others, called the Udbootu and the Udhyatrau 
Ramayunus ; but the others are in little estimation compared with the 
work of Valmeekee. 



THE HINDOO MYTHOLOGY. 147 

of calming her passions, for she was mad with joy; he pro 
mised, however, to do all that could be expected from a 
god in so desperate a case ; but, pausing 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. Brumha called to the goddess, and said, ( O god 
dess ! what art thou doing ? Dost thou not see that thou art 
trampling on thy husband ? She stooped, and saw Shiva 
under her feet ; and was so ashamed, that she stood still, 
and threw out her tongue to an uncommon length h . By 
this means Shivu saved the universe ; and Seeta, again 
assuming her proper form, went home with Ramu and his 
brothers. 

In the images commonly worshipped, Kalee is repre 
sented as a very black female, with four arms; 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 neck 
lace of skulls; and her tongue hangs down to her chin. The 
hands of several giants are 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 drunkard. 
She stands with one leg on the breast of her husband 
Shivu, and rests the other on his thigh . 



h When the Hindoo women are shocked or ashamed at any thing, they 
put out their tongues, as a mode of expressing their feelings. 

The image of Minerva, it will be recollected, was that of a threaten 
ing goddess, exciting terror : on her shield she bore the head of a gor- 
gon. Sir W. Jones considers Kalee as the Proserpine of the Greeks. 

u 2 



148 THE HINDOO MYTHOLOGY. 

This deity is equal in ferocity to any of the preceding 
forms of Doorga. In the 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 ! 1 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 obla 
tion be performed in the part of the cemetery called heru- 
ku, or at a temple of Kamakshya, 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 presented in the south division, which is looked 
upon as the place of skulls sacred to Bhoiruvu; and the 
blood is to be presented in the west division, which is deno 
minated heriiku. Having immolated a human victim, with 
all the requisite ceremonies at a cemetery, 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 requisite ceremonies, (such as 
eating consecrated food the day before, and by abstinence 
from flesh and venery,) and must be adorned with chaplets 
of flowers, and besmeared with sandal wood. Then caus 
ing the victim to face the north, let the sacrificer worship 
the several deities presiding over the different parts of the 
victim s body : let the worjiip be then paid to the victim 
himself by his name. Let him worship Brumha in the 
victim s rhundru, i. e. cave of Brumha, cavity in the skull, 
under the spot where the sutura coronalis and sagittalis 
meet. Let him worship the earth in his nose, &c. Wor 
shipping the king of serpents, let him pronounce the 
following incantation : ( O best of men ! O most auspi- 



THE HINDOO MYTHOLOGY. 149 

cious ! 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; pre 
serve 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 auspicious ! the bliss which is obtained by the most 
austere devotion, by acts of charity, and performance of 
religious ceremonies ; and at the same time, O most excel 
lent ! attain supreme bliss thyself. May thy auspices, O 
most auspicious ! keep me secure from rakshusus, pisha- 
chus, terrors, serpents, bad princes, enemies, and other 
evils; and, death being inevitable, charm Bhuguvutee in 
thy last moments 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 ; 
then Brtimha and all the other deities assemble in the vic 
tim ; and be he ever so great a sinner, he becomes pure from 
sin; and when pure, his blood changes to ambrosia, and he 
gains the love of Muhadevee, the goddess of the yogu 
nidru, (i.e. the tranquil repose of the mind from an abstrac 
tion of ideas,) who is the goddess of the whole universe, 
the very universe itself. He does not return for a consi 
derable length of time in the human form, but becomes a 
ruler of the gunu devtas, and is much respected by me 
myself. The victim who is impure from sin, or ordure and 
urine, Kamakshya will not even hear named. The blind, 
the crippled, the aged, the sick, the afflicted with ulcers, the 
hermaphrodite, the imperfectly formed, the scarred, the 
timid, the leprous, the dwarfish, and the perpetrator of 
mtiha patuku, (heinous offences, such as slaying a bram- 
hun, drinking spirits, stealing gold, or defiling a spiritual 
teacher s bed,) one under twelve years of age, one who is 



150 THE HINDOO MYTHOLOGY. 

impure from the death of a kinsman, &c. one who is 
impure from the death of muha gooroo, (father and mother,) 
which impurity lasts for one whole year these severally 
are unfit subjects for immolation, even though rendered 
pure by sacred texts. Let not a bramhun or a chundalu 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 off 
spring of a bramhun, or of a kshutriyti ; nor a childless 
brother ; nor a father ; nor a learned person ; nor one who 
is unwilling; nor the maternal uncle of the sacrificer. The 
day previous to a human sacrifice, let the victim be pre 
pared by the text manushtuku and three devee gundhii 
shuktus, and the texts wadrungu, and by touching his head 
with the axe, and besmearing the axe with sandal, &c. per 
fumes, 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 sacrificer, without doubt ; 
and if it speak, whatever it says will come to pass. 

This work further lays down directions for a person s 
drawing blood from himself, and offering it to the goddess, 
repeating the following incantation : 6 Hail ! supreme de 
lusion ! Hail ! goddess of the universe ! Hail ! thou who 
fulfillest the desires of all. May I presume to offer thee 
the blood of my body; and wilt thou deign to accept it, 
and be propitious towards me/ 

A person s cutting off his own flesh, and presenting it to 
the goddess as a burnt-sacrifice, is another method of pleas 
ing this infernal deity : c Grant me, O goddess ! bliss, in 
proportion to the fervency with which I present thee with 
my own flesh, invoking thee to be propitious to me. 



THE HINDOO MYTHOLOGY. 151 

Salutation to thee again and again, under the mysterious 
syllables ung, ung. 

A person s burning his body, by applying the burning 
wick of a lamp to it, is also very acceptable to Kalee, &c. 
On this occasion this incantation is used : ( Hail ! goddess * 
Salutation to thee, under the syllables ung, ung. To thee 
I present this auspicious luminary, fed with the flesh of 
my body, enlightening all around, and exposing to light 
also the inward recesses of my soul V 

It 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-offer 
ing. Other Tuntrus observe, that the eating of the flesh 
of men, cows, and swine, and drinking spirits, after these 
things have been offered to an idol, must be done in secret 5 
or the person will commit a great crime, and sink into 
poverty. I am credibly informed, that very many bramhuns 
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 1 . A gang of ten persons, perhaps, 
agree to plunder a house; who meet together in a dark 

k See Mr. Blaquiere s translation of the Sanguinary Chapter, Asiatic 

Researches, vol. v. The author hopes Mr. Blaquiere will excuse the 

liberty he has taken of altering his spelling of Sungskritii words, as he 
has done it merely to preserve uniformity throughout the work. 

1 One of Jupiter s names, it is well known, was Piacdator, because 
plunder was offered to him. 



152 THE HINDOO MYTHOLOGY. 

night, under a tree where an image of Sidde shwuree is 
placed ; 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-punchashika 
is read : O \ Sindlmkatee ! (the name of the instrument) 
formed by the goddess Vishace ! Kalee commanded thee 
to cut a passage into the house, to cut through stones, 
bones, bricks, wood, the earth, and mountains, and, through 
the blessing of tfnadya, to make a way by cutting the 
earth from the house of the Malinee to that of Vidya n , 
and that the soil brought out should be carried away 
by the wind. Haree-jhee and Chamunda have given 

" A name of Kalee, which means, without beginning. 

n Soondurtt, the son of Goonii-sindhoo, raja of Kanchee-pooru, was over 
come by the charms of Vidya, the. daughter of Veeru-singhu, the raja of 
Burdwan. For the purposes of courtship 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 Kalee ; who gave him this in 
cantation, and the instrument Sindhukatee, 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 execu 
tion, he composed fifty verses in praise of the raja s daughter, which 
veises have since received the name of Chovu-punchashika. The Hin 
doos 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 the ground ; in consequence, the execution was post 
poned, and the next night Kaiee appeared to Veeru-singhii in a dream, 
and directed him to marry his daughter to Soonduru j who was not a thief, 
but the son of the raja of Kauchee-pooru, a very proper person to become 
his son-in-law. The marriage was soon after celebrated in the most 
splendid manner. 

The Hindoos say, that a female of the Haree cast was once honoured 
with an interview by the goddess Kamakshya, who delivered to her a 
variety of incantations, now used by the lowest casts for the most ridicu 
lous, as well as brutal and wicked purposes. 



THE HINDOO MYTHOLOGY. 153 

this blessing, and Kam ikshya (Kal e) has given the com 
mand. After the reading of this incantation, the thievef 
sit down to eat and drink the things that have been off Ted; 
and when nearly intoxicated, they gird their garments 
firmly round their loins, rub their bodies well with oil, 
daub their eyes with lump-black, and repeat an incantation 
to enable them to see in the dark ; and thus proceed to ilie 
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 Kalu", and ottered prayers before 
her image, that they might be protected by the goddess in 
the act of thieving. It so happened, that the goddess left 
these disciples in the lurch ; they were detected, 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 Kaloe had not pro 
tected them, notwithstanding they had paid their devotions 
to her, there could be no hope that she v/ould save them 
after death ; they might as well, therefore, renounce 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 7 a copy 
of this prayer in the hands of the native Catholic who 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 funeral for 
them; as these persons, they said, embraced the Catholic 
faith, and renounced their cast, from conrictiorc. 

Agum-vageeshu, a learned Hindoo, about five hundred 
VOL. i. x 



154 THE HINDOO MYTHOLOGY. 

years ago, formed the image of Kalee according to the pre 
ceding description, and worshipped it monthly, choosing 
for this 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 Kar- 
tiku, and call it the ShyamaP festival. 

A few persons celebrate the worship of Kalee at the full 
moon in Kartiku ; the ceremonies of which are performed 
before a picture of this goddess, drawn on a stiff 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 worship Kalee for one night on the 14th of 
the decrease of the moon, in the month Magliii; and a few 
rich men do so monthly, on the last night of the moon : 
while others worship this goddess in the month Jyoisht hu, 
when it is called the Phulu-huree festival, on account of 
the many mangoes, jak fruits, &c. offered to her. 

A few years ago, I went to the house of Kalee-shunkuru- 
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 on four sides, 
with an area in the middle. The image was placed at the 
north end, with the face to the south ; and the two side 
rooms, and one of the end rooms opposite the image, were 
filled with spectators : in the area were the animals devoted 
to sacrifice, and also the executioner, with Kalee-shunkuru, 

P A name of Kalee, meaning black. 



THE HINDOO MYTHOLOGY. 155 

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 buffaloes, 
and last of all two or three rams. In order to secure the 
animals, 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 pulled forcibly at the heels; while 
the 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-shunkuru, at the close, went up to the executioner, 
took him in his arms, and gave him several presents of 
cloth, &c. The heads and blood of the animals, as well as 
different meat-offerings, are presented with incantations as 
a feast to the goddess ; after which clarified butter is burnt 
on a prepared altar of sand. Never did I see men so 
eagerly enter into the shedding of blood, nor do I think 
any butchers could slaughter animals more expertly. The 
place literally swam with blood. The bleating of the 
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 bramhuns and guests at this festival are 
numerous, and in some instances very expensive. The 
bramhuns, and then the family and other guests, are enter 
tained, when the spirituous liquors which have been pre 
sented to the goddess are drank privately by those who are 
in the secret. The festival closes with the dances and songs 
before the goddess. 

x 2 



156 THE HINDOO MYTHOLOGY. 

The reader may form an idea how much idolatry prevailed 
at the time when the Hindoo monarchy flourished, from 
the following circumstance, which belongs to a modern 
period, when the Hindoo authority in Hindoost hanu was 
almost extinct. Raja Krishnu-chuHdru-rayu, and his two 
immediate successors, in the month Kartiktt, annually gave 
orders to all the people over whom they had a nominal 
authority to keep the Shyama festival, and threatened every 
offender with the severest penalties on non-compliance. 
In consequence of these orders, in more than ten thousand 
houses, in one night, in the zil ah of Krishnu-nugiiru, the 
worship of this goddess was celebrated. The number of 
animals destroyed cou d not be less than ten thousand. 
The officiating bramhuns, especially those who perform 
religious ceremonies for shoodrus, were greatly perplexed, 
as a single bramhun had to perform the ceremonies of wor 
ship at two hundred houses, situated in different villages, 
in one night. All the joiners, b rbers, or blacksmiths, in 
fifteen or twenty villages, in many instances have but one 
officiating priest, the bramhuns in general being unwilling 
to incur the disgrace which arises from performing religious 
services for shoodrus. 

Eeshanu-chundru-rayu, the grandson of Krishnu-chun- 
dru-rayti, in certain years, presented to Kalee eighty thou 
sand pounds weight of sweetmeats, the same quantity of 
sugar, a thousand women s cloth garments, the same number 
of women s China silk garments, a thousand offerings, in 
cluding rice, plantains, peas, &c. and immolated a thou 
sand buffaloes, a thousand goats, and the same number of 
sheep; which altogether could not cost less than ten thou 
sand roopees, while the other expenses amounted to scarcely 
less than twenty thousand. To defray these expenses, this 
raja sold the greater part of his patrimony 5 and in this and 



THE HINDOO MYTHOLOGY. I5T 

other idolatrous customs he and other Hindoo rajas have 
expended almost the whole of their estates. 

Raja Ram-Krishnu also expended very large sums of 
money upon the worship of Kalee. He set up a stone 
image of this goddess at Varahu-nuguru ; on which occa 
sion he is said to have spent a lack of roopees. He also 
endowed this image with such a large revenue, that at pre 
sent five hundred persons are maintained there daily. In 
the service of this goddess he has nearly reduced himself io 
poverty, though formerly from the rents of the lands, &c. 
he used to pay fifty-two lacks of roopees annually into the 
Company s treasury. 

Kalee is the guardian deity of very many of the Benga 
lees, especially of the bramhuns. 

At Kal^e-ghatu, near Calcutta, is a celebrated image of 
this goddess, whom (in the opinion of the Hindoos) all 
Asia, and the whole world worshippeth. 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 seating two hun 
dred 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 



158 THE HINDOO MYTHOLOGY. 

this building, in front of the image, the animals for sacri 
fice are slain. Not fewer than four thousand persons 
assemble on particular occasions at this temple, especially 
at the Shyama and Doorga festivals; and, twice a week, 
on the Che"tula ( i 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, pre 
senting himself at the door with joined hands, to address 
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 V 

About nine o clock each day, the bramhun who in turn 
performs the duties at the temple, and who receives the 
offerings of the day, after cleaning and bathing the image, 
puts on it the garlands of flowers and other ornaments, 
sweeps the temple, and then throws open the doors, calling 
out, Victory to the great Kalee ! Victory to the great 
Kalee ! 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 occupies about an hour; after which men 
and women are seen bringing their offerings to the idol, 
which continue to be presented during the greater part of 
the day. Some merely present them, without asking for 

i An adjoining village. 

r It is said that formerly, especially in times of scarcity, numbers of 
men were sold at this market. 



THE HINDOO MYTHOLOGY. 159 

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 this 
kind, and eat it, or wear it in their hair. Other 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 
some such words as these : Oh ! goddess ! mother Kalee ! 
If thou wilt deliver me out of such or such a trouble, or 
wilt bestow such or such a blessing, I will present to thee 
[here the petitioner repeats 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 presence of the goddess 
herself : the officiating bramhun says, e Who is to have 
these offerings ? to which the worshipper replies, ( Oh ! 
sir ! our family priest always receives 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 the goddess, saying to him, Sir, the bramhuns 
at the temple of Kalee are such notorious cheats, that of all 
I give to the goddess, she will probably get nothing but 
a few flowers ; and they are so rapacious that 1 shall never 
get these offerings out of their hands : on which this bram 
hun carries the offerings to the temple, and declares, that 
they belong to the bramhuns 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 re 
mainder home. About three o clock in the afternoon, food 
is placed before the goddess, consisting of rice, greens. 



160 THE HINDOO MYTHOLOGY. 

roots, fruits, milk, curds, clarified butter, flesh, spirituous 
liquors 8 (in a concealed form), sweetmeats, &c. &c. Ge 
nerally about 250 pounds of rice are cooked daily, but at 
particular times twice or thrice as much. After reserving 
as much as is necessary for his own family, the officiating 
bramhun sells the rest of the offerings to devout visitors or 
neighbours, and gives away 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 
bramhun keeps what he pleases, and sells the rest to 
bramhuns, shoodms, Portuguese, and persons from all 
parts of the neighbourhood *. 

The daily offerings to this goddess are astonishingly 
numerous. On days when the weather is very unfavour 
able, 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 sacrificed. On common days, of all 
these things three times the quantity ; and at great festi 
vals, or when a rich man comes to worship, ten, twenty, or 
forty times this quanti y; and as many as forty or fifty 
buffaloes, and a thousand goats are slain. 

Raja Nuvu-Krishnu, of Calcutta, about fifty years ago, 

It is affirmed that the greater number of grown up persons in this 
village drink spirits. Bramhuns may be seen in front of the temple, 
drinking spirits at noon day ; and religious mendicants walking about, 
naked, without the least sense cf shame. 

* The women belonging to the ternj le have become such good cooks, 
that it is not uncommon for persons to pay for a dinner from their hands, 
preferring it to any thing they could get elsewhere. 



THE HINDOO MYTHOLOGY. 161 

when on a visit to Kalee-ghatu, expended, it is said, not 
less than 100,000 roopees on the worship of this goddess. 
Amongst the offerings was a gold necklace valued at 
10,000 roopees, and, beside other ornaments, a rich bed, 
silver plates, dishes, and basons ; sweetmeats, and other 
food sufficient for the entertainment of a thousand persons ; 
and trifling presents of money to near two thousand of the 
poor. 

About twenty years ago Juyu-Narayunu-Ghoshalu, of 
Kiddurpooru, near Calcutta, expended 25,000 roopees at 
this place: when he sacrificed twenty-five buffaloes, 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 5,000 roopees on the worship of this goddess, 
beside the price of a thousand goats which were slaugh 
tered. 

In the year 1810, a bramhun from the east of Bengal 
expended on this idol about four thousand roopees, with 
part of which he bought a golden necklace, the beads of 
which were in the shape of giants skulls. 

In the year 1811, Gopee-mohunu, a bramhun of Calcutta, 
expended ten thousand roopees in the worship of this 
goddess ; but, being a voishriuvti, he did not offer any bloody 
sacrifices. 

The Hindoos, it seems, are not the only persons who 
worship this black stone : I have received accounts several 
times of Europeans, or their native mistresses, going to this 

VOL. I. Y 



162 THE HINDOO MYTHOLOGY. 

temple, and expending thousands of roopees in offerings. 
The bramhun with whom I wrote this account declares, 
that when he was a student at Vtirisha, near Kalee-ghatti, 
he several times saw the wives of Europeans come in palan- 
queens with offerings ; though I suppose these ladies were 
born in India. But the proprietors of the temple posi 
tively 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 x . 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 sup 
pose some Portuguese (who also go by the name Saheb) 
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 unfrequently passes off, with many a triumph 
over degraded Christianity, as the worship of such a Euro 
pean ; and many Europeans, who go for curiosity to see 
the temple and the image, inconsiderately 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 view the image,) are construed by 
these ignorant idolaters into an approval of idolatry. A 

u Silver hands, and gold tongues and eyes are among the presents made 
by rich men to this goddess. Such is the stupidity of idolaters. 

* It is probable, that the real worshipper In this instance was a head- 
servant of this gentleman s ; though the expense 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. 



THE HINDOO MYTHOLOGY. 163 

European who was lately there, says my informant, to make 
a drawing of the image, when he departed gave the officiat 
ing bramhun a gold mohur, and this present was probably 
enrolled among the gifts to the temple. 

It is further affirmed, that many Musulmans (four or five 
hundred) present offerings 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 prosti 
tutes, 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, 1 1 made 
vows to Kalee, that if she would restore you to health, I 
would present her with such and such offerings : you are 
recovered; and I must now go and perform my vows. 
Such a female sometimes thus prays for her paramour 
O mother Kalee ! I pray for . If thou wilt in 
crease his wealth, [or remove sickness from him or make 
him successful in such a concern or increase his attach 
ment to me, that he may always follow my advice] I will 
present to thee all 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 y and tradesmen present offerings to Kalee 
once, twice, or thrice a year, to obtain success in their 
concerns ; many rich men (thirty or forty) place bramhuns 
at this temple to worship the goddess, to walk round the 

y Hindoo merchants engaged in foreign commerce, after the successful 
voyage of a ship in which they had property, frequently present thank- 
offerings to this goddess. 

Y 2 



164 THE HINDOO MYTHOLOGY, 

temple, and read the Chundee, daily in their names; 
others place bramhuns here for these purposes, for two or 
three months in the year ; sepoys from all parts of Hin- 
doost hanu 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 z ; 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 are devoted to Kalee, and kept, in some cases, for 
a long time, till the owner be able to meet the other ex 
penses attending the offerings and worship. These animals 
are called the goats of Kalee. 

The village of Kalee-ghuttu (or Kalee-ghatu) owes the 
greater part of its present population to this temple ; from 
which near two hundred persons derive their subsistence, 
exclusive of the proprietors, who amount to about thirty 
families. Some proprietors have a day in turn, others half 
a day, and others two or three hours; to whom all the 



m The hair of some children is not cut at all till the vow be fulfilled ; 
others only separate a lock of the child s hair, tying it up in a bunch. A 
large hillock of human hair, collected at the times of shaving when vows 
have been fulfilled, is formed near the temple. 

* A bramhun once assured me, that he had seen not less than three 
hunched boys invested with the poita in one day at this place; on which 
occasion many bloody sacrifices were offered. The concourse of people 
was immense. 



THE HINDOO MYTHOLOGY. 165 

offerings presented in the portion of time thus apportioned 
belong. All these families have become rich. 

In the month Maghu, a festival is held in various places 
of Bengal in honour of Ghatoo, the god who presides over 
blotches on the skin ; but the assembly at Kalee-ghatu 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 Shivti. 

I here add a rough account of what is expended on this 

idol monthly : 

Rs. As. P. 
Buffaloes slain, (5) 30 00 

Goats ditto, (1000) -------- 800 

Sheep ditto, (30) -------- 40 00 

Rice, (200 cwt.) --------- 440 

Salt, Spices, Pease, Fish, &c. ----- 200 

Clarified Butter, -- 700 

IVLlk and Curds, --- 500 

Sugar, (11 cwt.) -105 00 

Sweetmeats, (22 cwt.) - - 360 

Plantains, (25,000) 50 00 

Evening offerings, -------- 60 00 

Meat offerings, --------- 90 00 

Dressed food, - 80 00 

Fees, --- _ _ - 233 

Travelling Expenses, ------- 300 

Alms given to the poor by visitors, - 200 

Extraordinaries from rich men, and at festivals, 3000 



Sa. Rs. 6000 



Seventy-two Thousand Roopees annually, or Nine Thou 
sand Pounds sterling. 



166 THE HINDOO MYTHOLOGY. 



SECT. XX. Other Farms of Katie, $e. 

Chamunda^. This image, which is similar to that of 
Kalee, except that Chamunda 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. 

Shmuslianu-Kalee c . When this image is made, other 
figures are introduced, as those of the giants, Shoombhu 
and Nishoombhu, of jackals, dead bodies, &c. These 
giants are represented as sitting on elephants, throwing 
arrows at the goddess 5 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 worship begins at the total wane of the 
moon in Maghu, and continues for three nights. Revelling 
is carried to the greatest pitch : some of the worshippers, 
and not unfrequently the sons of rich men, dance before 
the image naked, ( glorying in their shame. A few Hin 
doos adopt this goddess as their guardian deity. 

Manuvu- Kalee :d . 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 Maghu: the present fruit, diversion; and 
hereafter, heaven. Such are the ideas of the poor deluded 
Hindoos. A whole village sometimes joins to defray the 

b She who seized Chundu and Mtindu, two giants. 

e This name denotes, that Kalee dwells in the place of burning the 
dead, and presides over cemeteries. Shmtishanu means a cemetery. 

a Viz. in the form of man. 



THE HINDOO MYTHOLOGY. 167 

expense, at other times a rich man bears it alone. Many 
bloody sacrifices are offered, and a great shew made, espe 
cially with illuminations; to which are added dancing, sing 
ing, music, &c. 

Phulu-hiiree*. This form of Kalee is that 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 Jyoisht hu, or in any other month, at the pleasure 
of the worshipper. The offerings are numerous, especially 
of fruits : and buffaloes, goats, and sheep, are sacrificed. 
The day after the worship, the image is thrown into the 
river. 

Bliudru-Kalee f . 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 worshipped 
daily. 

Oogrii-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 h . 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. when bloody sacrifices are offered 
to her. 



e She who receives much fruit. f The beneficent. * The furious. 
h The joyful 



168 THE HINDOO MYTHOLOGY. 

Nuvii-putrika 1 . 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 are 
represented by nine branches of different trees : Rumbha, 
by a plantain k ; Kuchwee-r65pa, by a kuchwee l ; Huridra, 
by a huridra" 1 ; Juyuntee, by a jiiyuntee 11 ; Vilwarodpa, by 
a vilwu ; Darimee, by a darimu P ; Ushoka, by an usho- 
kui; Manuka, by a manu r ; and Dhanyu-roopa, by a 
dhany u s . 

Bheemii-chundee*. This image is made and worshipped 
at Benares : in Bengal 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 
this goddess, nor is her image set up for worship ; but in 
times of sickness she is worshipped before the shalgramu, 
when forms of praise from the Tuntrus are addressed 
to her. 

Vimula x . A stone image of this idol is worshipped in 
one of the temples erected in Orissa, near the famous tem 
ple of Jugunnat hu. Bloody sacrifices are offered to this 
goddess; L but as this place is sacred to Vishnoo, these 
offerings are made in secret. Vimula is also worshipped in 
Bengal at the festivals of Doorga and Kalee. 

Siddh&hwiiree y. In many villages in Bengal one, and 

1 The nine goddesses. k Musa paradisaica. j Arum esculentum. 
m Curcuma longa. n ^Zschynomene seshan. TEgle marmelos. 
P Punica granatum. i Jonesia asoca. r Arum macrorhyzon. 

Coriandrum sativum. * The terrific. u The unconquerable. 

* She who purifies. * She who fulfils the wishes of her worshippers. 



THE HINDOO MYTHOLOGY. 169 

in some large villages several of these images are set up. 
They are in general made of clay ; but some are 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 g fts and offerings come to 
the person who 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 propi 
tious. If a woman want a son, she procures a bramhun to 
worship 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 mar 
ried, he intercedes with the goddess, and promises to 
celebrate her worship if she be favourable. On all occasions 
of particular distress or want, the people resort to these 
images with their presents and vows. Thieves also wor 
ship Siddheshwuree, that they may be favoured with her 
smiles and be protected in thieving 2 . Honest and poor 
people also worship this image to obtain protection from 
thieves. An annual festival is held in honour of Siddhesh 
wuree on the same day as the Shyama festival. 



SECT. XXl.Lukshmee 

Is called the goddess of prosperity : she is painted yellow, 
and sits on the water-lily, holding in her right hand the 
pashu, (a rope,) and in the left a necklace. 



z The goddess Laverna, it is well known, was the protectress of thieves, 
who, from her, were named Laverniones, and who worshipped her, that 
their designs and intrigues might be successful : her image was a head 
without a body. 

VOL. I. Z 



170 THE HINDOO MYTHOLOGY. 

Vishnoo is said to have obtained this goddess at the 
churning of the sea a ; at which time all the gods were so 
charmed with her beauty that they desired to possess her, 
and Shivti was entirely overcome by his passion. The rea 
der 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 in 
crease of the moon, in the morning ; in Ashwinti, 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 garland 
of flowers ; then cover it with a white cloth ; and, encir 
cling it with a number of small shells, place before it a box 
containing red paint, a comb, &c. The officiating bram- 
hun performs the usual ceremonies, varying but little from 
those at the worship of Vishnoo, in the name of the master 
or mistress of the house. No bloody sacrifices are offered. 
Bramhuns 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. 

This worship is celebrated in almost every Hindoo family 
a She is also called the daughter of Bhrigoo. 



THE HINDOO MYTHOLOGY. 171 

five times a year; the frequency of which is not to be won 
dered at, when it is considered that Lukshmee is the goddess 
of prosperity. If a man be growing rich, the Hindoos say, 
Lukshmee is gone to abide at his house 3 if he be sinking 
into poverty, they say, c Lukshmee has forsaken him. If 
they wish to abuse another, they call him Lukshmee-chara b . 

The morning after the festival, the women take up the 
corn-measure, and preserve it for some future time of wor 
ship : 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 
neighbouring females, sit around and hear. In some places 
a number of persons subscribe towards the expense of 
making an image of Lukshmee, and worship it on any of 
the days before-mentioned. 

Names. Lukshmee, or, the goddess of fortunate signs; 
Pudmaluya, she who dwells on the water-lily ; Pudma, she 
who who holds in her hand the water-lily ; Shree, she in 
whom all take refuge ; Huree-priya, the wife of Huree. 



SECT. XXILKojagurii-Lukshmee c . 

THIS form of Lukshmee is worshipped at the full moon 
in Ashwinu, in the evening, before a corn-measure, sur- 

b In the provincial dialect it is Lukhee-chara, that is, luckless ; thus 
forming an extraordinary coincidence of sound and meaning in languages 
so extremely different. 

c The shastriis 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. 

z 2 



172 THE HINDOO MYTHOLOGY. 

rounded by four plantain trees ; though some persons wor 
ship 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. 



SECT. XX1IL Suriiswutee. 

THIS is the goddess of learning, the daughter of Brum- 
ha, and the wife of Vishnoo. She is represented as a white 
woman, standing on the water-lily, and playing on a 
lute. 

On the 5th day of the increase of the moon, in Maghu, 
the worship of this goddess is performed before her image, 
or a pen, inkstand, and book -, the latter articles are sup 
posed to form a proper substitute for the goddess, who 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 bramhun has read the formulas and pre 
sented the offerings, each worshipper whose name has been 
read in the service takes flowers in his hands, and, repeat 
ing 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 Burd- 
wan is said to expend 15,000 roopees annually at this festi 
val. In every Hindoo college, the students keep the 
festival with great joy : many of them dance naked, and 
are guilty of every indecency. 



THE HINDOO MYTHOLOGY. 173 

The day after the festival, the image is carried in proces 
sion through the town, and then thrown into the river. In 
passing through the streets of Serampore, at the time of 
this festival in the year 1806, 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 decency. To induce young men to resort to their 
houses, many prostitutes keep this feast, and connect with 
it all that low merriment which corrupts the mind and 
draws the attention of the crowd d . 

On this day the Hindoos neither read nor write 6 , though 
they will do any other secular business. They eat only 
once during the day, and those who are accustomed to eat 
fish abstain from it on this day. 

The Hindoos believe, that from this goddess they derive 
their learning and powers of eloquence f , as well as their 
ability to read and write. Some of those who can nei 
ther read nor write, insist upon it, that they ought to 
worship her, as they derive their powers of speech from 

d In the year 1808, I saw a group of performers reciting the Rama- 
yunii in the street; and on enquiry I found it was before the door of some 
prostitutes, who had subscribed to bear the expense. The reason assigned 
was, that it would be an act of merit, helping them in another world ; and 
would also draw men into whoredom. Offerings are sometimes brought 
home, and shared by a prostitute with her paramour; like the harlot, in 
the Book of Proverbs, who is represented as saying to the young man she 
met in the street, * 1 have peace-offerings with me ; this day have I payed 
my vows. Prov. vii. 14. 

e The only reason I can find for this is, it is the command of the 
shastru. 

f Of an eloquent man the Hindoos say, Suruswutee sits on Ms tongue. 



174 THE HINDOO MYTHOLOGY. 

here. Others however complain, Suruswutee has bestowed 
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-Surus- 
wutee. 

Names. Bramhee, or, the daughter of Brumha ; Bha- 
rutee, she who presides over words ; Bhasha, she w r ho 
bestows the power of speech ; Suruswutee, she who 
through the curse of a bramhun was turned into a river. 



SECT. XX\V.Sheetula l > 

Is painted as a yellow woman sitting on the water-lily, 
dressed in rrd, 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 
image is thrown into the water. 

This goddess is also worshipped to obtain preservation 
from the evil effects of the small-pox. In the months 
Choitru and Voishakhu the Hindoos inoculate those of their 
children who are two years old ; on which occasion the ino- 

s Of this fact they give the example of Ravunu, who, when Ramti was 
about to kill him, procured a reprieve, by flattering his adversary ; but 
the gods, afraid lest Ravunu should be spared, sent Suruswutee into his 
throat, and caused him to say provoking things to Ramii. 

h Or, she who cools the body at the time of the small-pox. 



THE HINDOO MYTHOLOGY. 175 

culating bramhun presents offerings and prayers to this 
goddess in the name of the child, promising for the parents, 
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 flowers 
which have been offered in the hair of the child, telling the 
parents that the goddess will be favourable ; and then per 
forms 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 
dangerously 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 pro 
claim in a village, that Sheetula has appeared to one of 
them in a dream, and ordered, that in this village the mis 
tress of each house shall beg at three, four, or more doors, 
and take whatever is given her, and eat it in some neigh 
bouring garden or forest k . The most dreadful misfortunes 
being threatened in case of disobedience, the affrighted 
women beg from door to door, and fulfil the supposed com 
mands of the goddess. 

The regular Hindoo doctors (voidyu) do not inoculate, but a lower 
order of bramhnns called doivugniis, or astrologers. 

k This is a trick to extort some part of the alms from these deluded 
ivomen, 



176 THE HINDOO MYTHOLOGY, 



SECT. XXV. 



THIS goddess, the sister of Vasookee 
Juriitkaru, 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 Jyoist hu, on the 10th of the increase of 
the moon ; also on the 5ih of the moon s increase and de 
crease in Ash win u and Shravunu, as well as on the last day 
of Shravunu, this goddess is worshipped. On the three 
last occasions, the worshippers plant branches of the Eu 
phorbia before the house, and worship them. In Shravunu 
the worship is celebrated with the greatest shew ; on which 
occasion an 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 : in some places, twenty or 
thirty thousand people assemble ; and amidst singing, 
dancing, music, &c. some persons play with snakes of dif 
ferent kinds, particularly the cobra capello, suffering them 
to bite them. This play, however, ends 1 fatally when the 
venomous fangs have not been carefully extracted. The 
cast called Mai, who play with snakes for a livelihood, pro 
fess great regard for Munusa. On the days of the festival, 
the Hindoos do not kindle a fire, alleging that one of the 
names of Munusa is tTrundhuna, she who does not cook. 
A day or two before the festival, in some places, the women 
of the village (perhaps fifty or a hundred, or even two 
hundred) beg rice, either in their own or an adjoining vil- 

1 Or, Muniisa-devee ; the goddess who possesses pleasure in herself. 
m The king of the serpents. 



THE HINDOO MYTHOLOGY. 177 

lage; which they offer, in a field in the neighbourhood, in 
the name of Munusa, 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 s-ory concludes the 
whole : Chandu, a merchant, not only refused to worship 
the goddess, but professed the utmost contempt for her. 
In process of time, however, she caused his six youngest 
sons to be killed by the bite of snakes : to avoid the fate 
of whom, the eldest son, Lukindurii, made an iron house, 
and retired to it ; yet Munusa caused the snake Tukshukti 
to enter by a crevice, which destroyed Lukinduru on his 
wedding-day : his widow escaped, and went weeping into 
the presence of her mother-in-law. The neighbours again 
attempted to reason with Chandu ; but he continued obsti 
nate, declaring that Munusa was no goddess. She appeared 
to people in dreams, and commanded them to persuade him 
to celebrate her worship ; and, after much entreaty, to pacify 
the goddess, he was induced to comply : but declared he 
would present the offerings only with the left hand"; and, 
turning back his 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 cele 
brated. 

When the worship is performed before an image, sheep, 
goats, and buffaloes are offered to Munusa, and even 
swine . 

The hand used in washing after stools. 

Among the Egyptians swine, it is well known, were offered to 
Bacchus. 

VOL. I. A a 



178 THE HINDOO MYTHOLOGY. 

When a Hindoo has been bitten by a snake, the persons 
who pretend to cure him read different incantations con 
taining the names of Munusa. If one- or two persons in a 
village have died by the bite of snakes, all the inhabitants 
become alarmed, and celebrate the worship of Munusa. 



SECT. XXVI. Shushtee* 

Is a yellow woman sitting 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, Ashwinu, Maghii, and two in 
Choitru ; on the 6th of the increase of the moon, and on 
the last day but one of the month. 

The worship celebrated in Jyoisht hu is performed by a 
bramhunee, or an officiating bramhun, under the vutu 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 officiating bramhun performs the usual cere 
monies. The offerings are sent to the house of the officiat 
ing bramhun, or distributed amongst the eager by-standers. 
Among others who are eager to obtain some of these offer 
ings, are women who have not been blessed with children ; 
each of whom sits down pensively among the crowd, and 

f She is worshipped on the sixth lunar day. 
Ficuslndica. 



THE HINDOO MYTHOLOGY. 17S 

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 with a child in your arms. 
The receiver adds with eagerness, ( Ah ! if she bestow this 
blessing, I will celebrate her worship ; I will keep my 
vows, and bring offerings every year/ This festival is 
called Arunyu-shushtee, because the worshippers are di 
rected to walk in some forest on this day, with fans in 
their hands. 

In those houses where the daughter is married, but has 
not left her parents, they send for the 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 doorva 
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 be 
comes 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 
kuntukee tree r , present them to the goddess, and afterwards 

r Artecarpus integrifolia. 
A a 2 



180 THE HINDOO MYTHOLOGY. 

throw them into the river. This festival is called Chapura- 
shushtee 8 . 

The Ashwinu festival, distinguished by the name Doorga- 
shushtee, is in almost every particular the same as the pre 
ceding. 

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 1 . The next 
morning they bathe very early, and on their return go 
through the ceremonies of worship in the house, before 
the two stones with which they grind their spices; and 
upon which 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 shalgramti, 
or some proper representative of an image; and at the close 
of the month, in the evening, before an image of Shivu. 
On the 6th 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 
barley flour mixed with curds or water. Rich persons eat 
sweetmeats. These festivals are called tfshoku-shusht&e 
and Neelu-shushtee. 



In allusion to the making of these images. 

* The fruit of solanum mclongena. 



THE HINDOO MYTHOLOGY. 181 

Another festival is held in honour of this goddess in 
some parts of Bengal, in the month tJgruhayimu, called 
Huree-shushtee. The worship is celebrated before a clay 
pot, filled with 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 which, after a child is six days old, 
every father, to preserve the child, performs the worship of 
the goddess, while the officiating bramhun rends the incan 
tations ; and on the 21st day of the child s age, the mother 
presents offerings to the goddess with her own hands, while 
the officiating brarnhun reads the prayers. The first of 
these ceremonies takes place in the evening, before a 
branch of the vutu 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 bles 
sing of the goddess on the child, promising to present 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 
three lumps of cow-dung, put on the forehead, they stick 
three cowries ; 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 good of the children. 

On the 21st day of the child s age, the mother invites 
ten or fifteen female neighbours, who, with the officiating 
bramhun, accompany her to a stone placed at the foot of 
the vutu 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 ceremonies of wor 
ship in the usual manner : at the close the mother promises, 



182 THE HINDOO MYTHOLOGY. 

on condition that the goddess bless her child, that she will 
worship her every year. The mother distributes the sweet 
meats, &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 repre 
sentative, a rough stone, smeared with red paint, about as 
large as a man s head, is commonly placed at the root of 
the sacred vutu; to which passengers, especially women, 
pay a degree of reverence. In fulfilling particular vows to 
Shushtee, some worshippers surround the vutu 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 devour. 

Bloody sacrifices of bullocks, goats, sheep, and some 
times of tame hogs, are offered to Shushtee". For receiving 
these latter offerings some persons call the goddess a 
cannibal. 

At the close of the different festivals held in honour of 
Shushtee, it is common for women to entertain the com 
pany 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. 

n From kooshti, twenty-one. 



THE HINDOO MYTHOLOGY. 183 



CHAP. IV. 

INFERIOR CELESTIAL BEINGS, OBJECTS OF 
WORSHIP. 



1 HESE beings are either the enemies of the gods, as the 
usooriis 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. 



SECT. I. The Usoorus, or Giants. 

THESE enemies of the gods are the offspring of Kiish- 
yupu, the progenitor of gods, giants, men, serpents, and 
birds, by his different wives. They bear a resemblance to 
the titans or giants of the Grecian Mythology ; and stories 
of their wars with the gods (some of which will be found 
in this work) abound in the pooraniis. Indrti, Vishnoo, 
Kurtika, and Doorga, are distinguished among the Hindoo 
deities for their conflicts with these beings a . 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. 

a Jupiter was represented as aiming the thunder in his right hand 
against a giant under his feet: Doorga is aiming the spear in her right 
hand against an usooru under her feet. 



184 THE HINDOO MYTHOLOGY. 

Story of the churning of the sea by the gods and usoorus. 
The most rancorous hatred 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 unsuccess 
ful. The gods, however, at last obtained this blessing at 
the churning of the sea of milk ; which story is related at 
length in the Muhabharutu and other works : The gods 
first took mount Munduru, placed it in the sea, and wrap 
ping round it the serpent Vasookee, began to whirl it round 
as 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 of the serpent, the gods privately entreated Vishnoo 
to prevail upon the giants to lay hold of the head; upon 
which he thus addressed them : c How is it, said Vishnoo, 
6 that you, giants as you are, have taken hold of Vasookee s 
tail ? The gods and the giants then changed places ; and 
the elephant Oiravutu first arose from the churned sea to 
reward their labours ; afterward the gem Koustoobhu the 
horse Oochoishruva the tree Parijatu many jewels the 
goddess Lukshmee and then poison. Full of alarm at 
this sight, the gods applied to Muha-dvu (Shivu) ; who, 
to save the world from destruction, drank up the poison, 
and received no other injury than a blue mark on his 
throat b . Next came up the water of immortality; when 
the 330,000,000 gods, and the usoorus without number, 
took their stand on each side, each claiming the mighty 

* Hence this god is called Neelu-kantti, the blue-throated. 



THE HINDOO MYTHOLOGY. 185 

boon. Vishnoo proposed to divide it with his own hands : 
but while the usoorus went to prepare themselves by bath 
ing in the sacred stream, the gods drank up the greatest 
part of the nectar; and, to give them time to drink the 
whole, Vishnoo 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 Sodryu and Chundru, (the sun and 
moon,) cut off the head of the giant. The head and trunk, 
being thus immortalized, were made the ascending and 
descending nodes, under the names Rahoo and Ktoo. 



SECT. II. 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, tygers, lions, buffa 
loes, &c.: some have a hundred heads, and others as many 
arms -. In the Hindoo writings Malee, Soomalee, Ra- 
vunu, Koombhu-kurnti, Vibheeshunu, Indru-jit, tltikayu, 
and others, are distinguished as renowned rakshusus. As 
soon as born, these giants are s iid to arrive at maturity. 
They devour their enemies. All the rakshusus are bram- 
huns, and are said to dwell in the S. W. corner of the 
earth. 



Some of the giants of the Grecian mythology, it will be remembered, 
had a hundred arms. 

VOL. I. B b 



186 THE HINDOO MYTHOLOGY. 

Noiritu, a rakshiisu, 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 represented in 
the form of meditation used by the bramhuns as a black 
man, having in his right hand a scimitar. 

Story of Koombhu-kurnu. 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 five hundred courtezans 
belonging to Indru ; at another the wives of one hundred 
sages, and cows and bramhuns without number. Brumha 
at length threatened to destroy him, unless he contented 
him 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 blessing 
of Brumha, and especially the bless : ng of immortality, 
should swallow up every thing, gods and men. They 
appealed to Brumha, and persuaded Suruswutee, the god 
dess of learning, to enter into Koombhu-kurnu, and excite 
him to ask this blessing, that he should continue to sleep 
day and night; which request Brumha granted, and sent 
the voracious rakshusu to enjoy his everlasting sleep. The 
friends of Koombhu-kurnu 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 half of which day he should fight 
with and conquer Brumha, Vishnoo, and Shlvu,. and during 
the other half be permitted to devour as much as he chose. 
At one meal he devoured six thousand cows, ten thousand 
sheep, ten thousand goats, five hundred buffaloes, five 
thousand deer, and drank four thousand hogsheads of 



THE HINDOO MYTHOLOGY. 1ST 

spirits, with other things in proportion. After all, he was 
angry witli his brother RaYunu, for not giving him enough 
to satisfy nature. His house is declared to have been 
twenty or thirty thousand miles long, and his bed the 
whole length of the house. Lunka itself, says the Rama- 
yunu, is eight hundred miles in circumference : where 
then was the place for this bed? I have heard this ques 
tion put by a person to the bramhuns, who, unable to find 
room for Koombu-kurnu s bed, were laughed at by the 
shoodrus, their disciples. 

The Gundhiirvus and Kmniirus are celestial choiristers, 
male and female. The latter have horses heads d ! ! ! 

The Vidya-dhurus are male and female dancers. The 
Upsurus 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 upsurus are 
mentioned as beyond all others beautiful : Oorvvushee, 
Menuka, Rumbha, Punchu-choora, Tilottuma, Ghritachee, 
Boodbooda, and Mishru-keshee. The five first of these 
are the mistresses of the gods, and keep houses of ill-fame 
in the heaven of Indru. When any one of the gods visits 
the king of heaven, he generally spends some time with one 
or more of these courtezans. 

Story respecting the son of Indru and an Upsura. On a 
certain occasion, many of the gods were invited to an 
entertainment at the palace of Indru. In the midst of the 

d Some idea may be formed of the taste of the early Hindoo poets, 
who here represent heavenly music as coming from beings with the- 
mouths of horses ! 

Bb 2 



188 THE HINDOO MYTHOLOGY. 

dance, Gundhurvu-senu, the son of Indru, ,was fascinated 
with the charms of one of the upsuras; and behaved so in 
delicately, that his father commanded him to descend to 
the earth in the form of an ass. All the gods joined the 
son in endeavouring to appease the angry father ; who ulti 
mately directed that Gundhurvu-senu should be an ass in 
the day, and a man in the night : he promised his son too, 
that when Dhara, the king, shouM burn him, he should 
recover his place in heaven. With this modification of the 
curse, Gundhurvu-senu sunk to the earth, and alighted in 
the form of an ass near a pond at Dhara-nugum. In the 
day the fallen son of Indru remained in this form near the 
pond ; and in the night, in that of a man, he wandered 
from place to place to appease his hunger. One day a 
bramhun came to this pond to bathe ; when Gundhurvu- 
sna told him that he was the son of Indru, and requested 
him to speak to king Dharu, to give him his daughter in 
marriage. The bramhun consented ; 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 related 
his history, and the cause of his degradation : but the king 
still refused assent, unless he performed some miracle. To 
this the ass consented ; and in one night raised 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 invited bramhuns, 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 witli 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 



THE HINDOO MYTHOLOGY. 189 

ready, they sent a bramhun to call Gundhurvu-se nu from 
the pond; who, elated in the highest degree, having bathed, 
accompanied the bramhun to the assembly. Hearing music 
and songs, Gundhurvu-se nii 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 ; but they could not help 
whispering and laughing one amongst another, covering 
their mouths with their garments : others muttered to the 
king, f O king, is this the son of Indru ? O great monarch ! 
you have found an excellent bridegroom ; you are peculi 
arly happy in having to give your daughter in marriage 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 to an 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 
c Bless me ! what a sweet voice ! The bramhuns continued : 
( In that wedding, however, the bride and bridegroom were 
equal; but in this marriage, that such a bride should have 
such a bridegroom is truly wonderful ! Other bramhuns 
said, C 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 
down his head. At length Gundhurvu-se nu began to con 
verse with the king in Sungskritu, and to urge him to the 
fulfilment of his promise; 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 of a 
person by the clothes he wears : moreover, he was in this 



190 THE HINDOO MYTHOLOGY. 

shape from the curse of his father, and during the night he 
should assume the hody of a man. Of his being the son of 
Indru there could be no doubt. The 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 known that an ass could speak 
Sungskritu. The king, therefore, gave his daughter to 
him in marriage. By the time the guests were dismissed 
night drew on, when Gundhurvu-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 recollecting that in the morning he would 
become an ass, felt both pleased and sorrowful. 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 other cares, could not but feel anxious that Gund 
hurvu-senu should throw off his ass s body. After a thou 
sand contrivances, he said to himself, Gundhurvu-se nu is 
the son of Indru ; therefore he can never die : at night he 
casts off his 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 Gundhurvu-senu ap 
peared in his presence, told him that now the curse was 
removed, and that he should immediately ascend to heaven. 
After saying this he withdrew, and the king saw him no 
more. 

Nayikas. These are female companions of Doorga, and 
are worshipped at the festivals of this goddess. Eight of 
them have a preeminence over the rest. The Tuntru- 
shastrus declare, that these females visit the worshippers 
either as their wives, or as mothers 5 and declare to them 



THE HINDOO MYTHOLOGY. 191 

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 wishes to obtain 
the company of a Nayika must worship her thrice a day, 
and repeat her name at night in a cemetery for seven, or 
fifteen, or thirty days. On the last night he must continue 
to repeat her name till she appears to him, and asks what 
he wishes for. She remains with him during the night, 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 moment. If after cohabiting with one of the 
Nayikas, he cohabit with any other female, the Nayika 
immediately destroys him. Anundu-chundrti, 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 Yiikshus 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, principally 
referring to their wars or intrigues, are contained in the 
pooranus. In the form of meditation, Kooveru is described 
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 Koove ru, 
by prayer to Brumha, accompanied with religious auste 
rities, obtained Lunka, (Ceylon ;) the very mire of whose 
streets is gold. Here he reigned till Ravunu dispossessed 
him. Brumha also gave to this god the chariot Poosh- 
puku; which had the property of expansion, and of going 
wherever the charioteer wished. From Lunka, Kooveru 



192 THE HINDOO MYTHOLOGY. 

went to mount Koilasu, where he is supposed to be at 
present. 

Pisliaclms. These messengers of the gods guard the 
sacred places^ the resort of pilgrims. Sixty thousand are 
said to guard the streams of the Ganges from the approach 
of the profane. 

The Goodgliukus, the Siddhiis, the Bhootus, and the 
Charunus. These are beings of inferior orders, residing 
with the gods as servants. 

There are several other orders of females, as the Yogi- 
nees, Dakinees, Kakinees, Shakhinees, Bhootinees, and 
Pre"tinees, who wait upon Doorga or Shiva, as their 
attendants. All these also are worshipped at the great 
festivals. 



THE HINDOO MYTHOLOGY. 193 

CHAP. V. 

OF THE TERRESTRIAL GODS. 



JL HE Hindoo celestial goddesses, it will be seen, are very 
few. There are no more indeed than three which can be 
considered as really distinct, and as holding a distinguished 
place among this class of Hindoo deities : these are Doorga, 
Suruswutee, and Lukshmee, Many of the others are 
different forms of Doorga ; and Munusa, Shushtee, and 
Sheetula, would have been placed among the terrestrial 
goddesses, but they do not seem to have had an earthly 
origin. I now proceed to give an account of the terrestrial 
gods, some of whom are worshipped with more shew than 
any of the celestial deities. 



SECT. I.Krishnu<. 

ACCORDING to the Shree-Bhaguvutu, Muhabhamtu, and 
other works, this god, a form of Vishnoo, was incarnate to 
destroy kings Shishoo-palu arid Kungsu, and a number of 
giants. 

Krishnu was born at Mut hoora ; his father s name was 
Vusoo-de vu, a kshutriyu, and his mother s De vukee ; but 
Kungsu seeking to destroy him when an infant, his father 

The black. 
VOL. I. C 



194 THE HINDOO MYTHOLOGY. 

fled to Vunda-vunu, and concealed him in the house of 
Nundii, a voishy ti : hence he is sometimes called the son of 
Nundu. 

Many stories are recorded of Krishnu in the pooranus : 
in his infancy he deprived a giant of her breath, who had 
poisoned her breasts before she gave him suck f ; soon 
after he destroyed a carriage against which he hurt his foot, 
when laid by his nurse at the door to sleep ; Ntindu s 
wife, when looking into his mouth one day, had a surprising 
view of the three worlds, with Brumha, Vishnoo, and Shivu 
sitting on their thrones ; at the age of eight years he took 
up mount Govurdhunu in his arms, and held it as an um 
brella 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 Ayunu-ghoshu, a voishyu, and sported 
with 16,000 milk-maids in the wilderness of Vrindii; he 
next assumed four arms, destroyed Kungsu, and placed 
Kungsu s father on the throne; after this he was engaged 
in various quarrels, and had to combat with many formi 
dable enemies ; which induced him to build a fort at Dwa- 
ruka, where he resided, and married two wives ; he next 
joined the family of Yoodhisht hiru in their war with the race 
of Dooryodhunu ; and, lastly, destroyed Shishoo-palu. He 
closed his life with an act worthy of such a character, by 

f It is common for a Hindoo nurse to offer the breast to a neighbour s 
child, when she happens to be on a visit. 

f Mothers frequently lay their infants exposed to the rays of the sun t 
sleep, after rubbing their breasts with oiL 



THE HINDOO MYTHOLOGY. 195 

destroying his whole progeny 11 ; and was at length himself 
accidentally killed by an arrow, while sitting under a tree. 

It 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 by the Asiatic poets till they 
have elevated the hero into a god. The images of this 
lascivious and blood-stained hero are now worshipped by 
the Hindoos with an enthusiasm, which transforms them 
into the very image of Krishna himself. 

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 Bhadria, 
an annual festival is held in the night, to celebrate the 



h The posterity of Krishnu, say several pooranus, were destroyed by the 
curse of a bramhfin ; but as all events are ascribed to Krishnu by his 
votaries, this of destroying his own family is referred to his agency. So 
infamous is the character of this god, even among those who hope for 
salvation through him, that Vilwu-mtingulu, a blind poet, wrote the 
following verse, which certainly contains the severest possible censure of 
this profligate deity : 

4 Oh! Krishnu ! thou who didst destroy thy own offspring; 

Thou who didst renounce (Seeta) the spotless daughter of Zunuku, in the 

wilderness ; 

Thou who didst cast down to hades Vulee, who had given thee his all; 
Who would think on thee, if thou wert not the deliverer from death ? 

In exact agreement with this Sungskritii verse, was the declaration 
made before several persons in company in the year 1812, by Ram-nat hu, 
the second Sungskritu pundit in the College of Fort-William ; who, speak 
ing of the universal profligacy of manners in Calcutta, declared, that 
* every house contained a Krishnii. 

c e 2 



196 THE HINDOO MYTHOLOGY. 

birth of this god. On this day all the worshippers fast*. 
The regular Hindoos, and the disciples of the Gosaees f , 
sometimes differ a day or two in celebrating this feast. 
After the ceremonies of worship are concluded, the wor 
shippers assemble before the temple near a hole cut in the 
ground, into which have been thrown water, oil, curds, 
turmeric, 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 Shravunu another festival is held in honour 
of Krishnu, called Jhoolunu-yatras. On the llth 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 flowers, incense, sweetmeats, 
fruits, and other acts of adoration. During the celebration 
of worship in the house, the crowd out of doors sing, dance, 

* 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, the person is 
paid to have 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. 

f The Gosaees are the religions leaders of a large portion of the wor 
shippers of Krishnu. Gosaee is a term of respect equivalent to Sir. 

* The swinging festival. 



THE HINDOO MYTHOLOGY. 197 

and make a horrid discord 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 bramhuns. After eating and drinking, they 
literally rise up to play : youths, dressed so as to repre 
sent Krishnu and his mistress Radha, dance together ; and 
the festivities 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 milk-maids. 
It is called the Rasu. 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 grandly illuminated for this 
festival. Sixteen small images of Krishnu. are necessary 
on this occasion ; but a very small gold image, 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 with sweetmeats, playthings, and other articles, as at 
an English fair. Here fathers and mothers, leading their 
children by the hand, or carrying them on their hips h , come 

h 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 her sides, and 
be dandled upon her knees. Isaiah Ixvi. 12. 



198 THE HINDOO MYTHOLOGY. 

for fairings. Thieves and gamblers are very busy at these 
times 1 ; 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 idolater and the 
mad youth dancing together; the old man lifting up his 
withered arms 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 inspire k . 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 one imagin 
ing, but that worship and adultery may be performed in 
the same hour. About four or five in the morning the 
crowd carry the god back to the temple ; and then retire to 
cure their hoarseness and rest their wearied bodies. 

On the fourth morning, having brought the god home, 
after the usual ceremonies, they sing songs in celebration 
of the actions of Krishnu ; and continue them from ten till 

1 In the year 1810, on account of the depredations of preceding years, 
the magistrate of Serampore forbad the erection of booths and all games 
at this festival : in consequence. ,of which an expense of near four 
hundred roopees, incurred in performing the ceremonies of worship, fell 
upon the owner of the image of Krishnu, who would otherwise have 
received as much from the proprietors of the booths and gaming shops. 

k Illuminations, fireworks, and the gilding of their temples, give a 
very shewy effect to Hindoo ceremonies, which are often performed at 
the time of the full moon, and at midnight. A moon-light night in India 
is highly pleasant. At the time of the Rasii festival, I have seen a scene 
so gaily illuminated and adorned, that the whole seemed enchantment ; 
every native, as he approached the god, threw himself on the ground 
with the most profound reverence, and muttered his praise with rapture 
as he mingled in the delighted crowd. Could I have forgotten that these 
people were perpetrating a dreadful crime, and that these nightly 
festivals were connected with the greatest impurities, I should have been 
highly gratified. 



THE HINDOO MYTHOLOGY. 199 

twelve or one o clock in the day. Many come to hear, who 
present various offerings to the god ; after which a grand 
feast is given to the bramhuns. The expenses of this 
festival are defrayed either by rich natives, or from the 
revenues of the temples. 

At the full moon in Phalgoonu, the Dolu 1 , another 
swinging festival, is held. Fifteen days before the full 
moon the holidays begin, from which time the Hindoos 
assemble in the night to sing and dance; and in the day they 
wander about the streets, throwing red powder" 1 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 close 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 some 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 cere 
monies are repeated with greater splendour; when many 

1 All these festivals are intended to represent the obscene acts or play 
of Krishnu. This is the play of swinging common to young folks in 
Europe. I am told that on this occasion, in various places in Hin- 
doost hanu, many families sit up all night, swinging by the light of the 
moon. They suspend a cord betwixt two trees, and while some are 
swinging, others are singing impure songs, and others dancing. 

m This powder is made with the roots of wild ginger, coloured with 
*appun wood. Other ingredients are added to make superior kinds. 



200 THE HINDOO MYTHOLOGY. 

offerings are presented, and the bramhuns entertained. 
About four the festival closes by another repetition of the 
same ceremonies. 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 bramhuns. 

Besides these many other festivals less popular are held 
in the course of the year. 

Many small black stones, having images of Krishnu 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 
Krishnu. The temples dedicated to Krishna are very 
numerous ; and it is a scandalous fact that the image of 
Radha, his mistress, always accompanies that of Krishnu, 
and not those of his wives Rookminee and Sutyu-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. Panto- 
mimical entertainments are frequently represented, in which 
the lewd 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 lower orders, 
and but few of them bramhuns". The mark on their fore 
heads 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-palu is thus 
related : A quarrel arose at a sacrifice between Krishnu and 
this monarch, respecting the point of precedency, which 

" The greater part of the bramhtins are disciple* of the female deities, 
(Shaktus.) 



THE HINDOO MYTHOLOGY. 20l 

Shishoo-palu. would not resign to Krishna : e What ! says 
he, f shall I be preceded by the son of a cowherd ; one 
who has eaten with a cow-keeper, who has led cows to 
pasture, and has been guilty of all manner of abomina 
tions ? Krishna restrained his rage for some time; but at 
length became exceedingly angry, and cut oft his head at 
one blow. It was prophesied of Shishoo-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 is 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 
Krishna heard, that king Dundee 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 Bheemu, Krishna s frierd; who, rather than 
abandon a person who had claimed his protection, resolved 
to break the ties of friendship with Krishnu, and go to war 
with him. A war commenced, 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 
Dooryodhunu and the Pandavas, Dronacharjyu was so 
mighty a warrior that the Panduvas had no hope of suc 
cess, unless they could cut him off ; to accomplish which, 
Krishnu contrived to throw Dronacharjya 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. 
Krishnu pressed Yoodhist hirti to tell this lie, as it would 

VOL. i. D d 



202 THE HINDOO MYTHOLOGY. 

insure success to their affairs ; and, in cases of extremity, 
the shastru had declared it lawful to employ falsehood. 
Yoodhist 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, as 
an elephant of Dooryodhunu s, of the same name, had 
actually been killed in battle. Dronacharjyu was so over 
come when he was thus brought to believe the news, that 
tlrjoonu soon dispatched him ; which completely changed 
the face of the battle. On account of this falsehood, 
Yoodhist hiru, in going to heaven, was terrified by a sight 
of the torments of hell. Where did Krishnu, the father of 
this lie, go ? 

Theft and murder committed by Krishnu. When Krishna 
was going to Mut hoora to destroy Kungsu, as he ap 
proached 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, All are going to this sacrifice elegantly 
dressed ; we cannot go in this condition/ Krishnu then 
sent his brother to a washerman, who however would not 
part with the clothes in his possession, as they belonged to 
king Kungsu. A quarrel ensued, in the midst of which 
Krishnu killed the washerman, and carried off the clothes. 
These freebooters next went to a shop, and stole two neck 
laces; and afterwards seized some sandal-wood, which a 
deformed woman was taking to the palace of Kungsu : 
but, to reward her, Krishnu pulled her straight, and made 
her more beautiful than the upsuras. The woman asked 
Krishnu, since he had made her so beautiful, who should 
marry her. Krishnu asked her, to whom she wished to be 
united. She said, to himself; and from that time she 
became his mistress. 



THE HINDOO MYTHOLOGY. 203 



SECT. II. Gopalu . 

THIS is an image of Krishna 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 ceremonies 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 Gopalu appeared 
to him, and told him, that in a certain place in Nudeeya, 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 was 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 parti 
cular manner. The raja again sent his servants, who found 
the image. The greatest rejoicings took place at Nudeeya 
on this occasion ; learned bramhuns were called ; and a 
vast concourse of people collected from the surrounding 
country to behold this miraculously discovered god, and to 

The cowherd. 
D d 2 



204 THE HINDOO MYTHOLOGY. 

witness his installation, at which four thousand 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 Krishnu, called Balu- 
gopalu, made of stone or metal, is kept in the houses of 
many, and worshipped daily, as well as at the festivals in 
honour of Krishnu. 



SECT. HI. Gopee-nafhuP. 

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 tJgru-dweepu, 
where an annual festival is held, on the llth 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 Krishnu, Choitunyu 
and Nityanundu, sent their disciple Ghoshu-t hakooru, 
who did not relish an austere life, to Ugru-dweepu, and 
directed him to take a certain stone with him, and make 
an image of Gopee-nat hu, which he should set up there 
and worship. Ghosliu-t hakooru obeyed his spiritual 
guides ; took the stone on his head ; set it up as a god, 
the gift of Choitunyu and Nityanundu, and began to 

v The god of the milk-maids. 



THE HINDOO MYTHOLOGY. 205 

worship it in public daily. The god soon appeared to 
him in dreams, and revealed a number of secret things ; 
so that by degrees Gopee-nat hu of Ogru-dweepu became 
very famous. One night a stranger came to the temple at 
a very late hour, when no one was awake to give him 
refreshment. The god himself, however, in the form of 
Ghoshu-t hakooru, took an ornament from his 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 bene 
volence of the god ; and from this circumstance the fame 
of Gopee-nat hu spread still wider. After the death of 
Ghoshu-t hakooru, the god appeared to his successor, and 
directed him to perform the funeral rites ; in the celebra 
tion of which it was contrived that the god himself should 
present the offering to the manes : for when the kooshu 
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 himself 
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 day at tfgr ti-dweepu ; among 
whom are great multitudes of lewd women, who accompany 
the religious mendicants. Filthy songs about Krishnu and 
his mistresses are sung by the crowd, and all manner of inde 
cent diversions practised. Different casts eat together here. 

After the death of Ghoshu-t hakooru, the image fell 
into the hands of the raja, or lord of the soil; who sent 



20(5 THE HINDOO MYTHOLOGY. 

bramhuns to perform the ceremonies before the image, 
and receive 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-chundru-rayu. 
The latter afterwards regained the image by a suit at law - r 
but not till Nuvu-krishnu had made another Gopee-nat hu 
exactly like it. 

All this has arisen out of a stone given by two mendi 
cants to one of their companions ! Who can avoid feeling 
a mingled sensation of disgust and pity, while he beholds 
such multitudes, the abject slaves of a superstition so 
degrading? 



SECT. JV.Jugunnafhu*. 

THE image of this god has no legs, and only stumps of 
arms r : the head and eyes are very large. At the festivals 
the bramhuns adorn him with silver or golden hands. 

Krishnu, in some period of Hindoo history, was acci 
dentally killed by t?ngudu, a hunter ; who left the body to 
rot under the tree where it fell. Some pious person, how 
ever, collected the bones of Krishnu, and placed them in a 
box; where they remained till Indru-dhoomnu, a king, who 
was performing religious austerities to obtain some favour 

q The lord of the world, from jugut, the world, and nat hu, lord. 

r The Athenians placed statues at their doors to drive away thieves, 
which they called Hermae, from Mercury. These images had neither 
hands nor feet, and hence Mercury was called Cyllenius, and by contrac 
tion Cyllius, from Kullos, viz. without hands or feet. 



THE HINDOO MYTHOLOGY. 207 

of Vishnoo, was directed by the latter to form the image of 
Jugunnat hu, and put into its belly these bones of Krishnu, 
by which means he should obtain the fruit of his religious 
austerities. Indru-dhoomnu enquired who should make 
this image; and was commanded to pray to Vishwu-kurmu 8 . 
He did so, and obtained his request ; but Vishwu-kurmu 
at the same time declared, that if any one disturbed him 
while preparing the image, he would leave it in an un 
finished state. He then began, and in one night built a 
temple upon the blue mountain in Orissa, and proceeded 
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 the work, and left the god 
without hands or feet. The king was very much discon 
certed; but on praying to Brumha, he promised to make 
the image famous in its present shape. 

Indru-dhoomnu now invited all the gods to be present at 
the setting up of this image : Brumha himself acted as 
high priest, and gave eyes and a soul to the god, which 
completely established the fame of Jugunnat hu. This 
image is said to lie in a pool near the present temple, at 
Jugunnat hu-kshe tru 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 hu has many temples in Bengal, built by rich 
men as works of merit, and endowed either with lands, 
villages, or money. The worship of this god is performed 
in these temples every morning and evening ; at which 
times people come to see the god, or prostrate themselves 

s The architect of the gods. 



208 THE HINDOO MYTHOLOGY. 

before him. During the intervals of worship, and after the 
god has partaken of the offerings, he is laid down to sleep 1 , 
when the temple is shut up till the next hour of worship. 

Bramhuns may make offerings of boiled rice to this or 
to any other god, but shoodrus cannot : they are permitted 
to offer only dried rice 11 . The food which is offered to 
Jiigunnat hu is either eaten by the bramhuns and their 
families at the temples, or by passengers and others, who 
purchase it of those shopkeepers 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 5 the Snanu-yatra, and the Rut 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 spectators, bathe the god by pouring water on 
his head, during the reading of incantations. The people 
at the close of the ceremony make obeisance, some by lift 
ing their hands to their foreheads, and others by prostra 
tion, and then depart, assured by the shastrus that they 
shall be subject to no more births, but be admitted to 
heaven after the death of this body. The bramhuns then 
wipe this creator of the world, and carry him back to the 

* The images of the gods in all the Hindoo temples, at certain hotirs, 
are laid down to sleep ; at least, all those that are small enough to be 
laid down and lifted up again. 

u The bramhuns do not eat the boiled rice of the shoodrus. Sweet- 
meats, fruit, the water of the Ganges, &c. are things received from 
shoodrus. Yet there are a few bramhuns who refuse even sweetmeats 
aad water from the hands of shoodrus. 



THE HINDOO MYTHOLOGY. 209 

temple; after which the ceremonies of worship are per 
formed before him with great shew. This snanu, however, 
is not confined to Jugunnafhuj but at this time all the 
different images of Vishnoo, 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 cere 
mony of feeding the child, they bathe it, repeating incanta 
tions. Krishnu partook of his first rice at the full moon in 
Jyoist hu; in commemoration of which, this sn ;nu-yatra is 
performed annually by the worshippers 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 
worship are performed. The car belonging to the image 
near Serampore is in the form of a tapering tower, between 
thirty and forty cubits high. It has sixteen wheels, two 
horses, and one coachman, all of wood. Jugunnat hu, his 
brother Bulu-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 carnage by means of a hawser ; their 
shouts, as the carriage proceeds, may be heard at the dis 
tance of a mile. Being arrived at the appointed spot, the 
bramhuns 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, Jugun- 

* The cbamuru is a necessary appendage to royalty among the Hin 
doos. 

VOL. I. E e 



210 THE HINDOO MYTHOLOGY. 

nat hu, and his brother and sister, visit the god Radha- 
vullubhuy ; and here the wives 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 2 , alluding 
to the abominations of the gods, which are painted all over 
it. Temporary shops are erected near the place where the 
car stands, like booths on a race-ground a . At the end 
of eight days, the god is again drawn up by the neck, 
placed in the car, and carried back to the place from whence 
he came ; but the crowd is not quite so great as when the 
carriage is drawn out. Many recent instances might be 
collected of persons, diseased or in distress, casting them 
selves under the wheels of this ponderous car, and being 
crushed to death. 

This festival is intended to celebrate the diversions of 
Krishna and the milkmaids, with whom he used to ride out 
in his chariot. 



SECT. V.Bulu-ramu\ 

THIS god was cotemporary with Krishnu. His image^ 
painted white, almost always goes with that of Jugun- 

y Another form of Krishnu. The name intimates that this god is the 
paramour of Radha. 

* Romans i. 27. 

* The spirit of gambling is very prevalent at this festival. I have been 
credibly informed,, that, a year or two ago, at Serampore, a man actually 
sold his wife for a slave, in order to supply himself with money for 
gaming. 

b He who pursues pleasure, or bestows it, in his own strength. 



THE HINDOO MYTHOLOGY. 211 

nat hu, though in a few temples it is set up alone. At the 
worship of Jugunnafhu, and also at that of Krishnu, a short 
service is performed in the name of Bulu-ramu, whose 
image also sometimes accompanies that of Krishnu. Some 
place the image of ReVutee by the side of her husband. 
From the sutyu to the kulee-yoogu this female, the daughter 
of king Revutti, remained unmarried . The king, at length, 
asked Brumha, to whom he should give his daughter in 
marriage : Briimha recommended Bulu-ramu, who saw her 
for the first time when ploughing. Notwithstanding her 
immense stature, (it is said her stature reached as high as 
a sound ascends in clapping the hands seven times,) Bulu- 
ramu married her; and to bring down her monstrous 
height, he fastened a plough-share to her shoulders. 



SECT. VI. Ramu A . 

THE following history of this god forms a brief table of 
contents of the Ramay unu e , an epic poem, much celebrated 
among the Hindoos. 

At a certain period, king Dushu-rut hu, having been 
cherished with great affection by his wife Ke koiyee f , pro 
mised her whatever she should ask. She told him that she 
would avail herself of his promises on some future occa- 

c This old maid must have been 3,888,000 years old at the time of her 
marriage, if we date her birth from the beginning of the sutyu-yoogii. 

d The happy, or he who makes happy. 

I have omitted the long table of contents of this work inserted in the 
first edition, thinking it unnecessary, as the Ramayunu with an English 
translation is issuing from the Serampore press. [The second edition is 
now published in England. Ed.~\ 

f Dushii-rut hu had 250 wives. 

E e 2 



THE HINDOO MYTHOLOGY. 

sion ; and when Ramu was called to the coadjutorship by 
the voice of the people, and to which Dushu-rut hu gladly 
assented, Ke koiyee reminded the king of his promise ; and 
at the instigation of a deformed and revengeful female slave, 
whom Ramu had formerly beaten, she petitioned that 
Ramu might be exiled to a distant forest to live as an as 
cetic, and that Bhurutu her son might be installed in his 
stead. The king reluctantly complied. Ramu however 
readily submitted, and went into the forest, taking with 
him Seeta and his brother Lukshmunu. Dushu-rut hu 
soon died of grief for Ramu ; after which a shoe of Ramu s 
was placed on the throne, Bhurutu refusing the crown. 
When in the forest, Soorpu-nukhas, the sister of Ravunu, 
a giant who reigned at Lunka, (Ceylon,) proposed marriage 
to Ramu, who sent her to Lukshmunu ; he sent her again 
to Ramu ; Ramu sending her back to Lukshmunu, the 
latter cut off her nose : on this she fled to her brothers 
Khuru and Dooshunu, who immediately made war upon 
Ramu ; Ramu, however, destroyed them, as well as their 
army of 14,000 giants, (rakshusiis.) Ravunu, on hearing of 
these events, requested Mureechu, another giant, to go to 
the residence of Ramu in the form of a beautiful deer, and 
tempt Ramu to pursue him, while he stole Seeta. Maree- 
chu consented, and Ramu, at the urgent request of Seeta, 
pursued the flying deer, leaving Lukshmunu to guard his 
family. When Mareechu, in the form of the deer, was 
wounded, he set up a loud cry like the voice of Ramu ; 
which greatly alarmed Seeta, who prevailed on Lukshmunu 
to follow her beloved husband. While Seeta was thus 
left alone, Ravunu carried her off in triumph. The poem 
then describes the grief of Ramu and his brother for the 

A name given to her on account of her having nails like a Hindoo fan 
for winnowig corn. 



THE HINDOO MYTHOLOGY. 213 

loss of Seeta. Ravunu, in taking away Seeta, was met by 
Jutayoo, a vulture, formerly the friend of Dushu-rut hu. 
This bird endeavoured to deliver Seeta by fighting with 
Ravunu; but being unsuccessful, Seeta directed him to 
inform Ramu, that Ravunu was carrying her away. Ramu 
in his search for Seeta met with this bird, which, as soon 
as it had delivered this account, died of the wounds it had 
received in fighting with Ravunu. Ramu and his brother 
now went forward in pursuit of Ravunu, and met with the 
giant Kubundhu, whom they destroyed. This giant imme 
diately assumed another body, and informed Ramu that he 
had formerly lived in the heaven of Indru, but had been 
cursed, and sent down to take the body of a rakshusu. He 
further informed Ramu, that two brothers, (monkies,) Soo 
greevu and Balee, were in a state of warfare, Balee having 
seduced his brother s wife ; he therefore advised Ramu to 
destroy Balee, and contract an alliance with Soogreevu, by 
whose means he should obtain Seeta. Ramu took this 
advice, and having destroyed Balee h , restored Soogreevu 
to his kingdom. To prove his gratitude to Ramu, Soo 
greevu collected his army of monkies, and sent th-em to 
seek for Seeta. The monkies who went southward met 
Sumpatee, a vulture without wings, brother to Jutayoo, 
who informed them that he had seen Seeta at Lunka, 
(Ceylon.) Hunooman, one of Soogreevu s generals, imme 
diately leaped across the sea, (five hundred miles ,) to 
Lunka, where he found Seeta in a garden belonging to 
Ravunu ; to whom he gave a ring from Ramu, while she, 
in return, sent Ramu a jewel from her hair. Hunooman 

h Ramu, compared with Krishnii, is a pure character; yet we see him 
here, without provocation, destroy the rightful heir to a throne, and set 
up one who had seduced the wife of his brother. 

1 No one can doubt the propriety of making a spy of a monkey who 
can leap 500 miles at once. 



214 THE HINDOO MYTHOLOGY. 

then began to destroy one of Ravunu s gardens ; who sent 
people to kill Hunooman, but he destroyed those who were 
sent. Ravunu then sent his son ftkshuyu against the mis 
chievous monkey; but he also was destroyed. Ravunu 
next sent his eldest son Indrujit, who seized Hunooman, 
and bringing him before his father, the king ordered his 
attendants to set fire to his tail ; when the enraged mon 
key, with his burning tail, leaped from house to house, and 
set all Lunka on fire : after finishing which he came to 
Seeta, and complained that he could not extinguish the 
fire that had kindled on his tail ; she directed him to spit 
upon it, and he, raising it to his face for this purpose, set 
his face on fire. He then complained, that when he 
arrived at home with such a black face, all the monkeys 
would laugh at him. Seeta, to comfort him, assured him, 
that all the other monkies should have black faces also; 
and when Hunooman came amongst his friends, he found 
that, according to the promise of Seeta, they had all black 
faces as well as himself. After hearing the account brought 
by Hunooman, Ramu and Lukshmunu, with Soogreevu 
and his army of monkeys, proceeded to invade Lunka. 
They tore up the mountains, trees, and other large sub 
stances, and cast them into the sea to form a bridge k 5 



k Ramu s bridge. See the map of Hindoost han. Ramu was at a loss 
how to lead his army across the sea to Lunka. He fasted, and prayed to 
Sagurii for three days, and was angry with the god for not appearing to 
him. He therefore ordered Lukshmunu to fire an arrow, and carry away 
the god s umbrella. He did so, and the arrow, carrying away the um 
brella, penetrated even as far as patalu. The god, aroused from his 
sleep, exclaimed, Is Ramu arrived by the sea side, and I have not known 
it? He then directed Ramu to apply to king Nulu, to whom he had 
given a blessing, that whatever he threw into the sea should become 
buoyant. At the command of Nulu, the monkeys tore up the neighbour 
ing mountains, and cast them into the sea. Hunooman brought three 
mountains on his head at once, each 64 miles in circumference ; and one 



THE HINDOO MYTHOLOGY. 215 

which, however, Ravunu was constantly employed in break 
ing down. Vibheeshunu, Ravunu s brother, perceiving 
that R imu would make good his landing, recommended 
that Seeta should be given up : but his brother, unable to 
bear this advice, quarrelled with Vibheeshunu; who came 
over to Ramu, and advised him to throw into the sea a 
temple and image of Shivu, assuring him, that as Ravunu 
was a worshipper of Shivu, he would not destroy the tem 
ple and image of his god. Ramu followed this advice, 
soon made good his landing, and began the war with 
Ravunu. After many giants had been killed, Koombhu- 
kurnu, a monstrous giant, 2,400 cubits high, and 1,600 
thick, brother to Ravunu, engaged Ramu and the monkeys. 
He began the combat by seizing and devouring his enemies. 
Some of them, as soon as they entered his mouth, came 
out at his nostrils and ears, and escaped. The terrified 
monkeys fled; but Ramu with his arrows first cut off his 
arms, then his legs. Still he waddled round, and endea 
voured to devour all within his reach, till Ramu gave him 
a mortal wound in the neck. Next after Koombhukurnu, 
Indrujit engaged in the contest. He seized Ramu, and, 
by the power of enchantment, carried him down to patalu j 
where Hiinooman went in search of him, and, while Muhee- 
ravunu was there, instructing Indrujit how to prostrate 
himself before an image of the goddess Bhudru-kalee, 
Hunooman cut off his head, and rescued Ramu. At length 
Ravunu himself entered the combat ; but after many con 
flicts, finding himself very weak, he resolved to restore 
Seeta, and put an end to the war. To this Ramu consented; 
but while Ravunu was on the point of bringing Seeta, he 
thought \%thin himself, 6 If I do this, every one will charge 

on each shoulder, equally large - f together with one under each arm, one 
in each paw, and one on his tail. All these mountains heing thrown into 
the sea, and becoming buoyant, a complete bridge was formed. 



216 THE HINDOO MYTHOLOGY. 

me with cowardice : shall I, a giant, refuse to fight ? The 
combat was again renewed, and Ravunu was slain l . Ra 
ma then obtained his wife ; but as a trial of her innocence 
while in the hands of Ravunu, he compelled her to pass 
through a fiery ordeal : which she did unhurt. He then 
returned to Cyodhya, and mounted the throne. After this, 
however, some person objected to Ramu, that it was not 
proper for him to receive Seeta, after she had been in keep 
ing of a giant. He therefore sent her into the forest to 

1 The engagement betwixt Ramu and Ravunu lasted seven days : Ramu 
cut off the ten heads of Ravunu a hundred times, but they were always 
miraculously restored. Ramti then discharged an arrow which had these 
properties, that if it went into the air, it became a thousand; if it en 
tered the body of an enemy, it became an innumerable multitude. 
Ravunu at the sight of this arrow was filled with fear, and would have 
fled ; but recollecting that Shivu had once given him an arrow that was 
to rescue him in a time of extreme peril, he discharged it, and destroyed 
Ramu s terrible arrow. Still however he was full of fear, for whichever 
way he turned, he saw Ramu ; he shut his eyes, but still he saw him in his 
mind. At length, perceiving no way of escape, he began to flatter Ramu; 
who was so softened, that he declared he would never destroy Ravunu. 
The gods, alarmed lest Ravunu should be spared, excited him to reproach 
Ramu; who, indignant at such conduct, let fly an arrow which pierced 
Ravunft s body, proceeded through the earth 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 Ra 
vunu, 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 w r as known that he was certainly dead, the gods, Ramu, the 
monkeys, and the bears, all began to dance. Mundwduree, the chief 
wife of Ravunu, and mother of Indrtijit, 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 Hunooman continually to 
throw wood into the fire ; according to a proverb among th^ Hindoos, that 
as long as the body of the husband is burning, a woman is not called a 
widow. To this day, therefore, Hunooman keeps laying logs on the lire ; 
and every time a Hindoo puts his fingers in his ears and hears a sound, ho 
says, he hears the bones of Ravunu burning. 



THE HINDOO MYTHOLOGY. 

Valmeekee, the writer of the Ramayunu, where she was 
delivered of two sons, Luvu and Kooshti; the latter of 
whom was afterwards stolen by the god Punchanuriu, when 
Valmeekee, to comfort the mother, took a blade of kooshu 
grass, and secretly made a child so much like Kooshu, that 
Seeta did not know it from her own son. In a short time, 
however, Punchanunu, not being able to destroy a child of 
Ramu s, restored Kooshu, and Valmeekee caused the two 
boys to become one. Before his death Ramu performed 
the sacrifice of a horse m ; and 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 n , (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 
Lukshmunu at the 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 con 
tradicting 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 Suruyoe, and went to heaven. 
Ramu afterwards put an end to his life in the same manner. 
Luvu and Kooshu succeeded him . 



m This sacrifice was performed by many of the ancient Hindoo princes, 
and was considered as highly meritorious. 
" The earth personified. 

There are a few sentences in this history, which are not to be found 
in Valmeekee g Ramayunfe ; but they may be seen in the Bengalee trans- 
lation. 

VOL. I. F f 



218 THE HINDOO MYTHOLOGY. 

The image of Ramu is painted green ; he is represented 
as sitting on a throne, or on Hunooman, the monkey, with 
a crown upon his head. He holds in one hand a bow, in 
another an arrow, and has a bundle of arrows slung at his 
back. 

The worship paid to him is of the same kind as that to 
Krishna ; but the formulas are different. On the ninth of 
the increase of the moon in Choitrti, on which day Ramu 
was born, an annual festival is held, when multitudes of 
clay images are worshipped. The dolu festival also is 
observed in honour of this god on this day, which is also 
kept as a fast 5 when Ramies three brothers, Bhurutu, 
Lukshmunu, and Shutrughnu are worshipped, but the 
images of the first and last are never made. At other fes 
tivals also a few ceremonies in honour of Ramu are per 
formed. 

The birth of Ramu forms the seventh of the Hindoo 
incarnations. On the birth-day of this god p the Hindoo 
merchants in general begin their new year s accounts. At 
the time of death, many Hindoos write the name of Ramu 
on the breast and forehead of the dying person, with earth 
taken from the banks of the Ganges ; and hence these per 
sons after death, instead of being dragged to Yumu to be 
judged, immediately ascend to heaven. Many of the disci 
ples of Ramu become Ramahoots, a class of mendicants 
who impress on different parts of their bodies Ramii s 
name, and the figure of his foot. The mark on the 
forehead of Ramu s followers very much resembles a 
trident. 



p The gods on this day are said to have caused a shower of flowers to 
fall, as at the birth of Minerva it is said to have rained gold. 



THE HINDOO MYTHOLOGY. 219 

Temples containing the images of Ramu, Lukshmunu, 
Seeta, and Hunooman are erected in manv parts of Bengal ; 
and the worship of Ramu performed in them daily. 



SECT. VILClioitunyii*. 

THIS is the image of an almost naked mendicant, painted 
yellow. Some of the Hindoos believe, that amongst all 
the Hindoo incarnations there are four principal ones. 
The first, in the sutyu-yoogu, called the Shooklu-vurnu p 
incarnation, was that of thmntu; that in the treta, the 
ruktu-viirnu s , was the incarnation of Kopilu-deVu ; that in 
the dwaptmi-yoogu, the Krishnu-vurnu * ; and the last, in 
the kulee-yoogu, called peetu-vurnu u , that of Choitunyu. 

According to the disciples of Choitunyu, the founder of 
this sect, Cdwoitu, a voidiku bramhun, lived at Shanti- 
pooru about 400 years ago. Nityanundu, another leader, 
was born at Niideeya, a little before Choitunyu. His 
father was a rarheeyu bramhun. Choitunyu s father, Ju- 
gunnat hu-Mishru, a voidiku bramhun, lived at Niideeya ; 
his wife s name was Shuchee ; their first son, Vishwumb- 
huru, embraced the profession of a dundee. The mother 
was advanced in years when Choitunyu was born; the 
child continued three days without taking the breast, and 
the parents, not thinking it would live, putting it into a 
basket, hung it on a tree near the house x . At this time 

i The wise. * The white. The blood-coloured. * The black. 
u The yellow. 

x There are still many instance* of children being exposed. If a child 
appear unlikely to live, the parents consult an asirologer, who perhaps 
gives but small hopes of the child s recovery. Voiragees and other meu- 

Ff 2 



220 THE HINDOO MYTHOLOGY. 

tJdwoitu. before-mentioned, who had heard of this birth, 
having some suspicions that it might be the incarnation he 
had expected and foretold, visited the parents, and learning 
from the mother that she had not received the initiating 
incantation of Huree, he wrote, with his great toe, this 
incantation on the soft earth : f Huree, Krishnu ; Huree, 
Krishnu ; Krishnu, Krishnu, Huree, Huree ; Huree, Ramu, 
Huree, Ramu, Ramu, Ramu, Huree, Huree. After the 
mother had received this incantation, the child was taken 
down, and immediately began to draw the breast. 

Choitunyu made a great progress in learning ; at sixteen 
he married Vishnoo-priya, and continued in a secular state 
till forty-four, when he was persuaded by trdwoitu and 
other dundees then at his house, to renounce his poita, 
and become a mendicant : upon which, forsaking his 
mother and wife, he went to Benares. His family was 
reduced to great distress indeed; and it was thought a 
crime that a person upon whom such a family depended 
should embrace a life of mendicity. 

From this period Choitunyu began to form a new sect, 
giving to all his followers the preceding initiatory incanta 
tion, and continuing to call them voishnuvus. He exhort 
ed them to renounce a secular life ; to visit the different 



dicants, who make a merit of possessing no worldly attachments, some 
times hang up a child in a pot in a tree ; or, putting it in a pot, let it float 
down the river. Persons of other casts may do it, but these the most 
frequently. Mr. Carey s journal, dated in July, 1794, contains the follow 
ing paragraph : One day, as Mr. Thomas and 1 were riding out, we saw 
a basket hung in a tree, in which an infant had been exposed ; the skull 
remained, but the rest had been devoured by ants." See Baptist Mission 
Accounts, vol. i. p. 183. This practice is now prohibited by the Hon. 
Company s Government, in a regulation made for that purpose. 



THE HINDOO MYTHOLOGY. 221 

holy places on pilgrimage ; to eat with all casts who should 
receive the preceding incantation ; to repeat the name of 
Vishnoo, using the bead-roll made with the stalk of basil. 
He further taught that widows might marry ; but forbad 
the eating of fish or flesh, and the worship of the deities to 
whom bloody sacrifices are offered, as well as all commu 
nion with those who make these sacrifices. 

He went to Jugunnat lm-kshetru in Orissa, and there 
assuming six arms, received many honours. He exhorted 
tMwoitu and Nityanundu to labour in making proselytes ; 
but directed Nityanundu. to enter into a secular state ?: he 
did so, and took up his residence at Khurdu, near Calcutta. 
Choitunyu wrote to his two principal disciples from Orissa, 
again exhorting them to labour in gaining proselytes ; yet 
few or none joined them : and from this time Choitunyti 
himself was never more heard of. Cdwoitu and Nityanundu 
raised families, whose descendants live at Shantipooru, 
Vagna-para, and Khurdu. to this day, where they are be 
come leaders of the sect ; all other Gosaees z acknowledging 
the descendants of these two families as their superiors, 
and prostrating themselves before them. These Gosaees 
at present are men of large fortunes ; at whose houses are 
the images originally set up by the male descendant of 
Choitunyu, by Nityanundu, and tMwoitti. Crowds are 
almost constantly arriving at these places with offerings : 
besides which, the Gosaees derive a large revenue from 
marriages, to superintend which they have agents distri 
buted throughout the country, who are allowed a sixth 
part of the fee 5 a sum that from both parties amounts to 
about six shillings. They also dissolve marriages at the 

J Perceiving his aversion to a life of mendicity. 
* Distant branches of the same families. 



222 THE HIIXTDOO MYTHOLOGY. 

pleasure of the parties, on receiving the same fees. When 
a new disciple is initiated, a fee is also given ; but the 
Gosaees obtain the largest sums at the deaths of such of 
their disciples as die intestate. At Calcutta, nearly all the 
women of ill-fame profess the religion of Choitunyu before 
their death, that they may be entitled to some sort of 
funeral rites : as almost all these persons die intestate, and 
have no relations who will own them, the Gosaees obtain 
their effects . 

The anniversaries of the deaths of the original founders 
of the sect are observed as festivals. 

One fifth of the whole Hindoo population of Bengal 
are supposed to be followers of Choitunyu, and of the 
Gosaees, his successors. 

Many of these persons despise the other sects of Hindoos, 
and are great enemies of the bramhuns. They refuse to eat 
without their necklace, as the bramhuns do without their 
poita. Most of the mendicant followers of Vishnoo have 
embraced the tenets of Choitunyu ; but many of the disci 
ples of the latter live in a secular state, and some of them 
are possessed of large property. Persons of this descrip 
tion frequently entertain a great number of voiragees at 
their houses ; when, as an act of great merit, they prostrate 
themselves before these wanderers, wash, and lick the dust 
of their feet, and devour their orts. They pay no attention 
to the feasts and fasts of the Hindoo calendar, except those 
in honour of Krishnu. 

The images most regarded among this sect are those of 
Choitunyu and Nityantmdu, set up at tfmbika, in the dis 
trict of Burdvvan. 



THE HINDOO MYTHOLOGY. 223 

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 he so heavy that two or three people can 
scarcely carry it. This and his string of beads are preserv 
ed as relics at Ghoshparu, where he continued five years, 
and died at the house of Ramu-Shurunu-Palu, a sho5dru 
of the Sud-gopu cast, to whom he communicated his super 
natural powers; and who, after the death of this mendicant, 
began to teach the 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 docirines of Choitunyu, imitating him in conforming, 
for convenience sake, to many of the superstitions of the 
Hindoos. He also gave a new initiating incantation to his 
followers a , who, of whatever cast, ate together privately. 
Vast multitudes joined this man, both Musulmans 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. 

A number of Ramu-Shurunu s disciples adhere to his 
son Doolalii ; others follow Shivu-Ramu and some others 
of the old man s disciples, who pretend to have received 
the power of their master to cure diseases, &c. Though 
part of the father s followers have thus apostatized, Doolalii 
pretends that he has now 20,000 disciples. 

a The following is a translation of this incantation : O sinless Lord, O 
great Lord j at thy pleasure 1 go and return : not a moment am I without 
thee. I am ever with thee j save, O great Lord. 



224 THE HINDOO MYTHOLOGY. 



SECT. VIII. riskwu-kurma* 

Is the son of Brumha, 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. He presides over the arts, manufactures, &c. 

The worship of this god is performed once, twice, or 
four times a year, in the month tJgruhayunu, Poushu, 
Choitru, or Bhadru, by all artificers, to obtain success in 
business. The ceremonies may be performed either in the 
day or night, before any implements of trade. The joiners 
set up their mallet, chisel, saw, hatchet, &c. as the repre 
sentative of this god. Weavers choose their shuttle, &c. 
putting them into the hole in the earth wherein they place 
their feet when they sit at work. The razor is the barber s 
god on this occasion. The potter, after a month s fast, 
adopts and worships the wheel with which he Jurns his 
pots. Masons choose their trowel; washermen take the 
beetle or stamper, their smoothing irons, &c. as their god; 
blacksmiths worship their hammer and bellows ; the farmer 
his plough; spinsters their wheel. The shoemaker chooses 
his awl and knife, and bows down to them: and thus, 
amongst all the artificers, each one chooses the principal 
tool or instrument with which he works, and makes it a 
god, or the representative of Vishwu-kurma c . The cere- 

b Vishwii, the world ; kunnii, work. 

e This worship affords another strong proof of the low and sordid nature 
of idolatry, and strikingly illustrates the words of our Lord, after all 
these things do the Gentiles seek. Instead of raising their minds to the 
Great Source of all good, these persons are taught to worship the tools 
belonging to their trades, as the cause of their temporal happiness. Thi* 
conduct seems to be reproved in the first chapter of the book of Habak- 



THE HINDOO MYTHOLOGY, 295 

monies are 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 pleasure : some go upon the river in boats, singing songs, 
and playing on different instruments of music ; others sit in 
companies, smoke, and relate the news of the village; 
others speo 1 their time in gaming, and some resort to 
houses of ill-lame. 

* 

Though the illiterate consider this god, who may be 
called tiie Indian Vuk an, as the inventor of all the tn - 
chanic arts, the shilpu shastras, a part of the original veda, 
are more properly considered as their source* Tfuise works 
are not now read in Bengal, if they really exist : they 
describe, it is said, the proper shape and dimensions of ail 
the various images of the Hindoo ^ods. 



SECT. lX.Kamii-d<?oii, the Indian Cupid*. 

THE image of this god, the son of Brumha, 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 Rutee e , by spring personified, the cuckoo, the hum 
ming-bee, and gentle breezes ; and is represented as wan 
dering through the three worlds. 

kuk, They sacrifice unto their net, and burn inceiise unto their drag ; 
because by them their portion is fat, and their meat plenteous. 
d Kamii, desire ; d6vii, god. 

From Riimu, to play, or to give pleasure. It is said that the god 
of love found Rutee in the house of Shumburu, a giant, whom he de 
stroyed. 

VOL. I. O 



2<2<5 THE HINDOO MYTHOLOGY. 

The image of Kamu-devu is never made in Bengal, but 
on the 13th of the increase of the moon in Choitru an 
annual festival is held, when the ceremonies of worship are 
performed before the shalgramti. 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. 

The pooranu and kavyu shastrus abound with stories 
respecting Kamu-de vu, one of which I here give from the 
Kaliku pooranu : The god of love, the most beautiful 
creature in the three worlds, with whom every one was 
please;!, immediately after his creation solicited the com 
mands of Brumha ; who assured him, that, with his five 
arrows, he should wound with love the hearts of the inha 
bitants of the three worlds ; that all beings should be sub 
ject to his sway, not excepting even Brumha, Vishnoo, 
and Shivu ; and that through him the universe should be 
peopled. Kundurpu first discharged his arrow at Brumha 
himself, who became enamoured of his own daughter, 
Sundhya. Mureechee, and the other sons of Brumha, "also 
smitten by his arrows, were inflamed with unlawful desires 
toward their sister. Shivu said to Brumha, What ! art 
thou inflamed wilh lust towards thy own daughter? 
Brumha was covered with shame, and, from the perspira 
tion which issued from his body, tTgnishwuta and other 
progenitors of mankind f , to the number of 149,000, were 
born. Brumha, full of rage against Kundurpu, cursed 
him, and declared that he should be burnt to ashes by the 
fire from the eye of Shivu ; but on his intercessions pro- 

f In performing the ceremony called turpuntt, seven names are used in 
pouring out drink-oficriiigs to all these ancestors. 



THE HINDOO MYTHOLOGY. 

mised, that when Shiva should be married to Doorga, he 
would restore to him his body. 

Names. Mudimu, or he who intoxicates with love ; 
Mun-mut hii, he who agitates the mind ; Marti, he who 
wounds with love ; Prudyoomnu, he who overcomes all ; 
Meenu-ketunu, he whose flag is a fish ; Kundurpu, he 
who bloats the mind with desire ; Unungu, he who is 
destitute of body; Rama, the creator of desire; Pun 
ch ushuru, he who has five arrows ; Smuru, he who in 
flames; Shumburaree, the enemy of the giant Shumbum ; 
Munusiju, he who is born in the heart; Koosoome- 
shoo, he whose arrows are flowers ; trnunyuju, he who 
is born only in the mind ; Pooshpu-dhunwa, he whose 
bow is made of flowers; Rutee-putee, the husband of 
Rutee; Mukuru-dhwuju, he whose flag is the animal 
Mukuru. ; Atmubhoo, he who is self-created. 



SECT. X. Sutyu-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 Hindoos, when all the bramhuns in 
the village are invited. The object of worship, painted 
red, and covered with leaves of the mango 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 

Cff 2 



II 

228 THE HINDOO MYTHOLOGY. 

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. 1 am aware> however, that worship 
is paid to some idols not mentioned here ; but these are 
only different forms of the deities whose history is given, 
and the worship is merely an appendage to the ceremonies 
at the great festivals. 



THE HINDOO MYTHOLOGY. 229 

CHAP. VI. 

TERRESTRIAL GODDESSES. 

SECT. L Seeta. 

THIS is the image of a yellow woman, covered with 
jewels : it always accompanies and is worshipped with that 
of her husband. 

Seeta was the daughter of king Junuku a , whose capital 
was Mit hila. Her history, after her marriage with Ramu, 
will be found in the account of that god b . 

SECT. Il.Radha. 

RADHA was the wife of Ayiinu-ghoshu, a cowherd of 
Gokoolu, where Krishna in his youth resided : through 

a Shivii gave to Junitku 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 
bow 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 a 
loss 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. Udkyulmu-Ramayunu. 

b While Seeta was detained at Lunka, she was fed with ambrosia for 
twelve months by Indru, as she would not eat in the house of a giant. 
That Ravunu could not destroy her virtue, is thus accounted for by the 



230 THE HINDOO MYTHOLOGY. 

Vuraee, a procuress, he seduced Radha, and led her into 
the forest near the river Yumoona, where they continued 
till Krishna left her to begin the war with K tings u. 

This mistress of Krishnu has heen deified with her para 
mour. Her image is set up in temples with different forms 
of Krishnu, and worshipped at the festivals of this god. 
The act of looking upon hese images together, is declared 
by the shastrus to be an act of peculiar merit ! 

If a Hindoo be charged with any particular act of which 
he wishes to express his abhorrence, he exclaims, Radha- 
Krishnu ! Many persons repeat Ramu ! Ramu! RamuP 
on such occasions, but no one says Seeta-Ramu ; yet when 
Krishna 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 Hindoos of 
the present day to cover this abominable transaction. 



SECT. III. Rookminee and Sutyu-bhama. 

THESE are the most distinguished wives of Krishnu, but 
their images are never made, Krishnu being always associ- 

pooranus : This giant had before seized the wives of the gods, and dis 
honoured them ; and one day he dishonoured his niece, the wife of king 
Nftlti : for which crime Kooveru cursed him, and caused fire to proceed 
from his ten heads at once. By the entreaty of Briimha, this curse was 
mitigated ; with the proviso, however, that if he ev er defiled the wife of 
another, it should be renewed in full force. Ibid. 



THE HINDOO MYTHOLOGY. 231 

ated with Radha his mistress, and not with his lawful wives. 
At the festivals of Krishnu, however, these women are wor 
shipped, as well as six other wives of this god, viz. Jambu- 
butee, Mitruvinda, Lugunujitee, Lukshmuna, Kalindee, 
and Bhudra; but Rookminee and Sutyu-bhama are the 
most distinguished. 



SECT. IV.Soobhudra. 

THIS sister of Jugunnat hu is worshipped at the same 
time with her brother, and placed with him in the temples 
dedicated to his honour. 



THE HINDOO MYTHOLOGY. 



CHAP. VII. 

DEITIES WORSHIPPED BY THE LOWER ORDERS 
ONLY. 



SECT. l.Punchanunii* 

Is a form of Shivu : the image has five faces, and in each 
face three eyes. Some persons make a clay ima^e, and 
worship it with the usual forms, adding bloody sacrifices ; 
whi<e others worship Punchamlnu before a stone placed 
underneath the vutu b , uslv>vut ht hu c , or koolu d trees. This 
stone is painted red at the top, and anointed with oil e . 
Offerings of flowers, fruits, water, sweetmeats, and fried 
peas accompany the worship, and sometimes bloody sacri 
fices. In almost every village this worship is performed 
beneath some one of these trees. In some villages several 
of these shapeless stones f are to be seen thus anointed, and 
consecrated to the worship of this god. In other places 
the clay images of Punchanunu are placed in houses, or 
under trees; and old women, called dyasineess, devote them- 

a The five-faced. b Firus tndica. 

c Ficus relisfiosa. d Zi/yplius jujuba. 

e Th ^ statue of the god Terminus was either a square stone, or a log 
of wood ; which the Romans usually perfumed with ointments, and 
crowned with garlands. 

f The representative of the goddess Passinuntia was a shapeless stone. 
The Arabians are said to have we. shipped a stone without the form or 
shape of a deity. 

It is probable that these djasinees resemble the priestesses of Cybele. 



THE HINDOO MYTHOLOGY. 23S 

selves to his service : they sweep the inside of the clay- 
temple, and repeat the ceremonies of worship for others ; 
constantly remaining near the image, and receiving all offer 
ings and presents. Not more than one woman waits upon 
one idol, unless she admit a pup<l, who expects to succeed 
her. These women, either married or widows, are treated 
almost as witches. 

There is no appointed time for the wo r hip of this god, 
but Tuesdays or Saturdays are preferred to other days* 

There are some places in Bengal, where images of Pun- 
chanunu are in great celebrity for bestowing the blessing 
of children, and other favours on the worshippers. 

The Hindoo women are terrified at this god, and are 
exceedingly afraid lest their children should, in play, injure 
the stone under the trees. Some therefore warn their chil- 

* The late Jiigtinnatlm-Tiirkku-Punchanunu, who died in the year 
1807, 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 him 
self: Till he was twenty years old he was exceedingly ungovernable, 
and refused to apply to his studies. One day his parents rebuked him 
very sharply for his conduct, aud he wandered to a neighbouring village, 
where he hid himself in the vutu tree, under which was a very celebrated 
image of Punchanunii. 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 person arrived whose livelihood depended 
on this image, he discovered 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 confusion, the parents of Jtigiin* 
nat hu-Tfirkku-Punchantinu arrived to search for their son ; when a 
man i-i the crowd declared that he had seen a young man sitting in Pun- 
chanunu s tree, but what was become of the god he couLl not say. The 
runaway at length appeared, and the suspicions of all the villagers fell 
upon him, as the stealer of Punchanunu. After some time he confessed 
the fact, pointed out the place where he had thrown the stone, and added 
VOL, I. II ll 



34 THE HINDOO MYTHOLOGY. 

dren against going near these stones, by declaring that 
Punchanunu will assuredly kill them, if they touch or play 
with his image. 

Children in fits of epilepsy are supposed to be seized by 
this god, and thrown into a state of frenzy, till they foam 
at the mouth, tear their hair, &c. The mother asks the 
supposed evil spirit his name, who answers, through the 
child, ( I am Punchanunu : your child has cast dust on my 
image, kicked it, and is the ringleader of all the children of 
the village in this wickedness. I will certainly take away 
his life/ The dyasinee is now called, who comfort? the 
weeping and alarmed family, and addresses the god thus : 
( O Punchanunu ! 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 ingry with such paltry offenders. If 
thou restore the child, the parents will sacrifice a goat to 
thee, and present to thee many offerings. If this should 
fail to render the god propitious, they take the child to the 
image, before which they sit down, and offer the most ex 
cessive flattery to the god, causing the child to beat its 
head on the ground. After using every contrivance, they 
retire, and, at the close of the fit, believing that Puncha 
nunu has cured the child, they present to him offerings 
according to their ability. 

moreover that lie had discharged his urine on the god. All hands were 
lifted up in amazement at this atrocious crime, and evrry one present 
pronounced his death as certain ; for Punchanunu would certainly re- 
verure such a daring insult. Our young hero was himself terribly 
affrighted, and from that hour sat down so sedulously to his studies, that 
he became the most learned man in Bengal. He was employed by the 
govesn-nent in India 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. 



THE HINDOO MYTHOLOGY. 2S5 

SECT. II. Dhurmu Thakooru. 

ANOTHER form of Shivu. 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, and anoint 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 themselves 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 
with 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 it, and repeats the daily cere 
monies. 

At two villages in Bengal, Poosooree and Rayu-kalee, 
the worship of this god is constantly attended by crowds 
from a great distance. If a woman s eldest child die, she 



23(5 THE HINDOO MYTHOLOGY. 

makes a vow before witnesses, that she will not cut her 
hair for two years; and thnt then, Arcing 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 acknowledgment of a favour, or to beg a 
blessing, take a young child in their arms; and putting on 
wet clothes, plnce an earthen pot full of burning coals upon 
some cloth on their heads; and sitting before the god in a 
supplicating posture, continue for some time offering in 
cense, throwing Indian pitch into the pan of coals. 

A poor man sometimes places the black stone, adorned 
with garlands, &c. in a basket, and the offerings which he 
collects at the doors of housekeepers in another, and, tying 
the baskets to a bamboo which he lays OH his shoulder, 
carries the god from door to door as a shew; while another 
plays on a rude instrument of music, and joins in sinking 
the praises of Dhurmu-t hakooru. Householders givr a 
handful of rice, and the beggars present in return a flower 
which has been offered to the god. 



SECT. IIl.Kaloo-rayii. 

THIS is another form of Shiva: the image is that of a 
yellow man sitting on a tyger, holding in his right hand an 
arrow, and in his lefc a bow. 

A few of the lower orders set 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 wild beasts, 
adopt a peculiar mode of worshipping this idol. The 



THE HINDOO MYTHOLOGY. 237 

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, flowers, fruits, and the water of the Ganges 
carried from the river Hooglee, keeping a fast : the god 
then directs him in a dream where to cut wood free from 
danger. There is no authority for this worship in the 
shastrus. 

Dukshina-rayu is another god worshipped in the same 
manner, and by the same class of persons. 



SECT. IV.Kalu-Bhoiruvu. 

A NAKED Shivu, smeared with ashes; having three eyes; 
riding on a dog; and holding 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 regent of Kashee, (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 between two mill-stones. 



SECT. V. Worship to cure the Itch and Scurvy. 

THE goddess Sheetula is worshipped by the Hindoo 
females whenever their families are afflicted with the 
itch; and the god Ghe too (a black boiling pot) is wor- 






238 THE HINDOO MYTHOLOGY. 

shipped to remove the scurvy or any kind of blotches on 
the skin. 



In the preceding sections of this work, the god Prit hi- 
vee, regent of the earth, should have been noticed : he has 
no separate worship, but certain formulas are repeated in 

his name at all the great festivals. Vishnoo is revered 

as the Household God; he is worshipped when a person 
enters a new house, or at any other time to procure the 

removal of family misfortunes. Doorga should have 

been mentioned also as the Village Goddess ; she is wor 
shipped 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, Koovru, and Lukshmee ; when the per 
sons pay the first instalment of their rents. The land 
owner is at the expense. 



THE HINDOO MYTHOLOGY. 239 

CHAP. VIII. 

WORSHIP OF BEINGS IN STRANGE SHAPES. 

SECT, I. Urdhu-nareeshwiirii 1 *. 

HERE Shivu and Doorga are united in one body, white 
and yellow. The origin of this image is thus given in the 
Lingu pooranu : Shivu and Doorga after their marriage 
lived on mount Koilasti, where Doorga kept the house, 
cooked, and nursed her two children, Guneshu and Kar- 
tiku ; and Shivu supported the family as a mendicant. On 
a certain occasion, Shivu, having one day smoked intoxi 
cating herbs to excess, was unable to go his daily rounds. 
Doorga informed him that there was nothing in the house; 
that the family had eaten half of what was collected the 
day before, and that Guneshu s rat and Kartikii s peacock l 
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 advised her to assume the form of the 
goddess Cnnu-poorna k , 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. Narudu at length 
meeting Shivu also, pursuaded him to return to his wife : 
Doorga received him with joy, and relieved his hunger; 

h Urdhu, half; naree, woman ; eeshwurti, a name of Shivu. 
1 Gtmeshu rides on a rat, and Kartiku on a peacock. 
k One of the forms of Doorga, as tiie regent of food. 



240 THE HINDOO MYTHOLOGY. 

which so pleased the oli mendicant, that in pressing her 
in his arms both bodies became one. 

In the Radha-tuntru it is said, that Shiva and Doorga 
assumed this form in order to prove that Shivu is the one 
Brumhu, 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 he 
daily collected, especially as Doorga had ten mouths, and 
Gune shu a very large belly, agreed with his wife, that they 
should assume one body, which would be supported with 
less labour. 

Notwithstanding tV s apparently close union of Shivu 
and Doorga, the Shivopa-khyanu, a poem, contains a story, 
in which Doorga is represented as quarrelling with Shivu. 
in a fit of jealousy, on account of his begging in that part 
of Shivu-pooru l where the women of ill-fame live. On 
another occasion, as related in the Ramayunu, a dreadful 
quarrel took place betwixt Shivu and Doorga, because 
Pcirushoo-rama had beaten Kartiku and Gune shu, the two 
sons of Doorga. Another account of these quarrels is given 
both in the Ramayunu and the Muhabharutu: Ramu s 
efforts to destroy Ravtinu proving abortive, in consequence 
of the protection afforded the giant by Shivu, all the gods 
whom Ravunu harl oppressed joined Ramu in supplications 
to Shiva : and on the seventh day, when Ravunu was to be 
slain, the god- resolved to be present ; and Shivu was about 
to join them, when Doorga interfered, and asked him how 

1 Shivu s heaven. 



THE HINDOO MYTHOLOGY. 241 

he could witness the destruction of his own disciple : that 
disciple, who had stood praying to him all day in the sultry 
weather, surrounded with four fires ; who had continued 
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 
smoaked intoxicating herbs ; covered himself with ashes ; 
dwelt in cemeteries ; a beggar ; whose name would never 
be remembered ; and dost thou think, said she, e that I 
shall be present at such a sight ?. Shivu could no longer 
smother his resentment, but reproached her in the severest 
terms, reminding her that she was only a woman, and knew 
nothing : and indeed that she did not act like woman, for 
she was continually wandering from place to place; en 
gaged 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 mad 
ness by these cutting reproaches, so that the gods became 
alarmed, and intreated Ramu to join in supplications to 
Doorga, or there would be no possibility of destroying 
Ravunu. He did so, and so pleased the goddess 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 succeeding day. The formulas are those 
used in the worship of Doorga, not of Shivu. Animals are 
slain and offered to the goddess. 



VOL. i. i i 



THE HINDOO MYTHOLOGY, 



SECT. ILKrishnii-Kalee. 

THIS scandalous image is worshipped annually at the 
total wane of the mo&n m in Kartiku, in the night. 

Of all the milkmaids that used to collect around him, 
Krishna was most charmed with Radha, the wife of Ayanu- 
ghoshu. When the attachment was first formed, the sister 
of Ayunu-gho hu saw them together, and informed her 
brother of the circumstance; at which Radha became very 
much alarmed, assured Krishna that her sister-in-law hid 
seen her with him, and that her husband would cer-dniy 
destroy her. Krishna commanded her not to fear, adding, 
if her husband came, he would assume the form of Kat e, 
and she should be found in the act of worship. When her 
husband and others arrived, they found her thus employed, 
and joined her in her devotions. Could it be believed that 
such an abominable instance of adultery and treachery 
would be made the subject of worship? yet so it is. Four 
images are made from this story, viz. Krishnu-Kalee, 
Rulha, Ayuna-ghoshu, and Kootila, Ayanu s sister. 
Bloody sacrifices are offered to this image ; but the wor 
shippers of Krishna are ashamed, when asked by the shak- 
tus, if Krishna has begun to drink blood ? 



SECT. III. Huree-Hmv. 

HERE Vishnoo (Huree) and Shivu (Huru) appear in one 
body ; the former is black, and the latter white. The 
image has four arms and two feet. 

ln A very proper time for such a worship. Let neither sun nor moon 
shine on such deeds. 



THE HINDOO MYTHOLOGY. <243 

The origin of this image is thus recorded in the Vishnoo 
pooranu. : Lukshmee and Doorga were once sitting toge 
ther in the presence of Shivu, when Lukshmee contended 
that her husband (Vishnoo) was greater than Shivu ; which 
Doorga as firmly denied. Lukshmee said, her husband 
must be greatest, since Shivu had worshipped him. In the 
midst of this conversation Vishnoo arrived, and to convince 
Lukshmee that both were equal, he immediately entered 
the body of Shivu, and they became one. 

Another account of the origin of this image is given in 
the Kashee-khundu, a part of the Skundu pooranu. On a 
certain occasion, when Vishnoo and Shivu were conversing 
together, Shivu requested Vishnoo to assume the beautiful 
female form which he had formerly done at the churning of 
the sea: to which he consented; when Shivu, overpowered 
with desire, pursued the flying beauty, till, overcome with 
fatigue, she hid herself behind a tree, and reassumed the 
form of Vishnoo. Shivu, however, embraced Vishnoo with 
such eagerness, that the bodies of both became one n . 

The worship of this image takes place whenever any one 
pleases. Stone images in some places are continually pre 
served ; and in others a clay one is made, and worshipped, 
and afterwards committed to the river. 

Raja Krishnu-chundru-rayu expended fifty or sixty thou 
sand roopees at the consecration of a stone image of Huree- 
Huru, which may be still seen at Gunga-vasu, near Nu- 
deeya. While this raja lived, fifty roopees were daily 
expended in this worship ; yet, though a number of villages 

n The reader need not be informed how much this story in its termi 
nation resembles that of the nymph Salmacis, who is said to have fallen 
excessively in love with a son of Mercury by his sister Venug. 

I i 2 



244 THE HINDOO MYTHOLOGY. 

have been bequeathed to the god, the expense of the daily 
worship and offerings is less now than formerly. Few 
places in Bengal,, however, can now boast of a temple at 
which fifty roopees are daily expended . No bloody sacri 
fices are offered to this image. 

However shocked a professed Christian may be at reading 
such accounts, and however revolting to every feel ng of 
modesty and decency these stories may be, the Hindoo 
philosophers have thought proper to perpetuate them, and 
in this image to personify lust itself. The bramhuns also 
bow down to this image as to a deity worthy of adoration. 

This expense is incurred in the meat-offerings, consisting of rice, 
peas, salt, oil, ghee, butter, sugar, sweetmeats, fruits of different kinds, 
herbs, spices, betle nuts, &c. ; in the offerings of cloth, metal vessels, and 
other things ; and in the vvagea of the bramhuns and shoodrfis employed. 
About ten bramhuns and fourteen shoodrus constantly attend on the ser 
vice of this image. 



THE HINDOO MYTHOLOGY. 245 

CHAP. IX. 

WORSHIP OF HUMAN BEINGS. 

Deified Men and Women. 

ALL the bramhuns, but especially the religious guides, 
(gooroo,) are objects of worship among the Hindoos, and 
have divine honours paid to them. The spiritual guide, in 
the estimation of the disciple, is literally a god. When 
ever 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 gooroo , and relies entirely upon his blessing for 
final happiness. I have heard some Hindoos speak with 
comparative contempt of all other ways of salvation. When 
the claims of the bramhuns to deity have been disputed by 
any one, I have seen the poor besotted shoodru prostrate 
himself at the feet of the nearest bramhun, and, raising his 
head, and closing his hands, say, 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 bramhuns, 
till they are eight years old, are objects of worship, as forms 
of the goddess Bhuguvutee ; and some persons worship 
these girls daily. The worshipper, taking the daughter of 

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, 



246 THE HINDOO MYTHOLOGY. 

some neighbouring bramhun, and placing her on a seat, 
performs the ceremonies of worship ; in which he presents 
to her flowers, paint, water, garlands P, incense, and, if a 
rich man, offerings of cloth and ornaments. He closes the 
whole by prostrating himself before the girl. At the wor 
ship of some of the female deities also, the daughters of 
bramhuns have divine honours paid to them. 

The wives of bramhuns 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, &c. 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 Savitree vrutu, the wives of bramhuns 
very generally worship their husbands. The worshipper, 
having placed a seat for her husband, and presented him 
with new garments, entreats 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 ceremonies 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-voivurttu pooranu, but the story is 
too long for insertion. 



P Both the Greeks and Romans, it is well known, used to adorn their, 
images with garlands at the time of worship. 



THE HINDOO MYTHOLOGY. 247 

Many of the tuntrus, and particularly the Roodru- 
yamulu, the Yonee-tuntru, and the Neelu-tuntru, contain 
directions respecting a most extraordinary and shocking 
mode of worship, which is understood in a concealed man 
ner amongst the Hindoos by the name of Clmkru. 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 
clmndalu, or of a Musulman, 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 si-s naked. ****** 
********** 

Here things too abominable to enter the ears of many and 
impossible to be revealed to a Christian public, are contained 
in the directions of the shastru. The learned bramhun 
who opened to me these abominations, made several efforts 
paused and began again and then paused again before 
he could mention the shocking indecencies prescribed 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 refuse 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 measure ; and the com 
pany while eating must put food into each other s mouths. 



243 THE HINDOO MYTHOLOGY. 

The priest then in the presence of all behaves towards 
this female in a manner which decency forbids to be men 
tioned; 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, absorp 
tion in Brumhu, &c. 

At present the persons committing these abominations 
(vamacharees) are becoming 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 
incantations of the shastrus. 



THE HINDOO MYTHOLOGY. 249 



CHAP. X. 



THE WORSHIP OP BEASTS, 



SECT. I. The Cow. 

URtlMHA created the bramhuns and the cow at the same 
time : the bramhuns to read the formulas, and the cow to 
afford milk, (clarified butter,) for the burnt-offerings. 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 impurity ; 
and all unclean places are purified with cow-dung. Indeed 
many bramhuns do not go out of the house in a morning, 
till the door-way has been rubbed with cow-dung. 

The cow was 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 peculiar to the object 
worshipped, The officiating bramhun, at the close of the 

VOL. i. K k 



<250 THE HINDOO MYTHOLOGY, 

service, reads the whole of the Chundee, a poem relating to 
the wars 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 cow daily: after bathing, they throw flowers at 
her feet, and feed her with fresh grass, saying, O Bhugu- 
vutee ! eat f and then walk round her three or seven times, 
making obeisance. 

If you speak among Hindoos of eating the flesh of cows, 
they immediately raise their hands to their ears : yet milk 
men, carmen, and farmers, beat the cow as unmercifully 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 
expense of giving them food a . Thus is the cow at once a 
beast of burden and a goddess. Some of the poor Hunk 
themselves 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 
of 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 
prcven ed from hurting the cows, he will descend into the 
hell of musquitoes 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 European cow. 



In the year 1812, a bramhfcn was convicted before the magistrate of 
Serampore, of stealing from a relative a cow in calf, aad^offering this 
sale to a butcher. 



THE HINDOO MYTHOLOGY. 



SECT. II. The Monkey. 

THE black-faced monkey, Hunooman b , the son of the 
god Pavunu, by Onjuna, a female monkey c , is believed to 
be an incarnation of Shivu. 

The Hindoos worship Hunooman on their birth-day to 
obtain long life, 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 honour of Hunooman. 

Stone images of Hunooman are kept in the houses of 
some of his disciples, and worshipped daily. The worship 
per 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, Eeshwuru-chundru, the raja of 
Nudeeya, spent 100,000 roopees in marrying two monkey s d , 

b Hunooman broke his cheek-bone by a fall from the sun s orbit ; and 
his name is derived from hunoo, the cheek bone. 

e 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 
swan. 

d At this time none of these monkeys were to be seen about Niideeya ; 
now they are so numerous that they devour almost all the fcuit of the 
orchards, as the inhabitants are afraid of hurting them. 

K k 2 



252 THE HINDOO MYTHOLOGY. 

when all the parade common at Hindoo marriages was ex 
hibited. In the marriage procession were seen elephants, 
camels, horses richly caparisoned, palanqueens, lamps, and 
flambeaus $ the male monkey was fastened in a fine palan- 
queen, having a crown 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, &c. Dancing, music, singing, and 
every degree of low mirth, were exhibited at the bride 
groom 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 ceremo 
nies of worship before the image of this monkey is attended 
with a degree of disgrace. I have heard of a quarrel 
between two bramhuns, one of whom was paid by a rich 
Hindoo to repeat the ceremonies of Hindoo worship before 
the image of Hunooman, d lily, at his house: amidst the 
quarrel the other said, c Thou refuse of bramhuns ! thou 
gainest a subsistence 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 : Indru fearing 
Hunooman would swallow the glorious luminary, wijh his 
thunderbolt smote him to the earth, where he lay lifeless. 
His distracted mother applied to his father 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. Brumha, Vishnoo, Shivu, 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 



THE HINDOO MYTHOLOGY. 253 

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, began to sink. After a few struggles 
they regained the land, and again sat down with closed eyes 
to their work. Hunooman next took out the stone, and 
the waters retired ; 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 exceeding 
ly ; 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 sages, 
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 
Ramu upon mount Rishyumooku, he should obtain twice 
his former strength. On a certain occasion Hunooman 
was 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 complain 
ed 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 astonish 
ment, he began to praise Hunooman, and at length prevail 
ed on him to promise that he would help the Panduvus in 
their expected war with Dooryodhunti. 



254 THE HINDOO MYTHOLOGY. 



SECT. III. The Dog 

Carries Kalu-Bhoimvu, a form of Shivu, and therefore 
receives the worship of the Hindoos whenever his master is 
worshipped 6 . I have heard also that there are many 
Hindoos in the west of Hindoost hanu, who pay their devo 
tions to the dog, and become his disciples. Though the 
dog is thus placed amongst the objects of worship, he is 
mentioned in the Muhabharutu as an unclean animal : 
every offering which he approaches is rendered unacceptable 
to the gods, and every one who toudhes him must purify 
himself by bathing. 



SECT. IV. The ShackaL 

THE Tuntrus mention an incarnation of Doorga in the 
form of the shackal, when she carried the child Krishnu 
over the Ytimoona, in his flight from king Kungsu. All 
the worshippers of the female deities adore the shackal as a 
form of this goddess, especially the vamacharees, who pre 
sent 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 worshipper : 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 

The dog, it will be remembered, was consecrated to Mars. 



THE HINDOO MYTHOLOGY. 265 

placed on a pedestal, and daily worshipped. 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. 



SECT. V. Other Animals worshipped. 

THE elephant, the lion, the bull, the buffalo, the rat, 
the deer, the goat, &c. are worshipped at the festivals 
of the gods whom they respectively carry, that is, of 
Indru, Doorga, Shivu, Yumu, Gun^shu, Puvunu, and 
Brumha. 



256 THE HINDOO MYTHOLOGY. 



CHAP. XI. 



THE WORSHIP OF BIRDS 



SECT. I. Gurooru*. 

THIS god, with the head and wings of a bird h , and the 
rest of his body like that of a man, is called the king of the 
birds, and the carrier of Vishnoo. Vintita, the wife of 
Kushy upu, the progenitor of gods and men, laid an egg c , 
and became the mother of this bird-god. As soon as 
Gurooru 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 ftgnee, conceiving that Gurooru must 
be an incarnation of the god of fire. 

In consequence of a dispute betwixt Vinuta, the mother 
of Gurooru, and Kudroo, the mother of the serpents, re 
specting the colour of the horse procured at the churning 
of the sea, a continual enmity has subsisted betwixt the 

Some suppose Gurooru to be a large species of vulture, and others 
the gigantic crane. 

b Gurooiu in some degree resembles Mercury, viz. in his having wings, 
and being the messenger of Vishnoo, as Mercury was of Jupiter. 

c Jupiter is said to have been enamoured of the goddess Nemesis in the 
shape of a goose j and that she laid an egg, from which was born Helena. 



THE HINDOO MYTHOLOGY. 257 

descendants of these females ; and Gurooru once obtained 
permission from one of the gods to devour all the serpents 
he could find d . 

The story of Gurooru s becoming the carrier of Vishnoo 
is thus related in the Muhabharutu : 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 ser 
pents, wishing to become immortal, promised to liberate his 
mother on condition that Gurooru should bring Chundru, 
(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, 
s 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 
inspiration drew in houses, trees, cattle, men, and other 
animals ; but, among the inhabitants swallowed, one was a 
bramhun, who caused such an intolerable burning in his 
bowels, that Gurooru, unable to bear it, called, in the great 
est 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 Ktishyupu, who directed him to 
appease his hunger at a certain lake where an elephant and 
a tortoise were fighting. The body of the tortoise was 
eighty miles long, and the elephant s one hundred and 

d When the Hindoos lie down to sleep, they repeat the name of Gfi- 
roorti three times, to obtain protection from snakes. 
VOL, I. L 1 



258 THE HINDOO MYTHOLOGY. 

sixty. Gurooru with one claw seized the elephant, with 
the other the tortoise, and perched with them on a tree 
eight hundred miles high ; but the tree was unahle to bear 
the ponderous weight, and unhappily thousands of pigmy 
bramhuns were then worshipping on one of its branches. 
Trembling lest he should destroy any of them, he took the 
bough in his beak, continuing to hold the elephant and 
tortoise in his claws, and flew to a mountain in an unin 
habited country, where he finished his repast on the tortoise 
and elephant. Gurooru, having surmounted astonishing 
dangers, at last seized the moon, and concealed it under 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 
promised a higher seat than Vishnoo, while Gurooru on his 
part became the carrier of Vishnoo. Since this time Vish 
noo 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 Vishnoo ; but has no separate time of 
worship. His image is placed in the temples dedicated to 
various forms of Vishnoo; and some persons receive his 
name as their guardian deity, and repeat it daily. 

Gurooru s two sons, Sumpatee and Jutayoo, once flew, 
as a trial of strength, up to the sun ; but the wings of 
Sumpatee were burnt off. Gurooru resides in Kooshu- 
dweepu, one of the seven islands into which the Hindoos 
divide the earth. 

Names. Guroomut, or, he who is clothed with fea 
thers. Gurooru, he who swallows [serpents, and throws 



THE HINDOO MYTHOLOGY. 259 

up their bones.] Tarkshyu, from Turkshyu, the father of 
Gurooru. Voinute yu, from Vinuta. Khugeshwuru, the 
lord of the feathered tribes. Nagantuku, the destroyer of 
the serpents, (nagus.) Vishnoo-rut hu, the carrier of Vish- 
noo. Soopurnu, he whose feathers are of the colour of 
gold. Punnuga-shunu, the devourer of the serpents. 



SECT. II. Uroonii, 

THE elder brother of Gurooru, is the charioteer of Soor- 
yu, the sun ; and is worshipped with his master, as well as 
at the festivals of other gods. The image of this god is 
that of a man without thighs. 



SECT. llLJutayoo. 

THIS bird is the friend of Ramu, and is worshipped at 
the same festival with him. He is mentioned in the pre 
ceding account of Ramu. 



SECT. IV.Shunkurii Chillii, or the Eagle of Coromandel. 

THIS is the white-headed kite, commonly called the 
bramhunee kite. It is considered as an incarnation of 
Doorga, and is reverenced by the Hindoos, who bow to it 
whenever it passes them. 



Ll2 



260 THE HINDOO MYTHOLOGY. 



SECT. V.~Khunjunu 9 or the Wag-tail, 

Is considered as a form of Vishnoo, on account of the 
mark on its throat, supposed to resemble the shalgramu. 
The Hindoos honour it in the same manner as they do the 
eagle of Coromandel. 



SECT. VL Other Bird* worshipped. 

THE peacock, the goose, and the owl e , are worshipped 
at the festivals of Kartiku, Brumha, and Ltikshmee. 

e 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 r 
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 some other 
calamity will befal him within a year afterwards. To prevent this, the 
house, or its value in money, must be given to bramhuns ; or a peace-oifer- 
ing of an extraordinary nature must be offered : viz. 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, and an 
hundred and eight oblations of clarified butter must be made with a sacri 
ficial piece of the wood of the Khadira tree, while the prayer of Mrit- 
yoonjiiyu is Repeated. The oblation, called the muha-vyadhee homu, is to 
be performed at the commencement, or at the end of this ceremony. 
Oblations of clarified butter, at each of which the gayitree is repeated, 
are then to be made to Vishnoo, the nine planets, Udbhootu,and the house 
hold gods ; which being done, the bramhuns must be entertained with cla 
rified 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 
bramlums, and the benediction received from them. 



THE HINDOO MYTHOLOGY. 261 

CHAP. XII. 

THE WORSHIP OF TREES. 

TREES are worshipped by the Hindoos as the forms of 
particular gods : the tishwutu and vutu are representatives 
of Vishnoo, and the vilwu that of Shivu. The 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. 

SECT. I. The Tooliisee*. 

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 
Voishakhu they suspend a large pot over it filled with water, 
and let the water drop upon it through a small hole. 

a Basil, Ocimum gratigsimum, and O. sanctum. The myrtle was sa 
cred to Venus. 



26*2 THE HINDOO MYTHOLOGY. 

Whenever 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; which actions are declared by 
the shastrtis to be very meritorious. 

The origin of the worship of the Toolusee is thus related 
in the Vishnoo pooranu, and in the Toolusee-Mahatmu : 
Toolusee, a female, was engaged for a long time in reli 
gious austerities; and at length asked this blessing of 
Vishnoo, that she might become his wife. Lukshmee, 
Vishnoo s wife, hearing this, cursed the woman, and 
changed her into a Toolusee plant b ; but Vishnoo pro 
mised, 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. 

b Apollo changed the youth Cyparissus into a cypress tree. Daphne 
was changed into a laurel. 



THE HINDOO MYTHOLOGY. 2G3 



SECT. II. Other sacred Trees. 

THE ushwuttu c , vutu d , vukoolu 6 , huritukee f , amulu- 
kee B, vilwu h , and nimbu trees receive divine honours from 
the Hindoos, and are set apart with the same ceremonies 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 vutu, considering these trees as continuing to flourish 
many years, says, ( Oh ! Vishnoo ! 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 ex 
pects too, that as he has set apart this tree to afford shade 
to his fettow creatures, so after death he will not be 
scorched by excessive heat in his journey to Yumu, the 
regent of death. 

c Ficus religiosa. This and other trees are never injured, nor cut 
down, nor burnt by devout Hindoos. I was once informed by a bramhun, 
that his grand father planted one of these trees near his house, which has 
now spread its branches so widelv, 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 suffer its withered branches to be burnt. 

d Ficus Indica, vulgarly called the banyan tree. 
c Mimusops elengi. f Terminalia citrina. 

K Phillanthus emblica. h ^Egle marmelos. 

1 Melia azodaracta. 



264 THE HINDOO MYTHOLOGY. 

CHAP. XIII. 

THE WORSHIP OF RIVERS. 

RlVERS are to be placed among the objects of Hindoo 
worship k : they are of both genders, Nudu and Nudee. 
The worship of these rivers is performed at auspicious sea 
sons, 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 Suruswutee at Pruyagu. 1 ; the branching 
of this united river into three streams at Trive nee ; the 
place where the Ganges disembogues itself into the sea, &c. 
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 



SECT. I. Gunga. 

THIS goddess is represented as a white woman, wearing 
a crown, sitting on the sea animal Mukurti, and having in 

k The notion of certain rivers being sacred, seems to have prevailed 
amongst other heathen nations. Hence Naaman, the Syrian, said, * Are 
not Abana and Pharpar, rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of 
Israel ? May I not wash in them and be clean ? 

1 It i* ascertained, that there are six places of this name, five of which 
are situated on the river Ulukanfcnda. See Asiatic Researches, vol. xi. 



THE HINDOO MYTHOLOGY. 265 

her right hand a water-lily, and in her left the lute. She 
is called the daughter of mount Himavut, though some of 
the pooranus declare that she was produced from the sweat 
of Vishnoo s foot, which Brumha caught and preserved in 
his alms dish. 

The grandfather of Beeshmu was one day performing 
religious austerities near the Ganges, when the goddess 
fell in love with him, and, in order to persuade him to a 
union, went and sat upon his right knee. He told her 
that the left knee was 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 and Gunga had been married some time, 
she was about to leave him ? but consented to stay, on con 
dition 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 seventh 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 Cshtu-vusoo. 

The Ramayunu, Muhabharutu, and the Giinga-khundu, 
a part of the Skundu pooranu, give long accounts of the 
descent of Giinga from heaven : Sugurii, a king, having 
no children, entered upon a long course of austere devo 
tions; 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. 
After some time, the queen was delivered of a pumpkin ! 
which the king in anger dashed to the ground, when the 
fruit wis broken, and, to his astonishment, he saw children 
rising from it ; and, calling sixty thousand nurses, put each 

VOL. i. Mm 



266 THE HINDOO MYTHOLOGY. 

child into a pan of milk. The other wife had a son, whom 
they called tTngshooman. After these sons were grown up, 
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 Sugtiru s hundredth sacrifice. To prevent its 
taking effect, therefore, he descended to the earth, and 
assuming another form, privately carried off the horse, 
which he placed in patalii, near to Kupilii, a sage. The 
sixty thousand sons, after searching throughout the earth 
in vain, began to dig into patalti c , where they found the 
horse standing by the side of Kupilu, who was absorbed in 
his devotions. Incensed at the, old man, whom they sup 
posed to be the thief, they began to beat him; when, awak 
ing from his abstraction of mind, he reduced them all to 
ashes. The king for a long time heard no more of his 
sons ; but at length Narudu informed him of the catas 
trophe. He then sent his son tJngshooman down to the 
sage, who delivered up the horse, and informed the king, 
that if he could bring the goddess Gunga from heaven d , 
his sons might be restored to him. The king offered the 
sacrifice, and placing tingshooman on the throne, took up 
his residence in a forest as a hermit, where he died. tJng 
shooman, in his turn, making his son Dwileepu his suc 
cessor, died also in a forest. Dwileepu had two wives, but 
no children ; he therefore abdicated the throne, and em- 

c The Hindoo writers say, that the seven seas were thus formed by the 
sons of Suguru. Some accounts add, that .not finding a place large 
enough to contain the earth which they thus dug up they devoured it ! 

d Or, as it is explained, if he could perform the funeral rites for these 
sixty thousand persons with the efficacious waters of the Ganges, they 
would be delivered from the curse, and ascend to heaven. 



THE HINDOO MYTHOLOGY. 267 

bracing the life of a hermit, sought of the gods a son, and 
the deliverance of the sons of Suguru. Shivu 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 Bhugeerut hu e ; 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 ftshtu-vukru, 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 
tJshtu-vukru, 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 his prayers to 
different gods for the restoration of his sixty thousand rela 
tions but in vain ; at length Brumha, moved by his piety, 
gave him a single drop of the water, and Vishnoo giving 
him a shell which he blew, Gunga followed him. As she 
had to fall from heaven to earth, Bhugeerut hu. was afraid 
lest the earth should be crushed by her fall : wherefore 
Shivu, standing on mount Himavtit, caught Gunga in his 
bunch of matted hair, and detained her there for some 
time ; but at length suffered one drop to fall on the moun 
tain : and from thence, on the tenth of the increase of the 
moon in Jyoisht hu, the goddess touched the earth, and 
which ever way Bhugeerut hu went blowing the conch, 
there Gunga followed him. 

Several very curious circumstances happened to Gunga 



This story is so extremely indelicate, that it is impossible to trans 
late it, 

M m 2 



268 THE HINDOO MYTHOLOGY. 

as she passed along. In one place she ran near Junhoo, a 
sage, and washed away his mendicant s dish, the flowers for 
worship, &c. upon which he, in anger, took her up, and 
swallowed her. At the intreaties of Bhugeerut hu, how 
ever, the sage let her pass out at his thigh, on which 
account Gunga received the name of Janhuvee. 

On they went, till Gunga asked Bhugeerut hu where 
these sixty thousand relations were whom she was to de 
liver. He being unable to inform her, she, to make sure 
of their deliverance, at the entrance of the sea, divided her 
self into one hundred streams f ,- and ran down into pataluj 
where, as soon as the waters of Gunga touched their ashes, 
they were delivered from the curse, and ascended in 
chariots to heaven. 

When Gunga was brought from heaven, the gods, con 
scious that their sins also needed washing away, petitioned 
Brumlia on the subject, who soothed them by promising 
thai? Gunga should remain in heaven, and descend to earth 
also. This goddess, therefore was called Mundakinee in 
heaven, Gunga on earth, and Bhoguvutee in patalii. 

All casts worship Gunga, yet most of the ceremonies at 
the time of the daily ablutions, with the exception of some 
forms of praise to this goddess, are in the ,ame 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*, 

* The months of the Ganges. 

* * He who thinks upon Gunga, though he may be 800 miles distant 
from the river t the time, is delivered 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 Shivu. If a person, according to the r- 



THE HINDOO MYTHOLOGY. 269 

becomes exceedingly augmented. In Voishakhu, Jyoisht hu, 
Kartiku, and Maghu, the merit s greater than in other 
months; and at the full moon 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 recommended. 

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 undecayable: 
such is the promise of the smritee shastrus. 

On the 10th of the moon s increase in Jyoisht hu, in the 
forenoon, the Dushuhura festival is held, in commemora 
tion 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, flowers, cloth, 
sweetmeats, &c. and hang garlands of flowers across the 
river, even where it is very wide. After the people have 
bathed, the officiating bramhun ascends the banks of the 
river with them; and after repeating sungkulpu 1 , places 
before him a jar of water, and sitting with his face to the 

gulations of the shastru, be going to bathe in Gunga, 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 Gunga, 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 ha 
been guiltv of killing cows, bramhuns, his eooroo, or of drinking spirits, 
&c. touch the waters of Gunga, desiring in his mind the remission of 
these sins, they will be forgiven. By bathing in Gunga, accompanied 
with prayer, a person will remove at once the sins of thousands of uirths." 
Gunga- Vakyu- Vulee. 

h An incantation, at the time of repeating which the person promise* 
to attend to certain ceremonies. 



270 THE HINDOO MYTHOLOGY. 

north or east, performs what is called ghutu-st hapunu 1 . 
After this, the bramhun performs other ceremonies, as asunu 
shoodhee k , ungu-nyasu 1 , kurangu-nyasu 1 , bhoot-shoodhee m , 
dig-vundhunu 11 , bhodt-otsarunu , &c. then the worship of 
the five gods ; of the nine planets; of the regents of the ten 
quarters, &c. To this succeeds meditation, manusiiP, &c.; 
the priest next presents the offerings, which may be sixty- 
four, or eighteen, or sixteen, or ten, or five, or merely 
flowers and water, according to the person s ability. To 
these offerings, the worshipper must add sesamum, clari 
fied butter, and barley-flour. The officiating bramhun 
next performs the worship of Narayunu, Muheshwum^, 
Brumha, Sooryu, Bhugeerut hu, and Himaluyu; then the 
worship of the inhabitants of the waters, as the fish, the 
tortoises, the frogs, the water-snakes, the leeches, the 
snails r , the mukurus, the shell-fish, the porpoises, &c. 

1 The ceremonies performed at the setting up of an image. Here the 
jar of water is the image, before which the worship of any of the gods 
may be performed. 

k Purifying the seat. l Ceremonies accompanied with motions of 

the fingers. m Purifying the five elements of which the body is com^ 
posed. n Binding the ten quarters, to prevent evil spirits from arriving 
to defile the worship. Driving away the evil spirits. ^ P Going 
over all the ceremonies in the mind. *i Shivii. 

* This strongly reminds us of the lines of Juvenal, Satire xv. 

Who has not heard, where Egypt s realms are nam d, 

What monster gods her frantic sons have fram d ? 

Here Ibis gorg d with well-grown serpents*, there 

The crocodile t commands religious fear: 

Where Memnon s statue magic strings inspire 

With vocal sounds that emulate the lyre ; 

And Thebes (such, Fate, are thy disastrous turns !) 

Now prostrate o er her pompous ruins mourns; 

A monkey-god |, prodigious to be told ! 

Strikes the beholder s eye with burnished gold : 

See Gurooru. f The Hindoos throw their children to the alligators. } Hunoomaa. 



THE HINDOO MYTHOLOGY. 271 

The offerings, after having been presented to the inhabi 
tants of the waters, are thrown into the Ganges. Ten lamps 
of clarified butter are then lighted up, and all the other offer 
ings presented. After this, the names of certain gods are 
repeated, with forms of praise; the fee is presented to the 
priest, the bramhuns are entertained, and the offerings sent 
to the houses of bramhuns. At the close of these ceremo 
nies the people perform obeisance to Gunga, and then 
depart. Great multitudes assemble on the banks of the 
river on these occasions, and expect much both in this life 
and hereafter from this act of worship. If a person, placing 
on his head ten fruits of any kind, thus immerse himself in 
the Ganges on this day, the sins of ten births will be 
removed. 

In this month also clay images of Gunga are set up in 
domestic temples, and worshipped, and the next day thrown 
into the river. In some places clay images of this goddess 
are preserved in clay temples, and worshipped daily. Per 
sons escaping dangers on water present offerings to Gunga, 
as well as to Vuroonu, the Indian Neptune ; as mariners, 
having escaped the dangers of the sea, used to offer a sacri 
fice to Venus. 

On the thirteenth of the decrease of the moon in 



To godship here blue Triton s scaly herd, 
The river progeny is there preferr d || : 
Through towns Diana s power neglected lies, 
Where to her dogs aspiring temples rise : 
And should you leeks or onions eat, no time 
Would expiate the sacrilegious crime. 
Religious nations sure, and blest abodes, 
Where every orchard is o errun with gods ! 

H See the account above. See a preceding article. 



THE HINDOO MYTHOLOGY. 

Choitrti, the people descend into the water, and with their 
hands joined immerse themselves ; after which the officiat 
ing bramhun reads a portion of the shastru, describing the 
benefits arising from this act of bathing. The people re 
peat after the priest certain significant words, as the day of 
the month, the name of Vishnoo, &c. and then immerse 
themse ves again. Gifts of rice, fruits, and money are 
offered to the poor, the bramhuns, and the priest. On this 
occasion groups of ten or twelve persons stand in the water 
in one spot, for whom one bramhun reads the formulas. 
These groups are to be seen extending themselves very far 
along the river. At the moment of the conjunction of the 
moon (on the thirteenth of its decrease) with the star Shu- 
tubhisha, this festival is called the Great Varoonee. The 
merit arising from bathing at this lucky moment is sup 
posed to be very great ; the people fast till the bathing is 
over. When there is a conjunction as above, and the day 
falls on a Saturday, the festival is called the Great, Great 
Varoonee 5 . 

The pooranus declare, that the sight, the name, or the 
touch of Gunga takes away all sin, however heinous ; that 
thinking of Gunga, when at a distance, is sufficient to re 
move the taint of sin ; but that bathing in Gunga has bles 
sings in it of which no imagination can conceive. 

So much is this river reverenced among the Hindoos, 
that many bramhuns will not cook upon it, nor throw saliva 
into it, nor wash themselves nor their clothes in it . Some 

At the time of many of the festivals, the sides of the Ganges, in mar.y 
places, are gaily illuminated ; and lights fastened on boards, plantain 
stalks, &c. or put in earthen pots, are iloated down the stream. 

4 In the work called Vahneekee-moonee, amongst many other forms of 
praise to be offered to Gunga, is the following : f O goddess, the owl that 



THE HINDOO MYTHOLOGY. 2?3 

persons perform a journey of five or six months to bathe in 
Gunga, to perform the rites for deceased relations, and to 
carry this water to place in their houses, for religious and 
medicinal uses. The water of this river is used also in the 
English courts of justice to swear upon, as the koran is 
given to Musulmans, and the New Testament to Christians; 
but many of the most respectable Hindoos refuse to comply 
with this method of making oath, alleging that their 
shastrus forbid them in these cases to touch the water of 
the Ganges u , the shalgramu, or a bramhun. When such 
cases occur in the courts, the judges very candidly permit 
the person, if of good character, to give his evidence in a 
way consistent with his peculiar prejudices, as, after bath 
ing, &c. and standing with his face to the east. The 
Hindoo courts formerly admitted a person s evidence with 
out an oath; and when a cause could not be determined by 
evidence thus given, they resorted to the ordeal. It is not 
uncommon for one Hindoo to say to another, e Will you 
make this engagement on the banks of Gunga? The 
other replies, I engage to do what I have said ; but I can 
not call Gunga to witness it. If a person utter a most 
audacious lie, while near or upon the Ganges, the person 
to whom he is speaking says, Are you not afraid of utter 
ing such a falsehood in the presence of Gunga? A third 
person perhaps adds, as a continuation of the reproach 
* Not he ; he has been guilty of discharging his urine into 
Gunga, even at Pruyagu. 

lodges in the hollow of a tree on thy banks is exalted beyond measure j 
while the emperor, whose palace is far from thee, though he may possess 
a million of stately elephants, and may have the wives of millions of con 
quered enemies to serve him, is nothing. 

u Many persons refuse to contest causes in which large sums are at 
stake, under the fear that they may be constrained to make oath on the 
-waters of the Ganges. 

VOL. I. N n 



274 THE HINDOO MYTHOLOGY. 

Morning and evening the Hindoos visit and look at this 
river to remove the sins of the night or of the day ; when 
sick they smear their bodies with the sediment, and remain 
near the river for a month perhaps. Some of course re 
cover, and others die : a Hindoo says, that those who have 
a steady faith and an unwavering mind, recover ; the rest 
perish. 

The Hindoos are extremely anxious to die in the sight of 
the Ganges, that their sins may be washed away in their 
last moments. A person in his last agonies is frequently 
dragged from his bed and friends, and carried, in the 
coldest or in the hottest weather, from whatever distance, 
to the river side ; where he lies, if a poor man, without a 
covering day and night till he expires : with the pains of 
death upon him, he is placed up to the middle in the water, 
and drenched with it. Leaves of the toolusee plant are 
also put into his mouth ; and his relations call upon him 
to repeat, an$ repeat for him, the names of Ramu, Huree, 
Narayunti, Brumha, Gtinga, &c. In some cases the family 
priest repeats some incantations, and makes an offering to 
Voiturunee, the river over which the soul, they say, is fer 
ried after leaving the body. The relations of the dying 
man spread the sediment of the river on his forehead or 
breast, and afterwards with the ringer write on this sedi 
ment the name of some deity. If a person should die in 
his house, and not by the river side, it is considered as a 
great misfortune, as he thereby loses the help of the goddess 
in his dying moments. If a person choose to die at home, 
his memory becomes infamous. The conduct of Raja 
Nuvu-krishnu of Nudeeya, who died in his bed-room about 
the year 1800, is still mentioned as a subject of reproach, 
because he refused to be carried to the river before death. 
6 Ah ! Ah ! say the superstitious, when a neighbour at the 



THE HINDOO MYTHOLOGY. 275 

point of death delays the fatal journey to the river, c he 
will die like Raja Nuvu-Krishnu. 

Dead bodies are brought by their relations to be burnt 
near this river 5 and when they cannot bring the whole body, 
it is not uncommon for them to bring a single bone and cast 
it into the river x , under the hope that it will help the soul 
of the deceased. 

In the eastern parts of Bengal, married women, long dis 
appointed in their hopes of children, make an offering to 
Gunga, and enter into a vow, that if the goddess will give 
them two children, they will present one to her : and it is 
not uncommon for such women to cast the first child into 
the river as an offering 5 but it is said, that at present some 
relation or religious mepdicant stands ready to preserve the 
life of the child. The mother cannot take it again, but this 
person adopts and provides for it. These offerings are 
made on the tenth of the moon in Jyoisht hu, and on the 
13th of Choitni. 

Some persons even drown themselves in the Ganges, not 
doubting but they shall immediately ascend to heaven. 



* Many persons, whose relations die at a distance from the Ganges, at 
the time of burning the body preserve a bone, and at some future time 
bring this bone and commit it to Gunga, supposing that this will secure 
the salvation of the deceased. The work called Kriya-yogusarii contains 
the following curious story : A bramhtin, who had been guilty of the 
greatest crimes, was devoured by wild beasts ; his bones only remained. 
A crow took up one of these bones, and was carrying it over Gunga, 
when another bird darting upon it, the crow let the bone fall. As soon 
as the bone touched Gunga, the bramhun sprang to life, and was ascend 
ing to heaven, when the messenger of Yumu, the judge of the dead, seiz 
ed him, as a great sinner. At this time Narayiinu s messengers interfered, 
and pleaded, that the sins of this man, since one of his bones had touched 

N n 2 



276 THE HINDOO MYTHOLOGY. 

The shastru encourages this?. It is a sin for a bramhun, 
but an act of merit in a shoodru or a dundee, if lie be in 
worldly trouble, or afflicted with an incurable distemper. 
The Gunga-Vakya-Vulee says, < Should any person have 
eaten with another who is degraded for seven successive 
births ; or have committed the five sins, each of which is 
called muha-patuku ; should he have eaten the food which 
has been touched by a woman in her courses ; or have CQJJL- 
stantly spoken falsely ; or have stolen gold, jewels, &c^ 
should he have killed the wife of his friend ; or have injured 
bramhuns, or friends, or his mother, &c. ; or have commit 
ted the sins which doom a man to the hell called Muha- 
rouruvu ; or have committed those sins for which the mes 
sengers of Yumu constantly beat a person ; or have com 
mitted multitudes of sins in childhood, youth, and old age ; 
if this person bathe in Gtmga at an auspicious period, all 



Gtinga, were all done away. The appeal was made to Vishnoo, who 
decided in the bramhun s favour. The bramhun immediately went to 
heaven. 

y The Skiindti pooranu declares, that by dying in the Ganges, a person 
will obtain absorption into Briimhu. The same work contains a promise 
from Shivu, that whoever dies in Gunga shall obtain a place in his heaven. 
The Bhtivishyti poeranti affirms, that if a worm, or an insect, or a grass 
hopper, or any tree growing by the side of Gunga, die in the river, it will 
obtain absorption into Bruralru. The Brumhu pooranu says, that whether 
a person renounce life in Giinga, praying for any particular benefit, or die 
by accident, or whether he possess his senses or riot, he will be happy. 
If he purposely renounce life, he will enjoy absorption, or the highest 
happiness ; if he die by accident, he will still attain heaven. Miinoo says, 
1 A mansion with bones for its rafters and beams ; with nerves and tendons 
for cords ; with muscles and blood for mortar ; with skin for its outward 
covering ; filled with no sweet perfume, but loaded with faeces and urine ; 
a mansion infested by age and by sorrow, the seat of malady, harassed 
with pains, haunted with the quality of darkness, and incapable of stand 
ing long: such a mansion of the vital soul let its occupier always cheer 
fully quit. 



THE HINDOO MYTHOLOGY. 277 

these sins will be removed : he will also be admitted into 
the heaven of Brumha, the Pumm-hungsee ; be put in 
possession of the merits of the man who presents a lack of 
red cows to a bramhun learned in the four veclus ; and 
afterwards will ascend and dwell at the right hand of 
Vishnoo. After he has enjoyed all this happiness, and 
shall be re-born on the earth, he will be possessed of every 
gDod quality, enjoy all kinds of happiness, be very honour 
able, &c. He who shall doubt any part of this, will be 
doomed to the hell called Koomhhee-paku, and afterwards 
be born an ass. If a person, in the presence of Gunga, on 
the anniversary of her arrival on the earth, and according to 
the rules prescribed in the shastrus, present to the bram- 
huns whole villages, he will obtain the fruits that arise from 
all other offerings, from all sacrifices, from visiting all the 
holy places, &c. ; his body will be a million times more 
glorious than the sun ; he will obtain a million of virgins, 
and multitudes of carriages, palanqueens, &c. covered with 
jewels; he will dwell for ages in heaven, enjoying its 
pleasures in company with his father ; as many particles of 
dust as are contained in the land thus given away to the 
brarnhuns, for so many years will the giver dwell in happi 
ness in Vishnoo- s heaven. 

Every real Christian must be deeply affected on viewing 
the deplorable effects of this superstition. Except that part 
of the rig-vedu which countenances the burning of women 
alive, no writers ever gave birth to a more extensive degree 
of misery than those who have made the Ganges a sacred 
river. Thousands, yea millions of people are annually 
drawn from their homes and peaceful labours, several times 
in the year, to visit different holy places of this river, at a 
great expense of time, and money spent in making offerings 
to the goddess 5 expensive journeys are undertaken by vast 



273 THE HINDOO MYTHOLOGY. 

multitudes to obtain the water 2 of this river, (some come 
two or three months journey for this purpose,) or to carry 
the sick, the dying, the dead, or the bones of the dead, to 
its banks. What the sick and dying suffer by being ex 
posed to all kinds of weather in the open air on the banks 
of the river, and in being choked by the sacred water in 
their last moments, is beyond expression. In short, no 
eyes, but those of Omniscience, can see all the foul deeds 
done upon and by the sides of this river ; and the day of 
judgment alone can bring all these deeds to light. The 
bramhun will then see, that instead of Gunga s having 
removed the sins of her worshippers, she has increased 
them a million-fold. 



SECT. II. -Otter deified Rivers. 

THE Godavuree, the Nurmuda, the Kave ree, the Atreyee, 
the Kurutoya, the Bahooda, the Gomutee, the Suruyoo, the 
Gundukee, the Varahee, the Churmun-wutee, the Shutu- 
droo, the Vipasha, the Goutumee, the Kurmunasha, the 
Shonu a , the Oiravutee, the Chundrubhaga, the Vitusta, the 
Sindhbo, the Bhudra-vukasha, the Punusa, the DeVika, the 
Tamrupurnee, the Toongubhudra, the Krishna, the Ve tru- 
vutee, the Bhoiruvu, the Brumhu-pootru b , the Voiturunee, 
and many other rivers, are mentioned in the Hindoo 
shastrus as sacred. 

At the full moon in Asharhu, many thousand Hindoos 
assemble at Prutapu-guru, a place to the west of Lucknow, 

* Many thousands perish by the dysentery, and others through want, in 
these journies. 

This is a male river. b Ditto. 



THE HINDOO MYTHOLOGY. 279 

and bathe in the Godavuree, or in the remains of it, (for 
at this season of the year this river is nearly dried up.) 

On the last day of Choitru, a large assembly of Hindoos 
meet at Moduphuru-pooru, about sixteen miles from Patna, 
where the Giindakee, the Suruyoo, and the Ganges meet b . 
The assembly remains eight days, and a large fair is held on 
the spot, at which horses, camels, and other beasts, and 
also children, are bought and sold : the price of a boy is 
from ten to twelve roopees ; that of a girl is less. 

On the same day a large concourse of Hindoos, some say 
as many as 20,000, principally women, assemble at Cyodhya, 
to bathe in the Suruyoo. 

On the 14th of the decrease of the moon in Phalgoonu, 
an equal number of people are said to meet on the banks of 
the Suruyoo at Buhurum-ghatu, near Lucknow : but they 
do not bathe in the river, the water of which is very filthy, 
but in a sacred pool adjoining. 

On the banks of the Yumoona, on the second of the 
moon in Kartiku, arid on the eighth of the decrease of the 
moon in Bhadru, vast crowds of Hindoos assemble in dif 
ferent places to bathe. 

The Brumhu-pootru receives the ame honours on the 
eighth of the increase of the moon in Choitru. At a place 

b There are several causes why particular places of these rivers are 
esteemed peculiarly sacred. Some of these causes are given in the 
shastrus, and others arise from tradition. One instance of the latter 
occurs respecting Voidyviiatee, a place near Serampore, where Nimaee, a 
religious mendicant, performed his devotions, and where at present, at a 
conjunction of particular stars, multitudes assemble to bathe. 



580 THE HINDOO MYTHOLOGY. 

three days journey from Dacca, 50 or 60,000 people assem 
ble, and sacrifice pigeons, sheep, and goats, casting them 
into the river. Children are also cast into the river here 
by their mothers, but are generally rescued and carried 
home by strangers. Superstitious people say, that on this 
day the river gradually swells so as to fill its banks, and 
then gradually sinks to its usual level. 

The Voiturunee, in Orissa, is also placed among the 
sacred rivers, and on the thirteenth of the decrease of the 
moon in Choitru, great multitudes of Hindoos, (six or 
seven hundred thousand,) assemble at Yaju-pooru, near the 
temple of Jugunnat hu, and bathe in this river. 

Many other rivers receive the same honours ; and I 
could have greatly enlarged this account, in detailing their 
fabulous histories, and in noticing the superstitious cere 
monies of this deluded people on their banks : but what I 
have here inserted, and the preceding account of Gunga, 
must suffice. 

c See Asiatic Researches. 



THE HINDOO MYTHOLOGY. 281 



CHAP. XIV. 

THE WORSHIP OF FISH. 

VlSHNOO, having been incarnate in the form of a fish, is 
worshipped on certain occasions, or rather a form of praise 
is repeated in honour of this incarnation. 

In the preceding account of Gunga it will also be seen, 
that the finny tribes of that river are worshipped at the 
festivals in honour of this goddess, 

1 am informed, however, that female Hindoos, residing 
on the banks of the Pudmu, on the 5th of the increase of 
the moon in Maghu, actually worship the Ilishu fish, when 
they first arrive in the river, with the usual ceremonies, and 
after that partake of them without the fear of injuring their 
health. 



VOL, *, oo 



282 THE HINDOO MYTHOLOGY. 

CHAP. XV. 

THE WORSHIP OF BOOKS. 

JL HE Hindoos have deified their shastrus, which, on dif 
ferent occasions, they worship with the same ceremonies as 
an idol, anointing the book with perfumes, and adorning it 
with garlands. 

At the reading of any part of the vedus, the Chundee, 
and other works, the book to be read is always addressed as 
an idol. At such times the worshipper thus prays to the 
book : Oh ! book ! thou art the goddess of learning, bestow 
learning upon me. 

When an individual employs a bramhun to recite to his 
family and neighbours the Miihabharutu, Ramayunu, Shree- 
bhaguvutu, or any other pooranu, the worship of the work 
recited is performed on the first and last days at considera 
ble length, many offerings being presented : each day s re 
cital is also preceded by a short service paid to the book. 

At the festival in honour of the goddess Suruswutee any 
one of the shastrus is adopted and worshipped, joined with 
the pen and inkstand. 

The followers of Vishnoo, and especially the mendicant 
voiragees, pay a still greater reverence than the regular 
Hindoos to the books they esteem sacred. These books 
relate to the amours of Krishnu, or to the mendicants 
Choitunyu and Nityanundu. 

A book placed on a golden throne, and presented to a 
bramhun, is a very meritorious gift. 



THE HINDOO MYTHOLOGY. 283 



CHAP. XVI. 



THE WORSHIP OF STONES. 



The Shalgramu*. 

THIS is the aetites, or eagle-stone, of which there is a 
great variety, and to which many virtues were ascribed by 
the ancients. When I shewed a picture of the eagle-stone 
to a bramhun who was sitting with me, without informing 
him what it was, he exclaimed ( This is the shalgramu. T 
and added, (jocularly,) Oh ! then, Englishmen will be 
saved, as they have the shalgramu amongst them. 

This stone, black, hollow, and nearly round, is said to be 
brought from mount Gundukee, in Napaul. It is added, 
that in this mountain there are multitudes of insects which 
perforate the masses of stone, so that pieces fall into the 
river Gundiiku in the shape of the shalgramu, from whence 
they are taken with nets. Common ones are about as large 
as a watch. They are valued according to their size, their 
hollowness, and the colours in the inside; and from these 
circumstances they are called by different names. The 
chief sorts are called Lukshmee-Narayunu, Rughoonat hu, 

From sharu and gramii, which indicates that this stone makes the 
place excellent in which it is preserved, as the Muhabharbtu is said to 
purify the places in which it is read : hence bramhuns are forbidden to 
enter a village where the Muhabharuttt is not found, as such place is pro 
nounced uncloau. 

O o 2 



THE HINDOO MYTHOLOGY, 

Lukshmee, Junardunu, Vamunu, Damoduru b , &c. These 
different shalgramus are worshipped under their different 
names. The first is sometimes sold for as much as two 
thousand roopees. The Hindoos have a notion, that who 
ever keeps in his house this celebrated stone, and a shell 
called dukshina-vurtu c , can never become poor; but that 
the very day in which any one parts with one of them, he 
will begin to sink into poverty. Almost every respectable 
bramhun keeps a shalgramu, as do some shoodrus. The 
bramhun who does not keep one is reproached by his 
neighbours. 

The reason why this stone has been deified is thus given 
hi the Shree-bhaguvutu : Vishnoo created the nine planets 
to preside over the fates of men. Shunee (Saturn) com 
menced his reign by proposing to Brumha, that he should 
first come under his influence for twelve years. Brumha 
referred him to Vishnoo, but this god, equally averse to be 
brought under the dreaded influence of this inauspicious 
planet, desired Saturn to call upon him the next day, and 
immediately assumed the form of a mountain. The next 
day Saturn was not able to find Vishnoo, but discovering 
that he had united himself to mount Gundukee, he entered 

b The Hindoos say, that this last shalgramu requires large offerings of 
food to he presented to it; and that a bramhun, who had begged one of 
them, and neglected to feed it sufficiently, was brought to ruin, this god 
having swept away nearly his whole family by death. Many stories of 
this kind are related of this stone. Though a single grain of rice was 
never known to be eaten by an image, yet the Hindoos firmly believe this 
and similar stones, against all the evidence of their senses for hundreds of 
years together. Gopalu, a learned bramhun employed in the Serampore 
printing-office, declared that one of these stones had been placed in his 
house by a relation, who attributed his family misfortunes to its powers. 

c A shell, the convolutions of which turn to the right. Vishnoo is said 
to hold a shell of this kind in his hand. 



THE HINDOO MYTHOLOGY. 285 

the mountain in the form of a worm called vujru-keetu c . 
He continued thus to afflict the mountain-formed Vishnoo 
for twelve years, when Vishnoo assumed his proper shape, 
and commanded that the stones of this mountain should be 
worshipped, and should become proper representatives of 
himself; adding, that each should have twenty-one marks 
in it, similar to those on his body, and that its name should 
be shalgramu. 

The worship of any of the gods may be performed before 
the shalgramu, and it is often adopted as the representative 
of some god. It claims no national festival, but is placed 
near the image worshipped, and first receives the devotions 
of the Hindoos. The shalgramu is also worshipped daily 
by the bramhuns, after morning ablutions : they first bathe 
or wash the stone, reading the formulas ; and then offer 
flowers, white lead, incense, light, sweetmeats, and water, 
repeating incantations : the offerings, after remaining be 
fore it a short time, are eaten by the family. In the even 
ing, incense, light, and sweetmeats are offered, preceding 
which a bell is rung, and a shell blown; and the whole is 
closed by the priest s prostrating himself before the stone. 

During the month Voishakhu, bramhuns suspend a pan of 
water every day over the shalgramu, and, through a small 
hole at the bottom, let the water fall on it, to preserve it cool 
during this month, which is one of the hottest in the year. 
This water is caught in another pan placed beneath, and 
drank in the evening as holy water. When the country is 
in great want of rain, a bramhun in some instances places 
the shalgramu in the burning sun, and sits down by it, re 
peating incantations. Burning the god in the sun is said, 
to be a sure way of obtaining rain. 

c Literally, the thunder-bolt worm. 



286 THE HINDOO MYTHOLOGY. 

Some persons, when sick, employ a bramhun to present 
single leaves of the toolusee plant, sprinkled with red 
powder, to the shalgramu, repeating incantations. A hun 
dred thousand leaves are sometimes presented. It is said, 
that the sick man gradually recovers as every additional leaf 
is offered. When a Hindoo is at the point of death, a 
bramhun shews him the marks of the shalgramu, the sight 
of which is said to secure the soul a safe passage to Vish- 
noo s heaven. 

In a work called Shalgramu-nirnuyu an account is given 
of the proper names of the different shalgramus; the 
benefits arising from their worship ; the kinds of shal 
gramus proper to be kept by persons in a secular state, and 
also by the religious. 

A separate room, or house, or a particular spot in the 
room where the family dwell, is assigned to this god. 
Some persons keep one, others ten, others a hundred, and 
some even as many as a thousand of these stones. 

The shalgramu is rendered impure by the touch of a 
shoodru d , and in such cases must be purified by rubbing it 
over with cow-dung, cow s urine, milk, ghee, and curds. 
If a small part of the shalgramu be broken off, the owner 
commits it to the river. The bramhuns sell these stones, 
but trafficking in images is dishonourable. 

[The shalgramu is the only stone deriving its deity from 
itself : all other stones worshipped are made sacred by in 
cantations. For an account of them, see a succeeding article 
relative to the Hindoo images.] 

* So are all other images that have been consecrated. 



THE HINDOO MYTHOLOGY. 287 



CHAP. XVII. 

A LOG OF WOOD WORSHIPPED. 

The Pedal. 

THIS is a rough piece of wood, (termed dhenkee,) gene 
rally the trunk of a tree, balanced on a pivot, with a head 
something like a mallet ; it is used to separate the rice 
from the husk, to pound brick-dust for buildings, &c. A 
person stands at the farthest end, and with his feet presses 
it down, which raises up the head ; after which he lets 
it fall on the rice, or brick-ends. One of these pedals is 
set up at almost every house in country places. 

The origin of this worship is thus given : A religious 
guide, being called upon to give the initiating incantation 
to one of his disciples, commanded him to repeat the 
word dhenkee, dhe nkee. Narudu, the god of the dhenkee, 
pleased with the disciple, visited him, riding on a pedal, 
and gave him as a blessing another incantation, by which 
he immediately became perfect, and ascended to heaven. 

The pedal is worshipped at the time of marriage, of in 
vestiture with the poita, of giving the first rice to a child, 
and at any other particular time of rejoicing. The women 
are the worshippers. It is also worshipped in the month 
Voishakhu by all casts of females, not excepting the wives 
of the most learned bramhuns; who consecrate it by put- 



THE HINDOO MYTHOLOGY. 

ting red, white, or yellow paint, and also some rice, doorva 
grass, and oil on its head. 

About twenty years ago, the raja of Nulu-danga, Mu- 
he ndru-de vii-rayu, spent three hundred thousand roopees 
in a grand festival in honour of this log of wood. At the 
close of the festival, the raja took a firebrand, and set all 
the gilded scenery on fire, and thus finished this scene of 
expensive folly and wickedness. 



END OF VOL. I. 






W. H. PKARCE, Printer, High-street, Birmingham.