^M t^l^V^Tf^^^-^: i# m^-' m \::.' ^m /r:.-: -- ^■^ p ^' k^'BC^^^^^ s^ r OF THE Theological Seminary PRINCETON, N. J. Division case,. :S)L,i20\ o No Boofc,, CO.DY..C, BL1245 .Al W7 4 1846 Wilson ,. H . H. (Horace Hayman ), 1786-1860 . Sketch of the reliaious sects ( Df the Hindus. SKETCH OF THE RELIGIOUS SECTS OF THE HINDUS. BY H. H. WILSON, L.L.D., F.R.S. BODEN SANSCRIT PROFESSOR, OXFORD. FROM THE " ASIATIC RESEARCHES, VOLS. XVI. XVII. CALCUTTA : BISHOP'S COLLEGE PRESS. M.DCCC.XLVI. INDEX. WiLVt E. Brahma Sampradayis, or Madhwacharis, Charan Dasis, Dadu Paat'his, Harischandis, Sadhna Pant'his, and Madhavis Kabir Paat'his Khakis, Maluk Dasis, .... ••• •... .... .... Mira Bais, • Nagas, Present divisions of the Hindus, and of the Vaishnavas in particular, Radha Vallabhis,.... • Kai Dasis, Kamanandis, or Ramawats, • Rudra Sampradayis, or Vallabhacharis, Sakhi Bhavas, Sanakadi Sampradayis, or Nimawats, Sanyasis, Vairagis, &c. ,.,' Sena Pant'his, .... •.*. ..•• .... ••t* •••. Sketch of the Religious sects of ihe Hindus, State of the Hindu Religion, anterior to its present condition, . . Vairagis, Vaishnavas, and Sri Sampradayis, or Ramanujas, .... .... Vaishnavas of Bengal, Pages. .... 87 112 .... 68 113 .... 44 G5 66 .... 85 117 .... 2Q 108 .... 70 31 .... 74 Hi .... 94 115 .... 73 1 .... 8 .... 116 23 .... 95 Part HI. Pages. Aghoris, .... 148 Baba Lalis 222 Dakshinas, or Bhaktas, 160 Dandis and Dasnamis, .... .... .... .... .... .... .... 121 Ganapatyas, .. .. .... .... .... ..•• ••.• 172 Ganj Bakhshis, .... .... .... .... .... .... .... .... 177 Govind Sinhis, .... .... .... .... .... .... .... 178 Gudaras, 150 Hymn, 175 Jains, , 180 Jangamas, .... .... .... .... .... .... .... k... 1.38 Kancbeliyas, .... .... ■... .... .... .... .... .... 170 Kara Lingis, .. .... .... .... .... .... .... .... 151 Kerari 179 Lifeof Mahavira 189 Miscellaneous Sects, 171 Nagas 152,179 Nanak Shahis, 173 Nirmalas, .... .... .... .... .... .... .... .... 179 Paramahansa, 147 Pran Nathis, 226 Ramrayis, .... .... .... .... ...• .... .... .... 177 Kukharas, Sukharas, and Ukliaras 151 Sadhs, 227 Saktas, 154 Sakti Sodliana 166 Saivas, 119 Sanyasis, Brahmacharis, and Avadhutas, 151 Satnamis, .... .... .... „„^ 230 haurapatas, or Sauras Siva Narayanais, .... .... .... '* •••• .... .... .... 231 Sunyabadis, .... ^^ SJuthreh Shahis, * ,..„ 177 Udasis,.... .... .... .... ^^^^ ^_^^ Urddhabahus, Akas Mukhis, and Nakhis, ,40 Vamis, or Vamacharis, ,^^ •••• •••• • . •• .... 106 Yogis or Jogis, j^g A SKETCH RELIGIOUS SECTS OF THE HINDUS. Introductory Observations. The Hindu religion is a term, that has been hitherto employed in a collective sense, to designate a faith and worship of an almost endlessly diversified description : to trace some of its varieties is the object of the present enquiry. An early division of the Hindu system, and one conformable to the genius of all Polytheism, separated the practical and popular belief, from the speculative or philosophical doctrines. Whilst the common people addressed their hopes and fears to stocks and stones, and multiplied by their credulity and superstition the grotesque objects of their veneration, some few, of deeper thought and wider contemplation, plunged into the mysteries of man and nature, and endeavoured assiduously, if not success- fully, to obtain just notions of the cause, the character and consequence of existence. This distinction prevails even in the Vedas, which have their Karma Kdnda and Jnydna Kdnda, or Ritual and Theology. The worship of the populace being addressed to different divinities, the followers of the several gods, naturally separated into different associations, and the adorers of Brahma', Vishnu, and Siva, or other phantoms of their faith, became distinct and insulated bodies, in the general aggregate : the conflict of opinion on subjects, on which human reason has never yet agreed, led to similar differences in the philosophical class, and resolved itself into the several Dersanas, or schools of philo- sophy. It may be supposed, that some time elapsed before the practical wor- ship of any deity was more than a simple preference, or involved the assertion of the supremacy of the object of its adoration, to the degra- dation or exclusion of the other gods :* in like manner also, the conflict- ing opinions were matters rather of curiosity than faith, and were neither regarded as subversive of each other, nor as incompatible with the public worship; and hence, notwithstanding the sources of difference that existed in the parts, the unity of the whole remained undisturbed : in this condition, indeed, the apparent mass of the Brahmanical order at least, still continues : professing alike to recognise implicitly the autho- rity of the Vedas, the worshippers of Siva, or of Vishnu, and the main- tainers of the Sdnk'hya or Nydya doctrines, consider themselves, and even each other, as orthodox members of the Hindu community. To the internal incongruities of the system, which did not affect its integral existence, others were, in time, superadded, that threatened to dissolve or destroy the whole : of this nature was the exclusive adoration of the old deities, or of new forms of them ; and even it may be presumed, the introduction of new divinities. In all these respects, the Purdnas and Tantras were especially instrumental, and they not only taught their followers to assert the unapproachable superiority of the gods they wor- shipped, but inspired them with feelingsf of animosity towards those * One division of some antiquity, is the preferential appropriation of the four chief divinities to the four original castes; thus Siva is the Adideva of the Brahmans, Vishnu of the Kshettriyas, Brahma' of the Faisyas, and Ganesa of the Sudras. t Thus in the Bhagavat : ^TTsrft^'T^'^ ^^^ ^^IW^fTTTf^^T: II Those who profess the worship of Bhava, (Siva,) and those who follow their doc- trines, are heretics and enemies of the sacred Sdstras. — Again, who presumed to dispute that supremacy : in this conflict the worship of Brahma' has disappeared,* as well as, indeed, that of the whole pan- theon, except Vishnu, Siva, and Sakti, or their modifications ; with respect to the two former, in fact, the representatives have borne away the palm from the prototypes, and Krishna, Ra'ma, or the Linga, are almost the only forms under which Vishnu and Siva are now adored in most parts of India. f Those desirous of final emancipation, abandoning the hideous gods of the devils, pursue their devotions, calm, blameless, and being parts of Na'ra'yana. The Padma Purdna is more personal towards Vishnu. ftr^'f T^^5^^%T ^^^ ^Tf?r ^T^^ I From even looking at Vishnu, the wrath of Siva is kindled, and from his wrath, we fall assuredly into a horrible hell; let not, therefore, the name of Vishnu ever be pronounced. The same work is, however, cited by the Vaishnavas, for avery op- posite doctrine. d ^ \» He who abandons Va'sudeva and worships any other god, is like the fool, who being thirsty, sinks a well in the bank of the Ganges— The principle goes still further, and those who are inimical to the followers of a deity, are stigmatised as his* personal foes — thus in the Adi Purdna, Vishnu says: fTriT^T ^^1 ^TftfT ^r^ ^r^ ^JfW^ M He to whom my votary is a friend, is my friend— he who is opposed to him, is no friend of mine— be assured, Dhananjaya, of this : * Siva himself, in the form of Ka'la Bhairava, tore off Brahma''s fifth head, for presuming to say, that he was Brahmk, the eternal and omnipotent cause of the world, and even the creator of Siva, notwithstanding the four Vedas and the personi- fied Omkdra, had all given evidence, that this great, true and indescribable deity was Siva himself. The whole story occurs in the A'a« ifii'Aawd of the Skdnda Purdna, and its real signification is sufficiently obvious. t The great text- book of the Vaishnavas is the Bhligavat, with which it may be supposed the present worship, in a great measure, originated, although, the Mahabharat and other older works had previously introduced this divinity. The worship of the Lingam is, no doubt, very ancient, although it has received, within a few centuries, its present degree of popularity : the Kasi K' hand was evidently written to enforce it, and at Benares, its worship entirely overshadows every other ritual. The varieties of opinion kept pace with those of practice, and six heretical schools of philosophy disputed the pre-eminence with their orthodox brethren : we have little or no knowledge of these systems, and even their names are not satisfactorily stated : they seem, however, .to be the Saugata or Bauddha, Arhata, or Jain, and Vdrhaspatya, or Atheistical, with their several sub- divisions.* Had the difference of doctrine taught in the heretical schools been confined to tenets of a merely speculative nature, they would, probably, have encountered little opposition, and excited little enmity among the Brahmanical class, of which, latitude of opinion is a very common characteristic. The founder of the Atheistical school, however, Vrihaspati, attacks both the Vedas and the Brahmans, and asserts that the whole of the Hindu system is a contrivance of the Priesthood, to secure a means of livelihood for themselves, f whilst the Bauddhas and Jainas, equally disregarding the Vedas and the Brahmans, the practice and opinions of the Hindus, invented a set of gods for themselves, and deposed the ancient pantheon : these aggressions provoked re- sentment : the writings of these sects are alluded to with every epithet of anger and contempt, and they are all anathematised as heretical and atheistical : more active measures than anathemas, it may be presumed, were had recourse to : the followers of Vrihaspati, having no worship at all, easily eluded the storm, but the Bauddhas of Hindustan were annihilated by its fury, and the Jainas apparently evaded it with difficulty, although they have undoubtedly survived its terrors, and may now defy its force. * In a work written by the celebrated Mddhava, describing the different sects as they existed in his day, entitled the Sarva Darsana ; the Vdrhaspatyas, Lokuyatas, and Chdrvukas are identified, and are really advocates of an atheistical doctrine, denying the existence of a god, or a future state, and referring creation lo the aggre- gation of but four elements. The Bauddhas, according to the same authority, admit of four sub-divisions, the Madhyamikas, Yogdchdras, Sautrdntikas, and Vaibhushicas. The Jains or Arhats, as still one of the popular divisions, we shall have occasion to notice in the text. t Vrihaspati has the following texts to this effect: The varieties thus arising from innovations in practice and belief, have differed, it may be concluded, at different eras of the Hindu wor- ship. To trace the character of those which have latterly disappeared, or to investigate the remote history of some which still remain and are apparently of ancient date, are tasks for which we are far from being yet , prepared : the enquiry is in itself so vast, and so little progress has been made in the studies necessary to its elucidation, that it must yet remain in the obscurity in which it has hitherto been enveloped ; so ambitious a project as that of piercing the impenetrable gloom has not instigated the present attempt, nor has it been proposed to undertake so arduous a labour, as the investigation and comparison of the abstruse notions of the philosophical sects.* The humbler aim of these researches has been that of ascertaining the actual condition of the popular religion of the inhabitants of some of the provinces subject to the Bengal Govern- ment ; and as a very great variety prevails in that religion, the subject may be considered as not devoid of curiosity and interest, especially as it has been left little better than a blank, in the voluminous composi- tions or compilations, professing to give an account of the native coun- try of the Hindus. The description of the different sects of the Hindus, which I propose to offer, is necessarily superficial : it would, indeed, have been impossible to have adopted the only unexceptionable method of acquiring an accurate " The Agnihotra, the three Vedas, the Tridanda, the smearing of ashes, are only the livelihood of those who have neither intellect nor spirit." After ridiculing the Sraddha, shrewdly enough, he says : Hence it is evident, that it was a mere contrivance of the Brahmans to gain a live- lihood, to ordain such ceremonies for the dead, and no other reason can be given for them. Of the Vedas, he says : The three Authors of the Vedas were Buffoons, Kogues, and Fiends- and cites texts in proof of this assertion. * Something of this has been very well done by Mr. Ward, in his account of the Hindus: and since this Essay was read before the Society, the account given by H. T. Colebrooke, Esq. in the first part of the Transactions of the iioyal Asiatic Society, of the Sankhya and Nyaya Systems, has left little more necessary on this subject. knowledge of their tenets and observances, or of studying the numerous works in Sanscrit, Persian, or the provincial dialects of Hindi, on which they are founded. I have been obliged to content myself, therefore, with a cursory inspection of a few of those compositions, and to depend for much of my information on oral report, filling up or correcting from these two sources, the errors and omissions of two works, on this subject professedly, from which I have derived the groundwork of the whole account. The works alluded to are in the Persian language, though both were written by Hindu authors : the first was compiled by Si'tal Sink, Munshi to the Raja of Benares ; the second by Mathura' Na'th, late librarian of the Hindu College, at the same city, a man of great personal respect- ability and eminent acquirements : these works contain a short history of the origin of the various sects, and descriptions of the appearance, and observances, and present condition of their followers : they comprise all the known varieties, with one or two exceptions, and, indeed, at no one place in India could the enquiry be so well prosecuted as at Benares.* The work of Mathura' Na'th is the fullest and most satisfactory, though it leaves much to be desired, and much more than I have been able to supply. In addition to these sources of information, I have had frequent recourse to a work of great popularity and extensive circulation, which embodies the legendary history of all the most celebrated Bhaktas or devotees of the Vaishnava order. This work is entitled the Bhakta Mdld. The original, in a difficult dialect of Hindi, was composed by Na'bha'ji, about 250 years ago, and is little more than a catalogue, with brief and obscure references to some leading circumstances connected with the life of each individual, and from the inexplicit nature of its allusions, as well as the difficulty of its style, is far from intelligible to the generality even of the natives. The work, in its present form, has received some modifi- * The acknowledged resort of all the vagabonds of India, and all who have no where else to repair to : so, the Kasi K'hand, ^¥r«T ITTlTTnfTT^TTftff ^^t^TTTW^^f?T; 1 1 " To those who are strangers to the Sruti and Smriti, (Religion and Law) ; to those who have never known the observance of pure and indispensable rites; to those who have no other place to repair to ; to those, is Benares an asylum." cations, and obvious additions from a later teacher^ Na'ra'yan Da's, whose share in the composition is, no doubt, considerable, but cannot be discriminated from Na'bha'ji's own, beyond the evidence furnished by the specification of persons unquestionably subsequent to his time. — Na'- ra'yan Da's probably wrote in the reign of Sha'h Jeha'n. The brevity and obscurity of the original work pervade the additional matter, and to remedy these defects, the original text, or Mula, has been taken as a guide for an amplified notice of its subjects, or the Kkd of Krishna Da's ; and the work, as usually met with, always consists of these two divisions. The Tikd is dated Samvat, 1769 or A. D. 1713. Besides these, a trans- lation of the Tikd, or a version of it in the more ordinary dialect of Hin- dustan, has been made by an anonymous author, and a copy of this work, as well as of the original, has furnished me with materials for the following account. The character of the Bhakta Mdld, will best appear from the extracts of translations from it to be hereafter introduced : it may be sufficient here to observe, that it is much less of a historical than legendary description, and that the legends are generally insipid and extravagant : such as it is, however, it exercises a powerful influence in Upper India, on popular belief, and holds a similar place in the supersti- tions of this country, as that which was occupied in the darkest ages of the Roman Catholic faith, by the Golden Legend and Acts of the Saints.* * In further illustration of our text, with regard to the instrumentality of the Purd- nas in generating religious distinctions amongst the Hindus, and as affording a view of the Vaishnava feelings on this subject, we may appeal to the Padma Purana. In the Uttara Khanda, or last portion of this work, towards the end of it, several sections are occupied with a dialogue between Sita and Pa'bvati', in which the former teaches the latter the leading principles of the Vaishnava faith. Two short sections are devoted to the explanation of who are heretics, and which are the heretical works. All are Pdshandas, Siva says, who adore other gods than Vishnu, or who hold, that other deities are his equals, and all Brahmans who are not Vaishnavas, are not to be looked at, touched, nor spoken to: — SECTION IL State of the Hindu Religion, anterior to its present condition. Although I have neither the purpose nor the power to enter into any detail of the remote condition of the Hindu faith, yet as its present state is of comparatively very recent origin, it may form a not unneces- sary, nor uninteresting preliminary branch of the enquiry, to endeavour to determine its existing modifications, at the period immediately pre- ceding the few centuries, which have sufficed to bestow upon it its actual form : it happens, also, that some controversial works exist, which throw considerable light upon the subject, and of which the proximity of their date, to the matters of which they treat, may be conjectured with probability or positively ascertained. Of these, the two principal works, and from which I shall derive such scanty information as is Siva, in acknowledging that the distinguishing marks of his votaries, the skull, tiger's skin, and ashes, are reprobated by the Vedas (Srutigerhitam) states, that he was directed by Vishnu to inculcate their adoption, purposely to lead those who as- sumed them into error.— Namuchi and other Daityas had become so powerful by the purity of their devotions, that Indra and the other gods were unable to oppose them. The gods had recourse to Vishnu, who, in consequence, ordered Siva to introduce the Saiva tenets and practices, by which the Daityas were beguiled, and rendered " wicked, and thence weak." In order to assist Siva in this work, ten great Sages were imbued with the Tdmasa property, or property of darkness and ignorance, and by them such writings were put forth as were calculated to disseminate unrighteous and heretical doctrines, these were Kana'da, Gautama, Sakti, Upamanyu, Jaimini, Kapila, Durva'sas, Mrikan- da',Vrihaspati, and Bha'rgava. By Siva himself, the Pdsupata writings were composed ; Kana'da is the author of the Vaisheshika Philosophy. The iVz/ayo originates with Gautama. Kapila, is the founder of the Sdnkhya school, and Vhihaspati of the Churvaka. Jaimini, by Siva's orders, composed the Mimdnsa, which is heretical, in as far as it inculcates works in preference to faith, and Siva himself, in the disguise of a Brahman, or as Vya'sa, promulgated the Vedanta, which is heterodox in Vaishnava estimation, by denying attainable, are the Sankara Digvijaya of Ananda Giri, and the Sarva Dersana Sangraha of Ma'dhava'cha'rya, the former a reputed disciple of Sankara himself, and the latter a well known and able writer, who lived in the commencement of the fourteenth century. the sensible attributes of the deity. Vishnu, as Buddha, taught the Bauddha Sdstra, and the practices of going naked, or wearing blue garments, meaning, consequently, not the Bauddhas, but the Jainas, (^ Tlf3[TW^^?^T"^ «Tir5fl^^JT f^^ff |) The Puranas were partly instrumental in this business of blinding mankind, and they are thus distinguished by our authority and all the Vaishnava works. The Mdtsya, Kaurma, Lainga, Saiva, Skdnda and Agneya, are Tdmasa, or the works of darkness, having more or less of a Saiva bias. The Vishnu, Ndradiya, Bhdgavat, Gdrura, Pddma and Vdrdha, are Sdtwika, pure and true; being, in fact, Vaishnava text-books. The Brahmdnda, Brahma Vaivertta, Mdrkandeya, Bhaviskya, Vdmana and Brdh- ma, are of the Rdjasa caste, emanating from the quality of passion. As far as I am ac- quainted with them, they lean to the Sukta division of the Hindus, or the worship of the female principle. The Mdrkandeya does so notoriously, containing the famous Chandi Path, or Durgd Mdhdtmya, which is read at the Durga Pujd ; the Brahma Vaivertta, is especially dedicated to Krishna as Govinda, and is principally occupied by him and his mistress Ha'dha'. It is also full on the subject of Prakriti or personi- fied nature. A similar distinction is made even with the Smritis, or works on law. The codes of Vasishtha HA'pa'xA, Vya'sa, Para'sara, Bharadwaja and Kasyapa, are of the pure order. Those of Yajnawalkya, Atri, Tiitiri, Daksha, Ka'tya'yana and Vishnu of the Rdjasa class, and those of Gautama, Vrihaspati, Samvartta, Yama, Sankha and Usanas, are of the Tdmasa order. The study of the Puranas and Smritis of the Sdtwika class, secures Mukti, or final emancipation, that of those of the Rdjasa obtains Swerga, or Paradise ; whilst that of the Tdmasa condemns a person to hell, and a wise man will avoid them. The Vaishnava writers endeavour to enlist the Vedas in their cause, and the follow- ing texts are quoted by the Tatparya Nirnaya : Na'ra'yana alone was, not Brahma' nor Sankara. \ was before this (universe), not BRAHMA'nor Sankara. cite the Vedas too, as 10 The authenticity of the latter of these two works, there is no room to question ; and there is but little reason to attach any doubt to the former. Some of the marvels it records of Sankara, which the author professes to have seen, may be thought to affect its credibility, if not its authentici- ty, and either Ananda Giri must be an unblushing liar, or the book is not his own : it is, however, of little consequence, as even, if the work be not that of Ananda Giri himself, it bears internal and indisputable evidence of being the composition of a period, not far removed from that at which he may be supposed to have flourished, and we may, therefore, follow it as a very safe guide, in our enquiries into the actual state of the Hindu Religion about eight or nine centuries ago. The various sectaries of the Hindu Religion then existing, are all introduced to be combated, and, of course, conquered, by Sankara : the list is rather a long one, but it will be necessary to go through the whole, to ascertain the character of the national faith of those days, and its present modifications, noticing, as we proceed, some of the points of difference or resemblance between the forms of worship which then prevailed, and which now exist. The two great divisions of Vaishnavas and Saivas were both in a flourishing condition, and each embraced six principal subdivisions : we shall begin with the former, who are termed ; Bhdktas, Bhdgavatas, Vaishnavas, Chakrinas, or Panchardtrakas, Vaik'hdnasas and Karmahinas. But as each of these was subdivided into a practical and speculative, or Kerma and Jnydna portion, they formed, in fact, twelve classes of the followers of Vishnu, as the sole and supreme deity. The Bhdktas worshipped Vishnu as Va'sudeva, and wore no charac- teristic marks. The Bhdgavatas worshipped the same deity as Bhagavat, and impressed upon their persons the usual Vaishnava insignia, repre- senting the discus, club, &c. of that divinity ; they likewise reverenced the Sdlagrdm stone, and I'm fasi' plant, and in several of their doctrinal The Lord who pervades all things, is thence termed the omnipresent Siva, liudra is but one, and has no second— These citations would scarcely have been made, if not authentic ; they probably do occur in the Vedas, but the terms Nardyana and Fdsudeva, or Siva and Rudra, are not to be taken in the restricted sense, probably, which their respective followers would assign them. 11 notions, as well as in these respects, approach to the present followers of Ra'ma'nuja, although they cannot be regarded as exactly the same. The authorities of these three sects were the Upanishads and Bhagavad Gitd. The names of both the sects still remain, but they are scarcely applicable to any particular class of Vaishnavas : the term Bhakta, or Bhagat, usually indicates any individual who pretends to a more rigid devotion than his neighbours, and who especially occupies his mind with spiritual considerations : the Bhdgavat is one who follows parti- cularly the authority of the Sri Bhdgavat Pur ana. The Vaishnavas adored Vishnu as Na'ra'yana, they wore the usual marks, and promised themselves a sort of sensual paradise after death, in Vaikunfha, or Vishnu's heaven ; their tenets are still current, but they can scarcely be considered to belong to any separate secL The Chakrinas, or Panchardtrakas were, in fact, Sdktas of the Vaish- nava class, worshipping the female personifications of Vishnu, and observing the ritual of the Panchardtra Tantra : they still remain, but scarcely individualised, being confounded with the worshippers of Krishna and Ra'ma on the one hand, and those of Sakti or Devi on the other. The Vaik'hdnasas appear to have been but little different from the Vaishnavas especially so called; at least Ananda Giri has not particu- larised the difference ; they worshipped Na'ra'yana as supreme god, and wore his marks. The Karmahmas abstained, as the name implies, from all ritual observances, and professed to know Vishnu as the sole source and sum of the universe, ^^c^ f%?nRT2i' ^iffT | ^^^Y ^^" scarcely be considered as an existent sect, though a few individuals of the Rdmanuji- ya and Rdmdnandi Vaishnavas may profess the leading doctrines. The Vaishnava forms of the Hindu faith, are still, as we shall here- after see, sufficiently numerous ; but we can scarcely identify any one of them with those which seem to have prevailed when the Sankara Vi- jaya of Ananda Giri was composed. The great divisions, of Ra'ma'nuja and Ra'ma'nand — the former of which originated, we know, in the course of the eleventh century, are unnoticed, and it is also worth while to ob- serve, that neither in this, nor in any other portion of the Sankara Vijaya, is any allusion made to the separate worship of Krishna, either in his own person, or that of the infantine forms in which he is now so pre- 12 eminently venerated in many parts of India, nor are the names of R'ama and Sita', of Lakshmana or Hanuma'n, once particularised, as enjoying any portion of distinct and specific adoration. The Saiva sects are the Saivas, Raudras, Ugras, Bhdktas, Jangamas, and Pdsupatas. Their tenets are so blended in the discussion, that it is not possible to separate them, beyond the conjectural discrimination which may be derived from their appellations : the text specifies merely their characteristic marks : thus the Saivas wore the impression of the Linga on both arms ; the Raudras had a Trisula, or trident, stamped on the forehead ; the Ugras had the Damaru, or drum of Siva on their arms, and the Bhdktas an impression of the Li?iga on the forehead — the Jan- gamas carried a figure of the Linga on the head, and the Pdsupatas im- printed the same object on the forehead, breast, navel, and arms. Of these sects, the Saivas are not now any one particular class — nor are the Raudras, Ugras, or Bhdktas, any longer distinct societies : the Jangamas remain, but they are chiefly confined to the south of India, and although a Pdsupata, or worshipper of Siva as Pasupati, may be occasionally encountered, yet this has merged into other sects, and particularly into that of the Kanp'hata Jogis : the authorities cited by these sects, accord- ing to Ananda Giri, were the Siva Gitd, Siva Sanhitd, Siva Rahasya, and Rudra Ydmala Tantra : the various classes of Jogis are never alluded to and the work asserts, what is generally admitted as a fact, that the Dan- dis, and Dasndmi Gosains originated with S Ankara Acha'rya. Worshippers of Brahma, or Hiranyagarbha, are also introduced by Anaxda Giri, whom now it might be difficult to meet with : exclusive adorers of this deity, and temples dedicated to him, do not now occur perhaps in any part of India ; at the same time it is an error to suppose that public homage is never paid to him. Brahma is particularly reve- renced at Pokher, in Ajmer, also at Bithdr, in the Doab, where, at the principal Ghat, denominated Brahmavertta Ghat, he is said to have offered an Aswamedha on completing the act of creation : the pin of his slipper left behind him on the occasion, and now fixed in one of the steps of the Ghat, is still worshipped there, and on the full moon of Agrahayana (Nov. -Dec.) a very numerously attended Mela, or meeting, that mixes piety with profit, is annually held at that place. The worshippers of Agni no longer form a distinct class : a few Agnihotra Brahmans, who preserve the family fire, may be met with, 13 but in all other respects they conform to some mode of popular devo- tion. The next opponents of Sankara Acharya were the Sauras, or wor- shippers of the sun, as the creator and cause of the world : a few Sauras, chiefly Brahmans, still exist as a sect, as will be hereafter no- ticed ; but the divisions enumerated by Ananda Giri, are now, it is believed, unknown: he distinguishes them into the following six classes. Those who adored the rising sun, regarding it as especially the type of Brahma' or the creative power. Those who worshipped the meridian sun as IswARA, the destructive and regenerative faculty ; and those who reverenced the setting sun, as the prototype of Vishnu, or the attribute of preservation. The fourth class comprehended the advocates of the Trimurti, who addressed their devotions to the sun in all the preceding states, as the comprehensive type of these three divine attributes. The object of the fifth form is not quite clearly stated, but it appears to have been the adoration of the sun as a positive and material body, and the marks on his surface, as his hair, beard, &c. The members of this class so far correspond with the Sauras of the present day, as to refrain from food until they had seen the sun. The sixth class of Sauras, in opposition to the preceding, deemed it unnecessary to address their devotions to the visible and material sun : they provided a mental luminary, on which they meditated, and to which their adoration was offered : they stamped circular orbs on their foreheads, arms, and breasts with hot irons ; a practice uniformly con- demned by Sankara, as contrary to the laws of the Vedas, and the res- pect due to Brahmanical flesh and blood. Ganesa, as well as Surya, had formerly six classes of adorers ; in the present day he cannot boast of any exclusive worship, although he shares a sort of homage with almost all the other divinities : his followers were the worshippers of Ma ha' Ganapati, of Haridra Ganapati, or Dhun- Di Raj, who is still a popular form of Ganesa, of Uch'chishtha G, of Navani'ta G, of SwERNA G, and of Santa'na G. The left hand sub- division of the Uch'chishtha Ganapati' sect, also called Hairamba, abrogated all obligatory ritual and distinction of caste. The adorers of the female personifications of divine power, appear to have been fully as numerous as at present, and to have worshipped the 14 same objects, or Bhava'ni', Maha' Lakshmi', and Saraswati' ; even as personifications of these divinities, however, the worship of Sita' and Ra'dha', either singly, or in conjunction with Ra'ma and Krishna, never makes its appearance. The worshippers of Sakti were then, as now, divided into two classes, a right and left hand order, and three subdivisions of the latter are enumerated, who are still well known — the Purndbhishiktas, Akritdrthas, and Kritdkrityasamas. There can be little doubt, that the course of time and the presence of foreign rulers, have very much ameliorated the character of much of the Hindu worship : if the licentious practices of the Sa'ktas are still as prevalent as ever, which may well be questioned, they are, at least, carefully concealed from observation, and if they are not exploded, there are other observances of a more ferocious description, which seem to have disappeared. The worship of Bhairava, still prevails amongst the Sdktas and the Jogis ; but in Upper India, at least, the naked mendicant, smeared with funeral ashes, armed with a trident or a sword, carrying a hollow skull in his hand, and half intoxicated with the spirits which he has quaffed from that disgusting wine-cup, prepar- ed, in short, to perpetrate any act of violence and crime, the Kdpdlika of former days, is now rarely, if ever, encountered. In the work of Ananda Giri, we have two of these sectaries introduced, one a Brah- man by birth, is the genuine Kdpdlika : he drinks wine, eats flesh, and abandons all rites and observances in the spirit of his faith, his emi- nence in which has armed him with supernatural powers, and rendered Bhairava himself, the reluctant, but helpless minister of his will. The other Kdpdlika is an impostor, the son of a harlot, by a gatherer of Tari, or Palm juice, and who has adopted the character as an excuse for throw- ing oflf all social and moral restraint. The Kdpdlikas are often alluded to in controversial works, that appear to be the compositions of a period at least preceding the tenth century.* The next classes of sectaries, confuted by Sank aha, w^ere various infidel sects, some of whom avowedly, and perhaps all covertly, are still in being ; the list is also interesting, as discriminating their opinions which, in the ignorance subsequent to their disappearance from Hindustan, have very commonly been, and, indeed, still are frequently confounded. * See the Prabodha Chandrika, translated by Dr. Taylor. 15 These are the Chdrvdkas, or Siinya Vddis, the Saugatas, the Kshapana- kas, the Jainas, and the Bauddhas. The Chdrvdkas were so named from one of their teachers, the Muni Cha'rva'ka. From Vrihaspati — some of whose dogmas have been quot- ed from the work of Ma'dhava, they are termed dX^oVdrhaspatyas . The appellation Sunya Vddi, implies the asserter of the unreality and empti- ness of the universe, and another designation, Lokdyata, expresses their adoption of the tenet, that this being is the Be-ail of existence : they were, in short, the advocates of materialism and atheism, and have existed from a very remote period, and still exist, as we shall hereafter see. The Saugatas are identified even by Ma'dhava with the Bauddhas, but there seems to have been some, although probably not any very essential difference : the chief tenet of this class, according to Ananda GiRi, was their adopting the doctrine taught by Sugata Muni, that tenderness towards animated nature comprehends all moral and devotional duty, a tenet which is, in a great measure, common to both the Bauddha and Jaina schisms : it is to be feared, that the personal description of the Saugata, as a man of a fat body and small head, although possibly intended to characterise the genus, will not direct us to the discovery of its origin or history. The Kshapanaka again has always been described by Hindu writers as a Bauddha, or sometimes even a Jaina naked mendicant : in the work before us he appears as the professor of a sort of astrological religion, in which* time is the prin- cipal divinity, and he is described as carrying, in either hand, the imple- ments of his science, or a Gola Yantra, and Turya Yantra, the former of which is an armillary sphere, and the latter a kind of quadrant, apparently for ascertaining time ;t from the geographical controversy * Time is the Supreme Deity. Iswara cannot urge on the present. He who knows time knows Brahme. Space and time are not distinct from God. The Turya Yantra, is the fourth part of an orb. 16 that occurs between him and Sankara, it appears that he entertains the doctrine regarding the descent of earth in space, which is attributed by the old astronomers to the Bauddhas, and controverted by the author of the Surya Siddhdnta,^ and subsequently by Bha'skara : the former is quoted by Sankara, according to our author. These doctrines, the commentators on Bha'skara's work, and even he, himself, comment- ing on his own text, say, belong to the Jainas, not to the Bauddhas ; but, possibly, the correction is itself an error, it does not appear that the Kshapanaka of Ananda Giri argues the existence of a double set of planetary bodies, which is, undoubtedly, a Jaina doctrine,t and the descent of the earth in space may have been common to all these sects. The Jainas that existed in the time of Ananda Giri, appear as Digam- baras only ; he does not notice their division into Digamharas and Swetdm- baras, as they at present are found, and existed indeed prior to the age of Ma'dhava. The Bauddhas are introduced personally, although it may be questioned whether they w^ere very numerous in India in so comparatively modern a period : according to Ananda Giri, a persecution of this sect, and of the Jainas, took place in one part of the peninsula, the state of Rudrapur, during Sankara's life time, but he, as well as Ma'dhava, J excludes San- kara from being at all concerned in it. He ascribes its occurrence to the same source, the instigation of a Bhatta, from the north, or, in fact, of Cu- ma'ril Bhatta, a Bengali, or MaithiH Brahman. A long series of sectaries then ensues, of a more orthodex description, and who only err in claiming primeval and pre-eminent honors for the objects of their adoration — none of these are to be found ; and, al- though, to a certain extent, the places of some of them may be supplied by the local deities of the villagers, and by the admission of others to a participatiom in the worship paid to the presiding deities of each sect, Fixing above it two pins, and looking between them, the time is ascertained by science. * A. R. XU. 229. t A. R. IX. 321. X Preface to Wilson's Sanscrit and English Dictionary. 17 yet there can be little doubt, that a large portion of the Hindu Pan- theon formerly enjoyed honours, which have for some centuries past been withheld. In this predicament are Indra, Kuveua, Yama, Varuna, Garu'da, Sesha, and Soma, all of whom, in the golden age of Hindu idolatry, had, no doubt, temples and adorers : the light and attractive service of the god of love, indeed, appears to have been formerly very popular, as his temples and groves make a distinguished figure in the* tales, poems, and dramas of antiquity : it is a feature that singularly characterises the present state of the Hindu religion, that if in some instances it is less ferocious, in others, it has ceased to address itself to the amiable propensities of the human character, or the spontaneous and comparatively innocent feelings of youthful natures. The buffoonery of the Holi, and barbarity of the Cherak Puja, but ill express the sym- pathies which man, in all countries, feels with the vernal season, and which formerly gave rise to the festive Vasanotsava of the Hindus, and the licentious homage paid to Sakti and Bhairava, has little, in common with the worship, that might be supposed acceptable to Ka'ma and his lovely bride, and which it would appear they formerly enjoyed. Besides the adorers of the secondary divinities, we have a variety of sects who direct their devotions to beings of a still lower rank, and of whom none, at present, exist as distinct bodies, although individuals may be found, either detached or comprehended in other classes, who, more or less, reverence similar objects. Thus, the worship of Akds,\ or Ether, as the supreme deity, is still occasionally met with : all classes pay daily homage to the Pitris or Manes, and a few of the Tdntrikas worship the Siddhas, or Genii, in the hope of acquiring super-human powers : the same class furnishes occasional votaries of the Vasus, Yakshas, and Gandharhas, and even of the Vetdlas and Bhutas, or gob- lins and ghosts, and the latter also receive still, from the fears of the villagers, propitiatory adoration. It does not appear, that in any form, the worship of the moon and stars, of the elements, and divisions of the universe, rs still practised, although that of the Tirthas, or holy places and rivers, is as popular as ever. * In the Vrihat Kathd—Dasa Kumdra, Mdlati Mddhava, Mrichch' hakati, S^c. t I have encountered but one Professor, however, of this faith, a miserable mendi- cant, who taught the worship of Ether, under the strange name of Baghela. D 18 We have thus completed the enumeration of the sects as described by the author of the Sankara Vijaya, and have had an opportunity of observing, that, although the outlines of the system remain the same, the details have undergone very important alterations, since the time at which this work was composed : the rise of most of the existing modifications, we can trace satisfactorily enough, as will hereafter appear, and it is not improbable, that the disappearance of many of those, which no longer take a part in the idolatry of the Hindus, may be attributed to the exertions of Sankara. and his disciples : his object, as appears from the work we have hitherto followed, was by no means the suppression of acts of outward devotion, nor of the preferential worship of any acknowledged and pre-eminent deity : his leading tenet is the recognition of Brahme Para Brahme,* as the sole cause and supreme ruler of the universe, and as distinct from Siva, Vishnu, Brahma', or any individual member of the pantheon : with this admission, and in regard to the weakness of those human faculties, which cannot elevate themselves to the conception of the inscrutable first cause, the observance of such rites, and the worship of such deities, as are either prescribed by the Vedas, or the works not in- compatible with their authority, were left undisturbed by this teacher ;t they even received, to a certain extent, his particular sanction, and the following divisions of the Hindu faith were, by his express permission, taught by some of his disciples, and are, consequently, regarded by the learned Brahmans in general, as the only orthodox and allowable forms in the present day.| The Saiva faith was instituted by Paramata * As in these texts of the Vedas ^"^^^Y^^Tf^ ^T^fT | and ^1rW[ Ordinances founded on the Tantras, the Puruns, or historical record, are admissi- ble if accordant with the Vedas ; they must be rejected if repugnant. 19 Ka'la'nala, who is described as teaching at Benares, and assuming the insignia that characterise the Dandis of modern times. The Vaishnava worship was taught at Kdnchi, or Conjeveram, by Lakshmana Acha'- RYA and Hasta'malaka ; and the latter seems to have introduced a modi- fied adoration of Vishnu, in the character of Krishna. The Saura sect was continued under the auspices of Diva'kara, Brahmdchdri, and the Sdkta, under those of the Sanyasi, Tripurakuma'ra : the Gdnapatya were allowed to remain under the presidence of Girijaputra, and from such persons as had not adopted either of the preceding systems, Batukanath, the professor of the Kdpdlika, or Bhairava worship, was permitted to attract followers ; all these teachers were converts and disciples of Sankara, and returned to his superintending guidance, when they had effected the objects of their missions. The notice that occurs in the Serva Dersana of any of the sects which have yet been mentioned, has been already incidentally adverted to : this work is less of a popular form than the preceding, and. contro- verts the speculative rather than the practical, doctrines of other schools : besides the atheistical Bauddha and Jaina sects, the work is occupied chiefly with the refutation of the followers of Jaimini, Gautama, and Pa- tanjala, and we have no classes of worshippers introduced but those of the Vaishnavas vj\io ioWow Ra'ma'nuja, and Madhwdchdrya, of the Saivas, the Pdsupatas, the followers of Abhinava Gupta, who taught the Mantra worship of Siva ; and the alchemical school, or worshippers of Siva's type in quicksilver, and the Rasendra Linga : most of these seem to have sprung into being in the interval between the tenth and thirteenth centuries, and have now either disappeared, or are rapidly on the decline : those which actually exist, we shall recur to in the view we are now prepared to take of the actual condition of the Hindu faith. In the present impure age, the bud of wisdom being blighted by iniquity, men are inadequate to the apprehension of pure unity ; they will be apt, therefore, again to follow the dictates of their own fancies, and it is necessary for the preservation of the world, and the maintenance of civil and religious distinctions, to acknowledge those modifications of the divine spirit which are the work of the Supkeme. These reflexions having occurred to Sankaha, he addressed his disciples, &c. 20 SECTION III. Present divisions of the Hindus, and of the Vaishnavas in particular. The classification adopted by the works, I especially follow, if not unexceptionable, is allowable and convenient, and may, therefore, re- gulate the following details : it divides all the Hindus into three great classes or Vaishnavas, Saivas, and Sdktas, and refers to a fourth or mis- cellaneous class, all not comprised in the three others. The worshippers of Vishnu, Siva, and Sakti, who are the objects of the following description, are not to be confounded with the orthodox adorers of those divinities : few Brahmans of learning, if they have any religion at all, will acknowledge themselves to belong to any of the popular divisions of the Hindu faith, although, as a matter of simple preference, they more especially worship some individual deity, as their chosen, or Ishta Devata : they refer also to the Vidas, the books of law, the Puranas, and Tantras, as the only ritual they recognise, and regard all practices not derived from those sources as irregular and profane : on the other hand, many of the sects seem to have originated, in a great measure, out of opposition to the Brahmanical order : teachers and disciples are chosen from any class, and the distinction of castes is, in a great measure, sunk in the new one, of similarity of schism : the ascetics and mendicants, also, in many instances, aflfect to treat the Brahmans with particular contempt, and this is generally repaid with interest by the Brahmans. A portion, though not a large one, of the populace is still attached to the Smdrta Brahmans, as their spiritual guides, and are so far distinct from any of the sects we shall have to specify, whilst most of the followers, even of the sects, pay the ordinary deference to the Brahminical order, and especially evince towards the Brahmans of their own fellowship, of whom there is generally abundance, the devotedness and submission which the original Hindu Code so perpetually inculcates. 21 Excluding, therefore, those who may be regarded as the regular wor- shippers of regular gods, we have the following enumeration of the several species of each class : Vaishnavas. 1 Ramanujas, or Sri Sampradayis, or Sri Vaishnavas. 2 Ramanandis, or Ramawats. 3 Kabir Pan this. 4 K'hakis. 5 Maluk Dasis. 6 Dadu Pant'his. 7 Ray a Dasis. 8 Senais. 9 Vallabhacharis, or Rudra Sampradayis. 10 Mira Bais. 1 1 Madhwacharis, or Brahma Sampradayis. 12 Nimawat, or Sanakadi Sampradayis. 13 The Vaishnavas of Bengal. 14 Radha Vallabhis. 15 The Sak'hi Bhavas. 1 6 Charan Dasis. 17 Harischandis. 18 Sadhna Panthis. 19 Madhavis. 20 Sanyasis, Vairagis and Nagas. Saivas. 1 Dandis and Dasnamis. 2 Jogis. 3 Jangamas. 4 Paramahansas. 5 Urdhaba'hus, Akas Muk'his, and Nak'his, 6 Giidaras. 7 Ruk'haras, Suk'haras and Uk'haras. 8 Kara Lingis. 9 Sanyasis, &c. Sa'ktas. 1 Dakshinis. 2 Vamis. 22 3 Kancheliyas. 4 Kararis. Miscellaneous Sects. 1 Ganapatyas. 2 Saurapatas. 3 Nanak Shahis of seven classes. 1 Udasis. 2 Ganjbakhshis. 3 Ramrayis. 4 Suthra Shahis. 5 Govind Sinhis. 6 Nirmalas. 7 Nagas. 4 Jainas of two principal orders. 1 Digambaras. 2 Swetambaras. 5 Baba Lalis, 6 Pran Nathis. 7 Sadhs. 8 Satnamis. 9 Siva Narayinis. 10 Sunyabadis. These will be regarded as varieties enough, it may be presumed, es- pecially when it is considered, that most of them comprise a number of sub- divisions, and that besides these acknowledged classifications, many individual mendicants are to be found all over India, who can scarcely be included within the limits of any of them, exercising a sort of independence both in thought and act, and attached very loosely, if at all, to any of the popular schismatical sects.* * Some of the popular works adopt a different classification, and allude to 96 Pdshandas, or heresies, which are thus arranged : — Amongst the Brahmans, 24 Sanysais, 12 Vairkgis, 12 Sauras, 18 Jangamas, , 18 Jogis, » 12 23 VAISHNAVAS. 1 Sri Sampraddyis, or Rdmdnujas. Amongst other divisions of less importance, the Vaishnavas are usually distinguished into four principal Sampraddyas, or sects ,-* of these, the most ancient and respectable is the Sri Sampraddya, founded by the * Thus the Bhakta Maid, ^T^^ IfWT "%fK ^^ ^^^ riPt* "^r^T, jpgji^ "^fXl^f'^J'Tf^ I " Hari, in preceding ages, assumed twenty-four principal shapes, but four were manifest in the Kali Yug : the magnanimous Rdmunuja, a. trea- sure of Ambrosia and terrestrial tree of plenty : the ocean of kindness and transporter across the sea of the universe, Vishnu Swami : Madhu Achurj, a rich cloud in the autumnal season of piety : and Nimbdditya, a sun that illumined the cave of igno- rance ; by them acts of piety and obligation were divided, and each sect was severally established." There are also Sanscrit texts authorising the difiFerent institution, and characteristic term of each Sampraddya, one of these is from the Padma Purdna. " Those Mantras, which belong to no system, are of no virtue ; and, therefore, in the Kali age, there shall be followers of four sects. Sri, Mddhwi, Rudra and Sanaka, shall he the Vaishnavas, purifying the world, and these four, Devi, (5im speaks,) shall be the institutors of the Sampraddyas in the Kali period." We may here observe in passing, that if this text is genuine, the Padma Purdna must be very modern: another similar text is the following : ■^f\ f^i^Tf^r^WgW^: II •• Lakshmi' selected Rdmdnuja ; Brahma. Madhwdchdrya ; Rudra gave the pre- ference to Vishnu Sw6mi, and the four Sanakas to Nimbaditya." The cause of the election is not very evident, as the creeds taught by those teachers, have little con- nexion with the deity who lends the appellation to the sects. 24 Vaishnava reformer Rdmdnuja Achdrya, about the middle of the twelfth * century The history of Ra'ma'nuja, and his first followers, is well known in the south of India, of which he was a native, and is recorded in va- rious legendary tracts and traditional narratives. According to the Bhdrgava Upapurdna, Ra'ma'nuja is said to have been an incarnation of the serpent Sesha, whilst his chief companions and disci- ples were the embodied Discus, Mace, Lotus, and other insignia of Vishnu. In a Kanara account of his life, called the Divya Charitra, he is said to have been the son of Sri Kesava Achdrya and Bhumi Devi; and, as before, an incarnation of Sesha. He was born at Perumbur, and studied at Kdn- chi, or Conjeveram, where also he taught his system of the Vaishnava faith. He afterwards resided at Sri Rang a, worshipping Vishnu as Sri Ranga 'Ndfha, and there composed his principal works : he then visited various parts of India, disputing with the professors of different creeds, overcoming them of course, and reclaiming various shrines, then in pos- session of the Saivas, for the worshippers of Vishnu, particularly the celebrated temple of Tripeti. On his return to Sri Ranga, the disputes between the Vaishna- va and Saiva religions, became exceedingly violent, and the Chola monarch, who, according to some accounts, was at that time Keri- ka'la Chola, subsequently named Krimi Konda Chola, being a devout worshipper of Siva, commanded all the Brahmans in his do- minions to sign an acknowledgement of the supremacy of that divi- nity, bribing some of the most refractory, and terrifying others into ac- quiescence. Ra'ma'nuja, however, was impracticable, and the king sent armed men to seize him. With the assistance of his disciples, he effect- ed his escape, and ascending the Ghats, found refuge with the Jain * The Smriti Kdla Taranga places the date of Ra'ma'nuja's appearance in Saka — \0\'^ or a.d. 1127. A note by Colonel Mackenzie on an inscription, given in the Asiatic Researches 9, 270, places the birth of Ra'ma'nuja in a.d. 1U08 : various accounts, collected by t)r. Buchanan, make it 1010 and 1025 (Buchanan's Mysore, 2, 80) and 1019 (Ibid, 3, 413.) Inscriptions make him alive in 1128, (Ibid) which would give him a life of more than a century : according to Col. Wilks, indeed, (History of Mysore, 1,41, note and appendix), he was alive in 1183. The weight of authority seems to be in favour of the more recent date, and we may conclude that he was born about the end of the eleventh century, and that the first half of the twelfth century was the period at which his fame, as a teacher, was established. 25 sovereign of Mysore, Vitala Deva, Veldla Rdya. In consequence of rendering medical service to the daughter of this prince, or in the terms of the legend, expelling an evil spirit, a Brahma Rdkshasa, by whom she was possessed, he obtained the monarch's grateful regard, and final- ly converted him to the Vaishnava faith. Tiie Raja assumed the title of Vishnu Verddhana. Ra'ma'nuja remained several years in Mysore, at a temple founded by the Raja on Yddava Giri, now known as Mail Cotay, for the reception of an image called Chavala Rdya, a form of Ranachhor, or Krishna, which the local traditions very ridiculously pre- tend he obtained from the Mohammedan sovereign of Delhi. Ra'ma'- nuja resided here twelve years, but on the death of his persecutor, the Chola king, he returned to Sri Ranga, on the Kdveri, and there spent the remainder of his life in devout exercises and religious seclusion. The establishments of the Ramanujiyas are numerous in the Dekhin still, and the same country comprehends the site of the Gaddi, the pillow or seat of the primitive teacher ; his spiritual throne, in fact, to which his disciples are successively elevated.* This circumstance gives a superiority to the Achdryas of the Dekshina, or South, over those of the Uttara, or North, into which they are at present divided. The worship of the followers of Ra'ma'nuja, is addressed to Vishnu and to Lakshmi, and their respective incarnations, either singly or conjointly ; and the Sri Vaishnavas, by which general name the sect is known, consist of corresponding subdivisions, as Na'ra'yana', or Lakshmi, or Lakshmi Na'ra'yan, or Ra'ma or Sita, or Sita Ra'ma, or Krishna, or Rukmini, or any other modifications of Vishnu, or his con- sort, is the preferential object of the veneration of the votary. f The * According to information obtained by Dr. Buchanan, Ra'ma'nuja founded 700 Mutts, of which four only remain ; one of the principal of these is at Mail Cotay, or Dakshina Badarikdsrama, the Badari station of the South. Ra'ma'nuja also esta- blished 74 hereditary Guruships amongst his followers, the representatives of which still remain and dispute the supremacy with the Sanyasi members of the order ; these last, however, are generally considered of the highest rank, ( Buch. Mysore, 2,75). In another place (I, 144), he says that 89 Guruships were established, 5 in the Sanyasi class, and 84 in the secular order : the Matams of the five former are Ahobalem, Toiddri, Rameswara, Sri Rangam, and Kanji. t Mr. Colebrooke, A. R. 7, says the Rdmdnujas are of three classes, those who wor- ship Ra'ma alone, Sita alone, and Sita and Ra'ma conjointly. One of my authorities, Mathura Ndth, says, they worship Mahd Lakihmi, and other information agrees with E 26 Sri Vaishnava worship in the north of India, is not very popular, and the sect is rather of a speculative than practical nature, although it does not require, in its teachers, secession from the world : the teachers are usually of the Brahmanical order, but the disciples may be of any caste.* Besides the temples appropriated to Vishnu and his consort, and their several forms, including those of Krishna and Ra'ma, and those which are celebrated as objects of pilgrimage, as Lakshmi-Balaji, Rdm- ndth, and Rangandth, in the south ; Badarinat'h, in the Himalaya, Jagan- ndt'h, in Orissa, and Dwdrakd, on the Malabar Coast, images of metal or stone are usually set up in the houses of the private members of this sect, which are daily worshipped, and the temples and dwellings are all decorated with the Sdlagrdma stone and Tulasi plant. The most striking peculiarities in the practices of this sect, are the individual preparation, and scrupulous privacy of their meals : they must not eat in cotton garments, but having bathed, must put on woollen or silk : the teachers allow theijf select pupils to assist them, but, in general, all the Rdmdnujas cook for themselves, and should the meal during this process, or whilst they are eating, attract even the looks of a stranger, the operation is instantly stopped, and the viands buried in the ground : a similar delicacy, in this respect, prevails amongst some other classes of Hindus, especially of the Rajaput families, but it is not carried to so preposterous an extent. f his; from the texts quoted in the Sarva DersanaSangraha, Vishnu as Va'sudeva, is the deity to be worshipped, but no doubt all the varieties exist : without, however, af- fectinij the identity of the sect, the real object of whose devotion is Vishnu, as the cause and creator of the world, and any of his, or his Sakti's more especial manifestations, are consequently entitled to reverence. The term Sri Vaishtiavas, most commonly applied to them, denotes an original preference of the female deity or Mahd LaJcshmi : the worship of Ka'ma is more properly that of the Kdmunandis, and they may be the persons intended by Mr. Colebrooke's informants, as those of the Rdmdnujiyas who worship Ra'ma only, (A. R. 7, '281 ). It may also be observed, that the Rdmanujiyas unite with Krishna, Rukmini, not Rddhd, the latter being his mistress only, not his wife, and being never named in the Bhdgavat, except in one ambiguous passage. * The iV/awira, and mark, are never bestowed on any person of impure birth. — Buch. Mysore, 1, 146. t It is said, however, that there are two divisions of the sect, one called Avarani, from Avarana, screening, or surrounding, and the other Andvarini, from the members not observing such punctilious privacy. 27 The chief ceremony of initiation in all Hindu sects, is the commu- nication by the teacher to the disciple of the Mantra, which generally consists of the name of some deity, or a short address to him ; it is communicated in a whisper, and never lightly made known by the adept to profane ears. The Mantra of the Ra'ma'nuja sect is said to be the six syllable Mantra — or Om Rdmaya namah ; or Om, salutation to Ra'ma.* Another distinction amongst sects, but merely of a civil character, is the term or terms with which the religious members salute each other when they meet, or in which they are addressed by the lay members. This amongst the Rdmdnujas is the phrase, Ddsosmi, or Ddsdham ; I am your slave ; accompanied with the Prandm, or slight inclination of the head, and the application of the joined hands to the forehead. To the AcharyaSt or supreme teachers of this sect, the rest perform the Ashtanga Dandawat or prostration of the body, with the application of eight parts — the forehead, breast, hands, knees, and insteps of the feet, to the ground. The Hindu sects are usually discriminated by various fantastical streaks on their faces, breasts, and arms : for this purpose, all the Vaish- navas employ especially, a white earth called Gopichandana, which, to be of the purest description, should be brought from Dwdrakd, being said to be the soil of a pool at that place, in which the Gopi's drown- ed themselves when they heard of Krishna's death. The common Gopichandana, however, is nothing but a magnesian or calcareous clay. The marks of the Rdmdnujas are two perpendicular white lines, drawn from the root of the hair to the commencement of each eye-brow, and a transverse streak connecting them across the root of the nose ; in the centre is a perpendicular streak of red, made with red Sanders, or Roli, a preparation of turmeric and lime; they have also patches of Gopichandana, with a central red streak on the breast, and each upper arm : the marks are supposed to represent the Sank'h, Chakra, Gadd, * In giving the Mantras, as they have been communicated to me, it may be necessary to suggest a doubt of their accuracy : a Hindu evades what he dislikes to answrer, and will not scruple a falsehood to stop enquiry ; men above prej udice, in other respects, find it so difficult to get over that of communicating the Mantra, that when they profess to impart it, even their sincerity can scarcely be admitted with,out a doubt. 28 and Padma,* or Shell, Discus, Club, and Lotus, which Vishnu bears in his four hands, whilst the central streak is Shi, or LAKSHMi.f Some have these objects carved on wooden stamps, with which they impress the emblems on their bodies, and others carry their devotion so far as to have the parts cicatrized with heated metallic models of the objects they propose to represent, but this is not regarded as a creditable practice :J besides these marks, they wear a necklace of the wood of the Tulasi, and carry a rosary of the seeds of the same plant, or of the Lotus. * The Vaishnava is thus described in the Bhakta Mala, the text is probably that of the Bhdyavat — ^^ I *' They who bear the Tulasi round the neck, the rosary of Lotus seeds, have the shell and discus impressed upon their upper arm, and the upright streak along the centre of the forehead, they are Vaishnavas, and sanctify the world." t The efficacy of these marks is very great : we are told in the Kdsi Khand, that Yam A directs his ministers to avoid such as bear them, and the same work observes, that no sin can exist in the individuals who make use of them, be they of whatever caste. 'FtMt^'^H 1%TrTFf gtt^Tif^ ^ff; II X The Vrikat Ndradiya Parana sentences every Brahman adopting the practice to endless degradation, and even to the infernal regions. The reason also occurs-'^T'^tSnE^f ^g^^if ^c^^*TTiTTf^f(T I ^T ^f^rTTf^fTT TT^R f%5^^5TT^% ^2y?r || Ihe body of a Brahman is the abode of all the gods ; if that is consumed, where shall we abide ? It appears, however, that stamping the mark with a hot iron, is commonly in use in ihe Dekhin. A similar practice seems to have been known to some of the early Christians, and baptiz- ing with fire, was stamping the cross on the forehead with a hot iron. 29 The principal authorities of this sect, are the comments of the founder on the Sutras of Vya'sa, and other Vaidika works : they are written in Sanscrit, and are the Sri Bhdshya, the Gttd Bhdshya, the Veddrtha San- graha, Vedanta Pradipa, and Veddntd Sdra : besides these, the works of Venkdta Achdrya, are of great repute amongst them, as the Stotra Bhdshya, and Satadushini, and others : the Chanda Mdruta Vaidika, and Trinsatadhydnam, are also works of authority, as is the Panchardtra of Nareda : of the Purdnas they acknowledge only six as authorities, the Vishnu, Ndrediya, Garura, Padma, Vardha and the Bhdgavat : the other twelve are regarded as Tdmasi, or originating in the principles of darkness and passion, as we have already observed. Besides these, the Rdmdnujas have a variety of popular works in the dialects of the South, one of which, the Guru Para, containing an account of the life of Ra'- ma'nuja, was procured by Dr. Buchanan, in the course of his statistical researches in Mysore. The chief religious tenet of the Rdmdnujas, is the assertion that Vishnu is Brahme ; that he was before all worlds, and was the cause and the creator of all. Although they maintain that Vishnu and the universe are one, yet, in opposition to the Vedanta doctrines, they deny that the deity is void of form or quality, and regard him as endowed with all good qualities, and with a two- fold form : the supreme spirit, Paramdtmd, or cause, and the gross one, the effect, the universe or matter. The doctrine is hence called the Visishthddwaita, or doctrine of unity with attri- butes. In these assertions they are followed by most of the Vaishnava. sects. Creation originated in the wish of Vishnu, who was alone, without a second, to multiply himself : he said, I will become many ; and he was indivi4ually embodied as visible and etherial light. After that, as a ball of clay may be moulded into various forms, so the grosser substance of the deity became manifest in the elements, and their com- binations : the forms into which the divine matter is thus divided, are pervaded by a portion of the same vitality which belongs to the great cause of all, but which is distinct from his spiritual or etherial essence ; here, therefore, the Rdmdnujas again oppose the Veddntikas, who identify the Paramdtmd and Jiidimd, or etherial and vital spirit : this vitality, though endlessly diffusible, is imperishable and eternal, and the matter of the universe, as being the same in substance with the Supreme Being, is alike without beginning or end : Purushottama, or 30 Na'ra'yan, after having created man and animals, through the instru- mentality of those subordinate agents whom he willed into existence for that purpose, still retained the supreme authority of the universe : so that the Rdmdnujas assert three predicates of the universe, comprehend- ing the deity : it consists of Chit, or spirit, Achit, or matter, and Iswara, or god, or the enjoyer, the thing enjoyed, and the ruler and controuler of both. Besides his primary and secondary form as the creator, and creation, the deity has assumed, at different times, parti- cular forms and appearances, for the benefit of his creatures : he is, or has been, visibly present amongst men, in five modifications : in his Archa', objects of worship, as images, &c. ; in the Vibhdvas, or Avatdras, as the fish, the boar, &c. ; in certain forms called Vydhas, of which four are enumerated, Va'sudeva, or Krishna, Balara'ma, Pra- DYUMNA, and Aniruddha ; fourthly, in the Sukshma form, which, when perfect, comprises six qualities : Viraja, absence of human passion ; Vi- mrityu, immortality ; Visoka, exemption from care or pain ; Vijighatsd, absence of natural wants ; Satya kama, and Satya sankalpa, the love and practice of truth ; and sixthly, as the Antardtma, or Antarydmi, the human soul, or individualised spirit : these are to be worshipped seriatim, as the ministrant ascends in the scale of perfection, and ado- ration therefore is five-fold ; Abhigamanam, cleaning and purifying the temples, images, &c. Updddnam, providing flowers and perfumes for re- ligious rites ; Ijyd, the presentation of such offerings, blood offerings being uniformly prohibited, it may be observed, by all the Vaishnavas ; Swddhydya, counting the rosary and repeating the names of the divinity, or any of his forms ; and Yoga, the effort to unite with the deity : the reward of these acts is elevation to the seat of Vishnu, and enjoyment of like state with his own, interpreted to be perpetual residence in Vaikunt'ha, or Vishnu's heaven, in a condition of pure ecstasy and eter. nal rapture. The Rdmdnujas are not very numerous in the North of India, where they are better known as Sri Vaishnavas ; they are decidedly hostile to the Saiva sect, and are not on very friendly terms with the modern votaries of Krishna, although they recognise that deity as an incarna- tion of Vishnu.* * Dubois, in his 8th Chapter, has some details of the Vaishnava mendicants, as met with in the Dekhin : his account, however, does not apply to the Rdma?ivja, or 31 RAMANANDIS, OR RAMAWATS. The followers of Ra'ma'nand are much better known than those of Ra'ma'nuja in Upper Hindustan : they are usually considered as a branch of the Ra'ma'nuja sect, and address their devotions pecuharly to Ra'ma- CHANDRA, and the divine manifestations connected with Vishnu in that incarnation, as Sita, Lakshmana, and Hanuma'n. Ra'ma'nand is sometimes considered to have been the immediate dis- ciple of Ra'ma'nuja, but this appears to be an error : a more particular account makes him the fifth in descent from that teacher, as follows — The pupil andsuccessor of Ra'ma'nuja wasDEVA'NANDA; of Deva'nanda, Harinanda ; of Harinanda, Ra'ghava'nand, and of this last, Ra'ma'- nand, an enumeration which, if correct, would place Ra'ma'nand about the end of the thirteenth century :* there is great reason, however, to doubt his being entitled to so remote a date, and consequently to question the accuracy of his descent from Ra'ma'nuja ; we shall have occasion to infer, hereafter, from the accounts given of the dates of other teachers, that Ra'ma'nand was not earlier than the end of the fourteenth, or be- ginning of the fifteenth, century. According to common tradition, the schism of Ra'ma'nand originated in resentment of an affront offered him by his fellow disciples, and sanctioned by his teacher. It is said, that he had spent some time in travelling through various parts of India, after which he returned to any other Vaishnava sect, as known in these provinces although a few of the particu- lars may be true, if confined to the Vaishnava Vairagis— the Dekhini Faishnavas must be, therefore, a very different class from those that are met with in any other part of India, or the Abbe must have mixed, as is not unusual with him, a small quantum of truth, with a very large portion of error : it is, indeed, impossible to think him correct, when he states, that " the sectaries of Vishnu eat publicly of all sorts of meat, except beef, and drink spirituous liquors without shame or restraint, and that they are re- proached with being the chief promoters of that abominable sacrifice, the Sakti Puja ;" now, it is not true of any sect in Upper India, that the practices the Abbe mentions occur at all, except in the utmost privacy and secrecy, and if even in that way they do occur, it is certainly not amongst the Vaishnava Vairugis, but with very different sects, as we shall hereafter see. * The enumeration in the Bhakta Mala is different : it there occurs 1 Ra'ma'nuja, 2 Deva'cha'rj, 3 Ka'gha'vanand, 4 Ra'ma'nand; making him the fourth. 32 the Mat'h, or residence of his superior : his brethren objected to him, that in the course of his peregrinations, it was impossible he could have observed that privacy in his meals, which is a vital observance of the Rdmdnuja sect, and as Ra'ghava'nand admitted the validity of the ob- jection, Ra'ma'nand was condemned to feed in a place apart from the rest of the disciples : he was highly incensed at the order, and retired from the society altogether, establishing a schism of his own. The residence of Ra'ma'nand was at Benares, at the Pancha Gangd Ghdt, where a Mat'h, or monastery of his followers is said to have ex- isted, but to have been destroyed by some of the Musselman princes : at present there is merely a stone plat-form in the vicinity, bearing the supposed impression of his feet, but there are many Mat'hs of his fol- lowers, of celebrity, at Benares, whose Panchait, or council, is the chief authority amongst the Rdmdwats in Upper India : we shall have fre- quent occasion to mention these Mat'hs, or convents, and a short ac- count of them may, therefore, here be acceptable. Most of the religious sects of which we have to give an account, com- prise various classes of individuals, resolvable, however, especially into two, whom ( for want of more appropriate terms) we must call, per- haps, Clerical and Lay: the bulk of the votaries are generally, but not always, of the latter order, whilst the rest, or the Clerical class, are sometimes monastic, and sometimes secular : most of the sects, especially the Vaishnavas, leave this distinction a matter of choice : the Valla- bhdchdris, indeed, give the preference to married teachers, and all their Gosains are men of business and family : the preference, however, is usually assigned to teachers of an ascetic or coenobitic life, whose pious meditations are not distracted by the affections of kindred, or the cares of the world : the doctrine that introduced similar unsocial institutions into the Christian Church, in the fourth century, being still most tri- umphantly prevalent in the east, the land of its nativity ; the establish- ments of which we are treating, and the still existing practices of soli- tary mortification, originating in the " specious appearance and pompous sound of that maxim of the ancient philosophy, that in order to the attainment of true felicity and communion with God, it was necessary that the soul should be separated from the body even here below, and that the body was to be macerated and mortified for that purpose." {Mosheim.i. 378.) 33 Of the coenobitic members of the different communities, most pursue an erratic and mendicant life : all of them, indeed, at some period have led such a life, and have travelled over various parts of India singly or in bodies, subsisting by alms, by merchandise, and sometimes, perhaps, by less unexceptionable means, like the Sarabaites of the east, or the mendicant friars of the Latin Church ; they have, however, their fixed rallying points, and are sure of finding, in various parts of their pro- gress, establishments of their own, or some friendly fraternity where they are for a reasonably moderate period lodged and fed. When old or infirm, they sit down in some previously existing Mat'h, or establish one of their own. The Mat'ks, Asthals, or Akdras, the residences of the monastic com- munities of the Hindus, are scattered over the whole country : they vary in structure and extent, according to the property of which the proprie- tors are possessed ; but they generally comprehend a set of huts or chambers for the Mahant,^ or Superior, and his permanent pupils ; a temple, sacred to the deity whom they worship, or the Samddh, or shrine of the founder of the sect, or some eminent teacher ; and a Dharma Sdld, one or more sheds, or buildings for the accommodation of the mendicants or travellers, who are constantly visiting the Mafh : ingress and egress is free to all ; and, indeed, a restraint upon personal liberty seems never to have entered into the conception of any of the religious legislators of the Hindus. The Mafh is under the entire controul of a Mahant, or Superior, with a certain number of resident Chelas, or disciples ; their number * The following description of the residence of M and an a M is r a, from the 5'flHA:«ra Vijaya of Ananda Giri, is very applicable to a modern Mat'h. «' At the distance of four Yoj anas, west from Hastinapur, was a square plot of ground, extending a cos on each side ; in the centre of it stood a large mansion, constructed of the timber of the Tal, and exactly facing it another a hundred cubits in length ; upon the top of this last, were many cages full of parrots, and within it resided five hundred pupils, occupied in the study of various Sastras : the first was the dwelling of the Teach- er, like Brahma with four heads, like the Serpent King, with a thousand faces, and Rudra, with a five-fold head, amongst his disciples like the waves of the ocean, and enabling them to overcome the universe in unparalleled profundity and extent of know- ledge : he was attended by numerous slaves of both sexes : attached to his dwelling, were wells and reservoirs, and gardens and orchards, and his person was pampered with the choicest viands procured daily by his disciples. In his court-yard were two Temples, on a circular mound, for the worship of the Viswadevas and the SulagrAm, in the form oi Lakshmi NdTuyana. 34 varies from three or four to thirty or forty, but in both cases there are always a number of vagrant or out-members : the resident CMlas are usually the elders of the body, with a few of the younger as their at- tendants and scholars ; and it is from the senior and more proficient of these ascetics, that the Mahant is usually elected. In some instances, however, where the Mahant has a family, the situation descends in the line of his posterity : where an election is to be effected, it is conducted with much solemnity, and presents a curious picture of a regularly organised system of church policy, amongst these apparently unimportant and straggling communities. The Mat'hs of various districts look up to some one of their own order as chief, and they all refer to that connected with their founder, as the common head : under the presidence, therefore, of the Mahant of that establishment, wherever practicable, and in his absence, of some other of acknowledged pre-eminence, the Mahants of the different Mat'hs assemble, upon the decease of one of their brethren, to elect a successor. For this purpose they regularly examine the Chelas, or disciples of the deceased, the ablest of whom is raised to the vacant situation : should none of them be qualified, they choose a Mahant from the pupils of some other teacher, but this is rarely necessary, and unless necessary, is never had recourse to. The new Mahant is then regularly installed, and is formally invested with the cap, the rosary, the frontal mark, or Tikd, or any other monastic insignia, by the president of the assembly. Under the native Government, whether Mohammedan or Hindu — the election of the superior of one of these establishments was considered as a matter of sufficient moment, to demand the attention of the Governor of the province, who, accordingly, in person, or by his deputy, presided at the election : at present, no interference is exercised by the ruling authorities, and rarely by any lay character, although occasionally, a Raja or a Zemindar, to whose liberality the Mat'h is indebted, or in whose lands it is situated, assumes the right of assisting and presiding at the election. The Mahants of the sect, in which the election takes place, are gene- rally assisted by those of the sects connected with them : each is attended by a train of disciples, and individuals of various mendicant tribes repair to the meeting ; so that an assemblage of many hundreds, and some- times of thousands, occurs : as far as the resources of the Mat'h, where 35 they are assembled, extend, they are maintained at its expense; when those fail, they must shift for themselves ; the election is usually a business of ten or twelve days, and during the period of its con- tinuance, various points of polity or doctrine are discussed in the as- sembly. Most of the Mat'hs have some endowments of land, but vi'ith the exception of a few established in large cities, and especially at Benares, the individual amount of these endowments is, in general, of little value. There are few Mat'hs in any district that possess five hundred bigahs of land, or about one hundred and seventy acres, and the most usual quantity is about thirty or forty bigahs only : this is sometimes let out for a fixed rent ; at other times, it is cultivated by the MaCh on its own account ; the highest rental met with, in any of the returns procured, is six hundred and thirty rupees per annum. Although, however, the individual portions are trifling, the great number of these petty establish- ments renders the aggregate amount considerable, and as the endowed lands have been granted Mafi, or free of land tax, they form, altogether, a serious deduction from the revenue of each district. Besides the lands they may hold, the Mat'hs have other sources of sup- port : the attachment of lay votaries frequently contributes very liberally to their wants : the community is also sometimes concerned, though, in general, covertly, in traffic, and besides those means of supply, the individual members of most of them sally forth daily, to collect alms from the vicinity, the aggregate of which, generally in the shape of rice or other grains, furnishes forth the common table : it only remains to observe, that the tenants of these Mat'hs, particularly the Faishnavas, are most commonly of a quiet inoffensive character, and the Mahants especially are men of talents and respectability, although they possess, occasionally, a little of that self-importance, which the conceit of supe- rior sanctity is apt to inspire : there are, it is true, exceptions to this innocuous character, and robberies and murders have been traced to these religious establishments. The especial object of the worship of Ra'ma'nanda's followers is Vish- nu, as Ra'ma'chandra : they, of course, reverence all the other incar- nations of Vishnu, but they maintain the superiority of Ka'ma, in the present or Kali Yug ; hence they are known collectively as Rdmdwats, although the same variety prevails amongst them, as amongst the Rd- mdnujas, as to the exclusive or collective worship of the male and female 36 members of this incarnation, or of Rama and Sitd, singly, or jointly, or Sitd Rama ;* individuals of them also pay particular veneration to some of the other forms of Vishnu, and they hold in like estimation, as the Rdmdnujas, and every Vaishnava sect, the Sdlagrdm stone and Tulasi plant : their forms of worship correspond vi^ith those of the Hindus gene- rally, but some of the mendicant members of the sect, who are very numerous, and are usually known as Vairdgis, or Viraktas, consider all form of adoration superfluous, beyond the incessant invocation of the name of Krishna and Ra'ma. The practices of this sect are of a less precise nature than those of the Ra'ma' NUJ AS, it being the avowed object of the founder to release his disciples from those fetters which he had found so inconvenient : in allusion to this, indeed, he gave, it is said, the appellation Avadhuta, or Liberated, to his scholars, and they admit no particular observances with respect to eating or bathing.f but follow their own inclination, or comply with the common practice in these respects. The initiatory Mantra is said to be Sri Rdma — the salutation is Jaya Sri Rdma, Jaya Ram, or Sitd Rdm : their marks are the same as those of the preceding, except that the red perpendicular streak on the forehead is varied, in shape and extent, at the pleasure of the individual, and is generally narrower than that of the Ra'ma'nujas. Various sects are considered to be but branches of the Rdmdnand\ Vaishnavas, and their founders are asserted to have been amongst his disciples : of these disciples, twelve are particularised as the most emi- nent, some of whom have given origin to religious distinctions of great celebrity, and, although their doctrines are often very different from those of Ra'ma'nand, yet the popular tradition is so far corroborated, that they maintain an amicable intercourse with the followers of R'ama'- nand, and with each other. The twelve chief disciples of Ra'ma'nand, are named, as follows — Asa'nand, Kabir, the weaver, Raeda's, the Chamdr, or currier, Pi'pa, the Rajaput, Sursura'nand, Sukha'nand, Bha'vanand, Dhanna, the Jdt, Sena, the barber — Maha'nand, Parama'nand, and Sria'nand,J a * Amongst the temples of this sect at Benares, are two dedicated to Rddhd Krishna, although attached to Mat'hs belonging to the Jidmdvat order, and not at all connected with the followers of Vallabha, or of Chaitanya and Nitya'nand. t The Vairdgis oi this sect, and some others, eat and drink together, without regard to tribe or caste, and are thence called Kulatiit, or Vernatut. X The Bhakta Mdld has a rather different list : 1 Raghuna'th, '2 Anani a'nand, 37 list which shews, that the school of Ra'ma'nand admitted disciples of jevery caste : it is, in fact, asserted in the Bhakta Mdld. that the distinc- tion of caste is inadmissible according to the tenets of the Rdmdnandis : there is no difference, they say, between the Bhagava'n and the Bhakt, or the deity and his worshipper ; but Bhagava'n appeared in in- ferior forms, as a Fish, a Boar, a Tortoise, &c., so therefore the Bhakt may be born as a Chama, a Kori, a Ch'hipi, or any other degraded caste. The various character of the reputed disciples of Ra'ma'nand, and a consideration of the tenets of those sects which they have founded, lead to a conclusion, that this individual, if he did not invent, gave fresh force to a very important encroachment upon the orthodox system : he, in fact, abrogated the distinction of caste amongst the religious or- ders, and taught, that the holy character who quitted the ties of nature and society, shook olF, at the same time, all personal distinction — this seems to be the proper import of the term Avad'huta, which Ra'ma'- nand is said to have affixed to his followers, and they were liberated from more important restraints than those of regimen and ablution : the popular character of the works of this school, corroborates this view of Ra'ma'nanda's innovation ; Sankara and Ra'ma'nuja, writing to and for the Brahmanical order alone, composed chiefly, if not solely, Sanscrit commentaries on the text of the Vedas, or Sanscrit expositions of their peculiar doctrines, and the teachers of these opinions, whether monastic or secular, are indispensably of the Brahmanical caste — it does not appear that any works exist which are attributed to Ra'ma'- nand himself, but those of his followers are written in the provincial dialects, and addressed to the capacity, as well as placed within the reach, of every class of readers, and every one of those may become a Vairdgi, and rise, in time, to be a Guru or Mahant. We shall have occasion to speak again particularly of such of the above mentioned disciples of Ra'm'anand, as instituted separate sects, but there are several who did not aspire to that distinction, and whose celebrity is, nevertheless, still very widely spread throughout Hindustan ; 3 Kabih, 4 Suk'ha'sur, 5 Jiva, 6 Padma'vat, 7 Pi'pa, 8 Bhava'nand, 9 Raida's, 10 Dhanna, 11 Seva, 12Sursuha. His successors, again, were somewhat different, or 1 Haghuna'th, 2 Ananta'nand, Joga'nand, Ka'mda's, Ski Kanja, and Narahaki, 38 there are also several personages belonging to the sect of particular note, and we may, therefore, here pause, to extract a few of the anecdotes which the Bhakta Maid relates of those individuals, and which, if they do not afford much satisfactory information regarding their objects, will at least furnish some notion of the character of this popular work. Pi'pA, the Rajaput, is called the Raja of Gangaraon : he was originally a worshipper of Devi', but abandoned her service for that of Vishnu, and repaired to Benares to put himself under the tuition of Ra'ma'nand. Having disturbed the sage at an inconvenient season, Ra'ma'nand angri- ly wished that he might fall into the well of his court-yard, on which Pi'pA, in the fervour of his obedience, attempted to cast himslf into it to accomplish the desire of the saint. This act was with difficulty pre- vented by the by-standers, and the attempt so pleased Ra'ma'nand that he immediately admitted the Raja amongst his disciples. Pi'pA, after some time abandoned his earthly possessions, and accom- panied by only one of his wives, named Sita', as ardent a devotee as himself, adopting a life of mendicity, accompanied Ra'ma'nand and his disciples to Dwdrakd. Here he plunged into the sea to visit the submarine shrine of Krishna, and was affectionately received by that deity : after spending some days with him, Pi'pa returned, when the fame of the occurrence spread, and attracted great crowds to see him. Finding them incompatible with his devotions, Pi'pa left Dwdrakd privately : on the road some Patans carried off his wife, but Ra'ma himself rescued her, and slew the ravishers. The life of this vagrant Raja is narrated at considerable length in the Bhakta Mala, and is made up of the most absurd and silly legends. On one occasion the Raja encounters a furious lion in a forest ; he hangs a rosary round his neck, whispers the Mantra of Rama, and makes him tranquil in a moment ; he then lectures the lion on the impropriety of devouring men and kine, and sends him away penitent, and with a pious purpose to do so no more. Of Sursura'nand we have a silly enough story of some cakes that were given to him by a Mlechch'ha being changed when in his mouth into a Tulasi leaf. Of Dhana, it is related that a Brahman, by way of a frolic, gave him a piece of stone, and desired him to offer to it first, whatever he was about to eat. Dhana obeyed, looking upon the stone as the representative of Vishnu, who being pleased with his devotion, appeared, and constantly tended the cattle of the simple Jdt : at last 39 he recommended his becoming the disciple of Ra'ma'nand, for which purpose he went to Benares, and having received the Mantra, returned to his farm. Raghuna'th, or in the text Asa'nand, succeeded Ra'ma'- nand in the Gaddi, or the pillow of the Mahant. Narahari or Harya'- NANU was also a pupil of Ra'ma'nand, whom it is difficult to identify with any one in the list above given : we have a characteristic legend of him. Being one day in want of fuel to dress his meat, he directed one of his pupils to proceed to a neighbouring temple of Devi', and bring away from it any portion of the timber he could conveniently remove : this was done, to the great alarm, but utter helplessness, of the goddess, who could not dispute the authority of a mortal of Harya'nand's sanctity. A neighbour who had observed this transaction laboured under a like want of wood : at the instigation of his wife, he repaired also to the temple, and attempted to remove one of the beams, when the goddess, indignant at his presumption, hurled him down and broke his neck : the widow hearing of her husband's fate, immediately hastened to the temple, and liberally abused the vindictive deity. Devi' took advantage of the business to make a bargain for her temple, and restored the man to life, on condition that he would ever afterwards buy fuel for Harya'nand. The legends of such other disciples of Ra'ma'nand as occur in the BJiakta Mala will be given in their proper places, and it will be sufficient here to confine our further extracts from that authority to Na'bha'ji, the author, Sur Da's, and Tulasi Da's, to whose poetical talents the late version of it is largely indebted, and Jayadeva, whose songs have been translated by Sir William Jones. Na'bha'ji, the author of the Bhakta Mala, was by birth a Dom, a caste whose employ is making baskets and various sort of wicker work. The early commentators say he was of the Hanumdn Bans, or Monkey tribe, because, observes the modern interpreter, Bdner, a monkey, sig- nifies in the Marwar language, a Dom, and it is not proper to mention the caste of a Vaishnava by name : he was born blind, and when but five years old, was exposed by his parents, during a time of scarcity, to perish in the woods ; in this situation he was found by Agrada's and Ki'l, two Vaishnava teachers : they had compassion upon his helpless- ness, and Ki'l, sprinkled his eyes with the water of his Kamandalu, or water-pot, and the child saw : they carried Na'bha'ji to theh- Mafh, 40 where he was brought up, and received the initiatory Mantra from Agradas : when arrived at maturity, he wrote the Bhakta Mala by desire of his Guru. The age of Na'bha'ji must be about two centuries, or two and a half, as he is made cotemporary with Ma'n Sinh, the Raja of Jaynagar, and with Akber. He should date much earlier, if one account of his spiritual descent which makes him the fourth from Ra'ma'nand* be admitted, but in the Bhakta Maid, Krishna Da's, the second in that account, does not descend in a direct line from Ra'ma'- nand, but derives his qualifications as teacher from the immediate in- structions of Vishnu himself : there is no necessity, therefore, to con- nect Na'bha'ji with Ra'ma'nand. The same authority places him also something later, as it states that Tulasi Da's, who was cotem- porary with Shah Jehan, visited Na'bha'ji at Vrindavan. It is proba- ble, therefore, that this writer flourished at the end of Akber's reign, and in the commencement of that of his successor. The notices we have of Sur Da's are very brief : he was blind, a great poet, and a devout worshipper of Vishnu, in whose honour all his poems are written : they are songs and hymns of various lengths, but usually short, and the greater number are Padas, or simply stanzas of four lines, the first line forming a subject, which is repeated as the last and the burthen of the song, Padas being very generally sung, both at public entertainments, and the devotional exercises of the Vaishnava ascetics. Sur Da's is said to have composed 125,000 of these Padas : he is almost entitled to be considered as the founder of a sect, as blind beggars carrying about some musical instruments, to which they chaunt stanzas in honour of Vishnu, are generally termed Silr Ddsis. The tomb of Sur Da's, a simple mound of earth, is consi- dered to be situated in a tope near Sivpur, a village about two miles to the North of Benares. There is also an account of a saint of the same name in the Bhakta Mala, who is possibly a different person from the blind bard. This was a Brahman, Amin, or collector of the Pergun- nah of Sandila, in the reign of Akber, and who with more zeal than honesty made over his collections to the shrine of Madana Mohana, a form of Krishna, at Vrindavan, and sent to the treasury chests filled * 1 Ra'Xia'nand, 2 Asa'nand, 3 Krishna Da's, 4 Ki'l and Agrada's, 5 Na'- iha'ji. See the next division of this section. 41 with stones :* the minister Toder Mull, however, although a Hindu, was not disposed to confirm this transfer, and he had the defaulter arrested and thrown into prison. Sur Da's then applied to Akber, and the good-natured monarch, who probably thought his collector more fool than knave, set him at liberty. He retired to Vrindaban, and there continued to lead a religious and ascetic life. The account of Tulasi Da's in the Bhakta Maid, represents him as having been incited to the pecuhar adoration of Ra'ma by the remon- strances of his wife, to whom he was passionately attached : he adopted a vagrant life, visited Benares, and afterwards went to Chitrakuta, where he had a personal interview with Hanumdn, from whom he re- ceived his poetical inspiration, and the power of working miracles : his fame reached Dehli, where Shah Jeha'n was emperor : the monarch sent for him, and desired him to produce the person of Ra'ma, which Tulasi Da's refusing to do, the king threw him into confinement ; the people of the vicinity, however, speedily petitioned for his liberation, as they were alarmed for their own security : myriads of monkies having collected about the prison, and begun to demolish it, and the adjacent buildings. Shah Jeha'n set the poet at liberty, and desired him to solicit some favour as a reparation for the indignity he had suffered : Tulasi Da's, accordingly requested him to quit ancient Dehli, which was the abode of Ra'ma, and in compliance with this request the emperor left it, and founded the new city, thence named Shah Jehdndbdd. After this, Tulasi Da's went to Bindraban, where he had an interview with Na'bha'ji : he settled there ; and strenuously advocated the worship of Slid Rdma, in preference to that of Rddhd Krishna. Besides these legendary tales of this celebrated writer, whose works exercise more influence upon the great body of Hindu population, than the whole voluminous series of Sanscrit composition, we have other no- tices of him collected from his own works, or preserved by tradition, that * He accompanied them also with the following rhyme : f^^^ ^TT'sr ^"^1^ J^ ^2^'^ II which may be thus renderegl ; The Saints have shared Sandilas taxes, Of which the total thirteen lacks is, A fee for midnight service owen, By me Sur Das to Madan Mohen. 42 differ in some respects from the above. From these it appears, that TuLASi Da's was a Brahman of the Serwariah branch, and a native of Hdjapur, near Chitrakuta ; M^hen arrived at maturity, he settled at Bena- res, and held the office of Dewan to the Raja of that city : his spiritual preceptor was Jaganna'th Da's, a pupil, as well as Na'bha'ji of Agra- da's : he followed this teacher to Goverdhan, near Bindrahan, but after- wards returned to Benares, and there commenced his Hindi version of the Rdmdyana, in the year of Samvat 1631, when he was thirty-one years of age— besides this work, which is highly popular, Tulasi Da's is the author of a Sat Sai, or collection of one hundred stanzas on various subjects : of the Ram Gundvali, a series of verses in praise of Ra'ma, of a Gitdvali, and Finaya Patrikd, poetical compositions of a devotional or moral tendency, and of a great variety of Hymns— as Rdgas, Kavits, and Padas, in honour of his tutelary deity and his consort, or Ra'ma and Sita'. Tulasi Da's continued to reside at Benares, where he built a temple to Sitd Rdma, and founded a Matli adjoining, both which are still in existence : he died in the year of the Samvat era, 1680, or A. D. 1624, in the reign of Jeha'ngir,* and the legendary story therefore, of his intercourse with Shah Jeha'n, is consequently an anachronism. Jayadeva was an inhabitant of a village called Kinduvilwa, where he led an ascetic life, and was distinguished for his poetical powers, and the fervour of his devotion to Vishnu. He at first adopted a life of con- tinence, but was subsequently induced to marry. A Brahman had de- dicated his daughter to Jaganna'th, but on his way to the shrine of that deity was addressed by him, and desired to give the maiden to Jayadeva, who was one with himself. The saint, who it should appear had no other shelter than the shade of a tree, was very unwilling to burthen him- self with a bride ; but her father disregarded his refusal, and leaving his daughter with him, departed. Jayadeva then addressed the damsel, and asked her what she proposed to do, to which she replied ; " Whilst I was in my father's house, I was obedient to his will ; he has now presented me to you, and I am subject to your pleasure; if you reject me, what remains for me but to die." The saint finding there was no help, * According to this memorial verse— ^^fT ^^^ ^^ ^^ 'rfTT^ ffl?; I '^T^W ^IfT ^Tf^ 5^€t 43 turned householder, and removed the image he had worshipped in the air into his dwelling, by desire, it is said, of the object of his adoration. In his new condition he composed the Gitci Govinda, in which Krishna himself assisted, for on one occasion, Jayadeva being puzzled how to describe the charms of Ra'dha', laid down the paper for a happier mo- ment, and went to bathe. Krishna, assuming his person, entered his house, and wrote the requisite description, much to the poet's astonish- ment on his return home. Of the Gitd Govinda it is said, that the Raja of Nildchala (Orissa) composed a poem similarly named, but when the two works were placed before Jaganna'th, he took the work of Jayadeva to his bosom, and threw that of the Raja out of his temple. It is also said, that the Gitd Govinda was sung in the court of Vikrama, thus assigning to it an antiquity which there is no reason to suspect it can justly claim. Jayadeva being desirous of performing a particular rite for his idol, resumed his erratic habits, and succeeded in collecting a considerable sum of money for this purpose : on the road, he was attacked by Thegs, or thieves, who robbed him, and cut off his hands and feet. In this state he was found by a Raja, who took him home, and had his wounds healed. Shortly afterwards the thieves, disguised as religious mendi- cants, came to the court of the Raja. Jayadeva recognized them, and overwhelmed them with benefits. On their departure, two of the Raja's people were sent to attend them to the confines of the Raj, who on their way asked them how they had merited the saint's particular regard. To this they replied, that they had been his fellows in the service of a Raja, who had ordered them to put him to death : they however only mutilated him, and his gratitude for their sparing his life was the reason he had treated them so kindly. They had no sooner uttered these words, than the earth opened and swallowed them. The servants of the Raja returned, and reported the occurrence, when a fresh miracle took place — the hands and feet of Jayadeva sprouted forth again. The Raja being filled with astonishment, requested the saint to explain these events, which he did by narrating what had befallen him. After remaining some time with the Raja, where he restored to life his own wife Padma'vati, who had voluntarily put an end to herself, he returned to Kinduvilwa. Here the Ganges, which was then eighteen cos distant, and to which he went daily to bathe, requested him not to 44 undergo so much fatigue, as she would rather come to him. The pro- posal was accepted by the saint, and, according to our guide, the river now runs close to the village. The ascetic and mendicant followers of Ra'ma'nand, known indis- criminately as Rdmdnandis or Rdmdwats, are by far the most numerous class of sectaries in Gangetic India : in Bengal they are comparatively few : beyond this province, as far as to Allahabad,^ although perhaps the most numerous, they yield in influence and wealth to the Saiva branches, especially to the Atits : hence, however, they predominate, and either by themselves, or their kindred divisions, almost engross the whole of the country along the Ganges and Jumna : in the district of Agra, they alone constitute seven-tenths of the ascetic population. The Rdmdnandis have very numerous votaries, but they are chiefly from the poorer and inferior classes, with the exception of the Rdjaputs and mili- tary Brahmans, amongst whom the poetical works of Sur Da's and TuLASi Da's, maintain the pre-eminence of Rdma and his Bhakts. KABIR PANT'HIS. Amongst the twelve disciples of Ra'ma'nand, the most celebrated of all, and one who seems to have produced directly or indirectly, a greater effect on the state of popular belief than any other, was Kabir : with an unprecedented boldness he assailed the whole system of idolatrous wor- ship, and ridiculed the learning of the Pandits, and doctrines of the Sastras, in a style peculiarly well suited to the genius of his country- men to whom he addressed himself, whilst he also directed his composi- tions to the Musselman, as well as to the Hindu faith, and with equal severity attacked the Mulla and Koran. The effect of his lessons, * Some of the principal Mat'hs at Benares are the following : Ramjit, Mahant, a temple of Ra'ma. Ma'ya Ram, Mahant, a temple of Ra'ma. Ra'ma'nuja, Khaki, Mahant, a temple of Sita' Ra'm. Purushottama Da's, Khdki, Mahant, di temple of Ra'ma. Pita'mbara Da's, Mahant, S ltd Ram ; this is the Mandir of Tulasi DaS. GoviND Da's, Mahant, Rudhd Krishna. Ra'macharan, ditto ditto. At a late meeting (1820) to elect a Mahant of one of the Vaishnava Mat'hs, in the vicinity of Benares, about 5000 mendicants of the various branches of the sect attend- ed ; of these, at least 3000 were Rdmawats, the rest wore Sri Faishnavas, Kabir PanVhis, and others. 45 as confined to his own immediate followers, will be shewn to have been considerable, but their indirect effect has been still greater ; several of the popular sects being little more than ramifications from his stock, whilst Ndnak Shah, the only Hindu reformer who has established a national faith, appears to have been chiefly indebted for his religious notions to his predecessor Kabir.* This sect therefore claims particular attention. The origin of the founder of this sect is variously narrated, although in the main points, the traditions are agreed : the story told in the Bhakta Mala, is, that he was the son of the virgin widow of a Brah- man, whose father was a follower of Ra'ma'nand: at his daughter's repeated request, he took her to see Ra'ma'nand, and that teacher, without adverting to her situation, saluted her with the benediction he thought acceptable to all women, and wished her the conception of a son : his words could not be re-called, and the young widow, in order to conceal the disgrace thus inflicted on her, contrived to be privately delivered, and exposed the child : it was found by a weaver and his wife, and brought up as their own. The followers of Kabir do not admit more than the conclusion of this legend : according to them, the child, who was no other than the incarnate deity, was found floating on a Lotus in Lahartaldb, a lake, or pond near Benares, by the wife of a weaver, named Nima', who, with her husband Nuri, was attending a wedding procession : she took the * Malcolm says, that Nanak constantly referred to the writings of the celebrated Mohammedan Cabir, (A. R. XI. 267,) and the iTafcir Poni' Aw asserts, that he has incorporated several thousand passages from Kabir's writings. As to Kabir's being a Mohammedan, I shall allude to the improbability of this, 1 may say impossibility, in the text, nor is Col. Malcolm more accurate when he calls him a celebrated Sufi, for his doctrines have nothing in common apparently with that sect ; indeed 1 think it not at all improbable that no such person as Kabir ever existed, and that his name is a mere cover to the innovations of some free-thinker amongst the Hindus: perhaps some one of those considered as his principal disciples: his names are very suspicious, and Jnyuni, the sage, or Kabir, the greatest, are generic rather than individual denomina- tions: at any rate, even if the individual were distinct, we must suppose that the name which occurs in his writings is nothing more than the Tak'hallus or assumed name, under which both Musselman and Hindii poets have been accustomed to send their compositions into the world. To -return, however, to the obligations which the popular religions owe to the real or supposed Kabir, 1 find him avowedly or unavow- edly cited by Bdba Lid, and in the writings of the Sddhs, the Satndmis, the Sri Nardinis and Sunydbddis, and 1 am told that the Dudu Pant'his, and Derya Dusis are equally indebted to him. 46 child up, and shewed it to her husband, who being addressed by the child, and desired to take him to Kasi, fled with terror, thinking they had got hold of some incarnate demon : after having run to the distance of about a mile, he was surprised to find the child before him, by whom his fear was tranquillised, and he was persuaded to return to his wife, and bring up, without anxiety or alarm, the infant they had so marvel- lously discovered. All traditions concur in making Kabir the disciple of Ra'ma'nand, although various stories are narrated of the method by which he obtained that distinction, and overcame the objections started to him as a man of low caste, or, according to very general belief, of the Mohammedan persuasion : he succeeded at last by surprise, having put himself in the way of that teacher on the steps of the ghat down which he went at daybreak to bathe, so as to be struck with his foot, on which Ra'ma'- NAND exclaimed Rdm, Ram, words that Kabir assumed, and Ra'ma'- NAND acknowledged to be the initiatory Mantra, which forms the bond of union between a Guru and his disciple. The story of Kabir's being a disciple of Ra'ma'nand, however told, and, although perhaps not literally true in any fashion, may be so far correct, that Kabir was roused by the innovations of that sectary to adopt and extend the schism, and seems to place at contiguous periods the eras at which they flourished : according to the Kabir Pant'his, their founder was present in the world three hundred years, or from 1149 to 1449,* but of these dates we cannot admit the accuracy of more than one at most, and as the latter is the more recent, it is the more probable : agreeable to this, is the connexion of Kabir's writings with the faith of Na'nak Shah, who began to teach about 1490, and it also confirms a particular account, current amongst his followers, of * ^^n ^T^^^^ ^ ^t^ ^T ^T5fr f^^^ t%^TT I ^T^ ^if^ ^^IZ ^^ ^5^ ^^ Z^mx II ^?Wff ^^^'f^^ ^^ ^T ^^«T II In the Sambat 1205 Jnya'ni meditated, was manifest at Kusi, and declared the text called Taksdr : in the Sambat 1505 he journeyed to Magar, and on the lithof the light fortnight oi Aghan, air mixed with air. 47 his openly vindicating his doctrines before Sekander Shah,* in whose time Ferishta has noticed, that some religious disputes, possibly con- nected with the history of Kabir, or that of some of his disciples, did occur. These circumstances, connected with the acknowledged date of his death, render it exceedingly probable that Kabir flourished about the beginning of the 15 th century ; and as it is also not unlikely that his innovations were connected with the previous exertions of Ra'ma'nand, consequently that teacher must have lived about the end of the 14th. According to one account, Kabir was originally named Jnydni, the knowing or wise. The Musselmans, it is said, claim him as one of their persuasion, but his conversancy with the Hindu Sdstras, and evi- dently limited knowledge of the Mohammedan authorities in matters of religion, render such a supposition perfectly unwarrantable : at any rate tradition represents it to have occasioned a contest between them and the Hindus respecting the disposal of his corpse, the latter insist- ing on burning, the Musselmans, on burying it ; in the midst of the * There is a Ramaini to that effect, and the following story is told, with the usual marvellous embellishments, in the Bhakta Mdla ; in that work it is said, his mother complained to Sekander Padshah of her son's having deserted the true faith, on which the king sent for him : he appeared with the Tika and Mala, and when told to make the customary Saldm, he replied, " I know none but Ram, what use is there in prostrating myself to a monarch." Enraged at his behaviour, the king ordered him to be chained hand and foot, and thrown into the river. The water bore him to shore. He then commanded him to be cast into fire, but the flames played harmless round him. He then directed him to be trodden to death by an elephant, but as soon as the animal saw the sage, he turned tail and ran away. The king mounted his own ele- phant, resolved to execute his commands in person; but when he approached, Kabir transformed himself into a lion. The monarch then convinced of his divine character alighted, and falling at his feet, offered him any lands and villages he might chuse : these offers he declined, saying, " Ka'm is my wealth : of what avail are worldly possessions, but to set father, and son, and brother, at deadly variance." He returned to his abode, and remained unmolested. Colonel Malcolm in the note before cited, places him in the reign of Shir Shah ; this is, however, at variance with his own statements; Na'nak was in the height of his career in 1527, (A. R. XI. 206,) then imparting to Baber, tenets which he had partly borrowed from the writings of Kabir, and which must consequently have been some time previously promulgated : but Shir Shah did not commence his reign till 1542, and it was therefore impossible for Kabir to have lived in his reign, and at the same time to have instigated by his own innovations, the more successful ones of Na'nak. Kabir's being contemporary with Sekander, is also mentioned in Priya Dasa's expansion of the Bhakta Mdld : it is likewise stated in the Kholasset al tawurikh, and is finally establisheded by Abulfazl, who says that Kabir the Unitarian lived in the reign of Sultan Secander Lodi, {Ay. Ac, 2. 38.) 48 dispute, Kabir himself appeared amongst them, and desiring them to look under the cloth supposed to cover his mortal remains, immediately vanished : on obeying his instructions, they found nothing under the cloth, but a heap of flovi^ers : one half of these Ban'ar Raja or Birsinha Raja, then Raja of Benares, removed to that city, where they were burnt, and where he appropriated the spot now called the Kabir Chaura, to the reception of their ashes, whilst Bijili Khan Patau, the head of the Mohammedan party, erected a tomb over the other portion at Magar near Gorakhpur, where Kabir had died. This latter place was endow- ed by Mansur Ali Khan with several villages, and it divides with the Chaura the pilgrimage of the followers of this sect. The Kabir Panfhis in consequence of their master having been the reputed disciple of Ra'ma'nand, and of their paying more respect to Vishnu, than the other members of the Hindu triad, are always included amongst the Vaishnava sects, and maintain with most of them, the Rdmdwats especially, a friendly intercourse and political alliance : it is no part of their faith, however, to worship any Hindu deity, or to observe any of the rites or ceremonials of the Hindus, whether orthodox or schismatical ; such of their members as are living in the world con- form outwardly to all the usages of their tribe and caste, and some of them even pretend to worship the usual divinities, although this is con- sidered as going rather farther than is justifiable. Those however who have abandoned the fetters of society, abstain from all the ordinary practices and address their homage, chiefly in chanting hymns, ex- clusively to the invisible Kabir : they use no Mantra nor fixed form of salutation ; they have no peculiar mode of dress, and some of them go nearly naked without objecting however to clothe themselves in order to appear dressed, where clothing is considered decent or respectful — the Mahants wear a small scull cap : the frontal marks, if worn, are usually those of the Vaishnava sects, or they make a streak with san- dal, or Gopichandan along the ridge of the nose, a necklace and rosary of Tulasi are also worn by them, but all these outward signs are considered of no importance, and the inward man is the only essential point to be attended to.* * To avoid unnecessary contention, and its probable concomitant in other days, persecution, was tlie object probably of the lollowing prudent maxim, one of the 49 The doctrines of Kabir are taught in a great variety of works in dif- ferent dialects of Hindi ; they are the acknowledged compositions of his disciples and successors, but they are mostly in the form of dialogues, and profess to be of his utterance, either in his own words, with the phrase, Kahdhi Kabir, ' Kabir verily says,' or to the same substance, which is marked by the qualification, Kahai Kabir, ' Kabir has said,' or they are given in the language of his followers, when the expression Das Kabir, the slave of Kabir, is made use of. The style of all their works is very peculiar, they are written in the usual forms of Hindi verse, the Doha, Choupai and Samai ; and are very voluminous as may be inferred from the following collection, preserved as the Khcis Granthn, or The Book at the Chaura. 1. Suk'h Nidhdn. 2. Gorakndt'hki Goshthi. 3. Kabir Pdnji. 4. Balak'hki Ramaini. 5. Rdmdnandki Goshthi. 6. Anand Ram Sdgara. 7. Sabddvali, containing 1000 Sabdas, or short doctrinal exposi- tions. 8. Mangala, 100 short poems, amongst which is the account of Kabir's discovery as given above. 9. Vasant, 100 hymns in that Rdga. 10. Holi, 200 of the songs, called Holi. 11. R^k'htas, 100 odes. 12. Jhulanas, 500 odes, in a different style. 13. Kahdras, 500 odes, in a different style. 5TT^ I ^t ^ 'ir ^ ^^^ t%l%R ^^ ^T^^ ^T^ II " Associate and mix with all, and take the names of all ; say to every one, Yes sir, yes sir. Abide in your own abode." — They do not admit that taking the names of all, implies the invocation of the illusory deities of the Hindu Pantheon, but means that they should reply as they are addressed, whether the phrase be Bandagi, Danddwat, or Rum Ram : the proper salutation of an inferior to a superior amongst them, if any be particularly proper, is Bandagi Sahib, Service Sir; to which the latter replies, Guru ki Dayd, the mercy of the Lord be upon you. 50 14. Hindolas, 12 odes, in a different style. The subject of all these odes, or hymns, is always moral or religious. 15. Bdrah Mdsa, the )2 months in a religious view, agreeably to Kabir's system. 16. Chancharas 22. 17. Chautisas 2 : the 34 letters of the Nagari alphabet, with their religious signification. 18. Ale/ndmah, the Persian alphabet, in the same manner. 19. Ramainis, short doctrinal or argumentative poems. Sdk'his 5000 ; these may be considered as texts, consisting of one stanza each. 20. The Vijek, in 654 Sections.* There are also a variety of stanzas, called Agams, Bdnis, 8(C. compos- ing a very formidable course of study to those who wish to go deep into the doctrine of this school, and one in which the greatest proficients amongst the Kabir Pant'his are but imperfectly versed. A few Sdk'his, Sabdas and Rekh'tas, with the greater portion of the Fijek, constituting their acquirements : these, however, they commit to memory, and quote in argument with singular readiness and happiness of application ; the Gosht'his, or disputations of Kabir with those opposed to him, as GoRAKHNATH, Ra'ma'nand aud cvcu iu spite of chronology with Mohammed himself, are not read till more advanced, whilst the Suk'h Nidhdn, which is the key to the whole, and which has the singularity * There are two Bijeks, however, only differing in the occasional omission of some passages and introduction of others ; the longer of the two, they say, was communi- cated by Kabir himself to the Raja of Benares. I rather suspect, however, that the varieties are only those common to most Hindu Manuscripts, and that many more than two varieties are to be found. A curious Italian work on the Kabir Pant'his, en- titled, but not accurately, Mulapanci, intending no doubt Mulapant' hi, or Radical disciple, not as rendered, Delia Radice, is published in the third volume of the Mines of the East : it was found amongst the papers of the Propaganda, and is communicated by Monsignore Munter, Bishop of Zealand, in Denmark; an eminent scholar, the author of a valuable work on the Sahidic Version of the N. T. &c. It is to be pre- sumed that it is intended to be a translation of some Kabiui work, but how correctly it deserves this character, may be questioned ; much of the phraseology of the sect is indeed closely followed, but the minute and ridiculous details of its cosmogony are, with very few exceptions, exceedingly different from those notions entertained by the followers of Kabir, as explained in the Bijeks, or Suk'h Nidhdn. The extract pub- lished in the Mines, appears to be a portion, the second book, of some work, thus des- cribed " II libro primario dei Cabiristi (Specie di riforma della gentilita,) si chiama Satnam Kabir : questo libro e fra le carte di Propaganda." 51 of being quite clear and intelligible, is only imported to those pupils whose studies are considered to approach perfection. The author or compiler of the Bijek or Vijek, was Bhagodas* one of Kabir's immediate disciples : it is the great authority amongst the Kabir Pant'his in general ; it is written in very harmonious verse, and with great ingenuity of illustration : its style, however, is more dogma- tical than argumentative, aad it rather inveighs against other systems than explains its own : in the latter respect it is, indeed, so inexplicit and obscure, that it is perhaps impossible to derive from it any satisfac- tory conclusion as to the real doctrines of Kabir. The followers of the Sect admit this obscurity, and much difference of opinion prevails amongst them in the interpretation of many passages : some of the teachers have a short work professedly written as a key to the most difficult parts, but this is in the hands of a chosen few : it is of no great value, however, as it is little less puzzling than the original, of a few passages of which the following translations will best exemplify the description thus given : Ramaini the 1st. — God, light, sound, and one woman; from these have sprung Hari, Brahma', and Tripura'ri, Innumerable are the emblems of Siva and Bhava'ni, which they have established, but they know not their own beginning nor end : a dwelling has been prepared for them : Hari, Brahma', and Siva, are the three headmen, and each has his own village : they have formed the Khandas and the e^g of Brahmd, and have invented the six Dersanas, and ninety- six Pdshandas : no one has ever read the Vedas in the womb, nor has any infant been born a member of Islam. * The woman,' relieved from the burthen of the embryo, adorned her person with every grace. I and you are of one blood, and one life animates us both ; from one mother is the world born ; what knowledge is this that makes us separate, no one knows the varie- ties of this descent, and how shall one tongue declare them ; nay, should the mouth have a million of tongues, it would be incompetent to the task, Kabir has said, I have cried aloud from friendship to mankind ; from not knowing the name of Ra'ma, the world has been swallowed up in death. In this Ramaini, the first passage contains an allusion to the notions of the sect regarding the history of creation. God is called Anter, * Of the shorter work : it is undoubtedly the one most generally current. 52 Inner, that which was in all, and in which all was, meaning the first self- existent and all comprehensive being. Jyotish is the luminous element, in which he manifested himself, and Sabda, the primitive sound or word that expressed his essence — the woman, is Maya, or the principle of error and delusion : the next passage relates to the impotence of the secondary gods, and the unnatural character of religious distinctions : " the woman," is Ma'ya' the self-born daughter of the first deity, and at once the mother and wife of Brahma', Vishnu, and Siva. " / and you, SfC." is addressed by her to them, " no one knows, 8(C." is an allusion to the blindness of all worldly wisdom, and the passage winds up with a word of advice, recommending the worship of Ra'ma, implying the true god, agreeably to the system of Kabir. The style of the whole Btjek is of this kind : straggling allusions to the deceits of Mdyd, to the errors of other sects, and the superiority of their own, being strung together with very little method: it will not, however, be necessary to analyse any more of the passages, and they will become clear by reference to the general view of the system, with which we shall be furnished from the Suk'h Nidhdn : it may be sufficient here to observe, that the doctrines of Kabir, are said to be conveyed in four-fold language, or that of Mdyd, Atmd, Man or intel- lect, and the V4das. Ramainithe 6th. — (Ma^a'^ account of the first being, and of herself.) What is his colour, form, and shape ; what other person has beheld him : the Omkdra did not witness his beginning, how then can I explain it ; can you say from what root he sprang : he is neither the stars, nor sun, nor moon ; he has neither father nor mother ; he is neither water nor earth, nor fire, nor air : what name or description can I give of him : to him is neither day nor night, nor family nor caste ; he resides on the summit of space ; a spark of his substance was once manifest, of which emanation I was the bride ; the bride of that being who needs no other. Sabda the 56th. — To Ali and Ra'ma we owe our existence, and should, therefore, shew similar tenderness to all that live ; of what avail is it to shave your head, prostrate yourself on the ground, or immerse your body in the stream ; whilst you shed blood you call yourself pure, and boast of virtues that you never display : of what benefit is cleaning your mouth, counting your beads, performing ablution, and bowing yourself in temples, when, whilst you mutter your prayers, or journey 53 to Mecca and Medina, deceitfulness is in your heart. The Hindu fasts every eleventh day, the Musselman during the Ramazan. Who formed the remaining months and days, that you should venerate but one ? If the Creator dwell in tabernacles, whose residence is the universe ? Who has beheld Rama seated amongst images, or found him at the shrine to which the pilgrim has directed his steps ? The city of Hara is to the east, that of Ali to the west ; but explore your own heart, for there are both Rama and Karim. Who talks of the lies of the Veds and Tebs ; those who understand not their essence. Behold but one in all things, it is the second that leads you astray. Every man and woman that has ever been born is of the same nature with yourself. He, whose is the world, and whose are the children of Ali and Ram, he is my Guru, he is my Pir. The following Sabda, is peculiarly illustrative of the mystical and un- intelligible style of parts of the Bijek; the explanation of the terms is taken from the key above referred to, but the interpreter is, perhaps, the most unintelligible of the two. Sabda the 69th. — Who is the (1) magistrate of this city, (2) the meat (3) is exposed, and the (4) vulture sits guarding it; the (5) rat is converted into a (6) boat, and the (7) cat is in charge of the helm ; the (8) frog is asleep, and the (9) snake stands sentinel ; the (10) ox bears, the (11) cow is barren, and the (12) heifer is milked thrice a day; the (13) rhinoceros is attacked by the (14) jackal : very few know the (15) station of Kabir. (16) Key. 1. Man the pride of intellect. 2. The body. 3. The Vedas, or scriptural writings of any sect, which teach the true nature of God. 4. The Pandit, or worldly expounder of divine truths. 5. Man or intel- lect. 6. A mere vehicle for the diifusion of 7. Maya, illusion and falsehood. 8. The Siddha or saint. 9. Parameswara, the supreme being. 10. Vishnu. 11. M ay d ox Devi. 12. faram^swara, the supreme. 13. A holy man. 14. Intellectual or doctrinal pride. 15. The divine nature. 16. God identified with man and nature. The Sdk'his of Kabir deserve, perhaps, a more copious exemplification : they are very gradually current even amongst those not his followers, they contain much curious matter, and they have often been referred to without their character being duly understood ; there are some thousands of them, of which the Bijek comprehends between three and four hundred : 54 one hundred will be sufficient, as a specimen of the whole : they are taken with one or two exceptions, from the Bijek of the Kahir Chaura, in the order in which they occur. Sdk'hais. 1 . When man springs from the womb, he is void of every care : pass but the sixth day, and he feels the pains of separation. 2. My word is of the word : hear it, go not astray ; if man wishes to know the truth, let him investigate the word. 3. My word is from the first: the word has been deposited in life; a basket has been provided for the flowers ; the horse has eaten up the ghee. 4. My word is from the first : meditate on it every moment ; you will flourish in the end like the Joar plant, which shews externally but beards and leaves. 5. Without hearing the word, it is utter darkness : say, whither shall any one go ; without finding the gateway of the word, man will ever be astray. 6. There are many words, but take the pith of them : he who takes not the essence, saith Kabir, will live a profitless life. 7. For the sake of the word, some have died, and some have resigned dominion : he who has investigated the word, has done his work. 8. Lay in your provender, and provide your carriage ; for if your food fail, and feet be weary, your life is in the hands of another. 9. Lay in provender sufficient for the road, whilst time yet serves: evening comes on ; the day is flown, and nothing will be provided. 10. Now is the time to prepare, henceforth the path is difficult: the travellers all hasten to purchase where there is neither trade nor market. 11. He who knows what life is, will take the essence of his own; such as it is now, he will not possess it a second time. 12. If you know how mankind pass their lives, you will live according to your knowledge : fetch water for your own drinking, nor demand it from others and drink. 1 3. Why go about to off^er water ; there is abundance in every house : when man is really thirsty, he needs no solicitation, but will drink by force. 14. The goose (the world or life) sells pearls ; a gold vessel is full of them ; but with him, who knows not their value, what can be done. .55 15. The goose abandons the lake ; the body is withered and dry : Kabir has called aloud, here is a path, there is a resting place ! 16. The goose abandons the lake, and lodges in a water jar : Kahir calls aloud, repair to your village, nor demolish your habitation. 17. The goose and the paddy bird are of one colour, and frolic in the same pool ; the goose extracts the milk from the water, and the paddy bird drinks the mire. 18. Why comes the feeble doe to the green pool ; numerous foes lie in wait for her : how should she escape. 19. The three worlds form a cage ; vice and virtue spread a net : life is the prey, and time the fowler. 20. The half of a Sdk'hi is sufficiently arduous, if duly investigated ; of what avail are the books of the Pandit, or incessant study. 21. Having combined the five elements, I found one offspring ; now I ask the Pandit, whether life or the word be the greater. 22. Of the five elements, the body was formed : when the body was formed what was done : subservient to action, it is called life ; but by action, life is destroyed. 23. The offspring of the five elements is called Man ; if one element be withdrawn, the whole compound is destroyed. 24. With the five elements is the abode of a great mystery ; when the body is decomposed, has any one found it ; the word of the teacher is the guide. 25. Colour proceeds from colour, yet behold all are but one : of what colour then is life : think well of this. 26. Life is wakefulness : the word is like borax, white : who has seen the yellow drop, saith Kabir, that has turned the water of that colour. 27. There is a mirror in the heart ; but the face is not visible in it : then only will the face be reflected there, when doubleness of heart shall disappear. 28. The dwelling of Kabir is on the peak of a mountain, and narrow path leads to it ; an ant cannot put its foot upon it, but the pious man may drive up an ox. 29. The bhnd man talks of a district, which he has not seen ; they are possessed of a salt pit, and offer camphor for sale. 20. The road that Sanaka and his brethren, that Brahma', Vishnu, 56 and Mahesa have travelled, is still traversed by mankind : what advice can 1 bestow. 31. The plough ascends the hill ; the horse stops in the village : the bee seeks for honey, where there are no flowers : declare the name of the plant. 32. Sandal ! restrain thy fragrance : on thy account, the wood is cut down ; the living slay the living, and regard only the dead. 33. The sandal (the soul,) is guarded by serpents, (passion ;) what can it effect ? Every hair is impregnated with venom ; where shall ambrosia enter. 34. The seizer (death,) lets not go his hold ; though his tongue and beak be scorched : where it deems a dainty, the Chakor devours the burning coals. 35. The Chakor (hill partridge,) in its passion for the moon, digests the burning coal ; Kabir declares it does not burn him, such is the fer- vour of his affection. 36. The village is on the top of a mountain, and so is the abode of the stout man. Choose, Kabir, one for your protector, who can really give you an asylum. 37. The crowd has taken the road travelled by the Pandit : Kabir has ascended the steep defile, where lies the abode of Ra'm. 38. What, ho ! Kabir, descend, together with your car and proven- der : your provender will fail, your feet will grow weary, and your life will be in the hands of another. 39. From the contest of swinging and being swung, no one has escap- ed. Gorak'h (the founder of the Jogis,) was stopped at the city of time ; who shall be called exempt. 40. Gorak'h, enamoured as he was of Ra'ma, is dead ; his body was not burnt : (the Jogis bury the dead,) the flesh has decayed, and is turned to clay, and such rank as the Kauravas enjoy, does he obtain (bodily annihilation.) 41. The young camel flying from the wood, has fallen into the stream ; how shall the animal proclaim its misfortune, who shall learn it ? 42. After a search of many days, an empty shrine is raised : the camel's calf has strayed into a pit, and repents its heedlessness, when assistance is far off. 57 43. Kabir (mankind) has not escaped error, he is seized in various forms : without knowledge of its lord the heart will be but ashes. 44. Although not subject to line, a heavy fine has been imposed upon the world : it has proved unprofitable : avarice has disposed of it ; the juice of the cane yields both clayed and candied sugar. 45. In the confines of the Malaya Mountain (where Sandal grows) the Palds (Butea) tree acquires fragrance ; were the Bamboo to grow there for ages, it would never gain perfume. 46. In the woods of the Malaya Mountain grow trees of every kind ; they may be called Sandal, but they yield not the Sandal of Malaya. 47. Walking, walking still, the feet are weary ; the city is yet far off, a tent is erected by the road side : say, who is to blame. 48. The end of the journey is sunset, but night comes on mid-way : it is from the embrace of many lovers that the wanton is barren. 49. Man (the pride of intellect) enquires, when may I be allowed to go ; the heart asks when shall I go : the village (truth) that I have been these six months in quest of (investigating in the six Dersanas, or systems), is not half a mile remote. 50. He has left his dwelling as an ascetic, and goes to the thickets to practise penance : tired of the Paw-box, he beats the betle-vender, and eats split pease. 51. When a man (intending, however, here a Jogi) becomes ac- quainted with the name of Ra'm, his body becomes a mere skeleton ; his eyes taste no repose ; his limbs retain no flesh. 52. He who sows Ra'm, never puts forth the buds of wrath : he attaches no value to the valueless ; he knows neither pleasure nor pain. 53. The cut mango will not blossom, the slit ear cannot be reunit- ed ; whose loss is it, if they apply not the philosopher's stone, that Gorak'h had. 54. They have not regarded good advice, but have determined for themselves. Kabir says and cries aloud, the world has passed away like a dream. 55. When fire (evil) burns amidst the ocean, (the world) no one sees the smoke : he is conscious of the fire who lighted it, and he who perishes in the flame. 56. The incendiary orders the fire to be kindled, and he who lights 58 it singes his wings : he expiates his own act : the thatch escapes, but the house is burned. 57. When fire (truth) burns in the ocean (the mind), as it burns, it clears away the rubbish (worldly care) . Pandits from the east and from the west have died in the discussion. 58. When fire blazes in the ocean, the thatch of the house falls to pieces. Mankind weep as they resign their breath, and the inestimable jewel is lost. 59. That a drop falls into the ocean, all can perceive ; but that the drop and the ocean are but one, few can comprehend. 60. The poison still remains in the soil, although the latter has been a hundred times sprinkled with ambrosia — man quits not the evil practices to which he has been long addicted. 61. The bellows is applied to the damp wood, which calls aloud with pain : if again it is caught in the blacksmith's forge, it will be burned the second time. 62. The soul that pines in absence, vainly flies to medicaments for relief ; sigh follows sigh : it faints repeatedly and recovers, to exist, restless and distressed. 63. The separated (spirit) is like the moist fuel which smokes and blazes by fits : then only will it be exempted from pain, when all is ut- terly consumed. 64. An invitation has been issued in metre, and no one has under- stood the stanza ; fortunate is the scholar who comprehends the word. 65. Take the true word of Ka6z> to your heart; the mind has re- ceived, but not understood it, although it has been divulged throughout the four ages. 66. If you are a true dealer, open the market of veracity ; keep clean your inward^man, and repel oppression to a distance. 67. The house is of wood, fire is all around it ; the Pandit, with his learning is burnt : the prudent man makes his escape. 68. Drops fall from heaven on the verdure of Srdvan : all the world are Vaishnavas, no one listens to the teacher. 69. The bather dives nor comes up again; I think within myself, should sleep surprise him in the stream of fascination, what will befall him. 70. The Sdkhi (text) is uttered, but not obeyed ; the road is pointed 59 out, but not followed : the stream of fascination sweeps him away ; he finds no place to put his feet. 71. Many there are that talk, but few that take care to be found: let him pass on without regard, who practices not what he professes. 72. One by one, let each be considered, and adhered to, so shall error be stopped : he who is double-faced like a drum, shall be slapped (like a drum) on both cheeks. 73. He who has no check upon his tongue, has no truth in his heart ; keep him not company : he will kill you on the highway. 74. Life has been destroyed by the repeated falsehoods of the tongue ; it has strayed the path of pride, and been whirled in the swing of time. 75. Put a check upon the tongue ; speak not much : associate with the wise ; investigate the words of the teacher. 76. The body is wounded by a spear, the head is broken oiF, and left in the flesh ; it cannot be extracted without the loadstone : a thousand other stones are of no avail. 77. At first the ascent is difficult, but afterwards the way is easy ; the beauty is behind the curtain, far from the pregnant woman. 78. Worldly existence is the season for reflecting what is the Yoga : the season is passing away ; think, ye, who have understanding. 79. Doubt has overcome the world, and no one has triumphed over doubt : he will refute doubt, who has investigated the word. 80. The eyes see dimly from incessant babbling. Kabir cries aloud, and says, understand the word that is spoken* 8 1 . Life is the philosopher's stone, the world is of iron : Pdrsi (MdydJ comes from Paras (God,) the mintage is of the former. 82. Aff"ection is the garment in which man dresses for the dance : consign yourself hand and foot to him, whose body and soul are truth. 83. In the concavity of the mirror, the image is formed : the dog seeing his likeness, barks at it till he dies. 84. But as a man viewing his reflexion in a mirror, knows that it and the original are but one, so should he know that this element is but that element, and that thus the world proceeds. 85. Kabir cries aloud to his fellows, ascend the sandal ridge; whether there be a road prepared or not, what matters it to me. 86. Truth, provided there be truth in the heart, is the best of all; there can be no happiness without truth, let man do as he will. 60 87- Let truth be your rate of interest, and fix it in your heart ; a real diamond should be purchased, the mock gem is waste of capital. 88. Truth is the best of all, if it be known for truth — when truth combines with truth, then a real union is effected. 89. No act of devotion can equal truth ; no crime is so heinous as ^ falsehood : in the heart where truth abides, there is my abode. 90. The net of error catches the heron ; the simpleton falls into the snare : Kabir declares, that he will escape the toils, who has discrimina- tion in his heart. 9 1 . Like the harlot companion of the minstrel is life, {Jiv) associat- ed with intellect, {Man) at his command, she dances various steps, and is never separated from him. 92. This pride of intellect is manifold ; now a swindler, now a thief; now a liar, now a murderer : men, sages, gods, have run after it in vain : its mansion has a hundred gates. 93. The snake of separation has attached itself to the body, and darted its fangs into the heart : into the body of the Sdd'h, it finds no admission : prepare yourself for what may happen. 94. How is it possible to reach the city when the guide cannot point out the road : when the boat is crazy, how shall the passengers get clear of the ghdt. 95. When the master is blind, what is to become of the scholar : when the blind leads the blind, both will fall into the well. 96. Yet the master is helpless when the scholar is unapt : it is blow- ing through a bambu, to teach wisdom to the dull. 97. The instruction of the foolish is waste of knowledge ; a maund of soap cannot wash charcoal white. 98. The tree bears not fruit for itself, nor for itself does the stream collect its waters : for the benefit of others alone, does the sage assume a bodily shape. 99. I have wept for mankind, but no one has wept with me ; he will join my tears, who comprehends the word. 100. All have exclaimed, master, master, but to me this doubt arises ; how can they sit down with the master, whom they do not know. The preceding will serve as exemplifications of the compositions of tliis school : they are necessarily unsatisfactory, as amongst some hun- dreds of similar passages, the business of selection, when confined to the 61 few admissible in this place, is unavoidably perplexing and incom- plete : they are, however, sufficient for the present purpose, as the perusal of the entire work from which they have been selected, would not convey any more positive notions of the doctrines of Kabir : these we shall now proceed to state according to the authority of the Suk'h Nidhdn. The Suk'h Nidhdn is supposed to be addressed by Kabir himself to Dhermadds his chief pupil, and follower of Rdmdnand's doctrines ; it is said to be the work of Srutgopal, the first of Kabir's disciples. From this authority it appears, that although the Kabir Panfhis have withdrawn, in such a very essential point as worship, from the Hindu communion, they still preserve abundant vestiges of their primi- tive source ; and that their notions are in substance the same as those of the Pauranic sects, especially of the Vaishnava division. They admit of but one God, the creator of the world ; and in opposition to the Veddnta notions of the absence of every quality and form, they assert that he has body, formed of the five elements of matter, and that he has mind endowed with the three Gunas, or qualities of being ; of course of ineffable purity and irresistible power : he is free from the defects of human natures, and can assume what particular shape he will : in all other respects he does not differ from man, and the pure man, the Sadh of the Kabir sect, is his living resemblance, and after death is his associate and equal ; he is eternal, without end or beginning, as in fact is the elementary matter of which he consists, and of which all things are made residing in him before they took their present form, as the parts of the tree abide in the seed, or flesh, blood and bone, may be considered to be present in the seminal fluid : from the latter circum- stance, and the identity of their essential nature, proceeds the doctrine, that God and man are not only the same, but that they are both in the same manner, every thing that lives and moves and has its being : other sects have adopted these phrases literally, but the followers of Kabir do not mean by them to deny the individuality of being, and only intend these texts as assertions of all nature originally participat- ing in common elementary principles. The Paramapurusha was alone for seventy-two ages, for after the Pauraniks the Kabir Pant' his maintain successive and endless creations : he then felt a desire to renew the world, which desire became manifest 62 in a female form,* being the Mdyd, from whom all the mistaken notions current amongst mankind originate : with this female the Adi Bhavdni, Prakriti or Sakti, the Parama Purusha, or first male, cohabits, and begets the Hindu triad, Brahma, Vishnu and Siva : he then disappears, and the lady makes advances to her own sons : to their questions of her origin and character, she tells them, she was the bride of the first great invisible being, without shape and void, and whom she describes agree- ably to the Veddnta notions ; that she is now at liberty, and being of the same nature as themselves, is a fit associate for them : the deities hesitate, and Vishnu, especially putting some rather puzzling queries to Mdyd, secured the respect of the Kabir Panfhis, and excited the wrath of the goddess : she appears as Maha Mdyd, or Durgd, and frightens her sons into a forgetfulness of their real character, an assent to her doctrines, and compHance with her desires : the result of this, is the birth of Saraswati, Lakshmi and Umd, whom she weds to the three deities, and then establishing herself at Jwdlamuk'hi, leaves the three wedded pairs to frame the universe, and give currency to the different errors of practice and belief which they have learnt from her. It is to the falsehood of Mdyd and her criminal conduct that the Kabir Pant'his perpetually allude in their works, and in consequence of the deities pinning their faith upon her sleeve, that they refuse them any sort of reverential homage : the essence of all religion is to know Kabir in his real form, a knowledge which those deities and their worshippers, as well as the followers of Mohammed, are all equally strano-e to, although the object of their religion, and of all religions is the same. Life is the same in all beings, and when free from the vices and defects of humanity assumes any material form it pleases : as long as it is ignorant of its source and parent, however, it is doomed to trans- migration through various forms, and amongst others we have a new class of them, for it animates the planetary bodies, undergoing a fresh transfer, it is supposed, whenever a star or meteor falls : as to heaven and hell, they are the inventions of Mdyd, and are therefore both ima- * These notions are common to the whole Hindu system — diversified according to the favourite object of worship, but essentially the same in all sects; we shall have occasion to discuss them more fully under the division Sdktas, or worshippers of bAKTl. 63 ginary, except that the Swerga of the Hindus, and Bihisht of the Musselmans, imply worldly luxury and sensual enjoyment, whilst the Narak and Jehannam are those cares and pains which make a hell upon earth. The moral code of the Kabir PanVhis is short, but if observed faith- fully is of a rather favourable tendency. Life is the gift of God, and must not therefore be violated by his creatures. Humanity is, consequently, a cardinal virtue, and the shedding of blood whether of man or animal, a heinous crime. Truth is the other great principle of their code, as all the ills of the world, and ignorance of God, are attributable to original falsehood. Retirement from the world is desirable, because the passions and desires, the hopes and fears which the social state engenders, are all hostile to tranquillity and purity of spirit, and prevent that undisturb- ed meditation on man and God which is necessary to their comprehen- sion. The last great point is the usual sum and substance of every sect amongst the Hindus,* implicit devotion in word, act, and thought to the Guru, or spiritual guide : in this, however, the characteristic spirit of the Kabir Pant' his appears, and the pupil is enjoined to scrutinize his teacher's doctrines and acts, and to be first satisfied that he is the sage he pretends to be, before he resigns himself to his con- troul. This sect, indeed, is remarkably liberal in this respect, and the most frequently recurring texts of Kabir are those which enforce an attentive examination of the doctrine, that he offers to his disciples. The chief of each community has absolute authority over his dependants : the only punishments he can award, however, are moral, not physical — irregular conduct is visited by reproof and admonition ; if the offender does not reform, the Guru refuses to receive his salutation ; if still in- curable, the only further infliction is expulsion from the fraternity. The doctrine of outward conformity, and the absence of visible ob- jects of worship have prevented this sect from spreading very generally * The Bhagavat declares the Deity and Guru to be the same. ?5"o^^^?f5rrT"^J II Na'bha'ji declares the Deity, Guru, worshipper, and wor- ship, to be four names and one substance. ^Tf^H^HT^fT T^ ^fT^TTT ^T ^^ II 64 throughout India : it is, however, very widely diffused, and as I have observed, has given rise to many others, that have borrowed its phra- seology, and caught a considerable portion of its spirit ; the sect itself is split into a variety of subdivisions, and there are no fewer than twelve branches of it traced up to the founder, between which a differ- ence of opinion, as well as descent prevails : the founders of these twelve branches, and the position of their descendants, are the follow- ing :— 1. Srutgopal Da's, the author of the Suk'h Nidhdn : his successors preside over the Chaura at Benares, the Samddh at Magar, an establish- ment at JaganndVh, and one at Dwdrakd. 2. Bhago Das, the author of the Bijek ; his successors reside at Dhanauii. 3. Narayan Das, and 4. Churdman Das : these two were the sons of Dherma Da's, a mer- chant of the Kasaundhya tribe, of the Sri Vaishnava sect, and one of Kabir's first and most important converts ; his residence was at Bandho near Jabbelpur, where the Mat'hs of his posterity long remained : the Mahants were family men, thence termed Bans Gurus : the line of Na'ra'yan Da's is extinct, and the present successor of Churdman, beinf the son of a concubine, is not acknowledged as a Mahant by all the other branches. 5. Jaggo Dds, the Gaddi or Pillow at Cuttack. 6. Jivan Dds, the founder of the Setndmi sect, to whom we shall asain have occasion to advert. 7. Kamdl. — Bombay : the followers of this teacher practise the Yoga. Kamal himself, is said to have been the son of Kabir, but the only authority for this is a popular and proverbial phrase * 8. Tak Sdli. — Baroda. 9. Jnydni. — Majjhni near Sahasram. 10. Saheb Dds. — Cuttack: his followers have also some distinct notions, and form a sect called Mula Pan f his. 1 1 . Nitydnand. * ^^T #^^fl^ ^T ^T^TT^fT JfT ^^ra II "The race of KaUr became extinct when his son Kama'l was born," Kama'l adopting, on principle, a life of celibacy, or being a person of worldly appetites.— Roebuck's Proverbs, 2. 1. 656. 65 12. Kamal Ndd : these two settled somewhere in the Dekhin, but ray informant could not tell me exactly where. There are also some popular, and perhaps local distinctions of the sect, as Hansa Kabiris, Dana Kabiris, and Mangrela Kabiris, but in what respect, except appel- lation, they differ from the rest has not been ascertained. Of these establishments the Kabir Chaura, at Benares, is pre-eminent in dignity, and it is constantly visited by wandering members of the sect, as well as by those of other kindred heresies : its Mahant receives and feeds these visitors whilst they stay, although the establishment has little to depend upon, except the occasional donations of its lay friends and followers. Balwant Sink, and his successor, Cheit Sink, were great patrons of it, and the latter granted to the Chaura a fixed monthly allowance. Cheit Sinh also attempted to form some estimate of the numbers of the sect, and if we may credit the result, they must be very considerable indeed, as at a grand meeting, or Mela, which he instituted near Benares, no fewer than 35,000 Kabir Pant'his of the Monastic and Mendicant class are said to have been collected. There is no doubt that the Kabir Pant'his, both clerical and lay, are very nume- rous in all the provinces of Upper and Central India, except, perhaps, in Bengal itself: the quaker-like spirit of the sect, their abhorrence of all violence, their regard for truth, and the inobtrusiveness of their opini- ons, render them very inoffensive members of the state : their mendi- cants also never solicit alms, and in this capacity even they are less obnoxious than the many rehgious vagrants, whom the rank soil of Hindu superstition and enervating operation of an Indian climate so plentifully engender. KHAKIS. This division of the Vaishnavas is generally derived, though not immediately, from Ra'ma'nand, and is undoubtedly connected in its polity, and practice, with his peculiar followers. The reputed founder is Ki'l, the disciple of Krishnada's, whom some accounts make the dis- ciple of Asa'nand, the disciple of Ra'ma'nand ; but the history of the Khaki sect is not well known, and it seems to be of modern origin, as 66 no notice of it occurs in the Bhakta Maid, or in any other work that has been consulted : the sectaries, though believed to be rather numerous, appear to be either confined to a few particular districts, or to lead wholly an erratic life, in which latter character they are confounded with the class of Bairdgis : as no written accounts have been procured, and the opportunities of obtaining oral information have been rare and imperfect, a very brief notice of this sect is all that can here be offered. The Khakis, as the name implies, are distinguished from the other Vaishnavas, by the application of clay and ashes to their dress or persons : those who reside in fixed establishments generally dress like other Vaishnavas, but those who lead a wandering life, go either naked or nearly so, smearing their bodies with the pale grey mixture of ashes and earth, and making, in this state, an appearance very incompatible with the mild and decent character of the Vaishnava sects : the Khdkis also frequently wear the Jatd, or braided hair, after the fashion of the votaries of 8iva, and, in fact, it appears that this sect affords one of the many instances of the imitative spirit common amongst the Hindu polytheists, and has adopted, from the Saivas, some of their charac- teristic practices, blending them with the preferential adoration of Vishnu, as Raghundth or Rama: the Khdkis also worship Sita', and pay particular veneration to Hanuma'n. Many Khdkis are established about Farakhabad, but their principal seat on this side of India is at Hanuman G4rh, near Ayudhya, in Oude : the Samddh or spiritual throne of the founder, is said to be at Jaypur : the term Samddh applied to it, however, would seem to indicate their adopting a like practice with the Jogis, that of burying their dead, as the word is more generally used to express a tomb or mausoleum.* MALUK DASIS. The Maluk Ddsis form another subdivision of the Rdmdnandi Vaish- navas, of comparatively uncertain origin and limited importance : they * The little information given in the text, was obtained from the Superior of a small, but neat establishment on the bank of the river, above Bisrdnta Ghat, at 67 are generally traced from Rdmdnand in this manner : 1 , Rdmdnand. 2, Asdnand. 3, Krishna Das. 4, KU. 5, Maiuk Dds ; making the last, con- sequently, contemporary with the author of the Bhakta Mala, and placing him in the reign of Akber, or about 250 years ago. We had occasion, in the notice taken of Na'bha'ji, to shew that the spiritual genealogy now enumerated could scarcely be correct, for as Ra'ma'nand must have flourished prior to the year 1400, we have but three generations between him and the date even of Akber's succession 1555, or a century and a half : it was then mentioned, however, that according to the Bhakta Mala, Krishna Da's was not the pupil of Asa'nand, and consequently the date of succession was not necessarily uninterrupted : we might therefore place Malu'k Da's where there is reason to place Na'bha'ji, about the end of Akber's reign, as far as this genealogy is to be depended upon, but there is reason to question even its accuracy, and to bring down Malu'k Da's to a comparatively recent period : the uniform belief of his followers is indeed sufl[icient testimony on this head, and they are invariably agreed in making him contemporary with Aurengzeb. The modifications of the Vaishnava doctrines introduced by Malu'k Da's, appear to have been little more than the name of the teacher, and a shorter streak of red upon the forehead : in one respect indeed there is an important distinction between these and the Rdmdnandi ascetics, and the teachers of the Maluk Basis appear to be of the secular order, Grihasthas, or house-holders, whilst the others are all coenobites : the doctrines, however, are essentially the same : Vishnu, as Ra'ma, is the object of their practical adoration, and their principles partake of the spirit of quietism, which pervades these sects : their chief authority is the Bhagavat Gita, and they read some small Sanscrit tracts, containing the praise of Rama : they have also some Hindi Sdk'his, and Vishnu Padas attributed to their founder as also a work in the same language, entitled the Dasratan : the followers of this sect are said to be numerous Farakhabad. The Ghat and Mat'h had beea recently erected by a merchant of Lucknow : the tenants, three or four in number, were a deputation from Ayudhya, in Oude, and were but little acquainted with their own peculiarities, although not reluctant to communicate what they knew ; other K'hakis encountered here were Ndffus and Brahmacharis, with whom no satisfactory communication was attainable ; there were other establishments, but time did not permit their being visited. 68 in particular districts, especially amongst the trading and servile classes, to the former of which the founder belonged.* The principal establishment of the Maliik Ddsis is at Kara Manikpur, the birth-place of the founder, and still occupied by his descendants ;t the present Mahant is the eighth in descent from him : the series is thus enumerated. 1, Malu'k Da's, 2, Ra'msana'hi. 3, Krishnasna'hi. 4, Thakur Da's. 5, Gopa'l Da's. 6, Kunj Beha'ri. 7, Ramsa'hu'. 8, Seopre= sa'd Da's. 9, Ganga' Presa'd Da's, the present Mahant. The Mafh at Kara is situated near the river, and comprises the dwell- ings of the Mahant, and at the time it was visited, of fifteen resident Chelas, or disciples, accommodations for numerous religious mendi- cants who come hither in pilgrimage, and a temple dedicated to Rdma- chandra : the Gaddi, or pillow of the sect, is here, and the actual pillow originally used by Malu'k Da's, is said to be still preserved. Besides this establishment, there are six other MaChs belonging to this sect, at Allahabad, Benares, Bindrahan, Ayudhya, Lucknow, which is mo- dern, having been founded by Gomati Das, under the patronage of Asef al Daula, and Jaganndth, which last is of great repute as ren- dered sacred by the death of Malu'k Da's. DADU PANT'HIS. This class is one of the indirect ramifications of the Rdmdnandi stock, and is always included amongst the Vaishnava schisms : its * A verse attributed to Malu'k Da's is so generally current, as to have be- come proverbial, it is unnecessary to point out its resemblance to Christian texts D-g* ajT PTH'T TTH" II The snake performs no service, the bird discharges no duty. Malu'k Da'3 declares, Ra'm is the giver of all. t There is some variety in the accounts here, Mat'hura Na'th says, the Tomb is at Kara ; Purdn Das asserts, that it is at Jaganndth, and the birth-place at Kara —he has been at both : the establishment at Jaganndth is of great repute ; it is near toa Mai'Aof Kabir Pant'h is, and all ascetics who go to this place of pilgrimage, consider it essential to receive the Maliik Dds ka Tukra, from the one, and Kahir ka Tarani, from the other, or a piece of bread and a spoonful of sour rice-water. This and most of the other particulars, were procured for me from the present Mahant, by a young officer, Lieut. Wilton, stationed for a short time at Kara. 69 founder is said to have been a pupil of one of the Kabir Pant'hi teachers, and to be the fifth in descent from Ra'ma'nand, according to the following genealogy : — 1. Kabir. 4. Bimal. 2. Kamdl. 5. Buddhan 3. Jamdl, 6. Dddu. The worship is addressed to Rdma, but it is restricted to the Japa, or repetition of his name, and the Rdma intended is the deity, nega- tively described in the Veddnta theology : temples and images are pro- hibited. Dddu was a cotton cleaner by profession : he was born at Ahme- dahad, but in his twelfth year removed to Sambher, in Ajmer : he thence travelled to Kalydnpur, and next removed to Naraina, in his thirty seventh year, a place four cos from Sambher, and twenty from Jaypur. When here, he was admonished, by a voice from heaven, to addict himself to a religious life, and he accordingly retired to Baherana mountain, five cos from Naraina, where, after some time, he disap- peared, and no traces of him could be found. His followers believe he was absorbed into the deity. If the list of his religious descent be accurate, he flourished about the year 1600, at the end of Akber's reign, or in the beginning of that of Jehangir. The followers of Dddu wear no peculiar frontal mark nor Mdld, but carry a rosary, and are further distinguished by a peculiar sort of cap, a round white cap, according to some, but according to others, one with four corners, and a flap hang- ing down behind ; which it is essential that each man should manufac- ture for himself. The Dddu Pant'his are of three classes : the Viraktas, who are re- ligious characters, who go bare-headed, and have but one garment and one water-pot. The Nagas, who carry arms, which they are wil- ling to exercise for hire, and, amongst the Hindu princes, they have been considered as good soldiers. The third class is that of the Bister Dhdris, who follow the occupations of ordinary life. A further sub- division exists in this sect, and the chief branches again form fifty-two divisions, or Thambas, the peculiarities of which have not been ascer- tained. The Dddu Pant'his burn their dead at dawn, but their reli- gious members not unfrequently enjoin, that their bodies, after death, 70 shall be thrown into some field, or some wilderness, to be devoured by the beasts and birds of prey, as they say, that in a funeral pile insect life is apt to be destroyed. The Dddu Pant'his are said to be very numerous in Marwar and Ajmer : of the Ndga class alone, the Raja of J ay pur is reported to entertain as soldiers more than ten thousand : the chief place of worship is at Naraina, where the bed of Dddu, and the collection of the texts of the sect are preserved and worshipped : a small building on the hill, marks the place of his disappearance — a Mela, or fair, is held annually, from the day of new moon to that of full moon in Phalgun, (Feb.- March) at Naraina. The tenets of the sect are contained in several Bhdsha works, in which it is said a vast number of passages from the Kabir writings are inserted, and the general character of which is cer- tainly of a similar nature.* The Dddu Pant'his maintain a friendly intercourse with the followers of Kabir, and are frequent visitors at the Chaura. RAI BASIS. Ra'i Da's was another of Ha'ma'nand's disciples, who founded a sect, confined, however, it is said, to those of his own caste, the Chamars, or workers in hides and in leather, and amongst the very lowest of the Hindu mixed tribes : the circumstance renders it difficult, if not impossible to ascertain whether the sect still exists : the founder must once have enjoyed some celebrity, as some of his works are included in the Adi Grant'h of the Sikhs ; he is there named Ra'bi Da'sa, which is the Sanscrit form of his name : some of his compositions also form part of the collection of hymns and prayers used by that sect at Benares : there appears to be but little known of him of any authentic character, and we must be contented with the authority of the Bhakta * I had prepared a list of the contents of one of their manuals, and a translation of a few passages, but the Manuscript has been mislaid. The work, was lent me for a short time by one of the sect, who would on no account part with it. The above notice was taken partly from a statement in Hindi procured at Naraina by Lieut. Colonel Smith, and partly from verbal information obtained at Benares. Dadu is not mentioned in the Bhakta Mala, but there is some account of him in the Dabistan, Mala, where he makes a rather important figure : the legend is as follows : — One of Ra'ma'nand's pupils was a Brahmdchdri, whose daily duty it was to provide the offering presented to the deity : on one of these occasions, the offering consisted of grain, which the pupil had received as alms from a shop-keeper, who supplied chiefly the butchers with articles of food, and his donation was, consequently, impure : when Ra'ma'nand, in the course of his devotions, attempted to fix his mind upon the divinity, he found the task impracticable, and suspecting that some defect in the offering occasioned such an erratic imagina- tion, he enquired whence it had been obtained : on being informed, he exclaimed, Hd Chamdr, and the Brahmdchdri soon afterwards dying, was born again as Rai Da's, the son of a worker in hides and leather. The infant Rai Da's retained the impression left upon his mind by his old master's anger, and refused to take any nourishment : the parents, in great affliction, applied to Ra'ma'nand, who, by order of the deity, visited the child, and recognising the person at once, whispered into his ear the initiating Mantra : the effect was instantaneous : the child immediately accepted the breast, and throve, and grew up a pious votary of Ra'ma. For some time the profits of his trade maintained Rai Da's, and left him something to divide amongst the devout ; but a season of scarcity supervening, reduced him to great distress, when Bhagavdn, in the semblance of a Vaishnava, brought him a piece of the philosopher's stone, and shewing him its virtue, made him a present of it. Rai Da's paid little regard to the donation, replying to the effect of the following Pada, as since versified by Sur Dds. Pada. " A great treasure is the name of Hari to his people : it mul- tiplieth day by day, nor doth expenditure diminish it ; it abideth secure- ly in the mansion, and neither by night nor by day, can any thief steal it. The Lord is the wealth of Sur Dds, what need hath he of a stone." The miraculous stone was thrown aside, and when, thirteen months afterwards, Vishnu again visited his votary, he found no use had been made of it : as this expedient had failed, the deity scattered gold coin in places where Rai Da's could not avoid finding it : the discovery of this treasure filled the poor Currier with alarm, to pacify which Krishna appeared to him in a dream, and desired him to apply the money 72 either to his own use or that of the deity, and thus authorised, Rai Da's erected a temple, of which he constituted himself the high priest, and acquired great celebrity in his new character. The reputation of Rai Da's was further extended by its attracting a persecution, purposely excited by Vishnu to do honour to his worship- per, the deity well knowing that the enmity of the malignant is the most effective instrument for setting open to the world, the retired glory of the pious : he therefore inspired the Brahmans to complain thus to the king. Sloka (Sanscrit stanza). "Where things profane are reverenced, where sacred things are profanely administered, there three calamities will be felt, famine, death, and fear." A Chamdr, oh king, ministers to the Sdlagrdm, and poisons the town with his Prasad ;* men and women, every one will become an outcast ; banish him to preserve the honour of your people. The king accordingly sent for the culprit, and ordered him to resign the sacred stone. Rai Da's expressed his readiness to do so, and only requested the Rajas presence at his delivery of it to the Brahmans, as, he said, if after being given to them it should return to him, they would accuse him of stealing it. The Raja assenting, the Sdlagrdm was brought, and placed on a cushion in the assembly. The Brahmans were desired to remove it, but attempted to take it away in vain : they repeated hymns and charms, and read the VMas, but the stone was immoveable. Rai Da's then addressed it with this Pada : — Pada. " Lord of lords, thou art my refuge, the root of Supreme happiness art thou, to whom there is none equal : behold me at thy feet : in various wombs have I abided, and from the fear of death have I not been delivered. I have been plunged in the deceits of sense, of passion, and illusion ; but now let my trust in thy name dispel appre- hension of the future, and teach me to place no reliance on what the world deems virtue. Accept, oh God, the devotions of thy slave Rai Da's, and be thou glorified as the Purifier of the sinful. The saint had scarcely finished, when the Sdlagrdm and cushion flew into his arms, and the king, satisfied of his holy pretensions, command- * The Prasad is any article of food that has been consecrated by previous pre- sentation to an Idol after which it is distributed anaongst the worshippers on the spot, or sent to persons of consequence at their own houses. 73 ed the Brahmans to desist from their opposition. Amongst the dis- ciples of Rai Da's was Jhali, the Rani of Chitore ; her adopting a Chamdr, as her spiritual preceptor, excited a general commotion amongst the Brahmans of her state, and, alarmed for her personal safety, she wrote to Rai Da's to request his counsel and aid. He repaired to her, and desired her to invite the Brahmans to a solemn feast : they accepted the invitation, and sat down to the meal provided for them, when be- tween every two Brahmans, there appeared a Rai Da's. This miracu- lous multiplication of himself had the desired effect, and from being his enemies and revilers, they became his disciples. Such are the legends of Bhakta Mdld, and whatever we may think of their veracity, their tenor, representing an individual of the most abject class, an absolute outcast in Hindu estimation, as a teacher and a saint, is not without interest and instruction. SENA PANT'HIS. Sena', the barber, was the third of Rdmdnand's disciples, who esta- blished a separate schism ; the name of which, and of its founder, are possibly all that now remain of it. Sena' and his descendants were, for sometime, however, the family Gurus of the Rajas of Bandhogerh, and thence enjoyed considerable authority and reputation : the origin of this connexion is the subject of a ludicrous legend in the Bhakta Mdld. Sena', thebarber of the Raja of Bandhogerh, was a devout worshipper of Vishnu, and a constant frequenter of the meetings of the pious : on one of these occasions, he suffered the time to pass unheeded, when he ought to have been officiating in his tonsosial capacity, and Vishnu, who noticed the circumstance, and knew the cause, was alarmed for his votary's personal integrity. The god, therefore, charitably assumed the figure of Sena', and equipping himself suitably, waited on the Raja, and performed the functions of the barber, much to the Raja's satisfaction, and without detection, although, the prince perceived an unusual fragrance about his barber's person, the ambrosial odour that indicated present deity, which he supposed to impregnate the oil used 74 in lubricating his royal limbs. The pretended barber had scarcely- departed, when the real one appeared, and stammered out his excuses: his astonishment and the Raja's were ahke, but the discernment of the latter was more acute, for he immediately comprehended the whole business, fell at his barber's feet, and elected for his spiritual guide, an individual so pre-eminently distinguished by the favour and protection of the deity. RUDRA SAMPRADAYIS, OR Vallahhdchdris, The sects of Vaishnavas we have hitherto noticed, are chiefly confined to professed ascetics, and to a few families originally from the South and West of India, or as in the case of the Rdmdwats and Kabir Pant'his, to such amongst the mass of society, as are of a bold and curious spirit ; but the opulent and luxurious amongst the men, and by far the greater portion of the women, attach themselves to the worship of Krishna and his mistress Ra'dha', either singly, or conjointly, as in the case of Vishnu and Lakshmi, amongst the Ramdnujas, and Sita' and Ra'm, amongst the Rdmdwats. There is, however, another form, which is per- haps more popular still, although much interwoven with the others. This is the Ba'la Gopa'la, the infant Krishna, the worship of whom is very widely diffused amongst all ranks of Indian society, and which originated with the founder of the Rudra Sampraddyi sect, Vallabha Acha'rya ; it is, perhaps, better known, however, from the title of its teachers, as the religion of the Gokulast'ha Gosains. The original teacher of the philosophical tenets of this sect, is said to have been Vishnu Swa'mi, a commentator on the texts of the V^das, who, however, admitted disciples from the Brahmanical caste only, and considered the state of the Sanydsi, or ascetic, as essential to the communication of his doctrines. He was succeeded by Jnya'na Deva, who was followed by Na'ma Deva and Trilochana, and they, although whether immediately or not does not appear, by Vallabha Swa'mi, the son of Lakshmana Bhatt, a Tailinga Brahman : this Sanydsi taught early in the sixteenth century : he resided originally at 75 Gokul, a village on the left bank of the Jumna, about three cos to the East of Mathura : after remaining here sometime, he travelled through India as a pilgrim, and amongst other places he visited, according to the Bhakta Mala, the court of Krishna Deva, king of Vijayanagar. apparently the same as KRISH^fA Rayalu, who reigned about the year 1520, where he overcame the Smdrta Brahmans in a controversy, and was elected by the Vaishnavas, as their chief, with the title of AchdrJ : hence he travelled to Ujayin, and took up his abode under a Pipal tree, on the banks of the Sipra, said to be still in existence, and designated as his Beit'hek, or station. Besides this, we find traces of him in other places. There is a Beit'hek of his amongst the Ghats of Muttra, and about two miles from the fort of Chunar, is a place called his well, AchdrJ kuan, comprising a temple and Mat'h in the court-yard of which is the well in question ; the Saint is said to have resided here sometime. After this peregrination, Vallabha returned to Vrindavan, where, as a reward for his fatigues and his faith, he was honoured by a visit from Krishna in person, who enjoined him to introduce the worship of Bala Gopdl, or Gopdl Ldl, and founded the faith which at present exists in so flourishing a condition. Vallabha is supposed to have closed his career in a miracle : he had finally settled at Jet'han Ber, at Benares, near which a Mat'h still subsists ; but at length, having accomplished his mission, he is said to have entered the Ganges, at Hanumdn Ghat, when, stooping into the water, he disappeared : a brilliant flame arose from the spot, and, in the presence of a host of spectators, he ascended to heaven, and was lost in the firmament. The worship of Krishna as one with Vishnu, and the Universe, dates evidently from the Mahdbhdrat,* and his more juvenile forms are brought pre-eminently to notice in the account of his infancy, contained in the Bhdgavat,\ but neither of these works discriminates him from Vishnu, nor do they recommend his infantine or adolescent state to particular veneration. At the same time some hints may have been derived from them, for the institution of this division of the Hindu * The well known passage in the Bhdgavad Gitd, in which Arjuna sees the uni- verse in the mouth of Krishna, establishes this identity. t Particularly in the tenth book, which is appropriated to the life of Krishna. The same subject occupies a considerable portion of the Hari Bans section of the Mahahharat, of the Pdtdla section of the Padma Purdna, the sixth section of the Vishnu Purdna, and the whole of the Adi Upapurdna. 76 faith.* In claiming, however, supremacy for Krishna, the Brahma Vaivertta Purdna is most decided, and this work places Krishna in a heaven, and society exclusively his own, and derives from him all the objects of existence. According to this authority, the residence of Krishna is denominat- ed Goloka ; it is far above the three worlds, and has, at five hundred millions of Yojanas below it, the separate Lokas of Vishnu and Siva, Vaikuntha, and Kailds. This region is indestructible, whilst all else is subject to annihilation, and in the centre of it abides Krishna, of the colour of a dark cloud, in the bloom of youth, clad in yellow rai- ment, splendidly adorned with celestial gems, and holding a flute. He is exempt from Mdyd, or delusion, and all qualities, eternal, alone, and the Paramdtmd, or supreme soul of the world. Krishna being alone in the Goloka, and meditating on the waste of creation, gave origin to a being of a female form endowed with the three Gunas, and thence the primary agent in creation. This was Prakriti, or Mdyd, and the system so far corresponds with that of the other Vaishnavas, and of the Puranas generally speaking. They having adopted, in fact, the Sdnkhya system, interweaving with it their peculiar sectarial notions. Crude matter, and the five elements, are also made to issue from Krishna, and then all the divine beings. Na'ra'yana, or Vishnu pro- * Thus in the Vana Parva of the Mahubhdrat ; Ma'rkandeya Muni, at the time of a minor destruction of the world, sees, " amidst the waters, an Indian fig tree of vast size, on a principal branch of which was a bed ornamented with divine cover- ings, on which lay a child with a countenance like the moon," The Saint, though ac- quainted with the past, present, and future, cannot recognise the child, who therefore appears of the hue, and with the symbols, of Krishna, and desires the Sage to rest within his substance from his weary wanderings over the submerged world. In the Bhagavat it is stated, that when first born, Vasudeva beheld the child of the hue of a cloud, with four arms, dressed in a yellow garb, and bearing the weapons, the jewels, and the diadem of Vishnu. And the same work describes Yasoda', his adoptive mother, as seeing the universe in the mouth of the child. 77 ceeds from his right side, Maha'deva from his left, Brahma' from his hand, Dharma from his breath, Saraswati' from his mouth, Lakshmi' from his mind, Durga' from his understanding, Ra'dha' from his left side. Three hundred millions of Gopis, or female companions of Ra'dha', exude from the pores of her skin, and a like number of Gopas, or companions of Krishna, from the pores of his skin : the very cows and their calves, properly the tenants of Goloka, but destined to inhabit the Groves of Vrindavan, are produced from the same exalted source. In this description of creation, however, the Deity is still spoken of as a young man, and the Purdna therefore affords only indirect authority in the marvels it narrates of his infancy, for the worship of the child. Considering, however, that in this, or in any other capacity, the acts of the Divinity are his Lild, or sport, there is no essential difference be- tween those who worship him either as a boy or as a man, and any of his forms may be adored by this class of Vaishnavas, and all his princi- pal shrines are to them equally objects of pilgrimage. As the elements and chief agents of creation are thus said to proceed from the person of Krishna, it may be inferred that the followers of this creed adopt the principles of the Veddnta philosophy, and consider the material world as one in substance, although in an illusory manner with the Supreme. Life is also identified with spirit, according to the authority of a popular work.* None of the philosophical writings of the chief teachers of this system have been met with. Amongst other articles of the new creed, Vallabha introduced one, which is rather singular for a Hindu religious innovator or reformer : he * According to the Vurttd, Vallabha advocated this doctrine with some reluc- tance, by the especial injunction of the juvenile Krishna. '• Then Acharj Ji said, ' you know the nature of life, it is full of defects, how can it be combined with you:' to which Sri Thdkur Ji (Kkishna) replied; 'do you unite Brahme and life in what way you will, I shall concur, and thence all its defects will be removed.' " 78 taught, that privation formed no part of sanctity, and that it was the duty of the teachers and his disciples to worship their Deity, not in nudity and hunger, but in costly apparel and choice food ; not in soli- tude and mortification, but in the pleasures of society, and the enjoy- ment of the world. The Gosains, or teachers, are almost always family men, as was the founder Vallabha, for after he had shaken off the re- strictions of the monastic order to which he originally belonged, he mar- ried, by the particular order, it is said, of his new god. The Gosains are always clothed with the best raiment, and fed with the daintiest vi- ands by their followers, over whom they have unlimited influence : part of the connexion between the Guru and teacher, being the three-fold Samarpan, or consignment of Tan, Man, and Dhan ; body, mind, and wealth, to the spiritual guide. The followers of the order are espe- cially numerous amongst the mercantile community, and the Gosains themselves are often largely engaged, also, in maintaining a connexion amongst the commercial establishments of remote parts of the country, as they are constantly travelling over India, under pretence of pilgrimage, to the sacred shrines of the sect, and notoriously reconcile, upon these occasions, the profits of trade, with the benefits of devotion : as religious travellers, however, this union of objects renders them more respectable than the vagrants of any other sect. The practices of the sect are of a similar character with those of other regular worshippers : their temples and houses have images of GoPAL, of Krishna and Ra'dha', and other divine forms connected with this incarnation, of metal chiefly, and not unfrequently of gold : the image of Krishna represents a chubby boy, of the dark hue of which Vishnu is always represented : it is richly decorated and sedu- lously attended ; receiving eight times a day the homage of the votaries. These occasions take place at fixed periods and for certain purposes, and at all other seasons, and for any other object, except at stated and periodical festivals, the temples are closed and the Deity is invisible. The eight daily ceremonials are the following : — 1. Mangala : the morning levee. The image being washed and dress- ed, is taken from the couch, where it is supposed to have slept during the night, and placed upon a seat, about half an hour after sunrise : slight refreshments are then presented to it, with betel and Pan : lamps are generally kept burning during this ceremony. 79 2. Sringdra : the image having been anointed and perfumed with oil, camphor, and sandal, and splendidly attired, now holds his public court : this takes place about an hour and a half after the preceding, or when four Gheris of the day have elapsed. 3. Gwala : the image is now visited, preparatory to his going out to attend the cattle along with the cow-herd ; this ceremony is held about forty-eight minutes after the last, or when six Gheris have passed. 4. Raja Bh6ga : held at midday, when Krishna is supposed to come in from the pastures, and dine ; all sorts of delicacies are placed before the image, and both those, and other articles of food dressed by the ministers of the temple, are distributed to the numerous votaries present, and not unfrequently sent to the dwellings of worshippers of some rank and consequence. 5. Utthdpan: the calling up. The summoning of the god from his siesta : this takes place at six Gheris, or between two and three hours before sunset. 6. Bhoga ; the afternoon meal : about half an hour after the preceding. 7. Sandhya; about sunset: the evening toilet of the image, when the ornaments of the day are taken off, and fresh unguent and perfume applied. 8. Sayan; retiring to repose: the image, about eight or nine in the evening, is placed upon a bed, refreshments and water in proper vases, together with the betel- box and its appurtenances, are left near it, when the votaries retire, and the temple is shut till the ensuing morning. Upon all these occasions the ceremony is much the same, consisting in little more than the presentation of flowers, perfumes, and food by the priests and votaries ; and the repetition, chiefly by the former, of Sanscrit stanzas in praise of Krishna, interspersed with a variety of prostrations and obeisances. There is no established ritual, indeed, in the Hindu religion, for general use, nor any prescribed form of public adoration. Besides the diurnal ceremonials .described, there are several annual festivals of great repute observed throughout India : of these, in Bengal and Orissa, the Rath Jdtra, or procession of Jaganna'th in his car, is the most celebrated, but it is rarely held in Upper India, and then only by natives of Bengal, established in the provinces : the most popular festival at Benares, and generally to the Westward, is the 80 Janamashtami, the nativity of Krishna on the eighth day of Bhddra, (August.*) Another is the Rds Ydtra, or annual commemoration of the dance of the frolicksome Deity with the sixteen Gopis. This last is a very popular festival, and not an uninteresting one : vast crowds, clad in their best attire, collecting in some open place in * Great di£Ference of practice prevails on occasion of this observance. Krishna was born on the eighth lunar day of the waning moon of Bhddra, at midnight, upon the moon's entrance into Rohini, in commemoration of which a fast is to be held on the day preceding his birth, terminating, as usual, in a feast ; but the day of his birth is variously determinable, according to the adoption of the civil, the lunar, or lunar- sydereal computations, and it rarely happens that the eighth lunation comprises the same combination of hours and planetary positions, as occurred at Krishna's birth. Under these circumstances, the followers of the Smriti, with the Saivas and Sdktas, commence their fast with the commencement of the lunation, whenever that takes place : the Rdmanujas and Mddhwas, observe such part of the eighth day of the moon's age as includes sunrise, and forms the eighth day of the calendar, or civil day, whilst some of the Rdmanujas, and the Nimdwats regulate the duration of their fast by the moon's passage through the asterism Rohini. The consequence is, that the Smartas often fast on the 7th, one set of Vaishnavas on the 8th, and another on the 9th, whilst those who affect great sanctity, sometimes go thirty hours without food. An extract from last year's calendar will very well exemplify these distinctions. "3rd Bhadra, 17th August 1825, Tuesday, Saptami, 10 Dandas, 17 Palas. The Janmashtami Vrata and a fast. " 4th Bhadra, 18th August, Wednesday, Ashtami, 9 Dandas, 18 Palas. Fast ac- cording to the Vaishnavas of Vruj. " 5th Bh&dra, 19th August, Thursday, Navami, 7 Dandas, 4 Palas. Rohini Naks- shatra, till 10 Dandas, 52 Palas, at which hour Phrana, the end of the fast." Now the 3rd day of the Solar Bhddra was the 7lh of the Lunar month, but it com- prised little more than ten Dandas or four hours of that lunation : as it included sun- rise, however, it was the 7th of the calendar, or civil day. The eighth Tithi, or luna- tion, therefore, began about that time, or four hours after sunrise, and the Smartas, Saivas, and Sdktas, observed the fast on that day ; they began with sunrise, however, as there is a specific rule for the Sankalpa, or pledge, to perform the usual rite at dawn. This Ashtami comprised midni^jht, and was the more sacred on that account. The 4th of Bhadra was the Ashtami, or eighth of the Vaishnavas, although the lunation only extended to 9 Dandas, or less than four hours after sunrise, but they are particularly enjoined to avoid the Saptami, or the Ashtami conjoined with it, and therefore they could not commence their fast earlier, although they lost thereby the midnight of the eighth lunation, which they were, consequently, compelled to extend into the night of the ninth. They fasted till the next morning, unless they chose to eat after midnight, which, on this occasion, is allowable. The 5th of Bhadra was the Navami, or ninth of the calendar, but it included a portion of the moon's passage through i?o>^i;i/, and the strict Foi^^nava^ of the dif- ferent sects should not have performed the Parana, the close of the fast, earlier, or before 10 Dandas and 52 Palas after sunrise, or about nine o'clock. Those Vaishna- vas, however, who wholly regulate their observance by the Asterism, and referring also to the necessity of commencing it with sunrise, would only have begun their fast on the calendar Navami, and have held the Pdrana on Friday the 10th, the third day after the proper birth-day of their Deity. 81 the vicinity of the town, and celebrating the event with music, sing- ing, and dramatic representations of Krishna's sports : all the public singers and dancers lend their services on this occasion, and trust for a remuneration to the gratuities of the spectators : at Benares, the Rds Ydtra is celebrated at the village of Sivapur, and the chief dancers and musicians, ranging themselves under the banners of the most celebrated of the profession, go out in formal procession : tents, huts, and booths are erected, swings and roundabouts form a favourite amusement of the crowd, and sweetmeats and fruits are displayed in tempting profu- sion : the whole has the character of a crowded fair in Europe, and pre- sents, in an immense concourse of people, an endless variety of rich cos- tume, and an infinite diversity of picturesque accompaniment, a most lively and splendid scene. The same festival is held from the tenth day of the light half of Kuar (Sept. -Oct.), to the day of the full moon, at Bindraban, where a stone plat-form, or stage, has been built for the exhibition of the mimic dance, in a square near the river side. Besides their public demonstrations of respect, pictures and images of Gopa'la are kept in the houses of the members of the sect, who, before they sit down to any of their meals, take care to offer a portion to the idol. Those of the disciples who have performed the triple Samarpana, eat only from the hands of each other ; and the wife or child that has not exhibited the same mark of devotion to the Guru, can neither cook for such a disciple, nor eat in his society. The mark on the forehead consists of two red perpendicular lines, meeting in a semicircle at the root of the nose, and having a round spot of red between them. The Bhaktas have the same marks as the Sri Vaishnavas on the breasts and arms, and some also make the cen- tral spot on the forehead with a black earth, called Sydmabandi, or any black metallic substance : the necklace and rosary, are made of the stalk of the Tulasi. The salutations amongst them are, Srikrishna and Jaya Gopdl. The great authority of the sect is the Bhdgavat, as explained in the Subodhini, or Commentary of Vallabha'cha'rya : he is the author also of a Bhdshya on part of Vya'sa's Sutras, and of other Sanscrit works, as the Siddhdnta Rahasya, Bhdgavat Lild Rahasya, and Ekdnta Rahasya ; these, however, are only for the learned, and are now very rare. Amongst the votaries in general, various works upon the history 82 of Krishna are current, but the most popular are the Vishnu Padas, stanzas in Bhdsha, in praise of Vishnu, attributed to Vallabha. himself ; the BruJ Bilas, a Bhdkha poem of some length, descriptive of Krishna's life, during his residence at Vrindaban, by Bruj Ba'si Da's ; the Ash'ta Chhdp, an account of Vallabha's eight chief disciples, and the Vdrtd, or Bdrtd, a collection in Hindustani of marvellous and insipid anecdotes of Vallabha and his primitive followers, amounting to the number of eighty- four, and including persons of both sexes, and every class of Hindus. The Bhakta Maid also contains a variety of legends regarding the different teachers of this sect, but it is less a text-book with this sect than any other class of Faishnavas, as the Bdrtd occupies its place amongst the worshippers of Gopdl. The following are speci- mens of this work, and by no means the most unfavourable : — Da'modar Da's, of Kanoj, was a disciple of Sri' Acha'rya, (Valla- bha'cha'rya.) Like the rest of the members of this sect, he had an image of Krishna in his house. One day it was exceedingly hot, and when night came, Sri Thdkur Ji (the image,) woke the maid ser*- vant, and desired her to open the doors of his chamber, as it was very warm. She obeyed, and taking a pankha, fanned him — early in the morning Da'modar Da's observed the doors of the chamber open, and enquired how this had happened : the girl mentioned the circum- stance, but her master was much vexed that she had done this, and that Sri Thdkur Ji had not called him to do it. Sri Thdkur Ji, knowing his thoughts, said ; ' I told her to open the doors, why are you displeased with her ; you shut me up here in a close room, and go to sleep yourself on an open and cool terrace.' Then Da'modar Da's made a vow, and said, ' I will not taste consecrated food until I have built a new temple :' but his wife advised him, and urged, ' this is not a business of five or six days, why go without the consecrated food so long.' Then he said, ' I will not partake of the consecrated sweetmeats, I will only eat the fruits ;' and so he did, and the tem- ple was completed, and Sri Thdkur Ji was enshrined in it, and Da'modar Da's distributed food to the Vaishnavas, and they partook thereof. Sri Thdkur Ji had a faithful worshipper in a Mahratta lady, whom, with the frolicsomeness of boyhood, he delighted to tease. One day, a woman selling vegetables 'having passed without the Bai noticing her, Sri Thdkur 7/ said to her, ' will you not buy any vegetables for me to-day :' i 83 she replied, ' whenever any one selling them comes this way, I will buy some ;' to which he answered, ' one has just now passed.' The Bai replied ; ' no matter if one has gone by, another will presently be here :' but this did not satisfy the little deity, who leaping from his pedestal, ran after the woman, brought her back, and, after hagghng for the price with her himself, made his protectress purchase what he selected. As Ra'na'vya's and Jaganna'th, two of Vallabha'cha'rya's disci- ples, were bathing, a woman of the Rajput caste came down to the river to burn herself with her husband ; on which Jaganna'th said to his com- panion, ' what is the fashion of a woman becoming a Sati :* Ra'na'vya's shook his head, and said, 'the fruitless union of beauty with a dead body.' The Rajputani observing Ra'na'vya's shake his head, her pur- pose at that moment was changed, and she did not become a Sati, on which her kindred were much pleased. Some time afterwards, meeting with the two disciples, the Rajputani told them of the effect of their for- mer interview, and begged to know what had passed between them. Ra'na'vya's being satisfied, that the compassion of Srt AchdrJ was ex- tended to her, repeated what he had said] to Jaganna'th, and his regret that her charms should not be devoted to the service of Sri Thdkur Ji, rather than be thrown away upon a dead body. The Rajputani enquired how the service of Thdkur Ji was to be performed, on which Ra'na'vya's, after making her bathe, communicated to her the initiating prayer, and she thenceforth performed the menial service of the deity, washing his gar- ments, bringing him water, and discharging other similar duties in the dwelling of Ra'na'vya's with entire and fervent devotion, on which account, she obtained the esteem of Sri AchdrJ, and the favour of the deity. Ra'm Da's was married in his youth, but adopting ascetic principles, he refused to take his wife home : at last, his father-in-law left his daughter in her husband's dwelling, but Ra'm Da's would have nothing to say to her, and set off on a pilgrimage to Dwdrakd : his wife followed him, but he threw stones at her, and she was compelled to remain at a distance from him. At noon, he halted and bathed the god, and pre- pared his food, and presented it, and then took the Prasdd and put it in a vessel, and fed upon what remained ; but it was to no purpose, and he was still hungry. Thus passed two or three days, when Ranachhor appeared to him in a dream, and asked him why he thus ill-treated his 84 wife. He said, he was Virakta, (a coenobite), and what did he want with a wife. Then Ranachhor asked him, why he had married, and assured him that such an unsocial spirit was not agreeable to Sri Achdrya, and desired him to take his wife unto him ; for Ranachhor could not bear the distress of the poor woman, as he has a gentle heart, and his nature has been imparted to the Achdrya and his disciples. When morning came, Ra'm Da's called to his wife, and suffered her to accompany him, by which she was made happy. When the time for preparing their food arrived, Ra'm Da's prepared it himself, and after presenting the portion to the image, gave a part of it to his wife. After a few days, Ranachhor again appeared, and asked him, why he did not ailow his wife to cook, to which Ra'm Da's replied, that she had not received the initiating name from Sri Achdrya, and was, therefore, unfit to prepare his food. Ranachhor, therefore, directed him to communicate the Nam (the name) to his wife, and after returning to the Achdrya, get him to repeat it. Accordingly, Ra'm Da's initiated his wife, and this being confirmed by the Achdrya, she also became his disciple, and, with her husband, assiduously worshipped Sri Thdkur Ji. Vallabha was succeeded by his son Vittala Na'th, known amongst the sect by the appellation of Sri Gosain Ji ; Vallabha's designation being Sri Achdrj Ji. Vittala Na'th, again, had seven sons, Girdhari Rai, Govind Rai, Ba'la Krishna, Gokiil Na'th, Raghuna'th, Yadu- na'th, and Ghanassya'ma ; these were all teachers, and their follow- ers, although in all essential points the same, form as many different communities. Those of Gokul na'th, indeed, are peculiarly separate from the rest, looking upon their own Gosains as the only legitimate teachers of the faith, and withholding all sort of reverence from the persons and Mat'hs of the successors of his brethren : an exclusive preference that does not prevail amongst the other divisions of the faith, who do homage to all the descendants of all Vittala Na'th's sons. The worshippers of this sect are very numerous and opulent, the merchants and bankers, especially those from Guzrat and Malwa, be- longing to it : their temples and establishments are numerous all over India, but particularly at Mathura and Bindraban, the latter of which alone is said to contain many hundreds, amongst which are three of great opulence. In Benares are two temples of great repute and wealth. one sacred to Ldl Ji, and the other to Purushottama Ji.^ Jaganndth and Dwdrakd, are also particularly venerated by this sect, but the most celebrated of all the Gosain establishments is at Sri Ndth Dwdr, in Ajmer. The image at this shrine is said to have transported itself thi- ther from Mathurd, when Aurengzeb ordered the temple it vi^as there placed in to be destroyed. The present shrine is modern, but richly endowed, and the high priest, a descendant of Gokul Na'th, a man of great wealth and importance. f It is a matter of obligation with the members of this sect to visit Sri Ndth Dwdr, at least once in their lives ; they receive there a certificate to that effect, issued by the head Gosain, and, in return, contribute according to their means to the en- riching of the establishment: it is not an uncurious feature in the notions of this sect, that the veneration paid to their Gosain is paid solely to their descent, and unconnected with any idea of their sanctity or learning ; they are not unfrequently destitute of all pretensions to in- dividual respectability, but they not the less enjoy the homage of their followers : the present chief, at Srindth Dwdr, is said not to under- stand the certificate he signs. MIRA BAIS. These may be considered as forming a subdivision of the preceding, rather than a distinct sect, although, in the adoption of a new leader, and the worship of Krishna under a pecuHar form, they differ essen- tially from the followers of Vallabha : at the same time, it is chiefly amongst those sectarians, that Mi'ra' Bai and her deity, Ranachhok, are held in high veneration, and, except in the West of India, it does not appear that she has many immediate and exclusive adherents. * Many of the bankers of this city, it is said, pay to one or other of the temples a tax of one-fourth of an ana, on every bill of exchange, and the cloth merchants, half an ana on all sales. t Every temple is said to have three places of offering; the image, the pillow of the founder, and a box for Sri Ndth Dwdr, 86 Mi'ra' Bai is the heroine of a prolix legend in the Bhakta Maid, which is a proof at least of her popularity : as the author of sacred poems address- ed to the deity, as Vishnu, she also enjoys a classical celebrity, and some of her odes are to be found in the collections which constitute the ritual of the deistical sects, especially those of Ndnak and Kabir : according to the authority cited, she flourished in the time of Akbar, who was induced, by her reputation, to pay her a visit, accompanied by the famous musician Tan Sen, and it is said, that they both acknowledged the justice of her claim to celebrity. Mi'ra' was the daughter of a petty Raja, the sovereign of a place called Mertd ; she was married to the Rdna of Udayapur, but soon after being taken home by him, quarrelled with her mother-in-law, a worshipper of Devi, respecting compliance with the family adoration of that goddess, and was, in consequence of her persevering refusal to desert the worship of Krishna, expelled the Rana's bed and palace : she appears to have been treated, however, with consideration, and to have been allowed an independent establishment, owing, probably, rather to the respect paid to her abilities, than a notion of her personal sanctity, although the latter was attested, if we may believe our guide, by her drinking unhesitatingly a draught of poison presented to her by her husband, and without its having the power to do her harm. In her uncontrouled station, she adopted the worship of Ranachhor, a form of the youthful Krishna ; she became the patroness of the vagrant Vaish- navas, and visited, in pilgrimage, Bindraban and Dwdrakd : whilst at the latter, some persecution of the Vaishnavas, at Udayapur, appears to have been instituted, and Brahmans were sent to bring her home from Dwdrakd : previously to departing, she visited the temple of her tutelary deity, to take leave of him, when, on the completion of her adorations, the image opened, and Mi'ra' leaping into the fissure, it closed, and she finally disappeared. In memory of this miracle it is said, that the image of Mi'ra' Bai is worshipped at Udayapur, in con- junction with that of Ranachhor. The Padas that induced this marvel, and which are current as the compositions of Mi'ra' Bai, are the two following : Pada 1. — Oh, sovereign Ranachhor, give me to make Dwdrakd my abode : with thy shell, discus, mace, and lotus, dispel the fear of Yama : eternal rest is visiting thy sacred shrines ; supreme delight is 87 the clash of thy shell and cymbals : I have abandoned my love, my possessions, my principality, my husband. Mi'ra', thy servant, comes to thee for refuge : oh, take her v^^hoUy to thee. Pada 2. — If thou knowest me free from stain, so accept me : save thee, there is none other that will show me compassion : do thou, then, have mercy upon me ; let not weariness, hunger, anxiety, and restless- ness, consume this frame with momentary decay. Lord of Mi'ra', GiRDHARA her beloved, accept her, and never let her be separated from thee. BRAHMA SAMPRADAYIS, or MADHWACHARIS. This division of the Vaishnavas is altogether unknown in Gangetic Hindustan. A few individuals belonging to it, who are natives of Southern India, may be occasionally encountered, but they are not sufficiently numerous to form a distinct community, nor have they any temple or teachers of their own. It is in the peninsula, that the sect is most extensively to be found, and it is not comprised, therefore, in the scope of this sketch : as, however, it is acknowledged to be one of the four great Sampradayas, or religious systems, such brief notices of it as have been collected will not be wholly out of place. The institution of this sect is posterior to that of the Sri Vaishnavas, or Ramanujas : the founder was Madhwa'charya,* a Brahman, the son of Madhige, Bhatta, who was born in the Saka year 1 121 (a. d. 1 199,) in Tuluva : according to the legendary belief of his followers, he was an incarnation of Vdyu, or the god of air, who took upon him the human form, by desire of Na'ra'yana, and who had been previously incarnate as Hanumdn and Bhima, in preceding ages. He was educated in the convent established at Ananteswar, and, in his ninth year, was initiated into the order of Anchorets, by Achyuta Pracha, a descendant of Sanaka, son of Brahma. At that early age also he composed his * In the Sarvadersana Sangraha, he is cited by the name Puma Prajna—a, work is also quoted as written by him under the name of Medhya Mandira. Reference is also made to him by the title, most frequently found in the works ascribed to him, of Ananda Tirlha. 88 Bhdshya, or Commentary on the Gitd, which he carried to Badarikds- rama, in the Himalaya, to present to Vedavyasa, by whom he was received with great respect, and presented with three Sdlagrdms, which he brought back and estabUshed as objects of worship, in the Mat'hs of Udipi, Madhyatala, and Subrahmanya — he also erected and consecrated at Udipi, the image of Krishna, that was originally made by Arjuna, of which he became miraculously possessed. A vessel from Dwdrakd, trading along the Malabar coast, had taken on board, either accidentally or as ballast, a quantity of Gopichandana, or the sacred clay, from that city, in which the image was immersed : the vessel was wrecked off the coast of Tuluva, but Madhwa, receiving divine intimation of the existence of the image, had it sought for, and recovered from the place where it had sunk,* and established it as the principal object of his devotion at Udipi, which has since continued to be the head-quarters of the sect. He resided here for some time himself, and composed, it is said, thirty-seven works. f After some time, he went upon a controversial tour, in which he triumphed over various teachers, and amongst others, it is said, over Sankara Achdrya — he finally, in his 79th year, departed to Badarikdsrama, and there continues to reside with Vya'sa, the compiler of the Vedas and Puranas. Before his relinquishing charge of the shrine he had established, Madhwa'cha'rya had very considerably extended his followers, so that he was enabled to establish eight different temples, in addition to the principal temple, or that of Krishna, at Udipi : in these were placed images of different forms of Vishnu, % and the superintendence of them was entrusted to the brother of the founder, and eight Sanaydsis, who were Brahmans, from the banks of the Godaveri. These establishments still exist, and, agreeably to the code of the founder, each Sanydsi, in turn, officiates as superior of the chief station at Udipi for two years, * This story is rather differently told by the late Colonel Mackenzie in his account of the Marda Gooroos, published in the Asiatic Annual Register, for 1804. t The principal of these are — the Gita Bhsahya, Sutra Bhsahya, Rig-Bhashya, De- sopanishadh Bhashya — Anuvakanunaya Viverna, Anuvedanta Rasa Frakarana, Bharata Tatparya Nirnaya, Bhagavat-tatparya, Gitat&.tparya — Krishnamrita Maharnava, Tan- tra Sara. J Rama with Sita — 2. Sita and Lakshman— 3. Kaliya Mardana, with two arms— 4. Kaliya Mardana, with four arms — 5. Suvitala — 6. Sukara — 7. Nrisinha — 8. V'asanta Vitala. 89 or two years and a half. The whole expense of the establishment devolves upon the superior for the time being, and, as it is the object of each to outvie his predecessor, the charges* are much heavier than the receipts of the institution, and, in order to provide for them, the Sanydsis employ the intervals of their temporary charge in traveUing about the country, and levying contribution on their lay votaries, the amount of which is frequently very large, and is appropriated for the greater part to defray the costs of the occasional pontificate. The eight Mat'hs are all in Tuluva, below the Ghats.f but, at the same time, Madhwa'cha'rya authorised the foundation of others above the Ghats, under Padmana'bha Tirtha, to whom he gave images of Ra'ma, and the Vydsa Sdlagrdm, with instructions to disseminate his doctrines, and collect money for the use of the shrine at Udipi : there are four establishments under the descendants of this teacher above the Ghats, and the superiors visit Udipi from time to time, but never offici- ate there as pontiffs. The superiors, or Gurus of the Mddhwa sect, are Brahmans and Sanydsis, or profess coenobitic observances : the disciples, who are do- mesticated in the several Mat'hs, profess also perpetual celibacy. The lay votaries of these teachers, are members of every class of society, except the lowest, and each Guru has a number of families hereditarily attached to him, whose spiritual guidance he may sell or mortgage to a Brahman of any sect. The ascetic professors of Madhwa'cha'rya's school, adopt the exter- nal appearance of Dandis, laying aside the Brahmanical cord, carrying a staff and a water-pot, going bare-headed, and wearing a single wrapper stained of an orange colour with an ochry clay : they are usually adopt- ed into the order from their boyhood, and acknowledge no social affini- ties nor interests. The marks common to them, and the lay votaries of the order, are the impress of the symbols of Vishnu, upon their shoulders and breasts, stamped with a hot iron, and the frontal mark, which consists of two perpendicular lines made with Gopichandana, and joined at the root of the nose like that of the Sri Vaishnavas ; but instead of a red line down the centre, the Mddhwdchdris make a * Buchanan states them at 13,000 rupees at least, and often exceeding 20,000. t They are at Kanur, Pejawer, Admar, Phalamar, Krisbnapur, Sirur, Sode, and Putti. 90 straight black line, with the charcoal from incense offered to Ndrdyana, terminating in a round mark made with turmerick. The essential dogma of this sect, like that of the Vaishnavas in general, is the identification of Vishnu with the Supreme Spirit, as the pre- existent cause of the universe,* from whose substance the world was made.f This primeval Vishnu, they also affirm to be endowed with real attributes, J most excellent, although indefinable and in- dependent. As there is one independent, however, there is also one dependent, and this doctrine is the characteristic dogma of the sect, dis- tinguishing its professors from the followers of Ra'ma'nuja as well as Sankara, or those who maintain the qualified or absolute unity of the deity. The creed of the Mddhwas, is Dwaita, or duality. § It is not, however, that they discriminate between the principles of good and evil, or even the difference between spirit and matter, which is the duality known to other sects of the Hindus. Their distinction is of a more subtle character, and separates the Jivdtmd from the Paramdtmd, or the principle of life from the Supreme Being. Life, they say, is one and eternal, dependent upon the Supreme, and indissolubly connected with, but not the same with him.|l An important consequence of this * In proof of these doctrines, they cite the following texts from the Sruti, or Vedas: •^[c^ STKT^Tir ^T^fT ^ ^'WT 5T ^ ^^T: I ^ardyana alone was ; not Brahma nor Sankara. "^T'T*^ ^^^^T^ ^T^^ITT*^^* X[^l I Happy and alone before all was Naruyana the Lord. t The whole world was manifest from the body of Vishnu, TW^^OTT^^T^^T X Vishnu is independent, exempt from defects, and endowed with all good quali- ties.- ra/u;a Vivek, l^f^ '9f{J[^Vf{f^mT^^T^Vk^ ^%W I § Independent and dependent, is declared to be the two-fold condition of being.-— Tatwa Vivek. II As the bird and the string, as juices and trees, as rivers and oceans, as fresh water and salt, as the thief and his booty, as man and objects of sense, so are God and Life distinct, and both are ever indefinable.— A/oAo/?anwAa<. ^^J tf'^^iJI.^*"^ 91 doctrine is the denial of Moksha, in its more generally received sense, or that of absorption into the universal spirit, and loss of independent existence after death. The Yoga of the Saivas, and Sdyujyam of the Faishmvas, they hold to be impracticable.* The Supreme Being resides in Faikuntha, invested v^rith ineffable splendour, and with garb, ornaments, and perfumes of celestial origin, being the husband also of Lakshmi, or glory, Bhumi, the earth, and Nild, understood to mean Dev\, or Durgd, or personified matter. In his primary form, no known qualities can be predicated of him, but when he pleases to associate with Mdyd, which is properly his desire, or wish, the three attributes of purity, passion, or ignorance, or the Satwa, Raja and Tama Gunas, are manifested, as Fishnu, Brahmd, and Siva, for the creation, protection, and destruction of the world. These deities, again, perform their respective functions through their union with the same delusive principle to which they owed their individual manifestation. This account is clearly allegorical, although the want of some tangible objects of worship has converted the shadows into reaUties, and the allegory, when adapted to the apprehensions of ordi- nary intellects, has been converted into the legend known to the fol- lowers of Kabir, of the Supreme, begetting the Hindu Triad by Ma'ya'. and her subsequent union with her sons.t Other legends are current * In confirmation of which they adduce texts from the Pnr&nas and Vedas. " From the difference between Omniscience and partial knowledge, Omnipotence and inferior power, supremacy and subservience, the union of God and Life cannot take place.' -GarMm Parana. ^o^^};^'^S^^r^^c^^'^^^^f^^\ | ^fTT'g^KfTTg^^t ^WiiT^^Wt^^T: I ^t JT II " ^P^^^ is Supreme, and above qualities; Life is feeble and subordinate."— ^Aa^^awo^a Upanishad. '^TrJTfl ^^iT^fr^1%5'^^n^^fW^^fT'gt I ^t II t Colonel MacKenzie, in his account of the sect, gives this legend in a different and rather unusual form, and one that indicates some relation to the Saiva sects. It is not, however, admitted as orthodox by those members of the sect whom I have en- countered, nor do any traces of it appear in the works consulted. ♦' The Lord of the Creation, by whose supremacy the world is illuminated, and who is infinitely powerful, creating and destroying many worlds in a moment, that Almighty Spirit, in his mind, contemplating the creation of a world for his pleasure, from his wishes sprung a goddess, named Itcha Sacktee ; at her request, he directed her to create this world. Then the Sacktee, by the authority of God, immediately created three divine persons, generally called by Hindus, the Moortee-trium, by their several 92 amongst the Ma'dhwas, founded on this view of the creation, in which Brahma and Siva, and other divinities, are described as springing from his mind, his forehead, his sides, and other parts of his body. They also receive the legends of the Vaishnava Purdnas, of the birth of Brahma from the Lotus, of the navel of Vishnu, and of Rudra, from the tears shed by Brahma' on being unable to comprehend the mystery of creation. The modes in which devotion to Vishnu is to be expressed, are declar- ed to be three, Ankana, Ndmdkarana, and Bhajana, or marking the body with his symbols,* giving his names to children, and other objects of interest, and the practice of virtue in word, act, and thought ; truth, good council, mild speaking, and study belong to the first ; liberality, kindness, and protection, to the second ; and clemency, freedom from envy, and faith, to the last. These ten duties form the moral code of the Mddhwas. The usual rites of worship,! as practised by the Vaishnavas of this sect, are observed, and the same festivals. In the Pujd, however, there names of Brahma, Vishnu and Siva, committing to them separately, their respective charges in the expected world ; Surstee, Sthutee and Sayom, or the power of creating, nourishing, and destroying. When she had made these three lords, she requested of one after the other, that they might be her consort ; but Brahma and Vishnu, disapproving of her request, she consumed them with the fire of her third eye, and proposed the same thing to Siva ; then Sadaseevu, considering in his mind that her demands were not agreeable to the divine law, replied that he could not be her consort, unless she granted her third eye to him. The goddess was pleased with his prudence, and adorn- ed him with her third eye. So soon as Siva was possessed of that, he immediately destroyed her by a glance of the flaming eye, and revived Brahma and Vishnu, and of her ashes made three goddesses, Saraswatee, Latchmi, and Paravatee, and united one of them to each of the Trimoortee." [Account of the Marda Goor cos. —Asiatic Annual Register, 1804] This legend is probably peculiar to the place where it was obtained, but the ideas and the notions adverted to in the text appear to have been misunderstood by Dr. Buchanan, who observes, that the Mardas believe in the generation of the gods, in a literal sense, thinking Vishnu to be the father of Brahma, and Bkahma the father of Siva,— Mysore, vol. i. 14. * Especially with a hot iron, which practice they defend by a text from the Vedas Whose body is not cauterised, does not obtain liberation. ^ rj 5[fT*T*f fT'5'T'Tt WT ^♦nr I '^0 which, however, Sankardcharya objects, that Tapta does not mean cau- terised, but purified with Tapas, or ascetic mortification. t The daily ceremonies at Udipi are of nine descriptions : Malavisarjana, cleaning the temple; 2, Upasthdna, awaking Krishna; 8, Panchdmrita, bathing him with milk, &c. 4, Vdverttana, cleaning the image; 5, Tirttha Pujd, bathing it with holy water ; 6, Alankara, putting on his ornaments ; 7, Avritta, addressing prayers and hymns to 93 is one peculiarity which merits notice, as indicative of a friendly leaning towards the Saiva sects ; the images of Siva, Durga', and Ganesa, are placed on the same shrine with the form of Vishnu, and partake in the adoration offered to his idol. Rites are conducive to final happi- ness only, as they indicate a desire to secure the favour of Vishnu. The knowledge of his supremacy is essential to the zeal with which his approbation may be sought, but they consider it unnecessary to attempt an identification with him by abstract meditation, as that is unattain- able.* Those who have acquired the regard of Vishnu are, thereby, exempted from future birth, and enjoy felicity in Vaikuntha under four conditions, as Sdrupya, similarity of form, Sdlokya, visible presence, Sdnnidhya, proximity, and Sdrsht'hi, equal power. Besides the writings of the founder, the following works are considered as forming the Sdsira, or scriptural authority of this sect. The four Vedas, the Mahdbhdrat, the Pdnchardtra, and the genuine or original Rdmdyana. It seems not improbable, that the founder of the Mddhwa sect was, originally, a Saiva priest, and, although he became a convert to the Vaishnava faith, he encouraged an attempt to form a kind of compromise or alliance between the Saivas and Vaishnavas. Ma'dhwa was first initiated into the faith of Siva, at Ananteswar, the shrine of a Linga, and one of his names, Ananda Tirt'ha, indicates his belonging to the class of Dasndmi Gosains, who were instituted by Sankara'cha'rya ; one of his first acts was to establish a Sdldgram, a type of Vishnu, at the shrine of Subrahmanya, the warrior son of Siva, and, as observed above, the images of Siva are allowed to partake, in the Mddhwa tem- ples, of the worship offered to Vishnu. The votaries of the Mddhwa Gurus, and of the Sankardchari Gosains, offer the Namaskdr, or reve- rential obeisance, to their teachers mutually, and the Sringeri Mahant visits Udipi, to perform his adorations at the shrine of Krishna. It him ; 8, Mahapuja, presenting fruits, perfumes, &c. with music and singing; 9, Rdtri Piija, nocturnal worship, waving lamps before the image, with prayers, offerings, and music. * Emancipation is not obtained without the favour of Vishnu. His favour is ob- tained from knowledge of his excellence, and not from a knowledge of his identity. —Sruti. 94 is evident, therefore, that there is an affinity between these orders, which does not exist between the Saivas and Vaishnavas generally, who are regarded by the Mddhwas, even without excepting the Rdmdnujas, as Pdshandis, or heretics, whether they profess the adoration of Vishnu or of Siva. SANAKADl SAMPRADAYIS, OR NIMAWATS. This division of the Vaishnava faith is one of the four primary ones, and appears to be of considerable antiquity : it is one also of some popularity and extent, although it seems to possess but few charac- teristic peculiarities beyond the name of the founder, and the sectarial mark. Nimba'ditya is said to have been a Vaishnava ascetic, originally named Bhdskara Achdrya, and to have been, in fact, an incarnation of the sun, for the suppression of the heretical doctrines then prevalent : he lived near Vindrdvan, where he was visited by a Dandi, or, according to other accounts, by a Jaina ascetic, or Jati, whom he engaged in controversial discussion till sunset : he then offered his visitant some refreshment, which the practice of either mendicant renders unlawful after dark, and which the guest was, therefore, compelled to decline : to remove the difficulty, the host stopped the further descent of the sun, and ordered him to take up his abode in a neighbouring Nimb tree, till the meat was cooked and eaten : the sun obeyed, and the saint was ever after named Nimbdrka, or Nimbdditya, or the Nimb tree sun. The Nimdwats are distinguished by a circular black mark in the centre of the ordinary double streak of white earth, or Gopichandan : they use the necklace and rosary of the stem of the Tulasi ; the objects of their worship are Krishna and Ra'dha' conjointly : their chief authority is the Bhdgavat, and there is said to be a Bhdshya on the Vedas by Nimba'rka : the sect, however, is not possessed of any books peculiar to the members, which want they attribute to the des- truction of their works at Mathura in the time of Aurengzeb. The Nimdwats are scattered throughout the whole of Upper India. They are met with of the two classes coenobitical and secular, or 95 Viraktas and Grihasthas, distinctions introduced by the two pupils of Nimba'rka, Kesava Bhatt, and Hari Vya's : the latter is considered as the founder of the family which occupies the pillow of Nimba'rka at a place called Dhruva Kshetra, upon the Jumna close to Mathura : the Mahant, however, claims to be a lineal descendant from Nimba'rka himself, and asserts the existence of the present establishment for a past period of 1400 years : the antiquity is probably exaggerated: the Nmdwats are very numerous about Mathura, and- they are also the most numerous of the Vaishnava sects in Bengal, with the exception of those who may be considered the indigenous offspring of that pro- vince. VAISHNAVAS OF BENGAL. The far greater number of the worshippers of Vishnu, or more pro- perly of Krishna, in Bengal, forming, it has been estimated, one-fifth of the population of the province,* derive their peculiarities from some Vaishnava Brahmans of Nadiya and Santipur, who flourished about the end of the fifteenth century. The two leading men in the innova- tion then instituted, were Adwaita'nand and Nitya'nand, who, being men of domestic and settled habits, seem to have made use of a third, who had early embraced the ascetic order, and whose simplicity and enthusiasm fitted him for their purpose, and to have set up Chaitanya as the founder and object of a new form of Vaishnava worship. The history of Chaitanya has been repeatedly written, but the work most esteemed by his followers is the Chaitanya Charitra of Vrinda'van Da's, which was compiled from preceding works by Mura'ri Gupta and Da'modara, who were the immediate disciples of Chaita- nya, and who wrote an account, the first of his life as a Grihastha, or the Adi LUd, and the second of his proceedings as a pilgrim and ascetic, or the Madhya and Anta Lild. An abridgement of the composi- tion of Vrinda'van Da's, under the title of Chaitanya Charitdmrita, was made by Krishna Da's about 1590: although described by the author as an abridgement, it is a most voluminous work, comprising, besides * Ward on the Hindus, 2. 175. In another place he says five-sixteenths, p. 448. 96 anecdotes of Chaitanya and his principal disciples, the expositions of the doctrines of the sect : it is written in Bengali, but it is interspersed most thickly with the Sanscrit texts on which the faith is founded, and which are taken from the Brahma Sanhitd, the Vishnu Purdn, the Bhd- gavat Gitd, and, above all, the Sri Bhdgavat, the work that appears about this period to have given a new aspect to the Hindu faith, through- out the whole of Hindustan : the accounts we have to offer of Chaitanya and his schism, are taken from the Chaitanya Char it dmr it a. Chaitanya was the son of a Brahman settled at Nadiya, but ori- ginally from Srihatta, or Silhet. His father was named Jaganna'th MisRA, and his mother Sachi : he was conceived in the end of Magha 1484, but not born till Phalgun 1485, being thirteen months in the womb : his birth was accompanied by the usual portentous indications of a super-human event, and, amongst other circumstances, an eclipse of the moon was terminated by his entrance into the world. Chaitanya was, in fact, an incarnation of Krishna, or Bhagavdn, who appeared for the purpose of instructing mankind in the true mode of worshipping him in this age : with the like view he was, at the same time, incarnate in the two greater teachers of the sect as principal Ansas, or portions of himself, animating the form of Adwaita'nand, whilst Nitya'nand was a personal manifestation of the same divinity, as he had appeared formerly in the shape of Balara'ma : the female incarnation was not assumed on this occasion, being, in fact, comprised in the male, for Ra'dha', as the Purna-Sakti, or comprehensive energy, and Krishna, as the Puma- Saktimdn, or possessor of that energy, were both united in ■ the nature of the Nadiya saint. The father of Chaitanya died in his son's childhood, and his elder brother, Viswaru'ta, had previously assumed the character of an asce- tic : to take care of his mother, therefore, Chaitanya refrained from following his inclinations, and continued in the order of the Grihastha, or householder, till the age of twenty-four, during which time he is said to have married the daughter of Vallabha'cha'rya. At twenty-four,* he shook off the obligations of society, and becoming a Bairdgi, spent the next six years in a course of peregrinations between Mathura and Jaganndth, teaching his doctrines, acquiring followers, and extending * Not forty, as stated by Mr. Ward, (2. 173.) his whole life little exceeded that age, as he disappeared at forty-two. 97 the worship of Krishna. At the end of this period, having nominated Adwaita'cha'rya and Nitya'nand to preside over the Faishnavas of Bengal, and Rupa and Sana'tana over those of Mathura, Chaitanya settled at Nildchal, or Cuttack, where he remained twelve years, en- gaging deeply in the worship of Jaganndth, to whose festival he seems at least to have communicated great energy and repute.* The rest of his time was spent in tuition and controversy, and in receiving the visits of his disciples, who came annually, particularly the Bengalis, under Adwaita and Nitya'nand, to Nildchal, in the performance of acts of self-denial, and in intent meditation on Krishna : by these latter means he seems to have fallen, ultimately, into a state of imbecility approaching to insanity, which engendered perpetually beatific visions of Krishna, Ra'dha', and the Gopis : in one of these, fancying the sea to be the Jumna, and that he saw the celestial cohort sporting in its blue waters, he walked into it, and fainting with ecstasy, would have been drowned, if his emaciated state had not rendered him buoyant on the waves : he was brought to shore in a fisherman's net, and recovered by his two resident disciples, Swarupa and Ra'ma'nand : the story is rendered not improbable, by the uncertain close of Chaitanya's career : he disappeared ; how, is not known : of course his disciples suppose he returned to Faikunt'ha, but we may be allowed to conjecture the means he took to travel thither, by the tale of his marine excursion, as it is gravely narrated by Krishna Da's : his disappearance dates about A. D. 1527. Of Adwaita'nand and Nitya'nand, no marvels, beyond their divine pervasion, are recorded : the former, indeed, is said to have predicted the appearance of Krishna as Chaitanya ; a prophecy that probably wrought its own completion : he sent his wife to assist at the birth of the saint, and was one of his first disciples. Adwaita'nand resided at Santipur, and seems to have been a man of some property and respecta- bility : he is regarded as one of the three Prabhus, or masters of the * It may be observed, that in the frequent descriptions of the celebration of the Rath Ydtra, which occur in the work of Krishna Da's, no instance is given of self- sacrifice, amongst the numerous votaries collected, neither is there any passage that could be interpreted, as commendatory of the practice : it is, in fact, very contrary to the spirit of Vaishnava devotion, and is probably a modern graft from Saiva or Sdkta superstition. Abulfazl does not notice the practice, although he mentions that those who assist in drawing the car, think thereby to obtain remission of their sins. 98 sect, and his descendants, who are men of property, residing at Santipur, are the chief Gosains, or spiritual superiors, conjointly with those of Nitya'nand, of the followers of this faith. Nitya'nand was an in- habitant of Nadiya, a Rdrhiya Brahman, and a householder : he was ap= pointed especially by Chaitanya, the superior of his followers in Bengal, notwithstanding his secular character, and his being addicted to mundane enjoyments :* his descendants are still in existence, and are divided into two branches : those of the male line reside at Kharda, near Bar- rackpore ; and those of the female at Bdlagor, near Suk'hsdgar : there are other families, however, of nearly equal influence in various parts of Bengal, descended from the other Gosains, the Kavirdjas and ori- ginal Mahants. Besides the three Prabhus, or Chaitanya, Adwaita, and Nitya'nand, the Vaishnavas of this order acknowledge six Gosains as their original and chief teachers, and the founders, in some instances, of the families of the Gosains now existing, to whom, as well as to the Gokulast'ha Gosains, hereditary veneration is due. The six Gauriya, or Bengal Go- sains, appear to have all settled at Vrindavan and Mathura, where many of their descendants are still established, and in possession of several temples : this locality, the agreement of dates, and the many points of resemblance between the institutions of Vallabha and Chaitanya, render it extremely probable that their origin was connected, and that a spirit of rivalry and opposition gave rise to one or other of them. The six Gosains of the Bengal Vaishnavas, are Ru'pa, Sana'tan, Jiva, Raghuna'th Bhatt, Raghuna'th Da's, and Gopa'l Bhatt. Ru'pa and Sana'tan,! were brothers in the employ of the Mohammedan * Thus, according to Kkishna. Da's, when Kaghunath Da's visits him, he finds him at a feast with his followers, eating a variety of dainties ; amongst others a dish called Pulina, and when he good humouredly notices it, Nitya'nand replies : " 1 am of the Gopa caste, (i. e. fig : a companion of Krishna, the cow-herd,) and am amidst many Gopas, and such as we are, consider Pulina a delicacy," A verse is also ascribed to him, said to have become proverbial ; 5T^^^i<3[ C^t^T ^fST^^ C^t«r I ^t^C'J? C^t?t^C^ ^?^f? C^\\ II Let all enjoy fish, broth, and woman's charms— be happy, and call upon Hari. t From the indistinct manner in which they are conjointly described in the Bhakta Mdlu, it might be thought that Hupa Sanutana was but a single individual ; but, in 99 governor of Bengal, and were hence regarded as little better than Mlech'has, or outcasts, themselves : the sanctity of Chaitanya's life and doctrine induced them to become his followers, and as it was a part of his system to admit all castes, even Mussulmans, amongst his disciples, they were immediately enlisted in a cause, of which they became the first ornaments and supports : they were men of learning, and were very indefatigable writers as we shall hereafter see, and the foundation of two temples at Vindraban, the most respectable reliques of the Hindu faith existing in Upper Hindustan, is ascribed to their influence and celebrity.* Jiva was the nephew of the preceding, the son of their younger brother : he was likewise an author, and the founder of a temple at Vindraban, dedicated to Rddhd Ddmodara. Raghuna'th Bhatt and Raghuna'th Da's were both Brahmans of Bengal, but they esta- blished themselves in the vicinity of Mathura and Vindraban. Gopal Bhatt founded a temple and establishment at Vindraban, which are still maintained by his descendants : the presiding deity is Ra'dha' Ramana. Next to the six Gosains, several learned disciples and faithful compa- nions of Chaitanya are regarded with nearly equal veneration : these are Sriniba's, Gada'dhar Pandit, Sri Swaru'pa, Ra'ma'nand, and others, including Hari Da's : the last, indeed, has obtained almost equal honour with his master, being worshipped as a divinity in some places in Bengal — it is recorded of him, that he resided in a thicket for many years, and during the whole time he repeated the name of Krishna three hundred thousand times daily. In addition to these chiefs, the sect enumerates eight Kavi Rajas, or eminent and orthodox bards, amongst one passage, the work indicates their being two brothers, conformably to the Charitd- mrita, and the tradition in general currency. * The temples of Govind Deva and Madanmohan, both in ruins ; a Sanscrit inscription in the former, however, attributing it to Man Sinh Deva, a descendant of Prithu Rao, is dated Sambat 1647, or A. D. 1591. Besides the authority of KiiisH- NA Da's, for these two brothers being cotemporary with Chaitanya, who died in 1527, I have a copy of the Vidagdha Mudhava, of which Rupa is the author, dated 1525; it is not therefore likely, that Sanatan actually founded the temple of Govind Deva, although he may have been instrumental to its being undertaken. The interior of this temple is far superior to any of the religious structures to be met with along the Ganges and Jumna, and may almost be considered handsome: the exterior of that of Madanmohan is remarkable for its being built something after the plan of the pyramidical temples of Tanjore ; or rather its exterior corresponds with that of the temples at Bhuvamswara in Cuttack. As. Res. vol. xv. plate. lOO whom is Krishna Da's, the author of the Chaitanya Charitdmrita, and they also specify sixty-four Mahantas, or heads of religious establish- ments. The object of the worship of the Chaitantas is Krishna : according to them he is Paramdtmd, or supreme spirit, prior to all worlds, and both the cause and substance of creation : in his capacity of creator, preserver, and destroyer, he is Brahma, Vishnu, and Siva, and in the endless divisions of his substance or energy, he is all that ever was or will be : besides these manifestations of himself, he has, for various pur- poses, assumed specific shapes, as Avatars, or descents ; Ansas, or por- tions ; Ansansas, portion of portions, and so on ad infinitum : his prin- cipal appearance, and, in fact, his actual sensible manifestation, was as Krishna, and in this capacity he again was present in Chaitanya, who is therefore worshipped as the deity, as are the other forms of the same god, particularly as Gopa'l, the cow-herd, or Gopina'th, the lord of the milk-maids of Vindraban ; his feats, in which juvenile characters are regarded, are his Lild, or sport. It is not worth while to enter upon the prolix series of subtle and unmeaning obscurities in which this class of Krishna's worshippers envelop their sectarial notions : the chief features of the faith are the identification of Vishnu with Brahme, in common with all the Vaishnava sects, and the assertion of his possessing, in that character, sensible and real attributes, in opposition to the Vedanta belief of the nagative pro- perties of God : these postulates being granted, and the subsequent iden- tity of Krishna and Chaitanya believed, the whole religious and moral code of the sect is comprised in one word, Bhdkti, a term that signifies a union of implicit faith with incessant devotion, and which as illustrat- ed by the anecdote of Hari Da's, above given, is the momentary repeti- tion of the name of Krishna, under a firm belief, that such a practice is sufficient for salvation. The doctrine of the efficacy of Bhdkti seems to have been an import- ant innovation upon the primitive system of the Hindu religion. The object of the Vedas, as exhibiting the Vedanta, seems to have been the inculcation of fixed religious duties, as a general acknowledgement of the supremacy of the deities, or any deity, and, beyond that, the neces- sity of overcoming material impurities, by acts of self-denial and pro- found meditation, and so fitting the spiritual part for its return to its 101 original sources ; in a word, it was essentially the same system that was diffused throughout the old pagan world. But the fervent adoration of any one deity superseded all this necessity, and broke down practice and speculation, moral duties, and political distinctions. Krishna him- self declares, in the Bhdgavat, that to his worshipper, that worship pre- sents whatever he wishes — paradise, liberation, godhead, and is infi- nitely more efficacious than any or all observances, than abstraction, than knowledge of the divine nature, than the subjugation of the pas- sions, than the practice of the Yoga, than charity, than virtue, or than any thing that is deemed most meritorious.* Another singular and important consequence results from these premises, for as all men are alike capable of feeling the sentiments of faith and devotion, it follows, that all castes become by such sentiments equally pure. This con- clusion indeed is always admitted, and often stoutly maintained in theory, although it may be doubted whether it has ever been acted upon, except by Chaitanya himself and his immediate disciples, at a period when it was their policy to multiply proselytes. f It is so ^m^ W iT^iT^f^?^ ^ f^ ^T5=i^ 1 1 bhdgavat, 1 1 th Section. t Chaitanya admitted amongst his followers five PaVhans—Viho purposed to attack and plunder him, but were stopped by his sanctity, and converted by his argu- ments : one of these, who was a Pir, he new-named Ra'm Da's ; another, their leader, was a young prince (a Rdjakumdr,) whom he named Bijjili Khan. Chaitanya communicated the Upadesa, or initiating Mantra to them, and they all became famous Vaishnavas; ^t^t"*^ C?^^f^O^»f ^t^^/tf^ l| Chaitanya uniformly maintains the pre-eminence of the faith over caste : the mercy of God, he says, regard neither tribe nor family ; ^'^C^ i risinha Miirtti Acharya. 12. Vitarana Acharya. 13. Vidyasankara Acharya. 14. Bharati Krishna Acharya. 15. Vidyasanya Achraya. 16. Chandra Sekhara Acharya. 17. Nrisinha Bharati Acharya. 18. Sankara Bharati Acharya. 19. Nrisinha Bharati Acharya. 20. Purushottoma Bharati Acharya. 21. llamachandra Bharuti Acharya. 22. Nrisinha Bharati Acharya. 23. Immadi Bharatf Acharya. 24. Abhinava Nrisinha Bharati Acharya. 25. Sachchidananda Bharati Acharya. 26. Nrisinha Bhkrati Acharya. 27. Iminadi Sachchidananda Bharati Acharya. 28. Abhinava Sachchidananda Bharatia Acharya. 29. Nrisinha Bharati Acharva. This gives 27 descents from Sankaka. As the Mahant is elected from the disci- ples, either by the Guru when about to die, or by the Swumalu, the spiritual chiefs of other establishments of the same sect, he is raised probably to the station in the prime of manhood, and in the ease and dignity of his sanctity has a favourable pros- pect of a long life. Twenty-five years to a Guru may therefore be but a fair average allowance, and the above list comprises at that rate an interval of 657 years : at what period it closes does not appear ; but the Halakanara language is obsolete, and the work is possibly not less than two or three centuries old. This series of Gurus is so far corroborative of the view else where taken of Sankaka's date ; but as it has been extracted by a Pandit, from a work which 1 could not consult myself, it is by no means certain that it is correct, and I do not wish to attach any undue importance to the authority. t It is scarcely worth while perhaps to translate words of such common occurrence, but to prove what I have stated in the text, I subjoin their signification : Tirtha, 129 classes of mendicants, thus descended from S Ankara. Aciia'rya, have failed to retain their purity of character, and are only known by their epithets as members of the original order. There are but three, and part of a fourth mendicant class, or those called Tirtha or Indra, Asrama, Saraswati, and Bhdrati, who are still regarded as really Sankara"s Dandis. These are sufficiently numerous, especially in and about Benares. They comprehend a variety of characters ; but amongst the most respectable of them, are to be found very able expounders of the Vedanta works. Other branches of Sanscrit litera- ture owe important obligations to this religious sect.* The most sturdy beggars are also members of this order, although their contri- butions are levied particularly upon the Brahmanical class, as when- ever a feast is given to the Brahmanas, the Dandis of this description present themselves unbidden guests, and can only be got rid of by bestowing on them a due share of the cates provided for their more worldly-minded brethren. Many of them practice the Yoga, and pro- fess to work miracles, although with less success than some members of the order in the days of the author of the Ddbistdn, who specifies one Dandadhdri, as able to suspend his breath for three hours, bring milk from his veins, cut bones with hair, and put eggs into a narrow mouth- ed bottle without breaking them. The remaining six and a half members of the Dasndmi class, although considered as having fallen from the purity of practice necessary to the Dandi, are still, in general, religious characters, and are usually denominated Atits •.\ the chief points of difference between them and a place of pilgrimage ; Asrama, an order, as that of student, householder, &c. ; Vana, a wood ; Aranya, a wood ; Saraswdti, the goddess of speech and eloquence ; Puri, a city ; Bharati, speech, or its goddess ; Giri, a mountain ; in common use it always occurs Gir, which implies speech ; Pdrvata, a mountaineer ; Sdgara, an ocean ; the names are always compounded with different terms. One of Sankara"s dis- ciples we have seen, called Ananda Giri. The famous Ma'dhava, when he became a Dandi, adopted the appellation of Vi'dya'r anya. Pu'rangir, has been elsewhere adverted to, and other like names occur in some of the following notes. Bharati is the prevailing title of the latter Sringagiri Gurus. * Sankara' and Ma'dhava are well known by their numerous and excellent works. The chief Vedanta writers, in like manner, were Dandis ; and the author of the Dasakumura, Ra'masrama, the Commentator on Amera, and Vijnya'nes- wara, the Commentator on the texts of Yajnavalkya, were of the same class of ascetics. t From ^[fTi ^ Atithi, a guest, a temporary dweller upon earth ; or "^fTlff Atita, past away, liberated from worldly cares and feelings. 130 the preceding, are their abandonment of the staff, their use of clothes, money, and ornaments ; their preparing their own food, and their admission of members from any order of Hindus. They are often collected in Maths, as well as the Dandis, but they mix freely in the business of the world ; they carry on trade, and often accumulate property, and they frequently officiate as priests at the shrines of some of the deities :* some of them even marry, but in that case they are distinguished by the term Samyogi, from the other Atits. The chief practices and designations of the Dandis, as generally characteristic of them, have been already adverted to, but a great variety prevails in the details. f Their philosophical tenets in the main, are those of the Vedanta system, as taught by Sankara' and his disci- ples ; but they generally superadd the practice of the Yoga, as taught by the followers of Patanjali, and many of them have latterly adopted the doctrines of the Tantras. Besides Sankara', the different orders of Dandis hold in high veneration the Muni Dattatreya, the son of Atri and Anasuya'. By virtue of a boon bestowed upon Atri, or according to one legend, on his wife, by the three deities Brahma', Vishnu, and Siva, that sage had three sons. Soma, Datta, and Durva'sas, who were severally portions of the deities themselves. J Datta, or Dattatreya, was eminent for his practice of the Yoga, and hence is held in high estimation by the Jogis, of whom we are next to speak, whilst, as an incarnation of a portion of Vishnu, he is likewise venerated by the Vaishnavas. YOGIS OR JOGIS. « The Dandis are to the Saiva sects, what the followers of Ra'ma'nuja are to those of the Vaishnava faith, and a like parallel may be drawn * The officiating priests at the celebrated shrine of Annapu'kna, in Benares, are Atits. t A specimen of the independent but scarcely orthodox Dandi, is presented in the well know personage Puran Gir, of whom Mr. Duncan published an account in the 5th volume of the Asiatic Researches. X Bhdgavat, Book IV, and M&rkandeya Purdna, Chapter XVI. 131 between the disciples of Ra'ma'nand and those of Gorakhna'th, or the Kdnphata Jogis, the first pair being properly restricted to the Brahmani- cal order, intended chiefly for men of learning ; the two latter admit- ting members from every description of people, and possessing a more attractive popular character. The term Jogi, or Yogi is properly applicable to the followers of the Yoga, or Pdtanjala school of philosophy, which, amongst other tenets, maintained the practicability of acquiring, even in life, entire command over elementary matter, by means of certain ascetic practices. The details of these it is unnecessary to particularize, and accounts of them and of the Yoga philosophy, will be best derived from the translation of Bhoja Deva's* Comment on the Pdtanjala Sutras, in Ward's Account of the Hindus, and Mr. Colebrooke's Essay on the Sdnkkya and Pdtanjala doctrines, in the 1st volume of the Transactions of the Royal Asiatic Society. It is sufficient here to observe, that the practices con- sist chiefly of long continued suppressions of respiration ; of inhaling and exhaling the breath in a particular manner ; of sitting in eighty - four different attitudes ; of fixing the eyes on the top of the nose, and endeavouring, by the force of mental abstraction, to effect a union between the portion of vital spirit residing in the body and that which prevades all nature, and is identical with Siva, considered as the supreme being, and source and essence of all creation. When this mystic union is effected, the Yogi is liberated in his living body, from the clog of material incumbrance, and acquires an entire command over all worldly substance. He can make himself lighter than the lightest substances, heavier than the heaviest ; can become as vast, or as minute as he pleases, can traverse all space, can animate any dead body, by transferring his spirit into it from his own frame, can render himself invisible, can attain all objects, becomes equally acquainted with the past, present, and future, and is finally united with Siva, and conse- quently exempted from being born again upon earth. The super- human faculties are acquired, in various degrees, according to the greater or less perfection with which the initiatory processes have been performed. According to standard authorities, the perfect fulfilment of the rites which the Yogi has to accomplish, requires a protracted existence and repeated births, and it is declared to be unattainable in the present or 132 Kali age.* The attempt is therefore prohibited, and the Yoga is prescribed in modern times. This inhibition is, however, disregarded, and the individuals who are the subjects of our enquiry, endeavour to attain the super- human powers which the performance of the Yoga is supposed to confer. They especially practice the various gesticulations and postures of which it consists, and labour assiduously to suppress their breath and fix their thoughts until the effect does somewhat realise expectation, and the brain, in a stateof over- wrought excitement, bodies forth a host of crude and wild conceptions, and gives to airy nothings a local habitation and a name.f A year's intense application is imagined enough to qualify the adept, J whilst inferior faculties may be obtained by even a six month's practice. * The Kasikhanda thus enumerates the difficulty or impossibility of completing the Yoga in the present age. " From the unsteadiness of the senses, the prevalence of sin in the Kali, and the shortness of life, how can Exaltation by the Yoga be obtained." Again — In the Kali age, the Yoga and severe penance are impracticable. t Some who have commenced their career in this line, have carried the practice to several hours duration, at which time they have described themselves as becoming perfectly exhausted, with strange objects passing before them, and sparks of fire flashing in their eyes. One individual quitted it from having at last a figure resembling himself always before him, and knowing this to be a deception, he wisely inferred the similar character of any other visionary creature of his contemplation, and the absurdity of the practice. Dubois has some amusing anecdotes on this subject, (page 357, &c.) they are fully authenticated by the similar accounts which many Fairdgis, in upper India, will readily furnish. The worthy Abbe may indeed be generally trusted when he confines himself to what he saw or knew : in much that he heard he was misled, and in almost every thing connected with the language and literature, and the religion or philosophy, as taught by classical authority, he commits egregious blunders. Leading a life of chastity and abstemiousness, and diligent in the practice of the Yoga, the Yogi becomes perfect after a year : of this there is no doubt. Hatha Prodipa. 133 There are few Jogis, however, who lay claim to perfection, and their pretensions are usually confined to a partial command over their physical and mental faculties. These are evinced in the performance of low mummeries, or juggling tricks, which cheat the vulgar into a belief of their powers. A common mode of display is by waving a Chowri, or bunch of peacock's feathers, over a sick or new-born infant, to cure it of any morbid affection, or guard it against the evil eye. A trick of loftier pretence has, of late, attracted some notice in the person of a Brahman at Madras, who, by some ingenious contrivance, appeared to sit in the air, and who boasted of being able to remain for a considerable period under water. He and his followers ascribed the possession of these faculties to his successful practice of the observances of the Yoga."^ In referring to the origin of this system, we must, no doubt, go back to some antiquity, although the want of chronological data renders it impossible to specify the era at which it was first promul- gated. That it was familiarly known and practised in the eighth century, we may learn from the plays of Bhagabhu'ti, particularly the Mdlati and Mddhava,\ and from several of the Saiva Purdnas, in some of which, as the Kurma Purdna, we have a string of names which * " Sitting in the Air.— An exhibition at Madras has excited considerable curiosity. A Brahmin, old and slightly made, represented to be of high caste, contrives to poise himself in a most extraordinary manner in the air. He performs this feat at any gentleman's house, not for money, but as an act of courtesy. The following is a description, from an eye-witness, given in a Calcutta paper, — ' The only apparatus seen is a piece of plank, which, with four pegs, he forms into a kind of long stool ; upon this, in a little brass saucer or socket, he places, in a perpendi- cular position, a hollow bamboo, over which he puts a kind of crutch, like that of a walking crutch, covering that with a piece of common hide : these materials he carries with him in a little bag which is shown to those who come to see him exhibit. The servants of the house hold a blanket before him, and when it is withdrawn, he is discovered poised in the air, about four feet from the ground, in a sitting atitude, the outer edge of one hand merely touching the crutch, the fingers of that hand deliberately counting beads : the other hand and arm held up in an erect posture. The blanket was then held up before him, and they heard a gurgling noise like that occasioned by wind escaping from a bladder or tube, and when the screen was withdrawn he was again standing on terra firma. The same man has the power of staying under water for several hours. He declines to explain how he does it, merely saying he has been long accustomed to do so.' The length of time for which he can remain in his aerial station is considerable. The person who gave the above account says that he remained in the air for twelve minutes; but before the Governor of Madras he continued on his baseless seat ior forty minutes"— Asiatic Monthly Jour- tialfor March, 1829. t See especially the opening of the 5th Act, and Notes. 134 appear to be those of a succession of teachers.* The cavern temples of the South of India, in the subjects of their sculptures, and the decorations of Siva and his attendants, belong to the same sect ;t whilst the philosophical tenets of Patanjali are as ancient perhaps as most of the other philosophical systems, and are prior to the Purdnas, by which they are inculcated in a popular form. The practices of the Yoga are also frequently alluded to, and enforced in the Mahd- bhdrat.X There is little reason to question therefore the existence and popularity of the Yoga in the early centuries of the Christian era, but whether it was known and cultivated earlier must be matter of vague conjecture alone. As represented in the Sankaravijaya, (Sec- tion 41) the Yogis vindicate their doctrine by texts from the Vedas, but the applicability of the texts is there denied, and is certainly far from conclusive or satisfactory. The principal mode in which the Yoga takes a popular shape in upper India, is probably of comparatively recent origin. This is the * Siva, it is said, appeared in the beginning of tlie Kali age as Sweta, for the purpose of benefiting the Brahmanas. He resided on the Himalaya mountains and taught the Yoga. He had four chief disciples, one also termed Sweta, and the others Swetasikha, Swetaswa, and Swetalohita. They had tweniy-eight disciples— 5'Miara, Madana, Suhotra, Kankana, and twenty-four others. Of these four, whose names are not mentioned, had ninety-seven disciples, masters of the Yoga and inferior portions of Siva. Those Brahmanas who recite the names of the teachers and offer to them libations acquire Brahmavidyd, or knowledge of spirit. That this long string of one hundred and twenty-five names is wholly fictitious, seems improbable, although the list is possibly not very accurate. The four primitive teachers may be imaginary ; but it is a curious circumstance that the word Sweta, white, should be the leading member of each appellation, and that in the person of Si v a, and his first disciple, it should stand alone as Sweta, the white. Siva, however, is always paint- ed white, and the names may be contrived accordingly ; but we are still at a loss to understand why the god himself should have a European complexion. t In the temples of Salsette, Elephanta, and Ellora, the principal figure is mostly SiVA, decorated with ear-rings, such as are still worn by the Kdnphata Jogis ; the walls are covered with ascetics in the various Asanas, or positions in which the Yogi is to sit ; a favourite subject of sculpture at Elephanta and Ellora is the sacrifice of Daksha disconcerted, and the guests, though saints and gods, put to rout, bruised and mutilated, by Virakhadra, and the Ganas of Siva, in revenge for that deity's not having been invited, a story told in most of the Purdnas which inculcate the Yoga tenets. The cells attached to some of the temples are also indicative of Jogi residence, and one of the caves of Salsette is named that of Jogiswara, or Siva, as lord of the Jogis. Transactions of the Literary Society of Bombay. Vols. 1 and 2. X These allusions occur in the Vana Parva chiefly ; whilst in the Udyoga Parva, the observances of the Yoga are detailed at considerable length, and strenuously enjoined. 135 sect of Kdnphata Jogis, who acknowledge as their founder a teacher named Gorakhna'th, traces of whom are found in a Gorakhkshetra at Peshawer, mentioned by Abulfazl, and in the district and town of Gorakhpur, where also exist a temple and religious establishment of his followers. They hold also in veneration a plain near Dwdraka, named Gorakhkhetr ; and a cavern or subterraneous passage at Haridwar, The Saiva temples of Nepal, those of Sambunath, Pasupatindth, and others, belong to the same system, although local legends attached to them, have combined in a curious manner the fictions of the Bauddha with those of the Brahmanical mythology.* From a Ghoshti,\ or controversial dialogue between Kabi'r and Gorakhna'th, it would seem that they were personally known to each other, but various texts in the Bijek allude to him as if recently deceas- ed. In either case these two teachers may have been cotemporaries, or nearly so, and the latter therefore flourished in the beginning of the 15th century. According to his followers, he was an incarnation of Siva ; but in the controversial tract above named, he calls himself the son of Matsyendra Na'th, and grandson of Adina'th.:}: Matsyen- DRA Na'th appears to have been the individual who introduced the Yoga Saivism into Nepal: one of the works of the sect, the Hatha Pradipa, makes Matsyendra prior to Gorakh by five spiritual des- cents. § and this would place the former in the 14th century, supposing the Kabir work to be correct in the date it attributes to the latter. * See Asiatic Researches, Vol. XVI. page 471, and Note. t This has been printed in the first volume of Hindee and Hindustani Selections, for the use of the Interpreters of the Bengal Army, compiled by Captain Price. The discussion, in the form of a dialogue, occurs page 14U. 1 The list of teachers is thus particularised : 1. Adindth. 2. Matsyendra. 3. Sambara. 4. Ananda. 5. Bhairava. 6. Chourdngi. 7. Mena. 8. Goraksha. 9. Virupdksha. 10. Vileso. 11. Manthana Bhairava. 12. Siddhahuddha. 13. Kanthada. 14. Paurandaka. 15. Surdnanda. 16. Siddhapdda. 17. Churpati. 18. Kdneri. 136 If the date assigned by Hamilton to the migration of the Hindu tribes from Chitaur, the beginning of the 14th century, be accurate,* it is probable that this was the period at which the worship of Siva, agreeably to the doctrines of Matsyendra, or Gorakh, was introduced there, and into the eastern provinces of Hindustan. The temple of Gorakhna'th at Gorakhpur, according to the local tradition, was founded by Siva in the second, or Treta age. Of its revo- lutions subsequent to that period, no account was preserved, until it was converted into a Mohammedan mosque by Ala-addin. The temple, after some interval, was re-built in a different situation by an associa- tion of the followers of Gorakhna'th, and this was possibly the period at which the sect assumed its present form. A similar fate, however, attended this edifice, and it was appropriated by Aurangzeb to the Mohammedan religion. A second interval elapsed before a shrine was again erected to Gorakhna'th, when it was re-built on the spot on which it now stands, by Buddhana'th, according to instructions com- municated to him by Gorakhna'th in person. The present temple is situated to the west of the City of Gorakhpur, and attached to it on the south are three temples, consecrated to Maha'deva, Pasupatina'th and Hanuma'n. The inclosure also comprehends the tombs of several eminent members of this communion, and the dwellings of the Mahant and his resident disciples. Gorakhna'th was a man of some acquirement, and has left speci- mens of his scholarship in two Sanscrit Compositions, the Goraksha sataka and Goraksha kalpa : third, the Goraksha sahasra Ndma is, pro- bably, of his writing. The celebrated Bhartrihari, the brother of Veikrama'ditya, is said to have been one of his disciples, but chronology 19. Pujyapdda. '2U. Nityandtha. 21. Niranjana. 22. Kapdla. 23. Bindu. 24. Kukachandiswara. 25. Allamd 26. Prahhudeva. 27. Gordchili. 28. Dindima. 29. Bhdluki. 30. Nugahodha. 31. Chandakapulika The author of the Hatha Pradipa, Atma Ra'ma, states that these and many more Mahasiddhas, or perfect Yogis, are in e.xistence. His names are possibly those of the Mahants, of a particular establishment : some of them are very unlike Hindu appella- tives. If the date assigned to GoraArwa^/i in the text be rightly conjectured, we can- not assign much more than fifteen years to each of his successors. * Hamilton's Nepal, page 14. 137 will not admit of such an approximation. According to the authorities of the sect, Gorakh is but one of nine eminent teachers, or Ndths. Of the perfect Yogis, or Siddhas, eighty-four are enumerated ; but it is said, that there have been many more, of whom several are still upon the surface of the earth. The Jogis of Gorakhna'ih are usually called Kdnphatas, from having their ears bored, and rings inserted in them at the time of their initia- tion. They may be of any caste ; they live as ascetics, either singly or in Maths. "^ Siva is the object of their worship — they officiate indeed, as the priests of that deity, in some places, especially at the celebrated Ldt, or Staff, of Bhairava, at Benares. They mark the forehead with a transverse line of ashes, and smear the body with the same ; they dress in various styles, but in traveUing usually wear a cap of patch- work and garments dyed with red ochre. Some wear simply a Dhoti, or cloth round the loins. The term Jogi, in popular acceptation, is of almost as general appli- cation as Sanydsi and Vairdgi ; and it is difficult to fix its import upon any individual class, besides the Kdnphata : the vagrants so called, fol- lowing usually the dictates of their own caprice as to worship and be- lief, and often, it may be conceived, employing the character as a mere plea for a lazy livelihood. The Jogis are, indeed, particularly distinguish- ed amongst the different mendicant characters, by adding to their reli- gious personification more of the mountebank than any others ; most of the religious mendicants, it is true, deal in fortune- telling, interpretation of dreams, and palmistry ; they are also often empirics, and profess to cure diseases with specific drugs, or with charms and spells : but besides these accomplishments, the Jogi is frequently musical, and plays and * Solitary and independent living, however, appears to be improper, if the authority of the Hatha Pradipa is to be depended upon. *' In a well-governed and well-regulated country, fertile and prosperous, the Hatha Yogi (he who upholds the world in eternal continuity,) should reside in a solitary cell, within the precincts of a Math." " Other directions follow, applicable to most establishments of a similar nature. The cell should have a small door, be neither too lofty, nor too low, be well smeared with cow-dung, and should be kept clean and free from reptiles : the Math should have a temple, a mound or altar, and a well, adjoin- ing, and be enclosed by a wall. T 138 sings ; he also initiates animals into his business, and often travels about with a small bullock, a goat, or a monkey, whom he has taught to obey his commands, and to exhibit amusing gesticulations. The dress of this class of Jogis is generally a cap and coat, or frock of many colours : they profess to worship Siva, and often carry the Linga, like the Jangamas, in the cap ; all classes and sects assume the charac- ter, and Musselman Jogis are not uncommon. One c)ass of the Hindu Jogis is called Saringihar, from their carrying a Saringi, or small fiddle or lute, with which they accompany their songs : these are usually Bhdsha stanzas on religious or mythological topics, amongst which, stanzas ascribed to Bhatrihari, and a Pauranic legend of the marriage of Siva and Pa'rvati, are particularly cele- brated. The Saringihars beg in the name of Bhairava : another sect of them, also followers of that deity, are termed Durihdrs, from their trafficking in small pedlary, especially the sale of thread and silk, to the housewives of the villages ; another class adopt the name of Matsyendris, or Macchendris, from Matsyendra, whom they regard as their founder ; and a fourth set are Bhartriharis, from a traditional reference to him as the institutor of this particular order. The va- rieties of this class of mendicants, however, cannot be specified : they are all errants ; fixed residences, or Maths, of any Jogis, except the Kdnphatas, rarely occurring : an observation that will apply to, perhaps, all the Saiva sects, of whom it yet remains to give an account. JANGAMAS. The worship of Siva, under the type of the Linga, it has been ob- served, is almost the only form in which that deity is reverenced.* * Its prevalence throughout the whole tract of the Ganges, as far as Benares, is suflBciently conspicuous. In Bengal, the temples are commonly erected in a range of six, eight, or twelve, on each side of a Ghat, leading to the river. At Kalna is a circular groupe of one hundred and eight temples, erected by the Raja of Bard wan. Each of the temples in Bengal, consists of a single chamber, of a square form, sur- mounted by a pyramidal centre ; the area of each is very small, the Linga, of black or white marble, occupies the centre ; the offerings are presented at the threshold. Benares, however, is the peculiar seat of this form of worship : the principal deity 139 It is also perhaps the most ancient object of homage adopted in India, subsequently to the ritual of the Vedas, which was chiefly, if not wholly, addressed to the elements, and particularly to fire. How far the worship of the Linga is authorised by the Vedas, is doubtful, but it is the main purport of several of the Puranas.* There can be no doubt of its universality at the period of the Mohammedan invasion of India. The idol destroyed by Mahmud, of Ghizni, was nothing more than a Linga, being, according to Mirkhond, a block of stone, of four or five cubits long, and proportionate thickness. f It was, in fact, ViswESWARA, as observed already, is a Linga, and most of the chief objects of the pilgrimage are similar blocks of stone. • Particular divisions of the pilgrimage direct visiting, forty-seven Lingas, all of pre-eminent sanctity ; but there are hundreds of inferior note still worshipped, and thousands whose fame and fashion have passed away. If we may believe Siva, indeed, he counted a hundred Pararrdhyas in Kasi, of which, at the time he is supposed to tell this to Devi, he adds sixty crore, or six hundred millions, were covered by the waters of the Ganges. A Par&rrdhya is said, by the commentator on the Kasi Khanda, in which this dialogue occurs, to contain as many years of mortals as are equal to fifty of Brahma's years. Notwithstanding the acknowledged purport of this worship, it is but justice to state, that it is unattended in upper India by any indecent or indelicate ceremonies, and it requires a rather lively imagination to trace any resemblance in its symbols to the objects they are supposed to represent. The absence of all indecency from public worship and religious establishments in the Gangetic Provinces, was fully established by the Vindicator of the Hindus, the late General Stuart, and in every thing relating to actual practice, better authority cannot be desired. (Vindication, Part 1st, 99, and more particularly Part 2d, 135). * The Skanda Parana, which contains the Kasi Khanda, particularly inculcates the worship of Siva in this form ; so do the Siva, Brahmanda, and Linga Puranas, t The following is the passage from the Rozet as Sefa, alluded to : •yJ3^{ ^jtJ (^t i^A-o ^^^ (c^y^*^ i^^j sUsr*^. *i e^Uaj. »^^^^^ tiT^j^J^ ^5^^ ijr^j ^.^j j^ j^ ^^ a y^^ ^^ o^^ ^y.^\j2i »j\.^hi Ay^SS^ 140 one of the twelve great Lingas, then set up in various parts of India, several of which, besides Someswara, or Somanath, which was the " The temple in whick the Idol oi Somnath stood, was of considerable extent, both in length and breadth, and the roof was supported by fifty-six pillars in rows. The Idol was of polished stone, its height was about five cubits, and its thickness in pro- portion: two cubits were below ground. Mahmud having entered the temple, broke the stone Somnath, with a heavy mace: some of the fragments he ordered to be con- veyed to Ghisni, and they were placed at the threshold of the great Mosque." An- other authority, the Tehkat AJcheeri, a history of Akber's reign, with a preliminary Sketch of Indian History, has the following : JS^^^ My\xx> ikA^^I^J i«i.X*a» Ui^^Ai ^} j^ ^ jJ«3j.J **^^N'^ o>^^^ JU ^I^^ j'-fTi- ^^ \i^ K*y-^j j^ CLkm\ ^iji:^ *^i x^3.^5 u^-i ls*.^.I ^i;^ *A4.^l^j ^iy^i3 C1a-oI i(U4.Al^j <2»^jj(^ \i^Mk^ j^llaXic f-J^jj^, l^**"^* '•S.^I (J-^l «XJ»>^-yw^ djU^^.M*J ^LIXj (»j^>^ tlL^ii^f ^ ^aAx) XxX5 jU***^ «^*^^^J t^J^'*"^ jl »>»Xj5 r,L s.sji' *^^ ^J^t- Ij djUx»^xo t^;^^ *>j^i^ ^^O^ »ji^ijSi ^^j l^J C-^;«» l^5l->oj AX-«!^f ^l^ j^s-'^^jjv^ X3jj j^-jJ>ij U " In the year 415 (Hijera) Mahmud determined to lead an army against Sotnnatk, a city on the sea-shore, with a temple appertaining to the followers of Brahma ; the temple contained many idols, the principal of which was named Somnath. It is related in some histories that this idol was carried from the Kaaha, upon the coming of the Prophet, and transported to India. The Brahmanical records, however, refer it to the time of Krishna, or an antiquity of 4000 years. Kkishna, himself, is said to have disappeared at this place. 141 name of the Siva, demolished by Mahmud, were destroyed by the early Mahommedan conquerors.* Most, if not all of them, also are named in works, of which the date cannot be much later than the *' When the Sultan arrived at Neherwaleh, (the capital of Guzerat) he found the city deserted, and carrying off such provisions as could be procured, he advanced to Somnath : the inhabitants of this place shut their gates against him, but it was soon carried by the irresistible valour of his troops, and a terrible slaughter of its defenders ensued. The temple was levelled with the ground : the idol Somnath, which was of stone, was broken to pieces, and in commemoration of the victory, a fragment was sent to Ghizni, where it was laid at the threshold of the principal mosque, and was there many years." These statements shew that the idol was nothing more than a block of stone, of very moderate dimensions, like the common representation of the type of Siva. Ferishta, however, has converted it into something very different, or a colossal figure of the deity himself, and following Colonel Dow's version of that compiler, the historian of British India gives the following highly coloured account of a transaction which never took place. " Filled with indignation at sight of the gigantic idol, Mahmud aimed a blow at its head, with his iron mace. The nose was struck off from its/ace. In vehe- ment trepidation, the Brahmans crowded round and offered millions to spare the god. The Omrdhs, dazzled with the ransom, ventured to counsel acceptance. Mahmud crying out that he valued the title of Breaker not Seller of idols, gave orders to proceed with the work of destruction. .At the next blow the belly of the idol burst open, and forth issued a vast treasure of diamonds, rubies and pearls, rewarding the holy perse- verance of Mahmud, and explaining the devout liberality of the Brahmans !" (Vol. 1. 491.) * The twelve Lingas are particularised in the Keddra Kalpa, of the Nandi Upapurdna, where Siva is made to say — " 1 am omnipresent, but 1 am especially in twelve forms and places." These he enumerates, and they are as follow : 1. Somanatha, in S aurashtra, i. e. Sural, in its most extensive sense, including part of Guzerat, where, indeed, Patana Somnath, or the city of Somnath, is still situated. 2. Mallikdrjuna, or Sri Saila, described by Colonel Mackenzie, the late Surveyor General. Asiatic Researches, Vol. 5th. 3. Mahakala, in Ougein. This deity of stone was carried to Dehli, and broken there upon the capture of Ougein, by Altumsh. A. D. 1231, — Dow. According to the Tehkat Akberi, the shrine was then three hundred years old. 4. Omkdra is said to have been in Ujayin, but it is probably the shirne of Maha- DEo, at Omkhra Mandatta, on the Nurmadd. 5. Amareswara is also placed in Ujayin : an ancient temple of Mahadeo, on a hill near Ujayin, is noticed by Dr. Hunter, Asiatic Researches, Vol. 6th, but he does not give the name or form. 6. Vaidyanath, at Deogerh, in Bengal; the temple is still in being, and is a celebrated place of pilgrimage. 7. Ramesa, at Setubandha, the island of Ramisseram, between Ceylon and the continent; this Lingam is fabled to have been set up by Rama. The temple is still in tolerable repair, and is one of the most magnificent in India. The gateway is one hundred feet high. It has been repeatedly described, and is delineated in Daniel's Superb Plates of Indian Antiquities, from which it has been copied into Langle's Monuments de L'Hindoostan. 142 eighth or ninth century, and it is therefore, to be inferred, with as much certainty as any thing short of positive testimony can afford, that the worship of Siva, under this type, prevailed throughout India at least as early as the fifth or sixth century of the Christian era. Considered as one great branch of the universal public worship, its prevalence, no doubt, dates much earlier ; but the particular modifications under which the several types received their local designations, and became entitled to special reverence, are not in every case of remote antiquity. One of the forms in which the Linga worship appears, is that of the Lingayets, Lingawants, or Jangamas, the essential characteristic of which is wearing the emblem on some part of the dress or person. The type is of a small size, made of copper or silver, and is commonly worn suspended in a case round the neck, or sometimes tied in the turban. In common with the Saivas, generally, the Jangamas smear their fore- heads with VibhiUi or ashes, and wear necklaces, and carry rosaries, made of the Rudrdksha seed. The clerical members of the sect usually stain their garments with red ochre. They are not numerous in upper India, and are rarely encountered, except as mendicants, leading about a bull, the living type of Nandi, the bull of Siva, decorated with housings of various colours, and strings of cowri shells : the conductor carries a bell in his hand, and thus accompanied goes about from place to place, subsisting upon alms. In the south of India, the Lingayets are very numerous, and the officiating priests of the Saiva shrines, are commonly of this sect,* when they bear the designations of Arddhya and Pandaram.\ The sect is also there known by the name of Vira Saiva. The following account of the restorer, if not the founder of the 8. Bhimasankara, in Dakini, which is, in all probability, the same with Bhimes- wara, a. Linga worshipped at Dracharam, in the iJ^/awa^ewrfn district, and there venerated as one of the principal twelve. 10. Tryamhaka, on the banks of the Gomati ; whether the temple still exists I have no knowledge. 11. Gautamisa is another of the twelve, whose original site and present fate are uncertain. 12. Keddresa, or Kedaranath, in the Himalaya, has been repeatedly visited by late travellers. The deity is represented by a shapeless mass of rock. * They also officiate in this capacity at the temple of Keddrnath, in Benares. t This word seems to be properly Pdnduranga, (^'[W^^'^l) P^le comple.xion- ed, from their smearing themselves with ashes. It is so used in Hemachandra's history of Mahdvira, when speaking of the Saiva Brahmans. 143 faith, as well as a specimen of the legends by which it is maintained, are derived from the Bdsava Purdna. According to the followers of this faith, which prevails very exten- sively in the Dekhin, Bdswa, Bdsava, Bdswana or Bdswapa, or Bdsavappa, different modes of writing his name, only restored this religion, and did not invent it. This person, it is said, was the son of Mddiga Rdya, a Brahman, and Madevi written also Madala arasu and Mahdmhd, inhabi- tants of Hinguleswar Parvati Agrahdram, on the west of Sri Saila, and both devout worshippers of Siva. In recompense of their piety, Nandi, the bull of Siva, was born on earth as their son, becoming incarnate by command of Siva, on his learning from Na'reda, the decline of the Saiva faith, and prevalence of other less orthodox systems of religion. The child was denominated after the Bdswa or Bdsava, the bull of the deity. On his arriving at the age of investiture, he re- fused to assume the thread ordinarily worn by Brahmans, or to acknow- ledge any Guru, except Iswara or Siva. He then departed to the town of Kalydn, the capital of Bijala or Vijala Rdya, and obtained in marriage Gangdmbd, the daughter of the Dandandyak, or minister of police. From thence he repaired to Sangameswara, where he received from Sangames- wara Swdmi, initiation in the tenets of the Vira Saiva faith. He was invited back from this place to succeed his father-in-law upon his decease, in the office he had held. After his return to Kalydn, his sister, who was one of his first disci- ples, was delivered of a son, Chenna Bdsava, who is not unfrequently confounded with his uncle, and regarded, perhaps more correctly, as the founder of the sect. After recording these events, the work enumerates various marvellous actions, performed by Bdsava and several of his disciples, such as con- verting grains of corn to pearls — discovering hidden treasures — feeding multitudes — healing the sick, and restoring the dead to life. The fol- lowing are some of the anecdotes narrated in the Purdna. Bdsava having made himself remarkable for the profuse bounties he bestowed upon the Jangamas, helping himself from the Royal Treasury for that purpose, the other, ministers reported his conduct to Bijala, who called upon him to account for the money in his charge. Bdsava smiled, and giving the keys of the treasury to the king, requested him to examine it, which being done, the amount was 144 found wholly undiminished. Bejala thereupon caused it to be pro- claimed, that whoever calumniated Bdsava, should have his tongue cut out. A Jangama, who cohabited with a dancing girl, sent a slave for his allowance of rice to the house of Bdsava, where the messenger saw the wife of the latter, and on his return reported to the dancing girl the magnificence of her attire. The mistress of the Jangama was filled with a longing for a similar dress, and the Jangama having no other means of gratifying her, repaired to Bdsava, to beg of him his wife's garment. Bdsava immediately stripped Gangdmbd, his wife, and other dresses springing from her body, he gave them all to the Jangama. A person of the name of Kanapa, who regularly worshipped the image of Eka'mreswara, imagining the eyes of the deity were affected, plucked out his own, and placed them in the sockets of the figure. Siva, pleased with his devotion, restored his worshipper his eyes. A devout Saiva named Mahadevala Machdya, who engaged to wash for all the Jangamas, having killed a child, the Raja ordered Bdsava to have him secured and punished ; but Bdsava declined undertaking the duty, as it would be unavailing to offer any harm to the worshippers of Siva. Bijala persisting, sent his servants to seize and tie him to the legs of an elephant, but Machdya caught the elephant by the trunk, and dashed him and his attendants to pieces. He then proceeded to attack the Raja, who being alarmed, applied to Bdsava, and by his advice, humbled himself before the offended Jangama. Bdsava also deprecated his wrath, and Machdya being appeased, forgave the king, and restored the elephant and the guards to life. A poor Jangam having solicited alms of Kinnardya, one of Basava's chief disciples, the latter touched the stones about them with his staff, and converting them into gold, told the Jangam to help himself. The work is also in many places addressed to the Jainas, in the shape of a dialogue between some of the Jangama saints and the members of that faith, in which the former narrate to the latter instances of the superiority of the Saiva religion, and the falsehood of the Jain faith, which appears to have been that of Bijala Rdya, and the great part of the population of Kalydna. In order to convert 145 them Ekdnta Ramdya, one of Bdsavas disciples, cut off his head in their presence, and then marched five days in solemn procession, through and round the city, and on the fifth day replaced his head upon his shoulders. The Jain Pagodas were thereupon, it is said, destroyed by the Jan- gamas. It does not appear, however, that the king was made a convert, or that he approved of the principles and conduct of his minister. He seems, on the contrary, to have incurred his death by attempting to repress the extension of the Vira Saiva belief. Different authorities, although they disagree as to the manner in which Bijala was destroyed, concur in stating the fact : the following account of the transaction is from the present work. " In the city of Kalydna were two devout worshippers of Siva, named Allay a and Madhuvaya. They fixed their faith firmly on the divinity they adored, and assiduously reverenced their spiritual preceptor, attend- ing upon Bdsava whithersoever he went. The king, Bijala, well knew their merits, but closed his eyes to their superiority, and listening to the calumnious accusations of their enemies, commanded the eyes of Allaya and Madhuvaya to be plucked out. The disciples of Bdsava, as well as himself, were highly indignant at the cruel treatment of these holy men, and leaving to Jagaddeva the task of putting Bijala to death, and de- nouncing imprecations upon the city, they departed from Kaldyna — Bdsava fixed his residence at Sangameswara. Machdya, Bommidevaya, Kinnara, Kannatha, Bommadeva, Kakdyd, Masanaya, Kolakila Bommadeva, Kesirajaya, Mathirajaya, and others, announced to the people, that the fortunes of Bijala had passed away, as indicated by portentous signs ; and accordingly the crows crowed in the night, jackalls howled by day ; the sun was eclipsed, storms of wind and rain came on, the earth shook, and darkness overspread the heavens. The inhabitants of Kalydna were filled with terror. When Jagaddeva repaired home, his mother met him, and told him that when any injury had been done to a disciple of the Saiva faith, his fellow should avenge him or die. When Daksha treated Siva with con- tumely, Parvati threw herself into the flames, and so, under the wrong offered to the saints, he should not sit down contented : thus saying, she gave him food at the door of his mansion. Thither also came Mallaya and Bommaya, two others of the saints, and they partook of Jagaddeva's u 146 meal. Then smearing their bodies with holy ashes, they took up the spear, and sword, and shield, and marched together against Bijala. On their way a bull appeared, whom they knew to be a form of Bdsava come to their aid, and the bull went first, even to the court of the king, goring any one that came in their way, and opening a clear path for them. Thus they reached the court, and put Bijala to death in the midst of all his courtiers, and then they danced, and proclaimed the cause why they had put the king to death. Jugaddeva on his way back, recalling the words of his mother, stabbed himself. Then arose dissension in the city, and the people fought amongst themselves, and horses with horses, and elephants with elephants, until, agreeably to the curse denounced upon it by Bdsava and his disciples, Kalydna was utterly destroyed. Bdsava continued to reside at Sangameswara, conversing with his dis- ciples, and communing with the divine essence, and he expostulated with Siva, saying " By thy command have I, and thy attendant train, come upon earth, and thou hast promised to recall us to thy presence when our task was accomplished." Then Siva and Pa'rvati' came forth from the Sangameswara Lingam, and were visible to Bdsava, who fell on the ground before them. They raised him, and led him to the sanctuary, and all three disappeared in the presence of the disciples, and they praised their master, and flowers fell from the sky, and then the disciples spread themselves abroad, and made known the absorption of Bdsava into the emblem of Siva. — Mackenzie Collection, Vol. 2nd. Hdlakanara MSS. The date of the events here recorded is not particularised, but from various authorities, they may be placed with confidence in the early part of the eleventh century*. The Mackenzie Collection, from which the above is taken, contains a number of worksf of a similar description, in the ancient Kanara dialect. There are also several works of the same nature in Telugu, as the Basa- veswara Purana, Panditdrddhya Cheritra, and others. Although the * Colonel Wilks gives the same date, (Mysore 1, 50ti, ) but terms the founder Chen Bas IsMvar, intending clearly Chenna (little) Bdsava, the nephew of Bdsava, or Basaveswara. Buchanan has the name Bdswana, ( Mysore I, 240,) but agrees nearly in the date, placing him about seven hundred years ago. t As the Bdswana Purana, Chenna Bdsava Purana, Prahhulinga Lild, Saranu Lildmrita, Viraktaru Kdvyam, and others, containing legends of a vast number of Jangama Saints and Teachers.— ilfac/i:e«~/e Collection, Vol, 2. 147 language of these compositions may now have become obscure or obso- lete, it is not invariably so, and at any rate was once familiar. This circumstance, and the marvellous character of the legends they relate, specimens of which have been given in the above account of the founder of the sect, adapted them to the comprehension and taste of the people at large, and no doubt therefore exercised a proportionate influence. Accordingly, Wilks, Buchanan, and Dubois, represent the Lingawants as very numerous in the Dekhin, especially in Mysore, or those countries constituting ancient Kanara, and they are also common in Telingana. In Upper India there are no popular works current, and the only autho- rity is a learned Bhdshya, or Comment, by Nilkantha, on the Sutras of Vya'sa, a work not often met with, and, being in Sanscrit, unintelligible to the multitude.* PARAMAHANSA. According to the introduction of the Dwddasa Mahdvdkya, by a Dandi author, Vaikunthe Puri, the Sanydsi is of four kinds, the Kutichara, Bahudaka, Hansa, and Paramahansa: the difference between whom, however, is only the graduated intensity of their self-mortification and profound abstraction. The Paramahansaf is the most eminent of these gradations, and is the ascetic who is solely occupied with the investiga- * Besides (he Jangama priests of Keddrniith, an opulent establishment of them exists at Benares : its wealth arises from a number of houses, occupying a consider- able space, called the Jangam Bdri : the title to the property is said to be a grant to the Jangamas, regularly executed by Man Sinh, and preserved on a copper plate : the story with which the vulgar are deluded is, that it was granted by one of the Emperors of Hindustan, in consequence of a miracle performed by a Jangama devotee. In proof of the veracity of his doctrine, he proposed to fly : the Emperor promised to give him as much ground as he could traverse in that manner : not quite satisfied of the impossibility of the feat, he had a check string tied to the ascetic's legs, and held by one of the attendants : the Jangama mounted, and when he reached the limits of the present Jangama Bdri, the Emperor thinking that extent of ground sufficiently liberal, had him constrained to fly back again. t Moor, in his Hindu Pantheon, (page 352) asserts, upon, as he says, authentic information, that the Paramahansas eat human flesh, and that individuals of this sect 148 tion of Brahma., or spirit, and who is equally indifferent to pleasure or pain, insensible of heat or cold, and incapable of satiety or want. Agreeably to this definition, individuals are sometimes met with who pretend to have attained such a degree of perfection : in proof of it they go naked in all weathers, never speak, and never indicate any natural want : what is brought to them as alms or food, by any person, is received by the attendants, whom their supposed sanctity or a confe- deration of interest attaches to them, and by these attendants they are fed and served on all occasions, as if they were as helpless as infants. It may be supposed that, not unfrequently, there is much knavery in this helplessness, but there are many Hindus whose simple enthusiasm induces them honestly to practice such self-denial, and there is little risk in the attempt, as the credulity of their countrymen, or rather country women, will, in most places, take care that their wants are amply sup- plied : these devotees are usually included amongst the Saiva ascetics ; but it may be doubted whether the classification is correct. AGHORIS. The pretended insensibility of the Paramahansa being of a passive nature, is, at least, inoffensive, and even where it is mere pretence, the retired nature of the practice renders the deception little conspicuous or revolting. The same profession of worldly indifference characterises the Aghori, or Aghorapanthi ; but he seeks occasions for its display, and demands alms as a reward for its exhibition. The original Aghori worship seems to have been that of Devi in some of her terrific forms, and to have required even human victims for its are not very unusually seen about Benares, floating down the river, and feeding upon a corpse : it is scarcely necessary to add that he is wholly wrong : the passage he cites from the Researches is quite correct, when it describes the Paramanhansa as an ascetic of the orthodox sects, in the last stage of exaltation ; and the practice he des- cribes, although far from usual, is sometimes heard of as a filthy exhibition, displayed for profit by individuals of a very different sect, those who occupy the ensuing portion of the present text— the Aghoris, 149 performance.* In imitation of the formidable aspect under which the goddess was worshipped, the appearance of her votary was rendered as hideous as possible, and his wand and water-pot were a staff set with bones and the upper half of a skull : the practices were of a similar nature, and flesh and spirituous liquors constituted, at will, the diet of the adept. The regular worship of this sect has long since been suppressed, and the only traces of it now left are presented by a few disgusting wretches, who, whilst they profess to have adopted its tenets, make them a mere plea for extorting alms. In proof of their indifference to worldly objects, they eat and drink whatever is given to them, even ordure and carrion. They smear their bodies also with excrement, and carry it about with them in a wooden cup, or skull, either to swallow it, if by so doing they can get a few pice ; or to throw it upon the persons, or into the houses of those who refuse to comply with their demands. They also, for the same purpose, inflict gashes on their limbs, that the crime of blood may rest upon the head of the recusant ; and they have a variety of similar disgusting devices to extort money from the timid and credulous Hindu. They are, fortu- nately, not numerous, and are universally detested and feared. URDDHABAHUS, AKAS MUKHIS, AND NAKHIS. Personal privation and torture being of great efficacy in the creed of the Hindus, various individuals, some influenced by credulity, and some by knavery, have adopted modes of distorting their limbs, and forcing them out of their natural position, until they can no longer resume their ordinary direction. * It may be credulity or calumny, but the Bhils, and other hill tribes, are constantly accused by Sanscrit writers of the eleventh and twelfth centuries, as addicted to this sanguinary worship. The Vrihat Katha is full of stories to this effect, the scene of which is chiefly in the Vindhyu range. Its covert existence in cities is inferable from the very dramatic situation in Bhavabkuti's Drama, Mulati and Mddhava, where Mddhava rescues his mistress from the Aghora Ghanta, who is about to sacrifice Mdlati at the shrine of Chamunda. 150 The Urddhabdhus'^ extend one or both arms above their heads, till they remain of themselves thus elevated. They also close the fist, and the nails being necessarily suffered to grow, make their way between the metacarpal bones, and completely perforate the hand. The Urddah- hdhus are solitary mendicants, as are all of this description, and never liave any fixed abode : they subsist upon alms ; many of them go naked, but some wear a wrapper stained with ochre ; they usually assume the Saiva marks, and twist their hair so as to project from the forehead, in imitation of the Jata of Siva. The Akdsmukhis\ hold up their faces to the sky, till the muscles oi the back of the neck become contracted, and retain it in that position : they wear the Jata, and allow the beard and whiskers to grow, smearing the body with ashes : some wear coloured garments : they subsist upon alms. The Nakhis are of a similar description with the two preceding, but their personal characteristic is of a less extravagant nature, being con- fined to the length of their finger nails, which they never cut : they also live by begging, and wear the Saiva marks. GUDARAS. The Gudaras are so named from a pan of metal which they carry about with them, and in which they have a small fire, for the purpose of burning scented woods at the houses of the persons from whom they receive alms. These alms they do not solicit further than by repeating the word Alakh,X expressive of the indescribable nature of the deity. They have a peculiar garb, wearing a large round cap, and a long froci or coat, stained with ochery clay. Some also wear ear-rings, like the Kdnphata Jogis, or a cylinder of wood passed through the lobe of the ear, which they term the Khechari Mudrd, the seal or symbol of the deity, of him who moves in the heavens. * Urddha, above, and Bdhu, the arm. t A'kus, the sky, and Mukha, the face. X A, the negative prefix, and Lakshma, a mark, a distinction. 151 RUKHARAS, SUKHARAS, AND UKHARAS. The Sukharas are Saiva mendicants, distinguished by carrying a stick three spans in length : they dress in a cap and sort of petticoat stained with ochery earth, smear their bodies with ashes, and wear ear- rings of the Rudrdksha seed. They also wear over the left shoulder a narrow piece of cloth dyed with ochre, and twisted, in place of the Zenar. The Rukharas are of similar habits and appearance, but they do not carry the stick, nor wear the Ruddrdksha ear-rings, but in their place metallic ones : these two classes agree with the preceding in the watch- word, exclaiming Alakh, as they pass along ; the term is, however, used by other classes of mendicants. The Ukharas are said to be members of either of the preceding classes, who drink spirituous liquors, and eat meat : they appear to be the refuse of the three preceding mendicant classes, who, in general, are said to be of mild and inoffensive manners. KARA LINGIS. These are vagabonds of little credit, except sometimes amongst the most ignorant portions of the community : they are not often met with ; they go naked, and to mark their triumph over sensual desires, affix an iron ring and chain on the male organ :* they are professedly worship- pers of Siva. SANYASIS, BRAHMACHARIS, AND AVADHUTAS. Although the terms Sanydsi and Vairdgi are, in a great measure, restricted amongst the Vaishnavas to peculiar classes, the same limit * These ascetics were the persons who attracted the notice of the earlier travellers, especially Bernier and Tavernier. They were more numerous then, probably, than they are at present, and this appears to be the case with most of the mendicants who practised on the superstitious admiration of the vulgar. 152 can scarcely be adopted with regard to the Saivas. All the sects, except the Sanyogi Atits, are so far Sanydsi, or excluded from the world, as not to admit of married teachers, a circumstance far from uncommon, as we have seen amongst the more refined followers of Vishnu. Most of the Saiva sects, indeed, are of a very inferior description to those of the Vaishnavas. Besides the individuals who adopt the Danda Grahana, and are un- connected with the Dasndmis, there is a set of devotees who remain, through life, members of the condition of the Bramachdri, or student :* these are also regarded as Sanydsis, and where the term is used in a definite sense, these twelve kinds, the Dandis, Brahmachdris, and ten Dasndmi orders are implied. In general, however, the term, as well as Avadhuta, or Avdhauta, and Alakhndmi, express all the Saiva classes of mendicants, except, perhaps, the Jogis. NAGAS. The Siava Sanydsis who go naked, are distinguished by this term. They smear their bodies with ashes, allow their hair, beards, and whis- kers to grow, and wear the projecting braid of hair, called the Jata ; like the Vairdgi Ndgas, they carry arms, and wander about in troops, soliciting alms, or levying contributions. The Saiva Ndgas are chiefly the refuse of the Dandi and Atit orders, or men who have no inclination for a life of study or business : when weary of the vagrant and violent habits of the Ndga, they re-enter the better disposed classes, which they had first quitted. The Saiva Ndgas are very numerous in many parts of India, though less so in the Company's provinces than in any other ; they were formerly in great numbers in Bundelkand,\ and Himmet * The Dirghakdla Brahma char yam, or protracted period of studentship is, however, amongst the acts enumerated in various authorities of indisputable character, as those which are prohibited in the Kali age. t A party of them attacked Colonel Goddard's troops in their march between Dorawal and Herapur, the assailants were no more than four or five hundred, but about two thousand hovered about the rear of the army : they are called Pandarums in the narrative, but were evidently Saiva Nagas. Pennant's Hindustan, '2, 192. The Vindicator of the Hindus, speaking of them, observes, that they often engage in 153 Bahadar was a pupil of one of their Mahants, Ra'jendra Gir, one of the lapsed Dasndmi ascetics. These Ndgas are the particular opponents of the Vairdgi Ndgas, and were, no doubt, the leading actors in the bloody fray at Haridwar,^ which had excluded the Vaishnavas from the great fair there, from 1760, till the British acquired the country. The leader of the Saiva party was called Dhokal Gir, and he, as well as the spiritual guide of Himmet Bahadar, was, consequently of the Dasndmi order, which would thus seem to be addicted to violent and war-like habits. With respect to the sanguinary affray at Haridwar, in which we are told eighteen thousand Vairdgis were left dead on the field, there is a different legend current of the origin of the conflict, from that given in the Researches, but neither of them is satisfactory, nor indeed is any particular cause necessary, as the opposite objects of worship, and the pride of strength and numbers, and consequent struggle for pre-eminence, are quite sufficient to account for the dispute. f the rival contests of the Indian Chiefs, and, on a critical occasion some years ago, six thousand of them joined the forces of the Mahratta Chief Sinpiah, and enabled him, with an equal number of his own troops, to discomfit an array of thirty thousand men, headed by one of his rebellious subjects. * A. H, 11. 455. It may be observed, that a very accurate account is given in the same place of the general appearance and habits of the Saiva Sanyasis and Jogis, the Vaishnava Vair&gis, and Uddsis of Nanckshah. The term Gosain, as correlative to Sanydsi, is agreeable to common usage, but, as has been elsewhere observed, is more strictly applicable to very different characters. t The irregular practices of these and other mendicants, have attracted the lash of Kabir, in the following Remaini : Rrmaini 69. H^ f%^ 1%^ iTXIi^Tt, &;c. " I never beheld such diJogi, Oh brother! forgetting his doctrine, he roves about in negligence. He follows, professedly, the faith of IVIaha'deva, and calls himself an eminent teacher ; the scene of his abstraction is the fair or market. Ma'ya' is the mistress of the false saint. When did Dattatreya demolish a dwelling; when did Sd'kadeva collect an armed host; when did Na'rada mount a matchlock ; when did Vya'sadeva blow a trumpet. In making war, the creed is violated. Is he an Ati't, who is armed with a quiver? Is he a Viraktd, who is filled with covetousness ? His garb is put to shame by his gold ornaments ; he has assembled horses and mares ; is possessed of villages ; is called a man of wealth ; a beautiful woman was not amongst the embellishments of Sdnakd, and his brethren ; he who carries with him a vessel of ink, cannot avoid soilins his raiment. 154 SAKTAS. The worshippers of the Sakti, the power or energy of the divine na- ture in action, are exceedingly numerous amongst all classes of Hindus.* This active energy is, agreeably to the spirit of the mythological system, personified, and the form with which it is invested considered as the espe- cial object of veneration, depends upon the bias entertained by the indivi- duals towards the adoration of Vishnu or Siva. In the former case, the personified Sakti is termed Lakshmi', or Maha' Lakshmi, and in the latter, Pa'rvati, Bhava'ni or Durga'. Even Saraswati' enjoys some portion of homage, much more than her lord, Brahma', whilst a vast variety of inferior beings of malevolent character, and formidable aspect, receive the worship of the multitude. The bride of Siva, however, in one or other of her many and varied forms, is by far the most popular emblem in Bengal, and along the Ganges. The worship of the female principle, as distinct from the divinity, appears to have originated in the literal interpretation of the metaphori- cal language of the Vedas, in which the will or purpose to create the uni- verse, is represented as originating from the creator, and co- existent with him as his bride, and part of himself. Thus in the Rig Veda, it is said " That divine spirit breathed without afflation single, with (Swadha) her who is sustained within him ; other than him nothing existed. First desire was formed in his mind, and that became the original productive seed,t and the Sdma Veda, speaking of the divine cause of creation, says, " He felt not delight, being alone. He wished another, and instantly became such. He caused his ownself to fall in twain, and thus became husband and wife. He approached her, and thus were human beings produced. "J In these passages it is not unlikely that reference is made to the primitive tradition of the origin of mankind, but there is also a figurative representation ol the first indication of wish or will in the Supreme Being. Being devoid of all qualities whatever, he was alone, until he permittee the wish to be multiplied, to be generated within himself. This wish being put into action, it is said, became united with its parent * It has been computed, that of the Hindus of Bengal, at least three-fourths are o this sect; of the remaining fourth, three parts are Faishnavas, and one Saivas, &c. t Asiatic Researches, Vlll. 393. X Asiatic Researches, VIII. 426. 155 and then created beings were produced. Thus this first manifestation of divine power is termed Ichchhdrupad, personified, desire ; and the crea- tor is designated as Swechchamaya,* united with his own will whilst in the Vedanta philosophy, and the popular sects, such as that of Kabir, and others, in which all created things are held to be illusory, the Sakti, or active will of the deity, is always designated and spoken of as Mayd or Mahdmayd, original deceit or illusion. f Another set of notions of some antiquity, which contributed to form the character of the Sakti, whether general or particular, were derived from the Sdnkhya philosophy. In this system. Nature, Prakriti, or Mula Prakriti, is defined to be of eternal existence, and independent origin, distinct from the supreme spirit, productive though no produc- tion, and the plastic origin of all things, including even the gods. Hence Prakriti has come to be regarded as the mother of gods and men, whilst as one with matter, the source of error, it is again identified with Mayd, or delusion, and as co-existent with the Supreme as his Sakti, his per- sonified energy, or his bride. J ♦ Thus, in the Brahma Vaivertta Purana, which has a whole section dedicated to the manifestations of the female principle, or a Prakriti Khanda. ff f^H^ 5TH^T ^T^* -^^ftll ^^f II The Lord was alone invested with the Supreme form, and beheld the whole world, with the sky and regions of space, a void Having contemplated all things in his mind, he, without any assistant, began with the will, to create all things. He, the Lord, endowed with the wish for creation. t So also in the authority last quoted. She (Prakriti,) one with, Brahma, is Maya, eternal, everlasting. And in the Kalika Purana. Prakriti is termed Inherent Mayd, because she beguiles all beings. X In the Gita, Prakriti is identified with all the elementary predicates of matter. 156 These mythological fancies have been principally disseminated by the Puranas, in all which Prakriti, or Maya, bears a prominent part. The agE^regate of the whole is given in the Brahma Vaivartta Purana, one section of which, the Prakriti Khanda, is devoted to the subject, and in which the legends relating to the principal modifications of the female principle are narrated. According to this authority, Brahma, or the Supreme Being, having determined to create the universe by his super- human power, became twofold, the right half becoming a male, the left half a female, which was Prakriti. She was of one nature with Brahma. She was illusion, eternal and without end : as is the soul, so is its active energy ; as the faculty of burning is in fire.* In another passage it is said, that Krishna, who is in this work identified with the Supreme, being alone invested with the divine nature, beheld all one universal blank, and contemplating creation with his mental vision, he began to create all things by his own will, being united with his will, which became mani- fest as Mu'la Prakriti.! The original Prakriti first assumed five " This, my Prakriti, is inherently eight-fold, or earth, water, fire, air, ether, mind, intellect, individuality." So also the Kurma Purana (Chapter, 12). His Energy, being the universal form of all the world, is called Maya, for so does the Lord the best of males and endowed will illusion cause it to revolve. That Sakti of which the essence is illusion, is omniform and eternal, and constantly displays the universal shape of Mahesa. He, by the power of Yoga, became himself in the act of creation two-fold, the right half was the male, the left was called Prakriti. From the wish which was the creative impulse of Sri Krishna, endowed with his will, she, Mtcla Prakriti, the Supreme, became manifest. 157 forms* — Durga' the bride, Sakti, and Mayd, of Siva, Lakshmi' the bride, Sakti and Mayd of Vishnu, Saraswati the same of Brahma, or in the Brahma Vaivartta Purana, of Hari, whilst the next, Sa'vitri is the bride of Brahma'. The fifth division of the original Prakriti, was Ra'uha', the favourite of the youthful Krishna, and unquestionably a modern intruder into the Hindu Pantheon. Besides these more important manifestations of the female principle, the whole body of goddesses and nymphs of every order, are eaid to have sprung from the same source, and indeed every creature, whether human or brutal, of the female sex, is referred to the same principle, whilst the origin of males is ascribed to the primitive Purusha, or male. In every creation of the universe, it is said the Mu'la Prakriti assumes the different gradations of Ansarupini, Kaldrdpini and Kaldnsarupini,\ or manifests herself in portions, parts, and portions of parts, and further subdivisions. The chief Ansas are, besides the five already enumerated, Ganga', Tulasi, Manasa' Sashthi, or Devasna, Mangala'chandika, and Ka'li' ; the principal Kalds are Swa'ha', Swadha, Dakshina, SwASTi, Pushti, Tushti, and others, most of which are allegorical personifications, as Dhriti, fortitude, Pratishthd, fame, and Adharma, Wickedness, the bride of Mrityu, or Death. Aditi, the mother of the gods, and Diti, the mother of the demons, are also Kalds of Prakriti. The list includes all the secondary goddesses. The Kaldnsas and Ansdnsas, or sub-divisions of the more important manifestations, are all womankind, who are distinguished as good, middling, or bad, accord- ing as they derive their being, from the parts of their great original, in which the Satya, Rajas, and Tama Guna, or property of goodness, passion, and vice predominates. At the same time as manifestations of the great Cause of all they are entitled to respect, and even to venera- tion : whoever, says the Brahma Vaivartta Purana, offends or insults a ff^T^iTT ^^t%^T ^ffe ^fi:Hl%5T^fT: And she (the Miila Prakriti.) became in the act of creation five-fold by the will ot the Supreme. In every creation of the universe the Devi, through divine Yoga, assumes different forms, and becomes Ansarupd, Kalarupd, and Kaldnsarupd, or Ansdnsariipd, 158 female, incurs the wrath of Prakriti, whilst he who propitiates a female, particularly the youthful daughter of a Brahman, with clothes, orna- ments and perfumes, oflfers worship to Prakriti herself. It is in the spirit of this last doctrine that one of the principal rites of the Sdktas, is the actual worship of the daughter or wife of a Brahman, and leads with one branch of the sect at least to the introduction of gross impuri- ties. But besides this derivation of Prakriti, or Sakti, from the Supreme, and the secondary origin of all female nature from her, those who adopt her as their especial divinity, employ the language invari- ably addressed towards the preferential object of worship in every sect, and contemplate her as comprising all existence in her essence. Thus she is not only declared to be one with the male deity, of whose energy some one of her manifestations is the type, as Devi with Siva, and Lakshmi with Vishnu ; but it is said, that she is equally in all things, and that all things are in her, and that besides her, there is nothing.* Although the adoration of Prakriti or Sakti is, to a certain ex- tent, authorised by the Purdnas, particularly the Brahma Vaivartta, the Skanda, and the Kdlikd, yet the principal rites and formulae are derived from an independent series of works, known by the collective term of Tantras. These are infinitely numerous, and in some instances of great extent ; they always assume the form of a dialogue between Siva and bis bride, in one of her many forms, but mostly as Uma' and Parvati, in which the goddess questions the god as to the mode of performing various ceremonies, and the prayers and incantations to be used in them. These he explains at length, and under solemn cautions that * Thus in the Kasi Khanda — ^TtTt^ ^r^f^W f%f^^r^ ^^Wf^fT Thou art predicated in every prayer— 5ra/^ma and the rest are all born from thee. Thou art one with the tour objects of life, and from thee they come to fruit. From thee this whole universe proceeds, and in thee, asylum of the world, all is, whether visible or invisible, gross or subtle in its nature ; what is, thou art in the Sakti form, and except thee nothing has ever been. 159 they involve a great mystery, on no account whatever to be divulged to the profane. The followers of the Tantras profess to consider them as a fifth Veda, and attribute to them equal antiquity, and superior authority.* The observances they prescribe have, indeed, in Bengal, almost superseded the original ritual. The question of there date is involved in consider- able obscurity. From the practices described in some of the Purdnas, particularly that of the Dikshd or rite of initiation, in the Agni Purdnas, from the specification of formulae, comprising the mystical monosyllables of the Tantras in that and other similar compilations, and from the citation of some of them by name in different Paurdnic works, f we must conclude that some of the Tantras are prior to those authorities. But the date of the Purdnas themselves is far from determined, and whilst some parts of them may be of considerable antiquity, other portions of most, if not of all, are undoubtedly subsequent to the tenth century of the Christian era. It is not unlikely, however, that several of the Tan- * Thus, in the Siva Tantra, Siva is made to say — ^fT^^r^T^ ^^^ ^mmm: iT^tf^fTT: i "The five Scriptures issued from my five mouths, and were the east, west, south, north, and upper. These five are known as the paths to final liberation. There are many Scriptures, but none are equal to the Upper Scripture." Kulliika Bhatta, commenting on the first verse of the second chapter of Menu, says, the Sruti is two- fold— Fa tdj'Aro and Tantrika ; ^f?T^ firf%^T tf^^fit mf^^ ^ II t As in the Kiirma Purana, the Kapdla^ Bhairava, Vdma and Ydmala, and the Panchardtrd in the Vardha ; we have also a number mentioned in the Sankara Vijayas, of both Anandagiri and Mddhava as the Siva Gita, Siva Sanhitd, Riidra Ydmala, and Siva Rahasya. It is also said in Anandagiri's work, that the Brah- manas were cursed by Gayatri, to become Tdnirikas in the Kali age. ^ ^^ ^^5??^^ f^f?T fTT^TT^^T^^ " She being angry said to them, in the Kali age, after abandoning the Feda ritual, become followers of the Tantrika observances. 160 tras are of earlier composition, especially as we find the system they inculcate, included by Anandagiri, in his life of Sankara'cha'rya, amongst the heterodoxies which that Legislator succeeded in confuting. On the other hand, there appears no indication of Tantrika notions in the Mahdhhdrat, and the name of Tantra, in the sense of a religious text book, does not occur in the vocabulary of Amera Sinha. It may therefore be inferred, that the system originated at some period in the early centuries of Christianity, being founded on the previous worship of the female principle, and the practices of the Yoga with the Mantras, or mystical formulae of the Vedas. It is equally certain that the observan- ces of the Tantras have been carried to more exceptionable extremes in comparatively modern times, and that many of the works themselves are of recent composition. They appear also to have been written chief- ly in Bengal and the Eastern districts, many of them being unknown in the West and South of India, and the rites they teach having there failed to set aside the ceremonies of the Vedas, although they are not without an important influence upon the belief and the practices of the people. The Tantras are too numerous to admit in this place of their spe- cification, but the principal are the Sydma Rahusya, Rudra Ydmala, Mantra Mahodadhi, Sdreda TVeka, and Kdlikd Tantra, whilst the Kula- churdmani, Kuldrnava, and similar works, are the chief authorities of one portion of the Sdktas, the sect being divided into two leading branches, the Dakshindcharis and Vdmdcharis, or followers of the right hand and left hand ritual. DAKSHINAS, OR BHAKTAS. When the worship of any goddess is performed in a public manner, and agreeably to the Vaidik or Paurdnik ritual,* it does not comprehend * The peculiarites of this sect are described in the Dakshindchara Tantra Raja, a modern summary of the system by Kdsinath : according to this authority — ^f^tFFT'^T^ ff^]n ^JfffT^tr ^f^JT " The ritual declared in the Tantras of the Dakskindchdras, is pure, and conform- able to the Vedas." 161 the impure practices which are attributed to a different division of the adorers of Sakti, and which are particularly prescribed to the followers of this system. In this form it is termed the DaksMna, or right hand form of worship.* The only observance that can be supposed to form an exception to the general character of this mode is the Bali, an offer- ing of blood, in which rite a number of helpless animals, usually kids, are annually decapitated. In some cases, life is offered without shed- ding blood, when the more barbarous practice is adopted of pummelling with the fists the poor animal to death : at other times blood only is offered without injury to life. These practices, however, are not consi- dered as orthodox, and approach rather to the ritual of the Vdmdcharis,f the more pure Bali, consisting of edible grain, with milk and sugar. Animal victims are also offered to Devi, in her terrific forms only, as Ka'li' or Durga'. The worship is almost confined to a few districts ; and, perhaps, is carried to no great extent. The Fdma ritual, although declared by me, was intended for Sudras only. A Brahman, from receiving spirituous liquor, forfeits his Brahmanical character— let it not be done— let it not ever be done. Goddess, it is brutality, never let it be prac- tised. t f^ft^^ftr^T^mT Kmw^ ^xf?^^j 5§; 1 The Bali is of two kinds, Rdjasa and Sdtwika ; the first consists of meat, and in- cludes the three kinds of flesh ; the second of pulse and rice-milk, with the three sweet articles, (ghee, honey, and sugar,) let the Brahman, always pure, ofTer only the Sutwika Bali. The Brahmavaivartta also observes—" The animal sacrifices, it is true, gratify Durga' ; but they, at the same time, subject the sacrificer to the sin which attaches to the destroyer of animal life. It is declared by the Vedas, that he who slays an animal, is hereafter slain by the slain. " Brahma Vaivartta Purana." 162 Although any of the goddesses may be objects of the Sakta worship, and the term Sakti comprehends them all, yet the homage of the Saktas is almost restricted to the wife of Siva, and to Siva himself, as identi- fied with his consort.* The sect is, in fact, a ramification from the common Saiva stock, and is referred to Siva himself as its institutor. In the Tantras, as has been noticed, he appears as its professor, ex- pounding to Pa'rvati the mantras, tenets, and observances of the Sakta worship, whether of the right or left hand description. The worship of Devi, thus naturally resulting from the works on which the Sakta doctrines are founded, is one of considerable antiquity and popularity. Laying aside all uncertain and fabulous testimony, the adoration of Vindhya Vdsini, near Mirzapur,\ has existed for more than seven centuries, and that of Jwdlamukhi, at Nagarkot, very early attract- ed Mohammedan persecution.^ These places still retain their reputa- tion, and are the objects of pilgrimage to devout Hindus. On the eighth of the dark fortnight of Chaitra Kdrtik in particular, a numerous as- semblage of pilgrims takes place at them. " The joint form of Siva and Sakti is to be worshipped by the virtuous. Whoever adores Sakti, and offers not adoration to Siva, that Mantrka is diseased; he is a sinner, and hell will be his portion." For it appears that some of the .Sa^^a^ elevate the Sakti above the Saktima'n, or deity : thus the Vdmis, in the Sankara Vijaya, say : " Sakti gives strength to Siva, without her he could not stir a straw. She is, therefore, the cause of Siva. And again ; of the two objects which are eternal, the greater is the Sakti. t It is frequently mentioned in the Vrihat Katha, the age of which work is ascer- tained to be about seven centuries. Nagarkot was taken by Firoz the 3d, in 1360, ( Dow 2. 55,) at which time the goddess Jwdlamukhi was then worshipped there. X For a full account of both, the work of Mr. Ward may be advantageously consult- ed— II. 89 to 96, and 125 to 131. 163 The adoration of Ka'li, or Durga', is, however, particularly prevalent in Bengal, and is cultivated with practices scarcely known in most other provinces. Her great festival, the Dasahara, is, in the West of India, marked by no particular honors, whilst its celebration in Bengal occu- pies ten days of prodigal expenditure. This festival, the Durgd Pujd, is now well known to Europeans, as is the extensive and popular estab- lishment near Calcutta, the temple of Ka'li, at Kdli GMt. The rites observed in that place, and at the Durgd Pitj'd, however, almost place the Bengali Saktas amongst the Vdmdcharis, notwithstanding the rank assigned them in the Dakshindchdri Tantrardja, which classes the Gauras with the Keralas and Kashmirians, as the three principal divisions of the purer worshippers of Sakti. VAMIS, OR VAMACHARIS. The Vdmis mean the left hand worshippers, or those who adopt a ritual contrary to that which is usual, and to what indeed they dare publicly avow.* They worship Devi, the Sakti of Siva, but all the goddesses, as Lakshmi, Saraswati, the Mdtris, the Ndyikas, the Yoginis, and even the fiend-like Ddkinis, and Sdkinis, are admitted to a share of homage. With them, as well as with the preceding sect, Siva is also an object of veneration, especially in the form of Bhairava, with which modification of the deity it is the object of the worshipper to identify himself.f * The following verse is from the Syama Rahasya— •' Inwardly Saktas, outwordly Saivas, or in society nominally Faishnavas, the Kaulas assuming various forms, traverse the earth." CffT^f^r^T ^f^i ^^I^^t ^^T^TrT II I am Bhairava, 1 am the omniscient, endowed with qualities. Having thus meditated, let the devotee proceed to the Kula worship. — 6>a?no Rahasya. 164 The worship of the Vdmdcharis is derived from a portion of the Tantras : it resolves itself into various subjects, apparently into different sects, of which that of the Kaula, or Kuhna, is declared to be pre- eminent.* The object of the worship is, by the reverence of Devi or Sakti, who is one with Siva, to obtain supernatural powers in this life, and to be identified after death with Siva, and Sakti. According to the immediate object of the worshipper, is the particular form of worship ; but all the forms require the use of some or all of the five Makdras,\ Mansa, Matsya, Madya, Maithuna, and Mudrd, flesh, fish, wine, women, and certain mystical gesticulations. Suitable Mantras are also indispensable, according to the end proposed, consisting of various unmeaning monosyllable combinations of letters of great imaginary eflacacy.J *' The Vedas are pre-eminent over all works, the Vaishnava sect excels the Fedas, the 5'aim sect is preferable to that of Vishnu, and the right hand S a kta to that of Siva —the left hand is better than the right hand division, and the Siddhanta is better still —the Kaula is better than the Siddhanta, and there is none better than it." — Kuldr- nava. The words Kaula and Kulina are both derivatives fronx Kula, family; and the latter is especially applied to imply of good, or high family : these terms have been adopted to signify, that those who follow this doctrine are not only of one, but of an exalted race. t They are thus enumerated in the Sydma Rahasya : iT^K ^-^^^^^ ^T^T^TfT^ 5TT^5(Tr || Wine, flesh, fish, Mudru, and Maithuna, are the five-fold Makdra, which takes away all sin. X Many specimens might be given, but one will be here sufficient. It is the com- bination H and S as ^. and is one of the very few to which any meaning is attempt- ed to be given : it is called the Prdsada Mantra, and its virtues and import are thus described in the Kuldrnava. ^T^^J ^^m^K ^^^1%^; fi^m^ II 165 "Where the object of the ceremony is to acquire an interview with and controul over impure spirits, a dead body is necessary. The adept is also to be alone, at midnight, in a cemetery or place where bodies are burnt or buried, or criminals executed : seated on the corpse, he is to perform the usual offerings, and if he does so without fear, the Bhutas, the Yoginis, and other male or female goblins, become his slaves. In this, and many of the observances practised, solitude is enjoined ; but all the principal ceremonies comprehend the worship of Sakti, and require for that purpose the presence of a female, as the living represen- tative and the type of the goddess. This worship is mostly celebrated in a mixed society, the men of which represent Bhairavas or Viras, and the women Bhairavis and Ndyikds. The Sakti is personated by a naked female, to whom meat and wine are offered, and then distributed amongst the assistants, the recitation of various Mantras and texts, and the performance of the Mudrd, or gesticulations with the fingers, accom- panying the different stages of the ceremony, and it is terminated with the most scandalous orgies amongst the votaries.* The ceremony is entitled the Sri Chakra, or Purndbhisheka, the Ring, or Full Initiation. *' He who knows the excellent Prasdda Mantra, that was promulgated by the fifth Feda, fthe TantrasJ and which is the supreme form of us both, he is himself Siva : this Mantra is present in all beings that breathe from Siva, to a worm, and exists in states of expiration and inspiration." The letter H is the ex pirated, and S the in- spirated letter, and as these two acts constitute life, the Mantra they express is the same with life : the animated world would not have been formed without it, and exists but as long as it exists, and it is an integral part of the universe, without being distinct from it, as the fragrance of flowers, and sweetness of sugar, oil of Sesamum seed, and Sakti of Siva. He who knows it needs no other knowledge — he who repeats it need practice no other act of adoration. The authority quoted contains a great deal more to the same purpose. * It might have been sufficient to have given this general statement, or even to have referred to the similar but fuller account of Mr. Ward: his information was, however, merely oral, and may therefore be regarded as unsatisfactory ; and as it seems to be necessary to show that the charge is not altogether unfounded, I shall subjoin the leading rites of the Sakti Sodhana, or Sri Chakra, as they arc prescribed in the Devi Rahasya, a section of the Rudra Yamala. ]e6 The occurrence of these impurities is certainly countenanced by the texts, which the sects regard as authorities, and by a very general belief of their occurrence. The members of the sect are enjoined secrecy. SAKTl SODHANA. The object of the ceremony should be either— " A dancing giri, a female devotee, a harlot, a washerwoman, or barber's wife, a female of the BraJimanical or Sudra tribe, a flower girl, or a milk maid." It is to be per- formed at midnight, with a party of eight, nine, or eleven couple, as the Bhairavas and B hair avis. Appropriate Mantras are to be used, according to the description of the person selec- ted for the Sakti, who is then to be worshipped, according to prescribed form; she is placed disrobed, but richly ornamented— on the left of a circle (Chakra) described for the purpose, with various Mantras and gesticulations, and is to be rendered pure by the repetition of different formulas. Being finally sprinkled over with wine, the act being sanctified by the peculiar Mantra. The Sakti is now purified, but if not previously initiated, she is to be further made an adept by the communication of the radical Mantra, whispered thrice in her ear, when the object of the ceremony is complete. 167 which, indeed, it might be supposed they would observe on their own account, and, consequently, will not acknowledge their participation in such scenes. They will not, indeed, confess that they are of the Sdkta sect, although their reserve in this respect is said, latterly, to be much relaxed. It is contrary, however, to all knowledge of the human cha- racter, to admit the possibility of these transactions in their fullest extent ; ^ftf%fTTf^^'^ftlftfW^^^%Tr^T II The finale is wiiat might be anticipated, but accompanied throughout with Ma7itras and forms of meditation, suggesting notions very foreign to the scene. ^5T*^fTfTfft ^Tifrt ft^: ^T5T^f%^^ I ^^5Trruq'^Tr^^^^#tT:^^f^ II ^^T^T^ff JT^WT^^^W^ ^f^^^^T II ^^^fri3^^i-t%frfT: t%ff ^^i^^nrf i 168 and, although the worship of the Sakti, according to the above outline, may be sometimes performed, yet there can be little doubt of its being practised but seldom, and then in solitude and secrecy. In truth, few of the ceremonies, there is reason to believe, are ever observed ; and, although the Chakra is said to be not uncommon, and by some of the zealous Saktas, it is scarcely concealed, it is usually nothing more than a convival party, consisting of the members of a single family, or at which men only are assembled, and the company are glad to eat flesh and drink spirits,* under the pretence of a religious observance. In justice to the doctrines of the sect, it is to be observed, that these prac- tices, if instituted merely for sensual gratification, are held to be as illicit and reprehensible, as in any other branch of the Hindu faith. f * The zeal that is prescribed might suit some more civilized associations — Let him pledge the wine cup again and again, Till he measures his length on the ground. Let him rise and once more the goblet drain, And with freedom for aye, from a life of pain. Shall the glorious feat be crowned. t The Kularnava has the following and many similar passages : they occur con- stantly in other Tantras. ^%^ ^f%^^5ff* fSr^^TT^R f%^?r^T; i iT^rn^KfTT: ^5^1%f^^Tl%^«ftf^?Tt II irR'^fT'^ II 169 The followers are considered as very numerous, especially amongst the Brahmanical tribe : all classes are however admissible, and are equal and alike at the ceremonies of the sect. In the world* they resume their characteristic distinctions, and wear the sectarial marks, and usually adopt the outward worship of any other division, whether orthodoxical or heretical. When they assume particular insignia, they are a semi- circular line or lines on the forehead, of red saunders or Vermillion, or a red streak up the middle of the forehead, with a circular spot of red at the root of the nose. They use a rosary of Rudrdksha seeds, or of coral beads, but of no greater length than may be con- cealed in the hand, or they keep it in a small purse, or a bag of red cloth. In worshipping, they wear a piece of red silk round the loins, and decorate themselves with garlands of crimson flowers. ** Many false pretenders to knowledge, and who have not been duly initiated, pretend to practise the jfiToM^a rites; but if perfection be obtained by drinking wine, independently of my commands, then every drunkard is a saint : if virtue consist in eating flesh, then every carnivorous animal in the world is virtuous : if eternal happi- ness be derived from sexual intercourse, then all beings will be entitled to it : a follower of the Kula doctrine is blameless in my sight, if he reproves those of other creeds who quit their established observances— those of other sects who use the articles of the Kaula worship, shall be condemned to repeated generations as numerous as the hairs of the body." — In fact, the texts of Menu are taken as authorities for the penance to be performed for the crimes of touching, smelling, looking at, or tasting the forbidden articles, except upon religious occasions, and when they are consecrated by the appropriate texts. It is only to be added, that if the promulgators of these doctrines were sincere, which is far from impossible, they must have been filled with a strange phrenzy, and have been strangely ignorant of human nature. " Whilst the Bhairavi Tantra is proceeding, all castes are ^ra^man^— when it is concluded, they are again distinct." — Sydma Rahasya. According to Ward, such of them as avow their creed, leading at the same time a mendicant life, are termed Vyaktdvadhuias, or they who are openly free from restraints : those who conceal their creed and observe its practices in privacy, are termed Guptavadhutas, the liberated in secret. 11. 296. 170 KANCHELIYAS. This is a sect of which the existence may be questioned, nothwith- standing the assertion that it is not uncommon in the South of India ; the worship is that of Sakti, and the practices are similar to those of the Kaulas, or Vdmdcharis. It is said to be distinguished by one peculiar rite, the object of which is to confound all the ties of female alliance, and to enforce not only a community of women amongst the votaries, but disregard even to natural restraints. On occasions of worship, the female votaries are said to deposit their upper vests in a box in charge of the Guru. At the close of the usual rites, the male worshippers take each a vest from the box, and the female to whom the garment appertains, be she ever so nearly of kin to him, is the partner for the time of his licentious pleasures.* KERARI. The Kerdri is the worshipper of Devi, in her terrific forms, and is the representative of the Aghora Ghanta and Kapdlika,f who, as * This sect appears in the Sankara Vijaya, as the Uchchishtha Ganapati, or Hairamha sect, who declare that all men and all women are of one caste, and that their intercourse is free from fault. The same sort of story is told, but apparently with great injustice of the Mohamme- dan Byahaharis or Borahs, and of a less known Mohammedan sect, the Cheraghkesh : something of the same kind was imputed to the early Christians by their adversaries. t The following description of the Kapdlika, is from the Sankara Vijaya of Anandagiri. 171 lately only as seven or eight centuries ago, there is reason to suppose sacrificed human victims to Ka'li', Chamunda', Chhinnamastaka', and other hideous personifications of the Sakti of Siva. The attempt to offer human beings in the present day, is not only contrary to every known ritual, but it vi^ould be attended with too much peril to be practised, and, consequently, it cannot be believed that this sect is in existence : the only votaries, if any there be, consisting of the miscreants who, more for pay than devotion, inflict upon themselves bodily tortures, and pierce their flesh with hooks or spits, run sharp pointed instruments through their tongues and cheeks, recline upon beds of spikes, or gash themselves with knives, all which practices are occasionally met with throughout India, and have become familiar to Europeans from the excess to which they are carried in Bengal at the Charak Pujd, a festival which, as a public religious observance, is unknown any where else, and which is not directed nor countenanced by any of the authorities of the Hindus, not even by the Tantras. MISCELLANEOUS SECTS. The sects that have been described are those of the regular system, and particularly of what may be called Brahmanical Hinduism, emanat- ing, more or less directly, from the doctrines of the original creed. Besides these, there are a number which it is not so easy to class, although they are mostly referable to a common source, and partake, in many respects, of the same notions, especially of those of a Vaishnava and Vedanta tendency. They exist in various degrees of popularity, His body is smeared with ashes from a funeral pile, around his neck hangs a string of human skulls, his forehead is streaked with a black line, his hair is wove into the matted braid, his loins are clothed with a tiger's skin, a hollow skull is in his left hand, (for a cup) and in his right he carries a bell, which he rings incessantly, exclaiming aloud, Ho, Sambhu Bhairava — Ho, lord of Kali. 172 and date from various periods, and in most instances, owe their institu- tion to enthusiastic or contemplative individuals, whose biography is yet preserved consistently enough by tradition. This is not the case, however, with the first two on the list — the Saurapdtas and Ganapdlas : these are usually, indeed, ranked with the preceding divisions, and make, with the Vaishnavas, Saivas, and Sdktas, the five orthodox divisions of the Hindus : they are of limited extent and total insio:nificance. SAURAPATAS. OR SAURAS. The Saurapdtas are those who worship Suryapati, the Sun-god only ; there are a few of them, but very few, and they scarcely differ from the rest of the Hindus in their general observances. The Tilaka, or frontal mark, is made in a particular manner, with red sandal, and the necklace should be of crystal ; these are their chief peculiarities : besides which they eat one meal without salt on every Sunday, and each Sankrdnti, or the sun's entrance into a sign of the Zodiac : they cannot eat either until they have beheld the sun, so that it is fortunate that they inhabit his native regions. GANAPATYAS. These are worshippers of Ganesa, or Ganafati, and can scarcely be considered as a distinct sect : all the Hindus, in fact, worship this deity, as the obviator of difficulties and impediments, and never commence any work, or set off on a journey, without invoking his protection. Some, however, pay him more particular devotion than the rest, and these are the only persons to whom the classification may be considered applicable. Ganesa, however, it is believed, is never exclusively venerated, and the worship, when it is paid, is addressed to some of his forms, particularly those of Baktratunda and Dhundhirdj . 173 NANAK SHAHIS. A sect of much greater importance is that which originated with Na'nak Shah, and which, from bearing at first only a religious character, came, in time, to be a political and national distinction, through the influence of Mohammedan persecution and individual ambi- tion. The enterprising pohcy of Govind Sinh, and the bigotry of AuRANGZEB, convcrtcd the peaceful tenets of Na'nak into a military code, and his speculative disciples into the warlike nation of the Sikhs. It is not, however, in their political capacity that we are now to consider them, but as the professors of a peculiar form of faith, which branches into various sub- divisions, and is by no means restricted to the Punjab, At the same time it is unnecessary to detail the tenets and practices of the Sikhs, as that has been already performed in a full and satisfactory manner. The Sikhs, or Ndnak Shahis, are classed under seven distinctions, all recognising Ndnak as their primitive instructor, and all professing to follow his doctrines, but separated from each other by variations of practice, or by a distinct and peculiar teacher. Of these the first is the sect of the Uddsis. UDASIS. These may be regarded as the genuine disciples of Ndnak, professing, as the name denotes, indifference to worldly vicissitudes. They are pure- ly religious characters, devoting themselves to prayer and meditation, and usually collected in Sangats, colleges or convents ; they also travel about to places of pilgrimage, generally in parties of some strength. In- dividuals of them are to be met with in most of the chief cities of Hin- dustan, living under the patronage of some man of rank or property, but in all situations they profess poverty, although they never solicit alms ; and although ascetics, they place no merit in wearing mean garments or dispensing altogether with clothes. On the contrary, they 174 are, in general, well dressed, and, allowing the whiskers and beard to grow, are not unfrequently of a venerable and imposing appearance. Though usually practising celibacy, it does not appear to be a necessary condition amongst the Sikhs to be found in the Gangetic provinces : • they are usually the ministrant priests ; but their office consists chiefly in reading and expounding the writings of Na'nak and Govind Sinh, as collected in the Adi Granth and Das Padshah B Granth. The perusal is enlivened by the chaunting, occasionally, of Hindi Padas and Rekhtas, the compositions of Kabi'r, Mira Bhai, Sur Das, and others. With that fondness for sensible objects of reverence which characterises the natives of India, the Book is also worshipped, and rupees, flowers, and fruits, are presented by the votaries, which become, of course, the property of the officiating Uddsi. In return, the Uddsi not uncommonly adopts the presentation of the Prdsdda, and at the close of the ceremony, sweetmeats are distributed amongst the congregation. In some of the establishments at Benares, the service is held in the evening after sunset, and the singing and feasting continue through a great part of the night. Many of the Uddsis are well read in Sanscrit, and are able expounders of the Vedanta philosophy, on which the tenets of Na'nak are mainly founded. The Uddsi sect was established by Dharmachand, the grandson of Na'nak, through whom the line of the Sage was continued, and his des- cendants, known by the name of Ndnak Putras, are still found in the Punjab, where they are treated by the Sikhs with especial veneration. The doctrine taught by Na'nak, appears to have differed but little from that of Kabi'r, and to have deviated, but inconsiderably, from the Hindu faith in general. The whole body of poetical and mythological fiction was retained, whilst the liberation of the spirit from the delusive deceits of Mdyd, and its purification by acts of benevolence and self-denial, so as to make it identical even in life with its divine source, were the great objects of the devotee. Associated with these notions, was great chariness of animal life, whilst with Na'nak, as well as with Kabi'r, universal tolerance was a dogma of vital importance, and both laboured to persuade Hindus and Mohammedans that the only essential parts of their respective creeds, were common to both, and that they should discard the varieties of practical detail, or the corruptions of their teachers for the worship of one only Supreme, whether he was termed Allah or Hari. How far 175 these doctrines are still professed by the Ndnak Skdhis, may be inferred from the translations in the eleventh volume of the Researches, to which the following may be added as part of the service solemnized at the Sikh Sangat, at Benares. HYMN. Thou art the Lord — to thee be praise. All life is with thee. Thou art my parents. I am thy child — All happiness is derived from thy clemency. No one knows thy end. Highest Lord amongst the highest — Of all that exists. Thou art the regulator. And all that is from thee obeys thy will. Thy movements — thy pleasure — thou only knowest. Ndnak, thy slave, is a free-will offering unto thee. The Priest then says — Meditate on the Saheb of the Book, and exclaim Wah Guru. The People accordingly repeat — Wah Guru — Wah Guru kifateh. The Priest. Meditating on Rdmachdndra, exclaim Wah Guru. The People. Wah Guru — Wah Guru ki/ateh. HYMN. Love, and fix thy whole heart upon Him— The world is bound to thee by prosperity- No one is another's. Whilst prosperity endures many will come, And sit with thee and surround thee ; 176 But in adversity they will fly. And not one will be near thee. The woman of the house who loves thee. And is ever in thy bosom ; When the spirit quits the body, Will fly with alarm from the dead. Such is the way of the world, With all on which we place affection ; Do thou, Ndnak. at thy last hour. Rely alone upon Hari. Priest as before. Meditating on the Saheb of the Book, &c. People as before. Wah Guru, SfC. HYMN. My holy teacher is Ke who teaches clemency — The heart is awake within : who seeks may find. Wonderful is that rosary, every bead of which is the breath. Lying apart in its arbour, it knows what cometh to pass — The Sage is he who is merciful ; — the merciless is a butcher. Thou wieldest the knife and regardlessly exclaimest — What is a goat, what is a cow, what are animals ? But the Saheb declares that the blood of all is the same. Saints, Prophets, and Seers, have all passed in death. Ndnack, destroy not life for the preservation of the body. That desire of life which is in the heart, do thou, brother, repress. Ndnack, calling aloud, says—take refuge with Hari. Priest as before. Meditating on the Saheb, &c. People as before. Wah Guru — Wah Guru ki/ateh. 177 GANJ BAKHSHIS. Of this division of the Sikhs, no particulars, except the name, have been ascertained. This is said to have been derived from that of the founder. They are not numerous nor of any note. RAMRAYIS. These derive their appellation from that of Ra'ma Ra'ya, the son or grandson of Hari Ra'ya, and their distinction from the other Sikhs is more of a political than religious complexion. Ra'ma Ra'ya disputed the succession to the Pontificate with Hari Krishna, the son of Hari Ra'ya, and was unsuccessful. His followers, however, maintain the superiority of his pretensions, and record many miracles wrought by him in proof of his sanctity. He flourished about A. D. 1660. The Rdmrdyis are not common in Hindustan. SUTHREH SHAHIS. These are more often met with than either of the two preceding, and the priests are recognisable by distinguishing marks. They make a perpendicular black streak down the forehead, and carry two small black sticks about half a yard in length, which they clash together when they solicit alms. They lead a vagabond life, begging and singing songs in the Punjabi and other dialects, mostly of a moral or mystic tendency. They are held in great disrepute, however, and are not unfrequently gamblers, drunkards, and thieves. They look up to Tegh Bauader, the father of Guru Govind, as their founder. 2 A 178 GOVIND SINHIS. These form the most important division of the Sikh community, being, in fact, the political association to which the name is applied, or to the Sikh nation generally.* Although professing to derive their national faith from Ndnak, and holding his memory in veneration, the faith they follow is widely different from the quietism of that reformer, and is wholly of a worldly and warlike spirit. Guru Govind devoted his followers to steel, and hence the worship of the sword, as well as its employment against both Mohammedans and Hindus. He also ordered his adherents to allow their hair and beards to grow, and to wear blue garments : he permitted them to eat all kinds of flesh, except that of kine, and he threw open his faith and cause to all castes, to whomsoever chose to abandon the institutes of Hinduism, or belief in the mission of Mohammed, for a fraternity of arms and life of predatory daring. It was then only that the Sikhs became a people, and were separated from their Indian countrymen in political constitution, as well as religious tenets — at the same time the Sikhs are still, to a certain extent, Hindus : they worship the deities of the Hindus, and celebrate all their festivals : they derive their legends and literature from the same sources, and pay great veneration to the Brahmanas. The impress of their origin is still, therefore, strongly retained, notwithstanding their rejec- tion of caste, and their substituting the Das Padshah ki granth,-\ the compilation of Guru Govind, for the Vedas, and Puranas. * Described by Sir John Malcolm, in the eleventh volume of the Asiatic Re- searches. The ^z^A priest to whom he alludes (page 198) as one of his authorities, was afterwards well known to me, and was an individual every way worthy of confi- dence. His name was Atmd Ram, and although advanced in years, he was full of energy and intelligence, combining with them extreme simplicity and kindliness of disposition. The old man was a most favourable and interesting specimen of the Punjabi nation and disciples of Ndnak. He died a few years ago in Calcutta. t From the succession of Chiefs, Govind was tenth teacher in succession from Ndnak, who flourished at the close of the 17th and beginning of the 18th century. The other standard authority of the Sikhs, the Adi Granth, is a compilation chiefly of the works of Ndnak, and his immediate successors, made by Arjunmal, a Sikh, teacher, in the end of the 16th century. As it is usually met with, however, it comprehends the writings of many other individuals, many of whom are Vaish- navas. At a Sikh Sangat, or Chapel, in Benares, the Book, a large folio, there denominated the Samhhu Granth, was said to contain the contributions of the following writers : — 179 NIRMALAS. These differ but little from the Uddsis, and are, perhaps, still closer adherents to the doctrines of the founder, as the name imports : they profess to be free from all worldly soil or stain, and, consequently, lead a wholly religious life. They observe celibacy, and disregard their per- sonal appearance, often going nearly naked. They are not like the Uddsis^ assembled in colleges, nor do they hold any particular form of divine service, but confine their devotion to speculative meditation on the peru- sal of the writings of Na'nak, Ka'bir, and other unitarian teachers. They are always solitary, supported by their disciples or opulent indivi- duals, and are often known as able expounders of the Vedanta philosophy, in which Brahmans do not disdain to become their scholars. They are not very numerous ; but a few are almost always to be found at the prin- cipal seats of Hindu wealth and learning, and particularly at Benares."^ NAGAS. The naked mendicants of the Sikhs are said to differ from those of the Vaishnava and Saiva sects, by abstaining from the use of arms, and following a retired and religious life. Except in going without clothes, they are not distinguishable from the Nirmalas. Nanak, Nam Doe, Kdbir, Sheikh Feridaddin, Dhana, Rdmunand, Pipa, Sena, Jayadeva, Phandak, Suddma, Prahldd, Dhuru, Raidas, Fibhishana, Mira Bdi, Kerma Bdi. * An interesting account of the religious service of the Sikhs, in their college at Patna, was published by Mr. Wilkins, in the first volume of the Asiatic Researches. 1 witnessed a similar ceremony at a Sikh establishment at Benares, and partook of the iPra^(ida or sweetmeats, distributed to the assistants. Both Mr. Wilkins and Sir John Malcolm notice this eating in common, as if it were peculiar to the Sikh faith; but this, as elsewhere observed, is not the case. It prevails with most of the Vaish' nava sects; but it should be remembered that it is always restricted to articles which have been previously consecrated by presentation to the object of worship, to the Idol, the sarcophagus, the sculptured foot-marks, or the book. 180 JAINS. A satisfactory account of the religion of the Jains would require a disttnct dissertation, and cannot be comprised within the limits necessa- rily assigned to this general sketch of the Hindu sects. The subject is of considerable interest, as affecting a very large proportion of the popu- lation of India, and involving many important considerations connected with the history of the Hindu faith : an extended inquiry must, however, be left to some further opportunity ; and in the meantime our attention will be confined to a few observations on the peculiar tenets and practices of the Jain religion, its past history, and actual condition. Previously, however, to entering upon these subjects, it may be advisable to advert briefly to what has been already done towards their elucidation, and to the materials which exist in the original languages for a complete view. The latter are of the most extensive description, whilst the labours of European writers are by no means wanting to an accurate estimate of the leading doctrines of the Jain faith, or to an ap- preciation of the state in which it exists in various parts of Hindustan. The first authentic notices of the Jains occur in the ninth volume of the Asiatic Researches, from the pens of the late Colonel Mackenzie, Dr. Buchanan, and Mr. Colebrooke. The two first described the Jains from personal acquaintance, and from their accounts, it appeared, that they existed, in considerable numbers and respectability, in South- ern India, particularly in Mysore, and on the Canara Coast ; that they laid claim to high antiquity, and enumerated a long series of religious teachers, and that they differed in many of their tenets and practices from the orthodox Hindus, by whom they were regarded with aversion and contempt. A further illustration of their doctrines, and a particular account of their deified teachers, was derived by Mr. Colebrooke from some of their standard authorities, then first made known to Europeans. Little more was published on the subject of the Jains until very lately, with exception of numerous but brief and scattered notices of the sect in the Peninsula, in Buchanan's Travels in Mysore. Some account of them also occurs in Colonel Wilks' Historical Sketch of the South of India, and in the work of the Abbe Du Bois. Mr. Ward has an article dedicated to the Jains, in his account of the Hindus ; and .VIr. Erskine 181 has briefly adverted to some of their peculiarities in his observations on the Caves of Elephanta, and the remains of the Bauddhas in India, in the Proceedings of the Bombay Literary Society, It is, however, to the Transactions of the Royal Asiatic Society that we are indebted for the latest and most detailed accounts, and the papers of Mr. Colebrooke, Major Delamaine, Dr. Hamilton, Colonel Franklin and Major Tod,* furnish many interesting particulars relative to the doctrines and past or present condition of the Jaitis. Some valuable illustrations of the latter subject is to be found in the Calcutta Quarterly Magazine :t some historical notices obtained from the inscriptions at Abu, occur in the last volume of our Researches, whilst a novel and rather compre- hensive view of Jain literature is contained in the Catalogue of Manu- scripts collected by the late Colonel Mackenzie.^ From this latter authority, we learn that the literature peculiar to Jainas, comprises a number of works peculiar to the sect, the composi- tion of their own writers, and on a variety of subjects. § They have a series of works called Puranas, as the Adi and Uttara Puranas, Chd- munda Rdya Pur ana, and Chaturvinsati Purana ;\\ but these are not to be * On the Philosophy of the Hindus, part IV. by Mr. Colebrooke, vol. I. On the Srdwaks, or Jains, by Major Delamaine, vol. 1, 418. On Inscriptions in Jain Temples, in Behar, by Mr. Colebrooke, Dr. Hamilton, and Colonel Franklin, vol. 1, 520. On the Srdwaks, or Jains, by Dr. Hamilton, vol. I, 531. On the Religious Establishments in Mewar, by Major Tod, vol. 2. t Particularly in the Journal of a Native Traveller from Calcutta, and back again through Behar. The traveller was a learned Jain, in the service of Colonel Macken- zie. There is also an interesting account of a visit to the temple of Pa'usvfana'th, at Samet Sikhar. X Vol. 1, page 144, &c. § The List comprises 44 Works — Puranas 7 C^erjiro* and Legends, 10 Ritual, Prayers, &c 18 Medicine, 1 Grammar, 2 Arithmetic, ..... 2 Miscellaneous, .. .. 4 II Hamilton says, the Digamharas have twenty-four Puranas, twenty-three giving an account of each Tirthankara, and the twenty-fourth, of the whole; but this seems to be erroneous. The actions of the twenty-four Tirthankaras, are described in a single Purana, but the section devoted to each is called after him, severally as the Purana of each, as Rishabha Deva Purana, one section of the Chdmunda Rdya Purana. In the Adi and Uttara Puranas, forming, in fact, but one work, the Adi, or first part, is appropriated to the first Tirthankara, whilst the Uttara, or last portion, 182 confounded with the Puranas of the Hindus ; as, although they occasion- ally insert legends borrowed from the latter, their especial object is the legendary history of the Tirthakaras, or deified teachers, peculiar to the sect. The chief Puranas are attributed to Jina Sena Scha'rya, whom some accounts make contemporary with Vikrama'ditya ; but the great- er number, and most consistent of the traditions of the South, describe him as the spiritual preceptor of Amoghaversha, king of Kdnchi, at the end of the ninth century of the Christian era. Analogous to the Jain Puranas, are works denominated Cheritras, their subject being, in general, the marvellous history of some Tirthankara, or some holy personage, after whom they are denominated ; as the Jinadatta Rdya Cheritra, Pujyapdda Cheritra, and others. They have a number of works explanatory of their philosophical notions and religious tenets of the sect, as well as rituals of practice, and a grammatical system found- ed on the rules of Sa'kata'yana, is illustrated by glosses and commen- taries. The Jains have also their own writers on astronomy and as- trology, on medicine, or the mathematical sciences, and the form and disposition of the universe. This general view of Jain literature is afforded by the Mackenzie Collection, but the list there given is very far from including the whole of Jain literature, or even a considerable proportion. The works there alluded to, are, in fact, confined to Southern India, and are written in Sanscrit, or the dialects of the Peninsula ; but every province of Hindustan can produce Jain compositions, either in Sanscrit or its vernacular idiom, whilst many of the books, and especially those which may be regarded as their scriptural authorities, are written in the Prdkrit or Mdgadhi, a dialect which, with the Jains, as well as the Bauddhas, is considered to be the appropriate vehicle of their sacred literature. The course of time, and the multiplication of writings, have probably rendered it almost impossible to reduce what may be considered as the sacred literature of the Jains to a regular system. They are said to have a number of works entitled Siddhdntas and Agamas,^ which are to contains the accounts of all the other deified Sages. There are several collections, comprehending what may be termed twenty-four Puranas ; but it does not appear that there are twenty-four distinct works so denominated. * Hamilton enumerates eight works, as the Agamas of the Digambara sect, the TrailoJcya Sara, the Gomatisara, Pungjiraj, Trailokya Dipika, Kshepanasara, Tri- 183 them what the Vedas are to the Brahmanical Hindus, and this appears to be the case, although the enumeration which is sometimes made of them is of a loose and popular character, and scarcely reconcilable with that to be derived from written authoritity.* bhangisara, and Shatpawar, attributed to the pupils of Mahavira. He states also, that the Swetamharas have forty-five, or as some allege, eighty-four Siddhdntas, amongst which he specifies the Thdndngi Sutra, Gnydnanti Sutra, Sugoranyi Sutra, Vpasakadesa, Mahopandanna, Nandi Sutra, Rayapseni, Jirabhigam, Jambudwipa- pannati, Surapannatti, Chandrasagarapannatti, Kalpa Sutra, Katantraoibhrama Sutra, Shakti Sutra, and Sangrahani Sutra. Some of these are incorrectly named, and others inaccurately classed, as will be seen from what follows in the text. * The following Works are either in my possession or in the library of the Sanscrit College of Calcutta : — Compositions descriptive of the tenets or practices of the Jai7i religion. Bhagavatyangam. This is one of the eleven primary works, and is entitled also in Prakrit, Vivaha Pannatti, in Sanscrit, Vivdha, or Vivadhd Prajnapti. In- struction in the various sources of worldly pain, or in the paths of virtue. It consists of lessons given to Gautama by Maha'vi'ka, and is in Prakrit. It contains 36,000 stanzas. Bhagavtyanga Vritti, a Sanscrit Commentary on the preceding (defective.) Thdndnga Sutra,— also one of the eleven Angus. Kalpa Sutra, the precepts of the Jain faith— these are originally 1250; but they are interspersed with legends of the Tirthdnkaras, and especially of Maha'vi'ra, at the pleasure of the writer, and the several copies of the work therefore differ. Prakrit Kalpa Sutra Balabodha, a sort of abridgment of the preceding. Prakrit. Kalpa Sutra Siddhanta, the essence of the Kalpa Sutra. Prakrit. Dasavaikalika Sutra. Prakrit. Ditto. Tika. Rayaprasna Sutra Siddhanta. Tika, Gautamaprashtha. Prakrit. Sangrahini Sutra. Prakrit. Laghu Sangrahini Sutra. Nava Tatwa Sutra. Prakrit. Nava Tatwa Prakarana. Prakrit. Nava Tatwa Balabodha. Prakrit. Karma Grantha. Jiva Vichara. Sanscrit. Jiva Vinaya. Smarana Sutra. Prakrit. Vriddhatichara. Prakrit. Si7iduraprakara Tika. Sanscrit. Ekavinsati Sthana, Bhasha. Dasakshapanavratavidhi. Bhasha. Upadesa Mala. Prakrit. Pratikramana Vidhi. Prakrit. Pratikra7nana Siitra. Bhasha. Chaturdasa Gunasthana. Bhasha. Chaturdasa Guna}iama7ii. Pakshi Sutra. Bhasha. Shattrinsat Kermakatha. Bhasha. Dhermabuddhi Chatushpadi. Bhasha. Balavibodha. Bhasha Upadhanavidhi. Prakrit. Ashtahnika77iahotsava. Prakrit. Ashtahnikavyakhajaiia. Mahamuni Swadhyaya. Pragnasukta Muktavali. Aradhana Prakara. Parswanatha Gita. Uttaradhyayana Gita. S adhusa77iachari. Sra vakaradhana. Jnyannpuja. Dikshu7nahotsava. Barak Frata. Saptavi7isati Sadhu Lakshana. Ratribhojana Nishedha. Sadhwapasha^a Vidhi. Dwisashti Fakya. Kshetrasa7)iasa Sutra. Sa7nyaktwadhyaya7ia. Prishnottara Retnamala. Navakurunta Balabodha. Asahyana Fid hi. Santaraka Fidhi- Atmdnusdsana. Bhasa. Panchdstikdya, according to the Digam. bara faith. Jinapratima Sthapana Fidhi. Jalakshalana Fidhi. Sudopakara Muktavali. Moksha Marga. Nitisangraha. Fie ha ruma 7ijari. Parswanatha Dasabhavavisaha. Sataviasbhava. Anandasravaka Sa7idhi. Rohi7iitapa. 184 The author of the Abhidhdha Cyintdmani, a useful vocabulary, Hema- CHANDRA, is Well kuowii as a zealous and able propagator of the Jain doc- trines in the twelfth century. He was no doubt well versed in the peculiarity of the system which he taught, and may be regarded as a safe guide. In his vocabulary he specifies what appear to be the Jaina scriptures, at least in the estimation of the Swetdmbara sect, to which he belonged, and in a valuable Commentary on his own work he has further particularised the works named in his text. From this it appears that the principal authorities of a sacred character were termed Angas, and were eleven in number, or with a supplementary division, twelve. They are thus enumerated and described ; Achdrdnga, a book teaching sacred observances after the practice of Vasishtha and other saints. Siddhdchala Piija- Pujapaddhati Bhasha. Silopadesa Mala. Snana Vidhi. Navapattatupa Vidhi. Amritushtamitapa. Devopuja. Baranhhavanasandhi. Bhasha. Panegyrics of the Jain teachers, &c. which are not unfrequently repeated in the temples. Santi Jina Stava. Bhasha. Vrihat Sdnti Stava. Sanscrit. Mahavira Stava. Bhasha. Laghu Santi Stava. Rishahha Stava. Parswanath Stava. Parswanath Stuti. Prakrit. Neminatha Stava. Ashanta Stava. Prakrit. Ajitasdnti Stava. Bhaktamaya Stotra. Kalyuna Mandira Stotra Sanscrit. Chnturvinsati dandakastava. Sudhuhandana. Satrunjaya Stava. Parswanath Namaskdra. Champaka Stavana. Vpasergahara Stotra. Guru Stava. Karmma Stava. I LEGENDARY TALES AND HISTORIES. Padma Puranu. Bhasha. Mahavira Cheritra, which is called by others a portion of the Trisashti Saint- ka Purusha Cheritra, or Legend of the sixty-three personages, most emi- nent in Jain Tradition. Sanscrit. Nemirajarshi Cheritra. Salabhadra Cheritra. Bhasha. Chitrasena Cheritra. Prakrit. Gajasukumara Cheritra. Bhasha. Chandraraja Cheritra. Bhasha. Bhaktamara. Sripala Cheritra. Bhasha. Kalikacharya Katha. Samyaktwa Kaumudi. Vastradana Katha. Meghadutapada Samasya. Avantisakumara Cheritra. Retanchuropakhyana. Mrigavati Cheritra. Retnachura Muni; Chaupai. Mrigavati Chaupai. Bhasha. Sadhu Charitra. Satrunjaya Mahatmya, Gajasinha Charitra. Dasadrishtanta Katha. Bhasha. MISCELLANEOUS. Vriddhayavana, Astronomy. Sanscrit. Chaturdasaswapanavichara. Trailokya Dipika. Setunjoddhar. Pathanardmbhapithika. Hastarekhavivarana. Prakrit. Namavali. Patavali. Many of these are of small extent, but others are exceedingly voluminous, as the Bhagavatyanga, Padma Purana, Satrunjaya Mahatmya, and others. 185 Sutrakritdngam, a work on acts imposed by positive precepts. Sthdndn- gam — On the organs in which life abides, or the ten acts essential to purity. Samavaydngam — On the hundred Paddrthas or categories. Bhagavatyangam — On the ritual, or rules for worship, jnydtadherma- kathd — An account of the acquisition of knowledge by holy personages. Updsakadasd — Rules for the conduct of Srdwakas, or secular Jains, apparently in ten lectures. Antakriddasa — On the actions of the Tir- thakaras, in ten lectures. Anuttaropapatikadara — On the principal or final births of the Tirthakaras, in ten lectures. Prasnavyakaranam — Grammar of questions, probably on the Code of the Jains. Vipdkas- rutam — On the fruits or consequences of actions. With these are connected inferior Angas or Updngas, the names of which are not specified — whilst the Drishtabdda, the twelfth Anga, which seems to be a supplementary authority, is divided into five portions, entitled ; Parikermma — On moral acts ; Sutra — Precepts for conduct and life ; Purvdnuyoga — On the doctrines and practice of the Tirthakaras before attaining perfection ; Purvagata — On the same after perfection ! Chulikd — On doctrines and practice not comprised in the two preceding. These different works profess to be derived from the oral instructions of Maha'vi'ra himself to his disciple, especially to Gautama ; but be- sides these a class of works is enumerated by Hemachandra, entitled Purvas, because they were drawn up by the Ganadharas before the Angas * There are fourteen of them treating of the chief tenets of the sect, appa- rently sometimes controversially, as the Astipravdda, the doctrine of existence and non-existence. Jnydnapravdda, the doctrine of holy knowledge — Satyapravdda, discussion of truth — Atmapravdda, investi- gation of spirit — Prdndvdya, nature of corporeal life — Kriydvisdla, con- sequences of acts, and others. f They are held to be the works of Mahaviras Ganas, or of that Tirthakdra and his predecessors, or to have emanated from them originally, although committed to writing by other hands. Some of them still exist, it appears,! although in ^f TWtf'2lfH^^^^^frTf5T^rT^^ II ^'^^'^ha Cher. Section 5. t A similar enumeration of these Works occurs in the Mdhavira Cheritra. X Thus the Thandngisutra and Upasakadesa, of Hamilton, are no doubt the Sthan6.'iga and Upasakadasa, of Hemachandra' s text, and the Bhayavatyanga is in the Sanscrit College Library. 2 B 186 general their places have been assumed by a list of more recent com- positions. From this brief statement it will be evident that there is no want of original authorities with regard to the belief, the practices, or the legends of the Jaina sect. There is indeed more than a sufficiency, and the vast extent of the materials is rather prejudicial to the enquiry, it being impossible to consult any extensive proportion of what has been written, and it being equally impossible without so doing to know that the beat guides have been selected. For such accounts as are here given, the Vocabulary of Hemachandra, with his own Commentary, the Mahdvira Cheritra of the same author, the Kalpa Sutra, the Avasya^ kavrihad Vritta, the Bhagavatyanga Vritta, Nava Tatwabodha, and Jiva V\chdra have chiefly been consulted. The leading tenets of the Jains, and those which chiefly distinguish them from the rest of the Hindus, are well known — they are, first, the denial of the divine origin and infallible authority of the Vedas ; second- ly, the reverence of certain holy mortals who acquired, by practices of self-denial and mortification, a station superior to that of the gods ; and thirdly, extreme and even ludicrous tenderness for animal life. The disregard of the authority of the Vedas is common to the Jains and the Bauddhas, and involves a neglect of the rites which they pres- cribe : in fact, it is in a great degree from those rites that an inference unfavourable to the sanctity of the Vedas is drawn, and not to speak of the sacrifices of animals which the Vedas occasionally enjoin ; the Homa, or burnt offering, which forms a part of every ceremonial in those works, is an abomination ; as insects crawling amongst the fuel, bred by the fermented butter, or falling into the flame, cannot fail to be destroyed by every oblation. As far, however, as the doctrines they teach are conformable to Jain tenets, the Vedas are admitted and quoted as authority. The veneration and worship of mortals is also common to the Jains and Bauddhas, but the former have expanded and methodised the notions of the latter. The Bauddhas, although they admit an endless number of earthly Buddhas to have existed, and specify more than a century of names,* confine their reverence to a comparatively small number — to seven. The Jainas extend this number to twenty-four for * Asiatic Researches, vol. XVI. pages 446 to 449. 187 a given period, and enumerate, by name, the twenty- four of their past age, or Avasarpini, the twenty-four of the present, and the twenty-four of the age to come. The statues of these, either all or in part, are as- sembled in their temples, sometimes of colossal dimensions, and usually of black or white marble. The objects held in highest esteem in Hindus- tan are Pa'rswana'th and Maha'vira, the twenty-third and twenty- fourth Jinas of the present era, who seem to have superseded all their predecessors. The generic names of a Jaina saint express the ideas entertained of his character by his votaries. He is Jagatprabhu, lord of the world ; Kshinakermmd, free from bodily or ceremonial acts ; Sarvajna, omnis- cient ; Adhiswara, supreme lord ; Devddideva, god of gods ; and similar epithets of obvious purport ; whilst others are of a more specific charac- ter, as Tirthakdra, or Tirthankara, Kevali, Arhat, and Jina. The first implies one who has crossed over, (Tiryate anenaj that is, the world, compared to the ocean ; Kevali, is the possessor of Kevala, or spiritual nature, free from its investing sources of error : Arhat is one entitled to the homage of gods and men, and Jina is the victor over all human passions and infirmities.* Besides these epithets, founded on attributes of a generic character, there are other characteristics common to all the Jinas of a more specific rtature. These are termed Atisayas, or super-human attributes, and are altogether thirty-six; four of them, or rather four classes, regard the person of a Jina, such as the beauty of his form, the fragrance of his body, the white colour of his blood, the curling of his hair, its non- increase, and that of the beard and nails, his exemption from all natural impurities, from hunger and thirst, from infirmity and decay : these pro- perties are considered to be born with him. He can collect around him millions of beings, gods, men, and animals, in a comparatively small space, his voice is audible to a great distance, and his language, which is Arddha Mdgadhi, is intelligible to animals, men and gods, the back of These Etymologies are from Hemachandra' s Commentar)-. 188 his head is surrounded with a halo of light, brighter than the disk of the sun, and for an immense interval around him, wherever he moves, there is neither sickness nor enmity, storm nor dearth, neither plague portents, nor war. Eleven Atisayas of this kind are ascribed to him. The re- maining nineteen are of celestial origin, as the raining of flowers and perfumes, the sound of heavenly drums, and the menial offices rendered by Indra and the gods. Notwithstanding the sameness of the general character and identity of generic attributes, the twenty -four Jinas are distinguished from each other in colour, stature, and longevity. Two of them are red, two white, two blue, two black, the rest are of a golden hue, or a yellowish brown. The other two peculiarities are regulated with very systematic precision, and observe a series of decrement from Rishabha, the first Jina, who was five hundred poles in stature, and lived 8,400,000 great years to Mahduira, the 24th, who had degenerated to the size of man, and was not more than forty years on earth. These peculiarities have been detailed by Mr. Colebrooke, in the ninth volume of the Researches, and he draws a probable inference from the return to reason in the stature and years of the two last Jinas, that they alone are to be consi- dered as historical personages. The rest are the creatures of fiction. The notion of decreasing longevity, like that of the existence of human beings, superior to the gods, is common to the Bauddhas."^ There is also great similarity in the general tenor of the legends related of each of the Jinas. They are all born a number of times, and in a variety of characters, before they arrive at the state of a Tirthan- kara : after which, as their attainment of divine knowledge is the work of self-denial and ascetic meditation, we need not expect much varied * A comparison of the Jain and Bauddha series suggests strong confirmation of the opinion, that the Jain legends are only Bauddha notions exaggerated. The t ages of the seven Buddhas run thus — 9 Vipasivi 80,000 years. Sikhi 70,000 ditto. Viswabhu, 60,000 ditto. Krakuchchanda 40,0U0 ditto. Kanaka, 30,000 ditto. Kasyapa, ...., 20,000 ditto. Sdkya, 100 ditto. A. K. vol. XVI. p. 453. The last Jina but one, or Parsivanath, lived like Sdkya, lUO years. 189 incident in their adventures, a sketch of the life of Maha'vi'ra, from the Mahdvira Cheritra, will convey some notion of their ordinary his- tory, whilst further illustration may be derived from an abstract of the Pdrswandtk Cheritra, or life of Pa'rswana'th, in the Royal Asiatic Society's Transactions. LIFE OFMAHAVIRA. The twenty-fourth Tirthankara Maha'vi'ra's first birth, which oc- curred at a period indefinitely remote, was as Nayasa'ra, head man of a village, in the country of Vijaya, subject to Satrumerddana. His piety and humanity elevated him next to the heaven called Saudherma, where he enjoyed happiness for some oceans of years. He was next born as Marichi, the grandson of the first Tirthankara Rishabha, then transferred to the Brahmaloka, whence he returned to earth as a world- ly-minded and sensual Brahman, the consequence of which was his repeated births in the same caste, each birth being separated by an interval passed in one of the Jain heavens, and each period of life extending to many lakhs of years. He then became Viswabhu'ta, prince of Rajagriha, and next a Vdsudeva, named Tri'pri'shtha, from having tliree back bones : his uncle and foe in a former life, Visahha- nandi, was born as his Protagonist, or Prativdsudevd, named Aswagriva or Hayagriva, and was, in the course of events, destroyed by the Vdsudeva, a palpable adaptation of the Pauranic legend of Vishnu and Hayagriva. Tri'pri'shtha having put his chamberlain cruelly to death, was condemned to hell, and again born as a lion ; he migrated through various forms, until he became the Chakravertti Priyamitra, in the division of the world, Mahavideha. After a victorious reign of eighty- four lakhs of years, he became an ascetic for a further period of a hundred lakhs, and was then translated to one of the higher heavens. Thence he returned to earth in the Bharata division, as Nandana, the son of JiTASATRu, hc adopted a life of devotion, and diligently adored the Jinas. After an existence of twenty-five lakhs of years, he was raised to the dignity of king of the gods in the Pushpottara heaven, in 190 which capacity he preserved his ancient faith, offering flowers to, and bathing daily the one hundred and eight images of the Arhats. Such exalted piety was now to meet with its reward, and the pains of exist- ence to be terminated in the person of the Tirthankara, Ma'ha'vi'ea, or Verddhama'na. On the return of the spirit of Nandana to earth, it first animated the womb of the wife of a Brahman, but Mahendra disapproving of the receptacle as of low caste, transferred it to the womb of Trisala', wife of Siddha'rtha, of the family of Ikshwaku, and prince of Pavana, in Bhar- atakshetra. MahaVi'ra was born on the thirteenth of the light fort- night of Chaitra : the fifty- six nymphs of the universe assisted at his birth, and his consecration was performed by Sakra, and the other sixty three Indras. The name given by his father was Verddhama'na, as causing increase of riches and prosperity, but Sakra gave him also the appellation of MahaVi'ra, as significant of his power and supremacy over men and gods. When arrived at maturity, MahaVi'ra was prevailed upon by his parents to marry Yasoda', daughter of the prince Samaravi'ra. By her he had a daughter, Priyadersana', who was married to Jama'li, a prince, one of the saint's pupils, and founder of a schism. Siddha'rtha and his wife died when their son was twenty- eight years old, on which Maha'vi'ra adopted an ascetic life, the government devolving on his elder brother Nandiverddhana. After two years of abstinence and self-denial at home, he commenced an erratic life, and the attainment of the degree of a Jina. During the first six years of his peregrination, Maha'vi'ra observed frequent fasts of several months duration, during each of which he kept his eyes fixed upon the tip of his nose, and maintained perpetual silence. He was invisibly attended by a Yaksha, named Siddha'rtha, who, at the command of Indra, watched over his personal security, and where speech was necessary acted as spokesman. At Ndldndd, a village near Rdjagriha, Maha'vi'ra acquired a follower named Gosa'la, so called from his birth in a cow-house, a man of low caste and vulgar propensities, and who acts as a sort of buffoon.* He is involved in repeated difficulties, * Some curious and unintelligible things are related of this individual, which sug- gest a suspicion that the author had in view some of the oriental legends relating to Mani or Manes. The birth of Gosa'la, in a cow-house, may or may not refer to 191 and not unfrequently receives a beating, but when free from fault, the Yakshas, who attend on Siddha'rtha, come to his aid, and destroy with fire the houses and property of his assailants. Amongst other enemies he provokes the followers of Verddhana Su'ri, the disciple of Chandra- a'cha'rya, a teacher of the Jain faith, according to the doc- trines of Pa'rswana'th. In the course of the dispute it appears that the followers of Pa'rswana'th wore clothes, whilst Maha'vi'ra was indifferent to vesture, and the latter consequently belonged to the divi- sion of the Jains called Digambaras, or those who go naked, whilst Pa'rswana'th's disciples were Swetdmharas, dressed in garments.* Bur- ring the six years expended in this manner, Maha'vi'ra visits a number of places, most of which appear to be in Behar and the adjacent provin- ces, as Rdjagriha, Srdvasti near OudCy Vaisdli, which is identified with the capital of Behar, and others. Proceeding on his peregrinations, Maha'vi'ra voluntarily exposed him- self to be maltreated by the Mlechha tribes of VajrabMmi Suddhibhumi, and Ldt, or Ldr the countries apparently of the Gonds, who abused and beat him, and shot at him with arrows, and baited him with dogs, to all which he offered no resistance, and indeed rejoiced in his sufferings, for, however necessary to personal purification, it is not the duty of a Jain ascetic to inflict tortures upon himself — his course of penance is one of Christianity ; but it is also observed that his father and mother carried about a Chitra Pattika, a painted cloth or picture, which Gosa'la stole from them, and that when he adopted the service of Maha'vi'ra, he abandoned the heresy of the picture, ♦ They reply to Gosa'la's enquiry : fif^r^fX* m^^f^^^T.* ^ "We are the pupils of Pa'rswa, free from restrain"— to which he rejoins "^^Sffff^pEff^ ?TrT"T(«t<4«'^T fTT^^ ^l"^ II " How can you be free from restraint en- cumbered with clothes and the like, these heretical practices are adopted merely for a livelihood : wholly unfettered by clothes and such things, and disregarding the body, the followers of such a teacher as mine is, are the only persons exempt from restraint." Further confirmation of Maha'vi'ka and his followers being Digambaras, occurs in various places, especially in a passage where Gosa'la gets beaten, and almost killed by the women of a village in Magadha, because he is a naked Sramana, or mendicant. 192 self-denial, fasting and silence, and pain however meritorious its endur- ance, must be inflicted by others, not himself. At the end of the ninth year, Maha'vi'ra relinquished his silence in answer to a question put by Gosa'la, but continued engaged in the practice of mortification and in an erratic life. His squire having acquired from him the possession of the Tejalesya, or power of ejecting flame, and having learned from certain of the disciples of Pa'rswana'th, what is technically termed the Mahd- nimitta of the eight Angas, intending probably their scriptural doctrines, set up for himself as a Jina, and quitted his master. Indra having declared that Maha'vi'ra's meditations could not be disturbed by men or gods, one of the inferior spirits of heaven, indignant at the assertion, assailed the Sage with a variety of horrors and tempta- tions, but in vain. Maha'vi'ra's pious abstraction was unbroken. He then wandered about and visited Kausdmbi, the capital of Satdnika, where he was received with great veneration, and where his period of self-denial ended in perfect exemption from human infirmities. The whole of the time expended by him in these preparatory exercises was twelve years and six months, and of this he had fasted nearly eleven years. His various fasts are particularised with great minuteness, as one of six months, nine of four months each, twelve of one month, and seventy- two of half a month each, making altogether ten years and three hundred and forty-nine days. The bonds of action were snapped like an old rope, and the Kevala, or only knowledge attained by Maha'vi'ra on the north bank of the Rijupdlikd, under a Sal tree, on the tenth of the light fortnight of Vaisdkha, in the fourth watch of the day, whilst the moon was in the asterism Hasta. Indra instantly hastened to the spot, attended by thousands of deities, who all did homage to the saint, and attended him on his progress to Apdpdpuri, in Behar, where he commenced his instructions on a stage erected for the purpose by the deities, a model of which is not uncommonly represented in Jain temples. The follow- ing is the introductory lecture ascribed to Maha'vi'ra by his biographer. " The world is without bounds, like a formidable ocean ; its cause is action (Karma,) which is as the seed of the tree. The being (JivaJ invested with body, but devoid of judgment, goes hke a well- sinker, ever downwards, by the acts it performs, whilst the embodied being which has attained purity, goes ever upwards, by its own acts, like the 193 builder of a palace. Let not any one injure life, whilst bound in the bonds of action ; but be as assiduous in cherishing the life of another as his own. Never let any one speak falsehood, but always speak the truth. Let every one who has a bodily form avoid giving pain to others as much as to himself. Let no one take property not given to him, for wealth is hke the external life of men, and he who takes away such wealth commits as it were murder. Associate not with women, for it is the destruction of life : let the wise observe continence, which binds them to the Supreme. Be not incumbered with a family, for by the anxiety it involves, the person separated from it falls like an ox too heavily laden. If it be not in their power to shun these more subtle destroyers of life, let those who desire so to do, avoid at least the com- mission of all gross offences." When Maha'vi'ra's fame began to be widely diffused, it attracted the notice of the Brahmans of Magadhd, and several of their most eminent teachers undertook to refute his doctrines. Instead of effecting their purpose, however, they became converts, and constituted his Ganadharas, heads of schools, the disciples of Maha'vi'ra and teachers of his doc- trines, both orally and scripturally. It is of some interest to notice them in detail, as the epithets given to them are liable to be misunderstood, and to lead to erroneous notions respecting their character and history. This is particularly the case with the first Indrabhu'ti, or Gautama, who has been considered as the same with the Gautama of the Baud- dhas, the son of Ma'ya'devi, and author of the Indian metaphysics.* That any connexion exists between the Jain and the Brahmana Sage is, at least, very doubtful ; but the Gautama of the Bauddhas, the sun of SuDHODANA aud Ma'ya', was a Kshetriya, a prince of the royal or warrior caste. All the Jain traditions make their Gautama a Brahman^ originally of the Gotra, or tribe of Gotama Rishi, a division of the Brahmans well known, and still existing in the South of India. These two persons therefore cannot be identified, whether they be historical or fictitious personages. Indrabhu'ti, Agnibhu'ti, and Va'yubhu'ti, are described as the sons of Vasubhu'ti, a Brahman of the Gotama tribe, residing at Govara, a village in Magadha : from their race, Hemachandra, in the commentary on the vocabulary, observes, they are all called Gautamas. Vyakta and * R. A. S. Transactions, vol. I. p. 538. 2 c 194 SuDHERMA were the sons of Dhanamitra and Dhammilla, two Brah- mans of Kollaka, the former of the Bharadwdja, and the latter of the Agnivaisya tribe. Mandita and Maurya putra were half-brothers, the sons of Vijayadevi' by Dhana Deva and Maurya, two Brahmans of the Fdsishtha and Kdsyapa races, but cousins by the mother's side, and consequently, according to the custom of the country, it is stated, the one took the other's widow to wife upon his decease. Akampita was the son of a Maithili Brahman, of the Gautama tribe. Achalabhra'ta', of a Brahman of Oude, of the Hdrita family. Metarya was a Brahman of Vatsa, of the Kaundilya tribe ; and Prabha'sa, a Brahman of the same race, but a native of Rdjagriha in Behar. These are the eleven Ganadharas, or Ganddhipas, holders or masters of Jain schools, although, before their conversion, learned in the four Vedas, and teaching the doc- trines contained in them, These converts to Jain principles are mostly made in the same man- ner : each comes to the Saint, prepared to overwhelm him with shame when he salutes them mildly by name, tells them the subject that excites their unuttered doubts, and solves the difficulty, not always very satisfactorily or distinctly it must be admitted ; but the whole is an epitome of the Jain notions on those subjects which chiefly engage the attention of the Hindu philosophers. Indrabhu'ti doubts whether there be life (Jiva) or not— Maha'vi'ra says there is, and that it is the vessel of virtue and vice, or where would be the use of acts of virtue or piety. Agnibhu'ti questions if there be acts (Kerma) or not, to which Maha'vi'ra replies in the affirmative, and that from them proceed all bodily pleasure and pain, and the various migrations of the living prin- ciple through different forms. Va'yubhu'ti doubts if life be not body, which the Sage denies, as the objects of the senses may be remembered after the senses cease to act, even after death, that is, in a succeeding state of existence occasionally. Vyakta questions the reality of elementary matter, referring it with the Veddntis to illusion ; the Sage replies that the doctrine of vacuity is false, illustrating his position rather obscurely, by asking if there are no other worlds than the Gandharba, cities of dreams, or castles in the air. SuDHERMA imagines that the same kind of bodies which are worn in one life will be assumed in another, or that a human being must be born 195 again amongst mankind ; for as the tree is always of the same nature as the seed, so must the consequences of acts, in a peculiar capacity, lead to results adapted to a similar condition. This Maha'vi'ra. contradicts, and says that causes and effects are not necessarily of the same nature as horn, and similar materials are convertible into arrow barbs, and the like. Mandita has not made up his mind on the subjects of bondage and liberation, (Bandha and MokshaJ ; the Jina explains the former to be connexion with and dependence on worldly acts, whilst the latter is total detachment from them, and independence of them effected by know- ledge. Mauryaputra doubts of the existence of gods, to which Maha'vi'ra opposes the fact of the presence of Indra, and the rest around his throne. They cannot bear the odour of mere mortality, he adds ; but they never fail to attend at the birth, inauguration, and other passages of the life of a Jina. Akampita is disposed to disbelieve the existence of the spirits of hell, because he cannot see them ; but the Sage says that they are visible to those possessing certain knowledge, of whom he is one. Achalabhra'ta' is sceptical as to the distinction between vice and virtue, for which Maha'vi'ra rebukes him, and desires him to judge of them by their fruits : length of days, honorable birth, health, beauty and prosperity, being the rewards in this life of virtue ; and the reverse of these the punishments of vice. Meta'rya questions a future existence, because life having no certain form must depend on elementary form, and consequently perish with it ; but Maha'vi'ra replies, that life is severally present in various elemen- tary aggregates to give them consciousness, and existing independent of them, may go elsewhere often they are dissolved. He adds, in confirma- tion of the doctrine, that the Srutis and Smritis, that is, the scriptural writings of the Brahmanas, assert the existence of other worlds. The last of the list is Prabha'sa, who doubts if there be such a thine: as Nirvdn, that state of nonentity which it is the object of a Jaina saint to attain. The solution is not very explicit. Nirvdn is declared to be the same with Moksha, liberation, and Kermakshaya, abrogation of acts, and that this is real is proved by the authority of the Veda, and is visibly manifested in those who acquire true knowledge. 196 According to this view of the Jain system, therefore, we find the vital principle recognised as a real existence, animating in distinct portions, distinct bodies, and condemned to suffer the consequence of its actions by migrations through various forms. The reality of elementary mat- ter is also asserted, as well as of gods, demons, heaven, and hell. The final state of the vital and sentient principle is left rather obscure, but as its actual and visible exemption from human acts is taught, it follows that it is exempt from their consequences, or repeated births in various shapes, and therefore ceases to be in any sensible or suffering form. It is unnecessary to dwell longer on the subject here, as we shall have occasion to recur to it. After the conversion of these Brahmans and their disciples, Maha'vi'ra instructed them further in his doctrines, and they again taught them to others, becoming the heads of separate schools. Akampita and Achala- bhra'ta, however, and Meta'rya and Pkabha'sa taught in common, so that the eleven Ganadhipas established but nine Ganas or classes. Having thus attained the object of his penance and silence, Maha'vi'ra, attended by his disciples, wandered about to different places, disseminat- ing the Jain belief, and making numerous converts. The scene of his labours is mostly along the Ganges, in the modern districts of Behar and Allahabad, and principally at the cities of Kausdmbi and Rdjagriha, under the kings Sata'ni'ka and Sreni'ka, both of whom are Jains. The occurrences described relate more to the disciples of the Saint than to himself, and there are some curious matters of an apparently historical character. There is also a prophetic account of Hemachandra himself, and his patron Kuma'ra Pa' la of Guzerat, put into the mouth of AJaha'vi'ra ; but these are foreign to our present purpose, which is confined to the progress of the Jain sage. Maha'vi'ra having completed the period of his earthly career, returned to Apdpapuri, whither he was attended by a numerous concourse of fol- lowers of various designations. However fanciful the enumeration, the list is not uninstructive, as it displays the use of various terms to signify different orders of one sect, and not, as has been sometimes erroneously supposed, the sect itself. Sramanas, Sadhs and Srdvaks, may be Jains, but they are not necessarily so, nor do they singly designate all the individuals of that persuasion. Vird's train consists of Sddhus, holy men, fourteen thousand ; Sddhwis holy women, thirty-six thousand ; Sramanas I 197 or ascetics, versed in the fourteen Purvas, three hundred ; Avadhijndnis those knowing the limits or laws, one thousand and three hundred; Kevalis, or detached from acts, seven hundred ; Manovits, possessors of intellectual wisdom, five hundred ; Bddis, controversialists, four hundred ; Srdvakas, the male laity, one lack and fifty-nine thousand ; and Srdvikas, female hearers of the word, double that number, or three lacks and eighteen thousand. The only Ganadharas present, were Gautama and SuDHERMA, the other nine having attained felicity, or having died before their master. The period of his liberation having arrived, Maha'vi'ra resigned his breath, and his body was burned by Sakra and other deities, who divided amongst them such parts as were not destroyed by the flames, as the teeth and bones, which they preserved as reliques ; the ashes of the pile were distributed amongst the assistants : the gods erected a splendid monument on the spot, and then returned to their respective heavens. These events occurred on the day of new moon, in the month Kdrtik, when Maha'vi'ra was seventy-two years of age, thirty of which were spent in social duties, and the rest in religious avocations, and he died two hundred and fifty years after the preceding Jina, Pa'rswa- na'th : no other date is given, but in the passage in the prophetic strain above alluded to, it is mentioned that Kuma'ra, Pa'la will found Anahilla Patau, and become the disciple of Hemachandra, one thousand six hundred and sixty-nine years after the death of Maha'vi'ra. The conversion of Kuma'ra Pa'la occurred about A. D. 1174, and consequently the last Jina expired about five hundred years before the Christian era. According to other authorities, the date assigned to this event, is commonly about a century and a half earlier, or before Christ six hundred and sixty-three,* but Hemachandra is a preferable guide, although, in point of actual chronology, his date is probably not more to be depended upon than those derived from other sources. The doctrines of the Jains, which constitute the philosophy of their sys- tem, it is not part of the present plan to discuss : but a few of the lead- ing tenets, as derived from original authorities, may be here briefly * Colonel Mackenzie, on the inforniation of the Belligolu Jains, says Verddha- mdna attained beatitude 2464 years before the year 1801, which is 663 years before Christ. Mr. Colebrooke observes, that the Jains of Bengal reckon Ferdd/iatndna to have lived 580 years before Fikramaditya, which is A. C. 636. 198 adverted to. It is the more necessary to dwell on the subject as the chief opinions of the sect of Jina, as described elsewhere, have, for the most part, been taken from verbal communication, or the controversial writings of the Brahmans. An eternal and presiding first cause forms no part of the Jain creed, nor do the Jains admit of soul or spirit as distinct from the living prin- ciple. All existence is divisible into two heads — Life (JivaJ or the living and sentient principle ; and Inertia or Ajiva, the various modifications of inanimate matter. Both these are uncreated and imperishable. Their forms and conditions may change, but they are never destroyed ; and with the exception of the unusual cases in which a peculiar living prin- ciple ceases to be subject to bodily acts, both life and matter proceed in a certain course, and at stated periods the same forms, the same charac- ters, and the same events, are repeated. To proceed, however, according to the original authorities, all objects sensible or abstract, are arranged under nine categories, termed Tatwas, truths or existences, which we shall proceed to notice in some detail. I. Jiva, Life, or the living and sentient principle, as existing in various forms, but especially reducible to two classes, those with and those without mobility. The first comprises animals, men, demons, and gods — the second, all combinations of the four elements, earth, water, fire, air, as minerals, vapours, meteors, and tempests — and all the products of the vegetable kingdom. They are again arranged in five classes, according to their possession of as many Indriyas, or sensible properties. The wholly unconscious bodies to ordinary apprehension, but which have a subtle vitality perceptible to saintly and super- human beings, have the property of form : such are minerals, and the like. Snails, worms, and insects, in general, have two properties — form and face. Lice, fleas, and the like, have three properties, or form, face, and the organ of smell. Bees, gnats, and the rest have, in addition to these, vision ; whilst animals, men, demons, and gods, have form, vision, hearing, smell, and taste. To these five predicates of vital beings, two others are some- times added, and they are said to be Sanjnina and Asnajnina, or, born by procreation, or spontaneously generated. Again, these seven orders are distinguished as complete or incomplete, making altogether four- teen classes of living things. According to the acts done or suflfered in each condition, the vital principle migrates to an inferior or superior 199 grade, until it is emancipated from bodily acts altogether. It is a peculiarity of the Jain notions of life, that it is always adapted to the body it animates, and diminishes with the gnat, and expands to the elephant, a notion that is treated with just ridicule by the Brahmans. Generically, it is defined to be without beginning or end, endowed with attributes of its own agent and enjoyer, conscious, subtle, proportionate to the body it animates ; through sin, it passes into animals, or goes to hell ; through virtue and vice combined, it passes into men, and through virtue alone, ascends to heaven ; through the annihilation of both vice and virtue, it obtains emancipation. II. Ajiva, the second predicate of existence, comprises objects or properties devoid of consciousness and life. These seem to be vaguely and variously classed, and to be in general incapable of interpretation ; but the enumeration is commonly fourteen, like the modification of vital- ity. They are Dhermdstikaya, Adhermdstikaya, and Akdsdstikaya, each comprehending three varieties. Kdla, or time, is the tenth ; and Pud- gala, or elementary matter, in four modifications, completes the series. It is not very easy to understand these technicalities, for the etymo- logy of the words is of little avail. Astikaya indicates the existence of body, " Body is " whilst Dherma signifies virtue, and Adherma, vice ; but Dherma means also peculiar function or office, in which sense it seems to be here intended, thus — Dhermdstikaya is defined to be that which facilitates the motion of animate or inanimate bodies, as water for fish. Adhermdstikaya is that which impedes or stops their motion. Akdsdstikaya is the principle of repulsion, that which keeps bodies separate, or space : the varieties of these are only in degree, of little, more, and complete. Time is sufficiently intelligible, but the Jairis indulge in modifications of it infinitely more extravagant than those for which the Hindus are re- proached ; thus after enumerating days, weeks, months, and years, we have the Palya, or Palyopama, a period measured by the time in which a vast well, one hundred Yojans every way, filled with minute hairs so closely packed that a river might be hurried over them without penetrat- ing the interstices, could be emptied at the rate of one hair in a century. A Sagaropama is one hundred million millions of Palyas, and an Avasar- pini and Utserpini, which make up a great age, consist each of one hun- dred million millions of Sagaras. Pudgala is atomic matter, distinguish- ed like the first three categories, by being combined in three degrees — 200 little, much, and most, whilst it adds a fourth state, or that of Paramanu, primitive, subtle, indivisible, and uncombined. III. The third Tatwa is Puny a, Good, or whatever is the cause of happiness to living beings ; the sub- divisions of this category are forty- two, it will be sufficient here to enumerate a few of the principal. 1. Ucchairgotra, high birth, rank, or the respect of mankind. 2. Manushyagati, the state of man, either as obtained from some other form of being or continuance in it. 3. Suragati, the state of divinity, Godhead. 4. Panchendriya, the state of superior vitality, or possession of five organs of sense. 5. Panchadeha, the possession of body, or form of one of five kinds. Auddrika, elementary — that arising from the aggregation of elements, as the bodies of men and beasts. Vaikriya, transmigrated — that assumed in consequence of acts, as the forms of spirits and gods, Ahdrakam, adventitious, one assumed, such as that of the Purvadha- ras, of one cubit in stature, when they went to see the Tirthankaras in Mahdvidehakshetra. Taijasa, the form obtained by suppressing mortal wants, in which state fire can be ejected from the body. Kdrmanam, the form which is the necessary consequence of acts. These two last are necessarily connected from all time, and can only be disunited by final liberation, or Moksha. Other varieties of ' Good', are colour, odour, flavour, touch, warmth, coolness, and the hke. IV. Pdpa, or ' ///,' in contradistinction to the preceding, and imply- ing that which is the cause of unhappiness to mankind ; there are eighty- two kinds ; As the five Avaranas, or difficulties in acquiring as many gradations of holy or divine wisdom. Five Antardyas, disappointments, or impedi- ments, as not obtaining what is about to be presented, not being able to enjoy an object of fruition when in possession of it, and want of vigour though in bodily health. Four Dersanavasdnas, obstruction, or impediment to information derivable from the senses, or the understand- ing ; or to the acquirement of divine knowledge. Five states of sleep, inferior birth, pain, as a condition of existence, as when condemned to 201 purgatory, belief in false gods, defect of size or shape, and all the human passions and infirmities — as anger, pride, covetousness, &c., including, amongst the ills of life, laughter and love. V. Asrava is that source from which the evil acts of living beings proceed. The varieties are the five Indriyas, or organs of sense ; the four Kashdyas, or passions, as vi^rath, pride, covetousness, and deceit ; the five Avratas, non-observance of positive commands, as lying, stealing, &c. and three Yogas, addiction or attachment of the mind, speech, and body to any act ; Kraiyas, or acts, of which twenty-six varieties are specified as those performed with any part of the body, or with the instrumentality of a weapon, or the like — those prompted by feelings of hate or wrath — those which are inceptive, progressive, or conclu- sive — those performed by oneself, or through another creature — those which are suggested by impiety, or unbelief in the doctrine of the Trithankdras. VI. The sixth Tatwa is termed Samvara, and is that by which acts are collected or impeded. There are fifty-seven varieties classed under six heads. 1. Samiti, keeping the attention properly alive, so as to see imme- diately if an insect is in the way, to refrain from uttering what should not be said, to distinguish any of the forty- two defects in food given as alms, taking or relinquishing any thing indifferently, and avoiding or abandoning unfit things. 2. Gupti, secrecy, or reserve of three kinds, or in mind, speech and person. 3. Parishahd, endurance or patience, as when a person has taken a vow of abstemiousness he must bear hunger and thirst ; so he must en- dure heat and cold, when he practices the immoveable posture of Jain abstraction ; if he is disappointed in what he has laboured or begged for, he must not murmur ; and if he is reviled or even beaten, he must patiently submit. 4. Yatidherma, the duties of an ascetic, these are ten in number, pa- tience, gentleness, integrity, and disinterestedness, abstraction, morti- fication, truth, purity, poverty, and continence. 5. Bhdvand, conviction or conclusion, such as that worldly existences are not eternal, that there is no refuge after death, that life is perpetu- ally migrating through the eighty-four lakhs of living forms, that life is 2 D 202 one or many : it also includes perception of the source whence evil acts proceed, and the like. The sixth division of this class is Cheritra, practice or observance, of five sorts. Sdmdyika, conventional, or the practice and avoidance of such actions as are permitted or prescribed. Chhedopasthdpaniya, pre- vention of evil, as of the destruction of animal life. Pariharavisuddhi, purification by such mortification and penance as are enjoined by the example of ancient saints and sages. Sulkshmasampardya, the practises of those pious men who have attained a certain degree of eminence ; and Yathakhydtam, the same after all the impediments and impurities of human nature are overcome or destroyed. VII. Nirjard, the seventh Tatwa, is the religious practice that des- troys mortal impurities, or, in other words, penance : it is of two kinds, external and internal ; the first comprehends fasting, continence, silence, and bodily suffering ; the second, repentance, piety, protection of the virtuous, study, meditation, and disregard, or rejection of both virtue and vice. VIII. Bandha is the integral association of life with acts, as of milk with water, fire with a red hot iron ball : it is of four kinds — Prakriti, the natural disposition or nature of a thing — Sthiti, duration, or mea- sure of time, through which life continues — Anuhhdga, feeling, or sensi- ble quality — Pradesa, atomic individuality. The characters of this prin- ciple are illustrated by a confection. 1 . According to its natural proper- ties it cures phlegm, bile, &c. ; 2, it remains efficient but for a given period ; 3, it is sweet, bitter, sour, &c. ; and 4, it is divisible into large or small proportions, retaining each the properties of the whole mass. IX. The last of the nine principles is Moksha, or liberation of the vital spirit from the bonds of action : it is of nine sorts. Satpadaprarupana. The determination of the real nature of things, the consequence of a finite course of progress through different stages of being and purification. It is attainable only by living creatures of the highest order, or those having the five organs of sense ; by those pos- sessed of the Trasakdya, or a body endowed with consciousness and mobility ; by those beings which are engendered, not self-produced ; by those which have reached the fifth Charita, or* exemption from human infirmity ; by those which are in the Kshayika Samyaktwa, or that state of perfection in which elementary or material existence is destroyed ; by 203 those no longer requiring material existence ; by those who have acquired the Kevalajndna, the only knowledge, and the Kevala Dersana, or only vision. , 2. Dravyapramdna, as regulated by the fitness of the things or persons to be emancipated. 3. Kshetrapramdna, depending on the essentiality of certain holy places at which only it can be obtained. 4. S per Sana, contact, or identity of the individuated living principle with that of the universe, or any part of it. 5. Kdla, the times or ages at which emancipation is attainable; or the periods spent in various transmigrations. 6. Antaram, the difference of temperaments or dispositions. 7. Bhdga, the existence of the imperishable part of all living bodies in which the purified essences or Siddhas reside. 8. Bhdva, the nature or property of that pure existence which has attained the Kevalajndna, and other perfections essential to final liberation. 9. Alpabahutwa, the degree or ratio in which different classes of beings obtain emancipation.* From the details of these nine Tatwas the sum of the whole Jain system may be collected, but they form only the text on which further subtilties are founded, and they leave the end and scope of all the doctrine or the attainment of ultimate liberation singularly indistinct. The Moksha of the Jains is exemption from the incidents of life, and above all from the necessity of being born again ; but in what state the living principle subsists after it is so exempted, does not very satisfac- torily appear. In one state indeed the bodily individuality remains, or that of Jivanmukti, liberation during life, whilst from most of the subdi- visions of Moksha, it follows that the Siddahs, the pure existences, correspond with our notions of spiritual beings, having an impassive and inappreciable form, variable at will, capable of infinite contraction or dilation, and wholly void of feeling or passion. This is not incompatible with their enjoyment of Nirvdn, another term for Moksha, and which, as Mr. Colebrooke observes, meaning literally, extinct or gone out as a * Although termed iTT'^H^I ^" ^^® original authorities, thes« varieties are rather in the requisite conditions for attaining Moksha, than in the kind or sort of emancipation attained, 204 fire, set, as a heavenly luminary, defunct as a saint who has passed away, implies profound calm. "It is not annihilation, " he concludes, " but unceasing apathy which they, * the Jains and Buddhas,' understand to be the extinction of their saints, and which they esteem to be supreme felicity worthy to be sought by practice of mortification as well as by acquisition of knowledge." Besides the notions exhibited in the detail of the nine Tatwas, the Jains are known in controversial writings by the title Saptabddis, or Saptabhangis, the disputers or refuters of seven positions : more correctly speaking, they are reconcilers, or could be so of seven contradictory assertions, evincing a sceptical character which justifies another epithet which they acknowledge, of Syddbddis, or assertors of possibilities : the seven positions are the following : 1, a thing is : 2 — It is not : 3 — It is and it is not : 4 — It is not defin- able : 5 — It is, but is not definable : 6 — It is not, neither is it definable ; 7 — It is and it is not, and is not definable — Now these positions imply the doctrines of the different schools, the Sdnkhya, Veddnta, and others, with regard to the world, to life, and to spirit, and are met in every case by the Jains with the reply, Syddbd, It may be so sometimes : that is, whatever of these dogmas is advanced will be true in some respects, and not in others ; correct under some circumstances, and not under others ; and they are therefore not entitled to implicit trust, nor are they irreconcilable. There is one inference to be drawn from this at- tempt to reconcile the leading doctrines of the principal schools, of some importance to the history of the Jain doctrines, and it renders it pro- bable that they were posterior to all the rest. As this reasoning howe- ver has been opposed by Ramanuja, it dates earlier than the twelfth century. Liberation during life, and as a necessary consequence, exemption after it from future birth, implies the abandonment of eight classes of Karmas, or acts, four of which are noxious and four innoxious — they are all included under the Tatwa, Pdpa, III, as above noticed, but are also more especially detailed. To the first order belong the following : Jyandvarani, disregard of the various stages of knowledge, from sim- ple comprehension to the only true wisdom, as so many steps to final liberation. Dersandvarani, disbelief in the doctrines of tbe Jain Saints. 205 Mohani, hesitation in obeying the injunctions of the Jain code, or doubt as to their importance and the consequences of their neglect. Antardya, impeding or vexing those engaged in seeking Uberation. The second class comprises — Vedamya, self- consciousness or sufficiency. Mdma, pride of name — Gotra, pride of birth — and Ayushka, attach- ment to bodily existence. These essential principles of the faith are common to all classes of Jains, but some differences occur in their Duties as they are divided into religious or lay orders, Yatis and Srdvakas. Implicit belief in the doctrines and actions of the Tirthankaras is, of course, obligatory on both ; but the former are expected to follow a life of abstinence, taciturnity, and continence, whilst the latter add to their moral and religious code, the practical worship of the Tirthankaras, and profound reverence for their more pious brethren. The moral code of the Jains is expressed in five Mahdvratas, or great duties — Refraining from injury to life, truth, honesty, chastity, and freedom from worldly desires. There are four Dhermas, or merits — liberality, gentleness, piety, and penance ; and three sorts of restraint — government of the mind, the tongue, and the person. To these are superadded a number of minor instructions or prohibitions, sometimes of a beneficial and sometimes of a trivial, or even ludicrous tendency, such as to abstain, at certain seasons, from salt, flowers, green fruit, and roots, honey, grapes, and tobacco ; to drink water thrice strained ; never to leave a liquid uncovered, lest an insect should be drowned in it ; not to deal in soap, natron, indigo, and iron ; and never to eat in the dark lest a fly should be swallowed. Re- ligious characters wear a piece of cloth over their mouths to prevent insects from flying into them, and carry a brush under their arms to sweep the place on which they are about to sit, to remove any ants or other living creatures out of the way of danger. Upon the whole, the doctrine of the Jainas is a system of quietism, calculated to render those who follow it perfectly innoxious, but to inspire them with apathetic in- difference towards both this world and the next. The ritual of the Jains is as simple as their moral code. The Yati, or devotee, dispenses with acts of worship at his pleasure, and the lay votary is only bound to visit daily a temple where some of the images of the Tirthankaras are erected, walk round it three times, make an 206 obeisance to the images, with an offering of some trifle, usually fruit or flowers, and pronounce some such Mantra, or prayer, as the following — " Namo Arihantdnam, Namo Siddhdnam, Namo Aryandm, Namo Updjy- dndm, Namo Loe Sahba Sahunam — Salutation to the Arhats, to the Pure Existences, to the Sages, to the Teachers, to all the Devout in the world." A morning prayer is also repeated — Ichchhami Khama Samano bandiyon, jo man jdye nisidye ; mathena banddmi — I beg forgiveness, oh Lord, for your slave, for whatever evil thoughts the night may have produced — I bow with my head." The worshipper then perhaps remains to hear read, part of the Kalpasiitra or Bhaktdmara, or some narrative of one or other of the Tirthankars, and the devotion of their followers, and pro- ceeds to his daily occupations. The reader in a Jain temple is a Yati, or religious character ; but the ministrant priest, the attendant on the images, the receiver of offerings, and conductor of all usual ceremonies, is a Brahman. It is a curious peculiarity in the Jain system, that they should have no priests of their own, but it is the natural consequence of the doctrine and example of the Tirthankars, who performed no rites, either vicariously or for themselves, and gave no instruction as to their observance. It shews also the true character of this form of faith, that it was a departure from established practices, the observance of which was held by the Jain teachers to be matter of indifference, and which none of any credit would consent to regulate : the laity were, therefore, left to their former priest- hood, as far as outward ceremonies were concerned. The objects of worship are properly only the Tirthankaras, but the Jains do not deny the existence of the Hindu gods, and admit such of them as they have chosen to connect with the adventures of their saints, according to a classification of their own, to a share in the worship offered to their human superiors. According to the Mythology which they have adopted and modified, the Jains reckon four classes of divine beings, whom they name Bhuva- napatis, Vyantaras, Jyotishkas, and Vaimdnikas : the first comprises ten orders : the progeny of the Asiiras, Serpents, Garura, Dikpdlas, Fire, Air, the Ocean, Thunder and Lightning — who are supposed to reside in the several hells or regions below the Earth. The second has eight orders, the Pisdchas, Bhiltas, Kinnaras, Gaudherbas, and other monstrous or terrestrial divinities, inhabiting mountains, woods, and forests, as well 207 as the lower regions, or air. The third has five orders — the Sun, Moon, Planets, Asterisms, and other heavenly bodies. The fourth, includes the Gods of present and past Kalpas. Of the first kind are those born in the Heavens, Saudherma, Isdna, Mdhendra, Brahma, Sanatkumdra, Sukra, and others to the number of twelve, or in the Kalpas, when Sudhermal and the rest were severally presiding Deities. The last class reside in two divisions of five and of nine heavens — the five termed Vijaya, Faij- ayanti, &c. ; the second termed Anuttara, because there are none beyond them, as they crown the triple construction of the universe. In the sovereignty of the hosts of heaven, a great number of Indras are recognis- ed, but of these two are always specified as the chief, Sukra and Isa'na, one regent of the north, the other of the south heaven : the former alone has eighty-four thousand fellow gods, each of whom has myriads of associates and attendants. Above all these rank in dignity, and as objects of worship, the twenty- four Tirthankaras, or with those of the past and of the future periods, seventy- two. Allusion is made by Hemachandra in his life of Maha'- vi'ra, to a hundred and one, and the same work specifies four Sdstvat or eternal Jinas, Rishabha'nana, Chandra'nana, Va'risena, and Verd- dhama'na — what is meant by them is not explained, and they are not recognised by all Jains. The presence of Brahman ministrants, or the lapse of time and the tendency of the native mind to multiply objects of veneration, seems to have introduced different innovations into the worship of the Jainas in different parts of Hindustan ; and in upper India the ritual in use is often intermixed with formulse derived from the Tantras, and belonging more properly to the Saiva and Sdkta worship. Images of the Bhairavas and Bhairavis, the fierce attendants on Siva and Ka'li, take their place in Jain temples, and at suitable seasons the Jains equally with the Hin- dus address their adoration to Saraswati' and Devi.* * Thus, in a Pujapaddhati, procured at Mainpuri, where a Jain temple of con- siderable size stands, the Tirthankaras, as they are severally presented with offerings, are addressed ; Om Sri Rishabhdya Swasti—Om Hrim hum : and Om Hrim Sri Sudhermdchdrya, Adigurubhyo Nama—Om Hrim Hram, Samajinachaityalayehhyo Sri Jinendrabhyo Nama. There are also observances for regular Hindu festivals, as the Sripanchami, Akshayatritiyd, &c., when Saraswati and other goddesses are invoked. Rules are given for the Ghata Sthapana, when Sakti or Devi is supposed to be present in a water jar, erected as her receptacle and emblem, and the 208 In the South of India, from the account given by Colonel Mackenzie, it appears that the Jains observe all the Brahminical Sanskdras, or essential ceremonies. This is not the case in upper India, and the only- rites followed are the Initiation of the infant, twelve days after birth, by repeating a Mantra over it, and making a circular mark with the sandal and perfumes on the top of the head : Marriage and Cremation, which are much the same as those of the Brahmans, omitting the Mantras of the Vedas. Srdddhas, obsequial ceremonies at stated periods, are not performed by the Jains in upper Hindustan. The festivals of the Jains are peculiar to themselves, and occur especially on days consecrated by the birth or death of some of the principal Tirthankars, especially the two last Pdrswandth and Verddha- mdna : the places where these events occurred are also objects of pilgrimage, and very numerous assemblages of devout pilgrims occur at them at different seasons— thus in Behar, a very celebrated place of resort is the scene of Parasndth's liberation; the mountain Samet Sikhara, or Parasndth, near Pachete ,-* and another of equal sanctity, the scene of Verddhamdna's departure from earth, is at Pdpapuri,\ in the same province. Pilgrims come from all parts of India to these places at all seasons, but the principal Melas are held at the former in Mdgh, and in Kdrtika, at the latter. On the western side of India, the mountains of Abu,X and Girinar, are the great scenes of pilgrimage, being covered with Jain temples and remains. Rishabha Deva and Nemina'th seem to be the favourite divinities in that quarter. Besides these particular festivals, the Jains observe several that are common to the Hindus, as the Vasantaydtrd, or spring festival, the Sripanchami, and others ; they also hold in veneration certain of the Lunar days, as the 2d, 5th, 8th, Uth, and 12th; on these no new work should be undertaken, no journey commenced, and fasting, or absti- nence at least, and continence should be observed. Sorasa Karana Piija ends with a Lakshmi Stotra, or Hymn, addressed to the Goddess of Prosperity. * Described very fully, as previously noticed, in the Quarterly Magazine for December, 1827. t It is also written Apapapuri, and Pdvapuri, under which latter name, it and other celebrated Jaina shrines in Behar, are described by a Native traveller, a Jain, in the service of Colonel Mackenzie, in the Calcutta Magazine for June, 1823. X See Asiatic Researches, vol. XVI. Jain Inscriptions at Abu. 209 The origin of the Jain faith is immersed in the obscurity which invests all remote history amongst the Hindus. That it is the most recent of all the systems pursued in Hindustan is rendered highly pro- bable by the extravagances in which it deals, by the doctrine it opposes to those of all other schools, and by the comparatively recent date of many Jam authors of celebrity, and of numerous monumental reliques ; but at what period it actually took its rise it is not easy to determine."^ Mr. Colebrooke has suggested the probability of the Jain religion being the work of Pa'rswana'th, in the account of whom there is a nearer approach to sober history and credible chronology than in the narratives of his predecessors — this would throw back the origin of the Jain faith to the ninth century before the Christian era, admitting the Jain chro- nology of Verddhama'na's existence, but it is difficult to concur in the accuracy of so remote a date, and whatever indirect evidence on the subject is procurable, is opposed to such a belief. It has been supposed that we have notices of the Jaina sect as far back as the time of the Macedonian invasion of India, or at least at the period at which Megasthenes was sent ambassador to Sandracoptus, and that these notices are recorded by Strabo and Arrian — the nature of the expressions which those and other writers have employed has been canvassed by Mr. Colebrooke, and shewn satisfactorily to establish the existence at that time of the regular Brahmans, as well as of other sects : what those sects were, however, it was no part of his object to enquire, and he has left it still to be ascertained how far it can be concluded that the Jainas were intended. * Major Delamaine observes, " the usual idea of the Jains beinj? a modern sect may not be erroneous : the doctrines originating with Rishabha, and continued by Arhanta, dividing at periods ofsehism into more distinct classes, of which the Jaiiis or Srdwacs, as now established from one, and the modern Buddhas, as in Burma, Siam, Ceylon, Tibet, &c. another. — Major Delamaine, T. R. A. S. 1. 427. " Were 1 disposed to speculate on the origin of the Jains, from the striking coincidences of doctrine and religious usages between them and the Bouddhists, I should be led to conjecture that they were originally a sect of Bouddhists."— -Vir Erskine, Bombay Trans. 3. 502. " It is certainly probable, as remarked by Dr. Hamilton and Major Delamaine, that the Gautama of the Jainas and of the Bauddhas, is the same per- sonage, and this leads to the further surmise that both these sects are branches of one stock. — Both have adopted the Hindu Pantheon, or assemblage of subordinate deities —both disclaim the authority of the Vedas, and both elevate their pre-eminent saints to divme supremacy — Mr. Colebrooke, Trans. R. A. S. 1. 521. 2 E 210 Much perplexity in the Greek accounts of the Brahmans and Gym- nosophists has, no doubt, occurred from their not having been acquainted with the subdivision of the priestly caste into the four orders of student, householder, hermit, and mendicant, and therefore they describe the Brahman sometimes as living in towns, sometimes in woods, sometimes observing celibacy, and sometimes married, sometimes as wearing clothes, and sometimes as going naked ; contradictions which, though apparently irreconcilable if the same individuals, or classes, be meant, were appre- ciated by the shrewdness of Bayle more justly than he was himself aware of,* and are all explained by the Achdras, or institutes of the Hindus, as affecting the various periods of life and corresponding prac- tices of Brahmanical devotion. As far, therefore, as the customs or observances of the Gymnosophists are described, we have no reason to conclude that any but the followers of the Vedas are intended, and the only part of the account apphcable to any other sect is the term Germanes, or Sermanes, or Samanaans, applied to one division of the Sophists or Sages. This name, as Mr. Colebrooke observes, seems to bear some affinity to the Sramanas, or asceticks of the Jains or Bauddhas, but we can derive no positive con- clusion from a resemblance, which may possibly be rather imaginary than real, and the object of which, after all, is far from being the indi- vidual property of any sect, but is equally applicable to the ascetic of every religious system. As distinct from the Brahmans, the Sarmanes will be equally distinct from the Jains ; for the Brahmans, it is said by Porphyry, are of one race ; and the Samanceans are selected from all the tribes, and consist of persons choosing to prosecute divine studies, pre- cisely the independent Sanydsi or Gosain, of modern times, few persons of which description belong to the order of the Brahmans, or are united with the rest by any community of origin or peculiarity of faith. Again, another word has been adduced in corroboration of the exist- ence of the Jains, and it may be admitted, that this is a better proof than the preceding, as the Pramnce are declared to be the opposers of the * " It may be that they ' the Brachmans did not follow the same institute in all ages, and that with a distinction of time one might reconcile some of the variations of the authors who have spoken of them." — Article Brachmans. Note. C. Harris, (1.454) also has rightly estimated the real character of the Germanes, and concluded that they were nothing but Gioghis, from Pietro della Valle's description of the latter. 211 Brahmans, which is no where mentioned of the Sarmanes. This expres- sion is said to designate the Jains, but this is far from certain : the term is probably derived from Pramdna, proof, evidence, and is especially the right of the followers of the logical school, who are usually termed Prd- mdnikas : it is applicable, however, to any sect which advocates positive or occular proof in opposition to written dogmas, or belief in scriptural authority, and is in that sense more correctly an epithet of the Bauddha sectaries than of the Jains, who admit the legends and worship the deities of the Purdnas, and who hold it the height of impiety to question the written doctrines of their own teachers. The proofs from classical writers, therefore, are wholly inadequate to the decision of the antiquity of the JainSy and we are still entirely left to sources of a less satisfac- tory description. All writers on the Jains, entitled to our attention, agree in admitting an intimate connexion between them and the Bauddhas ; the chief analo- gies have been above adverted to, and the inference of later origin is justly founded on the extravagant exaggerations of the system adopted by the Jains. Their identity of origin rests chiefly upon the name of Gautama, which appears as that of Verddhama'na's chief pupil, and as the legislator of the Bauddha nations in the east. The dates also assigned to both are not far removed ; the apotheosis of the Buddha, Gautama, occurring five hundred and forty-three years before Christ, and the death of Maha'vi'ra, the preceptor of the Jain Gautama, about the same time. That there is some connexion may be condeded, but for reasons already assigned, it is not likely that the persons are the same ; the Jains have not improbably derived their Gautama from that of their predecessors. No argument for the antiquity of the Jains is derivable from the account given of Rishabha in the Bhdgavat Purdna. He was not a seceder from the true faith, although the mistaken imitation of his prac- tices is said to have led others into errors, evidently intending the Jain heresy. He is scarcely identifiable, in consequence, with the Jain Rish- abha, the first of the Tirthankaras ; but even if that were the case, no confidence could be placed in the authority, as the work is a modern compilation, not exceeding, at the most, twelve centuries of antiquity. The refutation of Jain doctrines in the Brahma Sutras, is a less ques- 212 tionable testimony of their early existence ; but the date of that work is to be yet ascertained. Sankara Acharya, the commentator on the texts of Vya'sa, affords a more definite approximation ; but he will not carry us back above ten centuries. It is also to be observed, that the objects of the attacks of the Sutras and of Sankara are philosophical and speculative tenets, and these may have been current long before they formed part of a distinct practical system of faith, as promulgated by a class of Bauddhas, the germ of the Jains. However we may admit from these authorities the existence of the Jains as a distinct sect, above ten or twelve centuries ago ; we have reason to question their being of any note or importance much earlier. The Bauddhas, we know from Clemens of Alexandria, existed in India in the second century of the Christian era, and we find them not only the principal objects of Hindu confutation and anathema, but they are mentioned in works of lighter literature, referable to that period, in which the Jains are not noticed, nor alluded to : the omission is the more worthy of notice, because, since the Bauddhas disappeared from India, and the Jains only have been known, it will be found that the Hindu writers, whenever they speak of Bauddhas, shew, by the phraseology and practices ascribed to them, that they really mean Jains : the older writers do not make the same mistake, and the usages and expressions which they give to Bauddha personages are not Jain, but Bauddha ; with the one they were familiar, the other were yet unknown. The literature of the Jains themselves is unfavourable to the notion of high antiquity. Hemachandra,- one of their greatest writers, flour- ished in the end of the twelfth century, and the compiler of the Jain Purdnas of the Dekhin, is said to have written at the end of the ninth. The Kalpa Sutra professes to have been composed nine hundred and eighty years after the death of Maha'vi'ra, or fifteen centuries ago ; but from internal evidence, it could not have been composed earlier than the twelfth or thirteenth century. Various eminent Jain authors were cotemporary also with Munja and Bhoja, princes of Dhdr, in the ninth and tenth century, and a number of works seem to have been com- })iled in the sixteenth century, during the tolerant reign of Akber. Of the progress of the Jain faith in the Gangetic provinces of upper India, we have no very satisfactory traces. It may be doubted if they 213 ever extended themselves in Bengal. Beluir, according to their own traditions, was the birth place of Veliddhama'na, and Benares of Pa'rswana'th ; and temples and monuments of their teachers are com- mon in both, particularly the former ; but all those now existing are of very recent dates* and there are no vestiges referable to an intermediate period between the last Tirthankara, and the eighteenth century. At Benares, its princes professed the faith of Bauddha as late as the eleventh century, whilst during the same period, as is proved by inscrip- tions and the historical work of Chndrakavi, the sovereigns of Kanoj and Delhi were of the orthodox persuasion. It is very doubtful, there- fore, if the Jains ever formed a leading sect in this part of Hindustan. They were more successful in the west and south. In western Marwar, and the whole of the territory subject to the Chaulukya princes of Guzerat, the Jain faith became that of the ruling dynasty ; but this occurred at no very remote period. The Mohammedan Geographer, Edrisi, states that the king of Nehrwala, the capital of Guzerat, worshipped Buddha ; and we know from the writings of Hemachandra, that he was the apostle of the Jain faith in that king- dom — converting Kuma'ra Pal a, the monarch of Guzerat, to his creed. This is also an occurrence of the twelfth century, or about 1174. The consequences of this conversion are still apparent in the abundant reliques of the Jain faith, and the numbers by whom it is professed in Marwar, Guzerat, and the upper part of the Malabar Coast. On the Coromandel side of the Peninsula, the Jains were introduced upon the downfall of the Bauddhas, in the reign of Amoghaversha, king of Tonda Mandalam, in the ninth century, or according to some traditions, in the eighth. Farther south, in Madura, the date of their introduction is not known, but they were in power in the eleventh century under Kuna Pa'ndya. In this, and in the twelfth, they seem to have reached their highest prosperity, and from that period to have declined. Kuna Pa'ndya became a Saiva — Vishnu Verddhana, raja * As late even as the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. — These dates are some- times said to indicate the periods at which the temples were repaired, but the intelli- gent author of the 'Visit to Mount Parstvatiath' observes, "only in one instance is there reason to suspect that the buildings are much older than the inscriptions announce." The most ancient Mundir at that place, is reckoned to be but fifty years old —Calcutta Magazine, December, 1827. 214 of Mysore, was converted from the Jain to the Vaishnava faith in the twelfth century, and about the same time the Lingavant Saivas deposed and murdered Vijala, the Jain king of Kalydn. The sect, however, continued to meet with partial countenance from the kings of Vijayana- gar, until a comparatively modern date. The conclusions founded on traditionary or historical records are fully supported by the testimony of monuments and inscriptions — the latter of which are exceedingly numerous in the south and west of India. Most of these are very modern — none are earlier than the ninth century. An exception is said to exist in an inscription on a rock at Belligola, recording a grant of land by Chdmunda Raya to the shrine of Gomatis- WARA, in the year 600 of the Kali age, meaning the Kali of the Jains, which began three years after the death of Verddhamana. This inscription, therefore, if it exists, was written about fifty or sixty years before the Christian era — but it is not clear that any such record is in existence, the fact resting on the oral testimony of the head Pontiff at Belligola : even, if it be legible on the face of the rock, it is of question- able authenticity, as it is perfectly solitary, and no other document of like antiquity has been met with. The Mackenzie collection contains many hundred Jain inscriptions. Of these, the oldest record grants made by the princes of Homchi, a petty state in Mysur. None of them are older than the end of the ninth century. Similar grants, extending through the eleventh and twelfth centuries, by the Velala sovereigns of Mysur, are also numerous, whilst they continue with equal frequency to the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, during the existence of the sovereignty of Vijayanagar. Again, at Ahu, under the patronage of the Guzerat princes, we have a number of Jain inscriptions, but the oldest of them bears date Samvat 1245, (A. D. 1189);* they multiply in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, and are found as late as the middle of the eighteenth — and, finally, in Magadha, the scene of Verddhamana's birth and apotheosis, the oldest inscriptions found, date no further back than the beginning of the six- teenth century. t * Asatic Researches, Vol. XVI. Page 317. t Dr. Hamilton's description of Jain Temples in Behar. — TVan^. R. A. S. I. 525. To these may be added the inscriptions at Parsivanath, and a number of inscriptions at Gwalior, copies of which were sent to Mr. Fraser, and which are all dated in the middle of the 15th century. 215 From all credible testimony, therefore, it is impossible to avoid the inference that the Jains are a sect of comparatively recent institution, who first came into power and patronage about the eighth and ninth century : they probably existed before that date as a division of the Bauddhas, and owed their elevation to the suppression of that form of faith to which they contributed. This is positively asserted by the traditions of the south in several instances : the Bauddhas of Kdnchi were confuted by Akalanka, a Jain priest, and thereupon expelled the country. Vara Pandya, of Madura, on becoming a Jain, is said to have persecuted the Bauddhas, subjecting them to personal tortures, and banishing them from the country. In Guzerat, Bauddha princes were succeeded by the Jains. There is every reason to be satisfied, therefore, that the total disappearance of the Bauddhas in India proper is connect- ed with the influence of the Jains, which may have commenced in the sixth or seventh centuries, and continued till the twelfth. The inveteracy prevalent between kindred schisms is a sufficient rea- son for any enmity felt by the Jains towards the Bauddhas, rather than towards the Brahmanical Hindus. There is, indeed, a political leaning to the latter, observable in their recognition of the orthodox Pantheon, in the deference paid to the Vedas, and to the rites derivable from them, to the institution of castes, and to the employment of Brahmans as ministrant priests. They appear also to have adapted themselves to the prevailing form of Hinduism in different places : thus at Abu, several Jain inscriptions commence with invocations of Siva,* and in the Dekhin, an edict promulgated by Bukka Ra'ya, of Vijayanagar, declares there is no real difference between the Jains and Vaishnavas.f In some places the same temples are resorted to by Jains and Rdrndnu- jiya Vaishncfvas, and as observed by Mr. Colebrooke, a Jain on re- nouncing the heretical doctrines of his sect, takes his place amongst the orthodox Hindus as a Kshetriya or Vaisya, which would not be the case with a convert, who has not already caste as a Hindu. J In the South of India, indeed, the Jains preserve the distinction of castes ; in upper India, they profess to be one caste, or Vaisyas. It is very clear, * Major Delamaine notices that the mountain Girnar, is equally sacred to Hindus as to Jains, and that an ancient temple of Mahadeva is erected there. t Asiatic Researches, Vol. IX. Page '270. X Transactions Royal Asiatic Society, 1. 549. 216 however, that admission to the Jain communion was originally indepen- dent of caste,* and the partial adoption of it or pretension to it, is either a spontaneous or politic conformity to the strong feeling on the subject which prevails amongst all Hindus. These are the great outlines of the rise and progress of the sect, as derivable from sources entitled to credit ; but the Jains have amongst themselves records of sectarial value, detailing the succession of differ- ent teachers, and the origin of various heresies. Some extracts from one of these attached to a copy of the Kalpa Siitra, may be acceptable. The succession of teachers is always deduced from MahaVi'ra, through his disciple Sudherma. Of the rest, all but Gautama died before their master, as has been observed above, and Gautama survived him but a month, which he spent in penance and fasting. Sudherma, therefore, was the only one who remained competent to impart instruction. His pupil was Jambuswa'mi', the last of the Kevalis, or possessors of true wisdom : six teachers follow, termed Sriita Kevalis, or hearers of the first masters, and then seven others, Dasapurvis, from having been taught the works so named. f These are common to all the lists when correct. In the Belligola list they are omitted, and the successor of Jambuswa'mi' is there named Verasi'na, who may have been, as Mr. Colebrooke remarks, a hundred degrees removed. The lists, subse- quently, vary according to the particular line of descent to which they belong. Of these persons, the second Si^utakevali is reputed to be the author of the Dasavaikalikd, one of the standard works of the sect. Suhasti, the second Dasapurvi, was the preceptor of Samprati Raja, and the * Maha'vi'ra himself was the son of a king;, and should therefore be a Kshetriya. His chief disciples, Indrabhuti, and the rest, were Brah?nans. His especial atten- dant, Gosa'la, was an outcast, and his followers, of both sexes, were of every caste. t The following are the names of the individuals alluded to in the text: Srutakevalis. Dasapu'rvi's. Prahhava Swami. Arya Mahagiri Suri. Sayyambhadra Suri. Arya Sufiasti Suri. Yasobhadra Suri. Arya Susthita Suri. Sambhuta Fijaya Suri. Indradoina Sun. Bhadrabahu Siiri. Diuna Suri. Sthulabhadra Siiri. Sinhugiri Suri. rajraswami Suri. 217 fourth SusTHiTA, founded the Kote gachcha, or tribe. Vajraswa'mi' the last, established a particular division called the Fdj'ra Sdkhd. Of the succeeding teachers, or Suris, the title borne by the spiritual preceptors of the Jains, Chandrasu'ri the second, is the founder of the family of that name, eight hundred and nine years, it is said, after the eman- cipation of MahaVi'ra. In his time, it is stated, the Digambaras arose ; but we have seen that they were at least cotemporary with Maha'vi'ra. The 38th on the list, from Maha'vi'ra inclusive, Udyotana Su'ri first classed the Jains under eighty-nine Gachchas. The 40th Jineswa- Ri' who lived A. D. 1024, founded the Khertara family.* With the 44th JiNADATTA Originated the Oswal family, and the Madhyakhertara branch ; he was a teacher of great celebrity, and impressions of his feet in plaster or on stone are preserved in some temples, as at Bhelupur in Benares ; he lived in 1148. Other divisions, either of a religious or civil nature, are attributed to various teachers, as the Chitrahala Gachcha to Jinapati Suri, in A. D. 1149 ; the Anchalika doctrine to Jineswara in 1160; the Laghu Khertara family to Jinachandra in 1265 ; another Jinachandra, the 61st in the list, was cotemporary with Akber. The list closes with the 70th Jina, Hersha Su'ri, with whom, or his pupils, several works originated in the end of the seventeenth century.f Admitting this record to have been carefully preserved, we have seven- ty-one persons from Maha'vi'ra, to whom a period of less than fourteen centuries can scarcely be assigned, an4 whose series would, therefore, have begun in the third century. It is not at all unlikely that such was the case, but no positive conclusion can be drawn from a single document of this nature : a comparison with other lists is necessary, to determine the weight to be attached to it as an authority. The Jains are divided into two principal divisions, Digamharns and Swetambdras ; the former of which appears to have the best pretensions ♦ Major Tofl gives a somewhat different account of the origin of this tribe. Khar- tra, he says, means true, an epithet of distinction which was bestowed by that great supporter of the Buddhists or Jains, Sidraj, King of Anhulwara Paten, on one of the branches Gachcha, in a grand religious disputation at the capital, in the eleventh century. The accounts are by no means incompatible, and my authority represents Jineswari victorious in a controversy. t Hemachandra, at the end of the Mahdvira Cheritra, after stating that Vajra'- swa'mi founded the Vajrasa'kha', which was established in the Chandra Gachcha, gives the teachers of that family down to himself, Yasobhadra, Pradyumna, ViswASENA, Dkvachandua, and Hemachandra. 2 F 218 to antiquity, and to have been most widely diffused.* The discriminat- ing difference is implied in these terms, the former meaning the Sky-clad, that is, naked, and the latter the white-robed, the teachers being so dressed. In the present day, however, the Digambara ascetics do not go naked, but wear coloured garments ; they confine the disuse of clothes to the period of their meals, throwing aside their wrapper when they receive the food given them by their disciples : the points of differ- ence between the two sects are far from restricted to that of dress, and comprehend a list of no fewer than seven hundred, of which eighty-four are regarded as of infinite importance : a few of these may be here noticed. The Swetdmharas decorate the images of the Tirthankaras with ear- rings, necklaces, armlets, and tiaras of gold and jewels : the Digambaras leave their images without the foreign aid of ornament. The Swetdmbaras assert that there are twelve heavens, and sixty- four Indras : the Digambaras maintain that there are sixteen heavens, and one hundred Olympian monarchs. The Swetdmbaras permit their Gurus to eat out of vessels : the Digam- baras receive the food in their open hands from their disciples. The Swetdmbaras consider the accompaniments of the brush, water- pot, &c., as essential to the character of an ascetic : the Digambaras deny their importance. The Swetdmbaras assert that the Angas, or scriptures, are the work of the immediate disciples of the Tirthankaras : the Digambaras, with more reason, maintain that the leading authorities of the Jain religion are the composition of subsequent teachers or Achdryas. The advantage gained by the Digambaras, in the last debateable mat- ter, they lose, it is to be apprehended, in the next, when they assert that no woman can obtain Nirvdn, in opposition to the more gallant doctrine of their rivals, which admits the fair sex to the enjoyment of final annihilation. These will be sufficient specimens of the causes of disagreement that divide the Jainas into two leading branches, whose mutual animosity is, as usual, of an intensity, very disproportionate to the sources from whence it springs. * All the Dekhini Jains appear to belong to the Digambara division. So it is said do the majority of the Jains in Western India. In the early philosophical writings of the Hindus, the Jains are usually termed Digambaras, or Nagnas, naked. 'J'he term Jain rarely occurs, and Swetambara still more rarely if ever, as observed in the text ; also Vkrdhama'na, practically at least, was a Digambara, 219 Besides these two great divisions, several minor sects are particular- ised as existing amongst the Jains. They appear, however, to be of no importance, as it has been found impossible to obtain any satisfactory account of the heresies they have adopted, or of their origin and present condition. Schism was contemporary even with Maha'vi'ra, and his son-in-law, Ja'ma'li, founded a dissentient order. His follower, Gosa'la, was also the institutor of a sect, and an impostor into the bargain, pretending to be the twenty-fourth Tirthankara. Bajrabanda, the pupil of a very celebrated Digamhara teacher, Kunda Kund A'cha'rya, founded the Drdvir sect, according to some in the fifth, and to the others, in the seventh century. Vajraswa'mi' instituted the Mahdnist- tha sect, and Jinendra Su'ri founded the Lampaka sect, by which images were discarded. The sects now most often heard of, although little known, are the Mula Sanghis, who use brushes of peacock's feathers, wear red garments, and receive alms in their hands : the Kdshta Sanghis, who make their images of wood and employ brushes of the tail of the Yak : the Tera Panthis and Bis Panthis, or followers of ten and of twenty, said sometimes to refer to the number of objects which are most essential to salvation, and at others, explained by a legend of the foundation of the heresy by a number of persons, such as the denomination implies. Both these are said to deny the supremacy of a Guru, to dispense with the ministration of a Brahman, and to present no perfumes, flowers, nor fruits to the images of the Tirthankaras* The Bhishana Panthis carry their aversion to external emblems still farther, and discard the use of images altogether. The Dundiyas and Samvegis are religious orders : the former affect rigorous adherence to the moral code, but disregard all set forms of prayer or praise, and all modes of external worship : the Somv^gis follow the usual practices, but subsist upon alms, accepting no more than is indispensable for present wants. The whole of the Jains are again distinguished into clerical and lay, or into Yatis and Srdvakas : the former lead a religious life, subsisting upon the alms supplied by the latter. According to the greater or less degree of sanctity to which they pretend, are their seeming purity and outward precision, shewn especially in their care of animal life : they carry a brush to sweep the ground before they tread upon it ; never eat * The Bis Panthis are said to be, in fact, the orthodox Digamharas ,oi whom the Tera Panthis are a dissenting branch. 220 nor drink in the dark, lest they should inadvertently swallow an insect, and sometimes wear a thin cloth over their mouths lest their breath should demolish some of the atomic ephemera that frolic in the sun- beams ; they wear their hair cut short, strictly they should pluck it out by the roots ; they profess continence and poverty, and pretend to observe frequent fasts and exercise profound abstraction. Some of them may be simple enthusiasts ; many of them, however, are knaves, and the repu- tation which they enjoy all over India, as skilful magicians, is not very favourable to their general character : they are, in fact, not unfrequently Charlatans, pretending to skill in palmistry and necromancy, dealing in emperical therapeutics, and dabbling in chemical, or rather alchemical manipulations. Some of them are less disreputably engaged in traffic, and they are often the proprietors of Maths and temples, and derive a very comfortable support from the offerings presented by the secular votaries of Jina. The Yatis, as above remarked, never officiate as priests in the temples, the ceremonies being conducted by a member of the orthodox priesthood, a Brahman, duly trained for the purpose. The Yatis are sometimes collected in Maths, called by them Posdlas and even when abroad in the world, they acknowledge a sort of obedience to the head of the Posdla of which they were once members. The secular members of the Jaina religion, or Srdvakas, follow the usual practices of the other Hindus, but give alms only to the Yatis, and present offerings and pay homage only to the Tirthankaras ; the present worship, indeed, is almost restricted to the two last of these personages, to Pa'rswanath, as commonly named Parisnath, the twenty- third, and to Verddhama'na or Mahvi'ra Swami, the twenty-fourth Tirthankara of the present age. The temples of these divinities are, in general, much handsomer buildings than those of the orthodox Hindus : they consist of a square or oblong room, large enough to admit a tole- rably numerous assemblage, surrounded by an open portico : on one side is a sort of altar-piece of several stages ; on the centre of the upper tier sits the chief deity of the temple, supported by two other Arhats, whilst the rest, or a portion of them, are ranged upon the inferior tiers : the steeple is also distinguishable from that of other temples, being formed of departments, which are intended, apparently, to represent leaves, and surmounted by a pole resembling a flag staff, terminating in a gilt knob : there are several of these temples in the chief cities along 221 the Ganges, and no fewer than a dozen in Murshedabad, to which the circumstance of the Set family, being of Jaina persuasion, attracted a number of fellow worshippers. In Calcutta there are four temples, two belonging to each sect. In Behar are the temples of Pa'risna'th and the Pddukas, or feet of Verddha'mana, and Va'supu'jya. Benares possesses several temples, one of which, in the suburb, called Belupura, is honoured as the birth-place of Pa'rswana'th. The shrine comprises two temples, one belonging to the Swetdmbaras, and one to the Digam- baras. A temple of some size and celebrity occurs at Mainpuri, in the Doab, and most of the towns in that direction present Jain spires. The chief temples, however, are to the westward, and especially at Jaypur. The whole of Mewar and Mdrwar is strewed with remains of the sacred edifices of this sect. The Jains of the South of India, as has been observed, are divided into castes : this is not the case in upper Hindustan, where they are all of one caste, or, which is the same thing, of none. They are neverthe- less equally tenacious of similar distinctions, and not only refuse to mix with other classes, but recognise a number of orders amongst them- selves, between which no intermarriages can take place, and many of whom cannot eat together. This classification is the Gachcha or Got, the family or race, which has been substituted for the Verna, the Jdti, or caste. Of these Gachchas, or family divisions, they admit eighty- four,* and these again appear to comprehend a variety of subdivisions : * The following are the appellation^ of the eighty-four Gachchas Khandewal. Natila. , Dhaktha. Bikt iya. Porwdl. Mothiya. Vuisya. Bidyabya. Agarwil. Tattora. Ndgdhdr Bersdri. Jaiswiil. Bdgerwul. Par. Astaki. Banhiya. Harsola. Surendra. Ashtadh&r. Goldl. Sriguru. Kadaya. Paivardhhi. Gnjapurbi. Jolura. Kdhari. Dhakkachula Srimdl. Gahakhanduja. Soniya. Bogo^ri. Bansivdl, or Oswul. Chordiya. Sorathiya. Naraya. Porwar. Bhungeriwdl. Rajiya. Korghdriya. Patliwdl. Brahmatd, Maya. Bamdriya. Danderwdl Beduja. Kammeha. Seksantdiiya. Him margujerdti. Bdhariya. Bhang ela. Anundi. Baramora* Goguwdl. Gangarda. JSIdgora. Kharuivu. Andaluja. Mar key a. Tattora. Lahec.hu. Gogayya. Motwdl. Pukhastya. Khandoya. Mandaluja. Swetwdl. Sacchora. Kathnora. Pancharn. Chakkichnj}- Jannord. Kahliyn. Somahansihogar. Khundarya. Nemildra. Kapola . Chatiirtha. Narischya. Gandoriya. Nadila. Hardar. Bimongai. Dhuwaljoii. 222 some of the Gachchas comprehend a portion of Sri Vaishnavas, between which sect and the Jains in upper India, a singular aUiance seems sometimes to prevail. The condition of Jaina worship may be inferred from the above no- tices of its temples. Its professors are to be found in every province of Hindustan, collected chiefly in towns, where, as merchants and bankers, they usually form a very opulent portion of the community. In Calcutta there are said to be five hundred families ; but they are much more numerous at Murshedabad. In Behar they have been estimated at between three and four hundred families. They are in some numbers in Benares, but become more numerous ascending the Doab. It is, how- ever, to the westward that they abound : the provinces of Mewar and Mdrwar being apparently the cradle of the sect.* They are also numerous in Guzerat, in the upper part of the Malabar coast, and are scattered throughout the Peninsula. They form, in fact, a very large, and from their wealth and influence, a most important division of the population of India. BABA LALIS. The followers of Baba Lal are sometimes included amongst the Vaishnava sects, and the classification is warranted by the outward seeming of these sectaries, who streak the forehead with Gopichandana, and profess a veneration for Rama : in reality, however, they adore but one God, dispensing with all forms of worship, and directing their devo- tion by rules and objects derived from a medly of Veddnta and Sufi tenets. Some of these are well known, but many of the others are never met with. The list was furnished by a respectable Yati—hni how far it is throughout jjenuine, 1 cannot pretend to say. It omits several Gachchas of celebrity, particularly the Chandra and Khertara. * According to Major Tod, the Pontiff of the Khartra Gachcha has eleven thou- sand clerical disciples scattered over India, and the single community of Oswal number one hundred thousand families. In the West of India, the officers of the state and revenue, the bankers, the civil magistrates, and the heads of corporations, are mostly Jains — Trans. R. As. Soc. vol. II. p. I. 263. 223 Ba'ba La'l was a Khetriya, born in Malwa, about the reign of Jeiian- GiR : he early adopted a religious life under the tuition of Chetana Swa'mi', whose fitness as a teacher had been miraculously proved. This person soliciting alms of Ba'ba La'l, received some raw grain, and wood to dress it with : lighting the wood, he confined the fire between his feet, and supported the vessel in which he boiled the grain upon his insteps, Ba'ba La'l immediately prostrated himself before him as his Guru, and receiving from him a grain of the boiled rice to eat, the system of the universe became immediately unfolded to his comprehension. He follow- ed Chetana to Lahore, whence being dispatched to Dwdrakd by his Guru, to procure some of the earth called Gopichandana, he eflfected his mission in less than an hour: this miraculous rapidity, the distance being some hundred miles, attesting his proficiency, he was dismissed by his Guru, in order to become a teacher. He settled at Dehanpur, near Serhind, where he erected a Math, comprehending a handsome temple, and where he initiated a number of persons in the articles of his faith. Amongst the individuals attracted by the doctrines of Ba'ba La'l, was the liberal-minded and unfortunate Dara Shekoh : he summoned the sage to his presence to be instructed in his tenets, and the result of seven interviews was committed to writing, in the form of a dialogue between the Prince and the Pir, by two literary Hindus, attached to the Prince's train, one Yadu Da's, a Khettriya, and the other Raichand Brahman, the latter the Mirmunshi ; the interview took place in the garden of Jaffer Khan Saduh, in the 21st year of Shah Jehan's reign, or 1649; the work is entitled Nadir unnikdt, and is written, as the name implies, in the Persian language. Some miscellaneous ex- tracts from it may not be unacceptable, as they may not only explain the tenets of Ba'ba La'l, and something of the Veddnta and Sufi doctrines, but may illustrate better than any description the notions generally prevailing of the duties of a religious and mendicant life. The interrogator is the Prince, Ba'ba La'l himself the respondent. What is the passion of a Fakir ? — Knowledge of God. What is the power of an Ascetic ? — Impotence. What is Wisdom ? — Devotion of the heart to the Heart's Lord. How are the hands of a Fakir employed } — To cover his ears. Where are his feet ? — Hidden, but not hampered by his garments. What best becomes him ? — Vigilance, night and day. 224 In what should he be unapt ? — Immoderate diet. In what should he repose ? — In a corner ; seclusion from mankind, and meditation on the only True. What is his dwelling ? — God*s creatures. His Kingdom } — God. What are the lights of his mansion } — The Sun and Moon. What is his couch } — The Earth. What is his indispensable observance .^—praise and glorification of the Cherisher of all things, and the needer of none. What is suitable for a Fakir ? — La, none ; as Ld Allah, &c. there is no God but God. How passes the existence of a Fakir ? — Without desire, without restraint, without property. What are the duties of a Fakir ? — Poverty and faith. Which is the best religion .?— Verse, " The Creed of the lover differs from other Creeds. God is the faith and creed of those who love him, but to do good is best for the follower of every faith." Again, as Hafiz says — The object of all religions is alike. All men seek their beloved, What is the difference between prudent and wild, All the world is love's dwelling, Why talk of a Mosque or a Church. With whom should the Fakir cultivate intimacy ? — With the Lord of loveliness. To whom should he be a stranger } — To covetousness, anger, envy, falsehood, and malice. Should he wear garments or go naked ? — The loins should be covered by those who are in their senses — nudity is excusable in those who are insane. The love of God does not depend upon a cap or a coat. How should a Fakir conduct himself.^ — He should perform what he promises, and not promise what he cannot perform. Should evil be done to evil doers } — The Fakir is to do evil to none, he is to consider good and ill alike, so Hafiz says — " The repose of the two worlds depends upon two rules, kindness to friends, and gentle, ness to foes." 225 What is the nature of the Takia (the pillow or abbacy ?) — To com- mence with a seat upon it is improper, and at all times an erratic life is preferable ; when the body is weakened by age or sickness, the Fakir may then repose upon his pillow : so situated, he should welcome every Fakir as his guest, and consider nothing but God to be his own. Is it necessary for a Fakir, to withdraw from the world ? — It is pru- dent, but not necessary : the man in society who fixes his heart on God is a Fakir, and the Fakir who takes an interest in the concerns of men is a man of the world, so Maulana Rum observes — " What is the world ? forgetfulness of God, not clothes, nor wealth, nor wife, nor offspring." What is the difference between nature and created things ? — Some compare them to the seed and the tree. The seed and the tree are equivalent though related ; although the same in substance, they are not necessarily co-existent nor co-relative. They may be also compared to the waves and the sea ; the first cannot be without the second, but the sea may be without waves, wind is necessary to their product : so, although nature and created things are of one essence, yet the evolution of the latter from the former requires the interference of an evolving cause, or the interposition of a Creator. Are the soul, life, and body merely shadows } — The soul is of the same nature as God, and one of the many properties of universal life ; like the sea, and a drop of water ; when the latter joins the former, it also is sea. How do the Paramdtmd (supreme soul) and Jivdtmd (living soul) differ } — They do not differ, and pleasure and pain ascribable to the latter, arises from its imprisonment in the body — the water of the Ganges is the same whether it run in the river's bed or be shut up in a decanter. What difference should that occasion } — Great — a drop of wine added to the water in the decanter will impart its flavor to the whole, but it would be lost in the river. The Paramdtmd, therefore, is beyond ac- cident, but the Jivdtmd is afilicted by sense and passion. Water cast loosely on a fire will extinguish the fire ; put that water over the fire in a boiler, and the fire will evaporise the water, so the body being the confining caldron, and passion the fire, the soul, which is compared to 2 G 226 the water, is dispersed abroad ; — the one great supreme soul is inca- pable of these properties, and happiness is therefore only obtained in reunion with it, when the dispersed and individualized portions combine again with it, as the drops of water with the parent stream ; hence, although God needs not the service of his slave, yet the slave should remember that he is separated from God by the body alone, and may exclaim perpetually, Blessed be the moment when I shall lift the veil from off that face. The veil of the face of my beloved is the dust of my body. What are the feelings of the perfect Fakir P — They have not been, they are not to be, described, as it is said — a person asked me what are the sensations of a lover ? I replied, when you are a lover, you will know. PRAN NATHIS. These are also called Dhdmis : they owe their origin to Pra'n Na'th, a Khetriya, who being versed in Mohammedan learning, as well as in his own, attempted to reconcile the two religions : with this view, he composed a work called the Mahitdriyal, in which texts from the Koran, and the Vedas are brought together, and shewn not to be essentially different. Pra'n Na'th flourished about the latter part of Aurungzeb's reign, and is said to have acquired great influence with Chattrasa'l, Raja of Bundelkand, by eff^ecting the discovery of a diamond mine. Bundelkand is the chief seat of his followers, and in Punna is a building consecrated to the use of the sect, in one apartment of which, on a table covered with gold cloth, lies the volume of the founder. As a test of the disciple's consent to the real identity of the essence of the Hindu and Mohammedan creeds, the ceremony of initiation, consists of eating in the society of members of both communions : with this exception, and the admission of the general principle, it does not appear that the two classes confound their civil or even religious distinc- tions : they continue to observe the practices and ritual of their fore- 227 fathers, whether Mussel man or Hindu, and the union, beyond that of community of eating, is no more thap any rational individual of either sect is fully prepared for, or the admission, that the God of both, and of all religions, is one and the same. SADHS. A full account of this sect of Hindu Unitarians, by the Reverend Mr. Fisher, was published in the Missionary Intelligencer some years ago, and some further notice of them is inserted in the Transactions of the Royal Asiatic Society, by Mr. Trant. They are distinguished from other Hindus, by professing the adoration of one Creator, and by personal and moral observances which entitle them, in their own estimation, to the appellation of Sdds, Sddhus, Pure or Puritans. The Sddhs are found chiefly in the upper part of the Doab, from Farakhabad to beyond Delhi. In the former, they occupy a suburb called Sddhwdra, and are more numerous there than in any other town, their numbers are estimated at two thousand. There are said to be some at Mirzapore, and a few more to the South ; their numbers, however, are limited, and they are chiefly from the lower classes. The sect originated in the year of Vikrama'ditya, 1714, (A. D. 1658) according to Mr. Trant, with a person named Birbha'n, who received a miraculous communication from one Udaya Da's, and in consequence taught the Sddh doctrines. Mr. Fisher calls Birbha'at the disciple of Jogi Das, who commanding a body of troops in the ser- vice of the Raja of Dholpur, was left as slain on the field of battle, but restored to life by a stranger in the guise of a mendicant, who carried him to a mountain, taught him the tenets of the faith, and having bestow- ed upon him the power of working miracles, sent him to disseminate his doctrines. These circumstances are rather obscurely alluded to in the original authorities consulted on the present occasion, but they agree with the above in considering Birrha'n an inhabitant of Brijhasir, near Narnoul, in the province of Delhi, as the founder of the sect, at the date above mentioned, Birbha'n received his knowledge from the Sat Guru, the pure teacher, also called Udaka Dds, the servant of the one 228 God, and particularly described as the Mdlekka Hukem, the order of the Creator, the personified word of God. The doctrines taught by the super-human instructor of Birbha'n were communicated in Sabdas and Sdkhis, detached Hindi stanzas like those of Kabir. They are collected into manuals, and read at the religious meetings of the Sddhs : their substance is collected into a tract entitled Adi Upadh, first precepts, in which the whole code is arranged under the following twelve Hukems, or Commandments. 1 . Acknowledge but one God who made and can destroy you, to whom there is none superior, and to whom alone therefore is worship due, not to earth, nor stone, nor metal, nor wood, nor trees, nor any created thing. There is but one Lord, and the word of the Lord. He who meditates on falsehoods, practices falsehood, and commits sin, and he who commits sin falls into Hell. 2. Be modest and humble, set not your affections on the world, adhere faithfully to your creed, and avoid intercourse with all not of the same faith, eat not of a stranger's bread. 3. Never lie nor speak ill at any time to, or of any thing, of earth or water, of trees or animals. Let the tongue be employed in the praise of God. Never steal, nor wealth, nor land, nor beasts, nor pasture : distinguish your own from another's property, and be content with what you possess. Never imagine evil. Let not your eyes rest on improper objects, nor men, nor women, nor dances, nor sHows. 4. Listen not to evil discourse, nor to any thing but the praises of the Creator, nor to tales, nor gossip, nor calumny, nor music, nor singing, except hymns ; but then the only musical accompaniment must be in the mind. 5. Never covet any thing, either of body or wealth : take not of another. God is the giver of all things, as your trust is in him so shall you receive. 6. When asked what you are, declare yourself a Sddh, speak not of caste, engage not in controversy, hold firm your faith, put not your hope in men. 7 . Wear white garments, use no pigments, nor collyrium, nor denti- frice, nor Mehndiy nor mark your person, nor your forehead with sec- tarial distinctions, nor wear chaplets, or rosaries, or jewels. 229 8. Never eat nor drink intoxicating substances, nor chew pdn, nor smell perfumes, nor smoke tobacco, nor chew nor smell opium, hold not up your hands, bow not down your head in the presence of idols or of men. 9. Take no life away, nor offer personal violence, nor give damnatory evidence, nor seize any thing by force. 10. Let a man wed one wife and a woman one husband, let not a man eat of a woman's leavings, but a woman may of a man's, as may be the custom. Let the woman be obedient to the man. 1 1 . Assume not the garb of a mendicant, nor solicit alms, nor accept gifts. Have no dread of necromancy, neither have recourse to it. Know before you confide. The meetings of the Pious are the only places of pilgrimage, but understand who are the Pious before you so salute them. 12. Let not a Sddh be superstitious as to days, or to lunations, or to months, or the cries or appearances of birds or animals ; let him seek only the will of the Lord. These injunctions are repeated in a variety of forms, but the purport is the same, and they comprise the essence of the Sddh doctrine which is evidently derived from the unitarianism of Kabir, Nanak, and similar writers, with a slight graft from the principles of Christianity. In their notions of the constitution of the universe, in the real, although tem- porary existence of inferior deities and their incarnations, and in the ultimate object of all devotion, liberation from life on earth, or Mukti, the Sddhs do not differ from other Hindus. The Sddhs have no temples, but assemble at stated periods in houses, or courts adjoining set apart for this purpose. According to Mr. Fisher, their meetings are held every full moon, when men and women collect at an early hour, all bringing such food as they are able, the day is spent in miscellaneous conversation, or in the discussion of matters of common interest. In the evening, they eat and drink together, and the night is passed in the recitation of the stanzas attributed to Birbha'n, or his preceptor, and the poems of Da'du, Nanak, or Kabir. From the term they apply to the deity, Satna'm, the true name, the Sddhs are also called Satndmis ; but this appellation more especially indicates a different, although kindred sect. 230 SATNAMIS. These profess to adore the true name alone, the one God, the cause and creator of all things, Nirgun, or void uf sensible qualities, without beginning or end. They borrow, however, their notions of creation from the Veddnta philosophy, or rather from the modified form in which it is adapted to vulgar apprehension. Worldly existence is illusion, or the work of Ma'ya', the primitive character of Bhava'ni', the wife of Siva. They recognise accordingly the whole Hindu Pantheon — and, although they profess to worship but one God, pay reverence to what they consider manifestations of his nature visible in the Avatdrs, particularly Ra'ma and Krishna. Unlike the Sddhs also, they use distinctive marks, and wear a double string of silk bound round the right wrist. Frontal lines are not in- variably employed, but some make a perpendicular streak with ashes of a burnt offering made to Hanuman. Their moral code is something like that of all Hindu quietists, and enjoins indifference to the world, its pleasures or its pains, implicit devotion to the spiritual guide, clemency and gentleness, rigid ad- herence to truth, the discharge of all ordinary, social, or religious obligations, and the hope of final absorption into the one spirit which pervades all things. There is little or no difference therefore in essentials between the Satndmis and some of the Vaishnava unitarians, but they regard them- selves as a separate body, and have their own founder Jagji'van Da'^. He was a Kshetriya by birth, and continued in the state of Grihastha, or householder, through life : he was a native of Oude, and his Samddh, or shrine, is shewn at Katwa, a place between Lucknow and Ajudhya. He wrote several tracts, as the Jnydn Prakds, Mahdpralaya, and Prathama Grantha : they are in Hindi couplets ; the first is dated in Sambat 1817, or A. D. 1761, the last is in the form of a dialogue between Siva and Pa'rvati'. The following is from the Mahdpralaya. " The pure man lives amidst all, but away from all : his afi^ections are engaged by nothing : what he may know he knows, but he makes 231 no enquiry : he neither goes nor comes, neither learns nor teaches, neither cries nor sighs, but discusses himself with himself. There is neither pleasure nor pain, neither clemency nor wrath, neither fool nor sage to him. Jagjivandas asks, does any one know a man so exempt from infirmity who lives apart from mankind and indulges not in idle speech." SIVA NARAYANAIS. This is another sect professing the worship of one God, of whom no attributes are predicated. Their unitarianism is more unqualified than that of either of the preceding, as they off'er no worship, pay no regard whatever to any of the objects of Hindu or Mohammedan veneration. They also differ from all in admitting proselytes alike from Hindus or Mohammedans, and the sect comprises even professed Christians from the lower classes of the mixed population. Admission into the sect is not a matter of much ceremony, and a Guru, or spiritual guide, is not requisite ; a few Siva Ndrdyanis assemble at the requisition of a novice, place one of their text books in the midst of them, on which betel and sweetmeats have previously been arranged. After awhile these are distributed amongst the party, a few passages are read from the book, and the sect has acquired a new member. Truth, temperance, and mercy are the cardinal virtues of this sect, as well as of the Sddhs ; polygamy is prohibited, and sectarial marks are not used : conformity to the external observances of the Hindu or Mohammedans, independently 'of religious rites, is recommended, but latitude of practice is not unfrequent ; and the Siva Ndrdyanis, of the lower orders, are occasionally addicted to strong potations. The sect derives its appellation from that of its founder Sivana'ra'- YAN, a Rajput, of the Nerivdna tribe, a native of Chanddwan, a village near Ghazipur : he flourished in the reign of Mohammed Shah, and one of his works is dated Sambat 1791, or A. D. 1735. He was a voluminous writer in the inculcation of his doctrines, and eleven books, in Hindi verse, are ascribed to him. They are entitled : Lao or Lava Granth, 232 Santvilds, Wajan Granth, Santsundara, Guru Nyds, Sant Achdri, Sant Opadesa, Sabddvali, Santparwdna, Sant Mahima, Sant Sdgar. There is also a twelfth, the Seal of the whole, but it has not yet been divulged, remaining in the exclusive charge of the head of the sect. This person resides at Baisande, in the Ghazipur district, where there is a college and establishment. The Sivandrdyanis are mostly Rajputs, and many are Sipahis : many of the Up-county Bearers also belong to the sect. The members are said to be numerous about Ghazipur, and some are to be met with in Calcutta. SUNYABADIS. The last sect which it has been proposed to notice, is one of which the doctrines are atheistical. There is no novelty in this creed, as it was that of the Chdrvdkas and Ndstikas, and is, to a great extent, that of the Bauddhas and Jains ; but an attempt has been recently made to give it a more comprehensive and universal character, and to bring it within the reach of popular attraction. A distinguished patron of the Sunyahddis was Da'yara'm, the Raja of Hatras, when that fortress was destroyed by the Marquis of Hast- ings. Under his encouragement, a work in Hindi verse was composed by Bakhtawar, a religious mendicant, entitled the Sunisdr, the essence of emptiness, the purport of which is to shew that all notions of man and God are fallacies, and that nothing, is : a few passages from this book will convey an idea of the tenets of the sect. " Whatever I behold is Vacuity. Theism and Atheism — Maya and Brahm — all is false, all is error — the globe itself, and the e^g of Brahma, the seven Dwipas and nine Khandas, heaven and earth, the sun and moon, Brahma, Vishnu and Siva, Kd'rma and Sksha, the Guru and his pupil, the individual and the species, the temple and the God, the observance of ceremonial rites, and the muttering of prayers, all is emptiness. Speech, hearing and discussion are emptiness, and substance itself is no more." 233 " Let every one meditate upon himself, nor make known his self- communion to another — let him be the worshipper and the worship, nor talk of a difference between this and that — look into yourself and not into another, for in yourself that other will be found — there is no other but myself, and I talk of another from ignorance. In the same way as I see my face in a glass, I see myself in others, but it is error to think that what I see is not my face, but that of another — whatever you see is but yourself, and father and mother are nonentities ; you are the infant and the old man, the wise man and the fool, the male and the female : it is you who are drowned in the stream, you who pass over, you are the killer, and the slain, the slayer and the eater, you are the king and the subject. You seize yourself and let go, you sleep, and you wake, you dance for yourself, you play and sing for yourself. You are the sensualist and the ascetic, the sick man and the strong — in short, whatever you see, that is you, as bubbles, surf, and billows are all but water." " When we are visited in sleep by visions, we think in our sleep that those visions are realities — we wake, and find them falsehoods, and they leave not a wreck behind. One man in his sleep receives some infor- mation, and he goes and tells it to his neighbour — from such idle narra- tions what benefit is obtained — what will be left to us when we have been winnowing chaff." " I meditate upon the Suni Doctrine alone, and know neither virtue nor vice — many have been the princes of the earth, and nothing did they bring and nothing took they away — the good name of the liberal survived him, and disrepute covered the niggard with its shadow. So let men speak good words, that none may speak ill of them afterwards. Take during the few days of your life what the world offers you. Enjoy your own share, and give some of it to others : without liberality, who shall acquire reputation ? Give ever after your means, such is the established rule. To some give money, to some respect, to some kind words, and to some delight. Do good to all the world, that all the world may speak good of you. Praise the name of the liberal when you rise in the morning, and throw dust upon the name of the niggard. Evil and good are attributes of the body — you have the choice of two sweetmeats in your hands, Karna was a giver of gold, and Janaka as 2 H 234 liberal as wise. Sivi, Harischandra, Dadhi'cha, and many others, have acquired by their bounty fame throughout the world." " Many now are, many have been, and many will be — the world is never empty ; like leaves upon the trees, new ones blossom as the old decay. Fix not your heart upon a withered leaf, but seek the shade of the green foliage — a horse of a thousand rupees is good for nothing when dead, but a living tattoo will carry you along the road. Have no hope in the man that is dead, trust but in him that is living. He that is dead will be alive no more : a truth that all men do not know : of all those that have died, has any business brought any one back again, or has any one brought back tidings of the rest ? A rent gar- ment cannot be spun anew, a broken pot cannot be pieced again. A living man has nothing to do with heaven and hell, but when the body has become dust, what is the difference between a Jackass and a dead Saint." " Earth, water, fire, and wind, blended together, constitute the body — of these four elements the world is composed, and there is nothing else. This is Brahma', this is a pismire, all consists of these elements, and proceeds from them through separate receptacles." " Beings are born from the womb, the egg, the germ, and vapour." " Hindus and Musselmans are of the same nature, two leaves of one tree — these call their teachers Muallas, those term them Pandits ; two pitchers of one clay : one performs Numaz, the other offers Pvja : where is the difference ? I know of no dissimilarity — they are both followers of the doctrine of Duahty — they have the same bone, the same flesh, the same blood, and the same marrow. One cuts off the foreskin, the other puts on a sacrificial thread. Ask of them the difference, enquire the importance of these distinctions, and they will quarrel with you : dispute not, but know them to be the same — avoid all idle wrangling and strife, and adhere to the truth, the doctrine of Da'yara'm." " I fear not to declare the truth — I know no difference between a subject and a king — I want neither homage nor respect, and hold no communion with any but the good ; what I can obtain with facility that will I desire, but a palace or a thicket are to me the same — the error of mine and thine have I cast away, and know nothing of loss or gain. When a man can meet with a preceptor to teach him these truths, he will destroy 235 the errors of a million of births, such a teacher is now in the world, and such a one is Da'yara'm." ^ The survey that has thus been taken of the actual state of the Hindu religion will shew, that its internal constitution has not been exempt from those varieties, to which all human systems of belief are subject, and that it has undergone great and frequent modifications, until it presents an appearance which there is great reason to suppose is very different from that which it originally wore. The precise character of the primitive Hindu system will only be justly appreciated, when a considerable portion of the ritual of the Fedas shall have been translated, but some notion of their contents and purport may be formed from Mr. Colebrooke's account of them,* as well as from his description of the religious ceremonies of the Hindus, f It is also probable that the Institutes of Menu, in a great measure, harmonise with the Vaidik Code. From these sources then it would seem, that some of the original rites are still preserved in the Homa, or fire offerings, and in such of the Sanskdras, or purificatory ceremonies, as are observed at the periods of birth, tonsure, investiture, marriage and cremation. Even in these ceremonies, however, formulae, borrowed from the Tantras, assume the place of the genuine texts, whilst on many occasions the observances of the Vedas are wholly neglected. Nor is this inconsistent with the original system, which was devised for certain recognised classes into which the Hindu community was then divided, and of which three out of four parts no longer exist — the Hindus being now distinguished into Brahmans and mixed castes alone— and the former having almost uni- versally deviated from the duties and habits to which they were origin- ally devoted. Neither of these classes, therefore, can with propriety make use of the Vaidik ritual, and their manual of devotion must be taken from some other source. How far the preference of any individual Divinity, as an especial object of veneration, is authorised by the Vedas, remains yet to be deter- mined ; but there is no reason to doubt that most of the forms to which homage is now paid are of modern canonization. At any rate such is the highest antiquity of the most celebrated Teachers and Founders^ of * Asiatic Researches, vol. VIII. t Asiatic Researches, vol. VII. 236 the popular sects ; and Ba'sava in the Dekhin, Vallabha Swa'mi' in Hindustan, and Chaitanya in Bengal, claim no earlier a date than the eleventh and sixteenth centuries. Consistent with the introduction of new objects of devotion, is the elevation of new races of individuals to the respect or reverence of the populace as their ministers and representatives. The Brahmans retain, it is true, a traditional sanctity ; and when they cultivate pursuits suited to their character, as the Law and Literature of their sacred language, they receive occasional marks of attention, and periodical donations from the most opulent of their countrymen. But a very mistaken notion prevails generally amongst Europeans of the positions of the Brahmans in Hindu society, founded on the terms in which they are spoken of by Menu, and the application of the expression ' Priesthood,' to the Brahmanical Order, by Sir William Jones. In the strict sense of the phrase it never was applicable to the Brahmans, for although some amongst them acted in ancient times as family priests, and conducted the fixed or occasional ceremonials of household worship, yet even Menu holds the Brahman, who ministers to an idol, infamous during life, and condemned to the infernal regions after death, and the Sanscrit language abounds with synonimes for the priest of a temple, significant of his degraded condition both in this world and the next. Ministrant Priests in temples, there- fore, the Brahmans, collectively speaking, never were — and although many amongst them act in that capacity, it is no more their appropriate province than any other lucrative occupation. In the present day, how- ever, they have ceased to be in a great measure the ghostly advisers of the people, either individually or in their households. This office is now filled by various persons, who pretend to superior sanctity, as Gosains, Vairdgis, and Sanydsis. Many of these are Brahmans, but they are not necessarily so, and it is not as Brahmans that they receive the venera- tion of their lay followers. They derive it as we have seen from indivi- dual repute, or more frequently from their descent from the founder of some particular division, as is the case with the Gokulastha Gosains and the Goswdmis of Bengal. The Brahmans as a caste exercise little real influence on the minds of the Hindus beyond what they obtain from their numbers, affluence and rank. As a hierarchy they are null, and as a literary body they are few, and meet with but slender countenance from their countrymen or their foreign rulers. That they are still of great 237 importance in the social system of British India, is unquestionable, but it is not as a priesthood. They bear a very large proportion to all the other tribes, — they are of more respectable birth, and in general of better education — a prescriptive reverence for the order improves these advantages, and Brahmans are accordingly numerous amongst the most affluent and distinguished members of every Hindu state. It is only, however, as far as they are identified with the Gurus of the popular sects, that they can be said to hold any other than secular consi- deration. Aware apparently of the inequality upon which those Gurus contended with the long established claims of the Brahmanical tribe, the new teach- ers of the people took care to invest themselves with still higher pre- tensions. The AcMray or Guru of the three first classes, is no doubt described by Menu, as entitled to the most profound respect from his pupil during pupilage, but the Guru of the present day exacts implicit devotion from his disciples during life. It is unnecessary here to repeat what there has been previous occasion to notice with respect to the extrava- gant obedience to be paid by some sectarians to the Guru, whose favour is declared to be of much more importance than that of the god whom he represents. Another peculiarity in the modern system which has been adverted to in the preceding pages, is the paramount value of Bhakti — faith — implicit reliance on the favour of the Deity worshipped. This is a substitute for all religious or moral acts, and an expiation for every crime. Now, in the Vedas, two branches are distinctly marked, the practical and specu- lative. The former consists of prayers and rules for oblations to any or all of the gods — but especially to Indra and Agni, the ruler of the firmament and of fire, for positive worldly goods, health, posterity and affluence. The latter is the investigation of matter and spirit, leading to detachment from worldly feelings and interests, and final liberation from bodily existence. The first is intended for the bulk of mankind, the second for philosophers and ascetics. There is not a word of faith, of implicit belief or passionate devotion in all this, and they seem to have been as little essential to the primitive Hindu worship as they were to the religious systems of Greece and Rome. Bhakti is an invention, and apparently a modern one, of the Institutors of the existing sect, in- tended like that of the mystical holiness of the Guru, to extend their own 238 authority. It has no doubt exercised a most mischievous influence upon the moral principles of the Hindus. Notwithstanding the provisions with which the sectarian Gurus forti- fied themselves, it is clear that they were never able to enlist the whole of Hinduism under their banners, or to suppress all doubt and disbelief. It has been shewn in the introductory pages of this essay, that great latitude of speculation has always been allowed amongst the Brahmans themselves, and it will have been seen from the notices of different sects, that scepticism is not unfrequent amongst the less privileged orders. The tendency of many widely diffused divisions is decidedly monotheis- tical, and we have seen that both in ancient and modern times, attempts have been made to inculcate the doctrines of utter unbelief. It is not likely that these will ever extensively spread, but there can be little doubt that with the diffusion of education, independent enquiry into the merits of the prevailing systems and their professors, will become more universal, and be better directed. The germ is native to the soil : it has been kept alive for ages under the most unfavourable circumstances, and has been apparently more vigorous than ever during the last century. It only now requires prudent and patient fostering to grow into a stately tree, and yield goodly fruit. BISHOP'S COLLEGE PRESS. TWO LECTURES ON THE RELIGIOUS PRACTICES AND OPINIONS OF THE HINDUS; DELIVERED BEFORE THE UNIVERSITY OF OXFORD, On the 9nt]i and mh of February, 1840. J ^^ H. H. WILSON, MA. (OF EXETER college), ODEN PROFESSOR OF SANSCRIT, ETC. OXFORD, PRINTED BY T. COMBE, PRINTER TO THE UNIVERSITY: SOLD BY JOHN HENRY PARKER ; AND W. H. ALLEN AND CO. LEADENHALL STREET, LONDON, MDCCCXL. TN a Convocation, holden on Thursday the 13th of February, 1840, the following proposal, made through the Right Reverend The Lord Bishop of Calcutta, was submitted to, and accepted by the University. Bishop's Palace, Calcutta, June 12, 1839. To the Reverend the V ice-Chancellor of the Univer- sity of Oaford, Rev. Mr. Vice-Chancellor, 1 . I am requested by a Gentleman of the Civil Service of the Hon. The East India Company, in this Presidency, to submit the proposal of a Prize for the Members of the University, if you should see fit to accept of the same. 2. The subject on which this Gentleman (who begs me to suppress his name) is desirous of proposing a prize, is thus described in a letter to myself. IV " For the best refutation of Hinduism in its main sys- tems, both exoteric, and esoteric ; to consist of such argu- ments, and be conveyed in that form of address, which are most suited to Indian genius, modes of thinking, and state of knowledge, and most Hkely to carry conviction to the understanding and heart of the Indian Pundit ; to- gether with such a statement of the Evidences of Christi- anity as may be most suitable to the mental and moral character of learned Hindus, and the state of information among them ; the whole treatise being so constituted, as, together with the more necessary and essential arguments, to furnish also, judiciously interwoven, those elementary principles of morals, natural theology, metaphysics, his- torical evidence, &c., &c., and those historical facts, which the perverted condition of the Hindu intellect, and its want of correct historical information, may render indispensable, in order to the clear apprehension of the reasoning which is to form the principal subject of the Treatise. " Any considerations connected with the subject, which the writer may think interesting, and important to the European reader, but which have not a direct bearing on the primary object of the Treatise, (the conversion of learned and philosophical Hindus to Christianity,) might be thrown into an Appendix.^' 3. The gentleman has lodged Two Hundred Pounds sterling in the banking house of Messrs. Hobarts, Curtis, and Co., which will be paid to your order, at a moment's notice, by a check drawn by the Rev. D. Wilson, vicar, Islington, London. 4. The proposer leaves it entirely to the University to determine the classes of Students, or Members, to whom the prize should be proposed. He supposes that justice cannot be done to the subject in less than three or four hundred pages ; and he wishes that the successful Candi- date should print a certain number of copies of the Essay, at the direction of the University. 5. The gentleman further suggests that Mr. Professor Wilson, and Dr. Mill, late Principal of Bishop's College, Calcutta,. might be advantageously referred to by persons intending to write for the prize, with respect to the best works to be consulted for information on the nature of Hinduism, and the state of sentiment and morals in India. 6. He states to me, also, that he is anxious to draw the attention of academical youth to the consideration of the welfare of India, and wishes the projected work to be adapted for learned Hindus, i. e. both such as are learned in their own religious and philosophical literature, and those who have received a good English education. The Treatise should, in short, be in such a form, as to be at once, without further preparation or modification, a suit- able work to be put into the hands of the English-reading Natives, and also fit for translation into Sanscrit ; and, VI with the latter view, it would, we think, be advisable to have it written in the form of Dialogue, the different parts of the subject being introduced by questions or objections from a pupil, and expounded in his Teacher's reply. 7. But all these intimations are intended to be entirely subordinate to the judgment of yourself, Mr. Vice-Chan- cellor, and the Heads of Houses, and the Proposer of the Prize will be perfectly satisfied in whatever way his main object shall be carried into effect. 8. I cannot close this letter without tendering my grate- ful acknowledgments to the University for all their con- sideration to myself since my matriculation the 1st of May, 1798; and to assure them that it is with no slight feelings of gratification I find myself called upon, in this distant country, to be the channel of communication with them on so important and deeply interesting a subject. I have the honour to be, Mr. Vice-Chancellor, Your obedient humble Servant, D. CALCUTTA. It was at the same time determined, That " the Candidates shall, at the time of delivering in their Compositions, be Members of the University, having their names upon the Books of some College or Vll Hall:— that the Compositions be delivered to the Registrar on or before the 14th day of January, 184S :— and that the Vice-Chancellor and Proctors, with such Assessors as they shall think proper to call in, be the Judges " LECTURE I. TT has always been my wish and intention to offer to those members of the University who may take an interest in the subject, a general view of the institutions and social condition, the literature and the religion of the Hindus. The purpose, although unfulfilled, is not abandoned. Various impediments have retarded its accomplishment, and still delay its execution; but I hope, at no very distant period, to be able to carry it into effect. In the mean time, the invitation which has been ad- dressed to the University by the Bishop of Calcutta, and which, I am happy to think, has been accepted^ to contribute to the religious enlightenment of a benighted, but intelligent and interesting and ami- able people, has suggested to me the propriety and the duty of giving some earnest of my desire to render to any who may apply their talents and learning to the proposed task — a task peculiarly appropriate to a society equally eminent for piety and erudition — whatever assistance the direction of my studies, my personal knowledge of the Hindus, and the extent of my ability may qualify me to afford them. The task that has been proposed to the members B 2 LECTURE I. of the University is twofold. They are invited to confute the falsities of Hinduism, and affirm to the conviction of a reasonable Hindu the truths of Christianity. For the second branch of this under- taking the qualifications are widely disseminated. Deep impressions of the importance of Christian truth, and of the obligation to extend it to the ends of the earth — knowledge of that truth, and skill to make it known — are not likely to be deficient in this University. For the effective performance, however, of the first branch of the imdertaking, some preparation is requisite — some preliminary study is necessary — some information not yet sought for is to be obtained. It is obviously essential to know that which we engage to controvert. It is indispensable that we should be well acquainted with the practices and doctrines and belief, the erroneousness of which we would demonstrate ; and in this respect whatever may be the zeal and the ability, the like extent of available fitness cannot at present be reasonably expected. Yet the plan submitted to the University requires this fitness, and judiciously requires it. Besides the general principles upon which the necessity of such com- petency is obvious, it is still more imperative in regard to the circumstances and character of those with whom we have to deal. The Hindus will not listen to one who comes amongst them strong only in his own faith and ignorant of theirs. " Read these translations," said a very worthy clergyman to a sect of religionists at Benares, who were already seceders from idolatrous worship, and were not indisposed for argument upon the comparative truth of different creeds. " We have no objection to read your books," LECTURE I. 3 was the reply, " but we will enter into no discussion of their contents with you until you have read ours." This was inconvenient or impracticable, and no further intercourse ensued. This is one instance out of many where precious opportunities have been lost, because the only means of communicating fully with the natives — conversancy not merely with their language but with their literature — has been wanting or incomplete ; and with an acute and argumenta- tive people like the Hindus you must satisfy them that they are in error before you can persuade them to accept the truth. To overturn their errors we must know what they are ; and for the purpose of conveying to you some notion of their nature and extent, and of putting you in the way of acquiring more precise information on the subject, I have thought it possible that even some brief observa- tions may be of use. With this hope I propose to give in this and a succeeding Lecture a general sketch of the principal religious practices and opin- ions of the Hindus. The account which it is thus proposed to sub- mit to you must be unavoidably of a very general nature. The interval that has elapsed since the invitation was accepted has not permitted the pre- paration of a very comprehensive detail ; nor is the subject, perhaps, in that stage of its consideration in which minuteness of detail would be of advantage. What is now wanted, and that as early as possible, is some determinate direction in which inquiry may be prosecuted — some definite point to which the thoughts may be made to converge. In a topic necessarily unfamiliar to the customary tenor of academic study, it is not possible that any exact b2 4 LECTURE I. ideas should have been yet formed as to the degree or kind of preparation that is requisite, and few are likely to be acquainted with the situation and suffi- ciency of those stores from which they must pro- vide their outfit for an untried voyage. The scene is so new, the prospect so indistinct, that enterprise may lose heart, and zeal may languish in vain aspi- rations, unless something of a chart, however rude and imperfect, be laid before the adventurer whilst he yet hesitates to make his first advance. It is this help which it is my present purpose to supply, in the hope that some, who, although competent to do honour to themselves and the University, might shrink from encountering they know not what, may be induced, if the mist may be in some degree cleared away, to look a little nearer, advance a little farther into the now-seeming labyrinth, as- sured that every step they take, the path will become less intricate, and the goal be more perceptibly in view ; assured, too — unless my own experience deceive me — that there will not be wanting on their journey objects, if not of beauty, yet of exceeding curiosity and interest, to enliven their way. and be- guile them of the consciousness of fatigue. The history of the Hindu religion, although not traceable with chronological precision, exhibits un- equivocal proof that it is by no means of that unalterable character which has been commonly ascribed to it. There are many indications which cannot be mistaken, that it has undergone at differ- ent periods important alterations in both form and spirit. These are little heeded, have been little in- vestigated, and are little known by even the most learned of the Brahmans. Some have been pointed LECTURE I. 5 out by the late Hindu reformer Raja Rammohun Roy, but even he was unaware of their full extent, and they are of themselves fatal to the pretensions of the Hindu faith, as it now mostly prevails, to an inspired origin and unfathomable antiquity. The oldest monuments of the Hindu religion are the Vedas. It is much to be regretted that we have not a translation of these works in any of the languages of Europe ; if we had, they would no doubt, in like manner as the Koran of the Mo- hammedans and the Zend-a vesta of the fire- worship- pers of Persia, supply us with irrefutable arguments against the credibility of the religion of which they were once the oracles. A summary of the contents of the Vedas — as satisfactory as a summary can be — was published by Mr. Colebrooke, the most eminent of all our Sanscrit scholars, in the eighth volume of the Researches of the Asiatic Society of Bengal.* The account, with a variety of instructive disserta- tions on the religion, philosophy, science, and lite- rature of the Hindus, has been reprinted in a Collection of Miscellaneous Essays ; ^ published by Mr. Colebrooke, or rather for him, not long before his death. The text also, with a Latin translation of one book out of eight, of one of the Vedas, the Rig- Veda, has been printed by the Committee of the Oriental Translation Fund.*^ It was the work a Asiatic Researches. Transactions of a Society instituted in Bengal, for inquiring into the History, &c., of India. 20 vols. 4to. Calcutta. ^Miscellaneous Essays, by H. T. Colebrooke. 2 vols. 8vo. London. Allen and Co. 1837. <= Rig-veda Sanhita. Liber Primus, i vol. 4to. London. Oriental Translation Fund. Allen and Co. 1838. B 3 6 LECTURE I. of Dr. Rosen, a distinguished oriental scholar, who died in the prime of life and in the spring of his fame. A portion of the same Veda has also been translated by the Rev. Mr. Stevenson, and published at Bombay. From these authorities a tolerably correct notion may be formed of the character of the Vedas. They are four in number, Rich, Yajush, Saman, and Atharvan, or, as usually compounded, Rig-veda, Yajur-veda, Sama-veda, and Atharva-veda. The latter, however, differs, as far as it is known, ma- terially in purport and even in style from the others ; it is rarely met with, and is not uncommonly omitted from the specification of the Vedas even by early writers, who not unfrequently speak of the Vedas collectively as but three. It evidently enters in a less degree than the rest into the formation of the national religion as taught by the Vedas. Neither of the Vedas can be considered as a distinct work, composed upon a definite plan, having either a con- sistent method or a predominating subject. Each is an unarranged aggregate of promiscuous prayers, hymns, injunctions, and dogmas, put together in general, though not always, in similar succession, but not in any way connected one with the other. It is not at all unusual for even what is considered as the same hymn, to offer perfectly isolated and independent verses, so that they might be extruded without injury to the whole. In the belief of the Hindus, the Vedas were coeval with creation, and are uncreated, being simultaneous with the first breath of Brahma — the creative power. This is sometimes questioned ; but the opinion is universal that Brahma was their author, and that they were LECTURE I. 7 amongst the first created things. There are, how- ever, legends of their having been lost ; and there is one account of their recovery, which states that they were then taught to a number of Brahmans by a son of Brahma. This refers, probably, to the period of their composition by different Brahmans. They themselves furnish evidence of their composi- tion by different hands, and at different periods. Each hymn is said to have its Rishi — the sage by whom it was first communicated ; and these Rishis comprise a variety of secular as well as religious individuals, members of the Kshatriya or military, as well as the Brahmanical order, who are celebrated at different aeras in Hindu tradition. It is also admitted that the Vedas existed in a scattered form until the parts of which they now consist were col- lected and arranged in their actual form by a person of very equivocal origin — the son of Rishi, by the daughter of a fisherman, and therefore, properly speaking, of very impure caste — and who from his arranging the Vedas is known by the name of Vyasa — the arranger. He is supposed by the Hin- dus to have lived about 5000 years ago. It seems not improbable that he or the school of which he is the reputed founder, flourished about thirteen centu- ries before the Christian era. He was assisted in his labour, it is reported, by various sages, and it is here again evident that the composition of the Vedas was the work of many hands — of a school or religious community which first reduced the strag- gling institutes and practices, and popular prayers and hymns of the people, into a compact and per- manent authority. The proceedings of Vyasa and his coadjutors, and the formation of various branches B 4 8 LECTURE I. from the main stem, or of subordinate and subse- quent from one primary and principal school, are described by Mr. Colebrooke, and will also be found detailed in the Vishnu Purana,^ of which a transla- tion is about to appear from the press of the Uni- versity. In the state in which they are now found, the Vedas are each distinguishable into two portions — a practical and a speculative : the one still forms the chief basis of speculative opinion ; the other is, except in a few particulars, obsolete. The practical portion of the Vedas consists of little else than detached prayers addressed with a few exceptions to divinities no longer worshipped, some of whom are even unknown. There is one for instance named Ribhu, of whose history, office, or even name, a person might ask in vain, from one end of India to the other. The prayers have con- sequently gone out of fashion along with their objects, and when they are employed they are used as little else than unmeaning sounds, the language in which they are written differing much, both in words and construction, from the Sanscrit of later writings. In many parts of India the Vedas are not studied at all ; and when they are studied it is merely for the sake of repeating the words ; the sense is regarded as a matter of no importance, and is not understood even by the Brahman who recites or chaunts the expressions. Now this is in itself a vital departure from the sacred institutes of the <' The Vishnu Purana. A System of Hindu Mythology and Tradition, translated from the original Sanscrit. i vol. 4to. London. Murray, 1840. LECTURE I. 9 Hindus, by which the first portion of life, the first of the four orders or stages through which all males of the three first castes, the Brahman, Kshatriya, and Vaisya, were peremptorily com- manded to* pass, was that of the religious student ; the term of whose studentship was to be spent with a Brahman teacher of the Vedas, and the sole object of whose studies was the understanding of the Vedas. For a Brahman to be wholly ignorant of the Vedas was a virtual degradation. " A Brahman," says Manu, " unlearned in holy writ, is extinguished in an instant like dry grass on fire." " A twice born man (that is, a man of either of the three first castes) not having studied the Veda, soon falls, even while living, to the condition of a Sudra, and his descendants after him." It is also declared that a Brahman derives not that name from birth alone, but from his knowledge of the Vedas. According therefore to the letter of the law, there are very few Brahmans now in India who have a right to the respect and privileges which the designation claims. The religion of the Vedas, as far as we are acquainted with it, differs in many very material points from that of the present day. The worship they prescribe is, with a few exceptions, domestic, consisting of oblations to fire, and invocations of the deities of fire, of the firmament, of the winds, the seasons, the moon, the sun ; who are invited by the sacrificer if a Brahman, or by his family priest, if he is not a Brahman, to be present and accept the offering, either oiled butter, or the juice of the Soma, of a species of asclepias, which are poured upon the sacrificial fire, in return for which, they are supplicated to confer temporal blessings upon 10 LECTURE I. the worshipper, riches, life, posterity; the short- sighted vanities of human desire, which constituted the sum of heathen prayer in all heathen coun- tries. The following is the second hymn of the Rig- Veda : 1. Approach, O Vayu (deity of the air); be visible : this Soma juice has been prepared for thee ; approach, drink, hear our invocation. 2. Those who praise thee, Vayu, celebrate thee with sacred songs, provided with store of Soma juice, and knowing the season suitable for their oblations. 3. Vayu, thy assenting voice comes to the sacri- ficer, it comes to many through the offering of the libation. 4. Indra and Vayu, this juice has been prepared ; come with benefits for us ; verily the libation desires you. 5. Vayu and Indra, observe the libations, being present in the offerings, come quickly. 6. Vayu and Indra, mighty men, approach the priest of the sacrificer quickly, on account of his prayers. 7. I invoke Mitra (the sun), the source of purity; I invoke Varuna, able to destroy ; both cherishing earth with water. 8. Mitra and Varuna, be pleased with this pro- pitiatory offering ; for to you, assuredly, do sacri- fices owe their success, as the waters do their abundance. 9. Mitra and Varuna, all wise divinities, born for the benefit of multitudes, and multitudinously pre- sent, give efficacy to our acts. LECTURE I. 11 The titles and functions of the deities commonly addressed in these invocations give to the religion of the Vedas the character of the vrorship of the elements, and it is not unlikely that it was so in its earliest and rudest condition. It is declared in some texts that the deities are only three ; vrhose places are, the earth, the middle region, between heaven and earth, and the heaven ; namely, fire, air, the sun. Upon this, however, seems to have been grafted some loftier speculation, and the ele- ments came to be regarded as types and emblems of divine power, as there can be no doubt that the fundamental doctrine of the Vedas is monotheism. *' There is in truth," say repeated texts, " but one deity, the Supreme Spirit." " He from whom the universal world proceeds, who is the Lord of the universe, and whose work is the universe, is the Supreme Being." Injunctions also repeatedly occur to worship Him, and Him only. " Adore God alone, know God alone, give up all other dis- course ;" and the Vedant says, " It is found in the Vedas, that none but the Supreme Being is to be worshipped, nothing excepting him should be adored by a wise man." It was upon these and similar passages that Rammohun Roy grounded his attempts to reform the religion of his countrymen, to put down idolatry, and abolish all idolatrous rites and festivals, and substitute the worship of one God by means of prayer and thanksgiving. His efforts were not very successful, not so successful as they might have been, had he confined himself to their legiti- mate objects ; but he involved himself in questions of Christian polemics and European politics, and 12 LECTURE I. intermitted his exertions for the subversion of Hindu idolatry. He did not, however, labour vrholly in vain ; and there is a society in Calcutta, which although not numerous is highly respectable, both for station and talent, which professes faith in one only Supreme God, and assembles once a week, on a Sunday, to perform divine service, consisting of prayers, hymns, and a discourse in Bengali, or San- scrit, on moral obligations, or the attributes and nature of the Deity. A leading preacher at those meetings, when I left India, was a learned Brahman, who was professor of Hindu law in the Sanscrit college of Calcutta : and another influential member, a man also of Brahmanical birth, of good family, and of property, set on foot, and I believe still con- tinue, an English newspaper, called the Reformer, in which the opinions of the party, not only on reli- gion, but on the measures of the government of India, are advocated, by natives solely, although in our language, with remarkable boldness and ability. To return however to the purpose of the Vedas. It seems very doubtful, if at the time of their com- position idolatry was practised in India : images of the deified elements are even now unworshipped, and except images of the sun, I am not aware that they are ever made. The personification of the divine attributes of creation, preservation, and re- generation, Brahma, Vishnu, and Siva, originate no doubt with the Vedas, but they are rarely named, they are blended with the elementary deities, they enjoy no preeminence, nor are they ever objects of special adoration. There is no reason, from the in- vocations addressed to them in common with the air, water, the seasons, the planets, to suppose that LECTURE I. 13 they were ever worshipped under visible types. Ministration to idols in temples is held by ancient authorities infamous ; Manu repeatedly classes the priest of a temple with persons unfit to be admitted to private sacrifices, or to be associated with on any occasion ; and even still, the priests who attend upon the images in public are considered as of a scarcely reputable order by all Hindus of learning and re- spectability. The worship of images is declared to be an act of inferior merit even by later authorities, those perhaps with which it originated, and it is defended only upon the same plea which has been urged in other times and other countries — that the vulgar cannot raise their conceptions to abstract deity, and require some perceptible object to which their senses may be addressed. " Corresponding to the natures of different powers and qualities," it is said, " numerous figures have been invented for the benefit of those who are not possessed of suffi- cient understanding." And again ; " The vulgar look for their gods in water ; men of more extended know- ledge, in the celestial bodies ; the ignorant, in wood, bricks, and stones." It is almost certain therefore, that the practice of worshipping idols in temples was not the religion of the Vedas. The dwellinghouse of the householder was his temple : if qualified, he was his own priest ; but this practice even among the Brahmans probably soon fell into desuetude, as they more extensively engaged in secular avocations, and it became almost univer- sally the practice to retain a family priest. This is still the custom. Instead of being however a Brah- man of learning and character, he is very commonly illiterate, and not always respectable. The office 14 LECTURE I. has also undergone an important modification. The family priest was formerly also the Guru, or spi- ritual adviser of the family. The priest now rarely discharges that function, he merely conducts the do- mestic rites ; and the Guru, to whom extravagant de- ference, such as is due to deity alone, is paid, is a very different individual, very usually not a Brahman at all, but a member of some of the mendicant orders that have sprung up in comparatively modern times, a vagrant equally destitute of knowledge, learning, and principle. Again ; although Brahma, Vishnu, and Siva are named in the Vedas, yet it is very doubtful if even the names of those incarnations and types under which they are now exclusively worshipped occur. Rama the son of Dasaratha, Krishna the son of Vasudeva, are, it is believed, unnoticed in authentic passages of the Sanhita or collected prayers, and there is no mention of the latter as Govinda or Gopala the infant cowherd, or as the uncouth and anomalous Jagannath. The only form in which Siva is now worshipped, the Linga or Phallus, it is generally agreed, has no place whatever amongst the types and emblems of the mythos of the Vedas. It is clear therefore that the great body of the present religious practices of the Hindus are subsequent in time and foreign in tenor to those that were en- joined by the authorities which they profess to re- gard as the foundations of their system. Some parts of the private and domestic ceremonial of the Vedas are however still in use, althovigh mixed up with much extraneous matter. For these I may again refer to Mr. Colebrooke, who published originally in the fifth and seventh volumes of the LECTURE I. 15 Asiatic Researches three papers on the religious ceremonies of the Hindus and of the Brahmans especially. They are reprinted in his Essays, and describe the constant and occasional offices of the Hindus, the rites to be performed daily, and those appropriated to seasons of joy or sorrow, those by which marriage is consecrated and death is solem- nized. Characteristic features in these observances — and they are common to all formal religions — are the prodigal demand which they make upon the time of the observer, and the minuteness of their inter- ference in all the most trivial actions of his life. The Hindu rules compel a Brahman to get out of bed before daylight, and prescribe how many times he shall rince his mouth, and with what sort of a brush and in what attitude he shall clean his teeth. He is then to repair to a river, or piece of water, and bathe. This is not a simple ablution, but a compli- cated business, in which repeated dippings alternate with a variety of prayers, and a still greater variety of gesticulations. The whole is to precede the rising of the sun, whose appearance is to be waited for and welcomed with other gesticulations and other prayers. The most celebrated of the latter is the Gayatri, held to be the holiest verse in the Vedas, and personified as a goddess, the wife of Brahma. It is preceded by a mysterious monosyllable, the type of the three divinities, Brahma, Vishnu, Siva, and the essence of the Vedas — OM, and by three scarcely less sacred words, Bhur, Bhuvm\ Swm\ denoting earth, atmosphere, heaven. The prayer is merely, " Let us meditate on the sacred light of that divine sun, that it may illuminate our minds." 16 LECTURE I. This is to be repeated mentally as often as the wor- shipper can do it whilst he closes his mouth and nostrils, effecting the latter by rule. It is the most orthodox of the gesticulations, and is performed by placing the two longest fingers of the right hand on the left nostril, inhaling through the right, closing the right with the thumb, and when the breathing can no longer be suspended raising the fingers and exhaling by the left nostril. There are other gesti- culations, all, to our seeming, very absurd, but they are not subjects of ridicule, because they are se- riously and reverentially practised by men of even sense and learning. The excuse made for them is that they contribute to fix the attention, and pre- vent the thoughts from straying. It cannot be re- garded as a very arduous attempt to shew how ill calculated must be the subject of an individual's meditations to occupy his mind, how little either his understanding or his feelings can be interested in his devotions, if he is obliged to have recourse to sleight of hand to prevent their being put to flight. After his morning ablutions, a Brahman ought to devote part of his time to the perusal of the Vedas. This, as already intimated, is never done ; but other works — the Puranas — may sometimes be substituted. Then follows domestic worship, now idol worship ; for in most houses there is an image of the favourite deity of the householder, in a room or recess appropriated to its accommodation. And to this the family Brahman, in the presence of the master of the house, makes offerings, and addresses prayers^ diversifying his recitation by blowing a conch-shell, ringing a bell, beating a drum, waving lights, or other unmeaning accompaniments. A LECTURE I. 17 considerable portion of the forenoon is thus unpro- fitably expended. There is no doubt that many Hindus of respectability feel these rites as grievous burdens, although the influence of prescription, example, and fear of scandal, prevent them from casting them off. The marriage ceremonies of the Hindus vary much with caste and condition, but they are always, in relation to the circumstances of the parties, troublesome and expensive. It is very little the object of the rite to impress upon the married couple any reverence for the union so contracted. Some injunctions are directed to the bride ; as, " Be gentle in thy aspect ; be loyal to thy husband ; be amiable in thy m.ind ; be lovely in thy person." But no reciprocity of duty is recommended to the bridegroom. The greater number of the prayers and invocations are mythological and unmeaning. It may be remarked of the rite, however, that it evidently contemplates responsible persons. The Vedas then did not sanction the marriage of chil- dren. In fact, it was impossible for a man to marry before maturity, as nine years are specified as the shortest term of his studentship, imtil the expiration of which he was not allowed to marry. He did not enter his studentship till he was seven or eight, and therefore, at the earliest, he could not have been married before he was seventeen ; an early age enough, in our estimation, but absolute manhood, as compared with the age of nine or ten, at which Hindu boys are, according to the present practice, husbands. There is no doubt that many other innovations for the worse have been made in the marriage ritual and usages of the Hindus. And 18 LECTURE I. the whole system, the premature age at which the parties are married, the practice of polygamy, and the circumstances under which the alliance is com- monly contracted, involving the utter degradation of the female sex, is equally fatal to the development of the moral virtues and intellectual energies of the man, and is utterly destructive both of public ad- vancement and domestic felicity. The funeral ceremonies originate also in part from the Vedas. It may be necessary here to explain that the use of forms and prayers, derived from the Vedas, is not incompatible with the neglect of the study of these works. The necessity of an acquaintance with the text has been obviated by the compilation of manuals and breviaries, if they may be so termed, in which the rules are laid down, and the formulae (whether from the Vedas or other authorities) are inserted. These are always modern. The great authority for Bengal is a Pundit, who lived less than a century ago, named Raghunandana. He composed eighteen works of this kind, deno- minated Tatwas. One treats of daily rites ; one of weekly or monthly rites ; one of marriage ; one of obsequies, and the like. These are the sources, not always exempt from suspicion of unfaithfulness or interpolation, and always objectionable as con- founding authorities, and attaching weight to works of various eras, and of very opposite tendency, by which the practices of the Hindus are regulated. The Hindus, as is well known, burn their dead ; a usage recommended by the peculiarities of climate, and the habits of the people, as much as by authority. The custom of carrying the dying to the banks of the Ganges, or some river considered sacred, has no LECTURE I. 19 warrant from antiquity, any more than it has from reason or humanity. The final commitment of the corpse to the funeral pile is decorously conducted. The tone of the ceremony, though not open to much exception, is cold and selfish. It offers no consola- tion from the future condition of the dead, although it rebukes the natural emotions of the living : it represses affliction by expatiating upon its inutility ; it seeks not to soothe sorrow by inspiring hope. The practice of the Sati, the burning of the widow on her husband's funeral pile, is now prohibited in the territories subject to the British govern- ment. Its prohibition was prudently gradual, and was facilitated by the difference of opinion enter- tained by the Hindus themselves as to its obligation, as well as by those natural feelings of which not even superstition can wholly divest mankind. Although noticed by the historians of Alexander's invasion, and therefore then prevailing, there is no authority, it is believed, for the practice in the Vedas. There is certainly none even in the laws of Manu. A peculiar feature in the funeral ceremonies of the Hindus is the performance of the Sraddha : periodical offerings of cakes, of flesh, or other viands, and libations of water, to the manes. These are in- cumbent on every householder, and are presented on a variety of occasions. They are offered in the first instance to such of his own ancestors as are deceased, and then to the general body of the pro- genitors of mankind, to the collective Pitris, or Patres of the human race. When a person dies, the nearest of kin presents an obsequial oblation to his ghost daily, for ten days, and again at stated inter- vals for a twelvemonth. A ceremony is then per- c 2 20 LECTURE I. formed by which the spirit of the defunct is supposed to be associated with the Pitris, and to take his place in their sphere or heaven. On every anniver- sary of his demise the rite is repeated. These Sraddhas are imperative, but the Pitris should be worshipped once every fortnight at least ; and offerings should be made to them on every occasion of private or public festivity, and whenever a householder is desirous of acknowledging or solicit- ing any temporal good. The character, offices, and situation of the Pitris formed, no doubt, part of the ancient system, and various appellations and func- tions are ascribed to them in the laws of Manu, and in some of the Puranas. The subject is little con- sidered or understood in the present day. The inefficacy of all such ceremonies has not escaped the satire of some of the Hindus themselves ; and it would not be difficult to shew that their object is incompatible with the condition of the soul after death, as it is more commonly represented by their own authorities. These are some of the practices of the domestic worship of the Hindus, which, although very ma- terially modified, are no doubt referable to their original institutes. The public worship of the Hindus has, unquestionably, undergone still greater change. The system of the universe and the theory of creation as universally received by the Hindus, no doubt originated with the Vedas, and consequently the three great divinities of their mythology, Brahma, Vishnu, and Siva, must have been devised about the same time, as they are nothing more than the per- sonified attributes of the Supreme Being in action, LECTURE I. n or his powers to create, preserve, and destroy, or, rather, regenerate — manifested. Brahma is the creator, Vishnu the preserver, Siva the regene- rator. Their invention vras probably at first little more than a metaphor, a personification, or allegory. It has been mentioned, that little beyond their names appears in the Vedas regarding them, and it is doubtful how far any definite figures, any images of them, any temples for them, any worship of them, formed part of the ancient religion. It is doubtful if Brahma was ever worshipped. Indications of a local adoration of him at Pushkara, near Ajmir, are found in one Purana, the Brahma Purana, but in no other part of India is there the slightest vestige of his worship. Of Siva, it is also to be remarked, that he receives worship under one form alone^ — that of the Linga or Phallus, of which, as before observed, no notice occurs in the Vedas. Some of the continental mythologists, therefore, have been egregiously mistaken in asserting that the primitive worship of India was that of the phallic emblem of Siva. When this type was intro- duced is uncertain : it was, probably, prior to the Christian era. The worship was in its most flourishing state at the date of the first Moham- medan invasion, the end of the tenth century, when twelve celebrated Lingas were enshrined in as many of the capital cities of India. Somnath was one of them, the destruction of whose temple by Mahmood, of Ghizni, is narrated by Gibbon. The worship of the Linga is now in a somewhat dubious condition in different parts of India. In the south, it gives a name and a principle of combination to a particular sect — the Jangamas or Lingayits, whose chief priests c 3 22 LECTURE I. are Pariahs, outcasts, — although the votaries include Brahmans, and Brahmans are in some of the temples ministering priests under a Pariah pontiff. In Bengal, although the temples are numerous, they are ordinarily mean and are little frequented, and the worship is recommended to the people by no circumstances of popular attraction. It has no hold upon their affections, it is not interwoven with their amusements, nor must it be imagined that it offers any stimulus to impure passions. The emblem — a plain column of stone, or, sometimes, a cone of plastic mud — suggests no offensive ideas ; the people call it Siva, or Mahadeva, and there's an end. They leave to Europeans speculations as to its symbolical purport. It is enough for them that it is an image, to which they make a prostration or to which they cast a few flowers. There are no secret rites, no mysterious orgies celebrated in its honour. Vishnu, the preserving power, is a much more popular divinity, not in his own person, however, but in some of his Avataras — descents or incarna- tions, especially as Rama or Krishna. I have already stated that it is very doubtful if these incar- nations are adverted to in the Vedas, at least in the text. They are mentioned in some of the Upanish- ads, supplementary treatises of the Vedas, but these compositions are evidently from their style of later date than the Vedas, and some of them, especially those referring to Rama and Krishna, are of very questionable authenticity. The history of these two incarnations of Vishnu, Rama and Krishna, gives to the adoration paid to them every appearance of Hero worship. They were both of royal descent, and were both born LECTURE I. 23 on earth like true knights-errant to destroy fiends, giants, and enchanters, and rescue hapless maids and matrons from captivity and violence. Poetry exaggerated their exploits and mythology deified the performers. The story of Rama is told in the mytho-heroic poem, entitled the Ramayana, of the first two books of which a translation in very choice Latin, by the celebrated A. Von Schlegel, has been published. No fault is to be found with the character of Rama as a hero, except the impossibility of his feats ; but he is described as a dutiful son, an affectionate husband, an intrepid warrior, and a patriotic prince. His wife, Sita, is a model of a wife, — gentle, devoted, enduring, and obedient. The worst that can be said of either is, that their poetic celebrity has been abused, and has given rise to sects of votaries, who think that the repetition of their names is a sufficient substitute for all moral and religious merit. Most of the mendicant orders choose Rama for their patron. The worship of Krishna may be traced to the other of the two great mytho-heroic poems of the Hindus, the Mahabharata. In the accounts there given of him there is more of mysticism than in the story of Rama ; but even there he does not appear under the character in which he is most popular, that of the infant Gopala, the boy Cowherd, and the juvenile lover of Radha. It is in these capaci- ties that he is now most extensively worshipped ; and they are no doubt fictions of comparatively modern invention. Vishnu was born as Krishna for the destruction of Kansa, an oppressive monarch, and, in fact, an incarnate Daitya or Titan, the na- tural enemy of the gods. Kansa being forewarned c 4 24 LECTURE I. of his fate seeks to anticipate his destroyer ; but Krishna is conveyed secretly away from Mathura, the capital of Kansa, and is brought up as the child of a cowherd at Vrindavan, a pastoral district near Mathura. It is whilst thus circumstanced that he has been exalted into an object of adoration, and the mischievous follies of the child, the boy, and the lad, are the subject of popular delight and wonder. His male companions are not very prominent in the tale of his youth ; but the females, the deified dairy- maids, play a more important part in the drama. Amongst the most conspicuous is the one I have named, Radha ; and she receives scarcely less uni- versal homage than Krishna himself. The adora- tion of the forms of Siva or Vishnu is advocated not upon the original principle, that worship addressed to them is virtually addressed to the Supreme, they being merely representations of his power, but upon the novel doctrine, that one or other of them is himself the Supreme ; and not only this, but in the true spirit of pantheism that he is all things. This is asserted of Siva by the Saivas ; of Vishnu, by the Vaishnavas. This notion, which is very widely disseminated, seems to have originated with the next great class of the sacred writings of the Hindus, the Puranas. The Puranas are eighteen in number : some of them are voluminous compositions. It is said that they were the work of the same Vyasa by whom the Vedas were arranged, and they are held in almost equal estimation. According to a definition fur- nished by many of them, a Purana should treat of five topics — primary creation, secondary creation, the families of the patriarchs, the reigns of the LECTURE I. 25 Menus, and the dynasties of kings. The actual Puranas conform in no one instance to this defini- tion : the authors are often declared to be others than Vyasa, and they offer many internal proofs that they are the work of various hands, and of different dates, none of which are of very high antiquity. I believe the oldest of them not to be anterior to the eighth or ninth century ; and the most recent to be not above three or four centuries old. In the present state of Hindu belief the Puranas exercise a very general influence. Some of them, or portions of them, are publicly read and expounded by Brahmans to all classes of people. Most Brahmans who pretend to scholarship are acquainted with two or more of them, and parti- cular sections, as the Devi Mahatmya are amongst the most popular works in the Sanscrit language. Prayers from them have been copiously introduced into all the breviaries ; observances of feasts and fasts are regulated by them ; temples, and towns, and mountains, and rivers, to which pilgrimages are made, owe their sanctity to legends for which the Puranas or the Mahatmyas, works asserted, often untruly, to be sections of them, are the only au- thorities ; and texts quoted from them have validity in civil as well as religious law. The determination of their modern and unauthenticated composition deprives them of the sacred character which they have usurped, destroys their credit, impairs their influence, and strikes away the main prop, on which, at present, the great mass of Hindu idolatry and superstition relies. That the Puranas represent in many instances an older, and probably a primitive scheme of Hinduism, is no doubt true : they have 26 LECTURE I. preserved many ancient legends ; they have handed down all that the Hindus have of traditional his- tory, and they furnish authoritative views of the essential institutions of the Hindus, both in their social and religious organisation. But in their deci- dedly sectarial character, in their uncompromising advocacy of the pre-eminence of some one deity, or of some one of his manifestations, in the boldness with which they assert his pantheistic presence, in the importance they attach to particular observances, as fasting on the 8th, 11th, and 14th days of each half month, in the holiness with which they invest particular localities, in the tone and spirit of their prayers and hymns, and in the numerous, and almost always frivolous, and insipid, and immoral legends, which tliey have grafted upon the more fanciful, dignified, and significant inventions of antiquity; they betray most glaringly the purposes for which they were composed, the dissemination of new ar- ticles of faith, the currency of new gods. The Hindus are not much disposed to scrutinise with critical suspicion the history of a composition re- puted sacred ; yet even they have been unable to avoid a controversy amongst themselves respecting the authenticity of the most popular of all the Puranas, the Bhagavata ; and many learned Brah- mans maintain that it is the work of an uninspired writer, a celebrated grammarian, named Vopadeva, who flourished in the twelfth century. This is strenuously denied by those with whom it is the text-book for their worship of the infant Krishna; but there is no doubt of the fact. There is equally little doubt that another of these works, the Brahma Vaivarta Purana, is still more modern. It is dedi- LECTURE I. 27 cated in great part to the juvenile Krishna, and his favourite mistress, Radha ; and although the wor- ship of Radha is now so exceedingly popular, parti- cularly in western Hindustan, yet her person, and even her name, are unknown to all the other Puranas, to the heroic poems, and even to the popular literature of the Hindus, to the plays, poems, and tales which are not compositions of the last three or four centuries. It would occupy too much time to enter into any further details upon this subject. The grounds upon which the opinions intimated have been formed may be found in anal3^tical descriptions of the con- tents of several of the most popular of the Puranas which have been published in the Journals of the Asiatic Societies of Bengal and Great Britain, and in the preface to the Vishnu Purana to which I have previously referred ^. There seems good reason to believe that the Puranas in their present form accompanied or suc- ceeded a period of considerable religious ferment in India, and were designed to uphold and extend the doctrines of rival sects, which then disputed the exclusive direction of the faith of the Hindus. It began perhaps in the third or fourth century of our aera, having for its object the extermination of the Buddhists, who in consequence were driven out of India to Siam, Java, China and Tibet. When the Buddhists, whom all parties considered '^ Analysis of the Agni Purana : Jour. As. Soc. of Bengal, vol. I. p. 81 ; of the Brahma Vaivartta P. ib. p. 217 ; of the Vishnu P. ib. p. 431 ; of the Vayu P. 535 ; of the Brahma P. Jour. Royal As. Soc. of Great Britain, vol. V. p.6i ; of the Padma P. ib. p. 280. ^8 LECTURE I. heterodox were expelled, their enemies began to quarrel amongst themselves, and in the eighth or ninth century a reformer named Sankara Acharya is celebrated for having refuted and suppressed a variety of unorthodox professors, and established the preferential worship of Siva. He instituted in sup- port of his doctrines an order of mendicants which still subsists, and he is in an especial manner re- garded as the founder of a system of belief adhered to by Brahmans of learning, particularly in the south of India. The triumph that he obtained for the deity he patronized did not long survive him. Early in the eleventh century, Ramanuja a follower of Vishnu, undertook to depose Siva and set up his own divinity, not only in the belief of the people, but in the more substantial benefits of temples and endowments. Tradition records, that the great temple of Triveni, one of the largest and richest in the Penin- sula, now dedicated to Vishnu, was wrested from the rival votaries of Siva by Ramanuja and his fol- lowers. The ascendency of the Vaishnavas was not undisputed in the south, and a new sect of Saivas, to whom I have alluded, the Lingayits, sprang up in opposition to them. : the contest was carried on with popular violence, and in one of the disturbances that ensued, the Raja of Kalyan-pur was killed and his capital destroyed. The Mohammedan invasion of the south crushed both the contending parties, and the predominance of the same power in Upper India prevented the like violence of collision. The Vaishnavas there spread with little resistance under the followers of Ramanand, a disciple of Ramanuja, to whom, or to whose pupils, the greater proportion of the mendicant orders in Hindustan owe their LECTURE I. 29 origin, and under two Brahmanical families, one in the west sprung from a teacher named Vallabha, who established themselves as hereditary priests of the juvenile Krishna, and one in Bengal and Orissa descended from Nityanand and Adwaitanand,two dis- ciples of Chaitanya, a teacher, with whom the popu- larity of the worship of Jagannath originated. A particular description of all the different divisions of the poj)ular religion of the Hindus may be found in the sixteenth and seventeenth volumes of the Asiatic Researches^. These different orders and families are now almost exclusively the spiritual directors of the people. Some of them are rich and of Brahmanical descent ; some are poor and composed of persons of all castes. They are almost all, whether rich or poor, illiterate and profligate. Such literature as they occasionally cultivate— and it is one of the means by which they act upon the people — is vernacular literature, compo- sitions in the spoken languages. These are mostly songs and hymns addressed to Vishnu, Krishna or Radha, tales and legends of individuals celebrated amongst them as saints, always marvellous, mostly absurd, and not unfrequently immoral, and vague and dogmatical expositions of elements of belief, which although in some degree discoverable in the Puranas, have assumed a novel and portentous pro- minence in the doctrines of the Vaishnava teachers and the practices of the people. These elements are passionate devotion and all-sufficient faith. Whatever may have been the mistaken veneration entertained by the early Hindus for personified ele- ^ Sketch of the Religious Sects of the Hindus, As. Res. vol. XVI. p. I. and XVII. p. 169. so LECTURE I. merits and attributes, or even for deified mortals, the language of invocation and prayer, though re- verential, is calm and unirapassioned. The hymns of modern fanatics are composed in a very different strain, and breathe a glowing fervour of devotion which might almost be mistaken for sensual love. Something of this may have been borrowed from the Mohammedans, amongst whom the Sufis have always employed the language of earthly rapture, to de- scribe the yearnings of the human soul, to be re- vmited with that divine spirit from which it is sup- posed to have originally proceeded. " Oh ! the bliss of that day," says a Persian mystic, " when I shall depart from this desolate mansion, shall seek rest for my soul, and shall follow the traces of my be- loved." They possibly derived their notions from one branch of the Hindu philosophy, the Vedanta ; but they pursued the figure until they had converted it into a gross deformity, and furnished a model adapted to the ardent imagination of irrational enthusiasm. A remarkable specimen of this style has been given to English readers by sir William Jones, in his translation of the songs of Jayadeva ; where, al- though to the uninitiated, the hero and heroine appear to be actuated by human passions alone, yet the initiated find in the fervent desires and jea- lous tortures of Radha, the anxieties, the hopes, the fears, the longings of the soul ; and in the steady, though sometimes seemingly inconstant love of Krishna, the affection which the Supreme Being bears amidst all his misgivings and fallings off to man. As a brief and inoffensive specimen of this kind of composition, I will quote a fev/ stanzas at- tributed to a lady named Mira Bai, princess of LECTURE I. 31 Jaypur, and one of the Sadhwis, or female saints of the Vaishnavas, addressed to Krishna as Rana-chhor, a curious title to have been given him, as it means the coward, the runavray from battle. " O sovereign Rana-chhor, give me to make Dwaraka my perpetual abode. Dispel with thy shell, discus, and mace, the fear of Yama (the deity of death). Eternal rest is pilgrimage to thy sacred shrines. Supreme delight is the sound of thy shell, the clash of thy cymbals. I have abandoned my love, my possessions, my principality, my husband. Mira thy servant comes to thee for refuge — O take her wholly to thee. Lord of Mira, Girdhara her beloved, accept her, and never let her more be sepa- rate from thee." Upon which, says the legend, the image opened — Mira leaped into the fissure — it closed — and the princess disappeared for ever. The other principle which I have specified, and which is closely allied with the preceding, is the ab- solute sufficiency of faith alone, wholly independent of conduct, to insure salvation. This doctrine is carried to the very utmost of that abuse of which it is susceptible. Entire dependence upon Krishna, or any other favourite deity, not only obviates the necessity of virtue, but it sanctifies vice. Conduct is wholly immaterial. It matters not how atrocious a sinner a man may be, if he paints his face, his breast, his arms, with certain sectarial marks ; or, which is better, if he brands his skin permanently with them with a hot iron stamp; if he is constantly chaimting hymns in honour of Vishnu ; or, what is equally efficacious, if he spends hours in the simple reiteration of his name or names ; if he die with the word Hari or Rama or Krishna on his lips. 32 LECTURE I. and the thought of him in his mind, he may have lived a monster of iniquity — he is certain of heaven. Now these doctrines and practices, however popu- lar with the multitude, and although traceable to authorities held in high estimation, are not looked upon, it may be easily imagined, by Brahmans of learning, with any profound deference. Their ten- dency is in a great degree to supersede all ritual, whether of the Vedas or Puranas, and to divest the authorized expounders of those works of all influence and control over the acts and thoughts of the people. They will therefore not be indisposed to acknowledge that the objects of this fervour of devo- tion are wholly unworthy of it, and that its inculca- tion is calculated to destroy all moral and religious principle. Whilst most of the existing sects have thus out- raged even Hinduism, it is consolatory to find that a few have taken a different direction ; and although they have stopped short of the truth, they have dis- played a disposition to seek it which may turn to good account. There are several sects that have abandoned all worship of idols, that deny the effi- cacy of faith in any of the popular divinities, and question the reasonableness of many of the existing institutions : they substitute a moral for a cere- monial code, and address their prayers to one only God. These sects are not numerous, but they are in general respectable. Such however is the want which is felt by the Indian mind of something tan- gible on which to lean, that they have mostly lapsed into something very like an idolatrous worship of their founder. Still they prove that the people are not all satisfied with the superstitions of their fore- LECTURE I. S3 fathers, and that some among them are inclined to inquire, and think, and determine for themselves. That they offer a favourable soil in which to implant the seeds of Christianity has been lately shewn by the conversion of the inhabitants of several villages in the vicinity of Krisbnagur, who had for some time past seceded from the prevailing practices, and under teachers of their own had adopted a theistical belief. There is still another and a very important divi- sion of the Hindu religion to be noticed, so far is it from being a consistent and homogeneous system. The history of this is very obscure, and the origin of the authorities on which it rests is unknown. Tradition is silent as to the authors of the Tantras — they are mythologically ascribed to Siva, and are generally in the form of a colloquy between him and his wife Parvati. They are very numerous, and some are of considerable volume ; but they are not in- cluded in any of the ordinary enumerations of Hindu literature, and were, no doubt, composed after that literature was complete in all its parts. They are specified in some of the Puranas, to which they must be therefore anterior. They have been but little examined by European scholars, but sufficient has been ascertained to warant the accusation that they are authorities for all that is most abominable in the present state of the Hindu religion. The great feature of the religion taught by the Tantras is the worship of Sakti — Divine power per- sonified as a female, and individualized, not only in the goddesses of mythology, but in every woman ; to whom, therefore, in her own person religious worship may be and is occasionally addressed. The D 34 LECTURE I. chief objects of adoration, however, are the manifold forms of the bride of Siva ; Parvati, Uma, Diirga, Kali, Syama, Vindhya-vasini, Jaganmata, and others. Besides the usual practices of offerings, oblations, hymns, invocations, the ritual comprises many mys- tical ceremonies and accompaniments, gesticulations and diagrams, and the use in the commencement and close of the prayers of various monosyllabic ejaculations of imagined mysterious import. Even in its least exceptionable division it comprehends the performance of magical ceremonies and rites, intended to obtain superhuman powers, and a com- mand over the spirits of heaven, earth, and hell. The popular division is, however, called by the Hindus themselves the left-hand Sakta-faith. It is to this that the bloody sacrifices offered to Kali must be imputed ; and that all the barbarities and inde- cencies perpetrated at the Durga Puja, the annual worship of Durga, and the Churuk Puja, the swing- ing festival, are to be ascribed. There are other atrocities which do not meet the public eye. This is not an unfounded accusation, not a controversial calumny. We have the books — we can read the texts — some of them are in print, veiled necessarily in the obscurity of the original language, but incon- trovertible witnesses of the veracity of the charge. Of course no respectable Hindu will admit that he is a Vamachari, a follower of the left-hand ritual, or that he is a member of a society in which meat is eaten, wine is drunk, and abominations not to be named are practised. The imputation will be in- dignantly denied, although, if the Tantras be be- lieved, " many a man who calls himself a Saiva, or a Vaishnava, is secretly a Sakta, and a brother of the LECTURE I. 35 left-hand fraternity." But what can any Hindu of reason and right feeling say in vindication of a system which has suffered such enormities to be grafted upon it, which could afford any plea, any suggestion, any opening for abuses of which he ad- mits, when he dares not avow them in his own case, the shame and the sin ? For further information on this subject, I must once more refer you to the l6th and 17th volumes of the Asiatic Researches. From the survey which has thus been submitted to you, you will perceive that the practical religion of the Hindus is by no means a concentrated and compact system, but a heterogeneous compound, made up of various and not unfrequently incom- patible ingredients, and that to a few ancient frag- ments it has made large and unauthorized addi- tions, most of which are of an exceedingly mis- chievous and disgraceful nature. It is, however, of little avail yet to attempt to undeceive the multi- tude ; their superstition is based upon ignorance, and until the foundation is taken away, the super- structure, however crazy and rotten, will hold together. By what means this object may be best accomplished, admits of difference of opinion ; but there can be no disagreement as to the general con- clusion, that all means which hold out promise of success, which are honest, rational, and benevolent, should be tried, as far as may be consistent with the most scrupulous regard for the obligations of our political position in India, upon the permanence and integrity of which depends every hope of ulti- mate success. The means suggested by the plan submitted to D 2 36 LECTURE I. the University, are in every respect unexceptionable : yon are invited to employ knowledge and argument, in endeavouring to convince intelligent and learned Hindus of the defects and errors of their religion. This is probably not difficult of accomplishment to a certain extent ; many, perhaps most educated Hindus, contemplate with indifference or contempt, the practices and belief of the majority of their countrymen. There are, however, obstacles of some magnitude to be overcome, before conviction can be hoped for. The whole tendency of Brahmanical education is to enforce dependence upon authority. In the first instance upon the Guru, in the next upon the books. A learned Brahman trusts solely to his learning ; he never ventures upon independent thought ; he appeals to memory ; he quotes texts without measure, and in vmquestioning trust. It will be difficult to persuade him that the Vedas are human and very ordinary writings, that the Pu- ranas are modern and unauthentic, or even that the Tantras are not entitled to respect. As long as he opposes authority to reason, and stifles the workings of conviction by the dicta of a reputed sage, little impression can be made upon his understanding. Certain it is, that he will have recourse to his authorities, and it is therefore important to shew that his authorities are worthless. Another serious obstacle is opposed, by his tem- poral interests. Although the learned Brahman does not participate in the profits of religious offices, yet he derives no small share of emolument and con- sideration from his connexion with religion, as the interpreter of the works in which it is taught. A LECTURE I. 37 Pundit, a learned Brahman, although he takes no part in the ceremonial of religious festivals, or mar- riage feasts, or funeral solemnities, is always invited as a guest, and presents are made to him, of value proportionate to his reputation. They constitute^ indeed, his chief, often his sole means of subsistence, as v/ell as of that of his scholars, whom he is obliged by the law to teach, without gratuity or fee, and whom it is his duty also in part to support. The predominance of a foreign government, and one which, notwithstanding the plausibility of its pro- fessions, sympathises not at all with any class of its native subjects, excludes a learned Hindu from any liope of the patronage of the state, and we need not wonder, therefore, if he should be reluctant to acknowledge the truth, by which he may starve, and should cling to the error, by which alone he lives. There is still another and a weighty obstacle to conviction, which arises from the state of the native mind, especially amongst men of learning. Their toleration is so comprehensive, that it amounts to in- difference to truth. The Brahmans who compiled a code of Hindu law, by command of Warren Hastings, preface their performance, by affirming the equal merit of every form of religious worship. Con- trarieties of belief, and diversities of religion, they say, are in fact part of the scheme of Providence, for as a painter gives beauty to a picture by a variety of colours, or as a gardener embellishes his garden with flowers of every hue, so God appointed to every tribe its own faith, and every sect its own religion, that man might glorify him in diverse modes, all having the same end, and being equally D 3 38 LECTUKE I. acceptable in his sight. To the same effect it is stated by Dr. Mill in the preface to the Krista Sangita, or sacred history of Christ, in Sanscrit verse, that he had witnessed the eager reception of the work, by devotees from every part of India, even in the temple of Kali, near Calcutta, and that it was read and chaunted by them, with a full knowledge of its anti-iclolatrous tendency, close to the very shrine of the impure goddess. " No one acquainted with India," he adds, " will rate these facts at more than their real worth, and to those who, in ignorance of the genius of paganism, might found erroneous conceptions on them, it may be sufficient to recall to mind, what is the most melancholy trait in the history of this work, the readiness with which these devotees of superstition can assume the ideas of a faith most opposed to it." This indifference is un- doubtedly the most formidable impediment with which argument has to contend, but it is not in the nature of things, it is not, we may presume to believe, in the dispensations of Providence, that truth should not ultimately prevail. Its effects may not be confessed, though felt ; its influence may not be manifested, though implanted. The seed lies long beneath the soil, but it germinates, though in darkness : and it rises at last into daylight, and ripens into the nutritious grain, blossoms in the beautiful flower, and expands into the vast and majestic monarch of the forest. In my next lecture I propose to take a view of the opinions of the Hindus on the existence and character of God — the creation of the universe — the nature of the soul^^ — and the destiny of man. LECTUPvE II "IT7E yesterday considered the state of the Hindus in regard to those practices of a religious character which are prevalent in India. The do- mestic worship which originated with the Vedas, and of which portions are still retained in the daily and occasional observances of individuals in their purifications, their marriage, and their funeral cere- monies, and the public worship of the Divine attri- butes of creation, preservation, and regeneration, referable to the same works, first engaged our atten- tion. We then adverted to the introduction of Hero worship by the mytho-Heroic poems, its dissemi- nation under new modifications by the Puranas, and its still further alteration and adaptation to the taste of the people by persons and orders of modern date, who had introduced new divinities and new elements of belief in the passionate devotion and all-sufficient faith of which Krishna was in particu- lar the object, and we lastly noticed the mystical and debasing rites which, founded upon the class of works called Tantras, were exercising at present a most baneful influence upon the manners and princi- ples of the Hindus, lliese circumstances, although comprehending even the better informed and more learned amongst the natives of India, apply still more particularly to the religious practices of the people at large. We have now to treat of topics which D 4 40 LECTUKE II. concern the educated and learned more especially— to the opinions which they have been taught, by men whom they consider as little lower than di- vinities, to entertain on some of the most important subjects of reflexion, which in ail ages have exer- cised and tested the energies of the human mind. The speculative notions of the Hindus originate, in a great degree, with the same authorities that have enjoined their religious practices. Although in their widest scope familiar only to the learned, and to some only amongst them, yet the subjects of speculation, and the modes in which they are in- vestigated, are not Vv holly unknown to the literature of the people. The Indian mind, even amongst the least instructed, has a ready tendency to contempla- tive reflexion, and delights in subtle and metaphysi- cal research. We need not be surprised, therefore, to find the great mysteries of the imi verse, some attention to which is forced upon the least civilized portions of the human race, favourite objects of in- quiry amongst the Hindus from the earliest periods of their traditional history, or that they should from the first have expatiated freely in conjecture and hypothesis, how the universe came to be and whence, what is the nature of man, what his origin, and what his destination. What were at first con- jectures only were soon transmuted into dogmas. These were next moulded into systems, and a variety of works have in all ages been composed by Hindu writers, in which it is attempted, with considerable profundity of thought and subtlety of reasoning, and with still more unhesitating positiveness, to solve all the most dark and difficult perplexities of our condition, but leaving them, as all the efforts LECTURE II. 41 of human wisdom unassisted by revelation have ever left them, still in darkness and perplexity. The Hindus boast of six different schools or systems of metaphysical philosophy. They are called the Purva Mimansa, Uttara Mimansa, or Vedanta, the Sankhya, the Patanjala, the Nyayika, and the Vaisheshika : these, although some of them offer m-econcilable contradictions to essential doc- trines of their religious belief, are recognised by the Brahmans as orthodox, and attributed to authors of saintly reputation. There are other schools, as those of the Charvakas, Buddhists, and Jains, which, although in some respects not more at vari- ance with received opinions than the preceding, are stigmatized with the reproach of infidelity and atheism. The cause of this difference is sufficiently obvious, and is characteristic of a state of feeling which prevails as much in the present as in any former period. The orthodox schools of philosophy do not disparage the authority of the Vedas, they do not dissuade the celebration of the acts of formal devotion which the Vedas or Puranas enjoin, al- though they argue their utter inefficacy as means of final and permanent felicity. They recommend their performance, however, as conducive to that frame of mind in which abstract contemplation may be safely substituted for devotional rites, and even admit of external observances after the mind is in pursuit of true knowledge, as long as such cere- monies are practised from no interested motive, as long as they are observed because they are enjoined, and not because any benefit is either to be expected or desired from their practice. Again, the writings of the orthodox philosophers meddle not with exist- 42 LECTURE II. ing institutions; and least of all do they urge or insinuate any consideration to detract from the veneration, or trespass upon the privileges, of the Brahmans. As long as these precautions were ob- served, the Brahmans did not, nor would they now object to any form of doctrine having in view the establishment of merely abstract propositions. The case was very different with the heterodox schools. They went from abstractions to things. The Char- vakas condemned all ceremonial rites, ridiculed even the Sraddha, and called the authors of the Vedas, fools, knaves, and buffoons. The Buddhists and Jains denied the inspiration of the Vedas and the sanctity of the Brahmanical character, abrogated the distinction of caste, invented a set of deities for themselves, whom they placed above those of the Hindu pantheon, and organized a regular hierarchy, a priesthood, and a pontiff; an institution still sub- sisting in the trans-Indian countries, of which the grand Lama of Tibet is the head. It is a remark- able historical fact, that this organization was found too feeble to oppose, in India, the apparently loose and incoherent, the undisciplined, the anarchical authority of the Brahmans. It had, however, the effect of exciting their apprehensions and their hatred to such an extent, that it became proverbial with them to say, '' If your only alternative be to encounter a heretic or a tiger, throw yourself before the latter ; better be devoured by the animal than contaminated by the man." There may be a few Charvakas in India, but their opinions are unavow- ed. The Buddhists have totally disappeared. The Jains are found in some numbers and influence in the west of India, but are little heard of elsewhere. LECTURE II. 48 Besides the acknowledged schools or systems of philosophy, there is another, which, without being considered as one of the number, and without claim- ing the character of a system, is, nevertheless, to be included in the list, as it presents a peculiar scheme of doctrine on metaphysical subjects, and exercises more influence over popular opinion than any of the rest ; this is the Pauranik school, the philosophy of the Puranas : it may be termed also the Eclectic school^ as it has evidently derived its principles from different systems, and formed them into a miscel- laneous combination of its own contrivance. It is not put forward as a new scheme, but is subsidi- ary to the popularization of particular objects of worship, for which the Puranas, as we remarked yesterday, seem to have been composed. The Vedas are authority for the existence of one Divine Being, supreme over the universe, and exist- ing before all worlds. " In the beginning," it is said, "this all (this universe) was in darkness." "He (the Supreme) was alone, without a second." " He reflected, I am one, I will become many." Will was conceived in the Divine mind, and crea- tion ensued. This being the doctrine of the Vedas is that also of the Vedanta, the purport of which school is declared to be the same as that of the Vedas — their end (anta) or aim. I mentioned be- fore that the Vedas comprise two portions, one practical, one speculative. The speculative or theo- logical portion of the Vedas is explained chiefly in separate treatises, called Upanishads. These are for the most part short, and are commonly mystical and obscure. The ordinary enumeration of them is fifty-one. There are some others, but they are 44 LECTURE II. probably spurious. The whole fifty-one were trans- lated into Latin^ and published by Anquetil du Perron in 1801, under the title of " Oupnekhat, sen, Theologia et Philosophia Indica^." His trans- lation was made from a Persian version, translated by order of a Mohammedan prince, the elder brother and unsuccessful competitor of Aurvmgzeb, Dara Shekoh. Persian translators are not very careful, nor is the Latinity of Anquetil du Perron remark- able for precision. His version, therefore, is almost as unintelligible as the original Sanscrit. Some of the Upanishads have been rendered into very good English by Rammohun Roy^; and the whole are in course of translation into French, by a Prussian gentleman, M. Poley. There will be no difficulty, therefore, in acquiring whatever information the Upanishads may afford regarding the Monotheism and the Psychology of the Vedas. The Vedanta is called also the Uttara-mimansa — subsequent or supplementary investigation. I have named also a Purva-mimansa, or prior-school of in- vestigation ; the object of this is to teach the art of reasoning, with the express purpose of aiding the interpretation of the Vedas not only in the specula- tive but the practical portion. As far as concerns the former, it of course adopts the same monothe- istic principles. The Patanjala school teaches also the being of a God ; the Nyayika and Vaishe- kika teach the existence of one Supreme Soul — the seat of knowledge and the maker of all things ; and *-' Oupnekhat &c. 2 vol. 4to. Parisiis (ix.) iSor. '' f Translation of several prijicipal books, passages, and texts of the Vedas, by Raja Rammohun Roy. Svo. London, Allen and Co. 1832. LECTURE II. 45 the Paiiranik or Eclectic school maintains the same doctrine. The Sankhya denies the existence of a Supreme Being, although it recognises a twofold distribution of the universe, as matter and spirit. The simple fact, then, of the existence of one su- preme spiritual Cause of all things — supreme over and quite distinct from the mythological divinities — is, with one exception, the received doctrine of the Hin- dus. When they come to particulars, and attempt to define the Divine nature, their notions, as may be easily conceived, are exceedingly embarrassed and unsatisfactory. Brahma — not Brahma in the mas- culine, but Brahma in the neuter form, the term commonly applied to the supreme first Cause — is for the most part defined by negatives. He is incorpo- real, immaterial, invisible, unborn, uncreated, with- out beginning or end ; he is illimitable, inscrutable, inappreciable by the senses, inapprehensible by the imderstanding, at least until that is freed from the film of mortal blindness ; he is devoid of all attributes, or has that only of perfect purity ; he is unaffected by emotions ; he is perfect tranquillity, and is susceptible therefore of no interest in the acts of man or the administration of the affairs of the universe. Vyasa declares that the knowledge of the Supreme Being is not within the boundary of comprehension, that what and who he is cannot be explained. These are the most generally adopted sentiments, and conformably to them no temples are erected, no prayers are even addressed to the Supreme. Texts from the Vedas and other authorities, enjoining the worship of God alone, were adduced, as I noticed yesterday, by Rammohun Roy in support of the 46 LECTURE II. reform which he set on foot ; but it is generally and consistently enough maintained by his oppo- nents, that they intend spiritual worship, mental adoration, abstract meditation — not formal, practi- cal, or external worship — and that they are appli- cable only to those persons who devote themselves to contemplative devotion, not to those who are engaged in the daily duties of social life. It is, however, undeniable, that in contradiction to these negative descriptions, we have affirmative attributes asserted : " God is a Spirit," " the Supreme Spirit ;" he is knowledge, he is purity, he is happiness ; he sees all, he hears all, he moves whithersoever he will, he takes whatsoever he will, although he has neither eyes, nor ears, nor feet, nor hands ; he is omni- scient, omnipresent, almighty ; he is the maker of all things, and the director and governor of the world ; not, however, in his own person, but through the instrumentality of agents, whom he has created for the purpose. That the Supreme Being exercises an immediate personal providential control over the affairs of the world, is, however, the doctrine of the Pauranik school ; but it is the progeny of another doctrine, which is also theirs, and theirs alone, the identity of some one personate and perceptible form — some one present deity with the Supreme. There is no differ- ence of opinion with regard to the character of the Gods of Hindu mythology, of Brahma, Vishnu, Siva, and the rest of the thirty-three millions of the host of heaven, at least in their own individualities. The most ignorant Hindu will tell you, that either of these, as considered pe?^ se, is an imperfect and finite creature ; he is mighty, merely in contrast to LECTURE II. 47 the weakness of man ; he is immortal only in rela- tion to the shortness of human life. The Gods had a beginning, they will have an end ; their duration ceases at the period of universal dissolution. The Puranas, however, as I have intimated, have it es- pecially in view to elevate to exclusive adoration some individual of the greater mythological divini- ties ; and they can claim this exaltation for their favourite only by identifying him with that Being of whose supremacy and eternity there is no dis- pute. Their God, their Vishnu or Siva, is then no longer a limited and finite Being ; he is no longer a God — he is God. The incongruity of attributes and no attributes ; of perfect happiness with feelings of affection or animosity ; of perfect purity with the human frailties and vices that reduce the Pauranik deities to weak and profligate men ; of almighty power and wisdom, with the feebleness and fear and folly ascribed to them on various occasions, is too palpable to be denied. The objection is there- fore evaded. It is asserted that the Supreme as- sumes these disguises for his sport or for the mani« festation of his j)ower, or that the whole is an illu- sion a mystery — which the grossness of human conception is unable to penetrate or comprehend. The philosophical writings are, however, free from these contradictions, and they clearly owe their ori- gin to that spirit of sectarian rivalry of which the Puranas are the champions, and were, perhaps, the source. They are foreign also to the tenor of the doctrine of the Vedas ; for although texts are fre- quent which affirm that Brahma is all that exists, and consequently is Brahma, Vishnu and Siva, as well as all other persons and things, yet none can 48 LECTURE II. be cited affirmative of the converse of the proposi- tion, or sanctioning the doctrine that any one of the inferior divinities is Brahma. The doctrine of Pantheism — the identification of God and the universe — is another principle which the Puranas most unequivocally and resolutely maintain. Vishnu, Siva, or Sakti, whatever indi- vidual they undertake to glorify, is not only the remote and efficient, but the proximate and sub- stantial cause of the world. Thus, in the Linga Purana, Brahma addresses Siva, " Glory to thee, whose form is the universe." In the Vishnu Purana, " This world was produced from Vishnu ; it exists in him; he is the cause of its continuance and cessation; he is the world." In the Kalika Purana, the goddess Kali is said to be identical with the universe, as well as distinct from it ; and in the Brahma Vaivartta, even Radha is eulogized as " the mother of the world, and the world itself; as one with primaeval nature — with universal nature, and with all created forms ; with all cause, and with all effisct." Expressions of this tenor occur in every page of the Puranas ; and although something may be ascribed to the exagge- rations of panegyric, and the obscurities of mysti- cism, yet the declarations are too positive and re- iterated to admit of reasonable doubt. And it cannot be questioned that these writers confound the creature with the Creator, and expose them- selves justly to the imputation of gross materialism. Little doubt can be entertained that the mate- rialism of the Puranas derives some countenance from the Vedas. Universality is there predicated of the Supreme Being directly, without the interven- tion of any one of his hypostases. Thus it is said, LECTURE II. 49 " This whole is Brahma, from Brahma to a clod of earth. Brahma is both the efficient and the material cause of the world. He is the potter by whom the fictile vase is formed ; he is the clay of which it is fabricated. Every thing proceeds from him, without waste or diminution of the source, as light radiates from the sun. Every thing merges into him again, as bubbles bursting mingle with the air, as rivers fall into the ocean, and lose their identity in its waters. Every thing proceeds from and returns to him, as the web of the spider is emitted from, and retracted into itself." These and similar illustrations speak the language of material- ism too plainly to be misunderstood, although it may be possible that the full extent of their signi- fication was not intended; that these comparisons are not to be interpreted too literally; that they purpose no more than to assert the origin of all things from the same first Cause; that the authors of the texts may have been in the same predicament as the author of the " Essay on Man," and inculcated materialism without being aware of it. The distinction however did not escape the notice of the philosophers ; and the schools, which are probably the most ancient, carefully discriminate between spirit and matter, as the two opposite ele- ments by whose temporary association the world is compounded. This is particularly the case with the Sankhya, the doctrines of which school may bs seen in the translation of one of its text-books (the Sankhya Karika), printed in Oxford.^ Matter is by the Sankhyas subtilized, in its undeveloped g Sankhya Karika, translated from the Sanscrit, &c. i vol. 4to. i!^37. Allen and Co. 50 LECTURE II. state, into a principle, the precise character of which is not very intelligible, but to which the vague de- nomination of " Nature" may be applied . They do not however question the reality of substance: the various forms of substance, gross material forms, they trace back through others more subtile, which proceed from one imperceptible, indefinable Prakriti or nature. They maintain that causes and effects are essentially the same, and there is no real difference between a product and that which produces it. Consequently, as all substances are products of nature, nature itself is substantial ; that is, it is matter. Matter and spirit, then, are the two elements of the universe ; both unproduced ; the former productive, the latter not; both eternal and independent ; subject to change of form and condition, but incapable of destruction ; combining, from the influence of a controlling neces- sity, for a given object and a definite term, but per- petually reverting to a primitive, inert, and reci- procal independence. It might be supposed that the Vedanta philosophy, professing to carry out the doctrine of the Vedas, would have been next in order of time to those works ; but this is questionable : and it seems not improbable that the system originated in the pur- pose of exonerating the Vedas from the charge of materialism, by founding upon such texts as have already been quoted the refinement of spiritual Pan- theism, or idealism, and at the same time controvert- ing the doctrine of the Sankhyas and the Nyayikas, which maintained the distinct and independent ex- istence of matter and spirit. The doctrine of the Vedanta is denominated Kar €^^oxr^, Adwaita, non- duality ; and the very title indicates the priority of a dualistic hypothesis. The main proposition LECTURE II. 51 contended for, in opposition to that which affirms two elements of creation, matter and spirit, being the existence of one only element in the universe, which universal element or principle is spirit. But then comes the question, the solution of which has puzzled the philosophers, not of India only, but of the world ; not only of ancient but modern times ; not only Vyasa and Sankara, but Parmenides and Plato ; Mallebranche and Berkeley ; Fichte and Schelling. If all is spirit, wliat is svib- stance ? The early teachers of the Vedanta school asserted it was the Sakti, the perceptible power, the active energy, the manifested instrumentality of the Supreme Spirit ; and therefore, though not sub- stantially, yet essentially one and the same. As this solution was possibly found too subtle to satisfy the understanding, later teachers went a step far- ther, and boldly cut the knot, by maintaining there is no such thing as substance. In the spirit of the Berkeleyan theory, they affirmed that matter exists not independent of perception, and that sub- stances are indebted for their seeming reality to the ideas of the mind. They went still farther, and maintained that until our intellects are purified by abstraction, until we have attained a just apprecia- tion of our own nature, and of that of universal spirit, our ideas are all wrong. Until the day of true knowledge dawn upon us, we are asleep — in a dream ; we misconceive of all we perceive ; we take a rope for a snake ; an oyster-shell for mother- of-pearl ; mirage for real water. All that we see in our unilluminated condition is Maya, deception, illusion. There are no two things in existence; there is but one in ail. There is no secoiid, no E 2 52 LECTURE II. matter ; there is spirit alone. The world is not God, but there is nothing but God in the world. Should it be an object to acquire more precise views of this part of our subject, they are easily at- tainable. The doctrines of the Vedanta philosophy have been recently the topic of controversy, as simi- lar doctrines of idealism or transcendentalism have ever been and will probably ever be. The different schools of Indian philosophy are described by Mr. Colebrooke in several essays, in the Transactions of the Royal Asiatic Society. In speaking of the Vedanta, he indicates the tendency of the illustra- tions which its teachers borrow from the Vedas towards materialism, and asserts the explanation of Maya or illusion, to have been an after- thought. Col. Vans Kennedy, also a distinguished Oriental scholar, had maintained in a work which merits to be consulted on a variety of important points — Re- searches on the Nature and Affinities of ancient and Hindu Mythology^ — that the Hindu philosophers of every school and every period had asserted a spi- ritual principle alone, and never countenanced mate- rialism. He therefore in defence of his theory con- troverted Mr. Colebrooke's account of the Vedanta in an essay on the subject, published in the third volume of the Society's Transactions. Sir Graves Haughton appended to this paper some observations in vindication of Mr. Colebrooke's views, which called forth further comments from Col. Vans Ken- nedy, a reply from sir Graves Haughton, and a re- joinder from the colonel. These latter papers were printed in the London Asiatic Journal ; whether they have settled the point in dispute may be doubted, h Published by Longman and Co. i vol. 4to. 1831. LECTURE IL 53 but they have had the effect of bringing the prin- cipal doctrines of the Vedanta philosophy within the acquirement of European students.* The observations thus made have anticipated in some degree an explanation of the opinions enter- tained by the Hindus in regard to the creation . The theories that attempt to elucidate its course are more definite and congruous than those which would ascertain its cause. All the schools admit two sorts, or rather stages of creation, one rudimental and primary, the other formal and secondary. They all admit the infinity and eternal succession of crea- tions, their periodical dissolution or disintegration, and their periodical regeneration or reorganization. In the season that precedes creation, all agree that there is no perceptible form — all is without shape. According to the Vedanta philosophy there is no substratum even of form, there is no immaterial sub- stance ; the illusion is dissipated, the energy has ceased to act separately ; all real, that is, all spiri- tual existence is concentrated in its supreme source, which is still all that is. All the other schools, theistical or atheistical, are dualistic, and agree in recognising the eternity and indestructibility of the principle or element of the sensible world, the major part of the Indian sages adopting as an axiom the prevailing doctrine of classical antiquity, ex nihilo nihil. Whether creation therefore took place from the will of a Creator, or the spontaneous evolution of its principles, it is preceded by a something ; by nature, say the Sankbyas, by simple uncom- pounded imperishable atoms, say the Nyayiks. When the evolution of the first imperceptible material prin- i Asiatic Journal, October, 1835 5 November, 1835 ; January, 1839. London. Allen and Co. 54 LECTURE II. ciple into perceptible form takes place without the intervention of the Divine will, it proceeds from necessity. Nature is compelled to assume corpo- real form that the ends of Spirit m^ay be fulfilled, namely, that it may be embodied, until by a series of bodily migrations it has no longer need of such a state, it has attained knowledge which is the cause of its liberation, and its connection with matter ceases. '' Soul desists/' says the Sankhya Karika, " because he has seen (or fully understood) nature. Nature ceases (or withdraws) because she has been seen;" that is, fully understood. It is not very in- telligible why the soul, which in its independent state is described as already pure, should be allied with body merely to be purified, and so freed from the alliance. But this is a difficulty for the fol- lowers of the Sankhya to explain. The mode in which the Divine will operates as it is alluded to in the Vedas, is not attempted to be explained. He wills creation to be, and it is. In the systems in which primaeval crude matter is the subject of Divine agency, its development is ascribed to an influence communicated to it by the Divine will, by which it receives motion and life. This appears to have been expressed in language origi- nally metaphorical, but some of the Puranas have understood it literally, and abusing the figure of personification, have described the production of the world as if it was analogous to that of animal birth. The abuse is of very old date, and not confined to the Hindus. The mundane egg^ the form in which, according to Manu, the rudiments of the world are first manifested, was not unknown, as you are well aware, to the ancient cosmogonies of Greece. In whatever mode movement is imparted to the LECTURE II. 55 first inert principle of things, the stages by which it evolves into the actual variety of perceptible forms are much the same in the different systems ; the first product is intelligence ; thence proceeds egotism, or the consciousness of individuality : thence come the senses ; thence the rudiments of the objects of sense or the subtle elements, and from them the gross or perceptible elements ether, air, fire, water, earth are developed, and they are the compound ingre- dients of all visible and tangible form. A more particular detail may be found in the Sankhya Karika and Vishnu Purana. The elements of forms thus developed from pri- mary matter remain unaltered for a day of Brahma; a tolerably long interval, 2,160,000,000 years. At the end of this period, Brahma sleeps. The material forms which then occupy the world, and the lower spheres of the universe, are then consumed by fire ; the fire is extinguished by mighty rains, and the globe becomes a shoreless ocean. The sages, the gods, the elements survive, and when Brahma wakes and finds what mischief his slumbers have generated, he sets to work to repair it. With the materials ready to his hands, he remanufactures the earth and its inhabitants, and this is what is intended by secondary creation. This kind of creation is repeated daily during the 100 years of Brahma's existence ; — a term which cannot be ex- pressed in mortal years by any of our scales of numeration, but which may be written with fifteen figures, or 311,040,000,000,000 years. At the end of this term Brahma himself expires, and with him die all the gods and holy sages, and all forms whatever retrograde successively into their E 4 56 J.ECTURE II. constituent elements, until the whole is finally merged into the single or double rudiment of being, universal spirit, or primary matter and primary spirit, according to the theories of the dualistic or non-dualistic philosophers. After a considerable interval, similar causes produce similar effects ; na- ture and spirit are again in movement, the creation is renewed, and the universe thus eternally fluctu- ates between existence and non-existence, without any motive, without any end, that rational conjecture can guess at. Upon the subject of the extravagant chronology of tlie Hindus it may be remarked, that the enor- mous periods of which it is composed are of a purely mythological character. The attempts that have been made to account for them on astronomical computations have led to no satisfactory results. How far they are analogous to similar extravagan- cies in the chronology of other nations of antiquity is also undetermined ; the subject is only of import- ance as furnishing an additional argument against the authority of those works in which it is seriously affirmed as truth. The philosophical systems take no notice of the creation of man except in the abstract : for the origin of the human race we must have recourse to other authorities, and particularly to the Puranas, in which various accounts of the occurrence are narrated. It is not difficult to detect, through all their embellishments and corruptions, the tradition of the descent of mankind from a single pair, how- ever much they have disguised it by the mis- employment of the figures of allegory and personifi- cation. The embodied creative attribute, the agent LECTURE II. 57 in formal creation, Brahma, is fabled to have divided himself into two creatures — one male, one female ; from their union the first man and first woman were born, who married and begot children, and from them sprang not only mankind but all living crea- tures. This is the general outline of the mode in which it is related that the earth was peopled, and it is probably traceable to the Vedas ; but the heroic poems and the Puranas have remodelled the tale in a variety of shapes, until it presents an incoherent and conflicting series of legends — not always very intelligible, and sometimes not very decent. I must refer for details to the Vishnu Purana. The description of the phenomena of secondary creation includes an account of the disposition of the universe, of the different spheres or worlds, of the situation and size of the planets, and of the divi- sions of the earth. As long as the geography of the Hindus is restricted to India, it is sufficiently accurate ; but as soon as it extends beyond those limits it is wholly fanciful and absurd. The Pu- ranas distribute the earth into seven concentric circles or rings, each forming an annular continent, and being separated from the next in succession by a circumambient ocean. These oceans vary also as to their constituent parts; and besides seas of fresh and salt water, we have them of treacle, honey, milk, and wine. The whole is encompassed by a stupendous mountain belt, beyond which lies the region of darkness ; and in the centre of all, which is also the centre of the continent we inhabit, towers Mount Meru, to the height of 64,000 miles. The astronomy is more moderate, but the mythologic or Pauranik astronomy is as incompatible with the 58 LECTURE II. scientific astronomy of the Hindus as it is with the Copernican system. Much of the astronomy of the Hindus, properly so called, agrees with that of Europe, and advantage has judiciously been taken of the difference between the inventions of their Puranas and the facts of their astronomers to con- vict the former even by native testimony of ab- surdity and error. It is also through geography and astronomy that the first and strongest impres- sions have been made upon the minds of native youth who have received an English education : ac- quaintance with the extent and divisions of the earth, and with the leading phenomena of the heavens, however superficial, is fatal to all faith in the ex- travagances of the Puranas, and affixes discredit to whatever they inculcate. Man being created and provided with a habita- tion, the next question to be considered is the object of his existence. For what is he designed ? Final liberation. What that is understood to be I shall presently endeavour to explain ; but it is necessary first to offer a fev/ w^ords respecting the mode in which it is imagined that the purposes of human life may be best effected. The social institutions of the Hindus appear to have originated with the Vedas, and present, as is well known, the character- istic peculiarity of the distinction of castes. The original scheme contemplates but four — the Brah- man, whose duties were to study and teach the Vedas, and conduct the domestic worship of the next two classes. The Kshatriya was the warrior and prince, w^hose duties were to fight and govern. The Vaisya was the merchant and farmer. Both he and the soldier were enjoined to study, though not LECTURE II. 59 permitted to teach the Vedas. The fourth caste, that of the Sudra, supph'ed artificers, labourers, and servants to the other three. The Sudras were sub- jected to much indignity and injustice, but their condition was never so bad as that of the Helot, the bondsman or the serf; they were free, masters of their own property, and at liberty to settle where they pleased. Intermarriages between all four castes took place, and the only check upon them was the degradation of the children. They were not even Sudras ; they therefore formed new castes, dis- tinguished according to their mixed descent and the occupation which came to be regarded as peculiarly their own. In the present day the only one of the original castes extant is the Brahman : the Kshat- riya, Vaisya, and Sudra are extinct ; and the in- numerable castes which are now met with are in part the representatives of the ancient mixed castes, but in a still greater degree are the progeny of later times, and distinctions unauthorizedly assumed by the people themselves. For it is a great mistake to imagine that caste in India is either a burden or a disgrace. The notion is European, springing like many others out of the belief, that our own customs and feelings furnish an infallible standard by which to measure those of other nations. The fact is, that even with the most abject classes caste is a pri- vilege, not a shame ; and in proportion as the scale of society descends, so are the people more tenacious of their caste. Even the Mohammedans, to whose religion such a distinction is as uncongenial as it is to Christianity, imitate in India their Hindu country- men in this particular, and pique themselves upon their caste. The principle of the distinction is of 60 LECTURE II. course indefensible, and in some parts of India, or under particular circumstances, it is oppressively enforced. In practice, however, where European influence predominates, little more inconvenience results from it than from the distinctions of rank in the countries of Europe. The diligent discharge of the duties assigned to each caste is one of the means by which the members are prepared for the attainment of higher grades of perfection. The period of life, of the three master castes, was divided into four portions or stages. The first, that of the student, was to be devoted to sacred study ; the second, that of the householder, to the duties of active life ; the third, that of the hermit, to solitude and contemplation ; the fourth and last, that of the mendicant, to self-denial and abstraction. This dis- tribution leaves, therefore, but one-fourth of exist- ence for the offices of a householder, the father of a family, the citizen ; and this is one respect in which the tendency of the Hindu system to depreciate active, social, and moral obligations is most mis- chievously manifested. It is not to be imagined that the Hindus are ignorant of the foundations of all morality, or that they do not value truth, justice, integrity, benevolence, charity to all that lives, and even the requital of evil with good. *' The tree," says one of their familiar illustrations, " withholds not its shade from the woodman that is cutting it down." "The sandal-tree," says another, "communicates its fragi^ance to the hatchet that levels it with the ground." These duties are all repeatedly enjoined, and Hindu authorities commend as earnestly as those of any other language, and the people practice, in general, as much as most other people, the duties of LECTURE II. 61 their social condition, filial piety, paternal tender- ness, kindness to inferiors, and obedience to the king. These, however, as well as the duties of caste, and even devotional rites, are held to be only sub- ordinate and preliminary obligations, steps leading towards perfection, but stopping at the threshhold, and to be cast away as soon as the interior of the temple is entered. All the obligations of social life do no more than qualify a man to abandon them : they are of no avail, they are impediments in his way when he undertakes to consummate the end of his being, when he would lose himself entirely in imperturbable meditation upon his own nature, by which alone he can know that he himself is one with the Divine nature, by which alone he can be identi- fied with the universal soul, and emancipated for ever from the necessity of future existence. Now it is true that in the present constitution of Indian society this distribution of the periods of life, beyond that of the student, is never regarded, ex- cept by a few, who prefer a life of lazy mendicity, or by some half-crazed enthusiast, who thinks it possible to realise the letter of the law. The great body of the people, Brahmans included, pursue their worldly avocations as long as their faculties permit, spend the decline of life in the bosom of their fami- lies, and die peaceably and decently at home. But although the practice is discontinued the doctrine remains, and influences opinion ; and devotional ceremonies, pilgrimage, penance, and abstract con- templation, have an undue preponderance in the estimation of the people, even the best informed amongst them, over active duties and the precepts of morality. As to the common people, they have, 62 LECTURE II. as I indicated in my last, a still lower scale, and they find a ready substitute for the inconveniences of all moral restraint in the fervour of that faith which they place in Vishnu, and the unwearied perseve- rance with which they train a parrot or a starling to repeat his names, to articulate Krishna-Radha, or Sita-Ram. What then are the consequences which the Hin- dus propose to themselves from the fulfilment of any description of prescribed duties or acts of merit ? Those who profess devoted attachment to a popular deity expect to be rewarded by elevation to the heaven in which he is supposed to dwell, and to reside there for ever in ecstatic communication or union with him. These notions, however, are inno- vations ; and even the independent establishments, the several heavens of these divinities, are modern contrivances. The heaven of Krishna, Go-loka, the sphere or heaven of cows, has grown out of the legends of his boyhood, whilst straying amongst the pastures of Vruj. There is no such place in the celestial topography of the Vedas, or of the most genuine of the Puranas. According to what appears to be the most ancient and authentic theory of the future state of man, punc- tual performance of religious rites, with due atten- tion to moral conduct, and entire belief in the holi- ness of the Vedas, secured for the soul after death a period of enjoyment proportioned to the quantum of moral and religious merit of the deceased, in the heaven of Indra ; a kind of Elysium. Neglect of prescribed rites and duties, irreverence for the Brah- mans, and disbelief in the Vedas, incurred punish- ment for a given term, proportionate to the crime. LECTURE 11. 63 ill various hells, or regions of Tartarus. At the expiration of a limited period, the soul, which in either of its destinations had continued to he invested with a subtile and ethereal, but material and sensible body, returns to earth, and is born again, in union with some gross and elemental body, according to the former merits or demerits of the individual, as a reptile, a fish, a bird, a beast, a giant, a spirit, a divinity, until, after sundry migra- tions, it ascends or descends to man, to undergo a similar career. Now this, I may remark, is what the Hindus understand by Fate. They do not understand it to depend upon the Divine foreknowledge of what a man will be, or will do, conformably to which he must act and must be ; nor is it, in their opinion, an irresistible impulse given to his career, which he cannot choose but obey. It is the result of conduct in a previous existence, the consequences of which are necessarily suffered in a succeeding life. A man is poor, miserable, diseased, unfortunate, not because it was so predestined, not because it was so ordained from the beginning of time, but because he was ignorant, negligent, profligate, irreligious in a former life, and is now paying the penalty of his follies and his sins. He cannot change his actual condition, but he is so far master of his own fate, that by now leading a life of innocence and piety, he will secure his being born again to a better and a happier lot. The consequences of acts, whether moral or devotional, being thus, in the estimation of all classes of Hindus, temporary and transient, the philo- sophical schools have made it their especial aim 64 ^ ^^ LECTURE II. to determine by what means a career so precarious and uneasy may be cut short. For it is a remark- able circumstance in the history of Hindu opin- ion, that, amidst the many varieties of practice and collisions of belief that have from time to time prevailed in India, it does not seem to have occurred to any individual, learned or unlearned, heterodox or orthodox, to call in question the truth of the Metempsychosis. It is not only the one point onv^hich all are agreed, it is the one point which none have ever disputed. Even the Buddhist, who denies every other essential dogma of the Brahmanical religion, adopts, without demurring, as an article of his creed, the transmigration of the soul. It is, as you know, a doctrine of remote antiquity, and it still reigns despotic, without any sign of decrepitude or decay, over the minds of the nations of the extreme east, over Burman, Chinese, Tartar, Tibetan, and Indian; over perhaps the most numerous portion of the human race ; over at least six or seven hundred millions of mankind. Adopting, then, this unquestioned dogma as the basis of their argument, all the philosophical schools propose for their object the ascertainment of those means by which the wanderings of the soul may be arrested, its transitions through all the painful vicissitudes of corporeal existence be terminated, and its emancipation from bodily imprisonment and degradation be effected for ever. This is what is termed Moksha, or MuMi — Liberation, emancipation. All the systems agree that this devoutly desirable consummation is to be accom- plished only through that knowledge which they profess to teach ; not literature, not science, not^ LECTURE II. 65 morality, not devotion, but true knowledge ; know- ledge, obtained by profound contemplation, of the true nature of the soul, and of the universe ; when the contemplatist can say, with perfect conviction, and with truth, I am Brahma, I am all that is, I am one with God. The absolute state of the soul thus liberated is nowhere clearly defined ; it ceases to transmigrate ; it loses all bodily individuality ; it loses all spiritual individuality, as whether, with the Vedanta, we consider it to be reunited with, or absorbed into, the Supreme Spirit, or whether, with the Sankhyas, we hold it to be commingled with the spiritual element of the universe, individual spirit ceases to exist. Annihilation, then, as regards individuals, is as much the ultimate destiny of the soul as it is of the body, and " Not to be" is the melancholy result of the religion and philosophy of the Hindus. I have thus attempted to place before you some of the principal features of the religious practices and opinions of the Hindus, to which it is fit that your attention should be directed in engaging in any investigation of their nature. To have entered more fully into detail would have occupied too much of your time, and particulars will be easily multiplied by inquiry. With the minor incidents of the popular superstition it is not necessary to encumber the argument farther than they are countenanced by authorities considered sacred. That learned Brah- mans will readily admit the unauthorized intro- duction, and the unprofitable and degrading tendency of much of the popular practice, is not unlikely, as I have before stated ; and their indifference is likely to be the chief obstacle to their acknowledging the F 66 LECTURE II. inefficiency and evil of much even of that which is authorized. They are likely to adhere to their speculative tenets, and particularly to those regard- ing the nature and condition of the soul, with more tenacious obstinacy. Dependence on authority, veneration for antiquity, pride of learning, confi- dence in argument, and disdain of defeat, will com- bine with the inherent difficulties of the controversy to oppose the influence of reason in generating con- viction in the minds of the Pundits. Still there is no occasion to despair. Besides that encourage- ment which a firm trust in the omnipotence of truth inspires, we may derive animation and hope from the history of the past. It will not have escaped your observation, that in all the most important speculations upon the nature of the Supreme Being and man, upon matter and spirit, the Hindus traverse the very same ground that was familiarly trodden by the philosophers of Greece and Rome, and pursue the same ends by the same or similar paths. The result was equally im- potent ; but what it more concerns us to remark is, that all these speculations — all the specious systems of philosophers, at once acute and profound — all the plausible and graceful illustrations of the most pro- lific ingenuity — all the seemingly substantial com- binations of intellectual powers still unsurpassed, were divested of their speciousness, despoiled of their beauty, deprived of all by which they held reason captive, and shewn to be fallacious and false by the Ithuriel spear of Christian truth. The wea- pons, which wielded by the first defenders of that truth discomfited these delusions, are in your hands. LECTURE II. 67 Have they lost their efficacy, or have you not the skill, the courage to employ them ? It is however to be recollected, that agreeably to the invitation of the Bishop of Calcutta, an im- pression upon the minds of learned natives, that is, upon Pundits, Brahnians learned only in Sanscrit learning is only a contingency. The argument is to be addressed in the first instance, to English- reading natives, to natives who have been educated in the language of our country, and in the learning of Europe. There are many such at the chief cities of the British Indian empire. In Calcutta they are in great numbers, perhaps thousands, and they are of various descriptions. The greater number have only such knowledge of English as qualifies them for public employment, and they rarely concern themselves with matters of controversy. Some very good native English scholars continue orthodox, nay even bigoted Hindus. They are generally however men of mature years who studied English in early life, when they were taught little else than words. Some who are familiar with our lan- guage are amongst the leading members of the society instituted by Rammohun Roy, to which I have already alluded ; a much greater number consist of young men whose English education is more recent, and has been conducted on an im- proved and more effective plan, which proposes to give an English tone to their feelings and princi- ples, as well as to communicate parts of speech. Many of these write English, not only with facility but with elegance : they are familiar with our stand- ard authors, are possessed of an extent of general information, which few young men even in England F 2 68 LECTURE II. at the same age surpass, and have learned to think and feel on many important subjects more like natives of the west than of the east. These have almost all become Seceders in different degrees from the religion of their fathers. They have not how- ever yet adopted a better. The last description of English scholars is a branch from that just speci- fied, and consists of a few who have read, reflected, reasoned, and believed. One of them, Kristo Mohan Banerji, a young man of very excellent ability and attainments, by birth a Brahman of the most re- spectable rank, is an ordained minister of the Eng- lish church in Calcutta. It is the advantage of those English scholars who halt yet between two opinions, who have no religion at all, that the work to which competition has been invited, is calculated in the first instance to pro- mote. The feeling with which most of them regard Hinduism is favourable to conviction, and it might be supposed, that as they have already disavowed allegiance to it, they require not to be enlightened as to its errors and evils ; but this would be a mis- take. Their English education has left them no opportunity of native education, and they know almost as little of what they abandon as what they decline to accept. It is not possible to depend upon the durability of impressions, taken up from a wish perhaps to get rid of inconvenient restrictions, or from the vanity of being thought wiser than others, rather than from a rational estimate of the defects of a system grounded upon a knowledge of that system. By placing those defects clearly be- fore them, they will become more aware of their existence and character, and their conviction will be LECTURE II. 69 rational and permanent. They will also be able to defend their conviction, perhaps to communicate it to others. At present truth derives not that benefit even from its professed votaries, which they might easily be in a position to render. The mere native English scholar has no common debateable ground on which to contend with his learned countrymen. The contemptuous answer of the Brahman to his objections is, "You know nothing about the matter — you understand not the language of the Sastras — you are unacquainted with their contents — you are not qualified to impugn them." If his adversary can shew that he is conversant with the system, he will acquire the right of being listened to, and he will possibly not be listened to wholly in vain. When too at the same time that he is supplied with valid reasons for his own departure from the na- tional superstitions, he is furnished with arguments and inducements to seek shelter from his own uneasy undulations of opinion in the harbour of Christian certainty, it may be hoped that he will not only con- tribute to win his countrymen from their errors, by laying bare their enormity, but that he will afford in his own person an example and a guide to the adoption of a pure and holy system of belief. It is recommended that with a view to the trans- lation of the proposed Essay, it should be written in the form of a dialogue. The writers are not to understand by this a mere succession of question and answer, or a keen encounter of wit, or even the more equally maintained discussion of which the works of Cicero and Plato furnish classical models. In the style in which the Puranas for instance, are written, a disciple, or one seeking for information, 70 LECTURE II. puts a leading question which furnishes a text on which his teacher or instructor dilates, or he sug- gests a difficulty or hints an objection, which is thereupon attempted to be solved or answered at length. To those who may undertake the task I have one caution to offer. Let whatever they urge be urged in charity. It is natural to feel impatient of error — it is diffi- cult not to feel indignant with wickedness ; but, in instituting a discussion into the truth or falsehood of a religious creed, with the hope of demonstrat- ing the latter to the assent of those by whom it is professed, we have not in view the expression of our own feelings, but a kindly influence over theirs — we are not contending for victory but for conviction — we seek not to humble or incense our adversaries, but to conciliate their confidence and direct their judgment — we seek to work a salutary change in their principles, and in this we shall most assuredly fail if we commence the operation by disregarding their prejudices and provoking their resentment. The Hindu is not resentful — not unconfiding — not disinclined to discussion — not incapable of appreci- ating kindness — at the same time he is sensitive and timid. Treat him rudely, harshly, intemperately, it is like touching the leaf of the mimosa; he shrinks from all contest — he adopts the course recommended by his authorities to the man in quest of true knowledge — he imitates the tortoise who retracts his limbs be- neath his shell, and is then alike indifferent to the sunshine or the storm. Let the argument, then, be enforced in a spirit of benevolence — let it be a calm and conciliating appeal to the understanding of in- LECTURE II. 71 telligent men, and, although it may fail of producing any immediate or ostensible effect, it will not in all likelihood have been wholly unprofitable. Important changes in the opinions of nations are not the work of a day. Many and repeated and long continued efforts are necessary for their consummation, and many causes of little apparent magnitude, and of no immediately observable agency, cooperate for their accomplishment. It is not the earthquake or the tempest only that rives asunder the mountain barriers of the Himalaya, and opens its steep re- cesses to man and to cultivation. The smallest rill that trickles from the eternal snow contributes to swell the torrents, which, bursting through the rocks, transform declivities into valleys, and preci- pices into paths, and finally descend a stately river to fertilize the plains of Hindustan. '♦ Princeton Theological Semmary-Speer Lit 1 1012 01061 1392 *f^ ., ^^r^ "*i ^r^^ W^'m*-::M %M mt