7

Here things too abominable to enter the ears of man, and impossible to be revealed to a christian public, are contained in the directions of the shastră. The learned bramhun who opened to me these abominations, made several efforts-paused and began again, and then paused again, before he could mention the shocking indecencies prescribed by his own shastrus.

As the object of worship is a living person, she partakes of the offerings, even of the spirituous liquors, and of the flesh, though it should be that of the cow. The refuse is eaten by the persons present, however different their casts; nor must any one refuse to partake of the offerings. The spirituous liquors must be drank by measure; and the company while eating must put food into each other's mouths. The priest then-in the presence of all,-behaves towards this female in a manner which decency forbids to be mentioned; after which the persons present repeat many times the name of some god, performing actions unutterably abominable; and here this most diabolical business closes. The benefits promised to the worshippers are riches,

absorption in Brümhŭ, &c.

At present the persons committing these abominations (vamacharees) are becom ing more and more numerous; and in proportion as they increase, the ceremonies are more and more indecent. They are performed in secret; but that these practices are becoming very frequent among the bramhuns and others is a fact known to all, Those who abide by the rules of the shastras are comparatively few; the generality confine themselves chiefly to those parts that belong to gluttony, drunkenness and whoredom, without acquainting themselves with all the minute rules and incantations of the shastrūs.

SECTION LXXIII.

The Worship of beasts.

The Cow.

BRUMHA created the bramhuns and the cow at the same time: the bramhuns to read the formulas, and the cow to afford milk, (clarified butter) for the burnt offerings. The gods by partaking of the burnt offerings are said to enjoy exquisite pleasure, and men by eating clarified butter destroy their sins, The cow is called the mother of the gods, and is declared by Brůmha to be a proper object of worship.

The shastrů appoints that the images of the gods shall be anointed with milk, curds, clarified butter, cow-dung, and cows' urine, whereby they become free from impurity; and all unclean places are purified with cow-dung. Indeed many bramhuns do not go out of the house in a morning, till the door-way has been rubbed with cow-dung.

The cow was created on the first of Voishakhŭ, and on this day, or on the second of the moon in Jyoisht'hu, she is worshipped annually. No image is used, but the worship is performed in the cow-house before a jar of water. The ceremonies are the same as those before the images of the gods; the prayers are necessarily peculiar to the object worshipped. The officiating bramhun, at the close of the service, reads the whole of the Chundee, a poem relating to the wars of Doorga. On the 13th of Phalgoonů, the milk-men paint the horns and hoofs of their cattle yellow, and bathe them in the river. Persons strict in their religion, worship the cow daily after bathing, they throw flowers at her feet, and feed her with fresh grass, saying, “O Bhugŭvătēē! eat ;" and then walk round her three or seven times, mak ing obeisance.

If you speak among Hindoos of eating the flesh of cows, they immediately raise their hands to their ears: Yet milk-men, car-men, and farmers, beat the cow as unmercifully as a carrier of coals beats his ass in England; and many starve them to death in the cold weather rather than be at the expence of giving them food. Thus is the cow at once a beast of burden and a goddess. Some of the poor think themselves happy if they can support a cow, as by serving this animal they expect reward in a future state. If a man sell his cow, the shastrus threaten him with the torments of hell during as many thousand years as there are hairs on her body. If any one neglect to burn cow-dung, &c. in the cow-house, whereby smoke is raised, and the musquitoes prevented from hurting the cows, he will descend into the hell of mus◄ quitoes and gad-flies. The gift of a cow to a bramhun is an act of great merit.

Some

The dung of the cow is gathered and dried as fuel amongst the Hindoos. cows are of more value for their dung than for their milk, for the Bengal cow gives very little milk indeed, compared with the Europe cow.

SECTION LXXIV.

The monkey.

THE black-faced monkey, Hunooman,† the son of the god Půvůnů, by Ŭnjüna, a female monkey,t is believed to be an incarnation of Shivă.

The Hindoos worship Hinooman on their birth-day to obtain long life, which they suppose this monkey can bestow, as he is immortal. In some temples his image is set up alone, and in others with that of Ramă and Seeta, and worshipped daily. The worship of Ramǎ is always preceded by a few ceremonies in honor of Hunooman.

* In the year 1812, a bramhun was convicted before the magistrate of Serampore, of stealing from a relative, a cow in calf, and offering this goddess for sale to a butcher.

+ Honooman broke his cheek-bone by a fall from the sun's orbit: and his name is derived from honoo, the cheek bone.

There is nothing too filthy for idolatry: here the god of the winds pays his addresses to a monkey, as Jupiter is said to have done to a swan.

Stone images of Hunooman are kept in the houses of some of his disciples, and worshipped daily. The worshipper of this animal is promised every gratification he can desire.

Many Hindoos receive the initiating incantation by which this monkey becomes their guardian deity. The mark which these disciples make on their foreheads is

the same as that made by the followers of Shivů.

About twenty years ago, Eeshwůrů-chůndrů, the raja of Nude ya, spent 100,000 roopees in marrying two monkeys,* when all the parade common at Hindoo marriages was exhibited. In the marriage procession were seen elephants, camels, horses richly caparisoned, palanqueens, lamps, and flambeaus; the male monkey was fastened in a fine palanqueen, having a crown upon his head, with men standing by his side to fan him; then followed singing and dancing girls in carriages, every kind of Hindoo music; a grand display of fireworks, &c. Dancing, music, singing, and every degree of low mirth, were exhibited at the bridegroom's palace for twelve days together. At the time of the marriage ceremony, learned bramhons were employed in reading the formulas from the shastrus!

Amongst men of sense the performance of the ceremonies of worship before the image of this monkey is attended with a degree of disgrace. I have heard of a quarrel between two bramhuns, one of whom was paid by a rich Hindoo to repeat the ceremonies of Hindoo worship before the image of Hunooman daily at his house : amidst the quarrel the other said—Thou refuse of bramhuns! thou gainest a sub-sistence by worshipping a monkey.'

Stories of this god.-When Hunooman first saw the rising sun, thinking it a ripe fruit, he leaped up to the residence of the god of day, and seized his chariot : Indră fearing Honooman would swallow the glorious luminary, with his thunderbolt smote him to the earth, where he lay lifeless. His distracted mother applied to his father

* At this time none of these monkeys were to be seen about NudƐeya; now they are so numerous that they devour almost all the fruit of the orchards, as the inhabitants are afraid of hurting them.

Păvănă, who, enraged at the loss of his son, retired into an inaccessible chasm, and bound up the wind, till both men and gods began to perish. Brůmha, Vishnoo, Shivů, and other gods now petitioned Pávůně, but he refused them the privilege of breathing, unless they would make Hunooman immortal. Brumha then bestowed on Honooman the water of life, and Păvănů restored to men and gods the vital air. -When ten years old, Hinooman was possessed of immense strength. He brought a stone, from a mountain, sixteen or twenty miles in circumference, and threw it into a pool of water where a number of sages were at worship. This raised the water, so that the sages, who had closed their eyes in the act of meditation, began to sink. After a few struggles they regained the land, and again sat down with elosed eyes to their work. Hinooman next took out the stone, and the waters retired; and when the sages put out their hands to take up water for worship they were again disappointed. Opening their eyes, they saw the water had sunk exceedingly; and following it, again closed their eyes, and sat down. Hŭnooman again flung in the stone, and the sages began to sink. He continued to repeat these frolics, till the sages discovering the culprit, took away his strength. The sagacious monkey now began to flatter the sages; brought them fruits, &c. from the forest, and performed with agility every act of menial service. After three years they blessed him, and assured him that when he should see Ramů upon mount Rishyŭmoʊků, he should obtain twice his former strength. On a certain occasion Hunooman was resolved to put the strength of Bheemu to trial, as he was reputed to be so tremendous a giant and lengthening his tail, he threw it across the path. As the Hindoos never stride across a person's body, or even his shadow, Bheemu requested Honooman to take up his tail: but he complained he was grown old and could not. At last Bheemu stooped to lift it out of his way; he tried at the end, and then at the middle, but found, giant as he was, he could not lift up this monkey's tail. Overcome with astonishment, he began to praise Hŭnooman, and at length prevailed on him to promise that he would help the Pandŭvus in their expected war with Dooryodhŭnů.