OBJECTS OF KELIGIOUS CEREMONIAL 111 



power of austerities and detachment from the world is a means of 

 attaining superhuman powers or of reaching ecstatic communion with 

 the deity. The profession of the ascetic has always been held in India 

 in the highest esteem and his claim to support at the public charge by 

 gifts and alms universally allowed. It is estimated that more than 

 5,000,000 of "holy men" {sadhus or sannyasis), revered for their 

 spirituality or feared for their superhuman powers, wander about the 

 country, supported entirely by alms. For according to the teaching 

 of the Hindu sacred books, benefit accrues also to the donor who for- 

 wards the holy man on his way by gifts of money or food, or ministers 

 in any way to his personal needs. 



81. Ascetic lying on stones. — Model of terra cotta. Length, 12 

 inches. Delhi, India. (Cat. No. 154863, U.S.N.M.) 



82. Ascetic lying on vases. — Model of terra cotta. Length, 12 

 inches. Delhi, India. (Cat. No. 154868, U.S.N.M.) 



83. Ascetic holding up one hand. — Model of terra cotta. One of 

 the many forms of self-imposed physical mortification (tapaz), 

 adopted by Hindu devotees, in order to gain the favor of the deity, 

 is holding one or both arms aloft till they become immovably fijfed in 

 that position and withered to the bone. Height, 8}i inches. Delhi, 

 India. (Cat. No. 154864, U.S.N.M.) 



84. Ascetic gazing into the sun. — Model of terra cotta. Among the 

 many forms of mortification which Hindu devotees undergo, one is 

 to keep their necks bent back and fixing the gaze on the sun's disk 

 till sight has been extinguished. Height, 7 inches. Delhi, India. 

 (Cat. No. 154865, U.S.N.M.) 



85. Ascetic reclining. — Model of terra cotta. One of the forms of 

 austerities practiced by Hindu ascetics is to assume immovable atti- 

 tudes till their sinews shrink and they can no more use their limbs. 

 Length, S% mches. Delhi, India. (Cat. No. 154867, U.S.N.M.) 



86. Hindu yogi or fakir. — Model of terra cotta. The yogis are 

 professional devotees who undergo various austerities. They wander 

 about or live as hermits or in cloisters near sacred places. They 

 practice magic, sell charms, and tell fortunes. Height, lOK inches. 

 Delhi, India. (Cat. No. 154869, U.S.N.M.) 



87. Ascetic worshipping Siva under various symbols. — Model of 

 terra cotta. Height, 7 inches. Delhi, India. (Cat. No. 154866, 

 U.S.N.M.) 



4. CASTES IN INDIA 



The strict division of the people into various castes is in India a 

 social and religious institution. Caste and all that is implied by the 

 term is the only thing universally recognized in Hinduism. The 

 earliest Sanskrit word for caste is varna, "color," which would indi- 

 cate that the first line of demarcation was that between the white 

 Aryans and the dark-skinned Dravidians. Then came a fixation of 



