280 Lieut, -Colonel Tod on the Religious Establishments of Mewar. 



flowers of which are acceptable to the deity ; especially the kiner or 

 oleander, which grows in great luxuriance on the Aravulli. Groves of 

 bamboo and mango were formerly common, according to tradition ; but 

 although it is deemed sacrilege to thin the groves of Bal,* the bamboo has 

 been nearly destroyed : there are, however, still many trees sacred to the 

 god scattered around. It would be diflicult to convey a just idea of a 

 temple so complicated in its detail. It is of the form commonly styled 

 pagoda, and like all the ancient temples of Siva, its sikra, or pinnacle, is 

 pyramidal. The various orders of Hindu sacred architecture are distin- 

 guished by the form of the sikra, which is the portion springing from and 

 surmounting the perpendicular walls of the body of the temple. The sikra 

 of those of SivA is invariably pyramidal, and its sides vary with the base, 

 whether square or oblong. The apex is crowned with an ornamental figure, 

 as a sphynx, an urn, a ball, or a lion, which is called the kullus. When the 

 sikra is but the frustrum of a pyramid, it is often smmounted by a row of 

 lions, as at Bijolli. The fane of Eklinga is of white marble and of ample 

 dimensions. Under an open-vaulted temple supported by columns, and 

 fronting the four-faced divinity, is the brazen bull, Nanda, of the natural 

 size ; it is cast, and of excellent proportions. The figure is perfect, except 

 where the shot or hammer of an infidel invader has penetrated its hollow 

 flank in search of treasure. Within the quadrangle are miniature shrines, 

 containing some of the minor divinities.! The high-priest of Eklinga, like 

 all his order, is doomed to celibacy, and the office is continued by adopted 

 disciples. Of such spiritual descents they calculate sixty-four since the Sage 



* See Appendix to this paper, No. IV. 



f In June 1806 I was present at a meeting between tlie Rana and Sindia at the shrine of 

 Eklinga. The rapacious Mahratta had just forced the passes to the Raiia's capital, which was 

 the commencement of aseries of aggressions involving one of the most tragical events in the history 

 of Mewar — the immolation of the Princess Kisiina and the subsequent ruin of the country. I 

 was then an Attache of the British embassy to the Mahratta prince, wlio carried the ambassador 

 to the meeting to increase his consequence. In March 1818 I again visited the shrine on my 

 way to Udyapur, but under very different circumstances — to announce the deliverance of the 

 family from oppression, and to labour for its prosperity. While standing without the sanctuary 

 looking at the quadriform divinity, and musing on the changes of the intervening twelve years, my 

 meditations were broken by an old Rajput chieftain, >vho, saluting me, invited rae to enter and 

 adore " Baba Adam," Father Adam, as he termed the phallic emblem. I excused myself on 

 account of my boots, which I said I could not remove, and that with them I would not cross the 

 threshold— a reply which pleased him, and preceded me to the Rands court. 



