232 HINDOO MYTHOLOGY. 



sentation which wc have met with of such an exhibition is 

 that given by Sonnerat. He presents it under the title of 

 " the Festival of Teroton, or the Chariot ;" not as specially- 

 applying to Juggernaut, but as a general picture of the 

 scene exhibited there as well as at Seringham, Chillumbrum, 

 and other celebrated pagodas. 



The suttee, or sacrifice of widows on the funeral-pile of 

 their husbands, is another well-known form of self-immo- 

 lation. The practice does not appear to be exclusively re- 

 lio-ious, being connected with the tenderest of domestic 

 ties, to which the secluded life of Indian females adds pe- 

 culiar force. Their sacred books, however, decidedly attach 

 a pious character to this unnatural sacrifice, and lavish 

 promises of divine blessings on the performance of it. 

 The widow is assured that she shall thus gain an abode in 

 heaven during as many years as there are hairs on the 

 human head, "which are stated at thirty-five millions ; that 

 her husband, also, though sunk in the depths of hell, will 

 be drawn up to the same happy region, and the sins of 

 both entirely wiped away. The deluded female who .acts 

 her part well proceeds gayly to the spot in her finest attire, 

 and decked in her most precious jewels and ornaments. 

 On her arrival she calmly and courteously addresses her 

 surrounding friends, and distributes among them various 

 articles of value. Mandelslo, the traveller, when present 

 only as a spectator, had a bracelet thrown to him by the 

 lady, which he kept ever after as a memorial of the scene. 

 Often, however, when the dreadful moment approaches, she 

 shrinks from the performance of her rash vow, gives way 

 to cries and despair, and even refuses to ascend the pde ; 

 but the relations, considering the honour of their family as 

 implicated, employ every species of urgency and even com- 

 pulsion to induce her to complete the sacrifice. A scene 

 peculiarly distressing occurs at the death of those opulent 

 Hindoos who have carried polygamy to a great extent, 

 when twelve, fifteen, or eighteen wives are known to have 

 perished on the same pile. Ward mentions a case in which 

 the fire was kept burning for three days ; and during that 

 time thirty-seven widows of one Bramin came in parties at 

 different times and threw themselves into the flames. But 

 perhaps the deepest of these tragedies ever acted in India 

 was on occasion of the untimely death of Ajit, one of the 



