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THE NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC MAGAZINE 



ant fancy of the other; but perfection, if 

 it existed, would be somewhere near the 

 mean." 



33- In the Palace at Tanjore the 

 library is particularly rich in Sanscrit 

 manuscripts, some 18,000 being stored 

 there, and 8,000 of them are like these 

 wood-bound volumes, consisting of strips 

 of talipot palm leaves engraved with a 

 sharp metal stylus. It is the unique 

 Sanscrit library of India, collected there 

 in the sixteenth century. 



34. This little Temple of Subramanya 

 in the court of the Great Temple at Tan- 

 jore, was built in the sixteenth century 

 and is regarded as the gem of decorative 

 architecture of Dravidian art. 



35. The Great Temple of Rames- 

 waram at the extreme southern end of 

 India, facing Adam's Bridge, or the 

 chain of islets that connect it with Cey- 

 lon, is fairly one of the wonders of the 

 world. The temple enclosure is 1,000 

 feet square, the gate 100 feet high, and of 

 carved and painted corridors, like this 

 one, which is 670 feet in length, there are 

 altogether in the temple, corridors that 

 make a total of 4,000 feet of such impres- 

 sive splendor. The temple was founded 

 by Rama in the age of fable ; it has an 

 endowed income of quite $200,000 per 

 annum, and is the goal of pilgrims from 

 every part of India. 



36. A Samayasi or itinerant monk — 

 one of the holy men who roam India, 

 begging their way, and who are never 

 sent to the workhouse. 



37. The robbers never go out on a 

 stealing expedition without first getting 

 consent of their god. 



38. Brahman boys studying to be 

 priests in the Temple at Tanjore. The 

 marks on their foreheads are sacred 

 ashes, and indicate that they are wor- 

 shipers of Vishnu. 



39. Penitents and fakirs may be seen 

 fulfilling the most absurd vows at all 

 the sacred places of India. This fanatic 

 is rolling over and over on the road that 

 makes the circuit of the rock at Secund- 

 eramalai, a distance of 3 miles. 



40. The parents of this child are not 

 doing penance for their own sins by 



placing this crushing rock on the body, ■ 

 but are merely trying to move the sym- 

 pathetic to give alms. 



41. Boy with Kavadi or festival deco- 

 ration carried over his head. The Brah- 

 mans surrounding him have the mark of 

 Vishnu painted on their foreheads. 



42. A fakir or Hindu Samayasi lying 

 on a bed of pointed nails. 



43 and 44. The rigid caste system of 

 India, with its four great divisions 

 which have been for many centuries 

 rigidly defined, has always excited the 

 wonder of the white man. 



The Brahmans are said to have sprung 

 from the head of the creator Brahma. 

 Being thus born from his noblest part, 

 they are, by birth, preeminent in dignity 

 and holiness. They are the priests and 

 law-givers of the nation. 



The Kschatryas, or warriors, sprang 

 from the shoulders of Brahma, and fill 

 the kingly and military offices. 



The Vaisyas, or husbandmen, sprang 

 from the body of the god. It is their 

 duty as merchants and traders to care for 

 the wants of the state. 



The Sudras, or servants, sprang from 

 his feet. They are therefore subordinate 

 to all, and must, by mechanical and ser- 

 ■ vile labors, contribute to the happiness 

 of the high born, especially to that of the 

 Brahmans. 



The military caste and mercantile caste 

 have become almost extinct, leaving the 

 Brahmans and Sudras as the two great 

 divisions. These two have again been 

 subdivided into many tribes and castes, 

 so that it is commonly said that there are 

 eighteen chief and one hundred and eight 

 minor castes. 



"The number of castes will not excite 

 wonder, when it is remembered that al- 

 most every employment or profession 

 forms a separate caste. The members of 

 these subdivisions, though belonging to 

 the same great caste, will not intermarry, 

 nor will they eat, drink, or associate with 

 each other. Thus, physicians form a 

 separate caste, the druggists another, the 

 shepherds another, and so on with herds- 

 men, barbers, writers, farmers, carpen- 

 ters, goldsmiths, masons, blacksmiths, 



