1882.] The followers of AleJch. 6 



to be. From what I heard from him, I concluded thafc he believed that 

 the Creator of the world was a spiritual Being, omnipresent and omniscient, 

 •without any form, whom he called Mahima and also Alekh Prabhu, and that 

 he alone could communicate with the Alekh Prabhu and get down what he 

 wished. He believed in the existence of the Hindu gods and goddesses, 

 but said that they were under his commands, and that thej were bound to 

 obey whatever he wished them to do.' 



" 7. The followers of the Alekh Swami are divided into three sects: 



" (1) The Kumbhipatias, (2) The Konapatias, and (3) the Asritas. 



" The first two have renounced the world and deem celibacy essential. 

 The males are called ' Babas' and the females * Matas.* The difference 

 between these two sects is that a Kumbhipatia wears the barkof thekumbhi 

 tree, and a Konapatia pieces of rag. They beg from door to door, have no 

 distinction of caste, and take their food only during the day-time at an 

 open place beside a public road. They eat food cooked by people of any 

 caste except the Raja, a Brahman and a washerman, whom they consider 

 as sinful beings in this world, the Raja as he is responsible for the sins 

 committed in his state, the Brahman as he accepts all sorts of gifts from 

 sinful persons, and the washerman as he washes sinful peo]Dle's dirty clothes. 

 They are not accustomed to live at any one place for more than a day, or 

 to beg twice from the same house. They wear long matted hair, and do 

 not bathe. They turn their head towards the sun at the time of rising 

 and setting, and prostrate themselves several times to beg shelter and mercy 

 of the Alekh Swami. The Asritas do not forsake the world, nor do they 

 deem celibacy essential ; they bathe generally early in the morning, and 

 clean their teeth with cowdung ; they do not wear long hair, nor do they 

 use kumbhipat or kanapat like their confreres, but use gerua basan or 

 cloth coloured with geru or red earth like the Brahmacharis of the Hin- 

 dus ; they do not observe any Hindu ceremony or festival, neither do 

 they respect the gods of the Hindus. They perform their marriage cere- 

 mony in a very simple way by the side of a public road or thoroughfare ; 

 the bride puts a garland of flowers round the neck of the bridegroom in 

 token of offering herself to him, and the friends and relatives of both loudly 

 call upon their Alekh Swami to protect the new pair in their career through 

 life. Polygamy is prohibited among the Asritas. For any misconduct an 

 offender is made to do penance by drinking a solution of cowdung. The 

 Asritas consider the other two sects as their gurus or spiritual guides. The 

 Tehsildar of Ungul reports that the new faith of Mahima has wrought a 

 change for the better on the Pans of that killah, who are notorious for their 

 thieving proclivities. Those who have accepted the new faith regard theft 

 with abhorrence. 



" 8. In 1875, Mahima Swami, who was believed to be immortal, died 

 at Joranda in Dhenkanal, and the tungis, together with the gods and 



