11 



" And this, thought I, is the worship of the brahmins of Hin- 

 dostan! and their worship in its sublimest degree! What then shall 

 we think of their private manners, and their moral principles ! 

 For it is equally true of India as of Europe; if you would know 

 the state of the people, look at the state of the temple. 



" The idolatrous processions continue for some days longer; 

 but my spirits are so exhausted by the constant view of these enor- 

 mities, that I mean to hasten away from Jaggernaut sooner than 

 I first intended. As to the number of worshippers assembled 

 here at this time, no accurate calculation can be made: the na- 

 tives themselves, when speaking of the number at particular festi- 

 vals, usually say that a lac of people, (one hundred thousand) 

 would not be missed. I asked a brahmin how many he supposed 

 were present at the most numerous festival he had ever wit- 

 nessed: " How can I tell," said he, " how many grains there are in 

 a handful of sand ?" 



These horrid superstitious rites are not practised in Guzerat; 

 nor are sanguinary sacrifices of any kind offered on the Hindoo 

 altars. Self-immolation by widows too often pollute the flowery 

 banks of the Nerbudda, and female infanticide, to a great extent, 

 was then encouraged among whole tribes in the province. These 

 are now happily prevented by the interference of the British govern- 

 ment. Under the groves of Chandode are many funeral monu- 

 ments in memory of those pilgrims who died on their journey to 

 these sacred shrines, and whose ashes were brought to this sanc- 

 tified spot, and cast into the river: because it forms an essential 

 part of the Hindoo system that each element shall have a portion 

 of the human body at its dissolution. 



