1850.] or Chronicles of Tripurd. 545 



worshipper of the lingam, and erected many temples ; on one occa- 

 sion after the bricklayers finished some temples, they admitted they 

 could make them of better materials, the Raja indignant at their not 

 erecting for him the best temples ordered his attendants to put them 

 to death. The Raja lived to a good old age, a great worshipper of the 

 lingam ; he died of small-pox and his wife performed Sati. 



His son Deb Manik succeeded and marched to Chittagong ; on his 

 return he offered a human sacrifice : while worshipping the fourteen 

 gods in the place of cremation, the officiating Brahman induced a 

 man to personate Siva and to direct the Raja to kill his eight cham- 

 pions as a sacrifice, which he did, but soon afterwards finding out that 

 the Brahman had practised a deception he intended to kill him, but 

 the Brahman anticipated him and deprived the Raja of life, giving out 

 that he had been killed by the fourteen gods in consequence of not 

 performing their worship with proper ceremonies. This Brahman 

 carried on an intrigue with the youngest wife of the late king and the 

 two secured the power in their own hands, but it was of short duration, 

 as the people being indignant with the prime minister assassinated him 

 in his palankin, the pseudo Raja and his mother were also killed, and 

 were all buried in one grave. The young Raja who succeeded, finding 

 himself treated as a puppet by the prime minister had him assas- 

 sinated by one of his favorites who intoxicated him with spirits after 

 dinner. Braja Manik the young Raja now made various conquests, 

 the Rajas of Kasya and Silhet did him homage, the former presented 

 five elephants and ten horses as a mark of vassalage, but the Raja 

 being vexed at the insolence of the Kasya prince sent an army of 

 1,200 Haris or Mehtars, to fight against him with Koddlis or spades ; 

 the Raja, feeling that great disgrace was to be inflicted on him, persuaded 

 the Raja of Hirambu to intercede for him, who obtained his pardon 

 and the Mehtars were stopped as they were on their march to Jayntiii. 



deity takes its departure from them. This is probably a remnant of that primitive 

 form of Sabian idolatry by which the planets were worshipped as being the residences 

 of certain deities. But whether we regard the defence set up for Hindu idolatry on 

 the Pantheistic grounds, that God being in all matter every thing is part of him, 

 or that idols are symbolic ladders to lead j;he vulgar from sense to spirit, we see 

 enough to show us that popular idolatry may flourish side by side with a cold 

 system of Deism. 



