OR CUTTACK. 319- 



(lit. the holy spirit) in a costume appropriate to the occasion, to represent 

 the principal deities, on the occurrence of the yearly festivals held in ho- 

 nor of each, which are termed the different Bhues, or Phases, of the Tha- 

 kur. Thus at the Ram Navami, the great image assumes the dress and 

 character of Rama ; at the Janam Ashtami, that of Krishen; at the Kali 

 Piija, that of Kali ; when the Narsinha Avatar is celebrated, that of Nar- 

 sinh ; when the Baman Avatar, that of the mighty dwarf. This would 

 seem to evince some symptoms of a belief that in offering up worship to 

 Jagannath, his votaries do not confine their adoration to any particular dei- 

 ty, but adore the whole host of the Hindu heaven, or rather the spirit which 

 animates them, whilst at other Khetrs the divinity of the place alone is wor- 

 shipped. Mr. Paterson's hypothesis refers the worship now under consi- 

 deration to the adoration of the mystical syllable, A, U, M, coalescing 

 into Om, and is certainly the most ingenious and plausible that has been 

 suggested, but goes far beyond the knowledge or comprehension of the 

 most learned or intellectual of the present day. All the explanation which 

 the more intelligent brahmins can or will afford on the subject, is, that they 

 worship at Jagannath, Bhagwan or the supreme spirit itself, and not any 

 subordinate deity ; that the images are shapeless, because the Vedas have 

 declared that the deity has no particular form ; and that they have received 

 their present grotesque and hideous countenances, with the view to terrify 

 men into being good. The same fancy which has invested the Khetu of Ja- 

 gannath with superior sanctity, is the cause, of course, of the unusual virtue 

 ascribed to the Mahaprasad^ or food cooked for the deity,, and consecrat- 

 ed by being placed before the images. The Khetr Mahatmya says, thatMa- 

 ha Lukshmf herself prepares and tastes it. lie who eats it is absolved from 

 the four cardinal sins of the Hindu faith, viz. killing a cow, killing a brahmin, 

 drinking spirits, and committing adultery with the female of a Guru or spi- 

 ritual pastor. So great is its virtue that it cannot be polluted by the touch 

 of the very lowest caste, and the leavings even of a dog are to be carefully 

 taken up and made use of. The most tremendous and inexpiable of all crimes, 

 is to handle and eat theMahaprastid, without a proper feeling of reverence. 



