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SKETCH OF THE 





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it will be generally observed, that these temples are scarcely ever the 

 presort of numerous votaries, and that they are regarded with compara- 

 tively little veneration by the Hindus. Benares, indeed, furnishes excep- 

 tions, and the temple of Visweswara* is thronged with a never-ceasing 

 crowd of adorers. There is, however, little solemnity or veneration in the 

 hurried manner in which they throw their flowers or fruits before the 

 image;! and there are other temples, the dwellings of other divinities, 

 that rival the abode of Visweswara in popular attraction. 



The adoration of Siva, indeed, has never assumed, in Upper India, a 

 popular form. He appears in his shrines only in an unattractive and 

 rude emblem, the mystic purpose of which is little understood, or regard- 

 ed by the uninitiated and vulgar, and which offers nothing to interest the 

 ' feelings or excite the imagination. No legends are recorded of this deity 



. . . 



of a poetic and pleasing character ; and above all, such legends as are 

 narrated in the Puranas and Tantras, have not been presented to the 



* " The Lord of all," an epithet of Siva, represented as usual by a Linga. It is one of the 

 twelve principal emblems of this description, and has been, for many centuries, the chief object of 

 veneration at Kdsi or Benares. The old temple was partially destroyed by the Mohammedans 

 in the reign of Aurengzeb : the present was built by Ahalya Bai, the Mahratta Princess, and 

 although small and without pretension to magnificence, is remarkable for the minute beauty of its 

 architectural embellishments. 



f A Hindu temple comprises an outer court, usually a quadrangle, sometimes surrounded by 

 a piazza ; and a central edifice constituting the shrine. This, which in Upper India is generally 

 of small dimensions, is divided into two parts, the Sabhd, or vestibule ; and the Garbhagriha, or 

 adytum, in which the Image is placed. The course of worship is the circumambulating of the tem- 

 ple, keeping the right hand to it, as often as the devotee pleases : the worshipper then enters the 

 vestibule, and if a bell is suspended there, as is commonly the case, strikes two or three times upon 

 it. He then advances to the threshhold of the shrine, presents his offering, which the officiating 

 Brahman receives, mutters inaudibly a short prayer, accompanied with prostration, or simply with 

 the act of lifting the hands to the forehead, and departs. There is nothing like a religious service, 

 and the rapid manner in which the whole is performed, the quick succession of worshippers, the 

 gloomy aspect of the shrine, and the scattering about of water, oil, and faded flowers, inspire any 

 thing but feelings of reverence or devotion. 



