292 SKETCH OF THE 



Posdlas, and even when abroad in the world, they acknowledge a sort of 

 obedience to the head of the Posdla of which they were once mem- 

 bers. 



The secular members of the Jaina religion, or Srdvakas, follow the 

 usual practices of the other Hindus, but give alms only to the Yatis, 

 and present offerings and pay homage only to the Tirthankaras ; the 

 present worship, indeed, is almost restricted to the two last of these 

 personages, to Parswanath, as commonly named Parisnath, the twenty- 

 third, and to Verddhamana or MAHvfRA Swami, the twenty-fourth 

 Tirthankara of the present age. The temples of these divinities are, in 

 general, much handsomer buildings than those of the orthodox Hindus : 

 they consist of a square or oblong room, large enough to admit a tolerably 

 numerous assemblage, surrounded by an open portico : on one side is a 

 sort of altar-piece of several stages ; on the centre of the upper tier sits 

 the chief deity of the temple, supported by two other Arhats, whilst 

 the rest, or a portion of them, are ranged upon the inferior tiers : the 

 steeple is also distinguishable from that of other temples, being formed 

 of departments, which are intended, apparently, to represent leaves, and 

 surmounted by a pole resembling a flag staff, terminating in a gilt knob : 

 there are several of these temples in the chief cities along the Ganges, 

 and no fewer than a dozen in Murshedabad, to which the circumstance of 

 the Set family, being of the Jaina persuasion, attracted a number of fellow 

 worshippers. In Calcutta there are four temples, two belonging to each 

 sect. In Behar are the temples of Parisnath and the Pddukas, or feet of 

 Verddhamana, and VAsupujya. Benares possesses several temples, one 

 of which, in the suburb, called Belupura, is honoured as the birth place of 

 Parswanath. The shrine comprises two temples, one belonging to the 

 Swetdmbaras, and one to the Digambaras. A temple of some size and cele- 

 brity occurs at Mainpuri, in the Doab, and most of the towns in that di- 

 rection present Jam spires. The chief temples, however, are to the 



