BETWEEN INDIAN AND JEWISH IDEAS AND CUSTOMS 
83 
backwards through the hole, his comrades outside cut off his 
head, if it is possible to do so, lest he should be recognised, 
and his family disgraced. 
The subject of idolatry and images is a very large one. I 
shall say very little about it, but some things which I have 
noted seem worthy of record. Perhaps the best description of 
the making of an idol is that which is given in the 13th 
Chapter of the Book of Wisdom in the Apocrypha. We there 
read as follows : “ When he giveth it the semblance of the 
image of man, or maketh it like some paltry animal, smearing 
it with vermilion (rouge in the margin) and with paint colouring 
it red, and smearing over every stain that is therein, and 
having made for it a chamber worthy of it, he setteth it in a 
wall, making it fast with iron.” While this description is 
correct in all points, especially as regards the shrine or niche, 
which is often far more handsome than the image which is 
placed in it, I am particularly impressed with the mention of 
the colouring. 
In the Jeypore Museum and its corridors we had the greatest 
difficulty in preventing visitors from smearing with vermilion 
any old piece of carving which bore semblance in any way to 
an idol, even if it were a Buddhist or Indo-Scythic king, and 
then from bowing to it in veneration. The desire to adore 
something tangible seems to be inherent in the minds of all 
Hindus of the lower classes. The higher and more learned 
explain that the symbol is nothing without an elaborate 
ceremony of consecration with much ritual, in which the deity 
is respectfully invited to take up his residence temporarily in 
the image, or it may be permanently. Chapter 14 of the same 
Book of Wisdom, describes how, “ when men could not honour 
their princes from afar, they made a visible image of the king 
whom they honoured, that by their zeal they might flatter the 
absent as if present.” In many Indian courts the portrait of 
the chief is so honoured to this day, being placed on a dais, 
not as a mere representation of him, but to be revered by an 
obeisance as if to himself, as if he were present in person. 
The ritual of Hindu worship is extremely elaborate and 
burdensome. 
No fewer than sixteen different upacharas or ceremonies are 
performed at the worship at a temple, morning, noon, and 
night. These are as follows : — 
Avahanam. Respectful invitation of the god to be 
present. 
1. Asanam. Offering a seat and flowers. 
