324 F. S. Growse — The Tirthas of Vrindd-vana and Gokola. [No. 4, 
the throng, gives an occasional hand to the ropes by which the ponderous 
machine is drawn ; and by dint of much exertion, the distance is ordinarily 
accomplished in the space of about two and a half hours. On the other days 
of the mela the god has a wide choice of vehicles, being borne now on a palki, 
a richly gilt tabernacle (j>unya-ko(hi ), a throne (sinhdsan) , or a tree, either the 
kadamb, or the tree of Paradise (kalpavriksha) , now oil some demi-god, as 
the sun or the moon, Gar ura, llanuman, or Sesha ; now again on some ani- 
mal, as a horse, an elephant, a lion, a swan, or the fabulous eight-footed 
Sarabha. The ordinary cost of one of these celebrations is over Rs. 20,000, 
while the annual expenses of the whole establishment amount to no less than 
Rs. 57,000, the largest item in that total being Rs. 30,000 for the religious 
services or hhorj. Every day 500 of the Sri Yaishnava sect are fed at the 
temple, and every morning up to 10 o’clock a dole of ata is given to any 
one who chooses to apply for it. 
If the elfoct of the Seth’s lavish endowment is impaired by the ill- 
judged adoption of a foreign stylo of architecture ; still more is this error 
apparent in the temple of R&dha Raman, completed within the last few years. 
The founder is Sail Kundan Lai of Lucknow, who has built on a design sug- 
gested by the modem secular buildings of that city. The principal entrance 
to the court yard is, in a grandiose way, decidedly effective ; and the temple 
itself is constructed of the most costly materials and fronted with a colon- 
nade of spiral marble pillars, each shaft being of a single piece, which though 
rather too attenuated, is unquestionably elegant. The mechanical execution 
is also good, but all is rendered of no avail by the abominable taste of the 
design. The fa 9 ade with its uncouth pediment, flanked by sprawling mon- 
sters, and its row of life-size female figures in meretricious but at the same 
time most ungraceful attitudes, resembles nothing so much as a disreputable 
London casino ; a severe, though unintended, satire on the character of the 
divinity to whom it is consecrated. Ten lakhs of rupees are said to have 
been wasted on its construction. 
In striking contrast to this tasteless edifice is the temple of Radha 
Indra Kislior, built by Rani Indrajit Kunwar, widow of Het Ram, Brah- 
man, zamindar of Tik6ri by Gaya. It has been six years in building, and 
was completed at the end of 1871. It is a square of seventy feet divided 
into three aisles of five bays each, with a fourth space of equal dimensions for 
the reception of the god. The si/chara is surmounted with a copper halos, or 
finial, heavily gilt, which alone cost Rs. 5000. The piers are composed of 
four conjoined pillars, each shaft being a single piece of stone, brought from 
the Paharpur quarry in Bharatpur territory. The building is raised on a 
high and enriched plinth, and the entire design is singularly light-and grace- 
ful. Its oost has been three lakhs. 
The temple of Radlia GopSl, built by the Maharfija of Gwaliar, under 
