132 
H I N D O O S T A N,- 
butter, while he meditates in filence on Brahma the lord 
of creatures. 
Among the numerous ceremonies of oblations to fire, 
the facrifice to the nine planets appears deferving of no¬ 
tice. This confifts of nine oblations of clarified butter, 
with the following prayers: 
i. “ The divine Sun approaches with his golden car, 
returning alternately with the fiiades of night, roufing 
mortal and immortal beings, and furveying worlds : May 
this oblation to the l'olar planet be efficacious.” 
а. “ Gods! produce that [Moon] which has no foe, 
which is the fon of the folar orb, and became the offspring 
of fpace for the benefit of this world; produce it for the 
advancement of knowledge, for protection from danger, 
for vafl fupremacy, for empire, and for the fake of Ingra’s 
organs of fenfe. May this oblation to the lunar planet be 
efficacious.” 
3 “ This gem of the iky, whofe head refembles fire, is 
the lord of waters, and replenifhes the feeds of the earth: 
May this oblation to the planet Mars be efficacious. . 
4. “ Be roufed, O fire! and thou, [O Bud’lia!] perfect 
this facrificial rite, and afiociate with us ; let this votary 
and ail the gods fit in this molt excellent aflembly. May 
this oblation to the planet Mercury be efficacious.” 
5. “ O Vrihafpati, fprung from eternal truth, confer on 
us abundantly that various wealth which the molt vene¬ 
rable of beings may revere; which lliines glorioully 
amongft all people, which ferves to defray facrifices, which 
is prelerved by llrength. May this oblation to the pla¬ 
net Jupiter be efficacious.” 
б. “The lord of creatures drank the invigorating ef- 
fence diftilled from food ; he drank milk and the juice 
of the moon-plant. By means of feripture, which is truth 
klelf, this beverage thus quaffed became a prolific eflence, 
the eternal organ of univerfal perception, Indra’s organs 
of fenfe, the milk of immortality, and honey to the manes 
of anceltors. May this oblation to the planet Venus be 
efficacious.” 
7. “ May divine waters be aufpicious to us for accu¬ 
mulation, for gain, and for refrelhing draughts ; may they 
liken to us, that we may be aflociated with good aufpices. 
May this oblation to the planet Saturn be efficacious.” 
Afcending node, c $.—“ O Durva, which doll germinate 
at every knot, [Agroftis linearis, Kcenig.] at every joint, 
multiply us through a hundred, through a thoufand, de- 
feents. May this oblation to the planet of the afcending 
node be efficacious.” 
Defcending node, ££.—“ Be thou produced by dwellers in 
this world to give knowledge to ignorant mortals, and 
wealth to the indigent, or beauty to the ugly. May this 
oblation to the planet of the defcending node be effica¬ 
cious.” 
At the ftated hours of public worfhip, the people re¬ 
fort from all quarters to their temples or pagodas. Like 
the priefts, they begin their devotions by performing their 
ablutions, which is done at the tank, either to be found 
in. front of the building, or, in very great temples, in the 
centre of the firft court. Leaving their flippers, or fan- 
dais, on the border of the tank, they are admitted to a 
periftile or veftibule, oppofite to the building which con¬ 
tains the idols, where they obferve great reverence; and 
wlrilft the Brahmins perform the ceremonies of the Pooja, 
or worfhip, the dancing-women occafionally dance in the 
court, finging the praifes of their gods to the founds of 
various mufical inftruments. 
Pooja, or private worfhip, may likewife be performed 
at home, before the houfehold images. Thofe who are 
to affift at it, begin by bathing themlelves. They like¬ 
wife wafii the room or place deitined for the. ceremony; 
and then fpread it with a new mat, or with a carpet that 
is only ufed for that purpofe. On this they place the 
throne of the idol, which is moft commonly made of wood 
richly carved and gilt, though fometimes of gold or filver. 
The things necelfary for the Pooja are laid upon the mat; 
confuting of a bell of metal 5 a conch-fhell, [Murex tri- 
t-onis Linn.] as a trumpeta cenfer filled with benzoin, 
fugar, and other articles, which are kept conftantly burn¬ 
ing, by being occafionally renewed. Flowers feparately 
and in garlands are fcattered upon the mat. The idol is 
put into a large metal vafe ; and being wafhed, by pouring 
water firft on the head, is wiped clean, drelfed, and placed 
on its throne. Cups, and plates of gold, filver, or other 
metals, are fpread before it, fome filled with rice, others 
with different forts of fruits, with dry fweetmeats, and por¬ 
tions of cow’s milk. The worfliippers repeat certain pray¬ 
ers with great folemnity, and then conclude with hymns . 
or verfes in praife of the god whom the idol reprefents. 
The Brahmin, who performs the ceremony, occafionally 
rings the bell, and blows the fhell. He gives the tiluh, or 
mark on the forehead, to the idol, by dipping his right 
thumb in fome fubftance that has been mixed with water, 
and prepared for that purpofe. If the mark be a perpen¬ 
dicular one, he begins at the top of the nofe, and advances 
upwards. But the colour, the fize, and ffiape, of the ti- 
htk, depend on the tribe and fedt the worfliippers may be 
of; fome tribes being marked with vermilion, others with 
turmeric, and fome with the duft of the white fandal- 
wood, See. A Brahmin generally marks all the perfons 
prefent in the fame manner, which ferves to keep the 
cafts and fedts more ftriclly feparated. The fruit and 
other articles of food which were fpread before the idol, 
are after the ceremony divided amongft the people ; and 
the idol is then carefully wrapped up, and, with the throne 
and other utenfils ufed in the ceremony, kept in a fecure 
place until another Pooja or public worfhip be performed. 
Indeed the ceremony at the temples, after a long ado¬ 
ration and proftration before the idols, appears chiefly 
to confift of collecting donations for their l’upport,—or 
rather for the maintenance of the priefts, and the enrich¬ 
ment of their refpedtive eftablifhments,—and in confirm¬ 
ing a large portion of facrifice, adapted to the number, 
and rank, and liberal difpofition, of the worfliippers; the 
higher orders of whom having firft partaken, the refidue 
is diftributed to the poor. At Jagan-Nath, one of the 
principal temples of refort, as noticed above, it is afferted, 
in the Ayeen Akbery, that at every grand Pooja, or fefti- 
val, the quantity of victuals offered to the idol is luifi- 
cient to feed twenty thoufand perfons. 
One of the principal ceremonies attending the ordinan¬ 
ces of the temples, is that of performing ablutions on 
their idols ; a rite equally ftrift with that of the Brah¬ 
mins in performing ablutions on themfelves. It is faid 
that the priefts of Jagan-Nath waffi their triple god pri¬ 
vately fix times every day, and drefs him up every time 
in frefli clothes and ornaments; after which fifty-fix fu- 
perintending Brahmin priefts adminifter before him, each 
prefenting him with a difti of hallowed food. They ufu- 
ally take only one of the perfons of the triad at a time, for 
performing the public ablution; previoufly proclaiming 
to the fedt who worfliip him, the day and hour in which 
he will vouchfafe to make this public manifeftation of his 
glory. He is then placed on a carriage of enormous di- 
menlions, capable of containing two hundred perfons, and 
drawn to the facred Ganges in proceflion, by the devo¬ 
tees, by means of a cable of great length and ftrength; 
and often, while the cumbrous vehicle is palling along, 
zealous votaries will fling themfelves under the wheels, 
to gain a death that is to enfure a happy immortality.— 
See Pennant’s Hindooftan, vol. ii. p. 136. 
In like manner the gods and goddefi’es who bear rule 
refpedtively in all the Hindoo pagodas, have their poo- 
jahs of ablution, or grand feftivals of public manifefta¬ 
tion, on the facred rivers, where many hundred thoufands 
of their deluded worfliippers attend them, deeming it the 
happieft of omens for future profperity, fliould they get 
near enough to touch only the hem of the outer garment 
of their god ; in which ftruggle many of them frequently ' 
perifli; but without pity or commileration ; for it is fup- 
poled that the party muft have approached the god with¬ 
out the necelfary purification; or otherwife, that, from the 
great 
