38 
J. Ph. Vogel— Trilokncith. 
[No. 1, 
Lhasa, but this alone is no reason for styling it Buddhistic. At the 
utmost it might be called lamaistic, and in that case we ought probably 
to look upon it as a part of the aboriginal worship, certainly not as an 
ingredient of the “ thin varnish of Mahayana Buddhism.” 1 For in other 
non-Buddhist tracts of the Himalaya the ceremony of the swinging rop e 
appears to exist. Moorcroft 3 found it practised at Srinagar, the capital 
of Garwal. 
The most plausible explanation I can offer is, that it is a survival 
of human sacrifices, the prevalence of which in former times in Kullu 
and Lahul is indicated by popular tradition. 3 But in this peculiar case 
the victim instead of being actually killed, had to undergo a risk that 
endangered his life. An offering was thus made to the deity who might 
decline or accept the sacrifice according to her divine pleasure. In 1856 
the latter happened, i.e ., the man was killed and since then the practice 
has been prohibited. I am given to understand, however, that the 
ceremony still takes place, but on such a small scale that the man’s life 
is not imperilled. If my hypothesis be true, it offers a curious instance 
of the tenacity of religious customs, which are still preserved after 
having entirely lost their original significance. 
I have digressed on this subject, because during a stay of nearly 
two months in Kullu, I did not meet with any real traces of Buddhism, 
such as topes, images, inscriptions or even popular traditions. There is 
one exception only, which is of special interest for my present subject, 
viz., an image of Avalokita, known as Triloknath, at Kalat on the Bias. 
In three places in the Kullu valley there are hot springs : at 
Manikarn on the Parbati, a tributary of the Bias, at Basisht opposite 
Manali and at Kalat, halfway between this place and Katrain. In each 
of these spots the phenomenon has been connected with popular wor¬ 
ship. Manikarn is the chief tirtlia of Kullu, now a centre of Visnu 
bhakti , though originally as appears from the Mdhatmya belonging to 
Qivaism. Basisht has received its name from the Bsi Vasistha, the Saint 
being worshipped as the guru of Rama, who has a stone gikhara in the 
same place. At Kalat there is a plain village-temple, dedicated to 
Kapila Muni. When Vasistha was carrying the precious water from 
Manikarn to the place, which was destined to bear his name, he 
passed Kapila, who ceasing his tapas for a moment snatched from him a 
few drops and thus gave its origin to the hot spring at Kalat. 
The image of Kapila Muni is made of astadhatu. This circum¬ 
stance deserves notice, because nearly all metal images, which I found 
1 Waddell: Lamaism, p. 30. 
8 Travels, I, p. 17. 
3 Harcourt, l.c., p. 325. Kangra Gazetteer, Part III, p. 17. 
