A Woman's Journey Round The World, From Vienna To Brazil, Chili, Tahiti, China, Hindostan, Persia, And Asia Minor By Ida Pfeiffer
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Many Of These Buildings Are Covered With
Fine Cement, And Others Are Painted With Miserable Frescoes.
The streets are for the most part both dirty and ugly, and many of
them are so narrow, that there is scarcely room for a palanquin to
pass.
At the corner of almost every house stands the figure of the
god Shiva.
Among the temples in the town, the handsomest is the "Bisvishas:" it
has two towers connected by colonnades, with their summits covered
with golden plates. The temple is surrounded by a wall, but we were
allowed to enter the fore-court, and to go as far as the entrance.
We saw inside several images of Vishnu and Shiva, wreathed with
flowers, and strewn over with grains of rice, wheat, etc. Small
bulls of metal or stone stood in the porch, and living white bulls
(of which I counted eight) wandered about at liberty. The latter
are considered sacred, and are allowed to roam where they please,
and are not prevented from satisfying their hunger with even the
sacrificial flowers and corn.
These sacred animals do not remain in the temples only - they wander
about the streets; and the people turn reverently out of their way,
and frequently give them fodder. They do not, however, allow them
to eat the corn exposed for sale, as was formerly the case. If one
of the sacred animals happen to die, it is either thrown into the
river or burnt. They receive in this respect the same honour as the
Hindoos themselves.
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