"In order to judge of the present state of their religion, it will
be sufficient to describe the figures of a few of their chief
deities.
"Brahma, as the creator of the world, is represented with four human
heads and eight hands; in one hand he holds the scriptures, in the
others, various idols. He is not worshipped in any temple, having
lost this prerogative on account of his ambitious desire to find out
the Supreme Being. However, after repenting of his folly, it was
permitted that the Brahmins might celebrate some festivals in his
honour, called Poutsche.
"Vishnu, as the maintainer of the world, is represented in twenty-
one different forms: - Half fish half man, as tortoise, half lion
half man, Buddha, dwarf, etc. The wife of Vishnu is worshipped as
the goddess of fruitfulness, plenty, and beauty. The cow is
considered sacred to her.
"Shiva is the destroyer, revenger, and the conqueror of Death. He
has, therefore, a double character, beneficent or terrible; he
rewards or punishes. He is generally hideously represented,
entirely surrounded by lightning, with three eyes, the largest of
which is in the forehead; he has also eight arms, in each of which
he holds something.
"Although these three deities are equal, the religion of the Hindoos
is divided into only two sects - the worshippers of Vishnu and those
of Shiva. Brahma has no peculiar sect, since he is denied temples
and pagodas; however, the whole priestly caste - the Brahmins - may be
considered as his worshippers, since they affirm that they proceeded
from his head.
"The worshippers of Vishnu have on their foreheads a red or
yellowish painted sign of the Jani; the Shiva worshippers, the sign
of the Lingam, or an obelisk, triangle, or the sun.
"333,000,000 subordinate deities are recognised. They control the
elements, natural phenomena, the passions, acts, diseases, etc.
They are represented in different forms and having all kinds of
attributes.
"There are also genii, good and evil spirits. The number of the
good exceeds that of the bad by about 3,000,000.
"Other objects are also considered sacred by the Hindoos, as rivers,
especially the Ganges, which is believed to have been formed from
the sweat of Shiva. The water of the Ganges is so highly esteemed,
that a trade is carried on in it for many miles inland.
"Among animals, they chiefly look upon the cow, ox, elephant, ape,
eagle, swan, peacock, and serpent, as sacred; among plants, the
lotus, the banana, and the mango-tree.
"The Brahmins have an especial veneration for a stone, which is,
according to Sonnerat, a fossil ammonite in slate.
"It is in the highest degree remarkable that there is no
representation of the Supreme Being to be found in all Hindostan.
The idea appears too great for them; they consider the whole earth
as his temple, and worship him under all forms.
"The adherents of Shiva bury their dead; the others either burn them
or throw them into the river."
No one can form an accurate idea of India who has not gone beyond
Calcutta. This city has become almost European. The palaces, the
equipages are European; there are societies, balls, concerts,
promenades, almost the same as in Paris or London; and if it was not
for the tawny natives in the streets, and the Hindoo servants in the
houses, a stranger might easily forget that he was in a foreign
country.
It is very different in Benares. The Europeans are isolated there;
foreign customs and manners everywhere surround them, and remind
them that they are tolerated intruders. Benares contains 300,000
inhabitants, of which scarcely 150 are Europeans.
The town is handsome, especially when seen from the river side,
where its defects are not observed. Magnificent rows of steps,
built of colossal stones, lead up to the houses and palaces, and
artistically built gateways. In the best part of the town, they
form a continuous line two miles in length. These steps cost
enormous sums of money, and a large town might have been built with
the stones employed for them.
The handsome part of the town contains a great number of antique
palaces, in the Moorish, Gothic, and Hindoo styles, many of which
are six stories high. The gates are most magnificent, and the
fronts of the palaces and houses are covered with masterly
arabesques and sculptured work; the different stories are richly
ornamented with fine colonnades, verandahs, balconies, and friezes.
The windows alone did not please me; they were low, small, and
seldom regularly arranged. All the houses and palaces have very
broad sloping roofs and terraces. The innumerable temples afford a
proof of the wealth and piety of the inhabitants of this town.
Every Hindoo in good circumstances has a temple in his house, i.e.,
a small tower, which is frequently only twenty feet high.
The Hindoo temples consist properly of a tower thirty or sixty feet
in height, without windows, and having only a small entrance. They
appear, especially at a distance, very striking and handsome, as
they are either artistically sculptured or richly covered with
projecting ornaments, such as pinnacles, small columns, pyramids,
leaves, niches, etc.
Unfortunately, many of these beautiful buildings are in ruins. The
Ganges here and there undermines the foundations, and palaces and
temples sink into the soft earth or fall entirely down. Miserable
little huts are in some places built upon these ruins, and disfigure
the fine appearance of the town, for even the ruins themselves are
still beautiful.
At sunrise, a spectacle is to be seen at the river which has not its
counterpart in the world.
