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 THE LIBRARY 
 
 OF 
 
 THE UNIVERSITY 
 
 OF CALIFORNIA 
 
 LOS ANGELES
 
 K\ 
 
 M. 
 
 ^o
 
 THE 
 
 HINDOOS AS THEY ARE.
 
 THE 
 
 HINDOOS AS THEY ARE 
 
 A DESCRIPTION OF 
 
 THE MANNERS, CUSTOMS, AND INNER LIFE OF HINDOO SOCIETY 
 IN BENGAL. 
 
 BY 
 
 SHIB CHUNDER BOSE. 
 
 SECOND EDITION, REVISED AND ENLARGED. 
 
 OTalciitta: 
 
 THACKER, SPINK AND CO. 
 
 London : W. THACKER & Co. 
 1883.
 
 CALCUTTA : 
 PRINTED BY THACKER. SPINK AND CO. 
 
 All Higlits Reserved.
 
 PREFATORY NOTE. 
 
 
 Babu Shib Chuuder Bose is an enlightened Bengali, of 
 matured conviction and character, who, having received the 
 stirring impulse of Western culture and thought during the 
 early period of Dr. Duff's work in the General Assembly's 
 Institution, has continued fixithful to it through all these long 
 and changeful years. His extended and varied experience, his 
 careful habit of observation and contrast, his large store of 
 general reading and information, and his rare sobriety and 
 earnestness of judgment, eminently qualify him for lifting the 
 veil from the inner domestic life of his countrymen, and giving 
 such an account of their social and religious observances as 
 may prove intelligible and instriictive to general English 
 readers. In the sketches which he has now produced we are 
 presented with the first-fruits of " the harvest of a quiet eye " 
 that has long meditatively watched the strange ongoings of 
 this ancient society, and penetrated with living insight into the 
 springs and tendencies of its startling changes. 
 
 Although I had no special claim to any right of judgment 
 upon the present phases of Hindoo life, the ■«Titer took me 
 early into his confidence, and from the apparent quality and 
 sincerity of his work I had no hesitation in encouraging him 
 to persevere, recommending him, however, to leave historical 
 speculation to others and to confine himself to a faithful deli- 
 neation of facts within his own experience. While his manu- 
 scripts were passing through my hands, I took pains to verify 
 his descriptions by frequent reference to younger educated 
 natives, who, in all cases, confirmed the accuracy and reliability 
 of the details. The book will stand on its own merits with 
 English readers, whose happily increasing interest in the forms 
 
 i nr^n'?.'?M
 
 IV PREFATORY NOTE. 
 
 and movements of Hindoo life at this transitional period, when 
 the picturesque institutions and habits of thousands of years 
 are visibly and irrevocably passing away, should gladly welcome 
 its fi'esh and opportune representations. And all who, viewing 
 without regret the decay of the old order and animated by the 
 faith of nobler possibilities than it has ever achieved, are 
 actually engaged in the great work of religious regeneration 
 and social reform in India, should find much in these truthful 
 but saddening sketches to intensify their sympathies and give 
 definite direction and guidance to their best efforts. 
 
 W. HASTIE. . 
 The General Assembly's Institution, 
 23rc/ March, 18«1. 
 
 Second Edition. 
 
 My worthy friend, whose high character and sound judg- 
 ment always impress me more deeply, insists on retaining my 
 introductory word of recommendation in his Second Edition, 
 although his excellent work now stands secure on its own 
 universally recognized merits. I heartily congratulate him on 
 his well-desei-ved success, and especially on the practical sym- 
 pathy which he has so largely awakened in earnest circles. 
 The veiy favourable recognition which he has received from 
 the most competent judges and critics is not more generous 
 than just, and it stamps his production as of solid and endur- 
 ing value. His Second Edition appears most opportunely 
 when Englishmen, interested more than ever in India, are 
 eagei'ly seeking the means of estimating aright the intellectual 
 and moral characteristics of his countrymen, and amid the 
 many extreme, interested, and passionate outcries of the par- 
 tisans of the hour, they will find no source of information 
 to which they may more safely turn for guidance than these 
 candid, conscientious, and careful sketches. 
 
 oth November, 18^3. W. H.
 
 PREFACE TO THE SECOND EDITION. 
 
 ♦ 
 
 That a second edition of my woi'k — " The Hindoos as they 
 are " — has been called for within so short a time as two years, 
 has afforded me, I need hardly say, the greatest possible 
 encouragement. In presenting this edition to the generous 
 public, I beg to say that it has undergone a thorough revision, 
 and a chapter has been added on " Married life in Bengal." 
 For the convenience of foreign readers, it has been thought 
 necessary to append a glossary of the vernacular terms inters- 
 persed in the text, which I hope will be found useful for the 
 purpose intended. 
 
 In conclusion, I have to offer my most grateful thanks for 
 the very liberal support extended to it by 
 
 The Rt. Hon. the Secy, of State for India in Council. 
 
 H. E. the Viceroy and Governor-General of India. 
 
 H. E. the Governor of Bombay. 
 
 H. E. the Governor of Madras. 
 
 H. H. the Lieutenant-Governor of Bengal. 
 
 H. H. the Lieutenant-Governor of N. W. Provinces. 
 
 H. H. the Lieutenant-Governor of the Puiijal). 
 
 The Hon. Sir Steuart Bayley, K.C.S.L 
 
 The Chief Commissioner of the Central Provinces. 
 
 The Chief Commissioner of Assam. 
 
 The Chief Commissioner of British Burmah. 
 
 H. H. the Nizam's Government. 
 
 H. H. the Gaekwar of Baroda. 
 
 H. H. the Maharajah of Mysore. 
 
 H. H. the Maharajah of Burdwan.
 
 VI PREFACE TO THE SECOND EDITION. 
 
 H. H. the Maharajah of Travancore. 
 
 H. H. the Maharajah of Vizianagram. 
 And several other distinguished Native Chiefs, &c. 
 In London and Edinburgh, the cordial reception the work 
 has met with, and the very favorable opinions passed on it by 
 the Press — brief extracts from which will be found at the end 
 of the volume — have far exceeded my most sanguine expect- 
 ations. Such encouragement, I need hardly add, furnishes a 
 strong stimulus to the further prosecution of my humble 
 literary labors, undertaken under a deep sense of the respon- 
 sibility attached to a trustworthy description of the present 
 manners and customs of my countrymen, and wit h a hope of 
 facilitating, if possible, the work of philanthropists to ameli- 
 orate their social condition and raise them in the scale of 
 civilization.
 
 CONTENTS, 
 
 Page. 
 
 Introduction ix 
 
 I. The Hindoo Household 1 
 
 II. The Birth op a Hindoo - - - - ... 22 
 
 III. The Hindoo School-boy 30 
 
 IV. Vows OF Hindoo Girls 35 
 
 V. Marriage Ceremonies 41 
 
 VI. The Brother Festival 87 
 
 VII. The Son-in-law Festival - - - - ... 89 
 
 VIII. The Durga-pujah Festival ---... 92 
 
 IX. The Kali-pujah Festival - - - - ... 133 
 
 X. The Cake Festival 149 
 
 XI. The Saraswati-pujah 153 
 
 XII. The Holi Festival 156 
 
 XIII. Caste 162 
 
 XIV. A Brahman 183 
 
 XV. The Bengalee Babu 195 
 
 XVI. The Kobiraj, or Native Physician 213 
 
 XVII. Hindoo Females 220 
 
 XVIII. Polygamy 233 
 
 XIX. Hindoo Widows 2i2 
 
 XX, Sickness, Death, and Shraddha, or Funeral 
 
 Ceremonies 252 
 
 XXI. Sati, or the Immolation of Hindoo Widows ... 279 
 XXII. Married Life in Bengal - - - - ... 288 
 
 XXIII. The Story op Sabitri Brata, or the Wonderful 
 
 Triumph of Conjugal Love - - - ... 293 
 
 Appendix 305 
 
 Glossary 319
 
 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 In presenting the following volume to the Pul)lic, 
 I am conscious of the very great disadvantage I labor 
 under in attempting to communicate my thoughts 
 through the medium of a language differing from my 
 mother-toncrue both in the forms of construction and 
 in the methods of expression. My appeal to the indul- 
 gence of the public is based on the ground of my woik 
 being true to its name. It professes to be a simple, 
 but faithful, delineation of the present state of Hindoo 
 society in Bengal, and especially in Calcutta, the 
 Athens of Hindoosthan. I cannot promise any thing 
 thrilling or sensational. My principal object is to 
 give as much information as possible regarding the 
 moral, intellectual, social, and domestic economy of my 
 countrymen and countrywomen. The interest attach- 
 ing to the information and facts furnished will greatly 
 depend on the spirit in which they may be received. 
 To such of my readers as feel a genuine interest in 
 a true picture of the present state of society in this 
 country, passing from almost impenetrable darkness 
 into marvellous light, through the general and rapid 
 diffusion of western knowledge, I do not think the 
 details I have given will appear dull or dry. Not a 
 few of the f:icts stated will, I fear, prove painfully in- 
 teresting to those who were not cognizant of the many
 
 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 ingrained evils still lurking in our social system. But 
 if we look carefully, we shall doubtless discover that all 
 is not darkness and clouds, " it has its crimson dawns, 
 its rosy sunsets." The multitudinous phases of Hindoo 
 life, though sadly repulsive in many respects, have 
 nevertheless some redeeming features, revealing radiant 
 glimpses of simple and innocent joys. In discussing 
 the various social questions in their purely secular 
 aspects and relationships, it may be I have treated some 
 of them inadequately atid superficially, but in so doing, 
 I claim the merit of a humble endeavour after perfect 
 honesty. I have in no wise exaggerated, but have 
 simply followed the golden maxim — " nothing extenuate 
 nor set down aught in malice." 
 
 The men of the land, and not the land of the men, 
 form the subject-matter of my work. My attention 
 has long been directed to the domestic, social, moral, 
 intellectual, and religious condition of the Hindoos. 
 The deep researches of European savants have, from 
 time to time, thrown a flood of light on the learning 
 and antiquities of India. We have every reason to 
 admire the great truthfulness and accuracy of many 
 of their observations. As foreigners, however, they 
 were naturally constrained to pay but a subordinate 
 attention to the peculiar domestic and social economy 
 of the Natives. The idea of attempting a sketch of 
 the inner life and habits of the Hindoos in this age, 
 was originall3'^ suggested to the writer by the Revd. Drs. 
 Duflf and Chailes — two Christian philanthropists, whose 
 names are giatefuUy enshrined in the memory of the 
 Hindoos of Bengal, the field of their educational and 
 religious achievements. It was cordially approved by 
 that high-minded statesman, Sir Chailes Theophilus,
 
 INTRODUCTION. XI 
 
 afterwards Lord Metcalfe, who practically taught the 
 Indian Public, what a writer in the " Nineteenth Cen- 
 tury " so aptly calls the great Trinity of Liberty, — 
 freedom of speech, freedom of trade, and freedom of 
 religion. 
 
 To supply this desideratum, and not merely to gratify 
 natural curiosity to know the inner life of the Hindoos, 
 but to do something in the line of social amelioration by 
 " brinsfinor the stao-nant waters of Eastern life into con- 
 tact with the quickening stream of European progress," 
 has been the chief aim of the following pages. Should 
 a liberal Public, here as well as in Europe and America, 
 vouchsafe its countenance to this my first literary enter- 
 prise, I purpose to continue my humble labour in the 
 same sphere, extending my observation to a picture of 
 the social life of Upper, Western, and Southern India. 
 The vastness of the subject is one great difficulty. But 
 it will open to all civilized and philanthrophic nations 
 a wide and yet unexplored, field for the exercise of their 
 thoughts and sympathies. 
 
 To Europeans, and more especially to Englishmen, 
 who have, for more than a centuiy and a half, been, un- 
 der Providence, the great and beneficent arbiters of the 
 destiny of this vast empire, a correct knowledge of the 
 domestic and social institutions of the Hindoos is of 
 vital importance, being absolutely indispensable to right 
 understanding of the wants, wishes, feelings and senti- 
 ments, condition and progress of the subject race. Many 
 erroneous ideas concerning the singular customs of the. 
 ])eople of India still prevail in Europe and America. 
 They are partly due to defective observation, and partly 
 to the prejudices of men whose minds are too pre-occu- 
 pied to properly understand and appreciate the peculiar
 
 XU INTRODUCTION. 
 
 phases of character, manners, and usages of any other 
 nation than their own. Such men are unfortunately- 
 led to associate the Natives " with ways that are dark 
 and tricks that are vain." To remove the mass of mis- 
 conception yet prevailing in some quarters by placing 
 before the general reader a true and comprehensive 
 knowledge of the daily life of a people, who occupy 
 such a large part of the earth's surface, and whose num- 
 bers are counted by hundreds of millions, is indeed an 
 important step towards the solution of a great social 
 problem, and towards the removal of the gulf that 
 divides the sous of the soil from the English rulers of 
 the country. The tendency of close and constant inter- 
 course is to promote an identity of interests between the 
 two races. As a Native, the author may be allowed to 
 have had the facilities requisite for acquiring a clear 
 idea of the mannei's and customs of his countrymen, 
 which may counterbalance in some degree the difficul- 
 ties naturally experienced by him on the score of 
 language. 
 
 The Rev. W. Hastie, B. D., Principal of the General 
 Assembly's Institution, and Mr. J. B. Knight, CLE., 
 have laid me under great and lasting obligations by 
 their kind susfcjestions and encournofement. I have 
 particularly to thank the former for the prefator}'- note 
 which he has written in response to my special request. 
 
 SHIB CHUNDER BOSE.
 
 THE HINDOO HOUSEHOLD. 
 
 IT is my intention in the following pages to endeavour to 
 convey to the mind of the European reader some distinct 
 idea of the present manners and customs, usages and institu- 
 tions of my Hindoo countrymen, illustrative of their peculiar 
 domestic and social habits and the inner life of our society, 
 the details of which can never be sufficiently accessible to 
 Europeans. " It is in the domestic circle that manners are 
 best seen, where restraint is thrown aside, and no external 
 authority controls the freedom of expression." 
 
 I shall begin with a general account of the normal Hin- 
 doo household, as the living centre of the various elements of 
 our society. But as it is impossible to describe all the varie- 
 ties of social condition in a single sketch, I shall describe only 
 the domestic arrangements of a family of one of the higher 
 castes, enjoying a convenient share of worldly prosperity. 
 Only the principal elements in the group can now be alluded 
 to ; some of them will be described with greater detail in 
 separate sketches. 
 
 The family domicile of a Hindoo is, to all intents and pur- 
 poses, a regular sanctum, not easily accessible to the outside 
 world. Its peculiar construction, its tortuous passages, its 
 small compartments and special apportionment, obviously 
 indicate the prevalence of a taste "cabined, cribbed, confined," 
 precluding, as they do, free ventilation and free intercourse. 
 The annals of history have long since established the fact that
 
 2 THE HIXDOO HOUSEHOLD. 
 
 the close confinement system, which exists in Bengal, was 
 mainly owing to the oppressions of the Moslem conquerors, 
 and more recently to the inroads of the Pindaree marauders, 
 commonly termed Bca-gis, the tales of whose depredations are 
 still listened to with gaping mouth and terrified interest. 
 
 The gradual consolidation of the British power having estab- 
 lished on a firm basis the security of life and property, the 
 people are beginning to avail themselves of an improved mode 
 of habitation, affording better accommodation and a wider 
 range of the comforts and conveniences of life. From time 
 out of mind there has existed in the country a sort of domestic 
 and social economy, bearing a close resemblance to the old 
 patriarchal system, recognising the principle of a common 
 father or head of a family, who exercises parental control over 
 all. The system of a joint Hindoo family* partaking of the 
 same food, living under the same roof from generation to gener- 
 ation, breathing the same atmosphere, and worshipping the 
 same god, is decidedly a traditional inheritance which the ■ 
 peculiar structure of Hindoo society has long reared and fos- 
 tered. This side of the subject will be enlarged upon in its 
 proper place. 
 
 A few words about the respective position and duties of 
 the principal members of a Hindoo household will here be in 
 order. I shall, therefore, begin with the Kartd, or male head, 
 who, as the term imports, exercises supreme control over the 
 whole family, so that no domestic affair of any importance 
 
 * The late Dr. Jackson, wlio was the family physician of the great 
 Native millionaire — Babu Ashutash Day — seeing- the very large 
 number of men and women who resided in his family dwelling-house, 
 remarked that the mansion was a small colony. A similar remark 
 was made by Dr. Duff when he happened to see the numerous mem- 
 bers of the Datta family in Nimtala, west of the Free Church Insti- 
 tution. If all the children and adults, male and female, of the 
 family, were now counted, the actual number would, if I am not mis- 
 taken, come up to near 500 persons, perhaps more.
 
 THE HINDOO HOUSEHOLD. 3 
 
 may be undertaken without his consent or knowledge. The 
 financial expenditure, almost entirely regulated by his superior 
 judgment, seldom or never exceeds the available means at his 
 disposal. The honor, dignity, and reputation of the family 
 wholly depend on his prudence and wisdom, weighted by age 
 and matured by experience. His own individual happiness is 
 identified with that of the other members of the household. 
 There is a proverb among the Natives, teaching that the 
 counsel of the aged should be accepted for all the practical 
 purposes of life (except in a few unhappy instances to be 
 noticed hereafter ) ; and the rule exerts a healthy influence 
 on the domestic circle. As the supreme head, he has not 
 only to look after the secular wants of the family but likewise 
 to watch the spiritual needs of all the members, checking 
 irregularities by the sound discipline of earnest admonition. 
 As one of the usual consequences of a patriarchal system, a 
 respectable Hindoo is often obliged to support a number of 
 hangers-on, more or less related to him by kinship. A brother, 
 an uncle, a nephew, a brother-in-law, etc., with their families, 
 are not unfrequently placed in this dependent position, not- 
 withstanding the trite apothegm, — which says, " it is better 
 to be dependent on another for food than to live in his hozise." 
 This saying is to be supplemented by another, which runs 
 thus : " Lakshmi, the goddess of prosperity, always commands 
 a numerous train." The proper significance of these phrases 
 is but too Avell understood by those who have been unfortunate 
 enough to come under their practical exemplification. 
 
 Next in point of importance in the domestic circle is his 
 wife, the Ginni, or the female head, whose position is a res- 
 ponsible one, and whose duties are alike manifold and arduous. 
 She has to look after the victualling department, report to her 
 husband or sons the exact state of the stores,* order what is 
 
 * Natives are always provident enough to lay in a month's supply 
 of those articles which are not of a iiefishable nature, lu the Upper
 
 4 THE HINDOO HOUSEHOLD. 
 
 wanted, accouut for the extra consumptiou of victuals, adopt 
 the necessary precautions against being robbed, see that every 
 one is duly fed, and that hospitality is extended to the poor 
 and helpless, watch that the rules of purity are practically 
 observed in every department of the household, and make daily 
 an-angements as to the meals for the day. The practice of 
 domestic economy engages her whole attention from the moment 
 she undertakes her varied duties in the inner department of 
 a household, the proper management of which is to her a 
 congenial occupation, becoming her sex, her position, her habi- 
 tudes, her tastes. Independent of these domestic duties, which 
 are enough to absorb her mind, she has other duties to dis- 
 charge, which shall be indicated hereafter. 
 
 The other members in the body of the household are the 
 daughters and daughters-in-law, whose relative positions and 
 duties demand a separate notice. Looking at their close rela- 
 tionship it is reasonable to conclude that they should bear the 
 kindliest feelings to each other, and evince a tender regard for 
 each otlier's happiness, returning love for love, and sympathy for 
 sympathy. But unhappily, here, as elsewhere, the opposition of 
 incompatible temperaments embitters some of the sweetest enjoy- 
 ments of life. In the majority of cases, a nanad, the sistei- of the 
 husband, though allied to another family, is nevertheless soli- 
 citous to minister to the domestic felicity of her hhaja, or the 
 wife of her brother, but unhappily her intent is often miscon- 
 strued, and the sincerity of her motive questioned. Instead 
 of an unclouded cordiality subsisting between them, the gener- 
 ous affection of the one is but ill-requited by the other. Hence, 
 an unaccountable coldness commonly springs up between them, 
 which materially subtracts from the growth of domestic felicity. 
 
 aud Central Provinces, they generally provide <i twelve-montlis' 
 requirements at the harvest season, when prices are moderate. They 
 are thus enabled to husband their resources in the most economical 
 manner possible.
 
 THE HINDOO HOUSEHOLD. O 
 
 Shame on us that a vast amount of ignorance and prejudice 
 yet renders us incapable of appreciating the highest end of tlie 
 social state. 
 
 When the female members of a household receive a visit 
 from their neighbours and friends (such visits being few and far 
 between), their first inquir}^ is generally as to the amount of 
 ornaments possessed, their workmanship, their value. Few 
 things please them better than a conversation on this subject, 
 which, from the absence of mental cidture, almost wholly 
 monopolizes their mind. If not thus spent, the time is usually 
 frittered away in sundry petty frivolous enquiries of a purely 
 domestic character. On matters of the most vital importance 
 their notions are absurd and childish.* Except in isolated 
 
 * The following' scene will clearly illustrate the point. At an 
 assembly of females on a festive occasion, the conversation turned, 
 among other current topics of the day, on the religion of the Saheh 
 hxptcs (Europeans). Impelled by a sense of justice no less than by 
 the convictions of conscience, I expressed my admiration of the dis- 
 interested exertions of the Christian Missionaries in endeavouring to 
 spread among our benighted countrymen the benefits of a good 
 education as well as the blessings of a good religion. Fearlessly 
 encountering all the dangers of the deep, renouncing all the pleasures 
 of the world, and submitting to persecution, suffering, and reproach, 
 they not only come among us, but travel through the most uncon- 
 genial climes, in order " to preach Christ." The remarkable disinter- 
 estedness and self-denial of some of these Missionaries is a bright 
 reality, to appreciate which is to appreciate Christianity. Before the 
 propagation of the religion of Christ, said I, the most admired form 
 of goodness was centred in patriotism or the love of one's own 
 country, but Jesus brought with him a new era of philanthropy, the 
 main pervading principle of which is a spirit of martyrdom in the 
 cause of mankind. Can we find traces of such Catholicism in our 
 Hindoo Shastra ? The universal fatherhood of God and brotherhood 
 of man is practically enunciated only in the religion of Christ. The 
 women were nearly all struck with the sublime, yet humble and dis- 
 interested virtues of the religion of the Sdheb loqves. But a pert 
 youug female, quite unschooled by experience and too much wedded 
 to wordly attractions, rather thoughtlessly replied, " Education is a
 
 6 THE HIN'DOO HOCSEHOLD. 
 
 instances, theii' bearing towards each other is marked by 
 suavity and kindhness of manners, which has a tendency to 
 draw closer the bond of union between them all. 
 
 It is on such occasions that the amiable loveliness of human 
 nature is displayed, — brightening, for a time at least, the other- 
 Avise dark region of a Hindoo zenana, and cheering the hearts 
 of its inmates. In a thickly populated city like Calcutta, with 
 its broad roads densely crowded at all hours of the day, no 
 married female is pennitted without a closed conveyance, 
 either a palki or a can'iage, to leave the house even for a 
 single moment, to go to that of her sister, perhaps some three 
 doors from her own. So gi'eat is the privacy and punctilious- 
 ness with which female honor is guarded in the East. The 
 sanction of the male or female head must, as a standing rule 
 of female etiquette, be obtained before any one is at liberty to 
 go out even to return a friendly or ceremonious visit. The 
 reader may form an idea as to the tenacity with which the 
 close zenana system is enforced in a respectable family, from 
 the circumstance of a young Bau, or daughter-in-law (the 
 rules are not so strict in the case of a daughter) being set 
 dowTi as immodest and unmannerly, if she were accidentally 
 seen to tread the outer or male compartment of the house. 
 If she but chance to articulate a word or a phrase so as to 
 reach the ear of a male outside, she is severely censured, and 
 
 good thing in its own way, so far as it affords a means of earning 
 money ; but why do the Fdilris (Missionaries) strive to convert our 
 Hindoo boys, and thereby compel them to forsake their parents to 
 whom they owe their beings ? What advantage do they gain by snob 
 conversions? Tliis is not good. The Brahmo religion does not 
 demand any such sacrifice. Why do the heads of the Pddris ache for 
 this purpose ? They ought to give all their money to us. poor women, 
 that we may buy ornaments with it." Such is the low, grovelling 
 idea they generally have of Christianity. It is useless to argue with 
 them, simply because their minds are completely saturated with deep- 
 rooted prejudice, and narrow, debased, selfish views.
 
 THE UINDOO IIOUSEIIOLn. 7 
 
 steps ai'e instantly taken to teach her bettor manners f(jr tlie 
 future. Even the Ginm, or female head, does not escape 
 censure for a like offence. With such scrupulous pertinacity 
 is the privacy of the inner life of Hindoo society preserved. 
 A line of social demarcation is drawn around the zenana which 
 a well-bred Hindoo female is taught never to overstep, either 
 in her conversation or bearing. "Woe be to the day when she 
 is incautiously led to move beyond her sphere, which, for all 
 the practical purposes of life, is closely hemmed in by a circle 
 of miserable seclusion, illustrating the scornful lines of the 
 poet: 
 
 " Let Eastern tyrants from the light of heaven seclude their bosom 
 slaves." 
 
 A few advanced Hindoos, more especially the Brahmos, who 
 have received the benefits of an enlightened education, are 
 making strenuous efforts to ameliorate the degraded condition 
 of their wives and sisters (the mothers being too old and 
 conservative to acquiesce in the spirit of modern innovation) 
 and to bring them to the fi'ont, if possible, by ignoring the 
 rules of orthodoxy. But it is the firm belief of men of expe- 
 rience and observation, that the time is yet far distant wlien 
 this bold, sweeping, social revolution will be brought about 
 with the general consensus of the people at large. The moral 
 tone of Native society must be immensely raised, its manners 
 and customs entirely remodelled, and its traditional institu- 
 tions and prescriptive usages thoroughly purified, before the 
 consummation of so desirable an end can be successfully 
 effected. 
 
 A Hindoo girl, even after marriage, enjoys greater liberty 
 and is treated with more indulgence at her father's house than 
 at her father-in-law's. The cause of this is obvious. F^rom 
 the very period of her birth, she is cherished by her mother, 
 aunts, and sisters, no less than by her father, uncles, and 
 brothers, — all of whom naturally continue to bear to her the 
 tjame love and affection throughout her after-life. A mother
 
 S THE HINDOO HOUSEHOLD. 
 
 hugs her more tenderly, caresses her more fondly, hangs about 
 her more affectionately, feels greater sympathy in her joy and 
 sorrow, and watches more carefully how she grows up in health 
 than any mother-in-law can do. Whether she is eating, talking 
 or playing, her mother's care never ceases. Should maternal 
 admonition fail to produce the desired effect, as it sometimes 
 does, the usual threat of sending her to her father-in-law's, 
 acts as the most wholesome corrective. 
 
 The social relaxations of Hindoo females have a very limited 
 range. Some delight in reading the Mahabharat, the Rama- 
 yana, tales, romances, etc., while others are fond of needle- 
 work, playing at cards, or listening to stories of a puerile 
 nature. Though they seldom leave their houses, yet their 
 stock of gossip is almost inexhaustible. They are gene- 
 rally lively and loquacious, and the chief passion of their life 
 is for the acquisition of ornaments. They possess a retentive 
 memory, seldom forgetting what they once hear. Fond of 
 hyperboles, the sober realities of life have little attraction 
 for their minds. Their social tone is neither so pui'e nor so 
 elevated as becomes a polished, refined community. It is 
 almost needless to add that their familiar conversation is not 
 characterised by that chaste, dignified language, which consti- 
 tutes a prominent characteristic of a people far advanced in 
 civilization. Objectionable modes of expression generally pass 
 muster among them, simply because they labor under the 
 great disadvantage of the national baiTonness of intellect and 
 the acknowledged poverty of collocpiial literature. 
 
 It is a well-known fact that Hindoo males and females do 
 not take their meals together. Both squat down on the floor 
 when eating. Except in the case of little girls, it is held 
 highly unbecoming in a grown-up female to be seen eating by 
 any male member of the family. As a rule, women take their 
 meals after the men have finished theii-s. There is a popular 
 lielief that women take a longer time to eat than men. Of 
 the perfection of the culinary art, they ;u'e better judges than
 
 THE HINDOO HOUSEHOLD. » 
 
 the men. They chat and cat leisurely, because, when they 
 have finished, they have no offices to go to, nor any definite 
 occupation to engage their minds in, A Hindoo writer has 
 said, that, commonly speaking, they eat more and digest more 
 readily than men. Easily pleased by nature, they take tlicir 
 meals without any complaint, though sometimes their food is 
 not of the vei-y best description. The choicest part of the food 
 is offered in the first instance to the males, and the residue is 
 kept for the females. A woman is religiously forbidden to 
 taste of anything in the shape of eatables before it is given to 
 a man. Simple in taste, diet and habits, but shut up in a 
 state of close confinement, and leading a monotonous life, 
 scarcely cheered by one ray of light, they are necessaiily not 
 fitted to receive large communications of truth. 
 
 The children form an important link in the great chain of 
 the domestic circle. When sporting about in childhood, they 
 have commonly spare persons, light brown skins, high foreheads 
 beaming with intelligence, large dark eyes, aquiline noses, 
 small thin-lipped mouths, and dark soft hair. The fairness 
 of their complexion is generally darkened by exposure to the 
 sun in the earliest stage of childhood. 
 
 The child grows up under the fostering care of its parents 
 amidst all the surroundings of the family domicile. As it 
 advances in years, the mother endeavours, according to her very 
 limited capacity, to instil into its mind the rude elements of 
 knowledge. From early infancy when his mind becomes 
 susceptible of culture and expansion, crude and imperfect 
 religious ideas, largely leavened with superstition, are commu- 
 nicated to him, which subsequently mould his character in an 
 undesirable manner. His early affections and moral principles 
 are almost entirely influenced by the impressions he receives 
 at the maternal fount, and he seldom comes in contact with 
 the outer world. He is taught to pay divine homage to all 
 the idols that are worshipped at stated pei'iods of the year, 
 and his indistinct ideas grow into deep convictions, the perni-
 
 10 THE HINDOO HOUSEHOLD. 
 
 cious influence of which can afterwards be effaced only by the 
 blessings of western knowledge. In the villages Ghdnakyd 
 sloka, or rhythmic elementary lessons, are still given as a sort 
 of moral exercise. From want of adequate capacity or culture 
 the mother is unfit to engraft on the youthful mind the higher 
 divine truths, to teach the child how to look on men, how to 
 feel for them, how to bear with them, how to be true, honest, 
 manly, and how to " look beneath the outward to the spiritual, 
 immortal, and divine." Solid, practical wisdom, however, is 
 often extracted froni the most commonplace experiences, even 
 by untutored minds. 
 
 " Honor thy father and thy mother," is the first scriptural 
 commandment with promise, the importance and excellence of 
 which are early impressed on the mind of a Hindoo child by 
 wise, discreet parents. Hindoos are honorably distinguished 
 by their affections for their parents, and they continue to be 
 so even in the maturer years of their life. 
 
 In the case of a girl, even the most elementaiy sort of 
 instruction is neglected, except that now she occasionally 
 studies the Bengali piimer — an innovation which the spirit 
 of the times countenances. When of proper age, she is sent to 
 a female school, where she pursues her studies until finally 
 withdrawal therefrom after her marriage. As a rational being 
 she may continue to evince a natural desire and aptitude for 
 intellectual progress, and may carry it on by home study 
 according to her taste and position in life. A few have made 
 astonishing progress, considering the formidable obstacles 
 which an abnormal state of society inevitably places in their 
 way. The traditional bugbear that she will become a widow 
 if she learns to read and write has happily passed away, not 
 only in the great centres of education but likewise in several 
 parts of the rural districts, where, "to all appearances, females 
 are just beginning, as it were, to assert their right to the 
 improvement of their minds. This is certainly an unerring 
 presage, foreshadowing the advent of national regeneration in
 
 THE HINDOO HOUSEHOLD. 11 
 
 the fulness of time. Many families, well-to-do in the world, 
 engage a Christian goveniess* both for elementary instruction 
 and for needle-work, the latter being an accomplishment for 
 which even the most matronly ladies have now taken a great 
 liking. The introduction of this tasteful art has, in a great 
 measure, superseded the idle, unprofitable gossip of the day, 
 driving away ennui and slothfulness at the same time. 
 
 In almost every respectable Hindoo household there is a 
 tutelar god, generally made of stone or metal after one of the 
 images of Ki'ishna, set up on a gold or silver throne, with 
 silver umbrella and silver utensils dedicated to its service. 
 Every morning and evening it is worshipped by the hereditary 
 Purohit, or priest, who visits the house for the purpose twice a 
 day, and who, as the name implies, is t\iQ first in all religious 
 ceremonies, second to none but the gurii, or spiritual guide. 
 The offerings of rice, fruits, sweetmeats and milk, made to 
 the god, he carries home after the close of the service. A 
 conch is blown, a bell is rung, and a gong beat at the time of 
 worship, when the religiously disposed poi'tion of the inmates, 
 
 * The following' iuoident will, doubtless, contribute not a little to 
 the amusement of the reader. One day a governess was giving ins- 
 tructions in needle-work to a young married girl of thirteen years of 
 age. She (the girl) was industriously plying the needle, when lo ! 
 an aged female cook from the house of her husband suddenly 
 appeared before her, and simply enquired of her how she was. The 
 shy girl, overpowered by a sense of shame, dropped down her veil 
 almost to the ground, and not only stopped work but likewise ceased 
 to talk'to the governess. The latter, struck with amazement, quietly 
 asked her pupil if she had hurt her eyes, because she held fast her right 
 hand on that part of her face. Other ladies of the family stepped for- 
 ward and explained to the governess the real cause of the awkward 
 position the girl was placed in. It was nothing more nor less than the 
 unexpected visit of the female cook to the family of the bride. From 
 feelings of false delicacy in pre?;ence of her husljand's cook, she hung 
 down her face and dropped down her veil. The governess learning 
 the true cause politely desired the female cook to retire that i-he 
 might be enabled to give her lessons without any interruption.
 
 12 THE HINDOO HOUSEHOLD. 
 
 male and female, in a quasi-penitent attitude, make their 
 obeisance to the god and receive in return the hollow bene- 
 diction of the priest. The daily repetition of the service 
 quickens the heart-beats of the devotees and serves to remind 
 them, however faintly, of their religious duties. Such wor- 
 ship is popularly regarded as an act of great merit, paving 
 the way to everlasting bliss. A suitable endowment in landed 
 property is sometimes set apart for the permanent support 
 of the idol, and is called the debatra land, or inalienable 
 property, according to the Hindoo Shdstras. Some families 
 that have been reduced to poverty through a reverse of fortune 
 now live on the usufruct of the debatra land, which serves as 
 a sheet-anchor in stormy weather. 
 
 Besides the daily puja, of the household deity there 
 are some other extraordinary religious celebrations, such as 
 those of Durga, Kali, Lakshmi, Jagatdhatri, Saraswati, and 
 Kartik, the Janmashtami, Dole, Rash and Jhulan Jatras, etc., 
 — -the latter four being all piijas of Krishna, which excite 
 the religious fervor of the Vaishnavas, as contra-distinguished 
 from the Suktas, the followers of Kali or Durga, the female 
 principle. • 
 
 The internal daily details of a Hindoo household next 
 demand our attention. In the morning when the breakfast is 
 ready the little children are served first as they have to go to 
 their schools, and then the adult male members, chiefly brothers, 
 nephews, etc., who have to attend their offices. They all squat 
 down vis-a-vis on small bits of carpet on the floor, while the 
 mother sits near them, not to eat but to see that they are all 
 properly served ; she closely watches that each of them is duly 
 satisfied ; she would never feel happy should any of them find 
 fault with a particular dish as being unsavoury, she snubs 
 the cook and taxes herself for her own want of supervision 
 in the kitchen, because the idea of having failed to do her 
 duty in this respect is an agony to her mind. 
 
 As a mother, she avails herself of this opportunity to
 
 THE HINDOO HOUSEHOLD. 13 
 
 engage in conversation, and consnlt licr hou^ al)out tlic conduct 
 of all domestic aftairs, which necessarily ex})and as the family 
 increases. For example, she takes their advice as to the 
 amount of expenditure to be incuiTcd at the forthcoming 
 wedding of /Shared ShasM, the youngest daughter, in the 
 month of Falgun, or February. This is an occasion, when the 
 hearts of both the sons and the mother overflow with tlie 
 milk of human kindness, yet there is a desire to avoid 
 extravagance as far as possible. 
 
 A prudent mother wisely regulates her expenses according 
 to the means and earnings of her sons, and she seldom or 
 never comes to grief. An extravagant Hindoo mother has no 
 existence in the actual realities of life. Slie is a model of 
 economy, devotion, chastity, patience, self-denial, and a martyr 
 to domestic affection. She may be wanting in mental accom- 
 plishments, which is not her own ftiult, but the very large 
 share of strong common-sense she is naturally endowed with 
 sufficiently makes up for every deficiency in the ordinary con- 
 cerns of life. Accustomed to look upon her sons as the pride 
 of her existence, she seeks every legitimate means to promote 
 their happiness. If her daughters-in-law turn out queiidous, 
 and fall out w^ith one another, which is not unfrequently the 
 case, she reconciles them by the panacea of gen tie remonstrance. 
 But unhappily, such is the degeneracy of the present age that 
 the influence of wholesome admonition is shamefully ignored 
 and often lost in the deluge of discord ; and the inevitable 
 consequence is, that vicious selfishness disturbs Heaven's 
 blessed peace, and " love cools, friendships f\\ll off, brothers 
 divide." 
 
 After the sons have gone to their respective offices, the 
 mother changes her clothes and retires into the thdkurghar (the 
 place of worship) and goes through her morning service, at 
 the close of wdiich she prostrates herself, invokes the blessing 
 of her guardian deity, and then again changing her clothes, 
 takes her breakfast and enjoys a short siesta, while chewing
 
 14 THE HINDOO HOUSEHOLD. 
 
 a mouthful of betle, sometimes mixed with tobacco leaf, in order 
 to streugtheu her teeth. 
 
 In any sketch of a Hindoo family it is necessary that 
 something should be said about the domestic servants attached 
 to a Hindoo household. The cook, whose employment involves 
 some very important considerations, may be either a male or a 
 female. In most families, a preference is shewn for a female 
 cook* for reasons which are obvious. The kitchen, being, as a 
 rule, placed in the inner division of the house, the females 
 have an opportunity to assist her in various ways, so as to 
 facilitate and expedite her work, which certainly is not always 
 of the most pleasant nature. The dietary of a Hindoo family, 
 as may be easily anticipated, is of the simplest description, 
 consisting for the most part of vegetables and fish, with a 
 little milk and ghee, but no eggs or meat of any kind. Not 
 like the dishes of the French and Mogals, highly flavoured and 
 richly spiced, the daily preparations are very simple ; no onion, 
 garlic, or strong aromatic spices are used. They are easy of 
 digestion and palatable to taste, being altogether free from 
 offensive and fcetid smell. The simple turmeric, pepper, cum- 
 min, coriander and mustard seeds, etc., generally impart a fine 
 flavour to the preparations, which the frugal and abstemious 
 Hindoos eat wnth great zest. I have known the wives of 
 several rich Babus take a delight in preparing with their own 
 hands the evening meal of their husbands and sons. This is 
 entirely a labor of love, which they go through with the 
 greatest cheerfulness. It is necessary to mention here that, 
 without fish, which are very abundant, a nice little Hindoo 
 breakfast or dinner in Bengal is an impossibility. The art of 
 cooking should not be a mystery to all save the initiated few ; 
 
 * Whether descended from a Brahman or Kayastha family, she goes 
 by the general name of Bdmiin Didi (Brahman sister), so named that 
 the members of other families might unsuspectingly eat out of her 
 hands. The food cooked by a middle aged female (generally a widow) 
 is considered safe and irreproachable.
 
 THE niXDOO HOUSEHOLD. 15 
 
 it should be the study of every good and tlu'ifty woman who 
 is willing to sacrifice needless elegance and ])oinp to comfort 
 and economy. 
 
 This gastronomical digression will serve to indicate the 
 taste of the Hindoos in Bengal, and the very simple style 
 of their living. Even in the selection of articles of food 
 a nice distinction is observed ; fish are dressed in a part of 
 the kitchen quite distinct from wdiere the vegetable dislies are 
 prepared, because a widow is strictly foi'bidden to use anytliing 
 which has come in contact with fish. Moreover, a widow will 
 not accept a dish unless it is prepared by a real Brahman cook, 
 male or female. Should a male member of the family be ever 
 disposed to eat goat flesh (he is forbidden to use any other 
 kind of meat, save mutton, when sacrificed) a Sdkta cook 
 imdertakes to prepare it for him. When she has finished, she 
 changes her clothes and purifies her body by sprinkling over 
 it a few drops of Ganges water. Excepting little unmai-ried 
 girls, whose parents are Sdktas (worshippers of female deities), 
 no Hindoo female is permitted to use meat even by suffei'ance. 
 In other rigidly orthodox families a similar concession is 
 withheld. 
 
 The wages of a female cook, who in nine cases out of ten 
 is a widow, are about six or seven rupees a month, with a few 
 annas extra for £kddashi—t\ie day of close fast for all widows — 
 and cocoanut oil for her hair,* six pieces of grey shirting, 
 each ten cubits long, and three bathing napkins a year. She 
 also gets an extra piece of cloth at the Durgd-puja festival, 
 when the most wretched pauper, somehow or other, puts on 
 new clothes. Some of the widow cooks have certainly seen 
 better days, but the vicissitudes of fortune have reduced them 
 
 * In order to preserve the hair and keep it clean, all Hindoo 
 females in Bengal use cocoanut oil for the head ; they however rub 
 their bodies with mustard oil before bathing-. Young ladies occasion- 
 ally use pomatum, bear's grease, soap, etc., though, in a religious 
 sense, this is desecration.
 
 16 THE HINDOO HOUSEHOLD. 
 
 to poverty. As a rule, they bear the load of misfortune with 
 the greatest patience. They come chiefly from the villages, 
 and it speaks much in favor of the purity of their character 
 that they ungrudgingly submit to the menial offices of a 
 drudge, instead of being seduced into the forbidden paths of 
 life. Of course there are a few black sheep in the flock, but 
 happily their number is very limited. A male cook is always 
 a Brahman. It is almost superfluous to add that the employ- 
 ment in a family or the admittance of any man-servant into 
 the inner apartments of a Hindoo household, which are empha- 
 tically the great centre, as well of domestic happiness as of 
 religious sanctity, is open to many objections. 
 
 The second domestic servant that demands a notice at our 
 hands is the J/t^, or maid-servant of the family. Her duties 
 are alike onerous and troublesome. Like the potter's wheel 
 she incessantly turns backwards and forwards and knows no 
 rest till about ten o'clock at night. She rises early in the 
 morning, sweeps and washes all the rooms and verandahs 
 inside the house, cleans all the brass utensils of the family, 
 kindles the stove, pounds the kitchen spices, cleans the fish 
 for cooking, and attends to other duties of a household nature. 
 Some maid-servants are almost exclusively employed in taking 
 care of children. Their duties ai-e not so hard as those of the 
 family-J/iz indicated above. These females are often drawn 
 from the dregs of society, and their conduct, or rather mis- 
 conduct, sometimes leads to the most unhappy results. Their 
 wages are about two rupees a month, exclusive of food and 
 clothes. They occasionally make something also by gratuities 
 when carrying presents to relatives and friends. 
 
 I next come to the male servants : there are more than 
 half-a-dozen of them in a respectable family, and their services 
 are in tlije main confined to the outer apartments of the house. 
 They sweep and clean all the rooms, spread white cloth bed- 
 dino" on the floor, change the water of the hukkd (the first 
 essential both at an ordinary and special reception), fill the
 
 THE IIIXDOO HOUSEHOLD. 17 
 
 chillam with tobacco, fold the fine bhack-bordercd Siinh^ Dhuti 
 ;ind Urdni (Babu's native dress suit), put the hxmps in order, 
 and go to the Bazar to make purchases. Their pay ranges 
 from three to four rupees a month, exckisive of food and 
 clothes. 
 
 A rich Hindoo, however, has a large establishment of ser- 
 vants in addition to those mentioned above. There ai'c dur- 
 wans (door-keepers), syces (grooms), coachmen, gardeners, 
 sircar, cashier, accountant, etc., each of whom discharges his 
 functions in his own sphere, but they seldom or never come 
 in contact with the female inmates of the house. The cashier 
 is the most important and responsible person, and his income is 
 larger than that of any other servant, because he gets his 
 commission from all tradespeople dealing with the family. 
 All of them get presents of clothes at the great national 
 festival, the Durgd-puja. 
 
 The Khdnsdmd of a Babu is his most favourite servant. 
 From the nature of his office he comes into closest contact 
 with his master : he rubs his body with oil before bathing, and 
 sometimes shampooes him, — a practice which gradually induces 
 idle, effeminate habits, and eventually greatly incapacitates 
 a man for the duties of an active life. Indeed, to study the 
 life of a " big native swell " is to study the character of a 
 consummate oriental epicure, immersed in a ceaseless round 
 of pleasures, and hedged in by a body of unconscionable 
 fellows, distinguished only for their flattery and servility. 
 
 Except in isolated instances, the general treatment of do- 
 mestic servants by their masters is not reprehensible. 
 
 Outside of those who understand the peculiar mysteries of 
 the inner life of Hindoo society, very few are aware that a 
 wife — though the mother of three or four children — is forbid- 
 tlen to open her lips or lift her veil in order to speak to her 
 husband in the presence of her mother-in-law, or of any other 
 adult male or female member of the ftmiily. She may con- 
 verse with the children without fear of being exposed to the
 
 18 THE HINDOO HOUSEHOLD. 
 
 charge of impropriety ; this is the whole extent of her liberty, 
 but she is imperatively commanded to hold her tongue and drop 
 down her veil whenever she happens to see an elderly member 
 in her way. A phrase used in common parlance [Bhdsur Bhd- 
 drabau) denotes the utmost privacy, as that which the imfe of 
 a younger brother should obsei-ve towards the elder brother of 
 her husband. It is an unpardonable sin in the foi-mer, even 
 to come in contact with the very shadow of the latter. The 
 rules of conventionalism have reared an adamantine wall 
 between the two. We have all learnt in our school-days that 
 modesty is a quality which highly adorns a woman, but the 
 peculiar domestic economy of the natives carries this golden 
 rule to the utmost stretch of restriction, verging on sacred 
 religious prohibition. 
 
 The general state of Hindoo female society, as at present 
 constituted, exhibits an improved moral tone, presenting an 
 edifying contrast to the grossness of former times as far as 
 popular amusements are concerned. The popular amusements 
 of the Hindoos, like those of many European nations, have 
 rarely been characterised by very strict moral principles. But 
 the loose and immoral amusements of former times do not 
 now so much interest our educated females. The popular 
 Native Jairds (dramatic representations) do not now contain 
 those low, obscene expressions, which were usual only some 
 thirty years back; yet they are not altogether pure or elevated. 
 It is true that some of them are touching and pathetic in their 
 themes, not jan-ing to the moral sense, but admirably adapted 
 to the taste of a people having a supreme respect for the 
 idolatrous and mythological systems, from which most of these 
 Jdtrds are derived. The marvellous and the supernatural 
 always exact an instinctive regard from the ignorant and cre- 
 dulous multitude. The Pdnchdli (with female actresses only) 
 which is given for the amusement of the females, especially 
 at a second marriage, is sometimes much too obscene and 
 immoral to be tolerated in a zenana having any pretension to
 
 THE UINDOO HOUSEHOLD. 19 
 
 geutility. On such an occasion, in spite of strict conventional 
 restrictions, a depraved taste clearly manifests itself. Much- 
 has yet to be done to develop among the females a taste 
 for purer amusements, better adapted to a healthy state of 
 society. 
 
 In Hindoo females there is a jn-omincnt trait which deserves 
 to be commended. Moses, Mohammed, and Manu, observes 
 Benjamin Disraeli, say that cleanliness is religion. Cleanli- 
 ness certainly promotes health of l)ody and delicacy of mind. 
 When that excellent prelate, Hcber, travelled in a boat on the 
 sacred stream of the Ganges, and saw large crowds of Hindoo 
 females engaged in washing themselves and their clothes on 
 both sides of the river, at the rising and setting of the sun, 
 he most emphatically remarked that cleanliness was the 
 supreme virtue of Hindoo women. In the Upper Provinces, 
 at all seasons of the year, hmidreds of women may be daily 
 seen with baskets of flowers in their hands, slowly walking in 
 the direction of the river, and chanting songs in chorus in 
 praise of the " unapproachable sanctuary of Mahddeva, the 
 great glacier-w^orld of the Himdlayd, with its wondrous pin- 
 nacles, rising 24,000 feet above the level of the sea, and des- 
 cending into the amethyst-hued ice cavern, whence issues, in 
 its turbulent and noisy infancy, the sacred river of India." 
 They display a purity, a sincerity, a constant and passionate 
 devotion to their faith, w^hich present a striking contrast to the 
 conduct of men steeped in the quagmire of pi'ofligacy. 
 
 Our ladies bathe their bodies and change their clothes twice 
 in a day, in the morning and in the afternoon ; otherwise they 
 are not permitted to take in hand any domestic work. 
 
 In large Hindoo households, the lot of the wife who is 
 childless is truly deplorable. While her sisters are rejoicing 
 in the juvenile fun and frolics of their children, sporting with 
 all the elasticity of a light, free, and buoyant heart, she sits 
 sulkily aloof, and inwardly repines at the unkind ordinance of 
 Bidhdtd, and earnestly invokes Md Shasthi (the patron deity
 
 20 THE HINDOO HOUSEHOLD. 
 
 of children) to grant her the inestimable boon of offspring, 
 without which this butterfly life is unsanctified, unprofitable 
 and hollow. 
 
 The barrenness of a Hindoo female is denounced as a sin, 
 for the atonement of which certain religious rites are per- 
 formed, and incessant prayers offered to all the terrestrial and 
 celestial gods ; but, all her superstitious practices proving vain, 
 her misei'y is only intensified. 
 
 In the beginning of this sketch I set out by stating that the 
 peculiar constitution of Hindoo society bears an affinity to the 
 old patriarchal system. This is true to a very great extent. 
 The system has its advantages and disadvantages, which are, 
 in a great measure, inseparable from it. If properly weighed 
 in the scale, the latter will most assuredly counterbalance 
 the former ; so much so that, in the great majority of cases, 
 discord and disquietude are the inevitable result of joint 
 fraternization. Leadership certainly implies organization ; it 
 fonned the nucleus of the patriarchal system. But it is simply 
 absurd to expect that there should always be a happy marriage 
 of minds in all cases, between so many men and women 
 living together, endowed with different degrees of culture 
 and influenced by adverse interests and sentiments. In the 
 nature of things, it is impossible that all the members of a 
 large family, having separate and specific objects of their own, 
 should coalesce and cordially co-operate to promote the general 
 welfare of a family, under a common leader or head. The 
 millennium is not yet come. Seven brothers living together 
 with their wives and children, imder one acd the same paternal 
 roof, cannot reasonably be expected to abide in a state of perfect 
 harmony, so long as selfishness and incongruous tastes and 
 interests are continually at work to sap the very foundation 
 of friendliness and good followship. Union is strength ; but 
 harmonious union, under the peculiar regime indicated above, 
 is already a remarkable exception in the present state of 
 Hindoo society. On careful inquiry it will be found, that
 
 THE HINDOO HOUSEHOLD. 21 
 
 women are at the bottom of that mischievous discord which 
 eats into the very vitals of domestic felicity. Separation, 
 therefore, is the only means that promises to afford relief from 
 this social incubus; and to separation many families have 
 now resorted, much after the fashion of the dominant race, 
 with a view to the uninterrupted enjoyment of domestic 
 happiness. 
 
 Having briefly indicated in the preceding lines the chief 
 members of a Hindoo household in their several relations and 
 characters, it is scarcely necessary for me to add, that whenever 
 this interesting group consisting of sweet children, loving 
 husbands and wives, and affectionate parents and brothers, is 
 animated by virtue, recognizing the obligations of duty, the 
 divinity of conscience, and the moral connection of the present 
 and future life, then all the blessings of peace, joy and moral 
 order will be found diff'used around the social and domestic 
 hearth.
 
 T 
 
 II. 
 
 THE BIRTH OF A HINDOO. 
 
 HE birth of a Hindoo into the household of which he is 
 to form a member is attended with observances enjoined, 
 more or less, by the religion he inherits. It has been said 
 that, by tradition and instinct, as well as by early habits, he is 
 a religious character. He is born religiously, lives religiously, 
 eats religiously, walks religiously, writes religiously, sleeps 
 religiously, and dies religiously. His everyday life is an end- 
 less succession of rites and ceremonies which he observes 
 with the most sacred care. From his very birth his mind 
 is imbued with superstitious ideas, which subsequent mental 
 culture can hardly ever eradicate. 
 
 It is now generally known that Hindoo girls are betrothed 
 even in their tenderest years, and that the solemnization of 
 the marriage takes place whenever they attain to the age of 
 puberty. Thus it is not uncommon for a yoinig wife to be 
 delivered of her first child in her thirteenth year, though 
 the glory of motherhood is more frequently not realized until 
 the fourteenth or fifteenth year. When the period of delivery 
 arrives, and to her it is an awful period, the girl is taken into 
 a room called Sutikaghar, or Aturghar, where no male 
 members of the family are admitted. She is made to wear 
 a red-bordered robe, and two images of the goddess Shaahthi 
 made of cow-dung are placed near the tlireshold of the 
 room to be daily worshipped with rice and durva grass, for 
 one month — the period of her confinement. If the labor be 
 protracted, she often suffers greatly from the want of a skilful
 
 THE rjRTn OF A inxDoo. 23 
 
 surgeon or even a proper midwife. Before the founding of 
 that noble Institution, the Calcutta Medical College, proper 
 midwives were not procurable, because they had had no sys- 
 tematic training ; the profession was chiefly confined to the 
 Dome and Bagdi caste, yet some of these were known to 
 have acquired a tolerable fortune. Their fee varied from 5 to 
 50 rupees, besides clothes and otlier gifts ; the poor, certainly, 
 giving less. For some years past, a strong belief has existed 
 among some women that delivery in the name of the god 
 Hari (Krishna) is very safe. They that follow this religious 
 regime are believed, in the majority of cases, to have passed 
 through the struggle of childbirth quite scathless. They use 
 no jhal or thap* bathe in cold water immediately after 
 delivery, take the ordinary food of ddl, vdth, curry, fish and 
 tamarind, after offering them to the god Hari ; and on the 
 30th day they perform a puja (worship), consecrating in 
 honor of the god a quantity of sweetmeats (sandesh and 
 bdtasd) which they finally distribute among children and 
 others. This distribution is called Harirlut. This strong 
 faith in the god seems to enable them to pass through the 
 period of confinement without danger. If the offspring of 
 such women become strong, their strength is attributed to the 
 mercy of the said god. f 
 
 A woman that follows the old prescribed practice has to take 
 jhdl and thdp, and go through a sti'ict course of diet, abstaining 
 altogether from the use of cold water or any cooling beverage. 
 She has to undergo the action of heat for at least five hours 
 a day. The newborn babe is rubbed all over with warm mus- 
 tard oil — an application which is considered the best preserv- 
 
 * Jhdl is a preparation of certain drugs to act as an antidote 
 against cold, puerperal fever, and other diseases incident to child- 
 birth. It often proves efficacious. 7"// «yMS the application of heat to 
 the body. 
 
 t For observances during- the jieriod of pregnancy, see Note A in 
 Appendix.
 
 24 THE BIRTH OF A HINDOO. 
 
 ative of health in children. Exposure of the mother in any 
 shape is most strictly prohibited, and certain indigenous diiigs 
 and warm applications are used as an antidote against all 
 diseases of a puerperal character. 
 
 While undergoing the throes of nature, the exhausted 
 spirit of the expectant mother is buoyed up by the fond hope 
 of having a male child, which, in the estimation of a Hindoo 
 female, is worth a world of suffering. 
 
 In the event of the child turning out a female, her friends 
 try to encourage the mother for the moment with the assur- 
 ance that the child is a male, a lovely and sweet child, ushered 
 into the world under the peculiar auspices of the goddess 
 Shasthi. Such assurances help very much to keep up her 
 spirit for the time being, but when she is brought to her senses 
 and does not hear the sound of the conch,* her delusion is 
 removed, sorrow and disappointment take the place of joy 
 and expectation, her buoyant spirit collapses and a strong 
 reaction sets in. She curses the day, she curses her fate. But 
 "such is the make and mechanism of human nature " that she 
 soon resigns herself to the wise dispensations of an overruling 
 Providence. She gradually feels a stronger affection for the 
 female child, and rears it with all the care and tenderness 
 of a mother ; she caresses and fondles it as if it were a boy, 
 and her affection grows warmer with its growth. This is 
 natural and inevitable. At the birth of a male child, the 
 occurrence is immediately announced by sanlcha-dhanl (the sound 
 of the conch) ; musicians come without being sent for, and 
 play the tom-tom : the family barber bears the happy tidings 
 to all the nearest relatives, and is rewarded with presents of 
 money and cloth. Oil, sweetmeats, fish, curdled milk, and 
 other things are presented to the relatives and neighbours, 
 who, in return, offer their congratulations. A rich Hindoo, 
 
 * According- to custom, a concli or large shell is souuded at the 
 birth of a male child. Its silence is the sigu of sorrow.
 
 THE BIRTH OF A HINDOO. 2o 
 
 though he studies domestic economy very carefully, is, however, 
 apt to loosen his purse strings at the birth of a son and heir. 
 Forgetting her trouble and agony, the mother implores Bidhd- 
 td* for the longevity of the child. She gladly takes it to her 
 breast, and her heart swells with joy every time she looks at 
 its face. 
 
 On the second day after delivery, she gets a little sago and 
 chiray-vdjd (a sort of parched rice). On the third day, the 
 same diet, with the addition of a single grain of boiled rice, and 
 a little fried potatoe or pull-hull, that she may use those things 
 afterwards with safety. On the fifth day, if everything is 
 right, the room is washed and she is allowed to come out of it 
 for a short time ; a little boiled rice and nioong-ddl is her 
 diet that day. 
 
 On the sixth day, the image of the goddess Shasthi is wor- 
 shipped in front of the room where the child was born, because 
 she is the protectress of all children. The puja is called 
 the Seytep-d-imji (worship). Offerings of rice, plantains, 
 sweetmeats, cloths, milk, (fee, are presented to the goddess by 
 the officiating priest, and the following articles are placed in 
 the room for the Bidhdtd Purus (god of fate) in order that 
 he may note down unseen on the forehead of the child its 
 future destiny, viz., a palm leaf, a Bengali pen wdth ink, a 
 serpent's skin, a brick from the temple of the god Shiva, and 
 two kinds of fruit, dntmord and veyld, a little wool, gold and 
 silver. On the eighth day is held the ceremony of Atcowray, 
 or the distribution of eight kinds of parched peas, rice, sweet- 
 meats, with cowries and pice, amongst the children of the 
 house and neighbourhood. On the evening of that day, the 
 children assemble, and with a Tculo (winnowing fan) go up 
 three times to the door of the room, and beat it (the kulo) 
 with small sticks, asking at the same in chorus " how is the 
 child doing," and shouting, " let it rest in peace on the lap of 
 
 Bidhata is the god of fate.
 
 2G THE BIRTH OF A HINDOO. 
 
 its mother." These juvenile ceremonies, if ceremonies they 
 may be called, give infinite delight to the children, who are 
 sometimes prompted by the older members of the family to 
 indulge in jocular abuse of the father, not of course to irritate 
 but to amuse him. At the birth of a female child, in conse- 
 quence of the depreciation in which it is held, this ceremony 
 is observed on a very poor scale. On the thirty-first day after 
 the birth, the ceremony of .S/«fs^/t?-puja is again performed. 
 Hence a woman, who has had twelve or more children, is called 
 Shasthi-Buri, or " Shasthi's old woman." Before a twig of a 
 Bata tree, the pi-iest, repeating the usual incantation, presents 
 offerings of I'ice, fruits, sweetmeats, cloths, parched peas and 
 rice, oil, turmeric, betel, betel-nuts, two duck eggs, and twenty- 
 one small wicker baskets filled with khai (parched rice) 
 plantains and bdtdsd, which are all given to a number of 
 Avomen whose husbands are alive. It is on this occasion that 
 the priest is also required to perform the worship of the god- 
 dess Suhachani* one of the forms of Durga. 
 
 When the father first goes to see the child, he puts a gold 
 coin into its hand and lays his benediction on its head. Other 
 relatives who may be present at the time do the same. 
 
 All respectable Hindoos keep an exact record of the birth of 
 a child, especially of a boy. Eveiy family has its Daibajna, 
 or astrologer, who prepares a horoscope, in which he notes 
 down the day, the hour, and the minute of the birth of the 
 child, opens the roll of its fate, and describes what shall happen 
 to it during its life. These horoscopes are so much relied on, 
 that if it is stated therein that the stellar mansion under which 
 the child was born was not good, and that it shall be exposed 
 to serious dangers, either from sikness or accident, at any pei'iod 
 of its life, every possible care is taken, through Grahajdg and 
 Sastyan (religious atonement), to propitiate the god of fate, and 
 wai-d off the apprehended danger before it comes to pass. These 
 
 * For the popular story of the goddess Subachani, see Note B.
 
 THE BIUTH OF A IIIKDOO. 27 
 
 papers are carefully preserved by the ])arents, who refer to tliem 
 when anything important, good or evil, happens to the child. 
 A Hindoo astrologer is a man of high pi-etensions ; he dives into 
 the womb of futurity and foretells what shall happen to a man 
 in this life, without suspecting for a moment that our Creator 
 has not vouchsafed to us the powers of divination. In a court 
 of justice these papers are of great value in verifying the exact 
 age of a person ; and at marriage, or rather before it, they arc 
 carefully consulted as to the character of the stellar mansion 
 under which both the boy and girl wei'e born, and the peculiar 
 circumstances by which they were suiToiinded. Many a match 
 is broken off" because the signs in the zodiac do not harmonize ; 
 for instance, if the boy be of the Lion-rass (sign) and the girl 
 of the Lamb-rass, the one, it is said, will destroy the other. 
 These papers, therefore, are of very great importance w^hen a 
 matrimonial alliance is being negotiated. 
 
 When a male child is six months old, the parents make 
 preparations for the celebration of the Annaprdsan, or chris- 
 tening, when not only a name is given to the child, but it 
 gets boiled rice for the first time. On this occasion, the ftither 
 is required to perform a Biddhi Shrdd, so called from tlie 
 increase and preservation of the members of the family. Some 
 w^ho live near Calcutta celebrate the rite by going to Kali 
 Ghat, and procuring a little boiled rice from one of the 
 priests of the sacred fane at a cost of eight to ten rupees. 
 When the rice is brought home, a few grains are put into the 
 mouth of the child by a male member of the family. The 
 ceremony being thus performed, the child from that day is 
 allowed to take cooked food when necessary. Such ftiniilies 
 as do not choose to go to Kali Ghat, observe the ceremony 
 at home, and spend from 200 to 300 rupees in feeding the 
 Brahmans, friends and relatives, who, in return, oflter their 
 benediction and give from one to ten rupees each to the child, 
 which being shaved, clad in a silk garment, and adorned witli 
 gold ornaments, is brought out for the purpose after the feast.
 
 28 THE BIRTH OF A HINDOO. 
 
 It is on snch occasions that splendid dowries are settled on some 
 children, in grants of land or of Government securities, and 
 I have known instances in which a dowry amounted to a lakh 
 of rupees. Of late years, the practice of making gifts to the 
 child being regarded as an obnoxious tax, the good taste of 
 some has led them to confine the entertainment within the 
 circumscribed limit of their own family. Superstition has its 
 share in the choice of the name to be given to the child. The 
 Hindoos are generally named after their gods and goddesses, 
 under a belief that the repetition of such names in the daily 
 intercourse of life will not only absolve them from sins, but 
 give them present happiness and the hope of blessedness to 
 all eternity. Some parents purposely give an unpleasant 
 name to a child that may be born after repeated bereavements, 
 believing that thereby the curses of the wicked will fall 
 harmless on its liead. Such names are Nafar, Gobardhan, 
 Guie, Tincowri, Panchcow-ri, Dukhi, &c. In the case of girls 
 a mother who has many daughters, a^^d does not wish for 
 more, gives them such names as Kshyanta (cessation), Arnd 
 (no more), Ghrlnd (despised), Chhi-clihi (an expression of con- 
 tempt).* 
 
 Except under extraordinary circumstances, a Hindoo mother 
 seldom engages a wetuurse ; she continues to nurse her child 
 till it is three or four years old, and attends at the same time 
 
 * Apart from the horrid practice of female infanticide, now put a 
 stop to by a humane Government, many instances might be given of 
 the extreme detestation in which the birth of a girl is held even by 
 her mother. Among others I may cite the following : A woman, 
 who was the mother of four daughters and of no son. at the time 
 of her fifth delivery laid aside one thousand rupees for distribution 
 among the poor in the event of her getting a son, when, lo ! she gave 
 birth to a female child rtz/rti?*. What did she do? She at once flung 
 aside the money, mournfully declaring at the same time, that she 
 had already four fire-brands incessantly burning in her bosom and 
 this was the fifth, which was enough to burn her to death.
 
 THE BIUTII OF A HINDOO. 29 
 
 to her numerous household duties, whicli arc by no means 
 light or easy. Indolent loveliness, reclining on a sofa, is not a 
 truthful picture of her life ; it may bo she has to cook for her 
 husband, because he is such an orthodox Hindoo that he will 
 on no account accept food (such as rice, diU, vegetables, ciu'ry 
 &c. ) from any other hand. In such families, the woman has 
 to rise very early, perform her daily ablutions and attend to 
 the duties of the kitchen ; and before nine the breakftist must 
 be ready, as the husband has probably to attend his office at ten. 
 It is not an uncommon sight to see a woman cooking, suckling 
 her child, and scolding her maid-servant at one and the same 
 time. A Hindoo woman is not only laborious, biit patient and 
 submissive to a degree ; let the amount of privation be ever so 
 great, she is seldom known to murmur or complain. All her 
 happiness is centred in the proper discharge of her domestic 
 and social duties. So simple and unambitious is a Hindoo 
 female, that she generally considers lierself amply rewarded if 
 the food prepared by her hands is appreciated by those for 
 whom it is intended. It is a lamentable fact that, expert as 
 she doubtless is in the art of cooking, she is totally incapable 
 of nourishing the minds of her children with any solid intellec- 
 tual food worthy of the name. As already indicated, she com- 
 municates to her child what she can out of her own store of 
 simple ideas and superstitious beliefs, but her best gift is the 
 care and tenderness which she lavishes upon it, and the waken- 
 ing of its young soul to return her love.
 
 III. 
 
 THE HINDOO SCHOOL BOY. 
 
 FROM the time when the young Hindoo passes from the 
 infant stage of " mewling and puking in the nurse's 
 arms " till he goes to school, he is generally a bright-eyed, active 
 playful boy, full of romping spirits, the favourite of all around 
 him. His diet is light, and his health generally good. He 
 usually runs about for three or four years in pu7'is naturalibus, 
 and among the lower classes a string is tied round his loins 
 with a metal charm attached to frighten away the evil spirits. 
 When he attains the age of five, the period fixed by his parents 
 for beginning his education, he is sent to a Pdtsdld (vernacular 
 infant school), not, however, without making a puaj to 
 Saraswati, the goddess of learning. On the day appointed, 
 and it must be a lucky day according to the Hindoo almanac, 
 the child bathes and puts on a new duhti (garment) and is 
 taken to the place of worship, where the officiating priest has 
 previously made all the necessary arrangements. Rice, fruits, 
 and sweetmeats are then offered to the goddess, w^ho is religi- 
 ously invoked to pour her blessing on the head of the child. 
 After this, the priest takes away all the things offered to the 
 goddess, with his usual gift of one or two rupees, and the child 
 is taken by his parents to the Pdtsdld and formally introduced 
 to the Gurumahdshaya, or master of the school. With the 
 natural curiosity of children all present gaze on the new comer 
 as if he were a being of a strange species. But the old boys 
 soon become familiar with the new one, and a sort of intimacy 
 gradually springs up amongst them. In this country a boy
 
 TUE HINDOO SCHOOL BOY. 31 
 
 is made to learn the letters of the alphabet, not by pronouncing 
 them, but by writing them on the ground with a small piece of 
 khari, or soft stone, and copying them over and over again until 
 he thoroughly masters them. Five letters are set him at a time. 
 After this he is taught to write on palm leaves with ink and 
 a wooden pen, then on a slate and on gi'een plantain leaves, 
 and, finally, on paper. At every stage of his progress he is 
 expected to make some present to his master in the shape of 
 food, clothes, and money. A village school begins early in 
 the morning, and continues till eleven, after which the boys 
 are allowed to go home for their breakfast ; they return at 
 two, and remain in the school till evening, when all the boys 
 are made to stand up in a row, and one of the most advanced 
 amongst them shouts out the multiplication and numeration 
 tables, while all are taught to repeat after him and to commit to 
 memory what they hear. With a view to encourage the early 
 attendance of the boys, a Gurumalidshaya sometimes resorts 
 to the odd method of the hathchhari system in his Pdtsdld, 
 which means that all the boys are to have stripes of the cane 
 on the hand, in arithmetical progression, in the order of their 
 coming, that is, the first comer is to have one stripe, the second 
 two, and so on, in consecutive order. The last boy is some- 
 times made to stand on one leg for an hour or so to the infinite 
 amusement of the earlier comers. The system certainly has a 
 good effect in ensuring early attendance. 
 
 The course of instruction in such schools embraces read- 
 ing in the vernacular, a little of arithmetic and writing and 
 the keeping of accounts for those who are thought clever boys. 
 Stupid and wicked pupils are generally beaten with a cane, 
 but their names are never struck oif the register, as is the case 
 in English schools. Sometimes a truant is compelled to stand 
 on one leg, holding up a brick in his right hand, or to keep his 
 arms stretched out till he is completely exhausted. Another 
 mode of punishment consists in applying the leaves of Bichuti 
 (a stinging plant) to the back of a naughty boy, who natur-
 
 32 THE HINDOO SCHOOL BOY. 
 
 ally smarts under the torture. The infliction of snch cruel 
 punishments sometimes leads the boys to conspire against the 
 master for the purpose of retaliation, which generally results 
 in bringing him to his senses. Hindoo boys are extremely 
 sensitive, and are very apt to resent any affront to which they 
 are cruelly subjected by their master.* The fee in a village 
 school is from a penny to three-pence a head per month, but the 
 master has additional perquisites in the shape of victuals and 
 pice. There is a common saying among the Hindoos that 
 in twelve months there are thirteen pdrbcais, or festivals, 
 implying thereby, that there are far too many pdrhans. On 
 every such occasion the boys are expected to bring presents 
 for the master, and any unfortunate boy who fails to bring 
 one is denied the usual indulgence of a holiday. Little 
 boys are seldom fond of reading, they would gladly sacrifice 
 anything to purchase a holiday. It is not an uncommon 
 thing for a boy to steal pice from his mother's box in order 
 to satisfy the demands of his master at the festival. The 
 principle on which a village school is conducted is essentially 
 defective in morality. Instead of teaching the rules of good 
 conduct and enforcing the first principles of morality, it 
 often sadly defeats the primary object of a good education, 
 namely, the formation of a sound moral and virtuous 
 character. It is a disgrace to hear a schoolmaster, whose con- 
 duct should be a pattern of moral excellence, use towards his 
 pupils, for little faults, the most vulgar ejiithets, the effects 
 of which are seldom obliterated from their minds, even in 
 
 * Apropos, I may mention here the following incident. A few years 
 back a well-known master of the Hindoo School being placed in a very 
 awkward position, had to call in the aid of the Police. Some Sailors 
 and Negroes — always a set of desperate characters — were retained by 
 the boys for the purpose of insulting him in the public street, but the 
 timely interference of the Police put a stop to the contemi:)lated bru- 
 tal assault. This had the effect of inducing the master to behave iu 
 future with greater forbearance, if not with more sober judgment. 
 
 i
 
 THE HINDOO SCHOOL BOY. 33 
 
 advanced life. However, such days of obnoxious pedagogisni 
 are almost gone by, never to come again, now that the system 
 of primai'y education has been extended to almost every village 
 in India, under the auspices of our liberal Government. Whilst 
 on this subject I may state that some forty years ago our 
 Government appointed the late Rev. William Adam to be the 
 Commissioner of Education in Bengal. That highly talented 
 and generous philanthropist submitted in his report to 
 Government a scheme of education very similar to what is now 
 introduced throughout Bengal. The scheme was then ignored 
 on account of its great expense, and the Commissioner was so 
 disheartened at the apathy of Government towards the edu- 
 cation of the masses, that a few days before his depai-ture 
 from Calcutta, when he took farewell of some of his most 
 distinguished native friends, his parting words were to the 
 following effect : " Your Government is not disposed to 
 encourage those who are its real friends." This reproach has, 
 however, been subsequently removed by the adoption of a 
 primary system of education. The spirit of the times and 
 the growth of enlightened sentiments have gradually inaugu- 
 rated a comprehensive scheme, which, although still limited 
 in its range, embraces the moral and intellectual improvement 
 of all the people.* 
 
 In Calcutta, when a boy is six years old, his parents are 
 anxious to have him admitted into one of the public schools, 
 where he may have an opportunity to learn both the Vernacu- 
 lar and the English languages. He may be said from that 
 day to enter on the first stage of his intellectual disintegration. 
 
 * Dr. W. W. Hunter, President of the Education Commission, has, 
 if I mistake not. successfully solved the important problem of Indian 
 education. His comprehensive scheme is based on a system of 
 primary instruction, adniirably adapted to carry the blessings of 
 popular enlightenment to the most obscure parts of the empire, wliich 
 will unquestionnVily render his name fragrant amongst the teeming 
 millions of India. 
 

 
 34 THE HINDOO SCHOOL BOY. 
 
 The books that are put into his hands gradually open his eyes 
 and expand his intellect ; he learns to discern what is right 
 and what is wrong ; he reasons within himself and finds that 
 what he had learnt at home was not true, and is led by degrees 
 to renounce his old ideas. Every day brings before his mind's 
 eye the grand truths of Western knowledge, and he feels an 
 irresistible desire, not only to test their accuracy but to 
 advance farther in his scholastic career. He is too young, 
 however, to weigh well everything that comes in his way, but 
 as he advances he finds the light of truth illumine his mind. 
 His parents, if orthodox Hindoos, necessarily feel alarmed at 
 his new ideas and try to counteract their influence by the 
 stereotyped arguments of the wisdom of our forefathers ; but 
 however inimically disposed, they dare not stop his progress, 
 because they see that English education is the surest passport 
 to honor and distinction. In this manner he continues to 
 move through the various classes of the middle schools till he 
 is advanced to one of the higher educational institutions con- 
 nected with the University, and attains his sixteenth or seven- 
 teenth year, which is popularly regarded as his marriageable 
 age.
 
 IV. 
 
 vows OF HINDOO GIRLS. 
 
 WHEN a gii'l is five years of age, she is initiated by an 
 elderly woman in the preparatory rites of Bratas, or 
 vows, the primary object of which is to secure her a good hus- 
 band, and render her religious and happy throughout life. 
 While a boy is sent to the Patsala, a girl is commonly for- 
 bidden to read or write, but has to begin her course of Bratas. 
 The germs of superstition being thus early implanted in her 
 mind, she is more or less influenced by them ever after. 
 Formed by nature to be docile, pliant and susceptible, she 
 readily takes to the initial course of religious exercises. 
 
 The first rite with which she has to commence is called the 
 " Shiva-puja," after the example of the goddess Durga, who 
 performed this ceremonial that she might obtain a good hus- 
 band ; and Shiva is regarded as a model husband. On the 
 30th day of Chaitra, being the last day of the Bengali year, 
 she is required to make two little earthen images of this god, 
 and placing them on the rind of a bael-fruit (wood-apple) with 
 leaves, she begins to perform his worship ; but before doing so, 
 she is enjoined to wash herself and change her clothes, a 
 requirement which enforces upon her, thus early, cleanliness 
 and pm'ity in habits and manners, if not exactly in thought 
 and feeling. Her mind being filled with young susceptibilities, 
 she imbibes almost instinctively an increasing predilection for 
 the performance of religious ceremonies. Sprinkling a few 
 drops of holy water on the heads of the images, she repeats
 
 36 vows OF HINDOO GIRLS. 
 
 the following words : " All homage to Shiva, all homage to 
 Shiva, all homage to Hara (another name of Shiva), all 
 homage to Bajjara," meaning two small earthen balls, like peas, 
 which are stuck on the body of the images. She is then to 
 become absorbed in meditation about the form and attributes 
 of the god, and afterwards she says her prayers three times 
 in connection with Shiva's various names, which I need not 
 here mention. Offerings of flowers and bael leaves are then 
 presented to the god with an incantation. Being pleased, 
 Mahadeva ( Shiva ) is supposed to ask from heaven what Brata 
 or religious ceremony Gauri ( Durga) is performing. Gauri 
 replies, she is worshipping Shiva, that she may get him for 
 her husband, because, as said before, Shiva is a model husband. 
 
 Then comes the Brata of Hari or Krishna. The two feet of 
 the god being painted in white sandal paste on a brass plate, 
 the girl worships him with flowers and sandal paste. The god, 
 seeing this, is supposed to ask what girl worships his feet, and 
 what boon she wants. She replies : " May the prince of the 
 kingdom be my husband, may I be beautiful and virtuous, and 
 be the mother of seven wise and virtuous sons and two hand- 
 some daughters." She asks that her daughters-in-law may be 
 industrious and obedient ; that her sons-in-law may shine in 
 the world by their good qualities ; that her granary and farm- 
 yard may be always full, the former with corn of all sorts, and 
 the latter with milch cows ; that when she dies all those who 
 ai'e near and dear to her may enjoy long life and prosperity • 
 and that she may eventually, through the blessing of Hari, die 
 on the banks of the sacred Ganges, and thereby procure an 
 entrance into heaven. 
 
 It is worthy of remark here that even young Hindoo girls, 
 in the exercise of their immature discretion, make a distinction 
 between the gods in the choice of their husbands. In the first 
 Brata, that of Shiva, a tender girl of five years of age is 
 taught, almost unconsciously as it were, to prefer that god to 
 Krishna for her husband, because the latter, according to the
 
 vows OF HINDOO GIRLS. 37 
 
 Hindoo Sliastras, is reputed to Iiave borne a questional ile 
 character. I once asked a girl why she would not have 
 Krishna for her husband. She promptly answered that that 
 god disported with thousands of Gopinis (milkmaids) and 
 was therefore not a good god, while Shiva was devotedly at- 
 tached to his one wife, Durga. The explanation was full of 
 significance from a moral and religious point of view. 
 
 The third Brata involves the worship of ten images. This 
 requires that the girl should paint on the floor ten images of 
 deified men, as well as of gods, with j''^^'^^'' o^ ^'i^^ paste. 
 Offering them flowers and sandal paste, she asks that she may 
 have a father-in-law like Dasaratha, the father of Rama Chandra ; 
 a mother-in-law like Kausalya, his mother ; a husband like 
 Rama Chandi-a himself; a dutjiir, or husband's brother, like 
 Lakshmana, Rama's younger brother ; a mother like Shasthi, 
 whose children are all alive ; like Kunti, whose three sons 
 were renowned for their justice, piety, courage, and heroism ; 
 like the Ganges, whose water allays the thirst of all ; like 
 mother earth, whose patience is inexhaustible. And, to crown 
 the whole, she prays that she may, like Diirga, be blessed with 
 an affectionate and devoted husband ; that, like Draupadi (the 
 wife of the five Pandavas), she may be remarkable for her 
 industry, devotion and skill in the culinary art ; and that she 
 may be, like Situ (the wife of Rama Chandra"), whose chastity 
 and attachment to her husband were worthy of all praise 
 These three Bratas take place in the Bengali month of Baisakh 
 (April), which is popularly regarded as a good month for the 
 performance of meritorious works. The prayer contained in 
 them expresses the highest female wish in entire accord with 
 the injunctions of the holy Shastra, but how often are the 
 amiable qualities enumerated above lost in the actual conflicts 
 of life, in which evil desires predominate and swallow up every 
 generous impulse ! 
 
 The next Brata is called the SanjiUi Brata. It is solely 
 intended to w^ard off the thousand evils of polygamy — an un-
 
 38 vows OF HINDOO GIRLS. 
 
 natural institution, which ought to be prohibited in every 
 civihzed community. To get rid of the consequences of this 
 monstrous evil, a girl of five years of age is taught to offer her 
 invocation to God, and in the outburst of her juvenile feeling 
 is almost involuntarily led to indulge in all manner of curses 
 and imprecations against the possible rival of her bed. Nor 
 can we find fixult with her conduct, because " an overmaster- 
 ing and brooding sense" of some great future calamity thus 
 early haunts her mind. 
 
 In performing the Savjuti Brat a, the girl paints on the floor 
 with rice paste a variety of objects, such as the bough of a flower 
 tree; a palki (palanquin), containing a man and a woman, with 
 the sun and moon over it ; the Ganges and the Jamuna, with 
 boats on them ; the temple of Mahadeva with Mahadeva in it ; 
 various ornaments of gold and precious stones, houses, markets, 
 a garden, a granary, a farmyard and a number of otlier things, 
 all intended to represent worldly prosperity. After painting 
 these, she invokes Mahadeva and prays for his blessing. An 
 elderly lady, more experienced in domestic matters, then begins 
 to dictate, and the girl repeats after her a volley of abuses and 
 curses against her Satm, or rival wife, in the possible future. 
 
 " There, stripped, fair rhetoric languished on the ground, 
 And shameful Biliing.sgate her robes adorn." 
 
 The following are a few specimens of the curses ; I wish I 
 could have transcribed them in metre : — 
 
 " Bayri, Bayri, Bayrl (a cooking utensil), 
 May my Satin become a slave / 
 
 Khdiiyrd, Klidiifird. Khdnyra (a broom.stick). 
 May my Satin be exposed to infamy ! 
 
 Hatha. Hatha, Hatha (a cooking utensil), 
 May I devour my Satin's head ! 
 
 Gilay, Gilay, Gilay (a fruit), 
 May my Satin have spleen ; 
 
 Paid, Pahl, Paid (a bird), 
 May my Satin die and may I see her from the top of my house ; 
 
 Mayua, Mayna, Mayna (a bird), 
 May I never be cursed with a Satin !
 
 vows OF HINDOO GIRLS. 39 
 
 May I cut an Aswaf/ui tree, erect a house there, cause iny 
 Satin to die and paint my feet with my Satin's blood ! 
 
 I might swell the list of these curses, but I fear they would 
 grate upon the ears of civilized readers. 
 
 The performance of the Sa7i/ati Brata springs out of a desire 
 to see a Satin, or rival wife, become the victim of all manner 
 of evils, extending even to the loss of life itself, simply be- 
 cause a plurality of wives is the source of perpetual disquietude 
 and misery. By nature, a woman is so constituted that 
 she can never bear the sight of a rival wife. In civilized 
 countries, the evil is forbidden by law, but in India the Legis- 
 lature makes no provision whatever for its suppression. A 
 feeling of burning jealousy is always aroused whei'ever there 
 is a second wife to poison the perennial source of domestic 
 felicity. So acutely sensitive is a Hindoo lady in this respect, 
 that she would rather suffer the miseries of widowhood than 
 be cursed with the presence of a Satin, whose very name 
 awakens in her mind the bitterest and most envenomed feel- 
 ings. She can make up her mind to give away a share of her 
 most valuable worldly enjoyments, but she can never give a 
 share of her husband's affection to any one- on earth. To 
 enjoy the exclusive monopoly of a husband's love is the life- 
 long prayer of a Hindoo woman. She utters it in her earliest 
 girlhood, and carries it with her until the last spark of life 
 becomes extinct. This certainly indicates the prompting of 
 a very strong natural feeling.
 
 MARRIAGE CEREMONIES. 
 
 11HE Hindoos have a strong belief that to solemnize the 
 marriage of their children at an early age is a meritorious 
 act, as discharging one of the primary obligations of life. 
 They are, therefore, very anxious to have their sons and 
 daughters formally married during their own lifetime. Some- 
 times children are pledged to each other even in infancy, by 
 the mutual agreement of the parents ; and in most cases the 
 girl is married when a mere child of from eight to ten years, 
 all unconscious as yet of the real meaning and obligations of 
 the relation, although her girlish fancies have been con- 
 tinually directed to it. Matches in the case of good families 
 are commonly brought about in the following way ': — 
 
 When an unmarried boy attains his seventeenth or 
 eighteenth year, numbers of professional men, called Ghataks 
 or matchmakers, come to the parents with overtures of 
 maiTiage. These men are destitute of principle, but know- 
 how to pander to the frailties of human nature ; most of them 
 are gross flatterers, and endeavour to impose on the parents in 
 the most barefaced manner. As they live on their wits, their 
 descriptive powers and insinuating manners are almost match- 
 less. When the qualities of a girl are to be commended, they 
 indulge in a strain of exaggeration, and unblushingly declare, 
 " she is beautiful as a full moon, the symmetry of her person 
 is exact, her teeth are like the seeds of a pomegi'anate, her 
 voice is remarkably sweet like that of the cuckoo, her gait is
 
 MARRIAGE CEREMONIES. 
 
 41 
 
 graceful, she speaks like the goddess Lakshmt, and will hi-iiig 
 fortune to any family she may be connected with." The 
 Hindoos have a notion that the good fortune of a husband 
 depends on that of the wife, hence a woman is considered 
 as an emblem of Lalshmi, the goddess of fortune. This is the 
 highest commendation she can possess.* 
 
 If the qualities of a youth are to be appraised, they des- 
 cribe him thus ; he is as beautiful as Kartih (the god of 
 beauty), his deportment is that of a nobleman, he is free from 
 all vices, he studies day and night ; in short, he is a precious 
 gem and an ornament of the neighbourhood. The Hindoos 
 know very well that the Ghatahs as a body are great impos- 
 tors, and do not believe half that they say. From the day a 
 matrimonial alliance is proposed, the parents on both sides 
 begin to make all sorts of preliminary enquiries as to the 
 purity of the caste, respectability and position in society of 
 the parties concerned. When fully satisfied on these points, 
 they give their verbal consent to the proposed union, but not 
 before the father of the boy has demanded of the father of the 
 girl a certain number of gold and silver ornaments, as well as 
 of Barahliaran, — i.e., silver and brass utensils, couch, &c, ex- 
 clusive of (with but few exceptions) a certain amount of money 
 in lieu of Fulsharjyd.j Before proceeding further, I should 
 observe that of late years a great change has taken place in 
 the profession of the Ghataks. The question of marriage 
 
 * I may be permitted here to observe ett passa?it that even a 
 civilized nation, in describings the beauty of a woman, is sometimes 
 apt to adopt the flowery language of Haflz. At a ministerial banquet 
 sometime ago, the Lord Mayor of London was reported to have said 
 about the Princess of Wales : " She is perfection, she sparkles like a 
 gem of fifty facets, she is light when she smiles, and she is beauty 
 whenever you see her." 
 
 f Presents of sweetmeats, fruits, clothes, flowers and sundry other 
 articles on a pretty grand scale from the bride to the bridegroom 
 which will be described more in detail afterwards.
 
 42 MARRIAGE CEREMONIES. 
 
 is a question, the solution of which rests, though not ab- 
 sohitely, yet chiefly, with the females. Their voice in such 
 matters has a preponderating influence. Availing themselves of 
 this fact a new class of female Ghataks, or rather Ghatakis, have 
 sprung up among the people. Hence the occupation of the male 
 Ghataks is nearly gone, except in rare cases where nice 
 points of caste distinction are to be decided. The great 
 influence of Shibi GhataJci and Badnis mother — two very 
 popular female Ghatakis, — is well known to the respectable 
 Hindoo community of Calcutta. These two women have 
 made a decent fortime by plying this trade. Though cer- 
 tainly not gifted with the imaginative powers of a poetic 
 bard of RAjputdna,* their suasive influence is very telling. 
 They have the rare faculty of making and immaking matches. 
 From the superior advantage which their sex affords them, 
 they have free access to the inner apartments of any house 
 (even if it were that of a millionaire) — a privilege their male 
 rivals can never expect to enjoy. When likely to be balked 
 by the subtlety of a competitor in trade, they contrive by 
 their sneers to break the match. Their representations regard- 
 ing a proposed union seldom fail to exercise a great influence 
 on the minds of the zenana females. Relying on the accuracy 
 of their description, which sometimes turns out to be exag- 
 gerated, if not false, the mother and other ladies are often 
 led to give their consent to a proposed union. The husband, 
 swayed by the counsel and importunity of his wife, is forced 
 to acquiesce in her choice. He cannot do otherwise, because, 
 as our friend Babu Keshab Chandra Sen has very facetiously 
 observed, " man is a noun in the objective case governed by 
 the active verb woman. "f 
 
 * A Rajput prince was said to have given a lakh of rupees to a 
 bnrd in order to purchase his poetic praise in an assemblage of his 
 countrymen. 
 
 f If we consult properly the pages of the history of India from the 
 earliest period, we shall find abundant proofs of the very great influ-
 
 MARRIAGE CEREMONIES. 43 
 
 When a Ghntalci appears with the proposal of a matrimonial 
 alhance with an educated youth, tlie first question generally 
 asked is, " Has he passed his examinations ? " If so, " how 
 many passes has he got 1 " meaning thereby, how many exami- 
 nations of the University has he passed through ? " Has he 
 got any Jalpdni, or scholarship 1 " Tliese are difficult questions 
 which must be satisfactorily answered before a negotiation can 
 be eilected. That a University degree has raised the marriage- 
 able value of a boy, there can be no doubt. If he has suc-^ 
 cessfuUy passed some of these examinations and got a scholar- 
 ship, his parents, naturally priding themselves on their valuable 
 possession, demand a preposterously long catalogue of gold 
 ornaments, which it is not often in the power of a family in 
 middling circumstances easily to bestow. The parents of the 
 girl, on the other hand, seeing the long list, demur at first to 
 give their consent, but their demurring is of no avail, marry 
 their daughter they must. Tlie present niinous scale of 
 marriage expenses must be submitted to at any sacrifice, and 
 after deep cogitation they send a revised schedule (as if 
 marriage were a mere matter of traffic), taking out some costly 
 items, which would press heavily on the purse. In this 
 manner the Ghataki goes backwards and forwards for some 
 time, proposing concessions on both sides, and holding out 
 delusive hopes of future advantages in the event of the 
 carrying out of the marriage. There is a trite saying among 
 
 ence of women. I cannot do better than give the following quota- 
 tion from Tod's Annals of Rajastban. What led to tbe wars of Rama ? 
 The rape of Sita. What rendered deadly the feuds of the Yadus ? 
 The insult of Draupadi. What made prince Nala an exile from 
 Nirwar ? His love for Damayanti. What made Raja Bharti abandon 
 the throne of Avanti '/ The loss of Pingala. What subjected the 
 Hindu to the dominion of the Islamite ? The rape of the princess of 
 Canouj. In fine, the cause which overturned kingdoms, commuted 
 the sceptre to the pilgrim's staff, and formed the groundwork of all 
 their grand epics, is woman.
 
 44 MARRIAGE CEREMONIES. 
 
 the Hindoos, that " a matrimonial alliance cannot be complet- 
 ed without uttering a lakh of words." 
 
 The girl's parents, on whose head falls the greatest burden, 
 are eventually led to succumb by the consideration that they 
 have secured a desirable match, — namely, a passed student. 
 If not in affluent circumstances, as is generally the case, 
 they are obliged to raise the requisite sum of money by 
 loan, which sows, in many instances, the seeds of much 
 future emban'assment. At a very moderate calculation, 
 a tolerably respectable marriage now-a-days costs between 
 two and three thousand rupees (about £200), — sometimes 
 more. There is another native adage which says, " we want 
 twine for thatching, and money for wedding." A respectable 
 Hindoo gentleman, who has four or five daughters to give in 
 man-iage, and whose income is not large, is often reduced to 
 the greatest embarrassment by the extravagant expenses of a 
 marriage. The rich do not care much what they are required 
 to spend. All that they look for is a desirable match. It is 
 the middle and poorer classes, who form by far the largest part 
 of the population in every country, that suffer most severely 
 from the present high scale of matrimonial charges. The late 
 Raja Rajkrishna, Babus Ramdulal Dey,* Nimae Charan Mal- 
 lik, and other Hindoo millionaires, spent extraordinary sums 
 of money on the marriage of their sons. The amount in each 
 instance far exceeded a lakh of rupees. The annals of Raja- 
 sthan furnish numerous examples of lavish expenditure, vary- 
 ing from five to ten lakhs of rupees and upwards, on the 
 solemnization of nuptials. There was a spirit of rivalry which 
 animated the princes to surpass each other in magnificence and 
 splendour on such occasions, regardless alike of the state of 
 their exchequer, and the demoralizing eff"ects of their conduct. 
 
 * Besides the marriage expenses, this man gave to his five sons-in- 
 law fifty thousand Rupees each, as well as a house worth ten thou- 
 sand Rupees more.
 
 MARRIAGE CEREMONIES. 45 
 
 MaiTiages in such a inuguificent style are seldom to l)e seen 
 in Calcutta now-a-days, not because of the distaste of the 
 people for such frivolities, but because of the lamentable 
 decline and poverty of the former magnates of the land. It is 
 painful to reflect that the present scale of marriage expendi- 
 ture among the middle classes is in an inverse ratio to their 
 income. The exertions made sometime ago bv Munshi 
 Pyari Lai for the reduction of marriage expenses w(,)uld have 
 doubtless conferred a lasting boon on the Hindoo conuuunity, 
 if the object had been crowned witli success ; but as the Legis- 
 lature has no control over such matters, relating as they do 
 to purely private affairs, the noble scheme resulted in failure. 
 It is quite optional with parties to go to heavy expenses on 
 such occasions ; no act of Government without the voice of 
 the people could restrain them in this respect. Any social 
 reform to be permanent and effectual must be carried out by 
 the will of the whole people. 
 
 When the preliminai-ies of a marriage have been settled, a 
 person, on each side, is deputed by turns to see the boy and 
 the girl. It is customary to see the girl first. When the 
 friends of the bridegroom, therefore, come for the purpose, 
 they sit down in the outer apartment of the house, whilst the 
 bride is engaged in her toilet duty. A short time after, 
 glittering in jewels and accompanied by a maid-servant 
 as well as by the Ghatahi, she makes her appearance. 
 The first thing she does on entering the room is to make a 
 prandm, or bow, to all present, and then she is asked to squat 
 down on the clean white sheet spread on the floor. A solemn 
 pause ensues for a minute or so, when one of the company, 
 more officious than the rest, breaks the silence by putting to 
 her a few questions. She naturally feels herself somewhat 
 out of her element in the midst of so many strangers, and 
 shows a degree of embarrassment almost distressing to witness. 
 This internal agitation, arising partly from modesty and partly 
 from anxiety, causes her even to stammer. Her engrossing
 
 46 MARRIAGE CEREMONIES. 
 
 desire for the time being is, according to the early vow she has 
 made, that she may have a good husband with lots of jewels. 
 " What is your name, mother ? " is the first question. She 
 may diffidently reply in a half suppressed voice " Giri Bald." 
 " Who is that sitting before you 'i " — perhaps pointing to the 
 girl's father. She says, "My father." "Can you read and 
 write?" If she say "yes," she is asked to read a little out of 
 her book. 
 
 The Ghatahi here plays the part of a panegyrist by admir- 
 ing the amiable qualities of the girl, who, she adds, is the very 
 type of Lakshvii (the goddess of prosperity). While this exa- 
 mination is going on in the outer apartment, the anxious 
 mother, whose heart is throbbing as she watches the scene from 
 behind a half-closed window, feels no ease, until she hears that 
 her daughter has acquitted herself creditably. Before the 
 girl leaves the room, the father or brother of the boy puts a 
 gold mohur into her hand as a tangible proof of a})proval, and 
 bids her retire. It is needless to say that she feels herself 
 relieved, quite glad and free, when she again sees the faces of 
 her mother and sisters, whose joy returns with her return. 
 
 This interview is called pdkkd deykhd, or the confirmatory 
 visit. All the Brahmins, Ghataks and Ghatakis, and other 
 Kulins, who may be present on the occasion, receive from two 
 to four rupees each. The servants of the house are not forgot- 
 ten, they too receive each a rupee. If this interview takes 
 place in the morning, the parties return home without break- 
 fast, it being customary with them not to eat anything before 
 bathing and performing their daily worship. If in the even- 
 ing, they are treated to a good dinner, consisting of the best 
 fruits of the season, sweet and sour milk, and sweetmeats of 
 various kinds. It is on such ceremonious occasions that the 
 Hindoos make a display of their wealth by serving the dinner 
 to their new friends in silver salvers, plates, mugs and pd^iddn, 
 (betel box). Almost every respectable gentleman keeps a 
 good assortment of these silver articles. They are, however
 
 MARRIAGE CEREMONIES. 47 
 
 reserved for special purposes, and used only ou special occa- 
 sions. As a rule, the people are not, like Europeans, fond of 
 investing their money in platedware, because it is, com- 
 paratively speaking, of little exchangeable value in times of 
 need and distress. 
 
 It is now the turn of the boy to be examined in a similar 
 way as to his scholastic acquirements. When the father and 
 the relatives of the girl pay the return visit, they generally 
 bring with them a graduate of the University. Should the 
 boy be one who has successfully passed the Matriculation 
 standard, he is not subjected to so strict an examination as one 
 who does not enjoy the same dignity. In both cases, however, 
 they must undergo some examination, in English literature, 
 composition, grammar, history, &c. However intelligent and 
 expert at other times, a boy betrays a lamentable deficiency 
 when required to undergo an examination in the presence of 
 his intended father-in-law and a University graduate. The 
 thought of failure weighs heavy on his mind. He finds him- 
 self bewildered in a maze of confusion. If he does not actual- 
 ly stammer, he talks at least very slowly and diffidently ; and 
 if called upon to write, his hand shakes, and he becomes 
 extremely nervous. After this trial is over, the boy retires 
 with mingled feelings of misgiving and complacency. He 
 receives, however, in his turn a gold mohur. The gentlemen 
 who have come to see him are then asked to dinner in the 
 way described above. The same display of silverware is 
 made on the occasion, and nearly the same amount of presents 
 of money made to the Brahmans, Kulins and others. 
 
 When both parties are satisfied as to the desirableness of 
 the union, a lucky day is fixed for drawing up a pattra, or written 
 agreement, in which, say a Kulin of superior caste engages 
 in writing to give his son in marriage with the daughter of 
 either a second Kulin, or, as is often the case, of a Alaulik, 
 an inferior in caste. This Pattra is written by a Brahman 
 on Bengali paper with Bengali pen and ink (as if English
 
 48 MARRIAGE CEREMOXIES. 
 
 writing materials would desecrate such a sacred contract), and 
 it must consist of an odd number of lines, say seven or nine. 
 An invocation to the Prajapati (Lord) must head the Pattra, the 
 purport of which will run as follows : "I, Ram Chandra Basu, 
 do engage to give my second son, Gupindth Basu, in marriage 
 with Nabinmani Dasi, the eldest daughter of Issen Chandra 
 Datta, who is also bound by this contract ; the marriage to be 
 solemnized on a day to be named hereafter." Here the signa- 
 tures of both the fathers, as well as of the witnesses, follow. 
 When finished, it is rolled up and tied with a red thread. The 
 Kulin gentleman hands it to the Maulik gentleman, when 
 the latter embraces the former, and gives him at the same time 
 Kula-marjddd and Pattra-darshani, as a mark of respect for 
 his superior caste, — say about fifty rupees. The articles re- 
 quired for the matrimonial contract are paddy, durva grass, 
 tuiTneric, betel-leaf, betel-nut, sandal paste, cowries (small 
 shells) and dlta* — all which are considered as conducive to the 
 future welfare of the boyf and girl. When the contract is 
 
 * A thin stuff like paper with which Hindoo females redden the 
 edges of their feet. A widow is not allowed to use it. In the absence 
 of shoes, which they are forbidden to wear, this red colour looking 
 like slippers, heightens the beauty of their tiuy feet. It is apjilied 
 once a week. 
 
 f In the selection of a bridegroom, outward appearances are not 
 always to be trusted. The late Babu Ashutash Dey, a millionaire, 
 had a very beautiful grand-daughter to give in marriage. As was to 
 be expected. Gliatahs and Ghatalns had been rummaging the whole 
 town and its suburbs for a suitable match, one who would possess all 
 the recommendations of a good education, a respectable family, and a 
 fair, prepossessing appearance — qualities which are rarely combined 
 in one. Among others, the name of the late Honorable Babu 
 Dwarka Xath Mittra (afterwards a Judge of the High Court) was 
 mentioned. He was then a bachelor, and his reputatiou as a scholar 
 was spread far and wide. Somehow or other he was brought into 
 the house of Babu Ashutash Dey for the purpose of giving the ladies 
 an opportunity of seeing him. His scholastic attainments were pro- 
 nounced to be of a very superior order ; but, not being blessed with a 
 prepossessing appearance, he was rejected.
 
 MARRIAGE CEREMONIES. 49 
 
 religiously ratified, a couple of conches — one for the bvidc^-room 
 and anothei' for the bride — are sounded by the females, 
 announcing the happy conclusion of this important preliminary, 
 at which all hearts are exhilarated. Arrangements are now 
 made for the dinner of all who may be present at the time. 
 Sometimes fifty to sixty persons are fed. Eveiy care is taken 
 to provide a good dinner for the delectation of the guests, and 
 a Pattra on this scale costs from 300 to 400 rupees. The Brah- 
 mans, Kulins, and others receive, as usual, presents of money, 
 and return home replenished in body as well as in purse. 
 
 It is worthy of remark that though the distinction of caste 
 still exerts its influence on all the important concerns of our 
 social and domestic life, it is nevertheless fast losing its pres- 
 tige in the estimation of the enlightened Hindoos. In former 
 days a Kulin occupied a prominent position in society, be his 
 character what it might ; but now-a-days the rapid spread of 
 English education, and the manifold advantages derivable from 
 it, have practically impaired his influence and lowered his 
 dignity. A Kulin wlao happens to be the father of a girl mar- 
 ried to a MauWc, is, in the present day, degraded to the rank 
 of his traditional inferior, simply because he is the father of 
 the girl ; he must even be prepared to submit to all sorts of 
 humiliation, and continue to serve the Maulik father of the 
 boy as long as the connection lasts. At every popular festival 
 for at least one year he must, according to his rank, make 
 .suitable presents to his son-in-law, failing which a latent feel- 
 ing of discontent arises, which eventually ripens into an open 
 and bitter quarrel. 
 
 But to return to the marriage contract. After the enter- 
 tainment, both parties consult the almanac and fix a day for a 
 ceremony called Gdtra-haridid, or the anointment of tlie body 
 with turmeric. On that day, after bathing and putting on a 
 red bordered cloth,* the bridegroom is made to stand on 
 
 * In Hindoo marriages and other ceremonies of a similar nature. 
 red is the color indispensably necessary for all kinds of wearing 
 
 D
 
 50 MARRIAGE CEREMONIES. 
 
 a grindstone surrounded by four plantain trees, while, five 
 women (one must be of Brdhman caste ) whose husbands are alive, 
 go round him five or seven times, anoint his body with tur- 
 meric, and touch his forehead at one and the same time with 
 holy water, betel, betel-nuts, a Sri made of rice-paste in the 
 shape of a sugarloaf, and twenty other little articles consisting 
 of several kinds of peas, rice, paddy, gold, silver, &c. From 
 this day, the boy carries about a pair of silver nut-crackers, 
 and the girl a pair of kdjalvdthd* which must remain with 
 them till the solemnization of the nuptials, for the pui-pose of 
 repelling evil spirits. A little of the turmeric paste with which 
 the body of the bridegroom has been anointed is sent by the 
 family barber to the bride in a silver cup, and she anoints 
 her body with it. A number of other gifts follow, namely, a 
 large brass vessel of oil, various kinds of perfumery, three 
 pieces of cloth ( one must be a richly embroidered, Benares sari, 
 one a Dacca sdii and the other red bordered), a small carpet, 
 a silk musnud with pillows, tAvo mats, some gold trinkets for 
 the head, a few baskets of sweetmeats, some large fishes, sweet 
 and sour milk, and a few garlands of flowers, &c., which cost 
 altogether from two to three hundred rupees, or sometimes 
 more. A rich man sometimes gives a pair of diamond combs 
 and flowers for the hair, of the value of two thousand rupees 
 and upwards. From this, an idea may be formed as to the 
 lavish expenditure of the Hindoos on marriages, even in these 
 hard times. A. few can afford it, but the many are put to 
 their wits'-end to meet the demands thus made upon them. 
 
 Two or three days after the ceremony of anointment, the 
 Bengali almanac is again consulted, and a lucky day is 
 
 apparel ; even the invitation cards must be on red paper. Red is the 
 sign of joy and gaiety, as opposed to black, which is held to be 
 ominous. 
 
 * A coUyrium case, which contains the black dye with which 
 native females daub their own and their children's eyelids.
 
 MAimiAGE CEREMONIES. 51 
 
 appointed for the feast of Ahibarrabhdt, so called from its being 
 given just before the wedding. On this occasion the father of 
 the bridegroom gives a grand entertainment to the male 
 relatives of the family. As a counterpart to the same the 
 father of the bride gives a similar entertainment to the female 
 relatives of his own family, with this difference only, that in 
 the former case no p41kis are required, whereas in the latter, 
 these covered conveyances have to be engaged for bringing 
 the females. In either case the number of guests generally 
 ranges from two to three hundred ; and as the present style 
 of living among the Hindoos in the metropolis has become 
 more expensive than that which prevailed in the good old davs, 
 partly from a vain desire to make an ambitious display of 
 wealth, and partly from the unprecedentedly rapid increase of 
 the population, which has, as a necessary consequence, con- 
 sidei-ably raised the prices of all kinds of provisions, an enter- 
 tainment of this nature costs from four to five hundred rupees 
 on each side. The very best kinds of hichis, kaclmris, 
 vegetable curries, fruits, sweetmeats* and other delicacies of 
 the season have to be provided for this special occasion. 
 
 * The Bengalis have become so much anglicised of late that they 
 have not hesitated to give a*n English name to their sweetmeats. 
 When the late Lord Canning was the Governor-General of India, it 
 was said, his Babu made a present of some native sweetmeats to 
 Lady Canning, who was kindly pleased to accept them. Hence that 
 sweetmeat is called the " Lady Canning," and to this day no grand 
 feast among the Bengalis is considered complete unless the •' Lady 
 Canning" sort is offered to the guests. The man that first made it is 
 said to have gained much money by its sale. It is not the savoury 
 taste of the thing that makes it. so popular, but the name of the 
 illustrious Lady. While treating of the subject of Hindoo entertain- 
 ments, it would not be out of place to make a few observations on one 
 branch of it, for the information of European readers. At all public 
 entertainments of the kind I am referring to, respectable Hindoos 
 strictly confine themselves to vegetable curries. Though those of the 
 Sdkta denomination (the followers of Kali and Durga) have no reli
 
 52 MARRIAGE CEREMONIES. 
 
 English friends are often invited to the marriages of 
 rich families in Calcutta, and regaled with all sorts of deli- 
 cacies from the Great Eastern Hotel. The family mansion 
 is splendidly furnished and brilliantly illuminated. There 
 is a profusion of pictures and chandeliers. All the furniture 
 and surroundings are indicative rather of an English than of a 
 Native house. Dancing girls are hired to impart eclat to the 
 scene. A nahabat, covered with tinsel, is put up in front of the 
 house, where native musicians play at intervals, much to the 
 satisfaction of the mother of the bridegroom and tlie boys of 
 the neighbourhood ; and a temporary crescent-shaped scaffold- 
 ing made of bamboos and ornamental paper, is erected on the 
 highway, bearing on it the inscription, " God save the bride- 
 groom." Male and female servants receive presents of gold 
 and silver bangles and move about the house gaily dressed in 
 red. As tangible memorials of the happy union, presents of 
 large brass pots, with oil, plates with sweetmeats, fruits, and 
 clothes, &c., are largely distributed among the Brahmans, 
 and the friends and relatives of the family. This present 
 is called Samcijik. With the exception of Brahmans, who 
 are content with returning hollow benedictions, in which 
 the sacerdotal class, as a rule, are so very liberal, every-one 
 else who receives a present mak.es in return presents of 
 clothes and sweetmeats, the nearest relatives giving the most 
 costly. In times of great lagansha, — i.e., in the height of the 
 mai'riage season, — the demand for clothes and sweetmeats is 
 
 gious scruples against using goat-meat (male) and onions in the shape 
 of cnrry, among select friends at home, yet they dare not expose 
 themselves by offering it to strangers. Hence, in large assemblies, 
 they strictly confine themselves to vegetable curries of different 
 kinds. The principle is good, were it honestly observed ; because 
 meat, if not necessarily, yet generally, is the concomitant of drink. 
 Privately, however, both meat and drink are largely used. Respect- 
 able females are entirely free as yet from these carnal indulgences.
 
 MARRIAGE CEREMONIES. 53 
 
 really enormous. Dealers in those things make a harvest of 
 profit and "the town becomes a jubilee of feasts." 
 
 During the night preceding the marriage, the women 
 both the families scarcely sleep, being busily engaged in 
 making all sorts of preparations for the next day. Very 
 early in the morning, five Ayoivs, or women whose husbands are 
 alive, take with them a light, a knife, a Sree, a Baranddld, con- 
 taining sundry little articles described before, a small brass 
 pot, some sweetmeats, chird and murki, oil, betel, betel-nuts 
 and turmeric, and go to the nearest tank, sounding a conch, 
 and touching the water with the knife, fill the brass pot with 
 water. The above articles having been presented as an offer- 
 ing to the brass pot, the females receive a portion of the 
 eatables and return home still sounding the conch, which is a 
 necessary accompaniment of all religious ceremonies. 
 
 What I am now about to describe may be called the^^rs^ 
 marriage, because it is invariably followed by a second cere- 
 monial when the union is really consummated. But it pro- 
 perly forms the binding ceremony, as constituting the marriage 
 relation between the two youthful parties, with all its legal 
 and social rights, even if they should not be spared to live 
 together as husband and wife. The emptiness and superfi- 
 ciality of the relation, especially on the side of the childish 
 bride, will be but too apparent ; and it but too often results, 
 in this uncertain life, in the prolonged misery of a virgin 
 widowhood. 
 
 On the day of the marriage both the bridegroom and the 
 bride are forbidden to eat anything except a little milk and a 
 little fruit. The father of the bride also fasts, as well as the 
 officiating priests of the two families. About twelve o'clock 
 in the day, the Maulik family sends presents of clothes, 
 sweetmeats, fish, sour and sweet milk, and some money, say 
 about twenty-five rupees, to the house of the Kulin family, 
 as a mark of honor to the latter, due to his superior caste. 
 This present is called Adkibdssy. Both the fathers are also
 
 54 JIAKRIAGE CEREMONIES. 
 
 required, during the day, to perform the ceremony of Nanni- 
 mnka, or Biddki-shrddha, — a ceremony, the meaning of which^ 
 as said before, is to make offerings to the manes of ancestors, 
 and to secure the increase and preservation of progeny. 
 
 After the performance of these ceremonies, both the 
 bridegroom and the bride put on a new red-bordered dhidi 
 and sari respectively at their several houses, and are made to 
 bathe ; and five women w^hose husbands are alive touch their 
 foreheads with sundry little things, as mentioned before. 
 They afterwards go through a few minor rites, which are 
 l^urely the inventions of the women, hot being at all enjoined 
 in the Shdstras. It is obvious that the primary object of all 
 these female rites is to promote conjugal felicitj^ Strange 
 as it may appear, the mother of the bridegroom eats seven 
 times (of course but little at a time) that day through a fear 
 lest the bride, when she comes home, will give her but scanty 
 meals,* while the mother of the bride does not eat anything 
 until the marriage ceremony is over, being impressed with a 
 notion that the more she fasts then the more she will get to 
 eat afterwards. 
 
 The females on the side of the bride, with the help of a 
 matron, exercise their utmost ingenuity, and rack their brains, 
 in devising all manner of contrivances partaking of the 
 character of charms to win the devoted attachment of the bride- 
 gi'oom towards the lovely little bride. They resort to many 
 petty tricks for the purpose which are too absurd and childish 
 to be dwelt upon. Credulous as they naturally- arc, not to 
 speak of the normal weakness of their intellect, they fondly 
 
 * The cause of the fear is as follows : When Kartik (the god of 
 beauty and the son of the goddess Durga) went out to marry, he 
 forgot to take with him the usual pair of nut-crackers. When he 
 remember >d this on the way, he immediately returned home, and to 
 his great surprise saw his mother eating with her ten hands. On 
 asking the reason, he was told that it was lest, when he should bring 
 his wife, she should not give her the proper quantity of food.
 
 JLVRRIAGE CEREMONIES. 55 
 
 imagine that their tlmk-thal; or trick, is sure to triuinpli ami 
 produce the desired eftect. To give an instance or two. 
 They write down in red ink on the back of the Piray, or 
 wooden seat on which the bnde is to sit, tlie names of twenty- 
 one uxorious husbands, and go round the bride seven times. 
 They also WTite the name of the goddess Durga, on the silk 
 sari or gai'ment which the bride is to wear at the marriage 
 ceremony, because Shiva, her husband, was excessively fond of 
 her. They place before her the Ghandl-PuthI, a sacred book 
 treating of Durga and Shiva, while her mouth is filled with 
 two betel-nuts to be afterwards chewed unawares with betel by 
 the bridegroom. Meantime active preparations are made on 
 both sides for the auspicious solemnization of the nuptials. 
 At the house of the bridegroom, arrangements are made for 
 illumination and fireworks, and the grand Ndgdras announce 
 the approaching departure of the procession. Imitations of 
 mountains and peacocks are made of colored paper, spacious 
 enough to accommodate a dozen persons ; hundreds of hhds- 
 gaylap and silver staves are seen on the roadside ; groups of 
 singers and musicians are posted here and there to give speci- 
 mens of the vulgar songs of the populace ; a Sukdsan, or 
 bridegroom's seat, elegantly fitted up, is brought out with two 
 boys gaily dressed to fixn the bridegroom with chdmars ;* 
 hundreds of blue and red lights are distributed among the 
 swarthy coolies, who are to use them on the road wdien the 
 procession moves. The bridegroom, after washing, is helped 
 to put on a suit of superbly embroidered Benares kinkah 
 clothes with a peai'l necklace of great value, besides bangles 
 and armlets set with precious stones, and garlands of flowers. 
 Darwans and guards of honor are paraded in front of the 
 house ; and in short, nothing is omitted to render the scene 
 imposing. As has been already observed, there is a growing 
 desire among the Hindoos to imitate English manners and 
 
 * The chamars are fans made of the tails of Thibet cows.
 
 56 MARRIAGE CEREMONIES. 
 
 fashions. A mairiage procession is considered quite incomplete, 
 unless bands of English musicians are retained ; and a caval- 
 cade of troopers, like a burlesque of the Governor-General's 
 Body Guard, is seen to move forward to clear the way. A 
 Cook's carriage with a postillion is not unfrequently observed 
 to suspersede the old Suhdsan or gilt Palki. 
 
 Before the bridegroom leaves home he says his prayers to 
 the goddess Durga, and makes his preparatory jdltrd (depar- 
 ture). At this time his mother asks him, " Bdhd, where are 
 you going 1 " He answers, " To bring in your Ddsi, or maid- 
 servant." Before leaving he receives fi-om her a few instruc- 
 tions as to how he should conduct himself at the house of his 
 father-in-law. He is to gaze on the stars in heaven, to keep 
 his feet half on the ground and half on the wooden seat when 
 engaged in performing any ceremony, and not to use any other 
 betel than . his own. The object of these instructions is to 
 thwart the intention of his mother-in-law to make him an 
 uxorious husband, — a wish in which his mother does not share 
 at all, because it is calcvilated to diminish his regard for her. 
 In the majority of cases the wish of the mother-in-law prevails 
 over that of the mother, as is quite natural. 
 
 He has next to perform the rite of Kanahanjuli, sur- 
 rounded by all the w^omen of the femily. A small brass plate 
 containing rice, a small wooden pot of vermilion, and one 
 rupee, are thrown right over his head by his father into the 
 sdri, or robe of his mother, who stands behind him for the 
 purpose of receiving the same. This is the signal for him 
 to come out, and if all arrangements are complete, take his 
 seat in the bridal suhdsan, or carriage. The procession 
 moves forward amid the increasing darkness. One or two 
 European constables march ahead. The usual cortege of 
 stalwart darwans follow. The torches and flambeaus are 
 lighted. The Khdsgaylapwdllas are ranged on both sides of 
 the road ; in the midst are placed bauds of English and 
 native musicians. Parties of singers in female dress begin
 
 MARRIAGE CEREMONIES. 57 
 
 to siug and dance on tlic Mcmrpcmkhi, borne on the shoul- 
 ders of coolies. The flaring torches are waved around the 
 procession. Blue and red lights are flashed at intervals. 
 Noise, confusion, and bustle ensue. Men, women, and cliildren 
 all flock to see the tamasa. Mischievous boys try to steal 
 the lights. And, to lend enchantment to the scene, gay 
 Babus in open carriages, in their gala dresses, bring up the 
 rear. It is on such occasions that modest beauties and newly- 
 married brides (haus) come out of the zenana, and, unveiling 
 their faces, stand on the tops of their houses on both sides of 
 the road, in order to feast their eyes on all the pompous 
 accompaniments of a marriage procession. As soon as the 
 procession arrives near the house of the bride, the people of 
 the neighbourhood assemble in groups to have a sight of the 
 lord of the day ; and four or five gentlemen of the bride's 
 party advance to welcome the bridegroom and his friends, who 
 enter amid the stares of the idle and the salutations of the 
 polite. The barber of the family brings out a light in a sa7-u 
 (earthen vessel) and places it on the side of the road. 
 
 As the initiatory rite of the auspicious event, the females 
 blow the conch-shell in the inner apartment, and some more 
 impatient than the rest peep through the latticed corridor or 
 window, while the bridegroom is slowly conducted to his appro- 
 priate seat of red satin with embroidered fringes, having three 
 pillows of the same stuff on three sides. An awning is sus- 
 pended over the spacious court, which is splendidly illuminated 
 with gas lights. Polite and complimentary good wishes 
 according to refined native etiquette are exchanged on both 
 sides, comparing favorably with the rude manners of past times. 
 " Come in, come in, gentlemen, and sit down, please," is the 
 general cry. "Bring tobacco, bring tobacco, for both Brahmans 
 and Sudras," is the next welcome expression. Boys, especially 
 the brother-in-law of the bridegroom, now bring him a couple 
 of betel-nuts, to be cut with the pair of nut-crackers he holds 
 in his hand. He objects and hesitates at first, but no excuse is
 
 58 MARRIAGE CEREMONIES. 
 
 admitted, no plea heard, he must cut them in the best way he 
 can.* When all the guests are properly seated, numbers of 
 school-boys sit face to face and begin to wrangle, much to the 
 amusement of the assemblage. As English education is now 
 all the ' go ' among the people, questions in spelling, grammar, 
 geography and history, are put to each other. The following 
 may be taken as a specimen : Ashutash asks Bholanath, 
 " In what school do you read 1 " Bholanath answers, " In the 
 Hare School." A. continues, "What books do you read?" 
 B. enumerates them. A. asks, " What is your pedagogue's 
 name?" B., a little confounded, remains quiet, meditating 
 within himself what could a j)edagogue mean. A. drawing 
 nearer, asks him to spell the word, housewife 1 B. answers, 
 " h-u-z-z-i-f " A. laughs heartily, in which he is joined by 
 other boys. Continuing the chain of interrogations, he asks 
 B. to parse the sentence : " To be good is to be happy." B. 
 hanging down his head, attempts, but fails. "Where is 
 Dundee, aud what is it famous for?" B. answers, "Dundee 
 is in Germany." (laughter). A. pressing his adversary, con- 
 tinues " What was the cause of the Trojan war ? " B. answers 
 hesitatingly, " The golden fleece ! " Thus discomfited, B. takes 
 refuge in ignoble silence, while A., in a triumphant mood, 
 moves prominently forward amidst the plaudits of the assem- 
 bled multitude. " Long live Ashutash," is the universal 
 blessing. 
 
 Here two or three professional genealogists, wearing tunics 
 and turbans, stand up, and in measured rhyme recite the 
 
 * Even the minutest thing in the domestic economy of a Hindoo 
 family is fraught with meaning : the nubs are kept all-day in the 
 bride's mouth aud are saturated with her saliva. When cut by the 
 hand of the bridegroom they are supposed to possess a peculiar virtue. 
 Somehow or other, the bridegroom must be made to use them in spite 
 of the waruiug of his mother, forbidding him to use them on any 
 account. When used, his love for his wife is supposed to be intensified, 
 which is prejudicial to the interests of his mother.
 
 MARRIAGE CERKMONIES. 59 
 
 genealogical table of the two families now affianced, l)lazoning 
 forth the meritorious deeds of each succeeding generation. 
 They keep a regular register of all the aristocratic Hindoo 
 families, especially of the Kulin class, and at respectable 
 marriages they are richly rewarded. It is quite amusing to- 
 hear how seriously they rehearse the virtuous acts of the 
 ancestors, carefully refraining from making any allusion to 
 disreputal)le acts of any kind. Though not equal to Chundd, 
 the inimitable bard and })ole-star of Rajasthan, as Colonel Tod 
 calls him, their services are duly appreciated by all orthodox 
 Hindoos, who exult in the glowing recital of ancestral deeds. 
 Their langiiage is so guarded and flattering that it can offend 
 nobody, except such as do not reward them. Having the 
 genealogical table in their possession they can easily turn the 
 good into bad, and vice versa, to serve their own selfish ends. 
 An upstart, or one who has a family stain, pays them liberally 
 to have his name inserted in the genealogical register, and to 
 be mentioned in laudatory terms. 
 
 In the Thakurdaldn, or chamber of worship, all prepara- 
 tions for the solemnization of the nuptials are now made. 
 The couch-cot, bedding, carpet, embroidered and wooden 
 shoes — here English shoes will not do — gold watch and chain, 
 diamond ring, pearl necklace, and one set of silver and one 
 set of brass untensils,* are arranged in proper order ; and 
 flowers, sandal-paste, durva grass, holy water in copper pans, 
 and kusa grass, are placed before the priests, of both 
 parties. The bridegroom, laying aside his embroidered robe, 
 is dressed in a red silk cloth, and taken to the place 
 of worship, where the bride, also attired in a silk sari, 
 veiled and treml)ling with fear, is slowly brought from 
 the female penetralia on a wooden scat borne by two 
 servants, and placed on the left side of the bridegroom. 
 
 * The articles consist of silver Gliara, Garu, Bat.hii, Thalia, Bati, 
 Glass, Raykab, Dabar, Dipay aud Pikdau.
 
 60 MARRIAGE CEREMONIES. 
 
 Her agitation when brought before the altar of Hymen is 
 greatly soothed by the wealth of gold ornaments — the sum- 
 mum bonum of her existence — ^with which her person is adorn- 
 ed. The officiating priest puts into the hands of the bride- 
 groom fourteen blades of kusa grass in two small bundles, 
 which he winds and ties round his figures. The priest then 
 pours a little holy Ganges water into the bridegroom's right 
 hand, which he holds while the father-in-law repeats a mantra, 
 or incantation, at the close of which he lets it fall. Rice, 
 flowers, and durva grass are next given him, which he lays 
 near the copper pan containing the holy water. Water is 
 presented as at first with a prayer, then sour milk, then again 
 water. The officiating priest now directs him to put his hand 
 into the copper pan, and placing the hand of the bride on 
 that of the bridegroom ties them together with a garland 
 of flowers, when the father-in-law says : "Of the family of 
 Gautama, the great grand-daughter of Ram Charan Basu, the 
 grand-daughter of Balloram Basu, the daughter of Ramsun- 
 der Basu, wearing such and such clothes and jewels, I, Dwarika- 
 nath Basu, give to thee, Oma Charan Datta, of the family of 
 Bharaddaz, the great grandson of Dinanath Datta, the grand- 
 son of Shib Charan Datta, the son of Jadunath Datta." The 
 bridegroom says, " I have received her." The father-in-law 
 then takes oft' the garland of flowers with which the hands 
 of the married pair were bound, and pouring some holy 
 water on their heads, pronounces his benediction. A piece of 
 silk cloth, called Lajjd-bastra, is then put over the heads of 
 the boy and girl, and they are asked to look at each other 
 for the first time in their lives. While the marriage ceremony 
 is being performed, the boy is made to wear on his head a 
 conical tinsel hat. Here the barber of the bridegroom gives 
 to the priest a little khai (parched rice) and a little ghee, 
 which are offered with durva grass to the god Brahma. A 
 very small piece of coarse cloth called gantckhard, or knotted 
 cloth, containing in all twenty-one myrobalans, hoyrd fruit
 
 MARRIAGE CEREMONIES. 61 
 
 and betel-nuts, is tied to the silk dhohjd, or scarf, of the bride- 
 groom, which is fastened again to the silk garment of the bride, 
 thus symbolising a union never to be severed. The mamed 
 couple are then taken into the inner court, where the women 
 are waiting on the tiptoe of expectation, clasped for a moment 
 in a rapturous embrace. As soon as the boy appears, or rather 
 before his appearance, conch-shells are again blown, and he is 
 made to stand on a stone placed under a small awning called 
 chhddldhtalah, a temporary shed, surrounded on four sides by 
 plantain trees. By way of merriment, some women greet him 
 with haye-amla mixed in treacle, some pull his ears, notably 
 his sisters-in-law, while matrons cry out " idu, ulu, ulu" sounds 
 indicative of excessive joy. It would require the masterly pen 
 of a Sir Walter Scott to adequately delineate the joyous 
 feelings of the women on such an auspicious occasion. 
 
 The bridegroom is made to wear on his ten fingers ten rings 
 made of twigs of creepers, and his hands are tied by a piece 
 of thread as long as his body. Putting betwixt them a weaver's 
 shuttle, the mother-in-law says, — • " I have bound thee by 
 thread, bought thee with cowries, and put a shuttle betwixt 
 thy hands, now bleat thou like a lamb,* Bapu," — a term 
 of endearment. She also closes his mouth by touching his 
 lips with a padlock, symbolically fastening the same with 
 twenty-one pins, that he may never scold the girl ; touches 
 his nose with a slender bamboo pipe and breaks it after- 
 
 * I have known a young collegian of a rather humourous disposi- 
 tion really bleat like a lamb at the marriage, to the great amusement 
 of all the women except his mother-in-law, who, simple as she was, 
 took the matter in a serious light, and became quite dejected on 
 account of the great stupidity of her son-in-law Cfor she could not 
 take it in any other sense) ; but hei' dejection gave place to joy when 
 in the Bdsarghar — the sleeping room of the happy pair for the night 
 — she heard him outwit all the women present. It is obvious that 
 the meaning of this part of the female rite is to render the husband 
 tame and docile as a lamb, especially in his treatment of his wife.
 
 62 MARRIAGE CERE1\I0NIEg. 
 
 wards, tlirows over his body treacle and rice, as well as the 
 refuse of spices pounded on a grindstone, which has been 
 kept covered in a bag for eight days, by two women whose 
 husbands are alive, and finally touches his lips with honey and 
 small ima,ges made of sugar, that he may ever treat his wife 
 like a sioeet darling. 
 
 Afterwards the mother-in-law, with several other married 
 women adorned with all their costly ornaments and dressed 
 in their best attire, touches his forehead with Sri, Baranddl a, 
 a winnowing fan, plantain, betel and betel-nuts ; and here the 
 silk scarf of the boy, of which mention has been made before, 
 is again more closely fastened to the silk garment of the 
 <'irl, and remains with her for eight days, after which it is 
 returned, accompanied by presents of sweetmeats, fish and 
 curdled milk. These puerile rites, purely the invention of the 
 women, are intended to act as charms for securing the love and 
 affection of the husband for his wife. The wish is certainly a 
 good one, but often the agencies employed fail to produce the 
 desired effect. "Charms strike the sight, but merit wins 
 the soul." Before the marriage ceremony is concluded, the 
 boys of the neighbourhood make the usual demand of Grdm- 
 vati and Bdnvdri-jmjd. At first, in a polite way, they ask 
 the father of the bridegroom for the gift. He offers an 
 amount, but they iiasist on having more. After some alter- 
 cation, in which sometimes high words and offensive language 
 are made use of,* the matter is eventually settled on payment 
 
 * In former days unpleasant quarrels were known to have arisen 
 between the two parties from very trivial circumstances. The friends 
 of the bridegroom, often pluming themselves on their special prero- 
 gatives as members of the stronger party, readily resented even the 
 slightest insult offered to them unintentionally by the bride's party. 
 These altercations sometimes terminated in blows, if not in lacerated 
 limbs. Instead of waiting till the conclusion of the ceremony, the 
 whole of the bridegroom's party has been known to return home 
 without dinner, to the great mortification of the other party. There
 
 MARRIAGE CERE>rONIES. 63 
 
 of a reasonable sum. Tliis mone}- is used in giving a feast 
 to the boys of the neighbourhood, reserving a portion for 
 the Bdnvdri-puja, — a mode of worship which will be described 
 in another place. 
 
 As an epilogue to the nuptial rite, the bridegroom continues 
 to stand on a stone, while two men setting the bride on a 
 wooden seat, and lifting her higher than his head, make three 
 circumambulations, asking the females at the same time which 
 is taller, the bridegroom or the bride? The stereotyped 
 response is, " the bride." This being done, the women throw- 
 ing a piece of cloth over the heads of both, desire them to 
 glance at each other with all the fond endearments of a wedded 
 pair. As is to be expected, the coy girl, almost in a state of 
 trepidation, casts but a transient look, and veils her face 
 instantly ; but the boy, young as he is, feels delight in view- 
 ing the lovely face of his future wife. This look is called 
 SJmvadristi, or " the auspicious siglit," a harbinger of future 
 felicity. 
 
 The bridegroom returns to the TdhkurcWdn or place of 
 worship, and performs the concluding part of marriage cere- 
 mony, while the officiating priest, repeating the usual incanta- 
 tion, presents the burnt oiferings (homa) to the gods, which 
 terminates the religious part of the rite.* But before the 
 
 is a common saying among the Bengalis that " he who is the enemy 
 of the house should go to a marriage party." It used to be a com- 
 mon sport with the friends of the bridegroom to cut with a pair of 
 scissors the bedding at the house of the bride. But happily such 
 practices are of rare occurrence now. 
 
 * An English gentleman, familiarly acquainted with the manners 
 and customs of the country, once advised a Native friend of his to go 
 to England with a number of Hindoo females and exhibit there all 
 the important social and domestic ceremonials of this country in a 
 place of public resort. The very circumstances of Hindoo females 
 performing those rites in the manner in which they are popularly
 
 64 MARRIAGE CEREMONIES. 
 
 bridegroom leaves the place of worship, the officiating priests 
 of both sides must have their dakshina, or pecuniary reward. 
 If the boy be of the Maulik caste, and the girl of the Kulin 
 caste, the former must give double what the latter gives, 
 i. e., 16 rupees and 8 rupees. Here, as in every other in- 
 stance, the superiority of caste asserts its peculiar privileges. 
 The professional genealogists, after concluding their recitation 
 and singing their epithalamiums, also come in for their share 
 of the reward, but they are generally told to wait till the next 
 day, when, in common with other Ghafaks, they receive their 
 recompense. The bridegroom is then permitted to have a 
 little breathing time, after the infliction of so many religious 
 and domestic rites, whicli latter formed the special province 
 of the -women. 
 
 The head of the family now stands up before the assembly, 
 and asks their permission to go through the ceremony of 
 Mdld-Chandan, or the distribution of sandaled garlands. 
 This is done to pay them the honor due to their rank. The 
 Dalapati, or the head of the order or party, almost invariably 
 receives the first garland, and then the assembled multitudes 
 are served. For securing this hereditary distinction to a 
 family, large sums of money have been spent from time to time 
 by millionaires who had risen from an obscure position in life 
 to a state of great affluence. The late Raja Rajkrishna Baha- 
 dur, Babus Ram Dulal Dey, Krishna Ram Basu, Madan Mohan 
 Datta, Santi Ram Singhi, Ram Ratan Rai and others, expend- 
 ed upwards of a lakh of rupees, or £10,000 each, for the 
 possession of the enviable title of Dalapati, or head of a 
 party. The way by wdiich this noVAe distinction was secured 
 was to induce first - class Kulins, by suflicient pecuniary 
 
 celebrated here, would be sure to attract a very large audience. The 
 marriage ceremonies alone would form a regular night of enchant- 
 ment. The time will certainly come when the realization of such an 
 ingenious idea will no longer be held Utopian.
 
 MARRIAGE CEREMONIES. (If) 
 
 inducements, to intermarry into the family of tlie would-be 
 Dalapati. The generally impoverished condition of the 
 old aristocracy of the land, and the onward march of intellect 
 teaching the people to look to sterling merit for superiority 
 in the scale of society, have considerably deteriorated the 
 value of these artificial distinctions. The progress of educa- 
 tion has opened a new era in the social institutions of the 
 country, and an enlightened man of low caste is now-a-days 
 more esteemed than an empty -titled Dalapati, whose social 
 status is not to be estimated b}^ the numbers of Kulins he is 
 connected with, but by the extent and character of his services 
 to society. 
 
 The bridegroom next dines with his friends outside, not- 
 withstanding the importunities of the women for him to dine 
 in their presence in the inner apartment, that they may have 
 an opportunity to indulge in merriment at his expense. As a 
 rule, the Brahmans dine first, and then the numerous guests 
 and attendants, numbering sometimes one thousand. Despite 
 the efforts of the friends of the bride to prevent unwelcome 
 intrusion, from a natural apprehension of running short of 
 supplies, which, on such occasions, are procured at enoi-mous 
 cost, many uninvited persons, in the disguise of respectable 
 looking Babus, contrive somehow or other to mingle in the 
 crowd, and behave with such propriety as to elude detection. 
 The proportion of male intruders is larger than that of females, 
 simply because the latter, however barefaced, cannot entirely 
 divest themselves of all modesty. It would not be above the 
 mark to put down the number of the former at twenty per 
 cent. Such men ai'e professional intruders ; they are entirely 
 devoid of self-respect, and lead a wretched, demoralized life. 
 Foreigners can have no idea of the extent to which they carry 
 on their disreputable trade, including in their ranks some of 
 the highest Brahmans of the country. It is not an uncommon 
 sight, on such occasion, to behold numbers of people after 
 dinner carrying off bundles of Lucius (fine edibles) and swect- 
 
 E
 
 66 MARRIAGE CEREMOMES. 
 
 meats in their hands, which methranis* thi'eaten to touch and 
 defile. 
 
 When full justice has been done to the feast provided for the 
 occasion, the crowd melts away and streams out at the door, 
 well pleased with the reception they have had. It is much 
 easier to satisfy men than women in this respect. The latter are 
 naturally fastidious, and the least shortcoming is sure to be 
 found fault with. When confusion and bustle have subsided, the 
 bridegroom is slowly conducted into a room in the inner apart- 
 ment, which bears the euphonious name of Bctsarghar, the 
 bed-chamber of the happy pair, or rather the store-house of 
 jokes and banter, where are met his wife, his mother-in-law, f 
 and the whole galaxy of beauty. The very name of Bdsarghar\ 
 
 * Women of the sweeper-caste. 
 
 f According to the rules of Hindoo society, a mother-in-law is not 
 permitted to appear before her son-in-law ; it is considered not only- 
 indecorous but scandalous ; hence she always keeps her distance from 
 her son-in-law, biit on this particular night, her presence in the room 
 with other women is quite consistent with feminine propriety. In the 
 case of a very young son-in-law, however, a departure from this rule 
 is not reprehensible. 
 
 \ In the suburbs of Calcutta and rural districts of Bengal, females, 
 more particularly among the Brahman class, are allowed to have great 
 liberty on this special occasion. Laying aside their instinctive mo- 
 desty, they entertain the bridegroom not only with epithalamiums but 
 with other amorous songs, having reference to the diversions of 
 Krishna with his mistress, and the numerous milkmaids. Under an 
 erroneous impression that they are singing holy songs, they unwit- 
 tingly trumpet the profligate character of their god. These songs 
 are generally known by the names of .?rtA'A/.yrtwy?>a^ and biraha ; the 
 former consist of news conveyed by the principal milkmaids regarding 
 his mistress, to whom he oftentimes proved false, and the latter of 
 disappointed love, broadly exhibiting the prominent features of his 
 sensuous life. Frail as women naturally are, the example of such a 
 god. combined with the sanction of religion, has undoubtedly a ten- 
 dency to impair their virtue. To strike a death-blow at the root of 
 the evil must be the work of time. The essential elements of the 
 Hindoo character must be thoroughly recast.
 
 MARRIAGE CEREMONIES. 67 
 
 suggests to a female a variety of ideas at once amusing 
 and fascinating. Nursed from her cradle in a state of per- 
 fect seclusion, and immersed in all the drudgeries of a 
 monotonous domestic life, she is glad of any opportunity to 
 share in the unrestrained pleasure of joviality. The mother- 
 in-law, throwing aside conventional restraint, introduces her- 
 self, or is introduced hy other women, to her son-in-law. They 
 pull the poor lad's ears, in spite of his earnest protestations, 
 and if they do not know what flirtation is, they assail him 
 with jokes which quite puzzle him and bewilder his senses. 
 They burst into roars of laughter and make themselves merry 
 at his expense ; he feels himself almost helpless and unpre- 
 pared to make a suitable repartee, and is at length driven into 
 all manner of excuses for a brief respite and a short repose. 
 He complains of headache occasioned by the lateness of the 
 hour ; as a sure remedy they give him soda, ice, eau-de-cologne 
 and almost bathe him in rose-water ; but a soporific they can 
 on no account allow him, because it would mar their pleasure 
 and sink their lively spirits. Keeping up their jokes, they 
 place the lovely bride with all her gold trappings on his knee, 
 and unveiling her face ask him to look at it, and say Avhether 
 or not he likes her ; she closes her eyes, struggles to have the 
 veil dropped down, but her sisters do not yield to her wish, 
 and keeping her yet unveiled, repeat the question. Of course 
 lie makes no reply, but blushes and hangs down his head ; 
 their demand being imperative, he sees no other alternative, 
 but to reply gently in the affirmative. They next make the 
 girl bride, much against her inclination, lie down by his side ; 
 as often as she is dragged so often she draws back, but yielding 
 at last to the admonition of her mother, she is constrained to 
 lie down, because, on that night, this form is strictly enjoined 
 in the female shastra. The innocent girl, not participating in 
 the absurd mirth but shrinking within herself, turns away, and 
 with an occasional whimper passes the sleepless, miserable hours. 
 The dawn of morning is to her most welcome, although it aftbrds
 
 68 MARRIAGE CEREMOXIBS. 
 
 her but a temporary relief. As the first glimpse of light is 
 perceived, she flies into the bosom of her aunt, who tries to 
 animate her drooping spirit by a word or two of solace, citing 
 perhaps at the same time the example of Sarojini, her elder 
 sistei', placed in a similar position three years ago. The women 
 referred to remain all night in the Bdsarghar. As a matter of 
 course, aged women go to sleep faster than young sprightly girls of 
 sweet seventeen, who are bent on makiiag the best of the 
 occasion by indulging in tricks and witticisms. They literally 
 rack their brains to outwit the bridegroom by their thdttd and 
 tdmdshd (jokes), and their stock seems to be almost inexhaust- 
 ible. They contrive to make him chew the beera or betel 
 which was Jirst chewed by the bride, and if he be obstinate 
 enough to refuse in obedience to the warning of his mother, 
 which is often the case, four or five young ladies open his lips, 
 and thrust the chewed betel into his mouth. What young 
 man would be so vmgallant as to resist them after all that ? 
 He must either submit, or bear the opprobrium of a foolish 
 discourteous boy. Thus the whole night is passed in the banter 
 and practical joking peculiar to Hindoo women. When in the 
 morning he attempts to get away from their company, one or two 
 ladies, notably his salts, or sisters-in-law, hold him fast by the 
 skirt of his silk garment, demanding the customary present 
 of Sarjydtoldni* He sends a message to his man outside, 
 and gets a sum of money, generally from 30 to 50 rupees, 
 on payment of which they permit him to go. After a short 
 respite he is again brought into the inner apartment, and after 
 shaving, bathing and changing his clothes, he is made to go 
 through almost the same course of female rites as on the pre- 
 ceding night, with this diflference only, that no officiating priest 
 
 * The fee for the trouble of removing' the bed and keeping up all 
 night. The latiies who remained in the bed-chamber are justly 
 entitled to it for their pains. A widow, be it observed, is not per- 
 mitted to touch the bed lest her misfortune should befall the bride ; 
 but she gets her share of the fee.
 
 MARRIAGE CEREMONIES. G9 
 
 is required to help. This rite is named Bdssi Blhaha (not new 
 marriage), all the ceremonials being conducted by the females. 
 It would be tedious to inflict on the reader a recapitulation of 
 the same ; suffice it to say, that in them all one grand idea is 
 plainly perceptible, namely, the long life and conjugal felicity 
 of the happy pair. In the opinion of the Hindoo women, the 
 greater the number of matrimonial ceremonies, the greater the 
 chance of securing the favor of Hymen. At the conclusion, 
 the boy and girl are directed to say that they have passed the 
 state of celibacy and entered on that of matrimony. 
 
 As morning advances, the bridegroom walking, and the bride 
 in the arms of her relative, are next brought into a room — the 
 women blowing the conch and sprinkling water, — and made to 
 sit near each other. They then play with cowries (shells) ; 
 the girl is told to take up a few cowries in her left hand and 
 put them near the boy, while on the other hand the boy is told 
 to take up as much as his right hand can contain and put 
 them before the girl, the meaning of which is, that the girl 
 should spend sparingly and the boy should give her abundantly. 
 They then play with four very small earthen pots, called 
 mooiifflivdr, filled with rice and peas ; the girl first opens 
 the lids of the pots and throws the contents on a Kulo 
 { winnowing fan), the boy takes it up and fills the pots, the 
 girl slowly puts on the lids, and inaudibly repeats the name of 
 her husband for the first time,* expressing a hope that by the 
 above process she may stop his mouth and curb his tongue 
 that he may never abuse her. As the first course of breakfast, 
 fruits and sweetmeats are served to the bridegroom and the 
 bride. He eats a little and is requested to offer a portion of 
 
 * It should be mentioned that, after her marriage, a female is not 
 allowed to utter the name of her husband or of any of his male and 
 female relatives, save those who are younger than herself. There is 
 no harm done in pronouncing the name of her husband, but through 
 a sense of shame she does not repeat it.
 
 70 MARRIAGE CEREMONIES. 
 
 the same to his wife, whose modesty forbids her to accept any 
 in his presence ; but the earnest importmiities of the nearest 
 of kin overcome her shyness, and she is at length prevailed 
 upon to taste a little which is offered her by the hand of her 
 husband, the women expressing a desire at the same time that 
 she may continue to eat from the same hand to the end of 
 her days. They then receive the benedictions of- the male 
 and female members of the family in money, durva grass, and 
 paddy, which embody a prayer to God for their everlasting 
 happiness. A second course of breakfast, consisting of boiled 
 rice, dal, fish and vegetable curries in great variety, sweet- 
 meats, sour and sweet milk, is nest brought for the bride- 
 groom ; seeing that he eats very slowly and sparingly through 
 shame, his sisters-in-law help him with handfuls of rice and 
 curries, &c. After he has finished eating, the remainder of the 
 food is given to his wife in a separate room, because it is cus- 
 tomary that she should eat the same food that day, with a 
 view to cement their mutual love and affection. 
 
 Preparations are now made for the retuni of the procession 
 to the house of the bridegroom, but before it starts some pecu- 
 niary matters ai-e to be settled. The father of the bridegroom 
 gives fifty rupees as Sarjydtolani, for the benefit of the 
 sisters of the bride ; and the father of the bride must give the 
 same sum, if not a larger one, as Nanadkhaymee, for the bene- 
 fit of the sisters of the bridegroom. Then the difficult pix>blem 
 of Samajih is to be solvecL In almost every case, the ques- 
 tion is not decided without some discussion. Hindoos are 
 above all tenacious of caste when the question is one of rupees 
 and pice. Crowds of Bhdts, fakirs, ndga&, raywas, and men- 
 dicants shouting at times "Jai, J «/," victory, victory ; '^^ Bar 
 Tconay hachay thahoog" " may the bridegi'oom and bride live 
 long," impatiently wait in the street for their usual alms. 
 They get a few annas each and disperse. Professional Ghataks, 
 genealogists, and Brahmans also come in for their share, and are 
 not disappointed. Then comes the interesting and affecting
 
 MARRIAGE CEREMONIES. 71 
 
 part of the ceremonial, the jdttrd, or the approaching depar- 
 ture of the happy pair for the house of the bridegroom. A 
 small brass pot filled with holy water and a small wooden pot 
 of vermilion being placed before them, they are made to sit 
 on the two wooden pirays on which they sat the previous 
 evening at the marriage, and the women touch their foreheads 
 with sour milk, shiddi (hemp), and the consecrated arghi of 
 the goddess Durga,* which latter is left in a tuft on the 
 KJiopd, or ringlet, of the bride's hair for eight days. Her fore- 
 head is also rubbed with vermilion, the mark of a woman 
 whose husband is alive. This is followed by the rite of Kano- 
 Icanjuli already described ; but this time the father of the 
 bride throws the brass plate right over her head into the lap of 
 his wife, who stands for the purpose behind her daughter. A 
 sudden and solemn pause is perceptible here, betokening the 
 subsidence of joy and the advent of sorrow. In the midst 
 of the company, mostly women, the father and mother of the 
 bride, alternately clasping both the hands of the bridegroom, 
 with tears in their eyes, commit the very responsible trust of 
 the young wife to his charge, saying at the same time in a 
 faltering tone, " hitherto our daughter was placed under our 
 care, but now through the Bhabitarhi, or kind dispensation of 
 Providence, she is consigned for ever to your charge ; may you 
 kindly overlook her shortcomings and frailties, and prove your 
 fidelity by constancy." At this parting expression, tears start 
 into the eyes of all the females, naturally more susceptible 
 than the sterner sex. With sorro^vful countenances and deep 
 emotion they look steadfastly at the married pair, and im- 
 ploringly beseech the bridegroom to treat the bride with all 
 the tenderness of an affectionate husband. The scene is 
 
 * The arghi consists of diirva grass, rice and alt a (a thin red stuff 
 made of cotton, like paper, with which Hindoo females daub their 
 feet,) previously consecrated to the goddess Durga, and is supposed 
 to possess a peculiar virtue in promoting felicity and relieving distress.
 
 72 MARRIAGE CEREMONIES. 
 
 exceedingly affecting, and the sweet sorrow of parting does 
 not permit them to say Biddya, or farewell, to the bi-idegroom. 
 The mother-in-law, especially, should the bride be her only 
 daughter, is ovei-whelmed with grief, and if she does not cry 
 bitterly, her suppressed emotion is unmistakable ; the idea 
 even of a temporary separation is enough to break her heart, 
 and no consolation can restore the natural serenity of her mind.* 
 Her relatives endeavour to cheer her by reminding her of their 
 and her own cases, and declare that all women are born to 
 share the same fate. They scarcely enter the world before they 
 
 * Hindoos are so passionately fond of their children, male or 
 female, that they can but ill brook the idea of separation, even under 
 circumstances where it is unavoidable. Hence wealthy families 
 often keep their sons-in-law under their own roof. Sometimes this 
 is done from vanity. Such sons-in-law generally become indolent 
 and effeminate, destitute alike of mental activity and physical energy. 
 They eat, drink, smoke, play and sleep. Fattening on the ample 
 resources of their father-in-law. they contract demoralizing habits, 
 which engender vice and profligacy. The late Babus Ramdulal 
 Dey, Eamrattan Rai, Prannath Chaudhri, the Tagore families, the 
 old Rajas of Calcutta and some of the newly fledged English-made 
 Rajas and others, countenanced this practice, and the result is, they 
 have left with but few exceptions a number of men singularly defi- 
 cient in good moral character. These men are called Ghar-Jamayes, 
 or home-bred sons-in-law, which is a term of reproach among all who 
 have a spark of independence about them. The late Babu Dina 
 Bandhu Mittra, the celebrated author of '• Nil Darpan" strongly 
 satirizes such characters in a book axWed'' Jamaye Bareek.'" While 
 on this subject, I may as well mention here that Babu Ramdulal Dey 
 of Calcutta, who had risen from obscurity to great opulence, had 
 five daughters, to each of whom he gave a marriage dowry of 
 Rupees oO.OOO in Government securities, and 10.000 rupees for a 
 house. Of course all his sons-in-law were first class Kitlins, and 
 used to live under the roof of their father-in-law. Some of their 
 sons and grandsons are now ranked amongst the Hindoo millionaires 
 of this great City, while most of the members of the original stock 
 have dwindled into insignificance, strikingly illustrating the insta- 
 bility of fortune.
 
 MARRIAGE CEREMONIES. 73 
 
 must leave their parents and iutermavry into other families. 
 This is their destiny, and this the law of jagat (the world), 
 and they must all abide by it. Instead of repining, she ought 
 to pi'ay to Dehtd (god) " that her daughter should ever con- 
 tinue to live at her father-in-law's, use Sindur (vermilion) on 
 her grey head, wear out her iron bangle, and be a janma 
 ayestri " — blessings which are all enjoyed by a female whose 
 husband is alive. Such powerful arguments and undeniable 
 examples partially restore the eqiuxnimity of her mind, and 
 she is half persuaded to join her friends and go and sec the 
 procession from the top of the house. The same tumiilt and 
 bustle which ensued at the arrival now prevail at the departure 
 of the bridegroom in his Sukdsan, and the bride in her closely 
 covered crimson Mahdpdyd, preceded by all the tinsel trap- 
 pings, and bands of English and Native musicians. The pro- 
 cession moves slowly forwards with all the pomp and circum- 
 stance of a grand, imposing exhibition, amidst the staring of 
 the wondering populace. " It is on such occasions," as 
 Macaulay observes, " that tender and delicate women, whose 
 veils had never been lifted before the public gaze, come forth 
 from the inner chambers in which Eastern jealousy keeps 
 watch over their beauty." The great body of Barjattras — 
 bridegroom's friends — who graced the procession with their 
 presence the previous night, do not accompany it now on its 
 return homewards, and notwithstanding all the vigilance of the 
 extra guards, the mob scrambles for and forcibly takes away 
 the tinsel flower and fruit trees on the way. In an hour or 
 two, all the objects of wonder vanish from the sight, and leave 
 no mark behind : " the gaze of fools, the pageant of a day." 
 
 On the arrival of the procession at its destination, the 
 bridegroom alights from the Sukdsan and the bride from the 
 Mahdpdyd, under which, by way of welcome, is thrown a 
 ghard, or pot of water. Hereiipon the silk chddar, or scarf, of 
 the bridegroom, so long in the possession of the bride, is 
 entwined between both while the conch is blowing, and they
 
 74 MARRIAGE CEREMONIES. 
 
 are taken into the inner apai-tment, the former walking, the 
 latter in the arms of one of her nearest female relatives whose 
 husband is alive. The boy is made to stand on an dtpand 
 piray (white-painted wooden seat), the girl on a thala or metal 
 plate filled with milk and altawater, and holding in her hand 
 a live shole fish. A small earthen pot of milk is put upon the 
 fire by a female whose husband is alive, and when it boils 
 over, the veil of the girl is lifted, and she is desired to look at 
 the overflowing process and say gently three times " so may 
 the wealth and resources of my father-in-law overfow," while 
 her mother-in-law puts round her left hand an iron bangle,* 
 and, with the usual benediction that she may be ever blessed 
 wdth her husband, rubs the middle of her forehead with a little 
 vermilion. A small basket of paddy, or unhusked rice, upon 
 which stands a small pot of vermilion, is placed on the head of 
 the bride, which the bridegroom supports with his left hand ; 
 and when they have both been greeted three times with the 
 Sri, Baranddld, Kulo, water, plantain, betel-nuts, as has been 
 described before, by the bridgroom's mother, he, with his pair 
 of nut-crackers in his right hand, throws over the ground a few 
 grains of paddy from the rek, walks slowly over a new piece 
 of red-bordered cloth into a room, accompanied by his wife 
 and preceded by other females, one of whom blows a conch and 
 another sprinkles water, — both tokens of an auspicious event. 
 
 When all are properly seated upon bedding spread on the 
 floor, the bridegTOom and the bride play again the game of 
 
 * The use of an iron bangle or bracelet has a deep meaning : it 
 outlasts gold and silver ones. A girl may wear gold ornaments set in 
 precious stones to the value of ten or fifteen thousand rupees ; but 
 an iron bangle worth only a pice, — a veritable mark of aycstriliood 
 as opposed to widowhood — is indispensable to a married woman for 
 its comparatively durable quality. A young widow may wear gold 
 bangles till her twentieth year, but she is not privileged to put on an 
 iron banjrle after the death of her husband.
 
 MARRIAGE CEREMONIES. 75 
 
 jahik with cowries (shells)* as before. They afterwards 
 receive the usual assirhdd (blessing) in paddy, durva grass, 
 and money. The mother-in-law, in order to ensure tlie perma- 
 nent submissiveness of the bride, puts honey into her ears and 
 sugar into her mouth, that she may receive her commands and 
 execute them like a sweet obedient girl. Some women then 
 place a male child on the thigh of the bridegroom, and desire 
 him to haiid it to the bride. According to prescribed custom, 
 the mother-in-law, on fii'st seeing the face of her daughter-in- 
 law, presents her with a pair of gold bangles. Other near 
 female relatives, following her example, present her severally 
 with a pair of gold armlets, a pearl necklace, a set of gold 
 pitjhdpa, or an ornament for the back, jingling as the girl 
 moves, a pair of diamond-cut gold earrings set in precious 
 stones, and so on. To account for the common desire of the 
 Hindoos to give a profusion of jewels to their females, Manu, 
 their great law-giver, enjoins — -"let women be constantly sup- 
 plied with ornaments at festivals and jubilees, for if the wife 
 be not elegantly attired, she will not gladden her husband. 
 When a wife is gaily adorned, the whole house is embellished." 
 She is next taken into the kitchen, where all sorts of cooked 
 victuals, except meat, have been prepared in great abundance. 
 She is desired to look at them, and pray to God that her 
 father-in-law may always enjoy plenty. On her return from 
 the cook-room, the bridegroom gives into her hands an 
 embroidered Benares sari, as also a brass thdld (plate), with a 
 
 * In the early i^art of the British Government in Bengal, con-rir.s 
 were the common currency of the Province in the ordinary transac- 
 tions of life. People used to make their hatbaznr (purchases) with 
 cowries, and a family that made a daily bazar with sixteen or eighteen 
 kahans of cowries, equal to one rupee or so, was reckoned a very 
 respectable family. The prices of provisions ranged nearly one-third 
 of what they now are. Even the revenues of Government were 
 sometimes paid in cowries in the Eastern districts, namely, Assam, 
 Sylhet, &c.
 
 76 MARRIAGE CEREMONIES. 
 
 few Idtis (cups) containing boiled rice, ddl, and all the 
 prepared curries, vegetables, and fish, frumenty, &c., and 
 addresses her, declaring that from this day forward he under- 
 takes to support her with food and clothes. He then partakes 
 of the dinner and retires, while the bride is made to share the 
 residue.* She is thus taught, from the moment of her union 
 at the Hymeneal altar, her fundamental duty .of absolute sub- 
 mission to, and utter dependence on, her husband. 
 
 Should she be of dark complexion and her features not 
 beautiful, the bridegroom is thus twitted by his elder brothers' 
 wives : " you all along disliked a black girl ; now what will 
 you do, thdkurpo ? Surely you cannot forsake her, we will 
 see by-and-by you shall have to wash her feet." Words like 
 these pierce the heart of the bridegroom, but politeness for- 
 bids him to reply. As regards the power of woman, the 
 same law-giver says : — " A female is able to draw from the 
 right path in this life not a fool only, but even a sage, and 
 can lead him in subjection to desire or to wrath." 
 
 The nearest relatives and friends of the family are invited 
 to partake of the Boivhhdt, or bridal dinner, consisting of boiled 
 rice, dal, fish and vegetable curries, frumenty, polaos, &c., 
 served to the guests by the bride's own hands, which is tanta- 
 mount to her recognition as one of the members of the family. 
 To eat anna (boiled rice) is one thing, and to eat jalpdn (lu- 
 chis and sweetmeats) is quite another. A Hindoo can take 
 the latter at the house of one of inferior caste, but he would 
 lose his caste if he were to eat the former at the same place. 
 Even among equals of the same caste, and much more among 
 inferiors, boiled rice is not taken without mature consideration, 
 
 * A married woman considers it no disgrace, but rather an act of 
 merit, to eat the remainder of her husband's meal in his absence : 
 so great is the respect in which a husband is held, and so warm the 
 sympathy existing between them. Even an elderly woman, the 
 mother of five or six children, cheerfully partakes of the residue, as 
 if it were the leavings of the gods.
 
 MARRIAGE CEREMONIES. 77 
 
 and some sort of compensation from the inferior to the supe- 
 rior for condescending to eat the same. The compensation is 
 made in money and clothes according to the rank of the Ku- 
 lins. Before departing, the guests invited to the Bowhhdt, at 
 which they eat boiled rice from the hands of the bride, give 
 her one, two, or more rupees each. 
 
 The day following is a very interesting day or rather night, 
 being the night of Fulsarjya* or flowery bed. At about 
 eight o'clock in the evening the fatlier of the bride sends to 
 his son-in-law ample presents of all sorts of fruits in or out 
 of season, home and bazar made sweetmeats, some in the 
 shape of men, women, fish, birds, carriages, horses, elephants, 
 &c., &c., each weighing from 6 to 10 lbs., sweet and sour milk, 
 (batdsd) a kind of sweet cakes, chinir nmrici, paddy, — fried 
 and sugared comfits, spices of all sorts, betel and prepared 
 betel-nuts, sets of ornaments and toys made of cutch, repre- 
 senting railway carriages, gardens, liouses, dancing-girls, &c., 
 imitation pearl necklaces made of rice, imitation gold neck- 
 laces made of paddy, colored imitation fruits made of curdf, 
 butter, sugar, sugar-candy, ckhdnd (coagulated milk), otto of 
 roses, rose-water, chaplets of flowers and flower ornaments, in 
 great variety, Dacca and embroidered Benares dhuti and sari 
 
 * Tn contracting matrimonial alliances, some families placed in 
 mediocre circumstances are satisfied with taking a certain sum of 
 money in lieu of the presents mentioned above, partly because the 
 articles are mostly of a perishable nature, and partly because the 
 making presents of money to numerous servants for their troiible 
 and feeding them, is regarded more as a tax than anything else. 
 They prefer utility to show. Even in cases of verbal contract, the 
 father of the bride must send at least thirty servants with presents, 
 besides 100 or 1.50 rupees in cash as stipulated before. 
 
 f In making the above imitations, Hindoo females exhibit an asto- 
 nishing degree of skill and ingenuity, which, if properly trained, 
 would be capable of still further improvement. Naturally and in- 
 stinctively, they evince a great aptitude for learning all sorts of 
 handiwork.
 
 78 MARRIAGE CEREMONIES. 
 
 for the boy and the girl, clothes for all the elderly females, 
 couch-cot, beddmg, sets of silver and brass utensils, carpets, 
 embroidered shoes, gold watch and chain, &c., &c. Between 
 125 and 150 servants, male and female, carry these articles, 
 some in banghies, some in baskets, and some in large brass 
 ihdlds, or trays. These presents being properly arranged in 
 the Thdhurddldn, the male friends of the family are invited 
 to come down and see them, some praising the choice assort- 
 ment and large variety, as well as the taste of the father of 
 the bride, while others more calculating make an estimate as 
 to the probable cost of the w^hole. These articles are then 
 removed into the inner apartment, where the females, natur- 
 ally loquacious, criticise them according to their judgment • the 
 simple and the good-natured say they are good and satisfactoiy, 
 others more fastidious find fault with them. They are, however, 
 soon silenced by the prudent remarks of the adult male members 
 of the family. The servants are next fed and dismissed with 
 presents of money, some receiving one rupee each, being the 
 servants of the bride's family, some half a rupee, being the 
 servants of other families. Tliey then take back all the 
 brass thd'ds and trays, leaving the baskets behind. 
 
 Here we come to the climax of interest. The bridegroom 
 and the bride, adorned with a wealth of flower wreaths, and 
 dressed in red-bordered Dacca clothes, with sandal paste on 
 their foreheads, and sitting side by side in the presence of 
 Avomen whose husbands are alive, are desired to eat even a 
 small portion of the articles of food that have been presented, 
 and what is the most interesting feature in the scene is, that 
 the former helps the latter and the latter helps the former, 
 both throwing aside for the first time the restraint which 
 modesty naturally imposes on such an occasion. To be more 
 explicit, the boy eats one half of a sweetmeat and gives the 
 other half to the girl, and the girl in her turn is constrained 
 to do the same, though with a blushing countenance and a 
 veiled face. If the boy gives blushingly, the girl gives shyly
 
 MARRIAGE CEREMONIES. 79 
 
 and tremulously ; in spite of her best efforts, she cannot 
 make up her mind to lift up her right hand and stretch it 
 towards the mouth of her husband, but has to be helped to 
 do so by a woman, whose luisbaud is alive. This eating* 
 together and mutual heljnng, when three days have scarcely 
 passed over their heads, naturally gives rise to joy, merriment 
 and laughter among the women ; and one amongst them 
 exclaims; "look, look, Saudamivi, how our new Rddhci and 
 Krishna are sitting side by side and eating togetlier ; may 
 they live long and sport thus." The mother of the boy 
 watches the progress of the interesting scene, and in trans- 
 ports of joy wishes for their continued felicity. The young 
 and sprightly, who have once passed through the same process, 
 and whose hearts are enlivened by the reminiscences of past 
 occurrences, too recent to be forgotten, tarry in the room to 
 the last moment, till sleep weighing down the eyelids of the 
 happy pail-, the mother of the bridegroom gently calls them 
 aside, and leaves them to rest undisturbed. In accordance 
 with the old established custom, their bed is strewn with 
 flowers and their bodies perfumed with otto of rose. This is 
 not enough for the sprightly ladies, whose cup of amusement 
 and merriment is not yet full. Even if the night be cold, 
 regardless of the effects of exposure, they must drijmto, or 
 jealously watch through the crevices of windows, whether or 
 not the boy talks to the girl, and if he do, what is the nature 
 of the talk. Thus they pass the whole night prying and 
 
 * It is perhaps not generally known that the dinner of a native 
 Hindoo or Mussulman, male or female, is not considered complete 
 until he chews hisjjun hccra or betel. The bridegroom after eating- 
 and washing his mouth chews his usual j;a/t, and is asked to give a 
 portion thereof to the bride ; he hesitates at first, but consents at 
 length to give it into the right hand of his elder brother's wife, who 
 forcibly thrusts the same into the mouth of the bride, observino- at 
 the same tim-e that their mutual repugnance on this score will soon 
 be overcome when their incipient affection grows into true love.
 
 80 MARRIAGE CEREMONIES. 
 
 laughing, chatting with each other on subjects suited to their 
 taste and modes of thought. When morning dawns, the boy 
 opens the door and goes outside ; and the girl slowly walks to 
 her maid-servants, who accompanied her from her father's 
 house. Her whole desire is to get back to her mother and 
 sisters ; nothing can reconcile her to her new home ; novelty 
 has no charms for her away from her paternal domicile. She 
 repeatedly asks her maid-servants as to when the pdlki will 
 come, and what is the time fixed for her jcittrd (departure) ; 
 the maid-servants, consoling her, induce her to wash her mouth 
 and break her fast with a few sweetmeats. In obedience to 
 the kind instruction of her mother, she sits closely veiled and 
 talks little, if at all, even to young girls of her own age. She 
 next takes her vojan, or dinner ; and to while away the time, 
 little girls try to amuse her with toys or a game at cards ; at 
 length the time comes for the toilet work, and the arrival of the 
 covered Mahupayd is announced. She again takes a few sweet- 
 meats, and, making a prandm ( bow) to all her superiors, is 
 helped into the Palki by her mother-in-law, a female having 
 previously washed her feet. The usual benediction on such an 
 occasion is, " may you continue to live under the roof of your 
 father-in law in the enjoyment of conjugal bliss." 
 
 On the arrival of the Mahdpdyd at her father's house, almost 
 all the females come out for a moment, taking cai'e previously 
 to have the outer door bolted and the Palki-bearers removed. 
 They cheerfully welcome the return of the girl home. Her 
 mother, unveiling her face and taking her in her arms, thus 
 affectionately addresses her, "my Bdchhd (child ), my sonarehdnd 
 ( golden moon), where have you been 1 Did not your heart 
 mourn for us ? Our house looked khd-khd (desolate) in your 
 absence. What did they (the bridegroom's family) say about 
 our dewa-thowa (presents) 1 Did they express any nindd 
 (dissatisfaction) ? How have the women behaved towards you? 
 How are your sdssiiri and sasur (mother-in-law and father-in 
 law) ? " Thus interrogating, they all walk inside ; and, making
 
 MARRIAGE CEREMONIES. 81 
 
 the girl change lier silk clothes and sit near them, they begin to 
 examine and criticise the ornaments given her by her father- 
 in-law. " Let us see the pearl necklace first" says Bhupada. 
 " The pearls are not smooth and round, what may be its 
 value 1 " Giri Bald, taking her own pearl necklace from off 
 her neck, compares the one with the other. They unanimously 
 pronounce the latter to be more costly than the former ; be 
 that as it may, its value cannot be less than Rupees 500. 
 They next take in hand the pitjhdpa, ornament for the back ; 
 looking at it for a few minutes they pass their opinion, saying 
 it is heavier and of better make than that of Giri Balla's. The 
 Sita-hdur or Jaratoya* (gold necklace), afterwards attracts 
 their attention, and they roughly estimate its price at Rupees 
 350. It is not a little surprising that though these Avomen 
 are never permitted to go beyond the precincts of the zenana, 
 yet their valuation of oi'uaments, unless it be in the case of 
 jaraivya jewellery of enormous cost, such as is worn on grand 
 occasions by the wife of a " big swell," oRen bears the nearest 
 approximation to the intrinsic worth of the article. Thus 
 almost every ornament, one after another, forms the suliject 
 of their criticism. When the discussion is over, the girl is 
 desired to take the greater portion of her ornaments off her 
 body — save a pair of gold hdldsf on her hands and a necklace 
 on her neck — and leave them in the care of her mother. She 
 then mixes in the company of other little girls of her own age, 
 some married, some unmarried ; who curiously ask her all about 
 
 * Jarairija jewellery is set with precious stones, the value of which 
 it is not easy to estimate. 
 
 f A Hindoo A)jlsti-i, i. e., woman whose husband is alive, whether 
 young or old, is religiously forbidden to take off the Ih'iJd (bangle) 
 from her hands ; it is a badge of Ayistrism ; even when dead a red 
 thread is substituted in the place of the hdla, so great is the imjiort- 
 ance attached to it by At/i-itri females. When the bald is not seen 
 on the hand, it is called the rdr-hatha. or the hand of a widow, than 
 -which there could not be a more reproachful term. 
 
 F
 
 82 MARRIAGE CEREMONIES. 
 
 her new friends, until their talk resumes its usual childish topics. 
 She passes the day among them veiy pleasantly, so much so that 
 when her mother calls her to take her luncheon, she stays back 
 and says only ^^ jachi-jachi" (coming, coming,) her mind being 
 so much absorbed in her juvenile sports. 
 
 The next day is again a day of trial for her, she has to go 
 for gharhasath* to her father-in-law's house. On awaking, she 
 remembers where she will have to go in the covirse of the 
 day ; a feeling bordering on sulkiness almost unconsci- 
 ously steals upon her, and as time passes it increases in 
 intensity. About four in the afternoon the arrival of the 
 Mahdpdyd is announced ; her sister combs her hair and 
 adorns her person with all the ornaments she has lately 
 received. Dressed in her bridal silk sari, her eyes seem 
 charged with tears, and symptoms of reluctance are visible in 
 every step ; but go she must ; no alternative is left her. So 
 her mother helps her into the Mahapdud, and orders a darwan 
 and two maid-servants to accompany her, not forgetting to 
 assure her that she is to be brought back the next day. 
 Despite this assurance, she whimpers and weeps, and is con- 
 soled on the way by her maid-servants. At her father-in-law's, 
 young girls of her own age, impatient to receive her, are 
 seen moving backwards and forwards to get a glimpse of the 
 Mahdjioyd, the arrival of which is a signal for almost all the 
 ladies to come out and greet the object of their affection. 
 Her mother-in-law steps forward, and taking up the girl in her 
 arms walks inside, followed by a train of other ladies, whose 
 
 * Gharhasath implies dwelling in a father-in-law's house. If the 
 bride do not go there within eight days after marriage, she cannot 
 do so for one j-ear ; but after gharhasath she can go and come back 
 any time when necessary. The object is to impress on her mind that 
 her father-in-law's house is her future home. It is on this occasion 
 that the worship of Suhachant already described is performed, and 
 both the bridegroom and bride are taken to the Kali Ghat to sanc- 
 tify tlie hallowed union and obtain the blessings of the goddess
 
 MARRIAGE CEREMONIES. 83 
 
 hearts are exhilarated again at the prospect of merriment at 
 the expense of the married pair. When the time comes 
 round for them to retire, the same scene of aripdta is re- 
 enacted by tlie mirth-loving ladies, with all their " quips and 
 cranks and wanton wiles." At day-break, the girl, as might 
 be expected, quietly walks to her confidential maid-servant, 
 and whispers to her to go and tell her mother to send the 
 Mahdpdyd Palki as early as possible. Bearing this message, 
 one of them goes for the piirpose ; but the mother replies, 
 " How can she send the Palki except at the lucky liour after 
 dinner ? " When this reply is communicated to the girl, she 
 sits sulkily aloof, until her mother-in-law coaxes her, and offers 
 for her breakfast a few sweetmeats with milk. After a great 
 deal of hesitation she complies with her request, which, to be 
 effective, is always accompanied by a threat of not allowing 
 her to return to her father's in the event of a refusal. About 
 ten o'clock she takes her regular breakfast as described before ; 
 but she does not eat with zest, for whatever delicacy may be 
 offered her, it palls upon her taste, continually brooding on the 
 idea of the return home. This is the day when the bride- 
 groom and the bride untie from each other's hand the yellow 
 home-spun charhd thread with which they were entwined on 
 the day of marriage as a mark of their indissoluble union. 
 At length the lucky hour arrives, and with it the Mahdpdyd 
 comes. The very announcement of the fact revives the 
 drooping spirits of the bride. After going through the usual 
 toilet work and a slight repast, she gets into the covered con- 
 veyance, assisted by her mother-in-law and other ladies. 
 When she returns home, she changes her bridal silk garment 
 and strips herself of the greater portion of her ornaments. 
 Now, uncontrolled and unreserved, she breathes a free, genial 
 atmosphere ; her mother and sisters welcome her with heart- 
 felt congratulations, and she moves about with her wonted 
 buoyancy of spirits. Throwing aside her sulkiness, she joins 
 readily in conversation with all around her. She praises the
 
 84 MARRIAGE CEREMONIES. 
 
 amiable qualities of her father-in-law and mother-in-law, and 
 the very kind treatment she has had while under their roof, 
 but she keeps her reserve when even the slightest allusion is 
 made to her husband, because this is to her young mind for- 
 bidden ground on which she cannot venture to tread. 
 
 At the marriages of rich families, as will be understood from 
 Gur description, vast sums of money are expended. The 
 greatest expense is incurred in purchasing jewels and making 
 presents of brass utensils, shawls, clothes, sweetmeats, &c., to 
 Brahmans, Kulins, Ghatahs and numerous friends, relatives 
 and acquaintances, besides illuminations, fireworks, and all the 
 pageantry of a pompous procession. In and about Calcutta, 
 the Rajas of Shobabazar, the De family, the Mallik family, 
 the Tagore family, the Datta family, the Ghosal family, and 
 others, are reported to have spent from fifty thousand rupees 
 to two lakhs (£5,000 to £20,000) and upwards in the 
 marriages of their sons. Whilst writing this, I am told 
 that the Maharaja Jotendro Mohan Tagore has expended 
 about two lakhs of rupees in the marriage of his nephew. 
 The most interesting feature in the extraordinary muni- 
 ficence of the Maharaja is, as I have learnt, his princely 
 contribution to the " District Charitable Society," — an act of 
 benevolence which has shewn, in a very conspicuous manner, 
 not only his good sense, but his warm sympathy with the 
 cause of suffering humanity. It were to be wished that his 
 noble example would exercise some influence on other Hindoo 
 millionaires. If a tithe of such marriage expenses were 
 devoted to Public Charity, the poor and helpless would cease- 
 lessly chant the names of such donors, and the reward would 
 be something better than the transient admiration of the idle 
 populace. 
 
 For one or two years after marriage, the girl generally 
 remains under the paternal roof, occasionally paying a visit to 
 her father-in-law's as need be. As she advances in years, her 
 repugnance — the effect of early marriage — to live with her
 
 jrARRIACE CEREMONIES. 85 
 
 hushand is gradually overcome, till time and circumstances 
 completely reconcile lier to her future home. Her affection 
 grows, and she learns to appreciate the grave meaning of a 
 married life. She is still, however, but a girl, in habit and 
 ideas, when the real union of wedded life, or the second mar- 
 riage, takes place, say at her twelfth or thirteenth year. There 
 is a popular belief, whether ei-roneous or not it is not for me 
 to decide, that in this country heat accelerates growth, and 
 hence the Hindoo Shastras enjoin the necessity of early 
 marriage, the injurious consequences of which are chiefly seen 
 in the weak constitution of the offspring, and the premature 
 decay of the mother. 
 
 On this occasion, the officiating priest reading, and the 
 bridegroom repeating the service after him, presents offerings 
 of rice, sweetmeats, plantains, clothes, durva grass, fruits and 
 flowers, to the following gods and goddesses, viz., Shasthi, 
 Mdrkando, Surjya, Suhachan'i, Ganesha, and the nine planets, 
 much in the same way as when the nuptial rites were formally 
 solemnized. After this the hands of the bridegroom and the 
 bride are joined together, and the priest repeating certain 
 formulas, the bridegroom then causes a ring to slide between 
 the bride's silk garment and her waist. Twenty-one small 
 images (twenty male and one female), made of ground rice, are 
 })laced before the happy pair, and the priest feeds the bride 
 with sugar, clarified butter, milk, &c., to ensure the purity of 
 the offspring. They then partake of a good dinner, the bride 
 taking the residue of the bridegroom's meal. The twenty-one 
 images are put into the room of the pair as a token of happy 
 offspring, and the proportion of the males to the females 
 shews the estimation in which they are respectively held. 
 The bride now takes up her permanent residence in the house 
 of her father-in-law and becomes one of his family. 
 
 For a year after the marriage, the parents of the bridegroom 
 and the bride have to make exchanges of suitable presents to 
 one another at all the grand festivals. At the first iatwa, or
 
 86 MARRIAGE CEREMOXIES. 
 
 present, besides clothes, heaps of fruits, sweetmeats, English 
 toys and sundries, the father of the youth gives one complete 
 set of miniature silver and brass utensils to the girl, while in 
 return the father of the girl sends such presents as a table, 
 chair, writing desk, silver inkstand, gold and silver pencil 
 cases, stationery, perfumeiy, ifcc, in addition to an equally 
 large quantity of choice eatables of all kinds too numerous to 
 be detailed. The most expensive presents are two, namely, 
 the sitori or winter present, and the Durga-puja present, 
 the former requiring a Cashmere shawl, chogd, and sundry 
 other articles of use ; and the latter, fine Dacca and silk 
 clothes to the whole family, including men, women and 
 children. 
 
 Though a Hindoo bears a great love and affection to his wife 
 while she lives, yet, in the event of her death, these amiable 
 qualities are too soon effaced by the strong influence of a new 
 passion, and another union is very speedily formed. Even 
 dui'ing the period of his mourning, which lasts one month, 
 proposals for a second marriage are entertained, if not by the 
 husband himself, by his father or elder brother. When the 
 remembrance of this heavy domestic bereavement is so very 
 fresh in the memory, it is highly unbecoming and ungenerous 
 to open or enter into a matrimonial negotiation, and have it 
 consummated immediately after the asiichi, or mourning, is 
 over. A wife is certainly not a beast of burden that is no 
 sooner removed by death than it may be replaced by another. 
 In regard to the whole conduct and relations of the married 
 life, Hindoos cannot have the golden rule too strongly impress- 
 ed : " Let every one of you in particular so love his wife, even 
 as himself ; and let the wife see that she reverences her hus- 
 band."
 
 VI. 
 
 THE BROTHER FESTIVAL. 
 
 ANY social institution that has a tendency to promote the 
 growth of genuine love and affection between man and 
 woman, is naturally conducive to the happiness of both. In 
 this sublunary vale of tears, where unalloyed felicity is but 
 transient, even a temporary exemption from the cares and 
 anxieties of the world adds at least some moments of pleasure 
 to life. The Bhratridvitiya, or fraternal rite of the Hindoos, 
 is an institution of this nature, being admirably calculated to 
 cement the natural bond of union between brothers and sisters 
 of the same family. Bhratridvitiya, as the name imports, 
 takes place on the second day of the new moon immediately 
 following the Kali-puja, or Dewali. On the morning of this 
 day, a brother comes to the house of a sister, and receives 
 from her hand the usual benedictive present of unhusked 
 rice, durva-grass and sandal, with a wealth of good wishes for 
 his long and prosperous life, and the happy commemoration of 
 the event from year to year. The brother in return recipro- 
 cates, and putting a rupee or two into her hands, expresses a 
 similar good wish, with the addition that she may long continue 
 to enjoy the blessings of a conjugal life, — a benediction which 
 she values over every other wordly advantage. The main 
 object of this festival is to renovate and intensify the warmth 
 of affection between relatives of both sexes by blessing each 
 other on a particular day of the year. It is a sort of family 
 reunion, pre-eminently calculated to recall the early reminis- 
 cences of life, and to renew brotherly and sisterly love. No 
 ritualistic rite, or priestly interposition, is necessary for the
 
 88 THE BROTHER FESTIVAL. 
 
 purpose ; it is a purely social institution, originating in the love 
 that sweetens life. 
 
 After interchanging salutations, the sister, who has every 
 thing ready, thrice invokes a blessing upon the brother in a 
 Bengali verse, and marks his forehead thrice with sandal 
 paste from the tip of her little finger. She then serves him 
 with tlie provisions provided for the festive occasion. Here 
 genuine love and tnie affection almost spontaneously gush 
 forth from the heart of the sister towards one who is united to 
 her by the nearest tie of consanguinity and the tenderest 
 remembrances. If the brother be not inclined to relish or 
 taste a particular dish, how affectionately does she coax him 
 to try it, adding at the same time that it has been prepared 
 b}' her own hand with the greatest care. Any little dislike 
 evinced by the brother instantly bathes her eyes in tears, and 
 disposes her to exclaim somewhat in the following strain : 
 "Why is this slight towards a poor sister who was up till 
 twelve o'clock last night to prepare for you the chcmdra-ptdi 
 and Khirarchhuch ( two sorts of home-made sweetmeats), re- 
 gardless of the cries of Kkohd (the baby) ? " Such a pathetic, 
 tender expression bursting from the lips of a loving sister 
 cannot fail to melt a brother's heart, and overcome his dislike. 
 
 About four o'clock in the afternoon, the sister sends, as. 
 tangible memorials of her affection, presents of clothes and 
 sweetmeats to the house of the brother, fondly indulging in 
 the hope that they may be acceptable to him. On this; 
 particular day, Hindoo homes, as well as the streets of Cal- 
 cutta in the native part of the town, present the lively appear- 
 ance of a national jubilee. Each of the brothers of the family 
 visits each of the sisters in turn. Hundreds of servants are 
 busy carrying presents, and return home quite delighted. On 
 such occasions the heart of a Hindoo female, naturally soft 
 and tender, becomes doubly expansive when the outflow of 
 love and affection on her part is fully reciprocated by the 
 effusion of good wishes on the part of her brother.
 
 VII. 
 
 THE SON-IN-LAW FESTIVAL. 
 
 IF not precisely analogous in all its prominent features to 
 the popular festival described in the preceding Chapter, 
 the following bears a striking resemblance to it, in its adapt- 
 ation to promote domestic happiness. The festival familiarly 
 known in Bengal by the name of " Juvidi Shasthi" is an enter- 
 tainment given in honor of a son-in-law, in order to bind him 
 more closely to his wife's family. 
 
 Nothing better illustrates the manners and usages of a 
 nation from a social and religious standpoint than the fes- 
 tivals and ceremonies which are observed by it. They form 
 the essential parts of what DeQuincey calls the equipage of 
 life. As a nation, the Hindoos are proverbially fond of 
 festivals, which are engrafted, as it were, on their peculiar 
 domestic and social economy. A designing priesthood has 
 concocted an almost endless round of superstitious rites with 
 the view of acquiring power, looking for permanent reverence 
 to the credulity of the blind devotees. Such foolish rites are 
 eventually destined to fall into desuetude, as popular enlighten- 
 ment progresses ; but those which are free from the taint 
 of priestcraft, and which are interwoven into the "social ameni- 
 ties of life, are likely to prevail long after the subversion of 
 priestly ascendency. And Jdmdi 8hastM is a festival of this 
 unobjectionable type. No supei'stitious element enters into 
 its observance.
 
 90 THE SON-IN-LAW FESTIVAL. 
 
 It invariably takes place on the sixth day* of the increase 
 of the moon in the Bengali month of May, when ripe mangoes 
 — the prince of Indian fruits — are in full season. Then all 
 the mothers-in-law in Bengal are on the alert to welcome their 
 sons-in-law, and turn a new leaf in the chapter of their joys. 
 A good son-in-law is emphatically the most darling object of 
 a Hindoo mother-in-law. She spares no possible pains to 
 please and satisfy him, even calling to her aid the supernatural 
 agency of charms. Ostensibly and even practically a Hindoo 
 mother-in-law loves her son-iu-law more than her son, simply 
 because the son can shift for himself even if turned adrift in 
 the wide world, but the daughter is absolutely helpless, and 
 the cruel institution of perpetual widowhood, with its appal- 
 ing amount of misery and risk, renders her tenfold more 
 helpless. 
 
 On this festive occasion, the son-in-law is invited to spend 
 the day and night at his father-in-law^'s house. No pains 
 or expense is spared to entertain him. When he comes in the 
 morning, the first thing he has to do is to go into the female 
 apartment, bow his head dowTi in honor of his mother-in-law, 
 and put on the floor a few rupees, say five or ten, sometimes 
 more if newly married. The food consists of all the deli- 
 cacies of the season, and both the quantity and variety are 
 often too great to be done justice to. The perfection of 
 Hindoo culinary art is unreservedly brought into requisition 
 
 * It appears to me rather anomalous, as far as Hindoo astrology is 
 concerned, that such a national jubilee is fixed to be celebrated on 
 this particular day. The Hindoo almanac marks Shasthi. the sixth 
 day of the moon, as dugdhd, or destructive of any good thing. A 
 Hindoo is religiously forbidden to commence any important work or 
 set out on a journey on this day. It portends evil. Respectable 
 Hindoo females, who have children, do not eat boiled rice on this 
 particular day, for fear of becoming Rakshasis or cannibals, prone 
 to destroy their own offspring. The goddess Shasthi iis the pro- 
 tectress of children. She is worshipped six times in the year by all 
 the women of Bengal, except such as are barren or virgin-widows.
 
 THE SON-IN-LAW FESTIVAL. 91 
 
 on such occasions. Surrounded by a galaxy of beauty, the 
 youthful son-in-law is restrained by a sense of shame from 
 freely partaking of the feast specially provided for him. The 
 earnest importunity of the women urges the bashful youth 
 to eat more and more. If this be his first visit as son-in-law, 
 he finds himself quite bewildered in the midst of superfluity 
 and superabundance of preparations. Many are the tricks 
 employed to outwit him. With all his natural shrewdness, 
 and though forewarned by the women of his own family, he 
 is no match for the playful humor and frolics of the young, 
 sprightly ladies. Sham articles of food, cleverly dressed in 
 close imitation of fruits and sweetmeats, are offered him with- 
 out detection in the full blaze of day, and the attempt to 
 partake of them excites bursts of lavighter and merriment. 
 The utmost female ingenuity is here brought into play to call 
 forth amusement at the expense of the duped youth. In 
 their own way, the good-natured females are mistresses of 
 jokes and jests ; and nothing pleases them better than to find 
 the youthful new-comer completely nonplussed. This forms 
 the favorite subject of their talk long after the event. Shut 
 up in the cage of a secluded zenana, quite beyond the in- 
 fluence of the outside world, it is no wonder that their minds 
 and thoughts do not rise above the trifles of their own narrow 
 circle. 
 
 As in the case of the " Brother " festival, ample presents 
 of clothes, fruits, and sweetmeats are sent to the house of the 
 son-in-law, and every lane and street of C^alcutta is thronged 
 with male and female servants trudging along with their loads, 
 in full hope of getting their share of eatables and a rupee 
 or half a rupee each into the bargain.
 
 VIII. 
 
 THE DURGA-PUJA FESTIVAL. 
 
 BY far the most popular reiigious festival of the present 
 day among the Hindoos of Bengal, is the Durgd-pvjd, 
 which in the North- Western and Central Provinces is called 
 the Dasserd festival. It is believed that the worship of the 
 goddess Durga has been performed from time out of mind. 
 The following is a description of the image of the ten-handed 
 goddess, which is set up for worship : "In one of her right 
 hands is a spear, with which she is piercing the giant, Mahi- 
 shasTir ; wdth one of the left she holds the tail of a serpent 
 and the hair of the giant, whose breast the serpent is biting. 
 Her other hands are all stretched behind her head and filled 
 with different instruments of w-ar. Against her right leg 
 leans a lion, and against her left the above-mentioned giant. 
 The images of Lakshmi, Saraswathi, Kartika and Ganesha are 
 very frequently placed by the side of the goddess." The 
 majestic deportment of the goddess, with her three eyes and 
 ten arms, the warlike attitude in which she is represented, her 
 sanguinary character which made her the terror of all other 
 gods, and her mighty exploits (far surpassing in strength, 
 courage and heroism those of the Greek Hercules), all com- 
 bine to give her an importance in the eyes of the people, 
 which is seldom vouchsafed to any other deity. Even 
 Bramd, Vishnu, and Shiva, the Creator, the Preserver, and 
 the Destroyer of the world, were said to have propitiated her ; 
 and Mama Chandra^ the deified hero, invoked her aid in his 
 contest with Rdvana ; and, as he worshipped her in the month
 
 THE DURGA-PUJA FESTIVAT,, 93 
 
 of October, her piija has, from that particular circumstance, 
 been ever after appointed to take place in that period of the 
 year.* A short description of this festival, the preliminary 
 rites with which it is associated, and the national excitement 
 and hilarity which its periodical return produces among the 
 people, will not be altogether uninteresting to European 
 readers, f 
 
 Tweuty-one days before the commencement of the Durg4- 
 puja festival, a preliminary rite, by way of purifying the 
 body and soul by means of ablution, is performed. This rite 
 is called the " Apar-paksh?/a tarpan" so called from its taking 
 place on the first day of Pratipada and ending on the fifteenth 
 day of Amabashi/d, an entire fortnight, immediately preceding 
 the Dehipakhya, during which the puja is celebrated. It 
 generally falls between the fifteenth of September and the 
 fifteenth of October. This popular festival, called Durga- 
 puja in Bengal, and Dassera or " the tenth " in the North- 
 West, although entirely military in its origin, is universally 
 respected. It is commemorative of the day on which the god 
 Rama Chandra first marched against his enemy, Havana, in 
 Lanka, ur Ceylon, for the restoration of his wife, Sita,J w'ho 
 
 * Durga is also worshipped in the month of April, in the time of 
 the vernal -equinox ; bub very few then offer her their devotion, 
 though this celebration claims priority of origin. 
 
 f For some general remarks on the religion of the Hindoos, see 
 Note C. 
 
 J "In this ancient story," says Tod, "we are made acquainted with 
 the distant maritime wars which the princes of India carried on. 
 Even supposing Havana's abode to be the insular Ceylon, he must 
 have been a very powerful j^riuce to equip an armament sufficiently 
 numerous to carry off from the remote kingdom of Konsalu the wife 
 of the great king of the Suryas. It is most improbable that a petty 
 king of Ceylon could wage equal war with a potentate who held the 
 chief domiuion of India, whose father, Dasaratha, drove his victorious 
 car {rutha) over every region (dc-t/i), and whose intercourse with the 
 countries beyond the Bramaputra is distinctly to be traced in the 
 lidnu'ti/tina."
 
 94 THE DURGA-PUJA FESTIVAL. 
 
 was deservedly regarded as the best model of devotion, resig- 
 nation, and love, as is so beautifully painted by the poet : 
 
 '• A woman's bliss is found, not in the smile 
 Of father, mother, friend, nor in herself: 
 Her husband is her only portion here. 
 Her heaven hereafter. If thou indeed 
 Depart this day into the forest drear. 
 I will precede, and smooth the thorny way." 
 
 In the mornings of Apar-pakshya, for fifteen days con- 
 tinually, those who live near the sacred stream go thither 
 with a small copper - pan and some teel seeds, which they 
 sprinkle on the water at short intei'vals, repeating the for- 
 mulae while in a state of half immersion. To a foreigner 
 quite unacquainted with the meaning of these rites, the scene 
 is well calculated to give the idea of the exceeding devotedness 
 of the Hindoos in observing their religious ordinances. The 
 holy water and teel seeds which are sprinkled are intended as 
 offerings to the manes of ancestors for fourteen generations, 
 that their souls may continue to enjoy repose to all eteiniity. 
 The women, though some of them are in the habit of bathing 
 in the holy stream every morning, are precluded by their sex 
 from taking part in this ceremony. Precisely on the last day 
 of the fortnight, — i. e., on the Amdbashyd, as if the .object were 
 attained, the rite of ablution ends, followed by another of a more 
 comprehensive character. On this particular day, which is 
 called Mahdlayci* the living again pay their homage to the 
 memory of the fourteen generations of their ancestors by 
 making them offerings of rice, fruits, sweetmeats, clothes, 
 curded milk, and repeating the incantations said by the priest, 
 at the conclusion of which he takes 'away all the articles 
 presented, and receives his dahshind of one rupee for his 
 
 * This is also the day which is vulgarly called the Kald-hatn Amd- 
 hashyd, when unripe plantain fruits are cub in immense quantities 
 for offerinofs to Durga.
 
 THE DURGA-PUJA FESTIVAL. 95 
 
 trouble. Apart from their sui)erstitious tendency, these 
 anniversaries are not without their beneficial effects. They 
 tend, in no small degree, to inspire the mind with a religious 
 veneration for the memory of the departed worthies, and by 
 the association of ideas not unfrcqucntly bring to recollection 
 their distinctive features and individual characteristics. 
 
 Some aristocratic families that have been observing tliis 
 festival for a long series of years begin their Kalpa, or preli- 
 minary rite, on the ninth day of the decrease of the moon, 
 when an earthen water-pot called ghata* is placed in a room, 
 called bodanghar, duly consecrated by the officiating priest, 
 who, assisted by two other Brahmans, invokes the blessing of 
 the deity by reading a Sanskrit work, called Chandi, which 
 relates the numerous deeds and exploits of the goddess. Tlie 
 Brahman, who repeats the name of the god Madhusudan, seems, 
 to all appearance, to be absorbed in mental abstraction. With 
 closed eyes and moving fingers, not unlike the Rishis of old, 
 he disdains to look at the external world. From early in the 
 morning till 10 o'clock the worship before the earthen pot is 
 continued. The officiating priestsf are strictly prohibited from 
 using sidha (rice), taking more than one meal a day, or sleep- 
 ing with their wives, as if that would be an act of unpardon- 
 able profanation. This strict regime is to be observed by 
 them until the whole of the ceremonial is completed, on the 
 tenth day of the new moon. It should be mentioned here 
 that the majority of the Hindoos begin their kalpa, or preli- 
 minary rite, on Pratipada, or the beginning of the new moon ; 
 when almost every town and village echoes with the sound of 
 
 * This sacred jar is marked with two combined triangles, denoting 
 the union of the two deities, Siva and Durga — the worshippers of 
 the Sakti. or female energy, mark the jar with another triangle. 
 
 t The day before the Kalpa begins, these priests receive new clothed, 
 comprising a dhiific and dohjd. and some money for hnhiaJiay, or food 
 without fish. Very few, however, abide by the rules enjoined in the 
 holy writings.
 
 96 THE DURGA-rUJA FESTIVAL. 
 
 conch, bell and gong, awakening latent religious emotions, 
 and evoking agamaney (songs or inaugural invocations), 
 which deeply affect the hearts of Durga's devout followers. 
 Some of these rhythmic effusions are exceedingly pathetic. I 
 wish I could give a specimen here of these songs divested of 
 their idolatrous tinge ; but I am afraid of offending the ears of 
 my European readei's. 
 
 The Brahmans,* as a rule, commence their kalpa on the 
 sixth day or one day only before the beginning of the 
 grand puja, on the seventh day of the new moon. From 
 the commencement of the initial rite, what thrilling sensations 
 of delight are awakened in the bosom of the young boys and 
 girls ! Every morning and evening while the ceremony is 
 l)eing solemnized, they scramble with each other to get strik- 
 ing the gong and Jcdsar, which produces a harsh, deafening 
 sound. Their excitement increases in proportion to the nearer 
 approach of the festival, and the impression which they thus 
 receive in their early days is not entirely effaced even after 
 their minds are regenerated by the irresistible light of truth. 
 The women, too, manifest mingled sensations of delight and 
 reverence. If they are incapable of striking the gongs, they 
 are susceptible of deep devotional feelings, which the solemnity 
 of the occasion naturally inspires. The encircling of their neck 
 with the end of their sari, or garment, expressive of humility, 
 the solemn attitude in which they stand, their inaudible mut- 
 tering of the name of the goddess, and their prostrating them- 
 selves before the consecrated pot in a spirit of pei'fect resigna- 
 tion, denote a state of mind full of religious fervour, or, more 
 properly speaking, of superstitious awe, which goes with them 
 to their final resting place. On the night of the sixth day 
 (Shashthi) after the increase of the moon, another rite is per- 
 
 * Even in the obseivauce of this religious preliminary, the Brah- 
 mans take advantage of their superior caste, and curtail five days out 
 of six in order to save expense. Every thing is allowable in their 
 case, because they assume to be the oracles between god and man.
 
 THE dhuga-puja festival. 97 
 
 tunned, which is tenncd Adhihassi, its object being to wel- 
 come tlie advent of the visible goddess with all the neces- 
 sary paraphernalia. Another sacred earthen })ot is placed in 
 the outer temple of the goddess, and a young plantain tree, 
 with a couple of wood apples intended for the breast, is trimmed 
 for the next morning's ablution. This plantain tree, called 
 kaldbau, is designed as a personification of Durga in another 
 shape. It is dressed in a silk sari, its head is daubed wdth 
 vermilion* and is placed by the side of Ganesha. Musicians 
 "vvith their ponderous dhdk and dhole and sdiidi (flutes) are 
 retained for five days at 12 to 16 rupees for the occasion. 
 That music imparts a solemnity to religious service is admitted 
 by all ; but its harmony may be taken as an indication of the 
 degree of refinement to wdiich a nation has attained in the 
 scale of civilization. What with the sonorous sound of dhdk, 
 and dhole, sdndi, conch and gong, the effect cannot fail to be 
 impressive to a devout Hindoo mind. Except Brahmans, no 
 one is allowed to touch the idol from this night, after the 
 beibaran, when it is supposed that animation is imparted to it. 
 By the marvellous repetition of a few incantations a perfectly 
 inanimate object, stuffed only with clay and straw, and painted, 
 varnished and ornamented in all the tawdriness of oriental 
 fashion, is suddenly metamorpliosed into a living divinity- 
 Can religious jugglery and blind credulity go fjirther ? 
 
 It will not be out of place to say a few words here about the 
 embellishments of the images. As a refined taste is being cul- 
 tivated, a growing desire is manifested to decorate the idols 
 with splendid tinsel and gewgaws, which are admirably calcu- 
 lated to heighten the magnificence of the spectacle in popular 
 estimation. Apart from the feast of colors presented to public 
 view, the idols are adorned with tinsel ornaments, which, to an 
 
 * The vermilion is used by a Hindoo female whose husband is 
 alive, the privilege of putting it on the forehead is considered a sign 
 of great merit and virtue. 
 
 a
 
 98 THE DURGA-PUJA FESTIVAL. 
 
 untutored mind, are in the highest degree captivating. Some 
 families in affluent circumstances literally rack their brains to 
 discover new and more gaudy embellishments, which, when 
 compared with those of their neighbours, may carry off the 
 bubble reputation. It is perhaps not generally known that a 
 certain class of men — chiefly drawn from the lower strata of 
 society — subsist on this trade ; they prepare a magnificent stock 
 of tinsel wares for a twelve-month, and supply the entire Hindoo 
 community, from Calcutta to the remotest provinces and 
 villages. Indeed so great is the rage for novelty, and so strong 
 the influence of vanity, that not content with costly home- 
 made ornaments, some of the Babus send their orders to 
 England for new patterns, designs, and devices that they may 
 be able to make an impression on the popidar mind ; and as 
 English taste is incomparably superior to native taste both 
 in the excellence and finish of workmanship and in elegance 
 of design, the images that shine in new-fashioned English em- 
 bellishments * are sure to challenge the admiration of the 
 populace. On the day of Niravjan, or Vdsdn, as it is vulgarly 
 called, countless myriads of people throng the principal streets 
 of Calcutta, to catch a glimpse of the celebrated pritimds, or 
 images, and carry the information home to their absent friends 
 in the villages. 
 
 Before sunrise on Saptaim, or the seventh day of the 
 bright phase of the moon, the officiating priest, accompanied 
 by bands of musicians and a few members of the family, 
 proceeds barefooted to the river side, bearing on his shoulder 
 the kaldbau, or plantain tree, described above, with an air 
 
 * It is no le.ss strange than surprising- that ornamental articles, 
 prepared by the hands of European artisans who are accustomed to 
 eat beef and pork, the very mention, and much more the touch, of 
 which contaminates the purity of religion, are put on the bodies and 
 heads of Hindoo gods without the least religious scruple, simply 
 for the gratification of vanity. So much for the consistent and 
 immaculate character of the Hindoo creed !
 
 TDE DURGA-PUJA FESTIVAL. 99 
 
 of gravity as if he had charge of a treasure-chest of great 
 value. These processions are conducted with a degree of 
 pomp corresponding with the other extraneous splendours of 
 the festival. In Calcutta, bands of English musicians, and 
 numbers of staff-holders with high-flying colors, give an im- 
 portance to the scene, which is not ill-suited to satisfy the 
 vulgar taste. After performing some minor ceremonies on 
 the banks of the river, and bathing the plantain tree, the 
 procession returns home, escorting the officiating priest with 
 his precious charge in the same way in which he was con- 
 veyed to the Ghat. On reaching home, the priest, washing his 
 feet, proceeds to rebathe the plantain tree, rubbing on its 
 body all kinds of scented oils* as if to prepare it for a gay, 
 convivial party. This part of the ceremony, with appropriate 
 incantations, being gone through, the plantain tree is placed 
 again by the side of the image of Ganesha, who, being the 
 eldest son of Durga, must be worshipped fiist. Thus the 
 right of precedence is in full force even among the Hindoo 
 gods and goddesses. 
 
 Previous to the commencement of the Saptami, or first 
 puja, the officiating priest again consecrates the goddess 
 Durga, somewhat in the following manner : "0 goddess, 
 come and dwell in this image, and bless him that worships 
 you," naming the person, male or female, who is to reap the 
 benefit of the meritorious act. Thus the business of giving 
 life and eyes to the goddess being finished, the priest, with two 
 forefingers of his right hand, touches the forehead, cheeks, 
 eyes, breast and other parts of the image, repeating all the 
 while the prescribed incantation : " May the soul of Durga 
 
 * These scented oils are mostly prepared by Mussulmans, whose 
 very touch is enough to desecrate a thing ; yet the Brahmans, know- 
 ing this fact, unhesitatingly use them for religious purposes. Thus 
 we see in almost every sphere oP social and domestic life the funda- 
 mental rules of religious purity are shamefully violated.
 
 100 THE DURGA-PUJA FESTIVAL. 
 
 long continue to dwell in this image." This part of the cere- 
 mony, which is accompanied with music, being performed, 
 offerings are made to all the gods and goddesses, as well as to 
 the companions of Durga in her wars, which are painted in 
 variegated colors on the chdl^ or canopy, in the form of a cres- 
 cent over the goddess. The offerings consist principally of 
 small pieces of gold and silver, rice, fruits, sweetmeats, cloth, 
 brass utensils and a few other things. These are arranged in 
 large round wooden or brass plates, and a bit of flower or bael leaf 
 is cast upon them to guard against their being desecrated by 
 the demon Ravana, who is supposed to take delight in insult- 
 ing the gods and goddesses ; the officiating priest then con- 
 secrates them all by repeating a short mantra and sprinkling 
 flowers and hael leaves on them, particular regard being had 
 to the worship of the whole host of deities, according to their 
 respective position in the Hindoo pantheon. Even the most 
 subordinate and insignificant gods or companions of Durga 
 must be propitiated by small bits of plantain and a few grains 
 of rice, which are afterwards given to the idol-makers and 
 painters. More valuable offerings form the portion of the 
 Brahmans, who look upon and claim these as their birthright. 
 Ill the evening, as in the morning, the goddess is again wor- 
 shipped ; and while the service is being held, the musicians are 
 called to play their musical instruments with a view to add to 
 the solemnity of the occasion. In the morning, some persons 
 sacrifice goats and fruits, such as pumpkin, sugarcane, &c., 
 before the goddess. In the present day, many respectable 
 families have discontinued the practice, from a feeling of com- 
 passion towards the dumb animals, though express injunctions 
 are laid down in the Shastras in its favor. It is a remarkable 
 fact that the idea of sacrifice as a religious institution tending to 
 effect the remission of sin was almost co-existent with the first 
 dawn of human knowledge. The Reverend Dr. K. M. Baner- 
 jea thus writes : " Of the inscrutable Will of the Almighty, 
 that without shedding of blood there is no remission of sin,
 
 THE DURGA-PUJA FESTIVAL. 101 
 
 this, too, appears imbedded in ancient Ayrian tradition, in the 
 sruti or hearings of our ancestors." Next to the Jews, this 
 reUgious duty was most scrupulously observed by the Brah- 
 maus. Names of priests, words for fire, for those on whose be- 
 half the sacrifices were performed, and for the materials with 
 which they were performed, abound in language etymologically 
 derived from words implying sacrifice. No literature contains 
 so many vocables relating to sacrificial ceremonies as Sanskrit. 
 Katyayana says : " Heaven and all other happiness are the 
 results of sacrificial ceremonies." And it was a stereotyped 
 idea with the founders of Hindooism that animals were created 
 for sacrifices. Nor were these in olden days considered mere 
 offerings of meat to certain carnivorous deities, followed by 
 the sacrificers themselves feasting on the same, as the practice 
 of the day represents the idea. The various nature of the 
 sacrifices appears to have been substantially comprehended by 
 the promoters of the institution in India, The sacrificer 
 believed himself to be redeemed by means of the sacrifice. 
 The animal sacrificed was itself called the sacrifice, because it 
 was the ransom for the soul. If we leave India and go back 
 to the traditions and history of other ancient nations, we shall 
 find many instances, proving the existence among them of the 
 sacrificial rite for the remission of sin and the propitiation of 
 the Deity. The hecatombs of Greece, and the memorable 
 dedication of the temple of Solomon, when 20,000 oxen* and 
 
 * It is deserving of notice that the slaughter of oxen, cows or 
 calves is most religiously forbidden in the Hindoo Shastra. Divine 
 honors are paid to the species. The cow is regarded as a form of 
 Durga and called Bhagabati. The husband of Durga, Siva, rides 
 naked on an ox. The very clung of a cow purifies all unclean things 
 in a Hindoo household, and possesses the property of a disinfectant. 
 The milk of a cow assuredly affords the best nourishment to the young 
 and the old ; hence the species was deified by the Hindoo sages. 
 Even now, more than two centuries after the advent of the English into 
 this country, an orthodox Hindoo is apt to exclaim " what impious 
 times ?" whenever he happens to see a Massalman butcher driving a
 
 102 THE DURGA-PUJA FESTIVAL. 
 
 100,000 sheep were slaiu before the altar, are too well known 
 to need any comment. 
 
 In these later ages, when degeneracy has made rapid strides 
 amongst the people of the country, the original intention 
 of the founder of the institution being lost sight of, a 
 perverted taste has given it an essentially sensual character. 
 Instead of offering sacrifice from purely religious motives, it is 
 now done for the gratification of carnivorous appetite. The 
 late king of Nadia, Raja Krishna Chandra Roy, though an 
 orthodox Hindoo of the truest type, was said to have offered at 
 one of these festivals a very large number of goats and sheep 
 to the goddess Durga. " He began," says Ward, " with one, 
 and, doubling the number each day, continued it for sixteen 
 days. On the last day he killed 32,768, and on the whole he 
 slaughtered 65,535 animals. He loaded boats with the bodies 
 and sent them to the neighbouring Brahmans, but they could 
 not devour them fast enough, and great numbers were thrown 
 away. Let no one, after this, tell us of the scruples of the 
 Brahmans about destroying animal life and eating animal food." 
 
 About twelve o'clock in the day, when the moiniing service 
 is over, the male members of the family make their puspan- 
 jali, or offerings of flowers, to the images, repeating an incant- 
 ation recited by the priest, for all kinds of worldly bless- 
 ings, such as health, wealth, fame, long age, children, &c. 
 The women come in afterwards for the same hallowed purpose, 
 and inaudibly recite the incantation repeated by the priest 
 inside the screeu. The very sight of the images gladdens 
 
 cow or a calf in the street for slaughtering' purposes. Not a few 
 wonder how the Englfsh power continues to prosper amidst the daily 
 perpetration of such irreligious acts. By way of derision, the English 
 are called (johhaddh. or beef-eaters, and the goylas (milkmen) liasnyes, 
 or butchers. If such Hindoos had the power, they would certainly 
 deliver their country from the grasp of these beef-eaters and place 
 it above the reach of sacrilegious hands. But alas ! in the present 
 Eali-ynga, or iron age, both they and their gods are alike impotent.
 
 THE DURGA-PUJA FESTIVAL. 103 
 
 their hearts and quickens their pulse. Though fasting, they 
 feel an extreme reluctance to leave the shrine and the divini- 
 ties, declaring that their hunger and thirst are gone, not from 
 actual eating and drinking but from their fulness of heart at 
 the presence of Md Durgd. But go they must, to make way 
 for the servants to remove the offerings, distribute them among 
 the Brahmans, and clean the temple for the evening service, 
 at the close of which Brahmans and other guests begin to come 
 in and partake of the entertainment* provided for the 
 occasion. 
 
 On the second day of the puja, offerings and sacrifices are 
 made in the same manner as on the first day, but this is 
 considered a specially holy day, being the day, as is generally 
 supposed, when the mighty goddess is expected to come down 
 from the mount Himalaya, and cast a glance of her eye upon 
 the divers offerings of her devotees in the terrestrial world. 
 This day is called Mahd Astami, being the eighth day of the 
 
 * It is generally known that, except the Brahmans, who are pro- 
 verbially noted for their eating propensities, scarcely any respectable 
 Hindoo condescends to sit down to a regular jaljydn dinner at this 
 popular festival. He comes, gives his usual j^^'oidmi of one rupee 
 to the goddess in the thakiirddldn. talks with the owner of the 
 house for a few minutes, is presented by way of compliment with 
 otto-of-roses and pan, and then goes away, making the stereotyped 
 plea that he has many other places to go to. Besides this, every man 
 is expected to provide himself at home with a good stock of choice 
 eatables on this festive occasion. The prices of sweetmeats, already 
 too high, are nearly doubled at this time, because of the large demand 
 and small supply. From 32 rupees a maund (82 flbs), the normal 
 price of sandesh in ordinary times, it rises to 60 or 70 rupees in the 
 puja time. Milk sells at four annas a pound, and without milk no 
 nandenh can be made. It is the most expensive article of food among 
 the Hindoos of Bengal. When well made with fresh chhdnnd (curded 
 milk) it has a fine taste, but is entirely destitute of any nutritive 
 property. The Hindoos of the Upper Provinces, however, do not 
 regard the preparation as pure, and consequently do not use it, 
 because of its admixture with curded milk.
 
 104 THE DURGA-PDJA FESTIVAL. 
 
 increase of the moon, and is religiously observed throughout 
 Bengal. In Calcutta, this is the day when thousands and tens 
 of thousands of Hindoos, who have had no puja, in their 
 own houses, proceed to Kali Ghat in the suburbs, and before 
 breaking their fast make suitable offerings to the goddess Kali, 
 who, according to Hindoo mythology, is but another incarna- 
 tion of the goddess Durga. Except little children, almost 
 all the members of a family, male and female, together with 
 the priest^ fast all day, and, if the combination of stars require 
 it, almost the whole night. Elderly men of the orthodox 
 type devote the precious time to religious contemplation. 
 Until the Malm Astami and its necessary adjunct, Shandhyd- 
 ptijd, is finished, all are on the qui vive. It generally hap- 
 pens that this service is fixed by astrologers to take place 
 before night's midmost stillest hour is past, when nature 
 seems to repose in a state of perfect quiescence, and to call 
 forth the religious fervour of the devotees. As the edge of 
 hunger is sharpened, a Hindoo most anxiously looks at 
 his watch or clock to see when the precious moment will 
 arrive ; and as the hour draws near, men, women and chil- 
 dren are all hushed into silence. Not a whisper nor a sound 
 is to be heard. All is anxiety, suspense, and expectation, as 
 if the arrival of the exact time would herald the advent of 
 a true Saviour into the world. Amid perfect silence and 
 stillness, all ears are stretched to catch the sound of the gun* 
 which announces the precise minute when this most important 
 of all pujas is to begin. As soon as the announcement 
 is made by the firing of a gun, the priest in all haste enters 
 on the work of worship, and invokes the blessings of the 
 goddess on himself and the family. When the time of sacrifice 
 arrives, which is made known by the sound of another gun, 
 all the living souls in the house are bade to stand aloof, the 
 
 * Rich men are in the habit of firing- guns for the guidance of the 
 people.
 
 THE DURGA-PUJA FESTIVAL. 105 
 
 priest with trembling hands and in a state of trepidation 
 consecrates the khdrd, or scimitar, with which the sacrifice 
 is to be made, and placing the khapparei' sard by the side of 
 the harikdt, (the sacrificial log of wood) bids the blacksmith 
 finish his bloody work. Should the latter cut off the head of 
 the goat at one stroke, all eyes are turned towards him with 
 joy. The priest, the master, and the inmates of the house, 
 who are all this while in a state of mental agitation, now 
 begin to congratulate each other on their good luck, pi'ayiiig 
 for the return of the goddess every year. 
 
 Nor must I omit to mention the other secondary rites which 
 are performed on the second day of the pujii. Besides 
 absolute fasting, the females of the household actually undergo 
 a fiery ordeal. About one in the afternoon, when the tumult 
 and bustle have subsided a little, all males are told to go 
 away ; and then the women, unveiling their faces, and holding 
 in each hand a sard or earthen plate of bm-ning rosin, squat 
 down before the shrine of the goddess, and in the posture of 
 penitent sinners, implore in a fervent spirit the benediction of 
 the goddess on behalf of their sons, while the rosin continues 
 to burn in slow fire. As if without consciousness, they remain 
 in that trying state for more than half an hoiu*, absorbed in 
 holy meditation, repeating in their minds at the same time 
 the names of their guardian deities. Towards the close of this 
 penitent service, a son is asked to sit on the lap of his mother. 
 Barren women, to whom Providence has denied this inestimable 
 blessing, must go without this domestic felicity resulting in 
 religious consolation, and not only mourn their present forlorn 
 condition, but pray for a happier one in the next life. A few 
 puncture their breasts with a slender iron narim, or nail-cutter, 
 and offer a few drops of blood to the goddess, under the 
 notion that the severer the penance the greater the merit. 
 Many women still go through this truly revolting oixieal at 
 Kali Ghat, in fulfilment of vows made in times of sickness. 
 
 Another ceremony which is peifox'mod by the females on
 
 106 THE DURGA-PUJA FESTIVAL. 
 
 this particular day is their worship of living Brahman humd- 
 ris (virgins) and matrons {sadhavds). After vi'ashing and 
 wiping the feet of the objects of their worship, with folded 
 hands, and, with the end of their sari tied round their necks, 
 in a reverential mood, they fall prostrate before the Brahman 
 women, and crave blessings, which, when graciously vouch- 
 safed, are followed by offerings of sweetmeats, clothes and 
 rupees. The purpose of this ceremony is to obtain exemp- 
 tion from the indescribable misery of widowhood, and to ensure 
 the enjoyment of domestic happiness. 
 
 On the third or last day of the puja, being the ninth 
 day of the increase of the moon, the prescribed ritualistic cere- 
 monies having been performed, the officiating priests make 
 the homa and dalcshinanto, a rite, the meaning of which is to 
 present farewell offerings to the goddess for one year, adding 
 a suitable prayer that she will be graciously pleased to 
 forgive the present shortcomings on the part of her devotees, 
 and vouchsafe to them her blessings in this world as well as 
 in the world to come. This is a very critical time for the 
 priests, because the finale of the ceremony involves the impor- 
 tant question of their respective gains. Weak and selfish as 
 human nature assiu-edly is, each of them (generally three in 
 number) fights for his own individual interest, justifying his 
 claim on the score of the religious austerities he has had to 
 undergo, and the devotional fervour with which his sacred 
 duties have been discharged. Until this knotty question is 
 satisfactorily solved, they forbear pronouncing the last mantra 
 or prayer. It is necessary to add here that the presents of 
 rupees which the numerous guests have oflfered to the goddess 
 during the three days of the puja, go to swell the fund of 
 the priest, to which the proprietor of the idol must add a separate 
 sum, without which this act of merit loses its final reward in 
 a future state. The devotee must satisfy the cupidity of the 
 priests or run the risk of forfeiting divine mercy. When 
 the problem is ultimately solved in favor of the officiating
 
 THE DURGA-rUJA FESTIVAL. 
 
 107 
 
 priest who actually performs the pujii, and sums of money 
 are put into the hands of the Brahmans, the last prayer is 
 read. It is not perhaps generally known that the income 
 the Indian ecclesiastics derive from this source supports them 
 for the gi-eater part of the year, with a little gain in money or 
 kind from the land they own. 
 
 The last day of the piija is attended with many offerings 
 of goats, sheep, buffaloes* and fruits. The area before the 
 shrine becomes a short of slaughterhouse, slippery witli gore 
 and mire, and resounding with the cries of the dying victims, 
 and the still more vociferous shouts of " Met, Jild," uttered 
 by the rabble amidst the discordant, sound of gongs and drums. 
 Some of the deluded devotees, losing all sense of shame and 
 decency, smear their bodies from head to foot with this 
 bloody mire, and begin to dance before the goddess and tlie 
 assembled multitude like wild furies. In this state of bestial 
 fanaticism, utterly ignoring the ordinary rules of j)ublic deco- 
 rum, and literally intoxicated with the glory of the merito- 
 rious act, the deluded mob, preceded by musicians, proceed 
 from one house to another in the neighbourhood where the 
 image has been set up, sing obscene songs, and otherwise make 
 indecent gestures which are an outrage alike on public morals 
 and on common decency. When quite exhausted by these 
 abominable orgies, they go and bathe in a river or a tank, and 
 return home, thinking how to make the most of the last 
 night. Should any sober-minded person remonstrate with 
 them on their foolish conduct, the stereotyped reply is — " this 
 is Mahdmdyer Bazar and the last day of the puja, when 
 all sorts of tomfoolery and revelry are justifiable." The 
 sensible portion of the community, it must be mentioned, keep 
 quite aloof from such immoral exhibitions. 
 
 * The flesh of buifaloes is used only by sweepers, slioemakcrs. >fec., 
 who sometimes quarrel for the possession of the slaughtered animals. 
 These people eat the meat along with country liquor, and the sacritice 
 thus frequently ends in a drunken feast.
 
 108 THE DURGA-PUJA FESTIVAL. 
 
 However great may have been the veneration or the depth 
 of devotional feeling in which the Durga-puja was held 
 among the Hindoos of bygone ages, it is certain that in the 
 lapse of time this and all other national festivals have lost 
 their original religious character, and in the majority of cases 
 degenerated into profanities and impure orgies, which renew the 
 periodical license for the unrestrained indulgence of sensuality, 
 not to speak of the dissipation and debauchery which it 
 usually brings in its train. Except a few patriarchal Hindoos, 
 whose minds are deeply imbued with traditional religious pre- 
 possessions, the generality celebrate the puja for the sake of 
 name and fame, no less than for the purposes of amusement, 
 and for the satisfaction of the women .and children, who still 
 retain, and will continue to do so for a long time to come, a 
 profound veneration for the old Durga Utsab. Apart from the 
 children, whose minds are susceptible of any impression, the 
 women are the main prop of the idolatrous institutions and of 
 the colossal superstructure of Hindoo superstition. If I am not 
 much mistaken, it was to satisfy them that such distinguished 
 Hindoo reformers as the late Babus Dwarkanath Tagore, 
 Prasannakumar Tagore, Ramanath Tagore, Ram Gopal Ghose, 
 Digamber Mittra and others celebrated this puja in their 
 family dwelling-houses. How far they were morally justified in 
 countenancing this popular festival, it is not for me to say. 
 The fact speaks for itself. Even at the present time, when 
 Hindoo society is being profoundly convulsed by heterodox 
 opinions, not a few of my enlightened countrymen observe 
 this religious festival, and spend thousands of rupees in its 
 celebration. There are, however, a few redeeming features in 
 connection with this annual demonstration which ought to be 
 prominently noticed. First and foremost, it affords an excel- 
 lent opportunity for the exercise of benevolent ^ feelings ;* 
 
 * The late Raja Rajkrishna Bahadur, Babus Santiram Singhi, Ram- 
 dulal De. Shibnaiayan Ghose. Prankrishna Haldar, the Mallik family, 
 the Ghosal family of Bhukailas and others, spent large sums from
 
 THE DURGA-rUJA FESTIVAL. 109 
 
 secondly, it materiallj' contributes to the promotion of anniuil 
 reunions, brotherly fraternization, and to the general encourage- 
 ment of trade throughout Bengal. 
 
 The very great interest which Hindoo women feel in the 
 periodical return of this grand festival, is known to every one 
 who is at all conversant with the existing state of things in this 
 country. In the numerous districts and villages of Bengal, 
 inaugural preparations are made for the celebration of this 
 anniversary rite from the very day on which the Jaggaruath 
 car is drawn in Assdr, the festival of Ratha Jattni, that is for 
 about four months before the date of the Durga-puja, 
 While the kumdr, or the image-maker, is engaged in making 
 the bamboo frame-work for the images, the women in the vil- 
 lages devote their time to cleaning and storing the rice, paddy, 
 different kinds of pulse, cocoauuts, and other products of the 
 farm, all which are required for the service of the goddess. 
 
 year to year in giviug clothes, food and money to a very large num- 
 ber of poor men, and liberating prisoners from jail by paying their 
 debts. Any relief to suffering humanity is certainly an act of great 
 merit for which the donors deserve well of the community. In our 
 days there are several Babus who do the same on a limited scale, 
 but the name of Babu Taraknath Paramanik of Kassaripara 
 deserves special notice. Naturally unassuming and unambitious, his 
 character is as irreproachable as his large-heartedness is conspicuous. 
 On every anniversary of the Durga-puja, and on almost every 
 religious celebration, he gives alms to hundreds and thousands of 
 poor people without distinction of caste or creed. On the occasion 
 of the Durga-puja festival he does not break his fast until mid- 
 night, when he is assured that all the poor people who came to his 
 door have been duly provided with food and coppers. For three 
 nights this distribution of alms continues. The public road before 
 his house is closed by order of the police for the accommodation of 
 beggars. Five or six times in a month he feeds all the poor people 
 that come to his house ; hence the fame of his generosity is spread far 
 and wide, and he is surnamed " the ddtci" or charitable— a distinction 
 which the more opulent of his countrymen (and there are not a few) 
 might well covet.
 
 110 THE DURGA-PUJA FESTIVAL. 
 
 Ten times a day they will go to the temple to see what the 
 kumar is doing. Not capable of WTitiug, nor having any 
 idea of ' Letts's Diaries,' they note dowTi in their minds the 
 daily progress of the work, and feel an ineffable pleasure iu 
 communicating the glad tidings to each other. When day by 
 day the straw forms are converted into clay figures, and they 
 are for the first time plastered over with chalk and then paint- 
 ed with variegated colors, the hearts of the women leap with 
 joy, and again, when the completed images are being decorated 
 with ddh ornaments, or tinsel ware, their exhilaration knows 
 no bounds. In the fulness of her anxiety, the mistress of the 
 house considers what more is wanted for the due completion of 
 the puja and rebukes the master for his apparent neglect 
 somewhat iu the following manner : " Where is the dome sarjah, 
 (basketware) ? Where is the kumdr sarya (pottery)? Where are 
 the spices and clothes ? Where are the sindurchupri and sundry 
 other things for the Barandald ? " Adding that there is no time to 
 be lost, the puja is near at hand. The husband acquiescing 
 iu what the wife says assures her that everything shall be 
 procured by Saturday or Sunday. 
 
 On the first day of the new moon, when every Hindoo 
 in the city becomes more or less busy on account of his official, 
 domestic and religious engagements, the lady of the house 
 is chiefly occupied with making suitable arrangements for 
 tatwa, or presents, first to her son-in-law and then to her 
 other relatives, — a subject on which I shall have to say a few 
 words in its proper place. On the eve of the sixth day of 
 the new moon, when the grand puja may be said to 
 commence, the females, consigning all their past sorrows to 
 oblivion, feel a sort of elasticity, hopefulness, and confidence, 
 which almost involuntai'ily draw forth from the depths of their 
 hearts, expressions of joy and ecstacy. Even a virgin widow, 
 whose grief is yet fresh, forgets her miseries for a while, and 
 cheerfully mingles in the j ubilee. She forms part and parcel 
 of the domestic sisterhood, and for these five days of her life
 
 THE DURGA-PUJA FESTIVAL. Ill 
 
 at least, her settled sadness gives way to joy, and though 
 forbidden by a cruel priesthood to lend her hand to the 
 ceremonial, she nevertheless goes up to the goddess and prays 
 devoutly for a better future. Amidst such a scene of universal 
 hilarity, supplemented by a confident hope of eternal beatitude, 
 it is quite natural that Hindoo women socially divorced from 
 every other innocent amusement, should feel a deep, sincere 
 and intense interest in a national festival which possesses the 
 twofold advantage of a religious ceremony and a social de- 
 monstration. None but the most callous-hearted can remain 
 indifferent. Men, women, and children, believersand vmbelievers, 
 are alike overcome by the force of this religious anniversary. The 
 females go to the shrine at all hours of the day, and feast their 
 eyes upon the captivating figure of the mighty Durga and her 
 glorious satellites. Nor do they stare at her with a vacant 
 mind ; each has her grievance to represent, her wish to 
 express ; prayer in a fervent spirit is offered to the goddess 
 for the redress of the one and the consummation of the other. 
 Should a son die prematurely, should a husband suffer from 
 any difl&culty, should a son-in-law be faithless to his wife, 
 should a daughter be doomed to widowhood, the females 
 wrestle hard in prayer for relief and amelioration. On the 
 fourth or Bijaya day, when the image is to be consigned to the 
 river, one takes away a bit of the consecrated arfjhi ;* a 
 second, the khapparer sard, or sacrificial earthen plate ; a 
 third, the crushed betel ; a fourth, the sacred billmv leaves, 
 and so on ; each article forms a sacred trust, and all are 
 preserved with the greatest possible care, as the priceless 
 token of a benignant goddess. 
 
 * An arglil is a bunch of durva grass tied up at the last, either 
 •with red cotton or a slip of plantain leaf. Two or three of such 
 bundles are made, one is placed on the crown of the goddess and 
 two on her two feet. It is usually stuffed with paddy and besmeared 
 with sandal wood, water, and vermilion. It is a sacred offering, and 
 consequently preserved for solemn occasions.
 
 112 THE DURGA-PUJA FESTIVAL. 
 
 Having briefly described the maiu features of this religious 
 festival, I will now endeavour to give a short account of the 
 other circumstances connected with it. In the house of a 
 Brahman, KIdchri, rice, dal, fish and vegetable curries, 
 together with sweetmeats and sour milk, are given to the 
 guests, chiefly in the day-time during the three puja days. 
 Many Hindoos, whose religious scruples will not allow them 
 to kill a goat themselves, go to the house of a Brahman — but 
 not without an eight-anna piece or a rupee — to satisfy their 
 taste for meat during the puja. It is very creditable to 
 the women of the sacerdotal class that three or four of them 
 undertake the duties of the cuisine, and feed from six to eight 
 hundred persons for three days successively. As fish is not 
 acceptable to Durga, nor cooked goat's or sheep's flesh, a 
 separate kitchen is set apart for the piirpose of cooking 
 the flesh of the sacrificed animals. Brahman women, as 
 a rule, cook remarkably well. Their long experience in 
 the art, their habitual cleanliness, their undivided attention 
 to their duty, and above all, the religious awe with which 
 they prepare food for the goddess, give quite a relish to 
 every thing they make. Nor is this all. Their devotion and 
 earnestness is so great that they cannot be persuaded to eat 
 any thing until all the guests are fully satisfied ; and what is 
 still more commendable, they look for no other reward for 
 their trouble than the fancied approbation of the goddess, 
 and the satisfaction of the guests. Their work is not over 
 till nine o'clock at night ; after which they bathe again, 
 change their clothes, say their prayers to the goddess, and 
 then think of appeasing their hunger. Simple and unsophis- 
 ticated as they are, they are quite content, being mostly 
 widows, with hahishi anno, which was of yore the food of the 
 Hindoo rishis, or saints. It consists of dtah rice, or rice from 
 unboiled paddy, green plantains and dal, all boiled in the 
 same pot. Of course a large quantity of ghee is added to it, 
 and it is eaten with milk. These Brahman women are, indeed,
 
 THE DUUGA-PUJA FESTIVAL. 113 
 
 mistresses of the culinary art. If the bill-of-fare is not lony, 
 yet the dishes they make are generally very palatable. The 
 truth is, they practically follow the trite saying, " what is 
 worth doing at all, is worth doing well." Their simple recipes 
 always produce appetising and wholesome dishes ; and they 
 are thrifty housewives. 
 
 In the house of a Kaya&tha or Sudra, where the women, it 
 must be observed, are generally more indolent, and the style 
 of living is consequently more luxurious, the food offered to 
 the guests consists chiefly of different kinds of sweetmeats, 
 fruits, luchis, vegetable curries, &c. Four or five days before 
 the Puja begins, professional Brahman confectioners are 
 employed to make the necessary arrangements at home, the 
 principal ingredients required being flour, suji, chhdttu (gram 
 fried and powdered), safeyda (pounded rice), sugar, spices, 
 almonds, raisins, &c. Not a soul is permitted, not even the 
 master of the house, to touch, much less to taste, these 
 articles * before they are religiously offered to the goddess in 
 the first instance and afterwards to the Brahmans. In these 
 " feast days " of the Puja in and about Calcutta, where 
 nearly five hundred 2^rati)7ids, or images, are set up, every res- 
 pectable Hindoo, as has been observed before, is previously 
 provided at home with an adequate supply of all the neces- 
 saries and luxuries of life that will last for a month or so, it 
 being considered unpropitious then to be wanting in any stoiv 
 save fruit and fish. This accounts for the general disinclina- 
 tion on the part of the well-to-do Babus to partake of any 
 ordinary entertainment when visiting the goddess at a friend's 
 house ; but to the Brahmans and the poverty-stricken classes 
 
 * Home-made things are, in the long- run, cheaper and better than 
 the questionable products of the market, which are not only inferior 
 in quality but are more or less subject to defilement, being exposed 
 for sale to people of all castes. This detracts from the absolute 
 purity of the preparation. 
 
 H
 
 114 THE DURGA-PUJA FESTIVAL. 
 
 this is a glorious opportunity for "gorging." The despicable 
 practice to which I have alluded elsewhere of carrying home 
 a portion of the jalpdn (sweetmeat) is largely resorted to on this 
 occasion. It is certainly a relic of barbarism, which the 
 growing good sense of the people ought to eschew. 
 
 The night of the ninth day of the increase of the moon 
 is a grand night in Bengal. It is the nabami rani, and 
 modesty is put to the blush by the revelry of the hour. The 
 houses of the rich become as bright as day, — costly chandeliers, 
 hanging lamps, and wall-lights blazing with gas, brilliantly 
 illuminate the whole mansion ; while the walls of the Baitak- 
 hhdna, or sitting room, are profusely adorned with English 
 and French paintings and engravings, exhibiting certainly 
 not the best specimens of artistic skill, but singularly 
 calculated to extort the plaudits of the illiterate, who are 
 more easily impressed through the eye than the ear. 
 The rooms and antechambers are frequently furnished in 
 European style. Splendid Brussels or Agra carpets are spread 
 on the floors, a few of which, as if by way of contrast, have the 
 ordinary white cloth spread on them. Nor are hanging Pan- 
 khas wanting. In one of the spacious halls sits the Babu of 
 the house, surrounded by courtiers pandering to his vanity. 
 Indolently reclining on a bolster, and leisurely smoking his 
 cilhola, with a long winding nal, or pipe, half dizzy from the 
 effects of the preceding night's revelry, he does not care to speak 
 much. Like an opium-eater, he falls into a siesta, whilst the 
 Pankha is moving incessantly. If an orthodox Hindoo, free 
 from the besetting vice of drinking, and awake to all that is 
 going on around him, before him are placed the Dacca silver- 
 fillagree dtterddn and goldppdss, as well as the pdnddn, with 
 lots of spices and betel in it. On entering the room, the 
 olfactory nerves of a visitor are sure to be regaled with fragrant 
 odours. At intervals rose-water is sprinkled on the bodies of 
 the guests, and weak spiced tobacco is served to them now 
 and again, the current topics of the day forming the subject of
 
 THE DURGA-PUJA FESTIVAL. 115 
 
 conversation. All this is surely vain ostentation and super- 
 fluity. So far, the arrangenieuts and reception of friends are 
 essentially oriental ; the manner of sitting, the mode of conver- 
 sation, and the way in wliicli otto of roses, rose-water and betel 
 are given to guests, are Mahomedan and Hindoo-like. But 
 there is something bej'ond this where orthodoxy is virtually 
 proscribed and heterodoxy parctically proclaimed. While the 
 officiating priests and the female devotees are offering their 
 prayers to the presiding goddess, the Babu, a liberal Hindoo, 
 longs to retire to his private room, perhaps on the third story, 
 at the entrance to which a guard is placed to keep off unwel- 
 come visitors, that he may with a few select friends partake of 
 refreshment supplied by an English Purveying Establishment. 
 The room is furnished after the European fashion ; chairs, 
 tables, sofas, cheftbuiers, cheval-glass, sideboard, pictures, 
 glass and silver and plated-ware, knives, forks and spoons, 
 and I know not w^hat more, — all arranged in proper order, 
 and friends of congenial tastes have free access. First class 
 wines and viands, such as Giesler's champagne, Heatly's port 
 and sherry, Exshaw's brandy No. I, Crabbie's ginger-wine, 
 Bass's best bottled beer, soda-water, lemonade, ice, Huntley 
 and Palmer's mixed biscuits, manilla cigars, cakes and fruits 
 in heaps, poldo, kurmd, kuptd, kcillyd, roast fowl, cutlets, 
 mutton-chops and fowl-curry,* are plentifully kept ; and an 
 
 * It may not be out of place to observe here that liberal Hindoos 
 as a body are not beef -eaters as is vulgarly supposed. They are con- 
 tent with fowls, goat, sheep and fish. About forty years ago, before 
 the Calcutta University was founded, the late Baboo Iswar Chandra 
 Gupta, editor of the Prarakar, a vernacular newspaper, very cleverly 
 hit off and satirised in popular ballads the then growing desire of 
 the young Hindoo reformers to adopt a European style of eating. He 
 commenced with Rammohan Rai — the pioneer of Hindoo reformation 
 — and thus sarcastically described his i^ublic career. Addressing 
 Sara.s'watti, the Hindoo goddess of learning, he thus laments : " 
 goddess 1 in vain have you established schools in Calcutta ; look at 
 the end of that Rai (Rammoaan Rai) ; profound learning h;us
 
 116 THE DURGA-PUJA FESTIVAL. 
 
 English visitor is not an unwelcome gnest. Luchi, sandes, 
 mitdi, harfi, rasarjoUa, sitavoge, &c., the ordinary food of 
 the Hindoos on festive days, are at a discount. The Great 
 Eastern Hotel Company should be thankful for the large 
 orders with which the Hindoo aristocracy of Calcutta and its 
 suburbs favor them during this grand festival. The taste 
 for the English style of living is not a plant of recent 
 growth. It has been germinating since the days of John Com- 
 pany, when India merchantmen enjoyed the monopoly of the 
 
 wafted him over the waters to a distant region (England), and never 
 brought him back again." As regards the young alumni, he makes a 
 wife thus accost her husband : " Pi an, Prdii (my heart, my heart), 
 you go into society to hear lectures every day ; and when the examin- 
 ation is held in the Town Hall, you get prizes ; you read heaps, 
 and heaps of books, and always remain outside. Is it written in the 
 books that you should never touch the body of a female ? What 
 sort of a guru (master) is your Sahib l he is a regular (jam, (bull), 
 if he gives you such lessons. You dislike liichl and moiida (Hindoo 
 sweetmeats), but you get dozens of fowl eggs to satisfy your hunger ; 
 and for you all there is death to cows and calves." But this is an 
 exaggeration about the eating of beef by the educated Hindoos. 
 Except a few medical students, who have, in a great measure, over- 
 come their prejudices by the constant handling of dead bodies, the rest 
 still feel a sort of natural repugnance to eating beef. This is perhaps the 
 effect of early impressions produced by the religious veneration in 
 which a cow is held among the Hindoos. " The superstitious rever- 
 ence," says an eminent writer, '• for the ox points doubtless to a 
 period when that useful animal was first naturalized in India and 
 protected by a law for its preservation and encouragement, which, 
 now that the original intention is lost sight of in the lapse of ages, 
 has invested the cattle with a religious character ; and, indeed, it is 
 not 200 years since, the Emperor Jehangir was obliged once to prohibit 
 the slaughter of kine for a term of years, as a measure absolutely 
 required to prevent the ruin of agriculture." It is a striking fact 
 that that loathsome disease, leprosy, is very common among the lower 
 orders of Mussulmans who use this meat freely. Perhaps it is more 
 suited to the inhabitants of colder regions than to those of a tropical 
 climate.
 
 THE DURGA-PUJA FESTIVAL. 1 I 7 
 
 foreign trade of the country, when the higlicst authorities of 
 the land had no scruples as Christians to be present at a 
 Hindoo festival, and when Hindoo millionaires were wont to 
 indulge in lavish expenditure* for the purpose of pleasing their 
 new European masters. Laying aside for a while the dignity 
 and gravity of the clergical profession, the Reverend Mr. Ward 
 was induced out of curiosity to pay a visit to the palatial 
 mansion of the Shoba Bazar Rajas of Calcutta on the last 
 night of the Pujii. 
 
 "In the year 1806," says he, "I was present at the worship 
 of this goddess, as performed at the house of Raja Rajkrishna 
 at Calcutta. The buildings where the festival was held were 
 on four sides, leaving an area in the middle. The room to the 
 east contained wine, English sweetmeats, &c., for the entertain- 
 ment of English guests, with a native Portuguese or two to 
 
 * So great was the mania for extravag'ant, osteiitatious show, that 
 instances were not wanting- in which a lakh of rupees was freely 
 spent on this grand occasion. The late Prankrishna Haldar, of Chin- 
 surah, in the neighbourhood of Hooghly. expended annually for three 
 or tour years the above sum in furnishing- his house without stint of 
 cost in truly oriental style, giving rich entertainments to Europeans 
 and Natives, and distributing alms among the poor. There was no 
 railway then, and consequently the boat-hire alone from Calcutta to 
 Chinsurah for English and Native grandees might have cost four to 
 five thousand rupees. The very invitation cards written in golden 
 letters with gold fringes cost eight to ten rupees each. For the 
 entertainment of his English friends he used to give ten thousand 
 rupees to Messrs. Gunter and Hooper, the then grand purveyors of 
 Calcutta, first class wines and provisions were procured in abun- 
 dance, and arranged in the corridor under European and Mahomedan 
 stewards, while one hundred Brahmans were engaged in prayers, 
 reciting Chdndi and repeating the name of the god Madhusudan. 
 for the propitiation of the goddess and the welfare of the family. It 
 sometimes so happened that the clang of knives, forks, and spoons 
 was simultaneous with the sound of the holy bell and conch. — the one 
 neutralising what the other was supposed to produce in a religious 
 point of view.
 
 118 THE DURGA-PUJA FESTIVAL- 
 
 wait on the visitors. In the opposite room was placed the 
 image, with vast heaps of all kinds of offerings before it. In 
 the two side-rooms were the native guests, and in the area 
 groups of Hindoo dancing-women, finely dressed, singing, and 
 dancing with sleepy steps, surrounded with Europeans, who 
 were sitting on chairs and couches. One or two gi'oups of 
 Mussalnian singers entertained the company at intervals 
 with Hindoosthani songs and ludicrous tricks. Before two 
 o'clock the place was cleared of the dancing girls and of all 
 the Europeans except ourselves, and almost all the lights were 
 extinguished, except in front of the goddess,— when the doors 
 of the area were thrown open, and a vast crowd of natives 
 rushed in, almost treading one upon another, among whom 
 were the vocal singers, having on long caps like sugar-loaves. 
 The area might be about fifty cubits long and thirty wide. 
 When the crowd had sat down, they were so wedged together as 
 to present the appearance of a solid pavement of heads, a small 
 space only being left immediately before the image for the 
 motions of the singers, who all stood up. Four sets of singers 
 were present on this occasion, the first consisting of Brahmans 
 (Harti Thahir), the next of bankers [Bhavanando), the next 
 of vaishnavas {Nitdi), and the last of weavers {Lakshmi), 
 who entertained their guests with filthy songs and danced in 
 indecent attitudes before the goddess, holding up their hands, 
 turning round, putting forward their heads towards the image, 
 every now and then bending their bodies, and almost tearing 
 their throats with their vociferations. The whole scene pro- 
 duced on my mind sensations of the greatest hon-or. The 
 dress of the singers, their indecent gestures, the abominable 
 nature of the songs, especially {hhayiir), the horrid din of 
 their miserable drum, the lateness of the hour, the darkness 
 of the place, with the reflection that I was standing in an 
 idol temple, and that this immense multitude of rational 
 and immortal creatures, capable of superior joys, were, in 
 the very act of worship, perpetrating a crime of high treason
 
 THE DURGA-PUJA FESTIVAL. 110 
 
 against the God of heaven, while they themselves believed 
 they were performing an act of merit, excited ideas and 
 feelings in my mind which time can never obliterate. I 
 would have given in this place a specimen of the songs sung 
 before the image, but found them so full of broad obscenity 
 that I could not copy a single line. All those actions wliich a 
 sense of decency keeps out of the most indecent English songs, 
 are here detailed, sung, and laughed at, without the least sense 
 of shame. A poor ballad singer in England would be sent to 
 the house of correction, and flogged, for performing the me7'i- 
 torious actions of these wretched idolaters.* The singing is 
 continued for three days from two o'clock in the morning till 
 nine. " 
 
 It is a noteworthy fact that, in those days, when Bengal was 
 in the zenith of its prosperity and splendour, the Governor- 
 General, the Members of the Council, the Judges of the Supreme 
 Court, and distinguislied officers and merchants did not think it 
 derogatory to their dignity, or at all calculated to compromise 
 their character as Christians, to honor the Riijas with their 
 presence during this festival. But, since the days of Daniel 
 Wilson, the highly venerated Lord Bishop of Calcutta, who 
 must have expressed his strong disapprobation of this practice, 
 these great men have ceased to attend. At present but a few 
 young officers, captains of ships in the port, and East Indians may 
 be seen to go to these nautches, and, as a necessary consequence 
 of this withdrawal of countenance, the outward splendoiir of 
 tlie festival has of late considerably diminished. Seeing the 
 apparent approval of idolatrous ceremonies by some Europeans, 
 a conscientious Christian once exclaimed : "I am not ashamed 
 to confess that I fear more for the continuance of the British 
 power in India, from the encouragement which Englishmen 
 
 * " The i"ea(ier will recollect that the festivals of Bacchus and 
 Cybele were equally noted for the indecencies practised by the wor- 
 shippers, both iu their words and actions."
 
 120 THE DURGA-PUJA FESTIVAL, 
 
 have given to the idohitry of the Hindoos, than from any other 
 quarter whatever."* 
 
 As regards the other amusements at this popular festival, a 
 few words about the Indian ndutch (dancing) girls may not be 
 out of place here. These women have no social status ; their 
 principles are as loose as their character is immoral. They are 
 brought up to this disreputable profession from their infancy. 
 They have no husbands, and many of them have never been 
 married. The Native Princes and Chiefs, ricli zemindars and 
 persons in affluent circumstances, the capacity of whose intel- 
 
 * The Reverend Mr. Maurice, a pious clergyman, who had never 
 seen these ceremonies, attempted to paint them in the most captivat- 
 ing terms. Should he think that Hindoo idolatry is capable of excit- 
 ing the most elevated conceptions about the godhead, and leading the 
 mind to the true path of righteousness, let him come and join the 
 Brahmaus and their numerous devotes in crying " Hari Bole ! Hari 
 Bole ! Jai Durga ! Jai Kali !" '• Mr. Forbes, of Stanmore Hill, in 
 his elegant museum of Indian rarities, numbers two of the bells that 
 have been used in devotion by the Brahmans. They are great curio- 
 sities, and one of them in particular appears to be of very high 
 antiquity, in form very much resembling the cup of the lotus, and 
 the tune of it is uncommonly soft and melodious. I could not avoid 
 being deeply affected with the sound of an instrument which had 
 been actually emploj'ed to kindle the flame of that superstition which 
 I have attempted so extensively to unfold. I\Iy transported thoughts 
 travelled back to the remote period when the Brahman religion blazed 
 forth in all its splendour in the caverns of Elephauta : I was, for a 
 moment, entranced, and caught the odour of enthusiasm. A tribe of 
 venerable priests, arrayed in flowing stoles, and decorated with high 
 tiaras, seemed assembled around me ; the mystic song of initiation 
 vibrated in my ear ; I breathed an air fragrant with the richest per- 
 fumes, and contemplated the deity in the fire that symbolized him." 
 And again, in another place : " She (the Hindoo religion) wears the 
 similitude of a beautiful and radiant cherub from Heaven, bearing on 
 his persuasive lips the accents of pardon and peace, and on his silken 
 wings benefaction and blessing." What strange hallucinations some 
 of these Christian ministers labour under in attempting to reconcile 
 the ideas of idolatry with those of the True and Living God !
 
 THE DURGA-PUJA FESTIVAL. 121 
 
 Icct is as narrow as its culture is scanty, have been their great 
 patrons. Devoid of a taste for reading and writing, they 
 manage to drive away the ennui of their lives by the 
 songs of these dancing girls. Great were the rewards which 
 these girls sometimes received at the hands of the Native 
 Kings in their palmy days. Even when a principality groaned 
 luider extravagance and financial embarrassment, tliese bewitch- 
 ing girls were entertained at considerable expense to drown 
 the cares of statecraft and kingcraft. Even the most astute 
 prince was not free from this courtly profligacy. Though 
 these girls often basked in the sunshine of royal favor, yet 
 there was not a single Jenny Lind among them, either in 
 grace or accomplishment. As regai'ds their income, a girl has 
 been known to refuse ten thousand rupees for performing three 
 nights at the Nazim's Court. When Raja Rajkrishua of Sobha 
 Bazar, the Singhi family of Joi-asanko, and the De family 
 i>f Simla, celebrated these Pujiis with great pomp, dancing 
 girls of repute were retained a month before the festival at 
 great cost, varying from 500 to 1,000 rupees each for three 
 nights. Now that those prosperous days are gone by, and the 
 big English officials do not condescend to attend the nautch, 
 the amount has been reduced to fifty rupees or a little moi"e. 
 Their general attire and gestures, as well as the nature and 
 tendency of their songs, are by no means unexceptionaljle. 
 These auxiliaries to sensual gratification, combined with the 
 allurements of Bacchus, even in the presence of a deity, are 
 far from being fitted to animate or quicken devotional feelings 
 and prayerful thoughts. 
 
 Theatrical performances from the popular dramas of the 
 Indian poets, and amateur Jdttrds, pantomimical exhibitions, 
 also contribute largely to the amusement of the people. The 
 old Biddaya Sunder, Manvanjan, Daksha Yajna, and others of 
 a similar character, are still relished by pleasure-seekers and 
 holiday-makers. It is, however, one of the healthy signs of 
 the times that native gentlemen of histrionic taste have recently
 
 122 
 
 THE DURGA-PU.JA FESTIVAL. 
 
 got up amateur performances, which bear a somewhat close 
 resemblance to the English tragedies and comedies. 
 
 Having previously described all the important circumstances 
 and details, religious and social, connected with this popular 
 festival, I will now give a short accoimt of the Bhdsdn or 
 Nirdnjdn, which takes place on the tenth day of the new moon, 
 or in the fourth day of the Puja. It is also called Byayd, 
 because the end of a ceremonial is ahvays attended with 
 melancholy feelings. This is the day when the image is con- 
 signed to the water, either of a I'iver or a tank. Apart from 
 its religious significance, the day is an important one to Eng- 
 lish and Native merchants alike. Although all the public 
 offices. Government and mercantile, are absolutely closed for 
 twelve days, agents of Manchester and Glasgow firms must 
 open their places of business on this particular day, which to 
 native merchants and dealei's is an auspicious day, and large 
 bargains of piece-goods for present and forward delivery are 
 made. Ten to fifteen lakhs of rupees worth of articles are 
 sold this day in three or four hours, the general impression 
 being that such bargains bring good luck both to the buyer 
 and to the seller. 
 
 About eight o'clock in the morning, the officiating priest 
 begins the service, and in half an hour it is over. Music, the 
 indispensable accompaniment of Hindoo Pujas, must attend 
 every such service. A small looking-glass is placed on a pan 
 of Ganges water, and every inmate of the family, male or 
 female, is invited to look at the image of the goddess reflected 
 from its surface. Deeply imbued as the minds of the votaries 
 are with religious ideas, every individual looks into the mirror 
 with a sort of devotional feeling, and expresses his conviction 
 as to the reality of the representation. The children, more 
 for amusement than from faith, hang about the place ; but the 
 women steadfastly cling to the panoramic view, quite unwilling 
 to leave it. The scene naturally recalls to their mind the 
 emotions they felt when leaving the paternal roof for the
 
 THE DURGA-PUJA FESTIVAL. 
 
 123 
 
 fatlicr-iu-law's house. " ^ffi Durgd is going to her father-in- 
 law's, and will not return for another twelve-month," exclaims 
 one. "Look at her eyes, her soiTowful coimtcnance," ejacu- 
 lates another. " The temple will look wild and desolate when 
 Md Durgd goes away," adds a third. To console them, the 
 mistress of the hoilse exliorts all to offer their prayers to 
 the goddess, beseeching that she may continue tOi vouchsafe 
 her blessings from year to year, and give prolonged life and 
 happiness to all concerned. With this solemn invocation, 
 they all fiiU down on their knees before the goddess, whose 
 spirit had departed on the day previous, and in a contem])la- 
 tive mood implore her benediction. Before retiring, however, 
 every one takes with her some precious relic of the offerings 
 {lowers or billapattra) made to Diirga when her spirit was 
 present, and preserves it with all the care due to a divine gift, 
 using it religiously in cases of sickness and calamity. # 
 
 About three in the afternoon, after Avashing their bodies 
 and putting on new clothes and ornaments, the women make 
 preparations for performing tlie last farewell ceremony in 
 honor of the goddess. The sadar (main) door is closed ; the 
 musicians are ordered to go out into the streets ; the Dui'ga 
 with all her satellites is brought ont into the area of the 
 temple, the haranddld with all its sundries is produced, and 
 the women whose husbands are alive begin to turn round the 
 images and touch the forehead of each with the haranddld, 
 repeating their pi'ayers for lasting blessings on the family. To 
 the inexpressible grief of the widows, who are present on the 
 occasion, a cruel custom has long since debarred them from 
 assisting in this holy work. These ill-fated creatures are 
 doomed only to stare at the images, but are not permitted to 
 take an active part in the ceremonial. Is it possible to con- 
 ceive a more gloomy picture of society than that which abso- 
 lutely deprives a human being of all share in a religious 
 privilege, the exercise of which, though under a mistaken foith, 
 tends to sweeten a A\Te("chedlife? The miserable widows of India,
 
 124 THE DURGA-PUJA FESTIVAL. 
 
 are unhappily destined to pine away their existence, until 
 greater leaders of native reform arise to deliver them from 
 the galling fetters of superstition. 
 
 The epilogue which closes the parting ceremony is called the 
 kanahdnjali. It consists in a woman (not a widow) taking 
 a small brass plate of paddy and durva^ grass, with a rupee 
 dyed in red lead in it, and throwing it from before the image 
 right over its head into the cloth of a man who stands behind 
 for the purpose of receiving it. This last offering, it is need- 
 less to say, is preserved with the greatest care. The woman 
 who performs the rite is an object of envy. This rite being 
 performed, each of the women takes a bit of the sweetmeat 
 and betel which has been last offered to Md Duigd. A sud- 
 den reaction of feeling takes place, all hearts are grieved, and 
 some even shed tears. Two feelings, though not exactly 
 analogous, arise in their minds ; first, the devotional spirit, 
 vividly recalling the unceasing round of ritualistic ceremonies 
 as well as the festivity and gaiety that the presence of the 
 goddess naturally enough produced, and which are about to 
 vanish and disappear within an hour by the immersion of the 
 goddess in the river or pond ; and second, a more w^orldly 
 foeling, like that which arises when a mother sends away her 
 daughter to the house of her father-in-law. In either case, 
 the tender heart of a Hindoo woman readily breaks dowTi under 
 tlie pressure of grief 
 
 The goddess is afterwards brought out and placed on a 
 bamboo stage borne on the shoulders of a set of coolies ; all 
 the flowers and hillapattra offered her during the past three 
 days are also put into a basket, and taken to the riverside. 
 The procession moves slowly forward, preceded by bands of 
 English and Native musicians, and the necessary retinue of 
 servants and guards ; while from within the house, the women, 
 not satiated with the sight of the goddess for one long month, 
 stretch their eyes as far as their sight can reach to catch a last 
 farewell glimpse of her. The streets of Calcutta, the English
 
 THE DURGA-PUJA FESTIVAL. 125 
 
 part of the town excepted, become literally crammed and 
 almost impassable on such a day. Groups of Police constables 
 are posted here and there to maintain peace and order ; the 
 streets become a pavement of heads. At the lowest calcula- 
 tion, there cannot be less than 100,000 sight-seei's abroad. 
 Men, women, and children of all classes and ranks come from a 
 great distance to have a sight of the image. The tops of 
 houses, the verandahs, the main roads, — nay, the unfrequented 
 corners, — present a thick mass of living creatures, all anxious to 
 feast their eyes upon the matchless grandeur of the scene. A 
 foreigner, unaccustomed to such a magnificent spectacle, is 
 apt to overrate the wealth and prosperity of the people on 
 such a day. The number of images, the dazzling and costly 
 embellishments with which they are decorated, the rich livery 
 of some of the servants, the bands of musicians preceding the 
 procession, the letting off of red and blue lights at intervals, 
 the gala dress of the multitude, and last but not least, the 
 elegant carriages of the big " swells," and the still more ele- 
 gant attire of their owners, who loll back on the cushion of the 
 carriages, diffusing fragrant odours as they pass, cannot fail to 
 produce an imposing effect. Here a gaily clad Babu with 
 his patent Japan-leather shoes ; there a Hindoostani dandy 
 with his massive gold necklace and valuable pearls hanging- 
 down from his ears ; here a proud Mogul in all the bravery of 
 cloth of gold ; there a frowning Mussalman with his dazzling 
 cap and gossamer chdpkdri (tunic), and ivory mounted stick, 
 all combine to present a motley group of characters, national 
 in their costumes, and unique in appearance. The poor coun- 
 try-woman, her lord and children, though not favored by for- 
 tune, still do their best to look gay. 
 
 Those Hindoos who have adorned their images regardless of 
 expense parade them through the most densely crowded streets 
 till eight in the evening — vanity being their chief motive ; 
 while those who move in humbler spheres of life, take tliem to 
 boats on the river hired for the purpose, and throw them into
 
 126 THE DURGA-PUJA FESTIVAL. 
 
 the water amidst sliouts of exultation. The mob, of course, 
 siiio- obscene songs and dance indecently, all which is tolerated 
 for the occasion. The growing sense of the people — the 
 result of English education — has now-a-days gi'eatly diminished 
 the amount of indecency which was one of the distinguishing- 
 characteristics of such an occasion in former days. 
 
 Between seven and eight o'clock in the evening, the assem- 
 bled ci'owds begin to disperse in joyous mood, talking all the 
 way as to the respective superiority of such and such images. 
 AiBono-st such a great number and variety, there is sure to be 
 difference of opinion, but it is soon settled by the affirmation 
 of a wise head that " the spirit of the goddess is the same in 
 all the images ; Md Durgd does not mind show." 
 
 When the worshippers and others return home, they go at 
 once to the thakitrddldn, where the officiating Brahman is wait- 
 ing to sprinkle on their bodies the sacred water ; all are made 
 to sit down on the floor, with their feet covered with their 
 clothes, lest a drop should fall upon them. The Brahman, 
 with a small twig of mangoe leaves, sprinkles the water, 
 repeating at the same time the usual incantation, the 
 meaning of which is that health, wealth, and prosperity 
 may attend the votaries of Durgd, from year to year. After 
 this they write on a piece of green plantain leaf the name of 
 the goddess several times, and then clasp one another in their 
 arms, and take the dust off the feet of all the seniors, with 
 the mutual expression of good wishes for their worldly pros- 
 perity. An elderly man thus blesses a boy : " may you have 
 long life, a gold inkstand and a gold pen, acquire pi'ofound 
 learnino' and immense wealth, and support lakhs of men." To a 
 o-irl he thus pronounces his benediction (there being no clasp- 
 in"- of arms between a man and a woman, nor between a woman 
 and a woman), " may you enjoy all the blessings of a married 
 life {i. e., never become a widow), become the mother of a rdj'd 
 ( king), use vermilion on your grey head, continue to wear the 
 iron baimle, have seven male children, and never know want."
 
 THE DURGA-rUJA FESTIVAL. 1 •_'? 
 
 It is well known that no blessing is more acceptable to a Hin- 
 doo woman than that she should never become a widow, be- 
 cause the intolerable miseries of widowhood arc most piercing 
 to her heart ; nor can it be otherwise so long as human nature 
 remains as it is. This social institution of the Hindoos, of 
 cordially embracing each other and expressing all manner of 
 good wishes on a particular day of the year, when all hearts 
 are more or less affected with grief at the dcpartiu'c of the 
 goddess, is a very commendable one. It has an excellent ten- 
 dency to promote social reunion, good fellowship, and brother- 
 hood. Not only all the absent friends, relatives, acquaintances 
 and neighbours, male and female, join in this annual greeting ; 
 but even strangers and the most menial servants are not for- 
 gotten on the occasion. Every heart rejoices, every tongue 
 blesses, every acrimonious feeling is consigned to oblivion. 
 This is a " quiet interval at least between storm and storm ; 
 interspaces of sunlight between the breadths of gloom ; a glad 
 voice on summer holidays, happy in unselfish friendships, in 
 generous impulses, in strong health, in the freedom from all 
 cares, in the confidence of all hopes." During such a happy 
 period " it is a luxury to breathe the breath of life." 
 
 To drown their sorrows in forgetfulness, the Hindoos use on 
 this particular occasion a slightly intoxicating beverage made of 
 hemp leaves. Every one that comes to visit — and there must 
 be a social gathering — or is present, is treated with this diluted 
 beverage and with sweets. Even the most innocent and sim- 
 ple females are for once in a year allowed to use it, but very 
 sparingly. One farthing's worth of hemp leaves, or about one 
 ounce, suffices for fifty persons or more, so that it becomes 
 almost harmless when so copiously diluted. But those who 
 have imbibed a taste for English wines and spirits always in- 
 dulge freely on this occasion, giving little heed to temperance 
 rules and lectures. It is " Bijai/d," and drinking to excess is 
 thought justifiable. 
 
 It would not be proper to close this subject without saying
 
 128 THE DURGA-PUJA FESTIVAL. 
 
 a few words about the national excitement which the approach 
 of this festival produces, and the powerful impetus it gives to 
 trade in general. It has been roughly estimated that upwards 
 of a crore of rupees (£1,000,000) is spent every year in 
 Bengal on account of this festival. Every family, from the 
 aristocracy to the peasantry, must have new clothes, new 
 slioes, new every thing. Men, women, children, relatives, poor 
 acquaintances and neighbours, nay beggars, must have their 
 lioliday dress. Persons in straitened circumstances, who 
 actually live from hand to mouth, gather their hard-earned 
 savings for a twelvemonth to be spent on this gi-and festival. 
 Famished beggars who drag a miserable existence all their 
 lives, and depend on precarious alms to keep their body 
 and soul together all the year, hopefully look forward to 
 the return of this anniversary for at least a temporary change 
 in their rags and tatters. Hungry Brahmans, whose daily 
 avocation brings them only a scanty allowance of rice and 
 plantains, cheerfully welcome the advent of " Met Diirgci" 
 and gratefully watch for the day when their empty coflFers 
 shall be replenished. Cloth merchants, Aveavers, braziers, 
 goldsmiths, embroiderers, lace - makers, mercers, haberdash- 
 ers, carpenters, potters, basket - makers, painters, house- 
 builders, English, Chinese and Native shoemakers, ghee, sugar 
 and corn-merchants, grocers, confectioners, dealers in silver and 
 tinsel ware, singers, songsters, musicians, hackney - carriage 
 keepers, Oorya bearers, hawkers, pedlars and such dealers in 
 miscellaneous wares, — all look forward to the busy season 
 when their whole year's hopes shall be realized by lots of 
 rupees flowing into the till. To men of practical experience 
 in business matters, as far as the metropolis of British India 
 is concerned, it is well known that because of the Durga- 
 puja the "Trades" make more in one month than they can 
 possibly make in the remaining eleven months. From the 
 first week in September to the middle of October, while the 
 Puja prepai'ations are being actually made by the Hindoos,
 
 THE DURGA-PUJA FESTIVAL. 129 
 
 when they, frugal as they assuredly are, once in a twclvcuiouth 
 loosen their purse strings, when the accumulated interest on 
 Government securities is drawn, when all the arreai's of house 
 rent are peremptorily demanded, when remittances from distant 
 parts of the country arrive, when, in short, rupees, aunas and 
 pice are circulating freely among the people, the shopkeepers 
 make all the display of their goods they can. From sunrise 
 to ten o'clock at night the influx of customers continues 
 unabated; extra shops are opened and extra assistants employed ; 
 the shopkeepers themselves have scarcely leisure enough to 
 take a hasty meal a day ; and each day's sales swell the heart 
 of the owner. The thrifty and economical Provincial, who 
 loves money as dearly as the blood that warms his heart, 
 leisurely makes his sundry purchases before the regular rush 
 of customers begins to pour in. He has not only the choice 
 of a large assortment, and the " pick " of the new stock, but 
 gets the benefit of a reasonable price, because the shopkeeper 
 is not hard and tenacious in the early stage of the Pujd sale. 
 As each day passes, and novelties are exposed for public 
 inspection, the shopkeeper raises his prices with the increasing- 
 demand. The effeminate and extravagant Babu of the City, 
 who does not worship Mammon half so devoutly as his country 
 brother, does not mind paying a little too much for his 
 "whistle," because he is large-hearted and liberal-minded. 
 His more frequent intercourse with Englishmen has taught 
 him to look upon money as " filthy \ucre." He is not calculat- 
 ing, and hence he defers making his purchases till the eleventh 
 hour, when, to use a native expression, " the shopkeeper cuts 
 the neck with one stroke." 
 
 About one-fifth of the Hindoo population of Calcutta consists 
 of people that are come from the contiguous villages and per- 
 gannas of the Presidency Division. These men live in 
 Calcutta solely for employment, keeping their families in the 
 country, where they have generally small farms of their own 
 which yield them enough produce in the shape of rice, pulse, 
 
 I
 
 130 THE DURGA-PUJA FESTIVAL. 
 
 cereals, vegetables, &c., to last them throughout the year, 
 leaving, in some instances, an ample surplus stock, -nith M'hich 
 and a few milch cows as well as tanks, they husband their 
 resources with the greatest frugality, and enjoy every domestic 
 comfort and convenience. They do not care for David Wilson's 
 biscuits and sponge-cakes, or a glass of raspberry ice-cream or 
 Roman punch on a summer day ; their bill-of-fare is as short 
 and simple as their taste is primitive. These men make their 
 Puja-purchases much earlier than their brethren in the city, 
 because they have to start for home as soon as the public 
 holidays commence, on the eve of the fourth day of the 
 increase of the moon. If the Indian railways have bene- 
 fited one class of the people more than another, it is these 
 men who should be thankful for the boon. If the East 
 Indian and Eastern Bengal Railway Companies' passenger 
 receipts for two days are properly examined, viz., the fourth 
 and fifth days of the new moon, or the beginning of the 
 Durga-pujd holidays, they will "certainly exhibit an incredibly 
 large amount of receipts from third-class carnages. Indeed, 
 it has been rather facetiously remarked by the towns-people, 
 that Calcutta becomes much lighter by reason of the exit of 
 country-people during the Durga-puja holidays; but then 
 the return of Calcutta people to their home from the mo- 
 fussil should be also taken into account. On a fair calcula- 
 tion, the outgoing number far exceeds the in-coming proportion. 
 It should also be observed that the purchases of the former 
 embrace a greater variety of items than those of the latter. 
 Their mothers, wives, daughters and sisters, not to speak of the 
 male members of the family, being absent in the country, the 
 Avants of each and every one must be supplied. Articles for 
 domestic consumption in a Hindoo family are in the greatest 
 requisition. Looking-glasses, combs, dltd, sindur or China 
 vermilion, ghunsi (strings worn round the loins), scented drugs 
 for ladies' hair, black powder for the teeth, soap, pomatum, 
 otto of roses, rose-water, wax candles, sinJurchubry (toilet-
 
 THE DURGA-PUJA FESTIVAL. 131 
 
 box lined with small shells), silk, thread, wool, carpets, 
 spices of all sorts both for chewing and cooking, betel-nuts, 
 cocoanut-oil for ladies' hair, sugarcaudy, almonds, raisins, 
 Cabul pomegranates, Dacca, Santipore and English made dhu- 
 ties, urdnis (sheets), saris (lady's skirts), silk handkerchiefs, 
 silk cloth, Benares embroidered cloth, satin and velvet caps, 
 lace, hose, tinsel ornaments for the images, English shoes and 
 sundries, constitute the catalogue of their purchases. This 
 explains their going into the Bazar early, and accounts for 
 their extra expenditure on the score of luxuries and super- 
 fluities of life ; but the reader should bear in mind that such 
 extravagance is indulged in only once a year. Generally 
 deserving of praise as these people are for their frugal, simple 
 and abstemious habits, an annual departure from the established 
 rule is not unjustifiable. The rich classes, as will be evident 
 from what has been said, spend enormous sums in making their 
 fashionable purchases on this occasion. 
 
 From the foregoing details it is easy to infer that the Durga- 
 puja, anniversary presses heavily on the limited resources 
 of a Hindoo family. A rich man experiences little difficulty 
 in meeting his expenses, but the middling and the humbler 
 classes, who comprise nine-tenths of the population, are put 
 to their wits' end to make both ends meet. They are some- 
 times obliged to solicit the pecuniary aid of their richer friends 
 to enable them to get over the Durgd difficulty. It is, per- 
 haps, not generally known that before this popular festival, 
 when all Bengal is in a state of social and religious ferment, 
 when money must be had by fair means or foul, not a few 
 unfortunate men, chiefly libertines and rakes, deliberately com- 
 mit fraud by forging cheques, drafts, and notes, which even- 
 tually lead them into the greatest distress and disgrace. 
 Notwithstanding the high price of clothes and of all descrip- 
 tions of eatables, every fiimily must have a month's provision 
 to carry them through the period during which no more money 
 will be forthcoming.
 
 132 THE DURGA-PUJA FESTIVAL. 
 
 I had almost forgotten to say anything about the annual 
 gratuity which the Brahmans of Bengal obtain on the occasion 
 of this festival. From time immemorial, when orthodox 
 Hindooism was in the ascendant, the Brahmans have not only 
 advanced their claims to all the offerings made to gods or 
 o-oddesses, small or great, but they have established a rule that 
 every Hindoo, whose circumstances would permit it, should give 
 them individually some Bdrsik (annuity) at the return of 
 this festival. Every respectable Hindoo family, even now- 
 a-days when heterodoxy is rampant in all the great centres 
 of edvication, has to give few rupees to Brahmans. Rich 
 families give much more. So very tenacious are the Brah- 
 mans of this privilege that even if they earn one hundred 
 rupees a month by other employment, they will not forego 
 a single rupee once a year on this occasion, but claim it as a 
 birthright. 
 
 These men have studied human nature, but they have built 
 their hopes of permanent gain on the weak foundation of a 
 hollow superstition, which is destined, through the progress of 
 enlightenment, inevitably to fall into decay. It is too late to 
 retrieve the huge blunder of laying a false foundation for their
 
 IX. 
 
 THE KALI-PUJA FESTIVAL. 
 
 IN Bengal, next to the Durga-piija in point of importance 
 stands the Kali-puja, which invariably takes place on 
 the last night of the decrease of the moon, in the month of 
 Kartik (between October and November). Kali is represented 
 as standing on the breast of her husband, Shiva, with her 
 tongue protruding to a great length. She has four arms, in 
 one of which she holds a scimitar ; in another, the head of a 
 giant, whom she has killed in a fight ; the third hand is spread 
 out for the purpose of bestowing blessing, while, by the fourth, 
 she welcomes the blessed. She also wears a necklace of skulls, 
 and has a girdle of hands of giants round her loins. To add 
 to the terrific character of the goddess, she is represented as a 
 very dark female with her locks hanging down to her heels. 
 The reason ascribed for her standing on the breast of her hus- 
 band, is the following : In a combat with a formidable giant 
 called Rackta Bija, she became so elated with joy at her 
 victory that she began to dance in the battle-field so franti- 
 cally, that all the gods trembled and deliberated what to do 
 in order to restore peace to the earth, which, through her 
 dancing, was shaken to its fovmdation. After much consulta- 
 tion, it was decided that her husband should be asked to 
 repair to the scene of action and persuade her to desist. Shiva, 
 the husband, accordingly came down ; but seeing the dreadful 
 carnage, and the infuriated countenance, as well as the continued 
 dancing of his wife, who could not in her frenzy recognize him.
 
 134 THE KALI-PUJA FESTIVAL. 
 
 he threw himself among the dead bodies of the slain. The god- 
 dess was so transported with joy that, as she danced, she inadver- 
 tently stepped upon the breast of her husband, whereupon the 
 body moved. Struck with amazement she stood motionless for a 
 while, and fixing her gaze upon him, at length discovered that 
 she had trampled on her husband. The sight at once restored 
 her feminine modesty, and she stood aghast, feeling shocked 
 at the unhappy accident. To express her shame, she bit 
 her tongue, and in that posture she is worshipped by her 
 followers. 
 
 Her dark features, the dark night in which she is wor- 
 shipped, the bloody deeds with which her name is associated, 
 the countless sacrifices relentlessly offered at her altar, the 
 terrific form in which she is represented, the unfeminine and 
 warlike posture in which she stands, and last but not least, the 
 desperate character of some of her votaries, — all these invest 
 her name with a terror which is without a parallel in the 
 mythological legends of the Hindoos. The authors of the 
 Hindoo mythology could not have invented in their fertile 
 imagination a character more singularly calculated to inspire 
 terror* and thereby to extort the blind adoration of an ignorant 
 populace. About seven hundred yeai-s ago, a devoted fol- 
 lower of this goddess, named Agam Bagish, proclaimed that 
 her worship should be performed in the following manner : 
 The image is to be made, set up, worshipped and destroyed 
 on the same night. It is to be a nishi, or midnight, puja, on 
 the darkest night of the month, so that not a single soul from 
 outside may know it. He strictly observed this rule while 
 he was alive ; and it was said that Raja Krishna Chandra 
 Rai of Krishnaghar followed his example for some time. 
 
 * " The image of Minerva, it will be recollected, was that of a 
 threatening goddess, exciting terror. On her shields she bore the 
 head of a gorgon. Sir William Jones considers Kali as the Proser- 
 pine of the Greeks."
 
 THE KALI-PUJA FESTIVAL. 135 
 
 Balm Abhai Charan Mitra, of Calcutta, and Bliawani Charau 
 Mukerji, of Jessore, also tried to obsei-ve the rule prescribed 
 above, but it is said the spirit of secret devotion soon forsook 
 them. They reverted to the general practice of worshipping 
 the goddess on the darkest night in Kurtik, inviting friends 
 and making pantomimic exhibitions. 
 
 Though her puja lasts but one night, the sacrifices of 
 goats, sheep and buffaloes are as numerous as those offered 
 before the altar of Durga. In former times, when idolatry 
 prevailed universally throughoiit Bengal, and the religious 
 belief of the people was firm and unshaken, the splendour with 
 which the worship of this goddess was performed was 
 second only, as I have remarked, to that of Durga. Both 
 goddesses, however, still continue to count their votaries by 
 millions. " The reader may form some idea," says Mr. Ward, 
 " how much idolatry prevailed at the time when the Hindoo 
 monarchy flourished, from the following circumstance, wdiich 
 belongs to a modern period, when the Hindoo authority in 
 Hindoostan was almost extinct. Raj 4 Krishna Chandra 
 Rai, and his two immediate successors, in the month of Ktlr- 
 tik, annually gave orders to all the people over whom they 
 had a nominal authority to keep the Shyamci festival, and 
 threatened every offender with the severest penalties on non- 
 compliance. In consequence of these orders, in more than 
 ten thousand houses in one night, in the Zilla of Krishnaghar, 
 the worship of this goddess was celebrated. The number of 
 animals destroyed could not have been less than ten thousand." 
 
 Kali, like Durga, Shiva, Vishnu, and Krishna, is the guard- 
 ian deity of many Hindoos, who daily offer their prayers 
 to her both morning and evening. Several, who possess great 
 wealth and know not how to employ it better, dedicate temples 
 to her service and enrich them with ample endowments. In 
 the holy City of Benares, there still exists a Kali shrine, where 
 hundreds of beggars are daily fed at the expense of the founder, 
 the late Rani Bhabani of Nattore. Nearly a hundred
 
 136 THE KALI-PUJA FESTIVAL, 
 
 and fifty years ago, Raja Ramkrishna erected a temple at 
 Barranagore, about six miles north of Calcutta, in honor of 
 this goddess, and spent upwards of a lakh of rupees when 
 it was first consecrated- He endowed it with a large revenue 
 for its permanent support, so that any number of religious 
 mendicants who might come there daily could be easily fed. 
 In his prosperous days, this rich zemindar paid an annual 
 revenue of fifty-two lakhs of rupees to the East India Com- 
 pany, Unfortunately the family has since been reduced to a 
 state of poverty, and the temple is a heap of ruins. The 
 endowment, like most other endowments of this nature, 
 disappeared soon after the death of the founder. The Raja 
 of Burdwan's endowment of this kind still endures, and 
 promises to enjoy a longer lease of life. 
 
 The name of Kali, be it observed, is more extensively used 
 than either that of Durga or Shiva. Whenever a Native 
 Regiment is to march or set out on an expedition, the stereo- 
 typed acclaim is, — '■'■Kali Maikey Jai" "victory to mother 
 Kali." When the evening gun is fired in any of the military 
 stations, the almost involuntary exclamation is, " Jai Kali 
 Kalkdta-ivali." It is said that Sevajee, the founder of 
 the Mahratta power, never set out in any expedition or 
 journey without invoking the aid of Bhabani (another name 
 of Kali), Nor is her worship less universal than her fame. 
 On the last night of the decrease of the moon in Kartik, 
 every family in Bengal must worship her, though in a some- 
 what different shape. Every family, rich or poor, Brahman 
 or Sudra, must celebrate the Lakshmi or Kali Puja before 
 the sacred Heck of DMn or paddy, which, in the estimation of 
 a Hindoo is a valuable heritao-e.* Several incidents connected 
 
 * A Rci'li is a small round basket, with which Natives measure rice. 
 — the staflf of life in Bengal. Every family has its sacred liech of 
 paddy, which is preserved with religious care and brought out on such 
 special occasions.
 
 THE KALI-PUJA FESTIVAL. 137 
 
 with this religious festival are worth recording. In the Uppei- 
 and Central Provinces, as in the South of Hindoostan, it is 
 called the Dewali Festival. Though the image is not set up, 
 yet the Hindoo and Parsi inhabitants observe the holiday by 
 opening their new year's account on that day. Illuminations, 
 fireworks, and all sorts of festivities mark the day. To try 
 their luck for the next year, almost all Hindoo merchants and 
 bankers indulge in gambling that night, and large sums are 
 sometimes at stake on the occasion. In Calcutta, where 
 gambling is strictly prohibited, the law is shamefully violated 
 on that dark night. This does not imply any reflection on the 
 vigilance of the Police, because the game is carried on surrepti- 
 tiously. The Parsi merchants, who deal in wines and stores, 
 throw open their shops and treat their European customers free 
 of cost on that particular day. Their brethren in Bengal are, 
 however, not so liberal to their customers, simply because it is 
 not their new-year's day. In Calcutta, and all over Bengal, 
 the night is remarkable for illuminations,* fireworks, feasting, 
 carousing and gambling. There is a time-honoured custom 
 among the people to light bundles of payhati or faggots, that 
 night. As is naturally to be expected, the children take a great 
 delight in such pastimes. At the close of the Puja a servant 
 of the house takes a kulo, or winnowing fan, and a stick with 
 which he beats and sings "bad luck out" and "good luck in."t 
 
 * A superstitious idea prevails among the Hindoos that, unless they 
 illuminate their houses on this particular night, devils will come and 
 take possession of them. In the Upper and Central Provinces it is 
 customary with the Hindoo inhabitant? not only to illuminate but to 
 whitewash their houses and decorate the doors and walls of their 
 shops with colored China paper, so that every thing may look smart 
 according to Native taste. In the Jubbulpore District, I have seen 
 the poorest laborer whitewash the mud walls of his tiled hut with 
 one farthing's worth of white earth, called Seivmattee, which is found 
 in great abundance in that part of the country. 
 
 f One Joy Ghosh, a notorious buifoon, was once asked by his old 
 mother to perform this ritj. Joy, instead oX reciLiiig the motto iu
 
 138 THE KALI-PUJA FESTIVAL. 
 
 Kdli is also the guardian deity of thieves, robbers, tliugi^ 
 and such like desperate characters. Before starting ou their 
 diabolical work, they invoke her aid to protect them from 
 detection and punishment. The supposed aid of the god- 
 dess arms them with courage, and leads them to commit the 
 most atrocious crimes. When successful, they come and 
 offer to her sacrifices of goats, spirituous liquors and other 
 things, under an impression that the superintending power of 
 the goddess has shielded them from all harm. But the un- 
 bending rigor of the British law has almost entirely dissipated 
 the delusion. Many an infamous dakait in Bengal has confessed 
 his guilt on the scaffold, lamenting that 3Id Kdli had 
 not protected him in the hour of need. The notorious 
 Rugho Dakait of Hughly, whose very name terrified a 
 wayward child into sleep, made fearful disclosure as to the 
 originating cause of his numerous crimes. Some forty yeari'i 
 ago there lived in Calcutta a very respectable Hindoo gentle- 
 man, who was a very great devotee of this goddess. Every 
 month, on the last night of the decrease of the moon, he, 
 it was said, used to set vip an image of this goddess, and 
 adorned her person with gold and silver ornaments to the value 
 of about one thousand rupees, which were afterwards given 
 to the officiating priest. On the annual return of this grand 
 })uja in the month of Kartik, he used to give the goddess a 
 gold tongue, and decorate her foiir arms with divers gold 
 ornaments, to the cost of about three thousand rupees, and 
 his other expenses amounted to another six or seven thousand. 
 For a number of years he continued to celebrate the puja in 
 this magnificent style, his veneration becoming moi-e intensified 
 as his wealth increased, He established a Bank in Calcutta 
 
 the right way. purposely inverted it just to irritate the old lady. The 
 joke was too much for the sensitive mother ; she beat her breast, 
 tore her hair, and refused to be consoled until the son repeated the 
 song in proper order, /. e., '• bad luck out. good luck in." Trifling 
 with Lakshmi, the goddess of prosperity, is the height of folly. It is 
 punished with misery here and perdition hereafter.
 
 THE KALI-PUJA FESTIVAL. 
 
 139 
 
 called the " India Bank," wliich circulated notes of its own to 
 a considerable amount. A combination was formed among a 
 few influential Natives, whose names I am ashamed to mention, 
 and a well concocted system of fraud was organized. Througli 
 his son-in-law Company's paper, or Government securities, 
 to the amount of about twenty lakhs of rupees were 
 forged and passed off as genuine on the public. But as 
 fraud succeeds for a short time only, the gigantic scheme was 
 soon discovered, and the delinquent was tried, convicted, and 
 sentenced to transportation for life to one of the Penal Settle- 
 ments of the East India Company, where he lived for several 
 years to rue the consequences of his iniquitous conduct. His 
 eldest son told the writer that his father concealed in a wall 
 of one of the rooms of his house Bank notes for upwards of a 
 lakh of rupees. When the search of the Police was over, he 
 opened the part of the wall, and to his utter disappointment 
 found all of the notes crumbled to pieces, and reduced to a 
 small bundle of rotten paper, of no earthly use to any one. 
 Thus was iniquity rightly punished. No w^onder that tlie 
 deep faith of the Babu in the goddess Kali did not avail him 
 in the hour of danger. His flagitious career commenced by a 
 blind devotion to his guardian deity, cidminated in a gigantic 
 forgery, and closed with transportation and infamy. 
 
 There exists a temple of this goddess in the suburbs of 
 Calcutta, which has long been celebrated for its sanctity. The 
 place is called Kali Ghat, about four miles south of Govern- 
 ment House. It is not exactly known when this temple was 
 first built. The most probable conjecture is, that some three 
 himdred years ago a shrewd and far-seeing member of the 
 sacerdotal class, observing the great veneration in which the 
 goddess was held among the Hindoos of those days, erected a 
 temple to the image and gave the place a name after her, the 
 renown of which, as Calcutta grew in importance, gradually 
 spread far and wide. To perpetuate the holy character of the 
 shrine, and to consecrate it by traditional sanctity, the fol-
 
 140 THE KALI-PUJA FESTIVAL. 
 
 lowing story was given out, in the truth of which the gener- 
 ality of the orthodox Hindoos have a firm belief. Once 
 upon a time, when Sati (Durga) destroyed herself, Shiva, her 
 husband, placing the dead body on his trisul (a 3-pronged 
 weapon) swung it in a frantic state owing to his sad bereave- 
 ment, till the entire body rotted and fell into 52 different 
 places. These places are held sacred by the Hindoos ; and in 
 each of these places stand the shrines of Kali and Shiva. In 
 Kali Ghat, it is said, one of her fingers fell on the spot where the 
 temple now stands and in whose recess the priests pretend that 
 the relic is still preserved. Hence the sacred character of the 
 shrine, which still attracts thousand of devotees evei-y year from 
 all parts. In popular estimation, from a religious point of 
 view, it does not yield much to the Jagannatha of Orissa, the 
 Bisveswar of Benares, the Krishna of Brindabau, the Gyasur 
 of Gya, or the Mahadeva of Baddinath. Fortunately situated 
 in close proximity to the metropolis of British India, and 
 until recently in the immediate neighbourhood of the highest 
 Appellate Court f Sadar Dewanni Adalat), independently of 
 its bordering on the Adigangd (the original sacred stream 
 of the Ganges), this temple has always drawn the wealthiest 
 and the poorest portions of the Hindoo community. Had 
 the offerings in gold and silver and in kind fallen to the share 
 of one priest, it is not too much to say that he would long 
 before this have been as rich as the Jagat Set (Banker of 
 the world) of Murshedabad, who was reputed to have been 
 worth upwards of fifteen crores of rupees. 
 
 Wealthy Hindoos, Avhen on a visit to Kali Ghat, expend 
 large sum of money on the worship of this goddess, in the 
 shape of valuable ornaments, silver plate, dishes, &c., sweet- 
 meats and food for a large number of Brahmans, and small 
 presents to thousands of beggars, besides numerous sacrifices 
 of goats, sheep and buff"aloes, which make the space before the 
 temple swim with blood. The flesh of the goat and the sheep 
 is freely used by the sdJcta class of Hindoos when offered to
 
 THE KALI-PUJA FESTIVAL. 141 
 
 Kdli and Durga ; biit they would never use it unless after 
 such an oblation. It is otherwise called hritha, or unsanctified 
 flesh, which is altogether unfit for the use of a religious 
 Hindoo. But the progress of English education has made 
 terrible inroads on the religious practices of the people, at 
 least of the rising generation.* The following description of 
 the Kali or Shayamd-pujd given by Mr. Ward will serve to 
 convey to the reader some idea of the nature of the festival. 
 
 " A few years ago," says he, " I went to the house of Kali 
 Sankar Ghosh at Calcutta, at the time of the Shayama festival, 
 to see the animals sacrificed to Kali. The buildings where 
 the worship was performed were raised on four sides, witli 
 an area in the middle. The image was placed at the north 
 end with the face to the south ; and the two side-rooms, and 
 one of the end rooms opposite the image, were filled with 
 spectators : in the area were the animals devoted to sacrifice, 
 and also the executioner, with Kali Sankar, a few attendants, 
 and about twenty persons to throw the animal down and hold 
 it in the post, while the head was cut off. The goats were 
 sacrificed first, then the buffaloes, and last of all, two or three 
 rams. In order to secure the animals, ropes were fastened 
 round their legs ; they were then thrown down, and the neck 
 placed in a piece of wood fastened into the ground and open 
 at the top like the space betwixt the prongs of a fork. After 
 the animal's neck was fastened in the wood by a peg which 
 passed over it, the men who held it pulled forcibly at the heels, 
 while the executioner, with a broad heavy axe cut off the 
 head at one blow ; the heads were carried in an elevated 
 posture by an attendant (dancing as he went}, the blood 
 running down him on all sides, into the presence of the 
 goddess. Kali Sankar, at the close, went up to the execu- 
 
 * Young Beng-al is no longer satisfied with Kali Giiat meat ; his 
 taste being improved and his mind disabused, he must needs have kid 
 and mutton from the new Municipal market, which is certainly supe- 
 rior in quality to that of Kali Ghat.
 
 142 THE KALI-PUJA FESTIVAL. 
 
 tioner, took him in his arms, and gave him several presents of 
 cloth, (tc. The heads and blood of the animals, as well as differ- 
 ent meat offerings, are presented, with incantations, as a feast 
 to the goddess, after which clarified butter is burnt on a 
 prepared altar of sand. Never did I see men so eagerly enter 
 into the shedding of blood, nor do I think any butchers could 
 slaughter animals moi'e expertly. The place literally swam 
 with blood. The bleating of the animals, the numbers slain, 
 and the ferocity of the people employed, actually made me 
 unwell, and I returned about midnight, filled with horror and 
 indignation." In the foregoing account, Mr. Ward has omitted 
 to say anything about the nocturnal revelry with which the 
 festival is in most instances accompanied. I have witnessed 
 scenes on such occasions, which are too disgusting to be des- 
 cribed. Not only the officiating priest and the spiritual guide, 
 but all the members of the family and not a few of the guests 
 partake of the spirituous liquors offered to the goddess, and 
 in a state of intoxication sing Ramprasadi songs befitting the 
 occasion. The festival closes with orgies such as are observed 
 in the worship of Bacchus. There are, however, a few persons, 
 honorable exceptions to the rule, who, though they perform 
 the worship of this goddess, yet altogether abstain from drink- 
 ing. The goddess Kali is their guardian deity, they worship 
 her daily, but are known never to touch a drop of wine. They 
 attribute to her all the worldly prosperity they enjoy, and 
 look to her for everlasting blessedness. Such men have no 
 faith in the common drunken motto, " Bhdrey md Bhabdni,'" 
 " Mother Bhabdni (another name of Kuli) is in the cup." But 
 the "-rand characteristic of this and similar festivals is, as I have 
 already mentioned, " the wine, the fruit, and the lady fair." 
 " Eveu hacchnnaliaji madness has its charms." 
 But to return to the priests of Kali Ghiit. As time rolled 
 on, their descendants multiplied so rapidly that it soon became 
 necessary to allot a few days only in the year to each of the 
 families ; and on grand occasions, which are not a few, the
 
 THE KALI-rUJA FESTIVAL. 14.3 
 
 offertories are proportionall}' divided among the whole set of 
 the sacerdotal class. Thus it has now become a case of what 
 a Hindoo proverb so aptly expresses : " The flesh of a spari'ow 
 divided into a hundred parts," or infinitesimal quantities. 
 
 God has so constituted man that he can find little or no 
 enjoyment in a state of inactivity. The proper employment 
 of time, therefore, is essentially necessary to the progi'essive 
 development of our powers and faculties, the non-exercise of 
 which must needs induce idle and vicious habits. No bread is 
 sweet unless it is earned by the sweat of our brow. The 
 Haldars (priests) of Kali Ghat, having no healthy occupation 
 in which to engage their minds, and depending for their sus- 
 tenance on a means which requires neither physical nor mental 
 labor, have inevitably been led to adopt tlie Epicurean mode 
 of life, which says, " eat, drink and be merry." This habit is 
 further confirmed by the peculiar nature of the religious prin- 
 ciples which the worship of this goddess enjoins. Certain 
 texts of the Tantra Shastra expressly inculcate that, without 
 drinking, the mind is not properly prepared for religious exer- 
 cise and contemplation. The pernicious effects of such a 
 monstrous doctrine are sufficiently obvious. It has been said 
 that not only the men but the women also are in the habit of 
 drinking. As a necessary consequence, the vicious practice 
 has not only enervated their minds but made their " wealth 
 small and their want great." Disputes often arise between the 
 worshippers and the priests of the temple respecting the offerings 
 and the proper division of the same, the latter often claiming 
 the lion's share which the former are unwilling to yield. Gross 
 lies are sometimes told in the presence of the goddess in order 
 to secure the major portion of the offerings in the interests of 
 the worshippers —an expedient which the notorious rapacity of 
 the ofliciating Briihmans imperatively demands. Surrounded 
 by an atmosphere densely impregnated with the miasm of a 
 false religion and a corrupt morality, the ennoliling thought of 
 the true God and the moral accountability of man never enters
 
 144 THE KALI-PUJA FESTIVAL. 
 
 their minds. The chief end and aim of their life is to impose 
 on the credulity of their blind votaries, and thereby pander to 
 their own unhallowed desires and selfish gratification. Nor 
 can they rise to a higher and purer sphere of life, because 
 from their childhood they have been nurtured in the cradle 
 of error, ignorance, indolence, and profligacy. Who can con- 
 template the effects of their impure orgies on the eighth, 
 ninth, fourteenth, and fifteen nights of the increase and 
 decrease of the moon, without being reminded of the satur- 
 nalia of the Greeks ? * If a sober-minded man were to visit 
 the holy shrine of Kali Ghat on one of these nights, he 
 would be shocked at the unrestrained debauchery that runs 
 riot in the name of religion. The temple, no less than the 
 private domicile of the priests, presents an uninterrupted 
 scene of bacchanalian revelry, which is u.nspeakably abomin- 
 able. Men without shame, and women without decency or 
 morality, mingle in the revels ; and the result is, that all the 
 cherished notions of the better part of humanity are at once 
 put to flight. It is painful to reflect that, notwithstanding 
 
 * The writer remembers to have been once in his young-er days 
 taken up on a Kall-puja night by a gang of infamous drunkards 
 in the very heart of Calcutta. When he was returning home about 
 midnight in company with some of his friends after seeing the 
 tdvidshd, he being the youngest of the lot lagged behind ; to his utter 
 dismay he was suddenly laid hold of by a man who smelt strongly 
 of liquor, and carried hurriedly into an empty house at the roadside. 
 The first shout at the very threshold was. — " here we have got a 
 mii()7-i" i.e.. a victim. The ruffians, who had their faces concealed, 
 jumped up at the announcement, and one of them accosted him in 
 the following manner — " what money have you got ?" The writer 
 replied, "a few annas pice only." "No rupees?" asked another; 
 whereupon they all fell to searching his person, and stripped him 
 of all his clothes, which consisted of a dhuti, a chndar and a jama, 
 and finally bade him go. He was obliged to return home almost in a 
 state of nudity, one of his friends lending him a chadar for the 
 occasion. In these days the introduction of gas-light and the posting 
 of constables in the street have greatly checked such rufiianism.
 
 THE KALI-rUJA FESTIVAL. 145 
 
 the progress of enlightenment in the great centre of Indian 
 civilization, people still cling to the adoration of a blood- 
 thirsty goddess and to the support of a depraved class of 
 priests. At Chitpore, a populous village about four miles 
 north of the Government House, there existed a temple of 
 Kkli, where, according to popular and uncontradicted tradition, 
 the largest number of human sacrifices was offered to the 
 goddess before the establishment of the British Government. 
 A corresponding temple of Kdli stands in front of the groat 
 and dilapidated temple in Baugbazar, Calcutta, and many a 
 human sacrifice has been ofl^ered at the shrine of Sidheswari 
 Debi, as it is called. But the Chitpore temple was by far the 
 most renowned for the number of its human victims. 
 
 The meat of goats that are daily sacrificed before the altar 
 of Kali being too numerous for local consumption, are sold to 
 outside-customers much in the same manner as fruits and 
 vegetables are brought from the neighbouring villages into 
 the market. On Saturday the sale is larger than on the other 
 week-days, because that night is specially dedicated to the 
 worship of Bacchus, Sunday affording a respite from work. 
 But the sale of Kali Ghat goat-meat has of late been much 
 interfered with by the establishment of rival shrines in several 
 parts of Calcutta, where meat can be had much cheaper. The 
 owners (mostly prostitutes and drunkards) of these pseudo- 
 goddesses, vulgarly called Kashaye or butcher* Kali, sacrifice 
 every morning, without any ceremony, one or two goats, except 
 on Saturday, when the number is increased according to 
 requirements. Thus a regular and profitable butcher's trade 
 is openly carried on in the name of the goddess ; and the 
 generality of the Sdlda Hindoos feel no religious scruples in 
 using the meat which is thus sanctified. The comparative 
 
 * This name is very appropriate, those places being to all intents 
 and purposes, slaughterhouses and butcher's shops ; the placing of 
 image of Kali therein is simply a blind to evade municipjil laws. 
 
 K
 
 146 THE KALI-PUJA FESTIVAL. 
 
 ease with which flesh is now obtained in Calcutta has tended, 
 in no small degree, to encourage habits of drinking among a 
 race of men, proverbially abstemious, it being the popular 
 impression that meat neutralises the effects of spirituous 
 liquors.* 
 
 Many images of Kali which have from time to time been 
 set up in and about Calcutta, ostensibly for religious but 
 actually for secular purjjoses, in imitation of the unrivalled 
 prototype at Kali Ghat, have acquii-ed unenviable celebrity, 
 and have been made a source of income to the owner and 
 the officiating priests, who fatten on the offerings made to 
 the goddess in the shape of money and provisions. Thus, for 
 instance, the Sidheswarl, or Kali of NimtoUa, Calcutta, obtains 
 a few rupees daily from such Hindoos as are carried to the river- 
 side to breathe their last, besides the small presents made at 
 all hours of the day, especially in the mornings and evenings, 
 when the crowd assembles. It is amusing to observe the 
 complaisance with which a Brahman gives a consecrated Billa- 
 pattra, or flower, to a devotee in return for a rupee or so. A 
 shrewd Brahman, like the ancient Roman soothsayer, laughs in 
 his sleeve at such stupidity. 
 
 A Sanskrit proverb says that a meritorious work endures. 
 It keeps alive the name of the founder ; and thus vanity fur- 
 nishes the strongest stimulus to the endowment of w^orks of a 
 
 * This idea is strengthened by the opinion of Native medical 
 students, many of whom, it is a matter of regret, are not great advo- 
 cates of temperance. Natives use liquor not for health, but solely 
 for intoxicating purposes. A very successful Native Practitioner, to 
 vrhom not only the vyriter but many of his respectable friends are 
 under great obligation, not long ago fell a victim to the besetting 
 vice of intemperance, and, like a penitent sinner, confessed his guilt 
 in his dying moments. His reputation was so great at one time that 
 it was said " patients felt half-cured when he entered the room." 
 In the beginning of his brilliant career, he was one of the most 
 ELaunch advocates of temperance. How frail is human nature !
 
 THE KALI-PUJA FESTIVAL. 147 
 
 religious character and of public utility. It is, however, a 
 Ijainful fact that the nature and character of such endowments 
 is, in most cases, lamentably wanting in the element of perma- 
 nence. Two or three generations after the death of the 
 founder, the substance of the estate being impaired, the family 
 is reduced to a state of poverty ; the surviving members, often 
 a set of demoralised idlers, depend for their support on the 
 usufruct of the Devatra, originally set apart for exclusively 
 religious purposes, and placed beyond the reach of law. In 
 tliese days the offshoots of many families are absolutely depend- 
 ent on this sacred fund for their subsistence, and the conse- 
 quence naturally is, that the endowment is frittered away and- 
 the work itself inevitably falls into decay. Thus, in process of 
 time, both the fund and the founder's name pass into utter 
 oblivion. 
 
 The following account given by Mr. Ward of the death of a 
 devotee of this goddess will not be uninteresting : — " In the 
 year 1809, Trigoona Gosvami, a vyuktavudhootu, died at Kali 
 Ghat in the following manner : Three days before his death, 
 he dug a grave near his hut, in a place surrounded by three 
 vihou trees which he himself had planted. In the evening he 
 placed a lamp in the grave, in which an offering of flesh, greens, 
 rice, &c., to the shakals was made, repeating it the next even- 
 ing. The following day he obtained from a rich native ten 
 rupees worth of spirituous liquors, and invited a number of 
 mendicants, who sat drinking with him till twelve at noon, 
 when he asked among the spectators at what hour it would be 
 full moon ; being informed, he went and sat in his grave, and 
 continued drinking liquors. Just before the time for the full 
 moon, he turned his head towards the temple of Kiili, and 
 informed the spectators that he had come to Kali Ghat witfi 
 the hope of seeing the goddess, not the image in the temple. 
 He had been frequently urged by diff'erent persons to visit the 
 temple, but though he had not assigned a reason for his 
 omission, he now asked what he was to go and see there : a
 
 148 THE KALI-PUJA FESTIVAL. 
 
 temple ? He could see that from where he was. A piece of 
 stone made into a face, or the silver hands ? He could see 
 stones and silver anywhere else. He wished to see the 
 goddess herself, but he had not, in this body, obtained the 
 sight. However, he had still a mouth and a tongue and he 
 would again call upon her ; he then called out aloud twice, 
 " Kdli ? Kali ? " and almost immediately died ; — probably from 
 excessive intoxication. The spectators, though Hindoos (who 
 in general despise a drunkard), considered this man as a great 
 saint, who had foreseen his own death, when in health. He 
 had not less than four hundred disciples."* 
 
 The various causes which have hitherto conspired to impart 
 a sanctity to this famous temple are gradually waning in their 
 influence ; but it will be a very long time before the minds of 
 the mass of the people are completely purified in the crucible 
 of true religion before which superstition and priestcraft must 
 vanish into air. 
 
 * For an account of the Bdmdchari sect, see Note D.
 
 X. 
 
 THE FESTIVAL OF CAKES. 
 
 ON the annual commemoration of this popular festival in 
 Bengal, which is analogous to the English " Harvest 
 home," the people in general, and the agricultural classes in 
 particular, manifest a gleeful appearance, indicative of national 
 demonstrations of joy and mirth. It takes place in the 
 Bengali month of Paus, or January, following immediately 
 in the wake of the English Christmas and New year's day. 
 With the exception of the upper ten thousand, almost all men, 
 women, and children alike participate in the festivities of the 
 season, and, for three successive days, are occupied in rural 
 pastimes and gastronomical enjoyment. The popular cry 
 on this occasion, is — " Aoivni Boivn.i tin din pitta bhdt 
 khawni" " the Paus or Makar Sankrdnti is come, let three 
 days be passed in eating cakes and rice," accompanied by a 
 .supplementary invocation to the goddess of Prosperity (Laksh- 
 mi) that she may afford her votaries ample stores, so that 
 they may never know want. As the outward manifestation 
 of this internal wish, all their chests, boxes, bedding, the 
 earthen cooking-pots in the kitchen, as well as those in the 
 store-house containing their food-gi'ains, and in fact every 
 moveable article in the house, are tied with shreds of straw 
 that they may always remain intact The origin of this 
 festival is involved in obscurity, but tradition says that it 
 sprang from the general desire of the people engaged in agri- 
 cultural pursuits, to celebrate the last day of Paus, and the
 
 1,50 THE FESTIVAL OF CAKES. 
 
 two succeeding days, in eating what they most relish, cakes 
 of all sorts, to their hearts content, after having harvested 
 and gathered their corn and other food-gi'ains, which form 
 the main staff of their life. Whatever may have been the 
 origin of this festival, it is evident that it does not owe its 
 existence, like most other Hindoo festivals, to priestcraft. 
 The idea is good, and the tendency excellent. After harvest- 
 ing and gathering the fruits of their labour, on which depends 
 not only their individual subsistence throughout the year, 
 but the general prosperity of the country by the development 
 of its resources, the husbandmen are well entitled to lay aside, 
 for a short while, the ploughshare, and taking three days' 
 rest, to spend them in rui'al amusements and festivities amid 
 their domestic circle. All this tends, in no small degree, to 
 awaken and revive dormant feelings of love and friendliness 
 by the mutual exchange of invitations as well as of good 
 fellowship. Their incessai:it toil in the field during the seven 
 previous months, their intense anxiety on the score of weather, 
 carefully noting, though not with the scientific precision of 
 the meteorological reporter, deficient and plenteous rainfall, 
 and apprehending the destructive October gale, when the ears 
 of corn are almost fully developed, their constant watchful- 
 ness to prevent theft and the destruction of the crops by the 
 cattle, their unceasing weeding-out of troublesome and useless 
 plants and cassay grass, sometimes wading in marshy swamp 
 or mire knee-deep, and their incessant anxiety for the due 
 payment of rent to the zemindar, or perhaps of interest to 
 the relentless money-lender, — all these are sources of uneasi- 
 ness that do not allow them a moment's peace of mind. 
 Should they, by way of relaxation, cease to work for three 
 days in the year, they cannot be blamed for laziness or supine- 
 ness. The question of a good harvest is of such immense 
 importance to an agricultural country like India, that when 
 the god Ram Chandra, the model king, visited his sub- 
 jects in Oude, the first thing he asked them was about the
 
 THE FESTIVAL OF CAKES. 151 
 
 state of the crops ; and when the enquiry was favourably 
 answered, his mind was set at rest, and he cheerfully unfolded 
 to them the scheme of his future government.* Physically 
 considered, temporary cessation from labor is indispensable to 
 recruit the energy of the exhausted body, and to promote the 
 normal vigor of the mind. So, in whatever light this national 
 jubilee is regarded, ^socially, morally or scientifically, — it is 
 productive of beneficial results, ultimately contributing to the 
 material prosperity of the land. 
 
 Some of my countrymen of a fastidious taste look upon this 
 festival as a puerile and foolish entertainment, V)ecause it 
 possesses no dignified feature to commend it to their attention ; 
 but they should consider that it is free from the idolatrous 
 abominations and rank obscenity by which most of the Hindoo 
 festivals are characterised, independently of its having a 
 tendency to promote the innocent mirth and general hilarity 
 of the masses, whose contentment is the best test of a good 
 government and of a generous landed aristocracy. 
 
 So popular is this festival amongst the people that the 
 Mussalmans have a common saying to the effect, that their 
 Eed, Bakriede and Shohebardt~t\\reQ of their greatest national 
 festivals — are no match for the Hindoo Paus Sakrant. 
 
 Our children and women in the city, whose minds are so 
 largely tinctured with an instinctive regard for all festivities, 
 
 * Indeed, it has become a byword amon^ the Natives in general 
 that the compound word " Ram-ffuji/a" or the empire of Ram. is 
 synonymous with a happy dynasty. There existed peace and harmony 
 among the people in the infancy of society. Almost every family 
 had its assigned plot of laud which its members cultivated, and the 
 fruits of which they enjoyed without the incubus of a rack-renting 
 system, because the virgin soil always afforded an abundant harvest. 
 The wants of the people were few and were easily supplied. In fact, 
 there was a complete identity of interests between the rulers and the 
 ruled. The result was universal contentment and happiness. But 
 unhappily the present advanced stage of social organization has 
 considerably impaired the relation.
 
 152 THE FESTIVAL OF CAKES. 
 
 share in the general excitement. On this occasion, exchanges 
 of presents of sweetmeats, clothes, jaggery, ghee, flour, oranges, 
 cereals, cocoanuts, balls of concentrated milk, vegetables, 
 spices, sugar, almonds, raisins, etc., are made between relatives 
 in order that they may be enabled to solemnise the cake festival 
 with the greatest eclat. In respectable families, the women 
 cheerfully take the trouble of making these preparations, 
 instead of trusting them to their female cooks, because male 
 cooks are no adepts ia the art. So nicely are these cakes 
 made and in such variety, that the late Mr. Cockerell, a highly 
 respected merchant of this City, used every year to get an 
 assortment from his Babu and invite his friends to partake of 
 them ; and notwithstanding the proverbial diflferences of taste, 
 there are few who would not relish them. 
 
 The second day of the cake festival being also Makar-san- 
 kranti, the day in which goddess Gangd condescended to come 
 doAvn from heaven to this nether world for the purpose of deliver- 
 ing Sagar-raja with his family, is annually kept up splendidly by 
 the boys of the patshalas, or primary schools, around Calcutta. 
 The more advanced form themselves into a band of singei'S, 
 and, attended by bands of musicians, with all the usual accom- 
 paniments of flags, staves, etc., and led by their mnster, proceed 
 in procession from their respective schools to the bank of the 
 river Bhagirathi, singing rhythmically in chorus all the way 
 in praise of the holy stream and of her powers of salvation 
 in the present Kali Yuga, or iron age. When they reach their 
 destination, they pour forth their songs most vociferously. 
 They afterwards perform the usual ablutions, and return 
 home in the same manner as they set out from the pdtshdld, 
 regarding the performance as an act of great merit.
 
 XL 
 
 THE SARASVVATI PUJA. 
 
 SARASWATI is the Hindoo goddess of speech aud learning. 
 She is represented as seated on a waterlily and playing on a 
 lute. Throughout Bengal her worship is celebrated with more 
 or less pomp on the iifth day of the increase of the moon, in 
 the Bengali month of Magha or Falgoon (February). As the 
 popular Shastras reckon the commencement of spring from 
 this date, the people, especially the young and gay of both 
 sexes, put on yellow (bassanti) garments, and indulge in all sorts 
 of low merriment, manifesting a depraved and vitiated taste. 
 
 Every Hindoo, young or old, who is able to read and write, 
 observes this ceremony with apparent solemnity, abstaining 
 from the use of fish on that day as a mark of reverence to the 
 goddess. The worship is performed either before an image of 
 the goddess, or before a pen, ink-bottle, and picthi (manuscript), 
 which are symbolically regarded as an appropriate substitute 
 for the image. The officiating priest, after reading the pres- 
 cribed formula, and presenting rice, fruits, sweetmeats, flowers, 
 &c., directs the votaries of the goddess to stand up with flowers 
 in their hands and repeat the usual service, beseeching her to 
 bestow on them the blessings of learning, health, wealth, good 
 luck, longevity, fame, &c. Apart from its idolatrous character, 
 it is rather a strange sight to see a number of youths, after 
 going through the process of ablution and changing their 
 clothes, stand up before the goddess in a body, and in a devo- 
 tional spirit address her in prayer for the blessings above 
 enumerated. Even apart from its superstitious character, it 
 is decidedly objectionable on the score of its purely secular
 
 15i THE SARASWATI-PUJA. 
 
 tendency, as it makes no allusion whatever to the primary 
 object of all prayer, viz., the atonement and pardon of sin and 
 the salvation of the soul — an element in which the religious 
 ceremonies of the Hindoos are singularly deficient. 
 
 " Life is real, life is earnest, 
 And the grave is not its goal ; 
 ' Dust thou art, to dust returnest,' 
 Was not spoken of the soul." 
 
 It was reported of Sir William Jones, that when he studied 
 Sanskrit, he used to place ou the table a metal image of this 
 goddess, evidently to please his Pandit. Let it not be inferred 
 from this that he advocated the continuance of idolatry ; far 
 from it, but even in apj)earance to acquiesce in homage to an 
 idol made of clay and straw is to withhold from the Most High 
 the reverence, gratitude and obedience due to Him alone. The 
 early formation of a i)rayerful habit divested of any idolatrous 
 feature will always exercise a healthy religious influence on 
 the mind in maturer years. 
 
 In every chatuspdti, or school, the Brahman Pandit and his 
 pupils worship this goddess with religious strictness. The 
 Pandit sets up an image, and invites all his patrons, friends, 
 and acquaintances on this occasion. Every one who attends 
 must make a small present of money in the shape of prondmi to 
 the goddess, and returns home with the hollow benediction of 
 the Brahman. To so miserable a strait have the learned Pandits 
 been reduced of late years, that they anxiously look forward 
 to this festival as a small harvest of gain to them, the autho- 
 rized ministers of the goddess. They make from fifty to one 
 hundred rupees a year by the celebration of this Puja, which 
 keeps them for six months ; should any of their friends fail 
 to make the usual present to the goddess, they are sure to 
 come and demand it as a right.* 
 
 * A gift once made to a Brahman must be repeated from year to 
 year till tlie donor dies ; in some cases it is tenable from one geuera- 
 tiou to another.
 
 THE ?ARASWATI-rU.IA. 155 
 
 As a mark of homage to the goddess, tlic Hhidoos do not 
 read or wi'ite on that day. Hence the day is observed as a 
 holiday in public and mercantile offices, where the clerks are 
 mostly Hindoos. Should any necessity arise they write in 
 red ink, as all the inkstands in the houseliold are washed out 
 and placed before the goddess for annual consecration. They 
 are, however, not prevented from attending to secular business 
 on this occasion. UnUke the sanguinary Pujas of Durga 
 and Kali, no bloody sacrifices are offered to this gentle goddess, 
 but as regards rude merriment, it is no better than the others. 
 Revelry and unbecoming mirth are the grand characteristics 
 of this as indeed of almost every Hindoo festival. It is 
 sickening to reflect how indecency and immorality are thus 
 unblushingly countenanced under the sacred name of religion. 
 
 Loose women celebrate this festival, and keep up dancing 
 and singing all night in a beastly state of intoxication, to the 
 utter disgust of all sober-minded men. The Maharaja of 
 Burdwan used to expend large sums of money on this occasion, 
 engaging the best dancing girls of the metropolis, and illu- 
 minating and ornamenting his palace in splendid style, besides 
 giving entertainment to his English and Native friends. Vast 
 multitudes of people from Calcutta still resort to his palace, 
 and admire the profuse festoons of flowers and the yellow 
 appearance of everything, indicative of the advent of s^jring, — 
 a season which, according to the popular notion, invites the 
 mind to indulge in licentious mirth. It is needless to 
 enumerate farther the many obscenities practised in songs and 
 actions on this occasion. 
 
 The day following the piija, the women are not permit- 
 ted to eat any fresh prepared article of food, but must be satis- 
 fied with stale, cold things, such as boiled rice and boiled 
 pease with a few vegetables, totally abstaining from fish, which 
 they cannot do without on any other day. Taking place on 
 the sixth day of the increase of the moon, this part of the 
 festival is called Sital Shasthl, as enjoining the use of cold food.
 
 XII. 
 
 THE HOLI FESTIVAL. 
 
 THE annual return of this festival in honor of the god 
 Krishna excites the religious feelings and superstitious 
 frenzy of the Hindoos not only in Bengal but also in Orissa, 
 Bombay, and in the Upper Provinces of India. From time 
 immemorial it has continued to exercise a very great influence 
 over the minds of the people at large, so much so that what 
 the Durga-puja is in the Lower Provinces of Bengal, the 
 Holi festival is in the Upper Provinces, being by far the 
 most popular and demonsti'ative in all its leading features. 
 Though originally and essentially a Hindoo festival of a 
 religious charactei', dedicated to the worship of a Hindoo god, 
 it has subsequently assumed a jubilant phase, drawing the 
 followers of a different creed to its observance ; hence not a 
 few Mussalmans in Upper India observe it in a secular sense, 
 quite distinct from its religious aspect or requirements. 
 
 In Bengal it is called Dole Jdttrd, or the rocking of the 
 image of Krishna on its throne. It occurs on the day of the 
 full moon in the Bengali month of Falgun or March, at 
 the vernal equinox, — a season of the year when all the 
 appetites, passions and desires of the people are supposed to 
 be more or less inflamed, and they naturally se^k outlets of 
 gratification. In the Upper Pi'ovinces it is known by the 
 name of Holi, or festival of scattering phdg, or red powder, 
 among friends and others. On the previous night the people, 
 both here and in the Upper Provinces, burn amidst music the
 
 THE IIOLI FESTIVAL. 157 
 
 effigy of an uncouth straw image of a giant named Maydha- 
 soor, who caused great disturbance among the gods and 
 goddesses in their hours of meditation and prayer. To put a 
 stop to this unholy molestation, the god Narayan, or Krishna, 
 destroyed the giant by means of his matchless valor and skill, 
 and thus restored peace in heaven as well as on earth. To 
 commemorate this glorious acliievement, the image of the 
 above giant is annually burnt on the night previous to the 
 Holi festival. 
 
 The religious part of the ceremony, irrespective of its 
 idolatrous element, is performed in accordance with the ori- 
 ginal rules of the Hindoo ritual, which were free from all 
 kinds of abominations. But the great body of the people, 
 lacking the vital principle of a pure and true faith, and 
 following the impulse of unrestrained appetites, have gradually 
 sunk into the depths of corruption, — the outcome of impure 
 imaginations and of a vitiated taste. In Bengal, the observ- 
 ance of this festival is not characterised by anything that is 
 violently opposed to the social amenities of life. Notwith- 
 standing the many phases and multitudinous requirements 
 of the Hindoo creed, the peculiarities of this festival are 
 mainly confined to the worship of the household image, and 
 the entertainment of the Brahmans and friends. Daubing the 
 bodies of the guests with red powder, either in a dry or in a 
 liquid state, and .singing songs descriptive of the sports of 
 Krishna with the milk-maids in the groves of Brindaban, 
 form the constituent elements of the festival in Bengal. 
 Offerings of rice, fruits, and sweetmeats are made to the 
 god ; and the idol is also smeared with red powder by the 
 officiating priest, so as to render it one with that of its wor- 
 shippers. At the close of the ceremony, the rite of purifica- 
 tion is performed, which restores the image — either a piece 
 of stone or of metal — to its normal purity. It is a noteworthy 
 fact that, in this festival, no neiv image made of clay and straw 
 is either set up or thrown into the sacred stream, as is iuvari-
 
 158 THE HOLI FESTIVAL. 
 
 ably the case with the other Hindoo gods and goddesses 
 worshipped by the people of Bengal. 
 
 Krishna, in whose honor this festival is celebrated, has 
 many forms, one of which generally constitutes the house- 
 hold deity that is worshipped every morning and evening 
 by the hereditary priest with all the solemnity of a religi- 
 ous service. A Hindoo who keeps an image of this god 
 is more esteemed in a religious point of view than one 
 who is without it. In popular estimation he escapes many 
 censures to which a godless Hindoo is often exposed. Nor is 
 this at all singular. An orthodox Hindoo who oifers up his 
 daily prayer to his tutelary deity is at least more consistent 
 in bis principles, which, as Confucius very justly says, means 
 Heaven, than one who is tossed about by a wavering faith in 
 the indistinguishable whirl of life. 
 
 The festival of Dole Jattra or Holi, in Bengal varies, how- 
 ever, in its observance as to the day on which it is to be held. 
 Some celebrate it on the first, some on the second, and some 
 ao-ain on the third, fifth, seventh, ninth day of the daik phase 
 of the moon. It is generally the Vaishnavas, or the followers 
 of Krishna, that observe it ; though, in some cases, the Saktas, 
 
 the followers of Durga and Kali — also celebrate it. No 
 
 bloody sacrifices are offered on the occasion. Apart fi'om the 
 relio-ious merit attributed to the ceremonial, it is compara- 
 tively a tame and undemonstrative affair in the Lower Pro- 
 vinces of Bengal when compared with the sensational excite- 
 ment with which it is celebrated in the Upper Provinces. In 
 Orissa too it is kept up with great eclat before the shrine of 
 Jaoanuatha and in its environs. Thousands and tens of 
 thousands of pilgrims from a great distance congregate there 
 on this occasion and offer their oblations to the "stumped" 
 lord of the world. When the inhabitants of Bengal talk of 
 their most popular festivals, they name almost involuntarily 
 the Dole and the Durgdtsuh, but the latter has long since 
 completely eclipsed the former. Morally, socially and iutellec-
 
 THE HOU FESTIVAL. 159 
 
 tuallv the enlightened Bengalis are assuredly the Atlienians 
 of Hindoostan. Their growing intelligence and refined taste, 
 — the outcome of English education — have imbued them witli 
 a healthier ideal of moral excellence than any other section 
 of the Indian population throughout the length and breadth 
 of the land, the Parsis of Bombay excepted. It is owing to 
 tlie influence of this superior moral sense that they do not 
 abandon themselves to the general corruption of manners 
 obtaining in Upper India during tlie Holi festival. 
 
 "Fools make a mock at siu " is a scriptural proverb which 
 is especially applicable to the inhabitants of the Upper Pro- 
 vinces on the annual return of this festival. Unlike their 
 brethren in Bengal, they pay greater attention to the secular 
 than to the religious part of the ceremony. A few days 
 before the Holi, as if to enkindle the flame of a national 
 demonstration of a sensational character, they return to the 
 low, obscene old ballads which constitute a notable feature 
 of the ceremonial. Week after week, day after day, and hour 
 after hour, they pour them out almost as spontaneously as a 
 bird, because they have a pervei'se propensity for the indul- 
 gence of impure thoughts, and rude, profane mirth, which 
 is an outrage on common decency and a scandal to a 
 rational being. Notwithstanding the vigilance of the Police 
 and the stringency of the Penal Code, these rufiians stroll 
 along the public streets in bands, dance antics and sing 
 obscene songs with impunity, simply because the major 
 portion of the Native constables come from the same lower 
 strata of society. Of course, before a European they dare not 
 commit the same nuisance. Should a luckless female, even old 
 and infirm, chance to come in their way, they unblushingly 
 assail her with a volley of scurrilous and insulting epithets much 
 too gross to be tolerated by a rational being having the 
 smallest modicum of decorum about him. To give a specimen 
 of tne songs, vulgar as they unquestionably are, would l)e 
 un act of unpardonable profanation. Even in the Biirra Bazar
 
 160 THE HOLI FESTIVAL. 
 
 of Calcutta, where the Up-couutry Hindoos mostly reside, 
 excesses and enormities are committed, even in the full blaze 
 of day, which alike belie reason and conscience, and ignore the 
 divine part of humanity. Mirth, music and melody do not 
 form the programme of their amusement, but a feverish excite- 
 ment, originating in lust and leading to criminal excesses, is 
 the characteristic of the scene. If a sober-minded man were 
 permitted to examine the cash-book of a country-liquor shop, 
 he would most assuredly be struck with the enormous receipts 
 Df the shopkeeper dui'ing the festive days on this occasion. 
 Bacchanalianism, in all its most detestable forms, reigns ram- 
 pant in almost every home and purlieu throughout the Upper 
 Provinces. Every brothel, every toddykhannah, every grog- 
 shop, is crowded with customers from early morn to dewy eve, 
 and later on. An almost incessant volume of polluted and 
 polluting outcries rises to the skies from these dens of sin, 
 smirching and vulgarising the bright ideal of a holy festival. 
 The endless chanting of obscene songs, the discordant notes of 
 the inebriated singers almost tearing their thi'oats in excessive 
 vociferations, the harsh din of music, their frightful gesti- 
 culations and contortions of the body, their frantic dance, 
 their dithyrambic fanaticism in which every sense of de- 
 corum is lost, their horrid looks rendered tenfold more 
 horrid by reason of their smearing their bodies with red 
 powder, the pestiferous atmosphere by which they are encom- 
 passed, and their reeling posture and bestial intoxication, — all 
 show how the "fools make a mock at sin."* Nor is this to 
 be wondered at. The lives and examples of the Hindoo gods 
 
 * When the late Mr. Thomason, the Lieutenant-Governor of the 
 North-Western Provinces, visited Benares, the far-famed city of holy 
 shrines and holy bulls, during this festival, he exclaimed in pious 
 indignation, •' what disgusting scenes are enacted and frightful crimes 
 perpetrated in the name of religion by rational beings, capable of 
 purer and sublimer enjoyments. Surely the shameless ragamuffins 
 are fit subjects for bedlam."
 
 THE nOLI FESTIVAL. IGl 
 
 have, in a great measure, moulded the character of their wor- 
 sHippers : " Shiva is represented as dechiring to Lakslmn that 
 he would part with the merit of his works for the gratification 
 of a criminal passion ; Brahma, as burning with lust towards 
 his own daughter ; Krishna, as living with the wife of another, 
 murdering a washerman and stealing his clothes, and sending 
 his friend Yudhisthira to the regions of torment by causing 
 him to utter a falsehood ; Indra and Chandra are seen as the 
 paramours of the wives of their spiritual guides." It is much to 
 be lamented that the authors of the Hindoo mythology have 
 unscrupulously held up the revels of their gods to the imita- 
 tion of their followers. 
 
 It is but just to observe that the more respectable classes 
 are restrained by a sense of decency from openly participating 
 with the populace in the vicious indulgence of undisciplined 
 passions. But their implied approval of such sensual gratifica- 
 tions tends, in no small degree, to fan the flame of supersti- 
 tious frenzy. If they do not expose themselves in the highway, 
 they betray their concupiscence within the confines of their 
 own dwellings. They substitute opium and bhang (hemp) 
 for spirituous liquors ; and among the females of the house, 
 some aunt or other is the. butt of their rude unseemly satire. 
 Their lusts and want of inward discipline, stimulated by a 
 false religion as well as by the demoralized rules of an en-one- 
 ous conventionalism, have deadened, as it were, their finer 
 sensibilities ; and generations must pass away before they are 
 enabled rightly to appreciate their social relations and their 
 moral and reli^fious duties.
 
 XIII. 
 
 CASTE. 
 
 THE word ' caste' is derived from the Portuguese word casta — 
 mould, race, etc. To trace the origin of the Indian caste 
 in all its varied phases, it is necessary, as Dr. J. Wilson says, 
 that we should go back to a very remote period when the 
 Aryans, after crossing the Hindu Kush, had settled themselves 
 in India. The aboriginal tribes, differing in manners and 
 usages from those of the Aryans, were treated, as a matter of 
 course, with contempt, while in return they had looked upon 
 their more powerful conquerors with envy and jealousy. Thus 
 the wide gulf generated in the hearts of the conquerors and 
 the conquered ultimately led to the institution of caste. But 
 to account for the different varieties of the caste-system, the 
 explanation is to be found in the diflerent manners and customs 
 then prevailing amongst the aborigines and the Ar3\ans. The 
 Aryans w'ere of a very sensitive sort of people. Anything 
 new they did not like. To ensure a steady progress in arts 
 and manufactures, in science and literature, they allotted 
 certain functions to certain castes. 
 
 The distinction of caste is woven into the very texture of 
 Hindoo society. In whatever light it is considered, — religi- 
 ously, morally, or socially, — it must be admitted that this 
 abnormal system is calculated to perpetuate the ignorance and 
 degradation of the race among which it prevails. 
 
 " It is dishonouring alike to the Creator of man, and in- 
 jurious to man — the creature. It is emphatically the curse of 
 India and the parent of India's woes. It is the great enemy of
 
 CASTE. 163 
 
 enlightenment and improvement and advancement in India. 
 It is tlie very soul and the body of Hindooism, and its inevi- 
 tal)le tendency is to sap the very foundation of a common 
 brotherhood in the human ftimily and dry the perennial s})ring 
 of common sympathy. Tiiough in every sense of the word 
 an anti-social institution, it is nevertheless the main support 
 of the Hindoo religion. Take away this support, and you 
 destroy the very life and vitality of that religion. It is au 
 extraordinary social phenomenon that this arbitrary distinc- 
 tion in humanity has been brought to the most pernicious 
 development in India amidst the unwonted processes of 
 national degeneracy. Its evil doings of late have moved earth 
 below and heaven above and hell beneath. It interferes with 
 all the relations and events of life, and with what precedesand 
 follows, and what is supposed to precede and follow life. It 
 reigns supreme in the innumerable classes and divisions of tlie 
 Hindoos, whether they originate in family descent, in religious 
 opinions, in civil or sacred occupations, or in local residents, 
 and it professes to regulate all their interests, affairs and 
 relationships. It is the guiding principle of each of the classes, 
 and divisions of the Hindoos in their distinct and associated 
 capacity. It is the condensation of all the pride, jealousy, and 
 tyrauuy of an ancient and predominate people dealing with the 
 tribes which they have subjected, and over which they have 
 ruled, often without the sympathies of a recognized common 
 humanity. Caste was a growth, pride being its seminal prin- 
 ciple — pride of races, and the pride of religious presumption 
 and pre-eminence issuing in arrogant monopoly." 
 
 It is obvious that it must have originated in a dark age when 
 a proud and selfish priesthood, in the exercise of its sacerdotal 
 functions, imposed on the people this galling yoke of religious 
 and social servitude. Even the rulers of the land were not 
 exempt from its baneful influence. The}' were as much subject 
 to the prescribed rules of their order as the common people. 
 Calculating on the implicit and unquestioning obedience of
 
 164 CASTE. 
 
 men to their authoritative injunctions, a scheming hierarchy 
 established a universal sjsteni, the demoralizing effects of 
 ■which are perhaps witliout a parallel in the annals of human 
 society. The capacity and culture of man's intellect were 
 shamefully under-estimated, when it was expected that such an 
 artificial order, so preposterously unsuited to the interests of 
 humanity and to the advancement of civilization, should for 
 ever continue to influence the life and destiny of unborn 
 generations. 
 
 "The distinctions of rank in Europe," says Mr. Ward, "are 
 founded upon civic merit or learning, and answer very im- 
 portant ends in the social union ; but this system commences 
 with an act of the most consummate injustice that was ever 
 perpetrated; binds in chains of adamant nine-tenths of the 
 people, debars them for ever from all access to a higher state, 
 whatever their merits may be; puts a lock upon the whole 
 intellect of three of the four orders, and branding their very 
 birth with infamy, and rivetting their chains for ever, says to 
 millions and millions of mankind, — ' you proceeded from the 
 feet of Brahmil, you were created for servitude.' " 
 
 History furnishes no pai-allel to such an audacious declara- 
 tion made in utter defiance of the fundamental principles 
 uf humanity. The onward march of intellect can never be 
 checked, even when opposed by the strongest of artificial bar- 
 riers. Still will that "grey spirit " rise and chase away the 
 errors which age has accumulated and superstition cherished. 
 
 " That grey spirit yearning in desire 
 
 To follow kuowledge, like a sinking star, 
 
 Beyond the utmost bound of human thought." 
 
 The distinction of caste was originally instituted to 
 secure to the hierarchy all the superior advantages of a 
 privileged class, and to condemn all other orders to follow 
 menial occupations such as the trades of the country could 
 furnish. They kept the key of knowledge in their own hands, 
 and thus exercised a domineering influence over the mass of
 
 CASTE. 165 
 
 the people, imap;ining tliat tlicir exclusive privileges sliould 
 have endless duration. This power in their hands was " either 
 a treasury-chest or a rod of iron. " The mind recoils from 
 contemplating what would have been the state of the country, 
 tlie extent of her hopelessness and heli)lessness, if the light of 
 European knowledge had not dawned and penetrated the 
 Hindoo mind, and thereby introduced a healthier state of 
 things. Eighty years back tliis system was at the zenith of 
 its splendour; men clung to it witli all the tenacity of a 
 natural institution, and proscribed those who ventui'ed to 
 break through its fetters. It was a terrible thing then to 
 depart from the established order of social union ; the least 
 whisper of a deviation and the slightest violation of its rules 
 were visited with social persecution of the worst type. I 
 cannot do better than give a few instances, illustrating the 
 nature of the punishments to which a Hindoo was subjected in 
 that period of terror, when the caste - mania raged most 
 furiously. 
 
 " After the establishment of the English power in Bengal, 
 the caste of a Bnihman of Calcutta was destroj^ed by a Euro- 
 pean, who forced into his mouth flesh, spirits, &o. After 
 remaining three years an outcast, great efforts were made, at 
 an expense of eighty thousand rupees, to restore him to the 
 pale of his caste ; but in vain, as many Brahmans of the same 
 order refused to associate with him as one of their own. After 
 this, an expense of two lakhs of rupees more was incurred, 
 when he was readmitted to the privileges of his caste. About 
 the year 1802, a person in Calcutta expended in feasting and 
 presents to Brahmans fifty thousand rupees in order to be read- 
 mitted into the ring of his caste from wdiich he had been exclud- 
 ed for eating with a Braliman of the IHrdli caste. Not long 
 after this, two Pirdli Brahmans of Calcutta made an effort to 
 wipe out the opprobrium of Pirdlism, but were disappointed, 
 though they had expended a \ery large sum of money. 
 
 " Ghauesyama, a Brahman, about thirty-five years ago.
 
 166 CASTE. 
 
 went to England and was excommunicated. Gakul, another 
 Brahman, about the same time went to Madras, and was re- 
 nounced by his relatives : but, after incurring some expense in 
 feasting Brahmans, he was received back. In the year 1808, 
 a blacksmith of Sirampur returned from Madras, and was dis- 
 owned by his fellow caste-men ; but, after expending two 
 thousand rupees amongst the Brahmans, he was restored to his 
 family and friends. In the same year the mother of Kali 
 Prosad Ghosh, a rich Kayasto of Benares, who had lost caste 
 by intercourse with Mussulmans, and was called a Pirdli, 
 died. KJili Prosad was much concerned on account of the 
 rites required to be performed in honor of the manes of his 
 deceased parent ; but no Brahman would officiate at the cere- 
 mony. After much entreaty and promise of rewards, he pre- 
 vailed at last upon eleven Brahmans to perform the necessary 
 ceremonies at night. A person who had a dispute with tliese 
 Brahmans informed against them, and they were immediately 
 abandoned by their friends. After waiting several days in 
 vain, hoping that his friends would relent, one of these Brah- 
 mans, tying himself to a jar of water, drowned himself in the 
 Ganges. Some years ago, Rjim, a Brahman of Tribani, having, 
 by mistake, manned his son to a Pirdli girl, and being aban- 
 doned by his friends, died of a broken heart. In the year 
 1803, Shibu Ghosh, a Kayasto, married a Pirdli girl, and was 
 not restored to his caste till after seven years, and after he had 
 expended seven thousand rupees for the expiation of his 
 offence. About the same period, a Brahman woman of Velu- 
 pookuria having been violated, and in consequence outcasted, 
 put an end to her existence by vohnitary starvation. In the 
 village of Baj-Baj, some years ago, a young man who had 
 lost his caste through the criminal intrigues of his mother, 
 a widow, in a state of frenzy poisoned himself, and his two 
 surviving brothers abandoned the country. Guruprasad, 
 a Brahman of Charna, in Bardwan, not many years ago, 
 thi'ough fear of losing caste, in consequence of the infidelity
 
 CASTE. 167 
 
 of his wife, left !iis home and died of grief at Benares. About 
 the year 1800, a Braluiaan hidy of Santipur murdered her 
 illeg'itimate chihl, to prevent discovery and loss of caste. In 
 the year 1807, a Brahman of Tribany murdered liis wife by 
 strangling her to avert k)ss of caste through her criminal in- 
 trigues. About the year 1790, Kalidas, a Brahman, who had 
 been inveigled into marrying a washerman's daughter, was 
 obliged to flee the country to Benares, where, being discovered, 
 he sold all his property and fled, and his wife became a maniac. 
 In the time of Raja Krishna Chandra Rai, a Brahman of 
 Santipur was found to have a criminal intrigue with the 
 daiighter of a shoemaker : the Raja forbade the barber of 
 the village to shave the family, or the washerman to wash 
 for them : in this distress they applied to the Raja, and 
 afterwards to the Nawab for restoration, but in vain. After 
 having been despoiled of their resources by the false pro- 
 mises of pretended friends, the Raja relented and removed the 
 ban, but the family have not obtained to this day their pristine 
 position.* 
 
 " Numbers of outcasts abandon their homes and wander 
 about till death. Many other instances might be given in 
 which the fear of losing caste has led to the perpetration of 
 the most shocking murders, which in this country are easily 
 concealed, and thousands of children are murdered in the 
 womb to prevent discovery and the consequent loss of caste, 
 particularly in the houses of the Kulin Brahmans." 
 
 The inveterate tenacity with which the rites and privileges 
 of caste are clung to is a prominent feature of the Hindoo 
 
 * Raja Krishna Chandra Rai. in the end of the 18th century, used 
 to restore persons and families who had forfeited their caste by their 
 carelessness, by recovering from them a heavy fine, about which there 
 used to be much hig-glingf. This flue was in addition to the expenses 
 incidental to the ceremony of Prayischittra. Many heads of Dull.s-, 
 or parties, of our day follow the same practice.
 
 168 CASTE. 
 
 character, showing, like many other facts, that while as a 
 nation^the Rajputs excepted — they fear the sword-blade, 
 they can meet death with cahuness and fortitude when they 
 apprehend any danger to the purity of caste. In the year 
 1777, a Mussalman nobleman forcibly seized the daughters of 
 thi-ee Brahmans. They complained to the judge of the district, 
 but, obtaining no redress, they committed suicide by poison 
 under the nose of the unrighteous judge. " When, about a 
 century since, a body of sepoys were being brought from 
 Madras to Calcutta, the provisions ran short, till at last the 
 only food consisted of salted beef and pork. Though a few 
 submitted to the necessity of circumstances and defiled them- 
 selves, many preferred a languishing death by famine to a life 
 polluted by tasting forbidden food. The Mussalman governors 
 often took advantage of this prejudice, when their exchequers 
 were empty. The Hindoo would submit to the most excru- 
 ciating tortures rather than disclose his hoard, but the moment 
 his religious purity was threatened, he complied with any 
 demand, if the sum asked for was within his means ; if not, 
 the man being linked to his caste-fellows, the latter raised the 
 required sum by subscription." 
 
 In a moral point of view, the effects of caste distinctions 
 are equally mischievous. Far from promoting a spirit of bene- 
 volence and good fellowship between man and man, caste has 
 a natural tendency to engender hostile feelings, which cannot 
 fail to militate against the best interests of humanity. Should 
 a Hindoo of superior caste happen to be touched by one of 
 inferior caste while he is cooking or eating, he miist thi'ow 
 away everything as defiled. Even in cases of extreme sickness? 
 the one Avill seldom condescend to drink water out of the 
 hands of the other. There are also instances on record in 
 which two Hindoos of the same caste refuse to eat togetherj 
 merely because they belong to two different dalls, or parties. 
 In the villages especially this partisan feeling is sometimes 
 carried to so great a length that neither party will scruple to
 
 CASTE. 169 
 
 blast the fair fame of their antagonists by scanrhUous accusa- 
 tions and uncalled-for slanders. Thousands and thousands of 
 rupees are spent in securing the favors or alliance of the 
 Kulins — the great arbiters of caste ; and he who by the power 
 of his purse can enlist on his side a larger number of these 
 pampered Kulins, generally bears away the palm. The hard 
 struggle for the attainment of this hollow, ephemeral distinc- 
 tion, instead of stimulating any noble desire or laudable ambi- 
 tion, almost invariably fosters an antagonistic spirit, which is 
 decidedly opposed to good fellowship and the general brotherhood 
 of mankind. Genuine charity can never exist in such an unex- 
 pansive state of society, and mutual love is torn to shreds. 
 If the original founders of the system had calmly and soberly 
 considered, apart from, selfish motives, a tithe of the evils 
 which the caste-system was calculated to inflict on society, 
 they would, I make no doubt, have paused before imposing on 
 Hindoo society the fetters of caste servitude. 
 
 It has been urged by the advocates of the system that it is 
 designed to confer a great boon on society l)y confining each 
 trade or occupation to one particular class, and thereby secur- 
 ing perfection in tliat line. But the argument is as fallacious 
 as the result is disappointing. Experience and observation 
 sufficiently prove that the Hindoo artisans use almost the 
 same tools and implements which their predecessors used 
 centuries ago. They work with the same loom and spindle, 
 the same plough, the same spade, the same scythe, the same 
 threshing-machine, and the same everything that were in vogue 
 in the time of Vikramaditya in the sixteenth century, and if 
 any improvement has been effected, it is owing to the superior 
 skill of the foreigners. It is, however, ci'editable to the native 
 artisans to say that they evince a great aptitude for learning 
 e.nd imitating what they see. Native carpenters, shoemakers, 
 tailors, engravers, lithographers, printers, gold and silver- 
 smiths, &c., now-a-days turn out articles which in point of 
 workmanship are not very much inferior to those imported
 
 170 CASTE. 
 
 from Europe. Of course they are materially indebted to 
 Europeans for the necessary training. 
 
 The circumstances which cause the loss of caste are the 
 following : The abandonment of the Hindoo religion ; residence 
 in foreign countries, which involves the eating of forbidden 
 food ; the eating of food cooked by one of inferior caste, or of 
 food forbidden to the Hindoos ; female unchastity in a family ; 
 the cohabiting with women of a lower caste, or with those of 
 foreign nations ; and the non-performance of religious rites 
 prescribed in the Shastras.* There are other circumstances 
 which detract from the dignity of a family, but they are of 
 secondary importance. These causes were in full operation 
 some seventy or eighty years ago. The unanimous voice of 
 the neighbours denounced a Hindoo as an outcast if he were 
 found guilty of any of the above-mentioned transgressions. 
 Purity of caste was then watched with greater solicitude than 
 purity of conscience or character. The magnates of the land 
 spared neither expense nor pains to preserve inviolate the 
 outward purity of their caste. The popular shastras of the 
 Hindoos are certainly very convenient and accommodating in 
 every respect ; the sins of a lifetime, nay of ten lives, may be 
 washed away l)y an ablution in the sacred stream of the Ganges 
 on the occasion of certain holy days, called yogas ; thus requisite 
 provision is made in them for the atonement of the loss of 
 caste by performing certain religious rites, and giving a feast 
 and making suitable presents to Brahmans in money and kind. 
 But it has always been a matter of wonder to many that the 
 Pirdlis, or the Tagores, of Calcutta, alike noted for their 
 wealth and liberality, have not as yet been able to regain their 
 caste or their original position in Hindoo society. The obvious 
 reason appears to be that they are not desirous of a restoration 
 by submitting to any kind of humiliating atonement. They 
 
 * The non-performance of religious rites does not now, however, 
 entail forfeiture of caste. Hindoo society is getting lax in our days.
 
 CASTE. 171 
 
 have shown their wisdom in pnrsuing snch an independent and 
 manly course. The history of Piidiism is thus given by 
 Mr. Ward : "A Nabol) of the name of Pir AH is charged 
 with having destroyed the rank of many Hindoos, Brahnians 
 and others ; and from these persons have descended a very 
 considerable number of families scattered over the country, 
 who have been branded with the name of their oppi'essor. 
 These persons practise all the ceremonies of the Hindoo 
 religion, but are carefully avoided by other Hindoos as out- 
 casts. It is supposed that not less than fifty such families 
 live in Calcutta, who employ Brahman priests to perform 
 the ceremonies of the Hindoo religion for them. It is said 
 that Raja Krishna Chandra Rai was promised one lakh 
 of I'upees by a Firdli, if he would only honor him with a 
 visit of a few moments, but he refused." 
 
 The following is a more recent account of the origin of 
 the Pirali or Tagore family published by the late Honor- 
 able Prasanna Kumar Tagore, C.S.I., which has been 
 kindly placed at my disposal : — " Purushottama was called 
 Pirali for having married the daughter of a person who was 
 blemished in caste. According to the books of the Ghattals, 
 Jdnakey Ballahha and Kdviadeva Raya ChoivJImri, inhabitants 
 of Gurgain, in Pergunnah Chengutea, brought a sxiit against an 
 ancestor of Srikdnta Raya of Jessore. An amin named 
 Pir AH Khan was deputed by the zemindar for the purpose of 
 holding an investigation into the case. There was an alter- 
 cation between the Amin and some of the inhabitants of the 
 place as to whether the smell of a thing was tantamount to 
 half eating it. Some time after, the said Pir AH Khan invited 
 several persons, all of whom lost their caste, as he made them 
 smell forbidden food. Jdnakey Ballahha and Kdmadeva Raya, 
 having sat near the Amin and been reported to have eaten the 
 food, became Mahomedans under the names of Jamal Khan 
 and Kamal Khan Choudhari, pui'suant to the decision of the 
 Pandits of those times. Their descendants, Aijuna Khan,
 
 172 CASTE. 
 
 Deno Kdth Khan Chovdlmri, itc, live like Mahomedans up 
 to this day in Magurya and Basundia, Parganna Chengutea, 
 Zilla Jessore. They form their connections by marriage with 
 the Khan Choudhuries of Broome, Init not with any other 
 Mahomedans. The remaining persons present on the occasion 
 were called Plrdli. Purushottama was one of the latter. 
 Others give a different account. They say that when Puru- 
 shottama was in Jessore, on his way to bathe in the Ganges, 
 the Choudhtiries of that place, who became polluted in the 
 above mentioned way, forcibly took him to their house with a 
 view to give him a daughter of theirs in marriage, on account 
 of his learning and superior caste. Seeing that the bride was 
 very beautiful, Purushottama agreed to marry her, under 
 authority of a text in Menu to the following effect : ' A 
 believer in Scripture may receive * * # * ^ woman 
 bright as a gem, even from the basest family.' Thus he got 
 his fathei--in-law's blemish, which has continued to mark his 
 descendants. After this marriage, Purushottama left the 
 original seat of his family and settled in Jessore. [The Tagores 
 have always since been connected by mamage with the Pirdlis 
 of Jessore from whom they springs.] It is said by some that 
 Jagannatha, the father of Purushottama, instead of the latter, 
 married a daughter of the Chnidhuries. Purushottoma had a 
 son named Balardma, who wrote a work entitled Probodha- 
 prokasa. Panchnnana, the fifth in descent from Balardma 
 and 26th from Bhattam'irdyana, left Jessore and came to 
 Govindapore, the site of Fort William, — where he purchased 
 land, and built thereon a dwelling-house and a temple, which 
 he dedicated to Siva. This brouglit him in contact with the 
 British, with whom he became very intimate. All Brahmans 
 who held situations under the British were then called Tha- 
 quore. Panchdnana. was also known b}' that name among the 
 residents of Govindapore. Since that time the members of 
 his family have continued to bear that appellation, which has 
 been corrupted into Tagore. Englishmen write Tagore, though
 
 CASTE. 173 
 
 some of them confess that it sounds harder than Thatjuore. 
 Ill an article on Hindoo Civilians, and their value, published 
 in the London Spectator, we find the following : — ' One single 
 family, the Tagores — as we are pleased to write their much 
 softer name — ^happeu by accident to be exempt from these 
 restrictions (crossing the black water, &c.) They, though 
 Bruhmans of pnre blood, with a pedigree to which that of the 
 Bourbons is modern, are descended from an ancestor who broke 
 caste, are out of the pale, and, as a caste by themselves, make 
 their own social laws at discretion.' All members of the 
 family who were Oriental scholars used to wa-ite Thacjuore. 
 Woma Nandana, the fourth in descent from Pancluinana, always 
 signed his name in the above way. Hence Tagore is nothing 
 more than a corruption of Thaquore. It is now too late to 
 adopt the correct spelling, as innumerable documents and title- 
 deeds would have to be changed, which is impracticable. 
 Panchdnana had a good knowledge of business, and was very 
 fond of music. His son Jairam was employed as an amin 
 in the settlement of the 24 Pargannas, and discharged his 
 duties with considerable credit. At the capture of Calcutta 
 he is said to have lost all his property, with the exception of 
 rupees 13,000 in cash, which, together with the sale-proceeds 
 of the ornaments of the female members of his family, he 
 applied to the worship of his family god. His sons had no 
 concern whatsoever with the above sum. One of them, Darpa 
 Narciyana, it is said, contributed rupees 30,000 to the worship 
 of the aforesaid idol. 
 
 " Jairam's house was taken by the English for the purpose of 
 building Fort William. He received some money and laud as 
 compensation, and removed himself to Pathureaghata, in 
 Calcutta, where he purchased land near the river, with a 
 view to erect a dwelling-house and a family bathing-ghat, as, 
 according to the usage of those days, every rich and well- 
 known family had a separate bathing-ghat of its own. When 
 t/aim;rt came to Calcutta, the Setts were its most respect
 
 174 CASTE, 
 
 able and influential inhabitants. By their advice he established 
 tlie family idol above alluded to, to witness which the neigh- 
 bours often came to his house, and thus cultivated his acqiiaint- 
 ance. [Ramkrishua Mallili, tlie nearest neighbour and father 
 of Baishnab Charan Mallili, exchanged his turban with Darpa 
 Nara\ana, and became his intimate friend, which friendsliip 
 is continued by his descendants up to the present time.] He 
 died in the year 1762, leaving four sons, named Anandiram, 
 Nilmani, Darpa Narayana and Govinda. The eldest Anandi- 
 ram was the first who received a liberal English education. 
 His family, and that of his youngest brother, who superin- 
 tended the building of Fort William, have become extinct. 
 Nilmaui was the grandfather of Dwarka Nath Tagore, who 
 was universally respected, and who occupied a foremost 
 rank in the society of his day, owing to his princely chai*ity, 
 enlightened patriotism and philanthropy." 
 
 Such was the virulence with which the caste-mania raged, 
 when Hindoo bigotry had reached its culminating point. Kaja 
 Krishna Cliandra Rai of Krishnaghar, about sixty miles north 
 of Calcutta, was otherwise reputed to have been a very gener- 
 ous-hearted man, a great patron of learning and learned men ; 
 but he was so blindly led away by the impulse of bigotry that he 
 unhesitatingly declined to assist a fellow-countryman of his who 
 had been sulyected to social ostracism through mere accident. 
 But the Raja's grandson, if I am rightly informed, when he had 
 occasion to come down to Calcutta a few yeai's back, without 
 scruple took up his quarters at Spence's Hotel, and freely en- 
 joyed the company of his European friends, indicating a healthy 
 change in the social economy of the people, — the result sole- 
 ly of intellectual expansion, and the inauguration of a bet- 
 ter era through the general diffusion of western knowledge.* 
 
 * I am iuclined to believe that what the late Nadea Raja did was 
 his own individual act ; as the head of the Hindoos of Bengal, the 
 Raja of Nadea would strictly follow the practices of his great an- 
 cestor fevea to this day.
 
 CASTE. 175 
 
 The Pirdli, or the Tagore, family of Calcutta, be it recorded 
 to their honor, have long been eminently distinguished by 
 their liberality, manly independence, enlightened principles 
 and enterprising spirit. Some of the members of this family 
 occupied the foremost rank amongst the friends of native 
 improvement. The late Babu Dvvarku Niith Tagore set a 
 noble example to his countrymen by his disinterested exertions 
 in the cause of native education and various public charities. 
 Several of his European friends, in peculiarly embarrassed 
 circumstances, were under deep obligations to him for his 
 unbounded liberality;* the length of his purse was ecpialled 
 by the breadth of his views. His object in proceeding to 
 England was mainly to extend his knowledge by a closer and 
 more familiar intercoui'se with Europeans. He was the right 
 band of the illustrious Hindoo reformer, the late Raja Ram- 
 niohan Rai. His magnanimous mind, his enlightened views, 
 his engaging manners, his amiable qualities, both in public 
 and private life, and his indomitable zeal in endeavouring to 
 elevate his country in the scale of civilization, gave him an 
 influence in English society never enjoyed before or after by 
 any Hindoo gentleman. His worthy relative and coadjutor, 
 the late Babu Prasanua Kumar Tagore, C.S.I., who has left 
 a princely fortune, was no less distinguished for his enlarged 
 views and liberal sentiments. His rich endowment of the 
 Tagore law Lectureship in connection with the Calcutta 
 University has substantially established his claim to the grati- 
 tude of his countrymen. It was he that first started the 
 native English Paper called the " Refurmer," which not only 
 opened the eyes of the Hindoos to the errors of the antiquated 
 system under which they lived, but dift'used a healthy taste 
 for the cultivation of English literature among the risin<' 
 
 * To one friend alone he gave two lakhs of rupees without auv seor- 
 rity. showing a degree of magnanimity seldom to be met with aiuuu^ 
 the millionaires of the present day.
 
 176 CASTE. 
 
 generation of his countrymen, and thereby paved the way 
 for the development of advanced thought and intelligent 
 opinion, on which mainly depends the future advancement 
 of the nation. The late Maharaja Ramanath Tagore, C.S I., 
 another member of the same family, was deservedly esteemed 
 for his liberal sentiments, his high sense of honor, his scrupu- 
 lous fidelity, and his unblemished character. Babu Debendra- 
 nath Tagore, the son of the late Babu Dwarka N4th Tagore, 
 bears a highly exemplary character. His uncompromising 
 straightforwardness, his sincerity and piety, his high integrity 
 hisdevotednessto the cause of religion, his unassuming habits, 
 the suavity of his disposition, and his utter contempt for 
 worldly enjoyments, have shed an unfading lustre around his 
 name. Well xuay India be proud of such a worthy son. 
 Maharaja Jotendramohan Tagore, K.C.S.I., Raja Sourendra- 
 mohan Tagore, his brother, — to whom the Hindoo music is 
 indebted for its revival, — and Babu Gyanendramohan Tagore, 
 the son of the late Babu Prasanna Kumar Tagore, also belong 
 to this family, — all of them bear a very high character for 
 intelligence, integrity, and sound moral principles. 
 
 The list of the distinguished members of the Tagore family 
 Avould not be complete without an honorable mention of the 
 name of Baboo Kali Krishna Tagore. He is a consistent, 
 unassuming, and liberal minded gentleman. In private life he 
 is much esteemed for his many excellent qualities. The un- 
 aflected simplicity of his manners, the suavity of his disposi- 
 tion, his geniality, his liberality in assisting efforts whether of 
 a public or private character, without the faintest touch of 
 vanity, — in short, the consecration of his life to the noblest 
 purposes of humanity, — have all combined to associate his name 
 with the best benefactors of his race. 
 
 All these distinguished individuals are descended from 
 rirdli ancestors. But few have more deservedly merited 
 the respect and esteem of their countrymen, or better vindi- 
 cated their rightful claim to the honors bestowed on some
 
 CASTE. 177 
 
 of them. If they are deuouucecl as ourcasts, such outcasts 
 are tlie ornaments of tlie country. If tliey are far in the rear 
 in respect of caste, tliey are assuredly far in the van in respect 
 of intelligence, abilitj^, mental activity, refinement, and honesty. 
 If to be a Pirdli were an indelible stigma, it is certainly 
 a glory to the whole nation that such a noble and stainless 
 character as Babu Debendranath Tagore is a member of 
 the same family. We may search in vain among tlie count- 
 loss myriads of India for such a meek, spotless, but bright 
 and glorious model. It is moreover to the Firdll or Tagore 
 family that the eidightened Hindoo community of Calcutta 
 is principally indebted for its refined taste and elevated ideas. 
 May they continue to shed their benign influence not only on 
 the rising but on the unborn generations of their countrymen, 
 and carry on the work of reformation, not with the impetuosity 
 of rash innovators, but with the cool deliberation of reflecting 
 minds. 
 
 The rules of caste are not now strictly obsei'ved, and their 
 observance is scarcely compatible with the spirit of the age ; 
 and in one sense we have scarcely a genuine Hindoo in Bengal, 
 especially amongst those who live in Calcutta and the district 
 towns. 
 
 The distinction of caste is more honored in the breach than 
 iu the observance of it.* As English schools and colleges are 
 
 * The younger members of a f.amilj' have no hesitation in partaking 
 of food cooked by Miis.sahnans and forbidden in the Hindoo Sbastras. 
 On holiiiays, or on special occasions, they send orders to tbe '■ Great 
 Eastern Hotel," and get supplies of English delicacies such as they 
 have a liking for. It is a well-known face that almost every rich 
 family in Calcutta and its suburbs (the orthodox members excepted), 
 recognized as the heads of the Hindoo community, patronize tbe 
 English Hotel-keepers. Mr. D. Wilson, the famous purveyor in Old 
 Court House Street, seeing the great rush of native gentlemen into 
 Lis shop on a Christmas-eve, was said to have remarked ihat the 
 Babus were amongst his best customers. The great purveyor was 
 right, because the Babus give large orders and pay regularly for fear 
 
 M
 
 178 CASTE. 
 
 multiplying in every nook and corner of the empire, more 
 liberal ideas and principles are being imbibed by the Hindoo 
 youths, which bid ftiir iu process of time to exercise a 
 regenerating influence on the habits of the people. Idolatry, 
 and its necessary concomitant priestcraft, are fast losing their 
 hold on their minds ; a new phase of life indicates the near 
 approach of an improved order of things ; ideas whicli had 
 for ages been pent up iu tlie dark, dreary cell of iguorauce, 
 now find a free outlet, and the recipients of knowledge 
 breathe a purer atmosphere, clear of the hazy mists that had 
 hitherto clouded their intellect. To a philanthropist such a 
 forecast is in the higiiest degree encouraging. The distinction 
 of caste has also received a fatal blow by the frequent visits 
 of young and aspiriug native gentlemen to Eugland for the 
 purpose of completing their education there. This growing 
 desire among the rising generation should be encouraged, as 
 it has an excellent tendency to promote the moral and intellec- 
 tual improvement of the nation. 
 
 The late Babu Ramdulal Dey,* of Calcutta, who was 
 a self-made man and a millionaire, was a Dalapati, or head 
 
 of exposure. Such of them as are placed in mediocre circumstances 
 arrange with their Mussalman syces, and get fowl curry or roast as 
 often as they choose. There are indeed a few exceptions, who. on 
 principle, do not encourage the English style of eating and drinking. 
 A very little reflection will convince any one that the English 
 mode of living is ill-suited to the Natives. It not only leads a man 
 into extravagance, but what is more reprehensible, begets a habit 
 of drinking, which has been the ruin of many a promising young 
 Babu. 
 
 * This gentleman was Banian to several American and English 
 firms, which used to deal largely in cow and other hides. From 
 religious scruples he refused to accept the usual commission 
 on such articles, though he might have obtained thereby at least 
 forty thousand rupees per annum. In these days no Babu declines 
 to take the usual commission ; but. on the contrary, many are 
 en<J-aged in the trade, which is sacrilegious in the eye of the 
 Hindoo Shastra.
 
 CASTE. 179 
 
 of a party. When the subject of caste was discussed, he 
 emphatically said, that " the caste was in his iron chest," the 
 meaning of which was, that money has the power of restoring 
 caste. 
 
 The late Babu Uani Gopiil Ghose, a distinguished merchant 
 and reformer of this city, had a country-residence at Bagati, 
 near Tribani, in the Hugli district, about 30 miles from 
 Calcutta. He had a mother, who was, as might be expected, a 
 supei'stitious old lady. Babu Ram GopJil, on principle, never 
 wounded her feelings by interfering with her religious belief. 
 On the occasion of the Durga-puja at his country-house, his 
 mother, as usual, directed the servants to distribute the nai- 
 bidhi, or offerings, consisting of rice, fruits and sweetmeats, 
 among the Brahmans of the neighbourhood ; but they all, to a 
 man, refused to accept the same, on the ground that Bam 
 Gopdl was not a Hindoo, which was tantamount to declaring 
 that he had no faith in Hindooism, and was an outcast from 
 Hiudooism. On seeing the offerings brought back, his mother's 
 lamentations knew no bounds, because the refusal of the 
 Brahmans to accept the offerings was a dishonor, and involved 
 the question of the loss of caste. Apprehending the dreadful 
 consequences of such a refusal, especially in a village where 
 bigotry reigned supreme, the old lady became quite discon- 
 solate. Ram Gopal, who with strong common sense combined 
 the benefit of a liberal English education, thought of the 
 following expedient : He at once suggested that every naihidhi 
 (offering) should be accompanied by a sum of five rupees. 
 The temptation was too great to be resisted ; the very Brah- 
 mans who, two hours before, openly refused to take the offer- 
 ings, now came running in numbers to Rdm Gopdl's house for 
 their share, and regularly scrambled for it. In fact, he had 
 more demands than he could meet. Thus a few rupees had 
 the marvellous effect of turning a Saheh into a pure Hindoo, 
 fully illustrating the truth of Ramdulal Dey's saying that 
 " caste was in his iron chest." Examples of this nature may
 
 180 CASTE. 
 
 be multiplied to any extent, but tbey are not necessary. Thus 
 we see the decadence of this artificial system is inevitable, as 
 indeed of every other unhealthy institution opposed to the 
 best interests of humanity. 
 
 I cannot close this chapter without drawing the attention of 
 my readers to the gross inconsistency of the caste apologists. 
 Thousands and tens of thousands of the most orthodox Hindoos 
 daily violate the rules of caste by using the shidha dial (rice 
 husked by boiling), -which is often prepared by Mussalmans 
 and other low cnste husbandmen, whose very touch is pollu- 
 tion to the food of the Hindoo. It is a notorious fact that 
 nine-tenths of the Hindoos of Bengal, including the Brahman 
 class, are in the habit of eating shidha chdl, simply because 
 the other kind of rice, dtah chdl (rice husked by drying in the 
 sun), contains too much starch, and is difficult of digestion by 
 hhayto, or rice-fed Bengalis, who are, with a few exceptions, 
 constitutionally weak from a variety of causes enumerated 
 before. In the Upper Provinces, the people never use shidha 
 rice owing to its being boiled in an unhusked state. 
 
 The Hindoos of our day often consume sugar refined with 
 the dust of bone-charcoal. The universal use of shidha rice 
 and of sweetmeats which contain refined sugar leads the 
 Hindoos to break the rules of caste almost every hour of their 
 lives. Besides these two chief articles of food, there are several 
 other things made by Mussalmans, such as rose-water, kaoiura 
 drauh, machine-made ice, and the like, tlie general use of which 
 is a direct violation of the rules of caste. A Hindoo female, 
 when she becomes a widow at an advanced period of life, 
 sometimes takes to dtah rice, because it is not produced from 
 boiled paddy which makes it impure, but from sun-dried paddy ; 
 and here the members of the Tagore family are more strict in 
 their regimen than any other class of Hindoos in Bengal. 
 There are, however, yet a few orthodox Hindoos who, though 
 they eat shidha rice, nevertheless abstain from using bazar 
 made sweetmeats and municipal pipe-water, because the engines
 
 CASTE. 181 
 
 of the latter are said to be greased and worked by Mussalman 
 and Christian hands. Such men make their own sweetmeats 
 at home with Benares sugar, and drink Ganges water ; but 
 the younger members of their family, if not with their appro- 
 val, at least Avith their partial cognizance, daily make the 
 greatest inroads on this institution, without having the moral 
 courage to avow their acts. They eat and drink in the 
 European fashion, and preserve their caste intact by a positive 
 and emphatic disclaimer. So much for the consistency of their 
 conduct. When the orthodox heads of Hindoo families are 
 gathered unto their fathers, the watchword of the rising 
 generation will be — "perish caste with all its monstrous 
 evils."
 
 XIV. 
 
 A BRAHMAN.. 
 
 A Brahman of tlic present iron age is quite a different eccle- 
 siastic from what he was in the past golden age. He is 
 a metamorphosed being. He claims indeed to have descended 
 from the mouth of the Supreme Brahma, the Creator in the 
 Hindoo triad ; but, in the lapse of time, his physical organi- 
 zation, — his traditional reputation as a saint and sage, — his 
 thorough devotion to his religious duties, — his mental abstrac- 
 tion, — his logical acumen, — the purity of his character, his habi- 
 tude and mode of living, — have all undergone a radical change, 
 unequivocally indicating the gradual declension of corporeal 
 strength, of intellectual vigor, as well as of moral worth. In 
 former times, he was popularly regarded as the visible embodi- 
 ment of the Creator and the delegated exponent of all know- 
 ledge, revealed or acquired. The old and venerable Munis 
 and Rishis, and their philosophical dissertations, their theo- 
 logical controversies and their religious and ethical disquisi- 
 tions evoked the admiration of the world in the dark ages 
 before the Christian era. Almost all of them lived in a state 
 of asceticism, and devoted their lives to religious contempla- 
 tion, renouncing all the pleasures, passions and desires of the 
 world. The longevity of their lives in their sequestered re- 
 treat, — the perfect purity of their manners, — the simplicity of 
 their habits, — and their elevated conception of the immutable 
 attributes of God, inspired the people with a profound rever- 
 ence for their precepts and principles. The prince and the 
 peasant alike paid homage to the sacerdotal class, whose
 
 BKAHMAX. 183 
 
 doctrines had, in the primitive state of society, the authority 
 of religion and law. 
 
 Their origin, power and privileges have thus been graphically 
 described by tlie late Dr. John Wilson : — 
 
 " Since tlie Brahman sprung from the most excellent part, — 
 since he was the first born, — and since he possesses the Veda, 
 he is by right the chief of this whole creation. Him the 
 Being who exists of himself produced in the beginning from 
 his own mouth, that, having performed holy rites, he might 
 present clarified butter to the gods, and cakes of rice to the 
 progenitors of mankind, for tlie preservation of this Avorld. 
 What created being then can surpass him with wdiose mouth 
 the gods of the firmament continually feast on clarified butter, 
 and the manes of ancestors on hallowed cakes 1 The very 
 birth of Brahmans is a constant incarnation of Dharma (God 
 of religion), for the Brahman is born to promote religion and 
 to procure ultimate happiness. When a Brahman springs to 
 light, he is born above the world, the chief of all creatures, 
 assigned to guard the treasury of duties, religious and civil- 
 Whatever exists in the universe, is all iu effect the ^vealth of 
 the Brahman, since the Brahman is entitled to it all by his 
 primogeniture and eminence of birth. The Brahman eats but 
 his own food, wears his own apparel, and bestows but his own 
 in alms : through the benevolence of the Brahman, indeed, 
 other mortals enjoy life. His inherent qualities, however 
 sparingly they may be developed, are ' quiescence, self-con- 
 trol, devotion, purity, patience, rectitude, secular and sacred 
 understanding, the recognition of spiritual existence, and the 
 inborn disposition to serve Brahma.' In every member of his 
 body, power and glory are resident. The purifying Ganges is 
 in liis right ear ; his mouth is that of god himself ; the devour- 
 ing fire is in his hand ; the holy tirthas, or places of pilgri- 
 mage, are in his right foot ; the cow of the plenty {kdmdhemc), 
 from which all desires may be satisfied, is in the hairs of his 
 body. The Brahman is the 'Jirdboni, ' by nature (cigrajanma) ;
 
 184 BRAHMAN. 
 
 the 'twiceborn' {dvija), by the sacrament of the maunji ; the 
 deity on the earth .hhudeva), by his divine status; and the 
 intelligent one {vipra^jhj his innate comprehension. 
 
 "Who without perishing could provoke those holy men by 
 whom all-devouring fire was created, the sea with waters not 
 drinkable, and the moon with its wane and increase ? What 
 prince could gain wealth by oppressing those who, if angry, 
 could frame other worlds and regents of worlds and could give 
 being to new gods and mortals ? Wliat man, desirous of life, 
 would injure those by the aid of whom worlds and gods perpe- 
 tually exist. 
 
 " The following syllogism has gained universal cun'ency in 
 
 India : — 
 
 ' The whole world is under the power of gods, 
 The gods are under the power of the mantras, 
 The vianti-as are under the power of the Brahman ; 
 Brahman is therefore our God.'" 
 
 The power of the Brahmans extended over every class of 
 the people, and by way of eminence they called themselves 
 Dvija, — i.e., the regenerated or the twice-born — a term which 
 should only be applied to the really inspired sons of God. At 
 the promulgation of the Institutes of Manu they obtained 
 that prominent rank among the Hindoos which they have 
 retained unimpaired amidst all dynastic changes. Keeping 
 the key of knowledge in their own exclusive custody, their 
 functions were originally confined to the performance of reli- 
 gious ceremonies and the promulgation of laws. In all the 
 afluirs of the state or religion, the fiat of their ordinarfces had 
 all the weight of a sacred command. Even the order of a 
 mighty potentate was held in subordination to their injunc- 
 tions. They wei-e enjoined to worship their g-uardian deity 
 three times a day, and wei'e strictly prohibited from en- 
 gaging in any secular occupation. They practised all manner 
 of austerities tending to beget a contempt for all worldly 
 enjoyments, and paved the way by religious meditation
 
 BUAinrAX. 185 
 
 for ultiaixte absDvptiou into the divine essence, — a snhlime 
 ideal of which \vc can have no conception in the present 
 degenerate age. 
 
 The complete monopoly of religions and legal knowledge 
 which the Brahmans enjoyed for a very considerable period 
 after the first dawn of learning in the East, anterior to the 
 Christian era, enabled them to put forth their veiy great 
 influence upon the spiritual and temporal concerns of the three 
 other orders of the Hindoo po23ulation, who implicitly accorded 
 to them all the rights of a privileged class, superior to all 
 earthly power whatsoever. It has been expressly declared in 
 the Institutes of Manu that Hindoo law was a direct emana- 
 tion from God. " That Immutable Power," says Manu, " hav- 
 ing enacted this Code of Laws, himself taught it fully to me 
 in the beginning ; afterwards I taught Marichi and the nine 
 other holy sages." It is believed that, in the tenth century, 
 B. C, "the complete fusion of Hindoo law and religion "was 
 effected ; and that both were administered by the Brtihmans, 
 until some mighty kings arose in Rajputana, who, curtailing 
 their supreme influence, reduced them to a secondary position. 
 Thenceforward the ascendency of the Brahmans gradually 
 began to decline, till at length, through succeeding generations, 
 it dwindled into comparative insignificance.* In ])rocess of 
 time, the foxir grand original classes became multiplied, which 
 is not to be wondered at in a great community, split into divi- 
 sions and subdivisions, separated from each other by difterent 
 creeds, manners, customs and modes of life. These ramifica- 
 tions necessarily involved diversities of religious, moral, and 
 legal opinions and doctrines, moi-e or less fatal to the pre- 
 
 * As the natural consequence of this loss of supremacy and other 
 causes, BrahmaTiical learning: slept a winter-sleep, occasionallj' dis- 
 turbed and broken by brilliant coruscations of light tlirown upon it 
 by Western resenrches. contemporaneously sustained l)y the faint 
 efforts of learned Pandits.
 
 186 
 
 BRAHMAN. 
 
 viously unquestioned authority of the Brahmans. Seeing in 
 the progress and revolution of society the inevitable decay 
 of their hitherto undisputed influence, the Brahmans then 
 abandoned the traditional and prescribed path of a reli- 
 gious life, and betook themselves to the secular pursuit of gain 
 for their subsistence. The necessary consequence is, that, iu 
 almost every sphere of life, in every profession or calling, the 
 Bralmians of the present day are extensively engaged. Their 
 cupidity is so great, that every principle of law and morality 
 is shamefully compromised in their dealings with mankind. A 
 Brahman is no longer typical of either religious purity or moral 
 excellence. His profound erudition, — his logical subtlety in 
 spinning into niceties the most commonplace distinctions, — his 
 spirit of deep research, — and his illimitable power of polemical 
 discussion, have all forsaken him ; and from an inspired priest 
 he has degenerated into a mercenary purohit. He no longer 
 wears on his forehead the frontlet of righteousness ; his 
 whole heart; his whole soul is impregnated w^ith corrup- 
 tion. In a fervent spirit, he no longer says to his fol- 
 lowers — " Let us meditate on the adorable light of the 
 Divine Ruler ; may it guide our intellect." His sacred 
 poitd (Brahmanical thread), — his divine gdyatri (prayer), — his 
 holy basil (bead roll), — his three daily services with the sacred 
 water of the Ganges, no longer inspire the minds of his 
 votaries with awe, obedience, and homage. From the worship 
 of the only Living and True God he has descended to the 
 worship of 3.30 millions of gods and goddesses. Human 
 numeration reels at the list. The individuality of the godhead 
 is lost in the never-ending cycles of deified objects, animate 
 and inanimate. We no longer recognize in the Brahmanical 
 character and life an unsullied image of godlike purity, holi- 
 ness, and sublimity. His ministrations no longer fill us with 
 joyful and exhilarating hopes which extend beyond the grave, 
 and promise to lead us to the safe anchorage of everlasting 
 bliss. They no longer stir up in our breasts, during each
 
 BRAHMAN'. 187 
 
 liour of life's wiiuiiig lustre, " a suhliuier faith, a brighter 
 prospect, a kinder sympathy, a gentler resignation." I ask 
 every Hindoo to look into his heart honestly and answer 
 frankly whether a Brahman of the present day is a true em- 
 bodiment, a glorious display, a veritable representative of 
 Brahma, the Creator. Has he not long since sacrificed his 
 traditional pure faith on the altar of selfishness and concu- 
 piscence, and committed a deliberate suicide of his moral and 
 spiritual faculties ? We blush to answer the question in the 
 affirmative. 
 
 I now purpose to give a short account of the ceremonies 
 connected with the investiture of a Brahiuau with the poitd, 
 the sacred thread, on the strength of which he assumes the 
 highest ecclesiastical honors and privileges. By consulting the 
 Hindoo almanac, an auspicious day is fixed upon for this im- 
 portant ceremonial, which opens a new chapter in the life of a 
 Brahman, and is especially intended to ensure to him all the 
 rare benefits of a full-blown Dvija, or twice-born. In cele- 
 l^rating the rite, particular regard is had to the state of the 
 weather : should any atmospheric disturbance occur, the cere- 
 mony is postponed to the next fine day, which must also be an 
 auspicious day according to Hindoo belief The age assigned 
 for the investiture is between nine and fifteen years, discard- 
 ing the even years. The occasion is accompanied in many 
 cases by the preparation of cinanda ndra, a kind of home- 
 made sweetmeat made of powdered rice, treacle, cocoanut, and 
 glngelly seeds, rolled up into small round balls and fried in 
 mustard oil. This particular sort of Hindoo confectionery, 
 evidently a very primitive preparation, is manufactured on all 
 occasions indicative of domestic rejoicing, hence the name 
 given above. Before the appointed day, the boy is enjoined to 
 abstain from the use of fish and oil ; on the morning of the 
 ceremony, having been shaved, he is made to bathe and put on 
 red clothes ; and when the rite of investiture commences, he 
 wears a conical-shaped tinsel hat, while the priest reads certain
 
 188 BRAHMAX. 
 
 incantations, and worships Narayana, or Vishnu, represented 
 by a small round stone, called Sdlgrdm Sild, the ox-dinary 
 household-god of all Hindoos.'"'' A piece of cloth is held 
 over his head, that he may not see, or be seen by, any of 
 the non-Brahmanical caste. He then assumes the danda, or 
 the staff of an ascetic mendicant, which is represented by the 
 branch of a vi/toa tree held in his right hand, at the top of 
 which is a bit of dyed cloth tied in a knot. A preliminary 
 poild, made of twisted kicsa grass, to which is fastened a piece 
 of deer skin, is next placed over the boy's left shoulder, during 
 the repetition of the prescribed incantations. The father 
 then repeats to his son, in a low voice, lest a Sudra should hear, 
 the sacred gdyatri three times, which the boy tries his best 
 to commit to memory. The kusa grass poita is then removed, 
 and a real thread poitd, spun by Brahman women,! which 
 he is to wear ever afterwards, is substituted in its place. The 
 
 * Almost every respectable Brahman family keeps and worships an 
 image of Narayana. or Salgram Sila, to whom offerings are made in the 
 morning and evening. On one occasion a young Brahman lad, who 
 had received an English education, was, in the absence of the elder 
 members of the family, called to perform the evening service, while 
 he was engaged in partaking with some of his friends of a few Maho- 
 medau made koj>f/i-i. or minced pies, for which unhappily some native 
 youths have imbibed a liking — the outcome certainly of au Anglicised 
 taste. The call being too imperative, and the temptation too great to 
 be resisted, he at once fastened his own share of the eatable to one 
 end of his chadar — sheet, performed the requisite service, made the 
 god sleep, came out of the room, and met his friends again and enjoy- 
 ed his portion of the repast without the least compunction. This is 
 surely an act of desecration for which the juvenile offender should 
 be consigned to the penalties of perdition. A single stroke of the 
 "■ red right arm " above us ought at once to have crushed one guilty 
 of such a profane interference in the sanctity of a divinity. But 
 alas ! what huge shams and how practically impotent are all our gods ! 
 
 f To so miserable a strait are some of them reduced that they 
 actually strive to get a living by making these sacred thread ^jotids
 
 BKATIMAX. 189 
 
 boy now puts on his shoes, and liolds an unil)r(.'lla in his liand, 
 while the priest reads, and the fattier repeats, the usual inuan- 
 tatious, teudinj^ to awaken in the boy a sense of the grave 
 responsibility he assumes. Thus dressed as a Brahmachdri 
 (a religious mendicant), with a staff upon his shoulder and a 
 beggar's wallet hanging by his side, he goes to his mother, 
 father, and other relatives, and begs alms, repeating at the 
 same time a certain word in Sanskrit. They give him each a 
 small quantity of rice, a few poifds, and a few rujjees, amount- 
 ing in some cases two to three hundred. The boy then 
 squats down while the fatlier offers a biu'nt sacrifice and 
 repeats the customary incantations. After the performance 
 of these ceremonies, the boy, in his Br-ahmachdri attire, 
 suddenly rises up in a fit of pretended ecstacy, and declares 
 before the company that he is determined in future to lead 
 the life of a religious mendicant. The announcement of this 
 resolution instantly evokes the sympathy of the ftxther, 
 mother, and other relatives, and they all persvuide him to 
 change his mind and adopt a secular life, citing instances 
 that that life is favourable to the cultivation and growth of 
 domestic and social affections, as well as religious principles 
 of the highest order. The holy Shastra expressly inculcates 
 that a clean heart and a righteous "spirit make men happy, 
 even amid the sorrows of earth ; and that the sackcloth of 
 mendicancy is not essential to righteousness, if we earnestly 
 
 and strings for the loins, indicating the pinching- poverty and repulsive 
 squalor in which they pine away their wretclied existence. Indeed, not 
 a few of these widows are left '• to the cold pity and grudging cliarity 
 of a frosty world." They might almost sing and sigh with the poet, 
 as he sat in deep dejection on the shore : 
 
 " Alas ! I have nor hope, nor health, 
 
 Nor peace within, nor calm around ; 
 
 Nor that content, suritassing wealth, 
 
 The sage in contemplation found ; 
 * * * * 
 
 Others I see whom these surround. 
 
 Smiling they live, and call life pleasure : 
 
 To me that cup hath heon dealt in another measure.
 
 19t) BRAHMAN. 
 
 and sincerely ask God to give us His true riches. Thus 
 admonished, he, with apparent rehictance, abandons his design, 
 which is a mere sham, and assumes the role of secularism. 
 Certain formulas are now repeated, after which the boy lays 
 down his vilwa staff", and takes in hand a thin bamboo staff", 
 which he throws over his shoulder. Other rites are then 
 performed, at the close of which the priest receives his fee 
 for his trouble, and departs home with the offerings. The 
 boy next walks into another room, a woman pouring out 
 water as he goes. He is then taught to commit to memory 
 his daily service, called sandhya, after the repetition of which 
 he eats the charu, made of milk, sugar, and rice boiled 
 together. 
 
 For three days after being invested with the poitd, the 
 boy is enjoined to sleep either on a carpet or a deer skin, 
 without a mattress or a mosquito ciu'tain. His food consists 
 of boiled rice, ghee, milk, and sugar, etc., only once a day, 
 without oil or salt. He is strictly prohibited to see the sun or 
 the face of a Sudra, and is constantly employed in learning 
 the sacred gdyatri and the forms of the daily service, which 
 should be repeated thrice in a day. On the morning of the 
 fourth day, he goes to the sacred stream of the Ganges, 
 throws the two staves' into the water, bathes, repeats his 
 pravers, returns home, and again enters on the performance 
 of his ordinary secular duties. During the day, a few Brah- 
 mans are fed according to the circumstances of the family. 
 Thus the ceremony of investiture is closed, and the boy, being 
 purified and regenerated, is elevated to the rank of a Dvija, 
 or twice-born. How easily, by the mere administration of a 
 single rite, does the Brahmanical Shastra make a change for 
 the better in a religious sense in a youth quite incapable of 
 forming adequate conceptions of spiritual regeneration ! 
 
 Having endeavoured to give thus a short account of the 
 ceremonies connected with the investiture of a Brahman with 
 the sacred thread, it remains for us to see how far his present
 
 RRAIIMAX. 191 
 
 position, cliaractei', aud conduct harmonize with the reputed 
 sanctity of his regenerated nature. Great blame is laid at 
 tlie door of tlic British Government, because it docs not accord 
 that high respect to the sacerdotal class which their own 
 Rajas shewed to them in the halcyon days of Hindooism. 
 Before the advent of tlie British in India, the doctrines of the 
 Bnihmanical creed, as indicated above, were in full force. Every 
 Hindoo king nsed to enforce on all classes of the people, 
 high or low, a strict observance of the idolatrous ceremonies 
 prescribed in the Hindoo Shastra. In the dai-k ages scarcely 
 any nation in the world was hemmed in by such a close 
 ring of religious ceremonials as the people of this country. 
 A spirit of religiousness permeates their whole system. It is a 
 well-known fact that no nation was more anxious to perform 
 the service of their gods than the Hindoos. " It is the gods 
 who conquer the enemy, it is the gods who vouchsafe a rich 
 harvest. Health and wealth, children, friends, flocks, and 
 gold, — all are the gifts of the gods." And these are not "un- 
 meaning phrases " among a nation so deeply steeped in supersti- 
 tion. Professor Max Miiller, in one of his eloquent Hibbert 
 Lectures, says — " whether we descend to the lowest roots of our 
 own intellectual growth, or ascend to the lofty heights of 
 modern speculation, we find that religion is a power that 
 conquers, and conquers even those who think they have 
 conquered it." Almost every commonplace occurrence had its 
 peculiar rites which required the interposition of the sacer- 
 dotal class. On occasions of prosperity or adversity, of rejoic- 
 ing or calamity, their ministration was alike needed. These 
 ministrations formed their ordinary sources of gain ; but the 
 greatest means of support consisted in the grants of lands, 
 including sometimes houses, tanks, gardens, etc., given in 
 perpetuity to the gods or to the priests. These grants are 
 called, as I have already stated, the Debatras and Brahnatras. 
 The Rajas of Bardwan, Kishnaghar, and Tipperah made the 
 greatest gifts, and their names are still remembered with
 
 192 BRAHMAN. 
 
 gi-atitude by many a Brahmau in Bengal. But the law 
 authorizing the resumption of rent-free tenures has, as must 
 naturally be expected, made the English Government obnoxious, 
 and it is denounced in no measured terms for this sacrilegious 
 act. If Manu were to visit Bengal now, his indignation and 
 amazement would know no bounds, on witnessing the sacer- 
 dotal class reduced to the humiliating position of a servile, 
 cringing, and mercenary crowd of men. Their original prestige 
 has suffered a total shipwreck. Generally speaking, a Brahman 
 of the present day is practically a Sudra (the lowest class ) 
 of the past age, irretrievably sunk from honor and dignity. 
 Indeed, it was one of the curses of the Vedic period that a 
 Brahman of the present Kali yuga would be an impersonation 
 of corruption, baseness, and venality. 
 
 There is a common saying amongst the Natives that a 
 Brahmau is a beggar even if he were possessed of a lakh of 
 rupees (£10,000). It is indeed a fact that impecuniosity 
 is the common lot of the class. In ordinary conversation, 
 when the question of the comparative fortunes of the diflTereut 
 castes is introduced, a Brahman is often heard to lament his 
 most impecuniovis lot. The gains of the sacerdotal class of 
 the present day have been reduced to the lowest scale imagin- 
 able. If an officiating priest can make ten rupees a month, 
 he considers himself very well off. He can no longer plume 
 himself on the religious purity and mental superiority, once so 
 pre-eminently characteristic of the order. The spread of 
 English education has sounded the death-knell of his spiritual 
 ascendency. In short, his fate is doomed ; he must bear or 
 must forbear, as seems to him best. The tide of improvement 
 will continue to roll on uninterruptedly, in spite of every 
 " freezing and blighting influence, " and we heartily rejoice to 
 discover already that the "tender blade is grown into the 
 green ear, and from the green ear to the rich and ripened 
 corn." 
 
 When, a few yeai's ago, Sir Richard Temple carefully ex-
 
 BRAHMAN. 193 
 
 amined the Criminal Statistics of Bengal, he was most deeply 
 concerued to find that the proportion of the Brahman criminals 
 in the jails of the Province was far greater than that of any 
 other caste. This is an astounding fact, bearing the most 
 unimpeachable testimony to the very lamentable deterioration 
 of the Hindoo ecclesiastical class in our da^'^s. To expatiate 
 on the subject would be disagx'eeable. On the other hand, we can 
 point with a degree of pardonable pride to a past period when 
 nine Brahmans of literary genius, among whom the renowned 
 Kiilidas, the Indian Shakespeare, was the most brilliant, 
 flourished in the court of Vikramaditya, in Oujein. But 
 dynastic changes have been simultaneously accompanied by 
 the rapid decline of learning as well as of religious purity. 
 
 The English rule, though most fiercely denounced by selfish, 
 narrow-minded men, has nevertheless been productive of the 
 most beneficial results, even so far as the sacerdotal class is 
 concerned. Every encoiu'agement is now-a-days afforded for 
 the cultivation of the classical language of India — Sanskrit ; 
 and not only are suitable employments provided for the 
 most learned Pandits* in all the Government Colleges and 
 Missionaiy and private educational Institutions throughout the 
 country, but the University degrees, conferred on the most 
 
 * However learned a Pandit might be in philology, philosophy, 
 logic and theology, he is lamentably deficient in scientific knowledge, 
 notably in geograpy and ethnology. With a view to test the 
 knowledge of his Pandit on those two subjects, Bishop Middleton is 
 said to have once asked him two very simple questions : — (1) whence 
 are the English come? (2) what is their origin ? The reply of the 
 Pandit was somewhat to the following effect : The English are 
 come somewhere from Lauka. or Ceylon (the imaginary land of 
 cannibals), and they are of mixed origin, sprung from monkey and 
 cannibals, because they jabber like monkeys, and sit like them on chairs 
 with their legs hanging down — an attitude peculiar to the monkey 
 species, and like cannibals they eat half-boiled beef, pork, mutton. &c. 
 Childish as the reply was, the pious Bishop, with his wonted benignity, 
 smiled and corrected his error.
 
 194 BRAHMAN, 
 
 successful students, tend to stimulate them to further laudable 
 exertions in the study of the sacred language, which, but for 
 this renewed attempt at cultivation and improvement, would 
 have been very much neglected. Independently of this 
 consideration, it is no less gratifying than certain that the 
 progress of education has produced men, sprung from the 
 sacerdotal class, whose eminent scholarly attainments, high 
 moral principles, and unblemished character, as well as 
 practically useful career, have raised them to the foremost 
 ranks of the Hindoo society. Raja Rammohan Rai, Dr. 
 K. M. Bauerji, Pandit Iswar Chandra Vidyasagar, Babu 
 Bhudeb Mukerji, and others of equal mental calibre, are 
 deservedly enshrined in the grateful memory of their country- 
 men. If Western knowledge had not been introduced into 
 India, men of such high culture and moral excellence would 
 have passed away unnoticed and unrecognized in the republic 
 of letters ; and the fruits of their literary labors, instead of 
 being regarded as a valuable contribution to our stock of 
 knowledge, would have been buried in obscurity. To study 
 the lives of such distinguished pioneers of enlightenment, 
 " is to stir up our breasts to an exhilarating pursuit of high 
 and ever-growiup- attainments in intellect aiid virtue."
 
 XV. 
 
 THE BENGALI BABU. 
 
 THIS is a euphonious oriental title, suggestive of some 
 amiable qualities which are eminently calculated to adorn 
 and elevate human life. A Bengali Babu of the present 
 age, however, is a curious product composed of veiy hetero- 
 geneous elements. The importation of Western knowledge 
 has imbued him with new-fangled ideas, and shallow draughts 
 have made him conceited and supercilious, disdaining almost 
 everything Indian, and affecting a love of European oesthetics. 
 The humourous performance of Dave Carson, and the caustic 
 remarks of "Sir Ali Baba," give graphic representations of 
 his anglicised taste, habits and bearing. Any thing affected 
 or imitated is apt to nauseate when contrasted with the 
 genuine and natural. 
 
 The anglicised Babus are certainly well-meaning men, 
 instinctively disposed to move within the groove traditionally 
 prescribed for them ; but a glimmering of European ideas and 
 a servile imitation of Western manners have played sad havoc 
 with their original tendencies. Ambitious of being considered 
 enlightened and elevated above the common herd, their im- 
 proved taste and inclination almost unconsciously relegate 
 them to the enchanted dream-land of European refinement, 
 amidst the ridicule of the wise and the discerning. Society 
 now-a-days is a quick-shifting panorama. Old scenes and 
 associations rapidly pass away to make room for new ones, and 
 traditional usages fall into oblivion. A new order of things 
 springs up, and new actors replace the old ones. The influence 
 of the aged is diminished ; and the young and impulsive seize 
 with avidity the prizes of life, forgetting in their wild preci- 
 pitancy the unerring dictates of cool deliberation. " The 
 hurried, bustling, tumultuous, feverish Present swallows up 
 men's thoughts," and the momentous interests of society loom- 
 ing in the Future are almost entirely disregarded. The result 
 necessarily carries them wide of the great object of human
 
 196 BENGALI BABU. 
 
 life. They forfeit the regard and sympathy of their fellow 
 countrymen, whose moral and intellectual advancement they 
 should strive to promote by winning their love and confidence. 
 As a man of fashion the Babu cuts a burlesque figure, by 
 adopting a dress, partly Mussulman and partly European, and 
 by imitating the European style of living, as if modem civili- 
 zation could be brought about by wearing tight pantaloons, 
 tight shirts, and black coats of alpaca or broadcloth. He 
 culminates in a coquettish embroidered cap or thin-folded 
 shawl-turban, with perhaps a shawl neckcloth in winter. He 
 eats mutton chops and fowl-curry, drinks Bi'andy-panee or 
 Old Tom, and smokes Manilla or Burmah cigars. Certainly 
 these things are proscribed in the Hindoo Shastra, and an 
 honest avowal of their use will sooner or later expose a man 
 to public derision, and estrange him from the hearts of the 
 orthodox Hindoo. A wise European, who has the real wel- 
 fare of the people at heart, will never encourage such an 
 objectionable line of conduct, because it is calculated to 
 denationalize them. To be more explicit, even at the risk 
 of verbosity, it should be mentioned that Babus resident in 
 Calcutta not unjustly pride themselves on being the deui- 
 zeus of the great Metropolis of British India, which is 
 unquestionably the focus of enlightenment, the centre of 
 civilization and refinement, and the emporium of fashion in 
 the East. People in the country glory and console them- 
 selves with the idea that, in adopting new manners and 
 customs, they are following the example of the big Babus 
 of Calcutta. Although the fashions of Hindoo society in 
 Calcutta do not change with the same rapidity as the fashions 
 in Paris and London, monthly, fortnightly, and weekly, yet 
 they do vary, perhaps, once in two or three years, though 
 even then the change is partial and not radical. Slowly and 
 gradually, the Hindoos of Bengal have abandoned their original 
 and primitive dress, which consisted of thin slender garments, 
 suited to the warm temperature of the climate during the
 
 BEXGAU BARU. 
 
 197 
 
 greater part of the year, and have adopted that of their 
 conquerors. A simple dhuti and dohja, with perhaps an 
 dlhhdlld on the back, and a folded pagri on the head, con- 
 stituted the dress of a Bengali not long before the battle of 
 Plassey. The court dress was, indeed, somewhat different ; 
 but then it was a servile imitation of that of a Rajput chief 
 or a Mussalman king. When RajJis Rajballabh and Naba- 
 krishna, and Sudder-ud-din, a Mohamedan, attended the Govern- 
 ment House in the time of Clive and Hastings, what was 
 their court costume but an exact copy of the Mussalman 
 dress. Even now, after the lapse of a century and a half, the 
 Babus use their primitive dress at home, viz., a dhuti and 
 an urdni. An Englishman would not easily recognize or 
 identify a Bengali at home and a Bengali in his office-dress, 
 the difference being striking and marked. But the establish- 
 ment of the British rule in India has introduced a very great 
 change in the national costume and taste, as well as an intel- 
 lectual revolution, which is still greatei*. Twenty years ago 
 the gala dress of a Bengali boy consisted of a simple Dacca 
 dhuti and a Dacca eklai, with a pair of tinsel-worked shoes ; 
 but now rich English, German, and China satin, brocade and 
 velvet, with raised flowers, and gold and silver fringes and 
 skirts, have come into fashion. It is a common sight to see 
 a boy, dressed in pantaloons and coat made of these costly 
 stuffs, and a laced velvet cap, driving about the streets of 
 Calciitta on festive days. Of course the more genteel and 
 modest of the Babu class, sobered doivn by age and experience, 
 do not share in the juvenile taste for the gaudy and showy. 
 As becomes their maturer years, they are satisfied with a 
 decent broadcloth coat and pantaloons, with a white cloth or 
 Cashmere shawl pafjri, more in accordance with simple Eng- 
 lish taste. But both the young and the old must have patent 
 Japan leather shoes from Cuthbertson and Harper, Montcith 
 & Co., or the Bentinck Street Chinese shoemakers, the laced 
 Mussalman shoes having gone entirely out of fashion.
 
 198 BEXGALI BABU. 
 
 Nor has the taste of the Hindoo females remained in a pri- 
 mitive stage as far as costliness is concerned. Instead of Dacca 
 Taercha or Bale Boota sari, they must have either Benares 
 gold embroidered or French embossed gossamer sari, with 
 gold-lace borders and ends. It would be a very desirable im- 
 provement in the way of decency to introduce among the 
 Hindoo women of Bengal a stouter fabric in place of the pre- 
 sent thin, flimsy, loose muslin sari, without any other covering 
 over it. In this respect, their sisters of the North-Western 
 and Central Provinces, as well as those of the South, are 
 decidedly more decent and respectable. A few respectable 
 Hindoo ladies have, of late years, begiin to put on an nnghia or 
 corset on the upper part of their bodies, but still the nether 
 vestment is shamefully indelicate. Why do not the Babus of 
 Bengal strive to introduce a salutary change in the dress of 
 their mothers, wives, sisters, and daughters, which private 
 decency and public morality most urgently demand ? These 
 social reforms must go hand in hand with religious, moral, and 
 intellectual improvement. The one is as essential to the eleva- 
 tion and dignity of female character, as the other is to the 
 advancement of the nation in the scale of civilization. 
 
 The Lancashire and German weavers have ample cause to 
 rejoice that their colored woollen fabrics have greatly super- 
 seded the Indian Pashmind goods — Cashmere shawls not 
 excepted, — and European Cashmere, broadcloth, flannel, hosiery 
 and haberdashery are now in great request. From the 
 wealthiest Babu to the commonest fruit-seller, socks or full 
 stockings are very commonly used. This forms an essential 
 part of the official gear of a kerani (writer) of the present day, 
 though he is now seen without his national pdgri or head- 
 dress. 
 
 A Bengali Babu is said to be a money-making man. By 
 the most ingenious makeshifts he contrives to earn enough to 
 enable him to make both ends meet, and lay by something for 
 the evening of his life. He is generally a thrifty character,
 
 BEXGALI BABU, 199 
 
 and does not much mind how the world goes when his own 
 income is sure. He lacks enterprise, and is therefore most 
 reluctant to engage in any risky commercial venture, though 
 he has some very laudahle patterns amongst his own country- 
 men, who, by dint of energy, prudence, perseverance and 
 probity, have risen from an obscure position in life to the 
 foremost rank of successful Native merchants. He is destitute 
 of pluck, and the risk of a commercial venture stares him in 
 the face in all his highways and byways. In many cases he 
 has inherited a colossal fortune, but that does not stir uj) in 
 his breast an enterprising spirit. He seeks and courts service, 
 and in nine cases out of ten succeeds. The sweets of service, 
 and the prospect of promotion and pension, slowly steal into 
 his soul, and he gladly bends his neck under the yoke of servi- 
 tude. But he is a stranger to that " proud submission of the 
 heart which keeps alive in servitude itself the spirit of an 
 exalted freedom." As a vanquished race, subordination is the 
 inevitable lot of the Natives ; but it is edifying to see how 
 they hug its trammels with perfect complacency. 
 
 The English Government is to the people of Bengal a special 
 boon, a god-send. Almost every respectable family of Bengali 
 Babus, past or present, is more or less indebted to it for status 
 and distinction, position and influence, afflu^ence and prosperity. 
 The records of authentic history clearly demonstrate the fact 
 that the Babus of Bengal have been more benefited by their 
 British rulers than ever they were by any dynasty of their 
 own. Instances are not wanting to corroborate the fact. The 
 love of money is natural in man, and few" men are more power- 
 fully and, in many cases, more dangerously influenced by it 
 than the people of this country. "It is a thirst which is 
 inflamed by the very copiousness of its draughts." Possession 
 or accumulation does not satisfy it. 
 
 Experience and observation amply attest the truth of the 
 following saying current among the Hindoos of the Upper 
 Provinces, viz., '■'' Kamayta toinioalla, loteta dJiotiwalla" the
 
 200 
 
 BENGALI IB ABU. 
 
 meaning of which is, "the English earn, the Bengalis plunder." 
 To be more explicit, the English continue to extend their 
 conquests, the Bengali Babus participate in the loaves and 
 fishes of the Public Service. In a dejected spirit a Hindoo- 
 stani is often heard to mourn ; he addresses a Sahib in the 
 most respectful manner imaginable, using such flattering terms 
 as " KhoJdhand, garihparhar" but in nine cases out of ten the 
 Sahib scornfully turns away his head. When, on the contrary, 
 a Bengali gir gir karhty do hath sonay diya, — *'. e., jabbers to 
 him a few words, — he patiently listens to him, and signifies by 
 a nod his acquiescence in what he says. In his boorish 
 simplicity, the Hindoostani concludes that the Bengali Babus 
 are well versed in charms, or else how can they manage to 
 tame a grim biped like a Saheb. 
 
 With a view to remove this impression, which until recently 
 was so very common among the inhabitants of the Upper 
 Provinces, and the existence of which is so prejudicial to 
 the general encouragement of education throughout India, 
 as well as to the impartial character and high dignity of 
 the paramount power, the Local Governments have been 
 directed in future to select for public service only the educated 
 Natives born and bred under their respective Administrations, 
 in preference to the Bengalis. Thus the aspirations of a 
 Bengali Babu, so far as the Public Service is concerned, 
 are now restricted within the limits of his own Province. 
 
 A Bengali Babu is an eager hunter after academic and 
 literary honors. The University confers on him the high 
 degi-ees of B.A., M.A., and B.L. ; and he distinguishes himself 
 as a speaking member of the British Indian Association or of 
 the Calcutta Municipality. He also reads valedictory addresses 
 to reth-ing Governors and other Government Magnificoea He 
 is created a Maharaja, a Raja, a Rai Bahadur, with perhaps 
 the additional paraphernalia of C.S.I, or CLE. As a man of 
 vivid ambition and lofty aspiration, he necessarily hankers 
 after and is ready to dash through thick and thin for these
 
 BENGALI RAim. 201 
 
 new honors and decorations. He drives swiftly about in his 
 barouche, with his staff-holder on the coach-box in broadcloth 
 livery. Unfortunately no baronetcy blazons forth in Bengali 
 heraldry, like that bestowed on Sir Jamsetjee Jeejeebhoy. The 
 cause is obvious. No millionaire Bengali has to this day contri- 
 buted so munificently to public charities as the Parsee baronet. 
 When that distinguished Hindoo reformer, Babu Dwark4 
 Nath Tagore, — the most staunch coadjutor of Raja Ram- 
 mohan Roy, — visited England, it was reported that Her 
 Majesty had most graciously offered to confer on him the title 
 of a raja ; and his liberality and public spirit fully entitled 
 him to that high distinction. But he politely refused it on 
 the ground that his position did not justify his accepting it. 
 He felt that the shadow of a name without the substance 
 was but a mockery. When Raja Radhiikant Deb was elected 
 President of the British Indian Association, " he used to declare 
 that he was more proud of that office than of his title of Raja 
 Bahadur, inasmucli as it made him the head of a body which 
 was a power in the State, and was destined to achieve immense 
 good for the country." At the time of the Prince of Wales's 
 visit to Calcutta, it was said that a certain English-made Raja 
 was introduced by a Government Magnifico to the Maharaja 
 of Cashmere ; among other matters, the Cashmere Raja, out of 
 curiosity, asked the Bengal Raja, where was his raj (kingdom), 
 and what was the strength of his army ? The question at once 
 puzzled him, and his answer was anything but satisfactory.* 
 
 * A propos it might be mentioned that the popular Hindoo term 
 Bhnmi-sanya raja (lack-land raja) is a term of derision, just as the 
 English expression " Briefless Barrister." Therefore, according to 
 the Hindoo popular way of thinking, vain and empty is the title of 
 raja when conferred on person who happens to own no lauded estate, 
 however worthy he might be in other respects to that honorable 
 distinction. Though now-a-days many a raja of that description has 
 been created by the generous English Government, still the idea of 
 a hing without a kingdoiii is anomalous to many (Shadow without 
 substance 1)
 
 202 BENGALI BABU. 
 
 Of all the Indian Viceroys, Lord Lytton was certainly the most 
 liberal in bestowing these hollow titles on the Babus of 
 Bengal, under a mistaken notion of thereby winning the love 
 and confidence, which ought to constitute the solid basis of a 
 good Government. A rajaship,* without the necessary equi- 
 page and material and moral grandeur of royalty, is but a 
 gilt ornament that dazzles at first sight, but possesses little 
 intrinsic value. It is in fact a misnomer, a sham, a coun- 
 terfeit. The love of honor or power constitutes one of 
 the main principles of human nature. A raja, in the 
 true sense of the word, is one who shares in the royalty of 
 divine attributes. He should remember that a man is bound 
 to look to something moi'e than his mere wardrobe and title ; he 
 must possess a goodness and a greatness which will benefit 
 thousands and tens of thousands of his fellow-creatures by 
 the exercise of real, disinterested virtue. Such a career alone 
 can leave an imperishable and ennobling name behind, which 
 will go down to posterity as a pattern of moral grandeur. f 
 
 * It is a discreditable fact, but it most assuredly is a fact, that 
 when, some years ago, a teacher of the Government School of Art 
 published a book in Bengali on the ancient arts and manufactures 
 of Hindoostan. and sent a copy of it to one of these English-made 
 rajas, he politely refused to take it — the price being one rupee 
 only — saying it was of no use to him, though it was an instructive 
 and suggestive manual. This refusal offers a sad comment on the 
 liberality of my fellow-countrymen towards the encouragement of 
 learning. But turning to the bright side of the picture, I may per- 
 haps be permitted to point with pardonable pride to the almost 
 unparalleled munificence in this respect of the late Babu Kali 
 Prasanna Sing of this City. That distinguished patron of vernacular 
 literature spent, it is said, upwards of £.oO,000 on the compilation of 
 the Mahabharat. that grand epic poem of the Hindoos, which, says 
 Talboys Wheeler, still continues to exercise an influence on the masses 
 of the people ■' infinitely greater and more universal than the influ- 
 ence of the Bible upon modern Europe." 
 
 t Of all the English-made rajas of the present day. it is pleasing 
 to recognize in Maharaja Rajendra Mallik of this City some of the
 
 BENGALI BABU. 203 
 
 Politically considered, these titles and decorations have their 
 value, inasmuch as they have a tendency to promote the 
 entente cordiale between the rulers and the ruled, and, next to 
 the Public Debt, furnish, in an indirect way, an additional 
 buttress to the stability of the British empire in India. 
 
 In former times, when the English rule was just beginning, — 
 when external pageant, the outcome of vanity, was not much 
 thought of, — when the simple taste of the people was not 
 tainted by luxury and corruption, an unnatural ci'aving for 
 titles exerted but a very feeble influence on the minds of the 
 great. Instead of seeking " the bubble reputation," they vied 
 with each other in the extent of their religious gifts and 
 endowments, affording substantial aid to the learned of the 
 laud and to the poorer classes of the community. A spirit 
 of disinterestedness and self-sacrifice, never at variance with 
 magnanimity, was conspicuous in all their gifts. The immense 
 extent oi Debatra and Brahmatra land, — i. e., rent-free tenures, 
 — still remaining throughout Bengal, even after the relentless 
 operation of the Resumption Act, bears testimony to their 
 disinterested benevolence and the heartiness with which they 
 sought to promote other men's interests. Of course they were 
 incapable of comprehending the innumerable affinities and re- 
 lations of life in all its varied phases, rising from the finite and 
 transient to the infinite and the enduring, but whatever they 
 gave, they gave without stint and without ostentation, and with 
 a truly benevolent and disinterested heart, looking to the Most 
 High for their guerdon. The elevated conception of organized 
 
 noble attributes of a true raja. Modest and unassuming, he mani- 
 fests a generous disposition to relieve suffering- humanity and to do 
 good by stealth. Never did he struggle to thrust himself, by the 
 nature of his work, upon public notice. Gifted with an intelligent 
 mind, a refined taste, and considerable artistic ability, his moral 
 greatness throws all other forms of greatness into the shade. He is 
 not ambitious to make his name the theme, the gaze, the wonder of a 
 dazzled community. •
 
 204 BEXGALI BABU. 
 
 charity never penetrated their minds. Religious gifts and 
 endowments formed the great bulk of their contributions, but 
 they also made permanent provision for the relief of the help- 
 less and the destitute,* though not on the recognized principles, 
 of English charity, — i. e., the hospital system, the Nurses' 
 institutions, reformatories for unfortunates, parish relief, funds 
 for the aged and infirm, provision of improved dwellings as 
 well as baths and wash-houses for the working-classes, inaugu- 
 rated by Mr. Peabody's magnificent gift of £2.50,000, ragged 
 schools and asylums for the deaf, dumb and blind, supported 
 by voluntary contributions, and other organized methods for 
 
 * Of all the Hindoo millionaires whose lives afforded the most 
 ennobling examples of piety and disinterestedness. Lala Babu — the 
 ancestor of the present Paikparra Raj family, in the suburbs of 
 Calcutta — was certainly one of the most remarkable. He possessed 
 a princely fortune, a considerable portion of which he wisely set apart 
 for the support of the poor and destitute. Unlike most of his wealthy 
 countrymen, he renounced all the pleasures of the world, and in the 
 evening of his life retired with only a shred of cloth to the holy city 
 of Brindaban. As a practical illustration of self-denial he actually 
 led the life of a religious mendicant, daily begging from door to door 
 for a mouthful of bread. His religious endowments still continue 
 to offer shelter and food to hundreds of poor people in and around 
 Brindaban, the sacred place so graphically described by Colonel Tod. 
 " Though the groves of Brinda." says he, "in which Kanaya (Krishna) 
 disported with the Gopis. no longer resound to the echoes of his flute, 
 though the waters of the Jamna are daily polluted with the blood of 
 the sacred kine, still it is the holy land of the pilgrim, the sacred 
 Jordan of his fancy, on whose banks he may sit and weep, as did the 
 banished Israelite of old. the glories of Mathura. his Jerusalem." 
 Maharani Swarnamayi, of Cassimbazar, and Moharani Sarat Sundari, 
 of Nattore. are two female characters whose numerous acts of 
 charity have shed a lustre around their names, and whom posterity 
 shall delight to honor as the two gi'eat benefactresses of their country- 
 men. And when history shall make a record of their several charit- 
 able acts, it shall be told of both that the prominent trait in their 
 character was one of expansive benevolence.
 
 BENGALI BAI3U. 205 
 
 the relief of distress and destitution throngliout the country. 
 It is a sad reflection on the benevolent disposition of the 
 Natives that they cannot boast of anything bearing a remote 
 analogy to the above organized forms of charity. In India 
 there is much individual charity of an impulsive and inter- 
 ested character, but the great element of success in English 
 chanty is combination and organization, without which no 
 work of public utility can be successfully carried out. 
 
 It is obvious that the peculiar social system of the Natives 
 presents an almost insuperable barrier to the harmonious 
 amalgamation of the different castes, artificially split into 
 numerous subdivisions. In the neighbourhood of Poona, 
 Mr. Elphinstone says, there are about 150 different castes ; and 
 in Bengal they are very numeroiis. They maintain their 
 divisions, however obscurely derived, with great strictness. 
 The religious, moral, and social duties of these classes exhibit 
 marked differences, which are opposed to united effort in the 
 relief of suffering humanity. The idea of a national brother- 
 hood and of a system of universal philaiithropy, such as 
 Christianity has nol)ly inaugurated, is much too elevated for 
 the narrow, contracted minds of the people. Independently of 
 the numerous subdivisions of caste, unhappily there is an im- 
 passable gulf between the Hindoos and the Mussulmans — at 
 present the children of the same soil, which has hitherto kept 
 up a state of unhallowed separation, essentially at variance 
 with a cordial coalition for the carrying out of any compre- 
 hensive system of Public Charity, designed to benefit both. 
 Time has rooted in the minds of the two communities an im- 
 placable mutual hate, quite subversive of the best interests of 
 humanity. Plausible arguments may be adduced in defence 
 of this race antagonism, but let both parties be assured that 
 " by abusing this world they shall not earn a better." Let 
 every act and feeling and motive of both races be merged in 
 one harmonious whole, developing the perfection of human 
 nature in a distinct and bright reality.
 
 206 BENGALI BABU. 
 
 A Bengali Babii is fond of discussing European politics. 
 The reading of history has given him a superficial insight into 
 the rise and progress of nations. He does not deny that he 
 merely amplifies and emphasizes the sentiments he has learnt 
 in the school of English politics. The orations of Lall Mohan 
 Ghosh in England have proved that a native of India has 
 mastered the art of thinking on his legs, which is the begin- 
 ning and end of oratory. A few more earnest men like him, 
 steadily working at the fountain-head of power, would certain- 
 ly awaken public attention towards the present condition of 
 our country. It was Lord William Bentinck who advised a 
 body of Native Memorialists, anxious for the political emanci- 
 pation of their country, " to continue to agitate until they 
 gained their end." Constitutional representation to proper 
 authority, his Lordship remarked, would as much command 
 public attention, as idle, factious declamation would divert it. * 
 He was emphatically the " People's William " in India, as 
 Gladstone is in England. He was a statesman who directed 
 his whole attention and energy to internal improvement, repu- 
 diating all schemes of aggression or conquest. His benefi- 
 cence, immortalized in a noble monument — the Calcutta 
 Medical College, will be more gratefully acknowledged by the 
 latest generation thau the genius of a Hasting, a Wellesley, or 
 a Dalhousie. 
 
 The complete emancipation of India, however, is only a 
 question of time. Babu Liill Mohan Ghosh's speeches in 
 England have not been entirely fruitless, inasmuch as they 
 have evoked and enlisted the sympathy of a few English 
 leaders of public opinion. He is manfully struggling to remove 
 the bar of political disabilities, and to secure for his countrymen 
 
 * Very few persons now remember the days when Chuckerbutty 
 faction and ' grievance Thompson ' used to raise a hue and cry in the 
 Fauzdari Balakhana Debating Club, formed for the political eman- 
 cipation of India before the people were fully prepared to appreciate 
 the value of their rights and privileges.
 
 BENGALI BABU. 207 
 
 the benefit of representative institutions, for the recognition 
 and appreciation of which they are now prepared. While they 
 hope for the best, they must be prepared for the worst. They 
 must learn meanwhile to cherish, as among the essential 
 elements of ultimate success, a firm, maniy, independent and 
 self-denying spirit. 
 
 A Bengali Babu is often voted a man of tall talk. Plati- 
 tude is his forte. This is surely true to a certain extent ; 
 and until he descends from the lofty regions of speculation 
 to the matter-of-fact arena of practice, both his writings and 
 harangues must necessarily prove abortive. He must learn 
 to exchange verbosity for action in the great battle of life. 
 Every great politician or statesman must have a thorough 
 practical training to enable him to overcome the opposition 
 of difterent factious, whose interests are jeopardized by his 
 success, and to render his administration a blessing to the 
 people. He must be prepared to grow and advance under 
 adverse influences. The history of that consummate states- 
 man. Sir Salar Jung, — of that distinguished scholar and coun- 
 cillor. Sir T. Madeo Rao, — of that astute minister, Maharaja 
 Sir Dinkur Rao, furnishes the most illustrious examples of 
 superior administrative ability combined with practical wisdom. 
 Lord Northbrook, in a recent speech at Birmingham, has 
 made honorable mention of these three eminent statesmen, 
 whose valuable services in their respective spheres have long 
 since established their substantial claims to the gratitude of 
 their fellow-countrymen. When Sir Salar Jung visited Europe, 
 his very comprehensive and enlightened views elicited the 
 admiration of several of the wisest statesmen of the age. 
 His able and successful administration at Hyderabad, amidst 
 the fierce opposition of foctious parties, affords an admirable 
 illustration of his superior practical wisdom. When, some 
 thirty years ago, Maharaja Sir Dinkur Rao visited Calcutta, 
 he was the wonder of all who beard liim enunciate, in a telling 
 speech at the Town Hall, his high, noble and practical views
 
 208 BENGALI BABU. 
 
 on Civil Government. The speech was not made feverish by 
 visions of indistinct good, as Mr. Theodore Dickens said, but 
 it was a clear exposition of the liberal sentiments of a wise 
 statesman. And last, but not least, the career of Kazi Shaha- 
 budin, C.S.I., the present Dewan to His Highness the Gaekwar 
 of Baroda, should be prominently brought to public notice. 
 His enlightened views, his liberal policy, his administrative 
 ability, the urbanity of his manners, his encouragement to all 
 undertakings of a public nature, and above all his irreproach- 
 able character, promise to render the tenure of his office a 
 siibstantial boon to the people. In him certainly His High- 
 ness may be said to have found a trustworthy, faithful, and 
 a thoroughly accomplished Dewan, who is fully alive to the 
 very high responsibilities of his charge. 
 
 The Bengalis are not a warlike race. Their traditional habits 
 and usages, — their physique, — their diet and dress, — their 
 natural tendency to slothfulness and effeminacy ,^ — their pi'over- 
 bial quietude, — their general want of pluck and manly spirit, — 
 their ascetic composure, placing the chief joys of life in rest 
 and competency, — all indicate an unwarlike temperament. 
 Dui'ing the Mutiny of 1857 — an event which in atrocious acts 
 of cruelty incomparably surpasses all other historical events 
 ever recorded, — that kind-hearted Governor-General, Loi'd 
 Canning, was advised to introduce martial law into Calcutta ; 
 but he negatived the pi'oposal by emphatically declaring in 
 the Council Chamber that the Bengalis are a mild, tame, 
 inoffensive and loyal race of people, whose only weapon of 
 defence is a simple penknife. A common police-constable with 
 his baton is to them a grim master of authority. A red-coated 
 Highlander is formidable enough to cope with and drive away 
 a crowd of Bengalis even in the very heart of the City of 
 Palaces, while in the villages all shops and houses are closed 
 at the very sight of a European soldier in his uniform. In 
 fact, Bengal can well be governed by a handful of Native 
 police-constables, especially when the Arms Act is in full
 
 BENGALI HABU. 209 
 
 force. Unlike the luiliniiy races of Upper India, or the 
 border tribes, the Bengahs will never, even under the influence 
 of the most aggravated wrongs and injuries, retaliate or resort 
 to such a desperate court of appeal as war and murder. 
 
 English is the adopted language of a Bengali Babu. It 
 is an instructive study to take a cursory view of the rapid 
 progress of English education throughout India from the day 
 when David Hare held out pecuniary inducements to Hindoo 
 youths to atteud his school, and Dr. Duff called in the aid 
 of Rammohan Koy to found the infant General Assembly's 
 Institution, now developed into tlie largest College in India. 
 Fifty years ago, who dreamt that a Native lad of sixteen 
 or seventeen years of age would venture to traverse the 
 perilous ocean and compete at the Civil Service Examina- 
 tion in England, paying no heed whatever to the manifold 
 disadvantages arising fi-om social persecution, and the rupture 
 of domestic relations of the tenderest nature ? When Bacon 
 said that knowledge is power, he certainly did not mean phy- 
 sical but intellectual power. It is the irresistible influence of 
 this power that has inspirited an Indian youth to appear at 
 the English " open competition " for the purpose of winning- 
 academic spurs and entering a closely fenced service ; it is the 
 quickening influence of this power, combined with an enter- 
 prising spirit, that has gradually enabled a mere handful of 
 English adventurers to convert a small factory into one of the 
 vastest empires in the East. The gigantic strides that English 
 education has made in India within a short time, have been 
 the wonder of the age, the foundation-rock of India's ultimate 
 emancipation, — socially, mox'ally, and intellectually. Theprison- 
 wall round the mind, which ages had reared and Brahmanical 
 teaching fortified, has been completely demolished ; and not 
 only men, but matronly zenana females have picked up a few 
 crumbs of broken English w^ords which they occasionally use 
 in familiar conversation, — for instance, Ddktar, Hail, Talygraf, 
 Guvner, Juj, Majister, High Cote, etc. 
 
 o
 
 210 BENGALI BABU. 
 
 Some of the Bengali Babus read and write English witli 
 remarkable fluency, and the epistolary correspondence of most 
 of them is commonly carried on in that language. When two 
 or more educated Babus meet together, or take their consti- 
 tutional walk in the morning, they perhaps talk of some leading 
 articles in the Anglo-Indian or English journals or periodicals, 
 and eagerly communicate to each other " the ilotsam and 
 jetsam of advanced European thought, the ripest outcome in 
 the Nineteenth Century, or the aftermath in the Fortnightly" 
 as if the vernacular dialect were not at all fitted for the com- 
 munication of their ideas. It is a pity that the cultivation 
 and improvement of a national literature — the embodiment of 
 national thought and taste, and the chief means of national 
 enlightenment — seldom or nfever engages their serious atten- 
 tion. But it is a great mistake to suppose that the large 
 mass of the Indian population can be thoroughly instructed 
 and refoi-med through the medium of a foreign language. The 
 richness and copiousness of modern English, combining as it 
 does conciseness with solidity and perspicuity, are admittedly 
 very gi'eat ; it is admirably adapted for the educated few, but 
 it is not equally suited to the capacity and comprehension of 
 the many. It is incumbent, therefore, on all well-disposed 
 Hindoos, who have the real welfare of their country at heart, 
 to endeavour to em-ich their national literature by transplant- 
 ino- into it the advanced thoughts of modern Europe, and to 
 make their language more copious so as to remove its acknow- 
 ledged deficiency and barrenness. Until this is done, it is as 
 unreasonable to expect elegance and perfection in the national 
 literature, as it is to expect harvest in seed-time, or the full 
 vigor of manhood in the incipient state of childhood. 
 
 Assuredly the Bengalis are a race of Jceranis, or clerks, as 
 Napoleon said, the English were a nation of shop-keepers. 
 Every morning and evening, all the main streets of Calcutta 
 leading tot he business quarters are literally thronged with 
 dense crowds of heranis in their white cotton uniform, busily
 
 BKXr.AI.T BABU. 211 
 
 making for their respective offices, citlicr in tramway cars or 
 in shabby-looking third-class hackney-carriages or on foot. A 
 foreigner, not nsed to such sights, can hardly fail to come 
 to the conclusion that the Bengalis are a nation of keranis. 
 Every Government office, Railway office, and Merchant's office 
 s filled with these Babus, either actually employed, or serv- 
 ing on probation, biding their time in fond expectation of 
 picking up a slice of official bread, buttered or unbuttered. 
 Even graduates of the Calcutta University do not hesitate to 
 serve as apprentices, because a collegiate course does not teach 
 the rules of official routine. Most of them are good copyists 
 or clever accountants, while a few are correspondence clerks. 
 As a rule, their pay is very small compared with what is given 
 to English clerks, for reasons which I need not dilate upon 
 hei-e. Within the range of our experience, extending over fifty 
 years, we remember only one Native gentleman — Babu Shama 
 Charan Dey, the present vice-chairman of the Calcutta Muni- 
 cipality — who, by his tried ability, intelligence and integrity, 
 has managed to climb to the top of keranidom. In recogni- 
 tion of his high efficiency, his salary has been raised to one 
 thousand rupees a month, in spite of many instances of super- 
 session. I, in common with others, am fully persuaded that, 
 had he been a British-born Civilian, he would undoutedly have 
 drawn a much larger salary. But it is useless to repine at a 
 misfortune which is inevitable. 
 
 Even the amusements of a Bengali Babii are more or less 
 anglicised. Instead of the traditional Jdttrds (rude dramas) 
 and Kohis (popular ballads), he has gradually imbibed a taste 
 for theatrical performances ; and native musical instruments 
 are superseded by European flutes, concertinas and harmo- 
 niums, organs and piano-fortes. This is a decided improve- 
 ment on the old antiquated system, demonstrating the gradual 
 growth of a refined taste. 
 
 Thus we see that, in almost every phase of life, at home or 
 abroad, the Bengali Babu is europeanizcd. In his style of
 
 212 BENGALI BABU. 
 
 living, in his mode of dress, in his writings, in his public and 
 private utterances, in his household arrangements and furni- 
 ture, in his bearing and deportment, in his social intercourse, 
 in his mental accomplishments, and in his passionate partiality 
 for Western aesthetics, he is a modified Anglo-Indian. But it 
 were devoutly to be wished that he possessed a larger admix- 
 ture of the essential elements of the European character, 
 truthfulness, energy and manliness of spirit, straightforward- 
 ness in his dealings with society, nobility of sent-iment, magna- 
 nimity combined with simplicity, disinterested love and sym- 
 pathy, and, above all, moral and spiritual elevation.
 
 XVI. 
 
 THE KABIRAJ, OR NATIVE PHYSICIAN. 
 
 NOTWITHSTANDING the rapid progress of medical science 
 throughout the country since the establishment of the 
 Calcutta ISIedical College, the practice of Hindoo Kahirdjes and 
 Mussulman Ildkims still continues to find favour in the eyes 
 of a large section of the Indian population. In Chemistry, 
 Anatomy, Midwifery, and Surgery, the decided superiority of 
 the English over the Native system is admitted by all. This 
 is unquestionably an age of improvement ; everything around 
 us indicates the progressive development of arts and sciences, 
 and a society that does not keep pace with the onward march 
 of intellect is certainly much behind the age. 
 
 There was a time when upwards of sixteen original medical 
 writers, some of whose works are still extant, flovirished in 
 India, and medicines prepared according to the formulas of the 
 Ayurveda — the best standard medical work — were supposed 
 to have produced wholesome results, affording no inconsider- 
 able amount of relief to thousands afflicted with diseases of 
 various kinds, and even of a most malignant character. 
 Under the Hindoo dynasty, every encouragement was given 
 to the cultivation and im])rovement of medical science. 
 Nest to the Brahmans, the Vaida class were respected, though 
 sometimes they are unjustly twitted with what is called a 
 hybrid origin. It is, however, foreign to our purj)0se to 
 determine this point, which seems to be enveloped in obscurity. 
 The common theory on which the Hindoo system of physic is 
 based, has reference to tlie country, the season and the age of
 
 214 KABIRAJ, OR NATIVE PHYSICIAN, 
 
 the patient, to which is superadded the regimen suited to liis 
 physical organization. The scientific and philosophical theory 
 is, that there are certain defined elements in the hum'an body on 
 the natural equilibrium of which mainly depends the health 
 of man. The disturbance of this normal equilibrium, either 
 by the increase or decrease of any one of the essential ingre- 
 dients, deranges the system, and requires the use of medicines, 
 generally obtained from indigenous drugs, bark, root, wood, 
 fruits, flowers, metals, &c. 
 
 From the existing medical works according to which 
 medicines are prepared and cures effected, it is evident that 
 the Hindoo system is not entirely destitute of science ; but 
 the light it is capable of diffusing is greatly dimmed by a 
 combination of unfavourable circumstances brought about by 
 the overthrow of the Hindoo dynasty, the decay of Hindoo 
 learning in every branch of human knowledge, and the conse- 
 quent growth of empiricism. 
 
 In his eleventh discourse before the Asiatic Society, that 
 distinguished Orientalist, Sir William Jones, has said " Physic 
 appears in these regions to have been from time immemorial, 
 as we see it practised at this day by the Hindoos and Mussul- 
 mans, a mere empirical history of diseases and medicines." 
 This is presumably a remark applicable to a society but little 
 removed from a state of barbarism ; bvit the existence of such 
 scientific works as Ayurveda, JVidan, CharracJc-Swasru, Sara- 
 sangraha, Boidya, Sarvusivn, &c., furnishes abundant proof 
 that the Hindoo system of pliysic is not altogether founded on 
 empiricism. 
 
 In 1838, the Honorable the East India Company appointed 
 a Committee, consisting of Drs. Jackson, llankin, Bramb}', 
 Pearson, W. B. O'Shaughnessy, and Mr. James Prinsep, to 
 examine and report upon the state of the Honorable Com- 
 pany's Dispensaries, and the possibility of substituting native 
 drugs for European medicines, the primary object being two- 
 fold, — namely, cheapness and efficiency. Death, ill-health, and
 
 KAUIRA.I, OH NATIVE PHYSICIAX. 215 
 
 tut' casualties of tlie service dispersed the Committee long 
 before the nieiubers could accomplish the task imposed ou 
 them, aud subsequeutly the whole charge devolved upou 
 Dr. W. B. O'Shaughuessy, who, after the unwearied labovu- 
 of four years, assisted by some of the best Native ])hysicians, 
 produced a work, entitled " The Bengal Dispensatory," pub- 
 lished under the authority of the Government of India, which 
 still remains a valuable monument of his indomitable zeal 
 and untiring devotion to medical science. 
 
 Great attention has also been given to the scientific analysis 
 of the various indigenous drugs by Roxburgh, Wallick, Ainslie, 
 White, Arson, Royle, Pereira, Lindlay, Richard, &c., &c. The 
 result of their analytical examination, though not so exhaust- 
 ive as the very great importance of the subject required, 
 was nevertheless very favourable to the opinion that the native 
 system was based on fixed scientific principles, and that many 
 of the drugs possessed great curative properties. Unfortu- 
 nately the improved principles and important discoveries of 
 modern Europe have not been sufficiently brought to bear ou 
 the simultaneous development of the native system. They 
 have, however, pi'oved greatly beneficial in teaching the native 
 kabirdjes to adopt, to a certain extent, the European method 
 and regime. 
 
 It is a remarkable fact that even now, when this science 
 may be said to be in a retrogressive stage both for want of 
 adequate culture and for want of sufficient encouragement, 
 there are a few Hindoo kabirdjes* in this City, and in other 
 parts of the country, whose treatment in chronic cases of 
 fever, dysentery, diarrhoea, pulmonary consumption, asthma, 
 
 * The most popular and successful among them are, Ganga Prasad 
 Sen, Chandra Kumar llai. Gopi Ballabh Rai, Prasanna Chandra Sen, 
 Brajendra Kumar Sen, Kalidas Sen, &c. They profess to practise 
 on the principles of Ai/urveda, the best standard work on Hindoo 
 Medical Science, aud their mode of treatment is much appreciated by 
 respectable Hindoos.
 
 216 KABIRAJ, OR NATIVE PHYSICIAN. 
 
 &c., proves, in a great measui'e, successful. Hence in almost 
 every respectable Hindoo family there is a competent kabirdj, 
 who is always consulted in cases of a serious nature. It is 
 generally considered that, on the subject of pulsation greater 
 weight is attached to the opinion of a Hindoo kabirdj than to 
 that of an English doctor. By the pulse, in the different 
 parts of our physical organization, the state of the body may 
 be ascertained, and suitable remedies applied. In cases of 
 severe illness among the Hindoos, the friends of the patient 
 have not only to help him in the struggle between life and 
 death, but to closely watch for the last expiring flicker of 
 vitality, that he may be removed in time to the banks of the 
 sacred stream to insure his entrance into heaven. 
 
 It has been urged by some native physicians that the Sans- 
 krit w^ork Ayiirveda, above-mentioned, treats of anatomy and 
 the doctrine of the circulation of the blood. If this be true, 
 great credit is doubtless due -to its author for having made 
 in a comparatively dark age such considerable advances in 
 an important branch of medical science, without which medi- 
 cine and surgery are of little avail. Chemistry, which enables 
 us to distinguish the real properties of different substances, 
 was certainly not unknown to the Hindoo physicians, because 
 their medicines indicate a scientific selection of several ingre- 
 dients mixed together to produce a certain result. But it can 
 by no means be asserted that the people ever attained to such 
 a knowledge, either in the one or the other, as can bear com- 
 parison Avith the perfection of the modern Eviropean system. 
 In almost every department of human knowledge steady pro- 
 gress is, elsewhere, the grand characteristic of the age ; but in 
 this country iinhappily a spirit of scientific investigation has 
 very nearly been extinguished simply for want of adequate 
 cultivation and support. 
 
 If quacks abound in enlightened Christendom, where che- 
 mical analysis, scientific researches in materia medica and 
 pharmacy, and anatomical demonstration and surgical opera-
 
 KABIUAJ, OR NATIVE PHYSICIAN. 217 
 
 tions almost daily bring to light new discoveries and inven- 
 tions, what can be expected in a country where medical science 
 has long been in a state of absolute stagnation. Ignorant 
 and unprincipled quacks, quite unacquainted with the rules 
 of the Hindoo medical shastras, abound all over the country, 
 which has for some years past been suffering severely from 
 malarious fever of a virulent type, carrying death and devasta- 
 tion wherever it prevails.* They literally sport with the 
 health of their patients, and the natural consequence is, that 
 hundreds and thousands of human beings are mercilessly 
 sacrificed to their ignorance and cupidity. Not one in a 
 hundred of those who call themselves kahirajes is acquainted 
 with the principles of physic as laid down in the standard 
 medical works of the Hindoos. Some of them have a few 
 nostrums of their own, the composition of which is unknown 
 to every one but themselves. 
 
 A Bengali kabirctj carries a miniature dispensary about 
 with him. He takes with him a small packet, containing 
 different kinds of pills or powders, wrapped up in paper, in 
 small doses, which are common!}^ used twice a day with ginger, 
 honey, betel, roots of durva-grass, &c. He seldom uses phials; 
 liquids, when required, are made in the patient's own house. 
 His medicines are chiefly made of dried herbs, but he has 
 neither a jjroper classification of them, nor a complete system 
 
 * The general climate of Bengal has, for some years past, become 
 very iinhealthy : and as fever is the most prevalent epidemic in the 
 Lower Provinces. Dr. D. N. Gupta's Mixture has become a patent 
 medicine, i)roviug efficacious in the majority of cases, so that the 
 doctor is said to have made a very large fortune by the sale of it 
 within a few years. As far as success is concerned. Dr. D. N. Gupta 
 has become, on a small scale, the Holloway of Bengal. Seveial other 
 Native Assistant-Surgeons have, from time to time, endeavoured to offer 
 their anti-malarious mixture to the inhabitants of Lower Bengal, 
 but they have signally failed in winning public confidence and favor. 
 Attempts at counterfeit trade-marks have also been tried, but on 
 conviction before a Court of Justice the guilty have been punished.
 
 218 KABIRAJ, OR NATIVE PHYSICIAX. 
 
 of botany. He uses, iiowever, certain preparations of oil, 
 which are sometimes beneficially administered in chronic cases. 
 These preparations are rather expensive, selling from two to 
 ten rupees per pound. Some of these kabirdjes stand very 
 high in Native public estimation. Almost every wealthy 
 family iu the country as well as in the Town has its own physi- 
 cian. A fee of a quack in the villages is one rupee on the 
 first day of his visit, and he continues to attend twice daily 
 until the patient recovers. When the patient has completely 
 recovered, the physician gets one or two rupees more, a suit 
 of clothes, and some provisions. 
 
 The introduction of English medicines into the interior, 
 though not scientifically administered in every case, has very 
 considerably affected the trade of the native quacks. Their 
 occupation, it may be said, is nearly gone, because the doctors 
 of the Bengali-class, more systematically trained iu the 
 Government Vernacular Colleges, have, iu a manner, superseded 
 them. In strong fevers, instead of compelling the patient to 
 fast for twenty-one days or longer, and restricting his regimen 
 to parched rice, the new Bengali-class doctor first reduces 
 him by evacuations,* and then gives him either fever-mixture, 
 
 * The late indisposition of tlie Marquis of Eipon gave rise to many 
 alarming rumours as to the probable turn and termination of the 
 disease — malarious fever — with which he was unhappily attacked 
 during his travels to and from Bombay, and which, according to 
 telegraphic messages, had considerably weakened his constitution, 
 and diminished the wonted activity and vigor of his mind. The 
 antiquated notion that a violent attack of fever in a European in this 
 country causes an abnormal depletion of the system by constant evacua- 
 tions has still a strong hold on the popular mind. Hence an unfavour- 
 able view was generally taken as to the speedy and complete recovery 
 of so good and beneficent a Governor-General, whose rule, though 
 only just begun, has been happily inaugurated by several circum- 
 stances of a peculiarly hopeful character, tending, in no small degree, 
 to make the people happj' and contented even by anticipation. The 
 termination of the ill-advised Afghan war, the few public utterances 
 of his Lordship bearing on the future policy of the Government oi:
 
 ICAlilRA.I, OH NATIVE PllVSICIAN. 219 
 
 or cincIioiia-febrifui;e, or ([uiiiiuc-iuixtiirc, as he thinks best. 
 In phxce of warm applications — the quondam treatment of a 
 kabirtij in strong fevers — he gives ice or cold water, thus 
 relieving the patient from the effects of a merciless abstinence 
 and excessive thirst. On the ])eriodical return of the un- 
 healthy season in Bengal,— i. e., in the months of September, 
 October, November, and December, — when the atmosphere is 
 surcharged Avith a large quantity of vapour, these doctors 
 generally reap a harvest of gain from their practice. It 
 should be mentioned, liowever, that their imperfect knowledge 
 and want of sufficient ext)erience, are too often attended with 
 the most disastrous results. 
 
 India for the general well-being of the subjects, and the sure prospect 
 of an abundant harvest, and the consequent reduction of nearly fifty 
 per cent, in the price of rice — the main staff of life in this country — 
 have all combined to evoke a sincei-e desire and fervent hope among 
 the people for the long continuance of a rule so nobly begun and 
 beneficently administered. May undisturbed peace and undiminisbed 
 plenty and prosperity be the distinguishing features of such a liberal, 
 generous and pure administration, and may it end fitly what it has 
 begun so auspiciously. In speaking tlius favorably of the Marquis 
 of Ripon's Government, I merely echo the sentiments of my country- 
 men from one end of the vast British Indian empire to the other.
 
 T 
 
 XVII. 
 
 HINDOO FEMALES. 
 HE condition of a Hindoo female, partially described in the 
 preceding pages, is really deplorable. The changes and 
 vicissitudes to which her chequered life is subject are manifold. 
 " There is a continuity of misery from the day of her birth to 
 the day of her death, — i.e., from the craddle to cremation." 
 As strikingly put by a writer, " she is unwelcomed at her 
 birth, untaught in childhood, enslaved when married, accursed 
 as widow, unlamented when she dies." The celebration of 
 the nuptials is the only occasion when the wife is allowed to 
 eat with her husband. It is enjoined in the shastras that 
 women are not much to be loved ; let them, it is said, " have 
 only that degree of affection which is necessary, let the fulness 
 of affection be reserved for brothers and other similar connec- 
 tions." The wife " is to live for her husband, to work for him, 
 to suffer for him, and to die with him." By all means, it 
 is added, "if she survive him, she must remain a widow." 
 Weak and frail as she assuredly is made by nature, the conven- 
 tional forms and social usages to which she is religiously 
 enjoined to adhere tend to deprive her alike of temporal and 
 spiritual happiness. Born under unfavorable circumstances 
 chiefly by reason of her sex, her life is rendered doubly miser- 
 able by the galling chains of ignorance and superstition. 
 " Accursed was the day when a woman-child was born to me," 
 was the emphatic exclamation of a Eiijput when a female 
 birth was announced. " The same motive," says Colonel Tod, 
 " which studded Europe with convents, in which youth and
 
 HINDOO FEMALES. 221 
 
 boaiity were immiiretl until liberated by death, first pi'oinjited 
 the Riijput to infanticide : and, however revolting the p'olicy, 
 it is perhaps kindness compared with incarceration. There 
 can be no doubt that monastic seclusion, practised by the 
 Frisians in France, the Langobardi in Italy, and the Visigoths 
 in Spain, was bx'ought from Central Asia, the cradle of the 
 Goths.* It is in fact a modification of the same feeling which 
 characterizes the Rajput and the ancient (jferman warrior, — 
 the dread of dishonor to the fair : the former raises the poniard 
 to the bi-east of his wife rather than witness her captivity, and 
 he gives an opiate to the infixnt, whom, if he cannot portion 
 and marry to her equal, he dare not see degraded." Descend- 
 ing from the lofty ideal of a chivalroTis Rajput character to 
 the more familiar portraiture of tame Hindoo life in Bengal, we 
 find the same sad destiny is the jDortion of a female in both 
 cases. " When a female is born, no anxious inquiries await 
 the mothei' — no greetings welcome the new-comer, who appears 
 an intruder on the scene, which often closes in the hour of its 
 bii'th. But the very silence with which a female birth is 
 accompanied forcibly expresses sorrow." In almost every stage 
 of life, from infancy to old age, her existence presents a uni- 
 form picture of gloom, uncertainty, despondencj^, and neglect. 
 Freedom of thought and independence of action — the natural 
 birthrights of a rational being — are denied her, not by her 
 Creator, but by a selfish, narrow-minded, and crafty priesthood. 
 
 * " The Ghikers, a Scythic race, inhabiting the banks of the Indus, 
 at an early period of history, were given to infanticide." " It was a 
 custom," says Ferishta, " as soon as a female child was born, to carry 
 her to the market place, and there proclaim aloud, holding- the child 
 in one hand, and a knife in the other, that any one wanting a wife 
 might have her ; otherwise she was immolated. By this means they 
 had more men than women, which occasioned the custom of several 
 husbands to one wife. When any husband visited her she set up a 
 mark at the door, which being observed by the others, they withdrew 
 till the signal was removed."
 
 222 HINDOO FEMALES. 
 
 She is treated and disposed of as if she were entirely destitute 
 of the feelings and ideas of a sentient being. She dare not 
 emerge from the unhealthy seclusion of the closely confined 
 andarmahal, or female apartment, where suspicions and jeal- 
 ousies, envy and malignity are not unfrequently brewing in the 
 boiling caldron of domestic discord. Born within the precincts 
 of an ill- ventilated zenana, and cooped up in the cage of an 
 uncongenial cell, she is destined to breathe her last in the 
 same unwholesome retreat. 
 
 A European lady can have no idea of the enormous amount 
 of misery and privation to which the life of a Hindoo woman 
 is subjected. In her case, the bitters far more than counter- 
 balance the sweets of life. The natural helplessness of her 
 condition, the abject w^retchedness to wliich she is inevitably 
 doomed, tlie utter prostration of her intellect, the ascendency 
 of a dominant priesthood exacting unquestioning submission 
 to its selfish doctrines, the unmerited neglect of an unsym- 
 pathetic world, and the appalling hardships and austerities 
 which she is condemned to endure in the event of the death 
 of her lord, literally beggar description. All the graces and 
 accomplishments with which she is blessed by nature, and 
 which have a tendency to adorn and ennoble humanity, are in 
 her case unreasonably denounced as unfeminine endowments 
 and privileges, to assert which is a sacrilegious act. 
 
 If she is ever happy, she is happy in spite of the cruel 
 ordinances of her lawgiver, and the still more cruel usages 
 and institiitions of her country. Mann, the greatest fountain 
 of authority, has expressly inculcated the doctrine that no 
 man other than a Brahman should receive the blessings of 
 knowledge ; and much more severely was the rule enforced in 
 the case of females, w^ho were held to be naturally unfit for 
 mental culture ! It was worse than blasphemy to attempt to 
 educate a female ; she was born in ignorance, she must die in 
 ignorance. All the hoiTors of a premature and certain widow- 
 hood were pictured forth to her eyes, were she to make an
 
 HINDOO FEMALES. 223 
 
 effort to enlighten licr mind* How sluimefiiUy contracted 
 were the views of the Hindoo hiwgiver in respect of tlie pi'o- 
 gressive development of the luiniau intellect ! His prohibitory 
 injunction was, and is now, more honoretl in the breach tlian 
 in the observance. 
 
 From the moment a female child is brought into the world, 
 a new source of anxiety arises in the minds of its jjarents, 
 which becomes moi"e and more intense as the girl advances in 
 years. The thought of educating the child is not what trou- 
 bles their heads ; that is the thought which is furthest removed 
 from their imagination. But the idea how to dispose of it in 
 the world continually preys on their minds. The child, per- 
 fectly unconscious of the fate that awaits it, begins to handle 
 the playthings set before it ; and, as nature in almost every 
 case works intuitively, it soon learns to make a miniature 
 kitchen with earthen pots and pans, resembling that in which 
 it has to spend the greater portion of its existence. It is a 
 noteworthy fact that a Hindoo lady, even when placed in 
 affluent circumstances, does not consider it beneath her dig- 
 nity to take a part occasionally in the cuisine, or at least in 
 
 * The Iliudoo lawgivers, whatever their shortcomings in other 
 respects, showcl a greatinsight into human nature when they looked 
 more to women than to men for the stability of their doctrines. That 
 the perpetual ignorance of the former promises a permanent harvest 
 of gain to the hierarchy, is quite evident. If a correct return were 
 available as to the number of pilgrims who periodically visit the 
 different holy places throughout the country, it would doubtless 
 establish the fact that upwards of two-thirds of such pilgrims are 
 female. If it were not for their pertinacious adherence to their 
 traditional faith, the Brahmauical creed, at least in the great centres 
 of education, would have long since fallen into desuetude. The blind 
 unquestioning faith of the female devotees in their gods and god- 
 desses is the great secret of the very high estimation in which they are 
 still held. If we educate the females and gradually disabuse their 
 minds of early prejudices, we not only lay the axe at the very root of 
 idolatry, but pave the way for the ultimate recognition of the true 
 religion.
 
 224 HINDOO FEMALES. 
 
 making preparations for the same, though the family has 
 professional cooks in its employ, — the principal object being 
 to feed her husband and children with extra delicacies pre- 
 pared with her own hand. Instead of idle and unprofitable 
 talk and scandalous gossip, reflecting on the characters of 
 others, such an occupation is deserving of commendation.* 
 
 When six or seven years of age, the mother endeavours to 
 initiate the girl in the first course of simple Bratas, or reli- 
 gious vows, which are destined, as has been already shewn, 
 to exercise a vast influence on her mind. The germs of super- 
 stition being thus sown so early take a deep root. Meanwhile 
 the anxiety of the mother for her daughter's marriage in- 
 creases with her growth. Numerous proposals are received 
 and rejected, till at length a selection is made, according to 
 the rules stated in a former sketch. In this manner, persons 
 are married with as much indifference as cattle are yoked 
 together ; they are disposed of according to the judgment of 
 their parents, without the parties, who are to live together till 
 death, having the slightest opportunity of seeing each other, 
 much less of studying each other's disposition. 
 
 If a female child possess, as is very rarely the case, finely 
 chiselled features, embodying the ideal of a Hindoo beauty, 
 the breast of the mother is freed from anxiety for a time, but 
 for a time only. It may be she is congratulated on the birth 
 
 * The late Babu Rajballabh. Rai Chowdhry, a very wealthy zemin- 
 dar of Baripore, south of Calcutta, used, it was said, to bring- up the 
 <»-iiie of his family, which was almost a small colony, in the art of 
 cooking all sorts of native dishes, from the highly spiced ^joZr'W to 
 simple dall-hhat and vegetable curry ; he also taught them to bring 
 up water for culinary purposes from a tank inside of the house in 
 silver gharas, or pots. Though he possessed the most practical of all 
 worldly advantages, — the power of the purse, — yet he did not hesitate 
 to initiate the girls in the art of cooking, that they might be fully 
 prepared to perform the duty in case of necessity. I can easily cite 
 other instances of a similar nature, but I believe they are not neces- 
 sary.
 
 HINDOO FEMALES. 2,25 
 
 of SO beautiful a child, aud it is Init uatural that she should 
 indulge in pleasant delusions about the future of her oftspring. 
 She looks forward to a match at once desirable and happy. 
 Fed with such hopes, she cherishes many a fond idea of the 
 wealth of joys in store for her daughter. But how often are 
 our brightest hopes blasted by the ruthless hand of fortune. 
 
 If, on the contrary, the girl be deficient in beauty, the 
 bosom of the mother is perpetually disturbed by gloomy fore- 
 bodings, which no worldly advantage can effectually remove, 
 no reasoning can sufficiently suppress. The reassuring ad- 
 monition of sympathizing minds may sustain her spirits for a 
 time ; but whenever she is alone or disengaged from domestic 
 duties, her mind involuntarily reverts to the future destiny of 
 the girl. As day by day she grows older, and her features 
 begin to assume a more decided cast, the deformity, which was 
 but faintly perceived at first, becomes more striking. The 
 mother herself, perhaps, being a living illustration of the 
 fruitlessness of the attempts of her parents to secure for her 
 a desirable match, naturally feels a strong misgiving as to the 
 good fortune of her child. 
 
 While the hearts of the parents are thus filled with dis- 
 quieting thoughts, the girl is perfectly unconscious of the fate 
 that awaits her. She laughs and sports about, regardless of 
 what is written on her forehead by the Bidhdtdjytirush. The 
 performance of the religious vow in her infancy, which has for 
 its object to secure a good husband, might incidentally remind 
 her of marriage ; but the thought passes off in a moment, 
 like the streaks of a morning cloud. Hence it has been justly 
 said that the happiest day.i in the life of a Hindoo female are 
 those preceding her marriage. If in Bengal, under the pater- 
 nal care of a Christian Government, she is not permitted to 
 become a victim to the poppy at her birth, or to the flames in 
 her riper years, like her Rajput sister in times of yore, yet 
 she is ahvays exposed to the appalling hardships of a hidhahd 
 life, or widowhood. Though too young to fully realize the
 
 226 HINDOO FEMALES. 
 
 thousand and one evils of such a wretched existence, yet the 
 living examples she daily and hourly sees around her make, 
 to use a native phrase, " her hands and feet enter into her 
 belly." 
 
 To those who have studied the existing state of Hindoo 
 society, it is a matter no less of wonder than of gratulation 
 that the system of early marriage notwithstanding the arbi- 
 trary manner in which it is consummated, and the utter 
 absence of the voice and consent of the parties thvis affianced 
 deriding the very idea of the slightest opportunity being given 
 them to study each other's disposition and habitude, should 
 produce such a large amount of conjugal felicity, which is the 
 fundamerital object of this solemn compact. In every nation 
 removed Vom barbarism, marriage is a recognized ordinance, 
 sanctioned alike by the law of God and the law of man. It is 
 a solemn covenant between a man and a woman to love each 
 other through all the vicissitudes of life, till the union is dis- 
 solved by the death of either. We may go further and say 
 that even then the tie of relationship does not become totally 
 broken, inasmuch as the party surviving has to provide for the 
 nurture and education of the children, should there be any. 
 Such being the nature of the matrimonial engagement, it is 
 next to impossible that a boy of fourteen wedded to a girl of 
 nine should be capable of forming any adequate idea of its 
 grave responsibility. The evil must work its own remedy with 
 the general spread of education and the growth of a sound 
 system of domestic and social economy, because the existing 
 system is unhealthy and unnatural. It is useless to dilate on 
 the evil consequences of early marriage : they are clearly 
 apparent in the every-day life of a Hindoo. 
 
 Nature is so propitious to vis in every respect that out of 
 evil she brings good. When the woman, destitute as she is of 
 the blessings of knowledge, becomes the mother of several 
 children, she is raised to the rank of a governess, or in other 
 words, she becomes a ginni, or female head of the family. To
 
 HINDOO FEMALES. 22 I 
 
 all intonts find purposes, she seems to lUKlerstaiid her duties so 
 thorough!}' that almost instinctively she exercises a salutary 
 control over a number of young girls, newly married, corrects 
 all their improprieties of conduct, and teaches them to cherish 
 feelings of mutual kindness, love, and affection. 
 
 In many cases, however, it must be acknowledged, the 
 custom of having several families — all branches of the same 
 stem — living together under one roof, is a fruitful source of 
 evil, embittering the sweet enjoyments of a peaceful conjui'-al 
 life. Where there is no harmony among tlie several female 
 members of a family, the slightest misunderstanding occasions 
 the bitterest quarrels, especially when there is no recognized 
 ginni, or female head, to check the same, or reconcile the parties 
 by her matronly advice. For instance, if one son in a family 
 be well-to-do in the world, and another does not possess the 
 same advantages, it is ten to one but the wife of the former 
 constantly advises him to mess separately, if not, to remove 
 to a different house ; and, as unequal combination is always 
 disadvantageous to the weaker side, the poorer brother has 
 to put up with slights and indignities which are oftentimes 
 unbearable, and which terminate in a separation either in food 
 or domicile. It is a well established fact that a woman is tlie 
 principal cause of a disruption between brothers and other 
 members of a family. Though woman is by nature mild, soft, 
 kind, and flexible, yet she belies this nature when sordid self 
 and mean avarice exert a dominant sway over her mind. 
 Stinted in her culture and contracted in her views, Mammon 
 is her god ; and she looks to the welfare of her husband and 
 of her own children as the chief end of her existence. She 
 is naturally loath to give a share of the affection of her 
 husband to a rival ; she also cannot brook the idea of fritter- 
 ing away his earnings among his kindred. I have known the 
 most affectionate and devoted of brothers not being able to see 
 each other's face, under the all-powerfid influence of petticoat 
 government. A European becomes a housekeeper as soon as
 
 228 HINDOO FEMALES. 
 
 he marries. The arrangement is an excellent one ; and as 
 educated Hindoos are very much disposed to imitate English 
 manners, the practice, where feasible, is gradually gaining 
 around, despite the prevalence of the old patriarchal system 
 throughout the greater part of the country. There is a com- 
 mon native saying, which runs thus : "as many brothers, so 
 many abodes." It is to a certain extent a striking illustration 
 of the existing state of things ; harmony aud peace can 
 scarcely be found in a family where brothers are swayed, as 
 they must be, by the irresistible influence of their wives.* 
 To the credit of the patriarchal system, there still exist, in 
 every part of the country, numerous families that scout the 
 idea of segregation. 
 
 Turning from the dark to the bright side of the picture, it 
 is gratifying to observe that, of late years, attention has been 
 directed to, and laudable exertions are being made for, the 
 education of Hindoo females. Nothing can compare in import- 
 ance with the steady progress of this movement. After the 
 movement had been begun by the Missionary Societies, the 
 late Hon. Mr. Drinkwater Bethune gave it an important 
 impetus from the side of Government. These examples have 
 since been followed up by other devoted friends of native 
 improvement, and the Government has fully recognized the 
 paramount importance of the object. This combination of 
 efforts has already produced the most gratifying results. That 
 
 * At the time of the Char ah Pujci, or swinging festival, which 
 takes place about the middle of April, the Kaiif^aria, or braziers of 
 Calcutta, were accustomed to make Sant/s, or caricature-representations, 
 of different sorts of familiar scenes, illustrative of the prevailing 
 manners of the present age. In many cases they hit off the mark so 
 admirably, that they cannot fail to make a deep impression on the 
 popular mind. Among other representations they once exhibited a 
 caricature of a son taking a wife on his shoulder, while dragging a 
 mother by a rope round her neck, exemplifying thereby the respective 
 estimation in which each is held.
 
 HINDOO FKMALES. 229 
 
 there is among the females a growing; desire for learning by 
 the study of such elementary books, Bengali and English, as 
 have a tendency to improve their understanding, is a patent 
 fact. Not only young girls, whose age permits them to attend 
 school, but grown-up women, who are confined within the 
 precincts of a zenana, are alike influenced by this commendable 
 desire. Almost every respectable Hindoo family in Calcutta 
 has a Christian governess, who, besides imparting secular and 
 Bible instruction, teaches all sorts of needle-work — an ai"t in 
 which considerable progress has been made within the last few 
 years.* This is an indication of the growth of a refined taste, 
 which is a great step towards the cause of national improvement. 
 As we have said elsewhere, instead of spending their time in 
 idle talk and unprofitable occupation, if not in unpleasant dis- 
 sension, the women now vie with each other in producing works 
 of art and usefulness ; and as a matter of course the annual 
 distribution of rewards is a great incentive to exertion. It 
 is devoutly to be wished that this desire for learning and this 
 taste for works of art should gradually spread and be a})pre- 
 ciated throughout the length and breadth of the land. Out of 
 Calcutta, however, the mass of the people of all ranks and of 
 both sexes ai-e still as remote from the influence of this 
 improvement, as they were centuries ago. 
 
 It is a pity that Hindoo females are withdrawn from school 
 the moment they are married ; this is an insuperable obstacle 
 to the full development of their mental powers. The pi'ogress 
 made by some of them in the zenana is really very creditable, 
 tuid challenges the commendation of all who have at heart 
 the elevation of native female character. They are not only 
 
 * An annual fair, or meld, is held near Calcutta, at which the best 
 specimens of needle-work, executed by Hindoo females, are exhibited 
 and prizes awarded by European and Native gentlemen. Great cre- 
 dit is due to Babu Nobo Gopal Mitra, the editor of the '' National 
 Paper," now defunct, for this annual exhibition. Unfortunately the 
 mela is languishing for want of suificient public support.
 
 230 HINDOO FEMALES. 
 
 assiduous in the cultivation of feminine graces and accomplish- 
 ments, but their siiperior grasp of thought and language rank 
 tliem with the literary women of their country's history. Some 
 thirty years back the Hindoo women of Bengal were immersed 
 in ignorance ; they were represented as degraded beings 
 incapable of improvement ; not one in a thousand could read or 
 write. But since proper steps have been taken to remove this 
 national reproach, they have evinced an ardent desire to 
 enrich their minds by a course of study which, though not yet 
 profound, is well fitted to adorn female life. The English 
 Church Mission, " The Scottish Ladies' Association," a depart- 
 ment of the Church of Scotland Mission, the Free Church 
 Mission, the American Mission, &c., are all doing an incal- 
 culal)le amount of good by their disinterested efforts to impart 
 the blessings of knowledge to such zenana women as are 
 precluded by marriage from attending school. The complete 
 regeneration of India cannot be expected until the emancipa- 
 tion of the women is accomplished, practically proving to the 
 world, as has been already done in a limited degree, the 
 absurdity of Mann's interdict restraining them from cultivating 
 their intellectual powers. 
 
 As a proof of the progress already made in the higher 
 branches of female education, it is gratifying to be able to 
 state that two young ladies passed the B. A. Examination 
 of the Calcutta University at the end of last year. One 
 of these was trained in the Bethune School, and the other in 
 the Free Church Normal School. This examination represents 
 a very considerable amount of acquirement. Several female 
 candidates also passed the Entrance or Matriculation Examina- 
 tion at the same time. Similar progress has been reported 
 from the Madras Presidency. 
 
 Authentic history furnishes abundant evidence of the former 
 prevalence of female education in the country to a considerable 
 extent, until Mahomedan oppression not only prevented 
 Hindoo women from pursuing a literary career, but ultimately
 
 HINDOO FEMALES. 231 
 
 drove them into a state of unhealthy seclusion for the preser- 
 vation of their honor, which tliey valued more than life. In 
 Rajputana every respectable woman was instx'ucted to read and 
 write. Of their intellectual endowments and knowledge of 
 mankind, whoever has had opportunities of conversing with 
 them cannot fail to form a favorable impression.* 
 
 * " I have conversed for hours," says Colonel Tod, " with the Boondi 
 queen-mother on the affairs of her government and welfare of her 
 infant son. to whom I was left guardian by his dying- father. She 
 had adopted me as her brother : but the conversation was always in 
 the presence of a third person in her confidence, aud a curtain 
 separated us. Her sentiments shewed invariably a correct and ex- 
 tensive knowledge, which was equally apparent in her letters, of 
 which I had many. I could give many similar instances. The his- 
 tory of India is filled with anecdotes of able aud valiant females. 
 Ferishta. in his history, gives an animated picture of Diirgacat'i, queen 
 of Gurrah, defending the rights of her infant son against Akbar's 
 ambition. Like another Boadicea. she headed her army, and fought a 
 desperate battle with Asoph Khan, in which she was wounded and 
 defeated ; but scorning flight, or to survive the loss of independence, 
 she. like the Roman of old in a similar predicament, slew herself on 
 the field of battle." 
 
 The accomplished Mahratta lady— Roma Bai — who lately visited 
 Calcutta, affords a remarkable example of an educated Hindoo woman. 
 She is an excellent Sanskrit scholar, well read in the Sr'niiat Bhit<j- 
 bat. Several Pandits were astonislied at her wonderful acquire- 
 ments. She is at present pursuing her st udy in America.
 
 XVIII. 
 
 POLYGAMY. 
 
 IN this, as well as in some other eastern countries, polygamy 
 has from time out of mind been in existence. That it is 
 subversive of moral order and of conjugal felicity, is admitted 
 by all who have paid the slightest degree of attention to the 
 very many evil consequences of this unnatural institution. 
 It is a violation of a just and divine law, opposed to the 
 nurture and education of children, and inconsistent with the 
 due equality of the sexes, alike socially and numerically- 
 In every country where this obnoxious practice prevails 
 and is dignified with the hallowed name of a social and 
 religious ordinance, as is done in India, woman occupies 
 a degraded position, and society is rude and unurogressive 
 in its character. The most heinous crimes are committed 
 without remorse, and conscience is seared, as it were, with 
 a red-hot iron. " Nature has designed woman to be the 
 equal of man as a moral and intellectual being ; and confined 
 to the exercise of her own proper duties as a wife and mother, 
 she is placed in a favourable position as relates to her own 
 happiness and the happiness of her husband." Much of the 
 civilization of Europe is due to the high position of the fair 
 sex in the social scale. Their education, — their capacity for 
 rearing their children in orderly and virtuous habits, — their 
 elevated conceptions of a Supreme Being, — their social and 
 domestic manners, — the purity of their lives, — their natural ten- 
 derness and affection, — their freedom, and the moral influence
 
 rOI>YGAMY. 233 
 
 of their actions on society, give them a rank in no way inferior 
 to that of the other sex. But, in tliis country, it is painful 
 to realize that they are not only denied the inestimable bless- 
 ings of a good education, but that their first Lawgiver has 
 condemned them to a state of abject servitude. " Women 
 have no business," says Manu, " with the text of the Veda ; 
 this is the law fully settled : having, therefore, no evidence 
 of law, and no knowledge of expiatory texts, sinful women 
 must be as foul as falsehood itself; and this is a fixed rule. 
 Through their passion for men, their mutable temper, their 
 want of settled affection, and their perverse nature (let them 
 be guarded in this world ever so well), they soon become 
 alienated from their husbands." Manu attributed to women 
 " a love of their bed, of their seat, and of ornament, impure 
 appetites, wrath, weak flexibility, desire of mischief, and 
 bad conduct. Day and night must women be held by their 
 protectoi's in a state of dependence." The national pecu- 
 liarities of women were summed up the other day by a living 
 writer : — " The English lady rides on horseback ; the American 
 flirts ; the French woman studies her toilet ; the CJemian 
 plunges deeply into the mysteries of cookery and philosophy ; 
 the Spaniard dances and uses her fiin adroitly ; the Italian 
 loves with a rosary on her arm and billetdoux in her bosom ; 
 but it is reserved for the fair Russian to be a politician and 
 a Hindoo zenana lady to live happily in a state of absolute 
 dependence and submission." Apart from their practically 
 servile condition, the apparent complacence with which 
 polygamy is tolerated, and the facility with which a plu. 
 rality of wives can be obtained, are circumstances which 
 poison the perennial source of conjugal felicity, reduce women 
 to a state of moral and intellectual degradation, and sap the 
 very foundation of virtue. "A barren wife," says Manu, 
 " may be superseded by another in the eighth 3'ear ; she 
 whose children are all dead, in the tenth ; she who brings 
 forth only daughters, in the eleventh year ; she who speaks
 
 234 POLYGAMY. 
 
 unkindly, without delay." Ballal Sen, who, if I mistake not, 
 first established the system of Kulinism in Bengal, and 
 prescribed certain rules in favor of polygamy, was singularly 
 deficient in foresight and wisdom, when he entirely over- 
 looked the evil consequences inseparable from this monstrous 
 matiimonial arrangement, so pregnant with mischief in what- 
 ever aspect we view it. Any artificial institution which is 
 subversive of divine law, will, in the long run, prove highly 
 detrimental to the best interests of society. The marriage 
 of a man with but one wife is an arrangement which should 
 never be departed from. To dispose of the ministering angels 
 of our existence, without the slightest regard to their future 
 happiness, by yoking several of them to an unprincipled libertine, 
 or to a Kvdin perhaps on the verge of the grave, is a system 
 destructive of all social, benevolent, and humane feelings. 
 A Kulin has no regard, much less sympathy, for any one of 
 his numerous wives ; on the contrary, he looks to them for 
 gain and other worldly advantages. Kulin wives, after their 
 marriage, almost invariably continue to live with their parents, 
 thus virtually closing all avenues to the growth of affection 
 between the husband and the wife. The one is as estranged 
 from the other as if there had been no bond of union between 
 them. As the temptations to vicious indulgence are so very 
 powerful and numerous in this wicked world of ours, the 
 unscrupulous Kulin females of the sacerdotal class often 
 sacrifice chastity upon the altar of sensuality. The perpetration 
 of the most horrible crimes is the necessary result. The fault 
 does not rest so much with the poor unfortunate females, 
 as with the diabolical system which openly tolerates and 
 religiously upholds polygamy. That it is an unnatural state, 
 even the most thoughtless will readily admit. In every case 
 it is the soui'ce of perpetual disputes and misery. Domestic 
 happiness can have no place in a family in which more than 
 one wife lives. I have known many a person who, under 
 the impulse of passion, had entered into this unnatural state
 
 POLYGAMY. 
 
 235 
 
 deplore it as the gi-eatest of all domestic afflictions. Even 
 separate cook-rooms, separate a[)artmeiits, and separate mehcds, 
 and dining and sleeping; alternately with the two wives with 
 the greatest pnnctnality, and giving the same sets of orna- 
 ments to both, were not enough to ensure harmony and peace. 
 Indeed, it has become a proverb among the Hindoos, that 
 " one wife would rather go with her husband to the gloomy 
 regions of Yama (.Pluto), than see him sit with the other." 
 As has already been mentioned, a tender girl of five years 
 of age is, as her ^first instruction before emerging from the 
 nursery, initiated into the Brata, or religious vow, of Sajuti, 
 the primary object of which is the ruin and destruction of a 
 Satin, or rival wife. The germs of jealousy and hatred 
 against a rival being sown so early, take deep root and expand 
 in time so as to become absolutely ineradicable. 
 
 When the presence of only two wives in the same house 
 is attended with so much disquietude, the evil arising from 
 the practices of professional Kulins is much greater. They 
 are each married to a great number of females whose prospect 
 of connubial bliss is as remote from fulfihnent as the poles 
 are asunder. Instead of true love and genuine attachment, 
 the legitimate conditions of matrimony, the natural apathy 
 of the husband is often requited by the infidelity of his numer- 
 ous wives. Nor can it be otherwise, the visits of the husband 
 being, like those of a comet, few and short. Destitute of the 
 finer susceptibilities of human nature, and looking upon matri- 
 mony as a matter of traffic, he regards his wives as so many 
 puppets whose happiness is not at all identified with his own. 
 Influenced by a sordid love of gain, bred and brought up in 
 the lap of ignorance and laziness, and pampered by effeminate 
 habits, he leads a profligate life of utter demoralization. He 
 cares as little for the chastity of his wives as a child does for 
 the nicety of his playthings. By birth, profession, and habit 
 he is a debauchee. His sense of female honor is totally 
 blunted. The thouo-ht of nurturing and educating his numer-
 
 236 POLYGAMY. 
 
 ous children never enters into his mind. He knows not how 
 many sons and daughters he has, whether legitimate or illegiti- 
 mate ; he is not capable of recognizing them, for he has seldom 
 or never seen their faces. If he keeps a register of the number 
 of his wives, he keeps no record of the number of his children. 
 When he wants money, he pounces on such a father-in-law 
 as can satisfy him. If he keeps one wife at home, it is 
 not from warmth of affection, but merely for his own con- 
 venience and comfort ; she is made to discharge all the 
 menial offices of a domestic maid-servant. Though never 
 placed in affluent circumstances, yet he is the lord of thirty, 
 forty, or fifty women. It has been very aptly remarked by a 
 eminent writer who had paid much attention to the manners 
 and customs of the Hindoos, — that " amongst the Turks, 
 seraglios are confined to men of wealth ; but here, a Hindoo 
 Brahman, possessing only a shred of cloth and a piece of 
 thread (poitd), keeps more than a hundred mistresses." In- 
 deed, such a system of monstrous polygamy is without a 
 parallel in the history of human depravity. Prostitution, 
 adultery, and the horrible crime of procuring abortion by 
 means of drugs administered by old women, are the inevitable 
 consequences of this unnatural state of things. It is undeni- 
 able that the daughters of Kulin Brahmans, abandoned by 
 their unprincipled husbands, are often led into the forbidden 
 paths of life, partly through the impulse of passion amidst the 
 seductions of a wicked world, and partly through their ex- 
 ceedingly miserable circumstances. The houses of ill-fame in 
 Calcutta and other large towns are filled with women of this 
 character. Some fifty years ago a number of respectable 
 Hindoos felt so disgusted at the mischievous tendency of the 
 Kulin system of marriage, that they were on the eve of memo- 
 rializing the Government to put down the practice by a legis- 
 lative enactment, like the prohibition of sati, or female immola- 
 tion ; but they were assured that the authorities would not 
 interfere in the domestic and social usages of the people.
 
 POLYGAMY. 237 
 
 It is gratifying to observe, however, that the growth of 
 intelligence has of late years greatly counteracted this mon- 
 strous evil. If the rulers will not, by the denunciation of 
 the severest penalties, attempt to abolish a social system 
 opposed to the feelings of natural affection, the good sense of 
 the people who suffer by it must be appealed to for its total 
 suppression. 
 
 The following extract from Mr. Ward's excellent work on 
 the Hindoos will give the reader an idea of the fearful extent to 
 which Kulinism prevailed in Bengal some fifty or sixty years 
 back, when English education could scarcely be said to have 
 commenced the work of reformation or rather disintegration : — 
 
 " Notwithstanding the predilection for kulins, they are 
 more corr\ipt in their manners than any of the Hindoos. I 
 have heard of a Kulin Brahman, who, after marrying sixty- 
 five wives, carried off another man's wife by personating her 
 husband. Many of the Kulins have a numerous posterity. 
 I select five examples, though they might easily be multi- 
 plied : Udai Chandra, a Brahman, late of Bagndpilrd, had 
 sixty-five wives, by whom he had forty-one sons and twenty- 
 five daughters. Ramkinkar, a Brahman, late of Kushda, had 
 seventy-two wives, thirty-two sons, and twenty-seven daugh- 
 ters. Vishuram, a Brahman, late of Gondolp<ira,, had sixty 
 wives, twenty-five sons, and fifteen daughters. Gauri Charau, 
 a Brahman, late of Tribani, had forty-five wives, thirty-two 
 sons, and sixteen daughters. Ramiikaut, a Brahman, late of 
 Bhusdarani, had eighty-two wives, eighteen sons, and twenty- 
 six daughters ; this man died about the year 1810, at the age 
 of 85 years or more, and was man-ied, for the last time, only 
 three months before his death. Most of these marriages are 
 sought after by the relations of the female to keep up the 
 honor of their families ; and the children of these marriages 
 invariably remain with their mothers, and are maintained by 
 the relations of these females. In some cases, a Kulin father 
 does not know his own children," Another instance bearina:
 
 238 POLYGAMY. 
 
 on the subject has been recently brought to my^notice. Ram- 
 chandra Mukerji, of Hooghly, had thirty-two wives, thirteen 
 BODS, and fifteen daughters. He was sixty-five years old when 
 he suffered very much from acute consumption, with which he 
 was -afflicted several years back. One of his sons, who lived 
 with him, becoming hopeless, as the symptoms became more 
 alarming, asked the father in a despondent spirit as to what he 
 should do in the event of the worst befalling him. He has no 
 means, he added, to meet the expense, whatever it be, of a 
 shrad, or funeral ceremony. The dying father, after pondering 
 for a few minutes, suggested without compunction that arrange- 
 ments should be made without any delay for his (father's) 
 marriage with the daughter of Nobo Gopal Chatter] ee, a girl 
 of nine years of age, which was proposed a short time back. 
 The father of the girl offered to give Ramchandra Mukerji a 
 sum of two hundred and fifty rupees which he had scraped 
 together with great difficulty. In terms of the contract, the 
 marriao-e was duly solemnized, and the money paid. Thus a 
 provision was made for the funeral ceremony of the father, 
 who as was expected, died six months after this his last mar- 
 riage. Can anything be more recklessly cruel and inhumane 1 
 It would be a glorious day for India when polygamy is rooted 
 out of the country and widow marriage legalized. 
 
 Not only the rules of caste, hut povet^t^ is also a great 
 barrier to the marriage of Kulin women, as of poor women 
 everywhere, — a fact which has been very feelingly deplored in 
 the following lines in which maidenly anxiety finds a natural 
 vent : — 
 
 •• Out spake the bride's sisfcer, 
 As she came frae the byre, 
 
 ! gin I were but married, 
 It's a' that I desire ; 
 
 But we poor folk maun live single, 
 And do the best we can, 
 
 1 dinna care what I should want 
 If I could but get a man."
 
 rOLYGAMV. 239 
 
 Another song says : 
 
 " And ! what will come o' me ? 
 And ! what will I do ? 
 That sic a braw lassie as I 
 Should die for a wooer, I trow." 
 
 When Ballal Sen first introduced tliis obnoxious system, 
 which went under the euphonious title of the Order of Merit, 
 he little anticipated that the very small seed of mischief he 
 then planted would soon grow into a luxuriant tree, and pro- 
 duce an abundant crop of evils, poisoning the very source of 
 domestic felicity. It requires no depth of thought to predict 
 that the evil is destined to die a natural death, as all such social 
 evils ax'e fated to do, when ignorance and superstition are 
 driven into their congenial darkness. Though many a Hindoo 
 still lives in the sin of polygamy without any particular repent- 
 ance, yet the irresistible progress of virtue, like that of truth, 
 will ultimately teach him that it is an unsafe foundation on 
 which to build the sober structure of domestic happiness. 
 
 The details of the following conversation between a husband, 
 his old mother, and his two wives, placed at the disposal of 
 the writer by a friend, may not be out of place : — 
 
 " What is this noise for ? " exclaims Radhamani, the 
 widowed mother, coming out of the thdkurghar, in which she 
 was worshipping ; " this noise, this tumult, this quarrel, this 
 wringing of the hands, these curses will surely drive away 
 Lakshmi from the house ; it is enough to make the devil fly ; 
 you have lost every sense of shame, mdgo md ; your clamour 
 has deafened my ears ; where shall I go 1 One is apt to leave 
 her clothes behind. You have been served right : it was only 
 the other day that Grish (name of the son) lost 5,000 rupees 
 in a case at the Barra Adalat (High Court). If I be a sati 
 (chaste woman), I say, you two women (pointing to the two 
 wives) will be beggared and reduced to the condition of haris 
 (those who carry away nightsoil). In what unlucky hour 
 did these two women enter the house? You are both liahkasis
 
 2-10 POLYGAMY. 
 
 (female cannibals). Day by day, sorrow is eating into the 
 vitals of my son ; his golden body is being darkened every 
 day. Oh ! Bidhdtd (God), you have ordained this for me ; 
 Alango (name of the maid-servant\ what is the cause of this 
 uproar?" asks the mother. " i¥a, what shall I say," replies 
 the maid-servant ; " the cook gave the boiled rice first to 
 ivomal " (name of the daughter of the first wife). " Is this 
 all 1 nothing more ?" continues the mother ; " my Bachhd (child) 
 has had no food for seven days, being ill with fever. You 
 all know this ; the kahirdj (jihysician) this morning ordered 
 some rice for her." Whereupon the second wife, all this while 
 roaring and bawling, cursing and swearing, steps forward and 
 says : " It is past nine, and my Harri (her son's name, 
 1 2 years old) has not yet got a morsel ; his belly has shrunk, 
 and the school time is come ; if he is late, his master will 
 make him stand." Radhamani, the old mother, or ginni, 
 sends for the cook, and enquires if the rice is ready. " Yes, 
 md, Hari Babu came into the cook-room half an hour ago 
 and I asked him to take his breakfast ; Chhoto md (second wife) 
 forbade him, because I gave some rice first to Komal, who was 
 so long ill." " Where is Hari now?" enquires the old lady. 
 The maid-servant replies, " Chhoto md gave him a few pice and 
 toltl him to go to school, though he could have eaten his rice if 
 he had liked." " Wait till Grish comes home," says the old 
 lady, " and I will tell him to send me to Benares without delay ; 
 I am sick of your incessant broils ; for giving Komal rice first 
 you two Baus fall into a quarrel, and curse each other so fear- 
 fully, that you, Barra bau (first wife), have eaten the head of 
 Hari, and you, Chhoto bau (second wife), have eaten the head 
 of Komal's husband."* 
 
 * Eating the head means wishing- death. When two rival wives 
 fall out, they literally become mad throug-h auger and jealousy. 
 With frantic gestures and dishevelled locks they abuse and curse 
 each other most violently.
 
 POT-YGAJrY. 24 1 
 
 It was eveninu- wlien (Jrisli, the sou, i-cturned home from 
 office. Before he had time to take oft" his office-dress, the oM 
 mother, impatient to tell him what had occm-red during the 
 day, with tears in her eyes, thus addressed him : " My sou, 
 YOU have brought the greatest curse on yourself by marrying 
 two wives ; to-day the whole family has been starving, and 
 why ? because Komal, suftering from fever for the last eight 
 days, got a little rice this morning, and she ate first ; Chhnto 
 bau, therefore, forbade her son to eat anything, and sent the 
 little hachha to school wdthout his rice. From what jvjji 
 (mean) fixmilies have you brought these two women ? I can no 
 longer remain in the house. Under the slightest pretext, like 
 infamovis wenches, they not only brawl but curse each other, 
 and the son and son-in-law into the bargain. Can Lakshmi 
 dwell in such a house 1 Send me to Benares instantly, I can 
 no longer live in such a hell of a place. Your wives have 
 made it a regular hell." The son consoled the old mother, 
 promising that everything should be done according to her 
 wish, begging her at the same time to eat something and 
 adding that he did not mind whether his two wives ate or 
 not. After going through the evening service, he slept out- 
 side that night, pondering what should be done for the 
 future quiet of the family. Next day, imagining that one 
 hand alone can never make a clap, he removed the first wife 
 to her father's house, because the second wife was always 
 Zahardast. But he was sadly mistaken, the deserted wife, 
 continually brooding over her misfortune, at length resolved 
 to put an end to her existence ; and accordingly one night slie 
 took an overdose of opium, and bade a final adieu to the 
 world. 
 
 This story is founded on real life, and should serve as a 
 warning to those who, under the impulse of passion, blindly 
 run into polygamy, which is undoubtedly one of the greatest 
 domestic evils among the Natives. But it is worthy of remark 
 that this abominable pi^actice is fast dying out in Bengal.
 
 XIX. 
 
 HINDOO WIDOWS. 
 
 11 HE system of early marriage, and the barbarous institution 
 of condemning a Hindoo female to perpetual widowhood 
 after the death of her husband, are evils which cannot be too 
 strongly deprecated. This enforced widowhood is the bitter- 
 est ingredient in the cup of sorrow, which woman in India is 
 called to drink. By surrendering herself to be burned on the 
 funeral pile along with her husband, the highest merit was 
 acquired. This cannot now be secured. Instead, she has to 
 submit to a worse fate, even to a living death in the recesses 
 of a zenana. Widowhood is regarded as a condition of re- 
 proach and disgrace, and therefore it is one of the bitterest 
 calamities that can befall her. The life of a Hindoo widow, 
 especially if, as happens in the case of many of them, she 
 falls into this state while still young, is one of extreme 
 wretchedness. She is the domestic drudge. Not unfrequent- 
 ly does she in substance pray, " Oh ! gods and goddesses, let 
 me die ; I choose rather to die than to live." Her woes, it 
 has been said, never have been, never can be, fully told. Her 
 .sad lot is Avell described in the following lines : — 
 
 •• And death and life she hated equally, 
 And nothing- saw for her despair, 
 But dreadful time, dreadful eternity, 
 No comfort anywhere." 
 
 In this country, owing to the prevalence of early marriage, 
 and the manner in which it is carried out, a Hindoo does not
 
 HINDOO WIDOWS. 2-1 .'5 
 
 become a housekeeper iannediiitely upon his marriage. Tlio 
 wife generally remains one or two years with her parents, 
 occasionally going to her fatlier-in-law's house for a few days 
 only ; her husbaud pays her a visit now and then, but not 
 without the special invitation of his mother-in-law. The 
 object of such an invitation is evidently to make the son-in- 
 law behave well towards her daughtez'. For the attainment 
 of this object, as I have stated before, no means is left 
 untried. Indeed, it has become a proverb among the Hindoos, 
 when a man fares sumptuously, to say that he has been fed 
 with all the fondness shown to a son-in-law. It has always 
 struck me that if a Hindoo female were permitted to marry 
 again after the death of her first husband, the affection 
 of a mother-in-law for a son-in-law would not be so warm as it 
 is under the existing state of things, which admits of no 
 alternative. 
 
 Living under the paternal roof for one or two years after 
 her marriage, a Hindoo girl sometimes becomes a widow,* — 
 a state of life which is unspeakably miserable. When a young 
 female of ten or eleven years of age loses her husband, with 
 whom perhaps she has scarcely exchanged a single word, 
 she is q^ite unconscious of the unmitigated misery she is fated 
 to endure for the remainder of her long existence.! Deplo- 
 
 * Such a widow is called a Korayraiir, or one who has never enjoy- 
 ed the company of her husband. A stronger term of female reproach 
 can scarcely be found in the Hindoo vocabulary. From the day this 
 terrible bereavement occurs, she is constrained by conventional rules 
 to put off from her wrist the imn bangle ; but owing to her tender 
 age she is permitted to continue to wear the gold bangle and a 
 bordered iSari cloth. Siie is forbidden to use fish — her favorite dish ; 
 and she must partially fast on every ekadasl. or eleventh day of the 
 increase or decrease of the moon. When she arrives at the age of 
 twenty, her life presents an unvaried picture of despair and wretched- 
 ness. She then becomes a regular widow 
 
 t It has beeu remarked, and I believe it is in most cases borue out 
 by facts, that a Hindoo widow generally lives to a very great age.
 
 244 HINDOO WIDOWS. 
 
 rable as such a condition of necessity is, it becomes doubly 
 miserable from the cold, uncongenial, and unsympathetic 
 atmosphere by which she is svirrounded, and the careless, 
 neglect with which she is treated ever afterwards. Who, 
 except a mother, can adequately conceive the thoiisand and 
 one miseries which are in store for the widowed girl ? It is a 
 gloomy picture from beginning to end, and the gloom deepens 
 as time rolls over her devoted head. Cursed be the name of 
 the lawgiver who has made such a cruel ordinance, and cursed 
 the society that has become a thrall to it ! In opposition to 
 the feelings of humanity and natural affection, the divine 
 lawgiver of the Hindoos, Manu, expressly declares, that " al- 
 though the state of widowhood might be deemed onerous 
 by the fair sex of the west, it would be considered little 
 hardship in the east. Let her emaciate her body, by living 
 voluntarily on pure flowers, roots and fruits, but let her 
 not, when her lord is deceased, even pronounce the name 
 
 Her simple and abstemious habits, her devotional spirit, her scanty 
 meal once a day, her abstinence from food of any kind on the 
 eleventh day of the increase and decrease of the moon, besides other 
 days of close fasting-, neutralising in a great measure the effects of 
 every kind of irregularity, and the fearful amount of hardships she 
 is accustomed to endure. — all contribute to prolong her existence- 
 Svirely her life may be said to extend in the direct ratio of her misery. 
 It is a common expression used by a Hindoo widow, shewing her 
 coutempt of life, •■shall I ever die? Ymnd, Pluto, seems to have 
 forgotten me ? " If the statistics of the land are consulted, it will 
 assuredly be found that Hindoo widows enjoy a longer life than the 
 adult male population, because the latter are subject to irregularities 
 and other adverse contingencies of life, from which the former are 
 almost entirely free. It is not uncommon to see a Hindoo widow of 
 eighty, ninety or a hundred years of age. In short, nature evidently 
 seems to have exemplified in her the symbol of misery associated 
 with longevity. 
 
 It is also a remarkable fact that idolatry and superstition owe their 
 continued influence chiefly to the widespread ignorance of these 
 female devotees. At a religious festival, nearly three-fourths of the 
 assembly are composed of widows.
 
 niXDoo WIDOWS. 245 
 
 of another man. A virtuous wife ascends to heaven, if, after 
 the decease of her lord, she devotes herself to pious austerity ; 
 but a widow, who sliglits her deceased husband by marrying 
 again, brings disgrace on herself here below, and shall be ex- 
 cluded from the seat of her lord. Abstinence from the com- 
 mon pursuits of life, and entire self-denial, are rewarded witli 
 high renown in this world, and in the next with a share in the 
 abode of her lord, and procure for her the title of sdd/ivi, or 
 the virtuous." From this it is evident that perpetual widow- 
 hood has prevailed in this country from time out of mind. Its 
 mischievous tendency is apparent in the corrupt and degraded 
 state of female society. We can never thoroughly c(.)n(iuer 
 nature ; we can never restrain our passions so effectually 
 as to render ourselves proof against temptation. However 
 sedulously a mother may guard tlie virtue of her widowed 
 daughter, and however forcibly she may inculcate the duty of 
 purity of life and manners, it proves but a feeble barrier 
 against the irresistible impulse of passion. Numerous in- 
 stances are on record proving the utter futility of human 
 eflforts to contend successfully against nature in this respect. 
 A young widow may be sent to the holy cities of Benai'es* and 
 Brindabau, with her motlier or grandmother, to spend the 
 remainder of her days in isolated seclusion and religious ser- 
 vices, but this is a poor safeguard for tlie preservation of con- 
 stancy and virtue. Volume after volume has been written 
 on the •subject, denouncing in an unmistakable manner the 
 monstrous perversity of the existing system, but the evil has 
 taken such a deep root in the social economy of the people, 
 that the utmost exertions must yet be put forth before it can 
 be wholly eradicated. 
 
 The evils of widowhood are not only confined to the endur- 
 
 * It is destined to close the troubled, wearisome, and melancholy 
 pilgrimage of life of many a broken-hearted widow, because the 
 far-famed City is r^gavded ns the holiest spot which the earth con- 
 tained — the Kaaha of the world.
 
 246 HINDOO WIDOWS. 
 
 auce of accumulated hardships and self-denials enough to 
 rend asunder the strongest chords of humanity, but they like- 
 wise extend to unlawful connections, and the perpetration 
 of another crime no less revolting than infanticide itself. 
 Many respectable families, which are otherwise esteemed 
 for their meritorious actions, have more or less sunk in honor 
 from this indelible stigma ; a few have even lost their caste 
 and status in society from the same cause. In the primitive 
 state of Hindoo society, when every woman other than a wife 
 was regarded either as a mother or a sister, according to her 
 age, irregular intercourse was almost unknown ; but in these 
 days of libertinism, perfect purity of life is rarely known. 
 Our divine lawgiver, with, a view to the interests of humanity 
 and female honor, ought to have lent his authority and sane-, 
 tion to a system of widow marriage within a reasonable age. 
 Some such edict woTild have been alike honorable to our vener- 
 able sage, and beneficial to those who are morally and socially 
 most deeply concerned ; but unfortunately his cruel ordi- 
 nances, running counter to the fundamental principles of 
 nature and morality, have necessarily engendered a rank crop 
 of evils, undermining the vei'y foundation of human happi- 
 ness. 
 
 The benevolent exertions of that high priest of Natiire, 
 Pandit Iswara Chandra Vidyasagar, of Babu Keshab Chandra 
 Sen, the Brahmo apostle, and of other Hindoo reformers, to 
 promote the cause of widow marriage in particular, and 
 female emancipation in general, have not, unfortunately, 
 been attended with the measure of success they deserve, 
 simply because the state of Hindoo society is not yet ripe 
 for the innovation. I am, however, sanguine in my expectation 
 that, at no very distant future, the progi^ess of enlightenment 
 will bring about the consummation so devoutly to be wished 
 for. It is for the advanced pioneers of progress to endeavour 
 to remove the obstacles which time and Brahmanical teachings 
 have formed, and which tradition and custom have enshrined
 
 Hixnoi) WIDOWS. 247 
 
 with jealous and sedulous care. Until this is done, a Hindoo 
 widow miist continue to uiourii her lot, amidst the denuncia- 
 tions of a heartless world. Sitj;hs will never cease to flow from 
 her heart so long as she tinds herself deprived of the master 
 charm of life. 8he is now cast amongst the dregs and tatters 
 of humanity. Bereft of the substance of what endears life to 
 a female, she is constrained to cleave to the shadow, which is 
 destined to leave her when she leaves the light of life. Losing 
 all hope of worldl}^ enjoyments, she dei)osits the treasures of 
 her heart in the sanctuary of religion, convinced that to sell 
 the world for the life to come is profitahle. It is terrible to 
 contemplate the awful amount of physical and mental suffer- 
 ing, with all its varied complications, to which she is doomed ; 
 her life is a steadfast battle against misery ; her soul soars in 
 a vacuum where all is unreal, empty and hollow ; and all the 
 sweet enjoyments of life fall flat on her taste. Her struggle 
 is never over. She is like a weary swimmer who throws him- 
 self on his back and floats, because he is too much exhausted 
 to swim any longer, yet will not sink and let the cold and 
 merciless water close over his head. From the day she loses 
 her husband, she has a new lease of life, and a miserable lease 
 it must be. She will not cease to lament until her soul itself 
 shall die. If joy was once her portion, it lighted on her as 
 the bird rests on the tree in passing asid immediately takes 
 wing again ; and she would now say, her existence is so unlike 
 life that death to her is sweet. She is a poor fallen outcast of 
 humanity. No one can enter into her feelings or views of 
 things. She has no influence, no control over herself; she 
 cannot turn over a new leaf within her own mind. Though 
 society is almost a necessity of human existence, yet she lives 
 wholly alone ; a cheerless train of thoughts always haimts her 
 mind ; she feels a dismal void in her heart ; she finds herself 
 cut off" at once and for ever from one most dear to her ; no 
 conversation, however pleasant, can bring her consolation, or 
 cheat her grief The tide of settled melancholy threatens her
 
 248 nixDoo widows. 
 
 reason. As an outcast, she is religiously forbidden to take a 
 part in any of the social and domestic concerns of life, tend- 
 ing to relieve the ennui of a wearisome existence, and to 
 cheer the mind for a while. She is a living example of an 
 angel, sent by heaven to minister to the comfort of man, 
 changed by a cruel institution into a curse. Estranged from 
 the affection of those who are nearest and dearest to her, she 
 passes her days like a recluse, quite apart from the communion 
 of society. She stares and gazes wildly at every festive cele- 
 bration, while, as the poet sings, 
 
 " The glad circle round them j'ield their souls 
 To festive mirth and wit that knows no gall." 
 
 If she has irrepressible longings and insatiable cravings to 
 lend her hand to any shuva karma (meritorious work), her 
 widowed condition interposes an insurmountable ban-ier to her 
 pai*ticipation therein, as if everything would be desecrated 
 when touched by her polluted hand. 
 
 As a sentient being, endowed with all the finer susceptibili- 
 ties of human nature, is it possible that the young widow 
 should so far forget herself as not to feel the bitterest pangs 
 of despondency at her hoi)elessly fovloni condition ? Driven 
 from the genial atmosphere of the social circle, she drags a 
 loathsome existence in this selfish and unsympathetic world. 
 Who except her mothes will deign to look upon her with love 
 and affection? Instead of being regarded as the soul of 
 simplicity, a living picture of sweet innocence, she is shunned 
 as one whose very presence portends evil. If she possesses un- 
 affected modesty and a keen sense of honor and virtue, who is to 
 recognize and appreciate these amiable qualities, in a society 
 which is preposterously estranged from all natural susceptibili- 
 ties ? If she has riches, what can they avail her, a poor mis- 
 guided victim of superstition !* Her charity, instead of being 
 
 * The worship of Jagatdhdtri (mother of the world) is performed 
 by a widow for four years successively to forfend the calamity of 
 widowhood iu the next birth.
 
 HINDOO WIDOWS. 249 
 
 founded on the catholic i)riiiciples of genuine lil)ei'ahty shewinij; 
 a discriminating breadtli of view, too often exhibits an unhappy 
 exchisiveness in the })erformance of idolatrous ceremonies. If 
 her own character is natural, it is her misfortune to be sur- 
 rounded by conventional restrictions, wliich render her life a 
 visible embodiment of helpless misery and anguish ; and if she 
 ever appeals, she appeals to the Being who is the only friend of 
 the hopeless and the poor. To attempt to reconcile a widow to 
 her forlorn lot is to tell a patient burning with fever not to 
 be thirsty. Her days are dismal, her nights ai'e dreary. 
 
 It was the dread of widowhood, and of the life-long miseries 
 inseparable from it, that led fifty wives at a time to ascend the 
 funeral pyre of a R:'ijput husband, with all the composure of a 
 philosophic mind. It redounds greatly to the credit of the 
 British Government that its generous exertions have not only 
 struck the death-knell of this inhuman practice, even in the 
 remotest corner of the Empire, but, what is more commend- 
 able, endeavoured " to heal the wounds of a country bleeding 
 at every pore from the fangs of superstition." 
 
 Not content with depriving her of the best enjoyments of 
 life which society affords, and the laws of God sanction, by 
 condemning her to a state of perpetual widowhood, the great 
 Lawgivei' — the unflinching foe of female freedom — has further 
 enjoined the strict observance of certain practices that add gall 
 to her already overflowing cup of misery. As has been observ- 
 ed before, she is restricted to one scanty meal a day, always of 
 the coarsest description, without fish,* which is generally more 
 
 * It should be mentioned here that, except the widows of the Brah- 
 mans and Kayasthas of Bengal, those of the lower orders continue to use 
 fish without any scruple. It is a remarkable fact that Hindoo women 
 iire more fond of fish than men are. There are some men, especially 
 among the Vaishnabus, followers of Krishna, who feel an abhorrence 
 to eat fish at all. by reason of its offensive smell ; but there is not a 
 single woman whose husband is alive that will live without it. When
 
 250 
 
 HINDOO WIDOWS. 
 
 esteemed by an ayistri lady than any other article of food in 
 her bill-of-fare. She must religiously fast on every ekddasi, 
 twice a month, and on all other popular religious celebrations. 
 She must strip her body of all sorts of ornaments, even the iron 
 and the gold bangles, which once constituted the highest joy 
 of her life. As an appropriate substitute for the gold and 
 pearl necklaces, she is enjoined to wear a tulsi mcild (a basil- 
 wood chaplet), and count a tulsi-wood rosary for the final 
 rest of her soul. She is prohibited from wearing any clothes 
 Avith a colored border, a tha9/(i (cloth without border) being 
 her proper garment : she is not permitted to daub her forehead 
 with siiidur (vermillion), once the pride of her life when her 
 lord was alive ; she is forbidden to use any bazar-made article 
 of food ; and, to complete the catalogue of restrictions, she 
 sometimes shaves her head purposely, that she may have an ugly 
 appearance and thereby more eflFectually repel the inroads of a 
 wicked, seductive world. 
 
 If she has any children to bring up, the happy circumstance 
 affords a great relief to her wearisomely monotonous life. Day 
 and night she watches them with great care, and looks forward 
 to their progressive development with intense anxiety, forget- 
 ting in the plenitude of her solicitude for them her own forlorn 
 condition. Should there be any mishap in their case, it causes 
 an irreparable break-down in her spirit, which is for ever 
 "sicklied over with the pale cast of thought." 
 
 It is a painful fact that riches when not propei'ly used 
 have a tendency to corrupt the minds of human beings, and 
 lead them from the path of virtue into that of vice. A widow, 
 who has the command of a long purse, more readily falls a 
 prey to the temptations of the world than one who, moving in 
 a humbler sphere of life, has her mind almost wholly engrossed 
 
 a girl becomes a widow, she caa hardly take half the quantity of rice 
 »he was accustomed to take before, for waut of this, to her, necessary 
 article of food.
 
 HINDOO WIDOWS. 
 
 251 
 
 with domestic cares and the thouglits of a future state of 
 beatitude. " Verily," as Lord Lyttou says, " in the domain of 
 poverty there is God's word." 
 
 But a striking example of singular self-denial of a very 
 i-espectable Hindoo widow of the Ghosh family of Calcutta 
 has been sometime since communicated to the author, and he 
 has had ample opportunities of attesting the truth of the 
 statement. She has indeed " endured a great fight of afflic- 
 tions," and is highly admired for her extraordinary simplicity. 
 Though possessed of immense wealth, being the mistress of a 
 colossal fortune, yet nothing is more abhorrent from her 
 feelings than the least approach to whatever has the remotest 
 appearance of luxury or the common conveniences of life. 
 She is a true type of an exemplary Hindoo widow, whose mode 
 of life, bordering almost on real asceticism, is strictly in accord- 
 ance with the rigorous injunctions prescribed for Hindoo 
 widows in the shastras, to which allusion has been made 
 elsewhere. Renouncing all the pleasures of the world, she 
 literally lives on six rupees, or 12 shillings, a month, though 
 her income is, I am told, about £12,000 per annum. Every 
 day she lives, she lives a whole volume of true self-denial, 
 assiduously cultivating the most sacred charities of private 
 life so congenial to a purely unassuming character. Indeed, 
 there was the least pretension where there was the most ac- 
 knowledged title to respect and admiration. 
 
 Considering the endless round of hardsliip and self-abnega- 
 tions to which she is inevitably doomed by a terrible stroke 
 of fortune, "which scathes and scorches her soul," it is 
 cheering to reflect that she so often shines brightest in adver- 
 sity. Indeed she may be occasionally said " to die ten times 
 a day ; " but her incredible powers of patient endurance, 
 coupled with her high sense of female honor, are deserving 
 of the highest admiration.
 
 XX. 
 
 SICKNESS, DEATH, AND S II RAD D II A, OR FUNERAL 
 
 CERExMONY. 
 A S I have said at the begiiming that a Hindoo lives religiously 
 ■^ and dies religiously, so his last days are attended with 
 a degree of melancholy interest which is characteristic of the 
 religion which he professes, as well as of the race to which he 
 belongs. When a Hindoo becomes seriously ill, the first thing 
 he does is to consult the almanac as to the stellar mansion of 
 the period, and engage the officiating priest to perform a series of 
 religious atonements, called sastydiia, for the prouitiation of the 
 evil spirit and the restoration of health. The mornings and 
 evenings are dedicated to the service ; and the mother or the 
 wife of the patient, as the case may be, makes a vow to the 
 gods, promising to present suitable offerings on his recovery ; 
 for which purpose a small sum of money is laid aside as a 
 tangible proof of sincerity. If the patient should be a useful 
 member of the family, enjoying a good income, greater solici- 
 tude is naturally manifested for him than for an unproductive 
 member ; it being not uncommon that a whole family, consist- 
 ing of eight or ten persons, male and female, depend for 
 their sustenance on the earnings of a single individual, — the 
 inevitable result of a joint Hindoo family. It is customary 
 among the Hindoos, as it is among other civilized nations, 
 that, when a person is ill, his friends and relatives come 
 to see and console him. The sick man generally remains 
 in the inner apartment of the house, where the females — 
 the ministering angels of life — watch him and minister
 
 SICKNESf5, DEATH, AND SHRADDHA. 253 
 
 to his comfort. When visitors enter the room, they yo 
 away for a time ; but it must be mentioned that tliey 
 are not wanting in attention, kind-heartedness, and careful 
 nursing. Days and nights of watching pass over their heads 
 without a murmur ; prayers are continually offered to the 
 sruardian deitv for a favoral)le turn in the fortune of the 
 family ; and available supernatural agency is secretly employ- 
 ed for the attainment of the end. The following conversation 
 will give some idea of the melancholy scene : — 
 
 Bdmkdiito, a neighliour, enters the room, ami gently accosts 
 Mohan, the sou of the patient. 
 
 Bdmkdnto, sitting down, asks, — •" How is your father ? I see 
 he is very much pulled down. The weather is very bad ; I 
 hear of sickness on all sides. When did he get ill ? Have you 
 seen the almanac ? Have you arranged for sastydna (religious 
 atonement) ? Don't you despair. He will get well, through 
 the blessing of God. Who attends him ? " 
 
 " BrMJabandhu (a doctor)," replies Mohan. 
 
 Hdmkdiito. Yes, he is a good doctor ; but you must have 
 a good Kabirdj also (native physician), who understands the 
 nari (pulse) well. These English doctors do not much care 
 about the pulse." 
 
 Mohan. " Well, sir, I have engaged Gopiballabh (a native 
 physician) to feel the pulse and watch the progress of the 
 disease." 
 
 Rdmkdnto. " That is good ; Gopiballabh is a very clever 
 physician ; though not old, he understands pulsation and 
 other symptoms thoroughly. When does the fever come on ? 
 See how he keeps to-day; should the pulse sink after the 
 fever, send for an English doctor to-morrow, either Dr. Charles 
 or Dr. Coates ; both are very good doctors." 
 
 Mohan. "My uncle gave tlie same advice." 
 
 Rd.ml-dnto, taking Mohan aside, Bdbd (,boy), what shall 1 say? 
 to tell you the truth, 1 have no very great hopes of his recc- 
 very ; the case is serious. If througli the blessing of God he gets
 
 254 SICKNESS, DEATH, AND SHRADDHA. 
 
 well, it will be a second Ijirth. Your father has been a great 
 friend of mine. You all know very well, he is a staunch 
 Hindoo. In these days of depravity, when the customs of the 
 vilechas (Christians) threaten to obliterate all traces of dis- 
 tinction, and to merge everything in one homogeneous element 
 after the English fashion, very few men are to be found like 
 vour father, ready to sacrifice their life for the purity of their 
 religion. If his end do not accord with his faith, his futui-e 
 state [paralcdl) is jeopardized. You, young men, may laugh 
 at us, old fools, .thinking we have no sense ; but a few pages 
 of English do not make a man learned. The English shasti'u 
 does not make us wise unto salvation ; one's own religion is 
 the best for the good of his future state. If you lose your 
 father, you will never get a father again ; he has nourished 
 vou with care and affection up to this day ; as a dutiful sou 
 you are bound to serve him in this his last stage. You must 
 Ije prepared to take him to the river-side when need be, and that 
 is not far distant. If you neglect this, you commit a very great 
 sin, quite unpardonable. What do fathers and mothers wish 
 children for 1 It is only for the good of their future life, and 
 to take them to Ganga (Ganges) at the proper time. Let 
 your father pass three nights on the river-side. I will return 
 this afternoon ; take care, watch him closely, and let Gopi- 
 ballabh see him constantly." 
 
 Giving these instructions, Ramkanto goes away. After 
 three or four hours, the fever returns ; the patient becomes 
 delirious and talks nonsense ; and the wife, becoming very 
 uneasy, calls the son in a very depressed tone, and tells him 
 to send for the English doctor. The son obeying the order 
 sends for the English doctor at once. ' 
 
 After an hour or so, in comes Dr. Charles, accompanied by 
 Babu Brajabandhu. Entering the sick man's room. Dr. 
 Charles examines the patient carefully, asks Br.'iJMbandhu 
 what medicines he has been giving him, — the women all the 
 while peejung through the window, unable to understand
 
 SICKNESS, DEATH, AND SIIRAnnilA. 255 
 
 what the doctors are talking about, — and l)cini>; satisfied on 
 this point, comes out and tells the son that his father is danger- 
 ously ill, and that his friend's prescriptions are all I'iglit ; he, 
 Dr. Charles, could not do better. 
 
 Here entei's Ramkiinto with two other friends. Before 
 going inside he says to Mohan : "I hear Dr. Charles was 
 here ; what did he say ? How was the fever to-day ? " 
 
 Mohan answers, "Dr. Charles said, father is very ill; the parox- 
 ysm to-day was somewhat more violent than that of other days." 
 
 Rdinkdnto. " That's bad ; day by day the fever eats into 
 the vitals of his system." 
 
 Here the native physician comes. " Well, Kablrdj Ma- 
 hdshoy, please go and see how the patient is doing." Gopi- 
 ballabh, the native physician, goes inside, examines the sick man 
 with great care, satisfies the eager enquiries of the women by 
 assuring them that there is no fear, and returns outside. 
 
 Udmkditto to Gopiballabh. " How did you find him ? Is the 
 pulse in its right place ? Do you apprehend any immediate 
 danger ? Dr. Charles was here ; you have heard what he has 
 said. Whatever the youngsters may say, I have greater con- 
 fidence in you than in the English doctors. Take good care 
 and tell us the e.^act time when to remove the patient to the 
 river-side ; that is our last sacred office. Should anything 
 happen at home, which God forbid, we shall never be al)le to 
 show our faces through shame. What with such a big son, 
 and so many friends and relations, it would be a crying shame 
 if the patient were to die at home ? Destiny will have its 
 course, but your hathjas (skill) will go a great way." 
 
 Gopihallabh. " Everything depends on the will of God • 
 what can we mortals do 1 Whatever fate has ordained must 
 come to pass ; we are mere instruments in the hands of God. 
 The patient is gradually sinking, the pulse neither steady nor 
 in its right place ; we must be prepared for the worst. A 
 strong pulse in a weak body is an ominous sign ; but tliere is 
 no fear to-night, I can guarantee that."
 
 256 SICKNESS, DEATH, AND SHRADDHA. 
 
 Ixdiiildht'i. " Well, it appears his end is uigli, he is destin- 
 ed to have no more rice and water."* 
 
 Then pointing to Mohan, Ramkanto says, " To-morrow 
 mornino' his BaiUirdni ritef must be performed. Make the 
 necessary preparations at once, and send a man to procure a 
 cot (charpoy ) ; also see that nothing may be wanting to hurry 
 him to the river-side." 
 
 Mohdv. " I must do what you bid me do ; hitherto I remain- 
 ed behind a mountain, now I shall be without protection." 
 
 Next morning, the rite of Baitarani being performed, pre- 
 parations are made to carry the sick man to the river-side : all 
 the nearest relations and friends assemble ; and the patient, 
 still in the full possession of his senses, is brought outside and 
 laid on the chdrpuy ; his forehead is daubed with the mud of 
 the Ganges, and a tidsi plant is placed about his head. He 
 is told to repeat the name of his guardian deity ; and one man 
 troino- up to him says, " Let's go to visit the mother Ganga," at 
 which he nods ; this serves as a signal for lifting the chavYjoy, and 
 carrying it on the hands of four or more strong persons of equal 
 heio-ht. The heart-rending scene that hereupon ensue among 
 the women cannot be adequately described. Their falling on 
 the ground, their loud and affecting cries, the tearing of their 
 dishevelled locks, the beating of their breast, the contortions 
 of their bodies, all produce a mournful scene of anguish and 
 despair which my feeble pen cannot portray. The sick 
 man is thus carried, perhaps a distance of two or three 
 
 * This means that his days are numbered, and he must soon die. 
 
 f Haitarani is a river which must be crossed before one gets to 
 heaven. The rite consists in distributing a certain amount of money 
 in lieu of cow, clothes, rice, fruits, .fee, among the Brahmans, that 
 they may guide the soul through the Death Valley to the other side. 
 This rite, in cases of old people, is generally performed before death, 
 where the patient is passed all hope of recovery. In other cases, per- 
 formed at the time of shriulh. which takes place after a mourniug 
 of oO days.
 
 SICKNESS, DEATH, AND SHRADDIIA. 257 
 
 miles, in a state of consciousness,* exposed to all the dangers 
 of inclement weather, fully aware of liis approaching end, the 
 carriers changing hands every now and then, and shouting out 
 every five minutes, "Hari, Haribole, Ganga Narayan Brohmo, 
 Shiva, Rdma," until they reach their destination, which, in 
 Calcutta, is Nimtalla Ghtit, on the banks of the Hughli.f 
 
 * A Hindoo, especially a grown up man, if he dies at home, is 
 branded as an iinrighteous person ; many a one. otherwise esteemed 
 righteous in his lifetime, is afterward denounced as a sinful being, 
 should he not expire on the banks of the holy stream. In the Tari, 
 or inland provinces, through which the Ganges does not flow, people 
 are content to breathe their last on the banks of a neighbouring tank ; 
 and are consequently precluded, by their geographical position, from 
 securing the benefit of this cheap mode of salvation. As a partial 
 atonement for this natural disadvantage, the navel of the dead is 
 brought and thrown into the holy stream, which is suppo.sed to be 
 tantamount to the purification of the soul. 
 
 f A few years back the Calcutta Municipality proposed to have the 
 Burning Ghat removed to Dhapa. a notoriously unhealthy marshy 
 swamp, some six miles east of Calcutta, bordering on the Sunder- 
 buns, because the present site was considered a nuisance to the city. 
 As might naturally be expected, a great sensation was created 
 among the Hindoo population ; and memorials were submitted to 
 the Government of Bengal, signed by the most influential portion 
 of the Hindoo community. In spite of solicitation and remonstrance 
 the Municipality were determined to carry out their plan ; but the 
 mighty Ramgopal Ghose, as the late Mr. James Hume, the Editor of 
 the " Eastern Star." styled him, interposed, and did his best, at great 
 personal sacrifice, to resist the proposal. The Hindoos called a 
 meeting ; and Ramgopal. moved by the entreaties of his countrymen, 
 made an admirable speech at the Town Hall, on which occasion no 
 less than fifty thousand people assembled on the maidan, facing the 
 Town Hall. He set forth, in a graphic manner, the suitableness of 
 the present site, and the distress and hardship to the people, as well 
 as the shock to religious feeling which the removal would involve. 
 He eventually succeeded in prevailing upon the authorities to with- 
 draw the proposal. When he came out of the Town Hall, he was 
 most enthusiastically cheered by thousands of people. Brahmans and 
 Sudras ; and loud cries of " may he live long " were heard on all sides 
 
 R
 
 258 SICKNESS, DEATH, AND SHRADDHA. 
 
 When the chdrpoy on which the sick man has been carried is 
 placed on the ground, some one calls out to him to look at the 
 sacred stream ; which he does in a state of mind that can be 
 better imagined than described. On opening his eyes he 
 beholds a dark, gloomy scene, the ghastliness of which is enough 
 to strike horror into the heart of the most callous and indiffer- 
 ent. Here a dying man, suffering from the convulsive agony 
 of acute pain, is, perhaps, gasping for breath ; there a fellow- 
 mortal is taken in a huny to the very edge of the holy stream 
 to breathe out the last breath of life ; to deepen the gloom, 
 perhaps a corpse, borne on an open bier, is just brought to the 
 Ghat amidst vociferous cries of " Hari, Haribole," which 
 is a significant death-waiTant. 
 
 " 'Tis too horrible ; 
 The weariest and most loathed earthly life 
 Which age, ache, penury, and imprisonment 
 Can lay on nature, is a paradise 
 To what we fear of death ?" 
 
 Can imagination conceive a more dismal, ghastly scene 1 
 Yet religion has crowned the practice with the weight of 
 national sanction, and thus deadened the finer sensibilities of 
 our nature. Sad as this picture is, the most staunch advocate 
 of liberalism can hardly expect to escape such a fate. To a 
 person accustoined to such scenes, death and its concomitant 
 agony loses half its terrors. How many Hindoos are annually 
 hurried to their eternal home by reason of this superstitious 
 inhuman practice 1 Instances are not wanting to corroborate 
 the truth of this painful fact. Persons entrusted with the 
 care and nursing of a dying man at the Burning Ghat soon 
 get tired of their charge, and, rather than minister to his 
 comfort, are known to resort to artificial means, whereby 
 death is actually accelerated. They unscrupulously pour the 
 unwholesome, muddy water of the river down his already 
 choked throat, and in some cases suffocate him to death. 
 " These are not the ebullient flashes from the glowing caldron
 
 SICKNESS, DEATH, AND SHRADDHA. 259 
 
 of a kindled imagination," but undeniable facts founded on 
 the realities of life. 
 
 The process of antarjali, or immersion, is another name 
 for suffocation. Life is so tenacious, especially in what the 
 Hindoos call old bones, or aged persons, that I have seen 
 some persons brought back home after having undergone this 
 murderous process nine or ten times, in as many days. The 
 patient, perhaps an uncared-for widow cast adrift in the world, 
 retaining the faculty of consciousness unimpaired, is willing 
 to die, rather than continue to drag on a loathsome existence ; 
 but nature will not readily yield the vital spark. In spite of 
 repeated immersions, the apparently dying flicker of life will 
 not be extinguished. In the case of an aged man, the return 
 home after immersion is infamously scandalous ; but in that 
 of an aged widow, the disgrace is more poignant than death 
 itself I have known of an instance in which an old widow 
 was brought back after fifteen iinmersions ; but, being over- 
 powered by a sense of shame, she drowned herself in the river, 
 after having lived a disgraceful life for more than a year. 
 As I have observed elsewhere, no expression is more frequent 
 in the mouth of an aged widow than the following : " Shall I 
 ever die 1 " Scarcely any effort has ever been made to suppress, 
 or even to ameliorate, this barbarous practice, simply because 
 religion has consecrated it with its holy sanction. 
 
 But, to resume the thread of my narrative, the sick man 
 dies after a stay of four days at the Ghat, suffering perhaps 
 the most excruciating pangs and agony frequently attendant 
 on a deathbed. During these days the names of his gods are 
 repeatedly whispered in his ears, and the consolations of 
 religion are offered him with an unsparing hand, in order to 
 mitigate his sufferings, and, if possible, to brighten his last 
 hours. The corpse is removed from the resting place to the 
 Burning Ghrit, a distance of a few hundred yards, and pre- 
 parations for a funeral pile are speedily made. The body 
 is then covered with a piece of new cloth and laid upon the
 
 260 SICKNESS, DEATH, AXD SHRADDHA. 
 
 pyre, the upper and lower part of which is composed of 
 firewood, faggots, and a little sandalwood and ghee to neutralize 
 the smell. The Maruipora Brahman,* an outcast, reads the 
 formula, and the sou or the neareat-of-kin, changing his old 
 garment for new white cloths, called uttari, at one end of 
 which is fastened an iron key to keep off evil spirits, sets fire to 
 the pile. The body is consumed to ashes, but the navel remain- 
 ing unburnt is taken out and thrown into the river. Thus ends 
 the ceremony of cremation ; the son after pouring a few jars 
 of holy water on the pile, bathes in the stream, and returns 
 home with his friends. It is worthy of remark here, that 
 Providence is so propitious to us in every respect, that, 
 ill a few hoiu's, the son becomes reconciled to his unhappily 
 altered circumstances caused by the loss of his father ; 
 instead of bemoaning his loss in a despondent frame of mind, 
 he is soon awakened to a sense of his new responsibility. On 
 reaching the gate of the house, they all touch fire ; and, 
 putting some 7ieem leaves and a few grains of kalie (a kind of 
 pulse) into their mouth, cry out as before " Haribole, Hari- 
 bole," and enter the house. The lamentation of the females 
 inside the house, which was suppressed for a while through 
 sheer exhaustion, is instantly renewed at the sound of " Hari- 
 bole," as if fresh fuel were added to the flame, and every voice 
 is drowned in the overwhelming surge of grief Their melan- 
 choly strain, their pointed, pathetic allusion to the bereave- 
 ment, the cadence of their plaintive voices, the utter dejection 
 
 • Some forty years back these Brahmans and their whole crew of 
 viurdafarashes were a regular set of ruffians, whose sole occupation 
 waa to fleece their victims in the most extortionate manner imag-in- 
 able ; the Brahman would not read the formula, nor his myrmidons 
 put up the funeral pile, until they had received nearly four times 
 the amount of the present cost. Great credit is due to Babu Chandra 
 Mohan Chaterji. the late Registrar of deeds and joint stock companies 
 in Calcutta, for his strenuous exertions in getting the Police to 
 frame a set of rules for regulating the funeral expenses at the Burning 
 Ghat. It is a public boon which cannot be too highly appreciated.
 
 SICKNESS, DEATH, AND SHRADDHA. 261 
 
 of their spirit, their loud, doleful cries reverberating from one 
 side of the house to the other, the beatiug of their breasts, 
 and the tearing of their hair, are too affecting not to make 
 the most obdurate shed tears. 
 
 From the hour of his father's death to the conclusion 
 of the funeral ceremony, the son is religiously forbidden to 
 shave, wear shoes, shirts, or any garment other than the long 
 piece of white cloth ; and his food is confined to a single meal 
 consisting only of dtab rice, khasari ddli (a sort of inferior 
 pulse), milk, ghee, sugar, and a few fruits, which must be 
 cooked either by his mother or his wife, but it is preferable 
 if he can cook for himself; at night he takes a little 
 milk, sugar, and fruits. This regimen lasts ten days in 
 the case of a Bruhoian, and thirty-one days in that of a 
 iSudra* Here the advantages of the privileged class are 
 twofold: (1) the Brahman has to observe the rigid discipline 
 for ten days only ; (2) he has ample excuse for small 
 expenditure at the funeral ceremony on the score of the 
 shortness of the time. This austere mode of living for a 
 month in the case of a Kayastlux, by far the most aristocratic 
 and influential portion of the Hindoo population, serves as a 
 tribute of respect and gratitude to the memory of a departed 
 father. As the country is now in a transition state, a young 
 educated Hindoo does not strictly abide by the above rule, 
 but breaks it privately in his mode of living, of which the 
 inmates of the family alone are cognizant. He repudiates 
 publicly what he does privately. Thus the outer man and 
 the inner man are not exactly one and the same l^eing; he dares 
 
 * In the case of a married daughter, when her father or mother 
 dies, the mourning lasts for only three days. On the morning of the 
 fourth day she is enjoined to cut her nails, and perfomi the funeral 
 ceremony for her departed father or mother. An entertainment is 
 given to the Brahmaus and frieuds. This is always done on a com- 
 paratively small scale ; and in most cases the husbnnd is made to 
 bear all the expenses of the ceremony and the entertainment.
 
 262 SICKNESS, DEATH, AND SHRADDHA. 
 
 not avow without what he does within ; in short, he plays 
 the hypocrite. But an orthodox Hindoo observes the rule in 
 all its integrity. He is more consistent if not more rational ; 
 he does not play a double game, but conforms to the rules of 
 his creed with scrupulous exactness. 
 
 Fifteen or sixteen days after the demise of his father, the 
 sou, if young, is assisted by his friends in drawing out an 
 estimate of the probable cost of the approaching Shrdddha, 
 or funeral ceremony. In the generality of cases, the estimate 
 is made out accoi'ding to the length of the purse of the party. 
 A few exceed it, under a wrong impression that a debt is war- 
 ranted by the special gravity of the occasion, which is one 
 of great merit in popular estimation.* The Soblid-Bazar 
 Raj family, the Dey family of Simla, the Mallik and Tagore 
 families of Pathuriaghata, all of Calcutta, were said to have 
 spent upwards of £20,000, or two lakhs of rupees each, on a 
 funeral ceremony. They not only gave rich presents in money 
 and kind to almost all the learned Brahmans of Bengal, and 
 fed vast crowds of men of all classes, but likewise distributed 
 immense sums among beggars and poor people,! who, for the 
 
 * Apart from erroneous popular notions, which in this age of 
 depravity are corrupted by vanity, the Hindoo Shastra, be it men- 
 tioned to its credit, abounds in exi)licit injunctions on the subject of 
 a funeral ceremony, prescribing various ways according to the pecu- 
 liar circumstances of the parties. From an expenditure of lakhs and 
 lakhs of rupees down to a mere trifle, it can be performed with the 
 ultimate prospect of equal merit. It is stated in the holy Shastra 
 that the god Ramchandra considered himself purified (for a Hindoo 
 under mourning is held unclean until the funeral ceremony is per- 
 formed) by offering to the manes of his ancestors simple balls of 
 sand, called pindas. on the bank of the holy stream. In these days a 
 poor man is held sanctified, or absolved from this religious respon- 
 sibility, by making a tilvhanchan Shrdddha, or offering a small quantity 
 of rice, tilseed, and a few fruits, and feeding only one Brahman, all 
 which would not cost more than four rupees. 
 
 f At the Shraddhas of Raja Nabakrishna, Nimai Charan Mallik, and 
 Eamdulal Dey, very near 100,000 beggars were said to have assembled
 
 SICKNESS, DEATH, AND SHRADDHA. 2G3 
 
 sake of one rupee, walked a distance of perliaps thirty miles, 
 bringing with them their little children in order to increase 
 their numerical strength. Although now-a-days the authorities 
 do not sanction such a tumultuous gathering, or tolerate such a 
 nuisance, oftentimes attended with fiital accidents, no Shrdddha 
 of any note takes place without the assemblage of a large 
 number of beggars and paupers, who receive from two to four 
 annas each. 
 
 After the twentieth day, the son, accompanied by a Brdhman 
 and a servant who carries a small carpet for the Babu to 
 sit on, walks barefooted to the house of every one of his rela- 
 tions, friends, and neighbours, to announce personally that 
 the Skrdddha is to take place on such a day, — /. e., on the 
 thirty-first day after the death, and to request that they will 
 honour him w4th their presence and see that the ceremony is 
 properly performed, adding such other complimentary words 
 as the occasion suggests. This ceremonious visit is called 
 loivlcatd, and those who are visited return the compliment 
 in due time. The practice is deserving of commendation, 
 inasmuch as it manifests a grateful respect for the memory of 
 one to whom he is indebted for his being. Precisely on the 
 thirtieth day, the son and other near relatives shave, cut their 
 nails, and put on new clothes again, giving the old clothes to 
 the barber. Meantime invitations are sent round to the 
 Brahmans as well as to the Sudras, requesting the favor of 
 their presence at the Sahhd, or assembly, on the morning of the 
 Shrdddha, and at the feast ou the following day or days. On the 
 thirty-first day, early in the morning, the son, accompanied by 
 
 together. This mode of charity is much discountenanced now, and 
 better systems are adopted for the ostensible gratification of generous 
 propensities The District Charitable Society should have a prefer- 
 ence in every case. Instead of making a great noise by sound o f 
 trumpet, and raising an ephemeral name from vain glorious motives, 
 it is far wiser that a permanent provision should be made for the 
 relief of suffering humanity.
 
 264 SICKNESS, DEATH, AND SHRADDHA, 
 
 the officiating priest, goes to the river-side, bathes and performs 
 certain pi'elimiuary rites. Here the rayowbhdts and tastirdms 
 (religious mendicants), who watch these things just as closely 
 as a vulture watches a carcase, give him a gentle hint about 
 their rights, and follow him to the house, waiting outside for 
 their share of the articles offered to the manes of the deceased. 
 In former days, when the Police were not half so vigilant as 
 they now are, these men were so troublesome and boisterous 
 that for two days successively they would continue to shout 
 and roar, and proclaim to the passers by that the deceased 
 would never be able to enter Boykanta, or paradise, and that 
 his soul would burn in hell-fire until their demands were 
 satisfied. Partly from shame, but more from a desire to avoid 
 such a boisterous, unseemly scene, the son is forced to succumb 
 and satisfy them in the best way he can. 
 
 As the style of living among the Hindoos has of late become 
 rather expensive, and the potent influence of vanity — purely 
 the result of an artificial state of society — exerts its pressure 
 even on this mournful occasion, the son, if he be well-to-do in 
 the world, spends from five to six thousand rupees on a Shrdddha, 
 the richer more. He has to provide for the apparently solemn 
 purpose the following silver utensils, viz. : — ghard, gdru, 
 thdld, bdtd, bdti, rdylcdb, gaylash (glass), besides couch, bedding, 
 shawls, broadcloth, a large lot of brass utensils and hard cash 
 in silver, all which go to pay Brdhmans and Pandits, who have 
 been invited. The waning ascendency of this privileged class 
 is strikingly manifest on an occasion of this nature. For one 
 or two rupees they will clamour and scramble, and unblush- 
 ingly indulge in all manner of fulsome adulation of the party 
 that invited them.* 
 
 The Pandits of the country, however learned they may be in 
 classical lore, and endowed with logical acumen, are very much 
 
 * The appearance of Brahmans on such occasions presents a ludi- 
 crous mixture of the learned and the ragged, exhibiting the insolence 
 of high caste and the low cringe of poverty.
 
 SICKNESS, DEATH, AND SHRADDHA. 265 
 
 wanting in the rules of polished life. The manner in which 
 they display their profound learning is alike puerile and ludi- 
 crous. History does not furnish us with sufficient data regard- 
 ing their conduct in ancient days. As far as research or 
 investigation has elucidated the point, it is reasonable to con- 
 clude that the ascendency of the Brahmans was built on the 
 ignorance of the people ; and there is a very strong probabi- 
 lity that there was a secret coalition between the priests and the 
 rulers for the purpose of keeping the great mass of the nation in 
 a state of perpetual darkness and subjection, the people being 
 oftentimes content with the barter of " solid pudding against 
 empty praise." But the progress of enlightenment is so irre- 
 sistible that the strongest bulwark of secret compact for the 
 conservation of unnatural Brahmanical authority must, as it 
 should, crumble into dust. It would be a great inj ustice to deny 
 that, among these Brahmans, there were some justly distinguished 
 for their profound erudition and saintly lives ; they displayed 
 a piety, a zeal, a constant and passionate devotion to their 
 faith, which contrast strangely enough with the profligacy and 
 worldliness of the present ecclesiastics. 
 
 The Pandits of the present day, when they assemble at a 
 Shrdddha — and that is considered a fit arena for discussion — 
 generally engage in some controversy, the bone of contention 
 being a debatable point in grammar, logic, metaphysics, or theo- 
 logy. They love to indulge in sentimental transcendentalism, 
 as if utterly unconscious of the matter-of-fact tendency of the 
 age we live in. A strong desire to display their deep learning 
 and high classical acquirements in Sanskrit, not sometimes 
 unmixed with a contemptible degree of aftectation, insensibly 
 leads them to violate the fundamental laws of decorum. When 
 two or more Pandits wrangle, the warmth of debate gradually 
 draws them nearer and closer to each other, until from sober, 
 solid argumentation, they descend to the argwnentum ad igno- 
 rantiam if not to the argamentum ad bacidiim. Their taking a 
 pinch of snuff, the quick movement of their hands, the almost
 
 266 SICKNESS, DEATH, AND SHRADDHA. 
 
 involuntary loosening of their garment, which consists of a 
 single dlmti and dohjd often put round the neck, the vehe- 
 ment tone in which they conduct a discussion, the utter want 
 of attention to each other's arguments, and their constant 
 divergence from the main point whence they started, throw 
 a serio-comic air over the scene which a Dave Carson alone 
 could imitate. They do not know what candour is ; they are 
 immovable in their own opinion ; and scarcely anything could 
 conquer their dogged obstinacy in their own argument, how- 
 ever fallacious it may be. They are as prodigal in the quota- 
 tion of specious texts in support of their own particular thesis, 
 as they are obstinately deaf to the sound logical view of an 
 opponent. Brahmanical learning is certainly uttered iu "great 
 swarths " which, like polished pebbles, are sometimes mistaken 
 for diamonds. The way in which the disputants give flavour 
 to their arguments is quite a study in the art of dropping 
 meanings. The destruction of the old husks, and the trans- 
 jtarent sophistries of the disputatious Brahmans, is one of the 
 great triumphs chieved by the rapid diffusion of Western 
 knowledge. 
 
 When engaged in an animated discussion, these Pandits 
 will not desist until they are separated by their other learned 
 friends of the faculty. Some of them are very learned in the 
 Shastra, especially in Smriti, on which a dispute often hangs ; 
 but they have very little pretension to the calm and dispassion- 
 ate discussion of a subject. Cogency of argument is almost 
 invariably lost iu the vehemence of declamation and in the 
 utterance of unmeaning patter. Their arguments are not 
 like Lord Beaconsfield's speeches, — a little labored and laby-, 
 riuthine at first, but soon working themselves clear and be- 
 coming amusing and sagacious. Let it not be understood 
 from this that the literature of the language (Sanskrit) in 
 which they speak is destitute of sound logic, as Mr. James 
 Mill would have his readers believe. It is certainly deficient 
 iu science and the correct principles of natural philosophy,
 
 SICKNESS, DEATH, AND SHRADDHA. 267 
 
 as developed by modern discoveries ; but the elegance of its 
 diction, the beautiful poetical imagery in which it abounds, 
 the sound moral doctrines which it inculcates, the force of 
 argument by which it is distinguished, and the elevated ideas 
 which its original system of theology unfolds, afford no good 
 reason why it should not be stamped with the dignity and 
 importance of a classical language, and why " the deep stu- 
 dents of it should not enjoy some of the honors and estima- 
 tion conferred by the world on those who have established a 
 name for an erudite acquaintance with Latin and Greek." If 
 the respective merits of all the classical languages are properly 
 estimated, it is not too much to say that the Sanskrit language 
 Avill in no way suffer by the comparison ; though, as history 
 abundantly testifies, it labored under all the adverse circum- 
 stances of mighty political changes and convulsions, no less 
 than the intolerant bigotry of many of the Moslem conquerors, 
 whose unsparing devastations have destroyed some of the best 
 specimens of Sanskrit composition. " When our princes were 
 ill exile," says a celebrated Hindoo writer, " driven fi'om hold 
 to hold, and compelled to dwell in the clefts of the mountains, 
 often doubtful whether they would not be forced to abandon 
 the very meal preparing for them, was that a time to think of 
 historical records," and we should say, of literary excellence 1 
 The deep and laborious researches of Sir William Jones, Cole- 
 brooke, Macnaghten, Wilson, Wilkins, and a host of other dis- 
 tinguished German and French savants, have, in a great mea- 
 sure, brought to light the hidden treasures of the Sanskrit 
 language. 
 
 From eight o'clock in the morning to two o'clock in the after- 
 noon the house where a shrdddha is going on is crammed to 
 suffocation. A large awning covers the open space of the 
 courtyard, preventing the free access of air ; carpets and sat- 
 terangees are spread on the ground for the Kdyasthas and other 
 castes to sit on, while the Brdhmans and Pandits, by way of 
 precedence, take their seats on the raised Tlidkurddlan, or
 
 268 SICKNESS, DEATH, AND SHRADDHA. 
 
 place of Avorship. The couch-cot with bedding, and the dan 
 consisting of silver and brass utensils enumerated before, with 
 a silver salver filled with rupees, are arranged in a straight 
 line opposite the audience, leaving a little open space for kitta- 
 nees, or bauds of male or female singers and musicians, which 
 form the necessary accompaniment of a shrdddha, for the pur- 
 pose of imparting solemnity to the scene. Three or four door- 
 keepers guard the entrance, so that no intruders may enter 
 and create a disturbance. The guests begin to come in at 
 eight, and are courteously asked to take their appropriate seats, 
 Bralunans with Brahmans, and Kayasthas with Kayasthas ; 
 the servants in waiting serve them with hukka and tobacco,* 
 those given to the Brahmans having a thread or string fastened 
 at the top for the sake of distinction. The Kayasthas and 
 other guests are seen constantly going in and coming out, but 
 most of the Brahmans stick to their places until the funeral 
 ceremony is completed. The current topics of the day form 
 the subject of conversation, while the hukka goes round the 
 assembly with great precision and punctuality. The female 
 relatives are brought in covered palkis, as has been described 
 before, by a separate entrance, shut out from the gaze of the 
 males. But as this is a mourning scene, their naturally cheer- 
 ful spirit gives way to condolence and sympathy. Excessive 
 
 * The Hindoos are so much accustomed to smoking that it has 
 almost become a necessai-y of life. At a reception it is the first thing 
 required. The practice is regulated by rules of etiquette, so that a 
 younger brother is nob permitted to smoke in the presence of his 
 elder brother or his uncle. Even among the reformed Hindoos, I 
 have seen two brothers eat and drink together at the same table in 
 European style, but when the dinner was over, the younger brother 
 would, on no account, smoke in the presence of his elder brother ; if he 
 did, he would be instantly voted hayddab, or one wanting in the rules 
 of good breeding. The observance of this etiquette, however, is con- 
 fined only to the high-caste people ; among the lower orders, a son 
 smokes before his father with the same freedom as if he were taking 
 his ordinary meal.
 
 SICKNESS, DEATH, AND SHRADDHA, 2G9 
 
 grief does not allow the mother and the wife of the deceased 
 to take an active part in the melancholy proceedings of the 
 day ; they generally stay aloof in a separate room, and 
 are perhaps heard to mourn or cry. The very sight of the 
 mourning offerings, instead of aftbrding any consolation, only 
 rekindles the flame of sorrow, and produces a train of thoughts 
 in keeping with the commemoration of the sad event. Sisters 
 of a congenial spirit try to soothe them by precepts and 
 examples ; but their admonition and condolence prove in the 
 main unavailing. The appearance of a new face revives the 
 sad emotions of the heart. Nothing can dispel from the 
 mind of a disconsolate mother or wife the gloomy thought 
 of her bereavement, and the still more gloomy idea of 
 a perpetual widowhood. The clang of khole and haratal 
 (musical instruments), which is fitted from its very dissonance 
 to drive away the ghost and kill the living, falls doubly 
 grating on her ears ; while the fond endearments of Jasoda, 
 the mother of Krishna, rehearsed by the singers in the outer 
 courtyard, but aggravate her grief the more. Weak and 
 tender-hearted by nature, she gradually sinks under the 
 overwhelming load of despondency, and raising her hand to 
 her forehead mournfully exclaims, " has Fate reserved all this 
 for me ? " In such cases, there is appropriateness in silence. 
 
 About ten o'clock the son begins to perform the rite of the 
 funeral obsequies, first asking the permission of the Bnihmans 
 and the assembled guests to do so. The officiating priest 
 reads the formulas, he repeating them. It must be noticed 
 here that, tenacious as the Hindoos are in respect of the 
 distinction of caste, they do not scruple to invite the lower 
 orders on such an occasion ; but they will not mix with them 
 at the time of eating. The Dakqxiti, or head of the party, 
 makes his appeai'ance about this time. When he enters the 
 house, all other guests then present, except the Brahmans, 
 rise to their feet as a token of respect for his position, and 
 do not resume their seats until he sits down. For this
 
 270 SICKNESS, DEATH, AND SHRADDHA. 
 
 distinction or honor a Dalapati has to spend an immense sum 
 of money, to which reference has already been made. His 
 appearance serves as a signal for the performance of the rite 
 called maid chandan, or the distribution of garlands and san- 
 dal paste, among the assembled multitude. As a matter of 
 course, the Brahmans, by way of pi-e-eminence, receive the first 
 garland, and after them the Dalapati obtains the same 
 honor, and then the Kulins* and other guests, according to 
 rank. Where there is no Dalapati, the first garland is put 
 
 * The following anecdote illustrating the very great honor shewn 
 to first-class Kulins. will, I trust, not be considered out of place : — 
 
 When the late Raja Rajkrishua Bahadur, of Calcutta, had to per- 
 form the Shrdd, or funeral ceremony, of his illustrious father, the 
 late Blaharaja Nabakrishna (the ceremony was said to have cost 
 about five lakhs of rupees, or £.50,000,), he had to invite almost all 
 the celebrated Kulins of Bengal at considerable expense. On the 
 day of the Shrdd, those who were invited assembled at his mansion 
 in Sobha-Bazar ; when all eyes were dazzled at the unparalleled 
 magnificence of the scene, displaying a gorgeous array of gold, silver, 
 and brass utensils for presents to Brahmans, exclusive of large sums 
 of money, Cashmere shawls, broadcloth, &c. After the performance 
 of the ceremony, as is usual on such occasions, the distribution of 
 garlands and sandal-paste had to be gone through. The whole of the 
 splendid assemblage had been watching with intense anxiety as to 
 who should get the first garland — the highest respect shewn, accord- 
 ing to precedence of rank, to th.e first Kulin present. This is a very 
 knotty point in a large assemblage to which all orders of Kulins 
 have been brought together. The honor was eagerly contested 
 and coveted by many, but at length a voice from a corner loudly 
 proclaimed to the following efPect : " Put the garland on my 
 elephantiasis," laying bare and stretching out his right leg at the 
 same time, and thus suiting the action to the word. The attention of 
 the assembled multitude was immediately turned in that direction ; 
 and to the amazement of all, the garland had to be put round the 
 neck of the very man who shouted from the corner, because by a 
 general consensus he was pronounced to be the first Kulin then pre- 
 sent. But such artificial and demoralizing distinctions, having no 
 foundation in solid, sterling merit, are fast falling, as they should, 
 into disrepute.
 
 SICKNESS, DEATH, AND SIIRADDITA. 271 
 
 round the neck of a boy, at which no one can take any offence, 
 and afterwards they are distributed indiscriminately. 
 
 Meantime the son is engaged in the performance of the 
 ceremony, while the bands of singers quarrel with one another 
 for the privilege of entertaining the audience with their songs, 
 which renders confusion worse confounded. Female singers of 
 questionable virtue are now more in favor than their male 
 rivals, which is an imcrring proof of the degeneracy of the 
 age. Only one baud is formally engaged, but thirty bands 
 may come of their own accord, quite uninvited. The dis- 
 appointed ones generally get from two to four rupees each ; 
 but the party retained get much more, as the rich guests who 
 come in make them presents, besides what they obtain from 
 the family retaining them. 
 
 About one in the afternoon, the ceremony is brought to 
 a close, and the assembled multitudes begin to disperse. 
 Those who have to attend their offices leave earlier, but 
 not without offering the compliments suited to the gravity 
 of the occasion. Some of the Brahmans remain behind to 
 receive their customary hided, or gift. According to their 
 reputation for learning they obtain their rewards. The first 
 in the list gets, in ordinary cases, about five rupees in 
 cash, and one brass pot, valued at four or five rupees ; the 
 second and third, in proportion ; and the rest, say, from one 
 to two rupees each, in addition to a brass utensil. The silver 
 utensils, of which the soroshes are made, are afterwards cut and 
 allotted to the Brahmans according to their status in the 
 republic of letters. The Gtiru, or spiritual guide, and the 
 Furohif, or officiating priest, being the most interested parties, 
 generally carry off the lion's share. So great is their cupidity 
 that the one disputes the right of the other as to the amount 
 of reward they are respectively entitled to. As a matter of 
 course, the Gxiru, from his spiritual ascendency, manages to 
 carry off the highest prize. The distribution of rewards 
 among the Brahmans and Pandits, of different degrees of
 
 272 SICKNESS, DEATH, AND SHRADDHA. 
 
 scholarly attainments, is a rather thankless task. In common 
 with other human beings, they are seldom satisfied, especially 
 when the question is one of rupees, annas, and pie. Each sets a 
 higher value on his own descent and learning, undervaluing the 
 worth of his compeers. The voice of the President, who has many 
 a knotty question to solve, decides their fate ; but it is seldom 
 that a classification of this nature results in general satisfaction. 
 As these Pandits, or rather professors, called Adhaypaks, do 
 not eat in the house of Siidras, they, each of them, receive, 
 in addition to their reward iu money and kind, a small quantity 
 of sweetmeats and sugar, say about two pounds in all, in lieu 
 of achmany jalpdn, or fried and prepared food. On a Shrad 
 day, in the afternoon, one can see numbers of such Brahmans 
 w^alking through the native part of the city, with an earthen 
 plate of sweetmeats in one hand and a brass pot in the other, 
 the fruits of their day's labor. Such gains being quite 
 precarious, the annual sum total they derive from this source 
 is often quite inadequate to their support and that of the 
 chatuspdti, or school, they keep. Hence many such institu- 
 tions for the cultivation of Sanskrit have been abandoned for 
 want of sufficient encouragement, and, as a necessary conse- 
 quence, the sons and grandsons of these Brahmans have taken 
 to secular occupations, quite incompatible with the spirit of 
 the Shastra. In the halcyon days of Hindoo sovereignty, 
 when Brahmanical learning was in the ascendant, and rich 
 religious endowments were freely made for the support of the 
 hierarchy,* as well from the influence of vanity as from the 
 compunctions of a death-bed repentance, such chatuspdtis 
 annually sent forth many a brilliant scholar, — the pride of his 
 teacher and the ornament of his country. But the fact that 
 English education is now the only passport to honor and emolu- 
 ments has necessarily proved a hindrance to the extensive 
 
 * Manu commands,—" Should the king be near his end. through 
 some incurable disease, he must bestow on the priests all his riches 
 accumulated from legal fines."
 
 SICKXESS, W^ATn, AXn SHRADPITA. 273 
 
 culture of Brahmanical erudition. The University curriculum, 
 however, under the present Government, embraces a system 
 well calculated to remove the reproach. 
 
 The day following the fiuieral ceremony is spent in giving 
 an entertainment • to the Brahmans, witliout which Hindoo 
 cannot regain his former purity. About twelve, they begin to 
 assemble, aud when the number reaches two or three hundred, 
 Kusdsans, or grass seats, in long straight rows, are arranged for 
 them in the spacious court3nird ; and, as Hindoos use nothing 
 but gi'een plantain leaves for plates on such grand occa- 
 sions, each guest is provided with a square piece of a leaf 
 on which are placed the fruits of the season, ghec-fried 
 Inchis and kachuries, and several sorts of sweetmeats in 
 earthen plates, for which there are no English names. In 
 spite of the utmost vigilance of door-keepers and others, in- 
 truders in decent dress frequently enter the premises and sit 
 down to eat with the respectable Brahmans ; but should such 
 a character be found out, steps are instantly taken to oust 
 him. On a grand occasion, some such unpleasant cases are 
 sure to occur. There are loafers among Hindoos as there are 
 among Europeans. These men, whom misfortune or crime 
 has reduced to the last state of poverty, are prepared to put 
 up with any amount of insult so long as they have their fill. 
 When a Hindoo makes a calculation as to the expense of an 
 entertainment at a Shrdd or marriage — both grand occasions, 
 he is constrained to double or treble his quantum of supply, 
 that he may be enabled to meet such a contingency without 
 any inconvenience. The practice referred to is a most dis- 
 reputable one, and only befits a people not fixr above the level 
 of a nomad tribe. Even some of the Briihmans* who are 
 
 * To preserve order and avoid such unseemly practices, a wealthy- 
 Baboo — the late Durgaram Kar— when he invited a number of 
 Brahmans, allotted to each person two separate rations, one on a plan- 
 tain leaf for eating on the spot, and another in an earthen handii 
 or pot, for carrying home for the absent members of his family. 
 
 S
 
 274 SICKNESS, DEATH, AND SHRADDHA. 
 
 invited do not scruple to take a portion home, regardless of 
 the contaminated touch of a person of the lowest caste, 
 simply because the temptation is too strong to be resisted. 
 Before departure, each of the Brahmans receives one or two 
 annas as dakshind — a concession which is not accorded to any 
 other caste. 
 
 The next day, a similar entertainment is given to the 
 Kayasthas and other classes, which is accompanied bv the 
 same noise, confusion, and tumult that characterized the enter- 
 tainment given on the previoiis day. The sober and quiet 
 enjoyments of life, which have a tendency to enliven the mind, 
 can seldom be expected in a Hindoo house at the time of 
 a ShrdJ, where all is golemal, confusion and disorder. When 
 dinner is announced, a regular scramble takes place ; the 
 rude and the uninvited occupy the Jirst seats, to the exclusion 
 of the genteel and respectable ; and when the eatables are 
 beginning to be served, the indecent cries of "bring Inchi, 
 bring kachiirie, bring tarkari" and so on, are heard from 
 these guests, every now^ and again, much to the disturbance 
 of the polite and the discreet. 
 
 The day following is called the niamblianga , or the day 
 on which the son is allowed to break the rules of mourning 
 after one month. In the morning the band of singers pre- 
 viously retained come and treat the family to songs of Krishna, 
 taking care to select pieces which are most pathetic and heart- 
 rending, befitting the mournful occasion of a very heavy 
 domestic bereavement. The singing continues till twelve or 
 one o'clock, and some people seem to be so deeply affected that 
 they actiially shed tears, and forget for a while their worldly 
 cares and anxieties. When the songs are finished, the son and 
 his nearest relatives, rubbing their bodies with oil and turmeric, 
 
 Even tliis excellent arrangement failed to satisfy the greedy cravinga 
 of the voracious Brahmans. As a.iiernicr report, he at last substituted 
 ciiali for edtiihlcs, which was certainly a strange way of satisfying 
 the inner man.
 
 SICKNESS, DEATH, AND SIIRADDIIA. 275 
 
 vcmove the brisuMt on theii" slioulders from the house to some 
 place near. A hole is made in the ground, and the brisakdt 
 (a painted log of wood about six feet high), with an ox carved 
 on the top, Ac, is set up in it :, after this they all bathe and 
 return home. The singers are dismissed with presents of 
 money, clothes, and food. 
 
 The sou then sits down to a dinner with his nearest blood 
 relation, and this is the Jirst day that he leaves his hahhishee diet 
 after a mouth's mourning, and takes to the use of fish and other 
 Hindoo dishes. He is also allowed to change his mourning dress 
 and put on shoes, after having made a present of a pair to a 
 Brahman ; is unfettered from the restrictions imposed on him 
 from the enjoyment of his conjugal felicity ; and, in short, he is 
 permitted to revert to his former mode of living in every respect 
 
 As the entertainment this time consists of vojan, made up 
 of rice and curries, and not jalpdn, made up of Inclm and 
 sweetmeats, a comparatively small number of guests assem- 
 ble on the occasion,* and the loafers and intruders exhibit 
 a very diminished proportion. Even on such occasions, one 
 
 * There is a vast difference between a vojan and a jalpdii, dinner. 
 If there be a thousand guests at the latter, at the most there would 
 be only three hundred at the former, as none but the nearest relatives 
 and friends will condescend to take rice (^vath), which is almost akin 
 to one and the same clanship ; whereas, in a jalpan, not only the 
 members of the same caste, bub even those of the inferior orders, are 
 tacitly permitted to partake of the same entertainment, without 
 tarnishing the honor of the aristocratic classes. 
 
 The following anecdote will, I hope, prove interesting : — 
 At the marriage procession of a washerman, confessedly very low 
 in the category of caste, two Kayasthas (writer caste) joined it on the 
 road in the hope of getting a heavty jalpd/i, dinner; but lo ! when, 
 after the nuptial rites were over, rice and curries were brought out 
 for the guests, the two Xd;/ a. it has, who sat down with the rest of the 
 company, tried to escape unnoticed ; because if they ate rice at a 
 washerman's, they were sure to lose their caste, but the host would not 
 let them go away without dinner. They at last told the truth, asked 
 forgiveness, and were then allowed to leave the house. To such dis- 
 appointments unfortunate intruders are sometimes subjected.
 
 276 SICKNESS, DEATH, AND SHRADDHA. 
 
 can always tell from a distance that there is a feast goinjr 
 on at such a house, from the noise it is invariably attended 
 with. 
 
 Having described above the details connected with the 
 funeral ceremony, I will now endeavour to give an account of 
 one or two of the most celebrated Shrdds that have taken 
 place in Bengal since the battle of Plassey, premising that 
 everything which shall be said on the subject is derived chiefly 
 from hearsay, as no authentic historical records have come 
 down to us. The first and most celebrated Shrdd was that 
 performed by Dewan Gangii Gobind Singh* on the occasion of 
 his mother's death. It was performed on so large a scale that 
 he caused reservoirs to be made which were filled with ghee 
 and oil ; immense heaps of rice, flour and dali were piled on 
 tlie ground. Several large rooms were quite filled with sweet- 
 meats of all sorts. Mountains of earthen pots and firew^ood 
 were stacked on the maidan. Hundreds of Brahman cooks and 
 confectioners were constantly at work to provide victuals for 
 the enormous concourse of people. Silver and brass utensils 
 of all kinds were arranged in pyramids. Hundreds of couches 
 with bedding were placed before the Sahhd (assembly). Ele- 
 phants richly caparisoned with silver trappings formed presents 
 to Brahmans. Tens of thousands of sih^er coins bearing the 
 stamp of Shah Allmn were placed on massive silver plates. 
 And to crown the whole, thovisands of learned Pandits from all 
 parts of the country congregated together to impart a religious 
 solemnity to the spectacle. All these preparations lent a 
 grandeur to the scene, which was in the highest degree impos- 
 ing. Countless myriads of beggars from the most distant parts 
 of the Province assembled together, and they were not only fed 
 
 * The ancestor and founder of the present Paikpara Raj Family. 
 The well-known A^iila Bdbii, about whose self-denial elsewhere is 
 mentioned, is 3rd or 4th in descent from the above-named Dewan, and 
 the great grandfather of the present (1SS3) living members of the 
 family. The charitable spirit is inherent in the family.
 
 SICKNESS, DEATH, AND SIIRADDIIA. 277 
 
 for weeks at the expense of the Dewan, but were dismissed 
 with presents of money, clothes, and food, with the most enthu- 
 siastic hosannas on their lips. For more than two months the 
 distribution of alms and presents lasted ; and what was the 
 most praisewortliy feature iu the affair was the Job-like pati- 
 ence of the Dewau, whose charity flowed like the rushing tide 
 of the holy Ganges, on the banks of which he presented offei'- 
 ings to the manes of his ancestors. Some of the Adhyapaks, or 
 Professors, obtained as much as one thousand rupees each in 
 cash ; and gold and silver articles, or rather fragments of the 
 same, to a considerable value. Besides these magnificent 
 honorariums, the whole of their travelling and lodging expenses 
 were defrayed by the Dewan, who was reputed to be so rich 
 that, like Croesus of old, he did not know how much he was 
 worth. The expenses of the Shrdd have been variously estimated 
 at between ten and twelve lakhs of rupees. The result of this 
 truly extravagant expenditure was widespread fame, and the 
 name of the donor is still cherished with grateful remem- 
 brance. 
 
 The next Shrdd of importance was that of Maharaja 
 Nabakrishna Bdluidur, of Sobha-bazar, Calcutta. His son, 
 Rdja Rajkrishna, performed the Shrdd, which, to this day, stands 
 unrivalled in this city. Four sets of gold, and sixty-four sets 
 of silver, utensils described before, amounting in value to near 
 a lakh of rupees, were given on the occasion. Such para- 
 phernalia go by the name of ddnsd'jar, or " gift like the sea." 
 Besides these presents in money to Bruhmans, upwards of two 
 lakhs of ru|;)ees were given to the poor. 
 
 If these immense sums of money had been invested for the 
 permanent support of a charitable institution, it would 
 have done incalculable good to society. But then there was 
 no regularly organized system of public charity, nor had the 
 people any idea of it. Such immense sums were spent mostly 
 for religious purposes, according to the prevailing notions of 
 the age. Tanks, reservoirs, flights of steps on the banks of
 
 278 SICKNESS, DEATH, AXD SHRADDHA. 
 
 the rivers,* fine rows of trees, stone buildings, or chouHries for 
 travellers, at every three miles affording a grateful shelter 
 throughout the country, were among the works of public 
 utility constructed by the charitably disposed. 
 
 * In the sacred city of Benares vast sums of money had been sunk 
 in building Ghats, with mag-nificent flights of steps, stretching from 
 the bank to the very edge of the water at ebb-tide, affording great 
 convenience to the people both for religious and domestic purposes, 
 but the strong current of the stream in the mouths of August. 
 September, and October has played sad havoc with the masonry. 
 Scarcely a single Ghat exists in a complete state of preservation.
 
 XXI. 
 
 SATI, OR THE IMMOLATION OF HINDOO 
 WIDOWS. 
 
 FIFTY years ago, when the British Government was en- 
 deavouring to consolidate its power in the East, and when 
 the religious prejudices of the Natives were alike tolerated 
 and respected, there arose a great man in Bengal, who was 
 destined by Providence to work a mighty revolution in 
 their social, moral, and intellectual condition. That great 
 man was Ranimohan Roy, the pioneer of Hindoo enlighten- 
 ment. Having early enriched his mind with European and 
 Eastern erudition, he soon rose, by his energy, to a degree of 
 eminence and usefulness which afterwards marked his career 
 as a distinguished reformer and a benevolent philanthropist. 
 He was emphatically an oasis in this sterile land — a solitary 
 example of a highly cultivated mind among many millions of 
 men grovelling in ignorance. To his indefatigable exertions 
 we are indebted for the abolition of the inhuman practice of 
 Sati, the very name of which evokes a natural shrinking, 
 and which ap[)allingly and suddenly expunged a tender life 
 from the earth, and severed the dearest ties of humanity. 
 Tliis rite was the severest reflection on the satanic character 
 of a religion that ignores the first ])rinciple of divine law. 
 Women are of an impressionable nature ; their enthusiasm is 
 easily fanned into a flame, and superstition and priestcraft took 
 advantage of it. 
 
 Not content with sending a sick man to the river-side to 
 be suff'ocated and burnt to ashes, a narrow-minded hierarchy
 
 280 SATI, OR THE IMMOLATION OF HINDOO WIDOWS. 
 
 lent its sanction to the destruction of a living creature, by 
 burning the Hindoo widow with the .dead body of her hus- 
 band, the fire being kindled perhaps by the hand of one 
 whom she had nurtured and suckled in infancy. It is awful 
 to contemplate how the finest sensibilities of our nature are 
 sometimes blunted by a false faith. 
 
 My apology for dwelling on this painful subject, now that 
 the primary cause of complaint has long since been removed 
 by a wise Legislature, is no other than that I was once an 
 eye-witness of a melancholy scene of this nature, the dreadful 
 atrocity of which it is impossible even at this distance of time 
 to call to mind without horror and dismay. As the tale I am 
 going to relate is founded in real life, its truthfulness may be 
 thoroughly i-elied upon. 
 
 When I was a little boy reading in a Fatsdid at home, my 
 attention was one morning roused by hearing from my mother 
 that my aunt was "going as a Sati." The word was then 
 scarcely intelligible to me. I pondered and thought over and 
 over again in my mind what could the word ' Sati ' mean. 
 Being unable to solve the problem, I asked my mother for an 
 explanation ; she, with tears in her eyes, told me that my 
 aunt (living in the next house) was " going to eat fire." 
 Instantly I felt a strong curiosity to see the thing with my 
 own eyes, still laboring under a misconception as to what the 
 reality could be. I had then no distinct notion that life would 
 be at once annihilated. I never thought for a moment that 
 I was going to lose my dear aunt for ever. My mind was 
 quite unsettled, and I felt an irresistible desire to look into 
 tlie thing more minutely. I ran down to my aunt's room, and 
 what should I sec there, but a group of sombre complexioned 
 women with my aunt in the middle. I have yet, after fifty 
 years, a vivid recollection of what I then saw in the room. 
 ]\Iy aunt was dressed in a red silk sari with all the ornaments 
 on her nerson ; her forehead daubed with a very thick coat of 
 sindiir, or vermillion; her feet painted red with dl(d ; she was
 
 SATI, OR THE DIMOLATION OF HINDOO WIDOWS. 281 
 
 chewing a mouthful of betel ; and a bright lamp was burning 
 before her. She was evidently wrapt in an ecstacy of devotion, 
 earnest in all she did, quite calm and composed as if nothing 
 important was to happen. In sliort, slie was tlicn at her 
 matins, anxiously awaiting tlic hour when this mortal coil 
 should be put off. My uncle was lying a corpse in the adjoin- 
 ing room. It appeared to me that all tlie women assembled 
 were admiring the virtue and fortitude of my aunt. Some 
 were licking the betel out of her mouth, some touching her 
 forehead in order to have a little of the sindur, or vermillion ; 
 while not a few, falling before her feet, expressed a fond liope 
 that they might possess a small particle of her virtue. Amidst 
 all these surroundings, what surprised me most was my aunt's 
 stretching out one of her hands, at the bidding of an old Brah- 
 man woman, and holding a finger right over the wick of the 
 burning lamp for a few seconds until it was scorched, and 
 forcibly withdrawn by the old lady who bade her do so in 
 order to test the firmness of her mind. The perfect composure 
 with which she underwent this fiery ordeal fully convinced all 
 tliat she was a real Sati, fit to abide with her husband in Boi/- 
 hinta, paradise. Nobody could notice any change in her counte- 
 nance or resolution after she had gone through this painful trial. 
 It was about eleven o'clock when preparations were made 
 for the removal of the corpse of my uncle to the Ghat. It 
 was a small mourning procession, nearly thii'ty persons, all of 
 respectable families, volunteered to carry the dead body alter- 
 nately on their shoulders. The body was laid on a chdrpoy ; 
 my aunt followed it, not in a closed but in an open Palki. Slic 
 was unveiled, and regardless of the consequences of a public 
 ex[)Osure, she was, in a manner, dead to the external world. 
 The delicate sense of shame so characteristic of Hindoo females 
 was entirely suppressed in her bosom. In truth, she was 
 evidently longing for the hour when her spirit and that 
 of her husband should meet together and dwell in heaven. 
 She had a iulsi vidld (string of basil beads) in her right
 
 282 SATI, OR THE IMMOLATION OF HINDOO WIDOWS. 
 
 hand, which she was telling ; and she seemed to enjoy 
 the shouts of " Hari, Hari-bole " with perfect serenity of 
 mind. How can we account for the strange phenomenon 
 that a sentient being, in a state of full consciousness, was 
 ready to surrender at the feet of " Hari " the last spark 
 of life for ever, without a murmur, a sigh, or a tear 1 A 
 deep, sincere religious faith, which serves as a sheetanchor 
 to the soul amidst the storms of life, can alone vinriddle the 
 enigma, and disarm death of its terrors. We reached Nimtalla 
 Ghat about twelve ; and after staying there for about ten to 
 fifteen minutes, sprinkling the holy water on the dead body, all 
 proceeded slowly to Kultalla Ghat, about three miles north 
 of Nimtalla. On arriving at the destination, which was the 
 dreary abode of Hindoo undertakers, solitary and lonesome, 
 the Police Darogah, who w^as also a Hindoo, came to the spot 
 and closely examined my aunt in various ways attempting, if 
 possible, to induce her to change her mind ; but she, like Joan 
 of Arc, was resolute and determined ; she gave an vmequivocal 
 reply to the eftect that " such was her predestination, and 
 that Hari had summoned her and her husband into the 
 Boykanta. " The Darogah, amazed at the firmness of her 
 mind, staid at the Ghat to watch the proceedings, while 
 prepax-ations were being made for a funei'al pile, which con- 
 sisted of dry firewood, faggots, pitch, with a lot of sandalwood, 
 ghee, ike, in it to impart a fragrant odour to the air. Half a 
 dozen bamboos or sticks were also procured, the use of which 
 we afterwards saw and understood. We little boys were 
 ordered to stand aloof The Maruyepora Brahman (priest 
 who officiates on such occasions) came and read a few 
 mantras, or incantations. The dead body wrapped in new 
 clothes being placed on the pyre, my aunt was desired 
 to walk seven times round it, which she did while strewing 
 flowers, cowries (shells), and parched rice on the ground. It 
 struck me at the time that, at every successive circumambula- 
 tion, her strength and presence of mind failed ; whereupon the
 
 SATI, OR THE IMMOLATIOX OF IflXDOO WIDOWS. 283 
 
 Darogah stepped forward once more and endeavoured even at 
 the last moment to deter her from her fatal determination. 
 But she, at the very threshold of ghastly death, in the last 
 hour of expiring life, the fatal torch of Yama (Pluto) before 
 her, calmly ascended the funeral pile, and lying down by the 
 side of her husband, with one hand under his head and another 
 on his breast, was heard to call, in a half suppressed voice, 
 *' Hari, Hari," — a sign of her firm belief in the reality of 
 eternal beatitude. When she had thus laid herself on the 
 funeral pyre, she was instantly covered, or rather choked with 
 dry wood, while some stout men with the bamboos held and 
 pressed down the {)yre, which was by this time burning fiercely 
 on all sides. A great shout of exultation then arose from the 
 surrounding spectators, till both the dead and living bodies 
 were converted into a handful of dust and ashes. When the 
 tragic scene was brought to a close, and the excitement of tlie 
 moment subsided, men and women wept and sobbed, while 
 cries and groans of sympatliy filled the air. 
 
 If all religions be not regarded as " splendid fiiilures," that 
 outlook into the future, which sustains us amid the manifold 
 griefs and agonies of a troublous life, holds out the sure 
 hope of a blessed existence hereafter. My aunt, Bhagabati 
 Dasi, though a victim of superstition, had nevertheless a 
 firm, unalterable faith in the merciful dispensations of Hari, 
 which prompted her to renounce her life for the salvation of 
 her own and her husband's soul, giving no heed whatever to 
 the importunities of her friends or the admonitions of the 
 world. The sincerity of her religious conviction far outweighed 
 every other w^orldly consideration ; and no fear or temptation 
 could deter her from her resolute purpose, despite its singu- 
 larly shocking character. It was the depth of a similar religious 
 conviction and earnestness of purpose that led Joan of Arc to 
 suffer martyrdom on a funeral pile. When asked by the 
 executioner if she believed in the reality of her mission, 
 *' Yes," she firmly replied, while the flames were ascending
 
 284 SATI, OR THE IM^IOLATIOX OF HINDOO WIDOWS. 
 
 around her. " My voices were of God. All that I have done 
 was by the command of God. No, my voices did not deceive 
 me. My revelations were of God." " Nothing more was 
 heard from her but invocations to God, inteiTupted by her 
 long drawn agony. So dense were the clouds of smoke, that 
 at one time she could not be seen. A sudden gust of wind 
 turned the current of the w^hirlwind, and Jeanne was seen for 
 a few moments. She gave one terrific cry, pronounced the 
 name of Jesus, bowed her head, and the spirit returned to 
 God who gave it. Thus perished Jeanne, the maid of Orleans ; " 
 and thus perished Bhagabati Dasi, my aunt. 
 
 About the year 1813, Rammohan Roy published a pam- 
 phlet, in which he very clearly exposed the barbarous character 
 of the rite of burning widows alive. He w^as unfortunately 
 backed only by few frieuds. The orthodox party was then very 
 strong, and included the most influential and wealthy portion 
 of the Hindoo community. Maharaja Tejchandra Bahadur 
 of Burdwan, Rajas Gopimohan and Radhakanto Bahadurs, 
 Promothonath Dey, Baishnabchandra Mallik, Rammohan 
 Mallik and, in fact, the entire aristocracy of Calcutta, were 
 enlisted on the side of opposition. The "Sumachar Chandrika," 
 the recognized organ of the Dharmo Shabha, edited by Bha- 
 bani Charan Banerji, vilified Rammohan Roy as an outcast 
 and infidel, and persecuted those who were bold enough to 
 avow their sentiments in favour of the abolition of this 
 inhuman practice. Rammohan Roy, almost single-handed, 
 encountered this formidable opposition ; he fought for a just 
 and righteous but not a popular cause, regardless alike of the 
 consequences of social persecution and the threats and scoffs 
 of his orthodox countiymen. Patiently, but steadily and 
 consistently, he worked his way, until at last, his appeal find- 
 ing a responsive echo in a Christian heart, that noble-minded 
 Governor-General — Lord William Bentinck — put a stop to the 
 practice. That eminent statesman had many a conference 
 with Rammohan Roy on the propriety or otherwise of abolish-
 
 SATI, OR THE IMMOLATION OF niXDOO WIDOWS. 285 
 
 ing this shockin.u; pviictice. Tlie niiti-iibolitionists presented a 
 memorial to Govermncnt, urging that it would be an majusti- 
 fiable interference with the religious usages of the country. 
 That wise Governor-General, who was vexy anxious to preserve 
 in full integrity the solemn pledge of Government as to a 
 neutral policy in matters of religion, consulted the distin- 
 guished Orientalist, Mr. H. H. Wilson,- on the subject; and 
 finally came to the resolution of abolishing this inhuman 
 institution throughout the British dominion in the East. But 
 before giving effect to the resolution, he recorded in a Minute 
 that the authoritative abolition of the practice would be an 
 outrageous violation of the engagement of the Supreme 
 Government. Accordingly his Lordship observed : " I must 
 acknowledge that a similar opinion, as to the probable excita- 
 tion of a deep distrust of our future intentions, was mentioned 
 to me in conversation by that enlightened Native, Rammohan 
 Roy, a warm advocate for the abolition of Sati, and of all 
 other superstitions and corruptions engrafted on the Hindoo 
 religion, which he considers originally to have been a pure 
 deism. It was his opinion that the practice might be sup- 
 pressed quietly and unobservedly by increasing the difficulties, 
 and by the indirect agency of the Police. He apprehended 
 that any public enactment would give rise to general appre- 
 hension ; that the reasoning would be, while the English were 
 contending for power, deemed it politic to allow universal 
 toleration and to respect our religion ; but having obtained 
 the supremacy, their first act is a violation of their professions ; 
 and the next will probably bo, like Mahomedan conquerors, 
 to force upon us their own religion." 
 
 The argument urged by Government was as reasonable as 
 its conduct was comi)atiV)le with its known policy. But it 
 must be mentioned to the credit of an enlightened (Jovern- 
 ment, that its generous exertions hav^e effectually healed one 
 of the most shocking wounds inflicted by inhuman superstition 
 upon our unhappy country.
 
 XXII. 
 MARRIED LIFE IN BENGAL. 
 
 THE subject of our marriage ceremc nies having been dealt with 
 at great length, it only remains to be seen how far a man-ied 
 life in Bengal is conducive to happiness. The system of early 
 marriage that prevails here has been justly condemned by all 
 civilized nations, and it is really a marvel that parties so cap- 
 riciously affianced in early age can live happily together after- 
 wards to the end of their lives. The young bride, between ten 
 and eleven years of age, generally simple, artless, and unlet- 
 tered, even in the case of a respectable family, is brought up 
 almost from her cradle to look upon her future lord with feel- 
 ings of extreme submissiveness. She is a perfect stranger to 
 freedom of action, if not actually to freedom of thought. 
 When her I'easoning faculties are somewhat developed, and she 
 grows tired of a monotonous, slavish existence, she naturally 
 struggles to be free ; but fate has otherwise ordained it. The 
 apartment in which she lives, the atmosphere she breathes, 
 the mode of life she is enjoined to follow, the society she 
 moves in, and the surroundings by which she is fenced, — -all 
 attest the very abnormal restraints to which she is at all hours 
 of her life subjected after her marriage. But she cannot abso- 
 lutely suppress human nature. With the development of her 
 passions and desires, the fetters of servitude graduall}' relax, 
 she pants for a little freedom, because absolute freedom is 
 denied her by the peculiar conventional rules by which she is 
 governed, and as a necessary consequence of this, she is per-
 
 MAURIKI) LIFE I\ BEXGAL, 287 
 
 mitted to move about half unveiled within the precincts of 
 her secluded domicile. And when she becomes the mother of 
 two or three children throujih the blessing of the goddess 
 Shisti, the conventional restraints bj degi-ees give wav, until 
 through her age she becomes the yinnf, or mistress, of the 
 house, a position wdiicli gives a great extension to her privileges. 
 She then, in her turn, assumes the duties and discipline of the 
 household, and seeks to correct any little impropriety she sees 
 in its inmates. 
 
 An Englishman who is but superficially acquainted with the 
 inner life of Hindoo society, is apt to conclude from what is 
 stated above that a native woman, hampered by so many res- 
 traints, can seldom become happy in the proper sense of the 
 word ; but however paradoxical this may appeal', the reverse 
 is true. She feels quite happy and contented when Providence 
 gives her what she values over every other worldly consider- 
 ation, — namely, a good husband, and dutiful sons and daughters. 
 Brought up in a state of perfect isolation and practically 
 confined to restricted thought and action, her happiness is 
 necessarily identified with that of a few beings who are near 
 and dear to her. Although married when she is scarcely capa- 
 ble of thinking and judging for herself, yet, through the kind 
 dispensation of an overruling Providence, she .is destined in 
 most cases to enjoy the blessings of a married life. The rites 
 and ceremonies by wdiich she is early united in the bonds of 
 wedlock exert little or no influence on her in her maturer 
 years. Her love and affection overcomes every difficult}', and 
 removes every obstacle in her way. She becomes happy in 
 spite of the domestic and social restrictions imposed on her 
 by wdiat Shakespeare calls the "Monster Custom." The 
 gravity of the marriage compact is due to the religious incan- 
 tations used on the occasion. Though their precise meaning is 
 scarcely understood by either the boy-husband or the girl-wife, 
 the influence of conventionalism is so powerful that a few words 
 pronounced by the officiating priest serve as absolutely binding
 
 288 MARRIED LIFE IX BENGAL. 
 
 on both to the end of their lives. Nor can it be otherwise. 
 As they advance in years, their mntual love and affection 
 cements the bond of union that was so casually and capri- 
 ciously formed. And even where the individual tempers, dispo- 
 sitions, habits, and ideas are irreconcilable, as is sometimes the 
 case, open rupture between the parties is very rare, if not alto- 
 gether impossible. In respectable families in which a husband 
 is educated and a wife not educated, and moreover ill-tempered, 
 a sense of honor and propriety, which is shocked at the slightest 
 whisper of scandal, restrains the former from having recourse 
 to a separation from the latter, even if he were so disposed. 
 Thus we see the very difference in their characters and dis- 
 positions gradually overcome. The law of divorce was not 
 known in the country before the English came into it. The 
 fear of scandal, even where there is sufficient justification for 
 it, suppresses everything at its incipient stage. 
 
 So great is the value set on female chastity by the Hindoos, 
 that a good wife is regarded as the very emblem of Lakshmi, 
 the goddess of wealth and prosperity. Hence the idea of a 
 separation from her is associated with ominous consequences. 
 When she dies after having lived with her husband for a cer- 
 tain number of years, the bereavement is considered so serious 
 a calamity that he calls himself " a homeless 7na7i, " meaning 
 thereby that the being that presided over the household and 
 kept everything that was most lovely and loving there had 
 departed. Two of the greatest Bengali millionaires of the 
 present century^ — Babus Ptamdulal Dey and Matilal Seal — 
 used emphatically to say that they were mainly indebted for 
 their colossal fortunes to their wives, who, though uneducated, 
 were nevertheless consulted by them in all their important 
 domestic affairs. In the case of both these millionaires, the 
 establishment of alms-houses in the suburbs of Calcutta was 
 the result of the suggestions of their respective wives. From 
 this it is easy to understand what great importance is attached 
 to the advice of good wives in all secular matters of any
 
 MARRIED LIFE IX BENGAL. 289 
 
 moment. The Hindoos certainly are different" from the people 
 of the West in their matrimonial rites, but they resemble them 
 to a great extent in the genuine love and affection between the 
 husband and wife so long as they exist. 
 
 There was, indeed, a time when the alumni of our colleges 
 did not regard their wives as they should, by reason of the 
 ignorance of the latter, for which they were keenly satirised in 
 popular ballads by a well-known Bengali poet ; but sucli crot- 
 chets have long since been given up to pave the way for the 
 growth of kindlier feelings and warmer attachment. In the first 
 transitional state of a people long steeped in ignorance, a revolu- 
 tionary spirit, verging almost on ultra-radicalism, often mani- 
 fests itself, denouncing the existing order of things, and striv- 
 ing to substitute for it what is thought a healthier system, 
 better fitted to promote the well-being of society. About 
 forty years since, a controversy on the subject arose be- 
 tween the Rev. W, Adam, Editor of the India Gazette, and 
 Mr. H. L. V. Derozio, Editor of the East Indian — the one 
 strongly deprecating what was called rash innovation, the other 
 as warmly defending it on the part of the alumni of our col- 
 leges ; but all thoughtful men agreed with the former, because 
 a spirit of rash innovation conceived in haste and carried out 
 with impetuosity can never achieve what a slow and steady 
 progress can in the social and moral regeneration of a people. 
 And the voice of posterity has abundantly demonstrated the 
 wisdom of Mr. Adam's dictum. Sobered down by reflection 
 and experience, the rising generation of educated natives more 
 fully understand and appreciate the grave responsibilities of 
 married life. 
 
 Amongst the great mass of the people who are destitute of 
 the superior advantages of knowledge, and are consequently 
 incapable of appreciating the solemn responsibilities of a 
 married life, it is gratifying to observe that, notwithstanding 
 their rough and rude manners, they are not, in the generality 
 of cases, strangers to conjugal felicity. Though, as the lament- 
 
 T
 
 290 MARRIED LIFE IX BENGAL. 
 
 ed Mr. Aberigh-Mackay justly says, "famine is the horizon 
 of the Indian viUager, and insufficient food is the foreground, 
 he is ever thinking of making those who are naturally depend- 
 ent on him comfortable and happy. Amid an easeful and 
 luscious splendour, and a fertile soil and a glorious climate, he 
 labours and starves ;" but he is never without a thought about 
 those whom he has left behind. If it were not for them, he 
 would not have toiled so hard and exposed his jaded life to all 
 the bitter and biting inclemencies of the weather. His love 
 for his wife and children is spontaneous ; it swells up from his 
 heart without any effort. It is only in the quiet "bosom 
 scenes " of life that proofs of genuine love are to be met with. 
 There is an ineffable charm in such scenes around the domestic 
 hearth of a poor villager. "That the blush of morning is 
 fair, that the quietude of grief is sacred, that the heroism of 
 conscience is noble, who can undertake to prove to one who 
 does not see it ? " So genuine rustic love, like wisdom and 
 holiness, is an immeasurable thing, appreciable only by pure 
 affection and a thorough insight into the realities of rustic life. 
 Such threads of love, says an eminent writer, are strong 
 enough to weave the warp and woof of life. 
 
 Before the difiusion of Western knowledge throughout the 
 land, the love of wife was held in subordination to the love of 
 parents, but of late years a change has come over the spirit of 
 the times, which has greatly modified the former rule. The 
 present state of native society in Bengal affords abundant 
 proofs that the educated young men, much after the fashion of 
 the enlightened Europeans, with whom they come in daily 
 contact, and whose mode of life they approve so much, find 
 it in many instances opposed to the enjoyment of conjugal 
 felicity to follow the directions and act up to the wishes of 
 their parents in all their domestic concerns. As the result of 
 this feeling, the wife of the young man is tacitly allowed to 
 follow a line of conduct of her own, derogatory to, and sub- 
 versive of, parental rule, which is a frequent source of domestic
 
 MABRIED LIFE IN BENGAL. 291 
 
 unhappiness. In good old times, such a line of conduct was 
 not only severely condemned, but practically discountcnaiiced. 
 In fact, the mischief was nipped in the bud. Thus it is evi- 
 dent that English education has not only wrought a change 
 in the moral and intellectual character of the rising gener- 
 ation, but has likewise profoundly affected its social conditions. 
 Nor is this a matter of wonder. The enlightened principles 
 and views which the progress of education engenders naturally 
 make its recipients desirous to break thi'ough the trammels of 
 servitude and assume that independence which is the natural 
 birthright of humanity. Even the mind of a native woman, 
 endungeoned as it is in ignorance, pants to breathe a free atmos- 
 phere amid the thousand conventional restraints by which it 
 is surrounded. Hence the influence of a wife whose husband 
 is well-to-do in the world not unfrequently prevails over that 
 of a mother in the zenana, which is one of the marked pecu- 
 liarities of the present native society. 
 
 An Englishman, who has no access to the recesses of a 
 Hindoo zenana, and is often apt to regard the female inmates 
 of it as beings quite incapable of mental culture or the finer 
 susceptibilities of " divine humanity," will, however, hardly 
 be struck with wonder when he comes to learn that great 
 multitudes of them "laugh and cry and hope and fear just as 
 the English do." Their love of children, ornaments or money, 
 is a peculiarity which is more or less shared by other civilized 
 nations in Europe. It is in the zenana that Hindoo human 
 nature is seen at its best, and its characteristics made most 
 visible. It is true that the females have no cosmopolitan views 
 or a sense of patriotism, and hence their love of barbaric pearl 
 and gold, which bears a resemblance, however remote, to the 
 taste of the well-to-do English ladies, who annually spend 
 very large sums of money on jew^ellery and millinery. The 
 difference between the Hindoo and English ladies, supposing 
 both were placed in nearly the same circumstances, is, that the 
 former invest large sums in jewellery, partly for show, but
 
 292 MARRIED LIFE IN BENGAL, 
 
 chiefly for safe iuvestment, that it may be readily utilized 
 in times of need, and ultimately prove a sheetauchor against 
 the bitterest blasts of adversity ; the latter do the same chiefly 
 for display and fashion more or less, heedless of the reverses 
 of fortune. A fashionable English lady is, in reality, not a 
 leader, but a slave of that fashion to which she consecrates her 
 existence. When the ruling modiste ofi'ers her something new, 
 ehe must have it at any cost. A Bengali lady exercises far 
 greater discretion in this respect. But there is a striking 
 similarity in the conduct of both when love, tenderness, devo- 
 tion, and domestic economy are concerned. 
 
 Properly speaking, a Hindoo married lady is a stranger to 
 all the elegancies of a fashionable life, to all the pleasvires of 
 society, to all the refined amusements of a civilized people ; 
 but she is none the less fitted, like her English sister, to cheer- 
 fully participate with her husband in all the sad reverses of 
 fortune. Though destitute of the blessing of mental accom- 
 plishments, yet her example, her patience, her power of endur- 
 ance, and above all her fidelity and devotion, when misfortune 
 befalls her husband, call forth the dormant energies of her 
 nature and impart a healthy stimulus to his exertions, which 
 oftentimes enables him to rise above misfortune and to retrieve 
 his position in the world.
 
 XXIII. 
 
 THE STORY OF THE SABITRI BRATA, OR THE WONDER- 
 FUL TRIUMPH OF CONJUGAL LOVE. 
 
 IN the halcyon days of the Hindoo raj, when religion was 
 regarded as the mortar of society, and righteousness the 
 cement of domestic happiness, when Judhisthira the Just incul- 
 cated, by precept and example, the inflexible rules of moral 
 rectitude, there reigned in the country of Madra a very pious, 
 truthful, wise and benevolent king, named Aswapati. For a 
 long time he had no child, which made him extremely unhappy. 
 Seeing that the evening of his life was drawing nearer every 
 day, and there was no sign of the approach of the wished-for 
 consummation, he undertook to perform a grand religious 
 ceremony with the object of obtaining a son and heir, and 
 daily made ten thousand offerings to please the goddess Sabitri, 
 from whom the boon was expected. 
 
 Thus passed away several long and painful years, at the end 
 of which it came to pass that the goddess Sabitri one day 
 suddenly appeared before him in the shape of a beautiful 
 woman, and told him that she was ready to grant him any 
 boon he might ask for, because she was well pleased wuth him 
 for his austere asceticism, for the purity and sincerity of his 
 heart, for the strict observance of his vow, and for his firm, 
 unshaken faith in her. As was to be expected, he prayed for 
 a goodly number of sons, affirming that without offspring the
 
 294 SABITRI BR ATA. 
 
 life of man upon earth is but a wilderness, and the tran- 
 sitory sunshine of bliss is changed into the settled gloom of 
 chaos. 
 
 The goddess said that, knowing this to be his cherished 
 desire, she had gone to the Creator (Brahmd) to consult him 
 as to the best means for its realization, and through his mercy 
 he would soon be blessed with a female child, in every way 
 worthy of such a pious and virtuous father. Her beauty 
 would shed a lustre around her name, and the fame of her 
 rare gifts of nature would spread far and wide. She would 
 he the cynosure of all princely eyes, and her charms would 
 radiate in all directions. So saying, the goddess disappeared, 
 and the king returned to his own capital. 
 
 In a short time, the eldest queen became pregnant, and, in 
 due course of time, gave birth to a daughter of matchless 
 beauty. The king and his Brahman friends called her Sabitri, 
 after the name of the goddess who granted the boon. Day 
 by day, the princess grew fairer and fairer, and soon passed 
 from smiling childhood into blooming youth. Every one that 
 saw her chiselled features and prepossessing appearance 
 believed that some angelic beauty — the embodiment of loveli- 
 ness itself — had descended upon earth in the shape of this 
 lovely damsel. Indeed, she was so surpassingly beautiful that 
 no prince, however great or eminent he might be, dared seek 
 her hand in marriage lest his suit should be spurned. 
 
 The king, Aswapati, thought of marrying his only daughter, 
 then in his fulness and freshness of youth, to some one 
 worthy of the honor. For some time no royal suitors ventured 
 to solicit her hand for the reasons stated above. At length, 
 Sabitri sought and obtained her father's permission to secure 
 for herself a suitable match. In complying with her request, 
 the father moreover allowed her to take with her in her travels 
 some of the wisest ministers of the State, whose experience 
 and counsel should be available to her in so momentous an 
 affair. Riding in a golden chariot, and accompanied by a
 
 SABITRI BRATA. 295 
 
 number of grey-headed miuisters, she left the capital with the 
 benedictions of the hereditary priests, and journeyed far and 
 wide through many unknown countries, visiting on her way 
 some of the most delightful hermitages of the venerable old 
 Hishis who are absorbed in meditation. 
 
 Sometime after, while the king was attending to the duties 
 of the State, and conversing with that renowned Sage Narada, 
 Sabitri with the ministers returned home from her peregrina- 
 tions. The princess, seeing her father talking with the great 
 Rishi Narada, bowed her head down in token of due homage 
 to the venerable Rishi and her respected father. The bustle 
 consequent on the first interview after a long absence being 
 over, Narada asked the king : "0 monarch, where did your 
 daughter go ? Whence is she now coming 1 It is high time 
 that you should give her marriage to some noble prince 
 worthy of her hand." The king replied, " revered Rishi, 
 I sent her abroad with some of my wisest ministers in quest 
 of some noble prince, who, to a beautiful person should add 
 all the rarest gifts of wisdom, courage, piety and virtue : now 
 hear from her own mouth how far she has succeeded in her 
 sacred mission." So saying, the king desired Sabitri to tell 
 them whom she had chosen for her husband. Sabitri, in 
 obedience to her esteemed father's behest, thus spoke in a tone 
 becoming her age and sex : " Father, a pious king, named 
 Dyumutsen, once ruled the kingdom of Sala. A few days 
 after his accession he lost both his eyes and became totally 
 blind. At that time, his only child was in his infancy, quite 
 incapable of conducting the affairs of the kingdom. His trea- 
 cherous enemies, taking advantage of his blindness and the 
 infancy of his child, invaded his kingdom and wrested it from 
 his hand. The dethroned king and his beloved queen with 
 their infant child betook themselves to a quiet life of contem- 
 plation in an adjacent wood, renouncing all the pleasures of a 
 wicked, ungrateful world. For some years they passed their 
 days in the sequestered wood amidst the abodes of many revered
 
 296 SABITRI BRATA. 
 
 sages, who took a special delight in imbuing the nascent 
 mind of the boy with the germs of moral and religious instruc- 
 tion, promising a full development in maturer years. He was 
 in eveiy way my equal, and him have I chosen as my worthy 
 husband. His name is Satyavdna." 
 
 Hearing this, the hoary headed Rishi, N4rada, thus ad" 
 dressed the monarch : " monarch, I am grieved to say 
 that your daughter has been unfortunate in her choice, in 
 haviug thoughtlessly selected the virtuous Satyavana as her 
 husband." The king feelingly enquired: " great Rislii, are 
 the noble qualities of valour, prudence, forgiveness, piety, 
 devotion, generosity, filial love and affection to be found in 
 Satyavana?" Narada answered, " Satyavdna is Surya's (the 
 sun's) equal in matchless glory ; he is wase as Virihashpati 
 himself, brave and warlike as Indra, mild and forgiving as 
 Earth." The king asked : "Is the prince sincere worship- 
 per of God, walking in the path of righteousuess 1 Is he 
 beautiful, amiable, and high-minded 1 " Narada replied, " O 
 king, like Ratideva, the son of Sankriti, the beautiful Satya- 
 vana, is generous ; like Sibi, the son of Usinara, he is a lover 
 of God and Truth ; he is as high-minded as Yayati ; all the 
 pious old Rishis and other good men believe that Satyavana 
 is brave, mild, meek, truthful, faithful to his friends, magna- 
 nimous, pious, and sincere in devotion and earnestness." The 
 king again asked : " venerable sage, you have named all 
 the good qualities that can ennoble humanity ; be kind 
 enough to inform me in what he is wanting." " He has one 
 great disqualificatiou," said Narada, " which is enough to out- 
 weigh all his virtues : his life upon earth is very short ; he is 
 fated to live exactly one year from this day." 
 
 Hearing the fearful prophecy of Narada, the king tried 
 his best to dissuade his daughter from the fatal alliance, but 
 all his efforts proved unavailing. Sabitri, firm and constant 
 in her plighted faith, fearlessly replied, that, despite the omi- 
 nous prediction, suggestive of premature widowhood, she could
 
 SABITRI BRATA. 297 
 
 not retract her pledge aud surrender her heart to any other 
 behig upon earth. 
 
 Narada then exclaimed ; " king, I see your daughter is 
 true to her promise, firm in her faith, and constant in her love 
 and attachment to Satyavdua. No one will be able to lead 
 her astray from the path of righteousness. Let the unrivalled 
 pair, therefore, be united in the sacred bond of wedlock." The 
 king replied, "0 great Rishi, unalterable are your words; 
 what you have now said is just and right. As you are my 
 Guru (spiritual guide), I will do what you have ordered me 
 to do." " Heaven's choicest blessings be upon you all," said 
 Ndrada, and departed. 
 
 The king now directed his attention to the solemnization 
 of the nuptials of his beloved daughter with becoming pomp 
 and eclat. 
 
 The fair daughter of Aswapati was thus married in due 
 form to Satyavaaa, the son of the blind old king, Dyumutscn. 
 For a while the happy pair continued to enjoy all the bless- 
 ings of conjugal life in their blissful and retired cottage* 
 remote from the busy throng of men, and quite congenial to 
 religious meditation, though Sabitri knew full well, as predes- 
 tined by Bidhdtd, that this short and transient happiness 
 would be soon followed liy long and painful suffering, which 
 would very nigh destroy them both. 
 
 Thus week after week and month after month rolled 
 away, till at length the prophetic day on which the terrible 
 doom was to be pronounced upon Satyav4na drew nearer 
 and nearer ; and when SaV)itri saw that there remained only 
 four days to complete the terrible year, perhaps the last year 
 of Satyavdna's life, at the end of which the fatal torch of 
 Yama would appear before her beloved husband, her heart 
 recoiled at the idea. To avert the dreadful doom she under- 
 took the performance of an austere vow, which strictly 
 enjoined three days of continuous fasting and prayer, pouring 
 forth at the feet of the Almighty all the fervours of a devo-
 
 298 SABITRI BRATA. 
 
 tional heart. Her father-in-law, Dyumutsen, though over- 
 whelmed by the surging wave of grief, endeavoured to dissuade 
 her from undertaking so trying a vow ; but his admonition was 
 quite ineffectual. She persistently adhered to her resolution, 
 and calmly resigned herself to the dispensations of a wise 
 and merciful Providence. 
 
 Mental conflict, internal pertui'bation, and continuous fast- 
 ing made her weak and emaciated, and the prophetic words 
 of Narada incessantly haunted her mind like some fatal vision. 
 It is quite impossible to describe the violent struggles that 
 passed within her when that terrible day at last arrived, when 
 the inevitable decree of fate, by which her dear husband should 
 for ever cease to live, would be fulfilled. After bathing in the 
 sacred stream she made burnt offerings to the gods, and pros- 
 trated herself on the ground, as a mark of profound homage > 
 at the honoured feet of the old Rishis, and those of her revered 
 father-in-law and mother-in-law, who in return heartily pro- 
 nounced their sincere benedictions upon her. When the hour 
 for dinner came, she was desired to partake of some refresh- 
 ment, especially after three days' continuous fasting ; but 
 animated by a fervent spirit of devotion she declined to take 
 any food before sunset. 
 
 Presently she saw her husband going to the forest with his 
 axe and a bag, to procure fruits and dry wood. Sabitri begged 
 to accompany him ; but from the prescience of imminent 
 danger as well as from the warmth of affection he would fain 
 keep her at home, being assured that her tender feet were 
 not fitted to wander in the "brambly wilderness" in her 
 present enfeebled state of body ; but regardless of all admoni- 
 tion she thus exclaimed : "0 my beloved Lord, I am not at 
 all weary with fasting ; your very presence is my strongest 
 support. I can never be happy without you, so do not turn a 
 deaf ear to the earnest entreaty of an already disconsolate 
 wife, whose fate is bound up with yours in a gordian knot 
 which no earthly force can break or cut." Satyavana was at
 
 SABITRI I5RATA. 299 
 
 last constrained to yield to her solicitations, and bade her ask 
 his father and mother's permission before her departure. It 
 was with the greatest reluctance that their permission was 
 given. Obtaining their benedictions, and being armed with the 
 panoply of divine grace, the unhappy pair quitted their sweet 
 home for the dreary forest. On the way, Satyavana, half con- 
 scious of what would soon befall him, addressed his loving wife 
 in the following affectionate words : " dear Sabitri, behold 
 how nature smiles in all her beauty ; how the fields are adorned 
 with fragTant flowers, shady groves, and a wide expanse of 
 living verdure ; how slowly and smoothly runs the murmuring 
 brook with soothing melody ; how the warblers of the forest 
 pour forth their wild but sweet notes without fear of moles- 
 tation ; how merrily the peacock is dancing ; how cheerfully 
 the stag is frisking about ; and above all, how the stillness of 
 the scene invites the mind to contemplation." 
 
 While Sabitri was attentively listening to her husband's 
 descriptive illustration of nature, her heart swelled in her 
 bosom, but her eyes were not sullied with even one tear-drop. 
 She continued to follow her husband as a faithful, obedient 
 wife. 
 
 At length they entered the forest, and Satyavana, after 
 filling his bag with various kinds of fruits, began to cut with 
 his axe the withered branches of the trees. The effort soon 
 overpowered him, and he felt some uneasy sensation about his 
 head. He slowly walked down to his dear wife, and observed : 
 "0 much beloved Sabitri, I have suddenly got an acute 
 headache, which is becoming more and more painful ; it 
 makes me quite insensible, and almost kills me. I cannot 
 stand here any longer ; but I trust, by the aid of balmy sleep, 
 soon to regain my health and strength." 
 
 On hearing her husband's heart-rending words, she sat down 
 upon the ground and placed Satyavana's head upon her laj^ 
 But, as fate had ordained, he soon became perfectly insensible. 
 When Sabitri saw this, her wonted presence of mind did not
 
 300 SABITRI BRATA. 
 
 fail her ; trusting, however, in the boundless mercy of an over- 
 ruling Providence, she calmly and composedly waited for the 
 ill-fated hour, when the shadow of death would hide for ever 
 her beloved Satyavana — a doom she was herself prepared to 
 share. Suddenly she thought she shaw a grim figure, clothed 
 in red and resplendent with lustre like the sun, slowly 
 approaching her, with a chain in his hand. This was not a 
 figment of her imagination. The veritable Yama (Pluto) stood 
 beside Satyavdna, and looked steadfastly upon him. 
 
 No sooner did Sabitri see him than taking her husband's 
 head from her lap, and placing it upon the ground, with trem- 
 bling heart he thus addressed him : " God-like person, your 
 heavenly form and majestic appearance declare unmistakably 
 that you are a god among gods. Vouchsafe to reveal yourself 
 and tell me your will." 
 
 Yama replied : " Sabitri, you are chaste and constant 
 in yoxu- devotion and meditation ; I, therefore, feel no delicacy 
 in satisfying your eager inquiry. I am Yama (Pluto). I am 
 come here for the purpose of carrying away your dead husband 
 as his days upon earth are numbered." To this Sabitri said, 
 " king, I have heard that it is your messengers that carry 
 away the dead bodies from the earth ; why are you then come 
 yourself?" 
 
 Yama replied, " amiable Sabitri, your excellent husband, 
 while living, possessed many good qualities, and was justly 
 remarkable for his righteousness. It would have been impro- 
 per, therefore, to send my imps to carry him away. With this 
 view I am come myself" So saying Yama forcibly drew out 
 the finger-shaped soul from Satyavtina's body. Being deprived 
 of the vital spirit, the body became motionless, pale and pal- 
 lid ; and Yama went towards the South. The chaste Sabitri, 
 in order to obtain the fruit of her vow, followed him with sad 
 looks and a heavy heart. Seeing this, Yama remonstrated 
 with her, and ordered her to return home and perform the 
 funeral obsequies of her husband. Sabitri said, she would go
 
 SABITRI BRATA. 301 
 
 wherever her husband was carried, and that by her unceasing 
 prayer to the Almighty, by her firm faith in lier spiritual guide, 
 by the solemn fulfilment of her sacred vow, and by his 
 (Yama's) gi-ace, her course would be free and unrestrained. 
 " king of the infernal regions," said she, " kindly deign to 
 lend a listening ear to a suppliant's prayer. He that has not 
 obtained a complete mastery over his senses should not come 
 to the forest to lead thei-e either a domestic life, or a student's 
 life, or the life of a devotee. Those who have effectually con- 
 ti'olled their passions are fit to fulfil the necessary conditions 
 of the four different modes of life. Of these four modes, the 
 domestic life is decidedly the best, being most favourable to 
 the acquisition of knowledge and wisdom, and to the cultiva- 
 tion of piety and virtue. Persons like myself do not desire to 
 lead any other than a domestic life." 
 
 " Now return home, fair Sabitri ; I am much pleased with 
 your wise observations ; I am willing to grant you any boon 
 save the hfe of your husband," exclaimed Yama, Sabitri 
 replied, " king, be graciously pleased to restore eye-sight to 
 my blind father-in-law ; and make him powerful as the Sun or 
 the Fire, that he may be enabled to regain his kingdom and 
 rule it with vigour." Yama granted the boon, and directed her 
 to return home after the fatiguing jovu-ney. Sabitri answering 
 said, " virtuous king, I feel no trouble or fatigue while I 
 am with my husband, for a husband is the strength 
 and stay of his wife, and the wife is the sharer of her husband's 
 weal or woe : 
 
 The wife, where danger or dishonor lurlss, 
 Safest and seemliest by her husband stays, 
 Who guards her, or with her the worst endures. 
 
 Wherever, therefore, you carry my husband, my footsteps will 
 dog you thithei'. Our very first intercourse with the good 
 and the righteous leads to the growth of confidence and kindly 
 feeling, which is always productive of the most beneficial 
 results." Whereupon Yama replied, " thoughtful lady, your
 
 302 SABITRI BRATA. 
 
 words are agreeable to my heart ; they are fraught with good 
 sense. I shall willingly grant you any other boon save the 
 life of yoiir husband." " Allow me, then, virtuous king, to 
 ask for a hundred begotten sons to my father, who has no son," 
 said Sabitri. 
 
 " I grant the boon," said Yama ; " now that all your wishes 
 have been consummated, do not continue to follow me any 
 longer. You are far away from your father-in-law's cottage ; 
 return home at once." 
 
 Sabitri replied, " virtuous king, we are apt to repose more 
 confidence in the righteous than in ourselves ; their kindness 
 amply requites our love and regard." Yama said, " I am very 
 much satisfied with your edifying speech, and am disposed 
 to grant you another boon." Sabitri, feeling grateful for the 
 several boons granted unto her, presumed this time to ask for 
 the resurrection of her husband as well as for the birth from 
 them of a hundred powerful, wise and virtuous sons, to be the 
 glory of the country and the ornament of society. 
 
 " Be it so," said Yama cheerfully, and disappeared. 
 
 It is obvious that the fertile imagination of the hereditary 
 priests of Hiudoosthan, who, from their traditional mental 
 abstraction, delighted more in the concoction of legendary 
 lore than of the solid, sober realities of life, invented the story 
 of this Brata, or vow, mainly for the consolation of ignorant 
 females, to soften the hardships of widowhood, than which a 
 more unmitigated evil is not to be found in the domestic 
 economy of the Hindoos. The unhallowed institution of the 
 immolation of widows alive was primarily traceable to the 
 dread of this terrible calamity, which preyed, as it were, on 
 the vitals of humanity. Hence the performance of this Brata 
 is the cidminating point of meritorious work in popular esti- 
 mation, promising to the performer the perpetual enjoyment 
 of connubial happiness, which is more valued by a Hindoo 
 woman than all the riches of Golconda. 
 
 It is annually celebrated in the Bengalee month of Joysta,
 
 SABITRI BRATA. 303 
 
 both by widows and by women whose husbands are ahvc ; by 
 the former, in the hope of averting the evil in another life, by 
 the latter, in the expectation of continuing to enjoy conjugal 
 bliss both in this worki and the next. On the celebration of 
 this Brata on the fourteenth night of the decrease of the 
 moon, the husband, being dressed in clean new clothes, is made 
 to sit on a carpet, the wife, previously washing and drying his 
 feet, puts round his neck a garland of flowers, and worships 
 him with sandal and flowers, wrestling hard in prayer for his 
 prolonged life. This being done, she provides for him a good 
 dinner, consisting of different kinds of fruits, sweetmeats, sweet 
 and sour milk and ghee-fried luchis, Ac. It should be men- 
 tioned here that a widow off"ers the same homage to the god, 
 Narayan, in the place of a husband. The usual incantation is 
 read by the priest, and she repeats it inaudibly, the substance 
 being in harmony with her cherished desire. He gets his 
 usual fee of two or four rupees and all the off"erings in rice, 
 fruits, sweetmeats, clothes, brass utensils, &c. A woman has 
 to perform this Brata regularly for fourteen long years ; after 
 which the expense becomes tenfold more, in clothes, bedding, 
 brass utensils, and an entertainment to Brahmans, friends and 
 neighbours, than in the ordinary previous years. 
 
 Besides the Bratas described above, there are many others 
 of more or less note, which are annually observed by vast 
 numbers of females, who, from their early religious tendencies, 
 seem to enjoy a monopoly of them. It is, however, a singular 
 fact that the primary object of all these religious vows is the 
 possession of all sorts of worldly happiness, seldom supple- 
 mented by a desire of endless blessedness hereafter. This is 
 unquestionably a lamentable defect in the original conception 
 and design of the popular Hindoo Shastras, clearly demonstrat- 
 ing their superficiality and poverty.
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 Note A. 
 
 OBSERVANCES AND EITES DURING PREGNANCY. 
 
 From the period of conception a woman is enjoined by way of 
 precaution to live under certain rules and restrictions, the observance 
 of which is to ensure a safe delivery as well as the safety of the 
 offspring. She is not allowed to put on clothes over which birds of 
 the air have flown, lest their return might prolong the period of her 
 delivery. She fastens a knot to one end of the dnchal of her sari* 
 and keeps it tied about her waist, and spits on her breast once a 
 day before washing her body, and is not allowed to sit or walk in the 
 open compound in order to avoid evil spirits ; as a safeguard against 
 their iuroads. she constantly wears in the knot of her hair a slender 
 reed five inches long. 
 
 When in a state of pregnancy, a Hindoo female is treated with 
 peculiar care, tenderness, and affection. She is generally brought 
 from her father-in-law's house to that of her father, where all the 
 members of the family show her the greatest love lest she should 
 not survive the throes of childbirth. Indeed, the first confinement 
 of a young Hindoo girl is justly considered a struggle between life 
 and death. As a religious safeguard and guarantee for safe delivery, 
 she is made to wear round her neck a small madnli (a very small 
 casket made of gold, silver, or copper), containing some flowers 
 previously consecrated to Baha Thaltur.] and to drink daily, until her 
 delivery, a few drops of holy water touching it with the madnli. 
 
 It is perhaps generally known that a Hindoo girl is married between 
 nine and twelve years of age — an age when her European sister 
 
 * A sari is a piece of clotli, five yards long, with colored borders. 
 t A Hindoo god generally kept by the lower orders of the people, such as 
 Domes, Chdrdls, and Bdjdis, 
 
 U
 
 306 RITES DURING PREGXANCY. 
 
 would not even dream of marriage ; and the natural consequence is. 
 she becomes a mother at thirteen or fourteen years. An'emineut writer, 
 who had studied the subject carefully, thus remarks : " Till their 
 thirteenth year, they are stout and vigorous ; but after that period, 
 they alter much faster than the women in any of the nations of 
 Europe." Her tender age. her sedentary life, her ignorance of the 
 laws of hygiene, the common dread of childbirth, the want of proper 
 mid wives as well as of timely medical aid (should any be necessary), 
 conspire sometime to cause an untimely death. She must continue 
 to observe many precautions until her accouchement is completed. 
 
 In the fifth month of her pregnancy takes place her hanchd shad* 
 The day must be an auspicious one according to Hindoo astrologers, 
 and she is treated that day with special indulgence, inasmuch as all 
 the delicacies of the season are given to her without restriction. In 
 the seventh month she is treated with hJiajd shad, when she eats 
 with a few other females (whose husbands and children are all alive) 
 all sorts of parched peas and rice, as well as methais and other sweet- 
 meats. In the ninth month, the Panchamrita] ceremony is held, 
 when she is made to wear a red-bordered ahhanda sari (a piece 
 of cloth ten cubits long with the edges uncut), which is preserved 
 with the greatest care, lest any jealous and mischievous woman who 
 has lost her children should clandestinely cut and take away a 
 portion of the same, which is considered a very portentous omen 
 for the preservation of the newborn babe. 
 
 On the celebration of panchdmrita above mentioned, the officiat- 
 ing priest, after repeating the usual incantation, pours into her 
 mouth a little of the delicacies, without the same coming in contact 
 with her teeth. She is forbidden to eat anything else that day except 
 fruits and sweetmeats ; and then a good day is appointed for the 
 
 * Kdnchd means raw ; the term shad is synonymous with desire. The 
 ceremonj' is so called from the female being allowed that day to eat all kinds 
 of native pickles, preserves, sweetmeats, confectionery, several kinds of fruits 
 then in season, sweet and sour milk, &c., but not rice or any sort of food 
 grains. Her desire is gratified, lest the girl should not survive the childbirth. 
 It should be mentioned here that, from the second month of her pregnancy, 
 she feels a great longing to eat patkhola (a sort of half-burnt, very thin 
 earthen cake) which pregnant girls relish very much on account of its peculiar 
 flavour. 
 
 f Panchdmrita means five kinds of delicacies, the food of the gods, con- 
 sisting of milk, ghee (clarified butter), dahie (curded milk), sugar, and 
 honey.
 
 RITES DURING PREGNANCY. 307 
 
 celebration of the grand final shad, when all the female relatives and 
 connections of the family are invited.* 
 
 On the day appointed an awuing is put up over the courtyard of 
 the house. Palhis are sent to each of the families invited ; and the 
 guests (nearest female relatives) begin to come in from ten in the 
 morning'. A general spirit of hilarity prevails on all sides ; noise and 
 bustle ensue ; the women are busy in receiving their guests ; prepar- 
 ations are being made for the grand feast ; the men outside direct the 
 jyrt?/^/-bearers where next to go ; the little children have their own 
 share of juvenile frolic ; the young damsels and the aged matrons 
 are seen speaking to their respective friends with mutual love, affec- 
 tion, and confidence ; and signs of joviality and conviviality are seen 
 everywhere. It is on such occasions that women unbosom themselves 
 to each other, and freely and unreservedly communicate their feel- 
 ings, their thoughts, their wishes — nay their secrets — to friends of 
 congenial spirit and tamper ; their conversation knows no end ; their 
 
 * III Calcutta, Himloo females of respectability are not permitted to be seen, 
 much less to walk in the streets; they live in a state of perfect seclusion, 
 entirely apart from the male members of the family, — it being considered a 
 very great disgrace should a respectable female be in any way exposed to 
 public gaze. The ver3'' construction of a Hindoo family dwelling-house 
 clearly indicates the prevalence of the close zenana system ; the inmates 
 must have an inner and an outer apartment; there must beau inclosed 
 court3'ard reached by tortuous passages, closed by low doors through which 
 one has to wriggle rather than to walk ; the sun seldom shines into it; with 
 small contracted staircases and foul confined air, there is no circulation or 
 ventilation : the noxious effluvia evaporating from this or that side of the 
 house, especiiiU}' from the lower floor, is a nuisance which the inmates tolerate 
 with scarcely any complaint. The drainage and waterworks have certainly 
 effected considerable improvement towards the promotion of cleanliness ; but 
 still the dirty and filtiiy state of most of the family dwelling-houses is 
 notorious. By a small door only there exists a communication between the 
 inner and outer apartment. Should the house be a small one, say from three 
 to four lidtds, which is generally the case in such a crowded city as Calcutta, 
 and should the women talk loud enough to be heard by men outside, they are 
 not only instantly checked, but severely reprimanded for the liberty. The 
 great privacj' of the close zenana system is, however, broken by females 
 being obliged to travel in a railwaj' carriage. Though Hindoos of rank, 
 whenever they have occasion to go on pilgrimage b)' rail, generally engage 
 a reserved compartment for the females, yet they cannot manage to preserve 
 absolute privacy when going into or coming out of the carriage at the Kail- 
 way Stations.
 
 308 RITES DURING PREGNANCY. 
 
 nmialile loveliness almost spontaneously developes itself ; tliey 
 unburden their minds of the heavy load of accumulated thoughts ; 
 their joys and sorrows, their happiness and misery, their sympathy and 
 emotion, pleasurable or painful, have their full scope. If they are 
 naturally garrulous, they become more so at such a jovial assemblage, 
 so that one can dive deepest down into their hearts on such an 
 occasion. Many a matrimonial match is proposed and matured at such 
 meetings; and, to crown the whole, sisters of kindred spirit embrace 
 each other with all the warmth of genuine love and affection. If 
 their minds are contracted by reason of scanty culture, their hearts 
 are full of affection, sympathy, and susceptibility, which cannot fail 
 to exercise a beneficial influence on human nature. 
 
 On such occasions, women are allowed to have some amusement or 
 tammha. according to their liking ; but of course not such as betrays 
 a vitiated taste, overstepping the bounds of decorum, which was the 
 case some years back. Dancing girls and Pdnckdllei/s (bands of female 
 singers) are entertained, who contribute not a little to the amusement 
 of the assembled guests. Immured within the walls of a close zenana, 
 they are seldom suffered to enjoy such unrestrained liberty. Otto of 
 roses, rose-water out of gold or silver pots, nosegays, and ^;aM, or betel, 
 are freely distributed among them. They sit on benches or chairs, or 
 squat down barefooted on forash bichkdnd (a clean white sheet), and 
 enjoy th.e tdmd-shd to their hearts' content. These amusements con- 
 tinue till evening, entertaining the guests with songs on gods and 
 goddesses (Durga, Krishna and his mistress lladha) : those relating 
 to Durga have a reference to the ill-treatment she experienced at the 
 hands of her parents, but those pertaining to Krishna and Riidha tell 
 of his juvenile frolics with his mother and the milkmaids, and amorous 
 songs on disappointed love, which, though they may appear harmless 
 to their worshippers, have nevertheless a partial tendency to debase 
 the mind. By way of encouragement, the singing and dancing girls 
 receive, besides their hire, presents of money, clothes, and shawls, 
 according to the circumstances of the parties retaining them. To do 
 our womeia justice, however, it is pleasing to reflect that the progress 
 of enlightenment has, of late years, wrought a salutary change in 
 their minds. Instead of the former kabis (songs), which were shame- 
 fully characterized by the worst species of obscenity and immorality, 
 they have imbibed a taste for more sober and refined entertainments. 
 Moral and intellectual improvement amongst perfectly secluded 
 females is a sure harbinger of national regeneration. The young and 
 tlie sprightly, as is naturally to be expected, enjoy these amusements 
 most ; but the more elderly and thoughtful females make the best of
 
 RITES DURING PREGNANCY. 
 
 309 
 
 the opportunity in convereation nbont domestic affairs witli those of 
 their own age and kinship. They have certainly no distaste for these 
 frivolous entertainments, but the thoughts and cares of home pres.'j 
 more heavily on their minds. Age and experience have taught them 
 to regard the enjoyment of unalloyed domestic felicity as the chief 
 end of life. A good Hindoo housewife is a model of moral excellence. 
 About four o'clock in the afternoon, when almost all. the guests are 
 assembled together, long parallel rows of pinnf-f, or wooden seats, the 
 one quite apart from the other — are arranged in straight lines in the 
 courtyard, in the midst of which is placed the seat of the expectant 
 mother, which, by way of distinction, is painted white with liquified 
 rice paste (uljxtmi) with appropriate devices. Adorned with ornaments 
 of glittering gold bedecked with precious stones, and dressed in an 
 embroidered Benares Sari, she walks gracefully towards her particular 
 seat, which is a signal for others (widows excepted) to follow. They all 
 squat down on the wooden seats, before which are placed small pieces 
 of green plantain leaves and a few little earthen plates and a cup, 
 intended to serve the purpose of plates and glasses. Before her stands 
 a light, a conch is sounded, and a rupee, with which her forehead is 
 touched, is kept for the gods to ensure safe delivery. Fruits of 
 different kinds, about fifteen or sixteen sorts of sweetmeats, Ivclth 
 liachuri, piqiuv (dal fried with ghee) in the shape of chappnfees, 
 vegetable curries of several kinds, sweet and sour milk, are provided 
 for the guests, — the female relatives of the girl serving as stewards. 
 No adult male member of the family is allowed to assist in the feast, 
 because Hindoo females blush to eat before men. Being pre-eminent 
 in point of caste, Brahman women are served first. Here the rules 
 of caste are strictly observed, and no departure therefrom is tolerated. 
 It is not uncommon that uninvited females, or, more properly speak- 
 ing, intruders, contrive by some means or other to mix with the com- 
 pany ; but they are soon singled out by the more shrewd and expe- 
 rienced, and to their chagrin and disappointment, instantly removed 
 from their seats. They do not, however, go away with curses on 
 their lips, but receive a few things and are ordered to leave the house 
 without &])alki.* 
 
 * A rather contemptible practice still lingers in the Hindoo comnuinity on 
 such public occasions. The females for the most part lay aside a portion of 
 the dinner for the purpose of carrying it liome for their absent children ; even 
 a rich woman feels no hesitation or humiliation in. following the example of 
 her less fortunate sisters. We can only account for this unseemly practice 
 on the supposition that the Hindoo ladies do not like to partake of good things
 
 310 RITES DURING PREGXAXCY. 
 
 After the feast is over, the women, washing their hands and mouths, 
 
 express their good wishes for the safe delivery of the girl, and make 
 
 preparations for returning home. Here confusion and bustle ensue, 
 
 consequent on the simultaneous desire of all to return home first ; 
 
 and as the sun begins to set, their anxiety becomes more intense to see 
 
 the faces of their absent children ; laying aside their wonted modesty, 
 
 some of them almost unblushingly make a rush and enter the first 
 
 'ptiiki that comes in their way. regardless alike of their sex and the 
 
 rules of decorum. If 100 families are invited, about ten palkk are 
 
 retained. Hackney carriages are sometimes substituted in place of 
 
 jiaUtls ; but whatever arrangements are made, it is next to impossible 
 
 to satisfy at least 200 people at one and the same time. The guests 
 
 are never expected to find their own conveyances. Before coming, 
 
 some of them keep the palanquin waiting for an hour or so, while 
 
 they are engaged at their toilet and adorning their persons with 
 
 divers ornaments. It is not unfrequently the case on such occasions 
 
 that females in poor circumstances borrow ornaments from their more 
 
 prosperous friends, in order to appear in society to the best advantage. 
 
 In the absence of mental accomplishments, Hindoo ladies necessarily 
 
 set a high value on the jewels about their persons. Some twenty 
 
 years back, massive articles of gold were considered the most recherche 
 
 ornaments, so much so that some rich ladies were adorned with gold 
 
 articles alone to the weight of 6 or 7fbs. To an English lady this 
 
 might appear incredible ; but it is a fact which does not admit of any 
 
 contradiction. Hindoo females are religiously forbidden to wear gold 
 
 ornaments about their feet, it being considered a mark of disrespect 
 
 to Lalishmi (goddess of pi'osperity) ; hence they put on pairs of 
 
 massive silver malls, or anklets, weighing sometimes about 31l)s. 
 
 Though such massive articles are a great incumbrance to the free 
 
 motion of the limbs, they are nevertheless used with great pleasure. 
 
 Indeed it has been sarcastically remarked that, were a Hindoo lady 
 
 offered a ' gold grindstone ' to wear round her neck, weighing some 
 
 without sharing them with their beloved children at home. The wish is not 
 an unnatural one, but the practice most unquesfionablj' is. In making provi- 
 sion for a grand feast, the Hindoos are obliged to treble the quantity of food 
 for the number of guests invited, especially when it is a paka jalpdn, consist- 
 ing of luchis and sandeshes (sweetmeats). If tliey invite 100 families they 
 must provide for about 300 persons, for the reasons specified above. It is 
 a pit}' that, in a matter of public entertainment, neither men nor women 
 can resist the temptation to appropriate a portion of the food to other than the 
 legitimate purpose.
 
 RITES DURING PREGNANCY. 311 
 
 201t)S., she would g^ladly accept the offer and g-o tlirongh the ordeal. 
 But as the spread of Engdish education has improved the minds of the 
 people, it has likewise improved their taste ; instead of massive gold 
 ornaments, ladies of the present day prefer those of delicate diamond- 
 cut v^rorkmanship, set with pearls and precious stones, such as chiJt. 
 sittahdr, tavahdr, sintl, tdh'ij, haju,jasain, nabanittun tdf/d, bracelets of 
 six or seven patterns, and ear-rings of three or four kinds, for which 
 girls in very early youth perforate their ears in eight or ten places, 
 as also their noses in two places. By their choice of the modern 
 ornaments fhey show their preference of elegance to mere weight. 
 Brilliant pearl necklaces* of from seven to nine rows, and costly 
 bijouteries of modern style, have superseded the old-fashioned solid 
 gold Baotis and Tanrs. K rich lady is sometimes seen with 
 jewellery worth 15,000 to 20,000 rupees and upwards ; as a matter of 
 course, such a lady is the cynosure of all eyes, and the rest of the 
 company move as satellites round the i^rimary planet. Conscious of 
 her superiority in this respect, and puffed up with vanity, she disdains 
 to hold converse with her less fortunate sisters. She is tramping, as 
 it were, •• to the tinkling sound of the ornaments of gold and gems on 
 her person." As the grand centre of attraction, her gait, her gestures. 
 her movements form the subject of general criticism ; and as an 
 object of envy she continues to be talked of even after the return of 
 the guests to their homes. 
 
 In the villages, however, silver ornaments are more in vogue than 
 gold ones, simply because the rural population have neitlier the taste 
 nor the means of the people of the city. A a rule, the Hindoos invest 
 their savings iu ornaments of gold and silver, which is turned to good 
 account in times of need and distress. Throughout Hindoosthan, the 
 people have so great a pencJumt for gold and silver ornaments, that 
 not only women but men also adorn their persons with solid articles of 
 
 * That the Hindoos have, for a long time, manifested a strong passion for 
 ornaments, is a historical fact. Even so far back as the JIahratta dynasty, it 
 was said of Dowlut Rao Sindhia that " his necklaces were gorgeous, consisting 
 of many rows of pearls, as large as small marbles, strung alternately with 
 emeralds. The pearl {moti) was his passion, and the necklace was constantly 
 undergoing change whenever a finer bead was found ; the title of ' Lord of a 
 hundred Provinces' was far less esteemed by him than that of motiwalla, the 
 ' Man of Pearls,' by which he was commonly designated in his camp." It 
 was perhaps a sight of this description that led Macaulay to say — " Our plain 
 Englisii coats command more respect than all the gorgeous orient pearl of the 
 East," — indicating thereby the involuntary awe of savage for civilized life.
 
 312 RITES DURING PREGNANCY. 
 
 sterlings gold. I have seen Setts (shroffs) and Malgoozars go abont 
 with ornaments of considerable value ; their dress, however, is 
 generally exceedingly tawdry, and bears no correspondence to the 
 worth of the articles of gold they carry about. I once weighed a solid 
 pure gold chain worn by a Sett round his waist, which the natives 
 call Gate ; it weighed over 4ftis., and was worth about 3.000 rupees. 
 
 In Bengal little children are seen with gold ornaments on their per- 
 sons* till they are six years of age ; but men are entirely free from this 
 passion. When a male child is born to a respectable Hindoo, the heart 
 of the mother irresistibly yearns to adorn its person with ornaments, 
 especially at the time of Anmiprasaii (first feeding ceremony"), i.e., at 
 six months of age, for a male, and seven months for a female child. 
 
 When the females are about to return home after the entertain- 
 ment, it is truly a scene of " sorry to part, happy to meet again." It 
 is seldom that such ojiportunities are afforded them to give free vent 
 to their feelings, thoughts, and wishes ; — a human being always feels 
 unhappy at living in a perfectly isolated state ; and this unhappiness 
 is alike manifest in both sexes. The greater the restraint, as in the 
 case of Hindoo ladies, the stronger the desire for social intercourse. 
 Can a Hindoo zenana lady, with all her veiled modesty, suppress the 
 impulse to look out through the shutters of a closed palki, with 
 guards on both sides, in the light of day 1 The impulse is by no 
 means a criminal one, but is prompted irresistibly by nature. The 
 parting exclamation on such occasions is, " Sister, when shall I have 
 the good fortune to see you again ? " '• Why, not before long," is the 
 common reply. A few diiys after the feast, the families that were 
 invited give a tangible proof of their regard for the interesting girl 
 by making her presents of clothes and sweetmeats according to their 
 respective circumstances, as a matter of course the nearest relatives 
 making the richest presents. 
 
 Note B. 
 
 THE GODDESS SUBACHANI. 
 The following is the story of this goddess : — In a certain village 
 there lived a poor Brahman boy, whose poverty was well-known 
 throughout the neighbourhood. One day a fisherwoman came to sell 
 
 * Such as Bore, Komarpdld, Nimfal, Nei/buful, Ghungur round the waist ; 
 Tdhij, Bdju, Bulla, Jasam, Tar/a, &c., on the hands ; pearl and gold necklaces 
 of various sorts, and gold mohurs or sovereigns strung together in the shape 
 of a necklace.
 
 GODDESS SUBACHAXr. 313 
 
 some fish, on seeing which the boy began to cry for them. His 
 mother, a poor widow, though very desirous to satisfy the craving of 
 her son, had unfortunately no means to buy them ; whereupon the 
 fisherwoman, affected by the cries of the boy, offered to give her credit, 
 and said she would come for tbe price on her way home. Meantime 
 the mother cooked the fish ; but before her son had time to eat them, 
 the fisherwoman, according to her promise, returned for the price. 
 The old woman being still unable to pay, the fish vendor demanded 
 the return of the fish, which, though cooked, she was willing to take 
 back. This being done, the boy had nevertheless the advantage of 
 tasting the soup made of the fish, and was so much pleased with the 
 taste of animal food that he could not resist the temptation to steal 
 one day a lame duck belonging to the king, which he ate privately. 
 Investigation being made, the theft was traced to the poor Brahman 
 boy, who, being summoned before the king, was tried, convicted, and 
 sentenced to be imprisoned, at which the mother became inconsolable. 
 Seeing her distress and despondency, the goddess Durga, in the form 
 of Suhuchani, appeared to her in a dream ; and, giving her hopes of 
 consolation and better luck for the future, finally advised her to per- 
 form the worship of the goddess Snbachani. In obedience to the 
 above injunction, she did as she was directed. Seventeen ducks made 
 of rice-paste, sixteen with two perfect legs and one with a lame leg, 
 formed a part of the ceremony. After the performance of the 
 worship and the expiatory rite of honia (burnt offering) which 
 expiates all sin, the holy water being sprinkled on the feathers of the 
 stolen lame duck, that were concealed under the ashes, the duck that 
 had been eaten was at once restored to life and sent back to the 
 king's poultry-yard. The miraculous resuscitation of the duck was 
 brought to the notice of the king, who immediately sent for the poor 
 old woman and questioned her how the dead lame duck was made 
 alive again ; the old woman, trembling through fear, related all the 
 particulars about the appearance of the goddess in a dream. The 
 king, being satisfied as to the truth of the tale, ordered the captive 
 boy to be.released at once and brought to his presence, concluding 
 that the goddess must have been very propitious to the old woman 
 and her son. Consulting his nvinisters on the subject, he said within 
 himself, he could not have a better match for his daughter, who was 
 of marriageable age, than the late delinquent. So the nuptials were 
 duly solemnized with becoming pomp, and the poor Brahman family 
 lived ever after in a state of great affluence and happiness. Hindoo 
 ladies of the orthodox school learn this tale almost in the nursery, and 
 feel a peculiar delight in reciting it on certain occasions.
 
 314 HINDOO MYTHOLOGY. 
 
 Note C. 
 
 HINDOO MYTHOLOGY. 
 
 The writings of the ancient Hindoo sages, as handed down to us by 
 history and tradition, incontestably prove that they were chiefly 
 theists ; but as their religious ideas were supremely transcendental, 
 ill-suited to the comprehension of the great mass of the people, and 
 consequently not adapted to bring joy, peace, and rest to the mind, 
 their descendants learnt to modify those ideas and practically to 
 reduce them to the level of the popular understanding. They gra- 
 dually created a Trinity, — i.e., the Creator, the Preserver, and the Des- 
 troyer. But as this triad was not sufficiently attractive or intelligible 
 to the unlettered mass, who wanted something in the shape of real, 
 tangible personification of the deity, in place of indistinct, invisible, 
 supernatural beings, a designing priesthood subsequently attempted 
 to satisfy their wishes by foisting upon them a whole rabble of gods 
 and goddesses, which are almost as innumerable as the pebbles on the 
 sea shore. In numerical strength the Pantheon of the Hindoos far 
 surpasses that of the Egyptians, the Greeks, or the Romans. What 
 ancient system of mythology contained so many as 330 millions of gods 
 and goddesses 1 As in mythology, so in chronology, the Hindoos 
 stand unrivalled. Their pantheon is as capacious and extensive as 
 their antiquity* is unfathomable and prehistoric. The origin of the 
 Puranic mythology is to be attributed to this national predilection ; 
 and the worship of the female deities with bloody sacrifices is 
 
 * It is curious to relate that Jlr. Halhed, when he wrote his " Code of 
 Gentoo Laws," hesitated to believe the Bible, because it was outdone in chro- 
 nology by the histories of the Chinese and Hindoos. With sacred reverence 
 he exclaims, at the close of his account of the four yugas : '' To such antiquity 
 the Mosaic Creation is but as yesterday, and to such ages the life of Methu- 
 selah is no more than a span ?" He says in another page : " The conscien- 
 tious scruples of Brydone will always be of some weight in the scale of 
 philosophy." If the age or reign of Brahma, viz., 55,987,200,000,000 years, 
 excited such sacred awe in the mind of this gentleman, what would liave 
 been his sensations, and how strong his faith in the holy writ of the Hindoos, 
 if he had happened to read in tiie Raniayana the account of Kama's army, 
 which, this holy writ says, amounted to 1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 soldiers 
 or rather nionkej's ? Again, two thousand times the four j'ugas, or 
 8,400,000,000 years, is the age of the sage Markanda. What, in the name of 
 Mr. Halhed, is the life of Methuselah to this ? This unbeliever in Moses 
 became at last, it is said, a firm believer in Richard Brothers."
 
 HINDOO MYTHOLOGY. 315 
 
 intended to terrify the ignorant populace into superstitious beliefs 
 still grosser than were habitual to them. 
 
 The antiquity of the Brahmanical creed and of the religious systems 
 incorporated into, and engrafted on it, has long been a subject of in- 
 teresting inquiry. It is nob my intention to go into the subject more 
 deeply than merely to affirm that it is still a debatable point among 
 the most distinguished Orientalists, whether or not the Egyptians 
 and Greeks borrowed their system of mythology from that of the 
 Hindoos, and afterwards improved on it by divesting it of the grosser 
 excrescences. The character of the Hindoo deities is more or less 
 puerile, impure, and ungodly, not possessing any of the cardinal 
 virtues, such as become the living and true God. Desiring to steer 
 clear of such deformities and impurities, the Greeks and Romans 
 consecrated separate temples to " Virtue, Truth. Piety, Chastity, 
 Clemency, Mercy. Justice, Faith, Hope and Liberty." 
 
 It is a remarkable fact, says \^ard, that " the sceptical part of man- 
 kind have always been partial to heathenism. Voltaire, Gibbon, Hume, 
 &c., have been often charged with a strong partiality for the Grecian 
 and Roman idolatries ; and many Europeans in India are suspected of 
 having made large strides towards heathenism. Even Sir William Jones, 
 whose recommendation of the Holy Scripture (found in his Bible after 
 his death,) has been so often and so deservedly quoted, it is said, to 
 please his Pandit, was accustomed to study the Shastras with the 
 image of a Hindoo god placed on his table ; and his fine metrical 
 translations of idolatrous hymns are known to every lover of verse. 
 In the same spirit, we observe, that figures and allusions to the 
 ancient idolatries are retained in almost all modern poetical compo- 
 sitions and even in some Christian writings." 
 
 It has been very wisely remarked by a philosophical traveller, Dr. 
 Clarke, that " by a proper attention to the vestiges of ancient super- 
 stition, we are sometimes enabled to refer a whole people to their 
 original ancestors, with as much, if not more, certainty, than by 
 observations made upon their language ; because the superstition is 
 engrafted on the stock, but the language is liable to change." 
 Writing on the same subject. Sir William Jones remarks : " If the 
 festivals of the old Greeks, Persians, Romans. Egyptians and Goths 
 could be arranged with exactness in the same form with the Indian, 
 there would be found a striking resemblance among them ; and an 
 attentive comparison of them all might throw great light on the 
 religion, and perhaps on the history, of the primitive world." 
 
 The Egyptians described the source of the Nile as flowing from 
 Osiris ; so the Hindoos repi'esent the holy stream of the Ganges as
 
 316 HINDOO MYTHOLOGY. 
 
 flowing from the head of Iswara. which Sir William Jones so beauti- 
 fully describes in his hymn to Gauga : 
 
 "Above the reach of mortal ken, 
 On blest Coelassa's top, where every stem 
 Flowed with a vegetable gem, i 
 
 Mahesa stood, the dread and joy of men ; 
 While Parvati, to gain a boon. 
 Fixed on his locks a beamy moon, 
 And hid his frontal eye in jocund play, 
 With reluctant sweet delay; 
 All nature straight was locked in dim eclipse. 
 Till Brahmins pure, with hallowed lips 
 And warbled prayers restored the da}-, 
 When Ganga from his brow, with heavenly fingers free, 
 Sprang radiant, and descending, graced the caverns of the west." 
 
 For composing such fine metrical translations of idolatrous hymns. 
 Mr. Foster finds fault with the conduct of Sir William Joues. He 
 writes : •• I could not help feeling a degree of regret in reading lately 
 the Memoirs of the admirable and estimable Sir William Jones. 
 Some of his researches in Asia have no doubt incidentally served the 
 cause of religion ; but did he think the least possible direct service 
 had been rendered to Christianity, that his accomplished mind was 
 left at leisure for hymns to the Hindoo gods ? Was not this a viola- 
 tion even of neutrality, and an offence, not only against the gospel, but 
 against theism itself 1 I know what may be said about personification, 
 license of poetry, and so on. but should not a worshipper of God hold 
 himself under a solemn obligation to abjure all tolerance of even 
 poetical figures that can seriously seem, in any way whatever, to 
 recognize the pagan divinities or abominations, as the prophets of 
 Jehova would have called them ? What would Elijah have said to 
 such an employment of talents 1 It would have availed little to have 
 told him. that these divinities were only personifications (with their 
 appropriate representative idols) of objects in nature, of elements, 
 or of abstractions. He would have sternly replied — ' And was not 
 Baal, whose prophets I destroyed, the same ? ' " 
 
 Dr. Stiles, President of Yale College in North America, was so 
 highly impressed with the amazing antiquity of the Hindoo Shastras 
 that he wrote to Sir William Jones, asking him to make a search among 
 the Hindoos for the Adamic Books. Had he not been a sincere Chris- 
 tian, he would have asked Sir William to send him a translation of 
 a book written some two or three millions of years ago.
 
 BAMACHAUr SECT. 317 
 
 General Stewart, who lived in Wood Street. Calcutta, was said to 
 have made a large collection of Hindoo idols, which he arranged in 
 the portico of his house. He was so fond of them that, it was said, 
 a Brahman was engaged to perform the daily worship, while he him- 
 self led the life of a Hindoo liishi, or saint, inasmuch as he totally 
 abstained from the use of either wine or meat. 
 
 Such instances of partiality on the part of enlightened Christians 
 towards heathenism, we do not see in the present day. In the early 
 times of the British settlement in India, there was a strong mania 
 for exploring the untrodden field of Brahmanical learning, and the 
 unfathomable antiquity in which it was imbedded. The philoso- 
 phical theories of the Muni's and Jilihis, their sublime conceptions 
 concerning the origin of the world and the unity of God. their utter 
 indifference to worldly concerns and sensual gratifications, their 
 living in sequestered Ashramn. the practice of religious austerities, the 
 subjugation of passions, and above all, their pure, devotional spirit, 
 lent an enchantment to their teachings, which was, in the highest 
 degree, fascinating. It was not an ordinary phenomenon in the 
 annals of the human intellect that Europeans, possessing all the 
 advantages of modern civilization, should go so far as to entertain 
 a sort of religious veneration for a system of i^olytheism, which 
 even the natives of the country now-a-dajs denounce as puerile and 
 absurd. Deeper researches have, however, subsequently dissipated the 
 delusion, and thrown on the subject a great body of light, which the 
 progress of Western knowledge is daily increasing. 
 
 Note D. 
 THE ba:ma:cha:ri, followers of kali. 
 
 In Some parts of Bengal and Assam, there still exists a sect of 
 Hindoos, known by the name of Bamdcharis, or the followers of the 
 female energy, who practise a series of Purnahishaha, orgies in the 
 name of this celestial goddess, which are nothing less than abomin- 
 able. The following is a rough programme of the rite : The Brahman 
 who is to perform the ceremony sits upon a sham image of the 
 goddess in a private room, having beside him at the same time a 
 quantity of flowers, red sandal paste, holy water, copper pans, plan- 
 tain and other fruits, green plantain leaves, parched peas, cooked fish 
 and flesh, and a certain quantity of spirituous liquor. When night 
 approaches he takes the disciple who is to be initiated into the room,
 
 318 BAMACHARl SECT. 
 
 with nino females and nine males of different castes, with one female 
 for himself and another for the disciple, and makes them all sit down 
 on the floor. Taking up a small copper pan and a little of the holy 
 water, he sprinkles it on all present, and then proceeds with closed 
 eyes to repeat a solemn incantation to the following effect : " god- 
 dess, descend ami vouchsafe thy blessings to Horomohan (the name 
 of the devotee) who has hitherto groped in the dark, not knowing 
 what thou art ; these offerings are all at thy service ; " saying this, 
 he whispers in his ear the bij-vuintra. From that time the goddess 
 becomes his guardian deity. The Brahman Guru then goes through 
 divers other formulas, pausing for a while to serve and distribute 
 liquor in a human skull or cocoanut shell to all the devotees, himself 
 setting the example first. He next desires the females to lay aside 
 their clothes, and bids his new disciple adore them as the living 
 personifications of the goddess. Eating and drinking now go on 
 freely, the males taking what is left by the females. Towards the 
 close of the ceremony, the disciple, baptised in liquor, makes presents 
 of clothes and money to the priest and all the men and women 
 present. It is easy to conceive what sort of devotional spirit is 
 evoked by the performance of these abominable orgies. Happily for 
 the interests of morality in this country, the sect is nearly extinct, 
 except in the most obscure parts of Assam and Bengal.
 
 GLOSSARY 
 
 •*:ci< 
 
 Achmany jalpdn 
 
 Adhibussi ... 
 
 Adhyapahs... 
 Adigangd ... 
 
 Agmaney ... 
 
 Agrajanma 
 Ahibarrabhdt 
 
 Akhanda 
 
 Alhold 
 
 Alhhelld 
 
 Alpand 
 
 Sweetmeats prepared with flour and sugar, and 
 fried in ghee, which are considered as con- 
 taminated by the orthodox Brahmans if 
 touched by a Sudra. 
 
 Present of sundry articles, see p. 53. Preli- 
 minary rite in meritorious acts. 
 
 Professors of Sanskrit. 
 
 Original sacred stream of the Ganges. It is 
 now known as Tolly's Nullah. 
 , Songs expressive of joy on the near approach 
 of Durga-puja. 
 
 First born. 
 
 Dinner given to bride or bridegroom in honor 
 of approaching wedding; also entertain- 
 ment given to friends and relations on that 
 occasion. 
 
 Means whole, uncut. Sdris, female's garment, 
 are generally woven by pairs, to be divided 
 into two at the time of use. But sdris 
 for ceremonial use are woven single, and 
 consequently they need not the service of 
 a knife. These latter are called akhanda 
 sdris. 
 
 Smoking apparatus. 
 
 A garment copied from the Mahomedans. 
 . Painting with rice paste.
 
 320 
 
 GLOSSARY. 
 
 AM 
 
 Avidhdshyd 
 A/iuudu Nd7'u 
 
 Anchiil 
 
 Andnrmahil 
 
 Anna 
 
 Annaprusan 
 
 Auturjuli ... 
 
 Antmora ... 
 
 Aowni Bdwiiitin dm 
 pitlu hhul khdwai. 
 Apur-pakshya 
 
 Cotton saturated witli lac, for painting the 
 edges of the feet and toes of Hindoo 
 women. It is used both for beautifying and 
 preserving their bare feet from corroding. 
 
 The dark night. 
 
 Ananda means rejoicing ; and Ndru, a ball. 
 A kind of home-made sweetmeat prepared 
 at times of domestic rejoicings. 
 
 The end of female's garment which hangs 
 over her shoulder. 
 
 Female apartment; zenana. 
 . Boiled rice. 
 
 First feeding ceremony, which takes place 
 generally on the sixth lunar month for the 
 male, and seventh for the female child. 
 , Few minutes before death, the dying person, 
 especially if old, is taken to the edge of 
 the river, and jtlaced there under water 
 knee-deep, his or her toes touching the 
 earth under water, and the body resting 
 on the lap of some of the attendants, who 
 are generally relatives, and these latter at 
 the same time keep reciting the name of the 
 guardian deity of the Kali Yuga, and put 
 drops of holy river water in the mouth 
 of the dying person, who is so kept there 
 till the last spark of life goes out. This 
 process is called Antarjali. But unhappily 
 this simple and comparatively inoflfensive 
 practice is so often abused by the unscru- 
 pulous and designing men to gain their end, 
 as is described in text, p. 259, that it 
 is justly considered a cruel and heartless 
 practice. 
 
 Helicteres isora. 
 
 Cake festival has arrived, let us enjoy for three 
 
 days, eating cakes, rice, &c. 
 , The fortnight immediately preceding the fort- 
 uight in which Durga-puja takes place.
 
 GLOSSARY, 
 
 321 
 
 Apar-palishya tarpan 
 
 Arghi 
 
 A ripdlo 
 
 AsJtnuns 
 
 Astidr 
 
 Assirhdd 
 
 Asuchi 
 
 Aswatka 
 Atab chdl 
 A tab rice 
 Atcowray 
 
 A Iterddn 
 Ayos 
 
 Aystri , 
 Aystrihood 
 
 Aysti'i-tm , 
 Ayurveda . 
 
 Oblation of water offered to departed ancestors 
 during tlie fortnight immediately preceding 
 the fortnight in which Durga-puja takes 
 place. 
 
 . Consecrated articles, p. 71 note. 
 
 ,. Eavesdropping. 
 
 . Habitations of sages. [August). 
 
 . Third month of the Hindoo calendar (July — 
 
 . Blessing. 
 
 . Impure state. In case of death or birth in a 
 family, one month in the case of Sudras, and 
 ten days in the case of Brahmans, is observed 
 as impure, during which period the whole 
 family is prohibited from taking part in any 
 religious ceremony — even giving alms to the 
 poor, paying obeisance to seniors, or greet- 
 ing equals are also forbidden. 
 
 ,. Fictts religiosa (Pipal). 
 
 , . Rice husked by drying in the sun. 
 
 . Table rice. 
 
 . A ceremony which takes place on the night 
 of the 8th (lay from the birth of a child. 
 
 ,. A cup for keeping attar or otto of roses. 
 
 ,. Bridesmaids. Unlike Chi'istians, Hindoo bride- 
 grooms have no sponsors, bridesmaids (ayos) 
 being engaged on both sides. Hindoo 
 bridesmaids must be married women 
 whose husbands are alive. Tiieir number 
 is generally live on each side ; but this 
 might be varied into more or less according 
 to circumstances or convenience, the odd 
 number always being observed. 
 
 ,. Opposed to widow, i.e., one whose husband 
 is alive. 
 
 .. Opposed to widowhood ; state of husband 
 being alive. 
 
 .. Opposed to widowhood ; state of husband 
 being alive. 
 
 .. A Sanskrit work on medicine. 
 
 W
 
 322 
 
 GLOSSARY. 
 
 Bdhd 
 
 Bdbd Thdknr 
 Bdchhd ... 
 
 Bael 
 Bdgdi 
 
 Biiituk-hhand 
 Bailaraui ... 
 
 Bahrede ... 
 
 Bdld 
 
 Bale huto nuri 
 
 Bdmdchdri 
 Bdmun ... 
 Bdpu 
 
 Bar kfliiay 
 thdlius 
 
 bacliuy 
 
 Bardl.'huran 
 Baranddld 
 
 Barfi 
 
 Bargis 
 
 Barjdlras 
 
 Barra Bav, 
 Bdrsih 
 
 Papa ; father ; a term of endearment when 
 addressed to a boy. 
 
 Another form of Shiva ; god of hobgoblins. 
 
 A term of endearment, used in addressing 
 children. 
 
 A hard shelled fruit. 
 
 A low caste Hindoo (labouring class). 
 
 Sitting or receiving room. 
 
 A rite performed generally at point of death, 
 like the extreme unction of the liomish 
 Church ; for detail see p. 256, note. 
 
 A Mahomedan festival, when goats are 
 slaughtered in large numbers. 
 
 Bangle. 
 
 Fancy Sdri, with rows of Bale flowers, 
 woven. 
 
 A sect, followers of Kdli. 
 
 Corruption of Brdhman. 
 
 Same as Bdbd, a term of endearment appli- 
 cable to boys only. 
 
 ,. A phrase indicative of blessing used by beg- 
 gars and others who come on the morning 
 after marriage, and before the bridegroom's 
 de[)arture, expecting to get something from 
 bridegroom's father. It means— May the 
 bridegroom and bride live long. 
 
 ,. Presents of household articles given by bride's 
 father to bridegroom. 
 
 .. A Avinnowing fan {^Kulo) with sundry articles 
 emblematic of prosperity, plenty, -^c. It is 
 placed in front of bride or bridegroom ou 
 their reception and departure. 
 A kind of sweetmeat. 
 
 . Mahratta marauders. 
 
 .. Bridegroom's friends and relations who accom- 
 pany the marriage procession. 
 
 . Elder daughter-in-law. 
 
 . Annuity given to Brahmans. 
 
 I
 
 GLOSSARY. 
 
 !3 
 
 lidrwdri-piijd 
 
 Bdxnrghar 
 Bdssanti ... 
 
 Bdssi- Bibdha 
 
 Bdtd 
 
 Butii 
 
 Butusd 
 
 Bali 
 
 Bau 
 
 Bduti 
 
 Binjddiib 
 
 Bdtjknnta 
 
 Buijri 
 
 Belb(i7-an ... 
 
 Bhtihdni 
 
 Bhabiturbi... 
 
 Bhddrahaii 
 
 Bhdja 
 
 Bhdjd shad 
 
 Bhdrey md Bhuldiii. 
 
 Apuja (worship) mainly got up and supported 
 by aid of subscription and fees levied on 
 marriage festivals on bridegroom. Shop- 
 keepers and dealers in country- produce 
 are the chief patrons of this puja . They 
 raise a fund by levying small impost on 
 purchasers on all transactions. By this 
 means, sometimes, in favourable quarters, 
 a large fund is raised and wasted, which, 
 had it been properly applied, might have 
 done immense good to the country. 
 
 Sleeping room on marriage night for the 
 happy pair. 
 
 , Yellowish; this color is emblematic of Spring, 
 and is used by the gay and sprightly on 
 the advent of that season. 
 
 Literally stale marriage ; ceremonials which 
 take place on the morning following the 
 marriage night. 
 
 . A tray for betel -nut. 
 
 . Ficus Indica. 
 
 . Native sweetmeat. 
 
 , A cup. 
 
 Daughter-in-law; sometimes, amongst lower 
 classes, it means wife. 
 , Old-fashioned bracelet, a costly jewel. 
 , Want of good breeding. 
 , Heaven, Paradise. 
 
 Kind of tongs. 
 
 A ceremonial rite of welcome. 
 
 Another name of Kali. 
 
 Fate; dispensation of Providence. 
 
 Sister-in-law (younger brother's wife). 
 
 Sister-in-law (brother's wife). 
 
 Parched peas, &c., given to women eiici'iiile 
 on the seventh month of their pregnancy. 
 
 An expression used by drunkards, meaning 
 "Mother Kdli is within the bottle."
 
 324 
 
 GLOSSART, 
 
 Bhdsdn 
 
 Bhdsnr 
 
 Bhdts 
 
 Bhavdnando 
 
 Bhcajto 
 
 Bhrdtridvitiya 
 
 Bhnileva ... 
 
 Bhumi-sanya 
 
 Bhupadd .„ 
 
 Bichuti 
 
 Bidui or Biddya 
 
 Biddhi shrdd 
 Biddya Slimier 
 Bidhabd ... 
 Bidhdtd 
 
 Bidhdld Purush 
 Bij mantra 
 
 Bijnyd 
 
 Billapatro or Billow 
 
 Birahu 
 Bisveswar ... 
 Bodan Ghar 
 Boidya ... 
 Bore 
 
 Bowhhdt ... 
 
 Boyra 
 
 Brahmachdri 
 
 . Immersion of image in river after being 
 ■worshipped. 
 
 . Brotber-in-law (Inisbaiid's elder brother). 
 Professional genealogists. 
 
 , A pojiular ballad singer. 
 
 . Literally rice-fed; it means weak-stomached. 
 A festival in which sisters entertain brothers. 
 
 . God of earth. 
 
 . Wanting land. 
 
 . A girl's name. 
 
 . A stinging plant (Fragia involucrata). 
 
 . Literally means farewell ; also means farewell 
 gift. 
 
 ,. Ancestor worship on special occasions. 
 
 ,. A popular play. 
 
 . Widow. 
 
 .. God of Fate. 
 
 ,. God of Fate. 
 
 .. Literally 6?/ means seed ; mantra, incantation 
 or formulary. Certain formula a spiri- 
 tual guide (guru) imparts to his pupil, 
 which is to be his daily prayer, but reli- 
 giously forbidden to repeat to the hearing 
 of any one else. The ceremony of impart- 
 ing Bij mantra is like the christening of 
 the followers of Jesus. 
 
 ,.. Day f(ir immersion of Durga in river ; or the 
 fourth day of her puja. 
 
 ,.. Leaf of Bael tree, a tree considered holy by 
 the Hindoos. 
 
 .. Songs expressive of pangs of separation. 
 
 ,.. The presiding god of Benares. 
 
 ... Place where preliminary rites are performed. 
 
 ,.. A Sanskrit work on medicine. 
 
 ... A jewel worn round the waist, by juvenals 
 only. 
 
 ... Bridal dinner. 
 
 ... A kind of nut, Terwinalia belerica. 
 
 ... Religious meudicant.
 
 GLOSSARY. 
 
 325 
 
 Brahman ... 
 Brahmntrtis 
 Bratu .,, 
 lirisakilt ... 
 
 B 71 Old 
 Brokmd 
 
 , Sacerdotal class. 
 
 . Rent-free grants of land to Bralimans. 
 
 Vow. 
 , A painted loji of wood, with an ox carved on 
 its top. It is necessary for higher grade 
 shrdddhas. 
 Literally vain ; unconsecrated. 
 The creator, first person of the Hindoo Trinity. 
 
 Caxsay 
 Chddar 
 Chdl 
 
 Chdmdr 
 Chdnakya sloka 
 Chandan ... 
 Chandi or Chandi- 
 
 puthi 
 Chnidra ... 
 Chdiidra-puli 
 Chdpkdn ... 
 Chappatee 
 Churah-pujd 
 Cha'-(ik-Swasru 
 Churdls 
 
 Chtirhd 
 
 Chdrpoy 
 
 L'hdru 
 
 Chatuspdti 
 
 Chhddlahtaldh 
 
 Chhdnd 
 Chhdtu ... 
 Chhillam ... 
 
 .. A kind of grass. 
 
 .. Sheet for covering the body. A loose vesture. 
 
 .. Literally roof of thatched huts ; colloquially 
 uncooked rice ; here (p. 100) it means the 
 semi-circular frame over the images. 
 
 .. Fan made of tails of Thibet cows. 
 
 ,.. Verses compiled by Pandit Chanakya. 
 
 ... Sandal paste. 
 
 f A book on Goddess Durga ; also another name 
 
 S of Durga. 
 
 ,.. Moon. 
 
 .. A sweetmeat. 
 
 ... A garment. 
 
 ... A kind of cake. 
 
 ... Hook-swinging festival. 
 
 ... A Sanskrit work on medicine. 
 
 ,.. Low caste Hindoos, who are considered very 
 impure. 
 
 ... Cotton-spinning apparatus. 
 
 ... A string bed, used for carrying the dead. 
 
 ... Table rice boiled with milk and sugar on 
 ceremonial occasions, and consecrated. 
 
 ... School ke[)t by learned Biahmans for teaching 
 Sanskrit. 
 
 ... A temporary shed, where certain portion of 
 marriage ceremony takes place. 
 
 ... Coagulated milk; native cheese. 
 
 ... Gram parched and powdered. 
 
 ... It is a part and parcel of the smoking appara- 
 tus of the Hindoos, generally made of earth.
 
 326 
 
 GLOSSARY. 
 
 Chhoio Bail ... Younger daughter-in-law^, 
 
 Chholo-ma ... Literally younger mother. 
 
 Chick ... ... A gold jewel (cbaiu-like) for neck. 
 
 Chinirmiirhi ... Parched rice coated with syrnp. 
 
 Child ... .„ Parched rice (flattened). 
 
 Chird-rujd ... The above re-parched. 
 
 Chogd ... ... Overcoat. 
 
 Coivries ... ... Shells current for small payments, fractional 
 
 part of a pie. 
 
 Crore ... ... Equal to ten millions. 
 
 Ddhiir 
 Du'^dhd ... 
 Daihnjna ... 
 Ddk 
 
 Dakshd Ynjna 
 Dukshind ... 
 
 Dahshindnto 
 
 Dal 
 
 Ddl Vdt ... 
 
 Dalapati ... 
 
 Balls 
 
 Dun 
 
 Ddnsdgar ... 
 
 Ddsaratha 
 
 Ddsi 
 
 Ddtd 
 
 Dayur 
 
 Debatras 
 
 Dehipahshya 
 
 Debti 
 Dewd-thoivd 
 
 A vessel for various use. 
 Literally burnt. 
 Astrologer. 
 Tinsel-ware. 
 
 I A popular play. 
 
 , Fees to officiating priests ; also small amounts 
 given to priest class after enteiiaining 
 them, 
 
 , Last rite in pnja ceremonies. 
 Peas ; split peas boiled. 
 
 , Chief and common food of the Hindoos. 
 
 . Head of a caste-party. 
 
 , Parties. 
 
 . Gift. 
 
 . Literally " Ocean of gifts." It is a mode of 
 shrdcldha, very expensive, intended for mil- 
 lionaires. 
 
 . King of Ondh, father of Kama Chandra. 
 
 . A maid.«ervant. 
 
 . Chaiitable person, 
 
 , Brother-in-law (husband's younger brother). 
 
 , Rent-free grants of land in name of some god 
 
 or goddess. 
 . The fortnight in which Durga-puja takes 
 
 place. 
 God. 
 , Literally giving and taking presents, &c.
 
 GLOSSARY. 
 
 327 
 
 Dewili 
 
 Dhdk 
 
 Dhdn 
 
 Dharmo Shahhd 
 
 Dhole 
 
 Dhuti 
 
 Dipaij 
 
 Dohjd 
 
 Dole or Dole Jdttra 
 
 Dome 
 
 Dome Sarai/a 
 Durad 
 
 Durgdtsab 
 
 Durvd 
 
 Dvija 
 
 Ecd 
 Ekddashi 
 
 Ekldi 
 
 Fiikirs 
 Fulsharjya 
 
 ... Kali-pnja night. A festival observed by 
 illimiiiiiition and fiieworks. 
 
 .. A big dnuu. 
 
 .. Paddy. 
 
 .. Assembly for discussion of religious subjects- 
 
 .. A small drum. 
 
 .. Lower garment for male, — i.e., slieet of cloth 
 worn round the loins. 
 
 ,.. A betel-box. 
 
 ... A loose vesture. 
 
 .. Commonly known as HoZi-festival. 
 
 ,.. A low caste Hindoo (street-sweeper, worker 
 on bamboo-barks). 
 
 .. What the Domes supply, i.e., baskets, &c. 
 
 .. A goddess with ten hands, whose worship is 
 performed, with great pomp, in Lower 
 Bengal, in Sept. — October. 
 
 ... Durga-puja. 
 
 ,.. Grass. 
 
 ,. Twice-born or regenerated. Brahmans are 
 called twice-born : their first birth being 
 their natural birth ; and second, tlie meta- 
 phorical, when they are invested with the 
 sacred thread (regenerated). This term is 
 also applicable to birds, because they are 
 supposed to be born once when eggs are 
 laid ; and again when eggs are hatched. 
 
 .. A IMahoniedan festival. 
 
 .. Eleventh d:iy of new moon as well as the same 
 
 day after full-moon (days of close fast for 
 
 widows). 
 .. See Urani. 
 
 ,. Muhomedan mendicants. 
 
 .. Literally bed of flower. It is the third night 
 after marriage, which is a night of festivity 
 in bridegroom's house, and passed in all 
 manner of jollities. Also it means the pre- 
 sents given by girl's father on that occasion.
 
 328 
 Ganesha ... 
 
 Gdntchhdrd 
 Garibparhur 
 
 Guru 
 Guru 
 Gdtra-haridrd 
 
 Gauri ,,, 
 Gay air i 
 Gay lash 
 Ghard 
 Gharbasdth 
 
 Ghar-Jamaye 
 
 Ghata 
 
 Ghitah 
 Ghungur ... 
 
 Ghunsi 
 Gilfiy ... 
 
 Ginni 
 
 Giri Bald ... 
 Gokhaddk ... 
 Golappdss 
 Golemul ... 
 Gopinis ... 
 Gote 
 Goylas 
 Grahajdg ... 
 Grdmvaii ... 
 
 GLOSSARY. 
 
 An eleptiant-headed god, son of Shiva and 
 
 Durgd . 
 Bridal knot. 
 A flattering term used by up-countrymeD. 
 
 Literally means Supporter of the poor. 
 Cow ; figuratively illiterate. 
 Water-pot with a tube attached, as a teapot has. 
 , Ceremony of besmearing the body of bride 
 or bridegroom with turmeric. 
 Maiden name of Durgd. 
 Divine prayer enjoined for the Brahmans. 
 Glass, drinking vessel. 
 Large water-pot. 
 
 Ceremony of visiting father-in-law's house 
 three times within the week after marriage. 
 Son-in-law who lives with, and is solely 
 dependent on, father-in-law. 
 , Earthen water-pot used in religious cere- 
 monies. 
 . Go-between ; professional match-makers. 
 . A jewel for juvenals, which makes jingling 
 sounds on least motion, worn round the 
 waist or ankle. 
 String worn rotmd the loins. 
 . An unedible fruit. 
 , Female head of a family. 
 . Name of a girl. 
 . Beaf-eaters. 
 
 . A vessel for keeping rose-water. 
 . Confusion. 
 
 Milkmaids, Krishna's sweethearts. 
 , Waist chain. 
 . Milkmen. 
 
 . Religious atonement. 
 
 . Stop-money given to urchins of the neigh- 
 bourhood to prevent tlie nuisance caused 
 to the bridegroom on his way to the bride's 
 house, by pelting him with stones and 
 other things — a privilege sanctioned by
 
 GLOSSARY. 
 
 329 
 
 custom. This bears some affinity to the 
 European practice of casting old boots and 
 shoes at the wedded pair by the rehitious 
 on their making exit from the house. 
 
 Guru ... ... Literally senior, master; spiritual guide. 
 
 Gurumohdsay ... Pedagogue, village school-master. 
 
 Gydsur ... ... Tlie presiding god of Gya. 
 
 Habbishee ... ... A dish for sages in days of yore ; a pure food 
 
 according to Hindoo notion. 
 
 Hdkirn ... ... INIahomedan physician ; also a judicial officer. 
 
 Handi ... ... Earthen pot for cooking purposes. 
 
 Haru ... ... Another name of Shiva. 
 
 Hurt ... ... Anothev name oi K?-ish7ia. 
 
 Haribole ... ... Unlike one of the ten commandments in 
 
 ths Bible, "Thou shaft not take the 
 name of the lord thy God in vain" — 
 Hindoo shastra enjoins to repeat the name 
 of god as often as possible. Consequently 
 some of the bigotted Vaishnavites day and 
 night repeat the name and turn their beads. 
 Hari is another name of Vishnu, the second 
 person of the Hindoo trinity, and hole means 
 sound. Consequently it is considered meri- 
 torious to repeat the word "Haribole," as 
 often as possible, during the funeral, in order 
 to keep off all worldly considerations, at 
 least for the time. 
 
 Hdrihiit ... ... Sacrificial post; it is like a two-pronged fork. 
 
 Hdris ... ... Mehters. 
 
 Hani Thfikar ... A popular ballad singer. 
 
 Hdl-liuzdr ... ... Purchases ; marketing. 
 
 Hdthd ... ... A ladle. 
 
 Hdlhchhari ... A method of discipline to enure early attend- 
 
 ance in vogue in village schools. 
 
 Hdiji-umld ... Refuse of spices ground down into a paste. 
 
 Two women, whose husbands are alive, and 
 who are known to be uncommonly doated 
 upon by their husbands, are selected from
 
 330 
 
 GLOSSARY. 
 
 Honia 
 Hukkd 
 
 amongst tlie friends and relations of the 
 bride, Avho, sitted opposite of each otjjer, 
 face to face, grind the above ingredients, 
 at the same time keep a small quantity of 
 honey in their mouth. This paste, thus 
 prepared, is supposed to possess some 
 hidden charms. When the marriage cere- 
 mony is going on in the courtyard of the 
 zenana, the female relatives and friends of 
 the bride throw lumps of this paste at the 
 bride, from a respectable distance, as an 
 inevitable means of winning the bridegroom 
 over to the bride, and bringing him (the 
 bridegroom) under the all-powerful influence 
 of petticoat government. Sometimes rice 
 coated with treacle is used instead. 
 
 Burnt oSering. 
 
 Smoking apparatus. 
 
 hidrn 
 
 King of heaven. 
 
 Jdchi-jdchi 
 Jiignnndtha 
 Jagat 
 Jagdtdhdtri 
 
 Jai 
 
 Jai Kali K'dhd/d 
 
 Jalpdii 
 Jdnid 
 
 Jdindi. ^hdxthi 
 Jiuiina Ayeslri 
 
 JnnmdshUimi 
 Jaraioyd 
 Jdsain 
 Jasodd 
 
 ... Coming, coming. 
 
 .. The presiding god of Pooree in Orissa. 
 ... World 
 ...A goddess 5 literally means Mother of the 
 
 world. 
 ... Victory. 
 ■icdli An exclamation generally used by illiterate 
 
 and low people; literally means Victory to 
 
 Kili, the presiding goddess of Calcutta. 
 ... Sweetmeats in general. 
 ... Waistcoat. 
 
 ... A festival; day for entertaining sons-in-law. 
 ... Life long ayestrihood, — i. e., never to be a 
 
 widow. 
 ... A festival (^Krislind''s birthday). 
 ... Jewels set with precious stones. 
 ... A gold jewel for arm. 
 ... A milkmaid, the foster mother of Krishna.
 
 GLOSSARY. 
 
 331 
 
 Jdttf'd ... .. Departure ; also Dramatic performance. 
 
 Jatuk ... ... Literally smiiU money-presents sjiven to bride 
 
 aiul brideiTroom by friends and relations on 
 the consunmiiition of marriage, and to 
 cliild on its fu'st feeding ceremony. 
 
 Jhdl ... ... Literally hot; pungent ; prei)aration of spices, 
 
 cenerally given to mothers at childbirth as 
 a stimulant acting as a preventive against 
 cold. 
 
 Jhi ... ... INIaidservant ; literally Daughter. 
 
 J/aildn ... ... The swiuging festival dedicated to Krishna. 
 
 Kahirdj ... ... Hindoo physician. 
 
 Knchuri ... ... A kind of cake. 
 
 Kdhans ... ... Quantity numbering 1280. A kalian of cowries 
 
 (shells) is now worth four annas. 
 
 Kc'ijitlndthd ... A collyrium case. 
 
 Knld Bun ... ... Ganesha's wife. 
 
 Kiild-kdla Amdb(ishi/a The dark night immediately before the Dnr- 
 ga-pnjd, so called because the gardeners on 
 that day collect all the plantains they can 
 for sale during the festival. 
 
 Kdli ... ... A goddess with four hands and dark-com- 
 
 plexioned, whom thieves and dacoits worsliip 
 before setting out on their nefarious pur- 
 poses. 
 
 Kdli ghdt ... ... A holy place in the soutliern suburbs of Cal- 
 
 cutta, where stands the shrine of Kdli from 
 time out of mind, after which, it is said, 
 Calcutta is named. 
 
 Kdli mdihey jdij ... Victory to mother Kali. 
 
 KuH-yiiga ... ... One of the four great periods of the world ; 
 
 it is the present or iron age. 
 
 Kdb'e ... ... A kind of pulse. 
 
 Knlli/d ... ... A Maliomedan dish. 
 
 Kalpu ... ... Ceremonial rite prefatory to pnja proper. 
 
 Kdindhenu ... ... A cow which gives milk at all times of the 
 
 year ; also an imaginary heavenly cow.
 
 332 
 
 GLOSSARY. 
 
 Kanakinjuli 
 
 Kanchd shid 
 Kuusdri 
 Kaowra drak 
 
 Karta 
 Karatdl 
 
 Kdrtik 
 
 Kdsar 
 
 KasJiye or kasaye 
 Kuld 
 
 Kulynyiina.., 
 Kausdlya ... 
 
 Kdynstha or hdynsto 
 
 Kerdai 
 
 Khd-khd ... 
 
 Kh'ii 
 
 Khdnsdmd ... 
 
 Khiipjiurer Sard 
 
 Khdrd 
 Khari 
 
 Khusdri-ddl 
 Khdaguyldp 
 
 Khdsgayldpwdllds 
 
 Khiiyiir 
 Khichri 
 
 ,. A ceremony performed immediately before a 
 bridegroom leaves bis bouse to join mar- 
 riage procession; also in jgw/i ceremonies 
 before Vdsdn, or immersion. 
 
 .. See note to p. 306. 
 
 ,. Brazier. 
 
 .. A kind of scent ; decoction of tbe Kdyd 
 flower. 
 
 .. Lord ; owner ; male bead of a family. 
 
 ..Cymbal; a kind of circular metallic musical 
 instrument. 
 
 ,. A god, wbo is a celebite; tlierefore be is 
 considered as a cbild-god and worsbipped 
 by tbose wbo are not blessed witb cbildren, 
 
 .. A circular metallic iiistrunieiit producing, 
 wben struck, a loud and barsb sound. 
 
 . Butcber. 
 
 ... A land-measure : one-sixteentb of a biga = 
 720 sqr. feet. 
 
 .. A sage. 
 
 .. One of tbe wives of Dasaratba, and motber 
 of Rama Cbandra. 
 
 .. Writer caste. 
 
 .. Writer. 
 
 ... A cant term meaning lonely. 
 
 ... Parcbed rice. 
 
 .. A valet. 
 
 ., Sacrificial vessel (eartben) for liolding blood 
 of tbe immolated animal. 
 
 .. Sacrificial sword. 
 
 .. Cbalk. 
 
 ., A kind of inferior pulse. 
 
 .. Stafl encased in clotb, wbicli accompany 
 marriage processions. 
 
 .. Tbose tbat carry Khdsgayldp in marriage 
 processions. 
 
 .. Obscene songs. 
 
 .. H"<lge-p()dge; a disb of mixture of dal and 
 rice.
 
 GLOSSARY. 
 
 333 
 
 Khirnrchhdch 
 Khoddhond 
 
 Khohd 
 Khole 
 
 Khojid 
 
 Kmkhuh ... 
 KiUunix 
 
 Kohl 
 
 Kohiu'dUd ... 
 
 Koinarpdttd 
 
 Koptd 
 
 Koraij-rdur 
 
 Krishna 
 
 Kula-miirjddd 
 
 Kulins 
 
 Knlo 
 
 Kumdr 
 
 Kumdr Sarya 
 
 Kumar- is 
 
 Kunti 
 
 Kurmd 
 Kusdsans ... 
 
 A sweetmeat. 
 . A flatter! 112^ term used by up-countrymen, 
 
 equivalent to " Your WorsLip." 
 . Baby (male). 
 
 . A musical instrument like a drum, with both 
 ends tapering to a smaller circumference 
 than the centre. 
 . Hair gathered and wound round on back of 
 
 head of Hindoo women. 
 . Gold embroidered cloth. 
 . Band of singers and musicians with n head 
 female singer. 
 Popular ballad. 
 . Popular ballad singers. 
 
 A jewel for juvenals, worn round the waist. 
 , A Mahomedan dish. 
 
 A virgin widow. 
 , An incarnation of Vishnu. [scale. 
 
 Honorarium given to one higher in social 
 , One higher in social scale. 
 Winnowing fan, made of bamboo-bark. 
 Potter. 
 Pottery. 
 Virgins. 
 
 Mother of the five Pandavas, the well-known 
 heroes of the great epic poem Mahabharat. 
 , A Mahomedan dish. 
 , Grass seats used on ceremonial occasions. 
 
 Laganshd ... 
 Lajjd-hastra 
 
 Lakshmi ... 
 fMkshmi ... 
 Lamb-rass,., 
 
 . Marriage season. 
 
 . A piece of cloth for covering the bride 
 and bridegroom, so as to screen them from 
 public gaze during certain portion of mar- 
 riage ceremony: thus initiating her into 
 the seclusion of zenana. 
 A popular ballad singer. 
 
 Goddess of wealth and prosperity. 
 One of the 12 signs of the zodiac; Aries, the 
 ram.
 
 334 GLOSSARY. 
 
 Lanka ... ••• -A-" imaginary island of gold, egjr-sbaped, sup- 
 
 posed to be tlie present Island of Ceylou. 
 
 Lion-rass ... ... One of the 12 signs of the zodiac; Leo, the 
 
 lion. 
 
 T^orvkatd ... ••■ Social custom. [ghee. 
 
 L.uchi ... ••• -^ kind of cake, like chnppatees, but fried in 
 
 Md ... — Mother. 
 
 M'idhusudan ... Another name of Krishna, 
 
 Mdduli ... ... A small casket made of gold, silver, or copper, 
 
 used a3 a receptacle for charms, &c. 
 Md^-o ma .. .•• An exclamation of surprize generally used 
 
 by women, equivalent to Oh mother ! 
 iMdhd Aatnmi ... The second day of the Durga-puja. 
 
 Malidbhdvut ... One of the two great epic poems of the 
 
 Hindoos. 
 Mahdileva ... Another name of Shiva. 
 
 Muhdlayd ... ... It is like the All Souls' day of the Romish 
 
 Church. 
 A cant phrase, meaning — It is the day and place 
 
 for amusement and revelry. 
 A covered palanquin. 
 , The second day of the Cake Festival. 
 . String of beads ; also garland (of flowers). 
 . Sandaled garlands. 
 , Anklet. 
 
 Incantation ; certain formulas of words. 
 . The great Hindoo lawgiver. 
 . A popular [)lay. 
 . Name of a sage. 
 
 . The priest who officiates at the time of cre- 
 mation of the dead, 
 ,. A goddess (patron deity of children). 
 .. One lower in social scale to the hulins. 
 ,. A boat fitted as a stage for musical choir ; it 
 is so called from its resembling a Maur, or 
 peacock. 
 
 jSlahdindydr Bdzdr ... 
 
 JMahdpdijd.. 
 
 Mukar Suukrdnti 
 
 Mdld 
 
 Muld-chandan 
 
 Mull 
 
 Mantra 
 
 Manu 
 
 Mdnvnvjiin 
 
 Mdrhando ... 
 
 Maruipord Brdhnan 
 
 Md Shiisthi 
 
 Maulik 
 
 Maurpanhhi 
 
 Maynd 
 Meld 
 
 A talkative bird. 
 Fair, exhibition.
 
 GLOSSARY. 
 
 335 
 
 Methdi or Mitdi 
 Mfthrdiiis ... 
 M lech us 
 
 Mondd 
 
 Moong-ddl.., 
 
 Moonglivdr 
 
 Moori 
 Moti 
 Munis 
 
 Murdafardsh es 
 Murkhi 
 
 A kind of sweetmeat. 
 
 Women of the sweeper caste. 
 
 Literally unclean ; filthy ; a term of con- 
 tempt used by the Hindoos towards Maho- 
 medans, Christians, &c., who are not clean 
 according to Hindoo idea of cleaidiness 
 and purity. 
 
 A kind of aweetmeat. 
 
 A kind of pulse. 
 
 Earthen-pot. It is one of the articles which 
 compose Baranddld. 
 
 Literally head ; a victim. 
 
 Pearl. 
 
 Sages or saints. 
 
 Undertakers. 
 
 Parched rice coated with treacle. 
 
 Ndhami rdiri 
 
 NidxiTdtttm Tdgd 
 IVd'jdrd 
 JS'dgds 
 Nuhabat 
 
 Ntiihiddhi ... 
 N<il or 7iul 
 Nmiad 
 Nanadhhdinee 
 
 Ndtmi-muka 
 
 Nil7'llU ... 
 
 Natch 
 
 NejjJniful ... 
 NiddJi 
 iV//rt 
 Nimfal ... 
 
 Ninth niijht from new or full moon. Also 
 
 night of the third day of Durga-i)uja. 
 A gold jewel for arm. 
 Big drum. 
 
 , Hindoo mendicants. 
 A concert of nine musical instruments; it 
 is generally played from a lofty place, for 
 which a temporary stage or tower of bam- 
 boo is made, which is also sometimes called 
 Nahabat, but properly Nahabat-khana. 
 , Ofi'erings to gods or goddesses. 
 Pipe. 
 
 Sister-in-law (husband's sister). 
 Money-present giveu by bi-ide's father to her 
 husband's sister. 
 , Ancestor-worship. 
 Nail-cutter, 
 Dancing. 
 
 A jewel for juvenals worn round the waist. 
 A Sanskrit work on medicine. 
 , A sacred tree. 
 , A jewel for juveuuls woru round the waist.
 
 336 
 
 GLOSSARY. 
 
 Nindd 
 Niruvjnn ... 
 
 Nishi 
 Nitcii 
 Niumhhansa 
 
 Finding fault with. 
 
 Immersion of image in river after being 
 
 worshipped. 
 Midnight. 
 
 A popular ballad singer. 
 Literally means breaking of rules. The day 
 
 from which the restrictions imposed during 
 
 mournins; are removed. 
 
 Pddris 
 
 Pdgri 
 
 Pdji 
 
 Pdlid cloy 1th d 
 
 Pdkd jalpdn 
 
 Pdlki 
 
 Pull-hull ... 
 
 Pdn 
 
 Pdnchdli ... 
 
 Punchdmrila 
 
 Pdn-ddu ... 
 
 Pdpur 
 
 Puiuikdl 
 
 Pdrhans 
 
 Pnshmind ... 
 
 Pdtsdld 
 
 PuUra 
 
 Pdtlra - du rshan i 
 
 Pans 
 
 Pans Sankrdnt 
 
 Paykdti 
 
 Phdg 
 
 Pihddn 
 
 Pinda 
 
 Pirdli 
 
 Piray 
 
 Missionaries. 
 
 , Head dress, a turban. 
 
 . Mean, wicked. 
 
 . Final marriage-settlement. 
 
 . Feast given of sweetmeats only. 
 
 . A kind of conveyance carried by four bearers 
 on their shoulders. 
 
 . A vegetable much liked by the Hindoos. 
 
 .. Betel. 
 
 . Musical drama. Popular ballads. 
 
 ,. See note, p. 306. 
 
 ,. A tray for betel-nuts, &c. 
 
 ,. A kind of cake. 
 
 . Next world. 
 
 ,, Festivals. 
 
 . Woollsn. 
 
 .. Village school. 
 
 .. Literally leaf, letter ; marriage agi'eement. 
 
 .. Present of money givea to would-be bride- 
 grooms. 
 
 ., Ninth month of the Hindoo calendar : Decem- 
 ber-January. 
 
 .. Last day of the month of Paus ; the second day 
 of Cake Festival. 
 
 .. Faggots. 
 
 .. A kind of red powder used in Holi festival. 
 
 .. A spittoon. 
 
 .. Funeral cake. 
 
 .. An outcast. 
 
 ,.. "Wooden seat.
 
 GLOSSARY. 
 
 337 
 
 J'iidli 
 Piljhdpd 
 Poita 
 Foldo 
 
 Pmjupati 
 
 Prdn 
 
 P?-ntimus ... 
 Prntipada ... 
 I'ravuhar ... 
 Prdyixchitlra 
 Prondm 
 
 Prnndini ... 
 
 Pujd 
 
 Puriiohiahaka 
 P tiro hit 
 Puspdnjuli ... 
 Puthi 
 Jiddhd 
 
 RdJ 
 lidjd 
 
 lidksfinsjs ... 
 Udmn Chandra 
 lidmdyana 
 
 Rdmprosdd 
 lUr-hdthd ... 
 lids 
 
 Jfnsdgolla ... 
 Bdvana 
 
 . Ilice-paste. 
 
 . A jewel for tlie back. 
 
 . Siicred tliread of tlie sacerdotal class. 
 
 . A Maliomedaii dish, now become fashionable 
 
 amoiijrst Hindoos. 
 . God of Fate, another name of Brahma, the 
 creator, the first person of the Hindoo 
 Trinity. 
 , Literally life ; term of endearment used in 
 
 addressing sweethearts. 
 . Images of <rods. 
 First day after new and full moon. 
 Literally sun. 
 Atonement. 
 Bow, a mode of saluting the senior in vonfue 
 
 amongst the natives of Bengal. 
 Small amounts of money olFered to gods and 
 goddes-^es at the time of making obeisance 
 to them. 
 Worship. 
 Orgies. 
 . Literally well-wisher of a family; family j)riest. 
 Offering of flowers. 
 Manuscript sacred books. 
 Kri.shna'.i principal sweetheart, a milkmaid. 
 
 Rddhd and Krishna are model lovers. 
 Reign, kingdom. 
 King. 
 
 Female monsters, or cannibals. 
 The deified hero of the Hdmdyana. 
 One of the two great epic poems of the 
 
 Hindoos. 
 A popular ballad singer. 
 Widow-handed, i.e., without any jewels on. 
 A festival of Kri.shnn. 
 A kind of sweetmeat. 
 
 The monster kin<x of Ceylon, with ten heads 
 and twenty hands, the principal hero of 
 tlie Rdmdyana.
 
 338 
 
 GLOSSAET. 
 
 Rayhdh .. 
 Rayowbhdts 
 
 Baywos 
 
 Rek 
 
 liishis 
 
 A small plate (disb). 
 
 A class of people who are neither beggars 
 nor religious mendicants, of decent appear- 
 ance, and in social scale below the priest 
 class, whose precarious living is the occa- 
 sional charity given tliem during the 
 shrdddha and marriage ceremonies. Con- 
 sequently, they are of all the most trouble- 
 some and discontented people, and, like 
 Oliver, always ask for more. 
 
 See liayobhuts. 
 
 A small basket for measuring grain, corns, &c. 
 
 Saints, sages. 
 
 Sabhd 
 
 Sadhavds ... 
 
 Sddhoi 
 
 Safeydd 
 
 Sdheb loques 
 
 Sajuti ovSavjitti Brata 
 
 Sakhisangbdd 
 
 Sdktas 
 
 Sakti 
 
 Sdlgrdm Sild 
 
 Sdli 
 
 Sumajik 
 
 Sdiidi 
 
 Sondes 
 
 Sandfly a ... 
 
 Sang 
 
 Sanliha-dhani 
 
 Saptami 
 
 Assembly. 
 
 Those whose husbands are alive. 
 
 Virtuous woman. 
 
 Pounded rice. 
 
 Europeans. 
 
 A religious vow, performed by unmarried girls 
 
 only. 
 Sonjis expressive of news conveyed to Krishna 
 
 by Brinda (one of Krishna's swe.ithearts) 
 
 of the pangs of separation felt by the 
 
 milkmaids. 
 A religious sect, followers of Kdli, who can 
 
 ofier animal sacrifice and eat animal food. 
 Literally strength. Another name of Kali 
 
 (wife of Shiva). 
 A household god. 
 Sister-in-law (wife's sister). 
 Social presents. 
 Flute. 
 
 A kind of sweetmeat. 
 Literally evening ; daily evening service. 
 Carricature representation 
 . Sound of conch. 
 , Literally seventh day of the new and full 
 
 moon; first day of Durga-puj<i.
 
 GLOSSARY. 
 
 339 
 
 Sdra Sangraha 
 Savdswuti ... 
 Sari 
 
 Sarjya-toldni 
 
 Survuswu ... 
 Saittydn 
 
 Sati 
 
 Satin 
 Sauddmini ... 
 
 Smv.sur 
 
 Sdwsuri 
 
 Seyteyrd-pujd 
 
 Shad 
 
 Earthen vessel, covering for Handi. 
 
 An abridged Sanskrit woric on medicine. 
 Goddess of speech and learning. 
 Is a piece of cloth, 5 yards long, by 1{ yards 
 wide, for adult, with borders, the ground 
 generally being white, but sometimes colored, 
 striped, checked, or otherwise. It is the 
 oidy garment of Hindoo female, which 
 covers her from head to foot, — that is, one- 
 half is worn round the loins and the other 
 half serves the purpose of covering the 
 upper part of her body, as well as veiling 
 the head. Widows are religiously prohi- 
 bited from wearing bordeied or colored 
 saris. They use a piece of cloth of same 
 length and breadth, but always white- 
 However, they are allowed to use silk surics 
 (of course unbordered and uncolored as 
 above) on festive occasions. 
 
 . Honorarium paid to bridesmaids for remov- 
 ing the temporary bed set up for bride and 
 bridegroom on the night of marriage, — an 
 office which they are i)rivileged to perform. 
 
 .. A Sanskrit work on medicine. 
 
 , Religious atonement ; a service like the 7nass 
 of the Romish Ciiurch. 
 
 , . Literally chaste; a name of Durga ; immola- 
 tion of Hindoo widow. 
 
 .. Rival wife. 
 
 .. Name of a girl ; literally lightning, to which 
 she is likened. 
 
 ,. Father-in-law. 
 
 ,. Mother-in-law. 
 
 ,. Worship of the God of Fate on the Gth night 
 after birth of a child. 
 
 .. Means " desire." Here ([)p. 306-7) it means 
 a ceremony and entertainment given on the 
 5th, 7th, and 9th moiUh of pregnancy. On 
 which occasion all desirable (palatable)
 
 340 
 
 GLOSSARY. 
 
 Shdiidhyd-pnjd 
 Sharul-Shushi 
 
 Shdstru 
 Shuydiiid ... 
 Shiddi 
 Shioa 
 
 Shi lid or Shruddha 
 
 Shobeboriit 
 
 ahuoa-dristi 
 
 Shuvd-hurma 
 
 Siddlin 
 
 iSidd/ia dial 
 
 iSidhesicdri 
 
 Siiidar 
 
 Sindurchnpri 
 
 Sivti 
 Sitd 
 
 Sitdhaur ... 
 Sital Shasthi 
 
 Sitdi-oge 
 Sitori 
 Sloka 
 Smriti 
 
 eatables are given to pregnant women, as 
 well as to the female guests invited. Tliis 
 ceremony originated with the idea that this 
 is the most critical time for a woman, and 
 she might not survive the (sweet) pain of 
 childbirth ; so the relations and friends 
 become anxious for her, and feed, clothe, 
 and entertain her in the best way they can. 
 
 .. Special puja on the second day of the Durga- 
 puja festival. 
 
 ... Literally moon of a particular season, when 
 she shines brighter than ever. Here it is 
 the name of a girl, who is likened to the 
 moon of that season. 
 
 .. Sacred book. 
 
 ,.. Another name of the goddess Kali. 
 
 ... Hem[). 
 
 ... The destroyer, third person of the Hindoo 
 Trinity. 
 
 ... Funeral ceremony. 
 
 ... A Mahomedan festival. 
 
 ... Auspicious sight. 
 
 .. Meritorious work. 
 
 ... Any thing boiled. 
 
 ... Rice husked by boiling. 
 
 ... Another name of the goddess Kiili. 
 
 ... Vermillion. 
 
 ,,. 'J'oilet box made of bamboo-barks lined with 
 shells ; silver ones are made for the wealthy. 
 
 ... A jewel for forehead. 
 
 ... llama Chandra's wife, heroine of the lidina- 
 yamt. 
 
 ... A jewel for forehead. 
 
 ... Another name of the goddess Shasthi, whose 
 festivity is observed by eating stale fo(Kl. 
 
 ... A kind of sweetmeat. 
 
 ... Fresents given iu winter. 
 
 ... Verses. 
 
 ... Sacred book.
 
 GLOSSARY. 341 
 
 Sonurchdild ... Liti.'i:illy niildoii modii; ;i term of eiKlcainient. 
 
 So?osh ... ... Si.xtecMi diireieiit kinds of jjifts allnttod to 
 
 15ialiin:itis (\uv\nir sJirdddhn ceretnoiiy. Tliey 
 
 are as follow : — 
 
 1. Land, or its value. 
 
 2. Seat (wooden) or a piece of carpet. 
 
 3. A waterpot. 
 
 4. A jilate with rice. 
 
 5. A i)late with a piece of cloth. 
 
 6. A plate with a srnrlaiid of flowers. 
 
 7. A plate with a piece of sandalwood. 
 
 8. A milch cow, or it.s value. 
 
 9. An umbrella. 
 
 10. A pair of shoes. 
 
 11. A tray fur betel-mit. 
 
 12. A lamp-stand. 
 l.S. A piece of silver. 
 14. A jiiece of gold. 
 1.5. Abed. 
 
 16. A plate with afruit, jjenerally a cncoa- 
 
 IHlt. 
 
 Sri ... ... Einblenx of prosperity and beaiify ; it is 
 
 made of rice-paste, of conical sliai)e ; and 
 with its colored ornaments, which are also 
 made of the same material, it bears a 
 distant resemblance to a Xnms calce. 
 
 Sr'nnat Vdgbat ... Sacred book of the Hindoos, esj)ecially for 
 
 the Vdi.shiKih class. 
 
 Srvli ... ... Sacred books ; traditions. 
 
 Siihochaui ... ... A uoddcss. 
 
 Sudra ... ... Servile caste. 
 
 Sn/i ... ... Grainy flour. 
 
 iSnlnUuJi ... ... Literally comfortable seat ; bridal convey- 
 
 ance. 
 
 Surjya ... ... Sun. 
 
 Tdl)ij ... ... A _2old armlet. 
 
 Tugd ... ... A jewel worn above the elbow in the shape 
 
 of a baiin-le.
 
 342 
 
 GLOSSARY. 
 
 Tdmdslia ... 
 
 Tantra Shustra 
 
 Tap 
 
 TdrAhur 
 
 Tarkdii 
 
 Tastiram ... 
 
 Tdiwd 
 
 Tdr 
 Terchd Sdri 
 
 ThukurddJdii 
 Thdhirghdv 
 Thdliurpr) ... 
 
 rhdld 
 Thdttii 
 Theyti 
 
 rimk-thik 
 Tila Kditchan ) 
 Shrnddha > 
 Ththas 
 
 Tnddy-khdnnd 
 Tom-tom ... 
 Trisul 
 Tulsi 
 
 Ulu, Uln, Uln 
 
 Unghiu 
 Urdni 
 
 Uitari 
 
 Sport, jokes, fan, amusements. 
 , Siicred books of tlie Sukta sect. 
 Heat. 
 
 A gold cjiain for neck. 
 Vegetable dish. 
 . Religious mendicant. 
 Literally enquiring after one's health. In 
 case of relatives presents are given on such 
 occasions. 
 . A gold jewel for arm, and a costly one. 
 Fancy Sdri, with slanting rows of flowers or 
 stripes. 
 . Place of worship. 
 . Place of worship. 
 
 . Sisters-in-law (eider brother's wife) use this 
 term in verbally addressing tlieir husband's 
 younger brothers. 
 . A large plate (dish). 
 . Pleasantries. 
 . Widow's garment, a piece of cioth without 
 
 any border or color. 
 ,. Supernatural influence. 
 
 . Inexpensive funeral ceremony. 
 
 . Places of pilgrimage. 
 
 . Where fermented palm-juice is sold. 
 
 , . Drum. 
 
 ,. A 3-pronged weapon. 
 
 . A holy plant; Ocimnm sanctum. 
 
 . Sounds indicative of excessive joy uttered by 
 women only on certaiti ceremoniid occasions. 
 
 .. Corset. 
 
 .. A loose vesture for covering the body ; some- 
 times worn over chapkan, frizzed. 
 
 .. A sheet of cloth worn by the chief mourner 
 for one month, at one end of which an iron 
 key is fastened to keep off evil spirit.
 
 GLOSSARY. 
 
 343 
 
 Vaishnavax 
 
 Vdndii 
 
 Vnth 
 
 Veyld 
 
 Vikramddilya 
 
 Vilwu 
 Vipra 
 Vishni 
 
 Vojnn 
 
 . A relictions sect, followers of Vishnu, coin- 
 nionly known as ISavdgis. 
 
 Same as Nlranjan, or immersion. 
 . Boiled rice. 
 
 . Semicarpvs anacnrdhun. A kind of nut, the 
 black acrid juice of which serves the 
 purpose of marking-ink to Indian Dhobles 
 (washermen). 
 
 A king, who was a great patron of learning ; 
 there is an era current in Bengal reckon- 
 iuLT from kis time. 
 
 See Billa pdtra. 
 
 Brahraans are called Vipra. 
 
 The preserver, second person of the Hindoo 
 Trinity. 
 
 Literally means eating. It is an entertain- 
 ment to one's own caste-people. No others 
 can partake of it without violating the rules 
 of caste. 
 
 Yama ... ... God of death. 
 
 Yogas or jogas ... Auspicious time. 
 
 Yudhixthira ... One of the five Pdndavas, heroes of the great 
 
 epic poem Mahdhhdrat. 
 Yuo^as ... ... Ages. 
 
 Ziihardasi 
 Zendiid 
 
 High -banded. 
 Harem. 
 
 PRINTED BY THACKER, SPINK & CO., CALCUTTA.
 
 THE 
 
 HINDOOS AS THEY ARE: 
 
 A DESCRIPTION OF THE 
 
 MANNERS, CUSTOMS, AND INNER LIFE OF HINDOO 
 SOCIETY IN BENGAL. 
 
 By SHIB CHUNER BOSE. 
 
 With a Prefatory Note by the Rev. W. HASTIE.-B.D., Principal of 
 the General Assembly's Institution, Calcutta. 
 
 Second Edition, Hevlsed aiul Enlarged. 
 Crown Octavo. Pjj. 351. Cloth, Flee Miipees, Postage 8 annas. 
 
 OPINIONS AND CRITICISMS ON THE FIRST EDITION. 
 4^ 
 
 Her Majesty the Queen has boon most graciously 
 pleased to signify her approval of the work. 
 
 The Secretary of State for India has liberally supported the 
 publication. 
 
 I cannot doubt but that a work of so much interest as 
 yours appears to be, will have a large sale, both in India and 
 in England. 
 
 (Signed) H. W. Primrose, 
 
 Private Secy, to the Viceroy and 
 
 Govr.-Genl. of India, Simla.
 
 ( 2 ) 
 
 From 
 
 E. B. CO WELL, Esq., LL.D., 
 
 Professor of SansJcrit at Cambridge. 
 My dear Sir, 
 
 I have read your volume with very great 
 interest ; it seems to me an exceedingly good book. I have 
 long desired that such a book should be compiled ; it seems to 
 me a mirror of native manners and customs. It must be full 
 of the deepest interest to any one who cares about India and 
 the Hindoo people. 
 
 It especially interested me, as I had been lately reading 
 through the old poem of Chandi ; and several allusions which 
 I could not understand were explained by your book. 
 
 I hope your book will be appreciated as it deserves, and that 
 you will add some more of these photographic sketches of 
 Bengali life if it should reach a second edition. 
 
 I remain. 
 
 Yours sincerely, 
 
 E. B. Co WELL. 
 
 From 
 
 The Hon. W. W. HUNTER, LL.D., CLE., (fee, 
 
 Calcutta. 
 My dear Sir, 
 
 I am much obliged to you for the copy of 
 your work, which you so kindly sent me. I had already 
 perused the volume before leaving England, and I cordially 
 endorse the commendations of the English press upon it. In 
 showing us " The Hindoos as they are " you have placed within 
 the reach of Englishmen, both in India and at Home, a vast 
 store of facts which was practically inaccessible to any man of 
 their race, but which it is of the highest importance that they
 
 ( 3 ) 
 
 should be acquainted with. The literary workmanship of the 
 book is equal to the value of its materials, and I am sincerely 
 glad to hear that a new edition has already been called for. 
 
 I am, 
 
 Very faithfully yours, 
 
 W, W. Hunter. 
 
 Witham, Essex. 
 My dear Sir, 
 
 I have read your book with very great interest, 
 and sincerely hope that the sale will* reward you for the time 
 and labour you have spent in endeavouring to make your 
 countrymen better known to the people of England. 
 
 Yours very faithfully, 
 
 J. Talboys Wheeler. 
 
 Calcutta. 
 My dear Sir, 
 
 I am reading your book carefully, and value it 
 exceedingly. 
 
 Yours most respectfully, 
 
 Joseph Cook, 
 Boston Lecturer. 
 
 Allahabad. 
 Dear Sir, 
 
 The book is interesting in many respects, and 
 as to its composition, it is wonderfully well written. 
 
 Sir Robert Stuart, Kt., 
 
 Chief Justice, N. W. P., 
 
 through his Chief Clerk.
 
 ( 4 ) 
 
 Couoor, Neilgherry Hills. 
 Dear Sir, 
 
 I am very much pleased with your book. It 
 is all the more interesting, as many of the customs pourtrayed 
 are strikingly different from those of tlie Hindoos of Southern 
 India. It is an admirable book. 
 
 Yours faithfully, 
 
 L. C. Innes, C.S., 
 Late Ojf'g. Chief Justice, Iladvas. 
 
 I have derived much pleasure from your book. It is a 
 work the facts of which are as accurate in their representation 
 of Hindoo life as its scope is remarkable for the' extent of its 
 range. I may call it an exhaustive treatise on the subject. 
 
 K. M. Banerjea, LL.D. 
 
 " We have seldom read any book with greater interest ; and 
 we have read it, not as reviewers generally read, glancing a 
 little here and a little there, but we have read every word of 
 it from the beginning to the end. * * > "We offer our 
 thanks to Bal)u Shib Chunder Bose for the deeply interesting 
 volume whicli he has presented to the w^orld. For ourselves, 
 we confess that we have learned from him some details of 
 Hindoo customs with which we were not previously acquaint- 
 ed." — liev. Lai Beliari Day in the Bengal Magazine.
 
 OPINIONS OF THE PRESS. 
 
 The Timrx. 
 
 "This n,ccount of Hindoo life 
 in Bengal by an educated and 
 intelligent Bengali throws im- 
 portant lights on an interesting 
 subject. Shib Chunder Bose has 
 little need to apologize in his pre- 
 face for ideas imperfectly ex- 
 pressed in foreign idioms. He 
 writes very creditable English. 
 
 His pictures of the 
 
 manners and customs of his coun- 
 trymen are unreservedly faith- 
 ful, and censequently uncompli- 
 mentary. He demonstrates, in- 
 directly, but very conclusively, 
 that the only prospect of their 
 elevating themselves socially is 
 in breaking with the prejudices 
 of caste and immemorial custom, 
 in asserting indejDeudence of 
 thought, and the liberty of indivi- 
 dual action. The change must 
 inevitably be slow, at the best ; 
 although we already see the be- 
 ginnings of it iu the great cities. 
 
 But the work we are 
 
 reviewing clearly i^roves that 
 there are native gentlemen of no 
 ordinary capacity, who have pene- 
 trated below the surface of Euro- 
 pean life and thought, and who 
 may become the apostles of pro- 
 gress among their countrymen as 
 the field is cleared for their la- 
 bours. The author is alive to the 
 monstrosities of the system he 
 condemns, and has formed defi- 
 nite ideas as to how they may be 
 
 corrected. His present volume is 
 coufine<l to pictures of Hindoo 
 society iu Bengal, and especially 
 in Calcutta. He proposes to fol- 
 low it up by others, which shall 
 treat of the remaining Provinces 
 of India." 
 
 Satuvday lierlriv. 
 " The writer of this work would, 
 doubtless, if he had been bora 
 and lived in England, be termed 
 by frier ds and foes an advanced 
 Liberal. He is a Hindoo gentle- 
 man, a native of Lower Bengal, 
 and a member of one of the three 
 great houses or clans which, by 
 popular consent and unimpeach- 
 able tradition, are known as the 
 •Kulin Kayasthas of Bengal. 
 But it is clear that he has so 
 mastered English thought and 
 literature, that he may fairly be 
 termed, in the words of Dean 
 Stanley iu his Jewish Church, 
 a link between " the immovable 
 repose of the Oriental and the 
 endless activity and freedom of 
 
 the Occidental World." 
 
 The veil is removed from the 
 zenana, and we have an enumera- 
 tion of the ceremonies practised 
 at the birth of a Hindoo, at his 
 assumption, if a Brahman, of the 
 sacred thread, at his marriage, at 
 his death; and at the Shrdddhti, or 
 sacrificial suppers to deceased re- 
 lations. The details of each of 
 these events, as well as the cere-
 
 ( 6 ) 
 Opinions of the Press.— Contd. 
 
 monies of cherished national fes- 
 tivals, such as the Durga and the 
 Kali Puja. are given with a ful- 
 ness and a minuteness to which 
 no Englishman can pretend. . . . 
 This volume comes to us with a 
 deeper signiiication than appears 
 on the surface. The distance 
 which separates the grey-haired 
 reformer of 1881 from the lad. 
 who, half in curiosity and half 
 in terror, accompanied a savage 
 mob to see his relative burn on 
 her husband's funeral pile, is not 
 to be measured by a mere half- 
 century. Bentinck would have 
 been glad to recognize in this 
 Bengali gentleman a native who 
 justified his beneficent reforms, 
 and Englishmen who remember 
 the obstacles encountered forty- 
 five years ago by Macaulay, Duff, 
 and Trevelyan, will admit that 
 there is some hope for the Hin- 
 doos of Bengal when their follies 
 and extravagances are frankly 
 and fairly criticized and held up 
 to reprobation by one of them- 
 selves." 
 
 The Graphic. 
 
 " The Hindoos as they are is 
 as interesting a book as we have 
 read for a long time. Mr. Shib 
 Chunder Bose writes excellent 
 English, and he is a man of large 
 and varied experience, eminently 
 qualified to lift the veil from the 
 inner life of his countrymen. . , 
 
 ... It is what it professes to be 
 a simple, faithful delineation of 
 the present state of Hindoo so- 
 ciety in Bengal, and especially in 
 Calcutta, the Athens of Hindoos- 
 tan." 
 
 St. James Budget. 
 " The work before us is a no- 
 velty. A Hindoo gentleman of 
 Calcutta undertakes to tell Eng- 
 lish readers all about the domestic 
 
 life of his fellow-citizens 
 
 Mr. Bose furnishes graphic des- 
 criptions of the daily life in Hin- 
 doo households, and inexpressibly 
 dreary it seems in European eyes. 
 .... In conclusion, we com- 
 mend Mr. Bose's book as a valu- 
 able contribution to a better 
 knowledge of the Hindoos of the 
 present day, and as calculated to 
 prove of political value to the 
 people both of England and In- 
 dia." 
 
 The Scotsman. 
 " A book of very exceptional 
 value is T'he Hindoos as they are,''' 
 by Shib Chunder Bose. It is a 
 detailed description of the domes- 
 tic economy of the Hindoo house- 
 hold, the mode of life of each of 
 its members, the mauner in which 
 children aire reared and educated, 
 the customs which regulate the 
 positions and acts of men and 
 women, the working of the insti- 
 tution of caste, the rites of all
 
 ( " ) 
 
 Opinions of the Pi'ess.— Contd. 
 
 the more important among' the 
 many religious and family festi- 
 vals observed by the Hindoos, and 
 so forth. The work derives its 
 distinctive importance from the 
 fact that the writer is a native 
 Bengali, a man of exceptional in- 
 telligence and force of character, 
 who has added Western culture 
 to an ample stock of Hindoo 
 learning and experience, and who 
 is able to speak on the subjects 
 he here treats with the authority 
 of personal knowledge and ob- 
 servation. He has acquired a 
 thorough mastery of our lan- 
 guage, as this book abundantly 
 proves, for there is scarcely a 
 single peculiarity of style to indi- 
 cate that it has been written by a 
 foreigner. He has performed his 
 undertaking in an unpretentious, 
 straightforward fashion, and he 
 supplies a mass of information 
 about the domestic life and cus- 
 toms of the Hindoos such as is 
 not presented in any other book 
 of which we have knowledge, in 
 so clear and succinct a form." 
 
 Free Clmrch Record. 
 
 " A remarkable book .... ad- 
 mirably supplying a long-felt 
 want." 
 
 The Leeds Mercury. 
 " The Hindoos as they are is a 
 most interesting and valuable 
 
 book on a subject of which Eng- 
 lish people know very little. . . . 
 . . . Though presenting his views 
 in another language than hia 
 own. Shib Chunder Bose writes 
 English with singular clearness 
 and freedom, and he has made a 
 most admirable classification of 
 his details Of the unfor- 
 tunate condition of Hindoo wo- 
 men we know something through 
 the agency of the Zenana Mis- 
 sions, but Shib Chunder Bose 
 throws a stronger light on the 
 subject than any which has yet 
 been shed through the agency of 
 annual reports." 
 
 Engli.shman. 
 
 " If any of our readers are curi- 
 ous about the domestic life of the 
 Hindoos, we can confidently com- 
 mend to their notice a volume 
 entitled ' The Hindoos as they 
 are,' by Baboo Shib Chunder Bose, 
 which has just been published by 
 Messrs. Newman and Co. The 
 first Chapter, on the Hindoo house- 
 hold, serves as an introduction to 
 the rest of the book, which des- 
 cribes in detail the more promi- 
 nent ceremonial and social inci- 
 dents of Hindoo life. Taken by 
 itself, it is an important contri- 
 bution to the world's knowledge 
 of an obscure but intei-esting 
 subject, and is alone worth the 
 price of the book.
 
 ( 8 ) 
 
 Opinions of tiie Press. — Contd. 
 
 " To fulness of knowleilg-e the 
 author adds great caudour. and 
 it wovild be difficult to find either 
 a more accurate presentment, or 
 a more impartial criticism, of the 
 facts, than is furnished in his 
 pages. His style, too. is at once 
 graphic and unaffected." 
 
 Indian Daily iVciv-'f. 
 
 " This is the work of a man 
 who knows what he is writing 
 about. In boyhood, familiar with 
 the inner life of Native Bengal 
 society, and more or less in con- 
 tact with it for fifty years, he 
 reproduces in this book a series of 
 recollections and vivid pictures of 
 native society, which have. all the 
 merit of simple truthfulness. 
 * * * The work is highly in- 
 teresting and instructive, and is 
 likely to be widely read." 
 
 Statesman. 
 
 " The book ought to be in the 
 hands of every Christian, and of 
 every Christian Missionary who 
 wishes to know what a Hindoo 
 has to say on the present state of 
 Hindoo society. We anticipate for 
 it a wide circulation both in Eng- 
 land and in India." 
 
 of the denizens of this land. 
 * * * Baboo Shib Chunder 
 Bose. the author of the work be- 
 fore us, is introduced to the reader 
 by the Rev. W. Hastie. B.D., Prin- 
 cipal of the General Assembly's 
 Institution, who assures us that 
 the Babco ' is an enlightened Ben- 
 gali of matured conviction and 
 character, who has received the 
 stirring impulse of Western cul- 
 ture and thought.' None the less is 
 he a patriotic Hindoo, thoroughly 
 versed in the ways and works of 
 Hindoo society, especially as it 
 exists in the Lower Provinces." 
 
 Civil and MUitary Gazette. 
 
 " It is the manners, customs, 
 and inner life of Hindoo society 
 in Bengal which Shib Chunder 
 Bose describes. On this subject 
 he has much to say that is 
 instructive, and, unfortunately, 
 more that is sad. 
 
 " The book is a good and in- 
 structive one, and lets much light 
 into the inner life of a Hindoo, 
 from the moment of his advent 
 into tte world until, overtaken by 
 his last sickness, he is carried 
 down by his friends to the banks 
 of the sacred Ganges or Hoogh- 
 
 ly-" 
 
 Pioneer'. 
 
 " May be honestly recommended 
 to all who desire to study the life 
 
 Harvest Field, Madras. 
 " Thi.s work deserves, as we 
 trust it will receive, a most cor-
 
 ( 9 ) 
 
 Opinions of the Press.— Contd. 
 
 dial welcome from all who desire 
 to know the people of this coun- 
 try as they really are. * * * 
 He has produced au eminently 
 readable and valuable book, and 
 given to us a wealth of know- 
 ledge regarding a world which we 
 cannot see for ourselves. To those 
 who love to study the ways of men 
 in India, and who little dream 
 of the pathos and poetry which 
 lie below the surface, this book 
 should be truly welcome, while to 
 missionaries who seek not to des- 
 troy the poetry, but to add to the 
 purity of social life, it will be 
 simply invaluable, and should 
 awaken in them a more tender 
 sympathy, and give renewed sti- 
 mulus to their efforts," 
 
 Indian Evangelical Review. 
 
 " The chief excellences of the 
 book are its accurate descriptions 
 of the Hindoos as they are. its un- 
 hesitating denunciation of the 
 evil (and the evil is great and 
 fearful, and heart-rending), and 
 the pleasing, interesting manner, 
 and, as a rule, the very correct 
 style, in which the whole thing is 
 told." 
 
 Express. 
 
 " To detail even a tithe of the 
 ceremonial observances of a Hin- 
 doo marriage —as related by Baboo 
 Shib Chunder Bose— would re- 
 
 quire an edition of the E.rjiress 
 for the purpose. The narrative, 
 however, is surprisingly interest- 
 ing . . . especially to Europeans, 
 who know so little, as a rule, 
 about the inner lives of our Aryan 
 brethren of the upper classes of 
 native society." 
 
 Indian Mirror. 
 " Written by a Hindoo, who 
 must be better acquainted with 
 the inner life of his countrymen 
 than strangers can ever be ex- 
 pected to be ; the work is, as might 
 be naturally supposed, a repository 
 of much minuter information 
 about Hindoo life than what has 
 been hitherto collected and 
 brought to light by other writers, 
 who, on account of their foreign 
 blood and alien religion, could not 
 have had free access to Hindoo 
 society. The descriptions con- 
 tained in the volume before us 
 are, no doubt, the result of great 
 labor and careful observation. 
 
 * * * The work abounds in a 
 mine of information that will 
 certainly be found new by Euro- 
 peans. * * * As for its gene- 
 ral get-up, and the rich and en- 
 tertaining variety of matter it 
 embodies, the book before us is 
 one of the best and most inter- 
 esting that has ever been publish- 
 ed on this difficult, if not alto- 
 gether unexplored, subject * * 
 
 * * If the writer can succeed
 
 ( 10 ) 
 
 Opinions of the Press. — Contd. 
 
 in bringing about such a bappy 
 consummation, he will earn, and 
 deservedly too, the lasting grati- 
 tude of his countrymen for his 
 disinterested labors in the accom- 
 plishment of his self - imposed 
 task." 
 
 Journal of the National Indian 
 Association. 
 
 " The title, at all events, of this 
 book is attractive. It produces 
 a sensation akin to that caused by 
 the opening of a sealed book, the 
 discovery of a long-concealed 
 treasure, the revelation of the 
 mysteries of a secret society. 
 Hindoo life has always been re- 
 presented, by Hindoos themselves, 
 as a sort of arcana, into the secrets 
 of which it were vain for the Wes- 
 tern mind to attempt to penetrate. 
 
 " The chapter describing the 
 principal Hindoo festivals will be 
 found full of interest. The des- 
 criptions are not those of a super- 
 ficial observer, but are graphic 
 pictures drawn from life, showing 
 not only the outward features — 
 often of a very revolting nature 
 — which characterize these festi- 
 vals, but the household ceremo- 
 
 nies, and particularly those which 
 are observed by the female in- 
 mates. 
 
 " The book is vigorously and 
 graphically written, and should 
 be in the hands of every one who 
 sees in the moral, social, and in- 
 tellectual amelioration of our 
 Eastern dependency a pressing 
 national duty." 
 
 Luchnow Witness. 
 
 " There is a general agreement 
 on the part of those fully quali- 
 fied to give opinion, that it is 
 accurate and trustworthy in its 
 facts, that it details the social 
 and religious observances of the 
 Hindoos as they arc to-day. This 
 is much. The book seems to fill 
 a gap. We know of nothing 
 exactly like it. We can very 
 heartily commend it. We think 
 it will be widely sought for as a 
 convenient popular compendium 
 of important information. Some 
 of this indeed is commonly known, 
 or is accessible in other shapes, 
 but there is much in the book 
 that will be new to almost all 
 who have not moved in the inner- 
 most circles of Hindoo life."
 
 Calcutta^ April i8g^. 
 
 TRACKER, SPINK AND CO/S 
 
 PUBLICATIONS. 
 
 —CONTENTS 
 
 Page 
 
 PoBTRY, Fiction, etc. ... 2 
 
 History, Customs, Tkavkls, ktc. 8 
 
 CaPT. HaYKS' WoitKSON HOKSKS 12 
 
 Spokt and Vkterinaky Wokks 14 
 ... 18 
 ... 20 
 ... 22 
 
 Medicinr, Hygiknk, etc. 
 Domestic Books 
 Guide Books 
 Thackku's Indian Dikectoiues, 
 Maps, etc. 
 
 24 
 
 Page 
 
 Scientific Works ... 25 
 
 Engineering, Surveying, etc. 27 
 iMiLiTARY Works ... ... 28 
 
 Hindustani, Persian, etc. ... 30 
 
 Book- Keeping, (fee. Manuals... 33 
 Educational Bocks ... 34 
 
 Land Tenures amd Land Eev- 
 ENUK ... ... ... 36 
 
 Law Books ... ... 37 
 
 THE POINTS OF THE HORSE. A Familiar Treatise on Equine 
 
 CoTiforniatioii. Uescribiii;:; ilie points in wiiicli the perfection of each 
 class of horses consists. B_v Captiiiii M. H. Hayes. Illustrated. New 
 J]iiiiion. Imperial 8vo, cloth. Hs. .S2. 
 Edition de luxe, limited to 1.50 copies, each numbered and signed bj' the 
 
 Author, on paper speciall}' prepared, demy 4to, bound in best buckram. 
 
 Ks. 60. 
 "Those who are familiar with the earlier works of Captain Hayes will 
 
 ■welcome the appearance of the second edition of his excellent treatise on the 
 
 points of tlie horse Captain Hayi<s' very handsome volume is the 
 
 outcome of the matured experience of many years acquired, in many lands." — 
 
 Daihj Neios, 
 
 '• In this handsome book the searcher after sound information on the make 
 
 and shape of the horse will find what will be of the utmost use to liim 
 
 Students of the horse have ready to hand a book which is well worth 
 
 the price asked for it." — The Field. 
 
 THACKER, SPINK AND CO., CALCUTTA.
 
 Thacker, Spink and Co.'s Puhlicaiiont. 
 
 POETRY, FICTION, etc. 
 
 BURMESE TALES AND SKETCHES. By Mrs. H. Calthrop. Crown 
 8vo, sewed, Re. 1. 
 
 Contents : — A Tale of Old Mandala}' — A River Tragedy— Theebaw's 
 Umbrella— At the Avag3'e Mission. 
 
 ''The Sketclies are sinjiularly well written, and hit off some Burmese 
 
 characteristics with wonderful fidelity The Tales are all written 
 
 in a light vein, and are well calculated to while away an idle hour or 
 two." — Indian Daily News. 
 
 " The stories are all well worth reading, and we are sure to hear of Mrs. 
 Calthrop again." — Ceylon Observer, 
 
 " A group of exceedinglj' graphic and life-like sketches." — Englishman. 
 
 THE SPOILT CHILD. A Tale of Hindu Domestic Life. A Trans - 
 
 lation by G. D. Oswull, m.a., of tiie Bengali Novel, Alaler Gharer 
 Dulal, by Pkaky Chand Mittkr (Tek Chand Thakur). Crown 8vo, 
 cloth, Rs. 3 ; paper, Rs. 2-8. 
 " Interesting as throwing a fairly vivid light upon the intimate life of a 
 Hindu household." — Daily Chronicle. 
 
 " May be heartily commended both for its literary qualities and for the vivid 
 picture it gives of Bengali manners and customs." — Scotsman, 
 
 SONG OF SHORUNJUNQ & other Poems. Crown 8vo, cloth. Es. 2-S. 
 
 CoNTKNTS: — Darjeeling: Summer — The Song of Shorunjung — The Tsari 
 Reed — To the Uplands — A Pastoral — The Jessamine — The Fakir — The Fisher's 
 Supper — A Son— Two Moods— Farewell to Devon — Song— The London Maid 
 — Infancy — A Lullaby — There are Words— Borodino — The Lone Night — The 
 Captive— Cossack Cradle Song — Gifts of the Terek — The Cup of Life— Scenes 
 from Eugene Onyegin. 
 
 " Full of tastefully conceived description, . . . Some of the single verses 
 are very tuneful. , . A number of translations from the Russian form a note- 
 worthy part of it. The poems have been admirably done into English, the 
 translator having not only retained the sense of the original but the distinctive 
 Russian character of expression and metre." — Englishman. 
 
 SQUIBS FROM THE "HO": being a Series op Nonsensical Lays, 
 
 compiled from the Indian Planters' Gazette, By H. E. Abbott, 
 
 Crown 8vo, sewed. Rs. 3. 
 
 "They have not a little humour and smartness, and they are very fearless 
 
 indeed. Sport, politics, journalism and society all come under the poetical 
 
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 THAOKERj SPINK AND CO., CALCUTTA.
 
 Poetry, Fiction, etc. 
 
 STRAX" STRAWS : being a Collkction of Sketches and Stories. 
 B5'"MiGNON." Crown 8vo. Re. 1-8. 
 
 "It is a capital book to take up when one has a few spare moments on 
 hand." — Englishman. 
 
 " A very interesting collection of short stories and sketches." — Morning 
 Pott (Allahabad). 
 
 RHYMING LEGENDS OF IND. By H. Kikkwood Gkacey, b.a., C.s. 
 Crown iivo, cloth. Rs. 3-8. 
 
 Contents: — The City of Gore — A Mother's Vengeance — The Blue Cow — 
 Famine — A Terrible Tijier — Tlie Leuend of Somnath — Treasure Trcvc- The 
 Idol of Kalintra — Mind vs. Matter — Vultur in partibus. 
 
 "A collection of bright little poems. Keen satirical touches are introduced 
 here and there throughout the volume. . . The clever little book." — Morning 
 Post. 
 
 ELSIE ELLERTON. A Novelette of Anglo-Ij^dian Life. By May 
 Edwood, Author of " Stray Straws," " Autobiography of a Spin," etc. 
 Crown Svo. Re. 1-S. 
 
 "This novel is amusing, pure in tone, and distinguished by much local 
 colouring." — Athenceum. 
 
 " Rudyard Kipling has taken the most becoming phase of Anglo-Indian 
 life and in the main made the worst of it. Miss Edwood takes the pleasantest, 
 and makes the most of it." — Home News. 
 
 INDIAN LYRICS. By W. Trego Webb, m.a., Professor of English 
 
 Literature, Presidency College. Fcap. Svo, cloth, Rs. '2-8; sewed, l{s. 2. 
 
 "Vivacious and clever , . . He presents the various sorts and conditions 
 of humanity that comprise the round of life in Bengal in a series of vivid 
 vignettes . . He writes with scholarly directness and finish." — Saturday Review, 
 
 " A volume of poems of more than ordinary interest and undoubted ability," 
 —-Oxford and Cambridge Undergraduates'' Journal, 
 
 LIGHT AND SHADE. By Herbert Sherring. A Collection of 
 Tales and Poems. Crown 8vo, cloth. Rs. 3. 
 "Piquant and humorous— decidedly original — not unworthy of Sterne." — 
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 POPPIED SLEEP. A Christmas Story of an Up-countky Station. 
 By Mrs. H. A. Fletchkk, author of "Here's Rue for You." Crown 
 8vo, sewed. Re. 1-8, 
 
 A QUEER ASSORTMENT. A Collection of Sketches. By A. 
 Harvey James. Crown Svo. Re. 1. 
 
 THACKER, SPINK AND CO., CALCUTTii.
 
 Thacker, Spink and Co.'s PublicatiohS. 
 
 T-av TTTPP ATTIRE OF BENGAL: A BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL 
 ^^^HiW f^om th! EarlifsT'l^nte., closing wi.h a Heview of Intellectual 
 
 Propel under British Rule in India. By Uomksh Chundkr Dutt, 
 
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 t»T ATM TAT p<5 FROM THE HILLS. By Rudyard Kipling, Author 
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 rule mrth provoking. There is at times a pathetic strain ; but this soon 
 passes aid faughterias the Yankees say, side-splitting laughter_,s the order 
 of the'day."— ^^^ew's Indian Mail. 
 
 "It would be hard to find better r^suWngr -Saturday Review. 
 
 A POMANCE OF THAKOTE AND OTHER TALES. Reprinted from 
 The World, Civil and Military Gazette, and other Papers. By F. C. C. 
 Crown 8vo. Re. 1. 
 
 INDIAN MELODIES. By Glyn Baklow m.a., Professor, St. 
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 "Interesting, pleasant and readable ... Mr Barlow's little volume 
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 Morninff Post. 
 
 T VVIORA • BEING THE RHYMES OF A SUCCESSFUL COMPETITOR. BY 
 the late" T. F. Bignold, Bengal Civil Service. 8vo, sewed. Rs. 2. 
 
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 " ' Kentish Rag' has been well advised to collect his writings."-l/adra3 Mail. 
 
 THE INSPECTOR. A COMEDY. By GoGOL. Translated from the 
 Russian by T. Haht-Daviks, Bombay Civil Service. Crown Svo. Rs. 2. 
 
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 cloth. Ks 2-8. 
 
 CoNTKNTS : — The Maharajah's Giiest — The Major's Mess Clothes — In a 
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 INDIA IN 1983. A Reprint of this celebrated Prophecy of 
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 Profusely illustrated by Photographs of Animals in their habitat and at 
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 Vapt, Bapes' Works on Horses. 13 
 
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 iSport and Veterinary Works. 15 
 
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 Medicine, Hygiene, etc. 17 
 
 MODERN POLO. A Guide to the Game, with Instructions on the 
 
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 Polo Pony Breeding— Veterinary Advice to Polo Players — Appendix — 
 Tournaments, Laws and Bye-Laws, etc. 
 
 " A book which beginners and veterans alike may study with pleasure 
 and profit." — Asian. 
 
 " Should be a text-book on the subject." — Stai: 
 
 "Polo players owe a debt of gratitude to Mr. Miller for producing what 
 will probably be recognised as the best book on the subject." — Scotsman, 
 
 "That Mr. Miller has succeeded admirably in his task there can be no 
 doubt." — Glasgow Herald, 
 
 " Both in the matter of polo playing and in that of choosing or breeding 
 polo ponies the volume is of a certain authority." — Times, 
 
 " Everything that has to do with the game is explained, and the 
 chapters on polo ponies ai'e excellent." — Sporting Lije. 
 
 STATION POLO : The Teainino and General Treatment of Polo 
 Ponies, together with Types and Traits of Players. By Lt. Hugh 
 Stewakt (Lucifek.) Crown 8vo, cloth. Ks. 3. 
 CoNTicNTS : — The Polo Pony — The Raw Pony — Preliminary Training- 
 First Introduction — Stable Management — Tricks — Injuries — Shoeing — Station 
 Polo — How shall We Play?— The Procrastinator — The Polo Scurr}' — Idio- 
 syncracies — Types— Individual v. Combined Tactics — Odds and Ends. 
 
 POLO RULES. Rules of the Calcutta Polo Club and of the 
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 printed from Hayes' Sporting News. Fcap. 8vo. Re. L 
 
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 of Tournaments, &c. — Rules of the Game — Station Polo — List of 
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 Vol. II, 1893-94, each Re. 1-8. Vol. Ill, 1894-95, Rs. 2. Vol. IV, 
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 Rules of Polo. — From the Polo Calendar. Revised 1895. As. 8. 
 
 TH ACKER, SPINK AND CO., CALCUTTA. 
 
 ^
 
 18 Thacker, Spink and Co.'s Publications. 
 
 MEDICINE, HYGIENE, etc. 
 
 HINTS FOR THE MANAGEMENT AND MEDICAL TREATMENT OF 
 
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 The Medical Times and Gazette, in an article upon this worK and Moore's 
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 " It is a book which ouijhr, to be found in every household." — Pioneer. 
 
 THE INDIGENOUS DRUGS OF INDIA. Short Descriptive Notices 
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 " It shows an immense amount of careful work upon the part of the com- 
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 who are interested in developing the resources of the country above all, 
 
 the work contains a really good index of 4,000 references, and a complete 
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 " His work is a compendium of 40 years' experience and deserves to be 
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 THE BUBONIC PLAGUE. By A. Mitra, l.r.c.p., ^l.r.c.s., f.c.s., 
 Chief Medical officer, Kashmir. [In the Pi-ess. 
 
 AIDS TO PRACTICAL HYGIENE. By J. 0. Battersby, r.a., m.b., 
 B.CH., Univ. Dublin. Fcap. 8vo, cloth. Rs. 2. 
 
 " A valuable handbook to the layman interested in sanitation." — Morning Post. 
 
 "To the busy practitioner or the medical student it will serve the purposes 
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 BANTING IN INDIA. With some Remarks on Diet and Things 
 
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 Re. 1-8. 
 
 OUTLINES OF MEDICAL JURISPRUDENCE FOR INDIA. By J. D. B. 
 
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 THACKER, SPINK AND CO., CALCUTTA.
 
 Medicine, Hygiene, etc. 19 
 
 CHOLERA EPIDEMIC IN KASHMIR, 1892. By A. Mitra, l.r.c.p., 
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 A RECORD OF THREE YEARS' WORK OF THE NATIONAL ASSO- 
 
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 THE NATIONAL ASSOCIATION FOR SUPPLYING FEMALE MEDI- 
 
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 Reprinted from the Asiatic Quarterly Review, by permission. As. 8. 
 
 THE INDIAN MEDICAL SERVICE. A Guide for intended Candi" 
 
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 THE LANDMARKS OF SNAKE-POISON LITERATURE : being a 
 
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 20 T hacker y ISpink and Co.'s Publications. 
 
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 Domestic Books. 21 
 
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 ENGLISH ETIQUETTE FOR INDIAN GENTLEMEN. By W. Trego 
 
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 " It is written in a light conversational style, and it imparts instruction 
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 THACKEE, SPINK AND CO., CALCUTTA.
 
 22 Thacker, Spink and Co.'s Publications. 
 
 BAKER AND COOK. A Domestic Manual for India. By Mrs. 
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 HINTS FOR THE MANAGEMENT AND MEDICAL TREATMENT OF 
 
 Childkkn in India, liy Edwaijd A. Birch, m.d., late Principal, Medical 
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 INCE'S KASHMIR HANDBOOK. A Guide for Visitors. Re-Written 
 
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 CASHMIR EN FAMILLE. A Narrative of the Experiences of a 
 
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 RAWAL PINDI TO SRINAGAR. A Detailed Account of the New 
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 FROM SIMLA TO SHIPKI IN CHINESE THIBET. An Itinerary of 
 
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 Guide Sooks. 2S 
 
 LIST or ROUTES IN JAMMU AND KASHMIR. A TABULATED De, 
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 HANDBOOK FOR VISITORS TO AGRA AND ITS NEIGHBOURHOOD. 
 
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 GUIDE TO MASURI. LANDAUR, DEHRA DUN, AND THE HILLS 
 
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 FROM THE CITY OF PALACES TO ULTIMA THULE. With a Map 
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 TH ACKER, SPINK AND CO, CALCUTTA.
 
 24 Thacker, Spink and Co.'s Publications. 
 
 TRACKER'S INDIAN DIRECTOPJES AND MAPS. 
 
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 A DIRECTORY OF THE CHIEF INDUSTRIES OF INDIA : Comprising 
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 " An excellent map," — Glasgow Herald. 
 
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 " For compactness and completeness of information few works surpassing or 
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 Scientific Works. 25 
 
 SCIENTIFIC WORKS. 
 ANTHROPOMETRY IN BENGAL ; or Identification of Ckiminals 
 
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 GAME, SHORE, AND WATER BIRDS OF INDIA. By Col. A. Le 
 
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 HANDBOOK TO THE FERNS OF INDIA, CEYLON, AND THE MALAY 
 
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 SUPPLEMENT TO THE FERNS OF BRITISH INDIA, Ceylon and the 
 
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 26 Thacher^ Spink and Co.'s Publications. 
 
 COMPOSITE INDICT DESCRIPT.E et secus genera Benthamu 
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 MANUAL OF AGRICULTURE FOR INDIA. By Lieut. Frederick 
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 A NATURAL HISTORY OF THE MAMMALIA OF INDIA, BURMAH 
 
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 INDEX. 
 
 Page. 
 
 Abbott. Squibs from the " Pig." .. 2 
 Aberigh-Mackay. Central Indian 
 
 Chiefs 9 
 
 Adams. Principal Events in Indian 
 
 and British History . . . . . . 34 
 
 Agnew and Henderson. Criminal 
 
 Procedure . . . . . . 42 
 
 Agnew. Indian Penal Code . . 41 
 
 Alimed. N.-W. P. Land Revenue .. 36 
 
 Akbar. By Mrs. Beveridge . . . . 10 
 
 Alexander. Indian Case Law on Torts 38 
 Ali, Cheragh. Exposition of the 
 
 popular " Jihad " 10 
 
 Ali, Ameer. Ethics of Islam . . 9 
 
 Law of Evidence . . . . 43 
 
 Mohamedan Law, 2 vols. . . 44 
 
 Student's Handbook . . 43 
 
 Aliph Cheem. Lays of Ind .. .. 6 
 
 Amateur Gardener in the HilLs . . 21 
 
 Anderson's Indian Letter- Writer . . 3.5 
 
 Baillie. Kurrachee . . . . . . 11 
 
 Banerjee. Devanagari Alphabet . . 35 
 
 .— ^— ^ Elements of Arithmetic . . 34 
 
 Lilavati . . . . . . 27 
 
 Marriage and Stridhan . . 44 
 
 Barker. Tea Planter's Life . . . . 20 
 
 Barlow. Indian Melodies . . . . 4 
 
 Barrow. Sepoy Officer's Manual . . 29 
 
 Battersby. Practical Hygiene . . 18 
 Beddome. Handbook to Ferns and 
 
 Suppt. 25 
 
 Belchambers. Rules and Orders . . 38 
 Bell. Student'.s Handbook to Hamil- 
 ton and Mill 34 
 
 Laws of "Wealth .. ..35 
 
 — : Government of India . . 30 
 
 in Bengali . . 33 
 
 Bellew. Races of Afghanistan . . 11 
 
 Bengal Code Regulations . . . . 37 
 
 Bernard. Indian Military Law . . 29 
 
 Beveridge. Nand Kumar . . . . 11 
 
 Beverley. Land Acquisition Act . . 36 
 
 Bhartrihari. Tawney . . . . 33 
 
 Bhuttacharjee. Hindu Law . . 44 
 
 Hindu Caste . . . . 8 
 
 Bignold. Leviora . . . . 4 
 Birch. Management of Children 18, 22 
 
 Bonavia. The Date Palm „ . . 25 
 
 Bose. Hindus as they are . . . . 8 
 
 Broughton. Civil Procedure . . 40 
 
 Bush. Quartenuaster's Almanac .. 29 
 
 Busteed. Echoes of Old Calcutta . . 11 
 
 C — Major. Horse Notes . . . . 10 
 
 Dog Notes . . . . 16 
 
 Calcutta Turf Club Rules . . . . 14 
 Racing Calendar . . 14, 48 
 
 Racing Calendar, Volumes . . 14 
 
 University Calendar . . 35 
 
 Calthrop. Burmese Tales . . . . 2 
 
 Carnegy. Kachari Technicalities . . 45 
 
 Cashmir en famiUe . . . . 22 
 
 Caspersz. Law of Estoppel . . 39 
 
 Chalmers. Negotiable Instruments 39 
 
 Chan Toon. Buddhist Law . . 46 
 
 Clarke. Compositas Indicrt; . . . . 26 
 
 Divan-i-Haflz . . . . 30 
 
 Awarifu-i-Maarif . . , . 30 
 
 Coldstream. Grasses of the Southern 
 
 Punjab .. ..50 
 
 Colebrooke. Lilavati . . . . 27 
 
 CoUett. Specific Relief Act . . . . 39 
 
 Collier. Local Self-Government . . 41 
 
 Bengal Municipal Manual . . 41 
 
 CoweU. Hindu Law . . . . 44 
 
 Constitution of the Courts 45 
 
 Cunningham. Indian Eras . . . . 10 
 
 Currie. Law Examination Manual 45 
 
 Cuthell. Indian Idylls . . . . 5 
 
 Deakin. Irrigated India . . . . 27 
 
 De Bourbel. Routes in Jammu . . 23 
 
 Dey. Indigenous Drugs . . . . 18 
 
 Donogh. Stamp Law . . . . 46 
 
 Dufferin, Lady. Three Years' Work 19 
 
 National Association . . 19 
 
 Duke. Banting in India . . 18 
 Dutt. Literature of Bengal . . 4 
 Edwards. Notes on Mill's Hamilton 36 
 Short History of Enghsh 
 
 Language 36 
 
 Bdwood. Elsie Ellerton . . 3 
 
 Stray Straws . . . . 3 
 
 Edwood. Autobiography of Spin . . 6 
 
 Bha. Tribes on My Frontier . . 5 
 
 -Behind the Bungalow . . 6 
 
 Naturalist on the Prowl . . 7
 
 54 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Page. 
 
 Bngllsh Selections for the Calcutta 
 
 Entrance Course . . . . S5 
 Ewing. Handbook of Photo- 
 graphy 28 
 
 Exposure Tables .. ..28 
 
 Fauna of British India . . . . 50 
 Field. Landholding .. ..37 
 Introduction to Bengal Reg- 
 ulations . . . • . . 38 
 
 . Law of Evidence . . . . 43 
 
 Message Book . . 30 
 
 Fink. Analysis of Reid's Enquiry 35 
 
 Analysis of Hamilton .. 35 
 
 Fire Insurance in India . . . . 27 
 
 Finninger. Manual of Gardening . . 20 
 
 Fletcher. Poppied Sleep . . . . 3 
 
 Here's Rue for You . . . . 7 
 
 Forrest. Indian Mutiny . . . . 50 
 
 Warren Hastings . . . . TjO 
 
 Forsyth. Highlands of Central India 14 
 
 Revenue Sale Law . . . . 36 
 
 Probate and Administration 40 
 
 Four-anna Railway Guide . . . . 23 
 
 George. Guide to Book-keeping . . 33 
 
 Godfrey. The Captain's Daughter. . 6 
 
 Gogol. The Inspector . . . . 8 
 
 Goodeve on Children. By Birch .. IS 
 Gordon-Forbes. From Simla to 
 
 1 1 lyes. Indian Racing Reminiscences 12 
 
 -Veterinary Notes 
 -Training 
 
 23 
 
 Shipki 
 Gordon. From the City of Palaces 
 Gowan. Kashgaria 
 
 Gracey. Rhyming Legends of Ind. 3 
 
 Gray. Dhamniapada . . . . 9 
 Gregg. Text-book of Indian 
 
 Botany . . ■ . 26, 36 
 
 Greenstreet. Lalu 5 
 
 Gribble and Hehir. Medical Juris- 
 prudence .. • • 18, 43 
 Grierson Kayathi Character . . 31 
 Grimley. Revenue Sale Law . . 37 
 
 Income-Tax Act .. .. 46 
 
 —— Sea Customs Law . . 46 
 
 Hafiz. The Divan . . . . 30 
 
 Hall. Principles of Heat . 85 
 
 Hamilton. Indian Penal Code . . 41 
 
 Handbook of Indian Law . . . . 45 
 
 Hardless. Clerk's Manual . . . . 33 
 
 Indian Service Manual 33 
 
 . Government Office Manual 33 
 
 Hart-Davies. The Inspector 4 
 
 Hastings. Wan-en Hastings .. 50 
 
 Hawkins. The Arms Act .. .. 16 
 Hayes and Shaw. Dogs for Hot 
 
 Climates 16 
 
 Hayes. Horse-Breaking . . 12 
 
 Riding 12 
 
 Points of the Horse 12 
 
 (Mrs.) The Horse-Woman .. 
 
 uehir. Rudiments of Sanitation . . 
 Henderson. Testamentary Devise 
 Intestate and Testamen- 
 tary Succession 
 
 13 
 13 
 
 14 
 IS 
 40 
 
 40 
 Hendley. Hygiene . . . . 2C, 21 
 
 Holmwood. Registration Act . . 38 
 House. N.-W. P. Rent Act .. .. 38 
 Hukm Chand. Res Judicata . . 39 
 
 Humfrey. Horse Breeding . 15 
 
 Hume. Criminal Digest . . 42 
 
 Hunter. Annals of Rural Bengal . . 49 
 Hutchinson. Medico-Legal Terms 30 
 Ince. Kashmir Handbook .. ..22 
 
 Rawal Pindi to Srinagar . . 22 
 
 India in 1983 5 
 
 Indian Articles of War . . . 29 
 
 Idylls .9 
 
 Horse Notes .. Iti 
 
 Notes about Dogs . . . . 16 
 
 Medical Gazette . . 20, 47 
 
 Cookery Book . . . . 20 
 
 Indian Fencing Review .. ..49 
 
 Inland Emigration Act . . . 2r, 
 
 Insolvency Act . . . . . . 39 
 
 Jackson. Statistics of Hydraulics . . 27 
 Jaffer Khan, Racing Reminiscences IH 
 James. A Queer Assortment .. 3 
 
 J oily. Hindu Law . . 44 
 
 Jones. Permanent-Way Pocket Book 27 
 Journal of the Photographic So- 
 ciety . . 28, 45 
 
 Indian Art 00 
 
 Julian. A Bobbery Pack in India . . 16 
 Kalidasa. Malavikagnimitra . . 30 
 
 Keene. Handbook to Agra . . . . 23 
 
 Hanibook to Delhi . . . . 23 
 
 Handbook to Allahabad . . 23 
 
 Kelleher, Specific Performance . . 39 
 
 Mortgage in Civil Law . . 39 
 
 Possession . . 39 
 
 Kelly. Practical Surveying for India 27 
 Kentish Rag. Regimental Rhymes 4 
 King and Pope. Gold, Copper and 
 
 Lead ..25 
 
 King. Guide to Royal Botanic 
 
 Gardens . . 23 
 
 King-Harman. Reconnoitrer's 
 
 Guide 28 
 
 Kinloch. Large Game Shooting . . 15 
 
 Russian Grammar . . 31 
 
 Kipling. Departmental Ditties . . 7 
 ■ Plain Tales from the 
 
 Hills
 
 INDEX. 
 
 55 
 
 Page. 
 Kuropatkin. Kashgaria . . . . '•> 
 Lalmohun Ghose. Speeches . . 
 
 Lamb. Talcs from Shakespeare . 30 
 
 Lays of Iiid t> 
 
 Lee. On Indigo Manufacture . . 2'> 
 
 Legislative Acts. Annual Volumes 4(i 
 Le Messurier. Game Birds . . , 25 
 
 Lethbridge. Moral Reading Book . . 36 
 Littlepagc. Rudiments of Music . . 33 
 Lloyd. Notes on the GaiTison 
 
 Course 30 
 
 Loth. English People and their 
 
 Language . . . . . . 3 J 
 
 LyoE. Medical Jiu-isprudence 20, 43 
 MacBwen. Small Cause Court Act 
 
 Malcolm. Central India 
 
 Manisty. Metamorphosis of Silver.. 
 
 Map of Calcutta 
 
 Map of the Civil Divisions of India 
 Markby. Lectures on Indian Law 
 Maude. Letters on Tactics .. 
 Invasion and Defence of 
 
 England 
 ilaxwell. Duties of Magistrates . . 
 Mazumdar's Life of K. C. Sen 
 5IeCrindle. Ptolemy 
 
 Megastheues 
 
 Erythrwan Sea 
 
 Ktesias 
 
 Medical and Sanitary Reform 
 Mem Sahib's Book of Cakes . . 
 Mignon. Stray Straws 
 Miller and Hayes. Modern Polo . . 
 Jlitra. Transfer of Property 
 
 Hindu Law of Inheritance.. 
 
 Cholera in Kashmir 
 
 Pi-ivy Council Digest 
 
 Bubonic Plague 
 
 Mitter. Spoilt Child 
 
 Mookerjee, Onoocool Chunder 
 Moore. Guide to Examination of 
 
 Horses 
 Morison. Advocacy . . 
 
 Moses. The Baby 
 
 Murray-Aynsley. Hills beyond 
 
 Simla 
 Myam-ma. By Tsaya 
 Nelthropj). Explanation on Duplex 
 
 Telegraphy 
 Newland. The Image of War 
 Noer. Life of Akbar . 
 Norman. Calcutta to Liverpool . . 
 Northam. Guide to Masuri . . 
 Nunn. Stable Management 
 
 O'Connell. Ague 
 
 O'Donoghuc. Riding for Ladies . . 
 O'Kinealy. Civil Procedure . . 
 
 Onoocool Chuudcr Mookei'jee . 7 
 
 OswcU. Spoilt Child .. .. 2 
 
 Paper Sights 30 
 
 Philatelic Journal of India .. 49 
 Philipps. Revenue and CoUectorato 
 
 Law 37 
 
 ■ Manual of Criminal Law . . 42 
 • Land Tcniu'es of Lower 
 
 Bengal 37 
 
 Our Administration of 
 
 India 37 
 
 ■ Comparative Criminal Juris- 
 prudence . . . . .42 
 
 Pocket Code of Civil Law . . . . 40 
 
 Penal Laws 41 
 
 Issue of Orders in the Field' 29 
 
 Pooshkin. The Captain's Daughter 6 
 
 Pogson. Manual of Agriculture . . 20 
 
 Pollock on Fraud 39 
 
 Polo Rules 17 
 
 Calendar .. .. ..17 
 
 PoweU. Myam-Ma .. .. !] 10 
 
 Poynder. Indian Articles of War . . 30 
 
 Prinsep. Criminal Procedure . . 42 
 
 Racing Calendar 14 
 
 Ramsay. Anthropometry ..25 
 
 Ranking. Urdu Prose . . . . 32 
 
 Guide to Hindustani .. 32 
 
 Pocket Book of Colloquial 
 
 Urdu . . . . . 32 
 
 Ray. Poverty Problem in India . . 11 
 
 Regimental Rhymes . . . . 4 
 
 Reid. Inquiry into Human Mind.. 36 
 
 Chin-Lushai Land . . . . 10 
 
 Culture and Manufacture 
 
 of Indigo 26 
 
 Regulations of the Bengal Code . . 37 
 
 Reynolds. N.-W. P. Rent Act .. 37 
 
 Richards. Snake-Poison Literature 19 
 
 RiddeU. Indian Domestic Economy 20 
 
 Rivaz. Limitation Act . . . . 40 
 
 Romance of Thakote . . . . 4 
 
 Rowe and Webb. Companion Reader 34 
 
 Roxburgh. Flora Indica . . 26 
 Rubbee. Origin of the Mohame- 
 
 dans in Bengal . . . . . . S 
 
 Rumscy. Al-Sirajiyyah . . .44 
 
 Russell. Malaria . . . . . . 20 
 
 Sandberg. Colloquial Tibetan . . 30 
 
 Saraswati. Hindu Law of Endowment 44 
 
 Sen, Keshub Chunder 9 
 
 GuruPershad. Hinduism .. 10 
 
 Shaw and Hayes. Dogs for Hot 
 
 Climates 10 
 
 Shaw. How to Choose a Dog .. 15 
 
 Sherring. Light and Shade . . . . 3 
 
 Sherston and Shad well. Tactics .. 2S
 
 56 
 
 .INDEX. 
 
 Page. 
 
 Shinghaw. Phonography in Bengali 33 
 
 Sinclair. Projection of Maps . . 27 
 
 Siromani. Hindu Law 44 
 
 Skriue. Indian Journalist .. ..11 
 Small. Urdu Grammar . . . . 31 
 Anglo-Urdu Medical Hand- 
 book . . . . . . 31 
 
 Song of Shorunjung 2 
 
 Spens. Indian Ready Reckoner . . 34 
 Stapley. Primer Catechism of Sani- 
 tation 36 
 
 Station Polo 15 
 
 Stephen. Principles, Judicial Evi- 
 dence . . • ■ . . 43 
 Stemdale. Mammalia of India . . 26 
 
 Municipal Work .. ..41 
 
 Seonee .. .. ..15 
 
 Denizens of the Jimgles . . 15 
 
 Stow. Quadruplex Telegraphy . . 2" 
 Stringfellow. Banking Practice in 
 
 India . . . . . . . . . . 33 
 
 Sutherland. Digest, Indian Law 
 
 Reports . . • . . . 43 
 
 Swinhoe. Case-Noted Penal Code . . 42 
 
 Talbot. Translations into Persian . . 31 
 
 Tawney. Malavikagnimitra . . .. 30 
 
 Bhartrihari . . . . 33 
 
 English People and their 
 
 Language 35 
 
 Temple-Wright. Flowers and Gardens 21 
 
 Baker and Cook . . . . 22 
 
 Thacker. Guide to Calcutta . . . . 23 
 
 Guide to Darjeeling . . 23 
 
 Indian Directory . . . . 24 
 
 Tea Directory . . . . 24 
 
 Map of India . . . . 24 
 
 Theosophical Christianity .. .. 
 
 Page. 
 Thomas. Rod in India . . . . 15 
 
 ThuUlier. Manual of Surveying . . 27 
 Toynbee. Chaukidari Manual . . 42 
 Trevelyan. Law of Minors . . 44 
 
 Tweed. Cow-keeping in India .. 21 
 
 Poultry -keeping in India . . 21 
 
 Tweedie. Hindustani, and Key . . 33 
 Tyacke. Sportsman's Manual 15, 23 
 
 Underwood. Indian English . . 6 
 
 Walker. Angling 
 Watson. Railway Curves 
 Webb. Indian Lyrics 
 
 Indian Medical Service 
 
 English Etiquette 
 
 -Entrance Test Examination 
 
 Questions 
 Wheeler. Tales from Indian His 
 
 tory . . . . 10, 35 
 
 Whish. District Office in N. 
 
 India 
 
 White. Horse, Harness and Trap 
 WUkins. Hindu Mythology 
 
 Modem Hinduism 
 
 Williamson. Indian Field Sports 
 Wilson and Wheeler's Ethics 
 Wilson. Anglo-Mahomedan Law 
 
 Introduction 
 Anglo - Mahomedan Law- 
 
 38 
 
 44 
 
 Digest 
 
 Early Annals of Bengal . . 
 Wood. Fifty Graduated Papers in 
 
 Arithmetic, &c. 
 Woodman. Digest, Indian Law 
 
 Reports 
 
 Woodroffe. Law of Evidence 
 Young. Carlsbad Treatment
 
 
 
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