forster, george - sketches of the mythology of the hindus

8/3/2019 Forster, George - Sketches of the Mythology of the Hindus

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nas

.tons of t ' loosBy


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UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIAAT LOS ANGELES


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SKETCHESOF THE

MYTHOLOGYANDCUSTOMS

OF THEHINDOOSr

LONDON:PRfNTED IN THE YEAR

MDCCLXXXr.


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SKETCHESOF THEMYTHOLOGYANDCUSTOMS

OF THEHINDOOS,MOST RESPECTFULLY INSCRIBED

TO THE HONORABLE THECOURT OF DIRECTORS

OF THEEAST-INDIA COMPANY,

BY THEIR DUTIFUL SERVANT,

GEORGE FORSTER.London,

July, 1785.

354590


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CT*H E following curfory dif-fertation, which has been ex~

traced from private letters, theAuthor is induced to lay before thePublic, from a defire of throwingfome light on a fubjeB, hitherto,but partially known in Europe-,and alfoy with the view ofprompt-ing others, whofe bent of difpofitionand conveniency of fituation maylead them into fuch refearches, to

enlargeon

focurious a matter.

To hold out an afylum to thememory of an antient, and a oncegreat people, who before the fall


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of their empire were amply en-lightened by fclence, and who weregoverned by a fyftem of laws andpolicy, which had the moji falutaryeffe&s In rendering them virtuousand happy, will yield a fufficlentcompenfatlon to the man ofphilan-thropy, for every difficulty that hemay encounter In the purfult of aJludy

which will be found, It Is tobe feared, entangled In Jome dif~couraging perplexities.


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ExtraB of a Letter^ dated atBanaris in September, 1782*

city of Banaris, hi point of-- its wealth, cofily buildings, andthe number of its inhabitants, isclafled in the firft rank of thofe nowremaining in Hiriduftanj in the pof^feffion of the Hindoos*

To defcribe, with any degree ofJprecifion, the various temples dedi-cated in this place to the almoft in-B numerable


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numerable deities, and to explain theorigin of their foundation, with theneceflary arrangement, would requirea knowledge, infinitely fuperior tomine, in the myfterious rites of theHindoo mythology.

They are, at this day, envelopedin fuch impenetrable obfcurity, thateven thofe Pundits who are the modIkilfully verfed in the Sumfcrit,* arenot able to throw on them lightsfufficiently clear for the renderingthem comprehenfible to the generalityof the people.

But as fome relation, though im-perfec~l, of a city fo famous in Hin-duflan, and now fo well known iij

. * The language in which all their facred le*gcnds are preferred.

Europe


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( 3 )Europe for having been one of thegrand fources of the religious worihipof the Hindoos, and being the chiefrepofitory of what fcience yet exiftsamong them, may not be unacceptableto you, together with fome curforyinvefligations of the mythology ofBrimha, the tafk fhall be attemptedwith every attention to the fubje6t,and with the ftri&eft adherence totruth.

If errors fhoiild arife on the treat-ing on a matter hitherto nightly dif-cufTed, and from its complication ex-ceedingly abftrufe, I have to intreat

your liberal indulgence ;and that

though miftaken in my conclufions,you will give me fome commendationwere it only for the endeavour of

admmifteringto a rational pleafure.

2 At


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( 4 )At the diftance of eight miles from

the city of Banaris, as it is approach-ed on the river from the eaftward, theeye is attra6led by the view of twolofty minarets, which were erectedby the order of Aurungzebe, on thefoundation of an ancient Hindoo tem-ple, dedicated to the Mhah Deve, orthe God Eifhwer.The raifing, on fuch facred ruins,

this towering Mahometan pile, whichfrom its elevated height feems tolook down with triumph and exalta-tion on the fallen (late of a city faprofoundly revered by the Hindoos,would appear to have been promptedto the mind of Aurungzebe by a bi-gotted and intemperate defire of in-iulting their religion,

If


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( 5 )If fuch was his \viih, it hath been

moft completely fulfilled.

For the Hindoos confider this mo-nument as a difgraceful record of aforeign yoke, and as proclaiming toevery ftranger, that their favorite cityhas been debafed, and the worihip of$:heir gods defiled.

From the top of the minarets thereis feen an entire and a very beau-tiful profpect of Banaris, which oc-cupies a fpace of about two miles anda half along the northern bank of theGanges, and a mile inland from theliver.

Many of the houfes are remark-ably high, fome of them having fix;and feven ftories, and built of a flonerefembling that fort found in the quar-

ries


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( 6 )ries of Portland, and which aboundsin this part of the country.

The ftreets, wherein thefe loftybuildings are fituated, are fo narrow-as not to admit of two carriages a-breaft,

The confequence of this large citybeing conflructed on fo confined aplan, is, that the air, from being de-prived of a free circulation, becomesputrid and obnoxious, and in par-ticular feafons caufes fevers of a ma-lignant fpecies, and fevere bilious pb-

Jn addition to this pernicious ef-feb, proceeding from a corrupted at-mofphere, there is at moft times anintolerable flench, which arifes fromthe many tanks difperfed in the dif-

ferent


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C 7 )ferent quarters of the town, whofewaters and borders are appropriated tothe common ufe of the inhabitants.

The filth alfo, which is indifcri^minately thrown into the ftreets, andthere left expofed, (for the Hindoospoffefs but a fmall portion of a gene-ral cleanlinefs) add to the compoundof ill fmells which fo much offendthe noftrils of every one entering thiscity.

The irregular and very confinedmode which has been invariably ad-hered to in the conftruction of Bana-ris, has, in a great meafure, deflroyedthe pleafing effects which fymmetryand arrangement would otherwife havebeftowed on a city, entitled from itsnumerous and expenfive habitations,

^ to


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( 3 )to demand a preference to any capitalwhich I have feen in India*

In the refearches which I havebeen enabled to make intb the prin-ciples of the Hindoo religion, I havereceived great aid from a converfantknowledge of the Mhahrattah lan-guage, and an acquaintancej thoughtrivial, with the Sumfcrit*

The ufe of this laft tongue is no\vchiefly confined to a particular feetof BraminSj who officiate in the cha-racter of priefts, and it hath ever beenadopted as the channel of conveying tothe Hindoos, the eflentials of their reli-gion, with all the various forms oftheir worfhip.

The Sumfcrit is a fonorous lan-guage, its periods flow with great

boldnefs,


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( 9 )bolclnefs, and terminate in a cadencepeculiarly mufical, and it abounds in apith and concifenefs far fuperior toany other, with which I am in anywife acquainted.

An extracl: of a floke or flanza,which has been quoted by Mr. Halhed,is a ftriking teftimony of the nervouscompofition, and the laconic turn ofthe Sumfcrit.

As it is a ftanza of only four lines,I will infert it, and alfo attempt thetranflation.

Petache renewan fhetroSFather in debt enemyMatah fhetroo reihelenee

Mother enemy -extravagaht or immoralBhariah rupewuttee llietrooWife beautiful enemy

Pootre llietroo n'punditahSon ' enemy unlearnedC The


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( '0 )

The mother who hath loft her fame,The fire profufe, and foe to fhamc,

Are to their race a peft.A bride's foft joys oft' thorns implant,And he, who roams in folly's haunt,

Destroys his father's reft.

The Hindoos believe in one God,without beginning and without end ;on whom they beftow, defcriptive ofhis power, a variety of epithets.

But the moft common appellation,and which conveys the fublimeft fenfeof his greatnefs, is, Sree Mun Narrain,the univerfal Prote&or,

The Hindoos, in their firft andgrand ^application to the Deity, ad-drefs him as endowed with the three

attri-


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< II )attributes, of omnipotence, omnipre-fence and omnifcience ; which, inthe Sumfcrit, are exprefied by theterms, neer anjin, neer akar, and neergoon.

Though this explanation may not,in literary ftri&nefs, comprife in itthe precife meaning of the Englifhtext, it doth fo virtually, and in theampleft fenfe.

A circumftance which forcibly flruckmy attention, was the Hindoo beliefof a Trinity.

The .perfons are, Sree Mun Nar-rain, the Mhah Letchimy (a beau-tiful woman), and a Serpent, whichare emblematical of ftrength, love andwifdom.

C 2 Thefc


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Thefe perfons, by the Hindoos, arefuppofed to be wholly indivifible.

The one is three, and the three arcone.

In the beginning they fay, that theDeity created three men, to whom hegave the names of Brimha, Vyftnou,and Shevah.*

To the firft, was committed thepower of creating mankind, to thefecond of cheriihing them, and to thethird that of reftraining and correctingthem,

Brimha, at one breath, formed thehuman kind out of the four elements ;amongft which he infufed, as I un-derflood the intrepretation, a vacuum,

* Qften called Eifhwer, or the Mhah Deve.Before


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( '3 )Before the creation of man, Sree

Mun Narrain framed the world outof a chaos ; it was covered with thewaters, furrounded by an utter dark-nefs, and inhabited by a demon, thefuppofed author of evil, whom theGodhead drove into an abyfs under theearth.

-

The Hindoos, as Mr. Halhed, in hisTranflation of the Code of HindooLaws, has fully and clearly fet forth,are arranged in four grand calls or.tribes* ; that of the Bramin, theChittery, the Bhyfe and the Sooder.* There is, in India, an aboriginal race of

people who are not clafled in any of the fefts,and are employed in the meaneft and mofl me-nial offices. They are not permitted to enterany temple of the Hindoos, and in their dietthey have no reftrition. On fome parts of thecoaft of Choromandel they are called Pariahs^and, in Bengal, Hurrees.

Each


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Each of thefe cafts are fub- dividedinto numerous fe6is, the particularufages of which are preferred withgreat care and attentive diftin&ions.

There is an immenfe number offe&aries of the fame tribe, who do notadmit of the intercourfe of marriagewith each other, or of eating at thefame board.

From the beft information which Ihave been enabled to procure, it wouldfeem that the genuine Chittery, or Ra-jah race, has for a great length oftime been extinct, and in its placea fpurious tribe has been introduced.

The Hindoos, compofing thefe caftsand clafles, are ultimately branchedbut in two divifions; the one deno-minated


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( '5 >minated the Vyftnou Bukht, and theother the Shevah Bukht.

The followers of the firft are dif-tinguifhed by marking the foreheadwith a longitudinal, and thofe of thefecond with a parallel line.

In the temple of Vyftnou, heiswor-fhipped under the reprefentation of ahuman figure, having a circle of headsand four

( hands, emblems of an all-feeing, and an all-provident Being.The reprefentation of a fabulous

bird, on which he is fuppofed to ride,and denotive of the velocity of hismotion, is frequently placed in frontof his image.

Shevah or Eifhwer, or as he isufually called by the Hindoos, theMhah


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Mhah Deve, or great God, is repre-fented by a compound figure, def-cribing the male and female parts ofgeneration, and defigned as fymbols ofprocreation and fecundity.

.

Thefe faculties or qualities beingheld amongfl the Hindoos as thechoked bleflings, and the deprivationof them deemed a fevere reproach andmisfortune.

Facing this defignation of the MhahDeve, is generally feen, in a fuppliantpofture, the image of a cow, which isfaid to have derived its peculiarly facredqualities from having been chofen bythis god as his favorite conveyance.The more enlightened Pundits tell

you, that this animal hath been pre-ferved from (laughter from its great

utility


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utility to man ; it being his ableft af^fiftant in the labors of the field* and'

tthe chief fupport in his immediatemaintenance*

Not to fay that it argues a foundpolicy to ftamp this creature with fofacred a mark ; for were its fleih eaten,as Hinduftaii is productive of but fewhorfes, the various branches of agri-culture would fuffer an efTential in-jury.

Another figure reprefents SheVahwith four hands (holding in them dif*ferent emblems of his po\ver) and fiveheads ; four of which are directedto the cardinal points, and the fifth iplaced with the face Upwards* inthe act of contemplating the grandPeity.

D After


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After the fervice which Brimhahhas performed on earth, it would rea-fbnably be concluded, that his praifefor the obligations which mankindhave received at his hands, in fome de-gree, would be conformable to hisworks.

But the Hindoos have not dedicatedone temple to his honor, nor havethey fet apart or {an&ified one day inremembrance of his deeds.

It would redound but little to mycredit, were I to infert in this place,the reafon alledgcd in their religioustracTs, for this feeming neglect ofBrimhah.

I

It is a tale framed to amufe the cre-dulous Hindoo, and procure a meal taan artful rricfl. This


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( '9 )This oftenfible want of attention

to the memory of Brimhah, may on amore abftraeted ground be attributedto the opinion, that the powers ofprocreation having been once fet inaction, and operating by a law, gene-ral and undeviating, \vhofe immediate^benefits exifts and are evidently dif-played in its effects, there was noneceflity of commemorating the firflindividual caufe.

The Hindoos believe implicitly inpredeflination, and in the tranfmigra-tion of the fouhThe firfl, as it frequently cramps

the genius and obftrufts its progref-fjon, yet has a tendency in. confolingthem in every misfortune, and admi-niilering to them a comfort in all theuntoward events of life.P z They


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The Hindoos compute their grandevolutions of time by Joques, of whichthey have four, correfponding ki-th eir nature with the golden, filver,-brazen, and iron ages of the antients^.

The prefent, they fay, is theKhullee, or the fourth Joque ; andthat at the expiration of every- age,the Supreme Being has deftroyed thisglobe of earth, which has been re-created at the commencement of theone fucceeding, and that a continued,fucceffion of Joques will revolve ad in-foiitum,

- The records of this ancient and ex-traordinary people, unfortunately forthe learned of the prefent day, teem foprofufely with fable, and aboundthroughout in fuch extravagant rela-

tions


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tions of the actions of their demi-gods,greatly fimilar in their feats to the Bac-chus, Hercules, and Thefeus of theGreeks, that no rational or fatis-factory conclufion can be drawn forany adjuftment of chronology.A Pundit will introduce into his

legend a laack* of years with as muchfacility, and perhaps conviction tohimfelf, as a modern commentatorwould reduce to his ftandard half acentury."..* i$ .< . Ic~. -"i .'.-iv; 10 a v--^ iu iioLbaucAThe principles of the Hindoo reli-gion, with its mod eflentiai tenets,were compofed, it is aflerted, by Brim-bah, and comprized in four books,entitled the Baids or Yaids, a word

- 4^J i 1*.J -* An hundred thowfand..'j'4,. ::. .'.r ... .iigmfymg


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fignifying myftery in the Sumfcritlanguage.

In that part of the peninfula ofIndia bordering on the Choromandelfide, thefe facred writings are namedthe Vaidums.

The Telingahs and the Malabarscommonly change the letter B intoa V, and invariably terminate all Sum-fcrit words with an M.The Shaftre, meaning fcience, is a

moft voluminous commentary on theBaids ; and has been written by variousPundits, for the purpofe of illuftrat-ing their mythology. From the Shaf-tre proceed thofe prepoflerous andirreconcileably fuperftitious ceremonieswhich have been dragged by their

doctors


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( 25 )ous gradations of reward and puniih*ment amongft the Hindoos.

Conformably to their good or evilactions they are tranfpofed into thebodies of fuch creatures, whether ofthe human or brute fpecies, as bytheir conduct, whilft in the occupationof their former tenements, they mayhave merited.

They do not admit of the inflictionof eternal puniiliment, and fhudderat the idea of a belief fo difconfonantto the opinion which they have form-ed of the Supreme Being.

Evil difpofitions, they fay, are chaf-tifed by a confinement in the bodiesof thofe animals whofe natures theymoft referable* and are conftrained tooccupy them until their vices are either

E eradicated,


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will copioufly imbibe all thofe heart-felt fatisfactions, which are producedfrom the well performance of the dif-ferent duties of life.

After having occupied a feries ofbodies to the approbation of the Deityand his foul, from a purfuit of virtue,fhall be purified from the taints ofevil, the Hindoo is then admitted toparticipation of the radiant and neverceafing glory of his firft caufe.

The foul's receiving this act ofblifs,is defcribed, by comparing it to a rayof light, attracted by the grand powersof the fun, to which it fhoots with animmenfe velocity, and is there abforbedin the blaze of fplendor.

Yum DurmRajah officiates in thefame capacity amongft the Hindoos,E 2 as


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as Minos did in the infernal regions ofthe antients.

At the tribunal of Yum Durm, alldeparted fouls are fuppofed to appear,and their actions are proclaimed aloudby this judge, who pafTes an immediatefentence.

Should the difpofition of a man havebeen fo flagitioufly wicked and de-praved, as to be judged unworthy evenof an introduction into the body ofthe vilefl animal, fuch corporeal tor-ments are impofed on him as may bethought adequate to the tranfgrefiion,and the foul is afterwards placed inforne fuitable ftation on earth.

According to the religious traditionsof the Hindoos, Sree Muii ^Narrain,fmce the creation of the world, has at

nine


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'( 29 )nine different periods afTumed incarna-ted forms for the purpofe of eradicatingfome particular evil, or othenvife chaf-tifmg the fins of mankind.The Hindoos worfhip a fecondary

fpecies of deity, which they wildlyreckon at the number of the thirty-three krore*, and who in their diffe-rent functions are defigned to repre-fent the multiplied infinitude of powerof the Supreme Deity,From the croud of images which

the Bramin has placed in the temples ofthe Hindoos, they have been brandedwith the appellation of idolaters,or adorers of many gods.Let this mode of offering up fup-

plications* A krore is a hundred laacks.


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( 3 )plications or thankfgivings to the Su-preme Being be difpaflionately examin-ed, and it may be feen, that a per-fonification of the attributes of the;Deity, is not unfitly adapted to thegeneral comprehenfion.For thofe, and they compofe a great

portionof the

people, who, from awant of the requifite education, arenot endowed with the ability of read-ing the praife of God, can with faci-lity conceive an idea of his greatnefs,by contemplating a figure, fculpturedwith many heads and with manyhands, adorned with every fymbol ofhuman power, and beheld by allclafles of men with the utmoft reve-rence and awe.- /?/ ?/r...:~fo'..fo *?;.. ;Were the origin of emblematical

figures deduced with a pofitive degreeof


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( 3' )of certainty, there would remain littledoubt of difcovering, that they farpreceded the ufe of letters.

The Spanifh records mention, thatthe intelligence of the firft arrivalof the Europeans on the coaft ofMexico, was defcribed to Motezumaby figures painted on cotton cloth,

In a rude fociety, it was evidentlya more eafy operation to convey anidea thro* the medium of a fimplefigure cut in wood or moulded in clay,than to invent an alphabet, and outof it compofe an afTemblage of wordsneceflary for the formation of a lan-guage.

The immenfe group of Hindoo godsenjoy immortality, which they aregifted with from drinking a beverage,

called


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( 3* )called Amrut, and which feems tobear fome analogy to the nectar ofHomer's deities.

In their mythology, there is an ele-gant defcription of nine goddefTes, re-fembling in a great degree the mufes ofthe antients, in the nature of their pro-vinces.

There is alfo, mofl pi&urefquelydelineated, the God of Love, who hasavariety

ofepithets,

allfignificant

ofthe unbounded fway, which he pof-feffes over the hearts of men.

His common names are Kaum andMudden, and he is reprefented as apleafmg youth, armed with a bow andfive arrows, denoting the five fenfes,each of which weapon is baited withdifferent qualities of the poifon, which

is


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( 34 )gentleman eftablifhed in this part ofthe country, and pofleffing an inclina-tion to this caft of inveftigation, toprofecute a farther and a more minuteinquiry into the principles of the Hin-doo religion, I {hall deem the triviallabour undergone in this refearch, asmoft amply compenfated.Without putting etymological proofs

to the torture, or moulding to thefhape of his fyftem the generally un-fatisfactory and deceitful aids of chro-nology, the careful obferver might beenabled to trace fome points of thereligious worfhip of the Hindoo intoEgypt.There he would difcover the facred

Bull, or the Cow of Shevah,. placedhigh in the holy legends of the Cop-tis ; he would fee the Snake, one of

the


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( 55 )the myfterious affociates of Sree MunNarrain, devoutly revered by that na-tion, as an hieroglyphical emblem ofwifdom and longevity.

It would alfo appear, that the Oni-on fo frequently mentioned by hiflori-ans and travellers, as held in profoundveneration amongft the Egyptians, isno lefs marked with reverence in Hin-duftan; where, though the ufe of avegetable diet, is fo ftrongly incul-cated, and with a few deviations, com-monly adopted, the Onion is for-bidden to fome of the feels of priefts ;and, in the upper part of India, whenan oath, on which a matter of confe-quence depends, is adminiftered, theBramin frequently introduces the Onionto render the ceremony more awful.

F 2 On


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( 36 )On comparing the religious tenets,

and the forms of worlhip of the Hin-doos, with thofe of the ancients, thereappears in the functions of fome ofthe deities, a Jftrong uniformity of like-nefs, which is not unreafonably placedin the fame point of view, and wereit poffible to procure a defcription ofthe occupations and the various powersof the Hindoo fubaltern gods, it mightbe found that the celeflial group ofthe weftern pantheon, had been fe-lecled from the divine afTembly ofBrimhah.

The Egyptians and the Greeks intheir commerce with India, thro' thechannel of the Red Sea, have left, Iam induced to believe, many tokensbehind them of their connection withthe, Hindoos.

In


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( 37 )In the collection of a gentleman

at Banaris, there are feveral valuableantiques, which he purchafed of themerchants of that city; one of which,reprefenting a Grecian matron, is cutin a ftyle bearing every mark of a maf-terly hand.

There is another, on which Cleopa-tra is exhibited in the act of beingbitten by the afp.The fame gentleman had in his pof-

feiiion a Medufa's head, on an eme-rald, found alfo at Banaris, which hefent to England, and it has there beenacknowledged to be genuinely Greek.

There was procured at Guzerat,fome years ago, a very high finifhedcameo, whereon, Hercules flaying theNemean Lion, was executed in a mofhbeautiful and finking manner.

Thefe


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Thefe circumftances are adverted towith fome fhew of evincing, thatduring the intercourfe which exiftedbetween the natives of Egypt andof India, the former might have in-troduced into their country, with therare and luxurious products of Hin-duftan, certain tenets and ceremoniesof the Hindoo mythology.

In confidering of the tract by whichthefe antiques were brought intoIndia, I muft not omit mentioning,that they might have found their wayinto that country in the cabinets offome of the MufTulman conquerors ;who, in the more early period of theirempire, were as warm and as enthu-fiaftic admirers of Greek productionsand literature as ever the Romanswere ; and it is a fact, in need of no

illustration,


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( 39 )illuftration, that the revival of lettersand the arts, after Rome had beenfwallowed up in Gothic ruin, receivedthe moft potent aid from the ArabianKaliph, Haroun ul Rachid.

I am fincerely to lament that myknowledge in aflronomy is fo veryconfined, that I am almoft wholly in-capacitated from defcribing the attain-ment which the Bramins had arrivedat in that fcience, long, previoufly tothe asra in which it flouriihed in theweflern world.The Zodiac, with its twelve figns,

is well known to them ; and they havebeftowed on the feven days, com-mencing the week with Sunday, thenames of the planets,

The


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( 40 )The folar year of the Hindoos con-

fabs of twelve months, making threehundred and fixty days, and once inthree years they annex an additionalmonth, for the inclufion of thofe dayswhich are wanting to compleat theexact fpace of time required by theearth in making its triennial revolu-tion round the fun.

The days of the month are cal-culated from the period of the fullmoon, and the number of them isdivided into two equal parts.

To the portion of days comprizedin the increafmg half of the moon,they give the name of Sood, or filling ;and the other, they term Bole, orthe Wain,

The


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( 41 )The Jogue is divided into luftra of

twelve years, each of which is diftin-guifhed by its peculiar denomination.

The obfervatory at Banaris is an un-deniable proof of the knowledge whichthe Hindoos have acquired in the mo-tions of the celeftia! bodies.

Could accefs be gotten to fuch re-cords of the Hindoos, as are unaccom-panied with that redundancy of fable,with which their priefts have fo co-pioufly interwoven them, it would notbe prefumptuous to fuppofe, that wefhould difcover they were, in the moreearly age of the world, one of themod enlightened and powerful na-tions then inhabiting the face of theearth.

G Their


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.( 43 )for the pleafure and accommodation ofthe people.

Ufeful and elegant artifans, wellildlled in their various trades, in theraifmg ftupendous buildings; in thefabricating gold, filver, and the moftdelicate cotton cloths, and in thecurious workmanfhip of precious (tonesand metals, all found ample encourage-ment in the exercife of their feyera!

It were almoft fuperfluons to fay,that if fome glaring indulgences infavor of the facred tribe are excepted,Hindufhm muft have been governedby falutary and well digefted laws.

From the tranflation of the codeby Mr. Halhed, it is feen, that a wellchofen fyftem of equitable regulationsG 2 directed


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( 44 )dire&ed the Hindoos in the punifli-'ment of crimes, and for the fecurityof property.

The traveller was enabled to jour-ney through this extenfive empirewith an eafe and fafety unknown inother countries*

The public roads were {haded withtrees ; at every halting place a caravan-fera, with a pond or a well pertaining toit, was founded for the conveniency ofthe pafTenger, and fhould he in anypart of the country have been pillagecl,and could produce a teftimony of hislofs, the diftricl: in which the damage,had been fuftained was obliged to.make reftitution.When this empire, its polifted peo-

ple, and the progrefs which art andfcience


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( 45 )fcience have made aiongft them, areattentively confidered and reflectedon ; when, at the fame periods, a re-trofpective view is thrown on theilates of the European world, thenimmerfed in, or only immerging out ofignorance and barbarity, we muft be-hold Hindu ftan with a wonder andrefpecl:; and we may aflert, withoutforfeiting a claim to truth and mode-ration, that, however far the wefternnations have, in improvements and re-finement, outftripped the followers ofBrimhah, yet in the more early periodsof life, they, certainly did poflefs valu-able materials of philofophy and ufe-fnl knowledge.

The humane mind, will, naturally,be impreiTed with a fenfe of forrowand pity for a people who have fallen

from


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( 46 )from fo confpicuous a height of glory.and fortune, and who, perhaps, havecontributed to polifh and exalt thevery men who now hold them in fub-jeclion.

To form a fatisfactory judgment ofthe genius of the Hindoos, or to de^fcribe, with a due accuracy, the degreeto which they raifed art and fcience,it were requifite, if the necefTary ma-terials could be procured, that we didendeavour to exhibit a view of thefituation in which thefe people wereplaced before they were conquered bythe victorious followers of Mahomed,A

partialand a very degrading rela-tion would be made of them, were the

defcription of their laws, governmentand manners, taken from the appear-

ance


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( 47 )ance they make in the eye ofworld at this day.

The empire of Hinduftan was oVor-thrown by a fierce face of men, whoin their furious courfe of conqueft,exerted the moft ftrenuous efforts, inlevelling every monument of worfhipand tafte.

They manacred the priefts aridplundered the temples, with a fpeciesof keennefs and ferocity, which theifprophet, himfelf, might have gloriedin.

A people thus crufhed, groaningtinder the load of oppreffion, and dif-mayed at the fight of fuch cruelties,mufl foon have loft the fpirit of fci-ence and the exertion of genius.

Particu*


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( 48 )Particularly, as their fine arts were

fo blended with the fyftem of religion,that the perfecution of the one mufthave (hed the moft baneful influenceon the exiftence of the other.

To decide on, or affix the characterof the Hindoo, from the point of viewin which he is now beheld, would be infome degree tantamount to an attemptof conveying to the mind an exactidea of antient Greece, from the mate-rials now prefented by that wretchedcountry.

The difquifition of the man ofphilanthropy, and who has fhaken offthe fetters of prejudice, will be fardifferent ; he will enjoy an heart-feltpleafure in contributing his aid to-wards difpelling the mortifyng cloud,which


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( 49 )which hath long inveloped the hiftoryof the Hindoo.

This candid inveftigator will carryhim back to that aera of grandeurwhich his country enjoyed in her dayof profperity, and there hold him outfor the infpe6Hon and information ofmankind ; the generality of whom,whether from motives of contempt orhabits of indolence, have acquired buta trivial and a very incorrecl: know-ledge of this antient people.

It will then be feen, that the geniusof the Hindoos was fo happily led on,and their bent of difpofition fo aptly-regulated and attempered by the ruleseflablifhed for the performance oftheir feveral occupations and profef-fions, that we are forcibly induced toH enter-


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( 5 )entertain a mod refpeclable opinion ofthe equity of their laws and the wif-dom of their government.A precifion, which eradicated the

idea of an error, prefcribed to themtheir refpective duties in the ftate andin fociety, and wholly precluded anyone feel: from infringing on the privi-leges of another.

The Bramin, was invefled with un-controlable power in all matters of re-ligion ; he became the invariable me-dium, through which the three infe-rior claries addrefled their God ; he wasalfo the fole repoiitory and difpen-fer of fcience, and to his care and abi-lity was intrufted the education ofyouth.

The


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The importance of thefe offices mufthave given to the Bramin great fwayin a community, where the attainingat a knowledge of the mode of wor-ihip from its inexpreflible variety ofceremony, becomes a tafk of arduouslabor, and where at the fame time itis deemed an obligation indifpenfablyincumbent on the Hindoo for his fu-ture welfare, that he be well verfedin the performance of the rites of hisreligion.

Thefe employments were judged offufficient magnitude to occupy thefludy and attention of the Bramin,and he was ftriclly prohibited fromengaging in any temporal concern.

The authority of exercifmg every.function of royalty feems to havedevolved, without a referve, on theH 2 Chitteiy


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( 5* )Chittery or Rajah, and his poflef-fions were held hereditary in the lineof legitimate male primogeniture.The younger branches of this racehad commands in the army beftowed

on them, and they were commonlyentrufted with the charge of the fortsand the ftrong holds of the country.The occupation of a merchant, with

the tranfac~lion of every fpecies oftraffic, was delivered over to theBhyfe or Baniam, and it was declaredunlawful for the other tribes to en-gage in any branch of commerce.

The hufbandman, the artifan, theCommon foldier and the labourer,compofed the fooder, or the fourth caftof the Hindoos, and each of thefe

refpective


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( 53 )refpeclive profefllons was flronglyguarded again ft encroachments.

Thus diftin&ly arranged and on thefevereft penalties, interdicted from anyextraneous mixture or the admiffionof profelytes, the Hindoo governmentacquired an uniformity and a vigor,the natural refult of its happy prin-ciples.

Were an analogy afcertained betweenthe mythology of the Hindoos andthe Egyptians, very perceptible tracesof which prefent themfelves, it maythen become a matter of doubt, whichpeople for the greateft fpace of timehave been the moft polifhed and en-lightened.

From the adductions which I havebrought forward, for the explanation

of


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( 55 )ftrongeft difapprobation of any foreignintercourfe.

They are forbidden to crofs theriver Attoc, the name of which, inmany dialects of their language, fig-nifies prohibition, and fhould theypafs this boundary, they are imme-diately held unclean, and in the flricl:fenfe of their religious law, forfeit theirrank in the tribes they may beclafled in.

It is not, therefore, reafonable tofuppofe that any part of a people, un-der this refraction, and who feem tohave been fo centred in themfelves, asto pofitively reject the admiflion ofprofelytes, would have emigrated intoa diftant country, and bring fromthence a fyftem of religious worihip.

Let


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( 56 )Let me conclude this comparative

review with obferving, that Whenwe fee a people who were poflefled ofan ample flock of fcience and welldigefled rules, for the prote&ion andimprovement of fociety, and who pro-fefled a religious creed, whofe tenetsconfifl of the utmoft refinement andvariety of ceremony, and at the fametime, obferve, amongft other Afiatic na-tions, and the Egyptians of formertimes, but partial diftributions of thisknowledge, law and religion, we are ledto entertain a fuppofition that theproprietors of the lefTer have been fup-plied from the fources of the greaterfund.

If the pofitions which I have ftated,are thought to convey reafon, they willafford greater pleafure to the man of

curious


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( 57 )curious ftudy than thofe unfubftantialand confufed chronological proofs,which are often framed as they maymoft commodioufly accord with fomefavorite . Hypothecs*

Amongft the Hindoos, marriage*^xvhen it can be performed with anydegree of conveniency, is deemed a re-ligious duty of an indifpenfable na-ture ; aiid it is believed, that propagatingfpecies in that ftate, entitles parentsto fingular marks of divine favor** This word, in the Sumfcrit language, iigni-

fies pleafure. The Hindoos in common ufagehave but one wife, and when this rule is deviatedfrom, it is confidered as an indecency. There isa fet ofmendicants, called Joquees or Byraghees,who live in a ftate of celibacy, but it is not a nu-merous one.

1 They


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( 53 )They {hew a difapprobation of celi-

bacy by many marks of opprobriumand fcorn ; and, I have frequently ob-ferved, that when a Hindoo has beenafked if he was a married man, he hasappeared difconcerted, and ailiamed atthe fac~l obliging him to anfwer inthe negative, and immediately attri-buted the caufe of his fituation to fomeparticular misfortune.

It is to this inftitution, which is foflrongly recommended, and from afligma being affixed on the non-obedi-ence to it, I may fay, even enforcedthat the generally great population ofHinduftan, and its fpeedy recoveryafter the calamities of war and famine,mu ft be largely afcribed.

The


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( 59 )The entire fyftem of the domefticordinances and ceconomy of the Hin-doos, is founded on a ftrong, yet afimple bafis, out of which arife effectsthe molt happy in themfelves, andpowerfully operative in uniting theleading bonds of fociety.

From the eftabliihed laws and ufageof the country, the wife depends forthe enjoyment of every pleafure, aswell as for the mere ordinary accom-modations of life, on the immediateexiflence of her hufband.

It becomes her invariable intereft topreferve his health, and her happinefsis abfolutely centred on his living toan old age.

On the demife of the hufband, hiswife, literally, devolves into a caput

I 2 mortuum,


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( 60 )inortuum, {he cannot marry again,{he is deprived of all confequence inthe family, and is diverted of everymark of ornament and distinction.There are certain religious ceremo-

nies not lawful for her to perform ;and, in fome inftances, fhe is held un-clean ; but, oh all occafions, after herhu{band's death, the widow is daffedin the houfe as a Have, or a menialfervant.

Amongft the three firft cafts ofHindoos, where the idea of honouris more refined, and is oftentimescarried to an extreme, rather thanfuffer this gradation, by which everyfemale attraction is extinguifhed, andthe women themfelves reduced to theJo,weft degree of mortification, on the

pretence


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( 6' )pretence of matrimonial affection, theyfrequently devote themfelves on thefuneral pile of their huibands.

In addition to the dread of fo degradeda (late of humiliation, the widow, onthe other fide, is told by the Bramins,that in confequence of performing thisac~l of heroifm, ihe will partake of themoft exquifite future joys, and thather progeny will become the imme-diate charge of the deity,

Though the iflue offuch a refolutionmuft forcibly affect the feelings of hu-manity, yet as it would appear to ori-ginate in a principle, tending toftrengthen a falutary domeflic policy,it ought not to be haftily condemnedas a cuftom wholly cruel and unjuft.

Con-


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Conformably to the ftate of domef-tic fubordination, in which Hindoowomen are placed, it has been judgedexpedient to debar them from the ufeof letters.The Hindoos invariably hold the

language, that female acquired accom-plilhments are not neceflary ; whetherfor the purpofe of contributing to awoman's own happinefs, or for pre-ferving that decorum of character, andfimplicity of manners, which alonecan render her ufeful or amiable inthe eftimation of her family.

They urge, that a knowledge ofliterature would have an injurious ten-dency in drawing a woman from herhoufehold cares, and would conduceto give her a difreliih to thofe offices

in


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( 63 )in which are centered the only fatis-faction and amufement that fhe canwith propriety and an obfervance ofrectitude, partake of; and fuch isthe force of cuftom, that a Hindoowoman would incur a fevere reproachwere it known, that fhe could reador write.

The dancing girls, whofe occupa-tions are avowedly devoted to the plea-fures of the public, are on the con-trary educated in moft branches oflearning, with the utmofl care, andare minutely inftru&ed in the know-ledge of every attraction and blandifh-ment which can operate in communi-cating the moft refined pleafures.

You


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( 64 )You will be pleafed to obferve, thatthefe women are not obliged to flickerthemfelves in private haunts, or are

they, on account of their profeflionalconduct, marked with any opprobiousftigma.

They compofe a particular clafs ofthe fociety they may have been ori-ginally attached to, and enjoy thedeclared protection and fan&ion ofgovernment, for which they are af~fefled according to their feveral capa-cities.

No religious ceremonies or feftivalof any kind is thought to be performedwith the order requifite, unlefs ac-panied with dancing girls, and it isufual for them on a fixed day in theweek to attend at the court of theprince or governor of the diftricT:,

either


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^ ( 65 )either to make their obeifance, or ex-hibit fome entertainment.

And as a compenfation for fuch fer-vices, they are endowed with certaingrants of government lands.An Hindoo family, is implicitly

governed by the male fenior in it, towhom there is ihewn every token ofreverence and refpecl:.

A fon will not fit in the prefence ofhis father without an exprefs defire,and in his deportment and converfa-tion obferves to him the moft affec-tionate behaviour.

In the courfe of my refidence inIndia, and acquaintance with the Hin-doos, I have known but few inftancesof female incontinence amongft theirK married


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( 66 )married women, and not one of directundutifulnefs to parents.

I cannot avoid obferving, alfo, inthis place, that I never heard of aHindoo free-thinker, and that theirmofl illuflrious characters, and menof the world, fuch as^Scindia, NanahPurnawees* &c. believe the tenets oftheir doctrine with as much fincerity,and practife the mofl minute cere-mony with as much fcrupulous at-tention as the fimpleft peafant in theircountry.

* Eminent Mhahrattah chiefs.

Extraft


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Extra& of a Letter written atKachmire, April, 1783.

.

HP* H E religion which prevails in-** thefe parts*, is that of Brimhah,and as I have already in a fmall fketchendeavoured to throw fome light onthat ancient and curious fyftem ofworihip, I will now pafs it over, withan offer of prefenting thofe remarks toyou fhould you ever be difpofed to readthem.

There does not exift a greater dif-ference in the manners of the inha-bitants of thefe mountains, and thepeople of your quarter, than generallydoes between high and low lenders ofthe fame nation.

K 2 I took* The mountains at the head of the Punjab.


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I took notice of two ufages, whichfeem peculiar to thefe mountaineers,that of not {having the beard, andembracing ; this ceremony is performedby inclining the head over the leftfhoulder of the party embraced, and isnever ufed more than one time at ameeting.

The cuftora of permitting the beardto grow, proceeds, perhaps, from acertain ferocity and roughnefs imme-diately incident to their fituation, andpredominant in the difpofition of allmountaineers ; which, prompts themin different modes to fhew their dif-dain and contempt of the fofter andmore luxurious manners of their lowcountry neighbours.

The


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The embracing over the left fhoul-ders only, take its rife, I wouldconjecture, from the defire of havingthe right hand at liberty in cafe ofdanger.

The women have bright olive com-

forster, george - sketches of the mythology of the hindus

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