| Show THE JUGGERNAUT A VIsit to the Celebrated fliidoo ShrineThe Annual Procession The Hindoo shrine which is most known in Europe is that of Jugger not naut or Jagannath Who has heard of this car and the human being who threw themselves under its ponderous wheels A few wor son s-on this celebrated shrine may therefore there-fore be appropriately given here more especially as the utmost absurdity ab-surdity has been written in regard to it The temple is situate in Pjoree or Juggernaut in the province pro-vince of Orissa about 250 miles southwest of Calcutta and is chiefly remarkable for the idol contained in I it which Is annually dragged in its I car in procession The town in which this celebrated procession is held is mean dirty and badly built The streets e crowded with sacred oxen who are trained to attack with their horns in a quiet and measured way any intruders on the sacredness of the route Various monkeys may be seen perched on the houses walls and trees and in the water tanks are tame croco tiles which are objects of worship The pagoda of Juggernaut writes an eyewitness is at the end of the principal street which is very w de and composed almost entirely of religious re-ligious establishments with low pillttrdd verandas in front and plantations plan-tations of trees interposed The temple stands within square space inclosed by a lofty stone wall and I measures 650 feet on a side The I principal entrance crowded with the baskets and umbrellas of the natives and the huts of dried leaves and branches which serve as a phel ter for a number of fakirs atid it opens on a vestibule with pyramidal pyra-midal roof On each side is a monstrous mon-strous figure representing a kind of crowned lion In front fra column of darkcolored basalt ot very light and elegant proportions surmoun ted by the figure of Ihe monkey god Hanuman the Indian Mercury The great pagoda rises from 20 feet high within he outer inclosure from a base 20 feet square it rises 180 feet tapering slightly from bottom bot-tom to top ana rounded off on the upper part being crowned with a kind of ome The temple is dedicated to Irish a who is the principal object of wbrship in the character of Jug gerWnr and as an incarnation off of-f but is held in joint tenantcy with Siva and with Sabhadra the supposed sister and wife of S va There are idols of each consisting of rudely sculptured blocks of wood about six fet iu height surmounted by frightml lepresentatious of tha human countenance Krishna is dark blue Siva white and Sabhadra of a yellowish hue In front of the altar on whic i these idols are placed is a figure of the hawk god Gorounda A repast is daily served to these idole it consists of 410 pound rce 225 pounds flour 350 pounds clarified clari-fied butter ghef 167 pounds treacle 65 pounds vegetables 186 pounds mils 24 pounds spices 34 pounds salt and 41 pounds oil These ar titles of food certainly seem sufficient suf-ficient not only to satisfy the appetite appe-tite of the idols whatever may be the capacity of their divine etom ache but even those who belong to the establishment During the meal the doors are closed against all but a few favored individuals sanctioned by long fasts and a habit of asceticism ascetic-ism and penitence Loud strains cf the peculiar noise better appreciated by the Oriental than western ear fill tbe air and drown all other sounds while the gods are conum ing their daily rations On the day of the procession two stout cables are attached to the car These are seized by thousands or as many as can obtain a place to hold by At one time so eager were the devotees to share in the honor of dragging the idols car that the greatest and best men of the town struggled with each other to obtain a hold upon the ropes and to use Brutons language They are so eager an d greedy to draw it that whosoever by shouldering crowing crow-ing shoving J heaving thrusting or I in any insolent way can but lay a hand upon the rope they think I themselves blessed and happy and when it is going along the city them are many that will offer themselves as a sacrifice to the idol and deeper I alely lie down on the ground that the chariot wheels mfy run over them whereby they are killed nit right j some get broken arms some broken legs so that many of them are destroyed and think to merit heaven Such was the idol of Juggernaut and its procession in former times Of Into years its popularity hrs vastly fallen off The Hindoo is beginning to be wonderfully cautious cau-tious ef thaI swarthy akin of Ms even in the service of the god with a view to his salvation On R late occasion indeed instead of thousands thous-ands of devotees struggling to get at the ropes not a single hand assisted to drag the car along and to the horror and chagrin of the Brahmins for the first time in history the idols of Juggernaut came to a standstill stand-still in the streets of Pooree and yet no harm befell the multitude from the avenging wrath of the gods A not uncommon way is for the pilgrim to extend himself flat out on the ground on his stomach to stretch out his hands as far as possible then rise and place his feet where his hands had been and repeat re-peat the process thus be passed over the whole weary road to Poo ree it may be for hundreds of miles by dstancea of about six feet at a time his bruised boiy being the instrument of men = urerueni One cause of the popularity of Juggernaut Jug-gernaut was and is that though on the road caste Uislinations are a9 etricUj kept up as on any other occasion yet in the presence of the god all manner rf men high and low may mingle together and eat from the same table |
