Show A TEMPLE RITES AND ceremonies BY WHICH THE IDOL IS HONORED A complex over the nigh caito brahman supreme authority a receivers anu teea and their methodi the hindmo temple of any size w pre ten tiona is a complex institution it is a group of buildings within one or more walls it possesses certain privileges granted by native rulers in days gone by and still respected by the present government it enjoys what may almost be termed a royal revenue from houses lands and offerings and it possesses hoards of treasure m jewels gold and silver vessels and coins property is in the hands of tm steeg who are elected or who claim an hereditary right to the office these have power over an enormous wealth under unscrupulous trustees valuable jewels have disappeared or been replaced with glass pots of silver and gold coin have been refilled with copper rich lands have been let at a nominal rent to their relatives and offerings intended for the temple have been appropriated personally occasionally a trustee is prosecuted for hia dishonest practices but it is not often that he is punished the erection of the hindmo temple is the work of a blow system of evolution some holy man perhaps dies on the spot or he has an ecstatic vision of the god in one of the incarnations the space is invested with sanctity and an image set up to the deity the landowner straightway builds a small shelter over it to propitiate the god in hia favor the ground around the edifice is next with a fence by and by the shed is removed and something more pretentious and lasting erected the dewan or prime minister of the province makes a pilgrimage to the shrine and leaves a rich offering in the hands of alm admans ah mans who have instituted as receivers trustees and ministrants mini more pilgrims come offerings in kind as well as in jewels and money pour in and new buildings are erected courts halls galleries a tank pillared platforms walls gateways and towers slowly grow around the earine the center point of the edifice other shrines of affiliated deities may group themselves near the original but the mulas is always the same it holds the image of the deity to whom the temple is dedicated and it is the scene of daily ceremonies at all risks it must be jealously guarded against the intrusion of any but the twice born when clive took the temple of the largest in southern india and a powerful stronghold in those days 2000 fierce stood before the door of the Mulas declaring that the europeans should only pass in over their dead bodies their superstitions were respected and clive left the fanatics in possession in preserving the integrity of the sacred shrine the hindmo has something more to consider than hia religious ecru plea the restitution of the divine or maneric essence is a very expensive and intricate process requiring large sums of money for its different rites at vellore there is a handsome temple which was desecrated years ago by the mo hamm edans they killed a cow in the the building now stands empty anil unoccupied and the european may go into outer and inner court as he pleases the Mulas is u small hall richly decorated with carvings it contains nothing but a stone dais on the face of which is a tortoise in outline the image rested formerly on the tortoise there is a small gutter around the platform which conducted the sacred water used for the ablutions of the idol into a reservoir outside pilgrims drank of this water eagerly in belief of its miraculous powers of healing and purification the temple would probably be used again by hindmo worshipers if money were forthcoming sufficient to restore the divine essence the idol is not usually made of wood or stone it ia molded in an amalgam of five metals gold silver brass cop per and lead in size it is smaller than the human figure it is not called a swami until the maneric essence has been infused into it bv the proper ceremonies these are performed by the Brahma iia who claim the power of placing the essence in any object animate or inanimate that they choose sometimes the object is a man the chief trustee or he is then said to be divine and ia called swami and moreover is worshiped as a god the daily ritual which concerts only the idol hakea place inside the shrine at intervals during the day no worshipers are present except those who are taking part in the function the image is tended in every minute particular as though it were a living human being nothing is omitted it is washed with water from the sacred tank it is dressed and fed it is supposed to take pleasure in the company of the dancing girls it sleeps and wakes and finally is put to bed dur ing its toilet hymns of praise are sung lamps are lighted camphor and incense burned and the is frequently introduced part of the revenue of the temple pays for all of this and a great many brahmins Brah mins find their occupation and their living in it the ritual of the festival is much more imposing the image is covered with plates of gold and loaded with jewels it is carried in procession upon a car surmounted with a throne of silver it may now appear before the eyes of all and it makes a slow and magnificent journey around the outer courts of the temple which are open to all casts and through the town offerings in kind and in money and jewels are received the dancing girls are to be seen their charms enhanced by rich silk and gold they are the daughters and wives of the god and the children of the devil the value of their charms goes to swell the offertory considerably chambers journal |