Page:Hindu Feasts Fasts and Ceremonies.djvu/97

Rh the Monday, more than fifteen thousand heads are seen bathing in the sea. The whole shore would be one mass of Hindus and most fortunately there are generally no accidents of any kind. Mahabalipuram is known to the European world by the antiquarian remains in which this village is rich and which have been well described to the public by many eminent writers on antiquities. All the pilgrim sojourners visit these remains after the bath and the ideas they express of what they see are very amusing and give us an insight into their knowledge of their own history. "These are the caves where the Pandavas lived," say some. "No," denies another with all the authority of a historian and states that these caves were constructed by Rishis. A third greyhead, with anger in his face, states that Mahabali was a very powerful sovereign, that even gods from the heavens were visiting him every day, and it was to accommodate them that Mahabali built these caves. These and such like are the theories. But not one is to be seen expressing a wish to know anything historically about these relics. No one studies or attempts to study them, though several works exist already