Page:Isvar Chandra Vidyasagar, a story of his life and work.djvu/591

 religious faith. Vidyasagar replied,—'I have never declared to anybody my faith, nor will I ever declare it; but this much I can say, that if you believe that the bath in the Bhagirathi purifies you and the worship of Siva brings sanctity to your heart, there is your religion.' With this, he returned to his own quarters.

On a previous occasion, while his mother was still living, the Brahmans of Benares asked him whether he believed in Visvesvara (the god Siva of Benares). Vidyasagar replied,—'I have no faith in your Visvesvara.' The Brahmans were highly offended at such a reply from a Hindu, and asked him,—'What do you believe in then?' Vidyasagar answered,—'My Visvesvara and Annapurna (another name of goddess Durga, Siva's wife) are my father and mother, present here in flesh.' Here was some indication of his religious faith. It might not be much amiss to infer, that his feeding of Brahmans was for the satisfaction of his parents, who were his sole objects of worship.

The Hindu Wills Act was passed on the 1st September, 1870. The Draft Bill had been introduced into the Legislative Council in the previous year. The purposes of this Law had hitherto been served by the Indian Succession Act, which operated equally on the Indians and non-Indians. Previously, since the establishment of the Supreme Court, the wealthy residents of Calcutta used to leave their testamentary Wills at their own option,