Page:Sketches of some distinguished Indian women.djvu/38

26

spite of all the attacks that have been made upon it from time to time, by Buddhism, by Mahometanism, and by Christianity, in spite of the undermining influences of education and of civilization, Hinduism still reigns supreme over the minds of millions of the people of India.

The old superstitions still bear sway, and the old ceremonies and institutions are maintained in much the same form as that in which they were practised a thousand years ago. Not the least remarkable of these are the annual pilgrimages to the banks of the sacred rivers, such as the Ganges, the Nerbudda, and the Godavery, or to some particular temple or shrine of more than ordinary sanctity. To these holy places flock hundreds of thousands of pilgrims from all parts of the country. The rajahs and rich men arrive in their carnages or on gorgeously caparisoned