Page:The Indian Antiquary, Vol. 4-1875.djvu/17

 TTTR UMIAK ANTIQUAItV. [Junrutt, 1873. tionofthe sculptured representaboujiortbe many fonna employed could not fail to ba interesting- Sketches of n few vuriettt* of aerpaut image* art given in tho /k/»yrf on fcn« Arthavt- Sarar^ 0/ lf««&r» /«*"» for lost season j and from these figs. U, o, and <3 are token. P%. 2 is from & village in thu Bel gam district ; Fig*. 3 and 5 arn from a photograph of six wahr atones in the principal temple atSinde-Mamiuli, on tho Mllaprahhi, of which two dm carved with nine figures each of Hindu ft*?** or gods, nested iu a linr% and another bears ft figure of A Hingis hooded snake, a fourth of n pn>r — tho male with three bdoSM and the fctnah otto; the fifth (fig. 3) had n single snake with sevuu hoods (ana of tbeui broken off) very neatly curved in ft compact porpbyritie slab- Mich head has » crtsst, and ovur tho whole is the cJfcaUrl or umbrella, emblematic of so- vereignty, the sixth (lig. 5) has a pair of Dnated snakes, tho male only with its hood expanded. N*. 4 is from a stone at AUtolh' or Aiwn.||i,* further down tho same river, in the Dharwid zillA j and Xn, 6 in from the Jo .r-jamb of adesor! I uli.not far from Manmili. At Than, in KHhtiiw.'id, in a temple of ' Biitthnujf,' no Sfuhft Nar.lyana is locally called. Tho principal imago is a three-headed colva with two h mailer tnonocophnlons ones — ono on each side — carved an the same slab. To tho spectator's right of them is a tigurc off Vis fa n u in the human EbnUi with four arms ; while on, and iu front of the altar on which the images aro t*hu:ed aro inliijrdmus and itmkh shells. A com- mon YJ>Lh-o offering at this shrine seams to bo e representation of the three fiuakes in alto-rilievo on a iljtt earthenware tile. Near the WDi i* a shrine of HA nd iu Xil ga, f when is an linage but no lotuplo. Aa snake-" prevails among tho K a t h i », similar shrines an- d.uilrtlww to be met with in man j place* throughout the peninsula ; and an account of the traditions* beliaf** and rites connected with them would ho specially interesting. .".die-wing notice of the worship of tho MTrpeut is given by Dr. Cornish. U /,', ■) ,, ,■ | bunts of tho Madras Frtt idonetf, 1871 (tot. f- PP- 105-6):—" In many places," he says, " the living serpent is to thia day sought out and propitiated. About two yeaxa ago, at Riijamandrf, I earae upon an old ant- hill hy the sidy of u pufilie road, on which was placed a modern ito ■ ■ ■ M n tation of a cobra, and the ground nil around wot stack over with pieces of wood carved very rndidy in the shape of a snake* These were the offering* left by devotees, at the abode token op by an old make, who «wvasional!y would come oat of ma hole, and feast on the milk, eggs, and ghee left for him by his adorers. " Around this place I saw many women who had come to make thmr prayers at tho shrine. If I hoy chanced to see the cobra, 1 was assured that the omen was to be interpreted favourably. and that Lbeir prayers for progeny would be granted. There Is a place also near Vaisarpadi, close to Madras, in which tho worship of tho living snake draws crowds of votaries, who titakn holiday excursions to the temple (generally on Sundays) in thehnpe of hr sivftke* ii ore preserved in the temple grounds -, and probably so long 11 1he desire of offspring is a lending oliarnetoristic of the Indian p 90 long will the worship of the serpent, nr of snake-stones, bo a popular cnlt. lit all pro- bability the snake-atones were critrinolly act np in coiumemorntion of ft Kving; snake, formerly tenanting the spofc tn tnost places tho stones are to be corns I dozen, or score ; and , judging from the modern practice, as I saw it tnyadC at Rajomanilri, fchey wnre probably aet u[n in rultitiii-.mt «f vows, and in remembrance of blessing* flowing to lliedonyrs litrOBgll snake- worship." an iN.scRirrroxs paoif mififok, shwaxSt, ntiLBABQA, AND SIDDUAPTTB. UV R BLOCHMNN.M.A,CAL0nTTA MADRASAH. If r. Burgeassouiu tints ago strut ma trac in g» L The inscription from the $Minpgam r Mo»piu it of no Interest. ef several Mnluuurnadan in.-wriptiottH at B^lgam, S&mpg4th, Gnlbarga, and Si Idhapur. I now give my readings and tmnalfttiona. It only contains thras QorAn verses, rix. Stlrah Lxi. 13, iir.  • A*!«, |i. atf. i Sw link Amt, not I, p. 7. 1 &Tjd{i£uui m * rillajfo to tho sooth-out ol ihdf tih.