Page:The Indian Antiquary, Vol. 4-1875.djvu/394

 Decembeb, 1875-j WORDS AND PLACES W AND ABOUT BOMBAY. 359 battle fought between Kama and a king of ancient Malum. The victory is said to have been then commemorated by raising a temple on the spot to the goddess Kali, which was transferred from the island of II a h i m ii p u r i to that ofMambadevi, where it is to be seen in our days. The current tradition is that the temple was transferred about five hundred years ago by a Koli named K ii 1 b a or K a 1 s a., and hence the name K a 1 b a d e v i ; but no reliance can be placed on this story. Any one passing along the Kalbadevi road may see the image of Kali just in front of the door of a small square room, with a circular dome, seated on a quadrilateral cornice bearing four images of Mabadeva, one at each angle, and surmounted by a flag. It is represented as a black female figure with red paint on the face, silvery white vjes, and a gaudy scarlet sddi round the waist, while the trunk is left nude. The Kolis never pass it without saluting it with both hands. Kali ib supposed to have been originally a goddess of the non- Aryan races, incorporated into the Hindu pantheon, along with other aboriginal deities, as a Brahmanical expedient to induce the natives of the country to join their creed, just as the first Jesuit missionaries, such as De* Nobiliand others, in proselytizing the BrAhmaus, are said to have done in later times. Sir W. Jones considers Kali as ana- logous to the Proserpine of the Greeks. The present temple was built not very many years ago, after pulling down the old one, which stood about the same place, in order to widen the Kalbadevi road. It is also said that uodern building was erected at the expense of the Government. It is at present under the management of the P a 1 s i s, the aboriginal settlers in Bombay. Besides the Hindu temple just mentioned, are several others in Bombay, the greater number being dedicated to a saint of the ab- origines, imported into the Brahmanical FU» a niti or Hanuman, the monkey-god, and the son of Maruta and Anjani. The Hindus worship Maruti because he is sup- posed to possess the power to bestow sound health on his votaries and preserve them from epidemics. The Catholic martyrology has also a saint described as aihocatm contm pastes n Deo, who is invoked" when any infectious disease prevails. The peculiarity about the worship of H an u - ma n is that his altar is made solely for him, and that it allows no niche or corner for any cither devaia ; while other devas do not dis- dain the company of even the lowest of their fraternity. The special day wben M a r u t i is worshipped is Saturday, when vermilion and oil are poured on him. In the R&m&ijan is said that when M A r u t i was born he saw the rising sun. and thinking it to be a ripe fruit flew np to the sky and seized the sun's chariot, w I uneupon I n d r a, fearing that Maruti would swallow the smi, smote him, and he came to the ground. Asa reward for his bravery, and at the recommendation of his father V a j n or Muruta, who corresponds to the JEolus of tin. Romans, Brahma made him olrirain/jiva, or im- mortal.. In the war of Rama with K;ivana he is said to have assisted the former, at the head of a regiment uf monkeys. It is likewise said that this simian general first met Rama on the It i - shimukha mouutain, near the lake Pamp a , in the south of the Dekhan, a place not identified*. M a ru t i has a number of patronymics de- scribing several of the episodes of his life,— as Hanuman, which i.s derived from hanw y ' the chin,' in reference to the fall he had from In « a result of the blow received from Indra's thunderbolt on his chin. The principal temples of Siva in Bombay are : — one close to the old Sailors' Home, facing the Esplanade; one in Antoba's Street, nearLoharchiu; one in the middle of the market near the Jninma Masjid ; a fourth named P an - e h a m a k h i, or the five-faced, at Bholesvara ; and several others, including those in Mazagon, Kulftba, &c. B h o 1 e s v a r a, to the right of the temple of Mammadevi, and of the main road to the Fort, is so named from a pagoda there conse- crated toBholesvar a—' the Lord of the sim- .mrted,'— from HRT * simple-hearted, ' and tvr. 'lord,' — an epithet of Siva. It is also some- times called B h o 1 a n ii t b a. Tho temple is one of the largest in Bombay, with a well-built tank. The deity here is represented by a black smooth stone with a concave projection at the base, like the mouth of a spoon, which is called Pindika. The congregation- of this temple is the iargest in the town, comprising Brahmans of Gujarat and Maharashtra, Vanias, Pra- bhus, Sonars, Marathits, and others, who make valuable offerings to the Uhya of Siva. The