Page:The Indian Antiquary Vol 2.djvu/170

 152 THE INDIAN ANTIQUARY. [May, 1873. quently, of one of his descendants named Bhagi- ratha, the ascetic withdrew his curse, adding that the souls of the princes whom he had destroyed could only reach the abode of the blessed after they were cleansed in the waters of the Granges which flowed upon the crest of 6iva. This deity was next invoked on behalf of the unfortunate vic¬ tims of the $ishi’s wrath, and at his command the waters of the Ganges flowed upon the earth, and the ashes of the dead princes mingled in the sacred stream. When &iva commanded Gangd to flow upon the earth, the god also decreed that whoever washed in her waters should be cleansed from the pollution of sin, and, in order to remove from the goddess Gangd the stain of pollution she would thus contract, he commanded her to visit the sa¬ cred tank at Kumbhakonam once in twelve years, when she could cleanse herself from such pollution. The festival of the Mahd Mdgam occurs in the year Mdgha during the month named Mdgha, and during “ the occurrence of the full moon in or about the asterism Mdgha” During this festival the pilgrims to Kumbhakonam bathe first in the waters of the Mahd Mdgam, then in the tank of the Golden Lotus (Pon thamarei thadagam) and, lastly, in the river K&veri. There are twelve temples at Kumbhakonam, each having its presid¬ ing deity, the chief of the twelve being Kumbha- twaram. These twelve deities are placed in their respective cars and dragged each round his own temple. They are all then carried on the shoul¬ ders of men in grand procession, with banners, incense, and fireworks, to the great tank, on the banks of which are erected twelve shrines, one for the reception of each idol. In the shrine which is built in the centre of the tank oertain ceremonies are then performed, the trident being planted within it and besprinkled with holy water and in¬ censed by the officiating guru. After the comple¬ tion of these ceremonies, the people, who stand around the tank in anxious expectation, make a sudden plunge into it, as if the healing virtue would affect only the first who entered. A corre¬ spondent writing to us regarding this festival says,—“ I am told that about 33,000 people are expected to visit Kumbhakonam during this Ma¬ hd Mdgam, and judging from the number of spe¬ cial trains that the G.S. I. Railway run, both by day and by night, 1 believe there is no exaggeration in the statement. ”—Madras Times, Feb. 12. A FESTIVAL AT HAIDARABAD. Once a year, on “ Lungur Day,” the city of Haidarabad presents a scene characteristic of that Oriental grandeur, wealth, and fondness of display which historians and travellers chronicle bat we in India seldom see. The whole of the tributary princes, chiefs and noblemen, within a certain radius of Haidarabad, assemble at the head of their dependants for the inspection of tho Prime Minis¬ ter, Sir Salar Jang, pay homage to the Nizam, and undergo a species of “muster” previous to the disbursement of the annual government stipend for the maintenance of the troops they keep up. -The “Lungur” of 1873 took place on the 5th March. A writer in the Madras Mail says that ail present were conspicuous for their magnificent and costly dresses, whilst their dependants, horse and foot, contributed to an amusing spectacle. Uniforms of all ages, Oriental as well as European, were exhibited: coats, wristpieces, and morions of chain-mail; Saracenic head-pieces with their spikes of steel and chain-mail curtains; buff coats of tough bull's-hide; coats with tarnished epaulettes and wings of five and twenty years ago; shakos huge-topped and befeathered; the bearskin of some long-forgotten commander of a “ grenadier companylong swallow-tailed coats of the Christy Minstrel type, worn without continuations of any kind. Motley and numerous as the dresses were, in weapons the diversity was greater still. You saw bell-mouthed petronels of the time of the first James, an arquebuss or two, crossbows with dan¬ gerous-looking bolts, matchlocks, flint and steel muskets of various degrees of efficiency; swords of every age, shape, and nation. Yonder a curved scimitar; here the long straight blade of a knight of Malta. Knives more or less richly ornamented appeared in the kamarbands of high and low, but the arm most fancied seems to be a double muzzle-loading gun or rifle, many of which were carried in the hands of the noblemen seated on elephants. Long, light, bamboo lances were adopt¬ ed by the majority of the mounted retainers, with, in some cases, a carbine slung behind the back. Throughout the day there was music for the Euro¬ peans present.—Friend of India. AJANTA CAVES. About five and twenty years ago the Court of Directors of the late E. I. Company, with the liberality that so distinguished it, resolved to secure faithful transcripts of the wonderful fres¬ coes in the AjantA Cave Temples. Accordingly, Major R. Gill was employed, with the necessary establishment of assistants, and in the course of a number of years he sent home nearly thirty large and faithful copies of almost all the best portions. Of these, twenty-two or more were placed in the Sydenham Crystal Palace, where they were destroyed by fire about six years ago. No copies, tracings, or photographs were taken