Page:Wanderings of a Pilgrim Vol 2.djvu/432

 seven times), B[)u]l[)u]-Ram[)u] married her, and to bring down her monstrous height, he fastened a ploughshare to her shoulders.

JAGANĀTH.

At this festival all castes eat together: the pilgrims to this shrine endure excessive hardships from fatigue, want of food, and exposure to the weather; sometimes a devotee will throw himself under the wheels of the car, and be crushed to death, believing, if he sacrificed his life through his faith in J[)u]g[)u]nat'h[)u], the god would certainly save him. Every third year they make a new image, when a Brahman removes the original bones of Krishn[)u] from the inside of the old image to that of the new one; on this occasion he covers his eyes, lest he should be struck dead for looking on such sacred relics. The Rajah of Burdwan expended twelve lākh of rupees in a journey to J[)u]g[)u]nat'h[)u], including two lākh paid as a bribe to the Brahmans to permit him to see these bones; but he died six months afterwards for his temerity. A number of women belong to the temple, whose employment is to dance and sing before the god. J[)u]g[)u]nat'h[)u], his brother, B[)u]l[)u]-Ram[)u], and their sister, Soobh[)u]dra, are placed together in the car.

In the plate entitled Jaganāth is a brass idol, (Fig. 5,) which was given me at Pooree; it may probably represent the three personages above mentioned; but why the brother and sister should have stumps instead of arms, and why they should have no legs, I cannot imagine. Is Jaganāth in himself a trinity, as this idol would lead one to suppose?

Fig. 1, in the same plate, is a fac-simile of a little wooden model of the god; it has no legs, and only stumps as arms; the head is very large, as are also the great circular eyes. At the festivals the Brahmans adorn Jaganāth with silver or golden hands; and an offering of a pair of golden hands to the image is considered an act of great devotion. This model was presented to me at Pooree, as was also the seal (Fig. 2), with which the priests stamp the worshipper on the breast and on the arms; it is covered with various holy emblems: the tika of bhabūt or ashes