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wheels of the car may also go over the body; but the frequency of such events have been exaggerated, and if there is blame, it is doubtful if Jagannatha should be made answerable. It has often happened when the Queen, or the Prince of Wales, has made a State visit to the City, that very serious accidents have occurred, attended with loss of life; as a matter of fact such State processions through the streets of London have seldom taken place without someone in the crowd losing their life, yet no one ever dreams of ascribing to the royal personages just named such a character as has been given to Jagannatha. During the Car Festival self-immolation takes place. This also has been very much exaggerated. Hamilton, in his Gazetteer, states, 'That during the four years prior to 1820 only three cases occurred, one said to be accidental, and the other two to get rid of excruciating diseases with which the victims were tormented.' If this is anything like a fair estimate of the death rate, there need be no hesitation in asserting on the basis of statistics that the British cab is a much more bloodthirsty institution than the car of Jagannatha.

It may be stated that this expression of doubt regarding a popular opinion is not the first which has appeared. The Indian press has at various times had letters and notices on this subject, and more than one author has expressed himself in very decided language against the commonly received notions. Dr. Hunter, a late writer on Orissa, puts it very strongly, that the character given to Jagannatha is totally unfounded and grossly calumnious. Other authorities could be quoted, but it will be enough to give the words of Mr. Fergusson, whose knowledge of things Indian is not by any means confined to the subject of architecture. He visited Puri, and the following is his graphic description :

So much has been written about the horrors of this festival-of the hundreds of dead and dying pilgrims that strew the road, and of their bones that whiten the plains, and of the victims that throw themselves under the wheels of the car-that I was most agreeably disappointed to find the pilgrims hurrying to the spot, talking and laughing like people going to a fair in England-which in fact it is. There were fanatics measuring the road with their length, and others rolling along, and devotees doing absurd things of all sorts, but not more than one sees in every town in India; and, as for victims, none had been heard of for many years before that time. Many threw themselves down before the cars, it is true, but a kick or a slap from those who were standing by started them long before the wheels came near, amidst the laughter and shouts of derision of the people. Nor were the bones more plentiful than the victims. I looked out everywhere for a pilgrim's skull, to examine his bump of veneration, and keep it as a curiosity if I found it large, but neither skulls nor bones were to be found anywhere that I could see.

Puri is situated about fifty miles south of Cuttack, where there is a level delta formed by the Mahanaddi River, and the space contains a most interesting collection of archeological remains. The Buddhist caves at Udayagiri and Khandagiri are among the oldest rock

cut excavations in India; and the temples of Bhuvaneswara and Kanaruc are, from their age as well as the elaborate work upon them, one of the most remarkable groups of Brahminical architecture. The great temple of Puri belongs to the same group, but as an example of Hindu art it has not an equal interest with those at Bhuvaneswara. The shrine of Jagannatha is to a large extent only a copy of the great temple at Bhuvaneswara, the copy being much inferior to the model. The great attraction to the student at Puri is the very peculiar worship at that place, and the questions connected with its origin, which are very obscure and doubtful. It strikes all visitors to Puri how it was possible a spot on a flat, bleak, sandy seashore could acquire a character of high sanctity. Yet such is the site on which we find the temple of Jagannatha. One of the supposed miracles of the place is, that the roar of the sea cannot be heard within the precincts of the temple; but from the outside of the enclosing walls such is not the case, the waves beating on the flat sands send a murmur which is distinctly audible. The only eminence is the mound on which the temple stands; it is about a mile from the sea. This elevation was anciently known as the Nilachila, or Blue Hill.' Round this slight elevation, which has been raised to the dignity, only in its title, of being a hill, there has grown up a most wonderful collection of legendary lore,-a collection so large that only a few of its leading points can be dealt with in this short article. The temple enclosure is very nearly square, being 665 feet by 644, 3 space agreeing very closely with that of the temple courts of Jerusalem, according to Josephus; within this is a second enclosure, 400 by 278 feet. In addition to the great temple of Jagannatha itself, there are a number of lesser temples, and other buildings for purposes connected with the worship, among which is a dancing-hall, a refectory, and a kitchen. This last is a large and very important part of Jagannatha's establishments. There are numerous wells, among which is the Rohini-Kunda; and a sacred tree, a banian or Ficus Indica, called Kalpabriksha,' which possesses many virtues, and is a source of revenue to the Brahmins. The Baradand, or road on which the cars are moved along at the Ratha Yatra, is a wide space extending about two miles to the north-east. The town surrounds the temple and extends along this road, and has a population of over 20,000, which are nearly all Hindus. The high sanctity of the spot is attested by the Skanda Purana, where Narayana, or Vishnu, is made to say to Brahma :

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'On the northern shore of the sea, to the south of the Mahanadi River, there is my favourite abode. Alone it can confer all the blessings which are derivable from all other sacred places on the earth put together. Those wise sons of Manu who dwell there enjoy the fruits of all the good deeds peformed by them in their previous births. Know this, Lotus-born, that none who is of little merit or wanting in faith can dwell there. Every step of the land from the Mango Forest to the shore of the southern sea is most precious, as I shall show you. The blue hill, which flourishes on the

sea shore, is the most secret place on earth-most difficultly accessible even to you. Enveloped by my illusion it remains unknown even to the gods and demons. Forsaking all company I dwell there in a corporeal form. Rising above all mutability and eternity I abide at Purushottama, the holy spot, which is alike unassailable by creation and destruction. Even as you see me here in corporeal shape, with all my emblems, so will you, Brahma, see me there. On that blue hill, to the west of the Kalpa fig-tree, there is a fountain known under the name of Rohina: dwelling near it men may behold me with their carnal eyes, and, washing off their sins with its water, attain equality with me.'

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Archæologists are pretty well agreed that the spot had attained to some importance in the Buddhist period. That Buddhism was strong in the region we have the evidence of the caves of Udayagiri and Khandagiri, as well as Asoka's inscription on the rocks at Dhauli. The well-known Tooth of Buddha, which is supposed to be the one still existing at Kandy, in Ceylon, was for a long time preserved in a place which derived its name from that relic, and was known as Dantapura, or 'City of the Tooth.' This city, situated somewhere on the coast, between the present Calcutta and Madras, is conjectured by some writers to have been Puri, and that the Blue Hill is the mound left by the Buddhist establishment in which the Tooth was preserved. This is probable enough, but it has only been given as a guess, as it might account for a legend that the bones of Krishna were found there, and placed in the first image of Jagannatha, made by Indradyumna. The preservation of human relics would be abhorrent to Brahminism, and a legend like the above is not likely to have originated from the votaries of that religion; while relic-worship, on the other hand, is a well known characteristic of Buddhism. evidence is also derived from a remarkable feature of the customs at Puri, that is, the absence of all caste within the limits of the place. This is so utterly at variance with all Brahminical ideas, that it is assumed to be a continuation of a rule dating from the Buddhist period. One of the marked peculiarities of the Buddhist teaching was the doing away with all caste distinctions; and it is a reasonable conclusion, so far as we can see at present, that the origin of this rule, which ignores caste, points to a period when the faith of Buddha held sway in the locality. There is another curious coincidence which goes far to confirm the theory. Fah-Hian, the Chinese pilgrim, who visited India in the early part of the fifth century, describes very minutely a procession of Buddhist images in cars, which he saw at Khoten and also at Patna. He gives the size of one of the cars at Khoten, which was thirty-five feet in height, and so far as the description goes it must have been very like that used by Jagannatha. Luckily the date of the festival is given, and Colonel Sykes discovered that it took place at the same time of the year as the Car Festival at Puri. To this should be added another point, noticed by Rajendralala Mitra, that in the common pictures produced in Puri and sold to the pilgrims, of the Ten Incarnations

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of Vishnu, the ninth, or Buddha Avatar, Jagannatha is represented instead of the usual figure of Buddha. Another evidence is derived from a theory that the images in the temple are only modifications of Buddhist symbols. This is an interesting point in connection with the subject, and will be dealt with more fully when describing the figures of Jagannatha and his brother and sister.

It will be noticed that it is only by inference that this theory of the place having been Buddhist is made out; still it is strong enough to make it highly probable that such was the case. There is no historical evidence except the temple records, and their state

JAGANNATHA.

ments, so far as they refer to this period, are few, and of small value as to accuracy. As to the pre-Buddhist times we have nothing but legend. According to the Purushottama Mahatmya,' Puri was a forest with the blue hill in its centre. Here was the Rohini-Kunda, or fountain, and the kalpa tree, and an image of Vishnu in blue sapphire, a dark blue being the colour in which that god is always represented. We may take it that the fountain, which still exists, was the first cause of the spot becoming sacred. It will be found that almost every holy place has a source of water connected with it. Every sacred spring did not become a Jerusalem, a Mecca, a Benares, or a Puri; but these places would never have been known had there been no source of water at them. Indradyumna, a king of the Solar

race who reigned at Avanti, in Central India, heard of the great fame of the blue god, and wishing to see and worship this divinity, he left his kingdom with a large army. On reaching Puri the blue stone had disappeared, and Indradyumna was in despair. As a mark of his devotion he erected a splendid temple, and held a great festival at its consecration, accompanied with the most elaborate sacrifices. During the ceremonies the king had a dream in which a tree appeared to him, and in the tree was Vishnu with all his emblems. Along with the god was his wife Lakshmi in her most benign aspect; and also the Sudarsana-Chakra, or celestial wheel. This vision was looked upon as a good omen, and at the end of the ceremonies a log floated ashore with the emblems of Vishnu upon it. This was explained to be a hair from the body of the god, and that it had come from Sweta-Dwipa, or the 'White Island.' From this log the first images of Jagannatha, Balarama, Subhadra, and the Sudarsana-Chakra were made. The resemblance between this story and others which have come down to us from various parts of the world will present itself to most readers, and need not be pointed

out.

The peculiar form in which these images have been made will now come to be considered. The representations of them here given are from a work lately published under the authority of the Government of India, entitled The Antiquities of Orissa.' It is in two large volumes, most elaborately illustrated with lithographs, photolithographs, and wood engravings. The author is Rajendralala Mitra,

who is not only learned in the antiquities of India, but at the same time being a Vaishnavite Brahmin, had access to the Temple of Jagannatha, a privilege not allowed to Europeans; and I here acknowledge my indebtedness to that work, from which I have freely taken while writing this article. The images are those of Jagannatha; of Balarama, also called Balabhadra, the elder brother of Krishna; Jagannatha being the same as Krishna, he is known as his brother; Subhadra is the sister of Jagannatha. These three figures, as well as the Sudarsana-Chakra, are placed on the Ratnavedi, or jewelled altar, in the principal shrine of the temple. Jagannatha is coloured blue, that being the colour of Vishnu and Krishna : Balarama is white, and Subhadra is yellow, and the so-called Chakra is of a checked pattern. They are large figures, Jagannatha and his brother being about six feet high, and the sister is about four feet; the Chakra is also about six feet.

SUBHADRA, SISTER OF

JAGANNATHA.

The very peculiar form of these images has led to attempts to account for their shape. One popular theory is that the deity has no particular form, and hence the absence of resemblance to the human figure;

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