We mount the steps and watch the women bathing in the sacred tank : its fetid water is regarded as a healing balm which will wash away all the sins of the soul. A poor creature whose leprous limbs are fast falling away totters down the steps. Then he descends into the water and laves his head and body with the liquid. By the tank are lying two or three other stricken creatures. Then across the mind rises a vision of that scene enacted nineteen centuries ago at the pool of Bethesda. In a niche upon the stairs is a figure of Vishnu, the preserver—the second person of the Hindu Trimurti or Triad. Legend states : " The god Vishnu dug this well with his discus, and in the place of water filled it with perspiration from his own body, and gave it the name of chakra pushkarini. He then proceeded to its north side and began to practise asceticism. In the mean time, the god Mahadeva arrived, and looking into the well beheld in it the beauty of a hundred millions of suns, with which he was so enraptured that he at once broke out into loud praise of Vishnu ; and in his joy declared that whatever gifts he might ask of him he would grant. Gratified at the offer Vishnu replied that his request was that Mahadeva should always reside with him. Mahadeva, hearing this, felt greatly flattered by it, and his body shook with delight. From the violence of the motion, an earring, called, rnanikarnika, fell from his ear into the well. From this circumstance Mahadeva gave the well the name of Manckarancka, and endowed it with two properties—the first, muktikshetra (salvation field), that of bestowing salvation on its worshippers ; and the second, turansubhakarni. that of granting accomplishment to every good work ; and commanded that it should be the chief and most efficacious of pilgrimages." In front of the tank is the temple of Tarkeshwar, or the god of salvation. If this deity has been propitiated, he can pour into the ear of the dying Hindu a charm of such efficacy that it delivers him from misery, and secures for him an eternity of happiness and joy. The idol is invisible because it is kept in a cistern filled with water. Above this temple is a large round slab, called charan-paduka, which projects slightly from the pavement, and in the middle of it stands a stone pedestal, the top of which is inlaid with marble. In the centre of the marble are two small flat objects which are supposed to represent the two feet of Vishnu, and mark the exact spot where he " Down right into the world's first region threw His flight precipitant." The spot is held in great veneration, and multitudes flock to the feet of Vishnu, in the sure hope that it will give them a certain introduction into heaven. Near the sacred spot is a temple containing a hideous figure of having three eyes, a silver-plated scalp ornamented with a garland of flowers, and an elephant's trunk partially concealed behind a cloth. At the foot of the idol is the figure of a rat, and a small fountain. Leaving this temple we proceed to tread our way homewards through the narrow streets. It is a difficult task on account of the men, women, children, beggars, and bulls sacred to Siva, which throng the narrow way. The lofty houses richly embellished with galleries, projecting oriel windows, and broad and overhanging eaves keep out the rays of the sun. Under the shadow of the houses, and at the angles of the streets, are shrines covered with flowers, animals, and palm branches, all wrought with sharpness and delicacy, and displaying a wealth of imagina tion. They were evidently done by men who enjoyed giving play to their genius. Wide spaces of the houses are covered with deep and rich colour ; no attempt is made at design ; but the pleasure must be derived from the hues alone. The whole street is life, movement, and colour. The shops are bright with brass and copper vessels of all kinds and shapes, some intended for domestic use and others for that of the temple. From the shops of the dyers hang cloths of all colours : brilliant green and rich blue, deep red, and superb yellow. In the cloth merchant's we gaze at bales of costly tissues, and scarves of gold and silver stuff with deep fringed borders beautifully wrought. A little urchin with yellow silk trousers and scarlet coat is trying on a velvet cap largely ornamented with tinsel. After much haggling it is purchased, and the proud parents carry him away. Then a halt is made at a confectioner's. In the front the senior partner is engaged in selling the deli cacies ; at the back a very greasy assistant with a black cloth round him is engaged in pouring from huge ladles upon an iron plate a very black mixture, upon which the flies are sitting in myriads. One more dream of life is dispelled. The dainty cookshops, of which one as a boy used to read with hungry delight in the " Arabian Nights," do not exist. Thus observing, we pass through the most unique city in the East.
At evening we drove to the Ashi Ghat and were slowly towed up the river, past the palace of Ramnagar, which crowns the water's edge. Then we set sail and tacked across the stream, narrowly escaping collision with a cotton boat which was swiftly sailing down the stream with her wide saffron sail full set. At the wharf we were courteously met by the secretary of the Maharaja, who escorted us to the Castle. In a fine room paved with marble we met the son of the rajah, who was most courteous. He led us to a marble balcony, which commands a view of surpassing beauty. Below us are the broad blue waters of the Ganges, opposite are the green corn-fields and groves of trees of the most luxuriant kind. Down the stream we see the temples overhanging the waters glowing in the sunlight, and the graceful minarets of the mosque towering to the sky. The sun had set when we re-embarked ; and a thick mist had fallen over the river, but through the mist shone the lights on the Ghats, and seen through the veil of night the houses looked dark and grim. Then suddenly we turn a bend of the stream, and we see vast tongues of fire shooting forth from a pyre. The crackling of the wood breaks the stillness around, and through the red light, perched on some steps are seen the mourners. And " I felt the wind soft from the land of souls ; The old miraculous mountains heaved in sight One straining past another, along the shore, The way of grand dull Odyssean ghosts Athirst to drink the cool blue wine of the seas And stare on voyagers."
At dawn we left Benares and drove across a vast green plain of corn covered with fine groves of trees, to Sarnath, to see the old Buddhist relics. This small insignificant village, with its brick houses and squalid huts, is one of the most sacred spots in the world. It is the Jerusalem of millions of beings, for the great tower which rises near it marks the spot where Buddha for the first time " turned the wheel of the law "—that is, where he first preached the doctrines which have supplied spiritual life to millions. " Be pure, be good ; this is the foundation of wisdom ; to restrain desire, to be satisfied with little. He is a holy man who doeth this. Knowledge follows this." Here is the essence of Buddhism, here is its power : and Buddha added : " Go into all lands and preach this gospel ; tell them that the poor and lowly, the rich and high, are all one, and that all castes unite in this religion, as unite the rivers to the sea."' Thus the lowest Sudvas or aboriginal was placed on an equal rank and received equal rank with the Brahman and Kshatrya, and the teaching of Buddha, like the teaching of Christ, won the hearts of the people. But as the author of The Religions of India points out, the significance of the Church organization in the de velopment of Buddhism should not be under-estimated. " Contrasted with the lack of an organized ecclesiastical corporation among the Brahmans, the Buddhistic Synod, or congregation Sanglia exerted a great influence. In different places there would be a spot set apart for the Buddhist Monks. Here they had their monastery buildings, here they lived during the rainy season, from out this place as a centre the monks radiated through the country, not as lone mendicants, but as members of a powerful fraternity." At Sarnath existed a monastery which Hiouen-Thsang, the Chinese traveller, who visited India about the middle of the seventh century, has described. He writes : " To the north-east of the river Varana about ten li or so, we come to the Sangharama or Lu-ye (stag-desert). Its pre cincts are divided into eight portions (sections) connected by a surrounding wall. The storied towers with projecting eaves and the balconies are of very superior work. There are fifteen hundred priests in this convent. In the great enclosure is a vihara (monastery), about 200 feet high ; above the roof is a golden covered figure of the Amra (An-mo-lo-mango) fruit. The foundations of the buildings are of stone, and the stairs. also ; but the towers and niches are of brick. The niches are arranged in the four sides in a hundred successive lines, and in each niche is a golden figure of Buddha. In the middle of the vihara is a figure of Buddha made of native copper. It is the size of life, and he is represented as turning the wheel of the law (preach ing)." Hiouen-Thsang proceeds to tell us that to the of the monastery was a stone stupa or tope, and in front of it a lofty pillar. " The stone is altogether as bright as jade. It is glistening, and sparkles like light ; and all those who pray fervently before it see from time to time, according to their petitions, figures with good and bad signs. It was here that Tathagata, having arrived at enlightenment, began to turn the wheel of the law." A vast tower, called Dhamek, a hundred and ten feet high and ninety feet in diameter at its base, still marks the spot where Buddha first turned the wheel of the law. The lower part up to a height of about forty-three feet, is built of enormous blocks of sandstone, connected together by cramp-irons ; but the remainder of the tower is a massive cylinder of brick, which in former times was probably encased in a layer of stucco or stone. The lower part has eight projecting faces, in each of which is a small niche, evidently intended to hold a figure of Buddha. Each niche is encircled with exquisitely carved flowering foliage.' Below the niches a triple band of orna ment encircles the tower. The broad middle band consists entirely of various geometrical figures, the main lines being finely and deeply cut, and the intervening spaces filled with various patterns. The upper band consists of a richly wrought scroll of the lotus plant with only leaves and buds, but the lower bands contain the full-blown flowers, as well as the buds. On one side in the middle of the ornament there is a human figure seated on a lotus flower, and holding two branches of the lotus in his hand. " On each side of him there are three lotus flowers, of which the four nearer ones support pairs of Bahmani geese, while the two farther ones carry only single birds. Over the nearest pair of geese on the right hand of the figure there is a frog. The attitudes of the birds are all good, and even that of the human figure is easy, although formal. The lotus scroll, with its glowing lines of graceful stalk, mingled with tender buds and full blown flowers and delicate leaves, is very rich and very beautiful." South of the great tower of Dhamek is a lofty ruined mound of solid brickwork. This is the ruin of the stupa described by Hiouen-Thsang as " being about three hundred feet high. The foundations are broad, and the buildings high and adorned with all sorts of carved work and with precious substances." Round the tower are small mounds in which excavations made according to the in dications of Hiouen-Thsang led to the discovery of the ruin of the celebrated monastery. The excavations also re vealed the similarity between the plans of the viharas which were erected and those hewn in the rock as at Ajanta. In the former, however, the cells and chapels were arranged round a square court, while in the caves they surrounded a chamber of the same form. It was also discovered that the monastery must have been pulled down after the lapse of several centuries, and rebuilt on the ruins. The final de struction of the large monastery, which took place towards the ninth or tenth century, was, no doubt, sudden and unexpected, for among the calcined beams of the roofs and beneath the ashes have been found, as in Pompeii, house hold utensils, corn, and remains of wheaten cakes. The monks must have been surprised by their foes, and the con flagration so swift that they had to fly for life as they were preparing their daily food. Many must have perished in the flames. The old tower is all that remains to remind the traveller of the former greatness of the monastery.