TRI-KUTA. Colonel Tod tells us that the infant Bappa, son of Nagadit, when only three years old, was conveyed to the fortress of Bhan dere, where he was protected by a Bhil of Yadu descent. Thence he was removed for greater security to the wilds of Parassur. Within its impervious recesses rose tbe three-peaked (tri kuta) mountain, at whose base was the town of Nagindra, the abode of Brahmans, who performed the rites of the great god. In this retreat passed the early years of Bappa, wandering through the alpine valleys, amidst the groves of Bal and the shriues of the brazen calf. The most antique temples are to be seen in these spots,— within the dark gorge of the mountain, or on its rugged summit, in the depths of the forest, and at the sources of streams, where sites of seclusion, beauty, and sublimity alternately exalt the mind's devotion. In these regions the creative power appears to have been the earliest, and at one time the sole object of adoration, whose symbols, the serpent-wreathed phallus (lingam), and its companion the bull, were held sacred even by the children of the forest. In these silent retreats Siva (Mahadeva) continued to rule triumphant, and the most brilliant festivities of Udaipur were those where his rites were celebrated in the nine days sacred to him, when the Jain and Vaishnava mix with the most zealous of his votaries. But the strange gods from the plains of the Yamuna and Ganges have withdrawn a portion of the zeal of the Gehlot from their patron divinity Eklinga, whose dewan or vicegerent is the mita. The
temple of Eklinga, situated in one of the narrow defiles leading to the capital, is an immense structure, though more sumptuous than elegant. It is built entirely of white marble, most elabor ately carved and embellished ; but, lying in the route of a bigoted foe, it has undergone many dilapidations. The brazen bull, placed under his own dome, facing the sanctuary of the phallus, is nearly of the natural size, in a recumbent posture. It is cast (hollow) of good shape, highly polished, , and without flaw, except where the hammer of the Tartar had opened a passage in the hollow flank in search of treasure. Amongst the many temples where the brazen calf forms part of the establishment of Bal Cesar, there is one sacred to Nanda alone, at Naen, in the valley. This lordly bull has his shrine attended as devoutly as was that of Apis at Memphis ; nor will Eklinga yield to his brother Serapis. The changes of position of the Apis at Naen are reetived as indications of the fruitfulness of the seasons, though it is not apparent how such sire contrived. There are perhaps in India millions of the idol Nandi, the buil or calf valian of Siva, and it is always placed in a seated posture looking towards the litigant. —Travels, 136 ; Toll's Rajasthan, i. 222.