There are 28 holy rivers, dedicated to one or other of their great deities,beginning with the Ganges, and travers ing the whole continent to the Indus ; but the virtues of the Ganges are universally allowed to be pre-eminent. its water is conveyed to distant parts ; and the dying are often brought to it, that, with their feet in it, they may have a hap py passage out of life. If persons think of it, or invoke it, when they bathe in any other water, they will still derive all the benefits of its virtues. The Brahmins also repre sent four confluences of rivers, or prayajas, as sacred : That at Allahabad, where the Jumnah flows into the Ganges, is the largest and most holy. Many pilgrims to this place annually drown themselves, being conducted to the middle of the river, and then sunk, with pots of earth tied to their feet. There are also a great number of holy places in Hin dostan. The following are some of the most distinguished: 1st, Benares, and the district ten miles round it. 2d. Oude, ''here Rama was born. 2d, Metta, famous for the birth of Krishna. 4th, Hurdwar, already noticed for its great fair;„ this is frequented by the Gosseins, or worshippers of Siva, who arc distinguished by a wrapper of cloth, dyed with red ochre ; the Bairajies, disciples of Vishnu, who are distin guished by two perpendicular stripes of yellow ochre or san dal on the forehead, and a string of beads round the neck; the Udassies, the followers of the founder of the Seik sect, who are distinguished by a conical cap and fringe ; and the fol lowers of Mahadeva, who have a longitudinal slit in the cartilages of the car. The period of bathing is when the sun enters Aries ; and every twelfth year, when Jupiter is in Aquarius at this time, the concourse of people is greatly increased. No particular ceremony is observed in bath ing. 5th, The Hindoos regard all Cashmere as holy land. 6th, The famous pagoda ul Juggernauth, in the province of Orissa, is another place of great sanctity. The popular belief is, that the body of Krishna was carried there by an inundation from the vicinity of Surat. At Juggernauth, a Brahmin may receive food from the hands of a Sudra. The idol Juggcrnauth is placed on a throne, which is raised on a car 6u feet high ; and it is said, that many of the pilgrims who resort to this place throw themselves under the wheels of this car, as it is dragged along. The number of those who come to die here is so great, that for 50 miles the ground is strewed with human bones All persons, except certain devotees, are obliged to pay a tax before they enter the temple. From the 1st of Nlay 18a6 to the 30th of April 1307, this tax produced 117,490 sicca rupees. The annual expenditure ul this temple is estimated at 56,000 sicca ru pees which arise sfrom lands and villages, and an allowance of 2u per cent. from the produce of the tax. The most holy and frequented periods of pilgrimage are in March and July. 7th, Gayah, in the province of Bahar, which is esteemed the birth place of Budha, is a place much resorted to by pilgrims. The tax levied on them by the Bengal government amounts annually to about 1 lacks of rupees. See JUGGERN AUTH. 8. Dwaraca, in the south-west extremity of Guzerat, which was long the residence of Krishna, is on that account much resorted to. The ceremonies consist in bathing in a sacred stream—in receiving a stamp impressed with an iron instrument by a Brahmin. On this instrument are engraved the spell, the ring, and the lotus, the insignia of the gods. A pilgrim may receive not only his own stamp, but stamps on his body for his friends. Lastly, The pil grims visit the isle of Bate, where there is an image of Krishna. For all these he pays a fixed sum. It is com puted, that the revenues of the temples here amount to a lack of rupees, and that 15,000 pilgrims annually resort to Dwaraca. There are several other places of pilgrim age, particularly at Parkur, to which place 70,000 pilgrims annually go, to see an idol made of marble, which, after the ceremonies are performed and paid for, is carefully concealed in a spot known only to a few. And at Sagu• island, which lies at the junction of the Palicut branch of the Ganges with the ocean, many of the pilgrims used to sacrifice themselves or their children to the alligators and sharks, which abound here ; but in 1802 the practice was abolished by Lord Wellesley.
It would carry us far beyond our limits to notice all the various superstitious opinions and practices of the limn doos. Some, however, may be very briefly touched upon. If the bodies of those who have not been careful, during their lives, to secure the pardon of their sins, are thrown into the Ganges, they will be allowed to transmigrate in such another form as will at last bring them to heaven. The souls of the deceased may also be released from pu nishment, if their friends will put on a stone, rendered sacred by having been impressed by Vishnu. a certain paste, and at the same time repeat the name of the deceas N n 2 ed. The painful distortions and tortures to which the Joguis subject themselves, are too disgusting to be relat ed, and could not be credited except on indubitable testi mony. Different kinds of suicide are held by the Hindoos to be meritorious, viz. starving ; covering themselves with cow dung, and setting it on fire, and thus being consumed ; burying themselves in snow ; and cutting their throats at .Allaltabad,—to this last species of suicide, performed at the eclipses of the sun and moon, great wealth is promised in a future state. Sur, is the art of predicting events, by observing in what manner the breath issues through the nostrils. Akum, teaches what is contagious and hurtful, and what advantageous. Shooghun, is the art of discover ing what is happening, or will happen, by observing the motions of birds. Keywall, are omens learned by throw ing dice. Samdirg, by observing the form of the limbs, their motions, and the lines and moles on the body. Garud, is the art 01 repeating incantations for recovering a person stung by a serpent. Inderjal, includes the art of necro mancy. talismans, and slight of band. The following dis eases are regarded as punishments for crimes in a former state: Lameness. for having kicked a Brahmin ; a fever, for killing an innocent Chehteree; a cough, for killing a Brahmin : For these punishments, the expiations are pre sents of gold to Brahmins. Some of their superstitious practices have already been described : a few others may be noticed. The practice of the widow burning herself on the funeral pile of her husband, is well known. There are nine kinds of trial; by ordeal—by the balance—by fire— by water—by poison—by the cosha, or drinking of the water in which idols have been washed—by rice—by boil ing oil—by red hot iron—and by images. Infanticide was practised by many tribes of Hindoos ; by some, their child ren's lives were devoted to the sacred waters. Other Hin dcos, of high caste in Benares, on a prospect of being una ble to provide suitably for their female children, were in duced, not unfiequently, to put them to death ; and other castes of Hindoos, with a view to deter the execution of legal process, or in revenge for a supposed injury, would murder their females or their children, being persuaded that by such means they could obtain spiritual vengeance against their adversaries.
This last species of infanticide, which, as well as the others, has been abolished by the British government, is one of the modes of what is called dherna ; this is gene rally practised by a Brahmin, in order to obtain justice, or enforce a petition. For this purpose he places himself before the door of the person from whom he wishes to ob tain his object, and threatens, if he perseveres in refusing it, that he will put an end to his life by a dagger, or poison, which he always has in his hand. The Brahmin, as well as the person thus besieged, fast, so that the latter is almost always obliged to yield. Another mode of dherna, which is employed to recover property, is by the person standing up with an enormous weight on his head, which he swears to support till he attains his object. But the most despe rate species of it is that called koor ; a pile of wood is erected before the door of the besieged party, and on this a cow, or an old woman, is placed ; the pile is set fire to, unless the request is granted. These species of dherna are common in Hindostan Proper, and in some parts of the Decan, especially among the i\lahratta tribes; but they do not appear to prevail in the southern parts of India.