can be imagined. Men professing themselves to wise became. fools, and changed the glory of God into a lie.

K. [p. 79] Idolatrous Worship of the Hindus.

In the text I have alluded to the different ceremonies, as they have been presented to my own observation. Some of the ex pressions quoted are those which are principally used by the agriculturists in the Dakhan. In the third volume of Mr. Ward's Work, there is a very correct and pretty extended view of the subject The following quotation from the Linga Purána is to be found in Kennedy's Mythological Researches.

"Having bathed in the prescribed manner, enter the place of worship; and, having performed three suppressions of the breath,* meditate on that god who has three eyes, five heads, ten arms, and is of the colour of pure crystal, arrayed in costly garments, and adorned with all kinds of ornaments: and having thus fixed in thy mind the real form of Maheshwara, proceed to worship him with the proper prayers and hymns. First, sprinkle the place and utensils of worship with a bunch of darbha dipped in perfumed water, repeating at the same time the sacred word om, and arrange all the utensils and other things required in the prescribed order; then, in due manner, and repeating the proper invocations, prayers, and hymns preceded by the sacred word om, prepare thy offerings. For the padiam,† these should consist of ushiram,‡ sandal, and similar sweet-smelling woods; for the achamanam,§ of mace, camphor, bdellium, and agallochum, ground together; and, for the arghya,|| of the tops

* “Pranayama, which Mr. Celebrooke thus describes:-'Closing the left nostril with the two longest fiugers of the right hand, the worshipper draws breath through the right nostril, and then closing that nostril likewise with his thumb, holds his breath; he then raises both fingers of the left nostril, and emits the breath which he had suppressed'.-Asiatic Rehearches, Vol. V. p. 348.

"Water for the ablution of the feet rendered fragrant by these means. The water is not here specified, as it is implied in the word padiam.

"The root of the Andropogon muricatus.

§ "Water for rinsing the mouth.

|| "A particular kind of oblation, which consists of different articles in the worship of different deities. Here the pieces of money arc unusual, and ashes (made from dried cow-dung,) are sacred to Shiva only.

of kusha grass, prepared grains of rice, barley, sesamum, clarified butter, pieces of money, ashes, and flowers. At the same time, also must be worshipped Nandi,* and his wife, the daughter of Marut. Having then with due, rites prepared a seat, invoke with the prescribed prayers the presence of Parameshwara, and present to him the padiam, achamanam and arghya. Next bathe the lingam with perfumed water, the five products of the cow, clarified butter, honey, the juice of the sugar-cain, and lastly pour over it a pot of pure water, consecrated by the requisite prayers. Having thus purified it, adorn it with clean garments and a sacrificial string, and then offer flowers, perfumes, frankincense, lamps, fruits, and different kinds of prepared eatables, and ornaments. Thus worship the lingam with the prescribed offerings, invocations, prayers, and by circumambulating it, and by prostrating thyself before Shiva, represented under this symbol".†

L. [p. 90.] Labours of Shankaráchárya. The Brahmans consider Shankara as a great champion of

The principal attendant of Shiva, and supposed to be a portion of that God, who granted a son as a boon to a holy ascetic named Shilada, and also Consented that he would be born as that son".

2

"Lainga Purana, part i. chapter 25. I have here considerably abridged the original, but nothing material is omitted, as the invocations, prayers, and hymns are not inserted' at length, but merely referred to by their titles. At the present day the whole of this ritual is not observed, nor is this worship performed in that costly manner which is recommended in the Purans. But the worship of all the deities consists of sixteen essential requisites:-1, asanam, the preparing a seat for the God; 2. asahanam, the inyoking his presence; 3. padiam; 4. achamanam; 5. arghya; 6. bathing the image; 7. clothing it; 8. investing it with a sacrificial string; 9. offerings of perfumes; 10. flowers; 11 incense; 12. lamps; 13. naivedya, i. e. offerings consisting of fruits and prepared eatables; 14. betel leaf; 15. prayers, &c.; 16. circumambulation. The more of these acts that are performed the more complete is the worship; but at present it in general consists of nothing more than presenting some of the prescribed offerings, and muttering a short prayer or two while the lingam is circummambulating: the rest of the acts being performed by the officiating priest.

"It ought to be added, that this worship need not be performed at a temple, but in any properly purified place; and that it is most efficacious when performed on the bank of some holy river, before a lingam formed pro hac vice of clay' which, on the worship being terminated, is thrown into the sacred stream".

their faith; but, in this part of India at least, they are generally ignorant of his tenets. The allusion which is made to him by Mora Bhatta, I have reason to believe, is merely intended to impress his readers with the vain idea that powerful arguments in defence of Hinduism are still in store. Several commentaries are ascribed to Shankara; and there is also a work entitled Shankara Digvijaya, and purporting to be written by Ananda Giri, one of Shankara's disciples. "Some of the marvels it records of Shankara", says Mr. H. H. Wilson "which the author professes to have seen, may be thought to effect its credibility, if not its authenticity; and either Ananda Giri must be an unblushing liar, or the book is not his own: it is, however, of little consequence, as even, if the work be not that of Ananda Giri himself, it bears internal and indisputable evidence of being the composition of a period, not far removed from that at which he may be supposed to have flourished, and we may, therefore, follow it as a very safe guide, in our enquiries into the actual state of the Hindu Religion about eight or nine centuries ago. The various sectaries of the Hindu Religion then existing, are all introduced to be combated, and, of course, conquered, by Shankara".

The Hindu sects which are said to have been conquered by Shankara are the VAISHNAVAS, consisting of the Bháktas, Bhagavatas, Vaishnavas, Chakrinas, or Pancharátrakas, Vaikhánasas, and Karmahinas, and subdivided into the Karma and Jnyána, portions; and none of which can be identified with the Vaishnava sects of the present day; the SHIVAS, embracing the Shaivas, Raudras, Ugras, Bhaktas, Jangamas, and Pásupatas; the worshippers of BRAHMA,AGNI, SURYA, GANESHA; the adorers of the female energies, BHAVANI, MAHA-LAKSHMI, and SARASVATI; the INFIDEL SECTS, or the Chárvákas or Shunyavadis, Saugatis, Kshapanakas, Jainas, and Bauddhas. It is worthy of remark that no allusion is made to the worship of Sítá and Rádhá, either singly, or in conjunction with Ráma and Krishna. See Asiatic Researches Vol. XVI.

U

M. [p. 103] Garga Rishi's Cow.

"The Rishis asked, 'How did Kaushika's sons obtain the Supreme Union. Suta replied:-In Kurukshetra, there was a Rishi, named Kaushika. He had seven sons called Swasripa, Krodhana, Himstra, Pishuna, Kavi, Wagrishta, and Pitriwarti. Their father Kaushika died; and a dreadful famine came on. Having nothing to eat, they went to Garga Rishi, who sent them into the woods to herd his cow. One day when pinched with hunger they said among themselves:-What would you think of killing the cow and eating her. The youngest son said: If we kill her let us offer her to the manes of our father, and feast on her afterwards. All agreed to his plan; and he having put two of his brothers in the place of gods, and three in the place of ancestors, one being made a guest, they killed and ate up the cow; and at night brought home the calf to the Rishi, and told him that a tiger had eaten up the cow. For this meritorious act they obtained union in five births; and had the remembrance of all the former in every succeeding birth". Extract from the Matsya Purána. The Rev. Mr. Stevenson of Poona observed to me, that he has frequently found the recital of this story a powerful argumentum ad hominem in the case of the Brahmans.

N. [p. 125.] On the Responsibility of the Heathen.

The statement made in the text may appear to some professing Christians as harsh and severe. It is consistent, however, with the doctrine of all the Reformed Churches, which have exhibited their creeds and confessions. "The eighteenth Article of the United Church of England and Ireland, I have observed in another place, "is the following: They also are to be had accursed that presume to say that every man shall be saved by the Law or Sect which he professeth, so that he be diligent to frame his life according to that law, and the light of nature. For Holy Scripture doth set out unto us only the name of Jesus Christ, whereby men must be saved'. The doctrine of

the Church of Scotland, and of the other Presbyterian Churches, will be learned from the following passage from the Westminister Confession of Faith. 'Elect Infants, dying in In fancy, are régenerated and saved by Christ through the Spirit who worketh when, and where, and how he pleaseth. So also are all other Elect persons, who are incapable of being called by the ministry of the word. Others, not elected, although they may be called by the ministry of the word, and may have some common operations of the Spirit; yet they never truly come to Christ, and therefore cannot be saved: much less can men, not professing the Christian Religion, be saved in any other way whatever, be they never so diligent to frame their lives according to the light of nature, and the law of that religion they do profess; and to assert that they may, is very pernicious and to be detested'. Quotations of a similar nature, from other standards, and from the writings of the most respectable divines, can easily be adduced. Those which we have given shew, that the respective churches alluded to distinctly teach, that not only is salvation, in every case, the purchase of Christ; but that, in every case, it is applied through the sanctification of the Spirit.

"God, who is just, will not condemn any portion of mankind for acting contrary to principles and laws which have not in any form been revealed to them, or which they could not in any possible manner discover; for he will assuredly accept according to what a man hath, and not according to what he hath not. But the foundation of the argument relative to the impossibility of the salvation of the Heathen, while they remain in their present situation, consists in the fact that they have transgressed, and habitually transgressed, the law which God originally implanted in the human heart, and which requires perfect and perpetual obedience,-the love of God with the whole heart, and soul and strength, and mind. Of this law they undoubtedly have some knowledge; and into this law, the works of God, and the dealings of his Providence, have a tendency to lead them to inquire. By this law they will be judged, and for the transgression of the law, they will be condemned.