________________
OF THE HINDUS.
189
with a never-ceasing crowd of adorers. There is, however, little solemnity or veneration in the hurried mamer in which they throw their flowers or fruits before the image'; and there are other temples, the dwellings of other divinities, that rival the abode of Visvešvara in popular attraction.
The adoration of Siv., indeed, has never assumed, in Upper India, a popular form. He appears in his shrmes only in an unattractive and rude emblem, the mystic purpose of which is little understood, or regarded by the uninitiated and vulgar, and which offers nothing to interest the feelings or excite the imagination. No legends are recorded of this deity of a poetic and pleasing character; and above all, such legends
"A Hindu temple comprises an outer court, usually a quadrangle, sometimes surrounded by a piazza, and a central edifice constituting the shrine. This, which in Upper India is generally of small dimensions, is divided into two parts, the Sabhi, or vestibule, and the Garbhagriha, or adytum, in which the Image is placed. The course of worship is the cireumambulating of the temple, keeping the right hand to it, as often as the devotee pleases: the worshipper then enters the vestibule, and if a bell is suspended there, as is commonly the case, strikes two or three times upon it. Ile then advances to the threshold of the shrine, presents his offering, which the officiating Bralunan receives, mutters inaudibly a short prayer, accompanied with prostration, or simply with the act of lifting the hands to the foreliead, and departs. There is nothing like a religious service, and the rapid mamer in which the whole is performed, the quick succession of worshippers, the gloomy aspect of the shrine, and the seattering about of water, oil, and faded flowers, inspire any thing but feelings of reverence or devotion.
