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OF THE HINDUS.
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of these endowments is, in general, of little value. There are few Maths in any district that possess five hundred Bíghás of land, or about one hundred and seventy acres, and the most usual quantity is about thirty or forty Bíghás only: this is sometimes let out for a fixed rent; at other times it is cultivated by the Math on its own account; the highest rental met with, in any of the returns procured, is six hundred and thirty rupees per annum. Although, however, the individual portions are trifling, the great number of these petty establishments renders the aggregate amount considerable, and as the endowed lands have been granted Mafi, or free of land tax, they form, altogether, a serious deduction from the revenue of each district.
Besides the lands they may hold, the Maths have other sources of support: the attachment of lay votaries frequently contributes very liberally to their wants: the community is also sometimes concerned, though, in general, covertly, in traffic, and besides those means of supply, the individual members of inost of them sally forth daily to collect alms from the vicinity, the aggregate of which, generally in the shape of rice or other grains, furnishes forth the cominon table: it only remains to observe, that the tenants of these Maths, particularly the Vaishnavas, are most commonly of a quiet inoffensive character, and the Mahants especially are men of talents and respectability, although they possess, occasionally, a little of that self - importance, which the conceit of superior sanctity is apt to inspire: there are, it is true,
