VIII.BENARES—THE SACRED CITY.
Illustrated letter
IF one wished to describe all the temples or places of worship in Benares it would fill a volume. Like picture galleries in the Italian cities, so are temples here—one day at them is quite enough. There seems to be a place of worship dedicated to every whim or fancy of the worshippers. Amongst the many, I will quote the temple of Kameshwar, the “God of Desires,” whose duty is to grant all the wishes of the worshippers. The wishes of mankind being innumerable, it is not surprising that Kameshwar has a legion of worshippers, and I should say his hands are full if he grants one-thousandth-part of the prayers addressed to him.
But, of all the temples, commend me to Durga-Kund, or monkey temple. It is dedicated to the bloody goddess Durga, and stands in the centre of a quadrangle surrounded by high walls. In front of the temple stands a building in which hangs a drum, which calls the devout to worship, and on either side of this building is a small temple. Entering the quadrangle two lions of stone are seen crouching on either side of the pathway. These animals bear Durga on their backs whenever it pleases the goddess to take a ride. Near by are two shrines, one dedicated to Ganesh and the other to Mahadeo.
Before the temple there is a porch. Thoughthis porch joins with the temple, it must not be supposed that both temple and porch were built at one and the same time, or by the same person. The temple was built during the last century by the Maharatti Rani Bhawani, who also built the tank at the north of the building, and the porch by a pensioned native officer. The large bell in the enclosure is the gift of the Rajah of Nepaul.
Durga has a face of silver, is draped in gorgeous apparel, and has a necklace composed of massive gold coins. In front of her is a silver bath, before which a lamp burns continually. Outside, on the northern side of the temple, is a large tank.
As the name implies, this temple is devoted to the worship of monkeys, as well as to the reverence of Durga. Monkeys in incalculable numbers crowd round the temple and the tank, in which it is most amusing to see them bathing. Indeed, long before the precincts of the temple are reached, monkeys are met with on the road-side. They seem to know that they enjoy perfect immunity in that neighbourhood, and they thoroughly enjoy their liberty. Vendors of grain, nuts, and sweetmeats are also here in numerous array, visitors purchasing their wares to distribute them amongst the strange animals who follow and surround visitors all day long, but never beyond the boundary of the temple grounds, beyond which, if caught, they are transported. Strange though it may seem, not even the daintiest morsel will allure one of these mischievous animals beyond the sacred limit.
An object of great interest in this locality is the venerable tamarind tree on the south of thetemple, in the huge hollow trunk of which all the baby-monkeys are born. Around that tree young and old mothers may be seen, attending with the utmost maternal care on their young—nursing, feeding, or playing with them. The solicitude and anxious look of some of these for puny, sickly “babies” is most ludicrous to watch.
After our long visit to the temples we took a cursory look at the various ghâts—Raj ghât, Shivala Ghât, and at last Sarnath, which, next to the Taj-Mahal at Agra, is one of the most remarkable buildings in India; the great Buddhist tower near Sarnath being one of the oldest buildings in the East, its origin belonging to several centuries prior to the Buddhist era.
Nearly exhausted by the long day’s sight-seeing, we had, however, to pay a visit to the new town hall erected by his Highness the Mararajah of Vizianagram, in commemoration of H.R.H. the Duke of Edinburgh’s visit to this city, and opened by the Prince of Wales. H.H. the Maharajah, with his usual princely generosity, presented the building, furnished and complete, to the municipality of Benares.
I heartily confess that I never had a harder day’s work in my life, nor did I ever enjoy a bath, a dinner, and a bed more than I did on our return to our quarters.
On the following day we had a thorough overhaul of all the shops, bazaars, and factories, and returned with carriages full of all kinds of brass, silver, and copper wares, embroidered silk and cloth, earthen figures, and a heap of odds and ends, sufficient to fill a museum. I may as well sum it up by saying that when weleft Bombay for Australia we had seventy-seven large packages, filled to the brim with purchases made during our trip from Calcutta.
We took a most affectionate leave of our hospitable friend Maharajah Singh, who made us promise that some day we would again favour him with a visit in Benares. Alas, poor old fellow! we shall see him no more. I saw in one of the telegrams from India, a few weeks ago, that he died at Benares in the early part of August.