Volume 9, Chapter 11, Section 7d -- Of the Sects, Opinions, Rites, Priests, and other Circumstances of the Hindoo Religion; with other Observations, part 4

§4. Of the Sects, Opinions, Rites, Priests, and other Circumstances of the Hindoo Religion; with other Observations.

The Hindoos[239] are distributed into eighty and four several sects, all of which differ materially in opinions. This has often filled me with wonder; but I know that they are all deluded by Satan, who is the father of division. Their illiterate priests are called Bramins, being the same with the Brachmanni of the ancients; and, for aught I could learn, are so sottishly ignorant and unsteady, that they know not what they believe. They have little round-built temples, which they call pagodas, in which are images in most monstrous shapes, which they worship.

Some of them dream of Elysian fields, to which their souls pass over a Styx or Acheron, and there assume new bodies. Others hold that ere long, this world shall have an end, after which they shall live here again, upon a new earth. They talk of four books which were sent them about 6000 years ago by their prophet Ram, two of which were sealed up and might not be opened, the other two being read by the Bramins only. They say that there are seven orbs, above which is the seat of God; and they hold that God knoweth not of petty things; or, if he doth, regardeth them not.

They circumscribe God in place or dimensions, alleging that he may be seen, but far off as in a mist, and not near or clearly. They believe in the existence of devils or evil spirits; but that they are so bound in chains, as to be incapable of doing hurt. They call man Adam, from the first man of that name; whose wife, as they say, when tempted with the forbidden fruit, swallowed it down; but as her husband was about to do the same, it was stopped in his throat by the hand of God: Whence men have a protuberance in that part, which we call the pomum adami, which women have not.

As anciently among the Jews, the priesthood is hereditary with this people; every son of a Bramin being a priest, and marries with the daughter of a Bramin. So also among all the Hindoos, the men take their wives among the daughters of those who are of the same tribe, sect, and occupation with their own fathers. Thus the son of a merchant marries a merchant's daughter, and every man's son that lives by his labour, marries the daughter of one of the same profession with himself, so that they never advance themselves to higher situations.

The Hindoos take but one wife, of whom they are not so fearful as are the Mahometans of their numerous women, for they are suffered to go abroad. They are always married very young, at six or seven years of age, their parents making the contracts; and they come together when twelve years old. Their nuptials are celebrated with as much pomp and jollity as those of the Mahometans. The habits of the Hindoos differ little from those of the Mahometans, already described; but many of their women wear rings on their toes, and therefore go barefooted.

They have likewise broad rings of brass, or of more valuable metal, according to their rank and wealth, which they wear about the small of their legs, being made to put off and on. These seem to resemble the tinkling ornaments about the feet, mentioned by the prophet Isaiah, or the ornaments of the legs, anciently in use among the Jewish women. They have also such on their arms. The laps of their ears are pierced when young, and the hole is daily stretched and widened, by things put in on purpose, so that it at length becomes large enough to hold a ring as broad as a little saucer, made hollow in its edges to contain the flesh.

Both men and women wash their bodies every day before they eat, and they sit entirely naked at their food, excepting only the covering of modesty. This outward washing, as they think, tends to cleanse them from sin, not unlike the Pharisees in scripture, who would not eat with unwashed hands. Hence, they ascribe a certain divine influence to rivers, but above all to the Ganges, daily flocking thither in great companies, and throwing in pieces of gold and silver, according to their devotion or abilities, after which they wash themselves in the sacred stream. Both men and women paint their foreheads, or other parts of their faces, with red or yellow spots.

In regard to their grosser opinions, they do not believe in the resurrection of the flesh, and therefore burn the bodies of their dead, near some river if they can, into which they strew the ashes. Their widows never marry again; but, after the loss of their husbands, cut their hair close off, and spend all their remaining life in neglect; whence it happens that many young women are ambitious to die with honour, as they esteem it, throwing themselves for love of their departed husbands into the flames, as they think, of martyrdom. Following their dead husband to the pile, and there embracing his corpse, they are there consumed in the same fire. This they do voluntarily, and without compulsion; their parents, relations, and friends joyfully accompanying them; and, when the pile of this hellish sacrifice begins to burn, all the assembled multitude shout and make a noise, that the screams of the tortured living victims may not be heard.

This abominable custom is not very much unlike the custom of the Ammonites, who made their children pass through the fire to Moloch, during which they caused certain tabrets or drums to sound, whence the place was called Tophet, signifying a tabret. There is one sect among the Hindoos, called Parsees, who neither burn nor inter their dead. They surround certain pieces of ground with high walls, remote from houses or public roads, and there deposit their dead, wrapped in sheets, which thus have no other tombs but the maws of ravenous fowls.[240]

The Hindoos are, generally speaking, an industrious race; being either cultivators of the ground, or otherwise diligently employed in various occupations. Among them there are many curious artificers, who are the best imitators in the world, as they will make anything new very exactly after a pattern. The Mahometans, on the contrary, are generally idle, being all for tomorrow, a common saying among them, and livge by the labours of the Hindoos. Some of these poor deluded idolaters will eat of nothing which has had life, feeding on grain, herbs, milk, butter, cheese, and sweet-meats, of which last they have various kinds, the best and most wholesome of which is green ginger remarkably well preserved.

Some tribes eat fish, and of no other living thing. The Rajaput tribe eat swine's flesh, which is held in abomination by the Mahometans. Some will eat of one kind of flesh, and some of another; but all the Hindoos universally abstain from beef, owing to the reverence they entertain for cows; and therefore give large sums yearly to the Mogul, besides his other exactions, as a ransom for the lives of these sacred animals. Whence, though they have other and good provisions in abundance, we meet with very little meat in that country.

The most tender-hearted among the idolaters are called Banians, who hold the metempsychosis of Pythagoras as a prime article of their faith, believing that the souls of the best men and women, when freed from the prison of their human bodies, transmigrate into the bodies of cows, which they consider as the best of all creatures. They hold that the souls of the wicked go into the bodies of viler beasts; as the souls of gluttons into swine, those of the voluptuous and incontinent into apes and monkeys; the souls of the cruel, furious, and revengeful, into lions, tigers, and wolves; the souls of the envious into serpents; and so forth, according to their qualities and dispositions; transmigrating successively from one to another of the same kind, ad infinitum; and, by consequence, believing in the eternal duration of the world.

Thus, according to them, there does not exist even a silly fly but is actuated by a soul formerly human, considering these to have formerly belonged to light women; and so incorrigible are their sottish opinions, that they cannot be persuaded out of them by any reasoning. Owing to these opinions, they will not put to death the most offensive animals, not even the most venomous snakes, saying that it is their nature to do harm, and that man is gifted with reason to shun these noxious creatures, but not at liberty to destroy them.

Many men devote their fortunes to works of charity, as in building serais, or lodging-houses for travellers, digging wells, or constructing tanks near highways, that the travellers may have water; and where such cannot be had, they will hire poor men to sit by the way-sides, and offer water to the passengers [[=passers-by]]. The day of rest among the Hindoos is Thursday, as Friday is among the Mahometans, Saturday with the Jews, and Sunday with the Christians.[241]

They have many solemn festivals, and they make pilgrimages, among which the most famous are Nagracut and Syba, formerly mentioned; where, if Mr. Coryat may be believed, who says he carefully observed the same, people cut off part of their tongues out of devotion. It were [[=would be]] easy to enlarge on this subject, but I will not any farther describe their stupid idolatry. The sum of the whole is, that both the Hindoos and Mahometans ground all their opinions on tradition, not on reason, and are content to perish with their forefathers, out of preposterous zeal and fond perverseness, never rightly considering the grounds of their belief.

Both the Mahometans and Hindoos are under subjection to the Great Mogul, the term Mogul signifying a circumcised man, so that Great Mogul means the Chief of the Circumcision. The present king is the ninth in lineal descent from that famous eastern conqueror whom we name Tamerlane, and who in their histories is named Timor. Towards the close of his life, he had the misfortune to fall from his horse, which made him halt during the remainder of his days, whence he was called Timur-lang, or Timur the lame.

The emperor styles himself the King of Justice, the Light of the Law of Mahomet, and the Conqueror of the World. He himself judges and determines on all matters of importance which occur near his residence, judging according to allegations and proofs, by his own sense of right. The trials are conducted quickly, and the sentences speedily executed, culprits being hanged, beheaded, impaled, torn by dogs, destroyed by elephants, bitten by serpents, or other devices, according to the nature of the crimes; the executions being generally in the public market-place. The governors of provinces and cities administer justice in a similar manner.

I could never hear of any written law, the will of the king and his substitutes being the law. His vicegerents are not allowed to continue long in one place, lest they acquire popularity, and are therefore usually removed yearly. They receive the letters of the king with every possible indication of respect. They look to receive presents from all who have occasion to apply to them; and, if not often gratified with these, will ask for them, and will even send back such as they do not approve, demanding better to be substituted. The cadi has power to imprison debtors and sureties, who are bound by written deeds; and men in power, for payment of debts due to them, will often sell the persons, wives, and children of their debtors, which is warranted by the customs of the land.

The king appears in public three times every day. His first appearance is at sun-rise, from a bow-window looking; towards the east, where great multitudes assemble to salute him, or give him the salam, calling out padishah salamet, which signifies Live, O King! At noon he again sits in public seeing his elephants fight, or some other pastimes. A little before sun-set, he shows himself a third time, at a window looking to the west, whence he retires amid the sound of drums and wind-instruments of music, the acclamations of the people adding to the noise. At any of these three appearances, all who have any suit to him hold up their petitions to be seen, and are heard in their own causes. Between seven and nine in the evening, he again sits in private, attended by his nobles.

No subject of this empire holds any lands by inheritance, neither have they any titles but such as depend on the will of the king. Owing to this, many of the grandees live up fully to the extent of their means. Merchants also, and others, are very careful to conceal their wealth, lest they be made sponges. Some small means of living are allowed by the king to the sons of his great men, which they can never make better, unless they succeed to the favour enjoyed by their fathers. His pensions are reckoned by the numbers of horsemen allotted to each; and of these he pays a million in the whole extent of his empire, to the amount of twenty-five pounds being yearly allowed for each horseman, which are drawn from lands specified in the particular grants or commissions.

There are about twenty of his courtiers who have each the pay of 5000 horse; others of 4000, 3000, 2000, and so downwards. He who has the pay of 5000, is bound to have 2000 always on foot ready for service, and so in like proportion for all others. This absolute dependence renders them dissolute parasites. When the Mogul gives advancement to anyone, he adds a new name or title, as Pharaoh did to Joseph. These names or titles are very significant; as Mahobet Khan, the beloved lord; Khan Jahaun, the lord of my heart; Khan Allum, the lord of the world, &c.

The principal officers of state are, the treasurer; the master of the eunuchs, who is steward and comptroller of the household; the secretary; the master of the elephants; the tent-master; and the keeper of the wardrobe. The subordinate titles of honour are Khan; Mirza; Omrah or Captain; Haddee, which last is a soldier or horseman. Gorgeous apparel is in a great measure prohibited, owing to the great heat of the sun; even the Great Mogul himself being usually clothed in a garment of pure white calico or fine muslin. Blue, being the colour of mourning, may not be worn in his presence, neither the name of death pronounced in his hearing. This circumstance is usually expressed by some circumlocution, as that such a person has sacrificed himself at the feet of his majesty.

Owing to the great heat of this country, there is but little demand for English cloth, which is almost only employed for the housings of elephants and horses, and the linings of coaches. This sovereign assuredly exceeds all others in the splendour of his thrones, and the variety and richness of his jewels. In his palace at Agra, he has a throne upon a raised platform, to which he ascends by several steps, on the top of which are four figures of lions of massy silver, gilded and set with precious stones, and supporting a dome or canopy of pure gold.

I may mention that when I was at his court, he had a tame lion which went up and down at liberty, as harmless as a dog. The jewels with which he daily adorns his head, neck, and arms, and the hilts of his sword and dagger, are rich and valuable beyond all computation. On his birthday, which happens on the 1st of September, he being now sixty years of age, he is weighed, and an account thereof carefully noted down by his physicians, who thereby guess at his bodily condition.[242]

The following are parts of two letters from the Great Mogul to his majesty King James I., translated out of Persian, and sent through Sir Thomas Roe, one written a year before the other. What followed, in both letters, was merely complimentary assurances of his love for the English. These letters were rolled up and covered with cloth of gold, the covering being sealed up at both ends, which is the fashion in that country. Copies were sent to the lord ambassador, from which these specimens were translated out of the Persian language.

"When your majesty shall open this letter, let your royal heart be fresh as a sweet garden. Let all people make lowly reverence at your gate, and may your throne be exalted among the kings of the prophet Jesus. May your majesty be the greatest of all monarchs; and may others draw counsel and wisdom from you, as from a fountain, that the law of the divine Jesus may revive and flourish under your protection. Your letters of love and friendship, and the tokens of your affection towards me, I have received by the hands of your ambassador, Sir Thomas Roe, who well deserves to be your trusted servant, and who delivered them to me in a happy hour. Upon them mine eyes were so fixed, that I could not easily remove them to any other object, and have accepted them with much joy," &c

"How gracious is your majesty, whose greatness God preserve and prosper. As upon a rose in a garden of pleasure, so are mine eyes fixed upon your majesty. May God maintain your greatness, so that your monarchy may prosper and increase, that you may obtain all your desires, worthy the greatness of your renown. As your heart is noble and upright, so may God give you a prosperous reign, because you powerfully defend the majesty of Jesus, which may God render yet more flourishing, having been confirmed by miracles," &c.

We travelled two years with the Great Mogul, who was in progress through his dominions, moving only during the temperate months, between October and April. On this occasion, I am confident that the leskar, or camp, contained not less than 300,000 persons, including men, women, and children, besides elephants, horses, and other beasts, that were fed upon grain; yet we never experienced any scarcity of provisions, not even in our nineteen days' journey through a wilderness, between Mandoa and Amadavar [Ahmedabad].

On this occasion, a road was cut for us through the forest. The tents of the leskar were of various colours, being regularly arranged, and represented a large and splendid city. The king's tents were red, and raised on poles to a great height, being placed in the middle of the camp, and covering a great extent of ground; the whole of the royal quarter being encircled by canats, or walls, made of red calico, held up by canes at every breadth, and standing upright about nine feet high, which was guarded all round by soldiers every night.

The king removed ten or twelve miles every day, more or less according to the convenience of procuring water. His wives and women of all sorts, which are not less than a thousand, all lodged and provided for in his tents, were carried along with the leskar, some in palanquins, others upon elephants, or in cradles or panniers slung upon dromedaries, all closely covered up that they might not be seen, and attended upon by eunuchs. In the choice of his wives, the Great Mogul respects fancy more than honour, not seeking affinity with neighbouring princes, but to please his eye at home.

Noormahal, the best beloved among his wives, whose name signifies the Light of the Court, was of mean origin, but has since advanced her friends to high rank and employments, and in a manner commands the commander of the empire, by engrossing his whole affections. The king and his great men continue to maintain their women, but little affect them after thirty years old.

Notwithstanding the multitude of his women, the Great Mogul has only six children, five sons and a daughter. All his sons are styled sultans, or princes. The eldest is Sultan Cursero, the second, Sultan Parrveis, the third, Sultan Caroon, the fourth, Sultan Shahar, and the youngest, Sultan Tauct.[243] The name of this last signifies a Throne; and he was so named by the king, because he was informed of his birth at the time when he got quiet possession of the throne. The eldest-born son of one of his legitimate wives has right to inherit the throne, and has a title signifying the Great Brother. Although the others are not put to death as with the Turks, yet it is observed that they seldom long survive their fathers, being commonly employed on some dangerous expedition.

Akbar Shah, the father of the reigning Mogul, had threatened to disinherit him, for some abuse to Anar-Kalee, his most beloved wife, whose name signifies pomegranate kernel; but on his death-bed he restored him to the succession. Akbar was wont, upon taking any displeasure at one of his grandees, to give them pills to purge their souls from their bodies, and is said to have come by his death in the following manner. Intending to give one of these pills to a nobleman who had incurred his displeasure, and meaning to take at the same time a cordial pill himself, while he was cajoling the destined victim with flattering speeches, he, by mistake, took the poisoned pill himself, and gave the cordial to the nobleman. This carried him off in a few days, by a mortal flux of blood.[244]

The character of Jehanguire, the reigning Mogul, seems strangely compounded of opposite extremes. He is at times excessively cruel, and at other times extremely mild. He is himself much given to excess in wine, yet severely punishes that fault in others. His subjects know not what it is to disobey his commands, forgetting the natural bonds of private life, even those between father and son, in the fulfilment of their public duty. He daily relieves numbers of the poor; and often, as a mark of his filial piety, is in use to carry the palanquin of his mother on his own shoulders. He speaks with much reverence of our Saviour, but is offended by his cross and poverty, deeming them incompatible with his divine Majesty, though told that his humility was on purpose to subdue the pride of the world.

All religions are tolerated, and even their priests are held in good esteem. I used often to receive from the Mogul the appellation of Father, with many other gracious words, and had a place assigned me among his nobles. The Jesuits are not only admitted into his presence, but encouraged by many gifts, and are permitted to convert the subjects, who do not on that event lose their favour at court. On one occasion, the Mogul put the sincerity of a convert to a severe trial. Having used many threatenings to induce him to abandon his new faith, and finding him undaunted, he tried by flatteries and high promises to draw him back; but these also being unavailing, he bade him continue a Christian, and dismissed him with a reward; saying, if he had been able to terrify or cajole him from his religion, he would have made him a terrible example for all waverers.

When I was in this country, the chief Jesuit residing at the court of the Mogul, was Francisco Corsi, a Florentine by birth, who acted likewise as agent for the Portuguese. I wish I could confirm the reports they have made of conversions; but the real truth is, that they have merely spilt the water of baptism on the faces of a few, working on the necessities of some poor men, who from want of means to live, with which the Jesuits supplied them, have been persuaded to wear crucifixes; but who, for want of instruction, are only Christians in name.

Of these few mendicants, or so called by Christians, I noticed that five of them would beg in the name of Maria, for one who asked in the name of Jesus. I also desired to have put my hands to the holy work, but found extreme difficulty in the way, owing both to the Mahometan laxity in regard to the use of women, and the debauched lives of some unchristian Christians.--May he who hath the key of David open their eyes, and in his good time send labourers into this vineyard. Amen

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[Footnote 239: By Terry, the Hindoos are uniformly denominated the Gentiles, a word of vague and general meaning, merely signifying idolaters, or unbelievers; literally the nations, as contradistinguished from the Jews. By some authors, the natives of Hindoostan are called Gentoos, a word of uncertain origin. The term of Hindoo seems the more appropriate name; at least it has now become universal.--E.]
[Footnote 240: These Parsees, called Parcees in the Pilgrims, and Guebres by other writers, are a remnant of the ancient Persians, who are fire-worshippers, or followers of Zerdust, the Zoroaster of the Greeks.--E.]
[Footnote 241: Monday is the day of rest with the people of Pegu. In Java, each individual keeps that day holy on which he has begun some great work.--Purch.]
[Footnote 242: See of these and other things, formerly stated, in the Journal of Sir Thomas Roe, and therefore here omitted. Purch.]
[Footnote 243: These names seem to have been written by Terry from the ear. By others, they are respectively named Cusero, Parvis, Churrum, Shahar, and Taucht.--E.]
[Footnote 244: Neque enim lex justior ulla est, quam necis artifices arte perire sua.--Purch.]