The British Press; or, Morning Literary Advertiser.
London, England, 1822-09-05 00:00:00

HISTORY OF HINDOOS lAN.

The following account of the pagodas or Widen
Wimples is not the least interesting part or Una eaters
taiiiing 'work, which embraces loch a variety of
topics. The labour End time required for the coma
pletion of such immense edifices, together with the
pei feet nicety or the contraction, gives them almost
an equal claim to admiration with the pyiamids of
Egypt :

i; The most remarkable structures in this coun•
try are the pagodas or temples erected for the idols
worshipped by the Himloos. It is a singular cir-
cumstance, still strongly characteristic of the sound
notions entertained by the founders of the Hinds*
religion. that there is not to be found a single tem•
ple of Parabrsms, or the Supreme Being, nor even
a single imsge of him, in the whole peninsula. This
Bring seemed to them too great to be adored
within walls: they considered the whole earth as his
temple. and worshipped him under the form of a
thousand other deities. Brame. the first c►eated by
the Supreme Being, has likewise no temples.
Vishnu and Shreve are the deities to whom the most
magnificent pagodas hive been erected ; the others,
with few exceptions, are but chapels in comparison
with these edifices.

" The pagodas of the coast of Malabar d ffer in
various respects front those on the opposite coast of
Hindoostan ; but both bear the stamp of the high-
est antiquity, while their solidity and imposing
magnitude attest the gigantic efforts and persever-
ance of their founders.

" Some of there pagodas a►e built of marble;
this is frequently the case in Malabar: others are
constructed of brick or granite, which occur on the
crust of Coromandel. A third class of these colas.
eel works is hewn out of the solid rock ; such are
the pagodas on the islands of Saleette sod Ele-
phants, and in the mountains of Ellore, in the
Decen.

" The pagodas are usually edifices of a square,
or nearly square lorm, the sides of which exactly
face the four cardinal points. These sides are
formed by a lofty. strong. and very thick wall.
in the midJle of each side is a pyramidal tower, of
eight or more stories, and sometimes 900 or 400
feet high. Under each of the towers there is gene.
rally an entrance into the sacred enclosure, and there
is a corresponding aperture in every story.
" The principal decorations are about the towers.
Le Gemini designs of the pagoda of Vilnore, near
Pondichery. exhibit several hundred mythological
subjects in basso-relieve; figures of fighting deities
with their attributes, mostly on foot, but some
mounted on elephants, oxen, or other Animals.
These figures, many of them of granite, are exe-
cuted with admirable skill.

" On entering the court enclosed by the walls of
such a mods, the lank', or reservoirs of water, for
the ablutions of the pious, which •re very often
lined with marble of beautiful workmanship, first
strike the eye. Along the walls are piazzas and
benches for the accommodation of devotees, and
also small chapels, containing the image of some
divinity or king, or habitations for the priests and
the dancing girls belonging to the temple. lit
some cases both the tanks and the dwellings of the
priests and the dancing girls are without the pa..
goda.
" Nearly in the centre of the enclosure is the
sutictiniry. or abode of the deity, which is also a
pyramidal tower of treveral stories, the sides of
which frice the fuur cardinal points. In the lowest
story the walls are profusely covered with repre-
sentations of the feasts of the gods sod it contains
also • gigantic statue of him, frequently with
twelve or more arms. The imsges of the gods in
the pagodas must be of stone, capper, or gold ;
never of silver or other metals. Each pagoda has
two statues of the same idol ; one without the sanc-
tuary, to which persons of the low castes themselses
present their offerings ; and the other within, to
which they convey them through the medium of the
Bramins.

a These statues, though possessing little or no
merit as works of art, are frequently composed t•f
very costly material:. The great statue of Vishnu.
which Tavernier saw in the temple of Juggernaut.
was of sandal wood. It was covered with a mantle
of gold and costly stuff, which descended to Ow
fret, so that nothing but the arms, hands, sod feet
was visible. Two large diamonds d for eye.;
the collar was also of diamonds, the smallest of
which the traveller estimated at forty carats. The
arms and !triads were covend with bracelets aril
ornaments of pearls and rubies.
" But it is neither for their statues nor their de-
corations that the pagodas of Ilindoostan deserve
Our admiration ; for its inhabitants have not wade
any great progress in sculpture, though some of
their vases. Inwarthevoa, and small carvings in
ivory are not amiss. They astonish by their color.-
sal diinensiono, by the prod:giows size of the stories
of which they me composed, by the accuracy with
which they are joined together, Dud by the Wish
given to the very hardest granite.
"The pagoda of Juggernaut. according to a
French engineer, Le coot de Flats.. who his. gi !ego
a particular description of it, is 1,124 i Ps, is f,•et in
length, and 696 in bit adds. The whale estelosore
forms • regular parallelogram, *ad rest. upon tate
vast block of granite, which has been made perfectly
level ; so that the solid rock forma the foundation
of the whole building. The height of the wall, in-

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but, if it has not the noble simplicity 05..,
Grecian architecture. still we cannot but admire
the bold idea of • plan of such immense extent,
forming. ou the four sides of a parallelogram, •
series of 276 arcades, as closely connected together
by passages, as if they were constructed after a
circular design.
" But (continues the writer just mentioned)
what excites still greater ostonishment is, the pro..
iligioos height of the tower which crowns the prin.
cipal entrance of the ternide. It measures not less
than 344 feet, sod its decorations are of copper
gilt. The sides are so profusely covered with
sculpture as to fatigue the rye. When we farther
consider that the blocks of granite of which this im-
mense edifice is constructed, were brought from
quarries situated in the Ghouls. 200 miles from
Juggernaut, and that many single pieces contain
from ten to twelve thousand cubic feet, we may
form some idea of the number of.years required
to cut them, to remove them to such a distance. to
hew end polish them, and afterwards to construct
with them a building nearly 350 feet high. The
French writer is of opinion. that 2,500 years would
scarcely suffice for the completion of such an edi.
ice : but though this estimate is doubtless greatly
exaggerated, still the undertaking must have re-
qnired several centuries. According to Sonnerst.
the Bromine ascribe to this temple au antiquity of

'truly 3,000 years.
" The outer wall of the pagoda of Siringam,
near Trichinopoli, is said to be four miles io circom.
ferenee, and the manes forming the columns and
terrace of the principal entrance are 32 feet long,
and 3} broad. The following wonderful piece of
workmanship in the pagoda of Shalembrou, though
only • decoration, is deserving of mention. It con-
sist. of a single connected chain of granite, and is
unedited to four masses of stone. The chain hangs,

ov st least formerly hung. in the middle of the
• body of the pseudo, in boar festoons, each
•measuring• 137 French feet long, or together
548 feet, all of one piece. Each link was 3 feet
t inches long. The whole was so exquisitely po-
lished, that it glistened like polished steel. The
world certainly cannot produce any thing equal to
this performance.
" These antique structures. which mostly attest
rather the patience and piety than the good taste of
those by whom they were erected. have been en-
dowed at different periods with large revenues by
pious rsjahs; and the offerings of the devotees, who
throng trots all parts of Hindoostan to the festivals
held at them. are continually adding to their opu-
lence.

....„
Some idea of their immense wealth may be
formed from the following circum►tance Towards
the conclusion of the tenth century Malimoud I.
Sultan of Ghazna, made himself master, after an
obstinate resistance and a dreadful carnage, of Sum-
Hat, a town belonging to the itajpoota, ►ituated on
a swill peninsula in Guzerat, and celebrated for u
.spacious pagoda of great antiquity. Miihmoud
ordered the colossal idol worshipped there► which
was thirty feet high, to be broken in pieces, and
part of the fragments to be thrown io the area be-
fore the mosque, and the rest carried by way of
• homage to Mecca and Medina. The Bramins
hereupon repaired to him in a body. and offered him
ten millions of gold crowns to revoke the order.
The OmrsM advised Mahmoud to accept the offer,
representing to him, that though he might destroy
the idol, he would not thereby suppress idolatry,
and that he would perform an action much more
meritorious in the sight of God, if he were to dis-
tribute so considerable a sum among the poor
.Mussulmans. Malimond, however, was ioflex-
ibJe, the idol was broken in pieces. and within
it were found diamonds, rubies, and pearls, to a
much greater amount than the sum offered by
the Bramius. This temple was of great extent and
immensely rich. Two hundred Bramins officiated
in it as priests; and there were 300 devedassees.
all distinguished either for beauty or high birth;
fur the Rajahs themselves considered it as a great
honour to obtain admission for their daughters into
the service of the god. It maintained moreover
300 musicians. and 300 barbers, whose business it
was to shave the devotees before they were ushered
iuto the presence of the idol.

" Besides the large idol already mentioned, the
temple contained several thousand smaller ones, of
gob' and silver; and the fifty-six columns which
supported the roof of the nave were of massive
gold. enriched with precious stones. Innumerable
offaings were bronght from all parts of the penin-
sula to this temple, and various Hindoo princes had
granted, for the maintenance of its establishment,
a thousand villages. with all their dependencies."

FOREIGN INTELLIGENCE.

•
6
eluding the foundation, is 24 feel, the breadth
Mt. and $ gallery of 14 rune round the whole
parallelogram.
"This style somewhat resembles the Doric order,
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