The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1869-12-09

| WltnuIeW from Jne nOnOrS OF regular WOr-
ship. AS q sexless being, Brahman survives
in philosophy as the highest principle, but
then impersonal and past conception. The
male Brahman, however, the god of the great
poems and Puranas, is no longer the object of
sacrificial alteration; and naturally the same
fate also befell his female power or consort,
Sarasvati, the goddess of speech and elo-
quence. 80,
The minor gods Of the classical Hindoo
Pantheon never enjoyed an extensive wor-
ship in India The Sun, one of the most
| prominent Vedic deities, has but few vota-
ries now; and Ganesa, the god of wisdom, the
most popular Of the inferior deities, has re-
tanned his imaginary existence merely be-
cause he is connected with the legendary his
tory of his father silva, and because literary
men in the commencement of their works in
woke him as the remover of all difficulties.
| OF all these deties, and few more, the India
Museum possesses the largest and finest col
lection of images in existence.
There is Brahman, in a few choice speci-
mems, as well as Sarasvati, both with their
sacred bird the Hansa. OF silva the number
! of representations is of course much more
considerable In several of them he appears
as the god of meditation and penance, in
others he conquers demons and performs
feats described in the Puranas. In some, the
Ganges is seen flowing down from his head
He is seated in profound contemplation, or
he rides on his sacred bull He is alone, or
In the company of his consort Durga and his
son Ganesa. Durga again, either resting or
riding on her vehicle, the lion, has large
share of images devoted to her individual his
tory, especially to her conquest of the demon
Mahisha.
But the largest amount of idols belongs to
Vishnu, the god with whom the idea of in
carnation is especially associated in Hindoo
mythology. He appears, therefore, in his
pure type as the preserver of the universe,
alone or with his wife Lakshmi, and standing
or riding on his man-bird vehicle, Garuda
Or he is represented in his various Avataras,
as fish, tortoise, boar, man-lion, dwarf, Rama
with the axe, Ramachandra (the hero of the
Ramayana), Krishns (the hero of the Mahab-
harata), or in his future incarnation as Kallxi,
the destroyer of the world. The most popular
Of these Avataras being that of Ramachandra
and of Krishna, the greatest variety of images
belongs to the history of these two concep-
tions of Vishnu. Lakshmi, the goddess of
beauty and prosperity, is likewise repre-
sented in large number of separate idols;
but as her history did not stimulate imagina-
ton, these idols are wanting in variety of
detail
Next to these the well-known figures of
Ganesa, with the head of an elephant and a
remarkable corporation, occupy the largest
place. But on account of their great scarcity
in India, we will name the representation of
Indra, the god of the armament, and his wife;
of Surya, the god of the sun, and his charioteer
Aruna, the Dawn; of Chandra the moon; of
Karttikeya, the god of war, and of Varuna,
the god of the ocean, together with their re-
spective vehicles, the elephant the horse the
peacock, and Makara, the marine monster.
To convey anything like an adequate idea of
all these strange conceptions of the deity is
of course impossible without entering into
q detailed account of Hindoo religion and
mythology. Nor can we here dwell on the
artistic interest suggested by these various
idols, fashioned as they are out of the most
different materials-silver, bronze, brass,
zinc, marble, soapstone, wood, etc. We
would, however, draw attention to two pecu-
,liarities which they possess, and which might
escape the notice of the casual visitors of the
Museum.
The idols in question belong to various
parts of India. Some come from Nepal,
others from Bengal, others from Bombay,
and others-and these by far the greatest por-
tion-from Madras. 1t is, therefore, a mat
ter of considerable interest to pursue, in the
'tferent types of the figures and in the cha
racter o. the representations themselves, the
difference of ..he countries whence they pro
ceed and the difference OF the idealS which
they were intended TO reanZe. IHey diso W
long to different periods. Unfortunately,
however, on this point the records of the
India Museum are incomplete. and surmise
the respective ages of the idols
must, in many instances, now take the room
of what otherwise would have been matter
of certainty. And this is the more to- be
regretted, as such certainty might have
helped also to clear up another point of
interest connected with these images.
For while in the majority of them
it is possible to recognize the authentic
sources of Hindooism, on the ground of
which they are formed, there are good
many which would not be so clearly traceable
to them. These, on the contrary, would
seem to belong either to the individual con-
ception of the artists, or, what is more likely,
to more modern phase of Hindoo religion,
unsupported by written records. Thus, among
the representations of Vishnu and Lakshmi
there are combinations which are, and from
the nature of the legends on which they rest
must be, foreign to the older traditions. We
find, for instance, Lakshmi as a fish and
boar incarnation, man-lion with Lakshmi
on his lap, representing a man-lion in the
attitude of the striding dwarf, a boar and
dwarf incarnation combined, figure repre-
senting almost all the incarnations of Vishnu
with the different emblems characterizing
each; or we find Ganesa with the attributes
of Siva or silva and Durga on horseback, or