, 1876-12-23
The Car OF .Jusgcrnani.
SOME INTERESTING FACTS ABOUT MUCH
slANDERED INDIAS INSTITUTION.

u n. Coor"yS Lt,,' 10 hr Cwrb~oH COM.
need not inform any of ypur readers
that the terrible ear Of Juggclnaut, in
India, has tor long time been the most
valuable piece OF property in the world
to missionary societies. They must have
been exceptional children, who never
bad their hearts narrowed by accounts of
poor lIindo0s crushed under the wheels
Of Juggcrnaut and a little ot all they
possessed annually sent away to convert
that heathcn god into Christian. II all
the money evoked 10y that car and idol
from Christian pockets were gathered to,
scther. it might girdc the earth with
seyera-railwAys-=nnd yet the car rolls
on as grandly as ever.
But recently a voice here and there
has been raised in question ct Jngger
naut. Recently an affirmation has been
made in London that the immolations
declared to have taken place under the
car OF JnggernaIit are mythical. Human
sacrifices are declared to have never oc.
CURED there at all, but on the contrary
that the very nature Of the Juggcrnaut
q. {. Krisna, successor to Vishnu) wor.
ship is such that no doath-nOt even II
dead hOwer-Can come within the TEN.
pie precincts without filling everybody
with horror as being the greatest oflensc
TO the god. This affirmation las brought
out letter from Prot. Balm, who says
that he received from a gentleman who
had been much IN India confirmation
of this new view, but, on the other hand,
that in conversation with S. Mill, the
latter said from what he had heard while
in the India office be thought such hor.
rors must have taken place. Frederick
Poynder atfirms that the lare John POyn-
der, who moved the debates that occur
red on such subjects in the East India
House, believed firmly that such self-im-
notation did take place at the Jugger-
naut festivals, but the grounds on which
that belief was based turn out to he the
old stories told by missionaries. OF
course, the missionaries are not to he dis
carded as witnesses, even though so
strongly interested to make out the worst
case possible for idolatry, but most of
Them repeat the matter entirely from
hearsay. One, indeed, the Rev. DR.. Bu-
chanan, who early in this century was
Chaplain of the East India Company.
was an eye witness of the Juggernaut
procession, but his account is so sensa.
tional, and in some respects so improba.
BILE, that it has been the very means of
awakening scepticism. He calls the idol
the "Moloch of India" whereas il is pre-.
cisely the reverse. silva might possibly
be so termed, but Vishnu, or the heir of
his sanctlty, represents the precise re.
verse OF destruction. Jagna-nath, the
idols real name, means ''the Lord OF Life"
From Buchanan's place in the procession,
as described by himself he could not
have seen the immolatiou land he men.
tions only One) he speaks of, which must
have occurred at the centre Of crowd Of
10000 enthusiastic deyotees, all eager to
help draw the car, and thereby gain sal
walton. The most he could have seen
was crushed llindoo horne away.
But on going to the India house on
yesterday to investigate the subject,
find that the subject is not at all doubt.
ful. w. w. Hunter, author of an excel
lent work on OrisSa, has investigated the
whole subject thoroughly. lie has ex-
amined the manuscript achives of that
provipce, in which is Puri, the town of
the Juggernaut car, from the time it came
under English control until now he has
gone over the whole ancient history of
the car, embracing Mussulman accounts,
so eager to record anything disparaging
TO Hindoo religion; he has examined the
Puri police reports of the British Com.
'missioners and l am informed at the
India house that this work is regarded
by all authorities there MS being the best
authority on all matters of fact. Your
readers may therefore feel certain that in
quoting Mr.. Hunter am presenting the
verdict OF all official or other investiga.
tors into Indian affairs on our ancient