The Emporia news. [volume] (Emporia, Kan.) 1859-1881, 1878-08-02
False Ideas of Juggernaut Worship


uniformly asserted, the worship of
Jagannsth is absolutely bloedless.
The splitting of blood in any way
pollutes the whole edifice, and q
special troop of servants is at hand
to remove any sscrificial food which
may have been thus prOfaned. Yet
so Catholic is Vishnuvism to all
forms of belief that within the sa-
cred Enclosure is temple to Blmala,
one of the wives of silva, who is
worshipped with orgies and bloody
sacrifices. But various obscenities
have crept into the system, some of
which rival the lascivIous mysteries
of ancient Babylon. M. Hunter
calculates that the annual revenue
of the temple and abbeys amount to
E68, 900. .........
There are twenty-four high festi-
walls in the year, each occupying
several days, or even weeks. At
the Red Powder Festival, occurring
about Easter, and lasting three
weeks, boat procession is formed
on the sacred lake. At the Bathing
Festival the images are brought
down the lake, andA proboscis is.
fastened to the nose, SO as to give
them the appearance of ,Ganesa, the
elephant-god of aboriginal tribes.
But the Car Festival is the great
event of the religious year. This
falls in the month of June or July,
according as the months of the
Hindoo calender fall. It's object is
to convey Jagannath, with his broth
er and sister, from the temple to his
country house, mile away.
For weeks before the time, the
pilgrims come trooping to Pun at
the rate of thousands q day. The
great car has been slowly building !;
by this time it has reached its full
height of forty-five feet. The tenn
pie cooks have made their calcula-
tiens for feeding $4,000 months !; for
the doctrine is studiouslY inculca-
ted that no food must be cooked
except in the temple kitchen. Each
image has q separate car, That of
Jagannath is thirty-five feet square,
with wheels sixteen feet in diane
ter; the others are smaller. When
the sacred images are placed in their
chariot, the multitudes fall on their
knees and bow their foreheads in
the dust. Then they lay hold of
the ropes, and drag the heavy cars
down the broad street. Before and
behind drums beat ana cymbels
clash, while from the cars the
priests shout, harangue and sing
songs, not always OF the most de-
cent character, which are received
With shouts and rOars of laughter.
And SO the dense mass, Juggling.
tsWeating, singing, praying and
swearing, drag the cars slowly
along. The journey is but q mile.
yet it takes several days to accom-
plish it. Once arrived at the coun-
| try house, the enthusiasm of the
pilgrims subsidies. They drop ex-
hausted upon the burning sand, or
block up the lanes with their pros
trate bodies. When they have slept
off their fatigue, they rise refresh
ed, and ready for another of strong
excitements of the religious season.
Lord Jagannath is left, to get back
to the temple as best he may. He
would never. do this but for the aid
of the professional pullers, spec
ial body of 1000 peasants of the
neighDoring region.
All this is bad enough. But the
story, so often repeated, of "thous-
ands of pilgrims sacrificing their
lives in the hope of attaining eter-
nal bliss by throwing themselves
under the wheels of the chariot,
appears to be q sheer fabrication
/ Mr.. Hunter says:
eIn q closely packed, eager thronQ
of 3 hundred thousand men and W0.
men, many OF them unaccustomed
to exposure of hard labor, and al
of them tuggiug and straining tt
the utmost under the blazing trop-
ical sun, deaths must occasionally
occur. There have doubtless, beer
instances of pilgrims throwing
themselves under the wheels in /
frenzy of religions excitement. Blu
such instances have always beer
rare, and are now unknown. A
one time several unhappy people
were killed or injured every year
but they were almost invariably ca
ses of accidental trampling. Tht
few suicides that did occur were fci
the most part cases of diseased and
miserable personss who took thif
means to close out hapless exist
ence. -HaFper's for July.