The Helena independent. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1875-1943, 1891-05-13

the temple 10 that zach worahipper may
call the attention OF the god TO himself.
Tho almost incessant ringing OF these bells
In ths same street and not far from the
temple Of BishsshmRr IL another, tho tenn
ple Ut %Anapurna. the goddess Of plenty.
erected about 40 years ago. There nfe
f0nr shrines. In one In nm image OF Gait
esh, the god Of wisdom, In human .sthpa,
but with tho hsad 81 an elephant. IN nur
aided tho deifed hero Ram TO conquer RAJ
man, the demon king Of Ceylon, and 70 res
| cover hIa queen. Sta, who had been carried
OF by him. Tho third shrine contains mn
image Of Gauri. wife Of Mahaden; the
fourth, an image OF the sun in = chariot
drawn by seven horses and surrounded by
4 glory representing rays OF light.
The temple OF ths goddess Durga Ia at
the southern end Of tia city. Here very
many bloody ancriiices are offered. They
have no connection, in tho minds Of those
who offer them, With ain or the nnsana Of
a'oninR for ii. The goddess ia supposed to
delight in the Diseases and death Of MIN
kind. As she thirsts for blood, 1t is given
to her, in the hope that she may be APP
peased and induced 10 spnre the life OF
man, woman or child whom she had
doomed to death.
bering many thousands and all regarded M
living gods and goddessea, is connected
with the temple. They wander around all
over the neighborho0d, through the temple,
and are seen in the b~aznars, upon the fiat
roofa Of houses, in tho gardens, and every
where. The visitors to the temple feed
them literally with grain, fruit and sweet
meats. Tbs gardens and even the shops of
the open bazaars are often ruined by them.
If n European or a Mohammedan were to
kill one of the monkeys 1t would probably
lead to a disturbance. of the peace Of the
city. A similar colony or, rather. two 2
colonies Of monkeys are found ~ tle.city
of MutGra, 4 few hundred miles north Of
Benares. Ths two colonies are of one spe-
s 9 san. ana s .sa.. TO r have ns a1 ! Or 'i Muf ft1s
are not able to distinguish the monkeys
of one colony from those of the other
when they meet any of their simian fellow
citizens. Not so with the MONKEYS. how
eyer, for If any member OF one colony
ventures to invade the territory of the
others, a desperate battle begins, in which
all the monkeys OF the two colonies
engage.
One of the most interesting sights
for foreigners in Benares is an observatory
erected about 10 years ago, and still in a
good state Of preservation. 1t was built by
the order OF Jaya Singh, a Rajputana chief.
and rises high above one Of the ghals or
flights OF stone steps from the river to the
top of the cliff. The instruments were also
constructed under the immediate guidance
of Jaya Singh, They are of vast size, built
of solid masonry, and covered with a fine
and durable plasser, which gave to the
surface of the instruments when
new the appearance of enamel.
One of these instruments is called
'Yantra Samrat," or. prince of in
atruments." II consists Of a wall thirty
six feet long, four INC one-half feet broad,
exactly in the plane of the meridian. III
wall slopes from the southern end, where it
is six feet foul and one-half inches high,
up to the northern end, where it is twenty
two feet three and one-half inches high.
and points directly to the north pole. In
the centre of the wall are stone steps to as
cend to the top Of it. On the eastern and
western sides Of this wall there is a mural
quadrant five feet eleven inches broad and
seven and one-half feet thick. Both sides
of each of the arcs are marked with divi-
sions of six degrees each, each Of which is
subdivided into six equal parts, and each
two inches in breadth. The radius of the
lower edge of each of the arcs is nine feet
eight and one-quarter inches. BY means OF
this instrument the distance from the
meridian and the d~eclination of any planet
or star and the sun and also the right ascen-
sion of a star may BIZ known.