Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1904-02-26
whore tn. Creator placed IT at tn. birth Of

where the Creator placed 1t at the birth Of
the universe.
There are several other groups Of cave
temples In the same neighborhood. Some OF
them were cut by the Buddhfsts, for II
seems to have been fashionable in those
days to chfsel places Of worship out or the
rocky hillsides. instead of erecting them ac-
cording to the ordinary rules Of archatec-
ture In the open DIR.
Age Of the Temples.
There are not less than 300 in western
India which are believed to have been made
within q. period of thousand years.
Archaeologists dispute over their ages, just
as they disagree about everything else.
Some claim that the first of the cave tenn
Piles antedate the Christian era; others de-
clara that the oldest was not begun for 300
years after Christ. but to the ordinary ctti-
zen these are questions Of little Significance.
1t is not important for us to know when
this great work was DONE but it would be
extremely gratifying il somebody could tell
US who did it-what genius first conceived
the idea OF carving magnificent house OF
worship out of the heart Of a mountain,
and what means he used to accomplish the
amazing results.
We would like to know. for example, who
made, the designs of the Vishwa Karma,
or carpenters cave. one Of the most exquf-
site in India, single excavation IS by 45
feet in area and 30 feet high, which has
an arched roof similar to the Gothic chap
els of England and a balcony or gallery
over richly sculptured gateway very SINH
lar to the organ loft of a modern church.
At the upper end sitting cross-legged in a
richie, is figure four feet high, with a
serene and contemplative expression upon
Its face Because 1t has none of the usual
signs and symbols and ornaments that APP
pertain to the different gods. psychologists
have pronounced 1t a figure of the founder
OF the temple. who, according to a popular
nad II
but there is nothing to indicate for whom
the statue was intended. and the stories
that are told of it are pure conjecture.
That only exasperates one who studies the
details Each stroke of the chisel upon the
surface of the interior was as delicate and
exact as If a Jewel instead of a granite
mountain was being carved.
There are temples to all the great gods
IN the Hindu catalogue; there are several
in honor of Buddha and others for Jain. all
more or less of the same design and the
same style of execution. Those who care to
know more about them can find full de-
scriptions in Fergusson's Indian Architec-
ture."
The Colony of Goa
South Of Bombay, on the coast is the lit
tie independent colony Of Goa, the oldest
European settlement in India. You will be
surprised to know that there are four or
five of these colonies belonging to other
European governments within the limits of
British India, entirely independent of the
vlceroy and the authority of Edward VII.
Inc french have two towns of limited area
in Bengal, one of them only an hours ride
from Calcutta. which are entirely outside
OF British jurisdiction and under the au-
thority OF the French republic, which has
always been respected. The Dutch have
two colonies in India also, and Goa, he
most important Of them ALL is subject to
Portugal The territory is sixty-two miles
long by forty miles wide and has a popu-
Iatlon of 1882. The inhabitants are near
~ an roman Catholics. and the archbishop
OF Goa is primate of the east having juris-
diction over all Roman Catholics between
Cairo and Hong Kong.
More than half of the population are con-
verified Hindus, descendants of the original
occupants of the place. who were overcome
by the Duke of Albuquerque in 1910 and
after seventy or eighty years Of fighting
were converted by the celebrated mission
airy, st. Francis Xavier, who lived and
preached and died in Goa, and was buried
In the Church of the Good Jesus, which
was erected by him during the golden age
OF Portugal-for at one time that little
Kingdom exercised a military, political, &C.
cles1astical and commercial influence
throughout the world quite as great, COM
paradvely speaking, as that of Great Brit
ain today. Goa was then the most tmpor-
tant city in the east, for it's wealth and
commerce rivaled that Of Genoa or Venice
1t was as large as Paris or London, and the
viceroy lived in palace as fine al that nc
cupied by the king
But very little evidence of it's former
magnificence remains. It's grandeur was
soon exhausted when the Dutch and the
East India Company came into competition
with the Portuguese The Latin race has
never been tenacious either in politics or
commerce. Like the Spaniards, the Portu-
guese have no staying power, and after a
struggle lasting seventy years. all of the
wide Portuguese possessions in the east
fell into the hands of the Dutch and thu,
British, and nothing is now left but Goa,
with its ruins and "reminiscences and the
beautiful shrine of marble and Jasper which
the Grand Duke of Tuscany erected in
dams