The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1908-07-08
There are Hundreds Of Mil
IiouS of Them in India.
THF ZANE OF 1UGGERNAUT
This Idol Has Been worshiped About
Two Thousand Years and His National
Temple Is on the Sands Of Puri--
The Three Monster Cars.

II were asked to describe India the
FIRST remark that would spring from
my lips would be. ut is a land Of
IDOLS II would be impossible TO com.
pute the number OF Idols that there
must be at the present time In India.
The Hindoos pretend 10 have $4,000
800 gods, and these are represented By
innumerable idols, so that we are quite
bewildered with the thought Of taking
the census OF the idols OF india The
population OF the whole Indian empire
IS now about 30O,0oo,o 900, and possibly
the country contains ten times as many
idols as people,
Benares is the great center OF the
idol making business, though In all
parts OF India the trade hourishes.
Potters the day through may be seen
in the sacred city molding images Of
clay for temporary use. Sculptors also
may be found producing represents.
tiyes OF the gods in stone or marble.
Carpenters. moreover. make great
wooden idols for the temples, and
workers In goldsmiths, copper.
smiths and brass workers-turn out
more or less highly finished specimens
In Their respective metals.
When speaking OF idols It should be
borne in mind that the images turned
out by the potter. sculptor, carver or
manufacturer are not considered sa-
cred or ft to be worshiped until GER
tain mystic words have been uttered
over them by priest, The ceremony
OF the giving Of life" as It is called,
to the image is very solemn affair.
and when It is done the idol Is regard
ed as holy and must ever afterward be
approached and treated with the ut.
most reverence.
Out Of the many millions OF so called
gods In India, all OF whom are couhted
worthy OF worship. three are regarded
as specially sacred and form the Hin
doc triad or trinity. They are re-
spectiVely Brahma. Vishnu and silva.
OF those 1t Is stated the second per
son Of the trinity only has been rep
resented on this earth by human I'm
carnations. Through one or all Of these
gods the Hindoos believe they may OBJ
tain salvation. Brahma represents the
way Of salvation by wisdom. Vishnu
by faith aud silva by works. 1t is
immaterial which method is adopted.
as they all lead TO the same goal.
Juggernaat is perhaps the most ia
nous name among oil the Hindeo idols.
inasmuch as his fame has gone forth
iAto every land. His temple is situat-
ed on the sandy shores of 0rissa, wash
cd by the wild waves Of the bay Of
Bengal. The worship Of JuGgernaut
dates back nearly 2,0o0 years, and
0rissa has been the holy land Of the
Hindeos from that time till the present
day
Sir william Hunter. who was one OF
the greatest authorities on things East
Indian, says in wonderfully graphic
description of the temple of Jugger.
naut ION the inhospitable sands of
Puri, q place OF swamps and inunda
tions, the Hlndoo religion and Hindoc
superstitution have stood at bay for
eighteen centuries against the world.
Here is the national temple whittier
the people aook to worship from every
province of India. There Is the gate
of heaS en- whittier thousands Of pill
grims come TO die. lulled to this last
sleep by the roar Of the eternal ocean"
Well. / saw on one occasion that
sight, the dragging Of jug
gernauts car and the cars of his
brother and sister The three idels
are inseparable, and ugly things they
are, being nothing bat huge logs of
wood coapsely fashioned into human
shape. but without arms on legs.
Juggernaut's car stands forty-one
feet high and has fourteen enormous
wheels. The other two cars are just
4 little smaller, The great cars hare
to he dragged a certain distance-half |
a mile or more from the teRaple-and |
the god will not allow horses or ele-
plants to undertake the work. but |
calls upon bis faithful worshipers to
do II themselves. Immense ropes, or,
rather cables. are attached to the cars.
and at the word OF command from the
priests thousands of men and even
and children rush forward and |
seize the ropes and range themselves |
In order and the next moment are
strainlng aud pulling at the culnber-
some csnveyances, which at length /
move with a heavy, cresking noise.
Never shall forget the sight. The
road was filed with tens of thousands |
Df lookers-on. all wild with excitement |
and the fanatics who. held the ropes |
were dragging the cars along with |
frenzied zeal. Every now and then I
there would be q stop that the men
might rest, l supposed. but instead Of
resting they took to jumping in the
lir and TO whirling themselves around /
Ike dancing aervlshes and shouting
1t the top Of their breath: Victory! I
Victory to JugeernautT
Once on a time infatuated worship /
lrs would throw themselves under the I
wheels Of the mighty car that they
night he crushed to death. counting it /
/ privilege and a joy thus TO perish. /
ZONE might do IL today IL the maternal i