In former times it is believed that the Aghoris used to kidnap
strangers, sacrifice them to the goddess and eat the bodies, and
Mr. Barrow relates the following incident of the murder of a boy: [10]
"Another horrible case, unconnected with magic and apparently arising
from mere blood-thirst, occurred at Neirad in June 1878. An Aghori
mendicant of Dwarka staying at the temple of Sitaram Laldas seized a
boy of twelve, named Shankar Ramdas, who was playing with two other
boys, threw him down on the _oatla_ of the temple, ripped open his
abdomen, tore out part of his entrails, and, according to the poor
little victim's dying declaration, began to eat them. The other boys
having raised an alarm, the monster was seized. When interrogated by
the magistrate as to whether he had committed the crime in order to
perform Aghorbidya, the prisoner said that as the boy was Bhakshan
he had eaten his flesh. He added that if he had not been interrupted
he would have eaten all the entrails. He was convicted, but only
sentenced to transportation for life. The High Court, however,
altered the sentence and ordered the prisoner to be hanged."
The following instance, quoted by Mr. Barrow from Rewah, shows how an
Aghori was hoist with his own petard: "Some years ago, when Maharaja
Bishnath Singh was Chief of Rewah, a man of the Aghori caste went
to Rewah and sat _dharna_ on the steps of the palace; having made
ineffectual demands for alms, he requested to be supplied with human
flesh, and for five days abstained from food. The Maharaja was much
troubled, and at last, in order to get rid of his unwelcome visitor,
sent for Ghansiam Das, another Aghori, a Fakir, who had for some
years lived in Rewah. Ghansiam Das went up to the other Aghori and
asked him if it was true that he had asked to be supplied with human
flesh. On receiving a reply in the affirmative, Ghansiam Das said:
'Very well, I too am extremely partial to this form of food; here is
my hand, eat it and I will eat you'; and at the same time he seized
hold of the other's hand and began to gnaw at it. The Aghori on this
became much alarmed and begged to be excused. He shortly afterwards
left Rewah and was not heard of again, while Ghansiam Das was rewarded
for his services."
The following recent instance of an Aghori devouring human corpses
is reported from the Punjab: [11] "The loathsome story of a human
ghoul from Patiala shows that the influence of the Aghorpanthi has
not yet completely died out in this country. It is said that for some
time past human graves have been found robbed of their contents, and
the mystery could not be solved until the other day, when the police
succeeded in arresting a man in the act of desecrating a child's grave,
some forty miles distant from the capital (Patiala). The ghoul not only
did not conceal the undevoured portion of the corpse he had with him,
but told his captors the whole story of his gruesome career. He is
a low-caste Hindu named Ram Nath, and is, according to a gentleman
who saw him, 'a singularly mild and respectful-looking man, instead
of a red-eyed and ravenous savage,' as he had expected to find him
from the accounts of his disgusting propensities. He became an orphan
at five and fell into the hands of two Sadhus of his own caste, who
were evidently Aghorpanthis. They taught him to eat human flesh,
which formed the staple of their food. The meat was procured from
the graves in the villages they passed through. When Ram Nath was
thoroughly educated in this rank the Sadhus deserted him. Since then
he had been living on human carrion only, roaming about the country
like a hungry vulture. He cannot eat cooked food, and therefore gets
two seers of raw meat from the State every day. It is also reported
that the Maharaja has now prohibited his being given anything but
cooked food with a view to reforming him."
Sir J. B. Fuller relates the following incident of the employment
of an Aghori as a servant: [12] "There are actually ten thousand
persons who at census time classed themselves as Aghoris. All of them
do not practise cannibalism and some of them attempt to rise in the
world. One of them secured service as a cook with a British officer
of my acquaintance. My friend was in camp in the jungle with his
wife and children, when his other servants came to him in a body and
refused to remain in service unless the cook was dismissed, since they
had discovered, they declared, that during the night-time he visited
cemeteries and dug up the bodies of freshly buried children. The cook
was absent, but they pointed to a box of his that emitted a sickening
smell. The man was incontinently expelled, but for long afterwards the
family were haunted by reminiscences of the curries they had eaten."