The fourth main order is the Vishnu-Swami, which is much better known
as the Vallabhacharya sect, called after its founder Vallabha, who
was born in A.D. 1479. The god Krishna appeared to him and ordered
him to marry and set up a shrine to the god at Gokul near Mathura
(Muttra). The sect worship Krishna in his character of Bala Gopala
or the cowherd boy. Their temples are numerous all over India, and
especially at Mathura and Brindaban, where Krishna was brought up
as a cowherd. The temples at Benares, Jagannath and Dwarka are rich
and important, but the most celebrated shrine is at Sri Nathadwara
in Mewar. The image is said to have transported itself thither
from Mathura, when Aurangzeb ordered its temple at Mathura to be
destroyed. Krishna is here represented as a little boy in the act of
supporting the mountain Govardhan on his finger to shelter the people
from the storms of rain sent by Indra. The image is splendidly dressed
and richly decorated with ornaments to the value of several thousand
pounds. The images of Krishna in the temples are commonly known as
Thakurji, and are either of stone or brass. At all Vallabhacharya
temples there are eight daily services: the Mangala or morning _levée_,
a little after sunrise, when the god is taken from his couch and
bathed; the Sringara, when he is attired in his jewels and seated on
his throne; the Gwala, when he is supposed to be starting to graze
his cattle in the woods of Braj; the Raj Bhog or midday meal, which,
after presentation, is consumed by the priests and votaries who
have assisted at the ceremonies; the Uttapan, about three o'clock,
when the god awakes from his siesta; the Bhog or evening collation;
the Sandhiya or disrobing at sunset; and the Sayan or retiring to
rest. The ritual is performed by the priests and the lay worshipper
is only a spectator, who shows his reverence by the same forms as he
would to a human superior. [104]
The priests of the sect are called Gokalastha Gosain or Maharaja. They
are considered to be incarnations of the god, and divine honours
are paid to them. They always marry, and avow that union with the
god is best obtained by indulgence in all bodily enjoyments. This
doctrine has led to great licentiousness in some groups of the sect,
especially on the part of the priests or Maharajas. Women were taught
to believe that the service of and contact with the priest were the
most real form of worshipping the god, and that intercourse with him
was equivalent to being united with the god. Dr. Bhattacharya quotes
[105] the following tariff for the privilege of obtaining different
degrees of contact with the body of the Maharaja or priest:
For homage by sight Rs. 5.
For homage by touch Rs. 20.
For the honour of washing the Maharaja's foot Rs. 35.
For swinging him Rs. 40.
For rubbing sweet unguents on his body Rs. 42.
For being allowed to sit with him on the same couch Rs. 60.
For the privilege of dancing with him Rs. 100
to 200.
For drinking the water in which he has bathed Rs. 17.
For being closeted with him in the same room Rs. 50 to 500.
The public disapprobation caused by these practices and their bad
effect on the morality of women culminated in the great Maharaj libel
suit in the Bombay High Court in 1862. Since then the objectionable
features of the cult have to a large extent disappeared, while it has
produced some priests of exceptional liberality and enlightenment. The
_tilak_ of the Vallabhacharyas is said to consist of two white lines
down the forehead, forming a half-circle at its base and a white dot
between them. They will not admit the lower castes into the order,
but only those from whom a Brahman can take water.