The Madhoray Ghāt and _musjid_ or mosque, are now before you—the mosque
was erected by Aurunzebe, on the site and with the materials of the
temple of Vishnū. The mosque has little architectural beauty to boast
of, but the _minars_ have been deservedly admired for their simplicity
and boldness of execution. They are only eight and a half feet in
diameter at the base, and the breadth decreases to seven and a half
feet, while they have an altitude of 147 feet 2 inches, from the
terraced floor of the _musjid_ to the _kalsā_ or pinnacle. The terrace
is elevated about eighty feet above the river at low water level.
The musjid and the minars were repaired by Mr. James Prinsep—a hazardous
undertaking as regarded the latter, for they were both found to incline
outwards fifteen inches from the perpendicular. One of them was struck
by lightning the very day the scaffolding was removed, but it escaped
with the displacement of a stone in the upper cornice. Several instances
have occurred of men throwing themselves from the top of the southern
minaret. One of them, a man who had gambled away his money and his wife
during the _Diwâlī_:—another, a sailor, who was killed on the
spot:—another, a _Fakīr_, who, falling through the tiles and mat-work of
a roof, scraping the flesh from his sides, alighted on the floor
beneath, with every bone safe. Such an escape was deemed miraculous; and
crowds attended to minister to one so favoured by heaven. The _Fakīr_
disappeared immediately on recovering from his bruises, and sundry solid
moveables of his host disappeared with him.
Men, women, and children bathe together, uniting the worship of the
Ganges or of the gods with their ablutions, washing their long hair with
mud, making clay images for _pūjā_, (worship), or pouring out libations
to their deceased ancestors, whilst the children gambol in the water, or
collect clay to assist in making the great image of Bhīm Singh the
giant, which is so frequently seen on the side of a ghāt, or that of
Hunumān the monkey god. The Hindūs pour out water to the sun, three
times a day; and to the moon at the time of worshipping her, which
illustrates a passage in Scripture, “To pour out drink-offerings to the
queen of heaven.” (Jer. xliv. 17.)
Ghoosla Ghāt unites great solidity with a graceful and appropriate
elevation: the double-arched door case in front of the gate has a very
rich effect under the strong shadows of midday, giving an artificial
magnitude to the entrance, in just proportion to the dimensions of the
front. The river rises above the top of the doorway, entering the
staircase, and affording a comfortable bath within, where there are
convenient recesses on the sides of the steps for the accommodation of
bathers.
The ferry-boat is crossing the river laden with camels, buffaloes, and
cows.