On the sands in the foreground is the hut of a _Baniyā_, or grain
merchant, from whom the _dandīs_ procure _chabenī_, the parched grain of
Indian corn (maize), also flour for their _chappatīs_. A group of
pilgrims are seated on one side of the hut.
Rajrajeswurree Ghāt, which is seen in the distance, takes its name from
an ancient temple of _Devī_, under the appellation of _Rajrajeswurree_
(“queen of queens”). The title _Devī_, is usually applied to Bhawanī.
The façade of this building is a good specimen of the mixed style of
Hindū and Moresque architecture; the former is observable in the lower
half of the central compartment; while the projecting stone gallery,
with its parapet, _tukya mootukka_, and the domed octagonal _buruj_ at
the two corners, giving relief to the rectangular pavilion in the
centre, are seen to be essentially Moorish, from the character of the
pillar, and scalloped arch (_mehrab_).
The man in green is one of a very fine corps of men, called Gardner’s
Horse; they were raised by the late Colonel Win. Linnæus Gardner, a most
highly distinguished and gallant officer: they are such masters of their
horses and weapons, that it is said, single-handed, nothing can resist
them; and one of these men, well known in the up-country, was considered
to be the finest horseman in India. For an account of Colonel Gardner’s
romantic, adventurous, and distinguished life, we refer you to a work
lately published, the “Wanderings of a Pilgrim during Four and Twenty
Years in the East.”
The two men who next appear belong to Skinner’s Horse, a most efficient
irregular corps, taking its name from its gallant colonel, by whom it
was raised and stationed at Delhi. Skinner’s Horse rendered important
services in the Mahratta and Pindaree campaigns. They are well mounted
and appointed, and are an intelligent, fine body of men: with a lance of
great length, they are exceedingly expert, and excellent shots with the
matchlock, a most unwieldy fire-arm.
A native carriage, called a _bilī_, drawn by two bullocks, stands in the
rear: these decorated carriages are principally used by women in the
higher ranks of life; and within the curtains, which are closely drawn
and fastened down, a lady is completely protected from the profane gaze
of man.
In the distance you now behold the Dusaswumed Ghāt. The mythological
legends which give rise to the name of this ghāt and temple, are
connected with the story of Divadas’s usurpation of Siva’s kingly
authority in _Kashī_. Siva having sent from heaven the _yoginis_, or
heavenly nymphs, and tried various other stratagems in vain, to turn the
earthly monarch aside from virtue, next deputed Brumha himself, who
entered the place, disguised as an old Brahman, and obtaining access to
the king, received permission from him to perform ten (_dus_)
_aswumedha_, or horse sacrifices, upon the spot here represented. The
horse sacrifice, as described in the _purans_, is a very curious
ceremony. A horse having peculiar colours and qualities is selected, and
after a course of _pūja_ (worship), is turned loose upon the world,
followed by the sacrificing party, with an armed retinue: if stopped by
the sovereign of another country through which the animal may pass, war
must be declared, and the interrupter of the sacrifice subdued:—in this
way, after traversing the world, the horse returns, and is put to death
by suffocation.