SIGHTS IN BENARES.--THE MONKEY TEMPLE.--SARNATH.--BUDDHISM.
They crossed the river on a bridge of boats, and the Doctor informed his
young companions that in times of high-water the boats are removed, for
fear they may break away and be lost, and the crossing is made by means
of a ferry-boat. The front of the city along the river is about three
miles in extent, and as one looks at it from the other side there is an
almost unbroken view of temples, towers, minarets, palaces, and ghauts,
or broad stairways, leading down to the water. The river is about fifty
feet deep by 2000 in width, and in time of flood rises thirty or forty
feet and increases its width to fully half a mile. The city is on a
cliff seventy or eighty feet above the river, and the ghauts rise from
the edge of the stream to the crest of the cliff; they were originally
magnificent structures, but are now broken in many places, in
consequence of the washing away of their foundations.
The buildings that rise on the summit of the cliff are of many styles of
architecture, as they owe their origin to several different centuries
and epochs. Many of them are spacious palaces, erected by wealthy
princes who came here occasionally to bathe in the sacred river and wash
away their sins. They are interspersed with temples and mosques, and
altogether they present a magnificent panorama. An American traveller
has given a fine description of the front appearance of Benares in the
following:
"When it is recollected that the buildings above are a hundred feet or
more long, and four or five stories high; that the ghauts are eighty
feet in height, and are themselves constructions of which any city might
be proud; that this row of palaces, temples, and ghauts extends for two
miles along the river bank, worthily terminated by the mosque of
Aurengzebe, with its graceful minars, and the whole scene was lighted up
by an Eastern sun, bringing out the gaudy colors of the dress of the
people and the gilded ornaments of the mosques and temples, the reader
may perhaps understand and pardon the enthusiasm excited in me by the
splendid architectural effect of this river front, which cannot be
paralleled or surpassed by any similar scene in India, or in the world."
[Illustration: A WINDOW IN BENARES.]
They had a long drive to the hotel, as the quarter where the Europeans
live is nearly four miles from the end of the bridge of boats. The ride
took them through a part of the Hindoo city where they had an
opportunity to study features of architecture that were new to them.
Frank was attracted by the elaborate carving of some of the windows, and
the Doctor explained to him that he was now for the first time coming in
actual contact with Saracenic art and its combinations with certain
Hindoo forms. Fred attempted to count the temples and shrines they
passed on their way, but soon gave it up, on account of their number; he
was not at all surprised to learn that there were nearly 1500 temples in
Benares and 300 mosques, or, to be exact about it, 1454 of the former
and 272 of the latter. They passed crowds of natives in white or
gay-colored garments, encountered an elephant in a part of the road
where there were shade-trees, against which the huge beast was brushing
his back as he walked along; they drove near several handsome bungalows
where the wealthy Europeans reside, and finally reached the hotel, where
they were welcomed by the English proprietor and his native wife.
There was only time for a short stroll before dinner, and after that
meal was over the plans for the morrow were arranged. What was done by
the youths in their excursions in Benares is best told in their own
words, in their next letter to America:
"Sight-seers in India must rise early. We engaged a guide, who was
recommended by the hotel-keeper, and proved to be a very good one, and
his first bit of instruction was that we must be ready to leave the
hotel an hour before daylight, in order to see the bathers at sunrise.
Accordingly, we went to bed very early, and were ready for the guide
when he came for us. The morning was frosty, and we shivered in our
overcoats till the sun came up and warmed the atmosphere.
[Illustration: PART OF THE WATER FRONT OF BENARES.]
"We had a drive of something more than half an hour to reach the upper
end of the city at a place called the Dasasahmed Ghaut. Here we left the
carriage, and took a boat that had been engaged by our guide; the
carriage was sent to meet us at the lower end of the city, and we were
ready to float down the stream in front of the temples. This is a very
good arrangement, as the boat goes slowly along, and whenever there is
anything to be seen which requires a landing it can be easily brought to
the shore.
"Before starting on our boat journey we stepped aside a short distance
to see the famous Observatory of Benares. There is a tall flag-staff
close by it, and the guide says that the flag waving from it is to
indicate that this entire ward of the city belongs to the Rajah of
Jeypoor, and that the observatory was erected by his ancestor, Rajah Jay
Singh, about the year 1693. The observatory is now very much out of
repair, and several of the instruments cannot be used at all. They claim
that the Hindoo almanacs are made from the observations taken here, but
it is more probable that they help themselves from almanacs of European
make.
"The most of the instruments are of stone, and the guide explained their
uses; but, as we are not learned in astronomy, we could not make much
out of them. We went from the observatory to our boat, and then began
our wonderful voyage before Benares.
"We passed in front of the burning ghaut, where three or four bodies
were undergoing cremation. Evidently they are not as particular here as
at Calcutta, as one of the men in charge of the business threw into the
river, while we were passing, a lump of charred flesh that must have
weighed several pounds. The sights were the same as at Calcutta, and you
can easily understand that we did not stop the boat for a moment. The
guide told us that they used to burn widows with their dead husbands at
this ghaut, but it was not allowed any more, and had not been in his
time. We asked how it was done, and he said the widow who had determined
to be burnt was dressed in her finest clothes, and when the funeral pile
was ready she lay down on it by the side of her husband, and was tied
there with ropes so that she could not get away. Then the eldest son of
the dead man came forward with a torch and applied it to the pile, which
had been saturated with oil so as to make it burn quickly. As the flames
arose the crowd raised a great shout and noise of drums and tom-toms,
which they pretended was in honor of the heroism of the woman, but was
really intended to drown her cries at the terrible pain of being burnt
to death.
"The priests used to say that the woman who thus gave herself for a
sacrifice would have 30,000,000 of years in paradise, while if she
refused she would not get there at all. Before it was stopped the
practice prevailed quite extensively; between the years 1815 and 1826,
7154 cases were officially reported, and there were more than twice that
number that the Government never heard of. The laws of India are very
severe upon it, and any person who takes part in a suttee or widow
burning is liable to be tried and punished for murder in the first
degree.
"To prove what he said about widows having been burnt here, the guide
pointed out several slabs like gravestones, which had been erected to
their memory, and it was said the women were burnt on the spots where
these monuments stood. He said there were hundreds of them altogether
around the various ghauts of Benares.
[Illustration: TEMPLE AT MANIKARNIKA.]
"We landed at the Manikarnika ghaut to see several things of interest,
and among others the holy well which is said to have been dug by Vishnu,
one of the Hindoo gods. Thousands of pilgrims come to see it every year,
and it is said to have the property of bringing immediate forgiveness
for every crime, no matter what its character, to any one who washes in
its water. The water has a disagreeable smell, but this does not deter
the pilgrims who come to it; there is a flight of stone steps on each
of the four sides leading down to the water, and these steps were placed
there, according to the tradition, by Vishnu's own hands. Close by the
mouth of the well are several altars where the pilgrims place their
offerings; and if any of them are worth taking, they are carried away by
the priests as soon as the worshipper's back is turned.
"The steps of the ghaut were crowded with pilgrims who had come there to
bathe, and to say their prayers to the rising sun. The sun was just
coming above the horizon as we reached the ghaut and paused to look at
the multitude. There were many groups scattered along the ghaut, some of
men and others of women, and they showed by their manner that the
occasion was a solemn one. They left their heavy garments on the steps
farther up, and walked down to the water's edge, clad only in white
robes, and repeating their prayers as they went along. Some paused on
the steps and stood motionless before small idols, and others, too poor
to bring idols, placed little heaps of mud on the steps and worshipped
them instead. They brought bunches of jasmine and other flowers to
sprinkle on the steps and in the Ganges, and though the morning was
frosty, and the water must have been cold, not one of them shivered in
the least on entering the sacred river.
"There is a curious stone here which is said to bear the impression of
Vishnu's feet; of course it is highly venerated, and is visited by every
pious Hindoo who comes to Benares. There are temples and shrines all
around here, and every foot of the ground is holy in the eyes of the
natives. One of the temples contains a figure of the god Ganesh; he has
three eyes and a trunk like an elephant, and when he goes about he is
supposed to ride on a rat.
"We passed ghaut after ghaut, and saw thousands of pilgrims and
residents taking their morning bath, and finally came to the mosque of
Aurengzebe the Great. At its foot, as at many other points along the
bank, there were dozens of great umbrellas, under which the priests sit
to give absolution to the faithful who are willing to pay for it; the
umbrellas protect them from the sun, and at a little distance they
resemble enormous mushrooms. We asked the guide if there were any
accidents in bathing; he said a few persons were drowned every year by
getting beyond their depth, and once in a while a crocodile came and
carried away somebody. He told a story we had heard before, that a thief
who was an expert swimmer once fixed up the skin and head of a crocodile
so that it was a very good counterfeit; he would swim around near the
bathing place and watch his chance to drag some of the women under
water, where he drowned them for their gold and silver ornaments.
"Every day one or more would be taken away, and the fear of the
crocodile was great. But one time there came along a real crocodile, who
ate up the counterfeit; the dried skin and head were found a few miles
farther down, and then it was found how the murders had been
perpetrated.
"As we walked in the crowds we thought they were very respectful, as
they made way for us wherever we went; we afterward learned it was not
respect, but fear of pollution, that made them move out of our path. You
must remember that nearly all the people we see are pious pilgrims, who
have come long distances to worship at the shrines of Benares, and have
a cordial hatred for our race and color. As our guide walks along in
front of us he says something to the people in Hindostanee which, of
course, we do not understand; we are told that he warns them to get out
of our way, so that they will avoid being polluted by our touch!
[Illustration: MOSQUE OF AURENGZEBE THE GREAT.]
"We went inside the mosque, but did not climb to the top of the
minarets, from which there is said to be an excellent view of Benares
and the country around it. The mosque is identified with the history of
Benares, as it dates from the time the Mohammedan rulers of Northern
India captured the city, destroyed nearly all of its Hindoo temples, and
built their own places of worship from the ruins. The mosque stands on
the site of an ancient Hindoo temple, and after the Hindoos came in
possession of the city again they allowed the building to remain, though
it might have been expected that they would tear it down. The
Mohammedans make very little use of the mosque, and of all the 400,000
inhabitants of Benares there are less than 40,000 who adhere to the
religion of the Prophet of Mecca. There is nothing remarkable about the
building except the minarets, and we only remained there a few minutes.
[Illustration: A STREET NEAR THE GREAT MOSQUE.]
"We went into several Hindoo temples, where sacred cows and bulls were
walking about as though Benares belonged to them, which it really does.
They are respected and worshipped by the people and never molested, and
the result is they go around as they like, and help themselves wherever
there is anything to eat. The merchants of grain, rice, and meal find
them a great nuisance, as nothing can be left in their reach that they
do not seize upon immediately; it must shake the faith of the merchants
sometimes when they think what thieves their gods are, as represented by
these prowling cattle, and how ready they are to rob anybody without
regard to his wealth or poverty.
"We got back to the hotel in time for a late breakfast, and in the
afternoon made an excursion to the temple of the goddess Durga, which is
popularly known as the temple of the monkeys. There were hundreds of
monkeys all around the temple, and they are regarded as gods in spite of
their thievery and the trouble they cause in the neighborhood. As we
came up to the temple the monkeys scampered toward us from every
direction, as they know that the arrival of strangers is pretty certain
to procure them something to eat. Two or three grain peddlers were near
the front of the temple, and we bought a shilling's worth of grain,
which was scattered on the pavement for the monkeys to eat. They fought
over it in a very undignified way, which did not increase our respect
for them, and as soon as they found they would get nothing more they
clambered to the tree-tops or up on the roofs, where they had been
sunning themselves.
"These monkeys do a great deal of mischief, by robbing gardens and other
depredations, and we are told that they organize raids, and sometimes go
two or three miles in bodies of fifty or a hundred for purposes of
robbery. They became so bad a few years ago that one of the magistrates,
who did not wish to offend the natives by killing their deities, had a
great number of these monkeys put into cages and carried off to the
jungle; but they seem to be about as numerous as ever, and quite as
regardless of the rights of human beings as monkeys generally are.
"Doctor Bronson had a letter of introduction to Doctor Lazarus, the
agent of the Maharajah of Vizanagram, a native prince who owns a very
large estate in and around Benares. The maharajah is on pleasant terms
with the English, and with all foreigners who come properly introduced,
and likes to show them attentions. We called on Doctor Lazarus before
going to the Durga temple, and had a pleasant interview with him; and
after we had seen the temple we went to the palace of the maharajah and
looked through it. The next morning the Doctor sent us an elephant for a
ride through Benares, and we had a delightful excursion of a couple of
hours.
[Illustration: AN ELEPHANT RIDE.]
"Elephants are used here for a great many purposes, but they are
forbidden to move about the streets of Benares, except in certain hours,
because of the accidents arising from the frightening of horses. Horses
have an unaccountable fear of elephants and camels, as we saw
repeatedly, and on two or three occasions we narrowly escaped being
thrown from our carriage by the 'shying' of the horses when passing an
elephant. The elephant we had was a stately old beast who would not go
faster than a walk, and the fact is we were quite satisfied with that
pace. He came very near brushing us off as he went under the trees, and
once the howdah where we were seated was brought against a limb so
forcibly that for a few seconds we thought we should be spilled out.
However, we got safely back to the hotel, and gave a liberal backsheesh
to the _mahout_, or driver, who had piloted us on our novel excursion.
[Illustration: BUDDHIST TOWER AT SARNATH.]
"In the afternoon we went to Sarnath, where the founder of Buddhism is
said to have commenced the meditations which resulted in the religion
that has more followers than any other in existence. The ruins consist
of two towers, about half a mile apart, and the foundations of several
buildings which are thought to date from the time of Buddha, or from the
century following his death. According to some Chinese writers, who
visited Benares in the fifth century of the Christian era, there were
formerly several buildings and towers here, and they showed the tank
where Buddha bathed, and another where he washed his clothing; on the
bank of this last tank there was a flat stone that showed the marks of
the cloth where it was spread out to dry, but we couldn't find either
the stone or the tank.
[Illustration: CARVING ON THE TOWER AT SARNATH.]
"Of course we looked at the tower, which is very much in ruins, and has
bushes growing on the top and in various places on the sides. There is
nothing remarkable about the structure except in its historical
associations, and we didn't stay there long; but we have since read the
description of the ruins of Sarnath, and the account of the excavations
made there. The tower is 110 feet high as it stands at present, and
ninety-two feet in diameter at the base, and where the outside stone has
not been torn away there are some fine sculptures. They represent
flowers and scroll work, and were evidently done by an accomplished
artist. The lotos flower is represented more frequently than anything
else, and as the lotos was the emblem of Buddha, the sculpture shows
that the tower was erected in his honor. There are niches for statues on
the sides of the tower, and it is supposed that they once contained the
figures of the great preacher, in the sitting posture so common in the
Far East.
"Anybody who wishes to know more about Benares and the ruins at Sarnath
than we are able to tell him, can find what he wants in a book called
'The Sacred City of the Hindus,' by Rev. M. A. Sherring. The author
lived a long time in Benares, and has made a very interesting volume.
"Doctor Bronson says there is a curious parallel in the histories of
Buddhism and Christianity--that neither of them is the religion of the
city of its origin. Benares was the sacred city of the Bramins before
Buddha was born, just as Jerusalem was the sacred city of the Jews. In
each city a new religion was developed, and missionaries went out to
instruct the people; Buddhism was finally driven out of Benares in much
the same way as Christianity was expelled from Jerusalem. Buddhism does
not exist at Benares to-day, nor has there been more than a trace of it
for the last thousand years; the Braminism that followed its expulsion
was worse than that which preceded it, and consequently India gained
nothing at all by the reformation."
[Illustration: WATER-BEARING OX AT BENARES.]