is large, well built, and crowned with those numerous cupolas, which springing amid minarets and the embowering foliage of lofty trees, produce so picturesque an effect in the towns of India. When occupied by the British in the year 1818, they found it in a very dilapidated state, the Mahrattas having left it in the miserable condition which usually became the consequence of their oppressive rule. The protection now afforded to the persons and property of those who engage in commercial pursuits, has produced an influx of wealth and population, while the British authorities have also carried on many useful works, which tend greatly to the improvement of the place. The Mahrattas, during the days of their ascendance, were engaged in constant warfare with an intractable tribe in their neighbourhood, the aboriginal inhabitants of the hills and jungles of the district, called "Khairs." To prevent, or at least to oppose, the incursions of these people, they erected numerous fortresses along the bases of their hills, which now serve to diversify the landscape, and together with the strong citadel of Tarragher, which crowns an eminence towering upwards from a chain of hills, give the whole country an imposing appearance. These strong places, however, proved insufficient to keep the Khairs in submission, and after we had taken possession of the country, we found them a troublesome race; fortunately, by a judicious display of our power and our desire to employ it to their advantage, we have reduced them to order, and they seem likely to relinquish their predatory habits entirely, for more peaceable occupations. According to the policy pursued amid the Ghorkhas and others of these wild tribes, a corps has been formed from their own body, to assist in maintaining the peace of the country.

The Mhairwarra battalion is located at Beawr, one of the very wildest stations in India, forming a sort of outport to Nusseerabad, from which it is thirty miles distant. It would not be very easy to imagine a more savage spot than the one selected for the purpose of keeping the lawless tribes of the adjacent hills in check; yet it is not destitute of a peculiar kind of beauty. A large lake spreads itself at the foot of the ridge; though formed by artificial means, it is a very fine piece of water, and on its banks the adventurous European youth who are doomed to military duty in these wilds, and who can have little amusement excepting that derived from field sports, station themselves at night, for the purpose of tiger shooting. At night, however, the tigers venture down to drink at the lake, and to prowl about the villages in search of cattle.

An officer, in relating his exploits against these animals, tells us that in the hot weather, the only season in which they are obliged to descend in search of water, not a single blade of grass is to be found around this lake, the ground about it being about as bare as the table on which he was writing. Neither was there a single tree to form the usual refuge upon such occasions. To attain his object, therefore, it was necessary to encounter the tiger upon an equal footing, trusting to nerve and to no common degree of skill as a marksman, to kill, or perfectly disable him at a shot. The road to the Kolingur lake from Beawr lay through six miles of heavy jungle, and the adventurer was obliged to leave his bungalow early in the evening, in order to reach it a little after sunset, and to remain at his post until daylight the following morning; a walk of twelve miles being thus added to the fatigues of a nightly vigil in the month of April, in which throughout the day the hot winds are of the most parching description. Circumstances, however, like these, only serve to stimulate the ardour of young and dauntless spirits, and the perhaps blameable degree of rashness which characterizes many of the sallies made by keen

sportsmen in India against the most formidable beasts of the chase, enables men who might otherwise sink under ennui, to find exciting occupation in the midst of the most barren wilderness. The lonely watcher of the lake was in the habit of standing with his back to the water, while on the look-out for an enemy, that being the only position which he could assume with any hope of safety. He was thus enabled as well as the darkness of the night would permit, to see any approaching object, and in case of too close an encounter, the water would afford a retreat. The hero of these nocturnal adventures makes no vain boast of his prowess, acknowledging that he felt the ticklish nature of his situation, and was not sorry when the first night passed away without bringing a tiger with it. He was accompanied by a young Mussulman lad, in the capacity of khidmutghar, who, merely armed with a hog spear, took charge of the ammunition. The courage of this young native warranted the confidence placed in him, and proved quite equal to the hour of trial. After the first night, the nervous sensations experienced by the adventurer began to wear off, for people who accustom themselves to look danger in the face, soon learn to regard it with indifference. Upon the second vigil, soon after darkness had spread itself over the heavens, the sportsman was rewarded by the sight of some large animal moving towards the water at a little distance, at the brink of which it paused to drink. Although there was not light enough to distinguish whether it were really a tiger or one of the gigantic deer of the country, a secret feeling assured the pair that it was indeed the monarch of the wild. Not a word passed between them. After a short interval the black object which had been for a few minutes stationary, appeared to advance in the direction in which they stood, and then taking a contrary course, what had seemed to be a large black ball, now assumed the appearance of a black band: it was, therefore, necessary to fire lest the promised prize should escape; and, accordingly, the object being within a dozen yards, a steady aim taken at the centre, the gun was fired, and the tiger, for such it proved, fell to the ground, never to rise again. The moon, which made her appearance soon after ten o'clock, shewed the animal as it lay dead upon the very spot in which it had received the fatal shot, and on the following morning a pad elephant being procured, it was paraded round the station in great triumph.

In some parts of the province of Ajmere the desert rat is the only animal which is commonly found, but the greater portion abounds with game of all kinds, and with beasts of the chase, the ghorka, or wild ass, being also an inhabitant. The grossest superstition prevails throughout the whole of this vast province, and amid the profusion of its temples there are many which are esteemed to be of very superior sanctity, Pokhur perhaps being the most celebrated place of religious resort. The temple stands on the bank of the sacred lake of the same name, a very beautiful piece of water, about five miles distant from the city of Ajmere.

Since the British occupation of the district a strong detachment of troops, consisting of infantry and cavalry, have been despatched to the fair at Pokhur, in order to keep peace amongst the Sangassees, Jogees, Ghosains, and other religious mendicants, who in upholding the superior claims of their respective duties, often come to blows and bloodshed. Tumults commenced in disputes concerning the merits of Vishnu and Siva, have often ended in the plunder of peaceable people, who are merely present in order to sell their goods, and take no part in the quarrel; but these outrages are, in the British dominions, prevented by the salutary influence exercised by troops of well-disciplined soldiers. At Pokhur, as well as at other places in which immense crowds of

natives are assembled, the enormous quantity of sweetmeats which are consumed is truly astonishing. Gigantic cauldrons of every kind of metal are filled with a liquid composition, in which sugar forms the principal part; these boil and bubble over large furnaces, which serve the purpose of baking and boiling, the liquid being ladled out and poured upon iron plates, which run along a sort of dresser heated by the fires which blaze up at intervals between. The processes of mixing, boiling, baking, and selling, are all carried on at one and the same time, and in the open air. At one end of the shop the cooks appear busily employed in the amalgamation of the materials; a little farther on, others are engaged at the furnaces; a third heap up the baked cakes in piles upon a sort of low counter, even with the fire; and a fourth, squatting on the ground beneath, vend the confections so much in demand. It is said that every animal, the cat certainly occasionally forms an exception, has an instinctive predilection for sugar; the taste is assuredly very prevalent amongst the unfeathered bipeds of India, and whatever may be the quantity manufactured in the country, it is supposed that the increased demand will keep the exports down to a much smaller proportion than the people in England imagine.

COL. VANS KENNEDY ON THE PURANAS.

TO THE EDITOR.

SIR: Although Sanscrit literature attracts scarcely any attention in England, still it is desirable that erroneous notions respecting it should not become prevalent. I am, therefore, induced to notice the account given in the number of the Asiatic Journal for May last, of Professor H. H. Wilson's Analysis of the Brahma Purana, for even this brief account is calculated to lead to an inaccurate estimate being formed of the real nature of the Purans. But it is from these works alone that any correct knowledge can be acquired of the religion of the Hindus as it exists at the present day, and of the changes which have taken place in it since the Vedas and Upanishads were composed. It may, therefore, be considered of some importance that this subject should receive such discussion as would tend to shew whether or not the opinion which Professor Wilson entertains, with respect to the authenticity and antiquity of the eighteen Purans, and to the information which can be derived from them, is well-founded. In the following observations, however, I shall restrict myself to a few general remarks, originating in the account of the Analysis just referred to, for to enter fully into the discussion now proposed, would much exceed the limits of a letter intended for a public journal.

According to that account, Professor Wilson is of opinion that the Purans are "exceedingly voluminous, comprehending 4,000,000 slokas, or 16,000,000 lines, a quantity which no European scholar could expect to peruse with care, even if his whole time were devoted to the task." But in a work which I published some years ago, and which might have been known to Professor Wilson, I have observed :-" But I have most carefully examined sixteen of the Purans, and a great portion of the Skanda Puran, and I cannot discover in them any other object than that of religious

* Researches into the Nature and Affinity of Ancient and Hindu Mythology, p. 153.

instruction." That this statement, also, was not made on insufficient grounds is, I believe, satisfactorily evinced by the numerous extracts from the Purans that are contained in that work, and by the view which I have given in it of the Hindu religion. The task certainly was one which did not afford much amusement or interest, but with a little patience and perseverance, the perusal of the eighteen Purans may be easily accomplished.

That account farther states, that Professor Wilson, deterred by their voluminousness from examining himself the Purans, " employed several able pundits to make a copious index of the contents of each Purana, verifying its correctness by collation with the text,* and when he thought it likely that any article of the index would afford useful information, he either translated it himself, or had it done by some young natives of Bengal, who could write English intelligibly." But what was the useful information which Professor Wilson expected to find in the Purans? For, on the answer given to this question must entirely depend the value which should be ascribed to any opinion which he may express with respect to the contents of those works; and yet this is a point which it does not appear that the Professor has ever explained, and it, in consequence, remains uncertain what the articles of this index were which he thought deserving of translation. In my examination, however, of the Purans, 1 had a determinate object in view, and this I found fully attained by the ample, and, for my purpose, superfluous information which they afforded me respecting the religion of the Hindus. Professor Wilson, on the contrary, may have only sought in the Purans for the means of elucidating the geography, chronology, or history of India, or of obtaining an acquaintance with the customs, manners, and civil institutions of the Hindus (unconnected with religion), and in such case he must, no doubt, have been completely disappointed. But, if my supposition be correct, that the Purans were only intended to convey religious instruction, it would be unreasonable to expect to find in them any information except such as is adapted for that purpose. It may be doubted, also, whether the thus merely dipping into the Purans is at all likely to enable any person to acquire such a sufficient knowledge of their multifarious and ill-arranged contents, as would admit of his forming a correct opinion with respect to the authenticity, antiquity, and real value of those works.

In the present instance, at least, had Professor Wilson examined himself the Brahma Puran, he never would have stated that it belonged" to the Sakti class, in which the worship of the female principle personified is inculcated," as no such topic is treated of in that Puran. Professor Wilson, also, must perfectly well know, that the worship of the female principle is not inculcated in any of the Purans, or Upa Purans, as the rites and ceremonies of that worship are explained in perfectly distinct Sanscrit works, named Tantras; it being considered by all orthodox Hindus to be impure, and contrary to the tenets and doctrines of their religion, as contained in the Vedas, the Upanishads, the Purans, and the Itihasas. No

• What can collating an index with the text mean? I suppose the pundits merely extracted the titles of the chapters contained in the Purans, and these extracts were afterwards collated with the manuscripts from which they were taken; but was any precaution adopted in order to ascertain that all the chapters of each Puran, or even all the subjects treated of in it, were actually included in this Index? for any omission of them would obviously prevent an accurate opinion being formed of its contents."

Puran, therefore, can belong to the Sakti class, and the only division of the Purans that I have met with, is into the three gunas, or qualities, which form so remarkable a part, not only of the religion, but of the philosophical systems of the Hindus, namely, purity, or the quality of Vishnu; impurity, that of Brahma; and darknesss, that of Shiva. For, in the Uttara Khand of the Padma Puran, it is said that the Vishnu, Naradiya, Bhagavat, Garuda, Padma, and Yaraha, are Satwika, or belong to the quality of purity; that the Brahmanda, Brahma Vaivarta, Markandaya, Bhavishya, Vamana, and Brahma are Rajasa, or belong to the quality of impurity; and that the Matsya, Kurma, Lainga, Shaiva,* Skanda, and Agni are Tamasa, or belong to the quality of darkness. But this division appears to be entirely fanciful; for there is nothing contained in the Purans which at all justifies it; as the subjects treated of in all those works are of precisely a similar nature, and in all of them are the same tenets and doctrines inculcated.

Professor Wilson's opinion, that the Brahma should be considered to be, not a Puran, but rather a Mahatmyam, is equally inaccurate; for though one of the longest Purans, it contains only two comparatively short descriptions of pagodas-the one of Konaditya, a pagoda dedicated to the sun, and situated in the ancient Kalinga, now Chicacole,-and the other of Puroshottoma, or the well-known pagoda of Jagernaut (Jagannatha), dedicated to Krishna, his brother Bala Rama, and their sister Subudra. This work, at the same time, corresponds in every respect with the definition, which, according to Professor Wilson, is given of a Puran by Sanscrit writers; for it treats of the creation and renovation of the universe; the divisions of time; the genealogies of the patriarchal families; and the dynasties of kings. But what Professor Wilson intends by "the institutes of law and religion," I do not exactly understand, since the institutes of law form a distinct branch of Sanscrit literature, and nothing on that subject is contained in the Purans. Institutes of religion, also, is an expression which, if it has any reference to such a religious system as that prescribed by the law of Moses, is perfectly inapplicable to the Purans, as they do not contain any systematic account of the rites, ceremonies, and observances of the Hindu religion. But, as I cannot add to the remarks which I have made on the Purans in the work above referred to, and as I am the more convinced of their justness from a farther examination of the Purans,† I may be allowed to transcribe those remarks, although they are of considerable length.

But I have most carefully examined sixteen of the Purans, and a great portion of the Skanda Puran, and I cannot discover in them any other object than that of religious instruction. Nor do I perceive in them any lacunæ, or indications of any failure or imperfectness in executing the design of their composition, from which it might justly be inferred that they were not original works, but were compilations from other books; for they appear to me to be precisely such compositions as would be produced by a first attempt to commit to writing * On the west of India the Shaiva is considered to be an Upa-Puran, and the Vaiu to be one of the eighteen Purans. This also, is included in the names of the Purans given by Mr. Ward, in his work on the History, Literature, &c. of the Hindus.

I happened to be reading the Brahma Puran, when I received the number of the Asiatic Journa♪ for May last.