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On the sixth day food was distributed to prisoners. Onthe eighth day there was a_ festival called Dhruvagriha, and pregnant women celebrated it to obtain healthy children. On the eleventh day there was a festival called Pérvatt,in which a thread was offered to the priest.. And after the full-moon day the whole half-month was devoted to festivals. These festivals of the eleventh century have now been replaced by more pompous Pujas—that of Durga and other god- desses and gods. On the. first day of the moon in Kartika was a festival called DewAli. A great number of lamps were lighted, and it was believed that the goddess Lakshmi liberated Bali the son of Virochana in that one day in the year. This was the ancient form of the Dewli festival with which the worship of Kaif is now connect- ed, just as the worship of Krishna is now connected with the ancient spring festival. In Europe, as general knowledge and popular education are spreading, days CHAP, XV.] LATER PAURANIK CIVILIZATION. 485 fornterly dedicated to saints and various rites, are now merely observed as holidays, for rest and recreation. In India, on the contrary, aficient season festivals are’ now connected with the worship of gods who were _ unknown or little known to the ancient Hindus. On the third day of the moon in M4rgasirsha (Agra- hdyana) there was a feast for women in honour of ‘Gauri, And there was another feast for women on the fall-moon day.: ; . . Pausha was celebrated in those days, as it. is now, with a variety of sweet dishes. We have seen that this very sensible way of celebrating the winter was known even in the centuries previqus to the Christian era, On the third day of the moon in Magha, there was a feast for women in honour of Gauri. Other festivals followed in this month. On the eighth day of the moon in Falguna, Brahmans avere fed, and on the full-moon day was the Dolz. The following night was the Sivardtri dedicated to Maha- _ -deva, (Chap. LXXVI.) The account of festivals given above will convey some idea of popular religion and religious practices. There were idols and temples too scattered broadcast all over India which attracted numerous pilgrims and devotees. Alberuni speaks of an idol of Aditya or the sun in Multan, of one of Chakrasvamin or Vishnu in Thanes- vara, of a wooden idol called Sdrada in Kashmis, and of 486 PAURANIK PERIOD. [BOOK Vv. the famous: idol of Soman&tha—a Sivalinga—Which was destroyed by Mahmud of Ghazni, (Chap. XD. About the linga of Somanatha our author tells us that Mahmud, after destroying the upper part, transported the remainder to Ghazni with all its coverings and trapp- ings of gold, jewels and embroidered garments. Part of it was thrown into the hippodrome of the town, and part of it was kept at the door of the Ghazni mosque so that people might rub and clean their feet on it. Such was the fate assigned to the idol which was daily washed by water brought from the Ganges and worshipped by flowers from Kashmir! The great importance of the Somanftha linga was due to the fact that the town itself was a centre of maritime trade and a harbour for seafaring people. (Chap. LVIII,) Benares had already become the most sacred place in India, and men repaired there in their old age to end their lives in the holy city. The holy lakes of Pushkara, Thanesvara,, Mathur4, Kashmir and Multan are also alluded to and no doubt attracted vast crowds of pil- grims (Chap. LXVI). The Hindu custom of excavating great tanks. with specious flights of stairs in holy places is much praised by our authér. “In every place to which some particular holiness is ascribed the Hindus construct pends intended for ablutions. In this they have attained to a very high degree of art, so that our people (the Muslims), when they see them, wonder at them and are unable to. describe them, much less to . CHAP. XV.] LATER PAURANIK CIVILIZATION. 487 con#Muct anything like them. They build them of great stones.of an enormous butk, joined to each other by sharp and strong cramp irons, in the form of steps. (or terraces) like so many ledges; and these terraces ; run alt sound the pond, reaching to a height of more than a man’s stature.” (Chap. LXYI). . “Among the multitude of gods and goddesses whom the Hindus worshipped, Alberuni had no difficulty in marking out the three principal gods—the deities of the Hindu Trinity—Brahma the Creator, Vishnu the Preserver, and Mahadeva the Destroyer. Alberunt _ further tells us that these three deities form a Unity,. ~ and herein “there is an analogy between Hindus and. ‘ Christians, as the latter distinguish between the three persons, and give them separate names, Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, but unite them into one’ swbstance’” (Chap. VIIE) That Alberuni carefully studied Hindu religion and institutions, wil! appear from the fact that beyond the: multitude of Hindu gods worshipped by the common people—beyond even the Trinity spoken of above our author grasped the trae nature of pure and philoso- phical Hinduism—the Monotheism of the Upanishads. He repeatedly tells us that the multitude of gods is for vulgar belief ; the educated Hindus believe God to be “ one, eternal, without beginning and end, acting by free- will, almighty, all-wise, living, giving life, ruling, preserving.” a. 488 PRAURANIK PERIOD. _ [BOOK v. “The existence of God they consider as real Mist- “ence, because everything that exists, exists through him.” (Chap. Tf.) This is pure, refreshing, life-giving religion ; it has the true ring of the ancient Upanishads, which are among the noblest works that have been composed by man. The historian only regrets that in later ages this noble faith became the exclusive property of the educated few, that the common people were referred to idols and temples, to unmeauing rites performed by Brahmans and unhealthy restrictions prescribed by priests. Why should the people be fed on poison ina land where the stream of an ancient and life- giving religion flowed perennial ? ‘Elsewhere Alberuni speaks of the Hindu idea of transmigration of souls, of every act in life bringing its reward or punishment for the life to come, and of final emancipation derived by true knowledge. Zen “the soul turns away from matter, the connecting links are broken, the union isdissolved. Separation and dissolu- tion take place, and the soul returas to its home, carrying with itself as much of the bliss of knowledge as sesame develops grains and blossoms, afterwards never separating from its oil. The intelligent being, intelligence and its object are united and , become one.” (Chap. V.) Among social rites, marriage and funerals require a brief mention. The ceremony of marriage was per- CHAP, XV.] LATER PAURANIK CIVILIZATION. —- 489 forrfed much in the same way as at the present day, The implements of wedding rejoicings were ‘brought forward, Brahmans performed the sacrificial rites, and they as well as others received presents and alms. (Chap. LXIX.) Funeral ceremonies were also much the same as at the present time. The body of the deceased was washed and covered with a-shroud, and then burnt ‘with sandal or other wood according to the means of the heirs. The burnt bones were then brought to the Ganges and thrown into the holy river in the hope that the deceased would thereby find a place in heaven. A monument was then raised over the place where the body was burnt (probably in the case of distinguished men only), as is still done in Eastern Bengal... (Chap. LX XIII.) Of the administration of law some interesting account is given. Written plaints were generally filed in which the case against the defendant was stated. Where no such written plaint was filed, oral complaints were received. There were different kinds of oath, having different degrees of solemnity, and cases. were decided ‘on the testimony of witnesses. (Chap. LXX.) All foreign visitors have commented on the extrene mildness of the criminal law in India, and Alberuni ‘compares it with the leniency professed by Christians, — and adds some shrewd remarks which deserve to be quoted. “In this regard the manners and customs of the Hindus resemble those of the Christians, for they 490 PAURANIK PERIOD. [BOOK Vv. are, like those of the latter, based on the princip]& of virtue and abstinence from wickedness, such as never to kill under any circumstances whatsoever; to give to him who has stripped you of your coat also your shirt ; to offer to him who has beaten your cheek the other cheek also; to bless your enemy and to pray for him. Upon my life, this is a noble philosophy ; but the people of this world are not all philosophers. Most of them are ignorant and erring, who cannot be kept on the straight road save by the sword and whip. And indeed, ever since Constantine the victorious became 4 Christian, both sword and whip have ever been em- ployed, for without them it would be impossible to rule.” (Chap. LXXL) The punishment for a Brahman murderer who killed a man of another caste was expiation consisting of fasting, prayers and almsgiving. But if a Brahman killed another Brahman, the punishment was banishment and confiscation .of property. In nocase was a Brah- man offender punished with death. For theft the punish- ment was in accordance with the value of the stolen property. In serious cases a Brahman or Kshatriya thief might be punished with loss of hand or foot, and a thief of a lower caste might be punished with death, A woman who committed adultery was driven out of the house of her husband and banished. (Chap. LX XI.) Children inherited the property left by the father, a daughter getting a fourth part of the share of a son. CHAP, XV.] LATER PAURANIK CIVILIZATION, 4or A. Widow did not inherit.