their modest quaker-like demeanour, as they respond " Rám, Rám” to the salutation of the traveller, prepossesses him strongly in their favour. Of the Laity.

The laity, known by the general name of girhist, are at liberty at any time to enter the hierarchy, and the office of mahant is open to them. They are particularly enjoined to speak the truth; to be constant in their affections, and just and honest in their dealings. I omitted to inquire, if females are forbidden to become Satí, but rather think they are not, as two of the wives of the late Rájá of Sháhpura, who was a Rámsanèhí, burnt in 1825. It might be that the force of ancient custom was in this case too strong to be overcome, and the noble often indulge licenses which would not be countenanced in the peasant.

The girhist celebrate their weddings with none of the pomp and rejoicing usual with the brahmanical Hindus, but conduct the ceremonial in a quiet unobtrusive manner. Like the byrágís, they are forbidden to mourn for the dead, as an act answering no purpose, since death is the doom of all, and also because it implies a want of resignation to the divine will. They burn their dead, and chaunt Sabd over

a corpse.

Neither priests nor laymen observe Tíja, Dashahra, Dewálí, Holí, nor any other Hindu festival, that I am aware of; they keep a strict fast from sun-set until sun-rise, nor even when sick, are they permitted to take any nourishment, but medicine during those hours.

The laity at Shahpura are in number about two hundred, of which perhaps a hundred and twenty are of the male sex, and they are interdicted turning Bedehí and Mohaní, as attention to the rules of those orders are incompatible with the discharge of temporal duties.

Converts.

The Rámsanèhís are composed of all castes of Hindus, and although no members of other sects have been converted, nor so far as I could learn, have any applied for admission to the order, the tenets are characterised by so much of liberality that I see nothing to oppose it. Both Christians and Muhammadans are freely admitted to their places of worship; all that is required of them, being to remove their shoes: but in the matter of diet, the force of prejudice and ancient custom are so strong among the sectaries, that I doubt if they would allow apostates of any other faith to eat with them.

Converts can be admitted to the society by the superior alone in the temple at Shahpura, and they are conducted for this purpose by the priests from different parts of India. The superior makes the novice over on his arrival to the twelve Sádh of the pillars, who are

directed to examine him on the soundness of his belief, and to make him thoroughly conversant with the tenets on which their religion is founded. Should their report be favourable, the name of the convert is changed, supposing he enter the hierarchy, but not otherwise, and he is received into the order, after undergoing a novitiate of forty days. Some brahmans have enrolled themselves, but converts have been made principally from the mahèsrí* and agarval tribes of baneas. There are no certain accounts of the number of Rámsanèhís dispersed over Western India; they abound chiefly in Rajwára and Gujarát, are met with in the neighbourhood of most large cities and towns, such as Bombay, Surat, Hydrabad, Punah, and Ahmedabad, and there are some at Benáres.

When we consider the strict rules by which the ecclesiastics are bound, and the hardships by which they are expected to subdue the body, it is not surprising their number should augment but slowly; but the superior assured me, they had much increased of late years through the quiet which Western India enjoys under British protection.

Worship.

Worship is performed three times a day, but the laity, busied in their worldly avocations, do not all go at one hour, though once seated, they remain in the temple till the service is over. The book of prayer is always read aloud by a layman, who makes a pause at the end of every second or third verse, to enable the mahant, and in other tabernacles, a priest of superior acumen, to expound and comment on the texts in the dialect of the country. Not more than six or seven Sabd are read in a day, and continued concordant to order, until the whole have been explained to the congregation; thus two years are frequently occupied in going through the sacred writings.

The Sádh rise at midnight, and continue at their devotions until the first watch of the morning (8 A. M.), when the laity attend for a couple of hours, and the service concludes with a couple of Sabd or songs of praise chaunted by females. Mid-day prayer commences at one or two P. M., and lasts for several hours; and evening service, at which only men are present, begins at dusk, and terminates in an hour, during which time, two arthi or hymns, are sung. As observed in another place, men and women never sing together, and they sit apart in the temples; and when the priests are alone, they pass hours together in silent abstraction, and at other times, count their beads, repeating at intervals the holy name of Rám.

* Mahèsrí from Mahèsvar, a name of Mahádèva: both tribes worship the god under different energies.

Festival of Phúl Dol.

Annually in the month Phálgún*, a festival called Phúl-dol, is observed at Shahpura, attended by as many of the priests and laity as are within reasonable distance: the Sádh rarely allow two seasons to pass in succession without attending. The five or six last days in Phálgún are, strictly speaking, the festival, but people begin to assemble upwards of a month earlier from distant parts of India.

The name of the festival, signifying "Flowers swinging" is borrowed I understand from one of the eighteen Puráns called Srímath Bhágavat, which contains an account of Krishna, and is intended more particularly for the instruction of his followers. A festival is annually observed in Bengal, and probably in other parts of Hindustan, by the worshippers of the god on the full moon of Chyt or Bysakh, when he is encircled with wreaths of flowers, placed in a sort of cradlė, and swung by his votaries. I obtained no satisfactory reason why the Rámsanèhís, who do not observe the rite alluded to, should give the name of Phúl-dol to their great annual meeting.

Two or three Sádh reside in every village of consideration, and from eight to twelve, and upwards, in each city and large town, according to its populousness: they are always relieved at the Phúl-dol, à regulation framed by DULHA Rám, the third mahant, to prevent their forming friendships and improper connections with the inhabitants: on no account are they permitted to remain for two successive years at one place.

Each of the princes of Udípur, Jodhpur, Jypur, Kotah, Búndí and of some of the smaller Rajput states, although orthodox Hindus, to evince their respect for the Rámsanèhís, send from eight to twelve hundred rupees to Shahpura on the anniversary of Phúl-dol, to furnish forth a day's entertainment of sweetmeats to the sect.

Besides the Rám-dwára or temple outside Shahpura, there is another religious edifice within the city wall, called Rám-merí, which has an establishment of five brahman cooks, five females to grind meal, and a similar number of water-carriers for the service of the brotherhood. Hither the high priest resorts with a few of the most pious of the Sádh, on the last day of each month, to keep a solemn vigil during the night, in commemoration of the death of RÁMCHARAN. Prayers are offered up, and the holy writings expounded, and respectable people of all persuasions are admitted to the building. The priests distribute sweetmeats and food collected in the town to the congregation, reserving their own share till morning.

* February, March.

Punishment.

When any member of the community infringes a rule, he is brought to Shahpura, at the festival of Phúl-dol, by some one of the byrágís, who, as already mentioned, are dispersed over the country to watch the conduct of the sect. He is not permitted to eat with the brotherhood, nor to enter the holy edifice; but seated at a little distance off under a certain tamarind tree, where his food is sent to him on a platter of dhák* leaves. The offence with which he is charged is investigated by the council of eight, who make a report on it to the high priest. If found guilty, the culprit is deprived of his rosary, a barber of the establishment shaves the top-knot off his head, and he is ejected from the community. What is stated above applies to grievous offences. Slight infringements of order are investigated at all seasons; and sometimes when the culprit happens to be a long distance off, the priest stationed at the place takes a deposition of the case, and transmits it to the mahant, when if considered fit, he excommunicates the culprit, without ordering him to Shahpura. It will be seen, the superior and council are a check upon each other, and they must coincide in opinion before a sentence can be carried into effect.

Religious Edifices.

Temples of the Rámsanèhís are known under the name of Rámdwára, or the gate of God. Among other places in Rajwára, where they are met with, may be enumerated Jypur, Jodphur, Mertha, Nagor, Udypur, Chittor, Bhilwára, Tonk, Búndí, and Kotah. The one at Shahpura is by a great deal the handsomest, and distinguished for the richness and magnificence of its architecture: it is built of rock quarried at Katí, a distance of twenty-four miles, and coated with brilliant white chunam, formed of the same stone, reduced to powder and mixed with milk and other ingredients, which adapt it to receive a high polish. The entrance porch faces the east, and is very lofty, with an arched balcony above, and like other parts of the buildings, neatly carved. From the centre of the pile, a handsome pavilion, with open arches, rises far above the other towers; and in a vault beneath, the corpse of the founder of the sect was reduced to ashes. Between the vault and pavilion, there is an equilateral apartment, supported on twelve pillars, connected by scolloped arches: this was the favourite abode of RÁMCHARAN, and here the mahant daily takes his seat, to expound the doctrines of the faith, and the congregation assemble on the terrace without, for morning and evening prayer.

On the south face of the temple, but quite separate from it, stands a range of seven domes, to which you ascend by steps, six of them re* Butea frondosa.

pose on twelve pillars, and correspond exactly in their proportions: three are built over the ashes of the Spiritual Fathers, who succeeded the founder, and the others cover a similar number of venerated priests of the community. The central or seventh dome has only five columns, and is much smaller than the rest; it marks the spot where the remains of a female named SARU'P, a pious disciple of RÁMCHARAN, were burnt; and the domes, with those of the temple, are painted inside and out in ornaments of vivid colours. The Rám-dwára was built at different periods, when funds were available, and is said to have cost about eighty thousand rupees: it is kept remarkably clean, and presents a unique and handsome appearance, essentially differing in design from all Hindu edifices I have seen. On a level with the vault are apartments for the priests and members of the sect, who resort to Shahpura at the festival of Phúl-dol, and here are also the stores of linen and blankets belonging to the fraternity.

Behind the Rám-dwára repose the ashes of the ancient Rájas of Shahpura, each in a distinct shrine. BHI'M SINGH, grandsire of the reigning chief, was the patron of RAMCHARAN, and was the first of his family who embraced the new doctrines. The late Rájá died at Udypur in 1825, but his turban was transmitted to Shahpura, and with it two of his wives performed Satí.

*Selected Translations from the Religious Writings of the Rámsanèhís. 1.-The name of RA'MA is the real seed, in which all things are contained: for he is the source of the three qualities (of goodness, passion, and darkness); of the fourteen regions (of Hindu cosmogony); of the twenty-four (incarnations); the three hundred and thirty millions (of Hindu deities); and the three (principal Gods, viz. BRAHMA, VISHNU, and MAHESWARA), who should be adored, and who not? RA'MCHARAN says, the whole universe sprung from that only seed, as leaves shoot forth and fall off in abundance from the same tree.

2.-The person who adores the all-pervading Ra'ʼma, and turns his back upon the other gods; who visits his guru with bare feet, and stretches forth his liberal hand; who has renounced the world, neither uses harsh language nor jokes, and seeks not any pleasure; who giving up all considerations on profit and loss, resigns himself to the will of HARI†; who is not addicted to gaming, stealing, avarice, lying, and hypocrisy; who does not taste bhang‡, tobacco, opium,

* I have to acknowledge my obligations to Bábu KA'SI PRASHA'D GHOS of Calcutta, for his courtesy in assisting me with a translation of these papers: he purposely rendered it as literal as possible, and I am not sure if it would not have been better had I left it in that form.

† A name of VISHNU, but employed here and elsewhere along with RAMA, to express God in an abstracted sense; the frequent mention of these two as objects of worship, is owing to the doctrine of the Rámsanèhís being mixed up with the tenets, and these verses being selections from the books, of other Hindu sects.

An intoxicating potion, prepared from the hemp plant (Canabis Sativa).