578 Buchanan’s journey through

nut-trees, enclofed by a fmall mud-wall, painted vertically with red and whiteftripes.

The houfes have mud-walls, and are roofed with tiles. Each is built in the formof a fquare, with a fmall court in the centre. They certainly appear to be muchmore comfortable than the houfes in the country towns in Bengal. Moll; of them areinhabited by the Brahmans belonging to two large temples, that are dedicated toIfwara, and to his wife Camachuma. Of thefe Brahmans there are one hundredfamilies; a hundred dancing girls are kept for the honour of the deities, and theamufement of their votaries; and any familiarity between thefe girls and an infidelwould occafion fcandal. About three miles off, at the leffer Conjeveram, is anothergrand temple, dedicated to Vifhnu, who has here a mandapam, for hisTeceptionat the two vifits which he makes in a year to Ifwara. Siva returns the vifit once ayear only. At thefe vifits the worfhippers of the two gods, who are of different fedts*are very apt to fall into difputes, occafioning abufive language, and followed byviolence ; fo that the collectors have fometimes been obliged to have recourfeto the fear of the bayonet, to prevent the controverfy from producing bad effedts.

I have no occafion to defcribe the covils, or pagodas, that having already beendone with fufficient accuracy. I fhall only remark, that they are great done buildings,very clumfily executed both in their joinings, and carvings, and totally devoid ofelegance or grandeur, although they are wonderfully crowded with what are meantas ornaments. The rat’hs, tarn, or chariots, on which the images of the gods arecarried in proceffion, are much fuperior to thofe 1 have feen in Bengal. There arehere three tser, one for Ifwara, a fecond for his wife, and a third for his fon Ganefra.In Bengal, the images of Vifhnu only, and of this family, are conveyed in rat’hs }Mahadeva, or Ifwara, is never carried in proceffion.

At Cunji there is a fmall mofque of very neat workmanffiip. The Hindoos fay, thatit was originally a covil, or pagoda; but if it has been fuch, great alterations havebeen made on it for the better.

The divifions of the Brahmans here, are different from thofe found in Bengal.

The mod numerous clafs here, and which comprehends about one half of all theBrahmans in the Lower Carnatic, is called the Smartal fedt, and its members arefollowers of Sankara Acharya. They are commonly faid to be the fedt of Siva ; butthey confider Brahma , Vifhnu, and Ifwara, to be the fame god, affuming differentperfons, as the creator, preferver, and deftroyer of the univerfe. They confidertheir fouls as being portions of the divinity, and do not believe in tranfmigration as apuniffiment for fin. They are readily didinguifhed by three horizontal ftripes on the.forehead, made with the allies of cow-dung.

The next mod; numerous fedt of the Brahmans here, are the followers of Rama.Anuja Acharya, who form about three-tenths of the whole. They are called SriVaifhnavum and A’ayngar, and may readily be known by three vertical marks onthe forehead, connedted by a common line above the nofe, and formed of a whiteclay. They abhor Ifwara, calling him the chief of the Rakfhafa, or devils, andworfhip only Vifhnu, and the gods of his family. They form two fects; the Wada-galay, who believe in tranfmigration, and the Tangalay, who do not.

The Madual form the remaining two-tenths of the Brahmans. Thefe ufe thevertical marks on the forehead, which are appropriate to the followers of Vifhnu;but they worfhip Siva alfo ; they believe in the generation of the gods in a literal fenfe,thinking Vifhnu to be the father of Brahma, and Brahma to be the father of Siva.

3 AH