MYSORE , CANARA, AND MALABAR. ' 653

but they pray to Dharma Raja, and offer facrifkes to the Saktis . They have noknowledge of a future life, and pray only for temporal bleffings. Their Gurus arethe hereditary chiefs of the Sri Vailhnavam Brahmans, who on the richer part of thecaff bellows upadefa and chakrantikam. The panchanga, or aftrologer, attends onlyat marriages.

A Smartal Brahman, reckoned a man of learning, but who feems to be very unwil-ling to open fuch llores as he poffeffes, denies all knowledge of the worlhippers ofJain, Buddha, or the Linga, farther than that he has heard them mentioned. Thedoctrines of all other fefts, but his own, he confiders as contemptible, and not worthyof notice.

He believes in a fupreme god called Narayana, or Para Brahma, from whenceproceeded Siva , Vilhnu, and Brahma ; which Hill, however, are all the fame god. Hisfed pray to Siva and Vilhnu, with many of their wives, children, and attendants, amongwhom are the Saktis, or deltrudive powers. Siva, however, is the principal objed oftheir worlhip; for they confider him as the moll powerful mediator w/th Narayana,who is rather too much elevated to attend to their perfonal requefts. They abhorbloody facrifices ; but do not reprehend their followers of the Sudra call for ufingthat manner of worlhip. They fay, that it is the cultom of the Sudras; and thatwhat thefe low people do is of little or no confequence. When a good Brahman dies,hisfpirit is united to God ; but a bad one is firlt punilhed in a purgatory, and then bypalling through various other lives, as an animal, or as a perfon of fome of the lowcalls, till at laft he becomes a Brahman, and has another opportunity by his goodworks of gaining heaven.

Sringa-giri, fouth from Hyder Nagar, is by this perfon confidered as the chief throneof the Brahmans. Their God affumed the form of a Brahman named Sankara Acharya,and, having become a Sannyafi, eltablilhed his mata or college, at the place at whichthere has ever fince been a fucceffion of Sannyafis, who are the Gurus of the order,and are called Swaroalus. In different places of India thefe have eltablilhed agents, ordeputies, who are alfo Sannyafis, and affume the title of Swamalu. Originally thefeagents were all fent from the college at Sringa-giri; but now, although they acknow-ledge the fuperiority of the reprefentative of Sankara Acharya, they all educate youngmen in their own matas, or colleges, and from among them appoint their fucceffors.In the chief college at Sringa-giri there are many difciples, who are all of Vaidikafamilies, who never marry, and who are carefully educated in fuch learning as theBrahmans poffefs. They are called Brahma Charis 5 and from among them the Guru,when he is about to die, felefts the one that appears to him moll deferving, and revealsto him the upadefa peculiar to his rank, by which the favourite becomes his fucceffor.The inferior Swamalus (properly Swamyalu) educate in a fimilar manner their fuc-ceffors. Should the Sringa-giri Swamalu die without appointing a fucceffor, the depu-ties or agents affemble, and feleft from among the Brahma Charis the moll defervingperfon, and, revealing to him to him the upadefa, conllitute him their chief. Till heis on the point of death, a Swamalu is very unwilling to deliver the upadefa to a fuc-ceffor $ as, immediately on getting poffeffion of it, his power becomes equal to hisown ; and if he Ihould recover, the new Swamalu might remove to another college,and aft independent of his authority.

Befides the . vedas, and eighteen puranas fuppofed to have been written by Vyafa,which are common to all Brahmans, the Smartal feft follow, as peculiar to themfelves,four faltrams, or books, called Mimafa, Tarka, Vyakaranam, and Vedanta, whichare faid to contain a fyftern of logic, metaphyfics, and grammar, that is neceffary to

explain