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time the worffiippers of Linga, Jain, and Buddha , three of the twenty-one hereticalfefts, were very numerous. The hereditary chiefs do not fend fixed deputies torefide among their diftant followers; but they occafionally fend agents to makecircuits, beftow cliakrantikam, and receive charity. My informer infills pofitively,that the Sannyafis never beftow their upadefa on any perfon, but their intended fuc-ceffor; left the Brahman fo dignified ffiould eftablilh a feparate throne. Sometimesthe intended fucceffor gets the upadefa early, and is fent to travel till his predeceffordies. The agents employed by the Sannyafis, to prevent them from afpiring to thedignity of their mailers, are always married men.
The Numbi are an inferior order of Brahmans, whofe duty is to aft as pujaris inthe temples. They are all Vaidika, and never follow any worldly occupation ; butare defpifed on account of their receiving fixed wages for performing their duty.The other Brahmans originally, perhaps, all lived by begging, which is the properoccupation of the call, and the moll dignified manner of living, as being moll agree-able to God ; and in confequence acquired an hereditary fuperiority over the Numbis,which is kept up even by the Lokika, who have betaken themfelves to worldly bufi-nefs, and who for wages will ferve even men. Whatever may be the caufe, noLokika, much lefs any Vaidika, will eat or intermarry with a Numbi; but thefe re-ceive the fame upadefa with the others, and are permitted to read the fame books.They all marry, and their offices are hereditary. They are divided into two fefts,that do not intermarry. Thofe of the one aft in the temples of Vilhnu, and follow asGurus the heads of the Aayngar left. The others are pujaris in the temples ofIfwara, and follow as Gurus the Smartal Sannyafis. The Madual have no Numbis ;and their Gurus are the only perfons of the feft who perform the office of pujari inany temple.
The Aayngar fay, that Para Brahma, Narayana, or Vilhnu, is the fupreme god.He is reprefented by images having one head, and under that form is worffiipped inail temples. He affumed four great forms, or avatars, Anirudha, Pratimana,Vafudeva, and Sankarlhana: the forms of thefe avatars may be feen in temples, butthey are only worffiipped by the angels. The fupreme deity then affumed eleven in-carnations, or inferior avatars. Ten of thefe are common objefts of worffiip withmen; the eleventh, or Budha, is held in abhorrence. Brahma, the fon of thefupreme deity, was born with five heads; but loft one of them in an Intrigue whichhe had with the wife of his fon Ifwara. He is reprefented in temples with four heads;but his images are placed there merely as ornaments, and never occupy the facredplace where the objeft of worffiip Hands. Ifwara, the fon of Brahma, has five heads,and is held in abhorrence by the Aayngar, as being the huffiand of Parvati, who hastaken the form of many deftruftive fpirits, fuch as Marima, Putalima and the like.Fear of immediate deftruftion fometimes tempts the Aayngar to pray to the deftroy-ing powers ; but in general they pretend, that they are entirely occupied by thoughtsof happinefs in the next world, which can only be procured by the favour of theavatars of Vilhnu, or of their wives, all of whom are incarnations of Maya. Thefervants of the avatars, fuch as Hanumanta, are not proper objefts of worffiip; butfome Numbis, in order to procure bread, officiate as priefts in their temples ; for thepopulace believe, that thefe beings have the power of bellowing temporal bleffings.
The molt learned Smartal here fay, that Para Brahma is the fupreme god , andMaya, or Sakti Prakriti, is his wife. They deny the four forms of God worffiippedin heaven ; but fay, that from Maya proceeded three great avatars, of a good, of akingly, and of a deftruftive nature j and named Vilhnu, Brahma, and Ifwara,. or
4 0 2 Siva.