END OF THE GHATS 159 of steps leading up to a group of little shrines sheltered by some splendid pippal trees. The end of the ghâts on the northern side of Benares is reached at Barna Sangam, where the river Barna joins the Ganges. This is one of the five sacred places of pilgrimage, and a bath in the meeting waters is held to be of special virtue in cleansing from all sin. The high ridge on which four temples are placed commands a fine view of the Ganges valley. CHAPTER IX THE TEMPLES AND SACRED WELLS Hindus recognize three classes of deities, or three different aspects of divine worship. First, the patron deity of the village community, called gramya deva. The images or symbols of these are placed under a sacred tree outside the villages. Next is the household god, or the god which is regarded by each family as its special protector. Thirdly, the ishta deva—the personal god, or the god whom the guru, the spiritual adviser of each individual, appoints as his or her patron deity, after consultation of the person's horo scope. Outside the Brahmin caste, the expenses attendant on the proper conduct of Hindu ritual make it impossible for any but those who have means to keep up the worship of their patron deity within the house, for only Brahmins, or those who claim the right of exercising priestly functions, can perform the appropriate ceremonies. The full performance of household worship is most complicated and expensive. The images or symbols used in daily worship are often made of clay, and these are made by the worshippers themselves and always thrown away directly the pûjá is finished. But when an idol of stone or of metal is purchased for the house or temple the first ceremonial IDOL WORSHIP 161 is a kind of consecration, called pran prahtishta, "life giving", performed by a Brahmin, who is supposed thereby to cause the divine essence to come and reside in the idol. Thereafter it is regarded as a being endowed with life and feeling, and in the worship in the temple, or in the household, daily, monthly, or yearly, as the case may be, it is washed and dressed, garlanded, offered food, drink, betel-leaf and areca-nut, and money, in sixteen prescribed ceremonies accompanied by the chanting of mantras. THE SALAGRAM STONE This is part of the regular worship, but there is practically no limit to the attentions which the devout Hindu will pay to his idol. In the hot weather it will be fanned to prevent flies and mosquitoes from annoying it, and bathed to keep it cool. In the cold weather it will be dressed in warm clothes. If the idol represents a masculine deity, it will be married with great pomp and ceremony to its reputed consort of the other sex. A marriage ceremony is a very popular form of religious devotion; failing a god and goddess, a sacred bird or animal, or even inanimate objects, such as the tulasi plant and the salagram stone, will serve as the make-believe bride and bridegroom. In response to these attentions the patron deity is expected to bestow corresponding worldly favours on the worshipper, otherwise the latter will sometimes visit his anger on his deity's image with all kinds of abuse and indignity. Such is the contrast between the high philosophy of Hinduism and the ritual countenanced by its priestly exponents. The ordinary Hindu, who has not the means or time for regular household worship, has to be content with hiring a Brahmin occasionally to recite a part of the sacred writings, and with visits to the temple on festival days, or when his leisure permits. PLAN OF HINDU ROOFING I have noticed before that though Benares is one of the most picturesque cities in India, it possesses hardly a single temple of first-rate architectural merit. The fifteen hundred or more temples it contains are small and nearly all of one type, with very little variation. The cell containing the image or sacred emblem is square, generally with an opening on all four sides, and surmounted by the tall curvilinear and multiform sikra or spire, already described (see p. 44) In front of this, and connected with it, is a larger colonnaded porch, which is roofed either by a dome or by |