a person knowing God ceases to possess identity: that hence it is absurd for a human being to pretend to know him; the moment you discover him, your identity ceases. They deny that God was ever incarnated, and, like the Bouddhists, believe that men by their virtuous conduct become omniscient, and may thus be considered as infallible. They hold, that since the beginning of time* only twenty-four such superior beings have appeared for the reformation of mankind: these they style the Tirthankar. Their priests, the Jatis, not only never put any thing to death, but never eat any thing which has had life. The Jainas resemble the Hindus in having casts, which the Bouddhists have not. In the Mysur, and the south of India, Jainas admit also certain of the Hindu deities into the courts of their temples, which is never done, as far as I can learn, either in Bombay, or the Mahratta country, Guzerat, or Marwar, in all of which places there are numbers of Jainas. "In all the Jaina temples, therefore, such images as are peculiar to the Jaina worship are human, and distinguished only by symbols. The whole twenty-four holy saints are usually representd in one piece; and no worship is paid to their relics, nor are they placed under pyramids. There are, however, many sects of Jainas, some professing to adhere strictly to the doctrines of one saint of the Tirthankar, others to those of another. I am not aware that any Jaina caverns have ever been discovered f. "These few observations it was necessary to make, before proceeding to lay before the Society an account of the various cave-temples on this side of India. Few as they are, a strict attention to them will perhaps enable us to judge with ease to which of these three classes any particular temple belongs. Any monster, any figure partly human partly brutal, any multiplicity of heads or hands in the object adored, indicate a Brahminical place of worship. The presence of umbrella cover pyramids or semi-globes, and of simple human figures sitting cross-legged, or standing in a meditative posture, as certainly shows the excavation to be Bouddhist. The twenty-four saintly figures without the pyramid prove a temple to be Jaina. The caves of Elephanta clearly belong to the Saiva division of the Hindus. Supposing the pre-eminence of that form of the Hindu religion to have been first established upon the suppression of the Bauddha and Jaina sects, its ascendancy' may probably not date above eight centuries: consequently, if the caverns of Elephanta were excavated posterior to the formation of the Saiva sects, they cannot pretend to the antiquity, that is generally attached to them. Of this, however, as Mr. E. observes, strong doubts may be entertained. The grounds on which Mr. Erskine founds his objections are the many proofs afforded by local traditions, and the ac * More correctly, of the present succession of ages: the Jainas, like the Brahmans, regarding the universe eternal, subject to periodical destruction and renovation; and during each intermediate existence 24 Tirthankaras appear. + It will be hereafter scen, that Mr. E. thinks some of the Ellora caverns are Jain. b tual situation of the caves, of the co-existence of the Brahmanical and Bauddha systems, and the period, that must have elapsed, during which not only every trace, but even all memory of the latter has been obliterated. We may add also, that the opinion of Mr. Colebrooke regarding the modern origin of the worship of Mahadeo and Bhavani, as now known in India, and in which alone these doubts originate, applies only to existing sects, the most ancient of which possibly dates from Sankara Acharya, who lived about the eighth century. But although the actually existing modifications of the Saiva sect may not possess a higher antiquity, it by no means follows, that Siva and Bhavani were not very extensively worshipped many centuries before. The testimony of the best authorities, the Hindu writers, is decisive on this point; but if they are regarded unsatisfactory, we may refer to unprejudiced and indisputable evidence: and the goddess Kumari, according to the author of Arrian's Periplus, who had a temple dedicated to her at the extremity of the peninsula, and gave her name to the promontory of Comorin, is no other than the virgin Bhavani, or Parvati, the affianced bride of Mahadeo. These deities were, therefore, objects of veneration in the south of India, at the commencement of the Christian era at least. We may also observe, that Sankara, from whom the oldest existing class of Saiva ascetics perhaps, that of the Desnami Gosaens, proceeds, held the character, not of an innovator, but a reformer; and according to the best relations we have of his proceedings, addressed his reforms as much to the prevailing corruptions of the Saivas, as of any other description of Hindus. We have no reason, therefore, to conclude, from finding the Elephanta excavations dedicated to Saiva deities, that they are the work of modern times. The Island of Elephanta was so named from a large and clumsily sculptured elephant, standing near the landingplace, according to early travellers, (Captain Pyke in 1712, and Du Perron in 1760.) This had a smaller one on its back, but it has since disappeared; and the larger figure even has fallen to pieces, since Mr. E.'s paper was written, as he mentions in a note. The excavation consists of three parts, a central temple, with a smaller one on each side. The greater temple is about 130 feet long by 133 broad: it is about 17 feet high, the roof apparently supported by 26 pillars and 16 pilasters. A detailed ground plan is referred to; but the same confusion prevails in this, as in Mr. Salt's paper. The ground plan makes its appearance in the 2nd volume only; and the omission in the plates of all the numbers, to which the text refers, has rendered a comparison between the description and illustrations, troublesome and uncertain, if not impracticable. Mr. Erskine gives a very clear and circumstantial account of the different numerous sculptures round the walls of this cavern, and they fully confirm his view of the appropriation of the temple. It is unnecessary to follow him through the detail, but we shall briefly notice one or two of the principal subjects. The three-headed colossal bust, or the Trimurti, conspicuous in the great cave, and which has been made the subject of so much idle speculation, is well described by Mr. Erskine, and beautifully illustrated by the pencil of Mrs. Ashburner, by whom most of the drawings accompanying the paper were delineated. This figure, though stopping at the breast, is 17 feet 10 inches high, and the horizontal width at the broadest part 22 feet 9 inches. It is evidently the genius loci, and the divinity, to whom the shrine is dedicated. There can be little doubt that it is, as Mr. Erskine supposes, the bust of Siva alone, although possibly the other two heads may express Brahma and Vishnu, as one with Siva. More correctly still, however, we may consider it to be Siva, invested with the triple character of creator, preserver, and destroyer an aggregation of attributes always assigned by the sectarian Hindu, to the divinity of his preferential adoration. It is noticed by Mr. Erskine, that the ears of the central head are elongated, like those of the Kanpathe, (Kanphata Yogis;) and in like manner they are embellished with ponderous ear-rings. We have already noticed the appearance of this sect in the caves of Salsette, and we again trace them at Elephanta: it is not unlikely, therefore, that they are the architects of these excavations. They are a meditative and monastic race, who worship Siva especially; they are an ancient order, and have now almost disappeared, being represented by a few vagabond mendicants, who assume the name of Kanphatas, and, as the term denotes, have their ears split or pierced, wearing heavy rings in the perforation. The only respectable establishment of Yogis known in this part of India is one near Goruckpore, a temple and establishment sacred to Siva as Gorakhnath, or Gorakshanatha. The same form of Siva, and other analogous ones, have many temples in Nepal; but neither Kirkpatrick nor Hamilton mention Jogis : and although, therefore, the temples, which are of considerable antiquity, remain, the sect must have declined there also, if not have disappeared. Admitting that the cavern-temples of the Saiva faith were constructed by the Jogis, a deduction of some importance immediately follows. We need not be surprised to meet with figures and subjects to which the legendary history of the Hindus, as far as yet investigated, furnishes no clue. Beyond the object and act of Yoga, which are explained in the Puranas, and some of the philosophical systems, we are wholly unacquainted with the doctrines and practices of the Yogis: their peculiarities, of course, are founded on legends known only to their system, or on peculiar modifications of those common to the Hindu mythology. It is therefore necessary to make ourselves acquainted with this branch of Hindu literature, before we can hope to explain, in a manner wholly satisfactory, all the sculptures of Elephanta, or similar excavations. Another celebrated piece of sculpture is the groupe, supposed in less enlightened days to represent the judgment of Solomon, and which Mr. Erskine conceives to be Siva in his incarnation of Bhairava, the threatening and destructive deity, a character well represented by the sculpture. There is no doubt, however, that the figure is Siva, in another, though analogous manifestation, or as Virabhadra, in the act of disturbing Daksha's sacrifice, and mutilating the assistants, and decapitating the sacrificer. The following is part of the description of this legend given in the Kasi khand: "Then quitting Vishnu, Virabhadra, chief The headless trunk with fierce repeated wounds. Whom flying he o'ertook, he piecemeal hewed, And cast the scattering members on the wind." This story, the real purport of which, whether founded on facts or not, is the triumph of the Saivas over the hostile Vaishnavas, formed a very apt decoration for a temple constructed by the followers of the former sect*. We shall only further notice the figure, for which reference is made to Niebuhr, or Siva sitting on the lotus, in the position in which Buddha is usually delineated. This and the similar figure in the western wing are considered by Mr. E. the most puzzling in the whole cave; as if they represent Buddha, how, he asks, should they come into a Brahmanical temple. He concludes, however, that they may be only representations of Siva in a contemplative posture, as a religious recluse, a conclusion of the accuracy of which we entertain no kind of doubt. The figure, as seen in Niebuhr's plate, has no resemblance to a Bauddha sculpture. Siva's meditations on Kailas are well known; and the positions in which the Yogi ascetic is to sit whilst performing Yoga, include all the forms in which contemplative images are represented, whether Brahmanical or Bauddha. The worship of the Linga does not appear to be described in any of the sculptures, although the symbols, in the usual form, are found in three sanctuaries of the temple, as fixed for adoration. They are made of a stone differing from the rock out of which the cavern has been hewn, and are in better preservation than the rest of the edifice. Connecting these facts with the omission of the emblem in the sculptures, it is not impossible, that they were superadded to the decorations of the cave, and were a subsequent graft upon the original, and ancient form of worship. For although the adoration of this type was probably known in India, as well as in other idolatrous countries, at a remote era, yet its wide prevalence, its general pre-eminence, may be conjectured to have pre * It is a curious circumstance, that the central or Saiva caves of Ellora furnish duplicates of many of the sculptures at Elephanta, and amongst others of this. This is noticed by Mr. Erskine in the 3rd volume of the Transactions; and he there corrects his statement of this groupe, according to our conjecture. We find, indeed, that Sir Charles Malet had stated the same, and he speaks of the eight-handed figure of Vier Buddur, holding up Raja Dutz in one hand, and a drawn sword in the other.-As. Res. vol. vi. p. 338. |