84 BENARES.
After the fatigue of the previous week, I was not
sorry to get a long rest in the comfortable compartment
of the East Indian railway, which admitted of a
good stretch ; and after a journey of nineteen hours, I
reached Benares, the holy city of the Ganges, remarkable
for the bigotry of its population, Hindu, as well as
Mussulman, about one-fifth belonging to the latter
faith in the town, and only one-tenth in the country
districts; for, although the Mohamedans have put an
end to the supremacy of the old Brahminical emperors,
the religion of Brahma has remained unshaken in
India.
The position of Benares is decidedly the most
picturesque of any town in India. The river here
forms a curve, and from it rises a town in the form of
an amphitheatre, approached by flights of stone steps,
called ghats, to a height of thirty feet and more, running
along with continuous breaks for nearly three miles.
The buildings facing the river are mostly temples and
palaces, thickly studded with domes and minarets,
gilt or gaudily coloured. Upon the steps there are
erected shrines of every variety, filled with idols; and
here and there the scene becomes varied by funeral piles
where the Hindus burn their dead, and throw the
ashes into the sacred river. These ghats are always
crowded, especially in the morning, with devotees in
BENARES. 85
every variety of costume; the most conspicuous
amongst which is the swaggering Bengali, moving
along majestically under the shade of a large crimson
umbrella, carried by a servant, and generally accompanied
by a host of followers. Fakirs and mendicants
there are in great numbers, and men and women of all
shades, taking a dip in the purifying stream, whilst
prayers and incantations are being pronounced by the
priests. Others, having completed their devotion, sit
under a coloured awning, gossiping and enjoying their
hooka.
I t is a lively scene indeed, and not easily forgotten.
The best view is from the river, and there are always
plenty of boats at hand to have a row up and down.
Of mosques and temples there are hundreds at Benares,
especially of the latter. They are mostly small, called
“ Mut,” but there is certainly one imposing mosque
close to the ghats. I t was built by Aurungzebe, of
red sandstone, and from its lofty minaret there is an
extensive view all round.
The Brahmans, a very wealthy class, bestow large
sums upon their temples; and, as far as I could perceive,
their principal ceremony consists of the pouring
of the Ganges’ water over the image of their deity, and
decorating it with wreaths of white and yellow flowers ;
indeed, this seems the only form of worship observed,