worshipper enters, he prostrates himself before the idol, and knocks his head three times on the ground. This done, he takes three pieces of wood that fit together in the form of a kidney; again kneels; knocks his head; holds them to Joss; and after bowing three times for his blessing, throws them up. If they fall with both flat and round sides up, it is good luck; but if one of these, it is unfortunate. He

renews his worship to Joss, and tries again. Sometimes it is repeated seven or eight times, till it is succeeded. Then he prostrates himself again, and repeats similar ceremonies. When he is satisfied he lights his taper, and fixes it before Joss; then sets fire to a piece of paper, washed with tin; presents it on the altar; bows three times, and retires.*

INDIA IN GENERAL, AND THE MOGUL's EMPIRE.

THE original inhabitants of India are called Gentoos; or, as others call them, Hindoos. The bramins, for so the Hindoo priests are styled, pretend that their legislator, Brama, bequeathed to them a book, called the vedas; containing his doctrines and instructions. The shanscritt language, in which the veda is written, has for many centuries been concealed in the hands of the bramins, but has at length been brought to light by the indefatigable industry of the late learned and ingenious Sir William Jones, and the other members of the He supposes that the first

society, of which he was president. Their united labours have contributed to remove the veil which formerly obscured the genuine religion of brama,inculcated in the vedas, the geeta, and other shanscrit theological treatises.

Mr. Maurice, a learned writer of the present day, has, in an elaborate work, entitled "A History of the Antiquities of India," traced the origin of the Hindoo nation, and developed their religious system. The following imperfect sketch of the religion of Hindostan, is taken from that author.

* American Museum for 1790.

+ The shanscrit language was till late little known even in Asia. It is deemed sacred by the bramins, and confined solely to the offices of religion. The import of its name is, according to the eastern style, the language of perfection. See Encyclopædia, vol. xiv. p. 520.

The bramins, who preside in all religious concerns, are elevated above every other order of men, by an origin deemed not only more noble, but acknowledged to be sacred.

migration of mankind took place antecedently to the confusion of tongues at Babel, from the region of Ararat, where the ark rested. By the time the earth was sufficiently dry for so long a journey, either Noah himself, or some descendant of Shem, gradually led on the first journey to the western frontiers of India; that this increasing colony flourished for a long succession of ages in primitive happiness and innocence; practised the purest rites of the patriarchal religion, without images and temples, till at length the descendants of Ham invaded and conquered India, and corrupted their ancient religion.

The following are the two primary articles of the primitive theology of India, descended down to them from the venerable patriarchs: That God

vouchsafed a revelation to man in a state of innocence, concerning the divine nature, will, and mode of worship: that the deity is not a solitary, occult, inaccessible being; but perpetually present with all his creatures and works.

The remains of the primitive theology are still apparent in India, and are contained in the vedas, which, till lately, the bramins alone were permitted to read.

According to the Hindoo legislator, Brahme, the great one, is the supreme, eternal, uncreated God. Brama, the first created being, by whom he made and governs the world, is the prince of the beneficent spirits. He is assisted by Veeshnu, the great preserver of men, who, nine several times, appeared upon earth, and under a human form, for

When

According to Sir William Jones, the supreme God Brahme, in his triple form, is the only self-existent divinity acknowledged by the philosophical Hindoos. When they consider the divine power, as exerted in creating or giving existence to that which existed not before, they call the Deity Brahme. When they view him in the light of destroyer, or rather changer of forms, he is called Mahadeo, Seeva, and various other names. they consider him as the preserver of created things, they give him the name of Veeshnu; for since the power of preserving creation by a superintending providence belongs eminently to the Godhead, they hold that power to exist transcendently in the preserving member of the triad, whom they suppose to be every where always; not in substance, but in spirit and energy. See Asiatic Researches.

Following the leading ideas of Sir William Jones, Mr. Maurice asserts, that there is a perpetual recurrence of sacred triad of Deity in the Asiatic mythology; that the doctrine of a trinity was promulgated in India, in the geeta, fifteen hundred years before the birth of Plato; for of that remote date are the Elephantia cavern, and the Indian history of Mahabharat, in which a triad of Deity are alluded to, and designated." Hence he supposes that the doctrine of a trinity was delivered from the ancient patriarchs, and diffused over the east during the migration and dispersion of their hebrew posterity.

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the most beneficent purposes. Veeshnu is often styled Creeshna, the Indian Apollo, and in his character greatly resembles the Mithra of Persia. The prince of the benevolent Dentah has for a co-adjutor Mahadeo, or Seeva, the destroying power of God. And this three-fold divinity, armed with the terrors of almighty power, pursue through the whole extent of creation the rebellious Dentah, headed by Mahasoor, the great malignant spirit who seduced them, and dart upon their flying bands the fiery shafts of divine vengeance.

The nine incarnations of Veeshnu, represent the deity descending in a human shape to accomplish certain awful and important events, as in the instance of the three first; to confound blaspheming vice,

to subvert gigantic tyranny, and to avenge oppressed innocence, as in the five following ; or finally, as the ninth, to abolish a gloomy and sanguinary superstition.*

The Hindoo system teaches the existence of good and evil genii, or, as they are called in the language of Hindostan, deos, or debta. These are represented as eternally conflicting together; and the incessant conflict which subsisted between them filled creation with uproar, and all its subordinate classes with dismay.

The doctrine of the metemphychosis, or transmigration of souls, is universally believed in India, from which country it is supposed to have originated many centuries before the birth of Plato, and was first promulgated in the geeta

It appears that human sacrifices were anciently used in India, after their primitive religion was corrupted. These sacrifices ceased, when in the ninth incarnation of Veeshnu, he ordered in their room the oblation of fruits, flowers, and incense.-The shanscrit narrative of the incarnation of Veeshnu, and his extraordinary exploits, in some points approaches so near to the scriptural account of our Saviour, that Sir William Jones was led to suppose that the bramins had, in the early ages of christianity, seen, or heard recited to them, some of the spurious gospels, which in those ages so numerously abounded, and had engrafted the wildest parts of them upon the old fable of the Indian Apollo. The birth of the divine infant was predicted, and a reigning tyrant, learning from the prediction that he should be destroyed by this wonderful child, ordered all the male children born at that period to be slain; but Creesima was preserved. From the fear of this tyrant he was fostered in Mattra by an honest herdsman, and passed his innocent hours in rural diversions at his foster-father's farin. Repeated miracles, however, soon discovered his celestial origin. He preached to the bramins the doctrines of meekness and benevolence. He even condescended to wash their feet, as a proof of his meekness; and he raised the dead, by descending for that purpose to the lowest regions. He acted not always indeed in the capacity of a prince, or herald of peace, for he was a mighty warrior; but his amazing powers were principally exerted to save and to defend, Sce Bondinot's Age of Revelation, p. 136,

* Mr. Maurice observes that this doctrine pervaded all the heathen world, and probably arose from some obscure tradition of the fallen angels, handed down through successive generations from the great progenitor of human kind.

The above mentioned author supposes, that the Hindoos have been united in this uniform belief by some ancient, but mutilated tradition, relative to the defection of man in paradise from primeval innocence and virtue,

It is supposed that Pythagoras derived his doctrine of transmigration from the Indian bramins; for in that ancient book, the institutes of Menu, compiled many centuries before Pythagoras was born, there is a long chapter on transmigration and final beatitude. It is there asserted, that as far as vital souls, addicted to sensuality, indulge themselves in forbidden pleasures, even to the same degree shall the acuteness of their senses be raised in their future bodies, that they may suffer analogous pains.

Hence oblations the most costly, and sacrifices the most sanguinary, in the hope of propitiating the angry powers, for ever loaded the altars of the pagan deities. They had even sacrifices denominated those of regeneration, and those sacrifices were always profusely stained with blood.

The Hindoos suppose that the vicious are condemned to perpetual punishment in the animation of successive animal forms, till, at the stated period, another renovation of the four jugs, or grand period, shall commence upon the dissolution of the present. Then they are called to begin anew the probationary journey of souls, and all will be finally happy.

The destruction of the exist

ing world by fire is a tenet of the bramins.

The temples, or pagodas, for divine worship in India; are magnificent; and their religious rites are pompous and splendid. Since the Hindoos admit that the Deity occasionally assumes an elementary form, without defiling his holiness, they make various idols to assist their imaginations when they offer up their prayers to the invisible Deity.

Besides the daily offerings of rice, fruits, and ghee, at the pagodas, the Hindoos have a grand annual sacrifice, not very dissimilar from that of the scape goat among the hebrews.† They inculcate various and frequent ablutions, which are intended as means of purifying their souls from sin.

*The jugs are certain grand periods alluded to in the revolutions of the heavenly bodies. The vanity of the bramin chronologists has induced them to apply to terrestrial concerns the vast periods used in sideral computations.

The necessity of some atonement for sin, is one of the prevailing ideas among the Hindoos. Hence they sacrifice certain animals at stated seasons, and hence the voluntary tortures which they inflict upon themselves. For an instance to illustrate this point: Mr. Swartz, one of the Malabarian missionaries, who was instrumental in converting two thousand persons to the christian religion, relates that a certain man on the Malabar coast had in quired of various devotees and priests how he might make atonement; and at last he was directed to drive iron spikes, sufficiently blunted, through his sandals; and in these spikes he was to place his naked feet, and walk about four hundred and eighty miles. If, through loss of blood, or weakness of body he was necessitated to halt, he was obliged to wait for healing and strength. He undertook his journey; and while he halted under a large shady tree, where the gospel was sometimes preached, one of the missionaries came and preached in his hearing from these words: "The blood of Jesus Christ cleanseth from all sin." While he was preaching, the man rose up, threw off his torturing sandals, and cried out aloud, This is what I want; and he became a living, witness of the truth of that passage of scripture which had such a happy effect upon his mind. See Baptist Annual Register

for 1792.