CHAP. I - OF THE TEMPLES

Summary

The Hindoo temples in Bengal, though different in shape, are nearly of the same description of architecture: they are very inferior, it is true, to the sacred edifices in Europe; but some of these buildings are in a better style than might have been expected from a people so little advanced in the arts.

SECT. I.—Of different Kinds of Temples.

The Mŭndirŭ, dedicated to the lingŭ, is a double-roofed Gothic building, the body square, but the upper part short and tapering to a point. It contains one, two, three, or more rooms, about three cubits by four, with a porch in front for spectators. The centre room contains the lingŭ; in the others are placed the utensils for worship, the offerings, &c.—Small square temples for the lingŭ, with flat roofs, are erected in rows facing the houses of rich men, or before a college, a consecrated pool of water, another temple, or a flight of steps descending into the river. Similar temples in honour of Gŭnéshŭ are to be seen in some places. Very small temples like the Mŭndirŭ, only three or five cubits high, and containing a lingŭ about a foot in height, have been erected at Benares.

The Déoolŭ temples, sacred to Jŭgŭnnat'hŭ, rise from the foundation in a gradual slope like a sugar loaf, with an iron image of Gŭroorŭ on the pinnacle.