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gods, in the manner that the body is the habitation of the soul. They are, therefore, more than mere representations of the gods, whose likenesses they bear. They are very gods, in the estimation of the worshiper. He addresses to them prayers and supplications, and he presents to them oblations of food and offerings of money. The shapes and attitudes, in which these gods and goddesses are presented to the view of the beholder, are often the most unseemly and abhorrent, which the depraved and corrupted mind of man can invent. Of the ten reputed incarnations of Vishnu, one is half-man and half-fish ;-a second is halfman and half-tortoise;-a third is half-man and half-lion;-and a fourth is the human body with the head of a boar. And this gentleman is engaged in the very reverent perusal of the Scriptures. The accompanying engraving represents Shiva and his wife Parwati united in one person. The right half is the god, and the left half is the goddess. The snakes which constitute his

arm and wristlets, and that which protrudes its head over his shoulder, represent this god as a religious devotee in the act of doing penance. His hands hold a trident, and a drum to be sounded by the destroying angel. The colar of heads is also descriptive of Shiva's character. He is the destroyer. This colar terminates at half its length, where commences the colar of Párwatí. She holds in her hands a cord, with which to bind victims, and a sword, or sacrificial knife. Shiva wears a tiger's skin about the loins, the usual appendage of a devotee of the order to which he belonged. The bull and the tiger are the steeds of Shiva and Parwati. The bull is always found in the temples of this god. The river Gangá, or Ganges, which issues from the head of Shiva, and the moon upon his forehead, will subsequently come into view.

India is full of the abominations of idolatry. Every town, and village, and hamlet, has its guardian divinity in the shape of some huge stone man, or beast, or creeping

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thing. Every family has an assortment of these images, varying with its taste, means of purchase, and measure of devotion; and to these all the members of the family bow down in daily adoration, praise, and prayer. The duties of family worship cannot be performed by proxy. Each man, and woman, and child, must worship for himself and for herself. This service is brief. It consists in standing before the image, and then carrying the two hands united by the palms gently to the forehead, and inclining the head towards the image, repeating, at the same time, some words of prayer, and praise. Sometimes the worshiper prostrates himself upon the ground, and lays his head at the feet of the god. There are other parts of image worship, which are usually performed by a priest, employed for this purpose. These consist chiefly of the duties, in behalf of his godship, of the bathroom, the wardrobe, and the pantry. The gods of stone and brass must be washed, clad, and fed. In private dwellings the

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