196 SACRED OBJECTS IN NATURE
always happens that in the midst of this frightful confusion several are drowned or suffocated, and many come
out with broken or dislocated limbs \ Happy are those accounted who lose their lives on such an occasion! Their
fate is more to be envied than lamented; for these victims of religious ardour go straight to the realms of bliss.
The time of an eclipse is also considered a particularly opportune moment for purifying oneself from sin. Bathing
at that time, wherever it may be possible, but especially in the sea, possesses the merit of cleansing the soul from all defilements. To bathe during the solstices or equinoxes, at the time of a new or of a full moon, or on the eleventh day of the moon, is also considered efficacious. The mouth of a river, the point where it joins another, or where in its windings its course runs from east to west, are also peculiarly propitious.
To read the Puranas and other sacred writings, to make pilgrimages to certain temples and holy places called jmnyasthala, to climb to the top of certain very high mountains, and even simply to gaze at them: all these procure the forgiveness of sins. There is one of these holy mountains in the Carnatic, in the district of Coimbatore. It is called Nilagiri-malai, and is believed to be the highest in the province 2. For this reason alone the Hindus have made it a punyasthala, or place of virtue, their custom being to deify everything extraordinary in nature. As it is very difficult to reach the top of this mountain, a view of the summit alone( and it is visible a long way off) is considered
sufficient to remove the burden of sin from the conscience of any person who looks at it; provided that he looks at it with that intention.
In connecting religious sentiment with everything which has any distinctive peculiarity or grandeur, they have not
forgotten to include the magnificent waterfalls which surprise and charm the eye. Thus the Cauvery Falls, and
1
This is the Maha-mahham festival. A benevolent Government now takes the precaution of reducing the depth of the water to a few inches, to prevent such disasters. At the celebration of the festival in 1897, 500,000 people were present. Ed. a
The Nilgiris, or Blue Mountains— now a sanatorium, the summer headquarters of the Madras Government. Ed.