Hindu Manners, Customs and Ceremonies - DUBOIS, Abbé Hindu Manners, Customs and Ceremonies, Dubois | Page 510

A HIRSUTE RELIC
470
however
!
The penitent made not the
of the head, nor relaxed for one
gravity of his demeanour.
slightest
moment
movement
the imperturbable
The prince was just about to leave the cave, when
Appaji addressed him as follows
Great king, having
come so far to visit this grand personage, who will hence-
:
become an object
forth
—
'
of public veneration,
you must
not depart without having received his blessing, or at any
rate some gift which will bring you happiness for the rest
Absorbed in meditation, and insensible to
of your days.
the material objects which surround him, this penitent
cannot break his silence nevertheless you should try to
obtain something from him, be it only one of the hairs
of his body.'
The king took the advice of his minister,
and, approaching the sannyasi, he tore out with extreme
care one of the hairs of his chest, put it to his lips, kissed
it devoutly, and then, showing it to the spectators, he
I will preserve this all my life.
cried
I will cause it
to be enclosed in a golden locket, which shall always hang
about my neck and be the most precious of all my orna-
ments, thoroughly convinced as I am that so noble a relic
will prove to be a talisman against all the untoward acci-
dents of life.'
The ministers and courtiers, in imitation of their master
and wishing to participate in the same blessings, surrounded
the poor penitent, and each one of them tore a hair from
his chest, promising at the same time to preserve it as
carefully as the king had done and to honour it as a holy
relic.
Moreover, the escort of the prince and the huge
multitude which had accompanied him, learning what the
king and his courtiers had done, were determined to follow
so good an example
and in a very short time the supposed
sannyasi found himself deprived of every hair he possessed,
from his feet to his head for the more devout amongst
the multitude did not content themselves with a single
one of his hairs, but pulled them out by the handful. The
poor Kuruba bore this horrible torture without the slightest
complaint or the smallest change of posture, and without
;
'
:
;
;
even raising
his eyes.
On his return to his palace the king hastened to inform
his women of the wonderful person whom he had visited,