Hindu Manners, Customs and Ceremonies - DUBOIS, Abbé Hindu Manners, Customs and Ceremonies, Dubois | Page 591

TEMPLES DEDICATED TO THE ELEMENTS
551
the barren and scorched fields on its banks and spreads
freshness and fertility far and wide which generally takes
place in the middle of July the inhabitants of that part
of the Peninsula crowd to its banks, many of them coming
from a great distance, in order to congratulate the lady.Jthe
water) on her arrival and to offer her sacrifices of all sorts,
such as pieces of money, which they throw to her that she
may have something to defray her expenses pieces of
linen to clothe herself
jewels to adorn herself
rice, cakes,
fruits, and other eatables, lest she should suffer from
hunger household utensils such as baskets, earthen vessels,
&c, in order that she may conveniently cook and store her
provisions and have everything which may procure her an
easy subsistence.
The homage which the Brahmins in the sandhya cere-
monies pay to the water contained in the copper vessel, the
frequent performance of achamania x or purification by
water, and many other similar acts, attest the reality of
the special worship which they pay to water. Hence no
doubt arises the great veneration which they have for
Vishnu, who represents this element in the Trimurti a
veneration far superior to that which they show to Siva,
the representative of fire.
As far as one can see, in ancient times the elements had
temples specially dedicated to their worship but I confess
that I have not been able to discover any vestiges of such
buildings still remaining.
Nevertheless, if we may believe
the evidence of a Brahmin who was consulted on the
subject by Abraham Rogers, there was, when this traveller
visited India, in a district not far from the Coromandel
Coast, a temple dedicated to the five elements.
Be this as
—
—
;
;
;
;
;
;
may, however, one may not unfrequently see upon the
door or in the interior of the temples existing at the present
day the symbols of these elements represented either by
five lingams arranged in a line, or by only three which are
symbols of the material Trimurti earth, water, and fire.
It may be remarked, perhaps, that the Hindus are not
the only ancient nation which has adored the elements
without attaching to the worship the idea of the divinities
it
—
1
Described in the chapter on sandhya.