Hindu Manners, Customs and Ceremonies - DUBOIS, Abbé Hindu Manners, Customs and Ceremonies, Dubois | 页面 687

FORMER PRACTICES NOW ABOLISHED
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blood was spilt. The victims were beheaded, and their
heads were then hung up as trophies before the bloodthirsty
Sometimes the sacrificers contented themselves
deity.
with cutting off the nose and ears of a prisoner, a very
common form of punishment in India, and then sent him
away thus mutilated. A little pagoda still exists, perched
on the mountain at the foot of which lies the town of
Mysore, not far from Seringapatam, which enjoyed a wide
notoriety owing to the number of executions which took
place there when heathen princes still ruled the country.
Old men have told me that this horrible custom was still
There was nothing in it,
practised when they were young.
according to their views, contrary to law or to the rights of
the people as understood by the then reigning princes. It
was based on the principle that reprisals were fair and legi-
and it was accepted by the people without
timate in war
any feelings of horror. In fact, the old men spoke of it with
the utmost indifference, as if it were the most natural thing
However, the advent of Mahomedans and
in the world.
Europeans, and the just indignation manifested by both
at these abominable sacrifices, at last resulted in their
But if the general opinion is to be believed, there
abolition.
are still several small independent princes who, if they had
their own way, would still sanction these horrible massacres.
It is, I fear, indisputable that human sacrifices have been
offered, both in ancient and modern times, on the altars of
Hindu divinities. If any additional proof be needed it may
be found in the Kali-purana. Abominable rites of this kind
The ceremonies which should
are there expressly enjoined.
;
accompany them
are described in the minutest detail, as
The same book contains
also the results which will ensue.
rules of procedure in sacrificing animals, and mentions the
kinds and qualities of those which are suitable as victims.
these bloody
Lastly, it specifies those deities to
whom
offerings are acceptable.
Nandi, and, above
Among them are Bahirava, Yama,
the bloodthirsty goddess Kali.
regarded as the exclusive
right of princes, and they are even enjoined to offer them.
Neither a Brahmin nor a Kshatriya may ever be sacrificed.
Every human victim must be free from all bodily blemish,
and must not have been guilty of any serious crime. All
To
offer
human
all,
sacrifices is