DOI Seite / Zitierlink:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.611#0078
54 CHAPTER III.
and Minarets of Aurangzeb, It is certainly a wonderful
picture, and may well fascinate all who have the slightest
appreciation of the artistic and the picturesque.
The mosque was built on the site of a temple demo-
lished by the devout and gentle Aurangzeb. What a
cruel irony to have put it here right in the very heart
of Hindu sacred shrines, and the irony is increased by
the fact that the mosque is generally known by the name
of a Hindu, namely " Madho Das ka Daurha." Madho
Das is a purely Hindu name, borne apparently by the
architect who carried out the wishes of the Mahommedan
Emperor.
Below the mosque, but high above the river is a
peculiar stone cone, a " Diwat," or lamp-stand, on the
numerous spikes of which little lamps are fixed at a
special Hindu festival.
Quite close ro this is a small covered platform, con-
taining another " Paduka," the footprints of Ramanand,
who may be called the father of many of the great Hindu
Reformers. A slight sketch of his life is given in Chap-
ter IX.
Some quaint temples are to be found near to the
steps leading into the mosque enclosure. In one of them
a female devotee tends the idol, this is very unusual.
On a piece of open ground near by, a member of the
Sadhu tribe makes his quarters. At times he may be
found reading his religious books gracefully reclining
on his bed of spikes. He may not represent Hinduism
at its worst, neither is he a specimen of its best. His
vigils and austerities do not appear to have greatly told
upon his health. It is to be feared that his poverty stands
in the way of his having his spikes properly attended to,
they sadly need sharpening up. A woman Sadhu dwells
at the same place, and occasionally affects the spiked
bed, when it is disengaged, which it often is.
and Minarets of Aurangzeb, It is certainly a wonderful
picture, and may well fascinate all who have the slightest
appreciation of the artistic and the picturesque.
The mosque was built on the site of a temple demo-
lished by the devout and gentle Aurangzeb. What a
cruel irony to have put it here right in the very heart
of Hindu sacred shrines, and the irony is increased by
the fact that the mosque is generally known by the name
of a Hindu, namely " Madho Das ka Daurha." Madho
Das is a purely Hindu name, borne apparently by the
architect who carried out the wishes of the Mahommedan
Emperor.
Below the mosque, but high above the river is a
peculiar stone cone, a " Diwat," or lamp-stand, on the
numerous spikes of which little lamps are fixed at a
special Hindu festival.
Quite close ro this is a small covered platform, con-
taining another " Paduka," the footprints of Ramanand,
who may be called the father of many of the great Hindu
Reformers. A slight sketch of his life is given in Chap-
ter IX.
Some quaint temples are to be found near to the
steps leading into the mosque enclosure. In one of them
a female devotee tends the idol, this is very unusual.
On a piece of open ground near by, a member of the
Sadhu tribe makes his quarters. At times he may be
found reading his religious books gracefully reclining
on his bed of spikes. He may not represent Hinduism
at its worst, neither is he a specimen of its best. His
vigils and austerities do not appear to have greatly told
upon his health. It is to be feared that his poverty stands
in the way of his having his spikes properly attended to,
they sadly need sharpening up. A woman Sadhu dwells
at the same place, and occasionally affects the spiked
bed, when it is disengaged, which it often is.