DOI Seite / Zitierlink:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.635#0198
SACRED WELLS 185
Not far from the temple of Bhaironath is the Well
of Fate—Kal-kup—in which a square hole is arranged
over the trellis-work surrounding the well, so that at
noon the sun's rays strike on the water below. He
who looks down in the well at this hour and cannot
see his own shadow in the water is a doomed man, for
he will surely die within six months, unless he can
persuade Maha-kal, "Great Fate", or Shiva, whose
temple adjoins the well, to intervene with Yama, the
god of death, on his behalf. The clocks of Benares
are set by Madras time, which is some minutes behind
the true local time, so the well is likely to be a source
of much anxiety to ignorant pilgrims, and correspond-
ing profit to the proprietors of the temple.
Another interesting well is the Nag-kuan, in which
a great snake is said to reside. Indian folk-lore is full
of legends of the snake-king and the snake-people—
powerful sorcerers who could assume human shape at
will—who lived below the water in palaces glittering
with gold and jewels. The Nag-raja who lives in this
well is propitiated by offerings of milk. Once a year,
in the month of Sawan, a pilgrimage is made to the
well, and Nag-puja, or worship of the snake-god, is
performed by crowds of pilgrims. The well is ap-
proached by four flights of steep stone steps. In a
niche placed in the wall over one of the sides is a
shrine of the snake-god. The steps leading to the
well were constructed or put in order about 150 years
ago, but the well itself is doubtless of great antiquity.
Not far from the temple of Bhaironath is the Well
of Fate—Kal-kup—in which a square hole is arranged
over the trellis-work surrounding the well, so that at
noon the sun's rays strike on the water below. He
who looks down in the well at this hour and cannot
see his own shadow in the water is a doomed man, for
he will surely die within six months, unless he can
persuade Maha-kal, "Great Fate", or Shiva, whose
temple adjoins the well, to intervene with Yama, the
god of death, on his behalf. The clocks of Benares
are set by Madras time, which is some minutes behind
the true local time, so the well is likely to be a source
of much anxiety to ignorant pilgrims, and correspond-
ing profit to the proprietors of the temple.
Another interesting well is the Nag-kuan, in which
a great snake is said to reside. Indian folk-lore is full
of legends of the snake-king and the snake-people—
powerful sorcerers who could assume human shape at
will—who lived below the water in palaces glittering
with gold and jewels. The Nag-raja who lives in this
well is propitiated by offerings of milk. Once a year,
in the month of Sawan, a pilgrimage is made to the
well, and Nag-puja, or worship of the snake-god, is
performed by crowds of pilgrims. The well is ap-
proached by four flights of steep stone steps. In a
niche placed in the wall over one of the sides is a
shrine of the snake-god. The steps leading to the
well were constructed or put in order about 150 years
ago, but the well itself is doubtless of great antiquity.