DOI Seite / Zitierlink:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.614#0121
83
came to nothing; for Divodas was a man of unspotted
purity and of the strictest integrity. At last, Ganes hit
upon a scheme, which was singularly cunning and suc-
cessful. In the character of a great Guru or teacher, he
appeared, one day, at the door of the Eaja's palace, and
solicited an audience with him. This the Eaja granted,
and, in course of conversation, was so much pleased with
the intelligence, learning, and sanctity of his new
acquaintance, that he wished to sit at his feet, as his
disciple. With this request Ganes refused to comply;
hut, taking advantage of the Eaja's good opinion of him,
he induced him to consent to follow out whatever in-
structions should be communicated to him in a dream.
These instructions simply were, that he should quit
Benares. Feeling bound to fulfil his promise, he aban-
doned the government, abdicated the throne, and retired
from the place, and was, thereupon, conveyed, by S'iva
himself, to the Kailas mountain. On his departure, the
gods reentered the city, and Siva became their supreme
ruler and the head of the city. These are reported to be
the old deities of Benares; and to them pilgrimages are
made. The myriad deities which have been introduced,
at various times, into the city, since this imaginary emi-
gration of the gods, must, therefore, be looked upon in
the light of interlopers.
In endeavouring to extract a few grains of truth out
of this strange mythological story, we are led to suppose
that there was a time when Benares was not imbued
with Hinduism as it is now. This Eaja Divodas, who, no
doubt, was a real personage, may be conceived to have
resisted the encroachments of Hinduism, on its first
came to nothing; for Divodas was a man of unspotted
purity and of the strictest integrity. At last, Ganes hit
upon a scheme, which was singularly cunning and suc-
cessful. In the character of a great Guru or teacher, he
appeared, one day, at the door of the Eaja's palace, and
solicited an audience with him. This the Eaja granted,
and, in course of conversation, was so much pleased with
the intelligence, learning, and sanctity of his new
acquaintance, that he wished to sit at his feet, as his
disciple. With this request Ganes refused to comply;
hut, taking advantage of the Eaja's good opinion of him,
he induced him to consent to follow out whatever in-
structions should be communicated to him in a dream.
These instructions simply were, that he should quit
Benares. Feeling bound to fulfil his promise, he aban-
doned the government, abdicated the throne, and retired
from the place, and was, thereupon, conveyed, by S'iva
himself, to the Kailas mountain. On his departure, the
gods reentered the city, and Siva became their supreme
ruler and the head of the city. These are reported to be
the old deities of Benares; and to them pilgrimages are
made. The myriad deities which have been introduced,
at various times, into the city, since this imaginary emi-
gration of the gods, must, therefore, be looked upon in
the light of interlopers.
In endeavouring to extract a few grains of truth out
of this strange mythological story, we are led to suppose
that there was a time when Benares was not imbued
with Hinduism as it is now. This Eaja Divodas, who, no
doubt, was a real personage, may be conceived to have
resisted the encroachments of Hinduism, on its first