A BIETHPLACE OF CHOLEEA.

Southland Times, Issue 613, 2 January 1867, Page 3

A BIETHPLACE OF CHOLEEA.

(From the Times.) The town of Pundhurpoor, which is 119 miles from Poona, and is on the right bank of the Bheema (or Chundrabhaga) river, has the distinction of being the dwelling-place of the idol Vitoba, believed by Hindoos to be an incarnation of Yishnoo that appeared at that place. This idol is the chief object of worship among the Murathas, and pilgrims come from far to see it. The worship is considered to be of more than usual virtue in two seasons of the year, which fall in July and October, and last from the Ilth day of the waxing to the Ilth day of the waning moon. At these times from 50,000 to 100,000 pilgrims are added to the 14,000 residents in Pundhurpoor. Dr Leith, president of the Bombay Sanitary Commission, who inspected the place last year, states that the temple of Yitoba, comprises three antechambers and the idol chamber, the last being Bft., by Bft in size, with a domed roof 30 ft high_ under which stands the stone image of the idol. The pilgrims, entering the second ante-chamber, find there one or more of the Budwaee Brahmins, who inherit the revenue of the temple, and who in allowing entrance to it give a preference to those whose offerings are most worthy, keeping out others by the free use of (the toba, or knotted handkerchief. Before entering the temple the pilgrims are crowded into a narrow court, where the total free area is only about 449 square yards. Here they have to stand or sit packed close together for many hours, and the poor and feeble, who are unable to force their way, may remain from morning to night fasting from obligation, or having eaten, earthnuts only, thirsty, heated, and fatigued by the struggle, and breathing an atmosphere polluted by the crowd, and by the filthiness naturally resulting from the long confinement of so many people unable to retire when requiring to do so. About twenty are allowed to enter the temple to do obeciance each time the Budwa inside opens the doors. The crushing is so great that there is not room to move one's arms, and the air is suffocating. The clothes are wet with perspiration, and by the time the idol chamber is reached the devotees are bewildered and nearly unconscious, and so dazzled by the light there, after the darkness they have been in, that they can scarcely understand the instructions of the poojaree to present their offering. The inner walls become damp with the moisture exhaled by the crowd, and the idol also becomes wet, and the priest then says the god is fatigued. After passing through the temple the exhausted pilgrim returns, if he be rich enough, to a crowded lodging in the town, or to a tent, and if he then be poor he lies down without other shelter than his blanket or sheet in the damp air of the uncovered portion of the river bed, having drunk of its water that has been recklessly polluted and defiled by man and beast. On the 15th day of the two sacred seasons it is the custom lor the pilgrims to visit the neighboring temple of Kula Goval. This visit is attended with great licence and revelry, and the concourse of people is immense. Caste is ignored, and all join in the sports the god is said to have enjoyed in i his youth, and after dancing together under the suspended pot of curds, and smearing themselves and each other with the contents of the pot when it is broken, they all sup of it together. The revenue of the temple of Vitoba is not exactly known, but it is estimated that 60,000 rupees are collected by the Budwaee ; the Government payment is rather more than 3000 rupees, and is given to a commmittee, who spend it for the temple according to their discretion. It has for many years been noticed that cholera frequently appears with virulence at the Pundhurpoor pilgrimage, and that it iB subsequently spread over the country by the returning survivors *of the pil-

grims. The seeds of the disease could scarcely find more favorable circumstances for their rapid development. The lanes and alleys of Pundhurpoor are abused to such purposes as to be nearly impassable to a stranger in the morning, until the multitudes of pigs have done their work as scavengers. Dr Leith's visit was made with a view to preventing the gathering of the pilgrims from being so dangerous to life, and he has recommended various improvements intended to provide for the better ventilation of the temple, secure dry encamping ground for the pilgrims, provide clean drinking water and good drainage, rid the streets of nuisances, and prevent overcrowding in the house. The pilgrimage ought not to be encouraged, but it cannot be suppressed, and humanity and the common welfare require that its mischiefs and dangers be by all leoitimate and practicable means abated.