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Lean Sigma
A PRACTITIONER’S GUIDE
SECOND EDITION
This page intentionally left blank
Lean Sigma
A PRACTITIONER’S GUIDE
SECOND EDITION
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designations have been printed with initial capital letters or in all capitals.
The author and publisher have taken care in the preparation of this book, but make no expressed or implied
warranty of any kind and assume no responsibility for errors or omissions. No liability is assumed for incidental
or consequential damages in connection with or arising out of the use of the information or programs contained
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Wedgwood, Ian, author.
Title: Lean Sigma : a practitioner’s guide / Ian D. Wedgwood, Ph.D.
Other titles: Lean Sigma (2007)
Description: Second edition. | Boston : Prentice Hall, 2016. | Includes
bibliographical references and index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2015046788 | ISBN 9780133991031 (hardcover : alk. paper)
Subjects: LCSH: Project management. | Six sigma (Quality control standard) |
Total quality management. | Leadership. | Organizational effectiveness.
Classification: LCC HD69.P75 W44 2016 | DDC 658.4/013—dc23
LC record available at http://lccn.loc.gov/2015046788
Copyright © 2016 Pearson Education, Inc.
All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America. This publication is protected by copyright, and per-
mission must be obtained from the publisher prior to any prohibited reproduction, storage in a retrieval system,
or transmission in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or likewise. For
information regarding permissions, request forms and the appropriate contacts within the Pearson Education
Global Rights & Permissions Department, please visit www.pearsoned.com/permissions/.
ISBN-13: 978-0-13-399103-1
ISBN-10: 0-13-399103-2
Text printed in the United States on recycled paper at RR Donnelley in Crawfordsville, Indiana.
First printing, March 2016
THIS BOOK IS DEDICATED TO MY WONDERFUL WIFE , VERONICA , FOR RELENTLESSLY
URGING ME TO WRITE THIS BOOK , BUT ALSO
FOR HER TIRELESS PATIENCE AND SUPPORT WHEN I FINALLY DID.
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Contents
Preface xiii
Acknowledgments xvii
About the Author xix
Chapter 1 Introduction 1
Overview 1
Intended Audience 2
Prerequisites 2
Basics 3
How to Use This Book 9
And Finally . . . 12
vii
CONTENTS
viii
CONTENTS
ix
CONTENTS
x
CONTENTS
Index 541
xi
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Preface
There is absolutely no doubt that Lean and Six Sigma as process improvement method-
ologies deliver results, as proven consistently, countless times, over literally thousands
of projects across hundreds of businesses. What is inconsistent, however, is the efficiency
with which the Project Leaders (Belts) and Teams reach the delivered solution, and
sometimes the effectiveness of the solution itself. Typically, this is considered to be the
territory of the Consultant or Master Black Belt (MBB), whose role it is to guide the steps
of the Black Belt or Green Belt through the available tools depending on the problem.
Therefore, the best guide requires
• Deep enough experience of how to tackle a specific problem to reach the solution
with an efficient approach (as a Belt, I want to know exactly what path to follow in my
project)
• Broad enough experience to do this across multiple different types of problems that
might be addressed in a business (as a Program Leader, I need my MBB to know
what path to follow for all projects and to guide my Belts accordingly)
• Technical skills to be able to guide the Belts in specific tool use (as a Belt, I want to
know the practical steps involved in applying each tool)
Interestingly, this expands the common perception of the role of a Master Black Belt
as a technical resource and measures that individual in addition by the efficiency and
effectiveness of projects he or she oversees (i.e., the rate of generation of business value
from those projects).
xiii
PREFACE
Surprisingly (and fortunately), when asked the route to solution for a particular type
of problem, the experienced guides give remarkably consistent answers—it seems that
if you have a specific problem type, you should follow a specific route to solution. The
intent of this book, therefore, is to capture those experiences and for multiple given
project types to lay down the appropriate routes to solution.
Audiences who will find this book valuable are
• Process Improvement Project Leaders (Green Belts and Black Belts), across all
industries—Leading projects to improve processes using tools and methodologies
that come under the Lean or Six Sigma banners
• Project Champions or Sponsors—Wondering what questions to ask of their Project
Leaders and what they should see in terms of activity, as well as seeking to improve
their project selection and scoping skills
• Technical Mentors (Master Black Belts)—Looking to improve their project and
tools-mentoring skills, and to better select and scope projects
• Deployment Leaders—Seeking to better select and scope projects to improve the
return on investment of the program
• Consultants—Brushing up on skills as both a Technical Mentor and Deployment Lead
The book is a little unusual in that it is designed to be a practical tool, used day to
day by readers to guide them through how to solve as many different types of business
problems as possible using the Lean Sigma methodologies and tools. It is not meant to be
a technical reference to take the place of the statistical tomes that are readily available. By
analogy, this is how to drive the car, not how the car works.
The book is also unusual in that it is not designed to be read linearly from cover to
cover, mainly due to the following few simple issues:
The book's structure is in a form that best helps the reader start with the problem in
hand and quickly progress to the solution. To that end, following an introduction to the
topic (Chapter 1), the book has three main parts:
• Part I (Chapters 2–5): Generalized roadmaps that describe the sequence of thought
for the major types of Lean Sigma projects, from the commencement of the project
xiv
PREFACE
to completion. The text lists which tools to use, in which order, and why. To under-
stand the application of a particular tool in more detail, the reader should refer to
Part III.
• Part II (Chapters 6–7): A wide range of focused roadmaps used within Lean Sigma
projects that describe the route to detailed deconstruction and characterization of
the specific business problems found. The text lists which tools to use, in which
order, and why. To understand the application of a particular tool in more detail,
the reader should refer to Part III.
• Part III (Chapter 8): Individual tool roadmaps explaining in detail how to use
each tool.
Throughout this book, I explain which tool to use and why it is used, so that Belts move
from blind tool use to truly thinking about what they do and focusing on the end goal
of improving the process. Processes and their respective problems are real-world phenom-
ena, requiring practical actions and change. The best Belts I’ve found are the most prac-
tical thinkers, not theorists, because any tool, even based on the cleverest theory, is only
as good as the practical business solution it provides.
Register your copy of Lean Sigma: A Practitioner's Guide at informit.com for con-
venient access to downloads, updates, and corrections as they become available. To
start the registration process, go to informit.com/register and log in or create an
account. Enter the product ISBN (9780133991031) and click Submit. Once the process
is complete, you will find any available bonus content under “Registered Products.”
xv
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Acknowledgments
I’d like to acknowledge the host of leaders, across dozens of clients, from whom I’ve had the
good fortune to learn over the years and who helped shape the understanding shared in this
book: in particular, Sam Lampugnani, Russell Schwartz, and Dr. John Nimmo at SunChemical;
Dr. Al Landers, formerly at Huber Engineered Woods; Paul Fantelli, formerly at Lincoln Electric;
Antonio Rodriguez at Celanese; John Murphy at CSX; Dave Petratis, formerly at Quanex; George
Rommal, formerly at Air Products; Jim Bickel and Doug Sabotin at Columbus Regional Health;
Bob Siegmann at Centerstone Behavioral Health; Kathy Rose at Floyd Memorial Health; Brian
Daeger and Trish Hunter at Margaret Mary Health; Dr. Tim Phillippe at Christian Homes;
Miguel de la Rosa at Genermasa; and Eric Thompson at Wyndham Worldwide.
I also want to recognize the multitude of great minds such as Dr. Stephen Zinkgraf
and Dr. David Bacon for developing and progressing the Lean Sigma body of knowledge
from its early beginnings to the level of sophistication found today. Included in this
multitude are the experts in what were considered adjacent fields until fairly recently,
such as Dr. Ed Barrows in the field of strategy development and execution and Dr. Russ
Osmond in the field of human interaction.
Sincere thanks to Bernard Goodwin, Chris Guzikowski, Michelle Housley,
Kesel Wilson, and the team at Prentice Hall, and especially to Barbara Wood for
a truly incredible copyediting job.
As always, I just don’t have enough words to express my appreciation to my wife,
Veronica, my sons, Christian and Sean, and my parents, who encourage and support
me in everything I do.
The most important acknowledgment of all has to be to the host of Belts and Project
Leaders across hundreds of companies in multiple industries, without whom all of this
would be theory—to you we are all truly indebted.
xvii
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About the Author
Ian Wedgwood, Ph.D., President and CEO of Haelan Group, has more than two
decades of experience guiding organizations through change. He has led and facilitated
dozens of Lean Sigma deployments in industries as diverse as healthcare, electronics,
engineered materials, chemicals, banking, and hospitality, and has trained and mentored
numerous executives, Champions, and Belts.
Prior to his consulting career, Ian worked for the global engineering group Invensys PLC
facilitating major initiatives. One such initiative, building a new 180,000-square-foot
manufacturing facility in Tijuana, Mexico, brought Ian to the United States, where he
still lives with his wife, Veronica, and sons, Christian and Sean. Ian also led Invensys’s
highly successful Lean Design for Six Sigma deployment. Some 380+ Design Belts
within a single division yielded a 65 times return in less than two years.
Ian holds a Ph.D. and a First-Class Honors degree in applied mathematics from
Scotland’s St. Andrew’s University. In addition to his consulting work, Ian serves on the
faculty of the Jones Graduate School of Business at Rice University.
He also authored Lean Sigma: Rebuilding Capability in Healthcare, which is shaping
how healthcare leaders think about Lean Sigma and its application to this industry
in need.
xix
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Introduction
1
OVERVIEW
The motivation for writing this book was a disappointing realization over many years
of training and mentoring Project Leaders that there are plenty of technical texts explain-
ing the painful underlying statistics in Six Sigma and Lean Sigma, but there are hardly
any books explaining what to do from a practical standpoint. There are proliferations of
books explaining at a high level the overall concept of a project, but next to none that take
the Project Leader through a project, step by step. There are a multitude of books explain-
ing just enough on project tools to suck the reader into buying consulting time from the
author to apply them, but none that leave the reader in a position of practical self-sufficiency.
Most unfortunately of all, there are a whole host of books written by theorists who have
never led a project to solve a business problem using the methodologies they espouse, but
very few ever written by those who have actually applied this stuff.
The aim here is to be different. The hope is that I have provided a book that can be used
practically day to day by Process Improvement Leaders (from any industry), Champions,
and Consultants to guide them through how to solve as many different types of business
problems as possible. It is certainly not meant to be a technical text to take the place of the
statistical tomes that are readily available—I’ll reference as many of those as I can along
the way. By analogy, this is how to drive the car, not how the car works. In a field as pas-
sionate as Lean Sigma, I’m sure there will be disagreement at times with the order of tools
used, so please remember that this is a guide—not the definitive solution.
I also hasten to add at this point that I don’t favor Lean over Six Sigma or vice versa. Let’s
face it—we need them both, and by the end of this book, I probably will have offended both
camps equally. The text is most certainly not for purists; it’s just about an approach that works.
1
CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION
INTENDED AUDIENCE
The primary audiences for this book are
• The host of Process Improvement Project Leaders (Green Belts and Black Belts), across
all industries, who are leading projects to improve processes by shortening Lead Times,
increasing capacity, improving yields and accuracy, reducing inventories, and so forth
using tools and methodologies that come under the Lean or Six Sigma banners
• Project Champions or Sponsors who are wondering what questions to ask of their
Project Leaders and what they should see in terms of activity, as well as those who
are seeking to improve their project selection and scoping skills
• Technical Mentors (Master Black Belts) who are looking to improve their project-
and tools-mentoring skills and to better select and scope projects
• Deployment Leaders who are seeking to better select and scope projects to improve
return on investment (ROI) of a program
• Consultants who are brushing up on skills as both a Technical Mentor and a
Deployment Lead
PREREQUISITES
This book specifically takes a project-based approach to process improvement. In order
to ensure a usable text, it is necessary to make some basic assumptions before leading
up to the project—in particular, the existence of the following:
1. The chapters on project identification and selection in Stephen A. Zinkgraf’s book Six Sigma—The First
90 Days will certainly help set the stage here (Prentice Hall, 2006, ISBN 0131687409). For healthcare
leaders, recommended reading is Chapter 2, “Structuring Change—Program Infrastructure,” in Lean
Sigma—Rebuilding Capability in Healthcare by Ian Wedgwood (Prentice Hall, 2015, ISBN 0133992004).
2
BASICS
These elements are absolutely necessary, but in this book I will not spend any more time
on them because the focus here will be on the problem-solving roadmap itself and the
tools therein.
Another significant assumption here is that the Project Leader will have gone through
some basic Lean Sigma or Six Sigma training to at least the Green Belt level. It is possible
to complete a project using just this text alone, but the intent is for this book to be a practical
support guide as opposed to a technical teaching guide. I will endeavor to reference key
technical texts throughout.
BASICS
In order to better understand the detailed methods of Lean Sigma process improvement,
it is important to first have a clear understanding of the basics involved. This begins with
simple clarifications of what a process is, how it is defined, and then how it is improved.
A PROCESS
The first thing to point out here is that Lean Sigma is a process improvement methodology,
not a function or an activity improvement methodology. This is a key distinction in
framing the project, and it is one that Champions frequently get wrong during project
identification, scoping, and selection.
A process is a sequence of activities with a definite beginning and end, including defined
deliverables. Also, a “something” travels through the sequence (typical examples include a
product, an order, a patient, or an invoice). Resources are used to accomplish the activities
along the way.
If you can’t see an obvious, single process in your project, you might have difficulty
applying process improvement to it. The start and end points need to be completely
agreed upon among the Belt, Champion, and Process Owner (if this is not the Champion).
Clearly, if this is not the case, there will be problems later when the end results don’t
match expectations.
2. The role of the Champion is clearly outlined in Chapter 8, “Defining the Six Sigma Infrastructure,”
in Stephen A. Zinkgraf’s book, Six Sigma—The First 90 Days.
3
CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION
ENTITIES
In the preceding definition of a process, there is a “something” that travels along it. For
want of a better name, I’ll refer to this as an entity. Clearly, this entity can be fundamentally
different from process to process, but there seem to be surprisingly few distinct types:
The trick is to be able to identify the Primary Entity as it flows through the process with
value being added to it (for example, a patient or perhaps the physical molecules of a
product). There will, of course, be secondary entities moving around the process, but
focus should be on identifying the primary.
Belts sometimes find this difficult when the entity changes form, splits, or replicates.
For instance, in healthcare (in the ubiquitous medication delivery process), orders are
typically entered into the electronic medical record (EMR) by the physician, and so the
Primary Entity is the electronic order. The order is then converted to a work order by
the system that can be accessed in the pharmacy. The work order is then fulfilled (meds
are picked from an inventory), and effectively the Primary Entity changes to the medi-
cation itself, which will be sent back to the point of request.
Similarly, in an industrial setting, we might see the Primary Entity change from
Customer need to sales order to production order to product.
DELIVERABLES
The last element of the definition of a process is the deliverables. This is often where
novice Belts make the biggest mistakes. Simply put, the deliverables are the minimum
set of physical entities and outcomes that a process has to yield in order to meet the
downstream Customers’ needs.
The single most common mistake Belts make in process improvement is to improve
a process based on what Customers say they want versus what they truly need (more
about this in the section “Customer Interviewing” in Chapter 8, “Tools”).
The deliverables need to be thoroughly understood and agreed upon in the early
stages of the project; otherwise later, during the analysis of exactly what in the process
affects performance, the Belt will have the wrong focus.
If your project doesn’t have a start, an end, deliverables, or a Primary Entity, it probably
isn’t a process and you will struggle to apply Lean Sigma to it. Table 1.1 gives examples
of good and poor projects across varying industries.
4
BASICS
3
Table 1.1 Examples of poor versus good projects
(continues)
3. Satisfaction is a useful metric, but it typically lags in the process and thus becomes difficult to deal with.
Also, it is inherently affected by many noises in the process. Try to understand what in the process
brings the satisfaction and perhaps target that in the project.
5
CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION
METHODOLOGIES4 5 6
Six Sigma and Lean are both business improvement methodologies—more specifically,
they are business process improvement methodologies. Their end goals are similar—better
process performance—but they focus on different elements of a process. Unfortunately,
both have been victims of bastardization (primarily out of ignorance of their merits) and
often have been positioned as competitors when, in fact, they are wholly complementary.
For the purpose of this practical approach to process improvement:
• Six Sigma is a systematic methodology to home in on the key factors that drive the
performance of a process, set them at the best levels, and hold them there for all time.
• Lean is a systematic methodology to reduce the complexity and streamline a process by
identifying and eliminating sources of waste in the process—waste that typically
causes a lack of flow.
In simple terms, Lean looks at what we shouldn’t be doing and aims to remove it; Six Sigma
looks at what we should be doing and aims to get it right the first time and every time, so the
process flows better and robustly delivers what it should, every time for all time.
6
BASICS
• Major phases
• Subphases or steps (the goals or the “what”)
• Tools (the “how” to achieve the “what”)
With this layered structure in place, the roadmap is goal-driven, depicts the critical-thinking
sequence involved, and is completely generic as it relates to process performance
improvement. The tools vary project by project, but these goals are consistent for all process
improvement projects. The Lean and Six Sigma tools (and any others interchangeably
for that matter) can be selected to meet the goals of any step.
This is done purposefully to ensure that the problem-solving approach isn’t just a list
of tools in some order. It has meaning inherent to its structure. This is a crucial point to
practitioners. Throughout this book, I’ll explain not only which tool to use, but also why
it is used, so that Belts move from blind tool use to truly thinking about what they are
doing and focusing on the end goal of improving the process.
The best Belts I’ve found were the most practical thinkers, not the theorists. This is a
practical roadmap, and the user should try to focus on the underlying principle of “I’ll
7. Haelan Group, LLC is a professional services firm specializing in Lean and Lean Sigma deployments.
For more information see www.haelangroup.com.
7
CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION
Pre-project Checklist
Shadowing
Initiate the Project
Project Charter
Meeting Effectiveness
Process Metrics
Determine the Project Goals
Project Charter
M
Data Collection Plans
MEASURE Develop & Evaluate
Measurement Systems
Data Validity
Measurement Systems Analysis
How is the process performed?
How well is the process performed? Measure Current
Process Metrics
Control Charts
Process Performance
Process Capability
Swimlane Maps
Develop the Concept Concept Selection
Simulation
I
Process & Role Definition
IMPROVE Develop the Detailed Design Standard Work & Documentation
Workplace Layout
What should the new process be Staffing & Skills
to perform the right way?
Implementation Planning
The newly performing process is in place Pilot New Process Communication & Education
Draft Control Plan
Process Validation
Control Plan
Finalize the Control System Mistake Proofing
C
Process Boards
CONTROL
Process Tracking
The performance is at the level it needs to be Verify Long-Term Performance Control Charts
The performance is stable and guaranteed Process Capability
Basic Statistics
8
HOW TO USE THIS BOOK
apply the minimum practical sequence of tools to understand enough about my process
to robustly make dramatic improvement for once and for all in my process.”
This book is structured into three main parts (shown graphically in Figure 1.2):
SPACER
Part I: Project Roadmaps
Chapter 6: Problems
with the process as
Identifiable Project a whole
Standardization Project (DMASC)
No Change Required
No Analytics Required Follow Roadmap in Chapter 3
Discovery Project
No Identified Project
Follow Roadmap in Chapter 5
Supporting detail for each Tool listed by Tool in alphabetical order in Chapter 8
9
CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION
10
HOW TO USE THIS BOOK
PROBLEM CATEGORIES
To use this book effectively, it will be necessary to identify the Problem Category based
on the process issue(s) at hand. This might seem awkward to novice Belts, but it is an
important skill to develop. Belts need to be able to step back from the process and see
11
CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION
the bigger picture before diving into the detail. Quite often, the inexperienced Champion
and Process Owner can be a hindrance at this point by pushing the Belt down a road
to a solution before truly understanding the underlying problem. The purpose of the
Define tools, for example, is to provide an understanding of what, from the Customer’s
perspective, the problem truly is and frame it in a measurable form. Only after the
Define tools have been applied can the Belt confidently say which Problem Category
he or she is dealing with.
AND FINALLY . . .
Processes and their respective problems are real-world phenomena, requiring practical
actions and change. Any tool, even based on the cleverest theory, is only as good as the
practical business solution it provides. To reiterate, this is about practical achievement
versus theory; thus, at any point in the project, it is important to be able to answer
The best Belts maintain this holistic viewpoint; the best Champions and Mentors keep
pushing the Belts for the holistic view.
It is probably worthwhile to point out that no project is easy, but I hope this guide
will bring a little clarity and confidence to those who have to navigate through it.
The only thing left to say at this point is “Good luck!” Even the best Belt needs
some of that, too.
12
I
Project Roadmaps to
Solve Business Problems
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Another Random Document on
Scribd Without Any Related Topics
BARRACKPORE.
We now cross the Hoogly to Barrackpore, called by the natives
Achánuck, corrupted from Charnock, the founder of Calcutta, who
lived here. In the park is the country-house of the Governor-General;
and the military cantonment affords accommodation to six
regiments of native infantry. There is nothing remarkable about the
Government House; it is a plain edifice of one story in height, with
lofty rooms; the aviary, the menagerie, the garden, and a pleasant
promenade, where the society of the station assemble, are the most
attractive features of the place. The regiments here, with the Artillery
at Dum-Dum (seven miles from Calcutta), and the troops in Fort
William, constitute the presidency division of the army, which is
commanded by a general officer, who resides at Barrackpore.
The Governor-General having come up the river in his yacht, the
Sona-makhī, towed by a steamer, is represented as quitting the
vessel to land at Barrackpore. The troops are drawn out awaiting his
arrival; the elephants are ready to convey him to the house; the aid-
de-camps are in attendance; and each of their horses is held by a
sāīs, or groom, who carries in his hand a chaurī, to keep flies from
the animal.
In the back-ground is a shutur-sawār, a man armed, and mounted
on a camel, for the purpose of carrying messages express. This
animal, of a much lighter description than the camel of burthen, can
trot exceedingly fast, and will go from sixty to eighty miles a day,
without distress: the pace is very rough, and the riders are not
considered long lived. The camel’s neck is ornamented with small
brass bells—a common appendage to couriers in many countries: it is
also adorned with blue beads, cowrie shells, and gaily-coloured cloth
and tassels: a small piece of wood is inserted in the animal’s nostrils,
to which is attached a thin cord, by which it is guided.
The Mausoleum in the Park, of the Corinthian order, to the left of
the Government House, was erected by Lord Minto, at his own cost,
to commemorate the names of the officers who fell at Java and the
Mauritius.
THE TRAVELLER’S PALM.
Some cows and a buffalo are beneath a pīpal tree in the park. On
the bank is the sarput, or sirkī, high jungle-grass that often rises to
the height of sixteen feet; the bloom waves gracefully, bending to the
wind, and elegantly recovers its position.
The next is the castor-oil plant (ricinus communis), much
cultivated in Bengal; the oil extracted from the seeds being used
medicinally, as well as for burning in lamps.
The tree with the broad and singular leaves is called the Traveller’s
Palm: if a knife is stuck into the stem a pure water gushes out. It
grows in the most sandy tracts where no water is to be found; hence
it is called the Traveller’s Palm. Dr. Wallich mentioned this
circumstance, and at the same time he struck his knife into the tree,
of which the one before you is a portrait.
The cart is the common hackerī of the country, and the natives
belonging to it are asleep beneath it; a chadda, or cloth, is drawn
over their heads to protect them from the musquitoes, and their
slippers are laid on one side.
The Muhammadan Fakīr, a religious mendicant, in front of the
group, is a picturesque personage; he wanders over the country, and
supports himself on alms.
PLASSEY.
The high walls of the Nawāb’s hunting-house at Plassey are now
before you, and we cannot but regard the spot with feelings of the
deepest interest, as it is the house in which Colonel, afterwards Lord
Clive rested for a short time during the engagement. The famous
battle of Plassey, which may be said to have decided the fate of India,
was fought on the 23rd June, 1757, on the plains of Plassey, about
thirty miles south of Moorshedabad; near the spot selected for the
Nawāb Sooraj-oo-Dowlah’s entrenched camp, the river at that period
made a remarkable bend, in shape like a horse-shoe. In a mango top,
or grove, a little more than a mile from the enemy, Colonel Clive had
taken up his position: the trees were planted in regular rows, as is
usual in the country, and all around the top was a bank of earth,
which afforded a good breast-work for the troops, and also a ditch
beyond. One detachment was stationed at Plassey House, which was
made use of by Colonel Clive during the conflict. About eight o’clock
A.M. the battle commenced; and at eleven, Colonel Clive held a
conference with his officers at the drum-head, when it was decided to
maintain the cannonade during the day, and at midnight to make an
attack on the Nawāb’s camp. The fate of Sooraj-oo-Dowlah was
sealed by his flight towards the capital, mounted on a fleet sawārī
camel, accompanied by about 2000 horsemen. By five o’clock the
English had taken possession of the whole intrenchment and camp,
with no other obstacle than was presented by the enormous mass of
baggage, stores, camp-equipage, and cattle, scattered around them.
The lofty stage of bamboos in the field is erected sufficiently high
to be a refuge from wild beasts; it is thatched, and the native farmer
places a servant there to keep watch, especially during the night, at
the time the corn is nearly ripe. When a buffalo, or wild hog, comes
into the field, the keeper takes a wisp of lighted straw in one hand,
and in the other a dried skin containing broken bricks, pots, &c.,
bound up on all sides; and in this manner he approaches the animal,
shaking his lighted straw and making a loud noise, on which it
immediately runs away. “The boar out of the wood doth waste it, and
the wild beast of the field doth devour it.” (Psalm lxxx. 13.) The wild
hogs and buffaloes make great havoc in the fields of the Hindūs.
Below the stage is a domestic buffalo and a group of Bengalī cows.
The buffalo is a very useful beast of burthen, yields a rich but strong
milk, which is generally made into ghī (clarified butter). This animal
has no hump—a fact not universally known by those who have not
visited India; on the contrary, the buffalo is generally supposed to
have the hump. Those sold under the denomination of buffalo
humps are from the common bull or cow of Hindostan.
THE ELEPHANT ESTABLISHMENT.
Not far distant from Plassey is the Company’s Fīl-khana, or
Elephant establishment, whence the animals are coming down to the
side of the river. One of the elephants in the distance is raising his
mahout, or driver, with his trunk, to enable him to gain his seat on
his neck: another is drinking, taking up the water with his proboscis
and pouring it into his own mouth; a third is lying in the river
enjoying the coolness, whilst his attendants are scrubbing and
cleaning him.
A group of natives, attendants on the elephants, are sitting round a
fire, baking the large cakes that form the repast of these animals,
added to a small dinner of half a pīpul-tree, or a hundred-weight of
grass! A mahout, or driver, is very fond of whispering to his elephant
some superstitious tale; which, if the animal does not understand, it
is amongst the few things this most wonderful of God’s creatures
does not comprehend.
THE WRECK.
The scene now opens on the right bank of the Ganges. We quitted
the Bhagruttī (a branch of the sacred river) at Sooty, and have now
entered upon the main stream, at a point where it is of amazing
breadth, the view of it only terminating with the horizon: the waves
roar, and roll, and foam like those at sea; whilst a tūfān (one of the
heavy storms of India) is blowing fiercely, accompanied by thunder,
lightning, heavy rain, and utter darkness. The impetuous stream,
rushing with the force of a torrent, undermines the banks of the
river, and tears up forest trees by their roots. A voyage at this time is
particularly dangerous; native vessels are swept along with amazing
velocity, and when a tūfān is encountered, like the one now blowing,
they are frequently wrecked.
Three dāndīs (native boatmen) have been swept by the violence of
the waves from the mast of their sinking vessel; they are striving to
regain their hold: the rest of the crew have sunk to rise no more.
These men are admirable swimmers; they may possibly be carried
along by the current and rescued on some turn of the river, unless
from the violence of the storm they are carried out into the middle of
the stream, and swept onwards, until, overcome by exhaustion, they
sink beneath the waves.
During some periods of the year, a voyage on the Ganges is
attended with great risk. The natives quote the Persian saying as a
consolation under misfortune, “‘What is the use of taking
precautions, since what has been ordained must happen.’ Truly saith
the proverb, ‘If the diver were to think of the jaws of the crocodile, he
would never gather precious pearls.’”
A TŪFĀN.
The Budjerow is taking in her sails; and the sahib, or gentleman on
board, is likely to go without his dinner, as his cook-boat, with her
torn sails, will most likely be unable to come alongside, and hand it
over to the servants.
A voyage up the Ganges may be performed in boats, as various in
shape as in size: a Pinnace is a first-class vessel; the next is a
Budjerow, which draws very little water, and is divided into two
commodious rooms, which may be furnished according to the taste
of the traveller: a complete establishment consists of a horse-boat, a
washerman’s-boat, and a cook-boat; in this country the cooking is
always performed in a separate vessel.
The dinghī, or wherry, now making for the land, is generally
manned by two rowers and a steersman: these boats are of slight
construction, with a circular awning of bamboo-work and matting,
under which a person can sit, and though in general well managed,
are by no means to be considered safe conveyances.
RAJMAHAL.
The ruins of the palace of Rajmahal are on the bank. During the
reign of Akbar, about 1591, Raja Maun Singh fixed upon this city as
the capital of Bengal, and changed its name to Raja-Mahul—the Raja
erected the palace, and surrounded the town with a rampart of brick
and other fortifications. In 1608, the seat of government was
removed hence to Dacca, by Islam Khan; but in 1639, the Sultan
Shah Shuja brought it back again, and strengthened the
fortifications, of which, however, few traces are now to be seen.
Prior to 1638 this town was the residence of the Sultan Shah Shuja,
the brother of Aurunzebe; but few vestiges of its ancient
magnificence now remain. The ruins of his palace are still standing,
but have been much injured by the encroachments of the Ganges.
Cows now ruminate quietly beneath the black marble arches that
overlook the river, or seek for shelter in its empty halls, which still
present images of their former grandeur. The marble floor of the
Mosque remains, and a fine old bāolī (a large well). Around
Rajmahal is a beautiful jangal of magnificent bamboos, fine clumps
interspersed with date-palm trees overshadowing the cottages,
around which are a number of small cows and fowls of a remarkably
good breed: every thing has an air of comfort, and the walks in all
directions are cool and pleasant. The steamers from Calcutta take in
their coal a mile below, and therefore do not destroy the beauty of
the old ruins with their smoke, and noise, and Birmingham
appearance. The Rajmahal hills are distant about five miles inland.
Sooraj-oo-Dowlah, after his flight from Plassey, reached Rajmahal,
and took shelter in the buildings of a deserted garden, where he was
discovered by a Fakīr named Dana Shah, whose nose and ears he
had ordered to be cut off thirteen months before. This man
recognized him, made the circumstance known, and the Nawāb was
carried a prisoner back to Moorshedabad, where he was murdered by
order of Meerun, the son of the new Nawāb Meer Jaffier Khan. His
mangled remains were placed on an elephant, exposed throughout
the city, and finally interred. Thus perished Sooraj-oo-Dowlah, in the
twentieth year of his age, and the fifteenth month of his reign; a
prince whose short career was connected in a most important
manner with the British interests in India, both for good and evil.
SĪCKRĪ-GALĪ.
A country vessel is being towed by her crew round a rocky point;
each man has his own gūn, or track-rope, fastened to a short, thick
piece of bamboo, which he carries over his shoulder. A Pinnace, or
budjerow, tracks, with ten or twelve men, upon one rope only.
The Sīckrī-galī pass, during the Hindū and Muhammadan
Governments, was the commanding entrance from Bahar into
Bengal, and was fortified with a strong wall; however, in 1742, a
Mahratta army of cavalry passed into Bengal through the hills above
Colgong. The village of Sīckrī-galī is eighteen miles above Rajmahal
at the base of a high rocky eminence, commanding a fine view of two
ranges of hills. There is here the tomb of a celebrated Muhammadan
Saint, Pīr Pointī, and a cave in limestone rock; and higher up, at a
place called Pīr Pointī, now a mass of ruins, is another tomb of the
saint.
This pass is close upon the Rajmahal hills, and the only European
inhabitant lives in the Bangla, commonly called Bungalow, the house
at the foot of the hill. Wild beasts sometimes come to this place at
night, and the footmarks of the tiger are often to be seen in the
garden. Jackals roam howling through the village; bears, tigers,
rhinoceroses, leopards, hogs, deer of all kinds, abound here, and
feathered game in the hills. Elephants are absolutely necessary to
enable a man to enjoy shooting amidst the high grass and thorny
thickets. The place is so much disturbed by the people who go into
the hills for wood, that the game retreat farther into the jangal.
When a gentleman goes out shooting on foot, the dandīs accompany
him with long poles, to beat the bushes. In the marshy plains under
the hills of this pass good shooting is to be found, but on account of
tigers it is dangerous.
Solomon deems it better to be a live dog than a dead lion; and Job,
called by Byron “the Respectable,” says, “Why should a living man
complain?” to which Byron adds, “For no other reason that I can see,
except that a dead man cannot.” In the face of these grave authorities
the Hindostanī proverb is of a different opinion, which asserts “it is
better to die with honour, than live with infamy.”
The passage in the Psalms, “They shall be a portion for foxes,”
appears obscure; but give it the probable rendering, “they shall be a
portion for jackals;” and then the anathema becomes plain and
striking to an Hindū, in whose country the disgusting sight of jackals,
devouring human bodies, may be seen every day. The dying who are
left by the side of the Ganges, are sometimes devoured alive by these
animals in the night.
Lugāo’d, or moored off a sand-bank, is a budjerow, her baggage,
and her cook-boat. The crews are cooking and eating their dinners on
the sand-bank, and will not recommence their voyage until daybreak,
the river being too dangerous to allow of their proceeding further
during the hours of darkness. On a clean dry bank in the centre of the
Ganges, covered with the finest and most sparkling sand, it is far
more agreeable to lugāo your vessel for the night, than on the banks
of the river: it is cooler, and you are better defended against thieves;
nevertheless a look-out must be kept during the night.
“Shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon
the sand,” &c., (Matt. vii. 26.) The fishermen in Bengal build their
huts in the dry season on the beds of sand, from which the river has
retired. When the rains set in, which they often do very suddenly,
accompanied with violent north-west winds, and the waters pour
down in torrents from the mountains, a fine illustration is given of
our Lord’s parable: “the rains descended, the floods came, and the
winds blew, and beat upon that house, and it fell.” In one night
multitudes of these huts are frequently swept away, and the place
where they stood is, the next morning, undiscoverable. On one of
these occasions a Hindū child was carried down the stream, seated
on a part of the roof of a hut, and rescued from destruction at
Allahabad. The child could not tell whence she had been carried
away by the force of the torrent, nor could the little creature
remember the names of her parents.
In some parts of Bengal, whole villages are every now and then
swept away by the Ganges when it changes its course. This river
frequently runs over districts, from which, a few years before, it was
several miles distant. “A nation whose land the rivers have spoiled.”
(Isa. xvii. 2.)
The rocky islands of Colgong in the distance are singular and
beautiful, there are four of them, of unequal size. Rocks on rocks,
covered with fine foliage, they rise in the centre of the river which
runs like a mill-sluice, and is extremely broad. They say that no one
lives upon these rocks; that a Fakīr formerly took up his abode there,
but having been eaten by a snake (an ajgar), one of enormous size,
and an eater of human flesh, the people became alarmed; and no
holy or unholy person has since taken up their residence on these
rocky islands. Small boats fish under the rocks, and snakes, they say,
abound upon them: when a gun is fired the echoes awaken and
startle the myriads of birds that inhabit them. The proverb says, “The
hypocrites of Bhagulpur, the Thags of Kuhulgaon (Colgong), and the
bankrupts of Patna are famous.”
they eye the traveller askance: they are too busy to look at him: but
when the shades of evening fall, and the friends have left the dead, it
may be the dying Hindū, on the banks of the river, trusting, that
Ganga will receive him to eternal beatitude, then, in that solitary,
that awful hour, the dying man may be awakened from his trance by
the sharp tooth of the jackal, and the fierce beak of the vulture! Such
is the power of superstition, that the Hindū might rejoice, even at
this fearful moment, to end his days by the side of the sacred river,
and escape the infamy of seeking refuge at the village of Chagdah.
“On Ganga’s brink it is fearful to tread
By the fest’ring side of the tombless dead,
And see worms of the earth, and fowls of the air,
Beasts of the forest all gathering there;
All regarding man as their prey,
All rejoicing in his decay.”
“Wheresoever the body is, thither will the eagles (or rather the
vultures) be gathered together.” (Luke xvii. 37.) The vulture is
equally ravenous after dead bodies as the jackal; and it is very
remarkable how suddenly these birds appear after the death of an
animal in the open field, though a single one may not have been seen
on the spot a long time before.
The jackal is considered an incarnation of Dūrga, when she carried
the child Krishna over the Jumna, in his flight from King Kansa. The
worshippers of the female deities adore the jackal as a form of this
goddess, and present offerings to him daily. Every worshipper lays
the offering on a clean place in his house, and calls the god to come
and partake of it. As this is done at the hour when jackals leave their
lurking places, one of these animals sometimes comes and eats the
food. In temples dedicated to Dūrga and other deities, a stone image
of the jackal is placed on a pedestal and daily worshipped. When a
Hindū passes a jackal, he must bow to it; and if it passes on the left
hand, it is a most lucky circumstance.
Crocodiles are very numerous in this part of the Ganges: they show
themselves continually, swimming low in the water, peering over the
edge of a sand-bank, or basking in the sun upon it. Near this place is
a village full of a caste of people who live on the flesh of the crocodile;
the dāndīs say they understand it smells rank and is very hard. In the
evening you sometimes hear a shrill peculiar scream, which the men
declare is the cry of the crocodile. When fired at, they slink quietly
into the water. The long-nosed crocodile is not so formidable as the
snub-nosed alligator: it is said the latter will attack men, the former
avoids them if possible. Human bones and ornaments are sometimes
found in the interior of these animals. To disagree with a superior,
under whose command you may be, is, the natives assert, “To live in
the river and be at enmity with the crocodile.”
BENARES—RAJ GHĀT.
The appearance of Benares, from the Ganges, is very beautiful. It is
covered with buildings to the water’s edge: the architecture of some
is Hindū, of others Muhammadan; many of them are of imposing
appearance and great picturesque beauty. The magnificent flights of
steps called Ghāts, which descend deep into the river, are thronged
at all times with people; some fetching water, others washing, and
most performing their ablutions in the sacred stream. The view is
surprisingly picturesque, and so singular, that no city in Europe can
convey an idea of Benares.
For a detailed account of Benares or Bunarus, deriving its name
from two streams, the Burna and the Ussee, you may refer to a
beautiful work by the late James Prinsep, Esq., who states that the
ancient denomination of this city was Kashi, “The splendid,” whereof
the fabulous wonders are fully detailed in the Kashi-Khund, one of
the chapters of the Skundu-Poorana. According to this mythological
history, Kashi is a place of most profound antiquity, sanctity, and
splendour: it has survived in age a hundred lives of Brahma, each of
whose days is equal to 4,320,000,000 of years; it stands raised from
the ground, supported upon the trisūl or trident of Mahadēo, and is
never shaken by earthquakes: the whole city was once of pure gold,
but has since degenerated into stone and brick.
Bunarus (Sanscrit, Bàrànusee) quasi Burna-Ussee, or from Raja
Bunar, who founded the town A.D. 1000. It contains about 600,000
souls—one-fourth Musalmans. The city stands on a high ridge of
kankar (nodules of lime stone), free from the floods which
sometimes cover all its suburbs. The houses are of stone, from two to
six stories high, with terraces on the summit, and open interior
courts. The streets are very narrow, from four and a half to nine feet
wide, with low doors on each side. The trade is in sugar, cotton,
indigo, opium, kimkhwab, jewels, &c.
No building in the town now standing can be traced to a higher
antiquity than the time of Man Singh, who was Rāja of Jypoor in the
reign of Akbar. Both the temple and the man mundil, or observatory,
described by Tavernier, were erected by him. The astronomical
instruments were not added until the time of Jy Singh, 1680, more
than a century later.
The scene now before you on the left bank of the Ganges
represents the holy city commencing from Raj Ghāt, the place at
which the steamers from Calcutta are moored, as well as pinnaces
and budjerows. The distance from the latter place via the Bhagirathī
is 696 miles, and by land or dāk, 428. The civil and military station is
about four miles inland. Native merchants bring goods of all
descriptions for sale to the steamers and vessels anchored off this
ghāt; jewellery, shawls, portraits of the natives, &c. Provisions of all
sorts, with wine and beer, are procurable in the city.
The house situated above Raj Ghāt is the hotel that was so recently
destroyed, when the fleet of magazine boats containing gunpowder
was blown up, the vessels having been moored off this ghāt.
Bruhma Ghāt is ancient, and of irregular form; it derives its name
from a temple of Siva, under the title of Brumeswur, “the Lord of
Brumha.” The temple and ghāt were repaired (perhaps built) 200
years ago, by the Marhattas, and again recently by the ex-Peshwa
Baji Rāo. From the number of Marhatta families residing in the
neighbourhood, and the comparative privacy of the spot, it is by
courtesy set apart as a bathing-place for their women. They resort
hither in groups, with their children and female servants. Their wet
garments are shifted with dexterity under a large wrapper, which is
also worn over their silk dresses, in passing through the streets. The
Brahman of the ghāt is of course a privileged person; he receives a
small gratuity for taking care of the clothes, and brass or silver water
vessels; he also affixes the tiluk (frontal mark) and pronounces the
muntra or morning benediction upon his spiritual daughters.
On this ghāt wood is collected in large piles for sale: “Our wood is
sold to us.” (Lamentations v. 4.) The poor Hindū, living in the
country never purchases wood for fuel. When such a person removes
to a large town, he speaks of it as a great hardship, that he is obliged
to buy his very fire-wood.
Benares is considered as the most holy city of India, and it is
certainly one of the most picturesque. “A little to eat and to live at
Bunarus” is the wish of a pious Hindū; but a residence at this place is
rather dangerous to any one inclined to violate the laws.
“Kala-Bhoirāva the Tremendous, is a naked Siva, smeared with
ashes; having three eyes, riding on a dog, holding in one hand a horn,
and in another a drum. In several places in Bengal this image is daily
worshipped. Siva, under this name, is regent of Kāshī (Bunarus). All
persons dying at Bunarus are entitled to a place in Siva’s heaven; but
if any one violate the laws of the shastrŭ during his residence there,
Kalŭ-Bhoirŭvŭ after death grinds him between two millstones.”
The dog carries Kalŭ-Bhoirŭvŭ, a form of Siva, and therefore
receives the worship of many Hindūs, whenever his master is
worshipped; still he is considered as an unclean animal: every
offering which he approaches is considered unacceptable to the gods,
and every one who touches him must purify himself by bathing.
THE MINARETS.
The Madhoray Ghāt and musjid or mosque, are now before you—
the mosque was erected by Aurunzebe, on the site and with the
materials of the temple of Vishnū. The mosque has little architectural
beauty to boast of, but the minars have been deservedly admired for
their simplicity and boldness of execution. They are only eight and a
half feet in diameter at the base, and the breadth decreases to seven
and a half feet, while they have an altitude of 147 feet 2 inches, from
the terraced floor of the musjid to the kalsā or pinnacle. The terrace
is elevated about eighty feet above the river at low water level.
The musjid and the minars were repaired by Mr. James Prinsep—a
hazardous undertaking as regarded the latter, for they were both
found to incline outwards fifteen inches from the perpendicular. One
of them was struck by lightning the very day the scaffolding was
removed, but it escaped with the displacement of a stone in the
upper cornice. Several instances have occurred of men throwing
themselves from the top of the southern minaret. One of them, a
man who had gambled away his money and his wife during the
Diwâlī:—another, a sailor, who was killed on the spot:—another, a
Fakīr, who, falling through the tiles and mat-work of a roof, scraping
the flesh from his sides, alighted on the floor beneath, with every
bone safe. Such an escape was deemed miraculous; and crowds
attended to minister to one so favoured by heaven. The Fakīr
disappeared immediately on recovering from his bruises, and sundry
solid moveables of his host disappeared with him.
Men, women, and children bathe together, uniting the worship of
the Ganges or of the gods with their ablutions, washing their long
hair with mud, making clay images for pūjā, (worship), or pouring
out libations to their deceased ancestors, whilst the children gambol
in the water, or collect clay to assist in making the great image of
Bhīm Singh the giant, which is so frequently seen on the side of a
ghāt, or that of Hunumān the monkey god. The Hindūs pour out
water to the sun, three times a day; and to the moon at the time of
worshipping her, which illustrates a passage in Scripture, “To pour
out drink-offerings to the queen of heaven.” (Jer. xliv. 17.)
Ghoosla Ghāt unites great solidity with a graceful and appropriate
elevation: the double-arched door case in front of the gate has a very
rich effect under the strong shadows of midday, giving an artificial
magnitude to the entrance, in just proportion to the dimensions of
the front. The river rises above the top of the doorway, entering the
staircase, and affording a comfortable bath within, where there are
convenient recesses on the sides of the steps for the accommodation
of bathers.
The ferry-boat is crossing the river laden with camels, buffaloes,
and cows.
RAJRAJESWURREE GHĀT.
On the sands in the foreground is the hut of a Baniyā, or grain
merchant, from whom the dandīs procure chabenī, the parched
grain of Indian corn (maize), also flour for their chappatīs. A group
of pilgrims are seated on one side of the hut.
Rajrajeswurree Ghāt, which is seen in the distance, takes its name
from an ancient temple of Devī, under the appellation of
Rajrajeswurree (“queen of queens”). The title Devī, is usually
applied to Bhawanī. The façade of this building is a good specimen of
the mixed style of Hindū and Moresque architecture; the former is
observable in the lower half of the central compartment; while the
projecting stone gallery, with its parapet, tukya mootukka, and the
domed octagonal buruj at the two corners, giving relief to the
rectangular pavilion in the centre, are seen to be essentially Moorish,
from the character of the pillar, and scalloped arch (mehrab).
The man in green is one of a very fine corps of men, called
Gardner’s Horse; they were raised by the late Colonel Win. Linnæus
Gardner, a most highly distinguished and gallant officer: they are
such masters of their horses and weapons, that it is said, single-
handed, nothing can resist them; and one of these men, well known
in the up-country, was considered to be the finest horseman in India.
For an account of Colonel Gardner’s romantic, adventurous, and
distinguished life, we refer you to a work lately published, the
“Wanderings of a Pilgrim during Four and Twenty Years in the East.”
The two men who next appear belong to Skinner’s Horse, a most
efficient irregular corps, taking its name from its gallant colonel, by
whom it was raised and stationed at Delhi. Skinner’s Horse rendered
important services in the Mahratta and Pindaree campaigns. They
are well mounted and appointed, and are an intelligent, fine body of
men: with a lance of great length, they are exceedingly expert, and
excellent shots with the matchlock, a most unwieldy fire-arm.
A native carriage, called a bilī, drawn by two bullocks, stands in the
rear: these decorated carriages are principally used by women in the
higher ranks of life; and within the curtains, which are closely drawn
and fastened down, a lady is completely protected from the profane
gaze of man.
In the distance you now behold the Dusaswumed Ghāt. The
mythological legends which give rise to the name of this ghāt and
temple, are connected with the story of Divadas’s usurpation of Siva’s
kingly authority in Kashī. Siva having sent from heaven the yoginis,
or heavenly nymphs, and tried various other stratagems in vain, to
turn the earthly monarch aside from virtue, next deputed Brumha
himself, who entered the place, disguised as an old Brahman, and
obtaining access to the king, received permission from him to
perform ten (dus) aswumedha, or horse sacrifices, upon the spot
here represented. The horse sacrifice, as described in the purans, is a
very curious ceremony. A horse having peculiar colours and qualities
is selected, and after a course of pūja (worship), is turned loose upon
the world, followed by the sacrificing party, with an armed retinue: if
stopped by the sovereign of another country through which the
animal may pass, war must be declared, and the interrupter of the
sacrifice subdued:—in this way, after traversing the world, the horse
returns, and is put to death by suffocation.
JULSYN GHĀT.
Julsyn Ghāt and Raj Bulubh Shīwala are now before you. On the
terrace of the latter is a brahmanī bull: these animals walk about the
buildings with seeming indifference, ascending the steps, mixing
with the crowd, and constantly attending for their food. They are
seldom disturbed; but when molested they are vicious, and will use
their horns. The rice and flowers offered to the idols are swept up,
and for the greater part eaten by the brahmanī bulls. The proverb
says:—“At Benares you should be on guard against the women, the
sacred bulls, the steps, and the devotees.”
The principal Hindū temples in Benares are crowded with people
of both sexes and of all ages, who daily assemble to pay their
devotions to the deity of the place, from the hour of eight in the
morning until nearly four in the afternoon. The form of worship is
very simple: the votary enters the temple and prostrates himself,
praying aloud; he then rises and strikes a bell suspended over a form
of Mahadēo, thrice repeating the word bom, or hail, at each stroke;
then putting a few grains of boiled rice, and a small quantity of milk
or oil, or Ganges water, on the Mahadēo, he strews a few flowers over
it, and, repeating the same, sometimes adorns the head of the idol
with a chaplet of flowers. This ceremony being over, the votary lays
down a few cowries, and retires to make room for others. The women
generally enter with their garments quite wet, after having
performed their ablutions in the Ganges. The quantity of milk, oil,
water, and flowers, thrown about the place, renders it dirty and wet
until the evening, when, the crowd retiring, the Brahmans clean the
temple for the next day.
The music and bells of a hundred temples strike the ear amidst the
buzz of human voices; at the same time the eye rests on the vivid
colours of different groups of male and female bathers, with their
sparkling brass vessels, or follows the holy bulls as they wander in
the crowds munching the chaplets of flowers liberally presented to
them. Then, as night steals on, the scene changes, and the twinkling
of lamps along the water’s edge, and the funeral fires and white
curling smoke, and the stone buildings lit up by the moon, present
features of variety and blended images of animation, which it is out
of the artist’s power to embody.
The large building that now appears is on Oomraogir’s pushta or
ghāt. On the exterior of the building is a mut’h, an Hindu temple,
dedicated to Ganesh, the god of wisdom, and the patron of literature.
In pūja this idol is invoked ere any other god is worshipped. Ere a
pious Hindū commence any sort of writing he makes the sign of
Ganesh at the top of the page. With the simplicity of the child he
unites the wisdom of the elephant: his writing is beautiful, “Behold!
he writes like Ganesh!” Who can say more? He is called two
mothered, uniting the elephant’s head to his natural body, therefore
having a second mother in the elephant. The worshippers pour oil
and the holy Ganges water over the head of this god, who is thus
bathed daily; and offerings of boiled rice and flowers are made at the
time of prayer. Around the idol are placed the vessels used in pūja,
brass bells, the conch shell, the holy spoons, flowers, &c. In the
Museum is a solid white marble image of Ganesh, which weighs 3¼
cwt. For a further account of this idol, see the frontispiece, and the
Introduction to the “Wanderings of a Pilgrim during Four and
Twenty Years in the East.”
The Fākir seated on the ghāt is one in the highest stage of
exaltation, in which clothing is almost dispensed with, and his only
garment is a chatr, an umbrella made of basket work: his long hair
and his beard, matted with cow-dung and ashes, hang in stiff straight
locks to his waist, his body is smeared with ashes; he always remains
on the same spot, and when suffering from illness, a bit of tattered
blanket is thrown over him. Passers by throw cowries and grains of
boiled rice at his feet, he remains speechless, disregards all visible
objects, asks for nothing, but subsists on alms. He will not answer
any question addressed to him, which elucidates the proverb:
“Talking to a man in ecstasy (of a religious nature) is like beating
curds with a pestle.” Persons in this state affirm that their minds do
not wander after worldly things, that they live in a state of pleasure,
abstraction, and joy, and that they have attained to that state of
perfection required by the shastrs. His red flag is displayed from a
bamboo, below which is a small lantern made of coloured ubruk or
talc; sometimes the lamp is formed of clay, pierced through with fret-
work in remarkably pretty patterns. The Hindūs suspend lamps in
the air on bamboos in honour of the gods during a particular month,
and in obedience to the shastrs. The offering of lamps to particular
gods is an act of merit, so this offering to all the gods, during the
auspicious month, is supposed to secure many benefits to the giver.
Lamps suspended from bamboos are also indicative of the ceremony
in honour of Ananta, the great serpent.
On another bamboo is displayed the trisūl or trident of Mahadēo,
and a small double-headed hand-drum, shaped like an hour-glass,
called damaru, used by Fakīrs; and in front by the side of the
Devotee, is an altar, or pillar, hollowed at the top, containing the
sacred tulsī plant (ocimum sanctum) purple stalked basil. This plant
is worshipped in honour of a religious female who requested Vishnu
to allow her to become his wife. Lukshmī, the goddess of beauty, and
wife of Vishnu, cursed the woman on account of the pious request
she had preferred to her lord, and changed her into a tulsī plant.
Vishnu, in consideration of the religious austerities long practised by
the enamoured devotee, made her a promise that he would assume
the form of the shalgram, and always continue with her. If one of
these sacred plants die, it is committed in due form to Ganga-jee:
and when a person is brought to die by the side of the sacred river, a
branch of the tulsī, the shrub-goddess, is planted near the dying
man’s head, and the marks upon the shalgram are shown to him.
This pebble god is a small heavy black circular stone, rather flattened
on one side, with the cornu ammonis strongly marked upon it.
Devotees walk round the sacred plant, pour water upon it, and make
salām. Of an evening a little chirāgh, a small lamp, is burned before
it. In the courts of justice the Hindū swears by the Ganges water on
which is placed a branch of the tulsī.
MANIKURNĪKA GHĀT.
A brahmanī bull is going up to the idol Ganesh, expecting a share
of the flowers that are offered to the image. In the distance a band of
pilgrims are coming down to fill their baskets with holy water; and in
the foreground is a picturesque figure, also a carrier of holy water,
which is put into small sealed bottles placed in baskets suspended
from a bamboo poised on his shoulder, over which is a covering of
red cloth.
A tank of peculiar sanctity is now before you, on the steps of which
men are ascending and descending: it is called the Chakra kunda,
and its history is as follows:—“After one of the periodical
destructions and renovations of the world, Siva and his bride were
alone in the ananda-vana, or happy forest, occupying the present
site of Munikarniká, they found, as man and wife may sometimes do,
that their tête á tête was growing dull, and to vary the party, Siva
created Vishnu. After a while, the married pair wished again for
privacy and withdrew into the forest, desiring Vishnu to amuse
himself by doing what was fit and proper; which, after some
consideration, he judged to be a supply of water for the irrigation of
the trees, and with his chakra, or discus, he dug a hole, which he
filled with the ambrosial perspiration from his body, induced by his
hard work; and the pool so dug and filled, has remained a spot of
peculiar sanctity, termed, from the chakra, or discus, chakra kunda,
or chakra puskkarnī, discus-pond. When Siva returned and saw
what Vishnu had done, he nodded his head in approbation so
energetically, that the jewel (mani) of one of his ear-rings (karniká)
fell off, and the place was thenceforth called Manikarnika.” (See
Kasi Khand, Part I. chap. 26).
A Brahman sitting beneath a porch is reading aloud, with his book
on his knees, and bending his body backwards and forwards as he
reads.
Beneath the shade of a fine pīpal tree (ficus religiosa) is a four-
headed and holy piece of sculpture, with the bull (nandī) reposing
before it; also another singularly sculptured stone representing two
heads, their bodies formed of snakes entwined. The pīpal is
universally sacred: the Hindūs are seen in the early morning putting
flowers in pūja at the foot of the tree, and pouring water on its roots.
They worship the idols placed beneath it in a similar manner, and
they believe that a god resides in every leaf, who delights in the
music of their rustling, and their tremulous motion.
Near this place is the spot on which the dead are burned; it is
dedicated to Vishnu, as Jalsāī, or “sleeper on the waters;” and there,
many a Hindu widow has devoted herself to the flames with the
corpse of her husband. In the Museum is a brazen image of Jalsāī
floating on Anantā, the great serpent.