On withdrawing his arm and resting it upon his lap the attention of his partner as well as of the onlookers was attracted by the wet on Debi’s hand and forearm. They inquired the cause, but Debi curtly requested them to mind their own business and go on with the game. Puzzled and angry, the others demanded an explanation. Insulting remarks were made and, finding no other explanation, a suggestion was made that he was perspiring something else instead of perspiration from his arm. At this point Debi deemed it prudent to vanish.
Bem Sing’s wrath was at its zenith. Amazed, even upset, he searched for Debi all around, and, unable to find him, he seized a large boulder and with it struck the big rock Ransila with such violence that he split it in two, in order to discover whether Debi was hiding inside it.
The onlookers in the meantime, terrified by the doings of these abnormal beings, had fled in all directions, while Debi had quietly retired to [[16]]the cave which I have already described, and where—they say—he dwells still. The boulder used by Bem Sing in his feat of strength is shown to this day to the open-mouthed pilgrims at Debi Dhura. So firmly had he grasped it in his hands that the marks of his fingers and thumbs are still deeply impressed upon the granite.
The end of the legend brought forth the usual request for a generous backshish, while more flowers were produced and handed to my followers, who adorned their ears and caps with them.
We returned to the sacred swings, of great height, with iron chains instead of ropes, upon which pilgrims, old and young, swing themselves, either singly or in couples. During the months of June, July, and August, when a pilgrimage and fair are held at the shrine, these swings are kept going all day and the greater part of the night. Thousands upon thousands of devotees visit the weird rocks and leave handsome oblations. A special festival is held in August, when throngs of natives assemble and sacrifice goats, sheep, and occasionally buffaloes. As many as one hundred sheep are killed during one of these festivals, and the sacrifice takes place either on the Ransila rock or at the entrance of the cave.
The Sacred Swings of Debi Dhura
The “stone of luck” is to be noticed beyond the first swing.
[[17]]
Everything at Debi Dhura is connected with stones and rocks. Between the two swings and near a quadrangular stone wall some four or five feet high, lay a big natural ball of granite, called “Chela,” or “the test of strength.” They say that only one man in a hundred can raise it above the ground, one in a thousand is able to lift it up to his waist, and not a human being alive can lift it up and deposit it on the wall. Whoever performed the latter deed would have every happiness for ever. Although according to the priests the stone weighed 4000 lbs., its actual weight was not more than 350 lbs.; only it was difficult to get hold of it, and it was well-nigh impossible to do so by sheer strength. But when brute strength fails, ruse is often easily successful, and so, being somewhat versed in the laws of leverage, balance, and impetus, I succeeded, much to the amazement of everybody, in placing that stone upon the wall. It was an effort though, I can tell you.