THE SNOWY REGIONS.
As you approach Gangoutrī, you enter on the snowy regions; and in the scene before you, the hill men, with baskets of provisions, are toiling up the steep ascent, for which their stout and sinewy limbs are well adapted; and pilgrims are ascending the mountain. An English gentleman, seated beneath a small tent, is resting, refreshing himself, and enjoying the warmth of the fire his attendants have kindled, ere he re-commences the toilsome ascent of the snowy mountains.
GANGOUTRĪ.
Gangoutrī, the source of the most sacred river in Hindostan, is now before you. The pious Hindū believes, that in this awful solitude Mahadēo sits enthroned in clouds and mist, amid rocks that defy the approach of living thing, and snows that make desolation more awful. Surrounded by gigantic peaks entirely cased in snow, and almost beyond the regions of animal and vegetable life, an awful silence prevails, except when broken by the thundering peals of falling avalanches. Cold, wild, and stupendous, the dazzling brilliancy of the snow is rendered more striking by its contrast with the dark blue colour of the sky; and at night the stars shine with a lustre they have not in a denser atmosphere. Gangoutrī (Gangā avatārī), marked 10,319 feet above the sea, is the celebrated place of pilgrimage, near to which the Ganges issues: its course has not been traced beyond Gangoutrī; for the stream, a little farther, is entirely concealed under a glacier or iceberg, and is supposed to be inaccessible. The mandap, or Hindū temple, built by a Ghoorka chief, is of stone, and contains small statues of Bhāgīrath, Gangā, and other local deities. It stands on a piece of rock about twenty feet higher than the bed of the Ganges; and at a little distance there is a rough wooden building to shelter travellers. The last day of his journey the pilgrim fasts, and on his arrival at the sacred spot, he has his whole body shaved; after which he bathes, performs funeral obsequies in honour of his deceased ancestors, and makes presents to the Brahmans.
To perish by cold in the mountains during a pilgrimage, forms one of the methods by which the Hindūs may meritoriously put a period to their existence; it is also one of the Hindū atonements for great offences. The pilgrim must remain seven days at Gangoutrī: when he is about to return, he obtains some of the offerings which have been presented to the idol or idols, and brings them home to give to his friends; these consist of sweet-meats, tulsī leaves, the ashes of cow-dung, &c. To obtain its full benefit, the pilgrimage must be performed on foot. A trifle is paid to the Brahman for the privilege of taking the water, which the Hindūs believe is so pure as neither to evaporate nor become corrupted by being kept and transported to distant places. Notwithstanding the great efficacy attributed to this pilgrimage, Gangoutrī is but little frequented, owing to the hardships to be endured, and the great difficulties that are met with on the route; the accomplishment of it is supposed to redeem the performer from many troubles in this world, and ensure a happy transit through all the stages of transmigration he may have to undergo.
The snowy peaks of Gangoutrī rise in glittering whiteness high above the clouds. Look on those mountains of eternal snow,—the rose tints linger on them, the white clouds roll below, and their peaks are sharply set upon a sky of the brightest, clearest, and deepest blue. Who may describe the solitary loveliness, the speaking quietude that wraps these forest scenes? Who can look unmoved on the coronets of snow that crown the eternal Himalaya?
“Our fathers worshipped in this mountain.” (John iv. 20.) In these awful solitudes, where eternity is throned in “icy halls of cold sublimity,” the Hindūs think “men ought to worship.” The pilgrim gazes with delight on the aërial mountains that pour down Gangā and Yamunā from their snow-formed caves, and enjoys those solemn feelings of natural piety with which the spirit of solitude imbues the soul.
We have now traced the course of the Ganges, from the branch called the Hoogly, which flows past Fort William, Bengal, to Gangoutrï, its source in the Himalaya. The Diorama is concluded, and we trust that satisfaction and pleasure have been experienced by the audience who have accompanied us on the pilgrimage.