Mewar has, from the most remote period, afforded a refuge to the followers of the Jain faith, which was the religion of Valabhi, the first capital of the Rana’s ancestors, and many monuments attest the support this family has granted to its [520] professors in all the vicissitudes of their fortunes. One of the best preserved monumental remains in India is a column most elaborately sculptured, full seventy feet in height, dedicated to Parsvanath, in Chitor.[[44]] The noblest remains of sacred architecture, not in Mewar only, but throughout Western India, are Buddhist or Jain:[[45]] and the many ancient cities where this religion was fostered, have inscriptions which evince their prosperity in these countries, with whose history their own is interwoven. In fine, the necrological records of the Jains bear witness to their having occupied a distinguished place in Rajput society; and the privileges they still enjoy, prove that they are not overlooked. It is not my intention to say more on the past or present history of these sectarians, than may be necessary to show the footing on which their establishments are placed; to which end little is required beyond copies of a few simple warrants and ordinances in their favour.[[46]] Hereafter I may endeavour to add something to the knowledge already possessed of these deists of Rajasthan, whose singular communities contain mines of knowledge hitherto inaccessible to Europeans. The libraries of Jaisalmer in the desert, of Anhilwara, the cradle of their faith, of Cambay, and other places of minor importance, consist of thousands of volumes. These are under the control, not of the priests alone, but of communities of the most wealthy and respectable amongst the laity, and are preserved in the crypts of their temples, which precaution ensured their preservation, as well as that of the statues of their deified teachers, when the temples themselves were destroyed by the Muhammadan invaders, who paid more deference to the images of Buddha than those of Siva or Vishnu. The preservation of the former may be owing to the natural formation of their statues; for while many of Adinath, of Nemi, and of Parsva have escaped the hammer, there is scarcely an Apollo or a Venus, of any antiquity, entire, from Lahore to Rameswaram. The two arms of these theists sufficed for their protection; while the statues of the polytheists have met with no mercy.

Grant of Rāna Rāj Singh.

The Jain Retreat.

Nāthdwāra.

It was in the reign of Aurangzeb that the pastoral divinity was exiled from Vraj, that classic soil which, during a period of two thousand eight hundred years, had been the sanctuary of his worshippers. He had been compelled to occasional flights during the visitations of Mahmud and the first dynasties of Afghan invaders; though the more tolerant of the Mogul kings not only reinstated him, but were suspected of dividing their faith between Kanhaiya and the prophet. Akbar was an enthusiast in the mystic poetry of Jayadeva, which paints in glowing colours the loves of Kanhaiya and Radha, in which lovely personification the refined Hindu abjures all sensual interpretation, asserting its character of pure spiritual love.[[55]]

The Mughals and Krishna Worship.

The Image of Krishna removed to Mewār. Founding of Nāthdwāra.

From Samarcand, by Oxus, Temir’s throne,

Down to the golden Chersonese,

who find abundant shelter from the noontide blaze in the groves of tamarind, pipal, and semal,[[59]] where they listen to the mystic hymns of Jayadeva. Here those whom ambition has cloyed, superstition unsettled, satiety disgusted, commerce ruined, or crime disquieted, may be found as ascetic attendants on the mildest of the gods of India. Determined upon renouncing the world, they first renounce the ties that bind them to it, whether family, friends, or fortune, and placing their wealth at the disposal of the deity, stipulate only for a portion of the food dressed for him, and to be permitted to prostrate themselves before him till their allotted time is expired. Here no blood-stained sacrifice scares the timid devotee; no austerities terrify, or tedious ceremonies fatigue him; he is taught to cherish the hope that he has only to ask for mercy in order to obtain it; and to believe that the compassionate deity who guarded the lapwing’s nest[[60]] in the midst of myriads of combatants, who gave beatitude to the courtesan[[61]] who as the wall crushed her pronounced the name of ‘Rama,’ will not withhold it from him who has quitted the world and its allurements that he may live only in his presence, be fed by the food prepared for himself, and yield up his last sigh invoking the name of Hari. There [525] have been two hundred individuals at a time, many of whom, stipulating merely for food, raiment, and funeral rites, have abandoned all to pass their days in devotion at the shrine: men of every condition, Rajput merchant, and mechanic; and where sincerity of devotion is the sole expiation, and gifts outweigh penance, they must feel the road smooth to the haven of hope.