e
head, Vishnu in the chest, Brahma in the navel, Indra in the genitals
and Ganesh in the rectum. Most Brahmans belong to a sect worshipping
especially Siva or Vishnu, or Rama and Krishna, the incarnations of
the latter god, or Sakti, the female principle of energy of Siva. But
as a rule Brahmans, whether of the Sivite or Vishnuite sects, abstain
from flesh meat and are averse to the killing of any living thing. The
following account of the daily ritual prayers of a Benares Brahman
may be reproduced from M. Andre Chevrillon's _Romantic India_, [414]
as, though possibly not altogether accurate in points of detail,
it gives an excellent idea of their infinitely complicated nature:

16. Daily ritual.

"Here is the daily life of one of the twenty-five thousand Brahmans
of Benares. He rises before the dawn, and his first care is to look
at an object of good omen. If he sees a crow at his left, a kite,
a snake, a cat, a hare, a jackal, an empty jar, a smoking fire,
a wood-pile, a widow, a man blind of one eye, he is threatened with
great dangers during the day. If he intended to make a journey, he
puts it off. But if he sees a cow, a horse, an elephant, a parrot, a
lizard, a clear-burning fire, a virgin, all will go well. If he should
sneeze once, he may count upon some special good fortune; but if twice
some disaster will happen to him. If he yawns some demon may enter his
body. Having avoided all objects of evil omen, the Brahman drops into
the endless routine of his religious rites. Under penalty of rendering
all the day's acts worthless, he must wash his teeth at the bank of
a sacred stream or lake, reciting a special _mantra_, which ends in
this ascription: 'O Ganges, daughter of Vishnu, thou springest from
Vishnu's foot, thou art beloved by him! Remove from us the stains of
sin and birth, and until death protect us thy servants!' He then rubs
his body with ashes, saying: 'Homage to Siva, homage to the source of
all birth! May he protect me during all births!' He traces the sacred
signs upon his forehead--the three vertical lines representing the
foot of Vishnu, or the three horizontal lines which symbolise the
trident of Siva--and twists into a knot the hair left by the razor
on the top of his head, that no impurity may fall from it to pollute
the sacred river.

"He is now ready to begin the ceremonies of the morning (_sandhya_),
those which I have just observed on the banks of the river. Minutely
and mechanic