English folk know more about India
than of any other part of the world. So many of us have either been
there ourselves, or have relations who have spent long years there, that
in a way it seems rather like a home-land than a foreign country. The
great difficulty is to realise what a huge piece of the world it is,
with its population of over two hundred and seventy millions of people.
We have to remember that this population is made up of many different
races which have from time to time conquered and settled in various
parts. India is above all things an _old_ country. Its sacred books, its
temples, indeed, the way of life of the people date back to very ancient
times, and it is believed that considerable intercourse took place
between Hindustan and ancient Egypt, which may account for the likeness
between the rock tombs and temples of the two kingdoms. New races have
from time to time supplanted the former owners of the land, but except
the Mohammedan invaders of the tenth century, the conquerors seem more
or less to have fallen in with the faith and traditions of their new
subjects.

[Illustration: East Front of the Rock Temple of Elephanta.]

The greater part of the natives of India are worshippers of Buddha,
though many have been converted to Christianity. The teaching of Buddha
depended greatly on meditation and freedom from the distractions of the
world, and Buddhists at a very early date began to withdraw into
communities of hermits living by themselves, and, partly from
convenience, partly from a love of mysterious places, availed themselves
largely of the many natural caverns with which the rocks of India and
Thibet abound.

At first a small cave would be enlarged, and by the aid of masonry
turned into a habitable cell for one or more of the hermits. Next a
verandah would be added, where the good men might meditate, and at the
same time enjoy light and fresh air. Later on a large cavern would be
chosen, which, with some building, and the addition of pillars to
support the roof, would be adapted to the form of a great central hall,
with small surrounding cells for each of the brethren. To our ideas it
sounds rather cold and gloomy, but those were not days of luxury, and in
Southern India, where coolness means comfort, these old cave-dwellers
might have been worse off.

Some of these Buddhist temples are marvels of genius as well as of
industry, being richly decorated with carvings of men, women, and
animals