represented by about a hundred males who are
accepted as incarnations and receive the title of Maharaja. About
twenty reside at Gokul[630] or near Muttra: there are a few in Bombay
and in all the great cities of western India, but the Maharaj of Nath
Dwara in Rajputana is esteemed the chief. This place is not an ancient
seat of Krishna worship, but during the persecution of Aurungzeb a
peculiarly holy image was brought thither from Muttra and placed in
the shrine where it still remains.

A protest against the immorality of the Vallabhi sect was made by
Swaminarayana, a Brahman who was born in the district of Lucknow
about 1780.[631] He settled in Ahmedabad and gained so large a
following that the authorities became alarmed and imprisoned him. But
his popularity only increased: he became the centre of a great
religious movement: hymns descriptive of his virtues and sufferings
were sung by his followers and when he was released he found himself
at the head of a band which was almost an army. He erected a temple in
the village of Wartal in Baroda, which he made the centre of his sect,
and recruited followers by means of periodical tours throughout
Gujarat. His doctrines are embodied in an anthology called the
Sikshapatri consisting of 212 precepts, some borrowed from accepted
Hindu scriptures and some original and in a catechism called
Vacanamritam. His teaching was summed up in the phrase "Devotion to
Krishna with observance of duty and purity of life" and in practice
took the form of a laudable polemic against the licentiousness of the
Vallabhis. As in most of the purer sects of Vishnuism, Krishna is
regarded merely as a name of the Supreme Deity. Thus the Sikshapatri
says "Narayana and Siva should be equally recognized as parts of one
and the same supreme spirit, since both have been declared in the
Vedas to be forms of Brahma. On no account let it be thought that
difference in form or name makes any difference in the identity of the
deity." The followers of Swaminarayana still number about 200,000 in
western India and are divided into the laity and a body of celibate
clergy. I have visited their religious establishments in Ahmedabad. It
consists of a temple with a large and well-kept monastery in which are
housed about 300 monks who wear costumes of reddish grey. Except in
Assam I have not seen in India any parallel to this monastery either
in size or discipline. It is provided with a library and hospital. In
the temp