[Footnote 618: Growse aptly compares St. Paul, "I had not known evil
but by the law."]

[Footnote 619: Ib. vol. II. p. 223.]

[Footnote 620: Ib. vol. II. p. 196.]

[Footnote 621: The Vishnuite sect called Nimavat is said to have been
exterminated by Jains (Grierson in _E.R.E._ sub. V. Bhakti-marga, p.
545). This may point to persecution during this period.]

[Footnote 622: For Vallabhacarya and his sect, see especially Growse,
_Mathura, a district memoir_, 1874; _History of the sect of the
Maharajas in western India_ (anonymous), 1865. Also Bhandarkar,
_Vaishn. and Saivism_, pp. 76-82 and Farquhar, _Outlines of Relig.
Lit. of India_, pp. 312-317.]

[Footnote 623: The principal of them are the Siddhanta-Rahasya and the
Bhagavata-Tika-Subodhini, a commentary on the Bhagavata Purana. This
is a short poem of only seventeen lines printed in Growse's _Mathura_,
p. 156. It professes to be a revelation from the deity to the
effect that sin can be done away with by union with Brahma
(Brahma-sambandha-karanat). Other authoritative works of the sect are
the Suddhadvaita martanda, Sakalacaryamatasangraha and
Prameyaratnarnava, all edited in the Chowkhamba Sanskrit series.]

[Footnote 624: Cf. the use of the word poshanam in the Bhagavata
Purana, II. X.]

[Footnote 625: Growse, _Mathura_, p. 157, says this formula is based
on the Naradapancaratra. It is called Samarpana, dedication, or
Brahma-sambandha, connecting oneself with the Supreme Being.]

[Footnote 626: For instance "Whoever holds his Guru and Krishna to
be distinct and different shall be born again as a bird." Harirayaji
32. Quoted in _History of the Sect of the Maharajas_, p. 82.]

[Footnote 627: In the ordinary ceremonial the Maharaj stands beside
the image of Krishna and acknowledges the worship offered. Sometimes
he is swung in a swing with or without the image. The hymns sung on
these occasions are frequently immoral. Even more licentious are the
meetings or dances known as Ras Mandali and Ras Lila. A meal of hot
food seasoned with aphrodisiacs is also said to be provided in the
temples. The water in which the Maharaj's linen or feet have been
washed is sold for a high price and actually drunk by devotees.]

[Footnote 628: Strictly speaking the Radha-Vallabhis are not an
offshoot of Vallabha's school, but of the Nimavats or of the
Madhva-sampradaya. The theory underlying their strange practices seems
to be that Krishna is the only male and that all mankind