Adjoining this chamber was a repository wherein precious stones and innumerable costly
images of gold and silver were stored, but Ibnu'l Athir locates this store-room
"under the idol chamber."13 These statements are clearly untrue. The shrine had
10,000 villages for its maintenance, had 1,000 Brahmins14 to perform the rituals spe6ally
at the time of eclipses, 300 musicians and dancing girls to sing and dance at the temple
gates, 300 barbers to shave the pilgrims and a large staff of couriers to bring daily
fresh flowers from Kashmir to garland the idol and fresh Ganga water to wash it with.
13. Kamilu't Tawarikh, Vol IX, p. 241.
14.The Tarikh-i-Firishta (Persian text, Nawal Kishor edition, p. 33) says that "2000
villages were endowed to the temple" "2,000" being probaly a misprint
for "10.000". According to it, the temple establishment consisted of 2,000
Brahmins to perform the rituals, 500 singing and dancing girls and 300 musicians to sing
and dance and 300 barbers to shave the devotees. Rauzatu's Safa of Mir Khwand (Persian
text, Vol. IV, p. 41) contains the same account except that it mentions the endowment of
10,000 villages as given by Ibnu'l Athir who later curtails the number of singers and
dancers to 350. |
