They Could
Not Reach The Large Vihara, Because We Occupied The Verandah At
Its Entrance, And So, After Grumbling A Little, They Entered A
Small Lateral Cave Something Like A Chapel, Containing A Statue
Of Devaki-Mata, Above A Tank Full Of Water.
Each pilgrim prostrated
himself for a time, then placed his offering at the feet of the
goddess and bathed
In the "holy waters of purification," or, at
the least, sprinkled some water over his forehead, cheeks, and breast.
Lastly, retreating backwards, he knelt again at the door and
disappeared in the darkness with a final invocation: "Mata, maha
mata!" - Mother, O great mother!
Two of Gulab-Sing's servants, with traditional spears and shields
of rhinoceros skin, who had been ordered to protect us from wild
beasts, sat on the steps of the verandah. I was unable to sleep,
and so watched with increasing curiosity everything that was going on.
The Takur, too, was sleepless. Every time I raised my eyes, heavy
with fatigue, the first object upon which they fell was the gigantic
figure of our mysterious friend.
Having seated himself after the Eastern fashion, with his feet
drawn up and his arms round his knees, the Rajput sat on a bench
cut in the rock at one end of the verandah, gazing out into the
silvery atmosphere. He was so near the abyss that the least
incautious movement would expose him to great danger. But the
granite goddess, Bhavani herself, could not be more immovable.
The light of the moon before him was so strong that the black
shadow under the rock which sheltered him was doubly impenetrable,
shrouding his face in absolute darkness.
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