Note 49 — Chapter IV · ANIMAL-WORSHIP.

In modern times dog-worship appears specially in connection with the cultus of Bhairon, the Brâhmanical Bhairava, the Bhairoba of Western India. No Marâtha will lift his hand against a dog, and in Bombay many Hindus worship the dog of Kâla Bhairava, though the animal is considered unclean by them. Khandê Râo or Khandoba or Khandoji is regarded as an incarnation of Siva and much worshipped by Marâthas. He is most frequently represented as riding on horseback and attended by a dog and accompanied by his wife Malsurâ, another form of Pârvatî. His name is usually derived from the Khanda or sword which he carries, but Professor Oppert without much probability would connect it with that of the aboriginal Khândhs who are supposed to have been original settlers in Khândesh, after whom it was called.49 In many temples of Bhaironnâth, as at Benares and Hardwâr, he is depicted on the wall in a deep blue colour approaching to black, and behind him is the figure of the dog on which he rides. Sweetmeat sellers make little images of a dog in sugar, which are presented to the deity as an offering.