Note 33 — C

4. Unlike other dissenting sects the Charandâsis keep idols in their temples and respect Brâhmans, who are found as members of the sect. Their sacred place is Dehra, the birthplace of their chief, where there is a monument over his navel string, and his garment and rosary are kept. “The Charandâsi breviary (gutka) exhibits more Sanskrit learning than those of the other sects, and instead of passing allusions to mythology, goes into details regarding Sri Krishna’s family, and merely popularises the orthodox Sanskrit teaching. Thus there is a chapter on one of the Upanishads and another from the Bhâgwat Purâna. Its style is, perhaps, more full and expressive, and less involved than other books of the same class. The Sâdhs hold to the vernacular, and some time ago are said to have resented an attempt of a learned Charan Dâsi to substitute Sanskrit verse for the vulgar tongue. The breviary contains the Sanedha Sâgar and the Dharma Jihâj mentioned above. One rather striking chapter professedly taken from some Sanskrit book should be called Nâsa Kshetra’s Inferno. Nâsa Kshetra is permitted to visit the hells, and to see the torments of sinners, which are described in detail, and the sins of each class specified. It is, in fact, an amplification of the Purânic account of Naraka, adapted to impress the minds of the vulgar. Nâsa Kshetra is then taken to visit heaven, and subsequently returns to earth to relate what he has witnessed.”33