Posted on: 27 December 2016

Rites and Beliefs of the Hindus
Different types of puja, for the Brahmins, Kshatriyas and Vaisyas.

Faizabad - ca. 1774

Gentil Manuscripts, Col J B J Gentil, Faizabad, ca. 1774.

Gentil lived for twenty-five years in India, spending eleven of them at the court of Shuja-ud-daula. He carried from India among other things an atlas containing twenty-one maps of the Mughal subas that he had drawn according to the Ain-e-Akbari.

Credit:
Copyright: © Victoria and Albert Museum, London


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Looks to me like a numbered series of illustrations of a brahimins day starting with morning bath and going through different daily rituals by number. The first three lines are numbered. The last line of illustrations shows an agnihotri brahmin and shows the source of the fire 1. from kept in a pot, 2. from the sun, etc. There are 5 illustrations of this. The the last deals with a worshiper of only idols or murtis and the different types worshiped. I'd like to get a hi-def version of this illustration to give a more detailed analysis.

Here's a similar watercolour of a Pattery done for my 4 x gt uncle Thomas Hervey Baber in a temple, probably at Tellicherry in about 1815. It is one of about 30 similar images, half a dozen of which show living priests, while the other represent Hindu deities. Each is careful labelled in his handwriting, so he could no doubt learn to recognise them himself. The temple officials today believe that Thomas converted to Hinduism, which may be true.

OMG! Sakhi Love Harinamananda Das Narayana Ji: You all need to see this. There is a link in the thread that connects to a high-res viewing of the illustration. There is also a scholarly breakdown of it in the thread as well. It is off the chain! This is fantastic and should be added to your historical study and brahminical resources.