NOTE BY BABU ABHILAS CHANDRA MUKERJI, SECOND INSPECTOR OF EXCISE, BENGAL, ON THE ORIGIN AND HISTORY OF TRINATH WORSHIP IN EASTERN BENGAL.

Date of origin.—In 1867 Balm Aoanda Chandra Kali or Kailai, of Dhamrai, a village in thane Sabhar of the Dacca district, first started the worship at the house of his father-in-law at Fattehpur in the Atia pargana of the Mymensingh district (sub-division Taiwan).

Antecedents of the originator.-Dhamrai is an important village in the Dacca district noted for its car festival, which is annually held in honour of a local idol named .Madhab Thakur, and which is witnessed by a large gathering of people.

Ananda Chandra received education at the Dacca Normal School. After leaving school he served for some time as 'a pundit (schoolmaster), and then entered the Police Department, but was there only a short time. He is a Barendra Brahman and belongs to a respectable family. He learnt to smoke ganja when he was only a boy. His present age is 60 years, He has the reputation of being a versifier. He smokes two pica worth of ganja every day.

He married at Fattehpur in the Mymensingh district. There he introduced Trinath worship 27 years ago. A panchali (poem) reciting the praises and exploits of Trinath was first publisbed at Dacca in 1871 and the first edition (1,000 copies) 'as sold in a few months.

The circumstances under which the worship was first started.—Ananda Chandra Kali was at the time living in the house of his father-in-law. He was thinking of introducing the Worship of a common god, who might be worshipped by all classes, rich and poor, Brahman and Chandal, and by all creeds, Saktas, Baishnavas, and Shaivas, and the idea occurred to him of having the present worship at which ordinary and inexpensive things, such as ganja, oil, and betel-leaf, were alone to be used.

Trinath (from Sanskrit Tri, three, and Nath, lord) is represented to be Brahma, Bishnu and Shiva, the Hindu Trinity in one.

Being a ganja-smoker himself Ananda Kali may have also thought that by introducing the worship he would be able to save the ganja-smokers from disrepute, as then genie could be consumed in the name of a god and under colour of doing a religious or pious act.

Religious aspect of the worship.—The following translation of the Introduction to the Trinath .Mela Panehali gives some idea of the subject :—

" The universe consists of the earth, the heaven, and the nether world, and Trinath is the lord of these three worlds.

"There was an incarnation of God in the form of Gour (Chaitanya), who delivered the sinners by preaching the name of Hari, but the Lord was not satisfied with this, and became concerned for the created, and soon he became incarnate again. Brahma, Bishnu and Shiva, gods in three forms, manifested themselves in one form. The one God, the Lord of the universe, seeing the miseries of mankind, came to their deliverance. Ananda (Ananda Chandra Kali, the originator) declares that the true and sincere worshippers of Trinath are sure to obtain salvation. Brahma. Bishnu, and Shiva met together and expressed their desire to come to this world in one form to receive worship.

"He is a truly pious man who worships Trinath, and blessings are showered on the worshipper.

"The worship should be made in a form in which the rich and the poor may equally join and may perform it easily.

"Only three things, each worth one pice, are required for this puja (form of worship). The things which please all must be selected. The offering should consist of siddhi (ganja), pan (betel-leaf), and oil, each worth one pice.

"The votaries should assemble at night and worship with flowers. The gauja should be washed in the manner in which people wash ganja for smoking. The worshipper must fill three chillurns with equal quantitie3 of ganja, observing due awe and reverence. W hen all the worshippers are assembled the lamp should be lit with three wicks, and the praises of Trinath should be sung. As long as the wicks burn, the god should be worshipped and his praises chanted. The god should be reverentially bowed to at the close of the puja. 'hen the reading of the Panchali is finished, those that will not show respect to the Prasad (the offering which has been accepted by the god), i.e., chilturn of ganja, shall be consigned to eternafhell, and the sincere worshippers shall go to heaven."

How the worship spread.--Ananda Kali commenced the puja with the aid of some ganjasmokers in the village of Fattehpur. A large number of people consume ganja in the Dacca and Mymensingh districts, and the worship soon became popular. In fact it spread like wildfire from one village to another among the ganja-smokers. Those that were not in the habit of consuming ganja also followed their example.

The following circumstances assisted the spread of the worship :—

I.-The puja is open to all classes from Brahmans to Chandals and to the rich and the poor. Caste does not stand in its way, and it may be performed almost every day and in all seasons.

II.—The puja is a Manasik Psija (made in pursuance of a vow on the fulfilment of the object desired). People have been led to believe that Trinath possesses the power of healing the sick and fulfilling desires, and that those who neglect his worship meet with disgrace, while those who observe it attain success in life. There are several stories in the Panchali narrated in illustration of this statement. It is also popularly believed that in the house where Trinath is worshipped cold, fever and headache do not appear.

III.—This is a cheap form of worship. The puja can be performed by even the poorest, only three pice being required.

IV.-People of the lowest class can mix with those above them without distinction of caste or creed on the occasion of these pujas.

V.—Ganja can be consumed by all in the name of a god, and the practice cannot be looked down upon, because it is done under certain forms and religious ceremonies. It is also popularly believed that those who mock the worshippers of Trinath shall be ruined and shall be the victims of misfortune.

The worship prevails not only among the poor, but also among the well-to-do. The latter often entertain their friends after the puja.

Women do not take any active part in the worship, but they often listen to the reading of the Panchali.

The worship is more or less general in the following districts :—(l) Dacca, (2) Mymensingh, (3) Faridpur, (4) Backergunge, (5) Noakhali, (6) Tippera, (7) Chittagong, (8) Bogra, (9) Sylhet, and (10) Pabna (Serajganj side).

The worship is on the decline. It is almost dying out among the educated Lhodrolokes, but among the masses it still exists.

I have ascertained the above facts from Dr. Chandra Sekhar Kali (brother of the originator, Ananda Chandra Kali) and many other respectable persons, and also from personal enquiries in the Dacca, Chittagong and Rajshahi divisions.