the elders sit round it. The son
of the deceased or other near relative anoints himself with turmeric
and picks up a stone. This is washed with the water from the pot,
and placed on the floor, and a sacrifice of a cock or hen is made to
it according as the deceased was a man or a woman. The stone is then
enshrined in the house as a family god, and the sacrifice of a fowl
is repeated annually. It is supposed apparently that the dead man's
spirit is brought back to the house in the fish, and then transferred
to the stone by washing this with the water.

12. Religion. Krishna and other deified cowherds.

The Ahirs have a special relation to the Hindu religion, owing
to their association with the sacred cow, which is itself revered
as a goddess. When religion gets to the anthropomorphic stage the
cowherd, who partakes of the cow's sanctity, may be deified as its
representative. This was probably the case with Krishna, one of
the most popular gods of Hinduism, who was a cowherd, and, as he is
represented as being of a dark colour, may even have been held to
be of the indigenous races. Though, according to the legend, he was
really of royal birth, Krishna was brought up by Nand, a herdsman of
Gokul, and Jasoda or Dasoda his wife, and in the popular belief these
are his parents, as they probably were in the original story. The
substitution of Krishna, born as a prince, for Jasoda's daughter,
in order to protect him from destruction by the evil king Kansa of
Mathura, is perhaps a later gloss, devised when his herdsman parentage
was considered too obscure for the divine hero. Krishna's childhood in
Jasoda's house with his miraculous feats of strength and his amorous
sports with Radha and the other milkmaids of Brindawan, are among
the most favourite Hindu legends. Govind and Gopal, the protector
or guardian of cows, are names of Krishna and the commonest names of
Hindus, as are also his other epithets, Murlidhar and Bansidhar, the
flute-player; for Krishna and Balaram, like Greek and Roman shepherds,
were accustomed to divert themselves with song, to the accompaniment
of the same instrument. The child Krishna is also very popular, and
his birthday, the Janam-Ashtami on the 8th of dark Bhadon (August),
is a great festival. On this day potsful of curds are sprinkled over
the assembled worshippers. Krishna, however, is not the solitary
instance of the divine cowherd, but has several companions, humble
indeed compared to hi