Panna. But in fact they adore the boy Krishna as he was at Mathura,
and in some temples there are images of Radha and Krishna, while in
others the decorations are so arranged as to look like an idol from
a distance. All temples, however, contain a copy of the sacred book,
round which a lighted lamp is waved in the morning and evening. The
Dhamis now say also that their founder Prannath was an incarnation
of Krishna, and they observe the Janam-Ashtami or Krishna's birthday
as their principal festival. They wear the Radha Vallabhi _tilak_
or sect-mark, consisting of two white lines drawn down the forehead
from the roots of the hair, and curving to meet at the top of the nose,
with a small red dot between them. On the cheeks and temples they make
rosette-like marks by bunching up the five fingers, dipping them in
a solution of sandalwood and then applying them to the face. [264]
They regard the Jumna as a sacred river and its water as holy, no
doubt because Mathura is on its banks, but pay no reverence to the
Ganges. Their priests observe celibacy, but do not practise asceticism,
and all the Dhamis are strict vegetarians.

There is also a branch of the sect in Gujarat, where the founder
is known as Meheraj Thakur. He appears to have been identical with
Prannath, and instituted a local headquarters at Surat. [265] It is
related by Mr. Bhimbhai Kirparam that Meheraj Thakur was himself the
disciple of one Deo Chand, a native of Amarkot in Sind. The latter
was devoted to the study of the Bhagwat Puran, and came to Jamnagar in
Kathiawar, where he founded a temple to Radha and Krishna. As there is
a temple at Panna consecrated to Deo Chand as the Guru or preceptor
of Prannath, and as the book of the faith is written in Gujarati,
the above account would appear to be correct, and it follows that
the sect originated in the worship of Krishna, and was refined by
Prannath into a purer form of faith. A number of Cutchis in Surat
are adherents of the sect, and usually visit the temple at Panna on
the full-moon day of Kartik (October). Curiously enough the sect has
also found a home in Nepal, having been preached there, it is said,
by missionary Dhamis in the time of Raja Ram Bahadur Shah of Nepal,
about 150 years ago. Its members there are known as Pranami or Parnami,
a corruption of Prannathi and they often come to Panna to study the
sacred book. It is reported that there are usually about forty Nepalis
lodging in the premises of the