[19] They bear such marks in honour of _Brahma_, on the forehead; in honour of _Vishnu_, on the breast; and in honour of _Shiva_, on the arms. These are the three rulers of the elements--earth, water, and fire. In commemoration of the earth having been created by these three deities, and by means of these three elements, the Indians, in their lustrations, besprinkle themselves with three fingers. They take water also in the hollow of the hand, raise it upwards, and, in honour of the eight superior protecting spirits, sprinkle it towards the eight quarters of the world: they then throw it towards the heavens in honour of the Sun, whom they consider as the supreme divinity. These ablutions, with the marks on the forehead, are called _Shudhamayaga_; that is, purification, purity. The _Bhasma_, or colour with which the sacred marks are made, is supposed to represent the earth, from which the whole world, and consequently these colours, were produced. In this respect, however, the systems differ. _A._ [20] The latitude is not always accurately determined, even by the moderns. Thus John Hamilton Moore, in his _Practical Navigator_, places _Puduceri_, or Pondichery, in 11° 56′ N. lat.; but M. De la Tour places it in 12° N. lat. and 68° of E. lon. De l’Isle and D’Anville also differ from each other in their maps. This difference arises partly from the expertness requisite in determining the latitude by means of a quadrant, partly from the greater or less acuteness of the observer’s eye, and partly from the perfection or imperfection of the astronomical instruments employed. _A._ [21] See, on this subject, the second volume of _Nieubuhr’s Travels_, where the idols in the pagoda on the island of Elephanta are described. [22] Responsa privatis dat (Apis) e manu consulentium cibum capiendo. Germanici Cæfaris manum aversatus est, haud multo post extincti.