,  Gifts  are  made  to  the  god  or  to  the  priests ;  these  con-
sist of  money,  articles  of  value,  lands,  and  jewels  (Eanjit
Singh,  the  Maharaja  of  the  Sikhs,  gave  his  celebrated
diamond,  the  Koh-i-Nor,  to  Jagannatha).  The  offerings
are  flowers,  oil,  and  perfumes,  food  of  different  kinds,  and
animals,  which  are  set  at  liberty  by  consecrating  them  to
the  god,  or  are  sacrificed  to  him  as  victims.  As  a  general
rule,  the  offerings  in  the  Yishnuite  systems  of  worship
are,  except  in  remote  country  parts,  never  bloody ;  to  ^iva
victims  are  pretty  frequently  sacrificed,  but  not  in  the
temple  itself;  in  the  acts  of  worship,  on  the  contrary,*
which  are  addressed  to  the  different  forms  of  Durga,  im-
molation is  of  constant  occurrence,  and  it  takes  place  in
the  interior  of  the  sanctuary.  The  food  presented  to  the
god,  naivedya,  prasdda,  constitutes  a  sacrament ;  the  faith-
ful divide  it  among  themselves,  and  often  carry  it  away
to  a  distance.  The  maJid]jrasdda,  in  particular,  the  pra-
sada  by  pre-eminence,  that  which  has  been  dedicated  to
Jagannatha,  the  celebrated  idol  of  Puri,  is  reputed  to  be
endowed  with  the  most  sacred  qualities,  and  has  given
rise  to  a  singular  custom.  Between  those  who  partake  of
it  together  it  creates  for  a  space,  which  they  can  fix  at
will,  a  stronger  bond  of  connection  than  ties  of  blood.
