temple.  It was formerly used daily by thousands of worshipers, but in this degenerate age nobody but tourists ever climb it.  Every boat load that lands is greeted by a group of bright-eyed children, who follow the sahibs (gentlemen) and mem-sahibs (ladies) up the stairs, begging for backsheesh and offering for sale curios beetles and other insects of brilliant hues that abound on the island.  Coolies are waiting at the foot of the stairs with chairs fastened to poles, in which they will carry a person up the steep stairway to the temple for 10 cents.  Reaching the top you find a solid fence with a gateway, which is opened by a retired army officer who has been appointed custodian of the place and collects small fees, which are devoted to keeping the temples clean and in repair.

The island is dedicated to Siva, the demon god of the Hindus, and it is therefore appropriate that its swamps and jungles should abound with poisonous reptiles and insects.  The largest of the several temples is 130 feet square and from 32 to 58 feet high, an artificial cave chiseled out of the granite mountain side.  The roof is sustained by sixteen pilasters and twenty-six massive fluted pillars.  In a recess in the center is a gigantic figure of Siva in his character as The Destroyer.  His face is turned to the east and wears a stern, commanding expression.  His head-dress is elaborate and crowned by a tiara beautifully carved.  In one hand he holds a citron and in the other the head of a cobra, which is twisted around his arm and is reaching towards his face.  His neck is adorned with strings of pearls, from which hangs a pendant in the form of a heart.  Another necklace supports a human skull, the peculiar symbol of Siva, with twisted snakes growing from the head instead of hair.  This is the great image of the temple and represents the most cruel and revengeful of all the Hindu gods.  Ten centuries ago he wore altogether a different character, but human sacrifices have always been made to propitiate him.  Around the walls of the cave are other gods of smaller stature representing several of the most prominent and powerful of the Hindu pantheon, all of them chiseled from the solid granite.  There are several chambers or chapels also for different forms of worship, and a well which receives its water from some mysterious source, and is said to be very deep.

The Portuguese did great damage here several centuries ago in a war with India, for they fired several cannon balls straight into the mouth of the cave, which carried away several of the columns and destroyed the ornamentation of others, but the Royal Asiatic Society has taken the trouble to make careful and accurate repairs.