Travels in India (Tavernier) 129.2.7

129.2.7

She has on her right a child in the form of Cupid, who is known as the god Lakshmi, and on her left arm she carries a small girl called the goddess Sita. As soon as the door of the pagoda was opened, and after a large curtain had been drawn, and the people present had seen the idol, all threw themselves on the ground, placing their hands upon their heads and prostrating themselves three times; then having risen they threw a quantity of bouquets and chains in form of chaplets, which the Brahmins placed in contact with the idol, and then returned to the people. An old Brahmin who was in front of the altar, held in his hand a lamp with nine lighted wicks, upon which, from time to time, he threw a kind of incense when approaching the lamp towards the idol. All these ceremonies lasted about an hour, after which the people retired, and the pagoda was closed. The people presented the idol with a quantity of rice, flour, butter, oil, and milk, of which the Brahmins let nothing be lost. As this idol has the form of a woman, all the women invoke her, and regard her as their patron; this is the reason why (the temple) is always crowded with women and children.