History of Dharmashastra (Ancient and Mediaeval Religious and Civil Law in India) v5.c74.t4.40

v5.c74.t4.40

One regrettable feature of the great temple of Jagannātha is the existence of some obscene and lascivious sculptures that disfigure the walls of the temple and the presence of dancing girls with rolling eyes, to which pointed reference is made by all writers, particularly European ones (vide, for example, Indian Antiquary vol. I. p. 322, Hunter's 'Orissa', vol. I pp. 111, 135). The presence of dancing girls is a legacy from the past. The Brahmapurāṇa (chap. 65) in describing the special *snāna* (bath) festival of Jagannātha on the full moon day of Jyeṣṭha mentions, along with the beating of drums and the music of the flute and the lute and the chanting of holy Vedic mantras, handsome veśyās as *chowrie*-bearers in front of the images of Balarāma and Kṛṣṇa.¹⁵⁹²