CHAPTER I.

_SANCTITY OF WATER._

Origin of fevers—Wrath of Shiva—Story of Ekānterio, the malaria fiend—Closing of wells—Protests based on religious sentiments and supernatural beliefs—Scriptural injunctions for the use of well water—Opinions of Parsi scholars—Some Hindu beliefs and usages—Ceremonies requiring water drawn from seven wells—Lighting of lamps in the niches in wells—The unwashed sect of the Jains—Aversion to bathing—The days of the Drymais 1-8