some one had stolen Sēēta, in the midst of his rage he exclaimed, This person must have been born when Shunee was in the ninth mansion,' SECTION XXI.-Rahoo. THIS god, the son of Singhika, is painted black: he rides on a lion; has four arms, in three of which he holds a scymitar, a spear, and a shield, and with the other hand is bestowing a blessing, "If a person be born under the planet Rahoo,' says the work already quoted,' his wisdom, riches, and children will be destroyed; he will be exposed to many afflictions, and be subject to his enemies,' Rahoo was originally a giant, but at the churning of the sea he took his present name and form; (that is, he became one of the heavenly bodies';) which transformation is thus described in the pooranus :-At the time when the gods churned the sea to obtain the water of life, Sooryu (the sun) and Chundrů (the moon) were sitting together. When the nectar came up, these gods hinted to Vishnoo, that one of the company who had drank of the nectar was not a god, but one of the giants. Vishnoo immediately cut off his head; but after drinking the water of life, neither the h The ascending node. i We are here reminded of Jupiter's deflowering Calisto, the daughter of Lycaon, king of Arcadia. It will be remembered, that when her disgrace became known, Juno turned her into a bear, which Jupiter afterwards advanced into heaven, and made it a constellation, now called Ursą major. head nor the trunk could perish. The head taking the name of Rahoo, and the trunk that of Kétoo, were placed in the heavens as the ascending and descending nodes; and leave was granted, by way of revenge on Sōōryŭ and Chundrů, that on certain occasions Rahoo should approach these gods, and make them unclean, so that their bodies should become thin and black. The popular opinion, however, is, that, at the time of an eclipse, Rahoo swallows the sun and moon, and vomits them up again. Many persons perform a number of ceremonies on these occasions, as, those to the manes; pouring out water to deceased ancestors; repeating the names of the gods; setting up gods; making offerings, &c. The Jyotish-tŭtwů declares, that performing these duties now is attended with benefits infinitely greater than at other times. Nobody must discharge the fæces or urine, or eat any food, until they have seen the sun or moon after the eclipse, though it be till their rising the next day. He who does not observe this law, will have a million of hells in one. Names. Tůmů, the dark, or, he who is possessed of a great proportion of the quality of darkness.-Rahoo, he It is a most unaccountable coincidence in the notions of remote nations, that the Chinese and the Greenlanders, as well as the Hindoos, should think that the sun or the moon is devoured at the time of an eclipse. "As soon as they (the Chinese) perceive that the sun or moon begins to be darkened, they throw themselves on their knees, and knock their foreheads against the earth. A noise of drums and cymbals is immediately® heard throughout the whole city. This is the remains of an ancient opinion entertained in China, that by such a horrid din they assisted the suffering luminary, and prevented it from being devoured by the celestial dragon." Crantz in his History of Greenland asserts, that a similar custom exists among this people, who could certainly never have learnt it either from the Hindoos or the Chinese. who swallows and afterwards vomits up the sun or moon.—— Swŭrbhanoo, he who shines in the heavens.-Soinghikéyŭ, the son of Singhika.-Vidhoontoodů, he who afflicts the moon. SECTION XXII.-Kétoo1. KETOO is the headless trunk of Rahoo, which became immortal at the churning of the sea. This god is painted of a light green colour. He rides on a vulture; in one hand holds a club, and with the other is bestowing a blessing. THE preceding may be called the Hindoo CELESTIAL GODS. I dare not say, that I have given every deity of this order, as I have not found any book containing an exact list of them. I could easily have enlarged the number, by inserting accounts of other forms of these gods; but this would have swelled the work, without adding to its value, 1 The descending node, CHAP. III. OF THE GODDESSES. SECT. I.-Doorga. IN those parts of the Hindoo shastrus which treat of the production of the world, this goddess is spoken of as the female power, under the name of Průkritée or Bhugŭvůtēē. She was first born in the house of Dukshŭ, one of the progenitors of mankind, and called Sutēē; under which name she was married to Shivů, but renounced her life on hearing her father reproach her husband. On her second appearance, we recognize her under the name of Parvutee, the daughter of Himalŭyŭa; when she was again married to Shivă, by whom she had two children, Kartikéyŭ and Gunéshů. Doorga has had many births to destroy the giants. The reason of her being called Doorga is thus given in the Kashee-khundŭ:-On a certain occasion Ugŭstyŭ, the sage, asked Kartikéyů, why Parvŭtēē, his mother, was called Doorga. Kartikéyŭ replied, that formerly a giant named Doorgu, the son of Rooroo, having performed religious austerities in honour of Brůmha, obtained his blessing, and became a great oppressor: he conquered the three worlds, and dethroned Indrů, Vayoo, Chůndrů, Yůmů, Ŭgnee, Vůroonů, Koovérů, Bălee, Eēshanů, Roodrů, Sōōryů, the eight Vůsoos, &c. The wives of the rishees were compelled to The mountain of this name. b. Sir W. Jones, not improperly, considers Doorga as bearing a pretty strong resemblance to Juno, as well as to Minerva. celebrate his praises. He sent all the gods from their heavens to live in forests; and at his nod they came and worshipped him. He abolished all religious ceremonies; the bramhuns, through fear of him, forsook the reading of the védŭs; the rivers changed their courses; fire lost its energy; and the terrified stars retired from sight: he assumed the forms of the clouds, and gave rain whenever he pleased; the earth through fear gave an abundant increase; and the trees yielded flowers and fruits out of season. The gods at length applied to Shivů. Indru said, 'He has dethroned me;'-Sōōryŭ said, ' He has taken my kingdom:' and thus all the gods related their misfortunes. Shivă, pitying their case, desired Parvutee to go and destroy the giant. She willingly accepting of the commission, calmed the fears of the gods, and first sent Kalu-ratree, a female whose beauty bewitched the inhabitants of the three worlds, to order the giant to restore things to their ancient order. The latter, full of fury, sent some soldiers to lay hold of Kalu-ratree; but, by the breath of her mouth, she reduced them to ashes. Doorgŭ then sent 30,000 other giants, who were such monsters in size that they covered the surface of the earth. Among them were the following: Doordhurů, Doormookhůa, Khŭrů, Shiru-panee1, Pashŭpanees, Sooréndră", Důmůnu', Hunook, Yŭgnůhanee', Khurgu-roma", Oograsyŭ", Dévů-kŭmpŭnů, &c. At the sight of these giants, Kalŭ-ratree fled through the air to Parvutée, and the giants followed her. Doorgŭ, with 100,000,000 chariots, 200 urvoodus (or 120,000,000,000) of elephants, 10,000,000 of swift-footed horses, and innu • Difficult to catch. human skull in the hand. 8 Wielders of the pashů. f Holding a h Sovereigns of the gods. i Bullies. k Of high cheek bones. 1 Sacrifice-destroyers. They whose hair is like scymitars. " Of terrific countenance.. |