most sacred text of the Vedas, according to the Hindus. Every true Brahman should chant it when he rises, and this formula is supposed to exercise its magical powers on behalf of the reciter. Surya Like Savitar he stands for the Sun and is often identified with him, but he is a divinity of rather a different character, especially in the Puranas. He is described as a dark red man, with three eyes and four arms. Two of his hands hold water-lilies, the third blesses, and with the fourth he encourages his worshippers. Sometimes he is seated on a red lotus, and rays of glory spread from his body. In the Vishnu Purana (Book III, Chapter II), Surya marries Sanjna. the daughter of Visvakarma. After bearing him three children, she was so exhausted by the perpetual dazzling lavished by her husband that she had to leave him, and before going she arranged for Shaya (the Shade) to take her place. After several years Surya noticed the change, and went off to look for Sanjna. After various adventures he brought her home, but to prevent any further flights his father-in-law took away an eighth of Surya's splendour. Visvakarma, a skilled worker, made good use of this fragment of shining energy by using it to forge the disk of Vishnu, the trident of Siva, the lance of Karttikeya the god of war, and the weapons of Kuvera the god and guardian of wealth. A passage in the Brahma Purana alludes to Surya's twelve names, each of which was followed by special epithets, as if they referred to twelve different solar divinities: 'The first form of the sun is Indra, lord of the gods and destroyer of their enemies; the second is Dhata, creator of all things; the third is Parjanya, who dwells in the clouds and with his rays sends down water on the earth; the fourth is Tvashta, who lives in all corporal forms; the fifth is Puchan, who provides food for all living things; the sixth is Aryama who brings sacrifices to fruition; the seventh derives his name from alms-giving and rejoices all beggars by his gifts; the eighth is named Vivasvan and causes good digestion; the ninth is Vishnu who constantly manifests himself to destroy the enemies of the gods; the tenth is Ansuman who keeps all vital organs in good health; the eleventh is Varuna who dwells in the heart of the waters and gives life to the universe; and the twelfth is Mitra who lives in the orb of the moon for the welfare of the three worlds. Such are the twelve splendours of the Sun, the supreme Spirit, who by their means plunges into the universe and irradiates even the secret souls of men.' Ushas This goddess, who symbolises the dawn, has been sung especially by the Vedic poets, and the hymns addressed to her are among the most beautiful in the Vedas. She is the daughter of Heaven and the sister of Night. She is related to Varuna. Sometimes the Sun is spoken of as her husband, or Fire as her lover. In some hymns Ushas is praised as mother of the Sun. The Asvins are her friends. At one time Indra was thought of as her creator, but at another time he is hostile to her, and destroys her chariot with a thunderbolt. Ushas travels in a shining chariot drawn by cows or reddish horses. The poets liken her sometimes to a charming girl dressed by her mother's care, and sometimes to a dancing-girl covered with jewels. Or she is a lovely girl coming out of her bath, or a wife dressed in magnificent clothes to meet her husband. Ever-smiling, confident in the irresistible power of her charms, she moves forward half-opening her veils. She drives away darkness, and reveals treasures hidden in its folds. She gives light to the world even to the most distant horizon. She is the life and the health of all things. It is thanks to her that the birds can take flight in the morning. Like the young mistress of a house, she awakens all creatures and orders them to their different work. She performs a service to the gods by waking those who intend to worship them and to light the fires of sacrifice. She is besought only to waken the good and the generous, and to let the wicked sleep. She is young, she is born anew every morning, and yet old, since she is immortal. While generation after generation passes away, the dawn exists forever. Puchan He brings all things, moving and immobile, into relationship with one another. For example, he carries out marriage. He protects, and he liberates. He provides food, and he fattens cattle. He must obviously be the reflection of some ancient fecundity rite. He often travels, he knows the roads, he is the guide and patron of travellers. He also leads the spirits of the dead into the other world. A hymn in the Rig-Veda invokes him as follows: 'Lead us, O Puchan, on our way. Son of the liberator, save us from agony; do thou walk before us. Drive away the evil and ravening wolf which seeks for us. Keep our road free from robbers, and set your foot on the burning weapons of the wretched exploiter, whoever he may be. O wise and miracle-powered Puchan, grant us your help as you gave it to our forefathers. O god through whom are all benedictions, your attribute is a gold lance - let us win riches easily. Make smooth our path when we travel. Give us strength. Lead us into rich pastures. May adversity never come our way. Feed and encourage us, and fill our bellies.' And in another hymn: 'O Puchan, may we meet with a wise man who will guide us at once, saying: "Behold your way."' 'May Puchan take care of our cows and protect our horses. May he give us food. Come to us, O shining god, O liberator, may we meet together.' Prajapati Prajapati, the master of created beings, and Visvakarma, the universal agent, embody potency in a less concrete form, and in the Brahmanas are almost identical. They became independent only through a progress in abstraction, but Visvakarma had once been an epithet applied to Indra and the Sun; while Prajapati had been applied to Savitar and Soma. Visvakarma ordered all things and sees everything; he made the foundations and the distinctions of everything; Prajapati is a father and the protector of those who beget. Gods and asuras are his children. A loftier abstraction makes him the absolute, Brahma, and even the indefinable absolute, whose sole fitting name is 'Who?' (Ka). Brihaspati The final form is Bramanaspati, the master of magical power involved in ritual formula - he is the priesthood itself. This god is called the chaplajn, the brahman, the brahmanic priest. In many places he is confused with Agni, and a special correlation links him with the fire of the South, the fire of the Manes, probably because of the importance attached by Hindus to funeral rites. In Brahmanic literature, properly so called, which is later than the Vedic hymns, especially in the Brahmanas and Upanishads, the 'master of the Formula' and 'the master of created things' acquired a cosmological value. With these two entities we leave the pantheon and mythology, and touch the beginnings of metaphysics. Prajapati's origin is not a god but Thought (Taittiriya Brah. II, 2, 9, 10) or the Brahman (Brihadaranyaka Up V. 5, 1); his demiurgic activity consists in begetting gods (ibid.) or creatures. And since they 'remained vaguely united he entered into them through form. That is why they say: "Prajapati is form." Then he entered into them by their name. And that is why they say: "Prajapati is the name.'" (Tail. Br. II, 2, 7, 1). The following divinities take us back to the Vedas. Aditi. She is the mother of the Adityas, Mitra and Varuna. Literally Aditi means 'free from bonds'. No doubt this refers to the boundless sky, which is the abode of her 'children' sun and moon, night and day. The historian is tempted to rank this mother as later than her children, for they became Indian, while she is no older than 'In- dianity'. 'Aditi is the sky, the air . all gods, the five nations (Aryan). Aditi is the past and the future. 'The august mother of the supporters of justice (Mitra and Varuna), the wife of Order, we call you to our aid, O powerful, ever young, far-spreading, kind shelterer, good leader, Aditi! 'The solid earth and the sinless heavens, kind shelterer and good leader. Aditi, we call upon you. The divine ship with strong rowers which never sinks, may we meet with it, and free from sin attain salvation!" Tvashtar The special characteristic of Tvashtar is a hand at work. This 'worker' forged the thunderbolt of Indra as well as that cup reserved for ambrosia, the moon. He is called the universal exciter in all forms (savita visvarupa) and so he becomes the equivalent of Savitar, and therefore of solar nature. The other gods are Nature gods and need no analysis or special explanation: Vata or Vayu, the Wind; Parjanya, the Rain; Apa, the Waters; Prithivi, the Earth. POPULAR MYTHOLOGY: THE DEMONS The Indian conception of demons is special to them, and moreover has many different aspects. To start with, the line separating demons from gods is not very clear. Generally 'Devas' are translated as 'gods' and 'Asuras' as 'demons', but in point of fact both are essentially beings gifted with a remarkable and mysterious power which is manifested simultaneously by moral and physical attributes. For instance, Varuna who enjoys a remarkable moral prestige is ranked an 'asura' while Indra, unquestionably less refined, is a 'deva'. Surya, the sun, is called 'the asura- chaplain of the Devas'. In the later Artharva Veda the word 'asura' is applied only to demons, and henceforth that is the generally received meaning. In Iran on the contrary the same term is used to mean the divinity, Ahura. Henceforth the Devas and the Asuras are often seen at war with one another. According to the Satapatha Brahmana, Prajapati is their common ancestor. But the Devas rejected falsehood and chose the truth, while the Asuras rejected truth and chose falsehood. As they spoke only truth, the gods appeared to be weak; but in the end they became strong and attained prosperity. The Asuras at first by their lies won riches, but in the end found destruction. Another legend says that the Asuras when making sacrifice put the offerings in their own mouths, whereas the gods offer them to one another. In spite of their rivalry with the Asuras, the Devas were glad to accept the help of their enemies for the churning of the sea, and at this task the demons showed quite as much skill and energy as the gods. (See page 379.) Generally speaking, it is clear that the popular deities, only slightly Aryan and usually not Aryan at all, were described by the Aryans as demoniacal. Some of them have remained demons until our own times. Others were incorporated sooner or later into the Brahmanic pantheon, almost always retaining certain peculiarities which show their origin. For instance, the terrible forms of the cult of Siva in his aspect as destroyer, the fact that the demons are among his sectaries, and that he is sometimes called 'lord of demons' (Bhutapati) seem to point to a non-Aryan origin of his deity. The legend of his marriage with the daughter of Daksha is further confirmation of this hypothesis. Daksha, one of the Prajapatis or lords of creation, out of vanity became violently hostile to Siva. Daksha's daughter, Sati, a real incarnation of feminine devotion and piety, had secretly given her heart to the cult of the condemned god. When the time came for her betrothal her father ordered a Svayamara (the ceremony where a king's daughter chose her husband from the assembled suitors) and purposely omitted to invite Siva. When Sati came forward, holding in her hand the garland of flowers which she was to cast round the neck of her chosen husband, she uttered a supreme invocation to the god she loved. 'If it is true that I am called Sati,' she exclaimed, throwing her flowers in the air. 'O Siva, take my garland!' And immediately Siva appeared, with her garland on his shoulders. Yet later on this union was considered a misalliance. When Daksha went to war with his son-in- law, he called him 'the god with the monkey's eyes who married my daughter with her gazelle's eyes'. 'It was against my will', he says further, 'that I gave my daughter to this sullied personage, the abolisher of rites and destroyer of boundaries He frequents horrible cemeteries, accompanied by crowds of spirits and ghosts, looking like a madman, naked, with dishevelled hair, wearing a garland of skulls and human bones a lunatic beloved by lunatics, lord of the demons whose nature is wholly obscure. Alas! at the urging of Brahma I gave my virtuous daughter to this lord of furies, this evil heart.' Often the demons have only a passing life. Sometimes created by the gods for some particular circumstance for instance, to conquer the Asuras themselves - these evil beings afterwards disappear for ever as mysteriously as they were born. Again, the gods and goddesses sometimes assume terrible shapes to fight with the demons. For instance, we shall see in the legend of Hiranyakasipu how Vishnu devours his victim in the form of a cruel monster with a lion's head. But the most typical example of these metamporphoses is certainly that of Siva's wife. Under the name of Parvati she is presented as a very beautiful young woman, seated beside her divine husband, discoursing with him sometimes of love and sometimes of lofty metaphysics. In the shape of Uma she practices the harshest asceticism on the peaks of the Himalayas in order to attract Siva's attention and so be received into his favor. But under the name of Durga, and in response to an appeal from the gods, she undertakes to destroy a demon who had dethroned them all. The battle is terrible. The demon changes into a buffalo, an elephant, and a giant with a thousand arms. But Durga is invincible. Mounted on a lion she overcomes the monster, and despatches him by thrusting her lance into his heart. Durga is represented with a serene and beautiful face, but she has ten arms, each with a weapon. One of her hands holds the lance which pierces the heart of the conquered demon. Her right foot is on the lion, and her left on the demon's neck. Siva's wife assumed as many as ten terrifying shapes to destroy the demons. One of the most horrible and the most venerated was that of Kali, often called Kali Ma (the black mother). In this incarnation the goddess fought with Raktavija, chief of the army of demons. Seeing that gradually all his soldiers were being killed, Raktavija attacked the goddess himself. She smote him with her formidable weapons, but every drop of blood which fell from his body gave birth to a thousand giants as powerful as he. Kali was only able to overcome her adversary by drinking all his blood. Having conquered the giant she began to dance with joy so wildly that the whole earth quaked. At the request of the gods her husband begged her to stop, but in her sacred madness she did not even see him. cast him down among the dead and trod on his body. When at last she realized her mistake she was covered with shame. Kali is represented as a woman with a very dark complexion, with long loose hair, and four arms. One of her hands holds a sword; the second holds the severed head of the giant; and with the other two hands she encourages her worshippers. Her ear-rings are two corpses and she wears a necklace of human skulls. Her only garment is a girdle made up of two rows of hands. Her tongue hangs out, her eyes are red, as if she were drunk, her face and bosom are polluted with blood. The goddess is generally shown standing, with one foot on the leg and the other on the chest of Siva. The Tattiriya Samhita puts evil beings into three categories -the Asuras are opposed to the gods, the Rakshasas to men, and the Pisakas to the dead. But these categories are much less clearly denned in practice than in theory. The Asuras The Asuras are a kind of very powerful Titans, skilled magicians and implacable enemies of the Devas. As will be observed in the legends which follow, they are sometimes superior to the gods and - this is a curious detail - their power has often been conferred on them by the gods themselves, who thus turn out to be the artisans of their own defeat. The story of Jalandhara is characteristic of the various battles which were waged continually between the Devas and the Asuras. One day Indra and the other gods paid a visit to Siva on mount Kailasi, and amused him with songs and dances. Siva was delighted by the music, and begged his visitors to ask a boon. Indra, in a defiant way, wished to become a warrior as powerful as Siva himself. The wish was granted, and the gods departed. Siva then began to wonder what use Indra would make of his new power; and as he meditated a shape of anger, black as darkness itself, rose before him and said: 'Give me your form, and tell me what I can do for you.' Siva told him to enter the river Ganga (the Ganges) and to wed her to the Ocean. A son was born from this union - the earth quaked and wept, the three worlds echoed with claps of thunder. Brahma perceived the extraordinary strength of this miraculous child, gave him the name of Jalandhara and the gift of conquering the gods and possessing the three worlds. Jalandhara's youth was filled with miracles - he soared over the oceans on the wings of the winds, and played with the lions he had tamed. Later his father gave him a splendid kingdom, and he wedded Vrinda, the daughter of a heavenly nymph, also renowned in legend. Soon after his marriage he declared war on the gods under the pretext of regaining the wonders born from the churning of the sea of milk, which had been taken for himself by Indra. The battle began, and on each side thousands of warriors were slain. The gods regained life and health thanks to magic plants gathered in the mountains. Jalandhara had received from Brahma himself the power of resurrecting the dead. Indra in his turn was attacked by Jalandhara, but Vishnu went to the rescue. The Asuras fought so valiantly that their arrows darkened the sky, but Vishnu drove them before him like dead leaves. Jalandhara then flooded the mountains where the gods found the magic plants which restore life. Vishnu himself attacked Jalandhara, but this time the demon succeeded in overthrowing him, and only spared his life at the entreaty of the goddess, Lakshmi. Jalandhara, having conquered the Devas, drove them from heaven, and reposed in peace. However, the gods refused to accept their fate, deprived as they were of their heavenly abodes, of sacrifices, and of ambrosia. They consulted Brahma, who led them to Siva. Seated on his throne, and accompanied by myriads of devoted followers, all of them naked, all deformed, with tangled curly hair, Siva advised the gods to pool their powers and to forge a weapon capable of annihilating their common foe. The gods, burning with anger, cast forth masses of flame, to which Siva added the burning rays of his third eye. Vishnu brought the fire of his rage, and also besought Siva to cause the demon to perish. Siva then approached the huge burning mass, set his heel on it, and began to revolve with dizzy speed. Thus a glistening disk was forged. Its rays singed the beard of Brahma, who peered at it too closely, and the gods, were blinded by it. But Siva hid the weapon under his arm, and the battle began again. But now the war was complicated by a love affair - Jalandhara wanted to abduct Siva's wife, Parvati. She escaped him by changing into a lotus, and her ladies of honour were changed into bees and flew about her. On the other hand Vishnu was more cunning, and having assumed the form of Jalandhara succeeded in seducing his wife. But Vrinda discovered the trick and died of grief, laying curses on the seducer. Jalandhara was wild with rage when he heard of his wife's lamentable end. He gave up Parvati, returned to the battlefield, resurrected his dead heroes, and launched a final assault. Siva and Jalandhara defied each other to single combat. After a fierce struggle Siva brought forth the disk, and cut off the head of his adversary. But he had the power to make it constantly spring up again. Would Siva in his turn be beaten? No, for he called on the goddesses, wives of the gods. Transmuted into she-ogres they drank the Asura's blood, and thus Siva succeeded in mastering him and in regaining for the gods their possessions and their kingdom. The Rakshasas The Rakshasas often have a half-divine nature, but whereas the gods often display generosity, kindness, mastery and truth, the Rakshasas display the most deplorable passions - gluttony, lust, violence, perjury - at any rate in their relations with gods and men. Among themselves they show filial and conjugal affection, good faith and devotion. They are great Magicians, and have power to assume any shape they wish. The city of the Rakshasas is wonderfully beautiful, having been built by the architect of the gods, Visvakarma himself. They practise all the arts, and by austerity and penance sometimes obtain great favours of the gods. In general the Rakshasas are not by nature evil beings, but creatures destined by inescapable fate (Dharma) to play a hostile or malevolent part in the life of such and such a person in such and such a situation. In some cases this part is the natural consequence of a former life, whose fruit thus comes to maturity. An example is given us by the three incarnations of the demon Ravana. One day a being of high rank in the heaven of Vishnu committed a grave error. He had to return to earth to expiate it. He was given the choice between three incarnations as the enemy, or seven incarnations as the friend of Vishnu. He chose the former alternative as it was the quicker way to be free. In consequence certain incarnations of Vishnu have no other reason than the need for him to be on earth at the same time as his temporary enemy, and to slay him in order to procure his redemption. Ravana's First Incarnation: Hiranyakasipu Hiranyakasipu was a very powerful demon-king. Thanks to the power he had received from Brahma himself he succeeded in dethroning Indra and exiling the gods from heaven. He proclaimed himself king of the universe, and forbade worship of anyone but himself. However, his son Prahlada consecrated himself to Vishnu, who had initiated him into the secrets of his heart. Hiranyakasipu, irritated by the sight of his son devoting himself to the cult of a mortal enemy, inflicted on the young man a series of cruel tortures in order to turn him from his vocation. But his fervour simply increased, and he began to preach the religion of Vishnu to men and demons. Hiranyakasipu ordered the death of this unmanageable missionary. But the sword, poison, fire, wild elephants, and magic incantations failed to harm him, for Prahlada was protected by his god. Hiranyakasipu once more called his son to him. Prahlada with immense gentleness tried again to convince his father of Vishnu's greatness and omnipresence, but the demon angrily exclaimed: 'If Vishnu is everywhere, how does it happen that my eyes don't see him?' He kicked one of the pillars in his audience chamber, saying: 'Is he here, for instance?' 'Even when invisible he is present in all things,' said Prahlada softly. Whereupon Hiranyakasipu uttered a blasphemy and kicked the pillar, which fell on the floor. Immediately Vishnu emerged from the pillar in the shape of a lion-headed man (in his incarnation as Narasimha), seized on the demon, and tore him to shreds. Prahlada succeeded his father, and reigned with justice and wisdom. His grandson was the demon Bali, who also was a rival of the gods, but was as virtuous as he was powerful. Bali reigned over heaven and earth. Only Vishnu could conquer so powerful a king. The gods besought him to be re-incarnated, so that he could regain the kingdom which belonged to them. And Vishnu agreed to be born again in the shape of a dwarf Brahman. While Bali was offering up a sacrifice on the bank of the river sacred to the Narmada, the dwarf came to visit him. Bali knew his duty. He touched his forehead with the precious water which had cooled the Brahman's feet, bade him be welcome, and offered to grant whatever he desired. The dwarf replied modestly: 'I ask only a little piece of land, three steps, which I shall carefully pace out. I desire no more. A wise man does not ask for more than is necessary to him.' Although surprised by so humble a request, the king granted the gift. Then Vishnu suddenly reassumed his divine stature, and in two steps traversed the whole universe. He still had a third step to take. He turned to Bali and said: 'Asura, you promised me three steps of land. In two steps I have traversed the world - where shall I make the third? Every man who fails to give a Brahman what he has promised is doomed to fall. You have deceived me, and deserve to sink into the regions of hell.' 'I do not fear hell so much as a bad reputation,' answered Bali, and he presented his head for the god's third step, and was cast down into the depths of the underworld for ever. Another legend has Bali slain by the hand of Indra during the battle waged between Indra and the demons led by Jalandhara. Bali fell, and a flood of jewels came from his mouth. Indra drew near in surprise, and tore his body to pieces with a thunderbolt. Bali was so pure in his conduct that the various parts of his body gave birth to the-germs of precious stones. Diamonds came from his bones, sapphires from his eyes, rubies from his blood, emeralds from his marrow, crystal from his flesh, and pearls from his teeth. Second Incarnation: Ravana The demon Ravana is the implacable enemy of Rama (an incarnation of Vishnu) and the abductor of Sita. His story will be given in great detail in the Ramayana account (see page 381). We shall merely note here that on the eve of the decisive battle in which he was slain Ravana had a short moment of lucidity in which he admitted the divinity of Rama. He then exlaimed: 'I must die by his hand. That is why I abducted the daughter of Janaka (Sita). Neither passion nor anger urged me to retain her. I want to die to attain the heaven of Vishnu.' Alongside the story of Ravana. we hear of two brothers. One of them, Kumbhakarna, is a sort of giant-ogre. As soon as he was born he stretched out his arms and grasped everything within his reach to allay his hunger. Later he seized five hundred Apsaras (heavenly nymphs) and abducted the wives of a hundred Rishis, not to mention cows and Brahmans. To calm the fears aroused by this demon, Brahma wanted to confer on him the gift of eternal sleep; but Kumbhakarna asked to be allowed to wake up every six months and eat to repletion. In this bi-annual meal he is said to have devoured six thousand cows, ten thousand sheep, ten thousand goats, four hundred buffaloes, while drinking four thousand bowls of strong liquor in the skull of a wild boar. And he complained of his brother for not giving him more! Ravana's other brother, Vibhishana, refused to join the war against Rama and urged his brother to give Sita back to her husband. But Ravana drove him away with curses. Rising into the air with four of his friends, Vibhishana passed over the sea and offered his services to Rama. They were accepted, and Rama undertook in exchange to place Vibhishana on the throne of Lanka (Ceylon) after the defeat of Ravana. Third Incarnation: Sisupala Sisupala was the son of a king, but he had three eyes and four arms. His father and mother were terrified by this omen, and were getting ready to abandon him when a voice rang through the air: 'Fear not! Cherish the child. His time is not yet come. He that will slay him by force of arms on the day of destiny is already born. Until then he will be the favourite of fortune and renown.' The queen his mother was somewhat comforted by these words, and said: 'Who is he who shall kill my son?' And the voice replied: 'You shall know him by this sign -when the child is on his knees his third eye will disappear and you will see his extra arms fall off.' The king and queen then set out on their travels, and visited all the.monarchs of the neighboring lands. At each place they asked their host to take the child on his knees, but nothing of his appearance was changed. They returned home disappointed. Some time afterwards the young prince Krishna (another incarnation of Vishnu) paid them a visit accompanied by his elder brother. The two lads began to play with the child, and as soon as Krishna had taken him on his knees the baby's third eye withered away and his extra arms vanished. The queen then knew the future slayer of her son. Falling on her knees, she exclaimed: 'O my lord, grant me a boon.' 'Speak,' said the young god. 'Promise me that if my son should offend you, you will forgive him.' 'Certainly. Even if he offends me a hundred times, I will forgive him.' However, the fate predicted had to. befall. Many years later the king Yudhishthira celebrated a great sacrifice in honour of his cornonation. Kings and heroes were invited to his festivities. Krishna was present, and the royal family had decided to offer him their homage first of all. But one of the guests makes a protest. Sisupala bitterly reproaches the hosts, saying: 'You insult all the kings present by giving precedence to someone who has no right to it, either from his connections, his age, his lineage or for any other reason.' Sisupala argues his case so cleverly that some of the guests are ready to take his part. Would they prevent the consummation of the sacrifice, which would be a certain token of misfortune for the whole kingdom? King Yudhishthira did everything he could to conciliate Sisupala, but he refused to be cajoled. Yudhishthira then turned to his old grandfather Brahma for his advice, and he answered smiling: 'The lord Krishna himself will decide the dispute. What can a dog do against a lion? This king seems like a lion so long as the real lion is not awake. Let us wait.' Sisupala was furious at being likened to a dog and insulted the venerable old man, who maintained his serenity, and prevented the others from intervening on his behalf to avenge him. He lifted his hand to command silence, and then told his guests the story of Sisupala and the predictions made long ago to his parents. Sisupala's mad rage knew no bounds. He drew his sword and threatened the old man while again insulting him. The old man still remained calm and, turning his gaze towards Krishna, said with diginity: 'I fear nothing, for we have with us the lord we all worship. Let anyone who wants a quick death contend with him - the dark-colored god who bears in his hands the disk and the mace - and when he dies he will enter the god's body.' All eyes were turned towards Krishna who looked mildly on the angry king. But when Sisupala repeated his threats and insults, the god said simply: 'The cup of your misdeeds is now full.' At that very moment the divine weapon, the flaming disk, rose behind Krishna, sped through the air and fell on the helmet of Sisupala, whom it cleft asunder from head to feet. Then the sinner's soul broke out like a mass of fire which moved forward to bow before Krishna, and was absorbed in his feet. Thus, as the elder had predicted, he was mingled with the god at his death. Thus ended Sisupala who had sinned unto one hundred and one times and yet was pardoned, for even the god's enemies attain salvation by thinking of him continually. The Pisakas are almost always vampires. The Bhutas and Pretas are sometimes ghosts, sometimes goblins. They are rather vague spirits who haunt in bands the cemeteries and other places of evil omen. The Nagas The Nagas are a fabulous race of snakes. They are powerful and dangerous, and usually appear in the form of ordinary snakes, but sometimes as fabulous snakes and, in some circumstances, in human form. There are snake-kings, such as that Takshaka whose glittering capital is the glory of the underworld kingdom. Certain royal families or dynasties reckoned Nagas among their ancestors. Statues of divinised Nagas are still commonly worshipped in the South of India. Needless to say a symbolical and highly metaphysical sense is now attached to the cult. The statues are always placed under a tree. On a private property custom even demands that an uncultivated space shall be left round the god-snakes for the jungle to grow freely. The popular belief is that if the snakes have their own domain reserved to them they are more likely to spare human beings. In Mythology the Nagas and their wives, the Naginis, often play a fatal part, and their favorite methods are surprise and trickery. But there are exceptions. In epochs of cosmic rest Vishnu sleeps under the protection of the great snake, Sesha, who forms his bed while his seven raised heads give the god shade. Reptiles in general are supposed to be gifted with amazing powers, and the fact that they are amphibious seems to have greatly struck the imagination of the Indians. Here briefly summarised are two legends from the Mahabharata, where we come on Takshaka, king of the Nagas. Parikchit King Parikchit was passionately fond of hunting. One day when he was exhausted with fatigue and thirst after a long pursuit of a wounded gazelle, it happened that he unintentionally offended a hermit of the highest virtue who was observing a vow of silence in the heart of the forest. The wise man's son was indignant at this insult to his father, and placed his curse on the king, saying: 'Within a week the snake Takshaka will burn you with his poison, and you will die.' When the king heard this fatal news he built a palace on top of a column which stood in the middle of a lake, and decided to shut himself up there. But Takshaka succeeded in overcoming the vigilance of the guards by a ruse. He changed some snakes into wandering monks and sent them to the king bearing offerings of water, the sacred plant and fruits. The king received them, accepted their gifts and dismissed them. Then the king said to his ministers and friends: 'Let your excellencies eat with me the delicious fruits brought by these ascetics.' Among the open fruits there appeared a strange insect shining like red copper, with glittering eyes. The king picked up the insect and said: 'The sun is about to set, and I have now no fear of death. Let the hermit's speech be accomplished, let this insect bite me.' And he put it on his neck. Then the snake Takshaka, for he it was, wrapped the king in his coils and uttered a great roar. Seeing the king caught in the snake's coils the counsellors burst into tears and suffered the keenest grief. They then fled from the monster's roaring, and even as they ran they saw the marvellous reptile rise into the air. Takshaka, king of the snakes, red as a lotus, traced across the forehead of heaven a line as straight as that which parts the hair on the head of a bride. The king fell dead as if struck by lightning, and the palace was wrapped in fire. Afterwards they carried out for Parikchit all the ceremonies relating to the next world. Then the chaplain, the ministers, and all the assembled subjects acclaimed the new king, his son Janame- jaya, who was still a child. Utanka and the Earrings A young Brahman student, Utanka, was told to take to his tutor's wife a pair of earrings, which had been given her by the queen. This queen (who was the wife of king Janamejaya, son of the king Parikchit who figures in the preceding tale) warned the young man that the king of snakes, Takshaka, had long coveted these jewels. The Brahman set out, and on the way noticed a naked beggar who sometimes approached and sometimes disappeared from sight. Soon after, Utanka stopped to perform his ablutions, and laid the earrings on the ground. The beggar glided up swiftly towards the jewels, grasped them and fled. When his ablutions were finished Utanka discovered the theft, and eagerly pursued the thief. But at the moment when Utanka got his hands on him the robber abandoned his borrowed shape, became a snake again, and glided into a cleft which opened into the earth. Having thus returned to the world of snakes, the cunning Takshaka took refuge in his palace. Utanka then remembered the queen's words. But how was he to get at Takshaka? He began to search the hole with the end of his staff, but without success. Indra saw he was overwhelmed with grief and sent his thunderbolt, saying: 'Go, and bring aid to this Brahman!' The thunder descended, entered the cleft by following the staff, and burst open the hole. Utanka followed in its tracks. Having entered the limitless world of snakes, he found it was full of admirable establishments for games, both large and small, and crowded with hundreds of porticoes, turrets, palaces and temples, of different types of architecture. He then chanted a hymn in praise of the Nagas, but although the snakes were smothered with praise they did not return the jewels. Thereupon Utanka entered into meditation. A marvellous symbolical vision of nights and days, of (he year and the seasons, unrolled before his eyes; and then he saw Indra himself mounted on a horse. He praised the god in a sacred chant, and Indra, well-pleased, offered his help. Utanka asked: 'Put the snakes into my power.' 'Breathe on the crupper of my horse,' replied Indra. Utanka obeyed, and the steed suddenly caused an outburst of huge flames accompanied by smoke. The world of snakes was buried in the smoke; and terrified by the glow of the fire Takshaka hastily emerged from his palace and returned the ear-rings to the young Brahman. Indra then lent Utanka his miraculous steed which brought the young man to his tutor in a second. He arrived just in time to hand the jewels at the time appointed to his tutor's wife as she had asked. Rudra and the Maruts The Indological school of Uppsala, K.F. Johansson and his followers E. Arbman and J. Charpentier, have lately found numerous traces of popular religion in the Vedas. The cult of Rudra plays a central part in it. This prince of demons (Bhudapati) is a savage figure, and god of the dead, in as much as he and his crew feed on the departed, like the followers of Odin in Nordic mythology. He is an earth god, but on the evidence of a single passage in the Rig-Veda which [...]... from the abyss on his tusks The sculptors represented the Varahavatara in the form of a giant with the head of a wild boar, holding in his arms the goddess of Earth Avatar of the Turtle This is connected with the episode of 'the churning of the sea', one of the most popular legends of Indian mythology Long ago Indra, king of the gods, was cursed by a great rishi named Durvasas Thereafter Indra and the... origin of good and of evil, of wretchedness and of salvation The philosophy of Sivaism is destructive of illusions, but leads neither to inaction nor to pessimism On the contrary, its wisdom allows it to enter harmoniously into the great 'game', lila, of life, to take part in it by dancing with all one's heart and all one's joy Siva indeed is often represented under the form of Nataraja, the king of dancing... avatar of Vishnu It seems very likely that the Semitic fable was the origin of this cycle of legends In later times when sacrifice did not include the whole of human activity, Manu was credited with the part of legislator, and his name was attached to the most famous code of Brahman law Yama, judge of men and king of the invisible world, was born from Vivasvat, the Sun, and from Saranya, the daughter of. .. mark which gave him the name of 'Nilakantha', blue throat At last the persevering efforts of gods and demons received their reward First of all their eyes beheld Surabhi, the marvellous cow mother and nurse of all living things Then came Varuni goddess of wine, Parijata the tree of paradise, the delight of the nymphs of heaven, scenting the whole earth with the perfume of its flowers, and then all... who coveted the goddess of prosperity Among other products of the sea of milk must be mentioned Dhanvantari, doctor of the gods, and inventor of the Ayur-Vedic system of medicine; a miraculous horse, a sort of Pegasus; and a marvellous jewel which Vishnu placed on his breast The doctor of the gods was the last to appear, holding in his hand the cup which contained the liquid of immortality The furious... posture of teaching, a blue lotus in his hand - often with a sword, the sword of knowledge, or a book Maitreya, the Buddha of the future, still dwells in the heaven of Tushita whence the Sakyamuni of old descended One of the latter's disciples, Kasyapa, having attained nirvana, dwells on the slope of mount Kukkutapada waiting for the moment when he will present the future Buddha with the robe of precedence... represented as the colour of gold, is related at least by his name to Mitra, the solar god of the Iranians Texts in Eastern Iranian studied by Ernest Leumann demonstrate the importance of the messianism of Maitreya in the southern part of Chinese Turkestan Perhaps some historical character must be recognised as the origin of the cult of this bodhisattva - at least, such is the opinion of J Takasuku and H... prestige of the supreme god Here are some of the names or epithets of this first principle: Svayambhu who exists of himself, Ananta the infinite, Yajnesvara the lord of sacrifice, Hari the abducter who carries off souls to save them Janarddana who captivates peoples' adoration, Mukunda the liberator, Madhava made of honey, Kesava the hairy whose hairs were the solar rays-, Narauana, the source and refuge of. .. refuge of beings The variety of these forms is explicable historically by the fusion of different gods and demi-gods into a single figure under the action of a particular sentiment, a king of piety quite unknown to primitive Brahmanism, and called by the Hindus Bhakti made up of confidence, love, and the gift of self to the divinity The Avatars of Vishnu In the intervals of successive creations, Vishnu... universe These alternations of rest and activity, although each of them lasts for thousands of millions of centuries, are as regular and certain as an organic rhythm - India thinks of them as the god's in-breathing and out-breathing To each cycle of creation there corresponds an 'avatar', literally 'a descent', of the god Vishnu These avatars theoretically number ten, but the wealth of popular imagination . use of this fragment of shining energy by using it to forge the disk of Vishnu, the trident of Siva, the lance of Karttikeya the god of war, and the weapons of Kuvera the god and guardian of. non-Aryan origin of his deity. The legend of his marriage with the daughter of Daksha is further confirmation of this hypothesis. Daksha, one of the Prajapatis or lords of creation, out of vanity. name of Parvati she is presented as a very beautiful young woman, seated beside her divine husband, discoursing with him sometimes of love and sometimes of lofty metaphysics. In the shape of