Contenido - ContentsFull text of "Supplement to a Classical dictionary of India: illustrative of the mythology, philosophy, literature, antiquities, arts, manners, customs &c. of the Hindus"PREFACE | A1 | A2 | B1 | B2 | C | D1 | D2 | E | F | G | H1 | H2 | I | J1 | J2 | K1 | K2 | L | M1 | M2 | O | P1 | P2 | R1 | R2 | S1 | S2 | S3 |
S2Samrat: (sáns. hindú). l, The Manu of any particular period; 2, One of the daughters of Priyavrata, by hie wife Kamya. Samudra: (sáns. hindú). The king of rivers. Samudra: (sáns. hindú). The daughter of Samudra by his wife Vela. Samudra was married to Prachinavarshish, and became the mother of the ten Prachetasas. Samvara: (sáns. hindú). A son of Kasyapa and Danu, and one of the most celebrated Daityas. He is called in the Vishnu Purâòa the mightiest of enchanters, to whom Hiranyakasipu had recourse, when he was himself unable to influence or destroy his son Prahlada. Samvara undertook to effect his destruction, but all his schemes were frustrated. Samvarana: (sáns. hindú). A prince, the son of Riksha, and father of Kuru . Samvatsara: (sáns. hindú). l, The name of the first of the five Cycles or Yugas, consisting of twelve years; 2, The lord of times and seasons. Samvit: (sáns. hindú). That in which all things are found or known, and which is found or known in all things. A synonym of Mahat. Samya: (sáns. hindú). An original property of man. One of the eight perfections or Siddhis, defined in the notes to the Vishnu Purâòa as sameness of degree. Samyati: (sáns. hindú). A son of Prachinvat or Bahugava, of the race of Puru. Samyoga: (sáns. hindú). The union of contiguity, in opposition to that of identification or perfect unity - Tadaikyam. Sanaischara, Saturn: (sáns. hindú). The son of Rudra and Suvarchali. Saturn is also represented in the Vishnu Purâòa as the son of the sun and his handmaid Chbdya, and is said to move slowly along in a car drawn by piebald steeds. Sanaka, Sanandana, Sanatana, Sanatkumara: (sáns. hindú). Sons of Rudra, who declining to create progeny, remained, as the name of the last implies, ever-boys, kumaras, that is, ever pure and innocent; wheBce their creation is called the Kaumara. Sanakadi, Sampradayis: (sáns. hindú). One of the Vaisknava sects among the Hindus. They worship Krishna and Radha conjointly, and are distinguished from other sects by a circular black mark m the centre of the ordinary double streak of white earth; and also by the use of the necklace and rosary of the stem of Tulasi. The members of this sect are scattered throughout the whole of Upper India. They are very numerous about Mathura, and they are also among the most numerous of the Vaishnava sects in Bengal. Sandansa: (sáns. hindú). One of the Narakas, the hell of pincers; into which falls the violator of a vow, and one who breaks the rules of his order. Sandhya: (sáns. hindú). Twilight; a form of Brahma; also the name of the period preceding a Yuga. In the Vishnu Purâòa it is said, " The night is called Usha, and the day is denominated Vyush'ta, and the interval between them is called Sandhya. On the occurrence of the awful Sandhya, the terrific fiends termed Maudehas, attempt to devour the sun; for Brahm4 denounced this curse upon them, that, without the power to perish, they should die every day (and revive by night), and therefore a fierce contest occurs daily between them and the sun. At this season pious Brahmans scatter water, purified by the mystical Omkara,' and consecrated by the Gayatri, and by this water, as by a thunderbolt, the foul fiends are consumed. When the first oblation is offered with solemn invocations in the morning rite, the thousand-rayed deity shines forth with unclouded splendour. Omkara is Vishnu the mighty, the substance of the three Vedas, the lord of speech; and by its enunciation those Rakshasas are destroyed. The sun is a principal part of Vishnu, and light is his immutable essence, the active manifestation of which is excited by the mystic syllable Ora. Light effused by the utterance of Omkara becomes radiant, and burns up entirely the Rakshasas called Mandehas. The performance of the Sandhya (the morning) sacrifice must never therefore be delayed, for he who neglects it is guilty of the murder of the sun. Protected thus by the Brahraans and the pigmy sages called Balakhilyas, the sun goes on his course to give light to the world. Sandipani: (sáns. hindú). The tutor of Krishna and Balarama; who was so astonished at their rapid progress that he thought the sun and moon had become his scholars. When they had acquired all that he could teach and enquired what fee he demanded, he requested them to give him his dead son drowned in the sea of Prabhisa, The sea said, * I have not killed the son of Sandlpani; a demon named Pauchajana, who lives in the form of a conch shell, seized the boy; he is still under my waters.' Krishna then plunged into the sea; and having slain the demon, took the conch shell as his horn; the boy was also restored to life and given to his father. Sandhyansa: (sáns. hindú). The name of the period succeeding a Yuga. Sandilya: (sáns. hindú). A celebrated teacher of whom Mr. Max Müller says, " It was an epoch in the history of the human mind when the identity of the masculine self and the neutral Brahmi was for the first time perceived, and the name of the discoverer has not been forgotten. It was Sandilya who declared that the self within our heart is Brahma, and this tenet, somewhat amplified, is quoted as Sandilya's wisdom." The age in which he lived is not given. - A. S, Z., p. 323. Sandracottus: (sáns. hindú). See Chandragupta. Sangata: (sáns. hindú). One of the tenMauryas, descendants of Chandragupta, whose dynasty at Mithila lasted a hundred and thirty-seven years. Sangha: (sáns. hindú). An assembly or chapter of Buddhist priests. Sangha-bheda: (sáns. hindú). The causing of a division among the priesthood. Sangha disesa: (sáns. hindú). A class of priestly misdemeanours. Sanghamitta: (sáns. hindú). A princess, the daughter of the grandson of Chandragupta, who on being left by her husband became a priestess, and was the first who visited Ceylon. Sangramajit: (sáns. hindú). One of the sons of Krishna, by his wife Saivya or Mitravinda. Sanhataswa: (sáns. hindú). A prince, the son of Nikumbha. Sanhitas: (sáns. hindú). Collections of Hymns. By a Sanhita is generally understood a collection or compilation. The Sanhitas of the Vedns are collections of hymns and prayers belonging to them, arranged according to the judgment of some individual sago who is therefore regarded as the originator and teacher of each. The Vishnu Purâòa mentions the names of the principal teachers of the Sanhitas of the Vedas and of their disciples and the schools founded by them. Sanhlada: (sáns. hindú). The youngest of the four sons of Hiranyakasipu, distinguished for his heroism, and termed the augmeutor of the Daitya race. Sani: (sáns. hindú). Saturn. See Sanaischara above. Sanjaya: (sáns. hindú). The minister and charioteer of Maharaja Dhritarashtra. He was sent on an embassy to the Pandavas, and is, says Mr. Wheeler, evidently the type of an ancient diplomatist. His object was to induce the Pandavas to return to Hastinapur, without giving them any distinct pledge that their Raj would be restored to them. Pie was surprised at the greatness of their preparations for war. The Pandavas received him in Council, and he delivered the message of the Maharaja; to which Yudhishthira replied that whoever is wise would never give his consent to a war on trivial grounds; but that when war seemed to be inevitable it would be useless in them to humiliate themselves to the dust for the sake of concord. " He, however, who is intent upon a war of malice is always in a fever, and the fever burns stronger and stronger in his heart day by day, until he can feel no pleasure in the ordinary gratifications of the world." As for Dhritardshtra we acknowledge him to be our Maharaja, and we know that he is kind and benevolent, and averse to doing evil; but for the sake of humouring his son Duryodhana, and keeping on good terms with him, the Mahardja stoops to act deceitfully towards us, and would entrap us into his presence by 'mere offers of protection." Krishna spoke to the same effect, Yudhishthira then gave costly presents to the envoy Sanjaya, both for himself and some of his old friends, to whom he sent kind messages. The mission however was a fruitless one, and when the war broke out, Sanjaya was employed to inform the blind Maharaja of every event that transpired during its progress. It was Sanjaya who recited the Bhagavat Gita; 2, A prince, the son of Suparswa; 3, the son of Pratikshatra; 4, A prince of the family of Ikshvaku, son of Rananjaya. Sanjna: (sáns. hindú). The daughter of Visvakarman, was the wife of the sun and bore him three children, the Manu (Vaivaswata), Yaraa, and the goddess Yami (or the Yamuna river). Unable to endure the fervours of her lord, Sanjna gave him Chhaya his handmaid, and repaired to the forests to practise devout exercises. The sun, supposing Chhaya to be his wife Sanjna, begot by her three other children, Sanaischara (Saturn), another Manu (Savarni), and a daughter Tapati (the Tapti river). Chhaya, upon one occasion, being offended with Yama, the son of Sanjna, denounced an imprecation upon him, and thereby revealed to Yama and to the sun that she was not in truth Sanjna, the mother of the former. Being further informed by Chhaya that his wife had gone to the wilderness, the sun beheld her by the eye of meditation engaged in austerities, in the figure of a mare (in the region of Uttara Kuru.) Metamorphosing himself into a horse, he rejoined his wife, and begot three other children, the two Asvins and Revanta, and then brought Sanjna back to his own dwelling. To diminish his intensity, Visvakarman placed the luminary on his lathe, to grind off some of his effulgence; and in this manner reduced it an eighth, for more than that was inseparable. The parts of the divine Vaishnava splendour, residing in the sun, that were filed off by Viswakarman, fell blazing down upon the earth, and the artist constructed of them the discus of Vishnu, the trident of Äiva, the weapon of the god of wealth, the lance of Kartikeya, and the weapons of the other gods: all these Visvakarman fabricated from the superfluous rays of the sun. V. P. Sankalpa: (sáns. hindú). l, One of the prajapatis, according to the Kurma list; 2, A daughter of Daksha and wife of Dharma. Sankana: (sáns. hindú). A prince, the son of Kalmashapada according to the Râmâyaòa. Sankara: (sáns. hindú). l, A name of Äiva; 2, A renowned Danava, son of Kasyapa and Danu. Sankara Acharya: (sáns. hindú). The great Saiva Reformer, who flourished, it is supposed, in the eighth or ninth century; Professor Wilson is of opinion that of the present popular forms of the Hindu religion, some assumed their actual state earlier than the above date. Sankara Acharya was a distinguished professor of the Vedauta and Advaita system. He was a native of Kerala or Malabar, of the tribe of Nambtiri brahmaus, and in the mythological language of the sect an incarnation of Äiva. " In Malabar, he. is said to have divided the four original tribes into seventy-two, or eighteen sub-divisions each, and to have assigned them their respective rites and duties. Notwithstanding this, he seems to have met with particular disrespect, either on account of his opinions, or his origin, or his wandering life. On his return home, on one occasion, his mother died, and he had to perform the funeral rites, for which his relations refused to supply him with fire, and at which all the Brahmans declined to assist. Sankara then produced fire from his arm and burnt the corpse in the court-yard of the house, denouncing imprecations to the effect, that the Brahmans there should not study the Vedas, that religious mendicants should never obtain alms, and that the dead should always be burnt close to the houses in which they had resided - a custom which is said to have survived him. " All accounts concur in representing Sankara as leading an erratic life, and engaging in successful controversy with various sects, whether Saiva, or Vaishnava, or of less orthodox opinions as the Buddhists and Jainas. In the course of his peregrinations, he established several Maths, or convents, under the presidencies of his disciples, particularly one, still flourishing at Sringeri, or Sringiri, on the western ghats, near the sources of the Tungabadra. Towards the close of his life, he repaired as far as Kashmir, and seated himself, after triumphing over various opponents, on the throne of Sarasvati. He next went to Badarikasrama, and finally to Kedarnath, in the Himalaya, where he died at the early age of thirty-two. The events of his last days are confirmed by local traditions, and the Pitha, or throne of Sarasvati, on which Sankara sat, is still shown in Kashmir; whilst at the temple of Äiva at Badari, a Malabar Brahman, of the Namburi tribe, has always been the officiating priest. " The influence exercised by Sankara in person, has been perpetuated by his writings, the most eminent of which are his Bhashyas, or commentaries on the Sutras or Aphorisms of Vyasa. A commentary on the Bhagavat Gita, is also ascribed to him, as is one on the Nrisinha Tapaniya Upanishad, and a cento of verses in praise of Durga. The Sauudarya Lahari is likewise said to be his composition." See VedAnta. Sankarshana: (sáns. hindú). A name of Balarama, given to him in consequence of his being extracted from his mother's womb to be transferred to that of Hohini. Sankasya: (sáns. hindú). A country in the Doab, near Mainpuri. Sankha: (sáns. hindú). l, A powerful many-headed serpent, one of the progeny of Kadru; 2, one of the minor Dwipas, peopled by Mlechhas who worship Hindu deities; 3, A conch shell, one of the principal weapons of Vishnu. Sankhakuta: (sáns. hindú). One of the mountain ridges on the north of Meru. Sankhanata: (sáns. hindú). A prince, the son of Vajranabha, a descendant of Râma. Sankhapada: (sáns. hindú). One of the eight Lokapalas, and son of the patriarch Kardama by Sruti. He is the regent of the south. Sankhya: (sáns. hindú). One of the six Sastras properly so called. It is ascribed to the Muni Kapila, It is the principal of the six philosophical schools of India. This system say some, is an attempt to account for the existence of the universe without the deity, by asserting the principle of duality, or in other words, the co-existence of spirit and matter. Dr. Ballautyne gives the following outline of the system. " The Sankhya makes a step in advance of the Nyaya by reducing the external from the category of substance to that of quality. Souls alone are, in the Sankhya, regarded as substances; whatever affects the soul being arranged under the head of a quality- 1, pleasing; 2, displeasing; or 3, indififerent. This mode of viewing the universe may be designated the emotional view of things. The word Sankhya means " numeral, rational or discriminative.* The system promises beatitude as the reward of that discrimination which rightly distinguishes between soul and nature. The meaning to be attached to these two words will be explained presently. The Sankhya system was delivered by Kapila in a set of aphorisms no less concise than those of the Nyaya. He begins by defining the chief end of Man. His first aphorism is as follows: - " Now the complete (or highest) end of man." By the three kinds of pain are meant - 1, diseases, griefs, &c., which are intrinsic or inherent in the sufferer; 2, injuries from ordinary external things; and 3, injuries from things supernatural or meteorological. In his nineteenth aphorism, he declares that the bondage {bandha) under which the soul, or individual man (purusha), groans, is due to its conjunction with nature (prakriti); and this bondage is merely seeming because soul is " ever essentially a pure and free intelligence." In his fifty-ninth aphorism, he says again of the soul's bondage - " It is merely verbal, and not a reality, since it resides in (the soul's organ) the mind (and not in the soul or self) ;" on which the Hindu commentator reinr's, - " That is to say, since bondage, &c., resides only in the mind (chitta), all this, -as far as concerns the soul \_purushay is merely verbal, because it is merely a reflexion, like the redness of a (pellucid) crystal (when a China rose is near it), but not a reality, with no false imputation like the redness of the China rose itself." Of nature, which thus, by conjunction, makes the soul seem to be in bondage when it is really not, he gives, in his sixty-second aphorism, the following account: - " Nature (prakriti) is the state of equipoise of goodness (sattwa), passion {rajas), and darkness {tamas); from nature (proceeds) intellect {rnaliat), from intellect self-consciousness {ahankara), from self-consciousness the five subtile elements {taumatra), and both sets (external and internal) of organs (indriya), and from the subtile elements the gross elements (sthula-bhata), (then, besides, there is) soul (purusha); such is the class of twenty-five." We may add further, that, in aphorism 105, we are told that ** experience (bhoga) (whether of pleasure or pain, liberation from both of which is desiderated), ends with (the discrimination of) thought (i. e., soul as contra-distinguished from nature) ;" that a plurality of souls is asserted (in opposition to Ihe Vedanta) in another aphorism (150), viz.: " From the diverse allotment of birth, &c., the plurality of souls (is to be inferred) ;" and, finally, that the Sankhya system explicitly repudiates the charge of anni" hilation, aphorism 47 declaring that, " In neither way (whether as a means or as an end) is this (viz., annihilation), the soul's aim." Mr. J. C. Thomson writes, " The Sankhya is divided into three classes: - 1, The pure Sinkhya, which, if it admits, does not mention, a deity or Supreme Being, but considers the material essence as the plastic principle of all things, and is therefore called nirishwara or atheistical. Its text books are the * Sankhyapravachana,* and the * Tattwa Samasa,' both attributed to Kapila himself, and the ' Sankhya-karika,' to his disciple Ishwara Krishna. Asuri and Panchashika are also mentioned as the earliest followers of this system; 2, The Yoga system, called seshwara, or theistical, founded by Patanjali, whose Yoga-sutras are its text book, and followed by the author of the Bhaavat Gita; 3, The Puranic school, a corrupt mixture of the other two. (Lit., * rational,' from Sankhya, * reasoning, computation.') Sankhyayana: (sáns. hindú). A teacher of the Rig Veda. Sankranta: (sáns. hindú). The beginning of the year or a month, and the name of the festival which is commonly called Pongal, (q. v.) Sankriti: (sáns. hindú). l, A prince, the son of Sankriti; 2, The son of Nara, descendant of Bharata. Sanku: (sáns. hindú). One of the sons of Ugrasena. Sankusiras: (sáns. hindú). A powerful Danava - one of the sons of Kasyapa and Danu. Sannati: (sáns. hindú). Humility; one of the daughters of the patriarch Daksha, who was married to the Muni Kratu. Sannatimat: (sáns. hindú). A prince, the son of Sumati. Sannyasi: (sáns. hindú). An ascetic; the last of the four conditions of life prescribed for brahmans. These four conditions are: 1, That of the Brahmachari or bachelor, who, from the time of his investment with the sacred cord, is required to tend the sacred fires and to follow his studies under, or in the presence of, his preceptor; 2, That of the Grihasta or householder, who, from his marriage, must strictly observe his religious duties, maintain the sacred fires, and liberally practise hospitality for the support of the other three orders; 3, That of the Vanaprastha or recluse, who, with or without his wife, relinquishes domestic life, retires to the desert, feeding on leaves, roots and fruits, or on the hospitality of the second order, and continues to perform his daily rites; 4, That of the Sannyasi or ascetic, who performs no rite whatever, and appears sometimes in a state of nudity; who has renounced social life, with all its enjoyments and attachments, and subjected his passions; who lives on what is given him unasked, and remains in a village only one day, in a town not more than three days, and in a city only five; lest his mind become secularized. Sansapayana: (sáns. hindú). A teacher of the Purâòas, and composer of a *' fundamental Sanhita," the substance of which is included in the Vishnu Parana. Sanskaras: (sáns. hindú). The ten essential ceremonies of Hindus of the first three castes; viz., three before birth; then, " At the birth of a child the father should feed two brahmans, seated with their faces to the east; and according to his means offer sacrifices to the gods and progenitors. Let him present to the manes balls of meat mixed with curds, barley, and jujubes, with the part of his hand sacred to the gods, or with that sacred to Prajapati. Let a brahman perform such a Ärâddha, with all its offerings and circumambulations, on every occasion of good fortune." " Next, upon the tenth day (after birth), let the father give a name to his child, - the first term of which shall be the appellation of a god; the second, of a man; as Sarman or Varman; the former being the appropriate designation of a brahman; the latter, of a warrior; whilst Gupta and Dasa are best fitted for the names of Vaisyas and Sudras. A name should not be void of meaning; it should not be indecent, nor absurd, nor ill-omened, nor fearful; it should consist of an even number of syllables; it should not be too long, nor too short, nor too full of long vowels, but contain a proportion of short vowels, and be easily articulated. After this and the succeeding initiatory rites, the purified youth is to acquire religious knowledge, in the mode that has been described, in the dwelling of his spiritual guide." Santana: (sáns. hindú). Mercury. The son of the Rudra Ugra. Santanu: (sáns. hindú). A king of the lunar race, the thirteenth in descent from Kuru, the prince who gives the designation to Duryodhana and his brothers , thence called Kauravas, their cousins, the sons of Pandu being termed Panda vas. Santanu had four sons, Bhishma, Chitrangada, Vichitravirya and Vyasa. Of these the eldest and youngest both lived unmarried, the other two Chitrangada and Vichitravirya both died without issue; on which, to prevent the extinction of the family, and in accordance with the ancient Hindu law, Vyasa begot offspring on his brother's widows. The sons were Dhritarashtra and Pandu. Dhritarashtra had a hundred sons by Gandhari, the princess of Gandhara, of whom Duryodhana was the eldest. Pandu had five sons, the celebrated princes Yudhishthira, Bhima, Arjuna, and the twin brothers Kakula and Sahadeva. Of these the first was remarkable for his piety and integrity; the second for his gigantic bulk and strength. Arjuna was eminent for his valour, and was the particular friend of Krishna- Fi/ion, Vol. Ill, p. 291. See Viddra. Santarddana: (sáns. hindú). A prince, the son of Dhrishtaketu, raja of Kaikeya, or according to the Padma, king of Kashmir. Santateyu: (sáns. hindú). A prince, the son of Randraswa, of the house of Puru. Santati: (sáns. hindú). The son of Alarka, who became king and succeeded his father as sovereign of Benares, but whose reign was only that of an ordinary mortal, though his father is said to have reigned as a youthful monarch for sixty thousand and sixty hundred years. Santi: (sáns. hindú). 1, Placidity, a property of sensible objects, according to the Sankhya philosophy; 2, The Indra of the tenth Manwantara; 3, A brahman, pupil of Angiras, who having suffered the holy fire to go out in his master's absence, prayed to Agni, and so propitiated him, that he not only relighted the flame but desired Santi to demand a further boon; 4, A prince, the son of Nila; 5, A daughter of Daksha, * Expiation,' and wife of Dharma, Santideva - A daughter of Devaka, who was married to Vasudeva. Santosha: (sáns. hindú). Content. The son of Dharma by his wife Tushti, (Resignation) one of the daughters of Dharma. Sapeijon: (sáns. hindú). A teacher of the white Yajush and founder of several schools. Sapindana: (sáns. hindú). An ancestral Ärâddha, performed at the expiration of twelve months after the death of a person. The practices of this rite are the same as those of the monthly obsequies, but a lustration is made with four vessels of water, perfumes, and sesamum; one of these vessels is considered as dedicated to the deceased, the other three to the progenitors in general; and the contents of the former are to be transferred to the other three, by which the deceased becomes included in the class of ancestors to whom worship is to be addressed with all the ceremonies of the Sruddha. Sapindas: (sáns. hindú). Relations connected by offerings of cakes to common ancestors; they extend to seven degrees, ascending or descending. Saptadasa: (sáns. hindú). A collection of hymns created from the western mouth of Brahma, along with the Sama Veda, &c. Sarabhanga: (sáns. hindú). A celebrated devotee described in the Râmâyaòa. He was visited by Indra and invited to return with him to heaven; and when asked afterwards by Râma the reason of Indra's coming to his hermitage, Sarabhanga replied, " O Râma, the sovereign of the gods or demons came to take me to the heaven of Brahma, which I have gained by my severe austerities; but knowing that you were not far off I would not depart to heaven until I had seen you." Sarabhanga then said, " Behold, now while 1 put off this body, as a serpent casts its slough !" Then the sage prepared a fire, offered ghee, and entered the flame; the fire consumed his body; and a youth, bright as the fire, was instantly produced; and in this shape, Sarabhanga sought the heaven of the sages who had devoted their lives to religious austerities, and passing by the heaven of the gods, he ascended to the heaven of Brahma. Saradwat: (sáns. hindú). The husband of Ahalya and father of Satyadhriti. Sarama: (sáns. hindú). A daughter of Daksha and wife of Kasyapa; she is said to be the mother of canine animals. Vishnu Purâòa, 1 22. Saranu: (sáns. hindú). One of the ministers of Ravana, who was sent with Suka to spy out the army of Râma, and obtain information of the chief heroes and counsellors. See Suka. Saranu: (sáns. hindú). One of the sons of Vasudeva, by his wife Rohini. Saranjni: (sáns. hindú). The daughter of Tvashtri,who was given in marriage to Vivaswat, the son of Aditi. Saranyu became the mother of the two Asvins. Dr. Muir quotes the following text: " Saranyu, the daughter of Tvashtri, bore twins to Vivaswat. She then substituted for herself another female of similar appearance, and fled in the form of a mare. Vivaswat in like manner, assumed the shape of a horse and followed her. From their intercourse sprang two Asvins, while Manu was the offspring of Savarna (or * the female of like appearance.')" Another text is: "Tvashtri had twin children, Saranyu and Trisiras. He gave Saranyu in marriage to Vivaswat, to whom she bore Yama and Yami, who were also twins. Creating a female like herself without her husband's knowledge, and making the twins over in charge to her, Saranyu took the form of a mare and departed. Vivaswat, in ignorance, begot, on the female who was left, Manu, a royal Rishi, who resembled his father in glory.'* But discovering that the real Saranyu had gone away, he followed her in the shape of a horse, and from their intercourse sprang the two Kumaras (youths) !N"asatya and Dasra, who are lauded as Asvins (sprung from ahorse.) - Muir 0. S, T., Vol. V,p. 228. Sarasvat: (sáns. hindú). A river god, the consort of Sarasvati, who rolls along his fertilizing waters, and is invoked by the worshippers who are seeking for wives and offspring, as well as for plenty and protection.- 0. S. 21, V, 340. Sarasvata: (sáns. hindú). l, A sage who related the Vishnu Purâòa to Parasara; 2, A Vyasa in the ninth Dwapara age. In the notes to the Vishnu Pui'dna, a legend is given from the Mahabharata in which it is said " that during a great drought the Brahmans, engrossed by the care of subsistence, neglected the study of the sacred books, and the Vedas were lost. The Rishi Sirasvata alone, being fed with fish by his mother Sarasvati, the personified river so named, kept up his studies, and preserved the Hindu scriptures. At the end of the famine the Brahmans repaired to him to be taught, and sixty thousand disciples again acquired a knowledge of the Vedas from Sarasvata. This legend appears to indicate the revival, or more probably the introduction, of the Hindu ritual by the race of Brahmaus, or the people called Sarasvata; for according to the Hindu geographers, it was the name of a nation, as it still is the appellation of a class of Brahmaus who chiefly inhabit the Paujab. The Sarasvata Brahmaus are met with in many parts of India, and are usually fair-complexioned, tall, and handsome men. They are classed in the Jd.ti malas, or popular lists of castes, amongst the five Gaura Brahmaus, and are divided into ten tribes: they are said also to be especially the Purohits or family priests of the Kshatriya or military castes: circumstances in harmony with the purport of the legend, and confirmatory of the Sarasvatas of the Panjab having been prominent agents in the establishment of the Hindu religion in India. The holy land of the Hindus, or the primary seat, perhaps, of Brahmanism, has for one of its boundaries the Sarasvati river." V. P., 285. Sarasvata: (sáns. hindú). A dialect of Sanscrit; the term is employed by Mr. Colebrooke to designate that modification of Sanscrit, which is generally termed Prakrit. Sarasvatas: (sáns. hindú). A tribe of brahmaus, which occupied the banks of the river Sarasvati. See above, under Sarasvata. Sarasvati: (sáns. hindú). The consort of Brahma and the goddess of wisdom, knowledge, science, art, learning and eloquence, the patroness of music and inventor of the Sanscrit language and Devanagari letters. * She is represented as a young female, of fair complexion, with four arms and hands. In one of the two right hands she holds a flower, which she offers to her husband, by whose side she is continually standiug, and in the other a book of palm leaves, indicating that she is fond of learning, and imparts knowledge to those who study. In one of her two left hands she holds a string of pearls, called Äivamala, which serve her as a rosary, and in the other a damaru, or small drum. An annual festival is celebrated in her honour. She dwells among men, but her special abode is Brahma loka, with Brahma her husband.' The name Sarasvati means flowing, and is applied to a celebrated river as well as to the goddess of speech. The river rises in the mountains north-east of Delhi. Sarasvati was also the name of one of the daughters of Daksha who was married to Dharma. " Sarasvati, by the standard mythological authorities, is the wife of Brahmi, and the goddess presiding over letters and arts. The Vaishnavas of Bengal have a popular legend that she was the wife of Vishnu, as were also Lakshmi and Ganga. The ladies disagreed; Sarasvati, like the other prototype of learned ladies, Minerva, being something of a termagant, and Vishnu, finding that one wife was as much as even a god could manage, transferred Sarasvati to Brahma, and Ganga to Äiva, and contented himself with Lakshmi alone. It is worthy of remark that Sarasvati is represented as of a white colour, without any superfluity of limbs, and not unfrequently of a graceful figure, wearing a slender crescent on her brow, and sitting on a lotus." - Wilson's Works, Vol 11 pp. 187-8. *' Sarasvati is a goddess of some, though not of very great importance, in the Rig Veda.. As observed by Yaska, she is celebrated both as a river and a deity. She was no doubt primarily a river deity, as her name, " the watery," clearly denotes, and in this capacity she is celebrated in a few separate passages. Allusion is made in the hymns and in the Brahmanas to sacrifices performed on the banks of this river, and the adjoining Dhrishdavati: and the Sarasvati in particular seems to have been associated with the reputation for sanctity which was ascribed to the whole region, called Brahmavartta, lying between those two small streams, and situated immediately to the westward of the Jumna. The Sarasvati thus appears to have been to the early Indians what the G anges (which is only twice named in the Rig Veda.) became to their descendants. When once the river had acquired a divine character, it was quite natural that she should be regarded as the patroness of the ceremonies which were celebrated on the margin of her holy waters, and that her direction and blessing should be invoked as essential to their proper performance and success. The connection into which she was thus brought with sacred rites may have led to the further step of imagining her to have an influence on the composition of the hymns which formed so important a part of the proceedings, and of identifying her with Va,ch, the goddess of speech. At least, I have no other explanation to offer of this double character and identification. Sarasvati is frequently invited to the sacrifices along with other goddesses Ha, Mahi, Varutri, who however were not, like her, river nymphs, but personifications of some department of religious worship or sacred science. In many of the passages where Sarasvati is celebrated, her original character is distinctly preserved. Thus in two places she is mentioned along with rivers, or fertilizing waters. She is spoken of as having seven sisters, as one of seven rivers, and as the mother of streams. In another place she is said to pour on her fertilizing waters, to surpass all other rivers, and to flow pure from the mountains to the sea. She is called the best of mothers, of rivers, and of goddesses. In the later mythology, as is well known, Sarasvati was identified with Vach, and became, under different names', the spouse of Brahma, and the goddess of wisdom and eloquence, and is invoked as a Muse. In the Mahabharata she is called the mother of the Vedas, and the same is said of Vach in the Taitt. Br. In the Sautiparva it is related that when the Brahmarshis were performing austerities, prior to the creation of the universe, " a voice derived from Brahma entered into the ears of them all; the celestial Sarasvati was then produced from the heavens." - 0. S. T.y V, 337-343. Saragu or Sarju: (sáns. hindú). A river, commonly identified with the Dev4; but though identical through great part of their course, they rise as different streams, and again divide and enter the Ganges by distinct tranches. Sardhawa: (sáns. hindú). Confidence. One of the Charitas, or states of mind, which the Buddhist priest is taught to cultivate. The priest who has attained this condition is known by his being always cheerful; by the pleasure he has in hearing the sacred writings, and by the general excellence of his conduct. Sarmajaya: (sáns. hindú). A prince, the son of Swaphalka. Sarman: (sáns. hindú). An appropriate name for a bralimaa, affixed to tbo appellation of a god; both to be given by the father the tenth day after the birth of the child. Vishnu Purâòa, 297. Sarmishta: (sáns. hindú). The daughter of Vrisliaparvan, and one of the wives of king Yayati. She was the mother of Puru, who gave his youth to his father, receiving in exchange Yayuti's infirmities. Sarpa: (sáns. hindú). The name of one of the eleven Rudras according to the Vayu list. Sarpi: (sáns. hindú). The wife of the Rudra Äiva, whose place is the air. Sam: (sáns. hindú). One of the sons of Vasudeva by his wife Rohini. Sarva: (sáns. hindú). One of the eight modifications or manifestations of Rudra; the one whose station is the earth. Vishnu Purâòa, 58. Sarvabhauma: (sáns. hindú). A priuce, the son of Vidtiratha, a descendant of Kuru. Sarvaga: (sáns. hindú). (l, A son of the sage Paurnamasa, of the race of Marichi; 2, one of the Pandava princes, the son of Bhima. Sarve*SVara: (sáns. hindú). One of the names of the Supreme Being, meaning "The Lord of all." Ziegeubalg writes, " When the Hindus speak of the highest Divine Being as altogether spiritual and immaterial, they talk quite reasonably. They take for unquestionable truth all that Christians believe of God's nature and attributes, saying that there is but one God, who is purely spiritual, incomprehensible, eternal, almighty, omniscient, all-wise, holy, true, just, gracious, and merciful; who creates, upholds, and governs all; who has pleasure in dwelling with mankind and making them liappy, both in this world and the world to come; wherefore to serve him is happiness. The names they give to this Divine Being are altogether expressive of divine attributes." Saryatas: (sáns. hindú). Sons of Saryatas, descendant of Raivata, who through fear of the Rakshasas took refuge in forests and mountains, and afterwards, according to the legends, became renowned in all regions. Saryati: (sáns. hindú). 1, One of the sons of the great Manu Vaivaswata; 2, A son of Nahusha, according to the list in the Liiiga Purâòa. Sasa: (sáns. hindú). A portion of Jambu-dwipa, reflected in the lunar orb as in a mirror. Sasada: (sáns. hindú). The son of Ikshvaku, who on the death of his father succeeded to the sovereignty of Ayodhya, or as the Vishnu Purâòa has it, to the dominion of the earth. Sasadharman: (sáns. hindú). One of the Mauryan kings, or descendants of Chandragupta, king of Magadha. Sasavinda: (sáns. hindú). A prince, the son of Chitrarathra; celebrated as the lord of the fourteen great gems; or articles the best of their kind, seven animate and seven inanimate; a wife, a priest, a genera), a charioteer, a horse, an elephant, and a body of foot soldiers; or instead of the last three, an excutioner, an encomiast, a reader of the vedas: and a chariot, an umbrella, a jewel, a sword, a shield, a banner, and a treasure. The Vishnu Purâòa states that he had a hundred thousand wives and a million of sons ! Sastra-devataS: (sáns. hindú). Gods of the divine weapons; a hundred arc enumerated in the Râmâyaòa, and they are there termed the sons of Kriaswa by Jaya and Vijaya, daughters of the Prajapati, that is, of Dak sh a. Saswata: (sáns. hindú). One of the kings of Mithila, the son of Sruta. Satabali: (sáns. hindú). A distinguished general in the army of the monkey king Sugriva. Satabhisha: (sáns. hindú). A lunar mansion in Mrigavithi in the southern Avashthana. Satadhanu: (sáns. hindú). l, A king in the olden time celebrated on account of the great virtue of his wife Saivya, under whose name the history of Satadhanu will be found; 2, One of the sous of Hridika, of the Yadava race. Satadru: (sáns. hindú). "The hundred channelled," the river Sutledj. It is the Zardras of Ptolemy, the Hesidrus of Pliny. Notes to Vishnu Purâòa. Satadyumna: (sáns. hindú). l, One of the ten sons of the Manu Chakshusha; 2, One of the kings of Mithila, the son of Rhanumat Satajit: (sáns. hindú). 1, One of the kings of Bharata, the son of Raja; 2, A son of Sahasrajit of the Yadava race; 3, One of the sons of Bhajamana. Satakarni: (sáns. hindú). The name or title of several Audhra princes. Satananda: (sáns. hindú). The son of Gautama by Ahulya. According to the Râmâyaòa, Satananda was the family priest of Janaka, the father of Sita. Satanika: (sáns. hindú). l, One of the Pandava princes, the son of Nakula; 2, The son of Janamejaya, king of Bharata; 3, The son of Vasudana, of the race of Puru. Satapatha-Brahmana: (sáns. hindú). An appendix to the White Yajur Veda, which describes a variety of solemn sacrifices in which the juice of the Soma plant is the chief ingredient. It also contains various theories of creation and wild legends which show that " the old Sanskrit philosophers found it extremely difficult to determine the difference between gods and men." " Considered religiously the Satapatha-Brahmana appears to offer a thorough type of scepticism. Man makes gods, god makes a chief god, the chief god (Prajapati) makes the world and gods. But the gods were mortal. Rites and austerities were invented which insure immortality. Death becomes alarmed. Death is promised that only without the body shall gods or men become immortal. But after the gods have become immortal, they are unable to determine which among them shall be greatest."* The contents of the Satapatha-Brahmana are somewhat heterogeneous, and amongst other curious stories there is one relating to the Deluge, which has been already given under the article Manu. Satarupa: (sáns. hindú). The female portion of Brahma, who, after detaching from himself the property of anger, in the form of Rudra, converted himself into two persons, the first male, or the Manu Swayambhuva, and the first woman, or Satarupa: Professor Wilson says, " The division of Brahma into two halves, designates, as is very evident from the passage in the Vedas given by Mr. o Mrs. Manning. A. and M. I. Colebrooke, the distinction of corporeal substance into two sexes; Viraj being all male animals, Satartipa, all female animals. Satarupa, the bride of Brahma, of Viraj, or of Manu, is nothing more than beings of varied or manifold forms, from Sata, ' a hundred,' and rupa; ' form'; explained by the annotator in the Hari Vansa by Anantartipa, of infinite shape, and Vividharupa, of diversified shape, being as he states, the same as Maya ' illusion,' or the power of multiform metamarphosis." Vishnu Purâòa, 53. Sata Sankhyas: (sáns. hindú). A class of deities in the tenth Manwantara. Satavalaka: (sáns. hindú). A pupil of Sakapurni and teacher of the Rig Veda.. Satayus: (sáns. hindú). One of the six sons of Pururavas. Sati: (sáns. hindú). Truth; one of the daughters of Daksha, and wife of Bhava. The Vishnu Purâòa says she abandoned her corporeal existence in consequence of the displeasure of Daksha: and was afterwards the daughter of Himavan by Mena; and in that character, as the only Uma, the mighty Bhava again married her. Urged by her Maheswara went to the sacrifice of Daksha; the different Purâòas furnish contradictory accounts of her share in the transaction and of the way in which she met her death. Satrajit: (sáns. hindú). The son of Nighua and friend of the divine Aditya, the Sun. The Vishnu Purâòa relates the following legend respecting him: - " On one occasion, Satrajit, whilst walking along the sea-shore, addressed his mind to Surya, and hymned his praises; on which, the divinity appeared and stood before him. Beholding him in an indistinct shape, Satrajit said to the Sun: "I have beheld thee, lord, in the heavens, as a globe of fire. Now do thou show favour unto me, that I may see thee in thy proper form." On this, the Sun, taking the jewel called Syamantaka from ofi" his neck, placed it apart; and Satrajit beheld him of a dwarfish stature, with a body like burnished copper, and with slightly reddish eyes. Having offered his adorations, the Sun desired him to demand a boon; and he requested that the jewel might become his. The Sun presented it to him, and then resumed his place in the sky. Having obtained the spotless gem of gems, Satrajit wore it ou his neck; and, becoming as brilliant, thereby, as the Sun himself, irradiating all the regions with his splendour, he returned to Dwaraka. The inhabitants of that city, beholding him approach, repaired to the eternal male, Purushottama, - who, to sustain the burthen of the earth, had assumed a mortal form (as Krishna), - and said to him: " Lord, assuredly the (divine) Sun is coming to visit you." But Krishna smiled, and said: " It is not the divine Sun, but Satrajit, to whom Aditya has presented the Syamantaka gem; and he now wears it. Go and behold him without apprehension." Accordingly, they departed. Satrajit, having gone to his house, there deposited the jewel, which yielded, daily, eight loads of gold, and, through its marvellous virtue, dispelled all fear of portents, wild beasts, fire, robbers, and famine. Satrajit was ultimately killed by Satadhanwau in order to obtain possession of the jewel. Satrughna: (sáns. hindú). The youngest of the four divine sons of Dasaratha, king of Ayodhya. Satrughna killed the Rakshasa chief Lavaria, and took possession of his capital Mathura. After the destruction of the Rakshasas had been completed, Satrughna re-ascended to heaven with his three brothers. Satwata: (sáns. hindú). A prince of the Yadava race, whose descendants were termed Satwatas. Satya: (sáns. hindú). The quality of goodness, or purity, knowledge, quiescence. An incarnation of Vishnu in the third Manwantara. Satyabhama: (sáns. hindú). The daughter of Satrajit and one of the wives of Krishna. In consequence of some aspersions cast on the character of Krishna relating to the disappearance of the Syamantaka gem, Satrajit reflected that he had been their cause, and to conciliate Krishna gave him to wife his daughter Satyabhama. When the jewel was recovered, Balabhadra claimed it as his property jointly with Krishna, while Satyabhama demanded it as her right, as it had originally belonged to her father. She afterwards desired to possess the Parijata tree, which Krishna accordingly removed from heaven to Dwaraka, though strongly opposed by Indra and the other gods. Satyadhrita: (sáns. hindú). A prince, the son of Pushpavat. Satayahriti: (sáns. hindú). l, One of the king of Mithila the son of Mahavirya; 2, The son of Sarana; 3, The son of Dhritimat; 4, The son of Satananda: and a proficient in military science. Being enamoured of the nymph Urvasi, Satyadhriti was the parent of two children, a boy and a girl; who were found exposed in a clump of long Sara grass, by the Raja Santana whilst out hunting. Satyadhwaja: (sáns. hindú). A prince, the son of Urjjavaha, king of Mithila. Satyahita: (sáns. hindú). A teacher of the Rig Veda.. Satyajit: (sáns. hindú). One of the kings of Magadha, the son of Sanhita. Satyaka: (sáns. hindú). A prince, the son of Sini. Satyakarman: (sáns. hindú). One of the kings of Anga, the son of Dhritavrata. Satyaketu: (sáns. hindú). A king of Kasf, the son of Sukaraara, a descendant of A lark a. Satyaloka: (sáns. hindú). The world of infinite wisdom and truth, the inhabitants of which never again know death. It is said in the Vishnu Purâòa to be situated one hundred and twenty millions of leagues above Dhruva. Stayanetra: (sáns. hindú). A sage, one of the sons of Atri, according to the series in the Vayu. Satyaratha: (sáns. hindú). One of the kings of Mithila, the son of Minaratha. Satyarathi: (sáns. hindú). The son and successor of the above. Satyas: (sáns. hindú). A class of deities in the third Manwantara. (See Jatas.) Satyasravas: (sáns. hindú). A teacher of the Rig Veda.. Satyavak: (sáns. hindú). One of the noble sous of the Manu Chakshusha. Satyavan: (sáns. hindú). The son of a blind old king who had been driven from his throne and was living inthe forest as a hermit, when Savitri, the lovely daughter of king Aswapati saw Satyavan and loved him. She was warned by a seer to overcome her attachment as Satyavdn was a doomed man having only one year to live. But Savitri replies: - Whether his years be few or many, be he gifted with all grace They are therefore married and the bride strives to forget the omiuous prophecy; out as the last day of the year approaches, her anxiety becomes irrepressible. She accompanied her husband to the forest on the fatal morning with a heavy heart; while he was cutting wood a thrill of agony suddenly shot through his temples, and he called out to his wife to support him - Then she received her fainting husband in her arms, and sate herself On the cold ground, and gently laid his drooping head upon her lap; Sorrowing she called to mind the sage's prophecy, and reckoned up The days and hours. All in an instant she beheld an awful shape Standing before her, dressed in blood-red garments, with a glittering crown Upon his head: his form, though glowing like the sun, was yet obscure. And eyes he had like flames, a noose depended from his hand, and he Was terrible to look upon, as by her husband's side he stood And gazed upon him with a fiery glance. Shuddering she started up Tell me, thou god-like being, who thou art, and wherefore thou art here ? The figure replies that he is Yama, king of death; that her husband's time has come, and that he must bind and take his spirit. Then from her husband's body forced he out and firmly with his cord Bound and detained the spirit, like in size and length to a man's thumb. Forthwith the body, reft of vital being, and deprived of breath. Lost all its grace and beauty, and became ghastly and motionless. After binding the spirit, Yama proceeds with it towards his own quarter, the South. The faithful wife follows him closely. Yama bids her go home and prepare her husband's funeral rites; but she persists in following, till Yama, pleased with her devotion, grants her any boon she pleases except the life of her husband. She chooses that her husband's father, who is blind, may recover his sight. Yama consents, and bids her now return home. Still she persists in following. At last, overcome by her constancy, Yama grants a boon without exception. The delighted Savitri exclaims - ' Nought, mighty king, this time hast thou excepted; let my husband live; Without him I desire not happiness, nor even heaven itself: Without him I must die.' ' So be it, faithful wife,' replied the king of death, ' Thus I release him; and with that he loosed the cord that bound his soul.'* - See Savitri. Satyavati: (sáns. hindú). The daughter of king Gadhi, who was demanded * William's Indian Epic Poetry, pp. 37-39. in marriage by an elderly brahmin name Richika. The king would only consent to give his daughter on the condition that the sage should give him as the nuptial present, a thousand fleet horses whoso colour should be white with one black ear. Richika, having propitiated Yaruna, the god of the ocean, obtained from him, at (the holy place called) Aswatirtha, a thousand such steeds, and, giving them to the king, espoused his daughter. In order to effect the birth of a son, Richika prepared a dish of rice, barley, and pulse, with butter and milk, for his wife to eat; and, at her request, he consecrated a similar mixture for her mother, by partaking of wliich, she should give birth to a prince of martial prowess. Leaving both dishes with his wife, - after describing, particularly, which was intended for her, and which for her mother, - the sage went forth to the forests. When the time arrived for the food to be eaten, the queen said to Satyavati: " Daughter, all ' persons wish their children to be possessed of excellent qualities, and would be mortified to see them surpassed by the merits of their mother's brother. It will be desirable for you, therefore, to give me the mess your husband has set apart for you, and to eat of that intended for me; for the son which it is to procure me is destined to be the monarch of the whole world, whilst that which your dish would give you must be a brahman, alike devoid of afHuence, valour, and power." Satyavati agreed to her mother's proposal; and they exchanged messes. When Richika returned home, and beheld Satyavati, he said to her: " Sinful woman, what hast thou done ? I view thy body of a fearful appearance. Of a surety, thou hast eaten the consecrated food which was prepared for thy mother: thou hast done wrong. In that food I had infused the properties of power, and strength, and heroism; in thine, the qualities suited to a brahman, - gentleness, knowledge, and resignation. In consequence of having reversed my plans, thy son shall follow a warrior's propensities, and use weapons, and fight, and slay. Thy mother's son shall be born with the inclinations of a brahman, and be addicted to peace and piety." Satyavati, hearing this, fell at her husband's feet, and said: "|.My lord, I have done this thing through ignorance. Have compassion on me: let mc not have a son such as thou hast foretold. If such there must be, let it be my grandson, not my son." The Muni, relenting at her distress, replied: " So let it be." Accordingly, in due season, she gave birth to Jamadagni; and her mother brought forth VisA'amitra. Satyavati afterwards became the Kausiki river. V. P. Satyavrata: (sáns. hindú). A king of Ayodhya, the seventh in descent from Ikshvaku, who obtained the appellation of Trisanku, and was degraded to the condition of a Chandala or outcaste. The Vishnu Purâòa states that: " During a twelve years* famine, Trisanku provided the flesh of deer, for the nourishment of the wife and children of Visvamitra; suspending it upon a (spreading) fig-tree on the borders of the Ganges, that he might not subject them to the indignity of receiving presents from an outcaste. On this account, Visvamitra, being highly pleased with him, elevated him, in his living body, to heaven. In a Note, Professor Wilson remarks, " The occurrence of the famine, and Satyavrata's care of the wife and family of Visvamitra, are told, with some variations, in the Vayu, which has been followed by the Brahma and Hari Vamsa. During the famine, when game fails, he kills the cow of Vasishtha; and, for the three crimes of displeasing his father, killing a cow, and eating flesh not previously consecrated, he acquires the name of Trisanku (tri, * three," sanku, * sin.') Vasishtha refusing to perform his regal inauguration, Visvamitra celebrates the rites, and, on his death, elevates the king, in his mortal body, to heaven. The Râmâyaòa relates the same circumstance, but assigns to it a different motive, - Visvamitra's resentment of the refusal of the gods to attend Trisanku's sacrifice. That work also describes the attempt of the gods to cast the king dowm upon earth, and the compromise between them and Visvamitra, by which Trisanku was left suspended, head downwards, in mid-air, forming a constellation in the southern hemisphere, along with other new planets and stars formed by Visvamitra. The Bhagavata has no allusion to this legend, saying that Trisanku is still visible in heaven. The Vayu furnishes some further information from an older source: Both my copies have a blank, where it is marked; and a similar passage docs not elsewhere occur: but the word should probably be nisha and the whole may be thus rendered: " Men acquainted with the Purâòas recite these two stanzas: *By the favour of Visvamitra, the illustrious Trisanku shines in heaven, along with the gods, through the kindness of that sage. Slowly passes the lovely night in winter, embellished by the moon, decorated with three watches, and ornamented with the constellation Trisanku.' " This legend is, therefore, clearly astronomical, and alludes, possibly, to some reformation of the sphere by Visvdmitra, under the patronage of Trisanku, and in opposition to a more ancient system advocated by the school of Vasishtha. It might be no very rash conjecture, perhaps, to identify Trisanku with Orion, the three bright stars of whose belt may have suggested the three Sankus (stakes or pins) which form his name. "The seven ancient rishis or saints, as has been said before, were the seven stars of Urg"a Vajor. The seven other new saints which are here said to have been created by Visvamitra, should be seven new southern stars, a sort of new Ursa. Von Schlegel thinks that this mythical fiction of new stars created by Visvamitra may signify that these southern stars, unknown to the Indians as long as they remained in the neighbourhood of the Ganges, became known to them at a later date when they colonised the southern regions of India." - Gorresio. Satyayajna: (sáns. hindú). The observance of truth; one of the great obligations of brahmans. Saubhari: (sáns. hindú). A devout sage, learned in the Vedas, of whom the following extraordinary legend is narrated. He spent twelve years immersed in a lake, the sovereign of the fish in which, named Sammada, had a very numerous progeny. His children and his grandchildren were wont to frolic around him, in all directions; and he lived amongst them happily, playing with them night and day. Saubhari, the sage, being disturbed, in his devotions, by their sports, contemplated the patriarchal felicity of the monarch of the lake, and reflected: " How enviable is this creature, who, although born in a degraded state of being, is ever thus sporl in g cheerfully amongst his offspring and their young ! Of a truth, he awakens, in my mind, the wish to taste such pleasure; and I, also, will make merry amidst my children/' Having thus resolved, the Muni came up, hastily, from the water, and, desirous of entering upon the condition of a householder, went to Mandhatri, to demand one of his daughters as his wife. As soon as he was informed of the arrival of the sage, the king rose up from his throne, offered him the customary libation, and treated him with the most profound respect. Having taken a seat, Saubhari said to the Raja: " I have determined to marry. Do you, king, give me one of your daughters, as a wife ? Disappoint not my affection. It is not the practice of the princes of the race of Kakutstha to turn away from compliance with the wishes of those who come to them for succour. There are, O monarch, other kings of the earth to whom daughters have been born; but your family is, above all, renowned for observance of liberality in your douations to those who ask your bounty. You have, O prince, fifty daughters. Give one of them to me; that so I may be relieved from the anxiety I suffer through fear that my suit may be denied." When Mandhatri heard this request, and looked upon the person of the sage, emaciated by (austerity and) old age, he felt disposed to refuse his consent: but, dreading to incur the anger and imprecation of the holy man, he was much perplexed, and, declining his head, was lost awhile in thought. The Rishi, observing his hesitation, said: " On what, Raja, do you meditate ? I have asked for nothing which may not be readily accorded. And what is there that shall be unattainable to you, if my desires be gratified by the damsel whom you must needs give unto me ?" To this, the king, apprehensive of his displeasure, answered and said: " Grave sir, it is the established usage of our house to wed our daughters to such persons only as they shall, themselves, select from suitors of fitting rank; and, since this your request is not yet made known to my maidens, it is impossible to say whether it may be equally agreeably to them as it is to me. This is the occasion of my perplexity; and I am at a loss what to do." This answer of the king was fully understood by the Rishi, who said to himself: " This is merely a device of the Raja, to evade compliance with my suit. He has reflected that I am an old man, havint no attractions for women, and not likely to be accepted by any of his daughters. Even be it so: I will be a match for-him." And he then spake aloud, and said: " Since such is the custom, mighty prince, give orders that I be admitted into the interior of the palace. Should any of the maidens, your daughters, be willing to take me for a bridegroom, I will have her for my bride. If no one be willing, then let the blame attach alone to the years that I have numbered." Having thus spoken, he was silent. Mandhatri, unwiUing to provoke the indignation of the Muni, was accordingly, obliged to command the eunuch to lead the sago into the inner chambers; who, as he entered the apartments, put on a form and features of beauty far exceeding the personal charms of mortals, or even of heavenly spirits. Ilis conductor, addressing the princesses, said to them: " Your father, young ladies, sends you this pious sage, who has demanded of him a bride; and the Raja has promised him, that he will not refuse him any one of you who shall choose him for her husband." When the damsels heard this, and looked upon the person of the Rishi, they were equally inspired with passion and desire, and, like a troop of female elephants disputing the favours of the master of the herd, they all contended for the choice. " Away, away, sister !" said each to the other: *'this is my election; ho is my choice; he is not a meet bridgeroom for you; he has been created, by Brahma, on purpose for me, as I have been created in order to become his wife; he has been chosen, by me, before you; you have no right to prevent his becoming my husband." In this way arose a violent quarrel amongst the daughters of the king, each insisting upon the exclusive election of the Rishi; and, as the blameless sage was thus contended for by the rival princesses, the superintendent of the inner apartments, with a downcast look, reported to the king what had occurred. Perplexed, more than ever, by this information, the Raja exclaimed: " What is all this ? And what am I to do now ? What is it that I have said ? And, at last, although with extreme reluctance, he was obliged to agree that the Rishi should marry all his daughters. Having then wedded, agreeably to law, all the princesses, the sage took them home to his habitation, where he employed the chief of architects, Visvakarman,- equal, in taste and skill, to Brahma himself, - to construct separate palaces for each of his wives: he ordered him to provide each building with elegant couches, and seats, and furniture, and to attach to them gardens and groves, with reservoirs of water, where the wild-duck and the swan should sport amidst beds of lotus flowers. The divine artist obeyed his injunctions, and constructed splendid apartments for the wives of the Rishi; in which, by command of Saubhari, the inexhaustible and divine treasure called Nanda took up his permanent abode; and the princesses entertained all their guests and dependants with abundant viands of every description and the choicest quality. After some period had elapsed, the heart of king Mandhatri yearned for his daughters; and he felt solicitous to know whether they were happily circumstanced. Setting off, therefore, on a visit to the hermitage of Saubhari, he beheld, upon his arrival, a row of beautiful crystal palaces, shining as brilliantly as the rays of the sun, and situated amidst lovely gardens and reservoirs of pellucid water. Entering into one of these magnificent palaces, he found and embraced a daughter, and said to her, as the tears of aifection and delight trembled in his eyes: " Dear child, tell me how it is with you. Are you happy here, or not ? Does the great sage treat you with tenderness ? Or do you revert, with regret, to your early home ?" The princess replied: " You behold, my father, how delightful a mansion I inhabit, - surrounded by lovely gardens and lakes, where the lotus blooms, and the wild swans murmur. Here I have delicious viands, fragrant unguents, costly ornaments, splendid raiment, soft beds, and every enjoyment that affluence can procure. Why, then, should I call to memory the place of my birth ? To your favour am I indebted for all that I possess. I have only one cause of anxiety, which is this: my husband is never absent from my dwelling; solely attached to me, he is always at my side; he never goes near my sisters; and I am concerned to think that they must feel mortified by his neglect: this is the only circumstance that gives me uneasiness." Proceeding to visit another of his daughters, the king, after embracing her, and sitting down, made the same enquiry, and received the same account of the enjoyments with which the pnncess was provided. There was, also the same complaint, that the Rishi was wholly devoted to her, and paid no attention to her sisters. In every palace, Mandhatri heard the same story, from each of his daughters, in reply to his questions; and, with a heart overflowing with wonder and delight, he repaired to the wise Saubhari, whom he found alone, and after paying homage to him, thus addressed him: " Holy sage, I have witnessed this thy marvellous power. The like miraculous faculties I have never known any other to possess. How great is the reward of thy devout austerities !" Having thus saluted the sage, and been received by him, with respect, the Raja resided with him for some time, partaking of the pleasures of the place, and then returned to his capital. In the course of time, the daughters of Mandhatri bore to Saubhari a hundred and fifty sons; and, day by day, his affection for his children became more intense, and his heart was wholly occupied with the sentiment of self. " These my sons," he loved to think, " will charm me with their infant prattle; then they will learn to walk; they will, then, grow up to youth, and to manhood; I shall see them married, and they will have children; and I may behold the children of those children," By these and similar reflections, however, he perceived that his anticipations every day outstripped the course of time; and, at last, he exclaimed: " What exceeding folly is mine ! There is no end to my desires. Though all I hope should come to pass for ten thousand or a hundred thousand years, still new wishes would spring up. When I have seen my infants walk; when I have beheld their youth, their manhood, their marriage, their progeny; still my expectations are unsatisfied, and my soul yearns to behold the descendants of their descendants. Shall I even see them, some other wish will be engendered; and, when that is accomplished, how is the birth of fresh desires to be prevented ? I have at last, discovered, that there is no end to hope, until it terminates in death; and that the mind which is perpetually engrossed by expectation can never be attached to the supreme spirit. My mental devotions, whilst immersed in water, were interrupted by attachment to my friend the fish. The result of that connexion was my marriage; and insatiable desires are the consequences of my married life. The pain attendant upon the birth of my single body is now augmented by the cares attached to fifty others, and is further multiplied by the numerous children whom the princesses have borne to me. The sources of affliction will be repeatedly renewed by their children, and by their espousals, and by their progeny, and will be infinitely increased: a married life is a mine of individual anxiety. My devotions, first disturbed by the fish of the pool, have since been obstructed by temporal indulgence; and I have been beguiled by that desire for progeny which was communicated to me by association with Sammada. Separation from the world is the only path of the sage to final liberation :from commerce with mankind innumerable errors proceed. The ascetic who has accomplished a course of self-denial falls from perfection, by contracting worldly attachments. How much more likely should one so fall, whose observances are incomplete ! My intellect has been a prey to the desire of married happiness: but I will, now, so exert myself, for the salvation of my soul, that exempt from human imperfections, I may be exonerated from human sufferings. To that end, I will propitiate, by arduous penance, Vishnu, the creator of the universe, whose form is inscrutable, who is smaller than the smallest, larger than the largest, the source of darkness and of light, the sovereign god of gods. On his everlasting body, which is both discrete and indiscrete substance, inimitably mighty, and identical with the universe, may my mind, wholly free from sin, be ever steadily intent, so that I may be born no more ! To him I fly for refuge; to that Vishnu who is the teacher of teachers, who is one with all beings, the pure eternal lord of all, without beginning, middle, or end, and besides whom is nothing." V. P. Saudasa: (sáns. hindú). A prince, the son of Sudasa; named also Mitrasaha, to which the reader is referred for the legend of his life. Saumitri: (sáns. hindú). A teacher of the Sama Veda. Saumya: (sáns. hindú). A division of the Varsha of Bharata. Saunahotra: (sáns. hindú). A Rishi, the son of Sunahotra. On one occasion Indra himself went to a sacrifice of the Rishi in order to please him. The great A suras, thinking that Indra was above, and wishing to take liim, surrounded the sacrificial enclosure. Indra, however, perceived it, and takiug the guise of the Rishi, he went away. The Asuras, seeing the sacrificer again, seized Saunahotra, taking him for Indra. He pointed out lodra to them and was released by the Asuras. - A. S. i., 231 . Saunaka: (sáns. hindú). l, A teacher of the Atharva Veda; 2, The son of Ghritsamada according to the Vishnu Purâòa, but Professor Wilson remarks that this is probably an error, as several other Purâòas agree in making him the son of Sunaka. It was Saunaka who established the distinctions of the four castes. See A. S. L., 232-36. Saurashtras: (sáns. hindú). The people of Surat; the Surastrene of Ptolemy. Sauvirai: (sáns. hindú). The nations of Sindh, and Western Rajputana. Savala: (sáns. hindú). One of the sons of Priyavrata, who was nominated by his father to be the monarch of the Dwipa of Pushkara. Savalaswas: (sáns. hindú). Daksha, at the command of Brahma, is said to have created various living creatures. His first four thousand sons, termed Haryaswas, were dissuaded by Narada from propagating offspring, and dispersed themselves throughout the universe. Daksha then created a thousand other sons, named Savalaswas, who were desirous of engendering posterity, but were dissuaded by Narada, in a similar manner. They said to one another " what the sage has observed is perfectly just." We must follow the path that our brothers have travelled, and when we have ascertained the extent of the universe, we will multiply our race. Accordingly they scattered themselves through the regions, and, like rivers flowing into the sea, they returned not again. Savana: (sáns. hindú). One of the seven sons of the Muni Vasishtha. Savarna: (sáns. hindú). l, The daughter of the ocean who was married to king Prachinaverhis, to whom she had been previously betrothed. She was the mother of the Prachetasas, q. v.; 2, The " female of like appearance" who was substituted by Saranyu, when she fled from Vivaswat. Savarna became the mother of Manu.- O. S. T., Vol. V, p. 228. Savarni: (sáns. hindú). A Manu, the son of the sun by his maid Chhaya. He is to be the Manu of the eighth Manwantara. Savibhasa: (sáns. hindú). One of the seven suns into which the solar rays dilate at the end of the day of Brahma when the world is destroyed. Savitri: (sáns. hindú). " A king, named Aswapati, sighed for offspring, and after praying in vain for eighteen years, the gods of heaven sent him a daughter, who grew up so " bright in her beauty," that she appeared like a child of the Immortals; and the princes around were so dazzled, that none dared to ask for her as a bride. *' So passing fair the young Savitri grew That all adored her but none thought to woo. No lovelier nymph e'er left her native skies To dazzle mortals with her heavenly eyes; And how might e'en the proudest chieftain dare, To woo a Princess so divinely fair." This distressed her father, and he said that she must go now and make choice herself. - "Meekly bowed the modest maiden, with her eyes upon the ground. And departed, as he bade her, with attendants troop'd around. Many a hermitage she travers'd, riding in a gold-bright car; Many a wilderness and forest, holy places near and far." " When she came back she told of a blind old king, driven from his throne by a ruthless kinsman, living with his beloved wife in a grove; and his brave son, Satyavan, her heart has chosen. " Satyavan," she says, " has all my love." At this announcement a Rishi, who happened to be present, exclaims, in distress, that she would choose care and grief, in choosing Satyavan. He is " Learned as the gods' own teacher,- glorious as the sun is he; With the earth's untiring patience, and great Indra's bravery. " He is noble, " True, and great of soul. Bountiful is he, and modest, - every sense does he controul. Gentle, brave, all creatures love him,- keeping in the righteous way, Number'd with the holy hermits, -pure and virtuous as they." But alas ! in a year, counting from this day, " Satyavan will die." On hearing this, the king considers a marriage out of the question, and says: " Go, then, my dearest child, and choose again." But his daughter replies: " Be he virtuous or worthless,- many be his days, or few,- Once for all I choose my hasband: to that choice will I be true." The sage and her father give way to her decided wishes: and in due time the young couple are married, and live in great happiness with the hermits in the grove. Savitri, the bride, put aside her jewels, and wore the coarse raiment usually adopted by hermits; and, by her meekness and affection, won the hearts of all with whom she dwelt. " Sadly, sadly as she counted, day by day flew swiftly by, And the fated time came nearer when her Satyavan must die. Yet three days and he must perish, sadly thought the loving wife, And she vowed to fast, unresting, for his last three daj- of life." Her husband's father feared that the trial would be too great for her, but she answered: " Firm resolve has made me vow it; firm resolve will give me strength." She kept her vow, and maintained her fast; and when the third day dawned, and the fire of worship " All unknown to thee the forest; rough the part and weary thou: How, then, will thy feet support thee, fainting from thy fasting vow ?" " Nay, I sink not from my fasting, and no weakness feel to-day; I have set my heart on going: oh ! forbid me not, I pray !" Savitri has always kept her sad secret from her husband; and he has, therefore, no idea of her real reason for wishing to accompany him. He, however, consents, and calls her attention to the lovely woods, stately peacocks, and flowers of brilliant hue; but she can look only upon him, and mourn for him as one about to die. She gathers cooling fruits, and he makes the woods resound with the strokes of his hatchet. But, soon a thrilling agony shoots through his temple She sits down upon the ground, and he rests his head upon her breast, and sleeps. But, - " Sudden, lo ! before Savitri stood a great and awful One; Ked as blood was his apparel, bright and glowing as the sun. In his hand a noose was hanging; he to Satyavan stood nigh, And upon the weary sleeper fix'd his fearful, glittering eye." This awful apparition was Yama, god of Death, come to bind and take the spirit of Satyavan. Having done this, he moved towards the south, Savitri closely following. Yama tries to persuade her to go back; but she says, no: wherever her husbaud goes, there she will go also. Yama praises her sweet speech, and offers her any boon except the life of Satyavan; and she begs that the blind king, her father-in-law, may be restored to sight, but without relinquishing her first request. Yama tries again and again to get rid of her, and says she will faint. " Can I faint when near my husband ? where he goes nay path shall be. I will follow where thou leadest .-listen once again to me." Nothing can induce her to return without Satyavan; and at length " love conquers death." Yama relents; the happy wife hastens to where her husband's dead body lay, and, leaning upon her faithful bosom he awakes again to sense and life. A very touching conversation follows, during which he gradually recovers his recollection; but his wife, avoiding any full explanation of what had been occurring, says: " Night's dark shadows round us fall; When the morrow's light returneth, dearest ! I wiU tell thee all. Up, then, and away, I pray thee, - come unto thy parents, love ! See ! the sun long time has vanish'd, and the night grows black above." And accordingly they return to the hermitage, when Satyavan finds his father no longer blind; and every kind of happiness awaits them."* - See Satyavan. Savitri: (sáns. hindú). l. One of the twelve Adityas, the sun. " Savitri has established the earth by supports; Savitri has fixed the sky in unsupported space: Savitri has milked the atmosphere, restless (or noisy) as a horse (or, Savitri has extracted from the atmosphere the ocean, &c., restless as a horse ;) - the ocean fastened on the unpassable expanse. Savitri, son of the waters, knows the place where the ocean supported, issued forth. From him the earth, from him the atmosphere, arose; from him the heaven and earth extended." The sun also whose place is on the sky is called Savitri. 2, The Vyasa of the fifth Dwdpara age. Senajit: (sáns. hindú). One of the kings of Hastinapura, the son of Viswajit. Senani: (sáns. hindú). One of the eleven Rudras according to the enumeration in the Matsya Purâòa. * A. & M. I. Indian Epic Poetry. Serpents: (sáns. hindú). These are represented in the Vishnu Purâòa as the progeny of Kadru, they are described as powerful and many-headed; and some as fierce and venomous. The chief are mentioned by name. Sesha: (sáns. hindú). Eternal matter in which Vishnu reposes during the night of Eramha when the destructive power only is in operation. It is represented as an immense snake, forming by its many coils, a bed on which Vishnu sleeps, and with its thousand heads erect, to form a canopy over Vishnu's head, and to present the idea of defence against any invasion of the sleeper's repose. Sesha is also said to support the eight elephants which support the world. The name Sesha is considered by Sir William Jones and others to designate abstract eternity, but the emblem does not altogether correspond with the Egyptian hieroglyphic used for this purpose. The literal meaning is primal serpent, and many of the Hindu legends introduce this snake. In the Purâòas there is an account of a dispute between it and Vayu, regent of the wind. The latter blew with all his strength against the thousand peaks of Mount Meru, and Sesha covered every one of the peaks, each by one of his thousand, heads. The sanctity of Tripiti, a hill in the north of Mysore is derived from a traditionary version of this legend. Vayu is said to have ceased blowing for a time when Sesha lifted up one head to ascertain the cause, and Vayu suddenly blew oiF the exposed peak, which was carried through the air and fell at Tripiti, conferring on the place the sanctity of Mount Meru. At the Seven Pagodas, near Madras, there is a good sculpture of Sesha in one of the hill caves. The subject is a favorite one with the Vaishnavas. Sir C. Wilkins thus describes one in the north of India, the rock of Ichangiri in the province of Behar. Among the images carved in relief in the surface of the rock, is one of Hari, (a title of Vishnu) of gigantic dimensions, recumbent upon a coiled serpent, whose heads, which are numerous, the artist has contrived to spread into a kind of canopy over the sleeping god; and from each of its mouths issues a forked tongue, seeming to threaten instant death to any whom rashness might prompt to disturb him. The whole lies almost clear of the block on which it is hewn. It is finely imagined and is executed with great skill. The Hindus believe that at the end of every kalpa (creatiou) all things are absorbed in the deity, and that in the interval of another creation he repose th himself upon the serpent Sesha (duration), who is also called Ajiania, (endless), q. v. *' Sesha, worshipped by all the gods, supports the whole region of the earth like a diadem, and is the foundation of Patala. The Siddhantas, or scientific astronomical works of India, however, maintain that the earth is unsupported." - 0. S. T., Vol. IV, p. 96. Sesha: (sáns. hindú). One of the Prajapatis. Siddhartha: (sáns. hindú). A prince of the family of Ikshvaku. He was king of Pavana in Bharatakshetra when by supernatural agency he was made the ftither of the great Tirthankara Mahavira, q. v. Siddhas: (sáns. hindú). Pure and holy beings, exempt from covetousness and concupiscence, love and hatred, taking no part in the procreation of living beings, and detecting the unreality of the properties of elementary matter. The Vishnu Purâòa states that eighty-eight thousand of these chaste beings tenant the regions of the sky, north of the sun, until the destruction of the universe. Siddhi: (sáns. hindú). Perfection; One of the daughters of Daksha, married to Dharma. Siddhis: (sáns. hindú). The eight perfections; Sighra: (sáns. hindú). l, A prince, the son of Agnivara, descendant of Kusa; 2, A river. Sikhandini: (sáns. hindú). The wife of Antarddhana, descendant of Prithu. Siksha: (sáns. hindú). An Anga, or subsidiary portion of the Vedas, containing the rules of reciting the prayers, the accents and tones to be observed, &c. Sindhu: (sáns. hindú). A river of Bharata Varsha; there are several rivers of this Dame, as well as the Indus; there is one of some note, the Kali Sindh in Malwa. Sindhu: (sáns. hindú). A country near the forest of Kama. It was the Raja of Sindhu, Jayadrathu, who visited Draupadi, in the absence of her husbands, and attempted to carry her away. Sindhudwipa: (sáns. hindú). One of the kings of Ayodhya, the son of Ambarisha. Sinhika: (sáns. hindú). One of the daughters of Kasyapa, and wife of Viprachitti. She was the sister of the celebrated Danava Hiranyakasipu. Sini: (sáns. hindú). One of the Bhoja princes of Mrittikavati, the son of Sumitra. Sinivali: (sáns. hindú). 1, The name of the day when the new moon is first visible; 2, One of the daughters of Angiras. Sipraka: (sáns. hindú). The first Andhra king; and founder of the Andhrabhritya dynasty. He had previously been minister to Susarman, the last of the Kanwa kings of Magadha, against whom Siprak conspired, and assumed the sovereignty himself. Siradhwaja: (sáns. hindú). A name of Janaka, king of Mithila, celebrated as the father of Sita. Sisira: (sáns. hindú). A teacher of the Rig Veda.. Sisumara: (sáns. hindú). Porpoise. The symbol for the celestial sphere. The porpoise-like figure of the celestial sphere is upheld by Narayana, who himself, in planetory radiance, is seated in its heart; whilst the son of Uttanapada, Dhruva, in consequence of his adoration of the lord of the world, shines in the tail of the stellar porpoise. Vishnu Purâòa, 230. Sisunaga: (sáns. hindú). One of the kings of Magadha, who relinquished Benares to his son, and established himself at Girivraja, in Behar. Sisupala: (sáns. hindú). The son of Damaghosha, king of Chedi. This prince was in a former existence the unrighteous but valiant monarch of the Daityas, Hiranyakasipu, who was killed by the divine guardian of the creation (in the man-lion Avatara.) He was next the ten-headed sovereign Ravana, whose unequalled prowess, strength, and power, were overcome by the lord of the three worlds Râma; when born again as Sisupala, he renewed with greater inveteracy than ever, his hostile hatred towards the god surnamed Pundarikaksha, a portion of the Supreme Being who had descended to lighten the burden of the earth, and was in consequence slain by him: but because his thoughts were constantly engrossed by the Supreme Being, Sisupala was united with him after death; V. P. The death of Sisupala is thus related in the Mahabharata: " now the custom was at the beginning of a Rajasuya to declare who was the greatest and strongest of all the Rajas there assembled, in order that the Argha might be given to him; and Bhishma, as ruler of the feast, declared that the honour was due to Krishna, who was the greatest and strongest of them all. But Sisupala, the Raja of Chedi, was exceedingly wroth with Krishna, for when he was betrothed to the beautiful Rukmini, Krishna had carried her away and made her his own wife. So Sisupala arose and threw the whole assembly into an uproar, and he said with a loud voice: - " If the honour be due to age, it should have been given to Vasudeva; if it be due to him who has the greatest Raj, it should have be given to Raja Drupada; if it be due to the youth of loftiest mind, it should have been given to Baja Duryodhana; if it be due to the greatest preceptor, it should have been given to Drona; and if it be due to the greatest saint, it should have been given to Vyasa: but shame be upon this assembly, who hath given that honour to a cowherd, who was the murderer of his own Raja." Having thus spoken, Sisupala and his friends who were with him made a great tumult. Yudhishthira and Bhishma then reasoned with Sisupala, but he would not heed their words, and drew his sword, and threatened to slay all the guests and spoil the sacrifice. Yudhishthira and his brethren then rose to fight against Sisupala, but Bhishma withheld them; and Sisupala in his rage abused Bhishma and Krishna in such opprobrious terms that the whole assembly were alarmed. At last Krishna said :- " I have hitherto restrained ray hand, because this man is my own kinsman, but I can bear with his words no longer." And thus speaking he whirled his chakra furiously at Sisupala, and severed his head from his body; and Sisupala fell dead upon the ground, and his sons carried away his body and burnt it upon the funeral pile. Thus Krishna saved the Rajasuya of Yudhishthira by the slaughter of Sisupila; for had Raja Yudhishthira beeu set at defiance by a Raja who had not been conquered, the Rajasuya would have beeu imperfect and of no avail." Sita: (sáns. hindú). The daughter of Janaka, king of Mithila, (Siradhwaja.) She is called earth-born, as having been turned up from the soil by a plough, as Janaka was ploughing a spot to prepare for a sacrifice. She was promised in marriage to the Raja who could bend the great bow of Äiva; many distinguished Rajas attempted the feat, but could not succeed; " now when Râma saw the bow he lifted it with one hand from the ground playfully, while a great multitude looked on in amazement. Then Râma bent the bow till it broke in the midst, and the noise was like the crash of a falling mountain, so that the bystanders were stunned and fell down. After this Sitd was married to Râma. The story of their honeymoon in the Râmâyaòa, is supposed to be an interpolation of recent date. When Râma had to go into exile Sita avowed her determination to accompany him. to the jungle. Râma objected to this, but at length yielded to her earnest entreaties. They met with many adventures in their jungle life which are described in great detail in the Râmâyaòa. They rested in the cave of the sage Atri, whose wife Anasuya gave Sita an ointment to render her young and " beautiful for ever." On one occasion she besought Râma to pursue a beautiful deer, his brother Lakshmana remaining behind for her protection. Sounds of distress were heard as if proceeding from Râma, and Sita taunted Lakshmana with unconcern for his brother until he left her. Then Ravana, by whose contrivance all this had come about, entered the hut as a brahman mendicant, assumed his true form, and addressed Sita, who replied to him with anger, and Ravana carried her off by force to Lanka, where she was discovered by Hanuman in the Asoka garden. While being carried by Ravana through the air, which she filled with cries and lamentations, she saw five monkeys sitting in the mountain named Risha-mukha, and threw down her ornaments amongst them in the hope that they might find their way to Râma. They were found by Sugriva and by him shown to Râma. Sita wrathfully refused to receive the addresses of Ravana, who threatened to slay her. She had an interview with Hanumau, and was finally rescued by R£ma; but had to pass through a severe ordeal before she was received as pure after being imprisoned in the palace of Ravana. She entered the fire and the god Agni attested her purity. She was then installed as Rani with great splendour. She had two children Lava, and Kusa. Siteyus: (sáns. hindú). a prince, the son of Usanas, (q. v.) Äiva: (sáns. hindú). The third deity in the Hindu triad. Wilson says that Äiva is the same as Vishnu in the character of destroyer of creation. He also personifies reproduction, as Hindu philosophy excludes the idea of total annihilation without subsequent regeneration. Hence he is sometimes identified with Brahma the first person in the triad. Äiva is the particular god of the Tantrikas, or followers of the books called Tantras. His worshippers are termed Saivas, and although not so numerous as the Vaishnavas, exalt their god to the highest place in the heavens, and combine in him many of the attributes which properly belong to the other deities. According to them, Äiva is Time, Justice, Fire, Water, the Sun, the Destroyer and Creator. As presiding over generation, his type is the Linga, or Phallus, the origin probably of the Phallic emblem of Egypt and Greece. As the god of generation and of justice, which latter character he shares with the god Yama, he is represented riding a white bull. His own colour, as well as that of the bull, is generally white, referring probably to the unsullied purity of justice. His throat is dark-blue; his hair of a light reddish colour, and thickly matted together, and gathered above his head like the hair of an ascetic. He is sometimes seen with two hands, sometimes with four, eight, or ten, and with five faces. He has three eyes, one being in the centre of his forehead, pointing up and down. These are said to denote his view of the three divisions of time, past, present, and future. He holds a trident in his hand to denote, as some say, his relationship to water, or according to others, to show that the three great attributes of Creator, Destroyer, and Regenerator arc combined in him. His loins arc enveloped in a tiger's skin. In his character of Time, he not only presides over its extinction, but also its astronomical regulation. A crescent or half-moon on his forehead indicates the measure of time by the phases of the moon; a serpent forms one of his necklaces to denote the measure of time by years, and a second necklace of human skulls marks the lapse and revolution of ages, and the extinction and succession of the generations of mankind. He is often represented as entirely covered -with serpents, which are the emblems of immortality. They are bound in his hair, round his neck, wrists, waist, arms, and legs; they serve as rings 'for his fingers, and earrings for his ears, and are his constant companions. Äiva has more than a thousand names, which are detailed at length in the sixty-ninth chapter of the Äiva Purâòa. The following list of the principal of these will give the best idea of his character and attributes. The auspicious one. The Lord of the Universe. The Destroyer, a personification of time that destroys all things. The Reproducer, the Conqueror of life and death, and Cause of life and being. The Disperser of the Tears of mortals." - Williams, Äiva - 1, The wife of the Rudra Isana; 2, The wife of Anila, (Wind.) Äivas: (sáns. hindú). A class of deities in the third Manwantara. Äivaskandha: (sáns. hindú). One of the Audhra kings, the son of Äivasri Sataknrni. Äivasti: (sáns. hindú). Another of the Andhra kings. Äiva-Upa-Purâòa: (sáns. hindú). The Äiva Upa-purana contains about six thousand stanzas, distributed into two parts. It is related by Sanatkumara to Vyasa and the Rishis at Naimisharanya; and its character may be judged of from the questions to which it is a reply. " Teach us," said the Rishis, " the rules of worshipping the Liuga, and of the god of gods adored under that type: describe to us his various forms, the places sanctified by him, and the prayers with which he is to be addressed." In answer, Sanatkumara repeats the Äiva Purâòa, containing the birth of Vishnu and Brahma; the creation and divisions of the universe; the origin of all things from the Linga; the rules of worshipping it and Äiva; the sanctity of times, places, and things, dedicated to him; the delusion of Brahma and Vishnu by the Linga; the rewards of offering flowers and the like to a Linga; rules for various observances in honour of Mahadeva; the mode of practising the Yoga; the glory of Benares and other Saiva Tirthas; and the perfection of the objects of life by union with Maheswara. These objects are illustrated, in the first part, with very few legends; but the second is made up, almost w*holly, of Saiva stories, as the defeat of Tripui-asura; the sacrifice of Daksha; the births of Karttikeya and Ganesa, (the sons of Äiva), and Nandi and Bhringariti (his attendants), and others; together with descriptions of Benares and other places of pilgrimage, and rules for observing such festivals as the Äivaratri. This work is a Saiva manual, not a Purâòa. - Wilson. Sivi: (sáns. hindú). 1, A Daitya, the son of Sanhrada; 2, The Indra of the fourth Manwantara; 3, A prince, the son of Usinara. Skambha: (sáns. hindú). The Supporter or Upholder; an appellation of the Supreme Being, In a hymn of the Atharva Veda, Skambha is considered like Furusha, as a vast embodied being co-extensive with the universe, and comprehending, in his several members, not only the different parts of the material world, but a variety of abstract conceptions, such as austere fervour (tapas,) faith, truth, and the divisions of time. He is distinct from, and superior to, Prajapati, who founds the worlds upon him. The thirty-three gods are comprehended in him, and arose out of nonentity, which forms his highest member, and, as well as entity, is embraced within him. The gods who form part of him, as branches of a tree, do him homage, and bring him tribute. He is identified with Indra; and perhaps also with the highest Brahma, who is mentioned in verses 32-34, 36, and in the first verse of the next hymn, x. 8, 1. In verse 36, however, this Brahma is represented as being born (or, perhaps, developed) from toil and tdpas, whilst in X. 8, 1, the attributes of the Supreme Deity are assigned to him. In compositions of this age, however, we are not to expect very accurate or rigorous thinking, or perfect consistency :- In Skambha are contained the worlds, austere fervour, and the ceremonial. Skambha, I clearly know thee to be contained entire in Indra. In Indra are contained the worlds, anstere fervour, and the ceremonial. Indra, I clearly know thee to be contained entire in Skambha. When the Unborn first sprang into being, he attained to that independent dominion, than that which nothing higher has ever been. Reverence be to that greatest Brahma, of whom the earth is the basis, the atmosphere the belly, who made the sky his head, of whom the sun and the ever-renewed moon are the eye; who made Agni his mouth, of hora the wind formed two of the vital airs, and the Angirasas the eye, who made the regions his organs of sense. Skambha established both these (worlds), earth and sky, the wide atmosphere, and the six vast regions; Skambha pervaded this entire universe. Reverence to that greatest Brahma who, born from toil and austere fervour {tapaSf) penetrated all the worlds, who made soma for himself alone. How is it that the wind does not rest ? How is not the soul quiescent ? Why do not the waters, seeking after truth, ever repose ? The great being (is) absorbed in austere fervour in the midst of the world, on the surface of the waters. To him all the gods are joined, as the branches around the trunk of a tree. Say who is that Skambha to whom the gods, with hands, feet, voice, ear, eye, present continually an unlimited tribute ? By him darkness is dispelled; he is free from evil; in him are all the three luminaries which reside in Prajapati. He who knows the golden reed staudino in the waters is the mysterious Prajapati. Professor Goldstucker adds that Skambha " seems to mean the fulcrum of the whole world, in all its physical, religious, and other aspects. The object of the hymn being to inquire what this fulcrum is, from the answer given to the various questions it seems to follow that it is there imagined to be the primitive deity, or the primitive Veda, the word brahman in the neuter implying both. From this primitive Veda, not visibly but really {sat) existing, not only all the gods, worlds, religious rites, &c. were derived, but also the existing three Vedas and the Atharvan were * fashioned.' " - 0. S. T., F, 384. Skanda: (sáns. hindú). 1, A name of Kartikeya, the son of Äiva and Parvati, and the Mars of Hindu mythology. For the legend of his birth, see Kartikeya. In a note to the Megha Duta, Professor Wilson writes, " Several instances of the solitary production of offspring occur in the Hindu as well as in the Grecian mythology. Thus as Pallas sprang froni the brow of Jupiter, we have Skanda generated solely by the deity Äiva: Ganga springs from the head of the same deity, and Ganesa is the self-born son of the goddess Parvati. The miraculous birth of the warrior deity, Skanda, was for the purpose of destroying Taraka, an Asura or demoii, who, by the performance of continued and severe austerities, had acquired powers formidable to the gods. The excentric genius of Southey has rendered it unnecessary, by his poem * The curse of Kehama,' for me to explain the nature or results of these acts of devotion. The germ of Skanda was cast by Äiva into the flame of Agni, the god of fire; who, being unable to sustain the increasing burden, transferred it to the goddess Ganga: she accordingly was delivered of the deity, Skanda; who was afterwards received and reared, among thickets of the Sara reed (Saccharum Sara), by the six daughters of a king, named Krittika; or according to other legends, by the wives of seven great Rishis or Saints. In either case, they form in astronomy the asterism of the Pleiades. Upon his coming to maturity, Skanda encountered and killed the demon, who had filled the reign of Indra with dismay: - Emissumque ima de sede Typhoea terra, Coelitibus fecisse metum. - Works IV, 353. Skanda: (sáns. hindú). 2, The son of the Rudra Pasupati, by his wife Swaha. Skanda Purâòa: (sáns. hindú). " The Skanda Purâòa is that in which the six-faced deity (Skanda) has related the events of the Tatpurusha Kalpa, enlarged with many tales, and subservient to the duties taught by Maheswara. It is said to contain eighty-one thousand one hundred stanzas: so it is asserted amongst mankind." It is uniformly agreed that the Skanda Purâòa, in a collective form, has no existence; and the fragments, in the shape of Sanhitas, Khandas, and Mahatmyas, which are affirmed, in various parts of India, to be portions of the Purâòa, present a much more formidable mass of stanzas than even the immense number of which it is said to consist. The most celebrated of these portions, in Hindusthan, is the Hayi Khanda, a very minute description of the temples of Äiva in or adjacent to Benares, mixed with directions for worshipping Maheswara, and a great variety of legends explanatory of its merits and of the holiness of Kasi. Many of them are puerile and uninteresting; but some are of a higher character. The story of Agastya records, probably in a legendary style, the propagation of Hinduism in the south of India; and, in the history of Divodasa, king of Kasi, we have an embellished tradition of the temporary depression of the worship of Äiva, even in its metropolis, before the ascendancy of the followers of Buddha, There is every reason to believe the greater part of the contents of the Kasi Khanda anterior to the first attack upon Benares by Mahniud of Ghizni. The Kasi Khanda alone contains fifteen thousand stanzas. - Wilson. Slishti: (sáns. hindú). One of the sons of the great sage Dhruva, by his wife Sumbhu. Smaya: (sáns. hindú). Wonder. A son of Dharma. Smriti: (sáns. hindú). Tradition, as distinguished from Sruti, revelation. The Veda is regarded as revelation; and what is called the whole body of the law is regarded as tradition. " This distinction may be of some importance as an illustration of the national belief in inspiration; and it may throw some light on that era in the history of Sanskrit literature when inspiration was supposed to end and tradition to begin."* Mr. Max Müller makes a similar remark, and discusses the subject in his History of Sanskrit Literature. Smriti: (sáns. hindú). l. Memory, One of the daughters of Daksha, married to the Muni Angiras; 2, The faculty of recognising all things, past, present, or to come. - Wilson's Notes to Vishnu Purâòa. Soka: (sáns. hindú). Sorrow: one of the children of Mritya (Death.) Soma: (sáns. hindú). Reference has been already made to the important share which the exhilarating juice of the soma-plant assumes in bracing Indra for his conflict with the hostile powers in tbe atmosphere, and to the eagerness of all the gods to partake in this beverage. Talboys Wheeler. Soma is the god who represents and animates this juice, an intoxicating draught which plays a conspicuous part in the sacrifices of the Vedic age. He is, or rather was in former times, the Indian Dionysus or Bacchus. Not only are the whole of the hymns in the ninth book of the Rig Veda., one hundred and fourteen in number, besides a few in other places, dedicated to his honour, but constant references to the juice of the Soma occur in a large proportion of the other hymns. It is clear therefore, as remarlved by Prof. Whitney, that his worship must at one time, have attained a remarkable popularity. ' The simple-minded Arian people, whose whole religion was a worship of the wonderful powers and phenomena of nature, had no sooner perceived that this liquid had power to elevate the spirits, and produce a temporary frenzy, under the influence of which the individual was prompted to, and capable of, deeds beyond his natural powers, than they found in it something divine; it was to their apprehension a god endowing those into whom it entered with god-like powers; the plant which afforded it became to them the king of plants; the process of preparing it was a holy sacrifice; the instruments used therefore were sacred. The high antiquity of this cultus is attested by the references to it found occurring in the Persian Avesta; it seems however to have received a new impulse on Indian territory.' With the decline of the Vedic worship however, and the introduction of new deities and new ceremonies, the popularity of Soma gradually decreased, and has long since passed away; and his name is now familiar to those few Brahmans only, who still maintain in a few places the early Vedic observances. A great variety of divine attributes and operations are ascribed to Soma. ' He is addressed as a god in the highest strains of adulation and veneration; all powers belong to him; all blessings are besought of him as his to bestow. (Notes*) In a passage where the joys of paradise are more distinctly anticipated and more fervently implored than in most other parts of the Rig Veda., Soma is addressed as the god from whom the gift of future felicity is expected. Soma exhilarates Varuna, Mitra, Indra, Vishnu, the Maruts, the other gods, Vayu, Heaven and Earth. Both gods and men resort to him saying that his juice is sweet, by him the Adityas are strong and the earth vast. He is the friend, helper, and soul of Indra, whom he succours in his conflicts with Vrittra. He rides in the same chariot with Indra, but has winged mares of his own and a team-like Vayu.- 0. S. T., V, 258-67. In the post-vedic age the name Soma came to be commonly applied to the moon and its regent, who is represented as the son of Atri; the monarch of the stars and planets, of brahmans and of plants, of sacrifices and of penance. The Vishnu Purâòa has the following legend: Soma celebrated the Rajasuya (sacrifice); and, from the glory thence acquired, and the extensive dominion with which he had been invested, he became arrogant (and licentious,) and carried off Tara, the wife of Brihaspati, the preceptor of the gods. In vain Brihaspati sought to recover his bride; in vain Brahma commanded, and the holy sages remonstrated: Soma refused to relinquish her. Usanas, out of enmity to Brihaspati, took part with Soma. Rudra, who had studied under Angiras, (the father of Brihaspati,) befriended his fellow-student. In consequence of Usanas, their preceptor, joining Soma, Jambha, Kujambha, and all the Daityas, Danavas, and other foes of the gods, came also to his assistance; whilst Indra and all the gods were the allies of Brihaspati. Then there ensued a fierce contest, which, being on account of Tiraka (or Tara,) was termed the Tarakamaya or Taraka war. In this, the gods, led by Rudra, hurled their missiles on the enemy; and the Daityas with equal determination assailed the gods. Earth, shaken to her centre by the struggle between such foes, had recourse to Brahma, for protection; on which he interposed, and, commanding Usanas, with the demons, and Rudra, with the deities, to desist from strife, compelled Soma to restore lra to her husband. Finding that she was pregnant, Brihaspati desired her no longer to retain her burthen; and, in obedience to his orders, she was delivered of a son, whom she deposited in a clump of long Munja-grass. The child, from the moment of its birth, was endued with a splendour that dimmed the radiance of every other divinity; and both Brihaspati and Soma, fascinated by his beauty, claimed him as their child. The gods, in order to settle the dispute, appealed to Tara; but she was ashamed, and would make no answer. As she still continued mute to their repeated applications, the child (became incensed, and) was about to curse her, saying: " Unless, vile woman, you immediately declare who is my father, I will sentence you to such a fate as shall deter every female, in future, from hesitating to speak the truth." On this, Brahma again interfered, and pacified the child, and then, addressing Tara, said: " Tell me, daughter, is this the child of Brihaspati or of Soma ?" " Of Soma," said Tard, blushing. As soon as she had spoken, the lord of the constellations - his countenance bright, and expanding with rapture, - embraced his son, and said: " Well done, my boy ! Verily, thou art wise." And, hence, his name was Budha. ' He who knows.' Much erroneous speculation has originated in confounding this Budha, the son of Soma, and regent of the planet Mercury, - ' he who knows,' 'the intelligent,' - with Buddha, any defied mortal, or ' he by whom truth is known ;' or as individually applicable, Gautama or Sakya, son of Raja Suddhodana, by whom, the Buddhists themselves aver, their doctrines were first promulgated. The two characters have nothing in common; and the names are identical, only when one or other is mis-spelt. This Budha was the founder of the lunar race. The Brahma Purâòa and Hari Vansa have a legend of the birth of Soma, the moon, from the Rishi Prabhakara of the I'ace of Atri. - Wilson. Notes: * Whitney, J. A. 0. S., Ill, 299. Soma: (sáns. hindú). One of the deities called Vasus, because they are always present in luminous irradiation. Somadatta: (sáns. hindú). A king of Vaisali, the son of Krisaswa. He is famed for his having celebrated ten times the sacrifice of a horse. Soxnaka: (sáns. hindú). One of the kings of Magadha, the son of Sahadeva. Somapas: (sáns. hindú). A class of Pitris, " drinkers of the acid juice." Soma-plant: (sáns. hindú). A plant constantly mentioned in the vedic litual, and corresponding to the Homa oi' the Zendavcsta, but it is uncer fain what plant was originally intended by the name. " It is described as ' a creeper, of a dark colour, sour, without leaves, milky, and pulpy externally; it causes phlegm and vomiting, and is a favourite food of goats,' see Muller, Zeitscher, d. D. M. G. ix. It is said to come from the north, and to be bought of barbarian tribes; but the soma of the ' Veda' is no longer known in India. Dr. Haug says that 'the plant at present used by the sacrificial priests of the Dekkhan is not the soma of the Vedas, but appears to belong to the same order. It grows on hills in the neighbourhood of Poona, to the height of about four or five feet, and forms a kind of bush, consisting of a certain number of shoots, all coming from the same root; their stem is solid like wood, the bark greyish, they are without leaves, the sap appears whitish, has a very stringent taste, is bitter but not sour; it is a very nasty drink, but has some intoxicating effect.' (Ait. Br., Vol. II., p. 489). " The ceremonial writers allow the plant putika, Guilandina Bonduc, to be used as a substitute for the soma. The Parsees of Bombay use the branches of a particular tree, obtained from Persia in a dried state."* In the Rig Veda. the soma plant is said to have been brought to the earth by a falcon. In another passage it is declared to have been brought by the daughter of the Sun from the place where it had been nourished by Parjanya, the rain-god, when the Gandharvas took it and infused into it sap. Notes: * Quarterly Review, July 1870 Somasarmman: (sáns. hindú). One of the Mauryan kings of Magadha. Somasushmapana: (sáns. hindú). The Vyasa of the twenty-third Dwipara age. Soma-tirtha: (sáns. hindú). A place of pilgrimage in the west of India, on the coast of Guzerat, near the celebrated temple of Soraanath, and town of Pattan Somanath. Its name is derived from the legend that Soma the moon, was there cured of the consumption brought upon him by the imprecation of Daksha, his father-in-law. The place is also called Prabhasa. Somayajna: (sáns. hindú). Offerings and libations of the juice of the acid asclepias. Sona: (sáns. hindú). The Sone river rising in Mainaka or Amarakantak, and flowing east to the Ganges. Sonitapura: (sáns. hindú). The city of Bana, considered to be the modern Devicotta in the Carnatic. Ärâddha: (sáns. hindú). Faith: One of the daughters of Daksha, married to Dharma, or according to some authorities to Angiras. Ärâddha: (sáns. hindú). An obsequial or funeral sacrifice; but it also implies offerings to the progenitors of an individual and of mankind, and always forms part of a religious ceremony on an occasion of rejoicing or an occasion of prosperity, this being termed the Abhyudaya or Vriddhi Ärâddha. " The offerings of the Hindus to the Pitris partake of the character of those of the Romans to the lares and manes, but bear a more conspicuous part in their ritual. They are said indeed by Manu to be of more moment than the worship of the gods. These ceremonies are not to be regarded as merely obsequial; for independently of the rites addressed to a recently deceased relative, - and, in connexion with him, to remote ancestors, and to the progenitors of all beings, - which are of a strictly obsequial or funeral description, offerings to deceased ancestors, and the Pitris in general, form an essential ceremony, on a great variety of festive and domestic occasions. The Nirnaya Sindhu, in a passage referred to by Mr. Colebrooks (*Notes) specifies the following Ärâddhas;
The following extract from Mr. Talboys Wheeler's History of India, Vol. II, gives a very complete view of this subject. " The Ärâddha, or feast of the dead, is perhaps one of the most primitive, as it certainly is one of the most simple, of all the Vedic rites that have been handed down from a period of remote antiquity to the present day. It originated in the crude idea already indicated, that the spirit or ghost had a separate existence after death, and that it might be gratified or propitiated with offerings of food. This idea certainly involved a belief in the prolonged existence of the spirit in a future state of being; but in its origin it had no connection with the doctrine of future rewards and punishments. It is rather to be traced to the old world belief, which has existed in all ages, and which still lingers in the imagination of even a philosophic and material generation, that the spirits of the departed hover at times near those persons and places which were associated with their earthly careers, and are gratified by any tribute of respect which may be .paid to their memory. The Ärâddha, or feast of the dead, was thus in its earliest form a pleasiug expression of natural religion, which long preceded the advent of a priestly caste, or the introduction of a systematic ritual. But, like every other popular ceremonial which has been handed down amongst the Hindus from the Vedic period, it has been recast in a Brahmanical mould; an it is in this latter form that the institution appears in the Epics as well as in the laws of Manu. It consists of three distinct rites: -
It should also be remarked that Ärâddhas are likewise performed on other occasions, and notably at the celebration of any marriage ceremony. The daily Ärâddha was an offering either of boiled rice, or of milk, roots, and fruit, or of water only, to the Pitris, or remote ancestors. This ceremonial has been already described, and it will be only necessary to add that in modern practice it is considered sufficient to pour water out of a particular vessel every day as a drink-offering to the Pitris. The monthly Ärâddha may be considered under four separate heads: -
The ceremonies at the monthly Ärâddha, as described in the Institutes of Manu, are of a very intelligible character; and seem to have been laid down for the purpose of converting the old Vedic offering of food and water into a great feast to the Brahmans, The monthly Ärâddha was performed on the dark day of the moon, that is, when the sun and moon are in conjunction. A sequestered spot was selected, such as was supposed to be pleasing to the ghosts; and then the invited Brahmans were conducted to their allotted seats, which had been purified with kusa grass, and were presented with garlands of flowers and sweet perfumes. The officiating Brahman then satisfied the three Vedic deities, - Agni, Soma, and Yama, - by pouring an oblation of ghee upon the sacred fire. lie then proceeded to satisfy the ancestors of the giver of the Ärâddha. He first sprinkled water on the ground with his right hand, and then formed three balls or cakes of boiled rice, which are called pindas. One of these cakes is presented to each of the three immediate paternal ancestors, namely, the father, the grandfather, and the great-grandfather. The offering of pindas, however, is said to be extended to the fourth, fifth, and sixth degrees of paternal ancestors in the ascending line, by the simple process of wiping the hand with kusa grass after offering the pindas to the ancestors of the first, second, and third degree. This ceremony was followed by a great feast to the Brahmans, consisting of vessels filled with rice, together with broths, potherbs, milk and curds, ghee, spiced puddings, milky messes of various sorts, roots of herbs, ripe fruits, and savoury meats; and during the feast, passages were read from the Sastras. The remains of the cakes were to be eaten by a cow, a Brahman, or a kid; or to be cast into water or fire; but the wife of the householder was to eat the middle of the three cakes, in order that she might become the mother of a son, who should be long-lived, famous, strong-minded, wealthy, and the father of many sons. When the Brahmans had duly feasted, the householder gave a feast to the kinsmen of his father, and afterwards to the kinsmen of his mother. In cases of poverty, however, the offering of water seems to be considered a sufficient satisfaction of the spirits of the six paternal ancestors. As regards the persons to be invited to the monthly Ärâddha, great stress is laid by the code upon the entertainment of learned Brahmans, and the exclusion of ignorant ones from the Ärâddha; but it is added that if such learned Brahmans cannot be found, certain relatives may be entertained. This last expression is somewhat obscure, and may possibly imply that the Ärâddha was originally eaten by the kinsmen, and that the introduction of learned Brahmans was a later idea. Manu's catalogue of the persons who were to be excluded from a monthly Ärâddha is of a very miscellaneous character; and is chiefl) valuable from the illustrations which it furnishes of the Brahmanical notion of impure or immoral characters. The catalogue may be re-distributed under four general heads, according to the four different grounds upon which the individuals specified have been respectively excluded, namely, moral, religious, physical and professional. The persons to be excluded from a Ärâddha on moral grounds, are: - "A Brahmachari who has not read the Veda; a Brahman who has committed theft; one who opposes his preceptor; a younger brother married before the elder; an elder brother not married before the younger; one who subsists by the wealth of many relatives; the husband of a Sudra; the son of a twice-married woman; a husband in whose house an adulterer dwells; one who teaches the Veda for wages; one who gives wages to such a teacher; the pupil of a Sudra; the Sudra preceptor; a rude speaker; the son of an adulteress born either before or after the death of her husband; a forsaker of his mother, father, or preceptor without just cause; a man who forms a connection with great sinners; a house-burner; a giver of poison; an eater of food offered by the son of an adulterer; a suborner of perjury; a wrangler with his father; a drinker of intoxicating spirits; one of evil repute; a cheat; the husband of a younger sister married before the elder; an injurer of his friend; a father instructed in the Veda by his own son; one who diverts watercourses; a seducer of damsels; a man who delights in mischief; a Brahman living as a Sudra; one who observes neither approved customs nor prescribed duties; a constant and importunate asker of favours; one who is despised by the virtuous; the husband of a twice-married woman; a Brahman of bad manners; and an ignorant Brahman." The persons to be excluded from a Ärâddha on religious grounds, are *' Those who profess to disbelieve in a future state; a Brahman who has performed many sacrifices for other men; those who worship images for gain; one who deserts the sacred fire; one who omits the five great sacraments; a contemner of Brahmans; a despiser of scripture; and one who sacrifices only to the inferior gods." The persons to be excluded from a Ärâddha on physical grounds, are: - " Those with whitlows on their nails; those with black-yellow teeth; a consumptive man; a man who has lost an eye; a man with elephantiasis; an impotent man; an epileptic man; one with erysipelas; a leper; a lunatic; a blind man; a club-footed man." The persons to be excluded from a Ärâddha because of their trade or profession, are: - " Physicians; gamesters; usurers; dancers; sellers of meat; those who live by low traffic; a public servant of the whole town; a public servant of the Raja; a feeder of cattle; a seller of the moon-plant; a navigator of the ocean; a political economist; an oil man; one who employs gamesters for his own benefit; a seller of liquors; a maker of bows and arrows; the keeper of a gamblinghouse; a common informer; a tamer of elephants, bulls, horses, or camels; one who subsists by astrology; a keeper of birds; one who teaches the use of arms; one who builds houses for gain; a messenger; a planter of trees for pay; a breeder of sporting dogs; a falconer; one who supports himself by tillage j a shepherd; a keeper of buffaloes; and one who removes dead bodies for pay." The food that is given to such men at a Ärâddha becomes base and impure; and the giver of the Ärâddha will be punished in the next life. The foregoing catalogues of persons who are to be excluded from a Ärâddha are very suggestive. In the first place it will be noticed that Manu classifies immorality, heresy, and deviation from caste rule, with physical evils, such as leprosy, blindness, and elephantiasis; and this intermingling is more perceptible in the original text, where no attempt has been made to separate the precepts under different heads. This strange confusion of sin and disease appears to have originated in the old idea, connected with the dogma of the transmigration of the soul, that disease was the punishment of sins committed either in this life or in a previous state of existence. The peculiar usages which seem to have originated some of the precepts are also well worthy of notice. Thus it has been seen that it was considered wrong for a younger brother or a younger sister to be married before an elder brother or an elder sister; a notion which could only find a place amongst a people who believed that the marriage of a daughter was a duty which every parent was bound to fulfil. It has also been seen that a woman who married a second husband was held in great abhorrence; and to the present day the marriage of a Hindu widow, even when her first husband has died before the marriage has been consummated, is regarded with a national antipathy which education and legislation have done but little to remove. It is also somewhat curious that Manu should exclude a constant and importunate asker of favours from a Ärâddha; from which it would appear that askers of favours were as constant and importunate in the age of Manu as they are in our own time. Amongst the persons whom Manu directed should be excluded on religious grounds are to be found those who sacrifice only to the " inferior gods." This expression of " inferior gods" seems to suggest a religious opposition. Indeed it is not impossible that Manu is alluding to the old Vedic deities, who were treated by the Brahmans as subordinate to their god Brahma. The injunction against the Brahmans who performed many sacrifices for other men, may have been aimed at the mercenary priests who sacrificed for hire. The injunction against those who worshipped images for the sake of gain is involved in more obscurity, inasmuch as there does not appear to be any satisfactory reference to images in the hymns of the Rig Veda.; although it is easy to conceive that such a form of worship must sooner or later find expression. The exclusion of men who followed certain trades or professions from the entertainment given at a Ärâddha, furnishes in like manner some striking illustrations of the old opposition between the priest and the soldier, the Brahman and the Kshatriya, which seems to be more or less identical with the opposition between the Brahmans and the Vedic Aryans. Thus amongst the ancient Kshatriyas, gambling was a favourite pastime, and certainly was not regarded as a vice, excepting when carried to a vicious excess oand terminating in the ruin of a family. Even Yudhishthira, who is represented in the Mahabharata as an incarnation of Dharma, or goodness, and who was apparently regarded as a model Raja, is actually said to have disguised himself as a Brahman, and in that guise to have taught the art of dice to the Raja of Virata. But Manu excludes from the Ärâddha every gambler, and every man who keeps a gambling-house or employs gamblers. Then again the Kshatryas revelled in wine and flesh-meat; but Manu excludes the sellers of wine and meat from the Ärâddha. The most significant precepts however are those which exclude the makers of bows and arrows, the tamers of horses, and those who taught the use of arms; for the bow was the favourite weapon of the Kshatryas, and the taming of horses was regarded as a royal accomplishment; whilst two of the most patriarchal characters in the Mahabharata, Bhishma and Drona, are said to have trained Pandu and Dritarashtra, and their sons, the Pandavas and Kauravas, in the use of different kinds of weapons. The exclusion of navigators is equally curious. Navigation was certainly known to the Vedic Aryans, and is even recognised by Manu; but it has always been regarded with peculiar horror by the Brahmans; and consequently it is referred to the three first Yugas or ages, but discountenanced in the age of Kali. The exclusion of physicians seems to have originated in the idea that they must be impure from having to deal with impure things. As regg,rds the food to be offered to the ghosts at the monthly Ärâddha, the precepts in Manu are also significant. The old primitive custom of offering fish and flesh is sufficiently recognized? but at the same time it is urged that the ghosts prefer a more simple and Brahmanical diet, such as milk and honey. At a later period it was declared that the feasting on flesh-meat at a Siaddha was forbidden in the Kali age. The funeral Ärâddha, which is performed after the death of a kinsman, is in every respect similar to the monthly Ärâddha, and consequently calls for no detailed description. The code lays down certain laws as regards the puiification of the survivors, but they are devoid of historical significance. The ceremonies which accompanied and followed the death of Maharaja Dasaratha sufficiently illustrate the popular ideas and custonas which still prevail. It will be seen from the foregoing data that the old Vedic belief in the worship of ancestors has been strangely Brahmanized by the compilers of the code. The monthly Ärâddha, whilst ostensibly celebrated in honour of deceased ancestors, is in reality nothing more than an entertainment given to the Brahmans. Again, the original idea appears to have originated in a child-like belief that the food and water sustain and refresh the spirit of the departed; whilst, according to the more modern Brahmanical doctrine, the performance of a Ärâddha delivers the soul of the dead person from the custody of Yama, the judge of the dead, and translates it to the heaven of the Pitris, or ancestors; there to remain until the merits of its previous life on earth are all exhausted, and then to return again to earth and re-animate another body. Thus it is the current belief that without the Ärâddha the soul of the deceased cannot ascend to the heaven of the Pitris and take up its abode there." Chapter IX. Ärâddha: (sáns. hindú). Religious Faith. Personifications of abstract ideas are not uncommon in the Rig Veda., one hymn of which, x. 151, is addressed to Ärâddha, or religious faith. By her it is said the sacrificial fire is kindled, and by her the oblation is offered up. She is asked to prosper the liberal worshippers of the gods, and to impart faith; and is said to be an object of adoration in the morning, at noon, and at sunset. In the Vaj Sanhita it is* said that faith is obtained by gifts, and truth by faith. In the same work it is declared that 'Prajapati beholding, made a distinction between the forms of truth and falsehood, connecting disbelief with the latter, and faith or belief with the former.' This declaration that truth is the only proper object of faith, has a far deeper signification than this ancient writer could possibly have assigned to it, viz., that it is the ultimate truth, and not the so-called orthodoxy of any proposition, which can alone entitle it to reception. Ärâddha is also celebrated in the Taitt. Br., where we are told that through Ärâddha, a god obtains his divine character; that the divine Ärâddha is the support of the world, that she has Râma (or the fulfilment of desire) for her calf, and yields immortality as her milk; that she is the first-born of the religious ceremonial, and the sustainer of the whole world; and she, who is the supreme mistress of the world, is besought to bestow immortality on her worshippers.- 0. S. T., V, 347. Ärâvakas: (sáns. hindú). (From the Sanskrit äru, to hear) is the name of the disciples of Buddha, who, through the * hearing' of his doctrine, and by practising the four great Buddhistic truths, attain to the qualification of an Arhat, or Buddhist saint. From among the number of the disciples of Buddha, 80 are called the Mahâärâvakas, or the great Ärâvakas. The Ärâvakas are entitled to the predicate Ayushmai, or ' one possessed of (long) life.'
Disculpen las Molestias
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