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ears in fig. 18, he is having his toe nails pulled out: in fig. 19, his tongue is being served in the same way, for a crime which the Hindus abhor (if we might believe themselves) above all others, "lying." In figs. 20 and 23, the sinner is being for ever bitten by fleas or lice, or stung by wasps : in fig. 21, he is being eternally preyed upon by snakes for having caused sorrow to others; and in fig. 22, he is agreeably reposing on a bed of spikes, being soundly flagellated all the while that he might not compose himself to sleep, and, consequently enjoy, in greater perfection, the titillation intended for him. Besides these there any many other punishments equally extraordinary; with some of which the crimes do not appear to be at all commensurate. One of them, indeed, which represents a sinner in the embraces of a red hot iron female, for cohabiting with a woman of a low or discreditable caste, I intend to send sketches of (that this law of Yama may be passed into their statute books), to about fifty of the wisest and most virtuous of the legislators of Europe; so that the inhabitants of the western world may experience some gratifying return from the poor Hindu, for the numerous social, moral, and religious blessings, which they are daily conferring upon him. But to proceed :

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Yama is called Srad'ha deva, or lord of the obsequies, and presides over the ceremonies of Srad'ha. At the time of offering the oblations to the manes of deceased ancestors, he is invoked by the priest under several names, of which Mr. Colebrooke has enumerated fourteen. The priest thus addresses him. Salutation to Yama! salutation to Dherma Rajah, or the King of the Deities! to Death! to Antaka, or the destroyer! to Vaiwaswata, or the Child of the Sun! to Time! to the Slayer of all Beings! to Andhambara or Yama, &c. &c." The prayers which conclude these ceremonies are, from their heterogeneous association of things, not a little singular. May the gods, demons, benevolent genii, huge serpents, heavenly choristers, fierce giants, blood-thirsty savages, unmelodious guardians of the celestial treasure, successful genii, spirits called Cushmamda, trees, and all animals which move in air or in water, which live on earth and feed abroad; may all these quickly obtain contentment. To satisfy them who are detained in all the hells and places of torment, this water is presented by me."

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The Hindus make daily oblations of water to Yama. The second day of the month Karticu is sacred to him and his sister, the river goddess, Yamuna or Jumna, who entertained him on that day; in consequence of which an annual festival is held, in which sisters entertain their brothers. On this occasion an image of him of clay is made and worshipped, and then thrown into the river. He is also worshipped on the fourteenth day of the dark part of the month Aswina.

Some of the other names of Yama are Pitripeti, or lord of the Pitris; Andhambara, from a wood from which fire is produced by attrition; Antaka, the destroyer; Kala, Time; and Dundudhara, he who has the rod of punishment, &c. &c.

Fig. 3, plate 22, from the temple of Rama, represents Yama on his vahan, the buffalo. On his head is a rich crown, and he is adorned with the usual Hindu ornaments. In one hand he has a club, and in another the pashu or cord to bind the wicked. (See PASHU.)

AGNI,

Is the personification of fire, and the regent of the south-east division. of the earth. He is variously described sometimes with two faces, three legs, and seven arms, of a red or flame colour, and riding on a ram, his vahan or vehicle. Before him is a swallow-tailed banner, on which is also painted a ram. He is by others represented as a corpulent man of a red complexion, with eyes, eyebrows, head, and hair of a tawny colour, riding on a goat. From his body issue seven streams of glory, and in his right hand he holds a spear.

Agni is the son of Kasyapa and Aditi. His consort or sacti is Swaha, a daughter of Kasyapa.

The Brahmans who devote themselves to the priesthood should maintain a perpetual fire; and in the numerous religious ceremonies of the Hindus, Agni, the regent of that element, is commonly invoked. He is usually drawn with a forked representation of fire issuing from his mouth, which may denote the seven tongues of fire described by Mr. Colebrooke. "Pra

vaha, Avaha, Udvaha, Samvaha, Vivaha, Paruvaha, Nevaha (or else Anuvaha), all of which imply the power of conveying oblations to the deities to whom offerings are made."

"Fire!

In offering an oblation to fire, the priest utters this prayer. seven are thy fuels; seven thy tongues; seven thy holy sages; seven thy beloved abodes; seven ways do seven sacrificers worship thee. Thy sources are seven. May this oblation be efficacious!" The mystical number seven is also used respecting Agni on other occasions.

"In exciting fire and sprinkling water on it, he also makes an oblation to Agni, and concludes the sacrament to the gods with six oblations, reciting six prayers. 1st. Fire, thou dost expiate a sin against the gods (arising from any failure in divine worship), may this oblation be efficacious! 2nd. Thou dost expiate a sin against man (arising from a failure in hospitality)! 3rd. Thou dost expiate a sin against the manes (from a failure in the performance of obsequies)! 4th. Thou dost expiate a sin against my own soul (arising from any blameable act)! 5th. Thou dost expiate repeated sins! 6th. Thou dost expiate every sin I have committed, whether wilfully or unintentionally: may this oblation be efficacious."*

Numerous other oblations are made to Agni. He is thus the great moral purifier with the Hindus, as fire is physically the potent refiner of earthly matters. Agni is especially worshipped in every particular work requiring the agency of fire.

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Sir William Jones, in allusion to the ancient Persians, says: rejected the complex Polytheism of their predecessors, they retained the laws of Mahabad, with a superstitious veneration for the sun, the planets, and fire; thus resembling the Hindu sects called Sauras and Sagnicars, the second of which are very numerous at Benares, where many Agnihotras are continually burning, and where the Sagnicars, when they enter on their sacerdotal office, kindle with two pieces of the hard-wood (serni) a fire, which they keep lighted through their lives, for their nuptial ceremony, the performance of solemn sacrifices, the obsequies of departed ancestors, and

* Asiatic Researches.

their own funeral pile." The fire is produced by the attrition of the two pieces of wood.

On the occasion of producing it for household and sacrificial fires, the priest recites this prayer: "Fires! this (wood) is thy origin, which is attainable in all seasons, whence being produced thou dost shine. Knowing this, seize on it, and afterwards augment our wealth.'

Swaha, the sacti of Agni, resembles the younger Vesta, or goddess of fire, of the Romans, who had no images in their temples to represent her, Thus Ovid has said,

"No image Vesta's semblance can express;

Fire is too subtile to admit of dress."

Neither have I met with an image of Swaha. Those of Agni are usually seen in pictures. In the collection of the late General Stuart was a basalt sculpture of him, seated on a couchant ram, the back ground waved with flames. The Romans, although they had no images of Vesta in their temples usually placed one in the porches* or entrances of their houses, and offered daily sacrifices to her. The Hindus have, as I have before stated, also their sacred household fires.

It has been justly observed, that nothing could be a stronger or more lively symbol of the Supreme Being than fire: accordingly we find this emblem in early use throughout all the east. The Persians held it in veneration long before the time of Zoroaster; the Prytanei of the Greeks were perpetual and holy fires, and Eneas carried with him to Italy his penates (or the household gods), the palladium, and the sacred fire.

Agni has several names. His heaven is called Agni-loka. Fig. 4, plate 22, represents him on a ram: in one hand is a spear, in another a lotus flower, and in a third a bead roll.

* Hence the name of Vestibulum.

CHAPTER IX.

Gunga. The Sactis-Indra and Indrani.-Surya.-Chandra.-Brishput.-Mungula.-Budh. Sukra. Sani.-Rahu.-Ketu.-Varuna.

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Fondly impatient to her ocean lord,
Tossing her waves, as with offended pride,

And pining fretful at the lengthened way."

Wilson's Translation of Mudra Rakshasa.

THE honour of having given birth to this goddess, the personification of the sacred stream of the Ganges, has been claimed for their deities, as I have related in my account of Siva, both by the Saivas and Vishnaivas, the former alleging that she sprang from the locks of Siva, and the latter urging that she issued from the foot of Vishnu. It would be highly desirable to have this important point placed, indisputably, beyond farther discussion; but as both parties adhere most pertinaciously to their opinions, I fear an attempt of the kind would impose upon a mediator a task of no little difficulty, and probably of some danger. I shall, therefore, content myself with imagining that she was heaven-descended, leaving the reader to determine whether the head of Siva gave her birth, or whether that deity merely caught her in his plaited locks as she was rushing impetuously to the earth, to prevent her crushing it by her fall. This the Vishnaivas assert; and as their assertion is as likely to be true as any other, it may be as well to leave the matter as it is. From the heaven, however, of either Vaicontha or Kailasa, we must allow her to have come, which she was induced with much difficulty to do, to restore to King Suguru the sixty thousand sons

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