the gods themselves are not free from them. Tookaram was envious of Chintamun's fame, and vain at the time of his own intimacy with Wittoba, 66 success. now," says he, "that we may dine in good company, I'll persuade Wittoba, my god, to honour us, and to bring Gunputtee." Chintamun agreeing, after the performance of the necessary prayers and ceremonies on the part of Tookaram, a little lad about five years of age suddenly appeared, and introduced himself as Wittoba. Tookaram's heart was elate at his Chintamun prayed, and prayed, and prayed again; but a deaf ear was turned to his entreaties, and, alas! no Gunputtee made his appearance. Almost in despair, Chintamun seized a panchpatra and rushed to the temple; Tookaram followed, smiling at the other's melancholy countenance. Chintamun in the temple dropped upon his knees, and in doleful strain uttered all the moving passages he could think of to induce Gunputtee not to abandon him, particularly as the honour of the god was concerned. After much ado, Chintamun began to think his nose had rather a curious feel, and presently it lengthened out into an elephant's trunk, and his ears increased to the size of those belonging to that beast; his stomach swelled out into a respectable pot-belly, and two additional arms shot out from his shoulders, thus exhibiting, in his own person, the god himself. So public a demonstration of the incarnation of the divinity had never been witnessed before; and Tookaram, whose vanity was a good deal abated, thought it behoved him to conduct himself with proper respect. Knocking, therefore, his head against the ground three times, he observed, that for the future he could only designate Chintamun by the appellation of Deo (god). In consequence, from this period Chintamun and his descendants have been honoured with the official title of Deo, before which they only possessed it by courtesy. Gunputtee, Wittoba, and Tookaram now returned to dinner, which had necessarily been interrupted, and after some friendly chat took leave of each other. Chintamun's trunk, ears, and extra arms disappearing, and his belly resuming its pristine shape. Wittoba vanished, and Tookaram returned with as much speed as he had arrived.* * Bombay Literary Transactions. Chintamun married eight wives, and had eight sons. He did not follow the example set him by his father Moroba, of being buried alive, but rather chose to die a natural death, and his body was buried in the ordinary way. A stone, however, called Pashun, rose up amidst the ashes, preternaturally for six successive generations, and then discontinued to pay such monumental honours to the deceased. Chintamun Deo was succeeded by his son Narrain Deo, who also performed singular miracles; and he by another Chintamun, who was followed by Dhurmedhur Deo, and he by Narrain the second; who having sacrilegiously disturbed the ashes of Moroba in spite of his denunciations, lost his divinity and became a mortal. Moroba, on his grave being opened, thus execrated his descendant: Degenerate wretch! thou hast sealed thy own fate; a curse lie upon thee and thy son, beyond whom thy name shall not exist." On Narrain's death he was succeeded by his son, who completed 66 the seventh generation and died childless. "The imposture should have ended here; but the Brahmans, with a laudable determination to preserve the valuable legends to the temple, and not without hopes of still farther profiting by the credulity of the pious, have endeavoured to persuade the public that the god has abrogated his limitation, and is satisfied to continue the incarnation for some time longer, and they have set up a boy, of the name Suckharee, a distant relative of Dhurmedhur." The god will neither want votaries nor champions, so long as his friends will admit of his continuing the practice of giving a dinner to a limited number of Brahmans once a month, and two annual entertainments to unlimited numbers. The guests at these entertainments sometimes amount to many thousands. Mrs. Graham, who visited the Deo in 1809, has thus described her visit in her pleasing and interesting journal. "The Deo's palace, or bara, is an enormous pile of building, without any kind of elegance, near the river Mootha, on which the town stands. As we entered the crowd we saw a number of persons engaged in the honourable and holy office of mixing the sacred cowdung to be spread on the floors of the bara. The whole place Fig1 Kuvera the God of Wealth 2 Pavana of the Winds 3Yama of the Infernal Regions 4 Agni of Fire from compartments in the ' Temple of Rama Published by Parbury Allen & C° London 1832 looked dirty, and every window was crowded with sleek well-fed Brahmans, who doubtless take great care of the Deo's revenues. We found his little godship seated in a mean veranda, on a low wooden seat, not any way distinguished from other children, but by an anxious wildness of the eyes, said to be occasioned by the quantity of opium which he is daily made to swallow. He is not allowed to play with other boys; nor is he permitted to speak any language but Sanscrit, that he may not converse with any but the Brahmans. He received us very politely, and said he was always pleased to see English people. After some conversation, which a Brahman interpreted, we took leave, and were presented by his divine hand with almonds and sugar-candy, perfumed with assafoetida, and he received in return a handful of rupees." KUVERA, Is the god of wealth and the Hindu Plutus; he is also the regent of the north. This deity was a son of Viswasrava, and a brother of Ravan, who was overcome by Rama, as related in the account of that god. Thus the latter was one of the datyas, and Kuvera one of the celestials. He is also called Paulastya. A brief notice only has been taken of him in Hindu Mythology; although he is a deity whose favours are by no people more valued than by the Hindus. He is represented as a magnificent personage, residing in the splendid palace of Alaca; or borne through the sky on the heads of four figures, in a radiant car, called pushpaca, which was given to him by Brahma. In each of two of his hands he holds a closed flower of the lotus, and has on his head a richly ornamented crown. (See fig. 1, plate 22, from the temple of Rama.) His sacti is Kuveri. PAVANA Is the god of the winds, and is by some represented sitting on a deer, holding in his hand a hook for guiding the elephant. My plate, from the |