and who will suffer for it hereafter?' Shankara* then explained to him all their wickedness and ingratitude, and Gautama listened with astonishment; and after Shankara had ceased speaking, he thus said: These Brahmins have done me the greatest favor, for, if it had not been for their act, I should not have enjoyed the felicity of beholding thee, O lord!' Pleased with these words, Shiva again expressed his satisfaction with the piety and devotion of Gautama, and desired him to ask a boon. Gautama replied that all he entreated was, that the Ganga [the River Ganges] might there appear, in order that he might purify himself in it. With this request Shiva complied; and the consequence was the establishment of the sacred place of pilgrimage at Trimbucka, on the Godavery."

Gautama is the principal divinity of the Burmese. According to tradition, he was so offended with the Brahmins that he determined to separate himself from them and establish a new religion.

From the Matsya Puran.

A DELUGE.

—

Suta, addressing the Sages: "Formerly, there was a king named Manu, distinguished by every virtue; who, having resigned his kingdom to his son, withdrew to a certain spot, and there, indifferent to pain and pleasure, performed the severest devotional penance for a hundred thousand years. At length Brahma appeared to him and said, 'Choose whatever boon thy mind desires.' The king, bowing to Brahma, thus replied: 'From thee one most excellent boon I crave; and wish that when the pralaya takes place, I may be preserved from that destruction in which all things. movable and immovable shall be involved.' 'So be it,' Brahma replied, and then disappeare 1; and the angels rained on the king from heaven a shower of flowers.

"Some time after, as near his hermitage he was offering water to the manes, a small fish came into his hands along with the water; and the compassionate king, in order to preserve it, placed it in a small vessel. But in one night it increased sixteen inches in size, and exclaimed, 'Save me! save me!' The king

Shankara is another name for Shiva. Some of the Hindu divinities have many names, and they are used interchangeably, to prevent repetition.

then successively threw it in a jar, a well, a lake, and a river; but, in each night, the fish grew larger, and entreated a more roomy place of abode. At length the king threw it into the sea, when it immediately occupied with its bulk the whole ocean. Manu, then alarmed, exclaimed, 'What god art thou? or canst thou be any other than Vasudeva, whose form has thus expanded to such immensity? I know thee now; but why hast thou thus pained me, by assuming the form of a fish, O Keshava! Praise be to thee, O Vishnu, lord of the universe!' The lord replied, 'Excellent! excellent! Thou hast discovered the truth, O sinless one! Know that in a short time this earth shall be submerged in water, and that this ship has been prepared by all the gods for thy preservation. When, therefore, the deluge takes place, enter this ship, and take with thee all kinds of seeds, and of animals that are produced from heat, from eggs, or from the womb; and fasten it to this horn of mine. Thus shalt thou be preserved, and after the deluge has ceased, shalt thou become, on the renovation of the world, the progenitor of all beings; and thus shall a holy devotee, steadfast in ascetic practices, and completely conversant in divine knowledge, become, at the beginning of the Krita Yug, the lord of a man wantara.' Having thus spoken, the lord disappeared, and Manu continued his devotions. to Vasudeva until the deluge took place, as foretold by Vishnu; and then Janardana appeared in the form of a horned fish; and, while the ship into which Manu had entered was attached to its horn, Vishnu, under the form of this fish, in answer to the questions of Manu, revealed unto him the Matsya Puran."

From the Bhagawat, Book III. Chap. 13.

THE EARTH RAISED FROM THE WATERS OF A Deluge.

Parameshti, then, beholding the earth sunk amidst the waters, long meditated on the means by which it might be replaced in its former situation. 'Whose divine aid,' he thought, 'shall I implore to upraise from the deep abyss that earth which I formerly created? That lord from whose heart I sprang can alone effect this mighty work.' As Brahma thus resolved, suddenly from his nostrils sprang a young boar, no larger than the thumb; but, as he viewed it, in an instant it wonderfully increased to the size of a mighty elephant. The Rishis Prajapatis, Rumaras, and Manu, beholding the boar-like form in astonishment, thus in their minds conjectured: What can be this delu

sive form of a boar, since, in reality, it must be of a divine nature? How wonderful that it should spring from Brahma's nostrils no larger than the top of the thumb, and, in an instant, become equal to a mighty mountain! Can it be that mighty lord, on whom we meditate with minds devout?' While thus they thought, that lord, who was the primeval victim, emitted a sound loud as thunder, and, as the eight regions reëchoed the sound, Brahma and his sons were delighted; for they hence knew the lord, and, their anxiety being dissipated, the pure inhabitants of Janalok, Tapalok, and Satyalok, united in addressing to him their holy praise. Pleased with these praises, the wondrous boar displayed himself like a vast mountain, with tail erect, mane waving, his bristles sharp as lances, and hoofs striking the sky, and snuffing, in imitation of a boar, to discover the earth. Then he of the terrible tusk, with terror-divested eyes regarding those who were adoring him, like a sportive elephant dived into the abyss of waters; and the waters being divided, as if a thunderbolt vast as a mountain had fallen precipitately into them, resounded like the thunder; and, raising in pain its wide billows, the abyss profound exclaimed, 'Save me, O lord of sacrifice!' Thus, subduing the waters with his sharp hoofs, he reached their utmost extremity, and saw lying there the earth, which he had originally intended for the abode of souls. Having then slain the demon Hiranyaksha, he uplifted it on his tusks from the dark abyss, and Brahma and his sons extolled his wondrous power."

From the Padma Puran, Chap. 5.

DAKSHA'S SACRIFICE.

Pulastya, addressing Bhishma :-"Formerly, O Bhishma ! Daksha prepared a sacrifice at Gungadwara, to which came all the immortals and divine sages. At this festival celestial viands abounded. The consecrated place of sacrifice extended for several yojanas. Numerous altars were erected. The sacred rites and ceremonies were duly performed by Vasishta, Angiras, Vrihaspati, and Narada; and Vishnu protected the sacrifice. But Sati thus addressed her father: My lord! all the immortals, the divine sages, and my sisters with their husbands, adorned in the costli est manner, have honored this festival with their presence; and I observe that not a single one has been uninvited except my husband. But, unless he attend, empty will be all these rites, and

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