Shiva to resume his lingam. Thus propitiated, that god appeared in his own form, and said, 'If gods and men will worship* my lingam, I will resume it; but not otherwise.' To this proposal Vishnu, Brahma, and the gods, assented."†

From the Bhagavat Geeta, p. 90.

PART OF ARJOON'S DESCRIPTION OF KRISHNA, WHOM HE SAW IN A VISION.

"The winds, alike with me, are terrified to behold thy wondrous form gigantic; with many mouths and eyes; with many arms, and legs, and breasts; with many bellies, and with rows of dreadful teeth! Thus, as I see thee, touching the heavens, and shining with such glory, of such various hues, with widely-opened mouths, and bright, expanded eyes, I am disturbed within me; my resolution faileth me, O Vishnu! and I find no rest! Having beholden thy dreadful teeth, and gazed on thy countenance, emblem of time's last fire, I know not which way to turn! I find no peace! Have mercy, then, O god of gods! thou mansion of the universe! The sons of Dhreetarashtra now, with all those rulers of the land, Bheeshma, Drona, the son of Soot, and even the fronts of our army, seem to be precipitating themselves hastily into thy mouth, discovering such frightful rows of teeth! whilst some appear to stick between thy teeth with their bodies sorely mangled. As the rapid streams of full-flowing rivers roll on to meet the ocean's bed, even so these heroes of the human race rush on towards thy flaming mouths. As troops of insects, with

It is now the principal object of worship in more than half of the temples of India.

"The lingam is formed of stone, and consists of a base three or four feet high, the top of which is surrounded by a raised rim; and in the middle is slightly excavated, and raised on a level with the rim, the figure of a yoni, (pudendum muliebre,) from the centre of which rises a smooth, round stone, slightly conical towards the top, of a foot and a half in height and about three inches diameter at the base. Major Moor has, therefore, very justly observed, 'It is some comparative and negative praise to the Hindus, that the emblems under which they exhibit the elements and operations of nature are not externally indecorous. Unlike the abominable realities of Egypt and Greece, we see the phallic emblem in the Hindu Pantheon without offence; and know not, until the information be extorted, that we are contemplating a symbol whose prototype is indelicate. The plates of my book may be turned and examined, over and over, and the uninformed observer will not be aware that in several of them he has viewed the typical representation of the generative organs or powers of humanity.”” — Ancient and Hindu Mythology, by Col. Kennedy, pp. 103, 104.

increasing speed, seek their own destruction in the flaming fire, even so these people, with swelling fury, seek their own destruction. Thou involvest and swallowest them altogether, even unto the last, with thy flaming mouths, whilst the whole is filled with thy glory, as thy awful beams, O Vishnu, shine forth on all sides! "

THE MOON PLANT SACRIFICE.

The moon-plant must be collected in a moonlight night, from the table-land on the top of a mountain, and carted to the place of sacrifice by two rams or he-goats. The juice of the plant, mixed with barley and other ingredients, becomes, by fermentation, a very intoxicating liquor. The officiating Brahmins are to drink this liquor as a part of the performance. The sacrifice continnes several weeks, and is accompanied by numerous aus terities which endanger the lives of the worshippers.

Tuka Rama, a sage who flourished about three hundred years ago, speaks of muzzling the animals used in carting the moonplant, and of beating them to death by the fists of the Brahmins. His verses are to the following effect:

"Beat to death the ram you've muzzled,
And offer the Soma with sacred song:-

So they say; but yet I'm puzzled,

:

And half suspect such worship wrong;
For rites like these are at best but scurvy,
That turn religion topsy-turvy."

The

In the Sama Veda, there is a series of about a thousand verses, designed to be chanted or sung at the moon-plant sacrifice. following extracts will serve as specimens. last one excepted, contains an entire verse.

Each paragraph, the

"O Agni! whether I now speak with true intonations or with false, I mean to praise thee. Come hither, therefore, and grow great by drinking this moon-plant juice."

"O Indra! drinker of the moon-plant juice, these thy friends [the attendant priests] look on thee, with the affection that the cattle-feeder looks on his cattle."

"We call on thee, the performer of meritorious acts, day by day, as men call on the cow to the milking."

"Let these moon-plants fill thee with delight, O holder of the thunderbolt! Do thou procure for us wealth, and, at the same time, kill outright all who hate the Brahmins."

"O Indra! wherever whether in some strong chest or in some hill or well-treasure worthy of regard is laid up, thence do thou bring it to us."

"O Indra! this morning accept our sacrifice, accompanied with rice, curds, sweet cakes, and praises."

"Come into our presence to partake of the moon-plant juice and other viands. Do not get angry with us, [but bear with us] as an elderly man does with a young wife."

"We, who are eager for the possession of riches, take hold of thy right hand, O Indra, lord of wealth! We know thee, O mighty god! to be lord of cattle; give us then that wealth which consists in cows that yield large supplies of milk.”

"O worthy of all praise! let our eucharistic songs fix thee, as firmly as the charioteer is fixed in his seat, and let their symphony sound before thee like the lowing of newly-calved cows for their calves."

'When, O Indra! those who come to worship invoke thee, and delight thee with sacrificial viands, and ceremonies used for the obtaining victory over our enemies, then do thou yoke thy banquet-going horses, and having slain some one, and seized his wealth, bestow it on us."

"Bestow on us a good and auspicious intellect, along with wisdom and food, that we may secure thy friendship; and do thou delight in our spirituous liquors as cows do in rich pasturage."

"He who causes the well-filled golden-colored horses' graindish to glisten, is the man who will stand in the first place before thy rain-causing, cow-conferring chariot. O Indra! now yoke thy horses."

"Come, O Indra! with all thy bands, like the herd of cows collected in the cow-house."

"The mountain-produced, pressed moon-plant is distilling its juice in the holy place. Thou, O Soma! art the embroiler of all things in thy drunken frolics."

"The Brahmins, void of malice, sing praises before the beloved, much-desired presence of Indra, with the affection cow-mothers lick their calves in the day they are produced."

"[O priests,] we praise all the day long that renowned, foedestroying Indra of yours, who gets muzzy on the sacrificial beverage placed in the sacred vessels, with voices raised as loud as those of milch-cows lowing for their calves. [Indra,] we desire of thee quickly to give us food of heavenly origin, worthy of being

Destowed, encircled with majesty as a mountain with clouds, capable of feeding multitudes, worthy of being extolled, in hundreds and thousands of different kinds of measure, and, united with it, abundance of cows."

"The sweet moon-plants, when pressed, flow in a stream, and with a loud voice, for the production of inebriation. The juices flow down during the time of bruising with a noise for the glorious toper Indra, who gives its splendor to the morning."

From the Padma Puran, Chap. IX.

OCCURRENCES IN THE HEAVEN KAILASA.

Narada said :—“At this time I went and informed Jalandhara that Shambhu * had promised to effect his destruction. Jalandhara then said to me, O holy sage! what precious things are contained in the abode of the bearer of the trident? Acquaint me with the whole, as war should not be unless there be booty.' I replied, Shambhu is old, covered with ashes, his neck marked with the poison of serpents, mounted on a bull, bearing a beggar's dish in his hand, and with an elephant-headed and a six-headed son,† and he has nothing valuable belonging to him except the lovely and full-bosomed daughter of the mountain. Inflamed with love and captivated by her beauty, Mahesha* passes his days in sport and dalliance, or sings and dances to amuse her. She is named Parvati, and far excels in loveliness either Vrinda or the nymphs of heaven.' Having thus spoken, and excited the desire of Jalandhara, I disappeared.

"After this the son of the sea despatched Rahu on an embassy to Kailasa, who arrived there in a moment; and, on beholding the resplendent abode of Shambhu, he exclaimed to himself, 'How wonderful is this place!' He then wished to enter, but was prevented by the warders, who demanded his business. Rahu replied, 'I am the ambassador of Jalandhara; but the message of a mighty king is not addressed unto a doorkeeper.' Nandi, hearing these words, hastened and informed Shiva; and, having received his commands, introduced Rahu. Having entered, he beheld Shambhu, five-faced and ten-armed, his sacrificial cord formed of a snake, and his matted locks adorned with the moon, waited upon by vile and ugly servants, but attended

* Shiva.

+ Ganesa and Kartika. See the engraving of Ganesa on page 21.

TEMPLE OF NANDI AT TANJORE

Nandi is the Bull on which Shiva is said to perform his journies. It appears from an extract from the Shasters commencing on the opposite page that Nandi is a quadruped of no ordinary attainments. His image in this temple is rudely carved from a large block of block granite.