in my power to bestow upon thee.' On hearing this, Gautama said, 'O god! if thou art pleased with me, and willing to grant me a favor, I will request that which thou canst easily perform cause, then, to appear a hermitage which shall surpass all others in beauty, and shaded from the sun by fragrant and fruit-bearing trees, where men and women by holy meditation. shall be liberated from pain, sorrow, and anxiety; and also, as thou art the lord of water, let it enjoy a perennial fountain.' Varuna replied, 'So be it;' and then, causing a pit to be filled with water, he thus said: 'This water shall remain unexhausted, and thy name shall become celebrated by this reservoir becoming a place of pilgrimage.' Having thus spoken, Varuna disappeared. In this manner did Gautama obtain water, with which he performed in due manner the daily ceremonies. He sowed, also, rice for holy offerings, and watered it from this inexhaustible fountain; and grain of various kinds, trees, flowers, and fruits adorned his hermitage. Thus the grove of Gautama became the loveliest on the terrestrial orb; and there resorted ascetics, birds, and beasts, to live in happiness; and there, likewise, holy men fixed their abode with their sons and disciples. In this grove non knew sorrow, and gladness alone prevailed. But lister. to vaat afterwards happened.

"On one day Gautan a had sent his sciples to bring water; but, when they approached the fountain, some Brahmin women who were there prevented them, and scoffingly called out, . 'We are the wives of holy anchorets; after we have filled our pitchers, you may then draw water.' The disciples returned, nd mentioned this circumstance to the wife of Gautama; and Ahalya, having consoled them, proceeded herself to the fountain, and, having drawn water, brought it to her husband. Thus she did daily; and the other Brahmin women not only scoffed her, but at length went, and thus each falsely addressed her husband: 'My lord! Ahalya daily taunts me and the other Brahmin women, and I have no other resource than thee. Violence, falsehood, deceit, foolishness, covetousness, and inconsiderateness, are the innate vices of women; and, alas! of what avail will holy meditation be to me if I suffer every day the reproaches of Ahalya?' Fach husband, having heard these words, revolved them in his mind, and thought that they could not be true, and that they would be guilty of ingratitude if they noticed them. But their wicked wives every day reproached them for not affording them redress; and at length, one day, as

they were passing through the grove, they overheard their wives. making the same complaints to Gautama, and therefore believed that what they had said was true. The devotees, having then assembled together, began to consult respecting the manner in which they might resent this injury, so that their revenge might not appear to proceed from them; and, after deliberation, determined on invoking the assistance of Ganesha. They then propitiated him with offerings of durwa, lotoses, and rice; of vermilion, sandal-wood, and incense; of rice-milk, cakes, and sweetmeats; and with prostrations, prayers, and burnt-offerings. Well pleased, the god appeared and thus spoke: 'I am propitiated: say, what boon do you desire?' They replied, 'If thou art willing to grant us a favor, contrive to remove Gautama from his hermitage; for, if we adopt any means for that purpose, we shall expose ourselves to censure.' Ganesha answered, 'To injure or destroy a man who is free from blame is not just; and to return evil for good will be productive of sorrow, and not of benefit. Whoever performs holy meditation will obtain the happiest result; but the injuring of another will destroy the advantages which would be derived from it. Gautama has given you gold, and you wish to return glass; but that which is right ought to be performed.' Having heard these words, the devotees, from mental delusion, thus replied: O lord! we entreat thee to do what we have requested, as we desire no other favor.' Ganesha then said, 'Good cannot produce evil, nor evil guod: from its very essence, evil must produce misery, and good happiness. Gautama will enjoy happiness from his holy meditation; but sorrow alone can result from your present wish. But you are deluded by female fascination, and you cannot, therefore, discriminate between good and evil. I will, however, comply with your request; though you will undoubtedly hereafter regret having made it.' Having thus spoken, Ganesha disappeared.

"Gautama, unacquainted with the evil intentions of the devotees, joyfully performed each day the sacred ceremonies; but one day, being in a field of rice and barley, Ganapati, having assumed the form of an extremely debilitated cow, appeared there trembling, and scarcely able to move, and began to eat the rice and ⚫ barley. Observing this, the compassionate Gautama lifted a stalk of grass and struck the cow with it, in order to drive her away; but scarcely was she touched with the stalk when she dropped on the ground, and immediately died, while all the devotees beheld what passed with looks of distress. The

holy men and their lovely wives then exclaimed, 'O Gautama! what hast thou done?' Gautama, also, in amazement, thus addressed Ahalya: What an accident! How can I have incurred the anger of the gods? what shall I do? where shall I go? thus involved in the guilt of the murder of a cow!' The devotees at the same time thus reproached him: Alas! O holy Rishi! of what avail has been thy knowledge? Alas! of what avail thy burnt-offering and thy strict performance of every ceremony?' In the same manner, their wives thus reproached the wife of Gautama: Alas! Ahalya, of what avail have been thy wisdom, and the universal respect shown to thee? Alas! of what avail thy virtue and piety?' Thus they reviled Gautama and his wife, and then exclaimed to each other, 'Let us not look on the ace of this slayer of a cow: whoever looks on his countenance will become equally guilty; and whoever approaches his hermitage, that man's offerings neither will fire nor the manes receive.' Thus reviling Gautama, they all threw stones at him. Gautama then exclaimed, 'Alas! alas! what shall I do? I swear, O holy men! that I will depart from this place.' Having thus spoken, he removed to a distant spot, and there erected a hermitage; but as long as this sin, falsely imputed to him, remained unexpiated, he could perform no holy ceremony, and his wife continued exposed to the insults of the other Brahmin women; and thus Gautama suffered the greatest misery. At length, after a short time, Gautama assembled the holy men, and thus addressed them: Have compassion on me, and acquaint me with the ceremonies by which my sin may be expiated; for without instruction no good act can be effected.' together respecting the penance which ought to be prescribed, while Gautama stood at a distance in an humble posture; and, after deliberation, they thus said: 'Sin can never be expiated except by suitable purification; for this purpose, therefore, do thou circumambulate the whole earth, and, on returning here, circumambulate a hundred times the mountain of Brahma, and thus thou wilt be purified; or make ablutions in the Ganges, and on its banks, having made ten millions of earthen lingams, worship the god whose symbol is the lingam, and then perambulate the sacred mountain and bathe in the hundred holy pools. By these means thy sin will be expiated.' Having heard these words, Gautama first circumambulated the holy mountain; and afterwards, as directed, formed the earthen lingams, in order that he might be restored to his pristine purity. He then, with

The Brahmins then consulted

Ahalya, and his disciples, worshipped Shiva with the holiest rites and most intense devotion. At length the lord of the mountain-born goddess descended from the summit of Kailasa and thus addressed him: Say, what boon dost thou desire?' On beholding that form divine, a sight of which is so difficult to be obtained, Gautama was filled with delight, and, having reverenced the mighty god with laudatory strains, requested that he would liberate him from the guilt that he had incurred. Shiva

replied, Happy art thou, O mighty Rishi! and the fruit of all thy pious acts hast thou obtained, for thou art free from sin. Thou hast been deceived by these wicked men, for even the three worlds become purified by thy presence. How, then, canst thou be polluted by an act committed by these evil-minded men,

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 disappeare1; 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.