pfant 1s)ore, bege^/, ani. bijrie/', 293 



story of Proserpine has its Indian equivalent in the myth of the 

 birth of Sita, daughter of King Janaka, the Fecundator. Sita 

 was not born of a woman, but issued either from a furrow in the 



earth, or from the middle of an altar. The Vishmtpurdm mentions 



several species of grain which have been specially created by the 

 gods; amongst them being Rice, Barley, Millet, and Sesamum. 

 In the sacrifices of the Hindoos, they offer several sorts of Corn 

 to ensure abundant harvests. Indra is the great husbandman of 

 the heavens, which he renders fertile : he is also the divinity of the 

 fields, and, like the Scandinavian god Thor, the presiding deity of 

 Corn. It is he who fertilises the earth in his capacity of god of 

 tempests and rain. The employment of Corn in sacrificial rites, 

 was common in India of the Vedic period, in Greece, and in Rome; 

 and in the same countries we find Corn used during nuptial cere- 

 monies. Thus in Vedic India, it was customary to scatter two 

 handfuls of Corn over the clasped hands of the bride and bride- 

 groom, and a similar proceeding still takes place amongst the 

 Parsees. An analogous custom existed amongst the Romans, At 

 an Indian wedding, after the first night, the mother of the husband, 

 with ail the female relatives, come to the young bride, and place on 

 her head a measure of Corn — emblem of fertility. The husband 

 tlien comes forward and takes from his bride's head some handfuls 

 of the grain, which he scatters over himself. Similar usages exist 

 at the present day in many parts of Italy, relics of the old Roman 

 custom of oft'ering Corn to the bride. In Gwalior, at one part of 

 the marriage ceremony, the priests shout vociferously, only stopping 

 now and then to cast over the bride and bridegroom showers of 

 Corn, Millet, and Rice. In some parts of Central India, at the end 

 of the rainy season, the people congregate on the banks of the 

 lakes, and launch on the water, as an offering, pots of earth, con- 

 taining sprouting Wheat. On the banks of the Indus, there is 



believed to grow some miraculous Corn on the spot where formerly 

 were burnt the remains of the Buddhist King 5ivika, who sacrificed 

 his life for a pigeon. The Chinese Buddhists made pilgrimages, 

 during the middle ages, to the place where 5ivika had lived and 

 died ; and here it was that the miraculous Wheat grew, which the 

 sun had no power to scorch. A single grain of this Wheat kept 

 its happy possessor from all ills proceeding from cold as well 



as from fever. The Chinese, regarding Corn as a gift from 



heaven, celebrate with sacrifices, prayers, and religious rites, both 

 seedtime and harvest. They also think that in the heavens there 

 is a special constellation for Corn, composed of eight black stars, 

 each of which has under its special protecftion one of the eight 

 varieties of Corn, viz.. Rice, Millet, Barley, Wheat, Beans, Peas, 

 Maize, and Hemp. When this cereal constellation is clear, it is a 

 sign that the eight kinds of Corn will ripen; but when, on the con- 

 trary, it is dim and obscured, a bad harvest is looked for. The 

 Emperor Ven-ti, who reigned 179 years before Christ, is said to 



