Analytical Account of the Pancha Tantra. 189 



he was, and why the wheel was placed upon his head, and requested him 

 also to shew him where any water was procurable ; but he had scarcely 

 spoken, when the wheel transferred itself from the crown of its late possessor 

 to the head of the Brahman. He exclaimed. How ! what is this ? and 

 the stranger replied. You have taken the wheel from my head, and you 

 must keep it, till some one like youi'self shall come hither, witli that magic 

 ball in his hand, and shall address to you similar questions to those you 

 have asked of me. The Brahman inquired, how long a time he had passed 

 in that plight. The stranger asked who was the present sovereign, to which 

 the Brahman answered, VIna-vatsa.* The man then said. When 

 Rama reigned, I came hither, impelled by my poverty, and guided by the 

 magic ball, as thou hast been : I found a man here with the wheel on his 

 head, and asking him sucli questions as thou hast put, the wheel was fixed 

 upon my head. I have been here ever since. And how did you get any 

 thing to eat ? inquired the Brahman. The other replied. This law 

 was fixed by the God of wealth, who fears his treasure should be plundered. 

 His fears are known to the Siddlii Nugas,\ who send men hither: but when 

 a mortal arrives, he loses the sensations of hunger and thirst, and is exempt 

 from decay and death. He retains alone the consciousness of solitude and 

 pain. But now excuse me, I am released, and shall return home. So 

 saying, he departed. 



The Brahman, who had found the gold mine, wondered why his companion 



* Udavana or V/.tsa, the King of KausamWt, is probably intended here ; he was celebrated 

 for his skill on the Vina, or Lute. This prince is the hero of the first chapters of the Vrihat- 

 Kat'hd, which gives this account of his descent. He is the son of Sahasra'nIka, the son of 

 Sata'ni'ka, the son of Janamejaya, the son of Parikshit, the son of Arjuna. The 

 genealogy of Ahjuna's descendants, which Dr. Buchanan Hamilton derives from the B'hdgavat, 

 has no prince of this name. The son of Sahas'ha'ni'ka is termed A'swame'd'haja. The 

 two works are also at variance, regarding the founder of Kausambhi, the Vrihat Kat'hd ascribing 

 it to Saiia'sra'ni'ka, which is, so far, apparently most correct, that various works concur in 

 styling VaI,sa king of Kausambhi, wliilst the Bhiigavat, however, calls the founder of that city 

 Chakaa, the fourth prince from Sahas'ra'ni'ka. Hindu genealogies, Introduction 13, and 

 Uble 9. 



t The Ndgat are the serpents, which inhabit the region under the earth. Siddhi means super- 

 human power which may be obtained by their worship. Their being opposed to Kuve'ra, and 

 desirous of encroaching on his wealth, although here stated in a popular form, is like many 

 tilings in this work, no longer a familiar notion amongst the Hindus. 



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