Major Tod's Account of Greek, PatHhiati, and Hindu Medals. 357 



he worshipped " Bal and Ashtoretli, the strange gods of the Sidonians," 

 was the Bdl-nafh, or Great God of the Hindus, the Vivifier, the 8un : and 

 the Pillar erected to him " in every grove, and on every high hill ;" the 

 Lingam, or Phallus, the emblem of Bal; Bal-nat'h, Bal-ccsari,* or as Bdl- 

 Isuara, the Osiris of the Egyptians ; and as Nand-Iswara, their Serapis, or 

 Lord of the Sacred Bull; Nandu, or Apis, '■ the Calf of Egypt," which 

 the chosen people bowed to " when their hearts were turned away from 

 the Lord." 



Thus Bal was tiie type of productiveness, and Ashtoretli, as destruction, 

 most probably that of the Eight- (Ashta) armed mother. A'shta-tara-devi, 

 or the radiated Goddess of Destiny, is always depicted as trampling on the 

 monster Bhuinsusilr, aided by her lion (when she resembles Cybele, or the 

 Phrygian Diana), and in each of her eight arms holding a weapon of 

 destruction : but I have ventured to pursue the subject elsewhere. I shall 

 merely remark on the Suroi of Menander, that amongst the thirty-six 

 royal races of Hindus, especially pertaining to Saurashtra, is that of Sarweya, 

 as written iu the Bhdkltd, but classically Suryas'wa. The historian of the 

 court of Anhulwarrat thus introduces it : " And thou, Sarweya, essence of 

 the martial races."1: No doubt, it was, with many others, of Scythic origin, 

 perhaps from Zariaspa, or Bactria, introduced at a period when the worship 

 of Bal, or the Sun, alone was common to the nations east and west of the 

 Indus ; when, as Pinkerton says, a grand Scythic empire extended to the 

 Ganges. Here I must drop Apollodotls and Menander, for tlie history 

 of their exploits extends no further than the Suroi. 



I must, however, reserve for a distinct notice, what that great geographer 

 D'Anville remarks. He had Arore within his grasp, and the addition of 

 one point alone reserved for me the honour of the discovery of the abode 

 and position of Sehkis, if not of Sigestis. 



Describing the tracts watered by the Lidus i^" ie cours de ITndus, jusqu'a 

 la mer"§), according to the Turkish geographer, whom he justly lauds, 

 and having mentioned Bukkar and Sehwan, he says, " Azour est presque 



* Ccsari, a lion. Hence the royal appellation of the Cassais; and Lion (Sitt'/ia) Lords of India, 

 have the same meaning. 



t Nehrwara of D'Anville and Renaudot. 



J " Sarweya, Cshaliriya tain sar." 



^ Eclaircissemena sur la carte de I'lnde, p. 37. 



