Major DELyiJiAi2<.'E on the Srdwacs or Jams. 4,35 



ning and rain. This continued till the water reached the chin of PArswa- 

 nat'ha, and the abode of Dharaxidhara itself (Patdla) began to shake. 

 DHARA.viDHARA coHJectuTed by urddha-jnydna (intuition) that Parswa- 

 nat'ha was in danger from Megha cumara, whereupon he and Padmavati 

 came to the earth and overshadowed the head of Parswanat'ha, and 

 Padmavati raised up his feet till the flood reached only to his waist. Megha 

 CUMARA then saw the inutiUty of further enmity, and prostrated himself 

 before Parswanat'ha, to the acclamations o? jaija! or \-ictory ; and for 

 three days afterwards the serpent (Dharani'dhara) continued at Sera nagari, 

 to overshadow the head of Parswanat'ha as with a ch'hatra or umbrella ; 

 and hence the place obtained the name of Ahi-ch'hatra-nagari* 



Thus Parswanat'ha, who bore persecutions. and misery, completely ful- 

 filled the eight cannas, and after a lengthened fasting and meditation, and 

 eighty-three days continuance in a devout posture, became ananta-srotam 

 (knowing the history of all life) whUe standing under the tree called 

 d/uixcari, in the first pa/iar of morn. He sojoiu-ned many years on the moun- 

 tain of Sikhai; and thence was transferred to heaven. He left eio-ht 

 disciples : 16,000 men and women became devotees through Parswanat'ha; 

 163,000 men and 327,000 women became Srdxi-acs ;t 350 became PwnW/wn, 

 or readers oHhePunas; and 1,400 men became Buddln-dhydna, or possessing 

 internal light; 1,000 became CraY//a>^a«t; 70O Parh-jnydm, and 1,200 

 Anuttara gati, (degrees of spirituaUty or intellect taught in the cat-mas) ; 

 600 became orators, 6OO geographers, and 1,100 attained the power of mag- 

 nifying or diminishing their form. 



Parswanat'ha resided with his family thirty years. Eighty-three days was 

 he quite absorbed, and during sixty-three years, nine months and seven days 

 he possessed the Chcala-jvydna, one whole month of which he abstained from 

 food. Thus he lived altogether one hundi-ed years, and in srdvana sudi 

 ashtami (eighth lunar dizy of srdwan, bright half) with VisdA/ia Nacshairi and 



• This describes pretty exactly the form of the snake as we see it represented over the head 

 of Parswanat'ha. Tlie sj-mbol is, however, of much earlier date, and I believe applicable 

 to VisiiMf, which implies " o'er-shadowing." He lay sideways on It in the waters. 



t All this favours the idea of the institution ofa modem sect diverging from a closer aifinity to 

 Hinduism, through the rat-dlum of enthusiastic ascetics. We here see them gaining numerous 

 proselytes, and discountenancing the mummery of the panch-agni, &c. 



