MAGIC RITES. 



On the West is " ba-^lang spyoc?" (Skt. Godhanya or " Wealth of 

 Oxen "), which in shape is like the sun and red in colour. 

 It is (5,000 miles in diameter. Its inhabitants are extremely 

 powerful, and (as the name literally ,means, coio + ox 

 + action) they are believed to be specially addicted to 

 eating cattle, and their faces are round like the sun. 



On the North is " sgra-mi-snyan" (Skt. Uttara Kuru or " Elevated 

 ^Mra "-tribe) of square shape and gi'een in colour, and the 

 largest of all the continents, being 10,000 miles in diameter. 

 Its inhabitants are extremely fierce and noisy. They have 

 square faces " like horses" ; and live on ti'ees, which supply 

 all their wants. They become tree-spirits on their death ; 

 and these trees afterwards eodt '' bad sounds " (this is 

 evidently, like many of the other legends, due to a puerile 

 and false interpretation of the etymology of the word). 



The satellite continents resemble their parent one in shape and 

 are half its size. The left satellite of Jambuling, viz. Ngayabling, is 

 the fabulous country of the Rakshas, to which Padma Sambhava is 

 believed to have gone and be still there reigning. And each of the 

 latter presents towards Mount RJeru one of the following objects 

 respectively, viz., The Mountain of Jewels, The wish-granting tree 

 (f^pag-Z/sam kyi shing), The wish-granting cow (" /^dod-/^zo-i-ba"), and 

 "The self-sprung crops" fma-smos-pi lo-thog) already referred to as 

 divine objects in the description of " The Cycle of Existence." 



In the very centre of this system " The King of Mountains, 



M til' ha\ Mount Ri-rab"(Meru), towers erect "like the handle 



"^ ■ of a hand millstone," and underneath it are the 



hells. It is composed of jewels: its eastern face is of silver, the south 



of jasper (Baidhuriya) stone, the west of ruby, and the north of gold. 



It has four lower compartments before the heavens are reached. 



The lowest of these compartments is inhabited by the "^nod sbyin," 



usually interpreted as Yaksha, but I'eally " givers 



'^ of inju7y, and therefore bad genu — and these hold 



wooden plates. Above^this is "the bead or wreath-holder's" region 



Qjhreng thog (Skt. Sragdhara), which seems to be a title of the 



Garudas]. Above this is the region of the Njigas, above whom are 



"the eternally fuddled ones" (rtak myos). Above whom are the four 



Great Guardian Kings of the Quarters.' And above Mount Meru, 



' Vide page 261 for particulars of the Four Guardian Kings of- the Quarters. Another 

 arrangement gives guardian deities for each of " the ten directions," viz., Indra on the East ; 

 Agni (the fire god) on the South-East ; Yama (the deatli god) on the South ; Hakshas (? Sura) 

 on the South-West ; Varuna (the water god) on the West ; Vayu (the wind god) on the North- 

 West ; Yakhas on the JNoith; Scnja (the moon) on the North-East; Brahma, above; Bhupati 

 (sa-Sdsg or Earth Spirit; below. 



