VOL. XXII.] PHILOSOPHICAL TRANSACTIONS. 537 



and spirits, as inferior creatures ; and then he remains in the state he was in be- 

 fore the creation ; but they say that after he has a while respired thus, he 

 breathes again, and every thing is created afresh, angels, souls, and all other 

 things, except the spirits, which are no more thought of. After 7 i joogs more, 

 all is annihilated again. How many joogs are past since the world was last 

 created, they cannot certainly tell ; only it is observable that in an almanack, of 

 theirs, written in the Sanscrit language in 1670, they make the world then 

 3892771 years old from its last creation. 



The Bramins of Persia relate stories of a giant that was led into a most de- 

 lightful garden, which upon certain conditions should be his own for ever. But 

 one evening in a cool shade, one of the wicked dewtas, or spirits, came to him, 

 and tempted him with vast sums of gold, and all the most precious jewels that 

 can be imagined; but he courageously withstood that temptation, as not know- 

 ing what value or use they were of: But at length this wicked dewta brought to 

 him a fair woman, who so charmed him, that for her sake he most willingly 

 broke all his conditions, and thereupon was turned out. 



They tell a great many absurd and ridiculous stories of the first ages of this 

 present world, which would be too tedious here to take notice of; only I shall 

 give you out of one of their own books what they tell us of a great flood that 

 formerly happened. They say, that about 21,000 years since, the sea over- 

 whelmed and drowned the whole earth, excepting one great hill, far to the 

 northwards, called Bindd, and that there fled thither only one woman and seven 

 men, whose names were, Dehoolah, Sunnuk, Sunnaud^ Trilleek, Sannotah, 

 Cuppyloshaw, Suraschah, and Burroopung ; these understanding out of their 

 books that such a flood would come, and was then actually coming, prepared 

 against the same, and repaired thither ; to which place also went two of all sorts 

 of creatures, herbs, trees, and grasses, and of every thing that had life, to the 

 number in all of 1 ,800,000 living souls. This flood, say they, lasted 120 years, 

 5 months, and 5 days : After which time all those creatures that were thus pre- 

 served, descended down again, and replenished the earth : But as for the ^ men, 

 only one of them came down with the woman, and dwelt at the foot of the 

 mountain, the other six turned fuchees, or holy men^ and spent there the re- 

 mainder of their days. 



this calculation employs only the round number 18, instead of 18 1, as well as the other number 54. ", 

 which is not very certain. Suppose then we employ the exact number 18|, and the number 56" for 

 the ancient Indian precession in one year ; at this rate the Platonic year, or the period of the whole 

 360° of precession, will be I'iif thousand years, which number multiplied bylSf, gives exactly 

 43'-',000 years, the very same period as before. Upon the whole therefore it appears probable, that 

 for the term of the call yug, the Indian astronomers take the product of the coincidence of the said 

 two periods, viz. of the moon's and of the earth's or sun's nodes. 

 VOL. IV. 3 Z 



