90 REV^. G. U. POPE, D.D., ON 



authority ; for he ever ponders the sacred writings which 

 enshrine the truths of the (^aiva faith, and assures himself 

 that all these externals are but the bonds that imprison the 

 deluded soul ; and that this embodied life with all its vicis- 

 situdes must be renounced, shaken off, forsaken, in order that 

 by (^ivan's grace he may attain the "great release." His 

 eoul is filled with an infinite pity as he sees the thronging 

 multitudes, who, he knows, are passing ever through the 

 round of births and deaths, and are in these fated embodi- 

 ments suffering remediless woes. So, "like those who suffer 

 from the intense glare of heat, and seek refreshing shade, 

 his soul was dissolved in passionate longing for 9^va the 

 loving Lord." Yet though he beheld men around him as 

 souls imprisoned through ante-natal evil, and felt how profit- 

 less all human existence is, and how surely all sentient 

 beings are mere actors walking in a vain show, he continued 

 with unflagging diligence to dispense impartial justice as his 

 sovereign's representative. Yet there was ever one supreme 

 desire in his soul. He yearned to meet with a guru who 

 (so does Civa reveal Himself) would teach him the mystery 

 •of the " five letters "* and the " way of release."! " As the 

 tiny winged creatures go from flower to flower througli every 

 .grove," he sought out and held converse with the professors 

 of different (^aiva schools, saying within his soul, " "Where 

 ;shall I find the spotless Guru,+ who can expound to me the 

 jnysteries of the Agamas"? In fact, the state of mind of 

 the youthful prime minister was much like that in fomier 

 .generations of Sakya-muni or Gautama, and of all the gTeat 

 .saints and sages whose names live in Indian tradition : the 

 world's infinite woe oppressed him, and there was neither 

 'remedy nor teacher to be found. It is evident that at that 

 period the faithful followers of the ^aiva system were few, 

 and rival systems were in the ascendant. The king himself 

 and his courtiers were probably but lukewarm in their reli- 

 ^ous profession. Jainism was everywhere. 



* Note II : The " five letters" or syllables, as we should call them, are 

 ■^i-vd-ya-nama = " adoration to Qiva." A supernatural power is lodged 

 in these sounds. They may be uttered in the reverse order also : na-ma- 

 fi-vd-ya. The Tamil student may consult e_6Tr5TOOLD Oj)rrr<ff(fiKLD 30-45. 

 ^(^c\)(^LuujdT . ch. ix, 81-90, given here. :^cuuLj]rr<srrs^lM II, 40. 



t See i^oTs III, "The soul's emancipation." 

 J See Note IV, "The Guru." 



