10 sir M. MONIER WILLIAMS ON THE MONISM, PANTHEISM, AND 
and images of the chief gods of the Hindu Pantheon fre- 
quently represent them in the act of crushing their demon- 
antagonists. 
Krishna (a form of Vishnu) is often seen bruising the head 
of the malignant serpent Kaliya, and Siva tramples, during a 
kind of wild dance, on the prostrate body of the arch-fiend 
Tripura. 
As regards Zoroaster’s Dualism, I now submit briefly to this 
Society the explanation of it given to me by some learned 
Indian Parsis of Bombay (especially by Mr. K. R. Cama). 
Let me first remark that we read in the Gathas, that Zoro- 
aster began his mission by declaring that : “In the begmnimg 
there were two spirits—each active. These are the good 
and the base in thought, word, and deed.” “I will declare 
the two primeval spirits of the world, of whom the better 
One thus spoke to the evil One—‘ Neither our minds, nor our 
doctrines, nor our understandings, nor our belief, nor our 
words, nor our actions, nor our laws, nor our souls agree.’ ” 
The explanation given to me was that Zoroaster, although a 
believer in one Supreme Being, and a teacher of Monotheism, 
set himself to account for the existence of evil, which could 
not have its source in an all-wise Creator. 
He, therefore, taught thattwo opposite—but not opposing— 
principles or forces, which he calls « Twins,” were inherent in 
the nature of the Supreme Being, called by him Ahura Mazda _ 
(or in Persian Ormazd), and emanated from that Being, just 
as in Hinditism, Vishnu and Siva emanate from the Supreme 
Being Brahma. 
These two forces were set in motion by Ahura Mazda, as 
his appointed mode of maintaining the continuity of the 
Universe. 
The one was constructive, the other destructive. 
One created and composed. 
The other disintegrated and decomposed, but only to co- 
operate with the creative principle by providing fresh raw 
material for the work of re-composition. 
Hence there could be no new life without death, no exist- 
ence without non-existence. 
Hence, also, according to Zoroaster, there was originally no 
really antagonistic force of evil opposed to good. 
The creative energy was called Ahura Mazda’s beneficent 
spirit (Spento-Mainyus), and the destructive force was called 
his maleficent spirit (Angro-Mainyus, afterwards corrupted 
into Ahriman), but only because the idea of evil is connected 
with dissolution. 
