OF THE HINDUS. . £45 



ieries cf fourteen Dynafties, equally repugnant to na- 

 ture and reafon ; fix of thefe are elapfed, we lire in 

 the feventh, which began with the Flood, and feven 

 more we are taught 10 expect. Thefe fourteen Dy- 

 nafties are hardly ever noticed by the Hindus in their 

 legendary tales, or historical poems. The rulers or 

 thefe Dynafties are called Menus : and from them 

 their refpective Dynafty, antara^ or period, is called 

 a Manwantara. Every Dynafty ends with a total de- 

 ftruction of the human race, except the Menu or ruler 

 of the next period, who makes his efcape in a boat, 

 with the feven Rijhis, The fame events take place ; 

 the fame perfons, though fometiines under different 

 names, re-appear. 



Thus the hiftory of one Dynafty ferves for all the 

 reft. In reality hillory, according to the Hindus them- 

 felves begins with the Flood, or the feventh Menu. 

 Each period coniifts of 12,000 years, which the Hindus 

 call divine. The Perjians are not unacquainted with 

 thefe renovations of the world, and periods of 12,000 

 years ; for the bird Simurgh is introduced, telling Ca- 

 herman that fhe had lived to fee the earth {t\en 

 times filled with creatures, and feven times a perfect 

 void, (it lhould be fix times a perfect void, for we are 

 in the feventh period,) and that ihe had already feen 

 twelve great periods of 7000 years. This is obvioully 

 wrong; it lhould be feven great periods of 12,000 

 years. 



The antediluvian hiftory, being confidered by the 

 Hindus in different points of view, is related in various 

 ways, having little connection with each other. We 

 are told firft that Brahma created ten Bra'madicas 

 or children of Bra'hma, who were to be the proge- 

 nitors of the ?uoveable and immoveable parts oi the ere - 

 tion, by which they underftand animals and vegetables. 

 Their names are Manichi, Atri, Angiras, Pulas- 



T.Y A, PuL AH A, ClUTU, DaC SH A, VaS I SH TH A, Bu RIG U, 



and Narad a. Thefe fprang immediately from Bra'h- 

 ma. 



