﻿406 ON THE RELIGION AND MANNERS 



cally, if not arithmetically, the Kali of the BraJi^ 

 mins of 43'i,00O years. — We shall have occasion 

 hereafter to remark the coincidence in the calcula- 

 tions of the Boudhists with those of the Brahnins. 

 — The Boudhists of Ceylon are the descendants of 

 the Boudhists of the continent of ^6777, who emi- 

 grated at the revolution effected hy the Brahmins. — 

 Having lust their astronomical tables, they have 

 attempted, by a variety of forced, and often un- 

 intelligible calculations, to produce the numbers 

 resulting from the astronomical experiments of their 

 ancestors, — as they have themselves preserved no- 

 thing of the science, except these numbers. 



COSMOGONY. 



The Boudhists imagine, that the world is com^ 

 posed of an infinite number of worlds, resembling 

 one another. In the centre of these, lies a stone 

 called Maha Meru Pargwette, (Pargxcette signi- 

 fies a stone in the Pali language,) sixty-eight thou- 

 sand yoduns in height, and ten thousand in circum- 

 ference, making a hundred and forty thousand 

 Eno'lish miles. Sakreia, the King, and God, lives 

 at the top : around this stone lies another, called 

 Yougandere Pargwette, one half the height of the 

 former. The space between these stones is filled 

 with water, and is termed Sidhante Sagre, meaning 

 the coldest water: Yougandere is the seat of the 

 stars, the planets, and all the bodies whether lumi- 

 nous or not, which we call celestial : around You- 

 gandere is Issedare Pagzvette, where lives a bird 

 called GouROLASS, 150 yoduns in height : and next 

 to it lies Karvike Pargwette, an uninhabited stone : 

 Next to the last mentioned place is Soudassene Parg- 



wetiey 



