233 ON THE RELIGION AND 



" lion's head, on the foiithern that of an elephant's, 

 " on the weftern that of a horfe's, and on the northern 

 " that of a cow's : and from thefe four heads are 

 '• poured forth the flreams of four rivers. The water 

 '• which proceeds from the lion's mouth, after making 

 " three turns round the lake, and mixing with the 

 " other waters, rufhes through the eaftern parts of 

 " Hemavunta ; and after flowing through many in- 

 " hofpitable regions, at length falls into the eaftern 

 " fea*. In the fame manner the waters, which pafs 

 " through the northern and weftern mouths, after 

 " running thrice round the lake, form two rivers; one 

 '• falling into the weftern t, the other into the northern 

 " fea^. The water which flows from the elephant's 

 *"-• mouth, after turning, like the others, three times 

 " round Anaiidat, runs directly fouth for fixty juzana^ 

 '* when afccnding a fmall mountain, and rudiing over 

 '' an immenfe rock, it forms another lake fifty juzana 

 '' in circumference ; pafling thence through a fub- 

 " terraneous palfage for {wiy juzana., it meets a great 

 *• mountain jj, which divides it into five large rivers, 

 '* each of which has its proper name : and thefe are 

 *^ the five great rivers already mentioned, of which 

 " one is the Gunga or Ganges.^ From each of thefe 

 '*' five rivers proceed a hundred fmall ones ; in all five 

 '^^- hundred fmall rivers. But the banks of each of the 

 ^' four great rivers abound in that fpccies of animal, 

 " from the image of whofe head its waters rufli out of 

 " the lake Anaud-ai, Thus the banks of the fouthern 



^' river 



* This river is probably the Yang-tfe harig, tlie greatell river o( China, 

 iuid the {'oiate of" which is at no great dilbnce from that of the Ganges. 



+ The weltem river is no doubt the Oxus jfilion falling into the 

 Cafjnan Sea ; beyond which it is probable, that the Hindus in the age of 

 BouDDHA knew nothing. 



:}: Tiiis is probably the immenfe river Irtis, of which the fource is about 

 J, 000 miles north from that of the Ganges. 



II Probably Sewalick . 



§ Tome this appears evidently to be an ill-digefted account of the 

 rivers, which fall into the head of the Bay of Bengal. The authors of the 

 fyflcm conceived them all to come frqm one fource, but that, by the inter- 

 vention of the Sewalick mountains, ^hey were feparated into the form 

 ivhich they affume in Hindujlan, 



