LITERATURK OF THE JJURMAS. 243 



*' Irrational animals are fuppofcdto perifh along with 

 " the world." 



" XXXVI. It has already been flat ed, that the 

 " world is deftroycd either by fire, or by water, or by 

 " wind. When it is to happen by fire, as foon as the 

 " Nat has cealcd to admonifli men, a heavy rain falls 

 " from heaven, fills all the lakes, caufes torrents, and 

 " produces an abundant crop. Mankind, now filled 

 "with hope, fow feed more plentifully: but this is 

 *' the laft rain, not a drop falls for 100,000 years, and 

 '• plants with every vegetating thing perifh. Then die 

 " all animals, and pa (ling on to the flate of Nat^ are 

 " from thence transferred to the abodes Zian ox Arupa. 

 " The Nat of the fun and moon having now become 

 " Zian^ thefe luminaries are darkened, and vanifh. 

 " In their Head two funs arife, which are not Nat, 

 " The one always fucceeds the other, rifing when it 

 " fets; lb that there is no night, and the heat confe- 

 " quently becomes fo intenfc, that all the lakes and 

 " torrents are dried up, and not the fmalleft veflige of 

 '• a tree remains upon the furface of the earth. After 

 '" a long interval, a third fun aril'es. Then are dried 

 " up the greateft rivers. A fourth fun fucceeds, and 

 " two being now conftantly above the horizon, even 

 " the feven great lakes difappear. A fifth fun arifes, 

 " and dries up the fea. A fixth fun rends afunder this 

 " and the other 1,0 10,000 earths, while from the rents' 

 " are emitted fmoke and flame. F'inally, after a very 

 " long interval, a feventh fun appears, by which 

 " Mienmo^ and all the inhabitants of the Nat, are 

 " confumed: and as in a lamp, when the wick and oil 

 " are exhaufled, the flame goes out ; fo when every 

 *' thing in this and the other i, 01 0,000 worlds is con- 

 *' fumed, the fire of its own accord will die away, 

 " From the laft great rain, to the final extindion of 

 " the fire, is one Ajfenchiekaty 



" XXXVII. Such is the manner in which the 

 " world is deftroyed by fire. When the deftrudion is 



R 2 produced 



