ON MOUNT CAUCASUS. 475 



yith a large club in his hand. Be this as it may, Ma-» 

 ha'-de'va, who was the eldeft, fa\y his claim as fuch, 

 totally difregarded, and Brahma' fet up in his room: 

 this intrufion the latter wanted to fupport; but made 

 life of fuch lies as provoked Maha'-de'va to fuch 

 a point, that he cut off one of his heads in his divine 

 form. In his human fliape we find likewife Dac- 

 SHA boafting, that he ruled over mankind. One day 

 in the alferably of the Gods, Dacsha coming in, they 

 all rofe to pay their refpects to him: but Maha'-de'- 

 va kept his feat, and locked gloomy. Dacsha refent- 

 ed the affront, and after having reviled Maha'-de'va, 

 in his human fliape, curfed him; wifhing he might re- 

 main always a vagabond, on the face of the earth, and 

 ordered he fhould be carefully avoided, and deprived 

 of his fhare of the facrifices and offerings. Maha'- 

 de'va irritated, in his turn curfed Dacsha, and wifhed 

 he might die; a dreadful conflitl took place between 

 them, the three w'orlds trembled, and the Gods were 

 alarmed. Brahma', Vishnu, and the whole affembly 

 interfered and feparated the combatants, who returned 

 to their refpe6live homes. They even effefted a recon- 

 ciliation, in confequence of which Dacsha gave one of 

 his daughters, called Sita' in marriage to Maha'-ds'va. 

 Sita' was an incarnation of Dtvi'; for Sri'-de'vi' the 

 wife of Dacsha, and daughter of Adima and Iva, en- 

 treated the Goddefs, to give her one daughter exaBly 

 like herfelf: her requefl was granted, and Devi' was 

 incarnated in her womb. She was bleffed alfo with an 

 hundred daughters more. One day, as Dacsha was 

 fitting with his wife, they both lamented that they had 

 no male offspring. I command over the world, fays 

 Dacsha, great is my power and my wealth: but I have 

 no fon. They agreed to make a folemn facrifice, in 

 order to obtain one; on this occafion Dacsha conven- 

 ed gods and men ; but he could not be perfuaded to in- 

 vite Maha'-de'va: who took little notice of this neg- 

 left; for he is reprefented in all his Avatdras, as perfeft- 

 \y indifferent either to praife or abufe. But his wife 

 3 "was 



