ON MOUNT CAUCASUS. 503S 



and that o( Greece, il is natural to fuppofe, that the rites 

 and ceremonies, were carried from the more ancient, 

 to the modern one: the Indian Parhdfa is evidently the 

 more ancient: for when Deucalion went into Greece^ 

 DioNYSius and Apollo were not worfhipped on mount 

 Parnafus: he found there only the oracle of Themis, 

 As Deucalion was fovereign of the country, in which 

 the Indian Parnafus is fituated, it is, in my humble opi- 

 nion, highly probable, that he carried into Greece, the 

 ■worfhip of the deities of his native country, and more 

 particularly that of Dionysius; though I muft confefs, 

 that it is pofitively afTerted in the Purdnasy that De'va- 

 Nahush A vifited the countries in the weft; and there 

 built cities called after his own name: he gave alfohis 

 name to rivers, and particularly to the Danube or Ijier^ 

 which, according to the Purdnas, (liould be fpelled Tf^ 

 ier. His route is thus defcribed in the Purdnas : he 

 firft defcended from the elevated plains of little Bok' 

 hara with a numerous army, and invaded the countries 

 o^ Samarcandy Bdhlac, and Cdbul, which were then in- 

 habited by the ^Sacas and ''Sacafenas: he conquered af- 

 terwards /r^7«, Egypt, and Ethiopia; and proceeding af- 

 terwards through the dwip of Vara ha, or Europe; he 

 conquered Chandra-dwip, or the BritiJIj iflands: he 

 went thence into Curu, which includes the northern 

 parts o^ Europe, and the whole oi Siberia: having con- 

 quered Chinay the countries to the fouth of it, and In- 

 dia, he returned to the plains oi Meru, through the pafs 

 of Hardwar. 



The Greeks fuppofed that mount Parnajfus was the fa- 

 vourite abode of the Mufes. The Hi?idus have not limit- 

 ed their refidence to any particular fpot : but as the Suw 

 is their leader, they are fuppofed to accompany him. 



They are called Rafa in Safifcrit, in which language 

 this word (ignifies juice in general, but is more parti- 

 cularly underftood of the honied juice of flowers: it 

 implies alfo any thing which we particularly delight in. 



There 



