G^ OF THE OR.LGIN OF 



. O/'Indra, the Emblem of the Visible Hea*oens. 



I am led to believe, tlwt many of the fables, in- 

 serted in the Puranas^ were invented, either after 

 the real meaning of an hieroglyphic had been lost, 

 to conceal that ignorance, or purposely to mislead 

 the mass of people, and prevent too curious and 

 close an inquir}^ 



Indra is described, like Argus, covered with 

 eyes; to account for this, the fable relates, that 

 Indra, having seen the beautiful wife of a certain 

 Rishi^, v/as anxious to be more intimate with her; 

 but the watchful husband prevented the intercourse, 

 by arriving unseasonably for the. god; tlie enraged 

 saint uttered an imprecation, and wished that the 

 god might be covered all over with representations 

 of what had been the object of. his desires ; the 

 curse took immediate effect. The god, full of 

 shame, repented, and, by his entreaties, at last pre- 

 vailed on the holy man to mitigate the curse, by 

 changing the marks of his shame to as many eyes. 



I consider this fable as an instance of tlie fore- 

 going observation: for Indra is a personification 

 of the atmosphere and visible Heavens; and, of 

 course, the eyes with which he is covered describe 

 the stars. Tlie rain-bow is tlie bow of Indra. 

 The water-spout is the trunk of his ele])liant; thun- 

 der, lightning, and rain, and every phenomenon 

 of the atmosphere, belong to his department; and, 

 like the Jupiter of the Greeks and RomanSy he has 

 his Heaven, a mansion of sensual delights and en- 

 joyment. 



(y Jupiter and Europa, and Jupiter a^d Leda. 



The Hindus liave eight representations of female 

 figures, which, except in sex, exactly resemble the 



* Ahilya', wilie ofGoTAMA. 



