SACRED ISLES IN THE WEST, &C. 291 



Svere formerly forid of raising mounds of earth in 

 that shape, which they venerated Hke the divine 

 Merii^ and the Gods v/ere called down hy spells to 

 come and dally upon them. They are called MerU' 

 s'ringas, or the peaks of Meru. There are four of 

 them either in, or near Benares: the more m'ldern, 

 and, of course, the most perfect, is at a place call-r 

 cd Sdr-nafh. It was raised by the son of an Em- 

 peror of Gtfwr, in Bengal, with his brother, in the 

 year of VrcRAMA'DiTTA, 1083, answering to the 

 year of Christ, 1027, as mentioned in an inscrip- 

 tion lately found there. This emperor had, it seems, 

 annexed Benares to his dominions, for he is rec- 

 koned as one of the kings of Benares, under the 

 name of Budd'ha-sena. This conical hill is about 

 sixty feet high, with a small but handsome octa- 

 gonal temple on the summit.* It is said, in the 

 inscription, that this artificial hill w^as intended as 

 a representation of the worldly Meru, the hill of 

 God, and the tower o^ Babel, with its seven steps, 

 or zones, was probably raised with a similar view, 

 and for the same purpose. 



I observed before, that the Hindus place Jambu 

 within these seven inclosures, while the heterodox 

 Bauddliists insist that it is without, and that these 

 seven ranges of mountains, or dw'ipas, pass between 

 it and Meru. As these zones, ranges, and inclo- 

 sures are impossible, and, of course, never existed, 

 they are to be rejected : but the countries, and 

 islands, after which they were denominated, and 

 through which they are supposed to pass, probably 

 existed with their surrounding seas. The Nubian 

 geographer is the only author, I believe, who has 

 connected the seven climates with as many seas, 

 or rather bays, and gulfs, as he calls them. 



IV. The first, or dwipa of Jambu, commonly 

 called India^ was formerly an island^ as it appears 



Us 



