SACRED ISLES IN THE WEST, &C. 327 



From Mana-Sarovara, or, according to the vulgar 

 pronunciation, Mansaraur, the lake of Mana or 

 Mdnasa, issues the Ganges. According to Pura'n- 

 GiR, who accompanied the late Lama to China^ 

 and had seen that lake in his way from Lassa to 

 Lddac, it is called iu Tibet, Chu-Mdpanh, or the 

 lake of Mupanh. In the Lama's map it is called 

 Mapama: but Pur'an-gir, a well informed man, 

 assured me that its true name was Mdpanh. It 

 was probably written at first Mapam by Portuguese 

 Jesuits, in whose language the letter "b,!, at the end 

 of a word, has a nasal sound, as it had in Latin, 

 and is to be sounded like the letter N at the end of 

 a word in French. 



This lake is constantly called Mdnsaraur by 

 pilgrims ; but there appears, according to the Fau- 

 rdnics, to be another, a great way to the North ; 

 this they call Bindu-Saronara, or the lake formed 

 by the Bindii, or drops of water falling from the 

 hair of Maha'-deva, when he received the holy- 

 stream, from on high, on his head, There is cer- • 

 tainly some confusion in the Piirdn'as about Mcina- 

 Sarovara ; and we must then acknowledge two 

 lakes of that name : one on the summit of Mtru, 

 and the other to the South of it : for the sacred 

 books cannot be reconciled otherwise. In that case 

 Bindu'Sarovara, mentioned but seldom, is the same 

 with the Southern Mana-sarovara. The great 

 Mana-sarovara, which proceeded from the heart of 

 Brahma', is on Meru, and the four great rivers 

 issue from it : but from this Mansaraur, South of 

 Meru, the Ganges is the only river issuing. It is 

 of course the same with Bindu-saraur, ox the lake 

 Mdpanh of those of Tibet, 



According to Pura'n-gir, this lake is situated 

 QU an elevated plain covered with long grass, to the 



Y 4i 



