i960 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXI. 



Tala Vilasam. — On the Palmyra tree. 



Invocation of Ganesa. 



I invoke Ganesa to help in my composition of the work on the 

 Pahnyra tree, in the species of poetry called Kali Venpa, and 

 in presenting the same to the people on the sea-girt earth. 



thou lady, resembling Laksimy who is seated on the beautiful 

 lotus ! Thou of sweet expressions whose breasts are under staj's, and 

 whose person resembles a peacock ! hear me tell you in brief an 

 ^■account of one out of the eight hundred items of things connected 

 with the Palmyra-tree, which is emphatically the Kalpa-tree of the 

 .«earth. 



The various productions of earth created by Brahma came short 

 of men's wants ; and there was wanting one substance which had 

 an entire power of assuaging hunger, removing disease, feeding the 

 illiterate and enriching the house ; and therefore the people of the 

 ^arth were as unfixed (in all their worldly prospects) as the Avater on 

 the leaf of a lotus, made poojas and prayed to Sivan for assistance. 

 Sivan heard their prayers and asked of Vishnu with displeasure the 

 reason of his not having daily attended to his duty of preservation ? 

 To which Vishnu, in great obeisance, with one arm folded and the 

 fingers of the other put upon his under-lip replied : thei'e is no 

 fault in my course of duty, but the present amount of things 

 -created on the earth by Brahma is insufficient. Upon Avhich, 

 Sivan, in great displeasure and anger, looked at Brahma and 

 asked of him the reason of his not having created things to satisfy 

 all the wants of the people of the earth. Brahma trembled and 

 perspired (through fear) and putting his fingers under his under- 

 lip (as a sign of great respect to a superior) and in faltering lan- 

 guage, replied : ' My Lord, who is the operative cause and 

 immaculate ! What I have already created is all that I knew.' 

 Parvathi (Sivan's consort) then said to Sivan : ' There is fault 

 neither in Vishnu nor in Brahma,' and thus appeased his anger. 

 Sivan, upon this, after meditating in his own mind, said to 

 Brahma : ' Hear me tell you something to supply the wants of 

 the people of the eai'th. Create the Kalpa-tree upon the earth 



