HINDU ZOOLOGICAL BELIEFS. 29Sf 



from the Deer's tail, and used to keep flies off the god in the 

 temple. 



Wiien sunshine and shower mingle, then the Fox is getting 

 married — others, however, say it is the Tiger — and to Bee its face 

 in the morning is a good thing. 



A bad man may become a Dog in his next birth. "When a 

 Dog recollects his previous births, and all he did in them, then it 

 is that he bays, especially on bright moonlight nights. Dogs 

 are said to bo able to see Yama, the god of death, and to howl at 

 him. 



The Cat is a pet of Sri Krishna, and must not be killed on 

 this account. The Cat, furthermore, is the Tiger's uncle, and 

 taught him everything he knew, save one trick — namely, how to 

 climb trees. One day the two fell out, and the Cat saved its 

 life by climbing a tree, which enraged the Tiger so much that he 

 declared he would go even the length of eating the Cat's excre- 

 ment, if so he might learn to climb trees. For this reason the 

 Cat is ever so careful to always bury it, and the baffled Tiger is 

 unable to climb yet. 



Jambavan is the king of the Bears. Once Brahma happened 

 to yawn rather deeply, when out came this animal, who was 

 sent round the earth to proclaim by " tomtoming " that Vishnu 

 was the lord of the three worlds, at the time when Vishnu was in 

 the avatar of Vamana, the dw^arf. Mount Mahameru happened 

 to strike Jambavan on the knee, so to this day all Bears walk 

 slightly lame. When anyone boasted of a great feat, then 

 Jambavan declared that of course he could have done it much 

 better had he not met with this accident which lamed him. " As 

 old as Jambavan" is a Tamil saying. 



A white Elephant is the vehicle of Indra, and is called " aira 

 vata."* It arose from the milk-ocean. The Elephant can act 

 as the mount of all the gods, and one is commonly kept in each 

 big temple. In South India it is regarded as being very faithful, 

 but also vindictive. It is believed to be in constant dread of ants 

 entering its ears, and that explains why it is continually flapping 

 them. The Elephant's gait is thought slow and majestic, and 

 it is a compliment if you are said to walk like one. According 

 to one story, eight Elephants stand on a Turtle, supporting this 

 =■• It is also known as Indravat , and its trunk is the water-spout. 



