58 Pearls. 



rarity ; the gods appropriate it from the sky . . . 

 Of cloud-begotten Pearls, those which resemble a 

 hen's Q^'g^ which are beautifully circular, substantial, 

 weighty, and bright as the sun, are enjoyable by 

 the gods, and cannot be obtained by men." The 

 Oriental imagination describes them as *' Clad in 

 the mighty effulgence of the mid-day sun." 



"A cloud-begotten Pearl is a blessing not only 

 to its owner, but it shoots its blessed influence a 

 hundred yojanas, (a yojana is said to be equal to 

 about one Europeon league), beyond the precincts 

 of the dominion of the king possessing it." As to its 

 value as a talisman, we read that " This world 

 ornamented by the four oceans, the home of the 

 most splendid gems of infinite variety, can scarcely 

 equal in value one cloud-generated Pearl, and if 

 by rare good fortune, a person belonging to the 

 very lowest order comes in possession of such a 

 Pearl, he shall reign paramount in this world, so long 

 as the gem is with him." 



Clouds are produced by the union of three 

 things — water, energy, and air — and the resulting 

 Pearls are divided into three correspondmg classes, 

 according to the preponderance of one or more of 

 these elements. 



" Pearls that originate in the head of the Elephants 

 of Khambogia are large as the fruit of the emblic 



