226 An ali/ sis of the Pur an as. [June, 



a twirl that left him sick and senseless ; on recovering, Rama threw his 

 axe at Gane'sa, who recognizing it as his father's weapon (Siva having 

 given it to Parasurama), received it with all humility upon one of hi s 

 tusks, which it immediately severed, and hence Gane'sa has hut one 

 tusk , and is known hy the names Ekadanta and Ekadantashtra 

 (the single- tusked.) Parvati was highly incensed with Parasurama, and 

 was about to curse him, when Krishna, of whom he was the worship- 

 per, appeared as a hoy and appeased her indignation. This part of 

 the work ends with a recapitulation of the names of Gane'sa, his quar- 

 rel with Tulasi, in consequence of an imprecation from whom it 

 was, that he lost one of his tusks ; Parasurama's adoration of him, 

 and retiring to lead an ascetic life. 



The last section, the Krishna Janma K'handa, is very voluminous, 

 containing 132 chapters. It gives an account of Krishna's birth and 

 adventures, as narrated by Narayana to Nare'da. 



The narrative is introduced by a panegyric of the individual, who 

 is a real Vaishnava, or thoroughly devoted to Krishna : and who 

 consequently becomes endowed with all knowledge and virtue, acquires 

 superhuman faculties on earth, is elevated to the region of Krishna 

 after death, and liberates himself, and seven generations above and 

 below him, from the penalty of regeneration. All crimes avoid him, 

 or are consumed in his purity, like moths in a lamp ; and any one 

 meeting him on the road, is thereby cleansed of the sins he may have 

 contracted for seven preceding lives ; no course of religious practices, 

 or devout penances is necessary to the attainment of such miraculous 

 excellence, and the love of Hari or Krishna is the only condition 

 required. He who has received the initiatory mantra, who repeats 

 the name of that divinity constantly, who transfers to him every 

 worldly desire and possession, whose thoughts ever dwell upon him in 

 prosperity or distress, and the hair of whose b ody stands erect with 

 rapture on his simply hearing any of the appellations of Krishna 

 articulated, has fulfilled every obligation, and merits the designation 

 of a Vaishnava. 



According to this Parana, and this only, the original cause of 

 Krishna's incarnation, was his love of Ra'dha. The -Radha of the 

 Goloka had been compelled to assume a mortal body, by the impre- 

 cation of a Gopa of that region, Kridama, the minister of his master's 

 pleasures, and the object of Radha's anger. Him she condemned in a 

 fit of jealous indignation to become the Asura Sankhachu'ra, and he in 

 retaliation sentenced her to become a nymph of Vrinddvan. To 

 console her in this condition Krishna also came down to this world, 



