204 The Vdstu Yaga. [No. 3, 



nu = Hari) he is an enemy of Rahu, whose stellar form is that 

 of a serpent, and who, as a demon, was cut into two by Vishnu's 

 discus on the occasion of the distribution of nectar churned 

 from the ocean of life, alias light, the sweets of knowledge 

 to the gods. Rahu (to he abandoned) is, as we have said before, 

 also black, darkness, or ignorance. According to the Graha Yajna 

 Tantra, an astrological work of great importance amongst the Hindus, 

 the presiding god of Rahu is Kdla (Death = Time), and the subor- 

 dinate god (sfcEif^WcTT) is a serpent : — an idea which reminds 

 us of the tree of knowledge and the serpent in the Mosaic 

 legend. Rahu is the lord of bones, and it presides over the 

 southwest quarter of the globe, (niriti) over misfortunes and calami- 

 ties. Rahubhedi, the destroyer, or literally the dissector, of Rahu, 

 darkness, is Vishnu, alias Surya (the Sun), who has also the 

 name of Rdhuhd, the killer of Rahu. Its mythical origin is dis- 

 tinctly acknowledged in astronomical works, in one of which we 

 find: — 



^^T ^l>f TT%T -sWirfW^JW I 

 " When the Eahu is perceptible by the eyes, it is called an eclipse." 



In the BMgavat Pur ana, Krishna, or Vishnu incarnate, in one of his 

 miracles, is devoured by a great ophidian demon, in whose stomach 

 he plays several tricks, and at last, getting out of it, exhibits the 

 whole universe dancing on the tongue of the serpent (eternity), whom 

 he afterwards overcomes (as creator). He is also described as break- 

 ing the several heads of Kdliya, a Naga king of Romanak country, 

 whom Krishna would have completely destroyed, had not some of 

 his wives, who were Naga women, interfered. Gfaruda, the bird-god, 

 is the vehicle of Vishnu, and though a step-brother to the Nagas, is 

 their deadly enemy. 



In the Mahabharata, Parikshita, grandson of the Pandavas, 

 is described to have defiled the body of a sage while in his 

 meditation with a dead snake, whereupon the Muni's son cursed 

 him. To carry out this malediction, Takshaka, commonly identi- 

 fied with the Gecko that makes a " tak lak" noise, and sometimes 

 with the dragon-lizard, one of the great serpents, visited Parikshita, 

 attired as a Brahman, and made the usual salutation, and blessed the 

 king by offering him a small plum. No sooner held the king the 



