152 THE HIGHLANDS OF CENTRAL INDIA 



Gods of other nations sat ttere, 

 Eighteen threshing-floors ^ of Brah- 

 mins, 

 Sixteen scores ^ of Telingands ; 

 But no Gods of Gonds appeared 



there 

 From the Glens of Seven Moun- 

 tains, 

 From the Twelve Hills in the 

 Valleys. 

 Then the Strong God Kdrto 

 Subal,2 

 The first-born of Mahadevd, 

 Of the Great God MahadevA, 

 Pondered deeply in his bosom 

 O'er a circumstance so curious ; 

 Pondered much, and then he 



fasted, 

 Devotee-hke prayed and fasted 

 For the coming of the Gond Gods 

 From the Glens of Seven Valleys 

 To the councils of the Godhead. 

 Pondered thus till on his left hand 

 Eose a most Portentous Tumour, 

 Tumour boil-like, red, and grow- 

 ing 

 Bigger daily, daily bigger. 

 Till it burst, and from its centre 

 Came the Koitor,* came they 



trooping, 

 Sixteen threshing-floors they num- 

 bered. 

 Came and spread them o'er the 



country, 

 On the hills, and in the valleys, 

 In the arches of the forest. 

 Everywhere they filled the country ; 

 Killing, eating, every creature ; 

 Nothing knowing of distinction ; 

 Eating clean and eating unclean ; 



Eating raw and eating rotten ; 

 Eating squirrels, eating jackals, 

 Eating antelope and sdmbar. 

 Eating quails and eating pigeons. 

 Eating crows and kites and vul- 

 tures. 

 Eating Dokuma the Adjutant, 

 Eating lizards, frogs, and beetles, 

 Eating cows and eating calves. 

 Eating male and female buffaloes. 

 Eating rats, and mice, and bandi- 

 coots ; 

 So the Gonds made no distinction. 

 For half a year they bathed not. 

 And their faces nicely washed not 

 When they fell upon the dung- 



hiUs— 

 Thus at first were born the Koitor 

 From the hand of Karto Subal. 



Soon a stench began to issue 

 From the forests and the moun- 

 tains^ — ■ 

 Stench of Gonds that lived so 



foully. 

 Rose the stench to Mahadevd, 

 To his mountaia Dewalgiri.* 

 Wrathful then became the Great 



God, 

 Called his messenger Narayan, 

 Said he, " Bring these Gonds be- 

 fore me — 

 Outcast wretches ! How their 



stink has 

 Spread o'er all my Dewalgiri." 

 Then the messenger Nardyan 

 Called the Koitor all together. 

 Called them up to Dewalgiri 

 To the Great God Mdhddevd, 

 Eanged them aU in rows before 

 him 



^ Such expressions are used throughout the legend to denote in- 

 definite numbers. 



^ Kartik Swdmi, the son of Siva (Mdhddevd), is thus termed in 

 the legend. 



* Koitor is the national name for all the Gonds of different tribes. 

 It signifies properly " men." 



* Dewalgiri is one of the highest peaks of the Himalaya range; 

 and is here used as identical with Kailds, the mythic heaven of Sivd. 



