20 F. S. Growse — The Prologue to fhe Rdmdyam of Tutsi Dds. [No. I 



the elephant and the harlot all three obtained salvation : why farther extend 

 the list ? not even the incarnate Eama could exhaust it. 



DoM 30. 



The name of Rama is as the tree of Paradise^ the centre of all that w 

 good in the world ; and whoever meditates upon it,, becomes (says Tulsi 

 Das) transformed as it were were from a vile hemp stick into a sweet smell- 

 ing Tulsi plant. 



Chaupdi. 

 In all four ages of the world • in all time, past, present, or future ; in 

 the three spheres of earth, heaven and hell ; any creature that repeats this 

 name becomes blessed. This is the verdict of the Veda, the Puranas and all 

 the saints — that the love of Eama is the fruit of all virtue. In the first age 

 contemplation ; in the second age, sacrifice ; in the Dvapar age, temple- 

 worship was the appointed propitiation ; but in this vile and impure iron 

 age, where the soul of man floats like a fish in an ocean of sin, in these fear*. 

 ful times, the Name is the only tree of life, and by meditating on it all com- 

 motion is stilled. In these evil days neither good deeds, nor piety, nor 

 spiritual wisdom is of any avail, but only the name of Eama r his name is as 

 it were the wisdom and the might of Hanuman to expose and destroy the 

 Kalanemi-like* wiles of the wicked world. 



god Narayan, thus- casually invoked, himself came in answer to the call, and rescued 

 the guilty soul from the demons that were about to carry it off to hell, 



The story of the elephant is given in the 8th Skandha of the same Purana. An 

 alligator had seized him by the foot while bathing, and though he struggled des- 

 perately for 2000 years, he was unable to rid himself of his enemy, and at last was 

 deserted by all his wives and children. He then began to give himself up for lost ; but 

 reflecting on the pertinacity of the alligator he came to the conclusion that the creature 

 must be the embodiment of all the sins he had committed in previous existences and 

 that god alone could save him. He therefore addressed a fervent prayer to Nitrayan, 

 Who thus invoked by name came down from heaven and with his discus Sudarsan cut 

 off the alligator's head and delivered the suppliant. 



The 8th Chapter of the 11th Skandha gives the story of the penitent prostitute 

 Pingala. 



* Kalanemi was the uncle of Ravan, who promised him half his kingdom if he 

 would kill Hanuman. Accordingly he assumed the garb of a devotee and retired to a 

 solitary hermitage on a mountain-top, where in course of time he was visited by Hanu- 

 man. The latter accepted the hospitality of the holy man, as he took him to be, but 

 before eating went to a pond close by to bathe. Here as soon as he put his foot in the 

 water, it was seized by a crocodile, which, however, he soon killed, and out of its dead 

 body sprung a beautiful nymph, who had long been under a curse. She bade him be- 

 ware of Kalanemi, who was sitting deep in thought and already enjoying in anticipa- 

 tion the kingdom which he made sure he had secured. His dream was rudely broken 

 by Hanuman who seized him in his strong arm, and hurled him headlong through the 

 air, till he fell at Kavan's feet in Lanka. 



