1638.] Account of the Chola-r&jas. 509 



age, without the alarm-bell of justice having been even once rung. 

 After his 64th year he had a son born to him. He greatly rejoiced 

 and distributed gifts, on having a child born in his old age. Vjthi 

 Vidangam was the name of his son ; and the usual education was given 

 him. About this time an incarnation of various celestials took place in 

 the form of a deceptive cow. (The description is here translated because 

 it may be of service in understanding other symbolical language in other 

 books.) " Parvati and Paramesvarkr on the bullock vehicle, Brahma, 

 Vishnu, and the remaining 33 crores of deities, the 48 thousand rishis, 

 the asuras, the mahd sactis (female powers of gods), setting out from 

 Cailasa, came down to be incarnate on earth, in the following form. The 

 four Vedas became the four legs ; Brahma and Vishnu, the two horns ; 

 the sun and moon, the two eyes ; the Vindhya mountain formed the 

 body ; (Para SactiJ the female energy of the supreme Brahm (or first 

 cause) became the abdomen ; D'herma Devati (the goddess of the air) 

 became the udder ; the svd-loca, the svd-miba, the sva-riiba, the sva- 

 uchiyam (four degrees of beatitude) became the four teats. Vayavu 

 (god of wind) became the tail ; the atmosphere facasamj became the 

 two ears ; Lacshmi became the womb ; the sea became the urine ; the 

 eight serpents (at the eight points of the compass) became t.he intestines ; 

 wisdom, was the milk ; thus deceptively (or symbolically) a cow was 

 formed, and Yama (death) was its calf." This description is quite 

 sufficient to prepare for symbol, and exaggeration, in the incident to be 

 narrated. This cow, with its calf, went from the fane of Tiydgara 

 Swami to bathe and, when returning by a certain street, the king's son 

 Vithi Vidangam was making a public procession. The cow and calf 

 became separated in the crowd, and the calf, being bewildered, got 

 under the chariot of th# king's son, and was run over by the wheels, being 

 thereby cut in two. The king's son was greatly alarmed, and meditat- 

 ed on Tiyagarar, (a name of Siva in the form worshipped at Tiruva- 

 rwr.) The cow went all over the town seeking for the calf, and on 

 finding its remains, put both halves together, and sought to give it 

 milk. As it would not receive any, the cow arose and wept tears. 

 The alarm of the king's son continued. The cow went to the justice 

 alarm bell and rung it, on the hearing of which the king Kribala 

 Cholan swooned. On recovering he directed his minister to go and 

 see what was amiss. The grief of the king, and of his wife the young 

 man's mother, is described at length. The wife suggested as a remedy 

 that she would go, and fall under the chariot wheels, and be cut in two 

 by them, as an expiation of the crime. But the king determined that 

 the son himself however precious to them, must in that same manner 

 3 s 



