•^w 



Where'er fair Science dawn'd on Asias shore, 

 Where'er her hallow'd voice Devotion raised, 



We see thee graven on the shining ore, 

 And on a thousand sparkling gems emblazed, 



Maurice. 



name of that Supreme Being, the incarnation of a portion of Veshnoo: ■ Reverence be unto thee in the form of Bood-dlia! Reverence be 

 unto the Lord of the Earth ? Reverence be unto thee, an incarnation of the Deity and the Eternal One! Reverence be unto thee, O God, in 

 the form of the God of Mercy : the dispeller of pain and trouble, the Lord of all things, the Deity who overcometh the sins of the Katee 

 Yoog, the Guardian of the Universe, the Emblem of mercy toward those who serve thee — O'm ! the possessor of all things in vital form ! 

 Thou art Brahma, Veshnoo, and Mahea! Thou art Lord of the Universe! Thou art, under the form of all things, moveable and immove- 

 able, the possessor of the whole ! and thus I adore thee. Reverence be unto the Bestower of Salvation, and Resheekesa, the Ruler of the 

 Faculties ! Reverence be unto thee (Kisava) the Destroyer of the Evil Spirit Kisee ! O, Damordara, shew me favour ! Thou art he who 

 resteth upon the face of the milky ocean, and who lieth upon the serpent Sesd. Thou art Treeviekrama, who at three strides encompassed 

 the Earth! I adore thee, who art celebrated by a thousand names, and under various forms, in the shape of Bood-dha, the God of Mercy! 

 Be propitious, O Most High God!' 



" Having thus worshipped the Guardian of Mankind, he became like one of the just. He joyfully caused a holy temple to be built, of a 

 wonderful construction, and therein were set up the divine foot of Veshnoo, for ever purifier of the sins of mankind, the images of the Pan- 

 doos, and of the descents of Veshnoo : and in like manner of Brahma, and the rest of the divinities. 



" This place is renowned ; and it is celebrated by the name of Bood-dJia Gaya. The forefathers of him who shall perform the ceremony 

 of the Sradha at this place shall obtain salvation. 



" A crime of an hundred fold shall undoubtedly be expiated from a sight thereof, of a thousand fold from a touch thereof, and of a hun- 

 dred thousand fold from worshipping thereof. But where is the use of saying so much of the great virtues of this place ? Even the hosts of 

 heaven worship it with joyful service both day and night." 



Brahma, Vishnu, Surya, and Ganesa, are each seated upon the Lotos ; and Ganga is painted walking on her own river, holding a 

 Lotos in each hand. Vide Dissertation on the Gods of Greece, Italy, and India, in the Asiatic Researches, by Sir William Jones, Vol. I. 

 p. 221. 



Kaempfer has given us a curious representation of the goddess Quanwon sitting upon this aquatic plant. In one part of his work he de- 

 scribed her, as having eight little children placed round her head, six of whom formed a sort of crown, while the two others were larger than 

 the rest, (Kaempfer's Japan, p. 5Q5.) ; and in another part of the same work, speaking of a different statue of the same goddess, he observes, 

 that •' seven smaller idols adorned her head, like a crown or garland, whereby is denoted, that she was the happy mother of many a deified 

 hero : nay, the Japanese look upon this idol, as an emblematical representation of the birth of the gods in general, (Kaempfer's Japan, 

 p. 542.) Barrow remarks, in his account of the embassy, " that when the Shing-moo, or holy mother, is represented in Chinese temples, 

 she generally holds a flower of the Nelumbium in her hand ; and when sitting she is usually placed upon its large peltate leaf:" and proceeds 

 to observe, p. 474, " that in China few temples are without some representation of the Nelumbium. Sometimes the Shing-moo is painted as 

 standing upon its leaves in the middle of a lake;" and that in one temple he observed the intelligent mother seated upon its leaf, which had 

 been hewn out of the living rock. 



In the " Songs of Jayadeva," the several kinds of Lotos are very frequently mentioned. " Thou, whose eyes sparkle as the Blue Lotos 

 agitated by the breeze, and whose lips are as the Red Lotos in full bloom. Those beautiful blue eyes are become, through thy resentment, 

 like the petals of the Crimson Lotos : Oh! tinge with their effulgence these my limbs reclining on a bed of soft White Lotos leaves, that they 

 may glow like the arrows of Love pointed with flowers. My locks are decked with the deep azure of Water Lilies, my dress is a robe of 

 pale yellow, which resembles the golden dust of the Water Lily scattered over its blue petals." Vide Asiatic Researches, p. 185. In all 

 Persian songs, Dipuc (Cupid) is represented as pointing his arrows with the petals of the Red Lotos. 



Among the rites and ceremonies of the Hindus, a kind of religious Almanac translated by Sir William Jones, is the following passage. 

 " On this lunar day Sereswati, or Isa," (the Isis of the Egyptians), " the Goddess of Arts and Eloquence is to be worshipped with offer- 

 ings of perfumes, flowers, and dressed rice. Even the implements of writing, and written books, are to be treated with reverence, and not 

 used on this festival. This meditation is to be used. May Sereswati, the Goddess of Speech, enable us to attain all possible felicity; she 

 who wears on her locks a beautiful half moon, which shines with a pale, but exquisite lustre; whose body bends through the weight of her 

 full breasts ; who sits reclined on the White Lotos ; and from the Crimson Lotos" (Lotos is used for beauty) " of her hands infuses radiance 

 on the instruments of writing, and books produced through her favour." Vide Asiatic Researches, Vol. iii. p. 722. 





TO THE LOTOS. 



Cupid derives from thee his glowing fires, 

 And with thy radiant petals points his dart, 



He fills the ardent soul with fond desires, 

 And softly steals upon the yielding heart. 



Whatever grace can youthful beauty shew, 

 Whether the glittVing eye, or brow above, 



From thee, the cheering thought is made to glow, 

 Thyself the agent of all-pow'rful love. 



I cannot dismiss these notes without here testifying generally my obligations to the learned labours of the Rev. Mr. Maurice in his 

 « Indian Antiquities," a work of the greatest classical skill, profoundest research, and most elegant diction. Where the conjectures are my 

 own, I have indeed inserted them with the utmost diffidence, trusting in the liberality and candour of my readers. 



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