HINDU ZOOLOGICAL BELIEFS. 259 



The Double-headed Snake (Eryx johnii) is harmless and often 

 used by snake-charmers. The tail end is short and very blunt. 

 Every six months the head is believed to change places with the 

 tail. 



Chelonians are represented in South India, but concerning 

 them there is only one tale which refers to the second avatar of 

 Vishnu, called Kurma, the Turtle. According to one version of 

 the story, Vishnu took this form in order to recover the treasures 

 lost in the universal flood, when, from the waters, among other 

 things, the following animals were obtained : Uchaisrava, 

 Khamadhenu (Cow of plenty), Kavat aira (three-trunked 

 Elephant of Indra), and the Chank, which conferred victory upon 

 •whosoever blew it. Another account relates that when the churn- 

 ing of the milk-ocean took place, Mahameru began to slip down 

 owing to the violent movements of the Snake Adisesha. In 

 order to support the mountain, Vishnu came to the rescue, and 

 by assuming the form of the Turtle and going beneath the 

 mountain, he was able to bear it on his broad back. A variant 

 of this tale is that the earth rests on eight Elephants, which all 

 stand on the carapace of a huge Turtle. 



This episode of the churning of the milk-ocean is such an 



important one that we may note the real meaning of the events 



which then took place. It has been said that the sea of milk is 



the ocean of existence. Mahameru is the world itself, the gods are 



good impulses and the demons bad ones, while the twisted Snake 



stands for time. Constant interaction of good and bad impulses 



in the world throughout the ages results in the formation of 



nectar, which is all the ideas of religion, civilisation, culture, 



art, and everything upon which humanity has been developed 



..and has lived. 



(To be continued.) 



