300 THE ZOOLOGIST. 



earth of ours, and face the eight chief points of the compass. 

 Eavana once fought with thein, and their tusks, breaking off, 

 stuck in his breast, where he decorated them with rubies and 

 diamonds. 



The Elephant god, or belly-god, called Ganesa, Vigneswara. 

 Ganipathi, or Pillayer, is the son of Shiva, and his image is 

 found in every Hindu temple, usually in the south-west wall of 

 the building. Ganesa has only one tusk, because when Vyasa 

 dictated the Mahabharata and desired someone to write it down 

 for him, Ganesa volunteered to be scribe, and broke off one tusk 

 for his pen, while for his paper he took the earth. Another 

 version says that he lost his tusk in fighting his brother, 

 Subrahmanyam, the god of war, who defeated him. At any 

 rate, Ganesa is often known as " eka dantha," the one-tusked, 

 on this account. 



He is not yet married. His mother brought him several 

 ladies to wife, but he refused them all, saying he would never 

 marry till he found the girl who exactly resembled his mother. 

 He is still looking for her, and his temple being usually at the 

 entrance to every village, he can scan each fresh arrival as she 

 comes forward. 



Yali is a mythical animal, much stronger than a Lion, and 

 the vehicle of Kali,* the goddess of destruction, who is not much 

 worshipped in South India, because she requires libations of 

 blood, which are distasteful to Brahmins. 



Varaha, the Boar, is the third avatar of Vishnu. One 

 account of this story has already been given, but another reason 

 why Vishnu took this form was to punish two rakshasas named 

 Hiranyaksha and Hiranykasipa, who were his enemies. The 

 former rolled up this world into a mass and threw.it into the 

 sea. Thus was the earth lost for the time being. Vishnu, by 

 taking the form of a Boar, dived into the waters, and bore it out 

 again safely on his tusks, after which, in a fight, he slew the demon. 



The Boar is not an animal adapted for an aquatic life, but in 

 this case Hiranyaksha, by practising austerities, had obtained 

 from Brahma the double boon of universal sovereignty and of 

 immunity from injury by certain harmful animals, which were 



* Parvati as Durga or Kali slew Mahisasur, the demon Buffalo, after 

 wliich the state of Mysore is named. 



