220 The Vast* Tdga. [N 



cation of brutal force. In vulgar superstition the mouse *is the 

 carrier of Ganes'a, the peacock of Kartika, the owl of Lakshmi, and 

 so on, but the Hindu has never been seen to worship any of these as 

 animals, though they are respected on account of their deities. 

 Again, if a Naga appear in a dream, the person is said to be soon 

 blessed with numerous children, a myth apparently connected with 

 the aborigines of the soil, and their influence is still to be seen in 

 the surname of a family of the lower order of Kayasthas of Bengal. 

 It is remarkable also that this Naga family has I'asuki fur its 

 gotra. 



It is interesting to note how advantage has been taken of the 

 spectacle mark on the hood of the coluber naja (the Cobra do 

 Capello) and the myth about the foot mark of Krishna interwoven 

 with it. 



Kaliya, a Naga prince of Romanaka, used to live in a tank in 

 Vrindavana, and Krishna on one occasion broke its several h< 

 and would have destroyed hini altogether when his two wives in- 

 terfered. The Naga was let loose and was ordered to return to his 

 country. But as he was afraid of Garuda, the carrier eagle of 

 Vishnu, he prayed that he might be saved from the attacks of the 

 bird. Krishna then assured him that he and his tribes War- 

 ing Krishna's foot-mark should be exempted from the attack 

 Garuda.* 



Of tree worship, if worship it is to be called, as it amounts to little 

 more than a recognition of benefits received, many instances may 

 be quoted in addition to what lias been adduced by Mr. Fergusson. 

 In a country like India, anything that offers a cool shelter from the 

 burning rays of the sun, is regarded with a feeling of grateful re- 

 spect. The wide-spreading banyan tree is planted and nursed with 

 care, only because it offers a shelter to many a weary traveller. 

 Extreme usefulness of the thing is the only motive perceivable, 

 in the careful rearing of other trees. They are protected by 

 religious injunctions, and the planting of them is encouraged by 

 promises of eternal bliss in the future world. The injunction 



ftrftrt ii 



