from the Ancient Books of the Hindus. 333 



Iila: they were all abominable men, and their names denote every thing, 

 fhat is horrid. It is exprefHy faid in the Pur anas , that Tamah was expel- 

 led from Egypt exactly at the time, when Aram A* a grandfon of Satya- 

 vrata, died 5 that his children retired into Barbara; and that his grandfon 

 Gu%ma reigned over that country, when it Was invaded by Cape'nasa, 

 who will prefently appear, beyond a doubt, to be Cepheus. The Tamovan- 

 fasMe defcribedas living in Barbara Proper, which is now called Nubia, and 

 which lay, according to the Indian geography, between the dwifias of Sanc'- 

 h a and of Cus ha without : but the other parts of Barbara toward the mouths 

 of the Nik were inhabited by the children of Ra'hu j and this brings us to 

 another agronomical tale extracted- from a book entitled Ghintamaiv* 



Ra'hu is reprefented, on account of His tyranny, as art immenfe river- 

 dragon, or crocodile, or rather a fabulous monrter with four talons, called 

 Graha % from a root implying violent'feizure :' the word is commonly interpret- 

 ed hanger, or Jhark, but, in Ibme dictionaries, it is made lynonymous tonacra, 

 or crocodile;, and in the Purdnas> it feems to be the creature of poetical fan-' 

 cy. The tyrant, however, in his human fhape had fix children, Dhwaja, 

 Dhu'mra, Sinha, Lagud'a, Dand'a,- and Cartana, (which names- 

 are applied. to comets ©f different- forms) all equally mifchievous- with their fa- 

 ther ; in his allegorical character he was decapitated by Vishnu ; his. lower 

 extremity became the Ce'tu r or dragons tail r and his head, itill called Rdhu, 

 the afcending node ; but the head is fuppofed,, when it fell on earthy to have 

 been taken up by Pit'hi'nas or Pit"hi'n, and by him placed at Rabu-jl'Mn, 

 (to which the Greeks gave the name of Hero'dpolis) , where it was worshipped 

 and gave oracular anfwers -, which may be the origin of the fpeaking heads, 

 mentioned by Jewifi writers as prepared by magick. The poflerity of Ra'- 

 UU were from him denominated Grdhas ; and they might have been, the an-. 



