from the Ancient Books op the Hindus. 339 



gible wickednefs of its inhabitants, he Was wholly in defpair of effecting any- 

 good in that country, and palled the night without fleep. Early in the 

 morning he repaired to the fea-fhore, where, taking water jmd CuMa-grak in 

 his hand, he was on the point of uttering an imprecation on Sanc'ho'da- 

 dhi : the God of the Ocean perceived his intent, and threw himfelf trem- 

 bling at his feet, afking humbly what offence he had committed. " Thjr 

 " waters, anfwered the Saint, warn a polluted region, into which the king 

 V has conducted me, but in which I cannot exift : give me inftantly a purer 

 ** piece of land, on which I may reiide and perform the duties of religion." 

 In that inftant the fea of Sanc'ha retired for the fpace of a hundre&yojanas, 

 or 492 miles, and left the holy man in pofleffion of all the ground appearing 

 <on that dereliction: the king, on hearing of the miracle, was tranfported 

 •with joy, and caufed a fplendid palace to be built on an ifland in the terri- 

 tory newly acquired.: it was called Pi? hi-fi han, becaufe Pi't'hi refided in 

 it, having married ihe hundred daughters of Pramo'da y and, on his begin- 

 ning to read lectures on the Veda, he was in a Aiort time attended by nu- 

 merous difciples. This fable, which had, probably, fome foundation in truth, 

 is related in a book, entitled Viiwa-fara-pracafa, or a Declaration of what is 

 moji excellent in the Univerfe.. 



Pit'hi-st'ha'n could not he very diftant from Cardama-fihali, or the 

 -city of Thebes, to which, according to the Brdhmdnda, the Sage's daughter, 

 from him called Pait'hini', ufed to go almoft every day for the purpofe of 

 worshipping Maha'de'va: it feems, therefore, to be the Pathros of Scripture, 

 named Pat bur es by the Greek interpreters, and Pathurisby Pliny, from 

 whofe context it appears to have flood at no great diitance from Thebes , and 

 it was, certainly, in Upper Egypt. It was probably the fame place, which 

 Ptolemy calls Tatbyris, either by miftake or in conformity to the pronun« 



T t 2 



