from the Ancient Books of the Hindus. 371 



SURA, introduced a more perfect mode of worfhip, cooled the conflagrations, 

 which had repeatedly defolated thofe aduft regions, and eftablifhed the go- 

 vernment of the Cutila-cefas, or genuine Egyptians, on a permanent bafis: thus 

 Osiris, as we are told by Plutarch, taught the old Egyptians to mdkt 

 laws and to honour the Gods; The title" Sri Bhagavat, importing profperity 

 and 'dominion , is given peculiarly to Crishna, or the black deity, and the 

 black Osiris had alfo the titles of Sirius, Seirius, and Bacchus, It is related, 

 indeed, that Osiris, or Bacci-ius, imported from India the worfhip of two 

 divine Bulls; and in this character, he- was Maha'de'va, whofe followers 

 were pretty numerous in Egypt ^ for Hermapion, in his explanation of the 

 hieroglyphicks on the Heliopoiitan obelifk, calls Horus, the Supreme Lord z.n& 

 the author of Time (a): now Is war a, or Lord, and Ca'la, or Time, are 

 among the diftinguifhed titles oFMaha'de'vaj and obelifks or pillars, whatever 

 be their ihape, are among his emblems. In the Vrihad-haima, which appears 

 to contain many curious legends concerning Egypt, it is exprefsly faid, that 

 " Is war a with his confort Pa'rvatt defcended from" heaven, and chofe 

 " for his abode the land of Mifra in Sancha^dwip." We muft obferve, that 

 the Egyptians feared and abhorred TvPHON,or Maha'de va in his character 

 of the Dejiroyer -, and the Hindus alfo dread him in that character, giving him 

 the name of Bhairava, or Tremendous : the Egyptian fable of his attempt to 

 break the Mundane Egg is applied to Maha'de'va in the little book Chandi, 

 which is chiefly extracted from the Mdrcandeya Puran. There is a ftriking 

 refemblance between the legendary wars of the three principal Gods in Egypt 

 and India: as Osiris gave battle to Typhon, who" was defeated at length aiid 

 even killed by Horus, fo Brahi^a' fou:<ht With Vishnu and gained an ad- 

 vantage over him, but was overpowered by Maha'de'va, who cut off one 

 of his five heads ; an allegory, of whiclri* cannot pretend to give the meaning, 



(a) Ammian. Marcellin. 



Y y 2 



