from the Ancient Books op the Hindu; 



395 



ancient city of Misra was Memphis ; and, when the feat of government 

 was transferred to the oppofite fide of the river, the new city had likewife 

 trie name of Mifr t which it (till retains; iox Alkahirah, or the Conquerefs, 

 Vulgarly Cairo, is merely an Arabick epithet. 



Vagi'swara, or Va'gi'sa' commonly pronounced Ba'gi's war and 

 Ba'gi's, means the Lord of Speech \ but I have feen only one temple de- 

 dicated to a God with that title: it ftands at Gangdpur, formerly Dehterea 9 

 near Banares, and appears to be very ancient: the image of Va'gi'swara, 

 by the name of Siro'de'va, was brought from the weft by a grandfon of 

 Ce'tu-misra defcended from Gautama, together with that of the God's 

 confort and fifter, vulgarly named Bassari ; but the Brahmens on the fpot 

 informed me, that her true name was Ba'gi'swari'. The preci.e mean- 

 ing of Siro'de'va is not afcertained: if it be not a corruption of Sri'- 

 De'va, it means the God of the Head;' but the generality of Brihmcns 

 have a fingular diflike to the defcendants of Gautam, and objecT: to their 

 modes of worfhip, which feem, indeed, not pur ly ladun. The prieits 

 of Ba'gi'swara, for inltance, offer to his confur* a lower mantle with a 

 red fringe and an earthern pot fhaped like a coronet: to the God himfelf 

 they prefent a vafe full of arak; and they even facrincs a hog to him, pour- 

 ing its blood before the idol, and reftormg the carcafe to its owner; a ce- 

 remony, which the Egyptians performed in honour of Bacchus Osiris, 

 whom I fuppofe to be the fame deity, as I belLve the BjJfuriJes to hive begn 

 fo named from Bajfari, Several demigods (of whoa Cicero reckons 

 five) (a) h?»\ the name of Bacchus ; and it is not improbable, that fjme 

 confufion has been caufed by the reiemblance of names : thus Ba'gi'swa- 



(,,) De Nat. D^or. 



B b b 2 



