420 On Egypt and the Nile 



like that of a dragon; and his afpect was grim and gloomy, like the dark- 

 nefs of the Chaos, whence he had alfo the name of Tamas. He was the 

 advifer of all mifchief among,the Baity as, who had a regard for him; but 

 among the Devatas it was his chief delight to fow diffention; and, when 

 the Gods had produced the amrit by churning the ocean, hedifguifcd himfelf 

 like one of them, and received a portion of it; but, the Sun and Moon 

 having difcovered his fraud, Vishnu fevered his head and two of his arms 

 from the reft of his monftrous body. That part cf the neclareous fluid, 

 which he had time to f wallow, fecured his immortality : his trunk and 

 dragon-like tail fell on the mountain of Malaya, where Mini, a Brdbmen t 

 carefully preferved them by the name of Ce'tu ; and, as if a complete 

 body had been formed from them, like a difmembered polype, he is even 

 faid to have adopted Ce'tu as his own child. The head with two>arms 

 fell on the fands of Barbara, where Pi't'he'na's was then walking with 

 Sinhica*, by fome called his wife: they carried the Daitya to their pa- 

 lace, and adopted him as their fon ; whence he acquired the name of 

 Pait"he'nasi. This extravagant fable is, no doubt, aftronomical ; 

 Ra*hu and Ce'tu being clearly the nodes, or what aftrologers call the 

 head and tail of the dragon: it is added, that they appeafed Vishnu and 

 obtained readmiflion to the firmament, but were no longer vifible from the 

 earth, their enlightened fides being turned from it ; that Ra'hu frrives, 

 during eclipfes, to wreak vengeance on the Sun and Moon, who detected 

 him ; and that Ce'tu often appears as a comet, a whirlwind, a fiery me- 

 teor, a watcrfpout, or a column of fand. From Paithi'na's the Greeks 

 appear to have made Pythonos in their oblique cafe ; but they feem to have 

 confounded the flories of Python and Typhon, uniting two diftinct per- 

 fons in one^J. Pait'he'nasi, who reigned on the banks of the Call af- 



(a) Plut. Ifia and Oiiris. 



