from the Ancient Books of the Hindus. 433 



India, have thence been denominated Arvafi'han, or, as the Perfiant write 

 it, Arabiftdn ; while thofe nations, who were feated on the other Jide of it, 

 were called Pdrasicah, and hence came the Pkarusii, or Per fee, of Lybia* 

 who are faid by Pliny to have been of Perjian origin, or defcended from 

 Perseus, the chief fcene of whofe achievements was all the country from 

 the weftern bank of the Nile to the ocean ; but I do not believe, that the 

 word Pdraskah has any relation to the Perfians, who in Sanfcrii are called 

 Pdrasah, or inhabitants of Parafa, and fometimes Pdrafavab, which may 

 be derived from Par asu, or Pdrafvah from their excellent horfes* I mud 

 not omit, that Arva-Ji'hdn, or Arabia, is by fome derived from Arvan 9 

 which figmfies a fine horfe, the final letter being omitted in compofition .- 

 Arvan is alfo the name of an ancient fage, believed . to be a fon of 

 Brahma'. 



In order to prove, by every fpecies of evidence, the identity of the 

 Grecian and Indian fables, I one night requefted my Pandit, who is a learn- 

 ed Aftronomer, to mow me among the ftars the confiellation of Antarma- 

 dd ; and he inftantly pointed to Andromeda, which I had taken care not to 

 mow him firil as an afterifm, with which I was acquainted: he after- 

 wards brought me a very rare, and wonderfully curious, book in Sanfcrit, 

 with a diftincT: chapter on the Upanacfhatras, or conftellations out of the 

 Zodiack, and with delineations of Cape'ya, of Ca'syapi' feated, with a 

 lotos-flower in her hand, of Antarmada' chained with the Fifh near 

 her, and of Pa'rasi'ca holding the head of a monjier, which he had flam 

 in battle, dropping blood, -with fnakes injlead of hair, according to the ex- 

 planation given in the book; but let us return to the geography of the 

 Puranas. 



Ggg 



