SACRED ISLES IN THE WEST. - S9 



and these are the seven islands of Jamhulus. In the north-west there are 

 either eight, or sixteen, according to the Baudd'kists, The Paurdn'ics 

 are silent on that subject: but the mythclogists in the west reckoned 

 seven islands under the dominion of ^olus ; and I shall show, in the 

 course of this work^ that the British Isles arfe the original and real 

 'Molian Isles of the ancients. It is a curious instance of the propensity of 

 the Hindus i and also of our ancestors, for mysterious intricacies, which 

 must' appear to us at least useless, if not ridiculous and absurd. The 

 three islands are asserted, by the followers of Budd'ha, to be three and 

 four: the three are certainly four; yet these four islands really make 

 but three: and with such quibbles they are highly delighted. According 

 to them, the names of the three islands are Suvurna^ Rupa-var^ and 

 Vajra, to which they add D'hdtuci, or the land of metals : but this last is 

 generally connefted with F^jr^, and they say Vojra-I>'hdtuci. Timar- 

 CHUs, as cited by Plutarch, saw in a vision four divisions of the infernal 

 domains; but these, slys he, were redueible to three ; because the^r^^ 

 was conne6t^d with the second; the 5^i^o;2ic^ with the tMrd; and the third 

 with the fourth. Over these three cofnpag^s brcbmbihatiohs presided the 

 three P arete. Thns'SiJOeta aud^StiPUfn'a are consid'iired as twb"hWlves-'Of 

 orre whole: ^5w?:;^r«'(2 is conne6led with Vajra^ as Ca'la or PEtrxd rules 

 over both'; and lastly Vajra is conne6led with D'hdtuci. 



In the Haimavat-c'handa, a se6lion of the Scanda purdfia, we read 

 ■that "the mighty Vishnu, in the shape of a boar, having lifted up the 

 *' earth', which wis sinking irlto hell, secured it on his tusk. He then 

 ** dire6led Brahma' to create, or rather to fashion the earth. Brahma 

 « then made the seven dwipas, Jambu, PUcshxy 'Salmalica, Cusha, 

 ," CraunehaySdca and Pushcara. In the middle of JaMbuAsMcrU with 



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