SACRED ISLES IN THE WEST, 31 



" with others. He then went toward the south, and there framed beau- 

 ** tiful mountains of gold and silver : these are the gold and silver peaks 

 " or Islands of La?icd, Malaya^ and Sumatra. In the west he made a 

 " mountain loo yojanas high, quite beautiful, with large and variegated 

 ** peaks, abounding with gold ; with golden caves, with trees beautiful 

 ** and resplendent like the sun, (that is to say they were of gold) : there 

 " are the Tri-Vedica or the three mountains with seats, for the three 

 " gods. There, in the west, is Vardha dwipa: there Vardha or the Boar 

 " made 60,000 mountains, like Meru, of gold, and dreadful to behold. 

 " Among them is another Meru, from which flow a thousand streams. 

 " There are all sorts of Tirthas or holy places. This mountain, 

 " called Vardha, is,^o yojanas long and high, or about 300 miles ; and it 

 " is like Vara'ha himself. He made also Vaiduryay (Scotland,) Rajata, 

 " (England,) Cdnchana, (Ireland,) high and divine mountains. He 

 " then made the Chacravdn or Chacramdn a very high mountain: (this 

 " is Pushcara or Iceland like a ring, or coit, as implied by the appellation of 

 '• Chacra). Like a shell, and abounding with shells, with a thousand peaks, 

 " is Rajata or the silver peak ; hence it is called ^Sanclia-parvata or the 

 «' mountain of shells. The trees there are all white: the juice of the Pd- 

 " rijdta tree is like liquid gold. There is the Ghrita-d'hard river: its 

 " waters are hke clarified butter. Prabhu or Vishnu, made many rivers 

 " called Vardha-sarita, or the streams of the boar ; and these are most 

 " holy. Thus he made a mountain, the name of which is omitted, but it 

 " is obviously ^Swcta^ with a thousand peaks abounding with jewels ; the 

 " Tamra or Vaidurya, peak of copper, and a mountain of gold, Ca«- 

 " chana, according to rule. Thus in the nortli he made the Saumya-gtrz, 

 « (Soma or Chandra,) towering to the skies ; the mountain of gold, Can^ 



