SACRED ISLES IN THE WEST. 83 



of tke liateful Carmandsd^ by bathing in its waters. Another complaint 

 against them is, that their grand-sire, Mag a, received presents and offer- 

 ings, lands, houses &c„ whicTi had been previously given to the sun, which 

 Is unlawful according to the ^Sdstras. The Magas answer, that they were 

 servants of the sun, and sent for by him, and that he gave for their own 

 maintenance the lands &c. which had been consecrated and given to him 

 by 'Sa'mba, and this certainly the sun had a right to do. The other 

 Brdhmenicat tribes give some hints, that they boast too much of the 

 little knowledge they imparted to them concerning some peculiar rites 

 about the worship of the sun, which in themselves are of little or no con- 

 sequence. Here Iniust observe, that the words of the sun, in the Purd^ 

 naSy are positive, and militate against this assertion of the Brdhnens ; 

 which, in my opinion, is rather bold, if not heterodox, in thus putting a 

 false coiistru6lion upon the most sacred and immutable words of the sun, 

 their lord and chief, the worship of whom is the most perfe6l, and the 

 source and origin of every other. According to the sacred and incontro- 

 vertible words of the sun, there was not a single Brdhmen in India, who 

 understood it, and was qualified for officiating, when the, sun was to be 

 worshipped. They must have been very ignorant, even of the,f4jnda- 

 mental truths and principles of their religion ; and of course they had 

 not then the sacred Fe'das ; which are declared in the Purdn'as to have 

 been found in the White Island by Na'rada, where they reside in human 

 shapes. The Brdhmens from ^Sdcam^ in return, accuse the others of in* 

 gratitude, and give to understand that they imparted much more know- 

 ledge, than they choose to confess, and even communicated the Fe'das, 



No obje6llon whatever, as I observed before, can be made to this legend 

 concerning the Magas, nor to its genuineness. It is not an unheard of 



