13S ■ \ ::" -' ESSAY ON THE 



the shape of Mohini', a female deity, in which are concentrated the illu- 

 sive powers of Vishnu. The giants, at the sight of her, were thrown^ 

 into a state of rapturous ecstacy, and resigned the vase to her. She then 

 directed the gods and giants to place themselves in two rows, and to sfit 

 down. She made the giants to agree, that the gods should be served first. 

 Ra'hUj being distrustful, placed himself between the sun and moon, who 

 recognizing him, pointed him to Mohini', who had already given him a 

 small portion of the beverage of immortahty. She, however, cut off his 

 heads which flew up to heaven. Mohini', having served out the Atnrit 

 to the gods, placed the vase on the ground, and disappeared^ A dread- 

 ful confli6l took place between the gods and giants, in which the sun and 

 moon suffered much. The gods prevailed at last, and Indra was acknow- 

 ledged as sole sovereign of the gods. 



In the Rdmdyen'a of Va'lmica, se6lion of the Tudd'ha-c'Jian^da, and 

 in other Purdn'as, it is declared that Vishnu himself cut off Ra'hu's 

 head; and that the event happened on the very place, where the Amrit was 

 made ( Amrzta-st'hdne ) m the northern parts of the White Sea, in the coun- 

 try of the three peaks, called Chandra, or of the moon, Dro'n'a like the sun 

 or Suvarn'a, and Vaideha: and from the context it seems that this happened 

 on Drdn'a. From that time Ra'hu is constantly endeavouring^ to destroy 

 the sun and moon; like Typhon, according to Egyptian mythologists. 

 He was thunder-struck by Jupiter, and fell, according to some, into the 

 quick-sands of the lake Sirhonis, called also Sirbon, and Sarhonis. Now 

 Smarbhdnu, one of Ra'hu's names, signifies light of heaven, and in that 

 charadler, he answers to Lucifer, Like Ra'hu, Typhon, according to 

 i^LiAN, often appeared in the shape of a crocodile. Others said, that this 

 happened at Heroopolis, the Patumos of Herodotus. We are informed. 



