m ESSAY ON THE 



seating flowers, of the Pdrijdta tree, said, " on Vaicuntlia thou art 

 *' Maha'-Lacshmi : hi the Cshiro'da-sdgarai -thou art Raja-Lajcskmi." 

 The gods worshipped her: to every pne she granted a boon; and gave a 

 chaplet of flowers to Bhagava'na ; and then weqt and seated herself pa 



the breast of Hari, who sleeps in the Cshiroda, 



In the same .book, LAt-seMi is said to have performed tapasya -for 

 soOjOoo years, in tlie ^ower.of the Pat/M^:, standing on one foot, in ordej 

 to obtain Vishnu. She then saw 'Sri-CrishnAs or Vishnu, who^aid* 

 " thop shalt be n^iy wife, when I agspme the shape of Vara'ha ; but in the 

 " mean time be the 'Sactt of Agni^ which 'Sacti,o^ energy, burns every 

 " thing : be also the wife of 'Siva. Vahni, -^gni, or fire, for an hundred 

 " years of the godS;, will have no other wish, but to please thee." She 

 conceived by him: the gestation lasted twelve years, .and three beiiutiful 

 sons were born unto her ; Dacshin a'gnI;, Garhapatya, and 'Ahava niya, 

 three sacred fires. Lacshmi is represented as perfojming this religiqus 

 austerity on one foot, with fervor and f^ith, but with no less impatience. 

 She was counting the hours, and constantly looking up to that happy mo- 

 ment or Cdlay when she was to become the. consort ©f Vishnu. Though 

 not so-called explicitly; yet she is represented as Cdlepsd or Cdlipsd, or 

 anxiously wishing for that Cdia, or period, or from Cdla-lipsd or Cdl'- 

 lipsd nearly synonymous. .Calypso was the daughter of Oceanus like- 

 wise, and ultimately married Atlas/') who is represented by Vara'ha, 

 a form -of Atula without equal, o,r Vishnu, according to the promise 

 made to her by Vis HNU himself. On a -Gr^?^^ medal, inserted, I believe, 

 in Mr. DTIancarville's works, there is a female deity, represented 

 standing on one foot in a flower, which looks very much like that of the 



(1) See SxEjpHo of jBysa/iL ynder the word .(4m.so?j, 



