356 Report on the Mackenzie Manuscripts, [April 



Rama, but if you indeed are Rama, tlien bend this bow." The 

 other Rama did so, but (according to this authority, differing 

 from the Ramayana) it broke. Parasu Rama, perceiving the stranger's 

 strength, paid him great compliments ; and then, dismissing him, sent 

 him away to Ayodhya. Parasu Rama himself continued to reside on 

 the territory which he had acquired. 



Observation.— The chasm in this manuscript (extending it appears 

 to 41 palm-leaves) would in a literary point of view be serious ; especi- 

 ally as the book is a copy of a poem becpme as I understand, very 

 scarce, and not to be met with elsewhere at Madras. 



In the bearing of the half legendary, half historical, subject on the 

 leading object of the present researches, the deficiency can be briefly 

 supplied from other sources, to the following effect. 



The rz^A/ named ./aw«(ia^W2 father of Parasu Rama, possessed the 

 cow of plenty, Camadhenu or Surabhi\ and by means of this cow, on the 

 occasion of a certain hunting party all the suite of Karta viriya were sa- 

 tisfied. The monarch in consequence considered the possession of this 

 cow to be an object to him, and asked it of J amadagni, who refused it, 

 as a matter of course, it being the cow of the gods. No solicitations, or 

 molestations, being sufficient to obtain the cow as a gift, Karta viriya 

 killed */aw«c?a^w? to get at the desired treasure by force. Hence the 

 resentment and vengeance of Parasu Rama. It is probable that the 

 missing leaves would contain an account of the birth of Parasu Rama 

 Towards the close of the poem the Brahmans remind Parasu Rama of 

 the fault concerning his mother, which is rather equivocally expressed, 

 but most probably alludes to the following circumstance. 



JamadagnV s wife, the mother of Parasu Rama, was named Renuca • 

 and one day, for a mental transgression of strict conjugal fidelity, the 

 father in anger told Parasu Rama to take his axe and cut off her head. 

 He obeyed, and cut off the head of his mother, near a Parcheri^ or 

 hamlet of out-cast people, as well as the heads of some of those persons, 

 on their opposing his design. The father, approving his proceeding, 

 asked what reward he required, when he requested that his mother's 

 body might be re-animated. The father consented to his request, 

 having at the same time power to fulfil itj and gave directions to his 

 son as to the mode in which the head and body should be joined toge- 

 ther, promising to re-unite, and re-animate them. In the hurry of the 

 moment instead of his mother's head Parasu Rama applied the head of 

 an out-cast woman to his mother's life-less trunk ; when the whole be- 

 came re-animated. It is stated that on this legend the Pariars (or 



