I838.J 



Report on the Mackenzie Manuscripts. 



355 



old age. Fiihi^vidangam was the name of his son; and the usuai 

 education was given him. About this time an incarnation of various 

 celestials took place, in the form of a deceptive cow^ (The description- 

 w here translated, because it may be of service in understanding other 

 symbolical language in other books). " Parvati and Paramesvarer on 

 *' the bullock vehicle, Brahma, Vishnu, and the remaining 33 crores of 

 " celestials, the forty-eight thousand rishis, ihQ aswas, the Maha sactis 

 " (female powers of gods), setting out from Cailasa, came down to be 

 " incarnate on earth, in the following form. The four Vedas became 

 " the four legs j Brahma and Vishnu the two horns ; the sun and 

 " moon the two eyes ; the FMAya mountain formed the body ; Para 

 " sacti^ (the female energy of the Supreme Brahma, or first cause) 

 " became the abdomen ; jO'Aer»wi-c?e2ja/v(the goddess of the air) .be-. 

 ^ came the udder ; the Sva-loca, the Sva-miba, the Sva-ruba^ and the 

 ** Sva-uchiyam (four degrees of beatitude) became the four teats 

 " Vayavu (god of wind) became the tail; the atmosphere (acasaw). 

 " became the two ears ; Lacshmi became the womb ; the sea became 

 " the urine ; the eight serpents (at the " eight points" of the compass) 

 " became the intestines; wisdom, was the milk : thus deceptively 

 " (or symbolically) a cow was formed, and J^amaj (death) was its> 

 " calf." (This description is quite sufficient to prepare for symbol 

 and exaggeration, in the incident to be narrated). This cow, with its 

 calf, went from the fane otTiyagara-svami to bathe ; and, when return- 

 ing by a certain street, the king's son Vithi-vidangam was making a 

 public procession* The cow and calf became separated in the crowd ; 

 and the calf, being bewildered, got under the chariot of the king's 

 son, and was run over by the wheels ; being thereby cut in two. The 

 king's son was greatly alarmed ; and meditated on Tiyagarar (a name 

 of Siva, in the form worshipped at Tiruvarur). The cow went all 

 over the town seeking for the calf ; and, on finding its remains, put 

 both halves together, and sought to give it milk. As it would not re- 

 ceive any, the cow arose, and wept tears. The alarm of the king's son 

 continued. The eow went to-the justice-alarm=bell and rung it, on the 

 hearing of which the king, Krihala cholan, swooned. On recovering, 

 he directed his minister to go and see what was amiss. The grief of 

 the king, and of his wife, the young man's mother, is described at 

 length. The wife suggested as a remedy, that she would go and fall- 

 under the chariot wheels, and be cut in two by them, as an expiation 

 of the crime. But the king determined that the son himself, however 

 precious to them, must in that same manner perform the expiation.. 

 In consequence he summoned a hall of audience, and therein formalljc 



