120 
II IN DO 
The Sun is generally called Sour, or Surya, whence 
the feet who pay him particular adoration, are called 
Souras. Their poets and painters, according to fir Wil¬ 
liam Jones, deferibe his car as drawn by feven green 
horfes ; but Mr. Fofter informs us, that in the temple of 
Bis Eifhuar at Benares, there is an ancient fculpture re- 
prefenting this god fitting in a car drawn by a horfe with 
twelve heads. The Sun is often ftyled King of the Stars 
and Planets. The name of his goddefs is Savgia, who is 
fuppofed to be the mother of the river Jumna. 
Chandara, or the Moon, is alfo reprefented fitting in a 
car, but drawn by antelopes, and holding a rabbit in the 
right hand. 
Ganes, is the god of wifdom, or, as he is fometimes 
called, of prudence and policy. He is worfliipped pre- 
vioufly to the commencement of any enterprise. He is 
reprefented in a human form, but with an elephant’s 
head, as a fymbol of fagacity; and is .attended by a rat, 
which:is confidered by the Hindoos as an ingenious and 
provident animal, fimilar in forecaft to the ant in England ; 
and hence the rat is nurtured by all orders with parti¬ 
cular attention. Few books are begun without the words, 
Salutation to Ganes ; and he is firft invoked by the Brahmins, 
who conduct the trial by ordeal, or perform the ceremony 
of the homa, or facrifice to fire. 
Vrcehafpata is the god of literature ; and his attendants, 
the Veedyadharis, are beautiful young nymphs. 
Vcek-rama, is the god of victory. It is faid to have 
been the cuftom to facrifice a horfe to him, by letting 
him loofein a fore(t, and not again fubjeCting him to any 
work. 
Fame, as perfonified in Hindooltan, has feveral names ; 
and is reprefented as a ferpent with a variety of tongues. 
Darma Deva , is the god of virtue, reprefented by the 
figure of a white bull. 
VirJ'avana, is the god of riches, reprefented riding on a 
white horfe. He is like wife called Vitefa, Cuyera, and 
Paulafiya. He is fuppofed to be borne through the fky 
in a fplendid car, named Pufhpaca : to prefide over the 
northern regions, and to be the chief of the Yaklhas and 
Rakfiras, two lpecies of good and evil genii. 
Dhan-zuantary, is the god of medicine .—“ When life 
hath taken its departure, though Dan-wantary were thy 
pnyfician, what could he do ?“” 
Yam Rajah, or Darliam Rajah, feems to hold the fame 
offices with the Hindoos, that Pluto and Minos held 
•with the Greeks. He is judge of the dead, and ruler of 
the infernal regions. He bears a feeptre in his hand, and 
rides on a buffalo. He was begot by Sour, or the Sun, 
on a daughter of Bifoo-karma, great architect of the hea¬ 
venly ntanfions, and patron of artificers. Darham Rajah’s 
affiltants are CInter and Gopt. The former has the care of 
reporting the good, the latter, the bad, actions of man¬ 
kind. And, that th.de may be always known, two genii 
attend as fpies on every one of the human race.; the l'py 
of Chiter on the right, and that of Gopt on the left. As 
foon as any one dies, the Jamb outs, or meffengers of 
-death, convey his foul to Durham’s tribunal, where his 
actions are proclaimed, and fentence palled upon him. 
But Darham Rajah has no power over the fouls of thole 
holy men, whofe lives have been fpent in piety and bene¬ 
volence, uubiafled by the hope of reward or the dread 
of punifhmsnt. Tbefe are conveyed by genii to the 
upper regions of blifs, and are afterwards admitted to 
Mount, fupreme happinefs, or abforption in the univerlal 
fpirit, “ though not facia as to deltroy confcioufnejs in the 
divine efficace.” 
The god of love, has many epithets deferiptive of his 
powers; but the moft ufual one is Kama-diva, or “ the 
god of defire.” In the argument of a hymn to this deity, 
pubriffied at Calcutta, fir William Jones informs us, “ that, 
according to the Hindoo mythology, he was the fon of 
Maya, or the attracting power; that he was married to 
Retty., or affection ; and that his bolom-frknd is Valfant, 
O S T A N. 
the fpring: that he is reprefented as a beautiful youth, 
fometimes converfing with his mother, or confort, in 
the midft of gardens and temples; fometimes riding by 
moon-light on a parrot, attended by dancing girls, or 
nymphs, the foiemoft of whom bears his colours, which 
are a fiffi on a red ground: that his favourite place cf 
refort is a large traCt of country round Agra, and princi¬ 
pally the plain of Muttra, where Crilhen alfo and the 
nine Gopia ufually fpend the night with mufic and dance: 
that his bow is of fugar-cane, or flowers ; the firing, of 
bees; and that his five arrows are each pointed with an 
Indian bloffom, of a heating quality.” When Tanjcre 
was taken by the Englilh, a curious picture was found, 
reprefenting the god of love riding on an elephant, 
whole body was compofed of the figures of feven young 
women, entwined in fo whimfical but: ingenious a man¬ 
ner, as to exhibit the true fiiape of that enormous animal, 
Narcd, the fon of Bramha, is the Hermes, or Mercury, 
of the Hindoos. He is reprefented as a wife legifiator; 
great in arts and arms. Kis actions are the fubject of a 
Parana. The iaw-traCt, fuppofed to have been revealed 
by Nared, is at this hour cited by the Pundits or lawyers 
of Hindooltan. 
The grofs idol of Lingam, much refembles the Phallus 
of the Egyptians. A lamp is kept conftantly burning 
before it. As the Hindoos depend on their children for 
performing thofe ceremonies to their manes, which they 
believe tend to mitigate punifhment in a future ftate, 
they worfhip Lingam to obtain fecundity. Hufbands, 
whofe wives are barren, fend.them to worfhip Lingam at 
the temples; and it is faid, that the wives take pretty 
good care that their errand fliall be productive of the 
defired effect. 
The Hindoos, like the Greeks and Romans, have their 
demi-gods, who drink a beverage called Amrut; and 
their aerial fpirits, that occupy the fpace in which the 
globe revolves. Every mountain, wood, and river, has 
its genii and guardian deity. Nultus enim locus fine genio 
cji, qui per angucm pier-unique oflenditur. Serv. in PEneid.— 
The Greeks aferibed the difeafes to which frail mortality 
is expofed, to feme angry god, or evil genius, that is 
perpetually endeavotiring to deffroy the repofe and hap¬ 
pinefs of man: it is remarkable that the creed of the 
Hindoos is the very fame at this day. 
7 ’lie wars of the Indian gods and goddeffes againft the 
demons and giants, form an interefting legend among the 
ancient tales of the Brahmins, and tend undeniably to 
prove that the mythology of the ancient Egyptians, 
Ethiopians, Greeks, and Romans, had ail a common ori¬ 
gin with that of the Hindoos. The ftory of thefe wars 
is finely exprelfed in fculpture, of a vaff fize, on many of 
the walls in the interior of their temples. Among a 
number of thefe fculptures which are found at Mahaba- 
lipooran, or place of the Seven Pagodas, fituated about 
thirty-eight miles to the fouthward of Madras, in a temple 
dedicated to Siva, the curious traveller is ftruck with a 
moll fpirited representation cf the victory of Cali or 
Durga, wife of Siva, over the giant Mahifh A’Sura, or 
Yam-rajah, as exhibited in the annexed Engraving. 
Cali is here finely depicted, riding upon a fierce fngam, 
or lion, attended by a group of-warriors, male and female, 
with feveral dwarfs, to render her defeat of a tremendous 
giant the more extraordinary. She bears all her proper 
emblems in her numerous hands, very correCtly fculp- 
tured ; but, the lion probably not being known to the 
fculptor, he has formed the mane rather like an artificial 
covering, than curling hair. The Yam-rajah, or giant, 
is drawn of a prodigious fize, characterized by the head 
cf the Indian buffalo, the molt treacherous and deltruCtive 
of all their wild animals. For its figure and hillory, fee 
the article Bos, vol. iii. p. 225.—The objeCt of Cali in 
this combat, appears to be the refeue of a young princefs, 
whom the attendants of the Yam-rajah were carrying off 
to gratify his lultful appetite. She faints, and lies at his 
feet. 
