T H E P R I N C I P A L D I V I N I T I E S O F I N D I A N M Y T H O L O G Y.
It is scarcely possible for any religion to possess a more metaphysical and abstract character, than the creeds of the various sects which distinguish India. They present, however, too much interest to enable us to dispense with a few of the leading ones among them, this work not having for its object a deep research into obscure mysteries, but is meant to excite useful and pleasing ideas, without entering into elaborate explanations.
This deity, according to the Hindoos, is the Eternal, the Creator! and is one of the three members of the Indian Trinity.
Previous to his commencing the grand work of creating the world, and all that it contains, he passed thirty six millions of years contemplating the panorama of Chaos, which was spread out before him.
He then produced seven starry spheres, the Earth, and its two luminaries, with seven inferior regions, lit by the sparkling light of eight Carbuncles, placed on the heads of the same number of Serpents. He next proceeded to the creation of the beings who were to people it, in the accomplishment of which, he was aided by the pure spirits who surrounded him.
The earth, being yet uninhabited, he made the first man and the first woman wherewith to people it.
Brahma is the object of the most ancient adoration of the Brahmins; he is considered the intelligence who existed before time, and will continue throughout eternity: he watches over the events of each age and revolution of the universe; he is the power by which everything was created, and everything is sustained; he is the invisible head of the Brahmins, and as such, is worshipped by them with devoted respect.
The Hindoos invoke him regularly morning and evening, and throw water from the palms of their hands upon the ground, and towards the sun, which they adore as the likeness of the Eternal, while at mid-day, they renew their homage by the offer of a flower.
The Hindoo painters always represent Brahma with four heads and four faces, analagous to the four cardinal points, and long beards descending from his four chins. In his four hands he holds the mysterious chain, to which are suspended the worlds, and the book of the law; the pencil to write it, and the fire of sacrifice.
Vishnu, the second deity of the Indian Trinity, is considered as the preserver of the world, which Brahma has created out of nothingness. He descended on the earth by a sacrifice of which he alone was capable, and to save it from certain ruin, submitted to all the weaknesses of humanity.
He became teacher, warrior, and prophet, that he might leave to
the world on his quitting it, the model of a man. He resided in the centre of the worlds, and all the worlds were in him.
Vishnu is usually represented near his wife, whom he enfolds in his arms. His complexion is blue, his eyes are like the flowers of the lotos, and his visage burns with an eternal youth. He is strong and vigorous in appearance, his four hands are sometimes raised, as if in the act of blessing the human race, while on his head is placed a triple storied crown.
In the middle of his side sparkles the magnificent diamond in which all things are reflected; while garments of a costly price clothe his noble form.
To him are consecrated the eagle, the hawk, and the bee; at his side is placed a fantastic kind of bird, a beautiful mixture of the man and of the eagle.
The faith of Vishnu is spread over all India.
SIVA
is the third person of the Indian Trinity, and is the destroyer, as opposed to Brahma, who creates, and to Vishnu, who preserves.
According to the Hindoos, who believe in the doctrine of metempsychosis, the spirit passes from one form to another. To be born, is to appear under a new shape; to die, is to appear no longer under the same form.
But, as it is impossible to disown destruction, as regards material things, they admit the existence of a god, whose power was of a double nature, and who could destroy and produce at the same time.
Siva is drawn with five heads, four hands, and three eyes in his principal head. He is carried by a bull, and holds in his hands a trident and a dwarf stag.
When they would paint him menacing and terrible, his sharp teeth start from his gums; fire breathes from his lips; and human sculls form his diadem. Serpents are entwining round his waist; the sword and the lance sparkle in his hands, and the tiger has taken the place of the bull; while his body assumes the appearance of a white cinder, a terrible symbol of his implacable rage.
BUDDH.
This is the being from whom the enormous number of followers take their stand, under the title of Bouddhism, and with whom
christianity alone has the power of claiming an equal number of followers.
The books of his priests signalize twelve great epochs in his career, classed and entitled as follows:—
1. The celestial origin of Buddh.
2. His miraculous and divine conception in the bosom of a mortal mother.
3. His birth.
4. His progress in wisdom.
5. His marriage and royal splendour.
6. His retreat from the world.
7. His life as a hermit.
8. His appearance, whereby he is known as a saint.
9. His predictions.
10. His victory over the six chiefs of the earth.
11. The end of his career.
12. His burial.
The doctrine of this deity is founded on the principle that the universe is animated by one spirit, and recommends ten precepts, which are,—
1. Not to kill.
2. Not to steal.
3. To be chaste.
4. Not to bear false testimony.
5. Not to speak untruly.
6. Not to swear.
7. To avoid all impure words.
8. To be disinterested.
9. To forgive injuries.
10. Not to be superstitious.
This religion, all peace and all love, prescribes gentleness and pity, abolishing the brutalizing and tyrannical distinction of castes, and invites the world to peace, life eternal, and to the identification of spirits with the supreme essence.
The grand lama is the Supreme priest of one of the great parties of this church, which has its principal home in Thibet; and the veneration of his votaries for this human representative of their god, is celebrated over Europe.
Below this sovereign pontiff, are patriarchs charged with the spiritual government of the provinces; a council of lamas who
assemble in conclave, and whose insignia answer to those of the cardinals of the Roman church. They admit oral confession, and make prayers for the dead.
The images of Buddh are multiplied in great numbers in all the pagodas of India, of Tartary, of China, and the countries of Asia. He is represented on a mat, his limbs crossed, his bust stiff, and his head elevated in an imposing attitude, announcing both instruction and education.
In ordinary cases he is naked and of a black colour, and with the bosom of a female.
Near him are groups of domestic animals, in allusion to the gentleness of the worship of this deity, which forbids the shedding of blood.
Beside the superior gods whom we have described, the numerous populations of India recognize a crowd of secondary divinities, whose history approaches in many instances to those of the Greek and Roman deities, and if their legends offer an interest by their singularity, they prove at the same time, that the founders of these various faiths have sought to give them a character of obscurity, that they may agree with the general mysticism of the East.
The fables of India, essentially metaphysical and philosophical, are less agreeable than those of the people of the West, who indulge their sensual ideas to a considerable extent.
Below the Supreme being, whose belief is spread among all nations, are placed the embodyings of the principal god: then, (of
an order still less important,) are placed idols of all kinds, and of all forms, adored by these ignorant and credulous people.
Of the many deities of the second category, the most remarkable is Ganga, who is the river Ganges personified, a river sacred alone to the Hindoos.
"A stream descends in Meru mountain,
None hath seen its secret fountain;
It had its birth, so sages say,
Upon the memorable day
When Parvati presumed to lay,
In wanton play,
Her hands, too venturous goddess, in her mirth,
On Seeva's eyes, the light and life of earth.
Thereat the heart of the Universe stood still;
The elements ceased their influences; the hours
Stopt in the eternal round; motion and breath,
Time, change, and life, and death,
In sudden trance opprest, forgot their powers.
A moment and the dread eclipse was ended,
But, at the thought of nature thus suspended,
The sweat on Seeva's forehead stood,
And Ganges thence upon the world descended,
The holy river, the redeeming flood.
None hath seen its secret fountain,
But on the top of Meru mountain
Which rises o'er the hills of earth,
In light and clouds, it hath its mortal birth:
Earth seems that pinnacle to rear,
Sublime above this worldly sphere,
Its cradle, and its altar, and its throne:
And there the new born river lies,
Outspread beneath its native skies,
As if it there would love to dwell,
Alone and unapproachable."
Southey.
To perform their ablutions in its waters, to die on its brink, to be thrown after death into its waves, are the supreme happiness of
the disciples of Vishnu and of Brahma. The dying carcasses are generally abandoned to the current of the wave.
The most famous of their places of worship is that point of the peninsula, where the Ganges, suddenly abandoning the mountains, is precipitated down the plains of Hindostan. A temple is elevated in the middle of the waters, and surmounted by two cupolas.
Here are constantly assembled a large crowd of pilgrims, and a willing contribution is paid to the Brahmins. The two sexes bathe together, while the most rigid of the devotees walk to the bath escorted by two Brahmins.
"How sweetly Ganga smiles and glides
Luxuriant o'er her broad Autumnal bed!
Her waves perpetual verdure spread,
Whilst health and plenty deck her golden sides:
As when an eagle, child of light,
O'er her eyry proudly reared,
Sits brooding and her plumage vast expands,
Thus Ganga o'er her cherished lands,
To Brahma's grateful race endeared,
Throws wide her fostering arms, and on her banks divine,
Sees temples, groves, and glittering towers, that in her crystal shine.
"What name, sweet bride, will best allure,
Thy sacred ear, and give the honour due?
Vishnupedi? mild Bhishmasu?
Smooth Suranimnaga? Trisrota pure?
By that I call; its power confess:
With growing gifts thy suppliants bless,
Who with full sails in many a light-oared boat,
On thy jasper bosom float;
Nor frown, dread goddess, on a peerless race,
With liberal heart and martial grace,
Wafted from colder isles remote:
As they preserve our laws and bid our terror cease,
So be their darling laws preserved, in wealth, in joy, in peace!"
Sir W. Jones.
The elephant plays a prominent part in the Hindoo tales. They pretend that the world is sustained by four of these animals, who are placed at the four cardinal points. In most of their temples one of them is sure to be seen.
His colour is white, his tusks are sometimes four in number, and all his body is covered with carpet, sparkling in the light of diamonds and precious stones.
The Hindoos revere also a large serpent as a god:
"'The god! the very god!' he cried, and howled
One long, shrill, piercing, modulated cry;
Whereat from that dark temple issued forth
A serpent, huge and hideous. On he came,
Straight to the sound, and curled around the priest
His mighty folds innocuous, overtopping
His human height, and arching down his head,
Sought in their hands for food.
Then quitting, reared, and stretched and waved his neck
And glanced his forky tongue."
Southey.
A cow, of whom the gods disputed the possession, is also worshipped by them; she was obtained by one of them through a stratagem very like that employed by Jupiter with Europa.
They pay homage also to peculiar divinities, such as the goddess of pleasure, and the god of war.
The former was fabled, like Venus, to have arisen from the sea when agitated by the gods.
The poetry of the East frequently alludes to fairies of great and
exquisite beauty, who people the air, the earth, the rivers, and the woods, and are placed by them among the inferior divinities.
Camdeo, the god of love, takes the same standing in the East, as Cupid in the mythology of which we have already treated; though the Indian description of his person and his arms, his family, attendants and attributes, has new and peculiar characteristics.
He is represented as a beautiful youth, sometimes conversing with his mother and consort, in the midst of his gardens and temples. His bow of sugar-cane or flowers, with a string of bees, and his five
arrows, each pointed with an Indian blossom of a heating quality, are allegories equally new and beautiful.
This deity is adored in India, under a great number of names, Camdeo, however, being the one by which he is best known, and under which he is most worshipped.
"What potent god from Agra's orient bowers,
Floats through the lucid air while living flowers,
With sunny twine the vocal arbours wreathe,
And gales enamoured, heavenly fragrance breathe?
Hail power unknown! for at thy beck
Vales and groves their bosoms deck,
And every laughing blossom dresses
With gems of dew, his musky tresses.
I feel, I feel thy genial flame divine,
And hallow thee and kiss thy shrine.
"'Knowest thou not me?' celestial sounds I hear!
'Knowest thou not me? Ah! spare a mortal ear!
Behold—' my swimming eyes entranced I raise,
But oh! they sink before the excessive blaze.
Yes, son of Maya, yes, I know
Thy bloomy shafts and cany bow,
Cheeks with youthful glory beaming,
Locks in braids ethereal streaming,
Thy scaly standards, thy mysterious arms,
And all thy pains, and all thy charms.
'O thou for ages born, yet ever young,
For ages may thy Brahmins' lay be sung!
And when thy glory spreads his emerald wings
To waft thee high above the tower of kings,
Whilst o'er thy throne the moon's pale light
Pours her soft radiance through the night,
And to each floating cloud discovers,
The haunts of blessed or joyless lovers,
Thy mildest influence to thy bard impart,
To warm, but not consume his heart."
Sir W. Jones.
