[1151] See chap. XLI. p. 220.
[1152] See chap, on Mahâyâna, VI.
[1153] A convenient statement of what is known about this cult will be found in Bhandarkar, Vaishnavism and Saivism, part II. chap. XVI.
[1154] Chap. 60. 19. The work probably dates from about 650 A.D.
[1155] Chap. 139. See, for extracts from the text, Aufrecht. Cat. Cod. Sansc. p. 30.
[1156] For Śâkadvîpa see Vishnu, p. II. IV. where it is said that Brahmans are called there Mṛiga or Maga and Kshattriyas Mâgadha. The name clearly means the country of the Śâkas who were regarded as Zoroastrians, whether they were Iranian by race or not. But the topography is imaginary, for in this fanciful geography India is the central continent and Śakadvîpa the sixth, whereas if it means Persia or the countries of the Oxus it ought to be near India.
[1157] The Garuḍa may itself be of Persian provenance, for birds play a considerable part in Persian mythology.
[1158] The Aivyâonghen of the Avesta.
[1159] Watters, vol. II. 254, and Life, chap. IV.
[1160] Târanâtha, tr. Schiefner, p. 128, and Vincent Smith's remarks in Early History, p. 347, note 2.