This more than polypus power was once exerted by Krishna, on a curious occasion.
It happened in Dwarka, a splendid city built by Viswa-karma, by command of Krishna, on the sea-shore, in the province of Gazerat, that his musical associate, Nareda, had no wife or substitute; and he hinted to his friend the decency of sparing him one from his long catalogue of ladies. Krishna generously told him to win and wear any one he chose, not immediately in requisition for himself. Nareda accordingly went wooing to one house, but found his master there; to a second—he was again forestalled; a third, the same; to a fourth, fifth, the same: in fine, after the round of sixteen thousand of these domiciliary visits, he was still forced to sigh and keep single; for Krishna was in every house, variously employed, and so domesticated, that each lady congratulated herself on her exclusive and uninterrupted possession of the ardent deity.—Moor’s Hindu Pantheon, p. 204.
Eight of the chief gods have each their sacti, or energy, proceeding from them, differing from them in sex, but in every other respect exactly like them, with the same form, the same decorations, the same weapons, and the same vehicle.—Asiat. Res. 8vo, edit. vol. viii. p. 68. 82.
The manner in which this divine power is displayed by Kehama, in his combat with Yamen, will remind some readers of the Irishman, who brought in four prisoners, and being asked how he had taken them, replied, he had surrounded them.
The Amreeta,
or
Drink of Immortality.—XXIV. p. 129.
Mr Wilkins has given the genuine history of this liquor, which was produced by churning the sea with a mountain.
“There is a fair and stately mountain, and its name is Meroo, a most exalted mass of glory, reflecting the sunny rays from the splendid surface of its gilded horns. It is clothed in gold, and is the respected haunt of Dews and Gandharvas. It is inconceivable, and not to be encompassed by sinful man; and it is guarded by dreadful serpents. Many celestial medicinal plants adorn its sides; and it stands, piercing the heaven with its aspiring summit, a mighty hill, inaccessible even by the human mind. It is adorned with trees and pleasant streams, and resoundeth with the delightful songs of various birds.
“The Soors, and all the glorious hosts of heaven, having ascended to the summit of this lofty mountain, sparkling with precious gems, and for eternal ages raised, were sitting in solemn synod, meditating the discovery of the Amreeta, the Water of Immortality. The Dew Narayan being also there, spoke unto Brahma, whilst the Soors were thus consulting together, and said, ‘Let the Ocean, as a pot of milk, be churned by the united labour of the Soors and Asoors; and when the mighty waters have been stirred up, the Amreeta shall be found. Let them collect together every medicinal herb, and every precious thing, and let them stir the Ocean, and they shall discover the Amreeta.’
“There is also another mighty mountain, whose name is Mandar, and its rocky summits are like towering clouds. It is clothed in a net of the entangled tendrils of the twining creeper, and resoundeth with the harmony of various birds. Innumerable savage beasts infest its borders; and it is the respected haunt of Kennars, Dews, and Apsars. It standeth eleven thousand Yojan above the earth, and eleven thousand more below its surface.
“As the united bands of Dews were unable to remove this mountain, they went before Veeshnoo, who was sitting with Brahma, and addressed them in these words: ‘Exert, O masters! your most superior wisdom to remove the mountain Mandar, and employ your utmost power for our good.’