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.