8

AGNI-DAGDHAS—AHALYĀ.

'lotus in hand;' Dhuma-ketu, whose sign is smoke;' Hutāsa or Huta-bhuj, 'devourer of offerings;' Suchi or Sukra, the bright;' Rohitaswa, 'having red horses;' Chhaga-ratha, 'ramrider;' Jāta vedas (q.v.); Sapta-jihva, 'seven-tongued;' Tomaradhara, 'javelin-bearer.'

AGNI-DAGDHAS. Pitris, or Manes, who when alive kept up the household flame and presented oblations with fire. Those who did not do so were called An-agni dagdhas. See Pitris.

AGNI PURANA. This Purāna derives its name from its having been communicated originally by Agni, the deity of fire, to the Muni Vasishtha, for the purpose of instructing him in the twofold knowledge of Brahmā. Its contents are variously specified as "sixteen thousand, fifteen thousand, and fourteen thousand stanzas." This work is devoted to the glorification of Siva, but its contents are of a very varied and cyclopædical character. It has portions on ritual and mystic worship, cosmical descriptions, chapters on the duties of kings and the art of war, which have the appearance of being extracted from some older work, a chapter on law from the text-book of Yajnawalkya, some chapters on medicine from the Susruta, and some treatises on rhetoric, prosody, and grammar according to the rules of Pingala and Panini. Its motley contents "exclude it from any legitimate claims to be regarded as a Purana, and prove that its origin cannot be very remote." The text of this Purāna is now in course of publication in the Bibliotheca Indica, edited by Rajendra Lal Mitra.

AGNISHWATTAS.

Pitris or Manes of the gods, who

when living upon earth did not maintain their domestic fires or offer burnt-sacrifices. According to some authorities they were descendants of Marichi. They are also identified with the seasons. See Pitris.

AGNIVESA. A sage, the son of Agni, and an early writer on medicine.

AHALYA. Wife of the Rishi Gautama, and a very beautiful woman. In the Rāmāyana it is stated that she was the first woman made by Brahma, and that he gave her to Gautama. She was seduced by Indra, who had to suffer for his adultery. One version of the Ramayana represents her as knowing the god and being flattered by his condescension; but another version states that the god assumed the form of her husband, and

so deceived her. Another story is that Indra secured the help of the moon, who assumed the form of a cock and crowed at midnight. This roused Gautama to his morning's devotions, when Indra went in and took his place. Gautama expelled Ahalyā from his hermitage, and deprived her of her prerogative of being the most beautiful woman in the world, or, according to another statement, he rendered her invisible. She was restored to her natural state by Rama and reconciled to her husband. This seduction is explained mythically by Kumarila Bhatta as Indra (the sun's) carrying away the shades of night-the name Ahalya, by a strained etymology, being made to signify 'night.'

A serpent.

AHI. A serpent. A name of Vritra, the Vedic demon of drought but Ahi and Vritra are sometimes" 'distinct, and mean, most probably, differently formed clouds."-Wilson.

AHI-CHHATRA, AHI-KSHETRA. A city mentioned in the Maha-bhārata as lying north of the Ganges, and as being the capital of Northern Panchala. It is apparently the Adisadra of Ptolemy, and its remains are visible near Ram-nagar.

AINDRI. 'Son of Indra.' An appellation of Arjuna.

AIRĀVATA. A fine elephant.' An elephant produced at the churning of the ocean, and appropriated by the god Indra. The derivation of this name is referred to the word Iravat, signifying produced from water.' He is guardian of one of the points of the compass. See Loka-pāla.

AITAREYA. The name of a Brahmana, an Āranyaka, and an Upanishad of the Rig-veda. The Brahmana has been edited. and translated by Dr. Haug; the text of the Aranyaka has been published in the Bibliotheca Indica by Rajendra Lala, and there is another edition. The Upanishad has been translated by Dr. Roer in the same series. "The Aitareya Aranyaka consists of five books, each of which is called Aranyaka. The second and third books form a separate Upanishad, and a still further subdivision here takes place, inasmuch as the four last sections of the second book, which are particularly consonant with the doctrines of the Vedanta system, pass as the Aitareyopanishad."-Weber.

AJA. Unborn.' An epithet applied to many of the gods. A prince of the Solar race, sometimes said to be the son of Raghu, at others the son of Dilipa, son of Raghu. He was the husband chosen at her swayam-vara by Indumati, daughter of the Rāja of Vidarbha, and was the father of Dasaratha and

grandfather of Rama. The Raghu-vansa relates how on his way to the swayam-vara he was annoyed by a wild elephant and ordered it to be shot. When the elephant was mortally wounded, a beautiful figure issued from it, which declared itself a gandharva who had been transformed into a mad elephant for deriding a holy man. The gandharva was delivered, as it had been foretold to him, by Aja, and he gave the prince some arrows which enabled him to excel in the contest at the swayam-vara. When Dasaratha grew up, Aja ascended to Indra's heaven.

ĀJAGAVA. The primitive bow' of Siva, which fell from heaven at the birth of Prithu.

AJĀMILA. A Brāhman of Kanauj, who married a slave and had children, of whom he was very fond.

AJATA-SATRU. 'One whose enemy is unborn.' 1. A king of Kāsī, mentioned in the Upanishads, who was very learned, and, although a Kshatriya, instructed the Brahman Gárgya-bālāki. 2. A name of Siva. 3. Of Yudhi-shthira. A king of Mathura who reigned in the time of Buddha. AJAYA-PALA. Author of a Sanskrit vocabulary of some

repute.

4.

AJĪGARTTA. A Brahman Rishi who sold his son Sunahsephas to be a sacrifice.

AJITA. 'Unconquered.' A title given to Vishnu, Siva, and many others. There were classes of gods bearing this name in several Manwantaras.

AKRŪRA. A Yadava and uncle of Krishna. He was son of Swa-phalka and Gandini. It was he who took Krishna and Rāma to Mathura when the former broke the great bow. He is chiefly noted as being the holder of the Syamantaka gem.

AKSHA. The eldest son of Ravana, slain by Hanuman. Also a name of Garuda.

AKSHAMĀLĀ. A name of Arundhati (q.v.).

ĀKULI. An Asura priest. See Kilātākuli.

AKŪPĀRA. A tortoise or turtle. The tortoise on which the earth rests.

AKŪTI. A daughter of Manu Swayambhuva and Sata-rupā, whom he gave to the patriarch Ruchi. She bore twins, Yajna and Dakshina, who became husband and wife and had twelve sons, the deities called Yamas.

ALAKA. The capital of Kuvera and the abode of the

ALAKA-NANDA-AMARU-SATAKA.

II

gandharvas on Mount Meru. It is also called Vasu-dhārā, Vasu-sthali, and Prabhā.

ALAKA-NANDĀ. One of the four branches of the river Ganga, which flows south to the country of Bharata. This is said by the Vaishnavas to be the terrestrial Ganga which Siva received upon his head.

ALAMBUSHA.

A great Rakshasa worsted by Satyaki in the great war of the Maha-bharata, and finally killed by Ghafotkacha. He is said to be a son of Rishyasringa.

ALAYUDHA. A Rakshasa killed after a fierce combat by Ghatotkacha in the war of the Mahā-bhārata (Fauche, ix. 278). AMARA-KANTAKA. 'Peak of the immortals.' A place of pilgrimage in the table-land east of the Vindhyas.

AMARA-KOSHA. This title may be read in two ways—'the immortal vocabulary,' or, more appropriately, 'the vocabulary of Amara or Amara Sinha.' "The oldest vocabulary hitherto known, and one of the most celebrated vocabularies of the classical Sanskrit." It has been the subject of a great number of commentaries. The text has been often printed. There is an edition published in India with an English interpretation and annotations by Colebrooke, and the text with a French translation has been printed by Deslongchamps.

AMARA SINHA. The author of the vocabulary called Amara-kosha. He was one of the nine gems of the court of Vikrama. (See Nava-ratna.) Wilson inclines to place him in the first century B.C. Lassen places him about the middle of the third century A.D., and others incline to bring him down later. AMARĀVATI. The capital of Indra's heaven, renowned for its greatness and splendour. It is situated somewhere in the vicinity of Meru. It is sometimes called Deva-pura, 'city of the gods,' and Pusha-bhāsā, 'sun-splendour.'

A title of

AMARESWARA. 'Lord of the immortals.' Vishnu, Siva, and Indra. Name of one of the twelve great lingas. See Linga.

AMARU-SATAKA. A poem consisting of a hundred stanzas written by a king named Amaru, but by some attributed to the philosopher Sankara, who assumed the dead form of that king for the purpose of conversing with his widow. The verses are of an erotic character, but, like many others of the same kind, a religious or philosophical interpretation has been found for them.

There is a translation in French by Apudy with the text, and a translation in German by Rückert.

AMBA. 'Mother.' 1. A name of Durgā. 2. The eldest daughter of a king of Kasi. She and her sisters Ambika and Ambālika were carried off by Bhishma to be the wives of Vichitravirya. Ambā had been previously betrothed to a Raja of Salwa, and Bhishma sent her to him, but the Rāja rejected her because she had been in another man's house. She retired to the forest and engaged in devotion to obtain revenge of Bhishma. Siva favoured her, and promised her the desired vengeance in another birth. Then she ascended the pile and was born again as Sikhandin, who slew Bhishma.

AMBĀLIKĀ. The younger widow of Vichitra-virya and mother of Pandu by Vyasa. See Maha-bharata.

AMBARISHA. 1. A king of Ayodhya, twenty-eighth in descent from Ikshwaku. (See Sunahsephas.) 2. An appellation of Siva. 3. Name of one of the eighteen hells.

AMBASHTHA. A military people inhabiting a country of the same name in the middle of the Panjab; probably the 'Außárra of Ptolemy. 2. The medical tribe in Manu. Αμβάσται

AMBIKĀ. 1. A sister of Rudra, but in later times identified with Umā. 2. Elder widow of Vichitra-virya and mother of Dhrita-rashtra by Vyasa. See Maha-bharata.

The

AMBIKEYA. A metronymic applicable to Ganesa, Skanda, and Dhrita-rashtra. AMNAYA. Sacred tradition. The Vedas in the aggregate. AMRITA. 'Immortal.' A god. The water of life. term was known to the Vedas, and seems to have been applied to various things offered in sacrifice, but more especially to the Soma juice. It is also called Nir-jara and Piyusha. In later times it was the water of life produced at the churning of the ocean by the gods and demons, the legend of which is told with some variations in the Rāmāyana, the Mahā-bhārata, and the Puranas. The gods, feeling their weakness, having been worsted by the demons, and being, according to one authority, under the ban of a holy sage, repaired to Vishnu, beseeching him for renewed vigour and the gift of immortality. He directed them to churn the ocean for the Amrita and other precious things which had been lost. The story as told in the Vishnu Purāna has been rendered into verse by Professor Williams thus: