relinquished to Bharata by his father, on his retiring to the woods.1

Bharata, having religiously discharged (the duties of his station), consigned the kingdom to his son Sumati, a most virtuous prince, and, engaging in devout practices, abandoned his life at the holy place Sálagráma.* He was afterwards born again, as a Brahman, in a distinguished family of ascetics. I shall hereafter relate to you his history.

From the illustrious Sumati was born Indradyumna. His son was Parameshthin. His son was Pratihára, who had a celebrated son, named Pratihartŕi. His son was Bhava; † who begot Udgítha; who begot Prastá

allusions to the extension of the Jaina faith in the western parts of the Peninsula may serve to fix the limit of its probable antiquity to the eleventh or twelfth century, when the Jainas seem to have been flourishing in Gujerat and the Konkan. As. Res., Vol. XVII., p. 282.+

This etymology is given in other Puránas: but the Matsya and Vayu have a different one, deriving it from the Manu called Bharata, or the cherisher, one who rears or cherishes progeny: भरणान्तु प्रजानां वै मनुर्भरत इत्युच्यते । ६ निरुक्तवचनाच्चैव वर्षं तद्भारतं स्मृतम् ॥

The Vayu has, in another place, the more common explanation also: हिमाहं दक्षिणवर्षं तस्य (भरतस्य) नाम्ना विदुर्बुधाः ।

*

The translation is here a good deal compressed.

This name I find in two MSS. only. One of them is that which contains the smaller commentary. The ordinary reading is Bhuva. One MS. has Dhruva.

+

See Vol. I. of Professor Wilson's collected writings, p. 328.

§ This verse, in its second half, is hypercatalectic. On the subject of practical deviations from the rules laid down for the construction of the sloka, see Professor Gildemeister, Zeitschrift für die Kunde des Morgenlandes, Vol. V., pp. 260, et seq.

ra,* whose son was Prithu. The son of Prithu was Nakta. His son was Gaya. His son was Nara; whose son was Viráj. The valiant son of Viráj was Dhímat; who begot Mahanta; † whose son was Manasyu; whose son was Twashtri. His son was Viraja. His son was Raja. His son was Śatajit; who had a hundred sons, of whom Vishwagjyotis was the eldest. Under these princes, Bhárata-varsha (India) was divided into nine portions (to be hereafter particularized); and their descendants successively held possession of the country § for seventy-one periods of the aggregate of the four ages (or for the reign of a Manu).

1

This was the creation of Swayambhuva (Manu), by

1

The Agni, Kúrma, Márkańdeya, Linga, and Váyu Puránas agree with the Vishnu in these genealogical details. The Bhágavata has some additions and variations of nomenclature, but is not essentially different. It ends, however, with Śatajit, and cites a stanza ¶ which would seem to make Viraja the last of the descendants of Priyavrata:

*

प्रेयव्रतं वंशमिमं विरजश्वरमोद्भवः ।

अकरोदत्यलं की विष्णुः सुरगणं यथा ॥

Prastáva likewise occurs: and the smaller commentary has Prástávi. + Mahátman is a variant.

+ त्वष्टा त्वष्टुश्च विरजो रजस्तस्याप्यभूत्सुतः ।
शतजिद्रजसस्तस्य जज्ञे पुत्रशतं मुने ॥

Raja and Viraja, for Rajas and Virajas, are corruptions, such as one often meets with, of nouns in as. For Raja, as our text shows, Rajas also occurs. See, likewise, p. 86, supra.

§ Bháratí, in the Sanskrit.

At V., 15, the Bhagavata-purana traces Satajit as follows: Sumati, Devatajit, Devadyumna, Parameshthin, Pratiha, Pratihartŕi, Bhúman, Udgitha, Prastáva, Vibhu, Pŕithusheńa, Nakta, Gaya, Chitraratha, Samráj, Marichi, Bindumat, Madhu, Vira vrata, Manthu, Bhauvana, Twashtri, Viraja, Śatajit.

¶ V., 15, 14.

which the earth was peopled, when he presided over the first Manwantara, in the Kalpa of Varáha.1

The descendants of Priyavrata were the kings of the earth in the first or Swayambhuva Manwantara. Those of Uttánapáda, his brother, are placed, rather incongruously, in the second or Swarochisha Manwantara; whilst, with still more palpable inconsistency, Daksha, a descendant of Uttánapáda, gives his daughter to Kasyapa in the seventh or Vaivaswata Manwantara. It seems probable that the patriarchal genealogies are older than the chronological system of Manwantaras and Kalpas, and have been rather clumsily distributed amongst the different periods.

CHAPTER II.

Description of the earth. The seven Dwipas and seven seas. Jambu-dwípa. Mount Meru: its extent and boundaries. Extent of Ilávŕita. Groves, lakes, and branches, of Meru. Cities of the gods. Rivers. The forms of Vishnu worshipped in different Varshas.

MAITREYA. You have related to me, Brahman, the creation of Swayambhuva. I am now desirous to hear from you a description of the earth;-how many are its oceans and islands, its kingdoms and its mountains, its forests and rivers, and the cities of the gods, its dimensions, its contents, its nature, and its form.

PARÁSARA.-You shall hear, Maitreya, a brief account of the earth from me. A full detail I could not give you in a century.

The seven great insular continents are Jambu, Plaksha, Śálmali,* Kuśa, Krauncha, Sáka, and Pushkara; and they are surrounded, severally, by seven great seas, the sea of salt water (Lavana), of sugar-cane juice (Ikshu), of wine (Surá), of clarified butter (Sarpis), of curds (Dadhi), of milk (Dugdha), and of fresh water (Jala).1

'The geography of the Puránas occurs in most of these works, and, in all the main features,-the seven Dwipas, seven seas, the divisions of Jambu-dwípa, the situation and extend of Meru, and the subdivisions of Bhárata,-is the same. The Agni and Brahma are, word for word, the same with our text; and the Kúrma, Linga, Matsya, Márkańdeya, and Váyu present many

* Two MSS. which I have consulted give Śálmala.

Jambu-dwípa is in the centre of all these. And in the centre of this (continent) is the golden mountain

passages common to them and the Vishnu, or to one another. The Vayu, as usual, enters most fully into particulars. The Bhagavata differs, in its nomenclature of the subordinate details, from all, and is followed by the Padma. The others either omit the subject, or advert to it but briefly. The Mahábhárata, Bhishma Parvan, has an account essentially the same; and many of the stanzas are common to it and different Puránas. It does not follow the same order, and has some peculiarities; one of which is, calling Jambu-dwipa Sudarśana; such being the name of the Jambu-tree. It is said, also, to consist of two portions, called Pippala and Sasa, which are reflected in the lunar orb, as in a mirror.*

* Bháskara Áchárya, writing in the middle of the eleventh century, gives an abstract, avowedly drawn from the Puráñas, of some of the matters treated of in the present chapter. It would be curious to know what authority he followed; since many of the particulars enumerated by him are deviations from ordinary Pauráńik statements. His words are as follows:

"Venerable teachers have stated that Jambúdwipa embraces the whole northern hemisphere lying to the north of the salt sea, and that the other six Dwipas, and the [seven] Seas, viz., those of salt, milk, &c., are all situated in the southern hemisphere.

"To the south of the equator lies the salt sea, and, to the south of it, the sea of milk, whence sprang the nectar, the moon, and [the goddess] Śri, and where the omnipresent Vasudeva, to whose lotos-feet Brahma and all the gods bow in reverence, holds his favourite residence.

"Beyond the sea of milk lie, in succession, the seas of curds, clarified butter, sugar-cane juice, and wine, and, last of all, that of sweet water, which surrounds Vadavánala. The Pátálalokas [or infernal regions] form the concave strata of the earth.

"In those lower regions dwell the race of serpents [who live] in the light shed by the rays issuing from the multitude of the brilliant jewels of their crests, together with the multitude of Asuras; and there the Siddhas enjoy themselves with the pleasing persons of beautiful females, resembling the finest gold in purity.

"The Sáka, Sálmala, Kausa, Krauncha, Gomedaka, and Pushkara [Dwipas] are situated [in the intervals of the above-mentioned seas] in