________________
292
RELIGIOUS SECTS
deva, named TRIPŘISH'ÍHA, from having three back bones: his uncle and foe in a former life, Visabhánandi, was born as his Protagonist, or Prativásudeva, named AŚVAGRÍVA or HAYAGRÍVA, and was, in the course of events, destroyed by the Vásudeva, a palpable adaptation of the Pauránic legend of VISHNU and HAYAGRÍVA. TRIPŘISHTHA having put his Chamberlain cruelly to death was condemned to hell, and again born as a lion: he migrated through various forms, until he became the Chakravartti PRIYAMITRA, in the division of the world Mahavideha. After a victorious reign of eighty-four lakhs of years he became an ascetic for a further period of a hundred lakhs, and was then translated to one of the higher heavens. Thence he returned to earth in the Bharata division as NANDANA, the son of JITAŚATRU, who adopted a life of devotion and diligently adored the Jinas. After an existence of twenty-five lakhs of years he was raised to the dignity of king of the gods in the Pushpottara heaven, in which capacity he preserved his ancient faith, offering flowers to, and bathing daily the one hundred and eight images of the Arhats. Such exalted piety was now to meet with its reward, and the pains of existence were to be terminated in the person of the Tírthankara MaHÁvíra, or VARDDHAMÁNA.
On the return of the spirit of NANDANA to earth it first animated the womb of the wife of a Brahman, but MAHENDRA disapproving of the receptacle as of low caste transferred it to the womb of TRIŠALÁ, wife of SIDDHÁRTHA, of the family of Ikshváku, and prince
