________________
FEBRUARY 1897.] THE DEVIL WORSHIP OF THE TULUVAS.
and spitting at each other, and swallowing and sucking at each other, and bawling. In this manner they came before lévara, and prostrated themselves before his feet, and begged him to give them his orders. Isvara commanded them, saying: "All of you must now come with me to Vaikuntha. The god Narayana is there. He is the Lord of us all. Let us pay him a visit, and return."
49
At this, the great demons came out very joyfully and descended fram Kailasa. Îsvara and Pârvati, sitting on a bull dancing like a black-boc, with trampots and pipos and drums playing, came down from Kailåsa to Vaikuntha. At that time the door-keeper Jaya spoke to Vijaya thus:-"O Vijaya, tell me, who is this coming with so much grandeur ?"
He said :—"This is lávara coming to pay a visit to the god. demons is with him! What is this? Where were all these demons? space to sit or move ?"
While they were yet speaking, the demons came before and lévara came behind them, When they approached the gate, Jaya and Vijaya quickly got up and stood before the gate with clasped hands, saying: "Be gracious unto us poor gate-keepers; we are always keeping the gate."
What a multitude of Where will they get
So saying and praising him, they kept their post as before. In this manner, Isvara entered in and began to praise Narayana, and Brahmâ also praised Narayana. After both of them had finished praising him, Narayana asked Isvara: "O lávara, are you dwelling in Kailasa as in former times, or are you worse off than formerly ?"
Isvara answered: -"By thy grace I have been happy till now."
In this manner, while Brahmâ, Vishnu, and Isvara were speaking for a long time, the god Narayana perspired. Then he scratched his arm-pit. Then some of his perspiration dropped down upon the earth, and out of that perspiration a great boar was born. He came upon every one and drove every one before him. At this, the followers of iévara and the gods were astonished exceedingly, and asked the god Narayana: "What is this? Whence is this boar? Where has he been so long? What is the cause of this? Please tell us."
When all the gods asked this of the god Narayana, he said unto them: "O ye gods, hearken. In the world wickedness is increased among men, and they commit great sins. Therefore I have created a boar by my perspiration, and, giving a name to it, I have sent it to give trouble to the sinners, in order to humble them and make them wise."
Then the boar came sighing, grunting and roaring, and striking the earth with its tusks, and digging up the earth with both its fore legs as well as hind legs, and digging a pit and falling and leaping came to the god; and stood before, him trembling in anger, and trembled more and more. Then the god Narayana said to Brahmâ and isvara:-"Behold, the boar is dumb and cannot speak. Therefore it has now come to me that I may give it speech, and is trembling in anger. But now I will take away its form of a boar and give it in a minute before your very eyes the form of a big Bhúta, which is the form of a big man."
So saying, he took hold of the tusks of the boar and lifted it up and threw it away. At onco the form of the boar was changed into the form of a man as tall as a cocoanat-tree. Seeing this being, all the gods were very much astonished, and said:-"O Lord, thou art the creator of the men of the fourteen worlds and of all the eighty-four lakhs of species of animals. To thee it is not at all difficult to create this Bhûta. We know that thou art a great magician. Thon art very glorious."
While the gods were thus praising him, the man in the form of a Bhûta leapt and came to the god and began to tremble. And yet he could not open his mouth without the permission of the god; and because he could not open his mouth he felt great distress. Then the god, knowing this, said to him:-" Speak now and beg of me whatever is in your mind; be no more in
distress."
