________________
28
THE INDIAN ANTIQUARY
but the sight of a part, however large, is celestial regions is held in great respect by inauspicious,
the gods and purifies the heavenly bodies, According to the Puranas, the milky way just as the earthly Ganges washes away the or ākäsh-ganga is the celestial river Ganga worst sins of mortals, wbich was brought down by Bhagirath to Some people, however, believe the milky the earth.2 King Sagar once performed an way to be the track by which the holy ashwa-medha sacrifice, when, according to Ganges descended from heaven to earth. 'custom, he let loose a horse, and sent his Another belief is that the God Vishnu, at sixty thousand sons with it. Indra, jealous the time of his Váman (or Dwarf) incarnaof the growing power of Sagar, stole the tion, touched the ina i, e., the Egg) in his horse and concealed it in the hermitage of third footstep and thus caused a flow of Kapila, when the sage was deeply absorbed waters, which is known as ākāsh-ganga. in religious meditation. The sixty thousand Some suppose the milky way to be a ladder sons of Sagar followed it to this asylum, leading to the heavens, Astrologers call where they taunted and insulted the sage, it Vatsā, a fictitious creature with numerous believing him to be the thief. Kapila, who horns, mouths, and tails. According to was ignorant of the theft, opened his long- another belief, the milky way consists of two closed cyes in anger, emitting sparks of rekhas-lines--one of sin and the other of flame from them, and destroyed the sons good and meritorious actions. The length of Sagar together with the whole of of one line compared to the other betokens their army. Bhagirath, the grandson of the predominance of good or evil as the Sagar, propitiated the sage, and on his advice case may be. The milky way is also suppractiscd religious austerities in honour of posed to be the track left by the rath or car Shiva for the purpose of bringing down the of Ramachandra, 10 River Ganga from heaven. Through the Akash-ganga or the milky way is said to kindness of God Shiva, Bhagirath was at last consist of one crore and eighty lacs of successful in bringing the celestial river stars,11 If a man cannot perceive the milky down to this world, and with the water of way in the sky, his end is believed to be near the river he revived the sons of Sagar. The at hand.13 River Ganga (i, e., the Ganges) in this world. The Musalmans declare the milky way is therefore also known by the name of Bha- to be the track formed by the footstep girathi. It is this heavenly river which of the horse of the Prophet Muhammad, we see as the milky way. Like the sacred on the occasion of his night-journey to Ganges on the earth, the river Ganga in the Heaven?
Mr. D. K. Shah, Charadwah, * Mr. Jairam Vasaram, Jodia, and B, K. Dave, Kotda-Sangani. Mr. Vallabh Ramji, Mendardā.
• Mr. N. D. Vora, Rajpara. • Mr. Nandlal Kalidas, Chhatrasa.
• Mr. Jethalal Anupram, Aman, 1 Mr. Jairam Vasaram, Jodia,
• Mr. N, M. Dave. Sänkā. 9 Mr. D. K. Pandya, Dhbank,
10 Mr. K. B. Fazlullah. 11 Mr. G. K. Bhall, Songadh.
12 Mr. Hirji Monji, Ganod, • When a king desired to be Chakravarti-Sovereiga of all India-be used to perform a horse-sacrifice, and a horse was let loose with a copper-plate fastened to its head with the name of the king engraved upon the plate, . The horse moved in front followed by the king's army. Those who were not willing to acknowledge the suzerainty of the king challenged his army by seizing the horse. Such a horse-sacrifice, if successfully completed, threatens the power of Indra, wbo is therefore said to be very jealous and to create obstacles to the performance of such sacrifices-K, D. Desai.
