1 THE MODERN HINDUS. 41
2 goddess of learning. Lakhshmi is dressed in yellow garments, She sits
3 on a snake, rides on a bird; her dwelling is in water, but she is constantly
4 moving, and never remains in one place.
5 Ganesh, represented by a corpulent man, with his elephant head and
6 four hands, sits on a rat. He is the son of the goddess Durga. He has
7 power over civil matters. Go to a banker’s and you will find the image
8 of Ganesh painted on the door; go to a bania’s shop and the figure
9 of Ganesh, on a prominent part of the wall, will be the first object to
10 attract your eye. All men of business keep his image as an emblem of
11 protection. Letters are commenced in his name; a person, when beginning
12 to read, first salutes him, and the title pages of account books are decorated
13 with his likeness in satfron. A traveller, when stepping out of his house
14 to undertake a journey, invokes Ganesh in the words: “O thou who
15 solvest every difficulty, make my journey successful.”
16 The goddess Durga is represented as having ten arms, with which
17 she holds many instruments of war. She is the great destroyer of giants,
18 and with that object took many births. She is also called Séti and Parvati,
19 . and festivals in her honour are very popular.
20 Kali is another lady famous for her military exploits. She is quite
21 worthy of her husband Shiva, being represented as a black Medusa, with
22 snakes for hair and every characteristic of horror and dread. She once
23 obtained a victory over a certain giant, and was so much pleased that
24 she danced till the earth shook to its foundations, and many were killed.
25 Finding, then, that her own husband, Shiva, was among the dead, she
26 was struck with horror, put out her tongue to an enormous length and
27 remained motionless as a statue, in which attitude she is represented.
28 Saraswati, the goddess of learning, is represented as a white woman.
29 She stands on a water-lily and plays on the lute. She has the special
30 gift of making men learned and eloquent, and festivals are held in her
31 honour with great rejoicings.
32 Among the terrestrial gods may be mentioned Krishna, the famous
33 piper,*who enchanted alike milkmaids and princesses. While only a boy
34 of eight, he puzzled the gods of heaven, who, becoming angry with the
35 villagers, had sent terrible storms of hail, rain and wind against them.
36 Men and cattle were dying, when the hero picked up the sacred mountain
37 Goverdhan and held it like an umbrella over the heads of the villagers
38 and their cattle, thus saving their lives. He flirted with sixteen thousand
39 milkmaids at once. This prodigious character was accidentally killed by
40 an arrow which struck him while sitting under a tree. He is regarded,
41 not merely as an incarnation, but as Vishnu himself, and is worshipped
42 by all wealthy Hindus and by nearly all the women.
43 Rama, one of the incarnations of Vishnu, is the hero of the epic poem
44 Ramayana. Rdm signifies “happy” or “he who makes happy.” The name
45 of this deity is intimately connected with the Hindu conception of divine
46 power, and it is from him that the Hindu salutation, “Rém Rém !” meaning
47 “happiness,” or “may you be happy,” is derived. He is credited with
48 many adventures with Hanuman, the monkey-god.
49 The Dkanurveda, or the knowledge of weapons and arms, personified as
50 a deity, is credited with possessing four feet, eight arms and three eyes.
51 In his four right hands he holds a thunderbolt (vajra), a sword (khadga),
52 a bow (dhanz) and a discus (cakra), and in’ his four left arms a hundred
53 killer (sutaghni), a club (goda), a spear (sula), and a battle-axe (paltisa).
54 His crest is provided with charms; his body is polity ; his armour is a spell ;
55 his heart represents charms and spells; his two earrings are weapons and
56 Ganesh.
57 Durga.
58 Kal.
59 Saraswati,
60 Krishna.
61 Rama.
62 The Dhanurveda.
63 Sri Satguru J agjit Singh Ji eLibrary NamdhariElibrary@ gmail.com