rioiiojQhe rprd|jButito the original deity'Odin, the attributes of the latter
are as widely opposed to fhos.e.ofs :Boddh, who .was/ himself only,an incar-
natioh, ofiyishnk, as thgsdateaxare' ineongFUQas.' The deity^who'se dom
trines, were intsgduced-aSo^Scandinaviaf was :aigt>d * of terror, and his
notaries carried.‘desolation and the sword throughout whole "regions; but
the Ninth Avatar* brought, th e . peaceful olive, and came into the world
for, the sole purpose of preventing sanguinary acts. These apparent inconsistencies
will naturally lead us to hesitate in acknowledging Boodh and
Woden to be the same person: their doctrines are opposite, and their eras
are widely"remote.
Had that distinguished genius, + whose learning so lately illumined the
East, been longer spared for the instruction and delight of mankind, he
would probably have elucidated this obscurity, and have removed the dusky
veil that still hangs' over the religious legends of antiquity. - The subjects
as it now stands, affords an ample' field for indulging in pleasing theories-,
and faneifal speculations; and as the probability increases of being able
to trace all forms of divine worship to one sacred and primeval source,
the inquiry in proportion becomes more interesting, and awakens a train
of serious ideas in a reflecting mind.
It would be as unsatisfactory as tedious, to attempt leading my reader
through the mazes of mythological fable, a n d . extravagant allegory, in
which the Hindoo religion, both Braminical and Boodhic, is enveloped
* See the account of the Ninth Avatar, by the Rev. Mr. Maurice, in his History of Hin-
dostan, Vol. I I. Part 3. t I need hardly observe that I mean Sir William Jones.
% General Vallancey, so justly celebrated for his knowledge of the antiquities of his
country, has expressed his perfect conviction that the Hindoos have been in Britain and in
Ireland. See Major Ouzeley’s Oriental Collection, Vol. I I. Much attention is certainly
doe to such respectable authority.
and obscured;' it may."bessuflicicnt') the* Birmans beliteve in
the'Metempsyeho&is \ and that,» !after4hasS?i®f|aUh3ergbh'e!a^ certain 'ntraibeis. of
ttahsmigEattkinsif 1 fche-i h; s au’l^yjlhrSabdllS’ f <tei (her ffleiSf
Olympus on, thei nfoup-tajut Memr, jbe^heisent to. si^st^m elttts^in a^place
of. 4Mne;; pup^hment s a, ] MercyJheyj holdljt<^B^th^;j&Esfc attribute' of ..the'
divinity: ‘iBi'ceienceibj'#'® titbee, Mjlfjod', p ^etform^ of> Mer^y^’jand^they
worship G,odt byjfixtendihgvmere^'uhtbf a-lhhislGreatul’es'.' ts
;i|^flh©rlaws, oiflthe Birmans, life thcnirthgmu^*art.U»lindoo''« in* fact th u d
is no scpaiatiing their 1 iws lr(jm~thcii»fieh,t^rfm|5S^haiiic4i anthoutv; icvciledi
tOjjMcnu the sailed,principles»pit a'jlilii-yf-Hetls.thous a h 11, .slwci'aVy'Mij Vers.es'^
Menu promulgate.^thfe epde} nuinormis comment tijfcs i*on Menu js u c tonl-
|pos4d|jb:y the, Mpuisymr/fold. pliilp^®p^erV,sr^M^eii}t]|^{i"^e'Si'le^i|s^tuteb>the
Dherrna -.Saste^ ior^hqdyi ,®f law;
Hie Bninans generally.( all then. cwiLet Hernia Stth. or Snslr ilti'ij) is one
among'the many commentaries!-oa Menu>, 1 was s'q'vlprujnaiJ as to' pio’-
cure*a translation ot the most l email ibleipas^ageshvhn li.^cg.^iondc led
intojlsatim by Padre V in c en |i^ ^ a j^ im a rfo , and,i tojlfai^g^e^SUBp^lPi ^
found it'to corrcsjKind closely with a.Ccrsi tn VCrsiorroi tlmV\jH&anf^fL“ j
"Which is now in my possessions From thcwnqmfcpstoo^flubFi'lhis circnni1
stance .gaiye.rise, I learned' tha^thjq. l-awst,f|as well ,asS th’e* teb'ginnfbl'''ihe
s ’* Meru properly denotes the pole, end,' according, toothe-learned Captain;\Vi 1 ford‘,;jefe, the
celestial north pole;of, the Hindoos,'round Which they'place the' garden of Indra, and describe
■, it as the seat of delights. M|
; + The code of, Gentoo laws, translated by Mr. Halhed, I am mforirted} is a'icdmjrilariori;
froni the different commentaries on Menu, who was“ the grandson of .Bramah,’thfe ffistof
created beings,” and whose work, a® translated’ by Sir WilUairipJohes^ rsuhe-groundt'of'all
Hindoo jurisprudence.