or [S']achi.

108. _The Lion-man's terrific claws_.

Vishnu, in the monstrous shape of a creature half man, half lion
(his fourth Avatar or incarnation), delivered the three worlds,
that is to say, Earth, Heaven, and the lower regions, from the
tyranny of an insolent demon called Hiranya-ka[S']ipu.

109. _We journey in the path of Parivaha_.

The Hindus divide the heavens into seven Margas, paths or
orbits, assigning a particular wind to each. The sixth of these
paths is that of the Great Bear, and its peculiar wind is called
Parivaha. This wind is supposed to bear along the seven stars of
Ursa Major, and to propel the heavenly Ganges.

110. _The triple Ganges_.

The Ganges was supposed to take its rise in the toe of Vishnu
(whence one of its names, Vishnu-padi); thence it flowed through
the heavenly sphere, being borne along by the wind Parivaha, and
identified with the Mandakini, or Milky Way. Its second course is
through the earth; but the weight of its descent was borne by
[S']iva's head, whence, after wandering among the tresses of his
hair, it descended through a chasm in the Himalayas. Its third
course is through Patala, or the lower regions, the residence of
the Daityas and Nagas, and not to be confounded with Naraka,
'hell,' 'the place of punishment.'

111. _He spanned the heavens in his second stride_.

The story of Vishnu's second stride was this:--An Asura or
Daitya, named Bali, had, by his devotions, gained the dominion of
Heaven, Earth, and Patala. Vishnu undertook to trick him out of
his power, and assuming the form of a Vamana, or dwarf (his fifth
Avatar), he appeared before the giant and begged as a boon as
much land as he could pace in three steps. This was granted; and
the god immediately expanded himself till he filled the world;
deprived Bali, at the first step, of Earth; at the second, of
Heaven; but, in consideration of some merit, left Patala still
under his rule.

112. _I see the moisture-loving Chatakas_.

The Chataka is a kind of Cuckoo (_Cuculus Melanoleucus_). The
Hindus suppose that it drinks only the water of the clouds, and
their poets usually introduce allusions to this bird in connexion
with cloudy or rainy weather.

113. _Golden-peak_.

A sacred range of mountains lying among the Himalaya chain, and
apparently identical with, or immediately adjacent to, Kailasa,
the paradise of Kuvera, the god of wealth. It is here described
as the mountain of the Kimpurashas, or serv