red on her step. Mitra and Varu_n_a
came to meet her.

"8. They said to her: 'Who art thou?' She said: 'The daughter
of Manu.' They rejoined: 'Say that thou art ours.' 'No,' she
said, 'he who has begotten me, his I am.'

"Then they wished her to be their sister, and she half agreed
and half did not agree, but went away, and came to Manu.

"9. Manu said to her: 'Who art thou?' She said: 'I am thy
daughter.' 'How, lady, art thou my daughter?' he asked.

"She replied: 'The libations which thou hast poured into the
water, clarified butter, thickened milk, whey and curds, by
them thou hast begotten me. I am a benediction--perform (me)
this benediction at the sacrifices. If thou perform (me) it
at the sacrifice, thou wilt be rich in offspring and cattle.
And whatever blessing thou wilt ask by me, will always accrue
to thee.' He therefore performed that benediction in the
middle of the sacrifice, for the middle of the sacrifice is
that which comes between the introductory and the final
offerings.

"10. Then Manu went about with her, singing praises and
toiling, wishing for offspring. And with her he begat that
offspring which is called the offspring of Manu; and whatever
blessing he asked with her, always accrued to him. She is
indeed I_d_a, and whosoever, knowing this, goes about
(sacrifices) with I_d_a, begets the same offspring which Manu
begat, and whatever blessing he asks with her, always accrues
to him."

This, no doubt, is the account of a deluge, and Manu acts in some
respects the same part which is assigned to Noah in the Old Testament.
But if there are similarities, think of the dissimilarities, and how
they are to be explained. It is quite clear that, if this story was
borrowed from a Semitic source, it was not borrowed from the Old
Testament, for in that case it would really seem impossible to account
for the differences between the two stories. That it may have been
borrowed[141] from some unknown Semitic source cannot, of course, be
disproved, because no tangible proof has ever been produced that would
admit of being disproved. But if it were, it would be the only Semitic
loan in ancient Sanskrit literature--and that alone ought to make us
pause!

The story of the boar and the tortoise too, can be traced back to the
Vedic literature. For we read in the Taittiriya Sa_m_hita:[142]

"At first this