or fourteen gems, at the churning of the sea; the other, another sacti, Saraswatī, the goddess of literature and harmony, the daughter of Brahma.
Vishn[)u] and Shiv[)u] are said each to have a thousand names; they are strung together in verse, and repeated on certain occasions by Brahmāns as a sort of litany, accompanied sometimes with the rosary. Images of Vishn[)u], either representing him in his own person, or in any of his avataras or incarnations, may be generally distinguished from those of other deities by a shell (chank), and a sort of wheel or discus, called chakra. The chank is the large buccinum, sometimes seen beautifully coloured like a pheasant's breast. The chakra is a missile weapon, very like our quoit, having a hole in its centre, on which it is twirled on the forefinger, and thrown at the destined object; it has a sharp edge, and irresistible fire flames from its periphery when whirled by Vishn[)u]. Two other attributes appertain to him; the gadha, a mace or club; and the padma, a lotus. The god is represented four-handed, and wears on his head a high cap of singular form, called mugut. At the back of this brazen idol lotus-leaves form a sort of glory, crowned by the head of a bird, perhaps intended as an emblem of his vahan Garuda. Vishn[)u] is sometimes seen mounted on an eagle, or rather on an animal composed of an eagle and a man, cleaving the air, and soaring to the skies. Vishn[)u] is represented in the form of a black man, with yellow garments.
SHIV[)U], THE DESTROYER.
The third personage in the Hindū trinity is Shiv[)u], the Destroyer: he is represented as a silver-coloured man, with five faces; an additional eye and a half-moon grace each forehead; he has four arms; he sits on a lotus, and wears a tiger-skin garment. Nandi is the epithet always given to the white bull, the vehicle of Shiv[)u], on which he is frequently seen riding; in his temple it is represented sometimes of great dimensions, couchant, and it is commonly met with in brass. The Nandi is often represented couchant, bearing the particular emblem the type of Shiv[)u], crowned by the five heads of the god; the trident, called
