The Sun & The Serpent. Understanding Religions of The World ebook

THE SUN AND THE SERPENT

A CONTRIBUTION TO THE HISTORY

OF SERPENT-WORSHIP

By

C. F. OLDHAM

BRIGADE SURGEON, H.M. INDIAN ARMY

MEMBER OF THE ROYAL ASIATIC SOCIETY, ETC

LONDON

1905

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Preface

' This work, which is based upon papers read before the Royal Asiatic Society in 1901, was, at first, intended to refer only to Indian Serpent-worship. It was soon found, however, that the Serpent-worship of India did not originate in that country, but was, in fact, a branch of the worship of the Sun and the Serpent, which was once well-nigh universal. It became evident, therefore, that a history of the Indian cult would go far to explain the nature and origin of serpent-worship, in other countries and in other times. It will be seen that some of the views, expressed in this volume, differ from those which have been held by some Oriental scholars of great eminence. These views, however, have not been put forward without due consideration. They are the result of much reflection, observation, and inquiry, combined with a careful study of local tradition and folklore. For this, a long residence in India, and an intimate acquaintance with the people, afforded many facilities. In rendering Indian and other names the popular forms of spelling have been adopted. The author takes this opportunity to offer his thanks to those friends who have helped him with information or otherwise, especially to Professor A. H. Sayce, whose advice, most kindly given, has saved him from several pitfalls. Most of the illustrations are from photographs taken by the author.

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CHAPTER I

The hooded serpent held sacred in India, as a protector and a harbinger of good

—Must not be killed or injured — Rudely carved representation of serpent receives worship in every part of India—Hooded serpent is the only snake held sacred —

Reverence for serpent not borrowed from aboriginal tribes— Is closely connected with worship of Sun, and with the orthodox Hindu religion—Hooded serpent a totem of Solar race — Serpent demigods were deified Solar chiefs — Nagas and Devas of Indra’s heaven still popular deities—More so even than Brahmanical gods—Name Naga does not appear in Veda, but Serpas mentioned with Asuras and Dasyas—These understood by some as representing atmospheric phenomena

—Considered by Brahmans to have been demons—Were really hostile tribes who opposed the Aryan invaders — In Veda the term Ahi or serpent applied to Asura warriors, and especially to Vritra and Arbuda — Authorities not agreed as to origin of Asuras—This term corresponds with the Ahura of the Iranians—Became a term of reproach with Aryans, as did Deva or Daeva amongst Iranians, after the separation of the two branches—Serpent tribes enemies of Iranians and Aryans from very early times—Azi dahaka dynastic title of chiefs of Serpent tribes—

Bevarasp, last of this dynasty, same as Astyages or Istuvegu, who was overthrown by Cyrus—Assyrian empire destroyed by Cyaxares, father of Istuvegu—Ecbatana, now Hamadan, built by one of the chiefs of this dynasty—Astyages or Istuvegu overthrown by an insurrection, and delivered up to Cyrus by his own people—

This perhaps owing to his encouragement of human sacrifices, etc., in connexion with serpent-worship Insurrection headed by Gavah, a blacksmith whose sons were to be sacrificed—Istuvegu said to have had serpents growing from his shoulders Probably he received worship in his lifetime, as did Jemshid and other 4

Solar Kings—Ahi and Azi both mean serpent, and both represent Serpent tribes of the same race—The Danus of the Avesta same people as the Danavas of the Veda, of whom Vritra was a chief—Azi said to have three heads and six eyes—So also Asura chiefs—These heads were those of protecting serpents—Three-headed serpents in Rig Veda—Conflicts with Asuras were real battles and not climatic disturbances—Asuras neither clouds nor demons, but hostile chiefs of same race as Azi of the Zend Avesta—Afghanistan probable scene of conflicts with Ahi—

Vritra Lord of the Kalakeyas or Danavas—Seems to have claimed divine honours—Indus valley a part of Vritra’s dominions—Arbuda a Naga raja—Sun-god chief deity of Asuras—Hooded serpent their totem—Surya, the Sun-god, has over his head a canopy formed of the hoods of seven-headed serpent—Asuras or Nagas Indian branch of Solar race—Divided into many tribes, with different totems, but Sun worshipped by all—Hooded serpent and tortoise oldest totems of Solar race

—Kasyapa identified with Sun and with tortoise—His progeny—Connected with Kaspian tribes—Naga rajas believed to have con- trol over the elements and to be able to withhold rain—This belief still remains in India and other countries—

Nagas propitiated, before any other deity, in time of drought or excessive rain—

This referred to by Buddhist writers—Sun and Nagas connected with springs, streams, and lakes, and even with the ocean—Vishnu and the serpent floating on the sea—Suraj Khund or pool of the Sun—Hooded serpent cannot live under water.

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CHAPTER II

Asuras a civilized people—Had cities and castles—Civilization of Asuras more advanced than that of Aryas—Architecture—Mechanical skill—Medicine and surgery—Astronomy—Indian Astronomy closely related to that of Chaldea—

Asuras had much in common with early inhabitants of Babylonia and neighbouring country—Asuras and Dravidians the same people—Important cities of the Asuras—Patala, Pragjyotisha, Saubha, Hiranyapura, Takshasila, Magadha, Mathara, and others—Takshasila and the serpent sacrifice—Asuras a maritime power, holding both banks of Indus—Connexion with Persian Gulf—Churning of the ocean and sea-borne commerce—Aryas in early times had no access to the sea

—The ocean described as the habitation of the Nagas—And the residence of the Asuras—Legend of the Nagas being conveyed by Garuda across the sea and being landed on Malabar coast, in a country previously occupied by an Asura named Lavana—Legend of Yadu, son of Hariaswa, being carried off by a Naga raja whose kingdom was beneath the sea—Indra taken prisoner by Ravana and carried off to Lanka—This probably means that India’s inspired prophet, carrying the standard of the deity at the head of the army, was made prisoner—Ravana, a Naga raja,whose family lived in Patala—His ten heads those of the protecting serpents sheltering the Naga raja—Trident of Neptune and conch-shell of the Tritons borrowed from the Nagas—Warfare between Aryas and Dasyus succeeded by communications of a peaceful nature, such as commercial arrangements, and finally intermarriage, religious association, and even the deification of Naga chiefs

—Fusion between Aryas and Dasyus in India much resembled that between the Semites and Accadians in Babylonia—Alliances took place also between the priesthood of the Aryas and that of the Asuras—Sakra became the spiritual guide of both Daityas and Devas—Brahmans, sons of Bhrigu, declarers of the Veda, offered aswamedhas for the Daitya Bali—Bhrigu and his sons introduced the 6

worship of the Aswins and of Sri or Lakshmi, with other modifications of the Vedic religion—Both Solar and Lunar lines of Asura origin—“From the Sun the Moon is born”—Worship of Moon probably introduced by Atri of the Bhrigu family—Ayus of Lunar line married daughter of Asura Rahu—Their son, Nahush, supplanted India—This chief made the rishis carry his litter, and assumed divine honours, probably as the Sun-god incarnate—In this the priests seem to have acquiesced—Vena and Prithu also claimed divine honours, while living, as the Sun-god personified—Prithu said to be worshipped “as one of the human gods’’—

He is still worshipped as a Naga demigod—The Daitya chief Hiranyakasipu claimed to be a personification of the Sun-god, and Brahmans ministered to him as a deity— Surya, the Sun-god, and the Naga demigods hold in their hands a disk or chakra—So did the Babylonian kings and Babylonian Sun-god—The wheel or chakra represented the sun—Hence the Buddhist idea of the “wheel of the law’’—

Krishna, who claimed to be an incarnation of Vishnu, the Sun-god, also carried a discus—This is sometimes described as a mark of his divinity, and sometimes as a weapon of destruction—Krishna not a King, but a deified hero of Lunar line—Has now superseded Vishnu—His ancestors Nagas, and his brother an incarnation of Sesha Naga—Solar and Lunar lines of same race, separated by religious differences only—Krishna said to be the Sun, and the deity in the Solar disc—The title of Vasudeva, claimed by Krishna, assumed also by other chiefs of Solar race

—Krishna, champion of Brahmans—Assisted by Garuda—Garudas, a tribe in the Indus valley—At feud with Nagas—One of the confederate tribes under Krishna’s leadership—The Nagas in their first phase were the Asuras or Serpas of Solar race—In a later phase they became demons—Still later they became the inhabitants of a subterranean Patala, or the Brahmanical Hell—Finally the term Naga was applied to those unregenerate Solar tribes who retained the religion and customs of their forefathers.

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CHAPTER III

Great modifications occurred in religion and social customs of people of India, between Vedic period and that of Epic poems—Also between Epic period and the present day—Yet many of the old deities still survive, and are very popular—In mountainous country bordering upon Kashmir, and in other parts of the Himalaya, remnants of the Naga people still exist—Here serpent gods still worshipped with ancient rites—Naga demigods deified rulers and ancestors of this people—Naga or Cobra held sacred—Other snakes may be killed—Naga demigods in human form, but with hoods of serpent expanded over their heads — Shrines also dedicated to Nagini devis, who were wives of Naga chiefs—In some temples, images draped in white, so that only the heads are visible—Many rudely carved representations of serpents in small shrines or under trees—To these offerings made—At Naga temples the Sun occupies a prominent position—No trace of Phallus—The worship is that of the Naga demigods, as descendants of the Sun and ancestors of the race—The Devas too, whose temples are found throughout the Himalaya, are deified ancestors—Rites and ceremonial the same at both Naga and Deva temples—Music and dancing form important parts of ritual—Legend of Jimuta Vahana—Some Naga demigods represented as holding a discus or chakra

—Surya holds a similar discus—This discus represents the Sun—Most of the temples built of cedar—Cedar sacred, as it was in Babylonia and Elam—Keeps off evil spirits—Naga demigods visit each other’s festivals—Both Nagasand Devas consulted through inspired prophets—Most of the priests Kshatriyas, but some desi (or local) Brahmans—There is always a Chela or inspired prophet, who is the medium of communication with the deity—Chela not elected but inspired by the deity—When under the divine afflatus represents and is spoken of as the god—

Office not hereditary—The prophet is not a sorcerer or magician—Does not pretend to any authority over the deity, of whom he is but the mouthpiece—

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Wears no fantastic costume—Emoluments very small—Some, at all events, seem to believe in their own inspiration—No doubt as to the faith of the worshippers—Use of iron scourge, which is counterpart of that in the hands of Osiris—Sacrifice to Kailang Nag—Kailang Nag one of the deities to whom human beings were formerly sacrificed—Legend explaining the discontinuance of these sacrifices—

Votive offerings—Tombstones—Pilgrimages—Deities over whom Indra reigned were deified ancestors—Now considered by Brahmans as demons.

CHAPTER IV

The people, whose religious rites and ceremonial have been described, a remnant of a powerful group of tribes—Known by several names, more especially by the general term of Takha—Most numerous in the valleys of the Chenab, Ravi, and Beas rivers—Included by the bard, Chand, amongst thirty-six royal races of India

—Worship of the Naga not confined to Takhas—Rule of Takha chiefs extended over Sind, the Pan jab, and Rajputana—Takhari alphabet derives its name from Takhas Hiouen Tsiang found the kingdom of Takha extending from Indus to Beas—The country extending from the Indus to Kabul, and that lying between the Sutlej and Nepal, were held by offshoots from the same people— Throughout this tract, except where the people are Mohammedans, temples to the Naga demigods are numerous—Hiouen Tsiang found the cities of Sakala and Multan included within the Takha boundaries—Early in tenth century Shankara Varma, King of Kashmir, having defeated Alakhana, King of Gujrat, who was a tributary of the Shahi of Gandhara, took from him Takha—The country was restored to the Takha chief, who became a dependant of Kashmir—The country between the Sutlej and Nepal was held by another branch of the same people called Katur, Kathuria, or Kathiur—All these people claimed descent from the Sun, through the Naga demigods Temples to Basdeo or Vasuki as ancestor of Takhas and of 9

Kathurias—Takari alphabet in use throughout—Temples to Naga demigods numerous—Rites and ceremonial ever37where the same—Sankara Acharya and Kathuria raja—Priests of chief temples still from Southern India—Kathuria rajas and Vikramaditya—Basdeo and Kanoj—Kathuria dynasty reigned two thousand years—Some minor chiefs still claim descent from this line—Some Kathuria chiefs still worshipped as Devas.

CHAPTER V

The first people with whom Alexander came into contact after crossing the Indus were the serpent-worshipping Takhas or Kathas—Taxila was the ancient Naga capital Takshasila—These people now Mohammedans—In neighbouring countries many traces of serpent-worship—Aryas opposed by Ahi in Afghanistan—Kabul ruled by descendants of Azi dahaka or Zahak under Persian empire—Zal father of Rustam married daughter of Kabul chief of race of Zahak—Rustam called

“Kabuli” at Persian court—Kings of Ghor in Afghanistan of race of Zahak—Herat founded by a daughter of Zahak—Persian king Artakshir opposed by Serpent chief of Kirman—Chinese pilgrims describe serpent-worship as still existing in the country between Kabul and the Indus, side by side with Buddhism—

Notwithstanding invasions and foreign rulers, serpent-worship remained the popular faith in this country until the conversion of the people to Islam—At time of Mohammedan invasion, kings of Kabul Hindus—These, after the Moslem capture of Kabul, retired to Udakabhanda—For nearly 400 years stubbornly resisted the Mohammedan invaders—Genealogy found in fortress of Kangra, or Nagarkot, in time of A1 Biruni—Some tribes of Hindu Kushsti known by names given to them by Manu.

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CHAPTER VI

Takha or Katha probably not the name of a tribe, but of a group of tribes—

Takhas not mentioned by that name as engaged in the wars of the Mahabharata—

Bahlkas or Bahlikas said to beTakhas—The territories of Bahikas correspond with those of the Naga rajas and with Takhia kingdom—Bahika not a tribal name—

Mentioned in Atharva Veda, by Panini, and in Ramayana—Paramount ruler Salya, who had succeeded to the throne of his maternal grandfather—Bahlikas called “good and well born Kshatriyas” had not adopted Aryan customs—Had Kshatriya priests—Had Brahmans and Kshatriyas in same family—Ate out of wooden and earthen vessels—Drank the milk of sheep and camels—Ate beef, and drank strong liquor—Some of these practices existed amongst the orthodox tribes also—They were probably Asura customs which had not yielded to Brahmanical influence—So also was the receiving a price for their daughters on marriage—

Sakala, Salya’s capital, was on the Apaga or Aik river and was the Sangala of the Greeks—Here the Kathyas or Takhias made their stand against Alexander—

Hiouen Tsiang found Sakala in ruins, in the seventh century, but it was still included in the kingdom of Takhia—Descendants of the Bahikas or Takhas still live on the banks of the “Five Rivers”—Are now Mohammedans, but still retain many of the customs ascribed to their ancestors in the Mahabharata and by the Greeks—Still show the handsome features, and fine physique, by which the Greeks were so much impressed—No longer worship the serpent—Women not secluded—Youths go bareheaded until they have shown their prowess, by killing an enemy or lifting cattle—Cattle theft the only crime—Curious customs connected with it—Some of the descendants of the Bahlikas called Jats—Origin of the term—

Kathias divided into several branches occupying districts far apart from each other—Kathis of Kathiawar and of Ganges Valley—Migration probably caused by change of course of the Sutlej, which left their lands without water—Kathis still venerate the serpent-gods, and worship the Sun—Connected with Vahlas or Bahlas 11

or Balas former rulers of Sind—Iron pillar erected in cele-bration of a victory over the Bahlikas of Sindhu—Some tribes known by several different names—Some of these names not mentioned in Mahabharata—The Indian rajas, called Porus and Phur, who opposed Alexander, were probably Puars—Population of Magadha largely made up of Naga tribes—Asoka worshipped Naga—Naga chiefs of Pudmavati, Kantipura, and Mathara—Samudra Gupta overthrows Naga rajas—

Nagas disappear, from history, about the time of the downfall of Buddhism.

CHAPTER VII

Earliest civilization of southern India ascribed to Dravidians—These are considered to have come from northern India—Supposed to have been displaced by invading Aryas—Dr. Caldwell — Aryas supposed to have been conquerors who reduced the Asuras to slavery—This is not the case—No authority, Sanskrit or Dravidian, for subjugation of Asuras or Dravidians, or for their expulsion from northern India—Colonies established by Dravidians in very early times—Some of these appear to have been in positions occupied by later Dravidian kingdoms—

Legends of conflicts between Hind settlers of later times and Nagas from Patala whom they found in possession—Ruling chiefs of these countries said in inscriptions to be of Naga race, and connected with Patala—Earliest settlements in Ceylon founded by same people—Although colonies were established, there was no general migration of the Asura people—They never abandoned their possessions in the north of India—Population of colonies mainly of aboriginal race

—These adopted the customs, religion, and, to a great extent, the language of Dravidians, and doubtless intermarried with them—At a much later period the worship of the Brahmanical deities was introduced—Much of the old religion and mode of life retained—Same forms of religion and social customs exist in northern India amongst people who are apparently of Asura descent—Serpent-worship 12

common amongst Dravidians of south—The same Naga demigods worshipped in the north and in the south—In each case they are worshipped as ancestors—A dead cobra is burned as if it were a human body—Naga temples in groves—Often richly endowed—Language used in services, at Naga and Deva temples, local Dravidian dialect—So-called demon-worship, of southern India, is a debased form of ancestor-worship—Ceremonial essentially the same in south India and in Himalaya—Kshatriya princes of northern India intermarried with ruling Dravidian families—According to Manu Dravidas were Kshatriyas—Classed with Mallas, Lichavis, and Kasas, who were Naga- worshipping tribes of Solar race—Dravidians divided into Cheras, Cholas, and Pandyas—Cher a, in old Tamil Sarai, is the Dravidian equivalent for Naga—In Ganges valley a people called Cherus or Seoris, who claim descent from Naga demigods—These evidently kinsmen of Cheras—

Social customs similar—In Chinab valley and in Beas valley, people of Saraj or Seoraj worship the Naga demigods—These and the Takhas or Saryas, the Cherus or Seoris, and the Cheras or Sarais, branches of the same people—Kiras a serpent-worshipping people—Kira another name for Naga—All these people of Solar race, and all hold sacred the hooded serpent—Speech of Dravidians has Turanian affinities and comparatively small infusion of Sanskrit—Early Dravidian colonies sent out before the fusion of Aryas and Dasyus—Their language therefore contained little Sanskrit—Prakrits formed later Language of Asuras not at first understood by Aryas—Those who speak like Nagas referred to Dravidian language closely allied to Brahui, one of the languages in use on the borders of Sind and in Baluchistan.

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CHAPTER VIII

Early civilization of Burmah and neighbouring countries ascribed to invaders from India—These con nected with Magadha and the north and west of India— Ancient navigators who carried the Brahmanical and Buddhist religion, the Sanskrit or Pali language, and the worship of the Naga, to these countries, were Indian people

—Abhi raja said to have come from Kapilavastu and to have settled in Burmah before the birth of Buddha—Succeeded by his son—Dynasty overthrown by invaders from China—Succeeded by other Indian chiefs—Many Indian names of places, rivers, etc, in Burmah and Siam—Buddhist missionaries pro- bably aided by their countrymen already settled in these countries—In island of Bali, Hinduism still prevails—Here temples to Nagas, and to Devas, with much the same ritual as in Himalaya—Other temples to Brahmanical deities—Javan era is the Saka-kala of India—Traditions of expeditions from India still remain—And in western India legends refer to the wealth of Java—Great seaborne trade carried on by Dravidians as early as seventh century b.c.—Its beginnings probably much earlier— Legend of the churning of the ocean, an allegorical reference to this —

No detailed accounts till a later period—Buddha refers to ocean voyages as occurring “long ago”— And mentions the use of birds in finding the position of a ship at sea, as in the case of Noah-—Chinese pilgrim Fah Hian found a regular and evidently old-established trade between India and China, and the islands of the Archipelago, about 400 a.d.—The ships were large enough to carry 200 men—

Were navigated by observing the sun, moon and stars—And amongst the passengers were Brahmans.

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CHAPTER IX

Both Buddhist and Jaina systems closely connected with the Sun and the Serpent

—Each of these forms of religion arose, or found their chief supporters, amongst Solar tribes who had come but little under Brahmanical influence—According to Puranas both Buddhism and Jainism had their origin amongst the Asuras— Origin described—Legend ancient, as later sect of white-robed Jains not mentioned—

Religious asceticism a very ancient institution in India—Existed long before the birth of Buddha—Long before Buddha, too, devotees belonging to royal houses gave up their rights and their homes to lead a life of asceticism—Yati and Devapi examples of this—Jaina devotees still called Yati—Siddhas associated, as divine beings, with Devas and Nagas—Were deified ascetics—Appear to have included Brahmans and Kshatriyas—Baghavad Gita—Kapila Muni a Naga chief and a Vasudeva—Usual emblem of Siddhas a pair of human feet—Common object of worship in northern India—Sometimes Siddhas represented by a round stone painted white—Pilgrimages made to shrines—Siddhas often worshipped as household gods—Foot emblem very ancient—A form of memorial of the dead—

Hence, probably, adopted by followers of Buddha—Jainas applied the term Siddha to their deified ascetics—The Jainas, who are still very numerous in India, are admitted to have been in existence before the time of Buddha—All the twenty-four Tirthakaras, or deified anchorites of the Jains, were Kshatriyas, and all but two were of the Solar race of Ikshvaku—Therefore closely connected with the Sun and the Serpent—The last of the Tirthakaras was Vardhamana or Mahabir who was a contemporary of Sakhya Buddha—He was related by marriage to Bimbisaro raja of Magadha—By permission of his elder brother, Vardhamana became an ascetic after one year, he went naked after twelve years, he became a Jina or Tirthakara after his death, he became a Siddha—Parswa, who preceded Mahabir, was a son of the raja of Benares—He is represented with the hoods of a seven-15

headed Naga expanded over his head—Sculptured representations of Naga at Jaina temples—Buddha and the Buddhist religion intimately connected with serpent- worship—Fergusson—British Museum—Sakhya Buddha was of Solar race and a descendant of Ikshvaku—Sheltered and protected by Naga rajas—On friendly terms with Naga people—Naga rajas claimed share of his relics and built stupas over them—Buddha represented with hoods of seven-headed Naga expanded over his head, which was distinctive mark of a Naga raja—Solar emblems represented as objects of Buddhist worship at Amravati and elsewhere—

Chinese pilgrims describe Buddhist Sramanas as worshipping the Naga, and conducting the rites at Naga temples—Buddha addressed as Mahanago—The Sakhyas descended from raja of Patala—Nagas found in relic cases of Sakhyas at Kapilavastu.

CHAPTER X

It has been shown that, in India, the hooded serpent was associated with the Sun

—And was held sacred as the totem of the Solar race—It has been shown too that chiefs of Solar race were, after death, worshipped as gods or demigods—And that these demigods were represented with the hoods of protecting serpents expanded over their heads—It has been pointed out too that these deified chiefs were the Nagas of Swarga, and of the Epic poems, the celestial serpents belonging to Surya, and the Naga demigods of Indian folklore —It has been also shown that, in order to obtain the favour of these deities, sacrifices were offered to them, many of the victims being human beings—In addition to this, we have seen that many of the Solar kings, especially those who claimed paramount power, received divine honours, while living, as incarnations of the Sungod—Serpent-worship not confined to India—Its birthplace however in Asia—Wherever thepeople or their rulers claimed descent from the Sun-god, there the hooded serpent was sacred —

The worship of the Sun and the Serpent ever here conducted with the same rites 16

and ceremonial as in India—Seems impossible that this could have arisen spontaneously in countries so far apart as India and Peru—Probably this form of worship spread to these countries from a common centre—Naga probably earliest totem of Solar race—Tortoise also a very early totem—Worship of Sun and Serpent already existing at earliest dawn of history—In many countries, besides India, it still remains, or has left its trace behind—Existence of Sun and Serpent worship in the country between the Euphrates and the Indus has been referred to

—The Yezidis—In Babylonia and adjacent countries, worship of the Sun and the Serpent earliest form of religion—Hea or Ea one of the earliest gods—Emblem seven-headed serpent—God of the river of the great serpent or Euphrates—

Protector from all perils, and god of wisdom—Father of Babylonian Sungod—In Chaldean account of deluge Ea is said to have given warning of the coming flood, and to have directed the preparation of the ark or ship—Worship of Ea widely spread—Dusratta, King of Mittani, writing to the King of Egypt, says Ea is “lord of all”—Hooded serpent not a totem of Semites—Appears to have been taken over with the ancient religion of Akkad—Nebuchadrezzar set up images of poisonous snakes at gates of temple of Marduk—The Sun and the serpent-gods were probably the chief deities of all the Scythian or Turanian tribes to south and west of Kaspian—In Saka dwipa “Vishnu is worshipped as the sun”— Suriash, the name of the Kassite Sun-god, very like Surya, one of the names of the Sun-god of Hindu—Suriha, a deity referred to in Assyrian deeds, said to be the same as Aa or Ea —Ancient Chaldean epic poem, of which Gilgames is hero, throws much light upon relationship of religion of Elam and neighbouring countries with that of India—Khambaba, King of Elam, makes a raid into Babylonia—Gilgames, King of Erech, and Eabani make a raid into Elam—Khambaba killed—“The hill of cedars, the abode of the gods”—Gilgames returns victorious—Offends the goddess Ishtar—

Is afflicted with a skin disease—To obtain relief makes a pilgrimage to the shrine of Adrakhasis, or Utunapishtim, a deified ancestor—This ancestor had been saved in the ark at the time of the deluge—The pilgrimage made partly by land, and 17

partly by sea or by river—Gilgames having, by the advice of his ancestor, bathed in a sacred water, was cured—Received from Samash-napishtim or Utunapishtim, a branch of the tree of life—While Gilgames was drinking at a spring the branch of the tree of life was seized by a serpent, to whom the spring was sacred—Chaldean epic supposed to date from about 2000 B.C., but the events occurred long before

—Several customs mentioned still exist in the Himalaya—Gilgames, as represented in Chaldean sculpture, very like a Brahui or Baluch chief of the present day—

Indian tradition of deluge another link connectingthe Indian and other branches of Solar race—Divine warning of the coming flood not given to Brahmans, but to a Kshatriya chief, son of the Sun, and progenitor of the Solar race—In all Indian versions the part taken by the fish in giving warning of the flood and directing the building of the ship or ark, greatly resembles that ascribed to the god Ea—Ea too sometimes represented as taking the form of a fish—In earliest version of Indian legend no locality mentioned—In later accounts the locality varies with different authorities—Doubtless the Chaldean epic and the Indian legend refer to same flood—The fish, which, in the Indian legend, saved Manu from the deluge, said to have been a manifestation of Vishnu—Both the Babylonian Hea and the Indian Vishnu associated with the sea, the fish, and the many-headed serpent.

CHAPTER XI

The Sun and the Serpent were worshipped by Phoenicians—Cult probably derived from Babylonia—Carried into other countries—Legend of Cadmus—Many other deities worshipped—Some of them of Babylonian origin—Traces of worship of Sun and Serpent in western Asia even after introduction of Christianity—

Curiously blended with ritual of some early semi-Christian sects, as Gnostics—

Some Gnostic sects worshipped serpent—Manichaeans borrowed largely from Sun and Serpent worship—Prayed towards thesun—Held serpent to be a 18

beneficent agent—The Greeks worshipped the Sun and the Serpent from a very early period—Cecrops, first King of Athens, half man and half serpent—He and his successors deified—Cadmus and his wife turned into serpents — On his arrival in Greece Cadmus found serpents in possession—Sun and Serpent worship of Greece mixed up with worship of other deities, some of which had their origin in Semitic Babylonia—Serpent held a somewhat subordinate position—Still, the guardian deity of the Athenian Acropolis was a great serpent. The worship of the Sun and the Serpent has left its traces in nearly every part of Europe—Progress westward due in part to Phcenicians, in part to Egyptians, but largely to other peoples who were apparently of Asiatic origin—In Egypt, the sun was worshipped and hooded serpent held sacred from earliest times—Some modifications under different dynasties—Pharaohs claimed descent from sun—Each reigning king an incarnation of Sun-god—Addressed officially as “The King, My Lord, my Sungod”—After death worshipped as a deity—A representation of serpent attached to front of king’s head-dress as a protection—Serpent in the bark of the sun—

Egyptian social customs and religious rites closely related to those of sun-worshipping peoples of Asia—Little doubt as to Asiatic origin—Various animals worshipped originally totems—Ethiopian sworshippers of Sun and Serpent— Kings received divine honours — Ethiopians called by Egyptians Kaushu or Kush, which recalls Kashshu or Kassites of Kaspian region—Considered by Lepsius and others to have been connected with the races of Elam—Title of King of Abyssinia Negus, while that of chiefs of serpent-worshipping Khus tribes of Himalaya is Negi—

Country of Puanit inhabited by serpents—A regular trade carried on with Egypt—

In kingdoms of western and central Africa, Sun and Serpent worshipped, down to our own times, and with very barbarous rites—Juju or fetish worship was really the worship of the sun, the serpent, and of deified ancestors—Serpent, tortoise, and other totems of the Solar race, held sacred—No important business undertaken without a sacrifice to the serpent—Cabalistic signs in use, for magical purposes, identical with those in use in Asia—Worship of the Sun and the Serpent prevailed 19

over a great part of the African continent—Did not arise amongst the negro tribes

—In China, Sun and Serpent worship the most ancient form of religion—

Associated, as in India, with worship of ancestors—Emperor receives divine honours while living, andafter death is worshipped as a god—The Naga or dragon protects the empire, controls the elements, and is worshipped officially in times of drought or floods—Shrines to Lung Wang, or the Naga raja, are numerous—

Tortoise also sacred, and its shell consulted as an oracle—Commander of a Chinese army has tortoise and serpent banner—Some early emperors of China were half-man and half-serpent—M. Terrien de Lacouperie held that Chinese civilization came from the west, and was an offshoot from that ancient culture which arose in the country between Kaspian Sea and Persian Gulf—Dravidian civilization of India, and the worship of the Sun and the Serpent which accompanied it, came, as we have seen, from the same region—In Manchuria the people of Solar race—Naga demigods control the rivers and the rain—The lake, which occupies the crater of the holy White Mountain, sacred to Lung Wang, the dragon king—The Kings of Korea are descended from the sun, and are protected by the dragon—Serpents are worshipped as guardian deities—The tortoise is sacred

—In Japan the Sungod seems to have become a goddess—The Mikado is descended in unbroken line from the Sun-goddess and is himself a divine being—

Of the Kami (gods or dernigods) some were men, some were dragons, and some were other animals—The deities of the mountains took the form of serpents— The Buddhist pilgrims found Naga demigods in all the countries between India and China—In Thibet, springs, rivers and lakes still ruled by Naga demigods—Naga king lives in the Palti Lake—Lamas conduct worship of Naga demigods—In America, worship of Sun and Serpent was universal—Existed in same form as in the Old World, except that the place of the hooded serpent was taken by the native rattlesnake—In Peru, Pizzarro met the Inca in the house (temple) of the serpent—The tortoise too was sacred—Serpent and tortoise both represented with human heads—Rites and ceremonial same in America and in Asia—In each, the 20

people of Solar race, kings worshipped as incarnations of Sungod, while living, and after death were deified—Laws and customs of the New World greatly resembled those of the sun- worshipping countries of the Old World—Good reason to believe in Asiatic origin of Indian nations of America and of their religion and civilization.

CHAPTER XII

Conclusion—Worship of Sun and Serpent, in early times, well nigh universal—

Fully developed at the earliest period of which any history has come down to us—

Established amongst some of the most enlightened peoples of antiquity—Serpent not originally a god—But was held sacred as a totem of the people who claimed descent from the Sungod, and thus came to be worshipped as a deity—Deification of totems, of kings, of ancestors, and of the heavenly bodies, an addition to, or corruption of, the earlier worship of the deity who was believed to reside in the sun—The Gayatri of the Brahmans, the most sacred text of the Vedas, and the essence of the Hindu religion, a prayer to the Sun-god, Sas the Creator—

Conception of Sun-god amongst early Egyptians, and other ancient peoples, probably the same as that disclosed in the Gayatri.

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CHAPTER I

Naga, Nag, or hooded serpent, commonly known as the Cobra, is still held sacred in India, as it once was in many other countries. It is called the good snake, and is considered as a protector and as a harbinger of success. Although the poison of this serpent is so deadly, few Hindus will injure a Naga, and still fewer can be induced to kill one. At many towns, during the festival of the Nagapanchami, which is held in honour of the serpent demigods, living Cobras were, and probably still are, brought in from the country for sale. These were bought up by the townsfolk, who turned them loose, to free them from captivity, as an act of religious merit. Over a great part of India the rudely carved representation of a serpent, or a round stone in place of it, is to be found under nearly every large tree. To these Nags, as they are called, offerings are made, not of such things as are usually eaten by snakes, but of things suitable for the food of man. Flowers, too, are frequently offered, and lights are burned before the shrines. It must not be supposed that all snakes are worshipped. The Nag alone is sacred. The veneration for this serpent was not borrowed, as some have supposed, from the aboriginal tribes. It is intimately connected with the worship of the Sun, and is thus closely related to the orthodox Hindu religion. The hooded serpent was, as we shall see later, a totem of the people who claimed descent from the Sun. And the Naga demigods, who are described in Brahmanical writings as “The Celestial Serpents belonging to Surya” (the Sungod ), were deified chiefs of the Solar race.

These demigods belong to a class of deities, no longer orthodox but very popular, which has still its temples, its priests, and its worshippers, both in northern and in southern India. It is to these ancient deities, rather than to the great gods of the Brahmans, that the Hindu people first turn in times of trouble. To the Naga they pray for rain for their crops, and to the Naga, or the Deva, they pay their vows in time of pestilence or famine. To these, also, they offer the first milk of their cows, 22