princely birth in the illustrious mansion of Uttánapáda. But that which would have been thought a great boon by others, birth in the race of Swáyambhuva, you have not so considered, and therefore have propitiated me. The man who worships me obtains speedy liberation from life. What is heaven to one whose mind is fixed on me? A station shall be assigned to thee, Dhruva, above the three worlds 8; one in which thou shalt sustain the stars and the planets; a station above those of the sun, the moon, Mars, the son of Soma (Mercury), Venus, the son of Súrya (Saturn), and all the other constellations; above the regions of the seven Rishis, and the divinities who traverse the atmosphere 9. Some celestial beings endure for four ages; some for the reign of a Manu: to thee shall be granted the duration of a Kalpa. Thy mother Suníti, in the orb of a bright star, shall abide near thee for a similar term; and all those who, with minds attentive, shall glorify thee at dawn or at eventide, shall acquire exceeding religious merit.

Thus the sage Dhruva, having received a boon from Janárddana, the god of gods, and lord of the world, resides in an exalted station. Beholding his glory, Uśanas, the preceptor of the gods and demons, repeated these verses: "Wonderful is the efficacy of this penance, marvellous is its reward, that the seven Rishis should be preceded by Dhruva. This too is the pious Suníti, his parent, who is called Súnritá 10." Who can

celebrate her greatness, who, having given birth to Dhruva, has become the asylum of the three worlds, enjoying to all future time an elevated station, a station eminent above all? He who shall worthily describe the ascent into the sky of Dhruva, for ever shall be freed from all sin, and enjoy the heaven of Indra. Whatever be his dignity, whether upon earth or in heaven, he shall never fall from it, but shall long enjoy life, possessed of every blessing 11.

Footnotes

91:1 A marginal note by a Bengali Pundit asserts it to be a fact, then when a jackal carries a piece of meat in his mouth, it shews in the dark as if it was on fire.

93:2 The commentator understands this passage to imply merely that the supreme pervades both substance and space, being infinitely vast, and without limit. 'Having a thousand heads,' &c. denotes only infinite extension: and the 'ten inches beyond the contact of the universe' expresses merely non-restriction by its boundaries.

93:3 Explained severally the Brahmáńd́a, or material universe; Brahmá, the creator; Manu, the ruler of the period; and supreme or presiding spirit.

93:4 So the inscription upon the temple of Sais: Ἐγὼ εἶμι πᾶν τὸ γεγονὸς, καὶ ὂν, καὶ ἐσόμενον. So the Orphic verse, cited by Eusebius, beginning

Ἒν δὲ δέμας βασιλεῖον ἐν ᾦ τάδε πάντα κύκλειται, κ.τ.λ.