alarming event indicated was the arrival of Parasurama. He was fearful to behold, brilliant as fire, and bore his axe and a bow on his shoulder. Being received with honour, he proceeded to say to Rama, the son of Dasaratha, that he had heard of his prowess in breaking the bow produced by Janaka, and had brought another which he asked him to bend, and to fit an arrow on the string; and offered, if he succeeded in doing so, to engage with him in single combat. Parasurama went on to say that the bow Rama had broken was Siva's; but that the one he now brought was Vishnu's. The gods, anxious to discover which was the greater, Siva or Vishnu, and considering this a favourable opportunity for doing so, sought Brahma's help. He thereupon excited the passions of the two Ramas. A great fight ensued. Siva's bow of dreadful power was relaxed, and the three-eyed Mahadeva was arrested by a muttering. The gods were satisfied, and judged Vishnu to be superior. Parasurama, however, did not agree to their judgment, so offered Vishnu's bow for his antagonist to try his strength on. Thus challenged, Rama snatches the bow, bends it, and fits an arrow to the string; and then tells his challenger that as he is a Brahman he will not slay him, but will either take away his superhuman capacity of movement, or deprive him of the blessed abodes he had gained by austerity. Parasurama entreats that his power of movement may not be taken away, but consents that his blissful abodes may be destroyed. 'By bending this bow,' he said, 'I recognize thee to be the imperishable slayer of Madhu, the great lord.' Rama shoots the arrow, and destroys Parasurama's abodes."

The explanation of this strange legend seems to be the one that is commonly received by Oriental scholars, that the passages in the Epic poems which speak of Rama as

an incarnation of Vishnu are interpolations of a later date than the original poem; and this interview of Parasurama with Rama Chandra was introduced for the purpose of giving a quasi-divine sanction to the teaching of these interpolations. If Parasurama, an admitted incarnation of Vishnu, acknowledged that Rama was superior to himself, what stronger proof could be given that Rama too was divine?

Footnotes

^162:* There are four chief castes or jatis of Hindus: the Brahman, or Priestly; the Kshattriya, or Warrior; the Vaisya, or Merchant; and the Sudra, or Servant. These four classes are commonly said to have sprung respectively from the head, arms, thighs, and feet of the Creator, though there is good reason for the belief that in the olden time no such ideas of the divine origin of caste prevailed. The four original castes have become subdivided into an immense number. This subdivision has been brought about by inter-marriage with members of other classes.

^163:* Page 400.

^163:+ See part iii. chap. i.