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CHAPTER  XX.

ON    THE    BKAHMANDA.

Beahmanda means the egg of Brahman, and applies in The egg of

T            *i           11         c ^                   /5/i/\                                    !• • 1      Brahman,

reality to the whole ot heaven (a.iOrjp), on account ot its its coming
being round, and of the particular kind of its motion, the water
It applies even to the whole world, in so far as it is Page log.
divided into an upper and an under part.    When they
enumerate   the   heavens,  they call   the sum of them
Brahmanda.    The Hindus, however, are devoid of train¬
ing  in  astronomy,  and have no correct astronomical
notions.    In consequence, they believe that the earth
is at rest, more particularly as they, when describing
the bliss of paradise as something like worldly happi¬
ness, make the earth the dwelling-place of the different
classes of gods, angels, &c., to whom they attribute loco¬
motion and the direction from the upper worlds to the
lower.

According to the enigmatic expressions of their tradi¬
tion, the water was before every other thing, and it
filled the space of the whole world. This was, as I
understand them, at the beginning of the day of the soul
(purushdhordtra, p. 332), and the beginning of formation
and combination. Further, they say the water was roll¬
ing and foaming. Then something white came forth
from the water, of which the Creator created the egg
of Brahman. Now, according to some, the egg broke ;
Brahman came forth from it, the one half became the
heaven, the other the earth, and the broken bits between
the two halves became the rains.    If they said moun-