LITMIR.BIZ

Скачать книгу

care; and that I am inclined to think that the Bramin, who gave them to Capt. Smith, had over-rated their antiquity and rarity in order to enhance the value of his present.

      In a second pack, consisting, like the preceding, of eight suits of twelve cards each, the King appears seated on a throne; while the Vizier, as in the former, is on horseback, except in three of the suits where he appears mounted on an elephant, a single-humped camel, and a bull. Though there be a difference between this pack and the former, in the marks of some of the suits, there can be no doubt that the same game might be played with each. In the pack now under consideration the backs of all the cards are red. The following are the colours of the ground and the marks of the several suits.

COLOURS	MARKS
1. Yellow	Apparently a flower.
2. Black	A red spot, with a white centre.
3. Red	A "tulwar," or sword.
4. Red	Man's head and shoulders.
5. Brown	(Unintelligible.)
6. Green	A circular spot.
7. Green	A parallelogram (longest side vertical).
8. Yellow	An oval.

The third pack of Hindostanee cards in the possession of the Royal Asiatic Society, to whom it was presented by the late Sir John Malcolm, is much more curious and interesting than either of the other two previously noticed. It consists of ten suits, of twelve cards each; and the marks of the suits are the emblems of the ten Avatars, or incarnations of Vichnou, one of the three principal divinities in the religious system of the Hindoos. The King is represented by Vichnou, seated on a throne, and in one or two instances accompanied by a female; and the Vizier, as in most of the suits of the other two packs, is mounted on a white horse. In every suit two attendants appear waiting on the second as well as on the principal "honour." The backs of all the cards in this pack are red; and the colours of the ground and marks of the several suits are as follows:— [48]

      

COLOURS	MARKS
1. Red	A fish.
2. Yellow	A tortoise.
3. Gold	A boar.
4. Green	A lion.
5. Brownish Green	A man's head.
6. Red	An axe.
7. Brownish Green	An ape.
8. Puce	A goat or antelope.
9. Brick Red	A cattashal or umbrella.
Green	A white horse, saddled and bridled.

The following description of the ten Avatars, or incarnations, of Vichnou, as represented in a series of drawings, [49] will explain the meaning of nearly every one of the marks of the ten suits of cards. The only suits which do not exactly correspond with the Avatars, as represented in the drawings, are those numbered 8 and 9, the emblems of which are a goat and an umbrella. It is, however, to be observed that Hindoo authors do not agree in their accounts of the different Avatars of Vichnou, though they generally concur in representing them as ten in number, that is, nine passed and one to come. It is also possible that the goat—which appears couchant as if giving suck—and the umbrella, which in the east is frequently the sign of regal dignity, may be symbolical of the eighth and ninth Avatars in the description of the drawings. Though the Bramin Dwarf, in the fifth Avatar of the drawings, carries an umbrella, there can scarcely be a doubt that the Man's head, in No. 5 of the cards, is the symbol of this Avatar.

      THE TEN AVATARS OF VICHNOU.

1. Matsyavatara. The first Avatar of Vichnou, as a Fish; represented as the body of a man with the tail of a fish. The human part is coloured blue; the rest is white. In two of his four hands he holds the Chakra, or Soudarsana, which here appears something like a quoit with rays proceeding from it. [50] In the palm of another of his hands the diamond—carré mystique—is displayed. According to the Bhagavat Purana, the precious stone or diamond called Castrala, is a sort of talisman which illuminates all things, and in which all things are reflected. It is the perfect mirror of the world, and Vichnou generally wears it on his breast, or holds it in the palm of that hand which is raised in the act of benediction.

      2. Kourmavatara. The second Avatar, as a Tortoise; the upper part of the figure, man, the lower, tortoise. The Chakra appears poised on the fingers of one of the hands.

      3. Varahavatara. The third Avatar of Vichnou, as a Verrat, or wild boar, to destroy the giant Hiranyakcha. Vichnou appears with the head of a boar, but with the body and limbs of a man. In the cards, the head of the boar is blue.

      4. Narasinhavatara. The fourth Avatar of Vichnou, as a Lion, to destroy the giant Hiranycasyapa. Vichnou appears with a lion's head, but with a human body, holding the Chakra in one of his hands.

      5. Vamanavatara. The fifth Avatar of Vichnou, as a Bramin Dwarf, to avenge the gods on the giant Bali. In one hand he holds a kind of narrow-necked pot, with a spout to it, and in another a cattashal, or umbrella.

      6. Parasou-Rama. The sixth Avatar of Vichnou, as a Bramin, armed with an axe, to chastise kings and warriors. The colour of the figure is green, and in one of his hands he holds either a flower, or a kind of leaf.

      7. Sri-Rama, or Rama-Ichandra. The seventh Avatar of Vichnou, in the family of the Kings of the race of the Sun, to avenge the gods and men of the tyranny of Ravana, King of Lanka or Ceylon. The figure of Vichnou in this Avatar, is blue or green; and he is seated on a couch or throne with his wife Sita beside him, while monkeys appear offering him adoration. In the cards, the colour of Vichnou is blue, and a female shares his throne, which is very much like a font or shallow bath. Monkeys also appear before him.

      8. Chrishna. The Eighth Avatar of Vichnou, as an Infant suckled by his mother Devaki. Rays of glory surround the heads of the mother and child.

      9. Bouddha, the Son of Maya. The ninth Avatar of Vichnou, who appears richly dressed, seated in an attitude of meditation on a throne, the back of which is of a shell-like form—"espèce de conque"—and is adorned with Lotus flowers.

      10. Calki-avatara. The tenth, and future Avatar of Vichnou, as a Horse, or Man-horse, armed with sword and buckler, to destroy the world at the end of the present age. The figure has a human body, and a horse's head.

As there are different accounts of the incarnations of Vichnou, as has been previously observed, the following is given with the view of throwing a little more light on the subject: "Vichnou, the second person in the Hindoo trinity, is said to have undergone nine successive incarnations to deliver mankind from so many perilous situations. The first, they say, was in the form of a lion; the second of a hog; the third a tortoise; the fourth a serpent; the fifth that of a Bramin (a dwarf, a foot and a half high); the sixth a monster, namely, half man half lion; the seventh a dragon; the eighth a man born of a virgin; and the ninth an ape. Bernier adds a tenth, which is to be that of a great cavalier. (Voyage, vol. ii, p.

Скачать книгу