f sixty thousand brave
sons, all of whom, thanks to his care, grew up to perform wonders in
behalf of their father and brother.

On one occasion, a horse chosen for sacrifice having been stolen, the
father despatched these sixty thousand braves in quest of it, and, as
they were not able to discover any traces of it on earth, bade them
dig down to hell. Not only did they obey, but continued their search
until they struck in turn the four elephants on whose backs the Hindus
claim our earth peacefully reposes. Here the diggers disturbed the
meditations of some god, who, in his anger, burned them up. The poor
father, anxious to purify the ashes of his dead sons, learned he would
never be able to do so until the Ganges--a river of heaven--was
brought down to earth. By dint of penance and prayer, the bereaved
parent induced Vishnu to permit this stream--which until then had only
flowed in heaven--to descend to earth, warning the king that the
river, in coming down, would destroy the world unless some means were
found to stem the force of its current. Our clever rajah obviated this
difficulty by persuading the god Siva to receive the cataract on the
top of his head, where the sacred waters, after threading their way
through his thick locks, were divided into the seven streams which
feed the sacred springs of India. Thus safely brought to earth, the
Ganges penetrated to hell, where it purified the ashes of the sixty
thousand martyrs, and ever since then its waters have been supposed
to possess miraculous powers.

For sin and stain were banished thence,
By the sweet river's influence.

The hermit also told how the gods procured the Water of Life (Amrita)
by churning the ocean, saying they used Mount Meru as a dasher, and a
huge serpent as the rope whereby to twirl it around.

Led by this hermit, Rama not only slew the ravaging monsters, but went
on to take part in a tournament, where King Janak offered his
daughter, Sita, in marriage to any archer who would span a bow he had
obtained from Siva. On arriving at the place where this test was to be
made, Rama saw the huge bow brought forth on a chariot drawn by five
thousand men, and, although no one else had even been able to raise
it, took it up and bent it until it broke with a crack which terrified
all present. By this feat young Rama won the hand of Sita, a beautiful
princess, whom her father turned up from the soil while ploughing one
day, and who is hence the Hindu p