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NOTES TO THE DEVOTED ONE.
them in Runic characters. The chief figure seems to be Rade-
gast, of which there are in the collection five. He is represented
with a human body and the head of a lion, and has the
head of a bull or ox on his breast. He has also the figure of
what is supposed to be a goose on his head. We rather believe
this goose to be the swan of Brahma, with which he is attended
in the sculptures of Elephanta, and certainly the head of the
bull speaks its Indian origin. Among several others which we
shall pass over, is the figure of Sieba, which Helmoldus, and
other Germans, call SIVA. On the head of this figure is an
ape or monkey : this seems, beyond contradiction, to prove its
connexion with the Brahminical mythology. This deity had
its principal temple among the Wends of Mecklenburg and
Holstein. As another proof of these Sclavonian gods being of
Indian origin, it is now generally believed that the real Odin
of the Scandinavians is the Buddha of the East; and among
the figures discovered at Prilwitz, is the god Vodha, a name
much nearer in sound to the Indian, than that of the Saxon and
Danish god.
It appears that Siva, or Jiva, in the Sclavonic language, as it
does in the Sanscrit, means life, one of the attributes of the
Destroyer. Patterson (Asiat. Res. v. 8. p. 48.) says, that the
creative power was given by the different sects of religion to
Brahma, Vishnou, and to Siva. The grand Triad of the Creator,
the Preserver, and the Destroyer, pervades the whole system of
every heathen mythology, from China to Peru.
Procopius says, that the Sclavonians worship One God, the
maker of lightning, the sole ruler of the universe. When they
are under the fear of immediate death, either by disease or from
wounds received in battle, they utter vows of sacrifice to the
deity for the preservation of their lives. If they survive,
these vows are faithfully performed, believing their restoration
has been the consequence of their votive offerings. Vide
Procop. Ctesar de Bello Goth. 1.3. c. 4.
" Maha Deo, or Siva, like Saturn, delights in human sacrifices."
Wonders of Elora.
"
Their Prono (speaking of the Sclavonians) in the middle of
a thousand idols, with two or three faces, and their goddess
Seva, both adorned with human sacrifices, seem of Hindu origin.
All these idols look very much like the progeny of some
of the old Asiatic superstitions." Turner's Mid. Ages.
The Tauric Diana, to whom human sacrifices were offered,
was called Saeva Diana.
( J
7) Art thou prepared thy mother's solemn oath
Manfully to ?
fulfil . .
p. 160.
In Malwa, once a powerful kingdom of India, a mother, to