ORIENTAL SERIES.

R1BBUSRISHABHA. 267
of a thousand years "to instruct him further in true wisdom."
The Vishnu Purana, " originally composed hy the Bishi (Narir
yawa), was communicated by Brahma to j^bhu." He was one
of the four Kumaras (q.v.).
5IBHTJS. Three sons of Su-dhanwan, a descendant of An-
giras, severally named -ftibhu, Vibhu, and Vaja. Through their
assiduous performance of good works they obtained divinity,
exercised superhuman powers, and became entitled to receive
praise and adoration. They are supposed to dwell in the solar
sphere, and there is an indistinct identification of them with
the rays of the sun ; but, whether typical or not, they prove the
admission, at an early date, of the doctrine that men might
become divinities. Wilson. They are celebrated in the jRtg-veda
as skilful workmen, who fashioned Indra's chariot and horses,
and made their parents young again* By command of the gods,
and with a promise of exaltation to divine honours, they made
a single new sacrificial cup into four. They are also spoken of
as supporters of the sky.
.SIBHUKSHAN. The first of the three .Btbhus. In the
plural,
the three .Sibhus.
E7CHIKA. A JMshi descended from Bhngu
and husband
of Satyavati, son of "Orva and father of Jamad-agni. (See
Viswamitra.) In the Maha-bharata and Vishnu Purafta it is
related that jR/'chika was an old man when he demanded in
marriage Satyavati, the daughter of Gadhi, king of Kanya-kubja*
Unwilling to give her to so old a man, Gadhi demanded of him
1000 white horses, each of them having one black ear. jf&chika
obtained these from the god Varuwa, and so gained his wife.
According to the Ramayawa, he sold his son fiuna/fc-sephas to be
a sacrifice.
RIDDEL *
Prosperity.' The wife of Kuvera, god of wealth,
The name is also used for Parvati, the wife of $iva,
ZJIG-VEDA. See Veda.
.BIG-VIDHANA. Writings which treat of the mystic and
magic efficacy of the recitation of hymns of the JMg-veda, or
even of single verses. Some of them are attributed to Saunaka,
but probably belong only to the time of the Puranas. Weber.
.RISHABHA. Son of Nabhi and Meru, and father of a
hundred sons, the eldest of whom was Bharata. He gave his
kingdom to his son and retired to a hermitage, where he led a