Myths of the Hindus & Buddhists

Mythsof the Hindus & BuddhistsHe laid the boar down and rushed on to seek the meaningof the miracle.It was not long before he came to a stonelingam, the upper part of which was shaped into the likeness of the god s head; immediately it spoke to his soul,prepared by some goodness or austerity of a previous birth,so that his whole nature was changed, and he thought ofnothing but the love of the god whom now he first beheld ;he kissed the image, like a mother embracing a long-lostson. He saw that water had recently been poured uponit, and the head was crowned with leaves ;one of hisfollowers, just coming up, said that this must have beendone by an old Brahman devotee who had dwelt near byin the days of Sturdy s father.It came into Sturdy s heart then that perhaps he himselfmight render some service to the god. He could scarcelybring himself to leave the image all alone; but he hadno other choice, and hurrying back to the camp, he chosesome tender partsof the roasted flesh, tasted them to seeifthey were good, and taking these in a cup of leaves andsome water from the river in his mouth, he ran back tothe image, leaving his astonished followers without aword, for they naturally thought he had gone mad. Whenhe reached the image he itsprinkled with water from hismouth, made offering of the boar s flesh and laid upon itthe wild flowers from his own hair, praying the god toreceive his gifts.Then the sun went down, and Sturdyremained beside the image on guard with bow strung andarrow notched. At dawn he went forth to hunt that hemight have new offerings to lay before the god.Meanwhile the Brahman devotee who had served the godso many years came to perform his customary morningservice ;he brought pure water in a sacred vessel, freshflowers and leaves, and recited holy prayers.304What was