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It is said that Indra took him to his palace, and that they were so much alike that AS'achi or Pushpotkafa, Indra's wife, did not know which was her husband. KUYALAaS'WA, KUYALAYAiSWA. a prince of the Solar race, who, according to the Yish?iu Pura?^a, had 21,000 sons, but the Hari-vansa numbers them only as 100. Attended by his sons he attacked the great Asura, Dhundliu, who lived in a sea of sand, and harassed the devotions of the pious sage Uttanka. They unearthed the demon and slew him, from which exploit Kuvalaswa got the title of Dhundhu-mara, slayer of Dhundhu ; but all his sons except three perished by the fiery breath of the monster. KUYALAYAPli)A. An immense elephant, or a demon in elephantine form, belonging to Kansa, and employed by him to trample the boys Knsh?2a and Bala-rama to death. The attempt failed and the elephant was killed KUYERA. In the Yedas, a chief of the evil beings or spirits 174 KUVERA. living in the shades : a sort of Pluto, and called by his patronymic Yai^ravana. Later he is Pluto in another sense, as god of wealth and chief of the Yakshas and Guhyakas. He was son of Yisravas by Ifi^a^dfZa, but he is sometimes called son of Pulastya, who was father of Yisravas. This is explained by the Maha-bharata, accord- ing to which Ivuvera was son of Pulastya, but that sage being offended with Kuvera for his adulation of Bralima, " reproduced the half of himself in the form of Yisravas," and had Havana and other children. {See Yisravas.) Kuvera's city is Alaka (also called Prabha, Yasu-dhara, and Yasu-sthali) in the Hima- layas, and his garden Chaitra-ratha on Mandara, one of the spurs of Mount ]\Ieru, where he is waited upon by the Kinnaras. Some authorities place his abode on ]\Iount Kailasa in a palace built by Yiswa-karma. He was half-brother of EavaTia, and, according to the Eamaya?2a and Maha-bharata, he once had possession of the city of Lanka in Ceylon, which was also built by Y*iswa-karma, and from which he was expelled by Ravawa. The same authority states that he performed austerities for thousands of vears, and obtained the boon from Brahma that he should be immortal, one of the guardian deities of the world, and the god of wealth. So he is regent of the north, and the keeper of gold and silver, jewels and pearls, and all the trea- sures of the earth, besides nine particular Xidhis, or treasures, the nature of which is not well understood. Brahma also gave him the great self-moving aerial car Pushpaka (q.v.). His wife is Yakslil, Charvl, or Kauverl, daughter of the Danava j\Iura. His sons are Mam-gT?iva or Yarwa-kavi and iSTala-kubara or Mayu-raja, and his daughter Mmakshi (fish-eyed). He is repre- sented as a white man deformed in body, and having three legs and only eight teeth. His body is covered with ornaments. He receives no worship. The name Ku-vera, as also the variant Ku-tanu, signifies ' vile body,' referring to his ugliness. He is also called Dhana-pati, 'lord of wealth;' Ichchha-vasu, 'who has Avealth at will ;' Yaksha-raja, ' cliief of the Yakshas ; ' Mayu- rfija, 'king of the Kinnaras ;' Rakshasendra, ' chief of the Rak- shasas ;' Ratna-garbha, 'belly of jewels ;' Raja-raja, 'king of kings;' and Nara-raja, 'king of men' (in allusion to the power of riclies). From his parentage he is called YaisravaTza, Paulas- tya, and Ai(^avic?a or Ailavila. As an especial friend of ^S'iva he is called Isa-sakhi, &c. LAGHU-KA UMUDI—LAKSHMANA. 175 LAGHU-KAUMUDI. A modern and very much simplified edition of Pardni's Grammar by Yarada Kaja. It has been edited and translated by Dr. Ballantyne. LAKSHMAiVA. i. Son of King Dasa-ratha by his wife Sii- mitra. He was the twin brother of /S'atru-ghna, and the half- brother and especial friend of Kama-chandra. Under the pecu- liar circumstances of his birth, one-eighth part of the divinity of Yishwu became manifest in him. {See Da.5a-ratha.) But according to the Adhyatma Ramayawa, he was an incarnation of /S'esha. When Rama left his father's court to go to the hermi- tage of Yiswamitra, Lakshmawa accompanied him, and after- wards attended him in his exile and in all his wanderings. He was also very attached to Rama's wife Sita, which gave rise to the reproach that the two brothers were husbands of one wife. On one occasion, indeed, Sita reproached Lakshma/^a that he did not hasten to rescue Rama from danger, because he wished to obtain herself. His own wife was Urmila, the sister of Sita, and he had two sons, Angada and Chandra-ketu. While Riima and Lakshma/ia were living in the wilderness, a Rakshasi named /S'lirpa-nakha, sister of Ravawa, fell in love with Rama and made advances to him. He jestingly referred her to Laksh- ma/ia, who in like manner sent her back to Rama. When she was again repulsed she attacked Sita, whom Rama was obliged to defend. Rama then called upon Lakshmawa to disfigure the Rakshasi, and accordingly he cut off her nose and ears. The mutilated female called upon her brother to avenge her, and a fierce war ensued. When Sita was carried off by Ravawa, Lakshmawa accompanied Rama in his search, and he ably and bravely supported him in his war against Rava/ia. Rama's earthly career was drawing to a close, and Time was sent to inform him that he must elect whether to stay longer on earth, or to return to the place from whence he had come. \Vliile they were in conference, the irascible sage Dur-vasas came and demanded to see Rama instantly, threatening him with the most direful curses if any delay were allowed to occur. To save his brother Rama from the threatened curse, but aware of the consequences that would ensue to himself from breaking in upon Rama's interview with Time, he went in and brought Rama out. LakshmaTza knowing his fate, retired to the river AS'arayii and resigned himself. The gods then showered down flowers upon 176 LAKSHMI. him and conveyed liim "bodily to heaven. 2. A son of Diir- yodhana, killed by Abhimanyu. LAKSHMl. The word occurs in the i?/g-veda with the sense of good fortune, and in the Atharva-veda the idea has become personified in females both of a lucky and unlucky char- acter. The Taittiriya Sanhita, as explained by the commenta- tor, makes Lakshmi and iS'rl to be two wives of Aditya, and the /S'atapatha Brahma?ia describes Sy\ as issuing forth from Pra- jiipati. Lakshmi or SrL in later times is the goddess of fortune, wife of Vish7iu, and mother of Kama. The origin ascribed to her by the Ranlaya?^a is the one commonly received. According to this legend she sprang, like Aphrodite, from the froth of the ocean, in full beauty with a lotus in her hand, when it was churned by the gods and the Asuras. Another legend represents her as floating on the flower of a lotus at the creation. With reference to this origin, one of her names is Kshirabdhi-tanaya, ' daughter of the sea of milk.' From her connection with the lotus she is called Padma. According to the Purawas, she was the daughter of Bhr^'gu and Khyati. The Yish'^u Purawa says, " Her first birth was the daughter of Bhr/gu by Khyati. It was at a sub- sequent period that she was produced from the sea at the churn- ing of the ocean. . . . When Hari was born as a dwarf, Lakshmi appeared from a lotus (as Padmil or Kamala). When he was born as Rama of the race of Bh?'igu (or Parasu-rama), she was Dharam. When he was Raghava (Rama-chandra), she was Sita. And when he was Krish?za she became Rukmim. In the other descents of yish?iu she is his associate." One version of the Ramayawa also aflirms that " Lakshmi, the mistress of the worlds, was born by her own will, in a beautiful field opened up by the plough," and received from Janaka tlie name of Sltii. Lakslimi is said to liave four arms, but she is the type of beauty, and is generally depicted as having only two. In one hand she holds a lotus. " She has no temples, but being god- dess of abundance and fortune, she continues to be assiduously courted, and is not likely to fall into neglect." Other names of Lakshmi are Hira, Indira, Jaladhi-ja, 'ocean born;' Chanchala or Lola, ' the fickle,' as goddess of fortune ; Loka-milta, ' mother of the world.' LALITA-VISTARA—LINGA. 177 LALITA-VISTARA. A work in Sanskrit verse on the life and doctrines of Buddha. It has been printed in the Bibliotheca Indica. LANG ALL ' Armed with a ploughshare.' Bala-rama. LANKA. I. The island of Ceylon or its capital city.