Page:Folk-lore - A Quarterly Review Volumes 32 and 33.djvu/690



following story recalls that of Cadmus and the dragons' teeth, and also the belief about blood falling on the ground.

The great Indian goddess Durgā or Devī has many names. One given to her specially in connexion with the slaying of demons is Chāmundā, and her exploits in this way are described in the Devī Mahātmya of the Mārkandeya Purāna. There is a good English translation of this by Pargiter. One of these Asuras or demons was named Raktabīja, "blood-seed." When he was wounded, from each drop of blood that fell to the ground there sprung up from the earth a demon equal to him in stature, like him in body, and like him in valour; for "as many blood-drops fell from his body, so many men came into being." Devī, as Chāmundā, attacked him. She caught up his blood in her mouth and swallowed it, in order to prevent it falling to the ground. In this way, having deprived him of allies, she conquered and killed him.

So far the story of Chāmundā and Raktabīja, which is accessible to English readers. But there is a modern bardic cycle of great popularity current all over Northern India which is not so accessible, as it is available only in the original dialect. It is called the Ālh-Khand, and describes the exploits of Ālhā and other heroes of Rājputāna in about the thirteenth century For our present purposes the two personages concerned are Ālhā and his principal opponent Chaurā, who was general of the army opposing that of which Ālhā was leader. In the final Armageddon described in the last canto of his cycle, Ālhā and Chaurā join in single combat. The following is a literal trans-