Page:History of the Indian Archipelago Vol 2.djvu/264

 220 ANCIENT RELIGION OF THE of Malayan and Javanese romances, under the ap- pellation of Guru, or the instructor, prefixing to it the word Batara, a corruption of Axatara^ both in sense and orthography, for with the Indian islanders that word is not used as with the genuine Hindus, to express the incarnation of a god, but as an appel- lative expressing any deity ; nay, as if conferring an apotheosis upon their princes, it has been sometimes prefixed to the names of some of the most cele- brated of their ancient kings. When Siwa appears in this character in the romances of the Indian islanders, he is painted as a powerful, mischievous, and malignant tyrant ; a description sufficiently consonant to his character of destroyer, in the Hindu triad. The Javanese of the present day attach no very distinct meaning to the word Buddha, or, as they write it, being the nearest approximation to the true orthography which their alphabet affords, Buda. They frequently use it vaguely, as an ad- jective implying what relates to ancient times, pretty much as we ourselves would use the word "pagaUy in reference to the times which preceded our conversion to Christianity. When asked what religion they professed before their conversion to Mahomedanism, they reply, that they professed the Agama Buda, which is not a bit more distinct, than if we were to reply to a similar question re- specting our faith, that w^e professed the pagan re-