Page:On the Coromandel Coast.djvu/325

Rh into tears. Its articulation is 'kiang,' with the prolongation of the last syllable. In the days of the gods Garuda served as a steed for Vishnu. In addition to this duty it did the washing for the deity, and continued its service up to the advent of the kali-yuga, one of the Brahminical ages.

With the coming of the kali-yuga, the world entered on an iron age of misery and misrule. A great upheaval of the Universe took place, and there was a terrible flood. All mankind perished except Manu and the seven holy men known as the Rishis. They were saved with their wives, Vishnu himself piloting them on the face of the deep. The waters subsided in time, and the earth was repeopled by the children of the Rishis. When the holy men died they were fixed in the firmament as the seven stars in the constellation of Ursa major. Their wives are to be seen in the Pleiades.

One day Garuda departed to the tank as usual with the week's wash. During his absence the kali-yuga dawned, and the whole face of the Universe was altered. When he returned he was utterly bewildered by the change that had taken place. He searched everywhere, but he could find no trace of his deity; the gods were gone from the earth for ever.

He still flies about in his fruitless search, calling for his god and carrying the clothes round his neck, as any Hindu can see who looks at the bird. His melancholy distressed cry for Vishnu will never cease. If he found the god he would not recognise him, for in the awful birth of the kali-yuga Vishnu himself was changed from white to black.