Page:Picturesque Nepal.djvu/289

 (nara) were his first ayana, or place of motion. The name, as commonly used, applies to Vishnu, and is that under which he was first worshipped. He has been adopted by the Buddhist Newars and is worshipped by them, although not nearly to the same extent as by the Hindus. According to the ancient mythology of Nepal this deity, as Mahadeo, was present when the gods churned the ocean in order to obtain from it the water of immortality, and had drunk the poison which arose from the sea during the operation. This poison produced the most excruciating thirst, and caused a permanent blue discoloration of the throat, whence he received the name of Nila-kent or "Blue-neck." The story goes on to state that in his agony, and in order to assuage the burning thirst, he repaired to the snowy region of the Himalayas near Gosainthan, where, striking his trisul or trident into the mountain-side, three streams of water immediately gushed forth. These waters, collecting in a depression below, formed a lake which was called after the god, the Lake of Nila-kent. Mahadeo stretching himself