Research source

THE CUCKOO, THE HERON, THE HEATHCOCK, THE PARTRIDGE, THE NIGHTINGALE, THE SWALLOW, THE SPARROW, AND

Date of account: English edition published 1872
Source: Zoological Mythology; or, The Legends of Animals, Volume 2 (of 2)
Reference: Zoological Mythology; or, The Legends of Animals, Volume 2 (of 2) · selected passage 128
Rights: public_domain
Language: English
Record updated: 2026-08-25

Record summary

We are already acquainted with the sea-monster which, in the Râmâyanam (like the siren fish), allures from the sea the shadow of Hanumant, and can make itself now small, now large; we have seen the dwarf Andvarri of the Eddas, who hides himself in the form of a pike; we are familiar with the god Vishnus or Haris, who, …

Published source text

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Source passage

Source text · mention only

We are already acquainted with the sea-monster which, in the _Râmâyanam_ (like the siren fish), allures from the sea the shadow of Hanumant, and can make itself now small, now large; we have seen the dwarf Andvarri of the _Eddas_, who hides himself in the form of a pike; we are familiar with the god Vishnus or Haris, who, from being a dwarf, becomes a giant (Haris means fair-haired or golden, and refers now to the sun, now to the moon); Vishnus, in his incarnation as a fish, first takes the form of the little golden fish, the çapharî; and, in this form, the god Vishnus is especially identified with the moon, the ruler of the rainy season. As the moon (which we have already seen as a little learned puppet) grows by quarters, and from being exceedingly small, becomes large, so, in the Hindoo legend of the Deluge, narrated in the Vedic commentaries, in the _Mahâbhâratam_, and in the Pâuranic legends, the god Vishnus or Haris begins by being an exceedingly small fish, a çapharî, which beseeches the penitent Manus to be taken out of the great river, the Ganges, where it is afraid of being devoured by the aquatic monsters.

Historical context

Contextual commentary · mention only

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Modern context

Contextual commentary · mention only

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