Children of the Sun. Dirgabhabu. Ragu. Aja. 17 Dasaratha. In the chronology of Sanchoniatho, it appears that the fourth generation of Cain, the contemporaries of Cainan in the race of Seth, were the "sons of light, fire, flame, who begat sons of vast bulk and height; whose names were given to those mountains, on which they first seized, which from them were named mount Cas-sius, Libanus and Antilibanus, and Brathys." This account not only agrees with, but is confirmed, and explained by the Hebrew text of the Old Testament. "There were giants in the earth in those days; and also after that, when the sons of God came in unto the daughters of men, and they bore children to them: the same became mighty men which were of old, men of renown*." Here we have two distinct race of Giants. "Those times" evidently alluding to the period of which they were treating, and " after that," to the subsequent period, when idolatry had become general, by the sons of Seth descending from the holy mount, and mixing with the daughters of Cain: * Gen. vi. 4. "when the sons of God came in unto the daughters of men," "and the earth was corrupt before God, and filled with violence." It is of the giants of those days, or of the fourth generation of the race of Cain, that we are now treating, before the apostacy of the race of Seth. It has been already shewn, that the Hindu and Chaldean records agree with the most ancient Jewish authors, respecting the return of Cain, about this period of time. And the expression "first seized on these mountains," is proof presumptive that they were not the mountains of that country, which belonged to them as an heritage. It is, therefore, implied, that those giants called Libanus, &c. &c. returned to the holy land, or country inhabited by Adam, about this time. And at this juncture we find the fourth, or Lion Avatara, brought forward by the Hindus, for the express purpose of destroying the first impious monarch, who had in that country denied the supremacy of the living God. The son of Cainan was named Mahalaleel; which, in the Hebrew, signifies a praiser of the Lord, an illumination of God'; to denote that this pious prince was an opposer of the idolatrous religion of his contemporaries, in the race of Cain. An illumination of God is synonymous with an Avatara. The Nara VOL. I. * Gen. vi. 11. sing Avatar is the first recorded for the destruction of a blaspheming monarch of the race of Atri. Nara-sing denotes an illumination of Nara (or the spirit of God) in the form of a lion. From the genealogy of Sanchoniatho we learn that on the females of the fourth generation "were begotten Memrames and Hypsuranus; but they were so named by their mothers, the women of those times, who, without shame, lay with any man whom they could light upon. Then Hypsuranus inhabited Tyre, and he invented the making of huts with reeds and rushes, and the paper reeds *: "Hypsuranus fell into enmity with his brother Usous, who first invented coverings for his body made of the skins of wild beasts, which he caught in hunting. When violent tempests of rain and wind came, the boughs in Tyre, being rubbed against each other, took fire, and burnt the wood there." (This circumstance, it is said, frequently occurs in many parts of India to the present day.) "Usous having taken a tree, and broken off its branches, was the first who was so bold as to put to sea; and he consecrated two pillars to fire and wind, and he bowed down to them, and worshipped them, and poured out to them the blood of such wild It is remarkable that the Hindus, from time immemorial to the present day, use the paper rushes, or Cadjan leaves, used for writing on, to cover in their houses. beasts as had been caught in hunting. But when these (Hypsuranus and Usous) were dead, those that remained, consecrated to them stumps of wood, and monuments of stone, and kept anniversary feasts to them." By which it is evidently meant, that as formerly the monuments were consecrated to the Sun, they were now consecrated to human beings. The Hindu historian says: They deposed the Sun and Moon, and instituted other Gods." May we not carry the similitude still further, and suppose the two brothers mentioned by the Hindus by the names of Hirenakeran and Hirenakassan, to be the two brothers of Sanchoniatho, Memremus, and Hypsuranus? The two former are represented as giants, the two latter as the sons of giants. They were equidistant from the first created, not only with each other, but with Mahalaleel, and the Sing-avatar. Another remarkable circumstance in the parallel presents itself. We have seen, that the several nations, of which we have treated, have not only a chasm in their genealogical tables, but mention the sixth generation in a different manner to that of any of the others. The Hebrews, "unto Enos was born Irad." The Egyptians, after many years from the generation of Hypsuranus came Agrus.". The Hindus do not mention any son of Hirenakassan, but record, that "in his house was born a son 66 named Prahland." This child was considered as his heir and successor. But such would have been the case even had he not been of his blood, according to the ancient usage*. But it appears that Prahland was indubitably of his family, although not his son. The brother of the Egyptian giants was Usous, who first consecrated idols, and bowed down and worshipped them. The Lion Avatar, his contemporary, was the first prince mentioned as an Avatara, for the purpose of opposing an idolatrous prince. On these grounds I venture to pronounce Mahalaleel the Sing-avatar. But I am inclined to think Bhagiratha, who appears as the first in the fifth generation, was not the fifth patriarch. Dasaratha, against whose name I have placed an asterisk, answers better to the character of Mahaleleel and, although Bhagiratha appears to have been an elder son of that generation, yet as Mahalaleel was not born until Cainan was seventy years of age, it is more than probable, that he had many brothers elder than himself. The giant Hirenakassan is supposed by some to have been Nimrod. And the supposition is supported by Maurice, on the following grounds, which are equally applicable to Hypsuranus the brother of Usous. 1. "Nimrod was an hunter." * Vide Gen. xv. 23. |