Grecian mythology," originated in this conflict over the
precedence of one or the other of the sex-principles contained in
the Deity. Although there are no records of these wars in extant
history, accounts of them are still preserved in the traditions
and religious monuments of oriental countries. In Egypt, in
India, and to a greater or less extent in other Eastern
countries, these physiological contests have been disguised under
a veil of allegory, the true significance of which it is no
longer difficult to understand. With the light which more recent
investigation has thrown upon the subject of the separation of
the original sex-elements contained in the Deity, the
significance of the following legend in the Servarasa is at once
apparent.
When Parvati (Devi) was united in marriage to Mahadeva (Siva),
the divine pair had once a dispute on the comparative influence
of the sexes in producing animated beings, and each resolved by
mutual agreement to create a new race of men. The race produced
by Mahadeva were very numerous, and devoted themselves
exclusively to the worship of the male Deity, but their
intellects were dull, their bodies feeble, their limbs distorted,
and their complexions of many different hues. Parvati had at the
same time created a multitude of human beings, who adored the
female power only, and were well shaped, with sweet aspects and
fine complexions. A furious contest ensued between the two
nations, and the Lingajas, or adorers of the male principle, were
defeated in battle, but Mahadeva, enraged against the Yonigas
(the worshippers of the female element), would have destroyed
them with the fire of his eye if Parvati had not interposed and
appeased him, but he would spare them only on condition that they
should instantly leave the country with a promise to see it no
more, and from the Yoni, which they adored as the sole cause of
their existence, they were named Yavanas.
The fact has been noticed in a previous work[49] that, according
to Wilford, the Greeks were the descendants of the Yavanas of
India, and that when the Ionians emigrated they adopted the name
to distinguish themselves as adorers of the female, in opposition
to a strong sect of male worshippers which had been driven from
the mother country. We are taught by the Puranas that they
settled partly on the borders of Varaha-Dwip, or Europe, where
they became the progenitors of the Greeks; and partly in the two
