would become reconciled to his sad lot and would cease to regret his lost manhood.
If
we were inclined to accord the title of precious stones to stones
greatly esteemed for their talismanic virtues, a high place in this
category would be assigned to the sâlagrâma-stone of the Hindus.80
Among the aboriginal inhabitants of India this was regarded as a
symbol of the female principle in nature, and of its representative the
goddess Prakrti, and in the later Hindu belief the stone was looked
upon as the special emblem of the god Vishnu, the "Preserver," the
second personage of the Hindu Trimurti. It is therefore ardently
revered by those who are more espe-
™ Valentini, " Museum museorum, oder Vollständige Schau-Bühne," Frankfurt am Main, 1714, vol. ii, p. 11.
M
See, in regard to this stone, Oppert, " Der Salflgrâma-Stein,"
Zeitschrift für Ethnologie, XXXIV Jahrgang, Berlin, 1902, pp. 131-137.
