ON THE VIRTUES OF FABULOUS STONES 197
cially
devoted to the worship of Vishnu. These stones are fossil formations,
either of ammonites or univalve mollusks of a spiral order, and consist
of a number of spirals surrounding a circular, central perforation.
They are generally the hardened filling of the shell itself, which has
entirely weathered away. For the stone to be an effectual talisman, the
diameter of the perforation should not exceed one-eighth of the total
diameter of the sâlagrâma. The best specimens are said to be found in
Nepal, on the upper course of the Gandakî, which flows into the Ganges
from the north, and is called the Salagrama Eiver, because the sacred
stone is found in it.
There
can be little doubt that we have here a substance similar to the
fossils described by Pliny and his successors under the names brontia, ombria, ovum angui-num, and cornu ammonis, and
it is most probable that in India, as in Europe, these fossils were
believed to have fallen from heaven, and were associated with the
thunder-bolt. Hence they would be regarded by
the
Hindus as more especially sacred to Vishnu, who was originally a
divinity representing the various forms of light, one of his
manifestations being the lightning.
The
sâlagrâmas must be carefully chosen, for not all of them are
luck-bringing, some being bearers of ill-fortune. A black sâlagrâma
brings fame to the owner, and a red one, a crown; but one with an
unduly large perforation would cause dissension and strife in a family,
one with irregularly formed spirals portends misfortune, and a brown
one would bring to pass the death of its owner's wife. Each faithful
worshipper of Vishnu has one of these stones, but two may not be in the
same house. To give away a sâlagrâma would
