THE CURSE OF KEHAMA: A POEM IN TWO VOLUMES. BY ROBERT SOUTHEY. KATAPAI, NË KAI TA AAEKTPYONONEOTTA, CURSES ARE LIKE YOUNG CHICKENS, THEY VOL. I. NEW-YORK: PUBLISHED BY DAVID LONGWORTH, Shakspeare-Gallery. 1811. PREFACE. IN the religion of the hindoos, which of all false religions is the most monstrous in its fables, and the most fatal in its effects, there is one remarkable peculiarity. Prayers, penances, and sacrifices, are supposed to possess an inherent and actual value, in no degree depending upon the disposition or motive of the person who performs them. They are drafts upon heaven, for which the gods cannot refuse payment. The worst men, bent upon the worst designs, have in this manner obtained power which has made them formidable to the supreme deities themselves, and rendered an avatar, or incarnation of Veeshnoo the Preserver, necessary. This belief is the foundation of the following poem. The story is original; but, in all its parts, consistent with the superstition upon which it is built; and however startling the fictions may appear, they might almost be called credible when compared with the genuine tales of hindoo mythology. |