The next in order among the celestial gods is _Budha_, that is, the intelligent, the vigilant, the crafty, the acute. He is supposed to be a bosom friend of _Shiva_, and supplies the place of his private secretary. This office has been conferred on him by the Indian mythologists; because, according to their ideas, each planet is governed by a particular genius; and because _Budha_ represents Mercury, which is nearest the sun. This god is said to have been the author of a great many books, and to have invented arithmetic, the art of writing, geometry, astronomy, and, in short, all those sciences which have been cultivated and improved by the industry of man. The opinion or those who consider him as having been really a writer, a king, and a legislator, is ridiculous. The other deities of the Indians are: 1. _Indra_, or _Devendra_, the genius who presides over rain and the atmosphere. 2. _Yama_, the genius under whose inspection the dead are placed; the angel of death who dispenses rewards and punishment. 3. _Aghni_, fire, as a personified deity. 4. _Kamadèva_, or _Manmatha_, the god of pleasure, who blinds the eye of reason, and inspires men with wicked desires. 5. _Varuna_, the genius who presides over the sea, and also over ponds, lakes and rivers. 6. _Vaishrava_, who presides over buried treasures, and over all pits and caverns in which riches lie concealed. 7. _Vishvacarma_, the inspector of all manual labour and mechanical arts. 8. _Yaksha_, certain genii who are in the service of the above-mentioned _Vaishrava_. 9. _Gandarva_, the genii who make music in the heavens. 10. _Kinnara_, the musician of the female deities. 11. _Rakshasa_, the nocturnal apparition; a malignant genius, delighting in mischief; produced by the goddess _Adidi_, and detested by the other gods. This appellation is applied, in ridicule, by the Brahmans to the Europeans. It is remarkable that the Assyrians and Medes are in various ancient books called also _Rakshasa_. The Indians describe them as a wild, cruel, hostile people, who reside on the other side of the mountain _Imau_ or _Himala_. 12. _Bhùda_, with the long _ù_, are also spectres in the service of _Mahadèva_. 13. _Pishasha_, wicked dæmons, the damned devils. 14. _Apsarastri_, nymphs who reside partly in heaven, and partly on earth. The Indians believe that good and bad genii of this kind wander always about, and sometimes suffer themselves to be seen. For this reason they are accustomed to invite them to eat in their houses; and, on such occasions, they clean their habitations that they may be ready to receive them.