XVI. _Munghi-ila_, a single leaf of the _nymphæa_, placed in water in an inverted situation. Like the preceding, it is also a mark of the _Vishnuvites_, and has the same signification. XVII. _Tamaramotta_, the bulb of the _nymphæa_. It is painted with yellow, and has also a like signification. XVIII. _Puttu_, that is, the mark of colour. It is either red, white, or black. In the middle of it is a raw grain of rice, dedicated to _Lakshmi_ the goddess of the fruits of the earth, and particularly of corn. XIX. _Ciacra_, the wheel of _Vishnu_, which he always turns round, and by which he directs the world. A great many wonderful powers and properties are ascribed to it by the Vishnuvites. The oldest Indian kings employed this wheel instead of a sceptre; and were, therefore, called _Ciacravartti_, that is, persons who direct the wheel. The Thibetians still retain this ancient custom, and carry round a wheel during their public processions, festivals, and other solemnities. This mark is particularly characteristic of the _Vishnuvites_. Some consider it as the symbol of the sun; and I am of the same opinion, because that luminary is worshipped by the Indians as the ruler of the world. These different kinds of marks have, in the Samscred language, a common appellation, viz. _Tilaga_, a mark on the forehead; _Todocuri_, a stripe or mark which is made by touching colours; _Citraga_, a coloured ornament on the forehead; _Pattikìra_, a stripe made through devotion; _Vishèszaga_, marks by which the different sects and worshippers of God may be known. Some of these marks are painted with red sandal wood, others with _curcuma_, others with _magnel_; some with the ashes of burnt cow’s dung, others with rice-meal, and others with earth which has been collected in the neighbourhood of a temple, a sacred river, or a place consecrated to a deity: ashes from burnt human bodies are also sometimes mixed with this earth. The sandal wood, saffron and ashes are consecrated to fire, the sun, moon, and planets; but the sacred earth, the ricemeal, and burnt cow’s dung, are employed in honour of _Lakshmi_ and her husband _Vishnu_[191]. CHAPTER IX. _Division of Time--Festivals--Calendar of the Indians._ In the reckoning of time the Indians employ partly solar years, and partly lunar. A solar year is called _Sura_, or _Surya Valsara_; a lunar year, _Somanda_, or _Ciandra Valsara_. A _Suraya Valsara_ contains twelve months, during which the _Sura_ or _Surya_ (the sun) passes through the _Rashiciacra_ (zodiac). The _Rashi_, or signs of the zodiac, are: 1. _Mèsza_, a horned animal, that is, Aries. It corresponds with April, called _Mèsza-mòsa_. 2. _Idava_, _Vrsha_, or _Mahisha_, that is, Taurus. It corresponds with _Idavamasa_, or _Vrshamasa_, May. 3. _Mithuna_, Gemini, couple, or man and wife, as seen represented on an Indo-Thibetian painting preserved in the Borgian Museum. It corresponds with _Mithunamòsa_, or June.