figures into which _Vishnu_ transformed himself while he remained on earth. When I visited this place, I was attended by five Brahmans, who all spoke Portuguese, and gave me an explanation of every thing I saw. The information I received from them I immediately wrote down, and paid them five rupees for their trouble. In the seventh and tenth chapter of the second book I shall give a farther account of this temple[57]. At the bottom of the mountain, not far from the above-mentioned temple, is a sacred pond, in which, since the earliest ages, all those who visit the temple have been accustomed to wash themselves. Near it stands a tree, with a thick shady top, which is surrounded by a low stone wall. The internal space is filled with earth, which is well watered; and by these means the tree is supplied with nourishment. In the Tamulic language it is called _Arasu_; in that of Malabar, _Arayal_ or _Arashu_; and in corrupted Portuguese, _Pimpolu_. If the bark of this tree be bruised, it yields a juice which is an excellent remedy for schirrous tumours in the liver and diseases of the spleen. This juice taken inwardly, to the quantity of two ounces, stops spitting of blood; and, used as an ointment, it cures the itch. The dried fruit of the tree pulverised, and taken in water for fourteen days, removes asthmatic complaints; and it is said also that it promotes fruitfulness in women. This _Arashu_ tree is held in great veneration by the Indians, chiefly because it represents the deities _Brahma_, _Vishnu_, and _Shiva_, who are supposed to reside in it. On this account a white cloth, intended as a representation of the robe or covering of these deities, is suspended round its trunk on certain days of solemnity.