Cerberus, The Dog of Hades, page 9 by Maurice Bloomfield
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own. And they who tumbled down became spiders; two flew up, and became the two heavenly dogs." (Br[=a]hmana of the T[=a]ittir[=i]yas 1. 1. 2.)
"The Asuras (demons) called K[=a]lak[=a]njas piled bricks for an altar, saying: 'We will ascend to heaven.' Indra, passing himself off for a Brahmin, came to them; he put on a brick. They at first came near getting to heaven; then Indra tore out his brick. The Asuras becoming quite feeble fell down; the two that were uppermost became the dogs of Yama, those which were lower became spiders." (Br[=a]hmana of the M[=a]itra 1. 6. 9.)
This theme is so well fixed in the minds of the time that it is elaborated in a charm to preserve from some kind of injury, addressed to the mythic figures of the legend:
"Through the air he flies looking down upon all beings: with the majesty of the heavenly dog, with that oblation would we pay homage to thee.
"The three K[=a]lak[=a]njas, that are fixed upon the sky like gods, all these I have called to help, to render this person free from harm.
"In the waters is thy origin, upon the heavens thy home, in the middle of the sea, and upon the earth, thy greatness; with the majesty of the heavenly dog, with that oblation would we pay homage to thee." (Atharva-Veda vi., 80.)
The single heavenly dog that is described here is of no mean interest. The passage proves the individual character of each of the two dogs of Yama; they cannot be a vague pair of heavenly dogs, but must be based each upon some definite phenomenon in the heavens.
Yet another text, Hiranyakeçin's book of house-rites, locates the dogs of Yama, describing them in unmistakable language, in heaven: "The brood of Saram[=a], dark beneath and brown, run, looking down upon the sea." (ii. 7. 2.)
THE TWO DOGS OF YAMA EXPLAIN THEMSELVES.
There are not many things in heaven that can be represented as a pair, coursing across the sky, looking down upon the sea, and having other related properties. My