The History of Indian Literature c8.356

c8.356

The fourteenth *káṇḍa*, at the beginning of its first part (that relating to ritual), contains a legend of a contention among the gods, in which Vishṇu came off victorious, whence it became customary to say, "Vishṇu is the *śreshṭha* (luckiest?) of the gods." This is the first time that we find Vishṇu brought into such prominence; indeed, he otherwise only appears in the legend of the three strides, and as the representative of the sacrifice itself,—a position which is, in fact, ascribed to