5. The Asiatic deluge was evidently posterior to the advent of man upon the Earth, since the memory of it has been preserved by tradition only in the memory of the inhabitants of this part of the world, who have consecrated it in their theogonies. *
It is equally posterior to the great universal deluge which has marked the present geological period; and, when they speak of pre-diluvium men and animals, geologists make reference to this first cataclysm.
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* The Indian legend about the diluvium states, according to the Book of Vedas that Brahma, transformed into a fish addressed the pious monarch Vaivaswata telling him: “The time for the dissolution of the Universe has arrived; shortly, everything existent upon the earth will be destroyed. You need to build a ship in which you will board, after you have gathered and loaded the seeds of all plants. You will wait for me, for I will be with you at the ship; you will recognize me because, as a sign, I will have a horn on my head.” The saint obeyed; he built a ship in which he boarded and, using a strong cable, tied it to the fish’s horn. For many years the ship was towed with great speed through the darkness of a frightful thunderstorm, landing finally at the top of the Himawat (Himalaya) mount. Brahma then instructed Vaivaswata to create all beings in order to populate the Earth.
The analogy between this legend and Noah’s biblical report about the deluge is evident. From India this legend made its way to Egypt, along with a multitude of other beliefs. Being that the book of Vedas antecedes that of Moses, the narrative it contains about the deluge cannot be a copy of the latter. Rather, it is possible that Moses, who had learned the doctrines of the Egyptian priests, may have taken his information from them.
