Note 329 — Chapter I
Reading edition
Another belief is that the God Vishnu, at the time of his Vāman (or Dwarf) incarnation, touched the ina (i.e., the Egg) in his third footstep and thus caused a flow of waters, which is known as ākāsh-ganga.329 Some suppose the milky way to be a ladder leading to the heavens.330 Astrologers call it Vatsa, a fictitious creature with numerous horns, mouths, and tails.331 According to another belief, the milky way consists of two rekhās—lines—one of sin and the other of good and meritorious actions. The length of one line compared to the other betokens the predominance of good or evil as the case may be.332 The milky way is also supposed to be the track left by the rath or car of Rāmachandra.333