[2] p. 3. l. 5. Holy deep-read in the Vedas. All the perfections, which, according to the opinions and laws of the Hindus, distinguish the sovereign from the rest of mankind, are here ascribed to the hero of the poem. The study of the Vedas must be cultivated by the three superior castes, and ensures both temporal and eternal beatitude. In the laws of Menu it is said, "Greatness is not conferred by years, not by grey hairs, not by wealth, not by powerful kindred." The divine sages have established this rule—Whoever has read the Vedas and their Angas, he is among us great. (Jones's Menu, ii. 254). Of all these duties, answered Bhrigu, the principal is to acquire from the Upanishads a true knowledge of the one supreme God: that is the most exalted of all sciences, because it ensures immortality, (xii. 85). For in the knowledge and adoration of one God, which the Veda teaches, all the rules of good conduct before-mentioned in order, are fully comprised, (ib. 87.)

The study of the Vedas is considered the peculiar duty of kings, (vii. 43). The Upanishads are doctrinal extracts of the Vedas.

The Indian law demands in the most rigorous manner from every one of noble birth, the mastery over the senses. Menu says, c. ii. 93, "A man by the attachment of his organs to sensual pleasure, incurs certain guilt; but having wholly subdued them, he thence attains heavenly bliss. v. 94. Desire is never satisfied with the enjoyment of desired objects; as the fire is not appeased with clarified butter; it only blazes more vehemently. v. 97. To a man contaminated by sensuality, neither the Vedas, nor liberality, nor sacrifices, nor strict observances, nor pious austerities, ever procure felicity." The control over every kind of sensual indulgence is enjoined upon the king. vii. 44. Day and night must he strenuously exert himself to gain complete victory over his own organs; since that king alone whose organs are completely subdued, can keep his people firm to their duty.

Skill in the management of horses and chariots, which in a subsequent part of the poem is of great importance to Nala, is often mentioned as a praiseworthy accomplishment of kings. In the Ramayana, for instance, in the description of king Dasaratha, which likewise contains the above-mentioned traits of character—"In this city Ayodhya was a king named DusharuthÂ, descended from Ikshwaku, perfectly skilled in the Veda and Vedangas, prescient, of great ability, beloved by all his people, a great charioteer, constant in sacrifice, eminent in sacred duties, a royal sage, nearly equalling a Muhurshi, famed throughout the three worlds, mighty, triumphant over his enemies, observant of justice, having a perfect command of his appetites." Carey and Marshman's translation, sect. vi. p. 64.

[3] p. 3. l. 5. —in Nishadha lord of earth. I have accented this word not quite correctly Nĭshādhă, in order to harmonise with the trochaic flow of my metre. It appears to be the same as Nishadha-rÂshtra and Nishādha-dēsa. See Wilford's list of mountains, rivers, countries; from the PurÀnas and other books. Asiatic Researches, vol. viii. Bopp.

[4] p. 3. l. 6. Loving dice, of truth unblemished. The Sanscrit word Akshapujah is differently interpreted. Kosegarten renders it in a good sense as "fearing heaven." He argues that it is the poet's object in this passage to describe the good qualities of Nala, and that he does not become a gamester till possessed by the demon Kali. Bopp gives the sense in the text, which seems to connect it with the history of king Yudishthira, to whom it is addressed.

[5] p. 3. l. 7. Sense subdued. The highest notion of this favourite perfection of Indian character, may be given in the words of the author of the Bhagavat-Gita: "The highest perfection to which the soul can attain, is action without passion. The mind is to be entirely independent of external objects; to preserve its undisturbed serenity it should have the conscious power of withdrawing all its senses within itself, as the tortoise draws all its limbs beneath in shell." Action is necessary, but action must produce no emotion—no sensation on the calm spirit within; whatever may be their consequences, however important, however awful, events are to be unfelt, and almost unperceived by the impassive mind; and on this principle Arjuna is to execute the fated slaughter upon his kindred without the least feeling of sorrow or compunction being permitted to intrude on the divine apathy of his soul. Some of the images in which this passionless tranquillity of the spirit is described, appear singularly beautiful:

And then again the soul, in this state of unbroken quietude,

[6] p. 3. l. 8. Best, a present Manu he. Manu, or Menu, the representative of the human race; the holy, mythological ancestor of the Hindus. In the Diluvium, the Indian version of the Deluge, (see the latter part of this volume), Manu is the survivor of the human race—the second ancestor of mankind. The first Menu is named "Swayambhuva, or sprung from the self-existing." From him "came six descendants, other Menus, or perfectly understanding the Scripture, each giving birth to a race of his own, all exalted in dignity, eminent in power." Laws of Menu, i. 61. The great code of law "the Hindus firmly believe to have been promulged in the beginning of time by Menu, son or grandson of Brahma, or in plain English the first of created beings, and not the oldest only but the noblest of legislators." Sir W. Jones's preface to Laws of Menu; Works, vii. 76. In the Ramayana, in like manner, king Dasaratha is compared to the ancient king, Menu. The word Manu, as the name of the ancestor of men, is derived from the Sanscrit root Man, to know (Wilson in voce); in the same manner as the Sanscrit ManÍshÁ, knowledge, Manushya, Man—as also the Latin Mens, and the German Mensch. According to this etymology, Man, Mensch, properly means "the knowing," the Being endowed with knowledge. The German word, Meinen, to mean, or be of opinion, belongs to the same stock.

[7] p. 3. l. 9. So there dwelt in high Vidarbha. This city is called by our poet Vidarbha Nagara, the city of Vidarbha, and Cundina. According to Wilford it is Burra Nag-poor. Bopp. Colebrooke, Asiatic Researches, remarks, that some suppose it to be the modern Berar, which borders on the mountain Vindhya or Gondwanah. The kingdom of Vidarbha, and its capital Kundini, are mentioned in the very remarkable drama Malati and Madhava. Wilson's Hindu Theatre, ii. 16; and extract from Harivansa, in Langlois Monumens de l'Inde, p. 54.

[8] p. 3. l. 9. Bhima, terrible in strength. Bhima-parÂkrama. There is a play upon the words, Bhima meaning terrible.

[9] p. 3. l. 11. Many a holy act, on offspring. He made offerings and performed penance, by which blessings were forced from the reluctant gods. In India not only temporal, but eternal happiness, depends on having children. The son alone by the offering of the Sraddha, or libation for the dead, can obtain rest for the departed spirit of the father. Hence the begetting of a son is a religious duty, particularly for a Brahmin, and is one of the three debts to which he is bound during life. After he has read the Vedas in the form prescribed by Law, has legally begotten a son, and has performed sacrifices to the best of his power, he has paid his three debts, and may then apply his heart to eternal bliss. Menu, vi. 36. By a son a man obtains victory over all people; by a son's son he enjoys immortality; and afterwards, by the son of that grandson, he reaches the solar abode. Menu, ix. 137.

This last passage is immediately followed by the explanation of the Sanscrit word Puttra, son, by "the deliverer from hell." Since the son (trayatÈ) delivers his father from the hell, named put, he was therefore called puttra by Brahma himself. This explanation, which it given by the Indian etymologists, appears nevertheless, as is often the case, rather forced; since the final syllable, tra, which is translated by deliver (or preserve, Wilson, in voce) is a common ending of many words, without the peculiar signification of delivering: as with this final syllable on the word Pu, to be pure, is formed the noun Puwitra, pure. Wilkins, Grammar, p. 454; Kosegarten. The affix with which this last is formed however, is not tra, but itra, and it affords therefore no ground of objection to the usual etymology of Puttra. Wilson.

The Indian poetry is full of instances of this strong desire for offspring. In the Ramayana, king Dasaratha performs the Aswamedha, or offering of a horse, to obtain a son. "To this magnanimous king, acquainted in every duty, pre-eminent in virtue, and performing sacred austerities for the sake of obtaining children, there was no son to perpetuate his family. At length in the anxious mind of this noble one the thought arose, 'Why do I not perform an Ushwamedha to obtain a son.'" Carey and Marshman's translation, sect. viii. p. 74. Compare the Raghu Vansa, canto i., and all that is done by king Dilipa to obtain a son: and the poem of the death of Hidimbha, published by Bopp.

[10] p. 3. l. 14. —in his hospitable hall. Hospitality to a Brahmin is of course one of the greatest virtues. "A Brahmin coming as a guest, and not received with just honour, takes to himself all the reward of the housekeeper's former virtue, even though he had been so temperate as to live on the gleanings of harvests, and so pious as to make oblations in five distinct fires." Sir W. Jones, Menu, iii. 100.

[11] p. 3. l. 22. —as around great Indra's queen. Sachi.

[12] p. 4. l. 2. Mid her handmaids, like the lightning. There are two words of similar signification in the original; one of them implies life-giving. Lightning in India being the forerunner of the rainy season, is looked on as an object of delight as much as terror. Bopp, from the Scholiast.

[13] p. 4. l. 2. —shone she with her faultless form. Sri, or Lakshmi, the goddess of beauty and abundance, at once the Ceres and the Alma Venus of India.

[14] p. 4. l. 4. —never mid the Yaksha race. The Yakshas are demigods attendant on Kuvera, the god of wealth, descendants of Kasyapa by his wife Khasa. They inhabit mountains, and have intercourse with the Apsarasas, or heavenly nymphs. Sometimes they appear not altogether as good beings, sometimes entirely harmless. "The souls of men enslaved to their passions will rise no higher than the Yakshas." Menu, xii. 47. The subject of the Meghaduta, or Cloud-Messenger of KalidÁsa, so elegantly translated by Mr. Wilson, is the regret of a Yaksha for his beloved wife. Compare Mr. Wilson's note on the Yakshas, Cloud Messenger, p. 69.

[15] p. 4. l. 7. Nala too, 'mong kings the tiger. Nara Sardula, the Tiger warrior. I have retained the literal meaning, though, according to Bopp, it means in fine compositi, Optimus, prÆstantissimus. Mr. Southey's Young Tlalala, in Madoc, is the "tiger of the war."

[16] p. 4. l. 8. Like Kandarpa in his beauty. Kandarpa is the god of love. Kama, Love, or Kam Deo, God of Love. Dipaka, the Inflamer. Manmatha, Heart-disturber. Ananga, the Incorporeal.

[17] p. 4. l. 12. Thus of each, O son of Kunti. Kunti was the mother of King Yudishthira, to whom the poem is related. I have usually omitted this address, which is sometimes made to Yudishthira under the title of BhÁrata, i. e. descendant of Bharata, or other appellations.

[18] p. 4. l. 15. There the swans he saw disporting. In the original this is a far less poetic bird, and the author must crave forgiveness for having turned his geese into swans. If, however, we are to believe Bohlen, in his learned work, Das Alte Indien, the translators are altogether mistaken; they have been misled by the similarity of the word Hansa to Gans—a goose. The original, he asserts, to mean a mythic bird, closely resembling the swan, or perhaps the tall and brilliant flamingo, which Southey has introduced with such effect in one of his rich descriptions in the Curse of Kehama. The goose, however, according to the general opinion, is so common in Indian mythology, that this must be received with much caution. In the modern Tamulic version of the story, translated by Mr. Kindersley, are substituted, "Milk white Aunnays, descending from the skies, like an undulating garland of pearls." The Aunnays are supposed to be a sort of birds of paradise. They are represented as milk white; remarkable for the gracefulness of their walk; and endowed with considerable gifts. Mr. Wilson, in his Meghaduta, has given me a precedent for the change of geese into swans; see p. 27, v. 71, with the note. And Mr. Ellis, Asiatic Researches, vol. xiv. p. 29, has the following note on the subject: "There are three distinctions of Hamsa; the Raja-hamsa, with a milk-white body and deep red beak and legs, this is the Phenicopteros, or flamingo; the MallicÁcsha-hamsa, with brownish beak and legs; and the Dhartarashtra-hamsa, with black beak and legs: the latter is the European swan, the former a variety. The gait of an elegant woman is compared by the Hindu poets to the proud bearing of a swan in the water. Sonnerat, making a mistake similar to that in the text, translates a passage in which this allusion occurs, in words to the following purport, 'Her gait resembled that of a goose.' Other writers have fallen into the same error." The swans, ou PlutÔt les GÉnies ailÈs, play the same part in an extract from the Harivansa, translated by M. Langlois, in his Monumens LittÉraires de l'Inde, Paris, 1827, p. 158. The first part of the Harivansa has just appeared, under the auspices of the Oriental Translation Committee.

[19] p. 5. l. 4. Like the Aswinas in beauty. See Asiatic Researches, i. 263; ix. 323. Ramayana, i. 226.

[20] p. 5. l. 7. Gandharvas. Celestial choristers, of beautiful forms and complexion, usually seen in Hindu sculptures attendant on the deities.

Sir W. Jones, Ode to Indra.—See Ramayana, l. 125.

[21] p. 5. l. 7. the Serpents. The serpents are objects of reverence and veneration in India. They are called Naga, not going; Uragas—breast-going. Their residence is in PÁtÁla, though they are occasional visitants both of heaven and earth. See notes to book V. In the Bhagavat Gita, Arjun sees Brahma "sitting on his lotus-throne; all the Reshees and Ooragas (serpents)," Wilkins' translation, p. 91. According to Wilson, (Sanscrit Dict. voce Naga), the race of these beings is said to have sprung from Kadru, the wife of Kasyapa, in order to people PÁtÁla, or the regions below the earth.

[22] p. 5. l. 7. The Rakshasas. Demons who assume at will the forms of lions, tigers, horses, and other animals, as well as the human shape, with numerous heads and arms. They are represented as cannibals who devour their enemies. See Ramayana.

[23] p. 6. l. 6. —and with passion heart-possessed. It is, literally, her mind (or thought), being possessed by the heart-sleeper, (i. e. love, reposing or dwelling in the heart). Wilson.

[24] p. 6. l. 8. The Swayembara. The self-election. The princesses in India enjoyed this singular privilege. The festival was proclaimed, and from the assembled suitors the lady selected her future husband. The Swayembara is not among the eight kinds of marriages mentioned in the third book of Menu, as customary among the higher castes, in which the parents in general arrange such contracts. The provision in the ninth book (v. 90), appears to belong to the lower classes.—"Three years let a damsel wait, though she be marriageable; but after that term let her choose for herself a bridegroom of equal rank." In the Raghuvansa, a poem, parts of which the author of this translation, if he could command leisure to make himself better acquainted with Sanscrit, would consider well worthy of being introduced to the English reader, there is a very remarkable and beautiful book, describing a Swayembara. This is likewise held at Vidarbha by the daughter of the king. The Mahabharata also describes the Swayembara of the princess Draupadi.

[25] p. 6. l. 17. The lord of many peasants. Vaisya, the third caste, husbandmen and traders.

[26] p. 6. l. 22. All with rich and various garlands. The use of garlands in the decoration of the houses and temples of the Hindus, and of flowers in their offerings and festivals, furnishes employment to a particular tribe or caste, the mÁlÁcÁras, or wreath makers. Wilson, note 57, on Meghaduta or Cloud-messenger.

[27] p. 7. l. 2. Indra's world. Indra is the God of heaven, of the thunder and lightning, storm and rain: his dwelling is sometimes placed on mount Meru, as the heaven of the Greeks on Olympus. His city is called Amaravati; his palace Vaijayanti; his garden Nandana. (Kosegarten.)

[28] p. 7. l. 3. Narada and Parvata. Two of the divine Munis or Rishis. Narada is the son of Brahma; a friend of Krishna, a celebrated lawgiver, and inventor of the vinÀ, or lute. (Wilson, Dict. in voce.) Narada is mentioned as one of the "ten lords of created beings, eminent in holiness." Menu, i. 34, 35.

[29] p. 7. l. 5. Them salutes the cloud-compeller. 'Maghavan' is by some explained 'the cloudy.' I have adopted the word used by the translators of Homer.

[30] p. 7. l. 12. Theirs this everlasting kingdom. Kshetriyas, or warriors, slain in battle, are transported to Swerga, the heaven of Indra, by the Apsarasas or nymphs of heaven: hence they are his "ever-honoured guests." "Those rulers of the earth, who, desirous of defeating each other, exert their utmost strength in battle, without ever averting their faces, ascend after death directly to heaven." Menu, vii. 89. Indra means to say, "Why are none new-killed in battle now-a-days, that I see none arriving in my heaven, Swerga?"

[31] p. 7. l. 12. —even as Kamadhuk is mine. Kamadhuk, the cow of plenty. She was brought forth on churning the ocean to produce the amrita, or drink of immortality. The interpretation is doubtful; it may be that this realm is to them the cow of plenty, (as bestowing upon them all their wishes), as the cow of plenty is mine. See Bopp's and Kosegarten's notes.

[32] p. 7. l. 15. Thus addressed by holy Sakra. Sakra, a name of Indra.

Bala and Vritra were the "giants" slain by Indra.

[33] p. 7. l. 23. As they spake, the world-protectors. The world-protectors are the eight gods next below the trine supreme, Brahma, Siva, and Vishnu. They are Indra, the god of heaven; Surya, the god of the sun; Soma or Chandra, the god of the moon; Agni, the god of fire; Pavana, the god of the wind; Kuvera, the god of wealth; Varuna, the god of water; Yama, the god of the infernal regions. At present four only of these gods are introduced; Indra, Yama, Agni, and Varuna. Compare, however, Mr. Wilson's note to Vikrama and Urvasi, Hindu Theatre, i. 219.

[34] p. 8. l. 8. —equal to the god of love. Manmatha, a name of Kandarpa, or Camdeo, the god of love.

[35] p. 11. l. 2. Pledge me to thy faith, O raja. Bopp has rendered 'pranayaswa,' uxorem duc, but this is questionable. The root 'ni,' with the preposition 'pari,' has that sense, but with 'pra' its usual acceptation is 'to love, to bear affection.' I have not met with it in the sense 'to marry.' Bopp is followed by Rosen in assigning this sense to 'prani.' Wilson.

[36] p. 7. l. 4. In full trust is thine. Bopp connects 'visrabdha' with 'pranaya,' and renders them speratas nuptias. I should rather join it adverbially with 'sarvam, all;' that is, 'yours in full trust or confidence: grant me your affection.' There is something indelicate, though inartificial, in Damayanti's urging matrimony so earnestly. Wilson.

[37] p. 11. l. 8. —the vile noose will I endure. Hanging was not considered by the Hindus an undignified mode of self-destruction. See Hindu Theatre, ii. 237 and 299.

[38] p. 11. l. 17. He, who all the world compressing. Nala here recites the separate pretensions and attributes of the great deities, first, of Hutasa, a name of Agni, the god of fire. The sense here is extremely obscure. Bopp renders it literally. 'Qui hanc terram totam contraxit,' seems ambiguous. It may refer to the agency of fire in compacting the world and again consuming it, or simply shrivelling it up, while in the act of consuming.

[39] p. 11. l. 19. He, in awe of whose dread sceptre. Yama: he is called the Dharma raja, king of justice. Wilford in Asiatic Researches. Compare Southey's description in the Curse of Kehama, Canto xxii., with the note from Wilford on which it is founded; and his interview with Sawitri in Bopp's collection of Extracts from the MahÁbhÁrata.

[40] p. 11. l. 21. —slayer of the infernal host. Indra. He was the conqueror of the Danavas or dÆmons:

[41] p. 11. l. 23. —in thy mind if thou couldst choose. (At the close full stop misprinted for comma). Varuna, the god of waters. Schlegel and Rosen consider that a sloka, describing the attributes of Varuna, has been lost—that in this line 'varanam, seligendum' should be written instead of 'Varunam.' The Calcutta edition has the same reading, however, and the change is not necessary: if any alteration be made it should probably be in the first word, and 'VriyatÁm' be read in place of 'KriyatÁm.' Wilson.

[42] p. 14. l. 1. Came the day of happy omen. The Indians, like all other Asiatic nations, have their fortunate and unfortunate days. The month is divided into thirty lunar days (tithis), which are personified as nymphs. See the Dissertation on the lunar year by Sir W. Jones, Asiatic Researches, iii. 257. In the Laws of Menu are multifarious directions concerning the day of the moon fit or unfit for particular actions. "The dark lunar day destroys the spiritual teacher; the fourteenth destroys the learner; the eighth and the day of the full moon destroy all remembrance of Scripture; for which reason he must avoid reading on those lunar days."

[43] p. 14. l. 5. They, the court with golden columns, etc. The literal rendering is, 'they entered the hall (the stage, or place of exhibition, a spacious court or quadrangle) splendid with columns of gold, and brilliant with a portal; a temporary or triumphal arch (torana).' There is allusion to such a porch or portal in the MudrÁ Rakshasa (Hindu Theatre, ii. 181, 182), also in the Toy Cart, (i. 82). For gold pillars see Crawfurd's description of the Hall of Audience at Ava.

"The roof is supported by a great number of pillars: with the exception of about fourteen or fifteen inches at the bottom of each pillar, painted of a bright red, the whole interior of the palace is one blaze of gilding—although little reconcilable to our notions of good taste in architecture, the building is unquestionably most splendid and brilliant, and I doubt whether so singular and imposing a royal edifice exists in any other country." Embassy to Ava, 133. Wilson.

[44] p. 14. l. 10. —delicate in shape and hue. Bopp's text is 'ÁkÁravantah suslakshnah, having forms and delicate.' The Calcutta edition reads 'ÁkÁraverna suslakshnah, elegant in figure and colour (complexion). Delicacy of colour, i. e. a lighter shade, scarcely amounting to blackness at all, is in general a mark of high caste. Wilson.

[45] p. 14. l. 13. As with serpents Bhogavati. Bhogavati, the capital of the serpents in the infernal world. In the Ramayana, Ayodhya is described as guarded by warriors, as Bhogavati by the serpents.

[46] p. 15. l. 22. Nala's form might not discern. The form of the gods, as it is here strikingly described by the poet, differs from that of men by the absence of those defects which constitute the inferiority of a mortal body to that of the inhabitants of the Indian heaven. The immortal body does not perspire, it is unsoiled by dust, the garlands which they wear stand erect, that is, the flowers are still blooming and fresh. The gods are further distinguished by their strong fixed gaze, and by floating on the earth without touching it. They have no shadow. Nala's form is the opposite of all these. Kosegarten.

[47] p. 15. l. 23. —saw she, and with moveless eyes. "The gods are supposed to be exempt from the momentary elevation and depression of the upper eyelid, to which mortals are subject. Hence a deity is called 'Animisha' or 'Animesha,' one whose eyes do not twinkle." Mr. Wilson, in his note to Vikrama and Urvasi, (Hindu Theatre, i. 237. p. 60.), quotes this passage, and suggests that the "marble eyes of Venus, by which Helen knew the goddess, and which the commentators and translators seem to be much perplexed with, are probably the 'stabdha lochana,' the fixed eyes of the Hindus, full and unveiled for an instant, like the eyes of a marble statue." Mr. Wilson has, I think, been misled by the words ὁμματα μαρμαἱροντα, which rather expresses the contrary. Μαρμαἱρω is to glitter, and is applied in many places in Homer to the gleaming of armour. The μαρμαριγἀς θηεἴτο ποδὤν of the Odyssey is well translated by Gray, "glance their many-twinkling feet." In Mr. Wilson's curious reference to Heliodorus (the passage is in the Æthiopica, iii. 13.) the author appears to write from Egyptian rather than Grecian notions. He extorts, somewhat violently, a meaning from Homer's words, δεινὼ δἐ εἱ ἔσσε φἁανθην, which they by no means necessarily bear; but the analogy is as curious if Egyptian as if Grecian.

[48] p. 15. l. 25. On his shadow, garland drooping. According to the Zoroastrian religion, one of the distinctions of human beings after the restoration of all things and the final triumph of Ormuzd, shall be that they shall cast no shadow; μἡτε σκἱαν παιοὔνταϛ. Theopomp. apud Plut. de Isid. et Osirid. Compare Anquetil du Perron and Kleuker, Anhang zum Zendavesta, i. 140.

[49] p. 16. l. 14. And the happy pair devoutly. The devotion of the silent spirit, the purely mental worship, is the holiest and most acceptable service to the gods. Compare Wilkins, Bhagavat-Gita, p. 74; Menu, ii. 85; vi. 235.

[50] p. 16. l. 19. Agni gave his own bright presence. Agni gave him the command of fire whenever he willed. HutÁsa is a name of Agni; hut-asa, 'qui sacrificium edit,' i. e. ignis. Bopp's explanation, 'mundos per Deum Agnem splendentes,' has been adopted as giving the clearest sense. Varuna gave the command of water.

[51] p. 16. l. 23. —each his double blessing gave. Bopp translates this, 'par liberorum dederunt,' but the original says, 'all (or each) gave a pair,' i. e. a couple of blessings; making eight, as stated above; each of the four gods giving two. Wilson.

[52] p. 17. l. 4. Lived in bliss, as with his Sachi. Indra, the giant-killer; Sachi, his spouse.

[53] p. 17. l. 7. Of the horse the famous offering. The reader will be best acquainted with the Aswamedha, or sacrifice of the horse, from the spirit and felicity with which it has been introduced by Southey in the Curse of Kehama. See also the Ramayana.

[54] p. 18. l. 2. As they parted thence, with Kali. Dwapara and Kali are the names of the third and fourth ages of the world. The latter is here personified as a male deity.

[55] p. 18. l. 17. —the Puranas too the fifth. In the original 'Akhyana, history, legend.' The four Vedas are the Rig-veda, the Yajur Veda, the Sama Veda, and the Atharvana. Akhyana is, as it were, tradition superadded to scripture.

[56] p. 20. l. 5. Nala in the dusky twilight, etc. This is rather an unmanageable passage; but the Latin translation has not rendered its purport correctly. 'Upaspris' can in no case mean 'calcare:' it implies touching, and especially touching or sipping water, as part of the ceremony of purification. As Menu; "Let each man sprinkle the cavities of his body, and taste water in due form, etc." In the text of this passage, 'upaspris' is used for touching or sprinkling. In others, it is used in the sense of ablution, bathing. In the lexicons it is explained 'upasparsa sparsamÁtre, snÁnÁchamanay-orapi, touch in general, ablution, sipping water.' In the MitÁkshara, on the subject of personal purification, the direction is, after evacuations, 'Dwijo nityam upaspriset, Let the man of two births always perform the upaspersa,' i. e. says the commentator, 'ÁchÁmet, let him sip water.' The sense of the passage of the text is, 'that Nala sat down to evening prayer; (as Menu directs, he who repeats it sitting at evening twilight, etc.,) after performing his purifications, and sipping water, but without having washed his feet, such ablution being necessary not because they had been soiled, but because such an act is also part of the rite of purification. As the Mitakshara, 'etasmÁt pÁda prakshÁlana prÁpti, after that purification, comes the washing of the feet,' especially prior to any religious act. So Colebrooke: "Having washed his hands and feet, and having sipped water, the priest sits down to worship." A. R. v. 363. Wilson.

[57] p. 20. l. 12. In the dice of dice embodied. 'Sicut taurus boum:' the literal translation of the phrase is explained by the commentator Nilakantha, as 'talus inter talos eximius.' I have adopted Schlegel's reading, which substitutes Dwapara for Kali, as possessing the dice.

[58] p. 20. l. 23. Then the charioteer advancing. The charioteer appears as one of the great officers of state: the master of the horse would convey as lofty a meaning to an English ear.

[59] p. 21. l. 1. Ill they brook this dire misfortune. Vyasana is a misfortune in a king: neglect of his duty for the pleasures of the chase, gambling, etc.

[60] p. 22. l. 1. Punyasloka, king of men. Punyasloka is a title applied to other kings celebrated in Hindu poetry, to Yudishthira, and also to Vishnu: it means, celebrated in sacred poems. Wilson, Dict. in voce.

[61] p. 23. l. 13. —to Cundina's city go. Cundina is the capital of the kingdom of Vidarbha.

[62] p. 23. l. 23. Thence departing, to Ayodhya. Ayodhya, or Oude, is famous in all the early poetry of India. "On the banks of the Suruyoo is a large country called Koshula, gay and happy, and abounding with cattle, corn, and wealth. In that country was a famous city called Ayodhya, built formerly by Munoo, the lord of men. A great city, twelve yojanas in extent, the houses of which stood in triple and long-extended rows. It was rich, and perpetually adorned with new improvements; the streets and valleys were admirably disposed, and the principal streets well watered. It was filled with merchants of various descriptions, and adorned with abundance of jewels; difficult of access, filled with spacious houses, beautified with gardens, and groves of mango trees, surrounded by a deep and impassable moat, and completely furnished with arms; was ornamented with stately gates and porticoes, and constantly guarded by archers, etc. etc." Ramayana, translated by Carey and Marshman, vol. i. p. 60.

[63] p. 25. l. 16. —to the region of the south. Dakshinaptha signifies properly the land on the right hand; as in the Semitic language the south is that which is on the right hand. It means here the land to the south of the Nerbudda. Dakshinapatha is very probably meant in the word used by Arrian, Dachinabades. Kosegarten.

[64] p. 25. l. 17. Passing by Avanti's city. Avanti, which Bopp makes a mountain, according to Kosegarten and Mr. Wilson is a city, Oujein. Bopp draws a somewhat fanciful analogy between Avanti and the Aventine at Rome. He refers also to Himavan, qu. Mavanten, 'montem.' The philological student will do well to consult this note of Bopp. In the MeghadÚta, Oujein is Aventi:

The synonyms of Oujein are thus enumerated by Hemachandra: Ujjayini, VisÁla, Avanti, and Pashparavandini. RikshavÁn, i. e. bear-having, the mount of bears, is part of the Vindhya chain, separating Malwa from Kandesh and Berar. Wilson.

[65] p. 25. l. 18. Vindhya here, the mighty mountain. See note to 'Cloud-Messenger,' page 92 to 94. Compare likewise Asiatic Researches, i. p. 380, where, in one of the famous inscriptions on the staff of Feroz Shah, it is named as one of the boundaries of Aryaverta, the land of virtue, or India. It is named also in the curious Indian grant of land found at Tanna. Asiatic Researches, i. 366.

[66] p. 25. l. 18. —and Payoshni's seaward stream. Payoshni, a river that flows from the Vindhya, mentioned in the Brahmanda Purana. Asiatic Researches, viii. 341.

[67] p. 25. l. 20. —this to Cosala away. Cosala, a city of Ayodhya, or Oude. Cosala is mentioned in the Brahmanda Purana as beyond the Vindhya mountains. Asiatic Researches, viii. 343.

[68] p. 27. l. 7. Both together by one garment. The poet supposes that Damayanti had bestowed half her single garment upon Nala. Bopp. This, however, does not appear to be the case.

[69] p. 28. l. 4. From her virtue none dare harm her. Spenser's Una, and still more the lady in Comus, will recur to the remembrance of the English reader. See Quarterly Review, vol. xlv. p. 20.

[70] p. 28. l. 24. —may the genii of the woods. He calls on the Adityas, Vasavas, and Rudras, the Aswinas, the Maruts. This is the literal version. They are different orders of genii, each consisting of a definite number. The Adityas are twelve, and preside over the different months. They are called the children of Kasyapa and of Aditi his wife. According to Mr. Wilkins (notes to the Bhagavat-Gita, p. 144), they are no more than emblems of the sun for each month in the year. Mr. Wilkins gives their names:

The Vasavas, or Vasus, are eight. Indra is the first. They are the guardians of the world, and apparently the same with the eight gods mentioned in the early part of the poem.

The Rudras are eleven; according to some the eleven personifications of Siva, who bears the name of Rudra. Bhagavat-Gita, p. 85. note 144. "The lord of creation meditated profoundly on the earth, and created the gods, the Vasus, Rudras, and Adityas." Colebrooke, in Asiatic Researches, viii. 453.

For the Aswinas see former note.

The Maruts are forty-nine: they preside over the winds (Menu, iii. 88.) The chief god of the wind, Pavana, is called Marut. Their origin is described in the Ramayana, i. 420. See also the Hindu Pantheon, p. 92.

[71] p. 30. l. 14. Hence one moment, thus deserted. Conjugal duty is carried to a great height in the laws of Menu: "Though unobservant of approved usages, or enamoured of another woman, or devoid of good qualities, yet a husband must constantly be revered as a god by a virtuous wife." v. 154.

[72] p. 31. l. 11. —in the satyr-haunted wood. Swapada, dog-footed: the dog is an unclean animal in India. As the goat-footed, the 'capripedes satyri' in Greece, I have thought the satyr not so exclusively Greek but that it might be used for any "wild man of the woods." The word is also derived from 'swan, a dog,' and 'Ápad, to resemble,' and is explained by Mr. Wilson, ferocious, savage.

[73] p. 32. l. 21. —uttered loud her curse of wrath. The power of a curse, according to Indian belief, will be best illustrated to the reader of English poetry by "the Curse of Kehama." In the "Death of Yajnadatta," included in this volume, we find the effects of a Brahmin's curse described.

[74] p. 33. l. 5. Trees of every form and stature. I have omitted a long list of trees, the names of which, conveying no notion to an English ear, and wanting the characteristic epithets of Ovid's or of Spenser's well-known and picturesque forest description, would only perplex the reader with several lines of unintelligible words. To the Indian ear these names, pregnant with pleasing associations, and descriptive in their etymological meaning, would no doubt convey the same delight as those of the Latin or English poet.

[75] p. 33. l. 9. —serpents, elves, and giants saw. Kosegarten has translated this word 'elves:' they are a kind of evil spirit. In Menu, ii. 96, they are named with the Yakshas and Rakshasas as partaking of unclean food.

[76] p. 35. l. 22. All the trees of richest foliage. A general description has again been substituted in these two lines for the names of various trees.

[77] p. 36. l. 4. —of the regal sacrifice. The king's offering. See Colebrooke, in Asiatic Researches, viii. 430.

[78] p. 36. l. 15. —soma quaffing, fire adoring. Soma, the juice of the Asclepias acida, the moon plant. Drinking the expressed juice of this plant is a holy ceremony, used at the completion of a sacrifice, and sanctifies the drinker. "He alone is worthy to drink the juice of the moon plant who keep a provision of grain sufficient to supply those whom the law commands him to nourish, for the term of three years or more. But a twice-born man, who keeps a less provision of grain, yet presumes to taste the juice of the moon plant, shall gather no fruit from that sacrament, even though he taste it at the first or solemn, or much less at any occasional ceremony." Menu, iii. 197. All the ancestors of the Brahmins are 'Soma-pas, moon-plant drinkers.'

[79] p. 36. l. 15. —fire adoring. Watching or maintaining the sacred fire is another duty: it peculiarly belongs to priests and hermits. The latter may watch the fire mentally: "Then having reposited his holy fires, as the law directs, in his mind, let him live without external fire, without a mansion, wholly silent, feeding on roots and fruit." Menu, vi. 25.

[80] p. 37. l. 2. —sweet as the amrita draught. For the amrita, the drink of immortality, see Curse of Kehama, the extract from the MahÁbhÁrata quoted by Mr. Wilkins in his notes to the Bhagavat-Gita, and Ramayana, I. 410.

[81] p. 37. l. 10. To the ancient famous hermits. These famous hermits, whose names I have omitted, were Bhrigu, Atri, and Vasishta.

[82] p. 37. l. 11. Self-denying, strict in diet. The sixth book of Menu is filled with instructions to those who are engaged in 'tapasa:' it is entitled, "On Devotion." "When the father of a family perceives his muscles become flaccid, and his hair gray, and sees the child of his child, let him then seek refuge in a forest. Abandoning all food eaten in towns, and all his household utensils, let him repair to the lonely wood, committing the care of his wife to her sons, or accompanied by her, if she choose to attend him. Let him take up his consecrated fire, and all his domestic implements of making oblations to it, and departing from the town to the forest, let him dwell in it with complete power over his organs of sense and of action. With many sorts of pure food, such as holy sages used to eat, with green herbs, roots, and fruit, let him perform the five great sacraments before mentioned, introducing them with due ceremonies. Let him wear a black antelope's hide, or a vesture of bark; let him suffer the hairs of his head, his beard, and his nails, to grow continually." Menu, vi. 2. et seqq.

[83] p. 37. l. 18. pulchris femoribus. Clausulam hanc prudens omisi.

[84] p. 37. l. 25. Take thy seat, they said, oh lady. The hospitality of the hermits to Damayanti is strictly according to law. "With presents of water, roots, and fruit, let him honour those who visit his hermitage."

[85] p. 37. l. 27. In your sacred fires, your worship. "Let him, as the law directs, make oblations on the hearth with three sacred fires." Menu, vi. 9. Compare iv. 25.

[86] p. 37. l. 27. —blameless, with your beasts and birds. Hermits were to have "a tender affection for all animated bodies," Menu, vi. 8.

[87] p. 38. l. 12. —twice-born Sages, know ye me. The three first castes are "twice-born." The first birth is from the natural mother; the second from the ligation of the zone; the third from the due performance of the sacrifice: such are the births of him who is usually called twice-born, according to the text of the Veda: among them his divine birth is that which is distinguished by the ligation of the zone and sacrificial cord, and in that birth the Gayatri is his mother, and the Acharya his father. Menu, ii. 169.

[88] p. 39. l. 15. Through devotion now we see him. The kind of prophetic trance, in which holy men, abstracted from all earthly thoughts, were enwrapt, enabled them to see things future.

[89] p. 40. l. 6. Best of trees, the Asoca blooming. The Asoca is a shrub consecrated to Mahadeva; men and women of all classes ought to bathe, on a particular day, in some holy stream, especially the Brahma-putra, and drink water with the buds of the Asoca floating in it. This shrub is planted near the temples of Siva, and grows abundantly on Ceylon. Sita is said to have been confined in a grove of it, while in captivity by Ravana; other relators say that she was confined in a place or house called Asocavan. The Asoca is a plant of the first order of the eighth class, of leguminous fructification, and bears flowers of exquisite beauty. Van Rheede (Hortus Malab. vol. v. tab. 59.) calls it Asjogam. See Asiatic Researches, iii. 254, 277. Moor, Hindu Pantheon, 55.

[90] p. 40. l. 17. Truly be thou named Asoca. Asoca, from a, privative, and soka, grief: a play of words, as when Helen, in Euripides, is called 'Ελενασ, the destroyer of ships.' Many other instances will occur to the classical reader. In Malati and Madhava, the forlorn lover in turn addresses different objects of nature, the clouds, the birds, and the elephants, to inform him whether they have seen his lost mistress. Act ix. See, however, Mr. Wilson's note, who seems to think that he addresses the sylvan deities.

[91] p. 42. l. 8. —Manibhadra, guard us well. Manibhadra, the tutelar deity of travellers and merchants: probably a name of Kuvera, the god of wealth.

[92] p. 42. l. 11. To the realm of Chedi's sovereign. Chedi is the name of the country now called Chandail. The country is perpetually named in the marriage of Roukmini, extracted from the Harivansa by Mons. Langlois, Monumens de l'Inde, p. 96.

[93] p. 43. Compare the Raghuvansa, ch. v. 43 to 49.

[95] p. 44. l. 7. —the three worlds seemed all appalled. Swerga, heaven, Martya or Bhumi, the earth, and Patala, hell.

[96] p. 44. l. 21. And Vaisravana the holy. Vaisravana is another name of Kuvera, the god of wealth.

[97] p. 45. l. 13. In some former life committed. The soul, in its transmigration, expiates the sins committed in a former state of being. This necessary corollary from the doctrine of the metempsychosis appear to have prevailed among the pharisaic Jews in the time of our Saviour: "Master, who did sin, this man or his parents, that he was born blind." John, ix. 2.

[98] p. 46. l. 15. —in their curious gamesome play. KutuhalÁt, rendered by Bopp 'cum voluptate,' means, 'from curiosity.' Wilson.

[99] p. 47. l. 13. I with but one robe, him naked. Bopp's text is incorrect here. Instead of 'Tam. ekavasanam,' the accusative masculine, it should be 'Tam. ekavasanÁ, I with one garment clad,' the nominative feminine, referring to Damayanti, not to Nala: "I with one garment following him naked and deprived of reason, like one crazed, had not slept for many nights." Wilson.

[100] p. 47. l. 28. That I eat not broken victuals. Among the kinds of food proscribed to a Brahmin are, "the food of a servile man and the orts of another."

[101] p. 47. l. 28. —wash not feet with menial hand. The Latin translation, 'ne faciam pedibus cursum,' is faulty: the sense is, "that I perform not washing of the feet." Damayanti means that she is not to perform menial offices appropriated to persons of low caste. Stipulating for a carriage would be rather extraordinary. Wilson.

[102] p. 49. l. 9. NÁrada, the famous hermit. One of the Devarshis, and a great prophet, who is supposed to be still wandering about the world. 'Nara' signifies a thread or clew, a precept, and 'da,' giver. Whenever he appears he is constantly employed in giving good counsel. Wilkins, note on Bhagavat-Gita.

[103] p. 49. l. 23. Ere the tenth step he had counted—him the sudden serpent bit. 'Dasa' means both 'bite' and 'ten.'

[104] p. 50. l. 12. Neither Brahmin fear, nor Sages. In Indian poetry four classes of holy men, or Rishis, are distinguished, and rise, one above the other, in the following rank: Rajarshis, royal Rishis; Maharshis, great Rishis; Brahmarshis, Brahminical Rishis; and Dewarshis, divine Rishis. Kosegarten. Another enumeration specifies seven grades. Wilson, in voce.

[105] p. 50. l. 26. Saying thus, of vests celestial—gave he to the king a pair. The dress of a Hindu consists of two pieces of cloth, one, the lower garment fastened round his waist, and one the upper garment thrown loosely and gracefully over the shoulders. Wilson.

[106] p. 51. l. 6. In the art of dressing viands. This, it will be remembered, was one of the gifts bestowed by the gods on Nala at his marriage.

[107] p. 51. l. 12. —hundred hundreds is thy pay. Suvarnas, a certain measure of gold. Wilson, Dict. in voce.

[108] p. 52. l. 2. There is in the text a second line, repeating the same sentiment. Bopp proposes to reject the first, I have omitted the second.

[109] p. 53. l. 7. And a royal grant for maintenance. See Bopp's note. I have adopted the second sense of the word Agrahārah. Such grants were not uncommon in India, as throughout the east. See the grants on copper-plates found near Bombay, Asiatic Researches, i. 362. So the well-known gifts of the king of Persia to Themistocles.

[110] p. 53. l. 15. —on a royal holiday. A day proclaimed as fortunate by the king.

[111] p. 54. l. 1. —like Manmatha's queen divine. The bride of KÁmadeva is Rati, pleasure.

[112] p. 54. ls. 4—10. This long train of similes, in which the images of the lotus flower and the moon so perpetually occur, is too characteristic to be omitted or compressed. I have here and there used the license of a paraphrase.

[113] p. 54. l. 5. Like the pallid night, when Rahu. This is a favourite simile of the Indian poets.

Wilson's Malati and Madhava, p. 62.

Ibid. p. 115.

In Indian mythology, eclipses are caused by the dragon Rahu attempting to swallow up the moon. The origin of their hostility is given in a passage quoted by Mr. Wilkins from the Mahabharata, in his notes to the Bhagavat-Gita:—"And so it fell out that when the Soors were quenching their thirst for immortality, Rahu, an Asoor, assumed the form of a Soor, and begun to drink also; and the water had but reached his throat, when the sun and moon, in friendship to the Soors, discovered the deceit, and instantly Narayan cut off his head as he was drinking, with his splendid weapon, chakra. And the gigantic head of the Asoor, emblem of a monstrous summit, being thus separated from his body by the chakra's edge, bounded into the heavens with a dreadful cry, whilst the ponderous trunk fell, cleaving the ground asunder, and shaking the whole earth unto its foundations, with all its islands, rocks, and forest. And from this time the head of Rahu resolved on eternal enmity, and continueth even unto this day at times to seize upon the sun and moon." p. 149.

[114] p. 54. l. 15. To the unadorned a husband. "Married women must be honoured and adorned by their fathers and brethren, by their husbands, and by the brethren of their husbands, if they seek abundant prosperity." Menu, iii, 55.

[115] p. 54. l. 22.—the moon's bride. Rohinia. The moon, as in the northern mythologies, is a male deity. See Wilford, in Asiatic Researches, iii, 384. Rohinia is explained by Mr. Wilson, the fourth lunar asterism, figured by a wheeled carriage, and containing five stars, probably α β γ δ ε, Tauri. In mythology the asterism is personified as one of the daughters of Daksha, and wives of the moon.—Sanscrit Dict. in voce. Comp. Vikrama and Urvasi, p. 57.

[116] p. 57. Dasarna. Dasarna is mentioned in the Cloud Messenger of Kalidasa.

See likewise Mr. Wilson's note, p. 37.

[117] p. 59. l. 2. By the wind within the forest—fanned, intensely burns the fire. Kosegarten supposes this to mean, that as the incessant wind kindles the fire in the grove of bamboos, so their repeated words may fan the fire of pity in the heart of Nala.

[118] p. 63. l. 9. To desire this deed unholy. A second marriage in a woman is considered in India an inexpiable breach of conjugal fidelity. "A virtuous wife ascends to heaven, though she have no child, if after the decease of her lord she devotes herself to pious austerity. But a widow, who from a wish to bear children, slights her deceased husband by marrying again, brings disgrace on herself here below, and shall be excluded from the seat of her lord." Menu, v, 160-161. "She who neglects her former (purva) lord, though of a lower class, and takes another (para) of a higher, becomes despicable in this world, and is called para purva, or one who had a different husband before." Ibid. 163.

[119] p. 64. l. 4. With the ten good marks distinguished. Avarttas are "locks," curls, or twists of the hair in certain forms on different parts of the body—here they are apparently: forehead 1, head 2, chest 2, ribs 2, flanks 2, crupper 1. In the Magha, v. 9, we have the term Avarttina applied to horses; on which the commentator observes, "Avarttina signifies horses having the ten Avarttas, marks of excellence; they are, two on the breast, two on the head, two on the hollows of the ribs, two on the hollows of the flanks, and one on the crupper (Prapata); these are called the ten Avarttas. Avartta means an eddy, or whirlpool, and the name is applied to dispositions of the hair of a horse which resemble a whirlpool." Wilson.

[120] p. 64. l. 4. —born in Sindhu. The Sindhu is the Indian name for the Indus; the neighbouring territory is called Sind. See Asiatic Researches, viii. 336.

[121] p. 65. l. 7. Matali. The charioteer of Indra. See Rhaguvansa, xii, 86, and Sacontala.

[122] p. 66. l. 10. Ten miles, lo, it lies beyond us. A Yojana; according to some eleven, according to others five or six English miles. I have given a round number.

[123] p. 66. l. 12. Vibhitak. 'Beleric Myrobalan.' Wilson, Sanscrit Dict. in voce.

[124] p. 66. l. 21. Kotis. A Koti is ten millions.

[125] p. 68. l. 11. Kali. It must be remembered that Kali, while within the body of Nala, had been enchanted by the serpent Karkotaka.

[126] p. 68. l. 16. Damayanti; who had cursed in the forest all who had caused the misery of Nala.

[127] p. 68. l. 25. Compare Prospero's power in the Tempest.

[128] p. 70. l. 4. All the region round him echoing—with the thunders of his car. This scene rather reminds us of the watchman reporting the rapid approach of Jehu, "The driving is like the driving of Jehu the son of Nimshi; for he driveth furiously." II Kings ix, 20.

[129] p. 70. l. 6. In their joy they pawed and trampled. The horses of Nala had been before conveyed to the city of king Bhima by Varshneya.

[130] p. 70. l. 16. —as at sound of coming rain. The rejoicing of the peacocks at the approach of rain is very sweetly described in the play of Malati and Madhava, translated by Mr. Wilson.

In the Cloud Messenger, the Yaksha who addresses the cloud, fears lest it should be delayed by the cry of the peacock—

In another passage,

[131] p. 76. l. 19. —much and various viands came. The reader must remember the various gifts bestowed on king Nala by the gods upon his marriage.

[132] p. 77. l. 22. —of her mouth ablution made. Washing the mouth after food, which Damayanti in her height of emotion does not forget, is a duty strictly enjoined in the Indian law, which so rigidly enforces personal cleanliness. "With a remnant of food in the mouth, or when the Sraddha has recently been eaten, let no man even meditate in his heart on the holy texts." Menu, iv, 109. "Having slumbered, having sneezed, having eaten, having spitten, having told untruths, having drunk water, and going to read sacred books, let him, though pure, wash his mouth." v. 145.

[133] p. 79. l. 17. —hair dishevelled, mire-defiled. As a sign of sorrow and mourning.

[134] p. 80. l. 4. I will be. "I will be," must be the commencement of the prayer uttered by the bridegroom at the time of marriage. It does not correspond with any of those cited by Mr. Colebrooke. It is probably analogous to that given by him, Asiatic Researches, viii, p. 301. Wilson.

[135] p. 81. l. 11. He through all the world that wanders—witness the all-seeing lord. See the curious Law of Ordeal, Asiatic Researches, vol. i, p. 402, "On the trial by fire, let both hands of the accused be rubbed with rice in the husk, and well examined: then let seven leaves of the Aswatha (the religious fig-tree) be placed on them, and bound with seven threads." Thou, O fire, pervadest all beings; O cause of purity, who givest evidence of virtue and of sin, declare the truth in this my hand.

[136] p. 81. l. 27. —flowers fell showering all around. These heavenly beings are ever ready, in the machinery of Hindu epics, to perform their pleasing office (of showering flowers on the head of the happy pair) on every important occasion: they are called Pushpa-vrishti, or flower-rainers. Moor, Hindu Pantheon, 194. See in the Raghuvansa, ii, 60. No sooner has king DÍlÍpa offered himself to die for the sacred cow of his Brahminical preceptor, than "a shower of flowers" falls upon him.

[137] p. 86. l. 3. —stands the Apsara in heaven. The birth of the Apsarasas is thus related in the Ramayana.

—Wilson's Translation, Preface to the Drama of Vikrama and Urvasi, p. 13.

[138] p. 87. l. 16. Pushkara appeased. The Calcutta edition has a better reading than that of Bopp. Instead of PrasantÈ Pushkare (Pushkara appeased), it is PrasantÈ tu pure, (the city being tranquil, the rejoicings having ceased). Wilson.

[139] p. 87. l. 21. Nala sate, as in Nandana. NandÂna is the garden of Indra.

[140] p. 87. l. 23. Ruled his realm in JambudwÍpa. Sic in Puranis India nominatur. Bopp.