86. And he should not forsake it.

The great Hindu lawgiver is very peremptory in restricting special occupations (such as fishing, slaughtering animals, basket-making) to the mixed and lowest castes. 'A man of the lowest caste, who, through covetousness, lives by the acts of the highest, let the king strip of all his wealth and banish. His own business, though badly performed, is preferable to that of another, though well performed.'—Manu, x. 96. In the later Hindu system the sacrifice of animals is practised by the priests of the goddess Kali only.

87. Carp.

That is, the Rohita, or Rohi (red) fish (Cyprinus rohita), a kind of carp found in lakes and ponds in the neighbourhood of the Ganges. It grows to the length of three feet, is very voracious, and its flesh, though it often has a muddy taste, is edible. Its back is olive-coloured, its belly of a golden hue, its fins and eyes red. This fish is often caught in tanks in Lower Bengal of the weight of twenty-five or thirty pounds.

88. I long to begin binding the flowers round his head.

It is evident from the Malati-Madhava, and other plays, that a victim, about to be offered as a sacrifice, had a wreath of flowers bound round the head.

89. The great vernal festival.

In celebration of the return of Spring, and said to be in honour of Krishna, and of his son Kama-deva, the god of love. It is identified with the Holi or Dola-yatra, the Saturnalia, or rather, Carnival of the Hindus, when people of all conditions take liberties with each other, especially by scattering red powder and coloured water on the clothes of persons passing in the street, as described in the play called Ratnavali, where the crowd are represented as using syringes and waterpipes. Flowers, and especially the opening blossoms of the mango, would naturally be much employed for decoration at this festival, as an offering to the god of love. It was formerly held on the full moon of the month Chaitra, or about the beginning of April, but it is now celebrated on the full moon of Phalguna, or about the beginning of March. The other great Hindu festival, held in the autumn, about October, is called Durga-puja, being in honour of the goddess Durga. The Holi festival is now so disfigured by unseemly practices and coarse jests that it is reprobated by the respectable natives, and will probably, in the course of time, either die out or be prohibited by legal enactment.

90. Am not I named after the Koil?

Compare note 66.

91. Thy fire unerring shafts.

Compare note 47.

92. The amaranth

That is, the Kuruvaka, either the crimson amaranth, or a purple species of Barleria.

93. My finger burning with the glow of love.

However offensive to our notions of good taste, it is certain that, in Hindu erotic poetry, a hot hand is considered to be one of the signs of passionate love. Compare Othello, Act III. Scene 4. 'Give me your hand: this hand is moist, my lady—hot, hot, and moist.'

94. The airy vapours of the desert.

A kind of mirage floating over waste places, and appearing at a distance like water. Travellers and some animals, especially deer, are supposed to be attracted and deceived by it.

95. Himalaya.

The name of this celebrated range of mountains is derived from two Sanskrit words, hima, 'ice' or 'snow' (Lat. hiems), and alaya, 'abode.' The pronunciation Himalaya is incorrect.

96. As Siva did the poison at the Deluge.

At the churning of the ocean, after the Deluge, by the gods and demons, for the recovery or production of fourteen sacred things, a deadly poison called Kala-kuta, or Hala-hala, was generated, so virulent that it would have destroyed the world, had not the god Siva swallowed it. Its only effect was to leave a dark blue mark on his throat, whence his name Nila-kantha. This name is also given to a beautiful bird, not wholly unlike our jay, common in Bengal.

97. Palace of clouds.

The palace of King Dushyanta, so called because it was lofty as the clouds.

98. The foreman of a guild belonging to Ayodhya.

The chief of a guild or corporation of artisans practising the same trade. Ayodhya, or the Invincible City, was the ancient capital of Ramachandra, founded by Ikshwaku, the first of the Solar dynasty. It was situated on the river Sarayu in the north of India, and is now called Oude.

99. My ancestors Must drink these glistening tears, the last libation.

Oblations to the spirits of the deceased are offered by the nearest surviving relatives soon after the funeral ceremonies; and are repeated once in every year. They are supposed to be necessary to secure the well-being of the souls of the dead in the world appropriated to them. The oblation-ceremony is called Sraddha, and generally consisted in offering balls made of rice and milk, or in pouring out water, or water and sesamum-seed mixed. These ceremonies are still regarded as essential to the welfare of deceased persons, and their celebration is marked by magnificent feasts, to which relations and a host of Brahmans are invited. A native who had grown rich in the time of Warren Hastings spent nine lakhs of rupees on his mother's Sraddha; and large sums are still spent on similar occasions by wealthy Hindus (see my 'Brahmanism and Hinduism,' p. 306).

100. The mother of the great Indra.

That is, Aditi, the wife of Kasyapa, with whom, in their sacred retreat, Sakoontala was enjoying an asylum.

101. Distinguishes the milk from worthless water.

The Hindus imagine that the flamingo (a kind of goose) is the vehicle on which the god Brahma is borne through the air; and that this bird, being fond of the pulpy fibres of the water-lily, has been gifted by him with the power of separating the milky from the watery portion of the juice contained in the stalk of that plant.

102. Matali.

The charioteer of Indra. In the pictures which represent this god mounted on his usual vehicle—an elephant called Airavata—Matali is seen seated before him on the withers of the animal, acting as its driver. In the plays, however, Indra is generally represented borne in a chariot drawn by two horses, guided by Matali.

103. Kalanemi.

A Daitya or demon, with a hundred arms and as many heads.

104. Narada.

A celebrated divine sage, usually reckoned among the ten patriarchs first created by Brahma. He acted as a messenger of the gods.

105. Tinged with celestial sandal from the breast.

The breast of Indra was dyed yellow with a fragrant kind of sandal-wood (hari-chandana); and the garland by rubbing against it, became tinged with the same color. Wreaths and garlands of flowers are much used by the Hindus as marks of honorary distinction, as well as for ornament or festive occasions. They are suspended round the neck.

106. The ever-blooming tree of Nandana.

That is, Mandara, one of the five ever-blooming trees of Nandana, or Swarga, Indra's heaven. The two most celebrated of these trees were the Parijata and the Kalpa-druma, or tree granting all desires. Each of the superior Hindu gods has a heaven, paradise, or elysium of his own. That of Brahma is called Brahma-loka, situate on the summit of mount Meru; that of Vishnu is Vaikuntha, on the Himalayas; that of Siva and Kuvera is Kailasa, also on the Himalayas; that of Indra is Swarga or Nandana. The latter, though properly on the summit of mount Meru, below Brahma's paradise, is sometimes identified with the sphere of the sky or heaven in general. It is the only heaven of orthodox Brahmanism.

107. Jayanta.

The son of Indra by his favourite wife Paulomi or Sachi.

108. The Lion-man's terrific claws.

Vishnu, in the monstrous shape of a creature half man, half lion (his fourth Avatar or incarnation), delivered the three worlds, that is to say, Earth, Heaven, and the lower regions, from the tyranny of an insolent demon called Hiranya-kaSipu.

109. We journey in the path of Parivaha.

The Hindus divide the heavens into seven Margas, paths or orbits, assigning a particular wind to each. The sixth of these paths is that of the Great Bear, and its peculiar wind is called Parivaha. This wind is supposed to bear along the seven stars of Ursa Major, and to propel the heavenly Ganges.

110. The triple Ganges.

The Ganges was supposed to take its rise in the toe of Vishnu (whence one of its names, Vishnu-padi); thence it flowed through the heavenly sphere, being borne along by the wind Parivaha, and identified with the Mandakini, or Milky Way. Its second course is through the earth; but the weight of its descent was borne by Siva's head, whence, after wandering among the tresses of his hair, it descended through a chasm in the Himalayas. Its third course is through Patala, or the lower regions, the residence of the Daityas and Nagas, and not to be confounded with Naraka, 'hell,' 'the place of punishment.'

111. He spanned the heavens in his second stride.

The story of Vishnu's second stride was this:—An Asura or Daitya, named Bali, had, by his devotions, gained the dominion of Heaven, Earth, and Patala. Vishnu undertook to trick him out of his power, and assuming the form of a Vamana, or dwarf (his fifth Avatar), he appeared before the giant and begged as a boon as much land as he could pace in three steps. This was granted; and the god immediately expanded himself till he filled the world; deprived Bali, at the first step, of Earth; at the second, of Heaven; but, in consideration of some merit, left Patala still under his rule.

112. I see the moisture-loving Chatakas.

The Chataka is a kind of Cuckoo (Cuculus Melanoleucus). The Hindus suppose that it drinks only the water of the clouds, and their poets usually introduce allusions to this bird in connexion with cloudy or rainy weather.

113. Golden-peak.

A sacred range of mountains lying among the Himalaya chain, and apparently identical with, or immediately adjacent to, Kailasa, the paradise of Kuvera, the god of wealth. It is here described as the mountain of the Kimpurashas, or servants of Kuvera. They are a dwarfish kind of monster, with the body of a man and the head of a horse, and are otherwise called Kinnara.

114. Kasyapa.

Kasyapa was the son of Brahma's son, Marichi, and was one of those Patriarchs (created by Brahma to supply the universe with inhabitants) who, after fulfilling their mission, retired from the world to practise penance. He was a progenitor on a magnificent scale, as he is considered to have been the father of the gods, demons, man, fish, reptiles, and all animals, by the thirteen daughters of Daksha. The eldest of the thirteen, his favourite wife, was Aditi, from whom were born Indra and all the inferior gods, and particularly the twelve Adityas, or forms of the sun, which represent him in the several months of the year. From Diti, Danu, and others of the remaining twelve, came the Daityas, Danavas, and other demons.

115. No sacred cord is twined.

The serpent's skin was used by the ascetic in place of the regular Brahmanical cord. This thread or cord, sometimes called the sacrificial cord, might be made of various substances, such as cotton, hempen or woollen thread, according to the class of the wearer; and was worn over the left shoulder and under the right. The rite of investiture with this thread, which conferred the title of 'twice-born,' and corresponded in some respects with the Christian rite of baptism, was performed on youths of the first three classes (compare note 80), at ages varying from eight to sixteen, from eleven to twenty-two, and from twelve to twenty-four, respectively. At present the Brahmans alone, and those who claim to be Kshatriyas, have a right to wear this thread. Not long since, a Kayath (or man of the writer caste) in Bengal, who attempted to claim it, was excommunicated.

116. And birds construct their nests within its folds.

Such was the immovable impassiveness of this ascetic, that the ants had thrown up their mound as high as his waist without being disturbed, and birds had built their nests in his hair.

117. And need no other nourishment.

The Hindus imagine that living upon air is a proof of the highest degree of spirituality to which a man can attain.

118. Asoka-tree.

The Asoka (Jonesia Asoka) is one of the most beautiful of Indian trees. Sir W. Jones observes that 'the vegetable world scarce exhibits a richer sight than an Asoka-tree in full bloom'. It is about as high as an ordinary cherry-tree. The flowers are very large, and beautifully diversified with tints of orange-scarlet, of pale yellow, and of bright orange, which form a variety of shades according to the age of the blossom.

119. And with his artless smiles Gladdens their hearts.

Chezy is enraptured with this verse: ' ... strophe incomparable, que tout pere, ou plutot toute mere, ne pourra lire sans sentir battre son coeur, tant le poete a su y rendre, avec les nuances les plus delicates, l'expression vivante de l'amour maternel.' Compare Statius, Theb., book v. line 613.

'Heu ubi siderei vultus? ubi verba ligatis Imperfecta sonis? risusque et murmura soli Intellecta mihi?'

120. It is against propriety to make too minute inquiries about the wife of another man.

The Hindus were very careful to screen their wives from the curiosity of strangers; and their great lawgiver, Manu, enjoined that married women should be cautiously guarded by their husbands in the inner apartments (antahpura) appropriated to women (called by the Muhammadans, Haram, and in common parlance, in India andar-mahall). The chief duty of a married woman's life seems to have been to keep as quiet as possible, to know as little as possible, to hear, see, and inquire about nothing; and above all, to avoid being herself the subject of conversation or inquiry; in short, the sole end and object of her existence was to act as a good head-servant, yielding to her husband a servile obedience, regulating the affairs of his family, preparing his daily food, and superintending his household. (Manu, ix. 11, 16.) But notwithstanding the social restrictions to which women were subjected, even in the earlier periods of Indian history, it seems probable that they were not rigidly excluded from general society until after the introduction of Muhammadan customs into India. It appears from the plays that they were allowed to go into public on certain occasions; they took part in bridal processions, and were permitted to enter the temples of the gods, Sakoontala appears in the court of King Dushyanta and pleads her own cause; and Vasavadatta, in the Ratnavali, holds a conversation with her father's envoy. Even in later times, the presence of men, other than husbands or sons, in the inner apartments, was far from being prohibited. See Wilson's Hindu Theatre, p. xliii.

121. Her long hair Twined in a single braid.

Hindu women collect their hair into a single long braid as a sign of mourning, when their husbands are dead or absent for a long period.

122. Shines forth from dim eclipse.

The following is the Hindu notion of an eclipse:—A certain demon, which had the tail of a dragon, was decapitated by Vishnu at the churning of the ocean; but, as he had previously tasted of the Amrit or nectar reproduced at that time, he was thereby rendered immortal, and his head and tail, retaining their separate existence, were transferred to the stellar sphere. The head was called Rahu, and became the cause of eclipses, by endeavouring at various times to swallow the sun and moon. So in the Hitopadesa, line 192, the moon is said to be eaten by Rahu. With regard to the love of the Moon for Rohini, the fourth lunar constellation, see note 53.

123. All unadorned.

That is, from the absence of colouring or paint.

124. The power of darkness.

According to Hindu philosophy there are three qualities or properties which together make up or dominate humanity: 1. Sattwa, 'excellence' or 'goodness' (quiescence), whence proceed truth, knowledge, purity, etc. 2. Rajas, 'passion' (activity), which produces lust, pride, falsehood, etc., and is the cause of pain. 3. Tamas, 'darkness' (inertia), whence proceed ignorance, infatuation, delusion, mental blindness, etc.

125. Children of Brahma's sons.

Kasyapa and Aditi were the children of Marichi and Daksha respectively, and these last were the sons of Brahma.

126. The ruler of the triple world.

That is, Indra, lord of heaven, earth, and the lower regions. Compare notes 110, 113.

127. Whom Vishnu, greater than the Self-existent.

Vishnu, as Narayana, or the Supreme Spirit, moved over the waters before the creation of the world, and from his navel came the lotus from which Brahma, the World's Creator, here called the Self-existent, sprang. As Vishnu, the Preserver, he became incarnate in various forms; and chose Kasyapa and Aditi, from whom all human beings were descended, as his medium of incarnation, especially in the Avatar in which he was called Upendra, 'Indra's younger brother.' Hence it appears that the worshippers of Vishnu exalt him above the Creator.

128. The earth's seven sea-girt isles.

According to the mythical geography of the Hindus, the earth consisted of seven islands, or rather insular continents, surrounded by seven seas. That inhabited by men was called Jambudwipa, and was in the centre, having in the middle of it the sacred mountain Meru or Sumeru, a kind of Mount Olympus inhabited by the gods. About Jambu flowed the sea of salt-water which extends to the second Dwipa, called Plaksha, which is in its turn surrounded by a sea of sugar-cane juice. And so with the five other Dwipas, viz. Salmali, KuSa, Krauncha, Saka, and Pushkara, which are severally surrounded by the seas of wine, clarified butter, curds, milk, and fresh water.

129. Bharata.

The name Bharata is derived from the root bhri (fero),'to support.' Many Indian princes were so named, but the most celebrated was this son of Dushyanta and Sakoontala, who so extended his empire that from him the whole of India was called Bharata-varsha or Bharata-varsha; and whose descendants, the sons of Dhritarashtra and Pandu, by their quarrels, formed the subject of the great epic poem called Maha-bharata. The Hindus at the present day continue to call India by the name Bharata-varsha.

180. The Sage Bharata.

The Bharata here intended must not be confounded with the young prince. He was a holy sage, the director or manager of the gods' dramas, and inventor of theatrical representations in general. He wrote a work containing precepts and rules relating to every branch of dramatic writing, which appears to have been lost, but is constantly quoted by the commentators. (See p. xxix.)

131. Saraswati.

She is the goddess of speech and eloquence, patroness of the arts and sciences, and inventress of the Sanskrit language. There is a festival still held in her honour for two days, about February in every year, when no Hindu will touch a pen or write a letter. The courts are all closed accordingly.

132. The purple self-existent god.

Siva is usually represented as borne on a bull; his colour, as well as that of the animal he rides, being white, to denote the purity of Justice, over which he presides. In his destroying capacity, he is characterized by the quality 'darkness,' and named Rudra, Kala, etc., when his colour is said to be purple or black. Some refer the epithet 'purple' to the colour of his throat; compare note 96. Self-existent, although properly a name of the Supreme Being (Brahma), is applied both to Vishnu and Siva by their votaries.

134. Whose vital Energy.

That is, Siva's wife, Parvati, who was supposed to personify his energy or active power. Exemption from further transmigration, and absorption into the divine soul, was the summum bonum of Hindu philosophy. Compare note 37.

135. By my divine faculty of meditation.

Celestial beings were endowed with a mental faculty (called dhyana, pranidhana, etc.), which enabled them to arrive at the knowledge of present and future events.

136. A roseate dye wherewith to stain The lady's feet.

That is, the soles of her feet. It was customary for Hindu ladies to stain the soles of their feet of a red colour with the dye made from lac—a minute insect bearing some resemblance to the cochineal—which punctures the bark of the Indian fig-tree, and surrounds itself with the milky resinous juice of that tree. This custom is a alluded to in one of Paterson's Hindu odes—

'The rose that humbly bowed to meet, With glowing lips, her hallowed feet, And lent them all its bloom.'

See Megha-duta (Edit. Johnson), p. 32.

THE END