Chapter XI: Act VII: SCENE.--The Sky (2)

A Saint or Muni, represented by the Hindú poets as excessively choleric and inexorably severe. The Puránas and other poems contain frequent accounts of the terrible effects of his imprecations on various occasions, the slightest offence being in his eyes deserving of the most fearful punishment. On one occasion he cursed Indra, merely because his elephant let fall a garland he had given to this god; and in consequence of this imprecation all plants withered, men ceased to sacrifice, and the gods were overcome in their wars with the demons.

58. _Propitiatory offering_.

Compare note 25.

59. _His blushing charioteer_.

Compare note 11.

60. _Night-loving lotus_.

Some species of the lotus, especially the white esculent kind, open their petals during the night, and close them during the day, whence the moon is often called the 'lover, or lord of the lotuses.'

61. _The very centre of the sacred fire_.

Fire was an important object of veneration with the Hindús, as with the ancient Persians. Perhaps the chief worship recognized in the Vedas is that of Fire and the Sun. The holy fire was deposited in a hallowed part of the house, or in a sacred building, and kept perpetually burning. Every morning and evening, oblations were offered to it by dropping clarified butter and other substances into the flame, accompanied with prayers and invocations.

62. _As in the sacred tree the mystic fire_.

Literally, 'as the [S']ami-tree is pregnant with fire.' The legend is, that the goddess Párvatí, being one day under the influence of love, reposed on a trunk of this tree, whereby a sympathetic warmth was generated in the pith or interior of the wood, which ever after broke into a sacred flame on the slightest attrition.

63 _Hastinápur_.

The ancient Delhi, situated on the Ganges, and the capital of Dushyanta. Its site is about fifty miles from the modern Delhi, which is on the Jumná,

64 _E'en as Yayáti [S']armishthá adored_,

[S']armishthá was the daughter of Vrishaparvan, king of the demons, and wife of Yayáti, son of Nahusha, one of the princes of the Lunar dynasty, and ancestor of Dushyanta. Puru was the son of Yayáti, by [S']armishthá.

65 _And for whose encircling bed, Sacred Kusa-grass is spread_.

At a sacrifice, sacred fires were lighted at the four cardinal points, and Ku[s']a-grass was scattered around each fire, 66 _Koïl_,

The Koïl, or Kokil, is the Indian cuckoo. It is sometimes called Para-bhrita ('nourished by another'). because the female is known to leave her eggs in the nest of the crow to be hatched. The bird is as great a favourite with Indian poets as the nightingale with European. One of its names is 'Messenger of Spring.' Its note is a constant subject of allusion, and is described as beautifully sweet, and, if heard on a journey, indicative of good fortune. Everything, however, is beautiful by comparison. The song of the Koïl is not only very dissimilar, but very inferior to that of the nightingale,

67 _The peacock on the lawn Ceases its dance_,

The Indian peacock is very restless, especially at the approach of rain, in which it is thought to take delight. Its circular movements are a frequent subject of allusion with Hindú poets, and are often by them compared to dancing.

68. _The moonlight of the grove_.

The name of [S']akoontalá's favourite jasmine, spoken of in the 1st Act. See page 15 of this volume.

69. _Fig-tree_.

Not the Banyan-tree (_Ficus Indica_), nor the Pippala (_Ficus religiosa_), but the Glomerous Fig-tree (_Ficus glomerata_), which yields a resinous milky juice from its bark, and is large enough to afford abundant shade.

70. _The poor female Chakraváka_.

Compare note 56.

71. _Like a young tendril of the sandal-tree torn from its home in the western mountains_.

The sandal is a kind of large myrtle with pointed leaves (_Sirium myrtifolium_). The wood affords many highly esteemed perfumes, unguents, etc., and is celebrated for its delicious scent. It is chiefly found on the slopes of the Malaya mountain or Western Ghauts on the Malabar coast. The roots of the tree are said to be infested with snakes. Indeed it seems to pay dearly for the fragrance of its wood: 'The root is infested by serpents, the blossoms by bees, the branches by monkeys, the summit by bears. In short there is not a part of the sandal-tree that is not occupied by the vilest impurities.' Hitopade[s']a, verse 162.

72. _The calm seclusion of thy former home_.

'When the father of a family perceives his own wrinkles and grey hair, committing the care of his wife to his sons, or accompanied by her, let him repair to the woods and become a hermit.'--Manu, vi. 2. It was usual for kings, at a certain time of life, to abdicate the throne in favour of the heir-apparent, and pass the remainder of their days in seclusion.

73. _A frequent offering to our household gods_.

This was an offering (_bali_) in honour of those spiritual beings called 'household deities,' which were supposed to hover round and protect houses. It was made by throwing up into the air in some part of the house (generally at the door) the remains of the morning and evening meal of rice or grain, uttering at the same time a _mantra_, or prayer.

74. _In other states of being_.

Dim recollections of occurrences in former states of existence are supposed occasionally to cross the mind. Compare note 37.

75. _The Chamberlain_.

The attendant on the women's apartment. He is generally a Bráhman, and usually appears in the plays as a tottering and decrepit old man, leaning on his staff of office. 76. _The king of serpents on his thousand heads_.

A mythological serpent, the personification of eternity, and king of the Nágas, or snakes, who inhabit Pátála, the lowermost of the seven regions below the earth. His body formed the couch of Vishnu, reposing on the waters of Chaos, whilst his thousand heads were the god's canopy. He is also said to uphold the world on one of his heads.

77. _The chamber of the consecrated fire_.

Compare note 61.

78. _Two heralds_.

These heralds were introduced into Hindú plays something in the same manner as a Chorus; and, although their especial duty was to announce, in measured verse, the periods of the day, and particularly the fixed divisions into which the king's day was divided, yet the strain which they poured forth frequently contained allusions to incidental circumstances. The royal office was no sinecure. From the Da[s']a-kumára, it appears that the day and night were each divided into eight portions of one hour and a half, reckoned from sunrise; and were thus distributed: Day--l. The king, being dressed, is to audit accounts; 2. He is to pronounce judgment in appeals; 3. He is to breakfast; 4. He is to receive and make presents; 5. He is to discuss political questions with his ministers; 6. He is to amuse himself; 7. He is to review his troops; 8. He is to hold a military council. Night--l. He is to receive the reports of his spies and envoys; 2. He is to sup or dine; 3. He is to retire to rest after the perusal of some sacred work; 4 and 5. He is to sleep; 6. He is to rise and purify himself; 7. He is to hold a private consultation with his ministers, and instruct his officers; 8. He is to attend upon the _Purohita_ or family priest, for the performance of religious ceremonies. See Wilson's Hindú Theatre, vol. i. p. 209.

79. _Feeling a quivering sensation in her right eyelid_.

Compare note 18.

80. _The protector of the four classes of the people, the guardian of the four conditions of the priesthood_.

A remarkable feature in the ancient Hindú social system, as depicted in the plays, was the division of the people into four classes or castes:--1st. The sacerdotal, consisting of the Bráhmans.--2nd. The military, consisting of fighting men, and including the king himself and the royal family. This class enjoyed great privileges, and must have been practically the most powerful.--3rd. The commercial, including merchants and husbandmen.--4th. The servile, consisting of servants and slaves. Of these four divisions the first alone has been preserved in its purity to the present day, although the Rájputs claim to be the representatives of the second class. The others have been lost in a multitude of mixed castes formed by intermarriage, and bound together by similarity of trade or occupation. With regard to the sacerdotal class, the Bráhmans, who formed it, were held to be the chief of all human beings; they were superior to the king, and their lives and property were protected by the most stringent laws. They were to divide their lives into four quarters, during which they passed through four states or conditions, viz. as religious students, as householders, as anchorites, and as religious mendicants.

81. _That he is pleased with ill-assorted unions_.

The god Brahmá seems to have enjoyed a very unenviable notoriety as taking pleasure in ill-assorted marriages, and encouraging them by his own example in the case of his own daughter.

82. _[S']achí's sacred pool near Sakrávatára_.

[S']akra is a name of the god Indra, and Sakrávatára is a sacred place of pilgrimage where he descended upon earth. [S']achí is his wife, to whom a _Urtha_, or holy bathing-place, was probably consecrated at the place where [S']akoontalá had performed her ablutions. Compare note 14.

83. _The wily Koïl_.

Compare note 66.

84. _With the discus or mark of empire in the lines of his hand_.

When the lines of the right hand formed themselves into a circle, it was thought to be the mark of a future hero or emperor.

85. _A most refined occupation, certainly!_

Spoken ironically. The occupation of a fisherman, and, indeed, any occupation which involved the sin of slaughtering animals, was considered despicable. Fishermen, butchers, and leather-sellers were equally objects of scorn. In Lower Bengal the castes of Jáliyás and Bágdis, who live by fishing, etc., are amongst the lowest, and eke out a precarious livelihood by thieving and dacoity.

86. _And he should not forsake it_.

The great Hindú 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 Hindú system the sacrifice of animals is practised by the priests of the goddess Káli 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 Málati-Mádhava, 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 Káma-deva, the god of love. It is identified with the Holí or Dolá-yátra, the Saturnalia, or rather, Carnival of the Hindús, 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 Ratnávalí, 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 Phálguna, or about the beginning of March. The other great Hindú festival, held in the autumn, about October, is called Durgá-pújá, being in honour of the goddess Durgá. The Holí 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 Koïl?_

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 Hindú 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. _Himálaya_.

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

96. _As [S']iva 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 Kála-kúta, or Halá-hala, was generated, so virulent that it would have destroyed the world, had not the god [S']iva swallowed it. Its only effect was to leave a dark blue mark on his throat, whence his name Níla-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 Ayodhyá_.

The chief of a guild or corporation of artisans practising the same trade. Ayodhyá, or the Invincible City, was the ancient capital of Rámachandra, founded by Ikshwáku, 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 [S']ráddha, 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 Bráhmans are invited. A native who had grown rich in the time of Warren Hastings spent nine lakhs of rupees on his mother's [S']ráddha; and large sums are still spent on similar occasions by wealthy Hindús (see my 'Bráhmanism and Hindúism,' p. 306).

100. _The mother of the great Indra_.

That is, Adití, the wife of Ka[s']yapa, with whom, in their sacred retreat, [S']akoontalá was enjoying an asylum.

101. _Distinguishes the milk from worthless water_.

The Hindús imagine that the flamingo (a kind of goose) is the vehicle on which the god Brahmá 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. _Mátali_.

The charioteer of Indra. In the pictures which represent this god mounted on his usual vehicle--an elephant called Aírávata--Mátali 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 Mátali.

103. _Kálanemi_.

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

104. _Nárada_.

A celebrated divine sage, usually reckoned among the ten patriarchs first created by Brahmá. 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 Hindús 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, Mandára, one of the five ever-blooming trees of Nandana, or Swarga, Indra's heaven. The two most celebrated of these trees were the Párijáta and the Kalpa-druma, or tree granting all desires. Each of the superior Hindú gods has a heaven, paradise, or elysium of his own. That of Brahmá is called Brahma-loka, situate on the summit of mount Meru; that of Vishnu is Vaikuntha, on the Himálayas; that of [S']iva and Kuvera is Kailása, also on the Himálayas; that of Indra is Swarga or Nandana. The latter, though properly on the summit of mount Meru, below Brahmá's paradise, is sometimes identified with the sphere of the sky or heaven in general. It is the only heaven of orthodox Bráhmanism.

107. _Jayanta_.

The son of Indra by his favourite wife Paulomí or [S']achí.

108. _The Lion-man's terrific claws_.

Vishnu, in the monstrous shape of a creature half man, half lion (his fourth Avatár 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-ka[S']ipu.

109. _We journey in the path of Parivaha_.

The Hindús divide the heavens into seven Márgas, 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-padí); thence it flowed through the heavenly sphere, being borne along by the wind Parivaha, and identified with the Mandákiní, or Milky Way. Its second course is through the earth; but the weight of its descent was borne by [S']iva's head, whence, after wandering among the tresses of his hair, it descended through a chasm in the Himálayas. Its third course is through Pátála, or the lower regions, the residence of the Daityas and Nágas, 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 Pátála. Vishnu undertook to trick him out of his power, and assuming the form of a Vámana, or dwarf (his fifth Avatár), 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 Pátála still under his rule.

112. _I see the moisture-loving Chátakas_.

The Chátaka is a kind of Cuckoo (_Cuculus Melanoleucus_). The Hindús 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 Himálaya chain, and apparently identical with, or immediately adjacent to, Kailása, 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. _Ka[s']yapa_.

Ka[s']yapa was the son of Brahmá's son, Maríchi, and was one of those Patriarchs (created by Brahmá 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 Adití, from whom were born Indra and all the inferior gods, and particularly the twelve Ádityas, 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, Dánavas, and other demons.

115. _No sacred cord is twined_.

The serpent's skin was used by the ascetic in place of the regular Bráhmanical 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 Bráhmans alone, and those who claim to be Kshatriyas, have a right to wear this thread. Not long since, a Káyath (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 Hindús imagine that living upon air is a proof of the highest degree of spirituality to which a man can attain.

118. _A[s']oka-tree_.

The A[s']oka (_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 A[s']oka-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_.

Chézy is enraptured with this verse: ' ... strophe incomparable, que tout père, ou plutôt toute mère, ne pourra lire sans sentir battre son coeur, tant le poète a su y rendre, avec les nuances les plus délicates, 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 Hindús 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, [S']akoontalá appears in the court of King Dushyanta and pleads her own cause; and Vásavadattá, in the Ratnávalí, 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 Hindú Theatre, p. xliii.

121. _Her long hair Twined in a single braid_.

Hindú 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 Hindú 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 Ráhu, and became the cause of eclipses, by endeavouring at various times to swallow the sun and moon. So in the Hitopade[s']a, line 192, the moon is said to be eaten by Ráhu. With regard to the love of the Moon for Rohiní, 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 Hindú 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 Brahmá's sons_.

Ka[s']yapa and Adití were the children of Maríchi and Daksha respectively, and these last were the sons of Brahmá.

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 Náráyana, or the Supreme Spirit, moved over the waters before the creation of the world, and from his navel came the lotus from which Brahmá, the World's Creator, here called the Self-existent, sprang. As Vishnu, the Preserver, he became incarnate in various forms; and chose Ka[s']yapa and Adití, from whom all human beings were descended, as his medium of incarnation, especially in the Avatár 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 Hindús, the earth consisted of seven islands, or rather insular continents, surrounded by seven seas. That inhabited by men was called Jambudwípa, 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 Dwípa, called Plaksha, which is in its turn surrounded by a sea of sugar-cane juice. And so with the five other Dwípas, viz. Sálmali, Ku[S']a, Krauncha, [S']áka, 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 [S']akoontalá, who so extended his empire that from him the whole of India was called Bharata-varsha or Bhárata-varsha; and whose descendants, the sons of Dhritaráshtra and Pándu, by their quarrels, formed the subject of the great epic poem called Mahá-bhárata. The Hindús at the present day continue to call India by the name Bhárata-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. _Saraswatí_.

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 Hindú will touch a pen or write a letter. The courts are all closed accordingly.

132. _The purple self-existent god_.

[S']iva 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, Kála, 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 (Brahmá), is applied both to Vishnu and [S']iva by their votaries.

134. _Whose vital Energy_.

That is, [S']iva's wife, Párvatí, 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 Hindú philosophy. Compare note 37.

135. _By my divine faculty of meditation_.

Celestial beings were endowed with a mental faculty (called dhyána, pranidhána, 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 Hindú 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 Hindú odes--

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

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