Sakoontala; Or, The Lost Ring: An Indian Drama

by Kalidasa

NOTES:

1. Í[S']a preserve you.

That is, 'the Lord,' a name given to the god Siva, when regarded as supreme. As presiding over dissolution he is associated with Brahmá the Creator, and Vishnu the Preserver; constituting with them the Hindú Triad. Kálidása indulges the religious predilections of his fellow-townsmen by beginning and ending the play with a prayer to [S']iva, who had a large temple in Ujjayiní, the modern Oujein, the city of Vikramáditya, situated north-eastward from Gujarát.

2. In these eight forms.

The worshippers of Siva, who were Pantheists in the sense of believing that [S']iva was himself all that exists, as well as the cause of all that is, held that there were eight different manifestations of their god, called Rudras; and that these had their types in the eight visible forms enumerated here. The Hindús reckon five elements. The most subtle is Ether (ákása), supposed to convey sound, which is its peculiar attribute or property (guna). The next element—Air, has for its properties sound and feeling. The third—Fire, has sound, feeling, and colour. The fourth—Water, has sound, feeling, colour, and taste. The fifth—Earth, has all the other properties, with the addition of smell.

3. An audience of educated and discerning men.

Lit. 'An audience, who are chiefly men of education and discernment.' Few could have been present at these dramatic representations excepting learned and educated men. The mass of the composition being in Sanskrit, would not have been intelligible to the vulgar and illiterate.

4. [S']akoontalá; or, The Lost Ring.

The literal title is '[S']akoontalá recognized by the token or ring.'

5. The present Summer season.

Hindú poets divide the year into six seasons of two months each, viz. I. Spring (Vasanta), beginning about the middle of March; or, according to some, February. 2. Summer (Gríshma). 3. Rains (Varsha). 4. Autumn (Sarad). 5. Winter (Hemanta). 6. Dews (Sisira). Practically, however, there are only three seasons in India, 1. The hot season. 2. The rains. 3. The cold weather. In Lower Bengal and Behar, the first of these seasons begins in March, the second in June, and the third in November. The temperature of the cold season is highly exhilarating, and the climate is then superior to that of any portion of the English year. In Calcutta, this season continues for about three months; in Upper India, for about five; and in the Panjáb for about seven. The rains in Bengal Proper are more violent and protracted than in Hindústán and the Panjáb. In the latter country they last for hardly more than two months, and even then only fall at intervals. Plays were acted on solemn and festive occasions, on lunar holidays, and especially at the changes of the season.

6. Of fragrant Pátalas.

The Pátala or trumpet-flower; Bignonia suaveolens.

7. With sweet [S']irísha flowers.

The flowers of the Acacia Sírisha were used by the Hindú women as ear-ornaments.

8. King Dushyanta.

For the genealogy of King Dushyanta see Introduction, page xxxviii.

9. That wields the trident.

[S']iva is called Pinákin, that is, 'armed with a trident,' or according to some, a bow named Pináka. Siva not being invited to Daksha's sacrifice, was so indignant, that, with his wife, he suddenly presented himself, confounded the sacrifice, dispersed the gods, and chasing Yajna, 'the lord of sacrifice,' who fled in the form of a deer, overtook and decapitated him.

10. Their waving plumes, that late Fluttered above their brows, are motionless.

The Chámarí, or chowrie, formed of the white bushy tail of the Yak, or Bos grunniens, was placed as an ornament between the ears of horses, like the plume of the war-horse of chivalry. The velocity of the chariot caused it to lose its play, and appear fixed in one direction, like a flag borne rapidly against the wind.

11. The steeds of Indra and the Sun.

That is, the speed of the chariot resembled that of the Wind and the Sun. Indra was the god of the firmament or atmosphere—the Jupiter Tonans of Hindú mythology—and presided over the forty-nine Winds. He has a heaven of his own (Swarga), of which he is the lord, and, although inferior to the three great deities of the Hindú Triad (Brahmá, Vishnu, and Siva), he is chief of the secondary gods. The Hindús represent the Sun as seated in a chariot, drawn by seven green horses, having before him a lovely youth without legs, who acts as his charioteer, and who is Aruna, or the Dawn personified.

12. Puru's race.

See Dushyanta's pedigree detailed at page xxxviii of the
Introduction.

13. The great sage Kanwa.

The sage Kanwa was a descendant of Kasyapa, whom the Hindús consider to have been the father of the inferior gods, demons, man, fish, reptiles, and all animals, by his twelve wives. Kanwa was the chief of a number of devotees, or hermits, who had constructed a hermitage on the banks of the river Máliní, and surrounded it with gardens and groves, where penitential rites were performed, and animals were reared for sacrificial purposes, or for the amusement of the inmates. There is nothing new in asceticism. The craving after self-righteousness, and the desire of acquiring merit by self-mortification, is an innate principle of the human heart, and ineradicable even by Christianity. Witness the monastic institutions of the Romish Church, of which Indian penance-groves were the type. The Superior of a modern Convent is but the antitype of Kanwa; and what is Romanism but humanity developing itself in some of its most inveterate propensities?

14. He has gone to Soma tírtha.

A place of pilgrimage in the west of India, on the coast of Gujarát, near the temple of Somanáth, or Somnát, made notorious by its gates, which were brought back from Ghazní by Lord Ellenborough's orders in 1842, and are now to be seen in the arsenal at Agra. These places of pilgrimage were generally fixed on the bank of some sacred stream, or in the vicinity of some holy spring. The word tírtha is derived from a Sanskrit root, trí, 'to cross,' implying that the river has to be passed through, either for the washing away of sin, or extrication from some adverse destiny. Thousands of devotees still flock to the most celebrated Tírthas on the Ganges, at Benares, Haridwár, etc.

15. Ingudí.

A tree, commonly called Ingua, or Jiyaputa, from the fruit of which oil was extracted, which the devotees used for their lamps and for ointment. One synonym for this tree is tápasa-taru, 'the anchorite's tree.'

16. Bark-woven vests.

Dresses made of bark, worn by ascetics, were washed in water, and then suspended to dry on the branches of trees.

17. By deep canals.

It was customary to dig trenches round the roots of trees, to collect the rain-water.

18. My throbbing arm.

A quivering sensation in the right arm was supposed by the Hindús to prognosticate union with a beautiful woman. Throbbings of the arm or eyelid, if felt on the right side, were omens of good fortune in men; if on the left, bad omens. The reverse was true of women. 19. The hard acacia's stem.

The Samí tree, a kind of acacia (Acacia Suma), the wood of which is very hard, and supposed by the Hindús to contain fire.

20. The lotus.

This beautiful plant, the varieties of which, white, blue, and red, are numerous, bears some resemblance to our water-lily. It is as favourite a subject of allusion and comparison with Hindú poets as the rose is with Persian.

21. With the Saivala entwined.

The [S']aivala (Vallisneria) is an aquatic plant, which spreads itself over ponds, and interweaves itself with the lotus. The interlacing of its stalks is compared in poetry to braided hair.

22. Yon Ke[s']ara tree.

The Ke[s']ara tree (Mimusops elengi) is the same as the Bakula, frequent mention of which is made is some of the Puránas. It bears a strong-smelling flower, which, according to Sir W. Jones, is ranked among the flowers of the Hindú paradise. The tree Is very ornamental in pleasure-grounds.

23. Would that my union with her were permissible.

A Bráhman might marry a woman of the military or kingly class next below him, and the female offspring of such a marriage would belong to a mixed caste, and might be lawfully solicited in marriage by a man of the military class. But if [S']akoontalá were a pure Bráhmaní woman, both on the mother's and father's side, she would be ineligible as the wife of a Kshatriya king. Dushyanta discovers afterwards that she was, in fact, the daughter of the great Vi[s']wámitra (see note 27), who was of the same caste as himself, though her mother was the nymph Menaká.

24. I trust all is well with your devotional rites.

This was the regular formula of salutation addressed to persons engaged in religions exercises.

25. This water that we have brought with us will serve to bathe our guest's feet.

Water for the feet is one of the first things invariably provided for a guest in all Eastern countries. Compare Genesis xxiv. 32; Luke vii. 44. If the guest were a Bráhman, or a man of rank, a respectful offering (argha) of rice, fruit, and flowers was next presented. In fact, the rites of hospitality in India were enforced by very stringent regulations. The observance of them ranked as one of the five great sacred rites, and no punishment was thought too severe for one who violated them. If a guest departed unhonoured from a house, his sins were to be transferred to the householder, and all the merits of the householder were to be transferred to him.

26. Sapta-parna tree.

A tree having seven leaves on a stalk (Echites scholaris).

27. Vis']wámitra, whose family name is Kausika.

In the Rámáyana, the great sage Vi[s']wámitra (both king and saint), who raised himself by his austerities from the regal to the Bráhmanical caste, is said to be the son of Gádhi, King of Kanúj, grandson of Kusanátha, and great-grandson of Kusika or Kusa. On his accession to the throne, in the room of his father Gádhi, in the course of a tour through his dominions, he visited the hermitage of the sage Vasishtha, where the Cow of Plenty, a cow granting all desires, excited his cupidity. He offered the sage untold treasures for the cow; but being refused, prepared to take it by force. A long war ensued between the king and the sage (symbolical of the struggles between the military and Bráhmanical classes), which ended in the defeat of Vi[s']wámitra, whose vexation was such, that he devoted himself to austerities, in the hope of attaining the condition of a Bráhman. The Rámáyana recounts how, by gradually increasing the rigour of his penance through thousands of years, he successively earned the title of Royal Sage, Sage, Great Sage, and Bráhman Sage. It was not till he had gained this last title that Vasishtha consented to acknowledge his equality with himself, and ratify his admission into the Bráhmanical state. It was at the time of Vi[s']wámitra's advancement to the rank of a Sage, and whilst he was still a Kshatriya, that Indra, jealous of his increasing power, sent the nymph Menaká to seduce him from his life of mortification and continence. The Rámáyana records his surrender to this temptation, and relates that the nymph was his companion in the hermitage for ten years, but does not allude to the birth of [S']akoontalá during that period.

28. The inferior gods, I am aware, are jealous.

According to the Hindú system, Indra and the other inferior deities were not the possessors of Swarga, or heaven, by indefeasible right. They accordingly viewed with jealousy, and even alarm, any extraordinary persistency by a human being in acts of penance, as it raised him to a level with themselves; and, if carried beyond a certain point, enabled him to dispossess them of Paradise. Indra was therefore the enemy of excessive self-mortification, and had in his service numerous nymphs who were called his 'weapons,' and whose business it was to impede by their seductions the devotion of holy men.

29. Gautamí.

The name of the matron or Superior of the female part of the society of hermits. Every association of religious devotees seems to have included a certain number of women, presided over by an elderly and venerable matron, whose authority resembled that of an abbess in a convent of nuns.

30. Ku[s']a-grass.

This grass was held sacred by the Hindús, and was abundantly used in all their religions ceremonies. Its leaves are very long, and taper to a sharp needle-like point, of which the extreme acuteness was proverbial; whence the epithet applied to a clever man, 'sharp as the point of Ku[s']a-grass.' Its botanical name is Poa cynosuroïdes.

31. Kuruvaka.

A species of Jhintí or Barleria, with purple flowers, and covered with sharp prickles.

32. The Jester.

See an account of this character in the Introduction, p. xxxiv.

33. We have nothing to eat but roast game.

Indian game is often very dry and flavourless.

34. Attended by the Yavana women.

Who these women were has not been accurately ascertained. Yavana is properly Arabia, but is also a name applied to Greece. The Yavana women were therefore either natives of Arabia, or Greece, and their business was to attend upon the king, and take charge of his weapons, especially his bow and arrows. Professor H. H. Wilson, in his translation of the Vikramorva[s']í, where the same word occurs (Act V. p. 261), remarks that Tartarian or Bactrian women may be intended.

35. In the disc of crystal.

That is, the sun-gem (Súrya-kánta, 'beloved by the sun'), a shining stone resembling crystal. Professor Wilson calls it a fabulous stone with fabulous properties, and mentions another stone, the moon-gem (chandra-kánta). It may be gathered from this passage that the sun-stone was a kind of glass lens, and that the Hindús were not ignorant of the properties of this instrument at the time when '[S']akoontalá' was written.

36. Some fallen blossoms of the jasmine.

The jasmine here intended was a kind of double jasmine with a very delicious perfume, sometimes called 'Arabian jasmine' (Jasminum zambac). It was a delicate plant, and, as a creeper, would depend on some other tree for support. The Arka, or sun-tree (Gigantic Asclepias: Calotropis gigantea), on the other hand, was a large and vigorous shrub. Hence the former is compared to [S']akoontalá, the latter to the sage Kanwa.

37.

The mellowed fruit Of virtuous actions in some former birth.

The doctrine of the transmigration of the soul from one body to another is an essential dogma of the Hindú religion, and connected with it is the belief in the power which every human being possesses of laying up for himself a store of merit by good deeds performed in the present and former births. Indeed the condition of every person is supposed to derive its character of happiness or misery, elevation or degradation, from the virtues or vices of previous states of being. The consequences of actions in a former birth are called vipáka; they may be either good or bad, but are rarely unmixed with evil taint.

In the present comparison, however, they are described as pure and unalloyed. With reference to the first four lines of this stanza, compare Catullus, Carmen Nuptiale, verse 39.

'Ut flos in septis secretus nascitur hortis,
Ignotus pecori, nullo contusus aratro,
Quem mulcent auræ, firmat sol, educat imber:
Multi illuum pueri, multæ optavere puellæ:
Idem quum tenui carptus defloruit ungui,
Nulli illum pueri, nallæ optavere puellæ:
Sic virgo, dum intacta manet,' etc.

38. The sixth part of their grain.

According to Manu, a king might take a sixth part of liquids, flowers, roots, fruit, grass, etc.; but, even though dying with want, he was not to receive any tax from a Bráhman learned in the Vedas.

39. A title only one degree removed from that of a Sage.

Dushyanta was a Rájarshi; that is, a man of the military class who had attained the rank of Royal Sage or Saint by the practice of religious austerities. The title of Royal or Imperial Sage was only one degree inferior to that of Sage. Compare note 27.

40. Chanted by inspired bards.

Or celestial minstrels, called Gandharvas. These beings were the musicians of Indra's heaven, and their business was to amuse the inhabitants of Swarga by singing the praises of gods, saints, or heroes. Compare note 11.

41. In their fierce warfare with the powers of hell.

Indra and the other inferior gods (compare note 11) were for ever engaged in hostilities with their half-brothers, the demons called Daityas, who were the giants or Titans of Hindú mythology. On such occasions the gods seem to have depended very much upon the assistance they received from mortal heroes.

42. Evil demons are disturbing our sacrificial rites.

The religious rites and sacrifices of holy men were often disturbed by certain evil spirits or goblins called Rákshasas, who were the determined enemies of piety and devotion. No great sacrifice or religious ceremony was ever carried on without an attempt on the part of these demons to impede its celebration; and the most renowned saints found it necessary on such occasions to acknowledge their dependence on the strong arm of the military class, by seeking the aid of warriors and heroes. The inability of holy men, who had attained the utmost limit of spiritual power, to cope with the spirits of evil, and the superiority of physical force in this respect, is very remarkable.

43. Vishnu.

Vishnu, the Preserver, was one of the three gods of the Hindú Triad. He became incarnate in various forms for the good of mortals, and is the great enemy of the demons.

14 Like king Tri[s']anku.

The story of this monarch is told in the Rámáyana. He is there described as a just and pious prince of the solar race, who aspired to celebrate a great sacrifice, hoping thereby to ascend to heaven in his mortal body. After various failures he had recourse to Vi[s']wámitra, who undertook to conduct the sacrifice, and invited all the gods to be present. They, however, refused to attend; upon which the enraged Vi[s']wámitra, by his own power, transported Tri[s']anku to the skies, whither he had no sooner arrived than he was hurled down again by Indra and the gods; but being arrested in his downward course by the sage, he remained suspended between heaven and earth, forming a constellation in the southern hemisphere.

45. Ointment of Usíra-root.

The root of a fragrant grass (Andropogon muricatum), from which a cooling ointment was made.

46. The very breath of his nostrils.

Compare Lam. iv. 20. 'The breath of our nostrils, the anointed of the Lord, was taken.'

47. God of the flowery shafts.

The Hindú Cupid, or god of love (Káma), is armed with a bow made of sugar-cane, the string of which consists of bees. He has five arrows, each tipped with the blossom of a flower, which pierce the heart through the five senses; and his favourite arrow is pointed with the chita, or mango-flower.

48. E'en now in thy unbodied essence lurks The fire of [S']iva's anger.

The story is thus told in the Rámáyana. Káma (Cupid) once approached [S']iva that he might influence him with love for his wife, Párvatí. [S']iva happened then to be practising austerities, and intent on a vow of chastity. He therefore cursed the god of love in a terrible voice, and at the same time a flash from his eye caused the god's body to shrivel into ashes. Thus Káma was made incorporeal, and from that time was called 'the bodiless one.'

49.
Like the flame,
That ever hidden in the secret depths
Of ocean, smoulders there unseen.

This submarine fire was called Aurva, from the following fable. The Rishi Aurva, who had gained great power by his austerities, was pressed by the gods and others to perpetuate his race. He consented, but warned them that his offspring would consume the world. Accordingly, he created from his thigh a devouring fire, which, as soon as it was produced, demanded nourishment, and would have destroyed the whole earth, had not Brahmá appeared and assigned the ocean as its habitation, and the waves as its food. The spot where it entered the sea was called 'the mare's mouth.' Doubtless the story was invented to suit the phenomenon of some marine volcano, which may have exhaled through the water bituminous inflammable gas, and which, perhaps in the form of a horse's mouth, was at times visible above the sea.

50 Who on his 'scutcheon bears the monster-fish.

The Hindú Cupid is said to have subdued a marine monster, which was, therefore, painted on his banner.

51 The graceful undulation of her gait.

Hansa-gáminí, 'walking like a swan,' was an epithet for a graceful woman. The Indian lawgiver, Manu, recommends that a Bráhman should choose for his wife a young maiden, whose gait was like that of a phoenicopter, or flamingo, or even like that of a young elephant. The idea in the original is, that the weight of her hips had caused the peculiar appearance observable in the print of her feet. Largeness of the hips was considered a great beauty in Hindú women, and would give an undulatory motion to their walk. 52 The Mádhaví.

A large and beautiful creeper (Gaertnera racemosa), bearing white, fragrant flowers, to which constant allusion is made in Sanskrit plays.

53 Pines to be united with the Moon.

A complete revolution of the moon, with respect to the stars, being made in twenty-seven days, odd hours, the Hindús divide the heavens into twenty-seven constellations (asterisms) or lunar stations, one of which receives the moon for one day in each of his monthly journeys. As the Moon, Chandra, is considered to be a masculine deity, the Hindús fable these twenty-seven constellations as his wives, and personify them as the daughters of Daksha. Of these twenty-seven wives, twelve of whom give names to the twelve months, Chandra is supposed to show the greatest affection for the fourth, Rohiní; but each of the others, and amongst them Vi[s']ákhá, is represented as jealous of this partiality, and eager to secure the Moon's favour for herself, Dushyanta probably means to compare himself to the Moon (he being of the Lunar race) and [S']akoontalá to Vi[s']ákhá.

54. Checks its fall.

Owing to emaciation and disuse of the bow, the callosities on the forearm, usually caused by the bow-string, were not sufficiently prominent to prevent the bracelet from slipping down from the wrist to the elbow, when the arm was raised to support the head. This is a favourite idea with Kálidása to express the attenuation caused by love.

55. No nuptial rites prevail.

A marriage without the usual ceremonies is called Gándharva. It was supposed to be the form of marriage prevalent among the nymphs of India's heaven. In the 3rd Book of Manu (v. 22), it is included among the various marriage rites, and is said to be a union proceeding entirely from love, or mutual inclination, and concluded without any religious services, and without consulting relatives. It was recognized as a legal marriage by Manu and other lawgivers, though it is difficult to say in what respect it differed from unlawful cohabitation.

56. The loving birds doomed by fate to nightly separation.

That is, the male and female of the Chakraváka, commonly called Chakwa and Chakwí, or Bráhmaní duck (Anas casarca). These birds associate together during the day, and are, like turtle-doves, patterns of connubial affection; but the legend is, that they are doomed to pass the night apart, in consequence of a curse pronounced upon them by a saint whom they had offended. As soon as night commences, they take up their station on the opposite banks of a river, and call to each other in piteous cries. The Bengálís consider their flesh to be a good medicine for fever.

57. The great sage Durvásas.

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.