[140] The Upavedas are the four sciences of medicine (âyurveda), military sciences (dhanurveda), music (gândharvaveda), and mechanics (silpasâstra), which theory attaches to the Rig-, Yagur-, Sâma-, and Atharva-veda respectively.
[141] The former happened at daytime, the latter in the nights bright with moonshine.
[142] The following set of remarkable protestations are also found in the same order and in a substantially identical form in the Pâli redaction. They are very old, and not wholly free from corruptions and misunderstandings.
[143] The Pâli redaction adds, that the audience on hearing this protestation shut their ears, saying: 'Do not speak in this manner, friend! thy curse is too tremendous.'
[144] The Sanskrit text has vayo 'py apasyan=Pâli vayam appassan. I follow the explication of the Pâli commentary.
[145] The said four plenties are thus explained in the commentary on the Pâli Gâtaka, which proves here of essential help, since katuhsatam of the Sanskrit text is a wrong Sanskritisation of Pâli katussadam, and does not suit the context.
[146] Both the Sanskrit and the Pâli redaction have here the masculine pron. demonstr. The fault must be a very ancient one. In the imprecation of the female servant the grammatical gender is respected by Sûra, not so in the Gâtaka.
[147] This imprecation alludes to the story of a certain devaputra, who in the time of the Buddha Kâsyapa dwelt in the said monastery and was obliged to do the labour imposed on him, whereby he suffered much. A brief account of that tale is given in the commentary on the Pâli Gâtaka, where the speaker of this stanza is called a Devatâ, not a Yaksha.
[148] I suppose the author of the Sanskrit original did not understand the meaning of the text he Sanskritised. The corresponding stanza of the Pâli redaction has so bagghatû pâsasatehî khambhî, where khambhî is explained in the commentary as signifying the six parts of the elephant's body fastened by many chains (pâsasatehîti bahûhi pâsehi), viz. the four feet, the neck, and the loins.
[149] In other words, may he be the monkey of a serpent-charmer.