[239]. About A.D. 636.
[240]. See Hindu Literature, Chapters II and III.
[241]. Unless otherwise indicated, the poetical quotations in this legend will be from Atkinson’s Translation.
[242]. The Anka of the Arabians.
[243]. Iliad, B. 24.
[244]. The Narcissus, to which the beautiful eyes of Eastern women are often compared.
[245]. Called the “Serpent King” because he at one time allowed an evil creature to kiss his shoulder, and from the spot two fearful serpents sprang that required human brains for their food. The king used to select the victims by lot, and when the blacksmith Kaveh found his name upon the fatal register he tore the document in pieces, and
“On his javelin’s point
He fixed his leathern apron for a banner,
And lifting it high he went abroad