Barley meal instead of wheaten cakes—Jau kî roti, barley bread, is the poor man's food, as opposed to gihûn kî rotî, wheaten bread, the rich man's food. Barley bread is apt to produce flatulence.
With empty stomachs, etc.—The saying is well known and runs thus—
Kahîn mat jâo khâlî pet.
Hove mâgh yâ hove jeth.
Go nowhere on an empty stomach,
Be it winter or be it summer.
Very necessary and salutary advice in a feverish country like India.
If any man eats me, etc.—Apparent allusion to the saying rendered in the following verse—
Jo nar totâ mârkar khâve per ke heth, Kuchh sansâ man na dhare, woh hogâ râjâ jeth. Jo mainâ ko mâr khâ, man men rakhe dhîr; Kuchh chintâ man na kare, woh sadâ rahegâ wazîr.
Who kills a parrot and eats him under a tree,
Should have no doubt in his mind, he will be a great king.
Who kills and eats a starling, let him be patient:
Let him not be troubled in his mind, he will be minister for life.
Snake-demon—The word was isdâr, which represents the Persian izhdahâ, izhdâr, or izhdar, a large serpent, python.
Sacred elephant.—The reference here is to the legend of the safed hâthî or dhaulâ gaj, the white elephant. He is the elephant-headed God Ganesa, and as such is, or rather was formerly, kept by Râjâs as a pet, and fed to surfeit every Tuesday (Mangalwâr) with sweet cakes (chûrîs). After which he was taught to go down on his knees to the Râjâ and swing his trunk to and fro, and this was taken as sign that he acknowledged his royalty. He was never ridden except occasionally by the Râjâ himself. Two sayings, common to the present day, illustrate these ideas—'Woh to Mahârâjâ hai, dhaule gaj par sowâr: he is indeed king, for he rides the white elephant.' And 'Mahârâjâ dhaulâ gajpati kidohâî: (I claim the) protection of the great king, the lord of the white elephant.' The idea appears to be a very old one, for Ælian (Hist. Anim. vol. iii. p. 46), quoting Megasthenes, mentions the white elephant. See M'Crindle, India as described by Megasthenes and Arrian, pp. 118, 119; Indian Antiquary, vol. vi. p. 333 and footnote.