[36] p. 7. l. 4. In full trust is thine. Bopp connects 'visrabdha' with 'pranaya,' and renders them speratas nuptias. I should rather join it adverbially with 'sarvam, all;' that is, 'yours in full trust or confidence: grant me your affection.' There is something indelicate, though inartificial, in Damayanti's urging matrimony so earnestly. Wilson.
[37] p. 11. l. 8. —the vile noose will I endure. Hanging was not considered by the Hindus an undignified mode of self-destruction. See Hindu Theatre, ii. 237 and 299.
[38] p. 11. l. 17. He, who all the world compressing. Nala here recites the separate pretensions and attributes of the great deities, first, of Hutasa, a name of Agni, the god of fire. The sense here is extremely obscure. Bopp renders it literally. 'Qui hanc terram totam contraxit,' seems ambiguous. It may refer to the agency of fire in compacting the world and again consuming it, or simply shrivelling it up, while in the act of consuming.
[39] p. 11. l. 19. He, in awe of whose dread sceptre. Yama: he is called the Dharma raja, king of justice. Wilford in Asiatic Researches. Compare Southey's description in the Curse of Kehama, Canto xxii., with the note from Wilford on which it is founded; and his interview with Sawitri in Bopp's collection of Extracts from the Mahábhárata.
[40] p. 11. l. 21. —slayer of the infernal host. Indra. He was the conqueror of the Danavas or dæmons:
When through the waves of war thy charger sprang,
Each rock rebellowed, and each forest rang,
The vanquish'd Asurs felt avenging pains.—Sir W. Jones, Ode to Indra.
[41] p. 11. l. 23. —in thy mind if thou couldst choose. (At the close full stop misprinted for comma). Varuna, the god of waters. Schlegel and Rosen consider that a sloka, describing the attributes of Varuna, has been lost—that in this line 'varanam, seligendum' should be written instead of 'Varunam.' The Calcutta edition has the same reading, however, and the change is not necessary: if any alteration be made it should probably be in the first word, and 'Vriyatám' be read in place of 'Kriyatám.' Wilson.
[42] p. 14. l. 1. Came the day of happy omen. The Indians, like all other Asiatic nations, have their fortunate and unfortunate days. The month is divided into thirty lunar days (tithis), which are personified as nymphs. See the Dissertation on the lunar year by Sir W. Jones, Asiatic Researches, iii. 257. In the Laws of Menu are multifarious directions concerning the day of the moon fit or unfit for particular actions. "The dark lunar day destroys the spiritual teacher; the fourteenth destroys the learner; the eighth and the day of the full moon destroy all remembrance of Scripture; for which reason he must avoid reading on those lunar days."
[43] p. 14. l. 5. They, the court with golden columns, etc. The literal rendering is, 'they entered the hall (the stage, or place of exhibition, a spacious court or quadrangle) splendid with columns of gold, and brilliant with a portal; a temporary or triumphal arch (torana).' There is allusion to such a porch or portal in the Mudrá Rakshasa (Hindu Theatre, ii. 181, 182), also in the Toy Cart, (i. 82). For gold pillars see Crawfurd's description of the Hall of Audience at Ava.
"The roof is supported by a great number of pillars: with the exception of about fourteen or fifteen inches at the bottom of each pillar, painted of a bright red, the whole interior of the palace is one blaze of gilding—although little reconcilable to our notions of good taste in architecture, the building is unquestionably most splendid and brilliant, and I doubt whether so singular and imposing a royal edifice exists in any other country." Embassy to Ava, 133. Wilson.