[64] p. 25. l. 17. Passing by Avanti's city. Avanti, which Bopp makes a mountain, according to Kosegarten and Mr. Wilson is a city, Oujein. Bopp draws a somewhat fanciful analogy between Avanti and the Aventine at Rome. He refers also to Himavan, qu. Mavanten, 'montem.' The philological student will do well to consult this note of Bopp. In the Meghadúta, Oujein is Aventi:
Behold the city, whose immortal fame,
Glows in Avanti's or Visala's name. line 193.
The synonyms of Oujein are thus enumerated by Hemachandra: Ujjayini, Visála, Avanti, and Pashparavandini. Rikshaván, i. e. bear-having, the mount of bears, is part of the Vindhya chain, separating Malwa from Kandesh and Berar. Wilson.
[65] p. 25. l. 18. Vindhya here, the mighty mountain. See note to 'Cloud-Messenger,' page 92 to 94. Compare likewise Asiatic Researches, i. p. 380, where, in one of the famous inscriptions on the staff of Feroz Shah, it is named as one of the boundaries of Aryaverta, the land of virtue, or India. It is named also in the curious Indian grant of land found at Tanna. Asiatic Researches, i. 366.
[66] p. 25. l. 18. —and Payoshni's seaward stream. Payoshni, a river that flows from the Vindhya, mentioned in the Brahmanda Purana. Asiatic Researches, viii. 341.
[67] p. 25. l. 20. —this to Cosala away. Cosala, a city of Ayodhya, or Oude. Cosala is mentioned in the Brahmanda Purana as beyond the Vindhya mountains. Asiatic Researches, viii. 343.
[68] p. 27. l. 7. Both together by one garment. The poet supposes that Damayanti had bestowed half her single garment upon Nala. Bopp. This, however, does not appear to be the case.
[69] p. 28. l. 4. From her virtue none dare harm her. Spenser's Una, and still more the lady in Comus, will recur to the remembrance of the English reader. See Quarterly Review, vol. xlv. p. 20.
[70] p. 28. l. 24. —may the genii of the woods. He calls on the Adityas, Vasavas, and Rudras, the Aswinas, the Maruts. This is the literal version. They are different orders of genii, each consisting of a definite number. The Adityas are twelve, and preside over the different months. They are called the children of Kasyapa and of Aditi his wife. According to Mr. Wilkins (notes to the Bhagavat-Gita, p. 144), they are no more than emblems of the sun for each month in the year. Mr. Wilkins gives their names:
The Vasavas, or Vasus, are eight. Indra is the first. They are the guardians of the world, and apparently the same with the eight gods mentioned in the early part of the poem.