[140] p. 87. l. 23. Ruled his realm in Jambudwípa. Sic in Puranis India nominatur. Bopp.
NOTES TO
THE DEATH OF YAJNADATTA.
[141] p. 91. l. 15. So I the lovely Amra left. The Amra is the Mangifern Indica. This tree is not only valuable in the estimation of the Indians for the excellence of its fruits; the belief that the burning juice of its flowers is used to steep the darts of love, enhances their veneration for this beautiful tree. It is frequently mentioned in their poetry. M. Chezy.
[142] p. 91. l. 15. —for the Palasa's barren bloom. The Palasa is the Butea Frondosa of Koenig. Its flowers, of great beauty, are papilionaceous; and its fruit, entirely without use in domestic economy, compared particularly with the Amra, may well be called barren. M. Chezy. See Sir W. Jones's Essay on the Botany of India; and the Asiatic Researches, vol. iii.
[143] p. 91. l. 19. —hath fallen upon my fatal head. "Yes, iniquity once committed, fails not of producing fruit to him who wrought it; if not in his own person, yet in his son's; or if not in his son's, yet in his grandson's." Menu, iv. 173.
[144] p. 92. l. 2. —where haunt the spirits of the dead! The south; the realm of Yama, the judge of the dead.
[145] p. 92. l. 3. —on high the welcome clouds appeared. The beauty of nature after the rainy season has refreshed the earth, is a favourite topic in Indian poetry. The Cloud Messenger, so gracefully translated by Mr. Wilson, is full of allusions to the grateful progress of the cloud, welcomed as it passes along by the joy of animate and inanimate beings. Quote 61-70, 131-142. Compare, in the Hindu Drama, the Toy Cart, act v.
[146] p. 93. l. 2. As though a pupil's hand accursed. The offences of a pupil against a tutor, almost the holiest relation of life, are described in the Laws of Menu, ii. 191 to 218, 242, 8. "By censuring his preceptor, though justly, he will be born an ass; by falsely defaming him, a dog; by using his goods without leave, a small worm; by envying his merit, a larger insect or reptile." As the Roman law did not contemplate the possibility of parricide, that of Menu has no provision against the crime in the text.