The flowers of the Acacia Sírisha were used by the Hindú women as ear-ornaments.
8. King Dushyanta.
For the genealogy of King Dushyanta see Introduction, page xxxviii.
9. That wields the trident.
[S']iva is called Pinákin, that is, 'armed with a trident,' or according to some, a bow named Pináka. Siva not being invited to Daksha's sacrifice, was so indignant, that, with his wife, he suddenly presented himself, confounded the sacrifice, dispersed the gods, and chasing Yajna, 'the lord of sacrifice,' who fled in the form of a deer, overtook and decapitated him.
10. Their waving plumes, that late Fluttered above their brows, are motionless.
The Chámarí, or chowrie, formed of the white bushy tail of the Yak, or Bos grunniens, was placed as an ornament between the ears of horses, like the plume of the war-horse of chivalry. The velocity of the chariot caused it to lose its play, and appear fixed in one direction, like a flag borne rapidly against the wind.
11. The steeds of Indra and the Sun.
That is, the speed of the chariot resembled that of the Wind and the Sun. Indra was the god of the firmament or atmosphere—the Jupiter Tonans of Hindú mythology—and presided over the forty-nine Winds. He has a heaven of his own (Swarga), of which he is the lord, and, although inferior to the three great deities of the Hindú Triad (Brahmá, Vishnu, and Siva), he is chief of the secondary gods. The Hindús represent the Sun as seated in a chariot, drawn by seven green horses, having before him a lovely youth without legs, who acts as his charioteer, and who is Aruna, or the Dawn personified.
12. Puru's race.