[His neck of brightly-beaming blue.]] An ancient legend tells us that after the deluge the ocean was churned by Gods and demons, in order to recover the Amrit and other treasures that had been lost in it:—
"Then loud and long a joyous sound
Rang through the startled sky:
'Hail to the Amrit, lost and found!'
A thousand voices cry.
But from the wondrous churning streamed
A poison fierce and dread,
Burning like fire: where'er it streamed
Thick noisome mists were spread.
The wanting venom onwards went,
And filled the Worlds with fear,
Till Brahmá to their misery bent
His gracious pitying ear;
And Śiva those destroying streams
Drank up at Brahmá's beck.
Still in thy throat the dark flood gleams,
God of the azure neck!"
Specimens of Old Indian Poetry—Churning of the Ocean.
[Gates of sense.]] The eyes, ears, &c.
CANTO FOURTH.
[Late, dim, and joyless shall his rising be.]] The Moon, in Hindú mythology, is a male deity.
[This line of bees.]] Káma's bow is sometimes represented as strung in this extraordinary manner.
[And stain this foot.]] "Staining the soles of the feet with a red colour, derived from the Mehndee, the Lac, &c., is a favourite practice of the Hindú toilet."—Wilson.