The Shalgram.— A flinty stone with the impression of an ammonite, which Hindoos think represents Vishnu: it is worshipped as Vishnu. Some Hindoos make large collections: one man was reputed to possess a collection of nearly eighty thousand.
Literally— “Has cut a fine canal, and brought all the waters upon us.”
The cat watching for a mouse, the heron and paddy birds for fish, are all alike regarded as types of hypocritical saintliness, and as such are largely used as figures in Sanscrit and Bengali literature.
“Field of beguns” is a popular expression for a source of continual profit, as “a field of roots” is used for a temporary source of profit.
Literally— “He had a big heavy hand:” the opposite phrase used of a generous man is— “His hand is always turned palm upward.”