[19] That is to say, ‘upon an empty stomach.’
[20] There are three sandhyas amongst the Hindus—morning, midday, and sunset; and all three are times for prayer.
[21] The Hindu Cupid.
[22] Patala, the regions beneath the earth.
[23] The Hindu Triad.
[24] Or Avanti, also called Padmavati. It is the first meridian of the Hindus, who found their longitude by observation of lunar eclipses, calculated for it and Lanka, or Ceylon. The clepsydra was used for taking time.
[25] In the original only the husband ‘practised austere devotion.’ For the benefit of those amongst whom the ‘pious wife’ is an institution, I have extended the privilege.
[26] A Moslem would say, ‘This is our fate.’ A Hindu refers at once to metempsychosis, as naturally as a modern Swedenborgian to spiritism.
[27] In Europe, money buys this world, and delivers you from the pains of purgatory; amongst the Hindus, it furthermore opens the gate of heaven.
[28] This part of the introduction will remind the reader of the two royal brothers and their false wives in the introduction to the Arabian Nights. The fate of Bhartari Raja, however, is historical.