[84] The ancient name of a priest by profession, meaning ‘præpositus’ or præses. He was the friend and counsellor of a chief, the minister of a king, and his companion in peace and war. (M. Müller’s Ancient Sanskrit Literature, p. 485.)
[85] Lakshmi, the Goddess of Prosperity. Raj-Lakshmi would mean the King’s Fortune, which we should call tutelary genius. Lakshichara is our ‘luckless,’ forming, as Mr. Ward says, an extraordinary coincidence of sound and meaning in languages so different. But the derivations are very distinct.
[86] The Monkey God.
[87] Generally written ‘Banyan.’
[88] The daughter of Raja Janaka, married to Ramachandra. The latter placed his wife under the charge of his brother Lakshmana, and went into the forest to worship, when the demon Ravana disguised himself as a beggar, and carried off the prize.
[89] This great king was tricked by the god Vishnu out of the sway of heaven and earth, but from his exceeding piety he was appointed to reign in Patala, or Hades.
[90] The procession is fair game, and is often attacked in the dark with sticks and stones, causing serious disputes. At the supper the guests confer the obligation by their presence, and are exceedingly exacting.
[91] Rati is the wife of Kama, the God of Desire; and we explain the word by ‘Spring personified.’
[92] The Indian Cuckoo (Cuculus Indicus). It is supposed to lay its eggs in the nest of the crow.
[93] This is the well-known Ghi or Ghee, the one sauce of India, which is as badly off in that matter as England.