[101] It is curious to find goldsmiths and jewellers invariably represented in Hindú stories as arrant rogues. In the fine old Indian drama entitled Mrichchakati, or the Toy-Cart, it is said: “There is no lotus that has not a stalk, no trader that is not a cheat, no goldsmith that is not a thief.”
[102] Tope, or stupa, a sepulchral memorial monument; a mound-like building erected for the preservation of relics. They are found in Afghanistán, Tibet, Nepál, and Western Asia; also in various parts of Southern India. On the demise of Gautama [the founder of Buddhism], B.C. 543, his body was consumed, divided into eight portions, and distributed amongst applicants, who erected topes over them. The word tope is the same as st’hupo in Pali—a mound or tumulus; st’hupo, or tope, is therefore a name common to each kind of tumulus, whether it be the solid temple dedicated to the Supreme Being or the massive mound erected over the relics of Buddha, or those of one of his more eminent followers.—Balfour’s Cyclopædia of India.
[103] Vedas: “divine knowledge.” The Vedas are the holy books which are the foundations of the Hindú religion. They consist of hymns written in the old form of Sanskrit, and, according to the most generally received opinion, were composed between 1500 and 1000 B.C. Some scholars have thought the oldest of the hymns may be carried back a thousand years farther. The four Vedas are: the Rig-Veda, the Yajur-Veda, the Sama-Veda, and the Atharva-Veda, the last being of comparatively modern date.—See Dowson’s Classical Dictionary of Hindú Mythology.
[104] The six Sastras comprise philosophical systems of the Hindús: the term Sastra signifies a treatise or rule.
[105] “It is a very common practice,” remarks the Pandit, “to dupe ordinary people in this manner in Hindú temples. Some impostor will proclaim to the crowd that the god, or goddess, is then upon him, and utter whatever comes uppermost in his mind. He occasionally contrives to accomplish his private ends by such revelations. The ignorant are greatly misled by those impostors, and learned Hindús condemn the practice as gross superstition.”
[106] “Fiat experimentum in corpore vili.”
[107] Full grown and ripe bambú bears a kind of corn which when collected and husked resembles wheat. Hunters cook a most delicious food of bambú grain and honey.
[108] Not only are serpents popularly believed by Asiatics to be guardians of hidden treasures, but they are also said to have most valuable gems in their heads, which they sometimes present to persons who have rendered them good service. This notion was once prevalent in Europe regarding toads; and readers of Shakspeare will remember his comparison of the uses of adversity to the “toad, ugly and venomous, which yet wears a precious jewel in its head.” A curious serpent legend is current in Kandahár regarding ’Alí Mardán Khán, when governor of that city: A cowherd of Kandahár lost two or three of his cattle in a certain pasture and came to the governor to complain about it. ’Alí Mardán Khán ordered him to fill some cowhides with lime, leaving a hole in each, and to place them in the meadow. It appeared that a serpent came daily and carried off the cattle, and on this occasion took away one of the hides, but leaving a track of lime behind him was traced to his lair. The lime in the hide disagreed with him and so he died. Beside his carcase was found a great heap of treasures and the philosopher’s stone, which immensely enriched ’Alí Mardán Khán.
[110] Ahmed: “Praiseworthy”; one of the appellations of Muhammed.