[286] Translated by the Rev. Chas. Swynnerton, in the Folk-Lore Journal, vol. i, 1883, pp. 134-139.—The same story will be found, at much greater length, in Captain R. C. Temple’s most valuable collection, Legends of the Panjáb, vol. i, p. 48 ff.
[287] Chaupúr is the game of chess, played with 16 pieces, and throwing dice for each move. For a full description of this game see Captain R. C. Temple’s Legends of the Panjáb vol. i, p. 243.
[288] Kokilan: “Cooing-dove.”
[289] The tragical story of Kokilan, with variants, will be found, under the title of “The Lover’s Heart,” in my Popular Tales, &c., vol. ii, p. 187 ff.
[290] Popular Tales and Fictions, vol. i, p. 262 ff.
[291] I follow M. Dubois’ transliteration of the proper names.
[292] Yakshas, in the Hindú mythology, are a species of jinn, who are ruled over by Kuvera, the god of wealth.
[293] Paddy (or pádí) is unhusked rice.
[294] Abridged from Protáp Chandra Roy’s translation of the Mahábhárata, fasciculus xxxiv, pp. 543-553.
[295] “Whether a carbuncle (which is esteemed the best and biggest of rubies) doth flame in the dark,” says Sir Thos. Browne, in his Enquiries into Vulgar and Common Errors, B. ii, ch. v, “or shine like a coal in the night, though generally agreed on by common believers, is very much questioned by many.” On this Wilkin, the editor of Browne’s works, 1835, vol. ii, p. 354, remarks: “That which Sir Thomas much doubted has since been subjected to the test of repeated observations and many curious experiments, by which the phosphorescence of the diamond, sapphire, ruby, and topaz, as well as of many minerals and metals, and various other bodies, is fully established. Mr. Wedgewood has treated the subject fully in the 82nd vol. of the Philosophical Transactions. This luminous property, which seems to be strictly phosphoric, is made apparent by subjecting the body in question to heat in various ways. Several fluids (oils, spermaceti, butter, etc.) are luminous at or below the boiling point: minerals and other bodies become so by being sprinkled on a thick plate of iron, heated just below visible redness. The gems and several of the harder minerals emit their light upon attrition.”