[FN#1] Metamorphoseon, seu de Asino Aureo, libri Xl. The well
known and beautiful episode is in the fourth. the fifth, and the sixth
books.
[FN#2] This ceremony will be explained in a future page.
[FN#3] A common exclamation of sorrow, surprise, fear, and
other emotions. It is especially used by women.
[FN#4] Quoted from view of the Hindoos, by William Ward, of
Serampore (vol. i. p. 25).
[FN#5] In Sanskrit, Vetala-pancha-Vinshati. "Baital" is the
modern form of " Vetala.
[FN#6] In Arabic, Badpai el Hakim.
[FN#7] Dictionnaire philosophique sub v. " Apocryphes."
[FN#8] I do not mean that rhymes were not known before the days
of Al-Islam, but that the Arabs popularized assonance and
consonance in Southern Europe.
[FN#9] "Vikrama" means "valour " or " prowess."
[FN#10] Mr. Ward of Serampore is unable to quote the names of
more than nine out of the eighteen, namely: Sanskrit, Prakrit, Naga, Paisacha, Gandharba, Rakshasa, Ardhamagadi, Apa, and Guhyaka - most of them being the languages of different orders of fabulous beings. He tells us, however, that an account of these dialects may be found in the work called Pingala.
[FN#11] Translated by Sir Wm. Jones, 1789; and by Professor
Williams, 1856.
[FN#12] Translated by Professor H. H. Wilson.
[FN#13] The time was propitious to savans. Whilst Vikramaditya
lived, Magha, another king, caused to be written a poem called
after his name For each verse he is said to have paid to learned
men a gold piece, which amounted to a total of 5,280l. - a large
sum in those days, which preceded those of Paradise Lost. About
the same period Karnata, a third king, was famed for patronizing
the learned men who rose to honour at Vikram's court. Dhavaka, a
poet of nearly the same period, received from King Shriharsha the
magnificent present of 10,000l. for a poem called the Ratna-Mala.
[FN#14] Lieut. Wilford supports the theory that there were eight
Vikramadityas, the last of whom established the era. For further
particulars, the curious reader will consult Lassen's Anthologia, and Professor H. H. Wilson's Essay on Vikram (New), As. Red.. ix. 117.
[FN#15] History tells us another tale. The god Indra and the King
of Dhara gave the kingdom to Bhartari-hari, another son of
Gandhar-ba-Sena, by a handmaiden. For some time, the brothers
lived together; but presently they quarrelled. Vikram being
dismissed from court, wandered from place to place in abject
poverty, and at one time hired himself as a servant to a merchant
living in Guzerat. At length, Bhartari-hari, disgusted with the
world on account of the infidelity of his wife, to whom he was
ardently attached, became a religious devotee, and left the
kingdom to its fate. In the course of his travels, Vikram came to
Ujjayani, and finding it without a head, assumed the sovereignty. He reigned with great splendour, conquering by his arms Utkala, Vanga, Kuch-bahar, Guzerat, Somnat, Delhi, and other places; until, in his turn, he was conquered, and slain by Shalivahan.
[FN#16] The words are found, says Mr. Ward, in the Hindu
History compiled by Mrityungaya.
[FN#17] These duties of kings are thus laid down in the
Rajtarangini. It is evident, as Professor H. H. Wilson says, that the
royal status was by no means a sinecure. But the rules are
evidently the closet work of some pedantic, dogmatic Brahman, teaching kingcraft to kings. He directs his instructions, not to subordinate judges, but to the Raja as the chief magistrate, and through him to all appointed for the administration of his justice.
[FN#18] Lunus, not Luna.
[FN#19] That is to say, "upon an empty stomach."
[FN#20] There are three sandhyas amongst the Hindus--morning, mid-day, and sunset; and all three are times for prayer.
[FN#21] The Hindu Cupid.
[FN#22] Patali, the regions beneath the earth.
[FN#23] The Hindu Triad.
[FN#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.
[FN#25] In the original only the husband "practiced austere
devotion." For the benefit of those amongst whom the "pious wife" is an institution, I have extended the privilege.