A Digit of the Moon. Bain Francis William

24

A play upon his own name.

25

Ganésha, the god of obstacles and success. See Day 1.

26

An old name for Bhíls and other wild tribes.

27

'A tree with orange-coloured fragrant blossoms.'

28

The Hindoo Vulcan, sometimes, as here, used for the Creator, dhatri = Plato's [Greek: demiourgos]. Sanskrit literature is the key to Plato; much of his philosophy is only the moonlike reflection of Hindoo mythology.

29

Hindoo poets see a resemblance between rows of bees and eye-glances.

30

The Indian cuckoo. The crane is a by-word for inward villainy and sanctimonious exterior. The chakrawáka, or Brahmany drake, is fabled to pass the night sorrowing for the absence of his mate and she for him.

31

The very echo of Martial.

32

i. e. Rasakósha himself. The allusion is to a power, possessed by adepts in Yoga, of detaching the soul from the body. See Day 11.

33

The goddess of fortune and wealth, who was churned up out of the ocean, and according to some, appeared reclining on an open lotus. Coral is one of the nine gems.

34

i. e. an atheist. The opinions of this philosophical school may be found sketched in the Sarwa-Darshana-Sangraha, § 1.

35

'Wielder of the thunderbolt,' an epithet of Indra, the god of rain.

36

Perhaps only a Hindoo could appreciate the dexterity with which this story is placed first, and thus the favour of Ganapati, as it were, secured for the rest.

37

Just as the clothes of the Princess change colour every day, so does the state of the King's mind, which goes through a regular series of transitory emotions (wyabhichári).

38

i. e. 'seat of justice.' The meaning is important, as the sequel shows. It does the Princess credit that she notes and remembers it.