Page:Sagas from the Far East; or, Kalmouk and Mongolian traditionary tales.djvu/428

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SAGAS FROM THE FAR EAST.

VIKRAMÂDITJA ACQUIRES ANOTHER KINGDOM.

1.  Concerning such sacrifices, see Köppen, i. 246 and 560, and Trans. of sSanang sSetzen, p. 352.


VIKRAMÂDITJA MAKES THE SILENT SPEAK.

1.  The Kalmucks make the 8th, 15th, and 30th of every month fast-days; the Mongolians, the 13th, 14th, and 15th. (Köppen, i. 564–566; ii. 307–316, quoted by Jülg.)

2.  Dakini. See note 2, Tale XIV., infra.

3.  Dakini Tegrijin Naran = the Dakini sun of the gods. (Jülg.)

4.  Aramâlâ, a string of beads used by Buddhists in their devotions.

5.  Abbé Huc mentions frequently meeting with such wayside shrines, furnished just as here described.

6.  Chatun. See note 1 to "Vikramâditja's Birth."

7.  This beautiful story, which does not profess to be original, but a reproduction of one of the sagas of old, is to be found under various versions in many Indian collections of myths.

8.  Compare note 3, Tale VII.

9.  This story also holds a certain place among Indian legends, but is not so popular as the last.

10.  Cup. No one travels or indeed goes about at all in Tibet and Mongolia without a wooden cup stuck in his breast or in his girdle. At every visit the guest holds out his cup and the host fills it with tea. Abbé Huc supplies many details concerning their use. They are so indispensable that they form a staple article of industry; their value varies from a few pence up to as much as 40l.

11.  Tai-tsing = the all-purest, the name of the Mandschu or Mantschou dynasty (or Mangu, according to the spelling of Lassen, iv. 742), who, from being called in by the last emperor of the Ming dynasty to help in suppressing a rebellion, subsequently seized the throne (1644). This dynasty has reigned in China ever since, while the Mantchou nationality has become actually forced on the Chinese.

Previously, however, the Mantchous were a tribe of Eastern Tartars long formidable to the Chinese. The introduction of a king of the Mantchous, therefore, as identical with Vikramâditja, presents the most remarkable instance that could be met with of what may be called the confusion of heroes, in the migration of myths.

12.  Tsetsen Budschiktschi = the clever dancer. (Jülg.)