The Birth of the War-God/Notes
Notes
CANTO FIRST.
The Hindú Deity of War, the leader of the celestial armies, is known by the names Kártikeya and Skanda; he is represented with six faces and corresponding arms, and is mounted upon a peacock.
Himálaya.] Mansion of Snow; from hima, snow, and álaya, mansion. The accent is on the second syllable.
Prithu.'] It is said that in the reign of this fabulous Monarch, Gods, Saints, Demons, and other supernatural beings, drained or milked from the Earth various treasures, appointing severally one of their own class as the recipient, or Calf, to use the word of the legend. Himálaya was thus highly favoured by the sacred Mount Meru, and the other hills. The story is found in the sixth chapter of the Harivansa, which forms a supplement to the Great Bhárat.
Still the fair pearls, &c.] It was at any rate the poetical belief of the Hindus that Elephants wore these precious jewels in their heads.
'Till Heavenly Minstrels, &c.] A class of demi-gods, the Songsters of the Hindú Paradise, or Indra's Heaven.
There magic herbs, &c]. Frequent allusion is made by Kálidás and other Sanskrit poets to a phosphoric light emitted by plants at night. We are not unacquainted with this phenomenon even in our own climate.
E'en the wild kine, &c.] The Chouri, or long brush, used to whisk off insects and flies, was with the Hindús what the sceptre is with us. It was usually made of the tail-hairs of the Yak, or Bos Grunniens; thus the poet represents these animals as doing honour to the Monarch of Mountains with these emblems of sovereignty.
The Seven Great Saints.] The Hindú name of the constellation Ursa Major, They will appear as actors in the course of the poem.
And once when Indrci's might.] We learn from the Rámáyana that the Mountains were originally furnished with wings, and that they flew through the air with the speed of the wind. For fear lest they should suddenly fall in their flight, Indra, King of the Gods, struck off their pinions with his thunderbolt; but Maináka was preserved from a similar fate by the friendship of Ocean, to whom he fled for refuge.
Born once again, &c.] The reader will remember the Hindú belief in the Transmigration of Souls. The story alluded to by the poet is this;—"Daksha was the son of Brahma and father of Satí, whom, at the recommendation of the Rishis, or Sages, he espoused to Siva, but he was never wholly reconciled to the uncouth figure and practices of his son-in-law. Having undertaken to celebrate a solemn sacrifice, he invited all the Gods except Siva, which so incensed Satí, that she threw herself into the sacrificial fire."—(Wilson, Specimens of Hindu Theatre, Vol. II. p. 263.) The name of Satí meaning good, true, chaste woman, is the modern Suttee, as it is pronounced and corruptly written.
As the blue offspring of the Turquoise Hills.] These hills are placed in Ceylon; the precious stone grows, it is said, at the sound of thunder in the rainy season.
At her stern penance.] This is described in the fifth canto. The meaning of the name Uma is "Oh, do not!"
The Gods' bright River.] The celestial Ganges, which falls from Heaven upon Himaláya's head, and continues its course on earth.
Young Káma's arrow.] Káma, the Hindú Cupid, is armed with a bow, the arrows of which are made of flowers.
And brighter than Asoka's rich leaves.] Nothing, we are told, can exceed the beauty of this plant when in full bloom. It is, of course, a general favourite with the poets of India.
The strings of pearl.]"Then, too, the pearl from out its shell
Unsightly, in the sunless sea,
(As 'twere a spirit, forced to dwell
In form unlovely) was set free,
And round the neck of woman threw
A light it lent and hoiroioed too."
Moore is frequently the best interpreter, unconsciously, of an Indian poet's thought. It is worth remarking, that the Sanskrit word mukta, pearl (literally freed), signifies also the spirit released from mundane existence, and re-integrated with its divine original.
The sweetest note the Köil ever poured.] The Kokila, or Köil, the black or Indian Cuckoo, is the Bulbul or Nightingale of Hindustan. It is also the herald of Spring, like its European namesake, and the female bird is the especial messenger of Love. When holy Ndradr A divine Sage, son of Brahma.
The holy Bull.] The animal on which the God Siva rides, as Indra on the elephant.
Who takes eight various forms.] Siva is called Wearer of the Eight Forms, as being identical with the Five Elements, Mind, Individuality, and Crude Matter.
Where the pale Moon on Siva's forehead.] Siva's crest is the new Moon, which is sometimes described as forming a third eye in his forehead. We shall find frequent allusions to this in the course of the poem.
CANTO SECOND.
While impious Tárak:] A Demon who, by a long course of austerities, had acquired power even over the Gods. This Hindú notion is familiar to most of us from Southey's "Curse of Kehama."
Whose face turns every way.] Brahma is represented with four faces, one towards each point of the compass.
The mystic Three.] "The triad of qualities," a philosophical term familiar to all the systems of Hindu speculation; they are thus explained in the Tattwa Samása, a text-book of the Sánkhya school:—"Now it is asked, What is the 'triad of qualities?' It is replied, The triad of qualities consists of 'Goodness,' 'Foulness,' and 'Darkness.' By the 'triad of qiialities' is meant the 'three qualities.' Goodness is endlessly diversified, accordingly as it is exemplified in calmness, lightness, complacency, attainment of wishes, kindliness, contentment, patience, joy, and the like; summarily, it consists of happiness. 'Foulness' is endlessly diversified, accordingly as it is exemplified in grief, distress, separation, excitement, anxiety, fault-finding, and the like; summarily, it consists of pain. 'Darkness' is endlessly diversified, accordingly as it is exemplified in envelopment, ignorance, disgust, abjectness, heaviness, sloth, drowsiness, intuxication, and the like ; summarily, it consists of delusion."
Thou, when a longing, &c.] "Having divided his own substance, the mighty power became half male, half female, or nature active and passive."—Manu, Ch. I.
So also in the old Orphic hymn it is said,
"Zeus was a male; Zeus became a deathless damsel."
The sacred Hymns.] Contained in the Vedas, or Holy Scriptures of the Hindús.
The Word of Praise.] The mystic syllable om, prefacing all the prayers and most of the writings of the Hindús. It implies the Indian triad, and expresses the Three in One.
They hail thee. Nature.] The object of Nature's activity, according to the Sánkhya system, is " the final liberation of individual soul." "The incompetency of nature, an irrational principle, to institute a course of action for a definite purpose, and the unfitness of rational soul to regulate the acts of an agent whose character it imperfectly apprehends, constitute a principal argument with the theistical Sankhyas for the necessity of a Providence, to whom the ends of existence are known, and by whom Nature is guided...... The atheistical Sánkhyas, on the other hand, contend that there is no occasion for a guiding Providence, but that the activity of nature, for the purpose of accomplishing soul's object, is an intuitive necessity, as illustrated in the following passage:—As it is a function of milk, an unintelligent (substance), to nourish the calf, so it is the office of the chief principle (nature), to liberate the soul." Prof. Wilson's Sánkha Káriká.
Hail thee the Stranger Spirit, &c.] "Soul is witness, solitary, bystander, spectator, passive."—Sánkh. Kár. verse xix.
See, Varun's noose.] The God of Water.
Weak is Kuvera's hand.] The God of Wealth.
Yama's sceptre.] The God and Judge of the Dead.
The Lords of Light.] The Ádityas, twelve in number, are forms of the Sun, and appear to represent him as distinct in each month of the year.
The Rudras.] A class of demi-gods, eleven in number, said to be inferior manifestations of Siva, who also bears this name.
E'en as on Earth, &c.] Thus the Commandment,—Thou shalt not kill, is abrogated by the injunction to kill cows for sacrifice.
The heavenly Teacher.] Vrihaspati, the son of Angiras.
His own dear flower.] The Lotus, on which Brahma is represented reclining.
Their flashing jewels.] According to the Hindú belief, serpents wear precious jewels in their heads.
Chakara.] A discus, or quoit, the weapon of Vishnu.
As Water bears to me.] "HE, liaving willed to produce various beings from his own divine substance, first with a thought created the waters, and placed in them a productive seed."—Manu, Ch. I.
Mournful braids.] As a sign of mourning, especially for the loss of their husbands, the Hindustani women collect their long hair into a braid, called in Sanskrit veni.
The Mango twig.] We shall meet with several allusions to this tree as the favourite of Love and the darling of the Bees.
CANTO THIRD.
Who angers thee, &c.] To understand properly this speech of Káma, it is necessary to be acquainted with some of the Hindú notions regarding a future state. "The highest kind of happiness is absorption into the divine essence, or the return of that portion of spirit which is combined with the attributes of humanity to its original source. This happiness, according to the philosopher, is to be obtained only by the most perfect abstraction from the world and freedom from passion, even while in a state of terrestrial existence Besides this ultimate felicity, the Hindús have several minor degrees of happiness, amongst which is the enjoyment of Indra's Swarga, or, in fact, of a Muhammadan Paradise. The degree and duration of the pleasures of this paradise are proportioned to the merits of those admitted to it; and they who have enjoyed this lofty region of Swarga, but whose virtue is exhausted, revisit the habitation of mortals."—Prof. Wilson's Megha Dúta, Compare also "The Lord's Song."—Specimens of Old Indian Poetry, pp. 07, 08.
Indra, therefore, may be supposed to feel jealous whenever a human being aspires to something higher than that heaven of which he is the Lord.
The "chain of birth" alluded to is of course the metempsychosis, or transmigration of souls, a belief which is not to be looked upon (says Prof. Wilson in the preface to his edition of the Sánkhya Kárika) as a mere popular superstition. It is the main principle of all Hindú metaphysics; it is the foundation of all Hindú philosophy. The great object of their philosophical research in every system, Brahminical or Buddhist, is the discovery of the means of putting a stop to further transmigration; the discontinuance of corporeal being; the liberation of soul from body.
As on that Snake.] Sesha, the Serpent King, is in the Hindu mythology the supporter of the earth, as, in one of the fictions of the Edda,—
"That sea-snake, tremendous curled,
Whose monstrous circle girds the world."
He is also the couch and canopy of the God Vishnu, or, as he is here called, Krishna,—that hero being one of his incarnations, and considered identical with the Deity himself.
The threefold World.] Earth, Heaven, and Hell.
His fearful Reti.] The wife of Káma, or Love.
To where Kuvera, &c.] The demi-god Kuvera was regent of the North.
Nor waited for the Maiden's touch.] Referring to the Hindú notion that the Asoka blossoms at the touch of a woman's foot. All poets believe this: Shelley says,—
"I doubt not, the flowers of that garden sweet
Rejoiced in the sound of her gentle feet."
Grouping the syllables.] This comparison seems forced rather too far to suit a European taste. Kálidas is not satisfied with calling the Mango-spray the Arrow of Love; he must tell us that its leaves are the feathers, and that the bees have marked it with the owner's name.
That loveliest flwer'.] The Karnikára.
His flowery Tilaka.] The name of a tree; it also means a mark made with coloured earths or unguents upon the forehead and between the eyebrows, either as an ornament or a sectarial distinction; the poet intends the word to convey both ideas at once here. In this passage is another comparison of the Mango-spray: it is called the lip of Love; its rouge is the blush of morning, and its darker beautifying powder the clustering bees. From the universal custom of dying the lips, the Sanskrit poets are constantly speaking of their "vermeil tints," &c., as will be sufficiently evident in the course of this work.
The Hermit's servant.] By name Nandi.
His neck of brightly-beaming blue.] An ancient legend tells us that after the Deluge the ocean was churned by Gods and Demons, in order to recover the Amrit and other treasures that had been lost in it:—
" Then loud and long a joyous sound
Rang through the startled sky,—
'Hail to the Amrit, lost and found ! '
A thousand voices cry.
But from the wondrous churning steamed
A poison fierce and dread.
Burning like fire; where'er it streamed
Thick noisome mists were spread.
The wasting venom onwards went,
And filled the Worlds with fear,
Till Brahma to their misery bent
His gracious pitying ear;
And Siva those destroying streams
Drank up at Brahma's beck.
Still in thy throat the dark flood gleams,
God of the Azure neck!"
Gates of sense]. The eyes, ears, &c.
CANTO FOURTH.
Late, dim, and joyless shall his rising he.] The Moon, in Hindu mythology, is a male deity.
This line of bees.] Kamá's bow is sometimes represented as strung in this extraordinary manner; at others, the string is said to be formed of fibres of the lotus.
One foot's untinted.] "Staining the soles of the feet with a red colour, derived from the Mehndee, the Lac, &c., is a favourite practice of the Hindú toilet."—Wilson.
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CANTO FIFTH.
And worn with resting on her rosary.] The Hindús use their rosaries much as we do, carrying them in their hands or on their wrists. As they turn them over, they repeat an inaudible prayer, or the name of the particular Deity they worship, as Vishnu or Siva. The Rudráksha mala (which we may suppose Uma to have used) is a string of the seeds or berries of the Eleocarpus, and especially dedicated to Siva. It should contain 108 berries or beads, each of which is fingered with the mental repetition of one of Siva's 108 appellations.
Not e'en her boy.] Kártikeya, the God of War.
Of those poor birds.] The Chakravaki. "These birds are always observed to fly in pairs during the day, but are supposed to remain separate during the night."
Friendship may soon in gentle bosoms dwell.]
CANTO SIXTH.
The Heavenly Dame.] Arundhati, wife of one of the Seven Saints; she is considered the pattern of excellence, and is invoked at the marriage ceremony by the bridegroom.
'The Boar.] An Avatar, or incarnation of Vishnu. In this form he preserved the world at the Deluge.
That thirsty bird.] The Chátitaka, supposed to drink nothing but rain-water.
Proud Alaká.] The capital of Kuvera, the God of Wealth.
The bright Champac.]
"The maid of India blest again to hold
In her broad lap the Champac's leaves of gold."
Angiras.] One of the Seven Saints ; the father of Vrihaspati, the teacher of the gods.
Vast grew his body.] Alluding to the Vámana, or Dwarf Avatar of Vishnu, wrought to restrain the pride of the Giant Bali, who had expelled the Gods from Heaven, In that form he presented himself before the Giant, and asked him for three paces of land to build a hut. Bali ridiculed and granted the request. The dwarf immediately grew to a prodigious size, so that he measured the earth with one pace, and the heavens with another.
Sumeru.] Another name of the sacred Mount Meru; or rather the same word, with su, good, prefixed.
CANTO SEVENTH.
Pura's conqueror.] Pura, or Tripura, the name of a Demon destroyed by Siva.
Kaildsa's side.] A mountain, the fabulous residence of Kuvera, and favourite haunt of Siva, placed by the Hindus among the Himálayas.
Kuli came behind.] The name of one of the divine Matrons. The word also signifies in Sanskrit a row or succession of clouds, suggesting the comparison which follows.
In twofold language.] In Sanskrit and Prakrit. The latter is a softened modification of the former, to which it bears the same relation as Italian to Latin; it is spoken by the female characters of the Hindú drama.
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