has engendered the sun and
the dawn.' " CHAMBERS'S CYCLOPAEDIA, _Indra_.

"Throughout these hymns two images stand out before us with overpowering
distinctness. On one side is the bright god of the heaven, as beneficent
as he is irresistible: on the other the demon of night and of darkness, as
false and treachorous as he is malignant.{~HORIZONTAL ELLIPSIS~} The latter (as his name Vritra,
from var, to veil, indicates) is pre-eminently the thief who hides away
the rain-clouds.{~HORIZONTAL ELLIPSIS~} But the myth is yet in too early a state to allow of the
definite designations which are brought before us in the conflicts of Zeus
with Typhon and his monstrous progeny, of Apollon with the Python, of
Bellerophon with Chimaira of Oidipous with the Sphinx, of Hercules with
Cacus, of Sigurd with the dragon Fafnir; and thus not only is Vritra known
by many names, but he is opposed sometimes by Indra, sometimes by Agni the
fire-god, sometimes by Trita, Brihaspati, or other deities; or rather
these are all names of one and the same god." COX'S _Mythology of the
Aryan Nations. Vol. II. p. 326_.

Page 125.

_And that prized herb whose sovereign power_
_Preserves from dark misfortune's hour._
"And yet more medicinal is it than that Moly,
That Hermes once to wise Ulysses gave;
He called it Haemony, and gave it me,
And bade me keep it as of sovereign use
'Gainst all enchantment, mildew, blast, or damp,
Or ghastly furies' apparition." _Comus._

The _Moly_ of Homer, which Dierbach considers to have been the _Mandrake_,
is probably a corruption of the Sanskrit _Mula_ a root.

Page 136.

_True is the ancient saw: the Neem_
_Can ne'er distil a honeyed stream._

The Neem tree, especially in the Rains, emits a strong unpleasant smell
like that of onions. Its leaves however make an excellent cooling
poultice, and the Extract of Neem is an admirable remedy for cutaneous
disorders.

Page 152.

_Who of Nishada lineage came._

The following account of the origin of the Nishadas is taken from Wilson's
_Vishnu Purana_, Book I. Chap. 15. "Afterwards the Munis beheld a great
dust arise, and they said to the people who were nigh: 'What is this?' And
the people answered and said: 'Now that the kingdom is without a king, the
dishonest men have begun to seize the property of their neighbours. The
great dust that you behold, excellent Munis, is raised by troops of
clustering robbers, hastening to fall upon their pre