sible to escape the conclusion that if Valmiki composed the Ramayana
in the form of Sanskrit in which it has been preserved, he could not have
flourished in the same age as the sages who are named in the Rig-Veda."
WHEELER'S _History of India, Vol._ II, 229.

Page 249.

_And King Himalaya's Child._

Uma or Parvati, was the daughter of Himalaya and Mena. She is the heroine
of Kalidasa's _Kumara-Sambhava_ or _Birth of the War-God_.

Page 250.

_Strong Kumbhakarna slumbering deep_
_In chains of never-ending sleep._

"Kumbhakarna, the gigantic brother of the titanic Ravan,--named from the
size of his ears which could contain a _Kumbha_ or large water-jar--had
such an appetite that he used to consume six months' provisions in a
single day. Brahma, to relieve the alarm of the world, which had begun to
entertain serious apprehensions of being eaten up, decreed that the giant
should sleep six months at a time and wake for only one day during which
he might consume his six months' allowance without trespassing unduly on
the reproductive capabilities of the " _Scenes front the Ramayan_, p. 153,
2nd Edit.

Page 257.

_Like Siva when his angry might_
_Stayed Daksha's sacrificial rite._

The following spirited version of this old story is from the pen of Mr. W.
Waterfield:

"This is a favorite subject of Hindu sculpture, especially on the temples
of Shiva, such as the caves of Elephanta and Ellora. It, no doubt, is an
allegory of the contest between the followers of Shiva and the worshippers
of the Elements, who observed the old ritual of the Vedas; in which the
name of Shiva is never mentioned.

Daksha for devotion
Made a mighty feast:
Milk and curds and butter,
Flesh of bird and beast,
Rice and spice and honey,
Sweetmeats ghi and gur,(1038)
Gifts for all the Brahmans,
Food for all the poor.
At the gates of Ganga(1039)
Daksha held his feast;
Called the gods unto it,
Greatest as the least.
All the gods were gathered
Round with one accord;
All the gods but Uma,
All but Uma's lord.
Uma sat with Shiva
On Kailasa hill:
Round them stood the Rudras
Watching for their will.
Who is this that cometh
Lilting to his lute?
All the birds of heaven
Heard his music, mute.
Round his head a garland
Rich of hue was wreathed:
Every sweetest odour
From its blossoms breathed.
'Tis the Muni Narad;
'Mong the gods he fares,
Ever making mischief
By the tales he bears.