women of the upper classes at the time when the Ramayana
was written (whenever that may have been), was at least understood
by them, and was commonly spoken by men of the priestly class, and
other educated persons. By the Sanskrit proper to an [ordinary] man,
alluded to in the second passage, may perhaps be understood not a
language in which words different from Sanskrit were used, but the
employment of formal and elaborate diction." MUIR'S _Sanskrit
Texts_, Part II. p. 166.

848 Svayambhu, the Self-existent, Brahma.

849 Vrihaspati or Vachaspati, the Lord of Speech and preceptor of the
Gods.

850 The Asurs were the fierce enemies of the Gods.

851 The Rudras are manifestations of Siva.

852 The Maruts or Storm Gods.

853 Rohini is an asterism personified as the daughter of Daksha and the
favourite wife of the Moon. The chief star in the constellation is
Aldebaran.

854 Arundhati was the wife of the great sage Vasishtha, and regarded as
the pattern of conjugal excellence. She was raised to the heavens as
one of the Pleiades.

855 The Gods do not shed tears; nor do they touch the ground when they
walk or stand. Similarly Milton's angels marched above the ground
and "the passive air upbore their nimble tread." Virgil's "vera
incessu patuit dea" may refer to the same belief.

856 That a friend of Rama would praise him as he should be praised, and
that if the stranger were Ravan in disguise he would avoid the
subject.

857 Kuvera the God of Gold.

858 Sita of course knows nothing of what has happened to Rama since the
time when she was carried away by Ravan. The poet therefore thinks
it necessary to repeat the whole story of the meeting between Rama
and Sugriva, the defeat of Bali, and subsequent events. I give the
briefest possible outline of the story.

859 DE GUBERNATIS thinks that this ring which the Sun Rama sends to the
Dawn Sita is a symbol of the sun's disc.

860 Sachi is the loved and lovely wife of Indra, and she is taken as the
type of a woman protected by a jealous and all-powerful husband.

861 The mountain near Kishkindha.

862 Airavat is the mighty elephant on which Indra delights to ride.

863 Vibhishan is the wicked Ravan's good brother.

864 Her name is Kala, or in the Bengal recension Nanda.

865 One of Ravan's c