Till heavenly minstrels_, &c.] A class of demi-gods, the songsters of
the Hindu Paradise, or Indra's heaven.

_There magic herbs_, &c.] Frequent allusion is made by Kalidas and
other Sanskrit poets to a phosphoric light emitted by plants at night.

_E'en the wild kine_, &c.] The _Chouri_, or long brush, used to whisk
off insects and flies, was with the Hindus 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.

_That the bright Seven._] The Hindus call the constellation _Ursa
Major_ the seven Rishis, or Saints. They will appear as actors in the
course of the poem.

_And once when Indra's might._] We learn from the _Ramayana_ 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 Mainaka 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 Hindu belief in
the Transmigration of Souls. The story alluded to by the poet is
this:--"_Daksha_ was the son of _Brahma_ and father of _Sati_, whom,
at the recommendation of the _Rishis_, or Sages, he espoused to
_['S]iva_, 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 _['S]iva_, which so
incensed _Sati_, that she threw herself into the sacrificial
fire."--(Wilson, Specimens of Hindu Theatre, Vol. II. p. 263.) The
name of _Sati_, meaning good, true, chaste woman, is the modern
_Suttee_, as it is corruptly written.

_As the blue offspring of the Turquois 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 Himalaya's head, and continues its course on earth.

_Young Kama's arrow._] Kama, the Hindu Cupid, is armed with a bow, the
arrows of which are made of flowers.

_And brighter than A['s]oka's rich leaves._] Nothing, we are told, can
exceed the b