ndra is supposed to show
the greatest affection for the fourth, Rohini; but each of the others,
and amongst them Vi[s']akha, is represented as jealous of this
partiality, and eager to secure the Moon's favour for herself,
Dushyanta probably means to compare himself to the Moon (he being of
the Lunar race) and [S']akoontala to Vi[s']akha.

54. _Checks its fall_.

Owing to emaciation and disuse of the bow, the callosities on the
forearm, usually caused by the bow-string, were not sufficiently
prominent to prevent the bracelet from slipping down from the
wrist to the elbow, when the arm was raised to support the head.
This is a favourite idea with Kalidasa to express the attenuation
caused by love.

55. _No nuptial rites prevail_.

A marriage without the usual ceremonies is called Gandharva. It
was supposed to be the form of marriage prevalent among the
nymphs of India's heaven. In the 3rd Book of Manu (v. 22), it is
included among the various marriage rites, and is said to be a
union proceeding entirely from love, or mutual inclination, and
concluded without any religious services, and without consulting
relatives. It was recognized as a legal marriage by Manu and
other lawgivers, though it is difficult to say in what respect it
differed from unlawful cohabitation.

56. _The loving birds doomed by fate to nightly separation_.

That is, the male and female of the Chakravaka, commonly called Chakwa
and Chakwi, or Brahmani duck (_Anas casarca_). These birds associate
together during the day, and are, like turtle-doves, patterns of
connubial affection; but the legend is, that they are doomed to pass
the night apart, in consequence of a curse pronounced upon them by a
saint whom they had offended. As soon as night commences, they take
up their station on the opposite banks of a river, and call to each
other in piteous cries. The Bengalis consider their flesh to be a good
medicine for fever.

57. _The great sage Durvasas_.

A Saint or Muni, represented by the Hindu poets as excessively
choleric and inexorably severe. The Puranas and other poems
contain frequent accounts of the terrible effects of his
imprecations on various occasions, the slightest offence being in
his eyes deserving of the most fearful punishment. On one
occasion he cursed Indra, merely because his elephant let fall a
garland he had given to this god; and in consequence of this
imprecation all plants withered, men ceased to sacrifice, and the
gods