Chamberlain_.

The attendant on the women's apartment. He is generally a
Brahman, and usually appears in the plays as a tottering and
decrepit old man, leaning on his staff of office. 76. _The king
of serpents on his thousand heads_.

A mythological serpent, the personification of eternity, and king
of the Nagas, or snakes, who inhabit Patala, the lowermost of the
seven regions below the earth. His body formed the couch of
Vishnu, reposing on the waters of Chaos, whilst his thousand
heads were the god's canopy. He is also said to uphold the world
on one of his heads.

77. _The chamber of the consecrated fire_.

Compare note 61.

78. _Two heralds_.

These heralds were introduced into Hindu plays something in the
same manner as a Chorus; and, although their especial duty was to
announce, in measured verse, the periods of the day, and
particularly the fixed divisions into which the king's day was
divided, yet the strain which they poured forth frequently
contained allusions to incidental circumstances. The royal office
was no sinecure. From the Da[s']a-kumara, it appears that the day
and night were each divided into eight portions of one hour and a
half, reckoned from sunrise; and were thus distributed: Day--l.
The king, being dressed, is to audit accounts; 2. He is to
pronounce judgment in appeals; 3. He is to breakfast; 4. He is to
receive and make presents; 5. He is to discuss political
questions with his ministers; 6. He is to amuse himself; 7. He is
to review his troops; 8. He is to hold a military council.
Night--l. He is to receive the reports of his spies and envoys;
2. He is to sup or dine; 3. He is to retire to rest after the
perusal of some sacred work; 4 and 5. He is to sleep; 6. He is to
rise and purify himself; 7. He is to hold a private consultation
with his ministers, and instruct his officers; 8. He is to attend
upon the _Purohita_ or family priest, for the performance of
religious ceremonies. See Wilson's Hindu Theatre, vol. i. p. 209.

79. _Feeling a quivering sensation in her right eyelid_.

Compare note 18.

80. _The protector of the four classes of the people, the
guardian of the four conditions of the priesthood_.

A remarkable feature in the ancient Hindu social system, as
depicted in the plays, was the division of the people into four
classes or castes:--1st. The sacerdotal, consisting of the
Brahmans.--2nd. The military, consisting of fighting men, and
including the king himself a