braid as a sign
of mourning, when their husbands are dead or absent for a long
period.

122. _Shines forth from dim eclipse_.

The following is the Hindu notion of an eclipse:--A certain
demon, which had the tail of a dragon, was decapitated by Vishnu
at the churning of the ocean; but, as he had previously tasted of
the Amrit or nectar reproduced at that time, he was thereby
rendered immortal, and his head and tail, retaining their
separate existence, were transferred to the stellar sphere. The
head was called Rahu, and became the cause of eclipses, by
endeavouring at various times to swallow the sun and moon. So in
the Hitopade[s']a, line 192, the moon is said to be eaten by Rahu.
With regard to the love of the Moon for Rohini, the fourth lunar
constellation, see note 53.

123. _All unadorned_.

That is, from the absence of colouring or paint.

124. _The power of darkness_.

According to Hindu philosophy there are three qualities or
properties which together make up or dominate humanity: 1.
_Sattwa_, 'excellence' or 'goodness' (quiescence), whence
proceed truth, knowledge, purity, etc. 2. _Rajas_, 'passion'
(activity), which produces lust, pride, falsehood, etc., and is
the cause of pain. 3. _Tamas_, 'darkness' (inertia), whence
proceed ignorance, infatuation, delusion, mental blindness, etc.

125. _Children of Brahma's sons_.

Ka[s']yapa and Aditi were the children of Marichi and Daksha
respectively, and these last were the sons of Brahma.

126. _The ruler of the triple world_.

That is, Indra, lord of heaven, earth, and the lower regions.
Compare notes 110, 113.

127. _Whom Vishnu, greater than the Self-existent_.

Vishnu, as Narayana, or the Supreme Spirit, moved over the waters
before the creation of the world, and from his navel came the lotus
from which Brahma, the World's Creator, here called the Self-existent,
sprang. As Vishnu, the Preserver, he became incarnate in various
forms; and chose Ka[s']yapa and Aditi, from whom all human beings
were descended, as his medium of incarnation, especially in the Avatar
in which he was called Upendra, 'Indra's younger brother.' Hence it
appears that the worshippers of Vishnu exalt him above the Creator.

128. _The earth's seven sea-girt isles_.

According to the mythical geography of the Hindus, the earth
consisted of seven islands, or rather insular continents,
surrounded by seven seas. That inhabited by men was called
Jambudwipa, and was in the centr