e, having in the middle of it the
sacred mountain Meru or Sumeru, a kind of Mount Olympus inhabited
by the gods. About Jambu flowed the sea of salt-water which
extends to the second Dwipa, called Plaksha, which is in its turn
surrounded by a sea of sugar-cane juice. And so with the five
other Dwipas, viz. Salmali, Ku[S']a, Krauncha, [S']aka, and Pushkara,
which are severally surrounded by the seas of wine, clarified
butter, curds, milk, and fresh water.

129. _Bharata_.

The name Bharata is derived from the root bhri (fero),'to
support.' Many Indian princes were so named, but the most
celebrated was this son of Dushyanta and [S']akoontala, who so
extended his empire that from him the whole of India was called
Bharata-varsha or Bharata-varsha; and whose descendants, the sons
of Dhritarashtra and Pandu, by their quarrels, formed the subject
of the great epic poem called Maha-bharata. The Hindus at the
present day continue to call India by the name Bharata-varsha.

180. _The Sage Bharata_.

The Bharata here intended must not be confounded with the young
prince. He was a holy sage, the director or manager of the gods'
dramas, and inventor of theatrical representations in general. He
wrote a work containing precepts and rules relating to every
branch of dramatic writing, which appears to have been lost, but
is constantly quoted by the commentators. (See p. xxix.)

131. _Saraswati_.

She is the goddess of speech and eloquence, patroness of the arts
and sciences, and inventress of the Sanskrit language. There is a
festival still held in her honour for two days, about February in
every year, when no Hindu will touch a pen or write a letter. The
courts are all closed accordingly.

132. _The purple self-existent god_.

[S']iva is usually represented as borne on a bull; his colour, as
well as that of the animal he rides, being white, to denote the
purity of Justice, over which he presides. In his destroying
capacity, he is characterized by the quality 'darkness,' and
named Rudra, Kala, etc., when his colour is said to be purple or
black. Some refer the epithet 'purple' to the colour of his
throat; compare note 96. Self-existent, although properly a name
of the Supreme Being (Brahma), is applied both to Vishnu and
[S']iva by their votaries.

134. _Whose vital Energy_.

That is, [S']iva's wife, Parvati, who was supposed to personify his
energy or active power. Exemption from further transmigration,
and absorption int