rsed, or _Mara, Mara_, in the inaudible repetition of which
he remained immovable for thousands of years, so that when the sages
returned to the same spot they found him still there, converted into
a _valmik_ or ant-hill, by the nests of the termites, whence his
name of Valmiki."

WILSON. _Specimens of the Hindu Theatre, Vol. I. p. 313_.

"Valmiki is said to have lived a solitary life in the woods: he is
called both a _muni_ and a _rishi_. The former word properly
signifies an anchorite or hermit; the latter has reference chiefly
to wisdom. The two words are frequently used promiscuously, and may
both be rendered by the Latin _vates_ in its earliest meaning of
_seer_: Valmiki was both poet and seer, as he is said to have sung
the exploits of Rama by the aid of divining insight rather than of
knowledge naturally acquired." SCHLEGEL.

3 Literally, _Kokila_, the Koil, or Indian Cuckoo. Schlegel translates
"luscinium."

4 Comparison with the Ganges is implied, that river being called the
purifier of the world.

5 "This name may have been given to the father of Valmiki
allegorically. If we look at the derivation of the word (_pra_,
before, and _chetas_, mind) it is as if the poet were called the son
of Prometheus, the Forethinker." SCHLEGEL.

6 Called in Sanskrit also _Bala-Kanda_, and in Hindi _Bal-Kand_,
_i.e._ the Book describing Rama's childhood, _bala_ meaning a boy up
to his sixteenth year.

7 A divine saint, son of Brahma. He is the eloquent messenger of the
Gods, a musician of exquisite skill, and the inventor of the _vina_
or Indian lute. He bears a strong resemblance to Hermes or Mercury.

8 This mystic syllable, said to typify the supreme Deity, the Gods
collectively, the Vedas, the three spheres of the world, the three
holy fires, the three steps of Vishnu etc., prefaces the prayers and
most venerated writings of the Hindus.

9 This colloquy is supposed to have taken place about sixteen years
after Rama's return from his wanderings and occupation of his
ancestral throne.

10 Called also Sri and Lakshmi, the consort of Vishnu, the Queen of
Beauty as well as the Dea Fortuna. Her birth "from the full-flushed
wave" is described in Canto XLV of this Book.

11 One of the most prominent objects of worshi