s seen to always sit with beaks
upturned, so that the upper part of the neck keeps the hole covered. The
Chataka is incapable of slaking its thirst in a lake or river, for it
cannot bend its neck down. Rain water is what it must drink. Its cry is
shrill and sharp but not without sweetness. 'Phate-e-ek-jal' is supposed
to be the cry uttered by it. When the Chataka cries, the hearers expect
rain. Eager expectation with respect to anything is always compared to
the Chataka's expectation of rain water.

1937. The Burdwan translator erroneously renders this verse. The
commentator explains that hitwa is equivalent to vina and sums up the
meaning of the first line in these words, viz., twaddarsanam vina asya
kopi vighnomabhut. In the second line, naprayupasate is equal to
paritajya na aste.

1938. It is a pity that even such verses have not been rendered correctly
by the Burdwan translator. K. P. Singha gives the sense correctly, but
the translation is not accurate.

1939. A form of expression meaning that 'we are your slaves'.

1940. Atmanam is Brahma; atmasthah is 'relying in the Soul', i.e.,
withdrawn from all worldly objects; atmanogatim implies the end of the
Jiva-soul, i.e., the Supreme Soul; the last is an adjective of atmanam.

1941. It has been explained in the previous sections that the Unccha vow
consists in subsisting on grains picked up from the fields after the corn
has been reaped and taken away by the owners. It is a most difficult vow
to observe. The merit attaching to it is, therefore, very great.

1942. The formal initiation or diksha is a ceremony of great importance.
No sacrifice or vow, no religious rite, can be performed without the
diksha. The rite of diksha is performed with the assistance of a
preceptor or priest. In leaving the domestic mode for the life of a
forest recluse, the diksha is necessary. In following the Unccha vow,
this rite is needed. Any religious act performed by one without having
undergone the formal diksha, becomes sterile of results.

1943. Bhishma abducted, with the might of his single arms, the three
daughters of the king of Kasi, viz., Amva, Amvika, and Amvalika. He
wished to marry the princesses to his brother Vichitravirya. The eldest
princess, having previously to her abduction selected king Salwa for her
lord was let off. When, however, she presented herself before her lover,
the latter refused to wed her. She, therefore, applied to Rama for
wreaking vengeance on Bhi