63; ix. 323. Ramayana, i. 226.]

[Footnote 20: p. 5. l. 7. _Gandharvas_. Celestial choristers, of
beautiful forms and complexion, usually seen in Hindu sculptures
attendant on the deities.

Celestial genii tow'rd their king advance
(So called by men) in heaven Gandharvas named,
For matchless music famed.
Soon when the bands in lucid rows assemble,
Flutes breathe, and citherns tremble.

SIR W. JONES, Ode to Indra.--See Ramayana, l. 125.]

[Footnote 21: p. 5. l. 7. _the Serpents_. The serpents are objects of
reverence and veneration in India. They are called Naga, not going;
Uragas--breast-going. Their residence is in Patala, though they are
occasional visitants both of heaven and earth. See notes to book V. In
the Bhagavat Gita, Arjun sees Brahma "sitting on his lotus-throne; all
the Reshees and Ooragas (serpents)," Wilkins' translation, p. 91.
According to Wilson, (Sanscrit Dict. voce Naga), the race of these
beings is said to have sprung from Kadru, the wife of Kasyapa, in
order to people Patala, or the regions below the earth.]

[Footnote 22: p. 5. l. 7. _The Rakshasas_. Demons who assume at will
the forms of lions, tigers, horses, and other animals, as well as the
human shape, with numerous heads and arms. They are represented as
cannibals who devour their enemies. See Ramayana.]

[Footnote 23: p. 6. l. 6. _--and with passion heart-possessed_. It
is, literally, her mind (or thought), being possessed by the
_heart-sleeper_, (i. e. love, reposing or dwelling in the heart).
WILSON.]

[Footnote 24: p. 6. l. 8. _The Swayembara_. The self-election. The
princesses in India enjoyed this singular privilege. The festival was
proclaimed, and from the assembled suitors the lady selected her
future husband. The Swayembara is not among the eight kinds of
marriages mentioned in the third book of Menu, as customary among the
higher castes, in which the parents in general arrange such contracts.
The provision in the ninth book (v. 90), appears to belong to the
lower classes.--"Three years let a damsel wait, though she be
marriageable; but after that term let her choose for herself a
bridegroom of equal rank." In the Raghuvansa, a poem, parts of which
the author of this translation, if he could command leisure to make
himself better acquainted with Sanscrit, would consider well worthy of
being introduced to the English reader, there is a very remarkable and
beautiful book, describing a Swayembara. This is