Part 25 (2/2)

[38] ”De Wijze van het Hemelsch Rijk en zijne school.”

[39] An obituary notice of Dr. van Limburg-Brouwer (”Ter Nagedachtenis van Mr. P. A. S. van Limburg-Brouwer”) was written by Dr. H. Kern, the Professor of Sanscrit at Leyden, and published in the ”Nederlandsche Spectator,” 1873.

[40] Badari-natha is a place sacred to Vishnu in the Himalayas. The Badari-natha peaks, in British Gurwhal, form a group of 6 summits from 22,000 to 23,400 feet above the sea. The town of Badari-natha is 55 miles N.E. of Srinagar, on the right bank of the Vishnu-ganga, a feeder of the Alakananda. The temple of Badari-natha is situated in the highest part of the town, and below it a tank, supplied from a sulphureous thermal spring, is frequented by thousands of pilgrims. The temple is 10,294 feet above the sea.

[41] Deva, in Sanscrit, is a G.o.d, a divinity.

[42] Siddha, in Sanscrit, means perfected, hence an adept. Siddhanta, a final conclusion, or any scientific work. The Siddhas are a cla.s.s of semi-divine beings, who dwell in the regions of the sky.

[43] Rama is a name in common use. Rama was the hero of the Ramayana epic, and the form taken by Vishnu in two of his Avataras.

[44] Sanscrit name. Kulluka Bhatta was the famous commentator whose gloss was used by Sir W. Jones in making his translation of Manu.

[45] Guru, a teacher. Pada, a word.

[46] A common Sanscrit name.

[47] Hara is the name of a branch of the Chuhan Rajputs. It is also a name of Siva.

[48] The most popular of the collections of old Hindu tales was the Katha-Sarit-Sagara, or, ”Ocean of the Streams of Narrative.” It originated in the desire of a queen of Kashmir to provide amus.e.m.e.nt and instruction for her grandson. Somadeva, the Prime Minister, produced, in consequence, this collection of tales in verse.

[49] Nandi is the bull of Siva usually placed in front of temples. Gupta is a concealed ascetic. The Guptas were a dynasty of kings reigning at Magadha.

[50] Iravati is the Sanscrit name of the river Ravi or Hydrastes. Iravat was a son of Arjuna.

[51] Vishnu, the G.o.d, rides on a mythical bird called Garuda.

[52] A spiritual teacher or guide.

[53] Goraksh or Gorakh, a cow-herd.

[54] Yogi, a follower of the Yoga philosophy. An ascetic.

[55] Durga, a G.o.ddess, the wife of Siva, and destroyer of evil beings and oppressors. Also called Kali.

[56] The mystic monosyllable to be uttered before any prayer. It is supposed to consist of three letters, a u m, combined, being types of the three Vedas, or of the three great divinities, Brahma, Vishnu, Siva.

[57] From the hundred love sentences of the Amaru-Sataka, a poem written by a king named Amaru.

[58] Akbar's palace, in the fort of Agra, is built entirely of red sandstone. It is a square building, 249 feet by 260 feet. In the centre is a courtyard, 71 feet by 72 feet, on either side of which are two halls facing one another. Every feature round this court is of pure Hindu architecture. There are no arches, but the horizontal style of construction everywhere. General Cunningham, as Mr. Fergusson thinks erroneously, ascribes this palace to Jahangir. He describes it in his ”Reports,” vol. iv. p. 124, and gives a plan (Plate xiii.).

[59] Abu-l Fazl (called Allami) was a son of Shaikh Mubarak, son of Shaikh Khizr, who came from Sind. Mubarak was one of the most learned men of his day, and inclined to be a free-thinker. Abu-l Fazl, his second son, was born on January 14th, 1551. He was a devoted student, and his range of reading was very extensive. His elder brother, Faizi, had been invited to the court of Akbar in the twelfth year of that sovereign's reign, and by his means Abu-l Fazl was introduced in 1568, when in his seventeenth year. His abilities were immediately recognised, and every year he grew in favour and power. He was made Prime Minister and Mansabdar of four thousand, discharging his duties with distinguished abilities and success. Both brothers inherited the liberal opinions of their father, and carried them to greater extremes. Hence orthodox Muslims reviled them as apostates and free-thinkers. In them Akbar found congenial minds, with feelings and opinions similar to but more decided than his own. The murder of Abu-l Fazl on August 12th, 1602, is noted further on. He was the author of the ”Akbar-namah” (2 vols.), a history of his master's reign down to 1602, and of the ”A'in-i-Akbari.”

[60] The ”A'in-i-Akbari.”

[61] Faizi was the elder brother of the minister Abu-l Fazl. He was the most popular poet of his time, and a great favourite and constant companion of Akbar, who gave him the t.i.tle of the Prince of Poets. Our author, for the purposes of his story, makes Faizi, the younger brother.

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