¹²³ A food for gods. ¹²⁴ A priest. ¹²⁵ A kind of food. ¹²⁶ A winnowing basket. ¹²⁷ A wooden pestle used for cleaning rice. ¹²⁸ Offering of oblation. ¹²⁹ Members of a sacrifice. ¹³⁰ A house for the assembly of priests. ¹³¹ A ladle or spoon. ¹³² The room opposite to that which contains the materials for an oblation and in which the family and friends of the sacrificer assemble. ¹³³ A level square piece of ground made of bricks prepared for a sacrifice. ¹³⁴ The same as the previous footnote ¹³⁵ A portion of fire. ¹³⁶ Gayatri and other metrical verses. ¹³⁷ Fire ¹³⁸ A name of fire. ¹³⁹ A name of fire. ¹⁴⁰ A name of fire. Other words have been explained in previous notes. ¹⁴¹ This refers to His _Rajasik_ form or the form partaking of the quality of darkness. ¹⁴² By the word _world_ the author evidently means the whole of Rama’s dominion which extended over the entire northern and southern India and even the far-off Ceylon. It is frequently seen in Sanskrit works that the word _world_ is generally put for _whole of India_. ¹⁴³ The Vedas are the earliest work on our theology. According to the tradition they were coeval with creation which had itself taken place according to the laws of a pre-existing Veda. They were however scattered; some legends state they were lost; and it was not till after many years that a Rishi or sage arranged them and gave them the form in which they are known. These are Rik, Yajush, Saman and Atharvan. The Rig-Veda, from the radical rich to laud, is intended to be read on occasions when encomiastic prayers and hymns to the elemental deities are prescribed, by the law; the Yajush relates chiefly to oblations and sacrifices and contains prayers adapted for certain rites to be performed at the full and change of the moon and hymns and directions character to be recited with melody; and the Atharva Veda, which is considered to be of a late date, consists of various hymns and incantations, the greater part of which are intended for the destruction and perdition of enemies. This arrangement procured to the editor the name of Vyasa or arranger. ¹⁴⁴ Satyavati was the daughter of a Apsara in the form of a fish. She passed into the hands of a fisherman. A Rishi, Parasara by name, grew amorous on seeing her. He knew her and in time she gave birth to a son on an island in the Yamuna. This son is Vyasa. See Mahabharata, Adi Parva chapter LXIII. CHAPTER XLII. VISHNU’S APPEARANCE.