=The Rāsmandal Dance.=—In the mystic dance, the _Rasmandal_, yet imitated on the annual festival sacred to the sun-god Hari, he is represented with a radiant crown in a dancing attitude, playing on the flute to the nymphs encircling him, each holding a musical instrument. In song and dance about the sacred hill; Mystical dance, which yonder starry sphere Of planets and of fixed in all her wheels Resembles nearest; mazes intricate, Eccentric, intervolved, yet regular Then most, when most irregular they seem; And in their motions harmony divine So smooths her charming tones that God’s own ear Listens delighted. MILTON, _Paradise Lost_, Book v. 619-27. These nymphs are also called the _nauragini_, from _raga_, a mode of song over which each presides, and _naurasa_, or ‘nine passions,’ excited by the powers [540] of harmony. May we not in this trace the origin of Apollo and the sacred nine? In the manner described above, the _rasmandal_ is typical of the zodiacal phenomena; and in each sign a musical nymph is sculptured in alto-relievo, in the vaulted temples dedicated to the god,[4.20.34] or in secular edifices by way of ornament, as in the triumphal column of Chitor. On the festival of the Janam,[4.20.35] or ‘birth-day,’ there is a scenic representation of Kanhaiya and the Gopis: when are rehearsed in the mellifluous accents of the Ionic land of Vraj, the songs of Jayadeva, as addressed by Kanhaiya to Radha and her companions. A specimen of these, as translated by that elegant scholar, Sir W. Jones, may not be considered inappropriate here. =The Songs of Jayadeva.=—I have had occasion to remark elsewhere,[4.20.36] that the Rajput bards, like the heroic Scalds of the north, lose no opportunity of lauding themselves; of which Jayadeva, the bard of the Yadus, has set an eminent example in the opening of ‘the songs of Govinda.’ “If thy soul be delighted with the remembrance of Hari, or sensible to the raptures of love, listen to the voice of Jayadeva, whose notes are both sweet and brilliant.” [Illustration: KANHAIYA AND RĀDHA. _To face page 630._ ] The poet opens the first interview of Krishna and Radha with an animated description of a night in the rainy season, in which Hari is represented as a wanderer, and Radha, daughter of the shepherd Nanda, is sent to offer him shelter in their cot.[4.20.37] Nanda thus speaks to Radha: “The firmament is obscured by clouds; the woodlands are black with Tamala trees; that youth who roves in the forest will be fearful in the gloom of night; go, my daughter, bring the wanderer to my rustic mansion. Such was the command of Nanda the herdsman, and hence arose the love of Radha and Madhava.”[4.20.38] The poet proceeds to apostrophize Hari, which the Hindu bard terms _rupaka_, or ‘personal description’: