5. Sitâ was an incarnation of Lakshmî. She became incarnate again, many centuries afterwards, as the wife of Krishna, another incarnation of Vishnu [W. H. S.]. Reckoning by centuries is, of course, inapplicable to pure myth. The author believed in Bentley's baseless chronology. 6. For the Mahâbhârata, see _ante_, note 11, Chapter 1. The Bhâgavata Purâna is the most popular of the Purânas, The Hindi version of the tenth book (_skandha_) is known as the 'Prem Sâgar'. The date of the composition of the Purânas is uncertain. 7. The dates given in this passage are purely imaginary. Parts of the Mahâbhârata are very ancient. Yudhishthira is no more an historical personage than Achilles or Romulus. It is improbable that a 'throne of Delhi' existed in 575 B.C., and hardly anything is known about the state of India at that date. 8. It is hardly necessary to observe that this grotesque theory is utterly at variance with the facts, as now known. 9. The existing settlements of native Christians at Agra are mostly of modern origin. Very ancient Christian communities exist near Madras, and on the Malabar coast. The travels of Jean de Thevenot were published in 1684, under the title of _Voyage, contenant la Relation de l'Indostan_. The English version, by A. Lovell (London, 1687), is entitled _The Travels of Monsieur de Thevenot into the Levant, in three Parts_. Part III deals with the East Indies, The passage referred to is: 'Some affirm that there are twenty-five thousand Christian Families in Agra, but all do not agree in that' (Part III, p. 35). Thevonot's statement about the Christians of Agra is further discussed post in Chapter 52. 10. The war with Nepal began in October, 1814, and was not concluded till 1816. During its progress the British arms suffered several reverses. 11. The Betiyâ (Bettiah of _I. G_., 1908) Râj is a great estate with an area of 1,824 square miles in the northern part of the Champâran District of Bihâr, in the Province of Bihâr and Orissa. A great portion of the estate is held (1908) on permanent leases by European indigo-planters. 12. For discussion of this system see post, Chapter 7. 13. 'Pucka' (_pakkâ_) here means 'masonry', as opposed to 'Kutcha' (_kachchâ_), meaning 'earthen'.