1833.] A Legend of Himalaya—by Calidasa. 332 
Who, heeding their wish, at great Prirnu’s behest 
* Gave freely, cow-like, of her swelling dark breast : 
* And sparkling bright gems, with all healing herbs’ power, 
Gush’d out for this dear mountain-babe to devour. 
realms below, having chosen Taxaka as their calf, and Dhritar4stra as their milker, 
milked the earth of its poisons in a gourd pail.—The Asuras or malignant deities, 
choosing Viréchana, son of Prahlada, as their calf, and Madhu for their milker, 
milked the earth of illusion in a pail of iron.—The Yaxa demons, choosing 
Cuvéra (the Indian Plutus or Mammon) for their calf, (the milker not named,) 
milked the earth of dissimulation in an earthen pail.—The several descrip- 
tions of fiends and vampires, the Raxasas, Pisachas, Bhitas, &c. all choosing 
Sumali for their calf, and Rajatanabha, (the silver-naveled goblin,) for their 
milker, drew blood from the teats of the earth, into a dead man’s scull used 
for a pail—The Gandharvas and Apsaras, the songsters and dancers of Para- 
dise, choosing Chitraratha for their calf, and Vasaruchi for their milker, 
drew perfumes from the earth’s bosom into a lotus pail_—The mountains 
having chosen, as we have seen, HimA4laya as their calf, and Méru for their 
milker, milked the earth of jewels and rich herbs in a pail of stone.—Lastly, the 
trees, having chosen the Plaxa or holy fig-tree for their calf, and the Sal tree 
for their milker, drew duds from the earth’s bosom ina leafy pail—So far the 
Mahabharata: with which the Bhagavat disagrees in several minor particulars: 
both of these grave authorities, however, agreeing with each other, as I am happy 
to observe, in fully confirming the statement of our poet in this verse respecting 
his mountain King. 
The Scholiast Nilakantha on the Mahabharata makes the principal herb 
of which the Earth was milked for Himalaya, to be the MTfaHatl or 
luminous plant, whether fabulously so called or otherwise, . of which we shall have 
occasion to speak more particularly on the 10th stanza. But the commentators on 
Célid4sa, both Mallinatha and Bharata-mallica ; assign that place to the fabled 
Sanjlvant whose juice can revive the dead: the latter adding also the herb Vz- 
salya-karint, to which the same revivifying property is ascribed in the Lanka-kandu 
or 6th book of the Ramayana of Valmiki. The idea of medicinal herbs is there- 
fore made the most prominent in my translation: though it should be added that 
both the above-mentioned Scholiasts apply the epithet ureter here, viz. 
“* sparkling’ or ‘‘ luminous,” to the ‘‘ herbs,’’ as well as to the “‘ gems.”’ 
The all-sustaining virtues of Mother Earth could not possibly be conveyed to a 
Hindu under a more dignified image than that of a cow and her dependent calves. 
We see the same image curiously applied to the highest mysteries of the Vedantic 
philosophy, in the following distich of the Panchadast or Quindecad of Vidyaranya 
Svami, 
~~ cA —< 
ATS HAAATAT SSF AIT aT | 
aa fara aa ad aaaaa fe I 
i. e. “‘ Of the cow of desire, called Ms’y4 (the Great Illusive Mother of Nature, of 
whom Sati and Parvati are but incarnations), there are two calves,—the separate 
Sout, and Gop. Both drink abundantly as they list : (the former drinks) duality 
(or diversity), which is its essence ; (the latter,) simple unity.’ 
Compare the cow Nandini in the Raghu Vansa of our author, II, 63—66, &c, &c. 
