^4 On the Musical Modes 



of Indian imagination j nor have the Hindu poets and painters loft: the ad- 

 vantages, with which fo beautiful a fubjec~t prefented them. A whole 

 chapter of the Ndrayan contains defcriptions of the Ragas and their con- 

 forts, extracted chiefly from the Ddmddar, the Calancura, the Rctnamd/d,- 

 the Chandricd, and a metrical trad on mulick afcribed to the Go.l Na're-d' 

 himfeif, from which, as among fo many beauties a particular ieleitinii 

 would be very perplexing, I prefent you with the fir ft that occurs, and 

 have no doubt, that you will think the Sanfcptb language equal to Italian 

 in foftntfs and elegance : 



Lila viharena vanantarale, 

 Chinvan prafunani vadhu fahayah, 

 Vilafi vefodita divya murtih 

 Srirdga efha prat'hitah prit'hivyam. 



" The demigod Sri'ra'ga, famed over ail this earth, I weedy fports ; 

 " with his nymphs, gathering frefh blofioms in the bofom of yon grove; 

 •' and his divine lineaments are difiinguifhed through his graceful 

 14 vefture." 



These and fimilar images, but wonderfully diversified, are exprefled in 

 a variety of meafures, and reprefented by delicate pencils in the Rdgamd/ds, 

 which all of us have examined, and among which the mofr. beautiful are 

 in the poffeilion of Mr. R. Johnson and Mr. Hay.. A noble work might 

 be compofcd by any mufician and fcholar, who enjoyed leifure and disre- 

 garded expenfe, if he would exhibit a perfect fyftem of Indian mufick from 

 Sanfcrit authorities, with the old melodies of Soma applied to the fongs 

 of Jayade'va, embellilhed with defcriptions of all the modes accurately 

 tranflared, and with Mr. Hay's Rdgamdld delineated and engraved by the 

 fcholars of Cipriani and Bartolozzi. 



