^{page 198 note 1} J.A.S.B. vol. lii. part i. 1883.

^{page 199 note 1} A parallel example in English occurs in an extreme case in the famous couplet of Tom D'Urfey:

“ Óh wásn't hé a ráscal,

Who refúsed to allow the children of Israel to go into the wilderness with their wives and fámilies to eát the Páschal.”

^{page 202 note 1} is a rare form in Bhojpūrī. It is probably here the Hindī accusative plural, .

^{page 202 note 2} Literally, is being made, and having made it.

^{page 202 note 3} The cry of these birds is supposed to be an incentive to love. is Hindī pres. part, fem., agreeing with , used in the sense of the pres. ind.

^{page 203 note 1} The parting of a married woman's hair is coloured with vermilion, which is washed out when she becomes a widow.

^{page 203 note 2} A crow's call is said to be , which means ‘place.’ He is a great traveller. Hence, by tradition, a crow is always supposed to know the whereabouts of a beloved.

^{page 203 note 3} is Hindī pres. part. fern.

^{page 203 note 4} The odour of these two flowers is supposed to incite love.

^{page 203 note 5} In this month occurs the feast of the Holī—the spring festival of love. It is then customary to throw red powder (abīr) on passers-by in the street.

^{page 203 note 6} The meaning of this verse is doubtful. My informant, who recited the song, did not know its meaning. Songs like the present one, which are in a language foreign to Bihār, are often learned by rote, and only half-understood. The translation given is only a guess. I do not know the meaning of, nor is the word known in Bihār. It may be a corruption of ‘a necklace worn by mendicants,’ and in this case would mean ‘having put on such a necklace.’

^{page 204 note 1} It is customary for a poet to insert his own name, and that of his patron, in the last line of any of his works. The last line is hence called the bhanitā, because it tells (root bhan) the name of the author. The poet here politely attributes his inspiration to the king.

^{page 207 note 1} One of the many names of Krishn.

^{page 207 note 2} and are Braj for and .

^{page 207 note 3} Compare Song XVI. line 24.

^{page 207 note 4} is not the Hindī present participle, but is the Bihārī 1 pl. pres. conj. used in its original indicative sense.

^{page 207 note 5} altered for metre from . The five holy Sundays are the first Sundays of the bright halves of Ag'han, Pūs (omitting Māgh), Phāgun, Chait, and Baĭsākh.

^{page 207 note 6} Hindī for .

^{page 207 note 7} , lit. a going, is often specialized to mean the procession which goes to fetch the bride from her father's house. The root in Bihārī means ‘bring.’

^{page 207 note 8} = Hindī .

^{page 208 note 1} Reference is made to the ceremony of Parichhan, or welcoming of the bridegroom at the bride's house.

^{page 208 note 2} is the silver spot worn on a woman's forehead.

^{page 208 note 3} is an inundated piece of ground. is an old oblique form of (like in Hindī). The phrase is hence literally ‘an inundation on an inundation,’ just as is ‘a beating on a beating,’ ‘a mutual beating.’

^{page 208 note 4} , as a sign of the genitive, is rare in Bhojpūrī, but is common in the other dialects of Bihārī.

^{page 211 note 1} i.e. Lakshmana.

^{page 211 note 2} is regular 3 sing, imperat. of root , ‘go.’

^{page 211 note 3} is shortened from for the sake of metre. It is 3 sg. fut.

^{page 211 note 4} Note the common change of a foreign j sound to d in Bihārī in = the Arabic Cf.

^{page 212 note 1} See note to Song I. line 9.

^{page 212 note 2} i.e. Hanumān.

^{page 212 note 3} i.e. Lakshmana.

^{page 212 note 4} or is a rare form of the indeclinable participle of root ‘go.’

^{page 212 note 5} is Braj 1 sg. fut.

^{page 212 note 6} The in is the old Apabhramsha sign of the locative.

^{page 212 note 7} in this líne is superfluous as regards the metre.

^{page 212 note 8} There are two half lines missing in this verse.

^{page 212 note 9} The word ‘roar’ is rendered necessary for the comparison. Note, that for the purposes of rhyme ड़ and ट are considered as one letter. So also a Sanskrit ट always becomes ड in Prākrit.

^{page 213 note 1} The first aspiration in the root or ‘fight,’ is optional. It is used generally to mean ‘be killed in combat.’

^{page 213 note 2} i.e. salvation.

^{page 216 note 1} The chauk is a square space filled with sweetmeats, etc., for distribution at a festival.

^{page 216 note 2} The jar decked with lights placed within the cupola erected in the courtyard of a house at a marriage festival. The last line of this verse is very obscure.

^{page 216 note 3} Rām's step-mother Kaikeyī.

^{page 216 note 4} Hindī for .

^{page 216 note 5} i.e. Kaushalyā, Rām's mother.

^{page 216 note 6} root means to ‘glitter,’ hence to ‘do a thing suddenly.’ or is given in Hindī dictionaries as meaning a continued rain, but it means rather a sudden burst of rain.

^{page 217 note 1} Note in this verse how ल is considered as rhyming with न.

^{page 217 note 2} i.e. Rām in his capacity of the Deity.

^{page 217 note 3} Alluding to the well-known tale of Bharat refusing to take Rām's place as king.

^{page 218 note 1} Gokhul or Gokul is the country of Braj. Krishn had broken the hearts of all the girls there by deserting them and going to Mathurā (alias Madhupur).

^{page 219 note 1} The in is the old Apabhramsha Prākrit termination of the locative.

^{page 219 note 2} Lit. ‘I have four minds.’

^{page 219 note 3} A kind of song sung by women.

^{page 220 note 1} When the left eye of a woman throbs, it is a lucky omen. When the right eye throbs, it is the reverse.

^{page 221 note 1} The e in the penultimate of is always short. In this verse, however, it must be read long to save the metre. The mark a over s consonant is the native way of making a long syllable.

^{page 222 note 1} is Braj

^{page 222 note 2} A very dark and gloomy month.

^{page 223 note 1} is the regular Bhojpūrï present indicative. being the second person plural, always has the inherent final a pronounced; thus tejĕla. This final a of the 2nd pl., moreover, is always pronounced long with a peculiar drawl like the English word ‘awe,’ thus tejĕl ‘awe.’ This tense sometimes has the force of the future. An example is in v. 5.

^{page 223 note 2} literally ‘a simpleton,’ ‘a novice.’

^{page 223 note 3} is oblique of ‘an eye.’

^{page 223 note 4} A mass of boiled pulse and rice. The word is usually feminine, but is masculine in the text.

^{page 223 note 5} is long form of

^{page 223 note 6} Or a widow from the date of my marriage. The chauk is a square space of coloured meal in which the bridegroom and bride are seated at a marriage ceremony. Hence ‘a widow of the chauk’ means a widow from the date of the marriage ceremony.

^{page 226 note 1} , lit. ‘a darling,’ is used in Birth-Odes like the present as a simple expletive.

^{page 226 note 2} I have been careful throughout to translate the tenses as they occur.

^{page 226 note 3} is simply a rhyming repetition of .

^{page 226 note 4} = Hindī .

^{page 227 note 1} The eastern part of the Nepāl Tarāi.

^{page 228 note 1} i.e. the complimentary garment given to the midwife on the birth of a child.

^{page 228 note 2} The chauri is the fly-flapper, which is a sign of royalty.

^{page 229 note 1} An idiomatic use of the word , used by men. Women in the same sense would use .

^{page 230 note 1} The barber's wife and the Bārī's wife (or torch-seller, who also acts as barber) officiate at a birth ceremony. This song refers to the proverbial jealousy between the wives of two brothers. It also refers to the custom of one sister-in-law giving the other presents on the occasion of the latter having a child. When the former has, in her turn, a child, the latter is hound to give her presents of equal value.

^{page 231 note 1} These birth-songs are sung by Domins.

^{page 234 note 1} See note to II. 8.

^{page 234 note 2} These are moved round the bridegroom's head at the time of parichhan.

^{page 236 note 1} pronounced baraha with the final a sonant, is an old oblique form of , ‘twelve.’

^{page 238 note 1} means ‘pebbles.’

^{page 241 note 1} is a rare instance of the Bihārī genitive suffix taking a fern. form. , itself, is rare in Rhojpūrī.

^{page 241 note 2} It is hardly necessary to point out that is for the instrumental of .

^{page 241 note 3} Note the word for give put in the mouth of a Muhammadan. It is the Ūrdū .

^{page 244 note 1} is 2nd person plural future. In the 2nd person plural the final inherent vowel is always pronounced, thus jaiba, and not jaib, even in prose. The first person singular would be jāib.

^{page 244 note 2} A pāet is a dress or cloak, worn by a man, which, when he is going on a journey, is sent out on the way before him at an auspicious time. is oblique of ‘a woman's bodycloth.’

^{page 244 note 3} Anas casarca. This bird is traditionally said to spend its nights lamenting its enforced separation from its mate.

^{page 244 note 4} This refrain in the original is repeated in all the following verses, but will be omitted in the translation.

^{page 244 note 5} In this word the penultimate is always pronounced long, though generally written short. In the Western Bhojpūrī, illustrated by Hoernle's Grammar, it is written (see § 516).

^{page 244 note 6} These similes, which seem absurd enough in a translation, are perfectly natural to a Hindū mind.

^{page 245 note 1} is an interjection used only to something contemptible, like a dog, cat, or a discovered villain.

^{page 246 note 1} Cf. Song IX. 1. 24.

^{page 246 note 2} Lit. ‘on touching.’ is the locative of the verbal noun

^{page 246 note 3} i.e. you would become a widow. Only women whose husbands are alive wear the red line down the parting of their hair, and the collyrium in their eyes.