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220
Satya Vrat
Garafaa ( CITET (p. 8), encountered in a set of codices. The pearllike perspicuity of the stream of the Ganges would justify comparison with a long and white object To Bņāas. 'fertile in agitation it was 'n ivory-bar (arba) meant to secure the gate of hell.'
The graphic account of the youthful Dādbica in cbapter one, which is meant to highlight his figure in its entirety with all physical vertues and mental equipment, is noted for the exiberance of epithets. One of the longish clauses describes him as bringing down to the earth, the spring together with the celestial garden, with his mouth emetting the per fume peculiar to certain trees and herbs, and resounding with the bum of bues. Tae reading 398184-24 in sigilat ... SATIC ancha qara
TL 9-14, shared by the Binay edition (p22) with some Mss, is takes 5 sono d i cio is end of the original, supposedly preserved in the variant 2497. As is well-khon, the use of words like वान्त, उदगीर्ण and निष्ठयत in their prinary sense, has been frowned upon by poeticians as being against good tasto (9177) The copvists thinking that a was so used here, changed it to 31131917. It seems to be an unwa rranted presumption. The scribes could not have been so naive as not to fathom the intended sense. However, even if 99 is used here in its giurative sense, the reading 3770114 siggests a sease which is decidely supeior to that of cruder वमन्तम्
The succint portrayl of the cssanger,w who delivers Kişna's message to Bāna, is marked by realism. The phrase 985eqzeazzafianzafy (p. 52) represents an aspect of his dress. The reading, retained in the Bombay edition, means that the messanger has round his throat a portion of a ragged garment, and the rest was allowed to hang on his back. Looking to the vast array of drusses detailed by Bāņa in the Hc, it may be taken to have been the practice to wrap a piece of cloth round the neck, with a part thereof rolling on the back, much in the fashion of the present day muffler. But it is difficult to understand why it should be worn in the oppressive heat of Jyeștha when the messanger is said to have undertaken the arduous journey. If worn at all, it must have been extremely inconveoient. However, it would be unkind to presume that the messanger bad inflicted on himself such ao unwarranted torture. Surely, there is something wrong with the text itself. ogitarfsagt , the reading preserved in quite a few Mss. not only obviates the aforesaid oddity, it has undoubted merit to commend itself, supported by practice as it is.
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