106. The ever-blooming tree of Nandana.

That is, Mandara, one of the five ever-blooming trees of Nandana, or Swarga, Indra’s heaven.  The two most celebrated of these trees were the Parijata and the Kalpa-druma, or tree granting all desires.  Each of the superior Hindu gods has a heaven, paradise, or elysium of his own.  That of Brahma is called Brahma-loka, situate on the summit of mount Meru; that of Vishnu is Vaikuntha, on the Himalayas; that of [S’]iva and Kuvera is Kailasa, also on the Himalayas; that of Indra is Swarga or Nandana.  The latter, though properly on the summit of mount Meru, below Brahma’s paradise, is sometimes identified with the sphere of the sky or heaven in general.  It is the only heaven of orthodox Brahmanism.

107. Jayanta.

The son of Indra by his favourite wife Paulomi or [S’]achi.

108. The Lion-man’s terrific claws.

Vishnu, in the monstrous shape of a creature half man, half lion (his fourth Avatar or incarnation), delivered the three worlds, that is to say, Earth, Heaven, and the lower regions, from the tyranny of an insolent demon called Hiranya-ka[S’]ipu.

109. We journey in the path of Parivaha.

The Hindus divide the heavens into seven Margas, paths or orbits, assigning a particular wind to each.  The sixth of these paths is that of the Great Bear, and its peculiar wind is called Parivaha.  This wind is supposed to bear along the seven stars of Ursa Major, and to propel the heavenly Ganges.

110. The triple Ganges.

The Ganges was supposed to take its rise in the toe of Vishnu (whence one of its names, Vishnu-padi); thence it flowed through the heavenly sphere, being borne along by the wind Parivaha, and identified with the Mandakini, or Milky Way.  Its second course is through the earth; but the weight of its descent was borne by [S’]iva’s head, whence, after wandering among the tresses of his hair, it descended through a chasm in the Himalayas.  Its third course is through Patala, or the lower regions, the residence of the Daityas and Nagas, and not to be confounded with Naraka, ‘hell,’ ‘the place of punishment.’

111. He spanned the heavens in his second stride.

The story of Vishnu’s second stride was this:—­An Asura or Daitya, named Bali, had, by his devotions, gained the dominion of Heaven, Earth, and Patala.  Vishnu undertook to trick him out of his power, and assuming the form of a Vamana, or dwarf (his fifth Avatar), he appeared before the giant and begged as a boon as much land as he could pace in three steps.  This was granted; and the god immediately expanded himself till he filled the world; deprived Bali, at the first step, of Earth; at the second, of Heaven; but, in consideration of some merit, left Patala still under his rule.

112. I see the moisture-loving Chatakas.

The Chataka is a kind of Cuckoo (Cuculus Melanoleucus).  The Hindus suppose that it drinks only the water of the clouds, and their poets usually introduce allusions to this bird in connexion with cloudy or rainy weather.