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Chapter 5, Note [3].

Rambles and Recollections of an Indian Official · W. H. Sleeman — chapter 23 of 83 · ~267 words · public domain

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13. These Hindî verses are incorrectly printed, and loosely rendered by the author. The translation of the text, after necessary emendation, is: 'Tulasî, oppress not the poor; evil is the lot of the poor. From the blast of the dead hide iron becomes ashes.' Mr. W. Crooke informs me that the verses are found in the Kabîrkî Sakhî, and are attributable to Kabîr Dâs, rather than to Tulasî Dâs. But the authorship of such verses is very uncertain. Mr. Crooke further observes that the lines as given in the text do not scan, and that the better version is:

Durbal ko na satâiye, Jâki mâti hai; Mûê khâl ke sâns se Sâr bhasm ho jâe.

Sâr means iron. The author was, of course, mistaken in supposing the poet Tulasî Dâs to be a Râjâ. As usual in Hindî verse, the poet addresses himself by name.

14. Such slight frosts are common in Bundêlkhand, especially near the rivers, in January, but only last for a few mornings. They often cause great damage to the more delicate crops. The weather becomes hot in February.

15. December, 1835.

16. 'Musêl' is a very sweet-scented grass, highly esteemed as fodder. It belongs to the genus Anthistiria; the species is either cimicina or prostrata. 'Bhawâr' is probably the 'bhaunr' of Edgeworth's list, Anthistiria scandens. I cannot identify the other grasses named in the text. The haycocks in Bundêlkhand are a pleasant sight to English eyes. Edgeworth's list of plants found in the Bândâ district, as revised by Messrs. Waterfield and Atkinson, is given in N.W.P. Gazetteer, 1st ed., vol. i, pp. 78-86.

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