appears in the person of a courageous and virtuous prince to punish a monstrous giant. RAMAYANA, an epic poem in the Sanscrit language, forming part of the Vedas. RAMAYUM, an epic poem, describing the exploits of Rama. RAMNAD, a city in India, in the district of Madura, in the province of Southern Carnatic, situated near the coast, in Lat. 9 deg. 23 min. N., Long. 78 deg. 56 min. E. It is the capital of a pollum, generally styled the Ramnad zumeendaree, which was granted to the present zumeendar's family, under the Hindoo government of Madura, with the title of Sutti-putti, for the defence of the road, and protection of the pilgrims resorting to the pagoda of Ramiserum. The town is of an irregular appearance, and contains nothing of note. RAMNUGGUR. See Nerbudda. RAMOOSEE. See ВHEEL. RAMPORE, a place in India, in the province of Delhi, situated about twenty miles to the eastward of Mooradabad. It is the residence of a Rohilla chief, styled the Nabob of Rampore, and is celebrated on account of a severe action which took place a few miles from it in 1794, between the Rohillas and the British troops. RAM RAM, the ordinary salutation of the Hindoos to each other and to the images of certain deities. RANA, a Hindoo chieftain or sovereign among the hill tribes only. RANGOON, in the country of Ava, in Asia. This place, which on account of its trade may be considered as perhaps the principal city of the Burman empire, is situated on the Irawaddee river, about twentyeight miles from the sea. It is a dirty mean-looking town, built of wood and bamboo, and surrounded by a weak stockade. Outside the town, and about two miles and a half from it, stands the Shoe Dagon Pa- | goda, built upon a small hill, seventy five feet above the road. It is 338 feet high, and is surmounted by a cap of brass, forty-five feet high, the whole covered with gilding. RANNEE, queen, princess, wife of an Indian rajah (q. v.) RASDAREE, dancing boys attached to temples in the Indian ghauts. RAT'H JATTRA, the throne and car of Juggernaut. On the occasion of the festivals of Juggernaut, he is accompanied by his brother Bala Rama, and his sister Subhadra, and is conveyed to a place about a mile from the temple at Poree. This throne, on which he is seated, is fixed on a stupendous car, sixty feet in height; the enormous weight of which, as it passes slowly along, deeply furrows the ground over which it rolls. Immense cables are attached to it, by which it is drawn along by thousands of men, women, and even infants; as it is considered an act of acceptable devotion to assist in urging forward this horrible machine, on which, round the throne of the idol, are upwards of a hundred priests and their attendants. As the ponderous car rolls on, some of the devotees and worshippers of the idol throw themselves under the wheels, and are crushed to death; and numbers lose their lives by the pressure of the crowd. RATNAPURA (the City of Jewels), is fifty-two miles south-east of Colombo, in Ceylon, on the banks of the Kalu Ganga. On the right bank of the river stands a small fort, still kept in good repair, and commanding a delightful and extensive view of the surrounding country. The Pettah is large and populous. The whole of the low country around is sometimes for several weeks together overflowed with water. Some of the finest, most extensive, and fertile tracts of the whole country lie in this district. The people in general have less appearance of poverty than in most other places. REIS EFFENDI, a Turkish Secretary of State. REISH-SUFFERED, Persian. Whitebeard; an elder or patriarch of a tribe - or village. RHUT, a creaking kind of cart, com posed of wood and rope, in which the native ladies of Upper India, concealed from public view by thick curtains, huddle themselves when they travel or pay visits. RISHIS, in Hindoo mythology, the children of the Menus, the offspring of the Brahmadicas, who were the sons of Brahma. They are seven in number, and are named Kasyapa, Atri, Vasishta, Viswamitra, Gautama, Jamadagni, and Bharadwaja. They are, astronomically, the husbands of the Pleiades. RISSALDAR, an officer of the Irregular India cavalry, whose rank corresponds with that of a captain of a troop. RODIYAS, or outcasts, a tribe who inhabit different parts of the interior of the island of Ceylon. They are looked upon by the other natives as persons of so degraded a character, that they will have no communication with a Rodiya village. They have a wild and rough appearance, and scarcely wear any clothing. The only dress of either male or female is a piece of cloth tied round their loins. They live partly by cultivating the lands that belong to the villages which they inhabit, and partly by robbery and plunder. They have no marriage rites, but live together promiscuously. It is also doubtful whether they have any religious worship, as they are so much despised by other people that no one would frequent a Wihara or Dewata to which the Rodiyas resort. ROOEE (rooee-mutchlee), a species of carp found in all the great rivers of India, and likewise in tanks or ponds. They are sometimes caught of great weight, from fifty to eighty pounds. ROOM, the Persian term for Constantinople. ROOMAL, handkerchief; the name also given to the kerchief used by the Thugs, or Phanseegars, in strangling their victims. ROOSHUN, light, splendour; a common name for a favourite horse amongst the Persians. ROOSTUM, a hero, celebrated for his deeds of arms in the Shah Nameh of Ferdousee. ROTAS, a strong fortress in India, in the province of Lahore, or the Punjab, situated about 100 miles to the northward of the city of Lahore. It is much celebrated in the early history of the Mahomedans in India, one of their main bulwarks between Tartary and Hindostan. ROWANA, a Hindostanee passport, ROWTEE, a small tent for the accom- RUNGPORE, the principal town of RUSSOOM, customs, customary com missions, gratuities, fees, or perquisites. Shares of the crops and readymoney payments received by public officers in India as perquisites attached to their situations. RUSSOOM ZEMINDARRY, cus tomary perquisites attached to the office of a Zemindar in India. Perquisites, or shares of the sayer duties allowed to Zemindars; and deductions from the collections equal to about five per cent. on the net receipts in the mofussil treasury, enjoyed by the Zemindars in addition to their nancar or saveram lands. RUTTEE, a weight of 1875 grains troy, used chiefly by goldsmiths and jewellers in India, and employed in the native evaluation, by assay, of the precious metals. RYACOTTA, a fort in the province of Baramahal, in India, situated about fifteen miles to the east of Kistnagherry. It is built upon a rocky mountain, 1150 feet in perpendicular height, and is a place of some strength, the present fortifications being principally of English construction. It commands one of the passes from the Carnatic into Mysore. RYOT, the tiller of the soil in India; the husbandman; the peasant. RYOTTEE, relating to a ryot, Ryottee lands are those in which the ryots pay the government dues in money; contradistinguished from khomar lands, in which they are paid in kind. RYOTWAR, according to, or with ryots. A ryotwar, or kulwar, settlement is a settlement made by government immediately with the ryots individually, under which the government receives its dues in the form of a money-rent fixed on the land itself in cultivation, and not being a pecuniary commutation for its share of the produce, varying as the extent of the produce may vary in each year; but under an aumanee settlement the government receives its dues in kind from each cultivator. S. SAADI, a Persian poet, who was the author of the earliest pieces in Hindostanee verse. SACTIS, the consorts or energies of the Hindoo gods: thus Parvati is the sacti of Siva; Lakshmi, that of Vishnu; and Suraswati, Brahma or Brahmini, of Brahma. As their energies, they participate in their various avatars, or incarnations : Lakshmi, in those of Vishnu, being Varahi, Narasinhi, Sita, Radha, &c., and in like manner are the other sactis. SADRAS, or SADRUNGAPUTTUNUM, a town in India, in the province of Central or Middle Carnatic, situated on the sea coast, about forty miles south from Madras. It belongs to the Dutch, who settled there in 1647; and it was formerly a flourishing town, but it now consists of merely a few houses, and a native village. About five miles to the northward of Sadras is a Brahmun village, called Mahabalipuram (Muha Bulipoorum, the city of the great Buli, one of the titles of Vishnu), or as it is named by the English, the Seven Pagodas, remarkable for various extraordinary remains of Hindoo temples and sculptures of great antiquity. According to the Hindoo legends, there was, at some very remote period, a considerable town at this place, the site of which is now covered by the sea. SAFEE NAMAH, a testimonial given by the defendant in the native courts of India upon the final settlement of a cause, that the matter in dispute has been cleared up or settled. SAHEB, "gentleman," "sir." It is always added in addressing or speaking of Europeans in India or Persia: as "Colonel Saheb," Colonel; “Lord Saheb," Lord, the Bishop or Governor General; "Elchee Saheb," the Ambassador. SAHIB KAROON, a Persian silver coin of about the value of a shilling. SAHIB LOGUE, the common appellation given to European gentlemen in India. SAHRAB, Persian. Water of the desert; mirage. SAIGONG, the largest and most im portant city in Cochin China. It is situated on the banks of the Donnai, in Lat. 10 deg. 47 min. N., Long. 107 deg. 5 min. E. It is an extensive city and well built, and has a fortress of considerable strength constructed upon European principles. It is the chief naval dépôt of the empire, and has large arsenals and numerous ship-builders. Its popu lation is estimated at about 200,000. SAKA, a Turkish water-carrier. SALA, simply, in Hindostanee, brother-in-law. But although there is nothing particularly offensive in being a brother-in-law, the word, when used without reference to domestic ties, is considered abusive. SALAAM. This word is indifferently used in India to express compliments or salutations. Sending a person your salaam is equivalent to presenting your compliments. The personal salaam or salutation is an obeisance executed by bending the head slightly downwards, and placing the palm of the right hand on the forehead. This gesticulation is universal throughout India. SALAAM ALEIKOOM! "Peace be with you!" The ordinary Mahomedan salutation. SALAGRAMA, stones sacred to Vishnu, and valued according to the perforations and spiral curves in each, as they are thereby supposed to contain Vishnu and Lakshmi in their different characters. The salagrama is worshipped daily by the Brahmuns, and is used in the several Hindoo ceremonies of Srad'ha, &c. One should be always placed near the bed of a dying person, and the marks on it shown to him. This is believed to secure his soul an introduction to the heaven of Vishnu. The Binlang stones, which are found in the Nerbudda river, are also worshipped as emblems of Siva. SALEM, a province of India, bounded on the north by the Barmahaal and Central Carnatic; east, Central Carnatic; south, Southern Carnatic and Coimbatore; west, Coimbatore and Mysore. The only river of any note is the Cavery, which flows along the western side of the province. It is an elevated district, generally open, with occasional ridges and clusters of hills, and towards its western boundary mountainous. The Shevaray hills, in the vicinity of the town of Salem, are particularly noted, and have been much resorted to by Europeans for change of climate. These hills consist of three distinct divisions, the Salem Naad, the Moko Naad, and the Moottoo Naad. This last is the highest, its elevation above the sea being about 5000 feet. It has a table-land, seven miles by three, producing coffee of very good quality, wheat, barley, and millet. The inhabitants of these hills are exclusively of the Vullaler caste, and according to their own traditions, emigrated from Conjevarum about the year 1200. The chief productions of this province are rice, maize, cotton, coffee, saltpetre, and magnesia. Its cotton manufactures of all kinds are extensive. The principal towns are Dhurmpooree, Salem, and Namkool. The inhabitants are chiefly Hindoos; the religion is principally Hindooism, and the language Tamil and Teloogoo. SALEM, the capital of the province of Salem, in India, situated in a plain, six miles south of the Shevaray hills, in Lat. 11 deg. 37 min. N., Long. 78 deg. 13 min. E. It is a celebrated mart for cotton goods. SAMARCAND, a town in the division of Bokhara, in Tartary, situated near the southern bank of the ZurUfshan, about 120 miles to the eastward of Bokhara. This was in the early times of the Mahomedan power one of the most renowned cities of the East, and it is still regarded with great veneration by the people of the country; and no king of Bokhara is considered by them to be the lawful sovereign who has not possession of Samarcand. It was the capital of Timour, whose tomb still remains. It has now declined to a provincial town of not more than 10,000 inhabitants, and gardens and fields occupy the place of its former streets and mosques. A few colleges and other buildings still exist, some of them of beautiful architecture, particularly one which originally formed the observatory of the celebrated astronomer, Ulug Beg. The manufacture of paper was introduced into Europe from this city, on its conquest by the Mahomedans, about the year 710. SAMBUR, the, (cervus Aristotelis) is the largest of the deer tribe in Asia, a full-grown stag frequently attaining the height of sixteen hands at the shoulder. The colour, with the exception of a white under lip, and a pale yellow disc round the eye, is tan below, and of an uniform dull brown above, varying to slate colour in some specimens, and even almost verging upon black. The hair is coarse, resembling split whalebone in its texture, and increasing in length about the neck and shoulders, so as to form a long shaggy mane, susceptible of being fully erected when the animal is excited, at which periods both the suborbital cavities and the nostrils are dilated to their utmost extent. These peculiarities, added to an incessant stamping of the fore foot, and vicious grinding of the teeth, the latter accompanied by a copious flow of saliva, impart a singularly ferocious aspect, the animal being withal exceedingly muscular and formidable. The eye is small, but remarkably brilliant and méchant. The antlers, which are uniformly cast in the month of April (the time at which the rutting season commences), and reproduced during the rains, augment progressively in volume with the age of the animal, until they attain an enormous size. They stand upon a short and broad pedicle, and consist of a round rugous beam, with a ponderous brow and bez-antlerthe burr being pearled and very pro minent. The female resembles the male in shape and colour, but is on a smaller scale, and has no horns. She produces one or two at a birth. The apple of the tree, called by the natives of India mendhole, constitutes the favourite food of the sambur, and it is attached also to all bitter forest fruits. Its cry or call is a shrill pipe resembling wired music, or the sound produced by striking a gong with great violence. The animal, when alarmed, also emits a sound which in the jungles might often be mistaken for the rumbling of distant thunder. At these times, the whole of the hair on the body bristles on end, and there is a cold shivering of the whole frame, which appears to create this rumbling internally. This phenomenon has never been noticed by writers on the natural history of the sambur. It is gregarious in small troops, a single patriarchal stag being usually lord of about a score of does. Timid, vigilant, and active; endowed also with the use of sight, hearing, and smell, in the highest degree of perfection, the sambur is exceedingly difficult of access. Rarely descending from his chosen haunts in the heart of the most dense and unfrequented forests, he looks down with contempt upon his pursuers from the rocky pinnacles of the mountain, whose rugged sides he has traversed with the greatest facility. SANI, or SHUNI, is, according to the Hindoos, the planet Saturn. He is described of a dark colour, and clothed in black, holding a sword, arrows, and two daggers in his hands. His vahan is variously represented, being by some called a black vulture or raven, and by others an elephant. He is old, ugly, lame, of an evil disposition, has long hair, nails, and teeth, and is of the Sudra caste. It is unfortunate to be born under this planet, and the ills of life are ascribed to his influence, as he is supposed to be skilled in all kinds of wickedness. In the wor |