[Heading] This is believed to be a translation of “Hymns of the Saints”, a Sanskrit manuscript discovered and translated by Professor Peter Peterson (1847–99)
[Page 297, line 1] polo-ball usually made of bamboo-root or willow,
[Page 297, line 3] khitmatgar a servant who waits at table – a butler.
[Page 297, line 5] the Heaven-born An expression of respect to a person of a higher rank, often used by Kipling to convey in English the sense of such a dialogue. Harish Trivedi notes that it is not a direct translation of a phrase in Punjabi or Hindi.
[Page 298, line 22] budmash properly bad-ma’ash from the Persian bad meaning ‘evil’ and Arabic ma’ash meaning ‘means of livelihood’. [Hobson-Jobson].
[Page 298, line 24] jail-khana a hybrid word for ‘prison’ commonly used in the Bombay Presidency and elsewhere. [Hobson-Jobson].
[Page 299, line 4] Tahib Sahib – a polite form of address; the child is lisping. (This is an early example of Kipling’s rendering of the speech of small children, which has often irritated critics and readers.)
[Page 299, lines 10 / 11] Talaam, Tahib more lisping – Salaam, Sahib from the Arabic. Salam means ‘peace’ and is often accompanied by a courteous gesture.
[Page 299, line 28] water-man … well-curb Indian gardens usually had a well and a man to do the watering.
[J. McG.]