For a long and interesting variant of this tale see _Indian
Antiquary,_ vol. x. p. 151 ff.
_Fakîr,_--Properly _faqîr_, is a Muhammadan devotee, but in
modern India the term is used for any kind of holy man, whatever be
his religion. For instance, the 'Salvation Army' were styled at
Lahore, at a meeting of natives, by a Sikh gentleman of standing, as
_Vilâyatî_ _fuqrâ_, European _faqîrs_. The power of
granting children to barren women is ascribed in story to all saints
and holy personages of fame.
_Witch_--The word used was _dâyan_. In the Panjâb a woman
with the evil eye (which by the way is not necessarily in India
possessed by the wicked only, see _Panjâb Notes and Queries_,
1883-84, _passim_), who knows the _dâyan kâ mantar_, or
charm for destroying life by taking out the heart. The word in its
various modern forms is derived from the classical _dâkinî_, the
female demon attendant on Kali, the goddess of destruction.
_Jôgi's wonderful cow_--The _jôgi_ is a Hindu ascetic, but
like the word _faqîr_, _jôgi_ is often used for any kind of
holy man, as here. Supernatural powers are very commonly ascribed to
them, as well as the universal attribute of granting sons.
Classically the _yôgi_ is the devotee seeking _yoga_, the
union of the living with the sublime soul. The wonderful cow is the
modern fabulously productive cow _Kâmdhain_, representing the
classical _Kâmdhenu_, the cow of Indra that granted all desires.
Hence, probably, the dragging in here of Indra for the master of the
_jôgi_ of the tale. _Kâmdhain_ and _Kâmdhenu_ are both
common terms to the present day for cows that give a large quantity of
milk.
_Eighteen thousand demons_--No doubt the modern
representatives--the specific number given being, as is often the
case, merely conventionally--of the guards of Indra, who were in
ancient days the _Maruts_ or Winds, and are in modern times his
Court. See note.