Before I explain these lines let go over the situation at this point in the poem. Sir Pertab Singh a soldier who loves to fight in wars is extremely grief stricken at the sudden demise of his friend, the Englishman. He participates in carrying the coffin of his friend without paying heed to the warning of the priests regarding losing his caste. He is so overwhelmed at his friend’s death that all other matters seem trivial and useless to him.

So when the maharaj is woken up by the priest next morning and told that losing his caste was more fearful a sight than losing his friend, the maharaj gets almost agitated (shown by the first two lines and usage of the word flame) by the words of the priest that he obviously considers nonsense. The first two lines also show that how a man who hasn’t fully come out of his sleep inertia is at once out of it, upon hearing the priest talk about the caste matter.

He tells the priest at once (possibly with scorn), that the words he speaks are not coming from within. The whole thought process regarding the caste issue is worthless. In the next few lines (after the above mentioned ones), the maharaj gives his reasoning for the same