महावीरचरितम् (महाकवि भवभूति - वीररस-प्रधान रामकथा नाटक सम्पूर्ण ७ अङ्क सटीक)

iv. 10ᵈ—] Bhavabhūti — Uttara-Rāma-Charita [64
(māṅgalyā), and who are, like the divine Dawn, adorable to the
world. 10
Arundhatī—May, the Light Supreme shine within thee! And may He also
spread His holiness over thee (punātu), the Orb divine (deva) that blazes
from beyond darkness [and dispels it]!
Janaka—Worthy Gṛiṣhṭi, is it all well with this mother of that—that
Shepherd of the people?¹
Chamberlain, aside—Surely, he has reproved us quite bitterly. Aloud.
Royal sage! When, taking offence at this very thing, the Queen [Kausalyā]
has for so long a time declined the very sight of the moon-like face of her
dear [son] Rāma, it is unkind of you to add to the grief of her who is
already so much grieved. And as to our dear Rāma, it was a peculiar
stroke of his misfortune that his subjects should, as is well known (kila),
set agoing all around that foul calumny. And it was because those little
minds disbelieved the Fire-ordeal that he did that cruel deed.
Janaka—What! And who is this Fire that he should essay to purify our
daughter? Alas! Insulted as we already are by Rāmabhadra, here is
a fresh insult, when people begin to talk like that!
Arundhatī, heaving a sigh—Exactly so. To talk of fire—fire! in connexion
with Sītā is highly derogatory. Say merely ‘Sītā’ and all is said. Alas,
my dear girl,—
Thou art unto me a child, a pupil: be that as it may, the eminence
of thy virtue compels my devotion for thee. Let alone the fact
that thou art a child or a woman, thou art nevertheless adorable
to the worlds: for, it is virtue—amongst those that are virtuous—
that has a claim for respect, and not mere sex or age. 11
Kausalyā—Oh, I am bursting with my agonies! Faints.
Janaka—Alas! What is this?
Arundhatī—What else can it be, my Royal sage?
That King [Daśaratha]—that bliss—those dear children—those
[old] days—all this has flashed upon her memory at the sight of
thee, her friend. And so, in her present dreadful plight, don't
you see that this thy dear friend has really fainted? For, the
hearts of matrons are tender like a flower. 12
Janaka—Alas, alas! I have proved altogether too cruel here, in that I see
with rather unkindly eyes her whom I have met after such a long time,
this dear wife of my dear friend [Daśaratha].
A worthy connexion was he, a friend after my heart, my very
heart in fact; he was an embodiment of joy to me, he was the
¹ Said in bitter irony.