वासवदत्ता (महाकवि सुबन्धु - श्लेष-प्रधान शास्त्रीय गद्यकाव्य सान्वय सटीक)

128 VĀSAVADATTĀ
by the circling mountain of the plantain-trees on its bank ¹ ; with
the young śaivāla on the sand banks in its waters ² trampled by
pairs of mermen alarmed by the terrible swaying, produced by
wave and wind, of palmyra-palms, marsh date-palms, and taliera-
palms ³ ; with letters on its banks scrawled by the edges of
whelks ⁴ that were distressed because their mouths were torn by
tips of coral prongs ; with its waters crowded by flocks of birds of
Garuḍa's race ; seeming to have the completion of its slow churn-
ing still unfinished because of its eddying whirlpools ; epileptic,
as it were, because of its foam ⁵ ; [269] filled with the goodly
delights of drink, one might fancy, because of the perfume of the
medlars on its banks ⁶ ; angry,⁷ so to say, because of its roarings ;
appearing to be distressed because of its sighings ⁸ ; seamed with
frowns, it might be thought, because of its waves ; resembling an
elephant corral because of Rāma's bridge ; the birthplace of
<salt> as the womb of Kumbhīnasī was the birthplace of <Lavaṇa> ;
<lavish in its duties toward the wide-spread ⁹ rivers that were its
spouses> as grammar has <abundant comprehensive feminines, i
and u declensions, and gerunds> ¹⁰ ; showing a great <bed> as the
retinue of a king shows great <ministers> ; with <hisses> emitted by
many <serpents> that had come to its <waters> as an elephant's
place of bondage has <trumpetings> emitted by many <elephants>
that have come to the <tying-place> ; [270] adorned with
<ambhojacāmaras and fish> as the series of Viśvāmitra's sons was
¹ Tel. ed., ‘impenetrable because of the thickets of cardamoms, carambolas, cloves,
and citrons swaying in the circuit of the plantain forest’ ; similarly the Srirangam text.
² Tel. ed. omits ‘in its waters’ ; Srirangam text, ‘low-lying, small śaivāla.’
³ Tel. ed., ‘mermen moving in the forest of taliera-palms, terrible, very tremulous,
and howling with wave and wind’ ; similarly the Srirangam text.
⁴ Tel. ed., ‘by the noisy, sharp tips of the whelks’ ; Srirangam text, ‘tips of the
. sharp nails of the whelks.’
⁵ Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, ‘the masses of its white foam.’
⁶ Tel. ed., ‘possessed of the perfume of drink, one might fancy, because of the
perfume of its cardamoms’ ; Srirangam text, ‘because of the perfume of the medlars on
its shore.’
⁷ Tel. ed., ‘noisy.’
⁸ Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, ‘exhalations of its serpents.’
⁹ Tel. ed. and Srirangam text omit ‘wide-spread’ and ‘comprehensive.’
¹⁰ See Pāṇini, 1. 4. 3 ; 3. 1. 95.