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

56 VĀSAVADATTĀ
swallowed up, and which they vomited, as it were,¹ under the
guise of lampblack, and were exhausted by having stretched
their necks a hundred times as if to see the tremulous delights
of amorous union,² [47] and had been witnesses of manifold ways
of wanton sport,³ seeming to protect the darkness ⁴ lurking
beneath them as if it were a refugee ; when they had become
<dull> because their «oil» had been consumed as knaves ⁵
become <slack> because their «affections» have been consumed ;
when they had reached the end of their <wicks> as the exceed-
ingly aged reach the end of their <lives> ; when they had only
their <bowls> left as noble lords reduced in their estate have
only their <bodies> left ; [48] when they were <put in the middle of the house> as demons <wander abroad at the end and middle of night> ; when they had <moths> flying about them as the <sun>
descends on the summit of the western mount ; when the gifts of
flowers in the boudoirs, that had been noisy with the humming ⁶
of swarms of bees delighting ⁷ in the abundance of unceasing
drops ⁸ of honey had withered ; [49] when the downy Nepal
jasmines had fallen from the tresses ; when fair women seemed
to be pouring forth teardrops for grief at separation from their
lovers ⁹ and, with bud-like feet ¹⁰ tinkling with anklets, delayed,
as it were, the departure of their best beloved ; when the mist of
perspiration ¹¹ had been dried by the wind of the wings of a swarm
of bees enamoured of the perfume of the wreaths of half-opened
Malabar jasmine ¹² in thick tresses dishevelled by weariness of
¹ Tel. ed. and Srirangam text omit 'as it were.'
² Tel. ed., 'the quivering of amorous women.'
³ Tel. ed., 'varied love-joys with delights manifold'; Srirangam text, 'wanton
sport with perturbations manifold.'
⁴ Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, 'mass of darkness.'
⁵ Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, 'the voices of knaves.'
⁶ Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, 'sound of the humming.'
⁷ Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, 'stupefied with the intoxication of tasting.'
⁸ Tel. ed., 'drops fallen unceasingly'; Srirangam text, 'drops falling unceasingly.'
⁹ Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, 'best beloved.'
¹⁰ Tel. ed. and Srirangam text add 'when they (the fair women) shone with bud-like
feet.'
¹¹ Tel. ed., 'particles of the mist of perspiration'; Srirangam text, 'particles of
perspiration.'
¹² Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, 'mādhavī.'