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

A SANSKRIT ROMANCE 109
[216] Then¹ he, whose power was that of Śiva’s joy, saw the
mansion of Vāsavadattā surrounded ² by an encircling wall;
with its cloud-touching crest built in a quarter of the capital;
white with stucco ; with bits of gold,³ pearls, emeralds, and rubies
inserted one after the other like a host of deities staying to see
Vāsavadattā ⁴; [217] adorned with banners that seemed to mock
the beauty of the ocean ⁵ of the sky as if with clusters of the
flowers of the cloud-tree disporting in the wind ; adorned with
very numerous ⁶ streams flowing through courts with slabs of
golden stone, (these streams) bearing the savour of water per-
fumed with ⁷ camphor, saffron, cardamom, and cloves, and with
palace doves sleeping ⁸ comfortably perched on slabs of crystal
from shores unknown ⁹; [218] with waters full of the blossoms of
the trees near the crumbling banks ¹⁰; with seats ¹¹ bedewed by
masses of spray moving at the striking of ¹² the firm buttocks of
wanton ¹³ damsels incessantly plunging and emerging; with flamin-
goes whose noise would imply that they had settled near the
sand bank formed by the stream of camphor ¹⁴; [219] revealing
the Brahminy ducks' sudden dread of darkness because of the
groves of expanded blue lotuses ¹⁴ ; <containing goodly waters> as
young women <have goodly breasts>; bathing the <lips of the
¹ Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, ‘then, having entered.’ Cartellieri, ‘Subandhu and
Bāṇa’ in WZKM. I. 132, compares with this Candrāpīḍa’s first meeting with Kādambarī
(Kādambarī, pp. 182 sqq., Bombay ed., 1890 (tr. Ridding, pp. 143 sqq., London, 1896)).
² Tel. ed. omits down to ‘adorned with banners.’
³ Srirangam text, ‘seeming to have gold.’
⁴ Tel. ed., ‘the mansion of Vāsavadattā.’
⁵ Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, ‘city.’
⁶ Tel. ed. omits ‘very numerous’; Srirangam text, ‘numerous.’
⁷ Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, ‘bearing the perfume of.’
⁸ Tel. ed., ‘white doves of the palace born and sleeping’; Srirangam text, ‘curious
white doves of the palace sleeping.’
⁹ Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, ‘slabs of crystal near the banks.’
¹⁰ Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, ‘trees on the crumbling banks.’
¹¹ Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, ‘seats on the banks.’
¹² Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, ‘upheaved by striking against.’
¹³ Tel. ed. and Srirangam text omit ‘wanton.’
¹⁴ Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, ‘that they had perched on the sand bank of the stream
of camphor.’
¹⁵ Tel. ed., ‘revealing the terror of ducks and cakravākas at the darkness because of
the expanded blue lotuses.’

110 VĀSAVADATTĀ
pitchers in water> as the battle arts ¹ of Sugrīva bathed <Kum-
bhakarṇa in blood>; <sprinkled with dust from the feet of fair women> as the shores of the sea are <variegated with the colours of beautiful trees>; [220] <causing contempt for canals> as the dis-
position of new monarchs ² <causes dishonour to the honourable> ³;
adorned with palaces that seemed to bear aloft, under the guise
of the strings of pearls placed on their pinnacles, a host of stars
come in curiosity ⁴ to behold the damsels of the city; [221] made
brilliant with flocks of peacocks lurking in the vicinity; present-
ing the semblance of crystal pitchers; on one side ⁵ showing the
rising ⁶ of untimely clouds by masses of the smoke of aloes burn-
ing constantly; on the other side having peacocks dancing joy-
ously,⁷ called by the exceeding ⁸ deep roll of drums; with the
<descent of the eyes of the world> ⁹ as the even-tide has the <set- ting sun>; with <charming women, filled with love-longing>, as
Janaka's place of sacrifice ¹⁰ had <Rāma longing for his wife>;
[222] <delighting in love's union> as multitudes of mankind ¹¹
<honour divinity> ¹²; the repository, as it were, of delightsomeness;
the home, so to say, of love; the palace, it might be termed, of
wanton sport ¹³; [223] the place of assembly, it would seem, of
loveliness.
Kandarpakētu, as well as Makaranda, was astonished at
hearing ¹⁴ the chatter of the maidens, tender in their affection
¹ Tel. ed., 'battle deeds'; Srirangam text, 'tendency toward battle'; cf. Rāmāyaṇa,
6. 67.
² Is there here a possible covert allusion to the recent accession of a new king inferior
to his predecessor (cf. p. 9 above)?
³ Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, '<with elephants going to the canals> as the rule of
monarchs has <honourable men, income, respect, and taxes>.'
⁴ Tel. ed. and Srirangam text omit 'in curiosity.'
⁵ Tel. ed. omits 'on one side.'
⁶ Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, 'warlike preparation.'
⁷ Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, 'having intoxicated peacocks.'
⁸ Tel. ed. and Srirangam text omit 'exceeding.' ⁹ Namely, to see its beauty.
¹⁰ The Daṇḍaka forest, where Sītā was carried off from Rāma.
¹¹ Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, 'humanity.'
¹² Tel. ed. and Srirangam text add 'adorned with many <walls> as a forest is adorned
with many <sal-trees>.'
¹³ Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, 'of all wanton sports.'
¹⁴ Tel. ed., 'Kandarpakētu, entering that palace with Makaranda, hearing ..., saw

A SANSKRIT ROMANCE 111
one for the other¹: 'Thou runnest successfully in thy running,
Nigalitā²! Capalā standeth unsteadily! What of her? [224]
Here is the cluster of flowers fallen from thine own ear'!
'Surēkhā, thou, whose beauty is entreated by the gods, art
filled with wine (and) drunken'! 'Kalahā,³ thou dost wellnigh
summon love by the soft tinklings of the bond of thy golden
girdle'! 'Malayā, by thy very glance thou hast learned the
will of Him who overcame Śiva'⁴! [225] 'Kalikā, loosen that
noisy girdle, the banner of strife; we hear the faint, sweet sound
of the lute'⁵! 'My girdle is not the nuisance; it is thou, with
thy irrumation⁶ and noisiness'⁷! 'This silly Avantīsēnā is
afraid lest she fall there in offering flowers'⁸! 'Enough of thy
tricks, Lavaṅgikā! Thy tremor⁹ betrayeth thy state of mind.'
[226] 'Thy languid form seemeth to bear the wounds of Love's
arrows, Anaṅgalēkhā! The mighty wave of anxiety is indeed
concealed to thy advantage! Speak, doth the moon itself reach
comparison in thy face, whose loveliness should be drunk in by
the eyes'¹⁰? [227] 'Somebody apparently dwelleth in thy
heart, Satīvratā! Thy words are felt in a hundred ways as
Vāsavadattā,' omitting 'was astonished'; Srirangam text, 'Kandarpakētu, hearing ...,
entered that palace with Makaranda.'
¹ For similar series of exclamations, see Kādambarī, pp. 173–174, 357, Bombay ed.,
1890 (tr. Ridding, pp. 68–69, 144–145, London, 1896); Harṣacarita, pp. 177–178,
277–278, Bombay ed., 1892 (tr. Cowell and Thomas, pp. 144–145, 247–248, London,
1897).
² Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, '(though) not addressed,' the Srirangam text adding
'fair maid'!
³ Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, 'Surēkhā, with fair streak of wine on thy cheek, thou
art a Lakṣmī wooed by the gods! Drunken Kalahā.'
⁴ Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, 'perform the will of Him (Kāma) who overcame Śiva;
thou hast learned it just with a glance.'
⁵ Tel. ed., 'we hear this faint, sweet sound of the lute, the banner of strife,'
omitting 'loosen this noisy girdle.'
⁶ See Schmidt, Beiträge zur indischen Erotik, pp. 546–550, 593, Leipzig, 1902.
⁷ Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, 'with thy noisiness and roughness.'
⁸ Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, 'there, in offering nāga-flowers, this trembling maid
feareth that "I may fall."'
⁹ Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, 'tremor filled with sighs.'
¹⁰ Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, 'thy form seemeth to bear the wounds of love's arrows,
Anaṅgalēkhā, and thy pearl necklace is arranged at thy behest! Speak, Utkalikā,
doth the moon reach comparison in thy face, filled with anxiety, (despite) the beauty of
the lotuses in thine eyes'?

112 VĀSAVADATTĀ
having the hardness of the hundred edges (of Indra's thunder-
bolt)'! 'This braid of hair of thine, Kuntalikā,¹ is like a bit of
black cloud with a mass of hail with its garland ² of lovely
expanded Arabian jasmines'! 'Near the city gate, Kēralikā,
the sounds of song are heard! What, pray, dost thou purpose'?
[228] 'Instantaneously, even in the twinkling of an eye, Muralikā,
thou dost distress thy host of girl friends, trembling and anxious
for a kind word! Because of thy lover thou art abandoned by
thy husband, who remembereth the bliss, driving away love's
fever, that was gained by him, raging aloud as he thudded thy
breast! Why art thou distracted? Thy lover longeth for
a greater thing than a feast; (and) thy husband [229] hath
remembered thy favour, with its delightsomeness of passion'!
'Doth not the wound of nails, sharp from fresh paring, cause
pain by night in an amorous woman, Kurutā'? 'Why is not
he moon, the place for the eyes of all happy people to gaze on,
drunk in by thy shining eyes? [230] Dear friend Madanamālinī,
with thy caprices of union and abandonment cause thou distrac-
tion by contact with thy ruddy lip! Shining with his rosy crest,
he (the moon) is like the cheek of a Mālava maid flushed with
intoxication; what is the difference between thee and a creeping
plant'³? [231] 'Kuraṅgikā, prepare a blade of young grass for
the antelope fauns'! 'Kiśōrikā, have the young colts looked
after'! 'Taralikā, put in motion the mass of smoke from the
¹ Tel. ed., 'beautiful Kēralikā'; Srirangam text, 'Kēralikā.'
² Tel. ed., 'delightful with its garland.'
³ Tel. ed., '"Kuntalikā, (thou art) adorned with thy tresses, and no sounds of song
are heard near the city gate! What dost thou purpose? Instantaneously, even in the
twinkling of an eye, thou hast thy host of girl friends trembling and anxious for a kind
word"! "Suratā, by whom art thou now deserted that raged aloud in amorous sport,
remembering the bliss, driving away love's fever, that he won in thudding thy breast?
What is said? Thy lover hath been mindful of a greater thing than a feast, (even) thy
favour, with its delightsomeness of passion? In the night, with unseemly noise, he
hath inflicted on an amorous woman the pain of his nails, sharp from fresh paring.
Why is not the moon, the place for the eyes of all successful people to gaze on, drunk
in by thy shining eyes?" "Dear friend Madanamālinī, cause not discontent in the bee,
with his desire to approach and leave thy ruddy lip! What is the difference between
thee and a creeping plant with its abundance of quivering petals, soft as the cheek of
a Mālava maid flushed with intoxication"?'; similarly the Srirangam text.

A SANSKRIT ROMANCE 113
aloes'! 'Karpūrikā, whiten¹ the burden of thy breasts with
camphor-dust'! 'Mātaṅgikā, have the begging² of the young
elephants borne in mind'! 'Śaśilēkhā, draw a digit of the moon³
on thy broad forehead'! 'Kētakikā, note the longing of the
bower of screw-pine'! [232] 'Śakunikā, give food to the pet
birds'! 'Madanamañjarī, festoon the plantain house as a bower
for meeting'⁴! 'Śṛṅgāramañjarī, prepare the arrangements⁵
of love'! 'Sañjīvikā,⁶ give a sprig of pepper to the pair of
chickores'! 'Pallavikā, make the artificial grove of screw-pine
blossom with camphor-powder'! 'Sahakāramañjarī, produce
the perfume of the mango by the breeze of thy fan'⁷! 'Mada-
nalēkhā, write a love-line of the wind of Malaya'! [233]
'Mṛṇālikā,⁸ give a blade of lotus-fibre to the young flamingoes'!
'Vilāsavatī, make the young peacock sport'! 'Tamālikā, per-
fume the palace court⁹ with sandal water'! 'Kāñcanikā, scatter
liquid musk in the gold pavilion'! 'Pravālikā, sprinkle the
grove of young¹⁰ shoots with saffron'!
Entering¹¹ with these thoughts among others: 'Oh, the exceed-
ing beauty of the mansions! Oh, the wanton blissfulness of love!
This pavilion, for instance, made of elephants' tusks, whose beauty
is the beauty of the spotless teeth of Mālava's daughters, with
wide interstices for the (amorous) sport of their (proper) seasons¹²!
[234] This pet parrot confined in a cage of bars made of golden
rods'!, he (Kandarpakētu) saw Vāsavadattā brilliant with a pair
¹ Tel. ed., 'dust.' ² Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, 'washing.'
³ A digit of the moon is ⅟₁₆ part of it. The purpose of drawing this emblem,
according to the Sanskrit commentator Śivarāma, was to frighten Love away, the
moon being described by Subandhu himself (see above, p. 103) as the pyre of Kāma.
⁴ Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, 'Madanamañjarī, anklet it to the arbour of creepers!
Kadalikā, open the plantain house'!
⁵ Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, 'arrangement.'
⁶ Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, 'Sañjīvanikā.'
⁷ Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, 'efface the drops of sweat by the wind of thy fan with
its mango perfume'!
⁸ Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, 'Makarikā, adorned by Kāma.'
⁹ Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, 'have the court of the palace covered.'
¹⁰ Tel. ed. and Srirangam text omit 'young.'
¹¹ Tel. ed. omits these meditations of Kandarpakētu; Srirangam text omits the
exclamation concerning the pavilion, prefacing the whole with 'and he thought.'
¹² See Schmidt, Beiträge zur indischen Erotik, pp. 403–429, Leipzig, 1902.
I

114 VĀSAVADATTĀ
of legs with ⟨reddened feet⟩ as grammar¹ has ⟨rubricated pādas⟩;
with ⟨goodly joints⟩ as the Bhārata ² has ⟨a hundred books⟩;
charming with ⟨beautiful ankles⟩ as the Rāmāyaṇa is charming
with its ⟨Sundarakāṇḍa⟩; [235] with a glorious ⟨slender waist⟩
as the Chandōviciti has the glorious ⟨tanumadhyā metre⟩ ³; with
⟨hands and ears that must be reckoned with⟩ as astronomy has
the ⟨hasta and śravaṇa ⁴ that may be counted⟩; ⟨revealing her
beauty⟩ as the permanence of the Nyāya system ⁵ has its ⟨form
from Uddyōtakara⟩; decked with ⟨ornaments⟩ as an assembly of
Buddhists ⁶ is decked with the ⟨Alaṁkāra⟩; [236] showing the
⟨essence of delight⟩ as an Upaniṣad shows him whose ⟨being is
bliss⟩ ⁷; with beautiful ⟨feet⟩ as an abode with a family of Brāh-
mans has beautiful ⟨conduct⟩; with lovely ⟨buttocks⟩ as the
beauty of the Vindhya Mountains has lovely ⟨slopes⟩; beautified
with ⟨massy hips⟩ as Tārā ⁸ was beautified in being the ⟨wife of
the Teacher⟩; with a slender ⁹ ⟨waist⟩ that might be grasped by
the hand as (Indra's) bolt ¹⁰ of a hundred points has a slender ⁹
⟨middle⟩ that might be grasped by the hand; with a ⟨lovely face⟩
as the friend of Priyaṅguśyāmā was ⟨Priyadarśanā⟩ ¹¹; ⟨glorious as
the moon⟩ as Brahmadatta's queen was ⟨Sōmaprabhā⟩ ¹²; [237]
⟨incomparable⟩ as the female elephant of the (southwest) quarter
was ⟨Anupamā⟩; adorned with a ⟨sectarial mark⟩ as the seashore

¹ Alluding to the red colophons of the pādas, or quarter-divisions, of each book of
Pāṇini's grammar.
² Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, 'Mahābhārata.' On the reference see Cartellieri,
'Das Mahābhārata bei Subandhu und Bāṇa,' in WZKM. 13. 71.
³ See Weber, Ueber die Metrik der Inder, pp. 365-366, Berlin, 1863, the scheme
being ――∪ | ∪――.
⁴ Two nakṣatras, or lunar mansions, corresponding respectively to δ, γ, ε, α, β
Corvi, and α, β, γ Aquilae.
⁵ Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, 'the science of the Nyāya.' On the importance of this
allusion for dating the Vāsavadattā, see Introduction, p. 8.
⁶ Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, 'the composition of the poetry of excellent poets.'
⁷ Tel. ed., '⟨joyful⟩ as an Upaniṣad has ⟨Brahmā⟩; ⟨adorning humanity⟩ as the
radiance of the sun ⟨lights the world⟩'; similarly the Srirangam text.
⁸ Tel. ed., 'Rōhiṇī.' The 'Teacher' is Bṛhaspati.
⁹ Tel. ed. and Srirangam text omit 'slender.'
¹⁰ Tel. ed., 'the form of the bolt'; Srirangam text, 'the stem of the bolt.'
¹¹ The details of this legend seem to be lost; cf. Lacôte, Essai sur Guṇāḍhya et la
Bṛhatkathā, p. 213, Paris, 1908.
¹² See Kathāsaritsāgara, 17. 114.

A SANSKRIT ROMANCE 115

is adorned with ‹tamāla-leaves›¹; ‹languid with intoxication› as
Aśvatara's daughter was ‹Madālasā›.²
Then sudden ³ faintness seized the consciousness of Kandar-
pakētu as he drank her in with an eye dilated with affection.⁴
Beholding him in her turn, Vāsavadattā fainted.⁵ Then, with
their consciousness restored by the exertions of Makaranda and
the attendant maidens, they ⁶ twain adorned a single settle.
[238] Thereupon a vessel ⁷ of all confidence named Kalāvatī,
dearer than Vāsavadattā's own life (to her), addressed Kandar-
pakētu: 'Scion of noble parentage! This is no occasion for
confidential conversation ⁸; therefore thou art told only the least
part ⁹! The pain that hath been felt by this maiden for thy sake
might be written or told ¹⁰ in some wise or in some way in many
thousands of ages if the sky became paper,¹¹ the sea [239] an
ink-well, the scribe Brahmā, (and) the narrator the Lord of
Serpents.¹² By thee ¹³ a kingdom has been abandoned—what
need of more? Thou thyself art brought into peril! When the
night shall be near to dawn, against her will ¹⁴ this daughter of

¹ Tel. ed., '‹giving joy› and adorned with a «sectarial mark» as the Rēvā is the
‹Narmadā› and is adorned with «tamāla-leaves»'; similarly the Srirangam text.
² This daughter of Aśvatara is probably identical with the one carried off by
Kuvalayāśva (see below, p. 130). The mythology given by Subandhu, however,
seems confused, and may be influenced by paronomasiac requirements. No daughter
of Aśvatara is thus far known to be mentioned elsewhere, and Madālasā is usually
described as the child of the Gandharva Viśvavasu and as abducted by Pātālakētu,
a Dāitya prince, from whom she was rescued by Kuvalayāśva, who made her one of his
wives. She died of grief when she heard that her husband had fallen in battle. See
Mārkaṇḍēyapurāṇa, 21–22.
³ Tel. ed. and Srirangam text omit 'sudden.'
⁴ Tel. ed. and Srirangam text omit 'with affection.'
⁵ Tel. ed., 'Vāsavadattā fainted after him.'
⁶ Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, 'these.' ⁷ Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, 'a friend.'
⁸ Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, 'of confidential conversations.'
⁹ Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, 'only the least part is told.'
¹⁰ Tel. ed., 'might be written or not.'
¹¹ See Köhler, 'Und wenn der Himmel wär Papier,' in his Kleinere Schriften, 3. 293–
318, Berlin, 1900; Zachariae, 'Und wenn der Himmel wär Papier,' in Zeitschrift des
Vereins für Volkskunde, 11. 331.
¹² The cosmic serpent Śēṣa.
¹³ Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, 'and by thee.'
¹⁴ Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, 'into the peril of her, who has learned that "when
the night shall dawn, against her will,"' etc.
I 2

116 VĀSAVADATTĀ
our monarch is to be given in marriage by her father, [240] filled
with alarm at the sin¹ of her passing youth, to Puṣpakētu, son
of Vijayakētu, the supreme lord of the Vidyādharas. Thus she
has reflected²: "If to-day Tamālikā comes not with that
person,³ then inevitably must I lay me in the fire!⁴" Therefore,
most fortunate prince, through the power of her good deeds
thou art come to this land.⁵ Thy highness is criterion, now, of
what is fitting here.' With these words she was silent.
Then, as if terribly terrified, as if bathed in the billows of the
ocean of the bliss of love,⁶ as if anointed to the sovereignty of
the threefold world,⁷ Kandarpakētu, [241] taking counsel with
Vāsavadattā (and) leaving Makaranda there in the city to search
for tidings, set forth from the city with her⁸ by means of a horse
named Manōjava,⁹ who <ever faced his course> as a serpent <faces the wind>.¹⁰
And¹¹ by degrees—having gone, even in the twinkling of an

¹ Tel. ed. omits 'the sin of.' On the seriousness, and even sinfulness, of permitting
a daughter to reach the age of puberty without being married, cf. Jolly, Recht und
Sitte, pp. 54-58, Strassburg, 1896; Schmidt, Beiträge zur indischen Erotik, pp. 645-
649, Leipzig, 1902.
² Tel. ed. adds 'having taken counsel with us'; similarly the Srirangam text.
³ Kandarpakētu, whom modesty forbade her to mention by name.
⁴ Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, 'the fire must be my refuge.'
⁵ Tel. ed. omits this sentence; Srirangam text, 'and from the power of good deeds
the full fortunate (pair) are met.'
⁶ Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, 'bathed in the billows of the ocean of the ambrosia
of the bliss of love.'
⁷ Tel. ed. and Srirangam text omit 'as if anointed to the sovereignty of the three-
fold world.'
⁸ Tel. ed., 'with this Vāsavadattā.'
⁹ It is, perhaps, worth noting that manōjava occurs as an epithet of horses in Rig-
Veda, 6. 62. 3, as well as in later literature (Böhtlingk and Roth, Sanskrit-Wörterbuch,
5. 531, St. Petersburg, 1868).
¹⁰ Tel. ed. and Srirangam text add 'who was adorned by <whorls on his neck> as
a river-bank [Srirangam text, 'the ocean'] is adorned with <pearl oysters>; who was
characterised by <curls on his breast> as the forests of Vindhya are characterised by
<pipul-trees>; who went like <the mind> as a goose goes in <Mānasa> [Srirangam text
adds 'who was adorned with <studs> as a forest is adorned with <rhinoceroses>'];
who was decked with <shoulders> as a tree is decked with a <branch>; who had <black about his eyes> as the thunderbolt is the <weapon of Indra>.'
¹¹ Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, 'then by degrees, going a journey of a gavyūti [about
four miles], departing through the enclosure of a cemetery, . . . going a journey of
many hundred leagues even in the space of the twinkling of an eye, he again entered.'

A SANSKRIT ROMANCE 117
eye, many hundred leagues ¹ through the enclosure of a cemetery
thronged with flocks of fearless herons assembled in desire of
a mouthful of flesh ²; [242] horrible with the howls of awful
goblins that had kaṭapūtanas ³ quivering with eagerness for the
hideous corpses chilling ⁴ in the circle of half-burned funeral
pyres; repulsive with patches of ground full of swarms of
buzzing flies sprinkled with quantities of blood from the am-
putation of ears and noses of thieves placed on the top of
stakes ⁵; with the horrible sound of the bursting of human skulls
slowly crackling as they were burned by fires of straw ⁶; [243]
with its contour concealed by rows of skulls, ashes, ‹jackals, fires,
goblins›, and serpents as He who holds the trident in his hand ⁷
has his contour concealed by rows of skulls, ashes, ‹Śivā, the
element of fire›, and serpents ⁸; frequented by many ‹dogs› as
¹ For instances of the magic horse in modern Indian folk-tales, cf. Steel and Temple,
Wide-Awake Stories, pp. 425-426, Bombay, 1884; Day, Folk-Tales of Bengal, pp. 73,
80, 214-219, 249, London, 1883; Thornhill, Indian Fairy Tales, pp. 108–145,
London, n.d.; Dracott, Simla Village Tales, p. 102, London, 1906; Campbell, Santal
Folk Tales, p. 86, Pokhuria, 1891; Leitner, ‘Historical Legend of the Origin of
Ghilgit’ (a Dard legend), in IA. I. 88.
² Tel. ed., ‘for the purpose of a mouthful of human flesh’; similarly the Srirangam
text.
³ Tel. ed., ‘horrible with howls from the awful throats of kaṭapūtanas.’ The
kaṭapūtana is the ghost of a renegade Kṣatriya (Manu, 12. 71).
⁴ Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, ‘hideous corpses with the raw odour of their fat
chilling.’
⁵ See Jolly, Recht und Sitte, pp. 126–127, 130, Strassburg, 1896. Impalement was
accomplished by ‘a stout iron rod with a thin point at the top. The condemned person
was made to sit on the top which penetrated into his body slowly and went out by the
head’ (Ram Satya Mukharji, Indian Folklore, p. 129, note, Calcutta, 1904).
⁶ Tel. ed., ‘noisy with the dancing of horrible demons at the ends of whose hands were
skulls resounding with the drip, drip of the fall of quantities of blood fallen from the
amputation of noses of thieves placed on the tops of stakes; repulsive with patches of
ground filled with the abundant sport of swarms of bees; awful with the bursting of
sharply crackling human skulls, burning in fires of straw; filled with fiery fire fired from
goblins’ open mouths; with the noise of the division of corpses made by hosts of
monstrous female fiends with pendants of skulls that had entrails for threads; with
funeral fires circumambulated to the right by pairs of demons with auspicious marriage
cords formed of wet sinews’; similarly the Srirangam text.
⁷ Śiva.
⁸ Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, ‘with its contour concealed by rows of skulls, ‹jackals›,
many fires, ‹serpents, and the moon› as He who holds the trident in his hand has his
contour concealed by rows of skulls, ‹Śivā›, many fires, and ‹lordly serpents›.’

118 VĀSAVADATTĀ

the leadership of men is courted by many ⟨kingdoms⟩¹—he
entered the Vindhya forest,² which had a multitude of ⟨bow-
string-hemp plants⟩ arising as the Last Day has a multitude of
⟨suns⟩ arising; [244] with ⟨infinite roots⟩ as the existence of the
Serpent King ³ is ⟨rooted in Ananta⟩; with ⟨owls⟩ dwelling at
will as the assembly of the gods has ⟨Indra⟩ standing at will ;
rich in many ⁴ ⟨Bengal quince-trees⟩ as honour to the noble is
rich in ⟨fruit of many ⁴ blessings⟩ ; with ⟨deep-rooted arjuna-
trees⟩ as the battlefield of the Bhāratas had ⟨Arjuna loftily
grown⟩ ; with ⟨racemose asparagus plants ever with a thousand
roots⟩ as the status of Pulōman’s family had ⟨Indrāṇī fit for Him
who hath a thousand eyes⟩⁵ ; with fruitful ⁶ ⟨gaṇikārikās⟩ as the
bent of mind ⁷ of a keeper of courtesans ⁸ has a fruitful ⁶ ⟨recourse
to harlots⟩ ; [245] with expanded ⟨ushokas, chir-pines, and
kamala-trees⟩ as the success of the righteous has ⟨noble men
joyous, free from sorrow, and upright⟩ ; containing ⟨emblic myro-
balan⟩ as the play of children has ⟨pleasure for their nurses⟩ ;
composed in some places of ⟨pepper-trees⟩ as the bent of mind
of the hero of Raghu’s line ⁹ was toward the ⟨princess of Vidēha⟩ ;
[246] with ⟨amṛta-plants⟩ appearing in other places as the time
of the churning of the ocean of milk had ⟨nectar⟩ appearing ;
with ⟨aparājitā-plants⟩ at will as the might ¹⁰ of Nārāyaṇa was
⟨invincible⟩ at will ; revealing ⟨stalks of bitter-apples⟩ in yet

¹ Tel. ed. adds ‘dominated by ⟨headless corpses⟩ as the Daṇḍaka forest was dominated
by ⟨Kabandha⟩; surrounded by many ⟨conjurers⟩ as a universal monarch is surrounded
by many ⟨kings⟩; with ⟨crows⟩ moving about as heaven has ⟨Bala’s foe [Indra]⟩ moving
about’ ; so also the Srirangam text, except for the omission of the last simile. For
the allusion to Kabandha, cf. Mahābhārata, 3. 279.
² With this description Cartellieri (‘Subandhu and Bāṇa,’ in WZKM. 1. 132) com-
pares that given by the Kādambarī (pp. 38–43, Bombay ed., 1890 (tr. Ridding,
pp. 16–18, London, 1896)).
³ The cosmic serpent Śēṣa. Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, ‘kingdom.’
⁴ Tel. ed. and Srirangam text omit ‘many.’
⁵ Indra. ⁶ Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, ‘revealing.’
⁷ Tel. ed. and Srirangam text omit ‘of mind.’
⁸ Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, ‘Śūrapāla.’ The basis of the legend connected with
him seems to be thus far unknown.
⁹ Rāma.
¹⁰ Tel. ed., ‘form’ ; Srirangam text, ‘⟨shining with pellucid water⟩ as the might of
Nārāyaṇa was ⟨bright and invincible⟩.’

A SANSKRIT ROMANCE 119

other places as the eloquence of Vālmīki revealed the ‹lineage of
Ikṣvāku›; filled¹ with many ‹dhak-trees› as Laṅkā was frequented
by many ‹demons›; encompassed¹ with clumps of ‹arjuna-trees
and pen-reed grass› as the army of the Kurus² was encompassed
with quantities of ‹Arjuna’s arrows›; with ‹many beasts›¹ as the
form of Nārāyaṇa is ‹manifold›; [247] filled¹ with ‹jack-trees,
sandal-trees,³ white lotuses, and reeds› as Sugrīva’s army was
attended by ‹Panasa, Candana,³ Kumuda, and Nala›; adorned¹
with ‹sindūras and glory-trees›, and decked with ‹fresh buds› as
an unwidowed woman is adorned with a ‹sectarial mark of
minium› and is decked with ‹long hair›; [248] occupied¹ by
‹owls, crows, and birds, and filled with dhārtarāṣṭra geese› as
the army of the Kurus was officered by ‹Ulūka, Droṇa, and
Śakuni, and joined⁴ by the sons of Dhṛtarāṣṭra›; though adorned
with ‹unfaded caste›, it had a «lineage of no family»,⁵ for it was
adorned with ‹globe-amaranth and Malabar jasmine› and had
«no bamboos clinging to the earth»⁵; though revealing ‹no
terror›, it was «full of terror», for it revealed ‹hara-nut trees› and
was «full of reeds»; though ‹always in perfect health›, it had
a «great abdominal tumour»,⁶ for it ‹ever contained negroes’
olive-wood trees› and had «high-grown thickets»; [249] though
filled with ‹lice›, it was «unmolested by men», for it was filled
with ‹bees› and was «rich in elephants’ ichor»; though adorned
with families of ‹Brāhmans›, it had a «lineage of no honourable
family», for it was adorned with families of ‹birds› and had «no
bamboos clinging to the earth».
Immediately⁷ the night passed with slumber of them twain.
And by degrees,⁸ when, like a mass of live carp, the host of stars

¹ Tel. ed. and Srirangam text add ‘in places.’
² Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, ‘the army of Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s sons.’
³ Tel. ed. and Srirangam text omit ‘sandal-trees’ and ‘Candana.’
⁴ Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, ‘adorned.’
⁵ Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, ‘it had a ‹hateful lineage›, . . . for it had ‹bamboos laden with birds›.’
⁶ See Jolly, Medicin, pp. 79–80, Strassburg, 1901.
⁷ Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, ‘meanwhile.’
⁸ Tel. ed., ‘and then by degrees’; Srirangam text, ‘then by degrees.’

120 VĀSAVADATTĀ
had been removed by the black fisherman casting his net ¹ of
darkness in the great ocean of the sky; [250] when the mendicant
expanded lotus grove, wearing vestments of red robes ² (and)
bearing a book of a hundred leaves with reed threads of unevenly
growing delicate lotus-fibres, seemed to pronounce his laws by
the soft and very deep sounds of the bees,³ intoxicated by their
heavy draughts in milking the drops of honey; when, like seeds
of blackness, the bees were sown by the darkness, as by a hus-
bandman, in the white lotuses with their fields of flowers, with
their masses of pollen made mud by the juice of their honey,
with their petals touched by the clouds under the guise of bees ⁴;
[251] when the lotus ⁵ offered to the Lord whose garland is of
rays ⁶ a mass of ⁷ incense, as it were, in the semblance of high-
stalked white lotuses thronged with swarms ⁸ of bees with their
pollen fire; when the moon ⁹ resembled a mortar whose interior
had been destroyed by blows of the pestle of rising dawn, shaken
by the two palms of his consort Night; when the hosts of stars
had vanished like grain scattered in the threshing mortar; when
the hosts of stars seemed to have flowers ¹⁰ expanded for the
quarters of heaven that were bent like branches, and when
the disc of the moon had fallen like fruit because of the monkey
of day that, like the ruddy face ¹¹ of dawn, had climbed the tree
of heaven; [252] when the cock of day, with the lovely appear-
ance of the new crest ¹² of the glittering Aruṇa, had begun to
traverse the court of heaven, variegated with the threshed grain
¹ Tel. ed., ‘launching his boat.’
² Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, ‘red robes of twilight.’
³ Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, ‘by the delightful sounds of the bees.’
⁴ Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, ‘when, like masses of the seeds of blackness, the bees
were sown in the fields of flowers, whose masses of pollen were made mud by the juice
of their honey, the folds of whose petals were touched by the clouds.’
⁵ Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, ‘lotus hermitess.’
⁶ The sun.
⁷ Tel. ed. and Srirangam text omit ‘a mass of.’
⁸ Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, ‘filled with smoke of swarms.’
⁹ Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, ‘disc of the moon.’
¹⁰ Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, ‘an abundance of flowers.’
¹¹ Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, ‘that, having the ruddy face.’
¹² Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, ‘appearance of the crest of rays.’

of the host ¹ of stars ; when the district of Indra ² seemed to say
with a laugh: ‘This Lord of the Twice-Born,³ increased by
concourse with me, will fall ⁴ through union with the district of
Varuṇa’⁵; when to his rising had climbed the sun,⁶ with his disc
red, as it were, with streams of blood from the lordly elephant of
darkness slain by the stroke of the paw ⁷ of a ruddy lion ; as if
with streams of ruddle laved by the cataracts on the summit ⁸ of
the mountain of the dawn ; with the lustre,⁹ so to say, of rubies
cloven by the hard hoofs of lofty steeds ¹⁰ ; [253] flowing with
blood, one might imagine, dripping from the heads of must
elephants slain by the claws of lions ¹¹ ; with the beauty, to all
appearance, of the China rose growing on the summit of the peak
of the hill of dawn ; seemingly with the delightsome flavour of
Him who gives prosperity ¹² to the affairs of the threefold world ;
as if with his hand outstretched to seize the white lotuses ¹³ of the
stars ; tawny with the saffron colour of a wanton beauty of
the east ¹⁴ ; the jewel in the hood of the lordly serpent of the
eastern mount ; the golden ¹⁵ bud in the sapphire-tree of heaven ;
[254] the golden urn in the rampart ¹⁶ of the city of the sky ; like
to a jar of molten iron ; a drop of safflower extract on the fore-
head of the east ¹⁷ ; the single flower of the forest ¹⁸ creeper of

¹ Tel. ed. omits ‘of the host.’ ² The east. ³ The moon.
⁴ Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, ‘is falling.’
⁵ The west, with a punning allusion to Lakṣmī, the wife of Varuṇa.
⁶ Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, ‘the blessed sun.’
⁷ Tel. ed., ‘by the fall of the hard claws.’
⁸ Tel. ed., ‘streams from cataracts of ruddle on the summits.’
⁹ Srirangam text, ‘dust.’ ¹⁰ Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, ‘galloping steeds.’
¹¹ Tel. ed. and Srirangam text transpose this after the following clause and make it
read, ‘flowing with streams of blood, one might imagine, dripping from the heads of
must elephants slain by the claws of lions of the eastern mount.’
¹² Tel. ed., ‘red, as it were, with colour eager to prosper’; similarly the Srirangam
text.
¹³ Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, ‘the forest of the white lotuses.’
¹⁴ Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, ‘with rays tawny as saffron ; the golden mirror, as it
were, of a wanton beauty of the east.’
¹⁵ Tel. ed. omits ‘golden.’
¹⁶ Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, ‘an urn full of gold in the eastern door.’
¹⁷ Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, ‘a drop forming a sectarial mark of saffron set on the
forehead of a damsel of the east.’
¹⁸ Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, ‘young.’

122 VĀSAVADATTĀ
dawn ; like to a thread of cloth, red with Bengal madder, woven
with threads of the colour of the dawn ; seeming to be the disc
of a golden dinar of the east ; the magic globe, so to say, of the
Vidyādhara of day ; even as the foot of a world-elephant, red
with the colour of ruddle ; the thief of the darkness of night¹ ;
when the young dawn was arising ruddy as a bit of fresh² coral ;
like a chowry, dyed with Bengal madder,³ on an elephant of the
quarters ; seeming to emit the blood of the battleground ⁴ of
the Mahābhārata on the plains of Kuru ; [255] anointed, as it
were, with the beauty of the bow of the Lord ⁵ of the Gods among
them that split ⁶ the clouds ; simulating the red cloth in the
huts ⁷ of Buddhist hermitages ; like to the colour of safflower in
the streamers of banners ; the ripening of fruit, so to say, among
the jujubes ; beauteous as a mass ⁸ of the saffron of ⁹ the courtyard
of the mighty palace of the sky ; like the red entrance-curtain of
the actor ¹⁰ Time ; and ¹¹ when the multitude of the rays of him
whose rays are heat had suddenly become hot, as if from taking
the burning grief of the hearts ¹² of the Brahminy ducks that were
tremulous with gentle talk ; from the entrance, so to say, of
majesty commingled with flame ¹³ ; from union, in all seeming,
with the fire which is ¹⁴ the beauteous jewel of the lord of day ;—
¹ Tel. ed., 'like a ball of madder cloth ; the disc of a golden dinar, as it were, in
the girdle of a beauty of the east, fastened with the ruddy threads of twilight ; ‹gathering
the stars together› as Kumāra ‹destroyed Tāraka› ; with beautiful ‹lotuses› as the Lote-
Born God [Viṣṇu] had beautiful ‹Padmā [Lakṣmī]› ; beloved of ‹Chāyā› as a traveller
‹delights in shade› ; being the ‹sun› as Indra is ‹Gōpati› ; even as the foot of a world-
elephant, red with the colour of the ruddle of the eastern mount ; the thief of the
darkness of dawn' ; similarly the Srirangam text.
² Tel. ed. omits 'fresh.'
³ Tel. ed., 'like a mass of Bengal madder.'
⁴ Tel. ed. and Srirangam text omit 'of the battleground.'
⁵ Tel. ed. and Srirangam text omit 'of the Lord.'
⁶ Tel. ed., 'hid.' The reference is, of course, to the victory of Indra over the cloud-
demons.
⁷ Tel. ed., 'branches' ; Srirangam text, 'branches of the trees.'
⁸ Tel. ed. and Srirangam text omit 'mass of.'
⁹ Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, 'in.' ¹⁰ Tel. ed., 'great actor.'
¹¹ Tel. ed. and Srirangam text omit 'and.'
¹² Tel. ed., 'as if from taking the grief from the treasury of the hearts.'
¹³ Tel. ed., 'from the entrance, so to say, of burning splendour.'
¹⁴ Tel. ed. and Srirangam text omit 'the fire which is.'

A SANSKRIT ROMANCE 123
(then,) unconscious because of the condition of his body, which
was empty of food ¹ in consequence of his wakefulness all the
night, wearied by roving over many hundred yōjanas,² [256]
(and) with every sense benumbed, Kandarpakētu, being seized
by slumber which came at that time,³ fell asleep together with
Vāsavadattā, who was in the same condition, in a bower of
creepers which was delightful with the hum of bees flitting about,
infatuated and greedy ⁴ for the perfume of the flowers swayed by
the gentle breeze.
Thereupon, when the sun had climbed to noon,⁵ displaying the
‹sky› as a merchant displays his ‹cloth›; ‹lighting up every
quarter of heaven› as a mighty forest fire ‹kindles all its fuel›,⁶
Kandarpakētu,⁷ perceiving, in some way or other, that the bower
of creepers lacked his beloved, and starting up and [257] gazing
here and there, now on the bushes,⁸ now between the creepers,
now on the tree-tops, now in the hidden wells,⁹ now on the heaps
of dry leaves, now on the sky, now on the quarters of heaven
and ¹⁰ the spaces between them, made lamentation as he wandered
about with his heart ceaselessly burning with the fire of separa-
tion ¹¹: ‘O beloved Vāsavadattā! Let me behold thee! [258]
Hast thou disappeared in jest ¹²? Thou knowest what pains are
suffered by me ¹³ for thy sake! Dear ¹⁴ Makaranda! Behold the ¹⁵
sorry sport of fate with me! What meritorious deed hath not
¹ Tel. ed., ‘which was subject to emptiness of food.’
² Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, ‘a road of many hundred yōjanas.’
³ Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, ‘easy to gain at that time.’
⁴ Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, ‘noisy, infatuated, and greedy.’
⁵ Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, ‘to the middle of the sky.’
⁶ Tel. ed. and Srirangam text add ‘‹purifying every region› as the tree of paradise
‹accomplishes every wish›.’
⁷ Tel. ed. and Srirangam text add ‘awakening.’
⁸ Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, ‘trees.’
⁹ Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, ‘now in the deep wells, now on the tops of the lofty
trees.’
¹⁰ Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, ‘and now.’
¹¹ Tel. ed. omits ‘with the fire of separation.’
¹² Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, ‘enough of jesting! Thou hast disappeared’!
¹³ Tel. ed. and Srirangam text omit ‘by me.’
¹⁴ Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, ‘dear friend.’
¹⁵ Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, ‘this.’

124 VĀSAVADATTĀ
been done by me¹? Alas, my destiny of evil fruitage²! Alas,
the course of Time, hard to overcome! Alas, the planets' most
cruel glance³ askance! Alas, the unjust fruition⁴ of my elders'
blessings! Alas, the result of my evil dreams and ill omens! Is
there no escaping destiny in any way? [259] Have not the
sciences⁵ been sufficiently studied? Have not my teachers been
duly honoured? Have not the (sacred) fires been revered?
Have the gods on earth⁶ been insulted⁷? Have not the kine
been circumambulated? Hath not fearlessness been inspired in
refugees'?
[260] Thus lamenting in ways manifold,⁸ passing forth from
the forest toward the south and going⁹ for a considerable
distance¹⁰ along the great ocean's lagoon with¹¹ its new reeds,
spikenard, lotuses, niculas, tamarisks,¹² rattan-canes, and medlars¹³;
with its borders overgrown with many poonga-oil plants, Bengal
quinces, leaf hermitages, and conessi-bark trees¹⁴; with its fair
Madagascar potato groves eagerly tasted by the great bees;
[261] with swarms of bees clustering on the stems of young
varuṇa-trees which covered over the wide-spreading masses of
rattan creepers¹⁵; with its trees smeared with liquid showers from
¹ Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, 'what unholy deed hath aforetime been done by me'?
² Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, 'alas, the evil fruitage of destiny'!
³ Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, 'fall.' ⁴ Tel. ed., 'discrepancy.'
⁵ Tel. ed., 'hath not science.' ⁶ The Brāhmans.
⁷ Tel. ed. omits this question.
⁸ Tel. ed. and Srirangam text add 'desirous of death.'
⁹ The passage 'going... he (then) saw' is compared with Harṣacarita, pp. 262–
264, Bombay ed., 1892 (tr. Thomas, pp. 233–235, London, 1897), and translated by
Thomas, 'Subandhu and Bāṇa,' in WZKM. 12. 21–27.
¹⁰ Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, 'a journey of considerable distance.'
¹¹ Tel. ed., 'abounding in.'
¹² Tel. ed. omits 'tamarisks.'
¹³ Srirangam text, 'abounding in new reeds, spikenard, lotuses, niculas, tamarisks,
vañjulas, and chir-pines, and with multitudes of poonga-oil plants and Bengal quinces
Tel. ed. adds 'poonga-oil plants and Bengal quinces.'
¹⁴ Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, 'with many leaf hermitages variously built and with
conessi-bark trees.'
¹⁵ Tel. ed., 'with swarms of bees clustering on the branches of the varuṇa-trees
which covered over the wide-spreading masses of mango creepers that were eagerly
tasted by female bees.'

A SANSKRIT ROMANCE 125
masses of honey from dripping hives, broken open by monkeys ¹ ;
[262] dense with palmyra-palms, marsh date-palms, betel-nut
palms, kamila-trees, and iron-wood trees ² ; impenetrable with
clumps of camphor-trees, Arabian jasmines, screw-pines, mountain
ebony, coral-trees, citrons, basil, and rose-apple trees ³ ; [263] with
bowers of river reeds filled with the cries of unhampered galli-
nules ⁴ ; with twigs of luxuriant ⁵ mangoes inhabited by koels ⁶ with
their massed, sharp notes ; with spreading boughs ⁷ pressed by
families of cocks in their swaying nests ⁸ ; with rows of globe-
amaranth horripilated with hosts of buds ; with its ten quarters
anointed with the beauty of the red aśoka twigs ; with masses
of dust ⁹ from quantities of the pollen of full-blown iron-wood
trees ¹⁰ ; producing delight for mankind by the sweet humming
of bees maddened by clusters of flowers tawny with pollen ¹¹ ;
horribly ¹² scratching the temples of fearless elephants rubbed by
the boughs of the trunks ¹³ of the wingseeds that were darkened
with ichor ¹⁴ ; [264] with hollow trunks of conessi-bark trees
turned into homes for the silk-cotton trees ¹⁵ which are propagated
¹ Tel. ed., 'with the spray of liquid showers of masses of dripping honey broken by
monkeys' ; similarly the Srirangam text.
² Tel. ed., 'with lofty cocoanut-palms, betel-nut palms, palmyra-palms, tamāla-
trees, marsh date-palms, kamila-trees, iron-wood trees, nagkassar-trees, and camphor-
trees' ; similarly the Srirangam text.
³ Tel. ed., 'impenetrable with bushes of Arabian jasmines, screw-pines, mountain
ebony, bowstring-hemp, rose-apple trees, citrons, and basil ; with branches of many
jack-trees rubbed together by the wind' ; similarly the Srirangam text.
⁴ Tel. ed., 'with numbers of bowers on the river-banks filled with the cries of
gallinules' ; similarly the Srirangam text.
⁵ Tel. ed. and Srirangam text omit 'luxuriant.'
⁶ Tel. ed., 'by thronging, eager bees.'
⁷ Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, 'with many spreading boughs.'
⁸ Tel. ed. omits 'in their swaying nests.'
⁹ Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, 'with its edges made gray.'
¹⁰ Tel. ed., 'pollen of the expanded flowers of iron-wood trees' ; similarly the
Srirangam text.
¹¹ Tel. ed., 'bees glittering from the sinduvāra-trees, tawny with masses of pollen ;
with cloves, champaks, mahwa-trees, purging cassias, wingseeds, and kadambas' ;
similarly the Srirangam text.
¹² Tel. ed. omits 'horribly.'
¹³ Tel. ed. and Srirangam text omit 'of the trunks.'
¹⁴ Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, 'scraping the ichor-darkened cheeks.'
¹⁵ Tel. ed., 'with crooked, hollow trunks of silk-cotton trees.'

126 VĀSAVADATTĀ
within a few days ; with delightful sounds made by the tremulous,
twittering hen-sparrows mating with the cock-sparrows ; famed
for clever ¹ chickores renowned for going with ² their mates ; with
young hares ³ resting comfortably on the surfaces of very smooth ⁴
mountain rocks ; [265] with hosts of lizards dwelling fearlessly in
holes in the roots of the indrāṇīs ; with undismayed antelopes ⁵ ;
with the sport of hosts of ⁶ unmolested mungooses ; with opening
mango buds surrounded by flocks of sweet koels ; with herds of
yaks chewing their cuds in the mango forest ; having for its
drum ⁷ the flapping of the ears of herds of elephants, slow with
slumber from ⁸ the roar of the waterfalls, sportful and delightsome
to hear, on the mountain slopes ; with herds of deer delighted
by the notes of the songs ⁹ of kinnarīs close by ¹⁰ ; [266] with the
edges of the snouts of young boars shining with the flow of
crushed greenish-yellow turmeric ¹¹ ; with multitudes of jālakas
humming about masses of coral-bead plants ¹² ; filled with shells
of pink insects split open by the tips of the nails of young
monkeys that had been angered by their bites ¹³ ; with multitudes
of lions illumined with beautiful heavy manes smeared with
quantities of blood ¹⁴ from must elephants’ frontal-lobes split open
by terrible blows from masses of claws sharp as the tips of the
thunderbolt ¹⁵ ; he (then) saw the ocean skilfully imitating, by the
¹ Tel. ed. and Srirangam text omit ‘clever.’
² Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, ‘eager to consort with.’
³ Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, ‘with multitudes of young hares.’
⁴ Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, ‘sweet smelling.’
⁵ Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, ‘herds of antelopes.’
⁶ Tel. ed. and Srirangam text omit ‘hosts of.’
⁷ Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, ‘with the drum-noise of.’
⁸ Tel. ed., ‘slow from the joy of slumber, (yet) anxious to hear’ ; similarly the
Srirangam text.
⁹ Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, ‘delighting in hearing the song.’
¹⁰ Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, ‘neighbouring.’
¹¹ Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, ‘delighted with the noise and the flow of turmeric.’
¹² Tel. ed., ‘with litters of wood hedgehogs in many bowers of coral-bead plants’ ;
similarly the Srirangam text.
¹³ Tel. ed., ‘with multitudes of worms in the cavities of trumpet-flower trees split
open by slaps from the paws of young monkeys that had been angered by the bites of
wood flies’ ; similarly the Srirangam text.
¹⁴ Tel. ed., ‘ichor.’             ¹⁵ Quoted by Vāmana, Kāvyālaṃkāravṛtti, I. 3. 26.

A SANSKRIT ROMANCE 127
mass of its exceedingly active waves,¹ the God ² that hath the
short axe upraised by his staff-like arm ³ in his revel dance ;
[267] with its edges charming because of lines of foam that seemed
to be the emblems of Ocean’s ⁴ victory ; that resembled delight-
ful ⁵ clusters of sloughs of the family of Śēṣa ⁶ ; masses of atoms,
as it were, of the remnants of the moon ⁷ ; streams of cosmetic, in
all seeming, for the sport of Lakṣmī ; like to bits of the sandal
paste of the sea nymphs ⁸ ; a second heaven, so to speak, come
down to earth under the guise of a sea ; tempting the birds, as
with pearls, by masses of drops of rising spray ⁹ ; with its bays
filled with mountains of many winged creatures ¹⁰ that had come
to seek security ; dug by hundreds ¹¹ of the sons of Sagara ¹² ; with
uprooted coral-trees ¹³ ; a mine of beautiful gems and jewels ;
filled with hosts of ¹⁴ monkeys and dolphins ; [268] with multi-
tudes of crocodiles roving about in their desire for mouthfuls of
shoals of śakulas ¹⁵ ; filled with restless timingilas ¹⁶ ; with thickets
of carambolas, cloves, and citrons swaying in the tide (and) rocked

¹ Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, ‘on account of its shore being lashed by an abundance of exceedingly active water.’
² Śiva.
³ Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, ‘many staff-like arms.’
⁴ Srirangam text, ‘Varuṇa’s.’
⁵ Tel. ed. and Srirangam text omit ‘delightful.’
⁶ Tel. ed. and Srirangam text add ‘like consorts of ambrosia ; sisters uterine, so to say, of light.’
⁷ Srirangam text, ‘disc of the moon’ ; Tel. ed., ‘a series of atoms, as it were, of the disc of the moon.’ The date of the composition of the Vāsavadattā forbids us to see in the mention of the moon (śaśāṅka) a reference to the Gauḍa king Śaśāṅka against whom Harṣa made war (Harṣacarita, tr. Cowell and Thomas, pp. x, 275, London, 1896 ; Ettinghausen, Harṣa Vardhana, empereur et poète de l’Inde septentrionale, pp. 10, 38, 42, Paris, 1906 ; cf. also above, Introduction, p. 10).
⁸ Tel. ed., ‘seeming to hold a mirror.’
⁹ Tel. ed., ‘like to bits of the unguent of camphor streams on the bosoms of the sea-nymphs.’
¹⁰ Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, ‘a second heaven, so to speak, come down to earth ; tempting the birds, as with pearls, by masses of spray rising from the pellucid water.’
¹¹ Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, ‘the host.’
¹² Cf. Mahābhārata, 3. 106–109.
¹³ Tel. ed., ‘with coral-trees beautified by the mouths of mussels’ ; Srirangam text, ‘with a mass of water going to the submarine fire ; with the coral-tree won by Indra.’
¹⁴ Tel. ed. and Srirangam text omit ‘hosts of.’
¹⁵ Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, ‘flocks of birds.’
¹⁶ Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, ‘filled with motionless whales and timingilas.’

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.