Sacontald [aside with
anguish]
— O my heart, thy fears have proved just.
Universal Anthology - v07
Soon after wards his companion and the driver of the carriage, unable to repress their fears for her safety, return and find her apparently dead.
The king's brother-in-law horrifies them by confessing that he has murdered her.
After much angry altercation they leave him.
He then covers up the body with some leaves, and resolves to go before a judge and accuse Caru-datta of having murdered Vasanta-sena for the sake of her costly ornaments.
Meanwhile the Buddhist mendicant, having washed his gar ments, returns into the garden and finds the body under a heap of leaves.
He sprinkles water on the face, and Vasanta-sena
298 THE CLAY CART.
revives. He is delighted to have the power of making some return to his benefactress, who formerly delivered him from the rapacity of the gaming-house keeper. He therefore does all he can to restore animation, and having at last succeeded, places her in a neighboring convent to recover.
The ninth act opens with a scene in a court of justice. The judge before taking his seat soliloquizes thus : —
How difficult our task ! to search the heart, To sift false charges, and elicit truth !
A judge must be well read in books of law, Well skilled in tracking crime, able to speak With eloquence, not easily made angry, Holding the scales impartially between Friends, kindred, and opponents ; a protector Of weak and feeble men, a punisher
Of knaves ; not covetous, having a heart
Intent on truth and justice ; not pronouncing Judgment in any case until the facts
Are duly weighed, then shielding the condemned From the king's wrath, and loving clemency.
Samsthanaka, the king's brother, now enters in a sumptu ous dress and makes his accusation against Caru-datta of hav ing murdered Vasanta-sena. It is proved that Vasanta-sena was last seen at Caru-datta's house. It is also discovered that some portions of her hair and the marks of her feet remain in the Pushpa-karandaka garden, which leads to the conclusion that her body may have been carried off by beasts of prey. Caru-datta is therefore summoned, and as he enters the court says to himself : —
The courthouse looks imposing ; it is like
A sea whose waters are the advocates
Deep in sagacious thought, whose waves are messengers In constant movement hurrying to and fro,
Whose fish and screaming birds are vile informers, Whose serpents are attorneys' clerks, whose banks
Are worn by constant course of legal action.
The king's brother now repeats his accusation ; but the judge is not inclined to believe in the guilt of Caru-datta, who indeed makes his innocence clear to the whole court. Unhap pily, however, just at this moment his friend Maitreya, who by
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299
Caru-datta's request is seeking for Vasanta-sena, that he may restore to her the jewels she had placed in his little son's clay cart, hears on his road of the accusation brought against his friend, hurries into the court of justice, and is so enraged with the king's brother for accusing his friend that he strikes him, and in the struggle which ensues lets fall Vasanta-sena's jewels. It is admitted that these ornaments are being brought from Caru-datta's house, and this is thought to be conclusive evi dence of his guilt. As a Brahman he cannot legally be put to death ; but the king is a tyrant, and although the judge recommends banishment as the proper punishment under the circumstances, the king pronounces his sentence thus : —
Let Vasanta-sena's ornaments be hung round Caru-datta's neck ; let him be led by the beat of drums to the southern cemetery, bear ing his own stake, and there let him be put to death [crucified].
The tenth act introduces the road leading to the place of execution. Caru-datta enters bearing the stake, and attended by two Candalas or low outcasts, who are sent to act as execu tioners.
One of the executioners calls out: —
Out of the way ! out of the way I Make room for Caru-datta. Crowned with a garland of oleander flowers, and attended by execu tioners, he approaches his end like a lamp which has little oil left. Now then, halt! beat the drum! Hark ye, good people all! stop and listen to the proclamation of the sentence : " This is Caru-datta, son of Sagara-datta, who strangled Vasanta-sena in the Pushpa- karandaka garden for the sake of her ornaments, and was caught with the stolen property in his possession ; we have orders to put him to death, that others may be deterred from committing a crime which both worlds forbid to be perpetrated. "
Carvrdata —
Alas ! alas I
Even my friends and intimate compeers Pass coldly by, their faces turned aside Or hidden in their vestments ; thus it is That in prosperity our enemies
Appear like friends, but in adversity
Those we thought friends behave like very foes.
The proclamation is repeated at intervals on the road to the place of execution, and some delay is thus occasioned. Mean
300 THE CLAY CART.
while an affecting scene takes place. Caru-datta's little son is brought by Maitreya to bid his father farewell, and the exe cutioner permits him to approach. The boy can only say, " Father ! Father ! " [and after being embraced by Caru-datta, turns to the executioner, berates him, and asks to be killed in stead of his father. The executioner says, " Rather for such a speech live long, my boy. " Caru-datta bursts into tears and embraces him again, exclaiming over the wealth of having such a child. ]
The child is of course removed, but another delay is caused by Sthavaraka, who drove Vasanta-sena to the garden, and who, as cognizant of the real facts, had been shut up by his guilty master, the king's brother-in-law. Sthavaraka, on hear ing the noise of the procession on its way to the place of execu tion, contrives to escape from his prison, and, rushing towards the executioners, proclaims Caru-datta's innocence and his master's guilt. Unhappily, however, just at this juncture his master appears on the scene, and declares that his servant Sthavaraka, having been imprisoned for thieving, is unworthy of credit, and has made up this accusation out of spite and desire for revenge. Notwithstanding, therefore, the servant's repeated asseverations, his statements are disbelieved, and his efforts to save Caru-datta prove ineffectual. The procession and crowd now move on to the cemetery, and Caru-datta's condition seems altogether hopeless, when just as he is led to the stake, and the executioners are about to perform their office,
the Buddhist mendicant is seen forcing his way through the
crowd, leading a woman, who cries out, " Hold ! hold !
the miserable creature for whose sake you are putting him to death. " This, to the astonishment of every one, proves to be Vasanta-sena herself, resuscitated and restored to health, through the instrumentality of the mendicant. The execu tioners immediately release Caru-datta ; and as the king's brother-in-law, in utter confusion and terror, is observed to be making off, they attempt to seize him. He appears likely to be torn to pieces by the infuriated crowd ; but here Caru-datta
gives a crowning evidence of the generosity of his character, by protecting the villain who had come to feast his eyes on the dying agonies of his victim. He is actually, at Caru-datta's intercession, permitted to make his escape. The play ends in the elevation of Caru-datta to rank and honor, in the happiness of both hero and heroine, and in the promotion of the mendicant to the headship of all the Viharas or Buddhist monasteries.
I am
THE LOST RING. 301
THE LOST RING. By KALTDASA.
(Translated by Sir William Jones. )
[Kalidasa, the greatest poet and playwright of India, is of uncertain date. He has been placed before Christ and at a. d. 150, but probably belongs in the sixth century. His chief works are "Sakuntala" (French form, adopted by Sir William Jones, "Sacontala"), "Meghaduta" (or "The Cloud Messenger"), and " Vikramurvasi. "]
Scene. — A lawn before the cottage.
Anuf&yd — O my Priyamvada, though our sweet friend has been happily married, according to the rites of Gandharvas, to a bridegroom equal in rank and accomplishments, yet my af fectionate heart is not wholly free from care ; and one doubt gives me particular uneasiness.
Anuftiyd — This morning the pious prince was dismissed with gratitude by our hermits, who had then completed their mystic rites: he is now gone to his capital, Hastinapura, where, surrounded by a hundred women in the recesses of his palace, it may be doubted whether he will remember his charming bride.
Priyamvadd — What doubt, my Anuf uya ?
Priyamvadd —In that respect you may be quite easy. Men so well informed and well educated as he, can never be utterly destitute of honor. We have another thing to con sider. When our father Canna shall return from his pilgrim age, and shall hear what has passed, I cannot tell how he may receive the intelligence.
Anuftiyd — If you ask my opinion, he will, I think, approve of the marriage. —
Priyamvadd Why do you think so ?
Anuftiyd — Because he could desire nothing better than that a husband so accomplished and so exalted should take Sacontala by the hand. It was, you know, the declared object of his heart, that she might be suitably married ; and, since heaven has done for him what he most wished to do, how can he possibly be dissatisfied ?
Priyamvadd —You reason well ; but [looking at her basket], my friend, we have plucked a sufficient store of flowers to scatter over the place of sacrifice.
302 THE L08T RENO.
Anuftiyd — Let us gather more to decorate the temples of the goddesses who have procured for Sacontala so much good fortune. [ They both gather more flowers.
[Behind the scenes] — It is I — Hola !
Anufuyd [listening] — I hear the voice, as it seems, of a
guest arrived in the hermitage.
Priyamvadd — Let us hasten thither. Sacontala is now
reposing ; but though we may, when she wakes, enjoy her presence, yet her mind will all day be absent with her departed
thou art meditating, on whom alone thy heart is now fixed, while thou neglectest a pure gem of devotion who demands hospitality, shall forget thee, when thou seest him next, as a man restored to sobriety forgets the words which he uttered in a state of intoxication. "
[Both damsels look at each other with affliction. Priyamvadd — Woe is me ! Dreadful calamity ! Our be
loved friend has, through mere absence of mind, provoked, by her neglect, some holy man who expected reverence.
lord. — Anuf&yd
Be it so ; but we have occasion, you know, for all these flowers. — [They advance. [Again behind the scenes] How ! dost thou show no atten tion to a guest ? Then hear my imprecations. " He on whom
Anuf&yd [looking] — It must be so ; for the choleric Dur- vasas is going hastily back.
Priyamvadd — Who else has power to consume, like raging fire, whatever offends him ? Go, my Anufuya ; fall at his feet, and persuade him, if possible, to return : in the meantime I will prepare water and refreshments for him.
Anufuyd — I go with eagerness. [She goes out.
Priyamvadd [advancing hastily, her foot slips] — Ah ! through my eager haste I have let the basket fall ; and my
religious duties must not be postponed.
[She gathers fresh flowers.
ANTJFUYA reenters.
Anufiiyd — His wrath, my beloved, passes all bounds. Who living could now appease him by the humblest prostra tions or entreaties ? yet at last he a little relented.
Priyamvadd — That little is a great deal for him. But in form me how you soothed him in any degree.
THE LOST RING. 303
AnufHyd — When he positively refused to come back, I threw myself at his feet, and thus addressed him, " Holy sage, forgive, I entreat, the offense of an amiable girl, who has the highest veneration for you, but was ignorant, through distrac tion of mind, how exalted a personage was calling to her. "
Anuf&yd — He answered thus, " My word must not be recalled ; but the spell which it has raised shall be wholly removed when her lord shall see his ring. " Saying this he disappeared. —
Priyamvadd — What then ? What said he ?
We may now have confidence ; for before the monarch departed, he fixed with his own hand on the finger of Sacontala the ring, on which we saw the name Dush- manta engraved, and which we will instantly recognize. On
him, therefore, alone will depend the remedy for our mis fortune.
Anuftiyd — Come, let us now proceed to the shrines of the goddesses, and implore their succor. [Both advance.
Priyamvadd
Priyamvadd [looking'] — See ! my Anufuya, where our be loved friend sits, motionless as a picture, supporting her lan guid head with her left hand. With a mind so intent on one object, she can pay no attention to herself, much less to a stranger. —
*******
Let the horrid imprecation, Priyamvada, remain a secret between us two ; we must spare the feelings of our beloved, who is naturally susceptible of quick emotions.
Anuf&yd
Chamberlain [advancing humbly] —May our sovereign be victorious ! Two religious men, with some women, are come from their abode in a forest near the Snowy Mountains, and bring a message from Canna. The king will command.
Dushmanta [surprised] — What ! are pious hermits arrived in the company of women ?
Chamberlain — It is even so.
Dushmanta — Order the priest Somarata, in my name, to
show them due reverence in the form appointed by the Veda ; and bid him attend me. I shall wait for my holy guests in a place fit for their reception.
Chamberlain — I obey. [He goes out. Dushmanta — Warder, point the way to the hearth of the
consecrated fire.
304 THE LOST RING.
Warder — This, O king, this is the way. [He walks be
Here is the entrance of the hallowed inclosure ; and there stands the venerable cow to be milked for the sacrifice, looking bright from the recent sprinkling of mystic water. Let the king ascend.
[Dushmanta is raised to the place of sacrifice on the shoulders of his Warders. ]
fore. ]
Dushmanta — What message can the pious Canna have sent me ? Has the devotion of his pupils been impeded by evil spirits, or by what other calamity? Or has any harm, alas! befallen the poor herds who graze in the hallowed forest ? Or have the sins of the king tainted the flowers and fruits of the creepers planted by female hermits ? My mind is entangled in a labyrinth of confused apprehensions.
Warder —What our sovereign imagines, cannot possibly have happened ; since the hermitage has been rendered secure from evil by the mere sound of his bowstring. The pious men, whom the king's benevolence has made happy, are come, I pre sume, to do him homage.
[Enter Sarngarava, Saradwata, and GuatamI, leading Sacontala by the hand ; and before them the old Cham berlain and the Priest. ]
Chamberlain — This way, respectable strangers ; come this
fire.
Sdradwata — I was not less confounded than yourself on entering the populous city ; but now I look on it, as a man just bathed in pure water, on a man smeared with oil and dust, as the pure on the impure, as the waking on the sleeping, as the free man on the captive, as the independent on the slave.
way. — Sdrngarava
My friend Saradwata, there sits the king of men, who has felicity at command, yet shows equal respect to all : here no subject, even of the lowest class, is received with contempt. Nevertheless, my soul having ever been free from
attachment to worldly things, I consider this hearth, although a crowd now surround it, as the station merely of consecrated
Priest — Thence it is, that men, like you two, are so ele vated above other mortals.
Sacontald [perceiving a bad omen] — Venerable mother, I feel my right eye throb. What means this involuntary motion ?
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Gautami — Heaven avert the omen, my Sweet child ! May every delight attend thee ! — [ They all advance. Priest [showing the king to them] There, holy men, is the
protector of the people, who has taken his seat, and expects you. Sdrngarava — This is what we wished ; yet we have no private interest in the business. It is ever thus; trees are bent by the abundance of their fruit ; clouds are brought low,
when they teem with salubrious rain ; and the real benefactors of mankind are not elated by riches.
Warder — O king, the holy guests appear before you with placid looks, indicating their affection. —
Dushmanta [gazing at Sacontald] Ah ! what damsel is that whose mantle conceals the far greater part of her beau tiful form? She looks, among the hermits, like a fresh green bud among faded and yellow leaves.
Warder — This, at least, O king, is apparent ; that she has a form which deserves to be seen more distinctly.
Dushmanta — Let her still be covered, she seems pregnant ; and the wife of another must not be seen even by me.
Sacontald [aside, with her hand to her bosom] — O my heart, why dost thou palpitate? Remember the beginning of the lord's affection, and be tranquil.
Priest — May the king prosper ! The respectable guests have been honored as the law ordains ; and they have now a message to deliver from their spiritual guide : let the king deign to hear it. —
I am attentive.
Both Misras [extending their hands] — Victory attend thy
Dushmanta [with reverence]
banners !
Dushmanta — I respectfully greet you both.
Both — Blessings on our sovereign !
Dushmanta — Has your devotion been uninterrupted? Sdrngarava — How should our rites be disturbed, when thou
art the preserver of all creatures ? How, when the bright sun blazes, should darkness cover the world?
Dushmanta [aside] — The name of royalty produces, I sup pose, all worldly advantages. [Aloud. ] Does the holy Canna then prosper? —
Sdrngarava O king, they who gather the fruits of devo tion may command prosperity. He first inquires affectionately whether thy arms are successful, and then addresses thee in these words : —
VOL. yh. — 20
306 THE LOST RING.
Dushmanta — What are his orders?
Sdrngarava — " The contract of marriage, reciprocally made between thee and this girl, my daughter, I confirm with tender regard ; since thou art celebrated as the most honorable of men, and my Sacontala is Virtue herself in a human form, no blas phemous complaint will henceforth be made against Brahma for suffering discordant matches : he has now united a bride and bridegroom with qualities equally transcendant. Since, there fore, she is pregnant by thee, receive her in thy palace, that she may perform, in conjunction with thee, the duties prescribed by religion. "
Q-autami — Great king, thou hast a mild aspect ; and I wish to address thee in few words.
Dushmanta [smiling] — Speak, venerable matron.
Q-autami — She waited not the return of her spiritual father ; nor were thy kindred consulted by thee. You two only were
present, when your nuptials were solemnized; now, therefore, converse freely together in the absence of all others.
Sacontald [aside] — What will my lord say ?
Dushmanta [aside, perplexed] — How strange an adventure ! Sacontald [aside] — Ah me, how disdainfully he seems to
receive the message !
Sdrngarava [aside] — What means that phrase which I over
heard, "How strange an adventure"? [Aloud. ] Monarch, thou knowest the hearts of men. Let a wife behave ever so discreetly, the world will think ill of her, if she live only with her paternal kinsmen ; and a lawful wife now requests, as her kindred also humbly entreat, that whether she be loved or not, she may pass her days in the mansion of her husband.
Sacontald [aside with anguish] — O my heart, thy fears have proved just.
Dushmanta — What sayest thou ? Am I the lady's husband ?
Sdrngarava — Does it become a magnificent prince to depart from the rules of religion and honor, merely because he repents of his engagements ?
Dushmanta — With what hope of success could this ground less fable have been invented ?
Sdrngarava [angrily] — The minds of those whom power intoxicates are perpetually changing.
Dushmanta — I am reproved with too great severity. Qautami [to Sacontald] — Be not ashamed, my sweet child ; let me take off thy mantle, that the king may recollect thee.
[She unveils her. ]
THE LOST RING. 307
Dushmanta [aside, looking at Sacontald] — While I am doubtful whether this unblemished beauty which is displayed before me has not been possessed by another, I resemble a bee fluttering at the close of night over a blossom filled with dew ; and in this state of mind I neither can enjoy nor forsake her.
Warder [aside to Dushmanta] — The king best knows his rights and his duties; but who would hesitate when a woman, bright as a gem, brings luster to the apartments of his palace? —
Sdrngarava What, O king, does thy strange silence im port ?
Dushmanta — Holy man, I have been meditating again and again, but have no recollection of my marriage with this lady. How then can I lay aside all consideration of my military tribe, and admit into my palace a young woman who is preg nant by another husband?
Sacontald [aside] — Ah ! woe is me. Can there be a doubt even of our nuptials ? The tree of my hope, which had risen so luxuriantly, is at once broken down.
Sdrngarava — Beware, lest the godlike sage, who would have bestowed on thee, as a free gift, his inestimable treasure, which thou hadst taken, like a base robber, should now cease to think of thee, who art lawfully married to his daughter, and should confine all his thoughts to her whom thy perfidy disgraces.
Sdradwata — Rest a while, my Sarngarava ; and thou, Sa contald, take thy turn to speak ; since thy lord has declared his forgetfulness.
Sacontald [aside] — If his affection has ceased, of what use will it be to recall his remembrance of me. Yet, if my soul
must endure torment, be it so ;
to Dushmanta. ] O my husband ! [Pausing. ] Or (if the just application of that sacred word be still doubted by thee), 0 son of Puru, is it becoming that, having been once enamored of me in the consecrated forest, and having shown the excess of thy passion, thou shouldst this day deny me with bitter expressions? —
Be the crime removed from my soul ! Thou hast been instructed for some base purpose to vilify me, and make me fall from the dignity which 1 have hitherto supported : as a river which has burst its banks and altered its placid current overthrows the trees that had
risen aloft on them.
Dushmanta [covering his ears]
I will speak to him.
[Aloud
308 THE LOST RING.
Sacontald — If thou sayest this merely from want of recol- leotion, I will restore thy memory by producing thy own ring, with thy name engraved on it.
Dushmanta A capital invention !
I have no ring. — [She fixes her eyes with anguish on GAtTTAMf.
Qautaml The fatal ring must have dropped, my child, from thy hand, when thou tookest up water to pour on thy head in the pool of Sachitirt'ha, near the station of Sacra vatara.
Sacontald [looking at her finger] — Ah me !
Dushmanta [smiling'] —So skillful are women in finding ready excuses ! I will yet
Sacontald — The power of Brahma must prevail ; mention one oircumstance.
Dushmanta — I must submit to hear the tale.
Sacontald — One day, in a grove of Vetasas, thou tookest water in thy hand from its natural vase of lotos leaves —
Dushmanta — What followed ?
Sacontald •— At that instant a little fawn, which I had reared as my own child, approached thee ; and thou saidst with be nevolence, "Drink thou first, gentle fawn. " He would not drink from the hand of a stranger, but received water eagerly from mine 5 when thou saidst, with increasing affection, " Thus every creature loves its companions ; you are both foresters alike, and both alike amiable. "
Dushmanta — By such interested and honeyed falsehoods are the bouIb of voluptuaries insnared.
Q-autami — Forbear, illustrious prince, to speak harshly. She was bred in a sacred grove where she learned no guile. Dushmanta — Pious matron, the dexterity of females, even when they are untaught, appears in those of a species different
from our own. What would it be if they were duly instructed ! The female Cocilas, before they fly towards the firmament, leave their eggs to be hatched, and their young fed, by birds who have no relation to them.
Sacontald [with anger] — Oh ! void of honor, thou meas- urest all the world by thy own bad heart. What prince ever resembled or ever will resemble thee, who wearest the garb of religion and virtue, but in truth art a base deceiver ; like a deep well whose mouth is covered with smiling plants !
Dushmanta [aride] —- The rusticity of her education makes her speak thus angrily and inconsistently with female decorum. She looks indignant ; her eye glows ; and her speech, formed
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309
of harsh terms, falters as she utters them. Her lip, ruddy as the Bimba fruit, quivers as if it were nipped with frost ; and her eyebrows, naturally smooth and equal, are at once irregu larly contracted. Thus having failed in circumventing me by the apparent luster of simplicity, she has recourse to wrath, and snaps in two the bow of Cama, which, if she had not belonged to another, might have wounded me. [Aloud. ] The heart of Dushmanta, young woman, is known to all ; and thine is be trayed by thy present demeanor,
Sacontald [ironically] — You kings are in all cases to be credited implicitly ; you perfectly know the respect which is due to virtue and to mankind ; while females, however modest, however virtuous, know nothing, and speak nothing truly. In a happy hour I came hither to seek the objeot of my affection : in a happy moment I received the hand of a prince desoended from Puru ; a prince who had won my confidence by the honey of his words, whilst his heart ooncealed the weapon that was to pieroe mine. — [She hides her face and weeps.
Sdrngarava This insufferable mutability of the king's temper kindles my wrath. Henceforth let all be oiroumspect before they form secret connections : a friendship hastily con tracted, when both hearts are not perfectly known, must ero- long become enmity.
Dushmanta — Wouldst thou force me then to commit an enormous crime, relying solely on her smooth speeches?
Sdrngarava [scornfully] — Thou hast heard an answer. The words of an incomparable girl, who never learned what iniquity was, are here to receive no credit ; while they, whose learning consists in accusing others, and inquiring into crimes, are the only persons who speak truth !
Dushmanta — man of unimpeached veracity, I certainly am what thou describest ; but what would be gained by accus ing thy female associate ?
Sdrngarava — Eternal misery.
Dushmanta — No; misery will never be the portion of Puru's descendants.
Sdrngarava — What avails our altercation? O king, we have obeyed the commands of our preceptor, and now return. Sacontala is thy wife by law, whether thou desert or acknowl edge her; and the dominion of a husband is absolute. Go before us, Gautami.
[The two Misras and Gautami returning.
310 THE LOST RING.
Sacontald — I have been deceived by this perfidious man ; but will you, my friends, will you also forsake me ?
Sdmgarava
— [Following them. My son, Sacontala follows us with
Q-autaml [looking back']
affectionate supplications. What can she do here with a faith less husband — she who is all tenderness?
Sdmgarava [angrily to Sacontald] — O wife, who seest the faults of thy lord, dost thou desire independence ?
[Sacontala stops, and trembles. Sdradwata — Let the queen hear. If thou beest what the king proclaims thee, what right hast thou to complain? But if thou knowest the purity of thy own soul, it will become thee to wait as a handmaid in the mansion of thy lord. Stay,
then, where thou art ; we must return to Canna.
Dushmanta — Deceive her not, holy men, with vain expecta
tions. The moon opens the night flower, and the sun makes the water lily blossom ; each is confined to its own object ; and thus a virtuous man abstains from any connection with the wife of another. —
Yet thou, O king, who fearest to offend reli gion and virtue, art not afraid to desert thy wedded wife, pre
tending that the variety of thy public affairs has made thee forget thy private contract.
Dushmanta [to his priest] — I really have no remembrance of any such engagement; and I ask thee, my spiritual coun selor, whether of the two offenses be the greater, to forsake my own wife, or to have an intercourse with the wife of another ?
Priest [after some deliberation] — We may adopt an expedi ent between both.
Dushmanta — Let my venerable guide command.
Priest — The young woman may dwell till her delivery in
will be the father of an illustrious prince, whose dominion will be bounded by the western and eastern seas ; now, if the holy man's daughter shall bring forth a son whose hands and feet bear the marks of extensive sovereignty, I will do homage to her as my queen, and conduct her to the royal apartments; if not, she shall return in due time to her father.
Dushmanta — Be it as you judge proper.
my house. — Dushmanta
For what purpose ?
Priest — Wise astrologers have assured the king that he
THE LOST RING. 311
Priest [to Sacontala] — This way, my daughter, follow me.
Sacontald — O earth ! Mild goddess ! give me a place within thy bosom !
[She goes out weeping with the Priest ; while the two Misras go out by a different way with GautamL Dushmanta stands meditating on the beauty of Sacontala ; but the
imprecation still clouds his memory. ]
[Behind the scenes'] — Oh, miraculous event ! Bushmanta [listening] — What can have happened !
The Priest reenters.
Priest — Hear, O king, the stupendous event. When Canna's pupils had departed, Sacontala, bewailing her adverse fortune, extended her arms and wept ; when —
Priest — A body of light, in a female shape, descended near Apsarastfrt'ha, where the nymphs of heaven are worshiped ; and having caught her hastily in her bosom, disappeared.
[All express astonishment. Bushmanta — I suspected from the beginning some work of sorcery. The business is over ; and it is needless to reason
more on it. Let thy mind, Somarata, be at rest.
Priest — May the king be victorious. [He goes out. Dushmanta — Chamberlain, I have been greatly harassed ;
Dushmanta — What then ?
and thou, Warder, go before me to a place of repose.
Warder — This way ; let the king come this way.
Dushmanta [advancing, aside] — I cannot with all my efforts
»•*•••* Scene. — A street.
recollect my nuptials with the daughter of the hermit ; yet so agitated is my heart, that it almost induces me to believe her story. [All go out.
Enter a Superintendent of Police, with two Officers leading a man with his hands bound.
to spare me : suspect.
First Officer [striking the prisoner] — Take that, Cumbbilaca, if Cumbhilaca be thy name ; and tell us now where thou gottest this ring, bright with a large gem, on which the king's name is engraved.
Cumbhilaca [trembling] — Spare me, I entreat your honors
I am not guilty of so great a crime as you
312 THE LOST RING.
First Officer —» O distinguished Brahman, didst thou then receive it from the king as a reward of some important
service ? — I am a poor fisherman dwell OumbMlaca Only hear me :
ing at Sacravatara —
Second Officer — Did we ask, thou thief, about thy tribe or
thy dwelling-place ?
Superintendent — O Suchaca, let the fellow tell his own
story. Now, conceal nothing, sirrah.
First Officer — Dost thou hear ? Do as our master com
mands.
Cumbhilaca — I am a man who support my family by catch
ing fish in nets, or with hooks, and by various other contriv ances.
Superintendent [laughing-] — A virtuous way of gaining a
livelihood ! — Cumbhilaca
Blame me not, master. The occupation of our forefathers, how low soever, must not be forsaken ; and a man who kills animals for sale may have a tender heart, though
his act be cruel. — Go on, go on.
Superintendent
Cumbhilaca — One day, having caught a large Rohita fish, I
cut it open, and saw this bright ring in its stomach ; but when I offered to sell it, I was apprehended by your honors. So far only am I guilty of taking the ring. Will you now continue beating and bruising me to death ? —
Superintendent [smelling the ring] It is certain, Jaluca, that this gem has been in the body of a fish. The case requires consideration ; and I will mention it to some of the king's household. —
Both Officers
Come on, cutpurse. [They advance. Superintendent — Stand here, Suchaca, at the great gate of
the city, and wait for me, while I speak to some of the officers
in the palace. — Both Officers
Go, Rajayucta. May the king favor thee. [The Superintendent goes out.
Second Officer — Our master will stay, I fear, a long while.
First Officer — Yes ; access to kings can only be had at their leisure.
Second Officer — The tips Jaluca, to kill this cutpurse.
of my fingers itch, my friend Cumbhilaca — You would put to death an innocent man.
THE LOST RING. 813
First Officer {looking] — Here comes our master. The king has decided quickly. Now, Cumbhilaca, you will either see your companions again, or be the food of shakals and vultures.
The Superintendent reenters.
Superintendent — Let the fisherman immediately — Cumbhilaca [in an agony] — Oh ! I am a dead man.
Superintendent — Be discharged. Hola ! set him at liberty. The king says he knows his innocence ; and his story is true.
Second Officer — As our master commands. The fellow is brought back from the mansion of Yama, to which he was hastening. [Unbinding the fisherman.
Oumbhilaca [bowing] — My lord, I owe my life to your kindness.
Superintendent — Rise, friend, and hear with delight that the king gives thee a sum of money equal to the full value of the ring ; it is a fortune to a man in thy station.
[ Giving him the money. Oumbhilaca [with rapture] — I am transported with joy.
First Officer — This vagabond seems to be taken down from the stake, and set on the back of a state elephant.
Second Officer — The king, I suppose, has a great affection for his gem.
Superintendent — Not for its intrinsic value ; but I guessed the cause of his ecstasy when he saw it.
Both Officers — What could occasion it?
Superintendent — I suspect that it called to his memory some person who has a place in his heart ; for though his mind be naturally firm, yet, from the moment when he beheld the ring, he was for some minutes excessively agitated.
Second Officer — Our master has given the king extreme
pleasure. — First Officer
—
Yes ; and by the means of this fish catcher. [Looking fiercely at him. Be not angry. Half the money shall be
Cumbhilaca
divided between you to purchase wine.
******* Dushmanta — Was it sleep that impaired my memory ? Was it delusion ? Was it an error of my judgment ? Or was
First Officer — Oh ! now thou art our beloved friend. Good wine is the first object of our affection. Let us together to the vinters. [They all go out.
314 THE LOST RING.
it the destined reward of my bad actions ? Whatever it was, I am sensible that, until Sacontala return to these arms, I shall be plunged in the abyss of affliction.
Mddhavya — Do not despair; the fatal ring is itself an example that the lost may be found. Events which were fore doomed by Heaven must not be lamented.
Dushmanta [looking at his ring] —The fate of this ring, now fallen from a station which it will not easily regain, I may at least deplore. O gem, thou art removed from the soft finger, beautiful with ruddy tips, on which a place had been assigned thee; and, minute as thou art, thy bad qualities appear from the similarity of thy punishment to mine.
Misras [aside] — Had it found a way to any other hand, its lot would have been truly deplorable. O Menaca, how wouldst thou be delighted with the conversation which gratifies my ears !
Mddhavya — Let me know, I pray, by what means the ring obtained a place on the finger of Sacontala.
Dushmanta — You shall know, my friend. When I was coming from the holy forest to my capital, my beloved, with tears in her eyes, thus addressed me, " How long will the son of my lord keep me in his remembrance ? "
Mddhavya — Well, what then ?
Dushmanta — Then, fixing this ring on her lovely finger, I thus answered, "Repeat each day one of the three syllables engraved on this gem ; and before thou hast spelled the word Dushmanta, one of my noblest officers shall attend thee, and conduct my darling to her palace. " Yet I forgot, I deserted her in my frenzy. —
Misras [aside] A charming interval of three days was fixed between their separation and their meeting, which the will of Brahma rendered unhappy.
Mddhavya — But how came the ring to enter, like a hook, into the mouth of a carp?
298 THE CLAY CART.
revives. He is delighted to have the power of making some return to his benefactress, who formerly delivered him from the rapacity of the gaming-house keeper. He therefore does all he can to restore animation, and having at last succeeded, places her in a neighboring convent to recover.
The ninth act opens with a scene in a court of justice. The judge before taking his seat soliloquizes thus : —
How difficult our task ! to search the heart, To sift false charges, and elicit truth !
A judge must be well read in books of law, Well skilled in tracking crime, able to speak With eloquence, not easily made angry, Holding the scales impartially between Friends, kindred, and opponents ; a protector Of weak and feeble men, a punisher
Of knaves ; not covetous, having a heart
Intent on truth and justice ; not pronouncing Judgment in any case until the facts
Are duly weighed, then shielding the condemned From the king's wrath, and loving clemency.
Samsthanaka, the king's brother, now enters in a sumptu ous dress and makes his accusation against Caru-datta of hav ing murdered Vasanta-sena. It is proved that Vasanta-sena was last seen at Caru-datta's house. It is also discovered that some portions of her hair and the marks of her feet remain in the Pushpa-karandaka garden, which leads to the conclusion that her body may have been carried off by beasts of prey. Caru-datta is therefore summoned, and as he enters the court says to himself : —
The courthouse looks imposing ; it is like
A sea whose waters are the advocates
Deep in sagacious thought, whose waves are messengers In constant movement hurrying to and fro,
Whose fish and screaming birds are vile informers, Whose serpents are attorneys' clerks, whose banks
Are worn by constant course of legal action.
The king's brother now repeats his accusation ; but the judge is not inclined to believe in the guilt of Caru-datta, who indeed makes his innocence clear to the whole court. Unhap pily, however, just at this moment his friend Maitreya, who by
THE CLAY CART.
299
Caru-datta's request is seeking for Vasanta-sena, that he may restore to her the jewels she had placed in his little son's clay cart, hears on his road of the accusation brought against his friend, hurries into the court of justice, and is so enraged with the king's brother for accusing his friend that he strikes him, and in the struggle which ensues lets fall Vasanta-sena's jewels. It is admitted that these ornaments are being brought from Caru-datta's house, and this is thought to be conclusive evi dence of his guilt. As a Brahman he cannot legally be put to death ; but the king is a tyrant, and although the judge recommends banishment as the proper punishment under the circumstances, the king pronounces his sentence thus : —
Let Vasanta-sena's ornaments be hung round Caru-datta's neck ; let him be led by the beat of drums to the southern cemetery, bear ing his own stake, and there let him be put to death [crucified].
The tenth act introduces the road leading to the place of execution. Caru-datta enters bearing the stake, and attended by two Candalas or low outcasts, who are sent to act as execu tioners.
One of the executioners calls out: —
Out of the way ! out of the way I Make room for Caru-datta. Crowned with a garland of oleander flowers, and attended by execu tioners, he approaches his end like a lamp which has little oil left. Now then, halt! beat the drum! Hark ye, good people all! stop and listen to the proclamation of the sentence : " This is Caru-datta, son of Sagara-datta, who strangled Vasanta-sena in the Pushpa- karandaka garden for the sake of her ornaments, and was caught with the stolen property in his possession ; we have orders to put him to death, that others may be deterred from committing a crime which both worlds forbid to be perpetrated. "
Carvrdata —
Alas ! alas I
Even my friends and intimate compeers Pass coldly by, their faces turned aside Or hidden in their vestments ; thus it is That in prosperity our enemies
Appear like friends, but in adversity
Those we thought friends behave like very foes.
The proclamation is repeated at intervals on the road to the place of execution, and some delay is thus occasioned. Mean
300 THE CLAY CART.
while an affecting scene takes place. Caru-datta's little son is brought by Maitreya to bid his father farewell, and the exe cutioner permits him to approach. The boy can only say, " Father ! Father ! " [and after being embraced by Caru-datta, turns to the executioner, berates him, and asks to be killed in stead of his father. The executioner says, " Rather for such a speech live long, my boy. " Caru-datta bursts into tears and embraces him again, exclaiming over the wealth of having such a child. ]
The child is of course removed, but another delay is caused by Sthavaraka, who drove Vasanta-sena to the garden, and who, as cognizant of the real facts, had been shut up by his guilty master, the king's brother-in-law. Sthavaraka, on hear ing the noise of the procession on its way to the place of execu tion, contrives to escape from his prison, and, rushing towards the executioners, proclaims Caru-datta's innocence and his master's guilt. Unhappily, however, just at this juncture his master appears on the scene, and declares that his servant Sthavaraka, having been imprisoned for thieving, is unworthy of credit, and has made up this accusation out of spite and desire for revenge. Notwithstanding, therefore, the servant's repeated asseverations, his statements are disbelieved, and his efforts to save Caru-datta prove ineffectual. The procession and crowd now move on to the cemetery, and Caru-datta's condition seems altogether hopeless, when just as he is led to the stake, and the executioners are about to perform their office,
the Buddhist mendicant is seen forcing his way through the
crowd, leading a woman, who cries out, " Hold ! hold !
the miserable creature for whose sake you are putting him to death. " This, to the astonishment of every one, proves to be Vasanta-sena herself, resuscitated and restored to health, through the instrumentality of the mendicant. The execu tioners immediately release Caru-datta ; and as the king's brother-in-law, in utter confusion and terror, is observed to be making off, they attempt to seize him. He appears likely to be torn to pieces by the infuriated crowd ; but here Caru-datta
gives a crowning evidence of the generosity of his character, by protecting the villain who had come to feast his eyes on the dying agonies of his victim. He is actually, at Caru-datta's intercession, permitted to make his escape. The play ends in the elevation of Caru-datta to rank and honor, in the happiness of both hero and heroine, and in the promotion of the mendicant to the headship of all the Viharas or Buddhist monasteries.
I am
THE LOST RING. 301
THE LOST RING. By KALTDASA.
(Translated by Sir William Jones. )
[Kalidasa, the greatest poet and playwright of India, is of uncertain date. He has been placed before Christ and at a. d. 150, but probably belongs in the sixth century. His chief works are "Sakuntala" (French form, adopted by Sir William Jones, "Sacontala"), "Meghaduta" (or "The Cloud Messenger"), and " Vikramurvasi. "]
Scene. — A lawn before the cottage.
Anuf&yd — O my Priyamvada, though our sweet friend has been happily married, according to the rites of Gandharvas, to a bridegroom equal in rank and accomplishments, yet my af fectionate heart is not wholly free from care ; and one doubt gives me particular uneasiness.
Anuftiyd — This morning the pious prince was dismissed with gratitude by our hermits, who had then completed their mystic rites: he is now gone to his capital, Hastinapura, where, surrounded by a hundred women in the recesses of his palace, it may be doubted whether he will remember his charming bride.
Priyamvadd — What doubt, my Anuf uya ?
Priyamvadd —In that respect you may be quite easy. Men so well informed and well educated as he, can never be utterly destitute of honor. We have another thing to con sider. When our father Canna shall return from his pilgrim age, and shall hear what has passed, I cannot tell how he may receive the intelligence.
Anuftiyd — If you ask my opinion, he will, I think, approve of the marriage. —
Priyamvadd Why do you think so ?
Anuftiyd — Because he could desire nothing better than that a husband so accomplished and so exalted should take Sacontala by the hand. It was, you know, the declared object of his heart, that she might be suitably married ; and, since heaven has done for him what he most wished to do, how can he possibly be dissatisfied ?
Priyamvadd —You reason well ; but [looking at her basket], my friend, we have plucked a sufficient store of flowers to scatter over the place of sacrifice.
302 THE L08T RENO.
Anuftiyd — Let us gather more to decorate the temples of the goddesses who have procured for Sacontala so much good fortune. [ They both gather more flowers.
[Behind the scenes] — It is I — Hola !
Anufuyd [listening] — I hear the voice, as it seems, of a
guest arrived in the hermitage.
Priyamvadd — Let us hasten thither. Sacontala is now
reposing ; but though we may, when she wakes, enjoy her presence, yet her mind will all day be absent with her departed
thou art meditating, on whom alone thy heart is now fixed, while thou neglectest a pure gem of devotion who demands hospitality, shall forget thee, when thou seest him next, as a man restored to sobriety forgets the words which he uttered in a state of intoxication. "
[Both damsels look at each other with affliction. Priyamvadd — Woe is me ! Dreadful calamity ! Our be
loved friend has, through mere absence of mind, provoked, by her neglect, some holy man who expected reverence.
lord. — Anuf&yd
Be it so ; but we have occasion, you know, for all these flowers. — [They advance. [Again behind the scenes] How ! dost thou show no atten tion to a guest ? Then hear my imprecations. " He on whom
Anuf&yd [looking] — It must be so ; for the choleric Dur- vasas is going hastily back.
Priyamvadd — Who else has power to consume, like raging fire, whatever offends him ? Go, my Anufuya ; fall at his feet, and persuade him, if possible, to return : in the meantime I will prepare water and refreshments for him.
Anufuyd — I go with eagerness. [She goes out.
Priyamvadd [advancing hastily, her foot slips] — Ah ! through my eager haste I have let the basket fall ; and my
religious duties must not be postponed.
[She gathers fresh flowers.
ANTJFUYA reenters.
Anufiiyd — His wrath, my beloved, passes all bounds. Who living could now appease him by the humblest prostra tions or entreaties ? yet at last he a little relented.
Priyamvadd — That little is a great deal for him. But in form me how you soothed him in any degree.
THE LOST RING. 303
AnufHyd — When he positively refused to come back, I threw myself at his feet, and thus addressed him, " Holy sage, forgive, I entreat, the offense of an amiable girl, who has the highest veneration for you, but was ignorant, through distrac tion of mind, how exalted a personage was calling to her. "
Anuf&yd — He answered thus, " My word must not be recalled ; but the spell which it has raised shall be wholly removed when her lord shall see his ring. " Saying this he disappeared. —
Priyamvadd — What then ? What said he ?
We may now have confidence ; for before the monarch departed, he fixed with his own hand on the finger of Sacontala the ring, on which we saw the name Dush- manta engraved, and which we will instantly recognize. On
him, therefore, alone will depend the remedy for our mis fortune.
Anuftiyd — Come, let us now proceed to the shrines of the goddesses, and implore their succor. [Both advance.
Priyamvadd
Priyamvadd [looking'] — See ! my Anufuya, where our be loved friend sits, motionless as a picture, supporting her lan guid head with her left hand. With a mind so intent on one object, she can pay no attention to herself, much less to a stranger. —
*******
Let the horrid imprecation, Priyamvada, remain a secret between us two ; we must spare the feelings of our beloved, who is naturally susceptible of quick emotions.
Anuf&yd
Chamberlain [advancing humbly] —May our sovereign be victorious ! Two religious men, with some women, are come from their abode in a forest near the Snowy Mountains, and bring a message from Canna. The king will command.
Dushmanta [surprised] — What ! are pious hermits arrived in the company of women ?
Chamberlain — It is even so.
Dushmanta — Order the priest Somarata, in my name, to
show them due reverence in the form appointed by the Veda ; and bid him attend me. I shall wait for my holy guests in a place fit for their reception.
Chamberlain — I obey. [He goes out. Dushmanta — Warder, point the way to the hearth of the
consecrated fire.
304 THE LOST RING.
Warder — This, O king, this is the way. [He walks be
Here is the entrance of the hallowed inclosure ; and there stands the venerable cow to be milked for the sacrifice, looking bright from the recent sprinkling of mystic water. Let the king ascend.
[Dushmanta is raised to the place of sacrifice on the shoulders of his Warders. ]
fore. ]
Dushmanta — What message can the pious Canna have sent me ? Has the devotion of his pupils been impeded by evil spirits, or by what other calamity? Or has any harm, alas! befallen the poor herds who graze in the hallowed forest ? Or have the sins of the king tainted the flowers and fruits of the creepers planted by female hermits ? My mind is entangled in a labyrinth of confused apprehensions.
Warder —What our sovereign imagines, cannot possibly have happened ; since the hermitage has been rendered secure from evil by the mere sound of his bowstring. The pious men, whom the king's benevolence has made happy, are come, I pre sume, to do him homage.
[Enter Sarngarava, Saradwata, and GuatamI, leading Sacontala by the hand ; and before them the old Cham berlain and the Priest. ]
Chamberlain — This way, respectable strangers ; come this
fire.
Sdradwata — I was not less confounded than yourself on entering the populous city ; but now I look on it, as a man just bathed in pure water, on a man smeared with oil and dust, as the pure on the impure, as the waking on the sleeping, as the free man on the captive, as the independent on the slave.
way. — Sdrngarava
My friend Saradwata, there sits the king of men, who has felicity at command, yet shows equal respect to all : here no subject, even of the lowest class, is received with contempt. Nevertheless, my soul having ever been free from
attachment to worldly things, I consider this hearth, although a crowd now surround it, as the station merely of consecrated
Priest — Thence it is, that men, like you two, are so ele vated above other mortals.
Sacontald [perceiving a bad omen] — Venerable mother, I feel my right eye throb. What means this involuntary motion ?
THE LOST RING. 806
Gautami — Heaven avert the omen, my Sweet child ! May every delight attend thee ! — [ They all advance. Priest [showing the king to them] There, holy men, is the
protector of the people, who has taken his seat, and expects you. Sdrngarava — This is what we wished ; yet we have no private interest in the business. It is ever thus; trees are bent by the abundance of their fruit ; clouds are brought low,
when they teem with salubrious rain ; and the real benefactors of mankind are not elated by riches.
Warder — O king, the holy guests appear before you with placid looks, indicating their affection. —
Dushmanta [gazing at Sacontald] Ah ! what damsel is that whose mantle conceals the far greater part of her beau tiful form? She looks, among the hermits, like a fresh green bud among faded and yellow leaves.
Warder — This, at least, O king, is apparent ; that she has a form which deserves to be seen more distinctly.
Dushmanta — Let her still be covered, she seems pregnant ; and the wife of another must not be seen even by me.
Sacontald [aside, with her hand to her bosom] — O my heart, why dost thou palpitate? Remember the beginning of the lord's affection, and be tranquil.
Priest — May the king prosper ! The respectable guests have been honored as the law ordains ; and they have now a message to deliver from their spiritual guide : let the king deign to hear it. —
I am attentive.
Both Misras [extending their hands] — Victory attend thy
Dushmanta [with reverence]
banners !
Dushmanta — I respectfully greet you both.
Both — Blessings on our sovereign !
Dushmanta — Has your devotion been uninterrupted? Sdrngarava — How should our rites be disturbed, when thou
art the preserver of all creatures ? How, when the bright sun blazes, should darkness cover the world?
Dushmanta [aside] — The name of royalty produces, I sup pose, all worldly advantages. [Aloud. ] Does the holy Canna then prosper? —
Sdrngarava O king, they who gather the fruits of devo tion may command prosperity. He first inquires affectionately whether thy arms are successful, and then addresses thee in these words : —
VOL. yh. — 20
306 THE LOST RING.
Dushmanta — What are his orders?
Sdrngarava — " The contract of marriage, reciprocally made between thee and this girl, my daughter, I confirm with tender regard ; since thou art celebrated as the most honorable of men, and my Sacontala is Virtue herself in a human form, no blas phemous complaint will henceforth be made against Brahma for suffering discordant matches : he has now united a bride and bridegroom with qualities equally transcendant. Since, there fore, she is pregnant by thee, receive her in thy palace, that she may perform, in conjunction with thee, the duties prescribed by religion. "
Q-autami — Great king, thou hast a mild aspect ; and I wish to address thee in few words.
Dushmanta [smiling] — Speak, venerable matron.
Q-autami — She waited not the return of her spiritual father ; nor were thy kindred consulted by thee. You two only were
present, when your nuptials were solemnized; now, therefore, converse freely together in the absence of all others.
Sacontald [aside] — What will my lord say ?
Dushmanta [aside, perplexed] — How strange an adventure ! Sacontald [aside] — Ah me, how disdainfully he seems to
receive the message !
Sdrngarava [aside] — What means that phrase which I over
heard, "How strange an adventure"? [Aloud. ] Monarch, thou knowest the hearts of men. Let a wife behave ever so discreetly, the world will think ill of her, if she live only with her paternal kinsmen ; and a lawful wife now requests, as her kindred also humbly entreat, that whether she be loved or not, she may pass her days in the mansion of her husband.
Sacontald [aside with anguish] — O my heart, thy fears have proved just.
Dushmanta — What sayest thou ? Am I the lady's husband ?
Sdrngarava — Does it become a magnificent prince to depart from the rules of religion and honor, merely because he repents of his engagements ?
Dushmanta — With what hope of success could this ground less fable have been invented ?
Sdrngarava [angrily] — The minds of those whom power intoxicates are perpetually changing.
Dushmanta — I am reproved with too great severity. Qautami [to Sacontald] — Be not ashamed, my sweet child ; let me take off thy mantle, that the king may recollect thee.
[She unveils her. ]
THE LOST RING. 307
Dushmanta [aside, looking at Sacontald] — While I am doubtful whether this unblemished beauty which is displayed before me has not been possessed by another, I resemble a bee fluttering at the close of night over a blossom filled with dew ; and in this state of mind I neither can enjoy nor forsake her.
Warder [aside to Dushmanta] — The king best knows his rights and his duties; but who would hesitate when a woman, bright as a gem, brings luster to the apartments of his palace? —
Sdrngarava What, O king, does thy strange silence im port ?
Dushmanta — Holy man, I have been meditating again and again, but have no recollection of my marriage with this lady. How then can I lay aside all consideration of my military tribe, and admit into my palace a young woman who is preg nant by another husband?
Sacontald [aside] — Ah ! woe is me. Can there be a doubt even of our nuptials ? The tree of my hope, which had risen so luxuriantly, is at once broken down.
Sdrngarava — Beware, lest the godlike sage, who would have bestowed on thee, as a free gift, his inestimable treasure, which thou hadst taken, like a base robber, should now cease to think of thee, who art lawfully married to his daughter, and should confine all his thoughts to her whom thy perfidy disgraces.
Sdradwata — Rest a while, my Sarngarava ; and thou, Sa contald, take thy turn to speak ; since thy lord has declared his forgetfulness.
Sacontald [aside] — If his affection has ceased, of what use will it be to recall his remembrance of me. Yet, if my soul
must endure torment, be it so ;
to Dushmanta. ] O my husband ! [Pausing. ] Or (if the just application of that sacred word be still doubted by thee), 0 son of Puru, is it becoming that, having been once enamored of me in the consecrated forest, and having shown the excess of thy passion, thou shouldst this day deny me with bitter expressions? —
Be the crime removed from my soul ! Thou hast been instructed for some base purpose to vilify me, and make me fall from the dignity which 1 have hitherto supported : as a river which has burst its banks and altered its placid current overthrows the trees that had
risen aloft on them.
Dushmanta [covering his ears]
I will speak to him.
[Aloud
308 THE LOST RING.
Sacontald — If thou sayest this merely from want of recol- leotion, I will restore thy memory by producing thy own ring, with thy name engraved on it.
Dushmanta A capital invention !
I have no ring. — [She fixes her eyes with anguish on GAtTTAMf.
Qautaml The fatal ring must have dropped, my child, from thy hand, when thou tookest up water to pour on thy head in the pool of Sachitirt'ha, near the station of Sacra vatara.
Sacontald [looking at her finger] — Ah me !
Dushmanta [smiling'] —So skillful are women in finding ready excuses ! I will yet
Sacontald — The power of Brahma must prevail ; mention one oircumstance.
Dushmanta — I must submit to hear the tale.
Sacontald — One day, in a grove of Vetasas, thou tookest water in thy hand from its natural vase of lotos leaves —
Dushmanta — What followed ?
Sacontald •— At that instant a little fawn, which I had reared as my own child, approached thee ; and thou saidst with be nevolence, "Drink thou first, gentle fawn. " He would not drink from the hand of a stranger, but received water eagerly from mine 5 when thou saidst, with increasing affection, " Thus every creature loves its companions ; you are both foresters alike, and both alike amiable. "
Dushmanta — By such interested and honeyed falsehoods are the bouIb of voluptuaries insnared.
Q-autami — Forbear, illustrious prince, to speak harshly. She was bred in a sacred grove where she learned no guile. Dushmanta — Pious matron, the dexterity of females, even when they are untaught, appears in those of a species different
from our own. What would it be if they were duly instructed ! The female Cocilas, before they fly towards the firmament, leave their eggs to be hatched, and their young fed, by birds who have no relation to them.
Sacontald [with anger] — Oh ! void of honor, thou meas- urest all the world by thy own bad heart. What prince ever resembled or ever will resemble thee, who wearest the garb of religion and virtue, but in truth art a base deceiver ; like a deep well whose mouth is covered with smiling plants !
Dushmanta [aride] —- The rusticity of her education makes her speak thus angrily and inconsistently with female decorum. She looks indignant ; her eye glows ; and her speech, formed
THE LOST KING.
309
of harsh terms, falters as she utters them. Her lip, ruddy as the Bimba fruit, quivers as if it were nipped with frost ; and her eyebrows, naturally smooth and equal, are at once irregu larly contracted. Thus having failed in circumventing me by the apparent luster of simplicity, she has recourse to wrath, and snaps in two the bow of Cama, which, if she had not belonged to another, might have wounded me. [Aloud. ] The heart of Dushmanta, young woman, is known to all ; and thine is be trayed by thy present demeanor,
Sacontald [ironically] — You kings are in all cases to be credited implicitly ; you perfectly know the respect which is due to virtue and to mankind ; while females, however modest, however virtuous, know nothing, and speak nothing truly. In a happy hour I came hither to seek the objeot of my affection : in a happy moment I received the hand of a prince desoended from Puru ; a prince who had won my confidence by the honey of his words, whilst his heart ooncealed the weapon that was to pieroe mine. — [She hides her face and weeps.
Sdrngarava This insufferable mutability of the king's temper kindles my wrath. Henceforth let all be oiroumspect before they form secret connections : a friendship hastily con tracted, when both hearts are not perfectly known, must ero- long become enmity.
Dushmanta — Wouldst thou force me then to commit an enormous crime, relying solely on her smooth speeches?
Sdrngarava [scornfully] — Thou hast heard an answer. The words of an incomparable girl, who never learned what iniquity was, are here to receive no credit ; while they, whose learning consists in accusing others, and inquiring into crimes, are the only persons who speak truth !
Dushmanta — man of unimpeached veracity, I certainly am what thou describest ; but what would be gained by accus ing thy female associate ?
Sdrngarava — Eternal misery.
Dushmanta — No; misery will never be the portion of Puru's descendants.
Sdrngarava — What avails our altercation? O king, we have obeyed the commands of our preceptor, and now return. Sacontala is thy wife by law, whether thou desert or acknowl edge her; and the dominion of a husband is absolute. Go before us, Gautami.
[The two Misras and Gautami returning.
310 THE LOST RING.
Sacontald — I have been deceived by this perfidious man ; but will you, my friends, will you also forsake me ?
Sdmgarava
— [Following them. My son, Sacontala follows us with
Q-autaml [looking back']
affectionate supplications. What can she do here with a faith less husband — she who is all tenderness?
Sdmgarava [angrily to Sacontald] — O wife, who seest the faults of thy lord, dost thou desire independence ?
[Sacontala stops, and trembles. Sdradwata — Let the queen hear. If thou beest what the king proclaims thee, what right hast thou to complain? But if thou knowest the purity of thy own soul, it will become thee to wait as a handmaid in the mansion of thy lord. Stay,
then, where thou art ; we must return to Canna.
Dushmanta — Deceive her not, holy men, with vain expecta
tions. The moon opens the night flower, and the sun makes the water lily blossom ; each is confined to its own object ; and thus a virtuous man abstains from any connection with the wife of another. —
Yet thou, O king, who fearest to offend reli gion and virtue, art not afraid to desert thy wedded wife, pre
tending that the variety of thy public affairs has made thee forget thy private contract.
Dushmanta [to his priest] — I really have no remembrance of any such engagement; and I ask thee, my spiritual coun selor, whether of the two offenses be the greater, to forsake my own wife, or to have an intercourse with the wife of another ?
Priest [after some deliberation] — We may adopt an expedi ent between both.
Dushmanta — Let my venerable guide command.
Priest — The young woman may dwell till her delivery in
will be the father of an illustrious prince, whose dominion will be bounded by the western and eastern seas ; now, if the holy man's daughter shall bring forth a son whose hands and feet bear the marks of extensive sovereignty, I will do homage to her as my queen, and conduct her to the royal apartments; if not, she shall return in due time to her father.
Dushmanta — Be it as you judge proper.
my house. — Dushmanta
For what purpose ?
Priest — Wise astrologers have assured the king that he
THE LOST RING. 311
Priest [to Sacontala] — This way, my daughter, follow me.
Sacontald — O earth ! Mild goddess ! give me a place within thy bosom !
[She goes out weeping with the Priest ; while the two Misras go out by a different way with GautamL Dushmanta stands meditating on the beauty of Sacontala ; but the
imprecation still clouds his memory. ]
[Behind the scenes'] — Oh, miraculous event ! Bushmanta [listening] — What can have happened !
The Priest reenters.
Priest — Hear, O king, the stupendous event. When Canna's pupils had departed, Sacontala, bewailing her adverse fortune, extended her arms and wept ; when —
Priest — A body of light, in a female shape, descended near Apsarastfrt'ha, where the nymphs of heaven are worshiped ; and having caught her hastily in her bosom, disappeared.
[All express astonishment. Bushmanta — I suspected from the beginning some work of sorcery. The business is over ; and it is needless to reason
more on it. Let thy mind, Somarata, be at rest.
Priest — May the king be victorious. [He goes out. Dushmanta — Chamberlain, I have been greatly harassed ;
Dushmanta — What then ?
and thou, Warder, go before me to a place of repose.
Warder — This way ; let the king come this way.
Dushmanta [advancing, aside] — I cannot with all my efforts
»•*•••* Scene. — A street.
recollect my nuptials with the daughter of the hermit ; yet so agitated is my heart, that it almost induces me to believe her story. [All go out.
Enter a Superintendent of Police, with two Officers leading a man with his hands bound.
to spare me : suspect.
First Officer [striking the prisoner] — Take that, Cumbbilaca, if Cumbhilaca be thy name ; and tell us now where thou gottest this ring, bright with a large gem, on which the king's name is engraved.
Cumbhilaca [trembling] — Spare me, I entreat your honors
I am not guilty of so great a crime as you
312 THE LOST RING.
First Officer —» O distinguished Brahman, didst thou then receive it from the king as a reward of some important
service ? — I am a poor fisherman dwell OumbMlaca Only hear me :
ing at Sacravatara —
Second Officer — Did we ask, thou thief, about thy tribe or
thy dwelling-place ?
Superintendent — O Suchaca, let the fellow tell his own
story. Now, conceal nothing, sirrah.
First Officer — Dost thou hear ? Do as our master com
mands.
Cumbhilaca — I am a man who support my family by catch
ing fish in nets, or with hooks, and by various other contriv ances.
Superintendent [laughing-] — A virtuous way of gaining a
livelihood ! — Cumbhilaca
Blame me not, master. The occupation of our forefathers, how low soever, must not be forsaken ; and a man who kills animals for sale may have a tender heart, though
his act be cruel. — Go on, go on.
Superintendent
Cumbhilaca — One day, having caught a large Rohita fish, I
cut it open, and saw this bright ring in its stomach ; but when I offered to sell it, I was apprehended by your honors. So far only am I guilty of taking the ring. Will you now continue beating and bruising me to death ? —
Superintendent [smelling the ring] It is certain, Jaluca, that this gem has been in the body of a fish. The case requires consideration ; and I will mention it to some of the king's household. —
Both Officers
Come on, cutpurse. [They advance. Superintendent — Stand here, Suchaca, at the great gate of
the city, and wait for me, while I speak to some of the officers
in the palace. — Both Officers
Go, Rajayucta. May the king favor thee. [The Superintendent goes out.
Second Officer — Our master will stay, I fear, a long while.
First Officer — Yes ; access to kings can only be had at their leisure.
Second Officer — The tips Jaluca, to kill this cutpurse.
of my fingers itch, my friend Cumbhilaca — You would put to death an innocent man.
THE LOST RING. 813
First Officer {looking] — Here comes our master. The king has decided quickly. Now, Cumbhilaca, you will either see your companions again, or be the food of shakals and vultures.
The Superintendent reenters.
Superintendent — Let the fisherman immediately — Cumbhilaca [in an agony] — Oh ! I am a dead man.
Superintendent — Be discharged. Hola ! set him at liberty. The king says he knows his innocence ; and his story is true.
Second Officer — As our master commands. The fellow is brought back from the mansion of Yama, to which he was hastening. [Unbinding the fisherman.
Oumbhilaca [bowing] — My lord, I owe my life to your kindness.
Superintendent — Rise, friend, and hear with delight that the king gives thee a sum of money equal to the full value of the ring ; it is a fortune to a man in thy station.
[ Giving him the money. Oumbhilaca [with rapture] — I am transported with joy.
First Officer — This vagabond seems to be taken down from the stake, and set on the back of a state elephant.
Second Officer — The king, I suppose, has a great affection for his gem.
Superintendent — Not for its intrinsic value ; but I guessed the cause of his ecstasy when he saw it.
Both Officers — What could occasion it?
Superintendent — I suspect that it called to his memory some person who has a place in his heart ; for though his mind be naturally firm, yet, from the moment when he beheld the ring, he was for some minutes excessively agitated.
Second Officer — Our master has given the king extreme
pleasure. — First Officer
—
Yes ; and by the means of this fish catcher. [Looking fiercely at him. Be not angry. Half the money shall be
Cumbhilaca
divided between you to purchase wine.
******* Dushmanta — Was it sleep that impaired my memory ? Was it delusion ? Was it an error of my judgment ? Or was
First Officer — Oh ! now thou art our beloved friend. Good wine is the first object of our affection. Let us together to the vinters. [They all go out.
314 THE LOST RING.
it the destined reward of my bad actions ? Whatever it was, I am sensible that, until Sacontala return to these arms, I shall be plunged in the abyss of affliction.
Mddhavya — Do not despair; the fatal ring is itself an example that the lost may be found. Events which were fore doomed by Heaven must not be lamented.
Dushmanta [looking at his ring] —The fate of this ring, now fallen from a station which it will not easily regain, I may at least deplore. O gem, thou art removed from the soft finger, beautiful with ruddy tips, on which a place had been assigned thee; and, minute as thou art, thy bad qualities appear from the similarity of thy punishment to mine.
Misras [aside] — Had it found a way to any other hand, its lot would have been truly deplorable. O Menaca, how wouldst thou be delighted with the conversation which gratifies my ears !
Mddhavya — Let me know, I pray, by what means the ring obtained a place on the finger of Sacontala.
Dushmanta — You shall know, my friend. When I was coming from the holy forest to my capital, my beloved, with tears in her eyes, thus addressed me, " How long will the son of my lord keep me in his remembrance ? "
Mddhavya — Well, what then ?
Dushmanta — Then, fixing this ring on her lovely finger, I thus answered, "Repeat each day one of the three syllables engraved on this gem ; and before thou hast spelled the word Dushmanta, one of my noblest officers shall attend thee, and conduct my darling to her palace. " Yet I forgot, I deserted her in my frenzy. —
Misras [aside] A charming interval of three days was fixed between their separation and their meeting, which the will of Brahma rendered unhappy.
Mddhavya — But how came the ring to enter, like a hook, into the mouth of a carp?
