No More Learning

_Shakuntala_. I am ashamed to go before such parents with my husband.

_King_. It is the custom in times of festival. Come. (_They walk
about_. KASHYAPA _appears seated, with_ ADITI. )

_Kashyapa_ (_looking at the king_). Aditi,

'Tis King Dushyanta, he who goes before
Your son in battle, and who rules the earth,
Whose bow makes Indra's weapon seem no more
Than a fine plaything, lacking sterner worth.

_Aditi_. His valour might be inferred from his appearance.

_Matali_. O King, the parents of the gods look upon you with a glance
that betrays parental fondness. Approach them. _King_. Matali,

Sprung from the Creator's children, do I see
Great Kashyapa and Mother Aditi?
The pair that did produce the sun in heaven,
To which each year twelve changing forms are given;
That brought the king of all the gods to birth,
Who rules in heaven, in hell, and on the earth;
That Vishnu, than the Uncreated higher,
Chose as his parents with a fond desire.

_Matali_. It is indeed they.

_King_ (_falling before them_). Dushyanta, servant of Indra, does
reverence to you both.

_Kashyapa_. My son, rule the earth long.

_Aditi_. And be invincible. (SHAKUNTALA _and her son fall at their
feet_. )

_Kashyapa_. My daughter,

Your husband equals Indra, king
Of gods; your son is like his son;
No further blessing need I bring:
Win bliss such as his wife has won.

_Aditi_. My child, keep the favour of your husband. And may this fine
boy be an honour to the families of both parents. Come, let us be
seated. (_All seat themselves_. )

_Kashyapa_ (_indicating one after the other_).

Faithful Shakuntala, the boy,
And you, O King, I see
A trinity to bless the world--
Faith, Treasure, Piety.

_King_. Holy one, your favour shown to us is without parallel. You
granted the fulfilment of our wishes before you called us to your
presence. For, holy one,

The flower comes first, and then the fruit;
The clouds appear before the rain;
Effect comes after cause; but you
First helped, then made your favour plain.

_Matali_. O King, such is the favour shown by the parents of the
world. _King_. Holy one, I married this your maid-servant by the
voluntary ceremony. When after a time her relatives brought her to me,
my memory failed and I rejected her. In so doing, I sinned against
Kanva, who is kin to you. But afterwards, when I saw the ring, I
perceived that I had married her. And this seems very wonderful to me.

Like one who doubts an elephant,
Though seeing him stride by,
And yet believes when he has seen
The footprints left; so I.

_Kashyapa_. My son, do not accuse yourself of sin. Your infatuation
was inevitable. Listen.

_King_. I am all attention.

_Kashyapa_. When the nymph Menaka descended to earth and received
Shakuntala, afflicted at her rejection, she came to Aditi. Then I
perceived the matter by my divine insight. I saw that the unfortunate
girl had been rejected by her rightful husband because of Durvasas'
curse. And that the curse would end when the ring came to light.

_King_ (_with a sigh of relief. To himself_). Then I am free from
blame.

_Shakuntala_ (_to herself_). Thank heaven! My husband did not reject
me of his own accord. He really did not remember me. I suppose I did
not hear the curse in my absent-minded state, for my friends warned me
most earnestly to show my husband the ring.

_Kashyapa_. My daughter, you know the truth. Do not now give way to
anger against your rightful husband. Remember:

The curse it was that brought defeat and pain;
The darkness flies; you are his queen again.
Reflections are not seen in dusty glass,
Which, cleaned, will mirror all the things that pass.

_King_. It is most true, holy one.

_Kashyapa_. My son, I hope you have greeted as he deserves the son
whom Shakuntala has borne you, for whom I myself have performed the
birth-rite and the other ceremonies.

_King_. Holy one, the hope of my race centres in him.

_Kashyapa_. Know then that his courage will make him emperor.

Journeying over every sea,
His car will travel easily;
The seven islands of the earth
Will bow before his matchless worth;
Because wild beasts to him were tame,
All-tamer was his common name;
As Bharata he shall be known,
For he will bear the world alone.

_King_. I anticipate everything from him, since you have performed the
rites for him.

_Aditi_. Kanva also should be informed that his daughter's wishes are
fulfilled. But Menaka is waiting upon me here and cannot be spared.

_Shakuntala_ (_to herself_). The holy one has expressed my own desire.

_Kashyapa_. Kanva knows the whole matter through his divine insight.
(_He reflects_. ) Yet he should hear from us the pleasant tidings, how
his daughter and her son have been received by her husband. Who waits
without? (_Enter a pupil_. )

_Pupil_. I am here, holy one.

_Kashyapa_. Galava, fly through the air at once, carrying pleasant
tidings from me to holy Kanva. Tell him how Durvasas' curse has come
to an end, how Dushyanta recovered his memory, and has taken
Shakuntala with her child to himself.

_Pupil_. Yes, holy one. (_Exit_. )

_Kashyapa_ (_to the king_). My son, enter with child and wife the
chariot of your friend Indra, and set out for your capital.

_King_. Yes, holy one.

_Kashyapa_. For now

May Indra send abundant rain,
Repaid by sacrificial gain;
With aid long mutually given,
Rule you on earth, and he in heaven.

_King_. Holy one, I will do my best.

_Kashyapa_. What more, my son, shall I do for you?

_King_. Can there be more than this? Yet may this prayer be fulfilled.

May kingship benefit the land,
And wisdom grow in scholars' band;
May Shiva see my faith on earth
And make me free of all rebirth.

(_Exeunt omnes_. )

* * * * *




THE STORY OF SHAKUNTALA


In the first book of the vast epic poem _Mahabharata_, Kalidasa found
the story of Shakuntala. The story has a natural place there, for
Bharata, Shakuntala's son, is the eponymous ancestor of the princes
who play the leading part in the epic.

With no little abbreviation of its epic breadth, the story runs as
follows:--

THE EPIC TALE

Once that strong-armed king, with a mighty host of men and chariots,
entered a thick wood. Then when the king had slain thousands of wild
creatures, he entered another wood with his troops and his chariots,
intent on pursuing a deer. And the king beheld a wonderful, beautiful
hermitage on the bank of the sacred river Malini; on its bank was the
beautiful hermitage of blessed, high-souled Kanva, whither the great
sages resorted. Then the king determined to enter, that he might see
the great sage Kanva, rich in holiness. He laid aside the insignia of
royalty and went on alone, but did not see the austere sage in the
hermitage. Then, when he did not see the sage, and perceived that the
hermitage was deserted, he cried aloud, "Who is here? " until the
forest seemed to shriek. Hearing his cry, a maiden, lovely as Shri,
came from the hermitage, wearing a hermit garb. "Welcome! " she said at
once, greeting him, and smilingly added: "What may be done for you? "
Then the king said to the sweet-voiced maid: "I have come to pay
reverence to the holy sage Kanva. Where has the blessed one gone,
sweet girl? Tell me this, lovely maid. " Shakuntala said: "My blessed
father has gone from the hermitage to gather fruits. Wait a moment.
You shall see him when he returns. "

The king did not see the sage, but when the lovely girl of the fair
hips and charming smile spoke to him, he saw that{} she was radiant in
her beauty, yes, in her hard vows and self-restraint all youth and
beauty, and he said to her:

"Who are you? Whose are you, lovely maiden? Why did you come to the
forest? Whence are you, sweet girl, so lovely and so good? Your beauty
stole my heart at the first glance. I wish to know you better. Answer
me, sweet maid. "

The maiden laughed when thus questioned by the king in the hermitage,
and the words she spoke were very sweet: "O Dushyanta, I am known as
blessed Kanva's daughter, and he is austere, steadfast, wise, and of a
lofty soul. "

Dushyanta said: "But he is chaste, glorious maid, holy, honoured by
the world. Though virtue should swerve from its course, he would not
swerve from the hardness of his vow. How were you born his daughter,
for you are beautiful? I am in great perplexity about this. Pray
remove it. "

[Shakuntala here explains how she is the child of a sage and a nymph,
deserted at birth, cared for by birds (_shakuntas_), found and reared
by Kanva, who gave her the name Shakuntala. ]

Dushyanta said: "You are clearly a king's daughter, sweet maiden, as
you say. Become my lovely wife. Tell me, what shall I do for you? Let
all my kingdom be yours to-day. Become my wife, sweet maid. "

Shakuntala said: "Promise me truly what I say to you in secret. The
son that is born to me must be your heir. If you promise, Dushyanta, I
will marry you. "

"So be it," said the king without thinking, and added: "I will bring
you too to my city, sweet-smiling girl. "

So the king took the faultlessly graceful maiden by the hand and dwelt
with her. And when he had bidden her be of good courage, he went
forth, saying again and again: "I will send a complete army for you,
and tell them to bring my sweet-smiling bride to my palace. " When he
had made this promise, the king went thoughtfully to find Kanva. "What
will he do when he hears it, this holy, austere man? " he wondered, and
still thinking, he went back to his capital.

Now the moment he was gone, Kanva came to the hermitage. And
Shakuntala was ashamed and did not come to meet her father. But
blessed, austere Kanva had divine discernment. He discovered her, and
seeing the matter with celestial vision, he was pleased and said:
"What you have done, dear, to-day, forgetting me and meeting a man,
this does not break the law. A man who loves may marry secretly the
woman who loves him without a ceremony; and Dushyanta is virtuous and
noble, the best of men. Since you have found a loving husband,
Shakuntala, a noble son shall be born to you, mighty in the world. "

Sweet Shakuntala gave birth to a boy of unmeasured prowess. His hands
were marked with the wheel, and he quickly grew to be a glorious boy.
As a six years' child in Kanva's hermitage he rode on the backs of
lions, tigers, and boars near the hermitage, and tamed them, and ran
about playing with them. Then those who lived in Kanva's hermitage
gave him a name. "Let him be called All-tamer," they said: "for he
tames everything. "

But when the sage saw the boy and his more than human deeds, he said
to Shakuntala: "It is time for him to be anointed crown prince. " When
he saw how strong the boy was, Kanva said to his pupils: "Quickly
bring my Shakuntala and her son from my house to her husband's palace.
A long abiding with their relatives is not proper for married women.
It destroys their reputation, and their character, and their virtue;
so take her without delay. " "We will," said all the mighty men, and
they set out with Shakuntala and her son for Gajasahvaya.

When Shakuntala drew near, she was recognised and invited to enter,
and she said to the king: "This is your son, O King. You must anoint
him crown prince, just as you promised before, when we met. "

When the king heard her, although he remembered her, he said: "I do
not remember. To whom do you belong, you wicked hermit-woman? I do not
remember a union with you for virtue, love, and wealth. [1] Either go
or stay, or do whatever you wish. "

When he said this, the sweet hermit-girl half fainted from shame and
grief, and stood stiff as a pillar. Her eyes darkened with passionate
indignation; her lips quivered; she seemed to consume the king as she
gazed at him with sidelong glances. Concealing her feelings and nerved
by anger, she held in check the magic power that her ascetic life had
given her. She seemed to meditate a moment, overcome by grief and
anger. She gazed at her husband, then spoke passionately: "O shameless
king, although you know, why do you say, 'I do not know,' like any
other ordinary man? "

Dushyanta said: "I do not know the son born of you, Shakuntala. Women
are liars. Who will believe what you say? Are you not ashamed to say
these incredible things, especially in my presence? You wicked
hermit-woman, go! "

Shakuntala said: "O King, sacred is holy God, and sacred is a holy
promise. Do not break your promise, O King. Let your love be sacred.
If you cling to a lie, and will not believe, alas! I must go away;
there is no union with a man like you.
For even without you,
Dushyanta, my son shall rule this foursquare earth adorned with kingly
mountains. "

When she had said so much to the king, Shakuntala started to go. But a
bodiless voice from heaven said to Dushyanta: "Care for your son,
Dushyanta. Do not despise Shakuntala. You are the boy's father.
Shakuntala tells the truth. "

When he heard the utterance of the gods, the king joyfully said to his
chaplain and his ministers: "Hear the words of this heavenly
messenger. If I had received my son simply because of her words, he
would be suspected by the world, he would not be pure. "

Then the king received his son gladly and joyfully. He kissed his head
and embraced him lovingly. His wife also Dushyanta honoured, as
justice required. And the king soothed her, and said: "This union
which I had with you was hidden from the world. Therefore I hesitated,
O Queen, in order to save your reputation. And as for the cruel words
you said to me in an excess of passion, these I pardon you, my
beautiful, great-eyed darling, because you love me. "

Then King Dushyanta gave the name Bharata to Shakuntala's son, and had
him anointed crown prince.

It is plain that this story contains the material for a good play; the
very form of the epic tale is largely dramatic. It is also plain, in a
large way, of what nature are the principal changes which a dramatist
must introduce in the original. For while Shakuntala is charming in
the epic story, the king is decidedly contemptible. Somehow or other,
his face must be saved.

To effect this, Kalidasa has changed the old story in three important
respects. In the first place, he introduces the curse of Durvasas,
clouding the king's memory, and saving him from moral responsibility
in his rejection of Shakuntala. That there may be an ultimate recovery
of memory, the curse is so modified as to last only until the king
shall see again the ring which he has given to his bride. To the
Hindu, curse and modification are matters of frequent occurrence; and
Kalidasa has so delicately managed the matter as not to shock even a
modern and Western reader with a feeling of strong improbability. Even
to us it seems a natural part of the divine cloud that envelops the
drama, in no way obscuring human passion, but rather giving to human
passion an unwonted largeness and universality.

In the second place, the poet makes Shakuntala undertake her journey
to the palace before her son is born. Obviously, the king's character
is thus made to appear in a better light, and a greater probability is
given to the whole story.

The third change is a necessary consequence of the first; for without
the curse, there could have been no separation, no ensuing remorse,
and no reunion.

But these changes do not of themselves make a drama out of the epic
tale. Large additions were also necessary, both of scenes and of
characters. We find, indeed, that only acts one and five, with a part
of act seven, rest upon the ancient text, while acts two, three, four,
and six, with most of seven, are a creation of the poet. As might have
been anticipated, the acts of the former group are more dramatic,
while those of the latter contribute more of poetical charm. It is
with these that scissors must be chiefly busy when the play--rather
too long for continuous presentation as it stands--is performed on the
stage.

In the epic there are but three characters--Dushyanta, Shakuntala,
Kanva, with the small boy running about in the background. To these
Kalidasa has added from the palace, from the hermitage, and from the
Elysian region which is represented with vague precision in the last
act.

The conventional clown plays a much smaller part in this play than in
the others which Kalidasa wrote. He has also less humour. The real
humorous relief is given by the fisherman and the three policemen in
the opening scene of the sixth act. This, it may be remarked, is the
only scene of rollicking humour in Kalidasa's writing.

The forest scenes are peopled with quiet hermit-folk. Far the most
charming of these are Shakuntala's girl friends. The two are
beautifully differentiated: Anusuya grave, sober; Priyamvada
vivacious, saucy; yet wonderfully united in friendship and in devotion
to Shakuntala, whom they feel to possess a deeper nature than theirs.

Kanva, the hermit-father, hardly required any change from the epic
Kanva. It was a happy thought to place beside him the staid, motherly
Gautami. The small boy in the last act has magically become an
individual in Kalidasa's hands. In this act too are the creatures of a
higher world, their majesty not rendered too precise.

Dushyanta has been saved by the poet from his epic shabbiness; it may
be doubted whether more has been done. There is in him, as in some
other Hindu heroes, a shade too much of the meditative to suit our
ideal of more alert and ready manhood.

But all the other characters sink into insignificance beside the
heroine. Shakuntala dominates the play. She is actually on the stage
in five of the acts, and her spirit pervades the other two, the second
and the sixth. Shakuntala has held captive the heart of India for
fifteen hundred years, and wins the love of increasing thousands in
the West; for so noble a union of sweetness with strength is one of
the miracles of art.

Though lovely women walk the world to-day
By tens of thousands, there is none so fair
In all that exhibition and display
With her most perfect beauty to compare--

because it is a most perfect beauty of soul no less than of outward
form. Her character grows under our very eyes. When we first meet her,
she is a simple maiden, knowing no greater sorrow than the death of a
favourite deer; when we bid her farewell, she has passed through happy
love, the mother's joys and pains, most cruel humiliation and
suspicion, and the reunion with her husband, proved at last not to
have been unworthy. And each of these great experiences has been met
with a courage and a sweetness to which no words can render justice.

Kalidasa has added much to the epic tale; yet his use of the original
is remarkably minute. A list of the epic suggestions incorporated in
his play is long. But it is worth making, in order to show how keen is
the eye of genius. Thus the king lays aside the insignia of royalty
upon entering the grove (Act I). Shakuntala appears in hermit garb, a
dress of bark (Act I). The quaint derivation of the heroine's name
from _shakunta_--bird--is used with wonderful skill in a passage (Act
VII) which defies translation, as it involves a play on words. The
king's anxiety to discover whether the maiden's father is of a caste
that permits her to marry him is reproduced (Act I). The marriage
without a ceremony is retained (Act IV), but robbed of all offence.
Kanva's celestial vision, which made it unnecessary for his child to
tell him of her union with the king, is introduced with great delicacy
(Act IV). The curious formation of the boy's hand which indicated
imperial birth adds to the king's suspense (Act VII). The boy's rough
play with wild animals is made convincing (Act VII) and his very
nickname All-tamer is preserved (Act VII). Kanva's worldly wisdom as
to husband and wife dwelling together is reproduced (Act IV). No small
part of the give-and-take between the king and Shakuntala is given
(Act V), but with a new dignity.

Of the construction of the play I speak with diffidence. It seems
admirable to me, the apparently undue length of some scenes hardly
constituting a blemish, as it was probably intended to give the actors
considerable latitude of choice and excision. Several versions of the
text have been preserved; it is from the longer of the two more
familiar ones that the translation in this volume has been made. In
the warm discussion over this matter, certain technical arguments of
some weight have been advanced in favour of this choice; there is also
a more general consideration which seems to me of importance. I find
it hard to believe that any lesser artist could pad such a
masterpiece, and pad it all over, without making the fraud apparent on
almost every page. The briefer version, on the other hand, might
easily grow out of the longer, either as an acting text, or as a
school-book.

We cannot take leave of Shakuntala in any better way than by quoting
the passage[2] in which Levi's imagination has conjured up "the
memorable _premiere_ when Shakuntala saw the light, in the presence of
Vikramaditya and his court. "

La fete du printemps approche; Ujjayini, la ville aux riches
marchands et la capitale intellectuelle de l'Inde, glorieuse et
prospere sous un roi victorieux et sage, se prepare a celebrer
la solennite avec une pompe digne de son opulence et de son
gout. . . . L'auteur applaudi de Malavika . . . le poete dont le
souple genie s'accommode sans effort au ton de l'epopee ou de
l'elegie, Kalidasa vient d'achever une comedie heroique
annoncee comme un chef-d'oeuvre par la voix de ses amis. . . . Le
poete a ses comediens, qu'il a eprouves et dresses a sa maniere
avec Malavika. Les comediens suivront leur poete familier,
devenu leur maitre et leur ami. . . . Leur solide instruction,
leur gout epure reconnaissent les qualites maitresses de
l'oeuvre, l'habilete de l'intrigue, le juste equilibre des
sentiments, la fraicheur de l'imagination . . .

Vikramaditya entre, suivi des courtisans, et s'asseoit sur son
trone; ses femmes restent a sa gauche; a sa droite les rois
vassaux accourus pour rendre leurs hommages, les princes, les
hauts fonctionnaires, les litterateurs et les savants, groupes
autour de Varaha-mihira l'astrologue et d'Amarasimha le
lexicographe . . .

Tout a coup, les deux jolies figurantes placees devant le
rideau de la coulisse en ecartent les plis, et Duhsanta, l'arc
et les fleches a la main, parait monte sur un char; son cocher
tient les renes; lances a la poursuite d'une gazelle
imaginaire, ils simulent par leurs gestes la rapidite de la
course; leurs stances pittoresques et descriptives suggerent a
l'imagination un decor que la peinture serait impuissante a
tracer. Ils approchent de l'ermitage; le roi descend a terre,
congedie le cocher, les chevaux et le char, entend les voix des
jeunes filles et se cache. Un mouvement de curiosite
agite les spectateurs; fille d'une Apsaras et creation de
Kalidasa, Cakuntala reunit tous les charmes; l'actrice
saura-t-elle repondre a l'attente des connaisseurs et realiser
l'ideal? Elle parait, vetue d'une simple tunique d'ecorce qui
semble cacher ses formes et par un contraste habile les
embellit encore; la ligne arrondie du visage, les yeux longs,
d'un bleu sombre, langoureux, les seins opulents mal
emprisonnes, les bras delicats laissent a deviner les beautes
que le costume ascetique derobe. Son attitude, ses gestes
ravissent a la fois les regards et les coeurs; elle parle, et sa
voix est un chant. La cour de Vikramaditya fremit d'une emotion
sereine et profonde: un chef-d'oeuvre nouveau vient d'entrer
dans l'immortalite.


FOOTNOTES:

[Footnote 1: The Hindu equivalent of "for better, for worse. "]

[Footnote 2: _Le Theatre Indien_, pages 368-371. This is without
competition the best work in which any part of the Sanskrit literature
has been treated, combining erudition, imagination, and taste. The
book is itself literature of a high order. The passage is
unfortunately too long to be quoted entire. ]

* * * * *




THE TWO MINOR DRAMAS


I. --"MALAVIKA AND AGNIMITRA"

_Malavika and Agnimitra_ is the earliest of Kalidasa's three dramas,
and probably his earliest work. This conclusion would be almost
certain from the character of the play, but is put beyond doubt by the
following speeches of the prologue:

_Stage-director_. The audience has asked us to present at this spring
festival a drama called _Malavika and Agnimitra_, composed by
Kalidasa. Let the music begin.

_Assistant_. No, no! Shall we neglect the works of such illustrious
authors as Bhasa, Saumilla, and Kaviputra? Can the audience feel any
respect for the work of a modern poet, a Kalidasa?

_Stage-director_. You are quite mistaken. Consider:

Not all is good that bears an ancient name,
Nor need we every modern poem blame:
Wise men approve the good, or new or old;
The foolish critic follows where he's told.

_Assistant_. The responsibility rests with you, sir.

There is irony in the fact that the works of the illustrious authors
mentioned have perished, that we should hardly know of their existence
were it not for the tribute of their modest, youthful rival. But
Kalidasa could not read the future. We can imagine his feelings of
mingled pride and fear when his early work was presented at the spring
festival before the court of King Vikramaditya, without doubt the most
polished and critical audience that could at that hour have been
gathered in any city on earth. The play which sought the approbation
of this audience shows no originality of plot, no depth of passion. It
is a light, graceful drama of court intrigue. The hero, King
Agnimitra, is an historical character of the second century before
Christ, and Kalidasa's play gives us some information about him that
history can seriously consider. The play represents Agnimitra's
father, the founder of the Sunga dynasty, as still living. As the seat
of empire was in Patna on the Ganges, and as Agnimitra's capital is
Vidisha--the modern Bhilsa--it seems that he served as regent of
certain provinces during his father's lifetime. The war with the King
of Vidarbha seems to be an historical occurrence, and the fight with
the Greek cavalry force is an echo of the struggle with Menander, in
which the Hindus were ultimately victorious. It was natural for
Kalidasa to lay the scene of his play in Bhilsa rather than in the
far-distant Patna, for it is probable that many in the audience were
acquainted with the former city. It is to Bhilsa that the poet refers
again in _The Cloud-Messenger_, where these words are addressed to the
cloud:

At thine approach, Dasharna land is blest
With hedgerows where gay buds are all aglow,
With village trees alive with many a nest
Abuilding by the old familiar crow,
With lingering swans, with ripe rose-apples' darker show.

There shalt thou see the royal city, known
Afar, and win the lover's fee complete,
If thou subdue thy thunders to a tone
Of murmurous gentleness, and taste the sweet,
Love-rippling features of the river at thy feet.

Yet in Kalidasa's day, the glories of the Sunga dynasty were long
departed, nor can we see why the poet should have chosen his hero and
his era as he did.

There follows an analysis of the plot and some slight criticism.

In addition to the stage-director and his assistant, who appear in the
prologue, the characters of the play are these:


AGNIMITRA, _king in Vidisha_.

GAUTAMA, _a clown, his friend_.


GANADASA }
} _dancing-masters_.
HARADATTA }


DHARINI, _the senior queen_.

IRAVATI, _the junior queen_.

MALAVIKA, _maid to Queen Dharini, later discovered to be a princess_.

KAUSHIKI, _a Buddhist nun_.

BAKULAVALIKA, _a maid, friend of Malavika_.

NIPUNIKA, _maid to Queen Iravati_.

_A counsellor, a chamberlain, a humpback, two court poets, maids,
and mute attendants_.

The scene is the palace and gardens of King Agnimitra, the time a few
days.


ACT I. --After the usual prologue, the maid Bakulavalika appears with
another maid. From their conversation we learn that King Agnimitra has
seen in the palace picture-gallery a new painting of Queen Dharini
with her attendants. So beautiful is one of these, Malavika, that the
king is smitten with love, but is prevented by the jealous queen from
viewing the original. At this point the dancing-master Ganadasa
enters. From him Bakulavalika learns that Malavika is a wonderfully
proficient pupil, while he learns from her that Malavika had been sent
as a present to Queen Dharini by a general commanding a border
fortress, the queen's brother.

After this introductory scene, the king enters, and listens to a
letter sent by the king of Vidarbha. The rival monarch had imprisoned
a prince and princess, cousins of Agnimitra, and in response to
Agnimitra's demand that they be set free, he declares that the
princess has escaped, but that the prince shall not be liberated
except on certain conditions. This letter so angers Agnimitra that he
despatches an army against the king of Vidarbha.

Gautama, the clown, informs Agnimitra that he has devised a plan for
bringing Malavika into the king's presence. He has stirred an envious
rivalry in the bosoms of the two dancing-masters, who soon appear,
each abusing the other vigorously, and claiming for himself the
pre-eminence in their art. It is agreed that each shall exhibit his
best pupil before the king, Queen Dharini, and the learned Buddhist
nun, Kaushiki. The nun, who is in the secret of the king's desire, is
made mistress of ceremonies, and the queen's jealous opposition is
overborne.


ACT II. --The scene is laid in the concert-hall of the palace. The nun
determines that Ganadasa shall present his pupil first. Malavika is
thereupon introduced, dances, and sings a song which pretty plainly
indicates her own love for the king. He is in turn quite ravished,
finding her far more beautiful even than the picture. The clown
manages to detain her some little time by starting a discussion as to
her art, and when she is finally permitted to depart, both she and the
king are deeply in love. The court poet announces the noon hour, and
the exhibition of the other dancing-master is postponed.


ACT III. --The scene is laid in the palace garden. From the
conversation of two maids it appears that a favourite ashoka-tree is
late in blossoming. This kind of tree, so the belief runs, can be
induced to put forth blossoms if touched by the foot of a beautiful
woman in splendid garments.

When the girls depart, the king enters with the clown, his confidant.
The clown, after listening to the king's lovelorn confidences, reminds
him that he has agreed to meet his young Queen Iravati in the garden,
and swing with her. But before the queen's arrival, Malavika enters,
sent thither by Dharini to touch the ashoka-tree with her foot, and
thus encourage it to blossom. The king and the clown hide in a
thicket, to feast their eyes upon her. Presently the maid Bakulavalika
appears, to adorn Malavika for the ceremony, and engages her in
conversation about the king. But now a third pair enter, the young
Queen Iravati, somewhat flushed with wine, and her maid Nipunika. They
also conceal themselves to spy upon the young girls. Thus there are
three groups upon the stage: the two girls believe themselves to be
alone; the king and the clown are aware of the two girls, as are also
the queen and her maid; but neither of these two pairs knows of the
presence of the other. This situation gives rise to very entertaining
dialogue, which changes its character when the king starts forward to
express his love for Malavika. Another sudden change is brought about
when Iravati, mad with jealousy, joins the group, sends the two girls
away, and berates the king. He excuses himself as earnestly as a man
may when caught in such a predicament, but cannot appease the young
queen, who leaves him with words of bitter jealousy.


ACT IV. --The clown informs the king that Queen Dharini has locked
Malavika and her friend in the cellar, and has given orders to the
doorkeeper that they are to be released only upon presentation of her
own signet-ring, engraved with the figure of a serpent. But he
declares that he has devised a plan to set them free. He bids the king
wait upon Queen Dharini, and presently rushes into their presence,
showing his thumb marked with two scratches, and declaring that he has
been bitten by a cobra. Imploring the king to care for his childless
mother, he awakens genuine sympathy in the queen, who readily parts
with her serpent-ring, supposed to be efficacious in charming away the
effects of snake-poison. Needless to say, he uses the ring to procure
the freedom of Malavika and her friend, and then brings about a
meeting with Agnimitra in the summer-house. The love-scene which
follows is again interrupted by Queen Iravati. This time the king is
saved by the news that his little daughter has been frightened by a
yellow monkey, and will be comforted only by him. The act ends with
the announcement that the ashoka-tree has blossomed.


ACT V. --It now appears that Queen Dharini has relented and is willing
to unite Malavika with the king; for she invites him to meet her under
the ashoka-tree, and includes Malavika among her attendants. Word is
brought that the army despatched against the king of Vidarbha has been
completely successful, and that in the spoil are included two maids
with remarkable powers of song. These maids are brought before the
company gathered at the tree, where they surprise every one by falling
on their faces before Malavika with the exclamation, "Our princess! "
Here the Buddhist nun takes up the tale. She tells how her brother,
the counsellor of the captive prince, had rescued her and Malavika
from the king of Vidarbha, and had started for Agnimitra's court.

On the way they had been overpowered by robbers, her brother killed,
and she herself separated from Malavika. She had thereupon become a
nun and made her way to Agnimitra's court, and had there found
Malavika, who had been taken from the robbers by Agnimitra's general
and sent as a present to Queen Dharini. She had not divulged the
matter sooner, because of a prophecy that Malavika should be a servant
for just one year before becoming a king's bride. This recital removes
any possible objection to a union of Malavika and Agnimitra.