Know you not that we cherish them in this hermitage as if
they were our own children ?
they were our own children ?
Warner - World's Best Literature - v15 - Kab to Les
]
King — Can this be the daughter of Kanwa ? The saintly man,
though descended from the great Kāçyapa, must be very deficient in
judgment to habituate such a maiden to the life of a recluse.
The sage who would this form of artless grace
Inure to penance, thoughtlessly attempts
To cleave in twain the hard acacia's stem
With the soft edge of a blue lotos leaf.
Well! concealed behind this tree, I will watch her without raising
her suspicions. [Conceals himself. ]
Çakuntalā — Good Anasūyā, Priyamvadā has drawn this bark dress
too tightly about my chest. I pray thee, loosen it a little.
Anasāyā — I will. (Loosens it. ]
Priyamvadā (smiling] – Why do you lay the blame on me? Blame
rather your own blooming youthfulness, which imparts fullness to your
bosom.
King — A most just observation !
This youthful form, whose bosom's swelling charms
By the bark's knotted tissue are concealed,
Like some fair bud close folded in its sheath,
Gives not to view the blooming of its beauty.
But what am I saying? In real truth, this bark dress, though ill
suited to her figure, sets it off like an ornament.
## p. 8464 (#64) ############################################
8464
KALIDASA
Home
Ca
face.
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chart
The lotos with the Saivala entwined
Is not a whit less brilliant; dusky spots
Heighten the lustre of the cold-rayed moon:
This lovely maiden in her dress of bark
Seems all the lovelier. E'en the meanest garb
Gives to true beauty fresh attractiveness.
Cakuntalā [looking before her] - Yon Kēsara-tree beckons to me
with its young shoots, which, as the breeze waves them to and fro,
appear like slender fingers. I will go and attend to it. [Walks
towards it. ]
Priyamvadā - Dear Çakuntalā, prithee, rest in that attitude one
moment.
Çakuntalā — Why so?
Priyamvadā — The Kēsara-tree, whilst your graceful form bends
about its stem, appears as if it were wedded to some lovely twining
creeper.
Çakuntală — Ah! saucy girl, you are most appropriately named
Priyamvadā (speaker of flattering things].
King — What Priyamvadā says, though complimentary, is never-
theless true. Verily,-
Her ruddy lip vies with the opening bud;
Her graceful arms are as the twining stalks;
And her whole form is radiant with the glow
Of youthful beauty, as the tree with bloom.
Anasuyā — See, dear Çakuntalā, here is the young jasmine, which
you named “the Moonlight of the Grove,” the self-elected wife of the
mango-tree. Have you forgotten it ?
Çakuntalā - Rather will I forget myself. [Approaching the plant and
looking at it. ] How delightful is the season when the jasmine-creeper
and the mango-tree seem thus to unite in mutual embraces! The
fresh blossoms of the jasmine resemble the bloom of a young bride,
and the newly formed shoots of the mango appear to make it her
natural protector. (Continues gazing at it. ]
Priyamvadā (smiling]— Do you know, my Anasūyā, why Çakuntalā
gazes so intently at the jasmine?
Anasāyā — No, indeed; I cannot imagine. I pray thee tell me.
Priyamvadā — She is wishing that as the jasmine is united to a
suitable tree, so in like manner she may obtain a husband worthy of
her.
Cakuntala - Speak for yourself, girl; this is the thought in your
own mind. [Continues watering the flowers. ]
King – Would that my union with her were permissible! and yet
I hardly dare hope that the maiden is sprung from a caste different
from that of the head of the hermitage. But away with doubt:
>
H
c
## p. 8465 (#65) ############################################
KĀLIDĀSA
8465
O me
fro,
Walks
e one
bends
wining
named
That she is free to wed a warrior-king
My heart attests. For, in conflicting doubts,
The secret promptings of the good man's soul
Are an unerring index of the truth.
However, come what may, I will ascertain the fact.
Çakuntala (in a flurry)- Ah! a bee, disturbed by the sprinkling of
the water, has left the young jasmine, and is trying to settle on my
face. [Attempts to drive it away. ]
King (gazing at her ardently] - Beautiful! there is something
charming even in her repulse.
Where'er the bee his eager onset plies,
Now here, now there, she darts her kindling eyes:
What love hath yet to teach, fear teaches now,
The furtive glances and the frowning brow.
[In a tone of envy]
Ah, happy bee! how boldly dost thou try
To steal the lustre from her sparkling eye;
And in thy circling movements hover near,
To murmur tender secrets in her ear,
Or, as she coyly waves her hand, to sip
Voluptuous nectar from her lower lip!
While rising doubts my heart's fond hopes destroy,
Thou dost the fullness of her charms enjoy.
Çakuntalā — This impertinent bee will not rest quiet. I must move
elsewhere.
[Moving a few steps off, and casting a glance around. 1
How now! he is following me here. Help! my dear friends, help!
deliver me from the attacks of this troublesome insect.
Priyamvadā and Anasīyā — How can we deliver you? Call Dush-
yanta to your aid. The sacred groves are under the King's special
protection.
King - An excellent opportunity for me to show myself. Fear
[Checks himself when the words are half uttered. Aside. ] . But
stay, if I introduce myself in this manner, they will know me to be
the King. Be it so: I will accost them, nevertheless.
never.
ne, which
fe of the
Plant and
--creeper
es! The
& bride,
it her
not
.
Suntala
[The King, filled with admiration, declares his love for Çakuntalā, and in
the next act he is espoused to her according to the Gandharva ceremonial.
He then departs from the hermitage and returns to the royal city; but leaves
with Çakuntală a precious ring, which she is to present when she claims him
as her lawful husband. The play continues, and shows how the fair Çakun-
talā, so deeply enamored, becomes absent-minded and neglects to do some act
of homage to an aged hermit; who consequently pronounces a curse upon her
that her beloved shall absolutely forget her until he sees the magic ring, which
alone has power to remove the curse. King Dushyanta accordingly loses all
recollection of Çakuntalā; and Çakuntalā's foster-father, the saintly Kanwa,
ne.
a to a
thy of
your
ad yet
afferent
bt:
XV-530
## p. 8466 (#66) ############################################
8466
KĀLIDĀSA
do, un
determines to send his daughter to the King, that her child may be born
under the royal roof. The Fourth Act opens with the day of Çakuntalā's
departure from the hermitage. ]
Dition
beares
.
Scene : The neighborhood of the hermitage. Enter one of Kanwa's Pupils,
just arisen from his couch at the dawn of day.
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Pupil — My master, the venerable Kanwa, who is but lately re-
turned from his pilgrimage, has ordered me to ascertain how the
time goes. I have therefore come into the open air to see if it be
still dark. [Walking and looking about. ] Oh! the dawn has already
.
broken.
Lo! in one quarter of the sky, the Moon,
Lord of the herbs and night-expanding flowers,
Sinks towards his bed behind the western hills;
While in the east, preceded by the Dawn,
His blushing charioteer, the glorious Sun,
Begins his course, and far into the gloom
Casts the first radiance of his Orient beams.
Hail! co-eternal orbs, that rise to set,
And set to rise again; symbols divine
Of man's reverses, life's vicissitudes.
And now
While the round Moon withdraws his looming disk
Beneath the western sky, the full-blown flower
Of the night-loving lotos sheds her leaves
In sorrow for his loss, bequeathing naught
But the sweet memory of her loveliness
To my bereaved sight: e'en as the bride
Disconsolately mourns her absent lord,
And yields her heart a prey to anxious grief.
Anasūya [entering abruptly) — Little as I know of the ways of the
world, I cannot help thinking that King Dushyanta is treating Çakun-
talā very improperly.
Pupil — Well, I must let my reverend preceptor know that it is
time to offer the burnt oblation.
[Exit.
Anasuyā —I am broad awake, but what shall I do? I have no
energy to go about my usual occupations. My hands and feet seem to
have lost their power. Well, Love has gained his object; and Love
only is to blame for having induced our dear friend, in the innocence
of her heart, to confide in such a perfidious man. Possibly however
the imprecation of Durvāsas may be already taking effect. Indeed,
I cannot otherwise account for the King's strange conduct, in allow-
ing so long a time to elapse without even a letter; and that too
after so many promises and protestations. I cannot think what to
K
## p. 8467 (#67) ############################################
KĀLIDĀSA
8467
do, unless we send him the ring which was to be the token of recog-
nition. But which of these austere hermits could we ask to be the
bearer of it? Then again, Father Kanwa has just returned from his
pilgrimage; and how am I to inform him of Sakuntalā's marriage to
King Dushyanta, and her expectation of being soon a mother? I
?
never could bring myself to tell him, even if I felt that Çakuntalā
had been in fault, which she certainly has not. What is to be done ?
Priyamvadā [entering joyfully) – Quick, quick! Anasuya! come and
assist in the joyful preparations for Çakuntala's departure to her hus-
band's palace.
Anasūya — My dear girl, what can you mean ?
Priyamvadā — Listen, now, and I will tell you all about it. I went
just now to Çakuntalā, to inquire whether she had slept comfortably.
Anasāyā — Well, well; go on.
Priyamvadā — She was sitting with her face bowed down to the
very ground with shame when Father Kanwa entered, and embracing
her, of his own accord offered her his congratulations. "I give thee
joy, my child,” he said: “we have had an auspicious omen. The
priest who offered the oblation dropped it into the very centre of
the sacred fire, though thick smoke obstructed his vision. Hence-
forth thou wilt cease to be an object of compassion. This very day
I purpose sending thee, under the charge of certain trusty hermits,
to the King's palace; and shall deliver thee into the hands of thy
husband, as I would commit knowledge to the keeping of a wise and
faithful student. ”
.
(Çakuntalā's touching farewell to the hermitage, and her tender leave-
taking of her young friends, are dramatically presented with much delicacy of
feeling. Two hermits, and an aged matron, Gautami, accompany her on the
journey. Her arrival at the palace, in the Fifth Act, is announced to the
King by the Chamberlain of State. ]
Chamberlain— Well, well: a monarch's business is to sustain the
world, and he must not expect much repose; because
Onward, forever onward, in his car
The unwearied Sun pursues his daily course,
Nor tarries to unyoke his glittering steeds;
And ever moving, speeds the rushing Wind
Through boundless space, filling the universe
With his life-giving breezes; day and night
The King of Serpents on his thousand heads
Upholds the incumbent earth: and even so,
Unceasing toil is aye the lot of kings,
Who, in return, draw nurture from their subjects.
## p. 8468 (#68) ############################################
8468
KĀLIDĀSA
Call
piete
thing
Alul
addres
betrar
I will therefore deliver my message. [Walking on and looking about. ]
Ah! here comes the King :
His subjects are his children; through the day,
Like a fond father, to supply their wants
Incessantly he labors: wearied now,
The monarch seeks seclusion and repose;
E'en as the prince of elephants defies
The sun's fierce heat, and leads the fainting herd
To verdant pastures, ere his way-worn limbs
He yields to rest beneath the cooling shade.
(Approaching) – Victory to the King! So please your Majesty, some
hermits who live in a forest near the Snowy Mountains have arrived
here, bringing certain women with them. They have a message to
deliver from the sage Kanwa, and desire an audience. I await your
Majesty's commands.
King [respectfully] – A message from the sage Kanwa, did you
KE
say?
Chamberlain - Even so, my liege.
King — Tell my domestic priest Somarāta to receive the hermits
with due honor, according to the prescribed form.
2007
วง
[The hermits introduce Çakuntalā, accompanied by Gautami; and deliver
the message from her father sanctioning her marriage with the King, and
requesting her honorable reception into the palace. ]
10
al
fa
King — Holy men, I have revolved the matter in my mind; but
the more I think of it, the less able am I to recollect that I ever
contracted an alliance with this lady. What answer, then, can I pos-
sibly give you when I do not believe myself to be her husband, and
I plainly see that she is soon to become a mother?
Çakuntalā [aside]—Woe! woe! Is our very marriage to be called
in question by my own husband ? Ah me! is this to be the end of
all my bright visions of wedded happiness?
Çarngarava — Beware!
Beware how thou insult the holy Sage!
Remember how he generously allowed
Thy secret union with his foster-child;
And how, when thou didst rob him of his treasure,
He sought to furnish thee excuse, when rather
He should have cursed thee for a ravisher.
Çāradwata — Çārngarava, speak to him no more. Çakuntalā, our
part is performed; we have said all we had to say, and the King has
replied in the manner thou hast heard. It is now thy turn to give
him convincing evidence of thy marriage.
## p. 8469 (#69) ############################################
KĀLIDĀSA
8469
*****
Çakuntalā — Since his feeling towards me has undergone a com-
plete revolution, what will it avail to revive old recollections ? One
thing is clear,-I shall soon have to mourn my own widowhood.
(Aloud. ] My revered husband - [Stops short. ] But no—I dare not
address thee by this title, since thou hast refused to acknowledge
our union. Noble descendant of Puru! It is not worthy of thee to
betray an innocent-minded girl, and disown her in such terms, after
having so lately and so solemnly plighted thy vows to her in the
hermitage.
[stopping his ears]—I will hear no more. Be such a crime
far from my thoughts!
What evil spirit can possess thee, lady,
That thou dost seek to sully my good name
By base aspersions ? like a swollen torrent,
That, leaping from its narrow bed, o’erthrows
The tree upon its bank, and strives to blend
Its turbid waters with the crystal stream?
Çakuntalā — If then thou really believest me to be the wife of
another, and thy present conduct proceeds from some cloud that
obscures thy recollection, I will easily convince thee by this token.
King - An excellent idea!
Cakuntala (feeling for the ring]— Alas! alas! woe is me! There is
no ring on my finger! (Looks with anguish at Gautami. ]
Gautami — The ring must have slipped off when thou wast in the
act of offering homage to the holy water of Çachi's sacred pool, near
Çakrāvatāra.
King (smiling] – People may well talk of the readiness of woman's
invention! Here is an instance of it.
Çakuntalā — Say rather, of the omnipotence of fate.
I will men-
tion another circumstance, which may yet convince thee.
King — By all means let me hear it at once.
Çakuntalā — One day, while we were seated in a jasmine bower,
thou didst pour into the hollow of thine hand some water, sprinkled
by a recent shower in the cup of a lotos blossom
King -I am listening; proceed.
Çakuntala - At that instant, my adopted child, the little fawn,
with soft long eyes, came running towards us. Upon which, before
tasting the water thyself, thou didst kindly offer some to the little
creature, saying fondly, “Drink first, gentle fawn. ” But she could
not be induced to drink from the hand of a stranger; though imme-
diately afterwards, when I took the water in my own hand, she
drank with perfect confidence. Then, with a smile, thou didst say,
"Every creature confides naturally in its own kind. You are both
inhabitants of the same forest, and have learnt to trust each other. ”
## p. 8470 (#70) ############################################
8470
KĀLIDĀSA
be
FD
Bria
[King Dushyanta vainly tries to recall Çakuntalā to mind, but the fatal
power of the old sage's curse still clouds his memory. All efforts failing,
Çakuntalā is suddenly swept from sight by a whirlwind and carried to a
remote mountain; where in a hallowed spot, she gives birth to a son, the
ancestor of future kings. At this moment the enchanted ring, which had been
swallowed by a fish, is unexpectedly brought to light, and Dushyanta's mental
vision is at once restored. He deeply mourns the loss of his beloved Çakun-
talā, and finds distraction from his grief only in aiding the gods in a holy
war against the demons. Some years elapse, and the god Indra, to reward
Dushyanta's heroic service, transports him through the sky to the far-off
mountain retreat of Çakuntalā and their little son. The reunion of the King
with his wife and child is touchingly presented in the last act of the drama. )
Enter a Child, attended by two Women of the hermitage, and dragging
a lion's cub by the ears.
+
Child — Open your mouth, my young lion; I want to 'count your
teeth.
First Attendant You naughty child, why do you tease the ani-
mals?
Know you not that we cherish them in this hermitage as if
they were our own children ? In good sooth, you have a high spirit
of your own, and are beginning already to do justice to the name
Sarva-damana (All-taming), given you by the hermits.
King - Strange! my heart inclines towards the boy with almost as
much affection as if he were my own child. What can be the rea-
son? I suppose my own childlessness makes me yearn towards the
sons of others.
Second Attendant — This lioness will certainly attack you if you do
not release her whelp.
Child (laughing]-Oh! indeed! let her come. Much I fear her, to
be sure! (Pouts his under lip in defiance. ]
King - The germ of mighty courage lies concealed
Within this noble infant, like a spark
Beneath the fuel, waiting but a breath
To fan the flame and raise a conflagration.
First Attendant - Let the young lion go, like a dear child, and I
will give you something else to play with.
Child — Where is it? Give it me first. [Stretches out his hand. ]
King (looking at his hand] – How's this? His hand exhibits one of
those mystic marks which are the sure prognostic of universal empire.
See!
His fingers stretched in eager expectation
To grasp the wished-for toy, and knit together
By a close-woven web, in shape resemble
A lotos blossom, whose expanding petals
The early dawn has only half unfolded.
## p. 8471 (#71) ############################################
KĀLIDĀSA
8471
Second Attendant — We shall never pacify him by mere words, dear
Suvratā. Be kind enough to go to my cottage, and you will find
there a plaything belonging to Mārkāndeya, one of the hermit's child-
ren. It is a peacock made of china-ware, painted in many colors.
Bring it here for the child.
First Attendant - Very well. (Exit. ]
Child — No, no: I shall go on playing with the young lion. (Looks
at the female attendant and laughs. ]
King - I feel an unaccountable affection for this wayward child.
How blest the virtuous parents whose attire
Is soiled with dust, by raising from the ground
The child that asks a refuge in their arms!
And happy are they while with lisping prattle,
In accents sweetly inarticulate,
He charms their ears; and with his artless smiles
Gladdens their hearts, revealing to their gaze
His tiny teeth just budding into view.
Attendant - I see how it is. He pays me no manner of attention.
(Looking off the stage. ] I wonder whether any of the hermits are
about here. [Seeing the King. ] Kind sir, could you come hither a
moment and help me to release the young lion from the clutch of
this child, who is teasing him in boyish play?
King (approaching and smiling]— Listen to me, thou child of a
mighty saint:
Dost thou dare show a wayward spirit here?
Here, in this hallowed region ? Take thou heed
Lest, as the serpent's young defiles the sandal,
Thou bring dishonor on the holy sage,
Thy tender-hearted parent, who delights
To shield from harm the tenants of the wood.
Attendant - Gentle sir, I thank you; but he is not the saint's son.
King — His behavior and whole bearing would have led me to
doubt it, had not the place of his abode encouraged the idea.
(Follows the child, and takes him by the hand, according to the request of
the attendant. ]
Aside
I marvel that the touch of this strange child
Should thrill me with delight; if so it be,
How must the fond caresses of a son
Transport the father's soul who gave him being!
Attendant (looking at them both] - Wonderful! Prodigious!
King – What excites your surprise, my good woman?
Attendant — I am astonished at the striking resemblance between
the child and yourself; and what is still more extraordinary, he
## p. 8472 (#72) ############################################
8472
KĀLIDĀSA
Fir
S SE
BE
-
min
ki
FC
Che
CA
ei
2.
seems to have taken to you kindly and submissively, though you are
a stranger to him.
King (fondling the child ]- If he be not the son of the great sage,
of what family does he come, may I ask ?
Attendant -Of the race of Puru.
King [aside] — What! are we then descended from the same an-
cestry? This no doubt accounts for the resemblance she traces
between the child and me. Certainly it has always been an estab-
lished usage among the princes of Puru's race –
To dedicate the morning of their days
To the world's weal, in palaces and halls,
'Mid luxury and regal pomp abiding:
Then, in the wane of life, to seek release
From kingly cares, and make the hallowed shade
Of sacred trees their last asylum, where
As hermits they may practice self-abasement,
And bind themselves by rigid vows of penance.
[Aloud. ] But how could mortals by their own power gain admission
to this sacred region ?
Attendant — Your remark is just; but your wonder will cease when
I tell you that his mother is the offspring of a celestial nymph, and
gave him birth in the hallowed grove of Kāçyapa.
King [aside) - Strange that my hopes should be again excited!
[Aloud. ) But what, let me ask, was the name of the prince whom
she deigned to honor with her hand ?
Attendant — How could I think of polluting my lips by the mention
of a wretch who had the cruelty to desert his lawful wife ?
King [aside] - Ha! the description suits me exactly. Would I
!
could bring myself to inquire the name of the child's mother!
[Reflecting. ] But it is against propriety to make too minute inquiries
about the wife of another man.
First Attendant (entering with the china peacock in her hand] — Sarva-
damana, Sarva-damana, see, see, what a beautiful cakunta [bird).
Child [looking round]— My mother! Where? Let me go to her.
Both Attendants — He mistook the word “çakunta” for “Çakuntalā. ”
The boy dotes upon his mother, and she is ever uppermost in his
thoughts.
Second Attendant — Nay, my dear child: I said, look at the beauty
of this cakunta.
King [aside]— What! is his mother's name Çakuntalā ? But the
name is not uncommon among women. Alas! I fear that the mere
similarity of a name, like the deceitful vapor of the desert, has
once more raised my hopes only to dash them to the ground.
Child — Dear nurse, what a beautiful peacock! [Takes the toy. ]
E
1
## p. 8473 (#73) ############################################
KĀLIDĀSA
8473
First Attendant [looking at the child in great distress] — Alas! alas!
I do not see the amulet on his wrist.
King – Don't distress yourself. Here it is. It fell off while he
was struggling with the young lion. (Stoops to pick it up. ]
Both Attendants — Hold! hold! Touch it not, for your life. How
marvelous! He has actually taken it up without the slightest hesita-
tion. [Both raise their hands to their breasts and look at each other in
astonishment. ]
King – Why did you try to prevent my touching it?
First Attendant - Listen, great monarch. This amulet, known as
« The Invincible,” was given to the boy by the divine son of Marichi
soon after his birth, when the natal ceremony was performed. Its
peculiar virtue is, that when it falls on the ground, no one excepting
the father or mother of the child can touch it unhurt.
King — And suppose another person touches it?
First Attendant — Then it instantly becomes a serpent, and bites
him.
King — Have you ever witnessed the transformation with your own
eyes ?
Both Attendants — Over and over again.
King (with rapture, aside] - Joy! joy! Are then my dearest hopes
to be fulfilled ? [Embraces the child. ]
Second Attendant - Come, my dear Suvratā, we must inform Çakun-
talā immediately of this wonderful event, though we have to inter-
rupt her in the performance of her religious vows. (Exeunt. ] ]
Child [to the King] - Do not hold me. I want to go to my mother.
King – We will go to her together, and give her joy, my son.
Child — Dushyanta is my father, not you.
King (smiling ] - His contradiction convinces me only the more.
Enter Çakuntalā, in widow's apparel, with her long hair twisted into a
single braid.
Çakuntala (aside]—I have just heard that Sarva-damana's amulet
has retained its form, though a stranger raised it from the ground.
I can hardly believe in my good fortune. Yet why should not
Sānumati's prediction be verified ?
King (gazing at Çakuntalā) – Alas! can this indeed be my Çakun-
talā ?
Clad in the weeds of widowhood, her face
Emaciate with fasting, her long hair
Twined in a single braid, her whole demeanor
Expressive of her purity of soul:
With patient constancy she thus prolongs
The vow to which my cruelty condemned her.
## p. 8474 (#74) ############################################
8474
KĀLIDĀSA
Çakuntala (gazing at the King, who is pale with remorse] - Surely
this is not like my husband; yet who can it be that dares pollute by
the pressure of his hand my child, whose amulet should protect him
from a stranger's touch ?
Child (going to his mother]— Mother, who is this man that has been
kissing me and calling me his son ?
King – My best beloved, I have indeed treated thee most cruelly,
but am now once more thy fond and affectionate lover. Refuse not
to acknowledge me as thy husband.
Cakuntală [aside] -- Be of good cheer, my heart. The anger of
Destiny is at last appeased. Heaven regards thee with compassion.
But is he in very truth my husband ?
King – Behold me, best and loveliest of women,
Delivered from the cloud of fatal darkness
That erst oppressed my memory. Again
Behold us brought together by the grace
Of the great lord of Heaven. So the moon
Shines forth from dim eclipse, to blend his rays
With the soft lustre of his Rohini.
Çakuntalā — May my husband be victorious
[She stops short, her voice choked with tears. ]
King – O fair one, though the utterance of thy prayer
Be lost amid the torrent of thy tears,
Yet does the sight of thy fair countenance
And of thy pallid lips, all unadorned
And colorless in sorrow for my absence,
Make me already more than conqueror.
Child — Mother, who is this man?
Çakuntala - My child, ask the deity that presides over thy destiny.
King (falling at Çakuntala's feet) -
Fairest of women, banish from thy mind
The memory of my cruelty; reproach
The fell delusion that o'erpowered my soul,
And blame not me, thy husband, —'tis the curse
Of him in whom the power of darkness reigns,
That he mistakes the gifts of those he loves
For deadly evils. Even though a friend
Should wreathe a garland on a blind man's brow,
Will he not cast it from him as a serpent ?
Çakuntalā Rise, my own husband, rise. Thou wast not to blame.
My own evil deeds, committed in a former state of being, brought
down this judgment upon me. How else could my husband, who
## p. 8475 (#75) ############################################
KĀLIDĀSA
8475
-
was ever of a compassionate disposition, have acted so unfeelingly ?
[ The King rises. ] But tell me, my husband, how did the remem-
brance of thine unfortunate wife return to thy mind?
King — As soon as my heart's anguish is removed, and its wounds
are healed, I will tell thee all.
Oh! let me, fair one, chase away the drop
That still bedews the fringes of thine eye;
And let me thus efface the memory
Of every tear that stained thy velvet cheek,
Unnoticed and unheeded by thy lord,
When in his madness he rejected thee.
[Wipes away the tear. ]
Çakuntalā (seeing the signet-ring on his finger]– Ah! my dear hus-
band, is that the Lost Ring ?
King — Yes; the moment I recovered it, my memory was restored.
Çakuntalā — The ring was to blame in allowing itself to be lost at
the
very time when I was anxious to convince my noble husband of
the reality of my marriage.
King – Receive it back, as the beautiful twining plant receives
again its blossom in token of its reunion with the spring.
Çakuntalā — Nay; I can never more place confidence in it. Let
my husband retain it.
Enter Mātali
-
Mätali — I congratulate your Majesty. Happy are you in your
reunion with your wife; happy are you in beholding the face of your
own son,
Translation of Monier Williams.
A
I.
FROM THE MEGHADUTA. ? OR CLOUD MESSENGER
CERTAIN Yaksha [Divine Being) neglectful once of his mas-
ter's task, and stript thus of his glory through his lord's
curse, which was to last a year and was the more grievous
because of separating him from his Beloved, had taken up his
abode amid the hermitages on Rāma's Hill, dense in shade trees
and whose waters were hallowed by [the fair] Sītā's having
bathed in them.
Upon this mountain the love-lorn wight, from whose
wasted arm the golden bracelet had slipped down, had already
spent eight weary moons, separated from his consort; when, on
2.
## p. 8476 (#76) ############################################
8476
KĀLIDĀSA
the first day of the Ashādha month, he caught sight of a cloud
clinging to the mountain peak and resembling an elephant with
lowered tusks butting at a bank of earth.
3. Scarce checking his tears in the presence of the cloud
which was a source of emotion to him, the servant of Kubera
[Lord of Wealth] stood long wrapt in thought: [for truly] at
the sight of a cloud the heart even of a person in happiness is
stirred, but how much more when one is longing to throw his
arms about [the loved one's] neck and is absent far away.
4. Now, desirous to cheer the heart of his Beloved, for the
rainy month was nigh at hand, and eager to send by the cloud a
message to her, telling of his welfare, the Yaksha, filled with
joy, bade the cloud welcome, in loving terms, after he had wor-
shiped it with fresh jasmine sprays, saying:-
6. “I know that thou art born of a world-renowned race of
clouds, Indra's chief counselor and assuming any shape at will,
so I, who am separated from my consort by Fate's cruel decree,
come as suppliant to thee; for better is a fruitless boon if asked
of a noble person than an answered request made to a craven.
7. « Thou art, O Cloud, a refuge for the sore-distressed;
deign therefore to bear a message for me whom the wrath of
Kubera has banished. It is to Alakā, abode of the Yakshas'
Lord, that thou must fly, where the palaces gleam with the
moonlight that glances from the head of god Çiva, whose statue
stands in the outer garden.
9. "A favoring breeze will gently, gently waft thee, and this
proud Chātaka bird upon the left doth carol sweetly; the cranes
in wreathed curves in the sky, and eager for the mating-time,
will wait in attendance upon thee, for thou art the herald of
joy.
13. « First hear me tell the path that is to be thy journey,
and where on the mountain-tops thou shalt rest thy foot when
worn and weary, quaffing the light creamy nectar of the stream,
when tired out: afterwards, O Watery Minister, thou shalt hear a
message that is fit for thine ears to drink in. "
[And in fairest colors of a poet's brush he paints the northward journey
of the cloud to the home where the lonely spouse awaits her banished lord's
return. ]
Translation of A. V. W. Jackson.
## p. 8476 (#77) ############################################
## p. 8476 (#78) ############################################
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## p. 8476 (#79) ############################################
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of intellectual prowess, furtitied by a ſrui ;**
although one somewhat coldly austere', -
over the thourit first of his country, annet
!
King — Can this be the daughter of Kanwa ? The saintly man,
though descended from the great Kāçyapa, must be very deficient in
judgment to habituate such a maiden to the life of a recluse.
The sage who would this form of artless grace
Inure to penance, thoughtlessly attempts
To cleave in twain the hard acacia's stem
With the soft edge of a blue lotos leaf.
Well! concealed behind this tree, I will watch her without raising
her suspicions. [Conceals himself. ]
Çakuntalā — Good Anasūyā, Priyamvadā has drawn this bark dress
too tightly about my chest. I pray thee, loosen it a little.
Anasāyā — I will. (Loosens it. ]
Priyamvadā (smiling] – Why do you lay the blame on me? Blame
rather your own blooming youthfulness, which imparts fullness to your
bosom.
King — A most just observation !
This youthful form, whose bosom's swelling charms
By the bark's knotted tissue are concealed,
Like some fair bud close folded in its sheath,
Gives not to view the blooming of its beauty.
But what am I saying? In real truth, this bark dress, though ill
suited to her figure, sets it off like an ornament.
## p. 8464 (#64) ############################################
8464
KALIDASA
Home
Ca
face.
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chart
The lotos with the Saivala entwined
Is not a whit less brilliant; dusky spots
Heighten the lustre of the cold-rayed moon:
This lovely maiden in her dress of bark
Seems all the lovelier. E'en the meanest garb
Gives to true beauty fresh attractiveness.
Cakuntalā [looking before her] - Yon Kēsara-tree beckons to me
with its young shoots, which, as the breeze waves them to and fro,
appear like slender fingers. I will go and attend to it. [Walks
towards it. ]
Priyamvadā - Dear Çakuntalā, prithee, rest in that attitude one
moment.
Çakuntalā — Why so?
Priyamvadā — The Kēsara-tree, whilst your graceful form bends
about its stem, appears as if it were wedded to some lovely twining
creeper.
Çakuntală — Ah! saucy girl, you are most appropriately named
Priyamvadā (speaker of flattering things].
King — What Priyamvadā says, though complimentary, is never-
theless true. Verily,-
Her ruddy lip vies with the opening bud;
Her graceful arms are as the twining stalks;
And her whole form is radiant with the glow
Of youthful beauty, as the tree with bloom.
Anasuyā — See, dear Çakuntalā, here is the young jasmine, which
you named “the Moonlight of the Grove,” the self-elected wife of the
mango-tree. Have you forgotten it ?
Çakuntalā - Rather will I forget myself. [Approaching the plant and
looking at it. ] How delightful is the season when the jasmine-creeper
and the mango-tree seem thus to unite in mutual embraces! The
fresh blossoms of the jasmine resemble the bloom of a young bride,
and the newly formed shoots of the mango appear to make it her
natural protector. (Continues gazing at it. ]
Priyamvadā (smiling]— Do you know, my Anasūyā, why Çakuntalā
gazes so intently at the jasmine?
Anasāyā — No, indeed; I cannot imagine. I pray thee tell me.
Priyamvadā — She is wishing that as the jasmine is united to a
suitable tree, so in like manner she may obtain a husband worthy of
her.
Cakuntala - Speak for yourself, girl; this is the thought in your
own mind. [Continues watering the flowers. ]
King – Would that my union with her were permissible! and yet
I hardly dare hope that the maiden is sprung from a caste different
from that of the head of the hermitage. But away with doubt:
>
H
c
## p. 8465 (#65) ############################################
KĀLIDĀSA
8465
O me
fro,
Walks
e one
bends
wining
named
That she is free to wed a warrior-king
My heart attests. For, in conflicting doubts,
The secret promptings of the good man's soul
Are an unerring index of the truth.
However, come what may, I will ascertain the fact.
Çakuntala (in a flurry)- Ah! a bee, disturbed by the sprinkling of
the water, has left the young jasmine, and is trying to settle on my
face. [Attempts to drive it away. ]
King (gazing at her ardently] - Beautiful! there is something
charming even in her repulse.
Where'er the bee his eager onset plies,
Now here, now there, she darts her kindling eyes:
What love hath yet to teach, fear teaches now,
The furtive glances and the frowning brow.
[In a tone of envy]
Ah, happy bee! how boldly dost thou try
To steal the lustre from her sparkling eye;
And in thy circling movements hover near,
To murmur tender secrets in her ear,
Or, as she coyly waves her hand, to sip
Voluptuous nectar from her lower lip!
While rising doubts my heart's fond hopes destroy,
Thou dost the fullness of her charms enjoy.
Çakuntalā — This impertinent bee will not rest quiet. I must move
elsewhere.
[Moving a few steps off, and casting a glance around. 1
How now! he is following me here. Help! my dear friends, help!
deliver me from the attacks of this troublesome insect.
Priyamvadā and Anasīyā — How can we deliver you? Call Dush-
yanta to your aid. The sacred groves are under the King's special
protection.
King - An excellent opportunity for me to show myself. Fear
[Checks himself when the words are half uttered. Aside. ] . But
stay, if I introduce myself in this manner, they will know me to be
the King. Be it so: I will accost them, nevertheless.
never.
ne, which
fe of the
Plant and
--creeper
es! The
& bride,
it her
not
.
Suntala
[The King, filled with admiration, declares his love for Çakuntalā, and in
the next act he is espoused to her according to the Gandharva ceremonial.
He then departs from the hermitage and returns to the royal city; but leaves
with Çakuntală a precious ring, which she is to present when she claims him
as her lawful husband. The play continues, and shows how the fair Çakun-
talā, so deeply enamored, becomes absent-minded and neglects to do some act
of homage to an aged hermit; who consequently pronounces a curse upon her
that her beloved shall absolutely forget her until he sees the magic ring, which
alone has power to remove the curse. King Dushyanta accordingly loses all
recollection of Çakuntalā; and Çakuntalā's foster-father, the saintly Kanwa,
ne.
a to a
thy of
your
ad yet
afferent
bt:
XV-530
## p. 8466 (#66) ############################################
8466
KĀLIDĀSA
do, un
determines to send his daughter to the King, that her child may be born
under the royal roof. The Fourth Act opens with the day of Çakuntalā's
departure from the hermitage. ]
Dition
beares
.
Scene : The neighborhood of the hermitage. Enter one of Kanwa's Pupils,
just arisen from his couch at the dawn of day.
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Pupil — My master, the venerable Kanwa, who is but lately re-
turned from his pilgrimage, has ordered me to ascertain how the
time goes. I have therefore come into the open air to see if it be
still dark. [Walking and looking about. ] Oh! the dawn has already
.
broken.
Lo! in one quarter of the sky, the Moon,
Lord of the herbs and night-expanding flowers,
Sinks towards his bed behind the western hills;
While in the east, preceded by the Dawn,
His blushing charioteer, the glorious Sun,
Begins his course, and far into the gloom
Casts the first radiance of his Orient beams.
Hail! co-eternal orbs, that rise to set,
And set to rise again; symbols divine
Of man's reverses, life's vicissitudes.
And now
While the round Moon withdraws his looming disk
Beneath the western sky, the full-blown flower
Of the night-loving lotos sheds her leaves
In sorrow for his loss, bequeathing naught
But the sweet memory of her loveliness
To my bereaved sight: e'en as the bride
Disconsolately mourns her absent lord,
And yields her heart a prey to anxious grief.
Anasūya [entering abruptly) — Little as I know of the ways of the
world, I cannot help thinking that King Dushyanta is treating Çakun-
talā very improperly.
Pupil — Well, I must let my reverend preceptor know that it is
time to offer the burnt oblation.
[Exit.
Anasuyā —I am broad awake, but what shall I do? I have no
energy to go about my usual occupations. My hands and feet seem to
have lost their power. Well, Love has gained his object; and Love
only is to blame for having induced our dear friend, in the innocence
of her heart, to confide in such a perfidious man. Possibly however
the imprecation of Durvāsas may be already taking effect. Indeed,
I cannot otherwise account for the King's strange conduct, in allow-
ing so long a time to elapse without even a letter; and that too
after so many promises and protestations. I cannot think what to
K
## p. 8467 (#67) ############################################
KĀLIDĀSA
8467
do, unless we send him the ring which was to be the token of recog-
nition. But which of these austere hermits could we ask to be the
bearer of it? Then again, Father Kanwa has just returned from his
pilgrimage; and how am I to inform him of Sakuntalā's marriage to
King Dushyanta, and her expectation of being soon a mother? I
?
never could bring myself to tell him, even if I felt that Çakuntalā
had been in fault, which she certainly has not. What is to be done ?
Priyamvadā [entering joyfully) – Quick, quick! Anasuya! come and
assist in the joyful preparations for Çakuntala's departure to her hus-
band's palace.
Anasūya — My dear girl, what can you mean ?
Priyamvadā — Listen, now, and I will tell you all about it. I went
just now to Çakuntalā, to inquire whether she had slept comfortably.
Anasāyā — Well, well; go on.
Priyamvadā — She was sitting with her face bowed down to the
very ground with shame when Father Kanwa entered, and embracing
her, of his own accord offered her his congratulations. "I give thee
joy, my child,” he said: “we have had an auspicious omen. The
priest who offered the oblation dropped it into the very centre of
the sacred fire, though thick smoke obstructed his vision. Hence-
forth thou wilt cease to be an object of compassion. This very day
I purpose sending thee, under the charge of certain trusty hermits,
to the King's palace; and shall deliver thee into the hands of thy
husband, as I would commit knowledge to the keeping of a wise and
faithful student. ”
.
(Çakuntalā's touching farewell to the hermitage, and her tender leave-
taking of her young friends, are dramatically presented with much delicacy of
feeling. Two hermits, and an aged matron, Gautami, accompany her on the
journey. Her arrival at the palace, in the Fifth Act, is announced to the
King by the Chamberlain of State. ]
Chamberlain— Well, well: a monarch's business is to sustain the
world, and he must not expect much repose; because
Onward, forever onward, in his car
The unwearied Sun pursues his daily course,
Nor tarries to unyoke his glittering steeds;
And ever moving, speeds the rushing Wind
Through boundless space, filling the universe
With his life-giving breezes; day and night
The King of Serpents on his thousand heads
Upholds the incumbent earth: and even so,
Unceasing toil is aye the lot of kings,
Who, in return, draw nurture from their subjects.
## p. 8468 (#68) ############################################
8468
KĀLIDĀSA
Call
piete
thing
Alul
addres
betrar
I will therefore deliver my message. [Walking on and looking about. ]
Ah! here comes the King :
His subjects are his children; through the day,
Like a fond father, to supply their wants
Incessantly he labors: wearied now,
The monarch seeks seclusion and repose;
E'en as the prince of elephants defies
The sun's fierce heat, and leads the fainting herd
To verdant pastures, ere his way-worn limbs
He yields to rest beneath the cooling shade.
(Approaching) – Victory to the King! So please your Majesty, some
hermits who live in a forest near the Snowy Mountains have arrived
here, bringing certain women with them. They have a message to
deliver from the sage Kanwa, and desire an audience. I await your
Majesty's commands.
King [respectfully] – A message from the sage Kanwa, did you
KE
say?
Chamberlain - Even so, my liege.
King — Tell my domestic priest Somarāta to receive the hermits
with due honor, according to the prescribed form.
2007
วง
[The hermits introduce Çakuntalā, accompanied by Gautami; and deliver
the message from her father sanctioning her marriage with the King, and
requesting her honorable reception into the palace. ]
10
al
fa
King — Holy men, I have revolved the matter in my mind; but
the more I think of it, the less able am I to recollect that I ever
contracted an alliance with this lady. What answer, then, can I pos-
sibly give you when I do not believe myself to be her husband, and
I plainly see that she is soon to become a mother?
Çakuntalā [aside]—Woe! woe! Is our very marriage to be called
in question by my own husband ? Ah me! is this to be the end of
all my bright visions of wedded happiness?
Çarngarava — Beware!
Beware how thou insult the holy Sage!
Remember how he generously allowed
Thy secret union with his foster-child;
And how, when thou didst rob him of his treasure,
He sought to furnish thee excuse, when rather
He should have cursed thee for a ravisher.
Çāradwata — Çārngarava, speak to him no more. Çakuntalā, our
part is performed; we have said all we had to say, and the King has
replied in the manner thou hast heard. It is now thy turn to give
him convincing evidence of thy marriage.
## p. 8469 (#69) ############################################
KĀLIDĀSA
8469
*****
Çakuntalā — Since his feeling towards me has undergone a com-
plete revolution, what will it avail to revive old recollections ? One
thing is clear,-I shall soon have to mourn my own widowhood.
(Aloud. ] My revered husband - [Stops short. ] But no—I dare not
address thee by this title, since thou hast refused to acknowledge
our union. Noble descendant of Puru! It is not worthy of thee to
betray an innocent-minded girl, and disown her in such terms, after
having so lately and so solemnly plighted thy vows to her in the
hermitage.
[stopping his ears]—I will hear no more. Be such a crime
far from my thoughts!
What evil spirit can possess thee, lady,
That thou dost seek to sully my good name
By base aspersions ? like a swollen torrent,
That, leaping from its narrow bed, o’erthrows
The tree upon its bank, and strives to blend
Its turbid waters with the crystal stream?
Çakuntalā — If then thou really believest me to be the wife of
another, and thy present conduct proceeds from some cloud that
obscures thy recollection, I will easily convince thee by this token.
King - An excellent idea!
Cakuntala (feeling for the ring]— Alas! alas! woe is me! There is
no ring on my finger! (Looks with anguish at Gautami. ]
Gautami — The ring must have slipped off when thou wast in the
act of offering homage to the holy water of Çachi's sacred pool, near
Çakrāvatāra.
King (smiling] – People may well talk of the readiness of woman's
invention! Here is an instance of it.
Çakuntalā — Say rather, of the omnipotence of fate.
I will men-
tion another circumstance, which may yet convince thee.
King — By all means let me hear it at once.
Çakuntalā — One day, while we were seated in a jasmine bower,
thou didst pour into the hollow of thine hand some water, sprinkled
by a recent shower in the cup of a lotos blossom
King -I am listening; proceed.
Çakuntala - At that instant, my adopted child, the little fawn,
with soft long eyes, came running towards us. Upon which, before
tasting the water thyself, thou didst kindly offer some to the little
creature, saying fondly, “Drink first, gentle fawn. ” But she could
not be induced to drink from the hand of a stranger; though imme-
diately afterwards, when I took the water in my own hand, she
drank with perfect confidence. Then, with a smile, thou didst say,
"Every creature confides naturally in its own kind. You are both
inhabitants of the same forest, and have learnt to trust each other. ”
## p. 8470 (#70) ############################################
8470
KĀLIDĀSA
be
FD
Bria
[King Dushyanta vainly tries to recall Çakuntalā to mind, but the fatal
power of the old sage's curse still clouds his memory. All efforts failing,
Çakuntalā is suddenly swept from sight by a whirlwind and carried to a
remote mountain; where in a hallowed spot, she gives birth to a son, the
ancestor of future kings. At this moment the enchanted ring, which had been
swallowed by a fish, is unexpectedly brought to light, and Dushyanta's mental
vision is at once restored. He deeply mourns the loss of his beloved Çakun-
talā, and finds distraction from his grief only in aiding the gods in a holy
war against the demons. Some years elapse, and the god Indra, to reward
Dushyanta's heroic service, transports him through the sky to the far-off
mountain retreat of Çakuntalā and their little son. The reunion of the King
with his wife and child is touchingly presented in the last act of the drama. )
Enter a Child, attended by two Women of the hermitage, and dragging
a lion's cub by the ears.
+
Child — Open your mouth, my young lion; I want to 'count your
teeth.
First Attendant You naughty child, why do you tease the ani-
mals?
Know you not that we cherish them in this hermitage as if
they were our own children ? In good sooth, you have a high spirit
of your own, and are beginning already to do justice to the name
Sarva-damana (All-taming), given you by the hermits.
King - Strange! my heart inclines towards the boy with almost as
much affection as if he were my own child. What can be the rea-
son? I suppose my own childlessness makes me yearn towards the
sons of others.
Second Attendant — This lioness will certainly attack you if you do
not release her whelp.
Child (laughing]-Oh! indeed! let her come. Much I fear her, to
be sure! (Pouts his under lip in defiance. ]
King - The germ of mighty courage lies concealed
Within this noble infant, like a spark
Beneath the fuel, waiting but a breath
To fan the flame and raise a conflagration.
First Attendant - Let the young lion go, like a dear child, and I
will give you something else to play with.
Child — Where is it? Give it me first. [Stretches out his hand. ]
King (looking at his hand] – How's this? His hand exhibits one of
those mystic marks which are the sure prognostic of universal empire.
See!
His fingers stretched in eager expectation
To grasp the wished-for toy, and knit together
By a close-woven web, in shape resemble
A lotos blossom, whose expanding petals
The early dawn has only half unfolded.
## p. 8471 (#71) ############################################
KĀLIDĀSA
8471
Second Attendant — We shall never pacify him by mere words, dear
Suvratā. Be kind enough to go to my cottage, and you will find
there a plaything belonging to Mārkāndeya, one of the hermit's child-
ren. It is a peacock made of china-ware, painted in many colors.
Bring it here for the child.
First Attendant - Very well. (Exit. ]
Child — No, no: I shall go on playing with the young lion. (Looks
at the female attendant and laughs. ]
King - I feel an unaccountable affection for this wayward child.
How blest the virtuous parents whose attire
Is soiled with dust, by raising from the ground
The child that asks a refuge in their arms!
And happy are they while with lisping prattle,
In accents sweetly inarticulate,
He charms their ears; and with his artless smiles
Gladdens their hearts, revealing to their gaze
His tiny teeth just budding into view.
Attendant - I see how it is. He pays me no manner of attention.
(Looking off the stage. ] I wonder whether any of the hermits are
about here. [Seeing the King. ] Kind sir, could you come hither a
moment and help me to release the young lion from the clutch of
this child, who is teasing him in boyish play?
King (approaching and smiling]— Listen to me, thou child of a
mighty saint:
Dost thou dare show a wayward spirit here?
Here, in this hallowed region ? Take thou heed
Lest, as the serpent's young defiles the sandal,
Thou bring dishonor on the holy sage,
Thy tender-hearted parent, who delights
To shield from harm the tenants of the wood.
Attendant - Gentle sir, I thank you; but he is not the saint's son.
King — His behavior and whole bearing would have led me to
doubt it, had not the place of his abode encouraged the idea.
(Follows the child, and takes him by the hand, according to the request of
the attendant. ]
Aside
I marvel that the touch of this strange child
Should thrill me with delight; if so it be,
How must the fond caresses of a son
Transport the father's soul who gave him being!
Attendant (looking at them both] - Wonderful! Prodigious!
King – What excites your surprise, my good woman?
Attendant — I am astonished at the striking resemblance between
the child and yourself; and what is still more extraordinary, he
## p. 8472 (#72) ############################################
8472
KĀLIDĀSA
Fir
S SE
BE
-
min
ki
FC
Che
CA
ei
2.
seems to have taken to you kindly and submissively, though you are
a stranger to him.
King (fondling the child ]- If he be not the son of the great sage,
of what family does he come, may I ask ?
Attendant -Of the race of Puru.
King [aside] — What! are we then descended from the same an-
cestry? This no doubt accounts for the resemblance she traces
between the child and me. Certainly it has always been an estab-
lished usage among the princes of Puru's race –
To dedicate the morning of their days
To the world's weal, in palaces and halls,
'Mid luxury and regal pomp abiding:
Then, in the wane of life, to seek release
From kingly cares, and make the hallowed shade
Of sacred trees their last asylum, where
As hermits they may practice self-abasement,
And bind themselves by rigid vows of penance.
[Aloud. ] But how could mortals by their own power gain admission
to this sacred region ?
Attendant — Your remark is just; but your wonder will cease when
I tell you that his mother is the offspring of a celestial nymph, and
gave him birth in the hallowed grove of Kāçyapa.
King [aside) - Strange that my hopes should be again excited!
[Aloud. ) But what, let me ask, was the name of the prince whom
she deigned to honor with her hand ?
Attendant — How could I think of polluting my lips by the mention
of a wretch who had the cruelty to desert his lawful wife ?
King [aside] - Ha! the description suits me exactly. Would I
!
could bring myself to inquire the name of the child's mother!
[Reflecting. ] But it is against propriety to make too minute inquiries
about the wife of another man.
First Attendant (entering with the china peacock in her hand] — Sarva-
damana, Sarva-damana, see, see, what a beautiful cakunta [bird).
Child [looking round]— My mother! Where? Let me go to her.
Both Attendants — He mistook the word “çakunta” for “Çakuntalā. ”
The boy dotes upon his mother, and she is ever uppermost in his
thoughts.
Second Attendant — Nay, my dear child: I said, look at the beauty
of this cakunta.
King [aside]— What! is his mother's name Çakuntalā ? But the
name is not uncommon among women. Alas! I fear that the mere
similarity of a name, like the deceitful vapor of the desert, has
once more raised my hopes only to dash them to the ground.
Child — Dear nurse, what a beautiful peacock! [Takes the toy. ]
E
1
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KĀLIDĀSA
8473
First Attendant [looking at the child in great distress] — Alas! alas!
I do not see the amulet on his wrist.
King – Don't distress yourself. Here it is. It fell off while he
was struggling with the young lion. (Stoops to pick it up. ]
Both Attendants — Hold! hold! Touch it not, for your life. How
marvelous! He has actually taken it up without the slightest hesita-
tion. [Both raise their hands to their breasts and look at each other in
astonishment. ]
King – Why did you try to prevent my touching it?
First Attendant - Listen, great monarch. This amulet, known as
« The Invincible,” was given to the boy by the divine son of Marichi
soon after his birth, when the natal ceremony was performed. Its
peculiar virtue is, that when it falls on the ground, no one excepting
the father or mother of the child can touch it unhurt.
King — And suppose another person touches it?
First Attendant — Then it instantly becomes a serpent, and bites
him.
King — Have you ever witnessed the transformation with your own
eyes ?
Both Attendants — Over and over again.
King (with rapture, aside] - Joy! joy! Are then my dearest hopes
to be fulfilled ? [Embraces the child. ]
Second Attendant - Come, my dear Suvratā, we must inform Çakun-
talā immediately of this wonderful event, though we have to inter-
rupt her in the performance of her religious vows. (Exeunt. ] ]
Child [to the King] - Do not hold me. I want to go to my mother.
King – We will go to her together, and give her joy, my son.
Child — Dushyanta is my father, not you.
King (smiling ] - His contradiction convinces me only the more.
Enter Çakuntalā, in widow's apparel, with her long hair twisted into a
single braid.
Çakuntala (aside]—I have just heard that Sarva-damana's amulet
has retained its form, though a stranger raised it from the ground.
I can hardly believe in my good fortune. Yet why should not
Sānumati's prediction be verified ?
King (gazing at Çakuntalā) – Alas! can this indeed be my Çakun-
talā ?
Clad in the weeds of widowhood, her face
Emaciate with fasting, her long hair
Twined in a single braid, her whole demeanor
Expressive of her purity of soul:
With patient constancy she thus prolongs
The vow to which my cruelty condemned her.
## p. 8474 (#74) ############################################
8474
KĀLIDĀSA
Çakuntala (gazing at the King, who is pale with remorse] - Surely
this is not like my husband; yet who can it be that dares pollute by
the pressure of his hand my child, whose amulet should protect him
from a stranger's touch ?
Child (going to his mother]— Mother, who is this man that has been
kissing me and calling me his son ?
King – My best beloved, I have indeed treated thee most cruelly,
but am now once more thy fond and affectionate lover. Refuse not
to acknowledge me as thy husband.
Cakuntală [aside] -- Be of good cheer, my heart. The anger of
Destiny is at last appeased. Heaven regards thee with compassion.
But is he in very truth my husband ?
King – Behold me, best and loveliest of women,
Delivered from the cloud of fatal darkness
That erst oppressed my memory. Again
Behold us brought together by the grace
Of the great lord of Heaven. So the moon
Shines forth from dim eclipse, to blend his rays
With the soft lustre of his Rohini.
Çakuntalā — May my husband be victorious
[She stops short, her voice choked with tears. ]
King – O fair one, though the utterance of thy prayer
Be lost amid the torrent of thy tears,
Yet does the sight of thy fair countenance
And of thy pallid lips, all unadorned
And colorless in sorrow for my absence,
Make me already more than conqueror.
Child — Mother, who is this man?
Çakuntala - My child, ask the deity that presides over thy destiny.
King (falling at Çakuntala's feet) -
Fairest of women, banish from thy mind
The memory of my cruelty; reproach
The fell delusion that o'erpowered my soul,
And blame not me, thy husband, —'tis the curse
Of him in whom the power of darkness reigns,
That he mistakes the gifts of those he loves
For deadly evils. Even though a friend
Should wreathe a garland on a blind man's brow,
Will he not cast it from him as a serpent ?
Çakuntalā Rise, my own husband, rise. Thou wast not to blame.
My own evil deeds, committed in a former state of being, brought
down this judgment upon me. How else could my husband, who
## p. 8475 (#75) ############################################
KĀLIDĀSA
8475
-
was ever of a compassionate disposition, have acted so unfeelingly ?
[ The King rises. ] But tell me, my husband, how did the remem-
brance of thine unfortunate wife return to thy mind?
King — As soon as my heart's anguish is removed, and its wounds
are healed, I will tell thee all.
Oh! let me, fair one, chase away the drop
That still bedews the fringes of thine eye;
And let me thus efface the memory
Of every tear that stained thy velvet cheek,
Unnoticed and unheeded by thy lord,
When in his madness he rejected thee.
[Wipes away the tear. ]
Çakuntalā (seeing the signet-ring on his finger]– Ah! my dear hus-
band, is that the Lost Ring ?
King — Yes; the moment I recovered it, my memory was restored.
Çakuntalā — The ring was to blame in allowing itself to be lost at
the
very time when I was anxious to convince my noble husband of
the reality of my marriage.
King – Receive it back, as the beautiful twining plant receives
again its blossom in token of its reunion with the spring.
Çakuntalā — Nay; I can never more place confidence in it. Let
my husband retain it.
Enter Mātali
-
Mätali — I congratulate your Majesty. Happy are you in your
reunion with your wife; happy are you in beholding the face of your
own son,
Translation of Monier Williams.
A
I.
FROM THE MEGHADUTA. ? OR CLOUD MESSENGER
CERTAIN Yaksha [Divine Being) neglectful once of his mas-
ter's task, and stript thus of his glory through his lord's
curse, which was to last a year and was the more grievous
because of separating him from his Beloved, had taken up his
abode amid the hermitages on Rāma's Hill, dense in shade trees
and whose waters were hallowed by [the fair] Sītā's having
bathed in them.
Upon this mountain the love-lorn wight, from whose
wasted arm the golden bracelet had slipped down, had already
spent eight weary moons, separated from his consort; when, on
2.
## p. 8476 (#76) ############################################
8476
KĀLIDĀSA
the first day of the Ashādha month, he caught sight of a cloud
clinging to the mountain peak and resembling an elephant with
lowered tusks butting at a bank of earth.
3. Scarce checking his tears in the presence of the cloud
which was a source of emotion to him, the servant of Kubera
[Lord of Wealth] stood long wrapt in thought: [for truly] at
the sight of a cloud the heart even of a person in happiness is
stirred, but how much more when one is longing to throw his
arms about [the loved one's] neck and is absent far away.
4. Now, desirous to cheer the heart of his Beloved, for the
rainy month was nigh at hand, and eager to send by the cloud a
message to her, telling of his welfare, the Yaksha, filled with
joy, bade the cloud welcome, in loving terms, after he had wor-
shiped it with fresh jasmine sprays, saying:-
6. “I know that thou art born of a world-renowned race of
clouds, Indra's chief counselor and assuming any shape at will,
so I, who am separated from my consort by Fate's cruel decree,
come as suppliant to thee; for better is a fruitless boon if asked
of a noble person than an answered request made to a craven.
7. « Thou art, O Cloud, a refuge for the sore-distressed;
deign therefore to bear a message for me whom the wrath of
Kubera has banished. It is to Alakā, abode of the Yakshas'
Lord, that thou must fly, where the palaces gleam with the
moonlight that glances from the head of god Çiva, whose statue
stands in the outer garden.
9. "A favoring breeze will gently, gently waft thee, and this
proud Chātaka bird upon the left doth carol sweetly; the cranes
in wreathed curves in the sky, and eager for the mating-time,
will wait in attendance upon thee, for thou art the herald of
joy.
13. « First hear me tell the path that is to be thy journey,
and where on the mountain-tops thou shalt rest thy foot when
worn and weary, quaffing the light creamy nectar of the stream,
when tired out: afterwards, O Watery Minister, thou shalt hear a
message that is fit for thine ears to drink in. "
[And in fairest colors of a poet's brush he paints the northward journey
of the cloud to the home where the lonely spouse awaits her banished lord's
return. ]
Translation of A. V. W. Jackson.
## p. 8476 (#77) ############################################
## p. 8476 (#78) ############################################
GRUP
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## p. 8476 (#79) ############################################
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