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[[कादम्बरी (पूर्वभागः) Source: EB]]

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[TABLE]

INTRODUCTION

** Preliminary—** A literary composition is termed Kavya¹ वाक्यं रसात्मकं काव्यम्। (b) रमणीयार्थप्रतिपादकः शब्दः काव्यम॥ —-जगन्नाथपण्डितः")in Sanskrit. This kavya is of two k.1. Drisya (दृश्य) and 2. Sravya (श्रव्य). Under, the, former head we have the Drama and such other secable literary writings, while under the latter, we have the hearable? ones. This Sraya kind comprises of prose (गद्य), poetry (पद्य), and a mixed (मिश्र) variety of prose and poetry (चम्पू).²

Sanskrit literature is not rich in prose romance. about a dozen prose romances, only four, viz. Subandhu’s Vasavadatta, Bana’s Kadambari and Harsha Charita and Dandin’s Dasakumaracharita are famous.These prose works are considered to be of two³ kinds 1. Katha and 2. Akhyayika⁴. Bana’s Kadambari is a good example of the former, while his Harshacharita is of the latter.

Bana— Bana, the author of the first part of Kadambari is generally taken to represent a landmark in the history of Sanskrit prose literature, as prose romances were very scarce⁵before him. He himself gives us an account of his life in the prefatory verses to Kadambari and in the first few pages of the Harshacharita which is the history of King Harshavardhana of Thaneswar from whose reign (A.D. 606) dates the Harsha era used in Nepal. Bana traces his lineage from Vatsa, cousin of Sarasvata, son of दधीचand सरस्वतीThus in this Vatsyayana race⁶, he was born as the son of Chitrabhanu and Rajyadevi. As an infant he lost his mother and was tended with motherly affection by his own father. The father too passed away when Bana was just fourteen years of age and this event changed his career completely. He was well educated and had inherited considerable wealth from his ancestors. This made him self willed and hence he set out on a long travel in the company of a number of his friends of heterogeneous proficiencies. After some time, he returned ‘rich in wisdom and experience’ and lived in his own home. Once he had a call to the Court of Harshavardhana who was then encamping on the AJIRAVATI river. And on the recommendation of Krishna, brother of Harsha, Bana was received cordially and in a short time became the King’s favourite.

** Bana’s Date—**

From the account given in the Harshacharita of Bana, in comparison with the description

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of the life of Harshavardhana Siladitya⁶given by Hiouen Thsang, Bana’s patron is identified with the king who ruled in Kanouj from 606-648 A.D.⁷ Moreover his name is mentioned in various inscriptions which corroborates the the above date. Hence, we can conclude that the date of Bana must be assigned to the closing part of the sixth and the early part of the seventh centuries A.D.

Bana’s Works—

Besides Kadambari and Harshacharita, five other works, viZ.⁸चण्डीशतकं,⁸ शिवशतकं, शारदाचन्द्रिका, मुकुटताडितक⁹ and पार्वतीपरिणयनाटकम्¹⁰, are generally attributed to Bana.

** General—**

In literary meritKadambari¹¹ - रसज्ञानामाहारोऽपि न रोचते। कादम्बरी (Bana’s work ) - रसज्ञानामाहारोऽपि न रोचते॥") is supreme. The work was left unfinished by Bana, as death snatched him away quite unexpectedly. But his own son Bhushana Bhatta (Pulinda) continued the story on the same plan and in the same style as of his father and finished it.

** The Story of Kadambari—**

A certain parrot named Vaisampayana who was versed in all lores was brought by a Chandala maiden to king Sudraka. Being questioned bythe king who was surprised at the flawless speech of it, the parrot related to him its own story.

The parrot was born in the Vindhya forest, where, on a large silk-cotton tree, it lived with its father, as its mother had died soon after its birth. Once when its wings were not yet fully developed, a Sabara army passed through that forest and one of the Sabaras climbed up the tree. seized all the birds that lived thereon, and killed every one of them. Amidst other birds the father of this parrot also was killed; but the young bird was not noticed by the Sabara by its

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३. केवलोऽपि स्फुरन् बाणः करोति विमदान् कवीन्।
किं पुनः क्लृप्तसन्धानपुलिन्ध्र (न्द) कृतसन्निधिः ॥—तिलकमञ्जरी.

४. रुचिरस्वरवर्णपदा रसभाववती जगन्मनो हरति।
तत् किं तरुणी? नहि नहि वाणी बाणस्य मधुरशीलस्य॥

—विदग्धमुखमण्डनम्.

५. वागीश्वरं हन्त भजेऽभिनन्दम्, अर्थेश्वरं वाक्पतिराजमीडे।
रसेश्वरं स्तौमि च कालिदासं, बाणं तु सर्वेश्वरमानतोऽस्मि॥

—अवन्तिसुन्दरीकथा.

६. हृदि लग्नेन बाणेन यन्मन्दोऽपि पदक्रमः।
भवेत्कविकुरङ्गाणां चापलं तत्र कारणम्॥—त्रिलोचनः.

७. जाता शिखण्डिनी प्रास्यथा शिखण्डी तथावगच्छामि।
प्रगल्भ्यमधिकमाप्तुं वाणी बाणो बभूवेति॥

८. वाणीपाणिपरामृष्टवीणानिक्वणहारिणीम्।
भावयन्ति कथं वान्ये भट्टबाणस्य भारतीम्॥

९. सुबन्धुर्बाणभट्टश्व कविराज इति त्रयः।
वक्रोक्तिमार्गनिपुणाश्चतुर्थोः विद्यते न वा॥—राघवपाण्डवीयम्.

१०. यस्याः ……..हृदयवसतिः पञ्चवाणः स बाणः।
केषां नैषा कथय कविताकामिनी कौतुकाय॥—जयदेवः

For more particulars see JIof Sam. Sah. Par. XIII 36-8. good luck, as it clung to the bosom of its father. The Sabara threw down all the birds that he had killed; and the young parrot somehow fell on a heap of leaves and escaped the notice of the Sabara. After some time the Sabara gathered the dead birds and departed. When he was gone, the young parrot, being very thirsty, crawled towards a pool where Jabali’s son Harita found it and pitying it, made it drink water and took it to his hermitage. There, from sage Jabali, the parrot learned its story of a former birth which was as follows:—

Chandrapida and his friend Vaisampayana respectively the sons of king Tarapida and his minister Sukanasa of Ujjaini. They both set out on a world conquest; and at the end of it, while resting on the Kailasa, Chandrapida was led away by a pair of Kinnaras to the shore of a lake named Acchoda, where he beheld a young ascetic woman named Mahasveta. She related to him how she was a Gandharva princess; how she loved a Brahmin: named Pundarika, who no doubt returned the love, but being under a rigid vow died by the torments of love; how immediately after that a divine being carried off his body to the sky; how she was assured by a heavenly voice, of a reunion with him and how she, hoping for that bright day, was passing her time in penance. After that, Mahasveta invited him to go with her to her friend Kadambari, another Gandharva princess who had taken a rash vow not to marry so long as Mahasveta remained miserable. She hoped that he might be of some help to her in dissuading Kadambari from that foolish vow. But to her surprise, even at first sigh Kadambari and the prince. fell in love with each other. After a very short stay of both of them together, the prince was taken away to Ujjaini by a sudden call from his father. Kadambari, thus deserted, became as miserable as Mahasveta if not more.

Meanwhile, Vaisampayana who was in charge of the army was much affected by the sight of the Acchoda lake. Hearing this, the prince set out to find him and met Mahasveta who was brooding in misery and who told him how, cursing a young Brahmin to become a parrot when he rashly approached her, she had slain her own lover (Vaisampayana). This made the prince fall down dead in grief. Just then Kadambari came there and was about to kill herself at that sight; but she was dissuaded by a heavenly voice which assured her of a reunion with her lover and advised her to preserve his body which was apparently bereft of life.

Hearing this tale from Jabali, the parrot remembered the incidents of its former life. Thus its love for Mahasveta being re-awakened, it managed to fly away from the hermitage and was caught and taken to the Chandala princess who took it to king Sudraka. With this the parrot concluded its account.

Then the Chandala maiden declared that she herself was Goddess Lakshmi and the mother of Vaisampayana who was no other than Pundarika, and that the curse on Sudraka and the parrot was over. Sudraka immediately remembered his former life and his love for Kadambari. Mean while a touch by the hand of Kadambari restored Chandrapida’s body to life. And at last Mahasveta and Kadambari were reunited with their lovers.

**Source—The story of Kadambari is found in Vamana Bhatta Bana’s Brihatkathamanjari, at the end of which it is stated‘इयमेव कथा बाणेन बहुलीकृता कादम्बरीकथात्वेन।’**The manuscript of this work is only a fragment dealing with the story of Kadambari, and is in the Adyar Library. Somadeva’sKathasaritsagara and Dandin’s Avantisundarikatha also contain this story. The story found in the latter agrees with the narrative of Bana, so far as the former part of it goes,

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श्लेषे केचन शब्दगुम्फविषये केचिद्रसे चापरेऽ-
लङ्कारे कतिचित्सदर्थविषये चान्ये कथावर्णने।
आ सर्वत्र गभीरधीरकविताविन्ध्याटवी चातुरी-
सञ्चारी कविकुम्भिकुम्भभिदुरो बाणस्तु पञ्चाननः॥

॥श्रीः॥

कादम्बरी

—0—

—इष्टदेवतानमस्काररूपं मङ्गलम्—

रजोजुषे जन्मनि सत्त्ववृत्तये स्थितौ प्रजानां प्रलये तमःस्पृशे।
अजाय सर्गस्थितिनाशहेतवे त्रयीमयाय त्रिगुणात्मने नमः॥१॥

जयन्ति बाणासुरमौलिलालिता दशास्यचूडामणिचक्रचुम्बिनः
सुरासुराधीशशिखान्तशायिनो भवच्छिदस्त्र्यम्बकपादपांसवः॥२॥

जयत्युपेन्द्रः स चकार दूरतो बिभित्सया यः क्षणलब्धलक्ष्यया
दृशैव कोपारुणया रिपोरुरः स्वयं भयाद्भिन्नमिवास्त्रपाटलम्॥३॥

नमामि भर्वोश्चरणाम्बुजद्वयं सशेखरैर्मौखरिभिः कृतार्चनम्।
समस्तसामन्तकिरीटवेदिकाविटङ्कपीठो ल्लुठितारुणाङ्गुलि॥४॥

—दुर्जननिन्दा-सज्जनस्तुती—

अकारणाविष्कृतवैरदारुणाद्सज्जनात्कस्य भयं न जायते।
विषं महाहेरिव यस्य दुर्वचः सुदुःसहं संनिहितं सदा मुखे॥५॥

कटु क्वणन्तो मलदायकाः खलास्तुदन्त्यलं बन्धनशृङ्खला इव।
मनस्तु साधुध्वनिभिः पदे पदे हरन्ति सन्तो मणिनू पुरा इव॥६॥

सुभाषितं हारि विशत्यधो गलान्न दुर्जनस्यार्करिपोरिवामृतम्।
तदेव धत्ते हृदयेन सज्जनो हरिर्महारत्नमिवातिनिर्मलम्॥७॥

—कथाप्रशंसा—

स्फुरत्कलालापविलासकोमला करोति रागं हृदि कौतुकाधिकम्।
रसेन शय्यां स्वयमभ्युपागताकथा जनस्याभिनवा वधूरिव॥८॥

हरन्ति कं नोज्ज्वलदीपकोपमैर्नवैः पदार्थैरुपपादिताः कथाः।
निरन्तरश्लेषघनाः सुजातयो महास्त्रजश्चम्पककुड्मलैरिव॥९॥

—कविवंशवर्णनम्—

बभूव वात्स्यायनवंशसंभवो द्विजो जगद्गीतगुणोग्रणीः सताम्।
अनेकगुप्तार्चितपादपङ्कजः कुबेरनामांश इव स्वयंभुवः॥१०॥

उवास यस्य श्रुतिशान्तकल्मषे सदा पुरोडाशपवित्रिताधरे।
सरस्वती सोमकषायितोदरे समस्तशास्त्रस्मृतिबन्धुरे मुखे॥११॥

जगुर्गृहेभ्यस्तसमस्तवाङ्मयै ससारिकैः पञ्जरवर्तिभिः शुकैः।
निगृह्यमाणा वटवः पदे पदे यजूँषि सामानि च यस्य शङ्किताः॥१२॥

हिरण्यगर्भो भुवनाण्डकादिव क्षपाकरः क्षीरमहार्णवादिव।
अभूत्सुपर्णोविनतोदरादिव द्विजन्मनामर्थपतिः पतिस्ततः॥१३॥

विवृण्वतो यस्य विसारि वाङ्मयं दिने दिने शिष्यगणा नवा नवाः।
उषस्तु लग्नाः श्रवणेधिकां श्रियं प्रचक्रिरे चन्दनपल्लवा इव॥१४॥

विधानसंपादितदानशोभितैः स्फुरन्महावीरसनाथमूर्तिभिः।
मखैरसंख्यैरजयत्सुरालयं सुखेन यो यूपकरैर्गजैरिव॥१५॥

स चित्रभानुं तनयं महात्मनां सुतोत्तमानां श्रुतिशास्त्रशालिनाम्।
अवाप मध्ये स्फटिकोपलामलं क्रमेण कैलासमिव क्षमाभृताम्॥१६॥

महात्मनो यस्य सुदूरनिर्गताः कलङ्कमुक्तेन्दुकलामलत्विषः।
द्विषन्मनः प्राविविशुः कृतान्तरा गुणा नृसिंहस्य नखाङ्कुरा इव॥१७॥

दिशामलीकालकभङ्गतां गतस्त्रयीवधूकर्णतमालपल्लवः।
चकार यस्याध्वरधूमसंचयो मलीमसः शुक्लतरं निजं यशः॥१८॥

सरस्वतीपाणिसरोजसंपुटप्रमृष्टहोमश्रमसीकराम्भसः।
यशोंशुशुक्लीकृतसप्तविष्टपात्ततः सुतो बाण इति व्यजायत॥१९॥

द्विजेन तेनाक्षतकण्ठकौण्ठ्यया महामनोमोहमलीमसान्धया।
अलब्धवैदग्ध्यविलासमुग्धया धिया निबद्धेयमतिद्वयी कथा॥२०॥

१ आसीदशेषनरपतिशिरः समभ्यर्चितशासनः पाकशासन इवापरः, चतुरुदधिमालामेखलाया भुवो भर्ता, प्रतापानुरा- गावनतसमस्तसामन्तचक्रः,, चक्रवर्तिलक्षणोपेतः, चक्रधर इव करकमलोपलक्ष्यमाणशङ्खचक्रलाञ्छनः, हर इव जितमन्मथः, गुह इवाप्रतिहतशक्तिः, कमलयोनिरिव विमानीकृतराजहंसमण्डलः, जलधिरिव लक्ष्मीप्रसूतिः, गङ्गाप्रवाह इव भगीरथपथप्रवृत्तः, रविरिव प्रतिदिवसोपजायमानोदयः, मेरुरिव सकलभुवनोपजीव्यमानपादच्छायः, दिग्गज इवानवरतप्रवृत्तदानार्द्रीकृतकरः, कर्ता महाश्चर्याणाम्, आहर्ता क्रतूनाम्, आदर्शः सर्वशास्त्राणाम्, उत्पत्तिःकलानाम्, कुलभवनं गुणानाम्, आगमः काव्यामृतरसानाम्, उदयशैलो मित्रमण्डलस्य, उत्पातकेतुरहितजनस्य, प्रवर्तयितागोष्ठीबन्धानाम्, आश्रयो रसिकानाम्, प्रत्यादेशो धनुष्मताम्, धौरेयः साहसिकानाम्, अग्रणीर्विदग्धानाम्, वैनतेय इव विनतानन्दजननः, वैन्य इव चापकोटिसमुत्सारितसकलारातिकुलाचलो राजा शूद्रको नाम।

२ नाम्नैव यो निर्भिन्नारातिहृदयो विरचितनारसिंहरूपाडम्बरमेकविक्रमाक्रान्तसकलभुवनतलो बिक्रमत्रयायासितं च जहासेव वासुदेवम्। अतिचिरकाललग्नमतिक्रान्तकुनृपतिसहस्रसंपर्ककलङ्कमिव क्षालयन्ती यस्य विमले कृपाणधाराजले चिरमुवास राजलक्ष्मीः। यश्च मनसि धर्मेण कोपे यमेन, प्रसादे धनदेन प्रतापे वह्निना, भुजे भुवा, दृशि श्रिया वाचि सरस्वत्या मुखे शशिना, बले मरुता, प्रज्ञायां सुरगुरुणा, रूपे मनसिजेन, तेजभि सवित्रा च वसता सर्वदेवमयस्य प्रकटितविश्वरूपाकृतेरनुकरोतिभगवतो नारायणस्य। यस्य च मदकलकरिकुम्भपीठपाटनमाचरतो लग्नस्थूलमुक्ताफलेनदृढमुष्टिनिपीडनान्निष्ठ्यूतधाराजलबिन्दुदन्तुरेणेव कृपाणेनाकृष्यमाणा सुभटोरःकपाटविघटित- कवचसहस्रान्धकारमध्यवर्तिनीकरिकरटतटगलितमदजलासारदुर्दिनास्वभिसारिकेवसमरनिशासु समीपमसकृदाजगाम राजलक्ष्मीः। यस्य च हृदयस्थितानपि पतीन्दिधक्षुरिव प्रतापानलो वियोगिनीनामपि रिपुसुन्दरीणामन्तर्जनितदाहो दिवानिशं जज्वाल। यस्मिंश्च राजनि जितजगति, परिपालयति महींचित्रकर्मसु वर्णसंकराः, रतेषु केशग्रहाः, काव्येषु दृढबन्धाः, शास्त्रेषु चिन्ता, स्वप्नेषु विप्रलम्भाः, छत्त्रेषु कनकदण्डाः, ध्वजेषु प्रकम्पाः, गीतेषु रागविलसितानि, करिषु मदविकाराः, चापेषु गुणच्छेदाः, गवाक्षेषु जालमार्गाः, शशिकृपाणकवचेषु कलङ्काः, रतिकलहेषु दूतसंप्रेषणानि, शार्यक्षेषु शून्यगृहाः प्रजानामासन्। यस्य च परलोकाद्भयम्, अन्तःपुरिकालकेषु भङ्गः, नूपुरेषु मुखरता, विवाहेषु करग्रहणम्, अनवरतमखाग्निधूमेनाश्रुपातः, तुरंगेषु कशाभिघातः, मकरध्वजे चापध्वनिरभूत्।

३ तस्य च राज्ञः कलिकालभयपुञ्जीभूतकृतयुगानुकारिणी त्रिभुवनप्रसवभूमिरिव विस्तीर्णामज्जन्मालवविलासिनी- कुचतटास्फालनजर्जरितोर्मिमालयाजलावगाहनायातजयकुञ्जरकुम्भसिन्दूरसंध्यायमानसलिलयोन्मदकलहंसकुलकोला-हलमुखरितकूलयावेत्रवत्या सरिता परिगता विदिशाभिधाना नगरी राजधान्यासीत्।

४ स तस्यामवजिताशेषभुवनमण्डलतया विगतराज्यचिन्ताभारनिर्वृतो द्वीपान्तरागतानेकभूमिपालमौलिमालालालित- चरणयुगलोवलयमिव लीलया भुजेन भुवनभारमुद्वहन्, अमरगुरुमपि प्रज्ञयोपहसद्भिरनेककुलक्रमा- गतैरसकृदालोचितनीतिशास्त्रनिर्मलमनोभिरलुब्धैः स्निग्धैः प्रबुद्धैश्चामात्यैः परिवृतः, समानवयोविद्यालंकारैरनेक- मूर्धाभिषिक्तपार्थिवकुलोद्गतैरखिलकलाकलापालोचनकठोरमतिभिरतिप्रगल्भैः कालविद्भिः प्रभावानुरक्तहृदयैरग्राम्य- परिहासकुशलैरिङ्गिताकारवेदिभिः काव्यनाटकाख्यानकाख्यायिकालेख्यव्याख्यानादिक्रियानिपुणैरतिकठिनपीवर- स्कन्धोरुबाहुभिरसकृदबदलितसमदरिपुगजघटापीठबन्धैःकेसरिकिशोरकैरिवविक्रमैकरसैरपि विनयव्यवहारिभिरात्मनः प्रतिबिम्बैरिवराजपुत्रैः सह रममाणः प्रथमे वयसि सुखमतिचिरमुवास। तस्य चातिविजिगीषुतया महासत्त्वतया च तृणमिव लघुवृत्ति स्त्रैणमाकलयतः प्रथमे वयसि वर्तमानस्यापि रूपवतोऽपि संतानार्थिभिरमात्यैरपेक्षितस्यापि सुरतसुखस्योपरि द्वेष इवासीत्। सत्यपि रूपविलासोपहसितरतिविभ्रमे लावण्यवति विनयवत्यन्वयवतिहृदयहारिणिचावरोधजनेस कदाचिदनवरतदोलायमानरत्नवलयो घर्घरिकास्फालनप्रकम्पझणझणायमानमणिकर्णपूरः स्वयमारब्धमृदङ्गवाद्यः सङ्गीतकप्रसङ्गेन, कदाचिदविरलविमुक्तशरासारशून्यीकृतकाननोमृगयाव्यापारेण, कदाचिदाबद्धबिदग्धमण्डलः, काव्यप्रबन्धरचनेन, कदाचिच्छास्त्रालापेन,कदाचिदाख्यानकाख्यायिकेतिहासपुराणाकर्णनेन,कदाचिदालेख्यविनोदेन, कदाचिद्वीणया कदाचिद्दर्शनागतमुनिजनचरणशुश्रूषया, कदाचिदक्षरच्युतक-मात्राच्युतक-बिन्दुमती-गूढ चतुर्थपाद- प्रहेलिकाप्रदानादिभिर्वनिता- संभोगसुखपराङ्मुखः सुहृत्यरिवृतो दिवप्तमनयत्। यथैव च दिवसमेवमारब्धविविधक्रीडापरिहासचतुरैः सुहृद्धिरुपेतो निशामनैषीत्।

५ एकदा तु नातिदूरोदिते नवनलिनदलसंपुटभिदिकिंचिदुन्मुक्तपाटलिम्नि भगवति सहस्रमरीचिपालिनि राजानमास्थानमण्डपगतमङ्गनौजनविरुद्वेन वामपार्श्वावलम्बिता कौक्षेयकेण संनिहितविषधरेव चन्दनलता भीषणरमणीयाकृति, अविरलचन्दनानुलेपनधवलितस्तनतटोन्मज्जदरावतकुम्भमण्डलेव सन्दाकिनी, चूडामणिप्रतिबिम्बच्छलेन राजाज्ञेव मूर्तिमती राजभि, शिरोभिरुह्यमाना, शरदिव कलहंसधवलाम्बरा,जामदग्न्यपरशुधारेव वशीकृतसकलराजमण्डला, बिन्ध्यवनभूमिरिव वेत्रलतावती राज्याधिदेवतेव विग्रहिणी प्रतीहारी समुपसृत्य क्षितितलनिहितजानुकरकमलासविनयमब्रवीत्। “देव द्वारस्थिता सुरलोकमारोह- तस्त्रिशङ्कोरिव कुपितशतमखहुंकारनिपातिता राजलक्ष्मीर्दक्षिणापथादागता चाण्डालकन्यका पञ्चरस्थं शुकमादाय देवं विज्ञापयति। सकलभुवनतलसर्वरत्नानामुदधिरियेकभाजनां देवः, विहंगमश्चायमाश्चर्यभूतो निखिलभुवनतलरत्नमिति कृत्वा देवपादमूल मादायाताहमिच्छामि देवदर्शनसुखमानुभवितुम्।’ इति एतदाकर्ण्य देवः प्रमाणम्” इत्युक्त्वा विरराम। उपजातकुतूहलस्तु राजा समीपवर्तिनां राज्ञामालोक्य मुखानि “को दोषः, प्रवेश्यताम्” इत्यादिदेश।

६ अथ प्रतीहारी नरपतिवचनानन्तरमुत्थाय तां मातङ्गकुमारीं प्रावेशयत्। प्रविश्य च सा नरपतिसहस्रमध्यवर्तिनस्पर्शनि भयपुञ्जितकुलशैलमध्यगतमिव कनकशिखरिणम्, अनेकरत्नाभरणकिरणजालकान्तरितावयवमिन्द्रायुधसहस्रसछा- दिताष्टदिग्भागमिव जलधरसमयदिवसम्, अवलम्बितस्थूलमुक्ताकलापस्य कनकशृङ्खलानियमितमणिदण्डिका- चतुष्टयम्य गगनसिन्धुफेनपटलपाण्डुरस्यनातिमहतो दुकूलवितानस्याधस्तादिन्दुकान्तमणिपर्यङ्किकानिषण्णम् उद्धूयमानकनकदण्डचामरकलापम् उन्मयूखमुखकान्तिविजयपराभवप्रणते शशिनीव स्फटिकपादपीठे विन्यस्तवामपादम् इन्द्रनीलमणिकुट्टिनप्रभासंपकश्यामायमानैः प्रणतरिपुनिश्वासमलिनीकृतैरिव चरणनखमयूखजालैरुपशोभमानम्, आसनोल्लसितपद्मरागकिरणपाटलीकृतेनाचिरमृदितुमधुकैटभरुधिरारुणेन हरिमिवोरुयुगलेनविराजमानम्, अमृतफेनधबले, गोरोचनालिखितहंसमिथुनसनाथपर्यन्तेचारुचामरपवनप्रनर्तिदशे दुकूलेवसानम्, अतिसुरभिचन्दनानुलेपनधबलितोरःस्थलमुपरिविन्यस्त कुङ्कुमस्थासकमन्तरान्तरानिपतितबालातपच्छे- दुमिव कैलासशिरिणम्अपरशशिशङ्कया नक्षत्रमालयेव हारलतयाकृतमुखपरिवेषम् अतिचपलराज्यलक्ष्मीबन्धनिगढकन्टकशङ्कामुपजनयतेन्द्रनीलकेयूरयुगलेनमलयजरसगन्धलुब्धेन भुजंगद्वयेनेव वेष्टितबाहुशिखरम्, ईषदालम्बिकर्णोत्पलमेंउन्नतघोणम् उत्फुल्लपुण्डरीकलोचनम्, अमलकलधौतपट्टायामष्टमी चन्द्रशकलाकारमशेषभुवनराज्याभिषेकसलिलपूतमूर्णासनार्थंललाटदेशमुद्वहन्तम्आमोदिमालती कुसुमशेखरमुषसि शिखरपर्यस्ततारकापुञ्जमिव पश्चिमाचलम् आभरणप्रभापिशङ्गिताङ्गतया लग्नहरहुताशमिव मकरध्वजम्,आसन्नवर्तिनीभिः सर्वतः सेवार्थमागताभिरिव दिग्वधूभिर्वारविलासिनीभिः परिवृतम्, अमलमणिकुट्टिमसंक्रान्तसकलदेहप्रतिबिम्बतया पतिप्रेम्णा वसुंधरया हृदयेनेवोह्यमानम्अशेषजनभोग्यतामुपनीत याप्यसाधारणया राजलक्ष्म्या समालिङ्गितदेहम् अपरिमितपरिवारजनमप्यद्वितीयम्, अनन्तगजतुरगसाधनमपि खड्गमात्रसहायम् एकदेशस्थितमपि व्याप्तभुवनमण्डलम्, आसनगतमपि धनुषि निषण्णम्, उत्सादिताशेषद्विषदिन्धनमपि ज्वलत्प्रतापानलम्, आयतलोचनमपि सूक्ष्मदर्शनम्,महादोषमपि सकलगुणाधिष्ठानम्, कुपतिमपि कलत्रवल्लभम्, अविरतप्रवृत्तदानमप्यमदम्, अतिशुद्धस्वभावमपि कृष्णचरितम्, अकरमपि हस्तस्थितसकलभुवनतलं राजानमद्राक्षीत्।

७ आलोक्य च सा दूरस्थितैव प्रचलितरत्नवलयेन रक्तकुवलयदलकोमलेन पाणिना जर्जरितमुखभागां वेणुलतामादाय नरपतिप्रतिबोधनार्थमसकृत्सभाकुट्टिममाजघान। येन सकलमेवतद्राजकमेकपदे वनकरियूथमिव तालशब्देन तेन वेणुलताध्वनिना युगपदावलितवदनमवनिपालमुखादाकृष्य चक्षुस्तदभिमुखमासीत्।

८ अवनिपतिस्तु दूरादालोकयेत्यभिधाय प्रतीहार्या निर्दिश्यमानां तां वयःपरिणामपाण्डुरशिरसा रक्तराजीवेक्षणा- पाङ्गेनानवस्तकृतव्यायामतया यौवनापगमेप्यशिथिलशरीरसंधिनासत्यपि मातङ्गत्वे नातिनृशंसाकृतिनानुगृहीतार्यवेषेण धवलवाससा पुरुषेणाधिष्ठितपुरोभागाम्, आकुलाकुलकाकपक्षधारिणा कनकशलाकानिर्मितमप्यन्तर्गतशुकप्रभाश्यामायमानं मरकतमयमिव पञ्जरमुद्वहता चाण्डालदारकेणानुगम्यमानाम्, असुरगृहीतामृतापहरणकृतकपटपटुविलासिनीवेषस्य श्यामतया भगवतोहरेरिवानुकुर्वतीम्, संचारिणीमिवेन्द्रनीलमणिपुत्रिकाम्, आगुल्फावलम्बिना, नीलकञ्चुकेनावच्छन्नशरीरामुपरि रक्तांशुकरचितावगुण्ठनां नीलोत्पलस्थलीमिव निपतितसंध्यातपाम्, एककर्णावसक्तदन्तपत्रप्रभाधवलित- कपोलमण्डलामुद्यदिन्दुकिरणच्छुरितमुखीमिव विभावरीम्, आकपिलगोरोचनारचिततिलकतृतीयलोचना- मीशानरचितानुरचितकिरातवेषामिव भवानीम्, उरःस्थलनिवाससंक्रान्तनारायणदेहप्रभाश्यामलितामिव श्रियम्, कुपितहरहुताशनदह्यमानमदनधूमलिनीकृतामिव रतिम्, उन्मदहलिहलापकर्षणभयप्रपलायितामिव यमुनाम्, अतिबहलपिण्डालक्तकरसरागपल्लवितपादपङ्कजामचिरमृदितमहिषासुररुधिररक्तचरणानिव कात्यायनीम्, आलोहिताङ्गुलिप्रभापाटलितनखमयूखामतिकठिनमणिकुट्टिमस्पर्शमसहमानां, क्षितितले पल्लवभङ्गानिव निधाय संचरन्तीम्, आपिञ्जरेणोत्सर्पिणा नूपुरमणीनां प्रभाजालेन रञ्जितशरीरतया, पावकेनेव भगवता रूप एव पक्षपातिना प्रजापतिमप्रमाणीकुर्वताजातिसंशोधनार्थमालिङ्गितदेहाम्, अनङ्गवारणशिरोनक्षत्रमालायमानेन, रोमराजिलतालबालकेन मेखलादाम्नापरिगतजघनस्थलाम्, अतिस्थूलमुक्ताफलघटितेन शुचिना हारेण गङ्गास्रोतसेवकालिन्दीशङ्कया कृतकण्ठग्रहाम्, शरदमिव विकसितपुण्डरीकलोचनाम्,

प्रावृषमिव घनकेशजालाम्, मलयमेखलामिव चन्दनपल्लवावतंसाम्, नक्षत्रमालामिव चित्रश्रवणाभरणभूषिताम्, श्रियमिव हस्तस्थितकमलशोभाम्, मूर्च्छामिव मनोहारिणीम्, अरण्यभूमिमिवाक्षतरूपसंपन्नाम्, दिव्ययोषितमिवाकुलीनाम्, निद्रामिव लोचनग्राहिणीम्, अरण्यकमलिनीमिव मातङ्गकुलद्षिताम्, अमूर्तामिव स्पर्शवर्जिताम्, आलेख्यगतामिव दर्शनमात्रफलाम्, मधुमासकुसुमसमृद्धिमिव विजातिम्, अनङ्गकुसुमचापलेखामिवमुष्टिग्राह्यमध्याम्, यक्षाधिपलक्ष्मीमिवालकोद्भासिनीम्, अचिरोपरूढयौवनाम्, अतिशयरूपाकृतिमनिमेषलोचनो ददर्श।

९ समुपजातविस्मयस्य चाभून्मनसि महीपतेः।— “अहोविधातुरस्थाने रूपनिष्पादनप्रयत्नः! तथाहि। यदि नामेयमात्मरूपोपहसिताशेषरूपसंपदुत्पादिता किमर्थमपगतस्पर्शसंभोगसुखे कृतं कुले जन्म? मन्ये च मातङ्गजातिस्पर्शदोषभयादस्पृशतेयमुत्पादिता प्रजापतिना। अन्यथा कथमियमक्लिष्टता लावण्यस्य? न हि करतलस्पर्शक्लेशितानामवयवानामीदृशी भवति कान्तिः। सर्वथा धिग्विधातारमसदृशसंयोगकारिणमतिमनोहराकृतिरपि क्रूरजातितया येनेयमसुरश्रीरिव सततनिन्दितसुरता रमणीयाप्युद्वेजयति।”— इत्येवमादि चिन्तयन्तमेव राजानमीषदवगलितकर्णपल्लवावतंसाप्रगल्भवनितेव कन्यका प्रणनाम। कृतप्रणामायां च तस्यां मणिकुट्टिमोपविष्टायां स पुरुषस्तं विहंगममादाय पञ्जरगतमेव किंचिदुपसृत्य राज्ञे न्यवेदयदब्रवीच्च। “देव, विदितसकलशास्त्रार्थो राजनीतिप्रयोगकुशलः पुराणेतिहासकथालापनिपुणो वेदिता गीतश्रुतीनां काव्यनाटकाख्यायिकाख्यानकप्रभृतीनामपरिमितानां सुभाषितानामध्येता स्वयं च कर्ता परिहासालापपेशलो वीणावेणुमुरजप्रभृतीनां वाद्यविशेषाणामसमः श्रोता नृत्तप्रयोगदर्शननिपुणश्चित्रकर्मणि प्रवीणो द्यूतव्यापारे प्रगल्भः प्रणयकलहकुपितकामिनीप्रसादनोपायचतुरो गजतुरगपुरुषस्त्रीलक्षणाभिज्ञः सकलभूतलरत्नभूतोयं वैशम्पायनो नाम शुकः। सर्वरत्नानां चोदधिरिव देवो भाजनमिति कृत्वैनमादायास्मत्स्वामिदुहिता देवपादमूलमायाता॥ तदयमात्मीयः क्रियताम्।" —इत्युक्त्वा नरपतेः पुरो निधाय पञ्जरमसावपससार।

१० अपसृते च तस्मिन्स विहंगराजो राजाभिमुखो भूत्वा समुन्नमय्य दक्षिणं चरणमतिस्पष्टवर्णस्वरसंस्कारया गिरा कृतजयशब्दो राजानमुद्दिश्यार्यामिमां पपाठ।—

स्तनयुगमश्रुस्नांतंसमीपतरवर्ति हृदयशोकाग्नेः।
चरति विमुक्ताहारं व्रतमिव भवतो रिपुस्त्रीणाम्॥

११. राजा तु तां श्रुत्वा संजातविस्मयः सहर्षमासन्नवर्तिनमतिमहार्हहेमासनोपविष्टममरगुरुमिवाशेषनीतिशास्त्र- पारगमतिवयसमग्रजन्मानमखिलमन्त्रिमण्डले प्रधानममात्यं कुमारपालितनामानमब्रवीत्। “श्रुता भवद्भिरस्य विहंगमस्य स्पष्टता वर्णोच्चारणे स्वरे च मधुरता। प्रथमं तावदिदमेव महदाश्चर्यमसंकीर्णवर्णप्रविभागामभिव्यक्तमात्रानुस्वारसंस्कारयोगां विशेषसंयुक्तां यदयमतिपरिस्फुटाक्षरां गिरमुदीरयति। तत्र पुनरपरमभिमतविषये तिरश्चोपि मनुजस्येव संस्कारवतो बुद्धिपूर्वा प्रवृत्तिः। तथा हि। अनेन समुत्क्षिप्तदक्षिणचरणेनोच्चार्य जयशब्दमियमार्या मामुद्दिश्यातिस्फुटाक्षरं गीता। प्रायेण हि पक्षिणः पशवश्च भयाहारमैथुननिद्रासंज्ञामात्रवेदिनो भवन्ति। इदं तु महच्चित्रम्।” —इत्युक्तवति भूभुजि, कुमारपालितः किंचित्स्मितवदनो नृपमवादीत्। “देव, किमत्र चित्रम्? एते हि शुकसारिकाप्रभृतयो विहंगमविशेषा यथाश्रुतां वाचमुच्चारयन्तीत्यधिगतमेव देवेन। तत्राप्यन्यजन्मोपात्तसंस्कारानुबन्धेन वा पुरुषप्रयत्नेन वा संस्कारातिशय उपजायत इति नातिचित्रम्। अन्यदेतेषामपि पुरा पुरुषाणामिवातिपरिस्फुटाभिधाना वागासीत्। अग्निशापात्त्वपरिस्फुटालापता शुकानामुपजाता, करिणां च जिह्वापरिवृत्तिः”। —इत्येवमुच्चारयत्येव तस्मिन्नशिशिरकिरणमम्बरतलस्य मध्यमारूढमावेदयन्नाडिकाच्छेदप्रहतपटुपटहनादानुसारी मध्याह्नशङ्खध्वनिरुदतिष्ठत। तमाकर्ण्य च समासन्नस्नानसमयो विसर्जितराजलोकः क्षितिपतिरास्थानमण्डपादुत्तस्थौ ।

१२ अथ चलति महीपतावन्योन्यमतिरभससंचलन चालिताङ्गदपत्रभङ्गमकर कोटिपाटितांशुकपटानामाक्षेपदोलायमान- कण्ठदाम्नाभंसस्थलोल्लसितकुङ्कुमपटवासधूलिपिञ्जरितदिशामालोलमालतीकुसुम शेखरोत्पतदलिकदम्बकानाम- र्धावलम्बिभिः कर्णोत्पलैश्चुम्ब्यमानगण्डस्थलानां गमनप्रणामलालसानामंहमहमिकया वक्षःस्थलप्रेङ्खोलितहारलनाना- मुत्तिष्ठतामासीदतिमान्संभ्रमोमहीपतीनाम्। इतश्चेतश्च निष्पतन्तीनां स्कन्धदेशावसक्तचामराणां चामरग्राहिणीनां कमलमधुपानमत्तजरत्कलहंसनादजर्जरेण पदे पदे रणितमणीनां मणिनूपुराणां निनादेन, वारविलासिनीजनस्य संचरतो जघनस्थलास्फालनरसितरत्नमालिकानां मेखलानां मनोहारिणा झंकारेण, नूपुरवाकृष्टानां च धवलितास्थाननण्डपसोपानफलकानां भवनदीर्घिकाकलहंसकाना कोलाहलेन, रसनारसितोत्सुकितानां च तारतरविराविणामुल्लिख्यमानकास्यकेंकारदीर्घेण गृहसारसानां कूजितेन, सरभसप्रचलितसामन्तशतचरणतलाभिहतस्य चास्थानमण्डपस्य निर्घातनिर्घोषगम्भीरेण कुम्पयतेव वयुमतीं ध्वनिना, प्रतीहारिणां च पुरः ससंभ्रमं समुत्सारितजनानां दण्डिनांसमारब्धहेलमुच्चैरुच्चारयताम् ‘आलोकयतालोकयत’ इति तारतरदीर्घेण भवनप्रासादकुञ्जेषूच्चरितप्रतिशब्दतया दीर्घतरतामुपगतेनालोकशब्देन, राज्ञां च ससंभ्रमावर्जितमौलिलोलचूडामणीनां प्रणमताममलमणिशलाकादन्तुराभिः किरीटकोटिभिरुल्लिख्यमानस्य मणिकुट्टिमस्य स्वनेन, प्रणामपर्यस्तानामतिकठिनमणिकुट्टिमनिपतितरणरणायितानां च मणिकर्णपूराणां निनादेन, मङ्गलपाठकानां च पुरोयायिनां ‘जय जीव’ इति मधुरवचनानुयातेन पठतां दिगन्तव्यापिना कलकलेन, प्रचलितजनचरणशतसंक्षोभभयादपहाय कुसुमप्रकरमुत्पततां च मधुलिहां हुंकृतेन, संक्षोभादतित्वरितपदप्रवृत्तैरवनिपतिभिः केयूरकोटिताडितानां क्वणितमुखररत्नदाम्नां च मणिस्तम्भानां रणितेन सर्वतः क्षुभितमिव तदास्थानभवनमभवत्।

१३ अथ विसर्जितराजलोको विश्रम्यतामिति स्वयमेवाभिधाय तां चाण्डालकन्यकां, वैशम्पायनः प्रवेश्यतामभ्यन्तरमिति ताम्बूलकरङ्कवाहिनीमादिश्य कतिपयाप्तराजपुत्रपरिवृतो नरपति-

रभ्यन्तरं प्राविशत्। अपनीताशेषभूषणश्च दिवसकर इव विगलितकिरणजालश्चन्द्रतारकासमूहशून्य इव गगनाभोगः समुपाहृतसमुचितव्यायामोपकरणां व्यायामभूमिमयासीत्। स तस्यां च समानवयोभिः सह राजपुत्रैः कृतमधुरख्यायामः, श्रमवशादुन्मिषन्तीभिः कपोलयोरीषदवदलितसिन्धुवारकुसुममञ्जरीविभ्रमाभिरुरसि निर्दयश्रमच्छिन्नहारविगलितमुक्ता- फलप्रकरानुकारिणीभिर्ललाटपट्टकेऽष्टमीचन्द्रशकलतलोल्लसदमृतबिन्दुविडम्बिनीभिः स्वेदजलकणिकासंततिभिरलं- क्रियमाणमूर्तिः, इतस्ततः स्नानोपकरणसंपादनसत्वरेण पुरः प्रधावता परिजनेन तत्कालं विरलजनेपि राजकुले समुत्सारणाधिकारमुचितमाचरद्भिर्दण्डिभिरुपदिश्यमानमार्गः, विततसितवितानामनेकचारणगणावबध्यमानमण्डलां गन्धोदकपूर्णकनकमयजलद्रोणीसनाथमध्यामुपस्थापितस्फाटिकस्नानपीठामेकान्तनिहितैरतिसुरभिगन्धसलिलपूर्णैः परि- मलावकृष्टमधुकरकुलान्धकारितमुखैरातपभयान्नीलकर्पटावगुण्ठितमुखैरिव स्नानकलशैरुपशोभितां स्नानभूमिमगच्छत्। अवतीर्णस्य जलद्रोणीं वारविलासिनीकरमृदितसुगन्धमलकोपलिप्तशिरसो राज्ञः समन्तात्समुपतस्थुरंशुकनिबिडनिबद्वस्तनपरिकरा दूरसमुत्सारितवलयबाहुलताः समुत्क्षिप्तकर्णाभरणाः कर्णोत्सङ्गोत्सारितालका गृहीतजलकलशाः स्नानार्थमभिषेकदेवता इव वारयोषितः। ताभिश्च समुन्नतकुचकुम्भमण्डलाभिर्वारिमध्यप्रविष्टः करिणीभिरिव वनकरी परिवृतस्तत्क्षणं राजा रराज। जलद्रोणीसलिलादुत्थाय च स्नानपीठममलस्फटिकधवलं वरुण इव राजहंसमारुरोह। ततस्ताः काश्चिन्मर-

कतकलशप्रभाश्यामायमाना नलिन्य इव मूर्तिमत्यः पत्रपुटैः, काश्चिद्रजतकलशहस्ता रजन्य इव पूर्णचन्द्रमण्डलविनिर्गतेन ज्योत्स्नाप्रवाहेण, काश्चित्कलशोत्क्षेपश्रमस्वेदार्द्रशरीरा जलदेवताइव स्फाटिकैः कलशैस्तीर्थजलेन, काश्चिन्मलयसरित इव चन्दनरसमिश्रेण सलिलेन, काश्चिदुत्क्षिप्तकलशपार्श्वविन्यस्तहस्तपल्लवाः प्रकीर्यमाणनखमयूखजालकाः प्रत्यङ्गुलिविवरविनिर्गतजलधाराः सलिलयन्त्रदेवता इव, काश्चिज्जाड्यमपनेतुमाक्षिप्तबालातपेनेव दिवसश्रिय इव कनककलशहस्ताः कुङ्कुमजलेन, वाराङ्गनाः क्रमेण राजानमभिषिषिचुः। अनन्तरमुदपादि च स्फोटयन्निव श्रुतिपथमनेकप्रहतपटुपटहझल्लरीमृदङ्गवेणुवीणागीतनिनादानुगम्यमानो बन्दिवृन्दकोलाहलाकुलो भुवनविवरव्यापी स्नानशङ्खानामापूर्यमाणानामतिमुखरो ध्वनिः।

१४ एवं च क्रमेण निर्वर्तिताभिषेको विषधरनिर्मोंकपरिलघुनी धवले परिधाय धौतवाससी शरदम्बरैकदेश इव जलक्षाल- नाविमलतनुरतिधवलजलधरच्छेदशुचिना दुकूलपटपल्लवेन तुहिनगिरिरिव गगनसरित्स्रोतसा कृतशिरोवेष्टनः संपादितपितृजलक्रियो मन्त्रपूतेन तोयाञ्जलिना दिवसकरमभिप्रणम्य देवगृहमगमत्। उपरचितपशुपतिपूजनश्च निष्क्रम्य देवगृहान्निर्वर्तिताग्निकार्यो विलेपनभूमौ झंकारिभिरलिकदम्बकैरनुबध्यमानपरिमलेन मृगमदकर्पूरकुङ्कुमवाससुरभिणा चन्दनेनानुलिप्तसर्वाङ्गोविरचितामोदिमालतीकुसुमशेखरः कृताम्बरपरिवर्तो रत्नकर्णपूरमात्राभरणः समु-

चितभोजनैः सह भूपतिभिराहारमभिमतरसास्वादजातप्रीतिरवनिपो निर्वर्तयामास।

१५. परिपीतधूपवर्तिरुपस्पृश्य च गृहीतताम्बूलस्तस्नात्प्रमृष्टमणिकुट्टिमात्प्रदेशादुत्थाय नातिदूरवर्तिन्या ससंभ्रमप्रधावितया प्रतीहार्या प्रसारितबाहुमवलम्ब्या नवरतवेत्रलताग्रहणप्रसङ्गातिजरठकिसलयानुकारिकरतलकरेणा- भ्यन्तरसंचारसमुचितेन परिजनेनानुगम्यमानो धवलांशुकजवनिकापरिगतपर्यन्ततया स्फटिकमणिमयभित्तिबद्धमिवोप- लक्ष्यमाणमतिसुरभिमृगनाभिपरिगतेनामोदिना चन्दनवारिणा सिक्तशिशिरमणिभूमिमविरलविप्रकीर्णेन विमलमणिकुट्टिमगगनतलतारागणेनेव कुसुमोपहारेण निरन्तरनिचितमुत्कीर्णशालभञ्जिकानिवहेनसंनिहितगृहदेवतेनेव गन्धसलिलक्षालितेन कलधौतमयेन स्तम्भसंचयेन विराजमानमतिबहलागुरुधूपपरिमलमखिलविगलितजलनिवह- धवलजलधरकलानुकारिणाकुसुमामोदवासितप्रच्छदपटेनपट्टोपधानाध्यासितशिरौधाम्नामणिमयप्रतिपादुकाप्रतिष्ठित- पादेन पार्श्वस्थरत्नपादपीठेन तुहिनगिरिशिलातलसदृशशयनेन सनाथीकृतवेदिके (भुक्त्वा) आस्थानमण्डपमयासीत्। तत्र च शयनतलनिषण्णः क्षितितलोपविष्टया शनैः शनैरुत्सङ्गनिहितासिलतया खड्गवाहिन्या नवनलिनदलकोमलेन करसंपुटेन संवाह्यमानचरणस्तत्कालोचितदर्शनैरवनिपतिभिरमात्यैर्मित्रैश्च सह तास्ताः कथाः कुर्वन्मुहूर्तमिवासांचक्रे। ततो नातिदूरवर्तिनीमन्तः पुराद्वैशम्पायनमादायागच्छेति समुपजाततद्वृत्तान्तप्रश्नकुतूहलो राजा प्रतीहारीमादिदेश। सा क्षितितलनिहितजानु-

करतला"यथाज्ञापयति देवः" इति शिरसि कृत्वाज्ञांयथादिष्टमकरोत्।

१६ अथ मुहूर्तादिव वैशम्पायनः प्रतीहार्यागृहीतपञ्जरःकनकवेत्रलतावलम्बिना किंचिदवनतपूर्वकायेन सितकञ्चुकावच्छन्नवपुषा जराघवलितमौलिना गद्गदस्वरेण मन्दमन्दसंचारिणाविहंगजातिप्रीत्या जरत्कलहंसेनेव कञ्चुकिनानुगम्यमानो राजान्तिकमाजगाम। क्षितितलनिहितकरतलस्तु कञ्चुकी राजानंव्यज्ञापयत्। “देव, देव्यो विज्ञापयन्ति। देवादेशादेष वैशम्पायनः स्नातः कृताहारश्च देवपादमूलं प्रतीहार्यानीतः”—इत्यभिधाय गते च तस्मिन् राजा वैशम्पायनमपृच्छत्। “कच्चिदभिमतमास्वादितमभ्यन्तरेभवता किंचिदशनजातम् ?” इति। सप्रत्युवाच। “देव किं वा नास्वादितम् ? आमत्तकोकिललोचनच्छविर्नीलपाटल; कषायमधुरः प्रकाममापीतो जम्बूफलरसः। हरिनखरभिन्नमत्तमातङ्गकुम्भमुकरत्कार्दमुक्ताफलत्विंषि खण्डितानि दाडिमबीजानि। नलिनीदलहरिन्ति द्राक्षाफलस्वादूनि च दलितानिस्वेच्छया प्राचीनामलकीफलानि। किं वा प्रलपितेन बहुना ?सर्वमेव देवीभिः स्वयं करतलोपनीयमानममृतायते।”— इत्येवंवादिनो वचनमाक्षिप्य नरपतिरब्रवीत्।—“आस्तां तावत्सर्वमेवेदम्।अपनयतु नः कुतूहलम्। आवेदयतु भवानादितःप्रभृति कार्त्स्न्येनात्मनो जन्म। कस्मिन्देशे भवान्कथं जातः ?केन वा नाम कृतम् ? का माता ? कस्ते पिता ? कथं वेदानामागमः ? कथं शास्त्राणां परिचयः ? कुतः कलाः समासादिताः ?

किं जन्मान्तरानुस्मरणम्, उत वरप्रदानम् ? अथवा विहंगवेषधारीकश्चिच्छन्नं निवससि ? क्व वा पूर्वमुषितम् ? कियद्वा वयः। कथंपञ्जरबन्धः ? कथं चाण्डालहस्तगमनम् ? इह वा कथमागमनम्”इति। वैशम्पायनस्तु स्वयमुपजातकुतूहलेन सबहुमानमवनिपतिना पृष्टो मुहूर्तमिव ध्यात्वा सादरमब्रवीत्।—“देव, महतीयं कथायदि कौतुकमाकर्ण्यताम्।

—शुककथाप्रारम्भः—

१७ अस्ति पूर्वापरजलनिधिवेलावलग्ना, मध्यदेशालंकारभूता मेखलेव भुवः, वनकरिकुलमदजलसेकसंवर्धितैरति- विकचधवल कुसुमनिकरमत्युच्चतया तारागणमिव शिखरदेशलग्नमुद्वहद्भिः पादपैरुपशोभिता, मदकलकुररकुलदश्यमानमरिचपल्लवा, करिकलभकरमृदिततमालकिसलयामादिनी,मधुमदोषरक्तकेरलीकपोल- कोमलच्छविना संचरद्वनदेवताचरणालक्तकरसरञ्जितेनेव पल्लवप्रचयेन संछादिता, शुककुलदलितदाडिमी- फलद्रवार्द्रीकृततलैरतिचपलकपिकम्पितकक्कोलच्युतपल्लवफलशबलैरनवरतनिपतितकसुमरेणुपांसुलैःपथिकजन- रचितलवङ्गपल्लवसंस्तरैरतिकठोरनालिकेरकेतकीकरीरकेसरपरिगतप्रान्तैस्ताम्बूलीलतावनद्व पूगखण्डमण्डितैर्वन- लक्ष्मीवासंभवनैारेव विराजिता लतामण्डपैः, उन्मदमातङ्गकपोलस्थलगलितमदसलिलसिक्तेनेव निरन्तरमेलालतावनेन मदगन्धिनान्धकारिता, नखमुखलग्नेभकुम्भमुक्ताफललुब्धैः शबरसेनापतिभिरभिहन्यमानकेसरिशता, प्रेताधिपनगरीव सदासंनिहितमृत्युभीषणा महिषाधिष्ठिता च, समरोद्यतपताकिनीव बाणासना-

रोपितशिलीमुखा विमुक्तसिंहनादा च, कात्यायनीव प्रचलितखड्गभीपणा रक्तचन्दनालंकृता च, कर्णीसुतकथेव संनिहितविपुलाचला शशोपगता च,कल्पान्तप्रदोषसन्ध्येव प्रनृत्तनीलकण्ठापल्लवारुणा च, अमृतमथनवेलेव श्रीद्रुमोपशोभिता वारुणीपरिगताच, प्रावृडिव घनश्यामलानेकशतह्रदालंकृता च, चन्द्रमूर्तिरिवसंततमृक्षसार्थानुगता हरिणाध्यासिता च, राज्यस्थितिरिव चमरमृगवालव्यजनोपशोभिता समदगजघटापरिपालिता च, गिरितनयेव स्थाणुसंगता मृगपतिसेविता च, जानकीव प्रसूतकुशलवानिशाचरपरिगृहीता च, कामिनीव चन्दनमृगमदपरिमलवाहिनीरुचिरागुरुतिलकभूषिता च, सोत्कण्ठेव विविधपल्लवानिलवीजिता समदना च, बालग्रीवेव व्याघ्रनखपङ्क्तिमण्डिता गण्डकाभरणा च, पानभूमिरिव प्रकटितमधुकोशकशता प्रकीर्णविविधकुसुमा च, कवचित्प्रलयवेलेव महावराहदंष्ट्रासमुत्खातधरणिमण्डला, क्वचिद्दशमुखनगरीव चटुलवानरवृन्दभज्यमानतुङ्गशालाकुला, क्वचिदचिरनिवृत्तविवाहभूमिरिव हरितकुशसमित्कुसुमशमीपलाशशोभिताः, क्वचिदुदुवत्तमृगपतिनादभीतेव कण्टकिता,क्वचिन्मत्तेव कोकिलकुलप्रलापिनी, क्वचिदुन्मत्तेव वायुवेगकृततालशब्दा, क्वचिद्विधवेवोन्मुक्ततालपत्रा, क्वचित्समरभूमिरिवशरशतनिचिता, क्वचिदमरपतितनुरिव नेत्रसहस्रसंकुला, क्वचिन्नारायणमूर्तिरिव तमालनीला, क्वचित्पार्थरथपताकेव वानराक्रान्ता,क्वचिदवनिपतिद्वारभूमिरिव वेत्रलताशतदुष्प्रवेशा, क्वचिद्विराटनगरीव कीचकशतावृता, क्वचिदम्बरश्रीरिव व्याधानुगम्यमान-

तरलतारकमृगा; क्वचिद् गृहीतव्रतेव दर्भचीरजटावल्कलधारिणी,अपरिमितबहुलपत्रसंचयापि सप्तपर्णभूषिता, क्रूरसत्वापि मुनिजनसेविता, पुष्पवत्यपि पवित्रा विन्ध्याटवी नाम।

१८ तस्यां च दण्डकारण्यान्तःपाति सकलभुवनतलख्यातमुत्यत्तिक्षेत्रमिव भगवतो धर्मस्य, सुरपतिप्रार्थनापीतसकल- सागरसलिलस्य मेरुमत्सराद्गगनतलप्रसारितविकटशिरःसहस्रेण दिवसकररथगतिपथमपनेतुमभ्युद्यतेनावगणित- सकलसुरसमूहवचसा विन्ध्यगिरिणाप्यनुल्लङ्घिताज्ञस्यजठरानलजीर्णवातापिदानवस्य सुरासुरमुकुटमकरपत्रकोटीचुम्बितचरणरजसो दक्षिणाशामुखविशेषकस्य सुरलोकादेकहुंकारनिपातितनहुषप्रकटप्रभावस्य भगवतो महामुनेरगस्त्यस्य भार्यया लोपामुद्रया स्वयमुपरचितालवालकैः करपुटसलिलसेकसंवर्धितैः सुतनिर्विशेषैरुपशोभितं पादपैः, तत्पुत्रेणचगृहीतव्रतेनाषाढिना पवित्रभस्मविरचितत्रिपुण्ढ्रकाभरणेनकुशचीवरवाससा मुञ्जमेखलाकलितमध्येन गृहीतहरितपर्णपुटेनप्रत्युटजमटता भिक्षां दृढदस्युनाम्ना पवित्रीकृतम्, [अतिप्रभूतेध्याहरणाच्च यस्येध्मवाह इति पिता द्वितीयं नाम चकार,] दिशिदिशि शुकहरितैश्च कदलीवनैः श्यामलीकृतपरिसरम्, सरिता चकलशयोनिपरिपीतसागरमार्गानुगतयेव बद्धवेणिकया गोदावर्योपरिगतमाश्रमपदमासीत्।

१९ यत्र च दशरथवचनमनुपालयन्नुत्सृष्टराज्यो दशवदनलक्ष्मीविभ्रमविरामो रामो महामुनिमगस्त्यमनुचरन्सह सीतयालक्ष्मणोपरचितरुचिरपर्णशालः पञ्चवट्यां कंचित्कालं सुखमुवास !

चिरशून्येद्यापि यत्र शाखानिलीननिभृतपाण्डुकपोतपङक्तयो लग्नतापसाग्निहोत्रधूमराज‍य इव लक्ष्यन्ते तरवः। बलिकर्मकुसुमान्युद्धरन्त्याः सीतायाः करतलादिव संक्रान्तो यत्र रागः स्फुरतिलताकिसलयेषु। यत्र च पीतोद्गीर्णं जलनिधिजलमिव मुनिनानिखिलमाश्रपोपान्तवर्तिषु विभक्तं महाह्रदेषु। यत्र दशरथसुतनिशितशरनिकर-निपात-निहत रजनिचरबल-बहुलरुधिरसिक्तमूलम्अद्यापि तद्रागाविद्धनिर्गतपलाशमिवाभाति नवकिसलयमरण्यम्।अधुनापि यत्र जलधरसमये गम्भीरमभिनवजलधरनिवहनिनादमाकर्ण्य भगवतो रामस्य त्रिभुवनविवरव्यापिनश्चापघोषस्य स्मरन्तोन गृह्णन्ति शष्पकवलमजस्रमश्रुजललुलितदीनदृष्टयो वीक्ष्य शून्यादश दिशो जराजर्जरितविषाणकोटयो जानकीसंवर्धिता जीर्णमृगाः। यस्मिन्ननवरतमृगयानिहतशेषवनहरिणप्रोत्साहित इवकृतसीताविप्रलम्भः कनकमृगो राघवमतिदूरं जहार। यत्र चमैथिलीबियोगदुःखदुःखितौ दशवदनविनाशपिशुनौ चन्द्रसूर्याविवकबन्धग्रस्तौ समं रामलक्ष्मणौ त्रिभुवनभयं महच्चक्रतुः। अत्यायतश्च यस्मिन्दशरशसुतशरनिपातितो योजनबाहोर्बाहुरगस्त्यप्रसादनागतनहुषाजगरकायशङ्कामकरोदृषिजनस्य। जनकतनया च भर्त्रा विरहविनोदनार्थमुटजाभ्यन्तरलिखिता यत्र रामनिवासदर्शनोत्सुकापुनरिव धरणितलादुल्लसन्ती वनचरैरद्याप्यालोक्यते।

२० तस्य चैवंविधस्य संप्रत्यपि प्रकटोपलक्ष्यमाणपूर्ववृत्तान्तस्यागस्त्याश्रमस्य नातिदूरे जलनिधिपानप्रकुपितवरुणो- त्साहितेनागस्त्यमत्सरात्तदाश्रनसमीपवर्त्यपर इव वेधसा महाजलनिधि-

रुत्पादितः, प्रलयकालविघटिताष्टदिग्भागसन्धिबन्धं गगनतलमिव भुवि निपतितम्, आदिवराहसमुद्धृतघरा- मण्डलस्थानमिवसलिलपूरितम्, अनवरतमज्जदुन्मदशबरकामिनीकुचकलशलुलितजलम्, उत्फुल्लकुमुदकुवलय- कल्हारम्, उन्निद्रारविन्दमधुबिन्दुनिस्यन्दबद्धचन्द्रकम्, अलिकुलपटलांघकारितसौगन्धिकम्,आरसितसमदसारसम्, अम्बुरुहमधुपानमत्तकलहंसकामिनीकृतकोलाहलम्, अनेकजलचरपतंगशतसंचलनचञ्चलितवाचालवीचिमालम्, अनिलोल्लासितकल्लोलशिखरसीकरारब्धदुर्दिनम्, अशङ्कितावतीर्णाभिरम्भःक्रीडारागिणीभिः स्नानसमये वनदेवताभिः केशपाशुकुसुमैः सुरभीकृतम्, एकदेशावतीर्णमुनिजनापूर्यमाणकमण्डलुकलकलध्वनिमनोहरम्, उन्मिषदुत्पलवनमध्यचारिभिः सवर्णतया रसितानुमेयैः कादम्बकदम्बकैरासेवितम्, अभिषेकावतीर्णपुलिन्दराज- सुन्दरीकुचचन्दनधूलिधवलिततरंगम्,उपान्तजातकेतकीरजःपटलबद्वकूलपुलिनम्, आसन्नाश्रमागततापसक्षालित- र्द्रवल्कलकषायपाटलतटजलम्, उपतटविटपिपल्लवानिलवीजितम्,अविरलतमालवीथिकान्धकारिताभिर्वालिनिर्वासितेन संचरता प्रतिदिनमृष्यमूकवासिना सुग्रीवेणावलुप्तफलपरिलघुलताभिरुदवासितापसानां देवतार्चनोपयुक्तकुसुमाभिरु- त्पतज्जलचरपतंगपक्षपुटविगलितजलबिन्दुसेकसुकुमारकिसलयाभिर्लतामण्डपतलस्थितशिखण्डिमण्डलारब्धताण्डवभिःअनेककुसुमपरिमलवाहिनीभिर्वनदेवताभिःश्वासवासिताभिरिव वनराजिभिरुपरुद्वतीरम्, अपरसागराशङ्किभिः सलिलमादातुमवतीर्णैजलधरैरिव बहलपङ्कमलिनैर्वनकरिभिरनवरत-

मापीयमानसलिलम्, अगाधम्, अनन्तम्, अप्रतिमम्, अपां निधानं,पम्पाभिधानं पद्मसरः। यत्र च विकचकुवलय- प्रभाश्यामायमानपक्षपुटान्यद्यापि मूर्तिमद्रामशापग्रस्तानीव मध्यचारिणामालोक्यन्ते चक्रनाम्नां मिथुनानि।

२१ तस्यैवंविधस्य पद्मसरसः पश्चिमे तीरे राघवशरप्रहारजर्जरितजीर्णतालतरुखण्डस्य च समीपे दिग्गजकर- दण्डानुकारिणा जरदजगरेण सततमावेष्टितमूलतया बद्धमहालवाल इव तुङ्गस्कन्धावलम्बिभिरनिलवेल्लितैर- हिनिर्मोकैर्धृतोत्तरीय इव,दिक्चक्रवालपरिमाणमिव गृह्णता, भुवनान्तरालविप्रकीर्णेन शाखासंचयेनप्रलयकालताण्डव प्रसारितभुजसहस्रमुङ्गपतिशकलशेखरमिव विडम्बयितुमुद्यतः, पुराणतया पतनभयादिव गगनस्कन्धलग्नः, निखिलशरीरव्यापिनीभिरतिदूरोन्नताभिजर्णितया शिराभिरिव परिगतो व्रततिभिः, जरा तिलकबिन्दुभिरिव कण्टकैराचिततनुः, इतस्ततः परिपीतसागरसलिलैर्गगनागतैः पत्ररथैरिव शाखान्तरेषुनिलीयमानैः क्षणमम्बुभारालसैरार्द्रीकृतपल्लवैर्जलधरपटलैरप्यदृष्टशिखरदेशः, तुङ्गतया नन्दनवनश्रियमिवावलोकयितुमभ्युद्यतः, समीपवर्तिनामुपरि संचरतांगगनतलगमनखेदायासितानां रविरथतुरंगमाणां सृक्कपरिस्रुतैः फेनपटलैः संदेहिततूलराशिभिर्धवलीकृतशिखरशाखः, वनगजकपोलकण्ड्यूनलग्नमदनिलीनमत्तमधुकरमालेन लोहशृङ्खलाबन्धनिश्चलेनेव कल्पस्थायिना मूलेन समुपेतः, कोटराभ्यन्तरनिविष्टैः स्फुरद्भिः सजीव इव मधुकरपटलैः,दुर्योधन इवोपलक्षितशकुनिपक्षपातः, नलिननाभ इव वनमालोप-

गूढः,नवजलधरव्यूह इव नभसि दर्शितोन्नतिः, आखेलभुवनतलावलोकनप्रासाद इव वनदेवतानाम्, अधिपतिरिव दण्डकारण्यस्य, नायक इव सर्ववनस्पतीनाम्, सखेव विन्ध्यस्य, शाखाबाहुभिरुपगूह्येव विन्ध्याटवीमवस्थितो महाञ्जीर्णः शाल्मलीवृक्षः।

२२ तत्र च शाखाग्रेषु कोटरोदरेषु पल्लवान्तरेषु स्कन्धसंधिषु जीर्णवल्कलविवरेषु महावकाशतया विश्रब्धविरचितकुलायसहस्राणि दुरारोहतया विगलितविनाशभयानि नानादेशसमागतानि शुकशकुनिकुलानि प्रतिवसन्ति स्म। यैः परिणामविरलदलसंहतिरपि स वनस्पतिरविरलदलनिचयश्यामल इवोपलक्ष्यते दिवानिश निलीनैः। ते च तस्मिन्वनस्पतावतिवाह्यातिवाह्य रजनीमालनीडेषु प्रतिदिनमुत्थायोत्थायाहारान्वेषणाय नमसिविरचितपङ्क्तयो मदकलहलधरहलमुखोत्क्षेपविकीर्णबहुस्रोतसमम्बरतले कलिन्दकन्यामिव दर्शयन्तः सुरगजोन्मूलितविगलदाकाशगङ्गाकमलिनीशङ्कामुपजनयन्तो दिवसकररथतुरगप्रभानुलिप्तमिवगगनतलमुपपादयन्तः संचारिणीमिव मरकतस्थलीं विडम्बयन्तःशैवलपल्लवावलीमिवाम्बरसरसि प्रसारयन्तो गगनविततैः पक्षपुटैःकदलीदलैरिव दिनकरखरकरनिकरपरिखेदिताशामुखानि वीजयन्तो वियति विसारिणीं शष्पवीथीमिवारचयन्तः सेन्द्रायुधमिवान्तरिक्षमादधाना विचरन्ति स्म शुकशकुनयः। कृताहाराश्च पुनःप्रतिनिवृत्यात्मकुलायावस्थितेभ्यः शावकेभ्यो विविधान्फलरसान्कलममञ्जरीविकारांश्च प्रहतहरिणरुधिरानुरक्तशार्दूलनखकोटिपाटलेन चञ्चुपुटेन दत्त्वा दत्त्वाधरीकृतसर्वस्नेहेनासाधारणेन

गुरुणापत्यप्रेम्णा तस्मिन्नेव क्रोडान्तर्निहिततनयाः क्षपाः क्षपयन्ति स्म।

२३ एकस्मिंश्च जीर्णकोटरे जायया सह निवसतः पश्चिमेवयसि वर्तमानस्य कथमपि पितुरहमेवैको विधिवशात्सूनुरभवम्।अतिप्रबलया चाभिभूता ममैव जायमानस्य प्रसववेदनया जननीमे लोकान्तरमगमत्। अभिमतजायाविनाशशोकदुःखितोपि खलुतातः सुतस्नेहादन्तर्निगृह्य पटुप्रसरमपि शोकमेकाकी मत्संवर्धनपरएवाभवत्। अतिपरिणतवयाश्च कुशचीरानुकारिणीमल्पावशिष्टजीर्णपिच्छजालजर्जराम् अवस्रस्तांसदेशशिथिलामपगतोलतनसंस्कारां पक्षसंततिमुद्वहन्नुपारूढकम्पतया च संतापकारिणीमङ्गलग्नां जरामिव विधुन्वन्नकठोरशेफालिकाकुसुमनालपिञ्जरेण कलममञ्जरीदलनमसृणितक्षीणोपान्तलेखेन स्फुटिताग्रकोटिना चञ्चुपुटेनपरनीडनिपतिताभ्यः शालिवल्लरीभ्यस्तण्डुलकणानादायादाय तरुमूलनिपतितानि शुककुलावदलितानि फलशकलानि समाहृत्य परिभ्रमितुमशक्तो मह्यमदात्। प्रतिदिवसमात्मना च मदुपभुक्तशेषमकरोदशनम्।

२४ एकदा तु प्रभातसंध्यारागलोहिते गगनतलकमलिनीमधुरक्तपक्षसंपुटे वृद्धहंस इव मन्दाकिनीपुलिनादपरजलनिधितटमवतरति चन्द्रमसि, परिणत-रङकु-रोमपाण्डुनि व्रजति विशालतामाशाचक्रवाले, गजरुधिररक्तहरिसटालोमलोहिनी भिरातप्तलाक्षिकतन्तुपाटलाभिरायानिनीभिरशिशिरकिरणदीधितिभिः पद्मरागरत्नशलाकासंमार्जनीभिरिव समुत्सार्यमाणे गगनकुट्टिमकुसुमप्रकरे

तारागणे, सन्ध्यामुपासितुमुत्तराशावलम्बिनि मानससरस्तीरमिवावतरति सप्तर्षिमण्डले, तटगतविघटितशुक्तिसंपुट- विप्रकीर्णमरुणकरप्रेरणाधोगलितमुडुगणमिव मुक्ताफलनिकरमुद्वहति धवलितपुलिनतटमुदन्वति पूर्वेतरे, तुषारविन्दुवर्षिणि विबुद्वशिखकुले विजृम्भमाणकेसरिणि करिणीकदम्बकप्रबोध्यमानसमदकरिणि क्षपाजलजडकेसरं कुसुमनिकरमुदयगिरिशिखरस्थितं सवितारमिवोद्दिश्य पल्लवाञ्जलिभिः समुत्सृजति कानने, रासभरोमधूसरासु वनदेवताप्रासादानां तरूणां शिखरेषु पारावतमालायमानासु धर्मपताकास्विव समुन्मिषन्तीषु तपोवनाग्निहोत्रधूमलेखासु, अवश्यायसीकरिणि लुलितकमलवने रतिखिन्नशबरसीमन्तिनीस्वेदजलकणिकापहारिणि वनमहिषरोमन्धफेन- बिन्दुवाहिनि चलितपल्ल्वलतालास्योपदेशव्यसनिनि विघटमानकमलखण्डमधुसीकरासारवर्षिणि कुसुमामोदतर्पितालिजाले निशावसानजातजडिम्निमन्दमन्दसंचारिणिप्रवाति प्राभातिके मातरिश्वनि, कमलवनप्रबोधमङ्गलपाठकानाम्इभगण्डडिण्डिमानां मधुलिहां कुमुदोदरेषु घनघटमानदलपुटनिबद्ध- पक्षसंहतीनामुच्चरत्सु हुंकारेषु, प्रभातशिशिरमारुनाहतमुत्तप्तजतुरसाश्लिष्टपक्ष्ममालमिव सशेषनिद्राजिह्मतारं चक्षुरुन्मीलयत्सु शनैःशनैरूषरशय्याधूसरक्रोडरोमराजिषु वनमृगेषु, इतस्ततः संचरत्सुवनचरेषु, विजृम्भमाणे श्रोत्रहारिणि पम्पासरःकलहंसकोलाहले,समुल्लसति नर्तितशिखण्डिमण्डले, मनोहरे वनगजकर्णतालशब्दे,क्रमेण च गगनतलमार्गमवतरतो दिवसकरवारणस्यावचूलचामरकलाप इवोपलक्ष्यमाणे मञ्जिष्ठारागलोहिते किरणजाले, शनैः

शनैरुदिते भगवति सवितरि, पम्पासरःपर्यन्ततरुशिखरसंचारिण्यध्यासितगिरिशिखरे दिवसकरजन्मनि हृततारे पुनरिव कपीश्वरेवनमभिपतति बालातपे, स्पष्टे जाते प्रत्यूषसि, नचिरादिव दिवसाष्टमभागभाजि स्पष्टभासि भास्वति भूते, प्रयातेषु यथाभिमतानिदिगन्तराणि शुककुलेषु, कुलायनिलीननिभृतशावकसनाथेपि निःशब्दतया शून्य इव तस्मिन्वनस्पतौ, स्वनीडावस्थित एव ताते,मयि च शैशवादसंजातबलसमुद्भिद्यमानपक्षपुटे तातस्य समीपवर्तिनि कोटरगते, सहसैव तस्मिन्महावने संत्रासितसकलवनचरःसरभसमुत्पतत्पतत्रिपश्चपुटशब्दसंततो भीतकरिपोतचीत्कारपीवरः प्रचलितलताकुलितमत्तालिकुलक्वणितमांसलः परिभ्रमदुद्धोणवनवराहरवघर्घरो गिरिगुहासुप्तप्रबुद्धसिंहनादोपबृंहितः कम्पयन्निवतरून्भगीरथावतार्यमाणगङ्गाप्रवाहकलकलबहलो भीतवनदेवताकर्णितोमृगयाकोलाहलध्वनिरुदचरत्। आकर्ण्य च तमहमश्रुतपूर्वमुपजातवेपथुरर्भकतयाजर्जरितकर्णविवरो भयविह्वलः समीपवर्तिनः पितुः प्रतीकारबुद्ध्या, जराशिथिलपक्षपुटान्तरम विशम्।

२५ अनन्तरं च सरभसमितो गजयूथपतिलुलितकमलिनीपरिमलः, इतः क्रोडकुलदश्यमानभद्रमुस्तारसामोदः, इतः करिकलभभज्यमानसल्लकीकषायगन्धः, इतो निपतितशुष्कपत्रमर्मरध्वनिः, इतो वनमहिषविषाणकोटिकुलिशभिद्यमान- वल्मीकधूलिः,इतो मृगकदम्बकम्, इतो वनगजकुलम्, इतो वनवराहयूथम्,इतो वनमहिषवृन्दम्, इतः शिखण्डिमण्डलविरुतम्, इतःकपिञ्जलकुलकलकूजितम्, इतः कुररकुलक्वणितम्, इतो मृग-

पतिनखभिद्यमानकुम्भकुञ्जररसितम्,इयमार्द्रपङ्कमलिना वराहपद्धतिः, इयमभिनवशष्पकवलरसश्यामला हरिणरोमन्थफेनसंहतिः,इयमुन्मदगन्धगजगण्डकण्डूयनपरिमलनिलीनमुखरमधुकरविरुतिः,एषानिपतितरुधिरबिन्दुसिक्तशुष्कपत्रपाटला रुरुपदवी, एतद्द्विरदचरणमृदितविटपपल्लवपटलम्, एतत्खङ्गिकुलक्रीडितम्, एषनखकोटिविलिखितचिकटपत्रलेखो रुधिरपाटलः करिमौक्तिकदलदन्तुरो मृगपतिमार्गः, एषा प्रत्यग्रपसूतवनमृगीगर्भरुधिरलोहिनीभूमिः, इयमटवीवेणिकानुकारिणी पक्षचरस्य यूथपतेर्मदजलमलिना संचारवीथी, चमरीपङ्क्तिरियमनुगम्यताम्, उच्छुष्कमृगकरीषपांसुला त्वरिततरमध्यास्यतामियं वनस्थली, तरुशिखरमारुह्यताम्, आलोक्यतां दिगियम्, आकर्ण्यतामयं शब्दः, गृह्यतांधनुः, अवहितैः स्थीयताम्, विमुच्यन्तां श्वानः, इत्यन्योन्यमभि वदतो मृगयासक्तस्य महतो जनसमूहस्य तरुगहनान्तरितविग्रहस्यक्षोभितकाननं कोलाहलमशृणवम्।

२६ अथ नातिचिरादिवानुलेपनार्द्धमृदङ्गध्वनिधीरेण गिरिविवरविजृम्भितप्रतिनादगम्भीरेण शबरशरताडितानां केसरिणां निनादेन, संत्रस्तयूथमुक्तानामेकाकिनां च संचरतामनवरतकरास्फोटमिश्रेण जलधररसितानुकारिणा गजयूथपतीनां कण्ठगर्जितेन,सरभससारमेयविलुप्यमानावयवानामालोलकातरतरलतारकाणामेणकानां करुणकुजितेन, निहतयूथपतीनां वियोगिनीनामनुगतकलभानां च स्थित्वा स्थित्वा समाकर्ण्य कलकलमुत्कर्णपल्लवानाप्तितस्ततः परिभ्रमन्तीनां प्रत्यग्रपतिविनाशशोकदीर्घेण करिणीनां

चीत्कृतेन, कतिपयदिवसप्रसूतानां च खड्गिधेनुकानां त्रासपरिभ्रष्टपोतान्वेषिणीनामुन्मुक्तकण्ठमतिकरुण- मारसन्तीनामाक्रन्दितेन,तरुशिखरसमुत्पतितानामाकुलाकुलचारिणां च पत्ररथानां कोलाहलेन, रूपानुसारप्रधावितानां च मृगयूणां युगपदतिरभसपादपाताभिहताया भुवः कम्पमिव जनयता चरणशब्देन, कर्णान्ताकृष्टज्यानां च मदकलकुररकामिनीकण्ठकूजितकलेन शरनिकरवर्षिणांधनुषां निनादेन, पवनाहतिक्वणितधाराणामसीनां च कठिनमहिषस्कन्धपीठपातिनां रणितेन, शुनां च सरभसविमुक्तघर्घरध्वनीनां वनान्तरव्यापिना ध्वानेन सर्वतः प्रचलितमिवतदरण्यमभवत्। अचिराच्च प्रशान्ते तस्मिन्मृगयाकलकले निर्वृष्टमूकजलधरवृन्दानुकारिणि मथनावसानोपशान्तवारिणि सागर इवस्तिमिततामुपागते कानने मन्दीभूतभयोहमुपजातकुतूहलःपितुरुत्सङ्गादीषदिव निष्क्रम्य कोटरस्थ एव शिरोधरां प्रसार्य संत्रासतरलतारकः शैशवात्किमिदमिति समुपजातदिदृक्षस्तामेव दिशंचक्षुः प्राहिणवम्।

२७ अभिमुखमापतच्च तस्माद्वनान्तरादर्जुनभुजदण्डसहस्रविप्रकीर्णमिव नर्मदाप्रवाहम्, अनिलवशाच्चलितमिव तमालकाननम्, एकीभूतमिव कालरात्रीणां यामसंघातम्, अञ्जनशिलास्तम्भसंभारमिव क्षितिकम्पविघूर्णितम्, अन्धकारपुञ्जमिवरविकिरणाकुलितम्, अन्तकपरिवारमिव परिभ्रमन्तम्, अवदारितरसातलोद्भूतमिव दानवलोकम्, अशुभकर्मसमूहमिवैकत्रसमागतम्, अशेषदण्डकारण्यवासिमुनिजनशापसार्थमिव संच-

रन्तम्, अनवरतशरनिकरवर्षि-रामनिहतखरदूषणबलनिवहमिव तद पध्यानात्पिशाचतामुपगतं, कलिकालबन्धु- वर्गमिवैकत्र संगतम्,अवगाहप्रस्थितमिव वनमहिषयूथम्, अचलशिखरस्थितकेसरिकराकृष्टिपतनविशीर्णमिव कालमेघपटलम्, अखिलरूपविनाशायधूमकेतुजालमिव समुद्गतम्, अन्धकारितकाननम्, अनेकसहस्रसंख्यम्, अतिभयजननमुत्पातवेतालव्रातमिव शबरसैन्यमद्राक्षम्।

२८ मध्ये च तस्यातिमहतः शबरसैन्यस्य प्रथमे वयसि वर्तमानम्, अतिकर्कशत्वादायसमिव निर्मितम्, एकलव्यमिवजन्मान्तरागतम्, उद्भिद्यमानश्मश्रुराजितया प्रथममदलेखामण्ड्यमानगण्डभित्तिमिव गजयूथपतिकुमारकम्, असितकुवलयश्यामेनदेहप्रभाप्रवाहेण कालिन्दीजलेनेव पूरितारण्यम्, आकुटिलाग्रेणस्कन्धावलम्बिना कुन्तलभारेण केसरिणमिव गजमदमलिनीकृतेनकेसरकलापेनोपेतम्, आयतललाटम्, अतितुङ्गघोरघोणम्, एककर्णाभरणतामुपनीतस्य भुजंगफणामणेरापाटलैरंशुभिरालोहितीकृतेन पर्णशयनाभ्यासाल्लग्नपल्लवरागेणेव वामपार्श्वेन विराजमानम्, अचिरप्रहत्गज कपोलगृहीतेन सप्तच्छदपरिमलवाहिनाकृष्णागुरुपङ्केणेव सुरभिणा मदेन कृताङ्गरागम्, उपरि तत्परिमलान्धेन भ्रमता मायूरातपत्रानुकारिणा मधुकरकुलेन तमालपल्लवेनेव निवारितातपम्, आलोलकर्णपल्लवव्याजेन भुजबलनिर्जितयाभयप्रयुक्तसेवया विन्ध्याटव्येव करतलेनापमृज्यमानगण्डस्थलस्वेदलेखम्, आपाटलया हरिणकुलक्षयरात्रिसंध्यायमानया शोणितार्द्रयेव दृष्ट्या रञ्जयन्तमाशाविभागान्, आजानुलम्बेन कुञ्जरकर-

प्रमाणमिव गृहीत्वा निर्मितेन चण्डिकारुधिरबलिप्रदानार्थमसकृन्निशितशस्त्रोल्लेखविषमितशिखरेण भुजयुगलेनोपशोभितम्, अन्तरान्तरालग्नाश्यानहरिणरुधिरबिन्दुना स्वेदजलकणिकाचितेन गुञ्जाफलविमिश्रैः करिकुम्भमुक्ताफलैरिव रचिताभरणेन विन्ध्यशिलातलविशालेन वक्षःस्थलेनोद्भासमानम्, अविरतश्रमाभ्यासाद- ल्लिखितोदरम्, इभमदमलिनमालानस्तम्भयुगलमुपहसन्तमिवोरुदण्डद्वयेन,लाक्षालोहितकौशेयपरिधानम्, अकारणेपि क्रूरतया बद्धत्रिपताकोग्रभ्रुकुटिकराले ललाटफलके प्रबलभक्त्याराधितया मत्परिग्रहोयमिति कात्यायन्या त्रिशूलेनेवाङ्कितम्, उपजातपरिचयैरनुगच्छद्भिःश्रमवशाद्दूरविनिर्गताभिः स्वभावपाटलतया शुष्काभिरपि हरिणशोणितमिव क्षरन्तीभिर्जिह्वाभिरावेद्यमानखेदैर्विवृतमुखतया स्पष्टदृष्टदन्तांशून्दंष्ट्रान्तराललग्नकेसरिसटानिव सृक्कभागानुद्वहद्भिःस्थूलवरराटकमालिकापरिगतकण्ठैर्महावराहदंष्ट्राप्रहारजर्जरैरल्पकायैरपि महाशक्तित्वादनुप- जातकेसरैरिव केसरिकिशोरकैर्मृगवधूवैधव्यदीक्षादानदक्षैरनेकवर्णैः श्वभिरतिप्रमाणाभिश्व केसरिणामभयप्रदान- याचनार्थमागताभिः सिंहीभिरिव कौलेयककुटुम्बिनीभिरनुगम्यमानम्, कैश्चिद्गृहीतचमरवालगजदन्तभारैः कैश्चिदच्छिद्रपर्णबद्धमधुपुटैः कैश्चिन्मृगेपतिभिरिव गजकुम्भमुक्ताफलनिकरसनाथपाणिभिः कैश्चिद्यातुधानैरिव गृहीतपिशितभारैः कैश्चित्प्रमथैरिवकेसरिकृत्तिधारिभिः कैश्चित्क्षपणकैरिव मयूरपिच्छवाहिभिः कैश्चिच्छिशुभिरिव काकपक्षधरैः कैश्चित्कृष्णचरितमिव दर्शयद्भिः समुत्खातविधृतगजदन्तैः कैश्चिज्जलदागमदिवसैरिव जलधरच्छाय-

मलिनाम्बरैरनेकवृत्तान्तैः शबरवृन्दैः परिवृतम्, अरण्यमिव सखड्गधेनुकम्, अभिनवजलधरमिव मयूरपिच्छचित्रचापधारिणं, बकराक्षसमिव गृहीतैकचक्रम्, अरुणानुजमिवोद्धृतानेकमहानागदर्शनम्, भीष्ममिव शिखण्डिशत्रुं, निदाघदिवसमिव सतताविर्भूतमृगतृष्णं, विद्याधरमिव मानसवेगं, पराशरमिवयोजनगन्धानुसारिणं, घटोत्कचमिव भीमरूपधारिणम्, अचलराजकन्यकाकेशपाशमिव नीलकण्ठचन्द्रकाभरणं, हिरण्याक्षदानवमिव महावराहद्रंष्ट्राविभिन्नवक्षःस्थलम्, अतिरागिणमिव कृतबहुबन्दीपरिग्रहं, पिशिताशनमिव रक्तलुब्धकं, गीतकलाविन्यासमिव निषादानुगतम्, अम्बिकात्रिशूलमिव महिषरुधिरार्द्रकायम्, अभिनवयौवनमपि क्षपितबहुवयसं कृतसारमेयसंग्रहमपि फलमूलाशनं, कृष्णमप्यसुदर्शनं, स्वच्छन्दप्रचारमपि दुर्गैकशरणं, क्षितिभृत्पादानुवर्तिनमपि राजसेवानभिज्ञम्, अपत्यमिव विन्ध्यस्य, अंशावतारमिव कृतान्तस्य, सहोदरमिव पापस्य,सारमिव कलिकालस्य, भीषणमपि महासत्त्वतया गम्भीरमिवोपलक्ष्यमाणम्, अनभिभवनीयाकृतिं मातङ्गकनामानं शबरसेनापतिमपश्यम्। अभिधानं तु पश्चात्तस्याहमश्रौषम्।

(सावशेषम्)

_______________

KADAMBARI

(ENGLISH TRANSLATION)

_________________

INVOCATION

Salutation to that Unborn (Brahma), who is the causeof creation, preservation and destruction; whose form is the(three) Vedas and whose essence is the three qualities, as Hecombines with RAJAS when creating, abides in SATTVA whilepreserving and associates with TAMAS at the time of destroying all creatures.[1]

Glorious are the dust particles of the feet of Triambaka(the three-eyed Siva), which were fondled on his crown byBanasura, which were caressed by the circle of crest-jewelsof the Ten-headed (

R

avana), which repose on the tuft-ends(of hair) of the over-lords of gods and demons, and whichcut off worldly bondage.[2]

Triumphant is that Upendra (Vishnu), who, even froma distance, made his enemy’s breast blood-red as if it hadburst of itself in fear, with just his glance red with fury andfixed on its object for a moment with a desire to split it. [3]

I bow down to the two lotus-feet of Bharu (my teacher),which were adored by the Maukhari kings wearing theircrowns, and the toes of which became red having rubbedagainst the elevated seat of a dais formed by the diadems ofall the feudatory princes.[4]

—The Wicked Censured and the Virtuous Praised—

In which man does not arise the fear of wicked fellowsterrible on account of their manifesting enmity without cause,and in whose mouths foul words, which are extremely,unbearble, are ever present like poison in the mouth of ahuge serpent?[5]

Like the harsh-sounding prison chains which cause scars,the wicked annoy others enough, muttering abusive wordsand spreading slanders. But the good people, with theirpleasing voice while uttering any and every word, captivate the mind, just as the jewel-anklets do with their sweetjingling (sounds) at every step.[6]

Fine utterances which captivate (the mind) do not getdown the gullet of a bad fellow just as nectar down that ofRahu, the sun’s foe; the same (utterances), a good man bearsin his heart, just as Hari (Vishnu) wears on his chest theinvaluable (Kaustubha) gem which is quite free fromblemish.[7]

—Novels Praised—

Like a newly wed wife of a man, approaching his bedlovingly of her own accord, a novel, fascinating with the display of charming conversations and sportive gestures, createsin the heart an interest that is enhanced by curiosity. [8]

Whom do the novels not captivate ? — Novels, which arefurnished with new meanings of words and brilliant

D

IPAKAand

U

PAMA (figures of speech) and which are dense withcontinuous puns and abound in fine

J

ATI figures; and henceare like long garlands wreathed out of champak buds, whichresemble brightly burning lamps, which are prepared withnovel things, which are dense with the close contact of theblossoms and which abound in fine jasmine flowers.[9]

—Banas’s Ancestry—

In the family of Vatsyayana, there was born a Brahminwhose good qualities were sung all over the world, who wasthe foremost among the virtuous, whose lotsu-feet wereadored by many Gupta (kings) and who was like a portion(incarnate) of the Self-born (Brahma);[10]

— In whose mouth Sarasvati dwelt always; —the mouthfrom which evils were removed by (the study of) the Vedas;whose lip was sanctified by the PURODASHA offerings; whoseinside was astringed by the Soma potions; and which waspretty with all Sastra and Smriti quotations.[11]

— At whose residence, students recited the

Y

AJUS and

S

AMAN verses, being afraid of and hindered at every word(wrongly pronounced), by parrots that were in cages and thathad learnt by heart all the lores, along with mainas. [12]

From him was born Arthapati, the chief of the twice-born, just as Hiranyagarba was born from the mundane egg,the moon from the great milk-ocean, or Garuda (the lord ofbirds) from Vinata’s womb.[13]

—Whose reputation, fresh hosts of desciples engaged earlyin the morning every day in listening to him as he expoundedthe extensive lores, enhanced; just as fresh sandal twigs wornon the ear early in the morning increase one’s beauty.[14]

—Who easily conquered the abode of gods by countlesssacrifices that were glorified with gifts made according tosacred precepts, the forms of which were united with the blazing

M

AHAVIRA fires and which were with sacrificial posts resembling arms; just as (one would have conquered) with a troopof countless elephants adorned with ichor flowing in a properregimen, with their forms mounted on by mighty warriorsand (gifted) with trunks resembling sacrificial posts.[15]

He, in course of time got, among his magnanimous andeminent sons who were all versed in Srutis and Sastras andwere repositories of patience, a son named Chitrabhanu whowas pure as a crystal stone (and hence was) like Kailasa whichis crystal white among mountains.[16]

The good qualities of which magnanimous person, withtheir stainless splendour resembling that of the lunar digit

freed from its spots, spreading far and having made a wayin, penetrated into the hearts of even his foes; like thesharp nails having long growth and the stainless splendour ofthe cresent moon free from spots, of that magnanimous Man-Lion (

N

ARASIMHA), which pierced the heart of his foe aftergaining access to it.[17]

The dark column of smoke of whose sacrifices, obtaining the state of the curly hair on the foreheads of the Goddesses of the quarters and appearing like the TAMALA shootson the ears of the lady in the form of the three Vedas, madehis own fame appear the brighter.[18]

A son, known as Bana, was born to him whose dropsof perspiration arisen from fatigue in making sacrificialofferings were wiped off by Sarasvati with her own handthat resembled a lotus bud and who had whitened the sevenworlds with the beams of his glory.[19]

This unparalleled

K

ATHA (novel) has been composed bythat Brahmin (Bana) with an imagination, the dullness ofvoice of which is unimpaired, which is blinded by thedense darkness of ignorance enveloping the mind and whichis artless by not having acquired proficiency and elegance.[20]

_______________

—The Novel begins—

1. There was once a king named Sudraka who was like asecond Indra, his commands being respected by all rulers by(bending) their heads; he was the lord of the earth girdledby the string of the four oceans; he had a host of numeroustributary princes bowed down in devotion to his valour; hewas endowed with the features of an emperor; like the discbearer (Vishnu), he had the marks of the conch and the discnoticeable on his lotus-like hands; like Siva, he had conquered

Manmatha (the God of love); like Guha (Skanda) with theinvincible Shakti weapon, he was of an unrepelled ability;like the lotus-born Brahma with a host of royal swans forming his vehicle, he had curbed the pride of hosts of swanlike kings; like the ocean, the birth-place of Lakshmi, hewas the source of wealth; like the stream of the Ganges,he followed the path of Bhagiratha; like the sun, he hadhis rise occuring daily; like the Meru, he had the shadowof his feet by which all the worlds were being supported; likea quarter-elephant whose trunk is wetted by the ceaselesslyflowing ichor, he had his hands wetted with water for thegifts offered continuously; he was a worker of great wonders,a performer of sacrifices, a pattern of all sacred precepts, anorigin of the (64 or 72?) arts and sciences, the heriditorydwelling place of virtues, and a spring of the nectar-like sweetness of poetic compositions; he was a mountain of prosperityto the circle of his friends, just as the sun-rise mountain is tothe circular orb of the sun; he was an evil-bringing comet tohostile people; he was the founder of literary unions, and apatron of men with excellent tastes; he was a rebuff toeminent archers, the leader of the adventurous, and thefore-most among the cultured; like Garuda who broughtdelight to his mother Vinata, he caused delight to those whowere submissive to him; and like Vena’s son (Prithu), hehad all his foes who were as formidable as the principalmountains, completely removed with the ends of his bow.

2. Having torn the hearts of his foes by his mere nameand having vanquished the entire surface of the world by asingle expedition, he laughed as it were at Vasudeva (Vishnu)who had put on the cumbrous form of Man-lion (for tearingHiranyakasipu’s heart) and took the trouble of striding

thrice (to measure the earth, sky and Patala). The Goddessof Royalty dwelt long in the pure water-like blade of hissword, washing off as it were the stain adhering to her forvery long time by the contact of thousands of past badrulers. And by the dwelling of Dharma in his mind, Yamain his indignation, Kubera in his kindness, Agni in hisvalour, Earth on his shoulder, Lakshmi in his look, Sarasvati in his speech, the Moon in his face, the Wind in hisstrength, the preceptor of the gods (Brihaspati) in his wisdom, the Mind-born (Manmatha) in his beauty and the Sunin his majestic lustre, [12] he resembled God Narayana, whois the embodiment of all the deities and who, in his form,has manifested his omni-presence. (And near him repeatedlycame Royal Glory, like a damsel proceeding to meet herlover, during the nights in the form of his battles coveredall over with the clouds of sprays of ichor-water issuing fromthe broad temples of elephants, (herself) remaining in themidst of darkness in the form of thousands of armours tornasunder from the broad chests (resembling the wide panelsof a door) of excellent warriors, and (she) being drawn by(the king’s) sword which, with the large pearls stuck up to itwhile he cleft open the broad frontal globes of ruttishelephants, seemed to be uneven with watery drops squeezedout of its blade held fast in his firm grip. And the fire of hisvalour burned ablaze day and night, having scorched inwardlythe (bereaved) wives of his foes, although widowed (already),as if desirous of consuming even (the memory of) theirhusbands existing (i. e. cherished) within their hearts. Andwhile that king who had conquered the whole world, wasruling over the earth, in the case of his people, admixtureof colours (castes) existed only in paintings; seizing by the

hair was (only) in amorous sports; rigid shackling was (only)in poems; in (the study of) Sastraic subjects (only), there was reflection (and no brooding); separations (of lovers but nodeceptions) were in dreams; golden staves (not fines) were inumbrellas; fluttering (but not the trembling of offenders,nor the shivering of patients) was in the case of banners; thefreaks of melodies (not of passion) were in songs; the effectsof rut (arrogance) were in elephants; breaking ofstrings (virtues) was in the bows; latticed openings (notdeceptive ways) were in the windows; stains were (only) onthe moon, swords and armours; despatch of messengerswere only in love-quarrels; and vacant square-sites (notdwelling houses) were (only) on the chess and dice boards.To him, fear was only of the next world; dividing was onlyin the curly hair of the ladies of his harem; loquacity, onlyin anklets; holding by the hand (not receiving taxes), onlyduring marriages; shedding of tears, (only) on account ofthe smoke of the fires of his continuous sacrifices; lashstrokes, (only) on horses; and the twang-sound of the bow,(only) in the case of Cupid.

3. And the capital of that king was the city called Vidisa,resembling the Krita Age compressed into a mass out of fearof the Kali Age; extensive like the birth place of the threeworlds; and surrounded by the river Vetravati with its singing waves shattered while dashing against the expansivebreasts of the sportful Malva women bathing therein, withits water turned red by the Sindura paint on the frontalglobes of the victorious elephants come to have a dip inwater, and with its banks resonant with the loud cackles ofmultitudes of impassioned swans.

[13] 4. In that city, he was happy, free from the burden ofthe cares of the kingdom as he had conquered the entireglobular earth; his two feet were caressed by rows of crownsof the numerous kings come from different continents; hewas bearing the burden of the universe on his shoulder quiteeasily as if it were a bracelet; he was surrounded by ministerswho scorned with their wisdom even Brihaspati, who haddescended from their different but noble lineages, whoseminds were clear on account of the works on political sciencestudied by them repeatedly, and who were greedless, devoted and highly enlightened; (being) in his early youth, helived happily for a long time diverting himself in the company of princes,—who were of his own age, attainments anddress; who had sprung from the families of different coronated kings; whose wisdom had been fully developed by athorough study of all the various KALAS (arts and sciences);who were highly enlightened and knew the right occasionfor doing anything; whose hearts were devoted to valour;who were skilled in refined jokes and understood (others’)feelings and gestures; who were proficient in composingpoems, plays, tales and romances, in painting, in the exposition (of texts) and such other acts; who were endowedwith hard and stout shoulders, thighs and arms; by whomarrays of the extensive foreheads of the infuriated elephantsof (their) enemies were broken open more than once; whowere of a modest behaviour although they were whollyvaliant like the cubs of the lions; and who were (hence)like his own reflected images. Because of his excessive desirefor conquests and his great valour, as he considered womankind a trivial thing like straw, he had a hatred as it werefor the delights of armorous sports, although he was in early,

youth, possessed beauty and was desired by his minlsters (thathe should delight himself thus) as they longed for his gettingan issue. He had no inclination for the pleasures of enjoyments with women although he had a harem of ladies whowere beautiful, modest, of noble birth, captivating and whoby their charms put to shame even the graces of Rati; and he spent his day in the company of friends, sometimes witha musical performance himself having begun to play on theMRIDANGA (drum) with his jewelled bracelets jerking aboutconstantly and his car-rings laid with precious stones producing a

J

HAN-

J

HAN sound due to the shaking while he struckupon the ghargharika instrument; sometimes engaged inhunting rendering the forests emptied (of the beasts) throughshowers of arrows discharged incessantly; sometimes incomposing poetical pieces, having called together a numberof learned critics; sometimes with sastraic discourses; sometimes by listening to stories, romantic tales, historic accountsand legends; sometimes by amusing himself with (the art of)painting; sometimes by playing on the lute; sometimes bywaiting upon the feet of the sages that came to see him; [14]and sometimes by offering (for solving) literary puzzles suchas AKSHARA-CHYUTAKA, MATRA-CHYUTAKA, BINDUMATI, GUDHA-CHATURTHA-PADA AND PRAHELIKA. And just in the same wayas the day, he passed the night too, in the company of hisfriends who were skilled in the various games and jokes thatwere thus started.

5. Once when the thousand-rayed sun, who opens theclosed petals of the fresh lotuses, had not long arisen and wasslightly cleared of his reddish colour, a portress,—whose formwas lovely yet formidable like a sandal plant having a poisonous serpent by its side, (as she was) with a scimitar incong-

ruous with women hanging by her left side; who appearedlike the heavenly Ganges with the frontal globes of Airavatajust emerging (out of the stream), as the sloping sides of herbreasts were whitened with a thick paint of sandal paste; whoseemed to be the king’s command in coporeal form, beingborne by the princes (present there) on their heads, under theguise of her reflected image on their own crest-jewels; who,with her white garment imprinted with figures of kala-swans,appeared like autumn with the sky white with (flying)swans; who, having captivated the minds of all the kingsthere, looked like the fine edge of Parasurama’s axe thatsubjugated the entire hosts of kings; who, being with acane staff, was like a spot of the Vindhya forest aboundingin cane plants; and who was like the guardian diety of thekingdom in lady’s form; —such a portress having approachedthe king, placing her knees and lotus-like hands on theground, respectfully said to the king— “My lord, at thedoor there stands a chandala maiden come from the south,like the royal glory of Trisanku who climbed up the sky butfell down at the hum roar of the angry Indra; and (she)bearing a parrot in a cage, begs to say to Your Majesty— ‘Sire,like the ocean, you are alone the worthy recipient of all thegems (precious and excellent things) on the surface of thewhole carth; and considering that this wonderful bird issuch an excellent treasure on the face of the entire earth, Ihave come to your feet and desire to enjoy the pleasure ofbeholding Your Majesty.’ (Now) that you have heard this,your Majesty is the authority (to decide and pass an order)."—So saying, she paused. The king, his curiosity being however roused, looked at the faces of the princes around him, andordered— “What harm (is there)? Let her be ushered in.”

[15] 6. Then, after the king had said this, the portress,rising up (from the ground), ushered the chandala maiden inAnd she, on entering, beheld the king who was seated in themidst of thousands of princes, and hence resembled the gold-peaked Meru mountain surrounded by the principal (KULA)mountains huddling together out of fear of (Indra’s) thunderbolt; who, with his limbs covered with a net-work of therays of his many jewelled ornaments, looked like a day of thecloudy season when the regions in all the eight quartersare fully covered with thousands of rain-bows; who wasseated on a pretty couch of moon-stones beneath a silkencanopy which was not very big, which was festooned withchains, and which was white like the mass of foam of theheavenly river (Ganges) who was being fanned over by anumber of chamaras furnished with gold handles who haddeposited his left foot on a crystal foot-stool that seemed tobe the moon humbled down by the humiliation due to thevictory over him of the (king’s) facial splendour projectingits lustrous rays who was resplendant with the beams ofrays of his toe-nails, which (rays), looking dark owing to theircontact with the shining of the pavement of the sapphire(

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NDRANILA), semeed to have been sullied by the sighs ofhis enemies bowing down (at his feet) who, looking brightwith his two thighs reddened with the rays of the

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ADMARAGAgems sparkling from his seat, was like Vishnu with his pairof thighs turned red with the blood of (the demons) Madhuand Kaitabha slain just recently who was wearing a pairof silk garments which were white like foam of nectar,which had pairs of hamsas painted with GOROCHANA pigmenton their borders, and the ends of which were set to flutterprettily by the wind of the chamaras who, with his chest

whitened by the smearing of the highly fragrant sandalpaste and furnished with ornamental marks madethere-upon with saffron, appeared like the (white)Kailasa mountain bearing patches of the (reddish) morningsunlight fallen here and there at intervals; who bore aroundhis face a halo made by a neck-lace (of pearls), as if by a rowof stars mistaking (his face) for another moon; the upperparts of whose arms were clasped by a pair of armlets studded with sapphires creating an impression that they were thefettering rings to bind down the very unsteady Goddess ofRoyalty, as if with a pair of serpents covetous of the fragranceof the sandal paste (on his chest); who had his lotus earornaments hanging down a little; who had a prominent noseand eyes resembling full-blown lotuses; who was endowedwith a broad forehead, large like a sheet of pure gold, shapedlike the half-moon on the eighth day (of every month),sanctified by the water of consecration while installing himas king of the whole earth, and furnished with a thin lineof hair between the eye-brows; who, wearing on his head achaplet of fragrant jasmine flowers, [16] appeared like thewestern mountain with its peak encompassed by a clusterof stars at early dawn; who, on account of his limbs turnedtawny with the lustre of his ornaments, looked like Cupidwith the fire (of the third eye) of Siva adhering (to him)who was surrounded by courtesans standing close to him,and appearing as if they were the damsels of the quarterscome from all the directions to serve him who, because ofthe reflected image of his entire body on the glossy jewelledpavement, was as if being borne on her heart by the Earthout of love for her husband whose body was closelyembraced by Royalty who exclusively belonged to him,

although she was brought to a state of being enjoyed by allpeople (while they beheld him) who, although surroundedby an in-numerable retinue, was without a second (i. e. wasunsurpassed); whose sole help was his sword, though hehad the assistance of an army of countless elephants andhorses; by whom the whole world was pervaded, althoughhe himself stayed in one place who, though seated on histhrone, relied on his bow; who, although the fuel in theform of his enemies had been exhausted, still had the fire ofhis valour ablaze; who was with long eyes and yet sharpsighted; who had long arms (great defects) and yet was theabode of all virtues; who, although the lord of the Earth(a bad husband), still was loved by his wives; who was freefrom conceit (intoxication), although his gifts (rut) pouredout ceaselessly; whose deeds were (as praise-worthy asthose) of (dark) Krishna, although he was of a very pureconduct; and who, although levying no taxes (hand-less),had the whole world lying on his hand.

7. And having beheld him, she (the chandala girl), whilestill at a distance, struck more than once on the pavementof the hall, holding a bamboo stick of split end in her handdelicate like a red-lotus petal and with its jewelled bracelets jerking about, in order to invite the attention of theking; so that at the sound of the bamboo, that assemblageof kings at once turned their faces aside simultaneously, likea. troop of wild elephants at the rustling sound of the Talatrees, and withdrawing their eyes from the face of the king,turned their faces towards her.

8. The king, on his part, having ordered—‘Present herfrom a distance,’ gazed with un-winking eyes at her, whowas being introduced by the portress; who had before her

a man whose head was grey as a result of age, whose eye-corners were like red-lotuses, whose bodily joints had notbecome weak despite the lapse of youth, as he constantlydid physical exercises, whose features were not malicious inspite of his being a chandala, who was endowed with anappearance of nobility and had put on a white attire; [17]who (the chandala girl) was being followed by a chandalaboy bearing locks of hair that were very much dishevelledand carrying a cage which seemed as if made of emeraldsalthough prepared from gold-bars, as it was turned dark bythe effulgence of the parrot inside; who, by her dark complexion, seemed to imitate god Vishnu who had cunninglyput on the guise of a lovely damsel to carry off the nectarseized by the demons; who looked like a moving doll ofsapphire; who, with her body covered with a blue cloakreaching her anklets and wearing a veil of red silk there-on,appeared like a pretty grove of blue lotuses with the evening twilight fallen upon it who, with her round cheek,whitened by the shining of the

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ANTAPATRA ornament suspended from one of her ears, looked like the night whose face(beginning) is illumined by the beams of the rising moon;who, with the TILAKA mark, resembling a third eye, made ofthe slightly tawny GOROCHANA dye, looked like BHAVANI whohad put on the guise of a KIRATI following Siva dressed as aKirata (the king gazed at the chandala maiden) as if shewere goddess Lakshmi darkened by Narayana’s bodily effulgence permeating her by her residing on his broad chest’;as if she were Rati, rendered dark by the smoke issuingfrom Cupid while he was being burnt by the fire (of thethird eye) of the enraged Siva; as if she were the riverYamuna that fled away through fear of being dragged away

by the plough of the intoxicated Balarama; as if she wereParvati with her feet reddened by the blood of the demonMAHISHA slain recently, because she (the chandala girl); hadher lotus-like feet furnished with leaf-edge paintings of avery thick dye of solidified ALAKTAKA juice; who, with therays of her nails reddened by the lustre of her crimson toes,seemed to walk on the earth after (first spreading over itbits of tender leaves, (herself) being unable to bear the touchof that very hard jewelled-pavement; who, with her bodyreddened by the crimson mass of effulgence shooting upwards from the gems of her anklets, seemed as if her bodywas embraced by Fire-god (the purifier), in order to purifyher birth, (he,) caring mainly for beauty and annulling theauthority of the Creator who had the region of her hips girtby a girdlestring resembling the ‘STARRY CHAPLET’ ornamenton the fore-head of Cupid’s elephant and serving as a roundbasin for the creeper in the form of the thin line of hair(rising vertically from her navel); who wore round herneck (lit. who was seized by her neck; or, who was embraced at her neck by) a white neck-lace wreathed out ofvery large pearls, as if it were the (white) Ganges streammistaking her for (the dark) Yamuna river; who, endowedwith eyes resembling full-blown lotuses, was like theautumn having full-blown lotuses for its eyes; [18] who,with her dense tresses of hair, was like the rainy seasonhaving tresses of hair in the form of clouds; who having atender sandal shoot for her earornament, looked like theMalayan mountain range decked with sandal foliage; who,adorned with a strange ear-ornament, appeared like theconstellation of stars shining with CHITRA and SRAVANAserving as ornaments; who, with the beauty of lotuses

present in her hands, resembled Lakshmi with the splendourof the lotus held in her hand; who was captivating(another’s)mind, like a swoon that deprives one’s conscious-ness; whowas endowed with an un-impaired physical beauty, like theforest-land rich all round in AKSHA trees; who being lowborn, was like a celestial nymph who is not confined to theearth; who, captivating the eyes (attention of all), was likesleep that holds fast the eyes; who was sullied by (her birthin) the chandala family, like a wild lotus-grove misused bya troop of elephants; who was prohibited from beingtouched, like a formless being surpassing touch; who servedthe only purpose of being seen, like a lady painted in apicture; who, of a low caste, was like the abundance offlowers in the Chaitra month which is devoid of the JATIflower; who, with her (slender) waist that could be graspedby the fist, resembled Cupid’s thin flowery bow the middle ofwhich is to be gripped within the fist; who, shining with hercurly hair, looked like the royal splendour of Kubera (thelord of the Yakshas) shining in ALAKA city; who had justattained her youthful-ness and possessed an exceedinglybeautiful form.

9. And in the mind of the king who was amazed, thethought arose— “Oh, how ill-placed is the labour of theCreator in producing (such a) beauty! For; —if she has beencreated with a beauty of her own by which the wealth ofloveliness of every thing else is put to shame, why was shegiven her birth in a race prevented from the pleasures of touch(i.e. embrace) or enjoyment (by us)? I think she has beenproduced by the Creator not touching her through fear of thepenalties of the contact of the chandala caste. Otherwise,how (to account for) this unimpaired loveliness! Surely, such

splendour cannot belong to limbs that are ruffled by thetouch of the palms of hands. By all means, fie upon theCreator who brings about incompatible unions! for, thismaiden, although of an exceedingly attractive form, by reasonof her savage caste being one with whom (a sexual) union iscondemned for all times, pains (me) like the (Royal) Gloryof the demons by which godliness is ever censured.” —Whilethe king was absorbed in these and similar thoughts, thatmaiden bowed down to him, like a grown-up woman, thesprout adorning her ear being displaced a little. And aftersaluting, when she was seated on the jewelled pavement,that man taking the bird even as it stayed within the cage,and approaching a little, presented it to the king and said;—“My lord, here is this parrot named Vaisampayana; heknows the significance of all Sastras and is skilled in employing political diplomacy; he is an expert in relatingmythological stories, historical accounts and romantic tales,and an adept in the (22 different) scientific modes of singing;[19] he has studied and has himself even composednumerous excellent literary works, such as poems, dramas,modern romances, love stories and the like; he is proficientin witty or humorous conversation; he is an unrivalledconnoisseur of all the special musical instruments as thelute, the flute and the tabor; he is well-versed in thedemonstration and appreciation of the dancing art, anexpert in the painting art, and an adept in the art of playingwith stakes; he is clever in the devices of propitiatingwomen fallen out in love-quarrels; he knows quite well thecharacteristics of elephants, horses, men andhe is a singular gem on the face of this whole earth. Andconsidering that your Majesty is, like the ocean, the reposi-

tary of all jewels, my master’s daughter has come to yourfeet, bringing with her this (parrot). Therefore, let him beaccepted as yours.” —Thus having said, he placed the cagebefore the king and moved back.

10. And when he had moved back, that distinguishedbird, raising his right foot, facing the king and hailing victoryin a voice refined with a very clear pronunciation, recitedaddressing the king, the following verse—

“The pairs of breasts of the wives of your enemies areobserving, as it were, a vow, as they, bathed in tears, remainvery close to the fire of grief in their (own) hearts and arewithout the pearl neck-laces (and have abandoned foodcompletely).”

11. Having heard that (verse), the king was astonishedand said with great delight to his minister, named Kumarapalita, who was near-by and seated on a very costly goldenseat; who, like Brihaspati, had thoroughly mastered thescience of polity in its entirety; who was much advanced inage, a Brahmin (by caste), and the chief among the wholegroup of counsellors.—“Did you hear the clearness in thisbird’s pronunciation of letters and the sweetness of hisaccent? In the very first place, this itself is a great wonderthat he speaks a language in which the different consonantsare unmixed with each other, in which the clearly pronounced vowels, nasal sounds and grammatical refinement are(harmoniously) blended together and which is full of rhetoric and is with very distinct syllables. Then again, just as inthe case of a cultured human being, the conduct of eventhis low creature towards the matter in which it is interested,has been deliberate. For, this bird, [20] with his rightfoot raised up, after uttering the hail of victory, has sung

with reference to me this verse with the most perfectdistinctness of syllables. Generally, birds and beasts arecapable of knowing only fear, eating, copulation, sleep andgesture. This, of course, is a great marvel”. When theking had said so, Kumarapalita, with a gentle smile on hisface said to him— “Sire, what is the wonder here? For,it is well known to your majesty that these extra-ordinarybirds such as the parrot and maina, repeat words just as theyhave heard them. (Hence) it is no great wonder that evenin such cases, excellences of refinement are produced as aresult of the continuance of the refinement gained in aformer birth, or by personal effort. Another point is thatformerly the voice of these birds was with a very distinctarticulation, like that of men. But by the curse of Agni, theutterance of the parrots became indistinct and the tonguesof the elephants were turned back-wards.” —While he wasjust saying this, there arose the blow of the mid-day conchesfollowing the clear loud roar of the drum beaten exactly atthe completion of the

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ADIKA (i. e. fourth watch of the day),and announcing that the hot-rayed Sun had ascended themiddle of the sky. And having heard that, the king roseup from the Durbar-hall after dismissing the congregationof princes, as his bathing hour had drawn near.

12. Then, as the king moved, there was a tremendousbustle among the princes, as they also rose up with theirpearl-necklaces oscillating about their chests, each one ofthem eagerly longing to go ahead of others, being desirousof paying his obeisance (to the king) at (the time of) departure; (thus) their silk garments were torn by the crocodileedges of the leaf-work of their armlets shaken in their jostling with great hurry against one another; the garlands round

their necks were swinging, being tossed up; the directionswere turned pink with the dust of the perfumed powder andsaffron issuing (being rubbed off) from their shoulders;swarms of bees rose up from their chaplets of MALATI flowers shaken (now); (and) their cheeks were kissed by the bluelotuses used as ear-ornaments (now) dangling half-way down-wards. And that assembly hall was astir, as it were, on allsides, with the tinkling sound of the jewelled anklets, thejewels of which tinkled at every step of the chowrie-bearingdamsels bearing the chowries on their shoulders and pouring out here, there and in every direction, which sound wasrendered boisterous by the cackling of the old swans intoxicated by drinking the honey of lotuses; [21] with the melodious jingling sound of the girdles of courtesans movingabout, the jewel strings of which (girdles) were resonantby striking against their broad hips; with the loud cacklingsof the sweet-voiced swans in the oblong ponds of the palace,which (swans,) being attracted by the tinkling of the anklets,had whitened the slabs of the flight of steps of the assemblyhall; with the in-distinct cries, prolonged like the shrillsound given out by the bell-metal when grated, of domesticcranes that were excited at the jingling of girdles and werecrying loudly at a high pitch; with the sound, deep asthunder-bolt and shaking the earth as it were, of the assembly hall trodden by the feet of hundreds of the feudatory princes that started hurriedly; with the very shrill and longpanegyrical cries of the portresses warding off the peoplebefore them and of staff-bearers, who (all) were utteringloudly and with a show of grace-fulness the words ‘Behold!Behold !’, —which (panegyric) had become yet more prolonged by the echoes reverberated within the vaults of that

residential palace; with the sound of the jewelled pavementbeing scratched by the sharp edges that bristled with long(stick-like) pure gems of the crowns of kings who weresaluting (Sudraka), and whose crest-jewels dangled about astheir heads were bent down hastily; with the tinkling of theear-ornaments (of the princes) tossed about while bowingdown, and making a ringing sound as they fell on the veryhard jewelled pavement; with the din that filled the ends ofthe quarters, following the sweet shouts— “Victory! Longlife (to the king)!” of the panegyric bards going in front;with the buzzing of the bees flying up after abandoning thebunches of flowers out of fear of the commotion caused bythe tread of hundreds of the moving men; and with theclashing sound of the jewelled pillars which had theirfestoons of jewels resonant with a jingling, as they werestruck by the pointed ends of their armlets by the princeswalking along with very quick strides in that confusion.

13. Then, the king dismissed all those chiefs; and afterpersonally saying to the chandala girl— ‘Take rest’, andinstructing the betel-box-bearer with the words— ‘Let Vaisampayana be taken into the inner apartment,’ he went inside accompanied by a few favourite princes. [22] And removing all his adornments, like the sun divested of his abundantrays, or like the expanse of the sky bereft of the moon and stars,he entered the gymnastics-hall where the requisite apparatusfor physical exercise was duly set up. Having takenpleasant exercise there in the company of princes of his ownage, he had his body adorned with lines of fine drops ofperspiration arising through exertion, which (lines) on hischeeks were as charming as bunches of slightly openedSindhuvara flowers, which on his chest resembled clusters

of pearls dropped down from the neck-lace broken off during(his) hard exercise, and, which on his broad fore-headimitated the drops of nectar springing forth from the surfaceof the half-moon on the eighth day of the month. He hadhis path shown by staff-bearers who were performing theirregular duty of warding off (people from the king’s path) inthe palace although it was at that time sparsely peopled withattendants hastily running before him this way and that intheir hurry for arranging the bathing materials. (Thus) heentered the bathing place which was spread over with awhite canopy, about which bands of CHARANAS had formeda circle, the central region of which contained a water-vesselof gold full of scented water, where a bathing seat of crystalwas placed, and which was adorned with bathing vessels,placed in one end, filled with very fragrant scented water,and with (their) mouths rendered dark by swarms of beesdrawn there-to by the odour as if the faces (of the vessels)were veiled with a blue cloth for fear of the sun’s heat. Asthe king, who had his head besmeared with the perfumed

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MALAKA oil rubbed with their hands by courtesans, steppedinto the water-tub, the courtesans stood round him, holdingwater-pots for his bath, like so many goddesses come theirfor consecrating him. They had their breasts and waisttightly girt with their silk-garments; they had pushed theirbracelets high up their creeper-like arms; their ear-ringswere up-raised; and their curly locks of hair were pushedaside from flowing over their ears. Surrounded by thosewomen with elevated pot-like round breasts, when the kingentered into the midst of water, he at once shone like awild tusker who had entered into the midst of water beingsurrounded by famale elephants gifted with frontal globes

resembling the elevated breasts (of damsels). And rising upfrom the water of the water-tub, he got upon the bathingseat which was white being made of a transparent crystal slab,just as Varuna gets upon the kingly swan which is as whiteas a transparent crystal. Then those courtesans bathed theking in due order;—some (of them) [23] darkened by thelustre of their emerald jars, like embodied lotus-plants(bathing him) with their leafy vessels; and some with silverjars in their hands, like nights (bathing him) with a flood ofmoon-light issuing from the orb of the full moon. Some, withtheir bodies drenched in perspiration produced by the fatigueof lifting up the jars, bathed him like water-goddesses(bathing him) with the water of holy rivers (contained) incrystal jars; some, like Malayan streams, (bathed him) withwater mixed with sandal juice; some, placing their leaf-likehands on the sides of the up-raised jars and with a net-workof rays being spread out from their finger-nails, bathed himlike the female figures of the water-fountains, with jets ofwater pouring forth through the interstices between theirfingers; and others, holding gold pots in their hands, bathedhim with saffron-water, like (so many) deities presidingover the day (bathing him) with morning sun-shine in orderto remove his frigidity. And then there arose, penetratingthe hollows of the universe and piercing as it were the pathof hearing, a most tumultuous blare of the conches blownat the (king’s) bathing, which (blare) was being followed bythe din of many loud-sounding drums then beaten, ofcymbals, tabors, flutes, lutes and songs, and mingled withthe utterances of a multitude of bards.

14. And having gone through his bath in this manner, he,having his body rendered clean being cleansed with water,

like a portion of the autumnal sky, put on a pair of cleangarments white and light as the sloughs of poisonous snakes;he wrapped his head with a fine silken cloth bright like apatch of a very white cloud, thus looking like the snowymountain (Himalaya) surrounded at its top by the stream ofthe celestial river Ganges; (then) he offered libations ofwater to the manes; and having saluted the Sun with a handful of water sanctified by a Vedic mantra, he proceeded tothe temple. Having come out of the temple after he had performed the worship of Siva, he made the customary offering to Agni; (then) in the toilet-room he had all his limbsanointed with sandal (juice), fragrant with the perfumes ofmusk, camphor and saffron, and whose odour was being closely followed by swarms of buzzing bees; (then) he put on achaplet of sweet-smelling MALATI flowers, changed the garments, and was with the single adornment, namely, hisjewelled ear-ring; (then,) [24] the king took his food in thecompany of princes accustomed to dine with him, enjoyingthe pleasure arising out of the tasting of the viands of arelishable savour.

15. And having dined, the king smoked a cigar, and afterperforming

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CHAMANA, chewed betel leaves; (then) risingfrom that place of bright jewelled pavement, leaning on thearm stretched out to him by the portress who stood not faroff, yet ran to him hurriedly, and being followed by theattendants whose hands were with palms resembling the veryripe leaves on account of their constant duty of holding thelong cane-staves, and who were privileged to move about inthe innner apartments, he came to the audience-hall whichlooked as if it had been built with walls of crystal stones because of the white silk-curtains that draped its ends; (the

hall) had its jewelled pavement sprinkled to coolness with the sweet smelling sandal-water mixed with the intense perfumeof musk; it was closely bestrewn with offerings of flowers scattered densely as if they were clusters of stars in the sky (in the form) of the stainless jewelled pavement; it was illustrious with a number of pillars made of gold, washed with scented water and with the numerous doll-figures engraved there-on that appeared like the house-hold deities close at hand; it had an excessive incense of the burning of the aloe wood; and the hall had an alcove which held a couch that resembled a flat snowy rock and looked like a piece of cloud turned white being completely shed of all its water; the couch had a counter-pane scented with floralfragrance, was furnished with a silk pillow at its head, had its legs resting on jewelledpedestals and was supplied with a gem-laid foot-stool. And there he sat on the bed and his feet were being shampooedgently by the sword-bearing attendant seated on the ground, with her cup-like hands tender as the petals of a fresh lotus,after placing her thin sword gently on her lap; (thus) he sat for about a MUHURTA (48 minutes) talking of various things with his ministers and friends and such kings as could begranted an audience at such an hour. There-after, the king ordered the portress who was not far from him thus;–“Come here bringing with you

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AISAMPAYANA from the harem”,curiosity having arisen in him to question him (the parrot) about his story. She, having placed her knees and hands on the ground [25] and having received his order with her (bent) head saying—‘As your Majesty commands’, did as ordered (by him).

16. Then, in a moment as it were, Vaisampayana, hiscagebeing carried by the portress, came into the king’s presence

being followed by the Chamberlain who supported himself on a thin golden staff, the upper part of whose body was slightly stooping, whose body wasclad in a white robe, whose head had been turned white by oldage, whose voice was faltering, who walked very slowly and thus appeared to be an aged KALA-HAMSA (following Vaisampayana) out of affection for bird-kind. Then the Chamberlain, placing his hand on the ground, addressed the king (thus)—“Sire, the queens say— ‘In accordance with your Majesty’s order, this Vaisampayana has been bathed and fed and now brought to your feet (i.e. presence) by the portress”. Having said thus, when he had gone, the king asked Vaisampayana—“Was any food, that you relish, tasted by you in the inner apartment?” (To this) he replied—“Sire, what things have I not tasted ? I have drunk in plenty the bluish red Jambu fruitjuice of a sweet astringent taste and of the lustre of the eyes of the slightly intoxicated cuckoo. I have crushed the pomegranate seeds of the colour of the pearls wet with the blood of the frontal globes of the elephants in rut, torn out by the claws of a lion. I have freely cracked the old myrobalans, green as the lotus-leaves and sweet as grapes. Or, why talk at length ? Every-thing offered by the queens with their own hands becomes nectar, as it were. Rebutting the speech of him who was talking thus, the king said—“Well, let all this cease. Please remove our curiosity. Kindly relate fully from the beginning, the history of your birth. In what country were you born and how ? By whom were you given your name ? Who is your mother and who yourfather ? How came your Vedic attainments ? How came your acquaintance with the Sastras? From whom were the Arts (

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ALAS) learnt (by you)? [26] Is it remembering (them

from) a former birth, or (the effect of) the grant of a boon ? Or, are you some-one living (thus) disguised assuming the form of a bird? Where were you living hither-to? And whatis (your) age? How came (this) confinement in a cage? How did you go into the hands of

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HANDALAS? And how did youcome here?”Then, having been respectably questioned (thus) by the king himself in whom curiosity was roused, Vaisampayana, pondered just for a while and saidearnestly— “Sire, it is a long story; if you are curious, please listen.

—:The Parrot’s Narrative.—

17.“There is the Vindhya forest which extends up to the shores of the eastern and western oceans and is like the girdle adorning the middle regions, of the earth; it is adorned by trees, nourished by watering them with theichor of herds of wild elephants and bearing bunches of fully opened white flowers looking like clusters of stars clinging to their crests on account of their great height ; the foliage of its pepper plants is bitten by flights of passionate ospreys chirping sweetly; it is fragrant with the odour ofTamala-leaves crushed by the trunks of young elephants; it is covered with dense foliage delicately tinted like Kerala (Malabari) women’s cheeks reddened by the intoxication ofwine, as if it (the foliage) was dyed by the red lac of the feet of the moving sylvan goddesses; it is beautiful with creeper-bowers whose (grouud) surfaces are moistened with the juice of pomegranates crushed by flights of parrots, which are variegated with the leaves and fruits dropped down from the KAKKOLA (berry) trees shaken by restless monkeys, which are dusty with the pollen of flowers dropping down incessantly, which contain beds of clove-foliage spread by the

travelling folk, whose borders are surrounded by the fullgrown cocoanut, KETAKI, KARIRA and Kesara trees, which are adorned with clumps of arica (-nut) trees twained round by betel-leaf creepers, and which appear like the dwelling mansions of Sylvane Beauty; the forest is darkened throughout (lit. leaving no space) with groves of ichor-smelling cardamom creepers that seem to have been sprinkled over with the liquid ichor flowing down from the templeregions of rut-elephants; in this forest, hundreds of lions ar being killed by the chiefs of the

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ABARA hunters covetous of the pearls of the fore-heads of elephants, clinging to the tips of their (lions’) claws ; like the city of the lord of the dead (Yama), it is terrible being always haunted by Death and is infested with (wild) buffaloes ; like an army prepared for a battle having arrows fixed to the bows [27] and full of the roar of warcries, it has bees made to rest on BANA and ASANA trees and is full of the roars of lions; like Katyayani, fierce with her flashing sword and anointed with red sandal, the forest is dreadful with wandering rhinoceroses and is adorned with red sandal trees; like the biography of KARNISUTA (the founder of the art of thieving) in whichare present the names of (his two friends) VIPULA and ACHALA and (his chief minister) SASA, the forest has in its vicinity huge mountains and is full of hares; like the evening twilight on the day of World-destruction, which (twilight) is as purple as tender leaves, and has Siva dancing (with joy), the forest is red with foliage and is with dancing peacocks; like the occasion of the ocean-churning for nectar, delightful with goddess Lakshmi and the Parijata tree and affected by wine, the forest is charming with Sri (Bilva, Asvattha) trees and is over-grown with DURVA grass; like the

rainy season dark with clouds and beautified with numerouslightnings, it is dark as clouds (or, it is densely dark) and decked with many hundreds of waterpools; like the moon’s orb always followed by clusters of stars and inhabited by adeer, it is continually frequented by troops of bears and is inhabited by deer; like Royal Dignity charming with thefans of the tails of the CHAMARI deer and well protected by troops of rut-elephants, the forest is beautiful with the fanlike tails of the Chamari deer and is guarded by herds of elephants in rut; like the daughter of the Mountain, unitedwith Siva and attended upon by her lion(-vehicle), it is with branchless trunks of trees and is infested with lions; like Janaki, who gave birth to Kusa and LAVA, and who wascarried off by the demon (Ravana), the forest has produced bits of Kusa grass and is stalked by night—wandering beasts; like a coquette wafting the perfumes of sandal and musk and decked with a lovely TILAKA mark of Agaru (on her forehead), the forest wafts the perfumes of sandal and musk and is adorned with the lovely AGARU and TILAKA trees; like a love-lorn woman fanned by the breeze produced by different kinds of tender leaves (used as fans), it is fanned by the winds wafted by different varieties of leaves and has (a number of) MADANA trees; like the neck of a child adorned with a row of tiger’s nails and the

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ANDAKA ornament, it is decked with lines of (the imprints of) the claws of tigers and is adorned with rhinoceroses; like a drinking room with hundreds of wine pails exhibited and strewn with a variety of flowers, it exhibits hundreds of beehives and is bestrewn with many kinds of flowers; having in some places, round patches of ground dug out by huge boars with their tusks, it is like the time of universal Annihilation when the round

earth is raised up by the Great Boar(-incarnation of Vishnu) on his tusks; in some places being full of tall SALA trees whose branches are being broken by troops of restless monkeys, it is like the capital city of the ten-faced Ravana, which was agitated due to its lofty buildings being destroyed by troops of restless monkeys; in some places being adorned with green KUSA grass, the fuel sticks, flowers and the SAMI and PALASA trees, it is like a place where a marriage has just taken place, which is furnished with Kusa, holy fuel, flowers and SAMI leaves; in some places, set with thorns, it is like a lady experiencing an horripilation being frightened at the roar of furious lions; in some other places, noisy with the cooings of swarms of cuckoos, it is like an intoxicated woman prattling like cuckoos; like a mad woman making the sound of clapping hands under the influence of delirium, in some places the forest is with a rustling sound of the TALA trees due to the force of the wind; shedding down the leaves of the TALA trees in some places, it is like a widow who has removed her TALA-PATRA ornament; over-grown with hundreds of reeds in certain places, it is like a battlefield covered with hundreds of arrows; dense with thousands of NETRA trees in some places, it is like the body of Indra (the lord of gods) full of a thousand eyes; dark with TAMALA trees in some places, it is like the body of Narayana which is as dark as TAMALA; infested with monkeys in certain places, it is like the flag on Arjuna’s chariot, occupied by the monkey (Hanuman); impenetrable with hundreds of cane-plants in some places, it is like the doorway to a king’s court to enter which it is impossible owing to hundreds of (door-keepers weilding) cane-staves; overgrown with hundreds of bamboos in certain places, it is like King Virata’s

Capital guarded by the hundred Kichaka brothers; in some places, with deer having eye-balls restless (out of fear) being chased by hunters, it is like the beauty of the sky, wherein the constellation Mrigasirsha, with its shining stars, is being followed by the‘ VYADHA’star; [28] in some places, possessing KUSA grass, CHIRA grass, fibrous roots and barks, it is like a woman under ascetic vow putting on KUSA grass, a ragged cloth, matted hair and a bark garment; although with heaps of unlimited mass of leaves, it is adorned with the

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EAVES (a kind of plantain tree) only; although of a cruel nature, (infested with cruel animals), yet it is inhabited by the sagefolk; and although in menstruation (full of flowers, still it is holy.

18. In it, as also lying within (the boundary of) the Dandaka forest, there was a hermitage famed throughout the surface of the whole world, being as it were the birthplace of Dharma. The hermitage was adorned with trees, round which watering-basins were made personally by Lopamudra, which were reared up by the pouring of water with her own cup-like hands, and which were not different from her own children to her (i. e. Lopamudra,) wife of the Revered great sage Agastya, by whom all the water of the ocean was drunk at the request of the lord of the gods (Indra), whose orders were not over stepped even by the Vindhyamountain when he, envious of Meru, had stretched forth into the sky thousands of his formidable peaks and was (there by) trying to divert the course of the sun’s chariot, having disregarded the words of the entire host of gods; by the fire in whose (Agastya’s) stomach the demon VATAPI was digested; the dust of whose feet was pressed against by the sharkshaped edges of the crowns of both gods and demons; who

was like the ornamental mark on the face of the Southern Quarter; and whose prowess was manifested by causing Nahusha to fall down from heaven, merely by uttering the sound ‘hum’. The hermitage was sanctified by their (i.e. of Agastya and Lopamudra) son named

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RIDHA-DASYU, observing a vow, carrying an ASHADHA staff, having the adornment of the three-lined horizontal marks made with the holy ash (all over his body), wearing the ragged garment of KUSA grass, girt at his waist by a girdle of the MUNJA grass, and wandering from hut to hut for alms holding a bowl of green leaves ; [and to whom his father had given a second sur-name Idhma-vaha’ (Fuel-bringer), as he used to bring very huge quantities of fuel]. The hermitage had its borders darkened in every direction by parrot green plantain groves ; and it was surrounded by the Godavari river flowing in a continuous stream, (like a lady who has braided her hair,) as if persuing the path of the ocean, (her lord,) drunk up by that Pitcher-born Sage.

19 And there it was that Rama, who had given up his kingdom thus fulfilling Dasaratha’s promise, and who (later on) put an end to the graceful sport of the Royalty of (the Ten-faced) Ravana, dwelt together with Sita happily for some time, attending on the great sage Agastya, and havinga beautiful hut of leaves built by Lakshmana at Panchavati. [29] Although vacant since a long time, the trees here, with rows of motionless grey pigeons lurking in their branches, appear as if they are with the clouds of smoke that issued forth (formerly) from the sacrifices of ascetics, clinging to them even now. There, on the tender leaves of creepers, a red colour shines forth as if it had been transferred (to them) from the palm of Sita while she was (formerly) plucking flowers for the

purpose of worship. There, all the ocean-water drunk and subsequently let out by the sage appears to have been distributed among the great pools lying around the hermitage. There, the forest with the roots (of its trees) once watered with plenty of the blood of the forces of the demons slain by the volleys of sharp arrows of Dasaratha’s son Rama, appears even now with fresh foliage which seem to be sprouts come forth saturated with that (blood) colour. In that forest, the aged deer, that were (formerly) reared up by Janaki and are with the tips of their horns wrinkled by oldage, on hearing in the rainy season the deep rumbling sound of a gathering of fresh clouds, are reminded even now of the twang-sound of Rama’s bow which would pervade the cavities of all the three worlds; and with their piteous eyes be-dimmed by an incessant shedding of tears looking in all the ten vacant directions, they do not take (to the nibbling of) the mouth-fulls of fresh grass. In that forest it was, that the gold-deer lured Rama away to a great distance separating him from Sita, as if he (the gold deer) were incited (for that act) by all the deer in that forest that were left out unslain (by Rama) in his continuous chase. There again, Rama and Lakshmana, miserable with the grief of their separation from Sita, and portending the destruction of Ravana, being seized by Kabandha just as the moon and the sun are (by Rahu), caused great fear through-out the three worlds. There it was that the very long arm of Yojanabahu which was felled by the arrows of Dasaratha’s son caused the sages to mistake it for the serpent-form of Nahusha come to propitiate Agastya. There again it is that Sita, painted by her husband inside the hut for diverting (himself) from the (grief of) separation (from her), is seen even to this day by the foresters, as if she has

come up from the inside of the earth once again longing to behold the (former) dwelling place of Rama.

20. And not very far from Agastya’s hermitage of that kind (as described above), where the past incidents are being seen clearly by visitors even now, there is a lake called Pampa which appears to be a second vast ocean created in the vicinity of that hermitage by the Creator prompted by Varuna out of malice towards Agastya, being enraged at his drinking the ocean. [30] It looks as if it were the sky itself fallen down on earth, its joints fastening it to the eight quarters being crashed at the time of World-destruction. It is as if it were the circular space (cavity) caused by the earth while being raised up by the Primeval Boar, which (cavity) is (now) filled with water. Its water is disturbed by the potlike breasts of the intoxicated

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ABARA women constantly bathing there-in. It (always) has full-blown night lotuses, blue lotuses and white lotuses. Circular spots (as on peacock-feathers) are formed in it on account of the incessant dripping of drops of honey from full-blown lotuses. Its

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AUGAN-DHIKA lotuses (or grasses) are darkened by swarms of bees (hovering on them). It has impassioned

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ARASA birds screaming inebriately. It is noisy with the cackles of the female swans intoxicated by drinking the honey of the lotuses. It has a series of roaring waves agitated by the movement of hundreds of acquatic birds of different kinds. It has (always) a drizzle (there) caused by the spray from the tops of the huge waves tossed up by wind. It is made fragrant, with the flowers on their massive hairs while bathing, by the Forest Goddesses who enter it (the lake) without any apprehension, being fond of sporting in water. It is charming with the bubbling produced by the gourds as they are being filled

with water by the sages who have descended (into water) on one side. It is full of groups of (

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ADAMBA) Swans moving in the midst of blooming lotuses, which swans, being of the same colour (as the lotuses) are to be recognised only by their notes. Its waves are rendered white by the sandal dust on the breasts of the wives of the Pulinda chief, as they des. cend (into it) for bathing. The sand beds on its sides (shores) are formed by a heap of the pollen of the KETAKI growing close-by. The water near its shore is reddish on account of the colour of the wet garments washed (there) by the ascetics come from the near-by hermitages. It is fanned by the breezes of the foliage of the trees near its banks. Its shores are thickly covered with rows of woods that are darkened by long venues of densely grown TAMALA trees, where-in the creepers were once rendered very light, as their fruits were plucked daily by Sugriva, reciding on the

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ISHYAMUKA mountain and moving about (there) being banished by (his brother) Valin; where woods are full of flowers useful for the worship of gods in the case of the ascetics who always remain in water (practising penance); whose tender leaves are delicate being sprinkled by the drops of water rolling down from the wings of the flying acquatic birds; where the pea-cocks roosting on the surfaces of the creeper-bowers, begin to dance in a circular group; and which bear the sweet smell of various flowers, and hence seem to have been scented by the breath of Sylvan Goddesses. Its water is being drunk constantly by wild elephants, dark with much mud, and (thus) looking as if they are clouds come down to carry water mistaking (the lake) for a second ocean. It is a very deep, boundless and peerless treasure of water. [31] And there again, pairs of

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HAKRAVAKAS, floating in the middle,

with wings turning black with the lustre of the full-blown blue-lotuses, appear as if they are even now over-ridden by Rama’s curse that has put on a (corporeal) form.

21. On the western bank of that lotus-lake of the above description, and near the clump of the (seven) old TALA trees pierced by the attack of an Rama of arrow, there is a large, old

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ALMALI (silk-cotton) tree. It looks as though it has a large watering-basin built around it, as its roots are always encircled by an old serpent resembling the long trunk of a

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IGGAJA (elephant of the quarters). With sloughs of snakes hanging from (its) lofty branches and being tossed up by the wind, it appears to have put on an upper garment. With its numerous branches spread out into the spaces of the world thus measuring as it were the dimension of the horizon, it seems to be attempting to imitate the crescent-moon-crested god Siva, with his thousand arms spread out during his wild dance at the time of World-annihilation. It is resting on the shoulders of the sky, as if out of fear of falling down on account of its being old. It is covered surrounded on all sides by creepers that have grown round its entire body and risen up to great heights as if they were its veins going through the whole of its body and showing themselves out prominently due to its advanced age. Its trunk is covered with thorns that look like the mole-spots (appearing over the skin) in oldage. Its top regions are not seen even by multitudes of water-bearing clouds which, like birds, come through the sky from every direction after having fully drunk the water of the oecan and being fatigued by the load of the water, rest for a while in the spaces between the branches and (thus) moisten its foliage. By its tallness, it looks as though it is attempting

to behold the beauty of (Indra’s)

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ANDANA garden (in heaven). Its top-branches are whitened by masses of cotton confounded with flakes of foam falling down from the corners of the mouths of the sun’s chariot-horses that come near (the top-branches), move right above them, and are fatigued by the weariness of going through the sky. It is with a root that would last for a KALPA, and appears transfixed indelibly as it were with iron chains on account of the row of intoxicated bees settling down on the ichor adhering to it owing to wild elephants rubbing their temples against it. The tree seems to be alive, because of the swarms of bees hovering.round and entering into its hollows. With the flappings of birds’wings visible (on its branches), the tree appears like Duryodhana in whom partiality for

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AKUNI was visible. Encircled by a row of woods, it looks like Narayana who is profusely covered with the

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ANAMALA garland. [32] Like a bank of fresh clouds which make their appearance in the month of

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RAVANA, it eixhibits its loftiness in the sky. It is like a palace (-tower) for the wood-land deities to look out upon the surface of the entire world. It is as it were the supreme master of the Dandaka forest, the leader of all trees and the bosom friend of the Vindhya mountain. And it is standing up, embracing as it were the (lady, viz.) Vindhya forest, with its arm-like branches.

22. Flocks of parrot-birds that had come there from various lands lived on it, having built confidently thousands of nests, as there was ample scope, on the ends of the boughs, in the inside of crevices, between the twigs, at the joints of the trunks and in the gaps of its worn out bark; and being rid of the fear of destruction on account of the difficulty in climbing up the tree. With those birds resting

upon it day and night, that tree, although its thick leaves had become sparse by age, looked as if it were really dark with dense foliage. And on that tree those parrot-birds used to spend the nights in their own nests and daily used to get up (in the morning). Having arranged themselves in lines in the sky, they moved about in search of food, exhibiting as it were in the sky that Kalindi (Yamuna) river which was cleaved into several streams being raised up by the end of his plough by Balarama when under the influence of wine ; creating an impression that they must be a lotusgrove of the heavenly Ganges, flowing away up-rooted by celestial elephants; making the sky look as if it were streaked with the lustre of the horses of the chariot of the sun; imitating as it were a moving emerald floor; spreading as it were, a mass of leaves of the acquatic plant (

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AIVALA) in the lake of Heaven; with their wings spread out in the sky, (they seemed to be) fanning as it were with plantain leaves, the faces of the (ladies, viz.) quarters wearied by the mass of the sun’s hot rays; constructing as it were, a longstretching grassy path in the sky; and rendering the sky graced with rain-bows as it were. After eating their food (out-side), having returned again to their young ones who stayed in their nests, they used to give them various kinds of fruit-juices and strange modifications of the ears of

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ALAMA rice, by means of their cup-like beaks that were as red as the ends of tigers’claws reddened with the gore of the deer slain (by them), and spend the nights on that very tree, [33] keeping their young ones under their wings out of deep, and unparalleled affection for their children, which (affection) put down all their other likings.

23. And by the decree of fate, I was some-how born an only son to my father who was in the decline of age and lived with his wife in a certain old hollow (of that tree). My mother, over-powered by very severe pains of child-birth while I was born, passed away to the other world. Although bereaved with the sorrow of the death of his be-loved wife, my father, out of love for (me) his child, having suppressed the poignant on-rush of grief, wholly devoted himself all alone to the up-bringing of me. Being very much advanced in age, he bore wide wings, which resembled a tattered garment of Kusa grass, which were ragged owing to the very few worn out feathers remaining there-on, which hung loose from his drooping shoulders, and which had lost their power of flight; on account of his being over-taken by a (constant) quivering, shaking off as itwere the pains-giving oldage that had clung to his frame, he, unable to move about, used to pick up the grains of rice from the rice-stalks fallen down from the nests of other birds, by means of his beak which was gold-coloured like the stalk of the young

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EPHALIKA flower, whose outer edge had become worn out and glossy by having cut (for a long time) the KALAMA clusters, and the tip of which was shattered; and gathering bits of fruits that fell down at the foot of the tree, being nibbed by the numerous parrots, he gave them to me. And daily he made his own meal on what was left over, after I had dined.

24. But one day, at a time, when the moon, reddened by the glow of early dawn, was descending to the shore of the Western Ocean from the sandy bank of the Heavenly Ganges, as if it were an old swan with wings reddened by the honey of the lotus plant in the form of the sky;—when

the circle of the quarters, white as the hair of an aged Ranku deer, was getting wider and wider;—when the throng of stars, like flowers strewn on the pavement of heaven,were being swept away by the long rays of the hot-rayed (Sun), as by brooms made of sticks of rubies, (the rays) being red like a lion’s mane red with elephant’s blood, or pink like threads of heated lac; [34]—when the group of the Seven Sages occupying the northern quarter (i. e. the constellation

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AJOR) was descending, as it were, to the bank of the Manasa lake for performing the morning

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ANDHYAVANDANA;—when the Western Ocean manifested a mass of pearls, which was scattered in the cup-like open shells lying on the shore, which seemed to be clusters of stars that were pushed down by the stretching of the hand-like rays of Aruna, and which whitened the sandy beach;—when the forest,-which was shedding drops of dew and where-in flocks of peacocks were wakened, lions were yawning and rut elephants were being roused by herds of she-elephants,-was offering, as it were, a mass of flowers whose filaments. were heavy with the night-dew, with its leafy folded hands to the sun resting on the peak of the

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DAYA (Sun-rise) mountain;—when there gleamed clouds of smokes due to the fire-offerings in the penance-groves, which (clouds) being grey as the hair of an ass, appeared as if they were the banners of Righteousness, (flying high) like rows of doves, on the tops of trees that formed the terraced palaces of theSylvan Goddesses;—when there blew the morning breeze, which was laden with dew-drops, which ruffled lotus groves, which removed the drops of perspiration of the Sabara women fatigued after amorous sports, which bore away. drops of foam from the ruminations of wild buffaloes,

which was eagerly intent on teaching dancing to the creepers whose twigs were fluttering, which rained a shower of honeydew from the beds of lotuses which were (just) opening, which gladdened swarms of bees with the sweet perfume of the flowers, and which, with a heaviness produced in it at the end of the night, moved very softly;—when the ‘HUM’ sound of bees, which recited the auspicious songs of awakening to the day-lotus-beds and which functioned as drums on the frontal bones of elephants, were uttered from within the interiors of the night-lotuses, as their wings were clogged within the cup-like petals (there-of) just closing up firmly; when the wood-land deer, the lines of hair on whose bellies had turned grey on account of their sleeping on saline (barren) soil, were very slowly opening their eyes which were affected by the chill morning breeze, which seemed to be with the lines of their eye-lashes held fast with melted lac juice as it were, and whose pupils were still squinting with the remains of sleep;—when the foresters were moving about here and there;—when the din of the KALAHAMSAS of the Pampa lake, gratifying to the ear, was rising up;—when the flocks of peacocks set to dance were feeling extremely delighted;—when the flapping sound of the ears of wild elephants was captivating the mind;—when, gradually, the cluster of the rays (of the sun) red as the

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ANJISHTHA dye seemed to be the spread out CHAMARAS pendent as an ornament from the head of the elephant in the form of the sun stepping into his course across the sky;—[35] when the divine sun rose up slowly and slowly;—when the early sunshine, arising from the sun, fell all round on the forest, spreading over the tops of trees on the borders of the Pampa lake, occupying the peaks of hills and causing the stars to

disappear, as if it (the sunshine) were the lord of the monkeys (Sugriva)— who was born of the sun, who moved about on the tree-tops on the borders of the Pampa lake, who inhabited the peaks of the hill (viz. Rishyamuka) and whose (wife) Tara was taken away (by his brother Valin),—once again taking to the forest;—when the early dawn cleared up;—when the sun shone bright, having passed through the first eighth part of the day in no time as it were;—when the flocks of parrots had departed into the different quarters of their choice;—when that tree, although with young birds quietly lying within the nests, appeared empty as it were, on account of the silence there;—when my father was within our own rest;—and when I, with wings just fledging out and having no strength on account of my infant state, was lying inside a hollow and near my father;—(at such a time,) there arose all on a sudden in that vast forest, the tumultuous noise of the chase. It frightened all forest creatures; it was prolonged by the flutter of the wings of birds flying hastily; it became louder with the cries of the frightened young elephants; it got swollen by the hum of swarms of intoxicated bees disturbed by the shaken creepers; it jarred fiercely with the grunts of the wild boars roaming about with up-raised snouts; it was deepened by the roars of the lions awakened from their sleep in the mountain caves; it was shaking the trees, as it were; it was harsh like the indistinct roar of the streams of the Ganges while they were being brought down by Bhagiratha; and it was listened to by the terror-stricken goddesses of the forest. And having heard that noice, of a kind not heard before, I, on account of my infant state, was seized by a tremor and had (the cavities of) my ears shattered; and confused in my fright, I

crept into the space underneath the wings loosened by age, of my father who was closeby, with the idea of securing protection (against that danger).

25. Then, all on a sudden, I heard an uproar that stirred the forest and was of a large gathering of men, who had their bodies hidden behind a thicket of trees and who, intent on the chase, were shouting out to one another as follows:— “From this direction comes the fragrance of the lotus bed trampled by the leader of a herd of elephants! Hence comes the sweet smell of the juice of the Bhadramusta grass that is being chewed by herds of hogs! From this side comes the astringent adour of the Sallaki plants while being broken by young elephants! The rustling sound of the dry leaves fallen on the ground is from this side! Hence comes the dust of ant-hills which are being cleft by the adament (-hard) points of the horns of wild buffaloes! Here comes a herd of deer, here a troop of wild elephants, here a herd of wild hogs, and here a band of wild buffaloes! Here is (heard) the cack-ling of a flock of peacocks! Here are the indistinct notes of a swarm of partridges! Here are the chirpings of flights of ospreys; hence comes [36] the groan of elephants whose frontal globes are being torn by lion’s claws. Here is the path of boars stained with wet mud! Here is a mass of foam from the rumination of the deer, dark with the juice of the mouthfuls of fresh green grass! Here is (heard)the hum of the buzzing bees hovering over the odour produced dy the rubbing of the temples of the rutting scent-elephant! This is the track of the

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URU deer, red on account of the dry (leaves stained with the drops of blood that has shed (from the wounded deer)! Here is a heap of leaves and branches of trees) trampled over by the feet of elephants! Here is a

pot where a troop of rhinoceroses had been sporting! This is the lion’s track jagged with pieces of the elephants’ pearls red with blood and having lines of leaves all scratched ferociously with their claws! Here is the ground red with the blood from the womb of some doe that has recently delivered! Here is the path by which the leader elephant straying from his herd has wandered and which, being darkened by his streaming ichor, is resembling the braid of hair of theforest (in lady’s form)! Follow this line of the

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HAMARIS (yaks)! Occupy very quickly this forest-region which is dusty with the dried dung of deer; climb up the tops of trees! Look out in this direction! Listen to this sound! Take up the bow! Be steady (attentive)! Let loose the hounds.”

26. Then, not long after that, the forest was shaken from all sides as it were,—by the roar of lions hit by the arrows of Sabaras, which (roar) was deep like the sound of the tabor wet with the paste smeared there-on, and was intensified by the echoes rebounding from mountain-caves;—by the trumpetting (roar) from the throats of the elephants leading herds but now moving about all alone being separated from the frightened herds, (the roar) which resembled the rolling sound of thunder, and was mixed up with the ceaseless lashing of their trunks;—by the piteous cries of antelopes,the pupils of whose eyes were tremulous and terrified as their limbs were being violently torn away by the hounds;—by the yell of she-elephants-prolonged on account of their grief at the recent loss of their lords— whose leader elephants were slain, who were thus in bereavement, who were followed by their young ones, and who, listening to the din with their ears raised by stopping repeatedly, wandered

this way and that;— [37] by the bellowing of the sherhinoceroses who had given birth (to their young ones) just a few days before and were searching for them as they were lost in the panic, and who were crying very piteously wailing loudly;— by the out-cry of birds that flew up from the tree-tops and moved round in confusion;— by the sound of the feet of hunters who ran after the animals to be hunted, (the sound) that caused as it were the quaking of the earth, as it was struck by their feet simultaneously and in great haste-by the tawng of bows, the strings of which were drawn as far as the ears (of the bowmen) and which rained a volley of arrows, (the tawng-sound) rendered indistinct by the pleasing cries issuing from the throats of the female ospreys under the influence of intoxication;— by the clash of swords with their blades whizzing while cutting through the air, as they fell on the hard, broad shoulders of buffa-loes; — and by the baying that penetrated the different parts of the forest, of hounds violently giving out a hoarse growl..And in a short time, when that din of the chase subsided, and when that forest became quiet, resembling a mass of clouds silent after pouring down waters, or like an ocean whose water is stilled after the churning is over, I, whose fear had become less and in whom curiosity had arisen, moving off a little from the lap of my father but still remaining within the hollow itself, stretched forth my neck and with the pupils of my eyes trembling with fright, directed my glance in that very direction, since a desire to see what it was, arose in me out of my childishness.

27. And I saw a

S

ABARA army advancing towards me from like the midst of that forest, like the stream of the

N

armada river tossed by (

K

ARTAVIRYA-) Arjuna’s thousand long arms; a wood of TAMALA trees set in motion by the force of the

wind; like the collection of all the

Y

AMAS of the NIGHTS of

A

NNIHILATION rolled into one; like a row of pillars (built) of solid slabs of collyrium set in motion by an earth-quake; like a mass of darkness dispersed by the rays of the sun; like the retinue of the God of Death moving about; like the entire DANAVA population that had burst open the

R

ASATALA and risen up; like a crowd of evil deeds gathered together in one place; like the heap of curses (flung) by all the asceticfolk dwelling in the DANDAKA forest, (now) wandering about; [38] like all the hosts of Khara and Dushana killed by Rama pouring forth a continuous volley of arrows, and turned into goblins on account of their hatred for him (Rama); like the confraternity of the

K

ALI-

A

GE come together in one place; like a band of wild buffaloes set out for a plunge in water; like a mass of dark clouds shattered by their fall being dragged down by the paw of a lion standing on the mountain peak; and like a throng of comets risen for the destruction of all wild animals. It had darkened the forests: it numbered many thousands; it caused great fear; and it was like a troop of goblins portending disasters.

28. And in the midst of that very vast

S

ABARA army, I beheld the Sabara general who was in his early youth and seemed to be made of iron on account of his great hardness; he was like

E

kalavya in another birth; as the hair-line of his beard was just growing, he looked like a young leader-elephant whose broad temples are being adorned by the first lines of ichor; with the streaming effulgence of his body dark as the blue lotuses, he seemed to have filled the woods. with the waters of the

Y

AMUNA river; with a mass of hair curled at the ends and hanging on the shoulders, he looked like a lion with its thick mane sullied with the ichor of elephants; he had a broad forehead; he had a very high

and stern nose; he shone with his left side slightly reddened by the reddish rays of the gem of a serpent’s hood which (gem) was made the ornament for one of his ears, as if with the red colour of the leaves that had clung to him on account of his constantly reposing on beds of leaves; he had his body perfumed with fragrant ichor, which was collected from the temples of freshly slain elephants, which bore the odour of the

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APTAPARNA and which was like the black

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GARU

P

ASTE; he had the heat of the sun warded off by a swarm of bees moving about blinded by that odour and imitating an umbrella of peacock feathers as if it (the swarm) were (a covering made of)

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AMALA leaves; he had the lines of perspiration on his cheeks rubbed off by the Vindhya Forest, as it were, with her own hand under the guise of the tremulous tender leaf he wore on his ear, as if she were timidly engaged in serving him having been conquered by the might of his arms; he was colouring the different quarter-regions by his reddish eyes which were functioning as the twilight of the Night of wholesale destruction of deerherds and were drenched in (their) blood as it were; he looked grand with his two arms reaching to his knees, [39] which (arms) were made as if after taking the measure of an elephant’s trunk, and whose tops (shoulders) were roughened with the scratches made repeatedly by sharp weapons (used) for making offerings of blood to Goddess

C

HANDIKA (

K

ALI); he appeared majestic with his expansive chest, which was broad like the surface of any rock of the Vindhya mountain, which bore here and there drops of blood of the deer clinging to it and now clotted, which was marked with thin drops of perspiration and which hence seemed to be with the adornment of pearls got from the

frontal globes of elephants inter-strewn with the (red)

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UNJA beads; his belly was extenuated by constant and ceaseless fatigue; with the pair of his long thighs, he seemed to be mocking at a pair of elephant-tying-posts sullied by their ichor; he was clad in silk which was as red as lac; on his broad forehead dreadful with the fierce frown forming a three-bannerlike shape (there-on) merely because of his ferociousness even without cause, he seemed to have been marked with her

T

RIDENT by

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ATYAYANI propitiated by his great devotion, to denote that he was her protege. He was being followed by dogs of various colours, which were familiar with him and (hence) went closely behind him; whose fatigue was indicated by their tongues which lolled down much on account of weariness and which, although dry, seemed with their natural redness to be dripping deer’s blood; who raised the corners of their lips on which therays of their teeth were clearly visible on account of their mouths being wide open, as if they were lions’ manes caught between the teeth; whose necks were covered with strings of big

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HAURIES; which were scarred by blows from the tusks of big boars; which, although small in bodily form, were like cubs of lions with their manes yet not grown on account of their enormous strength; and which were experts in initiating the does into widowhood;—and (he was followed also) by bitches of big size which (hence) looked like lionesses come there to beg an amnesty for the lions. He was surrounded by troops of Sabaras of many an occupation; of whom,— some carried loads of yak-tails and elephant tusks; some had bee-hives bound up in leaves having no holes in them; some, had their hands filled with pearls torn from the frontal globes of elephants as if

they were lions; some, like demons, carried loads of raw flesh; some, like the goblins attending on Siva, bore lions’ skin; some, like the

K

SHAPANAKA mendicants, carriedpeacocks’ feathers; some, like boys having curly hair shaped like crows’ wings, wore crows’feathers; some were holding the uprooted tusks of elephants, (thus) exhibiting as it were the exploits of Krishna (who uprooted the tusk of the elephant named Kuvalayapida and wielded the same as a weapon); some had garments as dark as clouds, as if they were days of the rainy season when the sky is dark with the shade of water-bearing clouds. [40] Like a forest abounding in female rhinoceroses, he was (armed) with a small sword. Like a fresh cloud that bears a rain-bow of multi-colours as in the case of a peacock’s tail, he held a bow that appeared wonderful with peacock feathers. Like the demon

B

AKA who captured the

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KACHAKRA city, he held prominently a quoit (weapon). Like

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ARUDA (the younger brother of

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RUNA) who had extracted the teeth of many big serpents, he had pulled out the tusks of many huge elephants. Like

B

HISHMA who was an enemy of

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HIKHANDI, he was anenemy of peacocks. Like the summer day where-in mirages always appear, he showed continuously a thirst for (hunting) deer. Like a

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IDYADHARA speedily advancing towards the

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ANASA

L

AKE, he had a speed which was as quick as that of the mind (or, he was proudly active). Like (the sage

V

YASA)

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ARASARA, who (out of love) went after the lady

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OJANAGANDHA (known also as Satyavati), he pursued the scent of game: (getting it) even at a distance of a

Y

OJANA (eight miles).He had a terrible form like Ghatotkacha who bore the form of Bhima, (being his son). Like Parvati’s luxuriant tresses of hair adorned with the crescent moon of Siva (

A

RDHA-

NARISVARA), he wore as ornaments the eyes on the feathers of peacocks. Like the demon Hiranyaksha whose chest was torn by the tusk of the Great Boar incarnation of Vishnu, he had his broad chest attacked by the tusks of big boars. Like a very, lewd person who has a large number of slaves (or bards) in his service, he had taken many captive women as his wives. Like a flesh-eating demon eagerly fond of blood, he had about him hunters who were attached to him. Like the display of (notes in) the art of music at the end of which comes the

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ISHADA (i.e. the seventh) note, he was followed by the Nishada tribesmen. Like

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MBIKA’S

T

RIDENT with its body wet with the blood of the demon

M

AHISHA, he had his body drenched with the gore of wild buffaloes. Although in fresh youth he had killed many birds; (amphibolically,—he had spent many years of his life). Although he had collected a number of hounds (—though he had, stored excellent corn), still he lived upon fruits and roots. Though dark in complexion, he did not look attractive (though he was Krishna, he did not posses the

S

UDARSANA weapon). Although he wandered as he pleased, still his sole refuge was Goddess Durga (—still he had his refuge only. in fortrèsses). Although moving in the regions at the foot of the (Vindhya) mountain (although depending on the feet of a king), he was ignorant of serving a king. He was as if he were the child of the Vindhya mountain, as if he were the partial incarnation of the god of Death, as if he were. the own brother of Sin, or as if he were the essence of Kali Age. Although terrific, still on account of his possessing enormous strength, he appeared as if grave. He was of an indespicable form and was named Matangaka. Of course, I learnt his name only later.

(To be continued)

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