५

अथ स तत्र महीतलमण्डने
मरकताह्वयभाजि महापुरे ।
विरचितस्थितिरप्रतिशासनं
जगदशेषमरक्षदनाकुलम् ॥

Establishing himself by and by there in Marakata,
a magnificent metropolis adorning Mother Earth,
the King governed the whole land,
challenged by none,
bringing peace to his subjects. 1

नरपतेः प्रतिहारमहीं मुहु-
र्विजयदन्तिमदोदकपङ्किलाम् ।
क्षितिभुजां भुजभूषणघट्टन-
प्रसृमरो मणिरेणुरशोषयत् ॥

At the threshold to the Prince’s palace,
the jewelled dust billowing forth
every day
as kings jostled,
bracelet brushing against bracelet,
dried up the slush created by the springs of ichor
streaming from war elephants. 2

अथ सुगन्धिहिमान् व्यजनानिलान्
मृगदृशः कृतचन्दनचर्चिकाः ।
शशिमतीश्च निशाः प्रियतां नय-
न्नरपतेरुदभूदृतुरूष्मलः ॥

It was then that Grīṣma came,
leading the King to revel in
breaths of air chill and fragrant from fans,
doe-eyed women smeared with sandalwood,
nights aglint with the moon. 3

नियतिनिर्मितदक्षिणदिग्वधू-
विरहतापनिवारणवाञ्छ‍या ।
अहिमभानुरहन्यहनि ध्रुवं
हरितमाप हिमाचलशीतलाम् ॥

Forcibly parted from his sweetheart the South
by destiny’s decree,
and longing to allay his love-burn,
as it were,
day after day
the hot-rayed sun
steered a steady course
for the Himālaya-cooled North.¹ 4

सरसचन्दनधारिषु मौक्तिक-
त्रिसरनिर्झरहारिषु सुभ्रुवाम् ।
कुचतटेषु निदाघनिपीडितो
धृतिमगात् कुसुमायुधकुञ्जरः ।।

The formidable elephant that was the flower-arrowed Kāma,
scorched by the summer heat
found relief upon the slopes of beautiful women’s breasts,
home to refreshing sandal
and entrancing rivulets
trickling down in pearl-string triplets. 5

सलिलकेलिकुतूहलकुन्तली-
कुचतटाहतिजातभयैरिव ।
अपसृतैरजनि प्रतिवासरं
नृपतिगेहविहारसरोजलैः ॥

Every day
the waters of the palaces’ lakes
shrank a little further away
beaten into terror by the sloping breasts
of the ladies of that land
larking about lithely as they bathed. 6

अथ दलन्निचुलद्रुममञ्जरी-
निचयदर्शितचामरविभ्रमः ।
कृतनुतिः किल चातकयाचकै-
र्नृपतिमन्वगमज्जलदागमः ॥

Then came the coming of the rains,
impersonating the King:
camara fly-whisks in the nicula blossom
into clusters bursting;
suppliants in the cātaka birds,
words of praise ever singing.² 7

स्फुटतटित्तपनीयगुणोज्ज्वलैः
पृथुपयःकणमौक्तिकसङ्गिभिः ।
अलिकदम्बकसच्छविभिर्दिशा-
मसितकञ्चुलिकायितमम्बुदैः ॥

The directions wore a dark blouse
made of bee-black clouds
aglitter with a golden lacework of lightning,
and studded with pearls formed of rounded rain drops. 8

हरितलोहितपाण्डुरराजत
त्रिदशराजशरासनलेखिका ।
मरकतोपलविद्रुममौक्तिकै-
र्विरचिता रशनेव नभःश्रियः ॥

A sleek streak of rainbow
gleaming green, red and white
seemed to be the sky’s girdle-string,
embroidered with emerald, coral and pearl. 9

रुधिरबिन्दुनिभच्छविरन्वगात्
क्षितितले हरिगोपपरम्परा ।
घनघरट्टपरस्परघट्टन-
क्षरदिरम्मदवह्निकणावलिम् ॥

Innumerable indragopas,
bright red as pricks of blood,
seemed to be
a shower of lightning sparks pouring down to earth
as cloud ground against stone cloud. 10

पटुपुरःपवनाधिगतभ्रमा
जलमुचः करकोपलकैतवात् ।
सलिलराशिपयःसहचूषिता-
मुदवमन्निव मौक्तिकसंहतिम् ॥

Wheeling in the wild head-winds,
clouds seemed to spew out,
disguised as dazzling hailstones,
a mouthful of pearls
sucked up when they swallowed the sea’s salt water. 11

करतलैरिव गन्धवहैर्घनाः
प्रहितकैतकपांसुविभूतयः ।
स्तनितहुङ्कृतिभिर्निरकासय-
न्नृपतियौवतमानमहाग्रहम् ॥

Flinging the sacred ash of ketakī pollen
from gusts of wind running together to form upraised palms,
and roaring ‘hum’ with each thunderclap³,
the clouds exorcised the spirit of spite
possessing the King’s young wives. 12

तदनु पद्मवनीपरिहासक-
स्त्रिदशनाथशरासनतस्करः ।
भुजगभुङ्मुखमुद्रणभौरिकः
समुदभूत् समयो जलदात्ययः ॥

After that arrived Śarad –
clown to clusters of lotuses,
robber of rainbows,
treasurer sealing tight the talkative tongues of peacocks[^4]. 13

विधुतकाशसटाभरभासुरः
प्रकटितोरुजपारुणलोचनः ।
व्यघटयद् घनदन्तिघटाः स्फुर-
द्रविमुखः शरदागमकेसरी ॥

Arriving as a lion –
splendid as he shakes out his full mane of kāśa grass,
bloodshot eyes in japā flowers,
his face the effulgent sun –
Śarad sundered the squadrons of elephant-shaped clouds. 14

जलदकालकलिस्फुरितां शनैः
कलुषतां प्रशमय्य कृशाः पुनः ।
घटयति स्म शरत् तटिनीसखी-
रुपनतैः कलहंसविलासिभिः ॥

Soothing bit by bit their turmoil
stirred up by the raging row of the monsoon,
Śarad re-united her friends the rivers
grown gaunt
with their lovers the haṃsas
newly returned. 15

विकचपद्मविलोचनमात्मनो
मुखमवेक्षितुमात्तकुतूहला ।
नियतमभ्रनिचोलकगर्भतः
शरदकर्षदहर्पतिदर्पणम् ॥

Śarad drew her mirror,
the iridescent sun,
out of a clutch made of clouds,
clearly eager to admire herself
as the lotuses of her eyes burst into bloom. 16

वनभुवः परितः पवनेरितै-
र्नवजपाकुसुमैः कृतदीपिकाः ।
प्रथममेव नृपस्य निदेशतो
विजयिनस्तुरगान् निरराजयन् ॥

Before the King had even given the order,
the forest groves all around,
scribing circles with oil lamps
in the fresh japā flowers fluttered about by the wind,
performed an arati ceremony⁴
for his ever-victorious horses. 17