६

अथ वरतनुभिः समं कदाचि-
द्विरचयितुं कुसुमापचायलीलाम् ।
प्रमदवनममर्त्यकामिनीभि-
र्हरिरिव नन्दनमासदन्नरेन्द्रः ॥

One day thereafter
the King set out to the pleasure grove
to pass the time in picking flowers
with his graceful queens –
just as the noble Indra sets out for his garden Nandana
with heaven’s beauties. 1

मुखरितमणिमेखलाकलापाः
प्रचलितमन्वचलंस्तमायताक्ष्यः ।
उपवनलतिका इवोपगीत-
भ्रमरकुला मलयाद्रिगन्धवाहम् ॥

As he strode ahead,
the oval-eyed ladies,
jingling with jewel-girt girdles,
trailed in his wake –
just as garden creepers,
humming with bees,
trail the Malaya breeze. 2

अजनयदवनीश्वरस्य चेत-
स्यसितदृशां मणिनूपुरप्रणादः ।
सहपरिचलितप्रसूनकेतो-
रवनमदैक्षवचापघोषशङ्काम् ॥

The King mistook
the peal of the ornamented anklets
worn by the dark-eyed girls
for the sound of the sugarcane bow
as if Kāma,
moving among them,
were readying his aim. 3

अवनिपतिमनु प्रतस्थुषीणां
हरिणदृशामितरेतरप्रसक्ताः ।
मधुरसमधुरा गिरस्तदानीं
बहुविधभङ्गितरङ्गिता बभूवुः ॥

As they followed their lord,
the doe-eyed women,
voices sweet as seeping honey,
chattered each to her neighbour,
their many-wayed words like waves. 4

वरतनु परतः प्रयाहि मन्दं
हरिणदृशां पुरतः प्रयायिनीनाम् ।
पथि गतिरयशीर्णहारमुक्ता-
मणिगणशर्करिले पदं न कुर्याः ॥

‘Step to the side there –
slowly now, my love!
Mind you don’t tread here –
the plenteous pearl necklaces coming loose
as the doe-eyed women ahead pick up pace
are making a gravel of the place.’ 5

नलिनमुखि न बोधय प्रसुप्ता-
निह मणिनूपुरशिञ्जितेन हंसान् ।
द्रुतगमनविघातमाचरेयु-
र्नियतममी तव पादपद्मलग्नाः ॥

‘Look out, lady of the lotus face!
Don’t awaken the haṃsas
fast asleep here
with the ringing of your jewelled anklets.
They’d be sure to cling to your feet,
which look so like lotuses,
and stop you from hurrying ahead.’¹ 6

करनखरमरीचिमञ्जरीभि-
र्हतहृदयो जलशङ्क‍या कुरङ्गः ।
अनुपतति विलोकयैकवारं
सखि नियतं स निवर्तते विलक्षः ॥

‘An antelope is following you,
hopelessly hypnotised
by the shimmering sheen of your fingernails,
which he takes to be water.
Oh do have a look, dear!
He has scampered off,
evidently embarrassed.’ 7

शशिमुखि शशिकान्तकुट्टिमेषु
स्खलनभिया न पदात् पदं प्रयासि ।
इयमिह वदनानुबिम्बराजि-
स्तव न पुनर्नवपङ्कजोपाहरः ॥

‘Is it for fear of slipping
on the moonstone-paved path,
my moon-faced girl,
that you falter over footstep after footstep?²
And this is the reflection
repeated over and over
of your own face;
not a fresh offering of blown lotus flowers.’ 8

अवनिपतिरसिक्त दीर्घिकायां
मुखकमलं सलिलेन साभिलाषम् ।
किमपि समधिकार्द्रपक्ष्मलेखं
वदनमभूदरुणेक्षणं परस्याः ॥

The King,
lusting after one girl,
splashed her lotus face with water.
But it was another whose
eyelashes ran wet
and eyes turned red. 9

सलिलहतिभियापवृत्तगात्र्याः
प्रचलितवेण्यपराङ्गकं परस्याः ।
धरणिपतिरमंस्त मीनकेतोः
फलकमुपाहितखड्गवल्लरीकम् ॥

As another girl turned away,
fearing a slap of water,
the King believed the braid whipping across her back
was the fish-bannered Kāma’s sword
swinging across his shield. 10

विशदमधरमक्ष्यनञ्जनाभं
विगतललाम वितन्वती ललाटम् ।
रतिरिव जलकेलिरङ्गनाना-
मवनिपतेः स्पृहणियतामयासीत् ॥

Wiping the paint from his wives’ lips,
the alluring collyrium from their eyes
and the decorative dot forthwith from their foreheads –
just as lovemaking does –
these watersports enthralled the King. 11

अपि दयिततमेन वारिताभि-
र्गृहसरसो विजहे न वारि ताभिः ।
परिलुलितललामचर्चिकाभि-
र्विहृतिरसान्महिलामचर्चिकाभिः ॥

Though many a time did their beloved ask,
they left not their much-loved bask,
their tilaka and sandal paste in every way faded,
those beautiful wives of his in no way jaded. 12

अथ विहरणखेदमन्थराभिः
सह निरगात्सरसो नृपः प्रियाभिः ।
कलशजलनिधेरिवाप्सरोभि-
र्विबुधतरुर्मथनश्रमालसाभिः ॥

At length from the water the Lord with his lovers emerged
after their energetic play exhausted,
just as
from the milk sea the divine tree with the apsarases surfaced
after such frenetic churning fatigued. 13

चिकुरनियमनेषु कामिनीना-
मभिनववस्त्रपरिग्रहान्तरेषु ।
अभिमतपददर्शनैरयत्नै-
रतिमदनं स्वममंस्त कम्पराजः ॥

As his voluptuous wives tied their hair
and changed into fresh clothes,
King Kampa considered himself luckier than Kāma
to be granted a glimpse
of those spots he longed to see,
without lifting a finger. 14

ततः सैरन्ध्रीभिः कृतसमुचिताकल्परचनः
पुरन्ध्रीभिः सार्धं समधिगतशुद्धान्तवसतिः ।
त्रयीगीतं तेजस्त्रिपुरहरमाराध्य विधिव-
द्यथार्हैर्व्यापारैर्नरपतिरहःशेषमनयत् ॥

Then the King, suitably attired by the dress-maidens,
entered the inner quarters with the eldest matrons.
There he worshipped,
in accordance with śāstra,
the divine light to whom the triple Vedas pay tribute,
tormentor of Tripura³,
and spent the rest of the day in fitting occupations. 15