KING. [Approaching and smiling.
Listen to me, thou child of a mighty saint!
Dost thou dare show a wayward spirit here?Here, in this hallowed region? Take thou heedLest, as the serpent's young defiles the sandal[71],Thou bring dishonour on the holy sageThy tender-hearted parent, who delightsTo shield from harm the tenants of the wood.
Gentle Sir, I thank you; but he is not the saint's son.
His behaviour and whole bearing would have led me to doubt it, had not the place of his abode encouraged the idea.
[Follows theCHILD,and takes him by the hand, according tothe request of the attendant. Aside.
I marvel that the touch of this strange childShould thrill me with delight; if so it be,How must the fond caresses of a sonTransport the father's soul who gave him being!
ATTENDANT. [Looking at them both.
Wonderful! Prodigious!
What excites your surprise, my good woman?
I am astonished at the striking resemblance between the child and yourself; and, what is still more extraordinary, he seems to have taken to you kindly and submissively, though you are a stranger to him.
KING. [Fondling theCHILD.
If he be not the son of the great sage, of what family does he come, may I ask?
Of the race of Puru.
KING. [Aside.
What! are we, then, descended from the same ancestry? This, no doubt, accounts for the resemblance she traces between the child and me. Certainly it has always been an established usage among the princes of Puru's race,
To dedicate the morning of their daysTo the world's weal, in palaces and halls,'Mid luxury and regal pomp abiding;Then, in the wane of life, to seek releaseFrom kingly cares, and make the hallowed shadeOf sacred trees their last asylum, whereAs hermits they may practise self-abasement,And bind themselves by rigid vows of penance.
[Aloud.]
But how could mortals by their own power gain admission to this sacred region?
Your remark is just; but your wonder will cease when I tell you that his mother is the offspring of a celestial nymph, and gave him birth in the hallowed grove of Ka[s']yapa.
KING. [Aside.
Strange that my hopes should be again excited!
[Aloud.]
But what, let me ask, was the name of the prince whom she deigned to honour with her hand?
How could I think of polluting my lips by the mention of a wretch who had the cruelty to desert his lawful wife?
KING. [Aside.
Ha! the description suits me exactly. Would I could bring myself to inquire the name of the child's mother!
[Reflecting.]
But it is against propriety to make too minute inquiries about the wife of another man[120].
[Entering with the china peacock in her hand.
Sarva-damana, Sarva-damana, see, see, what a beautiful [S']akoonta (bird).
CHILD. [Looking round.
My mother! Where? Let me go to her.
He mistook the word [S']akoonta for [S']akoontalá. The boy dotes upon his mother, and she is ever uppermost in his thoughts.
Nay, my dear child, I said: Look at the beauty of this [S']akoonta.
KING. [Aside.
What! is his mother's name [S']akoontalá? But the name is not uncommon among women. Alas! I fear the mere similarity of a name, like the deceitful vapour of the desert[94], has once more raised my hopes only to dash them to the ground.
Dear nurse, what a beautiful peacock!
[Takes the toy.
[Looking at the CHILD. In great distress.
Alas! alas! I do not see the amulet on his wrist.
Don't distress yourself. Here it is. It fell off while he was struggling with the young lion.
[Stoops to pick it up.
Hold! hold! Touch it not, for your life. How marvellous! He has actually taken it up without the slightest hesitation.
[Both raise their hands to their breasts and look at each other in astonishment.
Why did you try to prevent my touching it?
Listen, great Monarch. This amulet, known as 'The Invincible,' was given to the boy by the divine son of Maríchi, soon after his birth, when the natal ceremony was performed. Its peculiar virtue is, that when it falls on the ground, no one except the father or mother of the child can touch it unhurt.
And suppose another person touches it?
Then it instantly becomes a serpent, and bites him.
Have you ever witnessed the transformation with your own eyes?
Over and over again.
KING. [With rapture. Aside.
Joy! joy! Are then my dearest hopes to be fulfilled?
[Embraces the CHILD.
Come, my dear Suvratá, we must inform [S']akoontalá immediately of this wonderful event, though we have to interrupt her in the performance of her religious vows.
[Exeunt.
CHILD. [To theKING.
Don't hold me. I want to go to my mother.
We will go to her together, and give her joy, my son.
Dushyanta is my father, not you.
KING. [Smiling.
His contradiction only convinces me the more.
Enter[S']AKOONTALÁ,in widow's apparel, with her long hair twisted into a single braid.
[S']AKOONTALÁ. [Aside.
I have just heard that Sarva-damana's amulet has retained its form, though a stranger raised it from the ground. I can hardly believe in my good fortune. Yet why should not Sánumatí's prediction be verified?
Alas! can this indeed be my [S']akoontalá?
Clad in the weeds of widowhood, her faceEmaciate with fasting, her long hairTwined in a single braid[121], her whole demeanourExpressive of her purity of soul;With patient constancy she thus prolongsThe vow to which my cruelty condemned her.
[S']AKOONTALÁ. [Gazing at theKING,who is pale with remorse.
Surely this is not like my husband; yet who can it be that dares pollute by the pressure of his hand my child, whose amulet should protect him from a stranger's touch?
CHILD. [Going to his mother.
Mother, who is this man that has been kissing me and calling me his son?
My best beloved, I have indeed treated thee most cruelly, but am now once more thy fond and affectionate lover. Refuse not to acknowledge me as thy husband.
[S']AKOONTALÁ. [Aside.
Be of good cheer, my heart. The anger of Destiny is at last appeased. Heaven regards thee with compassion. But is he in very truth my husband?
Behold me, best and loveliest of women,Delivered from the cloud of fatal darknessThat erst oppressed my memory. AgainBehold us brought together by the graceOf the great lord of Heaven. So the moonShines forth from dim eclipse [122], to blend his raysWith the soft lustre of his Rohiní.
May my husband be victorious—
[She stops short, her voice choked with tears.
O fair one, though the utterance of thy prayerBe lost amid the torrent of thy tears,Yet does the sight of thy fair countenanceAnd of thy pallid lips, all unadorned[123]And colourless in sorrow for my absence,Make me already more than conqueror.
Mother, who is this man?
My child, ask the deity that presides over thy destiny.
KING. [Falling at[S']AKOONTALÁ'sfeet.
Fairest of women, banish from thy mindThe memory of my cruelty; reproachThe fell delusion that o'erpowered my soul,And blame not me, thy husband; 'tis the curseOf him in whom the power of darkness[124] reigns,That he mistakes the gifts of those he lovesFor deadly evils. Even though a friendShould wreathe a garland on a blind man's brow,Will he not cast it from him as a serpent?
Rise, my own husband, rise. Thou wast not to blame. My own evil deeds, committed in a former state of being[37], brought down this judgment upon me. How else could my husband, who was ever of a compassionate disposition, have acted so unfeelingly?
[TheKINGrises.]
But tell me, my husband, how did the remembrance of thine unfortunate wife return to thy mind?
As soon as my heart's anguish is removed, and its wounds are healed, I will tell thee all.
Oh! let me, fair one, chase away the dropThat still bedews the fringes of thine eye;And let me thus efface the memoryOf every tear that stained thy velvet cheek,Unnoticed and unheeded by thy lord,When in his madness he rejected thee.
[Wipes away the tear.
[Seeing the signet-ring on his finger.
Ah! my dear husband, is that the Lost Ring?
Yes; the moment I recovered it my memory was restored.
The ring was to blame in allowing itself to be lost at the very time when I was anxious to convince my noble husband of the reality of my marriage.
Receive it back, as the beautiful twining-plant receives again its blossom in token of its reunion with the spring.
Nay; I can never more place confidence in it. Let my husband retain it.
[EnterMÁTALI.
I congratulate your Majesty. Happy are you in your reunion with your wife; happy are you in beholding the face of your own son.
Yes, indeed. My heart's dearest wish has borne sweet fruit. But tell me, Mátali, is this joyful event known to the great Indra?
MÁTALI. [Smiling.
What is unknown to the gods? But come with me, noble Prince, the divine Ka[s']yapa graciously permits thee to be presented to him.
[S']akoontalá, take our child and lead the way. We will together go into the presence of the holy Sage.
I shrink from entering the august presence of the great Saint, even with my husband at my side.
Nay; on such a joyous occasion it is highly proper. Come, come; I entreat thee.
[All advance.
KA[S']YAPAis discovered seated on a throne with his wifeADITI.
[Gazing atDUSHYANTA.To his wife.
O Adití,
This is the mighty hero, King Dushyanta,Protector of the earth; who, at the headOf the celestial armies of thy son,Does battle with the enemies of heaven.Thanks to his bow, the thunderbolt of IndraRests from its work, no more the ministerOf death and desolation to the world,But a mere symbol of divinity.
He bears in his noble form all the marks of dignity.
MÁTALI. [ToDUSHYANTA
Sire, the venerable progenitors of the celestials are gazing at your Majesty with as much affection as if you were their son. You may advance towards them.
Are these, O Mátali, the holy pair,Offspring of Daksha and divine Maríchi,Children of Brahmá's sons[125], by sages deemedSole fountain of celestial light, diffusedThrough twelve effulgent orbs [114]? Are these the pairFrom whom the ruler of the triple world [126],Sovereign of gods and lord of sacrifice,Sprang into being? That immortal pairWhom Vishnu, greater than the Self-existent [127],Chose for his parents, when, to save mankind,He took upon himself the shape of mortals?
Even so.
KING. [Prostrating himself.
Most august of beings! Dushyanta, content to have fulfilled the commands of your son Indra, offers you his adoration.
My son, long may'st thou live, and happily may'st thou reign over the earth!
My son, may'st thou ever be invincible in the field of battle!
I also prostrate myself before you, most adorable Beings, and my child with me.
My daughter,
Thy lord resembles Indra, and thy childIs noble as Jayanta, Indra's son;I have no worthier blessing left for thee,May'st thou be faithful as the god's own wife!
My daughter, may'st thou be always the object of thy husband's fondest love; and may thy son live long to be the joy of both his parents! Be seated.
[All sit down in the presence of KA[S']YAPA.
KA[S']YAPA. [Regarding each of them by turns.
Hail to the beautiful [S']akoontalá,Hail to her noble son, and hail to thee,Illustrious Prince—rare triple combinationOf virtue, wealth, and energy united!
Most venerable Ka[s']yapa, by your favour all my desires were accomplished even before I was admitted to your presence. Never was mortal so honoured that his boon should be granted ere it was solicited. Because—
Bloom before fruit, the clouds before the rain,Cause first and then effect, in endless sequence,Is the unchanging law of constant nature;But, ere the blessing issued from thy lips,The wishes of my heart were all fulfilled.
It is thus that the great progenitors of the world confer favours.
Most reverend Sage, this thy handmaid was married to me by the Gándharva ceremony[55], and after a time was conducted to my palace by her relations. Meanwhile a fatal delusion seized me; I lost my memory and rejected her, thus committing a grievous offence against the venerable Kanwa, who is of thy divine race. Afterwards the sight of this ring restored my faculties, and brought back to my mind all the circumstances of my union with his daughter. But my conduct still seems to me incomprehensible;
As foolish as the fancies of a manWho, when he sees an elephant, deniesThat 'tis an elephant; then afterwards,When its huge bulk moves onward, hesitates;Yet will not be convinced till it has passedFor ever from his sight, and left behindNo vestige of its presence save its footsteps.
My son, cease to think thyself in fault. Even the delusion that possessed thy mind was not brought about by any act of thine. Listen to me.
I am attentive.
Know that when the nymph Menaká, the mother of [S']akoontalá, became aware of her daughter's anguish in consequence of the loss of the ring at the nymph's pool, and of thy subsequent rejection of her, she brought her and confided her to the care of Adití. And I no sooner saw her than I ascertained by my divine faculty of meditation[134], that thy repudiation of thy poor faithful wife had been caused entirely by the curse of Durvásas—not by thine own fault—and that the spell would terminate on the discovery of the ring.
KING. [Drawing a deep breath.
Oh! what a weight is taken off my mind, now that my character is cleared of reproach.
[S']AKOONTALÁ. [Aside.
Joy! joy! My revered husband did not, then, reject me without good reason, though I have no recollection of the curse pronounced upon me. But, in all probability, I unconsciously brought it upon myself, when I was so distracted on being separated from my husband soon after our marriage. For I now remember that my two friends advised me not to fail to show the ring in case he should have forgotten me.
At last, my daughter, thou art happy, and hast gained thy heart's desire. Indulge, then, no feeling of resentment against thy consort. See, now,
Though he repulsed thee, 'twas the sage's curseThat clouded his remembrance; 'twas the curseThat made thy tender husband harsh towards thee.Soon as the spell was broken, and his soulDelivered from its darkness, in a moment,Thou didst regain thine empire o'er his heart.So on the tarnished surface of a mirrorNo image is reflected, till the dust,That dimmed its wonted lustre, is removed.
Holy father, see here the hope of my royal race.
[Takes his child by the hand.
Know that he, too, will become the monarch of thewholes earth. Observe,Soon, a resistless hero, shall he crossThe trackless ocean, borne above the wavesIn an aërial car; and shall subdueThe earth's seven sea-girt isles[128]. Now has he gained,As the brave tamer of the forest-beasts,The title Sarva-damana; but thenMankind shall hail him as King Bharata[129],And call him the supporter of the world.
We cannot but entertain the highest hopes of a child for whom your Highness performed the natal rites.
My revered husband, should not the intelligence be conveyed to Kanwa, that his daughter's wishes are fulfilled, and her happiness complete? He is [S']akoontalá's foster-father. Menaká, who is one of my attendants, is her mother, and dearly does she love her daughter.
[S']AKOONTALÁ. [Aside.
The venerable matron has given utterance to the very wish that was in my mind.
His penances have gained for him the faculty of omniscience, and the whole scene is already present to his mind's eye.
Then most assuredly he cannot be very angry with me.
Nevertheless, it becomes us to send him intelligence of this happy event, and hear his reply. What ho there!
PUPIL. [Entering.
Holy father, what are your commands?
My good Gálava, delay not an instant, but hasten through the air and convey to the venerable Kanwa, from me, the happy news that the fatal spell has ceased, that Dushyanta's memory is restored, that his daughter [S']akoontalá has a son, and that she is once more tenderly acknowledged by her husband.
Your Highness' commands shall be obeyed.
[Exit.
And now, my dear son, take thy consort and thy child, re-ascend the car of Indra, and return to thy imperial capital.
Most holy father, I obey.
And accept this blessing—
For countless ages may the god of gods,Lord of the atmosphere, by copious showersSecure abundant harvests to thy subjects;And thou by frequent offerings preserveThe Thunderer's friendship. Thus, by interchangeOf kindly actions may you both conferUnnumbered benefits on earth and heaven.
Holy father, I will strive, as far as I am able, to attain this happiness.
What other favour can I bestow on thee, my son?
What other can I desire? If, however, you permit me to form another wish, I would humbly beg that the saying of the sage Bharata[130] be fulfilled:
May kings reign only for their subjects' weal;May the divine Saraswatí[131], the sourceOf speech, and goddess of dramatic art,Be ever honoured by the great and wise;And may the purple self-existent god[132],Whose vital Energy[133] pervades all space,From future transmigrations save my soul.
[Exeunt omnes.
1.Í[S']a preserve you.
That is, 'the Lord,' a name given to the god Siva, when regarded as supreme. As presiding over dissolution he is associated with Brahmá the Creator, and Vishnu the Preserver; constituting with them the Hindú Triad. Kálidása indulges the religious predilections of his fellow-townsmen by beginning and ending the play with a prayer to [S']iva, who had a large temple in Ujjayiní, the modern Oujein, the city of Vikramáditya, situated north-eastward from Gujarát.
2.In these eight forms.
The worshippers of Siva, who were Pantheists in the sense of believing that [S']iva was himself all that exists, as well as the cause of all that is, held that there were eight different manifestations of their god, called Rudras; and that these had their types in the eight visible forms enumerated here. The Hindús reckon five elements. The most subtle is Ether (ákása), supposed to convey sound, which is its peculiar attribute or property (guna). The next element—Air, has for its properties sound and feeling. The third—Fire, has sound, feeling, and colour. The fourth—Water, has sound, feeling, colour, and taste. The fifth—Earth, has all the other properties, with the addition of smell.
3.An audience of educated and discerning men.
Lit. 'An audience, who are chiefly men of education and discernment.' Few could have been present at these dramatic representations excepting learned and educated men. The mass of the composition being in Sanskrit, would not have been intelligible to the vulgar and illiterate.
4.[S']akoontalá; or, The Lost Ring.
The literal title is '[S']akoontalá recognized by the token or ring.'
5.The present Summer season.
Hindú poets divide the year into six seasons of two months each, viz. I. Spring (Vasanta), beginning about the middle of March; or, according to some, February. 2. Summer (Gríshma). 3. Rains (Varsha). 4. Autumn (Sarad). 5. Winter (Hemanta). 6. Dews (Sisira). Practically, however, there are only three seasons in India, 1. The hot season. 2. The rains. 3. The cold weather. In Lower Bengal and Behar, the first of these seasons begins in March, the second in June, and the third in November. The temperature of the cold season is highly exhilarating, and the climate is then superior to that of any portion of the English year. In Calcutta, this season continues for about three months; in Upper India, for about five; and in the Panjáb for about seven. The rains in Bengal Proper are more violent and protracted than in Hindústán and the Panjáb. In the latter country they last for hardly more than two months, and even then only fall at intervals. Plays were acted on solemn and festive occasions, on lunar holidays, and especially at the changes of the season.
6.Of fragrant Pátalas.
The Pátala or trumpet-flower;Bignonia suaveolens.
7.With sweet [S']irísha flowers.
The flowers of theAcacia Sírishawere used by the Hindú women as ear-ornaments.
8.King Dushyanta.
For the genealogy of King Dushyanta see Introduction, page xxxviii.
9.That wields the trident.
[S']iva is called Pinákin, that is, 'armed with a trident,' or according to some, a bow named Pináka. Siva not being invited to Daksha's sacrifice, was so indignant, that, with his wife, he suddenly presented himself, confounded the sacrifice, dispersed the gods, and chasing Yajna, 'the lord of sacrifice,' who fled in the form of a deer, overtook and decapitated him.
10.Their waving plumes, that late Fluttered above their brows, are motionless.
The Chámarí, or chowrie, formed of the white bushy tail of the Yak, orBos grunniens, was placed as an ornament between the ears of horses, like the plume of the war-horse of chivalry. The velocity of the chariot caused it to lose its play, and appear fixed in one direction, like a flag borne rapidly against the wind.
11.The steeds of Indra and the Sun.
That is, the speed of the chariot resembled that of the Wind and the Sun. Indra was the god of the firmament or atmosphere—the Jupiter Tonans of Hindú mythology—and presided over the forty-nine Winds. He has a heaven of his own (Swarga), of which he is the lord, and, although inferior to the three great deities of the Hindú Triad (Brahmá, Vishnu, and Siva), he is chief of the secondary gods. The Hindús represent the Sun as seated in a chariot, drawn by seven green horses, having before him a lovely youth without legs, who acts as his charioteer, and who is Aruna, or the Dawn personified.
12.Puru's race.
See Dushyanta's pedigree detailed at page xxxviii of theIntroduction.
13.The great sage Kanwa.
The sage Kanwa was a descendant of Kasyapa, whom the Hindús consider to have been the father of the inferior gods, demons, man, fish, reptiles, and all animals, by his twelve wives. Kanwa was the chief of a number of devotees, or hermits, who had constructed a hermitage on the banks of the river Máliní, and surrounded it with gardens and groves, where penitential rites were performed, and animals were reared for sacrificial purposes, or for the amusement of the inmates. There is nothing new in asceticism. The craving after self-righteousness, and the desire of acquiring merit by self-mortification, is an innate principle of the human heart, and ineradicable even by Christianity. Witness the monastic institutions of the Romish Church, of which Indian penance-groves were the type. The Superior of a modern Convent is but the antitype of Kanwa; and what is Romanism but humanity developing itself in some of its most inveterate propensities?
14.He has gone to Soma tírtha.
A place of pilgrimage in the west of India, on the coast of Gujarát, near the temple of Somanáth, or Somnát, made notorious by its gates, which were brought back from Ghazní by Lord Ellenborough's orders in 1842, and are now to be seen in the arsenal at Agra. These places of pilgrimage were generally fixed on the bank of some sacred stream, or in the vicinity of some holy spring. The wordtírthais derived from a Sanskrit root,trí, 'to cross,' implying that the river has to be passed through, either for the washing away of sin, or extrication from some adverse destiny. Thousands of devotees still flock to the most celebrated Tírthas on the Ganges, at Benares, Haridwár, etc.
15.Ingudí.
A tree, commonly called Ingua, or Jiyaputa, from the fruit of which oil was extracted, which the devotees used for their lamps and for ointment. One synonym for this tree istápasa-taru, 'the anchorite's tree.'
16.Bark-woven vests.
Dresses made of bark, worn by ascetics, were washed in water, and then suspended to dry on the branches of trees.
17.By deep canals.
It was customary to dig trenches round the roots of trees, to collect the rain-water.
18.My throbbing arm.
A quivering sensation in the right arm was supposed by the Hindús to prognosticate union with a beautiful woman. Throbbings of the arm or eyelid, if felt on the right side, were omens of good fortune in men; if on the left, bad omens. The reverse was true of women. 19.The hard acacia's stem.
The Samí tree, a kind of acacia (Acacia Suma), the wood of which is very hard, and supposed by the Hindús to contain fire.
20.The lotus.
This beautiful plant, the varieties of which, white, blue, and red, are numerous, bears some resemblance to our water-lily. It is as favourite a subject of allusion and comparison with Hindú poets as the rose is with Persian.
21.With the Saivala entwined.
The [S']aivala (Vallisneria) is an aquatic plant, which spreads itself over ponds, and interweaves itself with the lotus. The interlacing of its stalks is compared in poetry to braided hair.
22.Yon Ke[s']ara tree.
The Ke[s']ara tree (Mimusops elengi) is the same as the Bakula, frequent mention of which is made is some of the Puránas. It bears a strong-smelling flower, which, according to Sir W. Jones, is ranked among the flowers of the Hindú paradise. The tree Is very ornamental in pleasure-grounds.
23.Would that my union with her were permissible.
A Bráhman might marry a woman of the military or kingly class next below him, and the female offspring of such a marriage would belong to a mixed caste, and might be lawfully solicited in marriage by a man of the military class. But if [S']akoontalá were a pure Bráhmaní woman, both on the mother's and father's side, she would be ineligible as the wife of a Kshatriya king. Dushyanta discovers afterwards that she was, in fact, the daughter of the great Vi[s']wámitra (see note 27), who was of the same caste as himself, though her mother was the nymph Menaká.
24.I trust all is well with your devotional rites.
This was the regular formula of salutation addressed to persons engaged in religions exercises.
25.This water that we have brought with us will serve to bathe our guest's feet.
Water for the feet is one of the first things invariably provided for a guest in all Eastern countries. Compare Genesis xxiv. 32; Luke vii. 44. If the guest were a Bráhman, or a man of rank, a respectful offering (argha) of rice, fruit, and flowers was next presented. In fact, the rites of hospitality in India were enforced by very stringent regulations. The observance of them ranked as one of the five great sacred rites, and no punishment was thought too severe for one who violated them. If a guest departed unhonoured from a house, his sins were to be transferred to the householder, and all the merits of the householder were to be transferred to him.
26.Sapta-parna tree.
A tree having seven leaves on a stalk (Echites scholaris).
27.Vis']wámitra, whose family name is Kausika.
In the Rámáyana, the great sage Vi[s']wámitra (both king and saint), who raised himself by his austerities from the regal to the Bráhmanical caste, is said to be the son of Gádhi, King of Kanúj, grandson of Kusanátha, and great-grandson of Kusika or Kusa. On his accession to the throne, in the room of his father Gádhi, in the course of a tour through his dominions, he visited the hermitage of the sage Vasishtha, where the Cow of Plenty, a cow granting all desires, excited his cupidity. He offered the sage untold treasures for the cow; but being refused, prepared to take it by force. A long war ensued between the king and the sage (symbolical of the struggles between the military and Bráhmanical classes), which ended in the defeat of Vi[s']wámitra, whose vexation was such, that he devoted himself to austerities, in the hope of attaining the condition of a Bráhman. The Rámáyana recounts how, by gradually increasing the rigour of his penance through thousands of years, he successively earned the title of Royal Sage, Sage, Great Sage, and Bráhman Sage. It was not till he had gained this last title that Vasishtha consented to acknowledge his equality with himself, and ratify his admission into the Bráhmanical state. It was at the time of Vi[s']wámitra's advancement to the rank of a Sage, and whilst he was still a Kshatriya, that Indra, jealous of his increasing power, sent the nymph Menaká to seduce him from his life of mortification and continence. The Rámáyana records his surrender to this temptation, and relates that the nymph was his companion in the hermitage for ten years, but does not allude to the birth of [S']akoontalá during that period.
28.The inferior gods, I am aware, are jealous.
According to the Hindú system, Indra and the other inferior deities were not the possessors of Swarga, or heaven, by indefeasible right. They accordingly viewed with jealousy, and even alarm, any extraordinary persistency by a human being in acts of penance, as it raised him to a level with themselves; and, if carried beyond a certain point, enabled him to dispossess them of Paradise. Indra was therefore the enemy of excessive self-mortification, and had in his service numerous nymphs who were called his 'weapons,' and whose business it was to impede by their seductions the devotion of holy men.
29.Gautamí.
The name of the matron or Superior of the female part of the society of hermits. Every association of religious devotees seems to have included a certain number of women, presided over by an elderly and venerable matron, whose authority resembled that of an abbess in a convent of nuns.
30.Ku[s']a-grass.
This grass was held sacred by the Hindús, and was abundantly used in all their religions ceremonies. Its leaves are very long, and taper to a sharp needle-like point, of which the extreme acuteness was proverbial; whence the epithet applied to a clever man, 'sharp as the point of Ku[s']a-grass.' Its botanical name isPoa cynosuroïdes.
31.Kuruvaka.
A species of Jhintí or Barleria, with purple flowers, and covered with sharp prickles.
32.The Jester.
See an account of this character in the Introduction, p. xxxiv.
33.We have nothing to eat but roast game.
Indian game is often very dry and flavourless.
34.Attended by the Yavana women.
Who these women were has not been accurately ascertained. Yavana is properly Arabia, but is also a name applied to Greece. The Yavana women were therefore either natives of Arabia, or Greece, and their business was to attend upon the king, and take charge of his weapons, especially his bow and arrows. Professor H. H. Wilson, in his translation of the Vikramorva[s']í, where the same word occurs (Act V. p. 261), remarks that Tartarian or Bactrian women may be intended.
35.In the disc of crystal.
That is, the sun-gem (Súrya-kánta, 'beloved by the sun'), a shining stone resembling crystal. Professor Wilson calls it a fabulous stone with fabulous properties, and mentions another stone, the moon-gem (chandra-kánta). It may be gathered from this passage that the sun-stone was a kind of glass lens, and that the Hindús were not ignorant of the properties of this instrument at the time when '[S']akoontalá' was written.
36.Some fallen blossoms of the jasmine.
The jasmine here intended was a kind of double jasmine with a very delicious perfume, sometimes called 'Arabian jasmine' (Jasminum zambac). It was a delicate plant, and, as a creeper, would depend on some other tree for support. The Arka, or sun-tree (Gigantic Asclepias:Calotropis gigantea), on the other hand, was a large and vigorous shrub. Hence the former is compared to [S']akoontalá, the latter to the sage Kanwa.
37.
The mellowed fruit Of virtuous actions in some former birth.
The doctrine of the transmigration of the soul from one body to another is an essential dogma of the Hindú religion, and connected with it is the belief in the power which every human being possesses of laying up for himself a store of merit by good deeds performed in the present and former births. Indeed the condition of every person is supposed to derive its character of happiness or misery, elevation or degradation, from the virtues or vices of previous states of being. The consequences of actions in a former birth are calledvipáka; they may be either good or bad, but are rarely unmixed with evil taint.
In the present comparison, however, they are described as pure and unalloyed. With reference to the first four lines of this stanza, compare Catullus, Carmen Nuptiale, verse 39.
'Ut flos in septis secretus nascitur hortis,Ignotus pecori, nullo contusus aratro,Quem mulcent auræ, firmat sol, educat imber:Multi illuum pueri, multæ optavere puellæ:Idem quum tenui carptus defloruit ungui,Nulli illum pueri, nallæ optavere puellæ:Sic virgo, dum intacta manet,' etc.
38.The sixth part of their grain.
According to Manu, a king might take a sixth part of liquids, flowers, roots, fruit, grass, etc.; but, even though dying with want, he was not to receive any tax from a Bráhman learned in the Vedas.
39.A title only one degree removed from that of a Sage.
Dushyanta was a Rájarshi; that is, a man of the military class who had attained the rank of Royal Sage or Saint by the practice of religious austerities. The title of Royal or Imperial Sage was only one degree inferior to that of Sage. Compare note 27.
40.Chanted by inspired bards.
Or celestial minstrels, called Gandharvas. These beings were the musicians of Indra's heaven, and their business was to amuse the inhabitants of Swarga by singing the praises of gods, saints, or heroes. Compare note 11.
41.In their fierce warfare with the powers of hell.
Indra and the other inferior gods (compare note 11) were for ever engaged in hostilities with their half-brothers, the demons called Daityas, who were the giants or Titans of Hindú mythology. On such occasions the gods seem to have depended very much upon the assistance they received from mortal heroes.
42.Evil demons are disturbing our sacrificial rites.
The religious rites and sacrifices of holy men were often disturbed by certain evil spirits or goblins called Rákshasas, who were the determined enemies of piety and devotion. No great sacrifice or religious ceremony was ever carried on without an attempt on the part of these demons to impede its celebration; and the most renowned saints found it necessary on such occasions to acknowledge their dependence on the strong arm of the military class, by seeking the aid of warriors and heroes. The inability of holy men, who had attained the utmost limit of spiritual power, to cope with the spirits of evil, and the superiority of physical force in this respect, is very remarkable.
43.Vishnu.
Vishnu, the Preserver, was one of the three gods of the Hindú Triad. He became incarnate in various forms for the good of mortals, and is the great enemy of the demons.
14Like king Tri[s']anku.
The story of this monarch is told in the Rámáyana. He is there described as a just and pious prince of the solar race, who aspired to celebrate a great sacrifice, hoping thereby to ascend to heaven in his mortal body. After various failures he had recourse to Vi[s']wámitra, who undertook to conduct the sacrifice, and invited all the gods to be present. They, however, refused to attend; upon which the enraged Vi[s']wámitra, by his own power, transported Tri[s']anku to the skies, whither he had no sooner arrived than he was hurled down again by Indra and the gods; but being arrested in his downward course by the sage, he remained suspended between heaven and earth, forming a constellation in the southern hemisphere.
45.Ointment of Usíra-root.
The root of a fragrant grass (Andropogon muricatum), from which a cooling ointment was made.
46.The very breath of his nostrils.
Compare Lam. iv. 20. 'The breath of our nostrils, the anointed of the Lord, was taken.'
47.God of the flowery shafts.
The Hindú Cupid, or god of love (Káma), is armed with a bow made of sugar-cane, the string of which consists of bees. He has five arrows, each tipped with the blossom of a flower, which pierce the heart through the five senses; and his favourite arrow is pointed with thechita, or mango-flower.
48.E'en now in thy unbodied essence lurks The fire of [S']iva's anger.
The story is thus told in the Rámáyana. Káma (Cupid) once approached [S']iva that he might influence him with love for his wife, Párvatí. [S']iva happened then to be practising austerities, and intent on a vow of chastity. He therefore cursed the god of love in a terrible voice, and at the same time a flash from his eye caused the god's body to shrivel into ashes. Thus Káma was made incorporeal, and from that time was called 'the bodiless one.'
49.Like the flame,That ever hidden in the secret depthsOf ocean, smoulders there unseen.
This submarine fire was called Aurva, from the following fable. The Rishi Aurva, who had gained great power by his austerities, was pressed by the gods and others to perpetuate his race. He consented, but warned them that his offspring would consume the world. Accordingly, he created from his thigh a devouring fire, which, as soon as it was produced, demanded nourishment, and would have destroyed the whole earth, had not Brahmá appeared and assigned the ocean as its habitation, and the waves as its food. The spot where it entered the sea was called 'the mare's mouth.' Doubtless the story was invented to suit the phenomenon of some marine volcano, which may have exhaled through the water bituminous inflammable gas, and which, perhaps in the form of a horse's mouth, was at times visible above the sea.
50Who on his 'scutcheon bears the monster-fish.
The Hindú Cupid is said to have subdued a marine monster, which was, therefore, painted on his banner.
51The graceful undulation of her gait.
Hansa-gáminí, 'walking like a swan,' was an epithet for a graceful woman. The Indian lawgiver, Manu, recommends that a Bráhman should choose for his wife a young maiden, whose gait was like that of a phoenicopter, or flamingo, or even like that of a young elephant. The idea in the original is, that the weight of her hips had caused the peculiar appearance observable in the print of her feet. Largeness of the hips was considered a great beauty in Hindú women, and would give an undulatory motion to their walk. 52The Mádhaví.
A large and beautiful creeper (Gaertnera racemosa), bearing white, fragrant flowers, to which constant allusion is made in Sanskrit plays.
53Pines to be united with the Moon.
A complete revolution of the moon, with respect to the stars, being made in twenty-seven days, odd hours, the Hindús divide the heavens into twenty-seven constellations (asterisms) or lunar stations, one of which receives the moon for one day in each of his monthly journeys. As the Moon, Chandra, is considered to be a masculine deity, the Hindús fable these twenty-seven constellations as his wives, and personify them as the daughters of Daksha. Of these twenty-seven wives, twelve of whom give names to the twelve months, Chandra is supposed to show the greatest affection for the fourth, Rohiní; but each of the others, and amongst them Vi[s']ákhá, is represented as jealous of this partiality, and eager to secure the Moon's favour for herself, Dushyanta probably means to compare himself to the Moon (he being of the Lunar race) and [S']akoontalá to Vi[s']ákhá.
54.Checks its fall.
Owing to emaciation and disuse of the bow, the callosities on the forearm, usually caused by the bow-string, were not sufficiently prominent to prevent the bracelet from slipping down from the wrist to the elbow, when the arm was raised to support the head. This is a favourite idea with Kálidása to express the attenuation caused by love.
55.No nuptial rites prevail.
A marriage without the usual ceremonies is called Gándharva. It was supposed to be the form of marriage prevalent among the nymphs of India's heaven. In the 3rd Book of Manu (v. 22), it is included among the various marriage rites, and is said to be a union proceeding entirely from love, or mutual inclination, and concluded without any religious services, and without consulting relatives. It was recognized as a legal marriage by Manu and other lawgivers, though it is difficult to say in what respect it differed from unlawful cohabitation.
56.The loving birds doomed by fate to nightly separation.
That is, the male and female of the Chakraváka, commonly called Chakwa and Chakwí, or Bráhmaní duck (Anas casarca). These birds associate together during the day, and are, like turtle-doves, patterns of connubial affection; but the legend is, that they are doomed to pass the night apart, in consequence of a curse pronounced upon them by a saint whom they had offended. As soon as night commences, they take up their station on the opposite banks of a river, and call to each other in piteous cries. The Bengálís consider their flesh to be a good medicine for fever.
57.The great sage Durvásas.
A Saint or Muni, represented by the Hindú poets as excessively choleric and inexorably severe. The Puránas and other poems contain frequent accounts of the terrible effects of his imprecations on various occasions, the slightest offence being in his eyes deserving of the most fearful punishment. On one occasion he cursed Indra, merely because his elephant let fall a garland he had given to this god; and in consequence of this imprecation all plants withered, men ceased to sacrifice, and the gods were overcome in their wars with the demons.
58.Propitiatory offering.
Compare note 25.
59.His blushing charioteer.
Compare note 11.
60.Night-loving lotus.
Some species of the lotus, especially the white esculent kind, open their petals during the night, and close them during the day, whence the moon is often called the 'lover, or lord of the lotuses.'
61.The very centre of the sacred fire.
Fire was an important object of veneration with the Hindús, as with the ancient Persians. Perhaps the chief worship recognized in the Vedas is that of Fire and the Sun. The holy fire was deposited in a hallowed part of the house, or in a sacred building, and kept perpetually burning. Every morning and evening, oblations were offered to it by dropping clarified butter and other substances into the flame, accompanied with prayers and invocations.
62.As in the sacred tree the mystic fire.
Literally, 'as the [S']ami-tree is pregnant with fire.' The legend is, that the goddess Párvatí, being one day under the influence of love, reposed on a trunk of this tree, whereby a sympathetic warmth was generated in the pith or interior of the wood, which ever after broke into a sacred flame on the slightest attrition.
63Hastinápur.
The ancient Delhi, situated on the Ganges, and the capital of Dushyanta. Its site is about fifty miles from the modern Delhi, which is on the Jumná,
64E'en as Yayáti [S']armishthá adored,
[S']armishthá was the daughter of Vrishaparvan, king of the demons, and wife of Yayáti, son of Nahusha, one of the princes of the Lunar dynasty, and ancestor of Dushyanta. Puru was the son of Yayáti, by [S']armishthá.
65And for whose encircling bed, Sacred Kusa-grass is spread.
At a sacrifice, sacred fires were lighted at the four cardinal points, and Ku[s']a-grass was scattered around each fire, 66Koïl,
The Koïl, or Kokil, is the Indian cuckoo. It is sometimes called Para-bhrita ('nourished by another'). because the female is known to leave her eggs in the nest of the crow to be hatched. The bird is as great a favourite with Indian poets as the nightingale with European. One of its names is 'Messenger of Spring.' Its note is a constant subject of allusion, and is described as beautifully sweet, and, if heard on a journey, indicative of good fortune. Everything, however, is beautiful by comparison. The song of the Koïl is not only very dissimilar, but very inferior to that of the nightingale,
67The peacock on the lawn Ceases its dance,
The Indian peacock is very restless, especially at the approach of rain, in which it is thought to take delight. Its circular movements are a frequent subject of allusion with Hindú poets, and are often by them compared to dancing.
68.The moonlight of the grove.
The name of [S']akoontalá's favourite jasmine, spoken of in the 1stAct. See page 15 of this volume.
69.Fig-tree.
Not the Banyan-tree (Ficus Indica), nor the Pippala (Ficus religiosa), but the Glomerous Fig-tree (Ficus glomerata), which yields a resinous milky juice from its bark, and is large enough to afford abundant shade.
70.The poor female Chakraváka.
Compare note 56.
71.Like a young tendril of the sandal-tree torn from its home in the western mountains.
The sandal is a kind of large myrtle with pointed leaves (Sirium myrtifolium). The wood affords many highly esteemed perfumes, unguents, etc., and is celebrated for its delicious scent. It is chiefly found on the slopes of the Malaya mountain or Western Ghauts on the Malabar coast. The roots of the tree are said to be infested with snakes. Indeed it seems to pay dearly for the fragrance of its wood: 'The root is infested by serpents, the blossoms by bees, the branches by monkeys, the summit by bears. In short there is not a part of the sandal-tree that is not occupied by the vilest impurities.' Hitopade[s']a, verse 162.
72.The calm seclusion of thy former home.
'When the father of a family perceives his own wrinkles and grey hair, committing the care of his wife to his sons, or accompanied by her, let him repair to the woods and become a hermit.'—Manu, vi. 2. It was usual for kings, at a certain time of life, to abdicate the throne in favour of the heir-apparent, and pass the remainder of their days in seclusion.
73.A frequent offering to our household gods.
This was an offering (bali) in honour of those spiritual beings called 'household deities,' which were supposed to hover round and protect houses. It was made by throwing up into the air in some part of the house (generally at the door) the remains of the morning and evening meal of rice or grain, uttering at the same time amantra, or prayer.
74.In other states of being.
Dim recollections of occurrences in former states of existence are supposed occasionally to cross the mind. Compare note 37.
75.The Chamberlain.
The attendant on the women's apartment. He is generally a Bráhman, and usually appears in the plays as a tottering and decrepit old man, leaning on his staff of office. 76.The king of serpents on his thousand heads.
A mythological serpent, the personification of eternity, and king of the Nágas, or snakes, who inhabit Pátála, the lowermost of the seven regions below the earth. His body formed the couch of Vishnu, reposing on the waters of Chaos, whilst his thousand heads were the god's canopy. He is also said to uphold the world on one of his heads.
77.The chamber of the consecrated fire.
Compare note 61.
78.Two heralds.
These heralds were introduced into Hindú plays something in the same manner as a Chorus; and, although their especial duty was to announce, in measured verse, the periods of the day, and particularly the fixed divisions into which the king's day was divided, yet the strain which they poured forth frequently contained allusions to incidental circumstances. The royal office was no sinecure. From the Da[s']a-kumára, it appears that the day and night were each divided into eight portions of one hour and a half, reckoned from sunrise; and were thus distributed: Day—l. The king, being dressed, is to audit accounts; 2. He is to pronounce judgment in appeals; 3. He is to breakfast; 4. He is to receive and make presents; 5. He is to discuss political questions with his ministers; 6. He is to amuse himself; 7. He is to review his troops; 8. He is to hold a military council. Night—l. He is to receive the reports of his spies and envoys; 2. He is to sup or dine; 3. He is to retire to rest after the perusal of some sacred work; 4 and 5. He is to sleep; 6. He is to rise and purify himself; 7. He is to hold a private consultation with his ministers, and instruct his officers; 8. He is to attend upon thePurohitaor family priest, for the performance of religious ceremonies. See Wilson's Hindú Theatre, vol. i. p. 209.
79.Feeling a quivering sensation in her right eyelid.
Compare note 18.
80.The protector of the four classes of the people, the guardian of the four conditions of the priesthood.
A remarkable feature in the ancient Hindú social system, as depicted in the plays, was the division of the people into four classes or castes:—1st. The sacerdotal, consisting of the Bráhmans.—2nd. The military, consisting of fighting men, and including the king himself and the royal family. This class enjoyed great privileges, and must have been practically the most powerful.—3rd. The commercial, including merchants and husbandmen.—4th. The servile, consisting of servants and slaves. Of these four divisions the first alone has been preserved in its purity to the present day, although the Rájputs claim to be the representatives of the second class. The others have been lost in a multitude of mixed castes formed by intermarriage, and bound together by similarity of trade or occupation. With regard to the sacerdotal class, the Bráhmans, who formed it, were held to be the chief of all human beings; they were superior to the king, and their lives and property were protected by the most stringent laws. They were to divide their lives into four quarters, during which they passed through four states or conditions, viz. as religious students, as householders, as anchorites, and as religious mendicants.
81.That he is pleased with ill-assorted unions.
The god Brahmá seems to have enjoyed a very unenviable notoriety as taking pleasure in ill-assorted marriages, and encouraging them by his own example in the case of his own daughter.
82.[S']achí's sacred pool near Sakrávatára.
[S']akra is a name of the god Indra, and Sakrávatára is a sacred place of pilgrimage where he descended upon earth. [S']achí is his wife, to whom aUrtha, or holy bathing-place, was probably consecrated at the place where [S']akoontalá had performed her ablutions. Compare note 14.
83.The wily Koïl.
Compare note 66.
84.With the discus or mark of empire in the lines of his hand.
When the lines of the right hand formed themselves into a circle, it was thought to be the mark of a future hero or emperor.
85.A most refined occupation, certainly!
Spoken ironically. The occupation of a fisherman, and, indeed, any occupation which involved the sin of slaughtering animals, was considered despicable. Fishermen, butchers, and leather-sellers were equally objects of scorn. In Lower Bengal the castes of Jáliyás and Bágdis, who live by fishing, etc., are amongst the lowest, and eke out a precarious livelihood by thieving and dacoity.
86.And he should not forsake it.
The great Hindú lawgiver is very peremptory in restricting special occupations (such as fishing, slaughtering animals, basket-making) to the mixed and lowest castes. 'A man of the lowest caste, who, through covetousness, lives by the acts of the highest, let the king strip of all his wealth and banish. His own business, though badly performed, is preferable to that of another, though well performed.'—Manu, x. 96. In the later Hindú system the sacrifice of animals is practised by the priests of the goddess Káli only.
87.Carp.
That is, the Rohita, or Rohi (red) fish (Cyprinus rohita), a kind of carp found in lakes and ponds in the neighbourhood of the Ganges. It grows to the length of three feet, is very voracious, and its flesh, though it often has a muddy taste, is edible. Its back is olive-coloured, its belly of a golden hue, its fins and eyes red. This fish is often caught in tanks in Lower Bengal of the weight of twenty-five or thirty pounds.
88.I long to begin binding the flowers round his head.
It is evident from the Málati-Mádhava, and other plays, that a victim, about to be offered as a sacrifice, had a wreath of flowers bound round the head.
89.The great vernal festival.
In celebration of the return of Spring, and said to be in honour of Krishna, and of his son Káma-deva, the god of love. It is identified with the Holí or Dolá-yátra, the Saturnalia, or rather, Carnival of the Hindús, when people of all conditions take liberties with each other, especially by scattering red powder and coloured water on the clothes of persons passing in the street, as described in the play called Ratnávalí, where the crowd are represented as using syringes and waterpipes. Flowers, and especially the opening blossoms of the mango, would naturally be much employed for decoration at this festival, as an offering to the god of love. It was formerly held on the full moon of the month Chaitra, or about the beginning of April, but it is now celebrated on the full moon of Phálguna, or about the beginning of March. The other great Hindú festival, held in the autumn, about October, is called Durgá-pújá, being in honour of the goddess Durgá. The Holí festival is now so disfigured by unseemly practices and coarse jests that it is reprobated by the respectable natives, and will probably, in the course of time, either die out or be prohibited by legal enactment.