वासवदत्ता (महाकवि सुबन्धु - श्लेष-प्रधान शास्त्रीय गद्यकाव्य सान्वय सटीक)

A SANSKRIT ROMANCE 87 'Meanwhile, being informed by Vāsavadattā's maids of honour of her intention [not to wed],¹ Śr̥ṅgāraśēkhara brought together, for his daughter's self-choice,² an assembly of the kings³ that possess the entire earth. Then Vāsavadattā⁴ ascended a dais noisy⁵ with the loud murmur of swarms of bees drunken with the fragrance of the perfume⁶ of burning aloes; [141] that was whitened by the radiance of the lustre of most vehement laughter⁷; that was thronged with a multitude of suitors skilled in many stories of ridicule of their rivals; [142] that was thronged with swarms of bees from the pleasure groves of the city, attracted by the fragrance of the burning incense⁸; that made the air re-echo with <delightful music> as Arjuna's battle made the air re-echo with <Nandighōṣa>.⁹ 'And there stood¹⁰ princes: some <conquered courtesans> as Kalāṅkura <had the adornments of his city conquered by the bird>¹¹; [143] others were <blind, swart, and without teachers> as the Pāṇḍavas were <associated with Kr̥ṣṇa, Drāupadī, and their teachers>; others had <hopes of joy>¹² exceeding¹³ full blown as ¹ Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, 'his daughter's intention.' ² On the 'self-choice' (svayaṁvara) of a husband, a special privilege of the warrior caste, see Schmidt, op. cit. pp. 649-654; Jolly, Recht und Sitte, pp. 50-51, Strassburg, 1896; Post, Grundriss der ethnologischen Jurisprudenz, I. 18-19, Oldenburg, 1894- 1895; Schiefner, Tibetan Tales, tr. Ralston, pp. 282-284, London, 1906; Budhasvāmin, Bṛhatkathāślōkasaṁgraha, 5. 80-93; 20. 93-121 (ed. Lacôte, Paris, 1908); and, in modern folk-tales, Knowles, Folk-Tales of Kashmir, 2 ed., p. 494, London, 1893; Steel and Temple, Wide-Awake Stories, p. 430 (references to further literature), Bombay, 1884; Natesa Sastri, Dravidian Nights, pp. 29-31, 61-67, 143, Madras, 1886; Swynnerton, Indian Nights' Entertainment, pp. 160-161, 171, 289, London, 1892. The svayaṁvara also forms one of the main motifs of the entire Kādambarī. ³ Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, 'princes.' ⁴ Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, 'the exquisitely hipped Vāsavadattā.' ⁵ Tel. ed., 'whose atmosphere resounded.' ⁶ Tel. ed., 'perfume of the smoke.' ⁷ Tel. ed., 'perfumed by the fragrance of the abundance of most vehement laughter.' ⁸ Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, 'fragrance of the burning perfume materials of bdellium and the like.' ⁹ Tel. ed. and Srirangam text add 'with gifts of <parched grain> as a monarch's audience-hall has gifts of <kings>; beautified with a <canopy> as a hermit's abode is beautified with <sacrifices>; adorned with <flowers> as Indra's heaven is adorned with <gods>.' ¹⁰ Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, 'there, for an instant, stood.' ¹¹ Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, 'some <knew courtesans> as Kalāṅkura <seized the adornments of the city>.' The bird in question is Garuḍa. ¹² Tel. ed. and Srirangam text omit 'of joy.' ¹³ Tel. ed. and Srirangam text omit 'exceeding.'