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

moon freed from blemish and white as a mass of foamy milk ¹ ! His beauty never seen before, surpassing Kāma ² ! Those blessèd places and people, the pure letters of his name, [162] and the righteous things which have been adorned by him ” ³ ! ‘ Over and over thinking thus, as if he were painted on the quarters and sub-quarters ⁴ (of the sky), as if he were engraved on the cloud, as if he were reflected in her eye, she painted him in a picture as if he had been seen before, and kept gazing here and there.⁵ Then her confidante, named Tamālikā, having regarded her together with her friends, was sent to observe the feelings of Kandarpakētu ; [163] and she came with me and is standing right here beneath the tree.’ ⁶ So speaking, he (the parrot) ceased. Then Makaranda, rising joyfully, told Tamālikā of the affair ; and she, courtesying, pre- sented an epistle to Makaranda.⁷ Then he ⁸ read it himself : [164] ‘E’en when her eyes behold her lover true, A maiden wavereth ’twixt hope and fear ; But when she only dreameth of his troth, Ah, then, what fond assurance can she have ’ ⁹ ? ¹ Tel. ed., ‘ white as the foam of delicate nectar from a collection of the digits ’ ; Srirangam text, ‘ beautiful as a collection of the digits.’ ² Tel. ed., ‘ his beauty, surpassing Kāma in visible form ’ ! ³ Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, ‘ those blessed places, those pure people, the lucky letters of his name, the things adorned by him ’ ! ⁴ Srirangam text omits ‘ sub-quarters.’ ⁵ Tel. ed., ‘ she kept looking for him here and there as if he were painted on the sky, reflected in her eye, or seen before in a picture ’; similarly the Srirangam text. ⁶ Cf. Gray, ‘ Literary Studies on the Sanskrit Novel,’ in WZKM. 18. 43–45, 48–49, for paintings of beloved objects ; and for instances of love letters and confidantes as love messengers in modern Indian tales see Temple, Legends of the Panjāb, 1. 237; 2. 280–283, 295–297 ; 3. 372–375, Bombay, 1884–1900 ; Knowles, Folk-Tales of Kashmir, 2 ed., p. 68, London, 1893 ; Swynnerton, Romantic Tales from the Panjāb, p. 389, West- minster, 1903, and Indian Nights’ Entertainment, pp. 171, 252, London, 1892. Cf. also Cimmino, L’Uso delle didascalie nel dramma indiano, pp. 35–36, Naples, 1912. ⁷ Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, ‘ then Kandarpakētu, rising joyfully and calling Tamā- likā, made known the state of affairs. She, courtesying, presented him an epistle.’ ⁸ Tel. ed., ‘ then Makaranda, taking it, read it himself ’ ; Srirangam text, ‘ then Makaranda, taking and untying the epistle, read it himself.’ For the confidant not only reading the heroine’s love letter to the hero, but also writing one to her for him, see Swynnerton, Indian Nights’ Entertainment, pp. 171, 252, London, 1892. ⁹ The literal translation of this stanza is given above, Introduction, p. 26.