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

flowers ; like unto a cluster ¹ from the ushoka-tree of heaven ; the golden mirror, so to say, of a wanton of the west ² ; with the aspect of a branch of a coral-tree shaken by the motion of the tossing waves. And ³ gradually, [168] when the trees had their tops melodious with the soft notes of multitudes of sparrows, free from quarrels with each other ⁴ and desirous of their nests after having rolled in the dust and flown up again ; when the crows were eager for home ; when the inner apartments ⁵ gave forth the fragrance of the incense of aloes burning constantly ; when the old men were angered at interruptions ⁶ from the confused murmur of young folks eager to hear the poetic ⁷ tales begun by the sages seated on the banks of the Taṭinī, adorned with millet-grass ; when the children longed for slumber, soothed with very light hands by old women ⁸ who told them stories ⁹ with tongues tremulous in the lullaby ; [169] when the courtesans had assumed the insignia of passion ; when the sages had entered upon their evening devo- tions, disgusted at hearing manifold obscene words ¹⁰ from harlots possessed by their paramours ¹¹ ; when the forest regions had the surfaces of the very soft sites of cow-stalls occupied by herds of ¹ Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, ‘clusters of flowers.’ ² Tel. ed. adds ‘‹going toward the west› and ‹red› as Bhadra was ‹addicted to brandy› and was ‹amorous› ; abandoning ‹its rays› and ‹cloudy› as a foolish man abandons ‹his wealth› and is ‹dejected› ; with red ‹rays› as a Buddhist mendicant has red ‹garments› ; possessed of ‹understanding› as the sun was possessed of ‹Saṃjñā›’ ; so also the Srirangam text, except ‘mighty Bhadra’ for ‘Bhadra’ and ‘poor man’ for ‘foolish man.’ ³ Tel. ed., ‘then’ ; Srirangam text, ‘and then.’ This entire sentence is translated and compared with Harṣacarita, Jamnu ed., 1879, pp. 30, 2-36, 4 (tr. Cowell and Thomas, pp. 67-68, London, 1897), by Cartellieri, ‘Subandhu and Bāṇa,’ in WZKM. I. 118-124. ⁴ Tel. ed. omits ‘with each other.’ ⁵ Tel. ed., ‘interstices in the lattices of the inner apartments.’ ⁶ Tel. ed., ‘filled with anger at the sound of’ ; Srirangam text, ‘desirous of the cessation of the sound of.’ ⁷ Tel. ed. and Srirangam text omit ‘poetic.’ ⁸ Tel. ed., ‘when the children, longing for slumber, were attended by old women who were pleased at being patted by very light hands’ ; similarly the Srirangam text. ⁹ Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, ‘many stories.’ ¹⁰ Srirangam text, ‘had their ears disgusted by hundreds of obscene words.’ ¹¹ Tel. ed., ‘when fair women were disgusted . . . ; when the sages had entered upon their evening devotions.’