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

A SANSKRIT ROMANCE 133 Kumāra’s peacock ‹bears Śarajanman›¹; quelling the ‹expanse of dust› as a great² ascetic quells the ‹tide of passion›; with water- giving ‹hail› as an anchorite has a water-giving ‹pot›; showing a wandering of many ‹ships› as the time of doom shows a wandering of many ‹suns›; with ‹cātakas eager³ because of the clouds› as an unmolested forest district has ‹exceedingly curious³ gazelles›; [282] ‹giving joy to the husbandman› as Rēvatī’s tender hand ‹inspired courage in Balarāma›.⁴ The slender lightning shone like the bejewelled⁵ boat of Love in the sky that seemed to be a pleasure pool with a forest of blue lotuses which were the riven clouds⁶; the dancing cord, as it were, of a Caṇḍāla maiden who was the Lakṣmī⁷ of the clouds; [283] even as a garland⁸ for the gate of the palace of the sky; a row of nail marks upon the cloud, in all seeming, given for remembrance by the departing heat of day⁹; the jewelled¹⁰ girdle strand, one might fancy, of a beauty of the sky; the lovely clustering¹¹ blossoms, so to say, of the coral-tree of heaven; like to a begemmed stick¹² for cleaning Rati’s nails; the jewelled shell, it might be termed,¹³ of the God whose banner is of flowers.¹⁴ The cloud¹⁵ seemed to vomit forth, like a crane, what appeared ¹ Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, ‘with ‹lofty pen-reed grass› as Kumāra’s peacock has ‹Śarajanman mounted upon it›.’ ² Tel. ed. and Srirangam text omit ‘great.’ ³ Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, ‘proud.’ According to the conventions of Sanskrit literature, the cātaka (Cuculus melanoleucus) is supposed to live only on the raindrops which it drinks. ⁴ Tel. ed. adds ‘‹loud-resounding› as the lord of Laṅkā [Rāvaṇa] had ‹Mēghanāda›; ‹dark with clouds› as Vindhya is ‹intensely dark›’; so also the Srirangam text, which adds ‘‹with swollen clouds› as young women have ‹plump breasts›.’ ⁵ Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, ‘golden and bejewelled.’ ⁶ Tel. ed., ‘dark with a forest of riven blue lotuses’; similarly the Srirangam text. ⁷ Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, ‘dark Lakṣmī.’ ⁸ Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, ‘jewelled garland.’ ⁹ Tel. ed., ‘given, in all seeming, upon the breast of his sky spouse by her dark departing lover, the heat of day.’ ¹⁰ Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, ‘beauteous.’ ¹¹ Tel. ed. and Srirangam text omit ‘clustering.’ ¹² Tel. ed., ‘stone pick.’ ¹³ Tel. ed., ‘the jewelled lance, as it were, even as the pleasure staff’; Srirangam text, ‘the jewelled pleasure staff.’ ¹⁴ Kāma. ¹⁵ Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, ‘the mass of clouds.’