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

trable on account of its ‹blackness› ; it had gifts of a ‹hundred crores› as Karṇa had the gift of ‹Indra's bolt› ; [89] it was covered with ‹tail feathers moulted by peacocks› as Bhīṣma was covered ¹ with ‹crescent-headed arrows› ; it was filled with ‹ele- phants and was fragrant from the perfume of its jungles› as the Kāmasūtra was written by ‹Mallanāga and contains the delight and enjoyment of mistresses› ; it was a refuge for the race of ‹deer› as Hiraṇyakaśipu was a refuge for the race of ‹Śambara›.² Because of the guise of its ruddle it seemed to have been employed by Aruṇa to trace the path of the chariot of the sun ³ ; [90] it watched, as it were, the journey of Agastya with eyes dilated because the sun and moon had come upon its summit ; on account of the old sloughs of snakes it seemed to have a mass of entrails hanging out ⁴ ; as Kumbhakarṇa had a host of monkeys come within his ‹teeth›,⁵ it had a host of monkeys come upon its ‹summit› ; [91] it had bowers of screw- pines for the rendezvous of the assembled nymphs of Śacī's Lord who marked their pathway with a series of footprints dyed with red henna. Though of ‹no family›, it was adorned by a «noble ancestry», for it did ‹not cling to the ground› and it was «adorned with beautiful bamboos» ; though it was ‹evidently safe›, it yielded the «fruit of death», for it had ‹hara-nut trees› and yielded «plantains» ; though ‹measured›, it was «measureless», for it had ‹plateaus› and was «immeasurable» ; [92] though ‹noisy›, it was «silent», for it had a ‹river› and was «still» ; though a ‹Bhīma›, it was a friend of «Kīcaka», for it was ‹terrible› and a friend of «reeds» ; though it hid its ‹garments›, it had brilliant «raiment», for it hid the ‹sky› and had brilliant «sunbeams». [93] It showed, moreover,⁶ a ‹malady of many of its com-

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¹ Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, ‘ had his body covered.’ Cf. Hopkins, ‘ Position of the Ruling Caste in Ancient India,’ in JAOS. 13. 278. ² Cf. Viṣṇupurāṇa, 1. 19 ; 5. 27. ³ Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, ‘ the sun on high.’ ⁴ Tel. ed., ‘ tubular entrails hanging out of chasms cleft by thunderbolts ’ ; similarly the Srirangam text. ⁵ Cf. Rāmāyaṇa, 6. 67. ⁶ Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, ‘ like a sick man.’