Meghaduta 10
The Megha Dūta, or Cloud Messenger 10
- Language
- English
10
O thou, whose march nothing can oppose, surely thou wilt see the faithful wife, thy sister-in-law, diligently counting the days, not yet dead. Though usually hope, as a tie, supports the affectionate hearts of women, which during separation, readily droop like a flower.
10.n1
Sister-in-law was a mere expression of politeness, without any definite meaning, for certainly the Yaksha’s wife was not related to the Cloud. “Hope as a tie:” āsābandha, “the band of hope,” means also a “cobweb,” because the web is the spider’s hope. A commentator remarks, “Like as a flower separated from its stalk is supported by a spider’s web, so is the heart of a woman separated from her husband, supported by hope.”
Linked texts (1)
- Meghadūta — Kālidāsa, Sanskrit