Meghaduta 9

The Megha Dūta, or Cloud Messenger 9

Language: English

9

Softly, softly, as a favourable wind propels thee, and on thy left side the water-greedy Chataka exults sweetly with a pleasant song. Surely, as delighting the eye thou floatest in the sky, the cranes forming a row will pay thee homage, as they know by thy approach of the happy time of gestation.

9.n1

The approach of the Cloud, the harbinger of the rains, which is the time of gestation of the cranes, causes them to pay it homage.

9.n2

The word “garbhadhana” here translated “gestation,” means “the propitiatory rite by women in order to produce impregnation;” thus the passage might be more literally put, “because they know that the fête of gharbhādhāna has arrived.”

9.n3

Mallinatha observes that the word “Valāka,” a crane, has a double meaning, “Vālākaṅganah, nayansubagam,” i.e., “a pretty coquettish bright-eyed woman.” Thus there is a sly hidden sense. The Cloud is told by the Yaksha that as he floats in the air, the coquettish bright-eyed women will pay him court, as his approach indicates the time of the festival when they were to meet their lovers.

Linked texts (1)

Meghadūta — Kālidāsa, Sanskrit