The Slaying of Śiśupāla 6
English (machine translation) 6
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6.1
Then, to serve him as he wished to take pleasure upon the mountain, / the assembly of seasons, which brought forth all at once the beauty of flowers on their respective trees, / placed its foot upon the earth, / bringing an end to the distress of the virtuous.
6.2
He beheld Spring [Surabhi], fragrant with loads of flowers: / before him lay a grove of palāśa leaves with fresh foliage, / lotuses whose pollen was scattered open, / and the borders of delicate creepers.
6.3
Tossing the mass of dishevelled curly locks of the fawn-eyed women / and wiping the sweat born of fatigue from their foreheads, / the wind blew, stirring the slender series of ripples on the lakes / and opening the blue water lilies.
6.4
A garlanded woman belonging to the women of Mādhava, / in whom virtue arose from taking refuge in the virtuous, / matched the pupils of her eyes / with a swarm of bees clinging to clusters of kurabaka blossoms.
6.5
The aśoka tree, joined with campakas / of manifestly blazing golden brilliance, shone / like the torn flesh of the heart of separated lovers, / scorched brown by the fire of love.
6.6
The pollen grains of the mango grove, / showered all around upon the troops of travelers, / seemed to take on the form of glowing embers of love's fire; / hence they burned intensely.
6.7
A line of bees, producing a sweet buzzing, / having enjoyed the liquor of bakula nectar, / set out as if dispatched by the lord of Rati / to appease the brides who had assumed feigned anger toward their beloveds.
6.8
Awakened, as if by a dear female friend, / by the cuckoo with an exceedingly charming voice / that shattered excessive indignation, / the women surrendered their bodies without delay to their beloveds.
6.9
Like deer, travelers fell under the sway / of bees acting as messengers of Love, / captivated by the sweet tone of their sound, / which surpassed the notes of the lute.
6.10
Embraced with passion by a wanton woman / wishing to pluck its flowers, / the forest tree, which did not bend down, did not look lovely, / remaining tall in vain through an improper dance.
6.11
“Forsaking these rows of lotuses, devoid of passion and full of pollen, / a swarm of bees, defeated by your clusters of blossoms that bend beneath the weight of breasts, / turns and advances toward you.”
6.12
“For me, who thirsts for your fragrant breath / and your lower lip sweet with fresh nectar, / these two—fragrance and taste—do not bring joy to my heart, / just as flowers do not satisfy a bee.”
6.13
No sooner had he spoken thus than the slender woman, / her breasts raised higher by lifting both arms, / eagerly embraced her lover with the charm of her waist, / as if out of fear of folds of skin, as if out of fear of bees.
6.14
Another woman, whose beauty was heightened by the flurry of bees / hovering in greed for the fragrance of her face, / strode forth with glances trembling beneath curly locks, / producing a sweet tinkling of her girdle.
6.15
The women of the Kukuras, who out of pride / had repeatedly disregarded their lovers bowing before them, / became foremost in being agitated by the agony of passion / when spring arrived.
6.16
Other women, whose bodies were shattered by the swift arrows / fitted to the bow of the flower-bowed god, / even embraced death; / what need to speak of those whose husbands had departed again and again?
6.17
“O fair-formed one, tears come to adorn your dwelling, / wishing to obstruct the beauty of your lotus face; / nevertheless, now that spring is at hand, / shame on the appearance of inauspicious tears!”
6.18
“‘She will soon abandon her life with difficulty / due to the pain of separation’— / O friend, do not let those words, spoken out of love / by kin fearing misfortune, prove true in your case!”
6.19
Hearing her lover outside say, / ‘Though gone far away, he does not indeed abide without celebration,’ / as uttered by his kin, / the young bride revived as if with nectar through the sweet sounds of his voice.
6.20
A sweet female bee, whose intelligence was nurtured / by the abundance of nectar in the mādhavī creeper awakened by spring, / repeatedly humming an impassioned sound, / sang in soft indistinct syllables.
6.21
Reddening all the mountain forests, / repeatedly causing distress to travelers, / the tall cluster of blossoming kiṃśuka flowers / bore the splendor of a raging forest fire.
6.22
Where the beauty of pollen from the śirīṣa flowers / resembled the body-hair of the sun's horses, / there the summer season arrived, / bringing to fresh mallikā jasmines enduring wealth of fragrance.
6.23
As the wind blew, splitting tender trumpet-flower buds / and resembling the breath of their beloveds, / lustful men succumbed to a passion for wine / while swarms of bees grew intoxicated.
6.24
Breasts holding drops of water sprinkled that very moment / were placed upon lovers' chests, / and moist sandalwood powder was continually / scattered by the hands of women with beautiful thighs.
6.25
With eyes of flickering, restless lightning, / its great clouds like breasts not yet fallen away, / the line of rain-clouds, ignoring its proper season, / approached the mountain as if approaching a lover.
6.26
Beholding in the sky a fresh cloud, dark like a herd of elephants, / high up in the firmament, / a woman did not go to meet her beloved, / nor did she desire privacy whose sole pleasure was love.
6.27
The dark, variegated body of the cloud, shaking its form, / matched the body of the suppressor of Bali [Viṣṇu], / whose garments are blended with the spreading radiance / of various jeweled earrings.
6.28
Momentarily visible and then concealed by rain-clouds / moving in swift winds, like a blossom-cluster among branches, / the lightning shone upon the tree of the sky, / which resembled a bent tamāla tree.
6.29
Looking at the dense veil of rain-clouds, / the traveler's wife, soon to face danger to her life, / gazed with tearful eyes from confusion among her friends, / downcast, her lovely head bent low.
6.30
The cloud-wind, fondly tossing the emerging kandalī sprouts / and bowing proud women, bent low the forests, / and intensely shook the heart / of the traveler abroad.
6.31
The bank of clouds made the flock of peacocks, sweetly calling, / dance with passion, / conquering with the abundance of its own roar / the sound of an anointed mardala drum.
6.32
With the forest winds reddening the sky with pollen of fresh kadamba blossoms, / fragrant with mushrooms, / an ever-fresh passion was infused / into the hearts of loving women and their men.
6.33
The first sparse water-drops of the cloud, / having allayed the heat and removed the dust of the earth, / did not fail to make the mountain slopes fragrant / and pleasant for women to walk upon.
6.34
The ketaka flower, white as an elephant, / with a swarm of dark bees hovering upon it, / looked like a crescent segment of the moon with slender horn / fallen from the sky due to the clash of heavy rain-clouds.
6.35
Pale like crushed pearl dust, / charming as the spray of dashing cascades, / the pollen grains of the kuṭaja flowers plainly rivaled / the dust raised by curd-churning.
6.36
Continuously clinging to the cluster of delicate mālatī blossoms / wet with fresh drops of rain, / and pale with an abundance of bright pollen, / the bees took on the appearance of moving stars.
6.37
The line of fresh kadamba forests, unable to protect / the minds of brides separated from their beloveds, / scattered its own pollen like cosmetic powder / across the quarters that held a canopy of clouds.
6.38
Even those women filled with lovers' anger who had turned away, / suddenly terrified by the thundering of the rain-clouds, / turned back to embrace their lovers, / their waists adorned with folds of skin.
6.39
'When the rain-cloud wind blows, who indeed does not tremble, / even if devoid of passion?' / As if this were proclaimed loudly by the bees, / the young shoots danced in agreement.
6.40
Then the young women, murmuring languidly in passion, / unwilling to depart from the palace / out of fear of lightning, / delighted that host of Yadu princes.
6.41
He whose weapon is a chariot wheel reached another season, / the autumn, which concealed the hot-rayed sun, / made the flock of birds seek their nests, / and produced clarity in all directions, ending the rainy season.
6.42
He, the recital of whose name destroys sin, / beheld the autumn resting on the mountain's lap like a beloved wife, / whose eyes were blooming blue lotuses, / and whose glorious wealth of clouds was like a slipping, transparent garment.
6.43
With his rays, the hot-rayed sun dispelled the nocturnal darkness in the world / and that made of cloud-hosts in the sky, / but could not dispel that of blue lotuses in the lotus-beds; / for where are the foes of the great not destroyed?
6.44
As if saying, 'Time alone produces strength and weakness in embodied beings,' / the calls of swans attained charm in autumn, / while peacocks were reduced to harsh calls.
6.45
Before the swans of white wings whose notes vanquished their own, / the peacocks' plumes dropped off as if from shame; / for humiliation coming from an enemy is exceedingly hard to endure.
6.46
In every wood, upon the face of the forest-line like a bride / lovely with lips of rich red javā flowers, / the blooming bāṇa blossoms shone exceedingly, / mimicking the play of lovely eyes.
6.47
With petals reddish-yellow like pieces of gold, / charming with reddish-brown filaments full of pollen, / the asana flowers did not lack purpose / in removing the anger of proud women slighted by their lovers.
6.48
Because it imitated the radiance of the lotus-face / pink with wine-intoxication of partridge-eyed women, / the day-blooming lotus in the water, catching the morning sun, / did not thereby cause longing in anyone.
6.49
The young wife of the kalam-rice guardian did not drive away the herd of deer / that had ceased eating the grain and stood before her with unblinking eyes, / pretending to listen to the sweet sound of the song sung by her.
6.50
As if proclaiming that the autumn month, like a rutting elephant, / was intoxicated and had bewildered the three worlds, / the winds blew constantly, fragrant with seven-leaf tree blossoms / and echoing the hum of singing bees.
6.51
The directions appeared in autumn, / freed from the covering of clouds, / here gleaming like polished black swords, / and there, where rain-clouds still lingered, as if wearing jackets of Indra's elephant's hide.
6.52
Like a lion's mate wishing to play a prank, / the autumn maiden tossed up the pollen shaken by the winds, / produced from the filaments of fresh lotuses, / to scatter it about.
6.53
Spread across the sky by the wind-gods, / with very red beaks, like a garland woven of fresh green leaves / and delightful sprouts, / the flock of parrots extended joy to Hari.
6.54
With blooming lotuses for eyes, smiling with lotus-water, / and with white-bodied birds laughing toward heaven, / he regarded autumn as glad in every way, / with bristling quarters.
6.55
The lord of water-drops in the snowy season, chilling the rivers, / although only of the size of two elephants, / produced a continuous stream of tears in the eyes of traveler-women / caused by immense torment.
6.56
Ah, how improper is this great action of the wind! / For at other times it reminds one of the beloved woman's body; / but now, bearing frost, let it destroy the separated lovers / whose breasts once possessed the warmth of fresh youth.
6.57
That proud woman who in anger could not stay with her beloved, / suddenly embracing him, / could not bear to slacken her hold for an instant, / trembling with sudden cold.
6.58
The bite-wound upon the lip-bud, uncovered, / was greatly pained by the frosty winds; / but covered by the white screen of tooth-rays accompanied by hissing sounds, / it rested comfortably.
6.59
Bearing a wound, the lip of the slender woman, / shaken gently by the cold winds, / clearly wore a covering made of the flashing light / of her teeth pressed together.
6.60
Frightened by the trembling of tree-creeper fingers / moved by the wind carrying frost-particles, / the beloved woman, brought close, / could not bear any space between her and her lover's broad chest.
6.61
Even in the snowy season, those young women, profusely sweating, / highly beneficial, / manifesting an unfeigned passion born of love, / delighted their gallant lovers.
6.62
Making the priyaṅgu creepers blossom, roaring fiercely, / expanding with violence, / the cold wind of the dewy season reproached in the garden / the young women separated from their beloveds.
6.63
When foes increase in power, even the strong becomes powerless / under the sway of Time: / in the dewy month, the sun of feeble rays did not have immense heat, / while the mass of great frost did.
6.64
As if announcing the God of Love about to march against the worlds, / this abundance of lodhra pollen, pale as the dust of an agitated army, / obscured the directions.
6.65
Thinking, 'Apart from the dewy month, what use to us / is this cold-removing warmth of our breasts?' / the women, their anger set aside, / embraced tightly their yielding beloved lovers who bowed before them.
6.66
"These swarms of bees on the clove blossoms are excessively dirtied with pollen"—
as if plainly saying this, the jasmine creeper laughed at once with its flower before the bees that split its petals.
6.67
Possessing abundant fragrance, this santānaka tree through the glory of its blossoms caused supreme delight;
and the vernal season made the call of the young cuckoo bring delight to impassioned lovers.
6.68
The row of bees, skilled in banishing the pride of young women, did not leave the sweet scent of mangoes;
out of intense passion, it could not bear to abandon the best sap of the spring season.
6.69
"To subjugate the world, I shall spread these victorious banners for the army of Love"—
thus, having shown her power, the beauty of spring spread out the plantains as banner-staffs.
6.70
The darkness of the sun, composed of Love's passion, spread over its form uncontrollably;
even by day, the female cuckoo attained her mate, whose heart was overwhelmed with passionate cry.
6.71
The body of the beloved woman, yearning for water-sports, radiant with beauty, graceful in movement,
was led by her lover into his lap, which shone like a flash of lightning, having attained passion.
6.72
Upon obtaining the waters of the clouds, the peacocks suddenly attained joy, and the river rushed along;
the bee engaged in love in the mushroom, which had the pale pink hue of an evening lamp.
6.73
Seeing the kuṭaja blossoms, with bees buzzing in dense intoxication near the ground of the lordly mountain,
the peacocks made the sky resound with loud cries of musical song, filling the dense forest expanse with bees.
6.74
Having attained her beloved after a long time, the lovely woman, having cast away all despondency, shone forth;
upon the arising of the joy born of desire in women, all doubt was removed, and she shone with delight.
6.75
That girdle tied around the hips of the women was not adorned with beauty by the season;
but the line of water, bounded by love, increased their longing to embrace, delighting their minds with passion.
6.76
She who took delight through the sweet call of the female crane in the woods for her beloved partner—
having obtained that contact, what passionate woman in solitude does not enact the play of enchantment?
6.77
When her hair was forcefully seized in secret by her lover during lovemaking, aroused by the laughter of Love,
whose hearts did not lie awake with passion even through the winter nights, burning with the laughter of desire?
6.78
Even to those who had attained great wonder through the grace of complete, spotless sprouts,
the line of bees repeatedly sang its sound, through the sportive play of spotless tender shoots rich in artistic taste.
6.79
The glorious mountain made the trees soundless under its heavy burden, their songs silenced by blossoms;
and Hari was urged by the peacock's call to wander with his beloved along every slope on that mountain.
Commentaries (2)
- Sarvaṅkaṣā — Mallinātha Sūri, Sanskrit
- Śiśupālavadhaṭīkā — Mallinātha, Sanskrit
Linked texts (1)
- Śiśupālavadha — Māgha, Sanskrit