The Recognition of Śakuntalā 3.3-4

3.3

tava kusumaśaratvaṃ śītaraśmitvam indor
dvayam idam ayathārthaṃ dṛśyate madvidheṣu /
visṛjati himagarbhair agnim indur mayūkhais
tvam api kusumabāṇān vajrasārīkaroṣi //
athavā /
adya api nūnaṃ harakopavahninas tvayi jvalaty aurva ivāmburāśau /
tvam anyathā manmatha madvidhānāṃ bhasmāvaśeṣaḥ katham ittham uṣṇaḥ //

Thy shafts are blossoms; coolness streams
From moon-rays: thus the poets sing;
But to the lovelorn, falsehood seems
To lurk in such imagining;
The moon darts fire from frosty beams;
Thy flowery arrows cut and sting.

[paragraph continues] Oh, mighty Love, thine arrows are made of flowers. How can they be so sharp? (He recalls something.) Ah, I understand.

[paragraph continues] Indeed, the moon and thou inspire confidence, only to deceive the host of lovers.

[paragraph continues] And yet

3.4

aniśam api makaraketur manaor rujam āvahann abhimato me /
yadi madirāyatanayanāṃ tām adhikṛtya praharatīti //
(sakhedaṃ parikramya) kva nu khalu saṃsthite karmaṇi sadasyair anujñātaḥ khinnam ātmānaṃ vinodayāmi /
(niḥśvasya) kiṃ nu khalu me priyādarśanād ṛte śaraṇam anyat /
yāvad enām anviṣyāmi / (sūryam avalokya) imām ugrātapavelāṃ prāyeṇa latāvalayavatsu mālinītīreṣu sasakhījanā śakuntalā gamayati /
tatraiva tāvad gacchāmi / (parikramya saṃsparśaṃ rūpayitvā) aho pravātasubhago 'yam uddeśaḥ /

If Love will trouble her
Whose great eyes madden me,
I greet him unafraid,
Though wounded ceaselessly.

[paragraph continues] I have driven off the powers of evil, and the hermits have dismissed me. Where shall I go now to rest from my weariness? (He sighs.) There is no rest for me except in seeing her whom I love. (He looks up.) She usually spends these hours of midday heat with her friends on the vine-wreathed banks of the Malini. I will go there. (He walks and looks about.) I believe the slender maiden has just passed through this corridor of young trees. For

[paragraph continues] (He feels a breeze stirring.) This is a pleasant spot, with the wind among the trees.