The Recognition of Śakuntalā 5.19

5.19

idam upanatam evaṃ rūpam akliṣṭakānti
prathamaparigṛhītaṃ syān na vety avyavasyan /
bhramara iva vibhāte kundam antastuṣāram
na ca khalu parobhoktuṃ nāpi śaknomi hātum //
(iti vicārayan sthitaḥ)
pratīhārī (svagatam) aho dharmāpekṣitā bhartuḥ / īdṛśaṃ nāma sukhopanataṃ rūpaṃ dṛṣṭā ko 'nyo vicārayati /

As my heart ponders whether I could ever
Have wed this woman that has come to me
In tortured loveliness, as I endeavour
To bring it back to mind, then like a bee That hovers round a jasmine flower at dawn,
While frosty dews of morning still o’erweave it,
And hesitates to sip ere they be gone,
I cannot taste the sweet, and cannot leave it.

Portress (to herself). What a virtuous king he is! Would any other man hesitate when he saw such a pearl of a woman coming of her own accord?