Ratnavali 6

6

tataḥ praviśaty āsanastho gṛhītavasantotsavaveṣo rājā vasantakaś ca |
(1.10) Rājā | sādaram | sakhe vasantaka |
(1.11) Vidūṣakaḥ | āṇavedu bhavaṃ |
(1.12) Rājā |
rājyaṃ nirjitaśatru yogyasacive nyastaḥ samasto bharaḥ
samyakpālanalālitāḥ praśamitāśeṣopasargāḥ prajāḥ |
pradyotasya sutā vasantasamayas tvaṃ ceti nāmnā dhṛtiṃ
kāmaḥ kāmam upaitv ayaṃ mama punar manye mahān utsavaḥ || 9 || (1.9)
(1.13) Vidūṣakaḥ | saharṣam | bho vaassa | evvaṃ ṇedaṃ | ahaṃ uṇa jāṇāmi | ṇa bhavado ṇa kāmadevassa mama jjevva ekkassa bamhaṇassa aaṃ maaṇamahūsavo tti jeṇa piavaasseṇa tumaṃ ti mantīadi | vilokya | tā kiṃ imiṇā | pekkha dāva imassa mahumattakāmiṇījaṇasaaṅgāhagahidaṇaccantaṇāarajaṇajaṇidakodūhalassa samantado saṃvuttamaddaluddāmacaccarīsaddamuhararacchāmuhasohiṇo paiṇṇapaḍavāsapuñjapiñjarijjantadahadisāmuhassa sasirīattaṇaṃ maaṇamahūsavassa |
(1.14) Rājā | saharṣaṃ samantād avalokya | aho | parāṃ koṭim adhirohati pramodaḥ puraḥ paurānām | tathā hi |
kīrṇaiḥ piṣṭātakaughaiḥ kṛtadivasamukhaiḥ kuṅkumakṣodagaurair
hemālaṅkārabhābhir bharanamitaśikhaiḥ śekharaiḥ kaiṅkirātaiḥ |
eṣā veṣābhilakṣyasvavibhavavijitāśeṣavitteśakośā
kauśāmbī śātakumbhadravakhacitajanevaikapītā vibhāti || 10 || (1.10)
api ca |dhārāyantravimuktasaṃtatapayaḥpūraplute sarvataḥ
sadyaḥ sāndravimardakardamakṛtakrīḍe kṣaṇam prāṅgaṇe |
uddāmapramadākapolanipatatsindūrarāgāruṇaiḥ
saindūrīkriyate janena caraṇanyāsaiḥ puraḥ kuṭṭimam || 11 || (1.11)
(1.15) Vidūṣakaḥ | vilokya | edaṃ pi dāva suviaḍḍhajaṇāpūridasiṅgaajalapahāramukkasikkāramaṇoharaṃ vāravilāsiṇījaṇavilasidaṃ avaloedu piavaasso |
(1.16) Rājā | vilokya | vayasya | samyag dṛṣṭaṃ tvayā | kutaḥ |
asmin prakīrṇapaṭavāsakṛtāndhakāre
dṛṣṭo manāṅ maṇivibhūṣaṇaraśṃijālaiḥ |
pātālam udyataphaṇākṛtiśṛṅgako 'yaṃ
mām adya saṃsmarayatīva bhujaṅgalokaḥ || 12 ||

Then enter the King, seated and dressed for the spring festival, and Vasantaka.
(1.10) King. Respectfully. Friend Vasantaka!
(1.11) Jester. Let your lordship command.
(1.12) King.
My realm has conquered its enemies; all burdens are laid on a capable minister;
my subjects, pampered by good governance, have all their troubles quieted;
and I have Pradyota's daughter, the springtime, and you: let Love, in name,
take all the satisfaction it wants, but I consider this my great festival! (9)
(1.13) Jester. With joy. Ah, friend, is that not so? But I think this festival of the God of Love belongs neither to you nor to Kāmadeva, but to me alone, a Brahmin, since I am addressed by my dear friend as 'you'! Looking around. But what of that? Look, first of all, at the splendid beauty of this festival of the God of Love, which awakens curiosity among townspeople who are taken into embrace and dance with women intoxicated by wine; whose street entrances are adorned and resonant with the loud carcarī beats of assembled drums on every side; and whose four quarters are turned yellowish-red by piles of scattered perfumed powder!
(1.14) King. Looking around with joy. Ah! The citizens' delight before us reaches the utmost peak! For:
With the heaps of perfumed powders scattered about turning dawn into day, yellowish with saffron dust,
and with the crests of red aśoka blossoms, their tops bent under the weight, shining with golden ornaments,
this Kauśāmbī, having surpassed the entire treasury of the Lord of Wealth through wealth displayed in their attire,
shines as though all yellow, as if its people were inlayed with liquid gold! (10)
And moreover:
In the courtyard flooded all around with steady torrents of water discharged from fountain devices,
where play is made in a moment with the mud of thick stamping,
the paved floor in front is stained with red lead by the footfalls of the people,
red with the vermilion falling from the cheeks of wanton women! (11)
(1.15) Jester. Looking. Let my dear friend look also at this charming play of the courtesans, lovely with hissing gasps let out at the impact of water from syringes filled by witty men!
(1.16) King. Looking. Friend, you have observed well. For:
In this darkness made by the scattered perfumed powder,
visible faintly by the mass of rays from jeweled ornaments,
this crowd of gallants with syringe-horns like raised hoods
makes me think today, as it were, of the underworld serpent folk! (12)