Bhojaprabandha 87_271

87_271

The weaver said: "Your Majesty, I do not consider anyone a poet except Kālidāsa. Who in your royal assembly, except Kālidāsa, is a scholar who knows the essence of poetry?"
"That abundance of Sarasvatī, born from the ripening nectar of a teacher's grace, / is attained only by a poet, certainly not by force through those who enjoy fame merely for recitation. / Does a wild buffalo, even living in a pool all day long, / only making the flood of water muddy, ever obtain the fragrance of a bed of lotuses?
This weaving of my words, sweet with the cleverness of clear expressions, / its flourishing composition fruitful, attains fulfillment in the heart of another, in the heart of a poet. / A side-glance of a lovely-eyed woman, slipping from the corner of her slightly opened eyes, / is meaningless to a child, but it brings some [wondrous] delight to a young man."