Reading section 37

KING.--Introduce him at once.

WARDER.--I will, Sire. [_Goes out, and re-ënters with Karabhaka_.] Behold the King! Approach.

KARABHAKA.--Victory to the King! The Queen-mother bids me say that in four days from the present time she intends celebrating a solemn ceremony for the advancement and preservation of her son. She expects that your Majesty will honor her with your presence on that occasion.

KING.--This places me in a dilemma. Here, on the one hand, is the commission of these holy men to be executed; and, on the other, the command of my revered parent to be obeyed. Both duties are too sacred to be neglected. What is to be done?

MÁTHAVYA.--You will have to take up an intermediate position between the two, like King Triśanku, who was suspended between heaven and earth, because the sage Viśwámitra commanded him to mount up to heaven, and the gods ordered him down again.

KING.--I am certainly very much perplexed. For here, Two different duties are required of me In widely distant places; how can I In my own person satisfy them both? Thus is my mind distracted and impelled In opposite directions, like a stream That, driven back by rocks, still rushes on, Forming two currents in its eddying course. [_Reflecting_.] Friend Máthavya, as you were my playfellow in childhood, the Queen has always received you like a second son; go you, then, back to her and tell her of my solemn engagement to assist these holy men. You can supply my place in the ceremony, and act the part of a son to the Queen.

MÁTHAVYA.--With the greatest pleasure in the world; but don't suppose that I am really coward enough to have the slightest fear of those trumpery demons.

KING [_smiling_].--Oh! of course not; a great Bráhman like you could not possibly give way to such weakness.

MÁTHAVYA.--You must let me travel in a manner suitable to the King's younger brother.

KING.--Yes, I shall send my retinue with you, that there may be no further disturbance in this sacred forest.

MÁTHAVYA [_with a strut_].--Already I feel quite like a young prince.

KING [_aside_].--This is a giddy fellow, and in all probability he will let out the truth about my present pursuit to the women of the palace. What is to be done? I must say something to deceive him. [_Aloud to Máthavya, taking him by the hand_.] Dear friend, I am going to the hermitage wholly and solely out of respect for its pious inhabitants, and not because I have really any liking for Śakoontalá, the hermit's daughter. Observe, What suitable communion could there be Between a monarch and a rustic girl? I did but feign an idle passion, friend, Take not in earnest what was said in jest.

MÁTHAVYA.--Don't distress yourself; I quite understand.

[_Exeunt._

[36] The religious rites of holy men were often disturbed by certain evil spirits called Rákshasas, who were the determined enemies of piety and devotion.

[37] Vishnu, the Preserver, was one of the three principal gods.

PRELUDE TO ACT THIRD

Scene.--The Hermitage

_Enter a young Bráhman, carrying bundles of Kuśa-grass for the use of the sacrificing priests_.

YOUNG BRÁHMAN.--How wonderful is the power of King Dushyanta! No sooner did he enter our hermitage, than we were able to proceed with our sacrificial rites, unmolested by the evil demons. No need to fix the arrow to the bow; The mighty monarch sounds the quivering string, And, by the thunder of his arms dismayed, Our demon foes are scattered to the wind. I must now, therefore, make haste and deliver to the sacrificing priests these bundles of Kuśa-grass, to be strewn round the altar. [_Walking and looking about; then addressing someone off the stage_.] Why, Priyamvadá, for whose use are you carrying that ointment of Usíra-root and those lotus leaves with fibres attached to them? [_Listening for her answer_.] What say you?--that Śakoontalá is suffering from fever produced by exposure to the sun, and that this ointment is to cool her burning frame? Nurse her with care, then, Priyamvadá, for she is cherished by our reverend Superior as the very breath of his nostrils. I, for my part, will contrive that soothing waters, hallowed in the sacrifice, be administered to her by the hands of Gautamí. [_Exit._

ACT THIRD

Scene.--The Sacred Grove

_Enter King Dushyanta, with the air of one in love_.

KING [_sighing thoughtfully_].--The holy sage possesses magic power In virtue of his penance; she, his ward, Under the shadow of his tutelage Rests in security. I know it well; Yet sooner shall the rushing cataract In foaming eddies re-ascend the steep, Than my fond heart turn back from its pursuit.

God of Love! God of the flowery shafts![38] we are all of us cruelly deceived by thee, and by the Moon, however deserving of confidence you may both appear.

For not to us do these thine arrows seem Pointed with tender flowerets; not to us Doth the pale moon irradiate the earth With beams of silver fraught with cooling dews:-- But on our fevered frames the moon-beams fall Like darts of fire, and every flower-tipped shaft Of Káma, as it probes our throbbing hearts, Seems to be barbed with hardest adamant.

Adorable god of love! hast thou no pity for me? [_In a tone of anguish_.] How can thy arrows be so sharp when they are pointed with flowers? Ah! I know the reason:

E'en now in thine unbodied essence lurks The fire of Siva's anger, like the flame That ever hidden in the secret depths Of ocean, smoulders there unseen. How else Couldst thou, all immaterial as thou art, Inflame our hearts thus fiercely?--thou, whose form Was scorched to ashes by a sudden flash From the offended god's terrific eye. Yet, methinks, Welcome this anguish, welcome to my heart These rankling wounds inflicted by the god, Who on his scutcheon bears the monster-fish Slain by his prowess: welcome death itself, So that, commissioned by the lord of love, This fair one be my executioner.

Adorable divinity! Can I by no reproaches excite your commiseration?

Have I not daily offered at thy shrine Innumerable vows, the only food Of thine ethereal essence? Are my prayers Thus to be slighted? Is it meet that thou Shouldst aim thy shafts at thy true votary's heart, Drawing thy bow-string even to thy ear?

[_Pacing up and down in a melancholy manner_.] Now that the holy men have completed their rites, and have no more need of my services, how shall I dispel my melancholy? [_Sighing._ I have but one resource. Oh for another sight of the idol of my soul! I will seek her. [_Glancing at the sun._] In all probability, as the sun's heat is now at its height, Śakoontalá is passing her time under the shade of the bowers on the banks of the Máliní, attended by her maidens. I will go and look for her there. [_Walking and looking about._] I suspect the fair one has but just passed by this avenue of young-trees.

Here, as she tripped along, her fingers plucked The opening buds: these lacerated plants, Shorn of their fairest blossoms by her hand, Seem like dismembered trunks, whose recent wounds Are still unclosed; while from the bleeding socket Of many a severed stalk, the milky juice Still slowly trickles, and betrays her path.

[_Feeling a breeze._] What a delicious breeze meets me in this spot!

Here may the zephyr, fragrant with the scent Of lotuses, and laden with the spray Caught from the waters of the rippling stream, Fold in its close embrace my fevered limbs.

[_Walking and looking about._] She must be somewhere in the neighborhood of this arbor of overhanging creepers, enclosed by plantations of cane. [_Looking down._]

For at the entrance here I plainly see A line of footsteps printed in the sand. Here are the fresh impressions of her feet; Their well-known outline faintly marked in front, More deeply towards the heel; betokening The graceful undulation of her gait.

I will peep through those branches. [_Walking and looking. With transport._] Ah! now my eyes are gratified by an entrancing sight. Yonder is the beloved of my heart reclining on a rock strewn with flowers, and attended by her two friends. How fortunate! Concealed behind the leaves, I will listen to their conversation, without raising their suspicions. [_Stands concealed, and gazes at them._]

_Śakoontalá and her two attendants, holding fans in their hands are discovered as described_.

PRIYAMVADÁ AND ANASÚYÁ [_fanning her. In a tone of affection._]--Dearest Śakoontalá, is the breeze raised by these broad lotus leaves refreshing to you?

ŚAKOONTALÁ.--Dear friends, why should you trouble yourselves to fan me?

[_Priyamvadá and Anasúyá look sorrowfully at one another._]

KING.--Śakoontalá seems indeed to be seriously ill. [_Thoughtfully._]Can it be the intensity of the heat that has affected her? or does my heart suggest the true cause of her malady? [_Gazing at her passionately._] Why should I doubt it? The maiden's spotless bosom is o'erspread With cooling balsam; on her slender arm Her only bracelet, twined with lotus stalks, Hangs loose and withered; her recumbent form Expresses languor. Ne'er could noon-day sun Inflict such fair disorder on a maid-- No, love, and love alone, is hereto blame.

PRIYAMVADÁ [_aside to Anasúyá._]--I have observed, Anasúyá, that Śakoontalá has been indisposed ever since her first interview with King Dushyanta. Depend upon it, her ailment is to be traced to this source.

ANASÚYÁ.--The same suspicion, dear Priyamvadá, has crossed my mind. But I will at once ask her and ascertain the truth. [_Aloud._] Dear Śakoontalá, I am about to put a question to you. Your indisposition is really very serious.

ŚAKOONTALÁ [_half-rising from her couch_].--What were you going to ask?

ANASÚYÁ.--We know very little about love-matters, dear Śakoontalá; but for all that, I cannot help suspecting your present state to be something similar to that of the lovers we have read about in romances. Tell us frankly what is the cause of your disorder. It is useless to apply a remedy, until the disease be understood.

KING.--Anasúyá bears me out in my suspicion.

ŚAKOONTALÁ [_aside_].--I am, indeed, deeply in love; but cannot rashly disclose my passion to these young girls.

PRIYAMVADÁ.--What Anasúyá says, dear Śakoontalá, is very just. Why give so little heed to your ailment? Every day you are becoming thinner; though I must confess your complexion is still as beautiful as ever.

KING.--Priyamvadá speaks most truly. Sunk is her velvet cheek; her wasted bosom Loses its fulness; e'en her slender waist Grows more attenuate; her face is wan, Her shoulders droop;--as when the vernal blasts Sear the young blossoms of the Mádhaví, Blighting their bloom; so mournful is the change, Yet in its sadness, fascinating still, Inflicted by the mighty lord of love On the fair figure of the hermit's daughter.

ŚAKOONTALÁ.--Dear friends, to no one would I rather reveal the nature of my malady than to you; but I should only be troubling you.

PRIYAMVADÁ AND ANASÚYÁ.--Nay, this is the very point about which we are so solicitous. Sorrow shared with affectionate friends is relieved of half its poignancy.

KING.--Pressed by the partners of her joys and griefs, Her much beloved companions, to reveal The cherished secret locked within her breast, She needs must utter it; although her looks Encourage me to hope, my bosom throbs As anxiously I listen for her answer.

ŚAKOONTALÁ.--Know then, dear friends, that from the first moment the illustrious Prince, who is the guardian of our sacred grove, presented himself to my sight-- [_Stops short, and appears confused._]

PRIYAMVADÁ AND ANASÚYÁ.--Say on, dear Śakoontalá, say on.

ŚAKOONTALÁ.--Ever since that happy moment, my heart's affections have been fixed upon him, and my energies of mind and body have all deserted me, as you see.

KING [_with rapture_].--Her own lips have uttered the words I most longed to hear. Love lit the flame, and Love himself allays My burning fever, as when gathering clouds Rise o'er the earth in summer's dazzling noon, And grateful showers dispel the morning heat.

ŚAKOONTALÁ.--You must consent, then, dear friends, to contrive some means by which I may find favor with the King, or you will have ere long to assist at my funeral.

KING [_with rapture_].--Enough! These words remove all my doubts.

PRIYAMVADÁ [_aside to Anasúyá_].--She is far gone in love, dear Anasúyá, and no time ought to be lost. Since she has fixed her affections on a monarch who is the ornament of Puru's line, we need not hesitate for a moment to express our approval.