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Messrs Trcbner & Co. havealso Piiblj^lied
SELECT SPECIMENS OF THE THEATRE OF
THE HINDUS.
Translated from the Original Sanskrit,
i
' By HORACE HAYMAN WILSON, M.A., F.R.S.
Late Boden Professor of Sanskrit in the University of Oxford, 4c. 4c.
Third corrected Edition. In Two Volumes, 8vo, pp. 392 and 420,
handsomely bound in cloth, price 21s.
CONTENTS OP VOL. i.
Preface. — Treatise on the Dramatic System of the Hindus :
1. The Authorities of the Hindu
Dramatic System.
2. Different kinds of Dramatic Enter-
tainments.
3. Dramatic Arrangement.
4. Conduct of the Plot.
5. Characters of the Drama.
0 . Objects of Dramatic Representation
7. Diction.
8. Scenic Apparatus.
List of Hindu Laws.
Dramas translated from the Original Sanskrit : The Mrichchhakatf ; or. The
Toy-Cart. Vikrama and Crvasf ; or, The Hero and the Nymph. Uttara-Rdma.
Charitra ; or, Continuation of the History of ltdma.
CONTENTS OP VOL. II.
Dramas translated from the Original Sanskrit : Mitlatf and Mddhava ; or. The
Stolen Marriage. Mudrd-Rakshasa ; or, The Signet of the Minister. Ratndvalf ;
or, The Necklace.
APPENDIX, containing short accounts of different Dramas.
1. Mahdvfra-Charitra.
2. Venf Sarilhiira.
3. Mdlavikdgnimltra ; or, Agnimitra
and Mdlavikd.
4. Viddha-Sdlabhanjikd ; or. The
Statue.
5. Prachanda-Pdndava.
6. Handman-Nafdka. •
7. Dharanjava-Vijaya.
8 Anarglia-Rdghava ; or, Murdri-
Ndfdka.
9. 8dradd-Tilaka.
10. Yaydti-Charitra.
11. Dtftdngada ; or, The Mission of
Angada.
12 . Mrigdnkalekhd.
13. Vidogdha- Mddhava.
14. Abhirdma-Mani.
15. Madhurdniruddha.
10. Kamsa-Badha.
17. Pradyumna-Vijaya.
18. 5ri-Ddma-Charitra.
10. Dhdrta-Ndrfdka.
20. Dhurta-Samdgama.
21. Hdsydrnava.
22. Kautuka-Sarvasiva.
1 23. Chitra-Yajna.
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2
“ It was not till Sir William Jones published a translation into prose of
Kalidasa's beautiful Sakuntala, that the Western world were aware that the
Hindus hail a national Drama. We gave a full analysis of it, and many long
specimens, about a dozen years ago. Hut here we have translations into verse
of several dramas ; expositions of many more ; and notices of the whole Hindu
Theatre. Tho Prabodha Chandrodaya, or, Rise of the Moon of Intellect, trans-
lated by the late Dr Taylor, of Bombay, throws more light on the metaphysics
than the drama of the Hindus ; and the account given of the Mitlati MJdhavn in
the Asiatic Researches by Mr Colebrooke, was subordinate to the object of hiB
Essay on Sanskrit and Prikrit Prosody. Neither of the Dramas hitherto pub-
lished can be considered to convey an accurate notion of the Hindu Theatre
The one belongs to the metaphysical, the other to the mythojiastoral class of
Sanskrit plays ; but there is a wide range between, and wc are conducted through
it all under the learned guidance of Professor Horace Wilson. His Essay on
‘The Dramatic System of the Hindus’ is a masterpiece of philosophical criti-
cism, many of his notes are in themselves poems ; and his Prefaces to the Plays
are full of the rarest and most interesting historical erudition, often throwing
great light on the mauners and customs of Ancient India The whole work is
delightful from its novelty ; hut its true praise is that it unfolds before us the
whole of the finest part of a national literature, and thereby illustrates a highly
interesting national character. . . That there is a Hindu Drama, and a noble
one, was hardly known till Professor W’ilson published his select specimens ;
and how few people in England even now know anything more about it than
what we showed by extracts and analysis of the beautiful Romance of Vikrama
and Urvasl, or, The Hero and the Nymph? Many thousands must have been
surprised to find so much of finest fancy and of purest feeling in a poetry
which they had before supposed was all emptiness or inllation, — like air-bubbles,
bright perhaps with variegated colours, but breaking at a touch ; or like ill-
assorted bunches of gaudy and flaring flowers, fit ouly for the few hours of a
holiday-show, faded and scentless ere nightfall, as so many weeds. They
wondered to see how genius, in spite of the many debasing superstitions
which they thought had killed nil genius, had there the happy aud heaven-
taught art to beautify nature ; and that the Hindus have a Shakespeare in their
Kalidasa— such a Shakespeare as was possible to humanity so existing, for as the
people are so must be their poet, — his inspiration comiug from communion
between his heart and theirs, and though we call it heavenly, — and though in one
sense it be even so, — yet of verity born of earth Christopher North.
MAHA-YIRA-GHARITA.
THE ADVENTURES OF THE GREAT HERO RAMA.
AN INDIAN DRAMA IN SEVEN ACTS.
Translated Into English Prose from the Sanskrit of Bhavabhfiti,
By JOHN PICKFORD, M.A.
Late Scholar of Brasenoso College, and Boden Scholar in the University of
Oxford, Professor of Sanskrit, Madras.
Crown 8vo, cloth, pp. xvi. and 172, price 5s.
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N AGANANDA
OK
THE JOY OF THE SNAKE-WORLD.
A Butrtrfjtet ©ratna in jftfce Acts.
TRANSLA TED INTO ENGLISH PROSE, WITH EXPLANA TORY
NOTES, FROM THE SANSKRIT OF SRt-HARSHA-DEVA.
BY
PALMER BOYD, B. A.
SANSKRIT SCHOLAR OF TRINITY COLLEGE, CAMBRIDGE.
SBilJi an fntrobuctton
TRUBNER & CO., 60 PATERNOSTER ROW.
1872.
{All rights reserved.]
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PRINTED BY BALLANTYNE AND COMPANY
EDINBURGH AND LONDON
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PREFACE.
— ♦ —
The N&gananda, the sister-play to the Ratn&vali, was
edited in Calcutta in 1864, by an old student of the
Sanskrit College, M&dhava Chandra Ghosha. MS.
copies of it are rather scarce, and Professor Wilson does
not mention it in his notices of untranslated plays at the
end of the “ Hindu Drama.” By Dr Hall’s assistance,
however, I procured two copies from the North-west, and
these, with one or two MSS. from Bengal, enabled the
editor to print an accurate text. Mr Boyd, a Cambridge
pupil of mine, has now prepared an English translation ;
and I have been asked, by way of preface, to give some
account of the date and authorship of the book.
The play is several times quoted, like the Ratndvali, in
the SiUntya-darparea (pp. 89, 184, 189, and 249), and in
the Dasa-rupa (pp. 64, 65, 74, 178).* Dhananjaya, the
* I do not distinguish between the text of the Das’a-rdpa and the
Commentary, as I feel sure that if Dhananjaya, the son of Vishnu,
the author of the one, was not the same person as Dhanika, the sou
of Vishnu, the author of the other, they were at any rate brothers,
and so the chronological value of the two remains unaltered.
There is no hint given of any difference of authorship, and the two
works read everywhere as if they were from the same pen, like the
b
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vi PREFACE.
author of the Dasa-rupa, flourished at the court of King
Munja ; and as no other sovereign of that name occurs
in any known list of kings, this is no doubt the uncle
and predecessor of Bhoja of Dhard. We know, from a
date given in a Jaina poem (Colebrooke, Essays, II. 53),
that Munja was reigning A.D. 993. Dhananjaya’s date
is also confirmed by the fact that Hemachandra, who
lived A.D. 1174, quotes the Dasa-rupa, in his Commen-
tary on his own Abhidhdna-chintdmatti, which proves
that the author was then of sufficient antiquity to be
taken as an authority in a grammarian’s work. The
Ratndvall is also quoted in the SaraswaU-kanthdbharana,
which is ascribed to King Bhoja, who reigned in the
beginning of the eleventh century. The Ratnavali,
therefore, and the Ndg&nanda, and the King S'rl Harsha
Deva, who is mentioned as their author, must be placed
in an earlier period than that of Bhoja or his uncle
Munja. This at once shows that Wilson’s conjecture is
untenable, that the S'rl Harsha of the Ratndvalf could
have been the Harsha Deva of Cashmir, who reigned
from A.D. 1113 to 1125.
Dr Hall has given some good reasons for his adjudica-
tion of the Ratndvali to the poet Bdna. He was for-
tunate enough to obtain three MSS. of Bdna’s poem, the
Harsha-charitra (alluded to in the Sdhitya-darpana, p.
210), and in it he found the well-known verse beginning
dwlpa'd, anyasmdd apt, with which the first act of the
Ratndvall opens. It is hardly likely that any one but
text and commentary of the Sdhitya-darpana. I may, however,
add, that Dhanika is quoted by name in the SAhitya-darpana, p.
118 (cf. Dasa-rupa, p. 171).
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PREFACE. vii
the author himself would have been guilty of the
plagiarism. It is true that the author of the KAvya-
prak&sa, in his enumeration of the advantages of poetry,
after mentioning K&lid&sa as an instance of its procuring
fame, brings forward, as an instance of its procuring
wealth, Dh&vaka in his relation with King Sr 1 Harsha ;
and most of his commentators add that this poet com-
posed the Ratn&vall under that king's name. Dr Hall,
however, has shown that one commentator reads Bawa
instead of Dh&vaka ; and I need hardly add that these
oral traditions, like those current about K&lid&sa,
Yararuchi, and Chaura, are of but little historical value.
The author of the S&hitya Sira improves upon his pre-
decessors by relating that Dhivaka was excessively
poor, in spite of the learning which he had obtained by
the virtue of a certain Mantra ; at last, however, he com-
posed the Naishadhiya, in one hundred cantos, and on
showing it to King Sri Harsha, received a large jagir
as his reward.* But the Naishadhiya, as will be seen
in the sequel, belongs to a different Sri Harsha. The
story no doubt has a certain foundation of truth, but its
exact details, as in all popular legends, waver and dis-
solve into mist directly we touch them.
The Batn&vall and the Ndg&nanda would at first
sight seem to belong to the same author ; half the pro-
logue is the same in each, as also the stanza where the
manager says that Sri Harsha is a clever poet, and the
subject of the play attractive ; but there is little simi-
larity in the plays themselves. Of course their subjects
* The author adds as his authority — iti vriddhair updkhydyate,
“ thus it is related by the elders.”
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PREFACE.
are very different, and we might expect to find even
the same author assuming different styles when treating
an heroic legend like the NAg&nanda, and a genteel
comedy of domestic manners like the Ratn&vall. But
the difference in the religion of the two plays is a strong
argument against identity of authorship ; and I can
hardly believe that the same poet could have written
the invocations to Buddha and to S'iva, though I hope
to be able to show that the same king may have put
them forth under his name. If I might be allowed to
venture a conjecture amidst such uncertainty, I should
claim (with Dr Hall) the Ratn&valf for Edna, the well-
known author of the K&dambarf ; but I should be in-
clined to attribute the Buddhist play to the Dhdvaka
mentioned in the Kdvya-prakdsa. It is true that not a
solitary fragment of poetry is attributed to an author of
that name. “ About a dozen unprinted collections, in
which some five hundred names of authors are adduced,
have been diligently explored in quest of Dhdvaka, but
without success.”* But Brahmanical memory might
easily drop a Buddhist poet, or retain only a confused
idea of his works. In this way the brief legend pre-
served in the Kdvya-prakdsa may be light as to the poet’s
name, but the commentators may be wrong in their men-
tion of the Ratnavali instead of the Nagananda.
Dr Hall has thrown considerable light on the time
when Bawa and the king who patronised him flourished,
by his discovery of the Harsha-charitra. In this poem
Bana celebrates the family and reign of his patron
* Dr Hall's Preface to Vdsavadattd, p. 17. Cf. B.A.S. Journ. 18G2.
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PREFACE. ix
Harsha or Harsha-vardhana, and the history agrees so
remarkably with that given in Hiouen Thsang of
Harsha-vardhana, or Siladitya,* the King of Kanouj,
in the first half of the seventh century, that we can
hardly feel any doubt as to their being the same per-
son.
Now Hiouen Thsang’s account of the court of Kanouj
may throw some light on these dramas. Whether they
were really written by the same poet or not, they pro-
fess to be the composition of the same king ; and the
similarity of much of the prologue, and the identity of
one of the verses, give an external appearance of identity
of authorship in spite of the difference in the style; and
this may have been part of the deception practised on
the audience. Bdna may have afterwards inserted a
verse from the Ratn&vali in his unfinished Harsha-
charitra, as a tacit assertion of his claim to the author-
ship of that work, just as Sostratus is said to have en-
graved his own name beneath the royal inscription on the
Pharos. Still the difficulty remains as to the Hindu and
Buddhist character of the plays ; and I think this is
much better explained by the character of the king than
by assuming such an almost unparalleled versatility of
faith in a poet.
Hiouen Thsang is loud in his praises of Harsha-var-
dhana’s devotion to Buddhism ; but surely his own
narrative is sufficient to warn us against taking these
eulogies too literally. The king may have built the
hundreds of stupas along the Ganges, he may have
* Julien’s “ Voyages des Pfclerins Bouddhistes,” vol. ii. 247 ff.
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X
PREFACE.
erected the almshouses for the poor, and the resting-
places for pilgrims ; and there can be no doubt that he
favoured the Buddhist faith, and presided at their as-
semblies, and honoured their holy men. But in the
descriptions of the two great convocations, at which
Hiouen Thsang was present, we can see that the king
was by no means the thorough Buddhist which we
might have expected. In the first, twenty tributary
princes take a part, and each brings with him the most
distinguished Buddhist and Brahman doctors in his
realm, and both parties are welcomed with the same
hospitality; and though we only read of the homage
paid to a golden statue of Buddha, we can hardly
believe that, with all these Brahman guests invited,
there was no other ceremony. But in the second con-
vocation, which is described in Hiouen Thsang’s life by
his disciples, we have a fuller account. This was held
at Pray&ga, at the confluence of the Jumna and Ganges;
eighteen kings were present, and five hundred thousand
monks and laymen. The first day they installed the
statue of Buddha, the second day the statue of the Sun,
and the third day that of Maheswara, so that the king’s
official patronage was shared by the Brahmans even
more than by the Buddhists. Similarly at the distribu-
tions of alms, we read that on the fourth day the king
distributed his bounty to twenty thousand Buddhist
ascetics ; but we read immediately afterwards, that simi-
lar distributions were made to the Brahmans and other
heretics, and these lasted respectively twenty and ten
days ; and last of all, the nirgranthas, or nuked mendi-
cants (who were especially disliked by the Buddhists, cf.
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PREFACE.
XI
Burnouf, Introd., p. 312), came in for their share, for ten
clays. Now this narrative seems to reveal a state of things
which would completely account for these .two plays.
Hiouen Thsang expressly says of the kingdom of Kanouj,
that half the inhabitants held “ the true doctrine,” and
half were attached to “ error ■” and no doubt a similar
division existed to a greater or less extent in each of
the subject kingdoms. We have only to suppose some
such convocation at Kanouj as these which he has
described ; and what more natural than that the
tributary princes, whom the manager mentions in the
prologue, should, on the day of the Buddhist ceremonies,
witness the NAg&nanda, with its invocatory stanzas to
Jina, and, on the day of installing the image of Mahes-
wara, should witness the Ratn Avail, with its opening
NAndis to S'iva 1 The MAlatl-mAdhava of Bhavabhuti
(who flourished at Kanouj about a.d. 720) presents the
same toleration of the two rival religions ; the play is
Hindu, and the N.-lndl is addressed to S'iva, but a female
Buddhist ascetic, with one of her disciples, is a leading
character ; she is the nurse of the heroine, and the con-
fidante of her father the minister, in his desire to marry
his daughter to the son of an old friend, and Madhava,
the young hero, studies logic in Buddhist schools.*
* We know that the Buddhists paid great attention to the study
of logic, from the frequent references in Hiouen Thsang to hetu-
vidyd, “the science of reasons.” In a passage which I have quoted
from the Nydya-x'&rttika-tdtparya-ttkd, in the preface to my trans-
lation of the Kusumdnjali, V dc haspati - mis'ra states that the
Nytiya-s'dstra was originally delivered by Akshapuda, or Gotama,
and completed by Pakshila-swdmin, and that Uddyotakara com-
piled his Vdrttika, or “ Annotations,” in order to clear away the
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XU
PREFACE.
There can be no doubt, I think, that the King S'rf
Harsha Deva of our two plays is a different person from
the S'rf Harsha who wrote the Naishadha and the
Khawdana-Khawda-Kh&dya, as the latter, in the closing
verses of both works, speaks of himself as the dependant
of the king of Kanouj, and boasts of the allowance
of betel granted him at the court. His age is un-
certain. BAbu Rhjendra HI Mitra (B.A.S. Joura. 1864)
has conjectured that he may have been the S'ri Harsha,
who, according to tradition, was one of the five Kanouj
Brahmans who were invited into Bengal by Adi Sur, in
the tenth century. His chief arguments are that the
author of the Naishadha names among his works a
“ description of the sea,” and “ a history of the kings
of Bengal.” But I find, from a notice in the first num-
ber of the “ Indian Antiquary,” that Dr Biihler of Bom-
bay has recently fixed his date in the twelfth century.
The story of the N&gananda is no doubt a Buddhist
legend. It is found twice in the KathA-sarit-sfigara, in
which are incorporated so many legends of Buddhist
origin. In chapter xxii., we have a version which gives
the latter part of the story as it is told in the two last
acts, but the earlier acts are only alluded to ; but in
chapter xc., in the Vet&la book, we have a second
version, which follows the whole play very closely.
Thus Malayavatf’s singing at the temple is described
as in the first act ; the love-scenes of the second are
erroneous interpretations of Ding-ndga and others. Ding-ndga was
a celebrated Buddhist teacher, and his logical works are still ex-
tant, see Prof. Weber’s Note, Zeitschrift d. Morgenl. Gesellschaft,
xxii. 727.
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PREFACE.
XU1
also imitated, and we have the same sentiment as in
the fourth, where Jlmutav&hana wonders that the King
of Snakes, with all his thousand mouths, had not even
one wherewith to offer himself as a victim to save
his subjects. In si. 197, we have evidently an allusion
to the name of the play, — the bones of the dead snakes
are brought to life again, and it is said,
“ Te ’pi Harve samuttasthuB tad-vartfmrita-jivitdA ;
Surair Nigair muni-ganaiA sdnandair tnilitair atha
Sa loka-tritaydbhikhydm babhdra MalayachalaA.”
Mr Boyd has pointed out in his notes the allusions in
the play to Buddhist doctrines. Professor Wilson re-
marks, in the Introduction to his translation of the
Mrichchhakahka, “ Many centuries have elapsed since
Hindu writers were acquainted with the Buddhists in
their genuine characters ; their tenets are preserved in
philosophical treatises with something like accuracy,
but any attempt to describe their persons and practices
invariably confounds them with the Jainas;” t and this
very confusion occurs in the Mudrd-r&kshasa, which he
attributes to the twelfth century. But the present
drama is correct in its allusions, which may be another
argument in favour of the comparatively early date
which I have advocated.
The two last acts are in the true style of Buddhist
invention ; but I do not remember to have seen any
direct reference to Ji'mutav&hana in any Buddhist
legend. Burnouf mentions ( Introd ., p. 620) that,
though the gosirsha sandal is frequently alluded to in
Buddhist books, he had only found one allusion to the
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XIV
PREFACE.
chandana of Malaya. This occurred in a legend of the
Suvaraa-prabhdsa, which relates how a prince gave his
body to feed a hungry tigress. But there is a distinct
reference to some such legend as that of our drama, in
the second Nepalese Buddhist tract translated by Wilson,
in the 16 th vol. of the “ Asiatic Kesearches.” We read
there, “ May the holy Tirtha be propitious to you, where
the N&ga obtained rest from T&rskshya (Garuda).” This
is explained by the Nepalese as referring to a local shrine
called Gokanta, but it no doubt originally referred to the
far more celebrated Gokarna of Malabar. The N&gas play
an important part in many Buddhist legends (as, for in-
stance, in that of Sangha-rakshita) ; and Mr Fergusson
has shown that they are introduced in the Buddhist
sculptures at Sanchi and Amaravati, and in the latter
as objects of worship. The description of the Nfigas
in the fifth act, with their human forms, but scaly skins
and three hoods, singularly agrees with some of the
drawings in his book.
The appearance of the goddess Gaurl is a curious
feature of the drama, and seems to point to that gradual
mixture of Buddhist with S'aiva notions, which we find
fully developed int he Tantras of Nepal. There female
S'aiva deities, such as Durgd, Mah&kAll, <fcc., are continu-
ally invoked to grant protection to the Buddhist wor-
shipper. Wilson supposes that the Tantras were intro-
duced into Nepal between the seventh and twelfth
centuries, but Burnouf has pointed out some traces of
S'aiva influence even in the “Lotus de la bonne Loi,”
and other “ developed Sutras.” E. B. Cowell.
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“ Wohlwollen und Erbarmen, oder genauer allgemeine Wesen#-
liebe ist der positive Kern der buddhietischen Moral.”
Kuepjten.
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DRAMATIS PERSONA).
MEN.
Jlm&tavdhana, the hero, a prince of the Vidyddharas or celestial
choristers.
JimrUaketu, his father, king of the Vidyddharas.
Vu/vAvasu, king of the Siddhas.
Mitrdvasu, his son.
Sankhachtida, a prince of the Ndgas or snake deities.
Garuda, king of the birds and mortal foe of the Ndgas.
A trey a, a Brahman, the viddshaka or king’s jester.
The Vita, or parasite.
Sunanda, the doorkeeper.
The Chamberlain.
A Slave.
A Nay a attendant.
WOMEN.
The Goddess Gauri.
The Queen of the Vidyddharas, mother of JlmAtavdhana.
Malayavati, daughter of Vis'vdvasu.
Chaturikd, her attendant.
SankhachAda' 8 mother.
Several female attendants.
The scene lies partly in the Palace of the Siddha King, and partly on
the Mountains of Malabar.
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Digitize)
THE NAGlNANDA.
Prologue.
N-iNDf, OR OPENING BENEDICTION *
“ Of whom dost thou think, putting on a pretence of
religious abstraction, yet opening for an instant thine
eyes 1 See ! saviour though thou art, thou dost not pro-
tect us, sick with the shafts of Love. Falsely art thou
compassionate. Who is more cruel than thou 1 ”
May Buddha, the conqueror, who was thus jealously
addressed by the nymphs of Mdra,+ protect you !
* Every Sanskrit play opens with one or more Ndndis, or bene-
dictions, in which the blessing of some deity is invoked upon the
audience. This is the only instance in Sanskrit literature where the
power thus invoked is Buddha.
+ One of the most celebrated scenes in the mythic history of
Buddha is his temptation under the Bodhi tree by Mdra, the
Buddhist Eros, corresponding to the Hindu Kdma. Mdra at first
attempted to frighten him by legions of armed warriors ; failing in
this, he tried to seduce him by his daughters, the Apsarasas. The
sage, however, endures both temptations with unruffled equanimity,
and eventually the tempter retires utterly baffled . — See Lalita-
Vistara, ch. xxi.
A
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g
THE NAGANANDA.
Again,
May the Lord of Munis protect you ! who, lost in
reflection, and filled with transcendent knowledge, was
seen to be utterly unmoved by Indra,* whose every hair
was on end through astonishment; by the Siddhas,+
their heads bent low in obeisance ; by the nymphs, whose
eyes quivered, as they alternately smiled, yawned,
trembled, and frowned ; by the heroes of M&ra, dancing
with harshly-beaten drums ; and by Mdra himself, who
had drawn his bow to the full !
(At the conclusion of the benediction ) —
Stage Manager.
Enough of this prolixity. To-day, at the feast of
Indra, I was thus addressed by the company of kings,
who have arrived from various countries, dependants
on the lotus feet of the noble King S'ri-harsha-deva,
after they had summoned me respectfully, “ That play
named Ndgdnanda, connected with the sovereign of the
celestial choristers , % and adorned with a new arrangement
of the incidents by our Lord, S'ri-harsha-deva, has been
heard of by us through successive report, but has never
been seen by us on the stage ; therefore you should per-
form it to-day with suitable dramatic appliances, both
* In the Buddhist mythology, Indra is the king of the lowest
heaven but one ; Mdra being located in the sixth or highest, and
having more or less influence over all the beings beneath him.
+ Siddha, a divine person of undefined attributes and character —
a sort of demigod or spirit, inhabiting, together with the Vidyd-
dharas, Munis, &c., the region between the earth and the sun . — See
Wilson’s Dictionary.
X i.e. Vidyddharas.
THE NAGANAXDA.
3
through your respect for that great king, who rejoices
the hearts of all people, and through your willingness to
oblige us.” Therefore, after I have adjusted my attire, I
will carry out this request. ( Walking and looking about.)
I have no doubt that I have won the hearts of all the
spectators, since S'rl-harsha-deva is a clever poet ; and
this assembly are good judges of merit. The history of
the king of the Siddhas is very attractive in the world,
and we ourselves are skilful actors. Each of these things
by itself would be sufficient for success ; how much more
the whole assemblage of them, brought together by my
accumulation of good luck ! So, after I have gone to my
house and called my wife, I will commence the enter-
tainment. ( Walking about, looking toivards the tiring room.)
Here is my house. I will enter. ( After entering.) 0
lady, come here a moment !
An Actress ( entering in tears).
My lord, here am I, unlucky one that I am, let the
son of my lord say what is to be done.
Manager (looking at Actress).
O lady, why do you thus weep unreasonably, when
the N&g&nanda is to be performed 1
Actress.
Sir, how should I not weep, since just now my father,
having discovered that he is old, and influenced by a
sudden disgust for the world, saying to himself, “ Art
thou fit to support the duties of a household ? ” is gone
with his wife to a sacred grove ?
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THE NA.GANANDA.
Manager (in distraction ).
What ! How ! My two parents, leaving me, are gone
to a sacred grove ? What is now seemly to be done 1
( After thinking.) But how shall I remain at home,
giving up the pleasure of attendance on my father 1
For, in order to perform the service of my father, I will
quit the possessions fallen to my lot, and go off this day
to the forest, as did JfmutavAhana.*
[Exeunt.
END OF PROLOGUE.
ACT I.
Then enter JimutavAhana and the Vidushaka.
JimutavAhana
(in a tone of apathy towards the world).
O friend, Atreya, well do I know that youth is an
abode of passion. I am certain that it is transient.
Who in the world does not know that it is averse to
investigation of right and wrong 1 Yet, worthless as it
is, it may still be used for the attainment of the desired
end, if it is thus spent by me, devotedly obeying my
parents.
Vidushaka (with vexation).
Alas, my friend, no wonder you are despondent, en-
* The Hindu dramatists always endeavour to connect the
business of the prologue with that of the main action. The
spectator thus gradually passes from the real world in which the
actors live, to the imaginary one in which the personages of the
drama move.
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THE NAGANANDA.
O
during the annoyance of living for so long a time in the
forest, for the sake of these two, who are already half
dead. So now do me a favour. Having turned aside
from the strictness of your attendance on your father,
let the pleasure of sovereignty, sweet through the attain-
ment of every wish, be tasted by you.
JimCtavahana.
0 friend, you speak not well. For, in this world,
what is the splendour of one sitting on a throne com-
pared with that of one in attendance on his father ?
What enjoyment is there to a king such as that of one
shampooing his father’s feet ? What satisfaction in en-
joying the whole world, such as in eating a father’s
leavings ? Sovereignty is in fact only a trouble to one
who has deserted his father. Is there one good thing
in it 1
VlDuSIIAKA (aside).
Bother his “ penchant ” for waiting on his father !
(After considering.) Nevermind. I will put it to him
in this way. (Aloud.) O friend, I do not in truth speak
only of the enjoyment of sovereignty. There is another
thing which you should do.
Ji'mutavahana (smiling).
O friend, has not all that should have been done, been
done 1 See here. My subjects are placed in the right
path; the virtuous are happy; my relatives are placed on
an equality with myself, and a regency is made in the
kingdom ; to the poor man a tree of Paradise has been
given, whose fruit gives even more than he wishes for.
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THE NAGANANDA.
Say, what more than this should be done? or what
remains in your mind ?
VlDUSHAKA.
0 friend, your enemy, the base Matanga, is very
d aring ; and, whilst he is at hand, the kingdom, though
duly governed by the prime minister, does not, in your
absence, appear very firmly settled.
J iMtf TAVaHANA.
Fie ! O fool, dost thou fear that Matanga will seize
the kingdom?
VlDUSHAKA.
What else ?
Jimutavahana.
If even it were so, why should it not be ? Is not all
I possess, even to my very body, kept for the benefit
of others ? That it is not given up to him of my own
accord is through compliance with my father. What,
then, is the use of this pointless consideration ? Better
that the command of my father be at once undertaken.
“ 0 my child Jlmutav&hana,” he said, “ by the spending
of many days here this place lias its flowers, kusa-grass,
and fuel used up, and its rice, plants, fruits, and roots
well-nigh consumed, therefore go hence to the Malaya*
mountain, and seek there for a hermitage suited for our
occupation.” Come, then, let us go to the Malaya
mountain.
* Malaya — the Western Ghrits — whence the name Malabar
(malaya-vara).
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THE NAGANANDA.
7
Vidushaka.
Whatever your highness orders,
come.
Let your highness
[Both walk about.
ViDtiSHAKA (looking in advance).
O friend ! see, see ! Here in good truth comes the
wind from Malaya, which removes the fatigue of the
journey, like the clasping of the neck of the long-desired
loved one on first meeting, — bearing cool showers of
drops, caught up from the cascade as it falls broken
from the crystal rocks, and strongly fragrant through its
contact with the mountain slopes, covered with groves of
dense and juicy sandal trees ; it thrills every limb of your
body.
JimutavaHANA (looking with surprise).
Ah ! we have already reached the Malaya hill.
(Looking all round.) Oh, how pleasant it is ! Inasmuch
as this Malaya hill, with its sandal exuding from the
wounds made by the mighty elephants as they rub their
cheeks in their passion against the trunks, and with the
fastnesses of its caves resounding when lashed by the
ocean waves, and with its rocks of pearl stained by the
foot-dye of the women of the Siddhas as they pass — the
sight of it gives to my mind some longing for the joys of
earth. Come, we will ascend and seek for some suitable
site for a hermitage.
VlDtfSHAKA.
Let us do so. (Standing in advance.) Let your high-
ness come on.
[They ascend.
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THE NAGANANDA.
JimiItavaiiana ( starting from a throbbing of his right eye)*
My right eye throbs, though I have no object of
• desire. Yet the saying of the wise cannot prove false.
What, then, can this portend 1
VlDliSHAKA.
It shows undoubtedly that some loved object is at
hand.
J IMIjTAVaHANA.
It must be as you say.
ViDtfSHAKA ( looking on all sides).
0 friend, look ! look ! Here in good truth is all the
appearance of an ascetic grove, resplendent with un-
usually thick and dense trees, its crowd of young
animals reclining at ease unalarmed, and its smoke
freely issuing laden with scent from the sacrificial ghee.
JlMtfTAVAHANA.
You conjecture rightly. This is an ascetic grove.
The bark of the trees is stripped off for clothing, though
not in too wide strips, as if out of pity for them. The
pure water of the cascade has broken fragments of old
waterpotst just visible at the bottom; and here and
there appear the broken girdles of munja grass % cast off
* The Hindus believe that the throbbing of the right eye or arm
is a good omen for a man, but of the left, a bad omen. The reverse
of this holds in the case of a woman.
+ Compare Manu II. 64 : — His girdle, his deerskin, his staff,
his sacrificial cord, and his waterpot, he must throw into the water
when they are worn out, and take others with sacred texts.”
X Munja-grass, the Saccharum munja, from the fibres of which
the string is prepared to form the thread worn by the Brahmans.
Manu II. 43.
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THE NAGANANDA.
9
by the young Brahmans ; whilst a verse of the S&ma
Veda is recited by a parrot, who has learnt it from con-
stantly hearing it. Come, then, we will enter and look
about us.
[They enter.
J 1 M uTAV ah ax A ( looking about, with astonishment).
Oh, the tranquil charms of an ascetic grove ! The
basins at the foot of the young trees are kept full by the
daughters of the hermits. Its fuel is cut fresh and
fresh .by the reciting pupils, whilst the detail of the
doubtful passages of the Veda is constantly discussed
by the Munis, who delight in the task. Even these
trees, taught respect for a guest, seem to utter a sweet
welcome with the murmuring of bees, and make, so to
speak, an obeisance with their heads bowed down with
fruit; sprinkling a rain of flowers, they present me, as it
were, a propitiatory offering. Hence this ascetic grove
is well suited for a dwelling place. I think we shall
have peace while living here.
VlDliSIIAKA.
What is this, friend 1 The deer, with their necks a
little bent, the mouthfuls of darbha grass falling half-
chewed from their motionless mouths, their eyes tran-
quilly closed in complete content, seem to listen with
one ear pricked up.
Ji'mltavahana (after listening).
Friend, you have seen correctly ; for these antelopes,
their bodies bent sideways, stopping the noise of chew-
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THE NAG AN AND A.
ing the mouthfuls of darbha grass between their teeth,
listen to the distinct melodious words of a song, possess-
ing, through due regard to the laws of harmony, the
treble and bass tones impartially developed from their
respective organs,* mingled with the notes of the strings
of the resounding lute, as with the hum of bees.
VidtjShaka.
Who, then, my friend, sings here in the sacred grove 1
Ji'mctavahana.
Inasmuch as these notes sound clearly, struck by the
tips of soft fingers, I conjecture that it is sung with
K&kilt t for its key-note. ( Pointing forwards with his
* This passage is difficult, as it alludes to some technicalities of
Hindu music. The Hindus place the bass (mandra), the tenor
(madhya), and the treble (tdra), in the chest, throat, and top of
the palate respectively. Thus the Sangita-ratndkara, “iti vastu-
sthitis tiivad gdue tredhd bhaved asau ; hridi, mandro ; gale, tnad-
hyo ; murdhni, tara ; iti kramdt.” Compare Prof. Aufrecht’s
Catalogue of Oxford MSS., 200 b 3.
+ Kdkili is explained as a sweet soft sound, corresponding to the
cuckoo’s note. Hindu poets give to the kokila, or cuckoo, the fifth
note of their scale. Compare Browning : —
“ Here ’s the spring back, or close,
When the almond blossom blows,
We shall have the word
In that minor third
There is none but the cuckoo knows ;
Heaps of the guelder-rose,—
I must bear with it, I suppose.”
Which is curiously paralleled by a verse quoted in the Sdhitya
Darpana : —
“The bees may fill every quarter with the sound of their hutn-
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THE NAGANANDA.
11
finger.) In this temple some goddess plays the lute in
propitiation of a deity.
Vidushaka.
Come, friend, let us too see the temple of the god.
Ji'mutavahana.
You say well. The gods should be revered. ( Going
up quickly , stopping.) But perhaps we are not worthy to
look. Let us then enter this tamala shrub, and wait for
an opportunity.
[ They do so.
Then enter seated on the ground ,* playing a lute, Malay-
avati, and a Servant Girl.
Malaya vat! (sings).
0 adored Gaurl, resplendent as with white pollen from
the filaments of full-blown lotuses, may my desire be
accomplished by thy favour !
JImiItavahana ( after hearing it).
0 friend, a capital song ! and first-rate music ! Dis-
tinctness is attained, even though she plays with her
bare fingers ; + good time is kept, clearly defined in due
mings ; and the breeze, rising from the groves of sandalwood,
may gently approach ; the playful tame cuckoos on the mango’s top
may make their musical fifth note ; but may my vital spirit, hard
as adamant, quickly go from me — let it be gone.” Comm, on (215).
* This was managed by drawing aside a curtain or drop-scene.
f Literally, “Distinctness is attained by the organ of touch,
though it be tenfold,” meaning that the playing was clear, though
she played without the metal instrument which they generally
use.
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THE NAGANANDA.
divisions of slow, medium, and quick ; the three pauses
are rendered in proper order with the “ gopuchchha ”
first ; the three modes of playing are fully shown in the
slow and quick accompaniments.*
Girl {affectionately).
0 princess, you have been playing for a long time.
How is it that your fingers are not tired ?
Malaya v at! {reproachfully).
Girl, how should my fingers be weary, when playing
before the goddess ?
Girl.
O princess, in my opinion there is little use in playing
before this cruel one, who, up to this time, shows no
favour to you ; though you have been so long a time
conciliating her with due observances, which come hard
on a young girl.
V IDUSHAKA.
It is only a girl after all. Why should we not look ?
JfMtfTAVAHANA.
What harm would there be in so doing! Women
may be looked at without sin. Yet, perhaps, if she
* Here again there is difficulty from the continual reference to
musical technicalities, and the translation is only conjectural.
The yati-trayam occurs in the Mdrkandeya Purana, xxiii. 54. I
have corrected the reading in the fourth line from tattwodydnugatds
to tattwaughdnugataa, from Dasa-rhpa, p. 178, where the passage is
quoted ; tattwa is “slow,” ogha “quick” time.
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THE NagAnaNDA.
13
saw us, through fear, which is easily excited in one at
her time of life, and of her character, she would not
remain long here. So we will simply look through this
network of Tamila branches.
We will do so.
VlDtiSHAKA.
[Both of them peep through.
ViDdSHAKA (after tooling, with astonishment).
O friend, see, see ! how wonderful ! Not only by her
knowledge of the lute does she cause delight, but her
beauty, corresponding to her skill, charms the eye.
Who can she be 1 Is she a goddess or a woman of
the Nigas 1 A princess of the Vidy id haras, or born of
the family of Siddhas 1
JImutavAhana (looking longingly).
Friend, who it is, I know not ; but this I do know,
if she be a goddess, the thousand eyes of Hari have
all they can wish. If she be a woman of the Nigas,
then, whilst her face is there, the lowest hell is not
without its moon. If she be of the Vidyidharas, then
our race surpasses all others. If she be born of a
family of Siddhas, then in the three worlds are the
Siddhas glorious.
VlDUSHAKA
(after looking at the hero, joyfully, aside).
Good luck ! Though after a long delay, he is at last
fallen into the power of love, or rather — (looking at
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THE NAGANANDA.
himself , and gesticulating eating ) — not so ; but into the
power of me single-handed, the Brahman.*
Girl ( affectionately ).
0 princess, do I not say, “ Where is the use of play-
ing before this cruel one 1 ”
[She throws down the lute.
MALAYAVATl (angrily).
Girl ! offend not the revered Gauri. Has not a favour
been done me by her this very day ?
Girl ( icith joy ).
O princess, what can it be ?
MALAYAVATi.
Girl, I know it well. To-day in a dream, as I was
playing this very lute, I was thus addressed by the
revered Gauri, — “ Child Malayavatl, I am well pleased
with your perfect knowledge of the lute, and with your
excessive devotion towards me, which is hard for a
young girl ; therefore before long a sovereign of the
Vidy&dharas shall be your husband.”
Girl (with delight).
If it is so, why do you call it a dream? Has not the
goddess given you the very desire of your heart ?
* The buffoon, who, as usual, is a Brahman, seems to anticipate
the pleasures of the coming wedding-feast. He feels that his
master is stepping from his sublime ascetic elevation down to his
own more mundane level.
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THE NAGANAXDA.
15
Vidusiiaka ( having heard).
Friend, surely this is a good opportunity to show
ourselves to the princess. Come, then, we will go up.
J IMUTAVaHANA.
I will not yet enter.
VlDtfSHAKA
(going up and forcibly dragging the hero, who resists).
Welcome to your highness ! Chaturika speaks the
truth. Here is the husband promised by the goddess.
MalayavatI
(standing up bashfully, pointing to the hero).
Girl, who is this ?
Girl ( after looking at the hero, aside).
From this form of his, which surpasses all others, I
conjecture that he is the man given through the favour
of the goddess.
[The heroine looks at the hero wistfully, and with modesty.
JImutavahana.
This form of thine, oh tremulous-eyed one, whose
full breasts are agitated by thy breathing, is sufficiently
fatigued by devotions. Why then, oh timid one, is it
further distressed at my presence 1
Malaya vat! (aside.)
Through excessive alarm I cannot stand facing him.
[. Looking at the hero sideways, and with a blush,
she stands somewhat turned away.
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THE NagAnANDA.
Girl.
Princess, what does all this mean 1
MalayavatI.
I cannot remain in his neighbourhood, .so come away.
We will go elsewhere.
[She wishes to rise.
VlDtfSIIAKA.
Alas ! she is scared. Shall I keep her just for a
moment, as I do any learning that I may have read 1
JiMtiTAVAHANA.
Where would be the harm of it 1
VlDtJSHAKA.
0 lady ! why this behaviour of yours in such a grove
as this, that a guest just arrived is not favoured by you
with a single word 1
Girl (after looking at the heroine, to herself).
Her eye seems pleased. I will speak to her. (Aloud.)
0 princess, the Brahman speaks fittingly. Good be-
haviour towards guests is becoming in you. Why,
then, do you stand as if distraught in your behaviour
towards so distinguished a one ; or rather, remain so if
you will, — I will do what is seemly. (Addressing the
hero.) Welcome to your highness! by occupying this
seat, let your highness add beauty to the spot.
VlDL'SHAKA.
Friend, she says well. Let us sit down here and rest
for a moment.
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THE NAGANANDA.
17
You are right.
JiMtfTAVAHANA.
[Both sit down.
Malay avat! ( addressing the servant girl).
0 laughter-loving one, act not thus. Perhaps some
Ascetic is looking, and he will set me down as a giddy-
one.
Then enters an Ascetic.
Ascetic.
1 am thus bidden by Kausika, the head of the family :
“ My child, S'&ndilya, the young king of the Siddhas,
Mitr&vasu, is gone to-day, at his father’s request, to seek
Prince Jimutavahana, the future monarch of the Vidyi-
dharas, who is somewhere here on the Malaya Mount, as
a husband for his sister Malayavatl, and perhaps the
limit of the time for the mid-day oblation will pass by
while Malayavatl awaits his return. Go, therefore, and
fetch her with you.” I am going, therefore, to the
temple of Gaurl in the sacred grove.
( Walking about, looking down on the ground, with surprise.)
Ah ! Whose footsteps have we here on the dusty
ground, having the sign of the chakra manifest 1 ( Look-
ing forward and seeing Jimutavahana.) Assuredly it will
be the footstep of this mighty man. For there is the
turban-like mass of hair visible on the scalp; there
shines a woolly tuft between the eyebrows ; * his eyes
resemble a lotus ; his chest vies with Hari ; and since
* Compare the signs of Buddha in Lalita-Vistara, ch. vii.
B
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THE NAGANANDA.
his feet are marked with the chakra, I conjecture that
he who rests here is assuredly one who has attained the
dignity of an emperor of the VidyAdharas. However,
away with doubt. It must surely be JimutavAhana him-
self. ( Seeing Malayavati.) Ah ! here is the princess
too. ( Looking at them both.) Destiny would at length
be acting in a straightforward manner did she unite this
pair, mutually suited to one another. ( Going up and
addressing the hero.) Welcome to your highness !
•RmiSTAVaHANA.
JimiitavAhana salutes your honour.
[ Wishes to rise.
Ascetic.
Do not rise; your highness should be respected by us,
for “A guest is every one’s master.”* Remain, then,
at your ease.
Malayavati.
Sir, I bow to you.
Ascetic ( turning to her).
My child, mayst thou marry a suitable husband !
0 princess, Kausika, the head of the family, sends word
to thee, “ The time of the mid-day oblation passes by,
come therefore quickly.”
Malayavati.
As the “Guru” + orders. {To herself .) On the one
side the orders of the “ Guru,” on the other the pleasure
* Compare Hitopadesa, i. 62. + The spiritual parent.
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THE NAGANANDA.
19
of the sight of the dear one. Thus my heart swings me
to and fro, perched on a see-saw of going and not going.
[Rising with a sigh, and looking at the hero with modesty
and affection , she goes out with the Ascetic.
JiMliTAViHANA
(with a sigh, looking longingly after the heroine).
By her whose departure is slow, by reason of the
rounded beauty of her form, an impress is stamped upon
my heart, even though she leaves me.
VlDtfSHAKA.-
Well, you have seen all there was to be seen !
The fire of my appetite rages, its fury doubled, so
to speak, by the heat of the rays of the mid-day sun.
Come, then, let us go forth, that I, the Brahman, having
become some one’s guest, may support my life with
bulbs, roots, and fruit, obtained from the Munis.
Ji'mutavaIIANA ( looking upwards).
The adorable thousand-rayed one has reached the
zenith ; for see, the lord of elephants with pallid cheeks,
their sandal-juice instantaneously dried off by the
excessive heat, as he fans his face with the breezes of
his broad ears, his chest all wet with the drops falling
from his trunk, endures a state of existence hard to be
borne even by the fainting Bignonia.
[Exeunt omnes.
END OF THE FIRST ACT OF THE kIgaNANDA.
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THE NAGANAKDA.
ACT II.
Then enters a Servant Girl.
Girl.
I am bidden by the Princess Malayavatf, “ Mano-
harikA, my respected brother, MitrAvasu, tarries long
to-day ) go, then, and inquire whether he has come or
not.” (She walks about.) Who can this be coming
hither in such haste. (Looking.) Why ! it is ChaturikA.
Then enters a Second Servant Girl.
First Girl (going up to her ).
Holla, ChaturikA ! why, avoiding me, do you go thus
hastily 1
Second Girl.
O ManoharikA, I am bidden by the Princess Malaya-
vati, “ ChaturikA, my body cannot endure the fatigue
of gathering flowers. My passion exceedingly torments
me, as though produced by autumnal sunshine. Go, then,
prepare the seat of moonstone in the arbour of sandal-
creepers, shadowed with the leaves of young plantain
trees.” I have done as ordered, and am going to inform
the princess.
First Girl.
Go, then, quickly and tell her, so that having gone
thither her fever may be alleviated.
Second Girl (laughingly to herself ).
Her fever is not of a nature to be thus relieved. In
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THE NAGANANDA.
21
my opinion, her fever will be augmented on seeing the
bower of sandal-creepers with its various delights.
(Aloud.) Go on, then, you. I too will go and inform
the princess that the moonstone seat is prepared.
[Exeunt.
END OF INTEBLUDE.
Then enters with a longing look Malayavatx and a
Servant Girl.
Malaya vat! ( with a sigh, to herself).
0 heart ! after having made my mouth dumb through
shyness towards him, thou art now gone to him of thine
own accord. Alas ! for thy selfishness ! (Aloud.) 0
ChaturikA ! point out to me the temple of Gauri.
Girl (to herself).
Though on the way to the bower of sandal-creepers, she
says, “ To the temple of Gauri ! ” (Aloud.) The princess
is on the way to the bower of young sandal-trees.
MALAYAVATf (with confusimi).
It is well that you remind me. Come then, we will
go thither.
Girl.
Let the princess come.
[MalayavatI goes to a different part of the stage.
Girl (looking back with uneasiness, to herself).
Alas, for her absence of mind ! Why, she is actually
gone towards the temple of the goddess ! (Aloud.) 0
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THE nAgAnAKDA.
lady ! is not the sandal-creeper bower in this direction 1
Come this way, then. (The heroine docs so with a mean-
ingless smile.)* Here we are at the sandal-creeper bower,
therefore let your ladyship enter and sit down on the
moonstone seat to recover yourself.
[Both sit down.
MalayavatI (with a sigh, to herself).
Lord of the flower-tipped arrows, f against that man
who surpasses you in beauty of form you do nothing at
all; but against me, though blameless, you are not
ashamed to strike, saying to yourself, “ She is a weak
woman.” (Looking at herself, and gesticulating as one in love.
Aloud.) Girl, how is it that even this sandal-creeper
bower, from which the sun’s rays are kept by the density
of the shoots, does not alleviate the pain of my fever ?
Girl.
I know the cause of this fever, but the princess is
unwilling to avow it.
Malaya VAT f (to herself).
I am seen through by her. Still I will ask. (Aloud.)
Girl, what is that which I will not avow 1 Come, tell
me this cause of yours.
Girl.
It is the man placed in your heart.
* This is one of the symptoms of love in a Hindu heroine. See
Sahitya-Darpana, sec. 151.
+ Kama, the Hindu Cupid, bears a bow with its string made of
bees, and its five arrows each tipped with a peculiar flower.
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Malay AVAT i {with joy and agitation, after rising and
advancing two or three steps).
Where — where is he ?
Girl {rising, with a smile).
0 lady, what he t
[Heroine sitting down ashamed, keeps her face bent down.
Girl.
Well, I will explain. This man who is established in
your affections was promised to you by the goddess in
a dream, and a moment after he was seen by you,
resembling Cupid without his flowery arrows. This
man, then, is the cause of your anguish, so that even
this bower of young sandal-trees, though cool in its very
nature, does not relieve the pain of your fever.
Malayavati {to herself).
1 am found out by Chaturikd. {Aloud.) Girl, well are
you named Chaturikd.'* Why should I longer conceal
it from you 1 I will tell you all.
Girl.
•
0 lady ! it is as good as told already. Where is the
use of more talk! You have had enough agitation.
Do not further excite yourself. As sure as my name is
Chaturikd, he too will not enjoy a moment of happiness
until he has again seen you. I have found out this too.
* Chaturikd, from chatura, clever, expert.
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THE NAGANANDA.
Malay a v ati (with tears).
Whence should I obtain so great bliss ?
Girl.
Say not so. How can he be happy when even Vishnu
has no happiness without Lakshnil oij his bosom.
MALAYAVATf.
Can a friend say anything but what is kind 1 But it
makes my passion distress me more, when I think how
I did not honour the noble hero with a single word, so
that he will say to himself, “That awkward girl is
wanting in respectful behaviour.” ( She iceeps.)
Girl.
O lady, do not give way! (To herself.) Yet how
should she not weep, since the great passion of her heart
distresses her more and more ? What then shall I now
do? I will place on her breast the juice of a sandal-
creeper spray. (Rising and plucking a sprig of sandal, and
squeezing out the juice, she places it on her breast. Aloud.)
0 lady, do I not say, “ Weep not ? ” Even this sandal-
juice, notwithstanding its nature, does not relieve thy
breast, since it is rendered warm by these tear-drops
falling unchecked.
[ Takes a plantain leaf and fans her.
Malayavati (checks her with a hand).
Do not fan me. Even the wind of the plantain leaf
is warm.
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THE nAGANANDA.
25
Girl.
Do not impute the fault to it. It is you who make
warm this wind of the plantain leaf, which is cool
through its contact with the gathered sandal shoots,
changing its nature with your sighs.
Mala yav ati (with tears).
Is there any means of checking this fever ?
Girl.
There is indeed. If he would but now come.
Then enters the hero with the Vidusiiaka.
JImutavAhana.
O Cupid, why are these purposeless arrows flung
against me, already so deeply wounded ? Since I was
looked on by her, regardless of the Muni’s presence,
when, as she turned, though but for a moment, she caused,
by the glance of her bright black eye, the trees of the
hermitage to appear flecked,* as though they had masses
of the skins of the dappled antelope gleaming suspended
from their boughs.
Vedushaka.
0 friend, where now is all thy firmness gone ?
Jimi5tavAhana.
Am I not firm beyond measure 1 What ! have I not
passed through the nights, though radiant with the moon ?
* The Hindus imagined that light came from the eye, and lighted
up any object gazed upon.
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26
THE NAQInANDA.
Do I not drink in the scent of the blue lotus ? and endure
the jasmine-scented evening winds ? Hear I not the
humming of the bees upon the lotus pond 1 That you
should thus openly taunt me, saying, “ He is wanting in
firmness in difficulties.” ( After considering.) Or rather,
it was not so wrongly said, my friend Atreya, for am I
not really wanting in firmness, since I cannot bear even
flowery arrows, shot by a bodiless archer, woman-hearted
that I am ! How then can I say to you, “ I am firm ? ”
YlDiisiiAKA (to himself).
Since he confesses his want of firmness, he reveals how
excessively troubled his heart must be. How shall I
divert it? {Aloud.) 0 friend, how is it that, neglecting
your parents, you have again come hither already ?
JfMtfTAVAHANA.
It is a suitable question. To whom should I tell it,
if not to you ? This very day I had a dream. I saw
yon loved one — ( pointing with a finger) — seated on a
moonstone seat in this sandal-creeper bower, in tears, as
if reproaching me in some love quarrel. I wish, there-
fore, to spend the remainder of the day in this sandal-
creeper bower, made pleasant by the late presence of the
loved one, as seen in my dream. Come, then, we will
g°-
[They walk about.
Girl ( after listening in trepidation).
0 lady, there is a noise like footsteps.
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27
Malayavati ( looking at herself with agitation).
Do not let any one, by seeing the state that I am in,
suspect the secret of my heart. Rise then. We will
conceal ourselves in this red asoka tree, and just see who
it is.
[ They do so.
Vidushaka.
Here is the sandal-creeper bower. So come along.
We will enter.
[ They enter.
JimutavAhana.
Even this sandal-creeper bower with its moonstone
seat delights me not, abandoned as it is by the moon-
faced one, like the face of night without its moonlight.
Girl (having peeped).
Lady, I give you joy. Is not this the very person
on whom your heart is set?
Malayavati (with joy and agitation, after looking).
0 girl, now that I have seen him, through my extreme
agitation I cannot remain here so near him. Suppose
he should see us ! Come, we will go elsewhere. (After
going one step, longingly.) How my feet tremble !
Girl (with a smile).
O timid one ! who can see you as you stand here ?
Do you forget the red asoka tree? Let us then sit down,
and remain here.
[ They do so.
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THE NAGANANDA.
V idusiiaka (( looking about).
Here, my friend, is that very moonstone seat.
[Uero sighs with tears.
Girl.
0 lady, I think their talk is about a dream. Let us
listen then attentively.
[They both listen.
ViduSHAKA ( touching him with his hand).
My friend, do I not say, “ Here is that moonstone
seat 1 ”
Ji'muTAVaiiana (sighing, with a tear).
It is well guessed. ( Pointing to it with his hand.)
This is that very moonstone seat on which I saw the
loved one; her pale face reclined upon her left shoot-
like hand, and her breast heaving with deep sobs. When
I delayed to soothe her, her fit of anger passed away ;
and her slightly-quivering lip and burst of tears betrayed
the real state of her feelings. We will sit therefore on
this moonstone seat.
[They both sit down.
MALAYAVATl ( after considering).
Who now can she be whom he thus talks about ?
Girl.
Just as we unobserved are looking at him, so I hope
you too have not been seen by him.
MALAYAVATf.
It is possible. But then again, he is talking fondly
about some one with whom he had a love quarrel.
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29
Girl.
Lady, do not have such a suspicion, but let us listen
further.
Vidushaka (to himself).
This sort of talk pleases him, so I will continue it.
(Aloud.) Friend, how then was this weeping one ad-
dressed by you ?
Jimutavahana.
She was thus addressed : “ This moonstone seat, mois-
tened with the water of tears, seems as if oozing with
dew from the rising of thy moonface.”
Malayavati (angrily).
0 ChaturikA ! what more than this need we hear 1
Come, then, we will go.
Girl (taking her by the hand).
Lady, say not so. It is you alone whom he saw in his
dream. His glance, resting on another, w'ould find no
pleasure.
MalayavatI.
My heart is not convinced. So we will just wait until
the end of this conversation.
Jimi5tavailyna.
1 know what I will do. I will draw her on this stone
seat, and amuse myself by looking on her picture. Go,
then, and fetch me some pieces of red arsenic from the
mountain side.
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30
THE NagAnaNDA.
V IDl)SHAKA.
Whatever your highness orders. ( Walking about, he
picks up something, and returns to him.) You asked for
one colour ; but I have brought you some pieces from
which you may easily get the five colours.* Let your
highness draw.
[Gives him something.
JlMtfTAVlHANA.
Well done, my friend. {He takes it and draws upon the
stone, with rapture.) See, my friend, even the sight of
this first outline of the beloved face gladdens me, as a
digit of the new moon, — that face which is a very feast
to the eyes, beautiful as its full unimpaired disc.
[lie continues drawing.
Vidushaka ( looking on with curiosity).
Though she is not in sight, her very form is depicted.
Well, it is marvellous.
JImiJtavahana {with a smile).
O friend ! the beloved is in my presence, brought be-
fore me by my -wishes. If, as I continually see her, I
draw her, where is the marvel 1
Malayavati {with tears).
0 ChaturikA ! I know well the end of this discourse.
Come, then, we will go and look for MitrAvasu.
* The five coldun. — The St Petersburg Dictionary, under “varaa,”
gives a reference for these five colours to Kdtydyana’s S'rauta-sfitra,
xxii. 9, 13, where they are described as — blue, yellow, red, brown,
and variegated (?).
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31
Girl {with despair, to herself).
Her impatience is regardless even of her very life.
{Aloud.) 0 lady ! has not Manoharika gone to him ?
Perhaps, then, your brother Mitrdvasu is on his way
here.
Then enters Mitravasu.
Mitravasu.
I am thus bidden by my father, “ My child Mitrd-
vasu, this Jfmutavahana, by living so near us, has been
well observed ; therefore he is a suitable son-in-law.
Let, then, our child Malayavatl be given to him.” As
for myself, through my dependence on her affection, I
suffer a vaiiable state of feeling ; for, on the one hand,
this young man is the ornament of the race of Vidyd-
dhara kings, is clever, approved by the good, unrivalled
in beauty, endowed with valour, is wise and modest ;
but, on the other hand, he would readily give up his
life, through pity, on behalf of any living creature.
Thus, when yielding up my peerless sister to such an one,
I feel both satisfaction and sorrow. I have heard that
Jfmutavdhana is in the sandal-creeper bower, adjoining
the grove of Gauri. This is that bower, so I will enter.
[Enters.
Vidusiiaka {seeing him, with excitement).
0 friend ! cover over with this plantain leaf, that girl
you have just drawn in the picture. Here, surely, is
Mitrdvasu, the young prince of the Siddhas, just arrived.
Perhaps he will see it.
[The hero covers it with the plantain leaf.
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THE NAGANANDA.
Mitravasu {entering).
Prince, Mitrdvasu bows to you.
J imutavAhana {looking at him).
Welcome to Mitravasu. Take a seat here.
Girl.
0 lady ! your brother, Mitrdvasu, has arrived.
Malayavati.
1 am well pleased to hear it.
Jimutavaiiana.
0 Mitrfivasu ! is Visv&vasu, the king of the Siddhas,
well 1
Mitravasu.
He is well. By the command of my father I am come
into your presence.
Jimutavahana.
What says his Highness ?
MalayavatI.
1 will just hear what salutation has been sent by my
father.
Mitravasu {with tears).
My father says, “ I have a daughter, by name Malaya-
vati, who is, so to speak, the very life of all this race of
Siddha-rajas. She is presented by. me to thee. Let her
be accepted.”
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33
Girl {smiling).
O lady ! why are you not angry now ?
Malayavati {with a blush and smiling, standing with
face bent down).
Do not laugh, girl. Have you forgotten that his
heart is set on another ?
Ji'mutavaHANA {aside).
My friend, we are fallen into a difficulty.
VlDuSHAKA {aside).
Ah ! I perceive. With the exception of her, your
mind is not satisfied with any other. Let him, then, be
dismissed with some civil speech or other.
Malayavati {angrily, to herself).
Cruel one, who does not know what this means ?
JiMUTAVaHANA.
Who in the world would not desire so honourable an
alliance as that with your Highness ? But a mind set
in one direction cannot be readily turned in another.
So that I cannot accept her.
[. Heroine faints.
Girl.
Bevive, my lady.
VlDuSHAKA {to Mitrdvasu).
Since he is altogether dependent on others, what is
the use of questioning him f Go, then, to his parents
and ask them.
c
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THE NAGAXANDA.
MitraVASU {to himself).
It is well said. He will not disobey his parents.
Ilis father dwells here in the precinct of Gaud. So I
will go there, and cause Malayavati to be accepted for
him by his father.
[The heroine comes to herself.
Mitravasu.
Assuredly the prince knows best, who has refused us
after we have opened our hearts.
Malayavati {Imighing angrily).
How ! Mitr&vasu still talks with him, though
humbled by rejection !
[Exit Mitr&vasu.
Malayavati {to herself, looking at herself ivith tears).
What is the use of still supporting this body of mine,
defiled by ill-fortune, filled with excessive woe ! I will
hang myself to yonder Asoka tree with this Atimukta
creeper, and so put an end to my life. So it shall be.
{Aloud, with a meaningless smile.) Girl, just see whether
Mitr&vasu has gone or not, so that I, too, may depart.
Girl
{having gone a few steps, and looking back : to herself).
I see that she has some intention different to her
words ; so I will not go, but, concealed here, will see
what she intends to do.
Malayavati
{looking all round, and taking the noose , with tears).
0 revered Gaurf ! since your promise has not been
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THE NAGANANDA.
35
fulfilled in this world, you will contrive that I be not
equally full of sorrow in another state of existence.
[So speaking , she places the noose on her neck.
Girl (running up with agitation).
Help, your highness, help ! Here is the princess
trying to destroy herself by hanging.
Jimutavahana (rushing up with excitement).
Where ? Where is she ?
Girl.
Here, in this Asoka tree.
J iMtfTAVAHANA ( looking joyfully).
This is the very object of my passion.
[He takes the heroine by the hand, and casts aside
the noose.
Jimutavahana.
Assuredly no such attempt should be made. 0 lovely
one ! remove from the creeper this hand, which vies with
it in beauty. How could that hand, which I do not
consider strong enough even to gather flowers, grasp a
noose to hang yourself with 1
MalayavatI ( with agitation).
Girl, who is this 1 ( Looking at him angrily, she wishes
to cast off his hand.) Loose me, let go my hand. Who
are you to stop me ? What ! must you be sued even in
death 1
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THE NAGANANDA.
JillriTAVlHANA.
How should I release your guilty hand, which was
caught in the very act of placing a noose on a neck fit
only for strings of pearls ?
Vidushaka.
What could have been the cause of this determination
of hers to die ?
Girl.
Was it not this friend of yours 1
JImutavahana.
How ! I the cause of her death ? I do not under-
stand.
Vidushaka.
0 lady ! how do you mean ?
Girl ( meaningly ).
It was that loved one, whoever she is, that was painted
by your friend on the stone. My mistress took this
determination in a fit of despair, saying to herself,
“ Through his devotion to that woman, I am not ac-
cepted, even when offered to him by Mitrdvasu.”
JimutavaHANA ( joyfully , to himself).
How, then ! This is that Malayavatf, daughter of
Visvdvasu ! Yet, except from the ocean, how could
there be the birth of a digit of the moon 1 * Ah ! How
I have been taken in by her !
* The moon is fabled to have been produced from the ocean
when it was churned by th>* gods for ambrosia.
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THE Ni.GANAXDA.
37
VlDUSHAKA.
0 lady ! if this be so, my friend here is blameless. If
you do not believe me, however, go yourself and look
on the surface of the stone.
[The heroine , with joy and modesty , looking at the
hero, draws away her hand.
JimutavaHANA (with a smile).
1 will not release it, until you have seen the object of
my passion, drawn on the stone.
[All walk about.
Vidushaka ( having taken off the plantain leaf).
O lady ! look. Behold the individual his heart is
set on.
Malaya vati (haring looked at it, aside, smiling).
0 Chaturikd ! it is as if my very self were drawn
there.
Girl (looking at the picture and at the heroine).
O lady ! why do you say, “ It is as if myself were
drawn there”! So exact is the likeness, that I do not
know whether it is a reflection of you cast on the stone,
or a drawing.
Malayavati (with a smile).
Girl, I am put to shame by him, showing me drawn
in a picture.
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38
THE KAGANANDA.
VlDliSKAKA.
Your GAndharva marriage* is now complete, so you
may release her hand. Here comes some one in great
haste.
[The hero releases her.
{ Then enters a Servant Girl.)
Servant Girl {joyfully).
0 lady ! good luck to you. You are accepted by the
parents of JimutavAhana.
VrodSHAKA {dancing about).
He ! he ! The desires of my friend are fulfilled, or
rather, I should say, of her highness Malayavati ; or
still better, not so much of either of these, as {gesticulat-
ing eating) of me, the Brahman.
Servant Girl {addressing Malayavati').
1 am bidden by the young king MitrAvasu, “ This is
the marriage day of Malayavati ; go therefore quickly,
and fetch her.” Come, then, let us go.
Vidushaka.
0 daughter of a slave, how can my friend remain here,
when you have taken her away 1
* A gandharva marriage is one of the eight forms of marriage
mentioned by Manu, Book III. It is formed by the parties them-
Belves through mutual affection, without any previous family
arrangement.
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THE NAGANANDA.
39
Servant Girl.
Desist, base one. Hasten, hasten. It is full time for
your bath.
[The heroine, looking affectionately and with modesty
at the hero, goes out with her attendants.
Herald (■ reciting behind the scenes).
Lending to Mount Malaya a splendour like that of
Meru, by reason of the showers of scented powder, — and
all at once having the beauty of the mild sunshine of
early dawn, through the red-lead dust, — the Siddha-world
announces, by the songs of nymphs, rendered delightful
by the sounding of their jingling anklets of red gems,
that the time for your marriage bathing has arrived,
which brings completion of your wishes.
VlDiiSHAKA (after hearing this).
0 friend ! the time for bathing has come opportunely.
JimiItavahana (Joyfully).
If so, why do we stop here? Come on. We will
salute my father, and go to the bath.
[Exeunt omnes.
END OF SECOND ACT OF THE NAGANANDA.
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THE NAGANANDA.
ACT III.
Then enters intoxicated, his garments tumbled and stained,
with a cup in his hand, a Parasite, and a Slave,
carrying a vessel of wine on his shoulder.
Parasite.
These are the only two gods for me — the one who is
always drinking, and the one who brings lovers together
— Baladeva * and Kftma-deva. ( Reels about.) Assuredly
the life of me, Sekharaka, is very prosperous, since in
my bosom is a loved lady, in my mouth lotus-scented
wine, and on my head a garland, like a perpetual
minister to my wants. (Stumbles.) Halloa ! Who is
pushing against me now 1 (With joy.) Assuredly
Navam&likA makes game of me.
Slave.
She is not yet come, sir.
Parasite (angrily).
The marriage of Malayavatl took place in the first
watch ; how, then, is she not come yet, though it is
morning? (Thinking for a time, with joy.) I suppose
that at the marriage feast all the Siddhaand Vidy&dhara
people, with their friends and acquaintances, are enjoy-
ing the delight of drinking in the flower-garden ; so
that there Navamhlikd will be looking out for me. So
* Baladeva, the elder brother of Krishna, celebrated for his
drinking exploits ; a sort of Bacchus.
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THE NagAnaNDA.
41
I will now go there. What is S'ekharaka without
Navamalika 1 *
[He begins to go out , staggenng.
Slave.
Come along, sir. Here is the flower-garden. Be
pleased to enter.
Then enters the Yidushaka, with a pair of garments
on his shoulder.
VlDtiSHAKA.
The desires of my dear friend are fulfilled. I am told
that he is on his way to the flower-garden. So I will
now go there. ( Walking and looking about.) Here is the
flower-garden. I will enter. ( After entering, gesticulat-
ing as if annoyed by bees.) Halloa ! Why now do these
odious bees attack me 1 ( Smelling himself.) Ah ! I see
how it is. I have been respectfully decked with per-
fumes by the relations of Malayavatf, as the bride-
groom's friend, and a garland of Sant&na flowers has
been placed upon my head, and now that very respect
has become a cause of annoyance. What shall I do 1
Having dressed myself as a woman with these pieces of
red cloth, which I have brought from Malayavatf, I will
go on, using the upper garment as a veil. We will see
what these villanous bees will then do.
[He docs so.
Parasite (observing him, joyfully).
Halloa ! slave. ( Pointing laughingly with his finger.)
* Both these names are significant. Sekharaka properly means
a garland, and Navatudlikif the double-jasmine.
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THE NAGANANDA.
Here is surely Navamdlikd. She has seen me, and, in
a rage at my long delay, puts on her veil and turns
away. So I will appease her with caresses.
[Going up, with a laugh, and embracing the Vidushaka,
he tries to put some betel nut in his mouth.
VlDtfSHAKA ( perceiving the smell of wine, holds his nose,
and turns away his face).
How now 1 Having but just escaped the attack of
bees of one sort, I am assailed by an odious bee of a
different nature.*
Parasite.
Why do you turn away your face in anger 1 ( Prostrat-
ing himself, and placing the Vidusiiaka’S foot on his head.)
Be appeased, O Navamdlikd !
Then enters a Servant Girl.
Girl.
I am bidden by the queen — “ 0 NavamAliki, go to the
flower-garden, and say to the keeper, Pallavikd, * To-day,
prepare the tamdla-bower with especial care, for the
bridegroom and Malayavati are going thither.’ ” I have
given the message to Pallavikd ; and I will now seek my
dear friend, Sekharaka, whose passion will be increased
by my night’s absence. ( Seeing him.) Here he is.
{Angrily.) How now ! He is courting some other
woman ! I will just stop, and find out who she is.
* A pun on the word “ madhukara,” which means both a “ bee ”
and a “lover.”
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THE NAGANAXDA.
43
Parasite {joyfully).
He who, through excessive pride, bows not to Siva,
Vishnu, or Brahma, that same Sekharaka falls at thy
feet, O Navam&likd.
VlDtfsHAKA.
Oh drunken wretch, there is no Navamdlikd here.
Girl ( looking , with a smile).
S'ekharaka, overcome with wine, is soothing his
reverence Xtreya in mistake for me. I will put on a
pretence of anger, and have a game with them.
Slave {having seen the Servant Girl, shaking S'ek-
haraka with his hand).
Sir, let her go. It is not NavamAlikl Here is
Navam£lik&, just come, and looking on, with eyes lit up
with anger.
Girl {going up).
Well, Sekharaka, whom are you courting here ?
ViduSHAKA {letting the veil drop).
O lady, it is only I, an ill-fated Brahman.
Parasite {recognising the Vidushaka).
Halloa ! You tawny monkey, would you too deceive
Sekharaka 1 Come, slave, take hold of him, whilst I
soothe Navam&likA.
Slave.
Whatever my master orders.
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THE NAGAKANDA.
Parasite (Jetting go the Vidusiiaka, and falling at the
feet of the Servant Girl).
Be be appeased, appeased, 0 Navam&liki !
Vidusiiaka (Jo himself).
This seems a good opportunity to make off.
[ Tries to get away.
Slave (grasping the Vidusiiaka by his Brahmanical cord,
which is broken in the struggle).
Where are you off to, you tawny monkey ?
[ Binding him round the neck by the upper
garment, he drags him along.
VlDUSHAKA.
O lady, Navam&likd, be appeased. Make him release
me.
Girl.
If you fall at my feet, with your head on the ground.
[She laughs.
VlDtfSHAKA (with anger , and trembling).
Alas ! How can I, who am a Brahman, and friend of
the king of the Gandharvas, fall at the feet of the
daughter of a slave ?
Girl (shaking her finger at him, and smiling).
I will compel you to bow presently. — Get up, S'ek-
haraka, get up. I am satisfied. (She embraces him.)
But here the dear friend of the bridegroom has been
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THE xAgaSANDA.
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insulted by you, and I daresay your master, Mitravasu,
will be angry on hearing of it. So you had better pay
respect to him.
Parasite.
Whatsoever Navamdlikd orders. ( After embracing the
VlDiiSHAKA.) 0 sir, you were joked with by me, think-
ing you were one of my relations. ( Reeling about.) Am
I really S'ekharaka 1 Has any joke really been made 1
( Making his upper garment into a bundle , he offers it as a
seat.) Let my relation take a seat here.
Vidushaka (to himself).
Thank goodness ! he has passed the violent stage of
his drunkenness.
[He sits down.
Parasite.
O Navamdlikd, do you take a seat at his side, so that
1 may pay my respects to you both at once.
[Servant Girl, with a laugh , sits down.
Parasite (taking up the drinking-cup).
Slave, fill this to the brim with wine.
[Slave gesticulates the filling of the cup.
Parasite (taking some flowers from the garland on his head,
puts them into the cup, and kneeling on both knees, pre-
sents it to Navamalika).
0 Navamdlikd, taste it, and pass it to him.
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THE NAGANANDA.
Girl (with a smile).
Whatever you wish.
[ Tastes, and gives it lack. '
Parasite
(presenting th-e cup to the Vidushaka).
This cup, with its contents specially flavoured by con-
tact with the lips of Navam&likA, has never before been
tasted, except by S'ekharaka. Drink, therefore. What
greater honour could I show you 1
YidCsiiaka (icith a very forced smile).
O S'ekharaka, I am a Brahman.
Parasite.
If so, where is your ninefold thread ? *
VlDtfSHAKA.
It was dragged and broken by that slave.
Girl ( laughingly ).
Iiecite to us, then, some verses of the Yedas.
Vidushaka.
0 lady, what have the smell of wine and verses of the
Vedas in common ? t However, I have no wish to argue
with you. The Brahman falls at your feet.
[ Offers to fall at her feet.
* See Manu II. 44, Comm.
t In Manu IV. 3, a priest is forbidden to pronounce texts of the
Veda, “ as long as the scent and uuctuosity of perfumes remain on
his body” after an entertainment.
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47
Girl ( checking him with loth hands).
Your reverence must not do so. O S'ekharaka, get
away, get away ; he is really a Brahman.* (She falls at
the feet of the Vidushaka.) O sir, do not nurse your
wrath. This was only a piece of friendly joking.
Parasite (to himself).
I too had better appease him. ( Falling at his feet ,
aloud.) Let your reverence forgive me for having
offended under the influence of wine. I will now go
with Navam&likd to the drinking-booth.
Vidushaka.
I forgive you. Be off, both of you. I too will go
and see my dear patron.
[ Exeunt Parasite, with Slave, and
Servant Girl.
Vidushaka.
The untimely death of a Brahman has been averted.
But since I am defiled by contact wflth this drunken
youth, I will just bathe in this tank. (He does so.
Looking towards the tiring-room.) Here comes my dear
friend, supporting Malayavati, like Krishna supporting
Bukmiin.t I will go and attend upon them.
Then enters the hero, dressed in marriage garments, with
MalayavatI, and a suitable retinue.
JImAtavahana
(looking, with rapture, at Malayavati).
When looked upon, she casts down her eye; when
* See Manu XI. 206.
t Ruktnini was the chief wife of Krishna. See Prem Sdgar,
ch. lxxxiii.
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THE NAG AN AND A.
addressed, she makes no reply ; on the couch, she remains
turned away ; when excessively embraced, she trembles ;
when her friends leave the room, she too wishes to go
out : through the very perversity of her behaviour my
newly-married love is still more to my liking. ( Looking
at MalayavatI.) 0 beloved Malayavatl, a vow of
silence was kept by me, though accustomed to answer
in haughty tones ; this body of mine was bathed in the
rays of the sun and moon, and in the flames of forest
fires ; and I was rapt in total abstraction of mind for
many days and nights. Surely the fruit of all that
penance is, that I now behold this face of thine.
Mala yav at! (aside).
O ChaturikA, he is not only pleasant to the eye, but
he knows also how to speak in a flattering manner.
Girl (smiling).
You might say so, if he was flattering. But where is
the flattery in this 1
J lMtfTAVAHANA.
0 Chaturikd, point out the path to the flower-garden.
Girl.
This way’, my lord.
Jimutavaiiana
(walking about, addressing the heroine).
Let your ladyship come just as you are. The weight
of your breasts themselves tends to weary you ; why,
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THE hAgAnANDA.
49
then place a pearl ornament on your waist ? The
weight of your hips is wearisome, — much more this
girdle ! There is hardly sufficient power in your feet to
carry your limbs, far less your anklets ! Your limbs
being so lovely, why should you wear ornaments that
only tend to weary you 1
Girl.
Here is the flower-garden. Be pleased to enter.
[All enter.
JiMutavAhana ( looking round).
Well, truly the beauty of the flower-garden is great !
Here the droppings from the sandal-trees cool the
creeper-bower with its tesselated pavement. The pea-
cock dances yet more wildly to the shrill sound of the
shower-baths. The cascade, brown with the pollen of
flowers, shaken from the trees by the impetuous foam,
falls with a rush from the machine, and fills the basins
at the foot of the trees. Again, these bees, making the
creeper-bower resound with their attempts at song,
as they drink in abundant honey, in company with
their wives, covered with a perfumed dust by the
pollen of flowers, seem to enjoy on every side a drinking
festival.
[VlDUSHAKA comes up.
VlDllSHAKA.
Victory to your highness ! Welcome to your ladyship !
J1mi)tavAhana.
0 friend ! you have been very long in coming.
D
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THE NAGANAXDA.
VlDtfSHAKA.
I am come as soon as I could. But I delayed so long
walking about, through curiosity to see the drinking of
the VidyAdharas and Siddhas, intermingled at the mar-
riage feast. Do you, too, just take a look at them.
J f miItavahana.
We will do as you say. {Looking on all sides.) Friend,
see, see ! Their limbs anointed with yellow sandal, and
wearing wreaths of SantAna flowers, with their bright
garments variegated by the mixture of rays from their
jewelled ornaments, these VidyAdharas and Siddhas, in-
termingled beneath the shade of the sandal-trees, drink
the nectar, just tasted and left by their loved ones.
Come, we will go to the tamAla avenue.
[Walks about.
VlDflSHAKA.
Here is the tamAla avenue. Her ladyship appears
fatigued with walking to it. Let us therefore sit down
on this crystal seat, and rest.
JimutavAhana.
Friend, it is well suggested. The face of my dear one,
after having worsted the moon by the pale beauty of its
cheeks, now surely wishes to surpass the lotus when
reddened by the sun’s rays. ( Taking the heroine by the
hand.) Dear one, let us sit down.
Malayavati.
Whatever my husband bids me.
[All sit down.
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JImt^tavahana.
(raising the heroine's face, and looking at it).
Dear one, to no purpose hast thou been wearied by
us, through our anxiety to see the flower garden, since
this face of thine, resplendent with its creepers of eye-
brows and shoot-like pink lips, is a very garden of para-
dise. Compared with this, every garden is but a jungle.
Girl (addressing the Vidushaka, with a smile).
You have heard how he describes the princess. I will
now paint you.
Vidushaka (gladly).
O lady ! I am alive again now. Pray, then, do me
the favour in your best style, that yon fellow may never
again call me a tawny monkey.
Girl.
Sir, you seemed lovely to me at the marriage watch,
with your eyes shut through drowsiness. Therefore
stand like that for me to paint you.
[Vidushaka does so.
Girl (to herself).
Whilst he stands with his eyes shut, I will blacken his
face with the juice of a tam&la shoot, which will do as
well as indigo.
[Rising and squeezing a tamdla shoot,
she blackens his face.
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THE nAgAnANDA.
(The hero and heroine look at the VrotfSHAKA.)
JfMtfTAVAHANA.
Friend, you are in luck, being painted, with us for
spectators.
[Heroine laughs on seeing VidiIshaka’s face.
J imutavAhana ( looking in her face).
0 lovely-eyed one ! the springing of the blossom of a
smile is seen on your shoot-like lower lip, but the fruit
is seen elsewhere, namely, in the eyes of me as I gaze.
VlDtfSHAKA.
Madam, what have you done?
Girl.
Why, are you not painted ?
VlDbSHAKA (after rubbing his hand over his face and
looking at it, raising his staff).
O daughter of a slave ! the royal family are present.
What shall I do to you ? — Alas ! notwithstanding your
royal presence, I am blackened by this daughter of a
slave. How can I remain here ? I will be off.
[Exit.
Girl.
His reverence Atreya is vexed with me. I will go
and conciliate him.
Malayavati.
0 ChaturikA ! whither do you go, leaving me all alone ?
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53
Girl (pointing to the hero, and smiling).
May you be long in such solitude !
[Exit.
J f M utavaH AN A ( looking in the face of heroine).
0 lovely one ! if this fac.e of thine, with its pink flush
as it is lighted up by the sun’s rays, and with its soft down
revealed by the spreading gleam of its teeth, is really a
lotus, w'hy is not a bee seen drinking the honey from it?*
(Heroine, laughing, turns her face another way.)
(Hero repeats the same sentence.)
Girl
(entering with a hurried toss of the curtain, and coming up).
Here is the noble Mitrdvasu, desirous to see the prince
on some business.
JImutavahana.
Dear one, do you go to the house. I too will soon
come, after I have seen Mitrdvasu.
[Exit heroine with servant girl.
Then enters MitrAvasu.
Mitravasu.
Whilst that enemy is still unslain, how can I without
a sense of shame say to Jimfitavdhana, “ Your kingdom
is seized by an enemy?” Still, it is not right to go
without informing him. So I will tell him and then go.
O prince ! Mitrdvasu salutes you.
* A polite way of asking for a kiss. See note on p. 42.
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THE nAgAnANDA.
JfMtfTAVAHANA (on seeing MitrAvasu).
Pray, be seated.
[Mitravasu takes a seat, keeping his eyes fixed on him,
J imuTAVaHANA ( looking steadily at him).
0 Mitrdvasu ! you seem vexed.
Mitravasu.
Who would be put out by one so despicable as
Matanga 1
JImutavAhana.
Wliat has Matanga been doing 1
MitrAvasu.
Assuredly to his own destruction, he has attacked
your kingdom.
JimutavAhana (with joy, to himself).
Oh ! would that it were true !
MitrAvasu.
Therefore let the prince deign to give orders for his
destruction. What need of talking long about it 1 As
soon as, at thy command, the Siddhas are gone hence to
battle, making the day dark by clouding the sun, as if it
were the rainy season, with their heaven-traversing chariots
crowding on every side, — your monarchy, whose zemin-
dars are temporarily bowing through fear of this haughty
enemy, will at once be regained. What need though of
great multitudes 1 By me, single-handed, shining with
an aureole of rays from the quickly-drawn sword, behold
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THE NAGANANDA.
55
the coward Matanga already slain on the battle-field,
like a mighty elephant by a lion which has sprung on
him from afar.
J iMUTAViHANA ( to himself, covering his ears).
•
Ah ! how cruelly he speaks ! However, let it pass.
(Aloud.) 0 Mitr&vasu 1 what is all this? Even some-
thing more than this might be possible for you, with
such strong arms. But how should I, a man who through
pity, though unasked, would give up his own body for
the sake of another, permit the cruelty of destroying life
for the sake of a kingdom ? For my part, I can conceive
no enemy except the Klesas.* If, then, you would
please me, pity that poor wretch, who, for the sake of
kingly power, has become a slave to the Klesas.
MitrIvasu (bitterly).
One, forsooth, who has done so much good to us, and
is in such misfortune, is well worthy of pity !
J f miItavahana (to himself).
His wrath is not to be averted. His mind, swayed
by passion, cannot be turned aside. Well, let it be.
(Aloud.) Rise, we will go in-doors. There I will advise
you. The day is now ended, — for yonder sun, the sole
object worthy of adulation, whose favour is solely for
* Klesas . — The kleffos are well known in Buddhist theology.
See Bumouf, “ Lotus de la bonne loi,’’ App. II. They are the ten
vices, thus divided : — Three of the body, murder, theft, adultery ;
four of speech, lying, slander, abuse, unprofitable conversation ;
three of the mind, covetousness, malice, scepticism. In the Yoga
philosophy there are five : ignorance, egotism, desire, hatred, tena-
city of existence.
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THE nIgaXANDA.
the good of others, is looked on by the Siddhas, with
their voices loud in continual praise, as he goes to rest,
having vivified the universe with his rays, whose sole
business is to fill the eight quarters with light, and to
keep off from the lotus buds the binding seal of sleep.
[Exeunt omnes.
END OF THE THIKD ACT.
ACT IV.
Then enter a Chamberlain carrying two red garments,
and a Doorkeeper.
Chamberlain.
I, who issue commands for the seraglio, who watch
for trippings at every step, now, weak through old age,
make my resemblance to a king perfect by handling a
“ danda.” *
Doorkeeper.
0 reverend Vasubhadra ! whither are you going?
Chamberlain.
1 am bidden by the queen, the mother of Mitrdvasu : “O
chamberlain ! for ten days you should take red garments
to Malayavati and my son-in-law.” Now the daughter
is remaining in her father-in-law’s household, and Jimfi-
tavkhana is gone to-day with the young king to see the
* We have here a pun, as the word dawda-nlti means both “pun-
ishment and policy ” and “the handling of a staff.’’
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THE NAOAnANDA.
57
sea-shore, as I have heard. Whether, then, shall I go
to the king’s daughter or to the son-in-law ]
Doorkeeper.
Sir, you had better go to the princess, for perhaps by
this time the son-in-law will have come there of his own
accord.
Chamberlain.
You advise well. But whither are you yourself now
going]
Doorkeeper.
I am commissioned by King VisvAvasu to go and tell
MitrAvasu, “Since in this festival of ‘Dfpa-pratipad’*
some present should be given to Malayavati and the
bridegroom, therefore come and think of something
suitable to the occasion.”
[Exeunt both.
Then enter Ji'mutavAhana and MitrAvasu.
JlMbTAVAHANA.
A green glade for a couch, a white stone for a seat, a
dwelling beneath the trees, the cool water of a cascade
for drink, roots for food, the deer for companions, — in
the forest which thus abounds in all that one could wish,
unsought, there is this one fault, that, through the ab-
sence of suppliants, we live there to no purpose, having
no opportunity of assisting others.
* “ Dtpa-pratipad ” may mean the first day of the bright fortnight,
or perhaps a festival corresponding to the Feast of Lanterns.
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THE NAGANANDA.
Mitravasu ( looking upwards).
Prince, hasten, hasten ! It is time for the flow of the
tide.
JiMtfTAViHANA ( listening ).
You are right. An ear-deafening noise arises, made
by the repeated flappings of the ears of the sea-monsters
as they emerge, and causing the interiors of all the
mountain caves to re-echo. Here comes the tide, white
with the innumerable shells which it tosses on its waves.
Mitravasu.
It is indeed come. See ! this ocean tide is brilliant
with its many-coloured gems, and has its waters scented
by the eructations of the sea-monsters, who have fed on
the young shoots of the clove-trees.*
JimiItavahana.
0 MitrAvasu ! see again. These slopes of Malaya have
all the splendour of the peaks of the snow mountains,
by reason of the veils of white autumnal clouds.
Mitravasu.
These are not the slopes of Malaya. These are heaps
of the bones of N Agas.
J im utavaiiaxa (sorrowfully) .
Alas ! wherefore were they thus slain by wholesale I
* Compare the passage in Indumati’s Swayamvara, Raghuvanla,
vi. 57, where Sunondii recommends the princess to choose the King
of Kalinga or Coromandel : “ Wander with him on the banks of the
ocean, resonant with the murmurs of the palm groves, while the
summer heat is cooled by the breezes which bear the flowers of the
clove-tree, wafted from other lands*”
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59
MlTRAVASU.
They were not slain by wholesale. Just listen to this :
At this place Garuda* was in the habit of devouring
one snake daily, catching it up from hell, whilst the
whole contents of the ocean were cleft asunder from top
to bottom by the wind of his wings.
Ji'm^tavaHANA (in a mournful tone).
Alas ! his deed was most cruel. And then 1
MlTRAVASU.
Then Garuda was addressed by V.4suki,+ who feared
annihilation of the whole serpent race
Ji'MbTAVAHANA ( with respect).
Did he say, “ Eat me first ” 1
MlTRAVASU.
No, no.
JiMtfTAViHANA.
What then 1
MitrAvasu.
This is what he said : “ Through fear of your furious
descent, the embryos of the snakes are prematurely born
by thousands, and the young ones perish ; so that ou r
continuous line of descent is cut off, and your own in-
terests are destroyed. Therefore that snake, for the
* Garuc?a, son of Vinatft and Kas'yapa, is the king of birds, like
the fabled roc, and the ruthless enemy of the snakes or Niigas.
f Viisuki is king of the Niigas, and resides in the infernal re gions.
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THE NAGAKANDA.
sake of which you make your descent into hell, I will
send to you daily to this place.”
JiMtjTAVAHANA.
How well were the snakes defended by their king !
Amidst his thousand double tongues was there not one
with which he could say, “ Myself is given by me this
day to save the life of a snake.”
Mitravasu.
This, then, was agreed to by the king of birds. So,
these conditions being thus settled by the king of the
N&gas, these are the heaps, white as the snow peaks,
from the bones of the snakes, which the king of birds
devours, and which have been increasing, do increase,
and will increase as days go by.
Jimutavahana.
Wonderful! Fools commit sin even for the sake of
a worthless body, which soon perishes, is ungrateful,
and is a store-house of all uncleanness. Well, this
destruction of the N&gas will assuredly bring some
judgment. (To himself.) Would that, by giving up my
own body, I might save the life of a single N&ga !
Then enters the Doorkeeper.
Doorkeeper.
I have ascended the mountain peak and will now seek
MitrAvasu. (JValking about.) Here stands Mitr&vasu
with the bridegroom. (Going up.) May the princes be
victorious !
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THE NAQANANDA.
61
Mitravasu.
0 Sunanda, why are you come 1 (Doorkeeper whispers
in his ear.) 0 prince, my father has sent for me.
JimCTAVaHANA.
Go, then.
Mitravasu.
The prince should not stay too long in this ill-omened
region.
[Exit.
JfMtfTAViHANA.
1 will descend from this mountain peak and look at
the searshore. ( Walks about.)
Behind the scenes.
Alas ! my darling son, S'ankhaclnitZa, how can I
endure to see thee slain to-day 1
Jimutavaiiana (after hearing this).
Ha ! a cry of distress as if from a woman ! Who can
it be? of what is she afraid? I will try to know.
[JValks about.
Then enters S'ankhachiJzja, followed by an Old Woman,
crying, and a Servant with a pair of garments for
one completely veiled.
Old Woman (with tears).
Alas ! my son, S'ankhaehiWa, how can I endure to see
you slain this day ? (Taking hold of his chin.*) Deprived
of this moonface, Hades will become midnight.
* The Ndgas are generally represented in old sculptures as bear-
ing the human form, but with a snake attached to their backs and
the hooded head rising behind their necks.
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THE nAgAnANDA.
S'ankhachiJ/ja.
0 mother, why do you harass me yet more by
weeping 1
Old Woman ( looking at him and stroking his limbs).
Alas ! my son ! how will pitiless GarucZa devour thy
beauteous body, that has never felt the sun’s rays ?
[ Embracing him , she weeps.
S'ankhachuda.
Enough of lamentation. See here — since mortality
as the nurse first clasps the new-born child to its bosom,
and the mother comes only second — what room is there
for sorrow ?
[Wishes to depart.
Old Woman.
0 son, stay for a moment whilst I look on your face.
Servant.
Come, Prince S'ankhachucZa, never mind her words.
Infatuated by affection for her son, she forgets the duty
to our king.
S'ANKHACHtfDA.
1 am coming.
Servant (to himself, looking in advance ).
I have brought him to the rock of execution ; so I
will now give him the distinguishing badge of one con-
demned to death.
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JiMUTAVAHANA.
This must be the woman that I heard — ( looking at
Sankhachuda) — and this must be her son. Why, then,
does she weep? ( Looks on all sides.) I do not perceive
the very least cause for her fear. I will go near and
see whence her fear is. Their conversation relates
to it, perhaps from it I may get some explanation. I
will get inside a bush and listen.
Servant (with tears, putting his hands together).
0 Prince S'ankhachiida, since it is the command of
my lord, this so cruel message must be delivered.
Say on.
SjANKHACHUZJA.
Servant.
The king of the N&gas orders-
S'ankhachu.da.
( putting his hands together to his head, respectfully).
What does our lord order ?
Servant.
“ Having put on this pair of red garments, mount
upon the rock of execution, that Garuda, on seeing the
red garments, may eat you.”
Jimutavahana (having overheard).
How ! Is he, then, abandoned by V&suki ?
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THE NAOAnaNDA.
Servant.
O prince, take then this pair of garments.
[Presents them.
S'ANKHACHtf/M (i respectfully ).
Give them to me. ( Takes them.) The mandate of our
lord is on my head.
Old Woman ( having seen the clothes in the hand of her son,
striking her breast).
Alas ! my child, this seems like a flash of lightning.
[Faints.
Servant.
The time for Garucfa’s approach is close at hand. I
will be off.
[Exit.
S'ankhacihIda.
0 mother, recover thyself.
Old WOMAN ( coming to herself, tearfully).
Alas ! my son, alas ! thou obtained by a hundred
vows ! Where shall I again behold thee 1
[She clasps him round the neck.
JimAtavahana.
Alas ! the pitilessness of Garuda. I should think
that the heart of the lord of birds must be made of very
adamant, if, casting away all pity, he can eat this child
in his mother’s lap, while she, distracted, utters vain
complaints, with tears streaming from her eyes, and,
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glancing in all directions, pitifully repeats — “ My child,
who will deliver thee ? ”
S'ankhachuzja ( checking his own tears).
0 mother, where is the use of excessive grief? Do I
not keep saying, “ Cheer up,” “ Cheer up?”
Old Woman ( with tears).
How can I cheer up, seeing that thou, my son, my
only son, art banished by the compassionate king of the
NAgas ! Alas ? why in the universal world was my son
thought of? Iam utterly unfortunate.
[She faints.
JiMtfTAViHANA {dolefully).
If I do not protect this wretched one, who is at the
very point of death, abandoned by his relations, then
what good is there in my body? So I will go up to
them.
S'ankiiachu/jA.
0 mother, be comforted.
Old Woman.
Alas ! my son, when you are given up by VAsuki, the
protector of the NAga-world, who else will be your pro-
tector ?
J1mi5tavahana ( going up).
Shall not I?
Old Woman {on seeing him, having hid her son with her
upper garment, goes up to him and falls upon her knees).
O son of VinatA, destroy me. I am prepared for thy
food by the NAga king.
E
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THE NAGANANDA.
J i'mutavahana ( with tears).
Alas ! the love of offspring ! I should think that after
seeing this sorrow of hers, arising from affection for her
son, even the enemy of the NAgas, whose heart is piti-
less, will feel pity.
S' AN K H A C II l5 .0 A.
O mother, away with your fear, this is not the enemy
of the NAgas. See the difference between this holy one,
whose appearance indicates a beauteous nature, and
Garurfa, with his fierce beak smeared with clots of blood,
which have dropped whilst he was piercing the brains of
the mighty NAgas.
Old Woman.
In truth, through fear of thy death, I regard this
whole world as Garuda.
JfMtfTAVAHANA.
0 mother, what need of saying it again and again 1
Will not I accomplish his deliverance 1
Old Woman {clasping her hands on her head).
My son, live long !
JfMtfTAViHANA.
Mother, give me this distinguishing badge of a con-
demned one. I will put it on and offer to the son of
VinatA my own body as food, to save the life of thy son.
Old Woman {stopping her ears).
God forbid ! Thou also art a son equally with S'ank-
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hachiida, or even more so than he, since thou wishest
to preserve my son by giving up thy own body, even
though he is deserted by his own kinsfolk.
S’ankhachiIoa.
How different from the world in general is the mind
of this magnanimous one ! For this good man, moved
by pity, gives up for the sake of another as though it
were but a straw, that life, for the sake of which, in
olden times, Visvdmitra * ate dog’s flesh, like a dog-
cooker; and N&dijanghat was slain by Gautama, even
though he had done a kindness to him ; and this Garuda,
son of Kasyapa, daily eats N&gas. ( Addressing the hero.)
0 magnanimous one, unfeigned compassion for me has
been fully shown by thee in the determination to give
up thyself ; but do not obstinately insist on it. Low-
born people like me are bom and die ; but whence are
those produced like thee, who gird up their loins for the
sake of others? What, then, is the use of this fixed
determination 1 Let this resolution be abandoned.
J fMUTAVAHANA.
0 S'ankhachuda, do not put any obstacle in the way
of this desire of mine of giving myself up for the sake
of another, which only now has got an opportunity of
accomplishment, after so long a time. Do not, then,
hesitate, but give me the distinctive badge of those
appointed to be slain.
* Compare Manu x. 108, “And Vidvdmitra, who knew right
and wrong, resolved to eat a dog’s thigh, taking it from the hand
of a chanddla.”
+ For the story of Nddijangha, see Mahdb. xii. ?§ 170-172.
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THE NAGANANDA.
S'ANKHACHtf.DA.
0 magnanimous one, where is the use of this fruitless
perseverance] Never will ft'ankhachucia sully the family
honour of S'ankhapAla, which is white as a shell. If we
are indeed objects worthy of thy pity, then let some
expedient be devised, so that this woman may not quit
life, overcome by my calamity.
Jimutavahana.
What can possibly be devised ? She who dies in your
death and lives only in your life, — if you wish her to
live, save yourself by my life. This is the only remedy,
so give me quickly the badge of death, that, having
disguised myself in it, I may mount the execution rock.
And do you, thinking of your mother before all, retire
from your post. Probably your mother, if she stood in
view of the place of execution, would abandon life.
Do you not see the great cemetery, filled with many
skeletons of the ill-fated NAgas ? See here, rows upon
rows of the crests of the slain NAgas, coated thick with
oozing brains, splash as they fall from the jaws of the
jackalls into the stream of carrion-smelling gore, while
the scene is shrouded in awful darkness by the flapping
wdngs of the vultures, their greed increased by the
gobbets of raw flesh which fall mangled from their
chattering beaks !
S'ANKHACHli/JA.
How should I not see I This cemetery, which affords
delight to Garut/a, with a snake for his daily food, is
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69
like the body of S'iva, with its skulls and bones white
as the moon.*
JlMliTAVAHANA.
O S'ankhachuda, go then. What is the use of these
well-meant objections 1
S'ANKHACHbz?A.
The time for the approach of Garuda is close at hand.
(Goes on his knees before his mother.) 0 mother, do you
now go away. In whatever state we may be born again,
mayst thou alone be my mother, 0 doting one !
[Falls at her feet.
Old Woman (with tears.)
How ! Is this the very last speech ? O son, my feet
assuredly will not bear me from thee, therefore I will
stay here.
S'ANKHACHuztA (rising).
After I have quickly walked round the southern
Gokama,+ which is close at hand, I will carry out the
command of my lord.
[Exeunt both.
J IMIJTAVaHANA.
(having seen some one coming , joyfully, to himself).
Good luck ! I have got what I wanted, through the
unexpected acquisition of this pair of red garments.
* &iva is often represented as wearing an elephant’s skin and a
necklace of skulls.
f Gokaraa — there are two celebrated places of pilgrimage called
Gokaroa, — the northern one in Nepal, the southern on the Malabar
coast. See Wilson’s “ Essays on the Religion of the Hindus,” ii.
16, 19. The manner of “walking round” was, to keep the right
shoulder always towards the sacred place.
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THE NAGaNANDA.
Chamberlain {entering).
This pair of garments is sent by the Queen, the
mother of MitrAvasu, to the prince. Let, then, the
prince put them on.
Jimutavahana {with respect).
Give them to me. ( Chamberlain gives them, — to himself).
My marriage with Malayavatf has borne good fruit.
{Aloud.) You may depart. Let the Queen be saluted
from me.
Chamberlain.
Whatever your highness orders.
[Exit.
Jimutavahana.
The seasonable arrival of this pair of red garments
gives me the greatest pleasure, inasmuch as I desire
to give myself up for another. {Looking in all directions.)
From the violence of this wind, which shakes the mighty
rocks of the Malayan peaks, I suspect that the king of
birds is now close at hand. See, the expanse of his
wings obscures the sky, like the clouds at doomsday ;
the wind caused by his rush casts the waters of ocean
on the shore, as if for another deluge ; and, — raising an
apprehension of the sudden ending of the world, and
watched with terror by the elephants that support the
earth, — with the refulgence of his body, which shines like
the twelve suns.* he spreads a lurid red gleam over the ten
* Twelve suns or Xdityas. These twelve .idityas are forms of
the sun, who, according to the later mythology of the Hindus, had
a different form for each month.
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71
quarters of the sky. Therefore now, while Sankhachuda
is away, I will quickly mount the execution rock.
(Does so and, sits down , starting as if enraptured.) Oh,
the rapture of its touch ! Not so much does Malaya-
vati delight me, moist with sandal-juice of Malaya, as
this rock of execution, which I embrace to the further-
ance of my desired object. Or rather — what need of
mentioning Malayavati 1 Not such joy is attained by
one in childhood, lying peacefully in his mother’s lap,
as by me on the slope of this rock of execution. Here
comes Garuda. I must veil myself.
[Does so.
Then enters GARU.DA.
Garxlda.
Here I am, in a moment arrived on the shore side
of the Malayan Mount, greedy to devour the Naga.
When I saw the moon’s disk, I was reminded of the
form of S'esha * coiled up in a circle through fear. My
elder brother t joyfully recognised me, when the sun
was shaken by the sudden start of his chariot steeds as
I passed. My long wings, as I fly, stretch out still
longer by reason of the clouds, that hang from them in
festoons.
JxMUTAVAIIANA (with joy).
Through the merit that I gain to-day, by protecting
a N&ga at the sacrifice of myself, may I still obtain,
* f§esha is the thousand-headed snake which serves Vishnu as
his couch and canopy.
t Aruna, who is the personified dawn, and charioteer of the sun.
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THE NAGAKANDA.
in succeeding existences, a body to be sacrificed for
others !*
Garu/jA ( looking at the hero).
Speedily will I catch up and eat this NAga, dressed
in red garments, who looks as if besmeared with
blood, which gushes from his heart that has burst
through fear of me. I will first split open with my
beak, which is fiercer than the fierceness of a thunder-
bolt, the breast of this one, who has fallen on the surface
of the execution rock, to save the rest of NAgas.
[Making a descent, he seizes the hero.
Behind the scenes jloioers shower down, and drums sound.
Garu/ja (astonished).
Why now does this shower of flowers fall, rejoicing
the bees with their fragrance 1 Or why does this noise
of drums cause to re-echo the quarters of the sky 1
(Smiling.) Ah ! I know what it is. I conjecture that
even the tree of Paradise itself is shaken by the wind of
my speed ; and that the clouds of doomsday give forth
their growl, anticipating the world’s immediate anni-
hilation.
JiMlh'AVAHANA (to himself).
Good luck ! I have attained my desire.
Garuzm. (seizing the hero).
Although this protector of the Snakes seems to me
* This wish, to a Buddhist, would seem the ne plus ultra of self-
sacrifice, since to escape from the necessity of future birth, and to
obtain nirvdna, is the supreme end of their system.
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73
more like a human being, still verily he shall satiate
to-day my hunger for snake-flesh. So 1 will take him
and ascend the Malayan mountain, there to eat him at
my pleasure.
[Exeunt omnes.
END OF FOURTH ACT OF THE nAgaNANDA.
ACT Y.
Then enters a Doorkeeper.
Doorkeeper.
Through affection, one fears danger to a beloved ob-
ject, even if he be only gone into the garden of his own
house ; how much more, when placed in the midst of an
awful forest, whose mighty dangers are well known.
The mighty king VisvAvasu sits in sorrow, saying to
himself, “ JimutavAhana, who is gone to see the ocean’s
shore, stops a long time ; ” and he has given me these
orders — “ Since, O Sunanda ! I have heard that my son-
in-law^ JimutavAhana, has gone to the district rendered
terrible by the proximity of Garut/a, I am fearful for
him. Go, then, and ascertain quickly whether he has
returned to his own house or not.” So I am now going
thither. ( Walking about, and looking before him.) Here
is the royal sage, Jlmiitaketu, JimutavAhana’s father,
standing in the compound of his hut, respectfully at-
tended by his wife and the king’s daughter. See !
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THE nAgaNANDA.
Jimutaketu has a splendour like the ocean, wearing as
he does two linen garments, with ripples tremulous as
waves and white as the ocean’s foam, and adorned by
his queen, as the ocean is by the Ganges, each alike
possessed of great holiness, and abundant in maternal
streams ; and at their side shines Malayavatl, like the
ocean’s shore. I will go up to them.
Then enters King Jimutaketu, with his wife and
danghter-in-law.
King.
I have enjoyed all the pleasures of youth, and held
sway in a kingdom full of glory ; I have steadily exer-
cised devotion ; my son is of great renown, and my
daughter-in-law here is of fitting parentage; now that
all my desires are fulfilled, should I not contemplate
death ?
Doorkeeper ( coming up suddenly).
— Of JimutavAhana —
King {stopping his ears).
Cease ! An ill-omen ! *
Queen.
May this ill-omen be averted !
Malayavati.
This bad omen causes my heart to palpitate.
* The utterance by the doorkeeper of the genitive case of Jimu-
tavdhana, immediately succeeding, as it does, the word “ death,”
ttered by the king, forms an inauspicious omen.
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King
(starting as though he felt a throbbing of the left eye).
Good sir, what of Jlmutav&hana 1
Doorkeeper.
I am sent to you by king Visv&vasu to learn tidings
of Jimutav&hana.
King.
Is not my child there with him 1
Queen (sorrowfully).
0 king ! if he is not there, where can my boy be
gone 1
' King.
Assuredly he will be gone somewhere for our benefit.
Malay av ati (with grief, to herself).
I dread something very different, from the non-appear-
ance of my husband.
Doorkeeper.
Give your orders. What message am I to take my
lord 1
King
(starting as though he felt a throbbing of the left eye).
I am perfectly bewildered in my mind with the
thought that Jfmutavahana delays so long. Why do
you keep throbbing, 0 left eye, again and again, indicat-
ing some evil as about to happen ? Base that you are,
yonder sun shall stop your throbbings. (Looking up.)
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THE NAGANANDA.
Yonder bright thousand-rayed one, sole eye of the three
worlds, shall soon bring to light the happiness of Jlmii-
tav&hana. ( Looking astonished.) What is this that has
suddenly fallen in front of me from the sky 1 as it were
a star, loosened by a portentous wind, shooting forth
red streaks, bright as rays, and giving excessive pain to
the eye of the beholder. How is this ? It has fallen at
my very feet. ( All look at it.) Alas ! it is a crest-jewel,
with moist flesh adhering to it ! Whose can it be !
Queen (in a tone of distress).
0 king ! it is the crest-jewel of my poor boy.
MalayavatI.
O mother ! say not so.
Doorkeeper.
O king ! do not distress yourself through ignorance
of facts. In this place many crest-jewels of the chiefs
of the Nagas, who are devoured by Garuda, fall torn off
by his beak and claws.
King.
0 queen ! there is some reason in what he says. I
hope that it may prove so ! •
Queen.
O Sunanda ! assuredly by this time my son will have
arrived at his father-in-law’s house from that shore.
Go, then, and ascertain for us quickly.
Doorkeeper.
As the queen orders.
[Exit.
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77
King.
O queen ! would that it might prove to he the crest
of a N&ga.
Then enters S'ankhaciiuca, clad in red garments.
S'ankhachu/jA ( shedding tears).
After hastily paying my respects at the shrine of
Gokarwa, on the ocean’s shore, I am again come to this
slaughter-house of the N&gas. But Garuda has taken
that Vidy&dhara, after tearing open his breast with his
beak and claws, and is flown up towards heaven.
(Sobbing.) Alas ! Thou excessively magnanimous and
affectionate one ! Alas ! My only true friend, though
indeed thou hadst no cause to be so 1 Alas ! Thou that
sufferest for another’s sake, whither art thou gone 1
Give me an answer. Alas ! Base S'ankhachuda, thou
art utterly undone, since thou hast not obtained the merit
of saving the N&gas, even for one day, nor even the
praiseworthiness arising from obedience to thy lord’s
commands. Thou art to be pitied, since thou hast been
saved at the expense of another, who gave up his life
for thine. Woe ! Woe ! How thou hast been de-
ceived ! How thou hast been deceived ! This being the
state of things, I will not live to be made a laughing-
stock, but will at once endeavour to follow him. ( Walk-
ing about, and looking intently on the ground.) I proceed,
full of desire to see Garuda, tracking carefully this line
of blood, which, through its purple hue, is hard to be
traced on this rock, which is variegated with minerals,
and rendered obscure by the thick trees. At first the
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THE NagAnANDA.
track is broad, as if from the sudden gush, and then the
drops become clotted, and at wider intervals; next, a
few drops are seen, scattered among the stones in a
broken line, and then they are full of insects on the
level ground.
Queen (with alarm).
0 king ! this man, coming hither hastily, with his
face flushed, appears troubled, and fills my heart with
alarm. Let us ascertain who he is.
King.
As the queen says. (Listening ; with joy, and smiling.)
0 queen ! cease from sorrow. Assuredly this crest-
jewel must be his, let fall on this spot by some bird,
who snatched it from his head, thinking from its colour
that it was a piece of flesh.
Queen (joyfully, embracing MalayavatI).
0 thou saved from widowhood, be calm. Such a form
as this was not made to suffer the pains of widowhood.
MALAYAVATf (with joy).
0 mother ! it must be then through the efficacy of thy
blessing.
[Falls at her feet.
King ( to S'ankhachiJzja).
My child, what is the matter ?
SAnkhachu-da.
My throat being obstructed with tears through the
excess of my grief, I am totally unable to tell you.
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King.
My son, tell me thy sorrow, that it may become more
endurable from participation. At present it is intoler-
able, while shut up in thine own heart.
S'ANKHACHtf.DA.
Hear it, then. I am a NAga, S'ankhachuda by name.
I was sent by VAsuki, as a meal for Garurfa. But why
waste time in words 1 Even as we talk, perhaps these
tracks of drops of blood mingled with dust are disap-
pearing. I will therefore tell it in a breath. By a
certain VidyAdhara, whose mind was full of compassion,
my life has been preserved. He has given himself up
to Garuda.
King.
Who else would thus undergo calamity for another 1
My child, you might as well have said at once, “ By
JimutavAhana!” Alas ! I am undone, ill-fated man that
I am.
Queen.
Alas ! my child, how could you do this 1
MALAYAVATf.
How true has my foreboding proved !
[ They all faint.
S'ankhachiIpa (with tears).
Surely these must be the parents of that magnanimous
one, otherwise they would not be brought into this con-
dition by my evil tidings. But what else should issue
from the mouth of a venomous serpent, except poison 1
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THE nAgaNANDA.
Assuredly, S'ankhachuda has worthily repaid his bene-
factor ! In what way, now, shall I put an end to myself?
But I must first revive these two. Revive, my father !
Cheer up, O mother !
[They both revive.
Queen.
Stand up, my child. Do not weep. Shall we live
without Jimutavahana ? Cheer up, then.
Malayavati {recovering).
0 husband ! where shall I see you again ?
King.
Alas ! 0 my child, who knew so well how to perform
the duty of honouring thy father’s feet, even in another
world the practice of good behaviour is not forgotten by
thee, since thou hast dropped thy crest-jewel at my feet.
( Takes up the crest-jewel.) Alas ! my child, is it only in
this way that I can now behold thee ? {Puts it to his
breast.) Alas ! Alas ! O thou, whose head was con-
tinually bowed at my feet in constant devotion, thy
crest-jewel, polished by their contact as by a touchstone,
was never guilty of injuring any one ; why, then, does it
now rudely pierce my breast ?
Queen.
Alas ! my son Jimutavahana, whose only pleasure
was in obedience to thy father, how could’st thou leave
him, and go to enjoy the delights of heaven ?
King {icith tears).
O queen ! can we live without Jimutavahana, that
you talk thus ?
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THE NiGANANDA.
81
Malaya vat i
(falling at his fed, and clasping her hands).
Give me the crest-jewel, as a memorial of my husband,
that, wearing it in my bosom, I may mount the funeral
pile, and quench my burning sorrows in the fire.
King.
0 devoted one ! why do you thus trouble me 1 Is
not this the fixed determination of us all 1
Queen.
0 King, why do we then delay ?
King.
There is no reason. But one, who has always main-
tained a sacred fire, obtains purification from no other.
Therefore, we will fetch fire from the sacred fire-cell, and
burn ourselves.*
. S’ ANKH ACH A (to himself).
Alas! for the sake of me, a single individual, this
whole family of Vidyddharas is utterly destroyed. I
will see what can be done. (Aloud.) 0 father, not
without due deliberation should such a rash purpose be
carried out. The sportings of destiny demand thought.
Perhaps, when he finds that he is not a Ndga, the enemy
of the Ndgas will let him go again. Let us then follow
Garutfa in this direction.
* Compare Colebrooke’s Essays, I., page 157. ‘At the obsequies
of a priest, who maintained a consecrated fire, his funeral pile must
be lighted from that fire.
F
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THE NAGANANDA.
Queen.
It will assuredly be by the special favour of the gods
if we look on the face of our son, yet living.
MALAYAVATf (to herself).
Most assuredly I, ill-fated that I am, can hardly look
for such a blessing.
King.
0 child, may this speech * of thine prove true ! Still
it is fitting that we should take the fires with us, as we
follow. Do you, then, follow the track ; and we will come
as soon as we have brought the fire from the fire-cell.
[Exit, with wife and dauyliter-in-law.
S'ANKHACHfinA.
1 will now follow Garuda. (Looking in front.) Yonder,
afar off, I see the enemy of the Ndgas, on a pinnacle of
Malaya, making new gulleys in the mountain-side, as he
rubs his gory beak. The woods around are all uprooted
and burnt by the streaks of flaming fire from his eyes,
and the ground is hollowed round him by his dreadful
adamantine claws.
Then enters Garuz>A, seated on a rock, with the hero
lying in front of him.
GARUnA.
Never since my birth has so wonderful a thing been
seen by me in my feasts on the lords of the Ndgas ! Not
* This of course is said in answer to S'ankhacliucdi’s suggestion
above.
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THE NAGA.XANDA.
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only is this hero unterrified, but he even appears almost
delighted. There is no lassitude seen in him, though
most of his blood is drunk up. His face, through its
heroic endurance, even when he is suffering the pangs
from the tearing of his flesh, seems serene as in ecstacy.
Every limb, which is not actually destroyed, bristles with
rapture. His glance falls on me, whilst doing him an
injury, as though I were doing him a . favour. Hence, by
his heroism, my curiosity is excited. I will not eat him.
I will ask who he is.
J i ML' TAV AHANA.
There is yet flesh in my body, whose blood pours forth
from every vein ; and you, 0 magnanimous one, do not
seem satiated. Why, then, O Garuda, do you stop
eating ?
GartldA (to himself).
Wonder of wonders ! How ! Even in this state does
he still speak thus stoutly ! (Aloud.) This heroism of
thine seems to call back the heart’s blood that has been
poured out by my beak. I wish, then, to hear who thou
art.
J i’mutavahana.
It is not fit that you should hear, while tormented
by hunger. Satiate yourself, then, with my flesh and
blood.
SaNKIIACHuziA (coming up in haste).
0 Garuda, not indeed, not indeed should this cruelty
be done. This is no NAga. Let him go. Eat me. I
am sent by Vasuki for thy food.
[Presents his breast.
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THE NAGANANDA.
JiMiJtaVaHANA {on seeing S'ankhACHu/jA).
Alas ! my desire has become fruitless through the
arrival of S'ankhachuda.
GARU.DA {looking at them both).
Both of you wear the distinctive badge of victims.
Which is really the Ndga I know not.
S'ANKHACHtfZJA.
The error is a likely one, forsooth. Not to mention
the mark of the Swastika * on the breast, are there not
the scales on my body ? Do you not count my two
tongues as I speak ? Nor see these three hoods of mine,
the compressed wind hissing through them in my insup-
portable anguish 1 While the brightness of my gems is
distorted by the thick smoke from the fire of my direful
poison.
GARU.0A {looking at both, and noticing the hood
Of S'ANKHACHtfz>A).
Who, then, is this that I have destroyed 1
S'ANKHACHtfz>A.
It is Jfmutavdhana, the ornament of the race of
Vidyddharas. How was this done by thee, 0 merciless
one?
GARILDA {to himself).
Ah ! How, indeed, was it done ? This, then, is that
* “ Swastika ” is a mystical figure in the form of a cross. This
passage might serve as a “ locus classicus” for the Hindu concep-
tion of a Ndga. Mr Fergusson gives pictures, taken from sculptures,
of Ndgas with three, five, or seven hoods.
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THE NAGANANDA.
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J imutav&hana, prince of the VidyAd haras, whose fame I
have repeatedly heard sung by the hosts of bards who
traverse Lok&loka,* sung on the slopes of Meru, in the
caves of Mandara, on the table-land of Himavat, on
mount Mahendra, on the peaks of Kailisa, even on
these heights of Malaya, and in the various caverns of
the mountains that bound the world. Of a truth, I am
plunged in a vast quagmire of iniquity !
JimutavaHANA.
O lord of snakes, why art thou thus troubled 1
S'ANKHACHd/JA.
Is it not a time for excessive trouble ? If my body
-were preserved from Garuda by the sacrifice of thine,
verily it were right that thou shouldst hurl me to a
depth lower than the deepest hell.
Garuzja.
Alas ! alas ! His own body has been of his own
accord presented for my food by this noble-minded one,
through pity, to save the life of a Ndga, who had fallen
within the reach of my voracity. What a terrible sin
then have I committed ! In a word, this is a “ Bodhi-
sattwa,” t whom I have slain. I see no way of expiating
my sin, except by entering the fire. Where then shall
* “ Lokdloka,” a mountainous chain surrounding the outermost
of the seven seas, and which bounds the world, with the Hindus.
t “ Bodhi-Battwa ” is a technical term in Buddhist theology,
denoting a potential Buddha, or one who has only one more birth
remaining before he becomes a perfect Buddha, and meanwhile
waits in heaven until his period comes round.
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THE NAGANANDA.
I find fire? (Looking rotmd.) Ah! Here come some
with fire. I will wait till they arrive.
S'ANKHACHtf/)A.
O prince, your parents are come.
J iMiJTAVXHAN A (icith agitation).
0 Sankhachfitfa, do you sit down, and conceal my
body with my upper garment. Otherwise, perhaps,
my mother might die, if she suddenly saw me in this
state.
[S'ANKHACHtfz>A takes up the garment fallen
at his side, and does so.
Then enters King JfMuTAKETU, with his wife and
daughter-in-law.
King (sorrowfully).
Alas ! son Jimutavdhana, whence came this exalted
degree of compassion — “ Another is as one’s-self] ” How
was it that the thought did not occur to you — “ Are
many to be saved, or one ? ” For, by giving up your
life to save a Ndga from Garuia, yourself, your parents,
your wife, yea the whole family is destroyed.
Queen (addressing Malayavati).
O daughter, desist. You will extinguish the fire
with your incessant tears.
[All walk round.
King.
Alas ! my son Jlmfitavahana !
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GARU.DA (on hearing this).
He says — “ Alas ! my son Jlmutav&hana ! ” Tliis
then is doubtless his father. How can I burn myself in
this fire 1 I am ashamed to appear before them after
slaying their son. Yet why should I be troubled about
a fire 1 Am not I on the ocean’s brink 1 I will cast
myself into the- submarine fire,* terrible as the destined
consumer of the world at the end of a “ kalpa,” having
kindled it by the wind of my own wings, fiercer than
any supernatural blast, which will make the flames
flicker like the tips of the tongue of Death, when enjoy-
ing the relish of licking up the three worlds, and which
span the sea, and reach even to threaten the sun’s
domain.
\He wishes to rise.
JiMtfTAVlHANA.
0 king of birds, away with this resolve ! This would
be no expiation for your sin.
GARU.DA ( falling on his knees, and putting his
hands together).
0 magnanimous one, tell me then what expiation is
there 1
* “VdcZava,” or submarine fire. “In Hindu mythology this
is represented as a being consisting of flame, but with the head of
a mare, who sprang from the thigh of Urva, and was received by
the ocean.” — Wilson's Dictionary. He is also called Aurva
BMrgava, He will destroy the world at the end of the “ kalpa ”
or aeon. The Brahmanical “ kalpa ” consists of four thousand, three
hundred, and twenty millions of solar years.
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THE NAGANANDA.
J/MCTAVaHANA.
Wait a moment. My parents are come. I will first
pay my respects to them.
Garuzja.
Do so.
King (with joy, having seen him).
0 queen, fortune favours you ! Here is our son
Jimutavdhana, not only alive, but respectfully waited
on by Garuda, with his hands folded like a disciple.
Queen.
O mighty king, my desires are all accomplished. I
shall see his face, and surely his body must be un-
injured.
MalayavatI.
Even though I see my husband, I cannot believe it.
It is too dear to be true !
King {going up).
Come, my child, embrace me.
[J1mi5tavAhana wishing to rise, the garment
falls off, and he faints.
S'ankhachuzja.
O prince, revive, revive !
King.
Alas ! my child, having seen me, are you gone with-
out an embrace ?
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Queen.
Alas ! my child, do you not greet me with a single
word i
Malayavati.
Alas ! my husband, are not even your parents worthy
of a glance ?
[They all faint.
S'ANKIIACHl^A (to himself).
O villain S'ankhachuda, why did you not perish,
whilst yet unborn? Seeing that moment by moment
you endure pangs worse than death itself !
GARU£>A.
All this is caused by my inconsiderate action. Base
wretch that I am ! But I will do what I can. (Fanning
with his wings.) O noble one, revive, revive !
JImtItavaHANA (recovering).
O S'ankhachuda, revive my parents.
S'ankhachiIda.
O father, recover ! 0 mother, revive !
[Both come to their senses.
Queen.
0 son, does that villain Death carry you off in our
very sight 1
King.
O queen, speak not so inauspiciously. The long-lived
one * yet breathes. See to his wife.
* Xyushmtin, long-lived one, is here used as an address of good
omen, and implies an understood prayer. It is a favourite
Buddhist expression.
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THE NAGAnaKDA.
Queen
( weeping , having covered her face with her dress).
The omen be averted ! I will not weep. O Malay-
avati, revive. Rise, my child, rise. At this time, if
ever, look on the face of thy husband.
MALAYAVATf ( coming to herself).
Alas ! my husband !
Queen ( stopping the mouth of Malayavati).
0 child, act not thus. May this omen be averted.
King {to himself, with tears).
Why do I not burst into a hundred pieces through
sorrow, as I behold my son giving up his life, which,
the rest of his body being destroyed, has retreated to
his throat as to its last remaining stronghold 1
MALAYAVATf.
Alas ! my husband ! I must indeed be very wicked,
since, even when I see my husband in such a state, I
yet live on !
Queen {strobing the limbs of the hero, and
addressing Garuzja).
0 thou who fearest naught, how could this body of
my son, in the fresh bloom of youth, be brought by thee
to such a state as this 1
J f mi5tav ahana.
0 mother, not so indeed. What harm has been done
by him ? Was it not in reality just the same before ?
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THE NAGANANDA.
91
See. What beauty can there be in a body, loathsome
to the sight, and consisting of blood, marrow, flesh,
bones, and fat, covered in by skin 1
Garuz>a.
O noble-minded one, I stand in pain, regarding my-
self as already consumed by the fiery flames of hell.
Point out, then, I pray, how I can be cleansed from my
guilt.
JfolUTAVAHANA.
If my father gives me leave, I will point out the
expiation for this fault.
King.
Do so, my child.
JlMfiTAVAHANA.
Listen then, Garutia.
GarudA ( putting his hands together).
Give your instructions.
J t M ti T A V AH A N A .
Cease for ever from destroying life ; repent of thy
former deeds ; labour to gather together an unbroken
chain of good actions, by inspiring confidence in all living
beings; so that this sin, which has its origin in the
destruction of living beings, may not ripen to bear fruit,
but may be all absorbed in thy merits, as a morsel of
salt thrown into the depths of yonder ocean.
Garuzja.
Whatever you order, I, who was lying in a sleep of
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THE NAGANANDA.
ignorance, now, awakened by you, have from this day-
ceased from destroying living beings. Now let the race
of N&gas wander happily in the mighty ocean — at times
stretching from shore to shore like bridges — at times
taken for whirlpools, through the coiling of their
bodies — and at times resembling continents, from the
multitude of their hoods, large as alluvial islands.
Again, let the damsels of the N&gas in yon grove of
sandal trees celebrate joyfully this glory of thine, think-
ing lightly of the fatigue, though their bodies faint with
the exertion, and though their cheeks, browned by the
touch of the rays of the early sun, seem as if bedaubed
with red lead, while their hair let fall to their feet
resembles the darkness of clouds.
JlMtfTAVAHANA.
Well said, 0 magnanimous one ! We are delighted.
By all means keep firm to your purpose. {Addressing
S'ankhachiIzja.) 0 Sankhacliuda, do you now go
home.
[S"AN KHACII i5 DA., sighing, stands with downcast looks.
J i M uTA VaH AN A {sighing as he looks at his mother).
For assuredly thy mother will be sitting full of grief
for thy pain, as she looks up, expecting to see thee drop,
mangled by Garuda’s beak.
Queen {with tears).
Blessed indeed is that mother, who will behold the
face of her son, with his body uninjured, though he was
actually in the very jaws of Garuda.
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THE NaGANANDA.
93
S'ankhachuzja.
0 mother, it is indeed as you say. Would that the
Prince might be saved !
JlMtfTAVAHANA ( speaking as though in agony).
Ah ! oh ! These joint-racking pangs were not felt by
me before, through the excess of pleasure, which I felt
in doing good to another, but now they begin to hem
me round.
[He sinks in a dying state.
King ( with agitation).
Alas ! my son, why this posture ?
Queen.
Alas ! alas ! Why does he talk thus ? ( Beating her
breast.) Help ! help ! My child is dying !
Malayavati.
Ah ! my husband, you appear in a hurry to leave us. *
JiMUTAVlHANA (trying to place his hands together).
0 S'ankhacliuda ! place my hands together.
S'ANKIIACHL'i’A (doing so).
Alas ! the world is robbed of its master.
J LyuTAVaIIANA (half opening his eyes, and looking
at his father).
O father, 0 mother ! This is my last salutation.
These limbs retain no consciousness — my ear hears no
sound, however distinct the articulation — alas ! my eye
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THE NAGIkANDA.
is fast closing — my father, these vital airs are quickly
leaving me in my powerlessness — but, “ Through the
merit that I gain to-day by protecting a N&ga at the
sacrifice of myself, may 1 still obtain in succeeding exist-
ences a body to be sacrificed for others.”*
[He falls.
Queen.
Alas, my son ! Alas, my child ! Alas, darling of
thy parents ! Where art thou ? Tell me 1
King.
Alas, child Jlmutavdhana ! Alas, the darling of thy
companions ! Alas, thou possessed of all virtues, where
art thou 1 Tell me ! ( Throwing up his hands.) Alas !
alas ! woe ! Firmness has now no home. To whom can
modesty go for protection 1 Who in the whole world
now possesses patience ? Liberality has ceased, and
truth has verily perished ! Whither now can pity go,
itself worthy of pity ? The whole world has become
void by thy departure to another, 0 my son !
MalayavatL
Alas, my husband ! How could you leave me and
depart 1 0 Malayavatf, how cruel you are ! What do
you not deserve for living so long after your husband 1
S'ankhachiJ/ja.
O Prince, where art thou gone, forsaking these people,
dearer to thee than life itself 1 Assuredly now S'anka-
chfida will follow thee.
* He repeats this sentence from the end of the fourth act, where
Garuda first seizes him.
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THE NAGANANDA.
95
Gajuida.
Alas ! This noble-minded one is dead. What shall I
now do?
QUEEN (looking up with tears).
Oh revered guardians of the world, bring my son to
life by sprinkling him in some way with ambrosia.
GaruzjA ( joyfully to himself).
Ah ! The mention of ambrosia reminds me oppor-
tunely. I think I may yet wipe out toy disgrace. I
will pray to Indra, and persuade him by a shower of
ambrosia to restore to life not only J l'mutavahana, but
all those lords of N&gas that have heretofore been eaten
by me, and who are now merely skeletons. If he will
not grant it, then, — having drunk up the ocean with my
wings, and borne along by mighty winds of ever-
increasing violence, while the twelve suns fall fainting,
bewildered by the flaming fierceness of my eyes, — I will
break to pieces with my beak the thunderbolt of Indra,
the club of Kuvera, and the staff of Yama, the lord of
the dead, and, having conquered the Gods in battle, will
at once by my own might let fall an ambrosial shower.
Here, then, I go.
[Exit, after walking round haughtily.
King.
O child, S'ankhachuc/a, why do you still delay ? Col-
lect wood, and build a funeral pile for my son, that we
too may go with him.
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THE NXGANANDA.
Queen.
O son, Sankhachuda, quickly get it ready. Thy
brother remains in pain, without our company.
S'ANKHACHdoA {tearfully).
Whatever my parents order. Am not I willing to
lead the wayl {Rises and builds a funeral pile.) O
father, 0 mother, here is the funeral pile prepared.
King.
O Queen, why do you still weep? Rise, we will
mount the pile.
[All stand up.
t, MALAYAVATf {looking up with her hands together).
0 revered Gauri, it was promised by thee — “ An
emperor of the Vidy&dharas shall be thy husband.”
How, then, in my case, wretched one that I am, have
thy words proved untrue 1
{Then enters Gauri, as in haste.)
Gauri.
0 mighty King Jimutaketu, assuredly this rash act
must not be done.
King.
Oh ! How can the sight of Gauri be in vain 1
GAURf {addressing MALAYAVATi).
Child, how could I prove untrue ? {Going up to the
hero, and sprinkling him with water from a water-pot.)
I am well pleased with thee, who even at the cost of thy
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THE NAGANANDA.
07
own life would’st benefit the world. Live, Jlmutava-
hana !
[ The hero stands up.
King { joyfully ).
O Queen ! joy ! joy ! Our son is restored to life !
Queen.
By the blessing of Gauri.
Jimutavahana
(having seen GAURl, putting his hands together).
Ah ! how should the sight of Gauri be in vain ? 0
thou who grantest all desires, and removest all pain from
thy prostrate worshippers, 0 protectress, I bow at thy
feet, — 0 Gauri, ever celebrated in song by the Yidya-
dharas !
[ He falls at the feet of Gauri.
All look upwards.
King.
Ah ! what means this shower, when no clouds are
seen ? 0 revered one, what is this 1
Gauri.
0 King Jfmutaketu, this shower of ambrosia is caused
to fall by the repentant lord of birds, to restore to life
Jimutavahana, and these lords of the NAgas, now only
skeletons. ( Pointing with a finger.) Do you not see
these lords of NAgas 1 Now they reach S'ankhachuJa,
their heads bright with the rays of their unveiled crest-
jewels — now they lick up the very ground in their haste
G
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THE NAGANANDA.
to devour the ambrosia with their two-forked tongues —
and now, hurrying along, they plunge into the ocean by
tortuous paths, like the waters of the rivers of the Malaya
hills. ( Addressing the hero.) 0 child Jimutavahana,
thou art worthy of something more than the mere gift
of life, therefore this is my further blessing to thee — I
on this very spot will make thee in a moment an uni-
versal emperor of the Vidyadharas, having sprinkled
thee with purifying waters produced ready at hand from
my Mdnasa lake, oidy sullied by the dust of the golden
lotuses, shaken by the pinions of the wild geese, — and
placed in jewelled jars created by my will. Let the
jewel of the golden wheel come first, then the elephant
with the four white tusks, and the dark coloured horse,
and next Malayavati.* 0 emperor, behold these are the
the jewels which I give thee. Yet further, — behold
these nobles of the Vidy&dharas, bearing in their hands
chowries of the yak’s tail, white as the autumnal moon,
making, as they walk, and bow, and bend their bodies
low in devotion, very rainbows with the rays of their
gems, — and among them the villain Matanga and his
fellows. Tell me, now, what yet further boon I can
grant thee 1
JlMdTAVAHANA.
What boon can there be beyond this ? Sankhachuda
is delivered from him who was the dread of all the
snakes ; Garuda has been brought to a better mind ;
all the lords of the Nagas, whom he had ever eaten,
* The wheel, the elephant, the horse, and the queen, are four of
the seven jewels (ratndni) which distinguish the universal emperor
(Chakravartin) among the Buddhists. See Lalita-Vistara, III.
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THE NiDANANDA.
99
he has now restored to life ; my parents are yet alive,
through the recovery of my life ; imperial dignity has
been obtained ; and thou, O goddess, hast been seen
visibly present. What further boon can I ask of thee ?
Yet, grant that these words of Bharata may come true : —
May the clouds in due season let loose their showers,
exhilarating the pea-fowl in their wild dance. May they
clothe the earth with green harvests in a continual suc-
cession! And may all my subjects, accumulating good
works, and freed from all calamities, rejoice with minds
untainted by envy, tasting unbroken pleasure in the
society of relations and friends !
[Exeunt omnes.
END OF FIFTH AND LAST ACT.
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ADDITIONAL NOTES.
— <« —
Page 1 , line 9.
The words which I render “ Buddha, the conqueror,” are Duddho
iinah.
“ Le Dom de Djina est un des synonymes de celui de Buddha, ou
pi u tot c’est un des noinbreuses dpithctes quo l’on donne h un
Buddha. II signifie vainqueur dans un sens moral et religieux. On
sait qu’il est commun aux Buddhistes et aux Djainas.” — Burnouf
Page 20, line 18.
I have translated chandana-latd as “sandal-creeper," as the
St Petersburg Dictionary only explains lata by “ Schlinggewachs,"
“ Ranke ; ” but the sandal-tree is not properly a creeper. Sanlalum
album is described by Roxburgh as having a stem only a few feet
high ; it then divides into numerous branches, which spread and
rise in every direction, forming nearly a spherical head. Laid,
therefore, seems to be used here to express the spreading branches
of any tree which can be formed into a bower.
The Santalum album is found in the mountainous parts of
Malabar. Dr Buchanan ( Journey II. 530) says that it does not
grow on the coast, but is found on the eastern Bide of the western
Ghdts. The Santalum (or sirium) myrtifolium appears to be a
different tree. Roxburgh describes it as a “ native of the Circar
mountains, where it is but of a small size, and the wood of little
or no value.”
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