The Kadambari of Bana

[Dark Saint Alaick]

(11) While he, having subdued the earth, was guardian of the world,
the only mixing of colour [53] was in painting; the only pulling of
hair in caresses; the only strict fetters in the laws of poetry; the
only care was concerning moral law; the only deception was in dreams;
the only golden rods [54] were in umbrellas. Banners alone trembled;
songs alone showed variations [55]; elephants alone were rampant; [56]
bows alone had severed cords; [57] lattice windows alone had ensnaring
network; lovers' disputes alone caused sending of messengers; dice and
chessmen alone left empty squares; and his subjects had no deserted
homes. Under him, too, there was only fear of the next world, only
twisting in the curls of the zenana women, only loquacity in anklets,
only taking the hand [58] in marriage, only shedding of tears from
the smoke of ceaseless sacrificial fires; the only sound of the lash
was for horses, while the only twang of the bow was Love's.

[Dark Saint Alaick]

(15) When the thousand-rayed sun, bursting open the young lotus-buds,
had not long risen, though it had lost somewhat of the pinkness of
dawn, a portress approached the king in his hall of audience, and
humbly addressed him. Her form was lovely, yet awe-inspiring, and
with the scimitar (a weapon rarely worn by women) hanging at her left
side, was like a sandal-tree girt by a snake. Her bosom glistened with
rich sandal ointment like the heavenly Ganges when the frontal-bone of
Airavata rises from its waters. (16) The chiefs bent before her seemed,
by her reflection on their crests, to bear her on their foreheads as
a royal command in human form. Like autumn, [59] she was robed in
the whiteness of hamsas; like the blade of Paraçurama she held the
circle of kings in submission; like the forest land of the Vindhyas,
she bore her wand, [60] and she seemed the very guardian-goddess of
the realm. Placing on the ground her lotus hand and knee, she thus
spake: 'Sire, there stands at the gate a Candala maiden from the
South, a royal glory of the race of that Triçamku [61] who climbed
the sky, but fell from it at the murmur of wrathful Indra. She bears
a parrot in a cage, and bids me thus hail your majesty: "Sire, thou,
like the ocean, art alone worthy to receive the treasures of the whole
earth. In the thought that this bird is a marvel, and the treasure of
the whole earth, I bring it to lay at thy feet, and desire to behold
thee." (17) Thou, 0 king, hast heard her message, and must decide!' So
saying, she ended her speech. The king, whose curiosity was aroused,
looked at the chiefs around him, and with the words 'Why not? Bid
her enter?' gave his permission.

[Dark Saint Alaick]

Then the portress, immediately on the king's order, ushered in the
Candala maiden. And she entered and beheld the king in the midst of
a thousand chiefs, like golden-peaked Meru in the midst of the noble
mountains crouching together in fear of Indra's thunderbolt; or,
in that the brightness of the jewels scattered on his dress almost
concealed his form, like a day of storm, whereon the eight quarters of
the globe are covered by Indra's thousand bows. He was sitting on a
couch studded with moon-stones, beneath a small silken canopy, white
as the foam of the rivers of heaven, with its four jewel-encrusted
pillars joined by golden chains, and enwreathed with a rope of large
pearls. Many cowries with golden handles waved around him; (18) his
left foot rested on a footstool of crystal that was like the moon
bent in humiliation before the flashing beauty of his countenance,
and was adorned by the brightness of his feet, which yet were tinged
with blue from the light rays of the sapphire pavement, as though
darkened by the sighs of his conquered foes. His breast, crimsoned by
the rubies which shone on his throne, recalled Krishna, red with blood
from the fresh slaughter of Madhukaitabha; his two silken garments,
white as the foam of ambrosia, with pairs of hamsas painted in yellow
on their hem, waved in the wind raised by the cowries; the fragrant
sandal unguent with which his chest was whitened, besprinkled with
saffron ointment, was like snowy Kailasa with the early sunshine upon
it; his face was encircled by pearls like stars mistaking it for the
moon; the sapphire bracelets that clasped his arms were as a threat of
chains to bind fickle fortune, or as snakes attracted by the smell of
sandal-wood; (19)

[Dark Saint Alaick]

the lotus in his ear hung down slightly; his nose
was aquiline, his eyes were like lotuses in full blossom, the hair
grew in a circle between his brows, and was purified by the waters
that inaugurated his possession of universal rule; his forehead was
like a piece of the eighth-day moon made into a block of pure gold,
garlanded with sweet jasmine, like the Western Mountain in the dawn
with the stars growing pale on its brow. He was like the God of Love
when struck by Çiva's fire, for his body was tawny from the colour
of his ornaments. His hand-maidens surrounded him, as if they were
the goddesses of the quarters of the globe come to worship him; the
earth bore him, as on her heart, through loyalty, in the reflection
of his image in her clear mosaic pavement; fortune seemed his alone,
though by him she was given to all to enjoy. (20) He was without a
second, though his followers were without number; he trusted only
to his own sword, though he had countless elephants and horses in
his retinue; he filled the whole earth, though he stood in a small
space of ground; he rested only on his bow, and yet was seated on his
throne; he shone with the flame of majesty, though all the fuel of
his enemies was uprooted; he had large eyes, and yet saw the smallest
things; he was the home of all virtues, and yet was overreaching;
[62] he was beloved of his wives, and yet was a despotic lord; he was
free from intoxication, though he had an unfailing stream of bounty;
he was fair in nature, yet in conduct a Krishna; [63] he laid no heavy
hand [64] on his subjects, and yet the whole world rested in his grasp.

[Dark Saint Alaick]

Such was this king. And she yet afar beholding him, with a hand soft
as the petal of a red lotus, and surrounded by a tinkling bracelet,
and clasping the bamboo with its end jagged, (21) struck once on the
mosaic floor to arouse the king; and at the sound, in a moment the
whole assemblage of chiefs turned their eyes from the king to her,
like a herd of wild elephants at the falling of the cocoanut. Then the
king, with the words, 'Look yonder,' to his suite, gazed steadily upon
the Candala maiden, as she was pointed out by the portress. Before
her went a man, whose hair was hoary with age, whose eyes were the
colour of the red lotus, whose joints, despite the loss of youth,
were firm from incessant labour, whose form, though that of a Matanga,
was not to be despised, and who wore the white raiment meet for a
court. Behind her went a Candala boy, with locks falling on either
shoulder, bearing a cage, the bars of which, though of gold, shone
like emerald from the reflection of the parrot's plumage. (22) She
herself seemed by the darkness of her hue to imitate Krishna when he
guilefully assumed a woman's attire to take away the amrita seized by
the demons. She was, as it were, a doll of sapphire walking alone;
and over the blue garment, which reached to her ankle, there fell a
veil of red silk, like evening sunshine falling on blue lotuses. The
circle of her cheek was whitened by the earring that hung from one
ear, like the face of night inlaid with the rays of the rising moon;
she had a tawny tilaka of gorocana, as if it were a third eye, like
Parvati in mountaineer's attire, after the fashion of the garb of Çiva.

[Dark Saint Alaick]

She was like Çri, darkened by the sapphire glory of Narayana reflected
on the robe on her breast; or like Rati, stained by smoke which rose as
Madana was burnt by the fire of wrathful Çiva; or like Yamuna, fleeing
in fear of being drawn along by the ploughshare of wild Balarama;
or, from the rich lac that turned her lotus feet into budding shoots,
like Durga, with her feet crimsoned by the blood of the Asura Mahisha
she had just trampled upon.

(23) Her nails were rosy from the pink glow of her fingers; the
mosaic pavement seemed too hard for her touch, and she came forward,
placing her feet like tender twigs upon the ground.

The rays of her anklets, rising in flame-colour, seemed to encircle
her as with the arms of Agni, as though, by his love for her beauty, he
would purify the stain of her birth, and so set the Creator at naught.

Her girdle was like the stars wreathed on the brow of the elephant
of Love; and her necklace was a rope of large bright pearls, like
the stream of Ganga just tinged by Yamuna.

[Dark Saint Alaick]

Like autumn, she opened her lotus eyes; like the rainy season, she had
cloudy tresses; like the circle of the Malaya Hills, she was wreathed
with sandal; (24) like the zodiac, she was decked with starry gems;
[65] like Çri, she had the fairness of a lotus in her hand; like a
swoon, she entranced the heart; like a forest, she was endowed with
living [66] beauty; like the child of a goddess, she was claimed by
no tribe; [67] like sleep, she charmed the eyes; as a lotus-pool in
a wood is troubled by elephants, so was she dimmed by her Matanga
[68] birth; like a spirit, she might not be touched; like a letter,
she gladdened the eyes alone; like the blossoms of spring, she lacked
the jati flower; [69] her slender waist, like the line of Love's bow,
could be spanned by the hands; with her curly hair, she was like the
Lakshmi of the Yaksha king in Alaka. [70] She had but reached the
flower of her youth, and was beautiful exceedingly. And the king was
amazed; and the thought arose in his mind, (25) 'Ill-placed was the
labour of the Creator in producing this beauty! For if she has been
created as though in mockery of her Candala form, such that all the
world's wealth of loveliness is laughed to scorn by her own, why was
she born in a race with which none can mate? Surely by thought alone
did Prajapati create her, fearing the penalties of contact with the
Matanga race, else whence this unsullied radiance, a grace that belongs
not to limbs sullied by touch? Moreover, though fair in form, by the
baseness of her birth, whereby she, like a Lakshmi of the lower world,
is a perpetual reproach to the gods, [71] she, lovely as she is, causes
fear in Brahma, the maker of so strange a union.' While the king was
thus thinking the maiden, garlanded with flowers, that fell over her
ears, bowed herself before him with a confidence beyond her years. And
when she had made her reverence and stepped on to the mosaic floor,
her attendant, taking the parrot, which had just entered the cage,
advanced a few steps, and, showing it to the king, said: 'Sire, this
parrot, by name Vaiçampayana, knows the meaning of all the çastras,
is expert in the practice of royal policy, (26) skilled in tales,
history, and Puranas, and acquainted with songs and with musical
intervals. He recites, and himself composes graceful and incomparable
modern romances, love-stories, plays, and poems, and the like; he
is versed in witticisms, and is an unrivalled disciple of the vina,
flute, and drum. He is skilled in displaying the different movements of
dancing, dextrous in painting, very bold in play, ready in resources
to calm a maiden angered in a lover's quarrel, and familiar with the
characteristics of elephants, horses, men, and women. He is the gem
of the whole earth; and in the thought that treasures belong to thee,
as pearls to the ocean, the daughter of my lord has brought him hither
to thy feet, O king! Let him be accepted as thine.'

[Dark Saint Alaick]

Having thus said, he laid the cage before the king and retired. (27)
And when he was gone, the king of birds, standing before the king, and
raising his right foot, having uttered the words, 'All hail!' recited
to the king, in a song perfect in the enunciation of each syllable
and accent, a verse [72] to this effect:



'The bosoms of your foemen's queens now mourn,

Keeping a fast of widowed solitude,

Bathed in salt tears, of pearl-wreaths all forlorn,

Scorched by their sad hearts' too close neighbourhood.'

[Dark Saint Alaick]

And the king, having heard it, was amazed, and joyfully addressed
his minister Kumarapalita, who sat close to him on a costly golden
throne, like Brihaspati in his mastery of political philosophy, aged,
of noble birth, first in the circle of wise councillors: 'Thou hast
heard the bird's clear enunciation of consonants, and the sweetness
of his intonation. This, in the first place, is a great marvel, that
he should raise a song in which the syllables are clearly separated;
and there is a combination of correctness with clearness in the vowels
and anunasikas. (28) Then, again, we had something more than that:
for in him, though a lower creation, are found the accomplishments,
as it were, of a man, in a pleasurable art, and the course of his
song is inspired by knowledge. For it was he who, with the cry, "All
hail!" straightened his right foot and sang this song concerning me,
whereas, generally, birds and beasts are only skilled in the science of
fearing, eating, pairing, and sleeping. This is most wonderful.' And
when the king had said this, Kumarapalita, with a slight smile,
replied: 'Where is the wonder? For all kinds of birds, beginning with
the parrot and the maina, repeat a sound once heard, as thou, O king,
knowest; so it is no wonder that exceeding skill is produced either
by the efforts of men, or in consequence of perfection gained in a
former birth. Moreover, they formerly possessed a voice like that of
men, with clear utterance. The indistinct speech of parrots, as well
as the change in elephants' tongues, arose from a curse of Agni.'

[Dark Saint Alaick]

Hardly had he thus spoken when there arose the blast of the mid-day
conch, following the roar of the drum distinctly struck at the
completion of the hour, and announcing that the sun had reached
the zenith. (29) And, hearing this, the king dismissed his band of
chiefs, as the hour for bathing was at hand, and arose from his hall
of audience.

Then, as he started, the great chiefs thronged together as they rose,
tearing their silk raiment with the leaf-work of their bracelets,
as it fell from its place in the hurried movement. Their necklaces
were swinging with the shock; the quarters of space were made
tawny by showers of fragrant sandal-powder and saffron scattered
from their limbs in their restlessness; the bees arose in swarms
from their garlands of malati flowers, all quivering; their cheeks
were caressed by the lotuses in their ears, half hanging down; their
strings of pearls were trembling on their bosoms--each longed in his
self-consciousness to pay his respects to the king as he departed.