Act I Scene-a Forest
Enter King DUSHYANTA, armed with a bow and arrow, in a chariot, chasing an antelope, attended by his CHARIOTEER.
Charioteer
[Looking at the deer, and then at the KING.
Great Prince,
When on the antelope I bend my gaze,
And on your Majesty, whose mighty bow
Has its string firmly braced; before my eyes
The god that wields the trident9 seems revealed.
Chasing the deer that flies from him in vain.
King
Charioteer, this fleet antelope has drawn us far from my attendants. See! there he runs:
Aye and anon his graceful neck he bends
To cast a glance at the pursuing car;
And dreading now the swift-descending shaft,
Contracts into itself his slender frame;
About his path, in scattered fragments strewn,
The half-chewed grass falls from his panting mouth;
See! in his airy bounds he seems to fly,
And leaves no trace upon th’ elastic turf.
[With astonishment.]
How now! swift as is our pursuit, I scarce can see him.
Charioteer
Sire, the ground here is full of hollows; I have therefore drawn in the reins and checked the speed of the chariot. Hence the deer has somewhat gained upon us. Now that we are passing over level ground, we shall have no difficulty in overtaking him.
King
Loosen the reins, then.
Charioteer
The King is obeyed.
[Drives the chariot at full speed.]
Great Prince, see I see!
Responsive to the slackened rein, the steeds,
Chafing with eager rivalry, career
With emulative fleetness o’er the plain;
Their necks outstretched, their waving plumes, that late
Fluttered above their brows, are motionless10;
Their sprightly ears, but now erect, bent low;
Themselves unsullied by the circling dust,
That vainly follows on their rapid course.
KING. [Joyously.
In good sooth, the horses seem as if they would outstrip the steeds of Indra and the Sun[11].
That which but now showed to my view minute
Quickly assumes dimension; that which seemed
A moment since disjoined in diverse parts,
Looks suddenly like one compacted whole;
That which is really crooked in its shape
In the far distance left, grows regular;
Wondrous the chariot’s speed, that in a breath,
Makes the near distant and the distant near.
Now, Charioteer, see me kill the deer.
[Takes aim.
A Voice Behind the Scenes
Hold, O King! this deer belongs to our hermitage.
Kill it not! kill it not!
CHARIOTEER. [Listening and looking.
Great King, some hermits have stationed themselves so as to screen the antelope at the very moment of its coming within range of your arrow.
KING. [Hastily.
Then stop the horses.
Charioteer
I obey.
[Stops the chariot.
Enter a HERMIT, and two others with him.]
HERMIT. [Raising his hand.
This deer, O King, belongs to our hermitage. Kill it not! kill it not!
Now heaven forbid this barbed shaft descend
Upon the fragile body of a fawn,
Like fire upon a heap of tender flowers!
Can thy steel bolts no meeter quarry find
Than the warm life-blood of a harmless deer?
Restore, great Prince, thy weapon to its quiver.
More it becomes thy arms to shield the weak,
Than to bring anguish on the innocent.
King
’Tis done.
[Replaces the arrow in its quiver.
Hermit
Worthy is this action of a Prince, the light of Puru’s race12.
Well does this act befit a Prince like thee,
Right worthy is it of thine ancestry.
Thy guerdon be a son of peerless worth,
Whose wide dominion shall embrace the earth.
BOTH THE OTHER HERMITS. [Raising their hands.
May heaven indeed grant thee a son, a sovereign of the earth from sea to sea!
King
[Bowing.
I accept with gratitude a Bráhman’s benediction.
Hermit
We came hither, mighty Prince, to collect sacrificial wood. Here on the banks of the Máliní you may perceive the hermitage of the great sage Kanwa13. If other duties require not your presence, deign to enter and accept our hospitality.
When you behold our penitential rites
Performed without impediment by saints
Rich only in devotion, then with pride
Will you reflect:—Such are the holy men
Who call me Guardian; such the men for whom
To wield the bow I bare my nervous arm,
Scarred by the motion of the glancing string.
King
Is the Chief of your Society now at home?
Hermit
No; he has gone to Soma-tírtha14 to propitiate Destiny, which threatens his daughter [S’]akoontalá with some calamity; but he has commissioned her in his absence to entertain all guests with hospitality.
King
Good! I will pay her a visit. She will make me acquainted with the mighty sage’s acts of penance and devotion.
Hermit
And we will depart on our errand.
[Exit with his companions.
King
Charioteer, urge on the horses. We will at least purify our souls by a sight of this hallowed retreat.
Charioteer
Your Majesty is obeyed.
[Drives the chariot with great velocity.
KING. [Looking all about him.
Charioteer, even without being told, I should have known that these were the precincts of a grove consecrated to penitential rites.
Charioteer
How so?
King
Do not you observe?
Beneath the trees, whose hollow trunks afford
Secure retreat to many a nestling brood
Of parrots, scattered grains of rice lie strewn.
Lo! here and there are seen the polished slabs
That serve to bruise the fruit of Ingudí15.
The gentle roe-deer, taught to trust in man,
Unstartled hear our voices. On the paths
Appear the traces of bark-woven vests16
Borne dripping from the limpid fount of waters.
And mark!
Laved are the roots of trees by deep canals [17],
Whose glassy waters tremble in the breeze;
The sprouting verdure of the leaves is dimmed
By dusky wreaths of upward curling smoke
From burnt oblations; and on new-mown lawns
Around our car graze leisurely the fawns.
Charioteer
I observe it all.
KING. [Advancing a little further.
The inhabitants of this sacred retreat must not be disturbed. Stay the chariot, that I may alight.
Charioteer
The reins are held in. Your Majesty may descend.
KING. [Alighting.
Charioteer, groves devoted to penance must be entered in humble attire. Take these ornaments.
[Delivers his ornaments and bow to CHARIOTEER.]
Charioteer, see that the horses are watered, and attend to them until I return from visiting the inhabitants of the hermitage.
Charioteer
I Will.
[Exit.
KING. [Walking and looking about.
Here is the entrance to the hermitage. I will now go in.
[Entering and feeling a throbbing sensation in his arm.
Serenest peace is in this calm retreat,
By passion’s breath unruffled; what portends
My throbbing arm[18]? Why should it whisper here
Of happy love? Yet everywhere around us
Stand the closed portals of events unknown.
A Voice Behind the Scenes
This way, my dear companions; this way.
KING. [Listening.
Hark! I hear voices to the right of yonder grove of trees. I will walk in that direction.
[Walking and looking about.]
Ah! here are the maidens of the hermitage coming this way to water the shrubs, carrying water-pots proportioned to their strength.
[Gazing at them.]
How graceful they look!
In palaces such charms are rarely ours;
The woodland plants outshine the garden flowers.
I will conceal myself in this shade and watch them.
[Stands gazing at them.
Enter [S’]AKOONTALÁ, with her two female companions, employed in the manner described.
[S’]akoontalá
This way, my dear companions; this way.
Anasúyá
Dear [S’]akoontalá, one would think that father Kanwa had more affection for the shrubs of the hermitage even than for you, seeing he assigns to you, who are yourself as delicate as the fresh-blown jasmine, the task of filling with water the trenches which encircle their roots.
[S’]akoontalá
Dear Anasúyá, although I am charged by my good father with this duty, yet I cannot regard it as a task. I really feel a sisterly love for these plants.
[Continues watering the shrubs.
King
Can this be the daughter of Kanwa? The saintly man, though descended from the great Kasyapa, must be very deficient in judgment to habituate such a maiden to the life of a recluse.
The sage who would this form of artless grace
Inure to penance, thoughtlessly attempts
To cleave in twain the hard acacia’s stem[19]
With the soft edge of a blue lotus-leaf.
Well! concealed behind this tree, I will watch her without raising her suspicions.
[Conceals himself.
[S’]akoontalá
Good Anasúyá, Priyamvadá has drawn this bark-dress too tightly about my chest. I pray thee, loosen it a little.
Anasúyá
I will. [Loosens it.
PRIYAMVADÁ. [Smiling.
Why do you lay the blame on me? Blame rather your own blooming youthfulness which imparts fulness to your bosom.
King
A most just observation!
This youthful form, whose bosom’s swelling charms
By the bark’s knotted tissue are concealed,
Like some fair bud close folded in its sheath,
Gives not to view the blooming of its beauty.
But what am I saying? In real truth this bark-dress, though ill-suited to her figure, sets it off like an ornament.
The lotus20 with the [S’]aivala21 entwined
Is not a whit less brilliant; dusky spots
Heighten the lustre of the cold-rayed moon;
This lovely maiden in her dress of bark
Seems all the lovelier. E’en the meanest garb
Gives to true beauty fresh attractiveness.
[S’]AKOONTALÁ. [Looking before her.
Yon Ke[S’]ara-tree22 beckons to me with its young shoots, which, as the breeze waves them to and fro, appear like slender fingers. I will go and attend to it.
[Walks towards it.
Priyamvadá
Dear [S’]akoontalá, prithee, rest in that attitude one moment.
[S’]akoontalá
Why so?
Priyamvadá
The Ke[S’]ara-tree, whilst your graceful form bends about its stem, appears as if it were wedded to some lovely twining creeper.
[S’]akoontalá
Ah! saucy girl, you are most appropriately named Priyamvadá (‘Speaker of flattering things’).
King
What Priyamvadá says, though complimentary, is nevertheless true. Verily,
Her ruddy lip vies with the opening bud;
Her graceful arms are as the twining stalks;
And her whole form is radiant with the glow
Of youthful beauty, as the tree with bloom.
Anasúyá
See, dear [S’]akoontalá, here is the young jasmine, which you named ‘the Moonlight of the Grove,’ the self-elected wife of the mango-tree. Have you forgotten it?
[S’]akoontalá
Rather will I forget myself.
[Approaching the plant and looking at it.]
How delightful is the season when the jasmine-creeper and the mango-tree seem thus to unite in mutual embraces! The fresh blossoms of the jasmine resemble the bloom of a young bride, and the newly-formed shoots of the mango appear to make it her natural protector.
[Continues gazing at it.
Priyamvadá
Do you know, my Anasúyá, why [S’]akoontalá gazes so intently at the jasmine?
Anasúyá
No, indeed, I cannot imagine. I pray thee tell me.
Priyamvadá
She is wishing that as the jasmine is united to a suitable tree, so, in like manner, she may obtain a husband worthy of her.
[S’]akoontalá
Speak for yourself, girl; this is the thought in your own mind.
[Continues watering the flowers.
King
Would that my union with her were permissible23! and yet I hardly dare hope that the maiden is sprung from a caste different from that of the Head of the hermitage. But away with doubt:
That she is free to wed a warrior-king
My heart attests. For, in conflicting doubts,
The secret promptings of the good man’s soul
Are an unerring index of the truth.
However, come what may, I will ascertain the fact.
[S’]AKOONTALÁ. [In a flurry.
Ah! a bee, disturbed by the sprinkling of the water, has left the young jasmine, and is trying to settle on my face.
[Attempts to drive it away.
KING. [Gazing at her ardently.
Beautiful! there is something charming even in her repulse.
Where’er the bee his eager onset plies,
Now here, now there, she darts her kindling eyes;
What love hath yet to teach, fear teaches now,
The furtive glances and the frowning brow.
[In a tone of envy.
Ah, happy bee! how boldly dost thou try
To steal the lustre from her sparkling eye;
And in thy circling movements hover near,
To murmur tender secrets in her ear;
Or, as she coyly waves her hand, to sip
Voluptuous nectar from her lower lip!
While rising doubts my heart’s fond hopes destroy,
Thou dost the fulness of her charms enjoy.
[S’]akoontalá
This impertinent bee will not rest quiet. I must move elsewhere.
[Moving a few steps off, and casting a glance around.]
How now! he is following me here. Help! my dear friends, help! deliver me from the attacks of this troublesome insect.
Priyamvadá and Anasúyá
How can we deliver you? Call Dushyanta to your aid. The sacred groves are under the King’s special protection.
King
An excellent opportunity for me to show myself.
Fear not—
[Checks himself when the words are half-uttered; Aside.]
But stay, if I introduce myself in this manner, they will know me to be the King. Be it so, I will accost them, nevertheless.
[S’]akoontalá
[Moving a step or two further off.
What! it still persists in following me.
KING. [Advancing hastily.
When mighty Puru’s offspring sways the earth,
And o’er the wayward holds his threatening rod,
Who dares molest the gentle maids that keep
Their holy vigils here in Kanwa’s grove?
[All look at the KING, and all are embarrassed.
Anasúyá
Kind Sir, no outrage has been committed; only our dear friend here was teased by the attacks of a troublesome bee.
[Points to [S’]AKOONTALÁ.
KING. [Turning to [S’]AKOONTALÁ.
I trust all is well with your devotional rites24?
[[S’]AKOONTALÁ stands confused and silent.]
Anasúyá
All is well indeed, now that we are honoured by the reception of a distinguished guest. Dear [S’]akoontalá, go, bring from the hermitage an offering of flowers, rice, and fruit. This water that we have brought with us will serve to bathe our guest’s feet25.
King
The rites of hospitality are already performed; your truly kind words are the best offering I can receive.
Priyamvadá
At least be good enough, gentle Sir, to sit down awhile, and rest yourself on this seat shaded by the leaves of the Sapta-parna tree26.
King
You, too, must all be fatigued by your employment.
Anasúyá
Dear [S’]akoontalá, there is no impropriety in our sitting by the side of our guest; come, let us sit down here.
[All sit down together.
[S’]AKOONTALÁ. [Aside.
How is it that the sight of this made me sensible of emotions inconsistent with religious vows?
KING. [Gazing at them all By turns.
How charmingly your friendship is in keeping with the equality of your ages and appearance!
PRIYAMVADÁ. [Aside to ANASÚYÁ.
Who can this person be, whose lively yet dignified manner, and polite conversation, bespeak him a man of high rank?
Anasúyá
I, too, my dear, am very curious to know. I will ask him myself.
[Aloud]
Your kind words, noble Sir, fill me with confidence, and prompt me to inquire of what regal family our noble guest is the ornament? what country is now mourning his absence? and what induced a person so delicately nurtured to expose himself to the fatigue of visiting this grove of penance?
[S’]AKOONTALÁ. [Aside.
Be not troubled, O my heart, Anasúyá is giving utterance to thy thoughts.
KING. [Aside.
How now shall I reply? shall I make myself known, or shall I still disguise my real rank? I have it; I will answer her thus. [Aloud.] I am the person charged by his Majesty, the descendant of Puru, with the administration of justice and religion; and am come to this sacred grove to satisfy myself that the rites of the hermits are free from obstruction.
Anasúyá
The hermits, then, and all the members of our religious society, have now a guardian.
[[S’]AKOONTALÁ gazes bashfully at the KING.
Priyamvadá and Anasúyá
[Perceiving the state of her feelings, and of the KING’S. Aside to [S’]AKOONTALÁ.
Dear [S’]akoontalá, if father Kanwa were but at home to-day—
[S’]AKOONTALÁ. [Angrily.
What if he were?
Priyamvadá and Anasúyá
He would honour this our distinguished guest with an offering of the most precious of his possessions.
[S’]akoontalá
Go to! you have some silly idea in your minds, I will not listen to such remarks.
King
May I be allowed, in my turn, to ask you maidens a few particulars respecting your friend?
Priyamvadá and Anasúyá
Your request, Sir, is an honour.
King
The sage Kanwa lives in the constant practice of austerities. How, then, can this friend of yours be called his daughter?
Anasúyá
I will explain to you. Sir. You have heard of an illustrious sage of regal caste, Vi[s’]wámitra, whose family name is Kau[S’]ika27.
King
I have.
Anasúyá
Know that he is the real father of our friend. The venerable Kanwa is only her reputed father. He it was who brought her up, when she was deserted by her mother.
King
‘Deserted by her mother!’ My curiosity is excited; pray let me hear the story from the beginning.
Anasúyá
You shall hear it, Sir. Some time since, this sage of regal caste, while performing a most severe penance on the banks of the river Godávarí, excited the jealousy and alarm of the gods; insomuch that they despatched a lovely nymph named Menaká to interrupt his devotions.
King
The inferior gods, I am aware, are jealous28 of the power which the practice of excessive devotion confers on mortals.
Anasúyá
Well, then, it happened that Vi[s’]wámitra, gazing on the bewitching beauty of that nymph at a season when, spring being in its glory—
[Stops short, and appears confused.
King
The rest may be easily divined. [S’]akoontalá, then, is the offspring of the nymph.
Anasúyá
Just so.
King
It is quite intelligible.
How would a mortal to such charms give birth?
The lightning’s radiance flashes not from earth.
[[S’]AKOONTALÁ remains modestly seated with downcast eyes. Aside.]
And so my desire has really scope for its indulgence. Yet I am still distracted by doubts, remembering the pleasantry of her female companions respecting her wish for a husband.
Priyamvadá
[_Looking with a smile at [S’]AKOONTALÁ, and then turning towards the KING.]
You seem desirous, Sir, of asking something further.
[[S’]AKOONTALÁ makes a chiding gesture with her finger.
King
You conjecture truly. I am so eager to hear the particulars of your friend’s history, that I have still another question to ask.
Priyamvadá
Scruple not to do so. Persons who lead the life of hermits may be questioned unreservedly.
King
I wish to ascertain one point respecting your friend.
Will she be bound by solitary vows
Opposed to love, till her espousals only?
Or ever dwell with these her cherished fawns,
Whose eyes, in lustre vying with her own,
Return her gaze of sisterly affection?
Priyamvadá
Hitherto, Sir, she has been engaged in the practice of religious duties, and has lived in subjection to her foster-father; but it is now his fixed intention to give her away in marriage to a husband worthy of her.
KING. [Aside.
His intention may be easily carried into effect.
Be hopeful, O my heart, thy harrowing doubts
Are past and gone; that which thou didst believe
To be as unapproachable as fire,
Is found a glittering gem that may be touched.
[S’]AKOONTALÁ. [Pretending anger.
Anasúyá, I shall leave you.
Anasúyá
Why so?
[S’]akoontalá
That I may go and report this impertinent Priyamvadá to the venerable matron, Gautamí29.
Anasúyá
Surely, dear friend, it would not be right to leave a distinguished guest before he has received the rites of hospitality, and quit his presence in this wilful manner.
[[S’]AKOONTALÁ, without answering a word, moves away.
King
[Making a movement to arrest her departure, but checking himself. Aside.
Ah! a lover’s feelings betray themselves by his gestures.
When I would fain have stayed the maid, a sense
Of due decorum checked my bold design;
Though I have stirred not, yet my mien betrays
My eagerness to follow on her steps.
Priyamvadá
[Holding [S’]AKOONTALÁ back.
Dear [S’]akoontalá, it does not become you to go away in this manner.
[S’]AKOONTALÁ. [Frowning.
Why not, pray?
Priyamvadá
You are under a promise to water two more shrubs for me. When you have paid your debt, you shall go, and not before.
[Forces her to turn back.
King
Spare her this trouble, gentle maiden. The exertion of watering the shrubs has already fatigued her.
The water-jar has overtasked the strength
Of her slim arms; her shoulders droop, her hands
Are ruddy with the glow of quickened pulses;
E’en now her agitated breath imparts
Unwonted tremor to her heaving breast;
The pearly drops that mar the recent bloom
Of the [S’]irísha pendent in her ear,
Gather in clustering circles on her cheek;
Loosed is the fillet of her hair; her hand
Restrains the locks that struggle to be free.
Suffer me, then, thus to discharge the debt for you.
[Offers a ring to PRIYAMVADÁ. Both the maidens, reading the
name DUSHYANTA on the seal, look at each other with
surprise.
King
Nay, think not that I am King Dushyanta. I am only the King’s officer, and this is the ring which I have received from him as my credentials.
Priyamvadá
The greater the reason you ought not to part with the ring from your finger. I am content to release her from her obligation at your simple request.
[With a smile.]
Now, [S’]akoontalá, my love, you are at liberty to retire, thanks to the intercession of this noble stranger, or rather of this mighty prince.
[S’]AKOONTALÁ. [Aside.
My movements are no longer under my own control.
[Aloud.
Pray, what authority have you over me, either to send me away or keep me back?
KING. [Gazing at [S’]AKOONTALÁ. Aside.
Would I could ascertain whether she is affected towards me as I am towards her! At any rate, my hopes are free to indulge themselves. Because,
Although she mingles not her words with mine,
Yet doth her listening ear drink in my speech;
Although her eye shrinks from my ardent gaze,
No form but mine attracts its timid glances.
A Voice Behind the Scenes
O hermits, be ready to protect the animals belonging to our hermitage. King Dushyanta, amusing himself with hunting, is near at hand.
Lo! by the feet of prancing horses raised,
Thick clouds of moving dust, like glittering swarms
Of locusts, in the glow of eventide,
Fall on the branches of our sacred trees
Where hang the dripping vests of woven bark,
Bleached by the waters of the cleansing fountain.
And see!
Scared by the royal chariot in its course,
With headlong haste an elephant invades
The hallowed precincts of our sacred grove;
Himself the terror of the startled deer,
And an embodied hindrance to our rites.
The hedge of creepers clinging to his feet,
Feeble obstruction to his mad career,
Is dragged behind him in a tangled chain;
And with terrific shock one tusk he drives
Into the riven body of a tree,
Sweeping before him all impediments.
KING. [Aside.
Out upon it! my retinue are looking for me, and are disturbing this holy retreat. Well! there is no help for it; I must go and meet them.
Priyamvadá and Anasúyá
Noble Sir, we are terrified by the accidental disturbance caused by the wild elephant. Permit us to return to the cottage.
KING. [Hastily.
Go, gentle maidens. It shall be our care that no injury happen to the hermitage.
[All rise up.
Priyamvadá and Anasúyá
After such poor hospitality, we are ashamed to request the honour of a second visit from you.
King
Say not so. The mere sight of you, sweet maidens, has been to me the best entertainment.
[S’]akoontalá
Anasúyá, a pointed blade of Ku[s’]a-grass [30] has pricked my foot; and my bark-mantle is caught in the branch of a Kuruvaka-bush31. Be so good as to wait for me until I have disentangled it.
[Exit with her two companions, after making pretexts for delay, that she may steal glances at the KING.
King
I have no longer any desire to return to the city. I will therefore rejoin my attendants, and make them encamp somewhere in the vicinity of this sacred grove. In good truth, [S’]akoontalá has taken such possession of my thoughts, that I cannot turn myself in any other direction.
My limbs drawn onward leave my heart behind,
Like silken pennon borne against the wind.