Shakuntala (play)

"King: I am listening; proceed."

"SHAKOONTALÁ: At that instant, my adopted child, the little fawn, with soft, long eyes, came running towards us. Upon which, before tasting the water thyself, thou didst kindly offer some to the little creature, saying fondly:—'Drink first, gentle fawn.' But she could not be induced to drink from the hand of a stranger; though immediately afterwards, when I took the water in my own hand, she drank with perfect confidence. Then, with a smile, thou didst say;—'Every creature confides naturally in its own kind. You are both inhabitants of the same forest, and have learnt to trust each other.'"

"King: Voluptuaries may allow themselves to be seduced from the path of duty by falsehoods such as these, expressed in honeyed words."

"Gautami: Speak not thus, illustrious Prince. This lady was brought up in a hermitage, and has never learnt deceit."

"King: Holy matron, E'en in untutored brutes, the female sex Is marked by inborn subtlety—much more In beings gifted with intelligence. The wily Koïl[83], ere towards the sky She wings her sportive flight, commits her eggs To other nests, and artfully consigns The rearing of her little ones to strangers."

"SHAKOONTALÁ: Dishonourable man, thou judgest of others by thine own evil heart. Thou, at least, art unrivalled in perfidy, and standest alone—a base deceiver in the garb of virtue and religion—like a deep pit whose yawning mouth is concealed by smiling flowers."

"King: [Aside] Her anger, at any rate, appears genuine, and makes me almost doubt whether I am in the right. For indeed, When I had vainly searched my memory, And so with stern severity denied The fabled story of our secret loves, Her brows, that met before in graceful curves, Like the arched weapon of the god of love, Seemed by her frown dissevered; while the fire Of sudden anger kindled in her eyes."

"King: My good lady, Dushyanta's character is well known to all. I comprehend not your meaning."

"SHAKOONTALÁ: Well do I deserve to be thought a harlot for having in the innocence of my heart, and out of the confidence I reposed in a Prince of Puru's race, entrusted my honour to a man whose mouth distils honey, while his heart is full of poison."

"Shárngarava: Thus it is that burning remorse must ever follow rash actions which might have been avoided, and for which one has only one's self to blame. Not hastily should marriage be contracted, And specially in secret. Many a time, In hearts that know not each the other's fancies, Fond love is changed into most bitter hate."

"King: How now! Do you give credence to this woman rather than to me, that you heap such accusations on me?"

"Shárngarava: That would be too absurd, certainly. You have heard the proverb:—Hold in contempt the innocent words of those Who from their infancy have known no guile; But trust the treacherous counsels of the man Who makes a very science of deceit."

"King: Most veracious Bráhman, grant that you are in the right, what end would be gained by betraying this lady?"

"Shárngarava: Ruin."

"Sháradwata: This altercation is idle, Shárngarava. We have executed the commission of our preceptor; come, let us return."

"Sháradwata: to the King Shakoontalá is certainly thy bride; Receive her or reject her, she is thine. Do with her, King, according to thy pleasure— The husband o'er the wife is absolute."

"Sháradwata: Go on before us, Gautamí."

"SHAKOONTALÁ: What! is it not enough to have been betrayed by this perfidious man? Must you also forsake me, regardless of my tears and lamentations? [[Attempts to follow them.]"

"Gautami: My son Sárngarava, see! Shakoontalá is following us, and with tears implores us not to leave her. Alas! poor child, what will she do here with a cruel husband who casts her from him?"

"Shárngarava: Wilful woman, dost thou seek to be independent of thy lord?...Shakoontalá! If thou art really what the King proclaims thee, How can thy father e'er receive thee back Into his house and home? but if thy conscience Be witness to thy purity of soul, E'en should thy husband to a handmaid's lot Condemn thee, thou may'st cheerfully endure it. When ranked among the number of his household. Thy duty therefore is to stay. As for us, we must return immediately."

"King: Deceive not this lady, my good hermit, by any such expectations. The moon expands the lotus of the night, The rising sun awakes the lily; each Is with his own contented. Even so The virtuous man is master of his passions, And from another's wife averts his gaze."

"Shárngarava: Since thy union with another woman has rendered thee oblivious of thy marriage with Shakoontalá, whence this fear of losing thy character for constancy and virtue?"

"King addressing a priest: You must counsel me, revered Sir, as to my course of action. Which of the two evils involves the greater or less sin? Whether by some dark veil my mind be clouded. Or this designing woman speak untruly, I know not. Tell me, must I rather be The base disowner of my wedded wife, Or the defiling and defiled adulterer?"

"Priest: You must take an intermediate course....I will provide an asylum for the lady in my own house until the birth of her child; and my reason, if you ask me, is this: Soothsayers have predicted that your first-born will have universal dominion. Now, if the hermit's daughter bring forth a son with the discus or mark of empire in the lines of his hand[84], you must admit her immediately into your royal apartments with great rejoicings; if not, then determine to send her back as soon as possible to her father."

"King: I bow to the decision of my spiritual advisor."

"Priest: Daughter, follow me."

"SHAKOONTALÁ: O divine earth, open and receive me into thy bosom!"

"A Voice: A miracle! a miracle!"

"Priest: Great Prince, a stupendous prodigy has just occurred....May it please your Majesty, so soon as Kanwa's pupils had departed, Sakoontalá, her eyes all bathed in tears, with outstretched arms, bewailed her cruel fate— When suddenly a shining apparition, In female shape, descended from the skies, Near the nymph's pool, and bore her up to heaven."

"King: My good priest, from the very first I declined having anything to do with this matter. It is now all over, and we can never, by our conjectures, unravel the mystery; let it rest; go, seek repose."

"Priest: Be it so. Victory to the King!"

"King: Do what I will, I cannot call to mind That I did e'er espouse the sage's daughter; Therefore I have disowned her; yet 'tis strange How painfully my agitated heart Bears witness to the truth of her assertion, And makes me credit her against my judgment."

"Prelude To ACT VI (Scene—A Street.)"

"Two Constables: Take that for a rascally thief that you are; and now tell us, sirrah, where you found this ring—aye, the King's own signet-ring. See, here is the royal name engraved on the setting of the jewel."

"Fisherman: Mercy! kind sirs, mercy! I did not steal it; indeed I did not....One day I was cutting open a large carp[87] I had just hooked, when the sparkle of a jewel caught my eye, and what should I find in the fish's maw but that ring! Soon afterwards, when I was offering it for sale, I was seized by your honours. Now you know everything. Whether you kill me, or whether you let me go, this is the true account of how the ring came into my possession."

"Superintendent: Well, Jánuka, the rascal emits such a fishy odour that I have no doubt of his being a fisherman; but we must inquire a little more closely into this queer story about the finding of the ring. Come, we'll take him before the King's household."

"Second Constable: There's our Superintendent at last, I declare. See! he is coming towards us with a paper in his hand. We shall soon know the King's command; so prepare, my fine fellow, either to become food for the vultures, or to make acquaintance with some hungry cur."

"Superintendent: Ho, there, Súchaka! set the fisherman at liberty, I tell you. His story about the ring is all correct."

"Fisherman: Now, master, what think you of my way of getting a livelihood?"

"Superintendent: Here, my good man, the King desired me to present you with this purse. It contains a sum of money equal to the full value of the ring."

"Fisherman: His Majesty does me too great honour."

"Súchaka (Constable): You may well say so. He might as well have taken you from the gallows to seat you on his state elephant."

"Jánuka (another constable): Master, the King must value the ring very highly, or he would never have sent such a sum of money to this ragamuffin."

"Superintendent: I don't think he prizes it as a costly jewel so much as a memorial of some person he tenderly loves. The moment it was shown to him he became much agitated, though in general he conceals his feelings."

"Fisherman: Here's half the money for you, my masters. It will serve to purchase the flowers you spoke of, if not to buy me your good-will."

"Superintendent: My good fisherman, you are an excellent fellow, and I begin to feel quite a regard for you. Let us seal our first friendship over a glass of good liquor. Come along to the next wine-shop, and we'll drink your health."

"Sánumatí: (The nymph Sánumatí is seen descending in a celestial car.) Behold me just arrived from attending in my proper turn at the nymph's pool, where I have left the other nymphs to perform their ablutions, whilst I seek to ascertain, with my own eyes, how it fares with King Dushyanta. My connexion with the nymph Menaká has made her daughter Sakoontalá dearer to me than my own flesh and blood; and Menaká it was who charged me with this errand on her daughter's behalf. How is it that I see no preparations in the King's household for celebrating the great vernal festival? I could easily discover the reason by my divine faculty of meditation but respect must be shown to the wishes of my friend. How then shall I arrive at the truth? I know what I will do. I will become invisible, and place myself near those two maidens who are tending the plants in the garden."

"Chamberlin: Hold there, thoughtless woman [the two maids in the garden]. What are you about, breaking off those mango-blossoms, when the King has forbidden the celebration of the spring festival?"

"Both Maidens: Pardon us, kind Sir, we have heard nothing of it."

"Chamberlin: You have heard nothing of it? Why, all the vernal plants and shrubs, and the very birds that lodge in their branches, show more respect to the King's order than you do....But tell us, kind Sir, why has the King prohibited the usual festivities? We are curious to hear, if we may."