Hinduism

"Kanwa: I will tell thee; listen:— When thou hast passed a long and blissful life As King Dushyanta's queen, and jointly shared With all the earth his ever-watchful care; And hast beheld thine own heroic son, Matchless in arms, united to a bride In happy wedlock; when his aged sire, Thy faithful husband, hath to him resigned The helm of state; then, weary of the world, Together with Dushyanta thou shalt seek The calm seclusion of thy former home; There amid holy scenes to be at peace, Till thy pure spirit gain its last release."

"Gautamí: Come, my child, the favourable time for our journey is fast passing. Let thy father return. Venerable Sire, be thou the first to move homewards, or these last words will never end."

"Kanwa: Daughter, detain me no longer. My religious duties must not be interrupted."

"SHAKOONTALÁ: Beloved father, thy frame is much enfeebled by penitential exercises. Do not, oh! do not, allow thyself to sorrow too much on my account."

"Kanwa: How, O my child, shall my bereaved heart Forget its bitterness, when, day by day, Full in my sight shall grow the tender plants Reared by thy care, or sprang from hallowed grain Which thy loved hands have strewn around the door— A frequent offering to our household gods? Go, my daughter, and may thy journey be prosperous."

"Priyamvadá and Anasúyá: Holy father, the sacred grove will be a desert without Sakoontalá. How can we ever return to it?"

"Kanwa: It is natural enough that your affection should make you view it in this light. As for me, I am quite surprised at myself. Now that I have fairly dismissed her to her husband's house, my mind is easy; for, indeed, A daughter is a loan—a precious jewel Lent to a parent till her husband claim her. And now that to her rightful lord and master I have delivered her, my burdened soul Is lightened, and I seem to breathe more freely."

"Máthavya: Hark! my dear friend, listen a minute, and you will hear sweet sounds proceeding from the music-room. Some one is singing a charming air. Who can it be? Oh! I know. The queen Hansapadiká is practising her notes, that she may greet you with a new song."

"King: She means to reprove me, because I once paid her great attention, and have lately deserted her for the queen Vasumatí. Go, my dear fellow, and tell Hansapadiká from me that I take her delicate reproof as it is intended."

"Máthavya: But stay—I don't much relish being sent to bear the brunt of her jealousy. The chances are that she will have me seized by the hair of the head and beaten to a jelly. I would as soon expose myself, after a vow of celibacy, to the seductions of a lovely nymph, as encounter the fury of a jealous woman."

"King: Go, go; you can disarm her wrath by a civil speech; but give her my message."

"Vátáyana, Chamberlain: Victory to the King! So please your Majesty, some hermits who live in a forest near the Snowy Mountains have arrived here, bringing certain women with them. They have a message to deliver from the sage Kanwa and desire an audience. I await your Majesty's commands."

"King: Tell my domestic priest Somaráta to receive the hermits with due honour, according to the prescribed form. He may then himself introduce them into my presence. I will await them in a place suitable for the reception of such holy guests."

"Warder (Vetravatí): Here is the terrace of the hallowed fire-chamber, and yonder stands the cow that yields the milk for the oblations. The sacred enclosure has been recently purified, and looks clean and beautiful. Ascend, Sire."

"King: Vetravatí, what can possibly be the message that the venerable Kanwa has sent me by these hermits? Perchance their sacred rites have been disturbed By demons, or some evil has befallen The innocent herds, their favourites, that graze Within the precincts of the hermitage, Or haply, through my sins, some withering blight Has nipped the creeping plants that spread their arms Around the hallowed grove. Such troubled thoughts Crowd through my mind, and fill me with misgiving."

"Warder (Vetravatí) If you ask my opinion, Sire, I think the hermits merely wish to take an opportunity of testifying their loyalty, and are therefore come to offer homage to your majesty."

"Shárngarava: O Sháradwata, 'Tis true the monarch lacks no royal grace, Nor ever swerves from justice; true, his people, Yea such as in life's humblest walks are found, Refrain from evil courses; still to me, A lonely hermit reared in solitude, This throng appears bewildering, and I seem To look upon a burning house, whose inmates Are running to and fro in wild dismay."

"Sháradwata: It is natural that the first sight of the King's capital should affect you in this manner; my own sensations are very similar. As one just bathed beholds the man polluted; As one late purified, the yet impure; As one awake looks on the yet unawakened; Or as the freeman gazes on the thrall, So I regard this crowd of pleasure-seekers."

"SHAKOONTALÁ: Alas! what means this throbbing of my right eyelid?"

"Gautami: Heaven avert the evil omen, my child! May the guardian deities of thy husband's family convert it into a sign of good fortune!"

"King: But the lady there— Who can she be, whose form of matchless grace Is half concealed beneath her flowing veil? Among the sombre hermits she appears Like a fresh bud 'mid sear and yellow leaves."

"Priest: These holy men have been received with all due honour. One of them has now a message to deliver from his spiritual superior. Will your Majesty deign to hear it?"

"King: I trust no one is molesting you in the prosecution of your religious rites."

"Hermits: Who dares disturb our penitential rites When thou art our protector? Can the night Prevail to cast her shadows o'er the earth While the sun's beams irradiate the sky?"

"King: Such, indeed, is the very meaning of my title—'Defender of the Just.' I trust the venerable Kanwa is in good health. The world is interested in his well-being."

"Hermits: Holy men have health and prosperity in their own power. He bade us greet your Majesty, and, after kind inquiries, deliver this message."

"Shárngarava: He bade us say that he feels happy in giving his sanction to the marriage which your Majesty contracted with this lady, his daughter, privately and by mutual agreement. Because, By us thou art esteemed the most illustrious Of noble husbands; and Shakoontalá, Virtue herself in human form revealed. Great Brahmá hath in equal yoke united A bride unto a husband worthy of her; Henceforth let none make blasphemous complaint That he is pleased with ill-assorted unions Since, therefore, she expects soon to be the mother of thy child, receive her into thy palace, that she may perform, in conjunction with thee, the ceremonies prescribed by religion on such an occasion."

"Gautami: So please your Majesty, I would add a few words; but why should I intrude my sentiments when an opportunity of speaking my mind has never been allowed me? She took no counsel with her kindred; thou Didst not confer with thine, but all alone Didst solemnize thy nuptials with thy wife. Together, then, hold converse; let us leave you."

"King: What strange proposal is this?"

"SHAKOONTALÁ: [Aside] His words are like fire to me."

"Shárngarava: What do I hear? Dost thou, then, hesitate? Monarch, thou art well acquainted with the ways of the world, and knowest that A wife, however virtuous and discreet, If she live separate from her wedded lord, Though under shelter of her parent's roof, Is marked for vile suspicion. Let her dwell Beside her husband, though he hold her not In his affection. So her kinsmen will it."

"King: Do you really mean to assert that I ever married this lady?"

"SHAKOONTALÁ: [Aside] O my heart, thy worst misgivings are confirmed."

"Shárngarava: Is it becoming in a monarch to depart from the rules of justice, because he repents of his engagements?"

"King: I cannot answer a question which is based on a mere fabrication."

"Shárngarava: Such inconstancy is fortunately not common, except in men intoxicated by power."

"King: Is that remark aimed at me?"

"Gautami: Be not ashamed, my daughter. Let me remove thy veil for a little space. Thy husband will then recognize thee.[Removes Shakuntala's veil]."

"King: [Aside]What charms are here revealed before mine eyes! Truly no blemish mars the symmetry Of that fair form; yet can I ne'er believe She is my wedded wife; and like a bee That circles round the flower whose nectared cup Teems with the dew of morning, I must pause Ere eagerly I taste the proffered sweetness."

"Warder (Vetravatí) How admirably does our royal master's behaviour prove his regard for justice! Who else would hesitate for a moment when good fortune offered for his acceptance a form of such rare beauty?"

"Shárngarava: Great King, why art thou silent?"

"Gautami: Holy men, I have revolved the matter in my mind; but the more I think of it, the less able am I to recollect that I ever contracted an alliance with this lady. What answer, then, can I possibly give you when I do not believe myself to be her husband, and I plainly see that she is soon to become a mother?"

"SHAKOONTALÁ: [Aside] Woe! woe! Is our very marriage to be called in question by my own husband? Ah me! is this to be the end of all my bright visions of wedded happiness?"

"Shárngarava: Beware! Beware how thou insult the holy Sage! Remember how he generously allowed Thy secret union with his foster-child; And how, when thou didst rob him of his treasure, He sought to furnish thee excuse, when rather He should have cursed thee for a ravisher."

"Sháradwata: Shárngarava, speak to him no more. [S']akoontalá, our part is performed; we have said all we have to say, and the King has replied in the manner thou hast heard. It is now thy turn to give him convincing evidence of thy marriage."

"SHAKOONTALÁ: [Aside] Since his feeling towards me has undergone a complete revolution, what will it avail to revive old recollections? One thing is clear—I shall soon have to mourn my own widowhood."

"SHAKOONTALÁ: My revered husband. But no—I dare not address thee by this title, since thou hast refused to acknowledge our union. Noble descendant of Puru! It is not worthy of thee to betray an innocent-minded girl, and disown her in such terms, after having so lately and so solemnly plighted thy vows to her in the hermitage."

"King: [Stopping his ears].I will hear no more. Be such a crime far from my thoughts!"

"King: What evil spirit can possess thee, lady, That thou dost seek to sully my good name By base aspersions, like a swollen torrent, That, leaping from its narrow bed, o'erthrows The tree upon its bank, and strives to blend Its turbid waters with the crystal stream?"

"SHAKOONTALÁ: If, then, thou really believest me to be the wife of another, and thy present conduct proceeds from some cloud that obscures thy recollection, I will easily convince thee by this token."