Malavikagnimitram

by Kalidasa

  Both women are happy on hearing this.

  BAKULAVALIKA: Cheer up, my dear. The queen is true to her word.

  MALAVIKA: Then let’s follow the keeper of the garden.

  BAKULAVALIKA: All right.

  All exit.

  END ACT IV

  Act V

  Enter the keeper of the garden.

  MADHUKARIKA: With reverence and care, I made an altar for the golden ashoka and now I must inform the queen that her command is done. (Moving around) Oh, I hope fate takes pity on Malavika. For though the queen was upset with her, hopefully she’ll be kind and forgiving now that the ashoka is blooming. Now where’s the queen? (Looking around) Ah, here’s the hunchback Sarasaka, one of the queen’s closest attendants. He’s leaving the courtyard holding a cloth-covered box stamped with a red lac seal. I’ll ask him.

  Enter Sarasaka as described.

  MADHUKARIKA (approaching): Sarasaka! Where are you going?

  SARASAKA: Madhukarika, I’m going to give the brahmins versed in the Vedas their daily alms. I’ll hand this over to the royal priest.

  MADHUKARIKA: What for?

  SARASAKA: Ever since she heard that the army general had appointed young Prince Vasumitra to guard the sacrificial horse, the queen has been making an offering of eighteen gold pieces to worthy brahmins to ensure his good health.

  MADHUKARIKA: Excellent. So where’s the queen? Is she busy?

  SARASAKA: She’s sitting in the shrine, listening to the scribes read out a letter from her brother Virasena about matters in Vidarbha.

  MADHUKARIKA: So what’s the news from the king of Vidarbha?

  SARASAKA: Supposedly the king’s forces led by Virasena crushed the lord of Vidarbha and freed Madhavasena. And then, having accepted the terms of defeat, 86 the king offered many precious jewelled chariots along with a few attendants, mostly courtesans skilled in the arts. He even sent his personal messenger to see the king in private. 87

  MADHUKARIKA: Go, attend to your duties. And I’ll find the queen.

  Both exit.

  END INTRODUCTORY SCENE

  Enter doorkeeper.

  JAYASENA: The queen is busy looking after the ashoka tree and ordered me to tell the noble king, ‘I want to see the beautiful blossoms of the ashoka tree with my husband.’ I’ll wait for the king since he’s busy making pronouncements. 88 (Walks around.)

  Backstage.

  BOTH BARDS: Hail the king whose army tramples enemy heads! 89

  IRST BARD: In a garden on Vidisha’s banks,

  filled with the sweet song of cuckoos,

  you delight in spring,

  embodying Love who is without a body.

  Your powers grow by granting gifts, 90

  and enemies bend down

  like the trees on Varada’s banks,

  used as posts for ceremonial elephants! //1//

  SECOND BARD: You seized the Vidarbha king’s glory

  with your battalions

  like Krishna taking Rukmini

  with both arms, heavy as iron bars!

  For the love of heroes,

  wise men composed verses about both deeds,

  making the stories famous

  throughout the land of Kratha-kaishika! 91 //2//

  JAYASENA: The king is coming this way, his arrival signalled by sounds of victory! I’d better step out of the way and move to the terrace gate (standing to one side).

  Enter the king with his friend.

  AGNIMITRA: Thinking of how hard it is to join my beloved

  while hearing how I humbled Vidarbha with my might,

  makes my heart feel both sadness and joy,

  like a lotus struck by rain and shine. //3//

  GAUTAMA: As I see it, your majesty will soon enjoy complete happiness.

  AGNIMITRA: How?

  GAUTAMA: Well, today Queen Dharini said to Sister Kaushiki, ‘Sister, if you take pride in decorating, then dress Malavika up in a Vidarbhan wedding dress.’ Then Sister Kaushiki adorned Malavika beautifully. And so the queen is satisfying your heart’s desire.

  AGNIMITRA: That’s more like it, my friend! In the past Dharini always looked after my needs without any jealousy.

  JAYASENA (approaching): Victory to the king! The queen requests, ‘Help my efforts bear fruit, come and see the bright blossoms of the golden ashoka tree.’

  AGNIMITRA: Of course. Is the queen already there?

  JAYASENA: Yes. She generously honoured the ladies of the harem and dismissed them. Now she waits for the king with only her personal attendants, led by Malavika.

  AGNIMITRA (happily looking at Gautama): Jayasena! Lead the way.

  JAYASENA: This way, my lord, this way.

  All walk around.

  GAUTAMA (looking around): Oh friend, the youth of spring seems to have faded from this pleasure grove.

  AGNIMITRA: Before us scattered amaranth and mango trees

  bursting with fruit, 92

  my mind is unsettled by an inner ripening

  of this season’s youth. //4//

  GAUTAMA (moving around): Oh look, your majesty, the golden ashoka seems to be wearing a costume of flower clusters.

  AGNIMITRA: It’s only natural that it was late to bloom. For now it carries an uncommon 93 beauty. Look . . .

  It’s as if all the ashoka trees,

  early in displaying the fertility of spring,

  have gifted their flowers to this tree,

  whose longing has now ended. //5//

  GAUTAMA: Calm down, for even when she’s around us, Dharini keeps Malavika close.

  AGNIMITRA (joyously): You see, my friend,

  The queen humbly rises to greet me,

  along with my beloved,

  like the Earth with Lakshmi,

  who’s forgotten the lotus in her hand. //6//

  Enter Dharini, Malavika, Kaushiki and their attendants to the side.

  MALAVIKA (to herself): I know the reason behind the engagement preparations. 94 My heart trembles like a dewdrop on a lotus petal, and my left eye twitches constantly.

  GAUTAMA: Oh friend, doesn’t lady Malavika look stunning in that special wedding dress?

  AGNIMITRA: I see her adorned with ornaments.

  Wearing a well-draped 95 silk robe and modest jewellery,

  she appears to me like a moonlit spring night

  when star clusters rise along with the moon. //7//

  DHARINI (approaching): Long live the king!

  GAUTAMA: May your majesty be prosperous!

  KAUSHIKI: May the lord be victorious!

  AGNIMITRA: Greetings, Sister.

  KAUSHIKI: May your wishes be fulfilled.

  DHARINI (smiling): My lord, I hear this ashoka tree has become a meeting place for you to entertain young ladies.

  GAUTAMA: Oh, you’re being praised!

  AGNIMITRA (bashfully walking around the ashoka tree): The ashoka deserves to be the object

  of such reverence, does it not?

  For she honoured the queen’s efforts,

  by scorning the call of spring’s bounty

  with her flowers. //8//

  GAUTAMA: Do relax, look at the youthful . . .

  DHARINI: Who?

  GAUTAMA: . . . beauty of the golden ashoka flowers.

  All sit down.

  AGNIMITRA (to himself, looking at Malavika): I’m like a chakravaka bird, my beloved his mate

  and Dharini the night, who prevents our union. //9//

  Enter Maudgalya.

  MAUDGALYA: Victory to the king! The minister says, ‘Two skilled courtesans, part of the king of Vidarbha’s peace offering, haven’t been presented yet because they were exhausted from the journey. Now they’re fit to appear before the king. Let your majesty advise.’

  AGNIMITRA: Let them enter.

  MAUDGALYA: As the king commands. (Exits and returns along with the two.)

  JYOTSNIKA (aside): Oh, Rajanika, though we’re entering this palace for the first time, my soul feels happy from within.

&nbs
p; RAJANIKA: Oh, Jyotsnika, I feel the same way! Isn’t there a saying: ‘The heart anticipates the coming of sorrow and joy’?

  JYOTSNIKA: I hope it’s true now.

  MAUDGALYA: Here is the king with his queen. Ladies, you may come.

  Both approach. Malavika and Kaushiki look at each other upon seeing the two courtesans.

  JYOTSNIKA and RAJANIKA: Long live the king! Long live the queen!

  AGNIMITRA: Be seated.

  Both sit down.

  AGNIMITRA: Which arts have you two studied?

  JYOTSNIKA and RAJANIKA: We’re skilled in music, your majesty.

  AGNIMITRA: My queen, please choose one of the two.

  DHARINI: Take a look, Malavika, whom would you like to accompany your singing?

  JYOTSNIKA and RAJANIKA (looking at Malavika): Oh! It’s the princess! Long live the princess! (They shed tears along with Malavika.)

  Everyone watches in shock.

  AGNIMITRA: Who are you two? And who is this?

  JYOTSNIKA: My lord, she is our princess.

  AGNIMITRA: But how?

  JYOTSNIKA and RAJANIKA: Please listen, your majesty. This is Malavika, the younger sister of Prince Madhavasena. She was released from bondage when you conquered the king of Vidarbha with your victorious army.

  DHARINI: Is she really a princess? How wrong of me, I’ve been using sandalwood for sandals!

  AGNIMITRA: How did our lady come to such a state?

  MALAVIKA (sighing to herself): By a stroke of fate.

  RAJANIKA: Please listen, your majesty. When Prince Madhavasena was captured by his kinsmen, the noble Sumati secretly took her away, while attendants like us remained behind.

  AGNIMITRA: I heard about this earlier, but what happened next?

  JYOTSNIKA and RAJANIKA: This is all we know. We don’t know what happened after.

  KAUSHIKI: I will explain the unfortunate events that followed.

  JYOTSNIKA and RAJANIKA: Princess, this sounds like the voice of noble Kaushiki.

  MALAVIKA: It is.

  JYOTSNIKA and RAJANIKA: It’s hard to recognize the noble Kaushiki when she’s wearing the robes of an ascetic. Greetings, dear lady.

  KAUSHIKI: Bless you both.

  AGNIMITRA: Are they really your friends?

  KAUSHIKI: Yes.

  GAUTAMA: Then please, dear lady, tell us the rest of her story.

  KAUSHIKI (sorrowfully): Listen then. Please understand, Madhavasena’s minister Sumati is my elder brother.

  AGNIMITRA: Understood. And so . . .

  KAUSHIKI: Along with me, he rescued a lady whose brother had suffered much, 96 and hoping to marry her to your majesty, we joined a caravan heading for Vidisha.

  AGNIMITRA: Then what?

  KAUSHIKI: And then,

  A frightening gang of bandits, armed with bows,

  with quiver straps wrapped round their chests

  and peacock feathers dangling from head to heel

  ambushed us, screaming and attacking! //10//

  Malavika displays fear.

  GAUTAMA: Fear not, my lady. Sister Kaushiki speaks only of things past.

  AGNIMITRA: And then what?

  KAUSHIKI: Then, at the right moment, the caravan leader’s personal guard joined the fight and fended off the bandits.

  AGNIMITRA: Sister, what we’re about to hear next must be difficult for you.

  KAUSHIKI: Then my brother

  tried to protect her from that wicked gang,

  who she feared would attack.

  My beloved brother, who loved the king,

  paid his debts with his life. //11//

  JYOTSNIKA: Oh, Sumati is dead.

  RAJANIKA: And that must be how the princess got into this situation.

  Kaushiki sheds tears.

  AGNIMITRA: Sister, such is the journey of human life. Grieve not for your honourable brother, for he gave his body in the service of the king. And then . . .

  KAUSHIKI: Then I fainted, and when I regained consciousness, Malavika had disappeared and I couldn’t find her.

  AGNIMITRA: Sister, you’ve truly suffered a terrible hardship.

  KAUSHIKI: Then I cremated my brother’s body, and with the pain of widowhood renewed yet again, I crossed into your kingdom and donned these red robes.

  AGNIMITRA: Good, for this is the path of the virtuous. And then?

  KAUSHIKI: The princess went from the tribesmen to Virasena, and from Virasena to the queen. And it was only when I was granted entry into the queen’s quarters that I saw her again. This is the end of my story.

  MALAVIKA (to herself): Hmm, what will the king say now?

  AGNIMITRA: Oh, disasters cause disgraces!

  This lady,

  who ought be addressed with the title of queen,

  was treated as a servant,

  like using woven silk for a bathing towel. //12//

  DHARINI: Sister, it was wrong of you not to tell me of Malavika’s noble birth.

  KAUSHIKI: Oh no, heaven forbid! 97 I kept things secret for a good reason.

  DHARINI: And what was the reason?

  AGNIMITRA: Do tell us if you can.

  KAUSHIKI: Listen. When Malavika’s father was still alive, an old sage travelling with a temple festival made a prediction about her: 98 ‘After a year of experiencing the life of a servant, she will be united with a worthy husband.’ Seeing this fated prediction realized in humble service to you, I bided my time and waited for the right moment.

  AGNIMITRA: Waiting was a good idea.

  MAUDGALYA (entering): My lord, excuse the interruption, 99 but the minister sends a message: ‘We have agreed on a course of action in regard to Vidarbha, but we’d like to hear the king’s opinion.’

  AGNIMITRA: Maudgalya, I wish to appoint the noble brothers Yajnasena and Madhavasena as joint rulers.

  Let them govern separately,

  from the north and south banks of the Varada

  divided like the warm sun and cool moon,

  who rule both night and day. //13//

  MAUDGALYA: My lord, I will inform the council of ministers.

  Agnimitra raises a finger in approval. Maudgalya exits.

  JYOTSNIKA (aside): Lucky for the prince, he’ll get command over half the kingdom.

  MALAVIKA: Better than that, he’ll be spared life’s uncertainty.

  MAUDGALYA (entering): Long live the king! The minister says: ‘The king has a brilliant intellect.’ And the council of ministers holds the same view.

  Sustaining prosperity by dividing it in two,

  like horses yoked by a charioteer,

  brings both kings under your command,

  each unhindered by the other’s restraints. //14//

  AGNIMITRA: Then tell the council of ministers they should put this into writing for General Virasena.

  MAUDGALYA: As you command, my lord. (Exits and returns again holding a letter and a gift) The king’s command is done. But now this letter, along with a gift, has come from the commander-in-chief, King Pushyamitra. May the king see it.

  Agnimitra quickly gets up, respectfully touches the gift to his head and passes it to an attendant. Then he gestures for the letter to be opened.

  DHARINI: Oh my, my heart is on edge! After hearing of the well-being of our elders, 100 I’ll get news of my son, Vasumitra. Surely the commander-in-chief has entrusted my dear boy with a serious responsibility.

  AGNIMITRA (sits down and reads): Salutations from the sacrificial grounds. The commander-in-chief Pushyamitra lovingly embraces his mighty 101 son Agnimitra in the Vidisha country and says: ‘Let it be known: I consecrated the Rajasuya rite 102 and released a stallion to roam unchecked for a year. I appointed Vasumitra as its guardian and surrounded him with a hundred princes. When the horse wandered onto the south bank of the Sindhu, it was attacked by a Greek 103 cavalry contingent. And then a fierce battle ensued between the two armies.’

  Dharini appears distressed.

  AGNIMITRA: How could this come to pass? (Reads more of the letter)
>
  ‘Then Vasumitra the archer fought off the foes

  and returned the royal steed that was taken by force.’//15//

  DHARINI: That eases my heart.

  AGNIMITRA (reads the rest of the letter): ‘Now I will continue with the rite, for my grandson has returned the horse, just as Anshuman did for Sagara. 104 Without losing any time, and with your mind free of anger, 105 you must come with my dear daughter-in-law to be part of the rite.’

  AGNIMITRA: I am honoured.

  KAUSHIKI: Congratulations to the couple for their son’s fortunate victory. (Looking at the queen)

  The king makes you

  the most respected among the wives of heroes,

  but your son,

  he inspires your name as mother of heroes! 106 //16//

  GAUTAMA: I’m delighted, your grace. Our dear boy takes after his father.

  AGNIMITRA: Maudgalya, the young elephant rightly follows the leader of the herd.

  MAUDGALYA: Even such a display of bravery cannot shock our minds,

  for you, his maker, are both tall and mighty,

  like thigh-born Aurva

  who made the fire that burns in water! 107 //17//

  AGNIMITRA: Maudgalya, as promised, grant amnesty to Yajnasena’s brother-in-law along with all the other prisoners.

  MAUDGALYA: As you command, my lord. (Exits.)

  DHARINI: Jayasena, go and announce the news of my son’s victory to Iravati and others of the harem.

  JAYASENA: Very well. (Starts to go.)

  DHARINI: Wait, come here.

  JAYASENA (turning back): Yes, your majesty?

  DHARINI (aside): Tell Iravati about Malavika’s noble birth, and about what I promised her for tending to the ashoka tree. Then tell her, in friendly terms, that she mustn’t allow me to stray from the truth.

  JAYASENA: As the queen commands. (Exits and re-enters) My queen, all the women of the harem are delighted by your son’s victory! I’ve become a jewellery box, carrying all their gifted gems! 108

  DHARINI: Why so surprised? This triumph is as much theirs as it is mine.

  JAYASENA (aside): My queen, Iravati says: ‘You’ve given your word, and as the all-powerful queen, it wouldn’t be right to do something different.’