by Kalidasa
of the coral jasmine flowers,
the echoes of the warbling
of carefree flocks of birds,
and the presence on the side
of many does with lotus eyes—
with all this, parks and gardens do
fill hearts of men with longing.
15
And the early morning breezes,
filtering through new opened blooms
of kalhara and lotuses,
and getting even further cooled
by the dewdrops on their leaves,
make the women ardent.
16
The land is to its fringes filled
with rich fields of ripened rice,
splendid, and replete with herds
of healthy cattle well looked after;
it resounds with cries of swans
and flocks of many other birds,
and engenders in the people
feelings of much happiness.
17
The graceful gait of elegant women
is now vanquished by the swans,
the moon-like glow upon their faces
by freshly opened lotus flowers,
the mischievous twinkle in their eyes
by blue lilies blossoming,
and the playful flitting of their eyebrows
by the curling waves in rivers.
18
Now dark vines, bent with the weight
of their new shoots and flowers,
surpass the dazzle of women’s arms
embellished with ornaments,
as is the radiance on their faces,
of smiles and bright teeth, transcended
by the dainty flowers of bandhuka
and the blooms sprouting on malati.
19
Girls decorate the curling tips
of their hair, more dark than rain clouds,
with new blooms of the malati
and to their ears, which do sparkle
with earrings of burnished gold,
they add blue lilies in full bloom.
20
Today, the women joyfully
adorn with necklaces their bosoms
anointed with sandal paste,
their shapely hips with girdle loops,
and the lotuses of their feet
with the finest ankle bells.
21
Now that the clouds are gone, the sky
is with the moon and stars bespattered:
it matches the beauty of the lakes,
their waters glittering like emeralds,
and beautifully embellished with
blooming lilies and royal swans.
22
The autumn breezes have turned cool
and drift through the flowers;
all quarters are beautiful,
with the host of clouds dispersed;
the waters are no longer turbid,
the mud on the ground has dried;
and with the stars and moonlight pure,
the sky is magnificent.
23
Awakened by the morning sun,
the lotus buds have bloomed today
and, like the smile on a new bride’s face
when her loved one goes away,
the lily flowers have now closed
with the setting of the moon.
24
The distraught traveller weeps today:
glimpsing in the blooming lotus
the dark beauty of the eyes
of his own beloved girl;
hearing the tinkle of her golden girdle
in the cries of playful swans;
and beholding the glow of her lips
in scarlet bandhujiva flowers.
25
From where appears this glory,
in advent of the autumn,
so splendid and dearly loved?
It accords to women’s faces
the glory of the moon,
to their gem-studded ankle bells
the pleasing sound of swans at play,
and to their enchanting lips
the hue of bandhuka blooms.
26
May this lady that is autumn—
with her face the lotus blossom,
her eyes the full blue lily blooms,
robed in new white kasha florets,
with a charming smile that is
the kumuda in flower—
instil in hearts of passionate women
all the best of love.
CANTO 4
Onset of Winter
1
The corn is charming with new sprouts,
the rice is ripe, the lodhra blossoming,
lotus blooms have disappeared,
and frost begun to form:
this is the time of winter’s onset,
and it has now arrived.
2
Not with sandal paste, but tints
red-brown of the saffron,
do elegant and full-breasted women
now their bosoms ornament,
and with jasmine garlands
that gleam like frost and the moon.
3
These ladies wish to keep away
from the cold feelings on their arms
of armbands and bracelets,
of new silks on their rounded hips,
and of fine muslin raiment
on their swelling breasts.
4
With golden and gem-studded girdles,
young women now do not adorn
their hips, nor do they ornament—
with ankle bells that sound like swans—
the lotuses that are their feet,
which also gleam like lilies.
5
Their limbs with powdered saffron tinted,
their lotus-like faces touched
with patterned lines of musk,
and their hair now perfumed with
the dark incense of kalaguru,
they prepare for the feast of love.
6
As these damsels then attain
the summit of a joyous bliss,
lovemaking causes them fatigue
that does turn their faces pale:
seeing that their lips were hurt
by love bites, they now keep away
from all laughter that is loud.
7
Their bosoms are glorious
with curvaceous breasts;
but they have been hurt
in the course of making love;
and this happening is the cause
that the dawn also sheds tears
in this time of cold—
with dewdrops on sprouting grass.
8
Mantled in rich crops of rice,
embellished with flocks of doves,
and resonating with the piquant
cries of birds like herons
is the full spread of this land,
which stirs all people’s hearts.
9
These lakes too do captivate
all men’s minds and thoughts:
they are adorned by lilies blue,
splendid with playful birds,
and their water, pure and clear,
with plants floating on its surface.
10
Chilled by the frost, a wind
does now shake the pepper vine
that is ripe and turning pale,
my dear, like a passionate woman
who from her lover is parted.
11
Their mouths redolent of the bouquet
of some flower-scented wine,
their limbs suffused with the aroma
of the pleasing breaths of one another,
and their bodies intertwined
together as they lie,
couples struck by Kama’s arrows
now seem as if asleep.
12
Signs of bruise
s
caused by love bites,
breasts bearing marks
of fingernails—
all point to the pleasures
of lovemaking
by women young
and lacking mercy.
13
In the morning sun, some damsel
with a mirror in her hand,
decorating her lotus face,
also examines her lips
which by her lover were bitten
while sucking out their essence.
14
Another maid, on edge of bed,
much fatigued with all the strain
of ceaseless lovemaking
through a wakeful night,
her eyes reddened and hair dishevelled,
does now bask in the soft sunlight
and tries once more to sleep.
15
Other young women, with tresses
darker than the rain clouds,
and slender figures stooping
with ample and upthrust breasts,
take off from their heads the faded
floral wreaths now scentless,
and rearrange their hair.
16
A maiden with dark hair, long and lovely,
is delighted, looking at
her body that her beau enjoyed—
now bearing the marks of fingernails—
as she her bodice now fastens again
while reapplying the splendid
colour on her pretty lips.
17
Another damsel, beautiful,
weary with her long exertions,
and her slender body slackened
by the games of love,
now looks at her comely loins,
and rubs them with ointments.
18
Replete with many rice-filled fields
right up to the village frontiers,
resonant with the cries of herons
and with frost appearing now:
these are all delightful traits
that steal away young women’s hearts;
may this time of snow bestow
every joy upon you all.
CANTO 5
Winter
1
Listen, girl of shapely legs,
about this time, the winter:
the ample fields are filled with ripe
crops of rice and sugar cane;
and, here and there, with pleasing cries
echoing, of the heron and the crane.
Of intense love, it is a season
that is dear to all young women.
2
It is a time that people pass
with a fire, or in bright sunlight,
with heavy garments for young ladies,
and windows kept shut in the house.
3
At this time, the hearts of people
are no more delighted by
sandal paste and cool moonlight
on the terrace of the house
under a pure autumnal moon,
and by a soft and dew-filled breeze.
4
Though decked out agreeably
with a host of weakly twinkling stars,
but cold, and dense with the advent of frost,
and still more icy with the moonlight,
now the nights no longer are
for people so enjoyable.
5
But women chewing betel leaves,
wearing garlands, and perfumed,
their mouths redolent of heavenly wines,
go into their sleeping chambers,
scented with kalaguru incense,
to lie down there most eagerly.
6
Their husbands may have made mistakes,
and frequently been rebuked;
now trembling, and with fear-filled minds,
they do wish to sleep with them:
and on seeing this, with pride,
the wives forgive their sins.
7
With loveplay, ruthless and intense,
having by young men been pleasured
throughout the night that was so long,
at its end, their youthful spouses,
their thighs weary with the strain,
now get up and move about,
but very languidly.
8
Their limbs adorned in colourful silks,
breasts squeezed into dainty bodices,
and braids that have been strung
with clusters of flowers,
women now seem to celebrate
the advent of the snow.
9
Alluring damsels, with their bosoms
by saffron tinted ochre, and
pressed upon the chests of lovers,
ignore the cold, and now enjoy
that warmth which is a part of youth,
with pleasure, as they fall asleep.
10
Throughout the night’s entirety,
couples who are lovers sip
of the best stimulating wines
in cups, where floating lily petals
quiver under their scented breaths:
charming, this also awakens
a fresh desire for lovemaking.
11
One young woman, in the morning,
all her intoxication gone,
and the tips of her breasts bruised
by her lover’s close embrace,
now looks at the body he enjoyed,
and leaves the bedroom with a laugh,
drifting away to another chamber.
12
Of wide hips and slender waist,
another girl, with loveplay glowing,
shakes out from her curly hair,
scented with the aguru incense,
a long string of faded flowers
as she leaves the bed at dawn.
13
At this time, as dawn appears,
some women stand within their houses,
like the goddess of prosperity:
their oval faces have the glow
of a golden lotus bloom,
with lips a beauteous coppery red,
large eyes stretching to the ears,
and their hair touching the shoulders.
14
Other maidens, with slender waists
that bear the burden of their breasts
as also of their ample hips,
and who move with a gentle gait,
now quickly shed the undergarments
in which they made love, and put on
vestments suited for the day.
15
These girls survey their bosoms
that bear marks of fingernails,
and touch the buds that are their lips
which show signs of love bites,
and delighting in that appearance
after the pleasures of lovemaking,
they now their faces redecorate
while the sun does rise.
16
Full of candied sweetness and
the pleasing taste of rice and sugar cane—
a time for lovemaking intense
that likewise breeds some insolence,
but a time that also causes heartaches
for those separated from their lovers—
may this winter season always
bless you with happiness.
CANTO 6
Spring
1
Plush mango sprouts are his arrows sharp,
a row of bees his elegant bowstring—
my dear, the warrior that is spring
has now arrived to pierce the hearts
of people ready to make love.
2
Trees filled with flowers,
waters with lilies,
breezes fragrant,
women attractive,
pleasant days,
and evenings happy—
all, my darling,
are more delightful
with the spring’s advent.
3
Waters in the tanks and wells,
gems set in a woman’s girdle,
lovely ladies, and the moonlight,
and mango tree groves
covered with blossoms—
all are blessed by spring.
4
The rounded hips of graceful girls
are bedecked in silken skirts
dyed crimson with safflower juice,
and their bosoms in fine wraps,
with saffron ochre-tinted.
5
In their ears, some new and matching
flowers of laburnum,
asoka garlands on their breasts,
and in their hair fresh jasmine blooms—
all these add a splendid glow
to the maidens beautiful.
6
With the garlands on their bosoms
moistened white by sandal paste,
armlets made of conch shells
fastened on their arms,
and girdles around their loins,
women, impatient for lovemaking,
are now ready for union.