Shringara-manjari Katha (translation and notes)
by Kumari Kalpalata K. Munshi | 1959 | 99,373 words
An English translation of the Shringara-manjari Katha by Bhojadeva. This detailed study includes four sections. The Introduction outlines the manuscript's unique features and provides a content analysis. The second section contains the Sanskrit text complemented by an index of proper names. The third section offers an English translation excluding ...
Section 7.10 - The tenth tale of the Snake
(73) Moreover child, when men are harassed very much there is nothing they would desist from doing out of anger. Listen, my child: In the city of Kausambi, which was like a jewel on the parting of the hair of the Lady Earth, there lived a rich srotriya named SRUTADHARA who had mastered all the lores. He who followed the path laid down by the srutis and the smrtis, begot a son in the middle age who was named VINAYADHARA. Since boyhood the boy was initiated into the study of Vedas and by the time he was sixteen he had learnt all the smstras. Now, once upon a time, when spring, the sovereign of seasons set in, enkindling the sun which was like its greatness incarnate, after pushing aside out of compassion the winter season which afflicted the whole world by extreme cold; when the orb of the moon posssessed the beauty of a white umbrella with the cloth in the form of the moonlight, with the ribs in the form of the bright rays and which was held high by the umbrella bearer in the form of the night; where here and there leaves of excellent saffron were swayed by the softly blowing wind; when the white lotuses bore the beauty of white chowries; when the rows of asoka trees flashed forth sprouts in every forest like banners (woven) by the shuttle dyed in lac of the Fish-bannered One who conquered the whole world; when the campaka trees had not even put forth buds, when sprouts had not cropped up, when the fragrance of the kesara had not spread, when the trees and the creepers had not become even mature, when the directions were not even clear, when the wind was not even slow and when the humming of the swarms of the bees was not even heard, then, at the first appearance of spring, even without cause, the world was agitated; when gradually the spring matured; it first agitated the world and then the forests of lotuses; it first revealed the rapturous hearts of lovers and then the rows of asoka trees flashing redness; it first made the lovers close their eyes towards their sweet-hearts and then the clusters of lotuses; it first cleaved the hearts of the separated ladies and then the buds of creepers; it foremost darkened the hearts of the passionate and then the forests of flowers with swarms of bees; when unnoticed the nights became shorter, the tanks of lotuses gave up their dryness brought about by frost, and the rays of the moon and the trees gave up smokiness. When the rays of the sun and the arrows of Smara increased, then the spring, a dear friend of the Splendour of the Forest, kept ready for her as it were on all sides
red mukuras «buds, mirrors» in the form of the mango-blossoms for her to see herself; when the groves of lotuses smiled on seeing the glory of its friend, the Sun, increasingly day by day; when slowly the flowers of raja-campaka, possessing the radiance of molten gold, burst forth, enkindling the fire of love of the lovers resembling in complexion the kunkuma-rubbed breasts of their sweethearts; (74) when Makaraketu inspired the world as if it was agitated, unsteady, eager and drunk by the humming of the bees which seemed to be the sweet songs of the sylvan deity anxious at the advent of spring, as if they were the twangings of the bows of the archer Madana, as if they were jinglings of the jewelled armlets of the Forest Glory engaged in preparing the implements of Madhu; when the madhavi creepers decked with dark leaves, covered by the Malaya wind enkindled the fire of passion even in the dull, which (wind) was very cool due to its close proximity to the sandal trees, which gave rise to the sport of Madana even when the lovers were nearby, uprooting the pride of the haughty women and which though southerly is uncharitable to the separated ones; when the Malaya wind straightened the puffed up minds of the Kerala women as also their curls of hair; when it fanned the anger in the hearts of the Cola women as also the borders of their gar ments; when it ruffled the mind of the Kuntala women affected by the faults of the lovers as also their wreaths in the braids of hair; when the bunches of madhuka flowers increased in palor as if competing with the cheeks of the separated ladies; when clusters of kurabakas, blue, yellow and red, shone like colourful gems in the crown of the king of spring; when the intoxicated notes of the cuckoos, sharper due to eating the fresh blossoms of mango reached far though issuing falteringly as the throats were choked. and which seemed to be the commands of Smara causing anguish to the minds of the travellers; when the asoka trees joyously bloomed on experiencing the pleasure of the striking of the feet of the women; when the buds of kesara bloomed into flowers on receiving mouthfuls of the wine from wine from the women; when the tilaka trees flowered out of joy on coming into contact with the much-desired glances of the lotus-eyed ones and which turned white due to the lustre of the eyes; when the kurabaka trees possessed the splendour of variegated bunches of flowers having obtained the long-desired embraces of the women with drowsy eyes, and which (trees) could not contain within themselves their excessive joy and therefore emitted it out through the buds; thus in the spring the trees yearned to fulfil their desires like the lovers; when the madhavi creepers decked with dark leaves, covered by swarms of bees and with the cooing of the intoxicated cuckoos incited passion in the paramours like the abhisarikas, anointed with
musk, and veiled in black silk; when in every forest gradually the ground lotuses opened, whose red lustre increased internally as if pierced by the arrows of love and which swayed by the terrible Malaya wind like the hearts of the separated; when the depths of the forests were overspread on all sides by the kimsuka flowers which look like the waves of the sea of Love desirous of flooding the three worlds and which were round like the tips of Madana's bow; (75) when the Malaya wind fragrant with the scent of saffron generates fear in the people even when their dear ones are near about, like a lion possessing the smell of the rut of the killed elephants; when the bees, sweetly humming, hit the hearts of the separated women like strange emerald-marbles of Madana thrown to overpower the three worlds; when, though unacquainted, the sweetly cooing cuckoos acted as female-messengers, though unappointed, for cutting the knots of pride (of the arrogant women); when the fullgrown vasanta creeper possessed some indescribable beauty as it rested on the trunk of the mango-tree as on a lover; when the fresh kamanda buds burst open, tearing the hearts of the separated persons, when everywhere asoka clusters shone bright like the alaktaka-dyed foot-prints of the Sylvan Beauty manifesting herself all of a sudden out of greed for honey; when the forests of kimsuka suddenly burst forth on all sides like the fire of Love with smokefree flames inflamed by the soft Malaya breeze ready to consume all separated ones on earth; when the forests of asoka trees agonized the separated ones with the embodied fire of Love with the in the form of bunches of flowers, with the flames in the form of the flaming red leaves and with smoke in the form of swarms of bees hovering over them; when the kesara flowers were multiplied by the spring, which looked like the navels of the Lata women rubbed with saffron and with the rows of leaves appeared like the wheels of Smara; when continuously ela-fruit burst forth spreading its fragrance of the ripe fruits on all sides like the scent of the rut of the fierce scented elephant of Spring moving about in chains of gold; when the Malaya breeze infatuates the whole world as if by a poisonous breeze mixed with the poisonous breathing of the terrifying snakes moving at leisure here and there on every sandal-tree; when gradually bunches of the patala flowers became manifest like the mature love of the Forest Beauty anxious for a union with Spring; which (love) being excessive could not be contained within; when the clusters of sinduvara flowers resembling the lustre of the moon and looking like the embodied fame of the Fish-bannered God who conquered the three worlds, whitened the orb of the world; when by slow degrees needles of the kanakaketaki, possessing the lustre of the cheeks of the Huna ladies rubbed with kunkuma, and being surrounded by swarms of bees, were
being multiplied by spring, looking as they were like the emerald studded golden needles to pierce the knots of pride of the haughty women; when in every reservoir the fire of Love spread under the guise of blooming red lotuses for disturbing the water-sports of those agonized by a separation from their beloveds; then the clusters of asoka flowers, as charming as the breasts of the Huna ladies rubbed with kunkuma, filled with love, looked like berry-balls (76) made by the Sylvan-deity for the play of the child Madhu fascinated the minds; when the women with drowsy eyes attained some indescribable beauty while swinging, with their breasts tremulous with heavy breathing on account of exhaustion, with their seen inbetween the hands moving up and down with the emerald-made ropes, with their iris constantly moving due to the fear of the quick movements of the swing, whose perspiration on the cheeks was dried by the wafting of the dress-borders and who though freed from the embraces of their lovers shrieked their lovers shrieked at intevals out of the fear of falling down; when spring matured, from every where the taunts of the prosita-bhartrkas were heard thus: 'Novel indeed is the Madhu Spring, wine» that without being drunk or smelt intoxicates the mind of all the people', when heaps of flowers bloomed on the flowering trees appearing like the quivers constantly prepared by Spring for the Flower-arrowed One ready to conquer the whole world; when the nights became shorter out of jealously of the moon adorned with the moonlight; when the days abandoned contraction after the affliction of extreme cold was over; when in every house women worshipped Love as if fearing the continuous discharging of arrows; when the lotus-tanks bore some indescribable charm even when they thinned down like the separated ladies with their eyes in the form of the blue lotuses drooping due to the internal heat, with their armlets in the form of the lotus stalks bent down, with their brilliance screened by the lotus leaves, with their faces in the form of the pundarikas losing colour and with their curls in the form of the kalharas fluttering; when on all sides, in every forest leaves shot up like the arrows of Madana after piercing the hearts of the travellers; when aridity sleeped away together with the winter season, gradually the pleasure gardens bore a greenery, dark as the lustre of the emeralds, as if reflecting the clear sky; when the spring without cause exhilarates the world by the humming of bees here and the cooing of cuckoos there, with the mango-blossoms on one side and the swingsongs of the doe-eyed ones on the other, with the Malaya wind blowing on one hand and the blossoming of the flowery creepers on the other hand; when the wives in the form of directions became pleasant after giving up the gloominess of separation when they had their long-desired union with Spring; when the trees wearing
silken dresses of variegated flowers and swaying sprouts were slow. ly made to dance by the Malaya wind like a dancing teacher. During (such a spring) on the vernal pilgrimage of the God Kalapriya Deva, the fortunate (VINAYADHARA) (VINAYADHARA) who by his beauty and wealth conquered the Fish-bannered God, who was skilful in all the arts came to see the God attired in a charming dress along with his friends of the same age and conduct. While out of curiosity he was moving on the temple grounds, by chance a courtesan came there. She was, it seemed, a conquering missile of the Flower-armoured God, a ray of the moon to the night lotuses in the form of the eyes of the people, a lotus-tank for the bees in the form of the senses, the moving ground for the elephant in the form of Smara, who transformed the sky by the lustre of her moonface even during the day due to the moonlight of her face. On seeing her he thought that Prajapati, the creator of the world cannot be her Creator, (77) for her beauty was quite distinct from that of the other women created by him. Thinking thus he came within her sight. On beholding him she was pierced like a deer by an arrow of the hunter Love, and her body had horripilation like a lotus-stalk in the lake of love. At the sight of each other the tender shoot of love of these two shot up. He assigned the work of making her acquaintance to his clever friend VIDAGDHA and went home. Through her friend TARALIKA, VIDAGHA made her acquaintance and then related the whole thing to VINAYADHARA. VINAYADHARA sent him again to take her promise. In dalliance with that ANANGAVATI he spent that night as in a moment. Thus enjoying amorous pleasures in her company many days passed. In course of time all his wealth was expended, still to her he was dearer than life. When the bawd came to know that she had turned away all other rich men and was attached to him alone she herself drove him out. But under some pretext he gained entrance again. Scorning him she again and again drove him out. ANANGAVATI, however, continued to meet him either at a rented house or at a friend's place. When the bawd saw that ANANGAVATI was still meeting him she admonished her thus: "You meet him again, well do not blame me (afterwards) that I did not warn you." Now once while VINAYADHARA was coming from his house he saw a recently killed frightful snake. Thinking that it will serve his purpose he hid it in his belt. Going near her house he sent to ANANGAVATI his fees through a good friend and came to sleep. At the middle of the night he entered the next bedroom where the intoxicated bawd was sleeping. He slowly spread the dead serpent For Private & Personal Use Only.
on her body and with his sharp nails pinched her nose and lips. The bawd got up shrieking 'I am stung, I am stung'. He entered the room quickly and hit the serpent five-six times with a stick. When the maid-servants quickly came and put on the lights, he looked at the serpent and said "I shall make an incision", while (she) said: "make it, make it" he asked: 'Where?' and as soon as she said: 'here here' he cut off per lips and nose. The fear of death was gone and at the break of dawn felicitations were offered that the 'mother' was alive. But to her (the bawd) the congratulatory drum sounded indeed like the heralding of death and she repented night and day. Thus, O daughter, when rogues are harassed they take revenge in such a way that it is difficult to describe it. THUS ENDS THE TENTH TALE OF THE SNAKE IN THE SRNGARAMANJARIKATHA COMPOSED BY MAHARAJADHIRAJA-PARMESVARA-SRIBHOJADEVA.