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Cornell University Library PK 2978.E5A75 1891 3 1924 022 992 410 PK BSA7S TRUBNER'S ORIENTAL SERIES. The original of tliis bool< is in tine Cornell University Library. There are no known copyright restrictions in the United States on the use of the text. http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924022992410 INDIAN POETRY. INDIAN POETRY 1 ' ( 1 CONTAINING , I / [ "THE INDIAN SONG OF SONGS," FROM THE SANSKRIT OF THE GIT A GOVINDA OF JAYADEVA TWO BOOKS FROM "THE ILIAD OF INDIA " (MAHABHARATA) "PROVERBIAL WISDOM" FROM THE SHLOKAS OF THE HITOPADESA, AND OTHER ORIENTAL POEMS SIR EDWIN ARNOLD, M.A., K.C.I.E., C.S.I. Author of " The Light of Asia OFFICER OF THE WHITE ELEPHANT OF SIAM THIRD CLASS OF THE IMPERIAL ORDER OF THE MEDJIDIK FELLOW OF THE ROYAL ASIATIC AND ROYAi. GEOGRAPHICAL SOCIETIES HONORARY MEMBER OF THE SOCIET^ DE GEOGRAPHIE, MARSEILLES, ETC. ETC, FORMERLY PRINCIPAL OF THE DECCAN COLLEGE, POONA AND FELLOW OF THE UNIVERSITY OF BOMBAY SIXTH EDITION LONDON KEGAN PAUL, TRENCH, TRUBNER, & CO. L^? PATERNOSTER HOUSE, CHARING CROSS ROAD 189I s A- %'^%5-% ■ The rights of translation and of reproduction are reserved. CONTENTS. The Indian Song of Songs— Introduction Hymn to Vishnu Sarga the First — The Sports of Krishna Sarga the Second — The Penitence of Krishna Sarga the Third — Krishna troubled Sarga the Fourth — Krishna cheered Sarga the Fifth — The Longings of Krishna . Sarga the Sixth — Krishna made bolder Sarga the Seventh — Krishna supposed false . Sarga the Eighth — The Rebuking of Krishna Sarga the Ninth— The End of Krishna's Trial Sarga the Tenth — Krishna in Paradise Sarga the Eleventh — The Union of Radha and Krishna I 3 9 22 3' 37 44 54 59 75 79 83 88 Miscellaneous Oriental Poems — The Rajpoot Wife loi King Saladin 113 The Caliph's Draught . . . . . , . .132 Hindoo Funeral Song - . . > . . -137 Song of the Serpent Charmers 1 38 Song of the Flour-Mill 140 Taza ba Taza ... 142 vi CONTENTS. PAGE The Mussulman Paradise 1 46 Dedication of a Poem from the Sanskrit . . . • ' 5° The Rajah's Kide iS' Two Books FEOM THE " Iliad OB India " — . . . -159 The Great Journey . . . . . . ■ . 1 72 The Entry into Heaven 192 The Night OF Slauguter 210 The Morning Pkayer 216 Proverbial Wisdom urom the Shlokas of the Hitopadksa . 221 THE INDIAN SONG OF SONGS. INTRODUCTION. OM! EEVEEENCE TO GANESHA ! " The sky is clouded ; and the wood resembles The sky, thick-arched -with black Tam§,la boughs ; O Eadha, Eadha I take this Soul, that trembles lu life's deep midnight, to Thy golden house." So Nanda spoke, — and, led by Eadha's spirit. The feet of Krishna found the road aright ; Wherefore, in bliss which all high hearts inherit, Together taste they Love's divine delight. Ha who wrote these, things for thee, Of the Son of Wassoodee, THE INDIAN SONG OF SONGS. Was the poet Jayadeva; Him Saraswati gave ever Fancies fair his mind to throng. Like pictures palace-walls along ; Ever to his notes of love LahshmUs mystic dancers m^ve. If thy spirit seeks to hrood On Hari glorious, Hari good ; If it feeds on solemn numbers. Dim as dreams and soft as slumbers. Lend thine ear to Jayadev, Lord of all the spells that save. Umapatidhara's strain Glows like roses after rain ; Sharan's stream-like song is grand, If its tide ye understand ; Bard more wise beneath the sun Is not found than Govardhun .- Dhoyi holds the listener still With his shlokes of subtle skill ; Bat for sweet words suited well Jayadeva doth axel. THE INDIAN SONG OF SONGS. 3 {Whit follows is to the Music MIlava and the Mode EUPAKA.) HYMN TO VISHNU. thou that held'st the blessfed Veda dry- When all things else beneath the floods were hurled : Strong Fish-God ! Ark of Men ! Jai ! Hari, jai ! Hail, Keshav, hail! thou Master of the world ! The round world rested on thy spacious nape ; Upon thy neck, like a mere mole, it stood : thou that took'st for us the Tortoise-shape, Hail, Keshav, hail ! Euler of wave and wood ! The world upon thy curving tusk sate sure, like the Moon's dark disc in her crescent pale; thou who didst for us assume the Boar, Immortal Conqueror ! hail, Keshav, haU ! When thou thy Giant-Foe didst seize and rend, Fierce, fearful, long, and sharp were fang and nail ; Thou who the Lion and the Man didst hlend, Lord of the Universe ! hail, Narsingh, hail ! 4 THE INDIAN SONG OF SONGS. Wonderful Dwarf !— who with a threefold stride Cheated King Bali — where thy footsteps fall Men's sins, "Wamuna ! are set aside : Keshav, hail ! thou Help and Hope of all ! The sins of this sad earth thou didst assoil, The anguish of its creatures thou didst heal ; Preed are we from all terrors by thy toil : Hail, Purshuram, hail ! Lord of the biting steel ! To thee the fell Ten-Headed yielded life, Thou in dread battle laid'st the monster low ! Ah, Kama ! dear to Gods and men that strife ; We praise thee. Master of the matchless bow ! With clouds for garments glorious thou dost fare. Veiling thy dazzling majesty and might. As when Yamuna saw thee with the share, A peasant — yet the King of Day and Night. Merciful-hearted ! when thou earnest as Boodh — • Albeit 'twas written in the Scriptures so — Thou bad'st our altars be no more imbrued With blood of victims : Keshav ! bending low — THE INDIAN SONG OF SONGS. 5 We praise thee, Wielder of the sweeping sword, Brilliant as curving comets in the gloom. Whose edge shall smite the fierce barbarian horde ; Hail to thee, Keshav ! hail, and hear, and come. And fill this song of Jayadev with thee, And make it wise to teach, strong to redeem, And sweet to living souls. Thou Mystery ! Thou Light of Life ! Thou Dawn beyond the dream ! Fish ! that didst outswim the flood ; Tortoise ! whereon earth hath stood ; Boar ! who with thy tush held'st high The world, that mortals might not die ; Lion ! who hast giants torn ; Dwarf ! who laugh'dst a king to scorn ; Sole Subduer of the Dreaded ! Slayer of the many -headed I Mighty Ploughman ! Teacher tender ! Of thine own the sure Defender ! Under all thy ten disguises Endless praise to thee arises. 5 THE INDIAN SONG OF SONGS. ( What follows is to the Mime GuejjaeI and the Mode NihsAea.) Endless praise arises, thou God that liest Eapt, on Kumla's breast. Happiest, holiest, highest ! Planets are thy jewels, Stars thy forehead-gems. Set like sapphires gleaming In kingliest anadems ; Even the great gold Sun-God, Blazing through the sky, Serves thee but for crest-stone, Jai, jai ! Hari, jai ! As that Lord of day After night brings morrow, Thou dost charm away Life's long dream of sorrow. As on Mansa's water Brood the swans at rest. So thy laws sit stately On a holy, breast. . THE INDIAN SONG OF SONGS. 0, Drinker of the poison ! Ah, high Delight of earth ! What light is to the lotus-huds. What singing is to mirth, Art thou — art thou that slayedst Madhou and Narak grim ; That ridest on the King of Birds, Making all glories dim. With eyes like open lotus-flowers, Bright in the morning rain. Freeing by one swift piteous glance The spirit from Life's pain : Of all the three Worlds Treasure ! Of sin the Putter-hy ! O'er the Ten-Headed Victor ! Jai Hari ! Hari ! jai ! Thou Shaker of the Mountain ! Thou Shadow of the Storm ! Thou Cloud that unto Lakshmi's face Comes welcome, white, and warm ! thou, — who to great Lakshmi Art like the silvery beam Which moon-sick chakors feed upoc THE INDIAN SONG OF SONGS. By Jumna's silent stream, — To thee this hymn ascendeth. That Jayadev doth sing, Of worship, love, and mystery ; High Lord and heavenly King ! And unto whoso hears it Do thou a blessing bring — Whose neck is gilt with yellow dust From lilies that did cling Beneath the breasts of Lakshmi, A girdle soft and sweet. When in divine embracing The lips of Gods did meet ; And the beating heart above Of thee — Dread Lord of Heaven !— She left that stamp of love — By such deep sign be given Prays Jayadev, the glory And the secret and the spells Which close-hid in this story Unto wise ears he tells. END or INTEODUCTION. V y ) SARGA THE FIRST. SAMODADAMODAKO. THE SPOETS OF KEISHNA. Eeautiful Eadha, jasmine-bosomed Eadha, All in the Spring-time -waited by the wood For Krishna fair, Krishna the all-forgetful, — Krishna with earthly love's false fire consuming — And some one of her maidens sang this song : — {What follows is to the Music Vasanta and the Mode Yati.) I know where Krishna tarries in these early days of Spring, When every wind from warm Malay brings fragrance on its wing ; 10 THE INDIAN SONG OF SONGS. Brings fragrance stolen far away from thickets of the clove. In jungles where the hees hum and the Koil flutes her love; He dances with the dancers, of a merry morrice one, All in the budding Spring-time, for 'tis sad to be alone. I know how Krishna passes these hours of blue and gold, When parted lovers sigh to meet and greet and closely hold Hand fast in hand ; and every branch upon the Vakul- tree Droops downward with a hundred blooms, in every bloom a bee ; He is dancing with the dancers to a laughter-moving tone. In the soft awakening Spring-time, when 'tis hard to live alone. Where Kroona-flowers, that open at a lover's lightest tread, Break, and, for shame at what they hear, from white blush modest red; THE INDIAN SONG OF SONGS. ii And all the spears on all the boughs of all the Ketuk- Seem ready darts to pierce the hearts of wandering youths and maids ; 'Tis there thy Krishna dances till the merry drum is done, All in the sunny Spring-time, when who can live alone ? Where the breaking forth of blossom on the yellow Keshra-sprays Dazzles like Kama's sceptre, whom all the world obeys; And Patal-buds fill drowsy bees from pink delicious bowlsj As Kama's nectared goblet steeps in languor human souls ; There he dances with the dancers, and of Eadha thinketh none. All in the warm new Spring-tide, when none will live alone. Where the breath of waving MMhvi pours incense through the grove, And silken Mogras lull the sense with essences of love, — 12 THE INDIAN SONG OF SONGS. The silken-soft pale Mogra, whose perfume fine and faint Can melt the coldness of a maid, the sternness of a saint — There dances with those dancers thine other self, thine Own, All in the languorous Spring-time, when none will live alone. Where — as if warm lips touched sealed eyes and waked them — all the bloom Opens upon the mangoes to feel the sunshine come ; And Atimuktas wind their arms of softest green about, Clasping the stems, while calm and clear great Jumna spreadeth out ; There dances and there laughs thy Love, with damsels many an one. In the rosy days of Spring-time, for he will not live alone. Mark this song of Jayadev ! Deep as pearl in ocean-wave Lurketh in its lines a wonder Which the wise alone will ponder : THE INDIAN SONG OF SONGS. 13 Though it seemeth of the earth. Heavenly is the music's hirth ; Felling darkly of delights In the wood, of wasted nights. Of witless days, and fruitless love, And false pleasures of the grove. And rash passions of the prime, And those dances of Spring-time ; Time, which seems so subtle-sweet, Time, which pipes to dancing-feet. Ah ! so softly — ah ! so sweetly — That among these woodrmaids featly Krishna cannot choose but dance, Letting pass life's greater chance. Yet the winds that sigh so As they stir the rose, Wake a sigh from Krishna WistfuUer than those ; All their faint breaths swinging The creepers to and fro Pass like rustling arrows Shot from Kama's bow : 14 THE INDIAN SONG OF SONGS. Thus among the dancers What those zephyrs bring Strikes to Krishna's spirit Like a darted sting. And all as if — far wandered — The traveller should hear The bird of home, the Koil, With nest-notes rich and clear ; And there should come one moment A blessed fleeting dream Of the bees among the mangoes Beside his native stream ; So flash those sudden yearnings, That sense of a dearer thing. The love and lack of Eadha Upon his soul in Spring. Then she, the maid of Eadha, spake again ; And pointing far away between the leaves Guided her lovely Mistress where to look, And note how Krishna wa.ntoned in the wood ITow with this one, now that ; his heart, her prize. THE INDIAN SONG OF SONGS. i; Panting with foolish passions, and his eyes Beaming with too much love for those fair girls — Fair, but not so as Eadha ; and she sang : ( What follows is to the Music EAmagikI and the Mode Yati.) See, Lady ! how thy Krishna passes these idle hours Decked forth in fold of woven gold, and crowned with forest-flowers ; And scented with tlie sandal, and gay with gems of price — Eubies to mate his laughing lips, and diamonds like his eyes ;— In the company of damsels,* who dance and sing and play. Lies Krishna, laughing, toying, dreaming his Spring away. One, with star-hlossomed champ§,k wreathed, wooes him to rest his head On the dark pillow of her breast so tenderly outspread ; * It will be observed that the "Gopis" here personify the five senses. Lassen says, " Manifestum. est pueUis istis nil aZiud significari Quam res scnsilcs." i6 THE INDIAN SONG OF SONGS. And o'er his brow with roses blown she fans a fragrance rare, That falls on the enchanted sense like rain in thirsty air, Wliile the company of damsels wave many an odorous spray. And Krishna, laughing, toying, sighs the soft Spring away. Another, gazing in his face, sits wistfully apart. Searching it with those looks of love that leap from heart to heart; Her eyes — afire with shy desire, veiled by their lashes black — Speak so that Krishna cannot choose but send the message back, In the company of damsels whose bright eyes in a ring Shine round him with soft meanings in the merry light of Spring. The third one of that dazzling band of dwellers in the wood — Body and bosom panting with the pulse of youthful blood — THE INDIAN SONG OF SONGS. 17 Leans over him, as in his efir a lightsome thing to speak, And then with leaf-soft lip imprints a kiss below his cheek ; A liiss that thrills, and Krishna turns at the silken touch To give it back — ah, Eadha ! forgetting thee too much. And one with arch smile becokns him away from Jumna's banks. Where the tall bamboos bristle like spears in battle- ranks, And plucks his cloth to make him come into the mango- shade, Where the fruit is ripe and golden, and the milk and cakes are laid: Oh! golden-red the mangoes, and glad the feasts of Spring, And fair the flowers to lie upon, and sweet the dancers Sweetest of all that Temptress who dances for him now With subtle feet which part and meet in the E^s- measure slow. 1 8 THE INDIAN SONG OF SONGS. To the cjiime of silver bangles and the beat of rose-leaf hands. And pipe and lute and cymbal played by the woodland bands ; So that whoUy passion-laden — eye, ear, sense, soul o'er- come — Krishna is theirs in the forest; his heart forgets its home. Krishna, made for heavenly things, 'Mid those woodland singers sings; With those dancers dances featly. Gives back soft embraces sweetly; Smiles on that one, toys with this. Glance for glance and kiss for kiss; Meets the merry damsels fairly. Plays the round of folly rarely, lapped in milk-warm spring-time weather. He and those brown girls together. And this shadowed earthly love In the twilight of the grove, Dance and song and soft caresses, Meeting looks and tangled tresses, THE mOIAN SONG OF SONGS. 19 Jayadev the same hath writ, That ye might have gain of it. Sagely its deep sense conceiving And its inner light believing; How that Zove—rthe mighty Master, Lord of all the stars that cluster In the sky, swiftest and slowest, Lord of highest. Lord of lowest — Manifests himself to mortals. Winning them towards the 'portals Of his secret Souse, the gates Of that bright Paradise which waits The wise in love. Ah, human creatures ! Even your phantasies are teachers. Mighty Love makes sweet in seeming Even Krishna's woodland dreaming ; Mighty Love sways all alike From self to selflessness. Oh ! strike From your eyes the veil, and see Wliat Love unlleth Him to be Who in error, but in grace, Sitieth with that lotus-face. And those eyes whose rays of heaven Unto vhantom-eyes are given: THE INDIAN SONG OF SONGS. Holding feasts of foolish mirth With these Visions of the earth ; Learning love, and love iw/parting ; • Yet with sense of loss upstarting : — For the cloud that veils the fountains Underneath the Sandal mountains, Hoiu — as if the sunshine drew All its being to the Hue — It takes flight, and seeks to rise High into the purer skies. High into the snow and frost. On the shining summits lost ! Ah ! and how the Koil's strain Smites the traveller with pain, — When the mango Uooms in spring, And " Koohoo" " Koohoo',' they sing^ Pain of pleasures not yet won. Pain of journeys not yet done. Pain of toiling without gaining, Pain, 'mid gladness, of still paining. THE INDIAN SONG OF SONGS. 21 But may He guide us all to glory high Who laughed when Eadha glided, hidden, hy, And all among those damsels free and bold Touched Krishna with a soft mouth, kind and cold ; And like the others, leaning on his breast, Unlike the others, left there Love's unrest ; And like the others, joining m his song. Unlike the others, made him silent long. (Mere ends that Sarga of the Gita Govinda entitled Samodadamodaeo.') ( 22 ) SARGA THE SECOND. KLESHAKESHAVO. THE PENITENCE OF KEISHNA. Thus lingered Krishna in the deep, green wood. And gave himself, too prodigal, to those ; But Eadha, heart-sick at his falling-off. Seeing her heavenly beauty slighted so. Withdrew ; and, in a bower of Paradise— Where nectarous blossoms wove a shrine of shade. Haunted by birds and bees of unknown skies — She sate deep-sorrowful, and sang this strain : {What follows is to the Music GuejjarI and the Mode Yati.) Ah, my Beloved ! taken with those glances. Ah, my Beloved ! dancing those rash dances. THE INDIAN SONG OF SONGS. 23 Ah, Minstrel ! playing wrongful strains so well ; Ah, Krishna ! Krishna, with the honeyed lip ! Ah, Wanderer into foolish fellowship ! My Dancer, my Delight ! — I love thee still. Dancer ! strip thy peacock-crown away, Else ! thou whose forehead is the star of day. With beauty for its silver halo set ; Come ! thou whose greatness gleams beneath its shroud Like Indra's rainbow shining through the cloud — Come, for I love thee, my Beloved ! yet. Must love thee — cannot choose but love thee ever. My best Beloved ! — set on this endeavour. To win thy tender heart and earnest eye From lips but sadly sweet, from restless bosoms. To mine, Krishna with the mouth of blossoms ! To mine, thou soul of Krishna ! yet I sigh Half hopeless, thinking of myself forsaken. And thee, dear Loiterer, in the wood o'ertaken With pas.sion for t-ho.se bold and wanton ones, 24 THE INDIAN SONG OF SONGS. Who knit thine arms as poison-plants gripe trees With twining cords — their flowers the braveries That flash in the green gloom, sparkling- stars and stones. My Prince ! my Lotus-faced ! my woe ! my love ! Whose hroad brow, with the tilka-spot above, Shames the bright moon at full with fleck of cloud ; Thou to mistake so little for so much ! Thou, Krishna, to be palm to palm with such ! Soul made for my joys, pure, perfect, proud ! Ah, my Beloved ! in thy darkness dear ; Ah, Dancer ! with the jewels in thine ear. Swinging to music of a loveless love ; my Beloved ! in thy fall so high That angels, sages, spirits of the sky Linger about thee, watching in the grove. 1 will be patient still, and draw thee ever. My one Beloved, sitting by the river Under the thick kadambas with that throng : THE INDIAN SONG OF SONGS. 2$ Will there not come an end to earthly madness ? Shall I not, past the sorrow, have the gladness ? Must not the love-light shine for him ere long ? Shine, thou Light ly Radha given, Shine, thou splendid star of heaven ! Be a lamp to Krishna! s feet. Show to all hearts secrets sweet. Of the wonder and the love Jayadev hath writ above. Be the quick Interpreter Unto wisest ears of her Who always sings to all, " / wait, Se loveth still viho loveth late." For (sang on that high Lady in the shade) My soul for tenderness, not blame, was made ; Mine eyes look through his evil to his good ; My heart coins pleas for him ; my fervent thought Prevents what he wiU say when these are naught. And that which I am shall he understood. Then spake she to her maiden wistfully — 26 THE INDIAN SONG OF SONGS. ( WTiat follows is to the Music MIlavagauda and the Mode EkatAlI.) Go to him, — win him hither, — whisper low How he may find me if he searches well ; Say, if he will —joys past his hope to know Await him here ; go now to him, and tell Where Eadha is, and that henceforth she charms His spirit to her arms. Yes, go ! say, if he will, that he may come — May come, my love, my longing, my desire ; May come forgiven, shriven, to me his home. And make his happy peace ; nay, and aspire To uplift Eadha's veil^and learn at length What love is in its strength. Lead him ; say softly I shall chide his blindness, And vex him with my angers ; yet add this. He shall not vainly sue for loving-kindness, Nor miss to see me close, nor lose the bliss That lives upon my lip, nor be denied The rose-throne at my side. THE INDIAN SONG OF SONGS. 27 Say that I — Eadha — ^in my bower languish All widowedj till he find the way to me ; Say that mine eyes are dim, my breast all anguish, Until with gentle murmured shame I see His steps come near, his anxious pleading face Bend for my pardoning grace. While I — what, did he deem light loves so tender, To tarry for them when the vow was made To yield him up my bosom's maiden splendour. And fold him in my fragrance, and unbraid My shining hair for him, and clasp him close To the gold heart of his Eose ? And sing him strains which only spirits know. And make him captive with the silk-sofc chain Of twinned- wings brooding round him, and bestow Kisses of Paradise, as pure as rain ; My gems, my moonlight-pearls, my girdle-gold. Cymbaling music bold ? While gained for ever, I shall dare to grow Life to life with him, in the realms divine ; 28 ■ THE INDIAN SONG OF SONGS Aud — Love's large cup at happy overflow, Yet ever to be filled — ^his eyes and mine Will meet in that glad look, when Time's great gate Closes and shuts out Fate. Listen to the unsaid things Of the song that Badha sings, For the soul draws near to bliss. As it covvprehendeth this. I am Jayadev, who write All this subtle-rich delight For your teaching. Ponder, then. What it tells to Gods and men. Err not, watching Krishna gay. With those brovm girls all at play; Understand how Badha charms Her wandering lover to her arms. Waiting with divinest love Till his dream ends in the grove. For even now (she sang) I see him pause, Heart-stricken with the waste of heart he makes THE INDIAN .SONG OF SONGS. 19 Amid them ;-— all the bows of their bent brows Wound him no more : no more for all their sakes Plays he one note upon his amorous lute, But lets the strings lie mute. Pensive, as if his pai;ted lips should say — " My feet with the dances are weary, The music has dropped from the song. There is no more delight in the lute-strings, Sweet Shadows ! what thing has gone wrong ? The wings of the wind have left fanning The palms of the glade ; They are dead, and the blossoms seem dying In the place where we played. " We will play no more, beautiful Shadows ! A fancy came solemn and sad. More sweet, with unspeakable longings. Than the best of the pleasures we had : I am not now the Krishna who kissed you; That exquisite dream, — The Vision I saw in my dancing — Has spoiled what you seem. 30 THE INDIAN SONG OF SONGS. " Ah ! delicate phantoms that cheated With eyes that looked lasting and true, I awake, — I have seen her, — my angel — Farewell to the wood and to you ! Oh, whisper of wonderful pity ! Oh, fair face that shone ! Though thou be a vision, Divinest ! This vision is done." (Here ends that Sarga of the Gita Govinda entitled Kleshakeshavo.) < .11 ) SARGA THE THIRD. MUGDHAMADHUSUDANO. KRISHNA TROUBLED. Thekeat, — as one who welcomes to her throne A new-made Queen, and brings before it bound Her enemies, — so Krishna in his heart Throned Eadha ; and — all treasonous follies chained- He played no more with those first play-fellows : But, searching through the shadows of the grove For loveliest Eadha, — when he found her not, Eaint with the quest, despairing, lonely, lorn, And pierced with shame for wasted love and days. He sate by Jumna, where the canes are thick. And sang to the wood-echoes words like these : 32 THE INDIAN SONG OF SONGS. ( What follows is to the Music GuEJJAEt and to the Mode Yati.) Eadha, Encliantress ! Eadha, queen of all ! Gone — lost, because she found me sinning here; And I so stricken with my foolish fall, I could not stay her out of shame and fear ; She will not hear; In her disdain and grief vainly I call. And if she heard, what would she do ? what say ? How could I make it good that I forgot ? What profit was it to me, night and day, To Kve, love, dance, and dream, having her not ? Soul without spot ! I wronged thy patience, till it sighed away. Sadly I know the truth. Ah ! even now Eemembering that one look beside the river, Softer the vexed eyes seem, and the proud brow Than lotus-leaves when the bees make them quiver. My love for ever ! Too late is Krishna wise — too far art thou ! THE INDIAN SONG OF SONGS. 33 Yet all day long in my deep heart I woo thee, And all night long with thee my dreams are sweet ; Why, then, so vainly must my steps pursue thee ? Why can I never roach thee, to entreat, Low at thy feet, Dear vanished Splendour ! till my tears subdue thee ? Surpassing One ! I knew thou didst not brook Half-hearted worship, and a love that wavers j Haho ! there is the wisdom I mistook. Therefore I seek with desperate endeavours ; That fault dissevers Me from my heaven, astray — condemned — forsook ! And yet I seem to feel, to know, thee near me ; Thy steps make music, measured music, near : Eadha ! my Eadha ! will not sorrow clear me ? Shine once ! speak one word pitiful and dear ! Wilt thou not hear ? Canst thou — because I did forget — forsake me ? Forgive ! the sin is sinned, is past, is over ; No thought I think shall do thee wrong again ; c 34 THE INDIAN SONG OF SONGS. Turn thy dark eyes again upon thy lover Bright Spirit ! or I perish of this pain. Loving again 1 In dread of doom to love, but not recover. So did Krishna sing and sigh By the river-hank ; and I, Jayadev of Kindwvilva, nesting — as the moon of silver Sits upon the solemn ocean — On full faith, in deep devotion ; Tell it that ye may perceive How the heart must fret and grieve; How the soul doth tire of earth, When the love from Heav'n hath birth. Tor (sang he on) I am no foe of thine. There is no black snake, Kama ! in my hair ; Blue lotus-bloom, and not the poisoned brine. Shadows my neck ; what stains my bosom bare, Thou God unfair ! Is sandal-dust, not ashes ; nought of mine THE INDIAN SONG OF SONGS. 35 Makes me like Shiva that thou, Lord of Love ! Shouldst strain thy string at me and fit thy dart ; This world is thine — let be one breast thereof Which bleeds already, wounded to the heart With lasting smart, Shot from those brows that did my sin reprove. Thou gavest her those black brows for a bow Arched like thine own, whose pointed arrows seem Her glances, and the underlids that go — So firm and fine — its string ? Ah, fleeting gleam ! Beautiful dream ! Small need of Kama's help hast thou, I trow. To smite me to the soul with love ; — but set Those arrows to their silken cord ! enchain My thoughts in that loose hair ! let thy lips, wet With dew of heaven as bimba-buds with rain. Bloom precious pain Of longing in my heart ; and, keener yet, The heaving of thy lovely, angry bosom. Pant to my spirit things unseen, unsaid ; 36 THE INDIAN SONG OF SONGS. But if thy touch, thy tones, if the dark blossom Of thy dear face, thy jasmine-odours shed From feet to head, If these he all with me, canst thou be far — be fled ? So sang he, and I pray that whoso hears The music of his burning hopes and fears. Thai whoso sees this vision ly the River Of Krishna, Hari, {can we name him, ever f) And marks his ear-ring rubies swinging slow. As he sits still, unheedful, bending low To play this tune upon his lute, while all Listen to catch the sadness musical ; And Krishna wotteth nought, but, with set face Turned full toward Badha's, sings on in that place; May all such souls — prays Jayadev — be wise To learn the wisdom which hereunder lies. {Here ends that Sarga of the Gita Govinda entitled MUGDHAMADHUSUDANO.) ( 37 ) SARGA THE FOURTH. SNIGDHAMADHUSUDANO. KEISHNA CHEEKED. Then she whom Eadha sent came to the canes — The canes heside the river where he lay With listless limbs and spirit weak from love ; — And she sang this to Krishna wistfully : ( What follows is to the Music KaknIta and the Mode, EKATiLt.) Alt thou sick for Eadha ? she is sad in turn. Heaven foregoes its blessings, if it holds not thee , All' the cooling fragrance of sandal she doth spurn, Moonlight makes her mournfiil with radiance silvery ; 38 THE INDIAN SONG OF SONGS. Even the southern breeze blown fresh from pearly seas, Seems to her but tainted by a dolorous brine ; And for thy sake discontented, with a great love over- laden, Her soul comes here beside thee, and sitteth down with thine. Her soul comes here beside thee, and tenderly and true It weaves a subtle mail of proof to ward off sin and pain ; A breastplate soft as lotus-leaf, with holy tears for dew, To guard thee from the things that hurt ; and then 'tis gone again To strew a blissful place with the richest buds that grace Kama's sweet world, a meeting-spot with rose and jasmine fair. For the hour when, well-contented, with a love no longer troubled, Thou shalt find the way to Eadha, and finish sorrows there. "But now her lovely face is shadowed by her fears ; Her glorious eyes are veiled and dim like moonlight in eclipse THE INDIAN SONG OF SONGS. 39 By breaking rain-clouds, Krishna ! yet she paints you in her tears With tender thoughts — not Krishna, but brow and breast and lips And form and mien a King, a great and god-like thing ; And then with bended head she asks grace from the Love Divine, To keep thee discontented with the phantoms thou for- swearest. Till she may win her glory, and thou be raised to thine. Softly now she sayeth, " Krishna, Krishna, come ! " Lovingly she prayeth, " Fair moon, light him home." Yet if Hari helps not. Moonlight cannot aid ; Ah ! the woeful Eadha ! Ah ! the forest shade ! Ah ! if Hari guide not. Moonlight is as gloom ; Ah ! if moonlight help not. How shall Krishna come ? 40 THE INDIAN SONG OF SONGS. Sad for Krishna grieving In the darkened grove ; Sad for Eadha -weaving Dreams of fruitless love ! Strike soft strings to this soft measure, If thine ear would catch its treasure; Slowly dance to this deep song. Let its meaning float along With grave faces, since it tells Of a love that sweetly dwells In a tender distant glory, Past all faults of mortal story. {What follows is to the Music Deshaga and the Mode EkatIlI.) Krishna, till thou come unto her, faint she lies with love and fear ; Even the jewels of her necklet seem a load too great to bear. Krishna, till thou come unto her, all the sandal and the flowers Vex her with their pure perfection though they grow in heavenly towers. THE INDIAN SONG OF SONGS. 41 Krishna, till thou come unto her, fair albeit those bowers may be. Passion burns her, and love's fire fevers her for lack of thee. Krishna, till thou come unto her, those divine lids, dark and tender. Droop like lotus-leaves in rain-storms, dashed and heavy in their splendour. Krishna, till thou come unto her, that rose-couch which she hath spread Saddens .with its empty place, its double pillow for one head. Krishna, till thou come unto her, from her palms she will not lift The dark face hidden deep within them like the moon in cloudy rift. Krishna, till thou come unto her, angel though she be, thy Love ■Sighs and suffers, waits and watches — joyless 'mid those joys above. 42 THE INDIAN SONG OF SONGS. Krishna, till thou come unto her, with the comfort of thy kiss Deeper than thy loss, Krishna! must be loss of Eadha's bliss. Krishna, while thou didst forget her — her, thy life, thy gentle fate — Wonderful her waiting was, her pity sweet, her patience great. Krishna, come ! 'tis grief untold to grieve her — shame to let her sigh ; Come, for she is sick with love, and thou her only remedy. So she sang, and Jayadeva Prays for all, and prays for ever. Thai Great Hari may lestow Utmost Hiss of loving so On us all; — that one who wore The herdsman's form, and heretofore, To save the shepherd's threatened floch. Up from the earth reared the huge rock— THE INDIAN SONG OF SONGS. 43 Bestow it with a gracious hand. Albeit, amid the woodland band. Clinging close in fond caresses Krishna gave them ardent hisses. Taking on his lips divine Earthly stamp and woodland sign. {Here ends that Sarga of the Gita Govinda entitled Snigdhamadhusudano). ( 44 ) SARGA THh FIFTH. SAKANDKSHAPUNDAEIKAKSHO. THE LONGINGS OF KEISHNA. " Sat I am here ! oh, if she pardons me. Say where I am, and win her softly hither." So Krishna to the maid ; and willingly She came again to Eadha, and she sang : ( Wliat follows is to the Music DeshitakAdI and the Mode EuPAKA.) Low whispers the wind from Malaya Overladen with love ; On the hills all the grass is burned yellow; And the trees in the grove THE INDIAN SONG OF SONGS. 4; Droop with tendrils that mock by their clinging The thoughts of the parted ; And, there lies, sore-sighing for thee. Thy love, altered-hearted. To him the moon's icy-chill silver Is a sun at midday ; The fever he bums with is deeper Than starlight can stay : Like one who falls stricken by arrows. With the colour departed From all but his red wounds, so lies Thy love, bleeding-hearted. To the music the banded bees make him He closeth his ear ; In the blossoms their small horns are blowing The honey-song clear ; But as if every sting to his bosom Its smart had imparted, Low lies by the edge of the river, Thy love, aching-hearted. ) THE INDIAN SONG OF SONGS. By the edge of the river, far wandered From his once beloved howers, And the haunts of his beautiful playinates, And the beds strewn with flowers ; Now thy name is his playmate — that only ! — And the hard rocks upstarted From the sand make the couch where he lies. Thy Krishna, sad-hearted. Oh inay Hari fill each soul, As these gentle verses roll Telling of the anguish borne By kindred ones asunder torn ! Oh may Rari unto each All the lore of loving teach. All the pain and all the bliss ; Jayaieva prayeth this ! Yea, Lady ! in the self-same spot he waits Where with thy kiss thou taught'st him utmost love, And drew him, as none else draws, with thy look ; And all day long, and all night long, his cry Is " Eadha, Eadha," like a spell said o'er ; THE INDIAN SONG OF SONGS. 47 And in his heart there lives no wish nor hope Save only this, to slake his spirit's thirst For Eadha's love with Eadha's lips ; and find Peace on the immortal beauty of thy breast. ( What follows is to the Music GnEJJAEt and the Mode EkatAlI.) Mistress, sweet and bright and holy ! Meet him in that place ; Change his cheerless melancholy Into joy and grace ; If thou hast forgiven, vex not ; If thou lovest, go , Watching ever by the river, Krishna listens low : Listens low, and on his reed there Softly sounds thy name. Making even mute things plead there Tor his hope : 'tis shame That, while winds are welcome to him, If from thee they blow. Mournful ever by the river Krishna waits thee so ! 48 THE INDIAN SONG OF SONGS. When a bird's wing stirs the rosea. When a leaf falls dead, Twenty times he recomposes The flower-seat he has spread : Twenty times, with anxious glances Seeking thee in vain, Sighing ever by the river, Krishna droops again. Loosen from thy foot the bangle, Lest its golden bell, With a tiny, tattling jangle, Any false tale tell : If thou fearest that the moonlight WiU thy glad face know, Draw those dark braids lower, Lady ! But to Krishna go. Swift and still as lightning's splendour Let thy beauty come, Sudden, gracious, dazzling, tender, To his arms — its home . THE rNDIAN SONG OF SONGS. 49 Swift as India's yellow lightning, Shining through the night, Glide to Krishna's lonely bosom, Take him love and light. Grant, at last, love's utmost measure. Giving, give the whole ; Keep back nothing of the treasure Of thy priceless soul : Hold with both hands out unto him Thy chalice, let him drain The nectar of its dearest draught. Till not a wish remain. Only go — the stars are setting. And thy Krishna grieves ; Doubt and anger quite forgetting. Hasten through the leaves : Wherefore didst thou lead him heav'nward But for, this thing's sake? Comfort him with pity, Eadha ! Or his heart must break. Sc THE INDIAN SONG OF SONGS: Bui wKUe Jayadevd vh-ites This rare tale of deep delights — Jayadeo, whose heart is given Unto Hari, Lord in Heaven — See tliat ye too, as ye read, With a glad and humble heed. Bend your hrows before His face, That ye may have bliss and grace. And then the Maid, compassionate, sang on — Lady, most sweet ! For thy coming feet He listens in the wood, with love sore-tried ; Faintly sighing, Like one a-dying. He sends his thoughts afoot to meet his bride. Ah, silent oneH Sunk is the sun. The darkness falls as deep as Krishna's sorrow ; The chakor's strain Is not more vain Than mine, and soon gray dawn will bring white morrow. THE INDIAN SONG OF SONGS.' ^f And thine own bliss Delays by tKis ; The utmost of thy heaven comes only so When, with hearts heating And passionate greeting, Parting is over, and the parted grow One — one for ever ! And the old endeavour To be so blended is assuaged at last ; And the glad tears raining Have nought remaining Of doubt or 'plaining ; and the dread has passed Out of each face. In the close embrace, That by-and-by embracing will be over ; The ache that causes Those mournful pauses In bowers of earth between lover and lover : To be no more felt. To fade, to melt In the strong certainty of joys immortal ; 52 THE INDIAN SONG OF SONGS. lu the glad meeting, And quick sweet greeting Of lips that close beyond Time's shadowy portaL And to thee is given, Angel of Heaven ! This glory and this joy with Krishna. Go ! Let him attain, For his long pain. The prize it promised, — see thee coming slow, A vision first, but then — By glade and glen — A lovely, loving sord, true to its home ; His Queen — his Crown — his All, Hast'ning at last to fall Upon his breast, and live there. Eadha, come ! Come ! arid come thou, Lord of all, Unto whom the Three Worlds call ; Thou, that didst in angry might, Kansa, like a comet, smite ; Thou, that in thy passion tender. As incarnate spell and splendour. THE INDIAN SONG OF SONGS. 53 Hung on Badha's glorious face — In the garb of Krishna's grace — As above the bloom the bee, When the honeyed revelry Is too subtle-siveet an one Hot to hang and dally on ; Thou that art the Three Worlds' glory, Of life the light, of every story The meaning and the mark, of love The root and flower, 0' the sky above The blue, of bliss the heart, of those, The lovers, that which did impose The gentle law, that each should be The other's Heav'n and harmony. {Here ends that Sarga of the Gita Govinda entitled Saka.ndksfapunt)Akieaesho.) ( 54 ) SARGA THE SIXTH. DHEISHTAVAIKUNTO. KEISHNA MADE BOLDER. But seeing that, for all her loving will, The flower-soft feet of Eadha had not power To leave their place and go, she sped again — That maiden — and to Krishna's eager ears Told how it fared with his sweet mistress there. ( What follows is to the Music GondakieI and the Mode EXTPAKA.) Krishna ! 'tis thou must come, (she sang) Ever she waits thee in heavenly bower ; The lotus seeks not the wandering bee, The bee must find the flower. THE INDIAN SONG OF SONGS. 55 All the wood over her deep eyes roam, Marvelling sore where tarries the bee, Who leaves such lips of nectar unsought As those that blossom for thee. Her steps would fail if she tried to come, "Would falter and fail, with yearning weak ; At the first of the road they would falter and pause, And the way is strange to seek. Find her where she is sitting, then, With lotus-blossom on ankle and arm Wearing thine emblems, and musing of nought But the meeting to be — glad, warm. To be — "but wherefore tarrieth he?" " What can stay or delay him ? — go ! See if the soul of Krishna comes," _ Ten times she sayeth to me so ; Ten times lost in a languorous swoon, " Now he Cometh — he cometh," she cries j And a love-look lighteiis her eyes in the gloom, And the darkness is sweet with her sighs. 56 THE INDIAN SONG OF SONGS. Till, watching in vain, she glideth again Under the shade of the whispering leaves ; With a heart too full of its love at last To heed how her bosom heaves. Shall not these fair verses swell The nv/niber of the wise who dwell In the realm of Kama's bliss? Jayadeva prayeth this, Jayadev, the hard of Love, Servant of the Gods above. For all so strong in Heaven itself Is Love, that Eadha sits drooping there. Her heautiful bosoms panting with thought, And the braids drawn back from her ear. And — angel albeit — ^her rich lips breathe Sighs, if sighs were ever so sweet ; And — if spirits can tremble — she trembles now From forehead to jewelled feet. And her voice of music sinks to a sob, Apd her ej'es, like eyes, of a mated roe^ . THE INDIAN SONG OF SONGS, 57 Are tender with looks' of yielded love, With dreams dreamed long ago ; Long — long ago, but soon to gro:w truth, To end, and be waking and certain and true ; Of which dear surety murmur her lips, As the lips of sleepers do : And, dreaming, she loosens her girdle-pearls. And opens her arms to the empty air, Then starts, if a leaf of the champi,k falls. Sighing, " leaf ! is he there ? " Why dost thou linger in this dull spot. Haunted by serpents and evil for thee ? Why not hasten to ISTanda's House ? It is plain, if thine eyes could see. May these words of high endeavour- Full of grace and gentle favour — Find out those whose hearts can feel Wliat the message did reveal. 58 THE INDIAN SONG OF SONGS. Words that Eadha'a messenger Unto Krishna took from, her. Slowly guiding him to come Throiigh tjie forest to his home, Guiding him to find the road Which led — though long — to Love's abode. {Here ends that Sarga of the Gita Govinda entitled Dhkishtavaikukto.) ( 59 ) SARGA THE SEVENTH. VIPKALABDHAVAENANE NAGAEANAEAYANO. KEISHNA SUPPOSED FALSE. Meantime the moon, the rolling moon, clomb high, And over all Vrindavana it shone ; The moon which on the front of gentle night Gleams like the chundun-mark on beauty's brow ; The conscious moon which hath its silver face Marred with the shame of lighting earthly loves : And while the. round 'white lamp of earth rose higher, And still he tarried, Eadha, petulant, Sang soft impatiepce and .half-earnest fears ; 6o THE INDIAl^ SONG OP SONGS. ( What follows is to the Music MAlava and the Mode Yati.) 'Tis time ! — he comes not ! — will lie come ? Can he leave me thus to pine ? Yami hS kam sharanam ! Ah ! what refuge then is mine ? For his sake I sought the wood, Threaded dark and devious ways ; Yami hi ham sharanam ! Can it be Krishna betrays ? Let me die then, and forget Anguish, patience, hope, and fear ; Yami hS ham sharanam ! Ah, why have I held him dear ? Ah, this soft night torments me. Thinking that his faithless arms— Yami hi ham sharamum ! — Clasp some shadow of nay charms, . THE INDIAN SONG OF SONGS. 6i Fatal shadow — ^foolish mock ! When the great love shone confessed ; — Yami hi Team sharanam ! Krishna's lotus loads my breast ; 'Tis too heavy, lacking him ; Like a broken flower I am — Necklets, jewels, what are ye ? Yami hi Mm sharanam ! Yami hi kam sharanam ! The sky is still, the forest sleeps ; Krishna forgets — he loves no more ; He fails in faith, and Radha weeps. But the poet Jayadev — He who is great Hari's slave, He who finds asylum sweet Only at great Hari's feet ; He who for your comfort sings All this to the Vina's strings — Prays that Eadha's tender moan In your hearts be thought upon, $2 THE INDIAN SONG OF SONGS. And that all her'holy grace Live there like the loved one's face. Yet, if I wrong him ! (sang she) — can he fail ? Could any in the wood win hack his kisses ? Could any softest lips of earth prevail To hold him from my arms 1 any love-hlisses Blind him once more to mine ? Soul, my prize ! Art thou not merely hindered at this hour ? Sore- wearied, wandering, lost ? how otherwise Shouldst thou not hasten to the hridal-bower ? But seeing far away that Maiden come Alone, with eyes cast down and lingering steps, Again a little while she feared to hear Of Krishna false ; and her quick thoughts took shape In a fine jealousy, with words like these — Something then of earth has held him From his home above. Some one of those slight deceivers — Ah, my foolish love ! THE INDIAN SONO, OF SONGS. 63 Some new face, some winsome playmate, With her .hair untied, . And the hlossoms tangled in it, Woos him to her side. On the dark orbs of her bosom — Passionately heaved — Sink and rise the warm, white pearl-strings, Oh, my love deceived ! Fair ? yes, yes ! the rippled shadow Of that midnight hair Shows above her brow — as clouds do O'er the moon — ^most fair : And she knows, with wilful paces. How to make her zone Gleam and please him ; and her ear-rings Tinkle love ; and grown Coy as he grows fond, she meets him With a modest show ; Shaming truth with truthful seeming. While her laugh — light, low — 64 THE ii^Dl'AN SONG OF SONGS. And her subtle mouth that murmurs. And her silken cheek, And her eyes, say she dissembles Plain as speech could speak. Till at length, a fatal victress, Of her triumph vain, On his neck she lies and smiles there : — Ah, my Joy ! — my Pain ! But TTWAj RadhaJs fond annoy, And may Krishna's dawning joy. Warm and waken love, more fit — Jayadeva prayetli it — And the griefs and sins assuage Of this Hind and evil age. Moon ! (she sang) that art so pure and pale. Is Krishna wan like thee with lonely waiting ? lamp of love ! art thou the lover's friend, And wilt not bring him, my long pain abating ? fruitless moon ! thou dost increase my pain faithless Krishna ! I have striven in vain. THE INDIAN SONG OF SONGS. 65 And then, lost in her fancies sad. she moaned — ( What follows is to the Music GuejjaeI and the Mode EKATALt.) In vain, in vain ! Earth will of earth ! I mourn more than I blame ; If he had known, he would not sit and paint The tilka on her smooth black brow, nor claim Quick kisses from her yielded lips — false, faint— False, fragrant, fatal ! Krishna's quest is o'er By Jumna's shore ! Vain — it was vain ! The temptress was too near, the heav'n too far ; I can but weep because he sits and ties Garlands of fire-flowers for her loosened hair, And in its silken shadow veils his eyes And buries his fond face. Yet I forgave By Jumna's wave ! Vainly ! all vain ! IMake then the most of that whereto thon'rt given, Feign her thy Paradise — thy Love of loves ; E 66 THE INDIAN SONG OF SONGS. Say that her eyes are stars, her face the heaven, Her bosoms the two worlds, with sandal-groves Full-scented, and the kiss-marks — ah, thy dream By Jumna's stream ! It shall be vain ! And vain to string the emeralds on her arm. And hang the milky pearls upon her neck. Saying they are not jewels, but a swarm Of crowded, glossy bees, come there to suck The rosebuds of her breast, the sweetest flowers Of Jumna's bowers. That shall be vain ! Nor wilt thou so believe thine own blind wooing. Nor slake thy heart's thirst even with the cup Which at the last she brims for thee, undoing Her girdle of carved gold, and yielding up. Love's uttermost : brief the poor gain and pride By Jumna's tide Because still vain Is love that feeds on shadow ; vain, as thou dost, To look so deep into the phantom eyes THE INDIAN SONG OF SONGS. 67 For that which lives not there; and vain, as thou must. To marvel why the painted pleasure flies, When the fair, false wings seemed folded for ever By Jumna's river. And vain ! yes, vain i For me too is it, having so much striven. To see this slight snare take thee, and thy soul Which should have climbed to mine, and shared my heaven. Spent on a lower loveliness, whose whole Passion of claim were but a parody Of that kept here for thee. Ahaha! vain! For on some isle of Jumna's silver stream He gives all that they ask to those hard eyes. While mine which are his angel's, mine which gleam With light that might have led him to the skies — That almost led him — are eclipsed with tears Wailing my fruitless prayers. But thou, good Friend, Hang not thy head for shame, nor come so slowly, As one whose message is too ill to tell ; 6S THE INDIAN SONG OF SONGS. If thou must say Krishna is forfeit wholly — Wholly forsworn and lost — let the grief dwell Where the sin doth, — except in this sad heart. Which cannot shun its part. great Hari ! furge from wrong The soul of him who writes this song ; Purge the souls of those that read From every fault of thought and deed ; With thy blessed light assuage The darkness of this evil age I Jayadev the hard of love, Servant of the Gods above, Prays it for himself and you — Gentle hearts who listen ! — too. Then in this other strain she wailed his loss — {What follows is to the Music DESHAVAElDt and tlu Mode RuPAKA. She, not Eadha, wins the crown Whose false lips seemed dearest] THE INDIAN SONG OF SONGS. 69 What was distant gain to him When sweet loss stood nearest ? Love her, therefore, lulled to loss On her fatal bosom ; Love her with such love as she Can give back in the blossom. Love her, thou rash lost soul ! With thy thousand graces ; Coin rare thoughts into fair words Por her face of faces ; Praise it, fling away for it Life's purpose in a sigh. All for those lips like flower-leaves, And lotus-dark deep eye. Nay, and thou shall: be happy too Till the fond dream is over ; And she shall taste delight to hear The wooing of her lover ; Tlie breeze that brings the sandal up From distant green Malay, Shall seem all fragrance in the night, All coolness in the day. 70 THE INDIAN SONG OF SONGS. The crescent moon shall seem to swim Only that she may see The glad eyes of my Krishna gleam, And her soft glances he : It shall be as a silver lamp Set in the sky to show The rose-leaf palms that cling and clasp, And the breast that beats below. The thought of parting shall not lie Cold on their throbbing lives. The dread of ending shall not chill The glow beginning gives ; She in her beauty dark shall look — As long as clouds can be — As gracious as the rain-time cloud Kissing the shining sea, And he, amid his playmates old. At least a little while. Shall not breathe forth again the sigh That spoils the song and smile ; THE INDIAN SONG OF SONGS. 71 Shall be left wholly to his choice. Free for his pleasant sin, With the golden-girdled damsels Of the bowers I found him in. For me, his Angel, only The sorrow and the smart. The pale grief sitting on the brow, The dead hope in the heart ; For me the loss of losing, For me the ache and dearth ; INIy king crowned with the wood-flowers ! My fairest upon earth ! ITari, Lord and King of love ! From thy throne of light above Stoop to help us, deign to take Our spirits to thee for the sake Of this song, which speaks the fears Of all who weep with Badha's tears. But love is strong to pardon, slow to part, And still the Lady, in her fancies, sang — 72 THE INDIAN SONG OF SONGS. Wind of the Indian stream ! A little— oh ! a little — breathe once more The fragrance like his mouth's ! blow from thy shore One last word as he fades into a dream ; Bodiless Lord of love ! Show him once more to me a minute's space, My Krishna, with the love-look in his face, And then I come to my own place above ; I will depart and give All back to Fate and her : I will submit To thy stern will, and bow myself to it, Enduring still, though desolate, to live : If it indeed be life, Even so resigning, to sit patience-mad. To feel the zephyrs burn, the sunlight sad. The peace of holy heaven, a restless strife. Haho ! what words are these ? How can I live and lose him ? how not so Whither love draws me for a soul loved so ? How yet endure such sorrow ? — or how cease ? THE INDIAN SONG OF SONGS. 7} Wind of the Indian wave ! If that thou canst, blow poison here, not nard ; God of the five shafts ! shoot thy sharpest hard. And kill me, Eadha, — Eadha who forgave ! Or, bitter Eiver, Yaniiin ! be Yama's sister ! be Death's kin ! Swell thy wave up to me and gulf me in, Cooling this cruel, burning pain for ever. Ah ! if only visions stir Grief so passionate in her, What divine grief will not take. Spirits in heaven for the sake Of those who miss love ? Oh, he wise ! Mark this story of the skies ; Meditate Gcvinda ever, Sitting by the sacred river, The mystic stream, which o'er his feet Glides slow, with murmurs low and siveet, Till none can tell whether those he Blue lotus-hlooms, seen veiledly Under the wave, or mirrored gems ^Reflected from the diadems 74 THE INDIAN SONG OF SONGS. Bound on the trows of mighty Gods, Who lean from out their pure abodes, And leave their bright felicities To guide great Krishna to his skies. (JTere ends that Sarga of the Gita Govinda entitled ViPEALABDHAVAKNANE NaGAKANARAYANO.) ( 75 ) SAIiGA THE EIGHTH. KHANDITAVARNANE V 1 L A K S H A L A K S H M I P A T I. THE EEBUKING OF KEISHNA. Foe when the weary night had worn away In these vain fears, and the clear morning broke, Lo, Krishna ! lo, the longed-for of her soul Came too ! — in the glad light he came, and hent His knee, and clasped his hands ; on his dumb lips Fear, wonder, joy, passion, and reverence Strove for the trembling words, and Eadha knew Peace won for him and her ; yet none the less A little time she chided him, and sang : 76 THE INDIAN SONG OF SONGS. ( What follows is to the Music BhairavI and the Mode Yati.) Krishna ! — then thou hast found me ! — and thine eyes Heavy and sad and stained, as if with weeping ! Ah ! is it not that those, which were thy prize, So radiant seemed that all night thou wert keeping Vigils of tender wooing ? — have thy Love ! Here is no place for vows broken in making; Thou Lotus-eyed ! thou soul for whom I strove ! Go ! ere I listen, my just mind forsaking. Krishna ! my Krishna with the woodland-wreath ! Eeturn, or I shall soften as I blame ; The while thy very lips are dark to the teeth With dye that from her lids and lashes came. Left on the mouth I touched. Fair traitor ! go ! Say not tliey darkened, lacking food and sleep Long waiting for my face ; I turn it — so — Go! ere I half believe thee, pleading deep; But wilt thou plead, when, like a love-verse printed On the smooth polish of an emerald, THE INDIAN SONG OF SONGS. 77 r see the mavks she stamped, the lasses dinted Large^lettered, by her lips ? thy speech withheld Speaks all too plainly ; go, — abide thy choice ! If thou dost stay, I shall more greatly grieve thee j Not records of her victory ? — peace, dear voice ! Hence with that godlike brow, lest I believe thee. For dar'st thou feign the saffron on thy bosom Was not implanted in disloyal embrace ? Or that this many-coloured love-tree blossom Shone not, but yesternight, above her face ? Comest thou here, so late, to be forgiven, thou, in whose eyes Truth was made to live ? thou, so worthy else of grace and heaven ? thou, so nearly won ? Ere I forgive, Go, Krishna ! go ! — lest I should think, unwise, Thy heart not false, as thy long lingering seems, Lest, seeing myself so imaged in thine eyes, I shame the name of Pity — turn to dreams The sacred sound of vows ; make Virtue grudge Her praise to Mercy, calling thy sin slight ; 78 THE INDIAN SONG OF &ONGS. Go therefore, dear offender ! go ! thy Judge Had best not see thee to give sentence right.* But may hJs grant us peace at last and hliss Who heard, — and smiled to hear, — delays like this. Belays that dallied with a dream come true, Fond wilful angers ; for the maid laughed too To see, as Radha ended, her hand take His dark robe for her veil, and Krishna make The word she spoke for parting kindliest sign He should not go, hut stay. grace divine, Be ours too ! Jayadev, the Poet of love. Prays it from Hari, lordliest above. {Here ends that Sarga of the Gita Govinda entitled Khanditavaenane Vilakshalakshmipati.) " The text here is not closely followed. ( 79 ) SARGA THE NINTH. KALAHANTAEITAVAENANE MUGDHAMUKUNDO. THE END OF KEISHJSTA'S TRIAL. Yet not quite did the doubts of Eadha die, Nor her sweet brows unbend ; but she, the Maid — Knowing her heart so tender, her soft arms Aching to take him in, her rich mouth sad Por the comfort of his kiss, and these fears false — Spake yet a little in fair words like these : ( What follows is to the Music GuEJJAEt aiid the Mode Yati.) The lesson that thy faithful love has taught him He has heard ; The wind of spring, obeying thee, hath brought him At thy word ; 8o THE INDIAN SONG OF SONGS. What joy in all the three worlds was so precious To thy mind ? Md kooroo mdnini mdnamayi* Ah, be kind ! No longer from his earnest eyes conceal Thy delights ; Lift thy face, and let the jealous veil reveal All his rights ; The glory of thy beauty was but given For content ; Md kooroo mdnini mdnamayi, Oh, relent ! Eemember, being distant, how he bore thee In his heart ; Look on him sadly turning from before thee To depart; Is he not the soul thou lovedst. sitting lonely In the wood ? 3Id kooroo mdnini mdnamayi, 'Tis not good ! * My prmid one ! do not indulge in scorn. THE INDIAN SONG OF SONGS. 8i He who grants thee high delight in bridal-bower Pardons long ; What the gods do love may do at such an horn- Without wrong ; Why weepest thou ? why keepest thou in anger Thy lashes down ? Md hooroo mdnini mdnamayi, Do not frown ! Lift thine eyes now, and look on him, bestowing. Without speech ; Let him pluck at last the flower so sweetly growing In his reach ; The fruit of lips, of loving tones, of glances That forgive; Md kooroo mdnini mdnamay&, Let him live ! Let him speak with thee, and pray to thee, and prove thee All his truth ; Let his silent loving lamentation move thee Asking ruth ; 82 THE INDIAN SONG OF SONGS. How knowest thou ? Ah, listen, dearest Lady, He is there ; Md Jcooroo mdnini mdnamayd, Thou must hear ! rare voice, which is a spell Unto all on earth who dwell ! rich voice of rapturous love. Making melody above ! Krish/n,a's, Hari's — one in two, Sound these mortal verses through ! Sound like that soft flute which made Such a magic in the shade — Calling deer- eyed maidens nigh. Waking wish and stirring sigh. Thrilling blood and melting breasts, Whispering love's divine unrests, Winning blessings to descend. Bringing earthly ills to end ;— Be thou heard in this song now Thou, the great Enchantment, thou ! [ITcre ends that Sarga of the Gita Govinda entitled KALAHANTArJTAVAENANE MUGDHAMUKUNDO.) I S3 ) SARGA THE TENTH. MANINIVAENANE CHATURACHATURBHUJO. KEISHNA IN PAEADISE. But she, abasing still her glorious eyes, And still not yielding all her face to him, Eelented ; till with softer upturned look She smiled, while the Maid pleaded ; so thereat Came Krishna nearer, and his eager lips Mixed sighs with words in this fond song he sang: {What follows is to the Music DESHlvAVARiDt and the Mode AshtatalI.) angel of my hope ! my heart's home ! My fear is lost in love, my love in fear ; 84 THE INDIAN SCNG OF SONGS. This bids me trust my burning wisb, and come, That checks me with its memories, drawing near : Lift up thy look, and let the thing it saith End fear with grace, or darken love to death. Or only speak once more, for though thou slay me. Thy heavenly mouth must move, and I shall hear Dulcet delights of perfect music sway me Again — again that voice so blest and dear ; Sweet Judge ! the prisoner prayeth for his doom That he may hear his fate divinely come. Speak once more ! then thou canst not choose but show Thy mouth's unparalleled and honeyed wonder Where, like pearls hid in red-lipped shells, the row Of pearly teeth thy rose-red lips lie under ; Ah me ! I am that bird that woos the moon. And pipes — poor fool ! to make it glitter soon. Yet hear me on — because I cannot stay The passion of my soul, because my gladness Will pour forth from my heart ; — since that far day When through the mist of all my sin and sadness THE INDIAN SONG OF SONGS. 85 Thou didst vouchsafe — Surpassing One ! — to break, All else I slighted for thy noblest sake. Thou, thou hast been my blood, my breath, my being ; The pearl to plunge for in the sea of life ; The sight to strain for, past the bounds of seeing ; The victory to win through longest strife ; My Queen ! my crownM Mistress ! my sphered bride ! Take this for truth, that what I say beside Of bold love — grown full-orbed at sight of thee — May be forgiven with a quick remission ; For, thou divine fulfilment of all hope ! Thou all-undreamed completion of the vision ! I gaze upon thy beauty, and my fear Passes as clouds do, when the moon shines clear. » So if thou'rt angry still, this shall avail. Look straight at me, and let thy bright glance wound me; Fetter me ! gyve me ! lock me in the gaol Of thy delicious arms ; make fast Ground me The silk-soft manacles of wrists and hands. Then kill me ! I shall never break those bands. 86 THE INDIAN SONG OP SONGS. The starlight jewels flashing on thy breast Have not my right to hear thy beating heart ; The happy jasmine-buds that clasp thy -vvaist Are soft usurpers of my place and part ; If that fair girdle only there must shine, Give me the girdle's life — the girdle mine ! Thy brow like smooth Bandhlika-leaves ; thy cheek Which the dark-tinted Madhuk's velvet shows ; Thy long-lashed Lotus eyes, lustrous and meek ; Thy nose a Tila-bud ; thy teeth like rows Of Kunda-petals ! he who pierceth hearts Points with thy lovelinesses all five darts. But Eadiant, Perfect, Sweet, Supreme, forgive ! My heart is wise — my tongue is foolish stiU : I know where I am come — I know I live — I know that thou art Eadha — that this will Last and be heaven : that I have leave to rise Up from thy feet, and look into thine eyes ! And, nearer coming, I ask for grace Now that the blest eyes turn to mine ; THE INDIAN SONG OF SONGS. 87 Faithful I stand ia this sacred place Since first I saw them shine : Dearest glory that stills my voice, Beauty unseen, unknown, unthought ! Splendour of love, in whose sweet light Darkness is past and nought; Ah, heyond words that sound on earth, Golden bloom of the garden of heaven ! Eadha, enchantress ! Eadha, the queen ! Be this trespass forgiven — In that I dare, with courage too much And a heart afraid, — so bold it is grown — To hold thy hand with a bridegroom's touch. And take thee for mine, mine own.* So they mei and so they ended Pain and parting, being blended Life with life — made one for ever In h/igh love ; and Jayadeva Hasteneth on to close the story Of their bridal grace and glory. {Here ends that Sarga of the Gita Govinda entitled Maninivaenane Chatueachaturbhctjo.) * Much here also ia necessarily paraphrased. ( zs ) SARGA THE ELEVENTH. RADHIKAMILANE SANANDADAMODAEO. THE UNION OF EADHA AND KEISHNA. Thus followed soft and lasting peace, and griefs Died while she listened to his tender tongue, Her eyes of antelope alight with love ; And while he led the way to the hride-bower The maidens of her train adorned her fair With golden marriage-cloths, and sang this song : ( Wkobt follows is to the Music Vasanta and the Mode Yati.) JFoUow, happy Eadha ! follow, — In the quiet falling twilight — THE INDIAN SONG OF SONGS. 89 The steps of him who followed thee So steadfastly and far ; Let us bring thee where the hanjulas Have spread a roof of crimson, Lit up by many a marriage-lamp Of planet, sun, and star : Tor the hours of doubt are over, And thy glad and faithful lover Hath found the road by tears and prayers To thy divinest side ; And thou wilt not now deny him One delight of all thy beauty, But yield up open-hearted His pearl, his prize, his bride. Oh, follow ! while we fill the air With songs and softest music ; Lauding thy wedded loveliness. Dear Mistress past compare ! For there is not any splendour Of Apsarasas immortal — No glory of their beauty rich — But Eadha has a share ; 90 THE INDIAN SONG OF SONGS. Oh, follow ! while we sing the song That fills the worlds with longing, The music of the Lord of love Who melts all hearts with bliss ; For now is born the gladness That springs from mortal sadness, And all soft thoughts and things and hopes Were presages of this. Then, follow, happiest Lady ! Follow him thou lovest wholly ; The hour is come to follow now The soul thy spells have led; His are thy breasts like jasper-cups. And his thine eyes like planets ; Thy fragrant hair, thy stately neck, Thy queenly sumptuous head ; Thy soft small feet, thy perfect lips, Thy teeth like jasmine petals, Thy gleaming rounded shoulders. And long caressing arms. Being thine to give, are his ; and his The twin strings of thy girdle. THE INDIAN SONG OF SONGS. 91 And his the priceless treasure Of thine utter-sweetest charms. So follow ! while the flowers break forth In white and amber clusters, At the breath of thy pure presence, And the radiance on thy brow ; Oh, follow where the Asokas wave Their sprays of gold and purple, As if to beckon thee the way That Krishna passed but now ; lie is gone a little forward ! Though thy steps are faint for pleasure, Let him hear the tattling ripple Of the bangles round thy feet; Moving slowly o'er the blossoms On the path which he has shown thee, That when he turns to listen It may make his fond heart beat. And loose thy jewelled girdle A little, that its rubies May tinkle softest music too, And whisper thou art near; 92 THE INDIAN SONG OF SONGS. Though now, if in the forest Thou should'st bend one blade of Kusha With silken touch of passing foot, His heart would know and hear ; Would hear the wood-buds saying, " It is Eadha's foot that passes ; " Would hear the wind sigh love-sick, " It is Eadha's fragrance, this ; " Would hear thine own heart beating Within thy panting bosom, And know thee coming, coming, His — ever, — ever — his ! " Mine ! " — hark ! we are near enough for hearing — " Soon she will come — she will smile — she vMl say Honey-sweet words of heavenly endearing ; soul ! listen; my Bride is on her way! " Hear'st him not, my Eadha ? Lo, night bendeth o'er thee — Darker than dark TamMa-leaves — To list thy marriage-song ; Dark as the touchstone that tries gola. And see now — on before thee — THE INDIAN SONG OF SONGS. 93 Those lines of tender light that creep The clouded sky along : night ! that trieth gold of love. This love is proven perfect ! lines that streak the touchstone sky, Flash forth true shining gold ! rose-leaf feet, go boldly ! night ! — that lovest lovers — Thy softest robe of silence About these bridals fold ! See'st thou not, my Eadha ? Lo, the night, thy bridesmaid, Comes ! — her eyes thick-painted With soorma of the gloom — The night that binds the planet-worlds For jewels on her forehead, And for emblem and for garland Loves the blue-black lotus-bloom ; The night that scents her breath so sweet With cool and musky odours. That joys to spread her veil of shade Over the limbs of love ; 94 THE INDIAN SONG OF SONGS. And wheii, with loving weary, Yet dreaming love, they slumber, Sets the far stars for silver lamps To light them from above. So came she where he stood, awaiting her At the bower's entry, like a god to see. With marriage-gladness and the grace of heaven. The great pearl set upon his glorious head Shone like a moon among the leaves, and shone Like stars the gems that kept her gold gown close : But still a little while she paused — abashed At her delight, of her deep joy afraid — And they that tended her sang once more this : {What follows is to the Music VaeIdi and the Mode EUPAKA.) Enter, thrice-happy ! enter, thrice-desired ! And let the gates of Hari shut thee in With the soul destined to thee from of old. Tremble not ! lay thy lovely shame aside ; Lay it aside with thine unfastened zone. And love him with the love that knows not fear. THE INDIAN SONG OF SONGS. 95 Because it fears not diange ; enter thou in, Flower of all sweet and stainless womanhood ! For ever to grow bright, for ever new ; Enter beneath the flowers, flower- fair ! Beneath these tendrils, Loveliest ! that entwine And clasp, and wreathe and cling, with kissing stems ' Enter, with tender-blowiug airs of heaven. Soft as love's breath and gentle as the tones Of lover's whispers, when the lips come close : Enter the house of Love, loveliest ! Enter the marriage-bower, most beautiful ! And take and give the joy that Hari grants, Thy heart has entered, let thy feet go too ! Lo, Krishna ! lo, the one that thirsts for thee ! Give him the drink of amrit from thy lips. Then she, no more delaying, entered straight; Her step a little faltered, but her face Shone with unutterable quick love; and — whilu 96 THE INDIAN SONG OF SONGS. The music of her bangles passed the porch — Shame, which had lingered in her downcast eyes, Departed shamed* . . . and like the mighty deep, Which sees the moon and rises, all his life Uprose to drink her beams. (Here ends that Sarga of the Gita Govinda entitled Eadhikamilane Sanandadamodaro.) Hari keep you ! He whose might, On the King of Serpents seated. Flashes forth in dazzling light From the Great Snake's gems repeated : Hari keep you ! He whose graces. Manifold in majesty, — Multiplied in heavenly places — Multiply on earth — to see * This complete anticipation [salajjd lajjdpi) of the line — " Upon whose brow shame is ashamed to sit'* — occurs at the close of the Sarga, part of which is here perforce omitted, along with the whole of the last one. THE INDIAN SONG OF SONGS. 97 Better with a hundred eyes Her bright charms who by him lies. IVhat skill may be in singing, Wliat worship sound in song, What lore le taught in loving, What right divined from lorong : Such things hath Jayadeva — In this his Hymn of Love, IVhioh lauds Govinda ever, — Displayed ; may all approve ! THE END OF THE INDIAN SONG OF SONGa MISCELLANEOUS ORIENTAL POEMS. ( lor ) THE RAJPOOT WIFE. Sing something, Jymul Eao ! for the goats are gathered now, And no more water is to bring ; The village-gates are set, and the night is gray as yet, God hath given wondrous fancies to thee : — sing ! Then Jymul's supple fingers, with a touch that doubts and lingers. Sets athrill the saddest wire of all the six ; And the girls sit in a tangle, and hush the tinkling bangle, While the boys pile the flame with store of sticks. And vain of village praise, but full of ancient days, He begins with a smile and with a sigh — " Who knows the babul-tree by the bend of the Eavee ? ' Quotli Gunesh, " I ! " and twenty voices, " I ! " I02 THE RAJPOOT WIFE. " Well — listen ! there below, in the shade of bloom and bough, Is a musjid of carved and coloured stone ; And Abdool Shureef Khan — I spit, to name that man! — Lieth there, underneath, all alone, " He was Sultan Mahmood's vassal, and wore an Amir's tassel In his green hadj -turban, at Nungul. Yet the head which went so proud, it is not in his shroud; There are bones in that grave, — but not a skull ! " And, deep drove in his breast, there moulders with the rest A dagger, brighter once than Chundra's ray ; A Eajpoot lobar whet it, and a Eajpoot woman set it Past the power of any hand to tear away. " 'Twas the Eanee Neila true, the wife of Soorj Dehu, Lord of the Eajpoots of Nourpoor ; You shall hear the mournful story, with its sorrow and its glory, And curse Shureef Khan, — the soor ! " THE RAJPOOT WIFE. 103 All in the wide Five-Waters was none like Soorj Dehu, To foeman who so dreadful, to friend what heart so true? Like Indus, through the mountains came down the Muslim ranks, And town- walls fell before them as flooded river-banks ; But Soorj Dehu the Eajpoot owned neither town nor wall; His house the camp, his roof-tree the sky that covers all ; His seat of state the saddle ; his robe a shirt of mail ; His court a thousand Rajpoots close at his stallion's tail. Not less was Soorj a Eajah because no crown he wore Save the grim helm of iron with sword-marks dinted o'er; Because he grasped no sceptre save the sharp tulwar, made Of steel that fell from heaven,— for 'twas Indra forged that blade ! I04 THE RAJPOOT WIFE. And many a starless midnight the shout of " Soorj Dehu " Broke up with spear and matchlock the Muslim's "lUahu." And many a day of battle upon the Muslim proud Fell Soorj, as Indra's lightning falls from the silent cloud. Nor ever shot nor arrow, nor spear nor shnger's stone, Could pierce the mail that Weila the Eanee buckled on : But traitor's subtle tongue-thrust through fence of steel can break ; And Soorj was taken sleeping, whom none had ta'en awake. Then at the noon, in durbar, swore fiercely Shureef Klian Tha,t Soorj should die in torment, or live a Mussulman. But Soorj laughed lightly at him, and answered, " Work your will ! The last breath of my body shall curse your Prophet still." With words of insult shameful, and deeds of cruel kind, They vexed that Eajpoot's body, but never moved his mind. THE RAJPOOT WIFE. 105 And one is come who sayeth, " Ho ! Eajpoots ! Soorj is bound ; Your lord is caged and baited by Shureef Khan, the hound. " The Khan hath caught and chained hira, like a beast, in iron cage, And all the camp of Islam spends on him spite and " All day the coward Muslims spend on him rage and spite ; If ye have thought to help him, 'twere good yo go to- night." Up sprang a hundred horsemen, flashed in each hand a sword ; In each heart burned the gladness of dying for their lord; Up rose each Eajpoot rider, and buckled on with speed The bridle-chain and breast-cord, and the saddle of his steed. lo6 THE RAJPOOT WIFE. But unto none sad Neila gave word to mount and ride ; Only she called the brothers of Soorj unto her side, And said, " Take order straightway to seek this camp with me ; If love and craft can conquer, a thousand is as three. "If love be weak to save him, Soorj dies — and ye return, For where a Rajpoot dieth, the Eajpoot widows burn." Thereat the Eanee Neila unbraided from her hair The pearls as great as Kashmir grapes Soorj gave his wife to wear. And all across her bosoms — like lotus-buds to see — She wrapped the tinselled sari of a dancing Kunchenee; And fastened on her ankles the hundred silver bells, To whose light laugh of music the Nautch-girl darts and dwells. And all in dress a Nautch-girl, but all in heart a queen, She set her foot to stirrup with a sad and settled mien. THE RAJPOOT WIFE. 107 Only one thing she carried no Kunchenee should hear, The knife between her bosoms ; — ho, Shureef ! have a care ! Thereat, with running ditty of mingled pride and pity, Jymul Eao makes the six wires sigh ; And the girls with tearful eyes note the music's fall and rise, And the boys let the fire fade and die. All day lay Soorj the Eajpoot in Shureef's iron cage, All day the coward Muslims spent on him spite and rage. With bitter cruel torments, and deeds of shameful kind, They racked and broke his body, but could not shake his mind. And only at the Azan, when all their worst was vain. They left him, like dogs slinking from a lion in his pain. No meat nor drink they gave him through all that burning day, And done to death, but scornful, at twilight- time he lay. lo8 THE RAJPOOT WIFE. So when the gem of Shiva uprose, the shining moon, Soorj spake unto his spirit, " The end is coming soon. " I would the end might hasten, could Neila only know — What is that Nautch-girl singing with voice so known and low ? " Singing beneath the cage-bars the song of love and fear My NeUa sang at parting ! — what doth that Nautch-girl here? "Whence comes she by the music of Neila's tender strain, She, in that shameless tinsel ? — Nautch-girl, sing again ! " "Ah, Soorj!" — so followed answer — "here thine own Neila stands. Faithful in life and death alike, — look up, and take my hands : " Speak low, lest the guard hear us ; — to-night, if thou must die, Shureef shall have no triumph, but bear thee company." THE RAJPOOT WIFE. 109 So sang she like the Koil that dies beside its mate ; With eye as black and fearless, and love as hot and great. Then the Chief laid his pale lips updn the little palm. And sank down with a smile of love, his face all glad and calm ; And through the cage-bars Neila felt the brave heart stop fast, " Soorj ! " — she cried — " I follow ! have patience to the last." She turned and went. " Who passes? " challenged the Mussulman ; "A Nautch-girl, I."— "What seek'st thou?"— "The presence of the Khan ; " Ask if the high chief-captain be pleased to hear me sing;" ' And Shureef, full of feasting, the Kunchenee bade bring. Then, all before the Muslims, aflame with lawless wine, Entered the Eanee Weila, in grace and face divine ; no THE RAJPOOT WIFE. And all before the Muslims, wagging their goatish chins. The Eajpoot Princess set her to the " bee-dance " that begins, " If my love loved me, he should he a lee, I the yellow champak, love the honey of me." All the wreathed movements danced she of that dance ; Not a step she slighted, not a wanton glance ; In her unveiled bosom chased th' intruding bee. To her waist-^and lower — she ! a Eajpoot, she ! Sang the melting music, swayed the languorous limb : Shureef's drunken heart beat — Shureef's eyes waxed dim. From his finger Shureef loosed an Ormuz pearl — " By the Prophet," quoth he, " 'tis a winsome girl ! " Take this ring ; and 'prithee, come and have thy pay, I would hear at leisure more of such a lay." Glared his eyes on her eyes, passing o'er the plain, Glared at the tent-purdah — never glared again ! THE RAJPOOT WIFE. in Never opened after unto gaze or glance. Eyes that saw a Eajpoot dance a shameful dance ; Per the kiss she gave him was his first and last — Kiss of dagger, driven to his heart, and past. At her feet he wallowed, choked with wicked hlood ; In his breast the katar quivered where it stood. At the hilt his fingers vainly — wildly — try, Then they stiffen feeble ; — die ! thou slayer, die ! From his jewelled scabbard drew she Shureef's sword, Cut atwain the neck-bone of the Muslim lord. Underneath the starlight, — sooth, a sight of dread ! Like the Goddess Kali, comes she with the head. Comes to where her brothers guard their murdered chief; All the camp is silent, but the night is brief. At his feet she flings it, flings her burden vile ; " Soorj ! 1 keep my promise ! Brothers, build the pile ! " 112 THE RAJPOOT WIFE. They have built it, sei it, all as Eajpoots do, From the cage of iron taken Soorj Dehu ; In the lap of Neila, seated on the pile, Laid his head — she radiant, like a queen the while. Then the lamp is lighted, and the ghee is poured — " Soorj, we burn together : my love, my lord ! " In the flame and crackle dies her tender tongue, Dies the Eanee, truest, all true wives among. At the dawn a clamour runs from tent to tent. Like the wild geese cackling when the night is spent. " Shureef Khan lies headless ! gone is Soorj Dehu ! And the wandering Nautch-girl, who has seen her, who ? " 'This but know the sentries, at the " breath of morn" Forth there fared two horsemen, by the first was borne The urn of clay, the vessel that Eajpoots use to bring The ashes of dead kinsmen to Gungas' holy spring. ( 113 ) KING SALADIN. Long years ago — so tells Boccaccio In such Italian gentleness of speech As finds no echo in this northern air To counterpart its music — long ago, When Saladin was Soldan of the East, The kings let cry a general crusade ; And to the trysting-plains of Lombardy The idle lances of the North and West Eode an that spring, as all the spring runs down Into a lake, from all its hanging hills, The clash and glitter of a hundred streams. Whereof the rumour reached to Saladin ; And that swart king — as royal in his heart As any crownM champion of the Cross — That he might fully, of his knowledge, learn The purpose of the lords of Christendom, n 114 KING SALADIN. And when their war and what their armament, Took thought to cross the seas to Lombardy. Wherefore, with wise and trustful Amirs twain, All hahited in garbs that merchants use, With trader's baud and gipsire on the breasts That best loved mail and dagger, Saladin Set forth upon his journey perilous. In that day, lordly land was Lombardy ! A sea of country-plenty, islanded With cities rich ; nor richer one than thee. Marble Milano ! from whose gate at dawn — With ear that little recked the matin-bell, But a keen eye to measure wall and foss — The Soldan rode ; and all day long he rode For Pavia ; passing basilic, and shrine. And gaze of vineyard-workers, wotting not Yon trader was the Lord of Heathenesse. All day he rode ; yet at the wane of day No gleam of gate, or ramp, or rising spire, Nor Tessin's sparkle underneath the stars Promised him Pavia; but he was 'ware Of a gay company upon the way. Ladies and lords, with horses, hawks, and hounds : KING SALADIN. 115 Cap-plumes and tresses fluttered by the wind Of meriy race for home, " Go ! " said the king To one that rode upon his better hand, " And pray these gentles of their courtesy How many leagues to Pavia, and the gates What hour they close them ? " Then the Saracen Set spur, and being joined to him that seemed First of the hunt, he told the message — they Checking the jangling bits, and chiding down The unfinished laugh to listen — but by this Came up the king, his bonnet in his hand. Theirs doffed to him : " Sir Trader," Torel said (Messer Torello 'twas, of Istria), " They shut the Pavian gate at even-song. And even-song is sung." Then turning half, Muttered, " Pardie, the man is worshipful, A stranger too ! " " Fair lord ! " quoth Saladin, " Please you to stead some weary travellers, , Saying where we may lodge, the town so far And night so near." " Of my heart, willingly," Made answer Torel, " I did think but now To send my knave an errand — he shall ride And bring you into lodgment — oh ! no thanks. :i6 KING SALADIN. Our Lady keep you ! " then with whispered hest He called their guide and sped them. Being gone. Torello told his purpose, and the band, With ready zeal and loosened bridle- chains, Eode for his hunting-palace, where they set A goodly banquet underneath the planes. And hung the house with guest-lights, and anon Welcomed the wondering strangers, thereto led Unwitting, by a world of winding paths ; Messer Torello, at the inner gate, Waiting to take them in — a goodly host. Stamped current with God's image for a man Chief among men, truthful, and just, and free. Then he, " Well met again, fair sirs ! Our kna\ e Hath found you shelter better than the worst : Please you to leave your selles, and being bathed, Grace our poor supper here.'' Then Saladin, Whose sword had yielded ere his courtesy. Answered, " Great thanks, Sir Knight, and this much blame, You spoil us for our trade ! two bonnets doffed. And travellers' questions holding you afield. For those you give us this," " Sir ! not your meed. KING SALADIN. 117 Nor worthy of your breeding ; but in sooth That is not out of Pavia." Thereupon He led them to fair chambers decked with all Makes tired men glad ; lights, and the marble baih, And flasks that sparkled, liquid amethyst, And grapes, not dry as yet from evening dew. Thereafter at the supper-board they sat ; Nor lacked it, though its guest was reared a king. Worthy provend in crafts of cookery, Pastel, pasticcio — all set forth on gold ; And gracious talk and pleasant courtesies. Spoken in stately Latin, cheated time Till there was none but held the stranger-sir, For all his chapman's dress of cramasie. Goodlier than silks could make him. Presently Talk rose upon the Holy Sepulchre : " I go myself," said Torel, " with a score Of better knights — the flower of Pavia — To try our steel against King Saladin's. Sirs ! ye have seen the countries of the Sun, Know you the Soldan ? " Answer gave the king, " The Soldan we have seen — 'twill push him hard If, which I nothing doubt, you Pavian lords ii8 , KING SALADIN. Are valorous as gentle ; — we, alas ! Are Cyprus merchants making trade to France — Dull sons of Peace." " By Mary ! " Torel cried, " But for thy word, I ne'er heard speech so fit To lead the war, nor saw a hand that sat liker a soldier's in the sabre's place ; But sure I hold you sleepless ! " Then himself Playing the chamberlain, with torches borne. Led them to restful beds, commending them To sleep and God, Who hears — Allah or God — When good men do his creatures charities. At dawn the cock, and neigh of saddled steeds. Broke the king's dreams of battle — not their own. But goodly jennets from Torello's stalls. Caparisoned to bear them ; he their host TJp, with a gracious radiance like the sun, To bid them speed. Beside him in the court Stood Dame Adalieta; comely she. And of her port as queenly, and serene As if the braided gold about her brows Had been a crown. Mutual good-morrow given. Thanks said and stayed, the lady prayed her guest To take a token of his sojourn there. KING SALADIN. 119 Harking her good- will, not his worthiness ; " A gown of miniver — these furbelows Are silk I spun — my lord wears ever such — A housewife's gift ! but those ye love are far ; Wear it as given for them." Then Saladin — " A precious gift, Madonna, past my thanks ; And — but thou shalt not hear a ' no ' from me-- - Past my receiving ; yet I take it ; we Were debtors to your noble courtesy Out of redemption — this but bankrupts us." " Nay, sir, — God shield you ! " said the knight and dame. And Saladin, with phrase of gentilesse Eeturned, or ever that he rode alone, Swore a great oath in guttural Arabic, An oath by Allah — startling up the ears Of those three Christian cattle they bestrode — That never yet was princelier-natured man. Nor gentler lady ; — -and that time should see For a king's lodging quittance royal repaid. It was the day of the Passaggio : Ashore the war-steeds champed the burnished bit ; I20 KING SALADIN. Afloat the galleys tugged the mooring-chain ; The town was out ; the Lombard armourers — Red-hot with riveting the helmets up. And whetting axes for the heathen heads — Cooled in the crowd that filled the squares and streets To speed G-od's soldiers. At the none that day Messer Torello to the gate came down, Leading his lady ; — sorrow's hueless rose Grew on her cheek, and thrice the destrier Struck fire, impatient, from the pavement-squares. Or ere she spoke, tears in her lifted eyes, '•■ Goest thou, lord of mine ? " " Madonna, yes ! " Said Torel, " for my soul's weal and the Lord Eide I to-day : my good name and my house Eeliant I intrust thee, and — because It may be they shall slay me, and because. Being so young, so fair, and so reputed. The noblest will entreat thee — wait for me, Widow or wife, a year, and month, and day ; Then if thy kinsmen press thee to a choice. And if I be not come, hold me for dead ; Nor link thy blooming beauty with the grave Against thine heart." " Good my lord ! " answered she, KING SALADIN. 121 "Hardly my neart sustains to let thee go; Thy memory it can keep, and keep it will, Though my one lord, Torel of Istria, Live, or " "Sweet, comfort thee! San Pietro speed ! I shall come home : if not, and worthy knees Bend for this hand, whereof none worthy lives, Least he who lays his last kiss thus upon it. Look thee. I free it " " Nay ! " she said, " but I, A petulant slave that hugs her golden chain. Give that gift back, and with it this poor ring : Set it upon thy sword-hand, and in fight Be merciful and win, thinking of me." Then she, with pretty action, drawing on Her ruby, buckled over it his glove — The great steel glove — and through the helmet bars Took her last kiss; — then let the chafing steed Have its hot will and go. But Saladin, Safe back among his lords at Lebanon, Well wotting of their quest, awaited it, And held the Crescent up against the Cross. In many a doughty fight Ferrara blades 22 KING SALADIN. Clashed. witli keen Damasc, many a weary month "Wasted afield ; but yet the Christians Won nothing nearer to Christ's sepulchre ; Kay, but gave ground. At last, in Acre pent. On their loose files, enfeebled by the war. Came stronger smiter than the Saracen — The deadly Pest : day after day they died, Pikeman and knight-at-arms ; day after day A thinner line upon the leaguered wall Held off the heathen : — held them off a space ; Then, over-weakened, yielded, and gave up The city and the stricken garrison. So to sad chains and hateful servitude Fell all those purple lords — Christendom's stars. Once high in hope as soaring Lucifer, Now low as sinking Hesper : with them fell Messer Torello — never one so poor Of all the hundreds that his bounty fed As he in prison — ill-entreated, bound. Starved of sweet light, and set to shameful tasks ; And that great load at heart to know the days Fast flying, and to live accounted dead. One joy his gaolers left him, — his good hawk ; KING SALADIN. 123 The brave, gay bird that crossed the seas with him : And often, in the mindful hour of eve. With tameless eye and spirit masterful, In a feigned anger checking at his hand, The good gray falcon made his master cheer. One day it chanced Saladin rode afield With shawled and turbaned Amirs, and his hawks — Lebanon-bred, and mewed as princes lodge — Flew foul, forgot their feather, hung at wrist. And slighted call. The Soldan, quick in wrath. Bade slay the cravens, scourge the falconer. And seek some wight who knew the heart of hawks, To keep it hot and true. Then spake a Sheikh — " There is a Frank in prison by the sea. Far-seen herein." " Give word that he be brought," Quoth Saladin, " and bid him set a cast : If he hath skill, it shall go well for him." Thus by the winding path of circumstance One palace held, as prisoner and prince^ Torello and his guest : unwitting each, Nay and unwitting, though they met. and spake 124 KtNG SALADIN. Of that goshawk and this — signers in serge, And chapmen crowned, who knows ? — till on a time Some trick of face, the manner of some smile. Some gleam of sunset from the glad day gone. Caught the king's eye, and held it. " Nazarene ! What native art thou ? " asked he. " Lombard I, A man of Pavia" " And thy name ? " " Torel, Messer Torello called in happier times, Now best uncalled." " Come hither. Christian ! " The Soldan said, and led the way, by court And hall and fountain, to an inner room Eieh with king's robes : therefrom he reached a gown, And "Know'st thou this ?" he asked. "High lord ! [ might Elsewhere," quoth Torel, " here 'twere mad to say Yon gown my wife unto a trader gave Who shared our board." " Nay, but that gown is this. And she the giver, and the trader I," Quoth Saladin ; " I ! twice a king to-day, Owing a royal debt and paying it." Then Torel, sore amazed, " Great lord, I blush. Remembering how the Master of the East Lodged sorrily." " It's Master's Master thou ! " KING SALADIN. 125 Gave answer Saladin, "come iu and see What wares the Cyprus traders keep at home ; Come forth and take thy place, Saladin's friend." Therewith into the circle of his lords, With gracious mien the Soldan led his slave ; And while the dark eyes glittered, seated him First of the full divan. " Orient lords," So spake he, — " let the one who loves his king Honour this Frank, whose house sheltered your king ; He is my brother : " then the night-black beards Swept the stone floor in ready reverence, Agas and Amirs welcoming Torel : And a great feast was set, the Soldan's friend Eoyally garbed, upon the Soldan's hand. Shining the bright star of the banqueters. All which, and the abounding grace and love Shown him by Saladin, a little held The heart of Torel from its Lombard home With Dame Adalieta: but it chanced He sat beside the king in audience. And there came one who said, " Oh, Lord of lords, ■ K25 KING SALADIN. That galley of the Genovese -which sailed With Frankish prisoners is gone down at sea." " Gone down ! " cried Torel. " Ay ! what recks it, friend, To fall thy visage for ? " quoth Saladin ; " One galley less to ship-stuffed Genoa ! " " Good my liege ! " Torel said, " it hore a scroll Inscribed to Pavia, saying that I lived ; For in a year, a month, and day, not come, I bade them hold me dead ; and dead I am, Albeit living, if my lady wed. Perchance constrained." " Certes," spake Saladin, " A noble dame— the like not won, once lost — How many days remain ? " " Ten days, my prince, And twelvescore leagues between my heart and me : Alas ! how to be passed ? " Then Saladin — " Lo ! I am loath to lose thee — wilt thou swear To come again if all go well with thee. Or come ill speeding ? " " Yea, I swear, my king, Out of true love," quoth Torel, " heartf ully." Then Saladin, " Take here my signet-seal ; My admiral will loose his swiftest SEiil Upon its sight ; and cleave the seas, and go KING SALADIN. 127 And clip tliy dame, and say the Trader sends A gift, remindful of her courtesies."' Passed were the year, and month, and day ; and passed Out of all hearts but one Sir Torel's name, Long given for dead by ransomed Pavians : Por Pavia, thoughtless of lier Eastern graves, A lovely widow, much too gay for grief, Made peals from half a hundred campaniles To ring a wedding in. The seven bells Of Santo Pietro, from the nones to noon, Boomed with bronze throats the happy tidings out ; Till the great tenor, overs welled with sound, Cracked itself dumb. Thereat the sacristan. Leading his swinkfed ringers down the stairs, Came blinking into sunlight — all his keys Jingling their little peal about his belt — ■ Whom, as he tarried, locking up the porch, A foreign signer, browned with southern suns, Turbaned and slippered, as the Muslims use, Plucked by the cope. "Priend," quoth he — 'twas a tongue Italian true, but in a Muslini mouth — " Why are your belfries busy — is it peace 128 KING SALADIN. Or victory, that so ye din the ears Of Pavian lieges ? " " Truly, no liege thou ! " Grunted the sacristan, " who knowest not That Dame Adalieta weds to-night Her fore-betrothed, — Sir Torel's widow she. That died i' the chain ? " " To-night ! " the stranger said. " Ay, sir, to-night ! — why not to-night ? — to-night ! And you shall see a goodly Christian feast If so you pass their gates at even-song. For aU are asked." No more the questioner. But folded o'er his face the Eastern hood. Lest idle eyes should mark how idle words Had struck him home. " So quite forgot ! — so soon ! — And this the square wherein I gave the joust, And that the loggia, where I fed the poor ; And yon my palace, where — oh, fair ! oh, false ! — They robe her for a bridal. Can it be ? Clean out of heart, with twice six flying moons. The heart that beat on mine as it would break, That faltered forty oaths. Forced ! forced ! — not f alse^ — Well ! I will sit, wife, at thy wedding-feast, And let mine eyes give my fond faith the lie." KING SALADIN. 129 So in the stream of gallant guests that flowed Feastward at eve, went Torel ; passed with them The outer gates, crossed the great courts with them, A stranger in the walls that called him lord. Cressets and coloured lamps made the way bright, And rose-leaves strewed to where within the doors The master of the feast, the bridegroom, stood, A-glitter from his forehead to his foot. Speaking fair welcomes. He, a courtly lord, Marking the Eastern guest, bespoke him sweet, Prayed place for him, and bade them set his seat Upon, the dais. Then the feast began, And wine went free as wit, and music died — Outdone by merrier laughter : — only one Nor ate nor drank, nor spoke nor smiled ; but gazed On the pale bride, pale as her crown of pearls. Who sate so cold and still, and sad of cheer. At the bride-feast. But of a truth, Torel Eead the thoughts right that held her eyelids down. And knew her loyal to her memories. Then to a little page who bore the wine, He spake, " Go tell thy lady thus from me : I30 KING SALADIN. In mine own land, if any stranger sit A wedding-guest, the bride, out of her grace, In token that she knows her guest's good-will. In token she repays it, brims a cup, Wheref rom he drinking she in turn doth drink ; So is our use." The little page made speed And told the message. Then that lady pale — Ever a gentle "and a courteous heart — Lifted her troubled eyes and smiled consent On the swart stranger. By her side, untouched, Stood the brimmed gold; "Bear this," she said, "and pray He hold a Christian lady apt to learn A kindly lesson " But Sir Torel loosed From off his finger — never loosed before — The ring she gave him on the parting day ; And ere he drank, behind his veil of beard Dropped in the cup the ruby, quaffed, and sent. — Then she, with sad smile, set her lips to drink, And — something in the Cyprus touching them. Glanced — gazed — the ring ! — her ring ! — Jove ! how she eyes The wistful eyes of Torel ! — how, heartsure, Under all guise knowing her lord returned, KING SALADIN. 131 She springs to meet him coming ! — ^telling all In one great cry of joy. me ! the rout, The storm of questions ! stilled, when Torel spake His name, and, known of all, claimed the Bride Wife, Maugre the wasted feast, and woful groom. All hearts but his were light to see Torel ; But Adalieta's lightest, as she plucked The bridal-veil away. Something therein — A lady's dagger — small, and bright, and fine — Clashed out upon the marble. " Wherefore that ? " Asked Torel ; answered she, " I knew you true ; And I could live, so long as I might wait ; But they — they pressed me hard ! my days of grace Ended to-night — and I had ended too. Faithful to death, if so thou hadst not come." , ( 132 ) THE CALIPH'S DRAUGHT. Upon a day in Eamadan — When sunset brought an end of fast, And in his station every man Prepared to share the glad repast — Sate Mohtasim in royal state, The piUaw smoked upon the gold ; The fairest slave of those that wait Mohtasim's jewelled cup did hold. Of crystal carven was the cup, With turquoise set along the brim^ A lid of amber closed it up ; 'Twas a great king that gave it him. The slave poured sherbet to the brink, Stirred in wUd honey and pomegranate. With snow and rose-leaves cooled the drink. And bore it where the Caliph sate. THE CALIPH'S DRAUGHT. 133 The Caliph's mouth was dry as bone, He swept Ms beard aside to quaff: — The news-reader beneath the throne, "Went droning on with ffhain and kaf. — The Caliph drew a mighty breath, Just then the reader read a word — And Mohtasim, as grim as death, Set down the cup and snatched his sword. " Ann' amratan shureefatee ! " " Speak clear ! " cries angry Mohtasim ; " Fe lasr ind' ilj min ulji," — Trembling the newsman read to him How in Ammoria, far from home. An Arab girl of noble race Was captive to a lord of Eoum ; And how he smote her on the face, And how she cried, for life afraid, " Ya, Mohtasim ! help, my king 1" And how the Kafir mocked the maid, And laughed, and spake a bitter thing, 134 THE CALIPH'S DRAUGHT. " Call louder, fool ! Mohtasim's ears Are long as Barak's — if he heed — Tour prophet's ass ; and when he hears. He'll come upon a spotted steed ! " The Caliph's face was stern and red, He snapped the lid upon the cup ; " Keep this same sherhet, slave," he said, " Till such time as I drink it up. Wallah ! the stream my drink shall be. My hoUowed palm my only bowl. Till I have set that lady free. And seen that Eoumi dog's head roll." At dawn the drums of war were beat, Proclaiming, " Thus saith Mohtasim, • Let all my valiant horsemen meet, And every soldier bring with him A spotted steed.' " So rode they forth, A sight of marvel and of fear; Pied horses prancing fiercely north ; The crystal cup borne in the rear! rilB CALIPH'S DRAUGHT. 135 When to Ammoria he did win, He smote and drove the dogs of Eoum, And rode his spotted stallion in. Crying, " Lablayhi ! I am come ' " Then downward from her prison-place Joyful the Arab lady crept ; She held her hair before her face. She kissed his feet, she laughed and wept. She pointed where that lord was laid : They drew him forth, he whined for grace : Then with iierce eyes Mohtasim said — " She whom thou smotest on the face Had scorn, because she called her king : Lo ! he is come ! and dost thou think To live, who didst this bitter thing While Mohtasim at peace did drink ? " Plashed the fierce sword — rolled the lord's head ; The wicked blood smoked in the sand. " Now bring my cup ! " the Caliph said. Lightly he took it in his hand. 136 THE CALIPH'S DRA UGHT. As down his tliroat the sweet drink ran Mohtasim in his saddle laughed. And cried, " Taiha asshrdb alan ! By God ! delicious is this draught ! " ( 137 ) HINDOO FUNERAL SONG. Call on Eama ! call to Eama ! Oh, my brothers, call on Eama ! For this Dead Whom we bring. Call aloud to mighty Eama. As we bear him, oh, my brothers, Call together, very loudly, That the Bhfits May be scared ; That his spirit pass in comfort. Turn his feet now, calling " Eama," Calling " Eama," who shall take him When the flames Make an end : Earn ! Earii ! — oh, call to Eama. ( i)S ) SONG OF THE SERPENT- CHARMERS. Come forth, oli, Saake ! come forth, oh, glittering Snake ! Oh shining, lovely, deadly N§,g ! appear, Dance to the music that we make. This serpent-song, so sweet and clear, Blown on the beaded gourd, so clear, So soft and clear. Oh, dread Lord Snake ! come forth and spread thy hood. And drink the milk and suck the eggs ; and show Thy tongue ; and own the tune is good: Hear, Maharaj ! how hard we blow ! Ah, Maharaj I for thee we blow ; See how we blow \ SONG OF THE SERPENT-CHARMERS. 139 Great Uncle Snake ! creep forth and dance to-day ! This music is the music snakes love best ; Taste the warm white new milk, and play Standing erect, with fangs at rest, Dancing on end, sharp fangs at rest, Pierce fangs at rest. Ah, wise Lord Nig ! thou comest ! — Fear thou not ! We make salaam to thee, the Serpent- King, Draw forth thy folds, knot after knot ; Dance, Master ! while we softly sing ; Dance, Serpent ! while we play and sing. We play and sing. Dance, dreadful King ! whose kisses strike men dead ; Dance this side, mighty Snake ! the milk is here ! [They seize the Cobra by the neck.] Ah, shabash ! pin his angry head ! Thou fool ! this nautch shall cost thee dear ; Wrench forth his fangs ! this piping clear, It costs thee dear ! C HO ) SONG OF THE FLOUR-MILL. TUEN the merry mill-stone, Gunga ! Pour the golden grain in ; Those that twist the Churrak fastest The cakes soonest win : Good stones, turn ! The fire begins to burn ; Gunga, stay not ! The hearth is nearly hot. Grind the hard gold to silver. Sing quick to the stone ; Feed its mouth with dal and bajri, It will feed us anon. Sing, Gunga I to the mill-stone, It helps the wheel hum ; SONG OF THE FLOUR-MILL. 141 Blithesome hearts and willing elbows Make the fine meal come : Handsful three For you and for me ; Now it falls white. Good stones, bite ! Drive it round and round, my Gunga ! Sing soft to the stone ; Better corn and churrak- working Than idleness and nona ( M2 ) TAZA BA TAZA, Akbae sate high in the ivory hall, His chief musician he bade them call ; Sing, said the king, that song of glee. Taza ha taza, now ha now. Sing me that music sweet and free, Taza ha taza, now ha now ; Here by the fountain sing it thou, Taza ha taza, now ha now. Bending full low, his minstrel took The Vina down from its painted nook. Swept the strings of silver so Taza ha taza, now ha now ; Made the gladsome Vina go Taza ha taza, now ha now ; TAZA BA TAZA. 143 Sang with light strains and brightsome brow Taza la taza, now ha now. " What is the lay for love most fit ? What is the melody echoes it ? Ever in tune and ever meet, Taza ha taza, now ha now ; Ever delightful and ever sweet Taza ha taza, now ha now ; Soft as the murmur of love's first vow, Taza ha taza, now ha now." " What is the bliss that is best on earth ? Lovers' light whispers and tender mirth ; Bright gleams the sun on the Green Sea's isle, But a brighter light has a woman's smile : Ever, like sunrise, fresh of hue, Taza ha taza, now ha now ; Ever, like sunset, splendid and new, Taza ha taza, now ha now." " Thereunto groweth the graceful vine To cool the lips of lovers with wine. 144 TAZA DA TAZA. Haste thee and bring the amethyst cup,, That happy lovers may drink it up ; And so renew their gentle play, Taza ha taza, now la now ; Ever delicious and new alway, Taza la taza, now la now." " Thereunto sigheth the evening gale To freshen the cheeks which love made pale ; This is why bloometh the scented flower. To gladden with grace love's secret bower : Love is the zephyr that always blows, Taza la taza, now la now; Love is the rose-bloom that ever glows, Taza la taza, now la now." Akbar, the mighty one, smiled to hear The musical strain so soft and clear ; Danced the diamonds over his brow To taza la taza, now la now : His lovely ladies rocked in a row To taza la taza, now la now ; TAZA BA TAZA. U5 Livelier sparkled the fountain's flow, Boose sittan la haum uzo ; Swifter and sweeter the strings did go, Mutrib i kJioosh nuwa hejo ; Never such siiiging was heard, I trow ; Taza ha taza, now ha now. ( 146 ) THE MUSSULMAN PARADISE. {From the Arabic of the Fifty-sixth S'&rai of the Koran, entitled " The Inevitable.") When the Day of Wrath and Mercy cometh, none shall doubt it come ; Unto hell some it shall lower, and exalt to heaven some. When the Earth with great shocks shaketh, and the mountains crumble fiat, Quick and Dead shall be divided fourfold : — on this side and that. The " Companions of the Eight Hand " (ah ! how joyful they will be !) The " Companions of the Left Hand " (oh ! what misery to see !) THE MUSSULMAN PARADISE. 147 Such, moreover, as of old times loved the truth, and taught it well, First in faith, they shall be foremost in reward. The rest to hell. But those souls attaining Allah, oh! the Gardens of good cheer Kept to bless them ! Yea, besides the " faithful," many shall be there. Lightly lying on soft couches, beautiful with 'broidered gold. Friends with friends, they shall be served by youths immortal, who shall hold "Akwdh, abareeJc" — cups and goblets, brimming with celestial wine. Wine that hurts not head or stomach : this and fruits of heav'n which shine Bright, desirable ; and rich flesh of what birds they relish best. Yea! and — feasted— there shall soothe them damsels fairest, stateliest ; 1+8 THE MUSSULMAN PARADISE. Damsels, having eyes of wonder, large black eyes, like, bidden pearls, " Lulu-l-makn-An " : Allah grants them for sweet love those matchless girls. Never in that Garden hear they speech of folly, sin, or dread, Only Peace ; " SALAMUN" only ; that one word for ever said. Peace ! Peace ! Peace ! — and the " Companions of the Eight Hand " (ah ! those bowers !) They shall lodge 'mid thornless lote-groves ; under mawz- trees thick with flowers ; Shaded, fed, by flowing waters; near to fruits that never cloy, Ilanging ever ripe for plucking ; and at hand the tender joy Of those Maids of Heaven — the HMs. Lo ! to these we gave a birth Specially creating. Lo ! they are not as the wives of earth. THE MUSSULMAN PARADISE. 149 Ever virginal and stainless, howsooften they embrace, Always young, and loved, and loving, these are. Neither is there grace Like the grace and bliss the Black-eyed keep for you in Paradise ; Oh, " Companions of the Eight Hand " ! oh ! ye others who were wise ! ( 15° ) D^DJCATION OF A POEM FROM THE SANSKRIT. Sweet, on the daisies of your Englisn grave I lay this little wreath of Indian flowers, Fragrant for me because the scent they have Breathes of the memory of our wedded hours ; For others scentless ; and for you, in heaven, Too pale and faded, dear dead wife ! to wear, Save that they mean — what makes all fault forgiven- That he who brings them lays his heart, too, there. April 9, 1865. IS' ) THE RAJAH'S RIDE. A PUNJAB SONG. Now is the Devil-horse come to Sindh I Wah ! wah ! gooroo ! — that is true ! His belly is stuffed with the fire and the wind. But a fleeter steed had Eunjeet Dehu ! It's forty koss from Lahore to the ford, Forty and more to far Jummoo ; Fast may go the Feringhee lord, But never so fast as Eunjeet Dehu ! Eunjeet Dehu was King of the HiU, Lord and eagle of every crest ; Now the swords and the spears are still, God will have it — and God knows best ! 152 THE RAJAH'S RIDE. Eajah Eunjeet sate in the sky. Watching the loaded Kafilas in ; Affghan, Kashmeree, passing by, Paid him pushm to save their skin. Once he caracoled into the plain, Wah ! the sparkle of steel on steel ! And up the pass came singing again With a lakh of silver borne at his heel. Once he trusted the Mussulman's word, Wah ! wah ! trust a liar to lie ! Down from his eyrie they tempted my Bird, And clipped his wings that he could not fly. Fettered him fast in far Lahore, Fast by the gate at the Eunchenee PM ; Sad was the soul of Chunda Kour, Glad the merchants of rich Kurnool. Ten months Eunjeet lay in Lahore — Wah ! a hero's heart is brass ! Ten months never did Chunda Kour Braid her hair at the tiring-glass. THE RAJAH'S RIDE. 153 There came a steed from Toorkistan, Wah ! God made him to match the hawk ! Fast beside him the four grooms ran, To keep abreast of the Toorkman's walk. Black as the bear on Iskardoo ; Savage at heart as a tiger chained ; Fleeter than hawk that ever flew, Never a Muslim could ride him reined. " Eunjeet Dehu ! come forth from thy hold" — Wah ! ten months had rusted his chain ! " Eide thisSheitan's liver cold " — Eunjeet twisted liis hand in the mane. Eunjeet sprang to the Toorkman's back, Wah ! a king on a kingly throne ! Snort, black Sheitan ! till nostrils crack, Eajah Eunjeet sits, a stone. Three times round the Maidan he rode, Touched its neck at the Kashmeree wall, Struck the spurs till they spirted blood, Leapt the rampart before them all ! 1 54 THE RAJAH'S RIDE. Breasted the waves of the blue Eavee, Forty horsemen mounting behind, .Forty bridle-chains flung free, — Wah ! wah ! better chase the wind ! Ohunda Kour sate sad in Jummoo : — Hark ! what horse-hoof echoes without ? " Eise ! and welcome Eunjeet Dehu — Wash the Toorkman's nostrils out ! " Forty koss he has come, my life ! Forty koss back he must carry me ; Eajah Eunjeet visits his wife, He steals no steed like an Afreedee. " They bade me teach them how to ride — Wah ! wah ! now I have taught them well ! " Chunda Kour sank low at his side ! Eajah Eunjeet rode the hill. When he came back to far Lahore — Long or ever the night began — Spake he, " Take your horse once more. He carries weU — when he bears a man." THE RAJAH'S RIDE. 155 Then they gave him a khillut and gold. All for his honour and grace and truth ; Sent him back to his mountain-hold — Muslim manners have touch of ruth ; Sent him hack, with dances and drum— Wah ! my Eajah Eunjeet Dehu ! To Chunda Kour and his Jummoo home — Wah ! wah ! futteh ! — wah, gooroo ! TIVO BOOKS FROM THE ILIAD OF INDIA. ( '59 ) TJVO BOOKS FROM THE ILIAD OF INDIA. {Now for thA first time translated^ Theee exist certain colossal, unparalleled, epic poems in the sacred language of India, which were not known to Europe, even by name, tiU Sir William Jones an- nounced their existence; and which, since his time, have been made public only by fragments — by mere specimens — bearing to those vast treasures of Sanskrit literature such small proportion as cabinet samples of ore have to the riches of a mine. Yet these twain mighty poems contain all the history of ancient India, so far as it can be recovered, together with such inexhaustible details of its political, social, and reli- gious life that the antique Hindu world really stands epitomised in them. The Old Testament is not more interwoven with the Jewish race, nor the New Testa- ment with the civilisation of Christendom, nor the Koran with the records and destinies of Islam, than are these two Sanskrit poems — the Mahabharata and Eamayana — with that unchanging and teeming population which Her Majesty, Queen Victoria, rules l6o TWO BOOKS FROM THE as Empress of Hindustan. The stories, songs, and ballads, the histories and genealogies, the nursery tales and religious discourses, the art, the learning, the philosophy, the creeds, the moralities, the modes of thought; the very phrases, sayings, turns of ex- pression, and daily ideas of the Hindu people, are taken from these poems. Their children and their wives are named out of them; so are their cities, temples, streets,, and cattle. They have constituted the libraiy, the newspaper, and the Bible — generation after generation — to all the succeeding and countless millions of Indian people; and it replaces patriotism with that race and stands in stead of nationality to possess these two precious and inexhaustible books, and to drink from them as from mighty and overflowing rivers. The value ascribed in Hindustan to these yet little-known epics has transcended all literary standards established in the "West, They are personified, wor- shipped, and cited from as something divine. To read or even listen to them is thought by the devout Hindu sufficiently meritorious to bring prosperity to his house- hold here and happiness in the next world ; they are held also to give wealth to the poor, health to the sick, wisdom to the ignorant ; and the recitation of certain parvus and shloJcas in them can fill the household of the barren, it is believed, with children. A concluding passage of the great poem says : — " The reading of this Mahabhfirata destroys all sin and pro- duces virtue ; so much so, that the pronunciation of a single ILIAD OF INDIA. i6i shioka is sufficient to wipe away much guilt. This Maba- bh^rata contains the history of the gods, of the Kishis in heaven and tliose on earth, of the Gandharvas and the Rfik- shasas. It also contains the life and actions uf the one God, holy, immutable, and true, — who is Krishna, who is the creator and the ruler of this universe ; who is seeking the welfare of his creation by means of his incomparable and indestructible power ; whose actions are celebrated by all sages ; who has bound human beings in a chain, of which one end is life and the other death ; on whom the Rishis meditate, and a know- ledge of whom imparts unalloyed happiness to their hearts, and for whose gratification and favour all the daily devotions are performed by all worshippers. If a man reads the Maha- bh&rata and has faith in its doctrines, he is free from all sin, and ascends to heaven after his death." In order to explain the portion of this Indian epic, here for the first time published in English verse, I reprint a brief summary of its plot : — The "great war of Bharat" has its first scenes in Hastinapur, an ancient and vanished city, formerly situated about sixty miles north-east of the modern Delhi. The Ganges has washed away even the ruins of this the metropolis of King Bharat's dominions. The poem opens with a " sacrifice of snakes ; " but this is a prelude, connected merely by a curious legend with the real beginning. That beginning is reached when the five sons of " King Pandu the Pale " and the five sons of " King Dhritarashtra the Blind," both of them descendants of Bharat, are being brought up together in the palace. The first were called Pandavas, the last Kauravas, and their lifelong feud is the main subject of the epic. Yudhishthira, Bhima, Arjuna, Nakula, and Sahadeva are the Pandava princes. Duryodhana i62 TWO BOOKS FROM THE is chief of the Kauriivas. They are instructed by one master, Drona, a Brahman, in the arts of war and peace, and learn to manage and brand cattle, hunt wild animals, and tame horses. There is in the early portion a striking picture of an Aryan tournament, wherein the young cousins display their skill, " highly arrayed, amid vast crowds," and Arjuna especially distinguishes him- self. Clad ia golden mail, he shows amazing feats with sword and bow. He shoots twenty-one arrows into the liollow of a buffalo-horn while his chariot whirls along ; he throws the " chakra," or sharp quoit, without once missing his victim ; and, after winning the prizes, kneels respectfully at the feet of his instructor to receive his crown. The cousins, after this, march out to fight with a neighbouring king, and the Panda vas, who are always the favoured family in the poem, win most of the credit, so that Yudhishthira is elected from among them Yuvaraj, or heir apparent. This incenses Duryodhana, who, by appealing to his father, Dhritar- ashtra, procures a division of the kingdom, the Pandavas being sent to Vacanavat, now Allahabad. All this part of the story refers obviously to the advances gradually made by the Aryan conquerors of India into the jungles peopled by aborigines. Forced to quit their new city, the Pandavas hear of the marvellous beauty of Draupadi, whose Swai/amvara, or " choice of a suitor," is about, to be celebrated at Kdmpilya. This again furnishes a strange and glittering picture of the old times; vast masses of holiday people, with rajahs, elephants, troops, ILIAD OF INDIA. 163 jugglers, dancing- women, and showmen, are gathered in a gay encampment round the pavilion of the King Draupada, whose lovely daughter is to take for her husband (on the well-understood condition that she approves of him) the fortunate archer who can strike the eye of a golden fish, whirling round upon the top of a tall pole, with an arrow shot from an enormously strong bow. The princess, adorned with radiant gems, holds a garland of flowers in her hand for the victorious suitor; but none of the rajahs can bend the bow. Arjuna, disguised as a Brahman, performs the feat with ease, and his youth and grace win the heart of Draupadi more completely than his skill. The princess hence- forth follows the fortunes of the brothers, and, by a strange ancient custom, lives with them in common. The Pandavas, now allied to the King Draupada and become strong, are so much dreaded by the Kauravas that they are invited back again, for safety's sake, to Hastinapura, and settle near it in the city of Indra- prastha, now Delhi. The reign of Yudhishthira and his brothers is very prosperous there ; " every subject was pious ; there were no liars, thieves, or cheats ; no droughts, floods, or locusts; no conflagrations nor in- vaders, nor parrots to eat up the grain." The Pandava king, having subdued all enemies, now performs the Bajasuya, or ceremony of supremacy, — and here again occur wonderfully interesting pictures. Duryodhaua comes thither, and his jealousy is inflamed by the magnificence of the rite. Among- other curious i64 TWO BOOKS FROM THE incidents is one which seems to show that glass was already known. A pavilion is paved with " black cry- stal," which the Kaurava prince mistakes for water, and " draws up his garments lest he should be wetted." But now approaches a turning-point in the epic. Furious at the wealth and fortune of his cousins, Duryodhana invites them to Hastinapura to join in a gi-eat gambling festival. The passion for play was as strong apparently with these antique Hindus as that for fighting or for love : " No true Kshatriya must ever decline a challenge to combat or to dice." The brothers go to the entertainment, which is to ruin their pro- sperity ; for Sakuni, the most skilful and lucky gambler, has loaded the "coupun/' so as to win every throw. Mr. Wheeler's excellent summary again says : — " Then Yudhishthira and Sakuni sat down to play, and what- ever Yudhishthira laid as stakes Duryodhana laid something of equal value ; but Yudhishthira lost every game. He first lost a very beautiful pearl ; next a thousand bags each containing a thousand pieces of gold ; next a great piece of gold so pure that it was as soft as wax ; next a chariot set with jewels and hung all round with golden bells ; next a thousand war-ele- phants with golden liowdahs set with diamonds ; next a lakh of slaves all dressed in rich garments ; next a lakh of beautiful slave-girls, adorned from head to foot with golden ornaments ; next all the remainder of his goods ; next all bis cattle ; and then the whole of his B4j, excepting only the lands which had been granted to the Brabmans." After this tremendous run of ill-luck, he madly stakes Draupad( the Beautiful, and loses her. The princess is dragged away by the hair, and Duryodhana mockingly bids her come and sit upon his knee, for ILIAD OF INDIA. 165 which Bhima the Pandava swears that he will some day break his thigh-bone, — a vow which is duly kept. But the blind old king rebukes this fierce elation of the winner, restores Draupadi, and declares that they must throw another main to decide who shall leave Hastin- apura. The cheating Sakuni cogs the dice again, and the Pandavas must now go away into the forest, and let no man know them by name for thirteen years. They depart, Draupadi unbinding her long black hair, and vowing never to fasten it back again till the hands of Bhima, the strong man among the Pandavas, are red with the punishment of the Kauravas. " Then he shall tie my tresses up again, when his fingers are dripping with Duhsasana's blood." There follow long episodes of their adventures in the jungle till the time when the Pandavas emerge, and, still disguised, take up their residence in King Virata's city. Here the vicissitudes of Draupadi as a handmaid of the queen, of Bhima as the palace wrestler, of Arjuna disguised as a eunuch, and of Nakula, Saha- deva, and Yudhishthira, acting as herdsmen and atten- dants, are most absorbing and dramatic. The virtue of Draupadi, assailed by a prince of the State, is terribly defended by the giant Bhima ; and when the Kauravas, suspecting the presence in the place of their cousins, attack Virata, Arjuna drives the chariot of the heir apparent, and victoriously repulses them with his awful bow Gandiva. After all these evidences of prowess and the help i66 TWO BOOKS FROM THE afforded in the battle, the King of Virata discovers the princely rank of the Pandavas, and gives his daughter in marriage to the son of Arjuna, A great council is then held to consider the question of declaring war on the Kauravas, at which the speeches are quite Homeric, the god Krishna taking part. The decision is to prepare for war, but to send an embassy first. Mean- time Duryodhana and Arjuna engage in a singular contest to obtain the aid of Krishna, ■whom both of them seek out. This celestial hero is asleep when they arrive, and the proud Kauravai, as Lord of Indraprastha, sits down at his head ; Arjuna, more reverently, takes a place at his feet. Krishna, awaking, offers to give his vast army to one of them, and himself as counsellor to the other; and Arjuna gladly allows Duryodhana. to take the army, which turns out much the worse bargain. The embassy, meantime, is badly received; but it is determined to reply by a counter-message, while warlike preparations continue. There is a great deal of useless negotiation, against which Draupadi protests, like another Constance, saying, "War, war! no peace ! Peace is to me a war ! " Krishna consoles her with the words, "Weep not! the time has nearly come when the Kauravas will be slain, both great and small, and their wives will mourn as you have been mourning." The ferocity of the chief of the Kauravas prevails over tlie wise counsels of the blind old kin^ and the warnings of Krishna, so that the fatal conflict must now begin upon the plain of Kuruksheti-a ILIAD OF INDIA. 167 All is henceforLh martial and stormy in the "parvas" that ensue. The two enormous hosts march to the field, generalissimos are selected, and defiances of the most violent and abusive sort exchanged. Yet there are traces of a singular civilisation in the rules which the leaders draw up to be observed in the war. Thus, no stratagems are to be used ; the fighting men are to fraternise, if they will, after each combat; none may slay the flier, the unarmed, the charioteer, or the beater of the drum ; horsemen are not to attack footmen, and nobody is to fling a spear till the preliminary challenges are finished; nor may any third man interfere when two combatants are engaged. These curious regulations — which would certainly much embarrass Von Moltke — are, sooth to say, not very strictly observed, and, no doubt, were inserted at a later age in the body of the poem by its Brahman editors. Those same interpolaters have overloaded the account of the eighteen days of terrific battle which follow with many episodes and interruptions, some very eloquent and philosophic; indeed, the whole Bhagavad^Gita comes in hereabouts as a religious interlude. Essays on laws, morals, and the sciences are grafted, with lavish indifference to the continuous flow of the narrative, upon its most impor- tant portions ; but there is enough of solid and tremen- dous fighting, notwithstanding, to pale the crimson pages of the Greek Iliad itself. The field glitters, indeed, with kings and princes in panoply of gold and jewels, who engage in mighty and varied combats, till the 168 TWO BOOKS FROM THE earth swims in blood, and the heavens themselves are obscured with dust and flying weapons. One by one the Kaurava chiefs are slain, and Bhima, the giant, at last meets in arms Duhsasana, the Kaurava prince who had dragged Draupadi by the hair. He strikes him down with the terrible mace of iron, after which he cuts off his head, and drinks of his blood, saying, ■"Never have I tasted a draught so delicious as this." So furious now becomes the war that even the just and mild Arjuna commits two breaches of Aryan chivalry, — killing an enemy while engaged with a third man, and shooting Kama dead while he is extricating his ehariot-wheel and without a weapon. At last none are left of the chief Kauravas except Duryodhana, who retires from the field and hides in an island of the lake. The Pandavas find him out, and heap such reproaches on him that the surly warrior comes forth at length, and agrees to fight with Bhima. The duel proves of a tremendous nature, and is decided by an act of treachery; for Arjuna, standing by, reminds Bhima, by a gesture, of his oath to break the thigh of Duryod- hana, because he had bidden Draupadl sit on his knee. The giant takes the hint, and strikes a foul blow, which cripples the Kaurava hero, and he falls helpless to earth. After this the Pandava princes are declared victorious, and Yudhishthira is proclaimed king. The great poem soon softens its martial music into a pathetic strain. The dead have to be burned, and the living reconciled to their new lords; while after- ILIAD OF INDIA. 169 wards King Yudliishthira is installed in high state with " chamaras, golden umbrellas, elephants, and sing- ing." He is enthroned facing towards the east, and touches rice, flowers, earth, gold, silver, and jewels, in token of owning all the products of his realm. Being thus firmly seated on his throne, with his cousins round him, the Eajah prepares to celebrate the most magnificent of ancient Hindu rites, — the Aswamedha, or Sacrifice of the Horse. It is difficult to raise the thoughts of a modern and Western public to the solemnity, majesty, and marvel of this antique Oriental rite, as viewed by Hindus. The monarch who was powerful enough to perform it chose a horse of pure white colour, " like the moon," with a saffron tail, and a black right ear; or the animal might be all black, without a speck of colour. This steed, wearing a gold plate on its forehead, with the royal name inscribed, was turned loose, and during a whole year the king's army was bound to follow its wanderings. Whitherso- ever it went, the ruler of the invaded territory must either pay homage to the king, and join him with his warriors, or accept battle; but whether conquered or peacefully submitting, all these princes must follow the horse, and at the end of the year assist at the ' sacrifice of the consecrated animal. Moreover, during the whole year the king must restrain all passion, live a perfectly purified life, and sleep on the bare ground. The white horse could not be loosened until the night of the full moon in Chaiira, which answers to the !7o TWO BOOKS FROM THE latter half of March and the first half of April, — iii- fact, at Easter-time ; and it may be observed here that this is not the only strange coincidence in the sacrifice. It was thus an adventure of romantic conquest, mingled with deep religion and arrogant ostentation; and the entire description of the Aswamedha would prove most interesting. The horse is found, is adorned with the golden plate, and turned loose, wandering into distant regions ; where the army of Arjuna — for it was he who led Yudhislithira's forces — goes through twelve amaz- ing adventures. They come, for instance, to a land of Amazons, all of wonderful beauty, wearing armour of pearls and gold, and equally fatal either to love or to fight with. Th«se dazzling enemies, however, finally submit, as ulso the Eajah of the rich city of Babliru- vahan, which possessed high walls of solid silver, and was lighted with precious jewels for lamps. The serpent people, in the same way, who live beneath the earth in the city of Vasuld, yield, after combat, to Arjuna. A thousand million semi-human snakemen dwelt there, with wives of consummate loveliness, possessing in their realm gems which would restore dead people to life, as well as a fountain of perpetual youth. Finally, Arjuna's host marches back in great glory, and with a vast train of vanquished monarchs, to the city of Hastinapura, where all the subject kings have audience of Yudhishthira, and the immense prepara- tions begin for the sacrifice of the snow-white horse. After all these Stately celebrations, it might be ILIAD OP INDIA. 171 expected that the great poem would conclude with the established glories of the ancient dynasty. But if the martial part of the colossal epic is " Kshatriyan," and the religious episodes "Brahmanic," the conclusion breathes the spirit of Buddhism. Yudhishthira sits grandly on the throne ; but earthly greatness does not content the soul of man, nor can riches render weary hearts happy. A wonderful scene, which reads like a rebuke from the dead addressed to the living upon the madness of all war, occurs in this part of the poem. The Pandavas and the old King Dhritarashtra being together by the banks of the Ganges, the great saint Vyasa undertakes to bring back to them all the departed, slain in their fratricidal conflict. The spec- tacle is at once terrible and tender. But this revealing of the invisible world deepens the discontent of the princes, and when the sage Vyasa tells them that their prosperity is near its end, they determine to leave their kingdom to younger princes, and to set out with their faces towards Mount Meru, where is Indra's heaven. If, haply, they may reach it, there will be an end of this world's joys and sorrows, and "union with the Infinite" will be obtained. My translations from the Sanskrit of the two concluding parvas of the poem (of which the above is a swift sum- mary) describe the " Last Journey " of the princes and their " Entry into Heaven ; " and herein occurs one of the noblest religious apologues not only of this great Epic but of any creed, — a beautiful fable of faithful 172 TWO BOOKS FROM THE love which may be contrasted, to the advantage of the Hindu teaching, with any Scriptural representations of Deith, and of Love, " which stronger is than Death." There is always something selfish in the anxiety of Orthodox people to save their own souls, and our best religious language is not free from that taint of pious egotism. The Parvas of the Mahabharata which con- tain Yudhishthira's approach to Indra's paradise teach, on the contrary, that deeper and better lessou nobly enjoined by an American poet — " The gate of heaven opens to none alone, Save thou one soul, and it shall save thine own." These prefatory remarks seemed necessary to intro- duce the subjoined close paraphrase of the " Book of the Great Journey," — and the " Book of the Entry into Heaven;" being the Seventeenth and Eighteenth Parvas of the noble but, as yet, almost unknown Mahabharata. the mahapeasthanika paeva oe the mahAbhAeata. "the great joukney." To Narayen, Lord of lords, he glory given. To sweet Saraswati, the Queen in Heaven, To great Vydsa, elce, pay reverence due. So shall this story its high course pursue. ILIAD OF INDIA. 173 Then Janmejaya prayed : " Thou Singer, say, What wrought the princes of the Pandavas On tidings of the battle so ensued, And Krishna, gone on high ? " Answered the Sage : " On tidings of the wreck of Vrishni's race, King Yudhishthira of the Pandavas Was minded to be done with earthly things, And to Arjuna spake : ' noble Prince, Time endeth all ; we linger, noose on neck, Till the last day tightens the line, and Idlls. Let us go forth to die, being yet alive.' And Kuntl's son, the great Arjuna, said : ' Let us go forth to die ! — Time slayeth all ; We will find Death, who seeketh other men.' And Bhimasena, hearing, answered : ' Yea ! We will find Death ! ' and Sahadev cried : ' Yea ! ' And his twin brother Nakula : whereat The princes set their faces for the Mount. " But Yudhishthira— ere he left his realm. To seek high ending— summoned Yuyutsu, ^74 TWO BOOKS FROM- THE Surnamed of fights, and set him over all, Eeg^nt, tarule in Parikshita's name Nearest the throne ; and Parikshita king He crowned, and unto old Subhadra said : ' This, thy son's son, shall wear the Kuru crown, And Yadu's offspring, Vajra, shall be first In Yadu's house. Bryig up the little prince Here in our Hastinpur, but Vajra keep At Jndraprasth ; and let it be thy last Of virtuous works to guard the lads, and guide.* "So orde:ring ere he went, the, righteous king Made offering of white water, heedfuUy, To Vasudev, to Eama, and the rest, — All funeral rites performing ; next he spread A funeral feast, whereat there sate as guests Harada, Dwaipayana, Bharadwaj, And Markandeya, rich in saintly years. And Tajnavalkya, Hari, and the priests. Thoseholy ones he fed with dainty meats In kingliest wise, naming the name of Him Who bears the bow : and — that it, should be well For him and his — gave to the Brahmanas ILIAD OF INDIA 15*5 Jewels of gold and silver, lakhs on lakhs, Fair broidered cloths, gardens and villages, Chariots and steeds and slaves. " Which being done, — O Best of Bh§,rat's line ! — he bowed him low Before his Guru's feet, — at Kripa's feet, That sage all honoured, — saying, ' Take my prince ; Teach Parikshita as thou taughtest me ; Por hearken, ministers and men of war ! Fixed is my mind to quit all earthly state.' Full sore of heart were they, and sore the folk To hear such speech, and bitter spread the word Through town and country, that the king would go ; And all the people cried, ' Stay with us. Lord ! ' But Yudhishthira knew the time was come, Knew that life passes and that virtue lasts, And put aside their love. " So — with farewells Tenderly took of lieges and of lords — Girt he for travel, with his princely kin. 176 TWO BOOKS FROM THE Great Tudhishthira, Dharma's royal son. Crest-gem and belt and ornaments he stripped From off his body, and for broidered robe A rough dress donned, woven of jungle-bark ; And what he did— Lord of men ! — so did Arjuna, Bhima, and the twin-born pair, Nakula with Sahadev, and she — in grace The peerless — Draupadi. Lastly these six, Thou son of Bh§,rata ! in solemn form Made the high sacrifice of Kaishtiki, Quenching their flames in water at the close ; And so set forth, 'midst wailing of all folk And tears of women, weeping most to see The Princess Draupadi — that lovely prize Of the great gaming, Draupadi the Bright — Journeying afoot ; but she and all the Five Kejoiced, because their way lay heavenwards. " Seven were they, setting forth, — princess and king. The king's four brothers, and a faithful dog. Those left Hastinapur ; but many a man. And all the palace household, followed them The first sad stage; and, ofttimes prayed to part, ILIAD OF INDIA. 177 Put parting off for love and pity, still Sighing ' A little farther ! ' — till day waned ; Then one by one they turned, and Kripa said, ' Let all turn back, Yuyutsu ! These must go.' So came they homewards, but the Snake-K.ing's child^ Uliipi, leapt in Ganges, losing them ; And Chitran§,gad with her people went Mournful to Munipoor, whilst the three queens Brought Parikshita in. " Thus wended they, Pandu's five sons and loveliest Draupadi, Tasting no meat, and journeying due east; On righteousness their high hearts bent, to heaven Their souls assigned ; and steadfast trode their feet, By faith upborne, past nullah, ran, and wood, Eiver and jheel and plain. King Yudhishthir Walked foremost, Bhima followed, after him Arjuna, and the twin-born brethren next, Nakula with Sahadev ; in whose still steps — Best of Bharat's offspring ! — Draupadi, That gem 01 women, paced ; with soft, dark face,^ Beautiful, wonderful ! — and lustrous eyes, 178 TWO BOOKS FROM THE Clear-lined like lotus-petals ; last the dog. Following the Pandavas. " At length they reach The far Lauchityan Sea, which foameth white Under Udayach^la's ridge. — Know ye That all this while Nakula had not ceased Bearing the holy bow, named Gandiva, And jewelled quiver, ever filled with shafts Though one should shoot a thousand thousand times. Here — broad across their path — the heroes see Agni, the god. As though a mighty hill Took form of front and breast and limb, he spake. Seven streams of shining splendour rayed his brow. While the dread voice said : ' I am Agni, chiefs ! sons of Pandu, I am Agni ! Hail ! long-armed Tudhishthira, blameless king, — warlike Bhima, — Arjuna, wise, — brothers twin- born from a womb divine, — Hear ! I am Agni, who consumed the wood By will of Narayan for Arjuna's sake. Let this your brother give Gandiva back — The matchless bow : the use for it is o'er. ILIAD OF INDIA. 179 That gem-ringed battle-discus which he whirled Cometh again to Krishna in his hand For avatars to be ; and need is none Henceforth of this most excellent bright bow, Gandiva, which I brought for Partha's aid From high Varuna. Let it be returned. Cast it herein ! ' " And all the princes said, ' Cast it, dear brother ! ' So Arjuna threw Into that sea the quiver ever-filled, And glittering bow. Then led by Agni's light, Unto the south they turned, and so south-west. And afterwards right west, until they saw Dwaraka, washed and bounded by a main Loud-thundering on its shores ; and here — Best ! — Vanished the God ; while yet those heroes walked. Now to the north-west bending, where long coasts Shut in the sea of salt, now to the north, Accomplishing all quarters, journeyed they ; The earth their altar of high sacrifice. Which these most patient feet did pace around Till Meru rose. i8o TWO BOOKS FROM THE "At last it rose ! These Six, Their senses subjugate, their spirits pure, Wending alone, came into sight — -far off In the eastern sky — of awful Himavan ; And, midway in the peaks of Himavan, Meru, the Mountain of all mountains, rose. Whose head is Heaven ; and under Himavan Glared a wide waste of sand, dreadful as death. " Then, as they hastened o'er the deadly waste. Aiming for Meru, having thoughts at soul Infinite, eager, — lo ! Draupadf reeled. With faltering heart and feet ; and Bhima turned Gazing upon her ; and that hero spake To Yudhishthira : ' Master, Brother, King Why doth she fail ? For never all her life Wrought our sweet lady one thing wrong, I think. Thou knowest, make us know, why hath she failed ? ' ' Then Yudhishthira answered : ' Yea, one thing. She loved our brother better than all else, — Better than heaven : that was her tender sin, Fault of a faultless soul ; she pays for that.* ILIAD OF INDIA. i8i ' So spake the monarch, turning not his eyes, Though Draupadl lay dead — striding straight on For Meru, heart-full of the things of heaven, Perfect and firm. But yet a little space, And Sahadev fell down, which BUma seeing, Cried once again : ' King, great Madri's son Stumbles and sinks. Why hath he sunk ? — so true, So brave and steadfast, and so free from pride ! ' " ' lie was not free,' with countenance still fixed. Quoth Yudhishthira ; ' he was true and fast And wise, yet wisdom made him proud ; he hid One little hurt of soul, but now it kills.' " So saying, he strode on — Kunti's strong son — And Bhima, and Arjuna followed him, And Nakula, and the hound ; leaving behind Sahadev in the sands. But Nakula, Weakened and grieved to see Sahadev fall — His loved twin-brother — lagged and stayed; and next Prone on his face he fell, that noble face Which had no match for beauty in the land, — Glorious and godlike Nakula ! Then sighed i83 TWO BOOKS FROM THE Bliima anew : ' Brother and Lord ! the man Who never erred from virtue, never broke Our fellowship, and never in the world Was matched for goodly perfectness of form Or gracious feature, — Nakula has fallen ! ' " But Yudhishthira, holding fixed his eyes, — That changeless, faithful, all-wise king, — replied : ' Yea, but he erred. The godlike form he wore Beguiled him to believe none like to him. And he alone desirable, and things Unlovely to be slighted. Self-love slays Our noble brother. Bhima, follow ! Each Pays what his debt was. ' "Which Arjuna heard. Weeping to see them fall ; and that stout sou Of Pandu, that destroyer of his foes. That prince, who drove through crimson waves of war, In old days, with his chariot-steeds of milk, He, the arch-hero, sank ! Beholding this, — . The yielding of that soul unconquerable, Fearless, divine, from Sakra's self derived. ILIAD OF INDIA. 183 Arj Una's, — Bhfma cried aloud : ' king ! This man was surely perfect. Never once, Not even in slumber when the lips are loosed, Spake he one word that was not true as truth. Ah, heart of gold, why art thou broke ? King 1 Whence falletb he ? ' " And Yudhishthira said, Not pausing : ' Once he lied, a lordly lie ! He bragged — our brother — that a single day Should see him utterly consume, alone. All those his enemies, — which could not be. Yet from a great heart sprang the unmeasured speech. Howbeit, a finished hero should not shame Himself in such wise, nor his enemy, If he will faultless fight and blameless die : This was Arjuna's sin. Follow thou me ! ' " So the king still went on. But Bhfma next Fainted, and stayed upon the way, and sank ; Yet, sinking cried, behind the steadfast prince : ' Ah, brother, see ! I die ! Look upon me, 1 84 TWO BOOKS PROM THE Thy well-belovfed ! Wherefore falter I, Who strove to stand ? ' " And Yudhishthira said : ' More than was well the goodly things of earth Pleased thee, my pleasant brother ! Light the offence. And large thy virtue ; but the o'er-fed flesh Plumed itself over spirit. Pritha's son, For this thou failest, who so near didst gain.* " Thenceforth alone the long-armed monarch strode, Kot looking back, — nay ! not for Bhima's sake, — But walking with his face set for the Mount : And the hound followed him, — only the hound. " After the deathly sands, the Mount ! and lo I Sakra shone forth, — the God, filling the earth And heavens with thunder of his chariot-wheels. ' Ascend,' he said, ' with me, Pritha's great son ! ' But Yudhishthira answered, sore at heart For those his kinsfolk, fallen on the way : ' Thousand-eyed, Lord of all the Gods, Give that my brothers come with me, who fell ! ILIAD OF INDIA. 185 Not -without them is Swarga sweet to me. She too, the dear and kind and queenly, — she Whose perfect virtue Paradise must crown, — Grant her to come with us ! Dost thou grant this ? ' " The God replied : ' In heaven thou shalt see Thy kinsmen and the queen — these will attain — With Krishna. Grieve no longer for thy dead, Thou chief of men ! their mortal covering stripped. They have theii; places ; hut to thee the gods Allot an unknown grace : thou shalt go up Living and in thy form to the immortal homes.' " But the king answered : ' thou Wisest One, Who know'st what was, and is, and is to be. Still one more grace ! This hound hath ate with me. Followed me, loved me : must I leave him now ? ' " ' Monarch,' spake Indra, ' thou art now as We, — Deathless, divine ; thou art become a god ; Glory and power and gifts celestial. And all the joys of heaven are thine for aye : What hath a beast with these ? Leave here thy hound.' 1 86 TWO BOOKS PROM THE " Fet Yudhishthira answered : ' Most High, ThoTisand-eyed and Wisest ! can it be That one exalted should seem pitiless ? Kay, let me lose such glory : for its sake 1 would not leave one livins: thing I loved.' ' Then sternly Indra spake : ' He is unclean. And into Swarga such shall enter not. The Krodhavasha's hand destroys the fruits Of sacrifice, if dogs defile the fire. Bethink thee, Dharmaraj, quit now this beast ' That which is seemly is not hard of heart' " Still he replied : ' 'Tis written that to spurn A suppliant equals in offence to slay A twice-born ; wherefore, not for Swarga's bliss Quit I, Mahendra, this poor clinging dog, — So without any hope or friend save tne. So wistful, fawning for my faithfulness. So agonized to die, unless I help Who among men was called steadfast and just.' ILIAD OF INDIA. 1875 " Quoth Indra: ' Nay! the altar-flame is foul Where a clog passeth ; angry angels sweep The ascending smoke aside, and all the fruits Of offering, and the merit of the prayer Of him whom a hound toucheth. Leave it here ! He that will enter heaven must enter pure. Why didst thou quit thy brethren on the way, Quit Krishna, quit the dear-loved Draupadl, Attaining, firm and glorious, to this Mount Through perfect deeds, to linger for a brute ? Hath Yudhishthira vanquished self, to melt With one poor passion at the door of bliss ? Stay'st thou for this, who didst not stay for them, — Draupadf, Bhlma ? ' " But the king yet spake : ' 'Tis known that none can hurt or help the dead. They, the delightful ones, who sank and died, Following my footsteps, could not live again Though I had turned, — therefore I did not turn ; But could help profit, I had turned to help. There be four sins, Sakra, grievous sins ; The first is making suppliants despair, i88 TWO BOOKS FROM THE Jhe second is to slay a nursing wife, The third is spoiling Brahmans' goods by force. The fourth is injuring an ancient friend. These four I deem not direr than the sin, If one, in coming forth from woe to weal, Abandon any meanest comrade then.' " Straight as he spake, brightly great Indra smiled ; Vanished the hound ; — and in its stead stood there The Lord of Death and Justice, Dharma's self ! Sweet were the words which fell from those dread lips, Precious the lovely praise : ' thou true king. Thou that dost bring to harvest the good seed Of Pandu's righteousness ; thou that hast ruth As he before, on all which lives ! — Son, I tried thee in the Dwaita wood, what time The Yaksha smote them, bringing water ; then Thou prayedst for Nakula's life — tender and just — Not BUma's nor Arjuna's, true to both. To Madri as to Kuntl, to both queens. Hear thou my word 1 Because thou didst not mount This car divine, lest the poor hound be shent Who looked to thee, lo ! there is none in heaven ILIAD OF INDIA. 189 Shall sit above thee, King ! — Bh§,rata's son, Enter thou now to the eternal joys. Living and in thy form. Justice and Love Welcome thee. Monarch! thou shalt throne with usf " Thereat those mightiest Gods, in glorious train, Mahendra, Dharma, — with bright retinue Of Maruts, Saints, Aswin-Kumaras, Nats, Spirits and Angels, — bore the king aloft. The thundering chariot first, and after it Those airy-moving Presences. Serene, Clad in great glory, potent, wonderful. They glide at will, — at will they know and see, At wish their wills are wrought ; for these are pure, Passionless, hallowed, perfect, free of earth. In such celestial midst the Pandu king Soared upward ; and a sweet light filled the sky And fell on earth, cast by his face and form. Transfigured as he rose ; and there was heard The voice of Narad, — it is he who sings, Sitting in heaven, the deeds that good men do In all the quarters, — Narad, chief of bards. 1 90 TWO BOOKS FROM THE Narad the wise, who laudeth purity, — So cried he : ' Thou art risen, unmatched king. Whose greatness is ahove all royal saints. Hail, son of Pandu ! like to thee is none Now or before among the sons of men, Whose fame hath filled the three wide worlds, who com'st Bearing thy mortal body, which doth shine With radiance as a god's.' " The glad king heard Narad's loud praise ; he saw the immortal gods, — Dharma, Mahendra ; and dead chiefs and saints. Known upon earth, in blessM heaven he saw ; But only those. ' I do desire,' he said, ' That region, be it of the Blest as this. Or of the Sorrowful some otherwhere, Where my dear brothers are, and Draupadf. I cannot stay elsewhere ! I see them not ! ' " Then answer made Purandara, the God : ' thou compassionate and noblest One, Eest in the pleasures which thy deeds have gained. ILIAD OF INDIA. 191 How, being as are the Gods, canst thou live bound By mortal chains ? Thou art become of Us, Who live above hatred and love, in bliss Pinnacled, safe, supreme. Bun of thy race. Thy brothers cannot reach where thou hast climbed ! Most glorious lord of men, let not thy peace Be touched by stir of earth ! Look ! this is Heaven. See where the saints sit, and the happy souls, Siddhas and angels, and the gods who live For ever and for ever.' , " ' King of gods,' Spake Yudhishthira, ' but I will not live A little space without those souls I loved. Slayer of the demons ! let me go Where Bhima and my brothers are, and she, My Draupadf, the princess with the face Softer and darker than the Vrihat-leaf, And soul as sweet as are its odours. Lo ! Where they have gone, there will I surely go.' " ( 192 ) THE ILIAD OF INDIA. THE SWARGAEOHANA PABVA OF THE MAHABHARATA j OR, "THE ENTRY INTO HEAVEN." To Narayen, 'Lord of lords, he glory given, To Qtieen Saraswati he praise in heaven ; Unto Vydsa pay the reverence due, — So may this story its high course pursue. Then Janmejaya said : " I am fain to learn How it befell with my great forefathers. The Pandu chiefs and Dhritarashtra's sons, Being to heaven ascended. If thou know'st, — And thou know'st all, whom wise Vy^sa taught, Tell me, how fared it with those mighty souls ? " Answered the Sage : " Hear of thy forefathers — Great Yudhishthira and the Pandu lords — THE ILIAD OF INDIA. 193 How it befell. When thus the blameless king Was entered into heaven, there he beheld Duryodhana, his foe, throned as a god Amid the gods ; splendidly sate that prince, Peaceful and proud, the radiance of his brows Far-shining like the sun's ; and round him thronged Spirits of light, with Sadhyas, — companies Goodly to see. But M'hen the king beheld Duryodhana in bliss, and not his own, — Not Draupadf, nor Bhima, nor the rest, — With quick-averted face and angry eyes The monarch spake : ' Keep heaven for such as these If these come here ! I do not wish to dwell Where he is, whom I hated rightfully. Being a covetous and witless prince, Whose deed it was that in wild fields of war Brothers and friends by mutual slaughter fell. While our swords smote, sharpened so wrathfuUy By all those wrongs borne wandering in the woods : But Draupadf s the deepest wrong, for he — He who sits there — haled her before the court, Seizing that sweet and virtuous lady — he ! — With grievous hand wound in her tresses. Gods, N 194 TWO BOOKS FROM THE I cannot look upon him ! Sith 'tis so. Where are my brothers ? Thither wHl I go ' ' " Smiling, bright Narada, the Sage, replied : ' Speak thou not rashly ! Say not this, King ! Those who come here lay enmities aside. Yudhishthira, long-armed monarch, hear ! Duryodhana is cleansed of sin ; he- sits Worshipful as the saints, worshipped by saints And kings who lived and died in virtue's path. Attaining to the joys which heroes gain Who yield their breath in battle. Even so He that did wrong thee, knowing not thy worth, Hath won before thee hither, raised to bliss For lordliness, and valour free of fear. Ah, well-beloved Prince ! ponder thou not The memory of that gaming, nor the griefs Of Draupadi, nor any vanished hurt Wrought in the passing shows of life by craft Or wasteful war. Throne happy at the side Of this thy happy f oeman, — wiser now ; For here is Paradise, thou chief of men ! And in its holy air hatreds are dead.' ILIAD OF INDIA. 195 " Thus by such lips addressed the Pandu king Answered uucomforted : ' Duryodhana, If he attains, attains ; yet not the less Evil he lived and ill he died, — a heart Impious and harmful, bringing woes to all. To friends and foes. His was the crime which cost Our land its warriors, horses, elephants; His the black sin that set us in the field, Burning for rightful vengeance. Ye are gods. And just; and ye have granted heaven to him. Show me the regions, therefore, where they dwell, My brothers, those, the noble-souled, the loyal, Who kept 1>he sacred laws, who swerved no step From virtue's path, who spake the truth, and lived Foremost of warriors. Where is Kunti's son. The hero-hearted Kama ? Where are gone Satyaki, Dhrishtadyumna, with their sons ? And where those famous chiefs who fought for me, Dying a splendid death ? I see them not. Narada, I see them not ! Ko King Draupada ! no Virata I no glad face Of Dhrishtaketu ! no Shikandina, Prince of Panchala, nor his princely boys ! ige TWO BOOKS FROM THE Nor Abhimanyu the unconquerable ! President Gods of heaven ! I see not here Eadha's bright son, nor Yudhamanyu, Nor TJttamanjaso, his brother dear ! Where are those noble Maharashtra lords, Eajahs and rajpoots, slain for love of me ? Dwell they in glory elsewhere, not yet seen ? If they be here, high Gods ! and those with them For whose sweet sakes I lived, here will I live. Meek-hearted ; but if such be not adjudged Worthy, I am not worthy, nor my soul Willing to rest without them. Ah, I burn, Now in glad heaven, with grief, bethinking me Of those my mother's words, what time I poured Death-water for my dead at Kurkshetra, — " Pour for Prince Kama, Son ! " but I wist not His feet were as my mother's feet, his blood Her blood, my blood. Gods ! I did not know, — Albeit Sakra's self had failed to break Our battle, where he stood. I crave to see Surya's child, that glorious chief who fell By Saryasdchi's hand, unknown of me ; And Bhima ! ah, my Bhima ! dearer far ILIAD OF INDIA. 197 Than life to me ; Arjuna, like a god, Nakla and Sahadev, twin lords of war, With tenderest Draupadf ! Show me those souls ! I cannot tarry where I have them not. Bliss is not blissful, just and mighty Ones ! Save if I rest beside them. Heaven is there Where Love and Faith make heaven. Let me go ! ' " And answer made the hearkening heavenly Ones : ' Go, if it seemeth good to thee, dear Son ! The King of gods commands we do thy will.' * So saying [the Bard went on] Dharma's own voice Gave ordinance, and from the shining bands A golden Deva glided, taking best To guide the king there where his kinsmen were. So wended these, the holy angel first. And in his steps the king, close following. Together passed they through the gates of pearl, Together heard them close ; then to the left Descending, by a path evil and dark, Hard to be traversed, rugged, entered they The ' Sinners' Eoad.' The tread of sinful feet 1 98 TWO BOOKS FROM THE Matted the thick thorns carpeting its slope ; The smell of sin hung foul on them ; the mire About their roots was trampled filth of flesh Horrid with rottenness, and splashed with gore Curdling in crimson puddles ; where there buzzed And sucked and settled creatures of the swamp. Hideous in wing and sting, gnat-clouds and flies, With moths, toads, newts, and snakes red-gulleted. And livid, loathsome worms, writhing in slime Forth from skull-holes and scalps and tumbled bones. A burning forest shut the roadside in On either hand, and 'mid its crackling boughs Perched ghastly birds, or flapped amongst the flames, — Vultures and kites and crows, — with brazen plumes And beaks of iron ; and these grisly fowl Screamed to the shrieks of Prets, lean, famished ghosts, Featureless, eyeless, having pin-point mouths, Hungering, but hard to fill, — all swooping down To gorge upon the meat of wicked ones ; Whereof the limbs disparted, trunks and heads, Oifal and marrow, littered all the way. By such a path the king passed, sore afeared If he had known of fear, for the air stank ILIAD OF INDIA. 199 With carrion steach, sickly to breathe; and lo ! Presently 'thwart the pathway foamed a flood Of boiling waves, rolling down corpses. This They crossed, and then the Asipatra wood Spread black in sight, whereof the undergrowth Was sword-blades, spitting, every blade, some wretch ; All around poison trees ; and next to this, Strewn deep with fiery sands, an awful waste. Wherethrough the wicked toiled with blistering feet, 'Midst rocks of brass, red hot, which scorched, and pools Of bubbling pitch that gulfed them. Last the gorge Of Kutashala Mali, — frightful gate Of utmost Hell, with utmost horrors filled. Deadly and nameless were the plagues seen there ; Which when the monarch reached, nigh overborne By terrors and the reek of tortured flesh. Unto the angel spake he : ' Whither goes This hateful road, and where be they I seek, Yet find not ? ' Answer made the heavenly One : ' Hither, great King, it was commanded me To bring thy steps. If thou be'st overborne, It is commanded that I lead thee back To where the Gods wait. Wilt thou turn and mount ? ' 20O TWO BOOKS FROM THE " Then (0 thou Son of Bharat !) Yudhishthir Turned heavenward his face, so was he moved With horror and the hanging stench, and spent By toil of that hlack travel. But his feet Scarce one stride measured, when about the place Pitiful accents rang : ' Alas, sweet King !— Ah, saintly Lord ! — Ah, Thou that hast attained Place with the Blessed, Pandu's offspring ! — pause A little while, for love of us who cry ! Nought can harm thee in all this baneful place ; But at thy coming there 'gan blow a breeze Balmy and soothing, bringing us relief. Pritha's son, mightiest of men ! we breathe Glad breath again to see thee ; we have peace One moment in our agonies. Stay here One moment more, Bharata's child ! Go not. Thou Victor of the Kurus ! Being here, Hell softens and our bitter pains relax.' " These pleadings, wailing all around the place, Heard the King Yudhishthira, — words of woe Humble and eager ; and compassion seized His lordly mind. ' Poor souls unknown !' he sighed, ILIAD OF INDIA. 2or And hellwards turned anew ; for what those were. Whence such beseeching voices, and of whom, That son of Pandu wist not, — only wist That all the noxious murk was filled with forms. Shadowy, in anguish, crying grace of him. Wherefore he called aloud, ' Who speaks with me ? What do ye here, and what things suffer ye ? ' Then from the black depth piteously there came Answers of whispered suffering : ' Kama I, King ! ' and yet another, ' my Liege, Thy Bhima speaks ! ' and then a voice again, ' I am Arjuna, Brother ! ' and again, ' Nakla is here and Sahadev ! ' and last A moan of music from the darkness sighed, ' Draupadf cries to thee ! ' Tliereat broke fortli The monarch's spirit, — ^knowing so the sound Of each familiar voice, — ' What doom is this ? What have my well-beloved wrought to earn Death with the damned, or life loathlier than death In Narak's midst ? Hath Kama erred so deep, Bhima, Arjuna, or the glorious twins. Or she, the slender-waisted, sweetest, best. My princess, — that Duryodhana should sit 202 TWO BOOKS ,FROM THE Peaceful in Paradise with all his crew, Throned by Mahendra and the shining gods ? How should these fail of bliss, and he attain ? What were their sins to his, their splendid faults ? "For if they slipped, it was in virtue's way Serving good laws, performing holy rites. Boundless in gifts and faithful to the death. These be their well-known voices ! Are ye here. Souls I loved best? Dream I, belike, asleep. Or rave I, maddened with accursed sights And death-reeks of this hellish au* ? ' " Thereat For pity and for pain the king waxed wroth. That soul fear could not shake, nor trials tire, Burned terrible with tenderness, the while His eyes searched all the gloom, his planted feet Stood fast in the mid horrors. Well-nigh, then, He cursed the gods ; well-nigh that steadfast mind Broke from its faith in virtue. But he stayed Th' indignant passion, softly speaking this Unto the angel : ' Go to those thou serv'st ; Tell them I come not thither. Say I stand ILIAD OF INDIA. 203 Here in the throat of hell, and here will bide — Nay, if I perish — while my well-belov'd Win ease and peace by any pains of mine.' ' Whereupon, nought replied the shining One, But straight repaired unto the upper light, Where Sakra sate above the gods, and spake Before the gods the message of the king." " Afterward what befell ? " the prince inquired. " Afterward, Princely One ! " replied the Sage, " At hearing and at knowing that high deed (Great Tudhishthira braving hell for love). The Presences of Paradise uprose. Each Splendour in his place, — god Sakra chief ; Together rose they, and together stepped Down from their thrones, treading the nether road Where Yudhishthira tarried. Sakra led The shining van, and Dharma, Lord of laws. Paced glorious next. Son of Bharata, 204 TWO BOOKS FROM THE While that celestial company came down — Pure as the white stars sweeping through the sky, And brighter than their hrilliance — look ! Hell's shades Melted before them; warm gleams drowned the gloom; Soft, lovely scenes rolled over the ill sights ; Peace calmed the cries of torment ; in its bed The boiling river shrank, quiet and clear ; •The Asipatra Vana — awful wood — Blossomed with colours ; all those cruel blades, And dreadful rocks, and piteous scattered wreck Of writhing bodies, where the king had passed, Vanished as dreams fade. Cool and fragrant went A wind before their faces, as these Gods Drew radiant to the presence of the king, — Maruts ; and Vasus eight, who shine and serve Eound Indra; Eudras; Aswins; and those Six Immortal Lords of light beyond our light, Th' Adityas ; Saddhyas ; Siddhas, — those were there, "With angels, saints, and habitants of heaven. Smiling resplendent round the steadfast prince. " Then spake the God of gods these gracious words To Yudhishthira, standing in that place : — ILIAD OF INDIA. 205 " ' King Yudhishthira ! thou long-armed Lord, This is enough ! All heaven is glad of thee. It is enough ! Come, thou most blessM one, Unto thy peace, well-gained. Lay now aside Thy loving wrath, and hear the speech of Heaven. It is appointed that all kings see hell. The reckonings for the life of men are twain : Of each man's righteous deeds a tally true, A tally true of each man's evil deeds. Who hath wrought little right, to him is paid A little bliss in Swarga, then the woe Which purges ; who much right hath wrought, from him The little Ul by lighter pains is cleansed. And then the joys. Sweet is peace after pain. And bitter pain which follows peace ; yet they, Who sorely sin, taste of the heaven they miss. And they that suffer quit their debt at last. Lo ! We have loved thee, laying hard on thee Grievous assaults of soul, and this black road. Bethink thee : by a semblance once, dear Son ! Drona thou didst beguile ; and once, dear Son ! Semblance of hell hath so thy sin assoiled, 2o6 TWO BOOKS FROM THE "Which passeth with these shadows. Even thus Thy Bhima came a little space t' account, Draupadi, Krishna, — all whom thou didst love. Never again to lose ! Come, First of Men ! These be delivered and their quittance made. Also the princes, son of Bharata ! Who fell heside thee fighting, have attained. Come thou to see ! Kama, whom thou didst mourn,— That mightiest archer, master in all wars, — He hath attained, shining as doth the sun ; Come thou and see ! Grieve no more, King of Men '. Whose love helped them and thee, and hath its meed. Eajas and maharajahs, warriors, aids, — All thine are thine for ever. Krishna waits To greet thee coming, 'companied by gods. Seated in heaven, from toils and conflicts saved. Son ! there is golden fruit of noble deeds. Of prayer, alms, sacrifice. The most just Gods Keep thee thy place above the highest saints. Where thou shalt sit, divine, compassed about With royal souls in bliss, as Hari sits ; Seeing Mandhata crowned, and Bhagirath, Daushyanti, Bhdrata, with all thy line. ILIAD OF INDIA. -jo; Now therefore wash thee in this holy stream, Gunga's pure fount, whereof the bright waves bless All the Three Worlds. It will so change thy flesh To likeness of th' immortal, thou shalt leave Passions and aches and tears behind thee there.' " And when the awful Sakra thus had Said, Lo ! Dharma spake, ^th' embodied Lord of Eiglit : " ' Bho ! bho ! I am well pleased ! Hail to thee. Chief ! Worthy, and wise, and firm. Thy faith is full, Thy virtue, and thy patience, and thy truth, And thy self-mastery. Thrice I put thee. King ! Unto the trial. In the Dwaita wood, The day of sacrifice, — then thou stood'st fast ; Next, on thy brethren's death and Draupadi's, When, as a dog, I followed thee, and found Thy spirit constant to the meanest friend. Here was the third and sorest touchstone, Son ! That thou shouldst hear thy brothers cry in hell, And yet abide to help them. Pritha's child. We love thee ! Thou art fortunate and pure. Past trials now. Thou art approved, and they 2o8 TWO BOOKS FROM THE Thou lov'st have tasted hell only a space, N"ot meriting to suffer more than when An evil dream doth come, and Indra's beam Ends it with radiance — as this vision ends. It is appointed that all flesh see death, And therefore thou hast borne the passing pangs, Briefest for thee, and brief for those of thine, — Bhima the faithful, and the valiant twins Nakla and Sahadev, and those great hearts Kama, Arjuna, with thy princess dear, Draupadf. Come, thou best-belovM Son, Blessed of all thy line ! Bathe in this stream, — It is great Gunga, flowing through Three Worlds.' " Thus high-accosted, the rejoicing king (Thy ancestor, Liege ! ) proceeded straight Unto that river's brink, which floweth pure Through the Tliree Worlds, mighty, and sweet, and praised. There, being bathed, the body of the king Put off its mortal, coming up arrayed In grace celestial, washed from soils of sin. From passion, pain, and change. So, hand in hand ILIAD OF INDIA. 209 With brother-gods, glorious went Yudhishthir, Lauded by softest minstrelsy, and songs Of unknown music, where those heroes stood — The princes of the Pandavas, his kin — And lotus-eyed and lovliest Draupadf, Waiting to greet him, gladdening and glad. ( 2?0 ) FROM THE "SAUPTIKA PARVA" OF THE MAHABHARATA, OR "NIGHT OF slaughter:' To Narayen, Best of Lords, he glory given, To great Saraswati, the Queen in Heaven ; Unto Vydsa, too, be paid his meed. So shall this story worthily proceed. " Those vanquished warriors then," Sanjaya said, " Fled southwards ; and, near sunset, past the tents. Unyoked ; abiding close in fear and rage. There was a wood beyond the camp, — untrod, Quiet, — and in its leafy harbour lay The Princes, some among them bleeding still From spear and arrow-gashes; all sore-speiit, THE NIGHT OF SLAUGHTER. 2ri Fetching faint breath, and fighting o'er again In thought that battle. But there came the noise Of Pandavas pursuing, — fierce and loud Outcries of victory — whereat those chiefs Sullenly rose, and yoked their steeds again, Driving due east ; and eastward still they drave Under the night, till drouth and desperate toil Stayed horse and man ; then took they lair again. The panting horses, and the Warriors, wroth With chilled wounds, and the death-stroke of their King. " Now were they come, my Prince," Sanjaya said, " Unto a jungle thick with stems, whereon The tangled creepers coiled ; here entered they — Watering their horses at a stream — and pushed Deepk in the thicket. Many a beast and bird Sprang startled at their feet ; the long grass stirred With serpents creeping off; the woodland flowers Shook where the pea-fowl hid, and, where frogs pluno-eJ, The swamp rocked all its reeds and lotus-buds. A banian-tree, with countless dropping boughs Earth-rooted, spied they, and beneath its aisles 213 FROM THE "SAUPTIKA PARVA." A pool ; hereby they stayed, tethering their steeds, And dipping water, made the evening prayer. " But when the ' Day- maker ' sank in the west And Kight descended — ^gentle, soothing Night, Who comforts all, with silver splendour decked Of stars and constellations, and soft folds Of velvet darkness drawn — then those wild things Which roam in darkness woke, wandering afoot Under the gloom. Horrid the forest grew With roar, and yelp, and yell, around that place Where Kripa, Kritavarman, and the son Of Drona lay, heneath the banian-tree ; Full many a piteous passage instancing In their lost battle-day of dreadful blood ; Till sleep fell heavy on the wearied lids Of Bhoja's child and Kripa. Then these Lords — To princely life and silken couches used — Sought on the bare earth slumber, spent and sad, As houseless outcasts lodge. "But,Oh, my King! There came no sleep to Drona's angry son, THE NIGHT OF SLAUGHTER. 213 Great Aswatth^man. As a snake lies coiled And hisses, breathing, so his panting breath Hissed rage and hatred round him, while he lay, Chin uppermost, arm-pillowed, with fierce eyes Eoving the wood, and seeing sightlessly. Thus chanced it that his wandering glances turned Into the fig-tree's shadows, where there perched A thousand crows, thick-roosting, on its limbs ; Some nested, some on branchlets, deep asleep. Heads under wings — all fearless ; nor, Prince ! Had Aswatth^man more than marked the birds, When, lo ! there fell out of the velvet night, Silent and terrible, an eagle-owl. With wide, soft, deadly, dusky wings, and eyes Flame-coloured, and long claws, and dreadful beak ; Like a winged sprite, or great Garood himself Offspring of Bhirata ! it lighted there Upon the banian's bough ; hooted, but low, The fury smothering in its throat ; — then fell With murderous beak and claws upon those crows, Sending the wings from this, the legs from that. From some the heads, of some ripping the crops ; Till, tens and scores, the fowl rained down to earth 214 FROM THE "SAUPTIKA PARVA.'' Bloody and plucked, and all the ground waxed black With piled crow-carcases ; whUst the great owl Hooted for joy of vengeance, and again Spread the wide, deadly, dusky wings. " Up sprang The son of Drona : ' Lo ! this owl,' quoth he, ' Teacheth me wisdom ; lo ! one slayeth so Insolent foes asleep. The Pandu Lords Are all too strong in arms by day to kill ; They triumph, being many. Yet I swore Before the King, my Father, I would " kill " And " kill " — even as a foolish fly should swear To quench a flame. It scorched, and I shall die If I dare open battle ; but by art Men vanquish fortune and the mightiest odds. If there be two ways to a wise man's wish. Yet only one way sure, he tak'eth this ; And if it be an evil way, condemned For Brahmans, yet the Kshattriya may do What vengeance bids against his foes. Our foes. The Pandavas, are furious, treacherous, base. Halting ai. nothing; and how say the wise THE NIGHT OF SLAUGHTER. 215 In holy Sliasters ? — " Wounded, wearied, fed, Or fasting ; sleeping, waking, setting forth, Or new arriving ; slay thine ^enemies ; " And so again, " At midnight when they sleep. Dawn when they watch not ; noon if leaders fall ; Eve, should they scatter ; all the times and hours Are times and hours fitted for killing foes." ' ' So did the son of Drona steel his soul To break upon the sleeping Pandu chiefs And slay them in the darkness. Being set On this unlordly deed, and clear in scheme. He from tlieir slumbers roused the warriors twain, Kripa and Kritavarman." ( 216 ) THE MORNING PRAYER: OUK Lord the Prophet (peace to him !) doth write — Siirah the Seventeenth, intituled " Kight " — " Pray at the noon ; pray at the sinking sun ; In night-time pray ; but most when night is done ; For daybreak's prayer is surely borne on high By angels, changing guard within the sky ; " And in another place : — " Dawn's prayer is more Than the wide world, with all its treasured store." Therefore the Faithful, when the growing light Gives to discern a black hair from a white. Haste to the mosque, and, bending Mecca-way, Eecite Al-Fdtihah while 'tis scarce yet day : " Praise he to Allah — Zord of all that live : Merciful King and Judge ! To Thee we give THE MORNING PRAYER. 217 Worship and honour ! Succour us, and guide Where those have walked who rest Thy throne heside : The way of Peace ; the way of truthful speech ; The way of Bighfeousness. So we leseech." He that saith this, before the East is red, A hundred prayers of Azan hath he said. Hear now a story of it — told, I ween. For yoTiT souls' comfort by Jelal-ud-din, In the great pages of the Mesnevl; Tor therein, plain and certain, shall ye see How precious is the prayer at break of day In Allah's ears, and in his sight alway How sweet are reverence and gentleness Shown to his creatures. Ali (whom I bless !) The son of Abu Talib — he surnamed "Lion of God," in many battles famed, The cousin of our Lord the Prophet (grace Be his !) — uprose betimes one morn, to pace — As he was wont — unto the mosque, wherein Our Lord (bliss live with him !) watched to begin Al-Fdtihah. Darkling was the sky, and strait The lane between the city and mosque-gate, 2i8 THE MORNING PRAYER. By rough stones broken and deep pools of rain ; And there through toilfully, with steps of pain, Leaning upon his staff an old Jew went To synagogue, on pious errand bent : For those be " People of the Book," — and some Are chosen of Allah's will, who have not come Unto full light of wisdom. Therefore he Ali — the Caliph of proud days to be — Knowing this good old man, and why he stirred Thus early, e'er the morning mills were heard, Out of his nobleness and grace of soul Would not thrust past, though the Jew blocked the whole Breadth of the lane, slow-hobbling. So they went. That ancient first ; and in soft discontent, , After him Ali — notii-.g how the sun Flared nigh, and fearing prayer might be begun ; Yet no command upraising, no harsh cry To stand aside ; — because the dignity Of silver hairs is much, and morning praise Was precious to the Jew, too. Thus their ways Wended the pair; Great A.li, sad and slow. Following the greybeard, while the East, a-glow. THE MORNING PRAYER. 219 Blazed with bright spears of gold athwart the blue, And the Muezzin's call came " IllaMo ! Allah-il-Allah!" In the mosque, our Lord (On whom be peace !) stood by the Mehrab-board In act to bow, and Fdtihah forth to say. But as his lips moved, some strong hand did lay Over his mouth a palm invisible, So that no voice on the Assembly fell. " Ta ! Eabhi 'lalamina" thrice he tried To read, and thrice the sound of reading died. Stayed by this unseen touch. Thereat amazed Our Lord Muhammed turned, arose, and gazed ; And saw — alone of those within the shrine — A splendid Presence, with large eyes divine Beaming, and golden pinions folded down, Their speed still tokened by the fluttered gown. Gabeiel he knew, the spirit who doth stand Chief of the Sons of Heav'n, at God's right han^ : " Gabriel ! why stayest thou me ? " the Prophet said, " Since at this hour the Fdtihah should be read." !o THE MORNING PRAYER. But the bright Presence, smiling, pointed where All towards the outer gate drew near. Upon the threshold shaking off his shoes And giving " alms of entry," as men use. " Yea ! " spake th' Archangel, " sacred is the sound Of morning-praise, and worth the world's wide round. Though earth were pearl and silver ; therefore I Stayed thee, Muhammed, in the act to cry. Lest Ali, tarrying in the lane, should miss. For his good deed, its blessing and its bliss." Thereat th' Archangel vanished : — and our Lord Eead Fdtihah forth beneath the Mehrab-board. PROVERBIAL WISDOM FROM THE SHLOKAS OF THE HITOPADESA. 3iel3icatton (,T0 FIRST EDIT10K\ To you, dear Wife — to whom beside so well f — True Counsellor and tried, at eioery shift, I bring my " Book of Counsels : " let it tell Largeness of love by littleness of gift .• And take this growth of foreign skies from me, (A scholar's thanks for gentle help in toil,) Whose leaf, " though dark," like Milton's Hcemnmj, "Bears a bright golden flower, if not in this soil." April 9, 1861. PREFACE TO THE "BOOK OF GOOD COUNSELS." The HitopadeSa is a work of liigli antiquity and extended popularity. The prose is doubtless as old as our own era ; but the intercalated verses and proverbs compose a selection from writings of an age extremely remote. The MahdhliArata and the textual Veds are of those quoted; to the first of which Professor M. Williams (in his admirable edition of theiVaJa, i860) assigns the modest date of 350 B.C., while he claims for the Rig- Veda an antiquity as high as 1 300 B.C. The Hitopade§a may thus be fairly styled " The Father of all Fables ; " for from its numerous translations have probably come Esop and Pilpay, and in latter days Beinehe Fuchs. Originally compiled in Sanskrit, it was rendered, by order of Xushirvan, in the sixth century a.d., into Persic. From the Persic it passed, a.d. 850, into the Arabic, and thence into Hebrew and Greek. In its own land it obtained as wide a circulation. The Emperor Akbar, impressed with the wisdom of its maxims and the 224 PREFACE. ingenuity of its apologues, commended the work of translating it to his own Vizier, Abdul Fazel. That Minister accordingly put the book into a familiar style, and published it with explanations, under the title of the Criterion of Wisdom. The Emperor had also sug- gested the abridgment of the long series of shlokes which here and there interrupt the narrative, and the Vizier found this advice sound, and followed it, like the present Translator. To this day, in India, the Hitapadeia, under its own or other names (as the Anvdri Suliaili), retains the delighted attention of young and old, and has some representative in all the Indian vernaculars. A selection from the metrical Sanskrit proverbs and maxims is here given. PROVERBIAL WISDOM FROM THE SHLOKAS OF THE HITOPADESA. This Book of Counsel read, and you shall see. Fair speech and Sanskrit lore, and Policy. "Wise men, holding wisdom highest, scorn delights, more false than fair ; Daily live as if Death's fingers twined already in thy hair ! " Truly, richer than all riches, better than the best of gain, Wisdom is ; unbought, secure — once won, none loseth her again. 226 PROVERBIAL WISDOM. " Bringing dark things into daylight, solving doubts that vex the mind, Like an open eye is Wisdom — he that hath her not is hlind." " Childless art thou ? dead thy children ? leading thee to want and doole ? Less thy misery than his is, who lives father to a fool." " One wise son makes glad his father, forty fools avail him not : One moon silvers all that darkness which the silly stars did dot." " Ease and health, obeisant children, wisdom, and a fair- voiced wife — Thus, great King ! are counted up the five felicities of life. " Tor the son the sire is honoured ; though the bow-cane bendeth true. Let the strained string crack in using, and what ser- vice shall it do ? " PROVERBIAL WISDOM. 227 " That which will not be, will not be — and what is to be, will be : Why not drink this easy physic, antidote of misery ? " " Nay ! but faint not, idly sighing, ' Destiny is mightiest,' Sesamum holds oil in plenty, but it yieldeth none unpressed." " Ah ! it is the Coward's babble, ' Fortune taketh, For- tune gave ; ' Fortune ! rate her like a master, and she serves thee like a slave." " Two-fold is the life we live in — Fate and Will together run: Two wheels bear life's chariot onward — Will it move on only one ? " " Look ! the clay dries into iron, but the potter moulds the clay : Destiny to-day is master — Man was master yester- day." 228 PROVERBIAL WISDOM. " Worthy ends come not by wisliing. Wouldst thou ? Up, and win it, then ! While the hungry lion slumbers, not a deer comes to his den." " SiUy glass, in splendid settings, something of the gold may gain ; And in company of wise ones, fools to wisdom may attain.'' "Labours spent on the unworthy, of reward the labourer balk; Like the parrot, teach the heron twenty words, he will not talk." " Ah ! a thousand thoughts of sorrow, and a hundred things of dread. By the fools unheeded, enter day by day the wise man's head." " Of the day's impending dangers, Sickness, Death, and Misery, One will be; the wise man, waking, ponders which that one will be." PROVERBIAL WISDOM. 229 " Good things come not out of bad things ; wisely leave a longed-for ill. Nectar being mixed with poison serves no purpose but to kill." "Give to poor men, son of Kilnti — on the wealthy- waste not wealth ; Good are simples for the sick man, good for nought to him in health." " Be his Scripture-learning wondrous, yet the cheat will be a cheat ; Be her pasture ne'er so bitter, yet the cow's milk will taste sweet." " Trust not water, trust not weapons ; trust not clawed nor horned things ; Neither give thy soiil to women, nor thy life to Sons of Kings." -'o" " Look ! the Moon, the silver roamer, from whose splen- dour darkness flies, With his starry cohorts marching, like a crowned king, through the skies : 23P PROVERBIAL WISDOM. All his grandeur, all his glory, vanish in the Dragon's jaw; What is written on the forehead, that will be, and nothing more." " Counsel in danger ; of it Unwarned, he nothing hegun ; But nobody asks a Prophet, Shall the risk of a dinner be run ? " "Avarice begetteth anger; blind desires from her begin; A right fruitful mother is she of a countless spawn of sin." " Be second and not first ! — the share's the same If all go well. If not, the Head's to blame." Passion will be Slave or Mistress : follow her, she brings to woe ; Lead her, 'tis the way to Fortune. Choose the path that thou wilt go." PROVERBIAL WISDOM. 231 " When the time of trouble cometh, friends may ofttimes irk us most : For the calf at milking-hour the mother's leg is tying- post." " In good-fortune not elated, in ill-fortune not dismayed, Ever eloquent in council, never in the fight affrayed, Proudly emulous of honour, steadfastly on wisdom set; These six virtues in the nature of a noble soul are met. Whoso hath them, gem and glory of the three wide worlds is he ; Happy mother she that bore him, she who nursed him on her knee." " Small things wax exceeding mighty, being cunningly combined ; Furious elephants are fastened with a rope of grass- blades twined." " Let the household hold together, though the house be ne'er so small ; Strip the rice-husk from the rice-grain, and it groweth not at all." 232 PROVERBIAL WISDOM. " Sickness, anguish, bonds, and woe Spring from wrongs wrought long ago." " Keep wealth for want, but spend it for thy wife, And wife, and wealth, and all, to guard thy life." " Death, that must come, comes nobly when we give Our wealth, and life, and all, to make men live." " Floating on his fearless pinions, lost amid the noon- day skies, Even thence the Eagle's vision kens the carcass where it lies ; But the hour that comes to all things comes unto the Lord of Air, And he rushes, madly blinded, to die helpless in the snare." Bar thy door not to the stranger, be he friend or be he foe. For the tree will shade the woodman while his axe doth lay it low. PROVERBIAL WISDOM. 233 Greeting fair, and room to rest in ; fire, and water from the well — Simple gifts — are giYcn freely in the house where good men dwell ; — Young, or bent with many winters; rich, or poor whate'er thy guest, Honour him for thine own honour — better is he than the best. ' Pity them that crave thy pity : who art thou to stint thy hoard. When the holy moon shines equal on the leper and the lord?" When thy gate is roughly fastened, and the asker turns away, Thence he bears thy good deeds with him, and his sins on thee doth lay. In the house the husband ruleth ; men the Brahman "master" call; Agni is the Twice-born's Master— but the guest is lord of all. 234 PROVERBIAL WISDOM. " lie who does and thinks no wrong — He who suffers, being strong — He whose harmlessness men know — TJnto Swarga such doth go." " In the land where no wise men are, men of little wit are lords ; And the castor-oil's a tree, where no tree else its shade affords." " Foe is friend, and friend is foe, As our actions make them so." " That friend only is the true friend who abides when trouble comes ; That man only is the brave man who can bear the battle-drums ; Words are wind; deed proveth promise: he who helps at need is kin ; And the leal wife is loving though the husband lose or win." PROVERBIAL WISDOM. 235 "Friend and kinsman — more their meaning than the idle-hearted mind ; Many a friend can prove unfriendly, many a kinsman less than kind : He who shares his comrade's portion, be he heggar, be he lord, Comes as truly, comes as duly, to the battle as the board — Stands before the king to succour, follows to the pile to sigh — He is friend, and he is kinsman ; less would make the name a lie." ' Stars gleam, lamps flicker, friends foretell of fate ; The fated sees, knows, hears them — ^all too late." " Absent, flatterers' tongues are daggers — present, softer than the silk ; Shun them! 'tis a draught of poison hidden under harmless milk ; 236 PROVERBIAL WISDOM. Shun them when they promise little! Shun them when they promise much ! For enkindled, charcoal burneth — cold, it doth defile the touch." " In years, or moons, or half-moons three, Or in three days — suddenly. Knaves are shent — true men go. free." "Anger comes to noble natures, but leaves there no strife or storm : Plunge a lighted torch beneath it, and the ocean grows not warm." "Noble hearts are golden vases — close the bond true metals make ; Easily the smith may weld them, harder far it is to break. Evil hearts are earthen vessels — at a touch they crack a-twain. And what craftsman's ready cunning can unite the shards again ? " PROVERBIAL WISDOM. 237 Good men's friendships may be broken, yet abide they friends at heart ; Snap the stem of Luxmee's lotus, but its fibres will not part." " One foot goes, and one foot stands. When the wise man leaves his lands.' " Over-love of home were weakness ; wheresoe'er the hero come, Stalwart arm and steadfast spirit find or make for him a home. Little recks the awless lion where his hunting jungles lie- When he enters them be certain that a royal prey shall die." " Very feeble folk are poor folk ; money lost takes wit away: All their doings fail like runnels, wasting through the summer day." 238 PROVERBIAL WISDOM. ■ Wealth is friends, home, father, brother — title to re- spect and fame ; • Yea, and wealth is held for wisdom — that it should he so is shame." " Home is empty to the childless ; hearts to those who friends deplore : Earth unto the idle-minded ; and the three worlds to the poor." " Say the sages, nine things name not : Age, domestic joys and woes. Counsel, sickness, shame, alms, penance; neither Poverty disclose. Better for the proud of spirit, death, than life with losses told ; Fire consents to be extinguished, but submits not to be cold." " As Age doth banish beauty, As moonlight dies in gloom, As Slavery's menial duty Is Honour's certain tomb ; PROVERBIAL WISDOM. 239 As Hari's name and Hara's Spoken, charm sin away, So Poverty can surely A hundred virtues slay." "Half-known knowledge, present pleasure purchased with a future woe. And to taste the salt of service — greater griefs no man can know." " All existence is not equal, and all living is not life; Sick men live ; and he who, banished, pines for chil- dren, home, and wife ; And the craven-hearted eater of another's leavings lives. And the wretched captive, waiting for the word of doom, survives ; But they bear an anguished "body, and they draw a deadly breath ; And life cometh to them only on the happy day of death." 240 PROVERBIAL WISDOM. " Golden gift, serene Contentment ! have thou that, and all is had ; Thrust thy slipper on, and think thee that the earth is leather-clad." " All is known, digested, tested ; nothing new is left to learn When the soul, serene, reliant, Hope's delusive dreams can spurn." "Hast thou never watched, a-waiting till the great man's door unharred ? Didst thou never linger parting, saying many a sad last word ? Spak'st thou never word of folly, one light thing thou would'st recall ? Eare and nohle hath thy life been ! fair thy fortune didbefaU!" "True Religion! — 'tis not blindly prating what the gurus prate. But to love, as God hath, loved them, all things, be they small or great ; PROVERBIAL WISDOM. 241 And true bliss is when a sane mind doth a healthy body fill; And true knowledge is the knowing what is good and what is ill." " Poisonous though the tree of life be, two fair blossoms grow thereon : One, the company of good men ; and sweet songs of Poets, one." " Give, and it shall swell thy getting ; give, and thou shalt safer keep : Pierce the tank- wall ; or it yieldeth, when the water waxeth deep." " When the miser hides his treasure in the earth, he doeth well; For he opens up a passage that his soul may feink to hell." " He whose coins are kept for counting, not to barter nor to give. Breathe he like a blacksmith's bellows, yet in truth he doth not Live." 242 PROVERBIAL WISDOM. " Gifts, bestowed with words of kindness, making giving doubly dear : Wisdom, deep, complete, benignant, of all arrogancy clear ; Valour, never yet forgetful of sweet Mercy's pleading prayer; Wealth, and scorn of wealth to spend it — oh ! but these be virtues rare ! " " Sentences of studied wisdom, nought avail they un- applied ; Though tlie blind man hold a lantern, yet his foot- steps stray aside." ' Would' st thou know whose happy dwelling Fortune entereth unknown ? His, who careless of her favour, standeth fearless in his own ; His, who for the vague to-morrow barters not the sure to-day — Master of himself, and sternly steadfast to the right- ful way : PROVERBIAL WISDOM. 243 Very mindful of past service, valiant, faithful, true of heart — Unto such comes Lakshmi smiling — comes, and will not lightly part.'' "Be not haughty, being wealthy; droop not, having lost thine all ; Fate doth play with mortal fortunes as a girl doth toss her ball." " Worldly friendships, fair but fleeting ; shadows of the clouds at noon ; Women, youth, new corn, and riches ; these be plea- sures passing soon." " For thy bread be not o'er thoughtful — Heav'n for all hath taken thought : When the babe is born, the sweet milk to the mother's breast is brought. " He who gave the swan her silver, and the hawk her plumes of pride, And his purples to the peacock — He will verily provide." 244 PROVERBIAL WISDOM. " Though for good ends, waste not on wealth a minute ; Mud may be wiped, but wise men plunge not in it." " Brunettes, and the Banyan's shadow, Well-springs, and a brick-built wall. Are all alike cool in the summer. And warm in the winter — all." " Ah ! the gleaming, glancing arrows of a lovely woman's eye! Feathered with her jetty lashes, perilous they pass thee by : Loosed at venture from the black bows of her arching brow, they part. All too penetrant and deadly for an undefended heart." " Beautiful the Ko'il seemeth for the sweetness of his song, Beautiful the world esteemeth pious souls for patience strong ; PROVERBIAL WISDOM. 245 Homely features lack not favour when true wisdom they reveal, And a wife is fair and honoured while her heart is firm and leal." " Friend ! gracious word ! — the heart to tell is ill able Whence came to men this jewel of a syllable." " Whoso for greater quits small gain, Shall have his labour for his pain ; The things unwon unwon remain, And what was won is lost again." " Looking down on lives below them, men of little store are great ; Looking up to higher fortunes, hard to each man seems his fate." " As a bride, unwisely wedded, shuns the cold caress of eld, So, from coward souls and slothful, Lakshmi's favours turn repelled." 246 PROVERBIAL WISDOM. "Ease, ill-health, home-keeping, sleeping, woman- service, and content — In the path that leads to greatness these be six obstructions sent." " Seeing how the soorma wasteth, seeing how the ant- hill grows. Little adding unto little — live, give, learn, as life-time goes" " Drops of water falling, falling, falling, brim the chatty o'er; Wisdom comes in little lessons — little gains make largest store." " Men their cunning schemes may spin — God knows who shall lose or win." " Shoot a hundred shafts, the quarry lives and flies — not due to death ; When his hour is come, a grass-blade hath a point to stop his breath." PROVERBIAL WISDOM. 247 '' Eobes were none, nor oil of unction, when the King of Beasts was crowned : 'Twas his own fierce roar proclaimed him, rolling all the kingdom round." " What but for their vassals, Elephant and man — Swing of golden tassels. Wave of silken fan — But for regal manner That the ' Cha-ttra ' brings, Horse, and foot, and banner — What would come of kings ? " " At the work-time, asking wages — is it like a faithful herd? When the work's done, grudging wages-^is that acting like a lord?" " Serve the Sun with sweat of body ; starve thy maw to feed the flame ; Stead thy lord with all thy service ; to thy death go, quit of blame." 248 PROVERBIAL WISDOM. " Many prayers for him are uttered whereon many a life relies ; 'Tis but one poor fool the fewer when the greedy jack-daw dies." " Give thy Dog the merest mouthful, and he crouches at thy feet, Wags his tail, and fawns, and grovels, in his eagerness to eat ; Bid the Elephant be feeding, and the best of fodder bring ; Gravely — after much entreaty — condescends that mighty king.'' " By their own deeds men go downM'ard, by them men mount upward all, Like the diggers of a well, and like the builders of a wall." ' Eushes down the hiU the crag, which upward 'twas so hard to roll : So to virtue slowly rises — so to vice quick sinks the soul." PROVERBIAL WISDOM. 249 " Who speaks unasked, or comes unbid, Or counts on service — will be chid." " Wise, modest, constant, ever close at hand. Not weighing but obeying all command. Such servant by a Monarch's throne may stand," ' Pitiful, who fearing failure, therefore no beginning makes. Why forswear a daily dinner for the chance of stomach-aches ? " " Nearest to the King is dearest, be thy merit low or high; Women, creeping plants, and princes, twine round that which groweth nigh." ' Pearls are dull in leaden settings, but the setter is to blame ; Glass will glitter like the ruby, dulled with dust — are they the same ? " 25° PROVERBIAL WISDOM. ■' And a fool may tread on jewels, setting in his turban glass ; Yet, at seUing, gems are gems, and fardels but for fardels pass." ' Horse and weapon, lute and volume, man and woman, gift of speech, Have their uselessness or uses in the one who owneth each." " Not disparagement nor slander kills the spirit of the brave ; Fling a torch down, upward ever burns the brilliant flame it gave." " Wisdom from the mouth of children be it overpast of none; What man scorns to walk by lamplight in the absence of the sun 1 " Strength serves Eeason. Saith the Mahout, when he beats the brazen drum, 'Ho! ye elephants, to this work must your mighti- PROVERBIAL WISDOM. 251 " Mighty natures war with mighty : when the raging tempests blow, O'er the green rice harmless pass they, but they lay the palm-trees low." " Narrow-necked to let out little, big of belly to keep much, As a flasfon is — the Vizier of a Sultan should be such." " He who thinks a minute little, like a fool misuses more; He who counts a cowry nothing, being wealthy, will be poor." ' Brahmans, soldiers, these and kinsmen— of the three « set none in charge : Por the Brahman, though you rack him, yields no treasure small or large ; And the soldier, being trusted, writes his quittance with his sword, And the kinsman cheats his kindred by the charter of the word ; 2S2 PROVERBIAL WISDOM. But a servant old in service, worse than any one is thought, Who, by long-tried license fearless, knows his master's anger nought." ■ Never tires the fire of burning, never wearies Death of slaying, Nor the sea of drinking rivers, nor the bright-eyed of betraying." ' From false friends that breed thee strife, From a house with serpents rife, Saucy slaves and brawling wife — Get thee forth, to save thy life." " Teeth grown loose, and wicked-hearted ministers, and poison trees, ft Pluck them by the roots together ; 'tis the thing that giveth ease.' "Long-tried friends are friends to cleave to — never leave thou these i' the lurch : What man shuns the fire as sinful for that once it burned a church ? " PROVERBIAL WISDOM. 253 " Eaise an evil soul to honour, and his evil bents remain ; Bind a cur's tail ne'er so straightly, yet it curleth up again." " How, in sooth, should Trust and Honour change the evil nature's root ? Though one watered them with nectar, poison-trees bear deadly fruit." " Safe within the husk of silence guard the seed of counsel so That it break not — being broken, then the seedling will not grow." ' Even as one who grasps a serpent, drowning in the bitter sea, Death to hold and death to loosen — such is life's perplexity." " Woman's love rewards the worthless — kings of knaves exalters be ; Wealth attends the selfish niggard, and the cloud rains on the sea." 254 PROVERBIAL WISDOM. " Many a knave wins fair opinions standing in fair company, As the sooty soorma pleases, lighted .by a brilliant eye." " Where the azure lotus blossoms, there the alligators hide; In the sandal-tree are serpents. Pain and pleasure live allied." " Eich the sandal — yet no part is but a vile thing habits there ; Snake and wasp haunt root and blossom; on the boughs sit ape and bear." " As a bracelet of crystal, once broke, is not mended So the favour of princes, once altered, is ended." " Wrath of Idngs, and rage of lightning — both be very full of dread ; But one falls on one man only — one strikes many victims dead." PROVERBIAL WISDOM. 255 " All men scorn the soulless coward who his manhood doth forget : On a lifeless heap of ashes fearlessly the foot is set." " Simple milk, when serpents drink it, straightway into venom turns ; And a fool who heareth counsel all the wisdom of it spurns." ' A modest manner fits a maid. And Patience is a man's adorning ; But brides may kiss, nor do amiss. And men may draw, at scathe and scorning." " Serving narrow-minded masters dwarfs high natures to their size : Seen before a convex mirror, elephants do show as mice." " Elephants destroy by touching, snakes with point of tooth beguile ; Kings by favour kill, and traitors murder with a fatal smile." 256 PROVERBIAL WISDOM. " Of the wife the lord is jewel, though no gems upon her beam ; Lacking him, she lacks adornment, howsoe'er her jewels gleam ! " " Hairs three-lakhs, and half-a-lakh hairs, on a man so many grow — And so many years to Swarga shall the true wife surely go ! " "When the faithful wife, embracing tenderly her husband dead, Mounts the blazing pyre beside him, as it were a bridal-bed ; Though his sins were twenty thousand, twenty thou- sand times o'er-told. She shall bring his soul to splendour, for her love so large and bold." " Counsel unto six ears spoken, unto all is notified ■• When a King holds consultation, let it be with one beside." PROVERBIAL WISDOM. 357 ' Sick men are for skilful leeches — prodigals for poison- ing— Fools for teachers — and the man who keeps a secret, for a King." ' With gift, craft, promise, cause thy foe to yield ; When these have failed thee, challenge him a-'field." " The subtle wash of waves do smoothly pass, But lay the tree as lowly as the gi-ass." "Ten true bowmen on a rampart fifty's onset may sustain ; Fortalices keep a country more than armies in the plain." " Build it strong, and build it spacious, with an entry and retreat ; Store it well with wood and water, fill its garners full with wheat." " Gems will no man's life sustain ; Best of gold is golden grain." 258 PROVERBIAL WISDOM. " Hard it is to conquer nature : if a dog were made a King, 'Mid the coronation trumpets he would gnaw his sandal-string." " 'Tis no Council where no Sage is — 'tis no Sage that fears not Law ; 'Tis no Law which Truth confirms not — 'tis no Truth which Fear can awe." " Though base be the Herald, nor hinder nor let, For the mouth of a king is he ; The sword may be whet, and the battle set, But the word of his message goes free." " Better few and chosen fighters than of shaven-crowns a host. For in headlong flight confounded, with the base the brave are lost." " Kind is kin, howe'er a stranger — kin unkind is stranger shown ; Sores hurt, though the body breeds them — drugs relieve, though desert-grown." PROVERBIAL WISDOM. 259 '' Betel - nut is bitter, hot, sweet, spicy, binding, alkaline — A demulcent — an astringent — foe to evils intestine ; Giving to the breath a fragrance — to the lips a crimson red ; A detergent, and a kindler of Love's flame that lieth dead. Praise the Gods for the good betel ! — these be thirteen virtues given. Hard to meet in one thing blended, even in their happy heaven." " He is brave whose tongue is silent of the trophies of his sword ; He is great whose quiet bearing marks his greatness well assured." " When the Priest, the Leech, the Vizier of a King his flatterers be. Very soon the King will part with health, and wealth and piety." 26o PROVERBIAL WISDOM. " Merciless, or money-loving, deaf to counsel, false of faith, Thoughtless, spiritless, or careless, changing course with every breath. Or the man who scorns his rival — if a prince should choose a foe, Eipe for meeting and defeating, certes he would choose him so." By the valorous and unskilful great achievements are not wrought ; Courage, led by careful Prudence, unto highest ends is brought." " Grief kills gladness, winter summer, midnight-gloom the light of day, Kindnesses ingratitude, and pleasant friends drive pain away; Each ends each, but none of other surer conquerors can be Than Impolicy of Fortune — of Misfortune Policy." PROVERBIAL WISDOM. 261 " Wisdom answers all who ask her, but a fool she can- not aid ; Blind men in the faithful mirror see not their reflection made." '' Where the Gods are, or thy Giirii — in the face of Pain and Age, Cattle, Brahmans, Kings, and Children — reverently curb thy rage." " Oh, my Prince ! on eight occasions prodigality is none — In the solemn sacrificing, at the wedding of a son, When the glittering treasure given makes the proud invader bleed, Or its lustre bringeth comfort to the people in their need, Or when kinsmen are to succour, or a worthy work to end, Or to do a loved one honour, or to welcome back a friend." 262 PROVERBIAL WISDOM. " Truth, munificence, and valour, are the virtues of a King; Eoyalty, devoid of either, sinks to a rejected thing." " Hold thy vantage ! — alligators on the land make none afraid ; And the lion's but a jackal who hath left his forest- shade." " The people are the lotus-leaves, their monarch is the sun — When he doth sink beneath the waves they vanish every one. When he doth rise they rise again with bud and blossom rife. To bask awhile in his warm smUe, who is their lord and life." "All the cows bring forth are cattle — only now and then is born An authentic lord of pastures, with his shoulder- scratching horn." PROVERBIAL WISDOM. 263 ' When the soldier in the battle lays his life down for his king, Unto Swarga's perfect glory such a deed his soul shall bring." " 'Tis the fool who, meeting trouble, straightway Destiny reviles, Knowing not his own misdoing brought his own mis- chance the whiles." " ' Time-not-come ' and ' Quick-at- Peril,' these two fishes 'scaped the net ; ' What-will-be- will-be,' he perished, by the fishermen beset." " Sex, that tires of being true. Base and new is brave to you ! Like the jungle-cows ye range. Changing food for sake of change.'' " That which will not be will not be, and what is to be wiU be : "Why not drink this easy physic, antidote of misery ? " 264 PROVERBIAL WISDOM. " Whoso trusts, for service rendered, or fair words, an enemy. Wakes from folly like one falling in his slumber from a tree,' " Fellow be with kindly foemen, Tather than with friends unkind ; Friend and foeman are distinguished not by title but by mind." "Whoso setting duty highest, speaks at need unwel- come things, Disregarding fear and favour, such an one may suc- cour kin?s." " Brahmans for their lore have honour ; Kshattriyas for their bravery ; Vaisyas for their hard-earned treasure; Sudras for humility." " Seven foemen of all foemen, very hard to vanquish be : The Truth-teller, the Just-dweller, and the man from passion free. PROVERBIAL WISDOM. 265 Subtle, self-sustained, and counting frequent -well- won victories, And the man of many kinsmen — keep the peace with such as these." ' For the man with many kinsmen answers by them all attacks ; As the bambu, in the bambus safely sheltered, scorns the axe." " Whoso hath the gift of giving wisely, equitably, well ; Whoso, learning all men's secrets, unto none his own wiUteU: Whoso, ever cold and courtly, utters nothing that offends, Such an one may rule his fellows unto Earth's extremest ends." " Cheating them that truly trust you, 'tis a clumsy villany ! Any knave may slay the child who climbs and slumbers on his knee." 266 PROVERBIAL WISDOM. " Hunger hears not, cares not, spares not ; no boon of the starving beg; When the snake is pinched with craving, verily she eats her egg." " Of the Tree of State the root Kings are — feed what brings the fruit." ■ Courtesy may cover malice ; on their heads the wood- men bring. Meaning all the while to burn them, logs and faggots — oh, my King ! And the strong and subtle river, rippling at the cedar's foot. While it seems to lave and kiss it, undermines the hanging root.'' " Weep not ! Life the hired nurse is, holding us a little space ; Death, the mother who doth take us back into our proper place." PROVERBIAL WISDOM. 267 " Gone, "with all their gauds and glories : gone, like peasants, are the Kings, Whereunto this earth was witness, whereof all her record rings." ' For the body, daily wasting, is not seen to waste away. Until wasted ; as in water set a jar of unbaked clay." " And day after day man goeth near and nearer to his fate. As step after step the victim thither where its slayers wait." " Like as a plank of drift-wood Tossed on the watery main, Another plank encountered. Meets, — touches, — parts again ; So tossed, and drifting ever, On life's unrestmg sea. Men meet, and greet, and sever. Parting eternally." 2fi8 PROVERBIAL WISDOM. " Halt, traveller ! rest i' the shade : then up and leave it! Stay, Soul ! take fill of love ; nor losing, grieve it ! " " Each heloved ohject born Sets within the heart a thorn. Bleeding, when they be uptorn." " If thine own house, this rotting frame, doth wither, Thinking another's lasting — goest thou thither ? " " Meeting makes a parting sure, Life is nothing but death's door." " As the downward-running rivers never turn and never stay. So the days and nights stream deathward, bearing human lives away." " Bethinking him of darkness grim, and death's un- shunn^d pain, A man strong-souled relaxes hold, like leather soaked in rain." PROVERBIAL WISDOM. 269 " From the day, the hour, the minute. Each life quickens in the womb ; Thence its march, no falter in it, Goes straight forward to the tomb." ' An 'twere not so, would sorrow cease with years ? Wisdom sees right what want of knowledge fears." ' Seek not the wild, sad heart ! thy passions haunt it ; Play hermit in thy house with heart imdaunted ; A governed heart, thinking no thought but good, Makes crowded houses holy solitude." " Away with those that preach to us the washing off of sin — Thine own self is the stream for thee to make ablu- tions in : In self-restraint it rises pure — flows clear in tide of truth. By widening banks of wisdom, in waves of peace and truth." 270 PROVERBIAL WISDOM. Bathe there, thou son of Pandu ! with reverence and rite, For never yet was water wet could wash the spirit white." " Thunder for nothing, like December's cloud, Passes unmarked : strike hard, but speak not loud." " Minds deceived by evil natures, from the good their faith withhold ; When hot conjee once has burned them, children blow upon the cold." THE ENU. PRINTED BV BALLANTYNE, HANSON AND CO. EDINBURGH AND LONDON SIR EDWIN ARNOLD'S WORKS. " The perusal of Sir Edwin Arnold'' s pages is an intellectual and huntanising treat."— ^.swTxo Quarterly Review. Sir 3E&win Brnolb's ipoetical morFss. Imperial i6mo, parchment, pp. 144, price 3s. 6d. IN MY LADY'S PRAISE: BEING , POEMS OLD AND NEW, Written to the Honour of Fanny, Lady Arnold, And now Collected for Her Memory, BY Sir EDWIN ARNOLD, M.A., K.C.I.E., C.S.I., Author of " The Light of Asia," &c. &c. CONTENTS. " Good-night ! not Good-bye ! ' Introduction. A Casket of Gems — F. Fire-opals. A. Amethysts. N. Nephrite, Jade. N. Nacre and Pearls. T. Yacut, Topazes. M. Moonstone. A. Aquamarine. B. Rubies I. Idocrase, Garnets. A. Agates. A. Amber and Lazulite. D. Diamonds. £. Emeralds. L. Ligure, Jacynths. A. An Aureus. I. lolite and Ivory. D. Dawn-stone. E. Euclase and Essonite. October. Dedication of a Volume of Trans- lations. To "Stella." A Duet. On a Cyclamen. In Happy Days. To a Sleeping Lady. ' ' Students' Day " in the National Gallery. Memories. ' In Absence. In the Death-Chamber. Sic sine vita. Sir EDwin Hrnol&'s "Xabp's ipraise." OPINIONS OF THE PRESS. Morning Post. — "Possess considerable merit, atid indicate a Jieen appreciation of and admiration for her in whose honour they were composed'' Saturday Review. — " The poet s fancy ranges with character- istic ease and hioyancy through many a rich field of legend and history, and does not disdain to add to the poetic garnering somewhat of the spoils of science!' Academy. — " Very sweet and sacred would seem to have been the love of which Sir Edwin Arnold allows us to be partakers through the fellowship of grief and song." Whitehall Review. — " It will be the cherished possession of flll Sir Edwin Arnold' s friends" Graphic. — "Admirers of Sir Edwin Arnold's imaginative and poetical gifts will ?tot be willing to remain without the volume in which is enshrined the thoughts which have come of fh'e breaking up of a domestic alliance, to all seeming of idyllic happiness!' World. — "His dedication is an exquisite specimen of that spirit of love which pervades the book" Society. — " This is indeed a noble addition to our store of jelegiac poetry" Observer. — " A graceful and pathetic tribute to the memory of one whose passing away extinguished for a time the light of his heart and home!' Literary World. — "Contains some very beautiful thoughts. . . . There are passages in these poems that deserve to live. . . . The ' Casket of Gems is well described as such, and we commend it to all lovers of poetry." British Weekly. — "Necessarily mournful, }et rij:h with iinagination, and worthy of the poems that have preceded it from, the same pen!' Lloyd's News. — "Comes like a fresh and inspiring breeze from the tnountain heights, chasing the gloom., of those who would have us believe that there is an end of chivalry, and that life is all a failure!' Figaro. — "Some of them are very beautiful, and others in- tensely pathetic" Scotsman. — "Has beauties enough of its own to Tnake it fieartily enjoyed by all lovers of poetry!' LONDON : KEGAN PAUL, TRENCH, TRUBNER, & CO. L™ 3 sir E5wfn HrnolD's poetical Morfts. Crown 8vo, pp. viii. and 375, price 7s. 6d. POEMS: NATIONAL AND NON-ORIENTAL. WITH SOME NEW PIECES. Selected from the Works of Sir EDWIN ARNOLD, M.A., K.C.I.E., C.S.I., Author of " The Light of Asia," &c. &c. &c. The Four Crowns. To H.R.H. the Princess of Wales. The First Distribution of the Victoria Cross. Tn Memoriani. Florence Nightingale. Congratulatory Address. The Order of Valour. On the Death of the Prin- cess Alice. Havelock in Trafalgar Square. Adelaide Ann ; Procter. To America. Armageddon. To Matthew Arnold. Song of the German Sol- , diers in Alsace. Berlin. — The Sixteenth of March. Hero and Leander. The Feast of Belshazzar. The Three Roses. He and She. "On the th instant, Dro\yned whilst Bath- ing." Dream-land. A ma Future. Llangollen. The Two Wreaths. Almond Bio's"' mi. Sonnet. All Saints' D.iy. 4 CONTENTS. Serenade. The Emigrant. The Three Students. Jam Satis. Aristippus. Effte. To F. C. H. From Sappho. From Anacreon. Nemesis. Love and Life. Two Idylls of Theocritus : By the Fountain. The Spell. Lament of Adonis. Prayer to the Muses. A Dedication. With a Volume of Trans- lations. Dedication of a Book. The Epic of the Lion. Nencia. The Stratford Pilgrims. ' ' Students' Day " in the National Gallery. The Knight's Tomb at Swanscombe Church. Alia Mano Delia Mia Donna. The Hymn of the Priestess of Diana. To a Sleeping Lady. To Stella. Inscribed upon a Skull picked up on the Acro- polis at Athens. The New Lucian. Oxford Revisited. A Duet. , The Altar of Pity. The Cholera in Italv. : The Wreck of the ■' Nor- thern Belle." A Home Song. Fond Fancies. On a Dead Lady. Lydia. The Lost Pleiad. Amadis of Gaul to Don Quixote de la Mancha. The Shadow of the Cross. Christ Blessing Little Chil- dren. On a Cyclamen. The Twelve Months. In Westminster Abbey. Atalanta. Life. Hadrian's Address to his Soul. The Depths of the Sea. The Heavenly Secret. An Adieu. Jeanne. A Farewell. A Love-Song of Henri Quatre. In Memory of S. S. Epitaph written for the Same. Obscure Martyrs. Wilfred H. Arnold. The Rhine and the Mo- selle. Sir )£5wfn Hrnol&'s Selecteb poems. OPINIONS OF THE PRESS. Daily Telegraph. — "Among so much- that is striking in thought or diction it may be difficult to select favourites, and im- possible to award absolute priority of merit; but the short set of verses called ^ Atalanta,' and another on Mr. Burn Jone^s picture of 'The Mermaid; entitled ' The Depths of the Sea,' come as near poetical perfection as any in a volume which will delight all to whom English poetry is dear." Morning Post.— " Sir Edwin Arnold, in the work under notice, purposely turns from the glowing magic of his Eastern verse, and complies 'with a desire that a selection should be made from his non-Orietttal poems' There is consequently great variety in this volume, which contains also jnany fine and scholarly renderings from French, German, and other poets, besides some ' new pieces' " Echo. — " tVe thank the author for this volume of selected non- Oriental poems, which contaiti many things which the world would not willingly let die!' St. James' Gazette. — "Assuredly as Catholic as it is musical." Manchester Guardian. — "Exceedingly pleasant verse." Scotsman. — "A goodly volume of goodly verse. . . . These poems are of uniformly exquisite workmanship, and in many the verse is rich and glowing. They are all inspired by pure a>td lofty sentiment and noble ideas. They possess unusual grace of form and expression!' Saturday Review. — "As a selection the volume shows unusual care and discrimination. It comprises some new poems, in addition to many old favourites, sure of welcome by all lovers of poetry!' Westminster Review. — " They are as refreshing as a breath of air after long confinement in a crowded room.!' Bookseller. — "A most masterly composition!' tONDON: KEGAN PAUL, TRENCH, TRUBNER, & CO. L™ S Sir lE&wfn! HrnoI5's poetical Morfts. Crown 8vo, pp. x. and 212, cloth, price 7s. 6d. WITH SA'DI IN THE GARDEN; OR, THE BOOK OF LOVE. Being the " Ishk " or Third Chapter of the " Bostan " of the Persian Poet Sa'di. Embodied in a Dialogue held in the Garden of the Taj Mahal, at Agra. BY Sir EDWIN ARNOLD, M.A., K.C.I.E., C.S I., Author of " The Light of Asia," &c. &c. In this work, which is dedicated to the Earl of Dufferin, the Author, after minutely describing the beautiful Tomb and surrounding Gardens of the Taj Mahal, introduces a group composed of a learned Mirza, two singing-girls with their attendant, and an Englishman, who pass the night in the Mosque attached to the famous Monument, reading the Cha,pter of Sa'di upon " Love," and conversing upon that theme, with accompaniments of music and dancing. The larger portion of the Book is original, and comprises, besides the included translations from Sa'di, many lyrical pieces in- the Persian manner, sung by the accomplished musicians^ and also several novel Oriental Tales illustrating the dialogue. Sir E&win Hrnol&'s "Mitb Sa'&f." OPINIONS OF THE PRESS. Morning Post — '''' From first to last Sir Edwin Arnold's work is rich in gems of thought, conveyed now in words of brilliant imagery, sometimes of deeper import, again of exquisite feeling, but testifying one and all to his absolute assimilation of the genius of the East." Daily Telegraph. — "The chartn of the volume is greatly en- hanced by the mingling of dramatic narrative with love, lore and philosophy ; and those who in this shape first become acquainted with Sa'di's poetry and quaint wisdom will owe a lasting debt of gratitude to the accomplished translator." Echo. — "Another volume of charming verse from the far East. . . . That they are charming there can be no question : the only question is whether they are not too charming — so charming as to be almost enervating" Academy. — ". . . The perusal of these poems has something of the effect of a change of climate: we open the book, and forth- with leave behind our modern practical life, to find ourselves in a spiritual region of yearning, and ecstasy and high-strung devotion. We close it, and come back to our work-a-day with a feeling as if we had been breathing a softer and purer air" Spectator. — " The plan of Sir Edwin Arnold's latest poem is simple but ingenious. . . . He displays a considerable com- mand of picturesque imagery, and a flowing narrative style. His verse is ofteti melodious." Whitehall Review. — " We could quote and quote and quote again, filling our columns with orient pearls, and yet leave the treasures of this book well-nigh untouched." British Weekly. — "His verse has all its old dreamy charm; one could give himself up to it in the sun for hours" St. Stephen's Review. — "' Sc^di's' poems go straight to the heart. . . ■ It is not going too far to say, thai for captivating interest, for situations on which the mind hangs spell-bound, and for exquisite touches of human nature and sublimest pathos, the author of ' The Light of Asia' has in this exquisite idyl surpassed himself" Literary World. — " We hope Sir Edwin Arnold will long be spared to give us inore of his delightful and scholarly Oriental poems, instinct as they are with the truest spirit of Eastern philosophy and life" Liverpool Mercury. — "Glowing with sensuousness, the light, the colour of the East. . . . The ballads atid love songs are especially fine, and the work as a whole will add to its author's already not inconsiderable fame" LONDON : KEGAN PAUL, TRENCH, TRUBNER, & CO. LIP 7 Sir ]E^wfn Hrnol&'s poetical TKaorfts. Crown 8vo, pp. viii. and 264, cloth, price 7s. 6d. LOTUS AND JEWEL. CONTAINING "IN AN INDIAN TEMPLE," "A CASKET OF GEMS," "A QUEEN'S REVENGE." IVtik other Ppems. By Sir EDWIN ARNOLD, M.A., K.C.I.E., C.S.I., &c. &c. CONTENTS. In'an Indian Temple. A;CasketofGems. Introduction. F. Fire-opals. A. Amethysts. N. Nephrite, Jade. N. Nacre and Pearls. y. Yacut, Topazes. •Si.. Moonstone. A. Aquamarine. R. Rubies. I. Idocrase, Garnets. A. Agates. A. Amber and Lazulite. D. Diamonds. E. Emeralds. L. Ligure, Jacynths. A. An Aureus. I. lolite and Ivory. D. Dawn-stone. E. Euclase and Essonite. Laila. In Westminster Abbey. Atalanta. Life {from Victor Hugo). Hadrian's Address to his Soul. The Depths of the Sea. The Heavenly Secret. An Adieu. The Indian Judge. Jeanne {from Victor Hugo). A Rajpflt Nurse. Zanouba'sSong {from the Persian). The Snake and the Baby. From a Sikh Hymn. A Farewell {from the French). A Love-Song of Henri Quatre. From the Sanskrit Anthology. Basti Singh's Wife. In Memory of S. S. Epitaph on the Same. From the Sanskrit. Grishma; or, The Season of Heat. A Queen's Revenge. sir E5wfn arttol5's "Xotus ant> Jewel.' OPINIONS OF THE PRESS. Daily Telegraph. — "Steepedin ike lore and penetrated with the love of India, Sir Edwin Arnold has accomplished that which few other men would venture to attempt. He has brought to English ears and English hearts the strange and wonderful meanings of the Vedas and the Puranas, blending the mystery of Hinduism with the clear and noble sweetness of English verse." Daily News. — " If Sir Edwin Arnold owes his inspiration as a poet to Indian air, where his imagination loves to dwell, and his fancy seems radiant with all the light and colour and redolent of all the perfumes of the East, he has in these pages shown that a poet is a poet all the world over, wherever the still sad music of humanity is heardP Pall Mall Gazette. — "Fully maintains Sir Edwin Arnold's reputation. It contains three principal poems, of which the first in order, ^In an Indian Temple,' seems to us the best. The second, 'A Casket of Gems,' is full of delicate and graceful fancy, its diction is rich even to gorgeousness, while passages showing depth of feeling occur again and again. The third, '■A Queen's Revenge,' is a translation from the Sanskrit of the Mahdbhdrata. Powerful certainly it is, and it casts, as the author remarks, a curious light on ' ancient Indian life and manners' " Echo. — " Sir Edwin Arnold is always very pleasant read- ing. He takes us out of our surroundings, and puts us down in an entirely different country!' Whitehall Review. — "Sir Edwin Arnold is a poet, a schoiar, and a student ; he knows what he is writing about, and he writes beautifully. . . . He has brought many precious Eastern things to our market, and so we are very grateful to him.." Academy. — " The book is full of charm." Bristol Mercury. — "Every one who loves poetry should get this collection, and we shall be surprised if they do not say, when they have read it, that the writer is a true poet'' Scotsman. — "Style and rhythm are, as in all this author's poems, rich and melodious, the imagery is beautiful and appro- priate, and the thoughts warm and noble." LONDON : KEGAN PAUL, TRENCH, TRUBNER, & CO. L™ A 2 9 Sir JEbwin arnol5's iPoetfcal Morfts. Crown 8vo, pp. xiv. and 173, cloth, price 5s. THE SONG CELESTIAL; Or, BHAGAVAD-GITA. {From the Mahdbhdrata.) Being a Discourse between Arjuna, Prince of India, and the Supreme Being, under the form of Krishna. Translated from the Sanskrit. By Sir EDWIN ARNOLD, M.A., K.C.I.E., C.S.I., &c. &c. CONTENTS. The Distress of Arjuna. The Book of Doctrines. Virtue in Work. The Religion of Knowledge. Religion of Renouncing Workf. Religion by Self-Restraint. Religion by Discernment. Religion by Service of the Supreme. Religion by the Kingly Knowledge and the Kingly Mystery. Religion by the Heavenly Perfections. The Manifesting of the One and Manifold. Religion of Faith. Religion by Separation of Matter and Spirit. Religion by Separation from the Qualities. Religion by Attaining the Supreme. The Separateness of the Divine and Undivine. Religion by the Threefold Faith. Religion by Deliverance and Renunciation. Sir JEbwfn Hrnol&'s "Song Celestial." OPINIONS OF THE PRESS. Times of India. — "Sir Edwin Arnold has, in fact, presented us with a new poem of beautiful diction and splendid rhythm, as indeed might have been expected from such a master of the intricacies of versification^ Morning Post. — " Sir Edwin Arnold has once more enriched our literature with a treasure drawn from the mine of Indian lore. . . If ' The Song Celestial' offers less narrative interest than other works previously translated by Sir Edwin Arnold, it excels them in elevation of tone, the effect of which is rendered still more complete by the author's power and grace of diction.'' Literary World. — " Sir Edwin Ar/iold merits our warmest thanks for his scholarly and highly poetic rendering of this famous poem." Liverpool Mercury. — " 0«a feels the better for a book like this which Sir Edwin Arnold has given us. That fulness of thought and simplicity of presentment which everywhere distin- guishes Eastern literature is nowhere more conspicuous than in this adm.irable translation. The blank verse is strong and yet pliable, easy to read and very musical, clear and yet strenuous'' Leeds Mercury. — "Sir Edwin Arnold has again achieved a notable success in a difficult task . . . he has given us a most readable and attractive metrical translation of the loftiest and purest of the episodes of the huge Mahdbhdraia." Sheffield Independent. — "In Sir Edwin Arnold's tram- lations these exquisite melodies captivate the English ear, and lead one to wonder what they must be like in the Sanskrit text." Christian World. — "Far surpasses its predecessors in poetic grace and attractiveness'' LONDON : KEGAN PAUL, TRENCH, TRUBNER, & CO. LI? II Sir ]6&win Hrnolb's ipoetlcal Morfes. Crown 8vo, pp. viii. and 406, doth, price 7s. 6d. THE SECRET OF DEATH. {From the Sanskrit.) WITH SOME COLLECTED POEMS. By Sir EDWIN ARNOLD, M.A., K.C.I.E., C.S.L, &c &c. CONTENTS. Introduction. The Secret of Death. Hero and Leander. The Epic of the Lion. Nencia. The Rajpoot Wife. The Caliph's Daughter. The Stratford Pilgrims. Vernier. King Saladin. The Rajah's Ride. A Bihari Mill-Song. Hindoo Funeral Song. Song of the Serpent-Charmers. Song of the Flour-Mill. "Students' Day" in the National Gallery. The Knight's Tomb at Swanscombe Church. Adelaide Anne Procter. The Three Roses. AUa Mano Delia Mia Donna, The Hymn of the Priestess of Diana. To a Sleeping Lady. To Stella. Lines Inscribed on a Skull picked up on the Acropolis at Athens. Dedication of a Poem from the Sanskrit. The New Lucian. On the Death of the Princess Alice. Fades Non Omnibus Una. Armageddon. The Four Crowns. Havelock in Trafalgar Square, Oxford Revisited. A Duet. The Altar of Pity. The Cholera in Italy. Rest. The First Distribution of the Victoria Cross. TheWreck of the " Northern Belle." A Home Song. Fond Fancies. The Landing of the Princess of Wales. To F*. C. H. He and She. On a Dead Lady (from the Italian). The Three Students. Serenade. Lydia (from Horace). Dante and his Verses. The Lost Pleiad. Amadis of Gaul to Don Quixote de la Mancha. The Shadow of the Cross. Christ Blessing Little Children. On a Cyclamen, Plucked at Cana of Galilee. A Discourse of Buddha. The Twelve Months. A Dedication. Translation from the Greek. Sir JEbwin Hrnol&'s "Secret of 2)eatb." OPINIONS OF THE PRESS. Morning Post. — "Eack new work of Sir Edwin Arnold's shows his style to be as vigorous, his imagination as fertile as ever. He is unequalled as an exponent of the treasures to be found in the rich mine of Oriental literature. . . . In the first three ' Vallis' or '■Lotus Stems' of the ^ Katha Upanishad,' the purest philosophical doctrines are conveyed in a species of par- ables, full of Oriental imagery and vivid colouring!' Daily Telegraph. — ^^ Nothing can exceed the graceful purity, the sympathetic and reverent tenderness, with which ' this lovely lotus-blossom ' is unfolded by its faithful admirer'' Globe. — " The story is told with a truly Oriental wealth of imagery, and is no less vivid in its landscape than subtle in its philosophy" Morning Advertiser. — ^'' Every poem in the present collection will amply sustain Sir Edwin Arnold's reputation as a writer of English verse of undoubted originality, versatility, and power." Scotsman. — "Translations and . original poems alike give proof of a scholarly and cultured taste, and of grace and dignity of diction; and not seldom of a fine combination of vigour of phrase with delicacy of thought'' Illustrated London News. — ''''He has drawn upon the treasures of Sanskrit, Greek, Latin, French, and German, for his varied and interesting collection; and his touch is that not only of a cunning hand, but of one who feels that respect is due to what he touches" The Whitehall Review. — " The poem is a great, almost a priceless, contribution to religion, to poetry, and to thought'' Literary World. — "/^ can hardly fail to meet with a cordial welcome from those readers who never tire of the humbler poetry which sings of lovi, and loss, and longing— themes as old as life itself, but which never lose their freshness and their charm. A collection of poems like this, in which are gathered together the gleanings and the memories of many years, is to a sympathetic reader almost like an hour of talk face to face; we expect a book and we find a man." LONDON : KEGAN PAUL, TRENCH, TRUBNER, & CO. LIP 13 Sir Ebwtn Hrnolb's ipoetical Morfts. Crown 8vo, pp. xii. and 282, cloth, price 7s. 6d. INDIAN IDYLLS. {From the Sanskrit of the MahMhdrata.) By Sir EDWIN ARNOLD, M.A., K.C.I.E., C.S.I., &c. &c. CONTENTS. SAVITRl ; OR, LOVE AND DEATH. NALA AND DAMAYANTI. THE ENCHANTED LAKE. THE SAINT'S TEMPTATION. THE BIRTH OF DEATH. THE NIGHT OF SLAUGHTER. THE GREAT JOURNEY. THE ENTRY INTO HEAVEN. EXTRACT FROM PREFACE. "The present volume contains (besides the two Parvas from my ' Indian Poetry ') such translations as I have from time to time made out of this prodigious epic (the Mah^bharata), which is sevenfold greater in bulk than the Iliad and Odyssey taken together. The stories here extracted are new to English literature, with the exception of a few passages of the ' S^vitrl ' and the ' Nala and Damayantl,' which was long ago most faithfully rendered by Dean Milman, the version being published side by side with a clear and excellent Sanskrit text edited by Professor Monier Williams, CLE. But that presentation of the beautiful and brilliant legend, with all its conspicuous merits, seems better adapted to aid the student than adequately to reproduce the swift march of narrative and old-world charm of the Indian tale, which I also have therefore ventured to transcribe, with all deference and gratitude to my predecessors." 14 Sir EOwtn arnolD's "5nMan 3&^Us." OPINIONS OF THE PRESS. Daily Telegraph. — "Nodody who reads the heart-stirring epics put into magnificent rhythm, which are contained in this book can ever again affect to despise the people whose genius established such an imperishable momiment." Daily News. — ^^ From these mighty poems the author well describes these Indian epics, compared with which Homer is a modem ; he has translated some beautiful and touching episodic legends, and readers of ' Sdvitrij or, Love and Death' and of ' Nala and Damayanit,' for example, will feel grateful to him for having revealed to the somewhat jaded sensibilities of our poets of to-day such a mine of inexhaustible spiritual fertility, and such treasures of emotional tenderness and imaginative freshness and simplicity." Globe. — ^^ All the idylls are marked by the grace of diction and tenderness of tone which are among Sir Edwin Arnold's leading characteristics, while it needs scarcely to be said that the style is pure and elevated throughout. The imagery, too, is full offeree and fire." Fortnightly Review. — "In his recently published volume of ' Indian Idylls^ Sir Edwin A mold continues his task of interpret- ing to English readers the tender thoughts and graceful imagery of the East. The volume consists of eight graphic pieces from the ' Mahdbhdrata,' one of the two colossal and unparalleled epic poems of India, which were not known to Europe even by name till Sir William Jones announced their existence!' St. James's Gazette.— "^zV" Edwin Arnold has eaten of the lotus-fruit of Eastern song, and finds it hard to leave it. And of this we are far from complaining, seeing that this taste of his has enabled many of us to travel into "■ realms of gold' which we could hardly enter without some such skilful guide!' New York Times. — ''^ The ^Indian Idylls' partake of the same character as his previous works, ' The Light of Asia,' ' Pearls of the Faith,' and others, being deeply imbued with the spirit of Oriental poetry, and having the power of rendering that spirit in English language with a verisimilitude and force which cannot fail to convince the reader of the truth of its colouring." LONDON : KEGAN PAUL, TRENCH, TRUBNER, & CO. LI? 15 sir JB^xoin SmolS's poetical Mor??s. Crown 8vo, pp. xiv. and 320, with green borders, cloth, price 7s. 6d. PEARLS OF THE FAITH; Or, ISLAM'S ROSARY. Being the Ninety-nine Beautiful Names of Allah (Asma,-el-'Husnd). tVM Comments in Verse from various Oriental Sources. As made by an Indian Mussulman. % Sir EDWIN ARNOLD, M.A., K.C.I.E., C.S.I., &c. &c. CONTENTS. AUah. Al-Ghafir. Al-Muktadir. Ar-Rahman. Ash-Shakir. Al-Mukaddim. Ar-Raheeiii. Al-'Alee. Al-Mflakhkhir. Al-Maiik. Al-Kabir. Al-Awwal. Al-Kuddfls. Al-Hafiz. Al-lkhir. As-Samm. Al-Muklt. Ath-Thahir. Al-Maumin. Al-Haslb. Al-Batin. Al-Muhaimin. Al-Jamll. Ai-waii. Al-Hathim. AI-Karim. Al-Mutahaii. Al-Jabbar. Ar-Raklb. Al-Barr. Al-Mutakabbir. Al-Mujlb. Al-Tawwab. Al-Khalik. Al-Was'ih. Al-Muntakim. Al-Bari. Al-Hftkim al Mutlak, Al-Ghafoor. Al-Muzawwir. Al-Wadood. Al-Rawflf. Al-Ghaffar. Al-Maj!d. Maiik-ul-Mulki. Ai-Kahhir. Al-BaWlli. Dhu'l jaiai wa Ikram Al-Wahhab. Ash-Shahld. Al-Muksit. Ar-RazzSk. Al-Hakk. Al-Jami'h. Al-FatVh. Al-Wakll. Al-Ghanl. Al-'Alim. Al-Kawi. Al-Mughnt. Al-Kabiz. Al-Mateen. Al-Mu'hti. Al-Blsit. Al-Walt. Al-Mani'h. Al-Khafiz. Al-Hamld. An-Nafi'h. Ar-Rafi. Al-Mfthsi. Az-Zarr. Al-Muhizz. Al-Mubdl. An-Noor. Al-MuzlU. Al-Mu'hld. Al-Hadi. As-Saml'h. Al-Mo'hyi. Al-Azali. Al-Ranlr. Al-Mumlt. Al-Bakl. Al-Hakim. Al-Haiy. Al-Warith. Al-Hadil. Al-Kalyftm. Ar-Raschld. Al-Latlf. Al-Wa id. Az-Zaboor. Al-Khab!r. Al-Wahid. Al-Hai!m. As-Samad. Notes. Al-'Aziz. Al-Kadar. 16 Sir Etjwfn Hrnol&'s "pearls of tbe jfaftb." OPINIONS OF THE PRESS. Times. — "Sir Edwin Arnold has succeeded in producing a delightful collection of Oriental stories in verse" Illustrated London News (G. A.- Sala). — " I am reading Sir Edwin Arnold's book with intense delight, for the sake of its majesty and eloquence, its wealth and beauty of imagery, and its sweet and harmonious numbers." Daily Telegraph. — "// will take its place in contemporary literature as of the highest class." Standard. — "Sir Edwin Arnold has caught the spirit of the Eastern original, so childlike and yet so sage, so simple yet so profound, so tender in feeling yet so strong in sense." Daily News. — " In the present poem he sets to musical words the rosary of an Indian Mussulman, and really displays an astonishing wealth and variety of mystical and devotional imagery and allegory, not without a keen perception of the finer and larger human feeling and instinct which has given to the faith of the Moslem its fascination, and is, perhaps, the secret ofitspower." Daily Chronicle. — " The subject is invested with fascinating beauty by the wealth of Oriental illustrations displayed." Scotsman. — "Sir Edwin Arnold brings to the performance of his task peculiar qualifications — great poetic gifts, broad sympathies, and extensive knowledge of Oriental tongues, ideas, and methods of thought" Society. — "There is such a delightful imagery and rhyth- mical cadence in every line that it positively thrills one with a feelins; of abounding pleasure. The air of pure devotion, the unsurpassable power of description, the inimitable eloquence and wonderful grace, displayed with a lavish profusion, render this work almost peerless" Vanity Fair. — " We cordially recommend this book to those who know the world of Islam and to those who do not. The fortner will be pleased to see in an English dress that which they have admired in its Eastern garb ; the latter will be sur- prised to find how much the Mohammedan traditions resemble those which they have been accustomed to revere both in the Old Testament and the New, and 'to admire in some of the more solemn portions of the ^Arabian Nights!" LONDON : KEGAN PAUL, TRENCH, TRUBNER, & CO. L™ 17 Sir ]£5win HrnoIO's poetical Morfts. Post 8vo, pp. viii. and 270, cloth, price 7s. 6d. INDIAN POETRY: Containing "The Indian Song of Songs," From the Sanskrit of the " Gita Govinda " ofjayadevaj Two Books from " The Iliad of India" {Mahdbhdrata), "Proverbial Wisdom" from the Shlokas of the Hitopadesa, and other Oriental Poems. By Sir EDWIN ARNOLD, M.A., K.C.I.E., C.S.I., &c. &c. CONTENTS. The Indian Song of Songs — Introduction. Hymn to Vishnu. Sarga the First — The Sports of Krishna. Sarga the Second — The Penitence of Krishna. Sarga the Third— Krishna Troubled. Sarga the Fourth — Krishna cheered. Sarga the Fifth — The Longings of Krishna. Sarga the Sixth — Krishna made bolder. Sarga the Seventh — Krishna supposed False. Sarga the Eighth— The Rebuking of Krishna. Sarga the Ninth — The End of Krishna's Trial. Sarga the Tenth — Krishna in Paradise. Sarga the Eleventh — The Union of Radha and Krishna. Miscellaneous Oriental Poems — The Rajpoot Wife. King Saladin. The Caliph's Draught. Hindoo Funeral Song. Song of the Serpent Charmers. Song of the Flour-Mill. Taza ba Taza. The Mussulman Paradise. Dedication of a Poem from the Sanskrit. The Rajah's Ride. Two Books from the " Iliad of India," The Great Journey. The Entry into Heaven. The Night of Slaughter. The Morning Prayer. Proverbial Wisdom from the Shlokas of the Hitopadesa. 18 Sir Ebwln Htnol5's "5n5fan poetry." OPINIONS OF THE PRESS. Times.— "/« ihis new volitme Sir Edwin Arnold does good sefvice by illustrating, through the medium of his musical English melodies, the power of Indian poetry to stir European emotions. ' The Indian Song of Songs ' is not unknown to scholars. Sir Edwin Arnold will have introduced it among popular English poems!' Morning Post. — " Complete mastery of the English language, combined with genuine poetic fervour, has enabled the translator of'' The Indian Song of Songs' to spread before his readers a feast of dulcet sounds and lyrical language. Music seems to flow from his pen as naturally as rain from, the cloud or song from the throat of the thrush!' Standard. — " The poem abounds with imagery of Eastern luxuriousness and sensuousness j the air seems laden with the spicy odours of the tropics, and the verse has a richness and a melody sufficient to captivate the senses of the dullest" Scotsman. — " Sir Edwin Arnold has translated into English verse, from the original Sanskrit, 4he ' Gita Govinda, or Song of Govind,' a sort of Indian parallel to the Hebrew song so called of Solomon. . . . Sir Edwin Arnold exhibits himself a master of the accomplishment of verse. . . . The volume furnishes an hour's very agreeable and refined poetical reading!' Academy. — "/i? has been reserved to Sir Edwin Arnold to give us such a version as can convey to the European reader an adequate idea of the beauty of Jayadevds verse. It is the best yet published, and is not likely to be soon surpassed!' London Quarterly Review. — " Sir Edwin Arnold has be- stowed his unquestionable poetic talents on a very worthy object in translating the Sanskrit idyll, ' Gita Govind^ into English verse. . . . '' The Indian Song of Songs' is distinctly a new pos- session for the lovers of English exotic poetry!' Overland Mail. — " The translator, while producing a very enjoyable poem, has adhered with tolerable fidelity to the original text!' The Englishman (Calcutta). — "/» Sir Edwin Arnold this beautiful composition has found at once an elegant translator. He has contrived to present the ^ Song of Songs' in a dress, while it preserves the spirit of the original, that can hardly fail to fascinate the English reader. It has none of the stiffness of a translation, and no more of strangeness than necessarily belongs to Oriental metaphor and imagery!' LONDON : KEGAN PAUL, TRENCH, TRUBNER, & CO. LIP 19 Sir lE&win 2lrnoI5'8 poetical Morhs. Crown 8vo, pp. xii. and 294, cloth, price 7s. 6d. Elzevir 8vo, printed on hand-made paper, 6s. Pott 8vo, cloth gilt, or half parchment uncut, price 3s. 6d. THE LIGHT OF ASIA; Or, the great RENUNCIATION. {Mahabhinishkramana!) Being the Life and Teaching of Gautama, Prince of India, and Founder of Buddhism. (As told in Verse by an Indian Buddhist.) By Sir EDWIN ARNOLD, M.A., K.C.LE., C.S.I., &c. &c. An Illustrated Edition is also published, Small 4to cloth, price 21s. EXTRACT FROM PREFACE. " In the following poem I have sought, by the medium of an imaginary Buddhist votary, to depict the life and character and indicate the philosophy of that noble hero and -eformer, Prince Gautama of India, the founder of Buddhism. "A generation ago little or nothing was known in Europe of this great faith of Asia, which had neverthele* existed during twenty-four centuries, and at this day surpasses, in the number of its followers and the area of its prevalence, any other form of creed. Four hundred and seventy millions of our race live and die in the tenets of Gautama ; and the spiritual domi- nions of this ancient teacher extend, at the present time, from Nepaul and Ceylon, over the whole Eastern Peninsula, to China, Japan, Thibet, Cen- tral Asia, Siberia, and even Swedish Lapland, India itself might fairly be included in this magnificent Empire of Belief ; for though the profession of Buddhism has for the most part passed away from the land of its birth, the mark of Gautama's subUme teaching is stamped inefiaceably upon modem Brahmanism, and the most characteristic habits and convictions of the Hindus are clearly due to the benigu influence of Buddha's precepts. More than a third of mankind, tliereiore, owe tlieir moral and religious ideas to this illustrious prince ; whose personality, though imperfectly re- vealed in the existing sources of information, cannot but appear the highest, gentlest, holiest, and most beneficent, with one exception, in the history of thought. . . . To Gautama has consequently been granted this stupendous conquest of humanity ; and — though he discountenanced ritual, and de- clared himself, even when on the threshold of Nirvana, to be only what all other men might become — the love and gratitude of Asia, disobeying his mandate, have given him fervent worship. Forests of flowers are daily laid upon his stainless shrines, and countless millions of lips daily repeat the formula, ' I take refuge in Buddha ! ' ' ' The Buddha of this poem — if, as need not be doubted, he really existed — was born on the borders of Nepaul about 620 B.C., and died about S43 B.C. at Kusinagara in Oudh. In point of age, therefore, most other creeds are youthful compared with this venerable religion, which has in it the eternity of a universal hope, the immortality of a boundless love, an indestructible element of faith in final good, and the proudest assertion ever made of human freedom. . . . My purpose has been attained if any just conception be here conveyed of the lofty character of this noble prince, and of the general purport df his doctrines.' Sit Efcwfn 2lrnol5's "Xlgbt of Hsia." OPINIONS OF THE PRESS. International Review (Oliver Wendell Holmes). — "// is a work of ^r eat beauty. It tells a story of intense interest, which never flags for a moment; its descriptions are drawn by the hand of a master with the eye of a poet and the familiarity of an expert with the objects described; its tone is so lofty that there is nothing with which to compare it but the New Testa- ment; it is Jull of variety, now picturesque, now pathetic, now rising into the noblest realms of thought and aspiration; it finds language penetrating, fluent, elevated, impassioned, musi- cal always, to clothe its varied thoughts and sentiments." MoRNiNa Post. — " Sir Edwin Arnold, one of the most musical and thoughtful of modem writers of verse, has given to the world in The Light of Asia' a poem which is for many reasons remarkable. . . . Not the least of his merits is thai he writes such pure and delicious English. . . . '■ The Light of Asia' is a noble and worthy poem" Spectator.— "/"er/^rt^j the only poetic account in a European tongue of an Asiatic faith which is at all adequate, and which seems destined to bring its author a singular fate. It is being translated into Asiatic tongues; and it is quite possible that two hundred years hence Sir Edwin Arnold, half forgotten at home, except by students, may amongst the innumerable peoples who profess Buddhism be regarded as a psalmist'' Bookseller. — " The subtle melody of Sir Edwin Arnolds verse, apart Jroin the absorbing interest of his theme, is more than sufficient to account for the sustained favour with which his wonderful poem is regarded." Calcutta Englishman. — "/« Sir Edwin Arnold, Indian poetry and Indian thought have at length found a worthy Eng- lish exponent. He brings to his work the facility of a ready pen, a thorough knowledge of his subject, a great sympathy for the people of this country, and a command of public attention at home" THE ILLUSTEATBD EDITION. Times — ^'^ The volume diflr'ers agreeably from most modern editions de luxe in being of a portable size." Athen/eum. — "Our notice of the illustrated edition of the '■Light of Asia' may be confined to the neat and careful wood- cuts which illustrate the text— almost all Buddhist sculptures selected to suit the poem, some of them, being 2000 years old, and representing scenes in the life of Gautama Buddha, the founder of Buddhism and hero of Sir Edwin Arnold's verse" Saturday Reviews. — '■'■ Admirers of Sir Edwin Arnold's suave and melodious verse will welcome the illustrated edition de luxe of the '■Light of Asia,' which is handsome in paper and print, and of convenient bulk" LONDON : KEGAN PAUL, TRENCH, TRUBNER, & CO. L™ 21 Sir 3E^wtn Hrnol&'s ©riental iPoetrg. UNIFORM EDITION. The following Eight Volumes may be had,' uniform in size and binding, price £z, 8s. Sold only in Sets. THE LIGHT OF ASIA; Or, the great RENUNCIATION. INDIAN POETRY: THE INDIAN SONG OF SONGS, &c. PEARLS OF THE FAITH; Or, ISLAM'S ROSARY. INDIAN IDYLLS. FROM THE SANSKRIT. THE SECRET OF DEATH. FROM THE SANSKRIT. THE SONG CELESTIAL; Or, BHAGAVAD-GITA. From the Sanskrit. LOTUS AND JEWEL. With Translations from the Sanskrit. WITH SA'DI IN THE GARDEN; Or, the book OF LOVE. For description of the separate volumes, see previous pages. LONDON : KEGAN PAUL, TRENCH, TRUBNER, & CO. L™ aSs tbe same autbor. rown 8vo, pp. 324, cloth, price 73. 6d. INDIA REVISITED. BY Sir EDWIN ARNOLD, M.A., K.C.I.E., C.S.I., &c. &c. With Thirty-two Full-Page Illustrations, from Photographs selected by the Author. "It is beyoiid all comparison the very best description of India, as it looks to the intelligent European traveller, that ever •was written. Numbers of us have seen India as Sir Edwin Arnold saw itj but only a m,an of genius could have thrown his impressions upon paper in the way that he has done. No one, whether he knows the country or does not know it, will rise from the perusal of the volume without a quickened sense of the vast responsibilities which we have undertaken in India, and a quickened ajfection for the Indian people." — The Right Hon. Sir M. E. Grant-Duff, ex-Governor of Madras, in the " Contemporary Review." Spectator. — "iVo one who takes it up will lay it down unfinished, and no one will lay it down without knowing that he has obtained something he never possessed before, that he has solidly benefited in some way which even to himself he can hardly explain. . . . The reader has seen India, or part of it, as if he had been there himself." Morning Post. — " The most graphic account of the peoples, ideas, and aspects of contemporary India which has hitherto been produced." ATHENyEUM, — " A series of glowing word-pictures. The illus- trations, copied seemingly from photographs, are numerous and well-chosen, especially the architectural views." Birmingham Daily Post. — " We know of no book of so unpre- tending a nature which imparts so 7nuch valuable information on India" Manchester Examiner. — " We cannot help unconsciously identifying ourselves, until we almost believe that we are indeed hearing and seeing the things of which we are reading." Scotsman. — " Written in a charming style. . . . Scenes and characters are brjia^ht before the mind with a wondrous reality" Asiatic Quarterly Review. — " The perusal of Sir Edwin Arnold's pages is an intellectual and humanising treat." Indian Daily News (Calcutta). — "Those of us who have had experience of Indian life can follow him, and live our lives again in his pages" Times of India. — " A charming book." LONDON : KEGAN PAUL, TRENCH, TRUBNER, & CO. LI? 23 3Bs tbe same Hutbor. Crown 8vo, pp. 62, cloth, price is. 6d. ; paper, is. DEATH-AND AFTERWARDS. BY Sir EDWIN ARNOLD, M.A., K.C.I.E., C.fe.I., &c. &c.. Author of " The Light of Asia," &c. Reprinted, with Supplementary Comments, from the Fortnightly Review. Morning Post. — '''' Its views are nov^l, and of ten consoling, and the manner in which they are expressed has the refined grace of all which proceeds from. Sir Edwin Arnold's pen." Globe. — " There is much matter for reflection in these thought- fulpages." Echo. — " Profoundly interesting." Westminster Review. — '■'■Has no doubt been read with plea- sure by many" Manchester Guardian. — ".(4 notable essay on the problem of immortality. . . . Sir Edwin Arnold's booklet is likely to attract attention'' Bristol Mercury. — " There are, undoubtedly, many original and quaint ideas set forth in the book" Aberdeen Daily Free Press. — " This subtle and suggestive essay on tju immortality of the soul, by one of the most cultured of living poets . . . is inspired by a pure and emphatic faith, based on thorough scholarship and poetic insight!' British Weekly. — '■^ Sir Edwin Arnold has been wisely advised in reprinting from the Fortnightly Review his article, ^ Death — and Afterwards! It effectually breaks windows through the prison walls which materialism and unbelief build around us, and suffers us to breathe an ampler air. Nothing could surpass these few pages in felicity of statement or in persuasiveness. " LONDON : KEGAN PAUL, TRENCH, TRUBNER, & CO. LIP