7
They are like golden lotuses,
the faces of these beauteous maidens
decorated with leaf designs;
now beads of sweat on them appearing
provide a new aspect,
like lovely pearls embellishing
a necklace strung with gems.
8
Women turn eager,
indeed impatient,
though the lover
is at their side;
their thoughts are fevered
with deep desire,
and their knots are loosened
with deep sighs.
9
Pale and slender, full of languor,
given to frequent stretches with yawns,
the limbs of damsels thus become,
with the onset of desire,
lovelier still with ardour.
10
In eyes unsteady, dulled with wine,
in pallid cheeks, but bosoms firm,
in slender waists and swelling hips
of women: in many ways
is desire manifest.
11
Desire makes the limbs of girls
loll with a sleepy laziness,
their eyebrows curve, their glances quiver;
their words seek a bit more wine
in the present season.
12
Removing from their breasts, the paint
of saffron, kaliyaka and priyangu,
damsels, with passion languid,
smear them with sandal paste
that has been combined with musk,
the scent from the navels of deer.
13
Taking off the heavy garments
from limbs that were suffused
with the lassitude of love,
these girls soon put on thin clothes
dyed in laksha juice and scented
in the smoke of kalaguru incense.
14
The male cuckoo, intoxicated
with the wine that is but mango juice,
and aroused, kisses its sweetheart,
and the bee inside the lotus flower
also starts a buzz melodious
for pleasing its inamorata.
15
Mango trees, their branches lovely
with blossoms, and bending down
with clusters of coppery sprouts
that are quivering in the wind,
now fill all the hearts of maidens
with ardour and excitement.
16
Their name means the absence of sorrow:
but asoka trees, from the very ground,
now covered in sprouting buds and blooms
of coppery red, like coral beads,
fill the hearts of girls, who behold them,
with a certain sadness.
17
Young vines of atimukta jasmine—
their charming blossoms kissed
by bees that are inebriated,
their soft and tender buds
trembling in a gentle breeze—
fill minds of lovers who now see them
with a sudden eagerness.
18
For lovers who relish the glow
upon the faces of their sweethearts,
on seeing the rival splendour
of new blooms on kurabaka trees,
which heart, my dear, will not be smitten
and tormented by Kama’s arrows?
19
In the woodland, everywhere,
the flame of the forest trees have shed
all their leaves, their branches bent
with flowers bright as blazing fire,
and the earth gleams in the spring,
like a new bride in red attire.
20
Have they not been hurt already,
by flowers from the flame of the forest
that look like the parrot’s beak,
or set on fire by the blossoms
of laburnum trees—
that this cuckoo, with its sweet notes,
now repeatedly strikes the hearts of youths
already set on a pretty girl?
21
The sweet and joyous coos of cuckoos,
and the tipsy buzz of bees
take but a moment to excite
the modest, bashful hearts of brides
even from conventional homes,
sheltered and respectable.
22
Thrilling the branches, full of blooms,
on the mango trees;
spreading the sweet songs of the cuckoos
in every direction;
now free of frost, the lovely spring breeze
charms and steals the hearts of men.
23
Gardens charming
and adorned
with jasmine blossoms
white and gleaming,
like the smile
of a beautiful bride,
steal the hearts
even of sages
free of passion—
what to say
of the minds of men,
sullied and stained by lust?
24
In this month of spring’s advent
with its sweet sounds of cuckoos and bees,
women, with clinging golden girdles
and garlands to their bosoms glued,
their limbs relaxed in the pride of love,
seize by force the hearts of men.
25
Delightful with the cuckoos’ song,
and with a southern breeze suffused,
its perfume provided by
sweet sprinkles of honey
that come with swarms of bees:
may this springtime be for you
the best of times for bliss.
ADDITIONAL VERSES
Autumn
1
A cloudless sky;
no slush on earth;
the waters pure and pleasing;
and a fully clear horizon
speckled by a string of geese,
their delirious cries echoing—
these ornaments the world puts on
with utmost eagerness.
2
Some young women with radiant faces
that outdo the moon,
and fragrant with the scent of flowers,
are so moved by strong desires
that when the lotus blooms, their hand
is by their beloved clasped,
and then, discarding song and music,
they with him into the bedchamber go.
3
In autumn, some pretty maidens
with glows incomparable on their faces,
whose pleasures lie in amorous play,
now reveal them just at midnight
together with their close girlfriends
to signal their enjoyment.
Onset of Winter
4
Frost clings to sprouting shoots
like the tears of winter’s onset;
but men then double fires burn
to shake out pleasure from the flames.
5
Distraught at the absence
of the man that she has married,
a woman, with her doe-like eyes,
looks at the road, now waterless,
as if thus to tell her husband
of the hopes within her heart.
Winter
6
Burning in separation’s fire,
hot, with deep sighs all night,
their eyes swollen with the strain,
young women now move about
with languor in the morning.
7
At the ending of the night—
still reeling from the turmoil
of the efforts, and with their bosoms
all darkened and bruised—
though their lovers did make mistakes,
t
he maids in bed hold on to them
in a constant and close embrace.
Spring
8
Even in houses still cold
with a little bit of frost,
in springtime women scent their hair
with charming champaka blossoms,
and bedeck their breasts with garlands
of other attractive flowers.
9
People wish again for the shade
of trees, and at night, for moonlight;
for sleep, they go to terraces
still cool, but now a bit more pleasant,
and tightly embrace the sweetheart
on account of the cold.
10
On his way, the traveller, seeing
mango trees in bloom before him—
trembling in a gentle breeze
and shedding a host of flowers
of a bright and golden hue—
is struck by arrows of desire;
and his tired body falls down,
as if in a faint.
11
Mocking their gentle, pleasing words
with joyous notes of cuckoos’ songs;
scorning the sparkling teeth their smiles reveal
with the radiance of jasmine blooms;
taunting the glow upon their bud-like hands
with the coral sheen of fresh new sprouts—
in such ways, the spring now makes
fun of all the lovely ladies.
12
With their fair cheeks and faces gleaming
like golden lotuses,
their bosoms, moist with sandal paste,
decked with colourful garlands,
and with yearning glances, women
bent and weighed down by their breasts,
kindle passion even in
the tranquil hearts of sages.
13
With faces like lotus flowers
now scented with wine,
bright eyes with a coppery tinge
like the lodhra bloom,
fine hair braids embellished with
new kurabaka blossoms,
and curvaceous breasts and bottoms,
whom can’t women excite in spring?
14
Hearts even of proud women tremble
with the breezes scented by
the perfume of mango trees,
and echoing with the repeated coos
of amorous pairs of cuckoos,
15
The time of dusk, delightful
with the spreading moonlight;
the air redolent with pleasing scents;
the cooing of male cuckoos;
the maddened buzz of bees in swarms;
and the cups of wine at night—
all these are medicines prescribed
by the warrior armed with flowers.
16
Its red asoka is compared
to the sweetness of her lips;
its row of blooming jasmine,
to her pure and sparkling teeth;
its hum of bees to gentle sounds;
its lotus blossoms to her face.
With its soft breezes scented by
the aroma of the blooming mango,
may this advent of spring and flowers,
preceptor of erotic arts
so dear to the god of love,
bless you with all happiness.
Notes
The numbers given before and in each note indicate the canto and verse under reference. For instance, 2.24 refers to the twenty-fourth verse of the second canto.
Introduction
1. Kuvalayananda of Appaya Diksita (circa 1350-1405 CE. Here translated by A.N.D. Haksar. Taken from his translation of Raghuvamsam of Kalidasa, Penguin Random House India, 2016.
2. Warren Harding Maurer, University of Hawaii at Manoe, in Encyclopedia Americana
3. Introduction by S. Radhakrisnanan, to The Complete Works of Kalidasa, Sahitya Akademi, New Delhi, 1963 .
4. Ritusamhara of Kalidasa, ed. R.P. Dwivedi, Sahitya Akademi, New Delhi, 1990.
5. A.B. Keith, History of Sanskrit Literature, Oxford University Press, London, 1920.
6. M. Winternitz, History of Indian Literature, vol. III, (tr. Subhadra Jha), Motilal Banarsidass, Delhi, 1963.
7. Ritusamhara or The Pageant of the Seasons, tr. R.S. Pandit, The National Information & Publication Ltd., Bombay, 1947.
8. The Ritusamhara of Kalidasa, ed. and tr. M.R. Kale, with commentary by V. Upadhye, Bombay, 1916 (republished Motilal Banarsidass, Delhi, 1967).
9. Dwivedi as in 4 above.
10. Keith as in 5 above.
11. Kalidasa: Date, Life and Works, V.V. Mirashi and N.R. Navlekar, Popular Prakashan, Bombay, 1969.
12. The Seasons, tr. John T. Roberts, Center for Asian Studies, Arizona State University, Tempe, 1990.
13. Dwivedi as in 4 above.
14. Kale as in 8 above.
Canto 1: Summer
5. Lac is laksha in Sanskrit. It is obtained from insect encrustations on some flowering trees. Its juice extract was used as paint for purposes both ceremonial and cosmetic.
13. The snake—cobras—and the peacock are mortal enemies in the Indian tradition. The former is generally visualized as sitting coiled with its hood expanded and raised.
18. Bhadramusta, identified as Cyperus rotundus, is described as a perennial tuberous and quick-spreading herb eaten by some animals.
20. Some snakes with hoods were believed to carry a gem inside them. Cobras traditionally also ate frogs.
24. This flower is kusumbha in Sanskrit. Described as a thistle-like herb with orange-red flowers, it is also used for making dye.
26. The common flowering tree, silk-cotton, is shalmali in Sanskrit.
28. Trumpet is the bright red palasha flower.
Canto 2: Monsoon
2. Called anjana in Sanskrit, collyrium as powder or paste is still used as a cosmetic to darken eyes. See also 1.11.
3. Chataka is the hawk-eyed cuckoo, also known as the brain-fever bird, and called papiha in Hindi. Associated with repeated calls rising to a crescendo, in legend it subsisted only on raindrops it got from clouds.
4. The rainbow.
5. Common in the north Indian rainy season, this well-known beetle of bright red colour with black spots is called indragopaka in Sanskrit and birbahuti in Hindi.
8. Well-known mountain range in central India, also cited in 2.27.
17. Of the generally common trees named in this verse, sarja is Shorea robusta, known as sal in Hindi. Kadamba is Nauclea kadamb, with scented flowers in this season, and nipa is another breed of this tree. Arjuna is the large Terminalia arjuna tree with yellow flowers. It is also used for perfume.
20. See 2.17 above. Kesara, also called bakula in some texts, is Mimusops elengi, the popular flowering tree called Molsari in Hindi. Ketaki, a screw pine called keora in Hindi, is also used for scenting food. Kakubha is another breed of arjuna in 1.17 above.
21. This is the fragrant aloe wood, also used as incense. The Sanskrit name is often prefixed with kala to indicate the colour.
23. See 2.17 and 20 above.
24. For bakula, see 2.20 above. Malati is the large jasmine, popularly used for perfume. Yuthika is another type of jasmine. See 2.17 above for kadamba.
Canto 3: Autumn
1. Kasha is the wild grass Sactharum spontaneum, common in the Gangetic plain, also called munj in Hindi and used for basketmaking. It has a tiny white flower. In autumn, this is often found as a layer of white on green grass.
2. The water lily kumuda is Nymphoheae escculenta. It opens its petals at night and closes them during day, a feature also mentioned in other verses in this work. Devil’s Tree is Alstonia scholaris, in Sanskrit saptaccheda and saptaparna or seven leafed, chatian in Hindi, and also used as medicine. For malati, see 2.24.
3. This small fish is identified as Cyprinus saph
ora. Its sparkle is sometimes compared in Sanskrit poetry to that from girdles worn by women on the hips.
5. Bandhuka is Ixora coecina, a plant with bright red flowers. Also see 2.2 for aloe.
6. The tree, kovidara, is much admired for its profuse yellow flowers with small purple spots.
13. Kutaja is Wrightia zeylamca. For the rest, see 3.2 above and also 2.17.
14. Coral jasmine, in Sanskrit Shephalika, is the well-known tree harsingar or parijata in Hindi, identified as Nycanthea arbortristis. Its fragrant orange flowers are also used for a dye.
15. Kalhara is a white water lily.
18. See 3.5 above and 2.24.
24. Bandhujiva is another name for bandhuka at 3.5 above.
25. See 3.5 above.
Canto 4: Onset of Winter
1. Lodhra is the tree Symplocos racemosa. Its flowers were also used for medicine, and for scenting wine.
5. See 2.21 above.
Canto 5: Winter
5. See 2.21. The black variety of aloe wood was popular as incense.
12. See 5 above.
Canto 6: Spring
4. See 1.24 for this flower.
5. In Sanskrit, laburnum is karnikara. The jasmine here is malika.
12. Kaliyaka is a fragrant yellow wood, like sandalwood. Priyangu is Panicum halicum, with flowers said in legend to bloom at a woman’s touch.
13. See 1.5 and 2.21 above.