ACT IV

Madanika and Sharvilaka

Scene 1

(The same morning after Charudatta discovers the theft of Vasantasena’s ornaments. Vasantasena’s house.)

CHETI: I am on my way to my lady Vasantasena carrying a message from her mother . . . Ah! Here she is, gazing at the drawing board and saying something to Madanika. Let me go to her. (Walks around)

(Vasantasena and Madanika are seen as described by Cheti)

VASANTASENA: Cheti Madanika, do you think this is a good likeness of Arya Charudatta?

MADANIKA: A very good likeness!

VASANTASENA: How can you judge?

MADANIKA: Because my lady’s eyes full of love are glued to it!

VASANTASENA: Madanika, you are carrying courtesy too far speaking thus, a result of having lived with courtesans.

MADANIKA: Do you mean to say, my lady, that whosoever lives in the courtesan district learns to utter courteous falsehoods as polite conversation?

VASANTASENA: Moving with different kinds of men does make a courtesan insincerely courteous.

MADANIKA: Anyway, it is clear that my lady’s eyes and heart are delighted with this portrait; why look for a reason for that?

VASANTASENA: I want to save myself from being teased by my friends.

MADANIKA: No, that is not correct; in general a woman’s friends would understand her wishes and act accordingly.

CHETI: (Comes forward and addresses Vasantasena) My lady, your mother commands thus: ‘The covered carriage has come and is waiting at the side door. You should go now.’

VASANTASENA: Cheti, is it Arya Charudatta who has sent this carriage for me?

CHETI: Jewellery worth ten thousand sovereigns has also been sent along with the carriage.

VASANTASENA: Who is he then?

CHETI: This is the brother-in-law of the king, Samsthanaka.

VASANTASENA: (With anger) Go away! Don’t ever talk to me like this again!

CHETI: Please forgive me, madam! I am only the messenger!

VASANTASENA: It is the message that angers me.

CHETI: What should I tell your mother then?

VASANTASENA: Tell her this from me: ‘If you wish that I continue to live then never again should such orders be sent to me.’

CHETI: As you wish my lady. (Exit)

VASANTASENA: Cheti, keep this drawing board on my bed and fetch me a fan quickly.

MADANIKA: As you wish my lady. (Takes the drawing board with her and exits)

Scene 2

(Sharvilaka is walking towards Vasantasena’s house)

SHARVILAKA:

Having sullied the night with an unworthy act,

And got the better of both sleep and the king’s guards

Here I am, wan and pale, like the moon at night’s end

With its lustre dulled by the rising sun.

Those who glance at me while hurrying on

And those who seem to come quickly towards me

As I stand in agitation—

The guilty self inside me suspects them all;

It is his own misdeeds that make a man

Regard others with suspicion.

I have acted with audacity for Madanika’s sake!

I avoided the man still engaged in conversation with his retinue;

I steered clear of houses where I saw only womenfolk lived,

And stood still like a doorpost

When the king’s night guards loomed near.

A hundred such strategies I employed

And turned night into day.

(Sharvilaka now reaches Vasantasena’s house)

This is Vasantasena’s house. Let me go in. Where will I find Madanika in this house?

(At that very moment Madanika appears with a fan in her hand)

SHARVILAKA: Oh, here she is! Here is Madanika!

She appears like Rati¹ in human form,

And surpasses the love god himself with her qualities!

For does she not turn to sandalwood-coolness.

My heart set intensely on fire by Madana?²

Madanika!

MADANIKA: (Looks at him) Ah! Sharvilaka! Welcome! What brings you here?

SHARVILAKA: I’ll tell you why I am here. (They look at each other with love)

VASANTASENA: (In her room) Madanika is taking her own time! Where could she have gone? (She looks through the window) There she is, talking to some man! She looks at him avidly with a gaze full of love as though she would drink him with her eyes! I am quite sure this man wishes to make her a free woman. Let her enjoy herself! One should not disturb the lovers. I shall not call her now.

(Outside, where Sharvilaka and Madanika are standing)

MADANIKA: Sharvilaka, tell me!

(Sharvilaka looks all around carefully)

MADANIKA: Sharvilaka, what is the matter? You seem apprehensive about something.

SHARVILAKA: I shall share a secret with you. Is this a safe place? Are we really alone here?

MADANIKA: But of course!

VASANTASENA: What could this great secret be? But I shall not eavesdrop on them!

SHARVILAKA: Madanika, do you think Vasantasena will free you for a price?

VASANTASENA: Oh! This is something to do with me! Then I will overhear the conversation hiding behind the window shutters.

MADANIKA: Sharvilaka, I’ve already spoken to my lady about this. In fact she said that if she had the authority she would release all of us attendants from bondage without any compensation. But Sharvilaka, how will you acquire the kind of wealth that would secure my freedom?

SHARVILAKA:

Crushed by poverty

But pushed on by my love for you,

I was driven this night, O timid one!

To an act of felony!

VASANTASENA: He looks pleasant all right, but his rash deed shows that he may have to be feared.

MADANIKA: Sharvilaka, for the sake of a mere trifle, a woman, you placed yourself under a twofold risk!

SHARVILAKA: What is the twofold risk?

MADANIKA: Risk of harm to your body and to your character.

SHARVILAKA: How naive you are! Wealth lies in daredevilry.

MADANIKA: Your conduct has always been blameless;³ whatever ill-advised deed you have now done for my sake, I only hope it is not of a dire nature.

SHARVILAKA:

I never rob a helpless woman

Even if she is decked with ornaments,

Like a creeper laden with flowers;

I do not take away the wealth of a brahmana,

Or the gold collected for a sacrifice;

I am never so greedy

As to pluck a child away from the nurse’s lap

For the sake of its ornaments.

Even when I steal my mind discriminates

Between what may be done and what ought not.

So, please carry this request of mine to Vasantasena.

‘Do wear these ornaments;

They seem to be made to fit you specially!

But wear them in private, I pray thee,

Out of consideration for me.’

MADANIKA: Sharvilaka, ornaments that are not to be worn in public and Vasantasena are two things that do not go together! Nevertheless, bring them over, let me have a look at them.⁴

SHARVILAKA: I have them with me. Here they are. (He hands them over with apprehension)

MADANIKA: (Looks at them) They seem familiar to me; how did you come by these?

SHARVILAKA: Why do you want to know all that? Just take them to her.

MADANIKA: (With anger) If you cannot trust me then why are you buying my freedom?

SHARVILAKA: It was only in the morning that I came to know at the merchants’ square that the house belonged to the big merchant Charudatta.

(Both Vasantasena and Madanika faint)

SHARVILAKA: Madanika! Careful! Careful!

Your limbs go all limp with distress,

And your eyes roll in agitation.

Here I am releasing you from slavery,

But you just tremble and show no sympathy for me!

MADANIKA: (Collects herself) O daring one! I hope you did not kill or injure anybody in that house when you perpetrated this unacceptable act for my sake!

SHARVILAKA: I never attack the sleeping or the fear-stricken. Therefore no one is dead, nor is anyone wounded.

MADANIKA: Do you swear on it?

SHARVILAKA: Yes, I do swear on it.

VASANTASENA: (Regaining consciousness) I have come back to life!

MADANIKA: I am relieved and happy!

SHARVILAKA: (Showing jealousy) Madanika, what do you mean by saying you are pleased?

With my heart bound to you with such love,

I may yet do another base deed!

Although I was born in a family of virtuous ancestors,

My good qualities have all been lost to my passion.

But I still guard my honour.

On the other hand you profess I am your friend,

Yet go after another.

(Looking at her with feeling)

Here are the sons of noble families of great wealth,

Trees laden with abundant fruit;

And these are the courtesans that swallow their fortune,

Voracious birds that pluck the trees bare.

This is the fire of passion,

With its leaping flames of enjoyment,

Kindled by the fuel of love,

Into which men pour as oblation

All their youth and wealth.

VASANTASENA: (Smiles) He is becoming agitated unnecessarily.

SHARVILAKA:

Unwise indeed are those, I do believe,

Who put their faith in women and wealth.

What riches do, women do too;

Restless, they constantly move about like young female snakes.

Never love a woman yourself

For she has only contempt for the one in love with her.

Sport with her by all means, if she is attached to you,

But throw her out the moment she shows the slightest indifference.

Rightly has it been said:

Women laugh and cry, all for the sake of wealth!

They worm themselves into the confidence of a man

But never confide in him in their turn.

Therefore a man of good lineage,

Well brought up and virtuous

Ought to avoid courtesans,

Like one would the flowers of the cemetery.

Of nature changeable, like the ever-breaking waves in the ocean,

Their passion is but fleeting,

Like the momentary flush of the evening twilight lining the clouds.⁵

Women are out to rob a man of his wealth;

And once penniless, he is cast away,

Like alaktha,⁶ with the juice all pressed out.

The word ‘woman’ means fickleness!

They love one in their hearts,

And beckon another with their eyes.

They pour out their passion for a third,

And share the bed of yet another!

As someone has aptly put it:

Can a lotus grow on a mountain peak?

Can a donkey bear the yoke of a horse?

Barley sown does not sprout rice

And women born among courtesans never turn chaste.

You rascal, Charudatta! You are finished! (He takes a few running steps)

MADANIKA: (Takes hold of the edge of his upper garment) You talk such utter nonsense! You imagine something so absurd and work yourself up over it!

SHARVILAKA: But why do you say absurd?

MADANIKA: These are my lady’s own ornaments.

SHARVILAKA: And so?

MADANIKA: They were left in the hands of Arya Charudatta.

SHARVILAKA: For what purpose?

MADANIKA: (Whispers something in his ear) That is why!

SHARVILAKA: (Deeply embarrassed) Oh my God!

Distressed by the summer heat I take refuge under a leafy branch;

I then pluck away the leaves,

Of the very same branch,

Albeit unknowingly.⁷

VASANTASENA: He too seems to be in torment. There is no doubt that he perpetrated this deed without knowing he was stealing from Arya Charudatta.

SHARVILAKA: Madanika, what is the right thing to do now?

MADANIKA: In this matter you are the expert.

SHARVILAKA: That is not true.

Women are, to be sure,

By nature wise,

While men merely learn their wisdom

By the study of the scriptures.

MADANIKA: Sharvilaka, if you listen to my advice, the best course is to take it back to that noble gentleman.

SHARVILAKA: Suppose he files a case against me in the king’s court?

MADANIKA: Heat never comes from the moon.

VASANTASENA: Well put, Madanika! Well put!

SHARVILAKA: Madanika,

I have no remorse, nor am I afraid

Of this daring act of mine!

Why do you list the virtues of this noble gentleman?

This ill deed of mine, for sure, generates no shame in me!

And what indeed can even the king do

To rascals such as me?

All the same this is against the law. You think of another way out.

MADANIKA: There is another way out.

VASANTASENA: I wonder what that would be!

MADANIKA: Assume the role of a messenger of that noble gentleman and hand over the ornaments to my lady.

SHARVILAKA: If I do so what will happen?

MADANIKA: Then you are not a thief any more; Arya Charudatta will be freed of his responsibility; and my lady will get back her ornaments.

SHARVILAKA: I think this would be a very risky business.

MADANIKA: Come on, take the ornaments to her; it will become a very risky business if you don’t do it.

VASANTASENA: Good, Madanika, good! Spoken like a free woman!

SHARVILAKA:

I have gained great wisdom, Madanika,

By following you.

How rare it is to come upon someone

To point the way at night after the moon has set!

MADANIKA: Just wait in this Kamadeva⁸ shrine, while I go and inform my lady of your arrival.

SHARVILAKA: All right.

(Madanika exit)

Scene 3

(Vasantasena sits in her room and Madanika approaches her)

MADANIKA: A brahmana from Arya Charudatta has come to see you.

VASANTASENA: Cheti, how do you know he is from him?

MADANIKA: Wouldn’t I recognize someone connected with me?

VASANTASENA: (Laughs, shakes her head and says to herself ) That is correct. (Aloud) Let him come in.

(Madanika goes out to call Sharvilaka who then comes in)

SHARVILAKA: (Approaches with embarrassment) All the best to you, madam.

VASANTASENA: I salute you, sir, do please sit down.

SHARVILAKA: The merchant pleads inability to keep these jewels under safe custody due to the dilapidated state of his house and sends them back to you. Please take charge of them.

(He hands over the jewels to Madanika and tries to leave)

VASANTASENA: Sir, then you too must carry a return message from me to him.

SHARVILAKA: (To himself) Who will go there again? (Aloud) What return message would that be?

VASANTASENA: Sir, you accept Madanika.

SHARVILAKA: Madam, I am sure I do not follow you.

VASANTASENA: I understand all right!

SHARVILAKA: How do you mean?

VASANTASENA: Arya Charudatta has bidden me release Madanika to the person who brings the jewels back to me. Therefore it is he who is actually handing Madanika over to you.

SHARVILAKA: (To himself) She has found me out! (Aloud) Very good, Arya Charudatta! Very good indeed!

Men ought ever to strive for virtues;

The virtuous, though poor,

Are superior to the rich

Who are poor in virtues!

Men ought ever to strive for virtues; for

Nothing is too hard to attain with virtues.

The moon⁹ resides on Shiva’s head, beyond the reach of any,

Just by the power of his merit.

VASANTASENA: Where is the driver of the carriage?

CHETA: (Enters) Madam, the carriage is ready.

VASANTASENA: Madanika! Please look at me! I am giving you away! Climb into the carriage now. And don’t forget me!

MADANIKA: (Weeps) My lady has abandoned me! (Falls at her feet)

VASANTASENA: No, no, now you have become worthy of being bowed to. Go now, get into the carriage and I hope you will not forget me!

SHARVILAKA: All the best to you, madam. Madanika,

Regard this lady with gratitude!

Bow down your head to her. For it is

From her that you have won the veil—

So difficult to attain—of ‘a duly married bride’.¹⁰

(He gets into the carriage with Madanika and they set off)

Scene 4

(The carriage with Sharvilaka and Madanika is on its way. All of a sudden there is an announcement heard from behind the stage.)

VOICE: Attention! Attention! The police commissioner issues this command to all the officers of the king: ‘Our king Palaka highly disturbed by the prophecy of the soothsayers that Aryaka the cowherd boy is destined to become king has now captured the cowherd boy in his hamlet and placed him in a high-security prison. All of you, king’s officers, be at your posts and remain on high alert.’

SHARVILAKA: (Listening to the announcement) Alas! My friend Aryaka has been arrested by King Palaka! But I am a married man now and have my wife with me! What shall I do? On the other hand . . .

There are, it is true, two in the world

Who are very dear to a man,

His friend and his beloved woman.

But now for me it is the friend that wins

Over a hundred beautiful women.

All right, let me get down.

MADANIKA: (Tearfully folding her hands) It is right you are going to your friend, but please take me to the family elders.

SHARVILAKA: You are right, my dear! Those are my very thoughts! (Addressing the carriage driver) My good man, do you know where Rebhila, the great merchant, lives?

CHETA: Yes, sir, I do.

SHARVILAKA: Take my dear wife there, to the merchant’s house.

CHETA: Yes, sir.

MADANIKA: I shall do as my husband commands. But please, my lord, do be careful! (The carriage leaves)

SHARVILAKA:

Kinsmen, the companions of kings and courtesans,

Those who have won distinction

By their own deeds of valour and

Servants angered by the present king’s slights—

I shall incite them all to bring about the release of my friend,

Doing as Yaugandharayana did for King Udayana.¹¹

My friend is indeed held unjustly

By the wicked, fearful for their own safety.

I shall attack without warning and free my friend

Like Chandra from the mouth of Rahu.¹²

Scene 5

(Vasantasena’s house. Enter Cheti.)

CHETI: Bravo, madam! A brahmana has come from Arya Charudatta’s house to see you!

VASANTASENA: How charming this day is turning out to be! Please bring him in with due respect, escorted by the appointed guides, the bandhulas.¹³

CHETI: Yes, madam. (Exit)

(The entrance to the house. Vidushaka enters accompanied by the guide.)

VIDUSHAKA: How wonderful! True, Ravana, the king of the rakshasas, was moving about at will in the Pushpaka Vimana,¹⁴ but he had to wear himself out by doing severe penance to obtain it in the first place. Here I am, also a brahmana, far from being worn out with the practice of austerities yet managing to move about in the company of such beautiful men and women!

CHETI: Please, sir, have a look at the entrance to our house.

VIDUSHAKA: (Looks at it with wonder) How lovely is the entrance to the mansion of Vasantasena! The ground in front of the gate is sprinkled with water and swept clean and painted green; it is decorated with a variety of patterns made with offerings of different fragrant flowers. The gate is so high that it looks as if, impelled by curiosity, it is raising its head to steal a glimpse of the heavens above! A huge garland of jasmine flowers hangs down from the door and moves about in the wind giving the wondrous impression of Airavata,¹⁵ the celestial white elephant, swinging his trunk as he moves about in the skies. A high ivory arch across the gateway adds to the splendour. A collection of auspicious banners of a variety of colours brilliant like gems wave and flutter in the breeze and seem to beckon me—like moving hands—as if to say ‘come this way’. The pillars supporting the arch rest on pedestals on either side of the gateway on which are placed crystal jars filled with water and decorated with lush green mango leaves. The door panels are of gold, studded closely with diamonds and quite as unbreakable as the chest of a great rakshasa!¹⁶ Oh! The beauty of the door of Vasantasena’s mansion! This door surely breaks the heart of men with no fortune by coming between them and the object of their desire! However, by its incredible beauty it compels the attention of even those of an indifferent disposition.

CHETI: Please come, good sir, enter this first quadrangle.

VIDUSHAKA: (Enters and glances around) How astonishing! Here in this first quadrangle I see rows of mansions with the lustre of the moon, of the conch and the lotus stalk; they have been whitened with application of handfuls of white powder. The steps are gold inlaid with precious gemstones! The crystal windows hung with streamers of pearls are like many faces of moon-like splendour with which the palaces seem to watch intently the city of Ujjayini! But the doorkeeper who sits here in comfort, like a well-educated brahmana, sleeps on! The crows are drawn to the rice-and-curds mixture laid out, but are wary of eating it as they suspect it might just be whitewash! All right, madam, what now?

CHETI: Please enter the second quadrangle.

VIDUSHAKA: (Enters and looks around) Aha! How wonderful! In this second quadrangle I see the carriage bulls tied to the post; they look well fed as they eat mouthfuls of grass and barley husk spread in front of them. Their horns are smeared with oil. (Looks on the other side) Here, on this side, is the buffalo heaving deep sighs like a bigwig smarting under an insult! This ram is getting his neck rubbed down just like a wrestler after a bout! There are others here who are grooming the horses. These monkeys are securely tied up in the stables, just like captured thieves!¹⁷ The mahouts here are feeding the elephants with balls of rice mixed with oil extracted from kura. All right, let us proceed.

CHETI: Noble sir, now please enter the third quadrangle.

VIDUSHAKA: (Casts his eyes around) I see chairs here for the visiting men of class and a gambling table with a half-read book lying open on it. Here is another gambling table on which are easily moveable chessmen made of precious stones. Courtesans, expert at inciting quarrels between lovers as well as bringing them together, are moving around with vitas in tow; the courtesans hold in their hands painting boards splashed with different colours. All right, madam, command me!

CHETI: Please sir, enter this fourth quadrangle.

VIDUSHAKA: (Enters and looks around) Fascinating! I hear the mridangams rumbling deeply like water-laden clouds as they are played on by the hands of young women. The cymbals clash and the sound falls like stars crashing down from the heavens, stars with no more spiritual merit left to hold them up there! The bamboo flute sounds sweetly like the hum of the bees. The veena lies in the lap of a woman and is played by the touch of the nails of the hand, like an angry, jealous woman in love being pacified by her lover! Here are the young daughters of the courtesans who can sing as beautifully as the hum of bees drunk with nectar; they are being taught to portray the shringara¹⁸ rasa as they dance . . . Here are pots of water suspended from the windows and they catch the breeze and cool it. Well, lead on, madam!

CHETI: Please come into the fifth quadrangle, sir.

VIDUSHAKA: (Enters and looks around) Amazing! Here in this fifth quadrangle the smell of hingu¹⁹ and oil rises and spreads, kindling a sense of greed in the poor! The kitchen, tormented constantly by heat, seems to be letting out deep sighs as fragrant smoke issues out of the doors! Alas! A great longing is created in me by the aroma of the various dishes being prepared. Look at this butcher boy washing out the flesh of the slaughtered animals like tattered cloth! The cook is making all kinds of dishes; modakas are being shaped and apupakas²⁰ are being baked! How I wish I would now be given water to wash my feet, followed by words like ‘enjoy the well-seasoned food’! What with the beautifully dressed courtesans with their children born out of wedlock filling this place like apsaras and gandharvas,²¹ it feels like heaven indeed!

Hey! You bandhulas! Who are you anyway?

BASTARDS:

We are those who

Play in homes that are not our own, and

Grow on food that is not ours.

Begotten by strange men in other wives

We enjoy others’ wealth; as for our qualities

Suffice it to say they are inexpressible!

But like the young ones of the elephant

We the bandhulas are indeed loveable!

VIDUSHAKA: Madam, lead on!

CHETI: Please, sir, come into this sixth quadrangle.

VIDUSHAKA: (Enters and looks around) How astonishing are these ornamental arches, made of gold and set with precious stones, and sapphires at that! They make this place seem like a storehouse of rainbows! The goldsmiths are discussing the merits of various precious gems like lapis lazuli, pearls, coral, topaz, sapphires, rubies and emeralds. Rubies are being set in gold; ornaments are fashioned in pure gold; pearls are being strung in red thread; lapis lazuli is being carefully polished; conchs are being split, and corals polished on whetstones. Saffron is spread out for drying, musk is sifted and sandalwood crushed for the juice. Various combinations of fragrances are put together. The courtesans are offering musk-flavoured tambula²² to the pleasure seekers. There are sidelong glances galore, there is laughter and a lot of lip-smacking wine-bibbing as well! . . . These are the chetas and these the chetis. And these others are the ones who have become deaf to the words of their sons and wives and indifferent to their own businesses; they are just happy to drink wine from their cups after the courtesans have sipped a little from them . . . Lead me on, madam.

CHETI: Kindly enter the seventh quadrangle, sir!

VIDUSHAKA: (Enters and looks around) Amazing indeed! Here in this seventh quadrangle I see well-made dovecotes in which pairs of pigeons are perched comfortably and enjoying themselves billing and cooing to each other! Ah, a line of cages is hanging from ivory brackets, I see. The well-fed parrot in one of them is reeling off wise sayings just like a brahmana reciting Vedic hymns on a full stomach of rice and curds! Here is the voluble madanasarika²³ chirping away like a maidservant swelling with importance at the recent rise in her status! The cuckoo is cooing away like a veritable procuress, so pleased is she with the taste of the juice of the various fruits. The quails are set one upon the other, the kapinjalas²⁴ are made to chatter, and the pigeons in the cage are sent out as messengers. The pet peacocks seem to be fanning the palace, heated up by the sun’s rays, as they dance with their multicoloured gem-work feathers all spread out! (Looks the other way) How these rajahamsa²⁵ pairs look like pools of moonlight! They follow the lovely women close on their heels, perhaps to learn how to step gracefully! And these house-trained cranes moving around here and there really look like aged eunuchs walking about in groups. What a collection of birds has the courtesan has put together! This is surely as splendid as the Nandanvana²⁶ of Indra himself! Let us move on, dear lady!

CHETI: Let the noble one now enter the eighth quadrangle.

VIDUSHAKA: (Enters and looks around) Madam, who is this man here wrapped in a silk shawl and quite laden with ornaments, more than one of a kind? His body seems twisted and he keeps stumbling.

CHETI: Sir, this is my lady’s brother.

VIDUSHAKA: What severe penance did he perform to be born the brother of Vasantasena? On second thoughts it is not so wonderful!

This man may look splendid; he is

Well anointed to be sure, and well scented.

Yet, like the champaka²⁷ growing on the road to the cemetery,

He is unacceptable in society.

And, madam, who is this woman here, wrapped in a floral shawl, her oiled feet pushed into a pair of sandals and seated on a high chair?

CHETI: Noble sir, this is our lady Vasantasena’s mother.

VIDUSHAKA: Look at the expanse of the belly of this minor female goblin! Tell me, did they first instal her inside like Mahadeva and then make this beautiful door of the house?

CHETI: You sinner! Do not laugh at our mother! She is troubled by quartan ague.

VIDUSHAKA: (Mockingly) O Lord of the quartan ague!²⁸ Look upon me too, a poor brahmana, with the same favour!

CHETI: Wretch! You will die then!

VIDUSHAKA: (Mockingly again) Daughter of a whore, isn’t it better that a mother with such a fattened, bloated stomach dies rather than lives!

Mother here has come to such a pass surely

By tippling wine, liquor and spirit!

Should she die now, she’d be enough food

For a thousand jackals!

Madam, do you have boats plying?²⁹

CHETI: No, sir, no, no indeed!

VIDUSHAKA: I need not have asked the question at all! Isn’t it obvious that in the pure waters of love of this great ocean of passion it is your breasts, hips and buttocks that are the enchanting sailing vessels! Having seen the mansion of Vasantasena with its eight quadrangles with so many activities being carried out, I feel I’ve seen all the three worlds standing just here in one spot! My power of expression fails in extolling what I’ve seen! Is this really the house of a courtesan or a part of the mansion of Kubera?

Now, where is your lady?

CHETI: She is in this grove of trees. Please do enter, sir.

VIDUSHAKA: (Enters and looks around) Ha! Ha! Oh! How beautiful this grove is! So many trees giving forth in a timely manner such beautiful flowers! And under the densely growing trees these silken swings made to fit the hips of the women! The flowers fall of their own accord from the trees; I see the suvarna, yuthika, shephalika, malati, mallika, navamallika, kurabaka, atimukthaka,³⁰ and others, rendering the celestial Nandanvana insignificant! This pond here sports the beauty of dawn as the red lotuses and the white lilies that grow in it shine with the lustre of the morning sun!

This ashoka³¹ tree looks splendid

With its fresh flowers and shoots,

Like a brave soldier in battle

Seemingly smeared with red mud which in truth is clotted blood!

All right! Now, where is your good lady?

CHETI: Good sir, lower your eyes a little and you shall see her!

Scene 6

(The grove of trees in Vasantasena’s house. Vidushaka, who has been admiring the beauty of the grove, now looks down and finds her seated under the ashoka tree.)

VIDUSHAKA: (Approaches her) My lady, felicitations to you!

VASANTASENA: (Speaking Sanskrit) Ah! It is Maitreya! (Rises) Welcome! Please be seated!

VIDUSHAKA: Let my lady sit down too.

(Both sit)

VASANTASENA: Is all well with the son of the big merchant?

VIDUSHAKA: He is well, madam.

VASANTASENA: Arya Maitreya,

Think of him as a good tree—

His qualities are the fresh shoots;

The bending branches stand for his modesty;

The roots for his steadfastness; the flowers his fame;

The tree is rich with abundant fruit, his virtues.

Do the birds, his good friends,

Still come to rest on the tree in comfort?

VIDUSHAKA: (To himself) What a shrewd observation by the cunning courtesan! (Aloud) Yes, of course!

VASANTASENA: What is the reason for your visit?

VIDUSHAKA: Please listen carefully, my lady. The noble Charudatta with hands folded over his head sends this request to you.

VASANTASENA: (Folding her own hands in salute) What does he command?

VIDUSHAKA: He submits: ‘The package of ornaments entrusted to our care has been staked and lost at dice in the mistaken belief that the jewels were our own; the Sabhika has now gone away on the king’s errand, we know not where . . .’³²

CHETI: Bravo, my lady! The noble one has become a gambler now!

VASANTASENA: (To herself) What is this? The ornaments have been stolen, yet due to pride he says he has gambled them away. I do love him for that!

VIDUSHAKA: ‘. . . Please accept this necklace set with precious gemstones in place of those ornaments.’

VASANTASENA: (To herself) Shall I show him those ornaments? Or perhaps not just yet.

VIDUSHAKA: Will my lady not accept the necklace?

VASANTASENA: (Looks at Cheti and says laughingly) Maitreya, why wouldn’t I take this ratnavali? (Takes it and keeps it by her side and says to herself) The mango tree has very few flowers left yet drops of honey drip from it! (Aloud) Please convey to that noble gambler Charudatta that I shall visit him in the evening.

VIDUSHAKA: (To himself) What else is she planning to take from him? (Aloud) Yes, I shall tell him . . . (To himself) to move away from the affairs of courtesans.

(Exit)

VASANTASENA: Cheti, take this piece of jewellery. Let us go and have some fun with Charudatta!

CHETI: Look, my lady, look! It is threatening to rain out of season!

VASANTASENA:

Let the clouds rise!

Let it rain unceasingly!

Let night fall!

My heart, longing to meet my beloved,

Shall ignore all of these!

Cheti, pick up a garland and come quickly.

(Exit all)