ACT I.
SCENE-A Forest.
Enter King DUSHYANTA, armed with a bow and arrow, in a chariot, chasing an antelope, attended by his CHARIOTEER.
CHARIOTEER.
[Looking at the deer, and then at the KING.
Great Prince,
When on the antelope I bend my gaze,
And on your Majesty, whose mighty bow
Has its string firmly braced; before my eyes
The god that wields the trident[9] seems revealed.
Chasing the deer that flies from him in vain.
KING.
Charioteer, this fleet antelope has drawn us far from my attendants. See! there he runs:
Aye and anon his graceful neck he bends
To cast a glance at the pursuing car;
And dreading now the swift-descending shaft,
Contracts into itself his slender frame;
About his path, in scattered fragments strewn,
The half-chewed grass falls from his panting mouth;
See! in his airy bounds he seems to fly,
And leaves no trace upon th' elastic turf.
[With astonishment.]
How now! swift as is our pursuit, I scarce can see him.
CHARIOTEER.
Sire, the ground here is full of hollows; I have therefore drawn in the reins and checked the speed of the chariot. Hence the deer has somewhat gained upon us. Now that we are passing over level ground, we shall have no difficulty in overtaking him.
KING.
Loosen the reins, then.
CHARIOTEER.
The King is obeyed.
[Drives the chariot at full speed.]
Great Prince, see I see!
Responsive to the slackened rein, the steeds,
Chafing with eager rivalry, career
With emulative fleetness o'er the plain;
Their necks outstretched, their waving plumes, that late
Fluttered above their brows, are motionless[10];
Their sprightly ears, but now erect, bent low;
Themselves unsullied by the circling dust,
That vainly follows on their rapid course.
KING. [Joyously.
In good sooth, the horses seem as if they would outstrip the steeds of Indra and the Sun[11].
That which but now showed to my view minute
Quickly assumes dimension; that which seemed
A moment since disjoined in diverse parts,
Looks suddenly like one compacted whole;
That which is really crooked in its shape
In the far distance left, grows regular;
Wondrous the chariot's speed, that in a breath,
Makes the near distant and the distant near.
Now, Charioteer, see me kill the deer.
[Takes aim.
A VOICE BEHIND THE SCENES.
Hold, O King! this deer belongs to our hermitage.
Kill it not! kill it not!
CHARIOTEER. [Listening and looking.
Great King, some hermits have stationed themselves so as to screen the antelope at the very moment of its coming within range of your arrow.
KING. [Hastily.
Then stop the horses.
CHARIOTEER.
I obey.
[Stops the chariot.
Enter a HERMIT, and two others with him.]
HERMIT. [Raising his hand.
This deer, O King, belongs to our hermitage. Kill it not! kill it not!
Now heaven forbid this barbed shaft descend
Upon the fragile body of a fawn,
Like fire upon a heap of tender flowers!
Can thy steel bolts no meeter quarry find
Than the warm life-blood of a harmless deer?
Restore, great Prince, thy weapon to its quiver.
More it becomes thy arms to shield the weak,
Than to bring anguish on the innocent.
KING.
'Tis done.
[Replaces the arrow in its quiver.
HERMIT.
Worthy is this action of a Prince, the light of Puru's race[12].
Well does this act befit a Prince like thee,
Right worthy is it of thine ancestry.
Thy guerdon be a son of peerless worth,
Whose wide dominion shall embrace the earth.
BOTH THE OTHER HERMITS. [Raising their hands.
May heaven indeed grant thee a son, a sovereign of the earth from sea to sea!
KING.
[Bowing.
I accept with gratitude a Bráhman's benediction.
HERMIT.
We came hither, mighty Prince, to collect sacrificial wood. Here on the banks of the Máliní you may perceive the hermitage of the great sage Kanwa[13]. If other duties require not your presence, deign to enter and accept our hospitality.
When you behold our penitential rites
Performed without impediment by saints
Rich only in devotion, then with pride
Will you reflect:—Such are the holy men
Who call me Guardian; such the men for whom
To wield the bow I bare my nervous arm,
Scarred by the motion of the glancing string.
KING.
Is the Chief of your Society now at home?
HERMIT.
No; he has gone to Soma-tírtha[14] to propitiate Destiny, which threatens his daughter [S']akoontalá with some calamity; but he has commissioned her in his absence to entertain all guests with hospitality.
KING.
Good! I will pay her a visit. She will make me acquainted with the mighty sage's acts of penance and devotion.
HERMIT.
And we will depart on our errand.
[Exit with his companions.
KING.
Charioteer, urge on the horses. We will at least purify our souls by a sight of this hallowed retreat.
CHARIOTEER.
Your Majesty is obeyed.
[Drives the chariot with great velocity.
KING. [Looking all about him.
Charioteer, even without being told, I should have known that these were the precincts of a grove consecrated to penitential rites.
CHARIOTEER.
How so?
KING.
Do not you observe?
Beneath the trees, whose hollow trunks afford
Secure retreat to many a nestling brood
Of parrots, scattered grains of rice lie strewn.
Lo! here and there are seen the polished slabs
That serve to bruise the fruit of Ingudí[15].
The gentle roe-deer, taught to trust in man,
Unstartled hear our voices. On the paths
Appear the traces of bark-woven vests[16]
Borne dripping from the limpid fount of waters.
And mark!
Laved are the roots of trees by deep canals [17],
Whose glassy waters tremble in the breeze;
The sprouting verdure of the leaves is dimmed
By dusky wreaths of upward curling smoke
From burnt oblations; and on new-mown lawns
Around our car graze leisurely the fawns.
CHARIOTEER.
I observe it all.
KING. [Advancing a little further.
The inhabitants of this sacred retreat must not be disturbed.
Stay the chariot, that I may alight.
CHARIOTEER.
The reins are held in. Your Majesty may descend.
KING. [Alighting.
Charioteer, groves devoted to penance must be entered in humble attire. Take these ornaments.
[Delivers his ornaments and bow to CHARIOTEER.]
Charioteer, see that the horses are watered, and attend to them until I return from visiting the inhabitants of the hermitage.
CHARIOTEER.
I Will.
[Exit.
KING. [Walking and looking about.
Here is the entrance to the hermitage. I will now go in.
[Entering and feeling a throbbing sensation in his arm.
Serenest peace is in this calm retreat,
By passion's breath unruffled; what portends
My throbbing arm[18]? Why should it whisper here
Of happy love? Yet everywhere around us
Stand the closed portals of events unknown.
A VOICE BEHIND THE SCENES.
This way, my dear companions; this way.
KING. [Listening.
Hark! I hear voices to the right of yonder grove of trees. I will walk in that direction.
[Walking and looking about.]
Ah! here are the maidens of the hermitage coming this way to water the shrubs, carrying water-pots proportioned to their strength.
[Gazing at them.]
How graceful they look!
In palaces such charms are rarely ours;
The woodland plants outshine the garden flowers.
I will conceal myself in this shade and watch them.
[Stands gazing at them.
Enter [S']AKOONTALÁ, with her two female companions, employed in the manner described.