On palm-trees shrill,
On thickets still,
On boulders dashing,
On waters splashing,
Like a lute that, smitten, sings,
The rainy music rings.52
[Exeunt omnes.
FOOTNOTES:
[60] In Indian love poetry, the rainy season is the time when lovers most ardently long to be united.
[61] In allusion to Vishnu's name, Krishna, "black."
[62] A gesture of respect.
[63] The goddess of wealth and beauty, usually represented with a lotus.
[64] Kāma's (Cupid's) arrows are flowers.
[65] Throughout this scene, Vasantasenā's verses are in Sanskrit. Compare note 1 on[ page 73].
[66] The cry of the heron resembles the Sanskrit word for "rain." Indian love-poetry often paints the sorrow, even unto death, of her whose beloved does not return before the rainy season.