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With a Hindu wife’s ‘self-abnegation she contri- ved under the guise of a religious performance to make amends for her former behavior, and even to permit her lord to relinquish himself to his new attachment. Clad in white with only flowers for her ornaments, she came slowly to worship her lord and king who almost felt a return of his previous fondness for her on seeing her in this attire. In truth she pleases me. “Thus chastely robed in modest white, her clustering tresses decked with sacred flowers alone, her haughty mien exchanged for pure devotion ; thus arrayed she moves with heightened charms, Wilson. CHAP, XE] DRAMA, 403 But she knew her charms were unavailing ; she pre- sented oblations to the king, bowed, fell at his feet, rose, and then called the moon and the Rohini star to Hear and attest the sacred promise that I make my husband, What- ever nynrph attract my lord’s regard, and share with him the mutual bond _ of love, I henceforth treat with kindness and complacency. . Wilson, Even Urvasi’s companion was struck with this magna- nimous self abnegation, and remarked— , She is a lady of an exalted spirit, a wife of duty most exemplary, Wilson, ‘The loves of the king and the nymph and their tem- porary separation through a supernatural incident are then described with all the power of Kalidasa’s pen. . He pined during the separation, wandered in the for- est, and addressed birds and beasts and inanimate objects. ‘ I have gued to the starry-plumed bird, And the Aoi/ of love breathing song 5 To the lord of the elephant herd, And the bee as he murmured along ; To the swan, and the loud waterfall, To the chakwa, the rock and the roe ; In my search have I sued to them all, But none of them lightened my woe, — Welsov. He recovered her after his wanderings, but was again likely to lose her. .For the boy whom Urvasi had borne to her lord,—but had concealed so long,—-was seen by chance by his father ; and according to Indra’s orders the nymph must return to the*skies as soon as: her lover 404 PAURANIK PERIOD. [BOOK v. saw the child she bore her. But Indra again modified his commands; and Narada descended from the skies to carry Indra’s mandate to Purdravas And Urvasi shall: be through life united With thee in holy bonds, Who, The third and last play extant from Kalidasa’s pen is Mélavikagnimitra, or the loves of Malavika and Agni- mitra. We have seen before that this play,—unlike the two narrated before,—is based on historical incidents. Agnimitra and his father Pushpamitra are historical characters ; the latter was the general of the last king of the Maurya dynasty, and he put that king to death and founded the Sunga dynasty of the Magadha kings. Malavika is a beautiful attendant of the queen Dharini and learns dancing and music from Gangad4sa. The queen jealously guards her from the king Agnimitra’s eyes, but has unwisely caused her picture to be painted in the Chitras4l4 or Picture Gallery, and a view of this picture inspires the king with a desire to see the origi- nal. Waving sent troops against the king of Vidarbha. (Berar), Agnimitra is anxious to see the famed MAlavika. A contrivance is hit upon ; a quarrel is fomented between Gang4dasa and Haradatta, two teachers of music and dancing, and Gangad4sa stakes his credit on the perform- ance of Malavika whom he hastaught. M4lavika appears and sings, and the king contracts a passion for her. The jealous queen locks. up the. amorous and lovely girl, but the queen’s finger ringts obtained by a con- CHAP. XL] DRAMA. 405 trivance, and the jailor on seeing it opens the door, and Malavika is taken out and has an interview with the king. In the mean time the king of Vidarbha has been subdued, and sends among other présents two female slaves, who immediately recognize M4lavika to be the sister of M&dhavasena, a personal friend of the king ~ Agnimitra. Peace is concluded with the king’ of Vidarbha, by which one half of his kingdom, that situated to the north of the Varada river,—the Ward& of modern times, ——is made over to Agnimitra, who in turn makes it over to Malavika’s brother. News is received that the king’s ‘son has gained a victory over the Yavanas on the banks of the Indus, and the queen is so pleased that she dis- tributes gifts to all, and feeling perhaps that it is useless to try to stem the king’s love, bestows on him the lovely Malavikaé, Thus the piece ends happily; but neither in its plot nor in its poetry is it on a level with paints or even with Vikramorvasi. KaAlidésa lived in the sixth century A.D. and graced the court of Vikramaditya, A century after his time,an emperor of India, and a worthy successor of Vikramédi- ' tya both in prowess and in letters, tried to emulate the renowned Kalidasa. Siladitya U1, called also Sri Harsa- deva, who reigned from 610 to 630 A. D., and who re- ceived the Chinese traveller Honen Tsang, was not only the emperor of all northern India, but was himself a man of letters, He is reputed to be the author of Rat- 406 PAURANIK PERIOD. [BOOK V. névall, though it is probable the celebrated noyelist of his court, Banabhatta, composed that play.* K4lid4sa’s fame had spread all over India by that time, and hum- bler poets unconsciously designed their works on the plots of the great master. This is specially apparent in the Ratnavali in which plagiarisms from KAliddsa’s plays are obvious. The story, too, of Vassa, the king of Kausambi, and Vasavadatta, the princess of Ujyayini is one which is alluded to in K4lidasa’s Meghadita, and also in the Brihatkathé of Somadeva; but it is some- what differently told in the Ratn4vali. . The play opens with an account of the spring festival when the god of love was worshipped, and coloured water was showered by merry men and mirthful maids on each other. The worship as such has disappeared, but the custom of throwing red powder and coloured water still obtains all over India. The queen goes to the garden to offer worship to the god ef love and requests the presence of the king. A lovely attendant of the queen, Sagarika by name, whom the queen had jealously guarded from the king’s eyes, comes also to the garden, and she lookson the king from behind a tree and falls in love with him. Sitting alone in the garden the love-stricken maiden draws the likeness of him who had stolen her heart, but * See Dr. Hall’s preface to Vasavadatta. Béinabhatta was also the author of Harsha Charita, a life of the king in whose court he flourished, CHAP. XI] DRAMA. 407 is discovered by a fellow attendant who is equally pro- ficient in painting, and who draws by the portrait of the king a likeness of SagarikA herself. The double portrait is Jost through carelessness and is picked up by the king, who falls in love with the maiden whose picture he found by his own. It is impossible not to find in this plot a counterpart of the story of KaAlidasa’s Agnimitra, who falls in love with his queen’s attendant on looking at her portrait. Like Kalidasa’s Dushyanta, the king picks up the lotus leaves which had been applied on Sdgarika’s feverish person, and finds in the pallid circles thereiii the contour of the maiden’s well proportioned bosom, Soon after the lovers meet, but as usual the meeting is inter- rupted by the untimely approach of the queen, Once again the queen finds undeniable evidence of the king’s love for Sagarika ; the king like KA4liddsa’s Purdravas falls to her feet, but the queen retires with ee, resentment. ' The amorous Sagarika is, like KAlidasa’s Matavika, locked up by the angry queen, A magician then comes from Ujjayini and shews off his feats. Soon after the palace seems to be on flame, and the king rushes to save Sagarik4 who was enchained inside, and rescues her ; but the flames disappear; it was only a feat of the magician! When Sagarika is brought out she is recog- nized to be Ratn4vali, the princess of Ceylon, as Kalida-. sa’s Malavik4 is recognized late in the play to be 408 PAURANIK PERIOD. [BOOK Vv. the sister of Agnimitra’s friend. And like Malavik4, Ratnavali is made over to the king by the queen herself. : A still more remarkable play, the Négdnanda is also attributed to Siladitya II, but is probably like Ratna- vali, the work of some poet of his court. We call it aremarkable work, because it is probably the only Buddhist drama which has come down to us. In this Buddhist play we find Hindu gods and goddesses mixed up with Buddhist objects of veneration. It is this which gives the work its special value, . Jimftavahana, prince of the Vidyddharas, finds Malay4vati princess of the Siddhas, engaged in the worship of Gaurt (a Hindu goddess), and falls in love with her. He appears before her, as Dushyanta appear- ed before Sakuntal4, and is received with courtesy, and the maiden we need hardly say falls in love with the prince. The usual symptoms of love, as in Sakuntala, affect Malayavati; she is feverish, and sandal juice is applied to her person, and she is fanned with plantain leaf. Jimitavahana employs himself with drawing a por- trait of the maiden who had stolen his heart. He asks for a piece of red arsenic to draw the portrait, and his companion picks up from the ground and brings some pieces, from which five colours (blue, yellow, red, brown and variegated) could be obtained. From this account it would appear that the ancient Hindus CHAP, XT] DRAMA, - 409 like the ancient painters of Pompei used coloured earth and minerals for their painting. Malay4vati watches the young prince as he draws the picture, and thinking it was the portrait of some other maiden whom he loved, becomes jealous and faints. In the meantime Malaydvatt’s father sends a message, to Jimdtavahana offering his daughter as his bride; .