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but Jimatavahana does not yet know that the maidén he had seen was the princess herself, and desiring to ‘be true to the maiden he had seen, refuses the hand: of the princess! The mistakes of both the lovers are soon removed, _ The prince discovers that the maiden with whom he had fallén in love is the very princess whose hand is offered to her; and the princess too soon discovers that ‘the portrait which the prince had drawn is her own portrait. Wedding follows with great pomp and cere- mony, ae 7 We have an amusing account here of a parasite of the king’s court Sekharaka, who had regaled himself too freely with wine during the festivities, and makes some ludicrous blunders. He declares that there are only two gods for him, Baladeva and Kéma,—the former being a Hindu god known for his drinking exploits, and the latter being the Hindu god of love; and the. valiant knight goes out. to meet his fady-love, a female slave with whom he’ is in love. Instead of meeting that sweet damsel, he meets the prince’s 410 PAURANIK PERIOD. [BOOK Vv. companion, a Brahman, who had put his garment over his head to keep out insects and so looked like a veiled woman. Sekharala, not very keen in his perception, embraces the Brahman as his mistress, to the utter disgust of the latter who stops his nose at the smelt of liquor! Confusion is worse confounded when the sweet damsel herself appears on the spot ; the not very discriminating lover is taxed with courting another maiden, and the Brahman is treated to some choice epithets as “tawny monkey,” has his sacred thread torn, and offers to fall at the feet of the slave girl in order to get out of the scrape. Everything however is at last explained satisfactorily. We are then introduced to the bride and bridegroom in the raptures of their young love, the latter politely asks for a kiss in these words. O lovely one! If this face of thine with its pink flush as it is lighted up by the sun’s rays, and with its soft down revealed by the spreading gleam of its teeth is really a lotus, why is not a bee seen drinking the honey from it ?—~Boyd’s Translation. But the lover is rudely interrupted by news about his kingdom which takes him away. So far the story is like the story of other Hindu plays. But the last two Acts (V. and VI.) are essentially Bud- dhistic, and illustrate, of course in an extravagant form, the real virtue of self-sacrifice for the good of others. Jimfatavahana goes to the Western Ghats and sees on the sea shore a heap of bones of Nagas killed by CHAP. XI] DRAMA, Alt Garuda the king of birds. Nagas are snakes, but in the conception of Hindu and Buddhist poets they are formed like men, except that they are scaly and have hoods rising from their backs. A compact has been made with Garuda that a Naga will be sent to him daily for his food, and as Jimatavahana sees a Naga tearing himself from his weeping mother and preparing himself as Garuda’s food, his heart bleeds within him. He manages to offer himself up to the ferocious Garuda in place of the Naga, and the bird flies away with him. There is wailing and lamentation in Jimdtavahana’s household when the Naga runs there and reports that the prince has offered himself a sacrifice. His old parents and his -newly-married wife rush to where Garuda was still eating the prince’s flesh, his life all but extinct. The real N4ga also rushes in there and offers _ himself up to save the innocent prince, and fies Dore his identity. Not to mention the mark of Svastika on the breast, are there not the seafes on my body? Do you not count the two tongues as.I speak? Nor see these three hoods of mine?— Boyd. Garuda then discovers his mistake and is horrified. Alas! Alas! His own body has been of his own accord presented for my food by this noble-minded one, through pity to save the life of a WAga who had fallen within the reach of my voracity. What a terrible sin have I committed! Ina word, this isa Bodhisatva* whom I have slain. —~ Boyd. * A Bodhisatva is a potential Buddha, or one who has only one more - birth remaining before he becomes a perfect Buddha. 4t2 PAURANIK PERIOD. [Boox v. Jimttavahana instructs Garuda how the sin can be expiated. Ceasé for ever from destroying life; repent of thy former deeds; labour to gather together.an unbroken chain of good actions by inspiring confidence in all living beings,—ZBoyd, The heroic prince expires after giving these instruc- tions, as he had been more than half eaten up. His parents prepare to mount the funeral pyre to depart from this world, The lamenting young widow invokes Gauri, the goddess, whom she had invoked before marriage. All ends happily. Gauri restores the prince to life; and Garuda prevails on Indra—a Hindu god,—to revive to life all the Nagas whom he had killed before. Harm not living creatures ;—that is the moral of this Buddhist play. Another century rolled on from thedate of Siladi- tya II, and a truly great poet arose,—not a plagiarist of Kalidasa,—but bis worthy peer in merit and in fame. Bhavabhiti, also called Srikantha, was a Brah- man, born in Vidarbha or Berar, but soon attached himself to the learned court of Kanouj, then the literary capital of India. From his native region “stern and wild” the poetic child had imbibed that apprecia- tion of nature in her wild magnificence which distin- guishes him from all other Sanscrit poets ; from the cultured court of Kanouj he no doubt learnt that art CHAP. XI] DRAMA. 413 of poetry and the rules of drama which set off the effusions of his genius. He was not destined, however, to pass his days in Kanouj; Yasovarman the king of Kanouj was defeated by the powerful Lalitaditya, king of Kashmir, and the poet eceumpenicd the conqueror ' to Kashmir.. Three of Bhavabhitti’s pieces have come down to. us. We will begin with the/M/dlatimddhava,| or the loves of Malati and Madhava. Madhava. is the son of Devarata, the minister of the poet’s own ‘country Vidarbha or Berar, and has come . to Padmavatt or Ujjayini to complete his studies. In that town as he walked along the streets, Malati the daughter of the minister of the place From her casement has beheld the youth,—~he graceful as the ‘ei of tove, herself love’s blooming bride, —nor seen in vain. ; Wilson's pera: On the occasion of the annual festival of the god of lave, the people flock to the shrine-of love to pay their homage. Malati too repairs to the shrine on an ele- phant, and meets Madhava, and the youth and maiden gaze on each other, and fall in. love. But the course of true love never does run smooth ; and the king of Padmavatti has promised Malati’s hand to a favorite Nandana, and the king’s minister, MAlatt’s father, dares. not openly refuse his consent. The news is a bolt from the blue to the love-stricken 414 PAURANIK PERIOD. [BOOK Vv. maiden, and Kamandaki, a Buddhist Priestess or Abbess, exclaims in pity. ‘What can I aid? Fate and her sire alone exact obedience from a daughter. True Sakuntala, of Kusika’s high race, bestowed her love on aself-chosen lord—the king Dushyanta, A bright nymph of heaven espoused a mortal monarch Purdravas, and the fair princess, Vasavadattu scorned the husband of her father’s choice, and fled with prince Udayana. So poets tell, but these were desperate acts.—/1Z/son. It is quite apparent that the priestess, or rather the poet refers here to his great predecessor Kélid4sa's two works, and also to the story of VasavadattAé which was so popular a theme of fiction and drama in the court of Siladitya IL. The Buddhist priestess, however, had made up her mind to help M4lati and M4&dhava. They have an in- terview in the house of the priestess, but Malati is torn away thence by the order of the queen, Madhava in despair determines to apply to mysterious rites for gaining his end, and this leads us toa scene of awful Tantrika worship. The genius of Bhavabhati never appears to greater advantage than when depicting a scene of magnificence or terror. In a field in which dead bodies are burnt is situated atemple of the terrific goddess Chamunda, and the malignant priestess Kapd4la Kundala with her necklace of skulls (as her name implies) is engaged in worship. There goes Madhava with his offering of raw flesh, to obtain from ghosts some help towards the attainment CHAP, XL] DRAMA. Als of his end, -He offers the flesh to cis ‘and goblins and exclaims— Now. wake the terrors of the place, beset With crowding and malignant fiends 3 the flames From faneral pyres scarce lend their sullen light, -Clogged with their fleshly prey, to dissipate The fearful gloom that hems them in. Pale ghosts Sport with foul goblins, and their dissonant mirths In shrill respondent shrieks is echoed round. _ Well, be it so, I seek and must address them, Demons of ji, and disembodied spirits, - Who haunt+this spot, I bring you flesh for sale 5 The flesh of man, untouched by trenchant steel, And worthy your acceptance. (4 great noise) How the noise, High, shrill and indistinct, of chattering: sprites. Communicative, fills the charnel ground ! Strange forms Hike foxes flit along the sky = From the red hair of their lank bodies darts The meteor blaze; ox from their mouths that stretch From ear to ear, thickset with numerous fangs, Or eyes ox hearde or brows, ‘the radiance streams. And now I see the goblin host : 2 - * ry * 1 ok ee They mark my coming, and the half chewed morsel Fails to the howling wolf,—and now they fly. _ (Pauses, and looking round.) Race, dastardly as hideous! Aif is plunged . In utter gloom. The river flows before me, _ The boundary of the funeral ground, that winds ‘Through mouldering bones its interrupted way.