SONGS OF BIDYAPATI
Songs of Bidyapati
Childhood and
youth each other are nearing;
Her two eyes
their office yield to the hearing.
Her speech has
learned sweet maiden craft
And low not as of
old she laughed,
Her laughter
murmurs. A moon on earth
Is dawning into
perfect birth. Mirror in hand she apparels her now
And asks of her
sweet girl-comrades to show
What love is and
what love does
And all shamed
delight that sweet love owes.
And often she
sits by herself and sees
Smiling with
bliss her breasts’ increase,
Her own
milk-breasts that, plums at first,
Now into golden
oranges burst.
Day by day Love’s
vernal dreams
Expand her lovely
blossoming limbs.
Madhav I saw a marvellous flower
Of girls;
childhood and youth one power,
One presence
grown in one body fair.
Foolish maiden,
not thus declare
The oneness of
these contraries.
Rather the two
were yoked, say the wise.
Page– 219
II
Day by day her
milk-breasts drew splendour.
Wider her hips
grew, her middle more slender.
Love has enlarged
her childlike gaze.
Yea, all grace of
childhood and childhood’s ways
Fall from their
thrones and take sweet flight.
Her breasts
before were plums of light,
Golden oranges
next and then
As bodiless Love
made bloom with pain
Of increase her
body day by day,
Pomegranate
seed-cities were they.
Their fair
maturities now begin,
Now are they
fruits-of-opulence twin.
Madhav, I sought
thy lovely lady,
Bathing I found
her in woodland shady.
Coiled on her
heart but not to drape
Her thin dress
clung to her lovely shape.
Blest were his
eyes who had seen her thus
And his whole
life made felicitous.
Over her bosom
her great hair floods
With curls divine
two golden gods.
True love must
his be, 0 youth, who would play,
Her darling and
joy, with this beautiful may.
Page– 220
III
Now and again
a sidelong look
Along her
lashes its shy curve took.
Now and again
her thin white dress
O’erlies like
dust all her loveliness.
Now she
laughs divine and clear
And her
pearly teeth like stars appear,
And now to
hide in her robe make shift.
For a little
her startled feet run swift
But soon that
bounding gait subsides
And she in
maiden gravity glides.
Love’s
scholar she and newly set
To his first
lesson and alphabet.
Where her
bosom’s buds are hardly seen
Now she draws
fast her robe to screen,
Now careless
leaves. In her limbs divine
Child and
woman meet and twine.
Nor mark I
yet whether older she
Of girlhood
or younger of infancy.
Beautiful
Krishna, youth in her
Its childhood
begins, these signs declare.
Page– 221
IV
Childhood and
youth, maiden, are met
And strife twixt
their armed powers is set.
Now her ordered
locks she dresses,
Now scattering
loosens a storm of tresses.1
Sometimes she
covers her body fair,
Sometimes the
golden limbs are bare
In childhood’s
naked innocence..
And childhood’s
steadfast eyes with a sense
Of girlhood a
little waver now
And her bosom is
stained where the flowers grow.
Her light
uncertain feet now tell
The uncertain
heart and variable.
Love is awake but
his eyes are shut.
0 Krishna, flower
of lovers, put
In thy heart
patience, for surely she
Shall be brought
at last and given to thee.
1 falls
a cascade.
Page– 222
V
Playing she plays
not, so newly shy,
She may not brook
the passing eye.
Looking she looks
not lest surmise
Laugh from her
own girl-comrades’ eyes.
Hearken, 0
hearken, Madhav, to me.
Just is the case
I bring to thee.
Radha today these
eyes beheld;
A maid she is
unparalleled.
0 her face and
its lovely lights!
0 looks that
ravish, 0 charm that invites!
Flower of ruby
with lotus grows
In her vermeil
lips that exceed the rose;
And with honey
have snared her large twin eyes
Two shapes of
bees that may not rise;
And her brow’s
arch is as tho’ left slack
Love’s own bow in
hue were black.
Saith the envoy
girl whose words I teach
“The bloom other
limbs surpasseth speech.”
Page– 223
VI
In elder’s eyes’
she brooks not stay,
Half-clad no more
her body but alway
She covers her
beauty1 most maidenly.
Yet with young
girls when stayeth2 she
Knowing her
ripened child and budding may
They plague her
with sweet mockery.
Madhav, for thee
I wooed the sight
Of this fair
flower; whom some delight
Child to call,
but most agree
That woman’s
morning bloom has she.
When of Love’s
rites she hears and lovers’ play
She turns her
downcast eyes another way.
0 but her ears
drink greedily.
Should with more
words one tease her shame,
With tears and
angry smiles she utters blame.
Who is wise in
love alone knoweth
The way of a
girl, the poet sayeth.
1
limbs 2 bideth
Page– 224
VII
A little and a
little now
See the bright
bud half open blow.
Her swift and
wilful feet grown wise
Yield their
rudderless gait to the eyes.
Ever her hand to
her bosom’s dress
Clings to control
its waywardness.
Afraid to utter
her shy hushed thought
Her comrade-girls
she questions not.
Madhav. how shall faltering word
Her sweet and
twilight age record?
Love, even Love,
beholding her
In his own bonds
her captive were.
Nay but the lord
of all desire
Her heart’s
precincts raising higher
Has set for
passion’s sacred duty
Altars of
surpassing beauty.
Love’s speech her
listening heart doth stop
As the hunter’s
song the antelope.
Two powers
dispute this beauteous prize.
Nought one deems
gained while aught there is
To gain, nor the
other failure owns
While yet he
holds to his golden thrones.
Still with sweet
violence she clings
To her loved
childhood’s parting wings.
Page– 225
VIII
Childhood is fled
and youth in its seat;
Not light as of
old her wandering feet,
Yet are Love’s
glorious envoys two
Seeing her eyes
her errands do.
In secret dawns
each lovely smile
And laughter low
with maiden guile.
Her hand each
moment plucks her dress
Its fluttering
treasons to repress.
And all the low
speech of her lips
From a modest
head and drooping slips.
Her heavy hips
have now replaced
The old lost
pride of her rounded waist.
Thus I decide her
doubtful state
Conclusion sweet
of sweet debate.
Thine is this
fair decision’s fruit
Judgment to give
and execute.
I, Bidyapati,
love’s lights bring
To lady Lachhima
and the King.
Page– 226
IX
Ah how shall I
her lovely body express?
Fair things how many Nature in her
blended,
Mine own eyes saw ere my lips praise.
Her twin fair
feet were lordly leaves of summer,
Her gait vied with the forest’s best.
Upon two golden
trees a lion slender,
Thereover the hills of heaven were placed.
And on the hills
two lotuses were budding
That stemless kept their gracious hours.
In shape of
pearl-drops strung heaven’s stream descended,
Therefore not withered those sweet
flowers.
Her teeth
pomegranate-seeds on lips of ruby,
The sun and moon on either side,
Her hair eclipse,
but coming never nearer
Hid not at all their golden pride.
The cuckoo’s
speech, the antelope’s eyes has Radha,
And Love has in her glances thrones —
Upon two lotuses
two bees that hover
And sip their honey: these she owns
The spring’s five
children. 0 delicious maiden,
Not the wide worlds her second know,
To Shiva Singha
Rupnaraian my music
And lady Lachhima doth show.
Page– 227
X
Ah, who has built
this girl of nectarous face?
Ah, who this matchless, beauteous dove?
An omen and a bounteous boon of Love,
A garland of
triumphant grace!
0 glorious
countenance and 0 shaded deep
Delicious eyes for purple extolled,
You dark-winged flutterers in that lily of
gold
The splendour of
the snake who keep!
Thy tendrilled
down’s a snake, to drink cool winds
That from thy harbouring navel stirred,
But by the fancied bill of emperor bird
Cowed to thy
breast’s hill-cavern winds.
The strong
five-missiled Love with arrows three
The three worlds conquered; two remained
Which to thine eyes some cruel Fate did
lend
To slay poor
lovers’ hearts with thee.
A well of love is
he who knoweth, 0 girl,
Her beauty I the poet sing
To Shiva Singha Rupnaraian the King
And Lachhima,
his bosom’s pearl.
Page– 228
XI
How
shall I tell of Caanou’s beauty bright?
Men will believe it a vision of the night.
As lightning was his saffron garment blown
Over the
beautiful cloud-limbs half shown.
His coal-black
curls assumed with regal grace
A peacock’s plume
above that moonlike face.
And such a
fragrance fierce the mad wind wafts
Love wakes and
trembles for his flowery shafts.
Yea, what shall
words do, friend? Love’s whole estate
Exhausted was
that wonder to create.
Page– 229
XII
Caanou top see I had desire;
Caanou seen, my
life grew fire.
Thenceforth deep
down, ah, foolish I,
In a great sea
of love I lie.
Hardly I know, a
girl and weak,
What these words
mean my heart would speak.
Only my tears
for ever rain,
Only my soul
burns in its pain.
O wherefore,
friend, did mine eyes see,
Friend of my
bosom, thoughtlessly?
When a little
mirth was all I planned,
I have given my
life into another’s hand.
I know not what
this lovely thief
Did to me in
that moment brief.
Surely such
craft none yet possessed!
He robbed my
heart out of its nest
Only with
seeing, and gone is he
Taking my poor
heart out fart from me
And ah! His eyes
did then express
The more I
labour to forget
My very soul
remembers it.
Mourn not, sweet
girl, for thy heart’s sake;
Who took thy
heart, thyself at last shall take.
Page– 230
XIII
Sweet and
strange as ‘twere a dream,
I have seen a
vision gleam.
Lotus flowers
were his feet,
Bearing moons a
carcanet.
Rounded thighs
and ankles smooth
Towered of the
glories of youth,
And continual
lightnings drape,
So I dreamed,
that faultless shape.
Dark Calindie,
by thy stream
Slowly went he
in my dream.
And I dreamed of
boughs that shone
With a row of
moons thereon,
Fingers fair
like young leaves born
With a rosy
light of morn.
Flower-of-coral
bloom his lips,
Over which
Love’s parrot peeps,
And his eyes
like wild birds wake
And each curl’s
a little snake
Stung me. Twice
I looked and then
With a sweet and
sudden pain
Maddened. Ah,
what power is this
For a look can
slay with bliss?
Even so leaps, 0
my dove,
Into the heart
made for him. Love.
Page– 231
XIV
0 friend, my
friend, has pain a farther bound
Which sounds can
utter, for which words are found?
Fiercely the
flute’s breath through me ran and thrilled,
My body with
sweet dreadful sound was filled.
By violence that
brooks not of control
The cruel music
enters all my soul.
Then every limb
enamoured swoons with shame
And every
thought is wrapped in utter flame.
Yea, all my
labouring body mightily
Was filled and
panted with sweet agony.
I dared not lift
my eyes. My elders spoke
Around me when
that wave of passion broke,
And such a
languor through my being crept,
My very robe no
more its office kept.
With slow feet
on their careful steps intent
Panting into the
inner house I went.
Even yet I
tremble from the peril past,
So fierce a
charm the flute upon me cast.
Page– 232
XV
As the
swan sails, so moved she
Then when
her face was lost to me.
As she went, 0
she turned, she looked, she smiled.
Ah arrows
made of Love’s own flower,
0 sweet
magician! faery power!
No mortal maid
but an enchanteress wild.
Her arms,
those sweet twin lovelinesses,
Clasped,
bent in languorous self-caresses,
Enhaloed had the
lustres of her face.
Her
fingers slim for Champaks taking,
Love to
delicious worship waking,
A moon of autumn
with such flowers did bless.
Her
careless breasts (0 happy lover!)
Their rich
defences but half discover
Because of haste
when the light robe was worn.
As tho’ by
winds that overpower
Clouds in
the season of storm and shower,
The hills of
heaven thro’ a dim veil made morn.
Vision
delightful! shall again
I ease
with you my life’s deep pain!
Ah! shall again
division’s boundaries break?
The henna
that her feet enrosed
Was fire
wherein my heart enclosed
Did burn and all
my limbs to burn did make.
0 lovely
maiden, hear the speech
These
numbers murmur each to each.
My soul since
then no ease, no quiet knows.
Ah! shall
I ever, fortune, meet her,
The woman
than all women sweeter,
The jewel of all
beauties that earth owes?
Page– 233
XVI
The maned steeds
in the mountain glen1 for fear
Of these
thy locks, 0 maiden, hide.
The moon at thy
face from the high heaven doth peer,
And thy
voice alarms the cuckoo’s pride.
Thy gait hath
driven the swan to the forest-mere,
And the
wild deer flee thy large eyes’ light.
Ah beautiful
girl! why mute then to my love?
Lo! fear of thee
all these to flight doth move, —
Whom dost
thou fear then, maiden bright?
The lotus-buds
in the water closed reside
Thy paps
being lovelier and the flame
Absorbs the
pitcher and in air abide
The
pomegranate and quince at thy breasts’ sweet name.
Yea, Shiv doth
swallow poison and in ooze
The golden
lotus-stalk, lo! shuns
Thine arm and the new leaves shake these hands to see,
But ah! my weary
lips refuse
O’erstrained with honey-sweet comparisons
All images to tell Love taught to me.
1
glens
Page– 234
XVII
Why fell her
face upon my sight,
That is a
lovelier moon in light,
Since but for
one poor moment she
With her sweet
eyes emparadised me?
Surely it was to
slay my soul
That under her
long lashes stole
The cruel grace
of that transient look.
Desire laid
hands upon her breasts
And there my
poor heart clinging rests:
Love new-born
its office took.
My ears yet wait
upon her words;
Her murmurs
dwell like caged birds.
I strive to
part; my feet refuse.
The net of sweet
desires is loose,
Yet thence my
body will not move,
This is the very
sea of love.1
¹Faint with the sudden hands of love.
Page– 235
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