Ryder, Arthur William; Bhartrihari [Bhartr.hari];
Women's eyes: being verses translated from the Sanskrit
A. M. Robertson, 1910, 100 pages
topics: | poetry | sanskrit
In short verses the Hindus excel. Their mastery of form, their play of fancy, their depth and tenderness of feeling, are all exquisite. Of the many who wrote such verses, the greatest is Bhartrihari. He lived some fifteen hundred years ago as king of Ujjain, and lived most royally, tasting the sweets of life without thought of the morrow. At last he was roused from his carefree existence by an event which surprised and shocked him. He gave a magic fruit to a girl whom he loved. She loved another, and passed the gift on to him. He presented it to his lady-love, who in her turn loved the king. When Bhartrihari received the magic fruit from her and learned of its travels, he was disgusted with the fleeting joys of the world, gave up his kingdom, and spent the rest of his life in a cave, writing poetry. The circumstance which led to his retirement is commemorated in the following verse: The maid my true heart loves would not my true love be; She seeks another man; another maid loves he; And me another maid her own true love would see: Oh, fie on her and him and Love and HER and me! [...] I have striven faithfully for a literal rendering. Though a rendering into verse cannot be quite as close as a prose version, nothing has been wilfully added or subtracted. One matter deserves notice here; I have occasionally translated Indian godnames, Shiva or Brahma, by the word God. ... The present volume does not encroach unduly upon the excellent work of P. B. More: A Century /of Indian Epigrams. Only a few of the verses chosen by him are translated here, and even these in a manner quite different.
The world is full of women's eyes, Defiant, filled with shy surprise, Demure, a little overfree, Or simply sparkling roguishly; It seems a gorgeous lily-bed, Whichever way I turn my head.
The wrinkles on my face are all untold; My hair is gray and thin; My limbs are sadly feeble grown, and old: Bat love is young, and sin.
"When she is far, I only want to see her When she is seen, I only want to kiss her; When she is kissed, I never want to flee her; I know that I could never bear to miss her.
A diamond you may draw From an alligator's jaw; You may cross the raging ocean like a pool; A cobra you may wear Like a blossom in your hair; But you never can convince a stubborn fool. appears as verse 9 in Barbara Stoler Miller's Bhartrihari: poems: A man may tear a jewel From a sea monster's jaws, Cross a tumultuous sea Of raging tides, Or twine garlandwise A wrathful serpent on his head. But no man can alter The thoughts of an obstinate fool.
Seven arrows pierce my heart: The moonbeams that by day depart; The maid whose youthful beauty flies; The pool wherein the lotus dies; The handsome man whose lips are dumb; The rich man, miserly and glum; The good man sunk in suffering; The rogue in favor with the king. [kosambi verse 10]
And when the rainy days are come, Your lady-love must stay at home; She clings to you, a little bold Because she shivers with the cold; The breeze is fresh with heaven's spray And drives her lassitude away: When happy lovers are together, The rainy time is fairest weather.
The deer, the fish, the good man hunger For grass, for water, for content; Yet hunter, fisher, scandalmonger Pursue each harmless innocent. appears as verse 32 in Barbara Stoler Miller's Bhartrihari: poems: The deer, the fish, and the man of virtue Only care for grass or sea or peace. The hunter, the fisherman, and the cynic Are wanton enemies on earth.
While life is vigorous and bright, While sickness comes not, nor decay, While all your powers are at their height, While yet old age is far away, Then, wise man, let your thoughts be turning To heaven's hopes and fears of hell; For when the house is fired and burning, It is too late to dig a well. (kosambi 194 )
Women's Eyes 1 If Only We Might Dress in Air 2 Love Is Young 3 Love Grows by What It Feeds on 4 Gentle Eyes 5 The Stubborn Fool—I 6 The Stubborn Fool—II 7 Seven Arrows 8 Substitutes 9 Sweet and Bitter 10 When I Knew a Little Bit 11 Whom Does She Lovef 12 Arrows of Love 13 The Danger of Delay 14 Better to Dwell in Mountains Wild 15 The April Wind 16 My Folly's Done 17 Does She Love Me? 18 Remedies 19 The Beautiful and the Good 20 The Power of Money 21 Desire Is Young 22 Thou Art a Flower 23 The Divine Decree 24 Two Kings 25 Absence and Union 26 The Serpent-Woman 27 Can She Be Dear 28 The Decline of True Learning 29 The Last Day 30 Logic 31 The Anger of the King 32 The Rains 33 The Lovers' Ally 34 Why! 35 All the World 's a Stage 36 The Way of the World 37 She Only Looked 38 Who Understands a Man! 39 Untrustworthy Things 40 Two Views of Life 41 Procrastination 42 Should Fancy Cease 43 What Thenf—I 44 What Then!—II 45 The Queen of Love 46 Joyous Treasures 47 Vexations—I 48 Vexations—II 49 Love, the Fisher 50 Ephemeral Potions 51 All These Things Shall Be Added 52 The Blind Forest 53 The Littleness of the World 54 Friendship's End 55 A Wasted Life—I 56 A Wasted Life—II 57 A Wasted Life—IH 58 Flaming Banners 59 The Thief of Hearts 60 Two Bands of Friendship 61 Choosing a Vocation 62 The Good Are Bare 63 There Was a Noble City 64 Where Education Fails 65 On Giving a Daughter in Marriage 66 Struggling Fancies 67 Oh, Might I End the Quest! 68 What Delights and Hurts 69 The Sweetest Things 70 The Unlucky Man 71 A Reason for Renunciation 72 Renunciation 73 The Better Part 74 The Five Bobbers 75 When Woman Wills 76 A Little Knowledge 77 The Weaker Sex 78 Young Womanhood 79 v-The Bravest of the Brave 80 Dignity 81 In the Days of Thy Youth 82 They Want the Earth 83 The Beasts That Don't Eat Grass 84 Why Men Beg 85 The Wise Misogynist 86 Nectar and Poison 87 The Two Things That Matter 88 The One Thing Needful 89 Unintelligible Virtue 90 The Lines of Pate 91 Poverty 92 How Hard Fate Grips! 93 When My Love Draws Nigh 94 The Hermit 95 Why Go to Court! 96 Impossible! 97 Hindrances 98 Divine Vision 99 Why My Poems Died 100