Book Iv. Canto Li. Svayamprabh'a
Canto Li.: Svayamprabh
'Assailed by thirst and hunger, dame,
Within a gloomy vault we came.
We saw the cavern opening wide,
And straight within its depths we hied.
But utterly amazed are we
At all the marvels that we see.
Whose are the golden trees that gleam
With splendour like the morning's beam?
These cates of noblest sort? these roots?
This wondrous store of rarest fruits?
Whose are these calm and cool retreats,
These silver homes and golden seats,
And lattices of precious stones?
Who is the happy lord that owns
The golden trees, of rarest scent,
Neath loads of fruit and blossom bent?
Who, strong in holy zeal, had power
To deck the streams with richest dower,
And bade the lilies bright with gold
The glory of their blooms unfold,
Where fish in living gold below
The sheen of changing colours show?
Thine is the holy power, I ween,
That beautified the wondrous scene;
But if another's, lady, deign
To tell us, and the whole explain.'
To him the lady of the cave
In words like, these her answer gave:
'Skilled Maya framed in days of old
This magic wood of growing gold.
The chief artificer in place
Was he of all the Dnav.
He, for his wise enchantments famed,
This glorious dwelling planned and framed
He for a thousand years endured
The sternest penance, and secured
From Brahm of all boons the best,
The knowledge Us'anas 1b possessed.
Lord, by that boon, of all his will,
He fashioned all with perfect skill;
And, with his blissful state content,
In this vast grove a season spent.
By Indra's jealous bolt he fell
For loving Hem's 2b charms too well.
And Brahm on that nymph bestowed
The treasures of this fair abode,
Wherein her tranquil days to spend
In happiness that ne'er may end.
Sprung of a lineage old and high,
Merusvarni's 3b daughter, I
Guard ever for that heavenly dame
This home, Svayamprabht 4b my name,-
For I have loved the lady long,
So skilled in arts of dance and song.
But say what cause your steps has led
The mazes of this grove to tread.
p. 383
How, strangers did ye chance to spy
The wood concealed from wanderer's eye?
Tell clearly why ye come: but first
Eat of this fruit and quench your thirst.'
Footnotes
382:1 The skin of the black antelope was the ascetic's proper garb.
382:1b Us'anas is the name of a sage mentioned in the Vedas. In the epic poems he is identified with S'ukra, the regent of the planet Venus, and described as the preceptor of the Asuras or Daityas, and possessor of vast knowledge.
382:2b Hemne of the nymphs of Paradise.
382:3b Merusvarni general name for the last four of the fourteen Manus.
382:4b Svayamprabh "self-luminous"
is according to De Gubernatis the moon:
"In the "Svayamprabhtoo", we meet with the moon as a good fairy who, from the golden palace which she reserves for her friend Hem golden one:) is during a month the guide, in the vast cavern of Hanumant and his companions, who have lost their way in the search of the dawn Sitis is not quite accurate: HanumHanumn and his companions wander for a month in the cavern without a guide, and then Svayamprabhs them out.
'Assailed by thirst and hunger, dame,
Within a gloomy vault we came.
We saw the cavern opening wide,
And straight within its depths we hied.
But utterly amazed are we
At all the marvels that we see.
Whose are the golden trees that gleam
With splendour like the morning's beam?
These cates of noblest sort? these roots?
This wondrous store of rarest fruits?
Whose are these calm and cool retreats,
These silver homes and golden seats,
And lattices of precious stones?
Who is the happy lord that owns
The golden trees, of rarest scent,
Neath loads of fruit and blossom bent?
Who, strong in holy zeal, had power
To deck the streams with richest dower,
And bade the lilies bright with gold
The glory of their blooms unfold,
Where fish in living gold below
The sheen of changing colours show?
Thine is the holy power, I ween,
That beautified the wondrous scene;
But if another's, lady, deign
To tell us, and the whole explain.'
To him the lady of the cave
In words like, these her answer gave:
'Skilled Maya framed in days of old
This magic wood of growing gold.
The chief artificer in place
Was he of all the Dnav.
He, for his wise enchantments famed,
This glorious dwelling planned and framed
He for a thousand years endured
The sternest penance, and secured
From Brahm of all boons the best,
The knowledge Us'anas 1b possessed.
Lord, by that boon, of all his will,
He fashioned all with perfect skill;
And, with his blissful state content,
In this vast grove a season spent.
By Indra's jealous bolt he fell
For loving Hem's 2b charms too well.
And Brahm on that nymph bestowed
The treasures of this fair abode,
Wherein her tranquil days to spend
In happiness that ne'er may end.
Sprung of a lineage old and high,
Merusvarni's 3b daughter, I
Guard ever for that heavenly dame
This home, Svayamprabht 4b my name,-
For I have loved the lady long,
So skilled in arts of dance and song.
But say what cause your steps has led
The mazes of this grove to tread.
p. 383
How, strangers did ye chance to spy
The wood concealed from wanderer's eye?
Tell clearly why ye come: but first
Eat of this fruit and quench your thirst.'
Footnotes
382:1 The skin of the black antelope was the ascetic's proper garb.
382:1b Us'anas is the name of a sage mentioned in the Vedas. In the epic poems he is identified with S'ukra, the regent of the planet Venus, and described as the preceptor of the Asuras or Daityas, and possessor of vast knowledge.
382:2b Hemne of the nymphs of Paradise.
382:3b Merusvarni general name for the last four of the fourteen Manus.
382:4b Svayamprabh "self-luminous"
is according to De Gubernatis the moon:
"In the "Svayamprabhtoo", we meet with the moon as a good fairy who, from the golden palace which she reserves for her friend Hem golden one:) is during a month the guide, in the vast cavern of Hanumant and his companions, who have lost their way in the search of the dawn Sitis is not quite accurate: HanumHanumn and his companions wander for a month in the cavern without a guide, and then Svayamprabhs them out.
