Philosophy and Religion / Harivamsa

Harivaṃśa

152. A description of the rainy season

VAISHAMPAYANA said:-In the rainy season, while looking at the sky filled with clouds Kāma having, a countenance like the full moon, said to Prabhāvati of beautiful eyes:

“O fair lady, see there appears the moon of beautiful rays covered with clouds like your face covered with hairs. O you of fair eye-brows, see the lightning on the cloud looks beautiful like your handsome gold ornament.

O you of fair limbs, the clouds are discharging torrents of rain like unto your necklace (1-3).

The cranes, emerging in the drops of water, are shinning like the rows of your teeth. O you of fair eye-brows, the lotuses being under water, the tanks full of streams do not look beautiful (4).

The clouds adorned with crane, like beautiful and clean teeth, are appearing like elephants, with huge tusks, about to fight with one another in the forest (5).

O you of beautiful limbs, like unto circlets on your forehead the three coloured rain-bow, adorning the sky and clouds, is gladdening the damsels (6).

Expanding their large feathers, the pea-hens looking perfectly beautiful in the company of their mates and delighted at the muttering of couds, are dancing and emitting notes in return (7).

Displaying their charming beauty for a moment on the turrets other peacocks are dancing on the roofs of the houses, white like the moon (8).

With their feathers exhausted, the beautiful peacocks, adorning for a moment the tops of the trees, are again goining to the naked ground in fear of new grown-grass (9).

The delightful wind, proceeding from cool drops of rain, like sandal-paste, is blowing carrying the fragrance of Sarjā and Arjuna flowers the very friend of Cupid (10).

O you of a fair body, had not this wind brought new showers and removed the exhaustion of sporting it would not have been so much liked by me (11).

What is dearer to men in this season of the union of lovers than the approach of this fragrant wind (12)?

O you of fair body, beholding the banks of the river "overflown with water swans exhausted, and united with Sārasas and Krounchas, are delightfully goining to find out quarters after their heart (13).

O you of beautiful eyes, on the departure of the Swans and Sarāsas emitting notes like the clatter of car-wheels, the rivers and tanks, shorn of beauty, do not appear charming any more (14).

The goddess sleep, informed of the true character of the rainy season and Hari, having saluted the most beautiful Sree, has sought refuge with Upendra, the lord of the world, lying down for rest in the celestial region (15).

O you having lotus eyes, the divine Upendra having fallen asleep the shinning moon, covered with cloth like cloud, is imitating the colour of his countenance (16).

Seeking to please Krishna, all the seasons are showering all sorts of flowers and bringing garlands of Kadamva, Neepa, Arjuna and Ketaka (17).

All the flowers, and trees, with the elephants, having their faces soiled with poison, and filled with bees, are exciting great curiosity in men (18).

As if seeing the sky, pressed down by the weight of clouds surcharged with water, your beautiful face, breast and thighs have entered into a ditch (19).

Beholding these charming clouds as if adorned with garlands of cranes it appears that they are showering grains on earth for the behoof of the world (20).

As a powerful king makes the infuriated wild elephants fight with his own so the wind is setting clouds surcharged with water against one another (21).

The clouds are pouring unearthly water, purified by air and delightful to sparrows, peacocks and other birds sprung from eggs (22).

As the twice-born ones, fond of truth and religion, recite the Riks encircled by their pupils, so the bulls are roaring with cows in the pasture ground (23).

One of the virtues of the rainy reason is that women take pleasure in living always in the company of their lovers (24).

O beautiful lady, the only defect that I perceive of the rainy season is that the moon, resembling your countenance, does not come in view, having his body possessed by the cloud-like Graha (25).

In this season when the moon appears in view at the interval of an approaching cloud, the people, as if with delight, behold a friend returning from a foreign country (26).

Their eyes, on beholding the moon, the witness of the lamentations of women suffering from separation, enjoy that festivity which those of the women, separated from their lovers, do on seeing them. So it appears to me: but this is not the fact (27).

The view of the moon is like a festival to the eyes of those women who are united with their lovers, and is like a forest-fire to those who suffer from separation, so the moon is the source of both pleasure and pain to women (28).

In your father's city there is the effulgence of the rays of the moon even in its absence; so you cannot form an idea of the merits and demerits of the moon and for this I praise him before you (29).

By practising hard austerities which are resorted to by the pious he has attained to the region of Brahmā which others can with difficulty acquire and is worshipped by all.

The Brāhmanas celebrate the glories of the great Soma in sacrifice with Sāman verses (30).

When the sacrificial fire was being brought by Pururavā from the region of the Gandharvas it was spoiled on the way. While searching that place a fig-tree was seen.

Collecting fuels from that tree the three fires were engendered. So it is that the moon, the lord of trees and herbs, revived the spoiled fire from the fig-tree.

Chandra (the moon) is the father of Budha, the author of most excellent deeds whose son was the king Pururavā (31).

O beautiful lady, formerly when his ambrosial body was drunk by the dreadful Munis the high souled Soma desired for Urvasi, the foremost of Apsaras (32).

In his family the intelligent Ayu attained to the celestial region, through the tips of the Kusa grass and secured the dignity of a demi-god and the heroic Nahusa acquired the dignity of the king of gods (33).

The moon, in whose family, the Divine Lord Hari, the creator of the world is born, for a work of the gods, as a Bhaima chief, remains always encircled by the daughters of Daksha (34).

In his family was born the high-souled Vasu, as if the flag of his race, who, by his deeds, attained to the dignity of a Lord Paramount;

the king Yadu, the foremost of the lunar race, in whose family, the Bhojas, resembling the king of gods, were born and who became the Lord Paramount, was also born in the family of the moon (35–56).

O you having lotus eyes, in Yadu's family, born in the lunar race no king has been born who is wily, atheistic, unrespectful, ugly and coward (37).

You are the daughter-in-law of an accomplished prince as you are the mine of accomplishments. Therefore bow unto Iswara fond of the pious.

O lady, the foremost of Purusha Nārāyaṇa, the refuge of the grand-father, the gods and the worlds, is your father-in-law. Bow unto him (38-39).

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