Malavikagnimitram (7 page)

MALAVIKA
: Then why am I getting so worked up?
(
Turns away angrily.
)

AGNIMITRA
: Look at your friend's face.

Her eyebrows tense,
ruining her tilaka.
Her lower lip trembles
as she turns away, dejected with jealousy,
as if these were the exact expressions
taught by her master
for displaying anger at a lover's mistake. //9//

GAUTAMA
: Get ready to soothe her.

MALAVIKA
: Even the noble Gautama serves her there.
(
She tries to face another direction
.)

BAKULAVALIKA
(
blocking Malavika
): But you're not angry now, are you?

MALAVIKA
: If you think I'm still angry, I'll show you real anger.

AGNIMITRA
(
moving forward
):
Oh lotus-eyes,
why be so upset about things painted in a picture?
Am I not before your own eyes,
a slave to no other? //10//

MALAVIKA
(
to herself
): Why did the painting of the king make me so angry?
(
She brings her hands together with an embarrassed look on her face.
)

The king feigns a timid heart.

GAUTAMA
: Why so indifferent, my lord?

AGNIMITRA
: Because your friend is unfaithful.

GAUTAMA
: Not at all! Do you really find her fickle?
⁷⁹

AGNIMITRA
: Listen.

Appearing before my eyes in a dream,
she disappears in a blink
and though frail,
she suddenly slips from my arms.
Afflicted by the sickness of passion
and the illusion of union,
how, friend, can my heart keep faith in her? //11//

BAKULAVALIKA
: You've refused the king many times before, my friend, now prove yourself loyal.

MALAVIKA
: But I'm so unlucky, my friend, the king's hard to meet, even in a dream.

BAKULAVALIKA
: My lord, please reply.

AGNIMITRA
:
What's the point in responding?
The fire of five arrows
⁸⁰
is our witness.
I've offered myself to your friend—
not to be served, but to serve, in secret. //12//

BAKULAVALIKA
: I'm so grateful.
⁸¹

GAUTAMA
(
walking around with excitement
): Bakulavalika, there's a deer coming to eat the shoots of the sapling ashoka tree. Come, let's shoo her away.

BAKULAVALIKA
: All right.
(
Sets off.
)

AGNIMITRA
: But a good friend must look out for me.

GAUTAMA
: You don't need to tell Gautama!

BAKULAVALIKA
: Noble Gautama, I'll stand out of sight, and you can guard the door.

GAUTAMA
: Perfect!

Exit Bakulavalika.

GAUTAMA
(
walking and keeping a lookout
): In the meantime, I can sit on this quartz slab. Oh, how pleasant the feel of this special stone.
(
Falls asleep
.)

Malavika is seized with fear.

AGNIMITRA
:
My beauty, let go your fear of union,
for I have waited long for your love.
I'm like a mango tree, and you—
the atimukta vine wrapped around me. //13//

MALAVIKA
: My heart wants to, but I'm unable to act out of fear of the queen.

AGNIMITRA
: Oh, but there's nothing to fear, nothing at all.

MALAVIKA
: You say you're not afraid, but I've seen the king's behaviour before the queen.

AGNIMITRA
:
Your lips are like bimba fruit,
but civility is a Bimbaka
⁸²
family tradition,
and whatever life I have,
it is bound to the hopes of your long eyes. //14//

Accept this man who's loved you for so long.
(
He comes close to embrace her, Malavika avoids him with a gesture.
)

AGNIMITRA
(
to himself
): It's so endearing, an innocent girl crossing into the affairs of love.

She trembles at my touch,
resisting my anxious fingers at her belt,
her hands move to cover her breasts,
as I embrace her by force,
and she turns away, as I raise her face,
to drink her long lashes.
She denies me so artfully, and yet,
all my desires are satisfied. //15//

Iravati and Nipunika enter.

IRAVATI
: Nipunika, did Chandrika really tell you she saw Gautama alone on the summer house terrace?

NIPUNIKA
: Why would I tell my lady anything else?

IRAVATI
: In that case, let's go check on the king's friend, dispel any doubts, and . . .

NIPUNIKA
: Does my lady have something more to say?

IRAVATI
: Oh yes—and ask forgiveness from the king in the painting.

NIPUNIKA
: But why not go directly to the king?

IRAVATI
: Silly girl, the king is no longer as he was in the painting. He's consigned his heart to another. This gesture is simply for me to atone for overstepping the bounds.

NIPUNIKA
: This way, this way, my lady.
(
Both walk about
.)

NAGARIKA
(
entering
): Greetings, my lady! The queen says: ‘I'm no longer jealous. I only had Malavika and her friend chained to affirm your high position. If you like, I can speak to my husband on your behalf. Tell me what you want.'

IRAVATI
: Nagarika, tell the queen: ‘Who am I to command the queen? She's shown her affection for me by punishing her servants. Who else offers me such kindness?'

NAGARIKA
: Very well.
(
Exits.
)

NIPUNIKA
(
walking around and looking out
): My lady, there is noble Gautama, sitting near the door of the lake house, asleep, like a bull in the market.
⁸³

IRAVATI
: How sad! I hope it's not the lingering effects of that poison.

NIPUNIKA
: His face looks calm, and he was treated by Dhruvasiddhi, there's no need to worry.

GAUTAMA
(
talking in his sleep
): Oh lady Malavika . . .

NIPUNIKA
: Did you hear that, my lady? Who gave birth to this useless idiot? He's always filling his tummy with cheap sweets, and now he's dreaming of Malavika!

GAUTAMA
: I hope you replace Iravati.

NIPUNIKA
: Did you hear that filth? I'll hide behind this pillar, and with this wooden stick shaped like a snake, I'll scare that wretched brahmin!
⁸⁴

IRAVATI
: This idiot deserves a snakebite!

Nipunika flings the wooden stick towards Gautama.

GAUTAMA
(
suddenly waking up
): Oh, oh! Ah, a snake has fallen on me!

AGNIMITRA
(
rushing out
): Fear not, my friend, fear not!

MALAVIKA
(
following
): Don't rush out so quickly, my lord. He said there's a snake.

IRAVATI
: Oh no, no! The king is running this way.

GAUTAMA
(
laughing out loud
): But this is a wooden stick! This is what I get in return for making snake-fang marks with ketaki thorns!

Bakulavalika enters throwing open the curtain.

BAKULAVALIKA
: Please don't come any further, your majesty. Something out there is slithering like a snake.

IRAVATI
: Bakulavalika, congratulations on fulfilling your promise to play messenger.

BAKULAVALIKA
: Be kind, my lady. Does the god of rain forget the earth when frogs croak?
⁸⁵
You may ask his majesty what I have done.

GAUTAMA
: Enough. Just by seeing you, my lady, his majesty has forgotten about the time you rejected him. Won't you be kind, my lady?

IRAVATI
: What can I do? I'm still angry.

AGNIMITRA
: It's not proper for you to be angry. It's unfounded.

My beauty, has your face
ever become really angry, without cause,
even for a second?
How can the night eclipse a round moon
on a day when the moon isn't full? //16//

IRAVATI
: You're right to say ‘not proper'! Now that my share of happiness has passed on to another, it's foolish of me to keep getting angry.

AGNIMITRA
: You're making it out to be something else, I honestly don't see a reason for anger.

Even if they've committed a crime,
servants aren't punished on holidays.
So I've set them free,
and now they approach to pay their respects. //17//

IRAVATI
: Nipunika, go and tell the queen that I've seen her favouritism today.

NIPUNIKA
: Very well.
(
Exits.
)

GAUTAMA
(
to himself
): What an unfortunate turn of events! The pet pigeon escapes her cage only to fall into the view of the cat!

NIPUNIKA
(
entering
): My lady, on my way I saw Madhavika and she told me how it happened . . . (
Whispers in Iravati's ear.
)

IRAVATI
(
to herself
): It all makes sense, it's an evil plot hatched by that vile brahmin!
(
Aloud, looking at Gautama
) This is the plan of an adviser versed in love manuals!

GAUTAMA
: My lady, if I've read even a single syllable in those manuals, let me forget the sacred Gayatri mantra.

AGNIMITRA
(
to himself
): Oh, how will I get myself out of this mess!

JAYASENA
(
rushing in
): My lord, Princess Vasulakshmi was running after her ball when she was terribly frightened by a brown monkey. Now she's resting in the queen's lap, trembling like a leaf in the breeze. She's still not back to normal.

AGNIMITRA
: Oh dear, children are so timid.

IRAVATI
(
anxiously
): Quickly, noble king, quickly go and console her. Don't let her fear get aggravated.

AGNIMITRA
: I'll bring her back to her senses.
(
Moves around quickly
.)

GAUTAMA
(
to himself
): Well done, brown monkey, well done! You've got our friend out of this mess just in time.

Exit Agnimitra along with Gautama, Iravati, Nipunika and Jayasena.

(
Backstage
) Wonderful, wonderful! Even before the fifth night of the dohada ritual, the golden ashoka is filled with blossoms. I'll tell the queen.

Both women are happy on hearing this.

BAKULAVALIKA
: Cheer up, my dear. The queen is true to her word.

MALAVIKA
: Then let's follow the keeper of the garden.

BAKULAVALIKA
: All right.

All exit.

END ACT IV

Enter the keeper of the garden.

MADHUKARIKA
: With reverence and care, I made an altar for the golden ashoka and now I must inform the queen that her command is done.
(
Moving around
) Oh, I hope fate takes pity on Malavika. For though the queen was upset with her, hopefully she'll be kind and forgiving now that the ashoka is blooming. Now where's the queen? (
Looking around
) Ah, here's the hunchback Sarasaka, one of the queen's closest attendants. He's leaving the courtyard holding a cloth-covered box stamped with a red lac seal. I'll ask him.

Enter Sarasaka as described.

MADHUKARIKA
(
approaching
): Sarasaka! Where are you going?

SARASAKA
: Madhukarika, I'm going to give the brahmins versed in the Vedas their daily alms. I'll hand this over to the royal priest.

MADHUKARIKA
: What for?

SARASAKA
: Ever since she heard that the army general had appointed young Prince Vasumitra to guard the sacrificial horse, the queen has been making an offering of eighteen gold pieces to worthy brahmins to ensure his good health.

MADHUKARIKA
: Excellent. So where's the queen? Is she busy?

SARASAKA
: She's sitting in the shrine, listening to the scribes read out a letter from her brother Virasena about matters in Vidarbha.

MADHUKARIKA
: So what's the news from the king of Vidarbha?

SARASAKA
: Supposedly the king's forces led by Virasena crushed the lord of Vidarbha and freed Madhavasena. And then, having accepted the terms of defeat,
⁸⁶
the king offered many precious jewelled chariots along with a few attendants, mostly courtesans skilled in the arts. He even sent his personal messenger to see the king in private.
⁸⁷

MADHUKARIKA
: Go, attend to your duties. And I'll find the queen.

Both exit.

END INTRODUCTORY SCENE

Enter doorkeeper.

JAYASENA
: The queen is busy looking after the ashoka tree and ordered me to tell the noble king, ‘I want to see the beautiful blossoms of the ashoka tree with my husband.' I'll wait for the king since he's busy making pronouncements.
⁸⁸
(
Walks around
.)

Backstage.

BOTH BARDS
: Hail the king whose army tramples enemy heads!
⁸⁹

IRST BARD
:
In a garden on Vidisha's banks,
filled with the sweet song of cuckoos,
you delight in spring,
embodying Love who is without a body.
Your powers grow by granting gifts,
⁹⁰
and enemies bend down
like the trees on Varada's banks,
used as posts for ceremonial elephants! //1//

SECOND BARD
:
You seized the Vidarbha king's glory
with your battalions
like Krishna taking Rukmini
with both arms, heavy as iron bars!
For the love of heroes,
wise men composed verses about both deeds,
making the stories famous
throughout the land of Kratha-kaishika!
⁹¹
//2//

JAYASENA
: The king is coming this way, his arrival signalled by sounds of victory! I'd better step out of the way and move to the terrace gate
(
standing to one side
)
.

Enter the king with his friend.

AGNIMITRA
:
Thinking of how hard it is to join my beloved
while hearing how I humbled Vidarbha with my might,
makes my heart feel both sadness and joy,
like a lotus struck by rain and shine. //3//

GAUTAMA
: As I see it, your majesty will soon enjoy complete happiness.

AGNIMITRA
: How?

GAUTAMA
: Well, today Queen Dharini said to Sister Kaushiki, ‘Sister, if you take pride in decorating, then dress Malavika up in a Vidarbhan wedding dress.' Then Sister Kaushiki adorned Malavika beautifully. And so the queen is satisfying your heart's desire.

AGNIMITRA
: That's more like it, my friend! In the past Dharini always looked after my needs without any jealousy.

JAYASENA
(
approaching
): Victory to the king! The queen requests, ‘Help my efforts bear fruit, come and see the bright blossoms of the golden ashoka tree.'

AGNIMITRA
: Of course. Is the queen already there?

JAYASENA
: Yes. She generously honoured the ladies of the harem and dismissed them. Now she waits for the king with only her personal attendants, led by Malavika.

AGNIMITRA
(
happily looking at Gautama
): Jayasena! Lead the way.

JAYASENA
: This way, my lord, this way.

All walk around.

GAUTAMA
(
looking around
): Oh friend, the youth of spring seems to have faded from this pleasure grove.

AGNIMITRA
:
Before us scattered amaranth and mango trees
bursting with fruit,
⁹²
my mind is unsettled by an inner ripening
of this season's youth. //4//

GAUTAMA
(
moving around
): Oh look, your majesty, the golden ashoka seems to be wearing a costume of flower clusters.

AGNIMITRA
: It's only natural that it was late to bloom. For now it carries an uncommon
⁹³
beauty. Look . . .

It's as if all the ashoka trees,
early in displaying the fertility of spring,
have gifted their flowers to this tree,
whose longing has now ended. //5//

GAUTAMA
: Calm down, for even when she's around us, Dharini keeps Malavika close.

AGNIMITRA
(
joyously
): You see, my friend,

The queen humbly rises to greet me,
along with my beloved,
like the Earth with Lakshmi,
who's forgotten the lotus in her hand. //6//

Enter Dharini, Malavika, Kaushiki and their attendants to the side.

MALAVIKA
(
to herself
): I know the reason behind the engagement preparations.
⁹⁴
My heart trembles like a dewdrop on a lotus petal, and my left eye twitches constantly.

GAUTAMA
: Oh friend, doesn't lady Malavika look stunning in that special wedding dress?

AGNIMITRA
: I see her adorned with ornaments.

Wearing a well-draped
⁹⁵
silk robe and modest jewellery,
she appears to me like a moonlit spring night
when star clusters rise along with the moon. //7//

DHARINI
(
approaching
): Long live the king!

GAUTAMA
: May your majesty be prosperous!

KAUSHIKI
: May the lord be victorious!

AGNIMITRA
: Greetings, Sister.

KAUSHIKI
: May your wishes be fulfilled.

DHARINI
(
smiling
): My lord, I hear this ashoka tree has become a meeting place for you to entertain young ladies.

GAUTAMA
: Oh, you're being praised!

AGNIMITRA
(
bashfully walking around the ashoka tree
):
The ashoka deserves to be the object
of such reverence, does it not?
For she honoured the queen's efforts,
by scorning the call of spring's bounty
with her flowers. //8//

GAUTAMA
: Do relax, look at the youthful . . .

DHARINI
: Who?

GAUTAMA
: . . . beauty of the golden ashoka flowers.

All sit down.

AGNIMITRA
(
to himself, looking at Malavika
):
I'm like a chakravaka bird, my beloved his mate
and Dharini the night, who prevents our union. //9//

Enter Maudgalya.

MAUDGALYA
: Victory to the king! The minister says, ‘Two skilled courtesans, part of the king of Vidarbha's peace offering, haven't been presented yet because they were exhausted from the journey. Now they're fit to appear before the king. Let your majesty advise.'

AGNIMITRA
: Let them enter.

MAUDGALYA
: As the king commands.
(
Exits and returns along with the two.
)

JYOTSNIKA
(
aside
): Oh, Rajanika, though we're entering this palace for the first time, my soul feels happy from within.

RAJANIKA
: Oh, Jyotsnika, I feel the same way! Isn't there a saying: ‘The heart anticipates the coming of sorrow and joy'?

JYOTSNIKA
: I hope it's true now.

MAUDGALYA
: Here is the king with his queen. Ladies, you may come.

Both approach. Malavika and Kaushiki look at each other upon seeing the two courtesans.

JYOTSNIKA
and
RAJANIKA
: Long live the king! Long live the queen!

AGNIMITRA
: Be seated.

Both sit down.

AGNIMITRA
: Which arts have you two studied?

JYOTSNIKA
and
RAJANIKA
: We're skilled in music, your majesty.

AGNIMITRA
: My queen, please choose one of the two.

DHARINI
: Take a look, Malavika, whom would you like to accompany your singing?

JYOTSNIKA
and
RAJANIKA
(
looking at Malavika
): Oh! It's the princess! Long live the princess!
(
They shed tears along with Malavika.
)

Everyone watches in shock.

AGNIMITRA
: Who are you two? And who is this?

JYOTSNIKA
: My lord, she is our princess.

AGNIMITRA
: But how?

JYOTSNIKA
and
RAJANIKA
: Please listen, your majesty. This is Malavika, the younger sister of Prince Madhavasena. She was released from bondage when you conquered the king of Vidarbha with your victorious army.

DHARINI
: Is she really a princess? How wrong of me, I've been using sandalwood for sandals!

AGNIMITRA
: How did our lady come to such a state?

MALAVIKA
(
sighing to herself
): By a stroke of fate.

RAJANIKA
: Please listen, your majesty. When Prince Madhavasena was captured by his kinsmen, the noble Sumati secretly took her away, while attendants like us remained behind.

AGNIMITRA
: I heard about this earlier, but what happened next?

JYOTSNIKA
and
RAJANIKA
: This is all we know. We don't know what happened after.

KAUSHIKI
: I will explain the unfortunate events that followed.

JYOTSNIKA
and
RAJANIKA
: Princess, this sounds like the voice of noble Kaushiki.

MALAVIKA
: It is.

JYOTSNIKA
and
RAJANIKA
: It's hard to recognize the noble Kaushiki when she's wearing the robes of an ascetic. Greetings, dear lady.

KAUSHIKI
: Bless you both.

AGNIMITRA
: Are they really your friends?

KAUSHIKI
: Yes.

GAUTAMA
: Then please, dear lady, tell us the rest of her story.

KAUSHIKI
(
sorrowfully
): Listen then. Please understand, Madhavasena's minister Sumati is my elder brother.

AGNIMITRA
: Understood. And so . . .

KAUSHIKI
: Along with me, he rescued a lady whose brother had suffered much,
⁹⁶
and hoping to marry her to your majesty, we joined a caravan heading for Vidisha.

AGNIMITRA
: Then what?

KAUSHIKI
: And then,

A frightening gang of bandits, armed with bows,
with quiver straps wrapped round their chests
and peacock feathers dangling from head to heel
ambushed us, screaming and attacking! //10//

Malavika displays fear.

GAUTAMA
: Fear not, my lady. Sister Kaushiki speaks only of things past.

AGNIMITRA
: And then what?

KAUSHIKI
: Then, at the right moment, the caravan leader's personal guard joined the fight and fended off the bandits.

AGNIMITRA
: Sister, what we're about to hear next must be difficult for you.

KAUSHIKI
: Then my brother

tried to protect her from that wicked gang,
who she feared would attack.
My beloved brother, who loved the king,
paid his debts with his life. //11//

JYOTSNIKA
: Oh, Sumati is dead.

RAJANIKA
: And that must be how the princess got into this situation.

Kaushiki sheds tears.

AGNIMITRA
: Sister, such is the journey of human life. Grieve not for your honourable brother, for he gave his body in the service of the king. And then . . .

KAUSHIKI
: Then I fainted, and when I regained consciousness, Malavika had disappeared and I couldn't find her.

AGNIMITRA
: Sister, you've truly suffered a terrible hardship.

KAUSHIKI
: Then I cremated my brother's body, and with the pain of widowhood renewed yet again, I crossed into your kingdom and donned these red robes.

AGNIMITRA
: Good, for this is the path of the virtuous. And then?

KAUSHIKI
: The princess went from the tribesmen to Virasena, and from Virasena to the queen. And it was only when I was granted entry into the queen's quarters that I saw her again. This is the end of my story.