Free Malavikagnimitram by Kalidasa Page A

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