________________
33
257. The poor lady:
That damsel, who has missed (i.e. failed to fulfil) the tryst with you, searches here and there, in the thicket of reeds, for your sight as for the forgotten place of a (buried)
treasure.
258. Good-natured man :
How can unpleasant words issue (or escape) from the mouth of a good-natured man even though clouded (agitated) with violent anger? The rays of the moon distil only nectar even when it is being swallowed by Rāhu.
259. High-mindedness:
A noble-minded person, devoid of wealth (or power and authority), is not pained so much even when insulted (by others), as when he is honoured by others, but is not able to requite (the goodness shown by them in honouring him).
260. Closely guarded secrets:
A noble-minded person does not allow the secrets (of others) heard by him, to escape (from his mouth) even in the course of a quarrel. They age with him in his heart and at the end of his life (i.e. when he dies) they are burnt down (for good) by the (funeral) fire.
261. Hard luck :
The clusters (of leaves and flowers) on the Madhavi (Jasmine) creepers in the courtyards have become hurdles for the entrances of houses (i.e. they have become so dense that they are blocking the entrances of houses and are screening things outside). Even the comfort of looking at the (homeward) way (of their home-bound consorts) is denied to women whose consorts have gone abroad (on distant journeys).
262. Blue eyes :
If her eyes had not closed because of the rapturous delight of looking at her beloved lover, who could have noticed (i.e. detected) the (blue) lotus placed on her ear?
263. Bad time for the farmer's wife when the field is being ploughed :
As her husband sleeps (at night) (like a log) exhausted by the pulling of the ploughshare stuck up in the wet mud, the poor wife of the farmer, who is denied the pleasure of love-making, curses the rainy season.
264. Versatility of Cupid's arrows:
Salutation again and again to the arrows of Cupid, the arrows which are the friends of both misery and happiness (i.e. which cause misery in separation from one's beloved and give happiness in union with him or her), and which agonise, bring happiness, create wretchedness and again yield delight.
Jain Education International
For Private & Personal Use Only
www.jainelibrary.org