Trishasti Shalaka Purusa Caritra Part 5

Author(s): Hemchandracharya, Helen M Johnson
Publisher: Oriental Research Institute Vadodra

Page 34

PREVIOUS INCARNATIONS OF ARIŞTANEMI saptacchada,4 with young buds of the bāņa tree 5 turned into arrows of the Five-arrowed One (Kāmadeva), vocal with the cries of excited pairs of blue cranes,6 crowded with flocks of kalahansas 7 playing in the pools of clear water, lovely with fields of sugar-cane charming with singing women-gardeners.
As she wandered about, she saw under an aśoka a painter holding a picture. Kamalini, a friend of Dhanavati, took the painting from him by force and saw a man's figure in it. Astonished by the figure, she said to the painter:
“To whom among gods, demons, or men does this wonderful form belong? Or rather, this form does not exist at any time among them. Surely you painted it just from your own idea to show your skill. How will there be skill for such a creation on the part of an old Creator worn out by the creation of many persons ? ”
The painter smiled and said: “ There is no skill at all on my part in this picture to be painted just as it was seen. This is a young man with an unsurpassed form, Dhana, son of Sri Vikramadhana, King of Acalapura, whom I painted. Whoever looks at him in the picture, after seeing him in person, blames me again and again with the words, 'He is a false painter.' Because you have not seen him, you, like a frog in a well, 8 are astonished at seeing his picture by me, fair lady. Even goddesses become confused at seeing his wonderful form, but I painted it to the best of my judgment to amuse my own eyes.”
As Dhanavati stood there, she saw and heard; and became a target for the arrows of Makaradhvaja. Kamalini said: “ This is a good thing to amuse the eye. You have painted a
4 26. The Alstonia Scholaris. It has a strong scent.
5 26. A blue-flowering Barleria, according to MW. Roxburgh gives 3 kinds of Barleria with blue flowers, all of which he says bloom in the cold season. I have not been able to find out any more about bāņa.
6 27. Sārasa. Proverbial as inseparable. See I, n. 130. 7 27. A kind of goose or swan with dark gray wings. Abhi. 4.393.
8 37. A symbol of ignorance and contemptibility. Cf. IV, pp. 20, 125, 281.