1879.] G- A, Grierson — Some Further Notes on Kalidasa. 41 



ness of her language, she replied " ^raw W\^fT ifffi" " What else is fit for 

 one so utterly debased ?" These words dwelt in Kalidasa's mind and 

 rankled there. After the miraculous gift of learning was given to him by 

 Durga, as previously described, before returning home, he disguised him- 

 self as a Vairdgi and, taking a dish of flesh food, sat himself on the edge 

 of the tank where his wife usually bathed, and commenced to eat. His 

 wife presently came up, and the following conversation ensued, — in the 

 SS&rdula-vikridita metre. 



The wife. fvr%T 'HfafafaHS sjjfi ^ | 



Kaliddsa. f^f ?r*r *J^q fa«n 11 



Kd. f*s?*Tf T I 



ITCTTiTTfw S^ II 



W. ^M\ *3Hsf*: f W^R «pt | 



Kd. ^ffi*T ?W ^T II 



W. ^TT^T^^^f T Sffcf «TOTT | 



Kd. "sja^J ^rs^T 3lfw:" II 



That is :— 



Wife. Oh mendicant, are you eating flesh ? 



Kaliddsa. What is that without wine ? 



W. Do you also like wine ? 



Kd. Indeed I do, and women with it. 



W. But courtezans expect money. Whence can you pay them ? 



Kd. From gambling and stealing. 



W. So, Sir, you also gamble and are a thief? 



Kd. " What else is fit for one so utterly debased ?" 



When the wife heard her own words thus hurled back in her teeth, she 

 was ashamed and recognized her husband and, taking him home, ever after- 

 wards lived in due subordination to him. 



There was zpis'dcha or demon who inhabited a wood in Dhara, through 

 which ran a much-frequented road. It was his custom to seize passers-by 

 and to propose to them a question in the words "$T^3f, ^T^T, *fiT^3»;" 

 " koruTc, koruk, koruk." As no one could understand this, the traveller 

 was invariably seized and eaten by the demon, his worldly possessions being 

 added to a pile of those which had been the property of previous victims. 

 One day Kalidasa had occasion to go along the road, and as usual, the 

 pis'dcha seized him and asked the hard question. Kalidasa understood it 

 to be %T S^^, %T S^fr , ^T S^^f, , that is to say, " who is free from disease ?" 

 repeated thrice. He thereupon replied as follows : 



