1876.] 



Prannath Pandit-Jf 0m / 5 of Kdliddsa. 



357 



pastures new, amidst ; the glens of the Himalaya, and when, confident in his 

 mmdthatthefiercestbeastsof prey could not even entertain an idea of attack 

 mg her, he was ^admiring the majestic scenery around, a lion, unseen 

 pounces upon Xante*. The moan of the victim attracts his attention and 

 his right hand 1S at once to has quiver. But, wonder of wonders- it's 

 paralysed as soon as ft touches the feathered tip of an arrow. Astounded 

 at tins strange occurrence, the king burns with his own fury as a serpent 

 whose energy has been restrained by charmed drugs. The Roval heZ 

 then in human language, makes himself known as one of Shiva's attendants 

 who had been made to assume the leonine shape for the purpose of scaring 

 away wild elephants from certain trees which were Pdrvati's pets To 

 ensure the most perfect vigilance, his food was restricted to such animals 

 as might stray into his grasp. The cow therefore was his lawful and 

 pre-ordained prey. DiUpa is therefore advised to return to the hermitage 

 unabashed, as he had tried to do his best in the matter, and there was no 

 help for it. 



This speech gave BiUpa at least one consolation, namely, that he owed 

 his discomfiture in arms to the majesty of Shiva and not to any inferior 

 agency. But to leave his precious trust to her fate, was out of the 

 question. He therefore attempts a compromise by offering himself as a 

 substitute for Nandini. The Beast laughs at his foolishness and appeals 

 both to his Self-love and his Benevolence, to preserve himself and let the 

 cow meet her fate. The undisputed sovereignty of the whole earth, the 

 bloom of youth, and such handsome limbs were too much to be sacrificed for 

 an insignificant quadruped. His death would liberate the cow, but plunge 

 into the depths of misery the thousands who flourished under his fatherly 

 protection. Nor was there any thing to be apprehended from the anger 

 of the sage, which might easily be appeased by the present of myriads of 

 stout milk-bearing cattle. 



The monarch, however, is unconvinced, despite all this convenient 

 philosophy. He feels that death would be better than belying his Kshat- 

 tnya protectorate of wrongs. Nor was the cow any ordinary one, but 

 inferior to SurabU only, and but for the prowess of Shiva, would' have 

 proved a tough morsel for the leonine palate. The loss therefore could not 

 be made good by any number of substitutes. He concludes by adjuring 

 the Lion to take pity not on his terrestrial form, but on his jj^x ^^t^:, his 

 hody of fame. The Lion thereupon leaves hold of the cow, and the king 

 offers himself up as a ball of meat before him. At this supreme crisis, 

 when, with down- cast eyes, he was expecting every moment the infuriated 

 beast to fall on his back, and with famished paws to tear him open from 

 limb to limb, a shower of flowers falls from the sky, and the nectareous 

 words float to his ear, 'Rise, Son!' He rises to see only the cow 



