44, G. A. Grierson—Some Further Notes on Kalidasa. [No. 1, 
(2.) “ What are adornments, if a woman hath not youth; and what 
is youth, if she hath not perfect comeliness ; and what is that, if virtue doth 
not dwell within ; and what is virtue, if her beloved one doth not possess 
it too? - 
(3.) “My friend, a tender plant hath been planted by fate in the 
treacherous soil of thy heart. Cherish it jealously, for it beareth many 
flowers. Sprinkle it daily with the water of remembrance that it may not 
fade,—for that plant is love. 
(4.) ‘ Like the shadows of the fore and of the afternoon are the 
loves of the wicked and of the good. The first beginneth great and gra- 
dually fadeth away; but the second is delicate at first, and afterwards 
waxeth mighty.” 
One evening Kalidasa was with his mistress, when they were inter- 
rupted by the sudden arrival of the king. ‘Kalidasa having no time to 
escape was obliged to hide himself under the bed, she cautioning him, as he 
valued his life, not to let his presence be known by either word or action. 
The king after his arrival, fancying himself alone with the courtezan, and 
wishing to pay a compliment to her beauty, laid his hand upon her bosom 
and addressed her as follows : 
aa afa qurdar fraar gratnar | 
Having got thus far, and having accomplished half a verse, he tried to 
finish it, but could not, and hemming and hawing, stuck there. Kalidasa, 
who would rather have died than have heard an incomplete verse, could no 
longer contain himself ; and his poetic fury overpowering him, he burst from 
under the bed, upsetting it and its occupants, erying out— 
WIAA WAIL FA ALIS! Il 
The whole couplet, containing a pun on the word ax, which means 
both “ tax” and “ hand,” meaning— 
King. “Verily, my fair one, thy breasts are like two monarchs of 
the world.” 
Kalidasa. “Yes—for doth not His Majesty, who levieth tribute from 
sea to sea,* lay his hand upon them.”’+ 
The king, in consideration of the neatness of the reply, forgave Kali- 
dasa’s indiscretion. 
The following verses show how poetically Kaliddsa used to do his 
marketing. 
He went up to a pan seller and said :— 
*« A aa, is a tract of country running from sea to sea. 
+ Which may also be translated “pay tribute (ax) unto them,” 
