Selected Poems of Bidyapati

1

Wherever her twin fair feet found room

There the flowers of the water bloom;

Wherever her golden body shone,

There have the waves of lightning gone.

Wonderful beauty, golden-sweet,

How in my heart hast thou set thy feet!

Wherever her eyes have opened bright,

The bloom of the lotus burns its light;

Wherever her musical laugh has flown

Need of the nectar is not known;

Wherever her shy curved glances rove,

There are ten thousand arrows of love;

Eyes, for a little your orbs did see!

In the three worlds now there is none but she.

O shall I see her ever again

To ease my heart of its piteous pain?

O on my bosom once to hold

Her boundless beauty and manifold. 

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2

Why fell her face upon my sight,

That is a lovelier moon in light,

Since but for one poor moment she

With her sweet eyes emparadised me?

Surely it was to slay my soul

That under her long lashes stole

The cruel grace of that transient look.

Desire laid hands upon her breasts

And there my poor heart clinging rests:

Love new-born its office took.

My ears yet wait upon her words;

Her murmurs dwell like caged birds.

I strive to part; my feet refuse.

The net of sweet desires is loose,

Yet thence my body will not move,

Faint with the sudden hands of Love.

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3

Sweet and strange as 't were a dream,

I have seen a vision gleam.

Lotus-flowers were his feet

Bearing moons a carcanet.

Rounded thighs and ankles smooth

Towered of the glorious youth,

And continual lightnings drape,

So I dreamed, that faultless shape.

Dark Calindie, by thy stream

Slowly went he in my dream.

And I dreamed of boughs that shone

With a row of moons thereon,

Fingers fair like young leaves born

With a rosy light of morn.

Flower-of-coral bloom his lips,

Over which Love's parrot peeps,

And his eyes like wild birds wake

And each curl's a little snake

Stung me. Twice I looked and then

With a sweet and sudden pain

Maddened. Ah, what Power is this

For a look can slay with bliss?

Even so leaps, O my dove,

Into the heart made for him, Love.

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4

Ah who has built this girl of nectarous face?

Ah who this matchless beauteous dove?

An omen and a bounteous boon of love,

A garland of triumphant grace.

O glorious countenance and O shaded deep

Delicious eyes for purple extolled,

You dark-winged flutterers in that lily of gold

The splendour of the snake who keep!

Thy tendrilled down's a snake, to drink cool winds

That from thy harbouring navel stirred

But by the fancied bill of emperor-bird

Cowed to thy breast's hill-cavern winds.

The strong five-missiled Love with arrows three

The three worlds conquered; two remained

Which to thine eyes some cruel Fate did lend

To slay poor lovers' hearts with thee.

Page – 419

5

I saw not to the heart's desire.

Beautiful friend, that sight was fire

Of lightning and like lightning went:

My heart with the bright bolt was rent.

Her dim white robe like hoar-frost thin

Half from the shoulder had fallen in.

Her beautiful mouth half-smiled and half

A glance from under her lids did laugh.

Half-naked shone her breasts' sweet globes,

And half lay shadowy in her robes.

O then this bitter love and new!

Her body was of honey hue.

Her breasts, those cups of wondrous gold,

Love like a bodice did enfold;

The bodiless Love with subtle plan

To seize and hold the heart of man

With flowery cords his beauteous net

In the guise of a girl's breasts had set.

Her teeth, a row of pearls, did meet

Her moving lips and sweet, O sweet

As liquid honey her delicate speech.

Within me burned a pain like fire!

Mine eyes dwelt with her, yet could not reach,

Gazing, the bottom of desire.

Page – 420

6

Caanou to see I had desire,

Caanou seen, my life grew fire.

Thenceforth deep down, ah, foolish I,

In a great sea of love I lie.

Hardly I know, a girl and weak,

What these words mean my heart would speak.

Only my tears for ever rain,

Only my soul burns in its pain.

Ah wherefore, friend, did mine eyes see,

Friend of my bosom, thoughtlessly?

When a little mirth was all I planned,

I have given my life into another's hand.

I know not what this lovely thief

Did to me in that moment brief.

Surely such craft none yet possessed!

He robbed my heart out of its nest

Only with seeing, and gone is he

Taking my poor heart far from me.

And ah! his eyes did then express

Such tenderness, such tenderness,

The more I labour to forget

My very soul remembers it.

Mourn not, sweet girl, for thy heart's sake;

Who took thy heart, thyself at last shall take.

Page – 421

7

Lotus bosom, lotus feet,

Justify, I charge thee, sweet!

Knowing the true love thou hast won

Wilt thou not love back, lovely one?

Love in true hearts gold surpasses.

To the fire golden masses

Double price and beauty owe.

Loves by trial greater grow.

Love, my sweet, 's a wondrous thing

Imperishable in suffering.

Break it, but it will not break.

Love, like fibres of the lake,

Thrives on torture; beaten, grows;

Bleeding, thrills to sweeter rose.

Not from every elephant

Pearl-drops ooze iridescent,

Not from all lips accents fall

Melodious as the cuckoo's call.

Every season is not Spring,

Every man love's perfect king,

Nor all women the world through

Always lovely, always true.

This is love, as sweet as rare;

Wilt thou spurn it, vainly fair?

Page – 422

8

How shall I tell of Caanou's beauty bright?

Men will believe it a vision of the night.

As lightning was his saffron garment blown

Over the beautiful cloud-limbs half-shown.

His coal-black curls assumed with regal grace

A peacock's plume above that moonlike face.

And such a fragrance fierce the mad wind wafts

Love wakes and trembles for his flowery shafts.

Yea, what shall words do, friend? Love's whole estate

Exhausted was that wonder to create.

Page – 423

9

Low on her radiant forehead shone

A star of the bright vermilion.

O marvellous face! O shining maid!

Moonlight and sunlight drawn together

Met in a heaven of golden weather,

While the massed midnight hung afraid

Behind in her burden of great dark hair.

O woman of moonlight rarer than Nature's!

O delicate body! O wonderful features!

Whence did Fate build you with effort made fair?

The buds of her flowerlike breasts between

Her robe's white folds were a little seen.

The snows may cover the high bright hill,

Hidden it is not, strive as you will.

From her darkened eyes her shy look roving

On lids love-troubled tenderly burned

Like the purple lilies winds were moving

By the weight of a bee overturned.

Hearken, O girl, to Bidyapati

And the lyre made sweet in the year's sweet end.

To Lochima, lady of Mithila city,

And Sheva Singha the King, his friend.

Page – 424

10 

The maned steeds in the mountain glens for fear

Of these thy locks, O maiden, hide.

The moon at thy face from the high heaven doth peer

And thy voice alarms the cuckoo's pride.

Thy gait has driven the swan to the forest-mere

And the wild-deer flee thy large eyes' light.

Ah beautiful girl, why mute then to my love?

Lo, fear of thee all these to flight doth move;

Whom dost thou fear then, maiden bright?

The lotus-buds in the water closed reside

Thy paps being lovelier and the flame

Absorbs the pitcher and in air abide

The pomegranate and quince at thy breasts' sweet name.

Yea, Sheve doth swallow poison and in ooze

The golden lotus-stalk, lo, shuns

Thine arm and the new leaves shake these hands to see.

But ah! my weary lips refuse,

O'erstrained with honey-sweet comparisons,

All images to tell love taught to me.

Page – 425

11

Hide now thy face, O darling white,

Hide it well with thy robe's delight;

For the king has heard that one the moon

Has stolen and his sentinels soon

At each house stationed and each again,

Damsel beloved, will thee detain.

Laugh not thy lightning, O nectarous face!

Low and few from their sweet home press

The accents of that lyric voice.

Thy teeth make starlight, maiden choice!

And on the brow of the highborn girl

A vermeil drop and a shimmering pearl.

Hearken good counsel, beautiful maid;

Even in a dream be not afraid,

Spots has the moon, no beauty clear,

Stained is she, thou stainless, dear.

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12

She looked on me a little, then

A little smile her lips o'erran

As though a moonbeam making bright

The darkness of the blessed night;

And from her eyes a lustrous glance

Fell shy and tenderly askance,

As though blue heaven's infinities

Were grown a sudden swarm of bees.

I know not whose she is, being fair:

I know she has my soul with her.

With a sweet fear as to deny

Her virgin soul to the honey-fly

That in the lotus' womb did play,

With startled feet and hurried look

The beauteous damsel went her way,

But with the hasty motion shook

The robe from her warm breasts of gold

Like lotus-flowers the heart to hold.

Half-hid, yet naked half, they seemed

To speak aloud the bliss they dreamed.

O sweet, O young desire! the dart

Of secret love leaves out no heart.

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13

Upon a thorn when the flowers bloom,

Poor bee athirst for the rich perfume,

Cruel thy thirst, yet thou mayst not drink.

Upon the jasmine's honied brink

Lo the bee hovers and will have

Heart's pleasure nor cares his life to save.

O Radha, flower of honey, have pity

And grant thy lover's sad entreaty,

Pilgrim of honey thy lover, nor more

In maiden pride thy nectarous store

Deny. Alas! in thy rich bloom

The thirsty bee finds never a room.

O jasmine, save thy honey breast

He has forsworn all other rest.

On thee the sin, beautiful Rai,

Of the poor bee's death will surely lie.

O from thy lips the sweet boon give

Of heaven's honey and he will live.

Page – 428

14

A new Brindabun I see

And renewed each barren tree,

New flowers are blooming.

And another Spring is; new

Southern breezes chase the dew

With new bees roaming

And the sweet boy of Gocool strays

In new and freshly-blossoming ways.

The groves upon Calindie's shore

With his tender beauty bloom 

Whose fresh-disturbed heart brims o'er

With wild new-born loves o'ercome.

And the new, sweet cary-buds

Are wild with honey in the woods;

New birds are singing:

And the young girls wild with love

Run delighted to the grove,

New hearts bringing.

For young the heir of Gocool is

And young his passionate mistresses.

Meetings new and fresh love-rites,

Lights of ever-fresh desire,

Sports ever-new and new delights

Set Bidyapati's heart on fire.

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15

Season of honey when sweets combine,

Honey-bees line upon line,

From sweet blossoms honied feet,

Honied blossoms and honey sweet.

O sweet is Brindabun today

And sweeter than these our Lord of May,

His maiden-train the sweets of earth,

Honey-girls with laughter and mirth,

Sports of love and dear delight

When instruments honey-sweet unite

Their sounds soul-moving, and sweet, O sweet

The smitten hands and the pacing feet.

Sweet the swaying dancer whirls,

Honied the movement of dancing girls,

And sweet as honey the love-song rings —

Sweet Bidyapati honey sings.

Page – 430

16

O friend, my friend, has pain a farther bound

Which sounds can utter, for which words are found?

Fiercely the flute's breath through me ran and thrilled,

My body with sweet dreadful sound was filled.

By violence that brooks not of control

The cruel music enters all my soul.

Then every limb enamoured swoons with shame

And every thought is wrapped in utter flame.

Yea, all my labouring body mightily

Was filled and panted with sweet agony.

I dared not lift my eyes. My elders spoke

Around me when that wave of passion broke,

And such a languor through my being crept,

My very robe no more its office kept.

With slow feet on their careful steps intent

Panting into the inner house I went.

Even yet I tremble from the peril past,

So fierce a charm the flute upon me cast.

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17

Still in the highways wake nor dream

The citizens and with beam on beam

Moonlight clings to the universe.

New is her love, not to coerce

Nor lull, and yet with tremors she

The luminous wakeful night doth see.

What shifts will love on maids impose!

In a boy's dress to the tryst she goes.

She has loosened showering her ordered hair

New-fastened in a crest to wear;

The cloth of her body she doth treasure

About her in another measure

And since her bounteous breasts disdain

The robe's light government, she has ta'en

Over her heart an instrument.

In such guise to the grove she went

And in such guise met in the grove:

Her when he saw, the flower of love

Knew not though seen his darling bright, —

He doubted in his heart's despite.

Only when those dear limbs he touches

Her sweet identity he vouches.

What then befell? Sweet Love the rather

How many mirthful things did father! 

Page – 432

18

O life is sweet but youth more bright.

O life, it is youth and youth is delight.

And what is youth if it be not this,

Love, true love, and love's long kiss?

Love that the noble heart conceives

Will leave thee never till life leaves.

Every day the moons increase,

Every day love greater is.

Of all girl-lovers thou art crown,

Caanou of youth the sole renown.

When hardest holiest deeds accrue,

Meet in this world two lovers true.

Stolen love, how sweet it is!

Two brief words its only keys;

Murmur but these and thou shalt hold

Secret delights a thousandfold.

So true a lover all wide earth

To another such gave never birth,

And Braja's hearts with love are wild

Of the noble gracious child.

Haste to thy king, sweet, pay him duty

Of thy loving heart and beauty.

Page – 433

19

Angry beauty, be not loth!

I will swear a holy oath.

On thy garland's serpent fold,

On thy sacred breasts of gold

Here I lay my yearning hand.

If I leave thee, if I touch

Other lady of delight,

Let this snake my bosom bite.

If thou deem my error such,

Be thy malice on me spent

In many an amorous punishment.

Bind my body with thine arms,

Scourge my limbs with pretty harms,

Press my panting heart with weight

Of thy sweet breasts passionate,

In thy labouring bosom deep

Night and day thy prisoner keep.

Punishments like these demand

Love's sweet sins from love's sweet hand.

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