Love

Childhood and youth are mingled both

by Vidyapati c. 1352-1448

Translated by Ananda Coomaraswamy and Arun Sen (1915) · From Bangiya Padabali (trans. 1915)

Love

Dūtikā:
Childhood and youth are mingled both,
Her eyes have taken the road to her ears:
Wily are her words, and her low laugh
As if the moon appeared on earth.

She takes a mirror to array herself,
And asks: 'What is the game of love, my dear?'
How many times she secretly regards her bosom,
Smiling to see her breasts!

First like a jujube, then like an orange,--
Love day by day enfolds her limbs:
O Mādhava, I saw a girl surpassing fair.
Childhood and youth were one in her!

Saith Vidyāpati: Oh foolish maid,
The wise would say, The twain have met.

✦ ✦ ✦

The Growing-up of Rādhā, XV

MLA

Vidyapati. “Childhood and youth are mingled both.” Translated by Ananda Coomaraswamy and Arun Sen. Poetry Codex, poetrycodex.com/poem/vidyapati/14/.

Chicago

Vidyapati. “Childhood and youth are mingled both.” Translated by Ananda Coomaraswamy and Arun Sen. Poetry Codex. https://poetrycodex.com/poem/vidyapati/14/.

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