Love
With soft persuasion all the maidens
Translated by Ananda Coomaraswamy and Arun Sen (1915) · From Bangiya Padabali (trans. 1915)
Sakhī:
With soft persuasion all the maidens
Led her to her lover's side,
A fawn ensnaréd from the forest
Panting hard.
The sweet-face sits beside the bed
With busily averted looks,
Her mind wide-wandering,--
Love breathing hard.
Cruel is Love, and loveliness is stubborn,
She will not follow reason:
Fast is her girdle knotted, bodice bound,
And barriers before her lips.
Her body closely swathed on neither side
A glimpse revealed,
She yields her life at a hand's touch,--
How may Hari win his will?
Unhappy Kānta lays how many prayers
Upon the maiden's feet,
Hurting her soul (so Rādhā thinks):
Such is the song of Vidyāpati.
Codex Note
First Meetings, L
Cite this poem
MLA
Vidyapati. “With soft persuasion all the maidens.” Translated by Ananda Coomaraswamy and Arun Sen. Poetry Codex, poetrycodex.com/poem/vidyapati/49/.
Chicago
Vidyapati. “With soft persuasion all the maidens.” Translated by Ananda Coomaraswamy and Arun Sen. Poetry Codex. https://poetrycodex.com/poem/vidyapati/49/.
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