Love

O mother mine, what can I say to-day!

by Vidyapati c. 1352-1448

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

Love

Rādhā:
O mother mine, what can I say to-day!
The stain sticks fast, for all washing with water:
After my bath, and climbing Kālindī's bank,
The filmy muslin clung to my limbs,
That all my shape was clearly seen,--
And there was Yaduvira just before me!

My buttocks broad were plain to see,
I turned me round and over them shook my hair:
And when he fixed his gaze upon my breasts,
I turned my back on Hari and sat me down.
But cunning Mādhava scanned my body with smiling face,
The body I sought to hide would not be hidden!

You are a witless maid, says Vidyāpati:
Why did you not return to the water?

✦ ✦ ✦

Reunion after Wilfulness, LXXXV

MLA

Vidyapati. “O mother mine, what can I say to-day!” Translated by Ananda Coomaraswamy and Arun Sen. Poetry Codex, poetrycodex.com/poem/vidyapati/84/.

Chicago

Vidyapati. “O mother mine, what can I say to-day!” Translated by Ananda Coomaraswamy and Arun Sen. Poetry Codex. https://poetrycodex.com/poem/vidyapati/84/.

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