Love
I was alone, and weaving garlands
Translated by Ananda Coomaraswamy and Arun Sen (1915) · From Bangiya Padabali (trans. 1915)
Rādhā:
I was alone, and weaving garlands,
My skirt and bodice were unloosed,
And then came Kānu with quiet smiles!
(How shall I hide my bosom and my girdlestead?)
My darling clasped me with a merry laugh,
Modesty and shame departed to the underworld--
(How may I dout the lamp, that's out of reach of hands?)
And yet my brazen life dies not of shame!
This is the very work of love, says Vidyāpati:
Wherefore this shame of him to whom your life is dedicate?
Codex Note
Reunion after Wilfulness, LXXXVII
Cite this poem
MLA
Vidyapati. “I was alone, and weaving garlands.” Translated by Ananda Coomaraswamy and Arun Sen. Poetry Codex, poetrycodex.com/poem/vidyapati/86/.
Chicago
Vidyapati. “I was alone, and weaving garlands.” Translated by Ananda Coomaraswamy and Arun Sen. Poetry Codex. https://poetrycodex.com/poem/vidyapati/86/.
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