Page:Little Clay Cart (Ryder 1905).djvu/37





IS bended knees the knotted girdle holds,

Fashioned by doubling of a serpent's folds;

His sensive organs, so he checks his breath,

Are numbed, till consciousness seems sunk in death;

Within himself, with eye of truth, he sees

The All-soul, free from all activities.

May His, may Shiva's meditation be

Your strong defense; on the Great Self thinks he,

Knowing full well the world's vacuity.

And again:

May Shiva's neck shield you from every harm,

That seems a threatening thunder-cloud, whereon,

Bright as the lightning-flash, lies Gaurī's arm.

Stage-director. Enough of this tedious work, which fritters away the interest of the audience! Let me then most reverently salute the honorable gentlemen, and announce our intention to produce a drama called "The Little Clay Cart." Its author was a man

Who vied with elephants in lordly grace;

Whose eyes were those of the chakora bird

That feeds on moonbeams; glorious his face

As the full moon; his person, all have heard,

Was altogether lovely. First in worth

Among the twice-born was this poet, known

As Shūdraka far over all the earth,—

His virtue's depth unfathomed and alone.