Page:Sacontala (Jones 1870).djvu/109

Rh

Dushm. No; misery will never be the portion of Puru's descendants.

Sárn. What avails our altercation?—king, we have obeyed the commands of our preceptor, and now return. Sacontalá is by law thy wife, whether thou desert or acknowledge her; and the dominion of a husband is absolute.—Go before us, Gautamí.

[The two Misras and Gautamí returning.

Sac. I have been deceived by this perfidious man; but will you, my friends, will you also forsake me?

[Following them.

Gaut. [Looking back.] My son, Sacontalá, follows us with affectionate supplications. What can she do here with a faithless husband; she who is all tenderness?

Sárn. [Angrily to Sacontalá.] O wife, who seest the faults of thy lord, dost thou desire independence?

[Sacontalá stops, and trembles.

Sárad. Let the queen hear. If thou beest what the king proclaims thee, what right hast thou to complain? But if thou knowest the purity of thy own soul, it will become thee to wait as a handmaid in the mansion of thy lord. Stay, then, where thou art; we must return to Canna.

Dushm. Deceive her not, holy men, with vain expectations. The moon opens the night flower; and the sun makes the water lily blossom: each is confined to its own object: and thus a virtuous man abstains from any connection with the wife of another.