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 any sense other than that they warred against the Devas or ‘Gods.’ The fable of The Curse at Farewell was taken from the Mahabharata, in which we read that the slain and wounded on the Demons’ side were restored by the skill of Sukra (guardian of the planet Venus), the Demons’ preceptor. Kacha, son of Brhaspati (guardian of the planet Jupiter), the Gods’ preceptor, was sent to acquire the healing mantra or formula. The rest of the story may be gathered from Tagore’s poem.

The Curse at Farewell is Tagore’s first dramatic poem in rime. He had used blank verse in the earlier dramas, Nature's Revenge, Sacrifice, and Chirāngadā. His dramas for the last fifteen years have been in prose. But between 1893 and 1904 he produced a number of remarkably fine 8