Page:The Megha Dūta or Cloud Messenger.djvu/14



A certain Yaksha having been negligent of his charge, and having had his greatness set to decay by a curse of his master, to be endured for one year, which was heavy on account of its separating him from his wife, he took up his abode at the Hermitages of Ramagiri, where the waters had been sanctified by the baths of Janaka's daughter, where there were lovely shadow trees.

The expression "varsha bhogyena" translated literally would be, "a rains to be eaten," from "buj," "to eat." The same mode of expressing to endure or suffer is prevalent in many other languages; it is used also in Sanskrit for "to enjoy" as well; thus, according to the context, "varsha bhogyena" may mean, "a year to suffer" or "a year to enjoy."

Janaka's daughter=Sita.

Ramagiri=The Mountain of Rama.

The shadow tree is the "Nameru" (Elæocarpus), or, perhaps, any large tree affording perpetual shade; a commentator remarks, "those trees, the shadows of which remain even when the sun is in the zenith, are called shadow trees." 1