She then performed the arghya, offering the guests water to wash their feet and hands, and then garlanded him with sweet-smelling flowers.
Jīmūtavāhana, who as already deep in love, took it off and threw it around the neck of Malayavatī. She blushed, and looked at him with loving glances, her looks seeming like a garland of blue lotuses.
इत्य् अन्योनकृताशब्दस्वयंवरविशेषयोः ।
तयोर् एत्य जगादैका चेटी तां सिद्धकन्यकाम् ॥ १२,२३.५७ ॥
जननी राजपुत्रि त्वां स्मरत्य् आगच्छ माचिरम् ।
तच् छ्रुत्वाकृष्य कामेषुकीलिताम् इव कृच्छ्रतः ॥ १२,२३.५८ ॥
सोत्कां प्रियमुखाद् दृष्टिं कथंचित् सा ययौ गृहम् ।
जीमूतवाहनो ऽप्य् आगात् तन् नतात्मा स्वमाश्रमम् ॥ १२,२३.५९ ॥
साथ स्वां जननीं दृष्टा प्राणेशविरहातुरा ।
गत्वा मलयवत्य् आशु पपात शयनीयके ॥ १२,२३.६० ॥
अथान्तर्गतकामाग्निधूमेनेवाविलेक्षणा ।
अश्रुधारां प्रमुञ्चन्ती संतापक्वथिताङ्गका ॥ १२,२३.६१ ॥
सखीभिश् चन्दनैर् लिप्ता वीजिता चाब्जिनीदलैः ।
रतिं न भेजे शयने नाङ्के सख्या न भूतले ॥ १२,२३.६२ ॥
They both stood transfixed, conducting their own silent Swayamvara, and suddenly the voice of a maid broke the defining silence as she called out to Malayavatī.
“Princess! Your mother has called for you!”
Hearing this, Malayavatī reluctantly broke away from his constant gaze, that had kept hitting her as if the arrows of Kāmadevā himself, and she slowly turned around to return to her palace.
And when Malayavatī had seen her mother and spent some time with her, she went back to her chambers, flung herself down on the bed, and felt the pangs of separation from her beloved.
Her eyes were clouded by the smoke from the fire of love that burnt inside her, and she shed tears and couldn’t stop…her body was hot and refused to cool down even when her maids applied sandalwood paste all over her…
She was not able to rest – neither on the bed, nor on the laps of her maids and attendants.
गते ऽथ वासरे क्वापि रक्तया सह संध्यया ।
हसत्प्राचीमुखं चन्द्रे समाक्रम्य च चुम्बति ॥ १२,२३.६३ ॥
स्मरेण प्रेर्यमाणापि दूतीसंप्रेषणादि सा ।
लज्जया नाशकत् कर्तुं जीवितस्पृहयोज्झिता ॥ १२,२३.६४ ॥
निनाय च निशाम् इन्दुविषमाम् अब्जिनीव ताम् ।
बद्धमोहालिपटले हृदि संकोचम् एत्य सा ॥ १२,२३.६५ ॥
The twilight (sandhyā) went off someplace with the day (vāsara), the moon (chandrā) ascended by taking in his hands and kissing the smiling face of the east (prāchee)…Malayavati, though filled completely with passion (smara), had lost her desire to live, and was too shy to send to her lover a message…
And so she spent the night with difficulty, the rays of the moon making it worse, like a lotus that closes at night, and uneasiness hung around her, like a cloud of bees in constant movement…
तावच् च तद्वियोगार्तः सो ऽपि जीमूतवाहनः ।
शयनस्थो ऽपि पतितो हस्ते कुसुमधन्वनः ॥ १२,२३.६६ ॥
नूतनोद्भिन्नरागो ऽपि प्रोन्मिषत्पाण्डुरच्छविः ।
ह्रीमूको ऽपि वदन् पीडां कामजाम् अनयन् निशाम् ॥ १२,२३.६७ ॥
And Jīmūtavāhana too was tortured with the pain of her separation. Lying on his bed, he spent the night as if he had fallen into the hands of Kāma…though he was shining with the newly awaked rāga (color) of love, it had already made him pale, since he was unsaturated, and hence spent the night with great difficulty.
प्रातश् चात्युत्सुको भूयस् तद् गौर्यायतनं ययौ ।
यत्र दृष्टाभवत् तेन सा सिद्धाधिपपुत्रिका ॥ १२,२३.६८ ॥
तत्र तेन स मित्रेण मुनिपुत्रेण पृष्ठतः ।
आगत्याश्वास्यते यावन् मदनानलविह्वलः ॥ १२,२३.६९ ॥
तावत् तत्रैव साप्य् आगान् निर्गत्यैकैव निर्जने ।
गुप्तं मलयवत्य् आत्मत्यागाय विरहासहा ॥ १२,२३.७० ॥
अलक्षयन्ती कान्तं स्वं पादपान्तरितं च सा ।
उदश्रुलोचना बाला देवीं गौरीं व्यजिज्ञपत् ॥ १२,२३.७१ ॥
त्वद्भक्त्या देवि संवृत्तो नास्मिञ् जन्मनि चेन् मम ।
जीमूतवाहनो भर्ता तद् भूयात् सो ऽन्यजन्मनि ॥ १२,२३.७२ ॥
इत्य् उक्त्वा रचयामास स्वोत्तरीयेण तत् क्षणम् ।
अशोकतरुशाखायां पाशं सा गिरिजाग्रतः ॥ १२,२३.७३ ॥
हा नाथ विश्वविख्यातकरुणेनापि न त्वया ।
कथम् अस्मि परित्राता देव जीमूतवाहन ॥ १२,२३.७४ ॥
एवम् उक्त्वा गले यावत् सा तं पाशं नियच्छति ।
उच्चचार दिवस् तावद् भारती देव्युदीरिता ॥ १२,२३.७५ ॥
The next morning, Jīmūtavāhana returned the the temple of Devi Gauri, in the hope of seeing her once again. He sat beside a tree, trembling with passion, as Mitrāvasu came there as well, trying to calm him down.
In the meanwhile, Malayavatī also arrived at the temple. She had not been able to bear the separation, and wanted to end her life, rather than spent another day yearning for him.
The lovers failed to notice each other’s presence, since the huge tree separated them. As she approached the Devi’s mūrti, Malayavatī, her eyes full of tears, joined her hands and said…
“Oh Devi Gauri! I have remained devoted to you my entire life, yet it was not enough to make me unite with Jīmūtavāhana. I pray that you make him mine in our next life!”
As soon as she said this, she made a noose with a cloth, fastened it to a branch of the aśoka tree next to the temple, and said…
“My lord Jīmūtavāhana! You are renowned in the three worlds for your compassion, yet, why haven’t you been compassionate and rescued me!”
And as she was saying this, and tying the noose around her neck…
to be continued…