“From that day, I have not been myself. I seem to see him everywhere, and in everything I do. I embrace him when on this bed, and I feel his kisses and his touch. My my wicked fate…I cannot have him, because I don’t even know his name, least of all where he lives and anything else about him.”
And so I am consumed by this fire of separation…one that I don’t know whether it will be ever extinguished!”
इति वाक्सुधया तस्याः पूर्णस्वश्रवणोदरः ।
सानन्दः स मनःस्वामी विप्रकन्यावपुर्धरः ॥ १२,२२.४९ ॥
कृतार्थमानी मत्वा तं कालम् आत्मप्रकाशने ।
स्वरूपं प्रकटीचक्रे निष्कृष्य गुलिकां मुखात् ॥ १२,२२.५० ॥
जगाद च विलोलाक्षि सो ऽहम् एवैष यस् त्वया ।
उद्याने दर्शनक्रीतो नीतो निर्व्याजदासताम् ॥ १२,२२.५१ ॥
त्वत् संस्तवक्षणभ्रंशात् क्लेशं तं चाप्तवान् अहम् ।
यस्यैषः परिणामो मे कन्यारूपग्रहो ऽभवत् ॥ १२,२२.५२ ॥
तस्मात् सफलयैतां मे विसोढां विरहव्यथाम् ।
आत्मनश् च न तन्वङ्गि क्षमते ऽतः परं स्मरः ॥ १२,२२.५३ ॥
एवं वदन्तं सहसा प्राणेशं तं विलोक्य सा ।
आसीद् राजसुता क्षिप्रं स्नेहाश्चर्यत्रपाकुला ॥ १२,२२.५४ ॥
अथात्यौत्सुक्यनिर्वृत्तगान्धर्वोद्वाहयोस् तयोः ।
प्रेम्णस् तस्य मतो यादृक् तादृशो ऽभूद् रतोत्सवः ॥ १२,२२.५५ ॥
ततः सो ऽत्र मनःस्वामी कृती तस्थौ द्विरूपभृत् ।
दिवा सगुलिकाः कन्या रात्राव् अगुलिकाः पुमान् ॥ १२,२२.५६ ॥
Manaḥsvāmin could not believe his luck, when he heard what the princess had to say. He was overjoyed and decided that it was time to reveal his true self.
And so, he took out the magic pill from his mouth, and revealed his true form, and said…
“O beautiful one, I am that very Brāhman who you saw in the garden, and who carried you to safety, and who fell in love with you too.”
“I became a slave of your beauty, and the pain of our separation made me assume this female form, in desperation of meeting you and being with you…”
“But now I am happy, since that pain of separation, that we both endured, has come to an end. Embrace me, my beloved…I cannot bear this Kāma anymore…
And when Śaśiprabhā saw that he was indeed that young man who she had desired, and when she heard him utter those words, she was filled with a mixture of feelings…love, and surprise, and shyness…
But she embraced him, and they had a gāndharva marriage, and spent the next many nights with each other, without a care in the world.
Manaḥsvāmin lived in her chambers – maiden by day, and male by night. Friend by day, and lover by night…
गतेष्व् अथ दिनेष्व् अत्र यशःकेतोर् महीपतेः ।
मृगाङ्कदत्तसंज्ञेन स्वशुर्येण निजा सुता ॥ १२,२२.५७ ॥
दत्ता मृगाङ्कवत्याख्या महार्हविभवोत्तरा ।
द्विजातये महामन्त्रिप्रज्ञासागरसूनवे ॥ १२,२२.५८ ॥
तस्मिन् मातुलपुत्र्याः सा राजपुत्री शशिप्रभा ।
विवाहे मातुलगृहं तज् जगाम निमन्त्रिता ॥ १२,२२.५९ ॥
तया सह ययौ सो ऽपि कन्यकापरिवारया ।
विप्रपुत्रो मनःस्वामी कान्तकन्यास्वरूपधृत् ॥ १२,२२.६० ॥
तत्र तं कन्यकारूपधरं मन्त्रिसुतो ऽथ सः ।
दृष्ट्वा किल स्मरव्याधगाढबाणाहतो ऽभवत् ॥ १२,२२.६१ ॥
ततो मुषितचित्तः संस् तया कपटकन्यया ।
ययौ मन्त्रिसुतः शून्यं स्वगृहं स्ववधूसखः ॥ १२,२२.६२ ॥
तत्र तन्मुखलावन्यध्यानासक्तो जगाम सः ।
तीव्ररागमहाव्यालदष्टो मोहम् अशङ्कितम् ॥ १२,२२.६३ ॥
किम् एतद् इति संभ्रान्ते जने तत्रोत्सवोज्झिते ।
तम् उपागाद् द्रुतं बुद्ध्वा स प्रज्ञासागरः पिता ॥ १२,२२.६४ ॥
तेन चाश्वास्यमानो ऽपि पित्रा मोहात् प्रबुध्य सः ।
प्रलपन्न् इव सोन्मादम् उज्जगार मनोगतम् ॥ १२,२२.६५ ॥
अस्वाधीनं च तं मत्वा तत् पितर्य् अतिविह्वले ।
तस्मिन् राजापि तद् बुद्ध्वा तत्रैव समुपाययौ ॥ १२,२२.६६ ॥
Two months passed by.
It so happened that Mṛgāṅkadatta, the brother-in-law of king Yaśaḥketu, gave his own daughter, Mṛgāṅkavatī, in marriage to a young Brāhman, the son of minister Prajñāsāgara.
It was a grand marriage, and princess Śaśiprabhā attended it, this being her dear cousin’s wedding.
She was accompanied by her maids, and also Manaḥsvāmin, who was in the form of a beautiful maiden.
Śaśiprabhā congratulated the young man, who returned her greetings, but as soon as his eyes fell on the female Manaḥsvāmin, the arrows of Kāmadeva found their mark.
He felt that is heart was no more with him, and from that moment, he lost all interest in everything else and everyone else, including his newly-wedded bride.
People started to notice his dejected appearance and alerted his father Prajñāsāgara, who came running to see what had happened. The son by then had fallen onto the ground, in stupor, babbling deliriously. From his speech, Prajñāsāgara managed to understand what had happened, and he felt embarrassed at this unexpected turn of events.
Nevertheless, he felt that the situation was out of his control, and didn’t have a clue as to what to do next.
In the meanwhile, the king heard of this, and came there in person. He saw the condition of the minister’s son and said…
to be continued…