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55
 
'Oh, say, to whom would not Poetry as a mistress be an object of
admiration,
 
GENERAL INTRODUCTION
 
Since she has Cora (Bilhana) as her mass of hair, Mayura as her
earrings, ¹
 
Bhasa as her laughter, Kālidāsa, guru of the race of poets, as her grace,
Harşa as the joy dwelling in her heart, and Bāṇa as her god of love?'
 
THE STANZA SUPPLIED BY JAYAMANGALA
 
bhaktamayüravak trābjapadavinyāsaśālinī
nartaki 'va narīnartti sabhāmadhye sarasvati 2
 
'Sarasvati, abiding in the arrangement of the verses from the lotus mouth
of the beloved Mayūra,
 
Sports in the midst of the assembly-hall, like a dancing-girl.'
 
AN ANONYMOUS STANZA
 
maghas coro mayüro muraripur aparo bharaviḥ säravidyaḥ
friharşaḥ kalidasaḥ kavir atha bhavabhūtyahvayo bhojarajaḥ
śridandi dindimakhyaḥ śrutimukuțagurur bhallațo bhaṭṭabāṇaḥ
khyataś ca 'nye subandhvadaya iha kṛtibhir viśvam ahlādayantis
 
'Magha, Cora, Mayūra, the second Muraripu (i.e. Murari), Bhāravi
whose knowledge is renowned,
 
The illustrious Harşa, Kālidāsa, and also the poet named Bhavabhūti,
Bhojarāja,
 
The illustrious Dandin, called the Drum', Bhallata, weighty with the
diadem of fame, Bhaṭṭabāṇa,
 
And other celebrities, chief of whom is Subandhu, gladden the universe
here by [their] compositions.'
 
¹ Mayūra is called Poetry's 'earrings' simply because, in the Sanskrit,
karnapuro rhymes with mayüro. So also, harşo harşo, for 'Harşa' and
'joy,' etc.
 
See above, p. 12, note 1. It is probable that Jayamangala is quoting
this stanza from some other writer.
 
This stanza is found in the Subhāşitaratnabhāṇḍāgāra (p. 56, stanza
70), where it is given anonymously. It is cited and translated by Gray,
Vasavadatta, introd., p. 5.
 
The dramatist Murãri is doubtless meant, but murariḥ would not suit
the meter, which is sragdhara. The first Muraripu was, of course, Vişņu
(Kṛṣṇa) who slew the demon Mura. I need hardly add that ripu and
ari both mean 'foe,' so that Muraripu and Murari may both be rendered
'Foe of Mura.'