Poems from the Sanskrit

The blurb says "For many readers in the West, Indian literature means the Bhagavad-Gita or the Kamasutra; this anthology of secular poems from the Classical Sanskrit redresses the balance. These poems were written between the fourth and tenth centuries AD and illustrate the great diversity of subject-matter, style and imagination in a highly artistic aspect of Indian Culture, Sanskrit contains a wealth of synonyms and lends itself to strict metrical form with complex and subtle sound patterns. Translated by John Brough."

Blow, wind, to where my loved one is,

Touch her, and come and touch me soon;

I'll feel her gentle touch through you,

And meet her beauty in the moon,

These things are much for one who loves -

A man can live by them alone -

That she and I breath the same air,

And that the earth we tread is one.

Ramayana

And some more.....

If the forest of her hair

calls you to explore the land,

And her breast, those mountains fair,

Tempt that mountaineer, your hand -

Stop! before it is too late:

Love, the brigand, lies in wait.

Bhartyhari

In former days we'd both agree

That you were me and I was you.

What has now happened to us two,

That you are you, and I am me?

Bhartyhari

The moon tries every month in vain 

To paint a picture of your face;

And, having failed to catch its grace,

Destroys the work, and starts again.

.............................................

When describing to her best friend

Her adventures with her lover,

She realised she was talking to her husband,

and added, 'And then I woke up'

.................................

The tender words she spoke so sweet

Last night when in his arms she lay,

She hears a parrot now repeat,

and blushes at the break of day

..........................................

It is small wonder that my lady's breasts

Rise firm and proud -

For who would not be proud to be

Close to her heart.

.............................................

Look at the cloud-cat, lapping there on high

with lightening tongue the moon-milk from the sky!

Yogesvara