Ṛtusaṃhāra 2.1 — Varṣā, the rains
सशीकराम्भोधरमत्तकुञ्जर-
स्तडित्पताकोऽशनिशब्दमर्दलः।
समागतो राजवदुद्धतद्युति-
र्घनागमः कामिजनप्रियः प्रिये॥
sa-śīkarāmbhodhara-matta-kuñjaras
taḍit-patāko 'śani-śabda-mardalaḥ
samāgato rājavad uddhata-dyutir
ghanāgamaḥ kāmi-jana-priyaḥ priye
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The rains have come in like a king on the march: clouds for war-elephants, lightning for banners, thunder for drums, all of it blazing. And lovers are glad of it, my love.
How the sense would be said plainly today.
Metre
Vaṃśastha
⏑ — ⏑ — — ⏑ ⏑ — ⏑ — ⏑ —
The same twelve-syllable pulse as the summer canto, but the images now move at a march.
— is a long beat, ⏑ a short one.
Why this verse matters
- The image
- One sustained metaphor: the monsoon as a royal army on procession. Every part of the storm is assigned a role in the retinue.
- The craft
- The figure is called rūpaka, complete identification rather than comparison — not 'clouds like elephants' but clouds that are elephants — held across three compounds before 'rājavat' finally names the likeness.
- The moment
- The opening of the rains canto — the same monsoon that, in Meghadūta, will become a messenger.
A short practice
The rains arrive as a king. Match each part of the storm to its role in the procession.