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by Kalidasa (flourished 5th century)
Translation by Arthur William Ryder (1877 - 1938)

As the bee about her flies
Language: English  after the Sanskrit (संस्कृतम्) 
As the bee about her flies,
Swiftly her bewitching eyes
Turn to watch his flight.
She is practising to-day
Coquetry and glances' play
Not from love, but fright.

Eager bee, you lightly skim
O'er the eyelid's trembling rim
Toward the cheek aquiver.
Gently buzzing round her cheek,
Whispering in her ear, you seek
Secrets to deliver.

While her hands that way and this
Strike at you, you steal a kiss,
Love's all, honeymaker.
I know nothing but her name,
Not her caste, nor whence she came —
You, my rival, take her.

About the headline (FAQ)

Confirmed with Kalidasa. Translations of Shakuntala and Other Works, by Arthur W. Ryder, University of California; London and Toronto, J. M. Dent & Sons, Ltd in New York by E. P. Dutton & Co., 1920.


Text Authorship:

  • by Arthur William Ryder (1877 - 1938), no title [author's text checked 1 time against a primary source]

Based on:

  • a text in Sanskrit (संस्कृतम्) by Kalidasa (flourished 5th century) [text unavailable]
    • Go to the text page.

Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):

    [ None yet in the database ]


Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]

This text was added to the website: 2014-09-27
Line count: 18
Word count: 92

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