Ashta-nayika-6, Kalahantarita, Feeling bad after feud
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The heroine indulging in quarrels (kalaha)
with her beloved, might well suffer remorse
later, and try to end it all.
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Not dagger, even aversion robs life,
My Love, I know it is no less a knife,
Pray forget my harsh words,
Let’s be the same love birds.
O try and look me through my heart,
If wish, even split it apart
To see if ye find anything but love for you,
Tell me then where I failed, give me a clue,
Why hast that vast store of love dried in you?
Why in place of love-showers this sky blue?
Recall, we had pledged together to live
And walk one day together to life’s eve.
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Natya Shastra | 06.02.2025 | Rhyme,
Note: This is sixth of Ashta-Nayikas, eight heroine types, as classified in a Sanskrit treatise on performing arts in Bharata’s Natya-Shastra. The state (avastha) of the eight romantic heroines widely themed in Indian paintings, literature, sculpture, classical dance forms and music. Kalahantarita is the sixth of the eight such heroines depicted here in poetic form.
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