Arjuna's Penance Poem by Romesh Chunder Dutt

And tuneful ducks before bini fly,

And with tlieir ^'oices fill the brake,
In burnished gold swim on the waves, —

A golden mantle on the lake!
In deepest wilds the tuskers roam,

And mark the banks with many a scar;
The swarming bees fly to the spot,

And streaming moisture scents the air!
Tlie golden Chakravak is lost

Midst waves in golden tints that shhie,
And Arjun hears the tender female

Call her mate in gentle tone!
Varying tints upon the stream

Proclaim the gems in rocks below,
As colours on the changeful face

The workings of the mind oft show.
But oft the surges, lashed by wind,

Spread far and wide their foam awhile, —
White as Ketak's snowv flower, —

Briolitenine: the woods with their bright smile!
But mark those spots, like peacock's feather,

Floatino- on the lucid wave:
Wild elephants their juice exude.

As they within the waters lave.
And Arjun views the yavvning oyster? ,

Lviner on their sandv bed,
Beauteous with their glistening pearls,

Or are they tears in sorrow shed?