Text 8
bāṇāv imau bhagavataḥ śata-patra-patrau
śāntāv apuṅkha-rucirāv ati-tigma-dantau
kasmai yuyuṅkṣasi vane vicaran na vidmaḥ
kṣemāya no jaḍa-dhiyāṁ tava vikramo ’stu
bāṇau — two arrows; imau — these; bhagavataḥ — of you, the most powerful; śata-patra-patrau — having feathers like the petals of a lotus flower; śāntau — peaceful; apuṅkha — without a shaft; rucirau — very beautiful; ati-tigma-dantau — having a very sharp point; kasmai — whom; yuyuṅkṣasi — you want to pierce; vane — in the forest; vicaran — loitering; na vidmaḥ — we cannot understand; kṣemāya — for welfare; naḥ — of us; jaḍa-dhiyām — who are dull-headed; tava — your; vikramaḥ — prowess; astu — may be.
Then Āgnīdhra observed the glancing eyes of Pūrvacitti and said: My dear friend, you have two very powerful arrows, namely your glancing eyes. Those arrows have feathers like the petals of a lotus flower. Although they have no shafts, they are very beautiful, and they have very sharp, piercing points. They appear very peaceful, and thus it seems that they will not be shot at anyone. You must be loitering in this forest to shoot those arrows at someone, but I cannot understand whom. My intelligence is dull, and I cannot combat you. Indeed, no one can equal you in prowess, and therefore I pray that your prowess will be for my good fortune.
Āgnīdhra thus began appreciating Pūrvacitti’s powerful glance upon him. He compared her glancing eyes to very sharp arrows. Although her eyes were as beautiful as lotuses, they were simultaneously like shaftless arrows, and Āgnīdhra was therefore afraid of them. He hoped that her glances upon him would be favorable because he was already captivated and the more captivated he became the more impossible it would be for him to remain without her. Āgnīdhra therefore prayed to Pūrvacitti that her glances at him would be auspicious, not futile. In other words, he prayed that she would become his wife.