So listen now, once more, ere I kill him,
And, if at all thou carest for his life,
Let me but see the beauty of thy face,
And for one moment only gaze upon
Its loveliness--then Timma shall be free,
And I will pass in quietness to my home--
Nay, henceforth I will not molest you both.
Shouldst thou this last request refuse, I swear,
By all I sacred hold, the moment that
Refusal comes, the jav'lin from my hand
Will fly at Timma and will strike him dead."
Meantime brave Chandra in the audience hall
Of her own palace, 'midst her faithful men,
Received the news, and then in angry tones
She spurned the wild request, when there appeared
Her priest, who counsel gave in words like these:
"It is not meet, O royal lady, that
Thou shouldst this attitude defiant assume,
When Bukka in a moment may bereave
Us all of our dear, noble Timmaraj,
And drive thee, too, to fling thy life away;
And, if 'tis writ thou shouldst so die with him,
Our sad entreaties and our tears will nought
Avail, nor alter laws thus preordained.
But haply, if it is writ otherwise,
Why break the link that binds you both for life?
Call it not chance the link that binds men's hearts,
But Heaven's sacred gift to sweeten life.
It is the hand divine that guides man's life
From the inception to the very end;