Appendix A: Mahāvāṇī

—the darling responds with amorous gestures to her beloved’s desire, and the beloved turns his feeling toward her.
Both are immersed in the ocean of rasa and greedy for its relish; neither wishes for anyone else before them.

Look, companion! Ramachandra has created an exceedingly blissful rāsa;
The night’s beauty spreads beneath the autumn moonlight.
In many circular companies the companions dance, sustaining the notes;
Raghunandan and the daughter of Mithilesh dance among them.
Their restless feet whirl upon ground gleaming with gold and jewels,
And their anklets sound chananan, flashing chamak-chamak in rhythm.
Kamalā, Vimalā, and the others develop melodic phrases and responsive songs;
Kalindinī performs the arts of rāga and rāginī.
Candrakalā plays the vīṇā and mucanga, and a sweet mṛdaṅga resounds;
Other companions make the sitar’s strings rise in waves.
Tā-dhig-viṅga, tātha-dhig-viṅga; tā-vintā, tā-thintā;
Dhikiṭa vikiṭa, vidhikiṭa vidhikaṭa—the composition unfolds.
Music bursts forth in rāga, rhythm, tonal patterns, and modal scales;
Gestures, emotions, movements of the hands and neck, and wagtail-eyes all dance.
May the whole company united with Sri Ramacharan dwell within my heart;
This sport is eternal and unbroken, the adornment of the assembly of rasikas.

The spotless full autumn moon, the stainless earth, and the source of bliss—
Ramachandra has formed the rāsa; all the companions have hurried to behold it.
Along the Sarayu’s immaculate sandy bank, flowers of many colours bloom:
Lotus, campā, ketakī, and kadamba spread their fragrance.
Mynas, peacocks, cuckoos, swans, and parrots call;
Every bee hums, fashioning rāgas and rāginīs.
Kinnarīs and apsarases sing in modal patterns, notes, rhythms, and melodic phrases;
The sound fills the earth, young trees and creepers, the water, and the sky.
Mṛdaṅga, caṅga, sāraṅgī, tambūra,
Vīṇā, flute, and other instruments sound with beautiful notes, rhythm, and movement.
Between each pair of companions, one Rama dances at the centre,
Bringing many fragrant movements to the music and vigorous dance.
The six rāgas, Rama’s rāginīs, notes, rhythms, and scales all sing,
Assuming the forms of companions and coming to take part in Rama’s rāsa—