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In Hindu Literature: Bana

In the prose romances written by Bana in the seventh century we find the wildest extravagance of speech, which is far less pleasing to Western readers than the rich, sensuous, but saner work of the poet Bhavabhúti and of the early writers. Still, there are some beautiful passages and the bees continue as omnipresent as ever, as witness the first part of the following, taken from the description of a sunset in the " Harsa-Carita": :- "Fragrant with the scent of their own honey, the nightlotus beds, to the joy of the bees, commenced to open, like umbrellas of water nymphs, seraglio mansions for the wives of the feathered tribes."

The bees have "sung their sweet songs" often enough in the quotations already given to establish their rights as vocal musicians, but Bāna is not content to let them sing, they must also play upon the lyre, and we are told in the "Harsa-Carita" of a certain king that - "He was listening like one skilled in music to luteplayers, to the tribes of bees in his ear-rings, which with restless feet played a tiny lyre consisting of the end of his ear-ring jewel with the web of its rosy rays for strings." Bana tells us of a king from whose "ear-wreath, as he bent down, bees flew away like departing sins all uprooted by Siva worship."

And thus of a queen: - "She was honey in converse, ambrosia to those who In Hindu Literature sought delight, rain to her servants, beatitude to her friends, bamboo-like to her elders."

In a description of beautiful women Bāna tells us that "Tribes of bees, attracted by their breath, are their beauteous veils."

The attraction of the bees by a sweet breath is a favorite theme with the later writers, and Bāna gives us the following charming description of a bride : - "A fragrance of flowers breathed about her, as if she had come forth from the heart of spring. The perfume of her breath attracted the bee tribes, as if she were sprung from the Malaya breeze."

In the folk-songs, too, and in the fables the bee is not wanting. From the "Samadeva" we get the following delightful picture of the man who thinks only of the pleasures of the moment : -- "A traveller, who had slept in a tree in a forest, upon waking saw beneath him a crouching lion, and above him a great hissing boa. In terror he knew not which way to turn. "Thereupon there trickled down to him from a bee's-nest built in the tree beautiful honey. He tasted it and straightway forgot his danger!" "A hunter sold to a merchant a honey-comb. A drop of honey fell from it to the floor. The merchant's cat licked it up. "The hunter's dog bit and killed the cat. "The merchant, angered at the death of his beloved cat, struck the dog. "Then the hunter and the merchant fell upon each other. At the outcry the neighbors hastened thither and there ensued a general fight. They fought and slew each other until all lay dead on the ground - and all on account of a drop of honey!"

A story analogous to the one of not counting your chickens before they are hatched also occurs in the Hindu tales, with the bee instead of the young girl for the victim, and has been thus delightfully translated: - "The Bee's Dream ""Night will quickly pass, fair will be the dawn; the sun will rise in beauty, and the glorious lilies will unfold themselves.' While a bee sleeping in a flower thus dreamed, came, alas! an elephant and crushed it as it lay."

One could go on indefinitely culling allusions to the bee from Hindu literature.

Nowhere has it played so constant and so pleasing a part in the poetry of a people.

This, no doubt, is in part owing to the universal presence of the bee throughout the whole of that mysterious and luxuriant country.

Wild bees everywhere in India build their combs and store their honey in the open air, and to-day the honey of the wild bee is gathered and prized as it was in all former times.

To-day honey is used at sacrifices and other domestic ceremonies, and plays an important part at the wedding and at the birth of a child.