INTRODUCTION
I THE POET.
HIS LIFE AND WORKS.
At the outset it must be admitted that we have absolutely no trustworthy information regarding the personal history of Kâlidása, the brightest jewel of the mine of Indian poets. The curiosity of the querist who would ask-Where and when was he born’? Who were his parents’? When did he die ? &c.’-must ever reamin unsatisfied. The poet has studiously observed utter silence about himself in his works. Read them howsoever we may, we find no allusion, no incident mentioned that may directly shed any light either on his person or any remarkable event of his life. In the words of Hazlitt ‘he was the least of an egotist that it was possible to be.’ His poetical productions alone stand as an immortal monument of his surpassing poetic excellence. And we must content ourselves with gathering what little information we can about a post of such world-wide repute from external sources and a few incidents found here and there in his works which have a distant bearing upon the history of his life. Reserving for a future section the question about the date of the poet, we proceed here to state the few facts that can thus be known about him. A time-honoured tradition, supported by internal and external evidence, associates the name of Kalidasa with that of the epoch making king, Vikramaditya of Ujjayini, The keen interest and the filial love with which poet in his Meghadûta describes the Mahákåla and Siprá, and the other beauties of Ujjayiní, unmistakably point to the conclusion that he must have been a native of that city. And the various covart references to the name of Vikrama in his Vik. in fully eulogistic terms, which are doubtless meant to immor. talize that king, are inexplicable if that monarch be not regarded as the poet’s patron. Kálidâsa also botrays considerable acquaintance with court-life in his works. This circumstance coupled with the fact that there is no allusion in his writings to the Goddess of Wealth having ever frowned upon him shows that he was in affluent circumstances and had not the misfor-
- The first two sections are mostly taken verbatim from our introduction, to Vik. and Rag. (2) tune ever to drink the bitter cup of poverty. He was a Bráhmana by caste and was a devout worshipper of S’iva though by no means a sectarian. He seems to have travelled a good deal, at least in Northern India. For, as Dr. Bháu Dáji remarke, he is the only post who describes a living saffron flower, the plant of which grows in Kashmir. Ilis graphic description of the Himalayan scenes in the first and the eighth cantos of the Kumarasambhava looks very much like that of one who was an eye-witness. Unlike Bhavabhâti and many other brotherpoets he appears to have enjoyed great popularity in his lifetime. He was ‘an admirer of field-sports and describes their beneficial effects with the exactness of a true sportsman.’ Though fond of pleasures he was not the unscrupulous voluptuary he is supposed to be by some critics, as is clear from the many noble sentiments expressed in the Sakuntala ( of. eâqökta qr** &c. S’ák, V. and our note ad loc.). It also appears from the same play that he was against love-marriages though always actuated with the most generous sentiments towards the fair sex. Ilis works bear further testimony to his considerable acquaintance with the Vedas, the philosophy taught by the Upanishads, the Bhagavadgitâ, the Puranas, the systems of the Sakhya, Yoga, and Vedanta, as propounded by Badarayana, medicine and the rudiments of astronomy. Beyond these few facts nothing is known for certain about our post at present. A few conjectures have been advanced as to some other particulare but to test their correctness or otherwise falls within the province of the antiquary. His Works. The poet’s silence about himself in his works gave opportunity to many unscrupulous inferior poets to father their own works upon him. The following is a list of the works attributed to him:( 1 ) शाकुन्तल, ( 2 ) विक्रमोर्वशीय, ( 3 ) मालविकामिमित्र, ( 4 ) रघुवंश, (5) कुमारसंभव, ( 6 ) मेघदूत (7) कुन्तेश्वरदौत्य, ( 8 ) ऋतुसंहार, ( 9 ) अस्त्रास्तव, ( 10 ) कालीस्तोत्र ( 11 ) काव्यनाटकालंकारा: ( १ ), ( 12 ) घटकर्पर, ( 13 ) चण्डिकादण्डकास्तोत्र ( 14 ) दुर्घटकाव्य, ( 15 ) नलोय, ( 16 ) नवरत्नमाला, ( 17 ) पुष्पबाणविलास, ( 18 ) राक्षसकाव्य, (19) #geaa, (20) fiaftizana, (21) geraamtea, (22) शृङ्गारतिलक, ( 23 ) शृङ्गारसार, ( 24 ) श्यामलादण्डक, ( 25 ) श्रुतबोध, (21) igru. Of these the first six are acknowledged by all critics to be his. (7) is not yet discovered, but is quoted as
(3) Kâlidâsa’s by the Kashmirian Scholar Kshemendra in bis Auchityavicháracharchâ. The authorship of (8) is somewhat doubtful; while the rest are certainly to be dismissed as the productions of other poets. Here, therefore, we are concerned with the first six alone. The most convenient and reliable method of studying the development of the poet’s mind and its relations to his productions would be to read his works in their chrono“ logical order. But we have no external evidence whatsoever to ascertain the chronology of Kâlidása’s works. It must, therfore, be based wholly on internal evidence, Judged as such the works would stand in this order-Foems-TĦITO) मेघदूत and रघुवंश. Plays - माल०, विक्रमो० and शाकुन्तल; or both Plays-13, . indiscriminately as कुमार, मालविका०, विक्रमो० मेघदूत, शाकुन्तल and g. Space will not permit us even to refer to these briefly. We will only remark in passing that the last three are the outcome of the poet’s matured poetic faculties and riper years. The genius of Kálidása has been recognized and appreciated by the whole of the literary world. It has attracted the scholars and distinguished Orientalists of Europe and America. His poetic genius has brought Sanskrit poetry to the highest refinement consistent with purity and without any extravagant colouring. An unaffected simplicity of expression and an easy-flowing language mark his writings which are embellished with unparalleled similes and general truths. He is universally praised for the beauty of his representations, the tenderness of feeling, and the richness of his imagination. Among Sanskrt writers the earliest reference to him is in the Aihole inscription of Pulakes’i 11. (634 A. D.) where Ravikirti is described as having attained the literary glory of Kålidása and Bbáravi. In his introduction to the HarshaCharita Báņa speaks of him in the following words:- “6 farang a ai merr anfèqreer æfing प्रीतिर्मधुरसार्द्रास मअरीष्विव जायते ॥ " As soon as Kálidása’s sweet sayings went forth from him was there any one who did not rejoice in them as in honey-laden flowers? Kumárila, who flourished about the first half of the eighth century, in his Tantravártika, quotes with approval the passage from the S’ ákuntala–” सतां हि सन्देहपदेषु वस्तुषु प्रमाणमन्तः#yoga:.” The tame and colourless character of the description of our poet as contained in these earlier refernces, would (4) naturally lead to the conclusion that his superior merits, as a poet, were not properly appreciated and the literary supremacy that has for upwards of a thousand years been assigned to him was never thought of in those days. And this evidently for the reason that these medieval writers were incapable of appreciating the internal excellence of his poetic genius, his lively imagination and faithful delineation of character, as their own taste was vitiated by an undue fondness for long compounds, double-meaning and obscure words &c.-a fondness which made them sometimes sacrifice sense to the external beauty of words. It was only in later times that intelligent and unbiased minds began to recognize his superior merits and since that the Pandits and especially foreign scholars have been the loudest and most sincere in singing the praises of the immortal bard of Sanskrit Literature, the Shakespeare of India. One Paṇḍit has said— पुरा कवीनां गणनामस कनिष्ठिकाऽधिष्ठितकालिदासा । अद्यापि तत्तुल्यकवेरभावादनामिका साऽर्थवती बभूव ॥ “While once enumerating the poets, the first finger was occupied by Kâlidása (as being the first). But the second finger remained true to its name (37/fq4=nameless ) as his second has not yet been found by whom it can be occupied.” Pandit Govardhanáchárya thus speaks of our poet- साकूतमधुरकोमलविलासिनीकण्ठकूजितप्राये । शिक्षासमयेऽपि मुद्दे रतलीलाकालिवासोती ॥ “Two things only viz, love-sport and Kálidása’s poetry delight the heart even at the time of instruction as they consist of the sweet, tender and touching words of a sportive girl,” Almost every Pandit has in his mouth the following memorable verse- काव्येषु नाटकं रम्यं तभ रम्यं शकुन्तला । aufa a aguisgean winagey ||| “Among poetic compositions the drama is most pleasant, and among dramas S’âkuntala is the best. Even there the fourth act and especially four s’lokas therein are most beautiful.” Every reader of the S’ákuntala can easily find out for himself the four memorable S’lokas referred to here. The highest place is assigned to Kalidára among posts for the construction of happy similes, when it is said- They are—यास्यत्यद्य शकुन्तलेति &c.; शुश्रूषण हरूतू. &c.; अभिजनवतो भर्तुः साध्ये &c.; and भूत्वा चिराग चतुरन्तमहीसपत्नी &०. (B) उपमा कालिदासस्य भारवेरर्थगौरवम् । gfoga: qeorfoed arâ afa að gor: a Pandit Jayadeva speaks of our poet as aftgøye, ’the lorđ of poets’ and the fare ‘sporting place’ of the damsel of poetry. Goethe, the celebrated post, philosopher and critic of Germany thus describes the poet in his well-known linest- “Wouldst thou the young years, blossoms and fruits of its decline, And all by which the soul is charmed, enraptured, feasted, fed; Wouldst thou the earth and heaven itself in one sole name combine ? I name thee, O S’akuntalá! and all at once is said,” When we remember that Goethe himself was the greatest poet of Germany and one of the greatest of the world, we realize the importance of his estimate of our poet. The wellknown philosopher and traveller, Humboldt, pronounces the following judgment-” Kálidase, the celebrated author of the S’akuntala, is a masterly describer of the influence which nature exercises upon the minds of lovers; *** Tenderness in the expression of feeling and richness of creative fancy have assigned to him his lofty place among the posts of all nations". The celebrated critic Schlegel also has assigned him a very high position amongst the glorious company of the ‘Sons of Song.’ Several eminent Orientalists have also offered their tribute of praise to our Indian Shakespeare, as Sir Williams Jones was the first to call him-the very comparison of Kálidása to Shakespeare is the highest form of eulogy that could be bestowed upon him by foreign oritics, Sir M. Monier-Williams while writing about the S’akuntala thus expresses himself “No composition of Kálidasa displays more the richness of his poetical genius, the exuberance of his imagination, the warmth and play of his fancy, his profound knowledge of the human heart, his delicate appreciation of its most refined and tender emotions, his familiarity with the workings and counterworkings of its conflicting feelings-in short, more entitles him to rank as the Shakespeare of India.” Prof, Lassen-we are sorry for want of space we cannot quote him fully-calis † Translated by Mr. Eastwick and quoted in Dr. Bhau Dajt’s Essay en Kali.. (6.) him the brightest star in the firmament of Indian (artificial?) poetry. We thus find that Kálidása has established his sovereignty in the hearts of all alike. Now it may be asked * what is there in Kálidasa which establishes his undisputed claim to the highest honour which is thus bestowed upon him?’ Unless this question is answered satisfactorily, Kâlidâsa’s merits as a poet cannot be said to be determined. We have discussed this question in the last section of our Introduction to the S’akuntala to which the student is referred. Now we shall briefly consider Kâlidâsa’s poetry, his style and diction in general. His poetic genius has brought Sanskrit poetry to the highest elegance and refinement. His style is peculiarly pure and chaste, ‘It has neither the laxity of the Puranas nor the extravagant colouring of later poems. It is unartificial and characterized by brevity consistent with perspicuity. An unaffected simplicity of expression and ar easy-flowing language mark his writings which are embellished with similes unparalleled for their beauty and appropriateness, and pithy general sayings. His diction is marked by absence of long compounds, involved constructions, and overwrought rhetoric, and by very few pune, Kálidása excels other poets in his description of the sublime and the beautiful. It is a principle recognized by all modern critics that Nature must be the life and essence of poetry;’ and in this respect Kalidasa may be said to be essentially a poet of Nature (of course in the limited sense of the term which it is possible to attach to it in those times of gay luxury and general prosperity). He describes with most effective touches the gorgeous scenery of the mountain Himalaya-ite snow-clad and mineral-covered summits, the peaks where snn-shine ever reigns, the fragrant and cool breezes blowing there, the wilds with the hunters, the musk-deer, the potent herbs shedding lustre at night, the chamara deer, the Mánasa lake &c.; and his description of the Ganges and the peaceful hermitage life is very striking and life-like. His descriptive powers are great and some of the scones in the S’ák., the Kumára., the Meg. and the Rag. are so enchanting as to hold his readers spell-bound.
- Lassen’s Alterthumskunde, Band ii. p. 458; for the quotation see Dr. Bhau Dàjî’s Literary Remains, p. 2. THE DATE OF THE POET. We turn now to the much vexed question about the date of Kálidâsa and, thanks to the labours of Prof. R. N. Apte and Mr. Nandargikar, it may now be said to have been finally established. But we have neither the time nor space at our disposal even to fully quote their arguments on the point. We shall, therefore, give a brief summary of the main arguments on which they (and especially the former) have based their conclusions. Tradition mentions Kálidasa as a contemporary of king Vikramaditya, as one of the nine gems at his courtKing Vikramaditya, who was an epoch-maker, founded the era known after him, which is almost universally accepted as commencing from 56 B. O. A few antiquarians, however, do not accept this as the correct date of that monarch but bring him down to A. D. 544 propounding a theory of their own which is known as 544 A. D. THE KORUR THEORY.
The battle of Korurf marks a turning point in Indian bis. tory, Vikramaditya having defeated in it the Mtechchhas. Mr. Fergusson held that to commemorate this important ovoat an era was invented and that its beginning was placed back six hundred years. So he supposed the true date of Vikramaditya to be A. D. 544; and this theory for a time held away; for a long time after the researches of scholars had commenced in the field of ancient Indian chronology, no inscription was discoverred bearing a date prior to 600 of the Vikrama era. Such an inscription, however, has been lately discovered,‡ viz. the Mandasor Inscription, dated the year 494 of the Vikrama era. Its great support being thus taken away the Korur Theory collapses and the time-honoured authority of the traditionary account remains unshaken. Then there is
- Kalidasa was once unscrupulously dragged down to the 11th century A. D. by some Western scholars. But the discovery of the Aikole inscription (which is dated 634 A, D.) at once furnished the 7th century A. D. as the downward limit of the poet’s date. † About this battle there is no evidence other than that of Albiruni; but as Dr. Max Muller says, Albiruni does not invent battles, but tells us what he was told. My M Dr. Peterson’s Essay on Panini. (8) THE THEORY OF THE NINE GEMS. धन्वन्तरिक्षपणकामरसिंहश कुबेताल भइघटकर्पर कालिदासाः । ख्यातो वराहमिहिरो नृपतेः समार्था रत्नानि वे वररुचिर्नव विक्रमस्थ ॥ Nine eminent men called ’the nine gems’ adorned the Court of Vikramaditya. Of these Amaradeva or Amarasimha is said to have lived between the visits to this country of Fa Hlan and Hiouen Thsang in 414 A. D. and 642 A. D. respectively. For in Fa Hian’s time the great shrine at Gaya, which an inscription says was built by Amaradeva, was not in existence, while it has been referred to in the account of the second Chinese pilgrim. Varáhamihira is supposed to have died in 587. On the evidence of these contemporaries of the poet, Dr. Kern, who is a strong supporter of this theory, places Kâlidása in the latter half of the sixth century. Next there is THE THEORY OF RENAISSANCE era Propounded by Dr. Max Muller. He divides the whole Sanskrit literary period into two parts, the first beginning with the Vedas and ending with the first century of the Christian Then comes what the great Doctor calls ‘an interregmnm’– a period during which foreigners invaded India and so the literary genius was dormant. Dr. Max Muller places the Renaissance of Sanskṛt learning in the 6th century A, D, with the reign of Vikramaditya. The period called ‘Interregnum’ was really speaking not destitute of literary productivity, as has been shown by Drs. Peterson and G. Bühler and therefore, if Kalidasa is to be considered as the first post of the new school, he must be placed considerably earlier than Dr. Max Muller does. This theory is also weakened by the fall of the Korur theory. Thus these two theories cannot be regarded as perfectly sound, whereas the theory of the nine gems is but imperfectly put forth, and not without many a priori conolusions and speculations as to probabilities. If the tradition about the nine gems proves anything, beyond doubt it proves the connection of Kâlidâsa with king Vikramaditya, being corroborated by other kind of evidence, such as the covert allusions to that king in the Vik. &c. As for the contemporaneity of the nine gems the tradition cannot be true. There are some minor things which have been pushed into the controversy. These are the alleged covert references to Dinnaga
- For some of the anecdotes referring to Kâlidàss in connection with this point see our Intro, to Raghu. p. 11.(9) and Nichula in the Meghadúta, the former a foe and the latter a friend of Kâlidása, the identity of Matṛgupta, a king of Kashmir, and Kâlidûsa ( for, names in Sanskrit are often titles and Mátrigupta, lit. ’ protected by the mother’ may also be taken as Káligupta or Kálidása) and the supposed astronomical references in the works of Kâlidása to the astronomical theories of A’ryabhata who lived in 479 A, D. Prof. Apte has examined all these at some length and on the first point he comes to the conclusion that Dinnaga and Nichula were not contemporaries of the great Kálidása, but must have been contemporaries of some other Kálidása. On the second point he observes that Måtṛgupta and Kálidása were two different persons, since they are differently quoted by Kshemedra and other writers and commentators (and among them by Raghavabhatta), The supposed astronomical references* have really no astronomical significance at all and it cannot be said that Kálidasa was acquainted with the astronomical works of A’ryabhaṭa. Mr. K. B. Pathak, the latest exponent of the 6th century theory repeats the arguments given above but principally grounds his conclusion on his theory about the Húna kings, allusion to whom is made by the poet in the Raghuvams’s. He argues that since there is no mention made of the Húņas in the Ramayana, the conclusion follows that Kalidasa unconsciously refers to the Húna kings of his own time who held sway over the Punjab and Kashmir, and especially to Mihiracula who, about the year 532-533 retired to the Punjab after his overthrow by Yas’odharman and Bálâditya, But this rests merely on assumption; for there are references to the Hu’nas even in Mah. Bha’r.-Prof. Apte has also shown that just beyond Bactria or the threshold of ancient India, the Hipas had instituted a powerful empire from the middle of the 3rd century B. C, the end of the 1st or the 2nd century A. D. to Vatsabhu’ti, the author of the Mandasor inscription, copies several ideas from Kâlidâsa; the latter must, therefore, have lived prior to 473 A, D. Again As’vaghosha, the author of a life of the great Bhuddha in Sanskrit, has numerous pa-
- Notable among those is छाया हि भूमेः शशिनो मलस्वेनारोपिता शुद्धिमत्तः प्रजाभिः ( Rag. XIV. 40) where art is wrongly translated as ’the shadow of the earth’, its correct significance being ’ a reflection’ as clearly interpreted by Malli. The word art is similarly used in S’ak. VII.32. (10) ssages similar to those occurring in the works of Kálidása. Now Kálidása was an original poet borrowing his subjects from Valmiki and other ancient authors. A’svaghosha was more of a philosopher than a poet and may with greater probability be supposed to have borrowed his ideas from Kálidâsa. The date of A’svaghosha is given as 78 A, D., and if we suppose him to have borrowed from Kâlidása, the latter will have to be placed earlier than 78 A. D. And in this view Dr. Peterson also concurs when he says “Kálidása stands near the beginning of the Christian era, if, indeed, he does not overtop it.” There is also internal evidence pointing to the same conclusion. We have first the evidence obtained from the state of the law of inheritance and the penalty for theft as they are indicated in passages in the S ́ák. The passage in the sixth Act of the drama anouncing the death of the merchant Dhanamitra who was dying heirless, seems to Prof. Apte to refer to a period when the widow of a deceased person could not inherit his estate. Such a period is to be found only before the Christian era, when Manu, A’pastamba and Vasishtha held away, and Bṛhaspati, S’ankha, Likhits and Yájñavalkya had not yet written their codes. The penalty for theft as indicated in the prologue to the sixth Act seems to have been the extreme one, it being the theft of a jewel. There is also a passage of similar import in the Vik. (ì quigaf &c. V. 1.) in which the feathery thief that had stolen away the king’s favourite gem is referred to. The penalty for theft has been from time to time mitigated with the progress of civilization, Manu and A’pastamba lay down the extreme penalty, the option of fine being introduced later on as we find it in the Smṛti of Brhaspati. These two circumstances tend to show that Kálidâsa flourished at a period which is anterior to Bṛhaspati, the latter being generally placed in the first century A. D. Prof. Apte further calls attention to the fact there is no reference to the Nyáya philosophy in the works of Kálidasa, except perhaps in Rag. XIII. 1, in which the word so (..) occurs but which the poet might have borrowed from the Sankhya philosophy and concludes that he must have. lived before the development of that philosophy. Then again we have the evidence of style. The artificiality of diction and fondness for long compounds and double-meaning words which ( 11 ) mark the writings of Dandin (who in his Kávyádars’a says that an abundance of compounds forms the very life of poetry), Bápa, Bbavabhú’ti (7th century A. D.) and other medieval writers, are entirely absent in Kálidâsa, a fact which shows that he must be placed some six or seven centuries before them-a period necessary to cause such a revolution in the art of literary composition considering the scanty means of the propagation of learning in those times. From the above-mentioned fow facts it is abundantly clear that Kalidasa lived in the 1st century B. O, at the latest (the upward limit of his date being 300 B. C. according to some writers ). Some modern scholars, however, have adopted the view that Kalidea must have flourished under one or more of the Gupta kings. The Gupta period (about 300-650 A ̧D.) was notable in the ancient history of India for a revival of Sanskrit learning and arts. Mr. Vincent A. Smith in his The Early History of India" (3rd ed., 1914) believes that Kalidasa must have flourished in the reigns of one or more of these Gupta kings:- Chandragupta II. (O. 357-413) Kumaragupta I. (413-455) Skandagupta ( 455-480) Both Chandragupta II. and Skandagupta had adopted the title Vikramaditya. Mr. Smith says:-" It is not unlikely that the earliest works of Kâlidasa, namely, the Ritusamhŝra ( if that be his ), and the Meghadúta, may have been composed before A. D. 418, that is to say, while Chandragupta II. was on the throne, but I am inclined to regard the reign of Kumâragupta I. (413-455) as the time during which the poet’s later works were composed, and it seems possible, or even probable, that the whole of his literary career fell within the limits of that reign. It is also possible that he may have continued writing after the accession of Skandagupta." Mr. Smith thus makes Kalidasa’s literary career extend over a period of not less than thirty years. There is thus nothing wrong in the tradition about Vikramâditya being our poet’s patron, only we must arrive at an understanding as to which Vikramaditya is referred to. ( 12 ) II. THE POEM. The Kamarasambhava or the poem descriptive of the birth of Kumára " is a Mahákávya. It is is a Sravya Kavya or poetry to be chanted and heard and is a metrical composition. Besides the Mahákávyas, S’ravya Ka’vya includes:-( 1 ) Khandakavyas, such as the Megbadûta, which are also metrical (2) Vrittagandbi, Kathâ and A’khyayikê, which are all composed in prose; and (3) Champus &o, which are mixed. A Mahâkávya ought to consist of cantos not less than eight and more than thirty in number, and not containing less than thirty and more than two hundred s’lokas each.* It may be concerned with the description of the life of a single hero like the S’is’upa’lavadha or the Vikrama’nkadevacharita, or of Kartikeya, the hero of the present poem. If there be one hero he must be either a celestial character as in the present case or a Kshatriya of noble descent and possessed of the qualities of a Dhírodâtta Náyaka †, and if more than one, they must all be good Kshatriyas sprung from the same racet. Every canto must have a uniform metre which is allowed to change only at the close, though there may occasionally be a canto containing a variety of metres§, such as Kir. V. or S’is’. IV. At the end of each canto there should be a reference to the subject of the next succeeding canto. The predominant senti. ment should be either Sṛngåra or Vira or S’a’nta, i. e., the sentiment of Love, or of Heroism, or Tranquillity. ¶ • cagania z egi fazendja antog i Isʼâna Samh. नात्यन्तविस्तरः सर्गस्त्रिशतो वा न वोनता । द्विशत्या नाधिकं कार्यमेतत्पयस्य लक्षणम् ॥ Deviations from the first rule are sometimes found. The Harevijaya, published in the Kâvyamâlâ, has as many as 50 cuntos. † A hero of sublime qualities or Dhfrodâtta is one, who is pos sessed of great mental strength, grave, patient, not boasting, and of firm resolve, with his spirit controlled by modesty, as Rama in the Rámáyana or Jimitavahana in the Nagमहासत्वोतिगंभीरः क्षमावानविकत्थनः । fait fagzréetü đàgrât cena: 1 Das’. Râ. (1.) सबन्धी महाकाव्यं तत्रैको नायकः सुरः । सवंशः क्षत्रियो वापि धीरोदाचगुणान्वितः । चकवंशभवा भूपाः कुलजा बहवोपि वा || Sab Dar. 8 एक समयैः पचैरवसानेन्यवृत्तकैः । नानावृत्तमयः क्वापि सर्गः कान दृश्यते S&h. Dar. 17 शृङ्गारवीरशा नानामेकोङ्गी रस इष्यते । Sal Dar. (13) The object of such compositions should be the attainment of the four objects of human desire (i. e. they should be written in such a way that their perusal would point out the means of attaining these ); iz, धर्म, अर्थ, काम and मोक्ष. A Maháka vya must, as well, contain a description of great cities, oceans, mountains, seasons, the rise of the sun and the moon, sporting with ladies in gardens and water, carousings, separations and unions of lovers &c. &c. The style should be embellished with rhetorical ornament and be fully sentimental *. Nothing that violates the dignity of Kavya or poetry, such as unmeaning talk &c. should be introduced in a Mahákávya. ‘If a poem be written with due attention to these canons, remarks Dandín, it will endure to the end of a Kalpa.’ ? 蓄 The Kuma’rasambhava has all the requirements of a Mahákávya and is classed as such by Sanskritists. The available recension of the Kâvya consists of 17 cantos or Sargas though some believe that it has twenty-two in all. It has a commentary by Mallinâtha upto eight cantos only. It is now generally believed that only these eight are the work of the poet, the rest were written either by some later writer or by some disciple of Kálidasa. The commentator Râmagovinda states that the Kumarasambhava extends to eight cantos only. Again it may be remarked that the title “The Birth of Kumâra” cannot very well apply to the whole of the poem. The eighth canto properly leads up to the (not actual but potential) of the War-God, and the poem may naturally end there. If the poet goes on describing the war against the demon Taraka in Heaven, as is done in the succeeding cantos, it would be inconsistent with the scope and plan of the poem as suggested by its title. If the defeat and the death of Târaka were to be the subject-matter, it should have been called by some other name, such as artmay. Again the evidence of style conclusively proves that cantos 9-17 are certainly not written by the author of the first eight. 0 चतुर्वर्गफलोपेतं चतुरोदात्तनायकम् । नगरार्णवशैलंतु चन्द्रादयवर्णनैः ॥ उद्यानसलिलकी - डामधुपानरतोत्सवैः । विप्रलम्भैर्विवाह कुमारोदयवर्णनैः ॥ मन्त्रदूतप्रयाणाजिनायकाभ्युदयैरपि । अलंकृतमसंक्षिप्रं रसभावनिरन्तरम् ॥ ०००का कल्पान्तरस्थायि जांयत सदलंकृति ॥ Danilin Káv. I. 15. 18. K. I. 2 (14) Such is not the opinion of Dr. Ryder, however. He accepts the later cantos as genuine on what seem to us to be trifling and inconclusive arguments. The learned Doctor argues, for instance, that the last nine cantos are worse poetry than the first eight, because love, and not fighting, was Kalidasa’s forte. Does Dr. Ryder forget the spirited fighting scenes in the Raghuvams’a ? The hero of this poem is a divine being and one of the Dhirodátta class. The prevailing sentiment, as far as the first eight cantos are concerned, is Sṛngâra, Karuņa and S’ânta, though not very prominent, being accessories to it. The 3rd and oth cantos are a good illustration of Vipralambha, the 4th that of Karuna, and the 7th of Viváha. The subject of each following canto is hinted at the end of the preceding one. The description of cities, seasons &c. can be easily marked, It must, however, be remarked here that the poet, in his zeal to describe a lover just married, has spoiled the character of E’iva, which he had well maintained in the first six cantos. THE STORY. (CANTOS I-VIII.) Satí, the daughter of Daksha and once the wife of S’iva, was born as the daughter of the mountain Himalaya and Mená and was sent, on attaining youth, at Nárada’s advice to attend upon S’iva who, ever since he was bereft of his wife, had been practising penance on one of the Himalayan peaks. In the meanwhile the gods, who were harassed by the demon Táraka, invincible in his might by a boon from God Brahmâ, went, with Indra at their head, to the self-existing God, Brahmá, for counsel. The gods propitiated him with appropriate prayers and he discovered himself to them, and suggested them a way to remove Táraks, their powerful enemy. The only hero to lead the host of Heaven against him and to destroy him was the son of the Dark-necked God, S’iva; so it was ordained. And the gods were told to induce the Trident-holder to take Una to wife. Indra, the leader of the gods, thought of Káma and the Mind-born presented himself before his master for orders. (Cantos I. II.) The boasting deity was entrusted with the mission of shaking the self-restraint of S’iva, who had been practising austeri- (15) ties on the snow-clad peaks of the Himalaya, ever since the self-immolation of Sati. The god of the flowery bow started on the mission, accompanied by his faithful consort Rati and his comrade Vasanta. He appeared on the peaks of the Himalaya, and all of a sudden trees and plants put out fresh sprouts, the earth became clad untimely with vernal glory, the beast of the forest and the fowl of the air showed the influence of Káma; and even the anchorites found it hard to control their senses. Káma found an unconscious weapon in Umâ who was there, with the permission of her father, to attend upon God S’iva, whom she secretly loved and wanted to marry. The God of love succeeded in disturbing the peace of mind of S’iva for a moment only. But the fire of anger fiashed through his third eye on discovering the cause of his disturbance and burnt Káma even as he was preparing to strike him. S’iva then vanished from sight, and Párvatí, discomfited at heart, returned home with her two companions. Ratî, on seeing her consort turned into a mere heap of grey ashes, lamented over the sad loss, and called upon Vasanta to arrange a funeral pyre, on which she declared her intention of burning herself. The preparations were being made when suddenly a voice in the air commanded them to desist, as Rati would be united once more with Káma as soon as the Trident-holder would lead Umá to the altar. (Cantos III, IV.) Párvatî, sorely disappointed, cursed her unmatched beauty and seeing no other way to gain her object resolved to practise penance and, permitted by her father, resorted to a forest for that purpose, though much against the wishes of her mother. There she continued mortifying the flesh by all the known processes and was not daunted by the severest tests of penance, ever undergone by the ascetics. S’iva at last relented and came to the penance-forest, disguised as a Sanyásin, to test the strength of Umá’s attachment. He found fault with the great God, called him bad names, laughed at his poverty and declared him altogether unworthy of her hand and of any heroic attempts at austerities to that end, till at last Umâ could bear it no longer, and in great anger desired her maid to turn him out. Then did the great God discover himself to her and declared that he was thenceforward entirely at her disposal being won over by her penance. Párvatî requested him formally to apply to her father for her which he consented to do. The great (16) God then mentally summoned the seven sages to his presence and, on their presenting themselves before him with due respect, he asked them to go to Himálaya and request him on his behalf to bestow his daughter in marriage on him. The sages praised Siva in suitable terms and started on their mission. In a short space of time they reached Oshadhiprastha, the capital of Himalaya, the beauty of which they much admired and descended into the palace of the Mountain, Himalaya received them with proper respect and veneration and after praises had been mutually bestowed-by the Mountain upon the sages and by the sages upon the mountain-asked them in courteous terms the purpose of their visit. That they told him and the Mountain showed his delight by asking his daughter to salute the sages as S’iva’s bride. They then fixed the date of the marriage for the fourth day from that day, returned to S’iva, informed him of the success of their mission and, permitted by him, went back to their celestial abode. (Cantos V, VI.). Himalaya made great preparations for the coming marriage in which the townsmen also took an active part. The city was splendidly decorated and when the auspicious time came the bride was made to bathe and the marriage decorations were put on her, an arrow being placed in her hand as enjoinded in the case of a Kshatriya maiden. The bride-groom’s party, formed of all the principal divinities, arrived in due season and was received in great pomp by the bride’s party. The ladies of the town greatly admired the bride and the bridegroom and praised Brahms for having united two persons so worthy of each other. The marriage was concluded at the auspicious hour, all the rites attendant upon a Hindu marriage being duly performed. The newly married couple then saluted Brahmâ who pronounced a blessing upon it. The goddess Sarasvati also blessed the two. After the conclusion of the marriage the guests dispersed, while S’iva lived at the house of the bride. The first month after marriage was spent by S’iva and Párvatî in the palace of Himalaya in Oshadhiprasttha. After that the happy couple wandered through varions mountain tracts until once at sunset they reached the summit of the mountain Gandhamádana, where, seated on a stone-slab, S’iva described the sunset to Párvati. There they drank wine brought to them by the guardian deity of the Gandhamâdana grove. S’iva, with Párvatî, then entered a house of precious stones (17) furnished with all luxuries, called into existence by his mental power and passed twenty five years there enjoying the happy company of his wife. (Cantos VII-VIII. ). CRITICISM. In the Kumarasambhava Kalidasa chooses a higher plane for the play of his genius. In the Raghuvams’a his heroes are mon; in the Meghadûta the story refers to the Yakshas who occupy in their semi-divine nature a position midway between men and gods. In the Birth of Kumara’ the post deals solely with gods and beings of another world, though in doing so he does not fail to invest them with human sentiments, without which, indeed, the poem would have lost most of its charm. The scene is laid among the valleys and on the slopes of the Himalaya, a mountain which is, as we are told in the very first verse, art; and all subsequent actions that take place there are divine and superhuman. Then follows a description of qraft and this is done so skilfully that the master-hand for a while makes us forget that we are reading about a goddess and not about a woman on earth’. The scene of the second canto is laid in Brahmaloka and here, as in the tenth canto of the Raghuvams’a, Kâlidâsu shows his intimate knowlege of the leading ideas of Hindu philosophy. The third canto gives him an opportunity for a description of spring and he has wonderfully succeeded in drawing a picture true to Nature and at the same time of an unsurpassed poetic beauty. Very few descriptions in other poets would compare with this in the Kumára beginning with कुबेरगुप्तां दिशमुष्णरश्मी गन्तुं प्रवृत्ते समयं विलङ्कय । दिग्दक्षिणा गन्धवहं मुखेन व्यलीकनिःश्वासमिवोत्ससर्ज ॥ (III. 25). The fourth canto shows Kâlidása to be a master of Karuḥarasa, and the lament of Rati is so splendid that some timorous rhetoricians have considered that the excess and recurrence of emotion has become a fault (conỡ ật: 1 पुनः पुनर्दीप्तिः । यथा कुमारसंभवे रतिविलापे । ). The student will find that this lament has its counterpart in the far of the 8th canto of the Raghuvams’a. In the fifth canto q is where faa comes to visit described in the rôle of a tapasvinî her, disguised as a Brahmachárin. Their dialogue is one of the best-known passages in Kàlidâsa’s works, where his powers of repartee, humour and piquancy of style are seen at their best. The sixth canto is rather a tame one, only enlivened by the fine ( 18 ) description of ओषधिप्रस्थ, the capital city of Himá laya. The seventh canto is devoted to a very detailed description of the marriage-ceremany and the processions, and he has given it a human touch again by the prevailing tone of domesticity throughout. The eight and the last canto is considered by many to be a crowning achievement of Kálidása’s poetical skill, and the quotations from this canto occurring in standard critical works like काव्यालंकारसूत्र, सरस्वतीकण्ठाभरण and others are more numerous than from any other canto. Indeed, it may be said without exaggeration that in the descriptions of the sunset, twilight and nightfall on the mountain, Kalidasa has excelled himself; they abound with the finest similes and the grandest imagery. It is difficult to judge, owing to its shortness, whether the Kumarasambhava is as great a poetic triumph as the Raghurams’a; in this difficulty itself lies, wo think, the evidence of the greatness of Kálidasa’s genius. Dr. Ryder rightly prefers the Raghuvamsá, but is constrained to remark that “there are passages in The Birth of the War-God of a piercing beauty which the world can never let die. "
THE SOURCES OF THE POEM.
The story of the poem closely follows the one given in S’ivapurána, and Kâlidâsa seems to have drawn considerably upon the original both in point of facts and language. In a few places he follows the Brahma-Purána and the KálikâPurana. We subjoin the following extracts from the S’. P. which will not only throw light on some of the incidents mentioned in the poem, but enable the student to see how far Kali, has improved upon the original.
- Canto I. राजते स्म हरिस्तत्र ( सृष्टौ ) वैराजः पुरुषः प्रभुः । सत्यं पदमुपाश्रित्य स्थितोऽसौ पुरुषोत्तमः ॥ तपोलोकं समास्थाय ब्रह्मातिष्ठत्तपोधनः । ततश्च मानसाः पुत्रा ब्रह्मणा निर्मिताः पुरा । ते चोर्ध्वरेतसः सर्वे पश्चादन्यानृषीन् प्रभुः ॥ ते विरक्ताश्च संजाताः पश्चात्कोधमवाप सः । तेनैव रोदनं चक्रे ततथैवाभवद्धरः ॥ रोदना मुद्रनाम्नेति प्रसिद्धो भगवान्भवः ॥ ततो ब्रह्मा ऋषीन् सप्त भृग्वादीन् निर्ममे तदा । उत्संगान्नारदं श्रेष्ठं छायायां कर्दमं पुनः । अंगुष्ठाच्च तथा दक्षं… ॥ पष्टिः कन्यास्तथा जाता दक्षाचैव महात्मनः । दत्ता दक्षेण ताः कन्या विधिवदृषिसत्तमाः ॥ देवाव दनुजाचैव…। प्रसूता दक्षकन्याभिर्व्याप्तमेतचराचरं ॥ सती नाम तथा कन्या रुद्राय च महात्मने ॥ दत्ता दक्षेण सा देवी भवानीति प्रकीर्तिता । गुण-(19)
- रूपा महाकाली या वै रुद्रमुपाश्रिता । पुनश्च पार्वती जाता सा शिवं समुपागता ॥ पूर्व दक्षस्य रुद्रस्य स्पर्द्धा जाता महात्मनः । ततो दक्षः स्वयं यज्ञं कृतवान्देवसन्निधौ ॥ अनाहूय तथा रुद्रं पूर्वमृषिसमन्वितः । ततो देवी सती नानी पित्रा नाकारिता यदा । तदा गता पुनस्तत्र नाहूतापि पितुर्गृहे । प्राप्यावज्ञां तु सा तत्र देहत्यागमथाकरोत् ॥ सतीदेहसमुत्पन्ना ज्वाला लोकभयावहा । पतिता पर्वते यत्र पूजिता सुखदायिनी ॥ ज्वालामुखीति सा प्रोक्ता सर्वकामफलप्रदा । इदानीं पूज्यते लोकैः सर्वकामफलाप्तये ॥ सा देवी शैलराजस्य पत्नी मेनेति विश्रुता । पितॄणां मानसी कन्या तस्य जन्म समादधे ॥ ततश्च पार्वती नाम प्रसिद्धमभवत्तदा । सा पुनः शिवमाराध्य भतर समुपाश्रिता ॥ अ०५, ६.
- Canto II. ब्रह्मा सर्वे सुनिश्चित्य देवाज्ञापरिसाधकः । वरं दातुं तदा तत्रा जगाम हंसवाहनः ॥ यत्रैष तारको नाम तपस्तप्यति दारुणम् । उवाच वचनं तस्मै वरं ब्रूहि यथेप्सितम् ॥ दैत्य उवाच… यदि प्रसन्नो देवेशो यदि देयो वरो मम । वरद्वयं तदा देयं श्रूयतां च पितामह ॥ त्वया च निर्मिते लोके मत्तुल्यो बलवान्नहि । शिववीर्यसमुत्पन्नः पुत्रः सेनापतिर्यदा । भूत्वा शस्त्रं क्षिपेन्मह्यं तदा मे मरणं भवेत् ॥ दैत्योऽपि ( तारकः ) तपसस्तस्माद्विरराम महामुने । वरं लब्ध्वा शुभं तत्र शोणिताख्यं पुरं गतः ॥ सर्वे वै पीडितास्तेन तारकेण दुरात्मना । दवा वा दानवाश्चान्ये यक्षाः किंपुरुषास्तदा ॥ पीडिताः सर्व एवैते तेभ्यो रत्नान्युः पाददे | इन्द्रादिभिश्च दिक्पालैः स्वीयं रत्नं समर्पितम् ॥ इन्द्रेणोच्चैःश्रवास्तस्मै धर्मेण दण्डरत्नकम् | कुत्रेरेण गदा तस्मै निधयो नव एव च ॥ वरुणेन हयाशुद्धा ऋषिभिः कामधुक् तथा । यत्र यत्र शुभं दृष्टं तत्तदानीत्तवांस्तदा ॥ समुद्रश्च तथा रत्नान्यदात्तस्मै पुरा मुने । सूर्यश्च तप्यते तावद्यावदुःखं न जायते ॥ चन्द्रस्तत्र सदा दृश्यो वायुः सर्वानुकूलवान् । देवानां चैव यद्धव्यं पितॄणां कव्यमेव च । त्रैलोक्यं चैव तत्सर्व तारकाज्ञापरायणम् ॥ ते देवाश्च सदा तत्र सेवामार्गपरायणाः । देवोद्यानानि सर्वाणि तीर्थान्यपि महामुने । आनीतानि गृहे तेन न किंचिदवशेषितम् ॥ एवं वर्षाण्यनेकानि गतानि पीडितास्तदा । सर्वे देवा मिलित्वा च ब्रह्माणं शरणं गताः ॥ ते सर्वे च तदा गत्वा ब्रह्माणं जगतः प्रभुम् । नमस्कृत्य स्थितास्तत्र नम्रीभूता ऋषीश्वराः ॥ तान् विषण्णांस्तदा तत्र दृष्ट्रोवाच पितामहः । यूयमत्र कथं प्राप्ताः किं दुःखं भवतां पुनः ॥ तदहं स्फोदयाम्यद्य साध्यं यदि भवेदिह । इत्येतद्वचनं श्रुत्वा तदीयं परमर्षयः । देवाः सानुचराः सर्वे वचनं चेदमब्रुवन् । भवतः किमविज्ञातं दुःखं च यदुपस्थितम् । तारकाञ्चैव यदुःखं संभूतं परमेश्वर ॥ इत्येवं वचनं श्रुत्वा ब्रह्मा वचनमाददे ॥ मत्तो नैव वधो योग्यो मत्तो वृद्धिमुपागतः । उपायं वा दिशाम्यद्य श्रूयतां ऋषिसत्तमाः ॥ शिववीर्यसमुत्पन्नः पुत्रश्चैनं हनिष्यति । हिमवच्छिखरे रम्ये शंभुस्तप्यति नित्यशः । सखीभ्यां सहिता तत्र परिचर्य शिवस्य ह ॥ वचनान्नारदस्यैव उमा पित्रानुशासिता || करोतीह ऋषिश्रेष्ठास्तस्याः
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- संयोगतां व्रजेत् ॥ शिववीर्य समाधातुं क्षमा नान्या शिवां विना ॥ यथा वीर्य मदीयं वै जरूपधरः शिवः । समाधातुं समर्थोऽस्ति तस्मादन्यो न वै पुनः । तथेोपायं करिष्यध्वं तदा सिद्धिर्भविष्यति । इत्येवं वचनं तस्य श्रुखा ते सर्व एव हि । नमस्कृत्य सुरास्तत्र विचार्य तु परस्परम् || जग्मुस्ते मुनयो देवाः स्त्रं स्वं स्थानं मुदान्विताः । गतेषु तेषु देवेन्द्रः सस्मार मकरध्वजम् । आगतस्तत्क्षणादेव रत्या युक्तः स वै प्रभुः ॥ अ, ९, १०,
- Canto III. ( स्मर: ) प्रणामं च ततः कृत्वा स्थित्वा प्रांजलिरब्रवीत् । किं कार्य ते समुत्पन्नं स्मृतोऽहं केन हेतुना ॥ तत्त्वं कथय देवेश तत्कर्तुं समुपागतः । इत्युक्त्वा तु महेन्द्राय स्थितस्तूष्णीं प्रियया सह ॥ इन्द्रोऽपि वचनं श्रुत्वा कंदर्पस्य महात्मनः । उवाच वचनं तं वै युक्तं युक्तमिति स्तुवन् । त्वया साधु समारब्धं यत्ते कार्यमुपस्थितम् । तत्कर्तुमुद्यतोसि त्वं धन्यस्त्वं मकरध्वज ॥ जयार्थे मम देवेन निर्मितं वज्रमुत्तमं ॥ अन्यदत्रं भवानेव देवेन निर्मितः पुरा । वज्रं हिंसात्मकं विद्धि भवान् सुखकरं मम ॥ द्वयोरपि भवानद्य श्रेष्ठः सर्वेषु चोत्तमं । वज्रं च निष्फलं स्याद्वै त्वं तु नैव कदापि हि ॥ यतः कार्य प्रजायेत ततः किं नु प्रियः सदा । तस्मात् मित्रवरस्त्वं च कार्य कर्तु ममाईसि ॥… न केवलं मदीयं च कार्य देवसुखावहं ॥ वयं च याचितारः स्मः कार्य कार्य त्वया शुभम् । इत्येवं मघवद् - ( तत्कार्यं क्रियतां त्वया । इत्येवं मधुरं ) वाक्यं श्रुत्वा तु मकरध्वजः ॥ उवाच प्रेमगंभीरं गद्गदं स्मितपूर्वकं ॥ किमर्थ भाषसे देव नान्तरं ह्यावयोरिह | तथापि च महाराज कथयामि शृणुष्व तत् । मुक्तिमार्ग समापन्नं ते शत्रुं पातयाम्यहं । ते पदं कषितुं यो वै तपस्तप्यति दारुणं ॥ क्षणेन पातयाम्यद्य कटाक्षेण स्त्रियास्तथा । देवं वा दानवं वापि ऋषि वा देवसत्तमात् ॥ मानुषाणां न वै मेऽद्य गणना पातने मता । वज्रं तिष्ठतु दूरे वै शस्त्राण्यन्यान्यनेकशः ॥ किं ते कार्य करिष्यन्ति माये मित्रे स्थिते प्रभो । अन्येषां गणना नास्ति पातयामि हरं यदि || एवं तु वचनं तस्य श्रुत्वा हर्षमुपागतः । उवाच प्रीणयन् वाचा कामं कांतासुखावहं ॥ यत्कार्य मनसेोद्दिष्टं तत्कार्यं कथितं त्वया । शृणु काम प्रवक्ष्यामि यदर्थं स्मरणं तव । तारकाख्यो महादैत्यो ब्रह्मणो वरमुत्तमं । संप्राप्य पड्यिते लोकानष्टा धर्मा ह्यनेकशः || दुःखिता देवताः सर्वा ऋषयश्च तथामलाः । देवानां चायुधान्यत्र विफलान्यभवन् प्रभो || मरणं नैव तस्येत्थं भविष्यति कदाचन । एतस्य मरणं प्रोक्तं शंभुवीर्याद दुरात्मनः ॥ एतत्कार्य त्वया साध्यं देवानां परमं सुखम् । ममापि हि हितं लोके कर्तुमर्हसि सांप्रतम् ॥ शंभुश्च गिरिराजे वै तपः परममास्थितः ॥ तत्समीपे च सेवार्थं पार्वती सखिसंयुता ॥ संतिष्ठति महाराज पित्राज्ञया मया श्रुतम् । यथा तस्यां रुचिस्तस्य शिवस्य परमात्मनः । जायते नितरां काम तथा कार्य त्वया ध्रुवम् ॥ इत्युक्तो वचनं तस्मै तथेत्योमिति तद्वचः ॥ गृहीत्वा शिरसा कामः सदारः सवसंतकः । यत्र चैव हरः साक्षात्तपते परमं तपः ॥ तत्र गत्वा मधुवादौ धर्मान् विस्ता-
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- रयन् स्थितः ॥ वसंतस्य च ये धर्मास्ते धर्मास्तद्वने गताः ॥ वनानि च प्रफुदानि पलाशानां च तद्वने || पुष्पाणि सहकारेषु अशोकवनिकासु च । बकुलेषु च पुष्पाणि भ्रमराकुलितानि च । तिलकेषु तथैतेषु कोकिलाकलकूजितम् । भ्रमराणां तथा शब्दो
- कोऽभून्महामुने || चन्द्रस्य विशदा ह्यासन् किरणा दूतिका इव । मानिन: प्रेरयामासुर्ह्यकाले कामदर्पितान् । मारुतश्च सुखधात्र ववौ विरहिणां प्रियः । कामो वनौकसां तत्र मुनीनां दुःसहो ह्यभूत् ॥ अचेतनानां तत्रैव कामशक्तिः सचेतसाम् । अकालिनी प्रवृत्तिं च मधोर्वाक्ष्य हरस्तदा || आश्चर्य परमं गत्वा तपः परमदुष्करम् । तपयामास तत्रैव हरो दुःखहरः परः ॥ वसंते प्रसृते तत्र कामो रतिसमन्वितः । चूतबाणं समाकृष्य स्थितः पार्श्वे तु वामतः ॥ रत्या युक्तस्तदा कामं दृष्ट्रा को वा न मोहितः । एतस्मिन्नन्तरे देवी पुष्पाभरणभूषिता ॥ सखीभ्यां संयुता तत्र यत्रातिष्ठद्धरः स्वयं । जगाम शिवपूजार्थ नीत्वा पुष्पाण्यनेकशः ॥ पृथिव्या यादृशं लोके सौंदर्ये विविधं महत् । तत्सर्वे चकतस्तस्यां पार्वत्यां समुपस्थितम् ॥ आर्तवाणि च पुष्पाणि धृतानि च तया यदा । तत्सौन्दर्य कथं वर्ण्यमपि वर्षशतैरपि ॥ यदा शिवसमीपे तु गता सा पर्वतात्मजा । तदैवाकर्षयच्चापं रुच्यर्थं शूलपाणिनः । तचापं पतितं हस्तात्पार्श्व तस्य महात्मनः ॥ ( यथा निरंतरं सा वै ह्यागच्छति तथा तदा । ) तयागत्योत्पलाक्ष्या वै दृष्टः शंभुः स्वयं यदा ॥ नमस्कृत्य तदा पूजां कृत्वासीत्पुरतः स्थिता । सा दृष्टा प्रभुणा तत्र सुन्दरोगं विवृण्वती ॥ शिवोपि वर्णयामास तदंग सुंदरं तदा । इत्येवं वर्णयित्वा तु तपसो विरराम ह || स्त्रीस्वभावात्तदा सा च लज्जिता सुंदरी स्वयम् । विवृण्वती तथगानि पश्यन्ती च मुहुर्मुहुः ॥ एवं चेष्टां तदा दृष्ट्रा शंभुमहमुपागमत् । यथालिंगनमेतस्याः करोमि किं पुनः सुखम् ॥ क्षणमात्रं विचभ्यैवं किमहं मोहमागतः । एवं विवेकमासाद्य पर्येकबन्धनं दृढम् । रचयामास सर्वात्मा ईश्वरः किं पतेदिह । धैर्यस्य च्यवनं दृष्ट्वा
- । विचारे तत्परः शिवः । कारणं किंचिदुत्पन्नं नान्यथेदे भवेदिति । दिशो दिलोकयामास परितः शंकरस्तदा || वामभागे स्थितं कामं ददर्श बाणकर्षिणम् । तं दृष्ट्रा क्रोधसंयुक्तः संजातस्तत्क्षणादपि ॥ तृतीयात्तस्य नेत्राद्वै निःससारामिरुच्छिखः । भस्मसात् कृतवान् तेन मदनं तावदेव हि ॥ यावच्च मरुतां वाचः क्षम्यतां वै प्रभो त्वया । भवेन च ततः पूर्व हतोऽसौ मकरध्वजः ॥ शिवोपि तत्क्षणादेव विहायाश्रममुत्थितः ॥ वेगदीर्घाकृतात्मा च गिरिराजः सुतां तदा । समादाय सखीयुक्तां जगाम मंदिरं स्वयं ॥ क्षणमात्रं रतिस्तत्र विसंज्ञा ह्यभवत्तदा । भर्तृजन्यं च यद् दुःखं न ज्ञातमृषिसत्तमाः ॥ अ. १०।११.
- Canto IV. जातायां चैव संज्ञायां रतिर्दुःखसमन्विता । विललाप तदा तत्र वनमासीत्सुदुःखितम् ॥ मयूराश्चैव नृत्यं हि वृक्षाश्च चलनं जहुः । मृगाश्च भ्रमणं ब्रह्मन् भृंगा गुंजारवं पुनः ॥ पक्षिणश्च तदा विप्रा मूकाश्च मुनयो यथा । वायवचलनं हित्वा वोति नैव दिशो दश । रतिरुवाच । किं करोमि क गच्छामि
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- किं कृतं दैवतैरिह || स्वामिनं तु समाहूय हाहा प्रिय प्रियेति च ॥ हस्तौ पादौ तथास्फाल्य केशानुत्रोटयत्तदा । ब्रह्मणा सदृशो योगो न सोढो मम कर्मणा ॥ तद्विलापं तदा श्रुत्वा देवाः शिवमुपाययुः । प्रसन्नं कृतवन्तस्ते शिवं लोकसुखावम् । प्रसन्नो भगवांस्तत्र वचनं चेदमब्रवीत् | अनंगस्तावदेव स्याद्यावच्च रुक्मिणीपतिः । द्वारकायां स्त्रयं स्थित्वा पुत्रानुत्पादयिष्यति |… इत्युक्वांतर्दधे रुद्रो देवानां स्तुवतां तदा । देवास्तां च समासाद्य रुद्रस्य वचनादतिम् । उक्त्वां वचस्तदीयं च स्वं स्वं भुवनमाययुः ॥ अ. १०
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- Canto V. पितुर्गृहं तदा गत्वा मिलित्वा मातरं मुदा । पुनर्जातं तदादमानं मेने सा पर्वतात्मजा । निनिन्द च स्वकं रूपं हा हतास्मि तदाऽब्रवीत् । तिष्ठती च सखीमध्ये धिपं च मदीयकं । इति सा दुःखिता तत्र स्मरन्ती हरचेष्टितं । एतस्मिन् समये तत्र नारदो ह्यगमत्तदा । पूजितः सुखमासीनः पृष्टः प्राप्तौ शिवस्य च । उक्तवान्वचनं ह्येतत्तपः साध्यो हरः स्वयं । नान्यथा लभ्यते देवि देवैर्ब्रह्मादिकैरपि । पार्वती च तदा श्रुत्वा वचनं नारदस्य च । तपःसाध्यं हरं मेने तपोर्थ मन आददे । मातरं पितरं चैव सखीभ्यां पर्यपृच्छत । संख्यावूचतुः । हिमवन् श्रूयतां पुत्र्या वचनं बुध्यतेधुना । साफल्यं चैव देहस्य रूपस्य च तथा पुनः । भवतश्च कुलस्यास्य साफल्यं कर्तुमिच्छति । इत्येवं च तदा पृष्ठे गिरिराजोऽब्रवीदिदं । मह्यं च रोचते सख्यौ मेनायै रुच्यतां पुनः । जग्मतुर्मातरं सख्यौ तदाज्ञप्ते मुनीश्वराः । गत्वा तु मातरं तस्या वचनं ह्यूचतुस्तदा । तष्टुकामास्ति ते पुत्री शिवार्थे परमं तपः । प्राप्तानुज्ञा पितुश्चैव तुभ्यं च परिपृच्छति । समाकर्ण्य वचस्तवेतन्मेना दुःखमुपागता । समाहूय तदा पुत्रीमुवाच विह्वला सती । कुत्र यासि तपः कर्तुं देवाः सन्ति गृहे मम । तीर्थानि च विचित्राणि सन्ति किं न पितुर्गृहे । शरीरं कोमलं वत्से तपस्तु कठिनं महत् । इत्येवं बहुधा पुत्री मात्रापि वारिता सती । सुखं नैवात्र संपेदे ह्यनाराध्य शिवं तदा || दुःखं ज्ञात्वा तदीयं सा मात्राज्ञता जगाम ह । सखीभ्यां सहिता तत्र तपस्तप्तुमुपाययौ । हित्वाभरणान्यनेकानि वस्त्राणि विविधानि च । वल्कलं च तदा धृत्वा मौंजी बध्वा सुशोभनां । हित्वा हारं तदा चर्म मृगस्य परमं शुभं । जगाम तपसे तत्र शृंगे स्यात्तीर्थमुत्तमं । गौरीशिखरनामासीत्तपसः करणादिह । सुन्दराव द्रुमास्तत्र पवित्राः फलभाजिनः । भूमिशुद्धिं ततः कृत्वा विधाय वेदिकां शुभां । उपविश्यासने तत्र चकार परमं तपः । तया तपः समारब्धं मुनीनामपि दुष्करं । चांचल्यं च तदा त्यक्त्वा शरीरस्य विशेषतः । दीप्तानां च तथामीनां मध्ये स्थित्वा तु वर्म । वर्षा स्थंडिले स्थित्वा शीते जलसमीपगा । एवं तपः प्रकुर्वाणा वृक्षानारोपयत्तदा । सिंचती प्रत्यहं तत्र ह्याति चाप्यकल्पयत् । वातश्चैव तथा शीतो दृष्टिश्व विविधा तदा । दुःखं च विविधं तत्र गणितं न तया तदा ।
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- तथा तपस्तया तप्तं मुनिभिश्च सुदुष्करं । श्रुत्वा च ऋषयस्तत्र विस्मयं परमं गताः । दर्शनार्थ समाजग्मुः कीदृक् तप्तं तपोऽनया । महतां धर्मवृद्धेषु गमनं श्रेष्ठमुच्यते । प्रमाणं तपसेो नास्ति मान्यो धर्मः सदा बुधैः । श्रुत्वा दृष्ट्वा तपस्तस्याः किमन्यैः क्रियते तपः । जल्पन्तस्ते तदा तत्र कठिनांगाव ये पुनः । तदाश्रमगता ये च विरोधरहितास्तदा । सिंहा गावस्तथान्ये च रागादिदोष संयुताः । तन्मदिना च ते तत्र न बाध्यन्ते परस्परं । वृक्षाश्च सफलास्तत्र तृणानि विविधानि च । पुष्पाणि च विचित्राणि तत्रासन् ऋषिसत्तमाः । तद्वनं च तदा सर्वे कैलासेन समन्वितं । जातं च तपसस्तस्याः सिद्धिरूपमभूत्तदा । एतस्मिन् समये देवा ऋषयो नारदादयः । पार्वत्यास्तत्तपो दृष्टा तेजसा व्यापितास्तथा । जग्मुस्ते च तदा तत्र यत्रास्ते वृषभध्वजः ॥ ( त ऊचुः ) - - पार्वत्या तु तपस्तप्तं दारुणं लोकशापणं । अपूर्वदृष्टं नो भावि देवदानवदुर्लभम् । कुरु कार्य तथा शीघ्रं शिव त्वं परिपालकः । इत्युक्ते नारदप्रख्यैः शंभुर्वचनमब्रवीत् । तया पर्वतराजस्य सुतया तपसा हा । श्रीतोऽस्मि वचनं तस्याः करिष्याभि भवत्प्रियम् । इत्युक्त्वा च तदा देवान् विसृज्य शंकरस्तदा । जटिलं रूपमास्थाय जगाम पार्वतीवनं । तमागतं तदा दृष्ट्वा शिवाप्यपूजयत्तदा । पार्वती कुशलं तं वै पप्रच्छ त्वं कुतो गतः । इति पृष्टे तया तत्र ह्युक्त्वा स्वीयं च तां पुनः । पृष्टवान् कपटेनैव गोपयन् रूपमुत्तमं । अयि देवि जलं ह्येतत् फलादि च निरंतरं । । अविच्छिन्नं भवेदत्र यथाशक्ति तपस्यसि । नवेपि देवि वयसि कृतं वै तप उत्तमं । अतः किंचिद्धि पृच्छेयं कथनीयं त्वयाधुना । पूजाविधिस्त्वया देवि कृतो वै सर्वथात्मना । तस्मान्मैत्री च संजाता रहस्यं नैव गोप्यतां । किं वांछसि वरं देवि प्रष्टुमिच्छाम्यतः परं । वरार्थे च तपवेद्वै तिष्ठतु तप एव तत् । रत्नं तु ग्रहीतारं वै न पृच्छति ग्रहीष्यति । ईदृशं चैव सौंदर्य तत्तु व्यर्थ कृतं त्वया । हित्वाभरणान्यनेकानि चर्मादि च घृतं त्वया । तत्सवै कारणं ब्रूहि दृष्ट्वा हर्षमुपागमे । इति पृष्टा तदा तेन सखीं प्रेरयती तदा । तन्मुखेनैव तत्सर्वं कथयामीति सुव्रता । तया च प्रेरिता तत्र सखी जटिलमाह तत् । शृणु साधो प्रवक्ष्यामि यदि त्वं श्रोतुमिच्छसि । यदर्थमेतया संख्या ह्यारब्धं तप उत्तमं । हिवेंद्रप्रमुखान् देवानैश्वर्यसंयुतानपि । पतिं पिनाकपार्णि वै प्राप्तुमिच्छति सांप्रतं । इयं सखी मदीया वै वृक्षानारोपयत् पुरा । तेषु वृक्षेषु संजातं फलं पश्य पुरः प्रभो । मनोरथांकुरं त्वस्याः पश्यामि न कथंचन । रूपहार्य शिवं देवं मदनस्यानुहारिणम् । तस्माच नारदादेशात्तपस्तप्यति दारुणं । यत्ते पृष्टं मयाख्यातं सख्याश्च समभीप्सितं । इत्येवं वचनं श्रुत्वा जटिलो वाक्यमब्रवीत् । सख्येदं कथितं सत्यं परिहास उतापि वा । यथार्थ न कथं देवि मुखेन परिभाषसे । इत्युक्ते च तदा तेन जटिलेन महात्मना । उवाच पार्वती देवी तत्तथैव न चान्यथा । मनसा वचसा साक्षाद्वृतो वे शंकरो मया । जानामि दुर्लभं वस्तु कथं प्राप्यं मया भवेत् । तथापि मनसौत्सुक्य/सप्यते च मयाधुना । इत्युक्ते
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- शिवस्य च । मह्यं श्मशाने वासमीहते ।
- च तया तत्र स्थित्वोवाच स दंडधृक् । … हित्वा सुवर्णमुद्रा च काचं ग्रहीतुमिच्छसि । हित्वा च चंदनं शुभ्रं कर्दमं लेप्तुमीहसे । इंद्रादिलोकपालांश्च हित्वा शिवमनुव्रता । नैतद्युक्तं हि लोकेषु विरुद्धं दृश्यतेऽधुना । च त्वं कमलपत्राक्षिक चासौ च त्रिलोचनः । शशांकवदना लंच पंचवक्त्रः शिवः स्मृतः । कबर्याश्चैव ते रूपं वर्णितुं नैव शक्यते । जटाजूटं शिवस्यैव प्रसिद्धं परिचक्षते ॥ चंदनं च त्वदीयांगे चिताभस्म शिवस्य च । क दुकूलं त्वदीयं वै गजाजिनमथाशुभं । कांगदादीनि दिव्यानि क सर्पाः शंकरस्य च । क्व वरा देवताः सर्वाः क्व च भूतावलिः प्रिये । भवत्याश्च शिवस्यैव न युक्तं रूपमुत्तमम् । वपुश्चैव विरूपाक्षं जन्म न ज्ञायते कदा | यदि धनं भवेत्तस्य कथं दिगंबरो भवेत् । वरेषु ये गुणाः प्रोक्ता नैकोऽपि च शिवे स्मृतः । वाहनं च बलीवर्दो वसनं चर्म एव च । यदि ग्राही ( गृही ) भवेत्सो वै कथं च मदनं दहेत् । जातिर्न लभ्यते तस्य विद्या ज्ञानं न दृश्यते । क च हारस्त्वदीयो वै क च वै मुंडमालिका | सर्व विरोधि रूपं च तव चैव न रोचते देवि यदिच्छसि तथा कुरु । स मया विदितो देवः असद्वस्तु च यत्किचित्तत्सर्व सेवते स्वयं । निवर्तय मनस्तस्मान्नो चेद्रच्छेः समीपतः । इत्येतद्वचनं श्रुत्वा पार्वती क्रोधसंयुता । उवाच कुध्यमानासौ शिवनिंदापरं च तं । त्वयोक्तं विदितो देवस्तदलीकं वचस्तव । यदि च विदितः स्याद्वै विरुद्धं नोच्यते त्वया । कुतो जातिर्भवेत्तस्य निर्गुणस्य गुणात्मनः । सर्वासामपि विद्यानामधिष्ठानं सदाशिवः । किं तस्य विद्यया कार्ये पूर्णस्य परमात्मनः । सर्वेषां चादिभूतस्य वयोमानं कुतः स्मृतं । कल्याणरूपिणस्तस्य सेवया किं भवेदिह । सप्तजन्म दरिद्रः स्यात्सेवते यदि शंकरम् । तस्यैव दुर्लभा लोके लक्ष्मीः स्यादनपायिनी । यद सिद्धयोऽष्टौ च नृत्यन्ति प्रतित्रासरं । अवाङ्मुखाः सदा तत्र कुतो वित्तं सुदुर्लभम् । यदप्यमंगलानीह सेवते शंकरः सदा । तथापि मंगलं तस्य स्मरणादेव जायते । यद्यपूतं भवेद्भस्म चितायाश्च त्वयोदितं । नृत्यस्यापगमे देवैः शिरोभिर्धार्यते कथम् । कथं तत्त्वं विजानन्ति त्वादृशा हि वहिर्मुखाः । शिवनिन्दां करोतीह तत्त्वमज्ञाय यः पुमान् । आजन्म संचितं पुण्यं तस्माद्भस्मीभविष्यति ॥ त्वत्पूजा च कृता यस्मातस्मात्पापं भजाम्यहम् ।… यथा तथा भवेत्सो वै ममाभीष्टतमो मतः ॥ पुनर्वचनमादातुं प्रक्रमेतावदेव हि । उवाच गिरिजा देवी सखीं दुष्टमना ह्यसौ ॥ वारणयिः प्रयत्नेन शिवनिन्दां करिष्यति । न केवलं भजेत्पापं निंदाकर्ता शिवस्य च ॥ यो वै शृणोति तां निंदां पापभाक् स भवेदिह । स्थलमेतत्तथा हित्वा यास्यामोन्यत्र मा चिरं ॥ इत्युक्त्वा चलनायासौ पदमुत्क्षिपते यदा । तदासौ च शिवः साक्षादाललंबे प्रियां सतीं ॥ कृत्वा स्वीयं स्वरूपं च यथाध्यातं तया तथा । दर्शयित्वा पुनस्तां च ह्युवाचावाङ्मुखीं शिवां || कुत्र यास्यसि मां हित्वा न त्वं त्याज्या मया पुनः । अथ प्रभृति ते दासस्तपोभिः प्रेमनिर्भरः । क्रीतोस्मि तव सौंदर्यात्क्षणमेकं युगायते । इत्युक्ते देवदेवेन जहौ दुःखं पुरातनं । तपसश्चैव यज्जातं महद् दुःखं गतं तदा । फले जाते श्रमः पूर्व जातो नाशमवाप्नुयात् ॥ अ. १२-१४.
- अरुंधत्या
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- Canto VI. उवाच त्रीडिता देवी वचः स्मृत्वा पुरातनम् । सखीमुखेन सा तंत्र शिवं सम्यग्व्यवस्थितम् ॥ एहि यामो गृहं देवि कथं चैनं विलम्बसे । एवं ब्रुवन्तं तं देवं पार्वती वचनात्सखी | यदि प्रसन्नो देवेश करोषि च कृपां यदि । तदैव च त्वया कार्ये कृपां कृत्वा ममोपरि ॥ पितुर्गृहें मया सम्यग् गम्यते त्वदनुज्ञया । पितुर्मे सफलं जन्म कुरुष्वेव गृहाश्रमम् ॥ इत्येवं वचनं श्रुत्वा शिवोऽपि च शिवां तदा । उवाच वचनं त्वं च यदिच्छसि तथेति तत् ॥ इत्युक्त्वांत शंभुर्गत्वा काशीं विचारयन् । सस्मार च ऋषीन् सप्त विरहाविष्टमानसः । पार्वत्यपि सखींयुक्ता रूपं कृत्वा तु सार्थकम् । जगाम च स्वकं धाम पितुर्विरहकातरा ॥ आश्रम सफलं मेने कुपुत्रात्पुत्रिका वरा । हिमवान्नारदं तत्र प्रस्तुवन्साधु साध्विति ॥ ऋषयश्चैव ते सर्वे शंभुना च स्मृता यदा । तदाजग्मुध ऋषयः कल्पवृक्षा इवापरे । परं ब्रह्म गृणतश्च हेमवल्कलधारिणः । मुक्ताफलैर्विचित्रैश्व भूषिता भूषणैः परैः । तथा युक्ताः साक्षात्सिद्धिरिवापरा । तानू दृष्ट्रा सूर्यसंकाशान् जही लजां हरः स्वयम् । स्थित्वा ऋषयः श्रेष्ठा नमस्कृत्य शिवं मुदा । मेनिरे च तदात्मानं कृतार्थ ते तपस्विनः । इति विस्मयमापन्ना नमस्कृत्य स्थिताः पुरः | प्रोचुः प्राञ्जलयस्ते वै शिवं लोकमलापहम् । व्यापकाय नमस्तुभ्यं व्याप्यरूपाय ते नमः । पराय पररूपाय सर्वोत्कृष्टाय ते नमः । इत्येवं च स्तुवंतस्ते पुनरूचुः परात्मने । भाग्यं किं वयतेऽस्माभिः स्वीयं किंतु पुनः पुनः । तपस्तप्तं त्रिधा पूर्व वेदाध्ययनमुत्तमम् । अभयंश्च हुताः पूर्वे यज्ञाश्च विविधाः कृताः । तपांसि च विचित्राणि सर्वाण्यपि विशेषतः । दानानि च तथा पूर्व तीर्थानि विविधानि च । वामनःकायजं किंचित्पुण्यं वा कर्मसंभव । यो वै भजति नित्यै त्वा कृतकृत्यों भवेन्नरः । किं भाग्य वयतेऽस्माकं कृतं नः स्मरण त्वया । सर्वोत्कृष्टास्तथा जातः स्मरणांतें सदाशिव । दर्शनं भक्तोऽयैव जाते तबस्सुदुर्लभम् । अयंप्रभृति लोकेषु मान्याः पात्रता वर्यै । जातास्तेऽनुमहादेव उच्चैः पदमुपाश्रिताः । अत्र किं बहुनो केन जन्मसाफल्यती गतम् । पूर्णानां किं च कर्तव्यमस्ति चेत्परमा कृपा । सदृशं सेवकांना तु देयं कार्य शुभं त्वया । इत्येवं वचनं श्रुत्वा तेषां वचनमाददे । ऋषयश्च सदा पूज्याः कारणात्स्मरणं कृतम् । ममावस्था भवद्भिश्च ज्ञायन्ते पकारकाः । देवानां दुःखमुत्पन्नं तारकात्सुदुरात्मनः । ब्रह्मणा च वरो दत्तः किं करोमि दुरासदः । मूर्तयोऽ च याः प्रोका मदया परमर्षयः । ताः सर्व उपकारार्थं न तु स्वीर्थमिति स्फुटम् । तथा कर्तुकामोऽहं विवाह शिवया सह । तयापि च तपस्तप्तं दुष्करें परमर्षिभिः । तस्याः फलं वरं देयमभीष्टं तद्धिताम् । तस्माद्भवतों गच्छन्तु हिमागृह ध्रुवं । तंत्र गवा हितं चैततपत्नी तु पुनस्तथा । कथनीय प्रयत्नेन यथा स्यात्कार्यमुत्तमम् | हिमाचलगृहे पुत्री पार्वती च गुणान्विता । अस्मदर्थे च तां तंत्र प्रार्थनीयो हिमाचलः । तत्तथा च प्रवक्तव्यं देवान
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- च हितं भवेत् । भवद्भिः कल्पितो यो वै विधिः स्यादविकल्पकः । भवतां नैव कथ्येत भवन्तः कार्यभाजिनः । इत्येवं वचनं श्रुत्वा मुनयस्तेऽमलाशयाः । आनन्दं लेभिरे सर्वे प्रभुणानुग्रहीकृताः । गतावाकाशमार्गेण यत्र स्याद्धिमवत्पुरं ॥ ततो दृष्ट्रा पुरं दिव्यमृषयस्तेऽतिविस्मिताः । ऊचुः परस्परं सर्वे किमेतदिति संस्फुटं । अलकायाश्च स्वर्ग्याया भोगवत्यास्तथा पुनः । विशेषोऽत्रामरावत्या दृश्यते ऋषिसत्तमाः । किं गृहाणि सुरम्याणि स्फाटिकैर्विविधैरिह । मणिभिर्वा विचित्राणि रचितान्यङ्गणानि च ॥ गृहे गृहे विचित्राश्व वृक्षाः स्वर्गसमुद्भवाः । तोरणानां तथा लक्ष्मीश्यते च गृहे गृहे । वितानानि विचित्राणि चैलपल्लवतोरणैः । उद्यानानि विचित्राणि पुष्पैश्च भरितानि वै । नराच देवताः सर्वे स्त्रियश्चाप्सरसस्तथा । कर्ममार्गपरा नित्यं सदा यौवनशालिनः । यावन्न दृष्टनेतच्च तावत्स्वर्गपरा नराः । इत्येवमृषिवर्यास्ते वर्णयतस्तथा पुरम् । गता हिमालयस्याथ गृहं सर्वसमृद्धिमत् । तान् दृष्ट्रा सूर्यसंकाशान् हिमवान्विस्मितस्था । सूर्याः सप्त कथं चात्र आयान्तीमे गृहं प्रति । एतस्मिन्नंतरे ते वै ह्याकाशादपतंस्तदा । सन्मुखो हिमवान् दृष्ट्वा ययौ मानपुरःसरम् | पूजां विधाय तेषां च दण्डवत्प्रपपात ह ।… इत्युक्त्वासनमानीय ददौ भक्तिपुरःसरम् || आसनेषूपविष्टेषु तदाज्ञप्तः स्वयं स्थितः । उवाच हिमवांस्तत्र ऋषीन् ज्योतिर्मयांस्तदा । लोकेषु दर्शनीयोऽहं बहुतीर्थसमो मतः । यस्माद्भवंतो म ह्यागता विष्णुरूपिणः । पूर्णानां चैत्र किं कार्य कृपणानां गृहेषु च । तेषां च दुःखनाशार्थं गृहेषु गमनं सताम् । मद्रेहपावनार्थे च भवंतः सुसमागताः । तथापि किंचित्कार्यं हि सदृशं सेवकस्य च । कथनीयं भवद्भिश्च सफलोऽस्तु ममाश्रमः । महतामाज्ञया लोको मान्यतां गच्छति ध्रुवं । तस्माच्च कुत्रचित्कार्ये ये ज्योऽहमृषिसत्तमाः । एवं वचनमाकर्ण्य ऋषयस्ते प्रहर्षिताः । ऊचुस्ते गिरिराजं वै स्मृत्वा स्मृत्वा शिवस्य च । शिवः परोपकारार्थं कर्तुकामः: प्रजासुखं । अस्मन्मुखेन ते पुत्रीं याचते शंकरः स्वयं | जगद्गुरोर्गुरुस्त्वं च भविष्यसि न संशयः । जगमाता तु ते पुत्री तस्यैवानुग्रहाद्भवेत् । जगत्पिता शिवः प्रोक्तो जगन्माता शिवा स्मृता । तस्मै देया त्वया कन्या सार्थक्यं ते भविष्यति । एवं वचनमा कर्ण्य गिरिराजोऽब्रवीदिदं । मदीयं च शरीरं वै पत्नी मेना च या मता । ऋद्धिः सिद्धिर्निधिश्चान्यो श्रीर्मदीया न चान्यथा । एवमुक्त्वा तदा पुत्री ज्ञात्वा लोकस्य मातरं । भूषयित्वा तदंगं च ऋष्युत्संगे न्यवेशयत् । इदं भैश्यं मया ( क्षमुमा ) नाम दतं वै ऋषिसत्तमाः ॥ ( ऋषय ऊचुः ) अस्मद्विधा भिक्षुकाश्च दाता चैव भवान् स्वयं । भैक्ष्यं च पार्वती प्रोकं किमतः परमुत्तमं । हिमवत् शिखराणां ते मनसः सदृशी गतिः । एवमुक्त्वा तु तां कन्यामृषयो विमलाशयाः । आशिषं दत्तवंतस्ते शिवाय सुखदो भव || मिलित्वा च गृहं तेद्य वर्धयिष्यन्ति नित्यशः । इत्युक्त्वा ऋषयः सर्वे गिरिराजं परस्परं । पुष्पाणि फलयुक्तानि व्यत्ययं चक्रिरे तदा । अरुंधती तत्र हा मेनां साधुमुखी तदा । गुणैश्च लोभयामास शिवस्य
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- परमाखती । ततच ते चतुर्थेऽह्नि निर्धाय लग्नमुत्तमं । परस्परं च संहृष्य जग्मुस्ते शिवसन्निधिम् । महाकाशीं प्रयातास्ते यत्रास्ते शंकरः स्वयं | विवाहस्य विधि सम्यगृचुस्ते ऋषिसत्तमाः । तदाज्ञप्ताश्च ते तत्र गताश्चागमनाय वै । शिवोपि सगणस्तत्र प्रसन्नमुखपंकजः । कैलासमगमद्देवो विवाइरचनाय वै ॥ अ. १५.
- Canto VII. हिमवानपि तत्रैव स्वानाहूय सुहृद्रुतः । विधिवत्कारयाम स मण्डपादिविधि क्रमात् ॥ विविधानि विचित्राणि तोरणानि तथा पुनः । ध्वजांचैव विचित्रांश्च चकार परया मुदा ॥ वस्त्रालंकारसंयुक्ताः सर्वे दर्षसमाकुलाः । कार्य चक्रुश्च तत्रत्यं हिमवगृहसंभवम् ॥ कन्यां चैव तु दानार्थ सुस्नाप्यालंचकार सः । विवाहविधियोग्यं च वेषं सम्पाद्य संस्थितः ॥ देवतापूजनं कृत्वा नानोपकरणानि च ॥ प्रतीक्षां वरवर्गस्य कृत्वा च हिमवान् स्थितः । मातरः सप्त तास्तत्र शिवभूषाविधिं परम् । चक्रिरे च मुदा युक्ता यथायोग्यं तथा पुनः । चन्द्रस्तु मुकुटस्थाने सांनिध्यमकरोत्तदा । तिलकं सुन्दरं ह्यासीभयनं तु तृतीयकम् । भूतिश्च चन्दनं ह्यासीदुकूलं चर्म उच्यते । सर्पा ह्याभरणान्यासन्मणयो विविधाश्च ये । एतस्मिन्समये देवा आजग्मुः प्रभुसेवया ।
- । ब्रह्मा तु हंसमारुह्य ऋषिभिः २. हितस्तदा । नमस्कृत्य स्थितस्तत्र तावद्विष्णुः समागतः ।
- । इन्द्रचैव यमश्चैव कुबेरो वरुणस्तथा । अन्ये ते लोकपालाच स्वीयचिहसमन्विताः । नद्यो गंगादयः सर्वा नागाः सर्वे तथाविधाः । सेवावसरमाज्ञाय समाज. ग्मुर्मुदान्विताः । निःससार ततस्तस्मात्कैलासात्पर्वतोत्तमात् । शिवः परमसंतुष्टो देवाकृत्वा पुरस्तदा । आजगाम महावीर्यः सर्वसिद्धिसमन्वितः । तमागतं तदा श्रुत्वा हिमवान् बलसंयुतः । जगाम संमुखस्तत्र धन्योहमिति चिन्तयन् । देवसेना तथा दृष्ट्रा हिमवान् विस्मयं गतः । देवा हि तद्वलं दृष्ट्वा विस्मयं परमं गताः । पर्वतानां तथा सेना देवानां च तथा पुनः । मिलित्वा तु तथा रेजे मन्यते सागरावुभौ । रचित्वा शिविरं सम्यक् संस्थाप्य देवताबलम् । जगाम पर्वतस्तत्र यत्र स्याद्विधिवेदिका । कारयित्वा विशेषेण चतुष्कं तोरणयुतम् । एतस्मिन्नन्तरे तावदुद्रेण रूपमुतमम् । धृतं तु भक्तवात्सल्यात्कृपालुत्वं प्रदर्शितम् ॥ सूर्यकोटिप्रतीकाशं सुनेत्रैर्भूषणैर्युतम् । मुकुटेन विराजन्तं विचित्रवसनं शुभम् ॥ सूर्येण छत्रितो योऽसौ चन्द्रेण वीजितस्तथा । सिद्धयोऽष्टौ प्रनृत्यं च कुर्वन्ति स्म तदप्रतः ॥ गंगा च यमुना चैव चामरे दधतुः शुभे । शिवोपि च तथा द्वारि गतो देवगणैः सह । मेना तं पूजयामास ब्रह्मविष्णुसमन्वितम् । तावत् स्त्रियः समाजग्मुर्हित्वा कामाननेकशः । मज्जनं कुर्वती काचिच्चूर्णेन संयुता ययौ । काचित्तु बालकं हित्वा तृप्तं द्रष्टुमाययौ रशनां बध्नती काचितयैव संयुता ययौ । वस्त्रं च विपरीतं च धृत्वा काचिदुपाययौ । काचिद्धस्ते शलाकां च धृत्वांजनसमन्विताम् । आदर्श च तथान्यस्मिन् नीत्वा नेत्रमुपाययैौ । काचित्तु कामिनी पादं रंजयन्ती यदा तदा । श्रुत्वोद्घोषं च तद्धित्वा दर्शनार्थमुपागता । इत्यादि विविधं कार्ये हित्वान्याः समुपागताः । दृष्ट्वा च शांकर
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- रूपं मोहं प्राप्ताश्च पुत्रिकाः । सम्यक् कृतं तु पार्वत्या नान्यथा यद्भवेदिह । अहो पश्यत किं रूपं वर्णनीयं कथं भवेत् ॥ नेत्राणि सफलान्यासन् हिमवत्पुरवासिनाम् ।
- ||
. पार्वत्या साधितं सर्वे शिचार्थे तु तपः कृतम् । यदीदं युगलं ब्रह्मा संगमायाक्षमो भवेत् । तदा च सफलोप्यस्य श्रमो निष्फलतामियात् ॥ सम्यक् कृतं तथा तेन मेलितं युग्ममुत्तमम् ॥ कथास्तथाविधाः शृण्वन् शिवो द्वारि समागतः ॥ सर्वे देववरास्तत्र ह्यच्युताद्याः शिवं प्रति । स्थितास्तत्र शिवस्यार्थे…। तावश्व हिमवान स्नात्वा सपत्नीकः स्वयं गतः । ब्रह्मा सर्वे च तत्रत्यं कारयामास वै तदा | आवाहनं तथा पाद्यं सर्वे च विधिपूर्वकम् । दुकूलं सुन्दरं तेन दत्तं तस्मै महात्मने । निलकं पुष्पहारं च काञ्चनस्य यथाविधि । संस्थाप्यामि पुनस्तत्र वैवाहमकरोद्विधिम् । अक्षतारोपणं तत्र स्त्रियश्चकुस्तदाज्ञया । प्रदक्षिणं तथा चामेश्वतुर्धा च कृतं तदा । अनुज्ञां चैव दत्त्वा तु कन्यायै स पितामहः । ध्रुवस्य दर्शनं तत्र कारयामास वै तदा ॥…गिरिराजोपि तत्रैवं सम्पाद्य विधिमुत्तमम् । मेने कृतार्थमात्मानं सफलं च गृहाश्रमम् ॥ तौ दंपती तदा तत्र संपूज्य कुलदेवताम् । वर्धाप्य मण्डपं तत्र दृह्य कौतुकौषधिम् । ऋषीन्प्रणम्य सर्वास्तविकारानुमहं शिवः ॥ हिमवानपि तत्रैव यथायोग्यमपूजयत् । गिरिराजं तथैवात्र संप्रार्थ्य देवतागणाः । दत्त्वा च ह्याशिषन्तस्मै वंदिता ते ययुर्मुदा ॥ हिमवत्पुत्रिका सर्वे बाद्यगानपरायणाः । अन्वगच्छन्त ते तत्र गिरिराजादयश्च ये ॥ अच्युतायाश्च ये देवा ऋषयो निर्मलाश्रयाः । समागत्य तु कैलासं संस्थाप्य मन्दिरे शिवम् ॥ पन्या युक्तं च संप्रार्थ्य दत्तानुज्ञा ययुश्च ते ॥ It is more probable, however, that this part of the S’iva P. is a mere version of the Kum, by some meddle some plagiarist unscrupulously inserted in the Purana. A great poet like Kálidasa is not likely to borrow either the exact language or the ideas of such Puránas.(29) MALLINATHA.* We cannot close this brief preface without referring to Mallinátha, the well-known commentator of the five Mahākâvyas and the Meghadûta. While writing about the poet we had to remark that he says absolutely nothing about himself in his writings and the same may almost be said of his great scholiast Malli. The late Pandit Durga’prasada says in his introduction to the S’is’upálavadha that he was a Bra’hmaņa of the Vatsagotra and a native of Tribhuvanagiri, in the district of Kadappa, in Telangana (Andhrades’a ). He seems to have helieved that he is the same as Mallinátha, the father of Nara - bari, otherwise called Saraswatitirtha, the auther of Balachittanurangini, a commentary on the Káv. Pra, Pandit Vámanacharya in his Kâv. Pra. emphatically asserts that he is not to be confounded with Mallinâtha referred to above and says that he was a Brahmana of the Kâs’yapa gotra and that his descendants are still living at Gajendragada in the Dhârawâd district. HIS DATE-(The first quarter of the 14th century). “Malli. quotes Bopa Deva in one of his commentaries. Bopa Deva was one of Hemádri’s protagees; and Ilemádri was a minister of Mahâdeva and Rámchandra, the Yádava kings of Devagiri who reigned from 1260 A. D. to 1309. A. D. Bopa Deva must have taken sometime to establish his reputation as author. Under these circumstances Mallinátha must have lived after the 13th century. (See Prof. Aufrecht’s Oxford Cat. No. 218).” Mr. S. G. Deshpande. (Ths latter half of the 14th century Dr. R. G. Bhandarkar has shown in his Mâl. Måd. (Preface pp. XIX. XX) that Malli. lived before Jagaddhara, the commentator of the Málati Madhava, the Venisambara, and the Vasavadattá, since the latter alludes to him in his com on the Mâl. Mád. ( Dr. Bhâṇḍârkar’s Ed. P. 286 ). In the Introduction to his vocabulary the author of the Medini mentions Madhava. If this Madhava is the same as the great minister of Bukka and Harihara, Medini must have been written after the 3rd quarter of the fourteenth century. Rayamukata, in his com. on Amarakos’a quotes the Medini and Ráyamukuts, as he himself tells us, wrote his com. in 1383 Sâka or 1431 A. D. The author of the Medini therefore lived between * Taken for the most part from my introduction to Raghu. ( 30 ) 1375 and 1431 A. D. (Dr. Bhâṇḍârkar’s Preface to Mál. p. XXI). And since Mallinâtha never quotes the lexicon Medini in his vast commentories the conclusion follows that the lexicon was not in existence then, and that Mallinátha is a predecessor of the Medinikára. He therefore lived in the latter part of the 14th century. Mallinâtha is a commentator of great merit and literary acumen. He has written commentaries as stated above on the principle five Kávyas, the Bhattikávya, the Ekavali, a on poetics (published in the Bombay Sanskrit Series) and (according to Mr. Deshpande) on the Kavyadars’a of Dandin. He might have written commentaries on other works also. He was a profound grammarian, well versed in the Nyaya and Vais eshika philosophies and thoroughly acqainted with the Pauráṇic and Tantra literature, as he himself tells us in his indroductory slokas* to the Rag.; and the extreme popularity of his commentaries shows that this was not an idle boast. His commentaries are preeminently adopted to the wants of the general reader. They are sufficiently expressive without being prolix. He never makes a vain display of his knowledge but strictly follows the method once laid down by himself viz. q¿ लिख्यते किंचिन्नानपेक्षितमुच्यते । He is perhaps the only commentator on the poems of Kálidasa who shows great appreciation of poetry and endeavours to preserve, as far as possible, the genuine readings of the poets studiously rejecting the spurious substitutions either of single words or phrases, and the occasional interpolations of whole stanzas. He has called his commentary on each of the three poems of Kâlidâsa the Sanjivanî or what reinspires with life “the Speech of Kálidåsa that lay in a trance under the effect of the poison of bad commentaries.” He modestly expressest his inability to grasp the real pith of Kálidasa’s poetry but he says that he would follow in the footsteps of Dakshiņāvarta and Nátha, two old commentators, whose commentaries were supposed to have been lost till recently, when they were discovered in South India. From what we have seen of them they are not undeserving of the praise bestowed upon them by Mallinâtha. ● वाणी काणसुजीमजीगणदवाशासीच वैयासकीमन्तस्तन्त्र भरस्त पक्षगमवाम्फेषु चाजागरीत् । बाचामाकलयद्रहस्यमखिलं यश्चाक्षिपादस्फुरां लोकेभूद्यदुपज्ञमेव विदुषां सौजन्यजभ्यं यशः ॥
- कालिदासगिरा सारं कालिदासः सरस्वती । चतुर्मुखीच्या साक्षादिदुर्नान्ये तु माहशाः ॥ (S1)
PREFACE.
In revising the 2nd edition of the Kumarasambhava { Cantos I-VII) special attention was given to the wants of the students of the different Indian Universities. The translation is so rendered as to explain the text intelligibly. The prose order of each sl, has been given in the com. by using bold type; the compound words uot actually given by Malli. being enclosed in rectangular brackets. The notes which have been considerably increased explain all allusions, all grammatical points not touched by Malli, &c. &c. To enable the students to grasp the whole story at once the contents of all the eight cantos have been main out-line of the original story, as given in the S’iva Purána, has also been given in original Sanskrit. Before concluding I thankfully acknowledge the help derived from Mr. Deshpande’s edition, to which I am also indebted for a few quotations from the Purâņas, especially from the S’iva Purana, I have also to thank S’rish Chandra Chakravarti B. A., whose edition of the text was useful to me in solving some points of grammar. Bombay, June 1917. } briefly given in English. The M. R. Ka’le, ( 32 )
ABBREVIATIONS USED IN THE WORK.
A II. V.-Prof. Tilak’s Artic Home in the Vedas. Ait.-Aitareyopanishad. Amara.-Amarakosha, Av.-Avachuri Commentator. Bhag. or Bg.-Bhagavadgita. Bha. D.-Bhânuji Dikshit (a com. on Amara) Bha. N.-Bhartṛhari’s, Nîtis’a- taka. B. P. Bhagavat Purâņa. Brah. P. Brahma Purana. Br. Sanh-Brhatsamhita. Brha. Up-Brhadaranyakopani- shad. Brah. Su.-Brahmasutrabhâshya of S’ankaracharya. Chhân.-Chhândogyopanishad. Châr.-Châritravardhana ( com- mentator). D.-M. Deshpande Ed. Kum. D. K. Das’akumáracharita. D. K.-Das’uru’paka. H. V.-Ilari-vams’a, Jin. Jinsamudrasûrikrita Bâlava- bodhini. Kav. P.-Kavipanchaka by Chip- lunkar. Katho-Kathopanishad. Kâd-Kâdanubari. K. P.-Kavyaprakâsa. K. Pr. Kâvyapradipa. Kas.-Kâs ́ikhanda. Kir.-Kiratarjunîya. Kuv-Kuvalayaʼnanda. Mand. Up-Mandukyopanishad. Mah. Bh-Maʼhâbliârata. MAL. Mâd.—Mâlatîmådhava. Mat. P.-Matayapurana. Meg.-Moghadûta. Mund,–Mundakopanishad. Mrch. Mrchchhakatika. Pâr. P.-Pârvatiparinayam. Pat Yog.-Patanjalayoga sutras. Rag.-Raghuvansa. S. D.-Sâhityadarpana. S ́âk.-Abhijnânas’akuntala. Rat-Ratuâ vali S’Ar. Bh-Sarirabhashya. Sâu. K.– Sankhyakarikls of lạ. warakrishna. S. P.-Siva Purana. Sar. K.-Sarasvatikanthábharana. Sid. Kau.-Siddhantakaumudi. Udar. Udararaghava. Va.-Vachaspatya. Vg.-Vijayagani (commentator). Ved. S-Vedantsutras of Bada- rayana. Vik. Vikramorvasiya. Vikrama’.-Vikramankadevacha- rita. V. P.-Vishnupurâna. And others which are self-explanatory. || eft: ||