[[Mohan K.V 2012-09-29, 21:22:24 Source]]
सदास्वाद
Hello, and welcome to the first edition of Sadāsvāda, an attempt at exploring the perennial pleasures of Sanskrit literature. We hope to look at one beautiful Sanskrit phrase every edition, with a morsel of information about its origin and context. While the futility of trying to drink an ocean by sampling drops here and there is not lost on us, we take some solace in the success of predecessors in this path, from Proust to Penzias. Without much further ado then, or as our Sanskrit plays would put it, अलम् अतिविस्तरेण (alam ativistareṇa), let us begin:
मही-तल-स्पर्शन-मात्र-भिन्नम्
(mahī-tala-sparśana-mātra-bhinnam)
Meaning
Literally, “earth-surface-touching-only-different”, meaning “Different only in that it is touching the Earth”.
Context
This phrase is from Kalidasa’s Raghuvamsha (Chapter 2, verse 50). In this acclaimed masterpiece deriving from the Ramayana epic stream, Kalidasa constructs stories for several of Rama’s ancestors and descendants; the greatest testimony to his genius is the fact that his stories are so deeply entwined in Indian culture that most people are not even aware of their origin!
In the first story, King Dileepa is childless, and goes to the sage Vasistha for help. The sage asks him to care for Nandini, the holy wish-giving cow of his ashrama. One day, when Dileepa is tending to Nandini in the nearby foothills, a lion appears out of nowhere and attacks her. Dileepa tries to fight, but finds himself paralyzed. The lion smiles, and tells him that he is a servant of Shiva; that Dileepa is paralyzed because of his magic powers; that Nandini violated a sacred sanctuary, and that she shall be killed. The helpless Dileepa, with utmost selflessness, begs the lion to let go of Nandini and kill him instead; he cannot bear to let his protectee come to harm. The lion laughs, and tells him that he is being foolish in wanting to give himself up for the sake of a mereanimal - if he lives, he can save ahundred thousandcows! He concludes a strongly convincing argument, saying:
तद्-रक्ष कल्याण-परम्पराणाम्
भोक्तारम् ऊर्जस्वलम् आत्म-देहम् ।
मही-तल-स्पर्शन-मात्र-भिन्नम्
ऋद्धं हि राज्यं पदम् ऐन्द्रम् आहुः ॥
tad-rakṣa kalyāṇa-paramparāṇāṃ
bhoktāram ūrjasvalam ātma-deham |
mahī-tala-sparśana-mātra-bhinnam
ṛddhaṃ hi rājyaṃ padam aindram āhuḥ ||
(indravajra metre, 11 syllables per line)
“Therefore, save yourself. You have much to enjoy. Your wealthy kingdom is different from Indra’s heaven only in that it is touching the Earth!”
The superior Dileepa humbly refuses, and again offers himself to be killed. The lion agrees, frees Nandini, and pounces on him. But suddenly, … read the Raghuvamsha to find out :-)
Thought for today
अगजाननपद्मार्कां गजाननम् अहर्निशम् |
अनेकदन्तम् भक्तानाम् एकदन्तम् उपास्महे |
agajā-’nanapadmārkāṃ gajānanam aharniśam |
anekadaṃ taṃ bhaktānām ekadantam upāsmahe |
This very common invocation to Ganesha has a surprisingly poetic, highly non-trivial meaning!
“He who is the sun to the lotus-face of Parvati, he with the elephant-face, he who gives much to his devotees, he with the single tusk - we worship him day and night”.
In the first line, “अगजाआननपद्मार्कं” (agajāānanapadmārkāṃ), “Parvati face-lotus-sun”, invokes two common poetic ideas - a face being compared to a lotus, and the sun being the cause for the lotus to bloom. The शब्दालङ्कार (śabdālaṅkāra) - melodic selection of words - is evident through out; agajā-ānana…gajā-ānana; anekadaṃ taṃ …ekadantam.
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