[[Mohan K.V 2012-10-24, 19:53:37 Source]]
सदास्वाद
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सुभगंमन्यमानः
(subhagaṃ-manyamānaḥ)
Meaning
Literally, “fortunate-thinking”, meaning “One who thinks himself fortunate”, usually with a hint that one has thought so wrongly.
Context
This phrase is from Daṇḍin’s Daśakumāracarita, from Chapter 7 (Apahāravarmacarita). Flip to any page of this prose work, and in the space of two pages you’ll be accosted bytigers, elephants, thieves, bad brahmins, good brahmins, piśācas, sundry ākāśavāṇīs - you might start to think this was an action movie that somehow traveled back in time! This story of 10 princes’ adventures is incredibly fast-paced, and yet gives ample space for the author to display his famedpada-lālitya. Cute motifs pervade the work - for instance the poet never seems to miss an opportunity to describe sunsets over and over again with the inventive, topical and striking metaphors.
A common theme in the story is a beautiful, cunning woman cheating a naive man, and one of the heroes outwitting her and setting everything right (in addition to falling in love with a couple of noble women, rescuing old men and babies, killing wild beasts, taking trips to the underworld, freeing slaves, you know, all in a day’s work). In this scene, the current hero bumps into a naked, weeping Jain monk, and asks him what is wrong. The monk sighs, and relates a long story that starts with him as a rich, generous man. Many twists follow, and the last one involves him falling in love with a courtesan, who to his incredible joy accepts him. Then,
सुभगंमन्यमानेन च मया स्वधनस्य स्वगृहस्य स्वगणस्य स्वदेहस्य स्वजीवितस्य च सा एवईश्वरीकृता | कृतः च अहम् अनया मलमल्लकशेषः |
subhagaṃ-manyamānena ca mayā sva-dhanasya sva-gṛhasya sva-gaṇasya sva-dehasya sva-jīvitasya ca sā eva īśvarī-kṛtā | kṛtaḥ ca aham anayā malamallaka-śeṣaḥ |
“Thinking myself fortunate [to have won her affection], I made her the Queen of my money, my home, my followers, my body, even my very life. She left me with just my loincloth.”
malamallaka-śeṣaḥ is literally “loincloth-remaining” - “one who has only his loincloth left”, and was itself a tough contender for today’s spot! :-)
Thought for today
सा रम्या नगरी महान् स नृपतिः सामन्तचक्रं च तत्
पार्श्वे तस्य च सा विदग्धपरिषत् ताः चन्द्रबिम्बाननाः |
उद्वृत्तः स च राजपुत्रनिवहः ते वन्दिनः ताः कथाः
सर्वं यस्य वशात् अगात् स्मृतिपथंX Y Z||
sā ramyā nagarī mahān sa nṛpatiḥ sāmantacakraṃ ca tat
pārśve tasya ca sā vidagdhapariṣat tāḥ candrabimbānanāḥ |
udvṛttaḥ sa ca rājaputranivahaḥ te vandinaḥ tāḥ kathāḥ
sarvaṃ yasya vaśāt agāt smṛtipathaṃX Y Z||
In keeping with the spirit of Daṇḍi, we’ll have a short twist and some suspense for today’s thought. Most of you would have heard this phrase “X Y Z”, but very few would know the full verse where it comes from:
“That beautiful city, its great King, his royal court,
those brilliant ministers and damsels pretty as moonlight,
that entourage of princes, those bards, their tales -
By whose power all this was relegated to mere memory,X Y Z”
Guess what the phrase “X Y Z” is: 3 words, completes theśārdūlavikrīḍita, super-famous - email us atkvm….@gmail.comandshree…@gmail.com!