काव्ये विश्वासटिप्पन्यः

[[Mohan K.V 2012-10-30, 21:37:12 Source]]

सदास्वाद

**
**

पीतोदका, जग्धतृणा, दुग्धदोहा

(pītodakā jagdhatṛṇā dugdhadohā)

Meaning

Literally, “drunk-waters, eaten-grass, milked-milk”, meaning “They who have drunk their (final) waters, eaten their (last) grass, had their milk (completely) milked” – ultimately meaning “old, withered and barren”. This degree of ‘inference’ in a Bahuvrīhi almost borders on being idiomatic.

Context

This phrase is from the Kaṭhopaniṣad, the second verse of the first chapter. This upaniṣad is one of the ten principal ones, and involves several all-time blockbusters of Indian philosophical thought – the conversation between Naciketa and Yama, the distinction between preyas (the pleasurable) andśreyas (the good) and the idea of an eternal, indestructible soul that Death merely transforms.
King Vājaśravasa had a young son named Naciketa. One day, the king was donating cows as charity. Naciketa then noticed,
पीतोदका जग्धतृणा दुग्धदोहा निरिन्द्रियाः |
अनन्दा नाम ते लोका ये स गच्छति ता ददत् ||
pītodakā jagdhatṛṇā dugdhadohā nirindriyāḥ |
anandā nāma te lokā ye sa gacchati tā dadat ||
“These (cows) have drunk their waters, eaten their grass and have had their last milk milked. They are old and barren. One will get nothing but unhappiness if one gives them away as charity.”
In a poignant move that has been debated for centuries, Naciketa asks his father, “Tāta, kasmai māṃ dāsyasi?” (Father, who will you give me away to?).Vājaśravasa ignores him, but he asks him again and again. The king gets irritated, and shouts, “Mṛtyave tvā dadāmi!” (I give you to Death!). We don’t know if he regretted his rash action right afterward, but Naciketa dutifully set out to the South to meet Yama, the god of Death. Their conversation is the content of the rest of the Upaniṣad.

Thought for today

वैद्यराज नमस्तुभ्यं! यमराजसहोदर!
यमस्तु हरतिप्राणान्वैद्यः प्राणान् धनानि च ||
vaidyarāja namastubhyaṃ! yamarājasahodara!
yamastu harati prāṇān vaidyaḥ prāṇān dhanāni ca ||
Personifying Death as Yama turns out to have quite a few poetic uses, like, for example imagining his family. If you thought people frustrated by healthcare issues is a new phenomenon, behold this hilarious poke:
“Hello Doctor, surely you are Yama’s brother! He steals lives, and you, lives and money!”