[[Mohan K.V 2013-04-21, 22:07:54 Source]]
सदास्वादरोमन्थः
Dear readers,
Many thanks for your continued support, and for writing back with feedback, opinions and suggestions. We’re very grateful for the interest shown in our humble endeavor!
In #28, when talking about all-powerful Fate, we had referred toBhartrhari’s verse “रात्रिर्गमिष्यति भविष्यति सुप्रभातम्…” and some of you asked for details. The full verse is:
रात्रिर्गमिष्यति भविष्यति सुप्रभातम्
भास्वान् उदेष्यति हसिष्यति पङ्कजश्रीः।
इत्थं विचिन्तयति कोशगते द्विरेफे
हा हन्त हन्त नलिनीं गज उज्जहार॥
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rātrir gamiṣyati bhaviṣyati suprabhātam
bhāsvān udeṣyati hasiṣyati paṅkajaśrīḥ|
itthaṃ vicintayati kośa-gate dvirephe
hā hanta hanta nalinīṃ gaja ujjahāra||
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A bee is inside a lotus when nightfall happens, and the lotus flower closes. The bee is gentle, and doesn’t want to bore its way out. It starts thinking,
“This night will pass; a beautiful morning will dawn
The sun will rise and the beauty of this lotus will smile again”
– Just as the bee was thinking thus,
Oh! No! No! An elephant tore away everything.
The bee and its melodious plans (all in the future tense, with a sonorous repetition of -ishya) represent man’s fond dreams for the future. The elephant is all-powerful fate. In just one line (the 4th), the mood changes from one of fond expectation to a poignant tragedy. This is easily one of the most fascinating portraits-in-verse in Sanskrit!
Śatāvadhāni Dr. R. Ganesh commented that Bhallata had a very unique style of handling the Sanskrit idiom. The combination of incisive observation, legerdemain with ornate writing and multiple layers of suggestion place him among the all-time greats like Bana and Bharavi.
In version #27, in an aside, we had mentionedVijñāneśvara’s commentaryMitākṣara was “meant to be an academic exercise where the author explained his interpretation of the text”. Naturally, when talking of completely different eras, the connotations of a phrase like ‘academic exercise’ become crucial. The tail begins to wag the dog, and hidden meanings become more important than original ones – today, ‘academic’ is often a code-word to mean ‘useless’ or ‘isolated in an ivory tower’ or ‘completely disconnected from the real world’; this is not true when it comes to the Mitākṣara. This commentary had a multitude of inputs from the customs and traditions of the day, and was very much linked to the reality and perceptions of its time. Many thanks to Śatāvadhāni Dr. R. Ganesh for his suggestions into this.
As always, we welcome any thoughts, feedback and suggestions from you all. Please email us atkvm….@gmail.comandshree…@gmail.com
Thought for today
It is a common fact that recollections and memories are often sweeter than the events which inspired them:
गतकालः सदा पुण्यो गतकालः सदा सुखः ।
स्मृतिः मृत-महिष्यास्तु शतातिद्रोणदोहना ॥
gatakālaḥ sadā puṇyo gatakālaḥ sadā sukhaḥ |
smṛtiḥ mṛta-mahiṣyās tu śatāti-droṇa-dohanā ||
“A past time is always righteous and happy. The dead buffalo is remembered to have given a hundred gallons of milk daily!”
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