१

महाकविमुखाम्भोजमणिपञ्जरशारिकाम् ।
चैतन्यजलधिज्योत्स्नां देवीं वन्दे सरस्वतीम् ॥

To the goddess of speech,
Sarasvatī,
do I bow –
a śārikā in the bejewelled birdcages
of the best bards’ lotus mouths,
the moonlight
rousing the ocean of human consciousness. 1

निर्दोषाप्यगुणा वाणी न विद्वज्जनरञ्जिनी ।
पतिव्रताप्यरूपा स्त्री परिणेत्रे न रोचते ॥

A poem may be sound,
but unless sweet
it will not delight the literati.
A wife may be faithful,
but unless pretty
she will not please her spouse. 2

न प्रार्थनीयः सत्काव्यश्रुत्यै सहृदयो जनः ।
स्वादुपुष्परसास्वादे कः प्रेरयति षट्पदम् ॥

A man of taste needs no encouragement
to listen to good poetry.
Who urges the bee
to sip the sweet nectar seeping from blown buds? 3

तन्मदीयमिदं काव्यं विबुधाः श्रोतुमर्हथ ।
मधुराविजयं नाम चरितं कम्पभूपतेः ॥

Learned listeners!
Give ear
to this poem here,
Madhurā Vijaya – The Conquest of Madhurā,
the story of King Kampa. 4

आसीत् समस्तसामन्तमस्तकन्यस्तशासनः ।
बुक्कराज इति ख्यातो राजा हरिहरानुजः ॥

There lived a king
named Bukkarāja,
the younger brother of Harihara.
Brave kings from each border
with heads bent consented to his every order. 5

विवेकमेव सचिवं धनुरेव वरूथिनीम् ।
बाहुमेव रणोत्साहे यः सहायममन्यत ॥

When waging war,
he needed no counsel but his own judgement,
no troops but his own bow
no allies but his two arms. 6

विरोधिवाहिनीनाथविक्षोभणपटीयसा ।
भुजेन भूभृता यस्य प्राप्ता कीर्तिमयी सुधा ॥

Roiling the whole host of hostile kings,
vast as the ocean,
with the mountain of his globe-bearing arm –
child’s play for him –
he produced his own amṛta, fame.¹ 7

परिपन्थिनृपप्राणपवनाहारदारुणः ।
असृजद्भुजगो यस्य कृपाणः कीर्तिकञ्चुकम् ॥

The sword he wielded was a snake,
violently devouring the very air his adversaries breathed,
and slewing off the celebrity he secured
as its now whitened skin. 8

कलिकालमहाघर्मप्लुष्टो धर्ममहीरुहः ।
यस्य दानाम्बुसेकेन पुनरङ्कुरितोऽभवत् ॥

The tree of dharma,
seared clear of moisture
by the horrendous heat of the accursed Kali Yuga,
sprouted afresh with the water he poured
while handing out gifts². 9

यस्याङ्घ्रिपीठसङ्घर्षरेखालाञ्छितमौलयः ।
आशास्वरिनृपा एव जयस्तम्भतया स्थिताः ॥

The very kings who had opposed him
became his victory pillars
spread in every direction,
their heads scarred with lines
scored from prostrating at his footstool.³ 10

बद्धाः सभाङ्गणे यस्य भान्ति स्म जयसिन्धुराः ।
बन्दीकृता इवाम्भोदा जैत्रयात्रानिरोधिनः ॥

War elephants
stood shackled in the palace courtyard
as though they were hulking rainclouds
thrown into chains
for daring to halt his military assaults. 11

तस्यासीद्विजया नाम विजयार्जितसम्पदः ।
राजधानी बुधैः श्लाघ्या शक्रस्येवामरावती ॥

As Indra has Amarāvatī glorified by the gods,
the King –
grown rich on triumph –
had for his capital a city celebrated by poets,
known to all as Vijayā – ‘Triumph’. 12

सुरलोकान्तसंक्रान्तस्वर्णदीमत्सरादिव ।
परिखाकारतां यान्त्या परीता तुङ्गभद्र‌‍या ॥

The Tuṅgabhadrā circled the city,
serving as a moat,
as if to rival the Gaṅgā
who gushes around the bounds of the gods’ domain. 13

लक्ष्मीलतालवालेन क्ष्मावधूनाभिशोभिना ।
चक्राचलप्रकारेण प्राकारेण परिष्कृता ॥

A smart rampart wreathed the royal city of Vijayā,
as though it was
the pool in which her flowering fortune-creeper flourished,
the lovely navel of Lady Earth
or a circle of soaring mountains. 14

यशःस्तोमैरिवाशेषनगरीविजयार्जितैः ।
सौधैः प्रकाशितोत्सेधा शरदम्भोदपाण्डरैः ॥

Mansions white as clouds in Śarad –
drifts of fame
amassed by outshining all other cities –
spoke of her stature. 15

यत्सौधचन्द्रशालासु विहरन्त्यो मृगेक्षणाः ।
शशाङ्कमवलम्बन्ते मुक्ताकन्दुकशङ्क‍या ॥

The doe-eyed ladies
playing in the sky-high attics
of the city’s palaces
would try to catch the full moon,
foolishly mistaking it for their pearl-embroidered ball. 16

पद्मरागोपलोत्कीर्णप्रासादप्रान्तवर्तिनः ।
सन्ततं यत्र दृश्यन्ते सान्ध्या इव बलाहकाः ॥

Clouds
roaming around her ruby-reddened rooftops
seemed to be permanently stained
by the setting sun. 17

सन्ध्यासु यत्र निर्यान्ति जालेभ्यो धूपराजयः ।
अन्तःप्रदीपिकालोकचकितध्वान्तसन्निभाः ॥

Every evening,
trails of incense smoke would race
out of the city’s windows,
as though they were gangs of darkness
frightened into flight at the sight
of the oil lamps standing guard within. 18

देवायी नाम तस्यासीद्देवी वसुमतीपतेः ।
पद्मा पद्मेक्षणस्येव शङ्करस्येव पार्वती ॥

The chief queen of this emperor of the earth,
known as Devāyī,
was to him
as the lotus-abiding Lakṣmī to the lotus-eyed Viṣṇu,
as to Śiva Pārvatī. 19

कर्णाटलोकनयनोत्सवपूर्णचन्द्रः
साकं तया हृदयसम्मतया नरेन्द्रः ।
कालोचितान्यनुभवन् क्रमशः सुखानि
वीरश्चिराय विजयापुरमध्यवात्सीत् ॥

This brave king,
the brightening full moon
upon which his Karṇāṭa people gazed in delight,
dwelled in Vijayā for many a year,
enjoying in turn the pleasures suited to each stage of life,
with her
his soul-mate. 20