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MALIK MUHAMMAD 1415]
"PADMAVATI.
BY
A. G. SHIRREFF, 1.C.S.
PRINTED AT THE INLAND PRINTING WORKS
PUBLISHED BY
THE ROYAL ASIATIC SOCIETY OF BENGALI,
—_—,
CALCUTTA
1944
FOREWORD
The contribution of the Asiatic Society of Bengal to
the study of Sanskrit and Pali, Arabic and Persian, in
fact of the major classical languages of India, is well known.
But it is generally not remembered or, sufficiently ap-
preciated that the members of the Society from its very
inception have been making pioneer studies in some
branches of the living languages of India. Bengah,
Hindi, Maithili etc., attracted the attention of eminent
scholars like Rev. Carey, Rev. Long, Dr. Hoernle and
others, as we find from that admirable work, A Com-
parative Grammar of the Gaudian Language (1880). Mr.
Etherington’s Hindi Grammar was already in the field
and it provoked Mr. (Later Sir) George Grierson B.C.S.,
to write his Introduction to the Matthtl: Language pub-
lished as an Extra Number of the Journal of the Asiatic
Society of Bengal (1881-82). In 1896, Mr. Grierson
began publishing the Padmavatt of Malik Muhammad
Jaisi, in collaboration with MM. Pandit Sudhakar Dvivedi.
We quote below a few significant sentences from Mr.
Grierson’s Introduction;
“The value of the Padmavati consists chiefly in ita age. Malik
Muhammad is we believe, the oldest vernacular poet of Hindustan
of whom we have any uncontested remains....The preservation
of the Padmavati is due mainly to the happy accident of Mahk
Muhammad's religious reputation. Although profoundly affected
by the teaching of Kabir and familiarly acquainted with प्राप्ता
lore, and with the Hindu yoga philosophy he was from the first
revered as a saint by his Muhammadan co-religionists...... His
work is a valuable witness to the actual condition of the vernacular
language of Northern India in the 16th century. It is so far as
it goes, and with the exception of a few lines in Albernni’s Indta
the only trustworthy witness which we have.”
In 1911 the fasciculus VI was published carrying the
Text, Commentary and critical Notes up-to Cantos I-XXV
(vvii 1-286), but Pandit Dyivedi was no more. Mr. Grierson
ii
wrote feelingly: ‘‘With much sorrow I have to record
the lamented death of my old friend and colleague MM.
Pandit Dvivedi, the Joint Editor of this poem........
Until arrangements can be made by the Asiatic Society
of Bengal for another scholar to carry on his task, the
publication of this edition of the Padmfvat1 is necessarily
“suspended.”
The idea of completing Sir George Grierson’s trans-
lation of the Padmavati, occurred to Mr. A. G. Shirreff,
L.C.S., in 1938. He obtained Sir George Grierson’s
permission to carry on the work and finished the bulk
of the translation in 1940, 1.e., exactly in the year of the
tetracentenary of the composition of the poem by Malik
Muhammad Jaisi under the patronage of Sher Shah.
Mr. Shirreff has carefully consulted all the important
texts of the poem published so far and has also fully
utilised the opinions and criticisms of scholars, European
as well as Indian, who have made ,Padmavati their
favourite study. But the remarkable feature in his
English rendering of this magnificent poem is that he had
some special advantages for the study of the poem which
was composed in and about the village of Jais in the
Sultanpur district, Faizabad division. Knowing as he
does so thoroughly the dialect of that area Mr. Shirreff
could explain many obscure passages of the poem which
appears to us to-day as a metrical encyclopaedia of Hindu-
Islamic lore of medieval India. The myths and legends,
as well-as the peculiar idioms and metrical devices of the
Hindu and Islamic poets, have been woven into a homo-
geneous and harmoneous composition of inestimable
value. What ‘Alberuni achieved in prose in the middle
of the eleventh century while surveying Hindu philosophy
and sciences, was achieved with rare originality and
thoroughness by Malik Muhammad JJaisi in his metrical
epic on the life of the Rajput heroine, Padmavati. As a
worthy disciple of Kavir, he 5111068, to us to-day as a real
pioneer in the path of Hindu-Islamic cultural rap-
proachement which found its culmination in the reign
of Emperor Akbar, the four hundredth anniversary of
whose. birth has recently been celebrated. Nanak, Kava,
abs
9
Tulsidas and Jaisi thus inaugurated a new era of cultural
collaboration which may serve as an example to later
generations. Jaisi received a lasting tribute, which he
fully deserved from a brother poet of Bengal, Alawal,
who prepared his Bengali verson of Padmavait while
working at the Court of Arakan in 1659
Mr. Shirreff has placed all lovers of medieval
Indian literature under special obligation by offering
his Padmavati to the public through our Bibliotheca
Indica series. His English rendering has definitely caught
the inspiration of the master poet and in offering our
thanks to him, we congratulate him at the same time on
his signal success.
Roya, Asratio Soormrry 07 Benear KALIDAS NAG,
Calcutta General Secretary.
September, 1944. |
CONTENTS
PAGE
PORTRAIT OF 14157 - - ~ FRONTISPIECE
INTRODUCTION - - - - - x
BIBLIOGRAPHY - - - ~ Xi—Xii
THE JAISI MEMORIAL ~ - = FACING PAGE I
CANTO I THE PREFACE - ~ ~ = I
2 SIMHALA - - - ~ ` ~ 27
3 THE BIRTH OF PADMAVATI - - ~ 37
4 THER MANASARODAKA TAKE - ~ ~ 43
5 THE PARROT - - - - - " 49
6 THE BIRTH OF RATANSEN - - - 53
7 THE MERCHANT ~ - ~ - 54
8 NAGMATI AND THE PARROT - ~ - 59
Q THE KING AND THE PARROT - - - 65
IO LOVE’S INVENTORY - - - ~ 70
II LOVE - - - - - - 83
I2 THE YOGI - - - - ~ 87
713 THE KING'S TALK WITH GAJAPATI_ - ~ 05
4 THE SHIPS~ - ~ - - - 98
I5 THE SEVEN SEAS - ~ = ~ 7100
10 SINGHALA-DVIPA ~ - - 4 105
` ग THE VISIT TO THE णाश. - - - 108
18 PADMAVATI’S PASSION ~ - ~ 100
IQ PADMAVATI'S MEETING WITH THE PARROT - 115
20 ‘THE SPRING - - - - . ~ 118
ZI KING RATANSEN'S SELF-IMMOLATION ~ 126
22 PARVATI AND MAHESH - - - 730
23 THE KING'S ASSAULT ON THE 50215853 - 135
24 KING GANDHARVASEN AND HIS MINISTER - 147
25 THE IMPALEMENT OF RATANSEN ~ ~ 158
26 ‘THE WEDDING OF RATANSEN AND PADMAVATI " 170
27 THE MEETING OF PADMAVATI AND-RAYANSEN* 79
28 RATANSEN’S COMPANIONS - ~ - 200
CANTO 29 ‘THE SLX SEASONS -
30 NAGMATI'S SEVERANCE
उ NAGMATI
32 RATANSEN’S LEAVE-TAKING
33 THE HOMEWARD JOURNEY
34 LAKSHMI AND THE OCEAN
35 THE ARRIVAL AT CHITAUR
36 THE CONTENTION BETWEEN NAGMATI
"ऽ MESSAGE -
AND PADMAVATI -
37 RATANSEN'S OFFSPRING
38 THE BANISHMENT OF RAGHAVA-CHETAN
39 HOW RAGHAVA-CHETAN WENT TO DELHI
40 DESCRIPTION OF THE KINDS OF WOMEN
4I THE DISCOURSE OF PADMAVATI'S BEAUTY
42 THE EMPEROR'S ASSAULT
43 THE BATTLE -
44 THE FRIENDLY MEETING BETWEEN
KING AND THE EMPEROR
45 THE EMPEROR'S BANQUET
THE
46 THE DESCRIPTION OF THE FORTRESS
OF CHITAUR - -
47 THE IMPRISONMENT OF RATANSEN
48 THE LAMENTATION OF PADMAVATI
AND NAGMATI -
49 DEVAPAL’S WOMAN-MESSENGER
50 THE EMPEROR'S WOMAN-MESSENGER
5I HOW PADMAVATI SPOKE WITH GORA
AND BADAL - -
52 HOW GORA AND BADAI, WENT FORTH TO WAR
53 HOW GORA AND BADAL FOUGHT
54 THE DELIVERANCE FROM CAPTIVITY.
MEETING WITH PADMAVATI
THE
55 THE BATTLE BETWEEN RATANSEN AND
DEVAPAL,
56 THE DEATH OF KING RATANSEN
57 THE SATI OF PADMAVATI AND NAGMATT
- ENVOY
INDEX » «00 we य ee
@ न @ @ क # # क कछ छ @ # ॐ @ न
1
INTRODUCTION
THE PRESENT WORK
It was in the hot weather of 1938 that I decided to
attempt the task of completing Sir George Grierson’s
translation of the Padmavati of Malik Mohammad Jaisi.
As Commissioner of Fyzabad I had at that time special
advantages for the study of the poem. ‘Ramnagar, in
the Amethi Estate, where the poet spent the latter part
of his life, is in the Sultanpur district of the Fyzabad
Division, and Jais itself is within three miles of its border.
Jaisi’s language is the dialect still spoken on the spot and
his imagery is taken from the scenery and life of the
countryside. In spite of the lapse of four hundred years
there has been no great change in the language or in the
way of life of the people, or in their surroundings, and
the poet’s name and fame still live in local tradition.
I obtained Sir George Grierson’s permission to carty
on his work. He wrote “It was nice to get your letter
and to learn that you have been taken captive by Malik
Mubammad’s Padmavati. Like you, I think that it 18 a
great pity that the poem is not more widely known in
England. You ask about my translation in the Bibliotheca
Indica. Alas, I am ashamed to say that I never finished
it. When my fellow-worker and old friend Pandit Sudha-
kar Dvivedi died, I had no heart to go on with the work,
and, to my shame, I let it drop, and have never had
courage to take it up again. Of course, I should be much
pleased if you completed it, subject to the approval of
the Royal Asiatic Society of Bengal.”
It was not possible to begin the work of translation
until I went on leave in 1940, though several readings of
the poem preceded this ; in particular, in the cold weather
of 1939, I had great assistance in studying the Padmavati
with Pandit Ram Naresh Tripathi. He is himself a
resident of Suitanpur and his unrivalled knowledge of
country life was of great value for the understanding of
ij
the poem. My translation was drafted during leave in
England and on the long voyage out 1ound the Cape. In
revising it and my notes after my return to India I have
received great help from several scholars, of whom I must
specially mention Pt. Kanta Nath Pande of the Harish
Chandra Intermediate College, Bemares. He has kindly
gone through the whole translation and the notes,
and has contributed extremely useful suggestions and
criticisms.
GRIERSON’S WORK
I was not able during my leave in England to consult
Sir George Grierson about the work; his state of health
prevented this. It was on my return to India that I
learnt of his death in his ninetieth year. I was surprised
and rather disappointed to find no mention of his work
on Jaisi in the only obituary notice which I have seen.
It seems to me that this work is the most characteristic of
all his great achievements. In it he has shown his finest
powers of scholarship and literary expression to forward
what was the main purpose of his life-work, the inter-
pretation of the East to the West. For this he probably
did more than any other British schalar since Sir William
Jones. I think that by this piece of work, perhaps
more than any other, Grierson would wish his own name
to be remembered, and I think it is fitting that the
completion of the work showld be in the nature of a
memorial to him. I personally owe him a deep debt of
gratitude for the help and advice which he gave me
cnroughout my service from the time of my first starting
for India, when he spoke to me with enthusiasm of the
delight of losing oneself in the fairy land of Hindi poetry.
The phrase has often returned to my mind when reading
‘the Padmavatt.
SHUKLA’S EDITION
In giving its approval the Society asked that the
Benares edition of the work should be used, as the most
complete edition available, This is the edition published
- it
by the Nagari-Pracharini Sabha and edited by’ Pt. | Ram
Chandra Shukla. I have used the second (1935 } edition
So far as the present translation is a reprint of. Grierson’s
dewn to 10 (10) 6, the text of course is Grierson’s and
Sudhakar’s, but I have shown all important variants of
Shukla’s text in my notes. For the rest I have, used
Shukla as the basis, drawing attention in my notes fo
variants in Grierson and Sudhakar,—whose critical work
extended to 25(23),—and other sources. Pt. Ram Chandra
Shukla also died at the beginning of 1941, and it has
been a matter of personal regret to me that I was not
able to consult-him about my difficulties. I have abbre-
viated my own notes by references to his introduction,
which is a valuable piece of work and essential for the
study of Jaisi; even where I have been inclined to differ
from his opinions, I have always considered them deserv-
ing of respect
It must be admitted that Shukla failed to appreciate
the value of the pioneer work done by Grierson and
Sudhakar. There may be some justification for his
criticism of their orthography ; their text was primarily
based on manuscripts in the Persian character, and its
Hindi spelling is theoretical rather than in accordance
with that of the earliest known Hindi and Kaithi
specimens. And there is considerable force in his fling
at Sudhakar’s etymologies in the Introduction to his first
edition, page 3-5, where he quotes the saying that no
one went to Sudhakar for an explanation and came away
disappointed. But he has not sufficiently realised the
high literary quality of the translation, or the value of
the collaboration between Grierson and Sudhakar for the
understanding of the general style and feeling of the
poem. Still less does he seem to realise the unique
excellence of their critical study of the manuscripts. This
study was an essential ground work for the proper under-
standing of Jaisi’s aims and outlook. I have frequently
had occasion to draw attention in my notes to instances
in which the adoption of one reading or another may
make all the difference in our appreciation of Jaisi’s
standpoint
THER TEXT " "
Besides Grierson and Sudhakar’s edition प्प
mentions three other printed editions, Pt. Ram Jasan
Misra’s, that of the Newal Kishore Pres§, Lucknow, and
an Urdu edition published in Cawnpore, all of which“he
found worthless. He also mentions that he has relied
in places on a Kaithi manuscript, and also on a form
of conjecture. The latter consists in transliterating
a doubtful word from Nagari into Persian script, and
then seeing in what other ways it can be read. It is
a pity that Shukla has not shown in his notes the
authorities for his readings. Where these differ from
Grierson and Sudhakar in the first 25 cantos I have
generally found the latter preferable. For the remainder
of the work I have had to depend mainly on Shukla’s
text. Many years ago the late Lala Sita Ram told me
that in his opinion the best edition of the Padmavatj was
that of Lala Bhagwan Din, published by the Hindi
Sahitya Sammelan, Allahabad, in 1924. It was only
after my translation was ready for the press that I
succeeded in obtaining a copy of this by the kindness
of Mr. Prithvi Nath Kulshreshtha. This also is incom-
plete, extending only to 29(10) and also does not mention
the authority for its readings, which on the whole are
claser to Grierson and Sudhakar than toShukla, thoughit has
a number of spurious stanzas. In some instances I have
preferred Bhagwan Din’s reading to either of these autho-
rities and have mentioned the fact in my notes. The
Punjab University edition ends with the 25th canto, for
the obvious reason that it is merely a copy of Grierson
and Sudhakar’s text. The Hindi Sabdsagar (the Nagari
Pracharini Sabha’s great Hindi Dictionary) contains
frequent quotations from the Padmavati, from which I
have adopted a number of variant readings. I have also
compared a late eighteenth century Kaithi manuscript,
lent me by Sir Richard Burn, which supplied one very
interesting variant’. There is a great deal still to be done
the critical study of the manuscripts. A heading
SED ot te a Re Ee त न कअत
(a) See note {प} to 23(5)4
न्य कसन्ति
Vv
‘ronjectural enjendations: in the Index call attention to
seime stiggestions offered. for the consideration of scholars.
THE SCRIPT
One point on which textual study turns is the quéstion
whether the Padmavati was originally written in Persian
or Kaithi characters. Grierson’s view that it was written
in the Persian character was generally accepted till recent
years, but Shukla, following certain arguments put for-
ward by Pandit Chandra Bali Pande, has declared for
Kaithi or Nagari. The substance of these arguments is
that Jaisi had already used Kaithi script in writing the
Akharawat. But the fact that the Akharawat is an
acrostic based on the Kaithi alphabet does not necessarily
show that it was written in that character ; what it proves
is Jaisi’s intense interest in all things Hindu. Nor it can
be accepted as proved that the Akharawat was written
after the Padmavati. The reference to Kabir in stanza
43 15 no indication that Kabir was still living, while in
stanza 45 Jaisi refers to his own tale of love, thereby
indicating that he has already written the Padmavati.
Local legend places the Akharawat later, as it 1s said to
have been written on some special occasion for the Raja of
Amethi, Jaisi’s first introduction to whom came through the
recitation of a couplet* from the Padmavati by a disciple.
I have discussed in the notes certain passages in which
variant readings are obviously due ‘to the fact that the
corresponding words in Persian character could be read
in more than one way’. These instances do not prove
conclusively that Jaisi used the Persian script, although
the last of them shows that he must have been imitating.
an original in which that script was used. But there is
conclusive proof, in my opinion, in the 8th stanza of the
8th canto, which depends for its point on a series of
piins on the words ‘ras’ and ‘ris’; it is only in tnpomted
Persian that these puns could have presented themselves.
It would also be natural for Jaisi, when writing 4 poptler
poein itt the spoken form ef the language with which he
Se yey ere,
(a) 30(14)8,9. (b) 1(1)2 note (a), 1(24)1 note (kk), 40(2)1 note (a)
71
wis familiar, to use the alphabet which must have been
the basis of his education, Jais being a centre of Muslim
learning.
JAISI’S HOME
Some scholars are of opinion that Jaisi was not born
in Jais as his name would imply. The opinion is based
on the expression in 7 (23) 1 ‘The city Jayas is a holy
spot : there came the poet, and told his lay.’ But Jaisi
is speaking allegorically : he ‘came’ to Jais just as Bunyan
‘lighted on a certain place’ (which was Bedford) or as
Dante ‘found himself in a dark wood’ (which was Florence)
In the Akhiri Kalam (10)r he is more definite,—' Jayas
nagar mor asthanu.’ The poet’s house is still shown in
the centre of the town, though thére is some difference of
opinion as to whether it is the three storied house which
belonged till recent years to the descendants of his brother
or the single storied house* next door which is deserted
and almost in ruins. Incidentally, I doubt if Grierson’s
translation of the second verse of the stanza quoted above
can be accepted,—'There humbly waited he upon Hindu
scholars’.’ {815 was not a centre of Sanskrit learning,
and I imagine that Jaisi is using the word ‘Pandit’ here
to mean ‘maulvi’, just as elsewhere he uses ‘Kailas’ for
the Muslim paradise as well as for the Hindu heaven, or
puran’ for the Quran as well as for the Puranas. The
tomb of Shaikh Kamal, one of Jaisi’s spiritual ancestors
on the outskirts of Jais, is locally known as Pandit
Kama)’s tomb. In 1(12)4 Usman is called Pandit.
JAISI’S WORKS
Jaisi tells us, in the Akhiri Kalam (4)1, that he was
born in an earthquake in the year 900 Hijri, (correspond-
ing to 1494 A.D.) and that he made his debut as a poet
after his 30th year. The Akhiri Kalam mentions the
ruling monarch,—as.is required of a poem in Masnavi
form,—as Babar Shah (1526-1530). The Padmavati was
(a) This can be seen in the background in the photograph of the Jaisi
Memorial. (b) See 1(23), note 61 “ero nt oe ष
vii
written while the poet was still living in Jais: the proem
dates’ it as begun in the Hijri year 947, corresponding to
1540 A.D., and gives the name of the reigning monarch
as Sher Shah*. In the last stanza the poet describes him-
self as a very old man, sans teeth, sans eyes, sans taste,
sans everything. He was still able, however, to write the
Akharawat, which there is no definite means of dating.
Shukla’s edition gives all the three poems, which are all
that are extant, though tradition credits Jaisi with a
number of others of which only the titles remain.
BIOGRAPHICAL
The only other definite biographical information which
we find in Jaisi’s poems is the fact that he had lost the
sight of one eye and the hearing of one ear’. This was
no doubt due to the attack of small pox which, tradition
says, frightfully disfigured his face. Hence the story of
his rebuke to a Raja or Sultan who jeered at him as he
entered his darbar: ‘Is it me you are laughing at, or the
Potter who made me?’ It might appear from his own
reference to his disfigurement that it was this which made
him adopt the life of a religious ascetic, but tradition
attributes it to the accidental death of his sons. Des-
cendants of his daughters are said to be still भ g in
1215. The latter part of his life was spent in seclusion
in the jungle of Ramnagar near Amethi, to which place
he had moved, either at the invitation of the Raja, or by
the direction of his spiritual preceptor. The Raja was
childiess, but a son was bornto him by virtue of the
prayers of the poet, who was venerated as a saint and a
miracle worker. The move to Amethi (less than 20 miles)
was possibly the longest journey of Jaisi’s life. His
geographical knowledge 18 extensive but vague, and based
no doubt on traveller’s tales. What he really knew was
the Oudh country-side in the neighbourhood of Jais and
Amethi.” The date of his death is not known: some
accounts make him live to a fabulous age. His tomb is a
1(24)1 note (kk). (d) 1(13)1. 1(21)1 note (85), 31(9) note ह.
ite uniee cae (d) 1(19)1. (a) 1(21)1 note (55), 31(9) g
Vill +
simple one in a decent state of repair: its custodian told
me the story (to be found in Shukla, p. 10) of how the
poet’s death was due to his habit of assuming the form of
a tiger when he said his evening prayers and being. shot
unwittingly by one of the Raja’s retainers. Sufis and VYogis,
in popular belief, have supernatural powers of this nature.
The belief, of course, has little connection with the Sufi
mysticism which pervades Jaisi’s poem, and between
which and the mysticism of Yoga he makes no distinction.
Actually, though he was perhaps not aware of the fact,
they had a common origin in the meeting of Eastern and
Western thought.
THE POET OF LOVE
Too much weight may however be given to the Sufi
elements in Jaisi’s work. He is a poet first and foremost,
whose object it is to tell a tale of love. Idoubt very
much whether he had any definite allegory present to his
mind throughout: the key which he gives in the first
stanza of the Envoy does not by any means fit the lock.
He tells his story in the form ofan allegorical Sufi
masnavi much as his hero disguises himself in the trap-
pings of a Yogi when he undertakes the pilgrimage of love.
And what a story it is! Half fairy tale and half
historical romance and all a kaleidoscopic mixture of
whatever the poet found of charm and beauty in the
world around him and in the traditions and culture of two
civilisations, told in verse the lilt of which Tulsi Das was
glad to imitate.
THE SUFI SCHOOL
Most recent historians of Hindi literature have treated
Jaisi as one of a school of Sufi poets who wrote narra-
tive poems in Awadhi verse. In particular, mention is
made of the Mrigavati of Kutban and of the Madhumalati
of Manjhan as having preceded Jaisi’s work and having
been imitated by him, Jaisi is supposed to have referred
to these and other similar poems in the 17th stanza of the
¥ 1x
23rd canto’. A manuscript of the Mrigavati was described
in the report of the Nagari Pracharini Sabha’s search for
Hindi mss. in 7000, and one or two mes. of the Madhu-
malati have also been noted upon. But none of these
manuseripts is now forthcoming, and until they are redis-
covered and critically edited I think it would be most
unsafe to base canclusions as to Jaisi's originality on what
we have been told about them. There has been an awful
warning in the case of the ‘Gora Badal ki Bat’. The
search report for 1901 describe. a manuscript of this
early 17th century work in the Asiatic Soctety’s Library
asin prose and verse, and gave a sample of the 77086.
The historians of literature followed one another in quot-
ing this as Hindi prose of the 17th century. It was only
after 30 years that a persistent inquirer examined the
actual manuscript and found that the prose part was a
translation made for the British resident at Indore about
1830. So we find that the earliest specimen of Hindi
literary prose has been antedated by these same historians
by at least two centuries, and come back to the previous
correct, if rather humdrum doctrine, that such prose
started with Lallu ji Lal’s Prem Sagar.
THE PROPHET OF UNITY
At any rate, it can be safely said that the imitative
part of Jaisi’s work is the least important. He imitated,
no doubt, what was most attractive to contemporary
taste, and much of the resulting fine writing in his poem
has little appeal to us. But beneath all this there is his
real passion for beauty and his real interest 1n and love
for his fellow men and everything that concerns them.
His broad tolerance and understanding made him, above
all, a prophet of unity. If we could meet him now in the
Elysian fields, and could ask him whether he had
approached his theme from the Muslim or the Hindu
standpoint, he would, I imagine, answer with a smile that
(a) See note (Il) to 23(17)
b) See the Essay by Narottam Das Swamiin Nagri Pracharini Patrika
vol, 14, pt. 4 39
x
he did not know, and that he had never seen any differ-
euce between them.
The gazetteer of Sultanpur records the fact that the
district has always been singularly free from communal
strife, and it would not be far-fetched to see in this the
living influence of the poet. Shukla mentions, as a matter
of personal experience, that those Muslims tn whose
homes a manuscript of the Padmavati is treasured are
notably friendly and unprejudiced.
I have already mentfoned the great assistance I have
received fram Pandit Kanta Nath Pande and from Pt.
Ram Naresh Tripathi. My thanks are also due to many
other helpers. Rai Bahadur Pt. Kamalakar Dube (Pt.
Sudhakar Dvivedi’s son, and President of the Nagari
Pracharini Sabha) has helped me with the translation of
an obscure astrological passage in canto 32. Pandit Raj
Mangal Nath Tripathi of the Colvin Taluqdar’s College,
Lucknow, has given me advice in several difficulties. Mahant
Digvijai Nath of Gorakhpur has explained to me the
trappings of the Gorakhnathi Yogis. I have had help with
the identification of game-birds from Thakur Chhattrapal
Singh, of birds generally from Kunwar Suresh Singh of
Kalakankar, and of musical instruments from Dr. Arnold
Bake. I am grateful to professor A. Qavi Fani and to the
Indian Press, Allahabad, for permission to reproduce the
(perhaps contemporary) portrait of the poet, and to
Mr. M. S. Randhawa for the photogragh of the Jaisi
Memorial. My special gratitude is due to B. Gur
Dayal of the Land Records Office who has devoted very
many hours of his spare time to preparing my manus-
cript for the press and has shown great intelligence and
skill] in doing it.
Dated | A. G. SHIRREFF,
I-I-1942. LUCKNOW.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
TEXTS
Grierson and Sudhakar :
The Padumévati of Malik Muhammad Jaisi edited, with a commentary,
translation and critical notes by G. A. Grierson, C,I.E.,......and
einen a a Sudhakeara Dvivedi...... Vol. 1 Cantos I-XXYV
(vv. 1-286).
(Bibliotheca Indica New Series nes. 877, 920, 951, 1024, 1172 and 1273.
Calcutta 1911).
Shukla :
Jayasi Granthawali, arthat Padmawat, Akharawa} aur Akhiri Kalam
ed. Ram Chandra Shukla. Published for the Kashi Nagari Pracharini
Sabha by the Indian Press, Allahabad. 2nd edition 1935.
Bhagwan Din:
Padmawat pirvarddh, 1 se 33 weh khahd tak, ed. Lala Bhagwan Din.
Hindi Sahitya Sammelan, Allahabad 1925. (A good text, except that
it ia incomplete and also contains some spurious matter).
Surya Kanta Shastri:
The Padmavati of Malik Muhammad Jaisi, with an etymological
word-index by Vidyabhaskara, Vedantaratna, Vyakaranatirtha Surya
Kanta Shastri, M.A., M.O.L.
Vol. I cantos 1-XXV.
(Punjab University Oriental Publication No. 25). 1934.
A showy but useless production. Tho text is a copy of Grieraon and
Sudhakar. I have only found one variant, not for the better. Even
the spelling is copied from Grierson, and represents hia theories and not
any ms. authority. The index, with its copious references to Indo-European
languages, is of no value for the study of Jaisi’s dialect.
Sankshipt Padmavatl :
Edited by Lala Sham Sundar Das and Satya Jivan Varma, Indian
Press, Allahabad 1936.
Abridgement is effected by breaking up and rearranging the stanzas
thus marring the poetical effect.
Akharawat :
Edited ay Mahamahopadhyaya Sudhakar Dvivedi (Nagari Pracharini
Granthamala Series No. 9). Benares I904.
BOOKS OF REFERENCE
Grierson, Sir G. A. Modern Vernacular Literature of Hindostan.
Calcutta 1889.
Kil
Hughes. Dictionary of Islam. W. H. Allen. 1885.
Hindi Sabdsigar—Published by the Nagari Pracharini Sabha. 1912-1921.
The Introductory volume contains a history of Hindi Literature (Hindi
Sahitya Ka Vika as) by Pt, Ram Chandra Shukla.
Sankshipt Sabdsagar. Ed. Ram Chandra Varma, Indian Press, Allehe-
bad, 1933. (I have found this abridgement of the large dictionary
कः useful as it abounds in references to the Padmavati).
7. E. Keay. History of Hindi Literature. Oxford University Press,
1920.
Shyam Sundar Das. Hindi Bhasha aur Sahitya. Indian Press,
Allahabad, 1932.
Ayodhya Singh Upadhyay (Hari Audh). Hindi Bhasha aur uske Sahitya
Ka Vikas. Bhagaipur.
Anand Kumar. Hindi Kavita Ka Vikas. Hindi Mandir, Allahabad,
1940
8. Kalbe Mustafa Jaisi. Malik Muhammad Jaisi. Anjuman Taraqgi
Urdu-i-Hind, Hyderabad.
Historical :
Sir पर. M. Elliott’s History of India as told by its own historians. Ed.
Dowson. Vol. III. London. Trubner. 1871. Contains Abstracts
Amir Khusru’s Tarikh-i-Alel and Ashika,
Professor Muhammad Habib. The oe aigns of ‘Al&‘u’d-Din Khilji,
being Hazrat Amir Khusrau’s KhazS’inul एणा translated with notes and
a historical introduction by 8. Krishnaswami Aiyanger, Taraporewala,
Bombay, 1931.
Tod’s Rajasthan—The Annals of Mewar. For the History of the sack
of Chitaur by Alauddin.
Kipling. From Sea to Sea. The sack of Chitaur--Inspired by Tod.
Folklore etc :
Crooke, W. An Introduction to the Popular Religion and Yolklore of
Northern India. Government Press, Allahabad, 1894.
Crooke, W. Tribes and Castes of the N. W. Provinces, Government
Press, Calcutta, 1896.
Briggs. G. W. Gorakhnath and the Kanphati Yogis. Y. M. C. A.
Publishing House, Calcutta, 1938.
Sufism and Yoga:
Dr. Yusuf Husain. L’Inde mystique au Moyen Age, Maisonneuve,
Paris, 1929.
Dr. M. Horten. Indische Stromungen in der Islamischen Mystik,
Heidelberg, 1927.
Tara Chand. The Influence of Islam on Indian Culture. Indian
Press, Allahabad, 1936.
PAMPHLETS AND ARTICLES
R. 8. Lala Sita Ram, Malik Muhammad Jaisi. Allahabad University
Studies, Vol. vi Pt. 19390,
। oa न Das. ‘Manijhan krit Madhuméfglat}.’ Hindustani, Allahabed,
, p. 207,
Pitambardatt Bayathwal. ‘Padmivati ki कहता aur Jayasi ka adhy&t-
gl ra Nagari Pracharini Sabha'’s Dvivedi Abhinandan Granth
. p. 396. a
Nagari Pracharini Patrike, Vol. 48 Pt. 3. p. 279. Jagan Lal Gupte
‘Hemmir-Mahukivya.” Vol. 13. Pt. 4 p. 387. Gaurishankar Hirachand
Ojhe. ‘Kavi Jatmal Rachit Gora Bada! ki Bat.’ Vol. 13 Pt. 4 p. 491.
ane
xii
Chandrabali Pande, ‘Padmivat ki ae i tatha rachn&-kal.’ Vol. 14 Pt.
4. p. 383. Chandrabali Pande, ‘Jayasi ka Jivan Vrt. Vol. 14 pt. 4 2. 428.
Narottam Das Swami ‘Ja$mal Ki Gork Badal K1 Bat. Vol. ta 4 p.
473. Ganesh Prasad Dvivedi, ‘Hindi meh Premg&th& aur Malik Mubammad
Jaye asi, Vol. 17 pt. 1 p. 61, Chandrabali Pande ‘Safiyoh ki asths taths
an. New issue Vol. 19 pt. 3. $. 255. Chandrabali Pande, ‘Manjhan-Kpt‘
Madhumalgti.’ New issue. Year 45. pt. 1 p. 43. Ale Muhammad Mehar
wayasi, “Malik Muhammad Jayasi Ka jivancharit.’ 1926 p. 316 Satyajivan
Varma, ‘Akhyfnak K&vya’.
NOTE
Refertnces to the Padmavati are by canto, stanza
(in brackets) and verse, counting each half chaupai and
edth half doha as one verse. References to the Akhara-
wat and the Akhiri Kalam are by stanza (in brackets)
and verse. The numbers of camtos and stanzas are as in
Shukla’s edition.
Grierson’s notes are marked by numbers: mine by
letters or by square brackets.
In the translation, explanatory additions are marked
by square brackets. Round brackets are ordinarily used
for parentheses which are part of the text. Alternative
renderings of puns are divided by a sloping line.
I have followed Shukla’s text for the spelling of
proper names except in a few cases where another spelling
is familiar in English. But I have followed Grierson’s
spelling of Jaisi. Jais is the official spelling of the town’s
name, though the local pronunciation approximates to
Jayas, which is what Jaisi wrote. I have used Padmavati
for both the poem and the heroine: Shukla has Padma-
vat for the former, Grierson Padumavati for both.
I have generally used ch for च, chh for % and 5 for
हा instead of Grierson’s c, ch and €.
JAIS] MEMORIAL
1. THE PREFACE
I bear in mind that one and only primal Maker,
who gave life and made the world. First made He manifest
the Light, then made He (for the Light) the mighty moun-
tain Kailasa't. He made the fire, the air, the water,
and the dust, and, from them, made He forms? of varied
hue. He made the Earth, and:Heaven, and Hell: and
He made incarnations in many persons®. He made the
mundane egg* with its seven continents’. He made
(1) By ‘light,’ the poet refers to Mah&d&va, who dwells in Kail&isa. Indian
Musalméns frequently consider Adam, the first man, as the same as 2187808 ९8,
The fact that the poet expressly says that Kailasa was made ‘ for’ the Light,
shows that he cannot be referring to light, the first of created things. In the
svstem of the Nainak-panthis, to which Kabir, from whom Malik Mahammad
borrowed much, originally belonged, the Supreme Being is, in its essence, joti
or light, which, though diffused into all creatures, remains distinct fron. them.
The Human Soul is also this light, a scinttlla animae divinae, which has emanated
a absolute, and is itself immortal. See Trumpp, Adi Granth, pp. ci.
and ff.
(a) Gr. reads Ktnhes: tehi parbat kabilyat. Shukla's reading prtéi
for parbat is preferable: ‘for love of him He made Kailas (paradise)’.
Jott (the light) in the first half verse would then mean Muhammad. in 1 (11)2
also creation takes place for the love of Muhammad, who is the light, and there
is the aame idea in Akhirl Kalim (7) 1-3. ˆ" The Mevlevis say that before the
world was created, a world of the spirit existed in which the soul of Mahomed
was present in the form of light’’ (Morton : In the steps of St. Paul ए. 171).
The connection between these Mevlevis (the dancing dervishes) and Sufism and
Yoga offers an interesting field for research.
The variant reading is of importance (i) textually. Pris and parbat would
have the same form age in unpointed Persian script. This illustrates the
difficulties arising from Jaisi’s use of the Persian script, see note(s) to 8(8)1.
(ii) critically. If Jaisi wrote prt he was approaching his subject more from
the Muslim than from the Hindu point 6f view: if he wrote parbat, the
reverse world be the case.
(2) An पप्र gloss translates ur2ha by nagsh, design, stamp, drawing. I
have noted it also in asa mUratea k? dat ur2ht, and in bhat urtha puhkupa saba
namy. In the second the Urdii translation gives Z7hir ki and in the latter, the
whole line is translated 710 yih ma’lum hota tha ki rang barang phil har gtem
ke hain. The word 18 still used in Oudh aad 21187 by women, in the 86096
of racany. It is derived from the Skr. ulekia
(3) Apparently, incarnations in many castes. Alluding to the doctrine
that incarnations have occurred in all religions in many parts of the world. Or
it may, as the comm. suggests, only refer to the various avatirs of Visnn. [Grier-
a references to ‘comm.’ are to the Sudh&kar-Candrikaé of Pandit Sudh&kar
ivedi].
व ६.९, the universe, alluding to the well known tradition detailed in
nu.
(5) The seven horizonta] divisions of the world, mz., Jambu, Plakea or
GOmé@daka, Qalmala,a, Kraunca, Qaka, and Pugkary,
2 THE PREFACE ; 1: 1-3
the universe with its fourteen ° worlds. He made the
sun for the day, and the moon for the night ; He made the
~asterisms and the systems of the stars. He made coolness,
sunshine and shade; He made the clouds and lightning
[ that abideth ] in them.
All things are so made by Him, that naught is worthy
to be compared with Him. First take I His name, and
then in deep thought do I begin‘ my story.
2. He made the seven" shoreless oceans, and He
made the mountains of Meru and Kukhanda’. ‘Rivers
made He and streams and springs; crocodiles and fish
made He of many kinds. He made the oyster shell, and
the pearl which filleth it; He made many flawless gems.
Forests made He and roots’’ ; tall trees made He,
palmyras and date palms. He made the wild animals’?
which dwell in the forest; He made the fowl which fly
whither they will. He made colours, white and black; He
made sleep, and hunger, and rest. He made the betel-
leaf and flowers, and the pleasures of taste; many medi-
cines made He and many sicknesses.
He made them in less than the twinkling of an eye;
all made He in a single instant. He fixed the Heavens in
space without a pillar, and without a prop.
3°. He made man, and gave him dominion; He
made grain for his food. He made the king who taketh
(4) There are seven worlds (1ठ 8) above, vz., Bhur-léka, Bhuvar-l.,
Svar-l., Mehar-]., Janar-l., Tapar-l., and Satya-l. or Brahma-l., and seven
below, viz., A-tala, Vi-tala, Su-tala, Rasd-tala, Talai-tala, Maha-tala, and Patala.
According to Musalmfins, there are seven regions above (these are heavens),
and seven below (earths). [Cp. AkhiM Kalam (7)4.]
(7) Two Urdt glosses translate augahi by 500८४ ^, a meaning for which I
can find no other authority. It means literally to plunge into water, hence
to be immersed in anything, to have the mind fully occupied.
(8) These encircle the seven continents (dvipas) mentioned in 1.5. [Cp.
Akhirl Kal&m (7)3.] Their names are, Lavana (or Ksdra), Iksu, Suré (or
Madya), Ghyta, Dadhi, Dugdhs, Jala. The author, in the description of the
seven seas, later on, gives a different enumeration, v7z., Khara, Khira, Dadhi,
Jala, Suri, Udadhi. Kilakila [४४८ 13 (2) 4 note (c)].
(9) Mé@ru ia the well-known mountain. It representa the northern hemis-
here or pole, and is the abode of the Gods. Kukhanda is Kum6ru, the southern
emisphere or pole, the region of the daityas or demons. The poet has mixed
this up with Kiskindha, also to the south of Oudh, and has confounded the two
names.
(10) Jari 18 a root used for medicine, and mri 18 a root used for food,
(11) &7 १02 is any animal used for food.
(b) Shukla transpeses stanzas 3 and 4.
1: 3-$ THE PREFACE 3
pleasure in his kingdom; He made elephants and horses
for his array. He made for him many delights; some
made He lords, and others slaves’.. Wealth made He
from which cometh pride; He made longings which none
can satisfy. He made life which all men ever desire; He
made death, from which none can escape. Happiness mede
He and myriads of joys; sorrow made He, and care and
doubt’? ; Some made He poor and others rich; He
made prosperity and very deep adversity.
Some made He weak, and others strong. From ashes
made He all, and again turned He all to ashes.
4. He made agallochum, musk, and the scented khas
grass; He made the camphors,—bhimaseni'*® and cena™.
He made the snake in whose mouth dwelleth poison ;
He made the snake-charm which carrieth off the bite.
He made the water of Life, which giveth eternal life to
him who getteth it ; He made the poison, which 15 death to
him who eateth it. He made the sugarcane filled with
sweet juice; He made the acrid creeper with its manifold
fruit. He made the honey which the bee stores in its
home ; He made the humble bee, the birds and winged
creatures. He made the fox, the rat and the ant; He
made many creatures which dig the earth and dwell therein.
He made demons, goblins and ghosts; He made ghouls
and Devas and Daityas.
He made eighteen thousand creations of varied kinds**.
For ali did He make meet provision, and thus gave
food to all.
5. He indeed is a master of wealth, to whom belongeth
the universe; to all He giveth continually, yet His store-
house minisheth not. To every creature in the world,
(c) Shukla omits this verse Kinhesi teht kuhan bahut birasu: kinhess
kot thakur koi det. (A printer's error).
(12) Two Urdt glosses translate danda by gham grief, but the dictionary
त of the word is enmity (dwandwa). Here it means opposition of ideas,
००५४.
(13) The Bhimastna-karpura of Sanskrit.
(14) The Cina-karpura of Sanskrit.
(16) There is no such enumeration of created beings in the works of
Musalman doctors, bat, in poetry, both Persian and Hindust&nl, phrases like
hizhda hazar ’alm, the eighteen thousand created beings, are of frequent
occurrence :—more especially in the 01888 of works called maulud, which cele.
brate the Prophet’s birth. The expression merely means an enormous quantity,
like our ‘thousand and one.’
4 THE PREFACE 1: 56
aye, from the elephant even unto the ant, doth He day and
night give its share of nourishment. His eye is upon all:
none is forgotten, neither foe nor friend; nor bird nor
grass-hopper, mor aught whether manifest or hidden
is forgotten. He deviseth dainty food of many kinds.
All doth He feed thereof, yet eateth not Himself. His
meat and His drink is this—that to all He giveth nourish-
ment and life. All have hope in Him at every breath, nor
‘hath He ever [turned] the hope of any to despair‘.
Aeon after aeon doth He give, yet never minisheth
[His store]. Yea, so doth He this with both hands that
whatever hath been given in this world, hath all been
given by Him.
6. Let me tell of Him as that great primal king, whose
rule is glorious from the beginning to the end of things*.
Ever all-bounteous doth He rule, and whom He willeth,
rule to him He giveth. He maketh umbrellaless him who
hath the umbrella of royalty; and He giveth its shade
unto him who is without it; no other is there who is equal
unto Him. The people all look as He upturneth the
mountains and maketh the ant [ that crawleth from
beneath them ] equal unto the elephant. Adamant He
maketh like unto straw and scatteretb it, and again He
maketh straw like adamant, and giveth it honour. For
one created He food, and enjoyment and all happiness ;
another stiiketh He with beggary and a home of poverty.
No one understandeth what He hath done, for He doeth
that which is beyond the power of mind and thought’.
All else is non-existent’’. He alone is ever the same,
whose wondrous creations are such as these. He createth
one and destroyeth him, and, if He will, He formeth him
again.
(d) QOrierson has Sabahi 78 i7 kurt har sansa, Shuklas reading Sabai
Ns-har {7 7 nam does not give good sense. Sudhakar explains the second half
verse ‘He is not disappointed by plating hore in any.’
(e) Grierson has 7dt-hu ant. Shukla’s कदां na ané would mean ‘His
reign is glorious and has no beginning nor end.’
(f) Shukla transposes the last two verses, and for bhikh bhavan dukh
(beggary and & home 01 poverty) reads bahut bhukh dukh (much hunger and
distress
(16) Urdt gloss fant, transient.
4: 7-8 THE PREFACE 8
7. Invisible, formless and untellable is that Creator ;
He is one with?’ all, and all are one in Him. Whether
manifest or hidden, He is all pervading; but only the
righteous recognize Him, and not the sinful. He hath no
son nor father nor mother, no family hath He, and no rela-.
tions. He hath begotten none, nor is He begotten of any ;
but all created beings proceed from Him. 41 things, as
many 85 exist, He made; nor was He made by any one.
He was at the beginning, and He is now; He alone re-
maineth existent and no one else: All else that are, are mad
and blind; for after but two or four days they do their
work and die.
Whate’er He willed that He did, He doeth that He
willeth to do. No one is there to prevent Him, and, by his
mere will, He gave life to all.
8. In this manner know ye Him, and meditate upon
Him, for so is the tale written in the holy book’*. The
Lord hath no life, and yet He liveth; He hath no hands,
and yet He maketh all things. He hath no tongue, yet He
telleth everything; He hath no bodily form, yet that
which He shaketh, is shaken*. Ears hath He not, yet
heareth He all things; Heart hath He not, yet The Wise
One discriminateth all things. He hath no eyes, yet all
things doth He see; How can anyone discern as He doth?”
No one hath a form like unto His; nor, like Him, is any
on€ so incomparable. He hath no abiding place, yet He
is not without an abiding place [for He is omnipresent |.
He hath no form nor mark, yet His name is The Pure.
He is not indiscrete, nor 1s He discrete, yet so doth He
dwell [ within the universe ], and fill it [ with Himself |.
(17) The (rdt gloss translates barata by nazdik ‘‘near,’’ but I know of no
authority for this meaning. Barat&é n.eans bata hua, twisted as a rope is twisted,
hence involved in, closely connected with. Compare Bihari Sat’sal, 59, dtths
baraia badhi ajani, twisting their (mutual) glances into a rope, they bind it
from balcony to balcony.
_. (18) Urdt gloss for puryya, the Qur'an. This is quite possible. It
will be seen that Malik Muhammad frequently uses Hindu words as Musalmin
techuical terms, e.g., chela, 1(2/))4.
(g) Grierson reads jo dolau so dola. Shukla’s reading Sab thahar
dola meaus ‘moves everywhere °
| a Sudhakar explains, perhaps better, ‘How can such a being be ०९8.
cri :
(1) Grierson’s reading Ohi ae 18 preferable to Shukla’s oht aan.
6 THE PREFACE 1: 810
To those who can see, He is near, but He is far from the
foolish blind.
9. The simple-minded knoweth not the secret of the
other pticeless jewels which He hath given. He hath
given us a tongue, and the pleasures of taste; He hath
given us teeth, which brighten’’ a smile. Eyes hath He
given us, to see the world; ears hath He given us with
which to hear language. He hath given the throat in
which dwelleth our speech; He hath given us fingers and
noble arms. Graceful feet hath He given us with which
we walk : that man knoweth the secret of all these blessings
who hath none. Yea, it is the old who know the secret of
youth ; when they find not their young days though they
[go bent forward] seeking them’. The great man knowetb
not the secret of poverty; but the poor man knoweth it,
to whom poverty is come.
It is the sick man who knoweth the secret of the body,
while the healthy man liveth careless; but the secrets of
all are known to the Lord, who abideth ever in every body.
10. Very immeasurable are the makinys of the Maker ;
no teller can tell them. If[ all the writers of |the Universe
took the seven heavens’” for paper, and filled the seas?’
of the earth with ink; if they took as many branches as
(19) Lit., are fit for.
Gj There is the same clever metaphor, rather more elaborated, in 49
(3)8, 9. Shukla rightly praises it in his introduction (p. 222); but it is not
original. Burton (Terminal essay to the Book of the Thovsand Nights and
One Night) mentions as a stock comparison that of ‘Age, which, crabbed and
crooked, bends groundwards vainly seeking in the dust his lost juvenility’.
(20) The seven Heavens, see note to i, 5.
(21) The seven seas of Hindu tradition, see ii, 1. The general idea of
this verse 18 taken from the Kahf or Cave Stirah of the Qur'an. Verse 109 runs
‘Say, “were the sea ink for the words of my Lord, the sea would surely fail before
the words of my Lord fail: aye, though we brought as munch ink again.” ’[The
parallel from the Qur’én is close, but there is a closer parallel in Sanskrit literature,
to which Pt. Kanta Nath Pande has drawn my attention ;
Asitagirisamam syat kajjalam sindhupatre,
Surataruvaraéakhé lekhani. patram 07४१ :
Likhati yadi grhitva Sarada sarvak&lam,
Tadapi tava gunanam [58 param na yati.
(Pushpadanta’s Siva Mahimna Stotra). There is a similar passage also
in the Akhirl Kalam (6) 2,3.]
(k) Grierson reads dhartt amt samud. Shukla’s dhartt samud duhwn
(both earth and sea) is better.
4: IO-It THE PREFACE 7
cover?’ all the forests in the world, and all the hairs and
down [ of animals |, and-all the feathers of birds; if they
took the motes of dust and sait where’er they found them,
and all the drops in the clouds and all the stars of heaven ;
and turned them all to pens and wrote, still then they
could not write the shoreless ocean of his wondrous works.
So hath He manifested all His skill, that even now not one
drop of that ocean hath decreased. Think thou of this,
and let not pride be in thy heart; for mad is he, who, in
his heart, nourisheth pride.
Very full of holiness is the Lord. What He willeth.
for Him that! quickly is. So full of holiness can He
make a man that that man, himself, performeth countless
holy actions. |
II. Thus made He one man without a blemish, named
Muhammad, glorious as the full moon. It was his radiancy
that God first produced, and then for love of him He created
the universe. He kindled that light and gave it to the
world. The world became clear, and recognized its [true]
way. If that bright man had not been, the dark path
would not have been visible; The deity [Muhammad]
wrote the second place [in heaven | for those who learned
his creed’*, For those who have not taken [ refuge in |
his name throughout his life, God hath prepared a place
in hell. God made him His messenger to the world, and
whoever hath taken his name passes safely across both
worlds”.
God will ask of each his virtues and his vices, [ when |
there will be the | great | casting up of accounts. But he
i a cg pS ~> > जण -- ५
(22) Bana-dhakha, is equivalent to bana ke dhakhant-umle, (branches)
which cover tbe forest. The subject of all these objects 18 sans¥rv in the fifth
line. [It is simpler to translate ‘dhak jungle.’ Jaisi living in the dhak jungle
that surrounds Amethi, thinks of all forests in terms of what is familiar to him.
This is what Pt. Anand Sarup Tripathi. himself a resident of Sultanpur district,
suggests in his Hindi Sahitya ka Vikas].
(1) Grierson reads chwhai ao hot tehs beg. Shbukla'’s reading Chhas
sanvaraus beg would mean ‘if He will, he can settle things speedily’.
(29) WLit., teaching. The (त gloss gives kalama the Musalm&n creed.
{Perhaps we should translate ‘God gave him the next place (to Himself), and
those who learned hie creel were justified’. The next verse appears also in the
Akhir! Kalim(7) 7.)
1 (24) The shaloka and paraloka of ४४९ प्र1०488. This world and the world
come.
8 THE PREFACE 1: 11-12
[ Muhammad | will humbly bend before him, and will effect
the salvation of the world. |
12. Muhammad had four friends, who [ followed him ]
in his place, andthe four™ had spotless names in both worlds*’.
Abu Bakr Siddig, the Wise, who frst truthfully
(sidq ) brought the faith | into the world ]. Then ’Umar,
who adorned the title [ of Caliph ]; justice came to the
world when he adopted the faith, Then ’Usman, the
learned and wise one, who wrote the Quran, as he heard its
verses. Fourth came ‘Ali, the mighty lion; when he
attacked, both heaven and hell quaked". All four had
one mind, and one word, one path and one fellowship®
(m) Grierson reads chahun ka duhun pag; Shukla’s reading jinhahin
dinh jag would mean ‘to whom he gave in the world.’
(25) Abt Bakr ibn Ab! Quhaifa was Muhammad’s dearest friend and
father-in-law, and one of his first converts. He enjoyed immense influence
with his fellow citizens of Mecca, and earned by his probity the appellation of
‘as-siddly,’ ‘The True’. He accompanied Muhammad in the Flight, and on his
death (632 A.D.) he became the first Caliph. He died 634 A.D.
’Umar ibn Al-kbattab was converted in the 6th year of the call (615 A.D.).
His conversion carried with it 80 much weight that the Musalmian traditions
relate it with miraculons attendant details. Abt Bakr by his eloquence and
address, and "Umar by his vigour and promtitude, supplied the want of the
practical element in Muhammad’s character. 'Umar get the example of public
(instead of private) prayer, which was followed by other Muslims. He was the
leading spirit of the Emigrants (muhdjira) who had left Mecca at the time of the
Flight, and settled in Medina. He procured the nomination of Abi Bakr to be
first Caliph, and, as a matter of course, succeeded him as second Caliph in 634.
He was murdered at Medina in 644.
"Usman ibn ’Affan was one of Muhammad’s first converts, and married
his daughter. He was elected third Caliph on the death of ' (7082. The
Qur’in was compiled in its present form in his reign. He was killed at the age
of eighty-two in 655, in the rebellion which arose in consequence of the move-
ment, the ultimate aim of which was the deposition of ’Ugmian in favour of
“ALL.
"Allibn Abti Talib was Mubammad’s cousin, and one of bis first converts.
He followed him to Medina three days after the Flight. He succeeded "Usman
as fourth Caliph in 655, and was murdered in 660 A.D.
The first compilation of the Qur’én was undertaken by Zaid ibn Sabit,
who was appointed to the work by the Caliph Abi Bakr at the instigation of
‘Umar. Z&id had been an amanuensis of Muhammad. This reduction had no
canonical authority, and discrepancies in the text soon appeared. Accordingly,
’Ugm&n confided to Zaid and three other Quraishites the preparation of an edi-
tion which was to be canonical for all Muslims. Thia text is the one which is
now extant.
(ए) Grierson reads Charhat to kanpat sarag paitrtd. Shukla’s reading
South na kot rah juhiru would mean ‘no warrior could face him.’ (Not 0
good).
(0) Grierson reads bata (word) and saaghata (fellowship). Shukla
76908 त रक (nature) and sazdhann (aim). (Not 8० good).
1; 12-13 THE PREFACE 9
Each preached’ the same true word, which became autho-
ritative, and read in both worlds.
The very Quran?° which God?’ sent down [ to
this world |, that holy book they read; and they who
have lost their way in coming | into the world |, when they
hear it, find the path.
13. Sher Shah is Sultan of Delhi, who warmeth the
whole world’® even as the sun. His kingdom and throne
beseem him well; low on the earth have all kings laid their
brows before him. By caste a पा and with his sword
a hero; wise is he and full of all skilfulness. In the nine
regions the sun ( or all heroes ) hath set ( or have bent low )
before 1111711", and the seven continents of the world
have all bowed before him. All his kingdom he won with
the might of his sword’, as did Alexander, the Zu-l-qarnain”’.
(p) Grierson reads sun#vahin, which is better than Shukla’s sun vai
(the word which they heard was true).
(26) Here again we have purana used for the Musalman sacred book.
[And Usman. as its compiler, is called a pandit in v. 4.]
(27) Here vidhi, a Hindu technical term.
(28) Lit., the four quarters. The use of khanda is uncommon, but it
is the only meaning which [ can suggest here. An प्प प्च gloss gives (707
tara}.
॥ (29) Here, and in the following stanzas there 18 a series of puns on the
word stra, which 18 not only the name of the Afghan tribe to which Shér Shih
belonged, but also means a hero, and the sun.
(30) Lit. ‘In the nine regions there was a bending of stira,’ where, again,
there 18 a pun on the word siira, ‘hero’ or ‘sun.’ According to the most ancient
Hindu Geographers, India was shaped like an eight-petalled lotus. These eight
petals, together with the central division, formed the nine khandas or regions,
viz., ६0९8 18 (central), Kalinga (S8.E.), Avanti (S.) Anarta (S.W.), Sindhu-
Sauvira (W), Harahaura (N.W.). Madra (N), Kanuinda (N.E). The Puranas
give a different list of names, tz., Indra (E), Kaséru (N), Tamraparna, (3),
Gabhastimat, Kumarika (Central), Naga, Saumya, Varuna (W.), Gandharva.
see Cunningham’s Ancient Geography of India, pp. 5 and 66. The Comm.
gives Bharata-varga, Kinnara-varsa, Hari-varga, Kuru-varga, Hiranmaya-
varsa, Ramyaka-varga, Bhadricva-varga, K&tumalaka-varga. and IJlivrta;
ef. Vienu- Purana, li, 2.
(q) Grierson reads str-navath navo khand bhat: Shukla’s reading
Sur navie navakhand vat means ‘he made the heroes of the 9 regions bow’.
(r) Grierson reads kharag var (=bal). Shukla reads kharag kari
(with sword in hand.)
(31) Zti-l-qarnain, means ‘The Master of Two Horns.’ Musalman _ tra-
dition varies about this name. According to some, the Zi-l-qarnain was not
Alexander the Great, but a saint, who lived at the time of Khwaja Khizr.
and who was 80 called from his having two curls hanging, one from each side
of 118 forehead, or because he reached both sides of the world, or because he
was noble by descent from both 018 parents, or because he went through both
the light and dark parts of the worl 9. or because he died when struck on one
8146 of the forehead, and then was restored to life, and again died on being
struck on the other side of the forehead, and again came to life,
10 THE PREFACE 1; 13
On his hand is Solomon’s ring’’, and, with it, he gave
gifts to the world with full hand. Majestic is he, and a
mighty lord of the earth; like a pillar he supporteth the
earth and maintaineth the whole universe.
Muhammed blessed him and said, Reign thou from age
10 age. Thou art the Emperor of the World. The world is
a beggar at thy door.
Beale’s Oriental Biographical Dictionary (Ed. Keene), says ‘Master of
Two Horns, a title of Alexander the Great, probably based on coins rep resenting
him in the character of Ammon.’ Alexander’s coins show his head adorned
with two ram’s horns. They were widely current in the East, and the Muham-
madang probably gave him that name aftor his coins.
The Musalman idea of Alexander the Great ig based upon legends con-
tained in the Qur'’-anu and its commentarics. Thus, Burton, Arabian Nights,
night cccelxiv, savs, ‘Iskandar (६.९. Alexander) was originally called
Marzban (Lord of the Marches) son of Marzabah, and, though descended from
Yunin, son of Japhet, the eponymus of the Greeks, was born obscure, the son
of an old woman. According to the Persians he was the son of the elder Darah
(Darius Codomannus of the Kayanian or second dynasty), by a daughter of
Philip of Macedon; and was brought up by his grandfather. When Abraham
and Isaac rebuilt the Ka’abah they foregathered with him, and Allah sent him
forth against the four quarters of the earth to convert men to the faith of the
¥riend or to cut their throats; thus he became one of the four world-conquerors
with Nimrod, Solomon, and Bakht al-Nasr (Nabuchodonosor); and he lived
down to generations of men. His Wazir was Arista (the Greek Aristotle), and
he carried a couple of flags, white and black, which made day and night for
him and facilitated his conquests.” The Comm. gives a well-known legend
about the title given to him in the text. Alexander concealed the fact of his
having horns from the public, and it was known only to his barber One day,
owing to sickness, this barber sent his son Babban Hajjim as his deputy.
After the hair-dressing was finished Alexander warned Babban, that if he told
any one about the horns he would lose hig head, The secret burnt within the
wretched man 80 that he was like to burat, till he relicved his feelings by whis.
pering it to an old Jack-tree. The Jack-tree, unable to tell the secret, withered
and died, und a carpenter bought it and made two fiddles and a drum out of
the wood. These were bought for a concert at the palace, but when people
tried to play them before Alexander, all that one fiddle could be got to say was
sng, strg, sing, (horn, horn, horn), al! that the other Ain, kin, kin (who told?
who told? who told’), and all that the drum, Babban Hajjim, Babban Ha-
}jim, Babban Hajjam. The secret was thus divulged. Compare the story of
Midas. Another well-known legend (reverred to in the Padumawati) is that
he made friends with Khwaja Khizr, the Green Prophet, (see note 52) and was
guided by him to Zalmat, the Lund of Darkness {called the Kajjali-ban by
Hindus), where exists the Fountain of Life. He was, however, unable to drink
of this Eternal Spring, and returned disappointed. His unsuccessful quest for
the Water of Life has formed the basis of many stock poetical similes.
(32) This 18 the famous ring with which Solomon ‘was wont to imprison
Jinns, Marlds and Satans in cucurbites of copper, and to stop them with lead
and seal them’. It was made of stamped stone and iron, copper and lead.
According to others it consisted of fonr jewels, presented by as many angels,
representing the Winda, the Birds, Earth (including sea), and Spirits, and the
Gems were inscribed with as many sentenes : (1) To Allah belong Majesty and
Might; (2) All created things praise the Lord: (3) Heaven and Earth are
Allah's slaves; and (4) There is no God but the God, and Muhammad is his
messenger. This ring gave Solomon power over all supernat-.ral beings, and
1: 14 THE PREFACE II
14. I tell of the heroism of this king, Lord of the world,
the weight of whose array is greater than the world can
bear. ‘When his army full of horsemen’ advanceth,
covering the earth, mountains crash and fly away in powder,
night cometh from the clouds of dust which eclipse the
sun, so that man and bird alike goeth home to bed. The
land taketh flight, and goeth up into the firmament ;
earth-dust covereth each continent,-yea the world, the
whole creation and the universe’’. The Heavens tremble,
and Indra quaketh in fear; the snake-god Vasuki fleeth
and hideth himself in the lowest Hell**. Meru ‘sinketh
06106 endowed him with unending wealth,—in fact the whole secret of his
power lay in it. Solomon conquered the King of Sidon and married his dau-
hter Jizidih. She so incessantly mourned for her father, that Solomon com-
manded the Jinns to make an image of him to console her, and to this she and
her maids used to pay divine honours. To punish lim for encouraging
this idolatry, a Jinn named Sakhr one day obtained possession of the ring which
Solomon had entrusted to bis concubine Aminah, while he had gone out for a
necessary purpose. Dring bis absence the Jinn transformed himself to Solo-
mon’s likeness, and came in and took it from her. Solomon also was changed
in form and was not recognized by his subjects, and wandered forlorn about
the world for forty १४९३ ithe time during which the image had been worshipped
in bis house), while the Jina reigned in his stead. At the end of that period
the demon flew away, and flung tho ring into the sea, where it was swallowed
by & fish, which was afterwards canght aud brought to Solomon who by this
means recovered his kingdom and power. Solomon then imprisoned Sakbr in
one of bis cucurbites, and cast him into the lake of Tiberias where he still 1168.
This recovery of a ring by ineans of a fish is common to many legends. Compare
those of Polycrates of Samos and of Gakuntala.
This Sakbr was the Jinn who brought Solomon the throne of Bilkis, the
queen of Sheba. She was a worshipper of the sun, and Solomon converted her
to the worship of the true God, by this, and by his wisdom in answering her
hard questions. He played one trick on her which is well-known all over the
Kast. He heard that she had legs hairy like a goat, but could not ascertain
the truth. So he made her walk over glass underneath which was water with
fishes swimming in 1t. Believing that she bad to wade through deep water,
ahe tucked up her petticoats, and revealed to Solomon that the report was true.
Solomon begat a son upon her, who the Abyssinians say was Menelek, the
founder of their royal race, She was not a very estimable character before
her conversion. Sa’labi, in his History of the Prophets, gives an entertaining
account of her wrong doings, She introduced the worship of the sun into her
dominion, and when she was married to her first husband against her will, she
treacherously slew bim on her wedding night. It required a mighty man like
Solomon to tame 80 independent a young person. Much of this note is taken
from Burton’s Arabian Nights, and from Palmer’s translation of the Qur’an.
(8) Grierson reads hay may sen (army full of horsemen): Shukla reads
hay gay sen (horses, elephants and infantry) which is better.
(33) The root mand has two meanings, either ‘to adorn’ (mandana) 07 ‘to
crush,” (10870902). The passage here is corrupt in all MSS., and the reading
-is very doubtful. (Shukla’s reading seems correct except that mrt and mahda
should be separate, and the translation wil] be: Dust flies up from the ground
and fills the atmosphere; earth and the universe are broken to pieces. There
18 & similar e in 25 (17) 3}.
(34) Bae ste (6) above.
12 THE PREFACE 1: 14-15
down, the oceans dry up, the forests break and are mingled
with the dust. [ When his army marcheth to a halting
place ]' some of his advance-guard may receive a share of
water and of grass for their horses, but for none of his rear-
guard is there even sufficient mud. |
Citadels which have never bowed to anyone, when he
advanceth all become dust,-when the Lord of the World,
Sher Shah, the Sun of the Universe attacketh them.
15. I tell of his justice*’, how it is upon the earth.
Not even to a crawling ant doth anyone dare to give
pain. Naushirwan*® was called ‘The Just’, but even
he was not equal to the justice of Sher Shah. He did
justice like unto ‘Umar’, for the shout of praise to him
was heard over the whole world. No one dareth even to
touch a nose-ring lying fallen on the ground, | much less
to pick it up and appropriate it |. On the very highways
domen cast about gold [yet no one snatcheth it]. The cow”
and the tiger walk together on the same road, and both
drink water together at the same landing-ford. He straineth
milk and water [mixed together] in his court, and separateth
the one from the other. He marcheth with piety, justice
and sincerity, and the weak and the mighty he keepeth on
even terms.
The whole earth blesseth him’, folding its hands
(t) Grierson reads agtlahi krhu pani khar bania: pachhilahz kahu.
Shukla’s reading agilahin kahan pani lea एक नैत pachhilahin kahan is better
(water is taken and distributed to the advance-guard; but for the rear-guard
ee ). ‘There 18 the same idea in 42 (22)5.
(35) This reference to Sh&r Shah’s justice (‘adal) may have a compli-
mentary reference to his son ‘Adal. See J.A.S.B., Pt. 1, 1890, p. 167. {The
next half verse may be ‘Noone, while walking, hurts an ant’).
(36) The celebrated king of Persia, surnamed ‘Adil, or the Just. He
ascended the throne in 531 A.D He was the Chosroes oftheGreeks. Muhammad
(B. 571) used to boast of his good fortune in being born when so just a king
reigned. He died in 579 A.D. [Though he was himself a strict Zoroastrian, his
impartiality is, in a way, responsible for the origins of Sufism and possibly also
for its contacts with Yoga. It was to his court that the last neo-Platonist
teachers went after Justinian had closed the schools of Athens,and he also invited
Indian scholars to Persia and arranged for translations of Sanskrit works].
7 (37) The second Caliph in succession to Muhammad. See note (25)
above.
(38) G6ru is properly any domesticated herbivorous animal, [Shukla
reads gat for gort; this is more idiomatic].
(v) Grierson’s reading puhumi sabai astsat is better than Shukla’s 502
271404४४ stsahin nai (all the earth bowing its head).
1: 15-17 THE PREFACE 13
continually, and crying, May that head’ endure immortal as
long as there is water in the Ganges and the Jamuna.
16. Again, how can I describe his comeliness, for all
the world desireth the beauty of his countenance. His
comeliness surpasseth in brightness even the full moon
which God created. Sin abandoneth those who reverently
gaze upon hin, and the whole world maketh obeisance and
blesseth him. As when the sun blazeth over the world, so,
before him, all things hide their comeliness [in shame].
Thus did the Sun”*’ become a spotless man, with ten times
more*” beauty than the sun itself. No one can look
upon him face to face, and if anyone see him, he remaineth
with bent head. Huis comeliness increaseth by a quarter,
day by day, the Creator formed his beauty above the world.
Comely is he with a jewelled [tiara] on his brow, and
the moon waneth as he waxeth; while the earth, craving
to see him, standeth and humbly offereth its praises.
17. Again God hath made him so greatly generous,
that none in the world hath ever given gifts like unto him.
Bali* and Vikramaditya’’ were famed for their gene-
rosity, and Hatim ‘Tae*’ 2116 Karna‘! were described
th (w) Shukla’s reading nah (lord) is preferable to Grierson’s mth
ead).
(39) Here again the word siira is introduced with a threefold meaning,
hero, sun and proper name.
(40) Agari means ‘excellent,’
(41) The well-known Daitya, who gave Visnu his famous three and a
half paces of ground.
(42) ‘Clarum et venerabile nomen.’ The well-known king of Avanti,
many legends of whose generosity are given in the Sitnhasana Battisi.
(43) Familiar to readers of the Baigh-o-Bahir (story of the second Dar-
w6sh). His liberality continued after his death. His tomb was surrounded
by stone images of girls, which each night used to burst out into lamentations
for so good a man. King Zt-l-karé’a camping near there one night, hearing
the wailing, asked the reason, and was told it was the tomb of Hatim Tad. He
then cried out in jest, ‘O Hatim Tat, we are thy guests, and hungry.’
Shortly afterwards one of his camels became violently ill and (as they say in
Ireland) to prevent its dying, they killed it, and then, to make the best of a
bad job, had a good feast on its flesh. Next day, while they were on the march,
they were met by Hatim’s son bringing a she-camel. He explained that his
father had appeared to him on the preceding night, and said ‘Ziti-l-kara’a sought
hospitality from me last night, and I had nothing to give him; so perforce I
killed his camel, and do thou now give him one in exchange for the one I took.’
History does not relate how the son appreciated his father’s vicarious hospitality,
but he certainly did accept the responsibility.
(44) The famous Hero of the Mahabharata. The son of Kunti by Stirya.
He was famous for hia generosity. Yudhisthira once asked Kyyna, who was
the most generous member of his family. To his mortification Krgna replied
14 THE PREFACE 1: 17-18
as lavish; but none of them equalleth Sher Shah, for the
very ocean and even Mount Meru, are ever minishing [as
they give up their jewels and gold]*. The kettle-drum of
his generosity soundeth at his court, and the fame thereof
hath gone even across the ocean. The world touched this
Sun**, and became of gold compact, so that poverty fled
and went beyond the borders of his kingdoin. He who but
once approacheth him and asketh, for all his life is free
from hunger and from nakedness. Even that [King of old]
who performed ten horse-sacrifices*®,—even he’ gave not
holy gifts like him.
So generous hath Sultan Sher Shah been born upon
the world, that none hath e’er been like him, or will be,
nor doth anyone give such gifts.
18. Saiyed Ashraf [Jahangir]*‘ was an elect saint,
ind he it was who threw light upon my path. He 111 the
iamp of love within my heart; the light burned up, and
my heart became pure. My way had been dark and
‘Karna.’ The following is an example. A poor Brahman woman had a child
born to her, and her husband went to Yudhisthira and begged for some wood
to make a fire to warm her. yobs igthira ordered his steward to supply the
fuel, but on the latter reporting that there was none just then available, he told
the Brahman to go awaj, and to come again in an hour or two, when he could
be suppled. The Brahman went on to Karma and made a similar request. It
happened that, here too, the supply of fire-wood was temporarily deficient,
and the steward asked Karna to tell the man to come again in av hour or two
(as Yudhisthira had done). ‘Fool,’ replied Karna, ‘shall 1 leave the poor woman
to die of cold, while you are searching for fuel? Break up my beds till the
Brabman has enough wood for to-day, and tell him to come to-morrow for
more.’ ‘This,’ said Krgna to Yudhisthira, ‘is the difference between you and
Karna. Had you no beds to break up?’ The above legend 1s sung by
Vyasas at the passage in Mahi-bharata where Karna divested himself of the
ear-rings and armour (with which he had been born), and gave them to Indra,
(See Mahi-bharata, Adi-parvan, Adhyiya 67, clOkas 141-143).
(x) Grierson reads Sumud Suméru ghutahin niti dot. Shukla’s read-
ing S.S. bhandari dot (ocean and Sumeru are his twvo treasurers) is better.
(45) Again the triple pun on the word stra. Shér Shah is compared
to a philosopher’s stone which changed all that touched it into gold.
(46) ‘Lhis is a reference to Brahma, who completed ten Acvamédh sac-
rifices at Benares. The site of the Sacrifice is the well-known Daogigva-médha
ghit in that city.
($) Grierson’s reading Sou na dinAy is better than Shukla’s Saunk na
dinha (did not contest).
(47) Saiyad Ashraf was one of the founders of tbe line of spiritual
preceptors, whose representative in the first half of the 16th century (Muhiu-
d-din) taught the poet. For full particulars see note (64) to mianza 20.
{See also Akhiri Kalam (9) 1, 2. There is a dargah of Saiyed Makhdum
Ashraf Jahangir in Jais—See Frontispiece—His tomb is at Kichhaucha in
Fyzabad district].
1: 18-20 THE PREFACE 15
~
invisible?, and lo! it became bright and I understood. He
cast my sins into the salt ocean, and making me as his
disciple took me into the boat of virtue. He grasped my
rudder. firmly**, and I reached the landing place on the
far bank. If aman hath such a steersman*’, he graspeth
bim and bringeth to the other side“. He is a protector,
and one who succoureth in time of trouble, and, where
[the water] is fathomless, there giveth he his hand”.
His family title was Jahangir (Chisti), pure like the
moon. He was the Holy Master of the World, and I am
the slave of his house
19. In his house was a spotless jewel, Haji Shaikh
by name, fulfilled with good fortune~. In his house were
two bright lights, whom God created to show the wav.
Shaikh Mubarak”? glorious as a full moon, and Shaikh
Kamal spotiessin the world. Both were steadfast, unmoveable
like pole-stars, exalted even above Meru and Kukhanda’”
God gave them beauty and glory, and made them pullars
of the world. On these two pillars supported He the earth,
and under their weight the universe remained frm. Who-
ever saw them and reverently touched their feet, his sins
were lost and his body became pure.
O Muhammad, there is the road secure, where a saintly
teacher beareth company. O my soul, when he hath a
boat and a rower, a man quickly gaineth the other side.
20. Muhiu-d-din was my preceptor, my steersman,
and I served him. € crosseth speedily who heth him
upon the ferry. Before him was Shaikh Burhan, who
~ ee 99
(2) Grierson’s reading asvjha@ is better than Shukla’s jo swjh7
(48) {1118 18 & difficult passage. Kariaé is the same as kadi, an iron ring,
or a beam, hence a rudder. Either meaning will do here. Other MSS., and
printed editions have unha mora kara budata kai gaha, he grasped my hand
as 1 was sinking. Podhi kai means ‘firmly’.
(49) Kanahaira or kanadhara is the Sanskrit karnadhara.
(aa) Grierson reads iv kahan gahi lei tarat parr.
Shukla turat beg: so pavai parm (quickly and speedily he reaches the
other side), not so well
(bb) Grierson reads jahan augnh dehi tahan hatht. Shukla’s bah avagah
dinh tehi h. (where a man is being swept away in the flood, he gives his hand)
is better
(cc) Grierson reads subh7tgat bharw. Shukla reads sabai gun bhara
(filled with all virtues).
(dd) Shukla has a wrong reading Muhammad for Mubarak.
(50) See note (9) above.
(ee) Shukla has a wrong reading mohi for jeht.
16 THE PREFACE 1: 20
brought him on the path and gave him knowledge. His
spiritual guide was the good Alhadad, who in the world
was light and beauteous in the faith. He was a disciple of
Saiyad Muhammad and even perfected men enjoyed his
fellowship’’. To him did Daniyal point out the path,—
Daniyal, who consorted with Hazrat Khwaja Khizr’?.
The Hazrat Khwaja was pleased with him, and brought
him fas a disciple} to Saiyad Raji [Hamid Shah}. From
him [Muhiu-d-din} did I win all my [good} deeds. My
tongue was loosened®’, and, a poet, [I learned to] tell my
1216५...
(51) Lit. sported in his company, [or ‘and sported in the company of
perfected men.’|
(52) Khwaja Khizrthe Green Prophet, is a well-known figure in Muham-
madan legends. He has been identified by some with Elijahand by others with
St. George. He is said to be still living, and sometimes aids travellers who
have lost their way. As stated in note (31), he conducted Alexander the Great
to the Land of Darkness, when the latter was searching for the Water of Life.
He usually appears on horseback, dressed in green (hence his name). In Indis
he is looked upon as a saint not only by Musalmins but also by Hindus. Lal
Bagi Mihtars pay him divine reverence. Their first pir is Jesus, the Lord of
the Wand, their second Khwaja Khizr, the Master of the Water-cup, their
third Muhammad, the Great Interceder, and their fourth Lal Bég, the man of
the Wildflowing Tresses (see Greeven, Knights of the Broom, 45). Temple's
Legends of the Punjab are full of references to him. He is in India more espe-
cially a water-god, or the god of the Flood. Under his special protection is the
well at Safidam in the Jind state, which contains the Water of Life. Musalman
traditions make him out to have been a true believer in the Islim of his day
and to have been Wazir of Kai Qubad (6th century B.C.), the founder of the
second or Kayanian dynasty of the kings of Persia, and ninth in ascent before
the Darius, who was conquered by Alexander. In the text, all that 18 meant
18 that Khwaja Khizr appeared to Diiniyal, and performed his customary office
of guide, [Khwaja Khizr is also known to Gorakhnath Yogi tradition as Darya-
nath, the founder of a sect of that name, whose chief seat 18 at Uderolal in Sindh.
See Briggs, Gorakhnath, p. 65 and Yusuf Hussain: 1171046 mystique au moyen
age p. 15].
(53) Lit. uncovered.
(ff) Grierson reads Ohi sauh main pat jab karnt : ughart [फ़ katha
kabi barnt. Shukla reads Ohi sevat main pat karnt: ughart jibh, prem kabi
barn (In his service I won my good deeds: my tongue was loosened and, a
poet, I told of love).
(54) The following account of Malik Muhammad’s spiritual ancestors is
taken partly from what the poet himself tellg us, and partly from the Urdt
gloss and other sources.
He belonged to the Cishtiya Nizamiya, that is to say he belonged to the
spiritual descent which took its name from the celebrated Nizimu-d-dio Auliya,
the teacher of Amir Kbusré, who died about 1325 A.D His disciple was Siraju-
d-din, whose disciple was Shaikh “Aliu-l-haq. Alau-l-haqq’s son and disciple
was Shaikh Nur Qutb ‘Alam, the date of whose death is usually given aa 1444
A.D. Chronologists, however, vary as to this: some say A.H. 808, ४.९., A.D.
1405, others A.H. 813, ४.९., A.D. 1410, others A.H. 818, 4.¢e,, A.D. 1415, others
A.H. 848, ५.९., A.D. 1444, and others again A.H. 851, १.९, A.D. 1447. Mr.
Beveridge in J.A.8.B. Ixiv, Pt. 1, 207, considera A.H. 818, A.D. 1415, ag the
1: 20-21 THE PREFACE 17
He was my master and I his disciple, evermore do I
bow before him as his slave. Through him did I obtain a
sight of the Creator.
21. Muhammad was skilful, though he had but one
a a gg Pg Pc
The full genealogical table is as follows :—
| Nizimu-d-din (d,1325 A.D.)
oo
Shaikh ` 418 ०-1-84.
|
| aa)!”
Shaikh Nur Qutb ’Alam of Pandua, Saiyad Ashraf Jahangir
(son of preceding) vide 1(18)1.
Shaikh Hashamu-d-din of Manikpur. Shaikh Haji
Saiyad Rajl (ड्यत् Shah. ity ia ea
|
Shaikh Mubarak Shaikh Kamal
Shaikh Daniyal (d. 1486 A.D.). ` ` haikh Kam
Saiyad Muhammad.
Shaikh Athadad.
Shaikh ए णाह).
Saiyad Muhia-d-din (vide xx, 1).
Malik Muhammad (1540 A.D.)
From this it follows that the poet was not an actual disciple of Saiyad
Ashraf Jahangir, as might be assumed from xviii, 1 and ff. Malik Muhammad
merely refers to him and praises him as his spiritual ancestor. A tradition makes
him the poet’s mantraguru, while Muhlu-d-din was his vidya-guru, i.e., the one
initiated him, and the other taught him, which agrees with Malik Muhammad’s
own language. Shaikh Daniysl, the fifth in the line before the poet, appears to
have claimed to have had for 9 friend Khwaja Khizr, who introduced him to
his preceptor, Saiyad Raji Hamid Shah, Shaikh Burhan, Malik Muhammad's
spiritual grandfather resided at K4&l’pi in Bunddl-khand, and is said to have
died at 100 years of age in A. H. 970, or A.D. 1562-63. See Rep. Arch. Sur.
Ind. xxi, 131.
| As the prophet Muhammad (see xii, 1) had four friends, so also had the
poet Malik Muhammad. He tells us their names were Malik Yiisuf, Salar
Khadim, Miya Salén3 and Shaikb Bands. Concerning these, see-Grierson’s
introduction, and 1(22) 1 and ff.
The Urdt gloss concludes (we insert dates and other particulars in paren-
theses) ‘Those who consider that Hazrat ‘Abdu-l-Qadir Jilani (b. 1078, d. 1166,
God's mercy be upon him) is descended from Saiyad Muhita-d-din, and that
Saiyad Rajt Qattal (d. 1403) is descended from Saiyad Raji, are far from being
in the right. It is clear that the line of Qadariyds is descended from Hazrat
"Abdu-l-Qadir Jilan}. His preceptor was Hazrat Abt Saiyad’,
प
18 THE PREFACE 1: 24
eye”’’, and every poet who heard him was entranced. Even
as God created the moon for the universe, so He put a dark
spot upon her, while He made her bright. With that one
eye the poet saw the whole world’’, shining bright like
Venus brilliant among the other stars’'’. Until there come
black spots upon a mango-fruit, it hath no fragrant scent.
God made the water of the ocean salt, but nevertheless He
made it immeasurably boundless. Mount Meru was des-
troyed by the trident, and then it became a mountain of
2०1०४, and reached to heaven. Till black firestains defile
the crucible (the ore] 1emaineth unsmelted, and becometh
not pure gold.
The poet hath but one eye, but it is [bright] as a mirror,
and that mirror’s nature is pure. | Though he is uncomely |
all that are beautiful clasp his feet, and with desire look
upon his face.
———— — ~_eo — --- ~ --- -*~ [यि ee ~~ ~~~)
38184 Raja Qattal was full brother of Hazrat Saiyad Jalaju-d-din of
Bukhara (who was known as Makhdiim Jahaniyain Jahan (Gasht Shaikh Jalal),
and was his disciple. He was a Suharwardiyad by sect.
‘Another disciple of Hazrat Nizimu-d-din (the founder of Malik Muham-
mad’s line) was Shaikh Rukun-d-din Abt-l-fath Ma’asir (11. 1310), who was
also disciple of his own father Shaikh Sadru-d-din (Arif, ५. 1309). This last
was disciple of his father Shaikh Bahau-d-din Zikariya (ध. 1266) of Mul’tan,
who was disciple of Shaikh Shahabu-d-din (Suharwardiyaé, d. 1234), who tra-
velled from city to city as missionary (peace be upon him).’
Makhdim Jahaniyaén was a disciple of Rukun-d-din above-mentioned.
The Suharwardiyas form a branch of the followers of the stifi sect, and are
named from Suharward, a town near Bagdad, the birth placc of the founder
Shahabu-d-din above mentioned.
(55) According to tradition this was the result of an attack of small-
x, which not only destroyed the sight of one eye, but dreadfully disfigured
Fis features. It is said that some Raja once saw him, and loudly scoffed at his
ugly face, not knowing who he was. Thereupon the poet said, ‘scoffest thou
at me, or at the Potter who fashioned me’ Struck by his reply, the Raa
repented, and became his disciple. The poet still, however, thanks God for
all His mercies, and points out that every great and good thing in Nature has
some detraction. [ Cp. 31 (9) note (£) |.
(56) That is to sav other folk with two eyes can see but a short way,
but the poct’s single eye ‘in a fine frenzy rolling. carn glance from heav’n to
earth and earth to heav’n.’
(57) Qukra, the regent of the planet Venus, had but one eye. He lost
it this way, He was guru of the demon Bali, who gave Visnu, in his dwarf-
incarnation, the famous three and a half steps of ground. QGukra, to prevent
the success of Vignu’s stratagem, came and hid in a water-vessel. When, at
the time of making the formal gift, water refused to flow from the vessel, Vignu,
under pretence of clearing out the spout with a stick, pierced Qukra’s right eye.
(58) According to tradition, mountains had once wings, and used to
fly about. When they alighted after flight, they used to crush people under
their weight, so Indra cut off their wings with his thunderbolts. The first
to suffer amputation was Suméru. It was a mountain of gold (Vignu-purana,
1: 22-23 THE PREFACE 16
22. The Poet Muhammad had four friends, and by
gaining their triendship he raised himself to equality with
them. One was Malik Yusuf, the learned and wise, who
first of all knew the secret meaning of words. The next
was Salar Khadim, the discreet, whose arms were ever
raised either in [wielding] the sword or in [distributing] gifts.
The third was Miyan Salone, a lion amidst unsurpassed™
heroes, a fighter with the sword in the battle field. ‘The
fourth was Shaikh Bade, famed as a sage. Yea, even sages
thoughtthemselves honoured by performing hiscommands””:
All four were learned in the fourteen®” branches of
knowledge, and God himself created their association
[with the poet]. Let a tree but dwell near a sandal-grove,
and let but the odour of the sandal permeate it, and, lo,
it becometh sandal-wood itself.
Muhammad, when he had found these four friends,
became of one soul with them. When he hath accom-
plished their companionship in this world, how can they
‘be separated in the next:
23. The city Jayas is a holy spot: there came the
poet and told his lay. There humbly waited he upon
Hindu scholars, and prayed’’ them to correct and mend
the broken [metre] and arrangement fof his song]. I am
a follower of poets”’’, and I go forward saying my say,
and beating the drum with the drum-stick to proclaim it’.
11, 2), The poet has substituted Giva’s trident (trigtla) for Indra’s thunderbolt.
(vajra), This confusion between Giva and Indra 1s constant throughout the
poem.
(gg) Shukla’s reading bartyart (mighty) is better than Grierson’s
27 1 ‰ ,
(59) Adésa also means the initiation of a cdlé, or disciple, by a guru,
or spiritual preceptor.
(60) ‘fhe 4 Védas, the 6 V@édanvas, the Purinas, the Mimamnsa, the
Nyaya, and Dharma.
(61) Bhaja or bhaja, is equivalent to bhraja, ६,९., prakadcita kif, ‘made
manifest’; hence ‘presented’ (a petition),
- (Pandilan :~—in the Envoy (1) it is probable that the pandits whom
Jaisi consults about the allegory of his poem are Muslim maulvis. Here
also it 18 possible that pandtt has the same meaning, though here he is more
concerned with the style than with the matter of the poem. cp. 1(12)4, wherc
Usman is called a pandit|.
(hh) Grierson reads sab kalntanh : Shukla reads panditan.
(62) Dag& is a drum-stick. The poet means that he is impelled to
publish his lay by beat of drum, so to speak, ६.९,, as loudly as possible, in order
that other poets and learned men may hear it, and correct his mistukes. A
simpler rendering is obtained by amending the text to kichu kahi calata bola
det daga, ‘saying my say, I progress, setting down the feet of language,’ in
46 THE PREFACE 1: 23-24
My heart is a treastire-house, and it holdeth a store of
precious stones. I made my tongue the key of my palate
and opened it. I spake words,—jewels, and rubies ; sweet,
filled with the wine of love, and priceless. He who is
wounded by the words of love®’,—-What is hunger or sleep
or shade to him''? He changeth his appearance, and be-
cometh a hermit, like a jewel covered and hidden in the
dust.
O Muhammad, the body which love hath, hath neither
blood nor flesh”. Whoever seeth the face of such a man
laugheth, but when the lover heareth the laughter tears
come [into his eyes|°*.
24. It was the year 947°“ [of the Hijra°’,| when the
poet began to tell this tale in words. Of Ceylon and Queen
Padmavati, whom Ratna-sena brought to Citaur castle ;
of Alau-d-din, the Sultan of Delhi, and how Raghava-
caitanaya told him of her. How the Emperor heard, and
besieged the castle, and how there arose the war between
the Hindus and the Musalmans’. From beginning to end,
just as the story runs, so wrote he it in the language of the
wa | —_ --- —-— न+ ee me ee ~ st =—
which language is metaphorically compared to a foot, or step (daga)). [Or
‘placing my feet in the footsteps of the poets.’ ]
(63) Here we have the first instance of the poet’s use of the word biraha.
He uses it to mean love, especially unhappy love. In countless places it cannot
possibly have the usual meaning of ‘separation from a beloved one.’ कते कि is
translated in the Urdi Gloss by dhart ‘full of’. We can find no authority for
this,
(ii) Grierson reads kahwn tehi bhukh nind kahaa chhayr. Shukla
reads, not so well, 4.1.6. kahan teht 2५८४7, (what is hunger and what is delusion
to him ?)
(jj) Grierson reads kayt jo pem kat na ieht rakat na mansu. Shukla
reads kabi jau birah bha na tan rakat na maneu (he who was the poet of love,
in his body was neither blood nor flesh).
(64) ‘The worldly imagine the distraught lover to be mad, and laugh
at him. He, on the other hand, knowing that no jewel is so precious as the love
which he has conceived weeps at their madness.
(kk) Shukla’s reading, satt7te t.e., 927 or 1520 A.D. would not suit
the date {1640 A.D.) of Sher Shih’s accession (st. 13), but see his Introduction
p. 7, where he defends satiate on the strength of an early Bengali translation,
and suggests that 20 years elapsed between the beginning and the completion
of the poem. The same view is taken by Pt. Chandrabali Pande (in Nagari
Prac&rini Patrik& Vol. 13 p. 491) who is anxious to prove that sati7ts is not
a misreading of Urdu saiftalts, his argument being that Jaisi wrote in Kaithi.
His argument is not convincing.
(98) 1640 A.D.
(11) “Turukanh’. Turk is used elsewhere as equivalent to Muslim, ९.५.)
by Kabir, but I am inclined to think that Jaisi, writing in the reign of an
Afghan King, would have used the word literally. He would have had little
1: 24 9:1 SIMHALA at
people, andtolditinverse. The poet, the 87095, andthe lotus
full of nectar, are near to what is far and far from what is
near. That which is near is yet far, lke the flower and
the thorn [50 near and yet so different], and that which.
is far is near, like sugar and the ants [who dwell so far from
it, yet find it out|. -
So the € cometh from the [distant] forest, and
findeth the odour of the lotus-nectar, while the frog ne’er
findeth the odour, though he dwelleth [in the pond] close
to [the flower].
2. SIMHALA
I. Now sing I the tale of Simhala-dvipa’, and tell of
the Perfect Woman’. My description® is like an excel-
lent mirror, in which each forni is seen as it really is. Happy
is that land where the women are lights*®, and where God
created that [famous! Padmini [Padmavati]. All people
tell of seven lands, but none is fit to compare with Simhala.
The Diya-land* (or land of lamps) is not so bright as it.
India had been marked by extreme religious intolerance.
(66) Kab: is one who makes poems, bisa {ङ्क ५८४) is one who recites them.
{67) 2.e., &@ prophet has no bonour in his own country. The author
meaus that he is aware that his own country-folk, and his own people (the
Musalmans) will not care for his poem, for it 1s in a Hindi dialect and not in
Urdii; but. on the other hand men of distant lands and of other religions (the
Hindiis) will be attracted by it as the bee is attracted by the distant lotus.
There is a tradition that Malik Muhammad commenced the composition of the
poem in his own village, where it was not thought much of. One of his dis-
ciples wandered to Jayas and began to sing there the particular canto (Nag-
mati's song of the twelve months) which he had been taught. The Raja of
Jaya was so pleased with what he heard, especially with the dbha commencing
kawata 10 bigasata manasara, binu jala gaeu sukhai, that he invited Malik
Muhammad to his city, and encouraged him to complete the work. [Not
Javas but Amethi].
CANTO 2.
(1) Ceylon. The word dvtpa means both island and contiment.
(2) A Padmini is one of the four classes of women and is supremely the
best. The Singhalese women are all supposed to be Padminis, omne ignotum
pro mtrifico
(a) Grierson reads barnak (description): Shukla, nirmal (staimless).
(3) Here there is a pun on the word (dipa-dvipa), a continent or island,
and dipaka, a light.
(4) The poet now proceeds to compare Sirnhala, not with the seven con-
tinents of tradition, referred to in line 4, and catalogued in note (5) to 1 (1) 7,
but with half-a-dozen imaginary continents named after parts of the human
body. Dtya-dipa, the'land of lights, means the land of fair women’s eyes.
Serana-dipa (gravana-dipa) means the land of their ears. Jambti-dipa, Rose-
apple-land, is the land of their raven hair, to which the black rose-apple is
22 SiMHALA” | 9: 1-2
The land of Saran’ cannot bear comparison -with it. I
say that Jambu-land® is nowhere like it, and that Lanka-
land cannot even fill [the excellence of] its reflection. The
and of Kumbhasthala' fled to the forest [before it], but
the land of Mahusthala® had destroyed mankind [and
how therefore can I compare it with Simhaladvipa)].
In the whole universe, in the world’ are seven lands,
but none of them is excellent beside the land of Simhala.
2. Gandharva-sena was a fragrant” prince, He was
its king, and that was his dominion. I have heard of
King Ravana in Lanka’’; greater even than his was his
majesty. Fifty-six times ten millions formed his battle-
atray, and over all were princes and commanders of forts.
Sixteen thousand horses were in his stalls, black-eared and
gallant steeds''. Seven thousand Singhalese elephants
had he, each like the mighty Airavata’’ of Kailasa’’. He
is called the crown of lords of steeds, and with his goad he
causeth to bow low the elephants of lords of elephants.
Over lords of men I call him a second Indra, and in the
world I also call him the India’‘ of the lords of earth.
———s a 1 1 ee a
oiten compared, Lanka-dtpa, is the land of waists. Kumbha-sthala, jar land,
is the land of their rounded breasts; another reading is gabhu-sthala (garbha-sthala)
the land of wombs; and finally mahn-sthala (madhu-sthala), is the land of
secret parts. Under this highly figurative language the poet signifies that
the women of Simhala surpassed all these imaginary lands, each in 1ts own pecu-
har excellence.
(5) The poet does not seen to be aware that Sarana-dipa (Saran-dtp,
Serendib) 18 actually Ceylon itself. Here, as pointed out above, the words
also mean ‘ear-land.
(6) Hindfistan, or bosom-land.
(7) Or perhaps Gabhasthala, one of the nine divisions of Bhirata-varga
(India): here used as equivalent to garbha-sthala, the land of wombs, The
forest whither the bosoms fled is, of course, the necklaces, bndices, &c., under
which they lay concealed.
(8) Or Méwasthila.
(b) Grierson reads pirithumtn (earth); Shukla’s parathmain may
mean either ‘lands’ or ‘first’,
(9) There 16 here an alliteration between Gandharva, and Gandha,
scent. Some of the MSS. have Séni for Sdna throughout the poem. This
would lead one to restore the word to the Sanskrit Sainya, or Gyéna (A hawk,
used like Sitnha) were there not a strong tradition in favour of Séna.
(10) The identification of Lanka with Ceylon is a very modern idea,
é.g.. Var&ha-mihira, Brhat-samhitaé, xiv, 11, 15, mentions Lanka and Sinhala
as different countries. ;
(11) Qyama-karna, black-eared, is a technical name for a horse. It 18
the kind used in sacrifices. JZ ukhwra means ‘horse’.
(12) The name of Indra’s elephant.
(13) Qiva’s heaven. Here taken for Indra’s heaven, Indra-puri.
(14) Here Indra is referred to in two aspects. First he is the mighty king
ॐ: 2-4 SIMHALA 23
So universal'” a monarch was he, that all the earth
feared him. All men came and bowed their heads before
him, no one dared to emulate him.
3. When a man approacheth this land, ‘tis as though
he approacheth 2118528 [the mount of heaven]. Dense
mango-groves lie on every side, rising from the.earth to the
very sky. Each tall tree exhaleth the odours of motmnt
Malaya’’, and the shade covereth the world as though it
were the night. The shade 15 pleasant with its Malaya-
breeze; e’en in the fiery month of Jyestha’' ‘tis cool
amidst it. It is as though night cometh from that shade,
and as though from it cometh the greenness of the sky'*(‘).
When the way-farer cometh thither, suffering from the
heat, he forgetteth his trouble in his blissful rest, and
whoso hath found this perfect shade, returneth ne'er again
to bear the sun-rays.
So many and so dense are these groves, that I cannot
tell their end. The whole six seasons of the year’’ do they
flower and fruit, as though it were always spring.
4. The pleasant thick mango groves bear fruit, and
the more fruit they bear, the more [humbly] do the trees
bow their heads. On the main branches and trunks’ of
the jack trees, the jack fruit ripen, and fair appeareth the
barhal?’ to him who looketh. The khirni’’ ripeneth,
sweet as molasses, and the black wild plum’’, like black
of the lower gods, and hence supreme over lords of men: and secondly he is
the storm-god giving refreshing showers to the earth, and hence an object of
worship to everyone who lives by cultivation.
(15) Cakkawai=Cakravarti.
(16) The Western Ghauts (दक), famous for their growth of sandal
trees.
(17) The hottest month in the year, May-June, with its pitiless burning
blue-grey sky.
(18) This is an example of the rhetorical figure utpr2ksa or Poetical
Fancy, with the word expressing comparison omitted. The poet fancifully
states that this shade is so dark, that from it is produced all night, while the
green shade of the sky is its reflection.
(८) Perhaps however the simile is like the ‘green night’ of Marvell's
Bermudan orange-groves. Shukla (Introduction p. 105) finds in the descrip-
tion of these groves an allegory of the soul’s approach to God.
(19) Hindtts divide the year into six seasons of two months each.
(20) The jack fruit grows only on the stems and main branches of the
trees, not on the younger shoats.
(21) Artocarpus lakoocha, Roxb., a sweet-acid fruit, yellowieh red and
nearly round,
(22) Mimusops hexandra, Roxb.
(23) Eugenia jambolana, 1.
24 SIMHALA 2: 4-5
bees famong its leaves]. Cocoanuts ripen and ripeneth
the khurhur?‘; they ripen as though the orchards were in
Indra’s heaven. From the mahua’® doth such sweetness
exude, that honey is its flavour, and flowers its scent; and
in these princes’ gardens are other fruits, good to eat whose
names I know not. They all appear with nectar-like
branches, and he who once tasteth them remaineth ever
longing for more.
Areca’°(") and nutmeg, all fruits, are produced there
luxuriantly. On every side are thick groves of tamarinds,
of palmyras, and of date-palms.
5. There dwell the birds, singing in many tongues,
and sporting joyfully as they look upon these nectar-
branches. At dawn the honey-suckers are fragrant’, and
the turtle-dove cries out ‘’tis thou and only thou’?’. The
emerald-parroquets' sportively rejoice, and the rock-
pigeons cry kurkury, and fly about. The hawk-cuckoo’®
crieth for its beloved, and the skulking warbler shouteth
7711 207". Kuh kuhit ever crieth the cuckoo, while the
king-crow’’ speaketh in many tongues. ‘Tyre, tyre’
crieth the milkmaid-bird’’, while the green pigeon”! plain-
tively telleth its tale of woe. The peacock’s cry kin kun
(24) Ficus cunia, Ham. [Grierson correcta this in note (17) to 5(6)3].
(25) Baassia latifolia, Roxb.
(26) Gua and sup&ri are varieties of the areca or betel nut.
(d) Shukla has lavang (clove) for Grierson’s gu7.
(€) Shukla’s reading dolahtn (are calling) gives better sense than Grier-
son’s basahin.
(27) Its cry is 2८ -! (£ -#१, ‘one alone, only thou’,
(1) Shukla’s note explains as S773 (myna). This is what we have in the
similar passage in 35(12)3, but there the word is sar.
(28) The Paptha or Hawk-cuckoo, (Hierococcyx varius, Vahl) is not
a sparrow-hawk as the dictionaries say. Its cry is piu pru, ‘beloved, beloved’,
The ordinary native tradition is that it says pt kahwn ‘where is my beloved’.
It is the ‘Brainfever bird’ of Anglo-Indians.
(¢) Shukla has 7th (with its tongue) for Grierson’s दन.
(29) The Bhyngaka or Rachet-tailed Drongo (Dissemurus paradiseus, 1..),
18 not a sparrow-hawk, as the dictionaries say. It is a sort of king-crow, it is
an excellent talking-bird.
(30) The maharl 18 said to be a bird like the mahdkh& (cuculus costancua,
Roxb.), but smaller. Jt’s cry is daht, dahi, ‘tyre, tyre,’ and hence it is alao known
9.8 gwaAlini or ahirini z.e., milkmaid.
(31) The cry of the haril or green pigeon (crocopus phoenicopternus,
Latham) is Aw hart gat, ‘alas I have lost.’. It hves in the various fig trees of
India. It is said never to rest on the ae When it descends to drink,
it sucks up water, from a short distance aloft, through a straw. When it dies,
it "च to the ground with ite fect in the air, rather than allow them to touch
earth.
‰ 5-6 Stott ara a4
soundeth sweet to the ear, and loudly caw the crows.
Filling the orchards, sitteth every bird that hath aname,
and each praiseth the Creator in his own tongue.
6. At every step one cometh upon a well or reservoir®’,
adorned with seats and steps. Many are the springs
scattered about, one named after every holy place of pil-
grimage. Around them are built convents and temples,
where devotees sit in austerity and mutter prayer. Here
ate great saints, Sannyasins’’, devotees of Rama, and
(32) A bawari is & large masonry well with steps leading down to the
water.
` (33) Many of the secta mentioned in this list are described in Wilson’s
Religious Sects of the Hindts. Sudha&kar’s Commentary also gives a full
account of them. भ् is (W.p. 32) consider themselves dead to the world
and go through 8 funeral ceremony in their life time. They tay aside the brah.
manical cord and carry a staff (dand&) which they never lay upon the ground,
and which they consider as a witness of all their actions. They are hence also
called Dandine (W.143,191). Rama-yatins are Vaignava mendicants, who
worship Rama, like the Vairigins of AyGdhvi. Masa-visins, are those who
abide for & month in one place, and then wander on. Ma@hécvaras are mendi-
cants who cover themselves with ashes, and adopt the traditional appearance
of Qiva, whom they worship. Jangamas (W.219) are ever on the move, They
usually worship Vira-bhadra, who destroyed Dakga’s famous sacrifice. This
legend is a favourite subject of sculpture at Elephanta and Ellora. As re sla
Yatins seo W. 317. They are Jains who have taken orders, Devi 18 the object
of worship of the wma, or left-hand क ८4३, and Sati of the dakaina or right
hand ones. See W. 240, 254, 250. A Brahmac#rin is 8 religious student,
living under the supervision of his spiritual preceptor (W. 237). Digambara
are naked vagrants, such as Paramahamias, Nagas and the like. Some Vaig-
nava sects call themselves ४ 8170 08783, but wear white clothes. Jainas are
divided into Digambars (naked) and © १६४00878 (white-dressed (W. p. 276).
Santas are merely religious people generally. Siddhas are Y6gins who have
arrived at supreme perfection (adepts). They have eight supernatural powers
(siddhi), viz., anima, the power of becoming infinitely amall, mahima, that of
becoming infinitely great, laghim&, of becoming infinitely light, garima, of
becoming infinitely heavy, pripti of reaching infinitely far, prikimya, of
obtaining at once whatever 18 desired, Igatva, of infinite sovereignty, vacitva,
of infinite power of subjection. Ydgins are Qaiva mendicants claiming spiritual
descent from Goérakga-nitha. They claim the power of acquiring, even in life,
entire command over elementary matter by means of certain ascetic practices
(W. 205). An adept Yogin (or Jdgi) is a Siddha above described. Readers of
the poem will have much to do with Ydgins, for king Ratna-sdna and his follow-
ers me such. A Viydgin is @ pessimist, soured by unhappy love. Viydga,
lit., dis-union, in this poem is specially used to mean the condition of a lover
who is separated from his beloved. Sévaras (the word is a cape a of the
Sanakrit Gabara) go about in troops, with matted hair, and red-ochre-coloured
garments. They call themselves 0. To mark their triumph over sensual
desires, they affix an iron ring and chain to the male organ, which they also
mutilate. 1800 (236) calls them Kar& Lingins. They extort money by
tended miracles, such as wringing Ganges-water out of their dry matted
r. XKh@warag are & sub-variety of the S8wara’s. They carry skulls. One
of their tricks is to turn spirituous liquor into milk, and then to drink it.
Another is to rub the palms of their apparently empty hands together, till
they bring forth Wheat, Gram, and the like, The name is a fanciful one,
4
6 Steer AA 9:68
Masavasins": Mahecvaras, Jangamas, Yatins, worship-
pers of the left-hand and of the right-hand Devi. There
are Brahmacarins, and there are Digambaras to whom it
seemeth good to go naked. There are Santas, Siddhas,
Yogins, and Pessimists seated on the path of hopelessness.
Sevaras, and the like, Vana-prasthas, Siddhi-sadhakas,
Avadhutas are all seated there, mortifying their earthly
frames.
7. What can be compared to the water of the Manasar-
odaka lake, full as the sea and as fathomless? Its water
clear as spotless pearls, like ambrosia scented with camphor.
From the isle of Lanka have they brought the lapis lazuli**,
and with it built the landing stages. On each side have
been made winding steps on which the folk ascend and
descend on all sides. The lotuses bloom there beauteously
scarlet, with their clusters of thousands upon thousands of
petals**. The swans overturn the shells, from which
pearls fall out, which they pick up and sport as they do so.
Beautiful swim these golden birds**®, looking as it were
statues cast in gold’.
Above around lie the banks, with ambrosial fruit on
every tree. He who hath but once seen the fairness of
these lakes, loseth for aye both thirst and hunger.
8. The maidens come to draw the water, each in form
derived from Séwara. A Vana-prastha is a Brihbmana of the third order whohas
retired from domestic life to the forest. A Stddht-sudhaka ia the same as a
Siddha. An Avadhttu is a man who has shaken off restraint. Thus Ramg-
nanda called his Vaignava disciples Avadhtita, because thay had shaken off the
ties of caste and personal distinction. So Qaiva mendicants, such as Para-
mahathsas who go about naked are Avadhfitas. Each of these aacetica is
represented as mortifying his bhttitman or body considered as composed of
groaser elements, into which it must ultimately be dissolved. The five groaser
elementsere earth, water, fire,air and ether. Hence pahcatva, or the condition
of being five, is used to mean death. By mortifying these elements, the
soul acquires ultimate release from the round of transmigration.
(४) Shukla reads visors (faithful), but Jayasi more often uses the
word in the opposite sense. See note (e) to 7(7)3.
(84) The 188 lazuli is the stone of Lanik&. It 18 popularly supposed to
be the conglomerate ashes of that city after it was burnt by Rama, the gold
nia in it being the relics of the ornaments which were burnt at the same
6
(36) The excellence of a lotus depends on the number of its petals.
(36) The Golden Swan.
(i) Shukla gives Grierson’s reading in a footnote : his own text means
‘They dug down to the nethermost hell and drew water out from thence: the
qcean of milk poured forth in. flood’.
and figure a Padmini®’. Their limbs are odorous of the
lotus (Padma), and the black bees hover round them as they
come. Waisted like lionesses, and with eyes like lotuses®®,
swan-like in their motions, sweet-voiced as the cuckoo. In
numbers they come, row upon row, charming the eye with
varied gaits. Over their moon-faces shine their golden
1278" °, as, in joy and sport, they come and go. Struck, as
it were by a dagger, by her coquettish eyes, is he on whom
the glance of one of them is fallen. The black cloud of
her hair falleth from her head to her feet, from behind
which flasheth the lightning of her teeth.
Like images of the God of Love*® are these nymphs*?
of matchless charm’. If these water-maidens are so beaute-
ous, how lovely must be their queen !
9. To tell of the lakes and lakelets is more than I can
do. So broad are they that vision cannot cross them.
How many“ are the lilies that bloom there, like stars
risen in the sky. The clouds come down to them, drink
their water and ascend, while within the fish [carried up
into the air] gleam like lightning. Happily with each
other swim the feathered fowl upon the surface, white are
they and yellow, and red of varied hue. There sport the
ruddy goose and his mate, whose lot it is to wake the night
apart,.and meet by day**. There joyfully sporteth the
Indian crane, [remembering that, not like the ruddy goose]
he liveth and dieth in the company fof his spouse]*’.
There are the lotus, the gold crane, the stork, and the ledi,
and countless fishes piercing the waves.
(37) The best of the four classes of women. The Padmsnt, Curigt, Qan-
khint, and Hastint. In a later portion of the poem Raéghava-caitanya describes
them to ’Alfiu-d-din (Canto 40). ° | ८
(38) Saratga is like Mark Twain’s zug. It may mean almost anything.
Here it means a lotus or a deer.
(39) The sun is often compared to a golden jar.
(40) Maina =Madana= Kama-déva.
(41) Achari—apsaras. [See 3 (6) 8 note 24 and €].
(1) Shukle gives Grierson’s reading in a footnote: his own text means
‘They came in matchless beauty with golden pitchers on their heads.’
(k) Grierson has kets : Shukla seé (white).
(42) The fable about the cak'w& and cakal is one of the commonplaces
of Indian poetry.
(43) The legend 18 that a pair of these birds cannot bear to be separated.
If-ons dies, the other dies also.
(1) Grierson reads kewa son dhetk bag (क : rahe aptrs min jal bhedt.
Shukla’s reading is better Bolahit son dhek bag ledi: rahi abol min jal-bhedt
28 SIMBALA 3:3.9-2%
There, in those lakes, lie priceless jewels, shining, e’en
by day, like lamps; and he who diveth therein, findeth the
pearl-oyster
70. On every side are ambrosial gardens, filled with
perfect” fruit, and carefully watched. There are the fresh
coloured‘* lime and the pretty orange-citron, the almond,
and figs of various kinds. Elephant lemons and citrons are
ever ripe, and the glowing oranges are fullof juice. Raisins*®
and apples with fresh leaves, pomegranates and vines
delight the sight. Pleasant appeareth the Indian goose-
berry, and the clusters of plantains are humbly bent [by
their excessive weight]. There fruit the mulberry, the
averrhoa, and the red currant, the corinda, the jujube
and the cironji-nut*®. There is the sorrel", and the
date, and other edible fruits both sweet and sour.
They lead the water from the wells through irriga-
tion channels with many a ५810410), and with the
pulleys of the Persian wheel, water they the black currants,
. 1. Again all around are flower-gardens, with trees
imbued with sandal-odour. There bloometh the ghana-
valli*®, with its many blossoms, the fragrant screw-
pine, the fragrant yellow-flowered campaka‘*’, and the
Indian and Arabian jasmines®’. Beauteous are the basils,
the kudums*!, and the kuja-roses®?, and scented are
the Abelias, which only king Gandharva offered at the
(The geese and storks and teal are vocal: the fish that cleave the water are
voicelese),
(m) Grierson reads apwur (filled with): Shukla anwp (excellent).
(44) Or perhaps nau-raftga may be for narangt orange. [This is what
Shukla gen rw 17
(45) The poet does not seem to be aware that raisins are dried grapes.
(46) Buchanania latifolia, Roxb. Its kernels are eaten like almonds,
(n) Grierson reads saakh-darau: Shukla sangtar7 (sweet lime).
(47) See Bihar Peasant Life, §91
(o) I venture to think that Grierson waa misled by the fact that
khand (ordinarily =sugar) may mean ‘watering channel’. The meaning appears
to be “They water (the garden) with sweet sherbet, putting much sugar into the
९1181. But there may be a pun on Khand
(48) The dictionaries give Ghana-vallt ag a synonym of Amrta-sava
The latter they say is ‘a certain plant’. Dr. G. King suggests that it is probably
the Tinospora cordifolia, Miers. Its blossoms are small in 8126, but numerous,
as the poet says
(49) Michelia champaca, L
(50) Jasminum pubescens, Willd. (kunda), and the jasminum sambac,
Ait. (ca
(51) Anthocephalus cadamba, Miq
(52) -& दक is a kind of rose, Roza Brunoniana, Lind,
2: 11-13 SIMHALA ‘gy
time of worship’. The rose-chestnut, the marigold, the
jasmine and the weeping-nyctanthes are in these gardens.
The oleaster and the dog-rose bloom, the rupamanjari*’,
and the clove-scented aganosma’*. There do men plant
bunches*® of the Spanish and of the Indian jasmine,
and the flowers of the roseapple lend their charm, The
maulasiri®® creeper and the citron, all these bloom in
varied hues.
Blessed and fortunate is the man whose head is crowned
with these flowers. Fragrant do they ever remain, like
spring and its (fragrant] festival.
12, When a man seeth Simhala’s city, and how it is
inhabited, he crieth ‘Blessed is the king whose kingdom is
so fair’, High are the gates, high are the palaces, high as
Kailasa®’ the abode of Indra. In every house each
one, great or small, is happy, each one appeareth with a
smiling face. They build their sitting platforms with
sandal, and plaster them with aloes, meda®® and saffron.
Each pavilion hath its pillars of sandal, and therein sitteth,
reclining, a lord with his councillors. Fair is the sight,
as a council of the gods, as though a man gazed on the city
of Indra. All the councillors are experienced, wise, and
learned, and all the words they utter are in the Sanskrit
tongue.
Fairies build the roads’, so that the city is bright as
the heaven of Civa, and in every house are fair Padminis,
whose beauty enchanteth the vision.
13. Again I saw the markets of the city, all stocked’
with the prosperity of the nine treasures’®. The golden
( 7) Shukla places ए, 6 before vv. 4, 5.
(53) Not identified.
(54) Aganosma caryophyliata, Don.
(55) Bakwc means a bundle or a bunch, and bakucanha is ita obl.
(66) Mimuso रः i, L.
(57) Again, biva’s eaven is confused with Indra’s.
(58) A root like ginger.
(१) Griersun reads Ahak panth sarhvarai; Ahak is a kind of Gandharva.
Shukla reads As kas mandir samvare ( In thia way they built the houses).
(r) Grierson’s reading pat# is better than Shukla’s bain (4 road),
(59) The nine mystic treasures of Kuvéra, the God of wealth. T ney are
named Padma, Mahipsadma, Qankha, Makara, Kacchapa, Mukunda, anda,
Nila and Kharba. It is not at all clear what they are. (4 are posaibly
auriferous ores, See, however, Wijson’s translation of the Magha-dite, note
to ₹, 534,
40 | SIMHAT.A 2: 13-14
markets are plastered with saffron, where sit the great
merchants of the isle of Simhala. They cast the silver and
hammer out the ornaments, and carve out images in count-
less shapes. Gold and silver lie abundantly scattered
about, and the house-doors are hung with glistening cur-
tains’. Jewels and gems*’, rubies and pearls, set in
the doors, give forth a fine sheen, and the shops are filled
with camphor, scented khas grass, musk, sandal and wood
of aloes. What gain would any market be to him who
bought not here ?
Some there are who buy, and some who sell. Some
come there and make a profit, some come there and lose
their capital.
14. Again the mart of beauty®’ is a prosperous
place, where sit the painted courtezans,—their lips red -
with the betel leaf, and their forms hidden ‘neath safflower-
coloured veils, From their ears hang jewel-studded ear-
rings; with lute in hand they entrance the very deer.
Who heareth their songs becometh enchanted, nor can he
move his feet. Their brows are bows, their eyes are skilful
archers, and, sharpening them on the whetstones of their
glances, they discharge their arrows. On their cheeks
swing pendent curls as they smile, and men’s lives take
they with each side look that they throw. The twin
bosoms ‘neath the bodice are two dice which they cast as
it were upon the game-board®’('), as each, in her
[wanton] nature, letteth her bosom-cloth slip aside. Many
a gambler hath lost the game with them, and, wringing
his 118०५००, hath gone away with broken heart.
Magic use they to captivate the heait, so long as the
(s) Grierson reads patwan (curtains); Shukla reads pofahia (they dis-
temper).
(80) Padartha, 8 gem, usually means, in this poem, 4 ruby (1411), but
here it is evidently used in its genera] sense.
(61) The Courtezans’ quarter.
(62) ae r or sira is a game very like backgammon. Asin that game,
a man by itaelf is a blot, and can be taken up by the opponent. When two
men of the same plaver come together on the same place, it is called juga,
i.¢., the blot is covered, and the move is a decidedly winning one. The game
is played with dice as in backgammon.
(t) The shri are the round playing picces, not the rectangular dice (कन्दे)
ep. 27 (23) I note (2),
(69) When a gambler is bankrupt it is etiquette for him to wring his
hands to show that they are empty.
$: 14-48 6५. et
purse-knot" in the’ swain’s waistband is not untied.
When once it is untied’, beggared doth he wander forth
and take the road, for no more do they recognize him or
allow him to resort unto them.
15. There sit the flower-girls with flowers and their
neatly arranged rows of betel unsurpassed. The perfume
sellers sit with their goods, tying plenteous camphor and
catechu.°* Here, are learned men reading holy books,
and telling the people of the path of virtue. There, are
others reciting stories, and elsewhere men dance and leap.
“Here, buffoons bring their sights,” and there, puppet-
showmen make their dolls to dance. Here, is the sweet
sound of singing, and there, actors and magicians show
their skill. Here some practise the lore of thags, and there
[other villains} drug men, and drive them mad.
Agile thieves, knaves, robbers and pick-pockets all
are there and dance their dance; and only the pockets*
of those escape, who are Wide awake, and look ahead in
this bazar.
16. And then a man approacheth Simhala’s fort;
how can I describe what seemeth to reach to the sky?
Below, it reacheth down to’ Vasuki’s®® back; above,
it gazeth upon Indra’s heaven. Surrounded is it by a deep
and zigzag moat, so deep that no one dareth to peep [over
its edge] or his limbs will tremble. Impassable, deeper
than one can see, its very sight causeth fear. Who falleth
therein, down down to the seven Hells will he go. Nine
crooked gate-ways hath the fort, and nine stories. Who
climbeth the nine will approach {the limit of] the mundane
egg.°© The golden bastions are studded with glass’,
(a) Grieraon reads gantht=ganth (knot); Shukla, gath (cash).
(v) For satth nathi see note (1) to 7(1) 9. A better translation here
would be ‘when he is squeezed dry’.
(64) Khirauri are pills of catechu wrapped up with other spices in betel
leaf for chewing.
(w) Grierson reads chharhajn pekhan awa: Shukla reads chirhaate
pakkht lawa (fowlers bring birds).
(x) Asin 2 (14) 8 Grierson reads gaaths : Shukla reads gath (cash).
($) Grierson reads kurum vaeuki (the tortoise and V.) Shukla reads
karinh vmeuki (the elephants and V.).
(65) King of the serpents. He lives in hell.
(68) The universe, sha like an म
(४) Grierson readsjare = sisa i Sh reads jare nag e303 (are studded
with gems and glass).
4b SIMEALA : 16-18
and look like lightning filled with stars. That castle seemeth
taller than that of Lanka and wearieth the sight and
soul that gazeth on it.
The heart cannot contain it. The sight cannot grasp
it. It standeth upright like Mount Sumeru. How far
can I describe its height ? How far shall I tell of its cir-
cumference ?
17. The sun and moon [cannot go over it but] make
a circuit round it, or else the steeds and their chariots
would be broken into dust®’. The nine gate-ways are
fortified with adamant, and a thousand thousand foot '
soldiers sit at each. Five captains of the guard**® go
round their watch, and the gate-ways tremble at the tramp-
ling of their feet. At each gateway of the fort is a molten
image of a lion, filling the hearts of kings with fear. With
great ingenuity were these lions cast, in attitude as if
roaring and about to leap upon thy head. With lolling
tongue they lash their tails. \Elephants are filled with
terror at them, lest they should fall upon them with a roar.
A staircase fashioned of gold and lapis-lazuli leadeth up
into the castle, which shineth above, up to the very sky. ,
The nine stories have nine portals, each with its ada-
mantine gates. Four days’ journey“ is it to the top,
to him who climbeth’” honestly [without gainsay].
18. Above the nine portals is the tenth doorway”,
(67) In the preceding stanza, the poet has compared the fort with
Suméru, the central mountain peak round which the heavenly bodies revolve.
He now carries the simile further.
(68) In the esoteric meaning of the poem, this city means the human
body. The nine gates are the nine openings of the body, the mouth, the eyes,
the ears, the nostrils, and the excretory organs. The five guardians are the
five vital airs, the [व 7८, the air expired upwards, apana, that expired down-
wards, samani, that which circulates round the navel and is essential for
digestion, vy#na, that which is diffused through the hody, and udana, that
which rises up the throat and passes into the head. The adamantine gates
ma bones, the warriors are the downy hairs of the body, and the King is
© soul.
(aa) Shukla explains as either the four 807 qualities (shari’at, tariqat,
१००११९४ and marafat)—Introduction p. 82—or as the four stages (muqimat) of
the Safi way (tariga)—Introduction p. 186.
(bb) Grierson reads charhai jo par : Shukla reads ularas par, wich much
the same meaning. ॥
(cc) The tenth 1 , in Yogic doctrine, 18 the brahmarandhra (hole
in the head) the final goal of the Kundalini Yoga, situated above the end of
the Sushumng, See Briggs : Gorakhnath p. 316.
ॐ: 18-16 | SIMETALA 33
at which ring the hours of the royal water-clock®’.
There sit the watchers and count the hours, watch
by watch, each in his own turn. As the clock filleth he
striketh the gong and ‘the hour, the hour’, it calleth forth.
As the blow falleth, it warneth the whole world. ‘Ye
earthen vessels’, it crieth, ‘why sleep ye void of care?
Ye are but soft clay, still mounted on the Potter's wheel.
Still whirl ye round“ [in the circle of existence] nor
can ye remain steadfast. As the clock is fulfilled, your
life diminisheth. Tell me, why sleepest thou secure, O
wayfarer ? Yea, watch by watch, the chimes ring forth,
yet your hearts are careless, and no soul awakeneth’™.
Saith Muhammad, Life is but the filling of water, as
in a clock or in a Persian-wheel. The hour cometh, and
life’ is filled. Then it is poured forth, and all man’s
days are gone.
1g. In the fort are two rivers, the Nira and the Khira,
each endless in its flow like unto [the store of] Draupadi’’.
Also there is a spring which is built of crushed pearls,
whose water is nectar, and whose mud is camphor. Only
the king drinketh its waters, which give him continual
youth so long as he liveth. By it 1s a golden tree, like
unto the wishing tree in Indra’s palace’*. Deep down
to hell, go its roots, and up to heaven go its branches. So
life-giving a tree, who can reach it? Who can taste it?
Its leaves are like the moon, and its flowers like the stars,
so that by it is the whole city illumined. Some by aus-
terities obtain its fruit, and eating it in old age obtain
renewed youth.
specific gravity, with a hole of a fixed size in its bottom. It is set floating in
& larger vessel, gradually fills, and sinks after the lapse of a ghagi or ¢ =
four minutes. A gong is then struck. On the expiry of each prahara (of eight
ghar!) a chime (gajara) is rung.
(dd) Grierson’s reading phirai 18 better than Shukla’s rahas.
(ee) Grierson reads ¢» nisoga jagu na ect. Shukla reads htym bajar,
man jg na sot} {your hearts sre adamant: no one awakens from sleep).
(¢) Grierson reads jiin: Shukla jyon (in such manner),
(70) From their names we may assume that one flowed with water and
the other with milk, According to the Mababhireta (Vana-p. 312-14) Dran-
तभ the wife of the five Pandavas was a model housewife. No matter how
© she cooked, it was always exactly enough so satisfy her five husbands,
and it was impossible to empty her store room. As soon as she had eaten her
meal, after her husbands, the store room was found empty for the time being.
(71) Again Indra’s heaven, Amaravati, ia confused with Civa’s.
5
44 ०१५९५ $: 2-48
' “ Kings have made themselves beggars when they heard
of ita ambrosial delights. For he who hath obtained it
becometh immortal, nor suffereth pain or disease.
20. Above the fort dwell only captains of castles,
captains of horses, captains of elephants, captains of land,
captains of men. All their palaces are decked out with
gold, and each is as a king in his own house. Handsome,
wealthy, and fortunate, their very portals are overlaid
with philosophers’ stones. Ever enjoying happiness and
magnificence’* no one ever knoweth what is sorrow of
care in his life. In every palace is there the game of
caupar, and there the princes sit and play upon the boards.
They throw the dice, and fine is the game, each without
an equal in his sword and in his generosity. Bards sing
of. glorious deeds, and receive as their gift elephants and
horses of Simhala.
In every palace is a garden, odorous of perfumes and
of sandal. There night and day is it spring, through all
the six seasons and thiough all the twelve months.
27. Again went I forward and saw the royal gateway ;
[so great a crowd surroundeth it that] a man might wander
round and round and not find the door. At the gate are
tied elephants of Simhala, standing upright like unto liv-
ing mountains. Some of them are white or yellow of bay ;
others sorrel or black as smoke. Of every hue are they,
like clouds in the sky, and there they sit® like pillars
of that sky. My tale is of Simhali elephants of Simhala,
each one mightier than the other. Mountains and hills
can they thrust aside; trees do they root up, and shake,
and thrust into their mouths. Must ones, wild with fury,
bellow in their bonds, and night and day their drivers sit
upon their shoulders. 4
The eaith cannot bear their weight; as they put down
their feet it trembleth. The shell of the mundane tortoise
cracketh, the hood of the serpent of eternity is split’®,
as these elephants proceed.
22. Again, there are fastened horses at the king’s
व Pa te oR eS Nee
(72) Bhdga means pleasures of the senses, vilasa external magnificence.
(हट) Grierson’s translation suggests a reading basjh for 2891. His text and
Shukia’s give the meaning ‘they support the heaven on their backs
(73) It is on these that the universe is supported.
B:22-25 SIMHALA 3
gate, but how can I tefl the glory of their colours? The
paces of the iron-grey, the dun, are famous in the world.
The bay with black points’, the jet'®, and the dark-
brown’®, do I tell of. I tell of the sorrel, the dark bay’,
the liver chestnut of many kinds, the strawberry roan,
the white, and the yellow-maned’® in rows. Spirited
horses were they, fiery, and graceful; eagerly curveting,
they rear without urging’. Swifter than thought, shake
they their reins, and snort and raise their heads to heaven.
As they hear their riders’ voices they run upon the sea.
Their feet sink not, and acioss they go. Stand still they
cannot ; in rage champ they their bits; they lash their
tails, and throw up their heads.
Such appear the horses, like the charioteers of thought.
In the twinkle of an eye do they arrive where their rider
would have them go'’.
23. I saw the royal-council seated there, and like
Indra’s council did ‘it seem. Blessed is the king who hath
such a council, which is glorious like unto a blooming
garden®’. There sit the princes with diadems on their heads*’,
each with an army whose drums loudly sound. Comely
is each with jewels shining on his brow, as he sitteth on
the throne with sunshade o’er his head. ‘Tis as though
the lotuses of a lake have flowered, so entrancing 15 that
council. It is filled with fragrant odours of betel, of
camphor, of meda°? and of musk. Throned on high
(74) The hansul is a bay (kumet) with black feet.
(75) The bhawar or mushkt is black.
(76) The क is descmbed as of the colour of the ripe fruit of the pal-
myra palm.
(77) The kurang is the same as the nila kum2t,
(78) The bul#h (Skr. voll&ha) is a horse with light yellow mane and tail.
(bh) Grierson reads farapahin tarahth nanrchi binu hanke. Shukla reads
(not so well) saarharahin pauri {त} binu तकर 2८ (they roam at the gate in races
without being driven). *
(79) The names of these various kinds of horses has presented some
difficulty. We have consulted many kind friends, more experienced in the
veterinary lore of England and India than we are. Yor the ourious in such
matters, we may refer to the Sanskrit book on Veterinary Surgery, the Acva-
vaidvaka of Jayaditya, quoted in Sudhakar’s Commentary.
(80) The poet alludes to the brilliant effect of the many-ooloured gar-
ments of the courtiers.
(81) That is to say they did not venture to remove their head-dreases
in the presence of Gandharva-sina. They were great, but he was greater.
(82) Meda comes from the Népal (मह्य, It-is a well known fragrant
medicament—a root of cooling properties,
36 | SIMHALA ` 2: 23-25
in the midst sitteth king Gandharvasena.
His sunshade reacheth to the sky; and as he giveth
forth heat like the sun, the lotuses of his council all do
bloom at the might of his countenance.
24. The king’s palace is mighty as. Kailasa®’, of
gold throughout from floor to roof. Seven stories high
is it, only such a king could build it. The bricks are dia-
monds, and the mortar camphor; adorned with precious
stones is it built up‘to heaven. Each painted design that
is there designed, is marked out with jewels of each kind
of colour". Varied are the carving and the sculptures
arranged! in rows. Rubies shine along the pillars
which, e’en by day, blaze like luminants. The very
sun, moon and stars hide themselves before the glory of
the palace.
As we have heard tales of the seven heavens, so were
atranged the seven stories, each separately, one above the
other
25. I would tell of the women’s quarter of the palace
like Kailasa’* filled with nymphs. Sixteen thousand
queens, all Padminis, are there, each more beauteous than
the other. Very lovely are they and very tender, living
on betel and on flowers. Above them all is Queen Campa-
vati, the chief queen of exquisite loveliness. She sitteth
upon her throne in all her grace, reverenced by all the
queens. Ever varying in her moods and brilliant is she”,
in her first prime®’, without a rival. Chosen from all lands
was 5116", amongst them all a perfect sun’*®.
(89) Qiva’s heaven. Here probably, as usual, confused with 1007818.
(३३) Grierson reads (bha nls bhaati nag lageu weht. Shukla reads lag ubehe
and explains ubehe as ‘selected’.
{11) Grierson reads hot कक : Shukla (better) kori (carved)
(kk) Shukla's hyphens are not needed
(84) Again, it is Indra’s heaven, not Civa’s which 18 filled with houris
(li) Grierson’s reading nau rang su-rang mah sot ia better than Shukla’s
naurang suranzgam sot
(85) Acoording to Hindu rhetoricians heroines are of three kinds, the
mugdhyy or the Artless, the madhya or the Adolescent, and the prawdha or
te ei the Mature, iad in form, and experienced in all the arts of love
vati was a praud
(mm) Grierson has sakal dip mahan chuni chunt ant [of those whom]
(he chose and brought from all lands), Shukla reads sakal dip mahaa jett
rant (of all the queens who were in the whole island)
(86) The 12 kinds refer to the twelve digits (kal7) of the sun. She was
the sun in all ite twelve digits, #.¢., complete
8; 25-—-8:2 | THE BIRTH ॐ
Maidens with all the thirty-two*’ points of excel-
lence are there, and amongst them all is she matchless.
Every one in Simhala telleth the tale of her beauty.
3. THE BIRTH OF PADMAVATI
I. He who created Campavati’s perfect form, now
desireth to make Padmavati incarnate within her. A
tale of fairness is there shortly to be, for who can wipe ott
what is written in the book of fate? Simhala was called
the isle (dpa) of Simhala, because such a light (कद)
shone there. The light’ was first created in the heavens,
and next took form as a jewel, the head of the father’.
Then entered it the mother’s body, and in her womb re-
ceived honour®. As the months of pregnancy were ful-
filled day by day did she become more manifest in her
mother’s heart. As a candle shaded behind a thin cloth,
so in her heat did the hidden glory mantfest itself.
The people [in their joy] adorned their palaces with
gold, and plastered them o’er with sandal; as the light-
(dipa)-like jewel of Civa’s world was being born in the
isle (dipa) of Simhala.
2. Ten months were fulfilled, and the hour came,—
the maiden Padmavati became incarnate. She was as it
were drawn from the rays of the sun, for they lost their
glory as she increased. Though it was night, it became
as clear as day; yea, the whole [world], like unto mount
Kailasa‘ was rendered luminous. Such beauty of form
was manifested, that the full moon itself grew lean and
waned. She waned and waned until she became but the
new moon, and, for two days, in shame hid she herself
(87) The thirty-two points of a woman will be found described in the
commentary [Sudb&kar’s commentary at p. 77]. Some of them will not bear
translation into English. ॥
Canto 3.
(1) It must be remembered that in the esoteric interpretation of the
poem Padm&vati represents wisdom.
(2) According to Indian tradition the brain is the ultimate seat of pro-
creative power.
(ॐ) 4.¢., was appropriately nourished.
(4) Civa's heaven, Probably, as ueual in the poem, Indra’s heaven,
Amar&vatl, ia meant.
38 THE BIRTH 8: 24
behind the earth. Then, when she again rose, she was
but the humbly bent moon of the second day, 30° God
(in his mercy] made her pure and holy to console her’. The
odour of lotuses (padma) [was exhaled from the new-born )
child, and] pervaded the earth, and bees and butterflies
came round her on every side
Such beauty had the maiden, that no other could be
compared with her. Happy is the land where so fair a
form is born.
3. The sixth’ night came with its happy sixth night
service, and with joy and dancing did it pass. When dawn
appeared, came the pandits, who drew out their holy
books’ and interpreted her birth. ‘At the most propitious
hour hath she been born. A moon hath risen which hath
illumined the whole sky. The moon [in the sky| hath
Tisen upon the world in the sign of the Virgin, and hence
her name must be called Padmavati®. The sun’ hath,
as it were, met the philosopher’s stone’, and from its
trays hath been born a diamond more giorious than they,
and worthy of the diamond hath been born a still more
perfect spotless jewel (vatna)'". She hath been born in
(5) There sre no markings visible on the moon when it is two days old
It is hence considered pure, and is worshipped when in that condition. For
the same reason, the moon on Mahadéva’s head is always represented as two
days old. The full moon, on the contrary, is covered with marks, and is not
80 much worshipped as being impure. Compare note 9 on next page, Note
that the poet treata the word saat, moon, as feminine, contrary to Hindt custom.
(6) See 81087 Peasant Life, 1406. It is believed that, on the sixth
night after birth, Brahm& writes on the child’s forehead its future fate. Hence,
on this night, astrologers are called to prepare the infant’s horoscope. The
occasion is one of much rejoicing, and the greatest care is taken that no demon
or ghost should approach the mother or child, and that nothing unlucky should
happen. It 18 said that on the sixth night Yacidda held Kygna crookedly to
her breast, and that, in consequence, Krsna squinted all his life
(7) A Sanskrit MS. is usually kept wrapped up in a cloth. Hence the
expression ‘drew out’
(8) According to Hindt astrologers each nakgatra, or lunar asterism,
has certain syllables allotted to it. The sign of the Virgin includes a portion
of the asterism of Uttara-phalguni, the whole of the asterism Hast, and half
of the asteriam Citr&, of which the syllables, in order are ‡0, pa, 71, pf, 93, ma,
pd. Padméavati must have been born in the third carana of Uttara-
aa unl, १.६., when 3 8106488, 20 kalais of the sign of the Virgin had been passed
the moon, and hence her name had to commence with Pa
(9) The sun is Gandbarva-Stna, her father; the philosopher's stone,
Campévati, her mother; and the diamond, Padmfvatl. herself
(a) Grierson reads str paras saur bhacu gurira. Shukla reads stir prasan
aas ०8.04 phirtya (the sun praises her as he revolves)
(10) The Jewel (rains) is of course, Ratna-séna, who was to woo and
win Padma&vati
$: 33 | tit pimith Ag
Simhala-dvipa, and will go to death’s abode from Jambu-
dvipa’’.
Een as when Rama was born in Ayodhya, with the
thirty-two” lucky marks; as Ravana was fascinated
when he saw Rama; so all when they see her will be fasci-
nated, as the moth is by a candle.
4. The astrologer had written’ the proper horoscope,
and having blessed her returned home; and when the
damsel was five’? years old, they taught her to sit, as
a pupil, and to read the Puranas. Thus Padmavati
became wise and learned, and the kings of all the world”
heard of it. ‘A girl is in the king’s house at Simhala,
very beautiful hath God made her incarnate. In the
first place is she a Padmini, and, in the second, a Pandit.
We wonder meet for what mate hath God created her thus.
He in whose house fate hath written that Lakshmi**
will be there, will get this learned fair one.’ So suitors
came from the seven continents, and bent before [the
king], but they obtained no favourable answer, and went
home one by one.
The King saith in his pride, ‘I am Indra and my king-
dom is Civa’s'” heaven. Who is my equal’*? With
whom shall I discuss marriage relations ?’
5. The Princess became twelve years of age, and when
the King heard that she was full grown and fitted for a
(11) Jambit-dvipa here means India.
(b) The thirty-two lucky marks of a man are given in Sudhédkar’s
ose p. 77, at the end of the note on the thirty-two poimts of a woman,
| (८) Grierson reads AAi janam patri so likht. Shukla reads kahenhs 2.2, jo
८४४. (They declared the horoscope which they had written).
(12) According to the Jyautiga-phalita, a child should commence the
alphabet at the commencement of its fifth year.
(13) Literally ‘of the four quarters’.
(14) Lakgmi is, of course, the goddess of Good Fortune.
(15) Again the confusion between Indra and Civa.
(16) According to the proverb bibah, bair, aur prtit, seaman meh soh’tn
i, marriage, enmity, and love, are only proper with an च 2887018 18
for bar&khi, the vara-parikgd, or testing of the bridegroom, When a marriage
ig arranged, a sum of money is given to the bridegroom, and then he is bound
to carry out the agreement. ‘This ceremony has various names, such as barékhl,
1 , Sagal, or chék&, and is equivalent to a betrothal.
(17) #. ९., a safe place, fit for a zanina, to which men could not ap a
This is important in the later portion of the story. when she is wooed by Ratna-
s8n2.
mate, he gave her for a dwelling his seven-storied palace’’,
and for her fellows did he give her maidens with whom
she might sport in her happiness. All of them were
young virgins, nor had any e’er lain with a man, They
were like waterlilies blooming by the lotus.
Padmavati also had a parrot, a great Pandit’®,
Hiramani by name. God had given the bird such glory,
that his eyes were like precious stones, and his face as it
were rubies and pearls. Golden was the colour of this
beauteous parrot. Yea, he was, as it were, gold that had
been melted with borax’’.
Together ever remained they. Together 1ead they
the holy books and the Vedas. When .Brahma heard
their reading so did it pierce his heart, that he himself
nodded approval.
6. The child Padmavati was now of full age, and
[God] had made her young limbs [straight 25 | glistening
standards?*), The scented odour of her limbs per-
vaded the universe, and the greedy bees came round her
on all sides. The sandal breeze of Malaya invaded her
dark serpentine locks’*, and on her forehead sat the
new-moon?? two days old. Her brows were bows from
which she aimed the arrows [of her coquettish glances] ;
her eyes were like those of the large-eyed antelope, lost,
and gazing {for its mates]. Her nose was like unto a
parrot’s, and her face bloomed like the lotus; the whole
universe was charmed as it gazed upon her form. Her
lips were rubies, her teeth were diamonds, and her heart
(18) The expression Pandit should be noted, The parrot, we shall
see subsequently, was a Brahmana.
(19) Borax is the usual flux for gold, and its use is said to improve the
colour of the metal.
(20) Here there are puns. The word bart means either a young girl,
ora garden. Kart means properly a young shoot, and can be metaphorically
तवक to mean limbs. ४ The verse may, hence, be also translated, ‘Padmavati
like a garden, was now full grown, and God had made its young 80008 straight,
etc.’ In the next verses the metaphor is carried on. The garden is apa ied
with bees (lovers), and snakes (her raven tresses), and 80 on.
(d) Grierson’s reading is Dhuj dhavart sab kart sarhemrt. Shukla reads
१०८४४ racks vidhi sab kala samvart (God, in fashioning her, had decked her with
charms
). |
(21) Mount Malaya is celebrated for two things, its sandal trees, and its
akes,
(22) An emblem of purity. See note (5) to 3(2)4.
$; 6-7 rae BintH qt
rejoiced ‘neath her golden breast-oranges. Her waist
the lion’s and her gait that of the elephant:
gods and men alike laid their heads in the dust when they
saw 11672".
No such was eer seen upon the earth. The Apsarases
[first learned to] gaze with unwinking eyes [through gaz-
ing at her]***. For her did Yogins, Vatins, and Sannya-
sins undergo austerities.”°
{7. One day the princess Padmavati said to Hiramani
the parrot; “Hear, O Hiramani, and give unto me advice.
Day by day cometh the God of Love and tortureth me.
My father doth not push on the matter [of my marriage],
and out of fear my mother cannot address him on the
subject. From every land come suitors, but on none will
my father cast his eye*®. My youth hath become [irre-
sistible] as the Ganges, and in every limb doth the bodiless
Cupid?’ wound me.’ Then replied Hiramani,—‘What is
written by fate cannot be wiped out. Give me the order,
and I will go forth and wander over all lands, and seek for
a king worthy to be thy spouse.
‘Until I return to thee, keep in restraint thy heart
(23) They reco त her as an incarnate deity. In the esoteric meaning
of the poem she 18 Wisdom.
(24) The Apsarases are the nymphs of Indra’s heaven. scape Dh to
tradition they are unable to close their eyes. This is the way they grow. €
poet puts forward the conceit, that they acquired this habit from staring at
Padm&vati, The passage, literally translated, is The Apsarases kept thetwr eyes
tn the ether (akaca), t.c., they kept staring down from heaven, through the
ether intervening, to see Padmivati.
(6) Grierson’s reading is jag kot disi/s na त च्छ achhart nayan aks. Shukla
reads jag koi duhi na avai aAchhahin natn aks [None like her] comes to sight
on earth: the eyes turn to heaven [to look for her like}.
Jaial generally uses the form achAart though he uses apchhar in 20(12)2
and apchhars for the rhyme in 22(3)3. He probably did not know of the
(Sanskrit) Apsaras with her unwinking eyes. He would have known the
ee apeara or achAart (fairy) and identified her with the Houri of Paradise.
umaon folklore the Acharis are the daughters of Ravan king of Lanka,
who offered them to Siva, the presiding deity of the Himalayas. According to
another legend the Acharis met the god Krishna and became his Gopis and
still dance with him. (Oakley and Gairola: Himalayan Folklore p. we
(25) Similarly, it is the poet’s conceit that the holy men mentioned really
pened all their austerities, not to obtain salvation but, to obtain a view of
admkvatl’s countenance. Regarding Ydgins, Yatins, and Sannydsins, see
note (33) to 2(6).
(26) ॥ ९. Bet ia of : &nkhi ig इह, to fall in love with, is a common idiom.
(27) Kandarpa, the Indian Cupid, was destroyed by Oe hes for endea-
vouring to excite his passion. Civa turned his terrible third eye upon him,
and burnt him to ashes. Ever since Cupid has had no bodily form,
6
42 mie Bret $:- 96
and thy thoughts’. There was there some wicked
who heard the parrot, and, who after consideration, went
and told the king?®.}
8. ‘The king heard that [Padmavati’s] countenance
had become changed, because that the cunning parrot had
given her knowledge [of good and evil]. He gave his
royal command to kill the bird ‘for he is talking of the
sun [ie., a husband] where the moon [Padmavati] has
risen. The parrot’s enemies were the barber and the
torch-beaier?®, and when they heard the order, they
ran upon him as if they were a cat; but the princess hid
him so that the cat could not find him. “My father’s
command,’ [she cried], ‘is upon my head [and binding],
but go ye and tell him my supplication with folded hands.
No bird is a reasoning creature. He knoweth but how to
eat and how to fly. That which a parrot reciteth is but
what he hath been taught. How much sense hath 2
creature whose soul hath no eyes 7
‘If he see rubies and pearls, his soul knoweth them
not. He fancieth that they are but pomegranates and
grapes, and so doth he fill his beak with them’.
0. So they returned to the king with this reply, and
the parrot did humbly address Padmavati, eating fear
within his heart. ‘Princess, mayst thou live happily for
ages, but give unto me leave to betake myself to a forest
home. When once the beauty of a pearl hath been fouled,
how can its water®® e’er again be pure? No safety is
there for that servant, whom his master in his heart®? is
determined to kill. How can even the name of birds exist
in the house where the death-cat danceth? In thy rule
have I seen great happiness, so much that it could not be
written if I were asked to recount it. Whate’er my heart
(28) This set of verses is almost certainly an interpolation, and has
been added to explain what follows. Some sort of explanation is लनम ४
but the interpolation is clumsy enough. The language is not Malik M 18
and the presence of the wicked malo in the zanfina portion of the palace is not
(१) Better ‘when the king heard, his countenance was changed.”
(29) The traditional enemies of every Brahmana ; as he does not require
their services as match-makers before his marriage. N&Q एड might possibly
be translated ‘a damsel of the barber caste.
(30) 2715 = 76, the water of a jewel |
(31) Aniaz=antapkaraa.
82: 049: I MANASARODAKA 43
desired, I ate, and I depart lamenting that I have not
served.thee [more]
: “He tkilleth luckless ones, who feareth not his own
faults. What sport can the plantain have, that dwelleth
nearthe [thorny] jujube’ 2
“` 20, The princess then said in sorrow, ‘If my life go,
how can my body survive? Hiramani, thou art the dove
` ग my life, nor have I ever found thee wanting in thy service
I fain would not sift parting into thy service’’; may I ever
keep thee in the cage of my heart. I am human, and thou
art my darling bird. Our love for each other is a pure one,
and who then, can dare kill thee ?* What [a mean] love is
that which fadeth in the body*®*. That alone is love which
departeth with one’s life. Take thou the burden of my
love and there will be no sorrow in thy heart, whether on
the path of (that) love there be good or there be evil. How
can that mountain-load of love upon thy shoulder be des-
troyed, for 1t is bound unto my life?’
The parrot would not stay, for it still feared in its soul
that soon that death would come; ‘for’, thought he, ‘if
@ man’s steersman be his enemy, he will some time sink
the ship.’
4. THE MANASARODAKA LAKE
I. One day, on the full moon festival, Padmavati
went to bathe in the Manasarodaka lake. She called all
her fellows, and, like a garden went they all’. Some were
campakas’, and some companions were Indian jasmines*
(32) If the plantain sportively flung ita leaves about, they would be
torn by the jujube’s thorns
(33) voice sweet as that of a Cuckoo (प्प).
(43) ४.९. one can always remain longer under water than one would
maar’? The MS. la inserts two stanzas here, which serve as an introduction
to this one. According to them Padmfivatj laments the loss of the necklace,
and her friends to comfort her call upon the lake (called only here samufhda.
ocean) to give it up. The stanzas are evident interpolations.
(45) Down to its inmost depths. A philosopher’s stone converte every-
thing it touches to its own substance : hence, the pure bodies of the girls had
converted the lake to purity.
(46) In stanza 6 Padm4&vati is named the moon, and the companions the
(47) A pun on the word +€, swan, and Aas’nZ#, to amile.
(48) The poet makes each peculiar virtue of the lotuses, the swans, and
the aes in the lake, due only to some virtue of Padm&vati, and borrowed
र 2 THR PARROT 49
5. THE PARROT
I. While dear Padmavati sported thus, the parrot
descried a cat within the palace’. Said he to himself,
‘Let me haste away while I have still feathers on my body ;’
so with his bare life he fled till he saw trees of the forest’.
He fied with his bare life to the forest tract, where the
birds met him, and showed him great honour’. They
ali brought and laid [ food | before the branch [on which
he sat]; for, so long as [God] prepareth food for man, it
never faileth**. He ate the food and his soul was pleased,
and all the sorrow which had been his he forgot. O God,
great is thy protecting power, Thou who givest food to
every living creature. Even the insect amongst the stones
Thou hast not forgotten; and where Thou hast remem-
brance, there Thou givest food.
The sorrow of separation lasteth but so long as the
belly is not filled. Then is it all forgotten and becometh
but a memory: yea [the meetings of former years] are
become like a meeting in a dream’.
2. The house-keeper came to Padmavati [at the lake],
and told her that a cat had entered into the house.
‘The parrot which would give answers when asked hath
flown away, and the empty cage no longer speaketh.’
When the Princess heard this her soul did dry up’. ‘Twas
Canto ए.
(1) Here one or two printed editions insert a long account of the reason
for the parrot’s flight. He sees a maidservant stealing Padmévati’s flowers,
and remonstrates with her. The maidservant in a fury, plucks him, thrusts
him into a pot, and throws him down a well, from which he escapes by the
aid of a friendly fig tree. The whole is written by a bad imitator of the real
author, and is plainly not original.
(2) “peal the meaning of bana-qdhakha, see 1{10) 3 note (22).
(3) wi प} usually attack end kill tame ones; but, such was Hira-
mani’s virtue that they came forward to receive him and showed him honour.
(4) +%.e., wherever & man may go will he find that God has placed food
ready for him there.
(a) Grierson reads Ans dhare agai eab eakha : bhuguli na वः ५४४ lakhs
rabha. Shukla reads ani dhare agai phari amkhn : bhuguti bheat 12४८ lahi bidhs
rakha (They brought fruit bearing branches and {५ thein [ before him ],
presents of food so far as God had provided them therewith).
(४) Grierson reads janu sapne bhai bhent. Shukla reads jab eampati bhat
bhest (when there is good fortune, there is meeting again).
(0) Grierson reads svkh jiu gaeu, Shukla made sabhin sukh gaew (her
happiness departed utterly).
q
50 THE PARROT 8: 2-3
as though night fell, and the day had set. An eclipse had
seized the effulgence of the moon, and the sky became
filled with stars°’—her tears. "T'was as though the dyke of the
lake had burst [with a spring tide], and the waters had
begun to flow away. The lotuses sank beneath the flood,
and the hovering bees fled away*. The star-tears fell and
dropped, as though, deserting heaven, they rose from the
lake which now they filled*. Her necklace of pearls broke
and its pearls were scattered’. They fell and repaired the
flood breaches in the banks of the lake’.
‘Whither hath this parrot* flown? Seek, friends, for 1ts
abode. Is it on earth or in the heaven, for the wind itself
cannot overtake it °’
3. Her fellows stood all around, comforting her and
saying, “Thy parrot is gone. How can we now find him’?
So long as he was in the cage, so long was he thy slave, and
did serve thee continually. But now he is released from his
bonds, and how will he again come back unto his prison?
He ate the flying-fruit’® on the day that he became a bird,
and found wings to his body. He hath left the cage to her
to whom it did belong, and is gone, and each hath got his
own. T'was a cage with ten doors’’', and how could he escape
the cat ? How many such hath this earth not swallowed up ?
So strong-bellied is it, that it never looseth them again.
(5) A lunar eclipse can only occur at full moon, when the stars are not
visible till rendered so by the darkness of the eclipse.
त (6) ६.९. her lotus face was drowned in tears, and her bee-like eyes were
en.
(१) Grierson reads bhar: : Shukla reads mahan (in).
(e) Grierson reads chhthuri (scattered) : Shukla reads (not 80 well) chthur
(from her hair).
(7) The poet first says that her tears caused the lake to overflow and
burst its banks. Then, to explain how the neighbouring city was not washed
away, he adds that the pearls of her necklace fell and filed up the breaches.
(8) Tho ta in suaty¥ is a diminutive of endearment.
(9) There is a double meaning throughout this stanza. The parrot is
taken to represent the human soul; the cage, the body ; and the cat, death.
(10) The Udana-phara is a fruit which confers the power of flight. It
18 eaten by every bird.
(11) Areference to the ‘nine doors’ or orifices of the human body, through
which breath is expired at the moment of death. The poet counts ten
counting, instead of the mouth, the two orifices of the throat divided by the
auvula. The ordinary list is the mouth (1), the two ears (3), the two eyes (5),
the two nostrils (7), the organs of excretion and generation (9). The friends
now suggest that the Parrot is dead. ;
(f) I think it is better to take the tenth door to mean the Yogio brah-
marandhra. cf. note (cc) to 2(18)1,
) 5; 3-4 THE PARROT 5१
‘Where there is nor night nor day’’, where there is nor
air nor water, in that'forest doth thy dear parrot dwell.
Who can bring him back to thee °’
4. The parrot passed ten days there in happiness, when
one day came a fowler hidden behind a screen of leaves.
Step by step he came, weighing heavy on the earth, and
when the birds saw it their hearts became filled with fear.
‘See’, cried they, ‘this wonderful, this ill-omened sight. A
tree walketh along towards us. All our lives have we lived
in this forest, nor ever have we seen atree to walk. If to-day
a tree doth walk, it bodeth no good. Come, let us flee, and
leave this forest’. So all the birds flew away, and sought
for another forest, only the learned parrot mistook [the
portent] in the weariness of his soul. He gazeth upon the
branches round him, and fancied them his kingdom. He sat
there secure while the fowler approached.
The 217 * had five forks, each smeared with birdlime.
These became entangled in his body and his feathers'*. How
did he escape without being killed 2
5. Captured thus was the parrot in the midst of his
delight, and the fowler broke his feathers and thrust him
in his basket. Thereupon many birds became distressed’,
lamenting among themselves. ‘How can grapes produce
such poison seeds, by which hath come his death, and his
crushed frame and wings? Had he not had a desire for food,
why should the bird-catcher have entered [the forest] with
his lime, and hidden himself. By this poison-food hath
Hira-mani’s wisdom been deceived, and death hath come
with his [limed] stick in hand. This false illusion of the
world hath led us astray, and hath broken our wings, even
as our body began to swell [with egoism]". This heart is
hard that dieth not at once when struck; and, intent on
seeing food, seeth not the net*”’
er , ~~ _ — Ae ee
(12) The abode of the soul after death
(13) See Bihar Peasant Life, 381, where the whole process is described
(14) Literally, his body filled with feathers
(£) Ishould prefer to translate ‘In that basket many birds were
chattering
(h) Grierson reads chirai pankh ८85 tan phula. Shukla reads jych pankhi
tareas tan phiila (as we are 01708, so has our body swelled [ with pride]
(16) All this is Védantik philosoph
(i) Grierson reads jar=jal. Shukla reads kal (death)
+
<2 THE 24८२0 Bs 594
"Rating thus this poison-food, we have lost our wisdom ;
but thou, O Parrot, wast a pandit, how didst thou became
entangled? ?’
6. The parrot said, I also thus went astray. The
cradle of my pride, in which I swung, broke down. I took
upmy dwelling in a plantain forest, and there fell into com-
panionship with jujubes [or enemfes]’’. My food, eaten
happily in the home of my tribe’’*, became poison when the
fowler approached. Why did the tree of pleasure bear such
fruit, so that from behind it as a screen he hath caught
birds? Secure I sat behind the screen, and knew it not till
the gin struck my heart’. Happy and secure men count
their wealth and deeds, and have no care that in front of
them is death. So also I was led away by that pride, and
forgot Him from whom I had received these things.
“When” there is no anxiety in eating, then only is eating
pleasant. Now that the noose is on my neck, what good is
there in weeping ?’
7. On hearing his reply they wiped away their tears,
and said “Who fixed wings on things with teeble wisdom
such as birds? Brilliant is not the wisdom of birds, or how
could a cat seize a learned parrot ? Why doth the partridge
thrust forth its tongue in the forest, and why doth it utter
the call which placeth the noose upon its neck’*. On the day
on which our feathers first grew and our name of “bird!”
was invented, on that day also was born the hunter to take
our lives. Greed with covetousness hath become our dis-
ease*”, We see the food but see not the hunter. Because of
° (j) Grierson reads phanda. Shukla reads bajhw. The meaning is the
same.
(16) Here there is a series of elaborate puns. Satr} means an enemy,
and also the jujube tree, which is covered with thorns.
(17) Kuramra is for kulaluya. Pharahurt is the same as pharuhurt in
2(4)4 and means trees which bear 87081} fruit. The translation khurhur
is a alip of the pen, based on a reading since discovered to be incorrect.
(k) 1 should prefer to translate kurwar ‘pecking’. (The fruit diet
which इ happily pecked at).
(1) Shulle places v. 5 after v.7.
(m) Grierson’s reading jab is better than Shukla’s jrw.
(18) Fowlers track the partridge by its loud evening and morning cry.
ef. 9(6) 9 note (19).
(19) Literally, feathered one.
(20) Here there 18 the play upon the word biadha, a hunter, and biadhi,
disease
§:.9—#: 1 THE BIRTH OF RATNA-SENA 83
our lust he spread the bait : because of our pride he desired
to slay us. Because we were secure he came stealthily.
What fault was the hunter’s? Ours was the sin.
‘Why shouldst thou do that sin, in the doing of which
thou givest thy life? Now there is naught to be said, and,
O king of birds, silence is the best.’
6. THE BIRTH OF RATNA-SENA
1. Citra-sena' was King of Citra-pura (Citaur), who
built a fortress and a castle, decorated as a picture.’ In his
line was born the illustrious Ratna-sena. Blessed was the
mother that gave birth to such a boy. Pandits calculated
according to the lore of body-marks and looked upon him.
They gazed on his beauty and found his special stellar con-
junction®. Said they, ‘In Ratna-sena*®, have many gems
taken bodily form’. Brilliant is his form as a jewel. On his
head gleameth* the precious stone [of good fortune]. A thing
glorious as a gem‘ is written as his mate®. Glorious will they
be, as the sun and moon together. As the bee is distraught
apart from the jasmine, so will he be for her, and become an
ascetic. To Simhala will he go, and there obtain her, and
having become successful in his quest’, to Citaur will he
bring her.
‘E’en as Bhoja® enjoyed delights; e’en as Vikrama’,
Canto VI.
(1} Some Mas. have 8८111. See p. 15, note 2.
(2) Citaura is a corruption of nd Sa the picture—fort. We shall
henceforth use the more familiar name of Citaur.
(a) Grierson 76848 lagan: Shukla lakhan (marks).
(3) Ratna means jewel.
(b) Grierson reads bahu nag autary : Shukla yah kul-ntrmara (he of pure
(c) Grierson reads ९०7 : Shukla par# (lies, is situated).
(d) Grierson’s padik (ruby) is better than Shukla’s padum (lotus).
(4) Throughout the poem, the comparisons of Ratna to a diamond,
and of Padmivati to a ruby are of frequent occurrence.
(5) Or perfected in spiritual knowledge. There is a double meaning
(6) Bhdja was the celebrated king of Dhara in Malwa, in whose reign
(about the 10th or 11th Century A.D.) the civilization of India 16 traditionally
said to have reached its culminating point. ;
(e) Grierson reads correctly Bho} } bhog : Shukla Mog (a misprint) bhoj.
(7) Vikrama or Vikramiaditya,—see page 9, note 2, The well-known
sambat-era is referred to him. It is considered the height of glory to be the
founder of an era, and such eras are temporarily founded at the nt day.
For instance qn era is used by some peop lo dating from the Poet Hariecandrs
of Benares, who died the other day. (It is called the Harigcandra-sam bat),
here
54 THE MERCHANT 6: i—4: £
founded an era, so will he.’ Thus having tested Ratna, the
jewel, like jewel-testers, did they write down all his marks.
7. THE MERCHANT
71. A certain merchant of Citaur went to Simhala to
trade, and there was a very poor Brahmana who went thither
with him when he set forth. From some one did he borrow
money in the hope that perchance by going thither he might
increase it. The way was hard, and much toil did he pass
through, and finally he crossed the ocean and arrived at the
Isle. He gazed at the markets, so yast that he could not
see the other side, and of every thing was there much and of
nothing little. But very high is the trading there. The
wealthy man getteth what he wanteth, but the wealthless can
only gaze in wonder. Things were sold there by myriads
and by millions ; to things worth thousands did not any one
bend himself.
All [his companioris] bought and returned to their home.
What would the Brahmana get there, for very small was
the money in his poke.’
2. [He lamented, saying], “Dried up do I stand. Why
did I come? I have got no merchandize and naught has
remained to me but regret. I cate here to market, expecting
a profit, and by walking on that road. I have lost even my
capital. Why have I learned the lesson of dying? I am
come to die, for death was written in my fate. While I had
still power to move, I made a foolish bargain. I see no
profit, but only the loss of my capital. Did I sow parched
grain’ in a former life, that I am come and have eaten even
the savings of my house? The merchant with whom I did
my business,—if he wait at my door for payment of my
Canto VII,
(1) Gath: is the knot in a man’s waist band in which he carries his money.
The word literally means sugarcane. Sathi-natht, means crushed sugarcane,
whenceall the juice has been expressed. It is hence used to mean ‘squeezed out’,
hence ‘without wealth’. From this idiom e&thi has come to mean ‘wealth’.
[ Vide 2 (14) 9, note (४)].
(2) He refers to his karma, or (good) actions in 8 former birth. These
he compares to seed which he then sowed, and of which he should now be
enjoying the fruit. He now says, he must have sown parched seed (f.e., have
done something to nullify his karma), which has produced no fruit.
५ |
T: 2-4 THE MERCHANT 55
debt, what am I to give him ? How am I to enter my house
empty 2 What answer am I to give him if he ask me?
‘My companions are gone. My fair fame [will be] des-
troyed*.: Between us are oceans and mountains. Hopeless
of hope do I return. O God, give thou unto me subsistence’.
3. Just then the fowler came up with the parrot, all
golden in its colour and matchless in its beauty. He offered
it for sale in the market. where the’ price of jewels and rubies
was settled. But who would buy the parrot, the fly of a
Madara tree*, which was looking intently to see where it was
to go? The Brahmana came up and asked himself, ‘Is
this parrot possessed of wisdom, or wisdomless and empty °’
Said he, ‘Tell me, thou mountain-born, if wisdom be with
thee and conceal it not within thy heart. Thou and I are
both Brahmanas*, and everyone asketh another his caste.
If thou art a pandit, then recite thou the Veda; for without
asking is no essential attribute discovered.
‘I am a Brahmana and a learned man. Tell me thine
own wisdom. For if a man recite before him who is well
taught, the gain is two-fold.’
4. The parrot replied, ‘Sir, I once had wisdom, when I
was a bird escaped from the cage. Now what wisdom doth
thy disciple’ possess, forhe is a prisoner, thrustinto a basket
and brought for sale. Learned men are not brought to
market. But I wish to be sold, and therefore is all my
learning forgotten. ‘IT'wo paths’ see I in this market: along
which of them will God’drive me? Weeping blood my
countenance hath become red, and my body pallid. What
tale can I tell? Red and black upon my throat are two
collar-like marks. They are as it were nooses, and I fear
(a) Grierson reads sat bichal# : Shukla satg bickhuraz, not so good, as it
merely repeats what goes before (my companions have left me).
(3) According to 7(1)7, prices ruled high.
(4) The Madara or Arka (Asclepias gigantea) is a plant used as medicine.
It is of little account, except that its flowers are offered to the mad God Maha-
०९१४, This in fact is one reason for its light estimation. A bright कक fly
settles on it, which, of course, is of still lesa value, and to it the bright green
aati 18 compared, The parrot is anxiously looking to see what its fate is
to be.
(56) The Parrot is the Brihmana of the bird tribe.
(9) Shukla’s comma after datd spoils the sense.
(6) One to the east, the other to the west,
56 | THE MERCHANT T 46
for my life exceedingly’. Now have I recognized these
nooses on my throat and neck. Let us see what these nooses
are about to do.
‘Much have I read and studied, and that fear 15 _ still
before me. I see the whole world dark. All my knowledge
have I lost, and I sit bewildered.’
5. When the Brahmana heard these words he entreated
the fowler. ‘Be merciful and slay not birds. O cruel oné,
why dost thou take another’s life ? Hast thou not fear of the
guilt of murder? Thou sayest that birds are food for men’,
but he is cruel who eateth other’s flesh. Weeping dost thou
come into this world, and with weeping dost thou depart ;
yet, natheless, dost thou sleep in enjoyment and happiness.
Thou knowest that thine own body will suffer destruction,
still nourishest thou thy flesh with the flesh of others. If
there were not men so greedy of others’ flesh, why then
would fowlers capture birds? So the fowler who continually
captureth birds, selleth them, nor desireth them in his own
heart.’
The Brahmana bought the parrot, when he heard its
knowledge of the Vedas and Holy books. Then joined he
his fellow travellers and started for Citaur.
6. In the meantime King Citra-sena had gone to Civa’s
{2780156 ] and Ratna-sena had become monarch of Citaur :
and behold there came a report to him : ‘O King, merchants
are come from Simhala. There are pearl oysters filled
with elephant-pearls, and many goods of Simhala’s isle.
A Brahmana hath brought a parrot, all golden in its colour,
and of matchless beauty. Red and black upon its neck are
two [lines like] necklets, and its wings and shoulders’ are all
inscribed with scarlet. Its two eyes glow like rubies, ruby-
(7) Male parrots, when full-grown, have two ring-like marks, one red
and the other black, round their neck. These are often compared to nooses.
Compare 9(2)6, and 9(6)9.
(c) Grierson reads pankhi-khaduk (bird-eaters) manava (mankind) :
Shukla pankhi ka dos 1 (what fault does a bird show? ) Bhagwan Din
punctuates, Lakes pankhs ‘tain byadh manava.’ (The bird said, “You, 0 fowler,
are & human being)”. A speech by the parrot is wanted, to explain the end of
the stanza,
(१) Grierson reads Siva ककि :; This might be a corruption of the
Sanskrit sivasa yujyam ( ee: gathered to Siva t.e., death). Shukla reads sar रकतं
(had received funeral rites, lit., had adorned hia pyre).
(8) Paths or pattha is the joint of the wings with the body.
T: OF THE MERCHANT 5
coloured is its beak, and its speech is nectar-like. On its
forehead is the castemark, and on its shoulder a Brahmana’s
thread. ‘Tis 2 poet like unto Vyasa, and ‘tis learned like
unto Saha-deva’.
‘What words it speaketh have meaning ; and those who
hear it wag their heads in admiration. So priceless a parrot
should be in the King’s palace’.
7. Forth went the King’s command, and they sent
men running, who quickly brought the Brahmana and the
parrot. The Brahmana gave his blessing and began his
supplication : ‘Never would I separate myself from this
parrot, which is like my soul; but this belly is a devourer
of the universe’, before which bow, yea, all ascetics and
devotees. If a man hath no coverlet or bed, he can lay him-
self upon the ground with his arm beneath his neck. A
man’s eyes may refuse to see, and then he is but blind. His
mouth may refuse to utter words, and then he is but dumb.
His ears may cease to hear, and then he is but deaf: but this
belly never loseth its peculiar function. Many and many
a time is it continually at fault, and must go begging from
door to 0007179, or else it is not satisfied.
‘This is that which calleth me here, and which bringeth
me hunger and thirst. If there were no enemy such as
this, what unsatisfied desire of aught would any have’ ?
(9) Vyisa was the celebrated com i. or arranger of the Mah&-bharata.
Saha-ddva was one of the five Pandava brothera, heroes of the Mahia- bh&rata,
and was celebrated for his learning. [The half verse is repeated in 38(1)2}. -
(e) I should prefer to translate bisytst, as elsewhere, ‘untrustworthy’.
The word should really have the contrary meaning but Jaisi was not a Sanakrit
r.
(10) The word bara has many meanings, owing to many Sanskrit words
having phonetically developed into it. The following story illustrates this.
89780882, the celebrated blind poet and singer, once sung the following
verse in Akbar’s court.
Jasud& bara bara yaha bhakhai
Hai kou 111 hamard Braja men calata Gopalahi rikhai.
The Emperor asked the meaning of the words bara bara. Some said it
meant ‘repeatedly’ (Skr. v7#ram-varam) ; othera that it meant ‘at every door’
(dv%rash-dvAramh); others ‘to all children’ (b4lam-balam); others ‘to all the girls’
(6alam-balam) ; others ‘stopping continually’ (varja varja kara); others ‘may
I be sacrificed’ (balasy# 12 (2 kara); others ‘lighting lamp after lamp’ (d§paka bara
bara kara); others ‘with water water’ (Skr. wri vari), i.c., weeping; others
‘day by day’; others ‘raving’ (varvara). At length the Emperor asked the
poet, and he explained that the verse meant ‘every hair’ (Skr. bala bala) of
508 cries out, ‘is there any friend in Vraja, who will take care of GBp&la
(the infant Krsna) as he crawls about’.
(f) Grierson reads Kehu पण kas Ws. Shukla reads Kehu na kehu kai we
(no one would have any use for anyone else).
58 THE MERCHANT 7; 8-9
8. The parrot gave a blessing, promising mighty pomp,
mighty prowess, and an unbroken rule. ‘Full of fortune
hath God created thee. Where there is good fortune,
there beauty standeth reverently in attendance’*. Some
men come to a man in the hope fof obtaining a favour],
while he who is without hope sitteth silent on his seat.
Others without being asked say their say ; and when they
speak, their say, as clay, is worthless. When a man is
learned and educated, and knoweth the mind-secrets of the
Vedas, then, when he is spoken to, he replieth like unto
Saha-deva’’® ५. No learned man praiseth himself, but if he is
brought for sale, he desireth to speak ; for so long as his.
virtues are not made manifest, so long no one knoweth the
secret concerning them.
(Therefore say I] ‘I ama pandit learned in the four
Vedas. Hira-mani is my name. With Padmavati did I
sport”, and there used I to serve her’.
g. Ratna-sena recognized Hira-mani as a learned bird,
and bought him from the Brahmana for a hundred thou-
sand rupees. So the Brahmana gave his blessing and
departed, and the parrot was brought into the royal palace.
How can I describe this parrot’s speech ? Blessed be he that
first dubbed him Hira-mani (or the diamond-jewel). When-
ever he spake, he looked towards the King, and his words were
like the pearls ofthe necklace which has the hearer’s heart
for its thread. All that he spake was rubies and coral,
otherwise he remained silent like one that is dumb. [He
would tell tales of love, and], as it were, strike [his hearers]
dead, and then would he revive them with words of nectar.
He became a spiritual guide, and the whole world became
his disciples. He used to tell the tale'* of the sun and moon,
and with the story of passion did he ravish all hearts.
(11) ०.९. Thou art not only fortunate but beautitul.
(12) See 7 (6) 7 note 9.
(g) Perhaps this should be ‘Sahadeo, though he was learned etc., only
replied when he was questioned’.
(h) Grierson reads Padmavatt sauh math ranvaurz: Shukla (better)
Padmmvatt saunh meravaun (I will bring you to a meeting with Padm&vatl,
and I will serve you there).
(13) jw dijas would mean ‘your name be effaced : why should you eacri-
fice your life’ ?
(k) Grierson) for jn4n (Shukla) and omitting the hyphen.
(1) An expression tor complete व of the disciple’s will to the
a 9 guidance. So in Kabir, sts धद bhusa dhare tupar rakhas pane dis
abun yor kahat aism hoz to mv, and ep. 13(3)2
86 LOVE 11: 5-7
an anchorite, an ascetic or a hermit. if by pleasure one
could attain true happiness, no one would abandon such
pleasure in order to practice austerities. You are a king
and desire to obtain pleasure : it does not beseem a man
of pleasure to practise Yoga.
“Perfection cannot be attained by wishing for it, nay, net
till penance has been performed. This the unfortunate
wretch knows who cuts off his own head (४.८. renounces
everything).
6. “But what is the use of telling the tale of Yoga ?
Ghee is not produced without churning curds. So long as
a man does not lose himself, so long will he not attain what
he seeks. God has made the mountain of love difficult of
access : only he can ascend it who climbs with his head”.
On that path the sharp point of a stake arises: a thief will
be impaled thereon, or a Mansur’. You are a King : why
should you clothe yourself in rags ? You have the ten ways’
at home (2.९. in your body). Lust, anger, greed, pride, and
delusion, these five thieves never leave your body. They
are lookimmg out for the mine entrances, and will rob your
house by night or by day”.
“Awake now, O senseless one, the night is becoming
dawn. Nothing then will come to your hand when these
thieves have robbed you.”
7. Hearing these words the King awoke to conscious-
ness. He gazed fixedly’, not winking an eyelid. From
his eyes rolled down pearls and rubies (7.e. tears and
bleod) : he was dumb as one that has eaten (drugged| gur.
The light in his heart looked like a lamp to him, and
other lamps (or the islands—dip—of the world) seemed
darkness." His gaze turned away from illusion in
(m) १.९. laying down his head, in the sense of abandoning himself to his
guru's imstructions
(n) Mansur a celebrated Sufi martyr known as Anal-hag. He was
learned in the Vedanta and took the name of An-al-haq (the so’ham of the
Upanishads—‘I am He’). This was पथ as blasphemy, and he was
impaled at Baghdad by order of the Khalif& Muktadir. (922 A.D.)
(0) The ten body openings op. 2(17)3 note (67) and 2(18)] note (cc)
(p) ५.९. unleas you can control your passions, it is no use attempting
to practise Yoga
takjaka lagu (Grierson) for pem chit l. (Shukla) love
(q)
was fixed in his min
(7) For the esoteric meaning of what follows, see Shukla’s Introduction
p. &
14: 7-8-13: 1 THE YOGI 82
anger and returned not thither, knowing it for false.
(He meditated thus] ‘‘When worldiy things are all uncer-
tain, .why should one choose to live in this desolate
world ? The guru is he who brings the spark of love: he
who receives it and kindles fire with it is the true disciple
Now I would be like an insect with the ichneumon fly’
I would become a bee for her for whose sake I have been
burnt
“Roving from flower to flower, I will inquire {for her]
and if I reach that ketaki, I will sacrifice my body for
union with it like a bee which gives up its life.”
8. His kinsmen and friends gave him much good coun-
sel, but the King did not heed anyone’s cajolery. If the
pains of love have arisen for anyone, the advice of others
only makes them greater. Though words of ambrosia were
spoken, he thought them poison, while he thought that
words of love were sweet. Ask him about the sweetness of
love who has eaten of it after subduing the senses’. Ask
Bharthari" about it : he left his ambrosial kingdom when
he had eaten poison. Mahesh (Shiva) is called a great
siddha, and yet he affixed poison to his throat. |The
King said] ‘‘ The rays of the sun are about to be display-
ed : who will be like Hanuwant” and give hope?
‘“So do you all prav for my success. With 241" auspi-
cious beginning may accomplishment be brought about
What guru will not set his disciple on the path of the
secret which he himself has attained 2”
12. THE YOGI
1. The king left his kingdom and became a Yogt.
Lover-like he took his violin his hand. His bodv was un-
cared for, his mind was distraught and drooping: love was
me न णु भ ~ = क भ क क = cig a a क, -> ~~ ~ ५
(8) For the ichneumon fly, cp. note (15) to 9(5)
(t) Thete is a pun (here and in २,6) on btshai (object of sense) and
bish (poison)
(ण) Bharthari or Bhartribari, the poet prince of Ujjain, brother of Vi
kramiditya, who renounced the world on learning that his wife was unfaithful
He ia the legendary founder of one sect of Yogis, who pox ballads about his
re र some atories his guru was Jalandharnftha, in others Gorakhn&tha
imse
Alluding to Hanumiin’s 0 the antidote for Lachhman’na
den (न the of the sun — .
(w) Lit, Ganes who is the God of good beginnings. Cp. 33(3)9
88 THE YOGI 12; 2
fixed [in his mind] and a tangled knot of hair was on his
head. He whose face was bright as the moon and whose
body was fragrant as sandal wood, reduced his person to
a clod of earth, smearing it with ashes. [He was provided
with}* string girdle, horn whistle, ring and gorakh-
dhandha, with Jogbat, rudraksha necklace and crutch.
Clothed in patch-work he gripped his staff in his hand,
with a view to becoming a siddha’, as Gorakh* prescribed.
In his ears were ear-rings, round his neck a rosary, in his
hand his drinking bowl, on his shoulder a tiger’s skin, on
his feet were wooden clogs, and he had an umbrella over
— (1 were -- ~ ~ ~ - णी "9 es al
[क छ 1 EE a रीण
Canto 12.
(a) Jaisi’sdesoription here and in 50(2), 50(8) and 51(2)6,7 of the ५७
व 8 corresponds with what is worn and carried by the present day Go -
n& ogis. Boe Briggs’ 1 . 6-22. Mahant Digvijai Nath of
Gorakhpur, with whom I have discussed, does not accept the acouracy of
Briggs in some details. He also dislikes the title of Briggs’ book Gorakhnath
the ४ Anima Yogts. They prefer to be known as क कार.
Mekhal, (a one girdle worn round the waist). The word is also applied to
the janeo or sacred thread, of 9 strands of wool, worn round the neck. To this
is attached the Singhs or singhné&d (® horn whistle about two inches long) by ॐ
ring (Briggs’ preitr3) which is probably Jaisi’s chukra. The dhandAart is the
gorakhdhind4, a puzzle of iron rings and rods about 3 feet long. च व्क can only
mean the way of Yoga: the textis probably corrupt; Grierson has jogot7,
another unknown word, which Sudhakar ch a lains as either ‘purifying Yoga’ or
‘the support of Yoga’. Rudraksh, the nec of large seeds of the स + UB
नुक Adhkart : the Sabd sfigar explains as either ‘wallet’ or ‘crutch’. The
rakhnaithi Yogi carries both these, but calls the first jholt and the second
phaori from its mattock shape. Jaisi probably means the second. Kanthn
is patchwork clovhing, of which a good instance is shown in the photo of the
Mahant of Puriin Briggs’ book. Dand 18 a short ebony wand supposed to have
healing and magical properties, Mudra is the ring (generally of rhinoceros
horn) worn in the large opening made by splitting the cartilage of the ear.
Ratansen's ears are not actually split,—see25 (22)5. The japmait is the rosa
of amall rudréksh beads, generally 108 in number. The udapan (or kaman १५)
is the drinking vessel, carried by a handle, and made of gourd or of metal.
Bagh chhtla: a hide is generally carried, but it ia the hide of a deer. The
tiger skin would be very unusual, and is perhaps an indication that Ratansen
is not really a Yogi but a monarch in disguise, Panwart (clogs or pattens) and
chhaim (umbrella): it would not be strictly correct for a Yogl to carry these;
this also may be an indication that the Y og dress is only a disguise.
Khappar 18 the begging bow] made of cocoanut shell. The red (or ochre) robe
ia worn in memory of the cloth stained with her own blood given by Parvati
to Gorakhaath.
(b) For Siddha see 24(2)1 note (c), but here the word may mean only
‘succesafnl in attainment of an object.’
(c) The reference to Gorakhn&th here probably means no more than
that Ratansen disguised himself as a Gorakhnathi Yogi, but the connection
between Gorakhn&th and Chitor offers an interesting field of research. We
learn from Tod that Samarss, prince of Chitore (brother-in-law of Prithviraj
and an ancestor of Ratansen) was addressed as Jogindra, or ‘chief of ascetics’,
and there are legends connecting Gorakhn&th with the foundation of the king-
dom of Mewar (Briggs p. 245 ff), and also of Nepal.
13: 1-3 THE YOGI 85
his head. He carried a begging bowl and had put on red
attire.
He set out to beg for happiness, having made outward
show of penance- and Yoga in his body. “ May I win
Padmavati [he said] whose love is implanted in my heart.”’
2. The astrologers made reckoning and said “ It is not
(a time for] departure to-day. Choose an [auspicious] day,
that your business may be successful.’ [He answered]
^“ [पच € who is on] love’s path does not look to days or
hours ; he will do that when he is of right understanding.
When love is in a man’s body, where is his flesh? There
is no blood in his body and no tears in his eyes. The wise
men are wrong, they do not know the right day for setting
forth : fate does not inquire about an auspicious day for
taking a man’s life. Does the distraught widow ask the
wise men [if it is an auspicious day for committing Sati],
and, [if not], remain at home and arrange the household
utensils? If a man dies and fhis body] goes to the
Ganges, does anyone prescribe an auspicious day or hour
for that? Where have I obtaimed any house or home ?
Only for an hour is it mine : in the end it is another’s.
“I am a wayfarer and a bird: I have set out roving
to find the grove where I would be. Do you go to your
own houses.”’ |
3. Drummers carried the order in all directions.
“The King’s army has been mobilised. All you who are
the captains of the host, take provisions for the journey :
the expedition is a distant one. It is to Singhala-dvipa
that we are to go, where you will not be able to buy
commodities. You will exhaust all your substance [in
getting] there and, without substance, a man’s face is
in the dust. The King has set forth, making himself a
Yogi: let all the folk make themselves ready speedily
and set forth with him. Let him who used proudly to
ride on horse-back now walk upon the earth with his
eyes fixed on heaven. Accept initiation® and be his
companions : wait upon him, all of you; and go before
him.
(9) Mantra is the initiatory verse which the disciple receives from his
guru or some other Yog! (Briggs, p. 28).
12
90 THE YOGI 13: 3-5
“(Why art thou careless, O mortal? Occupy thyself
with thine own mind. Be wakeful and take [heed]
beforehand, that thou mayest not repent later in thy
mind.”’
4, Ratansen’s mother besought him saying, ‘‘You have
the umbrella of sovereignty above your head and the royal
dais ever beneath your feet. Enjoy the countless wealth
with which fortune has favoured you and do not leave your
kingdom to becomea beggar. Your body was always anoin-
ted with sandal-paste and now behold it is covered with
dust. You used to spend the whole day in enjoyment: how
will you now perform penance and austerities? How will
you endure the blazing heat without any shade ? How will
sleep come to you [lying] on the [bare] ground? How
will you clothe yourself in rags and tatters ? How will
you go upon your journey on foot ? How will you endure
hunger at ali times 2 How will you eat dry crusts ?
“Your royal throne, your army, and your court are all
bright in your light alone. Remain seated [on your
throne} and enjoy pleasure and bliss. Do not go away
and leave them in darkness.”’
5. ‘Mother, speak not to me of such temptations.
No one can reckon happiness, or even his body, as his
own. When, in the end, the body must become ashes,
who would nourish this clay*, only to be crushed by the
burden of it? Why should I be entranced by these
sandal perfumes when every hair of my body is an enemy ?
Hand, foot, ear, and eye, these all will join to bear witness
against me in the next world. Every particle of my body
imputes sin to me. Say then by what way can salvation
be attained. If kingships and enjoyment were good things,
Gopi Chand‘ would not have engaged in Yoga. When he
saw that all created things were transitory (bird like)*, he
(9) ep. Hamlet’s ‘Who would fardels bear,
To grunt and sweat under a weary life’;..........
(f} Gopichind, a king of Bengal who renounced his kingship and became
an ascetic under the influence of Gorakhnath. Like Bharthari, he is the hero
of ballads sung by Yogis. °
See Grierson : The song of Manikch&nd. J.4.8S.B.1877 and 1888,
(g) Reading with Grierson Uhau sisiji (creation) jo dekh parewa ;
Shukla’s Unh hiya-dtihi jo dekh paréwa might mean ‘When he saw with the
vision of his heart that [his own condition was like that of} & bird.’
128 : 5-7 THE ४०८५] gt
left his kingdom and took up his dwelling in the Kajari
forest".
“Seeing that all things must in the end be so, my Guru
has given me his instructions. I shall go to the island
of Singhala. Mother, give me your permission.’’
6. Nagmati weeps in the harem, “Who has exiled you
to the forest, my beloved? Now who will make me a
happy woman? I too will go with you and become a
Yogini. Either you must take me with you, or you must
slay me with your own hand before you depart. [What
else is there for me] when you depart, a husband so dear?
Where Rama is there Sita must be with him. So long as
my life does not depart from my body, I will do you service
and will wash your feet. Granted that the beauty of a
lotus lady is marvellous, still no one is more beautiful than
I am. However the eyes of men may rove they should
not’ turn their backs on those whom they know.”’
All his queens join in giving him their blessing: “May
the umbrella ever be above thy head. Keep thy royal
state in the fortress of Chitaur and maintain us, our beloved
lord, in wedded happiness.”’
7. “‘VYou are women, and deficient in sense. The man
is & fool who takes advice of women-folk at home. When
Raghava (Rama) took Sita with him, Ravan carried her
off, so what success did he obtain? This world is like a
dream : we are separated as though we had never seen
each other. You have heard of the wise King Bharthari :
he had sixteen hundred queens in his palace: they
cherished the soles of his feet on their breasts: but he
became a Yogi and took none of them with him. What
business has a Yogi with enjoyment? He does not desire
either wealth or wife or kingship. All he wants is dry
(h) Kajali ban, a legendary forest where dwell the Siddhas (note (£)
to 24(2)1), and in which is the tree (or the fountain), of life. See Sudhakar, p.
252/3, and his quotations from Mab&bb&rata, Vanaparva 145-6. It is also
identified with Zulm&t, the land-of darkness of the Alexander legend, see note
(31) to 1(13)5 and 42(5)1. The text has kadali in some places and kajali or
kajari in others. In 42(21)8 where it 18 a simile of darkness, kajali 18 clearly
correct. Kadali of course means banana.
_ (i) Reading with Grierson jinh jan tinh dinh na pwht for Shukla’s
jinhin jan tinh dtnht piiht (verily the eyes of men are roving: they turn
their backs on those whom they know best.)
92 THE YOGI 19 : 7-9
crusts to be had by begging : what has a Yogi to do with
warm rice ?
The King did not heed what they said: he left the
whole crowd of them. He went off leaving them weeping
and would not turn back to console them
8. His mother weeps [and says] ‘“‘My son returns not.
Ratan, my jewel, has departed and our home has become
dark. My son who rejoiced in kingship has been led away’
by a mountain-dwelling parrot.”” The queens weep and are
ready to give up their lives: they tear their hair and
scatter it like straw on a threshing-floor. They break to
pieces therr necklaces and garlands saying: ‘‘Now for whose
sake shall we adorn ourselves? He whom we were wont
sportingly to call our beloved has departed; for whose
sake isthis existence ?”’ They wish to die but cannot
manage to do so: when the flames arise, everyone puts
them out. For a short space of time there was a great
outcry : afterwards the weeping was exhausted.
Nine maunds of pearls were broken : ten maunds of
glass [bangles] were smashed. They did away with 211
their ornaments. There was a dance of lamentation.
9. The King issued forth, blowing a long blast on his
horn. He left his city, after covering himself with dust.
All his barons and lords made renunctation : sixteen
thousand valiant youths became Yogis. They abandoned"
all illusion and error: they realised that in the end they
could not keep these things with them. They all aban-
doned their folk and their families: they became separate,
leaving both happiness and unhappiness. They thought
only of the King in whose path they had set forth, be-
coming his disciples. Leaving everything, they went from
town to town, from village to village, and from place to
place. Who possesses any place of abode or any house
and property ? All things are His, of whom are the spirit
and the body.
The army of Yogis set forth, all of them having dyed
their clothes red. It was as though the dhak had flowered
for twenty Kos in all directions.
(1) Omitting Shukla’s comma after कामत.
(x) Set Awth=-Anth ee (were lost from their hands) op. 4(7)3 note 41.
19: 10-12 THE YOGI 93
10. The soothsayers observed the omens in front.
“On the right is a fish in a silver dish. A young woman
approaches carrying a pitcher full of water. A milk-maid
calls ‘who willtake my curds ?’ A gardening maid comes
with a coronal of flowers which she has woven. A king
crow sits on the head of a snake. On the right a deer
comes running out of the forest. On the left a partridge
calls and a donkey brays. A black bull bellows on the right.
On the left a white kite draws near, and a fox shows
himself. A copper-smith bird on the left, a Saras (crane) on
the right. You will reach fruition to your heart's content.
‘He who has such omens and sets forth in hope of
attaining an object, he has the eight great 5140015, as
the poet Vyas hath said.’’
Ir. “The expedition started and the King set forth. A
blast was blown on the horns of the Yogis. ‘‘To-day’’, they
said, ‘is a short stage. To-morrow the march wil] be a long
one. He who reaches the camp at the end of that march,
him we will call a good and true man. It is a mountain
way which lies before us with craggy peaks and very
difficult passes. Between the mountains are rivers, caves
and gullies : in many places dacoits are lying in wait. We
shall [go to where we shall] hear the shout of Hanuman’ :
who knows who will cross the strait, and who will be too
weary? Realising these things in your minds, prepare
beforehand ; tread in the steps of your leader.”
[Daily] they rise at dawn and set forth, and perform a
march of ten Kos. When travellers really go on the way,
how can they remain stationary ?
12. Be watchful and steady, O travellers. Look ahead
as you place your feet on the ground. Those who have
missed the road and have got lost, they have been slain.
(1) Jaisi’s list of auspicious omens is a longer one than I have found
elsewhere, ¢.g., in Crooke’s Popular Religion. The king-crow sitting on a
snake’s head has been mentioned previously—10(17)8. The donkey bray ing
on the right was a favourable omen with the Thugs, by whom it was call
pithan as I am informed by Mr. J. H. Frere of Gorakhpur.
(m) For the 8 siddhis see note (v) to 11(8)8.
(n) For the allegorical meaning of the journey, see Shukla’s Introduo-
tion p. 81. Itis the way to Yogic emancipation, as well as the way of love.
{o) %.¢., to the southern extremity of India, where Hanuman # his
double) was posted as watchman over the straits between India and Lanka.
See Sudhtikar’s Commentary p. 272.
94 ‘HE YOGI 18; 12-13
They knew not how one shall journey on the way. Let all
of you don clogs on your feet, so that thorns may not
pierce them and pebbles may not become imbedded in
them. Now you have come into the region of jungle and
mountain, where there is the dense wood of the Dandak
forest’, On all four sides the thick dhak forest 15 in flower :
in great distress will be he who loses his way there.
Leave the road which is beset with thorns: do not tear
your clothes by getting them caught in brambles. On
the right is Bidar, Chanderi* on the left. Of these two
places, which is the way ?
One way goes to Singhala, the other to the neighbour-
hood of Lanka’. Both roads are before us; to which
island are we to journey ?
13. Thereupon spoke the sagacious parrot : ‘He leads
the way who has beheld the road. How can he fly who
has no wings on his body? He clings to the dhak when
the sal-wood is sinking’. He is like the blmd who accom-
panies the blind: he cannot find the road in such com-
panionship. Hear my counsel, if you wish to succeed in
your object. In Bijanagar 15 the king of Byaygiri. You
must come to where the Gonds and the Kols are, leaving
on your left Andhiyar and Khatola. To the south, on your
right, dwell the Tilangas and to the north on your left is
the fortress of Katanga. In the midst is Ratanpur and
Singh Duwarat. Keepthe Jharkhand mountain on your left.
“Further on you have Orissa: leave that way also on
the left and, taking a turn to the right, go down to the
ocean-shore.”’
(p) The Dandsk-aranya, the scene of Rima’s exile, between the Vin-
dhya range and the Godavarl.
(q) See Shukla’s introduction p. 232-4 for the geography of this stanza
and the next: also Sudhakar, p. 277-282. Identifications are uncertain, and
probably the places were only names to Jaisi. Shukla identifies Bidar with a
place of that name in Borar (not with the place near Golconda). Chanderi
Is in Gwalior State, west of Lalit ‘se
(८) Jaisi did not realise that Singhala and Lanhk& are both names for
the same island,—-Ceylon, cp. 2(2)2 note (10).
8} The simile 18 not very clear, but there may be puns on 24175 == (1)
dhak (2) leaf and on s#khu=(1) aaél (2) branch. Dhak wood floatsin water
while 881 wood sinks,
(४) Singh Duwara—Chindwara. Jharkhand between Chhota Nagpur
and Orissa (Chattisgarh).
13:14—18:2 THE KING’S TALK WITH GAJAPATI Qs
14. They march every day and they bivouac in the
deer forests. Mats of kusa grass are their bedding (lit.
mattress and sheets) and they lie down upon the earth.
When they have marched tei leagues their bodies are wet
with dew : they apply ashes to them and rub them in.
The disciples all sleep, each in his place: the Kmg him-
self alone keeps awake. He in whose heart the passion of
love has sprung up, how can he feel hunger or find sleep
or rest? In the [dark forest,”] in the dark night, in the
month of Bhadon, love is exceedingly grievous. He gras-
ped his viol in his hand like a Bairagi, and from all the
five strings the one sound” came.
His eyes were fixed on the way that led to the island
in which Padmavati was, just asthe chatak in the forest
or the shell in the water waits upon the Sewati".
13. THE KING’S TALK WITH GAJAPATTI.
ए. A full month was spent in travelling on the way
until they came down to the shore of the ocean. ‘Ratan-
sen has become a Yogi ascetic’,—hearing this news the
Gajapati* came to meet him. ‘You are a Yogi and all
your host are disciples: to what island do you wish to
fare? It is well that you have come: now do mea
favour and bid me show you hospitality.’ “Hear my answer,
O Gajapati. I and thou are alike, but our dispositions are
different. Entertain him who has not this disposition :
you will ruin him whose affections are absolutely set [on
Yoga.] It will bea great thing if I can get boats and
journey, by your aid, to Singhala dvipa.
“Whither I have to go myself, thither would I take my
army across. If I live, I shall bring her [Padmavati] back
with me’: if I die, it will be at her door.”’
(प) Perhaps ‘in the frest of Andhiyar’,v. 42 (12 )4.
(v) 4.e¢., the name of the Beloved. There 18 a pun on dhunt=(1) sound
(2) absorption of thought. In relation to the latter meaning, the five strings
symbolise the 5 senses.
(छ) Sev&ti or रुषत् is the 15th asterism, in which 9 drop of water
falling from the clouds enters the closed shell and becomes ४ pearl : see 23(18)4.
The Ch&taka (p&piha) also waits for the Svati in order to quench its thirst,
v. 23(10)9 note (w).
al a —
Canto 13.
(a) Gajapati was a title of the kings of Kalitga (See Sudh&kar’s Com-
mentary p. 2886).
(1.) Reading tab let phiraua (Grierson) for Shukla’s tas bahuraus (then
I will return).
96 THE KING'S TALE WITH GAJAPATI 18 : 2-2
2. Gajapatisaid ‘‘On my head be your demand: thereshall
be no lack of boats and ships. I shall bring them all and give
them to you, newly built ones: flowers which are offered to
Mahesur (Siva) are flowersindeed. Still, I have one thing to
urge respectfully on your Holiness: the way is difficult, how
will you travel on it? There are seven oceans‘, vast and
boundless, where crocodiles and alligators slay men. The
waves rise up and cannot be controlled. It is only by
good fortune that an occasional merchant gets through.
You enjoy happiness and are a king in your own home :
‘for what purpose shall you endure such risks? Some one
may perchance reach Singhala dvipa if he takes his life in
his hand.
“The salt ocean, the ocean of milk and of curd, of water
and of wine and the enormous kilkila: who can sail
through these oceans and cross them,—who is it that has
such strength ?”’
3. ‘Gajapati, a man’s mind 15 the limit of his strength.
Still, if a man has love, what does he care for life? He
who lays down his head" before he places his feet in the
way, what can death do to him? He is dead already.
I have given up pleasure and have taken sorrow as my
provision for the way; and so have I set forth with my
face towards Singhala. It is the bee who knows the love
of the lotus ; he it is on whom love’s distress has fallen.
And he who has seen the ocean of love, he will count these
oceans amere drop. Truth has brought the seven oceans
into order, just as the mountains are no burden to the
earth. If a man has tied his life to the raft of truth, even
though life is lost, he will not turn back for anything.
“(€ whose puppet I am’, my guiding string is in his
hand. Let him seize the string and draw me, and nothing
will turn my head.”’
4. “The ocean of love is exceedingly deep: there is
no boundary on this side and on that nor any bottom. He
who falls into this ocean of milk, if he lose his life, may
(¢) For the seven oceans mde 1(2)1 note (£). Only six are named in
v. 8 below, perbaps because M&nasarovar, the seventh, is a quiet one
(d) ५५३ 11 (4) 7 note (1)
ere 18 & pun on n#fh=(1) an actor (2) 8 nosestring. There is 2
similar allusion in 24(7)8
18: 4-6 {HE KING’S TALK WITH GAJAPATI 9
still become a swan’ and fly to the other side. I*am
Padmavati’s almsman. I have no eyes for the ocean or
for the Ganges. I am going by that road where I may
meet her for whose sake I have rags and tatters on my |
‘shoulders. Now I will lie in this ocean | of love | as one
that is dead : when one is dead, what can water do to
him? Iam dead and float with the current: let it take
me where it will. So long as I am on the way to her, any
creature may seize and devour me. I will throw myself
into the ocean, knowing that, if Iam devoured, I shall
speedily attain salvation.
“My head is in heaven, my body is on the earth, my
heart is the ocean of love. My eyes are like king-fishers
which keep on picking up drops from it, and flying up
with them.”’
5. The distress of severance awakens a grievous fire :
burning or dying [ the lover] finds surcease. He loses
there both fear and shame : he sees nothing, neither water
nor fire: if he sees fire, he runs to meet 1६ : if he sees
water, he plunges straight into it. Such a senseless one
cannot be made wise by instruction : he [ only ] sees clearly
the road on which he goes. He recks nought of the fear of
sea-monsters : all he desires is to get across and see the
beloved. Lions and tigers will not devour him : he 15 drier
even than wood. Body and illusion are not with him :
[the Guru J, to whom he has given up his spirit, is his
companion.
The king bestowed all the money that he had with him
in gifts to men and [ he said ] “There is no knowing but
that God may bring me across the ocean in recompense for
some merit.”
6. Blessed are that man’s life and heart, whose
light/largesse® is set on high in the world. Such a light/
largesse is above all prayer and penance : there is nothing
in the world equal to this light/largesse. From one light/
act of largesse there is tenfold gain: beholding such light/
largesse all the world desires to look on it/the face [ of the
giver.] Such a light/largesse makes all before it bright:
(f) Hats hasa double meaning (1) swan (2) the emancipated soul,
-haha.
(&) Throughout thie stanza diy has the double meaning of lamp and
98 THE SHIPS 13: 6—~14; 1
where there is no light/largesse all is darkness. A light/
largesse makes a dwelling bright at night : if there is no
light/largesse thieves rob the house. Hatim® and Karna’
learnt how to give and their largesse has been recorded
in the scriptures or, the flame of light of Hatim and Karna is
a light which has been recorded in the scriptures. The
light/largesse is of service in both worlds : all that a man
gives in this world he gets in the next’.
He who has a lamp in his hand/given anything with
his hand - {185 made his road bright. No man will take
anything with him [ at death |, only the light/his largesse
goes with him.
14. THE SHIPS.
^. Gajapati saw that the king would not yield, but
was sincere both in his true resolve and in his liberality’.
He who has given his life beforehand [ in order to go on ]
that way, his body is not his own, it is nothing but a
clothing of rags*. The King set forth resolutely, abandoning
the doubt in his spirit: where there is courage, there
will be success. He set forth resolutely, abandoning
his kingdom: [Gajapati] gave him ships and gave him
all their equipment. The King went speedily on board
and the ships were rowed away. Happy is the man who
goes forth on [the way of] love. He who reaches his bourne
on the road of love never comes back to mingle with these
ashes. He attains the most excellent Paradise, wherehere
is no death but eternal dwelling in happiness. =,
What is the hope of this life? It is like a dream that
endureth half the twinkling of an eye. (Saith Muhammad)
those men who have died while still living, it is they whom
you should call Sadhus.
(h) Hatim. See 1(17)2 note 43.
(i) Karna. See 1(17)2 note 44.
{j) Cp. ‘What I gave That I have’, in the English funeral verse,
Canto 14.
(a) In Grierson’s text, this is the last stanza of Canto XIII.
(0) For the parable of Datt and Sat see Canto XXXII stanza 17.
Here, the king’s observance of these virtues bring’ him safely across the seven
seas : there, his transgression brings him to disaster in Canto. XX XIII.
(९) I have followed Grierson’s reading Apun nwhin kaya pas दयन.
Shokla reads Apnehi kaya apnehi kaatha, which might mean The king-had
of his own accord clad himself in rags and had given his life beforehand......
Perhaps the second mpnzhs conceals the word +त +,
ॐ
14 2-4 THE SHIPS 9
2. Asa herd of elephants roves in the forest, so the
ships set forth and the ocean was covered. The ships
speed, swifter than thought: they travel a thousand lea-
gues in the twinkling of an eye. The ocean is boundless :
it seems to touch the sky. He who is an ascetic does not
count heaven a trifle. At that moment a Chalha’ fish came
into view like a snow-capped mountain. When the Chalha
was angered there arose such a disturbance that the waves
reached the sky, and beat upon the land. All the young
warriors say to the King, ‘‘Such monstrous fish are there
in the ocean. We are quite willing to go by such a way,
but you must be prepared not to return again.
“Thou art our Guru, O King: we are thy disciples and
thou our lord. Where the Guru places his foot, there the
disciple should place his forehead.” *
3. The mariners laughed when they heard this talk.
‘The frog who lives in a well does not know what the ocean
15. This is a Chalha and does not attack any one. What
will you say when you see the Rohu? You have not yet
seen that fish, into whose mouth a thousand fishes such as
this would enter. Above this Rohu hovers a Roc (royal
bird) whose shadow spreads for a thousand leagues: he
seizes’ this fish in his beak and carries him off and places
him in his young ones’ mouths to feed them. When this
bird utters his cry, the sky thunders : the ocean heaves
when he flaps his wing. There {in the ocean] the moon and
the sun are lost to sight : only he who knows the way al-
ready should embark on it.
One man in ten makes the journey, [by virtue of] his
good deeds, his virtue, his penance and his obedience to
rule. When the ship reaches the further shore, then only
is there happiness and peace
4. The King said “I have devoted myself to love
where love is, how can there be happiness and peace? Do
you row on if you can do so: bring me across, as you cross
yourselves. I have no such care for happiness: happy
would it have been if I had never been born. ‘The earth
‘a (9) Except in these perilous seas, the cha&lha or chelhud is a small fish
ike s sprat.
(e) Reading goss (Grierson) for bhart (Shaokla) filling his beak with.
too TH SEVEN SEAS 14; 4—15: 2
and the sky are the nether and the upper millstones: no
one who comes between them can preserve his life. There
is one happiness though, for which I now pray, that having
pledged my truth, I may not fail on the way of love. If
there is truth in the heart, it is a light to the eyes and the
diver will not fear to plunge into the ocean. I will search
and sift the ocean, until Ratan (the jewel) and Padarath,
(the treasure), are joined.
4.5 [Vishnu] searched’ the seven hells and brought out
from them the sacred Vedas, so will I climb the seven hea-
vens and speed on the way which leads to Padmavati.”’
15. THE SEVEN SEAS.
I. He who has full truth in his heart can cross oceans :
if he has truth in his spirit, the coward becomes a hero.
By this truth, fleets of ships are moved: by this truth
the winds give them wings, as it were. Truth 35
the companion, the spiritual director, the helper’:
if truth rows it will take you and bring you to the
other side. Truth keeps a look-out fore and aft wherever
there are sea-monsters and turtles. The waves rise and
stand erect like mountains, they go up to heaven and sink
down to hell. The ships are thrown about and receive the
shock of the waves: at one moment they are down below,
at another they are up above. The king had made fast
truth in his heart, that truth by which one can support
mountains on his shoulders.
He crossed the salt sea and came to where the sea of
milk is. These seven seas are connected”, though their
waters are separate.
2. How shall I describe the water of the sea of milk?
It is white in appearance, and like milk to drink. Rubies
~~ ¢) Reading jaskarheu (Grierson) for kai ktrhava (Shukla), (I will
search the seven hells and drag out the sacred scriptures). With Grierson’s
reading a subject has to be supplied for karheu. I have su pplied Vishay
but Viahnu (in the Matsya-avatar) recovered the Vedas, not from hell, but
from the bottom of the 868. :
Caxto 15.
(a) Reading sai guru sahivmra (Grierson) for sat kar saneart (Shukla)
‘the world is Troth’s.
(b) In the Puranas, the seven seas are separated by continents. For
the seven seas in both Muslim and Hindu tradition, see Dar& Shikoh'’s Majma-
ul-Bahrain, XVII, Discourse on the divisions of the earth.
15: 2-4 THE SEVEN SEAS 161
and pearls and diamonds rise and fall in it : seeing such
riches, the mind is unstable. The mind desires riches and
enjoyment, but they make it lose the way and are des-
tructive to yoga. Ifa man isa Yogi, he controls his mind :
the riches which his hand holds he will throw into the sea.
Let him who is a Raja take riches: of what use are they
to him whois a Yogi? To the pilgrim on his road riches
are an enemy : they are like a Thug, a footpad, or a thief
in his company. He is a pilgrim who is estranged from
riches : many who have collected riches have been looted:
{The King] crossed the sea of milk, and came to the
sea of curds. They who are love’s frenetics, for them
there is neither heat nor shade.
3. The sea of curds is in appearance burning hot‘, but
love's frenetic 15 initiated in burning. Happy 1s the spirit
which love has burnt: he makes the curd set and churns it
and extracts the Ghi. One drop of curd makes all the
milk set: one drop of acid destroys the water. The
breath is the string, the mind is the strong churning stick :
unless the heart is smitten, the butter will not break its
way out. He who has love in his spirit, for him fire is
like €001 sandal: he who is without love turns away and
flies in fear. If anyone is burnt by the fire of love, his
distress is not in vain. He who knows the truth will set
fire to himself : he who has not the truth in his heart can-
not attain the truth.
They crossed the sea of curds : what can restrain love,
whether water fall on the [lover's] head or burning coals ?
4. They came to the boundless sea of ocean* whose
conflagration burns earth and sky. Such is the fire that
is born in this sea that Lanka was burnt with a single
drop of it. Tove’s distress arises and is extracted® from
this: it is never extinguished but spreads through the
world. He who suffers love’s distress, will not pay regard
(c) The meaning of this stanza, which is a not very clear allegory of
Jove (sacred and profane) and butter-making, is further obscured by puns on
dadhs (curds) क dadha (burnt).
(d) Udadht samudra. It was called the jal udadht in 13(2)8.
(6) Reading ददात (Grierson). Shukla's gasha would mean strong.
102 THE SEVEN SEAS 18: 4.6
to [any other] fire’: he will stand up to it and be bumt ;
he will not turn his back. Terrible in this world is the
edge of the sword, but more terrible yet is the flame of
love’s distress. If the road were not so inaccessible everyone
would attain success merely by wishing for it. The king
plunged into this sea : he was ready to be burnt, but not
2 hair of him was burnt.
As oil bubbles in a cauldron, so all the water bubbled
and seethed. [The king| was the Malaya mountain’ of
love, and the breeze from him impregnated the sea.
5. Then the king came-to the sea of wine, which
swells proudly", drunk with mahua spirit. He who drinks
of it experiences vertigo: his head goes round, and he
cannot set his feet on the road. He who has the wine of
love in his heart, why should he sit in the shade of the
mahua trees? [The king] had drunk the grape-wine (of
love] with his Guru and had brought his mind under control
after subduing the babul-tree-like enemy. In the flame of
love’s distress he had made his body a still and had burnt
his bones like fire-wood for it : he had distilled' with the
water which flowed from his eyes ; the liquor that ran out
was [as hot] as a burninglamp. Love's distress roasted his
flesh on spits and tears of blood kept falling.
(Muhammad saith) By means of the wine of love they
attained that island/lamp’ Until he goes into the
lamp, giving his head for it, like a moth, a man shall not
get this food. |
6. Next they came to the sea Kilkila. Their fortitude
deserted them and they were terrified at the sight of it.
Its surge rose with a noise like its name, as though the
sky were broken in all directions. Waves rose like moun-
tains and swept round for a hundred leagues. It swelled
(f} Reading jsnh ao birch teht Agi na. ए (Grierson). Shukla’s वफ
so birah gi kah (ष might mean ‘where there is this love, what notice is taken
of fire?’ if kah be taken to=—kah7n.
(£) The Malaya mountain is noted for its forests of sandal, the charac-
teristics of which are fragrance and coolness.
(h} Literally ‘displaya ite chest’. I have placed the hyphen (with
Bhagwan Din) between mahu7 and mad.
(i) Pot# is the technical term for a water-cooling jacket used in dis-
tilling.
(j) The usual pun on dtp (1) island, (2) lamp.
15: 6-8. | THER SEVEN SEAS 103
from earth to-heaven : it was as though the whole sea
were standing upright. The water was turned upside
down, so great was the roar of the sea im its churning.
You could see the sea sweeping round for a hundred
leagues as a potter’s wheel revolves. When it came near
it was like the annihilation of the last day: when a
man dies, it is annihilation for him. |
They all lost their senses when they saw the swelling
of the sea; it looked as if it would swallow them as it
approached, so did it glare at them.
47. Hiramani said to the king ‘‘By coming to this sea,
truth is shaken. If one does not win through to Singhala
Dvipa, {it is because] there is difficulty for everyone in
this place. This is the deep sea Kilkila: only he who
has special qualities’ can reach the further shore. Here
is a path’ in the midst of the ocean stream, dividing it
like the blade of a sword: thirty thousand leagues the
way” stretches, but it is so narrow that an ant cannot
walk on it. Its sharpness" is sharper than a sword and
its thinness thinner® than a hair. For this place you
must take your Guru with you: if your Guru is with
you you can make the crossing.
“Death and life are on this path : on it are hope and
despair. He who falls goes to hell: he who gets across
goes to paradise.”’
8. The king gave pan” to his army [and said] “Quit
you like men and let your minds be firm. If the leader:
is a hero then his soldiers will also themselves be heroes.
So long as the widow who is to perform Suttee does not
make a firm resolve in her soul, so long the porters will
not shoulder the litter. I have built my raft on the sea
of love, compared to which all these seas are but a drop
(p) Bitra aroll of betel or pan leaf given as a pledge of loyalty to a
person engaging on a dangerous undertaking. :
104 THE SEVEN SEAS 15: 8x20
of water. I do not desire the kingship of heaven, nor
have I any concern with hell: what I desire is to ob-
tain the sight of her who has taken and set me on the
path of love. What is difficult or easy foi a piece of
dried wood [like myself]? It will not sink in the ocean
gsea-monsters will not swallow it
He seized the tiller and pressed forward into the sea,
and all the others followed. None paid heed to any
other: each was for himself
9. Some of the ships fly like the wind : some speed
like a flash of lightning : some race like splendid steeds
and some go like stubborn bullocks. Some are like a
light carriage being driven and some go heavily, weary
with a heavy burden. Sqme crawl like ants: some are
broken and become* like dust. Some fee! the buffets of
the wind. Some quiver like leaves. Some fall into whirl-
pools in the water: they keep on whirling round with
no one to rescue them. The king’s ship was in front,
with the bird, the parrot, as pilot at the prow.
Some arrived early in the day, others after mid-night.
According as eack had equipment, so did each come to
the land.
10. They came to the seventh sea, the Manasar: in
virtue of the courage they had shown in their minds
they obtained fulfilment of their desires. When they
saw the glorious beauty of M4anasar, rapture spread in
their hearts like lotus petals. The darkness departed :
the inky blackness of night was removed : dawn came
and the rays of the-sun burst forth. "‘It is well:
it is well’’, cried all the companions. ‘“‘We were blind,
but God has opened our eyes.” ‘The lotuses open wide
like laughing faces on which the bees settle and suck
their sweets. The swans laugh’ and disport themselves :
they pick up jewels, pearls and diamonds. He who
arrives thus having accomplished penance and yoga
q) Reading sari (Grierson) for tar (Shuk!a) ‘down below
(r) 45६1, aett, as in 265(23)1 and 54(1)6, 18 probably an exclamation of
delight Hurrah | Orit may merely mean ‘There i
(8) See Shukla’s Introduction p.216/7 for his explanation of thia passage
(४) Theré is the usual pun ont as (1) swan (2) laugh
15; 10—16; 2 SINGHALA-DVIPA 105
will attain his hope in the enjoyment of the
Manasar.-
The bee which has made up its mind to come to the
Manasar, reaches it and rifles the sweets of the lotus : the
weevil, which could not find the courage to do so, eats
accordingly dry wood.”
10. SINGHALA-DVIPA
1. The king said “Say, parrot, my Guru, [what is
this?] I cannot tell what" [day-star] ha$ arisen today.
The breeze wafts a cool fragrance and applies as 11
were sandal to my body which was burning. Never
has my body been so cool: a breeze from the Malaya
mountain has fallen on the flame. The sun’s beams are
issuing forth: the darkness has departed and I see the
world bright and clear. But it seems to me that a cloud
rises in front, and lightning flashes, reaching to the heaven :
above this it appears that the moon is displayed and this
moon has swallowed the constellation Kachpachi (the
Pleiades). Other constellations are bright on all sides
like lit lamps in different places. `
“Vea andin the southern region, near-by, a golden Mount
Meru shows itself. As though the season of spring were
approaching, such is the fragrance that comes to the
world.”’
2. ^“ 0 King, thou art altogether like Bikram,’ thou art
like the truthful Harichand® or Bain. Thou hast surpassed
Gopichand" in Yoga and Bharthari‘ did not attain equality
(४) [ have adopted २५ conjecture of my friend Pandit Rim Naresh
Tripathi manasar bhogd for the accepted reading man ras bhoga (honour,
delight and enjoyment)
(ष) Sudhakar, pp. 344/5, cxplains this whole canto as an elaborate
त ry of Hatha Yoga practice, in which the seven oceans represent the
chakras or internal lotuses
Canto 16.
(a) Reading kaha (Grierson) for Shukla’s kahwa (where).
(b) Bikram—Vikramaditya. See 1(17)2 note (42).
(५) Harichind—Haridécandra, the celebrated king of Puranic tradition,
a model of truthfulness and liberality. Bain—Prithu the son of Ben, a bene
factor of mankind, whose deeds are told in the Puranas
(५) Gopichind see 12(5)6 note (f)
(९) Bharthari see 3 1(8)5 note (1)
106 SINGHALA-DVIPA 16: 2-4
with thee in renunciation. Gorakh' has given the {eight]
siddhis* into thy hand and Guru Machhandamath" has given
thee the key. Thou hast conquered by love both earth and
heaven: this Paradise of Singhala has been revealed to thy
sight. That cloud of which you speak 1s the fortress which
reaches to heaven the lightning the golden ramparts on
every side. Over this the moon which 15 filled with the
constellation Kachpachi is the king’s palace of gold stud-
ded with jewels. The other constellations which you behold
on every side are the mansions of all his queens
The sky is the lake : the moon is the lotus | Padmavati):
the night lotuses are the stars around it: you have risen
like the sun, and, to you, as to a bee, the hreeze has come
bringing the fragrance [of the lotus].
3. “Behold the fortress, O King. It is loftier than the
sky. Eyes cannot see nor can hands reach [to the top of
it]. A wheel of lightning’ whirls round it in all directions
and death’s lethal weapon revolves. If any man intet-
tionally runs up against it, struck by the wheel he 1s cleft
in sunder. The moon, the sun, the constellations and stars
one and all, from fear of this, revolve in the firmament.
The wind sought to reach thither but was smitten so that
it returned to earth and stayed there. Fire rose [against it],
but it was burnt out and extinguished in the end : smoke
rose but disappeared half way. Water rose, but could not
reach thither to touch it: it fell back weeping and came
dripping to earth.
“Ravan desired to attack it : his ten heads were cut off.
Shankar laid his forehead to the earth [before it], and who
but he is lord of the Yogis ?
4. ‘There behold the beauteous maiden Padmavati.
No bee can approach her. and not even any bird. Now I
will give you a device of Yoga [by which] you may first
attain to sight of her and then to enjoyment. Where a
-- - ~ - _ ~ ~ -* “~ — — =
»(f) Gorakh see 12(1)5 note (c)
(£) Siddhis see 11(8)8 note (भ)
(h) Machhandarnith or Matsyendranath, the guru of Gorakhna&th in
Yogi tradition (sce Briggs, Gorakhnath, passim, Sudhakar comm, p.240, 356)
(i) of a sword the flame,
Wide-waving, all approach far off to fright’. Milton P.L.X1,120/1
A similar revolving flame, the chakra sudaréan, protected Krishna's palace
16: 4-6 = SINGHALA-DVIPA 107
mountain of gold shows itself like Meru, there there is a
temple of Mahadeo. Its parts are like Mount Meru: to
reach that Meru it is a very wide circuit. In the month of
Magh, at the beginning of the second fortnight, 1६ will be
Sri Panchami.’ The door of Mahadeo’s temple will be
opened and all the world will go to worship. Padmavati
too will come there to worship and this will be the occasion
for you and her to see each other.
“Do you go to that temple and I will go tou Padmavati.
When she comes to celebrate the spring festival, then the
desire of your heart will be satisfied*.”’
5. The King said “If I may get sight of her, what is a
mountain? I would run up to the sky. The mountain
on which that sight is to be obtained, I would climb it on
my head, not to speak of my feet. A high place is pleasing
to me: on high I will call on the name of my beloved. A
man must keep a high heart and must from day to day set
his feet higher and higher: he must ever attend at the
doors of the exalted and must do business with those that
are high. If you gu on high, you will see the high quarters
[of the earth]: in the company of the high, the mind under-
stands high wisdom. You should always associate with
the high : for a high object, you should give your life.
“He whose ambition is set on what is high becomes
higher day by day. Even if, climbing on high, he should
fall, still he should never abandon that which is high'.”’
6. When Hiramani had spoken thus and told his tale
he went to the place where the princess Padmavati was.
When the parrot departed, the king too went to the moun-
tain", meditating on that lotus plant (Padmavati). Climb-
ing the mountain, what does the king see? A high temple
Sri Panchami, the festival of Basanta, the companion of Kamadeo,
sec 30(13) note (aa). Jaisi, here and m Canto XX, treats 1६ as the festival of
spring, though it actually comes two months earlier than the spring season
(also called Basant).
_ (k) There is a pun on pyjas—(]1) worship (2) fulfil.
(1) Compare George Herbert’s
‘Pitch thy behaviour low, thy projects high
So shalt thou humble and magnanimous be
Sink not in spirit : who aimeth at the sky
Shoots higher far than he that means a tree
(m) ‘There is a pun on parbat (mountain) and parbata (parrot)
108 THE VISIT TO THE TEMPLE 16: 6—17: 2
all bedecked with gold. Ambrosial fruits" are planted
there in sullest abundance and there too is planted the
root Sajivan’. Four-faced is the temple, with four doors,
and in all four doorways Gods re seated. Within the
temple four pillars are fixed : sms fly away from those
who touch these. Here resound snultitudinous conches
and bells and much hom is offered and many prayers
recited. \
This is the temple of Mahadeo’; men come thither
from all the world. Whatever wish any man has in his
mind, such fulfilment does he obtaim.
17. THE VISIT TO THE TEMPLE.
I. he king was distraught, the victiin of luve’s dis-
tress : with him were thirty thousand Yogis, his disciples.
In the hope of beholding Padmavati, he prostrated him-
self on all four sides of the temple. Entering by the
eastern door he bowed his head and, bowing it, came
before the deity. ‘Hail, hail to thee, O god Narain : how
am I worthy to do thee service? Thou showest mercy
upon 211 creatures, and dost not look for any man’s service.
I have no virtue; my tongue has no pleasing wurds :
thou art merciful and givest virtue to the virtueless. Do
thou fulfil my hope of seemg {Padmavati]: at every’
breath I draw, I am looking for the way [to ला.
“JT know not how to worship tn the way im which thou
shouldst be praised. Look favourably upon me and let
my wish be fulfilled.’’ |
2. When the king had praised [the deity| and offered
many prayers a tremendous’ voice sounded in the temple.
“Man by love becomes a denizen of paradise : else what is
(n) Reading phal sab lagu (Grierson) for sadaphar hare. Sadapha!
18 the name of various fruits, one of them being the custard-apple. :
(0) See 11 (2)4 note (d).
(क) Mahadeo (Siva) is the tutelary deity both of Kajpuls and of Yogis,
and it is in the fitness of things that Ratansen should go to his temple.
Canto 17.
(a) Reading hari (Grierson) for dhart (Shukla) ~tholding my breath’
(in suspense).
(b) Shukla explains akwi here as ‘sudden’ and in 20(10)2 as ‘heavenly’
The usual meaning is ‘vast’, as in 13(2)8.
.17:2—-18: 1. PADMAVATI'S PASSION 109
he? A handful of ashes. Love is penetrated by the
essence of severance, as ambrosial honey dwells in the
waxen cell’. If the wicked man run until he die, what use
is it? What the good man does, even sitting still,—in that
there is profit. If once a man does service, giving his
mind to it, the deity is pleased by the result of his
service.’ When he heard the voice whith echoed through
the temple, the king went and sat at the eastern doorway.
Smearing on his body ashes, as much as it would hold, he
became as dust, he who in the end would become dust
indeed.
Dust if put to sale will not fetch any price, yet all
things which are for sale are dust. He who looks upon
{ everything] as dust, his dust (body) becomes priceless.
3. He sat upon his tiger’s’ hide as an ascetic and =
recited the name of Padmavati over and over again. His
trance-vision was fixed on her, for the sake of beholding
whom he had become an ascetic. He grasped his viol
and played upon it aimlessly : morning and evening he
ever blew on his horn. His ragged garment burned as
though fire had been set to it: the flame of love’s dis-
tress when it burns cannot be put out. His eyes are red
from watching the road at night, like the eyes of a fright-
ened® chakor fixed on the moon. He held his ear-
rings and placed his head on the ground [saying] ‘May
I be the foot-stool on which her foot [rests]. 1 would
untie my tangled hair and sweep her doorway : I would
sacrifice my head on the path by which she came.
“I would circle round all four quarters and not remain
motionless for a moment: like ashes driven with the
wind [I would speed] to where she is, the support of my
life.”’ -
16. PADMAVATIY’S PASSION.
I. Padmavati by the force of this Yoga {practised
by the king] fell into the power of -love by reason of
separation. Sleep did not fall on her when the night
(£) There isa pun on main—(1) love (madan), (2) wax, and also
perhaps on madhu—(1) wine, (2) honey, and on basa—(1) dwells, (2) wasp
(d) Singh ordinarily =lion, but it is a tiger’s hide in 12(1)6
(6) Reading chakit (Grierson) for charhe (Shukla) which does not
give such good sense
10 PADMAVATI'S PASSION - 18: ३.2
came : it was as though someone had placed nettles’ in
her bed. Moon beams and sandal—(scented] ratment
burned her: deep distress of love scorched her body.
The night lengthened out for her like an eternity : every
instant of it was as oppressive asanage. She seized her
lute if perchance the night might be made to pass, but
the [deer which drew] the moon’s vehicle’ only stood stull
to listen. Again the maiden began to draw a picture
of a lion’: in such distress she remained awake all the
night. ‘‘Where is that bee, the rifler of the essence of
the lotus 2 Would he would come to me dnd alight like
a homing pigeon" 2”
The maiden became like a moth in love’s distress,
longing to be burnt in its lamp. When one’s lover does
110६ come in the form of an ichneumon fly’, what 15 the
use of anointing the body with sandal paste 2
2. Padmavati had fallen into the forest of love’s long-
ing and was as it were a prisoner there : where’er she
looked it was impenetrable to feet and to sight.
She gazed in all directions as though she had lost her
way, [saying], ‘“Where is the forest in which the Malati
blossoms ? In that forest the lotus will get its bee:
who will bring me to it and extinguish the burning of
my body?” In every limb her body was like a lotus :
its heart was yellow with the pain of love.’ She desires
to unfold her petals to the vision of the sun: it is as
if her bee-like eyes were fixed on the sky. Her nurse
questioned her, ‘‘Tell me, girl, what is the matter? You
are rosy red like a lotus flower but your heart has be-
come the colour of 5877011 ` it would seem that some
trouble has arisen in your mind.
wee “~----- ~~ ee -- ee |
Canty 18.
(a) Kewznch or kapikachchu a stinging fruit.
(b) See Shukla’s Introduction p. 228 for a similar simile from Sur Das.
(0) In order to frighten the deer and make the moon 7७५४९ un.
(५) Ghirint: Platts gives ‘tumbler’, not correctly. Thakur Suresh
Singh writes ‘The girahbaz kabutar {the homing or carrier pigeon) when it
ae up or comes down always makes a few circles in the air like a ghirns
‘pulley).’
(e} See note 15 to 9(5)6 for the ichneumon fly.
(f) Reading pem kai pira (Grierson) for Shukla’s kahai par-pira
which could only mean ‘by telling the woes of others’.
18: 2-4 PADMAVATI'S PASSION 177
“Where the wind cannot enter, there the bee cannot
sit.” How have you become like a lost doe as though you
had seen a lion ?”’
3. “O nurse, it would be better if a lion slew and
ate me, or if I remained such as I ९३5 28 a child. I
have heard that in the forest of youth’ there is fresh
spring season, but into that forest a raging elephant
has burst. Who now can preserve the garden of youth,
wherein the elephant of severance is destroying the
branches? I thought that youth was [the season for]
enjoyment of delights, but in youth severance is a
grievous distress. Youth is a heavy and immovable
mountain: ethe burden of youth cannot be bome.
There is no creature so furious as youth : the elephant
bows its head when there is an ankus [but not youth].
Youth is like the Ganges, swellmg in the month of
Bhadon : it gives [rise to} waves which the limbs cannot
contain.
“Ah, nurse, I have fallen into the unfathomable depth,
into the profound ocean of youth. I gaze in every direction
to see who will clutch me and bring me to the shore.”
4. “O Padmavati you are cheerful’ and wise: the
ocean cannot fully compare with you, O queen. The river
goes to the ocean and is contained in it, but if the ocean
be moved, where shall it be contained? Your heart is as
yet a lotus bud: there will come a bee who will be your
match. Seize and control the steed of youth with your
hand and do not let it go where it would. This force of
youth is like a ‘mast’ elephant :, grasp the goad of wisdom
to make it stand still. You are as yet a girl and have not
played the game of love ; how can you know how difficult
se =
~ चः i ~ ne ee -------- ---= - -“~् ee Nee न्च
(g) Perhaps the meaning is that the bee (lover) cannot enter the lotus
unless it unfolds. The lotus bud only shows a yellow heart if it opens
Padmavati has hitherto been like a closed bud.
(h) Jo ban=which forest, Joban=-vouth (adolescence). The sense
requires both meanings, not merely a pun.
(i) Samud probably=sa-mud (cheerful) and is used punningly in
connection with samtd (ocean) later in the same verse. Bunt it 8180
suggests the meaning of ‘deep’.
cp. She was the miller’s daughter
And lived beside the mill,
Deep was the flowing water
But she was deeper still. (The Country Girl),
772 PADMAVAT!'S PASSION 18: 446
itis? Turn downwards your gaze that is fixed on the sky :
you may see the sun, but he will not come to your hand.
“Vou must control the anguish of love until your beloved
meets you, as the shell endures penance for the sake of the
Sewati’ in the midst of the ocean waters.”
<. “Ah, nurse, youth is scorching my soul: it is like
ghi that has fallen into the flame. I could bear to be sawn
asunder but the burning of youth is unbearable: sever-
ance“ is an ocean which is full and uncontrolled : it casts
my soul into a whirlpool and beats upon it with its waves.
Severance is a serpent which climbs to my head and strikes :
it 15 a fire which takes up its abode in sandal paste.
Youth is the bird and severance is the fowler : it is the
lion for the doe which is tts food. Why has youth been
made like golden water only for severance to afflict it by
bringing it to’ the boiling point ? Severance is like ink
which infects the water of youth: it 15 like a bee to its
blossom and like a parrot to its fruit (१.९. destructive).
“Vouth arises like a moon: severance attends it like the
demon of eclipse. I have been consumed by gradual wast-
ing : I cannot tell anyone { my trouble ].” |
6. Her eyes revolve in all directions like"wheels : her
nurse rebukes her, but her eyes are still restless. The
nurse says, ‘‘ My child, if grievous’ love has arisen in your
heart, then be resolved on truth and let not your mind
waver. He who has truth in his soul for a guardian”,
though a mountain fall on him, he will not shift a hair’s
breath. ‘he Sati who burns for truth to her lord”, if there
is truth in her heart then the fire is cool. Youth, which is
like the moon at full, is set on fire again by the spark of
separation. That Yogi who can control the wind [7.e., his
breath] is a true ascetic : that woman who can control love
is atrue Sati. Spring is coming, when the garden will
(j) Sewats v. 12(14)9 note (u).
(ए) Shukla’s hyphen after birak here and in the next verse is not
necessary. |
(1) I have followed ms. 1 a. quoted by Grierson, which gives better
sense by transposing lars and bhvrt.
(m) There isa pun on कर्तितः (pahart, watchman) and pahar (pahar,
mountain).
(०) Grierson reads pem pia lags : Shukla reads pem sat (क. Perhaps
the eorrect reading shonld be pia sat lagi.
18: 6-19: 1 PADMAVATI'S MEETING WITH THE PARROT 173
bloom with flowers, and all the maidens will go to the door
of the God
‘Do you too go, taking with you [the flowers of] spring
worship and entreat the deity, [saying] ‘I have received
life by being born into the world : may I receive a husband
by doing service.’ ”’
7. Until the appointed time arrives, the days pass like
aeons for the love-lorn maiden. Appetite and sleep both
desert her by night and day : she weeps as one who 15
broken hearted. It is as though ants were attacking her
at every pore, or thorns piercing her at every fibre.
She burns like ghi in a blazing cauldron : her lord comes
not speedily like [a cool breeze from] the Malaya mountain.
‘To what deity shall I go and touch [1115 feet] so that by
his means I may clasp my beloved’ to my heart with my
arms? The flower that was hidden is revealed in my
breath which now is full and burns in my body. If
there were to be meeting it would only end in burning:
what is the use of enjoyment if the person who should
enjoy it is gone ?
“Youth is tickle and bold and performs unprofitable
works. Happy is the lady who maintains the honour of
her family, being ashamed of youth in her mind.”’
19. PADMAVATI’S MEETING WITH
THE PARROT.
I. Hiraman came to fher inj her torlorn state:
it was as though Padmavati had recovered her life. She
fondled the parrot affectionately, and wept over him :
very great is the pleasure when that which was lost is
found.» Her grief arose like fire from the depths of her
heart : it came to her eyes and flowed forth as water.
When the lotus princess wept on and on, all her clever
companions laughingly questioned her, ‘“‘I‘rom finding a
thing there should be double joy : why do vou weep at
finding that which was lost’?’’ In answer to this Padma-
vati said, “Sorrow at the loss filled my heart, but at
hnding {what was lost| happiness came and filled my
DLL Tir cree ष्य LP re pa a ण भीम 0 ae
fo) Sumeru may mean ‘beloved’ (= Sudb&kar) or/and the principal
bead in ॐ rosary
15
ti4 ` | PADMAVA‘I'’S MEBTING WITH THE PARROT © 193 143
heart, and that sorrow has become water and Has flowed
out of my eyes
“When that which was lost is found, be who has love
knows [what delight it is]. The Canopus" of happiness
arises and sorrow is shed like rain from a cloud.”’
2. Then the princess, smiling, asked about the parrot’s
welfare [saying] “Why did you depart, leaving your
cage empty?’ ‘‘Princess, may your throne be happy
for’ ages : the bars of a cage do not suit a bird. If a
creature has wings, how can it remain steady ? It desires
to fly if it has feathers” on its pinions. When your bird
was imprisoned in a cage, a cat came and prowled round it.
Some day it will certainly come and lay hands on me ;—
in fear of this I flew off to make my dwelling in the forest.
A fowler came thither and prepared his limed twig. There
is no escaping from the noose of death. He caught me
and sold me into the hands of a Brahman: with him I went
to Jambudvipa (India).
“There 15 the carven’ fortress of Chitaurgarh, the king-
dom of Chitrasen. He [Chitrasen] gave over the succession
to his son, aud himself went to the funeral pyre.
3. ‘He who has been installed in the kingdom in the
place of his father is named King Ratansen. How shail I
describe the jewel-rich country in which such a resplendent
gein has 1€€11 00771 2 Blessed may that mother and father
be called from whose line such a ray proceeded. He has
the thirty two marks" of excellence and is of pure race ;
his beauty and his glory cannot be described. It was he
who acquired me; such was my good fortune; borax
-- ~~~ 8) --- क का = = an
Canto 19
(a) Suhelu (Arabic) =-idgast (Hindi) 24(9)4=Canopus, the star which
tises at the end of the rains, heralding the dry weather. Cp. Tulsi Das,
Ramayan Kishkindhakand Udst agast panth jal sokha, jimi lobhahi sokhai
sahtokh”.’ See Shukla’s Introduction p. 236
(b) Reading 27 24 (Grierson) for Shukla’s pankhs (a bird desires to
fiv if it has wings)
(©) Chitra, artistically painted or carved, (more or‘ 1688 a pun on
Chitrasen and Chitaur). The most notable feature of the now deserted city
of Chitorgarh is the marvellous sculpture covering the towers of Fame and
Victory, 6(1)1. note (1)
(त) The thirty two qualities of a great man are detailed by Sudh&kar
at the end of bis note on the 82 points of woman. (Sudhikar Commentary
p. 77, note on 2(25)8), but here the reference 18 rather to the 32 good qualities
ol a Yogi prescribed by Gorakhn&th
19 3-5 PADMAVATI'S MEETING WITHTHE PARROT II5
desires to go where gold is. When I saw this jewel I con-
ceived this wish ‘This jewel Ratansen is a match for the
precious metal, Padmavati: indeed this sun 1s worthy of
themoon’. I [therefore] sounded your praises in that place.
‘‘Where is the jewel in the mountain’ of jewels, and
where the gold in Mount Sumeru? If God has written
that both are to be joined, they will meet by some way
or other.
4. ‘‘When he heard me the spark of severance fell upon
him. If only [he thought] the jewel could obtain the gold
bracelet’! Tove is hard and severance is a grievous
distress. He left his kingdom and became a begging Yog!.
As is the bee for the sake of the Malati flower, so he became
frenzied and wandered forth with wits distraught. ‘Let
me be a moth,’ he said, ‘and get the lady. Tet me go
to Singhala-dipa* and sacrifice my life.’ Then noone left
him solitary: sixteen thousand princes became his 015-
ciples. Who can count the other helpers who went with
him? He arrived at the temple of Mahadeo. ‘This sun-
like man is gazing for the sight ot you as a Chakor gazes
for the sight of the moon. |
“You are a maiden for whom the delight of love is fit-
ting as the scent is for the lotus. So I have made the sun
reveal himself and have brought the bee to a meeting with
you.”
5. When Hiraman said these words, Padmavati, hear-
ing him, fell in love with Ratansen". As the sun is blazing
hot to behold, even such was the distress of separation,
and love's army raged. But when she heard the description
of {the king as a} Yogi, there was pride in Padmavati’s
mind. Pure gold does not find pleasure in glass, but if it
is a true gem, then it acquires splendour. If you heat
gold and try it on a touch-stone, then you may know
(e) Reading ratnagi: (Grierson) and not ratnagar (jewel-mine or
ocean) with Shukla. The jewel-mountain is under the southern pole-star,
and Sumeru under the northern, as far apart as ible, just as (conversely)
Padmavati is in the South and Ratansen in the North.
(f) In 1(21)7 Grierson translates kanchan kala as ‘pure gold’, and
this meaning would suit in 19(5)4 and 19(6)1, but ‘golden bracelet’ suits
better here and in 36(6)6.
६ ) There is the usual pun on dipa—lamp and isiand.
») Literally, the precious metal became red with the ruby.
7758 - PADMAVATI'S MEETING WITH THE PARROT 19: 54
whether it is yellow or red. Itis the mlayer whe knows
the secret of the gem. He sees and praises the gem which
is suitable for inlaying. ‘“Who now will put his hand in the
lion’s mouth? Who will move the matter with my father ?
‘In heaven Indra trembles with fear [of mv father]
and Vasuki fears him in hell. Where is there an acceptable
suitor for me on earth or in the whole world ?”’
6. “You, princess, are the moon; you are pure gold :
he is the jewel without flaw, the sun without spot. What
difference 25 there between severance and a devouring fire? '
He who touches the flame will be consumed by it. Any
fother] fire can be extinguished if abundant water falls on
it, but that fire cannot be extinguished : it increases of it-
self. The fire of severance makes the king burn and
tremble : he burns night and day with the same conflagra-
tion : now it rises to heaven, now it descerids to hell : it
does not remain stable, this illimitable fire. Happy is the
being who can endure such burning: he is consumed in
himself alone and tells no one else of it. Scorching
inwardly, he becomes black, but openly he does not even
mention his distress.
“What shall I say to him who has taken upon himself
such irretrievable’ distress ? On the dav when he meets
vou, he will get rid of this fire.”
7. When the lady heard how the king’s body was thus
set on fire, there was love in her mind and kindness in her
heart. ‘‘Let me go and see how the sun (Ratansen) burns
[she said] : 1f gold burns, its brightness is enhanced If
he should die from disappointed love, the blood-guilt will
be on me, for whose sake he is a Yogi. O Hiraman, [after]
what you have said, I shall remain in love with Ratansen.*
If he completes’ his practice of Yoga, sitting on his [tiger]
(i) T have omitted Shukla’s Pa between Osrah and bejagi. Or
we may read dach for hitch (conj. Pt N. Pande) ‘How shall anyone escape
the flame ?
(j) Reading na met (Grierson) for rime? (Shukla). I do not find
any dictionary authority for the latter, to which Shukla gives the same
meanin
(i) Reading Hiramani jo kaht tumhA bain, rahthaun ratan-padarath
कदि (Ggierson), though it is not satisfactory to refer both rafan and
pedaratXk to Ratansen. Shukle’s Sunt kat ratan padarath rata, hiramani
sauh kah yah bain, (hearing that Ratan—the jowel—was in love with Padma
yati—the precious metal, she said as follows to Hirimaa) is cut of place
10: *9 PADMAVATT'S MEETING WITH THE PARROT 117
skin: he will obtain delight and I will also give him a
garland of victory. Spring is coming ; tf 1 am fortunate
I will come to the temple on the pretext of worship. B
‘my Guru’s instruction, I have woven [a garland of} flowers
when I behold him with my eyes, I will place it on his
forehead
“Vou have described' the bee on the lotus: I have
accepted him as such. If he is asun”, why, the sun needs
its moon.” |
8. When Hiraman had heard her words full of charm
he accepted betel leaf" and his mouth became red. The
parrot started to go, and then the princess said, ‘‘That
which was winged /another’s, how can it remain? That which
ever practises its wings for flight, even if it remains today,
who can keep it tomorrow? I know not where [my day-
star] has risen to-day. You have come back to me but,
having come, you have gone away again, my parrot. To
meet and then separate is another form of death’. Why
did you come if you must in the end depart?” ‘‘Listen,
princess, I should [gladly] remain with you, but how can I
remain when I am bound by the promise I have made ?
His vision rests in your service just as a bird remains
[happy] in its bower’.
“The fish dwells in the water on {the surface of] the
earth, the mango dwells in the air. But if there is love
between the two they will in the end meet together’.”’
g. The parrot came to where the pilgrim was sitting,
his eyes fixed on the way, a pilgrim of severance. He
arrived and spoke his message full of love’s charm: , “I
have met Gorakh'; I have obtained instructions. Your
Guru has shown you great kindness: she has given her
behest, and has declared the first thing’. One word she
has spoken, one alone, that the Guru 15 like the ichneumon
(1) Bee 19(4)8,9 ।
(m) pun on s%r—(1) sun (2) hero
i As a sign
0) Parter o'est mourir un pew. Cp. 24(10)3
Pp) mahaft (one ms. quoted by Grierson) for man
(q) Not one of Jaisi’s ee piest aimiles. The fish and the mango meet
when the fish is cooked with a flavouring of mango juice
(६, पुनर क a ( ध त refers to Padmsvati
8) 9.९ secret ove’s in on n Din has awan
kahs dimhz, has bid you come to her
118 . - ` THE SPRING , ` ,493 0-20; 2
fiy' and the disciple like the moth. .The ichneumon fly
seizes the moth and at one blow steals its life and gives it
back again. Such kindness does the Guru do to his dis-
ciple, giving him a new incarnation and a new body.. He
who dies and lives again becomes immortal, and, as a bee,
reaches the lotus and drinks its honey.
“When the season of spring comes, then comes the bee
and the fragrance. If the Yogi thus practises Yoga, he
obtains the fulfilment of his object.’’
20. THE SPRING.
7. Somehow or other the [cold] season was.passed : the
spring festival came round. There was rejoicing in the new
season: both sunshine and shade were pleasant* at every
moment. Padmavati called all her friends, as many maid-
ens as were in Singhala-dvipa. “‘ To-day is the new spring-
tide, the king of the seasons. It is [Basant] panchami and
all the earth hedecks itself. The forest trees have put on
new adornment : vermilion is laid on the head of the dhak
plant’. The flowers unfold and blossom with many odours :
the bees approach them greedily from all quarters. The
yellow leaves of sorrow are shed from the leafless trees :
the fresh shoots of happiness burgeon rosily.
“The appointed time has fully come for the wish which
I had formed in my heart. Come to the temple of the
God in my company, for I desire to do worship.’’
2. The order went round: the seasonable musical
instruments were sounded, and all the maidens prepared
their adornment. ‘The lotus-bud princess Padmavati was
like a Malati in her unfolding*®. She wore a lovely star-
~¬ =-= ~ SS eee ee ----* SO a _ =
(t) Vide note 15 to 9(5)6.
CaNnTo 20
(a) Reading khinan for khin na. Sudhakar accepts khin na,
observing that the alternation of light and shade is a defeot of apring. But
Jaisi is not here concerned with defects.
(9) Asa bride’s head 18 adorned with a painted vermilion line, so the
dhak plant is adorned with scarlet blossom
(c) +.¢. she was like a pink lotus, but when she laughed, her teeth
. wore like the white Malati flower ८
20: 23 THE SPRING 13
spangled ऽप" and her head was covered’ with priceless
[jewels like] constellations. Ten thousand companions were
with her, like water lilies, all with their limbs anointed
with perfumes. They are all daughters of kings and
noblemen, and all wear saris of different colours. All are
beautiful, all are lotus maidens (Padminis) by race, and all
are red with pan, with flowers and with vermilion. Merry
and bright, they make sport [among themselves], and all
are wet with perfumes and sandal paste. |
So bloomed the flower garden‘ that there was sweet
fragrance’ on all four sides. They were enamoured of the
spring and the spring became enamoured of them.
3. There was a sound of acclamation as Padmavati set
forth : [maidens of] the thirty six castes" were her goodly
company. The Gaur maiden was in attendance there 1n
silk attire, and the Brahman, twisting her limbs in a thou-
sand places. There was the Agarwal, with the gait of an
elephant, and the Bais, placing her feet with the step of a
swan. The Chandel takes short and cautious steps: the
Chauhan walks with a jingling of ornaments. The Sonar
maiden proceeds happy and bright, and the Kalwar drunk
with the wine of love. The Bantya girl sets out with a
vermilion mark on the parting of her hair; and the
Kayasth bursting with joy. The Patain goes clothed in a
brightly coloured skirt, and the Barain chewing betel leaf.
All the menials proceeded in company with baskets of
flowers and branches in their hands, to do worship to
Vishwanath, together with Padmavati.
'3. (a) The Thather maiden came: she had adorned herself
(५) The ‘starry sphere’, a particular kind of embroidered skirt.
(e) Grierson reads au pahtrai sasi nakhat amolw. Shukla reads
bhare sts sab nakhat amol#. Neither makes good sense. Perhaps the
reading should be pahirs sis nag nakhat amola, (she wore on her head gems
like priceless constellations.)
(f) १.९. the metaphorical garden of girls (bart meaning both).
(£) Reading subasny (Grierson) for 50 bvent (that fragrance)
(Shukla).
(४) Cp. 9(4)3 note (12) and Sudhakar’s commentary p. 154 where a
list of the 36 castes is given. Shukla here explains as the 36 clans of
Kshatriyas, but of thenames in this and the next stanza (only 29 actually) only
same are sub-castes of Kshatriyas (९.0. Bais);.some are definitely other
castes (e.g. Brahman), while some may be either one or the other.
(i) Shukla omits this stanza, but it appears in all the mds., Grierson’s
1.8. being the only exception, and in that a page is missing
120 गड spainc ` -ॐ9; - 9
richly, The Ahir maiden came: she had applied lamp
black [to her eyelids]. The Gujar maiden came : she. was
drunk with cow juice. The Tambolin came: she was red
with the stain of much [betel juice]. The Lohar girl
came: she had sharpened her eyes. The Bhat maiden
came with sweet words in her mouth. The Gandhi
maiden came, steeped in scent, and the Chhipi who had
died her clothes and printed them with flowers. The
Rangrez girl had a brightly coloured dress on het body.
The Nau and Bari girls went with a lively pace. The Mali
girl went with flowers which she had woven in a garland.
The Teli girl went with scented essence on her head.
Many Besava girls went, titivated and adorned. All the
buds which had been closed spread their petals.
The Nat girl, the Dom, the Dhobi, the Sahnai and
the Bherikar, all these women went dancing with delight
to the instruments of music and laughing and sporting.
4. The flower-like girls set out in attendance on
the lotus ,Padmavati|]. They all pelted each other with
fruits and blossoms. They bow and beck to each other
isaying| “This spring festival is a universal holiday. The
‘Manora Jhumak’* must be chanted. Bring fruits and
blossoms, all of you. When we have played the spring
game we will burn the Holi fire: we will collect dust and
throw ashes in the air. Perform the celebrations to-day ;
no second day will come’: play the game of spring and
perform worship.” Padmavati gave orders saying, ‘‘We
shall not come again to make a visit here. Such guard
will be kept over us that we shall certainly not be able to
reach this garden. |
“We shall return to our own homes after worshiping
(j) There is a pun on J'hather—copper-smith and 44#thar—adornment.
(ष) Manora Jhumak; the Holi song, sung by women in the month of
Phaigun. The Sabdsfigar (sub voice) says that this verse of Jaisi is the
refrain of the song as sung now-a-days. cp. 30(8)6 note (प). Phag: Holi
aports, specially the throwing of coloured 1 For Holi celebrations see
30(12)(13) notes (3) and (aa), also atanza 7 below, notes (m) and (n).
(1) Compare Lorenzo di Medici’s carnival song,
‘Chi vuol esser lieto sia
Di doman non o’e certezza’,
With ita reminiscence of the Pervigilium Veneris
Cras amet qut nunguam amavit, quique amavil crus amet.
20: 4-47 THE SPRING 42x
Bisesar [the lord of the universe]. Whoever will disport
herself, let her take her sport and her laughter to-day.”
s. Some seized branches of mango, and some of jamun
[whose fruit was] scorched by [the fire of] severance. Some
took orange boughs, some bushes of chiraunji: others took
jack-fruit, barhar and lichees. Some took pomegranates,
some grapes and some khirni fruit, some custard apples,
lemons and citrons. Some took nutmegs, some cloves,
some areca nuts; some took cocoanuts, some gua and
some dates. Some took bijaur and some bunches of
corinda: some took tamarinds, some mahua, and some
khajur dates. Some took harpharevari and kasaunda,
some myrobalan and some rai-karaunda. Some seized
bunches of plantains and some had nim berries in their
hands.
Some found these near by, others went to some dis-
tance, For some the game was poison, for others it was
ambrosia.
6. Again, her companions plucked all manner of flow-
ers, ransacking all the plants in the neighbourhood. Some
picked the screw-pine, some the champa or the jasmine:
some the ketaki or the aganosma of the garden : some the
hundred-petalled marigold, the Indian jasmine or the citron
blossom : some the Arabian jasmine, the rose-chestnut, or
the scented lime : some basil, or rose-apple, or kuja-rose :
some found the oleaster, suitable for oblations : some found
maulsiri or the abelia flower: some rup-manjari or the
white jasmine: some found the weeping nyctanthes near
by and some the dogrose in the shade of the Kadamba.
Some flowered as it were with sandal flowers and some
were lost beneath the tree of forgetfulness. |
Some found flowers and some found leaves; just as
either came to hand. Their necklaces and clothes were
caught, for there were thorns wherever they touched.
7. They all filled baskets with fruits and flowers,
and, assembling in a crowd, sang songs in a high key.
Drums and kettledrums and horns are sounded, and
drums, bugles and cymbals on every side. Horns, conches,
and tambourines made music, and flutes and pipes
mingled their notes with them, All the goodly. instru-
16
122 | ‘THE SPRING | “20: 79
ments of music that you could name were sounded in
procession, each in its own way. All the maidens mounted
on waggons, resplendent with beauty, and set out for the
monastery temple, conducting the procession of Spring.
Young and fresh is the spring, and young and fresh are the
maidens : there 15 a carnival battle" with vermilion pow-
dered mica. At one moment they go forward, at another
dance in a ring”; they are all carried away by dancing and
leaping
The vermilion dust so flies about that the whole sky 1s
red ; red is the whole earth and red are the leaves of
the trees
8. Sporting in this manner the princess of Singhala
reached the temple of Mahadeo. All the deities looked on
her and in that instant all their defects of vision fled away.
“These [they said] are Achharis’ of Indra’s Kailas : or
Parmesari has come from somewhere’. One says ‘These
are lotus girls who have come’’, but another says that they
are the moon and stars and constellations. One says,
“Tt is a garden which has burst into flower : behold all
these flower-like maidens. What with their beauty and
what with the adornment of vermilion” it is as though
a lamp had been lit over all the earth. All who look on
their faces are entranced like a deer dazzled by a mirage.
One fell down as if he was a bee that had smelt the
scent of champak ; another was like a moth in the [flame
of a] lamp’ and fluttered with half-burnt body.
0. Padmavati went to the door of the God and entered
the temple. The God was alarmed for his life; [he
thought] (€ temple is beset on all sides : in which
direction shall I flee?’’ Padmavati made obeisance once
and twice, and at the third time she came forward and
offered her oblation. She caused the whole temple to be
(m) Dhamar:t; the Sabdsagar explains as ao special Holi song, but it
ppeare to mean here the Holi revels in which red powder is thrown.
पाशु is mistaken in v.8 in describing the powder as sendur (vermilion)
what is actually thrown is #bir (red mica) or gul#l (meal stained with red
vegetable dye)
(n) Chanchart; a rag to which Holi songs are sung
(०) See 3(8)8 note (€)
(p) Reading sefdur (Grierson) for euzdar (Shukla) beautiful a
(५१) Reading hot (Grierson) for Shukla'’s second ko; a
20: 9-10 ` THE SPRING 123
filied with fruits and flowers, and the [image of the]
deity to be washed with sandal and aloes. With vermilion
in her hands she stood before the deity and, after touching
him, fell at his feet. ‘All my companions have been
wedded, but for me, Lord, there is no bridegroom any-
where. I am void of virtue in that I have not done thee
service, but thou, Lord, art the giver of virtue to the
virtueless.' *
“Do thou bring me to meet a suitable bridegroom. I
will vow to make an offering,” and then depart. On the
day that my wishis filled, I will straightwavy come and
present my offering.”’
710. Wishing her wish again and again, the princess
prayed as best she knew how, and then stood up with hands
clasped. ‘‘Who shall give an answer? The God 15 dead,”
—-a tremendous voice sounded in the temple. ‘Likea
bird which is thrown away after [its wings have been] cut
off, even so the Lord is dead," not to speak of any other
(>०५.”* The barbers’ and the priests had become without
life, the shew-bread was poison, the sacrificial cakes were
death. Anyone who looked at Padmavati, it was as though
he had been bitten by a snake. Seeing this state of affairs,
Padmavati laughed [and said] ““Much good have I done by
coming and praying to the God; he seems to have gone to
sleep. Who will take notice of my devotion? Who will
fulfil पार wish and remove my distress? He whom I came
to worship has gone to sleep.”
‘Whomsoever [of the temple attendants] the companions
lay their hands on and lift up, his head is feeble and he
cannot move. No one knows which is body and which is
living soul”: their mouths babble nonsense
(7) Grierson reads gun nirgun, Shukla gunt nirgun. 1 should prefer
gun nirguas
s) Lit. ‘vow a pitcher’ the ordinary form which such votive offerings
take being that of a pitcher filled with milk or milk and bhang (Sudh&kar)
or with water and twigs of five sacred trees (Bate)
(४) See 17(2)1 note (b)
mart bk (Urierson) for Shukla’a scex (has gone to
sleep). In the second half verse, Bhagwan Din has uteru ko dewa (who will
give an answer), an improvement, though there is no ms. authority for it
(v) Reading sad navat (Grierson) for nahia Awat (Shukla) and does
not come
(w) Reading dhur jiu koi na janas (Grierson) for Shukla's dhkar kos
jum na jinaun
‡&4 ‘ite अशयत ॐ< २०.25
11. At that moment one of the companions laughed
fand said] ‘Do look, princess: you have not noticed a
curious thing’. Yogis have taken shelter at the eastern
door of the temple : I know not from what country they
have come. It would seem that they have practised
the mystery of Yoga with their bodies and have all
journeyed forth as disciples in order to become perfect in
the way. One of them, who is called their Guru, it would
seem that someone has given him sweets (gur) and drugged
him. He is a prince glorious with all the thirty-two quali-
ties’ : he speaks one thing only and that is the tenth quality
(४.९., the truth). I think he is the Yogi Gopichand’, or that
he is the lovelorn Bhartari*. Bhartari for the sake of Pin-
gala went to the Kajari forest : for whose sake has this
one come to Singhala ?
“With such a form and such a posture I have never seen
any ascetic. To my mind he is not a Yogi but some King’s
son.’
12. Hearing these words, the princess mounted her
waggon, [saying], “Where is such a Yogi? Tet me see him in
the temple.’ Taking with her her friends she went round to
the place. The Achharis came and surrounded the Yogis.
Their eyes were cups full of the wine of love: when their
glances met, the Yogts fell unconscious before them. The
Yogis met glance with glance: fixing eye on eye, they gave
up their lives. He whom intoxication assailed, fell into its
power : he had no consciousness left even at a single cup.
The disciple of Gorakh fell down in a stupor, as if drunk:
his spirit left his body and departed to heaven. The viol
which the pilgrim was grasping still sounded the same strain
at the time of his death.
The business on which anyone has his mind fixed is
that which will appear to him even in his dreams: it is
for this reason that ascetics practise asceticism and afhx
their minds to love.
13. Padmavati beheld [the pilgrim] as he had been
described to her, like the thousand-rayed sun. She put
(x) Reading ek (Grierson) for क (Shokla).
४) See 19(3)4 note (d).
{z) Gopichind, see 12(5) note (f).
(a8) Bhartari, see 11(8)5 note (ण).
ॐ; 13-25 tae spring - =. 188
sandal-paste on him ८०. see if he would awaken for a
moment, but he only slept more deeply when the coolness
affected his body. Then with the sandal-paste she wrote
these letters over his heart "श जा have not learnt the yoga
of asking alms. When the time came, you fell asleep. How
will you obtain fulfilment of your desire? Now if you, the
sun, are in love with the moon, come to her, climbing the
seven heavens.’’ Having written these words, she said to
her friends ‘‘This is the occasion that I was trying to avoid.
If I reveal myself there will be destruction : everyone will be
like the moth in the candle-flame.
‘“He into whose eyes I look dies upon the spot. It 1s
on account of this misfortune that I never go abroad, for
who would incur such blood-guiltiness ?”’
14. They set forth and all drove their waggons : leaving
the mountain they made for the fortress of Singhala. All
the mighty gods were made a sacrifice’” and their slayer
went away with the guilt of blood on her. Who is sucha
friend as to grasp the arm of one who is dead, when life is
not in his body? So long as a man has life, everyone 1s his
friend : without life, none is a friend. Brother or kinsman
or dear friend, without life you cannot keep them for an
hour. Without life, the body is a heap of ashes: he who
mingles the dust with dust, he is fully a friend. It was by
loss of such life that the king was now dead. Who could”
rise and sit up and proudly utter a voice of thunder :
The body falls rolling on the earth. Where is the spirit,
mighty": as Bhima”. Who will raise it [the body] and
make it sit up except its beloved spirit ?
15. Padmavati entered her palace and went laughing and
sat upon her throne. She slept that night after hearing a
tale of roving. Dawn came and she called one of her
companions and said, ‘‘When Ihad returned yesterday after
(bb) १.९. they were made senseless by Padmévatl’s beauty. (There is
a pun on dbali—sacrifiee and balt~-mighty). The victim changes in the
succeeding lines to the king.
(cco) ४.९. the ane could ००४,
(dd) Balt, Sh ex ae as king Bali, for whom gee 1(17)2 note 41:
or Pandit Kanta Nath de suggeate more probably that bal mbalt
(mighty).
(ge) Bhima. The mighty man of the Mah&bb&rat, one of the five
Vas.
t26 «KING RATANSEN’S sitit-rumoraTIon 20; 15—-B4:'%
worshipping the god, I saw a dream in the night, girl. It
was as if the moon had arisen in the eastern region and the
sun in the western. Then the sun went:and approached
the moon and the twain, sun and moon, were joined. It
was as though day and night were the same. Rama came
and besieged the fortress of Ravan. What happened
cannet be told; it is unseemly : the fish was pierced by
Arjun’s arrow’.
“It was as though all Lanka was nfled and Hanuman
ravaged the garden™. As I saw this I awoke and started
up. Friend, consider and tell me the meaning of my
dream.”
16. Her friend considered the dream and said “‘{It
comes from] your going yesterday to the god’s door.
You performed worship and prayed with great devotion™
the god was pleased and come to you last night. The sun
[in your dream] was a man, and the moon was yourself,
O princess: such a bridegroom the God will bring to meet
you. It is some king: of the western clime: he will come’
and be:a bridegroom to you. There will then be some
kind of fight for your sake, lady: a battle will be fought
against Ravan. There will be marriage of the moon with
the sun: he will ravage the garden and will pierce the
fish. [It will be] as Anirudh came to 31124. That which
is written from a previous existence cannot be effaced.
“Joy and married bliss are“* in store for you and enjoy-
ment of the essence of pan leaves and flowers. This is to
come about to-day or to-morrow, such is the union [fore-
told in] your dream.”’
27. KING RATANSEN’S SELF-IMMOLATION.
I. When Padmavati departed after celebrating the
spring festival, the king awoke to the consciousness of
- ५“ — —— — —
Ne R&hu, the fish shot by Arjun at Draupadi’s wedding, see 10(4)5
note (14)
) There are probably puns on lanAk#=(1) the island (2) waist,
loins and on b47r3=(1) garden (2) maiden
(bh) Reading binzit (Grierson) for bhants (Shukla)}—in many ways
(ii) Reading का (Grierson) for Shukla’s aw (has come)
i) Ushé& first came to Anirudh in a dream, see Sudh&kar p. 443
Reading hai (Grierson) for jo (Shukla)
91: I-2 KING RATANSEN’S SELF-IMMOLATION 127
spring. But when he [fully] awoke, there was neither spring
nor garden/maiden there was not that festival nor the girls
who had disported themselves in it. There was not that
charming beauty of Padmavati: it was lost and no longer
came to sight. The flowers were shed, the garden was
dried up: all things that came to sight were withered and
reduced to 23068. ‘‘Who has destroyed this established
spring? That moon has departed : she has set, taking the
stars with her. Now, without her, the world has become
a pit of darkness: she is the blissful shade and I am burning
in the glare of distress. Who will extinguish the furnace of
severance when it blazes? Who will bring me to the pre-
sence of my beloved ?”’ |
Then, seeing the sandal paste painted on his breast,
[showing how Padmavati] had come to him and written
and departed, he wrung his hands and beat his head and
wept [lamenting] that he had slept so carelessly.
2. As the fish is unhappy at severance from the water :
it is dragged out of the water and placed on the fire—[so
it was with the king]; the sandal-paste marks lay like a
burning brand on his bosom: those blazing letters would
not be extinguished. They were like flaming arrows which
pierced to his heart : they set fire to the whole forest” so
that the lions were branded® on their bodies. The deer of
the forest region are burnt with that flame: and they also
are burnt who sit on their hides". -‘‘Why were these marks
drawn while I slept ? Can it be that the letters are the
cause of severance from her? It is like the severance of
Sakuntala from Dusant, of Kama-Kandala from Madhava-
nala, of Damavati from Nala® ; Padmavati closed my eyes
and hid herself. ॥
Canto 21.
(a) Reading 9 त (Grierson) for Shukia’s bars (garden).
(b) Reading ban (Grierson) for Shuk!a’s tan (body) also tan for ban.
(c) Dag in vv. 3 and 4 may be either the Hindi dag (burning) or the
Persian (brand). Possibly Jaisi confused the two, as one might also the
English word brand.
d) 8.८. Even a Yogt can be burnt by the flame of love.
(e) The erat of Sakuntala and Dushyanta 18 to be found in- the
Mahabharata, Adi Parvan, Adhy&yas 68-74 (as 6160 in K&lidxaa’s play): of
K&makandalsé and Madhavanala in the hasana battisi, tale. 21; and of
Nala and Damayanti in the Mababharate, ana Parvan, Adhyd&yas 52 to 89
(as also in Sri पि Nalgadha), But Jaisi, no doubt, knew these .storien
from oral tradition. soit hl 4 a re i: a as
५१३९
128 KING RATANSEN’S SELF-IMMOLATION 9 $4
. “Spring came and then hid herself, disguised in a garment
of flowers. In what manner can I become a bee and find
ler ? What sage will instruct me ?”’
3. He wept. [His tears were] like rubies [which fell
from] a broken necklace. Whert he stood, there was
a heap of them, ‘Where is the spring and the voice
of the Kokila? Where is the flower which pierced
my eyes like bees? Where is that form which fell on my
vision and which entered my bosom and drew forth my
life? Where is that [good fortune] of which the benefit
is to see and touch’ [my beloved]? If there is spring,
what concern is it of the Karil? The tree which flowers
when it loses its leaves is the mahua, which weeps thus in
its passion. The mahua flowers fall dropping like tears,—
tears which are shed like mahua flowers in spring. My
spring is the lotus maiden, without whom spring is waste
and desolate.
“T have found again the new spring with much sorrow
and with much desire. This I know not, whether, in the end,
the leaves will fall and fresh shoots will appear.
4. “Out on it, thou vile untrustworthy God, wherefore
did I come and do thee service ? He who allows another to
embark on his vessel ought to row and ferry him across. It
was to gain benefit that I touched thy feet, but thou hast
been for me like the silk-cotton for the parrot". He who
, wishes to cross [a stream] by embarking on a stone, will,
like me, be drowned in mid-stream. How can a stone be
softened by service? It will never in its life be moistened
however you wet it. A fool is he who worships a stone:
who can take a second burden on his head? Why do you
not worship that passionléss One, by hope in whom the
mind lives though it dies ?
‘‘He who grasps a swimming lion gets across along with
(f) I have followed Sudha&kar’s interpretation of Grierson’s reading
(daras paras) instead of Shukla’s deg dares, which gives no satisfactory sense
But the reading is not satisfactory. Possibly paras conceals the reading paras
(dhak), and there ~~ be some reference to the dhak which flowers in the
spring, whereas the Karil doea not. Cp. Bhartrihari’s
“qet नैव यदा ettafaze दोषो वसन्तस्य किमू |”
(If the karil doesn’t bud, what fault is it of the spring 1)
(£) See 8(7)5 note (20)
81: 4-7 KING RATNASEN’S SELF-IMMOLATION 129
him, but those fools are drowned who hold a sheep's tail in
their hands.”
5, The God said “Listen, thou foolish king. The God
himself had been struck by a thunder bolt before [you were]
How can he who has already fallen on his own head be any-
one else’s supporter? Padmavati, the King’s daughter
came with her companions and displayed her countenance.
It was like the moon with all the stars in attendance: I
fell in a swoon when I saw this radiance. Her teeth flash-
ed like lightning : the orbs of her eyes whirled the sword of
death around. I fell like a moth into that flame: the god
of death took away my life and placed itin heaven. After
that I know not what became of her, and whether she went
to Paradise or elsewhere
_ “Now 1 shall die for want of breath, for breath comes
not into my bosom. Who will attend to the needs of the
sick man when the physician himself is fasting ?”
6. ‘How shall I blame anyone else [but myself] ?
Even my body, my [inseparable] companion", has no com-
passion fon me]. There has been severance from my
beloved friend. I did not go with her, but went to sleep
myself. What good have I done by nourishing this body ?
The blame is mine: she is blameless. She, fair damsel,
departed after disporting herself with the Phag game of
spring and after placing the.Holi fire of severance on my
body. Now how shall I place the ash of this fire on my
head ? If I become ash, I will play the Holi game [ with my
own ashes]. Why did I leave my kingdom and perform
austerities ? My food and drink were lost and I did not
obtain the accomplishment of my purpose. Though I have
become a yogi and an ascetic, I have not attained [my
desire]. Now I will ascend the funeral pyre and be bumt
like a Sati
‘My beloved came and departed again : the spring came
but did not reach me. Now I will cast my body on the
Holi fire and burn it and reduce 1t to ashes.”
7. As the bird Kakanu' constructs its pyre, so the
(४) Sangt. Sudhakar translates ‘companion of my body’ and refers it to
Padm&vati, wrong!
0) Arabic gagu&s, a mythical bird with similar characteristics to the
x
11
430 ` PARVATI .AND MAHESH ' 1: 7--9: ‰
king constructed his and desired to be burnt on it. Ali the
Gods approached near, wondering what was about.to take
jm the precincts of the God. “The fire of severance
ney said] is a vast levin flame: if this hero burns with it
it can never be extinguished : such levin flame will arise
from his burning that all three worlds will catch fire from it
and burn. At this very moment such sparks are flying that
the mountains will be burnt and all the roeks will be split :
all the gods will be reduced to ashes : you will not find even
their ashes to gather up. Earth and heaven will all be red
hot. Is there any who can preserve them, O Lord?”
Thus says Muhammad, the spark of love [is a thing]
at the sound of which earth and heaven are alarmed.
Blessed is the distressed lover and blessed the heart in
which such a flame can be contained.
8. The hero Hanuman, who set fire to Lanka, was
on that mountain as a watchman. He sits there and keeps
watch on Lanka : every sixth month he rises up and gives
ashout. With the burning of Ratansen, he began to burn
again: he jumped over Lanka and fell upon Palanka’. He
went to the place where Parvati and Mahesh were and
there spoke to them this message ;, ‘‘There is a certain Yogi,
the victim of severance. He has sown the seed of fire in
your temple. My beautiful red tail got burnt there and I
got my face blackened in escaping and running away. I
began to burn with that levin flame and although I am
‘levin-limbed’ I rose and fled, burning as I was.
“I set fire to Rawan and Lanka: he has come to set fire
to me. All the mountains have become clotted [with the
heat]. Who will clasp his feet and restrain him?’
22. PARVATI AND MAHESH
1. Atthat instant, Mahes arrived at the place: his
vehicle was a bullock, his external appearance was that of
a leper. He had-rags on his body with a string of bones
fastened round him: he had a rosary of skulls and death"
(j) Here and in 30(15)3 Palanks& means an imaginary island beyond
Lanks ; but both Sudh&kar and Shukla give the tame explanation ‘he fell on
his bed’ (p&lahg)
Canto 22
(९) Haty&. See 22(5)8 note (f).
Pe ` PARVATI AND Marttsrt rgt
om his shonlder. The serpent Sesnag was his necklet: on
his’ body were ashes and an elephant hide’. On his wrist
was {a bracelet of] coriander seeds, the moon on his forehead
and the Ganges in his tangled locks. Chauri, bell and
drum were in his hands : Gaura Parvati his wife accom-
panied him. The hero Hanuwant also came with him,
having the appearance of a young monkey. As he came,
the God said “Do not set fire [to the pyre] : I adjure you by
her for whose sake you are burning. ।
‘‘Have you not succeeded in carrying out penance, or
have you destroyed [the efficacy of] your Yoga? Why
are you, while still living, taking away your life? Tell
me about your distress in love.”
2. The king said ‘‘You are delaying me with talk. Have
you no fear of blood-guiltiness ? Let me be burnt: 1 am
burning [already] with boundless distress. Let me get deli-
verance and depart once for all. As Bharthari was [dis-
traught] for the sake of Pingala, so am I for the sake of
Padmavati of Singhala’. I moreover left my kingdom and
enjoyment : at the sound of her name I undertook penance
and Yoga. I came to this temple and did service, being
without hope. She performed her devotions and departed,
without fulfilling’ the hope of my mind. She* has burnt this
life of mine which was burnt already : half of it has departed
and half remained in my body. That which is half-burst
admits no delay : if it is delayed it suffers much distress.”
While the King said thus much with his mouth, the
flame of love’s distress arose. If Mahes had not extinguished
it, it would have spread to all the world.
3. In Parvati’s mind there arose a desire “Let me see
the truth of the prince’s disposition | Is there division bet-
ween Padmavati and him or is [this division] filled by
PRED oe 2 mereka te ne Pa ae pA A oe ee EET
(b) The hide of the elephant Gajasur, slain by Siva with his trident.
(९) Literally ‘As Bharthari was for the sake of Pingala, so is Padmavati
tome’. A guaint chiasmus. For Bharthari see 11(8)5 note (४).
Pingala is in some 1 > भव the wife of Bhartari, in others a courtezan
through whom he learnt of his wife’s unfaithfulness. Ina bazar copy of the
Bhartari song, one of his wives comes from the country of nese he also
appears as the wife of king Bhoj (Briggs p. 244). See Sudhukar's
श te p. 252. ; ध si
( ere is & pun on piyi—{]) performing dev (2) fulfilling.
(6) Reading teth (त, for mats (Shukla). In the second half
verse I have placed the comme after mibaes and not (as Shukia). aftet rch.
132 | PARVATI AND MABHSH OF: 58
love ? Are they one in body and mind or are their roads
different?” She became as beautiful as if she were an
Apchhara‘, and laughingly placed the hem of her garment
in the prince’s hand. ‘‘ Hear, my prince, one word from me :
no other is bright with such beauty as is mine, The creator
has also endowed thee with beauty : the sound of it has
gone up to Siva’s heaven. Thereupon Indra sent me to thee.
The lotus-girl has departed and you have gained an Achhari.
Now leave off [the idea of] burning and dying, of penance
and yoga, and enjoy bliss with me for the whole of your
life-time.
, ` “Jam an Achhari of Kailas, whom none can rival. If
you leave me and die in the memory of her, what advan-
tage will you have ?”’
4. ‘‘O Achhari, bright may be thy beauty, but I care
not to speak to any but toher. This is the advantage that
I have from dying in the memory of her—(why dost thou
ask about what thou seest with thine own eyes?)—that,
eyen now, when I have not been able to give my life for her,
such a heavenly nymph as thou stands [by me] and appeals
to me. If I give up my life in the hope of her, I know not
what may happen in Paradise. And what should I do even
if I gain Paradise? She is my Paradise for whose sake I am
dying. At her door I will not spare my life : I will remove
my head and make sacrifice of it. If any one should come
and tell me news of her, I would give him glory in both the
worlds.
“ She is indifferent to me but I set my hope on her. For
this indifferent beloved what shall I give if I give not my
life ?”’
२. Then Gaura smiling said to Mahes ‘‘ Assuredly he is
being consumed by the fire of severance. Assuredly he is
being burnt on account of her : the fragrance of love can-
mot be hid. Assuredly he is awake to the anguish of love :
he has been tried on the touchstone and has proved to be
gold. His face is sallow, his eyes stream with water, both
clearly telling a tale of love. Hein this life is inflamed
[with love] for her: he does not desire any other, but his
delight is in her. O Mahadeo, father of the Gods, it was by
(फ Wor Apohhar& or Achhari see note (£) to 3(6)8.
ॐ: 5-4 PARVATY AND MattHsH . 133
thy protection that Rama was victorious in battle; show
like favour to this one also ; fulfil his hopes, or else be res-
ponsible for his death
“You are grievously at fault in that you carry two
dead bodies’ on your shoulders. Take this third on your
forehead, if you are set on taking it.”
6. When he heard Mahadeo’s speech", the King per-
ceived in his mind that this was one who was a Siddha (an
adept in Yoga). The Siddha is one on whose limbs flies do
not settle: the Siddha does not close his eyes for an
instant. The Siddha is one who is not attended by a
shadow : the Siddha is one who feels neither hunger nor
confusion of thought. He whom the Lord has made a
Siddha in this world, none can recognise him whether he
be revealed or disguised. This one, riding on a bullock and
with the outward appearance of a leper, is truly Mahes the
Lord of Girija. He can recognise him who is engaged in
seeking for him——as were Bikram and King Bhoj. He who~
seeks him by secret spells’ is lost if he meets with him.
The way cannot be attained without a spiritual guide:
he is in error who disregards this. The Yogi becomes a
Siddha when he comes to a meeting with Gorakh. ©
- 9, Straightway Ratansen was disturbed in mind. He
burst into violent weeping’ and fell at the God's feet, clasp-
ing them. ‘Why [he said] did my mother and father give
me birth and nourish me if love was to cast such a noose
around my neck? Earth and heaven had both met toge-
ther : who has parted them and caused this severance?
I have lost the precious amulet from my hand.” Ratansen
(g) Cp. 22(1)2. The reference to two Aatiya’s on Siva’s shoulders is
obscure < Sudhakar (p. 472) gives two explanations, both far-fetched. `
Siva for some time carried Sati’s dead body on his shoulders. He was
also responsible for the death of Kaimadeva. Perhaps these were the two
deaths
(h) This can hardly be the speech in 22(1) to which the king has
already replied in 22(2), but no editor has suggested any gap in the text..
For Siddha see 2(6)8 note (33) and 24{2)1 note (e)
(i) Grierson reads Kai jsu iati mani 502, harm. Shukla reads jo ods
tant satt sauh Aerz, and explains iaat as tates, truth. I would read
jo okt tant maal saun hera. Tho Sabdasigar also qu the reading tatt.manrs
(8.V gp a peor spella, op. 23(5)9. But in 27(2)8, 31(14)9 taat mass may
reason
mean wits
(j) Reading chhwrt gdaphar (Grierson). Shukls’s rowdy, ककम (leaving
off weeping) is not the req 26186. \
144 PARVATI AND MAHAH Mar 7
wept, and his tears were like falling rubies. As when in the
sky the clouds rain heavily and the earth is covered and.
the water flows along, the reservoirs burst and the peaks
are levelled : nowhere can a ford be seen across [the flood];
everything become wind and water and melts away”. God
forbid that anyone should fall into the noose of love |
He weeps as though his life were set on fire, and his
blood and flesh were melted’: tears pour from every pore™
and fill every fibre.
8. Weeping, he was drowned and rose again in the
world. Mahadeo then became compassionate. He said “‘ Do
not weep. You have wept much. Now you are rich and
have lost your poverty. He who suffers sorrow will have
happiness. Without sorrow one cannot go happily to Siva’s
heaven. Now you are perfect, having received initiation :
the mildew has been cleared away from the mirror of your
body. I will now say a word of instruction: straying
stranger, keep to the way. Until the thief makes a hole in
the wall, he cannot rob the King’s strong-box”. If he climbs’,
he can jump in by that door; if he falls, his head will be
[cut off and] the hole he has made will be stopped with it.
“I will tell you of that fortress of Singhala: the ascent
is Of seven storeys. No one who has set his foot on the
heavenly way has returned as a living being.
0. ”* The fortress is as upright as your body: man, as
you may see, is an image of it. It is not to be attained by
fighting [ever so] stubornly ; those who do attain it are
those who know themselves. There are nine gates in that
fortress and five constables patrol therein. There is a tenth
gate, asecret postern‘ : inaccessible is the ascent to this and
(k) Reading garahta (Grierson) for gtrat (Shukla)—falls
(1) reading garat (Grierson) for girat (Shukla)
(m) There is & pun on roucs (lit. short haire) and rovahtz (weep)
(ण) Pet. Both Shukla and Sudhakar explain as—painz hat; but petm
peit (box) would suit the sense better. For the metaphor of the burglar, cp
22(9)7 and 24 (1) 4 सन 21 (| a? .
(0) Reading rhat ८९, (Grierson) for rhe najas (Shukla),
which does not give the = uired sense : but the whole verse is obscure.
' (p) एणः the Yogi ory of this and the next stanza see Shukla’s
Introduction p. 81-83. See also 2(16)-(18) where there is a similar description
of
) Beading »tka (Grierson) for tka (Shukla) which would mean
perry | may 08 ecems; Griorson's text actually has avait, rhyming with
Akt, कत्व is the usual form
99-998: 1 THE KING'S ASSAULT ON. THE FORTRESS 135
the way is exceeding steep. Only he can penetrate that
pass who has obtained the clue’ and climbs hike an ant.
Beneath the fortress is a pool, and there is atunnel therein :
through this is the path, as I declare to you. As the thief
enters in’ by working a breach in the wall : as the gambler
sets [his stake] on the winning throw in the game :
“Ag the diver plunges into the ocean and only then does
the pearl come to his hand ; so he who seeks out the door of
heaven will make the ascent of Singhala-dvipa
Io. ‘The tenth gate is [narrow and tall] like a palm
tree : he who turns his eyes upward to look at it can see it
If a man will go there, he must restrain his breath and his
mind, as Krishna when he dived into the Jumna. Do thou
bridle thy mind by restraining thy breath ; if thou must
die, destroy thyself’. Openly, do thou speak the words of
wordly affairs : secretly, fix thy mind upon its beloved. By
egoism all intelligence is lost: if you get rid of egoism
everything is yours. He who in life once dies", what is death
to him? Who can slay him? He is the Guru and he 33
the disciple : he is everything and he is alone : |
“He is death and living again, he is body and mind: he
can make himself what he will; who else has anything to do
with it ?”’
23. THE KING’S ASSAULT ON THE FORTRESS
1. The King received* ‘Siddhi-gutika’. Thereupon he
obtained enlightenment, having worshipped Ganes. When
Sankar had given him the charm, there was a hubbub and
the Yogis assailed the fortress. All the lotus maidens clim-
bed up [on the roofs] and looked : Yogis’ huts had arisen,
besieging Singhala. As when a thief has made his plans
against a well-filled house, in the same way [the Yogis|
(r) There is a pun on Dhedas | aia ray: and bhed (secret).
(8) Reading pastht (Grierson) for batjh (Shukla)—sits.
(t) Reading apu (Grierson) for abAta (Shukla)
(४) Reading jo re (Grierson) for juras (Shukla)—is joined.
Canto 23
(a) Siddhi-gutika, a pill or wooden bead b ing which in his
mouth a Yog! is phe to obtain the eight siddhis oy note (33) to 2(6)8
Sudh&kar fing 46 Briggs Gorakhn&th p. 226. Shukla reads rajat jab pawn
॥ the न received), which may refer to 22(8)4 and mean that iva gave
the Si gutika then. But it is better to omit jas, with Grierson,
136 . ‘HE KING’s ASSAULT ON THE FoRTRESS ` ` 88: +3 त्र
desire to break into the fortress. He is the true thief who
remains hidden: if a thief is revealed he will not save his
life. At each gate of the fortress the doors were closed
and a shout reached the King [Gandharvasen]; “The Vogis
have come and assailed the fortress in a band: we know
not from what country they are come roving.”
. The King gave command, ‘Look to it and see what
beggars areso bold. Quickly drive them away and return.”
[So saying] he sent two men as messengers.
2. The messengers descended and, after saluting them,
[said] ‘‘Are you Yogis or travelling merchants? Our King
has ordered that you should go roving further away, that
you should leave the base of the fortress and band your-.
selves together somewhere else. By whose instructions
have you planted yourselves here? -You have come to die
and have taken your lives in your hands. Here there is a
King who blazes like Indra in glory: when he is angry, the
sun hides himself for fright. If you are travelling mer-
chants, then purchase merchandise: take all the commo-
dities you desire. If you are Yogis, then beg suitably”:
take food and when you have taken it go on your way.
Here such beings as Gods have been vanquished ; what
are you, you beggarly insects’?
“You are Yogis and Bairagis; do not feel anger at what
we say. Ask for and receive some alms and go roving
elsewhere.”
3. [The King replied] ‘‘The alms which I came to take
15 something different. How should I not accept it if the
King gives it? Padmavati, the King’s daughter, it is for
her sake that I am a Yogi and a beggar. With begging
bowl in hand I have been asking [alms] at [the King’s]
door: if he gives me this food", I will take it and go on my
way. This is the getting of food which will satisfy me:
where else shall I go? There is no such other door. Now
is my body here and my soul there [where Padmavati is}:
let me be reduced to dust, yet will I not cease to call on her
(b) A play on the words jogt and juguti (yukti)
(9) a 24(५)8, where the phrase is more to the point
(d) १ what the messengers said in 23(2)6, but by
bhuguit (satisfaction) he means, not food, but Padmava
ॐ: 35 > ‘THE KING’s AscAULT ON THE एवाः ` च
name. As without the vital spirit the body is an empty
thing’—on my honour I will tel] you what you ask. You
are messengers from the king: be witnesses with respect to
this alms that I seek
“That Yogi comes to the door who has hope of obtaining
alms. If he has no hope, he remains firmly seated: why
should he go to anyone’s house?”’
4. :When the messengers heard this, anger rose in their
‘minds. When the barley is crushed the weevils wilk be crush
ed also’. “Let noone[they say] call such a fellow a Yogi
you should speak such language as is fitting*. He [Gan-
dharvasen] is a great King: his throne is like that of Indra
Who can lie on the ground and lick the sky"? If this word
should reach there [to the King], the elephants of Singhala
would be let loose at once. And if the thunder-balls are
fired, your satisfaction will be forgotten and you will all be
crushed’. You, a beggar, stretch out your hand to a place
to which noone’s sight reaches at fullest stretch. Look ahead
before placing your feet, disciple of Gorakhnath, and do not
make your quest where your head will be broken.
“She is a princess, a match for him who has a kingdom
and athrone. The fair lady will go to the King’s palace,
the Yogi will be bitten by the ape’.”’
5. ‘Although a hundred apes may bite the Yogi, still
Yoga is one, there is no second way. Other achievements
come by practice, but the achievement of Yoga comes by
self-immolation. The accompaniment of Yoga brings one to
the goal": the hand reaches even further than the sight’.
(6) There seems to be an aposiopesis here. Supply perhaps “80 am I
without Padm&vati
(0) +.e., the messengers thought (proverbially) ‘If we take back such a
message we shall get beaten as well as t ogis
(४, A play on the words jogs and jog
) A proverbial expression, somewhat similar to the English ‘doa’t
bite off more than you can chew
(i) Lit. (flattened like) pancakes
(j) An allusion to the story of the Yogi, the Banya’s daughter, the
dar ०8 and the ape, told in full in Sudhakar’s Commentary p. 489 from the
thasaritaigara 3, 1, 30-53
(k) Reading str pahuachav kar satha (Grierson) for Shukla's sari
pahunchre jogi kar ऽत क which would mean ‘the company of a yogi brings
one to equality
(1) Referring to र. 6 of the previous stanza.
18
138 ‘THE KING'S ASSAULT ON THE FORTRESS ॐ: 5
If you have™ elephants of Singhala, my elephant is the Guru
who is my companion. He makes the existent non-existent”
‘without delay: he makes the mountain as the dust beneath
one’s feet. It is he who throws down all the fortresses that
there are: the fortresses which showed pride bow down.
Noone knows about the final departure [from this world] :
he who comes [into the world] wants to make it his own’.
“The Yogi must not be angered, and so I do not feel
wrath. The true essence of Yoga is like water: what can
fire do to it??”
6. The messengers went and told what he had said.
When the King heard he was red with rage. All the
princes in their several places were indignant [saying] ‘“‘Who
has preserved this Yogi's life till now’? Do you immediately
and swiftly take suitable action. Slay him in such a way
that there will be no blood guiltiness.’’ His counsellors
said ‘‘ Stay and consider in your mind. There will be no
glory for you in fighting with Yogis. If you slay him, a
mere beggar, what profit is there? If you admit defeat, it
will be a disgrace to you. No good will come from being
slain and no deliverance from slaying: fault attaches to
either event alike. Let them be if they have assembled
beneath the fortress: how can Yogis exist without roving ?
“If they are beneath the fortress, let them be: do not
raise this question. If there they eat the stones, who else
has such teeth in his head °?”’
7. When the messengers had departed, they did not
return again. The King [ Ratansen] said “They have taken
a very long time. I know not what [is happening] in heaven
[that] no-one has come back and brought news. I have no
wings to my body, my feet do not [move on] the wind : how
m) Reading jau re (Grierson) both here and in v. 6 for jor=:Persian
zor ‘strength’ (8
(n) Grierson reads hasats nasat (He destroys the elephants). Shukla
reads 0९71 nei, (He makes the existent non-existent), I prefer hasti nati
ken from a Kaithi ms. in the possession of Sir Richard Burn
This could be capable of both interpretations, and this was no doubt Jaisi’s
intention. Cp. 24(7) 6. [1 find Bhagwan Din haa this reading]
“pan chahk kinha (Grierson) for Shukla’s so apan Hahn
(0)
(p) Cp. 24 (5)7
(q) Reading ‘be rakhe (Grierson) and not kei ab land
309, kot "त ९, (Shukla)—who has taken aud preserved Yoga ?
$8: 7-9 - THE KING’S ASSAULT ON THE FORTRESS 139
shall I reach her? On whom shall I depend’? When he
remembered { Padmavati] [tears of] blood filled his eyes and
fell : weeping he called upon the parrot as his intermediary.
The tears which fell like drops of blood went crawling like
red velvet insects. With this same blood he wrote a letter:
when the parrot took it, his beak became red. He tied it
round his throat and a red ring was burnt upon it: how
can the burning of severance be annihilated °
His eyes [provided] the ink ; his eyelashes were the ne
weeping he wrote things which could not be spoken. Tae
characters burned so that none could touch them. He
gave it into the bird’s hands.
8. ““ Also do you, O bird’, give my message by word of
mouth, after first having told her of my fullest devotion.
Thereafter tell her asecond message, thus: he who worship-
ped and did sacrifice to the Gods is still intent on a like
sacrifice’: when his life was sacrificed, his body could not
keep awake. Rightly have you also made sacrifice to the
Lord : where it pleased you, there you made sacrifice’.
Although you did an act of kindness in coming [to the
temple], yet, when you showed your face, you shot me
with a poison dart. If anyone has, like me, his hopes turned
to another, that other will not slay the unfortunate one in
his misfottune. My beggar eyes do not heed instruction:
they go running ahead to obtain a beggar’s dole.
‘‘When eyes have been pierced by eyes, those arrows can-
not be withdrawn. The characters which you wrote upon
my bosom have completely taken away my life.
. ^^ How much shall I write about those poison darts?
With the blood that flowed [from my wounds] the earth has
been soaked. He who sweats blood knows [what it is to do
so]; the happy man knows not the secret of the unhappy.
(r) Reading hour kehi कक त (Grierson) for Shukla’s hot kas chinya,
(being a shadow), and taking chhay# as past participle of chhanz.
(8) Reading au mukh saua bach kahesu parewa (Grierson) for aw mukh
bachan jo kaha parewa (Shukla), which might mean ‘and he also gave this
message orally, 0 bird’ ’......
(t) Reading tateat ठ lagna (Grierson) for ४४१५४ eev na (तत (Shukla)
which appears mesningless. +
(नवाण bhalehi ts tumA Au bals ककत : jahaa tumk 26 तए ladae
००१ kt (Grierson) for bhaleAs इञ AW tumh bali dinha : Jahan tum tahaz
bh bali kinks (Shukls) which again appears meaningless,
140 THE KING'S ASSAULT ON THE FORTRESS 3B: g-It
He who is free from pain, what has he to care for? ‘The
beloved is always cruel like this. To whom shall I speak
the language of love’s distress? He to whomI speak it
will be burnt to ashes. With the fire of love’s distress the
body becomes a forest” and is burnt : with the water from
my eyes all the oceans are filled. I have written this letter
remembering thy name: the characters, written in blood,
have become black [in the fire of love’s distress]. The
characters burn: noone can touch [the letter]. Seeing my
distress, the parrot has taken it and set forth.
“Now I am dying indeed. My letter has gone to the
hands of my beloved empty: if my life went with it, it
could meet her and weeping recite my sorrows.’’
10. Binding the letter to his neck with a golden wire,
the parrot took it and went to where the bright lady was.
She was like the lotus which, in hope of the sun, though
the water is up to its throat, dies of thirst: forgotten were
her enjoyment, her repose, her happy home: where her bee
was, there was all her delight. She had fortitude so long as
she had not heard [news] of her beloved: when she did
hear, her soul did not remain [steady] for the briefest space
of time. There was happiness in her heart until love took
root there: where love 15, how can there be happiness or
repose? Unguents of aloe and sandal burnt her body
thoroughly, and the clothing upon her limbs was like fire.
As she listened to tales and stories her spirit was burnt: it
was like ghee falling upon a fire.
In love’s distress, she cannot control herself: her clothes
are soiled, her head unkempt. Calling ‘my love, my love’
night and day, like the papiha”, her mouth is dry.
17. Atthat moment Hiramani arrived. She was like
one who has found shade when dying of thirst. “‘It 1s well,
O parrot, that you have returned. Tell me, is it well now
(v) A punon ban (forest) and ban (becoming).
(क) Grierson distinguishes between the papliha, 2 (5) 4 note (28), (the
hawk-cuckoo, hierococcyx varius Vahl) and the ch&taka, 10 (10) 3 note (38),
{the pied cuokoo, cuculus melanoleucus) but Jaisi gives them the same
characteristics. The nate of the papiha is ति to be piu, ptu or pi प्क,
‘where is my beloved ?’ (Less poetically, the lishman represents the same
sounds by ‘Brain-fever Brain-fever’). Piu, besides beloved, may mean ‘drink’,
and there is perhaps here a play on this meaning in the mention of a dry
mouth. cp. 30 (7) 3 note (q).
O98: 11-3 ‘THE KING'S ASSAULT‘ON THE FORTRESS सवैर
with my’ beloved? I know not the way [to him]: the
mountain is ‘inaccessible. When hearts have once met,
there can be no separation. He who 15 athirst knows the
secret of water. He who is in the midst of water, how
should he need it 2“ [The Parrot replied] “Princess, why
do you ask such a question? God forbid that anyone
should be [so utterly] lovelorn. In order to attain the
sight of you, he became a pilgrim of love, and was a
Yogi in the temple of Mahadeo. You went there, taking
the [festival of] spring, and after worshipping the God,
you came to him. :
“With the arrows of your glaned you so struck him
that he was wounded on the spot. He could not utter
any other word; but only spoke the name of Padmavati.
712. ‘As every pore was pierced by these arrows,
blood poured in rivers* from the mouths [of the wounds].
From his eyes too proceeded a stream of blood : his
ragged robe was soaked and became red. The sun was
drowned and rose again red hot, and the majith and
dhak in the forest became red. It was like Spring :
all the forest shrubs were red, and so were all the
Yogis and ascetics. The earth which 25 soaked
all became red ochre coloured and all the birds and
winged creatures became red. All the bodies of Satis in
the fire became red: the clouds in the sky became red
from its reflection. The mountains were soaked and be-
came deposits of vermilion : yet not a hair of yours was
even damped’.
“Pity has entered 11६0 the hearts of the Chakor and
the Kokila which are there, and their eyes have filled with
blood : but you have not even turned to glance at him.
13. ‘‘No indeed, this is the spring game which you
play,—you mix the blood ‘of others with the vermilion
powder’. You indeed came back to your home after play-
(x) Reading sofahin sot (Gmerson) for Shukla’s stitahtnz sit (at every
hair's breadth), with which reading mukh would be meaningless.
(y) pastjny—(1) be compassionate (2) sweat. Lit. ‘you did not
melt ४
न् ta ® single pore’.
(2) The red powder scattered in the Holi celebrations is not sender,
See 20 (7) 6 note (®),
142 THE KING'S ASSAULT ON THE FORTRESS ॐ; 727
ing your game: what his condition was God afone knows.
He said ‘‘Who would die“ over and over again? Tet me
once for all be burnt to ashes. When he Had made a fune-
rai pyre and wished to set fire to it, Mahadeo and Gauri
learnt the news. They came and put out [the fire] and
showed him the road to where the game of death is
approached [7.e., the road of self-sacrifice.} The road to
love’s door goes backwards: he who would rise to heaven’”,
falls to hell. Now the King wishes to press in, in hope of
that [love]: he may either obtain his hope”’, or die in hope-
lessness.
‘He has written and sent a letter in which he laments
all these sorrows. Is his life to remain or to depart ? What
is your royal command ?”’
14. Having said this, the parrot unfastened™ the letter.
It was like the flame of a lamp totouch, so hot was it.
Where it was fastened round his neck by a golden thread,
his throat had begun to burn red and black’. Fire and
breath issued together hot from his mouth: tall trees were
burnt by the King’s letter. Weeping sorely the parrot told
the whole" tale: his face became red with tears of blood.
‘‘Look,”’ [he said], “It began to burn my neck, so I threw
it down. How must he be burning whom love has encircled
in like manner ? His bones have been consumed by fire and
have all become lime: what use is the flesh upon them
when it is devoid of blood? He for your sake has let his
whole body be burnt. The fish is burning. Throw it into
the water.
‘For your sake he is a Yogi and has burnt his body and
reduced it to ashes. , You are so cruel and indifferent that
you do not even ask after him.”
15. [Padmavati] said ^ ¢ parrot, hear what I say. If
I wish, I will meet him to-day, since he is enamoured of me.
But he in his simplicity does not know the secret [of
love]: that man knows love who has died to bring it to
cm a te
(aa) Reading mara: (Grierson) for Shukla’s jaras (be burnt).
(bb) Reading so (Grierson) for jo (Shukla).
(cc) Reading कऽ (Grierson) for कत? (Shukla)—breath.
(dd) Reading chhari dai (Grierson) for jo chhareet (Shukla).
(ee) For the rings on the 8770६18 throat see 7(4)6 note 6,
(0) Reading sad (Grierson) for so (Shukla).
98; 15-17 THE KING'S ASSAULT ON THE FORTRESS == 243
union. I know that he is not yet burnt through: the
colour of love has not wrought on him as a fast colour.
He has not become fragrant with the scent of the Malaya
mountain: he has not become a sun and mounted to
heaven. He has not become of the colour of a bee [४.९.
burnt black]: he has not become a moth in the lamp
flame. He 735 not got into the condition of the ichneumon
fly“: he has not himself died, having lost his life. He has
not been welded together with love and become one:
nor has fear departed from his heart.
“How can that be called remaining in life when it is for
the sake of the beloved that [the lover] remains ? Wher-
ever he hears [that the beloved is] he will plunge in
whether it be into water or into fire.”
16. Then the lady called for gold-water for ink: in
writing an answer she bedewed"" the jacket upon her body.
“For such gold [as I am] a flux of borax'' is needed: the
jewel [८.८. Ratansen], if it is pure, will be set in it. When
I in my simplicity went to the temple of Siva, why did you
not there tie the knot”? ‘You were discomposed when
you ‘saw my eyes. I was shy of my companions: what
could Isay? Under colour of sport I threw sandal paste
upon you: I thought that if you woke up I might give you
the victor’s garland. Even then you did not awake,
but slept. It is in waking, not in sleeping, that meeting
takes place. Now if you are the sun and will climb the
sky, it is only if you give your life that you will come near
to me.
“Ravan could not enjoy bliss while Sita was with him.
In what confidence shall I now say anything? My life is
in another’s hand.
17. ‘‘Now if the sun climbs the heaven, he will become
(gg) For the ichneumon fly see note (15) to 9(5)6 and 11(7}7, but there,
and elsewhere, it is not the ichneumon fly but its victim which is compared to
the true Yogi or lover who dies and lives again.
(bh) hether with gold-water, or tears, or (88 Sudhakar suggests) with
perspiration, is left to the im si aa
(ii) The usual pan on soAagy=—(1) flux (2) married happiness, cp. 10(2)8
note (8).
(jj) In a Hindu marriage, the bridegroom would not tie the knot,—a
int of detail which Jaisi might not have known. It would be tied by the
family priest or by the barber's wife.
144 THE KING’S ASSAULT ON THE FORTRESS ` 28; 17-338
the planet of eclipse and will win the moon”. Many
have thus risked their liyes : how are you alone, 0 Yogi ?"
Bikram entered the doorway of love: for the sake of
Sapnavati he went to hell: Madhupachh for the sake of
Mugudhavati became a mendicant and went to Gaganpur.
The Rajkunwar went to Kanchanpur and beeame a Yogi for
the sake of Mirgavati. Prince Khandavat performed Yoga
and endured love’s distress for Madhumalati. Sursari be-
came a siddha for the sake of Premavati. Anirudh put on
211 his strength for the sake of Usha.
“TI am the princess Padmavati: my dwelling is upon
the seven heavens. I will come into the hands of him
who first destroys himself. ध
18. ‘I also am”” enamoured of thee in like manner.
A letter from the beloved is half a meeting. If love's
fulfilment is within your reach, [you must be like] the bee
[which] does not see the thorn of the Ketaki ftower.
You must be the moth and seize lamp-flame with your
lips. You must be the diver and plunge” into the sea to
grasp me. You must be passionately enamoured as the
‘kk) The sun and moon stand, as usual, for Ratansen and Padm&vatl.
(1) For the stories referred to in this stanza, see Shukla’s Introduction
1 4 and the essays by Brij Ratan Das, Ganesh Prasid Dvivedi and Chandra-
li Pande as well as the histories of literature by R&m Chandra shukla,
Shyam Sundar Dasand Ayodhya Singh U padhya mentioned in the bibliography.
Most of these accept the view that Jaisi is referring to previous (न
sources, but the evidence is not convincing.
There are textual variants of the names of the pairs of lovers :—Bikram
(Vikramaditya)’s beloved isin Grierson’s text Champavati and not Sapnavati.
(In the Sifghasana battisi her name is Singhavati}.
Shukla’s text has Madhip&chh and Mugudhavati, while Grierson’s has
Sudai Bachchh and Magadhavati, whom Sudhakar connects with the Vatea
king (Udayans) and the Magadha princess (another Padmavati) whose story
is told in the Kath&saritsigara. Pt. Chandrabali Pande has Siribhoj and
Khandariavati.
Both Shukla and Sudh&kar have Raj Kutwar and Mirgivatt. These
were the subject of a poem by Shaikh Kutban of which some fragments are
said to have been traced (Nagari Pracharini Sabha’s research report for 1900)
and to be dated 909 Hijri—1502 A.D
Shukla has Khand&wat and Madhuméalati ; Gricrson has Gandhawat.
These were the subject of Manjhan’s MadhumAalati. Pt. Chandrabali P&nde,
who gives the prince’s name as Manohar, finds evidence that Jaisi imitated
Manjhan, particularly in the catalogues of beauty in cantos 10 and 30. Mas,
of a Madhumélati are extant, but they are later and not by Manjhan. The
story of Sursari (Grierson has Sar Sur) and Premfvatiis not known elsewhere.
That of Usha and Anirudhbha is in the Bhagwat Purana.
(mm) Reading ahaut (Grierson) for कवक (Shukla).
(nn) Reading lehu (Grierson) for lest (Shukla) which would mean ‘you set
fire to the sea’.
$3: 18-20 THE KING’s ASSAULT ON THE FORTRESS 145
jamp. flame is red® in colour. You must close your eyes
and become like a shell [waiting for] Sewati. You must
be the Chataka bird and call ‘Piyasa, [‘thirsty’, or ‘she
is my beloved’] : you must drink no water, in hope of the
Sewati. You must be like [one of] a pair of Sarases who
have been separated ; your eye must be like the Chakor’s
[fixed on] the moon. You must be the Chakor, with his
glance fixed upon the moon. Ay, and you must be the
sun in the midst of a bed of lotuses.
“T too am [enamoured] of thee in like manner. If thou
canst, bring [our love] to fulfilment. Be Arjun and pierce
the fish and win Draupadi in wedlock.”
70. On the other hand the king had been so dried up
by austerities that, burnt by love’s distress, he was like a
heap of ashes. He had closed his eyes and become
senseless : he was without life: he had given his life to her.
He had grasped’? the ‘Pingala’ and ‘Sukhaman’” arteries
and his gaze was absorbed in vacant contemplation. He
was like a drop of water that is mingled in the ocean: he
was lost and could not be found by seeking- As water“*
that is mixed with dye, so he had lost himself and had be-
come the beloved. When the parrot arrived and saw his
miserable plight", tears of blood filled his eyes. ‘‘He
always suffers hardships on account of the beloved: her he
forgets not, but, forgetting himself, he gives up his life.’’
(The parrot] brought the root ‘Sajiwan”™ and placed it
in his mouth, after mixing it with water. As Garuda flaps
his wings, so the parrot distilled ambrosia”.
20. He was revived from death when he received this
fragrance. He drew breath and the life returned to his body.
(००) Ratu rang has both meanings, enamoured and red.
(pp) Reading gaht (Grierson) tor kahan (Shukla). Pingala and
ushumng are two of the main narte in Yogic physiology. The narts are
lines of vital forcesin the body: see Briggs, Gorakhnath, p. 307-8.
Tarai=-Traitek, a form of Yogic contemplation. Beene p. 328 quotes
from the Hatha-Yoga-pradipika ‘Having the ए fixed (in meditation),
one should look fixedly at @ small object (mark) until the eyes are suffusef
with tears. (This) by adepts is called tritaka.’
(qq) Reading pans (Grierson) for pan (Shukla).
(rr) Reading n¥e8 (Grierson) for {कड (Shukla)=—him.
(as) For the root Sajivan see note (०) to 16 (6) 4.
(४४) Perhaps alluding to तुक by which certain birds are
trained to fly through an aseembly prinkling attar of roses from their
feathers.
19
7146 शश्र KING'S ASSAUL? ON Ht FoRtRESS 98: 20-24
re
He awoke and looked: the parrot bowed his head; he gave
him the letter and also recited the message by word of
mouth. ‘The words of your Guru have reached your two
ears. She has looked favourably upon you. Come quickly,
O disciple. She has made you the bee and she herself is
the lotus: she has sent me, making” me, 2 bird, her inter-
mediary. Restraining her breath, she has made fast her
mind to you. She watches your way, laying her eyes 0६९
a carpet thereon. How you have immolated your body on
the fire, this has all become known to your Gurn. It is on
this that she has written and sent a letter [telling the]
tale. Come quickly: she desires to give you the accom-
plishment of your purpose.
“Come, [she says] lord of auspicious marks: my life
dwells in your name. Your way is in my eyes, and your
place is in my heart.”’
21. When he heard of this loving kindness of Padma-
vati, it was spring-tide {for the king]; a new body -was
created [for him]. The parrot’s speech was like a breeze
which reached him: he arose from sleep and awakened
like Hanuwaunt [t.e., invincibly strong]. The moon {Padma-
vati] had given hope of meeting: the sun [Ratansen] revealed
himself with a thousand rays. He took the letter and,
taking it, placed it upon his head ; he was like a Chakor
whose gaze has found the moon. When anyone longs and
thirsts for another, even if that other upbraid, he still will
seek"’ for him. ‘“‘Now what water is this that I have
drunk, that wings have grown on my body and that
I have come to life again after dying like a moth?’’ His
heart rose swelling and could not be contained [in his body]:
his ragged cloak was torn to pieces.
“Where the beloved dwells, this life is a sacrifice on the
road thither. If she calls me [to come] on my feet, I will
go there on my forehead””.”’
(22. The way‘ which he had obtained by worshipping
(uu) Reading kas (Grierson) for guru (Shukla).
(vv) Resding so (Grierson) for sahunz (Shukla),
(ww) Alluding to a method of performing pilgrimage which is still to
be seen in India ; at each pace the pilgrim measures his length on the ground,
touching it with his forehead.
(xx) He was given instruction about the way by Mahadeo in 23 (8).
93: 2e-—O4: I KING GANDHARVASEN AND HIS MINISTER 147
Mahadeo, that way had become closed”, but he plunged
into it. Where the steep fathomless cavity is, there he fell
in, but could not find bottom. Senseless and blind by the
stroke of leve he pressed straight on ; he could see nothing
clearly ahead. He obtained fulfilment and controlled his
breath and his mind ; Machhandarnath”, the Guru, supported
him. Even if the disciple is far behind, still he does not
give up following : the disciple is the fish and the Guru is
like the tortoise’. As the diver plunges into the ocean,
so his eyes were opened and blazed like lamps. He sought
out the gate of heaven’’’: (the doors], closed like adamant,
were opened.
Steep was the ascent to, the heaven of the fortress :
dawn came while he was climbing. There was a shout on
the castle heights “The thief has broken in and climbed up*”,’
24. KING GANDHARVASEN AND HIS MINISTER.
1. The king [Gandharvasen] heard that Yogis were
climbing the fortress. He enquired of the learned pandits
who stood by him: “‘As for these Yogis who have broken
into the fortress and are approaching, say a word of counsel
whereby I may obtain success.’ The pandits learned in the
Vedas study their Vedas and reply “A Yogi is like the bee
which pierces the Malati flower. As the thief makes a
hole in the wall and places his head therein, so both
Yogi and bee play at hazard with their lives. They do
not walk in the way as it is written in the Vedas : they have
learnt* to go to heaven by mounting the stake. They are
thieves, and it is on the stake that they will get deliverance:
he who impales them on the stake does no wrong. A thief
(yy) Reading so mund (Grierson) for samud (Shukla). A reference to
the ocean would be irrelevant here.
(zz) For Machhandarnath see 16 (2) 3 note (h).
(asa) The tortoise is an emblem of steadiness, the fish of the reverse.
(bbb) Allegorically, the Brahmarandhra ए. 2 (18) 1 note (cc).
(ooo) Grierson ends canto xxiii after the next stanza.
Canto 24,
, (9) Or, ‘let them go to heaven, mounted on the point सकत of the
© .
748 KING GANDHARVASEN AND HIS MINISTER 24: 13.
makes a hole in the wall’ and robs the house : he opens
the casket which is the king’s treasury.
“As these have at night broken into the royal palace,
so do you stop them and slay them by impaling them on
stakes.”’
2. His prudent ministers said ‘This kind of thief is
assuredly a Siddha®. A Siddha wanders fearlessly by night
and by day : where he has fixed his eyes, there he approa-
ches’. A Siddha is so fearless as regards his own life that
when he sees a sword he bows his neck. A Siddha goes
verily to the place where life is destroyed : where else are
such wings of death® upon any other person? If [a Siddha]
climbs up to heaven in anger it will require no small pre-
paration to slay him. If a King sets out to battle with a
jackal, it is seemly that he should equip himself as for [battle
with] a lion and then set out. Siddhas are immortal : their
bodies are like mercury. It is only by stratagem that they
can be slain : they cannot be slain by force.
“Stratagem was Krishna’s method when’ kings attacked
him in anger. Siddhas are like vultures, and can see to the
ends of heaven; without stratagem nothing can succeed
[against them].
3. “Do you now make preparation for battle*® through-
out your kingdom, let everyone come with bands playing.
Let all your feudatory princes be prepared: let all your host
assail and seize the Yogis now.’”’ Twenty four lakhs of
(b) Both Grierson and Shukla read pukars which does not appear to
have any meaning, though Sudhakar explains as ‘encouraging one another by
shouts’. One ms. has चात क, which mig ht mean ‘making a hole in another
man’s wall’. Possibly some word for is lost.
(c) A Siddha is one who has attained to a semidivine existence through
the practice of Yo go gee 22(6) for his attributes. See also note (33) to
2(6) 8 and Briggs Gorakhnath p. 137. The chief Sidda’s were 84 in number.
Sudhakar (p. 601) gives their names. There are 84 corresponding Asanas in
Hatha-yoga,—those by which they obtained emancipation.
(0) Reading upasavahta (Grierson) for apasavahta (Shukla) =departa.
(6) Wings of death are wings such as those of the ant, which only
lives a short time after becoming ve ed.
(f) This translation requires the reading charhe for charhain. With
the latter reading, the meaning would be ‘Krishna worked by stratagem :
kings attack with wrath’, which is not so good.
(g) Reading kadarmae (Shukla’s variant) for gudar mis which might
possibly mean on & of a durbar (guzar, 6९०, == 7०७०१), not
(Sudhakar) for dealing h the yogte (gudartesrage). The Shabd-sagar
explains kadarmas aa=fighting, with reference to this verse,
94: 3- KING GANDHARVASEN AND HIS MINISTER 149
tuling chiefs" made them ready : fifty six crores of soldiers
sounded their instruments of music: twenty two thousand
Singhala elephants [marched] : the earth with all its moun-
tains was shaken. They all pressed the earth flat : Indra
was afraid and Vasuki’s heart trembled. Millions’ of
chariots came harnessed : the mountains became dust and
flew up to the sky. As they marched it was as though an
earthquake had fallen on the earth : the back of the tortoise
was broken and its heart was terrified.
The sky was covered with umbrellas and the sun was
hidden. You might see the night in the day time, as [the
army] set forth like Indra in anger.
4. When they saw the army and the furious elephants
the campanions of Ratansen said ‘‘An immeasurably great
army is approaching : be assured that there will be a battle.
O King, you have come here roving 852 Yogi: it was for
this day’s sake that we became your disciples. Where
the master is in straits, he is a servant indeed who does not
desert him. That which we envisaged in our minds as the
day of our death has today come upon us having ful-
filled its period. Let life go rather than the plighted word:
our loyalty to our king’ is like Mount Sumer which cannot
be shaken. If we receive our Gurw’s order, we will face the
foe and hurl our quoits.
“This day we will do battle like the Mahabharat, since
we have given our truthful word once for all. Let truth
see the whole show and then let truth bear witness.”’
5. The Guru [Ratansen] said ‘‘My disciples, you must
be Siddhas. Standing at love’s door you must not display
anger. If you have bowed your head and given it as an
offering to anyone, it will not be right if you lift it on high.
He in whose spirit love is has become like water : whatever
colour he meets, he will be of that colour. If love is to be
ne,
a It is by an excess of hyperbole that these subordinate chiefs are
called chhatrapats, the term properly applying to an Emperor, and have
umbrellas over their heads (ए. 8). In 2(23) Gandharvasen sitting in darbar
has the chhatra, while the princes have (ककम, which Grierson translates
(i) 48 0106 व Koti)=10 million, one arabe=100 kror, one kharabu
100 arab, one nil=.100 kharab and 1 padam=100 nil, a padam of Krors
would be 1,000 billion. See 32(16)9 note (n).
(j) Omitting hyphen after eat,
4
९0 KING GANDHARVASEN AND BIS. MINTER. 34: 9-9
fought with, why do wise Siddhas perform austerities and
die? Ample truth is this", that you shall refrain from fight-
ing: when you see the sword you should become water
and meltaway. What can the edge of the sword do to water?
He who strikes [water with a sword] becomes water himself
in return. Whatcan fire do to water? It is extinguished
if water falls on it’.
“I have already given my head as an offering, laying
it at the feet” of love. Now let me bring that love to com-
pletion : let me go roving as a Siddha.
6. “Even though the king [Gandharvasen] assails
and seizes all the Yogis, still the lover must endure one
distress upon another. My spirit will not be agitated
if anyone seizes me: I will have no fear either of dying or
of living. She has cast the noose” round my neck: there
is neither any joy nor any sorrow in my spirit. She who
gave me life has taken it away : I shall not forget her so long
as there is breath in my body. With viol in hand she will
sound the strings and her devotee will sing the song of love
It is well that she has brought the noose and placed it round
my neck: there is no sorrow in my heart and all anger
is quenched. I placed the noose around my neck on the
day when I set out roving on the way of love.
‘‘Her name 15 in its fulness in everything whether open
or secret. Wherever I look, there she is : there is no other
to whom I should go.
7. “So long as I had not recognised my Guru, countless
curtains were fixed between us. When I recognised her,
there was no other but her : she was everything, body and
mind, spirit and life. I said ‘I, I,’ making vain repetition :
when one has become a Siddha, there is an end of shadows.
(४) Reading yah sat bahut jo j¥jh nahin kariye (Grieraon) for «ht
sehit bahurt jujk nahin kariye (Shukla), ‘for this reason do not return and
fight’. Bahurt would be meaningless here, and sat is required. The Yogia
have appealed to truth at the end of the previous atanza, in advocating
resistance to force by force: Ratansen argues that the real truth is non-
violence,—the doctrine of satyigraha.
(1) ep. $3 (5) 9
(m) ng gpae (Grierson) for pant (Shukla)
(ए) Nag-phahese=nag-pus, 880 used as a warlike weapon, e.g. by
the Valmiki Rim&yan. See 9 (6) 4 note (17)
(0) Reading neh (Grierson) for thas (Shukla)
(p) For the allegorical meaning of this stanza see Shukla’s Introdue-
tion p. 191/2
G4: 7-§ KING GANDHARVAGEN AND HYS MINISTER = x51
Let'the Guru stay or let the Guru give life ; who else can अध?
All men come into the world to die. Fix me on the stake,
er crush me beneath an elephant : I know nothing : it ts
the Guru, who knows. “The Guru rides on existence/the
elephant’ and sees [everything]: even if the world is non-
existent, he still sees the non-existent. It is as when a
blind fish darts through the water: life.is like the water,
unstable and invisible.
‘‘My Guru has fastened my heart as a horse is fastened
with a twitch’. She makes movements within with her
hands and the wooden puppets dance outside.
8. ‘This Padmavati is the Guru and I am the disciple.
It is for her sake that I have practised the secrets of Yoga.
If I leave her door I know not of any other: on the day
that I meet her my pilgrimage will be completed. I will
yield up my life and will place my forehead on the ground :
I will give her a throne within my breast. Who will aid
me to touch her feet, and give me a new incarnation,—a
new body? She is dearer to me even than life’: if she
demand my life I will give it in sacrifice. If she demand
my head I will give it, neck and all: if she take my life I
will bend‘ all the more. I have no desire for my own life :
standing at love’s door, I ask for her.
‘The sight of her is like the fame of a lamp: I am the
beggarly moth". If she should saw my head off, I should
die without flinching ।
9. Padmavati was like a lotus or the radiance of the
moon: her smiles were flowers: her tears were pearls
Her father restrained her smiling and her weeping : he posted
informers: a continual watch was kept. When eclipse
came on the sun’, the lotus had knowledge of it immediately
in her mind. When the Canopus” of severance arose out
(q) A pun on hash =(1) elephant (2) existence, oD. 28 (5) 5, note (n)
(£) Reading ¢Aath (Bhagwan-D ere is ms. authority
for this, and it is obviously the correct word. ® पताक is a cord twitoh a pplied
to refractory horses. The mention of the cord suggests puppet strings in the
next verse, (cp. 13 (3) 8, 9.)
(8) Reading so (Grierson) for jo (Shukla).
(४) Reading navaws# (Grierson) for taraneé (Shukla).
(u) cp. 28 (2) 7 note (c)
(v) 4.6. when Ratansen was surrounded by Gandhsrvasen’s army
(ऋ) See note (a) to 19 (1) 9
152 KING‘GANDHARVASEN AND HIS MINISTER 24: 9-22
of due time’, the lake of joy was all dried up. She could
not openly let her tears fall : her flesh wasted away secretly
and was destroyed’. As though night had come in the
middle of the day, the blooming lotus faded away. Her
rosy face became white : the circling bees [her eyes] became
still.
When the lady meditated in her mind, she wept at every
pore. Enduring a thousand woes, sighing deeply, shé fell
into a swoon and lost consciousness. |
70. Her clever companions who were with Padmavati
passed the whole night until dawn counting the constel-
lations. The water lilies know the secret of the lotus:
seeing the distress of [their] love-lorn [mistress] they wept.
Severance is grievous : it is the image of death’: it cannot
be borne,—death is far better. Death draws forth the
living spirit and carries it away : the death which 15 severance
slays twice over™. Severance adds flame to fame: it lays
wound upon wound like a levin stroke : it shoots forth arrow
upon arrow : it heaps affliction upon affliction : it is a fresh
woe upon an old one : it 1s a grievous death beyond death.
The body is Ravan who mounts the pyre: severance
is Hanuwant. It inflicts burning upon burning, and reduces
thought and mind to ashes.
Ir. Some of her water-lily [companions] press’’ her
legs with their hands: some sprinkle sandal scent on her
body : some shed cool water on her face : some set a breeze
in motion with the folds of their garments: some bring
ambrosia and squeeze it into her mouth : it was as though
they gave her poison ; the lady slept all the deeper. Her
companions watch her breath from moment to moment,
to see when life will return, a bird with wind for wings”.
Severance planted itself in her heart like death: it drew
(x) Bisamau also=distress asin 24 (6) 3, and there is possibly a play
on the two meanings here
(y) Cp. she let concealment like the worm ४” the bud Feed on her damask
cheek. (Shakespeare) The lotus simile is carried further in the next two
verses.
(z) Cp. 19 (8) 5 note (0)
(98) 1 १ body and spirit. F
(bb) ng kar parasakt# (Grierson) for pasarahtn (Shukla) which
eis = त mean stretch out र । ।
oc) Akharawat 51, soratha, where the soul is described as pavan
bind of the wind)
ॐ 11-13 KING GANDHARVASEN AND HIS MINISTER 153
forth her life and grasped it in its hand. At one moment
it clenched its fist“, at another it opened it. It grasped
her tongue and no speech came from her mouth. At one
time it struck and pierced her with its darts: the lady,
trembling, was dying with discomfort.
In no way would love’s distress leave her. The moon
was swallowed by eclipse. The constellations wept all
around her: there was darkness on earth and in the sky.
12. Thusforatime™ she was swallowed by eclipse: there-
after, God revealed light in her heart. Sighing heavily, she
drew a deep breath : she had support and fresh hope of life.
Her friends respectfully said ‘“I'he moon is freed from eclipse.
Your brightness is brightness for all. You, the moon-
faced, irradiate the world : who has taken this radiance
away and made darkness? You are proud and stately
with the gait of an elephant : how 15 it that you, our com-
panion, abandon hope? ‘You have defeated the lion by
stealing his waist : how is it that you now, being defeated,
recite the name of the Lord?" You are the Kokil-voiced
one who delights the world : who has become a fowler and
seized you pitilessly <
“You are a lotus bud, a Padmini®™. The night has
departed and the dawn has come; yet still you do not open
your closed petals, when, lo, the sun has arisen upon the
world.’’
13. Hearing the name of the sun, the lotus opened
her petals and the bees returned™ to obtain the fragrance
.of the honey. When her face, like the autumn moon,
was disclosed, her eyes, like Khanjan birds, arose and
(dd) Reading khan ek muths © क्छ (Grierson) for khinahin maun
bradhat (Shukla), which would mean ‘At one moment she 18 dumb, at
another her dumbness is relieved.’ This hardly agrees with the second part
of the verse.
(ee) The actual time is four gharia of 24 minutes each.
(ff) Reading Ab kas hari karas: hai he Aart (Grierson) for Shukla’s 46
kit Atri karats hai hiya hart, which would mean why do you feel dejected, O
stealer of hearts ? There are puns on hart=(1) lion (2) having taken (3) the
Lord; and (ए = 0666650.
(88) See 2 (1) 1 note (2).
(hh) Shukla (see also his introduction p. 144) takes the bees to refer
to Padmavati’s eyes, and the reference to these as khanjan birds in the next
line does not make this impossible. Sudhakar explains that the lotus
(Padmavati) revives: its scent:is renewed and spreads, and the bees there-
fore return to it. Or the bee (eingular) returned to the lotus may mean that,
when Padmavati revived, she thought of Ratansen,
20
54 XING GANDHARVASEN AND HIS. MINISTHR 94: 13-25
disported themselves. Owing to love’s distress, no speech
came to her mouth : speech was crushed in her spirit, as
she died. Grievous severance pressed upon her : her heart
trembled : the enclosure of love’s distress could not be opened.
Severance like an ocean displayed waves: her eyes went
round and round : no word came from her mouth.” The
waves followed rushing one upon another: there was a
whirlpool in which her spirit could not find bottom.
‘Bring poison, girls, and give it to me that I may die. My
life is not dear to me, why should I fear to die?
“At one moment it rises [above the flood of severance]
at another it sinks, so is the lotus of my heart distressed.
Call Hiramani, my friends. Eclipse is seizing my spirit.”
14. Her hand-maids and her nurse, hearing her, ran
at the instant and fetched Hiramani after calling him.
It was as when a physician brings medicine and the patient,
dying of disease, receives life. Hearing his blessing, the
lady opened her eyes, and spoke with a lovelorn voice like
a Kokil, ‘‘As the pain of severance increases for the lotus,
it becomes saffron hued with deep pain“ at heart. How
can the lotus obtain buds of love if eclipse seizes the sun in
day-time? The lotus leaf gives shade to the lotus bud :
so you have heard all my distress and have taken it away.
The wise man does not talk to anyone [of his purpose] :
if he does talk [of it] he will carry it through to completion.”
Uttering so much speech with her mouth, she again
became unconscious. Who should again restore her to her
senses? Her face became white while she satd this.
15. And as for the burning, what shall I say of it,
limitless as it was? A widow who commits Sati would be
burnt with a fire of such violence. Someone has become
Hanuman and has invaded, and has begun to carry out the
burning of Lanka". When Lanka caught fire, that fire
was extinguished : this devastating flame cannot be exting-
त i Reading birah samud (ms. Burn), for udadhi samud (Grierson and
a
(ji) I have omitted yah sunt, which I do not understand, any more
than Sudhakar appears to have understood the variant yah eujhé adopted
by Grierson.
(kk) Reading pw (Shukla), but perbaps Grierson’s piari (yellowness
is better. The heart of the lotus is ना ध र |
(४) There is the ysual pun on Lanka=(1) the island (2) loins, reine,
$6:15-1¥ XING GANDHARVASEN AND HIS MINISTER 135.
nished. It is as though mountains of fire arose : yea, coals
of fire settle on all her limbs. Her flesh is cut into morsels
and threaded on a spit, and ali her flesh weeps teats of
blood. At one moment her flesh is as it were slain and
roasted, at another it is brought to life™ and roars like a lion.
Better than such burning it is that one should die : the bur-
ning is intolerable : rather should one give up life.
Though all the sandal paste of the Malaya mountain
and all the water of the ocean should come together to
extinguish it, the fire of her body could not be extinguished.
16. When Hiramani saw the lady, [he realised that] the
plant of love had sprung up in the garden of her heart.
He said ‘‘Why should you not be unhappy: you have been
caught in the plant of love and passion™ ? God forbid that
anyone should be caught in the plant of love: if he is, he
will never get free even if he dies. The plant of love burns
the body in such a way that as it sprouts there is happi-
ness but as it spreads sorrow spreads. Who has sown the
plant of love as 1f it were everlasting? It increases day by
day : it does not decrease. The plant of love is accom-
panied by limitless distress in love: heaven and hell are
burnt with the burning thereof. The plant of love alone
grows and spreads : no other plant can spread [sol].
‘‘When one 15 caught in the plant of love, there 15 pleasant
shade and delightful branches. When the beloved comes
and meets the lover, the lover tastes the juice of the vine.”’
17. Padmavati rose and held his feet. ‘‘Through thee
I behold the shadow of the beloved. I am ashamed to
speak and [if I speak not] my life will not remain: on one
side is fire, on the other freezing cold.°° The sun has lost
his way while climbing the mountain of sun-rise ; eclipse
has seized him, and the lotus has faded.”” Being distant
from him I am withered and am dying: it would be better to
die near than far. We are near in the body, but meeting
(mm) Reading शष्के. ,,,..१०...-.., gyms (Grierson) for b4r........
का ee ee chaba: (Shukla). The latter reading might mean ‘at one
time [love] roasts her flesh: at another it chews it, roaring like a lion
- Reading pem prttt kai belt (Grierson) for pem jo ptfam bels
(00) Reading ® छ (Grierson) for piu (Shukla)
(pp) १,९. Ratansen has been made prisoner while ascending the for
tress, and Padmavati is distressed. (See Shukla’s Introduction p. 75)
156 KING GANDHARVASEN AND i18 Mitist#e 94: 17-26
is difficult : though he comes near, he does not reach me,
so circuitous is the way. You are my ferryman, my Guru,
my divinity : row me in such a way that I may reach the
further shore. [You are like] the swan which ‘Drought
Damana and Nala"* together, you, who are called by the
name of Hiramani.
“The root Sajivan 15 far away: the dart Sakti" pierces
me. My life is now on the point of departure : show me
the sun speedily.”’
18. Hiramani placed his forehead on the ground:
“Q Princess, may your throne be fortunate from age to age.
He in whose hand is the root Sajivan, he, you may know,
is not far away now. Your father is in enjoyment of his
kingdom ; he reverences Brahmans, but he has Yogis put
to death. For all that constables sit at every gate, love's
votary made his way in by a hole. While he climbed the
fort by night, it became dawn: as he came to the door,
they seized him, treating him as a thief. Now they have
taken him and gone to impale him”: for this reason you are
filled with the deepest woe. Now you are the life, and that
pilgrim is the body: it is the sick man who knows what
bodily sickness 1s.
“By placing his life in your beauty, he has reconstruc-
ted his body“. He himself has been lost: death cannot
find him by searching.’’
19. When Hiramani had said these words, the eclipse of
the sun seized the moon. The moon was afflicted with the
distress of the sun : how great was the distress which that
black-featured” one suffered. ‘“‘Now if the pilgrim dies
for love of me, I shall be with him on earth or in heaven.
If he remains fon earth] I shall do him service all my life:
if he departs, this spirit will take wing and be with him.”’
She said, ‘“What is that practice by which one may enter
V—— eee
(qq) Sudhakar explains “‘you will deserve the name of diamond gem if
you — us together, as the swan did Nala and Damayanti,"’ vide 21 (2) 7
note (6
(rr) For Sajivan and Sakti see 16 (6) 4 note (0)
as) Reading den gae (Grierson) for gae det (Shukla)
(४४) By a Yogic practice of entering into a fresh body, para-kaga—
pravea of the next stanza
{uu} Alluding to the spots on the moon's face and to Padmavati’s
BOITOW,
9९-20-24 KING GANDHARVASEN AND Hts MINISTER 1457
into another’s body. How does that road return roving
by which the disciple becomes the Guru and the Guru
becomes the disciple? In what place can one remain
so hidden that if death comes it will search [in vain] and
depart?
“That disciple obtains Siddhi who is not separated from
his Guru. If the Guru shows compassion the disciple
will attain the secret.”’
20. ‘‘Why, Princess, you are the Guru and he its the
disciple. Why do you question me as if I were a new ini-
tiate? You were pleased with your disciple and allowed
him to see you when you went to the temple. The disciple
beheld the beauty of his Guru : it entered his mmd like a
picture and was contained there. You took away his
spirit and departed : he became the body and you became
the spirit. The heat and cold which assail the body, the
body knows them not, it is the spirit which knows them.
Your enjoyment went and reached him and the distress
that was his came to you. You are in his body and he is
in you. Where will death now find his shadow ?
“Sothat Yogihas become immortal by entry into another
body. If death comes, it will see the Guru there and will
do him reverence’’.”’
27. When she heard the feat by which the Yogi was
immortal, death due to the woe of severance passed from
her. Like a lotus bud her spirit unfolded, as though the cold
had departed at the sight of the sun. ‘“‘Who can slay one
who is so complete a Siddha? Ata glance of his eyes they
will be burnt to ashes.“~ Go now and tell my message
‘Abandon your Yoga now and be a king. Think not that
Iam far from you. That stake [which is prepared for you]
is infixed in my eyes. If you lose [8 drop of] sweat from
your body, I will without delay lose the life from my body.** I
(vv) ‘Ades’="des (command). Ades guru is a respectful form of
greeting among Sadhus.
(ww) Reading nirakhat main hot jari chhara pie ihe Din) for |
Shukla’s nipurush tes Dela hk, chh, (It is the unmanly who will be burnt to
ashes) ‘Grierson has a 1685 satisfactory text, niua ras tain jo hoy chharz, which
Sudhakar explains (with reference to Vaidio prescriptions), ‘If he is such
a Siddha, who would make quicksilver dead when it becomes ashes by the
effect of lemon juice.’
(xx) There is the usual pun on ghaj=(1) decrease (2) body.
tsS THR EMPALEMENT of RATAN HN 84: 21-852 >
have made a throne for you within my bosom : you are now
my King in both the worlds.
“Tf we live we will have mutual delight :* if we die,
it will be together. Let nothing happen to thy life; if it
is to be, let it happen to my life’.
25. THE IMPALEMENT OF RATAN SEN,
1. They bound the Yogis and brought them to where
the stake was. All the citizens of Singhala assembled. They
brought the Guru (Ratan Sen) first to impale him; but,
seeing his beauty, everyone felt regret. The people said
“This is not a Yogi : it is some wandering love-lorn prince.
For someone’s sake he has become an ascetic : on his bosom
is a rosary and he mutters® prayers with his mouth.”
As the trumpet sounded for putting him to death, he, like
Mansur’, laughed as he saw the stake. His teeth shone
and there was a bright radiance: wherever people were
it struck them like lightning. [Gandharva Sen said] ‘Make
inquiry of the Yogi: perchance he may be King Bhoj’.®
They all asked ‘‘Tell us, O Yogi, your caste, your birth
and your home. Say what is the humour which made you
laugh where the place for weeping is.”’
2. ““Why do you now ask our caste? We are Yogis
and begging ascetics. What caste, O King, is there for a
Yogi, who has no anger if he is insulted, no shame if he is
beaten? The mendicant is shameless: he has lost all
shame: let no one become involved in inquiry about
him. He whose spirit dwells in death, how should he not
laugh when he sees the stake? To-day there will be release
from love : to day I willleave the earth and have a dwel-
Img in heaven: Today the bars of the body’s cage are
broken : today the bird of life escapes. Today I shall be
) Reading mili ¢ karahia (Grierson) for mils gar rabehia,
(yy
(Shukla) (we will be embracing each other), which gives better metre but
not such good sense
CamTo 25
(a) Reading karat (Grierson) for karahu (Shukla)
( Manstir, the Sufi martyr who was impaled, see note (n) to 11
(6) 4. Grierson has man efru (the hero smiled in his mind), which maker an
excelient
king (9) प king Bhoj see 68 (1) 8 note (6). Here probably any prosperous
is
QB: 4-4 THE IMPALEMENT OF RATAN SEN #§9
separated from love: today along with love the beloved
departs.
“Foday the limit is reached: I shall be made of a bright
countenance’. Be quick and slay me: do not delay this
matter.” .
3. They said ‘Meditate upon whomsoever you wish
to meditate upon’: we are going to make you a bee on a
Ketaki'.”” He said ‘‘I meditate on her at every turn:
I am hers whether dead or living. Yea, I meditate on the
lady Padmavati, to whose name this spirit of mine is a
sacrifice, As many*® drops of blood as are in my body all
say ‘Padmavati, Padmavati’. If these drops stay [in my
body] her place is in each drop: if they fall, they do so
taking her name. Every short hair of my body is bound
up with her: every particle is breathed through and puri-
fied by her spirit : in every bone there is that word [४.९.,
her name]: in every vein the sound of it arises.
“Where love’s distress is awakened, what is loss of
and of flesh? I have become a mould in which her marrow
beauty 15 contained.”’
4. "When such distress fell upon the Yogis, Maha-
deo’s posture changed. He said, smiling, to Parvati:
“It would seem that something like an eclipse has seized
the sun. ‘Today the Yogi has climbed up on the fort:
the king has seized him, and the sun has thereupon been
hidden. A fine show has been seen today in the world :
—— rr — 0, 1
(d) Mukh rat is a translation of the Persian Surkhrt (literally) red-
faced, (figuratively) of a cheerful countenance. There 18 a grim jest here, on
the two meanings (1) Today the point of the stake will reach my head, which
will be red [with blood], {2} Today the limit will be reached and I will ‘be
cheerful.
(6) ५.६. prepare for death by performing your last devotions to your
patron deity. ‘Say your neck-verse’.
(f) Ket=ketakl, the flower on whose sharp thorn the bee is suppesed
to impale himself. Grierson and Platts identify the ketaki with the ०५
or fragrant screwpine (Pandanus odoratissima), but they are mentioned sepa-
rately in 20 (6) 2.
(g) Reading jat (Grierson) for Shukla’s jas.
(0) From here to 25 (14) the mss. differ widely in the arrangement of
verses and stanzas, See Grierson’s critical notes pp. 47, 48. I have followed
Grierson’s order of stanzas, according to which Shukla’s 25 ‘8) (Grierson’s
277) comea after Grierson’s 276 which is Shukla’s 25 (13) and, in fact, after
Shakla’s 25 (14) which does not appear at all in Griergon’s text or critical
note.
(1) There ie a play on words in this and the next veree,—sir=sun
and hero, tapa=blazing and ascetic, gahanuseigure and eclipse, .
160 . ‘THE IMPALEMENT OP RATAN SEN 98; 4-6
they have made preparation for slaying the ascetic.”
When Parbati heard, she fell at his feet : ‘““Come, Mahesh,
let us see [this show] at once.” They took the disguise
of a glee-man and glee-maiden, and took the hero Hanuvant
with them. They came in order to watch, concealed them-
selves, and to see how true and how favoured by fortune
was that figure [Ratan Sen].
The king [Gandharva Sen], seeing his enormous army,
was proud. He saw not the disposal of God,—to whom
He would give the victory.
5. The Yogi [Ratan Sen] remained in his seated posture
and muttered ‘Padmavati, Padmavati’. His mind was
in a state of trance, absorbed in her for the sake of beholding
whom he had become a Bairagi. “Her form and name
are contained in me: there is no other door visible to which
I should go. And I will do reverence to Mahesh who gave
me instruction with regard to this way.” Parbati, hearing’,
praised his truth, and turned and gazed on Mahesh, ‘li
Mahesh is in his heart,’’ said Parbati, ‘‘why should this
stranger bow his head? Even at the point of death it is
your name that he has taken : it is you of whom he has been
thinking on this occasion.
“They are slaying“ the stranger. Save him at this time’.
No one is anything to anybody who does not go all the way
with him to the further side.’’
6. The parrot took the message” and went to the place
where they were impaling Ratan Sen. Seeing Ratan Sen,
Hiramani wept, saying, “People have, by their perversity,
lost the Raja’s life.’’ Seeing HMiramani’s weeping, all the
people weep and gaze on the king’s [Ratan Sen’s] face.
They all, weeping, pray to the Creator, saying, ‘Do’ this
kindness that someone may deliver him.” [The parrot]
spoke the message and told all [Padmavati's] misfortune.
“She is much distressed, mure than can be told. She has
taken out her life and sits with it in her hands, [saying]
M Reading suns (Grierson) for punt (Shukla),
(x) Reading Aas’ (Grierson) for At (Shukla).
(1) Reading bar (a ms. quoted by Grieraon) for fir (Shukla) which
could only mean save the hero. This involves a conjectural emendation in the
next verse (for rhyme’s sake) of na {ड} to na par.
(m) The measage given to him by Padmavati in 24 (21),
(n) Reading karn (Grierson) for ka} (Shukla).
25: 6,7.9 THE IMPALEMENT OF RATAN SEN 161
‘Tf he dies, I will die: [if he lives], I will live with him.”’
Hearing the message, the king then smiled and said ‘‘My
life lives in her life, and my body in her body.”
The parrot and the gleeman bard’ were together ready
to give their lives. [They said to one another] ‘‘Come:
go and see [what can be done] there where the king
[Gandharva Sen] 15 sitting.”
7. The king [Ratan Sen] remained with his eyes cast
down, but the gleeman bard could not stay [where he was].
He said, as he took a dagger in his hand, ‘‘To sit in a box
does not become a man. When Krishna slew Kans in his
anger, then it was known that he was of manly birth.”
Where Gandharva Sen was, greatly angered, the bard went
and stood before him. Gandharva Sen spoke in wrath,
“What kind of Yogi is this and what kind of ill-mannered
bard? While all the princes and nobles stand and look on,
he has given his blessing with his left hand? [The bard,
2.९., Mahadeo, said] “The Yogi is water, and you, O King,
are fire : it is not fitting that water should war with fire.
“Water is quenched by fire. War not, O King, be wise.
He is holding his begging bowl at your door. Give him alms
and not war.”’
g. * The king spoke ‘Who is this ul-mannered bard
who has given his blessing with his left hand? What such
Yogi is there in my city who would break in and climb my
fortress in order to steal? Indra fears me and ever bows
his head. Krishna, who muzzled the’ black snake, fears
me. Brahma, who has four faces, fears me: and in hell,
Bali and Vasuki fear me. The earth quivers and Sumeru
quakes: the sun, the moon, and the sky and Kuber.
The clouds in whose glance is the lightning, fear me:
the tortoise, on whose back the earth rests, fears me.
If I wished, I could smash* all these, seizing them by
the hair : and who is this king’, a mere worm or moth ?”’
(0) १,९. Mahadeo in disguise.
a (p) Reading Kirisan garai दति jei natha (Grierson) for janat kran aes
_ jew nth, (Shukia)—Krishna knows this, who muzzled (lit. put a nose-string
on) Sesnag. Kali was the snake which Krishna muzzled, not Ses.
(q) Reading so ab bhavjaun (Grierson) for क m@agawé (Shukla), which
does not make sense.
(८) The mention of a king is premature ; Gandharvasen does not yet
know that the Yogi is king Ratansen.
* See note A, page 159,
9
169. (28 MPALEMENT OF RATAN BEN’ 26: पर
The bard said “Listen, O King. Pride does not bessem
the spirit. Bhima" was rescued from drowning in the skull
of Kumbh Karan.
10. “Ravan in pride quarrelled with Rama, and through
the same pride battle took place. Who was so mighty as
Ravan, who had ten heads and twenty strong arms, whose
kitchen the sun heated and whose garments the sea’ washed
continually 2 Suk" was his counsellor and the moon -his
torch-bearer : the wind cohtinually swept his door. He
fetched Yama [the God: of death] and bound him to his
bed-post : there was none other who could challenge him,
even in adream. He who was like adamant, not to be moved
for any moving, even he died when struck by two ascetics.
He had ten crores of grandsons and sons, but not a single
person was left to weep for him.
“Tet noone display pride, esteeming any one as small
and weak If God is with the small and weak, he gives
him the scroll of victory ”’
Iz. Now the bard who was there in front [of the king]
rose respectfully when the king was angered, [and said]
‘“‘A bard is the image of Sankar: a king keeps a bard as a
barrier before him. The bard who looks on his own death’,
who would be angry with him?’ King Gandharva Sen
said ‘‘Why have you mounted the ladder of death? Why
do you hold such unseemly discourse ? It 1s confusion that
you make and not bard’s work” If you area bard by caste
why do you bring disgrace on your caste by giving a bles-
sing to a king with your left hand? When you call yourself
(r) Bhima boasted that, if Kuambha Karan were alive and present, he
would throw him into the ocean. Soon after, he himself fell into a lake and
was nearly drowned. After he had been rescued, he learnt that this lake was
contained in the skull of Kumbha-Karan. (Sudhakar quotes this as a
traditional story, ए. 590).
(४) All authorities have basandar or baisundar (fire), but samundar
(ocean) seems an obvious emendation, althongh the usual form of this word
in Jaisi is samud.
(a) Sukra, the regent of the planet Venus and the guru of the
Daityas v. 4) (13) 4.
(v) Reading jo Apant (Grierson) for pat Apuna (Shukla).
(w) I have followed Grierson’s reading kthe apbant as dharat, karad
bttand bhajaat na karat and Sudhakar's interpretation. Shukla’s 1 ould
mean ‘Why have you recited a different speech ? You do not act wisely, #0
af to extract a gift,’
$62.12+13 श" TMPALEMENY OF RATAN got #63
a.bard, how shall I take your life? Speak at once, bowing
your neck.
“You are a bard and he is a Yogi. What have you and
hein common? What do you gain by this deceit? What
lunacy is this?’’
12. ‘If you ask me truly, King Gandharva Sen, I will
speak truly, even though’ lightning should fall. .What
has a bard to fear from death? The dagger is in his hand
with which he will stab himself and die. In Jambu-dvipa
is the country of Chitaur : Chitrasen was there, a mighty
king. This is Ratan Sen, his son: he is of Chauhan’ race.
[That which is written] cannot be extinguished’. In sword
play he is immoveable like mount Sumeru™: he would not
yield ground though the world came against him. In
liberality he is like Sumeru, he never stints in giving: he
who asks alms of him [need never] ask of any other. I
have raised my right hand to him: who else is there to
whom I should thus give my blessing ?
‘My name is Mahapatra’’, and I am his bold beggar-man.
Even if anger arises from the saying of a hard word, still
a messenger should say it
13.° At that moment Mahes again was ashamed in his
mind : being in the guise of a bard he addressed the king
respectfully : ‘“Gandharvasen, you are a great king: I am
the image of Mahes : hear what Isay. One should say that
word which will result in good in the future : what is the
use of losing one’s temper? This isa prince, he is not a Yogi:
he has become a pilgrim of love, on hearing of Padmavati.
Heis the son of a kingly house of Jambu-dvipa : that which
is written cannot be effaced. Your own parrot went and
brought him : she whose [lover] he is has accepted him as
(x) Reading kin = kyua naA¥a (Grierson) for nahsa (Shukis)
(y) As Shukla pointa out (Introduction p. 241) Jaisi has made: a
कक न resenting Ratansen as a Chauhan. The rulers of Chitor were,
and are, as
(४) Op. 25 (13) 5 where the same thing is said more clearly and with
(aa) Sumeru, which in the previous verse was an emblem of firmness,
being situated at the North Pole, is here an emblem of liberality, being made
of gold. But some mss. have samuad (ocean) here
(bb) A bardio title of honour
{oc) This stanza repeate part of the preceding stanza, and ‘the first
two vorses (which are not in some mas.) in the narrativ
164 ‘te IMPALEMENT OF RATAN SEN 296: 23,048 `
a bridegroom. Furthermore, this matter has been heard in
the heaven of Siva. Perform the marriage: it is your
duty.
“He 15 holding out his begging bowl and asking alms:
even if he dies he will not leave your door. Be wise and
give him alms in a golden bowl: slay him not.”
144. “Avaunt, you begging bard. Why do you thus
insult me? Who in the world can he worthy of me?
He on whomI fix my gaze goes to hell. If any Yogi
or ascetic comes hither, he is terrified even at hearing of me :
he takes his alms and goes on to beg elsewhere,
but this one has remained ail night at the approach
to my fortress. I would like to give him according to his
wish, and, if not, to impale himon a stake and take his life.
Any one who has such a desire to lose his. life will lament
like a moth tn a lamp flame. Gods, men, Munis and all
Gandharvas and Devas (who would reckon him?) do me
service continually.
“‘Who can rival me? Hear me, O false bard. He will
be dust if I set in motion my troops of elephants.”’
8.° While the Lord spoke in the guise of a bard,
the hero Hanuwant could not be restrained. Instantly
he crushed the stake and seized it and put it in his mouth
like a radish. Mahadeo rang the bell for battle : hearing
the sound, Brahma came : Bisun” the flute player advanced
with his weapons: all Indra’s heaven came to the rescue.
The lord of serpents thrust his hood out from hell: all the
eight tribes® of snakes stood by: thirty three crores™ of
(dd) This stanza is not in Grierson’s text, or in his critical notes.
(ee) See note (h) to 25 (4) for order of sianzas, I have followed
Grierson’s text of this stanza. The first two veraes in Shukla do not fit the
context,—‘He is no Yogi, he is 800} : if you know the secret, engage on the
search. If battle ia joined, it will be a Mahabharat : all the warriurs will come
to aid’.
Grierson’s text of the first two verses is ‘Bh&t bhes isar jas bb&kha,
Hanuwanht bir rahai nahin rékba&. Linh 0007 tat khan wai stril, dhari mukh
melesi jainahin muri.’ The order of the other verses is different.
(ff) There does not seem to be any ms. authority for Shukla’s Krsna.
(gg) Cp. 10 (1) 9 note (4).
(hh) Sudhakar (p. 601) explains the number thus : there are 11 deities
ap iece for heaven, earth antl hell in the Rigveda, and in the Puranas each of
esa has 10 million offapring. He is also at pains to find Puranic authority
for the numbers of clouds, flames and mountains which follow.
95:8,15,16 ‘tHe IMPALEMEN?T of RATAN SEN 165
deities made themselves ready and ninety stx clusters of
clouds thundered. Fifty six crores of flames blazed and a
lakh and a quarter of mountains quivered.
the nine Nathas’ approached, and all the eighty
four Siddhas’, The earth blazed with the three and a half
thunder bolts"*: the sky [was filled] with Garud and his
vultures.
15. The Yogis all gathered in a circle behind : valiant
and mighty, they advanced with their loins girt for battle.
The ministers said “Listen, O King, now you may see
the work of the Yogis. As we told you, you should not go
to battle : a huge", immeasurable army approaches. In a
moment it becomes a dense throng: he who advances
in the host and remains is the conqueror.’ Mustering his
resolution, the king then raged : Angad™" came and planted
his feet in the battle. Five elephants which had charged
in the van, these Angad seized by the trunks and swung
round. He flung them away and they went up to the sky :
they did not return but remained fixed there.
The Yogis watched the marvel : the elephants came not
back. “It is for Yogis to fight like that, with their feet
not touching the ground™.”’
16. They tell the news ‘‘The Yogis have come now:
ina moment they will attack. Beforethey attack, do you
manoeuvre thus,—make the whole troop of elephants
charge. When the elephants, charging, are in the forefront
of the battle, them make a cavalry charge along with them.”
The troop of elephants advanced in front : then Hanuwant
stretched out his tail. As they came to battle in the midst
(ii) The nine Nathas are the principle gurus of the Gorakhnathi Yogis.
Sudhakar (p. 241) gives a list of names. They are worshi re by Ba a at
initiation (Briggs, p. 33. He gives other liste in Chapter 1 f his ).
(jj) For the 84 8140088 see 24 (2) note c.
(kk) Reading, with Grierson Ahujs bajar, Bhagwan Din notes that
the correct traditional nu:nber of thunderbolts is three and a half. Shukla
has 7८921 bajar (the eight thunderbolts) in 26 (17) 5, 43 (3) 1 and 48 (17) 5
where also I think the correct leading should be ahujs or ahujhaw. Here
Shukla has त mahabitrat, chale gagan garud au gidh (Garud and the
vultures flew up in the sky [saying] “today there is a Mahkbh&rat.’’) *
(ll) Reading bahut (Grierson) for jagat (Shukla),
{mm) Angad, a warrior monkey, son of Bali, who assisted Rame in the
rescue of Site.
(nn) a being supposed to have attained the power of levitation,
one of the eight Siddhis,mnote 23(1)1 note (c).
766 ‘et patient of अ. enw 8698: rod
of the armies, he swung his tail and enfolded them ail.
Many were broken into nine pieces : many were thrawn into
the depths of the universe: many, whirling, adorned the
firmament : what had been exceeding great became exceeding
small
Many fell in the ocean and, when they fell, not a trace
of them was found. Where there had been pride. there there
was distress : where there had been laughter, there there was
weeping.
17. Then what did the king see before him? The
Lord’s bell sounded in the battle, When Bisun heard it,
he blew” a blast on his conch. In the van was Hanu-
want’s tail. [Vishnu] carried about with him the universal
world. Up to heaven and down to hell everything was
filled with dust. Bali, Vasuki, Indra, king of men, Rahu
and the constellations, the sun and the moon, all the Dana-~
vas of the city of demons, and all the three and a half thunder-
bolts’’, all came massed for battle. All that the King
had prided himself upon had now turned and arrayed itself
against him as an enemy. Where Mahadeo was standing
in the battle the king bowed his head and fell at his feet.
“For what reason are you wroth? I am your servant
and disciple. The girl is my Lord’s: give her to whom
you will.”
18. Now once again Mahes acted as a messenger :
before, his message had been bitter, now it was sweet.
“You, O King Gandharvasen, are esteemed by all the
world: you have all the fourteen virtues :** who else
is there who can instruct you? MHiramani, who 15 your
bird, went to Chitaur and there did service. Summon
him and question him about that country, and whether
[{Ratansen] 1s a Yogi or is king there. If you do not
trust my word, let what he says be relied upon. Where
the maid is, there: her bridegroom has come: perform
the marriage: it is a duty strongly incumbent on you.
(00) Reading ao (Grierson) 1 (Shukla). Literally ‘he filled the
conch’ op. ‘Sound, sound the clarion
{ ading ahujhau (Grierson) for ajhau (Shukla), see 25(8)9 note
(kk) and &3(3)1 note (c)
g gives & list of the 14 scsences at p. 612. These may be
what are intended here
$5: 18-20 TRE IMPALEMENT OF RATAN SEN 16H.
Thottgh {a man] may at first not esteemt a thing in hie)
mind of accept it, yet when he tests it [ and finds it is]
a jewel, he will fasten it in his pouch.
“Ratansén is a jewel which cannot be hid : if there is any
tester, let him test it. Give him what he begs for in a
golden bowl which has been tried on the touch-stone’”’.
19. When the king heard of Hiramani, his anger
departed and he considered the matter in his mind. The
order was given ‘Call him. From a pandit there can be
no deception.’ At the word of one thousands ran: they
swiftly brought Hiramani. They brought the cage before
[ the king ] and opened it : the parrot came forth and met
[the king] after estrangement of many days. He met
him, praising him in many ways: the king listened, and
there was peace in his heart. It was as though water had
fallen on burning fire: his heart blossomed and was filled
with joy Then the king, smiling, asked him a question :
‘How has your body become yellow and your face red?
‘You are learned in the four Vedas, and have read
the Shastras and the Vedas. Where have you brought
up these Yogis who have come and broken into the for-
tress ?”’
20" MHiramani began to speak elegantly: giving
[ the king] his blessing and reciting his praise, he said,
‘QO great king of Gods and God of kings, if you are angered
when you hear me, I can say nothing. Still, your servant
will say fearlessly that which will be good in the end, even
if it rouses anger. Your parrot has indeed sought out a
delicious and ambrosial fruit: do not, O King, be like
Bikram or Bhoj™. I am your servant, you are my first
master: J will do you service so long as I live. He who
has given me life and has shown me a country [ to live
in ], may he live for ever, O King. The bird which medi-
(rr) Throughout this stanze, Hiramani confuses Gandharvasen with
the deity, partly hyperbolically, partly allegorically. This and the next
stanza (which is missing in several mss.) contain practically the ssme matter.
न pr प would be obtained by combining the first verse of 20 with verses
to 9 of 21.
(४०) For Bikram and the parrot see 8(6)1 note 17, For Bhoj, see
6{3)8 note (6),
95: 20-22 ‘MH IMPALEMENT OF RATAN SEN « 168
tates on God, reciting ‘Thou art the one’, that bird is
red-faced in this world.
“My sight, my speech, my hearing, all are by your
favour: this is my service evermore that I should pro-
nounce blessings on you.
27. “If a servant be such as has mortified himself
with penance, then ambrosia dwells on his tongue. That
servant’s destiny is at fault who, in doing service, occasions
his master’s wrath. And, if blame attaches to him though
blameless, a servant will be afraid and will fly for his I1fe.
If he is a bird, how shall he stay fixed? He will go where
he looks, since he has wings. Roving I saw the seven
continents, O King, and finally I arrived at Jambu-dvipa.
There I saw the high fortress of Chitaur : it is a high and
mighty kingdom, reaching equality with thee. This is
Ratansen, who is king there: J have brought him here
in the euise of a ४0१1.
‘I, your parrot, have brought an excellent fruit: by
virtue of this my face is red. If my body is yellow, it is
for fear of this,—that I remember the story of Bikram.”’
22. First there was the Bard, speaking the truth:
then spoke Hiramani as witness. The king was convinced
and believed in his mind. They released Ratansen, who
had been bound, and brought him. The king asked him
what was his race, and learnt that he was a high-born
Chauhan : a jewel does not lose its radiance by being
tied up. His diamond teeth were set off by the stain of
pan : when he smiled all men gazed as at excellent lightning.
The Yogi ear-fings were fastened to his ears with wax””’.
All the attributes of kingliness, which had been suppressed,
were revealed. They brought a savage stallion: he was
told to ride it, and he mounted. He rode the horse with
(tt) +. €. Single-minded service has its reward. kai tuht, according
to Sudhakar, isthe local name in Oudh for a particular bird. In 2(5)2 the
turtle dove says दवः एक, butit has not a red face. The parrot explains
his own red face in reply to the king’s question in ए, 8 gf st. 19. Red-faced
also means cheerful, v. 25(2)8 note (d), 43(3)8.
(ua) v. 26(12)4 note {$}.
(vv) Reading main saun (Grierson) for vinay secur (Shukla) the mean-
ing of which is not clear. As Ratansen is only a pretended Yogi, the
cartileges of his ears are not split and the thick rhinoceros-hide (crystal in
26(2)5) earrings are fastened to them with wax,
95:22~4 (छ IMPALEMENT OF RATANSEN. 100
all the thirty six””exercises of the manege : all the citizens
of Singhala praised him.
‘‘ He is a prince with all the thirty two™ marks: he 15
like the sun with a thousand rays. Why should you test
him on the touch-stone? He is purest” gold.”’
23. Seeing the princely bridegroom worthy of the
lotus”, all the people made acclamation. He came,
a glorious scion of his race: the bridal-gifts were given
and the betrothal was then arranged. ““If the garland
of victory was decreed to Anirudh, who could cancel this?
Banasur was defeated. To-day Usha came to Anirudh:
the gods had happiness, the daityas’ heads ached. The
91111 is in heaven, the lotus is in the lake on earth : the bee
comes from the forest and takes the honey. Bridegroom
of the west, bride of the east : if the union is decreed, they
cannot be separated. Man may devise countless devices
in his mind, but that will take place which: God brings
200६००१.
The instruments of music which had gone forth playing
for the slaughter of the prince in battle, the same instru-
ments again made merry in connection with the festival
[ of his betrothal***]
24. [Gandharvasen said? ] ‘“‘I have accepted what
my Lord says. What fitness is there in [ giving] any
other answer?” He accepted what was said and joy
spread in his spirit : the bridal gift was given, the betrothal
was performed. The twain came together: good omens
(ww) Reading khurt (Grierson) for kurt (Shukla). Shukla connects
with ainghdlpurt (ail the 36 castes of citizens of Singhala); the 36 castes would
be those mentioned in 20(3)1. Butit 18 better, with Sudhakar, to connect
with horsemanship, translating khurt as paces. Sudhakar refers to treatises
on equitation for the 36 paces. The references are not exact; in one there
are 3 uses of the whip in connection with 12 qualities or vices : in the other
there are only 6 paces, which Sudhakar multiplies by 3 (slow, medium and
rv to make 18 and again by 2 (comfortable and uncomfortable) to-make
3
(xx) v. 19(3)4 note (त)
(yy) v. 9(2)4 n
(zz) Reading kafwal (Grierson) for kaAchan (Shukla) |
aaa) This and the following verse allude to the bridal of Anirudh
grandson of Krishna, to Ushas, daughter of Vanasur
(bbb) ‘Man proposes, God 8 26(16)2
(occ) Reading «कक (Bhagwan Din) fot Shukla’s unhe
Here end Grierson’s critical notes and Sudhakar’s commentary
170 WHDDING OF RATANSEN AND FADMAVATI 25: 24-96: <2
were invoked: one noble being came to another
{ Ratansen ] drew down to him her for whose sake he had
performed Yoga: he who performs austerities will obtain
bliss. Since he was sincere in mind and thought, he would
not change his word though men should slay him. If any
man thus makes hazard of his life, the Gods come and do
him service for evermore. He who beholds sorrow for
the ten days’ of life, for him there is happiness that
cannot be reckoned, for ages and ages.
I shall describe the wedding of Padmavati with Ratansen.
The palace was quickly made ready, and the drums and
clarions made jubilee.
26. THE WEDDING OF RATANSEN
AND PADMAVATI.
1. The auspicious time was fixed and arrangements
were made for the wedding. Invitations were sent forth
to everyone in Singhala. Five hundred million instruments
of music were sounded: there was rejoicing through all
Kailasa. Padmavati had attained that day for which
she had continually been invoking God. The sun and
moon were as jewels of good fortune on her forehead :
and all the constellations sang the wedding song. A
bower was built, fashioned with rubies, and scarlet floor-
cloth was spread on the ground. Pillars of sandal wood
were carved in many forms: ruby lamps burned by day
and night.’ In every house leaf garlands were wreathed
on the doors: throughout the city songs echoed.
In every square and road of Singhala, wherever one
looked, there was scarlet. Happy was the princess Padmavati
who had such a bridal.
z. Raiment was brought for Ratansen: diamonds
and pearls and precious stones were fixed therein. Ten
thousand princes of good fortune came: they made their
salams and attended on the King. “ Take [ they said ]
the kingdom and enjoy the bliss for the%ake of which you
(ddd) Bhagwan Din reads ‘Bigrakh 4p Ap ga chaly’ (Dissension departed
of ita own oa ee
{eee) Op iri Kalam 10(2) where the poet speaks of himself as a ten
day's guest in Jais. |
96: 2-4 THE WEDDING OF RATANSEN AND PADMAVATI 177
have trained your body to Yoga. Anoint yourself with
oil : take off the ashes [ smeared on your limbs}: bathe
your body and adorn it with cosmetics all over. Remove
your ear-rings which are of crystal and unpleasing, and
put on ear-drops of gold studded with jewels. Give up
your matted locks, take scented lotion, comb your hair
and place a diadem on your héad. Take off your rags
covered with patches and clothe yourself in a fair cloak
of scarlet.
“Teave off your clogs and set your feetin the stirrups of a
gallant steed. Fasten on your diadem, take the umbrella
above your head and be mounted speedily”.
3. The King made himself ready; the instruments
of music sounded : both armies called the God of love
to help with a-voice of thunder. A chariot of scarlet and.
gold was equipped : all the princes joined the bridal pro-
cession. With music and shouting the King took to horse :
211 the people of Singhala bowed and did obeisance. With
constellations and stars for torches on all sides, the sun
climbed up to the place of the moon. As he had been
burning all day in his heart, so at night he obtained the
shade of bliss. Above him the night was spread like an
umbrella : all the inhabitants of Indra’s heaven came to
see. To-day Indra met his Achhari, and bridal songs
resounded throughout Kailas.
Earth and sky on all four sides were filled with torches.
Making music, they came to the palace in which the aus-
picious ceremony was to take place.
4. Padmavati went up into her tower to see what
manner of sun it was for whom the moon was fashioned.
Seeing the bridal procession, she said to her friends,
‘Which of these is that Yogi? Who is it who undertook
Yoga and carried it through to the end, who has become a
sun and has arisen to wed the moon? Who is this one and
only initiate who has set his head as a stake in the game
oflove? By whom has my sire been so worsted in contro-
versy .that he has not been able to give an answer", and
(a) 8.८. > refusal, cp. 3(4)7,
7172 ` THE WEDDING OF RATANSEN AND PADMAVATI 26: 4:6
has given him his daughter? To whom has God given
such a spirit that he has conquered in battle and won the
garland of victory? Happy is the man who, like him,
will not yield to any force, and who shows himself a hero
in a foreign land.
“Who is such a mighty hero? I have a desire to see
him. He is about to go to the bridegroom’s chamber `
my friends, show him to me speedily.”’
5. Her companions point him out, waving their arms :
“ Vou are like the moon and your lord is the sun. The
sun’s radiance cannot be hidden : when the lotus beholds
it, its mind is expanded. He is bright above the world :
if the world is bright, it is his reflection. Look: as the
sun rises at dawn, so does his umbrella rise in the midst
of the bridal procession. In the midst thereof is he, the
bridegroom, and all the others are with him as his bridal
train. God has fashioned his beauty with a thousand
rays:’ he advances, mounted on a _ golden chariot.
There is a jewel on his forehtad : his aspect is radiant :
it is impossible to gaze straight at him.
‘He is beautiful’ as a mirror. Happy are you, whose
lover ‘he is. You have obtained your heart’s desire, as
delightful as could be wished.”’
6. The moon beheld how the sun was adorned: love
smote her in all its eight forms." Her eyes quivered
with joy, drunk with the wine of sight : her lips quivered
with joy, red with the juice of passion : her face quivered
with joy, having received the splendour of the sun: her
bosom quivered with joy, it could not be contained in her
stomacher : her breasts quivered with joy, so that the
ribbon which bound them was burst: her arms quivered
with joy, so that the bracelets on her wrists were broken :
her waist’ quivered with joy, that today Rama and
(b) op. 25(22)8. ध
(०) _ #€p here and in v. 6 above perhaps has the double meaning of
beauty and stlver. | 7
(१) The astau bhav of love are the 8 forms of erotic pleasure.
Shukla quotes a variant sahasan (1000). The Sabd-sagar (8. ए. bhtiv) also
has 1,000 and reads tan for janu (Love smote her body with a thousand
क ). र |
e) ere are puns on laak—=(1) waist (2) Ravan’s kingdom of Lanka,
and on r#van=(1) Ravan (2) lover. “a
26:6-6 THH WEDDING OF RATANSEN AND PADMAVATI 173
|
Lakhan had preparéd an army against the kingdom of
Ravan. Today the sun has arrived in the house of the
moon : today all her ornaments will be broken in pieces :
today love has assembled his army: today there will be
battle with ‘ severance ’.
She quivered with joy in every limb so that none of
them. could be contained anywhere. She kept of swooning
and faintness came upon her, body |
7. Her friends sustained her and gave her water to
drink. ‘‘ Princess,” [they said] “‘why have you faded
away? We only showed you your lord and you drooped
like a flower. What came over your spirit?’ “ Listen,
my friends; everyone is talking of marriage. For me
it is like eclipse for the moon. What you think of is that
the bridegroom is coming in full array: but all this beats
with a dull thud on my head. All the bridal train’ and
the horsemen have come to take me away. When I
see their arrival I am distressed; I see no hope of my re-
maining my own mistress, O my friends. If the wedding
takes place my departure will follow: I will go to a place
from which there is no returning.
“Now where is this meeting: It is severance which
has fallen upon me. My beloved will tie such a knot as
will never be loosed in my life-time ”’
8. The bridal party arrived with music and took
their seats: they were all bright with pan, with flowers,
and with vermilion powder. Where there was the golden
hall of state, there they brought the procession and dis-
mounted it. In the midst was a throne erected on a dais:
they brought the bridegroom and seated him there. Golden
pillars were fixed there in four rows and ruby lamps burned
day and night. He who had been a Yogi, roving like a
bird, was fixed like the pole-star: swelling { with joy ]
he sat motionless like Mount Sumeru. ‘ Today God has
made me fortunate : all the woes he inflicted have turned
out for the best. Today the sun has come to the house
of the moon: the moon and the sun will, as it were, be
in conjunction
“Today I have become like Indra and have come with
my bridal train in array to paradise. Today I have
174 THE WEDDING OF RATANSEN AND PADMAVATI 26: 8-46
obtained my Apchhara: the hope of my mind has been
fulfilled.” _ |
9. The banquet began to be served. The dishes
were served on gold plate. Golden trays, studded with
rubies and other gems, were placed before princes and
beggars. Jewel-studded vessels, large and small, were
placed before the guests, ten pairs to each person. . Dia-
monds and precious stones were: fixed in the beakers:
even those whom fortune had blessed were astounded at
the sight of them. They gave out light like constellations :
the lamps and torches were obscured. The rays of the
sun and the moon met together, so pure was the radiance.
That man who had not the light of his eyes would have
obtained light if he had seen this light.
They sat in row upon row, with viands of every sort
{ before them]: there was gold plate beneath the leaf-
platters, and of gold plate were the dishes.
70. First rice was brought and served : it was fragrant
as though scented with camphor. Jhalars and 2150485 `
( different kinds of chapatis) were brought after being
cooked : they ‘were white to look on as a puggaree newly
washed. Luchui and Sohari (cakes of fine flour) were
placed { before the guests ], both hot and exceedingly soft.
Khandaras and Bachkas and Dubhkauris, one hundred and
one (? kinds of ) Baris and Kohandauris. Then fragrant
Sandhanas (kind of pickle or condiment) were brought
and Murandas (a sweet ) compounded with milk and curds.
The fifty six’ varieties which were brought, no such have
been seen or ever eaten. Again Jawari (a dish of butter
milk ) and Pachhiawari (last dish, dessert) were brought
and sweets made of ghi and sugarcandy.
Exceedingly fragrant [ were the foods] in eating, and
they melted away as they fell into the mouth. He who
ate a single mouthful would obtain a thousand flavours.’
17. The food came, but the lute sounded not. ‘The
King would not eat without music. All the princes then
drew back [ saying | “ Eat, lord, and then we will eat with
(f) Reminiscent of Heinz, but “p parently there are supposed to be
56 varieties of food generally, not of condiments, op. 36(14)3, 46(11)5,
(g) op. 45 (3) 5.
$6; 11-12 tot WEDDING of RATANSEN AND PADMAVATI 175
you.” The learned pandits respectfully addressed him
“ Why does our guest” not eat? This is Kailas, the dwelling
of Indra, where there is neither grain nor fish nor flesh. .
Every one here eats only pan and flowers: it is for your
sake that this banquet has been cooked. If a man is hungry,
stale food is like ambrosia. If a man is in the glare of the
sun, the [ shade of the ] nim tree is cool. If he is sleepy,
the bare earth is like bed and bedding. Why try to show
such niceness ?
‘For what cause and for what reason have you, our
guest, become troubled? Whatever you are pleased to
order we will speedily bring and give you.”
12. ‘‘ You are pandits and have all secret knowledge.
First was the sound of the word' and then the Vedas.
When God created our first father,’ He caused soul
and body to proceed together with the sound. You have
not done right in banning sound. God has given it as a
delight along with feasting. The eyes, the tongue, the
nose, the ears, I have come to feast all these four
together. In feasting, the eyes behold and are refreshed :
the tongue receives sweet savour and knows the charm of
enjoyment: the nose obtains all kinds of fragrance :
what hospitality is extended to the ear? If the ear
have its portion in music, then all four shall have
satisfaction.
‘‘And he in whom sense is ithbedded can hear a certain
other sound. O Pandits, with what idea in mind have
you refused to allow music to be heard ?”’ ह
| ॥ Jajmaink ht. Clent, the pergon for whom a Brahman performs
sacrifice.
(i) Wad is here used for the ‘word’ that wasin the beginning,—the
Om,—and also for sound or music. Shukla explains by (नकम nad the
‘sound in the heart lotus of Hatha Yoga (Briggs p. 341), but Shukla also
(Introduction p, 100) considers that Jaisi uses these technical terms without
much relevance or real knowledge. There'is.a reference to this secret sound
also in भ, 8 of thia stanza. Dara Shikuh identifies the An&hat N&d with the
Awészi-Mutlak of the Sufis, ‘but this sound is inaudible to all. except to the
ध ॥ of both the communities’. (Majma-ul-Bahrain, VIII Discourse
on Sound).
(j) Shukla explains the first Father as Brahman and Viddhi as
Brahm&, (these names are not, of course, used by Jaisi). ए षः Din
explains the first Father as Adam, which is better. I have also adopted his
reading of kay” for Shukla’s jn4n in the second half verse.
“i.
t76 THE WEDDING OF RATANSEN AND PADMAVATI 96:23-15.
13. * 0 King, hear our answer. It is this. The
earth would be shaken if it were not for the Vedas. The.
word, the Vedas, wine, the way, these four, consider care-
fully what they are in the body. The word is born in
the heart: intoxication’ in the body: where there is
intoxication there is not the way, nor its shadow. Such
a person would become like a ‘ mast’ elephant and fight,
unless he carried the ankus of the Vedas on his head. As
a Yogi you have heard that sound by the hearing of which
the body is burnt four-fold. If the body attaches the
mind to the highest truth, it spins round in intoxication :
nothing else that it hears pleases it. Those who have
travelled by the way of righteousness and become kings,
if their righteous conduct be heard, it is seemly.
‘As a man staggers after drinking wine, so does he
stagger at hearing music. For this reason it is proper
to ban it : if it grows on a man he reels with enjoyment.”
14. The banquet was finished: the sherbet went
round : round went also the saffron water scented with
mixed perfumes." PAn was distributed, and every one
went back to his place: the marriage ceremony began to
be performed in every detail. A pavilion of gold was
erected up to the sky: garlands were placed on every
door : a dais was constructed in the shade of an umbrella :
in it were tesselated squares filled with gems: golden
pitchers were placed, fillell with water: the Apchhara
was brought to Indra. The knot of bridegroom and
bride was tied which shall not be loosed in this world
or the next. The Pandits recited the Vedas on the spot :
they called the constellations of the Virgin and the Scales
by name.
There were a sun and a moon, both spotless, both most
excellent in conjunction. The sun was lostgin love for
the moon, and the moon for the beauty of the sun.
15. Girls sang songs in the names of both bride and
ele
~ - ~
(४) I have not attempted to do more than suggest a verbal rendering
of this stanza. Shukla’s Introduction at p. 187 throws some light on the
esoteric meaning of it (see also p. 211).
(1) Mad==(1) wine (2) intoxication (3) spiritual intoxication or egoism
(4) the condition of a maet elephant.
(m) cp. 46 (14) 1.
9821517 THY WEDDING OF RATANSHN AND PADMAVAYI 174°
bridegroom ; these lotus maidens performed auspicious
ceremonies, The victor’s wreath was given into the hand
of the moon (Padmavati) : the moon “ook it and threw
it on the neck of the sun (Ratansen). The stn received
a garland from the constellations and stars (the bride’s
attendants) and attired the moon with it. Thereafter
the lady took water and filled her cupped palms therewith :
she gave her youthful life to her lover. Her lover took
it as the lady gave him her hand: the knot was tied for
both together. Moon and sun made seven revolutions :
the constellations (attendants) gave largesse of pearls.
They both went round seven times, tightening the knot:
there were seven turns but only one knot.
The revolutions were performed and the largesse, all
the royal ceremony was carried out. How shall I tell
of all the dower? The amount that was given cannot be
writtett.
16. When Ratansen had received the dower, Gandharva-
sen came and bowed his head: ‘‘ A man,”’ he said, ^ may
propose one thing in his thought, but what God does that
will be.” Now are you the lord of Singhala-dvipa: we
are your servants and at your service. Just as the land
of Chitaurgarh 1s yours, even so are you our monarch here.
Jambu-dvipa is far distant. What does it matter? Do
you now rule as King over Singhala-dvipa’’. Ratansen
did obeisance with folded hands: ‘“‘ Where will I find the
tongue fit to sound your praises? You are my lord and
have freed my body from its ashes: you have made me a
man and have now given me honour.
“What you have given I have received, life, birth and
enjoyment of happiness.. Otherwise I should be only
the dust beneath your feet, I, a Yogi,° worth nothing ’’:
17. [Gandharvasen] gave him a dwelling in the tower
where was the seven storeyed Paradise. Ten thousand
companions were in attendance [on Padmavati] like the
constellations and stars that accompany the moon. There
was a halo all round the moon_: the moon received the sun
and ascended the ‘heaven. Go, 0 Sun, to where the day
(n) 1 क . 25 (23) 7.
{o) There is & pun on Jogs and jog,
23
178 THE WEDDING OF RATANSEN AND PADMAYATI हः 17-19,
sets: you will obtain there a spotless moon. The tower
which Gandharvasen had constructed, he gave it not to
a king, he gave it to a Yogi. They met on all four sides.
of the moon : the sun could not suppress the shade. Now
this Yogi has found his Guru : his Yoga has departed from
him ; the ashes are washed away.
Of seven storeys is the tower, and precious stones of
seven colours are fixed therein. On beholding this Paradise,
all faults of sight flee away.’
18. The seven storeys are seven heavens: how shall
I describe the mansion which was above everything in the
world? Diamonds were the bricks, camphor was the
mortar: it was covered all over with sandal paste from
the Malaya mountain. The plaster had been made by
extracting the essence of elephant-pearls: its radiance
was gteater even than that of pearls. Visukarma* had
exercised his hand thereon: the seven storeys were each
occupied by its own apartment. Very bright and spotless
{was the building], indescribably so : you could see every-
thing as in a mirror. On the ground floor the plinth was
like the waves of the sea: the golden columns were
fashioned like a swing. Brilliant were the jewels and
precious stones: lamps and torches were lost [in their light}.
There was the Achhari Padmavati with Ratansen
they had, as it were, attained the seven heavens and the
seven Kailasas
19. Then Ratansen proceeded thither where was the
bed adorned with nine kinds of jewels’. Pillars had been
set up carved into figures which stood like living creatures
all ready for service. In the hands of one was a bowl of
sandal paste: one held vermilion, another a casket: one
held saffron such as folk lay on their limbs when they
desire delight. One held a vinaigrette of scented pom-
made: ‘the lady, when she wished, could stand and
(p) Omitting Shukla’s comma after kabilasahinz and taking gv with
bhag. For disss-pap bhag cp. 20 (8) 2
(q) Visvakarma, the mason of the gods
(r) For the nine jewels of mythology (related to the nine planets)
see 33 (6) 5 note (kx)
(8) I think a reference to a mirror held by one of the carved figures
must be missing
$6: 1987: 2 MENTING OF PADMAVATI AND RATANSEN £79
see’ her face. One held pan, another tooth paste’:
one had unguents breathing the sweetest odours. In one’s
hand was musk. One held one thing, another another,:
such difference was there among them.
They were all in row upon row on all four sides like a
bazar of perfumes. In the midst was fashioned a throne,
a couch for Padmavati.
27, THE MEETING OF PADMAVATI AND
RATANSEN
1: Above tHe sevén storeys is Kailasa: there is the
lady’s bed, the abode of delight. Four pillars stand at the
four corners, studded with diamonds and other jewels and
precious stones. In ruby lamps pearls were imbedded :
even in day-light their radiance continued. Above, a
scarlet canopy was stretched, and on the ground a brightly
coloured floorcloth was laid. Thereon stood the bed on
which a couch was strewn: the coverings were scented
with flowers. All about it were pillows and cushions,
made of hemmed silk stuffed with down. For whose
deserts did God make such a bed ? Who is to lie in it and
enjoy the bliss of dalliance ?
Exceedingly soft was the couch that was strewn : no one
could touch it. Even if one looked at it it sank down
immediately : what would’ happen if one placed a foot in
it ?
2. When the King, by his penance, had attained the
bed {of Padmavati] her friends hid the lady after loosing
the bridal knot. They said ‘‘O prince, this is our custom.
To-day we will adorn the princess. We will remove the
turmeric and apply cosmetics, and then at night there will
be a conjunction of the moon and the sun. As the mouth
of the Chatak bird waits for the drop of water in Sewati, °
‘even so the king’s eyes were watching. The Yogi was
cozened of the Achhari who seemed to be with him: the
*(t) Paste for staining the teeth, not for cleaning them.
Casto 27,
(a) Op. 12 (14) 9 note (a).
180 THE MEER/TING OF PADMAVATI AND RATANSEN 97: 2-4
Yoga which his hands had accomplished had become
useless. ‘The maidens by sleight took her away and stole
, from him a priceless charm. He was left stranded, having
lost everything, root and branch: he got no interest and
his principal was a total loss.
He had swallowed drugged sweets such as Thugs use :
he had lost his wits and his reason’. The tower was
like an [uninhabited] forest: he could neither laugh nor
weep, `
०३. In such penance the day went heavily: the four
watches passed like four aeons. Evening fell, and the
maidens came again: the moon remained [hidden] while
the stars arose. They ask him, “Where 15 your Guru, O
disciple? How is the sun all alone without his moon?
“You have learnt, O Yogi, to practise alchemy: how
have you now become unmettled and separated? How
have you lost that ‘lona birwa’ (lovely plant/herb used
in alchemy) by virtue of which beauty and sleep/gold
and silver are to be obtained. Has the orpiment not
found its mercury? Why has the sulphur devoured a
coarse crust? Where is our moon hidden without whom
it is dark night for the world?
“Your eyes are the king-fisher, your heart 1s the ocean,
your Guru is the light therein. Unless your mind is re-
born/is the diver* and plunges in the pearl will not
come to your hand.”’
4. “Cruel maidens, why do you ask me about my
metal/mettle,. when it 15 you who have hidden away
my Guru? Where now 15 the charm ‘which I had? I
have become debased: truth has not remained in my
heart. There is not that beauty' to which I can dis-
close my sorrow: my confidence has gone: what am I
(b) Zant mant op. 31 (14) 9.
(c) This and the next two stanzas are obscured by punning allusions
to alchemy (See Shukla’s Introduction p. 100/1 and 154), I have only attempt-
ed a verbal rendering.
(d) ei tym == (1) a diver (2) one who has died and lives again. In
22 (9) 8 and 23 (18) 3 it has only the first meaning: in Akharawat (37) 6 it
has Only thesecond. Usually, as here, there is a pun on both meanings. The
rest of the metaphor is extremely tangled. ४
(€) Siddbi Gutiks ; see 23 (1) 1.
f) Thereisa pun here; s0na rip=that beauty is not, sona ruip=gold
and silver.
$7; 4-6 THE MENTING oF PADMAVATIAND RATANSEN 281
to say here? Where there is that lovely plant, who will tell
a message and bring a letter? If you make a combination
of mercury and orpiment, you will even now give up
your life seeing the sulphur. You have made a trans-
mutation/a conjunction of the sun and the moon: again,
by separating them, you have incurred a stain. If anyone
would at this hour bring me to her, I would give my head
as a sacrifice for him
“I that was like mica have become like red orpiment
having been turned in the fire.s My body can become
yellow gold, if you choose to make it so.
5. “What does my power avail if my Guru is thus
minded? [ shall be] like Abhimanyu’ who was slain
in the Battle of the Maze. If she gives poison, having
first shown ambrosia, who will put his trust in one so
merciless ? Let him die who is without qualities: he who
is without severance does not know what affliction is.
If mercury cannot succeed in swallowing sulphur, how
shall I call my life orpiment ?" He who has not got the
Siddhi Gutika charm, how do you inquire for metal from
him? Now, without her, I am mere base metal and sway
about : if I had real substance, I should speak mightily.
I have been made like mica and then I have been made
like red lead, so has my body been placed in the fire and
turned about
“Tf after I have obtained the beloved she.is separated
from me, this sets my body on fire. Either by obtaining
her will the burning of my body be extinguished, or it
will be extinguished by my death.”
6. Hearing his words Padmavati’s companions all
laughed : it was like the stars becoming visible in the
night. ‘That moon is now hidden in the sky: how will
you obtain her, O Yogi, by coveting her? We ourselves
know not where she is: we will make search and will
speak respectfully to her there [2.८., when we find her].
We will say, ‘He is a stranger from a far land. Have
, {g) In the Mahabharat, Abhimanyn, son of Arjun, was slain in battle
(1 of the protection afforded him by a maze (Chakravytha) devised
) Reading hartai for hatyas (aggariant given by Shukla)
182 Ti MEETING OF PADMAVATI AND RATANSEN 97? 6-8
compassion on him: do not incur blood-guiltiness.’ ‘We
have felt affection for you on hearing of your affliction :
pray to God that thé like may happen to her. You are a
Yogi and should rove about doing penance and performing
Yoga : what enjoyment of royal happiness is there for
you? She is a princess, and where royal bliss is to be
enjoyed she adorns herself with ali the twelve ornaments
“A Yogi should sit in a fixed posture, holding his mind
immoveable in one place. If you have not heard, then
hear now the names of the twelve ornaments’.
श. “First, there is the laving of the body: next, the
body should be clothed with garments fragrant with
sandal: then a parting line should be made on the head
and vermilion placed thereon: then the forehead should
be adorned by fashioning a beauty mark on it: then both
eyes should be marked with collyrium: then ear-pendants
should be worn in the ears: then the nose should have a
fair nosestud, beyond price: then the mouth should be
reddened with chewing pan: then upon the neck should
be worn all the ornaments pertaining to it: then upon
the fore-arms there should be bracelets: then on the
waist should be its adornment? the complete girdle with
small bells: then on the feet should be worn anklets
with bells: these are what are called the twelve orna-
ments: these should be worn on their twelve places.
“Then again there are the sixteen ‘elegances in their
four noble quaternions,—four long and four short, four
broad and four narrow.”’
8. When Padmavati had adorned herself, God made
her like the moon in a night of full moon. She laved
and washed her body: she put on clothing [so bright
that] the sun went into hiding: she arranged gold spangles*
and drew the vermilion parting line on her head, and
(i) Shukla gives 8 more correct list of the 12 ornaments (abharan) and
points out that Jaisi has confused them with the 16 appliances for decoration
solah eringar of which Platts gives a list 8. ए, singdr. Jaisi’s solah अश्मका
referred to in v. 8 of the next stanza, are 16 elegances of the body, catalogued
in 40 (5)
(j) See note (i) above.
(k) See Shukla’s Introduction p. 240 for his exp lanation of the patra.
४८१४. (There are others. Even jn India, feminine fashions have cha 1n
the last four hundred years, and the word may now be used in quite a व)
e). =
27: 5-10 THE MEETING OF PADMAVATI AND RATANSEN 183.
filled it with pearls and powdered rubies. She clothed
herself in sandal-scented garments of many kinds, bright
as a row of cranes against a mass of clouds. The jewels
which were strung and fixed on the parting of her hair
were as bright as falling stars in the night. The beauty
_matk placed on her forehead looked like Canopus seated
above the crescent moon. In her ears were eardrops,
the Khunt and the Khunti, like the stars of the Pleiades
if they should break and fall.
Wearing her gem-studded ornaments she stood with
an indescribable charm. It was as though heaven was her
mirror and the moon and stars showed themselves in it.
9. Her side-long eyes and the streaks of collyrium
were like Khanjan birds seen in the autumn season. As
she glanced hither and thither, her eyes turned and twisted
like a pair of Khanjan birds fighting in the autumn. Her
brows were bows, but the rainbow was defeated by them :
they took aim with her eyes and shot with poisoned
arrows. ‘The ear-studs in her ears were exceedingly
beautiful: it was as though Venus' had become en-
amoured of the moon’s face and approached it. Her
brightly coloured lips with pan juice added were beautiful
as leaf and flowers in union. Her cheek was fragrant as a
flower and very brightly coloured and upon it swung a
snake-like curl. There was a mole upon her cheek like a
bee sitting upon a lotus: anyone who beheld that mole
would be stung.
Seeing the wondrous fashion of her adornment love’s
distress then departed in flight, saying” “This is the
time of disaster that has come upon me: everything is
in pursuit of my Itfe.”’
10. How shall I describe her ornaments and garlands :
she was the moon wearing a wreath of constellations.
She had a lovely robe and a sandal-scented Sari: there
(1) Reading stk (Bhagwan Din) for sur (Shukla), ¢.e., the moon and
stars in heaven were only a reflection of the beauty of Padmavati and her
Jowels on earth.
{m) There is a somewhat similar image in Dante’s Vita Nuova § ii
when Dante first sees Beatrice, whom (like Padmavati) he allegorised aa divine
wisdom. ‘Lo spirito della vita..tremendo disse queste parole; ‘Ecce Deus
fortior me, qui veniens dominabitur mihi.’
184 Ti MEBTING OF PADMAVATI AND RATANSEN 37: 10-P¢
were diamond necklaces and priceless jewels thereon
These covered the black line of hairs on her body: it was.
like a black serpent ready to bite murderously. Her
breasts rose like Bel fruits beneath her stomacher:
sportively they sought to pierce a lover's heart.
On her arms were lovely bracelets and bangles: their .
dainty motion was delightful when she swung her arms.
Ornaments like lotus buds* were fastened on her palms :.
her wasp-waist divided her into two halves. On her hips
was a row of small bells on a golden thread : as she moved
all the thirty six musical modes arose”.
The anklets and morrice bells and toe rings pay loving
court to her feet [saying} ‘Just take us to your heart and
embrace us and enjoy complete bliss.”’
II. So was the lady adorned with the twelve and
with the sixteen®: they beseemed not others: it was
her? whom they beseemed. Her companions respect-
fully ask her “Why do you delay? Give life to him who
has given his own life.’”’ When she thought on the bridal
bed, there was doubt in the lady’s mind: she stood deep
in thought with hands pressed on hips. “My lord is a
stranger to me: I tremble in my mind: what shall I say
if he seizes me by the arm? My life has been passed in
maidenhood : I have not known love: I have come to
maturity and have become lost in passion. I have not
thought at all of the pride of youth: I know not love,
whether it be black or white. Now if this lover ask me
anything, what shall my countenance be, yellow or red?* —
“IT am a maiden and a bride, my lord is grown up and
in the flower of youth: I know not how it will be when I
mount my lover’s bed.”’
12. “Tisten, lady: fear should be in your heart only
so 10118 as your lord does not meet you sportively. What
bud is there of which its bee is not enamoured ? The branch
is not broken by the weight of the blossom. Vou will pass
all your life with that lover to whom your mother and father
[यि
(0) op. 101{18}) 7. The 36 r&ginis are catalogued in 43 (14).
{0} १.९. the 12 abharans and the 16 81 a °p . 27 (6) 9 note (i).
(p} Reading ०१४ (Bhagwan Din) for Shukla’s At.
(q) १.९. frightened or cheerful.
27 : 7214 THE MEETING OF PADMAVATI AND RATANSEN 1884
give you in marriage. He will keep you all your life
where he desires: his word cannot be set aside. Do not,
O maiden, make delay for him: your lord’s command 18
what must be dear to you. Come speedily, as was his
command: when your lover calls, how can you stay?
Do not practice coquetry : be vigorous in love: a vehe-
ment lover is angered with one who shows coquetry.
“Your lord has sent for you: his command cannot be
set aside.’”’ After adorning herself, she went to offer as a
gift her body, her mind and her youth.
13. [When they saw] the lotus lady’s gait, swans
departed far away: elephants, in shame, threw dust on
their heads. When the moon saw her face, it waned and
hid itself : seeing her teeth, the lightning was ashamed.
Khanjan birds hid themselves when they saw her eyes:
the Kokila hid when it heard her sweet voice. The pea-
cock hid when it saw her neck: the tiger hid when he
saw her waist. [Seeing] her eyebrows, the rainbow hid
its shape: seeing her braided hair Vasuki hid in hell.
The sword hid [when it saw] the special [straightness] of
her nose: ambrosia hid when it saw the nectar of her Lip,
[At seeing] her fore-arm the lotus stalk hid: {at seeing]
her thigh the plantain hid in the garden.
The Achharis hid their forms when the lady went forth
in her adornment: all proud beauties hid themselves,
ashamed in their minds.
14. [Padmavati’s] companions clustered around her
like stars, and taking her, their moon, with them, came
to the sun. The moon showed her beauty, which was
{bright as] the philosopher’s stone: seeing it, the sun
became faint. The moon showed a countenance of all the
sixteen digits: she took all the thousand rays of the sun.
The sun set: the stars laughed and said ‘“‘The sun remains
no more and the moon has shone forth. This is an ascetic
and not a man of pleasure: he has eaten crusts and gone
to sleep. Padmavati is as pure as the Ganges: you, her
lover, are a mendicant Yogi.” They came and awakened
him ‘‘Wake up, O disciple: your Guru has come: rise
and clasp her feet.”’
24
186 THE MEETING OF PADMAVATI AND RATANSEN 87 ! 14-E7
The companions [of Padmavati] say their - word
approaching near to his ear and laying their hands on his
forehead. ‘“Gorakh has come and is standing by you
rise, O disciple.”
15. When he heard this word, it affected him like
ambrosia : his sleep was broken and he awakened as from
slumber. He grasped the lady’s arm and led her to the
bed: the princess hid, scree :ing herself with the fold of
her garment. Modestly the maiden was afraid in her
mind [and said] "(20 not grasp my arm, O mendicant
pilgrim. Begone, O pilgrim. The smell of crusts reaches
your handmaid. The very sight of the ashes [with
which you are smeared] is a defilement to me: the moon
trembles and flees from the sun. O Yogi, your ascetic’s
body will throw a shadow upon my limbs. Though a
beggar, you do not ask for alms at the door: you have
learnt to ascend to heaven and beg there.
“No Yogi or beggar can effect an entrance to this house.
Beg for and receive something in alms and go and stand
at the door.”’
16. [Ratansen said] “It was for your sake, my dearest
love, that I left my kingdom and became a beggar. It
was when your love filled my heart that I left Chitaur
and changed my condition. As the bee becomes ena-
moured of the Malati, so love arose in me, and I set out
as a pilgrim. As the bee seeks and finds the lotus, so for
your sake I adventured my life. I became a beggar,
lady, for your sake: I became a moth for the lamp and
endured the flame. He who arrives at his goal after
dying once, why should he go and die a second time ?’
How can there be death for him who lives again after
having died? He has become immortal: he has drunk
the honey of ambrosia.
“When the bee finds the lotus, after much suffering
and much hoping, the bee becomes a sacrifice; the lotus,
laughing, gives him an abode.”
17. [Padmavati said] ‘Praise from one’s own mouth
(ह) There isan allusion here to the whispered mantra at the initiation
of a Gorakhnathi Yogi
(8) Bar-bir. There may be a punning reference to door in 27 (18) 9
besides the straightforward meaning f time :
97:.17-19 THE MEETING OF PADMAVATI ANB RATANSEN 187
15 not beseeming : a Yogi can never be a King. Iam a
princess and you are a beggarly Yogi: what acquain-
tance can there be between a votary of Yoga and a votary
of pleasure ?' All Yogis play frauds like this: you, the
beggar-man, are preeminent in it. They take the wings
of the wind and fly up to heaven to visit whomsoever
they have a mind to. In this manner they trick all
creation : in this disguise Ravan stole away Sita. When
death approaches the bee, he hastens to get the fragrance
of the Champa flower. Seeing the bright radiance of the
lamp light, the moth comes and falls tnto it, like a beggar-
man.
“If the moon’s face is seen in the night, yet the moon’s
body is hidden. You too, being a Yogi, have made a like
mistake in assuming the splendour of a King.’
18. (R). “Come, lady, you are the moon in the
night : I am the sun, of which you are but the reflection.
Whence has the moon her brightness and her rays? It is
by the brightness of the sun that the moon is immaculate.
The bee does not get the fragrance of the Champa: where
the Malati is, there he gives his life. For your sake I
have become like a moth: I have come flying to Singhala
dvipa and have fallen into the flame.' I performed
worship at Mahadeo’s door: I went without food and the
wind was my diet. So did I tie the knot of love in my
heart that nothing can cut it, nothing can unfasten it.
Sita gave alms to Ravan: you were so cruel that you hid
yourself behind curtains.
“T° am enamoured of your charms, and have climbed
up to heaven like the sun. Where the moon is cool, there
let me perform penance: lady, fulfil the desire of my
mind.”’ |
19. “{P]. ““Beggarly Yogi, you talk a great deal:
you speak of colour/love, but I do not see you really
in love. One does not get real colour by colourjng cloth:
the colour which is produced by boiling is good colour.
(४) Bhogt has the double meaning of man of pleasure and king.
(ण) There is the usual puo on dtp=(1) island (2) lamp. ।
(४) There are puns on rafg=(1) charm (2) colour and ratewt=(1) am
in love (2) am red ; perhaps also on fapau%=(1) perform penance (2) be hot.
The pnns on razg and r#ta continue throughout this stanza.
188 THE MEETING OF PADMAVATI AND RATANSEN 27 $ 19°25
How the sun is.enamoured of the charms/red with the
colour of the moon, the world can see at dusk and at
dawn. Love is ever burning and becomes like coals:
with the heat of it the world is scorched. The red dye
which is boiled with great heat, that is the colour which,
if it is produced, will never in this life be removed. Love
burns like the wick of a lamp: it burns within, and 1s
ted/impassioned above. The dhak burns and becomes
like charcoal: it is then that the flower of the dhak blos-
soms and 1s red. |
“Just as pan, areca nut, and catechu are mixed and
reduced to a powder: the colour is not produced until
they are crushed.”’
20. ` [2२]. “What, lady, has the colour of pan* or
what has lime to do with the matter? He in whose body
love is, is doubly burnt. I for love of you have become
like a yellow pan leaf, what they call gold-leaf, as it still
remains on the stalk. When I heard of your fame in
the world, I undertook Yoga and buried my body.
When as an ascetic I took my viol in hand, the fire of love
was renewed. I turned my body again and again in the
fire and roasted it: I boiled my blood and its colour
came into my heart. My mind, cast down, was like the
dried areca nut: I used the saw’ on my head like the
‘sarauta’. My bones were the lime, which love’s distress
burnt: only he knows this burning who has endured it.
“He alone knows this affliction who has such distress
in his body. If a man is thirsty for blood how can he
know another’s affliction 2"
21. [P]. ‘‘Yogis are full of tricks : they do not refrain
from them. They fall like the drops of water in the
asterism of Sewati. They fall on the earth, and ‘Kachuru”
grows: they fall on the plantain tree and camphor is
produced : they fall on the ocean and its water becomes
salt: they.fall on the oyster shell and pearls are formed :
(x) There are puns throughout this stanza on different kinds and pre-
parations of pin. Barauna and garauna in this verse are two varieties, as well
as meaning fame and buried. SeeShukla’s Iotroduction p. 101.
ly) For the saw, see 10 (2) 7 note (£). The sarauta is an instrument
for cutting areca nut.
(४) Kachtrf, a medicinal root, zedoary, curcums serumbet (Platts).
97 : 21-23 THE MEETING OF PADMAVATI AND RATANSEN 189
they fall on Mount Meru and become ambrosia: they
fall on the serpent’s mouth and become poison. The
Yogi and the bee are both cruel. Whose friends are
they’? If anyone’s, let him say. They do not remain
steadfast in any one place: they sip the honey and go off
roving elsewhere. They are at one time householders,
at another hermits, and at the end both of them are
treacherous.
“Who would knit love firmly with such one? They
remain not in a single country. The Yogi, the bee, the
beggar-man,—it is best to salute these from afar.”
22. [1२]. ““On™ every plain there are not gems which
have radiance : in every sea there are not shells in which
pearls are formed: in every forest there are not trees of
sandal: in every body love’s distress is not born. He in
whom it is born is seethed by it and dies: never in his
life will he get away from it. The lotus dwells in the water,
the sun in the sky: if there is love between them, you
may suppose that they dwell together. Lf the Yogi and the
bee do not remain steadfast, [it is because} they do not
find that which they seek. I have found you, my life:
I will not leave the drop of Sevati to drink anything else.
If the bee comes and finds the Malati, how will he leave
it and go to any other flower ?
™The bee has no love for the Champa, though its
fragrance increases day by day. If the bee finds the
Malati he wili not depart from it even if he dies.”’
23. [P]. “Not thus will I believe that you are a prince.
(aa) The same idea isthe subject of a Sanskrit sloka :
‘Saile saile na ménikyam
Mauktikam na gaje gaje,
Sadhavo nahi sarvatra
Chandanam na vane vane.’
{४ is aleo found in Manjhan’s Madhumalati, in the following form
Ratan ki s&gar sigarhin, gajmoti gaj koe
Chandan ki ban ban upajai, birah ki tan tan hoe ?’
as quoted by Pandit Ajodbya Singh (Hindi bh&sh& aur uske sahitya
ka vikas), who thinks that Jaisi borrowed from Manjhan,—see note (11) to
23 (7) 6 and Introduction
190 श्रं MEETING OF PADMAVATI AND RATANSEN 971 23-24
Play me a game of "’chequers and then I will acknow-
ledge it. If the twelve pieces are placed ‘kachcha,’ the
winning point will be placed ‘pakka.’ There will not
remain what are called the eight and the eighteen,
but the sixteen and the seventeen will be kept. He who
throws seven/keeps truth is a true player: he who-
casts the eleven (the ten senses and the mind) cannot be de-
feated. You have taken in your mind the deuce, and then
you wish to touch the pieces that are a pair (my breasts).
I will form fresh love/the nine for you [and make] the
winning move into your heart. Then I will play ‘Chaupar’
with your heart in my hand, if my rival/the tierce is
in my power.
‘When, by getting a thing, all we get in the end and
continually is severance and penance, then who would
endure injury by getting it? Better without it to be
care free.”’ ति
24. [Rj]. ““Hear me, princess; I will say a true word.
A man’s word is his oath and his bond. I have in such
manner attached my mind to you, lady, that you will be
with me by day and all the 111211४." Falling at your feet
"गू have prayed to you again and again: staking my head
I have brought my spirit to the winning point. I have
now escaped the quart and the quint/devices and.
tricks. Kachcha pieces cannot be moved to squares
where you are. I have raised pakka pieces in hope: I
have been defeated by you in spirit and you have won.
Now you have joined me you/that the pair have been
joined they will not be separated for an age: where is
the go-between/umpire who will interfere? Now is my
spirit with you for life after life: I have entered upon
Yoga and have arrived at Paradise.
“If one’s spirit lives in another, then in that other is
(bb) Sari p&sa, a game like backgammon, also called chausar or chaupar
seo 2 (14) 6 note (62). (It is played on the same board as pachtst tut
with dice and not cowries) Throughout this stanza and the next and also in
stanza 31 there are veiled allusions to terms of this game, ¢.g., the ‘12’ are
the abharans, the ‘16’ are the sing7re as well as being throws of the dice.
(0९) There isa pun on gaf=(1) seven (2) truth.
(dd) There are puna on pet =(1) with (2) dice and s7rt==/1) whole (2)
a piece in the game.
(ee) Pauus(1) foot (2) last place in the game.
27: 24-26 THE MEETING OF PADMAVATI AND RATANSEN २०१
his support. Gold and borax will not be separated: they
are united by heating and become one
25. The lady laughed when she heard his words of
truth: ‘“‘Assuredly you are enamoured of my charms.
Assuredly the bee has tasted the nectar of the lotus: as
one’s mind is, so are the things which dwell in it. When
Hiraman was your messenger, I went to the temple for
your sake, O pilgrim. I saw your beauty, a beauty so
charming that it seemed that you had bewitched me,
O Yogi. When you worked the charm with your glance,
by mixing mercury you implanted silver/you brought
your beauty over and implanted it. In order to give
bliss I beheld you: you became a bee and settled on the
lotus of my eyes. My eyes were the flowers, you were
the bee, and that bee remained and pierced the flower: it
did not fly away, the greedy creature.
“Tf any one sets his hopeson another, that other will set
his hopes on him in return. If the bee is inflamed for the
lotus, how shall he not obtain the scent thereof.”’
26. ““‘What witchcraft was this of yours, [by which]
the distress which was in you has been produced in me?
My spirit writhes like a fish without water: I have become
a Chatak and repeat, ‘p‘u, piu’, (My love, my love/drink,
drink). I burn with love’s distress like the wick of a
lamp: watching your road I have become like a shell
[watching] for the drops in Sewati. Being burnt to a
einder I have become like charcoal :“* I have become like
a Chakor, for sleep has deserted me at night. Through
your love love has been produced in me: I have been
made glowing hot like red gold in the fire. The diamond
is bright if the sun irradiates it: if not, how would it, a
mere stone, have radiance. When the sun is revealed the
lotus unfolds: otherwise, where would the bee be and
where the scent २०"
(ff) This stanza is क by Padmavati, although it is Ratansen’s
turn in the dialogue which ins with st. 15 and continues to at. 20
Possibly 25, 26 and 27 are ail three variants of the same. There is eome
repetition also in 29
(gg) Koil may mean charcoal, asin 27 (19) 7, or, as in 27 (29) 9, the
Koel bird or kokila, which is alao black. Perhaps there ia an intentional
hh) कड (bas) here obviously means ‘scent’; in 27 (16) 9, 27 (2) 8,
27 (25) 9, it may mean either ‘scent’ or ‘dwelling’, possibly both
192 THE MEETING OF PADMAVATI AND RATANSEN 27: 26-29
What veil is there to hide one from him who is, like
you, the best beloved? I will now sacrifice utterly my
body, my mind, my youth and my life -
27. Laughing, Padmavati accepted his word, “‘As-
guredly you are enamoured of my charms. You are a
king, of glorious birth on both sides : what I did was done
to make proof of your nature. But you are a dweller in
Jambudvipa: how did you know how Singhala could be
reached ? How did you know that lotus of the heavenly
lake, on hearing of which you became a bee and adventured
your life? You had never heard nor seen me: how diiI
become a picture and enter your thought? As long as
the fire has not effected separation, so long the attar is
not boiled and does not distil, How did Shankar
[Mahadeo] thus reveal thee, and the Invisible meet thee
and cause thee to taste of love?
“If a man have truth for his companion, it removes
his fears. Tell me how you got this truth, which is a gift
in both ways.”
28. (R). “I will speak the truth. Listen, Padmavati.
Where there is a true man, there is Saraswati. I obtained
the parrot, and he told me his tale : I was convinced when
I saw his red face". I heard of your most excellent beauty,
and how no one was betrothed to you. Repeating your
name again and again I then made a picture of you: it
found its place in my heart by way of my eyes. Hearing
of you I became true at” that very hour: you became a
form of beauty and entered into my thought. I became
a wooden image, my mind deadened: whatever I do is
all by your hand. If you move me, then I will move: I
am dumb : if you give me breath, I will speak.
“Who 15 if that sleeps and who is it that wakes? Even
so I became dazed. Revealed or hidden there is none
other : wherever I look it is thee that I see.”’
29. The lady laughed when she heard his true feelings.
“I am your fair lady (she said] and you are Ravan the
(ii) Cp. 25(2)8 note (d)
(jj) There are puns (and probably alchemical allusions) here on
eTach==n(1) true (2) mould, ghart=(1) measure of time (2) alembic and
rip=(l) beauty (2) silver
$7: 29-30 ‘THR MEETING OF PADMAVATI AND BATANSEN 164
king/mry fover.“* That bee which was in hope of the
lotus, how ‘should it not enjoy the bliss of its honey and
fragrance? Just as you, O prince, have spoken truth to
me, 90 my mind in turn has attached itself to you. Ever
since the messenger bird spoke, and I heard that a pilgrim
from a foreign land had come, ever since then my spirit
cannot endure without you, JI have become like a chatak
which says ‘My love! MY love!’ : I have become like a
chakor gazing upon your road: like an ocean shell व have
opened wide my eyes’: burnt by love’s distress I have
become black like a Koel: [flitting] from branch to branch
I have called w:th the Koel’s cry.
“What day is that on which I will find my beloved, him
for whom my mind yearns -when he shall see all my
distress and I shall see his 2
30. When they had declared their trye feelings they
fell on each other’s necks: it was like the meeting of gold
and borax. He was a Yogi for all the eighty four postures :
a votary of pleasure [skilled in} all the six delights and
an adept in protracting them. It was as if one obtained
a garland of Malati flowers or seized the branch of aChampa
and bent it down. It was the rapture of the bee which
has pierced the bud: it was the transfixing of the fish™
by the arrow of Arjun: it was the setting of radiant
gems in pure gold: it was the piercing of a pearl by a
boring needle. The parrot [s.e., Ratansen] set his claws
on what -he thought was an orange [Padmavati’s
breast], and took as it were the nectar” of her lips. With
dainty games they annihilate all their distress: they
dance and dally like swans in a lake
There was a fragrance of sweet odours, a perfume of
sandal and musk. He who has such a lotus lady” for
queen, it is he who understands this secret
There are puns on r¥ma=(1) Rima (2) fair lady and ra7van=
(1) Ravan (2) one who excites passion, or lover
(il) As the oyster shell opens to receive the drop of water in Svati
which becomes a pear!
(mm) Rahu ए. 10(4)5 note (14) and (d)
(nn) Amrus would be either ‘mango-juice’ or ‘envy’, neither of
which suits the context. Possibly the correct reading may be a-méiya ras
(ambrosial juice)
(oo} The Padmini, the most excellent of the four classes of women,
ie distinguished by her sweet scent v: 40(4)
25
104 THR MEETING OF PADMAVATI AND RATANSEN 97; 33-33
31. Ratansen was a wise lover, learned in the six
delights and possessing the sixteen colours. The meeting
of the man and the fair maid was like that of a Saras pair
which have been separated. Both together played their
game of chequers: as a pair’, they reached paradise
together. The lover clasped the lady and caressed her :
the lady, united after severance, lay pressed to his heart.
Satisfied with delight, they staited to play afresh and
sucked “‘delight from each other’s lips. How could the
lady’s “nine plus seven and seven plus five remain safe
from the man’s tén? The lady utterly destroyed love's
distress and the King was a victor in every act
It was as if they had been welded together, so did the
two become one. There was no staying the hand which
tried the gold on the touchstone”.
ˆ 32. The clever wit of a woman clings exceeding close :
where love increases, how should it let go? Dalliance is
the satisfaction of passion : she who is devoid of dalliance
is no true wife. In dalliance a lover finds relief: by dal-
liance a wife gets salvation. She who does dalliance is a
happy and fortunate wife, she is like sandal paste laid on
her lover’s" throat. He takes her in his arms like a ball
[of flowers], though the lady is softer than any ball. He
tastes the flavour of pomegranate, of grape and of bel: in
the sport of her beloved the lady has set her life. Spring
came and the buis opened their mouths: the Kokil sang
with a delightful voice.
The lady who had been parched with thirst and had
been calling “Drink, drink’/‘my love, my love’, like a
Chatak, was now like the shell into which that drop falls,
and the pearl of bliss and comfort is produced. .
33. There was a battle like that between Ravan and
(pp) न" alsox=the throw of deuce. ^
(१५१) Chok# 8180 = 6 throw of quart. Possibly chhaki and nava
also have a double meanj g, six and nine.
(rr) The 16 singirs and 12 &bharans, vide 27(6)9 note (i), and the
ten fingers, for which compare the vulgar Enelish ‘ten commandments’ fora
woman’s finger-nails. There 18 alsoa pun on dae te rah (remain from the ten)
and dve terah (ten and thirteen).
{88} Meaning obscure; perhaps just as well
(४1) Readinu piv (Bhagwan Din) for sam (Sbukla)
(uu) Reading Kusum gead jankw kur lat (Bhagwan Din) for gead god
kai janhu lat (Shukla). .
$7: 33-33 THE MEETING OF PADMAVATI AND RATANSEN: 198
Rama: the couch was crushed and hroken in the battle
of jove. He took Lanka: the golden fort was breached :
the adornment that she had put on was all stripped from
her. Crushed and broken too was the frenzy of youth:
the passion that was destroying her spirit departed. Her
garments were torn from every limb: the parting of her
hair was lost and her tresses were dishevelled. Her
stomacher was torn and her 1100005 were broken: her
necklace was broken and the pearls were scattered. Her
bari and beautiful tand were broken: the bracelets and
0871168 ° on her arms were smashed. The sandal paste was
removed from her limbs, so strait was the embrace: her
nose ring was broken and the mark on her forehead effaced.
Having arranged all the flowers of passion 1n the fresh
spring of youth, her lover press.d her to his heart like
mixed scents which he reduced to powder.
34. The lady Padmavati respectfully addressed him :
“So drink the cup that sense may remain. I am ready to
accept my lovér’s commands upon my forehead: I will
bow my head and give whatever he demands. Yet, my
love, hear one word of Mine: sip your wine, my beloved,
a little at a time, He really drinks the wine of love who
does not let anyone observe that anyone has given it. If
the wine of the grape has been poured out once, he who
takes it a second time becomes senseless. He who has
once drunk it has obtained the benefit of delight in life
and delight in feasting. 00 you now enjoy the delights
of pan and of flowers and sip with lip from lip.
‘Do whatever you wish: I do not consider anything
good or evil. What is pleasing to you will be so for me
also: it is your pleasure, my beloved, that I desire.”’
35. “Listen, lady, by drinking the wine of love no
fear of dying or of living remains in the heart. He who
finds intoxication, where is the world for him, whether he
stagger about or whether he be drunk? He knows [fits
effect} who drinks of it: he should not drink his fill, or
he will fall down and sleep. He who once gets the benefit
(vv) Reading baliyn (Bhagwan Din) for Shakla’s था
(ww) Reading Sudhi #0 rahaias piyo अत (Bhagwan Din) for Shukla’s
Badhi na, eurtht piyeu piyniz.
296 ‘THE MEETING OF PADMAVATT AND RATANSEN 87: 35-37
of it will not remain without it: it is this that he wif
desire. He will fling away his wealth and his goods: le
everything be lost fhe will say] but let not drinking/love
go. Night and day he will remain steeped in delight ;
he will not see advantage or loss. When dawn comes his
body will flourish again: he will obtain the after effects
of intoxication with cool water.
“Fill the cup once and give it: who demands it over
and over again?” If such a stake is too small, why (says
Mithammad) should one not call out ?
36. Dawn came and the bridegroom arose like the
sun. The constellations and stars came from all four
quarters. All night on the couch the moon had been in
conjunction with the sun: her necklace, her clothes and
her bangles were broken. The lady was like pan leaf,
her dress like the lime: “*‘simple girl, she had become
discoloured through amorous sport. She had been awake
all night when the dawn came and now she was drowsy
and slept brokenly. A curl of hair lay on the fair lady’s
bosom: like a poisonous serpent it touched the oranges
[of her breast.] Necklace and garland were intertwined
on her bosom ; it was like the Jumna meeting the Ganges.
It was like Payag with 41211 coming in the midst of it, so
glorious were her tresses and the line of hair on her body.
Her navel is the place of acquiring merit: it is called
the tank of Kasi. [There] the gods immolate their heads,
but no blame attaches to her.
37. Laughing, her clever companions awakened her:
“The sun has arisen; arise, lotus princess.” Hearing the
name of the sun, the lotus unfolded, as it were: a bee
had come and taken its honey and fragrance. It had, as
it were, become intoxicated and stayed all night and was
now all discomposed and drowsy. "Her eyes were like
two lotuses in flower: her glances were bewildered like
deer that have gone astray. On her body, her hair and
her dress were disordered : her senses were distraught as
if she were a witless simpleton. The moon waned as
(xx) A pun on ch#n=(i) lime, which is mixed with betel-leaf for
pan, (11) ‘torn’, ‘crushed’, Cp 27(19)9.
Gh AL Reading bhauar @rase (Bhagwan Din) for pauli janu aret
नि? $7-39 Tm MEETING OF PADMAVA'T AND RATANSEN 167
though eclipse had seized her: the constellations [of her
ornaments] were scattered : the couch was full [of them].
The yellow was, as it were, seen in the lotus: she had
thrown away her youth for good and all.
The plant that was kept.for Indra, whose fragrance
had not been given to the wind, to it the bee came and
clung: he pierced its bud and rifled its ‘nectar.
38. Her clever companions laugh and question her :
they are like water-lilies which look on the moon’s face:
“Princess, you are so exceedingly delicate: your body
is like a flower and your spirit like its fragrance: you
cannot bear a necklace upon your bosom: how could you
bear the weight of your lover? Your lotus face used to
be unfolded by day and by night: tell us how has it now
become faded? Your lotus lips which could not endure
[the touch of] pin, how.could they bear it when the sun
touched your mouth? Your waist’ which bent at each
step you took, how did it remain when Ravan was en-
amoured ? Your beloved is like a breeze scented with
sandal: you have become like a statue: what has hap-
pened to your spirit ?
“All your scents have been crushed : your eyes are like
red berries or [pink] lotuses. Tell us the truth, Padmavati”:
so all her companions tease her.
39. “I will tell you, my friends, my true feelings : what
I tell you is how my lover was enamoured. I trembled when I
saw the bee upon the flower: it seemed to me like the eclipse
of the moon. But today I have realised the truth of the
matter: none is so dear to me as is my beloved. True,
fear reached my heart when I had not found my beloved,
but the cold has been dispelled by the sight of sun. The
moment that the sun shone forth, the lotus bud of my
mind was unfolded. In my heart affection was produced,
and the cold departed™. Move not my beloved to
anger: rather take my life. The distress of severance
which was immeasurable has been destroyed: it is like
water that has been dried up by the rising of Canopus.
(zz) There is the usual pun on lank (Lanka and waist) and on
ravan (Ravan and lover) : perhaps also on rat (prince and enamoured).
(aaa) Reading क 4 (Bhagwan Din) forShukla'sau ste,
198 THE MEETING OF PADMAVATI AND RATANSHN ॐ : 39-4¢
“Y produced many delights of lave, as many es the
waves of the sea: but by the adroitness of my lord, not
a drop was wasted.
40. “Why should I adorn myself and go to him? I
gee him in every place. All that is in my spirit is he, the
beloved : he cannot be separated from my body or my
mind. He is contained in my eyes: where I look, there
is no one else. It is his own nectar that he takes from me:
it is he who gives me the nectar, clinging to my lips. My
bosom is a 54] एला, ०० my breasts are golden sweet-meats :
I have presented them as a gift before him, with deep
affection’. My waist quivered, pressed against his:
my lover (Ravan), with joy, drew [the gold on] the touch-
stone. All my youth went out to him and I was lost
between them.
“As a man who has given a thing to be kept collects
and takes back what is his, even so did he squeeze-out the
nectar and left me dry and empty.”
47. (The friends said] ‘‘Go to, charmer. You have
charms’. Your eyes are reddened (Gull) from keeping
vigil with your lover. [Your colour} that was like Cham-
pak and rose-apple has become yellow (Kesar) like oleaster.
The bee has settled on the orange-garden of your breasts:
his nails have touched them and lines of colour have risen.
Lip has been moistened by lip as if by pin: your row
of curls has been all twisted awry. Vou are red faced
like a rai-muni bird: for the sake of your bee’s face you
have become a hon:y-sucker. Now you have been joined
with your bold lover (Singirhar)’* do you, O Malati,
always remain blooming. Do you again adorn yourself,
removing (New&ri) all pretence: sit and cherish (Sewati)
his feet (Kadam) O loved one.
“The jasmine buds have all opened together : it is the
season of spring and of Holi. Do you also blossom and
(bbb) Cp. 10(15)1.
(९0९) Thore are the usual punson laak and rf@van and probably also
on kasauit, op. 27(31)9. |
(ddd) ~ = ~~ ~ श् ७.9
(६) The {1९181 meaning of the stanza is that there is a right wa
and a wrong way of doing things: (dahinw and bayan mean bot
right and wrong and right and left). The oilman’s bullock 18 driven round
left-handed (anti-clockwise) and never gets out ofthe circle in which he
is confined, cp. Akhrawat (24) 7. So with a potter’s wheel. But we
steer horses, ships, carts by the right and they go 0 The sun and
and moon ge round right-handed (clock-wise) and enlighten the
world. Speaking of right and left finally leads Jaisi to mention his own
loss of the sight of one eye, cp. 1 {21) 1 note 55, and the hearing of one
ear, By this loss he was led to the 1ight way, und became the poet of
love,
(h) See 3) (4) 6 note (व), The point of comparison is that Sarwan
took water to his parents.
222 = ` NAGMATI’S MESSAGE 3३ ; ro-r2:
on you.. She said “I am dying, who will lift the carrier?
My son is not [here}: who will give me water?” Thirst
went and attached itself to her: water was given her by
the hand of Dasrath. - She did not drink water, but wished
for fire: such is the profit of a son like you being born.
Be like Bhagirath’ and return thither: go quickly, it is
the time of her death. |
“You, as a good son of your mother, do not thus take
a foreign land [for your home]. By this time she will have |
died : go and perform her funeral rites. ,
11. ‘‘Nagmati’s sorrow of severance is illimitable :
earth and heaven are burning with the flame thereof.
The city and its ramparts, the -house and the country
outside are desolate: God forbid’ that any house should
be bereft of its men. You have fallen into the power of
the witchcraft of Kanvaru": you have forgotten your
Yoga: Lona the witch has cozened you. She [{Nagmati]
has died and become ashes for your sake : she has become
a serpent, feeding on air. Perhaps she says ‘Take and
eat me’, but there is no flesh on her body which might
please anyone. Severance is a peacock: that lady is a
serpent’: do you, as a cat, speedily come to the rescue.
Her flesh has fallen away, and she is reduced to a skeleton :
() Yogi, go to her at once, taking healing herbs.
“Seeing her distress in severance J left my forest dwelling.
I came in haste to the shore of the ocean, and from that
time I have not left it.
12. “Such a conflagration was there from the bonfire
of severance that the clouds became black from the smoke
which arose. Rahu was burnt and so was ketu: the
sun was burnt and so was half the moon. Moreover, all
(1) Bhagirath by the power of bisa austerities brought the Ganges
down from heaven to extinguish the flames which were consuming the
sixty thousand sons of Sagar, his ancestor.
(j) Nauz is the Arabic natz bilah (May God preserve us).
(k) Kénvarti—Kamrtp or Assam, celebrated tor witchcraft, where
dwelt Lona or Nona a noted witch. Chamar by caste, cp. 38 (3) 6, 49 (2) 2
Crooke, Popular Religion p. 336. Briggs, The Chamsre p. 185 and
Gorakhnath ५ 74. Kamrup sorcery verses are still supposed to be very
potent, ifrightly learnt from the initiated and properly recited.
(1) The snake (Nagmati) is the natural prey of the peacock.
St: 12-14 NAGMATI’S MESGAGE 223
the constellations and stars were burnt : meteors, rushing,
fell to earth. The earth itself was burnt in many places:
the dhak jungle flared up and was burnt with this con-
flagration. From the breath of severance such a burning
heat issued that the mountains were burnt and became
like live coals. Bees and insects and serpents were burnt,
and koels and king-crows and ravens. All the birds of
the forest flew away to save their lives: the fish in the
water were distressed and dived down. |
“I too, burning, departed from there and came and
quenched myself in the ocean. The water of ocean was
burnt and become salt: the smoke covered the world.”
13. The King said, ‘“O heavenly messenger, come
down and approach near to me, O visitor from another
country. Let me support your feet and fold you to my
breast : be near to me and speak your message of love.’’
The bird, which was a forest-dweller, said, “How have
you, from a householder, become a wandering mendicant ?
If beneath a tree there is anyone like you, it is the same
‘look-out for the bird in the tree] whether it is a Kokila
or acrow. Poisoned food lies upon the earth: the haryal
knows this and avoids the ground”. I shall rove, a wanderer,
from branch to branch: I shall make ready my wings
for setting forth. The hours of life are continually grow-
ing less: life may remain in the evening, but [next] day
it remains not.
“So long as I rove in freedom I shall not fall into a cage.
I shall go speedily to my own land, in the midst whereof
is a way of safety.’’
14. Having spoken the message, the bird departed :
fire was kindled in all Singhala. For a long time the king
called after him, but he disappeared and did not come
into view again. The king saw no feather, not to speak
of the bird: weeping, he returned in despondency. ‘Just
as that bird, seeking, lost himself, so one day I too will set
forth. While my life and my body are united, I must
once go to the fortress of Chitaur.’” The bee [Ratansen]
came to where the lotus [Padmavati] was in her palace;
(m) 8966 2 (5) 6 Note (31).
224 NAGMATI’S MESSAGE 81: 14—18&1
but the bird took his spirit away with it. His body was
in Singhala, his mind dwelt in Chitaur: his spirit was
distraught as though he had been bitten by a serpent.
All the ladies [fof the harem] laughingly asked him
with ambrosial words the state of his mind. All charm
had departed : poison had spread: he had neither wit
nor reason.
15. It was a year or more that he had stayed in
Singhala : the days had passed for him in enjoyment and
disport.. But he was in despair when he heard the mes-
sage: he continually remembered in his mind the land of
Chitaur. When the lotus saw the bee in despair she re-
mained not firm: she now remembered the Malati. [She
5216 | ‘‘The Yoo, the bee, the wind are not in one’s control :
how shall they remain if they have made up their minds
to depart? Although one should take one’s own life and
give it them, yet a Yogi or a bee would not be in his control.
He has left the lotus and taken the Malati to his bosom :
now how can the bee be steadfast, my friends?’ Gan-
dharvasen, came [and said] ‘“Iisten, my son: how has
your spirit become hopeless °
“TY have brought life to you: I have given you a
dwelling place in my eyes”. If you become hopeless, then
for whom is this place a paradise ?”’
32. RATANSEN’S LEAVE-TAKING
{. Ratansen spoke respectfully with folded hands:
“My tongue is not worthy of telling your praise. If I had
a thousand tongues, my lord, yet could not your praise
be told in due degree. I was base ore’ and you have made
me gold: it was when you gave me lustre that I became
a jewel (Ratan). The Ganges is pure with such undefiled
water, that, if a brook joins it with water that is unclean,
(n) 3.९, In the Biblical phrase, (Deut. 32, 10) व have kept you as the
apple of my eye. There is a similar expression in an Oudh ballad dhan
aakhsyn men rakhit chhipry (Gramgit p. 68).
Canto XXXII.
(a) Kaych. Grierson translates as ore in } (21) 7, but elsewhere
the word means either clay—53 (1) 6—or glass 12 (8) 8, and the latter
may be the meaning here.
MB: 43 RATANSEN'S LEAVE-TAKING was
that water becomes part of the stream and reaches the
ecean : its sin is removed and it becomes pure as a peart.
Even so I was of impure nature, but when f came near
to you,"I became undefiled. By your favour I came to
Singhala city: through you I -rose to kingship and no-
bility
“You are king of the seven seas: noone can stand in
rivalry with you. 411, men come and bow their heads
wheresoever you have erected your throne.
2. “Now one humble request I will make, my lord;
the body only remains so long as the-spirit remains in it.
A messenger of mine has come to-day : he brought a letter
and gave it to me, your majesty. With regard to the
business of kingship and [matters of] land there is no
enemy like a brother’. Each makes account fof the
kingdom] as his own: one is ready to slay another in
order to get the succession. It has been like the night of
hew moon when the constellations exercise kingship :
make me the moon and send me thither this very day.
From [the country] where my ancestral kingdom is, they
have written and sent me word that [that kingdom] has
now become another’s. Nearby thereto is the Sultan
of Delhi; if dawn comes, he will arise like the sun’.
“May you remain immortal so long as earth and heaven
{endure}: take my life on earth. My head will ever be
there where your foot is.”’
3. Thereupon all the king’s council arose: ‘Verily,
lord, the request 1s a weighty one and one that should be
granted. Let there not be division between brothers :
it was by domestic cleavage that Lanka was destroyed.
You have planted a tree; let it not be withered: show
your countenance so that it may obtain water. You have
lit a lamp and brought it and set it up: still this guest
will not remain in a foreign land. If anyone has inheri-
ted a kingdom anywhere, that land is naturally to his
liking. ‘I have placed you in my eye and kept you.
ॐ) Suggesting > fictitious reason for Ratansen'’s departure,—that a
brother is interfering with his affairs in hia absen
(c) 4.e. let mo recover my kingdom : if not, the emperor will get it
29
aah RATANSEN'S LRAVE-TAKING ॐ: bw
there’ :—-let not your tongue speak any such speech.
Ordain a-day: let us speed him on his way with good
fortune: may his life be long and may he come back
again.”
They all agreed in this, and preparation was made for
departure. They prayed to Ganesh for success [and said]
“May God fulfil the whole undertaking.”’
4. “The lady (garden) Padmavati said respectfully,
“T am, my beloved, like a fresh (nevari) jasmine (kund) `
flower. Where is that Malati plant and how is she like
me? She should do service (sevati) at my feet (kadam)
and be pressed (champ)............ (chameli)..........
You are like the thread of an ornamental garland (singar-
har), so close you are to the heart of the flower-bud. I
shall always do obeisance to that [god of] spring, who is
blooming (kusum) and ruddy gulaland ofa good countenance
(sudarsan) and auspicious. I beseech you with folded
hands (bakuchan): I am not angry (ros): ‘Listen: de
not desert the Bakawali and prefer the Juhi. If
Nagmati (nagesar) is to your mind, still she cannot
7131 me in speech (bol). I have become cf good conduct
(sadbarg) and taken refuge: hereafter, my beloved, de
what you will do (karna).”’
However much (ket) the lady (garden) gave counsel,
lest the bee should be pierced by the thorn, still he said
“T will die in Chitaur: I will perform the horse-sacrifice
[there. }’’
5. When Padmavati heard of the move for departure
she rose with frightened spirit and beat her head. Her
eyes became wet and filled with tears: “I must leave
[she said] this paradise of Singhala. I shall leave my
home and go into exile: this is the day for which I wept
before. I shall leave my own friends and companions:
it is a far journey : I shall leave them and set forth alone.
Where there can be no remaining without departing, why
(0) Referring to what Gandharvasen said in 31(15)8
(ce) This stanza contains a string ns on flower names, many of
them untranslateable, cp. 27(41) and 36(1) [0 v. 6 bof san, Shukla finds
9 pun in ‘bol’ms(l) speech (2) an Arabian shrub. Pt. Kanta Nath Pande
_— mob sare (equal worth) with a pun on ‘mawlsiss’ (name of a shrub),
# brilliant emendation,
कैः: Soy RATANSEN'S LRAVE-TAEING 237
did I not die there at my very birth? What happiness
have I experienced from coming to this my home? It
has ‘been only the likeness of a dream. My father was
unkind in keeping his girl child alive. Why has he given
her in marriage and thus sent her into exile?”
Sorrow came and attacked her heart: her spirit was
besieged, as it were. She wept for distress of mind,
stopping in every chamber.
6. Thereafter Padmavati called ‘her companions :
hearing of the departure they all came together. ‘Come
to me, my companions: I am going to a place from which,
when I have gone, I shall not return again. That land is
beyond the seven seas: how shall we ever meet, or how
shall any message come? I am setting out on a difficult
road to a distant country: I know not whether I shall
have weal or woe. My father has not shown kindness in
his heart : who there will grasp my arm and preserve me ?
I and you have disported ourselves in company one with
another: but the end has brought severance and laid it
on my neck. While life lasts, I cannot bear to be separa-
ted from stich friends as you, such dear companions.
“If my lover bids me go, what can I do? His command
cannot be set aside. Whether I shall meet with you
again or not, let us, my companions, embrace.”’
7. ‘When the lady weeps, all her companions weep
also: ‘Seeing you [they say] we lament on our own ac-
count. If one like you cannot remain, then what of us,
who are not our own mistresses? He who is our father,
the beginning and the end, he did not think of this day
in his heart. He 15 pitiless and has not shown pity: why
should blame attach to us [on account of] one grain of
wheat? Why, even the heart of a wheatgrain may be
split, but that father does not feel in his heart. We have
beheld our clever friend living in this her home as if she
were a mere guest. She would not have desired her own
(f} This stanza 18 allegorical As a girl has to leave her father’s
house for that of her husband, 80 the soul has only a temporary home in
this life. This is due to Eve’s ain in eating (in Muslim egend) & of
wheat, and to her being oxiled from Paradise, vide Akharawat 7(2) and
Shukla’s Introduction P, 201, 238
a8 RATANBEN'S LERAVE* TAXING $3: ay
heme if there had been such great advantage in her `
husband's house.
“We were born to make a journey : we have not learnt
how to journey after coming hither. If he now will send
us on out journey, who will clasp our feet and detain us ?
8. “You are but a girl: your beloved is King in both
worlds : pride and high temper beseem him. All manner
of fruits and flowers are-on his branches: if he chooses
he will phick them’ off : if he chooses, he will keep them.
[Keeping] his commands in your heart remain ever sub-
ject to his hand: do him service, placing your forehead
on the ground. The banyan tree and the pipal, which
hold their heads high, and the pakar, to these [God] has
given a small fruit. The gourd which creeps and lays
its head on the ground, it has received a large fruit, which
is of profit in the world. The mango which bends low
when it bears fruit has an ambrosial fruit superior to all
others. That loved one is truly dear to her lord who re-
mains subject to his commands, surpassing all others in
doing him service.”’
They draw a horoscope and look for a day for the
journey, to see on what day the setting forth should be.
““If the spirit of the region is subject to an inauspicious
-planetary conjunction do not journey straight forward :
‘it is death.”
9.9 On Sunday and Friday the demon of eclipse is in
the Western region: on Thursday there 15 conflagration
in the region of Lanka in the south. On Monday and
Saturday journeys should not be made to the Hast: on
Tuesday and Wednesday there is death in the northern
region. If anyone must needs set forth, I will declare the
(ह) Visasul (Dikewt) and Chak YoginiI are terms of judicial astrology.
The Yogintls (by name Brahmant, Maheswart, Kumirt, Narnyant, Varant,
Indrani, Chamunda, and Mahalakemt) are devis presiding over the eight
pointe of the compass see note (j) also.
That I Rave been able to offer some sort of translation of the ensuing
astrological stanzas is due to the kindness of Rai Bahadur Pandit Padmakar
Dube, who has given me a note on them. Pt. Padmakar Dube, retired
District M न and at present president of the Nagari Pracharini Sabha,
18 a bon of Mahamahopadhyaya Pandit Sudhakar Dvivedi, Sir George Grierson’s
क fe e. His note shows that Jaisi’s astro is not altogether in
accordance with approved authorities, such as ee ubtrte Chintimani.
ॐ: 9-11 RATANSEN’S LEAVE-TAKING ८. |
remedies to prévent the disease. If he sets forth on a
Tuesday he should put coriander seed in his mouth:
if he travels on a Monday he should look upon a murror.
If he-sets forth on a Friday he should put mustard seed
in his mouth: if he goes to the South on a Thursday, he
should eat gur. On a Sunday he should put pan in his
mouth and crush it: on a Saturday he should chew bai-
birang’. On a Wednesday, make a meal of curds before
setting out: these are the remedies: there is no [need]
to seek others.
Now hear the points of the Yogini, which do not remain
fixed. In thirty days the moon circles round the eight
points of the compass.
10. The 12th, 70६11, 4th, and 27th are counted as_ the
Yogini of the west. On the oth, 16th, 24th and Ist it
stays in the south east. The 3rd, 11th, 26th and 18th,
count these as the Yogini of the south. On the 2nd, the
25th, the 17th and the 1oth it dwells in the South west.
On the 23rd, 30th, 8th and 15th the Yogini confronts you
in the East. On the 14th, 22nd, 29th and 7th the Yogini
goes to the North. On the 2oth, 28th, 13th and 5th it
dances in the North east.
On the 21st and the 6th the Yogini is in the North East.
Counting this way, he who wishes to be initiated should
read the points of the Yogini compass.
Ir. On the ‘Pariwa and on the ninth, the East is not
auspicious : on the 2nd and on the roth the North is ill-
omened. On the 3rd and on the 11th the south-east will
injure: on the 4th and on the 12th you must avoid the south
west. On the 5th and on the 13th to the south is ‘Ramesh-
wari : on the 6th and on the 14th to the west 15 Parmeshwart.
On the 7th and on the full moon Indrani is to the North-
west: on the eighth and on the new moon Lakshmi is to the
(h) A medicinal seed, embelia ribes.
(i) Pariva is the first day of the lunur half month. The lunar days
do not (like the solar days of the week) begin after midnight, but are of
al lengths. The bright half month ends with the full moon the
dark half month with the new.
(j) Rameshwari, Parmeshwan, Indrani (Achhi for कभ the many-eyed
one and Lakshmi (L&chhi). Jaisi has not got the names and compass points
of these Yoginis quiteright. Theyshould be Brahman! (south), Indrani (west).
Chimunds or Chandika (N. W.) and Mah&lakshm! (WV. Z.) See note (8) also.
230 RATANSEN'S LEAVE-TAKING 33 २.
North-east. Recite the names of the lunar days and of the
constellations and of the solar days and, when you have
arranged for an auspicious day“ send something in advance.
The auspicious moment and conjunction must be found :
the node of evil influence must be avoided. He who knows
how to read the Yogini Chakra defeats hostile might and
brings Fortune to his house.
Her lord in joyful contemplation set forth for his happy
home : she trembled, her body shook, and her spirit was
seized with palpitation.
12. The Ram, the Lion, the Archer dwell in the East :
the Bull, Capricorn, the Virgin in the region of Yama (the
South), The Twins, the Balance and the Waterjar in the
West : the Crab, the Fish, and the Scorpion in the North.
If anyone sets out to make a journey, he will have great
advantage if ‘Som’ (the moon) is opposite to him. The
moon on the right always brings happiness, but the moon
on the left brings sorrow and misfortune. It is fatal (to
go) to the North on a ‘Sunday. On a Monday the North
west 15 fatal: one should not set forth. On Tuesday the
west is fatal : on Wednesday the South-west : on Thursday
the South, and on Friday the South west. On Saturday
death dwells in the East: but if one sets death behind
his back and goes [in the opposite direction] he may laugh.
When there are the Archer and the moon and the might
of the star all at one time, it is the day for setting forth
and there will be great good fortune.
13. When the moon 15 in the first [sign of the Zodiac] its
star is in the East : when in the second, you must consider it
in the North-east. । In the third, North, and in the fourth
North-west : in the fifth, count it in the West. In the
sixth South-west, and South in the seventh : in the eighth
it goes and dwells in the South-east. In the ninth the moon
dwells in {the house of] the Earth: in the tenth the same
moon resides in heaven. In the eleventh the moon comes
(k) Prasthan. The practice of sending some luggage or food ahead
on & ela date, if a start on an inauspicious date is unavoidable, the
object being to persyade the powers of evil that one is really starting on
the earlier date.
(0) I am not sure if it is the days, or the influences of the planets
(sun, moon, Mars etc.), which govern the days, which are referred to here.
नि: 2315 RATANSEN'S LEAVE-~TAKING agi
back again to the East: “{he who travels then] passes
his days in great affliction. "Asuni, Bharani and Revati
are auspicious : Mrigasir, Mul and Punarbasu are mighty.
[Under] Pushya, Jyeshtha, Hasta and Anuradha, he who
desires success may accomplish his object.
Divide the lunar day, the asterism and the solar day
by eight and by seven. The first and last and°® middle
portions, these are for ill fortune and good fortune.
14. The first, sixth and eleventh lunar days are called
‘Nanda’ : the second,' seventh and twelfth ‘Manda’. The
third, eighth and thirteenth are ‘Jaya’: the fourth, four-
teenth and ninth are ‘Khaya’. The full-moon, tenth and
fifth are ‘Puran’. If ‘Nanda’ and Friday [coincide], or’
‘Manda’ and Wednesday, you may dance for joy. On
a Sunday, take the asterism Hasta for success : on a Thurs-
day, tell of Pushya, Sravan and the moon. On Wednes-
day, Bharani, Revati and Anuradha [are auspicious]: the
new moon, Rohini means success. ‘Rahw’ comes from the
conjunction of the moon and [the shadow of the] Earth: it
is then that the eclipse of the moon is brought about and
takes place. On Sunday, take ‘Rikta’’ [as [auspicious],
and on Tuesday ‘Jaya’: if Thursday [coincides with] the
first lunar day, you may attain full accomplishment of
all your aims.
‘If the Sun is in the sign of the moon, that is the
‘Amavas’ [new moon] : if the Earth is between them, then
there is an eclipse of the Sun.
15. “Come, come’; it was her lord’s word of
starting : death looks not for any precise time when taking
life. Bidding farewell to all, she mounted her vehicle `
(m) We are not told what happens whew the moon is in the 12th signa
of the zodiac. Possibly divas 18 a wrong reading for dvmdas,
(n) These are names of lunar asterisms.
(9) Pt. Padmakar Dube emends madhya for budk, which has no
meaning here,
(p) I have conjectured mande for bhae, which Pt. Kamlakar
Dube rejects,
(q) Askia is another name for khayw the class-name of the 4th,
14th and 9th Tithis or lunar days.
(r) Adopting Pt. Kamlakar Dube’s conjecture of ‘Jaya for Ajna,
which is meaningless here.
(8). Pandit Kamlakar Dube’s conjectures Sasi for chhate and
for pariwa make sense out of nonsense in this couplet,
aya RATANSEN'S LRAVETAKING 88 : I5¢#7
the day she feared had arrived. Her mother, her feather
and her brothers wept: noone could stay her when her
lover made her set forth. All the folk of Singhala who
dwelt in her home wept, [saying], “the King has set forth,
taking her away with music. Ravan left his kingdom:
what of anyone else? He leit Lanka, and ‘Bibhishan
took it.’ Her companions pressed upon her: she went
round embracing them all: at last she came face to face
with her lover. In the end, noone is anything to anyone
else: all are bound in illusion and deception and cling
thereto.
Golden bodied was the queen: not art ounce of flesh
remained. It was for her lover to put her on the touch-
stone and fashion either bracelet or necklace.
16. When everyone had returned, after bringing
them on their way, both virtue and vice went with them.
And with them went everything prepared for the journey :
it was only that king [Ganhdarvasen] who could give so
much. Serving miids went with them in 3 thousand
litters: all were lotus maidens of Singhala. Tuey had
prepared fine bejewelled silks: they had four and more
lakhs of baskets filled with them, {Gandharvasen] took
out of his treasury jewels and precious stones, rubies and
pearls, and gave chariot loads of them. The testers tested
these jewels and said that each of them was worth a
continent. Thousands of strings of horses went with
them and a hundred strings of Singhala elephants.
If the pen began to write them it could not add up the
tale and tell it. {The value of all was | an arab, ten
kharabs, a nil, a sankh and a crore of padmas of arbuds."
17. When he saw all this wealth, the king [Ratansen]
was uplifted by pride: he did not look at anyone else.
(४) A Rakshar, brother of Ravan, whom Rama made king of Lahka
after slaying Ravan, ए 33(4)I.
{a) 1 arab = 100 kror,
1 kharab = 100 arab,
1 wil = 100 kharah,
1 sankh om 10 kharab,
1 arbud = 10 kror,
1 Ero
op. 24(3)6 note (i).
$2: 17-88: 1 RATANSEN’S LEAVE-TAKING 232
“Although I am beyond the sea, yet who is equal to me
in this world ?’’ Pride comes from wealth; greed has a
poisonous root : ‘Charity’ was not, still less ‘Verity’. Charity
and Verity are two brothers’ : where charity 15 not, verity
departs also. Where there is greed, there sin is its
companion : a man will die after hoarding up a store for
others. He who is enlightened regards wealth as a fire:
one man is burnt by it, another warms himself. For one
it is the moon; for another the demon of eclipse: for
one ambrosia, for another poison.”’
So the king’s mind was lost in the dark abyss of greed
and sin. The Ocean came and stood by him, taking the
form cf a mendicant.
१
33. THE HOMEWARD JOURNEY
1. The ships were loaded and [the King] set forth
. taking his queen. The mendicant* tested his truth by
asking alms. ‘Be not greedy: give largesse: giving is
more excellent than any virtue. God has ordained wealth
for alms-giving: from giving, salvation results and dis-
tress passes away. Giving 1s an addition to all wealth :
giving is interest and saves one’s principal. Giving res-
cues in mid stream: giving plies oars to bring one to
shore. By giving largesse Karn was saved in both worlds :
Ravan hoarded and was burnt with fire. By giving, Meru
has grown to touch the sky : by hoarding < प्ल died in
its neighbourhood.
(v) Dutta tne virtue of liberality,—sala the virtue of truth. The
description of them as brothers offers a remarkable parallel to Martin
Luther’s fable of Date and Dabitur quoted by Browning (Dramatic Romances:
The Twins.)
“Then the beggar, See your sins !
Of old, unless I err,
Ye bad brothers for inmates, twins
Date and Dabitur.
While Date was in good case,
Dabitur flourished too....”’
In Akhiri Kalam (14)4 Datt and Satt leave the world together in the
evil days before the Last Judgment.
Canto 33
.(a) ६.९. the Ocean, —32(17)9.
(0) Kuber, the god of wealth, wasastep brother of Ravan. There
is no legend of his death, so faras I know. Jaisi correctly mentions Alakpur
a8 his dwelling place in 50(5)5, see Shukla’s Introduction p. 229.
30
a4 THE HOMEWARD JOURNEY 98 : ४-3
‘Where there are forty parts of wealth, one part therem
is mine. Otherwise, it will be burnt or sunk in the sea,
or thieves will filch it at night.”’
2. When he heard that [talk of] giving, the king was
incensed : ‘‘You foolish mendicant [he said] why do you
talk so foolishly? That man is a man indeed who has
hoarded wealth: listen and I will tell you how many
things come from wealth. With wealth a man can show
pride if hé wishes to: with wealth he can buy earth and
heaven.- By wealth paradise will come into his hands.
With wealth, Achharis are ever with him. By wealth the
virtueless man is virtuous: by wealth the hunchback
becomes handsome. If there is wealth under-ground,
one’s forehead 51111168" : considering this, who can give away
wealth? By wealth come righteousness, good works and
kingship: by wealth one’s intelligence is clear and one
shouts with strength.”
The Ocean said “Fie, greedy one. Wealth is your
enemy: do not lock it up. Wealth 15 not anyone’s own:
it is [like] a serpent shut in a basket.”
3. They had not come to the middle of the sea when
a wind arose, a tornado from the north. Waves rose and
the sea was churned up: it lost its way and drew near to
heaven. The foulest weather came that there had ever
been: such a wind blew that rocks flew about. The ships
that were sailing, aiming for Chitaur, were driven out of
their course in the direction of Jjanka. If the steers-
man accepts a cargo and cannot reach the other shore,
how can he show pride? The cargo of wealth does not
rise with anyone: it becomes hostile to him who has
amassed it. The bird which grasps a stone cannot fly:
he who says ‘Mine, mine’ will sink.
Those who think of wealth as sometlung that is their
own are mistaken when they लिः pride in it. Those
(५) Cp,in the Sanskrit sloka यल्पा्थाः षपुर्माह्लोके |
(१) ॥ An allusion to the proverb quoted by Shukla Gada hat bhaadar,
barat has lidar (If a man has treasure buried, his forehead shines). Shukla’s
maadar (trench) must be a misprint for bhaadars.
(6) Shukla explains manathin as man mea, but it seems better to take
it aw 8. werbal form from manana.
83: 3-5 THE HOMEWARD JOURNEY 235
who cannot lift it and take it, are sunk in the water,
4. There was a mariner of Bibhishan': he came
hunting for fish. He was a Rakshas of Lanka, exceedingly
black: when he approached, darkness came. He had
five heads and ten arms: he had been burnt black when
Lanka was burnt. Smoke rose from his mouth together
with his breath: fire issued when he spoke a word. He
shook his head like a horse-hair plume: his teeth pro-
jected and came outside his mouth. He had the body of
a bear, but bears were frightened of him: as soon as he
saw anyone he ran as though to devour him. His eyes
were red when he came near: everyone was filled with
fear at seeing this fearful monster.
The earth was at his feet, the heaven at his head: he
was like Sahasrabahu*®. Amcng the moon, the sun and
the stars" he was like the demon of eclipse to the
sight.
5. The ships were driveti on: they did not obey the
mariners : seeing the king, the demon laughed in his mind.
“After many days this is the second time that the hunger
of the python has been 58115060. If Bibhishan gets this
lotus lady’ it will be as though he had to-day pitched
his camp in Ajodhya. It will be as though Ravan had
obtained Sita and had dwelt in Lanka after defeating
Rama.” Just as a crane approaches when it has seen a
fish, so he lifted his feet and placed them stealthily on the
ground. When he had come near he salaamed and asked
hew they fared and what was their business. He who
was the demon of treachery created full confidence by’
doing service.
“Friends, how have you lost your way, and to what
(f) Bibhishan, the ruler of Lank&, see 32(15)5 note {7}.
(zg) The thousand-armed Arjun; not the Arjun of the Mahabharat,
but the hero of many stories in the Puranas.
(h) Shukla explains the sun as Ratansen, the moon 28 Padmavati and
the ४६६78 as her companions.
(i) The meaning is ‘There has been no such desirable prey since the
rape of 8118 by Ravan. Padmavati will now make a similar suitable prisoner
for Bibbishan’,
{1} Jaisi here uses bisu7a in the right sense. He generally uses it
wrongly, as in v, 8 of the next stanza. See Shukla’s Introduction p, 263,
236 THE HOMEWARD JOURNEY 88 : 549
shore have you come? J am your servant, such a servant
as will set you on the right way.”
6. When calamity befalls, the spirit is foolish, and
whoever speaks good words appears good. The king
called the demon to his side, and put him in front, as
though he had found the way. Placing confidence in the
demon, he said to him, “Guide the ships so that they
shall not be storm-tossed. You are the mariner at the
head of all the mariners: rescue us and bring the ships
to shore. If I reach through your help the landing place
on the far shore, I will give you a collar set with the jewels
of the nine planets" to wear. I will set pendents in
your ears and I will give you the wages of a master mariner.
I will so fulfil your hopes that no trace of your demon
nature will remain.”
The king gave him pan : he did not realise his treachery.
The crane, for the sake of his own food, becomes the slave
of the fishes. ~
7. The demon said “My humble respects to your
majesty. The race of demons are good servants. When
Rama set fire to Lanka I did not forsake my service, but
was burnt black. Now too I will stick to you and do
service : men lose their way, but I will go before you.
Where Raghava made the Setubandh' dam, there I will
place you, taking your cargo on my shoulders. But now
let me straightway receive some largesse, and I will at
once row you there and place you on the dam. If straight-
way you cheerfully give largesse into my hand”, you
(k) The navagraha are the 9 planets. To counteract the adverse
influence of each planet there is a particular precious stone, as follows :—
Adit (Sun) ie sa lahsuniya (cat’s eye)
Som (Moon) .. nilam (sapphire)
Mangal (Mars) .. manik (ruby) `
Budh (Mercury) pukhr& (topaz)
Brhaspati (Jupiter) moti (pearl)
ukra (Venus) .. 111 & (diamond)
Sani (Saturn) .. 10708 (coral)
R&hu (eclipse) , , gomeda (opal)
Ketu (comets etc.) pann& (emerald)
(1) Setubandh, Adam’s bridge; the causeway made by R&ma with
the aid of the monkeys Nala and Nila, for the assault on Lanké.
(m) Pani. Shukla has ‘from your hand’, which may be right, or it
may be dan pan (largesse and p&n).
88: 7-9 - THE HOMEWARD JOURNEY 437
will for a small gift receive much in return. If you give
largesse after exacting service, you should not count it
as largesse hut as [wages] of service.”
The lights were extinguished, truth was lost, that truth
whose beauty had been spotless. The tornado lifted up
the ships and carried them to the dark abyss.
8. . Where there is a gulf in the mid-stream of the sea
the water whirls round at the gate of hell. After whirling
round and round the water is condensed at that place:
he who falls therein never comes out again. At that
place is the city of Mahirawan", a knife-edge hike the
knife of Yama° beneath the waves. At that place
Mahirawan was slain: his bones lie there as if a range of
mountains stood there. The spine of his back which lies
there appears to the view like Setubandh. The demon
came and reached this place: the ships fell into the
whirlpool. The ships when they came there began to
whirl round just as a potter holds his wheel and twirls it.
The King said ““Ho, demon: you are behaving foolishly
of set intent. See, here is Setubandh. Why do you not
lead us thither 2.
9. Hearing the word ‘Setubandh’ the demon laughed :
it was as though the sky broke in pieces and fell on the
earth. ‘‘Who is foolish? It is you who are seen to be
foolish. He who 15 foolish, is yet wise for the sake of his
food. The winged insect”, which is foolish and dwells
in a house of clay, stretches out its tongue and eats all
the ants. It 15 you who are foolish and have come to
be eaten up: even then, you showed no understanding
and Jost your way. The backbone of Mahirawan which
lies there, that you call Setubandh, siuce vour wits have
been cozened. This is the city of Mahirawan, where
heaven is near to you and your home is far. Now you
regret having collected so much wealth: go you up to
heaven, and there wring your hands.
(n) Mahir&évan, a Rakshas, the son of Ravan.
(७) Yamak&tar, besides meaning the knife of Yama, the god of
death, 88 in 16(3)2, may also mean a whirlpool. In 53(9)7 it appears to
mean Adam’asgbridge, which is compared to it here.
(p) Idonot know what insect 18 referred to. P#akAt would ordinarily
mean the winged termite or white ant, but it does not eat other ants,
238 THE HOMEWARD JOURNEY 98 $9---84:.1
“That Mahirawan, who, in his life-time, bore the burden
of the world, when he died did not take his bones with
him: he has become a mountain, and lies here.”’
10. The ships whirled round, and so did all the water :
the demon danced : all hope was lost’. Elephants, horses,
men were drowned: thedevourers of carrion flocked together
from all directions. At that moment a Roc (royal bird)
approached: when it flapped its wing it was as though a
- mountain peak were broken away. Its sight fell on that
vile demon: it saw him as if he had been an exceedingly
fat elephant. It came and rushed upon that demon: it
seized him and flew off, and the whirling of the water
ceased. All the ships had been broken to pieces: it could
not be known where they had gone to. The king and his
queen were on two planks: both were carried by the
current and went in different directions.
He joineth the body and the spirit: when He slays
them he makes two divisions. The body, weeping, falls
to earth: the spirit departs to the universe.’
34. LAKSHMI AND THE OCEAN
I. The queen Padmavati fell into a swoon: she knew
not where was her life or where her lord. Tike an effigy
carved and fixed upon it she lay on the plank and floated
wherever it went. She who was so exceedingly delicate
that she had never endured the wind lay in a limitless
sea of sorrow. A daughter of the ocean, named
Lachhmi (lucky is he whom she meets) was playing
with her girl companions, and the plank came ashore on the
sand where she was. One of her companions said, ‘Look
at that plank. A statue is fixed on it and it has floated
to the beach. From what I can see, there is breath in the
woman: the flower has died, but the scent survives.”
She who had been rosy with the hue of love, like a
velvet insect, came floating in the sea of curds, and yet
her colour did not fade.
(q) SoShukla. But can dunt mean ‘was lost’? Ordinarily it would
mean ‘arrived’. Perhaps ‘he had gained his object’.
(7), The allegory is obscure. For baramhaag see note (4) to 1(1)7,
34: 2-4 LAKSHMI AND .THE OCEAN 249
2. Lachhmi beheld the thirty two points’ of beauty :
she said, ‘‘She is not dead: comfort her, my companions.
Her body, which is as thin as paper, has been blown about
by the wind and has fallen in the midst of the water.
The waves have buffeted her and soaked her with sea
water: but even so, her beauty and colour are not
diminished.”’ She herself took [the lady’s] head in her
lap and sat down: her companions fanned her on all
sides. When she came again to her senses and the spirit
returned to her body, she asked for water, saying ‘piu’”.
Lachhmi’s companions gave her water to drink and laved
her face: they were Padmini girls, luke water lilies with
the lotus. Then Lachhmi asked her about her sorrows :
“Tell me all about yourself’, knowing that I too am a
woman.
“When I behold your excellent beauty, 1t makes a
deep impression on my thought. Of what city are you a
citizen? What, lady, is your name?”
3. The lady came to her senses and looked, opening
her eyes wide: what did she see? Only the sands of the
sea [shore]. She saw noone familiar there: she asked
‘Who are you? Where am J? Where are those com-
panions of mine, like water-lilies with the lotus? They
are not here: where have they abandoned me? Where
in the world is my beloved lord whom God has made
grand as Sumeru? His grand love is limitless and has
placed itself upon my heart as if it were a mountain. I,
who have been covered with love’s grandeur, how shall
I exist if I am oppressed with a burden of sorrow? My
lord has, as it were, crushed the lotus bud and has set it
afloat in the water of ocean.
“The wind of severance came: I lay distraught on the
plank : when my noble tree has crushed and abandoned
me, to whose branches shall I cling ?”’
4. They said “We know not your beloved. We
found you when no spirit remained in you. You came
Canto 34
(a) See 2(25)8 note (86) for the 32 points of woman.
(b) Pitie(1) drink (2) beloved.
(9) I have omitted Shukla’s exclamation mark after Hiriy#, as suggested
by Pt. Kamla Nath Pande.
240 LAKSEMI AND THE OCEAN 84: 4-6
floating, lying on the plank: so it is that we know not
where he is.” Then perception came to Padmavatit's
mind: remembering her severance, she swooned away
as if dead. From her eyes blood flowed in streams’:
it was like the blood [that would flow if] her head were
cut off. At one moment she was conscious, at another
she was distraught: the sandal paste and frankincense
on her body became like ashes. She became bewildered
and fell again on the plank, saying, ‘Send me floating
to the shore where my lover is. Who will make a Hcl
fire and set fire to me? A pair of saras cranes cannot be
separated and live.
“Set fire to the head’ of her on whose head severance
has fallen. Let people say, ‘She has mounted the pyre?’
I shall be burnt for the sake of my beloved.”’
5.' “In the ocean of my body I look for my beloved :
I see that jewel (Ratansen) in my heart. It is as though
my 0050111 were a mirror and my beloved showed his
appearance therein. The eyes are near but they reach
very far: now for his sake I will waste away and die.
My beloved is in my heart but we cannot meet: who
will bring us together? To whom shall I speak, weeping ?
My breath is ever going forth to come to him, yet it does
not come and tell me any message. My eyes become king-
fishers and hover, but they do not dive and strike. My
mind is like the bee whose home is in the lotus: though
it becomes a diver, it does not find [its object] and bring
it.
“He is a true comrade who can endure to the end with
one, whether in prosperity or adversity. HH by being
burnt, my spirit can meet my beloved, then, spirit, be
burnt and meet him.”
6. With the purpose of becoming Sati she uncovered
her head: it was as if lightning* had cleft a wound in a
thick cloud. The vermilion burnt as though it had
(१) Literally jugfuls ; the sur&hi ordinarily holds about 9 quart.
(6) The second sir should perhaps be ear (funeral pyre). They would be
the same in Persian script. ‘Set fire to the funeral pyre of her.......... ।
(1) As Shukla points out (Introduction p. 76/77) this is one of the
pecs which can be interpreted ailegorically of the relation of the soul
to ;
(8) १.६. the parting line in her dark hair was like lightning in a cloud
O4:6-8 ` LAKSHMI AND THE OCEAN 24%
caught fire: the fire of her head could not. be controlled.
The parting was left like strung pearls: again and again
it was burnt when she wept. The pearls of severance
which filled [the parting] were broken: they fell like
drops of rain showering down in Sawan. Her youth flared
up with a blazing flame: it was like gold which has fallen
into the fire. She asked for fire, but noone gave it: they
all gave her air and water, as to a guest. Her slender
waist” was broken with its burden of woe: without her
loyer, by whose strength could she stand? ॥
She enchanted the birds with her weeping: it was
like the prelude of the Kokila. Her beloved had left
her, the trunk of which she was the. golden creeper.
7. Iachhmi began to quench the fire of her spirit
[saying], ‘Live, sister, do not die: you will find your
beloved. Drink water and draw the breath of life. Like
me, you too are a child of ocean. I will for your sake#
take to my bed': my father shall search every beach.
He whom I meet has great good fortune: I will give you a
royal. throne and wedded happiness.” When she had
spoken and advised her she took her and went straight
home: a meal was prepared, but the lady would not eat.
She who is separated from her lover, where for her is
appetite, where is pleasant sleep? Where is Sumeru and
where is the serpent-lord?’ Who is there who will bring
a message from him ?
Lachhmi went to the ocean and, weeping, moved the
matter. The Ocean said ‘He is on my beach I will
brjng him to her to-morrow.”’
8. The king was carried floating to a place where
there was no crow to take a message. There was a moun-
tain peak there, where everything was camphor and coral.
He climbed up it and searched, but there was. none of
his companions: of the wealth which he had collected,
(४) There are the usual puns on lanka and Ravan.
(i) १.६, ‘Twill take to my bed and sulk until my father does what‘ I
want him to’, (Shultta’s note shows that the practice, as well as the phrase,
is still current).
(j) Sumern and 8688, #.¢. heaven and hell. A proverbial expression
for things which are poles apart, but it does not quite fit the context either
here or in 34(10)3. a
bh | ¢
242 LAKSHMI AND THE OCEAN 94; -8
nothing came to his hand. ‘He had been like Ravan
dwelling in Lanka, but now all was lost, and noone could
be found by searching. Groaning-aloud,sthe king wept,
“Why did I leave my kingdom of. Chitaurgarh? Where?
is all the wealth and treasure tltat was mine? Where are
the army and the equipment thereof that were mine?
Where are the horses, gallant and strong? - Where are
the elephants of Singhala that were mine?
‘Where is queen Padmavati, in whom my spirit had
its dwelling? Calling all these things mine, I have lost
them, and have gone astray in an abyss of pride.
0. “That Guru who should bring the bee to a meeting
with the Ketaki, if he should ask for my kingdom, he
should straightway obtain it. Wherever I may hear
news of my lotus bride, I will fall into fire or plunge into
water {to come there]. I will search the mountains and
the peak of Meru: I will go up to heaven and descend to
hell, Where shall I find that spiritual guide and ins-
tructor who will discover and tell me the inaccessible
road? J have fallen into the ocean depths, where there is
no opposite shore and no bottom. When Sita was carried
away and Rama did battle, it was only when Hanuwant
joined him that he regained his beloved. For me there is
noone : whom shall I entreat' with tears? Who will gird
hithself with strength and seek her out for me?
‘The bee which has found the lotus has imagined many
a sport in its mind. If an elephant comes and treads
upon it, it destroys the plant.
10, “Whom shal] I call upon, to whom shall I gp?
Who would be a friend-in need at this place? Who will
mightily churn up this ocean in this time of difficulty :
who, having churned it, will extract from.it jewels and
precious stones“? Where are Brahma, Vishnu and Mahesh?
Where is Sumeru and where is 6652 Who will make
such preparation and take me out,—-with Vasuki as the
rope and Sumeru as the pestle? Who will churn the
ocean of curds as it was churned of yore? Action is the
(k} Or ‘save from it Ratansen and Padmavati’,
(1) Sumeru and Ses are here, not the opposite poles, as in 3€(7)7, but
the pestle an string for churning the ocean,
%
$4: 102 ` LASSHMI AND THE OCEAN 243
essential thing and not the telling of tales. Until someone
churns, giving his whole spirit to it, the ghi will not
come out with a straight finger". The ocean has taken
my jewel and has gone on his way. If he were hard
pressed he would bring her to light
“He has swallowed her and is now lying relaxed with
that precious thing in his maw. Who will bring light to
the world by uncovering the moon whiqp has been eclipsed 2
17. “‘O Yjord, thou who art the creator : ou hast
made this limitless ocean. Thou dost sustain the sky
and the firmament whereof there is no prop, no beam, no
pillar. Thou hast set the earth above the water: 11
supports the weight of the world and is not wearied with
that weight. The moon and the sun and the systems of
the stars in fear of thee run their course by day and
night. "Water, air, fire and earth, thy rod is on all their
backs. He is a fool, and blind and senseless who, leaving
thee, fastens his mind on any other. In every form in the
world thou mayest be seen: I am blind in that I cannot
see thy dwelling-place clearly.
‘Air has become water, water has become fire, fire has
become earth;: all has become a Gorakhdhandha’
(mystery).
2. “It is thou who joinest spirit and body, giving
life: it is thou who separatest them, and joinest them
[again]. All the fourteen worlds are in thy hand: ever
thing that is separated comes together again. In thee 15
the essence and the secret of everything: thou dost make
‘the smallest hair grow again where is broken. Thou
knowest all my state: it is like that of one of a pair of
saras cranes that are separated. If one dies the other
will die calling, upon it again and again: it cannot remain
(m) A proverbial expression.—nothing worth while can be accompli
shed without effort
(n) The four elements in this stanza (earth, air, fire and water) are
thoge of arth (derived from Greek) philosophy. But there is @ fifth elgment
(ether or spirit) in both Muslim and Hindu philosophy, vide Dara shikt fh :
Majma-ul- Bahrain, I, Discourse on the elements. .In 50(8)7, 54(7)6, and
Akhiri Kalam (2)2 Jaisi speaks of the five elements
| (०) See note (a) to 12(1) for Gorakhdhandha in the meaning of an
actual puzgle. Here it means the riddle of the universe. The puzzle carried
by aa Yogis is perhaps a symbol of this mystery and of its solution
y Yoga
244 LAKSHMI AND THE ०८६५४ ^ ४4: 125
its life is completed. In grief and anguish I endure muck
distress : I will cut off my head and quickly get release.
If I die it will be with the name of Padmavati on my lips :
do thou, our maker, make us come togetheg.
“Meeting with the beloved is difficult. Let noone sleep
at ease. Here and now one should fear in his mind lest,
after meeting, there should be separation.”
13. Having sayl this, he rose and came to the (shore
of the] ocean: he drew his scimitar and laid it to his
‘throat. The ocean said ‘A sin is now about to take
place.’ He came and revealed himself in the form of
a Brahman. Twelve ‘tilak’ marks were fashioned on his
forehead: in his hand he held a golden crutch. There
were studs in his ears and a sacrificial thread over his
shoulder: a golden talisman was fastened beneath his
linen robe: there were clogs of gold, studded [with
jewels], on his feet. He gave the king his blessing as he
came to that place. “O prince fhe said] tell me truly,
why are you committing self-murder? Are you dying on
account of scorn or for any disgrace? For what reason
are you giving up your life?
“Do not lay the scimitar to your throat: understand
and see in your mind. He who takes his life by force
[commits] a great fault and sin.”’
14. “Who will give you an answer, O "Pande? Let
kim speak, whose spirit is in his body*. [I am a king of
Jambu-dvipa : I have done that which it was not seemly
to do". I went tg Singhala dvipa and married as my
wife the daughter i the king’s house. He, gave many
ships as dowry and filled them with priceless jewels of
purest ray. There were gems and precious stones, rubies
and pearls: noone ever possessed so much Wealth. There
were carriages, horses, .elephants of Singhala, and two
hundred thousand maidens also went with us, Lotus
(p) Paunde is used as a generic term for Brahman, as it was by Kabir
and also by British soldiers at the time of the mutiny. The use is still
current in the expression Pant, Pande.
(4) Lit. *‰ the earthen vessel. The meaning is ‘Iam already as good
as dead : why ask me ?`
(7) Perhaps we might read ju kahai na chhaja, (which there is no
pleasure in relating).
$4: 24-47 ` LAKSHMI AND ‘HE OCEAN ` 245
girls of Singhala were they who accompanied us, each
more beautiful than the other.
“Padmavati was the world’s jewel of beauty. How
81811 I tell my boundless woe? I lost her in the ocean:
How shall J live alone ?”’
15, The Ocean smiled: there was a gleam of radiance.
He said “All the world is drowned when it says ‘This is
mine, this is mine.’ If you had a raft of your own, it
would not be far from you. Be wise and consider to whom
you yourself belong. You may wring your hands and
beat your head for sorrow, yet eyes are not opened in your
heart. Many come [to this world] who weep and beat
their heads because the false things of the world elude
their grasp. If the world is really illusion, who he hoards
does not attain enlightenment, O prince. He who does
attain it does not heap up or bury wealth: he sees the
burden [of it] and drops it half-way. That whiclt was of
the water has gone into the water: that you are alive
is the height of good fortune. ४
“The body and soul are His who gave them: He will
take them away when it pleases Him. -Wealth and
fortune are all His: If He takes them away, what ground
is there for regret ?”’
16. ‘“‘Come, O Pande, what harm is there to any
human being if I obtain my queen Padmavati? I ob-
tained her by penance and when I had found her I
flourished : now I have lost her again I have gone astray
ftom the way. A man does not praise his own wife, yet,
if she is dead or gone, he wishes to remember her. Where
is such a woman upon the face of the earth? Where is the
pleasant shade of such a life? Where is now the chance
of enjoying such bliss and delight? Death is better than
such a life. Where such a gem has been thrown away
in the ocean, how shall the diver wis to live there? As
this ocean has caused me distress, so I will fix blood-
guiltiness on it and carry the feud to Siva’s heaven.
“What thing belonging to it have I destroyed? What
has it remembered as a score against me? I shall go to
heaven and get just€e against it
17. “It you are dead, why do you stand and weep?
246 ` LAKSHMI AND THE OCEAN $4: 17-%
The dead cannot die, nor can he who is dead weep. If
you are dead and have left the body, you cannot again
make the move of death. If you were dead; you would
‘not sink in the water: you would go floating and reach
the shore. You are the most foolish fellow I have met:
you are like Rama the son of Dasrath. He too suffered
severance from his wife: he went wandering tp and down
this ocean, weeping. He came to the sea and made a
dam across it: he slew the ten headed [Ravan] and gave
him a place among the immortals. You have no strength.
Now, close your eyes : I will bring you to the shore: hold
on to my crutch.”
T,ove’s blind fool, when he heard this, was impatient
for the way. [The Ocean] took him in the twinkling of
an eye to the beach where Padmavati was.
18. Padmavati had been enduring distress such as
Sita entlured beneath the Asok tree’. On [her body like]
a golden tree there were two orange fruits (her breasts):
owing to their’ weight she could not mse and stand up-
right. Her curling tresses were like serpents biting these :
they climbed up to her head and displayed her bosom.
She remained [like a lotus] leaning on its stalk, burnt with
distress: she was half lotus and half moon. Her hips
were like two lotus roots, and I would call the line of hair
[on her stomach] a scorpion. She remained broken, like
a golden thread : who was to join her beloved to her, by
the flux of married happiness‘? She ate no pan, but
remained fasting: the flowers withered, no fragrance re-
mained in her body
Sky and earth were drowned in the water: drowning,
she was without breath. She was like the Chatak which
repeats, ‘My love, my love’ and dies of thirst in Sewatt.
19. Lachhmi was flighty, a bird-hke woman: she
deceives him who has truth {in him] by doing him servite.
At the beach at which Ratansen had arrived~ she went
before him and sat down in his path. And she took the
(8) In the Ramayana, Hanuman finds Sita mourning beneath an Asok
tree in Lanka when he brings her Rama’s pe net ring as a pledge of her
deliverance
(t) The usual pun on sokag=(1) married happiness (2) flux. See
10(2)8 note (9)
BA: 19-21 LASKHMI AND THE OCEAN 240
{0 of Padmavati. She made for herself a shade where
the sunshine was hot. Seeing this lotus the king flew to
it, like a bee: but when he drew breath, he did not find
the same fragrance. When he came and gazed, he saw.
Lachhmi: then Ratansen turned his back. If the fair Lachhmi
had been his wife, why should Mahes have left her
and become a mendicant? Then again the lady went
round and stood before him weeping [thinking] ‘How has
this cruel man turned his back on me?’
^ am queen Padmavati [she said] and you are Ratansen,
my beloved. You brought yme to the ocean and deserted
me there. Now I am weeping, having lost my life.”’
20. “Iam the bee [he said]: I am Bhoj. I am going
about seeking for the malati. The malati’ is the wife,
the beewis the husband : if it could find her fragrance, my
spirit would be made firm. Whgt are you, woman, who
sit thus weeping? The flower is the same, but the frag-
rance is not the same. The bee which roves round all
the flowers still seeks for the malati if 1t does not get the
fragrance. Where it does get the fragrance of the malati
it will offer up its life.there and become a slave. If only
the wind would bring that fragrance to me, I should have
a new body, and life would come into my heart". I will
give my life as a sacrifice for that fragrance: I will not
accept the scent of other flowers.
‘The bee desires only the malati: the thorn comes not
to his sight. Even if he falls upon a spear, still he will
not turn his back.”’
21. 9 Then the king laughingly said at that place,
“Take me to where the malati is: I will go.” She took
him with her and came near to Padmavati: she gave
water to, drink ta one who was dying of thirst. The lotus
“which had suffered such penance drank the water: the
sun, which had been hidden in the ocean, arose. [Lachhmi
said] “I have found your lord pn the sea beach, a prince
whose forehead blazes like a jewel. His teeth shine like
the lustre of diamonds: his wide eyes” are filled, as it |
were, with pearls. In arms, in waist, in breast he
Se iat er a A A a RGSS, णकुल ध
(४) Lit. stomaca.
(ए) Lit, saucer-eyes.
248 ` LAXSHMI AND’ THK OCRAN ॐ: 228
surpasses the lion: his form is like that of Krishna -ghen
the herd-maidens saw him. As king Nala made quest
for Damana, so [he] without [thee], his life, is an empty
body.
‘As you are a precious amulet, so this jewel Ratan is
worthy of you. The bee has met with the malati: join,
both of you, and enjoy bliss.” `
22. The lustre of the precious amulet [Padmavati]
had been dimmed: but it returned to her face when she
heard the name of Ratan. It was as though the sun had
revealed himself: the day returned: the lotus was
unfolded. While the lotus, smiling, gazed on the face of
the sun, the sun touched the lotus with his glance. Her
eyes were lotuses, his bright face was the sun: both of
them found bliss rooted in love. The bee saw the malati
and was enamoured : the malati saw the bee and flourished
in the forest. They gazed their fill on each other and
clung together, she finding all she hoped in him, and he
in her. The gold, being burnt, gave, as it were, its life:
the sun arose, and the cold departed. |
The lady fell at her lord’s feet and effaced the dust
with [the tears from] her eyes. All marvelled at the
meeting of the “moon and the lotus.
23. Let not anyone suffer severance, but let all meet
as these two met. When Padmaveti obtained her lord,
it was like the spirit returning to the body of one restored
to life. Making oblation, the lady offered up her body
and mind, and, inclining her neck, fell at his feet [saying]
‘“God has given me to-day a new birth: I was [reduced to]
ashes and am now fashioned in human form.”’ The king
wept as he threw his head dress upon his neck: he clung to
Padmavati’s feet. (god has _ made separation between'
body and spirit: if He had not done so, noone would-
recognise him. It 15 he who slays and reduces to ashes
and effaces: it is he who revives and brings together.
` (Saith Muhammad) If God brings a man a friend who
(w) Shukla explains the moon as Padmavati and the lotus as Ratan-
sen’s feet. Ordinarily, the moon and the ksfwal (dayolus) would not, of
course, meet,
4223-2 LAKSHMI AND THE OCKAN 249
will’ dwell in his mind, and effects a meeting", what profit
is there for a human being in good, or loss in evil fortune?
24. Padmavati said to Lachhmi, “By your favour I
have. obtained what I desired. [But] if we two go away
heaving lost everything, noone who sees us will say that
it is well. Alt those princes, who came With us, and all
the elephants and horses and substance, tf we obtain
these, it means happiness and enjoyment of €: if not,
it means death and enduring sorrow and affliction. Then
Lachhmi. approached her father [and said] ‘‘Let me receive
811 that was hers and that was sunk.’”’ Then he came
with the herb ambrosia and sprinkled it on those that had
died and brought them to life.‘ He brought them and
gave them one by one: the king and queen were -con-
tented in their minds.
-All their companions came and joined them: they
made merry at meeting and greeting: happiness and:
fortune were obtained: sorrow and hardship left them
and went away.
` 25. He gave them many jewels and stones also: of
gold and silver he did not take thought. How shall I
describe and declare before you by name all the precious
stones of great price? Who can tell the beauty and value
of them, when each gem was worth a continent. The cut
diamonds of great price were all picked gems which he
took. If anyone were to exchange a single one of these
jewels for cash, he would be able to do whatsoever was
in his mind. In the pride of wealth their minds went
astray : they did not consider that there was anyone like
them in fortune. Wealth is spoken of as little or great:
each man reckons it in proportion to his needs.
Great and little are both alike provided they are used
in the Lord’s service. Whatever is needed for any parti-
cular service let it be used in that service. |
26. fen days they remained there enjcying hospitality :
then they went to Ocean and took leave of him. Lachhmi
embraced Padmavati and said to her “You are my
i gS
{x} Omitting Shukla’s semicolon after kahak. The meaning appears
250 LAXSHMI AND THE OCEAN 84: 26-98
daughter.” Ocean gave them rolled leaves of pan which
he had filled with jewels and precious stones and diamonds,
He also gave them five special ‘jewels’’such as ear hath not
heard nor eye seen. ’The first was ambrosia, the second
a swan, and the third was a species of bird. The fourth
gift he gave was a tiger-cub: the fifth was the philo-
sopher’s store which is the source of gold. He brought
young horses and mounted them thereon, and he sent
mermen with them as guides
After embracing and conversing with them ‘they
[Ocean and Lachhmi] took leave of them and, bowing their
heads, turned back. The mermen only turned back
when they had reached Jagannath 3
27. They reached Jagannath and saw it: cooked
rice was for sale for food. The king said to Padmavati :
“Our wealth is lost, nothing is left in our purse. If a man
has wealth, everyone speaks [well of] him: a man who
is without wealth shakes like a leaf. With wealth, the
loon walks swaggering : without wealth [a man may be a]
lord but every one will call [1115 speech} foolishness. With
wealth, one’s body flourishes with pride: without
wealth a man loses speech, wits and strength. With
wealth a man can sleep peacefully at nights‘: without
wealth, what slumber can there be? With wealth a man
has vision and his eyes have brightness: if a man 1s
without wealth, no utterance comes to his mouth.
“With wealth a man remains in control of his body:
without wealth he suffers the extreme of hunger. He
who is penniless is like a tree which is leafless and which
withers away although it stands.”
28. Padmavati said “O king, listen. If life be lost,
what is the use of money? When we had wealth we did
not .put it in’our purse: how shall we get it again when.
our fortunes are ruined? If one puts wealth in his purse
when it is abundant, it will be of service when difficulty
befalls. A creature which has wings to its body can ga
($) See 41(21) for another list of these jewels
(8) Shukla’s text as it stands would mean ‘with wealth, a man lies
awake and sleep at night deserts him’, which may be true, but does not &t `
the context, I think there must be a textual error
494: 28—35: 2 LAKSHMI AND THE OCEAN 241
7 |
‘straight to its mark: feet are like mountains when they
ate weary. Lachhmi gave" me a rolled pan leaf which
she had filled with gems and precious stones and diamonds.”
She took out one gem and straightway exchanged it for
money: their fortune returned and came back again to
the light of day. Let noone put his trust in wealth: what
‘isin one’s purse, that is his journey-money.
Then the king, assembling his host, set forth on his
homeward journey. The sun was hidden by day, and
Vasuki and Indra were alarmed.
34. THER ARRIVAL AT CHITAUR
1. The king came near to Chitaur: he returned as a
conqueror, thundering like Indra. Bands made music
and there was an uproar: the carriages, horses and ele-
phants came along. Padmavati was sitting in her litter :
her gaze was turned away from heaven. This mind is
twisted ; it 15 not straight : when it 1s pre-occupied with
good fortune, it does not remember ill fortune. Though
for a thousand years one suffer pain, yet {if he has] one
half hour’s happiness, he will forget it. Knowing this,
a Yogi mortifies his mind; and yet the mind cannot die
but is infinite. He who binds that which was not bound,
slays it by ‘“Teltya’ poison.
(Saith Muhammad) This mind is immortal: in no way
can it be slain. If this is in the body", wisdom is ac-
quired: if it decreases, wisdom decreases and perishes.
2. Nagmati had a sense of comifig pleasure’: her.
affiiction departed as the heat’ departs when the rains
come. She who had been dead, like the dry slough of a
serpent’, now obtained life and had consciousness of her
(aa) In 34(26)3 it is Ocean who gives these presents. Shukla discusses
the difficulty ina note on p. 162 of his Introduction.
. | Canto 35
(a) The meaning is obscured by the usual pun on ghat=(i) body (2)
decrease.
(b) (2) ‘tt)’ the [moon of the] third lunar night.
(j) Shukla notes a variant reading which would mean ‘He is no pandit,
but a disciple of [8] Kanvaru ॥ भ
(k) For Lona Chamarin and 1 हरकत see 2] (11)3 note (m).
(1) The pandits hint that Raghava will bring trouble on Padmavati.
(m) Bhoj tricked his uncle Munja who tried to assassinate him.
(11) It is not clear where the king’s speech ends and where the disqui-
sition on poets and poverty (scarcol relevant, but suggested by th i}
of Raghava Chetan) begins. 86 क ८४५ exe
ee ee
}) how ? (2) test, by rubbing
$8: 4-6 THE BANISHMENT OF RAGHAVA CHETAN 267
[waits for] the drop in Sewati. What need has he of
human [help] who is a diver in the ocean?
5. Padmavati heard of this matter, how the sage
Raghava had been banished from the land. With her
mind’s eye the lady contemplated the outcome: {she
thought, “[The king] has not done well to banish such a
sage. He who has drawn forward the moon by performing
religious rites to a Jakhini may yet make [another] stand
in the place of the sun’. The tongue of a poet is like
the sword of Hardvan’: on one side fire, on the other water.
Let noone, in error’, utter what is unfitting: glory comes
with great [effort], but disgrace with little.” The queen
speedily called for Raghava: {she said] ‘There has been
an eclipse of the sun: accept an oblation.”’ Where a
Brahman can receive an offering he will go to heaven [for
it], 1f he is invited,
Raghava Chetan came near to the tower: he had not
realised in his heart that such lightning dwelt in the sky.
6. When Padmavati came to the lattice, she showed
the appearance of a spotless moon. At that moment
Raghava gave her his blessing: he was like a chakor
which sees the face of the moon. The moon’ had donned
a necklace of constellations: earth and heaven were bright
with radiance. She also wore on her wrists a pair of
bracelets in which nine score of gems were set. She drew
one bracelet from her wrist and threw it: as she drew
it off, her garland and her necklace were broken. It was
as though the moon broke [and fell] taking the stars
[with it], and the stream of death was set flowing through
the sky. It was as though lightning broke and fell upon
the earth : Raghava was dazzled and his senses were reft
from him.
The bracelet came and fell upon the earth : the world
was bright with radiance. Raghava was struck by
lightning : he was bewildered and could not collect
himself.
{a} ४.९. he may incite the Emperor to subdue Ratansen.
(p) The sword of Hardwan. I have not traced the allusion.
(q) Shukla explains bhore as—bhulkar, but it may be bhole (simple,
foolish).
(7) The moon is of course Padmavati.
268, THE BANISHMENT OF RAGHAVA CHETAN 88: 7-9
7. Padmavati, smiling, closed the lattice: “If this
sage dies [she said], I shall be to blame.’’ All her com-
panions ran up and looked : they came and tried to awaken
him, [saying] ‘‘Chetan, come to your senses.” Chetan lay
there : his senses did not return : they all said “A ghost
has overcome him.” One said “It 15 astroke’’: One said
“It is an epileptic fit.’ One said ‘‘A gust of wind has struck
him”. Nowise did Chetan recover his understanding and
speak, Then they lifted him and seated him in the shade:
they asked him “What pain is in your heart ? Have you
been vanquished by the sight of someone, or has a Thug or
a cheat or a ghost deluded you?
“Has someone given you something, or has a snake
bitten you? Come to your senses, Chetan, and tell us
why youg body is trembling.”’
8. His senses came to him: Chetan recovered cons-
ciousness : his eyes were on the lattice, his life was in
suspense. When he spoke again he lost his wits and his
reason . fixing lus eyes on the lattice, he wept. Bewildered
and deaf, he beat his head: he spoke his own words
but heard not those of others. It was as someone had
administered Thug’s poison: at one time he shouted, at
another fhe uttered] babbling words. “I have been way-
laid by Thuggi in this* Chitaur : whom shall [ tell of it;
to whom shall I go? This king is wicked, a great
murderer, since he keeps such Thugs and highway robbers.
Noone forbids them, noone comes to the rescue: such
highway robbery is there in this city.
‘““Her glance has given me Thugs’ sweets to eat: the
noose’ of her curls has fallen on my throat. Where a
mendicant cannot escape, who can escape with his life ?
9. “Why did she come to the lattice of her tower?
She has taken away my life under colour of a pious gift.
She gave light like the moon that has risen in the sky:
nay, more than that ; with what shall I make comparison?
If the moon had such radiance there, then there would be
day by night, and how would there be any night? She
{8} There isa pun on Chitaur: Chsta + wr=‘mind and heart’.
(t) An allusion to the scarf with which the Thugs strangled their
victims.
39: g-II THE BANISHMENT OF RAGHAVA CHETAN 260
called me and gave me a bracelet : when her glance fell
fon me] it took away my life. For those mendicants, my
eyes, her glance was a traitor: it struck there and was
deeply imbedded like an arrow. When eye has pierced
eye and is infixed it cannot be withdrawn by pulling,
even though one" beat his head. These shameless mendi-
cants refused to bow: was it not for this very reason
that their faces were blackened’?
‘‘How have their faces been blackened, those eyes of mine
which were the way by which my life was stolen away ?
Like the lake when the water abandons it, ny heart
cracked and broke.”
10. [Padmavati’s] companions said, ‘Rethink yourself,
O distraught one: think in your heart how you shall not
be slain. If anyone obtains his own demand, nobody dies
and there is no lack of anything.- This Padmavati is
incomparable : she cannot be described by the likeness of
anything. He who sees her departs in concealment : how
can he be visible when he has lost his life? Many have
been bewildered like you : they have beaten their heads
and have given up their lives: Many have bowed their
heads and presented their necks: she has not given them
{a favourable} answer but has slain them. You tov will die,
being burnt away: come, now, take the cotton wool out
of your ears.
“Some who ask shall not get, some shall get without
asking. You who are wise and instruct others, whe shall
instruct you?”
II. Reason returned : Chetan reflected in his mind:
“TI shall not return and suffer such distress again. Where
I arrived weeping and departed weeping™ how can there
be any happiness? Where there has been risk of life, what
is the use of remaining there? Let me depart speedily.
Now I will go and ask alms there [where] one will give me
a ge gg 9 Eh स
a ee ey,
(१) Tam not gure if it is the eye itself which is supposed to beat its
head in despair, or the person whose eye is pierced by the eye of another.
Anyhow, the metaphor ia extremely involved.
(४) The black pupils of the eyes are pictured as dark stains defacing
them. cp. 41(8)6 note (p).
: (w) An allusion, no doubt, to birth and death, but the allegory is
obscure.
270 THE BANISHMENT OF RAGHAVA CHETAN $8: 11—39: 2
so much that I shall not lack all my life. If I get a
second bracelet like this one, then poverty is defeated and
the desire of my mind is fulfilled. The city of Delhi is
the Turkish capital, where Alauddin is Sultan. Gold flows
into his mint, and dinars of purest gold issue {1011 it.
“T shall go and describe the lotus* there where Alauddin,
the bee, is. When he hears he will rise like the sun, and
the jewel [Ratansen] will be darkened.”
39. HOW RAGHAVA CHETAN WENT TO DELHI
I. Raghava Chetan set forth: he journeyed and
approached the city of Delhi. He came and reached
the Shah’s door: he beheld the kingdom which was
high over all the world. ‘There were thirty six lakhs of
Turk horsemen and thirty thousand elephants in the
darbar. As far as the sun blazes through the world,
so far does the Sultan wield his kingly power. The
kings of all four quarters come: they stand [so long
that they] are distressed ; thev do not get the chance
of doing homage. Raghava was anxious in his mind
and* distressed: [he thought] “There is no deliverance
and my spirit is full of fear. When those who have
the umbrella over their heads” are distressed, who will
forward my cause ?
‘One cannot see the other side: there are lakhs of
princes and nobles. I shall be reduced to the dust
beneath the horses’ hoofs if I go into this crowd.”
z. The Emperor knew and understood everything :
heaven and hell were clearly discerned in his heart.
If a king is not thus intelligent, whose is the kingdom
and where does anybody belong? He alone sustained
the burden of the earth and so the whole world
remained stable. Ay, and so high was his throne that
his sight reached everybody. Every day he finds
pleasure in the duties of royalty and at night he
(x) The lotus is of course Padmavati. There 18 a play on the similarity
of sound in als (bee) and Alauddin.
Canto 39
(a) Omitting the hyphen between ju and dar.
(b) १.९. kings.
99: 2-4 HOW RAGHAVA CHETAN WENT TO DELHI 271
becomes a Yogi and goes about from house to house.
He gets information by day and night about all sorts
and conditions of men, high and low, rich and poor. All
the way-farers and foreigners who come, his messengers
bring information about them.
This news arrived there, “May your umbrella be ever
fortunate with its shade. There is a Brahman at the
door with a golden bracelet studded with jewels on his
arm.”
3. The Shah felt compassion when he heard of the
mendicant. [He said] ‘‘Who is the foreigner? Call him
and question him. ‘I shail some day have to go toa
foreign land: what is the road, and in what guise
shall I go? There is grievous care in my mind for my
kingdom of Delhi. This world is like the skin on milk,
I have stored up and have churned many turns: I
have churned and taken the ghee from the earth/butter-
milk. What curds remain when you take this dahi?
You draw off the curd as long as there is the dahi.
Taking this curd/in this Delhi how many have departed :
after displaying pride, they have mingled with the
dust. Ravan has burnt Janka and set all ablaze:
youth has not tarried, old age has come.
“Let alms be given to the mendicant, whether he
he a Brahman or a Bhat.” [The emperor] commanded
“Call him. Let him place his forehead upon the
ground.’’
4. Raghava Chetan, who was in despair, was
straightway speedily summoned to the presence. He
bowed his head and gave his blessing. The jewelled
bracelet showed itself flashing on his arm. Then the
emperor said" to Raghava: ‘‘You are a beggar. What is
this bracelet on your arm?’ Raghava again placed his
forehead on the ground: [he said] ‘‘“May your kingdom
continue from age to age with the splendour of the sun.
(c) The thread of the Emperor’s speech, which is partly & soliloquy
on his own ultimate departure from this life, is entangled by puna on Olver
(1) Delhi(2) of the heart, makt=(1) earth (2) battermilk, daht lei=()) again
Delhi (2) taking curds. For the allegory of butter-making, cp. 34(10).
(d) Ajn% bhas lit. ‘there was an order’. Anything the emperor says
18 an order, :
272 HOW RAGHAVA CHETAN WENT TO DELHI 89: 4-6
The lotus princess of Singhala-dvipa has been brought
by Ratansen to the fortress of Chitaur. The lotus
cannot rival her fragrance: the moon in the sky cannot
tival her beauty. Where lotus, moon and sun cannot
compare, to what shall I liken her? Who else is there?
“This queen, the jewel of the world, gave me the
bracelet as a pious gift. She revealed the beauty of an
Achhari and stole my life through her lattice.”’
5. When the Shah heard this reply, he laughed
in his mind: it was as though lightning showed itself
flashing. [He said] ‘‘This beggar has found a bracelet’
fit for glass [beads] and it has set him upon Mount Sumernu.
[You may thank] the title of mendicant that your tongue
has been spared in your mouth: control yourself now and
speak the truth. Where is there a woman who is above
all the world, with whom the sun and the moon cannot
compare? As for lotus-women, they are in my palace,
where all the seven continents fold their hands [in
reverence]. In all the seven cortinents I have selected
them and have brought them: thus I have sixteen hundred
queens. If you see a single slave of [any of] these, you
will melt like salt’ at the sight of her beauty.
‘Iam the emperor of all the four quarters, even as the
sun blazes in the sky. If there are lotus women, they are
mine: as for Achharis, they are in heaven.”
6. “You are a great king and a mighty emperor while
I ama Brahman mendicant. I have gone about in all
four quarters seeking for alms: from the rising to the
setting of the sun there is no kinglike you. Your kingdom
is a righteous kingdom: it is truth in an evil age : who has
got the tongue that can utter a lie [before you]? Four
things which are above all other things are not in this
Jambu-dvipa,—lotus women, ambrosia, the swan, and the
tiger®: but these are found in Singhala-dvipa in their
genuine form. I have seen all the seven continents on
(e) I have ventured to correct kaachan (gold) to katkan (bracelet).
The point surely is that the emperor does not accept Raghava’s story and
does not believe that the bracelet is of gold.
(f) A pun on lon=(1) salt (2) beauty.
(g) Ambrosia, the tiger-cub and the swan were three of the four ‘jewels’
given to Ratansen by the Ocean in 34(26).
39: 6—40: 2 HOW RAGHAVA CHETAN WENT TO DELHI 273
my travels: hence am I called Raghava Chetan (the
wise). If you bid me, I will not practise any deceit: I
will tell you the good and evil qualities of all women.
“Here the’ Hastini, the Sankhini, and the Chitrini
dwell in abundance. Where is the Padmini, like the
lotus, about whom the bees hover?’’
40. DESCRIPTION OF THE KINDS OF WOMEN
1. “First I will tell of the Hastini [elephant-like]
woman: she has the complete nature of the elephant.
Her head and feet are large, her neck is small: she 15
narrow-bosomed and wide-waisted. Her breast 15 like
the elephant’s temple: there is rutting humour 110 ` her
bosom: she has the gait of an elephant and well modelled
arms. She does not take any notice of her own husband:
her life is devoted to other men. She eats much, and
delights much in dalliance: she has no cleAnliness and little
adornment. Her sweat smells foul like rutting ichor: she
cozens everyone by treachery. She has no fear or shame
at all in her heart; she will only remain if one keep her
by applying the goad.
“She goes to all the four quarters with the gait of an
elephant : she keeps a sharp look-out. I have told you
now of tke elephant-woman, [who has] all the faults of
elephants.
2. ‘‘The next I shall tell of is the* Sankhini woman :
she shows great strength but eats little food. Her bosom
15 very large, her waist very small: she is full of pride
and shows no hesitancy in her mind. Much is her wrath:
she is ready to slay her husband: she counts noone worth
(h) For the four kinds of woman, see 2(1)1 note (2) and Monier
Wilhams’ ‘Religious Thought and Life in India’ p. 389. They are the
Padmini (lotus-like) or perfect woman: the Chitrini, or woman of various
accomplishments : the Sankhiul, or conch-like woman and the Hastinl, or
elephant-like woman.
Canto 40
(a) As Shukla points out, Jaisi appears to have confused Sankhini
with 81010174 (lion-liks), which would resemble it in Persian script. That
he thought the word was Singhini is shown by his giving this woman the
qualities of a lioness, This proves that he was here imitating a model
which was written in Persian script. For his own use of that script, see
note .22) to 8(8)1.
35
274 DESCRIPTION OF THE KINDS OF WOMEN 40: 2-4
a straw. Her own finery is pleasing to her: she cannot
bear to see the adornment of another. She walks loosely
on the path with the gait of a lion : she has many hairs
on her thighs and shins. She is stout and delights to
feed on flesh : a fetid odour proceeds from her mouth.
Her glance is down-cast, she does not look before her:
it is as though blinkers were fastened on her head.
‘When she consorts with her lord in bed she plies
the arrows of her nails upon his bosom. She who has
all the qualities of the lion, she is the Sankhini woman,
O Sultan.
3. “The third I shall tell of 1s the Chitrini woman :
very clever is she, and fond with the essence of love. Her
form is beautiful and her adornment is rare: her cleanli-
ness is like that of an Achhari. She knows not what
anger 15 ; she has a smiling face: the lover who has such a
wife is fortunate. She knows how to worship her own
husband: she will not leave one man and take another.
Moon-faced she 1s and her colour is that of a white water-
lily: her gait is pleasing like that of a pair of swans. She
delights in rice-milk and sugar candy, but eats little : she
is exceedingly fond of pan and of flowers. In comparison
with the Padmini, she is two degrees” short : with respect
to all others, her qualities are spotless.
“As the Chitrini has the hue of a waterlily, so she has
its fragrance in her limbs. The ‘Padmini is in all respects
like sandal wood: the bees hover about her.
4. “The fourth I shall tell of is the Padmini woman:
God has made her like a moon with the fragrance of the
lotus. She 15 a Padmini by race and has the hue of a
lotus: she has the scent of a lotus and the bees resort to
her. She 15 not too tall and not ६00 short: not too slender and
not too broad. She has pure radiance with all the “sixteen
(b) ५.९. she is two degrees short of the sixteen degrees or rays of
perfect beauty, sce note (d) below, and 27 (43) note (bb).
{९} The text appears to be corrupt. The Padmini’s place is in the
next stanza and her fragrance is of lotus and not of sandal-wood.
(५) The sixteen ‘kalas’ are, primarily, the 16 digits of the moon’s face:
hence fhe 16 elements of perfect beauty. In 27 (7) Jaisj confused the 16
singérs and the 16 &bhsarans—-see note (i) to that canto. Here he confuses
the 16 kal&s and the 16 singars, making actual physical features of the
latter in the next stanza,
ee
40: 4414: 7 DESCRIPTION oF ‘HE KINDS Of WoMEN 275
marks of beauty: such an one, O Sultan, know
for a Padmini woman. [Of these sixteen] four are long
and four short, four broad and four slender. And behold-
ing her moon face everyone is entranced: her gait is
as charming as the movement of a cygnet. Very delicate
is she and she does not eat even rice-milk: she sustains
herself on pan and flowers.
“She has all the sixteen degrees, and all the sixteen
marks of beauty: I will now recite these in the fashion
in which the world describes them.
5. “First, she has long hair, which entrances the mind:
and the long fingers of her hands are beautiful. She has
long eyes, and glances brightly therewith: she has
a long neck, and three lines’ on her throat. Next, she
has short teeth which are like diamonds: she has small
breasts which protrude like lemons: she has a small fore-
head, like a radiant crescent moon: and her navel is small,
the abode of sandal fragrance. Her nose 15 slender, like
the edge of a sword: her waist is slender, as though she
had defeated a lion. Her stomach is slendér, as though she
had no intestines: her lips are slender and red with the
hue of coral. Her cheeks are broad ; you may see in them
the splendour of her face: her buttocks are broad ; when
one sees them, the mind is entranced.
“Her forearms are made exceedingly broad: her thighs
are broad and she has the gait of an elephant. JI have
described the sixteen marks of beauty, which make the
gods covetous.
41. THE DISCOURSE OF PADMAVATI’S BEAUTY
1. “That lotus maiden who was brought to Chitaur,
her body was pure gold, bright with all the twelve forms
of brightness. But pure gold is metal: it has no scent:
she is fragrant like a lotus in full bloom. Pure gold is
metal and its limbs are hard: she is soft and her colour is
that of a bright flower. If the breeze which has touched
(6) See note (ऋ) to 10(13)6 and the almost identical descri a of
a beautiful woman’s throat there quoted from Du Maurier’s ‘Peter Ibbetson’.
op. 41(15)5 also.
276 ग्घ DISCOURSE OF PADMAVATI’S BEAUTY 41: 1-3
\
her blows on any tree that lucky tree becomes a tree of
sandal®. What is there not in that body of hers though it
is but a handful [of dust]? For whom has God designed
such a figure ? All painters of pictures are defeated: noone
could succeed in drawing her beauty. Her body is like
camphor, her bones” are 21 pearls: yea, God has given
them more radiance than that of pearls.
“As the rays of the sun are spotless, even more so
is her body. It cannot be looked at directly: water
comes into the eyes
2. “When she, the moon-faced, says anything, her
lip that moves is as red as the sun arising. The
rays which break out from every tooth are like fire-
works being let off throughout the world. They are
like lightning displayed in the moon-([light]: one is
dazzled and utterance is impossible. They flash like
[lightning in] a night in Bhadon: like fireflies moving
in black night. Like the note of the kokil in the
spring season, [her voice] ‘strikes the hearing with charm
and the arrow quivers. As for her head, the serpent Ses,
who has been defeated, has gone for refuge there and
has become a braid of her hair. Like ambrosia her voice
is spread abroad: the fragrance which attends the lady
is like the fragrance of the lotus
“Everyone expires, defeated in mind, who beholds
such elegance. Having first described this distress
I will then describe her charms
3. ‘Why did I become a victim of fate when I went
and stood beneath her tower? Why did she come and
peep through the lattice, with eyes of a fallow-hind and
side-long glances? She laughed; it was as though the
moon and the stars were falling, or as though fire-
works were kindled in the night. It was like lightning
flashing in a night of Bhadon: like fireflies filling the
Canto 41
(५) The Malaya mountain, famous for ita sandal-tree forests, is used
as elsewhere, for the sandal-tree
(0) 1 suspect that the text is corrupt. Even the poet’s eye would
hardly see the radiance of Padmavati’s bones
(c} I have followed Shukla in translating sar by ‘arrow,’ but a word
for ‘voice’ is also needed and (if the word was svar) may be disguised in
either suras or in éer
4i: 3-4 THE DISCOURSE OF PADMAVATI'S BEAUTY 279
sight of the world. In her eidelong glance of love
poison dwelis: her curling tress, like a she-serpent,
bites in the twinkling of an eye. Her eye-brow is a
bow ; her eyelid is steeped in collyrium: she was the
archer and I the bird. She shot me and went away,
and, as she shot me, she laughed: behind her was a
serpeut*; it bit me.
“Tt was death that she had cast behind her; there
was no Garuda® and no spell. It entered my vitals.
On whom shall I call, making lament ?
4. ‘When she unfastens her braids and shakes out
her hair, night falls and all the world light their lamps.
From her head like snakes her tresses fall to the ground:
the whole region becomes dark. They wave about full
of poison and stretched out: full of mpples, they un-
dulate and are exceedingly black. It is as though they
were snakes which had climbed up and writhe : they are
imbued with the fragrance of her sandal-scented limbs.
They twist and twine as though they enjoyed the spoft :
they are serpents which have climbed up on a Malati
plant’. They undulate like the Jumna: revolving in
their eddies the thought is imprisoned. They are like
horse-hair plumes waving on all sides, but the bees,
which are fascinated by the fragrance, do not fly away.
‘When she grasps her vesture and veils herself there
is darkness, the lightning is hidden in the cloud. Why
did I behold the serpents of her tresses? My spirit
trembles at the recollection.
(d) te. the serpent of her hair-braid.
(€) Garuda, king of the birds, is the slayer of snakes par excellence.
(f) What follows in stanzas 4 to 18 is not a complete Nakha-sikha,
or description of the heroine from top to toe, such as we have had in
Canto X. It only goes down to the waist, as Raghava is describi
what he saw of Padmavati when she looked out of the window. Rack
stanza describes & separate feature, as in canto X, the corresponding
stanzas being,—
ALI 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18
X 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 9, 10, 12, 11, 13, 14, 15-16, 17-18.
The eyelashes, which have a stanza to themselves in canto X, have only
half a line in stanza 7 of canto XLI. ॥
(g) In 10 (1) they are like a bee on a Malati plant, ॐ more
agar simile, Snakes are attracted by the scent of the sandal-tree, not of
he malati.
278 THE DISCOURSE OF PADMAVATIS BEAUTY 41: 4-6
5. “The parting of*her hair with its ruby line of
vermilion” is like the spring [appearing] rosy red for all
the world to see. She has arranged the gold spangles’
and laid the hair smooth on both sides and adorned
herself by painting patterns of bright colours. There is
a pattern of flowers of every kind, like cranes scattered
against a dark cloud. Her parting is like the Saraswati
in the midst of the Jumna, while on both sides is the
Ganges with its waves. Upon it is the vermilion line,
red like a row of velvet insects. Seeing this vermilion,
the gods are ready to immolate themselves : the sun rises
eatly to worship her parting. If the sun is red at
dawn and at eve, it is because his limbs are red from
[the reflexion of] this line.
“Her black hair-braid’ with its flowers is like the
Jumna coming forth and gladly performing the worship
of Indra after painting a vermilion line on her head.
6. ‘‘Her forehead is like the crescent moon of the
second night, exceedingly geni-bright : when Sankar sees
it, he lays his forehead there. Thisis a crescent moon
which is ever new and which ali the world beholds: the
world does homage to it and gives itits blessing. It is not
for the real moon to rival this one: it becomes darkened
and hides, ashamed in mind. The spangles which are
fashioned in the arrangement of her beauty spot are like
the Pleiades in the crescent of the moon. The demon
of eclipse has plied the saw upon the moon: filling it
with constellations he has caused a great conflagration.
Her forehead throws such light“ that he who beholds it
is irradiated. The jewel Siri' which she has placed in
the parting of her hair is like a falling star in the night.
‘If the moon and the stim are bright it is by the
(h) In 10 (2) the parting has not yet been marked with the
vermilion line of the married woman
i) Patravals, see 27 (8) 3 note (j)
j) Bent=(1) hair-braid (2) the trivent (the junction of the Ganges,
Jumna and Saraswati)
(k) Shukla explains paras jolt as light which gives reflected light to
another object. See also his introduction p. 119
) Sirs, v. 10 (3) 8 and 42 (26) 4. A forehead lornament also
valled dead.
41° 6-8 THE DISCOURSE OF PADMAVATI’S BEAUTY 279
radiance of that forehead. By night and by day they do
not fulfil their course but are repeatedly effaced.
47. “Her eyebrows are black and Itke a bent bow
fashioned in order to pierce a man. The chandak” 15 the
clenched hand which stretches this bow: the collyrium
[round the eyes} is the bow-string, the eyelashes are the
poisoned arrows. Whomsoever she glances at is slain:"
the high mountains are moved when her eyebrow
sets them in motion. That bow which destroyed
Setubandh, even that bow is defeated by these eyebrows.
The bow’ which pierced the fish is defeated: let noone
‘reckon aught of any other bow. Why did I see that bow
of her eyebrows? Their life is not worth reckoning
whom its arrows strike: with those arrows my heart
was riddled : how can one live who has thus been slain ?
“In every particle my body was pierced and all my
framein every pore: they penetrated through every
fibre and every bone was pierced.
8. “The picture of her eyes is painted with such
beauty, it is like a bee roaming over a lotus leaf. They
move in beauty like waves of the sea: they roll and
turn, intoxicated with passion. Like a pair of khanjan
birds in the autumn moon-[ light | they bicker, turning
and twisting again and again. A quivering rippling
swing affects them: they remain not fixed but are
unsteady........ When they gaze, they are not satisfied
with slaughter: twisting and turning, they take counsel
with her ears. White bodies have they and black faces’:
they move sideways and do not remain straight. They
make gods, men and gandharvas covetous : when they
turn upwards they climb to heaven.
‘So these eyes with their two orbits are like whirlpools
(m) I have conjectured chandak (a forehead omament) for Shukla’s
chand ka.
(४) This half verse is almost the samo as 42 (16) 5, where it suits
the context much better.
(0) ¢.e, Arjun’s bow ए, 10 (4) 6 note (14). But there may be some
confusion between the fish (rohu) pierced by Arjuna’s arrow at the
wedding of Draupadi and the demon of eclipse (R&hu) severed by
Vishnu’s disous. \
{p) The white body is the cornea, and the black face the pupil of the
eye, cp. 39 (9) 7 note (w).
280 THE DISCOURSE 01 PADMAVATI'S BEAUTY 44: 820
which stir up the sea. They throw ( as it were) one’s
spirit into a swing and push it and pull it one way and
the other.
g. ‘‘Her sword-like nose the lady has taken from a
parrot: it is suitable for the defeat of passion and
heroism. Presenting this sword before her moonface the
fair lady* desires to do battle with her, lover. It is
like the Setubandh causeway which Raghubir built in the
water between the two oceans. Her nose is like the
flower of sesamum, and God has given it a fragrant
scent. She wears in it a flashing diamond stud like the
star Sohil against the autumn moon. That nose-stud 15
even more exalted than Sohil: the constellations chase
after it but it cannot be reached. I know how that
stud' is fashioned: all the flowers that blow desire
to reach it.
“Now that fragrant stud/flower has become the
fastening of her nostril: ail the flowers which approach
it obtain sweet scent.
10. ‘‘Her lips are brightly coloured and as thin as
pan leaves: rosy are they, and full of, ambrostal sap.
They are moist and red with pan juice: smiling, they
appear like Gulal’. [€ rubies are her lips and her
teeth like diamonds: her voice is sweet, and she chews
pan with her mouth. Her lips are drawn out like dabh
grass that has been scraped: bload drips when she
chews pan. Wet with sap, they pour............. . full
of blood and fair and impassioned. They are like the
red rays of the sun at dawn which cause the face of the
lotus to display itself, by looking at it. A curl of her
hair, like a serpent, guards her lips: he who seizes the
serpent tastes their sweetness.
“On either lip is the nectar oflove : between them
is the curl, like a serpent. Then shall one obtain the
ambrosial juice when he seizes and draws away the
serpent.
(q) There are the usual puns on Rama and Ravan.
(r) 7 un on ph¥t=(l) stud (2) flower.
(8) ५ the red powder thrown at the Holj festival,
41: rI-I2 THE DISCOURSE OF PADMAVATI'’S BEAUTY 281
व. * “Her teeth are black’, deeply stained with
betel juice; they are to the sight like bees on an
unfolded lotus flower. There is such brightness in the
interior of her mouth as there would be from [ white |
pomegranate seeds mixed with black seeds of makoi.
When the lady smiles her front teeth" flash dazalingly
like lightning flashing in a dark night. White and
black they flash upon the sight like a row of sapphires
and diamonds set there. Who has fashioned teeth so
priceless ? When she speaks smilingly, lightning strikes.
They are ‘gems which have become black, stained with
the nectar of passion: the name of precious stones
beseems them. Why did I behold these teeth, stained
with colour? They took away the light and my eyes
were deprived of it.
“The radiance of her teeth came by way of my eyes
and entered my heart. As I beheld darkness revealed in
the world so I beheld this radiance in secret.
12. ‘‘Now hear of her tongue which speaks words of
charm. Hearing her voice like a kokila’s, the mind is
enamoured. Like an ambrosial bud her tongue is fixed:
like pan leaves and flowers her words are lovely. When
the chatak” hears her voice, it is comforted: he who hears
it becomes intoxicated with the wine of love. Like a
parched tree which obtains water, so, on hearing her
voice, the body flourishes. When she speaks, it 15 as
though drops fell in Sewati, and pearls fill the ear, like
the opening of a shell. Blessed is that voice which, as
the support of life, gives food to the hungry ear. Who
is not filled “with hope by these utterances? They en-
trance fallow-deer who take them for the music of a
lute.
“Her throat entrances Sarada, what to say of her
tongue and Surasati®. Indra, the moon, the sun, the gods
(t) Not all black, as appears from the following verses.
(0) Grierson translates ‘on a pedestal’ in the similar passage in 10 (9).
Chauk means either ‘four-sided’ or ‘a set of four’, specially the four front teeth,
($) There is the usual pun on Ratan and Padarath, but the sense 18
not clear,
(क्र) Omitting the hyphen between chatak and bain.
(x) Actually Sgrad§ and Saraswati are the same, the goddess of
eloquence.
90
282 THE DISCOURSE OF PADMAVATI’S BEAUTY 41 : 12-14
and all the world desire [to hear the words of] her
mouth.
13. “Now hear of her ears, which are like shells :
they are adorned with pendants of Singhala-dvipa. These
glisten on both sides like the moon and the sun: filled
with constellations, they cannot be gazed at. Every now
and then they vibrate like lightning: they do not remain
covered by the clouds which are her garment. They are
like Suk and Sanichar’ giving advice on both sides: they
will not be separated from her ears. They remain trem- |
bling when she utters her voice: [they are afraid lest] her
eyes should turn and reach her ears*. Whatever matter
they hear from her friends“, they beat her head on both
sides. And on both 546७०" the drops of these pendants
glitter like scattered stars of the Pleiades.
“These ears have heard and learnt thelore of the Vedas,
the Puranas and all the books there are. God has given
her ears which are a pledge for the delight of music and
the charm of song.
14. ‘Her lotus cheeks are so becoming to her that
God has not adorned anyone 111 like manner. They are
composed of flower-dust and essence of ambrosia: they
are like brightly coloured gem-like marigolds or oranges.
Moreover, there lies a mole on her left cheek: this mole
is a ray of the spark of love. He who bheholds this
mole is consumed with fire: let noone see it upon his
left! It is like a bee which has dropped upon a lotus,
which has given up its life but is faithful in death.
When men see this mole, it becomes fixed in their
eyes : nothing else is seen clearly apart from this mole.
Upon it swings a curl of hair studded with gems: this
is a serpent which touches her bright-hued cheek.
“There is a peacock*’ which keeps guard upon it:
(y) Stk (Sukra), the planet Venus, was the counsellor of the Daityas,
ep. 25(10)4 ; but there is no special reason why Sanichar (Saturn) should also
be represented as an adviser.
(ष्ट) ८ 41(8)5 where the eyes turn and take counsel with the cars.
(as) Perhaps ‘from their friends’ (the eyes).
(bb) terrific weapon
against an attacking enemy.
(n) Or, the emperor attacked again.
304 THE BATTLE 48: 9-t%
in wrath invested it on all four sides. A crore of arrows
are let loose in a single direction: wherever they strike
they cleave their way up tothe notch. As stars are seen
thick in the sky, so [thickly] did the arrows strike the
ramparts of the fort. The arrows pierced them and made
them appear like porcupines: the fortress was like Garuda
and preened its pinions. It is not edsy to tell of that
battle, and yet from the telling comes delight’. They
turn not their backs although they are wounded: foot by
foot they press forward on the ground.
For the four watches of the day the battle continued:
the fortress was not broken, so inaccessible was it. Yet
there was heavy [pressure] every day at every point of
vantage.
10. [The emperor] assailed the ramparts with such
force: "he dug a mine and penetrated........ He
constructed turrets and set cannon therein: their muzzles
were filled with powder like thunderbolts. There were
Habsis Rumis, Turks and Firangis*: highly skilled were
these, and served with the guns. The cannon balls from
these guns go up to the ramparts: they do not miss
their aim. Balls compounded of the eight metals are
fired: mountains are broken to powder and fall. When
all the cannon 8115 are fired at once the -heaven thunders
and all the earth quakes. The ramparts are smashed
like glass: the towers collapse and are all crushed.
As it was with the palace of Lanka, so fire fell upon
the fortress. If it is written that Ravan should be burnt,
say, how shall he escape burning ?
171. Builders and masons went to work upon the
fortress : they repaired everything, wherever it was broken.
They made it still more inaccessible: in the course of
one night they set ramparts to rights. The sky thunders
as though storm clouds had arisen :- thunderbolts rain
(०) ४८) rata. In 43(3)8 the expression means the reward of virtue
in the next world. Here it 18 used of a reward in this life.
(p) Shukia’s text has ghust kat carag suratg tinh dinha ‘Having entered
heaven, he dug a mine’. The top of the fortress is allegotised as heaven
later on—43(13)9—but this would not be suitable here. Probably sarag
has got into the text here by dittography from ewraag.
(q) Habsis Gat Abyminians: Rims, probably Turks of Asis
Minor; Firahgia, Portuguese,
43: II-13 THE BATTLE 305
down: who will guard his head? Cannon balls of a
hundred maunds each fall like rain: musket bullets fall
like hail. It is as though thunderbolts fell from heaven :
where they strike, the earth is nven. The turrets are
broken in pieces and fall : elephants, horses and men are
destroyed. All men say that the end of the world has
come: earth and heaven have, as it were, joined battle.
All the three and a half’ thunderbolts came together
against one small hill. The earth was burnt on all four
sides: the fire could not be extinguished anyhow.
12. Kven then the king was not defeated in his
heart : he prepared a dancing floor over the porch of the
palace. Where the emperor’s seat was resplendent, over
against that place he bade them dance. Cymbals,
big drums, and all other instruments of music,
drum and well strung rebeck sounded; Iute and
pipe, and bow [for viols}] held in hand, these discoursed
ambrosial music warbling there. There were the
‘chang’ and the ‘upang’ and the clarion with musical
note: the ‘mahuar’ and the flute were blown with full
breath. The tabor was played and the tambour with
*deep sound: and many cymbals and timbrels were
played. Stringed and unstringed instruments and the
large ‘ghantara’, all these played music and there was a
melodious sound.
Five dancing girls, who were the ornaments of the
world and a delight to the mind, danced. The emperor
assailed the fortress: the king was engrossed in the dance.
13. All the artists of Bijanagar recited such music as
had never been heard. They sang all the six Rags’ with
thythm of clapping hands: the whole army heard the
music. They first sang the Bhairava Rag and then took
up the Malkos: then they sang the lovely Hindol Rag
and then the Megh Malar, so that the clouds shed rain:
fifth, they sang the fair Sri Rag, and sixth the Dipak
so that lamps were kindled and sprang [to sight]. Above
were the dancers dancing: beneath were the Turks,
(7) Reading ahujf for Shukla’s athan. See 25(8)9 note (kk).
(४) R&gs: the six musical modes. The names in Bharata are
Bhairava, Kausika, Hindola, Dipaka, Sri-riga and Megha.
89
306 THE BATILE 48 : 13-15
drawing their bows. -On the crest of the fortress were the
nobles and princes: beneath were chiefs and noblemen
looking on.
As they listened, they all beat their heads and wrung
their hands in remorse, [saying] when shall we ascend to
that summit and the sorrows of our eyes depart’?
14. The dancing girls sang all the six Rags and, after
that, the thirty six Raginis’". There were the Kalyan and
the Kanhara, the Bihag Rag and the Kedara. The
Parbhati, and the Bangala arose: the Asawari and the
Gunmala Rag. They employed the Dhanasiri and the
Suha: there was the Bilawal, and thev used the Maru.
They sang the Ramkali, the Nat, the Gauri, and they
loudly chanted the Khammach Rag. The Sam and the
Gujari also were delightful: the Sarang and Bibhas came to
their lips. There were the Purbi, the Sindhi, the Des
and the Barari: the Tort was kept distinct from the
Gond.
They recite all the Rags and Raginis with loud tones.
How can an arrow reach to where the sight reaches
not ?
15. Where the Shah was gazing in front of him a’
dancing girl, as she spun round, turned her back on him.
When he saw this, the Shah on his throne roared aloud
[saying], ‘“How long, my doe, shall the moon enjoy you?
My men will discharge their arrows and go up: why do
you display pride and arrogance?’’ As he spoke, a lakh
of arrows were shot on high; some reached the ramparts
and some the gates. Jahangir”, the king of Kanauj,—his
arrow struck the dancing girl. The arrow went home:
it danced like [another] leg: her spirit went to heaven,
its mould fell to the ground. The dance was broken
off: the dancer was slain: the Turks rejoiced and
clapped their hands.
Though a man equip ten lakhs of fortresses and raise
¢) The top of the fortress is allegorised as heaven ;——this is pot in
acooidance with the key in Envoy (1)3 where Chitaur 18 the body.
(u) The Kaginis are modifications of the musical modes, six to each
Rag. Actually, only 26 are enumerated in this stanza.
(v) Kanauj at this time would have been under Turkish control, and
the Muslim name of its ruler is probably correct.
43; 15-18 THE BATTLE 307
a crore of ramparts, yet, when the emperor wills [to
attack him] he shall not hide in any corner.
16. The king had raised his citadel to the sky: an
earth work was made surrounding it on all four sides.
As Raghava constructed the Setubandh, so the circuit
was laid: the earth could not support the burden.
They ali [the Shah’s troops] began shouting aloud like
‘Hanuvant: they carried [earth] on all sides and made
a mountain. It was fashioned like white crystal: they
raised the earthwork surrounding the fortress on 811
four [sides]. At each stage as it rose it was flattened :
there were divers paintings and divers carvings. There
were many kinds of stairs going up it by which whole
rows of elephants ascended. There were turrets such as
cannot'be told: it was as though they had been raised
and brought up to the sky. |
As Rahu besets the moon so the mound beset the
fortress. The whole was blazing like fre: who could
endure to go there?
17. The king’s council all sat to give advice; ‘No-
thing can be seen: the view is obstructed. The earthwork
has been raised and has shut in the fortress on all four
sides: as you have shouldered this burden, take action
accordingly with speed. As you have sown fire, so fire
has sprung up : now there can be no other advice. You
have had your holiday and started this sport; now play
your Holi game and prdpare your Holt fire. Let us say
our Holi farewells and lay dust upon our heads: the
prowess which we ‘have displayed must be carried to its
end.’’ They brought out sandal wood and aloes of the
Malaya mountain: they fashioned and heaped up funeral
pyres in every house. The royal zanana was made ready
for the Jauhar; those who have truth in their hearts,
where should tears be for them ?
The men made ready the sword and anointed their
bodies with sandal paste. The women marked themselves
with vermilion and were willing to be burnt to ashes.
18. The fortress was besieged for eight” years: which
(w) Ms. Burn reads barack baras. Historically, the siege only jasted
8 months.
308 THE BATTLE 43: 18—44: 1
was mightier, the Sultan or the king? .The mango trees
which the Shah had planted at his coming had fruited
and had lost their fruit but still he had nut taken the
fortress. “If I storm it, there will be a Jauhar, and that
lotus-lady will not come into my hands.” In this manner,
he relaxed his efforts: in the meantime* despatches came
from Delhi; “In the west, the men of Hareva’, who had
turned their backs, have now advanced, facing to the
front. Those whose foreheads were laid on the ground
now touch the sky: [our] outposts have been removed
and [our menjare all coming back in flight. While the Shah
is encamped there at Chitaurgarh, here the country 18
now becoming another’s.
“Jujube and camel thorn trees have grown up on those
roads on which there was not even grass. The dark night
would depart if the stn arose with speed.”
44. THE FRIENDLY MEETING BETWEEN
THE KING AND THE EMPEROR
71. The Shah heard the despatches read: diverse
thoughts arose in his mind. ‘Let a man so think before-
hand in his mind that there may be some result from his
thought. If the mind 15 false, the spirit is in another's
hands, and thought is in two places in a single heart. I
have become entangled with this fortress and will only
get free if I make friends or if the fortress is ˆ reduced.
The diamond is the enemy of the diamond : I will pierce
this jewel [Ratansen] by giving him a roll of betel leaf
[t.e. by making friends]."" He told this secret plan to
७2712“ (saying] “Go back again and pay heed to my
command. Say to him ‘I will not take the lotus lady
away from thee; I will give up the fortress which I have `
crushed. |
G) Ardaseh, indurtnni plural formed from arv-dteM one of the few
Persian words used by ठ 8181.
(y) The men of Hareva are the Mongols, see 42(10)2 note (r). For
the historical accuracy of this passage see Shukla’s Introduction p. 235. See
also 47(5)2 note {€}.
Canto 44.
(a) I have kept the spelling Sarj& throughout. Shukla has Surj&
here and Sarj& in Canto 41,
44: 1-4 THE FRIENDLY MEETING 305
‘Enjoy all thine own country and take Chanderi in
addition : but give me the five jewels which the ocean
gave thee as a parting gift.’ ”’
2. Sarja went back after mounting his lion, shouting
aloud: he went to where the king was and told [the
Emperor's] command. “Now at any rate understand in
your heart, O King, that it is not seemly to fight against
the emperor. He whose threshold the earth serves will,
if he wishes, slay you and take your life. He has made
you a bird in a cage : fother] lords of fortresses have escap-
ed by doing homage. So long as the tongue is in your
mouth use it with reflection, clasping your hands in
reverence. If at last he grips your tongue to take your
life, who will release it? Who will allow you to speak?
In due course your end will be like that of the demented
Hamiur, if you act thus.
‘‘See, tomorrow the fortress will be reduced: the king-
dom will be his. Do him service, bowing your head: do
not forsake wisdom and cast your own house down.”
3. “O Sarja, when he {the Emperor] looked towards
people like Hamir, he. accomplished his design and so
showed his might. I am a man of might and not like him
[Hamir]: I am superior to Bhoj or to Vikram. ‘There is
no lack of provision for sixty years: the hill pours forth
water without being asked. Moreover, even if the fortress
were reduced, still the truth of a man of might would
not fail. Sixteen lakhs of noble youths are mine: they
will fall like moths into the light of a lamp. On the day
that I desire to start the Holi dance I shall take my last
farewell after making up the Holi fire. If there is a night
between, let no one be afraid: see what will happen on
the morrow.
‘I have now prepared the Jauhar and wish to make
a blaze of light. I shall take my Holi sport in the thick
of the fray. Someone will collect my ashes.”
4. “Go to, O King: he will in the end be burnt who
does not submit to the emperor’s service. Many have
thus equipped their fortresses, but in the end they have
been like Ravan in Lanka. On the day that [the
emperor] shall assail [your] fortress and [its] passes, on
310 THE FRIENDLY MEETING 44: 4,6
that day [your] food will become dust. You think that
the hill pours forth water: it is weeping at the thought
of the destruction [that is coming]. At this thought the
fortress weeps from every particle: how will it be if
the place is sacked. It is at this thought that the hill
sheds tears, and yet you do not realise your own
destruction. Today or tomorrow the fortress is going to
be reduced: submit even now if you wish to escape.
“Those five gems which are with you take them all
five and make a present of them: it may be that he
will accept one virtue and place all your faults in
effacement.”
5. ‘Yea, Sarja, who can efface the fact that your
emperor is mighty. Moreover, he can efface faults: and
what he wishes will come about. I will give the five gems
from my treasury : Dara” shall escape from Iskandar. If
this is what [the Emperor] says, I accept it humbly: I
will do him service, standing with folded hands. But
without an oath my mind does not accept [what you say] :
the utterance of an oath 15 the proof of [a man’s] word.
He who is the pillar supporting the heavy burden of the
world, mountains would not shake what he utters.’ Sarja
said “‘He is a base creature who shifts his neck from a
burden half way.”’
Sarja took cath craftily, with voice exceeding sweet.
The king’s mind was convinced and = 11€ straightway
accepted him as an ambassador.
6. °“Yhe swan was brought from its golden cage, and
the ambrosia, and the gem which was the philosopher’s
stone. Also the golden bird on a golden perch and the
tiger in a silver cage. Sarja the envoy took these and
brought them and presented them to the emperer. ‘‘O
sun of the world and light of the earth, the ink-black
crow’ does homage to you. Great is your glory: it
blazes throughout the world: noone is hidden from you
(b) हह. Darius III, defeated by Alexander at the Arbela and
pursued to the neighbourhood of the Caspian, where his nobles assaasin-
ated him.
९) For other lists of these five ‘ems’ see 34(26) and ८
) १.९. Ratansen, regarded as arebel, and therefore black; see
Shukla’s introduction p. 171.
44; 6-8 THE FRIENDLY MEETING 311
in all its nine regions’. Wrath and mercy are both
attributes of yours: you slay with blazing heat and
give life with shade. If the sun-is wroth with the moor
in his mind, then eclipse seizes the moon and it falls intu
the toils.
‘When ‘day begins to dawn the crow will fly forth,
jamenting loudly —‘All the blackness of the night is
removed, but the crow is unlucky’.’”’
7, After doing obeisance he received this command :
“It is you yourself who have blackened the crow*. When
first the bow begins to bend, a crow does not remain :
seeing the arrow, he flies away. Even now, if arrows were
pointed at him he would again go straight [to the attack]
when he saw the bow. What envoy [of peace} can there
be for those crows who turn away their faces and depart,
presenting their backs? ‘Those who face the arrows and
go into battle, how can these white cranes become black ?
You cannot make your own hair white: you only twist
and turn the information which you get from _ others.
The crow and the serpent, these both are crafty: by
their own course they are marked black.
“In no way can [the stain] be effaced of those whose
limbs have become black. If it be washed a thousand
times, still that colour does not depart.
8. “‘Now that he has come to my service and done
homage, look you now whether he is white or black. Go
and tell him what is the truth : tell him not to be afraid `
where there is refuge there is no dying. ‘Tomorrow the
sun will come up into the fortress. “If there is a bow,
the arrow will be against him.’’ The envoy received pan
by the emperor’s kindness: he took the pan and went to
the king. ‘‘When I met (the emperor] his wrath departed :
in service is love and mercy. Tomorrow the Shah will
ie 1 have omitted Shukla’s question mark.
१.९. retuains black, see Shukla’s Introduction p. 223.
) te. You are wrong in comparing Ratansen to a crow. If he were
a crow, he would be a coward, Shukla finds a secondary meaning in
dhanush=(1) bow (2) crookedness and in sar=(1) arrow (2) lake, but tb ९
is not necessary. Ihave followed Shukla’s notes in the verses which follow,
but the sense is not clear. i also Shukla’s Introduction, p. 171/2).
) ४.९. as explained by Shukla, ‘cf Ratansen attempts any treachery
(the bow being ५ symbol of crookedness), he will have to be prepared to
fight again,’
rt 9 a a ee te न
a
312 THE FRIENDLY MEETING 44: 8—45: 2
come and see the fortress: do him service such as may
please his mind. Ships and burdens are drawn by ropes’,
[so be virtuous]: where there is a bow’, there is a
straight arrow.’ |
The order was given in the king’s palace ‘‘Speedily
make ready cooked food. Mingle with it such well-
flavoured flavours that the flavour of friendship may
result.” | ।
45. THE EMPEROR’S BANQUET
1. Goats and sheep hoth large and small were seized
and brought in, so many of them as were fat. Black-
bucks, blue bulls, antelopes that dwell in the forest,
spotted deer, swamp deer, sambhar and hares: partridges,
quail, button quail, did not escape: cranes which cry,
and peafowl which dance: pigeons and doves were hunted
and caught, and swamp-partridge, adjutant birds and
painted snipe: green pigeons, floricans and snipe were
taken prisoner: jungle fowl and moorfowl were caught.
The chakwi and chakwa {ruddy goose) and the pidara’*:
the nakta (comb-duck), the teal, the goose and the whistling
teal. Those that were fat and large were stalked and caught:
those that were lean and thin had no cause for alarm:
they continued to feed.
When the knife was laid to their throat the blood
dripped like tears. [They 5816 | ‘Why do you nourish your
own body feeding on the flesh of others ?”’
2. Fish were caught, parhin and rohu: the fishermen
showed no mercy in slaying them. Sidhari and sauri
,were caught that were in multitudes in the water: tengar
were all tickled and pulled out. Singi, bhakur were all
selected and caught, and many patharis and bamb (eels)
and bangaris. Charakhs. were slain and the thirsty”
chalha: where can the water-dwellers go if they leave the
t A pun on gun=(1) rope (2) virtue.
1) Or, if there is any trickery, 88 111४. 3.
Canto 46.
(a) Pid&r&. Shukla explains as द्वक, the brown-backed Indian
robin, but an edible water-fow! is required.
(b) Piy&si may be the name of a fish (so Shukla),
45 : 2-4 "HH EMPEROR’S BANQUET 3t3
water? The mind, like a fish, feeds on itsfood of pleasure,
but if it falls into the net who can avert sorrow ? The fish
,which eats mud cannot escape: how shall they escape
whose affections are set on the pleasures of sense? All
have been fourished only to be slain: what deliverance
is there for those who have been thrown into this lake’?
It is on account of this distress that [He] has
provided the fish with thorns“ [for bones] and has not
put blood in its body. They lose the way and flounder
in the water through love of the false world.
3. When it ‘saw [the preparations] the’ heart of the
wheat grain was broken : ‘‘They have brought me to the
place where I shall be [ground to] flour.” They ground
it after they had first washed it: after sifting it they
crushed it and rolled it thoroughly. They placed it in
the frying pan and cooked wheat cakes: as these came
into the mouth they crumbled away. They were hot and
bright and white and they were softer even than butter.
As they touched the mouth they melted away in a
moment: he who eats them obtains a thousand sweet
flavours. They rolled out thin cakes mixed with ghee
and afterwards fried them and soaked them in molasses.
Ghi dripped from the cakes and soharis : as you touched
them they melted: who would touch them for’ very
fear ?
Their sweetness cannot be told: even in the telling,
speech is wondrous sweet. Noone 16 satisfied with
eating them: the heart finds continual refreshment.
4. The kinds of rice which were produced were
beyond description: they were of various hues and all
fragrant with pleasant odours: the raybhog and _ the
kajar-rani, the jhinwa, the rudwa, the daud khani: the
(c) ४.९. those who have been horn into this world.
(०) The word for ‘fish-bone’ and ‘thorn’ is the same, दकव,
(6) There is a similar idea in Burns ‘John Barleycorn.’
They laid him out upon the floor,
To work him further woe ;
And still, as signs of life appeared,
They tossed him to and fro.
But a miller used him worst of all,
For he crushed him ‘tween two stones.
ॐ4 THE EMPEROR'S BANQUET 45: 46
basmati, kajari, ratnari ; the madhukay, dhela, jhinasari :
the ghiu kandau and kunwarbilasu : the rambas, strongly
scented : the laungchur and lachi, exceeding pleasant :
the sonkharika and kapura, well ripened: the korahan,
barhan, jarhan were found there and the sansartilak
and khanrvila: the dhaniya‘, the dewal and the ajana’*:
how far should I describe all the different kinds of
rice ?
They were fragrant and of a thousand hues; stch
pleasant odours issued from them that the bees which
were on the flowers in the forest all came rushing to
settle on them
5. For the pure meats there were incomparable
seasonings: I will now describe the varieties of these.
There was the piquant sauce and fragrant batua: each
mouthful was cooked in marvellous ways. Many spices were
fried in ghi: musk-pods were filled with saffron. Rock salt
and sea salt were placed in all the vessels : lumps of roots
and tubers were cut up. Large quantities of fennel and
anise were brought up: the scent of these was extremely
strong. They took away the water and examined the
frying pans: everything was cooked in ghi and gravy.
They also took lumps of meat and began to boil them
in large caldrons.
Many whole goats were set on spits and roasted :
whoever ate such food arose roaring like a lion.
6. They cooked three-cornered pasties in ghi and drew
them out: cloves and chillis were stuck in them. And
the meat which was carved in marvellous ways became
fruit and flowers, mangos and aubergines”: oranges, pome-
granates and limes and lemons: melons, and white
cucumbers: it was made into jack-fruit and 2870847,
cocoanut, grapes, dates, fresh and dried: yea, all: the
edible fruits that there are: each had its flavour accord-
ing to its proper hue. It was as though they had
brought [these fruits] out and produced them after
(f) Dhaniya is properly coriander-seed and not a variety of rice
(£) Ajanz an ‘unknown’ vuriety, unless it is perhaps the same as’
प्ण yan
(h) Bhaaty the aubergine, better known aa the brinj&l or egg-fruit
45:6-8 ` THE EMPEROR'S BANQUET ` 39
steeping them in vinegar: the lotus which was fashioned
remained unfolded. They made meat dishes of cooked
food : whatever there was, it was all meat.
The gardener came and shouted ‘They have taken
everything and cleared me out. The kitchen has taken
everything savoury : who asks about me now ?”
7. They cut the fish up and mixed it with curds
and washed it and, after many washings, they squeezed
it dry. They seasoned it with mustard oil and then they
added a sauce of fenugreek. Each fish was suitably
seasoned : they sliced mangos and served them up with
the fish. They also provided them with savoury gravy :
he who tastes this gets a tasty flavour. All the pieces
were fried in different ways: eggs were fried and placed
separately. Scented ghi was cooled in a bowl and cloves
and chillis were thrown upon it. Saffron was added,
scented with camphor: it was seasoned with ‘nakh’ and
made into a mash.
The ghi gravy was such that the hand sunk into it
up to the wrist. If an old man ate this he would renew
his youth and marry a hundred women.
8. Many kinds of vegetables were cooked: there were
slices of pumpkins of various sorts. The hill gourd was
brought and prepared : it was cut into little beads and
made into a pumpkin salad. They cooked aubergines
mixed with sorrel: chopped gram was suitably mixed
with 21111. Torais’ and chichiras and denrasis were fried :
they were all filled with cumin sauce which had been
strained. Parwars and kundarus were parched whole :
parched rice was produced in abundance of ghi. Karaislas
were sliced after their sharpness had been taken away :
ginger was mixed with them and they were made astrin-
gent and fried. Slices of apple were cooked whole: they
were seasoned with herbs and served up with mixed
scents,
All the vegetables were cooked: all the viands were
(1) Arus, a vegetable root, =ghtiyan (Arum colocasia).
(1) Torus, chechera, ६.९. dearast, parwar and kundart are all different
Varietjes of cucumber or gourd,
316 «THR EMPEROR'S BANQUET 48 :. Ott
heaped high. What will please the Shah? Whereon will
his glance alight ? | |
9. They filled frying pans with ghi and placed pulse
meal therein: different kinds of porridge were cooked.
One was ground up with ginger and chillis: another was
sweet with milk and candy. There was mung potage in
which chillis were placed: and they also made mung
stirabout and much porridge. There was porridge flavoured
with fenugreek in which vinegar was mixed: they threw
in ginger and served it with curds. Cooked rice was
thrown into curds: it was soaked like porridge and eaten
like butter. They made gobbets on which powder of
dried mangos was sprinkled : they made sweet porridge with
cloves and cardamoms. Karhi“.was prepared, and phu-
lauri' and porridge mixed with sugar sherbet.
They made a mikwanch", throwing in asafoetida,
chilis and ginger: if one ate a single piece of it, he
obtained a thousand flavours.
70. A tahri [pease-pudding] was cooked with cloves
and nuts: chironji nuts and dried dates were put in it.
White pumpkins were roasted in ghi and cooked, and
jars were filled with preserved mangos in syrup like
ambrosia. Curds were thickened by boiling in-iron pots
and halwa was made by being squeezed out from melted
ghi. Sweet curds were thickened with strained perfumes :
milk was set with curds for cream. With milk from
curds they made cream-cheese and produced marvellous
condiments. The sweetmeats that were made cannot be
told: they melted away the moment they reached the
mouth. .
There were motichurs, chhals and thoris: maths,
phiraks and kundauris. Phenis and papars were baked:
they were of many varieties. There were jaoris and
pachhiaoris". Every kind of food was cooked.
11. “Every kind of cooked food of which I have told
(k) Kars, not curry, but pulse cooked with sour milk and spices,
(1) Phuleurs, puffed caker of pulse fried in ghi: fritters. :
{m) Rréeanch, a porridge made of sweet potato leaves and mtg.
(0) cp. 26(1017.
(0) See Shukle’s Introduction p. 101 for ® discussion of the irrelevance
of this stanza,
45::1—46: 11 THE EMPEROR'S BANQUET 317
was intermingled with water. Water is the basis, if anyone
makes research: without water there cannot be flavour.
This [water] is an ambrosial drink, another nectar: by
water, vital spirit remains in the body. Water is milk
and water is ghi: if water fails, life remains not in the
body. In water, light is contained : from water, rubies
and pearls are produced. Through water, every radiance
is pure: it is by the touch of water that it is purified.
And yet this water is not proud of mind: it bows its
head and travels on the low ground.
Saith Muhammad, deep waters when they are full go
to meet the ocean. Those who are full are weighty,
those who are empty sound like drums.
46. THE DESCRIPTION OF THE FORTRESS
OF CHITAUR
I, The Shah feasted. When it was morning the
Sultan went to see the fortress. The monarch took the
lotus* with him to aid him and sent Raghava Chetan on
ahead. In a moment his chariot arrived there: It was
swifter than thought and loftier than the sky. The gate
was opened and the Sultan went in: it was as though
the 5111 were ascending the sky. There were seven gates
and seven steep stages: at each of the seven stages
were two stroug guard posts. On that day the entry of
the gate was spotless, when the Sultan came and set
foot there. It was as though artists had carved it and
drawn designs upon it: sculptured figures stood and did
homage.
Lakhs of warders of the gate were sitting there, to
whom crores [of attackers] would yield. They all opened
the gate and stood with folded hands.
2. All the seven gates had golden doors: at all seven
gongs sounded. These seven gates were of seven colours ;
Canto 46.
(a) The meaning is not ९687. The sun takes the lotus ३.९. the
emperor takes with him either someone named Kanwal Sahay, see also
46(5)7, or the lotus ३.९. Ratansen. But Ratansen apparently 978४ meets
him at the main gate in 46(2)6
And when and where did the emperor dine ?
318 THE DESCRIPTION OF THE FORTRESS 46 3 24
moreover those who went up had to go reund nine
spirals. At every stage beds and stools were set in
order: it was like the stairway to Indra’s heaven. Sandal
trees gave goodly shade there: ambrosial fountains were
therein, filled to the brim. Fruit trees bore fruit, pome-
granates and grapes: he who went by that way could
taste of them. There was a throne provided with a
golden umbrella: the king met and received [the emperor]
as he entered the gate. The emperor ascended and be-
held Chitaur: he regarded all the world .as below his feet.
The Shah beheld the celestial fortress with the adorn-
ment of Indra’s heaven. Truly may you speak of his
kingship who sways such a kingdom of the sky.
3. After ascending the fortress, he saw the council :
he deemed it the assembly of Indra in its excellence. .
The Jakes and tanks and ponds were full, and mango
groves bore fruit all around. There were wells and pools
of every kind : monasteries and temples were set fair on
all four sides. Rich and poor in every house were happy
and content: they had mansions of gold studded with
gems. Night aud day they played on drums , and
clarions: they all sported and danced and were bedight
with vermilion. Jewels and precious stones and famous
gems were to be seen scattered on the rubbish-heaps.
Every house had its gardens and orchard closes : every
door was adorned with many sculptures.
All the youths played at checquers and bent their
ears to songs. Such peace and contentment was to be
seen as if the fortress were not besieged.
4. As he viewed the fortress, the Shah made a
circuit to where the mansion of Padmavati stood. Near
it were lakes on all four sides: in the midst was the
- mansion, reaching as if to heaven, It was fashioned —
of gold all studded with gems like the sky filled with
moon and stars. In the lakes on 21] sides 1011568
bloomed: at the sight of the garden the mind was
entranced. Ten thousand maidens watched the door:
they stood on both sides of the porch with folded
hands. Tigers were carved on either side: you would
think they roared as they stood there. Every kind of
46: 4-6 ` THE DESCRIPTION oF THE FORTRESS 319
pictured carving that one could mention was designed
on the gates with inlay work of gems.
The Shah beheld the mansion which was like a matchless
paradise: ‘‘What must be the beauty of the queen who
possesses such a palace!’’
5. Passing the gate’, he went up the seven stages:
at the seventh the ground was carpeted with scarlet
cloth’. When the Shah’ came to the courtyard, he
stood there; he found the shade of the mansion ex-
ceedingly cool. On all four side were gardens and orchard
closes: in the midst a throne was placed and adorned.
It was as though spring had blossomed with flowers all
of gold: the loveliest fruits and flowers were dispread.
Whatever place came to view displayed itself with the
appearance of a mirror. There the Sultans’ throne was
placed: the Shah took his seat: his mind was where the
queen was. The lotus, as fitted its nature“, smiled at the
sun: the sun’s mind dwelt with the moon.
He alone knows the charm of the eyes in whose heart
is the sprout of love. If the moon dwells in the thought
of the chakor, it will not look at the sun.
6. The queen is above in her tower: she does not
look down below there. She sits with her clever compa-
nions. The sun blazes: the moon does not come into his
view. The king offers service with folded hands: ‘Today
the Shah has come to my house. Dancers and actors,
singing. girls and instruments of music have all come to
the dancing floor and been made ready.’’ He who 15 trans-
ported with love is deaf and blind: you may think of
sporting and dancing as merely [worldly] routine. You
may suppose that someone is making puppets dance: he
who makes them dance is not openly revealed’. The
Emperor speaks openly to the king, but secretly he is
possessed with love for Padmavati.
(b) १.९. the main gate of the fortress, not the gate of Padmavati’s
mansion (stanza 4).
(c) An early instance of the practice of laying a scarlet cloth to
welcome ® distinguished visitor.
Or with a slight change of text, Kanwal Sahay—sce 46(1)2 note
(a)—smiled at the monarch.
(९) It is not clear whether the two preceding verses are spoken by
the emperor.
320 THE DESCRIPTION OF THE FORTRESS: 46: 6-8
Song and music are like routine business: the flare of
‘love blazes up. The cord of the mind is fixed there where
He holds the strings and pulls them. व
7. Gora and Badal were ‘with the king: two heroes,
like his two arms. They came close to the king’s ears
fand said], ‘‘“Men who are wakeful are not robbed. We
have read and studied the Turk with attention: openly
[he shows] friendship but we discovered secret treachery.
Do not make friends with the Turk: still in the end
be will twist round and behave treacherously. Your
enemy“ is hard and crooked like a thorn: only that
makoya can deal with him and remain safe which keeps
him in its clutches. The enemy who has come and
besieged your fortress, him you have feasted with sweet
candy and bread. We have found out this 7856813
treacherous design: if the root goes the leaf will not
remain. 1
“He 15 like Krishna® with king Bali: he wishes to
make a treacherous contrivance. This is what we have
in mind: do not give your consent to friendship.”
8. When the king heard this speech, it did not please
him. ‘‘Where there is friendship [he said], there is no
baseness. If a man do good to a bad man, he is good,
and in the end it will be well for the good man. If
your enemy gives you poison and wishes to slay you,
give him salt, knowing it is an antidote to poison. If
you give him poison, he will be a snake and eat you: if
you give him salt, he will be ltke salt and melt. If you
strike him with the sword, he will take the sword in
hand: if you strike him with salt he will bow his head
and yield. The Kauravas gave poison tothe Pandavas,
but in the end the Pandavas took their revenge. He
, (f) Tod (Rajasthan, annals of Mewar, ch. vi) gives the story of these
Rajput heroes from the Khomin Rasa in much the same form as
Jaisi’s version. Jatmal’s Goré Badal ki Bat is later than Jaisi’s time
(1623 4.7.) ; see Sri Narottam Das’s essay in Nagari Pracharini Patrika
Vol, 14 pt. 4, p 4.9.
(g) A pun on bairt=(1) enemy (2) thorny jujube tree. Makoya
is another thorny bush, cp. 41(11)2.
(४) Jt was not Krishna, bat Vishnu in his dwarf avatar who deceived
Bali—see 30(1)4 note (d).
4635: 8420 THE DESCRIPTION OF THE FORTRESS Fax
who acts treacherously, treachery will smite him, as the
tion prepared the cage [for himself}’.
The king talked of salt but it was to these twain
like salt fon a wound]. They came in anger to their own
house : “A rope (they said] is now about to bind the lion.”
9. . The king had sixteen hundred slave-girls: of
these he chose and brought out eighty four. They were
dressed in saris of different colours: they came out of
the palace and attended for service. They all came out
like velvet insects or like amandavats’ escaped from a
cage. They were all bright with the first bloom of youth:
their eyes were arrows and their brows were bows. They
turn the bow about and shoot these arrows : ‘Stealing
away the senses, they strike with sidelong glances of
love: one 15 brighter than another. It was as though
they had been brought down from Indra’s heaven :
they were all standing in row after row.
The Shah questioned Raghava,“ These are all Achharis.
The lotus lady whom you described, tell me, which is
she among these ?”
१0. “May long life be yours, mighty lord of the
earth: the lotus lady is not among these. This flower
garden is only her slaves: where is the ketaki flower in
which the bee dwells ? She is the true jewel, these are
all pearls: where is that lamp which gives light to the
moth? These are all stars and do service: where is
that moon at whose sight they will hide themselves! ?
So long as the sun is seen in the sky, so long does the
moon not reveal itself." When he heard this, the
Shah turned his glance downwards [saying]: “I am a
(i) In the story given in Shukla’s note, the lion ig tricked by the
jackal into reentering the cage from which a Brahman has released him.
¢ Raymun!, the lal or amandavat (frigilla amandava), a lively
little It is of & bright scarlet colour, as also is the velvet (‘rains’)
insect or bir babiitL
(k) Ihave missed out a half verse for which I have not been able to
find a satisfactory rendering Panighat ghat dhanuk jiti moht, I am tempted
to emend Ji to Jats (they would infatuate an ascetic), but this would
not explain the rest.
(1) . The idea is similar to that in Wotton’s verses,—
| ‘Ye meaner beauties of the night........ |
What are you, when the Toon shall rise?’ `
a1
af
giest.: this is the house of anot#er.. A guest ahould
not look upwards: Arjun shot the fish [by means . of
1४8]. reflection +
- - , "45 a seed does penance in the earth, so I am .dred
up.by the heat of severance. When. shall the sight. of
that fair countenance fall like rain and my bedy grow
like a goodly tree ?”’ |
74. The slave girls do service on all sides even. as
the Achharis serve Indra in Kailas. Some bring basing
and some ewers: they wash the hands of the Shah and
911. the assembled company. Some lay leaf platters
before [the company]: some keep on bringing viands.
Some keep on heaping up chapatis: some serve tp
rice or wheat cakes. Some keep on bringing trays:
some serve the fifty six varieties" [of foods]. 45 for
the clothes which they wear when they come ५0 serve,
they display different colours. At each course they
wear different colours: they come, like a bevy of Achharis.
` Again they bring many kinds of condiment and serve
them a pinch at time. ‘Lord have mercy upon me!’
they say, When they make any blunder.
12. It is as though the stars all did service: without
the moon, the sun has no pleasure in food. Many kinds
[of food] go round at each course: he seeks intently but
finds not what he seeks. All manner of vegetables were
disregarded: without that lovely one, everything was
brackish® like salt. If he touched the fish the bones stuck
in [his throat}: his hand could not reach to where the
lotus was. His mind was set on the stalk of that lotus:
be found no pleasure in any of the slave-girls. He had
not that food for which he was an-hungered : without it
everything seemed to become dry. He tasted without
pleasure, like an ascetk: all the five forms of ambrosia
tasted to him like pgison. _
(m) Shukla’s note suggests that Raghava speaks this verse hinting
that he will show the emperor Padmavati's face in a mirror, But it 18 the
emperor himaelf who fixes the mirror in. stanza 16. For Arjun and the fish,
see 10(4)5 note (14) and (d)
(2) For the varieties see 26(10)6 note (f). ParasahiA here and
in र low appear to Be used as a variant for paroschia (serve) and not
with its ordinary meaning of ‘touch’
(०) A pun on ond (beautiful).and lon (salt).
46:12-58 0 A -DRsGettion GF ie FortRAss 33
He sat on his throne and roared”: the lion does. not
feed ‘on :grass. Until he obtains a hind fot fiis food, he
will go fasting.
13. Slave girls were on all sides with ‘water: like
nectar they poured it into cups. They offered water
scented with camphor, but he drank not: it was for the
sight {of the beloved] that he was athirst. “Give me the
water of sight and I shall live: without a tongue, I shall
drink with my eyes’. The papiha is satisfied with the
drop in Sewati: what boots it if it rains in Magha*?”
Then they brought a ewer and basin: having made him
lose: hope they made him wash his hands [of her]. He who
washes his hands in the’ bowl of severance, remembering
her in his mind, wrings his hands. ‘“‘O God, bring
me to meet her on whom my mind is set: join again
the thread of love which you have broken.”
After washing his hands, when he sat down he sighed
deeply : he called to mind that Lord who gives hope to
the hopeless.
14, “The banquet was finished: the sweet sherbet
went round: round went also the saffron water scented
with mixed perfumes. Those priceless gems which were
heaped in the trays the king brought and laid before him
at his service. He did homage, casting his turban on his
neck’: “O Sun of the world, I am a-cold. This spirit
of mine shivers, full as it is of faults: where the sun
is, there cold cannot remain; the sun so blazes in all
directions, and at the sight of it the blackness of night
hides itself. And the sun. has such pure rays that he.
whe obtains a sight thereof is pure. When the lotus
sees the sun it smiles and it is displayed even more
than before.
() The emperor’s rosring is perhaps ee by the word for
throne (lion-sest) as well as by the lion simile 46{1
(प) Cp. Ben Jonson's “Drink to me only with thine eyes
And I will pledge with mine
(r) Magha, the 10th asterism, When the sun is mm Magha, there :
should be tiful rain, whereas 8 ok of rain in Svatiis a rare phenomenon
(8) verse iis tire same as 26{14)3.
(१) It is not clear on whose neck the turban is thrown.
ep: -24{23)3 and 5 and -Akhiri Kalam.(41)9,
Ad ~ THE DESCRIPTION OF Yum -FomrEHss 46)-44-86
‘‘I.am Ratan [the jewel] dark with the blackness of
night. -O Sun, destroy this gloom. Look now with ceni-
passion upon me and give me bright dayligh |
15. When he heard his respectful speech the Sultan
smiled: he shone with a thousand rays like the sun. “‘O
King [he said] you have truly been chilled: but now you
have seen the light of my counterfance and it has removed
the cold. If any person does service to the sun, how ९8१1
there be any darkness or any cold for him? Enjoy
your own country, doing me service: I will give you
Mandau in addition, O King. A man’s word is like a mark
cut in a rock: like the pole-star above Sumernu, it. ts
never shaken.” Returning [the king’s] present, the
monarch gave him 8 gem: by show of the interest he
hoped to take the principal. He smiled and smiled as he
spoke: he leant upon his shoulder: beguiling him by
friendship he sought to entrammel him by treachery. |
After much deceitful speech the Shah smilingly gave
him pan. He sought to obtain the precious stone after
first getting the jewel" into his hands.
16. The king was overcome by deceit and delusion :
the Shah made ready a game of chess. “‘O King, so long
as it is hot overhead, let us twain for a space take our
ease.” The Shah fixed a mirror there upon the wall:
“I will see her [he thought] whenever she comes to the
lattice.” The twain play, the Shah and the king: the
Shah’s gaze” remains fixed upon the mirror The passion-
ate lover walks on foot"; he looks straight ahead and
advances after establishing his position. [The Shah]
moved his knight and threatened the queen*: he got the
piece which he wanted in front of his vision’. The king
(u) As usual padwrath and ratan mean Padmavatiand Rataneen
(v) pun on सक ka rukkss(1) the Shah's gaze (point ef view},
(2) the xing s castle
(w) pun on piyAde=(1) on foot (2 wn, and also bh
25४४० (1) foot (2) will tak os an Air aie
x) Faratband—Platis ‘guarded by the queen
bukla ‘check mate by knight and pawn’, but farsi is the queen
(properly wazir)
ine + मनर (न am to
that ५५८ emperor saw Padmavati in the ia a त
48:.-x6-78. THE DESCRIPTION OF THE FORTRESS 328,
meaved his bishop and called check’: after giving check:
he.is nearly: defeated by losing his castle. ।
He threatened bishop with bishop: both became inter-
locked. The king wished to make it stale-mate: the
Shah wished for check-mate. ।
17. When the stars [the slave-girls; had seen the
sun [the Emperor] they went where the moon {[Padmavati]
was and revealed him: [They said] “That Sultan of Delhi
of whom we had heard, we have seen him to-day: he
blazes like the sun. His umbrella is exalted in the world : |
whatever shade there is in the world 15 its shadow. He sits
upon his throne and roars’’ with pride: he enjoys single
sovereignty®” in all four quarters. Noone can look straight
upon him: all men bow, turning their gaze downward.
On his forehead is a jewel: no other has such beauty :
all those who are beautiful worship him. We have thus
tested him on the touchstone of the mirror. Do you too
see what manner of gold he is, yourself being the philo-
sopher's stone.
‘“Why should the emperor of Delhi come to Chitaur“?
Laok to it, Padmavati, that you may not have reason
for regret’.
18. The water lilies expanded when they told their
tale in the presence of the moon: the lotus” expanded
when it heard the name of the sun. Night came and the
moon went up into her tower with full radiance as God
had fashioned her. The clever one, smiling, came to the
lattice: the Shah looked and saw her in the mirror. At
the moment of vision it was as if there had been the
touch of the philosopher’s stone: earth and heaven all
became gold. He asked for a vision’ and obtained a
vision of her: the Shah became unconscious”: the game
ee eee ee ० १ अक
(४) Rath Shukla expains by wtn¢=‘bishop’ (also प्र) but Platte by
‘castle’ (also rukA).
(aa) Lit. the two clephants became four-tusked, (their tuske inter-
| V. 36(12)6 note (x).
0) ४. 46(12)8 note (p).
००) Lit. ‘umbrella’
) १.९. he 18 not likely to come again.
ee) The moon and the !otus both referto Padimavati.
' (शि The same chess pun on rukh asin 46(16)6.
8) A pun on shah-mte(1) Shah drunk (2) cheok-mate. A similar
series of chess puns is to be found in a description of a battle in Amir
Khusru’s Tarikh-i Alsi (Efliot’s History Vol. ITI p. 73).
326, THY DESCRIPMON or THE ForTRHSS: 46: कजे
was cancelled. The king did not knew the hidden secret:
he became agitated and trembled [like a leaf] thongh there
was no wind. Raghava said “It is the effect of areca
mut": let us prepare a couch and lay him- upon it
The night passed ; dawn came: the sun then awaken-
ed and rose up. Though he had not seen the moon, her
radiance retnained infixed in his thought
19. He knows the food of love who has feasted -on
it: the bee finds delight m the scent and nectar of the
lotus. After showing her countenance the moon went and
hid : the sun arose like a Yogi who has done penance.
Raghava, after consideration, went to the Shah [and said}:
‘The sun having seen the lotus, is perturbed. As- em-
peror, you have reached what your mind intended: you
umbrella is exalted above all the world. Your throne is
on the backs of the gods: heaven and earth are datly in
your sight. By your favour flourish trees that were
withered : by your anger the earth and the sea are all
dried up. The whole world bows the head to yous: the
life of all is in your hands. :
“You closed your eyes in the day-time: in the night
you did not awaken. How have you slept thus thought-
lessly ? What 15 this delay which has taken place ?”
20. ' “I was beholding a strange sight: there was
a screen and yet no screen. I saw a lake” of such 8
nature that there was water therein but nothing to drink.
The sky came and sojourned on earth: on the earth™ it
was, but it could not be seized. Between these again was
a lofty temple which was within the hands and yet the
hand could not reach it. In that temple I saw an image :
though it was without body and without life it was made
most excellent. It shone like the full moon: after re-
vealing itself like the philosopher’s stone it was hidden.
(hh} Shukla explains that the swallowing of areca nut sometimes
results in sudden spasms
(ii) In staneas 20 and 21, the emperor describes his vision of
Pulmavati as 11 it had been a dream, Instanza 22 Raghava interprets, the
ream. There is also, in these stanzas, a hint of Sufi monism, aceorling
to a the world is the reflection of God (see Shukla's Introduction
p. 192/3) |
j) “The lake is the mirror
k) There is a pun on dharti (earth) and dharat (eciging), —
6320-22 ‘THE DESCRIPTION GF THE FORTRERS 327
New my life is there where that full moon is: how should
the sun wane and be darkened like the new moon? =“.
“The lotus was expanded": it was as though lightning
flashed in the sky at night. She was an eclipse for the
sun: 0 Raghava, believe this in your’ mind.
21. “I saw her standing in exquisite beauty: she
fixed her picture in my thought and carrted away my
spirit. A lion’s waist, a pair of elephant’s temples, a
serpent as a goad, a peacock as mahout. Over these
was a lotus with petals spread : the bee, hovering, took
the scent of the flower’s nectar. Between two khanjans
sat a parrot: the crescent moon arose with its bow. She
revealed a hind and then went away: the moon became
a serpent : the sun became a lamp-flame™’. As I gazed,
she rose exceedingly high: my sight reached her, but
my hand could not reach. Why was there seeing without
reaching? I could not grasp her: as I gazed, she
departed. |
0 Raghava, my spirit has gone seeking for her : how
should that be which is unattainable? If this body of
dust cannot grow wings, whose fault is it?”
22. When Raghava heard, he laid his head on the
ground, {and said] ‘‘May the splendour of the sun reign
for endless ages: That radiance,—that most excellent
beauty,—assuredly you have seen Padmavati. The lion
is her waist, the elephant’s temples are her bosom: the
peacock is her neck and the goad a tress of her hair.
The lotus is her face and its scent is [the scent of] her
body : the khanjans are her eyes and the parrot her nose.
Her eye-brow is the bow and the crescent moon her
forehead : her throne is above all other queens. When
she departed, revealing a hind, the serpent was the braid
of her hair and the lamp was your thought. You saw
her reflection in the mirror : this was the image in which
there was no spirit.
“The lady is all composed of charms. Now you must
1) J have altered Shukla’s punctuation. The lotus would be out 01
place in the night sk
(mam क allusion to the legend that a lamp-flame is dimmed by the
neighbou of a anake
328 THE DESCRIPTION oF THR-FORTRHSS 46; 2232-48742
lay your plans so that you may seize the curling: tress
which hangs down upon her lip and take [that lip’s]
nectar’
47. THE IMPRISONMENT OF RATANSEN
1. The monarch asked his friend" for his chariot
immediately and departed, bethinking himself of his own
place. ‘‘When he goes on the way and has set foot on it
how can the traveller remain standing still? How can
there be any rest for the wayfarer? If he journeys on
the way, the way will be accomplished.” Use fraud
Where force will not attain vour object: brush aside the
thorns and take the flowers. Hearing this great kindness,
the king was delighted: he went with him to bring
him on his way, lost in pleasure. The Shah made close
friendship with the king: he carried on conversation,
with his hand on his shoulder. Mixing ghi and honey he
gave him a potion such as should be sweet in the mouth
but poison in the belly.
Ambrosial speech and fraud,—who would not die if
steeped in such a liquor? If your enemy can be killed
by ambrosia why should you give him poison?
2. When the sun came to the house of the moon, the
moon” became hidden having come to the phase of dark-
ness. The stars ask “Is this pearl darkened? Have the
sixteen digits not one ray of light? The eclipse of the
moon was made known before : the king has strayed : the
Shah has taken him off’. When the emperor, after cross-
ing [the courtyard], came to the first gate, he stood and
invested the king [with a robe of honour]. He received
a hundred steeds and three and twenty elephants. He
caused him to be given drums and a casket of perfumes.
Canto 47
(a) I have followed Shukla who explains mw bhai as mitra se
but perhaps msf msy=friendship, as in 47(6)7 and the translation should
be ‘There was friendship [between them]
I have Bie the next two verses in inverted commas supposing them
to be the affable remarks of the emperor which delude Retansen
(b) Shukla explains the moon as Padmavati, but the eclipse in ए
3 appears to refer to the forthcoming imprisonment of Ratansen
47: 2-4 THE IMPRISONMENT OF RATANSEN ` 329
At the second gate he gave him horsemen: at the third
gate he gave countless gems. At the fourth gate he gave
wealth in crores: at the fifth, two pairs of diamonds.
At the sixth gate he gave him Mandau : at the seventh
he gave Chanderi. As he passed the seventh gate he had
the king surrounded and took him away a prisoner.
3. In [the ocean of] this world the waters of many
rivers are collected : one man gets across, another is
drowned. One man is blind and does not see before him :
another is gifted with sight and intelligence. Deceit was
an affliction for the king: he left his paradise and set
foot on the earth. That for whose sake [the emperor]
had laid siege to the fortress, why should he let it go
when it came into his grasp? When one has succeeded
in taking an enemy prisoner, if he releases him, he brings
affliction on himself. He caught him like a fish by offer-
ing him bait, but why should a tortoise die if it leaves the
water? He made fast his enemy like a snake in a basket :
he tied him like a deer so that he could not leap with his
feet.
He seized the king: he brought him and made him
wear iron on his body. Such iron may he wear who
meditates threats against his lord. |
4. Strong fetters were laid upon his feet and a chain
upon his ‘neck and handcuffs on his wrists. He was
seized and bound and placed in a cage: God forbid
that even an enemy should be so afflicted. When this
was heard, there was talk of it in Chitaur: it was known
in every country in all directions. ‘‘Today [they said]
Narayan’ has again leapt into the world: today that
lion has been fastened in a cage. Today Ravan’s ten
heads have fallen: today Kanh [Krishna] has mastered
the blackhooded [serpent]. Today the life of Kans is
insecure : today the fish has swallowed the demon Shankh.
Today the Pandavas have fallen into captivity : today
Dusasan’s arms have been put out of joint.
9 १
(c) ६.६, there has been a fresh Avatar of Vishnu. The Emperor's
imprisonment of Ratansen is य (अ compared to the deeds of previous
avatars,—the lion, Rama, Krishna, the fish, Balrama, the dwarf,—but the
passage is not clear.
42 ॥
330 THE IMPRISONMENT OF RATANSEN 47: 4-6
“Today king Bali has been seized: he has been bound
and brought down to hell. Today the sun has set in
the day-time: Chitaur has been darkened.”’
5. The king’ had fallen into prison like a djinn into
the prison of Solomon: all djinns are disloyal. When
he had taken his prisoner, the Shah made an expedition’ :
he destroyed his enemies whoever and wherever they
were. Khurasan and Hareu were afraid : Bidar trembled,
such a great king had been made captive. Bandhau,
Dewagiri and Dhaulagiri, the whole creation trembled
and the cry for mercy went round. The sun arose; his
rays shone straight forth : the ice broke and the water
streamed forth. Drumsticks were laid on the drums
everywhere: they all came and prostrated themselves.
[The noise of] the drum-sticks ascended to heaven : the
earth was shaken so that it became unsteady.
The Emperor in Delhi came and sat upon his throne
of felicity. Whosoever had lifted his head now placed
his forehead on the ground.
6. A Negro’ was the gaoler and executioner: to
him the king was made over to be burnt with fire. He
longed for water and for air: all that the executioner
gave him was bare breath. When he asked for water, he
ran up with fire : he brought a mallet and smote it on
his head. ‘‘The water and air which you have enjoyed,
you have enjoyed: now who will bring and give you
water? Erstwhile in Chitaur you did not realise that
the emperor had power over you. When he calls, you
must arise and go: if he employs force, you will have
to wring your hands. If he shows friendship where there
is hard imprisonment he will cause pan and flowers
to be brought there.
“While your face was still unburnt*, you slept: you
(d) As in 42(6)3 ‘dev’ has two meanings (i) Hindu king (2) djinn
(one of those whom Solomon imprisoned).
(6) There is historical truth in Alauddin’s campaigns on his north
west frontier and elsewhere between the two attacks on Chitaur. See
Shukla’s Introduction p. 235, and 43(18)5 note (w). For the places men-
tioned, cp. 42 (10) and (12).
(f) A Habehi (Abyssinian),
(£) Anjal. Shukla’s explanation ann—jal=food and water, is in geni-
ous but not convincing.
47: 6-8 THE IMPRISONMENT OF RATANSEN 331
did not awaken and bethink you of the ocean. Now like
a fish you are caught and pulled out : when you ask
for water (you will get) fire.”
7. Thereafter two men came to put him to the
question : they showed him an exceedingly strong fire.
“Vou have never seen the city of the dead : if you have
seen scattered bones, you have not paid regard to them.
You have not realised that you too will be like these:
if men seek for you they will not find a trace of you
anywhere. Now answer us, O king: what is the pride
which makes you refuse service ? We have dug pits for
and buried many such as you: they have not got out
again to reach their homes and dance there. As any man
laughed, so has he wept: sporting and laughing, you
have slept fearlessly on earth. As you have drawn smoke
out of your own mouth (spoken boastfully), so you have
brought yourself to the pit of hell.
“You are burning, you are dying now in prison, so
great is the fault which you have incurred. Send even
now for the lotus lady, if you wish to be released.’’
8. They questioned him much, but the king spoke
not : the preparation of death took his life’) They dug
a trench and planted him with his feet in it: every
day he was burnt countless times. That place was strait
and dark : he could not turn and lie on the other side.
They brought scorpions and snakes and placed them
there : the torturers" threateningly applied sharp knives
to his skin. They gripped him with pincers till his
arteries burst : heavy affliction came upon him night
and day. Such grievous affliction as a mountain could
not bear, his human head supported the burden of it.
Whatever fell on his head, he endured: he was helpless:
whom could he tell of it ?
(h) ४.९. you ask for water and will get fire, like a fish which is caught
and pulled out of the sea and then cooked.
(i) Dagdh ordinarily=‘burnt’, but in 48(3)4 it appears to mean
‘fire’ (though there I doubt the reading): perhaps also in 47(8)2.
3) The variant reading quoted in Shukla’s note would mean, ‘He
closed the door and would not open it.’
{k) Hela, a sub-caste of Bhangis. In 54(5)5 these excutioners are
called Doms, ‘The द्वद is a specially sharp knife with which bamboos
are split for basket making, an occupation of Doms and of Helas.
332 THE IMPRISONMENT OF RATANSEN 47; 8-—48.: 2
Affliction burns: affliction parches: affliction loses
all shame, Worse even than the thunderbolt is affliction
which falls upon the life of the afflicted.
48, THE LAMENTATION OF PADMAVATI
AND NAGMATI
1. Padmavati was unhappy without her lover: like
a lotus without water whose plant is withered. “My
lover knitted close bonds of love with me, but now he
sojourns at Delhi’, fancy-free. This Delhi is a place from
which there is no returning: noone returns to tell the
news. He who goes thither becomes a denizen of that
place: he who comes thence knows nothing. It was an
untraversable road by which my beloved set out for
there: now that he has gone he has not returmed.’’ As
a well pours out the stream of its water, so the lady
wept with eyes that were like full buckets. ‘I have
become [as thin as] a rope without you, my lord: I have
fallen into the well: grasp me and draw me out.”
She fills the buckets of her eyes and pours them out,
but the fire in her bosom is not quenched. At every
ghari’ her spirit comes: at every ghari it departs.
2. ‘Whereis the deep water, O my beloved: without
thee, the lake of my heart is riven®. You are lost: into
whose hands have you fallen? When you went, you did
not take the lake with you. The birds that feed and
play by the water, if the water shrinks away, none of
them comes to the bank. The lotus is dried up: its
petals are scattered: withering away and reduced to dust,
they are lost. The dust of severance has been spread on
the golden body: it is broken to powder and laid in the
dust’. If the gold is reduced to grains and _ scattered,
CANTU 48
(a) A pua on Dilliee(1) Delhi (2) my heart’s [beloved] ep. 39(3)3.
(b} In the use of the word gharé there is probably a reference
(carrying on the simile of the well) to the small buckets on a Persian wheel.
(c) ४.९. it splits like the bed of a dried lake.
(d) cp. Shakespeare’s ‘Golden lads and girls all must,
As chimney-sweopers, come to dust’.
{Cymbeline)
48: 2-4 PADMAVATI AND NAGMATI LAMENT 333
where is my beloved? Let him come and collect the
dust. The dust which is my body is carried by- the
wind of severance: be you the water, 'which comes and
brings the dust together.
“Do you now show compassion and give me life,
collecting the scattered dust. Through meeting with you
I shall have a new body and a new existence.”’
3. Tears gather like pearls in the shells which are
her eyes: they break away and fall, and waste away
her body. That young and beautiful lotus lady who was
a diamond, a precious stone, without her beloved has
become like a mere cowrie shell. Her jewel [Ratansen]
has taken all the lustre away with him: her golden body
is only a figure of clay. ‘I am sinking in the deep con-
flagration’ of love: who save thee, my lover, will bring me
to the shore? Severance has implanted itself upon my
bosom like a mountain: wavering youth cannot endure
its weight. You may know that severance is the fire in
water’ by which stones are burnt and all become lime,
By what effort, my lover, shall I obtain you? This very
day let me extinguish the burniug fire.
“In what region shall I seek for you? Where are you
imprisoned, O my lord’ Nowhere do I find you by
seeking ; yet your abode 15 in my heart.”
4. Nagmati also began to repeat the words ‘My
beloved’. Night and day sbe was burnt like a fish in
the fire. ‘“‘O my beloved, where is the" bee and where
is the snake? I have sought protection, but you have
not listened to me. Do not stray and go to the lotus,
[else] they willimprison my lord without delay. Where is
that emperor/sun that I may go to him and release
and bring back the captive bee? Where shall I go?
Who will tell me news? I will go thither in the
suise of a Jogini. I will rend my silken sari and clothe
myself in rags 1f anyone will show me the road. I
(€) Dagdh can hardly be correct here. I suspect the right reading
may be udadhi (०५९९१). But cp. 47(7)1 note (i).
(£) Shukla explains as a metaphor of pouring water on lumps of
lime, by which they are heated and dissolved.
(g) The allusions are not very clear. Tho snake is no doubt Nag-
mati, the bee Ratansen, the lotus Padmavati and the sun Alauddin.
334 PADMAVATI AND NAGMATI LAMENT 48: 4-6
will go and sweep that road with my eyelids: 7 will
set out thither placing my head [where] my feet
Ishould be. ]
“My friends, who will be my spiritual guide going before
me to set me on the road? I will make oblation of my
body and mind and wealth and strength” if he brings me
to meet my lord.” :
5. Piteously the lady’ weeps: it is as though strings
of pearls broke and fell. She kept on weeping, and sobbed
brokenly’: her eyes streamed like water running from the
eaves of a house. ‘‘She whose jewel has fallen into the
hands of others, how shall she live without her lord, O my
lord? My five jewels are set upon that jewel": come,
quickly, my dear jewel of good fortune. The lustre has
departed ; my eyes are dimmed: with my ears I hear
not ; my voice you have taken. There is not any savour
which is pleasant to my tongue: no other scent reaches
my nostrils. Through loss of you my limbs are burnt and
scorched : my five [senses] have now awakened, burnt by
severance.
“Severance has burnt them and reduced them to ashes
and now seeks to inake the dust fly away. If anyone were
to come and bring wife and husband together, he would
make me a new body.”
6. Distracted by the loss of her beloved, the serpent
[Nagmati) lamented : through the blazing heat of severance,
crows became black. “Where is my beloved, cool like a
breeze or water, at sight of whom my body and spirit
would flourish ? Where is my lerd with his scent of sandal,
whose hand falls and fondles my cheek? Why has that
robber-woman, the lotus girl, been with him, through
whom my jewel has fallen into the hands of others? Do
you come like spring, my beloved, my saffron flower:
seeing you, your Nagesar-flower will bloom again. Without
you, my lord, my bosom remains burnt: it cannot now
(h}) Reading bal for the first bali.
(i) Bala is ordinarily a young girl, but the word is here used for
Nagmati, who 18 a senior quecn und a mother.
0) Lit. could not control her breath.
fk) १,€, all my five 86868 are centred on Ratansen.
48: 6—49: 2 PADMAVATI AND NAGMATI LAMENT 335
escape the Garuda’ of severance. Now darkness has
fallen and blackness has spread: when you are not here,
who will extinguish the fire?
‘“‘Feyes, eats, and savour of the tongue all have become
dimmed, O my lord. What day is that which will bring
us together and bring the refreshing shade of bliss ?”
49. DEVAPAL’S WOMAN MESSENGER
1. Devapal the prince of Kumbhalner was an invete-
rate enemy” of the king [Ratansen]. Now he heard that '
the king had been taken prisoner, and, remembering his
former enmity, he prepared a crafty scheme. The rankling
spite” of an enemy is accomplished if his enemy’s wife
comes to his house. There was in that place an old
messenger-woman, a Brahman by caste, Kumudini byname.
Devapal called for her and gave her pan. “In your
strength [he said| I have fortified my spirit. As you are
Kumudini, the night lotus, and near to the lotus, the moon
which is in heaven dwells in your heart. That lotus queen
who is in Chitaur, do you bring her by might of hand or
by sleight and give her to me.
“Her beauty charms the minds of all the world ; Padma-
vati is her name. I will give you wealth in crores if you
fetch her and bring her to this place.”’
2. Kumudini said “Look you, I am one who can
charm the gods, to say nothing of men. [I am] liké Lona
the Chamarin" in Kanwaru: whom does she not deceive
when she recites spells? Serpents dance by the force of
spells, and men seize them and cast them into baskets and
shut them up. Trees move when spells are spoken:
sivers flow backwards and mountains are shaken. Spells
steal away the deep intelligence of the wise man: then
who else is blind, and dumb and deaf? Even so spells
affect even the gods: whither shall men flee from spells?
(1) Garuda, the king of birds, is the enemy ‘of snakes, typified by
Nagmati.
Canto 49
(a) Lit, ‘a stake in his heart’.
(b) Lit. ‘stake’. |
(©) Vide 31 (11) 3 rete (m).
336 ` DEVAPAL’S WOMAN MESSENGER 49: न्म्
They ascend to heaven and draw water thence: where
shall queen Padmavati go?”
The messenger-woman made many promises as ‘she
spoke telling of spelis: ‘“He whose loyalty 1s as Sumeru
will not be shaken although the world fall on him*.”
3. The messenger-woman prepared many cooked
foods :—she packed up moti-ladu and sugar-candy :
maths, piraks, phenis, and papars. She clothed herself
carefully in the dress of a messenger. She filled a tray
with fresh wheat-cakes and set out for Chitaur as a mes-
senger after making her promise. When old age ties the
feet where is youthful vigour and how can there be activity ?
The body is old but the mind is not old : strength remains
not, but desire is the same. Where 15 that beauty of which
all the world was enamoured ? Where is that pride as of a
‘mast’ elephant? Where are the sharp eyes, the straight
body ? Ail have been destroyed and taken away by old
€.
Saith Muhammad’, ‘‘Old age which walks with bent
head, why does it walk tapping the ground? The jewel of
youth has been 105 : perhaps it may be in the earth.”
4. When Kumudini arrived, she went up to Chitaur:
she recited spells which charmed all beholders. - She asked
[her way to} the hall of the royal zanana and went through
the porch into the mansion. Where the lotus lady, that
moon of brightness, was, the messenger brought her cakes
and set them down. With arms out-stretched she ran to
embrace her: “Have you not recognized me, O King’s
daughter? A Brahman woman am I whose name is
Kumudini: I and you were born in one place. My
father’s name was Beni Dube and he was the family priest
of Gandharvasen. You were then a babe in Singhala-
dvipa: I received you and fed you with milk from a shell.
(d) Cp. Horace Odes III, 3.
‘Justum et tenacem propositi virum
....i fractus illabatur orbis
Impavidum, ferient ruinge.’
(€) Shukla’s text has joban-pan (youth). I think this must be a
mistake for budhapan (old age). For the simile in the following couplet.
see 1 (9) 6 note (j).
49: 4-6 DEVAPAL’S WOMAN MESSENGER 337
“I changed my place, conung to Kumbhalner.. When I
heard of your being in Chitaur’, I said that I must go
and greet you,”
5. When she heard and was convinced that this was
someone from her father’s house Padmavati fell on her
neck weeping. The heaven of her eyes was dark without
the sun: from her moon-face the tears fell like stars.
The world was dark, since eclipse had fallen on the lady :
“How long [she said] shall the night be filled with moon
and stars? Why did my mother and father give life to
a girl child? Why did they not wring my neck and
slay me at birth? Why did they give me in marriage
and lay on me grievous woe? My coming to Chitaur
has brought my lover into'prison. Now death is better
than this life: the grief of life is like a mountain to
bear. jg This life is a shameless thing; it does not go
forth. I behold my house desolate without my beloved.”
Thy Chakor’s eyes are red with weeping for the moon
and the stars, with plaintive lament. The kokil, the
chatak and the peafowl stiil call with the same plaintive
note. ४
0. Kumudini clasped her round the neck and wept
copiously ~ then she took a silver tray® and washed her
face. ‘“‘“You have the beauty of the moon and are bright
in all the world: hide not your face or the night will
be dark. The chakor is distressed at hearing the dis-
tress of the kokil: its eyes have become like ratti
berries with black faces. However a man may kill
himself with running on a certain road, he will still get
what is written on his forehead. What God has written
will not be otherwise, however a man may run or how-
ever he may weep. However a man may wish [a thing]
or perform devotions [to obtain it] still what God has
written will not be otherwise.” Whatever speeches Kumu-
dini might make, still Padmavati would not listen.
Her vermilion marking and her clothes were soiled and
she was withered like a flower. The adornment with
(f) For the colloquial turn of phrase, see Shukla’s Introduction
260 ।
(£) The silver tray is used a8 a mirror,
A
338 |‘ DEVAPAL'’S WOMAN MESSENGER 49: 68
which her beloved had left her she would not wear again
in her life, even by mistake
7. Then the messenger uncovered her cooked food
Padmavati would not touch it though it was untouched
andfresh. ‘‘I am in distress for my beloved :, how should
I-take nourishment of pan and flowers"? For me, all
flowers have become thorns: distribute [this food] if you
wish to distribute it. Those hands with which I touched
my jewel Ratansen, I shall not collect and touch anything
else with them. By his colour’ my hand has been incar-
nadined : if I pick up a pearl, it becomes a ratti berry
to the sight. My eyes are black-faced with red bodies’,
by whose reflection pearls become ratti berries. In this
way my eyes, those sinners, are vile: my beloved depart-
ed while they beheld him but they could not hold him.
“How should I touch your cooked foods? The gur is
bitter, the ghi is stale. My beloved, in meeting whom
I should find the flavour of sweetness, has departed and
has taken my appetite with hirh.”’
8. “Kumudini remained near the lotus (Padmavati):
the sun was her foe, but she had hopes of the moon. In
the day she had been withered and c1iushed : she unfold-
ed her petals in the night, deceiving with her words.
“Why, girl, [she said] do you remain fading away? You
are dried up like a plant which does not obtain water.
You are still like a lotus bud in your girl-hood/in the
garden; of tender age, with stem just rising. Your hair-
plait is soiled and rough: how do you remain dried up
in the lake? God has made your body grow like a betel
plant ~ he has watered it and so it has flourished. Adorn
yourself and blossom with happiness like the betel : sit
upon your throne or swing to and fro upon your swing.
(9) Pan and flowers are the food of the lotus lady, 40(4)7.
(i) BRuag may aleo mean ‘love’ (by love for him). In eonnection
with the meaning ‘colour’, Ratansen is pictured as a rub
(0) ४.९. my eyes, with their black pupils, are red with weeping
ep. 40(6)3. See Shukla’s Introduction p. 148/89 for these elaborate
metaphors
(ह) The idea contained in the two first verses is that Kumuadini
(the night lotus, as her name rag ies) takes advantage of the absence
of Ratansen (the sun) to deceive Padmavati (the day lotus, and also the
moon), The sun is the enemy of the night lotus, which withers in ite
rays,
49+ 8.76 DHVAPAL’S WOMAN MESSENGER 339
` “Array yourself ever with garlands and [fine] clothes :
tire your head in seemly fashion. Enjoy bliss fora brief
space': youth departs and delays not.’’
g. When Kumudini smilingly spoke of youth, the
lotus did not unfold : its petals remained furled. ‘Nay,
Kumudini, youth depends on this, that the comfort of
the shadow of the beloved be present. If he who holds
sway sojournus afar, who will make the desolate house a
place of habitation? When my king is- not here, my
jewel of brightness, for whom is the throne, for whom
the silken attire"? Who will cause me to repose on my
bed or on my chair? He who should [ull me to sleep is
lying in hard captivity. On all sides this house has
become dark: he has taken all adornment with him at
his departing. I know that” the plant of my body will
then grow when my lord comes home to water it.
° shall continue to be dried up until such time as
he, my lover, comes. This” flower, this vermilion will
arise again like the fresh spring-tide.”’ :
710. “Do not deal thus with your life, girl, As long
as there is youth, so long is there a beloved. Anyone
can have] her own man with her: Tf she quarrels with
one, she finds another before her. As the water of youth
shrinks.day by day, the’ bees are hidden and the swans
come to view. So long as the. lake is full of water, it
has much honour and there are many birds on its banks.
When the water shrinks, noone asks after it. The enjoy-
ment which you take, it is that which remains in your
(1) Lit. ‘ten days’.
(m) Pajow. One would have expected: hiadaur¥, as there 1s
obviously an echo of 49(8)7.
(n) Referring to 49(8)6.
(0) Referring to 49(8}3.
(p) Shukla explains (Introduction p. 125) that the flower is the
withered body of 49(8)3 and the vermilion the neglected adomment
of 49(8)5.
(¶)- The bees are black hair and the swans white hair. Shukla alse
finds a pun in bhakvar==(1) bee (2) eddy. ‘As the water recedes, the
eddies disappear and the swans arrive.’ But the swans ‘would not wait
forthe water to shrink before immigrating. (The simile is further
elaborated in Shukla’s Introduction p. 145-7).
340 DEVAPAL'S WOMAN MESSENGER 49: I0-1%
hold. So ilong as you are’ Kalindi, enjoy yourself: the
time will come when you will be Surasari (Ganges) and
will run into the ocean. Youth is a bee, your body 15
a flower: when old age comes, it will (as it were) crush
the flower in its hands/you will wring your hands.
“That youth, for the sake of which Krishna [sported]
with the Gopis,—it will deceive you and depart with
the ‘arrow; the bow will remain in your hand.
17. “If the beloved is Ratansen my king, of what
use is youth without the beloved? If there is life then
you cati speak of youth : without life what would youth
be? If there is life then this youth 15 a good thing :
life makes it pure like itself. Inthe range in which the
lion man of the race is, how shall the jackal have his
lair in that place? May dogs tear the heart of her who
would desert the lion to,look upon the face of the jackal.
If the water of youth shrinks, what is lost, so long as,
by the power of loyalty, there is no‘ cleavage of the
heart? The dense clouds grow black and shed their
Tain; but youth is like a fresh tree to the view.
“For the sin which Ravan held in his spirit, his face
is black in both the worlds. But the truth which
Rama held in his mind, who could deceive that ?”’
12. “How will you again obtain delightful youth :
It 15 like a ‘mast’ elephant, with a “black umbrella
above its head. Without youth, there is nothing but
old age: without youth one is weary in every place.
Youth, when lost, is not found by searching: if it
departs, it returns not again. Your tresses, which are’
hike serpents, among which the bees dwell, will anon
become like cranes, and all the world” will laugh. Be
(r) Ké&lindi, the dark-watered Jumna, represents black-haired
youth. Sursart, the Ganges (white in the poets) represents old ace,
but the metaphor shifts to the connection between Ganges and death.
(See Shukla’s Introduction p. 147/8 for a somewhat different interpretation).
(8) The arrow is the straight back of youth; the bow the
crooked back of old age. Shukla (Introduction p. 147) also finds a pun
in ban=(1) arrow (2) colour, brightness,—but this is 10t necessary.
{t) s.e. so long as the heart is not severed from the beloved.
The idea is that of the clay hed of a lake being split when the wator
recedes (see Shukla’sa Introduction p. 260).
(ण) १.९. the black hair of youth.
(ष) ६.९. your hair will become white.
(w) There is ४, pun on AcaAsm#=(1) laugh (2) swan.
40: 12-14 DEVAPAL’S WOMAN MESSENGER 342
not minded” like the parrot to attend on the silk-cotton.
tree, or you will afterwards repent in the end when
[you get only] cotton-wool. Your form 15 beautiful
above [anything in] the world: this youth is a guest
which is ready to depart. This is the time for pleasure
and enjoyment: be persuaded: soon’ noone will be
able to claim anyone else.
“As buds which burgeon on a fair tree so is your
youth delightful‘. So long as there is delight“ of love,
enjoy yourself : soon the leaf will be yellow.”
13. When she heard Kumudini’s words her heart
burned : it was as though fire had fallen on the bosom
of the lotus-lady. ‘I shall burn raw the love’s delight
of such one as deserts her own love and is enamoured
of a stranger. She who makes another [her lord] ` goes
by double ways: there cannot be two kings on one
throne. She in whose spirit love is firmly fixed 1s esta-
blished in bliss and wedded blessedness. Ycuth may depart
and the bee may depart, yet love of the beloved will not
depart, whereon I meditate. I=fin this world my beloved
does not return, in that world I will tind him, if I seek
him day by day. My youth 15 where Ratan my beloved
is : tothat beloved my youth and my life are an offering. -
“Bharthari, when he lost Pingala, sighed and gave up
bis life. I, sinful one, that I am alive, this ts the fault
which I have committed.’’
14. ‘“Padmavati; what sort of cookery is it that has
no variety ? He upon whose tongue a different flavour
settles, he it is who knows what flavours are sour or
sweet. The bee rifles the scent of many a flower: the
flower gives its scent to many a bee. You have not
experienced the charm of a second man : those know what
it is who have accepted another. With one palm-full of
beverage the heartis notsatisfied, not until one has 92211717"
drunk a second. Your youth is like the ocean witb its
waves: beholding it, my spirit is drowned. Other
(x) cp. 8(7)5 notes (20) and (p).
(y) Lit. ‘who will be whose ?’
(४). A pun on + = 10 delightful (0 youth), (2) pink (of the buds).
(४8) A pun on raagas(1) love (2) colour. ;
(bb) A pun on @@ear त == (1) drank « seoond (2) another lover.
ere
342 _ DEVAPAL’S WOMAN MESSENGHR 49; 1436
light of love is not to be won by sitting still :-bow ‘can
you attain burning without dying?
When I see the bow of your eyes, I am struck by a
poisoned arrow. If the lotus smiles and consents, I will
bring another bee to it.” |
715. ‘‘Kumudini, you are my enemy, not my nurse you
have come and thrown blackness on me with your talk.
Pure in the world is the name of water, but if blackness
is thrown in it it becomes black. Where there is virtue,
sin is not seen, like’ lead between gold and borax. If
blackness is cast on it, the moon becomes black : so do
you cast blackness on me and insult me. The stain of
ink upon cloth cannot be removed: so have you taken
ink and bespattered me. My bee” is like a ray of the
sun: all other bees are dark and full of blackness. ‘°*The
lotus gazes on its bee-sun with its eyes: a fly does not
settle on the fragrance of sandal wood.
“Like the pure ocean ismy Ratansen, the" lion of the
world : any other who claims” equality with him will
disappear like foam.”’
16. ™ “T,otus lady, talk no more of blackness. This,
look you, is blackness, even your two eyes. Blackness
is adornment,—that which all men call collynum: a drop
of blackness is the mole which adorns your cheek. True
beauty is that where there is a line of blackness:
blackness is in the pupils with which we see the world.
The blackness which is applied to a pair of eyes, that
blackness can never be changed. There. are seals of
blackness upon your two breasts: there is blackness in
the bees which hover round the letus. Blackness ts
{cc) ‘The borax acts as 8 flux and removes the lead or other droas.
(dd) Sam here aud inv. 8 18 not understood and J have omitted it,
Other bees may be black, but not Ratansen. I suspect & wrong reading.
(ee) ४.९. Ratansen (the bee) ia & fit lover for Padmavati (whose
charms are like the scent of sandal). Any rivalisa fly. For the attraction
of sandal tor bees, 10(16)5.
(ff) Jagarii ?
(3g) A pun on saree(1) equality (2) river. Ratansen is the ocean :
any rival 18 @ river and will vanish in fosm.
(hh) The general idea of this stanza seems to be. ‘Do not talk of
blackness as if it were neceassrily evil: it may be a mark of beauty : in this
instance, the ‘blackness’ of which you speakiaa message from Devapal,
and is au honour.’ (See Shukla’s Introduction p. 1740/1).
49: 16-50: I DEVAPAL’S WOMAN MESSENGER 343
drawn in your hair and blackness in your brows:
without blackness your teeth’ do not display their
splendour. What is that whiteness 11 which there is no
blackness? Where is that substance of which there is no
shadow 2 |
“Such a kind of blackness is Prince Devapal: the
umbrella of sovereignty is upheld around his hand. He
who goes to Kumbhalner forgets the kingdom of Chitaur.”’
17. When she heard [the name] of Devapal of
Kumbhalner, the lotus-eyed lady bent the bow of her
brows. ‘‘Devapal is the enemy of my beloved: how can
the bear rival the lion? My body is filled with “as many
woes as there are hairs on my head : what message do you
declare to it, you harlot? My beloved has the quality
of weight like the Son river into which if a light thing
falls it becomes a stone. She over whom there is a be-
loved of such weight, how shall her spirit be shaken by
any shaking?” At the turning of her eyes a hundred
hand-maidens broke loose: there was a thorough thwack-
ing, the bawd was so thwacked. They cut off her nose
and her ears and blackened her all over: they shaved
her head and made her ride upon an ass.
Saith Muhammad, ‘He whom God has made weighty,
how shall any move him by blowing. He by whose weight
the world stands firm will not be blown away by a gust
of wind.’ ‘
50. THE EMPEROR’S WOMAN-MESSENGER
1. Thereafter the queen held an assembly for distri-
buting alms, whereby the king might obtain release from
captivity. All travellers who come from foreign lands
receive gifts of food and water. Yogis and ascetics
come, all who are, clothed in rags: she asks about her
beloved, whether any wayfarer knows of him. When her
arm was lifted high in giving largeess, [word of] the
matter came and reached the Shah. There was a harlot,
a pretended Yogi: the Shah sent for her from the
dancing-hall. See put on Vogini’s attire and made her-
self an exile of love: she took the horn whistle for
of the teeth see 10(9)1 note (36) and (४), = ` Fr Sar gp त-य द pe का नड न +भ
(11) For the blackening of the teeth see 10(9}1 note (36) and (7),
(jj) Reading jetana for Shukla’s jet nz, |
344 THE BMPRROR’S WOMAN-MESSENGER .§ 60: 143
sounding and the secret charm. He sent her to the lotus
lady, having made a Yogini of her: “Bring her here
speedily, making her an exile of severance.”’
Crafty in arts that charm the mind and in the power
to enter the body of another’, she came and ascended the
fortress of Chitaur, being in the guise of a Vogini.
2. She came begging to the royal gate: miaid-
servants made known the news within. ‘There is a
certain Yogini at the gate: she 15 begging like an exile
of lave. Still in her early youth, she has undertaken a
life of austerity : she has rent her silken attire and made
rags of it. "She has the ashes of severance, the matted
hair of asceticism, hide on shoulder, rosary on neck,
ear-rings in her ears: her spirit is unsteady: her body
is her trident: her beloved is her crutch. She has 104
umbrella for shade and is like to die with the blazing
heat: there are no sandals on her feet: the burning
dust scorches them. She has a horn for sounding, a
gorakh-dhandha in her hand: the place where she sets
her feet is burnt.
“Holding her viol she plays the strain of severance
sounding it again and again. Her eye¢ revolve on all
sides hoping tc obtain a sight [of the belayved].”’
3. When Padmavati heard, she called her into the
palace: she asked her “From what country have you
come? Yuga does uot beseem your tender age. For
what reason have you thus undertaken exile?” She said
“Noone knows the woe of severance: only love’s exile
knows, she that is severed from her beloved. My lover
departed to a foreign land: for that reason I am in the
guise of a Yogini. Whose is my life, my youth and my
body? If the beloved has departed, everything has be-
come dust. I have rent my silken attire and made rags
of it: I will take that road whereby I may meet with
Canto 650
(8) Para-kayt-parves. The Yogic power to enter the body of another.
Nee 24(18)8 note (uu), 24(19)5. See also note (15) to 9(5)6
(>) For Yogi’sa trappings see note (a) on 12(1). Also aee 50(8)
and 51({2)68,7
(€) In 12(1) wmbrella and sandals are part of the Yogi’s dress. Why
they ate not here js explained later, 50(4)4
50: 3-5 THE EMPEROR'S WOMAN MESSENGER 345
my beloved. I will go round about and make outcry
211 four quarters : I have grown the tangled locks [of an
ascetic]: what is the use of tiring my head?
“My beloved lives within my heart: if I cannot find
him, whom can I ask? The whole world is desolate:
without him, there is nothing.
4. “TI have fixed ear-rings in the holes pierced in my
ears : I bend [to catch any] sound ‘[which would tell me]
where my beloved roams. In severance from him I am
continually blowing my horn: evermore taking my viol,
I am wasting away. Who will take me and bring me
to the embrace of my beloved? Who will take my
message to my only support"? My sandals have been
broken as I walked: there are blisters on iny feet, but
my mind survives and my body is fresh with youth.
I went to Prayag, but I did not find my beloved : I took
the saw and made sacrifice of my life. I went to
Benares and burnt my body: I performed 00140715 and
bathed at Gaya. Performing vigils’, I came to Jagan-
12111 ˆ then I went to Duwarika and bathed.
“IT went to Kedar and branded my body: there I found
no trace of him. Searching for him I came to Ajodhya
and peeped into the Saragduwari.
5. ‘‘Again I made [pilgrimage] to the Gaumukh at
Hardwar : at “Nagarkot I cut out my tongue and offered
it. I searched the crest of "Balanath: I ransacked’
Mathura, yet I found not my beloved. At Surajkund I
gave my body to the flames: at Badn I found not him
(८) Param “12047 8. ९ Adhari is here used ina figurative Renae ; 1t also
means the Yogi's crutch.
(c} Forthe saw at Prayag see 10(2)6 note (8).
(1) A pun on jagaran and Jagannath (Pun). At Puri there is a
gaddi, or svat, of the Satnath sect of the Kanphata Yogis, described by
Briggs Gorakhnath [. 124.
(z) N&garkot, a shrine of Jwala devi in the Kangra district.
(h) Balnath. See Briggs p. 101. ‘The most famous establishment
of the K&nphatasin the Punjab, and in fact in all India, is at Gorak Tilla.
It is situated about 25 mies North west of Jhelum, on the highest point
of an isolated line of hills in the Salt Range..,..... The place was once
known as Tilla Balnaéth, a name derived from a temple on the summit
dedicated to the sun as Balnath. It was here that Balnath underwent
his penance, and it was from him that Bbartrihari learned the practice
of austeritier*.
(1) Lit. churned, a pun on mathiua and mathura,
44 ५
346 ‘HE EMPEROR'S WOMAN MESSENGER 60: 6-7
whom I love. I visited Ramkund, the Gomati, Gurudwar
and the country of the south many times. I went to
Setubandh, Kailas, Sumeru, and to Alakpur where Kuber
is. In the Brahmavart! I touched the Brahmavati: at
the conflux of Beni I roasted myself on a slow fire. [I
visited] Nimsar, Misrikh, Kuruchheta, together with the
shrine of Gorakhnath.
‘From Patna on the east, from house to house I went
roving round the world. I sought but nowhere was my
beloved found, nor any that would bring me ta him.
6. ‘‘Forest by forest I searched all the nine regions :
water by water all the ‘eighteen quaternions of rivers.
All the sites of the sixty four holy places I visited in
turn, calling the name of my beloved. In Delhi I saw
all the Turks and the prison of the Sultan. I saw Ratan-
sen in prison: he was scorched by the heat; he obtained
no shade for an instant. Everyone was binding and
branding the king: knowing me for a Yogini, the king
touched my feet. What enjoyment is there of which
there is no end? He who brought you happiness has
gone to suffer this distress. Do not suppose that the
name of Delhi (Dilli) means ‘slack’ (dhili) : very rigorous
is the prison: not a bolt can be moved from its place.
“Having seen his branding and distress my spirit is
even yet not in my body. How can that lady live whose
beloved is so imprisoned 2 '
7. When Padmavatt heard that her beloved was im-
prisoned, she was like ghi that has fallen into the fire.
She 1811 and fell at the feet of the Yogini: the Yogini
was burnt as though fire had sprung up from her. ‘Give
me your feet, let me place them on my two eyes: lead
me to the place where my beloved is. With those eyes
with which you have seen my beloved show him to me,
and I will give my life as a sacrifice. My truth, my
virtue, all will I give ta you, 1f you will tell me news
(j) Brahmavart. Mr. J. H. Frere indentifics with the ghat of the
name at Bithur on the Ganges where Brahma is said to have performed
horse sacrifice and where the peg of his clog is preserved,—a very ancient
place of pilgrimage, but not connected with Yoga. But in Manu ii, 17
Brahm&varta is the ‘holy land’ between the rivers Saraswati and Drshadvati.
(k) For the 18 quaternions of rivers see 25(4)9 note (f),
50: 7—51: I THE EMPEROR'S WOMAN MESSENGER 349
of my beloved. Yon are my spiritual guide; I am your
disciple, since you have brought me to the way when I
was lost and wandering. From one moment show mercy
upon me: let me be a Yogini and go with you.’
Her friends said “‘Iisten, O queen: do not openly take
this guise. A Yogi should practise Yoga in his mind,
receiving the instructions of his Guru.
8. ‘“Receive alms, O Yogini, and go elsewhere to beg.
You will not obtaig your lover by practising hypocrisy.
A great Yoga is this, to endure severance and to abide
in such manner as the beloved would have you abide.
Remain at home: you have already abandoned worldly
desires : let the palms of your hands be your drinking
vessel and your breath be your horn. Let the love
which is implanted in your mind be your beads: let
severance be your dhandhari, and the curling tresses of
your head be the, tangled locks [of the ascetic]. Let your
eyes be the chakras to seek out the way of the beloved :
let the clothes which are on your body be the [ascetic’s]
rags. Let your [इल hide be the earth and the sky
the umbrella over your head: let your heart remain
impassioned” with love. Turning the rosary” of your mind,
let that be your chief tenet : let the five elements be the
ashes on your body.
“Tet your ear-rings be to listen to tales of the beloved
and your sandals the dust upon his feet. Go and take
Gora and Badal as your staff for your support.”
51. HOW PADMAVATI SPOKE WITH
GORA AND BADAL
71. Her companions extinguished the grievous burning.
She went to the house of Gora and Badal. She had
never in her life set her lotus feet upon the earth: in go-
ing so far they were blistered. The two Chhatriyas came
forth when they heard her: they trembled as noone [had
(1) Padmavati’s companions continue to speak, addressing first the
pretended Yogini and afterwards (v. 2 ff) Padmavati.
(m) A pun on rf@iv=(l) enamoured (2) red, or the safforn of the
Yogi's dress.
{प} Jaisi, for a wonder, does not pun on the ‘rosary of the mind.’
Kabir did,—Man ka mank® pher.
348 $= PADMAVATI WITH GORA AND BADAL .B41: I-5.
ever] trembled. They unbound their hair and swept the
dust from her feet, [saying] “Where has Padmavati set
her feet ?’’ They hrought her and set her on a golden
throne: the queen, the victim of love’s severance, seated
herself. The twain stood and waved chowries: “Let the
umbrella [of sovereignty remain] above your head! Let
us receive your royal command. Surely the water of
Ganges has flowed backwards that the queen has come
to her servants’ house. @
“Why have you performed such grievous toil which it
did not beseem you to perform? Let your command be
given speedily : our lives are [devoted to] your work."’
2. Padmavati spoke weeping: with blood in her eyes
the world was red to her view. They rolled like the
ocean, filled with rubies : she wept blood,—in such wise
fell her tears. ‘‘Surely I will make sacrifice of my eyes
to the love of Ratan*: I will pour out my blood ratti
by ratti. I will cause the’ bee to hover above the lotus.
Take me there where I may find the sun. With the‘ tur-
meric of my heart and the blood of my face I will
sacrifice my life meditating on severance.” “Her tears
fell like water in Sawan: the ground became green:
her vesture became saffron coloured. The tangled strands
of her hair were like snakes coming forth: as she wept,
she became like a Yogini in her guise.
Her tears moved like scarlet insects and even so did
not stop. The way was not visible to her sight: the
month of Bhadon came on.
3. “You, Gora and Badal, are two pillars [of strength]:
you are like Parath* in battle: none else is like you.
Canto 51
(a) The usual pun on raag and ratan, the other meaning being ‘the
colour of rubies’.
(b) Shukla explains the lotus as referring to Padmavati’s eyes, but
it 18 not clear to what the bee refers,
(c) The ‘turmeric’ is the yellow centre of the lotus and the ‘blood’ its
pink petals.
(०१) The general idea is that Padmavati’s weeping is like the rains
in the months of Sawan and Bhadon, for which compare 29(7). In the
rainy season, the ground becomes green, ladies wear saffron-coloured
clothes, snakes come forth, red velvet insects move about, and the sky is
datk, Furthermore, the saffron dress and snaky locks make Padmavati's
attire resemble that of a Yogini.
(e) P&rath is Arjun, the son of Prithu.
61: 3-3. PADMAVATI WITH GORA AND BADAL 349
My sorrow’ cannot be endured now in the rainy season:
its roots are in hell, its branches in heaven. The whole
earth was filled with its shade. The plant of severance
has grown and become a date-palm. The trees of the
forest have received this sorrow and have grown: they
have uncovered their heads and stand weeping. The
earth 15 full of sorrow, the ocean is dammed up with it:
the heart of the cowrie shell is split and broken. 1 wiil
become a Yogini and will speed to the prison in which
my beloved is: I will accept imprisonment and will re-
lease my beloved.
‘The sun is seized by eclipse: the lotus sits not on
its throne. I too will go on that road by which my
beloved went.”
4. Gora and Badal were both softened: as they
wept their bodies were drowned and soaked in blood. “It
was for this [they said] that we were wroth with the king
[and said} “Do not make friendship [with the emperor] ;
the Turks will seize you.’ It was when we heard of this
intention of his that we went away in wrath : and it has
finally come upon our own heads. So long as we have
life, we twain will not flee: while your lord lives, how
can you become a Yogini? When Agast has arisen and
the elephants have trumpeted‘, when the water has
receded, the king will come home. When the rains have
departed and Agast has come into sight, saddles will be
laid on the backs of the horses. I will cleave Rahu™
and rescue the sun: neither root nor shoot of sorrow
shall remain.
‘He is the sun: you are the moon: I will fetch
him and bring you together. So in sorrow will joy be
born, and in night there will be day.”’
5. Badal and Gora took pan: ‘‘Whom [she said]
shall I take and set in comparison with you twain ?
You are heroes; none is your equal: you twain are
(1) So Shukla interprets barkha. I am inchned to think that the
word may be a wrong reading for dtrichh (the tree of my sorrow).
(g) Shukla gives two explanations, either (or both) of which may be
right, (1) ‘when a military expedition is made’ (2) ‘when the constellation
Hasta brings thunder’.
(h) Ré&hu here is clearly the demon of cclipse, see 10(4)5 note (१).
350 PADMAVATI WITH GORA AND BADAL- 51: 5-6
like Hanuwant and Angad. You are [like] Arjun and
king Bhim: you with your strength are crushers of
hosts in battle. You are removers of burdens, as all
the world knows: your are famed as men of noble
worth, like Karan. You are mighty heroes like Jagdeo' :
you are like Sankar and Malakdeo’, When I have such
as you with me, Badal and Gora, whom“ should I seek
for as a deliverer from captivity? As Hanuwant ५६
livered Raghava’' from captivity so do you deliver
[the king] and unite us.
“As, when the lacquer pavilion" was burning, Bhim
did a deed of gallantry, so do you accomplish the pur-
pose of life and bring forth our pillar which is burning.
6. “You are Rama and Lakhan, the destroyers of
demons : in your house is the king” Balbhadra. Yeu
are “Drona and Gangeo: I account you like Sahadeo.
You are Yudlishthir and Durjodhan; you are Nila
and Nala®, two givers of encouragement. You are
Parasuram and Raghava, the warriors: by your proniise
my heart ts cheered. You are Satruhan and Bharat
the prince: you are Krishna who destroyed Chanur’.
You twain are Pardumna and Anirndh: you are
Abhimanyu (so all men say). Bikrany could 10 rival
— श) ee ~ -- [ 7 श 2 भा म
the use of the name 18 a witnesy to Jaivi’s knowledge of history, probably
through Amir Khusru’s contemporary works, Terikh-i-Alai and Ashika.
(See ‰ 11101 History of lnelia as told by its own historians, Vol. III p. 76
and 550). Another identification is suggested in an article by Chandrabull
Pande in the Nagari Pracharini Patrika Vol. 13 (शति 4 p. 495.
(k) Lit. ‘whose face’. I have omitted Shukla’s comma after herauas.
(1) Raghava=Rama: but we do not read that Hanuman released
him from captivity.
(m) The lacquer pavikon was prepared by Duryodhan in order to burn
the Pandavas init, but Bhime rescued them. (Mah&bharat).
(n) Balbhadar=B&laradma, the elder brother of Krishna and eighth
Avatar of Vishnu.
_ (७) Drona, the military preceptor of the Kaurava and Pandava
princes.
(p) Nua and Nala, monkey chiefs who aided Rama.
Gangef,=Bhishina (the son of Gang&). Sahadeva, the youngest of
the five Pandavas.
(५) Ch&ntira, a wrestler in Katsa’s service, slain by Krishna.
identified with the Daitya Varahe.
(ए) There is perhaps a pun on sake=(1) could (2) the Saka Era
which goes by Vikrama’s name, co. €2(3)6.
es ies ॐ ज आ अ
51: 6—52: 7 PADMAVATI WITH GORA AND BADAL 351
you: you are Hamir and Harichand who spoke words
of truth.
“As in the sore straits of the Pandavas Bhima was
their deliverer from captivity, so do you fetch forth my
beloved, who is in the power of others, and uphold my
honour.”
7, Gora and Badal took pan: they did mightily, like
Hanuwant and Angad. ‘‘Make ready the throne; unfold
the umbrella : happiness’ be on thy head from age to age.
You have suffered distress by setting your lotus feet
upon the earth: mount your royal litter’ and proceed to
the palace.’’ At hearing of the sun the heart of the
lotus awakened: saffron colour was laid on the heart
of the flower. It was as though day had come to view
in the night : there was radiance, and blackness vanished.
She mounted the royal litter and went, radiant with
brightness, like the spotless moon of the second night.
Together with her were her friends like the night water
lilies or the stars : they brought her to the palace, waving
their chowries
Seeing the crescent moon, Sankar placed his forehead
for her throne. Padmavati set her lotus feet upon her
couch.
52. HOW GORA AND BADAIL WENT
lr'ORTH TO WAR
1. Badal’s mother Jasowa came and clasped Badal’s
feet. “‘Badal Ray, you are my bahe: how do you know
what war is like? ‘The emperor is lord of the earth
and king: in withstanding him not even Hamir had
success. With thirty six lakhs of horses his host is
arrayed: twenty thousand elephants trumpet in the
fray. When his close-thronging host advances to the
attack, it is to the view like dense thunder clouds in
the sky. Their swords flash, wherein lightning is con-
tained : their kettledrums rattle and roar. Their lances
(s) Lit. the happy state of a woman whose husband is living
(t) Siighisan, ordinarily 8 stationary throne, must here mean 8
litter, as in $, 6 below
332 | THE WAR S23; x-2
and arrows are showered in dense clouds: your courage
will not keep its firmness.
“Where the captains and their hosts are slain*, what
is your concern there? Today the wedding train’ will
come for you : abide here and enjoy pleasure and lordship.”
2. ‘Mother, do not think me a mere babe: I am
Badal, the lion, a warrior in the fray. Hearing of the
troops of elephants, my spirit is fired all the more :
how should the lion’s race remain hid? They will only
rear until the lion-cub roars: I will reach alone the pre-
sence of the Shah. What elephant will be able to rage
in my presence? I will tear off its trunk and drag out
its tusks. I will be with my lord in his straits like a
buckler : I will brandish my spear like Duryodhan. As
Angad planted his feet in wrath so will I hold up all
the thirty six lakhs of [the Shah’s] army. Like Hanuwant
will I make my legs firm with strength: I will burn the
ocean and release my lord from captivity. | "
“Therefore you, Jasowa my mother, do not think me
a babe. Where my king like Bali is imprisoned, I will
enter hell and release him.”
3. Badal set in train his departure for war: jus!
then the wedding train arrived and burst upon the housr
How shall I describe the manner of the wedding train
The moon-faced [01146 | had adorned herself. The partin.
of her hair was filled with vermilton and set with pearly
a peacock sat thereon, so high was the knot of her hag
Her eyebrows were a bow: it twanged as she 11181
practice with it: there was collvrinm round her ey
which shot sharp arrows. She haa faced an ornament -4.
her forehead ciusted with gems like’ sae Pleiades: beholding
that adornment the spirit left its 5181901. Jewelled ear-
drops swung in her two ears: they beat her head when
CANTO 62
(a) There is a variant reading in this passage 88 quoted in © 01
Introduction p. 127, dalmalahin (trample everything underfoot) 2
marahin. ishna,
(b) The Gauna is the coming of 4 bride to her husband’s ho
she reaches the age of puberty. In thia canto the same word > Era
going’) 18 alea used for departure of Badal, Ihave used ‘train’ -
where possible, | ie ee
52: 3-8 THR WAR 353
|
they heard the mews of the departure of her beloved.
Her curling tresses were like serpents ; the garland shone
upon her bosom : all her ornaments were a burden, with-
out her lover.
When the wedding train has come to the porch the
beloved is in train to depart for a foreign land. How
shall girl-companions extinguish the fire: by whose
instruction shall it be extinguished ?
4. Realising his departure she drew her veil [across
her face]: she came and made entreaty to him, standing
at his door. With a sharp glance she caught her sari
and drew it round her: her lover did not look at her,—
he made his spirit firm. Then the lady, smiling, looked
straight at him: Badal turned his back upon her. She
turned away her face and there was wrath in her mind:
“At the time of his departure, he has not looked at the
face of his wife’. There was uncertainty in the lady’s mind:
“How is it that he has turned his back on seeing me?
‘Perhaps a dart has pierced my beloved’s eye: let me
pull it out by the head as it quivers in his back. Tet
me now press the rondure' of my breast against his back ;
{ he clasps me in a spasm of pain, I will bathe him in’/
(३४९ him with” vehement delight/thick lotion.
“If I remain shame-faced my beloved will depart : if
, 27857 him, he will call me overbold.” She stood and
ynsidered what she should do: both courses were
early difficult.
{< 5: “If by observing modesty I do not get my beloved,
wt me abandon modesty and persuade him with folded
,,uds. If a lover persists in departing owing to his
bride’s modesty, of what use is the modesty of the veil ?”’
Then the lady seized his waist-band and said, smiling,
“The supplication which a wife makes to her lover can-
not be set aside. Today I have come with my wedding
train, my lord: do not you, my lover, be in train to
—— आ
taine = 1 नाग
The simile is not one of Jaisi’s happiest See Shukla’s Intro-
2. 24. | ।
(8) „ 2 द्र, it, a kind of pumpkin,—an allusion to a method of
_ (५५ }& thorna by pressure from its rounded surface.
litter A pun on raae=(I) moisture (2) sensual delight.
45
rs ee ee
334 THE WAR _ 62 :. 5
depart for battle. A woman comes, with the wedding
train in order to meet [her husband]: what kind of train
is it which severs her lord [from her]? If the wife does
not gaze her fill upon her beloved: and if the beloved
does not meet his wife in all his life {what kind of
marriage is it?}] Where there is a lotus so full of
hope, the bee, that rifler of scent and honey, should not
abandon it.”’
The woman laid her forehead upon his feet, ‘“‘Hear
my supplication, O prince. My curling tresses lie here
as a noose: they will in no wise release your feet.”
6. “Let go my waist-band, lady’? Badal said. “A lady
does not seize a man’s waist-banl when he is in train
to depart. Even if you have come hither with
wedding train, fair dame, still I ant 111 train to go where
my lord is. Until the king 1s released and comes here,
heroism 15 to my mind and not dalliance. A woman and
land are handma‘ds of the sword he who conquers with
the sword, to him they belong. He who has a sword
111 1115 house has thick moustaches (7.c. is a hero)’ where
there is 110 sword, there are neither moustaches nor beard.
so, then, there are moustaches on my face and I shall
tisk my life: 111 my master’s business I Will push aside
the throne of Indra. A man who has pledged his word
will not give ground : he has the ‘tusks of the elephant,
not the neck of the tortoise.
“You are a weak woman, lady, and of feeble wit.
What do you know of war? The man t1 whose bosom 1s
the spirit of heroism will not take pleasure in dalliance.’’
7. “If you wish, my beloved, to rush into war, I
have nade ready for a war of dalliance. Youth has come
and planted [his banner; in face [of the foe]: severance is
scattered, the army of love is furious. My vermilion
hair-parting is the pouring out of “heroism: it is red with
blood like a naked sword. My brows, like a bow, aim
with the arrows of my eyes: the collyrium is the bow-
(f) The Elephant’s tusks are not retractile, while the tortoise’s
neck is.
Ras is not translatnble here. 1 means ` (1) the mood (of
heroism), (2) moisture.
§2: 7-8 THE WAR 355
string ; they are steeped in the poison of my eyelashes.
With side-long glances I have prepared, as it were, a
whetstone: my charms from top to toe are sharp darts
and arrows. My curling tresses are an inextricable noose
which I will fasten on your neck: lip is longing to join
battle with lip. My two breasts are like the temples of
a ‘mast’ elephant: I will charge straight ahead: on guard,
my lover !
“Dalliance is furious: the hosts of severance are
broken and divided tn two halves. Furst fight with me
and then make preparation for battle.”’
8. Her lord did not heed any of her entreaties. Fire
fell in the "mind and bosom of the lady. The smoke
that arose made her eyes smart: tears began to fall drop
by drop. Her garland and sari were soaked: the garment
upon her breast remained untouched; her lover did not
unfasten it. The curling tresses which touched her girdle
became wet, and so did her face and hair and the tassel
upon her head. The collyrium ran down and her skirt
was avetted: even then’ not a hair of her beloved was
moistened. “If you, my lover, have undertaken war,
you have made vows of fortitude, my lord, asI of faith’,
Come back to me after vou have conquered, fighting in
the battle and the fray: shame were it if you should show
your back.
“You, my beloved, have made yourself firm in courage:
I have ‘marked the vermilion line upon my head. 11
beth [your courage and my faith} succeed we shall meet
again. J,et the drums and clarions sound’.
h}