V.47 ‘The three kinds of kings’ is trai-vidhyavat pīṭhika ākhyalu tri-sthānamulu, literally the ‘three types of kings who occupy three different thrones’, viz. kings who are enemies (śatru), friends (mitra) or neutral (udāsīna). eḍu mārlu or ‘seven times’ yields the product 21 which is likened to the number of times Paraśurāma killed the kṣatriyas (cf. IV.25), as well as the 21 notes of the Indian scale, i.e. the seven notes (sapta-svaras) in each of the three octaves (tri-sthānamulu, cf. V.18).
Here ‘lute’ is the Sanskrit word vallaki. VVS 382 and TKR 507 identify it as a bowed instrument when they take koṇamu as a kaḍḍini (stick) and kamānu (bow) respectively. I read koṇamu as a tip or edge, and interpret Paraśurama’s axe (kuṭhāram) as a type of plectrum.
‘raging sun’ is praḷaya arka, literally an ‘apocolyptic sun’. ‘melody of love’ is a double translation of the word rakti which can mean love, or a musical melody (Brown 642).
After Paraśurāma killed all the kings on earth, he renounced his lordship over the ‘perfect Goddess of the Earth’ (bhū-satī tilakambu) and gave her to the sage Kāśyapa to look after like his own child (biḍḍa aipovade).
V.48 ‘Killer’ is Viṣṇu as nilampa ari vidāri, literally ‘the killer of the enemies of the gods’, and ‘Lady of the Lotus’ is Lakṣmi as padmā-kānta. ‘struck by a lotus’ is mohana-kañjambu vaici.
V.49 ‘everyone’ is the colloquial Telugu phrase naluvuru, literally ‘four people’. rāvaṇa-svasa or ‘Rāvaṇa’s sister’ is the shape-shifting demoness Śūrpaṇakha. Her disfigurement at the hands of Lakṣmaṇa is considered to be the root cause of the battle between Rāma and Rāvaṇa. This pivotal episode in the Rāmāyaṇa plotline is more detailed in South Indian versions than in Vālmīki’s original. Take for example Kamban’s epic Irāmāvatāram, in which Śūrpaṇakha’s genuine love for Rāma is sympathetically developed over some forty verses, only to be contrasted with the violent, rape-like attack by Lakṣmaṇa when he slices off her nose and ears, as well as her nipples. See Paṭalam V in Hart and Heifetz (1988).
V.50 ‘lion-like ferocity’ is mun rāṭ-kaṇṭhīravamai in reference to Rāma’s previous incarnation as Narasiṁha. ‘blood, fast flowing, fell’ is a translation of phīṭ-kāra sravat-asramai, literally ‘blood flowing with the sound phīṭ’. The extended metaphor (cf. II.41) is based on the image of a sandalwood tree (śrī-khaṇḍa) wrapped in cobras (kumbhīnasa).
V.52 This poem and the next one (V.53) function as transitions from Goda’s critique of Rāma to Kṛṣṇa. ‘dusty lotus feet’ pat-vanaja-kṣodamu refers to when Rāma transformed Ahalya from a rock back into a woman with a mere brush of his foot. The yogis (muni bṛndambu) mentioned here are the Seven Sages who are reborn on earth as the gopis of Vṛndāvana.
The noble Yādava Akrūra (here Gāndini, son of the Kāśi princess of the same name) travelled to Vraja and convinced Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma to come back to Bhojapura (Mathura) so that they could kill their uncle, the evil King Kaṁsa.
V.53 Ayomukhi (‘Iron Face’) is another demoness from the Rāmāyaṇa who becomes enamoured with Lakṣmaṇa. She is disfigured in the same way as Śūrpaṇakha—her nose, ears and one breast are sliced off (see Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa Araṇya Kāṇḍa 69–17).
The ancient King Kakudmi once took his beautiful daughter Revati to the realm of Lord Brahma in order to seek his advice about finding her a suitable husband. There they waited for some time before an audience was granted, unaware that several millions of earth years had passed in that short time in brahma-loka. Brahma then suggested that she marry the noble Balarāma, brother of Lord Kṛṣṇa; but since so many generations had passed, humans had evolved into much shorter creatures, and Revati towered over Balarāma like a palm tree, niṭṭa tāṭivaṇṭi ativa (see note about sandhi, TKR 512 and VVS 387). Balarāma supposedly tapped her on the head with his plough and she shrank to his size. There is a play on the word musali which in Sanskrit means mace, hence an epithet of Balarāma, but in Telugu it means ‘an old woman’, i.e. Revati.
Ugrasena (Kaṁsa’s father) employed a dwarfish maid (marugujju preṣyakai) who seems to be the same perfumer Kubja or Trivakra mentioned in verse I.8, indicated by the verb diddi, to fix or correct (cf. Bhāgavatam Canto X, Chapter 48).
V.54 Radha is the only gopi that Kṛṣṇa actually unites with, cf V.68. She plays an important role in the mythology of Kṛṣṇa bhakti as the couple is seen as the divine unitive force.
GODA AND HER FRIENDS
V.55 This short vacanam marks the end of the nindā stuti and the beginning of a highly conversational exchange between Goda and her friends (Tel cĕllikattĕ, Tam toli). These colloquial dialogues function at a different level of diction than the rest of the poem and resemble the speech patterns of old Tamil love poetry (cf. Note V.40).
‘the colour of molten gold’ is a translation of puṭa-pāka nikāśam, glossed by TKR 513 as baṅgāru vannĕ rāvaṭāniki karaga pĕṭṭaṭam, or ‘melting in order to get a golden colour’. This phrase is in direct reference to Goda’s kāka (burning) or tapanam (heat) which are standard synonyms for viraha-rāgam, the intense and fiery pains of separation. This section of the poem highlights this metaphor with various poetic shades and images. In the Indian tradition, both love and religious practice (tapas) are understood as activities which generate heat, a kind of ‘burning’ that is emotional, physical and ultimately creative. For a fascinating contrast of these two modes, see Viṣṇucitta’s plea in vacanam V.157 (not translated here).
Kaiṭabha is the name of a powerful demon killed by Lord Viṣṇu. ‘inner heart’ is antaḥ karaṇa, a technical term which applies to the four constituents of the mind—mind-heart (manas), intellect (buddhi), ego (ahaṁkāra) and consciousness (citta). The poet is very fond of using reduplicative phrases in his prose passages i.e. ‘over and over’ punaḥ punaḥ, ‘day after day’ nāḍu nāḍu, ‘little by little’ inta inta, and ‘thinner and thinner’ giṭu giṭu.
V.56 The gods Indra and Candra are epitomes of masculinity, ‘messenger girls’ are tera-kattĕ, go-between girls, messengers, sevants or ‘strange women, women of loose character’ (Brown 340).
V.57 The context here (and in the next verse V.58) is that Goda and her friends continue their converation even as they pretend to be playing. ‘making sure no one was around’ has been added for clarity.
V.58 ‘Leave him out of this!’, poniṇdu annan, is taken from the next verse V.59. ‘a man who asks for rice pudding need not be poor’ is the proverb pāsĕmbu aḍigina vāre pedalĕ.
V.59 The word kāni (‘or’, ‘rather’, ‘than’) appears six times in this poem.
V.60 This sīsa padyam desribes Goda’s lovesick nights, and the actions that ‘reveal her’ to her friends. I have rearranged and omitted certain elements of the verse in order to preserve the repeated word tĕlupa (‘to make known’ or ‘to make clear’) without encumbering the overall rhythm. Two onomatopoeic phrases appear—ciṭ ciṭ is the sound of the ‘extinguished night lamp’ and phūt is her ‘whimpering sigh’.
V.61 The idea here is that Goda’s burning love heats up the water in the pond to the point where the pearls disintegrate into chalk (sunnam-aina). This is the first of three poems spoken by three different friends. If we understand Goda as the creative force śakti (cf. Note V.25), TKR 519 describes these friends (nāga-kanyalu) as the three central nāḍis or energy meridians of the body, viz. iḍa, piṅgala and suṣumna.
V.62 This bŏṭṭu is made from a paste of musk (kasturi). ‘sizzle … sound like a slap on the face’ is curranucu mŏgumbu vresinaṭu.
V.63 In this instance, Goda’s breasts (pāl-iṇḍlu) are compared to dolls made of cork (bĕṇḍu bŏmma-gati).
V.66 ‘Like hot coals roasting in a fire pit’ is a translation of puṭa pāka prakārambu agu viyoga davadhu bharambu. Note how viyoga, ‘separation from a lover’ is embedded within the metaphoric phrase.
V.67 This poem is based on
the image of veṇu-gopāla Kṛṣṇa, a common visualization of the god when he’s playing his bamboo flute, head leaning to the left (ḍā), and one leg curved in an iconic bhaṅgima (stance). ‘margosa-leaf eyebrows’ is nimba-chada-bhruvu. ‘full-blown scarlet mallow’ is paruvampu maṅkĕna viri, also known as a scarlet pentapetes, or the flower of the Bastard Teak (TKR 522 modugu pūvu). In Hindu cosmology, the universe has seven worlds i.e the sapta-lokas, or here the sapta-bhuvanālu. They are compared to the standard seven-holed bamboo flute (veṇu).
V.68 ‘pleasures’ are rucira bhogamu or sexual enjoyment, a common Indian metaphor for spiritual union (saṃyogam). For Radha, see Note V.54
V.69 The Yamuna is referred to as ina-atma-ja, the daughter of the Sun (cf. V.70). ‘what did they see?’ is the colloquial kāñcuṭa emi. ‘A woman can keep some dignity, can’t she?’ is valadā abhimānam ŏkinta intiki.
V.70 The river Yamuna is the Sun’s daughter (ugra-mayūkha-nandini) and Yama’s brother (śamāna-svasa). ‘mistress’ is tāpi-kattĕ, literally ‘a pimp’s friend’. ‘union with the Lord’s divine body’ is śauri tanu yogapu.
V.72 This poem relates to a common Hindu idea that groups of people reincarnate collectively, and that souls (ātmas) have long, continuous relationships with friends and relatives that last over several lifetimes (cf. V.37 and V.79).
V.73 ‘like wise seers with knowledge of past, present and future’ is traikālika jñānavantul-aina ṛṣalu aṭla.
V.74 This poem refers to the time when Kṛṣṇa gifted his wife Rukmiṇi a ‘flower from the Tree of Heaven’ or divija-dru-prasavambu. The so-called pārijāta flower never fades and remains eternally fragrant, imparting an aura of divine beauty to anyone who wears it. Satyabhāma, the most beautiful of Kṛṣṇa’s wives, gets terribly jealous when she doesn’t receive the prized gift. Kṛṣṇa soothes her by going to Indra’s heaven and bringing back not only a flower, but the entire Pārijāta Tree. This story forms the basis of Nandi Timmana’s mahā-kāvyam, the Pārijātāpaharaṇamu, or ‘Stealing the Tree of Heaven’, written in the 16th century at Śrī Kṛṣṇadevarāya’s court. See NRS 178–179 for an interesting anecdote about the circumstances of this text’s composition.
‘tiny task turned epic endeavor’ is jilgun pani anta sesi (cf. V.77).
V.77 ‘makes mountains out of molehills’ is a translation of the Telugu goru antalu kŏṇḍalu antalu agunaṭluga cesiti, literally ‘making small things into mountains’.
V.78 Mukunda, ‘the Giver of Salvation’, is an epithet of Kṛṣṇa.
V.79 The epithet Śṛṅgāriṇi is specifically used to highlight Goda as a ‘woman in love’. uraga kanyakalamu are ‘snake maidens’, and dhāruṇi is ‘the Earth’ (cf. V.37 and Note V.72).
V.80 For Kali Yuga, see Note IV.6. ‘yogic powers’ is yoga-śakti. ‘Lord’s lotus feet’ is upendra-pada-ambu-ruhambu, a metaphor for heaven, or the afterlife.
V.81 ‘the only true love’ is ŏṇḍĕ bhakti, referring to devotion to both god and husband. ‘pretenders’ is vaiśikamulu, literally ‘prostitutes’, glossed by TKR 531 as naṭanalu.
V.82 ‘Mannāru Svāmi’ refers to the local god of Śrī Villiputtūr (cf. Note II.87).
V.83 ‘brightening comfort’ is tĕlvulu or tĕlpulu, to teach, instruct, comfort or make clear, based on the Telugu nominal stem ‘tĕla’, meaning white. A bannasaramu is a special kind of necklace ‘of coral and gold beads or plates, or of pearl chains and gold plates alternatively’ (Brown 528). Here the necklace alternates (pala-pala-gā) with sapphires (nīlamulu) and pearls.
V.84 This fascinating poem seems to be based on a folk saying which I have not been able to trace. This verse along with the three that follow it are descriptions of Goda’s delirious lovesickness at different times of the day—night, morning, afternoon and dusk.
V.85 This image is based on a common theme in classical Indian poetry—each night the lotus flower closes its petals, trapping in bees who are only set free by the sunrays of dawn. Royal chronicles and foreign accounts bear testimony to the fact that cannons were widely used in Kṛṣṇadevarāya’s military campaigns (cf. II.9). TKR 534 identifies the particular battle as the 1509 storming of Gaṅga Raja’s Fort Śivasamudra in the middle of the Kāveri River. See also Chapter 11 in Sewell.
The ‘Warrior with a Spring Leaf Dagger’ is taliru-kaiduvu jodu, an epithet for the God of Love. ‘prying open petals’ is a translation of the alliterative daḷat-dạḷa.
V.86 This interesting image of a bathhouse (dhāra-gṛha) fitted with raised water pumps (ghaṭa-yantrālu) is supported by archaeological evidence found in and around Vijayanagaram. tuhina (dew or frost), which is compared to the conjurer’s vibhūti (ash), has been omitted. This metaphor is rather complex; TKR 535 and VVS 405 offer various interpretations.
V.87 This poem is a surreal description of Goda’s dream in which dusk appears like a female monkey, pitṛ-prasū-plavagi. Compare this image to parts of the Sundara Kāṇḍam of Valmīki’s Rāmāyaṇa in which Sīta dreams about Hanumān, in particular verse 34.22:
na aham svapnam imam manye svapne dṛṣṭvā hi vānaram |
na śakyo abhyudayaḥ prāptum prāptaḥ ca abhyudayo mama ||
I don’t think this is a dream, for seeing a monkey in a dream shouldn’t bring happiness, and yet I’m happy.
The ‘Lotus Lover’, tamarasa-āpta, is the sun. ‘jumped’ is caṅkram uddāma, literally ‘leaping unbound’.
GODA’S DEVOTION
V.89 ‘Southern Vedas’ is a literal translation of drāviḍa-āmnāya, a reference to the Tamil Divya Prabandham, also known as the Nāl-āyiram or Four Thousand. It is considered by Śrī Vaiṣṇavas to be equal to the four Sanskrit Vedas. The Indian gooseberry āmalaki is still commonly used in religious ceremonies. ‘according to ancient tradition’ is vidhiyutamuga.
V.90 ‘bŏṭṭu of earth’ is pāṇḍu-mṛt binduvu, a bindi made of white dirt or clay. ‘pumpkin seed’ is gummaḍi-giñja, the white coloured seed of a common South Indian gourd. ‘cool evenings’, callini reyiṭi, implies that Goda performs pūjas at both dawn and dusk.
‘offered hospitality’ is vindula telpa, glossed by TKR 538 as ātithyam istūṇḍagā, and by VVS 408 as vindu-bhojanamulu seyugā. The Telugu word vindu is derived from the Tamil virundu, which can mean either ‘guest’ or ‘banquet’ (cf. Tirukkuraḷ 86).
nūnĕ-muḍi is hair braided with oil (VVS 408 nūnegaligi) or smoke (TKR 538 dhū), but the main idea here is the smell of her wet hair, taḍi tāvulu.
V.91 ‘allow them some privacy’ is vijanambu ceya, literally ‘to make without people’. ‘foot of the altar’ is vedika, glossed by TKR 539 as vigraham mundunna tinnĕpai, the raised step or dais in front of the idol.
V.92 The sacred items mentioned here are still common Vaiṣṇava temple offerings—brown cow ghee (kapila-gavi sarpi), sandalwood incense (agaru-dhūpambu), bananas clusters (kadaḷī-phalāḷi), sugar mixed with ghee (śarkara-ājya), and lily garlands (kalva-daṇḍa). ‘sacred Viṣṇu mantra’ is dvayam (cf. I.77, II.87 and Note I.77).
V.93 This short kanda padyam uses four different variants of the word khaṇḍa—‘ground’ (khaṇḍita), ‘bits’ (khaṇḍambulu), ‘undivided’ (akhaṇda) and ‘chunks’ (khaṇḍambulu). ‘Goda and her friends walked outside’, kadali cĕlula-ton, has been moved to the next verse V.94.
V.94 ‘consecrated by holy water from the Lord’s blessed sandals’ is a translation of śaṭhakopamanu dhariñci caraṇa tīrthamu kŏni. The śaṭhakopam (or often śaṭhagopam) is a religious object commonly found in Vaiṣṇava temples. Gwynn defines it as ‘a cover made of precious metal and shaped like a bowl, inscribed with the marks of Vishnu’s feet and placed on the head of a devotee by the priest when uttering a blessing at the end of worship in a temple’. The word also appears as a name for Nammālvār (cf. Note VI.98). The supposed Sanskrit origin of the term is not clear.
V.95 Here the name used for Goda is sudati, ‘a woman with perfect teeth’
. Viṣṇu is referred to as acyuta, ‘firm’ or ‘fixed’, as well as ā yadu-pati, ‘that Lord of the Yadus’. ‘singing songs in Tamil’, drāviḍa-bhāṣa pāḍucu, is a reference to the Divya Prabandham, but more specifically the Nācciyār Tirumoli and Tiruppāvai composed by Goda herself (TKR 541).
‘passing the Spring’ has been added as a reference to the description of Spring (vasanta-varṇana) that follows this section, but which has been omitted in the present translation.
CHAPTER VI
ŚRĪRAṄGAM
VI.1 ‘Serpentine Hill’ is kāka-udara-naga, or Mount Tirumala in the Vĕṅkaṭa range (cf. Note V.1). Vikuṇṭhādevi is cited as the mother of Lord Viṣṇu (TKR 593), possibly a Vedic reference to Indra’s second mother (cf. Ṛg Veda X.47–50). ‘Maker of Fortunes’ is śrī-kāri.
VI.2 Chapter V ends with V.157, a vacanam in which Viṣṇucitta begs Śrī Mannāru Svāmi to explain his daughter’s intense practice of tapas (cf. Note V.55). As a response, the Lord tells the Story of Dāsari which constitutes the beginning of Chapter VI. The telling ends with vacanam VI.90 in which the Lords commands Viṣṇucitta as follows—śrīraṅgambunaku raṅgeśu sevimpa toḍukŏni poyi—‘go with her (Goda) to Śrīraṅgam and worship Raṅganātha’. I have not translated these two vacanams that primarily function as bookends to the beautiful, albeit tangential Story of Dāsari.
The Giver of the Worn Garland KRISHNADEVARAYA'S AMUKTAMALYADA Page 17