NAUKAA CHARITRAMU-III

(BOAT STORY)

SRI TYAGARAJA

Translated by

Prof. William J. Jackson

Indiana University, Indianapolis, Indiana

(Continued from the previous number)

(SONG 6)

Today, O maidens, treat your eyes to this rare sight!

See how they navigate the fabulous boat!

All the women singing and dancing in for all to see

Down the middle of Yamuna river with Krishna they float ..

Some are singing songs to Hari,

some are kissing blissfully;

Others pray to goddess Yamuna,

the pearl necklaces of yet others

Dangle and swing – today O ladies, gaze on this fare sight!

See how they navigate the marvellous boat!

Some are excited – their milk-domes are jingling,

The golden saris of some have come unloosened;

The curly tresses of some are flowing in the breeze,

Some are recounting stories of Krishna. Treat your eyes

To this rare sight today, O girls–

The way they are navigating the beautiful boat.

Some say: “O friend of Tyagarajal while the musk-dot

On the forehead of others has melted;

The flowers in the hair of some are slipping out,

The bangles of others are jingling and tinkling.

Today, dear ladies, gaze upon this rare sight,

See how they navigate the fabulous boat!”

Then those gems of blooming lovelies on the occasion

Of performing these water sports adorned themselves–

If you ask in what manner.

All the ladies were nicely daubing their bodies

With rosewater fragrances and sandalwood paste

In an auspicious way; at that time they were donning

Garlands of pure white jasmines, and longpetalled

White molla flowers, and fragrant maruvampu leaves

And small jasmine buds; and they were setting up

Incense-scented tapers, and adorning themselves

With fine musk markings. All the ladies were

Combining jaajikaaya, the nice-smelling nut, with

Red saffron strands and tender light green betel leaves,

And having folded the leaves, nuts and lime, they

Were gleaming even more blissfully; as it happened

They were saying in their minds, “These are

Celestial pleasures!” And then the ladies moved

The boat forward with great love and a song full of bliss.

Then the gopikaa gems, becoming inspired with

The divine ecstasy of being with Krishna,

Were singing what, you ask ...

(SONG 7)

Each one thinking His love was hers alone,

The blossoming lovelies lost their heads and danced;

Krishna with tremendous love overflowing,

Assuming different forms for all of them,

Joined in their dance

He caught hold of the golden sari-hem of some,

Some he playfully pushed with his feet;

The beauty of some he gazed upon, fully satisfying his eyes;

To some he spoke words, understanding their minds;

Each one thinking his love was for her alone

The blossoming lovelies without a care danced and danced.

He lay down on the laps of some,

On the lips of some he applied lipstick;

He played with his hands on the bodies of some,

Standing behind others he plaited their hair

And each one thinking his love was just for her

The blossoming lovelies danced with carefree abandon.

He put the musk dot on the foreheads of some,

Others he gave kisses on their shining cheeks,

Some girls he splattered with rosewater

And he (Tyagaraja’s Lord) spoke with others,

And each one thinking His love was hers alone

The blooming ladies danced in carefree abandon.

If you ask what Brahma, Indra, and all the other gods

were doing at that time ...

Having been looking with tender regard,

They let rains fall from the sky – showers

Of golden flowers, on Krishna, the ocean

Of mercy, performing great joyful play

After finding out the hearts of the ladies.

At that time the love-tipsy beauties,

Blind with youthful pride, were doing what, you may ask ...

Fastening their fine white upper-cloths

Over their bosoms, placing flower blossoms

In their tresses, holding staffs, speaking

With Krishna, as the cool Malayan breeze

Was blowing, ascending the mountain of pride

Singing with love the playful deeds of

The love-god, they are pushing the boat along....

SONG 8

What vows did we take,

What gifts did we make? Dear girls!

Here’s Lakshmi’s consort sitting next to us!

We are leaning our cheeks up against his!

And after that, to kiss his lips!

To press the moon-faced Lord to our hearts–

What vows did we fulfil.

What gifts did we bestow? Dear girls!

We are the gems among women, O ladies!

With our youthfulness surpassing even Lakshmi!

Girls, the lotus-eyed one, does he not belong to us?

Our dreams have come true, to gaze upon the hero

Of the Yadavas till our eyes are fully satisfied.

What vows did we take and then follow through –

What rite? What gifts did we make, O young ladies!

Decking ourselves nicely with golden jewels, O girls

Dressing ourselves gracefully with beautiful clothes

To give to the Lord with his auspicious form

Our bodies which are so beautiful!

We must’ve made vows – what were they?

Girls, what generous gifts did we give?

To swell with pride and joy in the river, O girls,

Having flocked together so amiably,

Meeting with a full heart the Lord

Of the auspicious form, O girls, to burst

With joy with the Lord of the world stage

Appearing in our presence – our ritual vows ..

What were they, O girls? What rites?

What charities did we engage ourselves in?

Would it be possible even for the Creator

The Lord of Speech, Brahma, and other gods,

O girls, to depict all the pleasures

We have enjoyed with the friend

Of Tyagaraja, O sisters? To sing in this manner

The delicate Ragas of the higher note

Our ardour aroused so nicely, why what vows

Did we take and keep, what gifts

Did we make, O dear sisters?”

Then, just to reveal the hearts of the cowgirl-pearls

Krishna the God, spoke in this way:

“With the fragrances of the flower blossoms spreading

Along with this ringing song of the kokil bird

There is none my equal to fulfil the wishes

Which you eagerly desire! Would even Brahma

The lotus-born and other gods be able to enjoy

Your beauty which is so unique? Now without delay

Will you put your oars on the Western side – immediately?”

Then, if you ask, how do the beauties speak

Having thought the words of Krishna deceitful ...

“What is this to lovely damsels? You are not to be believed.

Stop and wrap up your amorous vexations

Which bring disrepute in the world,

O holder of the hill; from now on

You won’t put any fast ones over on us, that’s for sure.”

SONG 9

Enough! Enough! Your stratagems won’t work here

O lily-eyed Krishna! Even the trident-bearer Siva

And other gods never had it so good; joining us

Share in tasting sweet joys, Krishna! Seeing

Your lower lip and teeth we have become love-enchanted,

Yearning we have come, O guardian of the wise;

Will you now perform like Salya driving the chariot

(Leaving us, in the lurch)? We did not know

You would try to beguile us O Sri Krishna,

Enough! Enough! Your tricks won’t work here

O lily-eyed Lord Krishna ...

Listening to your words sweet as sugar candy

Greatly desiring, we have come. And now that we’re here

We didn’t know you would swing the cradle

And also pinch the baby! O Sri Krishna!

Enough! Enough! Your pranks won’t wash!

They won’t get by us here, lily-eyed Krishna!

Knowing you are the Lord adored by Tyagaraja,

With immense love we girls have come.

Do not disobey our words, O Sleeper on the cosmic serpent,

Behave like a person with intelligence–

Indeed, Sri Krishna, Enough! Enough! These tricks

Won’t get past us here, lily-eyed Lord Krishna!

Just like the dancing nymphs in the court of Indra,

Like the prosperous attendants in the court of Siva

And like the sages in the court of Brahma

These delicious-faced ladies play in Madhava’s court.

Then these ecstasy-transported lovelies

Possessed by the bliss of being with Krishna–

What were these divine women doing

At the time of enjoying the water sports?

SONG 1O

“Come, look, see, this hilarity–

Smiling ladies with lovely teeth – today!

They ary sporting and cavorting having joined up,

With Krishna, these Gopis in the boat

Unattainable by Indra and the rest.

Each smearing sandalwood paste on the other,

Each applying Tilaka marks on the other,

Each giving betel leaf, nut and lime to each other,

Each one garlanding the other with flowers;

Come on and see the festivity!

Smiling ladies with lovely teeth, today!

This one is wrapping the fine cloth of that one,

That one is helping put this one’s bodice on,

This one is joining that one in an embrace,

Each one is enchanted, lost in themselves with each other;

One is singing songs to another one,

They play pleasant jests on each other,

Each one is seeing Krishna in the other;

Not seeing Krishna in each other they are vexed ...

Come along smiling celestial damsels–

Today let’s look upon this festive fun!”

When the Gopis were speaking in this way

All the Apsarasa ladies there were admiring

These joyous celebrations of the Gopis ...

And the Gopis were saying: “Who is equal

To us in beauty?

Hari and Hara and Brahma too, men, gods

And celestial beings, all – will they not

Become humble? Who in the world will not

Lose themselves after seeing our bosoms, our tresses,

Our faces and our lips?”

They spoke further, in this way:

SONG 11

“Who is equal to us in this world

Dear girls, today? In this world

Vishnu, Siva, Brahma and celestials

Under the sway of passion lost themselves,

So who is equal to us on earth today, dear girls?

Brahma the Creator, with his four faces

Became infatuated with his own daughter

And he long ago became attached to her

As she dripped with beauty.

Vishnu because he fell in love

Became the paramour of Brinda;

Siva with his snake-ornaments

Became the possession of the women

Of Daruka forest;

In Gokula the One whom Tyagaraja adores

Is caught in our net!

Who can claim to be our equal in this world?

Our fortune is unique today, dear girls!”

After that, the Gopika jewels,

Forgetting themselves

because of their excessive pride

Of beauty, what do they say?

“He only knows how to tell lies and flirt with girls

He doesn’t know how to ply a boat!

When he sees women he can only fall in love with them

Having seen our beautiful bodies he can only follow us

But he cannot ply a boat!

He knows how to dress himself up beautifully and bewilder us

But he cannot ply a boat!”

Madhava having heard their speech, as they were thinking

in that way (Brought on) at that time the great thunder

of many clouds, and great whirlwinds, and darkness thick

with rain, and, in that way, forming a hole in the boat,

water was beginning to enter ...

Then Indra and the other gods, knowing the heart

of Lord Krishna, who planned to put down the silly

drunken pride of the gems of milkmaidens, were

doing what, you might ask ..

Indra (the foe of the demon Paka) and other eminent gods,

To bring about entertainments, gave a command for more rain

And hailstones to fall from the sky at that time

Having become very anxious when water entered that hole

In the boat, the girls worried, saying:

“O Sri Karunanidhi (Ocean of Pity) Hare!”

Then the jewels of cowgirls, having become

extremely frightened ladies, what did they say?

SONG 12

“Now we are at a place where the rain

Won’t let us stay in our place

And there are these thunderings which in no way abate!

In the whirlwind the boat spins round and round

With the waters striking so violently!

We are at a place where the rain

Won’t let us stay put in one place

And there are these thunderings which in no way abate!

In the boat a leak has sprung–

Who will be the protector of us ladies?

Nothing can be seen before our eyes–

This river will be our end before long!

Now we are at a place where the rain won’t let us stay

And these thunderings here in no way abate!

We went the way our desire led us – even then I told you so –

‘Don’t have so much pride,’ I said.

We must not gather all in one spot! This is what

Is known as ‘The Deluge’ and nothing else!

O moon-faced girls! Come, little Mama.

Let’s look to Tyagaraja!

For now we are in rough straits where the rain

Won’t let us stay in one place.

And this thunder won’t abate!”

In this way all the Gopika gems, withered by grief,

Having encircled Lord Krishna, were saying what, you might ask ....

“This royal decree – is it the fruit of our playing?

What woman’s curse could it be?

Is it the inauspicious aspect

Of the time of day when these precious beauties

Set out? Is it the mischief of some god?”

Thinking many times that “No other way

comes to mind,” all the jewels of women

In that boat were feeling sorry, with that grief.

In this way the Gopi gems, having become so aggrieved

Prayed to Yamuna devi, for the sake of getting safety

for Lord Krishna:

SONG 13

“O mother goddess Yamuna it has become a chaos!

Please bring to an end, mother, all this distress;

Worshipping you with jasmines

We bowed to you, O mother – please save us!

Unable to endure the love-god’s annoyance

We brought this Prince along to this place

And all is now topsy-turvy. How long will our lives

Tremble in the balance? O mother goddess Yamuna,

It is sheer chaos! Please bring to an end, mother,

All this distress!

Winds and rains have become so thick,

Shall we fall, making a mockery of all our actions?

With your affection give us protection!

We had to leave our husbands behind

Great chaos has come, divine mother Yamuna,

Please bring our pains, to an end!

We shall give you all our jewels, O mother Goddess!

Yamuna, take this sweet-face boy

To the riverbank, O mother, why did we

Bring along this handsome beau forcibly?

Whatever letters may be written by the lotus-born

Brahma on our (foreheads) it is enough in his life remains!

Whatever work women do, it ends up in a deluge!

It has become chaos, O mother Yamuna goddess,

Please bring an end to our distress!

We shall give all our bodies, O mother goddess!

Take the God Krishna to the riverbank.

We deceived this boy whose form bewilders,

O mother, and now all is chaos, divine mother Yamuna,

Please bring an end to this distress!

We reckoned one way, O mother; our guardian God

Reckoned differently! Lovelies, we cannot be separated

From the friend of Tyagaraja, O mother!

Chaos has come, O mother Yamuna,

O divine lady, bring a stop to our grief!

Thus at this time in the sky, Brahma, Indra and all the gods

performing meditation on the feet of Vishnu, what were they

saying?

“Look at the way they continuallly plead to survive

in this pint-size Yamuna river – when the boon-giving Lord

Is able to accomplish the rescue of the entire sea

Of existence, saying “Am I not the other shore?”

Then those pearls of cowherd girls, suffering

great grief from getting no succour

from the goddess Yamuna, spoke in this way:

“With the mind of a boy, Vishnu

(from whose navel a lotus grows)

Has been reclining on the milk-domes of us ladies

The pure-hearted Krishna, entering this and that house,

Running around happily catching housewives,

Enjoying the beauty-flowing village ladies, has been shining

As their shadow, their constant companion ...

That spotless-souled Krishna

But because of our female intelligence

We spoiled everything! Why did we bring

the ruling Lord, lady?

Whenever shall we hand Krishna over to his mother,

Having crossed the troubled Kalindi, Ma?

The sweet-faced Lord was laughing in his mind

Seeing those blossoming lovelies shining there, speaking

thus at that time Krishna, to make the Gopis grieve

Spoke like a person who was distressed like this ...

“I was coming along, having filled my fists full of pearls,

Hankering for the red jujube fruits you ladies were selling

Being puffed up and bursting with joy you were casting

Your roving eyes about; I was trying to keep myself

Behind you, beautiful-faced ladies, pride-drunk maidens;

You went along however, and became excessively joyful;

Then I said: ‘I will not come,’ since it meant leaving off

My playing – and now you weep – isn’t this mean of you?

I had no way of knowing we were coming to this!

Ladies should not be trusted – by anybody!”

The Gopikas having heard what Krishna said

In the manner of a doctor growing sorrowful (at a patient’s

Prospects), themselves becoming very sorrowful,

What were they saying?

“Like a lady with pride and no restraint

Taking the honey stored in a tree trunk

Then spilling it out on the earth

Without eating it herself, we poured out

The sins of everyone – our self-respect is lost –

We shouldn’t have brought the Lord (the Foe of imps)

Who was shining in the town.”

After that was said, the Gopi gems, thinking

of the fruit of the worship they’d performed

in previous lives, what are they saying?

(To be continued)

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