One more instance to exemplify Shastri’s verbal prowess.
In a village near Bangalore, K— had taken some money as a loan from R— saying that he would return the money the very next day. But even after months he did not return it. Later once somewhere in the Gandhinagar locality of Bangalore they met each other by accident and the topic of money came up immediately and resulted in heated exchange of words.
“Lady! In the kingdom of Mālava lived a brahmana named Agnidatta. He had two sons named Śaṅkaradatta and Śāntikara. At a very young age Śāntikara left home in his quest of learning. Nobody knew where he went. Śaṅkaradatta married me.
Man is a bag of desires. His life is a river of ceaseless likes and dislikes. Whatever he desires and whatever goals he attempts to attain have all together been termed by our ancestors as puruṣārthas.
There are four puruṣārthas –
1. Dharma (good works, virtue, sustenance, global ethic)
2. Artha (wealth, means to fulfill desires)
3. Kāma (desire, enjoyment)
4. Mokṣa (liberation).
ಶೂದ್ರಕನು ನಾಯಕ-ನಾಯಿಕೆಯರನ್ನು ನಿರ್ದೇಶಿಸಿದ ಬಳಿಕ ತನ್ನ ರೂಪಕದ ವಸ್ತುವನ್ನು ಅದರ ಎಲ್ಲ ಸಂಕೀರ್ಣತೆಯೊಡನೆ ಸೂಚಿಸಿರುವುದು ಅನ್ಯಾದೃಶ. ಮೃಚ್ಛಕಟಿಕವೊಂದು ಪ್ರಕರಣವಾದ ಕಾರಣ ಇಲ್ಲಿ ವೀರರಸಕ್ಕೆ ಹೆಚ್ಚಿನ ಅವಕಾಶವಿಲ್ಲ. ಅದೇನಿದ್ದರೂ ನಾಟಕದ ದೈವ-ಮಾನುಷಭೂಮಿಕೆಗಳಿಗೆ ಸಹಜವೆನಿಸಬಲ್ಲ ರಸ. ಸಾಮಾನ್ಯರ ಬದುಕಿನಲ್ಲಿ ವೀರಾದ್ಭುತಗಳಿಗಿಂತ ಶೃಂಗಾರ-ಕರುಣ-ಹಾಸ್ಯಗಳೇ ಸಹಜ, ಸಮೃದ್ಧ. ಅದನ್ನೇ “ಸುರತೋತ್ಸವಾಶ್ರಯ” ಎಂಬ ಪದದ ಮೂಲಕ ಶೂದ್ರಕ ಅಭಿವ್ಯಂಜಿಸಿದ್ದಾನೆ. ಸಂಭೋಗಶೃಂಗಾರಕ್ಕೆ ಹಾಸ್ಯವು ಅಂಗವಾದರೆ ವಿಪ್ರಲಂಭಶೃಂಗಾರಕ್ಕೆ ಕರುಣವು ಅಂಗ. ಹೀಗೆ ಈ ಮೂರು ರಸಗಳ ಮೇಲಾಟವಿಲ್ಲಿರುವುದು ಸ್ವಯಂವೇದ್ಯ. ಪ್ರಣಯಿಗಳ ಪ್ರೀತಿಗೆ ಅಡ್ಡಿಯಾಗುವ ಅಂಶಗಳ “ಖಲಸ್ವಭಾವ” ಮತ್ತು “ವ್ಯವಹಾರದುಷ್ಟತೆ”ಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ತೋರುತ್ತವೆ.
karṇa-tāla-balāghāta-
sīmantita-kulācalaḥ|
panthānam-iva siddhīnāṃ
diśaṃ jayati vighnajit||(Kathā-sarit-sāgara 4.1.1)
Victory to that vanquisher of obstacles (i.e., Ganeśa), who has parted the mountains with the forceful flapping of his ears resulting in lines that seem like the paths of attainment!
Mahāmahopādhyāya Vidvān N. Ranganatha Sharma (1916-2014), who lived amongst us until recently was known for his thoroughness in traditional knowledge and clarity in understanding of śāstras. He made tremendous contribution in passing on knowledge and awakening of values in the society. Our country has only had a handful of men who paid back the ṛṣi-ṛṇa [1]that was upon them – they paid back in large quantities and great quality – and among them, Ranganatha Sharma stands supreme.
There is one more episode worth narrating.
During 1938–39, he wrote a letter to me. It read as follows – “I have attached a letter of a person with this letter. It appears that he is facing great difficulties. Meet Dewan Mirza Ismail tomorrow and request him to help this person on behalf of both of us; obtain Mirza’s assurance and send me a written reply.”
