Literature

Dhairyapāramitā - The pinnacle of courage

Long ago lived a brāhmaṇa boy called Mālādhara. One day, he saw a siddha boy flying in the sky and developed an insatiable desire to fly. He fashioned wings out of foliage and tied them upon his person and tried to jump and leap about. Kumārasvāmin who was passing by in the sky noticed the boy’s futile attempts. Out of compassion, the lord took Mālādhara into his order. Thus it follows that true courage pleases even the deities.

Abhijñānaśākuntala is one of the ripest fruits of Kālidāsa’s mature genius. The poet makes a candid confession in the prologue of this play:

आ परितोषाद्विदुषां
न साधु मन्ये प्रयोगविज्ञानम् ।
बलवदपि शिक्षिताना-
मात्मन्यप्रत्ययं चेतः॥ (१.२)     

I cannot be convinced of my skills as a dramatist until discerning spectators are satisfied. Even well-trained people are beset by self-doubt. 

ಭಾರತದ ಪ್ರಾಚೀನತೆಯನ್ನು ಸಾರುವ ಪದ್ಯ ಹೀಗಿದೆ:  

ಯದಾ ಸರ್ವಂ ಮಾತರ್ಭುವನಮಿದಮಾಸೀಚ್ಛಿಶುನಿಭಂ
ವಚೋಹೀನಂ ದೀನಂ ಪಿಹಿತದೃಗಿವಾಜ್ಞಾನತಮಸಾ |
ತದಾ ಗಂಗಾತೀರೇ ಸ್ಫುರಿತವಿಮಲಪ್ರಾತಿಭದೃಶ-
ಶ್ಚತುರ್ವೇದೋದ್ಗಾನಂ ಜನನಿ ನಿಗಿರಂತಿ ಸ್ಮ ಮುನಯಃ || (೨೨)

ತಾಯೇ! ಯಾವಾಗ ಇಡಿಯ ವಿಶ್ವವೇ ಮುಗ್ಧವಾದ ಮಗುವಿನಂತೆ ಮಾತಿಲ್ಲದೆ ಅಜ್ಞಾನದಿಂದ ಕಣ್ಣು ಮುಚ್ಚಿಕೊಂಡಿದ್ದಿತೋ, ಆಗ ದಿವ್ಯದರ್ಶಿಗಳಾದ ಋಷಿ-ಮುನಿಗಳು ಗಂಗೆಯ ತೀರದಲ್ಲಿ ವೇದಗಳನ್ನು ಕಂಡುಕೊಂಡು ಹಾಡುತ್ತಿದ್ದರು!

The Story of the Varāha-jātaka

There lived a boar in a cave in the Vindhya mountains. It was endowed with buddhāṃśa. The boar lived with a monkey in harmony and performed tasks that helped all the animals.

“ಪ್ರಜ್ಞಾಭಾರತಿ” ಶ್ರೀಧರ ಭಾಸ್ಕರ ವರ್ಣೇಕರ್ (೩೧.೦೭.೧೯೧೮—೧೦.೪.೨೦೦೦) ಅವರು ಆಧುನಿಕ ಸಂಸ್ಕೃತಸಾಹಿತ್ಯದ ಧ್ರುವತಾರೆ ಎಂದೇ ಕೀರ್ತಿತರು. ಅವರ ಕೃತಿಗಳು ರಾಷ್ಟ್ರಭಕ್ತಿ ಮತ್ತು ಉದಾತ್ತ ಕಲ್ಪಕತೆಗಳ ಬಿರುಕಿಲ್ಲದ ಬೆಸುಗೆಯ ಅಪೂರ್ವ ನಿದರ್ಶನಗಳು. ಅವರು ತಮ್ಮ ಸೃಷ್ಟಿಶೀಲ ರಚನೆಗಳಿಂದ ಸಂಸ್ಕೃತ ಮತ್ತು ಮರಾಠಿ ಭಾಷೆಗಳನ್ನು ಶ್ರೀಮಂತಗೊಳಿಸಿದ್ದಷ್ಟೇ ಅಲ್ಲದೆ ಆ ನುಡಿಗಳ ಪ್ರಕರ್ಷ-ಪ್ರಸಾರಗಳಿಗೆ ಕೂಡ ಅವಿಶ್ರಾಂತವಾಗಿ ದುಡಿದರು. ಕಾವ್ಯರಚನೆ, ಪತ್ರಿಕೋದ್ಯಮ, ವಿಶ್ವಕೋಶನಿರ್ಮಾಣ, ಸಂಸ್ಕೃತಿಪ್ರಚಾರ, ಸಾಂಸ್ಥಿಕ ಕಾರ್ಯನಿರ್ವಾಹ, ಸಮಾಜೋನ್ಮುಖ ಕಲಾಪಗಳೇ ಮೊದಲಾದ ಮಜಲುಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ಅವರ ಕರ್ಮಯೋಗ ವ್ಯಾಪಿಸಿದೆ. 

Now, we have to escape from here with great speed; else, fearing that his secret will be revealed, he will kill me. Since this room has been locked from outside, we can't depart through the door. Therefore, tie the thread around your neck, transform into a peacock, fly out of the window; I will extend my hand and untie the thread around your neck. I will tie that around my neck, become a peacock, and then fly out of the window.

“इदमन्धन्तमः कृत्स्नं जायेत भुवनत्रयं यदि शब्दाह्वयं ज्योतिरा संसारान्न दीप्यते” इत्येतद्दण्डिवचनं श्रद्दधानैः किल भारतीयैः भुवनभासिका भारती पुष्कलं समुपासिता समर्धिता च। अस्मत्प्राचीनैः साक्षात्कृतधर्मभिः दैवी वागन्वभावि; लौकिकी च वाक् समस्कारि। यथा हि शाब्दिकाः कृतकेतरां वाचं यथावदन्वाख्याय मानुषीं भाषां बहुधा व्याचक्रुः, तथैव छन्दःशास्त्रज्ञाः श्रुतिं छन्दःसञ्ज्ञां यथावत् समाम्नाय लौकिकानि बहूनि छन्दांसि प्रतिपादयामासुः। वेदपुरुषस्य चरणत्वेन छन्दः स्वीकृत्य तद्वर्णनव्याजेन विश्वविसृत्वरं पदविलासं ते वर्णयामासुः। छन्दःशास्त्रं वेदाङ्गमपि काव्याङ्गमपि। वेदवारि

The prince rode with his army to the borders of Vidiśānagara and sent word through an emissary to king Meghamālin seeking the hand of princess Haṃsāvalī. An elated Meghamālin himself came to meet Kamalākara and said “O prince! You need not have ridden so far for this. You had to but only send a missive expressing this noble wish of yours. I am indeed in favour of this alliance. Let me tell you why. When Haṃsāvalī was only a little girl, I was worried as to who might someday marry her. So much, in fact, that I became bedridden with fever.

Kauśikī’s words of praise upon seeing Mālavikā perform are noteworthy. Her response is in the form of a verse, whose second half provides incredible insights into all major forms of art including poetry. She says: bhāvo bhāvaṃ nudati viṣayād rāgabandhaḥ sa eva (2.8). It roughly means: “One emotion inspires the next, covering the whole range of feelings. This is how a passionate recital looks like!” We can broadly relate this to literary aesthetics in the following manner. Bodily movements in dance can be likened to words that constitute the form of poetry.