NAUKAA CHARITRAMU
- IV
(BOAT STORY)
SRI TYAGARAJA
Translated by
Prof. William J. Jackson
Indiana
University, Indianapolis, Indiana
(Continued from the previous number)
SONG 14
“Was it all for this that we nourish our bodies
Eating curds and milk–
To lose our youthful life in the waters
O Giver of joy without limit?
Was it all for this that we bickered for yonr sake
With our mothers-in-law?
Was it for this we became over-joyed? That soon
We shall be attaining Ultimate Existence?
Was it all for this that we nourished our bodies
Eating curds and milk–
Was it to lose our youth in the waters
O Giver of joy without limit?
Was it all for this that we wore ourselves out
Desiring to do service for you to our hearts’ content?
Was it for this we got into trouble with elder’s
Unable to bear being separated from you?
It was all for this that we nourished our bodies
Eating our curds and whey–
To lose our youthful life in these waters?
O Giver of infinite joy!
Was it for this we practised meditation on you
At the times of taking baths and drinking and eating?
Was it all for this that we shook in distress
To make our bodies your possessions?
Was it all for this that we nourished our bodies
Eating curds and milk
Just to lose our youthful life in the waters?
Listen, O Giver of joy without limit!
Is it for this we tremble with trouble,
Delicate lovelies in the Yamuna river …
Is it for this we won the boons from Rama
When we were longing in our earlier birth?
Was it all for this that we prayed,
Performing austerities for ten million lifetimes?
Was it for this we patiently put up with
Your unique playful pranks?
For this did we follow and serve you,
Who sport in the Vedas, A gamas, and Puranas?
Is it to know your true essence
O Lord adored by Tyagaraja,
O Lord whose name ensures our crossing,
Was it for this we nurtured our bodies
Consuming curds and milk?
Was it to lose our youthful lives in the waters?
O Bestower of joy without limit!”
Sri Krishna, the Lord, seeing the frightened fair ladies,
The beautiful gopikas babbling deliriously in this way,
Speaking of the means of survival – what did he say?
“You should not be crying, O ladies,
You whose braids look like serpents entwined–
Even for the love-god’s foe. Siva,
Fate cannot be overruled! O deer-eyed ladies
Will you place your five-coloured blouses
To stem the water which is rising and rushing in?”
The gopis having heard this new idea
Which was a meant to overcome the dangers of the moment,
If you say “What are they doing ..”
The ladies, hearing that request, for the sake of safety
Happily and quickly heedlessly placed their blouses
With determination (in the leak in the boat) ...
But the water was not held back by that …
After putting the blouses decorated with the nine gems
And made with gold into the leak in the boat,
The gopika gems, seeing them swirling off
Into the water in a moment,
Without staying put for a second.
Spoke in this way:
SONG 15
“Tell us, O Krishna, what is the way for us
Earn glory, O God of gods, child Krishna,
Our lace-trimmed bodices are gone
Our bodies can’t stand this crazy cold!
In the full water our shame has drowned,
The water is slapping at our knees...
O child Krishna, tell us what’s the way for us
You shall win fame, O God of gods, child Krishna,
Showing us (who can’t bear being apart from you)
Some tricky resourcefulness – rescue us!
Because you came along with us. all this grief arose!
Will we ever forget it, Lord of life, little
Child Krishna, what is the way for us?
Earn glory, God of gods, child Krishna!
Is it to end up like this, that your mother
Raised you? Which sinner’s evil eyes
Have jinxed us? O moon-faced one,
Will your mercy not come, will you not save us,
Lord worshipped by Tyagaraja – Krishna
Say what is the way for us?
Earn shining fame, God of gods, child Krishna!”
Seeing those cowgirl beauties
Tear-pouringly delirious
With great grief in this way
What did the Lord Krishna say?
“This is not the time to anguish;
Taking off your saris, immediately
Stuff them into the leak in this silver boat,
O you moon-faced ladies!”
After his saying that, the gopika jewels
Those modest fair ladies – what are they saying?
Hearing what the moon-face one had said
The lotus-eyed lovelies with shyness in their hearts
Were saying, “Ugh! O why did it happen that
We were born as women to feel such agony?”
SONG 16
“What shall we do about this, O mother,
Tsk! O how Krishna has spoken, mother!”
“If we are women, can there be much argument?
Is not our honour itself our life? (What shall we do?
O! What he said! O mother!)”
“What will come of whispers, girls? If you stay alive
You may return to your village!”
“What shall we do about this, O mother!
O how Krishna has spoken! Can you speak
So trickily, O Krishna, to any women whomsoever?
What shall we do, mother, hear how he speaks!”
“To speak words at his time–isn’t it self-destruction?”
“But there is nothing else–What shall we do, mother
How he talks! Is it possible to stand nakedly
O Krishna? In the esteem of people is this glory
For you? O what shall we do?”
“Having heard my words, girls, will you
Not take me to the riverbank?” “What shall we do?
How he has spoken!”
“What was our sin, O beauties? Could there be such writings
(Of destiny as these on our foreheads)? What shall we do?”
“For a price exacted, love will not come; besides
One should not believe these women.” “What shall we do?”
“Royal hero, don’t think in this manner, O lord
Adored by Tyagaraja, we do have love for you!
What shall we do about this, O mother–O
How Krishna has spoken, O mother!”
Then the gopika gems, saying, “We can trust Lord Krishna”
After thinking it out with each other, spoke like this:
“The infinite Person who upholds the world,
Who pervades the Vedas and scriptures,
The pure-hearted one who lifted up the hill…
He will always protect you, dear ladies facing trouble,
If you say “O dear Lord, boon granter!”
SONG 17
“This is a scriptural decree!” thus they thought,
Those ladies, and they did agree.
They took off their skirts, with so much modesty
And they put them in the place that leaked,
Thinking “This is a scriptural decree!”
All the maidens did agree.
Standing in that place the waters did not stay out
And all their bodies became soaking wet.
Thinking “This is a scriptural decree!”
All the ladies did agree.
Worrying “What if anyone sees us!” quickly they
hid their milk-domes with their hands.
Wondering whether to cover their shame
Or to try and save their lives, “This
Is a scriptural decree” the damsels thought
And they all did agree.
Their fine garments disappeared; and the faces
Of those good ladies withered. “Thus
Have the Vedas decreed!” all the women agreed.
Sighing and panting, they lamented,
Those ladies, and they hugged the chest
Of the lotus-eyed Lord “This is scriptural decree!”
They thought-all those ladies did agree.
Seeing the lamp-black eye-make-up (become)
Black water (smudging their cheeks)
Krishna brightened. “This is Vedic decree,”
The ladies all thought and did agree.
All the pride of the women disappeared,
And the mind of the Lord adored by Tyagaraja melted.
Then the gopika gems, fair ladies who’d become aggrieved,
If you ask what they are saying…
“What sort of inauspicious hour was it
When we ladies all came out? Or did the gods,
Make for our sinkings, or is it
The destiny-writing of the Lotus-born, Brahma?
We listened to Krishna saying a stopper
Should be put (to plug the leak)–
Trusting this new idea we have become naked–
What is our fate, O master?
We can’t see our clothes anywhere.”
The gopika jewels, because of their good deeds
In previous births, were thinking that all
Enjoyments of pleasure in the world are temporary;
If you ask in what manner they were planning.
To reach the lotus feet of Sri Krishna
“We cannot see the way of survival; in this boat
All this weight won’t hold–the water has now
Reached our throats! Thinking in your mind
Of the lotus feet of Sri Hari, will you not say
With your mouth the name of the Lord? O lost ladies
The Rescuer, being near us, will give succour!”
When they thought like that at that time?
The gopikas, seeing Lord Krishna, who gave them
A vision (of Himself) as the formless, as the One
Who is free of passion’s stain, of the One
without Beginning, middle or end, as the One whose form
Makes the world swoon, they said this:
SONG 18
“Lord, Lord won’t you give us your divine lotus feet!
All the wealth and enjoyment to be had in this world
Are not real–yes! O Krishna, Lord Hari,
Please give us your divine lotus feet!
O Lord worshipped by Sanaka and Sananda,
By Sri Narada, Suka, Arjuna and all great men!
O lotus-eyed Lord ever adored by Brahma,
Indra and other celestial beings–O Hari,
Hari, Hari, do give us your holy lotus feet!
You move in the Vedas, in the scriptures
On worship, in the Sastras, and the sciences,
Lord blue as a cloud! Unstained by passion!
formless Supreme! O compassionate one
Worshipped by Tyagaraja–Lord, Lord,
Won’t you give us your heavenly blessed feet?”
The great one, who is supremely kind, Sri Krishna
The Supreme Being, seeing the gopika gems
Being in this state, what does he say?
The incomprehensible one who is the sovereign
Of true devotees, the Supreme Bestower of mercy
Whose form is peace, who is akin to the moon
(In effulgent beauty), who is the wind
Dispersing the clouds of titans, thinking
To show mercy, having seen the grief
Suffered by the ladles, quickly melting,
He said this, with affection to
the gopis:
“Performing meditation on me alone,
Having stopped your tears, with both hands
Folded, closing your eyes, you should pray, and
Your Protector will give the fruit of grace properly.”
The gopika jewels, hearing the words of Sri Krishna
(spoken) in that way at that time, are doing what,
you may ask–
In the manner of someone suffering from illness
Who has listened with confidence to the words of a doctor,
In the manner of all ladies who are fully pregnant
Who have reacted to words spoken by a midwife,
The ladies, in that manner listened steadfastly–
Like a servant or attendant hearing the word of a rich man;
Having heard with devotion, the word of the Supreme Being,
Closing their eyes, they prayed…
After the shining of an effulgence
The thick darkness of rain subsided, and
The boat became as it had been before;
And all the ladies, seeing again their beautiful blouses
And clothing made with gold, were swelling (with joy) ...
Then, those gopika gems, seeing Krishna
The Supreme Being, lotus-eyed, whose form
Is attractive as ten million love-gods–
If you ask what they are doing …
All the ladies, after seeing the divine golden earrings
Shining on both cheeks, the gleam of the tilaka mark
On Krishna’s face, which was shining with light rays
Like the moon (that king of the waterlilies)–
Forgetting their previous griefs immediately,
The ladies all together sang with happiness,
If you ask what else those gems of cowherd girls are doing ....
Seeing the heroic one who wears golden clothes,
Who plays in the lotus of the sages’ hearts,
The resident of the house of the splendorous arbor,
The supporter of the great elephant, the shining one
Of the Chandra dynasty, the one whose beauty
Conquers cupid–that beautiful speaker–
Immediately all the lotus-eyed ladies reached to embrace
The Lord with great happiness, Thos pearls
Of cowherd girls, if you ask how they
Are decorating Lord Krishna …
SONG 19
Perfume they sprayed, rosewater perfume they sprinkled.
On the handsome sicion of the Yadu family,
These girls with jasmine-like teeth–
To their full satisfaction
Sweet-smelling perfume they sprayed,
Rosewater fragrance they sprinkled
They painted beauty marks (on their foreheads),
They adorned themselves with musk marks;
Seeing the brilliance of his face
They became inebriated; the Lord
Whose speech drips with nectar
They annointed with perfume and
daubed with rosewater fragrance.
They dressed him with golden clothes,
They dressed him affectionately; on the boy
With large eyes who grazed cattle with the cowherd boys
They sprayed perfume, rosewater fragrance they sprinkled ..
They waved the harati lamp, the pearls performed harati
To the lotus-eyed Lord who gives the joys
Of eternal youth to the gems of women and
They daubed perfume,
Rosewater fragrance they sprinkled.
They performed puja with all their hearts,
They performed puja with jaji (delicate small jasmine)
And virijaji flowers and the aromatic tiny davana leaf
To the shining Lord adored by Tyagaraja–
They sprayed perfume, they sprinkled
Rosewater fragrance on him.
If you ask how Lord Krishna, the Supreme Oversoul,
Is shining at that time in the middle
Of all the cowherd girls …
Vishnu (whose mount is a bird) is shining here
Just as the moon does amidst the multitude of gods;
At that time the Pure One is shining just like
The chief diamond amidst the nine precious gems;
Krishna is shining ever so nicely like the head elephant
Amidst a heard of elephants.
Brahma, Rudra and all the gods become happy
Appreciating the shimmering glimmer of Krishna
(Who is Vishnu, from whose navel the lotus stems)
After offering worship with golden flowers
Having beheld Hari, the ladies, going to their homes
Went with great impetuosity.
SONG 2O
Mm! sweet sweetly with fragrance
The charming darlings set out–O see!
With love all the chief gods poured showers
Of flowers from the tree of paradise, with great glee.
Every-which-way incense sticks are glimmering,
The smoke of glowing frankincense is thick;
Sprinkling fragrant powders, withdrawing the upper cloth
Of their saris, sprinkling rosewater,
With the Hero of the Yadus–
Mm! Sweet sweet sweetly with fragrance
The charming darlings set out–O see!
Golden-laced skirts, multicoloured blouses,
Rings flashing, with great merriment,
Seeing Krishna (who is Vishnu who sleeps
On the cosmic serpent) they were overjoyed,
Embracing to their hearts’ satisfaction–
Mm! Sweet sweet sweetly with perfume
The charming darlings set out–O see!
Beautiful golden anklets with bells jingling.
Strings of pearls on the bosom swinging,
Elegant round fans made of flowers in their hands,
Praising the Lord who gives boons to Tyagaraja–
Mm! Sweet sweet sweetly with perfume
The charming darlings set out–O see!
Then the pearls of cowherd girls taking Lord Krishna
With great ardour to his residence, and staying there
Are singing the auspicious song in what way, you may ask…
SONG 21
“All glory and great auspicious praise
To you who have given (all good) in this
And the next world, to our community!
O glory and great auspicious praise
To you who saved the souls in the two trees,
O father of the love-god–Vishnu!
O glory and great auspicious praise
To you; your virtues are praised by all,
Your gait is grand like that of an elephant in rut.
All glory and great auspicious praise to you
Again, to your form so beautiful; you
Are without pride, delusion or desire.
All glory and great auspicious praise to you
Who have given (all good) in this and
In the next world, to our community!”
Glory, great glory, to you who occupy the heart
Of Siva, Cupid’s foe! Auspicious great glory
To you, hearing our plea you protected us!
All glory and great auspicious praise to you!
Krishna, you are firmly fixed in our mind!
glory and great auspicious praise to you.
Thief of Lakshmi’s heart, protector of
Tyagaraja, glory to you who have given all good
To our clan in this and the next world,”
Whoever in the world of men listens
To this holy story composed by Tyagaraja
Which steals the hearts of the good
Is favoured by Krishna.
Thus the boat story composed by
Tyagarajasvami is concluded.