SRI
By
MUKKU TIMMANA
(Rendered by ‘Rasika’ from the Parijathapaharana,
a Telugu classic
of the 16th century.)
Translator’s
Note: Tradition assigns to Mukku
Timmana an honoured place
among the ‘Ashta Diggajas’,
the eight famous poets, who adorned the court of Krishnadeva
Raya of Vijayanagara, the
royal patron under whose fostering care and discriminating patronage Telugu
literature enjoyed one of its most prosperous periods, the golden age of its
history. Prabandha or Romance was the poetic form affected in the age
and Timmana’s Parijathapaharana
ranks with the famous classics, the Manucharitra
of Peddana and the Vasucharitra
of Ramarajabhushana. Timmana’s
poem is held to excel in sweetness of diction and rhythm and delicacy of sentiment.
This
extract belongs to the First Canto of the poem, and deals with the episode of
the presentation of a parijatha flower by the sage Narada
to Sri Krishna who passes it on to Rukmini, and the envy the incident provokes
in Satya, the favourite consort of Sri Krishna. She
is finally appeased only by a promise by Sri Krishna to bring down the
parijatha tree itself from its abode in the Nandanavana
of Paradise and plant it in the pleasure-garden of Satya in Dwaraka.
Satya
has been, for centuries, a favourite heroine of the Andhras in poetry and drama; and her sentiment for the
Lord, a compound of pride, jealousy and genuine love, is the theme of the
extract in particular, as of the poem in general. An attempt is made here, with
considerable misgiving, to present, in the garb of an alien language, the
charming portrait, by Timmana, of her elusive
personality and exquisite grace. Timmana is supposed
incidentally to have portrayed contemporary life in the palaces of kings and
noblemen.
CANTO
I.
37.
When the Lord (Sri Krishna) destroyed the demon-king Naraka, he found, in
captivity in his palace, thousands of fair young damsels of Apsara
descent (denizens of Heaven). They were all set free; and, from among them, at
the bidding of Narada, and devoted as he was to the
cultivation of love and bliss,–Lord Krishna married sixteen thousand of the
fairest who were eager for his love.
38.
Already he had wedded eight princesses, all of noble birth, and all claiming
equal honour and equal share in his love, Rukmini, Satya,
Jambavati, Mitravinda, Bhadra, Sudanta, Kalindi and Lakshana.
39.
The Lord lived happily with them all, enjoying his time in the bowers of the
pleasure gardens on the outskirts of his city Dwaravati,
and his pleasure domes on the seashore and on the sand-dunes of the beach.
40.
By virtue of his extraordinary yogic powers, Lord Krishna was able to assume
many forms simultaneously and please every one of these thousands of fair young
damsels according to their individual desires and tastes and fancies.
41.
Thus he pleased them all equally; but two of them, Rukmini, the daughter of the
King of the Bhojas, and Satya, the daughter of Satrajit, enjoyed his love and regard in an especial degree;
42.
On one hand Rukmini claimed that she excelled (the others) in birth, beauty and
the Lord’s affection, but on the other Satya contested her claim in all
the three respects; thus there was keen rivalry and mutual jealousy between the
two favourite queens.
43.
44. In this situation, one day, while Lord Krishna was at the
45. Sri Krishna at once rose from his seat, with his queen, and received the sage with due honour and hospitality.
46.
At a glance from Rukmini, the ladies in attendance set a comfortable seat for
the sage; and, after he was seated, and with his permission, Lord Krishna
resumed his seat and said, with folded hands:
47.
“Holy sage! blessed am I now by the favour of this
visit of yours, which, I am sure, I owe to sheer kindness on your part to me
and nothing else. In fact there could be no other reason for your visit except
to bless me thus.”
48.
The sage replied: “Is it fair for you to speak thus (in the usual words of
formal courtesy) like a common mortal? Don’t I know you, Lord of the Universe?
“51.
“You are the Lord Vishnu, this Rukmini is no other than Lakshmi, and since you
are here, this city itself is Vaikuntha, and you know
that is the reason for my frequent visits to this place with a view to pay my
respects to you and worship you.”
52.
Then he praised the Lord in eloquent terms and in the end presented, as a token
of his regard, a parijatha flower, enfolded in a golden lotus petal from the
celestial
53.
With respect and wonder contending for possession of his heart, the Lord
received the flower, glanced at Rukmini who was by his side, thought of Satya
in his mind, and reflected:
54.
“If I now bestow this precious gift of the sage on Rukmini, I am certain to
incur the displeasure of Satya; if I send it to her, on the other hand, I will
be guilty of slighting Rukmini, who is on the spot. But since I happen to be
here now, it will not be proper for me to send the flower to anyone else.”
55.
Thus coming to a decision, with a smile on his lips and with the approval of
the sage, evident in his eyes, Sri Krishna bestowed the celestial flower on
Rukmini. Bowing before the sage, in respect, she rose and wore it in her hair
and it shone like the cusp of the moon in the hair of Parvati,
daughter of Himavan and consort of Chandrasekhara.
56.
Then there came a new fight into her
eyes,
of the beautiful shape of sleek fish;
There
appeared a new beauty in her breasts
which excelled, in symmetry and rounded
fullness, a pair of zakkava birds;
There
shone a new gloss on the dark hair,
dark as the glistering bee;
There
arose a new brilliance in the face
which resembled the moon, the delight of the
red lotus.
Her
beauty was more beautiful
Her
youth was more youthful
Her
grace was more graceful
On
account of the celestial flower she wore.
57.
As the queen thus shone in resplendent beauty like a white pearl washed clean
of all dress, the sage, ever eager for an opportunity to make trouble, spoke,
with a smile on his lips:
58.
“Lady! this is the celebrated parijatha
flower
which to wear is a rare privilege for mortals;
This
is worn in the hair every day by the consort of Indra,
by the goddesses Lakshmi, Saraswati and Parvati;
You
have it now, being the beloved of
Who
has therefore bestowed it on you;
Thereby
you stand apart, among the many
wives of the Lord, unrivalled in honour;
The
flower is also blessed today, worn by you,
being put to proper use;
This
will bring- about the fulfillment of your every wish.
Listen,
I will describe its virtues to you.
59.
“This flower never withers, never loses its fragrance. Its beauty never fades;
filled with fragrant pollen, it delights ever, this
king of flowers.
61.
“It will provide you with plenty of
delicious
dishes at a moment’s notice;
You
will never suffer from hunger or lassitude
while you wear it in the hair;
It
will protect you from all adversity,
This
is a flower of virtue unrivalled in the three worlds;
So,
wearing this, enjoy the benefit of its
manifold virtues and shine
supreme
among the consorts of the Lord.
62.
“Beautiful damsel, with eyes resembling the petals of the blue lotus, by virtue
of this flower in your hair, the other consorts of Sri Krishna will feel humble
before you, and seek refuge at your feet; your Lord will honour
your every word, in unbounded love. You will enjoy endless honour,
happiness and prosperity.
62.
“In the hot season the flower has a
cooling effect;
In
the cold season, a warming effect suitably;
Miraculous
indeed are its powers.
64.
“You will be the most honoured among women. Wear this
flower in your hair, and enjoy unequalled prosperity, without a hair of your
head being disturbed from its place, Oh, you lady with full-blown lotus eyes!
65.
“All these days, we have been told, Satya is the favourite
of the Lord, and he is always at her bidding, eager to carry out her least
wishes, expressed even in a glance of her eyes; but now, I know the truth. I
see the honour and esteem in which he holds you, to whom and none else he has presented this celestial
flower of many virtues.
66.
“I am the most beautiful, the most youthful, the most renowned in the world,
and the best loved by the Lord’. Such has been the delusion of Satya on account
of which she has been feeling proud, arrogant and contemptuous to all other
women. How mortified she will feel when she learns of this signal proof of your
prestige from her maidens, who, I am sure, are present here and will carry it
to her!”
68.
These words of Narada and the incident which provided
the occasion for them, the maids of the several other wives of Sri Krishna duly
carried to their respective mistresses in no time.
69.
They all felt slighted, no doubt, but they all reconciled themselves to it,
with the consideration that Rukmini was the eldest wife of Sri Krishna, the
first wedded, and hence deserved the distinction.
70.
All, except Satya, the beautiful, the favoured and
the proud, who was eagerly waiting for the return of her maid, whom she had
sent to Rukumini’s to watch Sri Krishna during his
stay there.
71.
She was whiling away her time in her pleasure garden, to fight her impatience,
on a marble seat spread over with pollen of flowers by the side of a cool
stream of flower-honey, discussing her Lord with her companion.
72.
She was uneasy at the delay in the return of the maid. The
buzzing of the bees, the cooing of the birds, the cool
breezes across the lakes, could not please her as usual. Full of vague
misgiving, she said to her companion:
73.
“Alas! I feel puzzled and depressed. I see bad omens on all sides. I do not
know what unprecedented insults are in store for me at the hands of my Lord,
perhaps at this moment enticed by another damsel and weaned away from me.
74.
Just then the maid returned from Rukmini’s palace and
began at once, with bewildered and angry eyes:
75.
“Alas! How am I to convey such bad news! When the Lord was in the
76.
And he presented to the Lord a celestial flower, praising it to the skies, as
worthy of the gods only, of rare virtue and capable of giving very great
pleasure and conferring untold benefits on the wearer of it.
77.
“The Lord felt flattered, received it with eagerness, pressed it to his eyes,
and passed it on to Rukmini who folded it in her hair.
78.
“At once, to the wonder of all, she began to shine with a new splendour, like the very weapon of the Love God, burnished
anew.
79.
“With the celestial flower in her hair, she looked, at the moment, queen of all
the three worlds, to be worshipped without envy and acknowledged as mistress by
all women, including the other wives of the Lord.
80.
“And then the impudent sage declared in the hearing of all, Sri Krishna,
Rukmini and all of us, that the arrogant Satya should feel humble hereafter,
shedding her conceit of standing unrivalled in the favour
of the Lord.
81.
“Witnessing the tricks of the mischievous sage, the pretence of the cunning
Rukmini, and the behaviour of the faithless Sri
Krishna, I could hardly restrain myself.”
82.
Hearing these words of the maid, Satya started and sat up like a female-serpent
suddenly trod upon, or the flame which shoots up when the oblation of melted
butter is poured into the sacrificial fire; and with her face crimsoned by the
fury in her angry eyes, and in a voice choked with emotion, she wailed:
83.
“What! the meddlesome Narada,
who verily feeds on quarrels, came and spoke in that strain? And the lover of
many Gopis listened to the
talk with approval? But what were the words actually uttered by Rukmini? Why do
you keep them from me?” Shed your reserve, dear one, and let
me know the worst.
84.
“He may make much of the flower, attributing all conceivable virtues to it and
present it to Sri Krishna to please and flatter him, and he in his turn may
bestow it wherever he pleases; but why should the arrogant sage mention my name
wantonly on that occasion?
85.
“I should expect no better of the sage, who is always going about the worlds
carrying tales from place to place provoking quarrels and delighting in them.
But should not the Lord have checked him?
86.
“I cannot complain against the sage, or quarrel with Rukmini. It is all the
fault of the mischievous Gopala. Is it not
heartrending to find the Lord, dear as my very life, thus turning against me?
87.
“ ‘Women’ are frail and fickle. Their love is not to
be trusted’, they say. But, in truth, the minds of men are as unsteady as the
fleeting clouds of autumn. Their words should never be trusted, dear.
88,
“All these days, I have been the most honoured among
the many wives of Sri Krishna, esteemed as his favourite,
and precious to him as his eyes. Now how can I bear to be despised and slighted
by them, as I must, hereafter? Is life so sweet that I should cling to it after
such a reverse?
89.
“Evidently the Lord was dissembling before me all these days, carefully hiding
from my notice all his respect, good- will and love for Rukmini. He thus
managed to win my innocent love. It is his skill in dissembling that we have to
appreciate.
90.
“Dear! ‘Narada brought a rare flower and presented it
to Sri Krishna and he, Sri Krishna, bestowed it on Rukmini. I have lived to
hear such words (and remain alive)! Who knows what further disgrace is in store
for me?
91.
“But is the world blind to the loyalty of those who remain steady in their love
and devotion, in prosperity and adversity alike? Does not the Lord, the slayer
of Naraka know? 1 Does not she (Rukmini) herself know?
92.
“Because he happened to be at her house at the time, the Lord naturally
presented the flower to Rukmini. What surprises and pains me is the conduct of
the other wives of
93.
“It is only a lucky few among women, with a lot of merit accumulated in several
virtuous lives in the past, that enjoy the constant, undeviating and entire
love of the husband!
94.
“My Lord would never venture to go
against my word
even in fun or even in dreams;
He
would never present any gift to anyone
before offering it to me
first;
He
would stoop to bribe my maids
for fear they should complain to me against
him;
He
would never brook any attempt on the part
of any other wife of his to vie with me in
any respect;
Such
uninterrupted love we have been enjoying
in endless bouts of blissful amours,
in guileless mutual endearments;
And
such a Lord to slight me thus!
95.
“Caught in the wiles of Rukmini, my Lord
has altogether obliterated from his mind all
the
sweet memories of our love:
The
games of hide and seek, the mutual
escapes and pursuits in the
caves of the artificial rocks;
The
many delightful episodes in the
mock marriage celebrations of the malati creeper
and the punnaga
tree in the pleasure garden;
The
playful scuffles for the appropriation
of the stakes won by skill in the games of
chance;
The
common delights of watching the
spectacle of the tender
love-making of the
zakkava
couples in the eve;
The
exhilarating group games in the moonlight?
The
cool restings on the marble seats;
The contemplation of mutual images in the mirror.
96.
“For a woman, her Lord is precious as life, the only refuge and protector, even
as God; he is the very Sun of her existence, and if he should forsake her, the
lot of a married woman is miserable.
97 “If one gives riches and takes them
back,
The
loss can be endured!
But
if the Lord lavishes his love on a woman
for some time, and then cools off, even
existence is impossible.”
98.
Thus smarting with envy and humiliation,
in a raging fury, the fair damsel resorted
to the Kopa-griha 2
Like
the snake to the sandal-wood tree.
99. Donning a soiled scarf,
stripping off all jewels and ornaments, drawing tight the girdle round her
waist, with a plaster of musk on her forehead, on the edge of the dark chamber
she lay, tossing, in the uneasy pangs of slighted
love, resembling the narrow cusp of the moon on the edge of a dark cloud.
100.
But jealousy only intensified her love; she began to perspire; to tremble and
to fade in agitation, like one verily stung by a serpent.
101.
She would close and open her eyes, smile and shake her head alternately, drop
down on the bed and rise from it suddenly, and toss in love and jealousy like a
lotus in the trunk of a wild elephant.
102.
Thus lay Satya, neglecting all her normal activities, suffering from the pangs
born of anger and jealousy. There Sri Krishna reflected!
103.
“Satya’s maid was loitering hereabout, when the sage presented
the flower to me and I bestowed it on Rukmini, She has, by this time, reported
the incident to her. No doubt, she would embellish her narration with spicy
details of her own concoction.” Thus fearing untoward developments, the Lord
instructed Pradyumna, his son, to deputise
for him as host to the sage, and mounting on his chariot, drove straight to the
street in which the golden palace of Satya was situated, his mind as much
agitated as the pennon on the chariot top, fluttering in the wind, anxious to
rush in advance of the horse and revolving rapidly like the wheels of the
chariot.
104.
On reaching the mansion, he dismounted and, leaving the charioteer Daraka at the entrance, went in alone, crossing the
numerous courtyards, all deserted now and lifeless.
105.
The palace was not as usual, but silent, cheerless and forbidding,
He feared the incident of the parijatha flower must have already reached the
ears of Satya.
106.
He did not find the parrots in the golden
cages,
fed with sugar by the maids while teaching
them words.
He
did not find the palace peacocks learning to dance,
to the beating of time by the hands of the
maids;
He
did not find the ladies in attendance
striking with their delicate
nails the strings of the Vina.
He
did not find the clusters of swans
learning to walk in slow
majesty after the maids.
107.
Cautiously he advanced from chamber to chamber and at last came to the Chamber
of Indignation where he found the proud daughter of Satrajit,
who lay veiled on the threshold.
He
noticed the faded appearance of the delicate damsel, looking like a tender
creeper exposed to the scorching rays of the Sun at noon.
108.
He had so far managed to prevent his visit being announced to her. At sight of
her:
109.
The Lord was surprised and pained but the mischievous Gopala
in him prompted him to tease her a bit. Snatching a fan from the hands of a
servant-maid standing behind the lady, he began to wave it himself gently, as
if to fan the flame of love in her heart.
110.
At once the rare fragrance of the parijatha flower, wafted by Sri Krishna who
had handled it for a few moments, filled the atmosphere; and the surprise of it
provoked the damsel to lift her veil slightly from her face and look all round
the room, when she found, before her, her beloved, with the fan in his hand.
111.
Tears of wounded pride and slighted love filled her eyes; she bent her head,
and replaced the veil again while the tears trickled down the sides of her face
like the drops of honey down the petals of the lavali
creeper.
112.
Smothered by the stress of pride and anger in her heart, breathing out heavy
sighs and perspiring profusely she yet held her silence, absorbed in her own
consuming thoughts.
114.
In his love and compassion the Lord addressed her thus:
115.
“Beloved! How is it you have donned these
coarse plain clothes
and stripped off all the ornaments from your
limbs?
How
is it the house is devoid of all the usual cheer and
bustle?
I
am anxious to know what could be the reason.
Pray
let me know.
116.
“Is it a deep-laid ruse to test me? Or is
it a practical joke?
You
wish to threaten me? Or have I really given you offence?
How
is it you do not cast even a look of welcome at me?
Am
I a stranger or foe? Why should you treat me thus?
Can
I endure a moment if you do not look upon me with favour?
117.
“Today you do not greet me as usual with
your honeyed words of love;
you do not cast on roe your shy locks and
side-long glances;
you do not clasp me tight,
pressing me in a fond embrace;
What
is responsible for this coldness on your part?
Sweet!
Why are you so sullen?
118. “In thought, word or deed, I never really favour
any other woman except for outward appearance
and decorum;
My
whole-hearted love is always centred on you;
And
don’t you know, I deem it an honour to do
your bidding, in every matter?
118.
“Dearest! If I do not deserve the
privilege
of enjoying the nectar of your lip
or the fond embrace of your arms, do me the favour
of at least a glance from the end of your
drooping eyes!
So
saying, unable to restrain himself, the Lord advanced to hold her by the edge
of her skirt, at which attempt She threatened to
strike him with the lotus m her hand.
120.
Failing thus in all his varied attempts to appease her anger, the Lord the
First Cause, responsible for the entire play of this universe, himself knelt at
her feet, so that the beautiful orange colour of her
tender feet added fresh lustre to the brilliant range
gems in the diadem on his head.
121.
The proud lady, in her peevishness, then pushed off with her left foot the bent
head of Sri Krishna, the father of the God of Love, and the object of devout
worship by all the gods, from Brahma and Indra downwards. Alas! What sense of
propriety or decorum can be expected from ladies offended by the misdeeds, real
or supposed, of their lovers?
122.
Thus struck by the toot of the angry damsel, the cunning Gopala
experienced but a rare thrill of joy and an accession of irresistible love for
her and said:
123.
“Your servant feels honoured and flattered to be hit
by you in your anger. But I fear your foot, tender as a fresh blossom
might be hurt by contact with my body hardened on the surface by the excitement
of love. Give up your anger, at least now, I implore you, O damsel with
captivating curls of hair.”
124.
At these words, the lady sat up and stretched herself, so that her body was
partly visible, tidied her hair which had been flying loose, covered her bosom
fully with her skirt, and with beads of perspiration (due to excess of passion)
on her brow, spoke, her lower lip trembling with excitement:
125.
“What is the use of this attempt at
consolation
and these words of flattery?
I
know these cunning tricks. I have paid
dearly for having trusted
you,
I
forbid you to approach me. Don’t worry me.
You
do not seem to realise the ridicule
to which you are exposing me by this
foolery of yours.
I
am indeed foolish to expect a cowherd
to appreciate refined manners or
The
delicate nuances of love!
126.
“I have resolved to trust you no longer. Why do you worry me? These insincere
professions of love are not to my taste; perhaps they are dear to your favourite Rukmini. Do not irritate me further with your
shows of false love.
127.
“It is well known that tricks, pretences and lies were all born along with you.
Various are the falsehoods and dissemblings you have
imbibed at birth and cultivated from your childhood. Knowing all this I trusted
you, fool that I was, and hence forfeited all my honour
and self-respect.
128.
“It is a pity you have to listen to these unpleasant, insipid words of mine,
after drinking with delight the songs of praise of your beloved consort Rukmini
and of the sage who presented the celestial flower. Tell me the truth. Is it
not to publish the fragrance of the parijatha flower and thereby insult and
humiliate me further that you have now come here?
129.
“Honour is the most precious ornament for a woman,
more than life, and it is the source of all other benefits. Life without honour is indeed worthless to a sensitive woman.
130.
“I am used to be treated with respect and distinction among her
daughters-in-law by your mother Devaki, on account of
the love and regard you have been showing to me. How can I approach her now
after this humiliation?”
132.
“How you have slighted me!” she exclaimed in reproach and bent down her head in
shame, unable to proceed with the expostulation, on account of the swelling
tears which choked her voice.
133.
Born of jealousy and nursed in the heart, her grief reached unbearable
intensity and overpowered her; the delicate and sensitive lady
wept before her Lord, hiding her face, beautiful as the lotus, behind the edge
of her skirt, in a melodious voice which sounded (even in grief) sweet as the
song of the koil, fed on the tender blossoms of
spring.
134.
As the lady thus gave vent to her grief, unable to contain it any longer, the
Lord gathered her in his arms, fondled her, brushed away with his hands the
tears trickling down her face and spoke gently and sweetly:
135.
“O Fair One with dark glossy hair of the
brilliance of black diamonds,
Why
should you grieve so much for the
trifle of a mere flower,
while
I
am ready to do your bidding? Listen,
If
you wish, I will go straight to the garden of the gods.
And
defeating and driving away even Indra, the King of the gods.
should he offer any
resistance, bring over to you
The entire parijatha tree.
136.
“And then, my lovely dear, I shall plant it in your pleasure
garden, in the grove of the sweet smelling plantains, beside
the cool lake of the beautiful lotus flowers.”
137.
Thus only was Satya appeased at last!
1
Satya accompanied Sri Krishna when he invaded Naraka’s
city; she drove his chariot in battle, and displayed her skill in archery.
2 The
Chamber of Indignation.