Vidyāpati: Bangīya padābali; songs of the love of Rādhā and Krishna

Part 7

Chapter 72,058 wordsPublic domain

_'--Cast shame and pride away,_ _Let honour gild the world's eventless day,_ _Shrink not from change and shudder not at crime,_ _Leave lies to rattle in the sieve of Time!_ _Then whatsoe'er your workday gear shall stain,_ _Of me a wedding garment shall ye gain!'_

_Love is Enough._

This point is to be emphasized: for to understand the necessity and signifiance of reproach, is to comprehend how it was not merely possible but inevitable that in a society where the strictest possible conception of woman's honour prevails, the self-surrender of Rādhā should be regarded as the natural symbol of the soul's self-gift to God.

CXIV

16. Kali age: the fourth or evil age in which we now live, when the prevailing motive is self-interest; it is what Blake calls _Tax_ or _Empire_.

CXV

This song is still to be heard in Bengal, to the Rāgiṇi Bhairavī.

4. It is a custom of many bhaktas to print the name or symbol of Vishnu on forehead, breast and arms. The custom of tattooing the name of the Belovèd upon the body is world-wide.

5. Lalitā: Rādhā's dearest sakhī. It is customary amongst Vaishnavas to recite the name of Krishna in the ears of the dying.

7. The two customary means of disposing of the dead.

8. Tamāla, a tree with dark glaucous leaves, constantly compared to Krishna for its colour.

CXVII

13. The scarlet line, drawn along the parting of the hair by married women whose husbands are still living; if Krishna will not return, Rādhā will adopt the rule of a widow.

CXVIII

Referring to the circumstances of XCIV.

CXIX

Contains verses from two songs printed separately in the original.

CXXI

8. Marks of complete indifference to propriety and elegance.

12. And is thus in truth 'broken and contrite,' acceptable to God.

CXXII

4-7. All objects normally cool, are scorching hot to Rādhā, racked as she is by the fire of love. For the lotus-leaves, see the picture facing p. 115.

CXXIII

1. For the sight of the moon, so pleasant to united lovers, increases her pain.

3. A sort of black magic; Rādhā invokes Rāhu to eclipse the moon.

11. _Lit._ 'with ten nails': more black magic, the snakes are to swallow up the vexing southern breeze.

14, 15. The koil, whose calling accentuates the suffering of divided lovers: crows, their messengers, and omens of reunion. Cf. No. CIV, 3.

CXXIV

11. Using the necklace as a rosary.

Contains verses from two songs printed separately in the original.

CXXV

Babe--_bāla_, a girl under 16.

CXXV

3. Garland-offering--hung on the idol's neck when it is new, and cast away the next day.

CXXVI

10, II. We ought perhaps to understand by this the loneliness of God in heaven, lacking the love of men.

PUNARMILNA O RASODGĀRA.

Reunion and the Flow of Nectar.

CXXVII

6. Rādhā has learnt at last that service is self-realisation and self-expression.

CXXXI

The 'boat on the river' goes back to the old Buddhist idea of a raft or boat wherein to cross the samsāra, the sea of this world, to reach the further shore; just as in the carol 'Come over the burn, Besse,'

_'The burne is this world blind.'_

CXXXI

Rādhā feels that Krishna, whom she had thought her equal, is indeed beyond her ken; but the poet answers, 'That art thou,' proclaiming their Unity.

7. 'I know the beings of the past, the present and the future, O Arjuna: but no one knoweth Me.'--_Bhagavad Gītā_ VII, 26.

CXXXVI

Like the last, this throws a light upon the whole wreath of songs; for the soul perceives that she has had ears to hear and eyes to see ever since she came to birth, yet she has neither heard nor seen; and now she cannot have enough of hearing and seeing.

13. _Lit._ 'I have known--and seen not one.'

CXXXVIII

The poet leaves the lovers in each other's arms.

BIRDS, FLOWERS AND TREES.

The following birds, flowers and trees are mentioned in the text in the connection indicated:

BIRDS.

_Cātaka:_ a kind of cuckoo, perhaps _Luculus melanoleucus_,--said to drink only drops of water as they fall from the clouds.

_Cakravāka:_ _Anas casarca_,--pairs are said to sleep apart at night.

Crow: _kāka, bāyasa, Corvus splendens_,--messenger of separated lovers: also (LXXIII) an eater of leavings.

_Garuḍa:_ a mythical bird, usually represented with a parrot's head and partly human body: the vehicle of Vishnu and the enemy of all serpents.

_Koil_ or _kokila_: _parabṛtaka_, Indian cuckoo, _Eudynamys honorata_,--its cry is _kuhu, kuhu_, delightful to united, and distressing to divided, lovers. Its 'pancam-note' is the 'dominant' of Nature's chorus.

Parrot: _kīra_,--"Parrot noses are invariably associated with heroes and great men, while, among female figures they are to be seen only in images of Sakti." (A. N. Tagore, _loc. cit._).

Partridge: _cakora_, _Perdrix rufa_,--said to feed on the rays of the moon.

'Peewit': _pāpihā_, the hawk-cuckoo, Hieroccyx varius,--its cry is _piu, piu_, 'Beloved, Beloved.'

Peacock: _mayūra_, _Pavo cristatus_,--delights in rain.

Wagtail: _khañjana_, _Montacilla alba_,--restless movement.

FLOWERS AND TREES.

_Ashoka_: _Jonesia asoka_,--herald of Spring.

_Bandhūka_: _Pentapetes phœnicia_ (or _Leucas linifolia?_)

Betel: _pān, tāmbūla, Piper betle_,--leaves used for chewing.

_Bimba_: _Momordica monadelpha_ (or _coccinia?_),--bright red fruit.

_Gañja_: _Abrus precatorius_, seeds used as jeweller's weights.

Honey-apple: _bel, shrĩphala_, 'Bengal quince,' _Aegle marmelos_,--large round fruit.

Jasmine: several varieties are mentioned, as _cameli_, Arabian jasmine _J. sambac_; _campak_, _Michelia champaka_; _mālatī_, clove-scented jasmine, _Aganosma caryophyllata_ (or perhaps _J. grandiflorum_); _kunda_, Indian jasmine, _J. pubescens_,--all mentioned for their scent.

Jujube: _badarī_, _Zizyphus jujuba_,--small round fruits.

_Kadamba_: _Anthocephalus cadamba_,--the haunt of Krishna.

_Keshara_: safflower, _Crocus sativa_,--a herald of Spring.

_Kimshuk_: _Butea frondosa_,--tree with beautiful flowers, a herald of Spring.

_Labanga_-vine: _labaṅga-latā_, _Limonia scandens_,--a herald of Spring.

Lotus and water-lily: many varieties are mentioned, as _aravinda_, and _kamala_ which are day-flowering, and _kubalaya_ and _kumudini_, which flower at night. We have used the names 'lotus' and 'water-lily' indifferently for all varieties.

_Mādhavi_: _Gaertnera racemosa_,--herald of Spring.

Mango: _Mangifera indica_,--tender shoots and herald of Spring.

Orange: _naraṅga, Citrus aurantum_,--round fruits.

_Pātal_: trumpet-flower, _Bignonia suaveolens_,--herald of Spring.

_Pītal_: a yellow flower not identified.

Plantain: _kerā_, _Musa paradisaica_,--smooth straight stem.

Pomegranate, granate: _dāṛima, Punica granatum_,--white smooth seeds.

_Shālmalī_: silk-cotton tree, _Salmaria malabarica_,--the thorns are used in the tortures of hell.

Sandal: _candana, Santalum album_,--which affords a fragrant powder for the body, much appreciated, and hence stands for the best of anything.

Screw-pine: _ketakī, Pandanus odoratissimus_,--fragrance.

_Shirīsh_: _Acacia sirissa_,--tenderness.

_Tamāl_: _Garcinia zanthochymus_,--straight stem, dark leaves (the colour of Krishna).

_Tāla_: palmyra, _Borassus flabelliformis_,--round fruits.

ILLUSTRATIONS.

(Transcriber's note: The page images used to prepare this text did not include the illustrations).

One and the same lyrical tradition is the common inheritance of all Hindustan; it finds expression now in poetry, now in music, and now in painting. Hence it is that the schools of painting, though they are local, illustrate all the ideas of the Vaishnava poets as directly as the songs themselves. Amongst Rajput paintings it would perhaps be possible to find an appropriate illustration to every line of Vidyāpati, or of any other Vaishnava singer; not that Vidyāpati was known to the western painters, but their and his experience was the same. Just as the Vaishnava songs are word-painted miniatures, rather than narative, so with the Rājasthānī and still more with the Pahārī Rajput paintings; these are likewise musical delineations of brief moments of the soul's history. It is hoped that the reproductions given here will help to actualise the meaning of Vidyāpati's words, for those who are unfamiliar with the Vaishnava tradition.

The key to each picture is given in the quoted text, to which the following notes are supplementary:

Facing page 3: Jaipur painting of the 18th century, very brilliant in sunset colourings, representing a girl returning from a Shaiva shrine.

The original in the collection of Mr. N. Blount, Calcutta.

Facing page 19: A Pahārī (Kāngrā) painting of the early XIXth century, representing a girl bathing.

The original in the collection of Dr. Ananda Coomaraswamy.

Facing page 27: A Pahārī (Kāngrā?) painting, of the earlier part of the XVIIIth century, representing Krishna with his flute, beneath a _kadamba_ tree, and beside him are two milk-maids with offerings of curd and betel.

The original in the collection of Dr. Ananda Coomaraswamy.

Facing page 33: This is the only one of our eleven illustrations which is not absolutely appropriate to the text. It is taken from an MS of Keśava Dāsa's _Rasikapriyā_, and represents the 'Clandestine Meeting' (_Pracchanna samyoga_). It is, however, Mughal in style, notwithstanding its Hindū subject; and while in a general way it illustrates the quoted text, its sentiment is more secular and realistic, and a further objection appears in the fact that the text implies a night and indoor environment.

The original in the collection of Dr. Ananda Coomaraswamy.

Facing page 43: A Pahārī (Kāngrā) painting of the late XVIIIth century, representing a _dutikā_ leading Rādhā (or any heroine) across a starlit courtyard to her lover's house.

Original in the collection of Babu Gogonendronath Tagore.

Facing page 63: A Pahārī (Jammu district) painting of the XVIIth or XVIIIth century, representing an Abhisārikā. Part of a picture, the whole of which is given in 'The Journal of Indian Art,' No. 128, figure 16.