'pRshThataaDanaa ddantabhanga@h' Logic!

Rao Veluri (rveluri@smtpgate.anl.gov)
Tue, 01 Jul 97 17:36:03 CST 

     My dear friends:
     
     In the following I give you one of the most beautiful
     verses from the Deva Bhaasha, i.e., the dead language
     in SaardoolavikreeDita chandas ( may be, I have this
     animal fascination for the indelible stripes of the
     'domesticable'(?) beast!). And, on top of it, you want
     religious association? You have it in the most adorable
     and briliantly unsurpassed poetic fashion!!
     
     raamo naama babhoova 'hum' tadabalaa seetEti 'hum' tau pitur-
     vaacaa pancavaTee vanE viharatas taamaaharad raavNa@h
     nidraartham jananee kathaam iti harer 'hunkaarataa@h' SraNvata@h 
     saumitrE! kva 'dhanur''dhanur''dhanur'iti vyagraagira@h paantuvaa@h|
     
     [I have split the samaasaas to my convenience! Beware!! 
      gaNavibhaja enthusiasts and yatimaitri-matimantaas!]
     
     This is from kRshNakarNaamRita by leelaaSuka, a sanskrit poet of
     the 13th century, hailing from the South! He was also known as 
     biLvamangaLuDu for the Telugus!
     
     YaSoda was narrating 'fairy' tales to baala kRshNa such that 
     he will fall asleep and have beautiful dreams. The poem is in the 
     form of a sort of a lullaby, if you wish!
     
     She was telling him about Sree Rama, whose incarnation was over  
     few thousand years ago, and child Krishna with closed eyes was 
     responding 'hmm,' 'hmm,' and ..... 'hmm' like any kid would do!
     
     Here is my badly 'prosaic' transcreation of the above beautiful
     poem! (IMO, my 'translation' sounds better than that of Masson!)
     
     
     "Once upon a time," says Yasoda, 
     "My dear child! There was this king Rama.
     Krishna says 'hum.'
     
     Yasoda continues, "He had a wife by name Sita."
     Krishna continues 'hum.'
     
     "Rama's father banished him from his kingdom,
     and along with Sita; they went to live in the
     Pancavati forest." says Yasoda.
     Krishna responds 'hum.'
     
     "Then," Yasoda says,"there was this demon king,
     Ravana, who one day came to Pancavati and kidnapped Sita."
     
     Immediately the little Krishna thundered:
     
     "Lakshmana! Bring me my bow, my bow, my bow at once!"
     "May these words bless you and protect you!"
     
     As we know, Rama and Krishna are both incarnations of Vishnu
     according to the Hindu mythology. And, the Hindus also believe
     in the smriti, smarana, remembrance! (Are these accepted as 
     alankaaraas by the alankaarikaas?) The beauty of the poem lies
     in that Krisna remembering his past incarnation of Rama and  
     shouting for the bow and arrows while falling asleep in his
     mother's lap to protect Sita, when he hears of Ravana's kidnapping
     of Sita! And all, along Yasoda does not have a clue about Krishna!!
     
     What better single story you could find to tell a little child,
     other than that of Rama-Krishna (and that its all only One!) 
     
     
     ______Begin Side bar_______ To whom It may Concern ______
     
     For those who could not associate the subject heading with 
     the poem, and are obviously lost, let me explain as prosaically
     as I can! 
     
     One: Veluri is not anti-sanskrit nut, as has been alleged by
     his 'affectionate detractors'(what alankaaram is this?). At the
     same time he does not fanatically propagate that everything
     written in the dead deva bhasha(isn't it ironic; the language
     of the 'immortals' is so much 'dead') is sanctimonious and
     hence untouchable!
     
     Two: Veluri is not anti-chandassu, be it sanskrit, be it some 
     bizarre one, or some desi variety!  If the piece is prosaic,
     in spite of prosody, and doesn't evoke any emotional response,
     so be it, drop it, even if it were written in the deva bhashaa- 
     chandassu!
     
     And, finally, Veluri is absolutely not anti-religion! He may not
     be religious, as some people wish him to be! Such an allegation,
     made even in an implied fashion, is cruel and tantamount to 
     Gobbels-type 'Aryan' propaganda! Repeat a lie a dozen times, some 
     guest posters who have a penchant for pedantic prose will start 
     believing it and come up with some convoluted flaming posts in 
     response!
     
     All the above allegations about me, assumed to have been derived
     from my posts could only be surmised by ignoramuses like me to be
     the result of 'pRshTha taaDanaa ddantabhanga@h' logic, a silly
     logic (could we coin a word sillogic?), and nothing else!  
     
     _____ End Side bar ________
     
     Regards.
     
     V R "the eternal misfit in TelusA" Veluri