BhRmga pamcakam!
Rao Veluri (rveluri@smtpgate.anl.gov)
Fri, 14 Mar 97 15:33:03 CST
My dear friends:
I don't go back on my promises, unless it costs me an arm
and a leg. Here it is, as promised the BhRmga pamcakam. The
authorship for these five poems was attributed to Sreenaatha.
It could be true; because the poems have a very subtle romantic
flavor, that only a poet of Sreenatha's stature could have
composed them!
A certain beautiful queen was having a clandestine affair with a
minister of the court. One day, the king had to go out of town on
an important errand (obviously, he went out on this important
errand without this minister - may be, this minister is the
'minister of home affairs'; an important portfolio!).
Our minister did not want to waste the golden opportunity. He got
himself ensconced in the king's quarters that night, and was having
a ball of time with the beautiful queen. The king, who was expected
to return the next day, unfortunately returned that night itself,
perhaps a little late. As was the custom, the entrances and exits to
the quarters were all shut and sealed tight as soon as the king
returned home! A queen's maid who has the greatest presence of mind
and also an accompilshed poet relays the information about the king's
return, the door closures etc., to the minister and instructs him
to hide to save his hide and also the queen's hide.
This is BhRmgaa(tummeda)padEsam!
.
maayure! BhRmgamaa! vikaca mallikalan viDanaaDi tammilO
nee yeDa poovu dEniyala nimpu janimpaga grOli sokkiyun
bOyeda nanna bhraamti ninu bomdadu raa judayimce nippuDee
tOyaja patramul varusatO mukuLimce jalimpakumDumaa!
The minister hides in the walk-in closet in the king's bedroom.
The closet is probably too narrow for him! As the night passes,
it becomes a little more irksome and he starts moving and make
noises! Our clever queen's maid listens the noise and says:
aLikulavarya! padma mukuLaamtara mamdu vasimpa nEramin
jalanamu semdedEmi navasaarasa mitruDu raaka yumDunaa?
tolagaka yamde yumDu mika dOyajavairi tirambe raatri ee
kalavaramEla? tammituda gaanaka toor"aka yoorakumDumaa!
The minister's wife knows about her husband's extra-marital
escapades. Being a pativrata, she gets really worried for
her husband's safety. She is doubly worried after she learns
that the king has returned that very night! She went enquiring
about her dear hubby. The queen's maid puts her unwarranted
fears to rest in the following poem!
alinee! tattaramEle nEDu nide neeyaatmESu dau BhRmgamun
jalajaasakta maramda paana vaSatan saanamdudai yunnavaa-
Dulu kimtEniyu lEka nee varugumaa! yoppara nippaTa nee
celuvumDum bar"atemcu dEkuvanu raajeevambu pushpimcinan
It is dawn. No heads rolled. Every thing went well! The maid
now tells the minister to get the heck out from his closet!
pati nidrimcina vELa raadaguna yOpadmaari ee kELikaa
yatanambamdu rati Sraman vibhuDu nidraasaktudai yumDe nee
SatapatrEkshaNa mOmuvamcinadi nee saamarthyamun joopa bO-
kativEgambuna nEgumaa! tolagi maa yaatmal sukhambamdagan
That night the queen puts a necklace around the minister's neck.
He returns to the court wearing the queen's necklace and our
poet-maid was afraid that the king might recognize the necklace!
She comes to the court, reads the following fifth and the last poem
of the fabled BhRnga pamcakam! The minister understands the
well placed adjective 'maanaparipaala' in addressing him. He
immediately wraps the necklace in his silk shawl and gives it
to the queen's maid as a gift in recognition of her poetic prowess!
atula sbhaamtara sthita budhaavaLi kella johaaru veera raa-
hutulaku mEljohaaru satatOjwala vikrama saarvabhauma sam-
tatiki johaaru vaibhava vitaana puramdarudainayaTTi bhoo-
patiki johaaru maanaparipaala! johaaru pradhaana sekharaa!
Only in the last stanza of the last poem, we come to know that
this minister is the prime minister, after all!
Have a great weekend!
Regards.
Venkateswara Rao Veluri