Poetry / Kavit -- on Love and/or on the Shri Gods

[Poeticus]

Namaste,

I'm a sucker for love; romantic love; and, I do not mean badly written fantasies found in Shades of Grey or Twilight. Those are pretty much an insult to literature.

I'm also a sucker for poetical prose and musings praising the Shri Gods.

Do you have any that fall into either one or the other? If so, post away!

Still confused? Here, I'll start off:

"Oh, beloved one -
somewhere the moon shoved the blackish columns of night aside,
somewhere else the palace-chambers with water
[showering, sprinkling and splashing] machines are highly exciting,
and else where the matrices of gems,
[like coolant pearls and moon-stone, etc.,] are there,
and even the pure sandalwood is liquefied [besides other coolant scents],
thus this season gets an adoration from all the people."​

Kalidasa -- on Summer​

"Truth is the base that bears the earth;
by Surya are the heavens sustained.
By Law the Adityas stand secure,
and Soma holds his place in heaven."​

R.V.10.85.1​

"Even now -
My thought is all of this gold-tinted king's daughter
With garlands tissue and golden buds,
Smoke tangles of her hair, and sleeping or waking
Feet trembling in love, full of pale languor;
My thought is clinging as to a lost learning
Slipped down out of the minds of men,
Labouring to bring her back into my soul."​

Bilhana's Chauraspanchasika
[see my signature for this verse in Sanskrit]​

 

[Satyamavejayanti]

Could be out of topic but I cant Go past Sama Veda, the birth of Poetry.

Book 5
CHAPTER III, IX- Indra.VisvaDeva
1. Like a dread wild beast roaming on the mountain thou hast approached us from the farthest distance. Whetting thy bolt and thy sharp blade, O Indra, crush thou the foe and scatter those who hate us!

2. DevaH, may our ears hear that which is auspicious, may our eyes see that which is good, ye holy! Extolling you with still strong limbs and bodies, may we attain the age by the DevaH appointed!

3. Illustrious far and wide, may Indra bless us, may Pushan bless us, master of all riches! May Tarkshya with uninjured fellies bless us! Brihaspati bestow on us his favor! Brihaspati bestow on us his favor!


Capter 2-XIII-Vena
1. They gaze on thee with longing in their spirit, as on a strong-winged bird that mounteth sky-ward; On thee with wings of gold, Varuna's envoy, the Bird that hasteneth to the home of Yama.

2. Erect, to the sky hath the Gandharva mounted, pointing at us his many-coloured weapons: Clad in sweet raiment beautiful to look on, for he, as light, produceth forms that please us.

3. When as a spark he cometh near the ocean, looking with vulture's eye as Law commandeth, His lustre, joying in its own bright splendor, maketh dear glories in the loftiest regions.


This ones for you Mitra


Book 4 Chapter 2
IX Soma Vaisvanara

1. Sit down, O friends, and sing aloud to him who purifies himself:
Deck him for glory, like a child, with holy rites

2. Loose him who bringeth household wealth, even as a calf with mothers kine,
Him who hath double strength, strong, god-delighting juice!

3. Purify him who gives us power, most blissful one, that he may be
a banquet for the troop of Mitra, Varuna!

 

[Jaskaran Singh]

Book 4 Chapter 2
IX Soma Vaisvanara

1. Sit down, O friends, and sing aloud to him who purifies himself:
Deck him for glory, like a child, with holy rites

2. Loose him who bringeth household wealth, even as a calf with mothers kine,
Him who hath double strength, strong, god-delighting juice!

3. Purify him who gives us power, most blissful one, that he may be
a banquet for the troop of Mitra, Varuna!

Are you sure that it's soma vaishvAnara and not soma pavamAna? I'm just asking because usually, vaishvAnara is usualy used to refer to jAtavedaH/agni, athough I agree that it's occasionally used to refer to soma (like in the phrase "yo vA etaM sutatejasaM vaishvAnaraM"). Also, pavamAna can be used not only to refer to soma, but also to agni and vAyu, so it honestly doesn't matter.

BTW, regarding poetry, I found the following shrIvaiShNava pAsuram/hymn from the drAviDavedasAgaram document on tirunArAyaNa.in and I think it's beautiful:

minnaar thadamadhiL soozh villiputhoor enRorukaal
sonnaar kazhaR kamalam soodinOm - munnaaL
kizhiyaRuthaan enRuraithOm keezhmaiyiniR sErum
vazhiyaRuthOm nenjamE! vandhu

We bow to the lotus feet of those who utter the name of ‘Villiputtur,’ surrounded by magnificent, illumined
ramparts. It is the land of Periazhwar, who, we say, once caused the prize to fall. Know ye that it is our tendency to embrace the wrong paths that he actually felled.
[The allusion in this and the next verse is to the following incident: the Pandya king Vallabhadeva had instituted a prize for an individual who could convincingly expound on the merits of the God to whom he was devoted. It was decided that a bag
of gold coins would be placed atop a pole and that the person at whose feet the bag fell by itself would be declared the winner. Though many erudite scholars participated in the debate, it was the unlettered Vishnuchittar [Periazhwar] who won.]

ii. paandiyan koNdaada pattarpiraan vandhaan endRu eeNdiya sangam eduththoodha - vENdiya
vEdhangaLOdhi viraindhu kizhiyaruththaan paadhangal yaam udaiya patru

He, who, unmoved by the acclaim of the Pandyan king, and the conches heralding his arrival, quickly and calmly cited the relevant portions of the Vedas and won the prize, his feet are our refuge.

iii. pallaaNdu pallaaNdu pallaayiraththaaNdu pala kOdi nooRaayiram mallaaNda thiNdhOL maNivaNNaa! un sEvadi sevvi thirukkaappu
(1) – Nattai – Kandachapu

For years and years, for thousands and hundreds of crores of years, O Manivanna with strong shoulders that vanquished the mighty wrestlers, may your unsullied feet remain glowing and safe from harm.

iv. adiyOmOdum ninnOdum pirivindRi aayiram pallaaNdu vadivaay nin vala maarbinil vaazhhindRa
mangaiyum pallaaNdu vadivaarchOdhi valathuRaiyum chudaraazhiyum pallaaNdu
padaipOr pukku muzhangum appaanjasanniyamum
pallaaNdE (2) – Nattai – Adi

May this devotee never be separated from you for
thousands and thousands of years. May your comely
consort, who resides in your right chest, also live long. May the effulgent, fiery disc that is permanently seen on your right forefinger live long; so also may your conch, Panchajanya, whose sound alerts armies and heralds battles.

Edit: Here is a recital of those verses:
[youtube]KRrU0ZB9MjM[/youtube]
Double Edit: This video also seems to have the last two verses chanted at the beginning (up until 0:54):
[youtube]TqMo1PuAbEU[/youtube]

 

[satyaroop]

stuck in traffic, I decided to see if there was anything interesting to listen to on the radio, and something caught my attention; I remembered a few words and googled it later on, I learnt it was the madhurashtakam composed by Vallabha Acharya
I am not drawn to krishna even slightly, but the madhurashtakam suggests to me that vallabhacharya was in love...?

very simple and beautiful

Madhurashtakam by Vallabhacharya

 

[Aupmanyav]

Thanks, MaitrāVarunih (can I call you as Maitra?),

Thanks for your RV chhanda. I like this even better.

सोमं मन्यते पपिवन यत सम्पिंषन्त्योषधिम |
सोमं यम्ब्रह्माणो विदुर्न तस्याश्नाति कश्चन ||

Somam manyate papivana yata sampimshantyoshadhim |
somam yambrahmāno vidurna tasyāshnāti kashchana ||

(One thinks, when they have brayed the plant, that he hath drunk the Soma's juice;
Of him, whom brahmins truly know as Soma, no one ever tastes.) RV 10.85.3

A very promising richa, I need to go through the whole carefully.

I am not drawn to krishna even slightly, but the madhurashtakam suggests to me that vallabhacharya was in love...?

Even after this, you are not in love with Krishna?!

 

[Jaskaran Singh]

I remembered a few words and googled it later on, I learnt it was the madhurashtakam composed by Vallabha Acharya

Let me guess, those few words were "madhurAdhipater akhilaM madhuram," right?
I quoted one of the verses from the madhurAShTakam in a previous post here, although looking back on it, it seems I was kind of upset when I wrote that post, lol.

 

[satyaroop]

Even after this, you are not in love with Krishna?!

there's no hope for me:cover:

Let me guess, those few words were "madhurAdhipater akhilaM madhuram," right?
I quoted one of the verses from the madhurAShTakam in a previous post here, although looking back on it, it seems I was kind of upset when I wrote that post, lol.

I barely got a few words, nayanam madhuram, adharam madhuram..etc

ps - why the ugly purple font?

 

[Jaskaran Singh]

ps - why the ugly purple font?

Pshh, says you. Purple is beautiful...

 

[satyaroop]

someone might have an epileptic fit looking at that

 

[Jaskaran Singh]

someone might have an epileptic fit looking at that

Do you have anything useful to contribute???

 

[Poeticus]

Could be out of topic but I cant Go past Sama Veda, the birth of Poetry.

Book 5
CHAPTER III, IX- Indra.VisvaDeva
1. Like a dread wild beast roaming on the mountain thou hast approached us from the farthest distance. Whetting thy bolt and thy sharp blade, O Indra, crush thou the foe and scatter those who hate us!

2. DevaH, may our ears hear that which is auspicious, may our eyes see that which is good, ye holy! Extolling you with still strong limbs and bodies, may we attain the age by the DevaH appointed!

3. Illustrious far and wide, may Indra bless us, may Pushan bless us, master of all riches! May Tarkshya with uninjured fellies bless us! Brihaspati bestow on us his favor! Brihaspati bestow on us his favor!


Capter 2-XIII-Vena
1. They gaze on thee with longing in their spirit, as on a strong-winged bird that mounteth sky-ward; On thee with wings of gold, Varuna's envoy, the Bird that hasteneth to the home of Yama.

2. Erect, to the sky hath the Gandharva mounted, pointing at us his many-coloured weapons: Clad in sweet raiment beautiful to look on, for he, as light, produceth forms that please us.

3. When as a spark he cometh near the ocean, looking with vulture's eye as Law commandeth, His lustre, joying in its own bright splendor, maketh dear glories in the loftiest regions.


This ones for you Mitra


Book 4 Chapter 2
IX Soma Vaisvanara

1. Sit down, O friends, and sing aloud to him who purifies himself:
Deck him for glory, like a child, with holy rites

2. Loose him who bringeth household wealth, even as a calf with mothers kine,
Him who hath double strength, strong, god-delighting juice!

3. Purify him who gives us power, most blissful one, that he may be
a banquet for the troop of Mitra, Varuna!

Thank you for your post, Satya. I don't think your post was off topic at all. In fact, it has been very much on topic. I sure do believe that the Sama Veda has everlasting, blissful, highly sophisticated poetry, that is of divine value. Thank you for taking the time to post some very awesome verse from this eternal Shruti. If you have more, please do post.

I really enjoyed the one about Vena.

And, I would like to share one of my favorite verses on Soma. It comes from the Rg-Veda. You may have heard of it before:

"We have drunk Soma and become immortal;
we have attained the light, the Gods discovered.
Now what may foeman's malice do to harm us?
What, O Immortal, mortal man's deception?"​

R.V.8.48.3​

 

[Aupmanyav]

RV 10.85 is about marriage of Savitar (Surya) with bride Suryā. I am sure some of these chhandas are recited during a hindu marriage.

".. अघासुहन्यन्ते गावो .." ".. aghāsuhanyante ghāvo .." (In Magha, the oxen are killed)

It seems marriages took place in the New Year, with coming of spring. And it involved feasting on meat of oxen. Now let us try to date the hymn:

Beginning of the New Year - The asterism in which the sun rose on the day of vernal equinox - Date

Ashwin - Castor and Pollux - 6000 BC - Fragmentary mention in RV
Kartik - Castor and Pollux, last leg - 5000 BC - Fragmentary mention in RV
Margashersha - Orion - 4,000 BC - Well recorded in RV
Pausha - Orion, last leg - 3000 BC - Well recorded in RV
Magha - Pleiadas - 2000 BC - Well recorded in RV
Phalgun - Pleiadas, last leg - 1000 BC - Well recorded in RV
Chaitra - Ashwin - Beginning of christian calendar -
Chaitra - Ashwin, last leg - present uncorrected
Vaishakha - Revati - Current corrected

So, if we go by Tilak, the chhanda, RV 10.85 belongs to around 2000 BC. Sometime later than the composition of Taittiriya Samhita which Tilak dates around 2250 BC. I must mention that normally the change over is delayed by a thousand years or so due to the reticence of the orthodox ("How can the beginning of the year be changed?" - forgetting that it has been happening all the time for the last 7000 years or so). The sun now rises in the asterism of Revati (Pisces) on the day of vernal equinox, but we are still sticking with Ashwin. The change is long overdue.

Post open to criticism :rolling:

 

[Poeticus]

Thanks, MaitrāVarunih (can I call you as Maitra?),

Thanks for your RV chhanda. I like this even better.

सोमं मन्यते पपिवन यत सम्पिंषन्त्योषधिम |
सोमं यम्ब्रह्माणो विदुर्न तस्याश्नाति कश्चन ||

Somam manyate papivana yata sampimshantyoshadhim |
somam yambrahmāno vidurna tasyāshnāti kashchana ||

(One thinks, when they have brayed the plant, that he hath drunk the Soma's juice;
Of him, whom brahmins truly know as Soma, no one ever tastes.) RV 10.85.3

A very promising richa, I need to go through the whole carefully.

Thank you for this Rica. A very promising one indeed. I find it to be very "adhyAtmic" in the sense that no "one" ever tastes Soma - if Soma is taken as amrita-m or moksha in this occurrence. Meaning, no living person, hence me quoting "one", can "taste" Soma - perhaps it can be constructed in this occasion as something that is "acquired".

I am sure some of the chhandas are recited during a hindu marriage.

All of R.V.10.85 was recited at one of my first-cousin's wedding. It was pretty much epic.

....if we go by Tilak....

Why, oh for the love of the Shri Gods, why?

 

[Jaskaran Singh]

RV 10.85 is about marriage of Savitar (Surya) with bride Suryā. I am sure some of these chhandas are recited during a hindu marriage.

No, sUryA is savitR^i's daughter who is married to soma in the sUktam, not to her father, although the aitareyabrAhmaNam says that she (sUryA) married the ashvins in some sort of svayaMvara (I don't remember the exact reference, I'll have to look it up).

 

[Poeticus]

More from Kalidasa:

Priyamvada:

"O my Shakuntala, let us remain some time in this shade."​

Shakuntala:

"Why here particularly?"​

Priyamvada:

"Because the Amra tree seems wedded to you, who are graceful as the blooming creeper which twines round it."​

Shakuntala:

"Properly are you named Priyamvada, or speaking lovingly (kindly)."​

King Dushyant [standing aside]:

"She speaks truly. Yes; her lip glows like the tender leaflet; her arms resemble two flexible stalks; and youthful beauty shines, like a blossom, in all her lineaments."​

---------------------------------​

"The autumn comes, a maiden fair
In slenderness and grace,
With nodding rice-stems in her hair
And lilies in her face.
In flowers of grasses she is clad;
And as she moves along,
Birds greet her with their cooing glad
Like bracelets' tinkling song."

"A diadem adorns the night
Of multitudinous stars;
Her silken robe is white moonlight,
Set free from cloudy bars;
And on her face (the radiant moon)
Bewitching smiles are shown:
She seems a slender maid, who soon
Will be a woman grown."

"Over the rice-fields, laden plants
Are shivering to the breeze;
While in his brisk caresses dance
The blossomed-burdened trees;
He ruffles every lily-pond
Where blossoms kiss and part,
And stirs with lover's fancies fond
The young man's eager heart."​

Kalidasa in Autumn​

 

[Jaskaran Singh]

More from Kalidasa:

Priyamvada:

"O my Shakuntala, let us remain some time in this shade."​

Shakuntala:

"Why here particularly?"​

Priyamvada:

"Because the Amra tree seems wedded to you, who are graceful as the blooming creeper which twines round it."​

Shakuntala:

"Properly are you named Priyamvada, or speaking lovingly (kindly)."​

King Dushyant [standing aside]:

"She speaks truly. Yes; her lip glows like the tender leaflet; her arms resemble two flexible stalks; and youthful beauty shines, like a blossom, in all her lineaments."​

What kind of a ridiculous name is priyaMvada? Well, at least it's not as bad as shunaHshepa (lol, who would want to be named after a dog; dogs are so nasty).

 

[Aupmanyav]

One of the most impressive sights in the firmament (Horse-head Nebula). Purple color is only because of filters. Here it is green or blue. But purple, no doubt, is a special color, royal:

 

[Jaskaran Singh]

I thought I might as well add this too:
[youtube]gPiS7ZZxPJE[/youtube]

 

[Tyaga]

Nothing matches the wisdom of Nasadiya Suktam

Also here is another one of my favorites from RV,posted in another forum btw:


The Youthful One, well-shaped, with four locks braided, brightened with oil, puts on the ordinances. Two Birds of mighty power are seated near her, there where the Deities receive their portion.

One of these Birds hath passed into the sea of air: thence he looks round and views this universal world. With simple heart I have beheld him from anear: his Mother kisses him and he returns her kiss.

Him with fair wings though only One in nature, wise singers shape, with songs, in many figures. While they at sacrifices fix the metres, they measure out twelve chalices of Soma.

Griffith's translation.

RV 10.114.3-5

 

[Poeticus]

There is no grievance - O' Lord of Wisdom
There is no grievance - O' Shri Krishna
There is no grievance - O' Govinda​

[youtube]P-vEfCaWW9I[/youtube]
Kurai Ondrum Illai - with lyrics & meanings. - YouTube​