Sanskrit Tidbits-18:Jayadeva’s Geet Govind and erotic undertones in Radha-Krishna’s love
In the last tidbits, I introduced you to Jayadeva and गीतगोविन्दम्. I also told you there are 24 wonderful songs in Gita Govindam. These are known as अष्टपदी. The word pada has many different meanings. It actually means step or foot. I have earlier used it in the sense of line, which is correct. But it can also be used in the sense of verse. Here, अष्टपदी means verse and each of these songs or poems has eight verses. The structure of these verses is interesting. I have told you that Gita Govindam is about Radha and Krishna’s love, with strong erotic undertones. I am generalizing a bit. But you will find that eroticism in the first seven verses. And the 8th verse often reminds us about Vishnu and the higher spiritual and religious plane. It is a bit like erotic depictions in temples. They occur towards the bottom layers of temples, not towards the upper or higher end.
I am going to give you one such अष्टपदी to savour, leaving out the 8th verse. This is from the 10th part (sargam) of Gita Govindam and is the first song in this part. Out of those 24 songs, it is number 19. The background is that Radha is sulking. She is jealous because of Krishna’s dalliances with other ladies. Krishna is therefore trying to calm and pacify her and regain her affection.
वदसि यदि किंचिदपि दन्तरूचिकौमुदी
हरति दरतिमिरमतिघोरम्।
स्फुरदधससीधवे तववदनचन्द्रमा
रोचयतु लोचनचकोरम्॥
This is verse no. 1. The Sanskrit is so simple that I don’t think you need a translation. But just in case. Here is Colin John Holcome’s version. “A little even of your glowing teeth dispels my gloominess, as does the moon’s rich nectar trembling from your lower lip to salve my longing in chakora eyes.”
सत्यमेवासि यदि सुदति मयि कोपिनी
देहि खरनखशरघातम्।
घटय भुजबन्घं जनय रदखण्डं
येन वा भवति सुखजातम्॥
This is verse no.2. “If you, with teeth so beautiful, are truly angry, claw at me with arrow nails, bind me with your arms, and have your teeth attack whatever happiness you find.”
त्वमसि मम भूषणं त्वमसि मम जीवनं
त्वमसि भवजलधिरत्नम्।
भवतु भवतीह मयि सततमनोरोधिनि
तत्र मम हृदयमतिरत्नम्॥
This is verse no.3. “You are my ornament, my breath, my world, my jewel in the endless sea of life: that you at last will yield to me I make perpetually the motive of this heart.”
नीलनलिनाभमपि तन्वि तव लोचनं
धारयति कोकनदरूपम्।
कुसुमशरवाणभावेन यदि रञ्जयसि
कृष्णमिदमेतदनुरूपम्॥
This is verse no. 4. “Once blue lotuses, your eyes now glow with red of water lilies, slender Radha: the darts that strike my body with their fiery love adopt the darkness of your eyes.” This verse hasn’t been translated that well. There is no Radha in the Sanskrit. And the translation doesn’t quite capture how the anger has transformed the blue lotuses into red lotuses (lilies).
स्फुरतु कुचकुम्भोरयुपरि मणिमञ्जरी
रञ्जयतु तवहृदयदेशम्।
रसतु रशनापि तवघजघनमण्डले
घोषयतु मन्मथनिदेशम्॥
This is verse no.5. “May gems which, trembling, hang beneath the pitcher breasts entreat those quarters of the heart, and girdle zone that circles those strong hips obey the love-god proudly murmuring there.”
स्थलकमलगञ्जनं मम हृदयरञ्जनं
जनितरतिरङ्गपरभागम्।
भण मसृणवाणि करवाणि पदपङ्कजं
सरसलसदलक्तरागम्॥
This is verse no. 6. “Outshine the flared hibiscus, soft-voiced one, and let me paint your feet with pale-red lack, that you, in amorous disporting, throw a shining harmony around my heart.” Fair enough. But the translator, perhaps being a foreigner, has been extra careful not to hurt people’s sensitivities, especially in the first line. The feet are like hibiscuses and in the course of sexual union, find a place on the chest. That suggests a fairly difficult kind of sexual posture and you find references to such postures in other parts of Gita Govindam too.
स्मरगरलखण्डं मम शिरसि मण्डनं
देहिपदपल्लवमुदारम्।
ज्वलति मयि दारूणो मदनकदनारूणो
हरतु तदुपाहितविकारम्॥
This is verse no. 7. “Place as ornament upon my head, to slake the love-god’s venom, your soft feet, and douse the tawny-embered fire of passion that still too pitilessly burns me up.” There is a wonderful story about this verse. Jayadeva was married to Padmavati, a dancer. Her name occurs in the 8th verse, which I am not quoting. Anyway, Jayadeva thought of this verse. But he couldn’t write it down. How could Krishna, a god, ask Radha to place her feet on his head? Failing to resolve this, he went off to the river to have a bath, thinking that he would solve the problem after having his bath and lunch. Padmavati was waiting. Meanwhile, Krishna, in Jayadeva’s disguise, turned up. He had his lunch and went off to the room where Jayadeva was writing. The real Jayadeva returned after some time and was surprised when Padmavati told him that he had already returned, had his lunch and gone off to work on the composition. When Jayadeva went to the room, there was no one there. However, he found that the verse had been written down. Krishna had done it.
I have given you 7 verses of the Ashtapadi. There is another verse that is repeated as a refrain after every verse. “My love, you have no cause to curse me so: I ask, as this fierce passion burns my mind, to drink the nectar from your lotus mouth.”
प्रिये चारूशीले मुञ्च मयि मानमनिदानं
सपदि मदनानलो दहति मम मानसं
देहि मुखकमलमघुपानम्॥
As I have said, no translation can do justice. This is beautiful poetry and needs to be read in the Sanskrit, which is fairly easy. If you are male, you will have some wonderful lines to quote to your beloved. If you are female, you will have some wonderful ones that you can ask your beloved to quote to you.