AgneyAM bhAti padmAbha-ratna-hindola-kuTTimam |
pUrvApara-dig-utpanna-pravINa-bakulAgayoH ||
sAci kiJcid vinirgatya gatyA vakrordhvayopari |
militAbhyAM suzAkhAbhyAM chAditaM maNDapAkRti ||
“On the southeast petal lies a lotus-shaped, jeweled swing terrace with two old bakula trees, one on the western side and one on the east. Two of their beautiful branches have grown in a somewhat upward twist and joined above in the shape of a pavilion.” (Govinda-LIlAmRtam 7.55-56)
tac-chAkhA-mUla-saMnaddhaiH paTTa-rajju-catuSTayaiH |
dRDhair baddha-catuSkoNaM nAbhimAtrocca-saMsthiti ||
“Four strong silken ropes are bound to the bases of those two branches and then tied to the four corners of a swing, which hangs at the height of one’s navel.” (Govinda-LIlAmRtam 7.57)
padmarAgASTa-paTTibhiH pravAlaja-padASTakaiH |
ghaTitaM hasta-mAtrocca-paTTi-veSTana-kezaram ||
dvyaSTa-patrAmbujAkAra-ratnAli-citra-karNikam |
dvi-dvi-pAdAnvitAmbhoja-dalAbhASTa-dalair vRtam ||
ratna-paTTi-kezarAntar dvArASTaka-susaMyutam |
dakSiNe dala-pArzva-sthAroha-dvAra-dvayAnvitam ||
laghu-stambha-dvayAsakta-paTTi-pRSThAvalambakam |
paTTa-tUlI-lasan-madhyaM pArzva-pRSThopadhAnakam ||
nAnA-citrAMzukaiz channaM svarNa-sUtrAmbarair api |
lasac-candrAvalI-muktA-dAma-guccha-vitAnakam ||
yatrASTa-dala-gAlInAM madhya-gau rAdhikAcyutau |
gAyad-anya-vayasyAbhir vRndA dolayatIzvarau ||
svArUDha-rAdhAcyutayoH sarvAbhimukhatAkaram |
hindolAmbujam AbhAti madanAndolanAbhidham || (aSTabhiH kulakam)
“That beautiful lotus-shaped swing, known as MadanAndolana, has a sixteen-petaled, jeweled lotus throne as its pericarp, surrounded by eight hand-high footstools inlaid with coral as its filaments and eight seats inlaid with rubies as its outer petals. The seats all have silken cushions, side pillows and back-bolsters supported by two small posts. Two doors on the right-hand side allow the swing to be mounted, while eight more doorways join the main seat with the outer ones. Above the swing hangs a canopy covered with colorful cloth interwoven with golden threads and adorned with shining moons, strings of pearls and clusters of flowers. With Their Lordships Radhika and Acyuta sitting in the center as the cynosure of everyone’s eyes, and their eight sakhis on the petals, Vrindadevi pushes the swing along with several other singing gopis.” (Govinda-LIlAmRtam 7.58-64) (This is a first draft, so some of this may change.)
1 comment:
A couple of notes about this translation:
1. In the Sanskrit text of the verse beginning with padmaraga, the word padASTaka (pada-astaka) is used, but in every tika and Indian-language translation I have access to, they change it to padma. I don’t know why they do that unless they think the word pada in the text is a printing mistake. Yet in every case, they leave the original word as pada in the verse. Padma doesn’t really make sense to me here so I have followed the original and translated the word pada (foot) as pada-asana (foot-stool) because in the context of the total 8 verses that are strung together here, I think that’s what it implies. My guess is all these translations and tikas have come from one source years ago and nobody wants to mess with it because the meaning is vague and because the work of translating can be very hard and time-consuming.
2. I have translated the words sarvAbhimukhatA-kara as ‘their faces as the cynosure of everyone’s eyes.’ It literally means that this swing causes each gopi to have the experience that Rådhå and Krishna are directly facing her.
Post a Comment