An Anthology of Sanskrit Court Poetry: Vidyakara's Subha?itaratnako?a

625 Pages·1965·56.96 MB·English

by  Daniel H. H. Ingalls Sr.

HARVARD ORIENTAL SERIES
Edited by Daniel H. H. Ingalls
VOLUME FORTY.FOUR
Uni\f~rsitat Homburg
S.nnnar fur Kultur und Ge;sd1i te IJIIQieA'
_ Hamburg -
rXE co COLLECTIOX OF REPRESE,''L\'T'IYF. 'TORK.
I ~ D lAX ER I E
This book ha bcen accepted in the erie of tran -
lation from an krit literature pon ored b:--' the
nited ~ation Educational Scientific and Cultural
OTO'anizati n (r x E S co)
An Anthology of
Sanskrit Court Poetry
T/ idyiikara s
" Subhii~itaratnako~a"
translated by
DANIEL H. H. INGALLS
14-9
~q6.)·
Uni ersitat Hamburg
S.lIIinor fur Kultur und Geschi~le IAdi'R.
~ Hamburg -
C. :"vIBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS
HARrARD UNIVERSITY PRESS
1965
,/
~ Copyright, 1965, by the President and Fellows of Harvard College
Distributed in Great Britain by
Oxford University Press
London
Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 64-19581
Made and printed in Great Britain by
\Yilliam Clowes and Sons, Limited, London and Beccle~
Preface
The first edition of this anthology of Sanskrit court poetry was prepared
shortly before the year 1100 of our era by a Buddhist scholar named
Vidyakara, who drew for his purpose on what must have been a large
library housed in the monastery of Jagaddala. The ruins of Jagaddala
may still be seen in Malda District a few miles east of the present border
between ~ est and East Bengal. A second edition of the anthology,
increased in size by about one-third, was made some years later, doubt
less by Vidyakara himself. Of each edition only a single complete
manuscript has been preserved. It was from photographs of these two
manuscripts that D. D. Kosambi and V. V. Gokhale were able to edit
the Sanskrit text of Vidyakara's anthology as "\ olume 42 of the
Harvard Oriental Series in 1957.
Vidyakara's TreMUry of TVell-Turned Verse (Subhf4itaratnako$a)
contains verses by over two hundred poets, who lived for the most part
from the eighth to the eleventh centuries A.D. The original works of
many of these poets are entirely lost to us, our knowledge of them being
limited to the verses which are contained in this and in one or two later
anthologies. Not only are many of the anthologist's selections excellent
poetry; taken as a whole, they give an extraordinarily vivid picture of
Indian attitudes and sensibilities in the centuries preceding the Moslem
conquest. In order to make that picture more visible to Sanskrit
scholars-for the text is often difficult-I began ten years ago to write
a running commentary on the verses. That work had come to about
the halfway point when the editors of the text and I decided that
Vidyakara's anthology deserved another audience as well, one that could
be reached only through an English translation of the poems. The
editors left the translation to my hands, whence, after some six years of
pleasant but often interrupted labor, it now comes forth.
It will be understood, then, that I have written this book for two
groups of readers: for the Sanskritist 'who seeks aid in interpreting
difficult verses; and for the reader of literature who may wish to see
v
Preface
what men of a former century and a distant culture considered to be
beautiful or moving. The reader of the latter sort will also seek a style
which shows some of the poetic qualities of the language in which the
original authors wrote. The making of a translation to suit two such
groups is a time-consuming task, but except in the case of punning
verses is not impossible. It demands that one be neither free nor literal,
but accurate. I shall not be so immodest, and even untruthful, as to
say that I have always achieved the ideal. If my failures are only
infrequent enough not to mar the whole I shall count my work well
spent. Some verses come very easily into English; others contain
images or figures of speech which produce in English an immediate
effect far different from what the original produced on its readers. I
have not altered the images or figures of the original, but have trusted
that the English reader if he is attentive and reads through the anthology
will to a large degree attune his sensibilities to those of the ancient
artists. Only the punning verses, of which Sanskrit is fond, proved
impossible to translate, at least into English poetry. I have relegated
them to the notes, where they are given literal explanations.
The author's name, when known, is given under the translation of
each verse, without brackets if the ascription is Vidyakara's, within
brackets if taken from other sources. A question mark indicates that
I doubt the truth of an ascription; the absence of any name means that
the author is not known.
I would advise the English-speaking reader to begin with those parts
of the anthology that are closely related in spirit to the poetry of his own
tongue; the Sections on Autumn and Winter (U, 12, 18); on the Woman
Offended (21); on Characterizations (85). Let him come next to the
three Sections on the great gods of Hinduism (4, 5, 6), where he will meet
directly with the mythology that is necessary to an understanding of
much Indian verse. From there on let him read as the spirit moves
him.
The parts of the book other than the translations are designed pri
marily for one group of readers or the other rather than for both together.
For the non-Sanskritist I have introduced each of Vidyakara's fifty
sections with an account of the type of verse found there and an explana
tion of its conventions and mythological references. Much of what I
have said in these introductions is known to every one who has read
poetry in Sanskrit and to many who have read poetry in the modern
languages of India, for the ancient conventions have lived.o n very nearly
to the present day. My only original contribution in the sectional
.
VI
-
Preface
introductions is an occasional attempt to evaluate the verses as poetry
or to contrast the attitudes which appear in them with those of Western
verse.
For the Sanskritist I have supplied a list of textual corrections and
emendations, notes on the verses, and an index of words discussed in the
notes. Each of these items demands a word of explanation.
It will be seen that the textual corrections and emendations are
numerous. This should not be taken as a disparagement of the work of
Kosambi and Gokhale in editing the text. Their text, printed as Volume
42 of this Series, has admirably achieved their purpose, namely, the
rendering of precisely what Vidyakara intended. Other than in minor
matters of word division the improvements which I can offer toward that
goal after six years of close attention are very few. The majority of the
corrections and emendations are of a different nature and are intended
to achieve a different purpose. They represent passages where I am
convinced that what Vidyakara wrote was wrong, that is to say, does not
represent what the author of the verse in question originally wrote.
The variant readings which I recommend are derived almost always
from some other quotation of the verse. Very seldom have I suggested
emendation without the evidence of manuscripts or testimonia. Where
I have done so I have indicated the uncertainty of my reading. By
applying the corrections and emendations of the list the reader will alter
the printed text to a form which is closer, I think, to what the poets
themselves composed. The alteration results in a far more readable text
than that which is printed, but this does not impugn the scientific value
of the printed text.
In the notes I have tried to explain everything concerning each verse
that I felt would not be clear to a Sanskritist from a perusal of the
translation. Since I have supposed that no one will set out to read the
Sanskrit text without a fair command of classical Sanskrit, I have not
bothered to analyze each compound nor to indicate where I ha.ve
shifted, say, from a passive construction of the Sanskrit to an active
in the English. On the other hand, wherever the text seemed to me
difficult or where I was aware that my translation departed some
distance from the Sanskrit construction, I have given a literal trans
lation or a grammatical analysis. As it is always difficult to guess what
will be clear to another person and what not, I have thought it safer to
err by explaining too much than too little. In the notes I have included
a few corrections of the variae lectiones of the Text Volume. The new
variants given in the notes have been furnished by D. D. Kosambi.
vu
Preface
The index of words treated in the notes contains, in the order of the
Sanskrit syllabary, all words that I have treated in the notes in other
connections than that of textual criticism.. I have indicated in tb.e
notes all words and senses which are unrecorded in Bohtlingk and Roth's
Sanskrit W6rterbuch and also those words which are quoted there only
from lexica.
Throughout the translation and notes I have used. the AOS-RAS
system of transliteration except in the following cases. \Vithin an
English sentence I write Krishna for ~1)a and BrahmA or brabmafor
brahman. In all cases I write Hanuman, Ubagav An, etc., since the
pedantic forms Hanumant, Bhagavant, etc. not only do not e.-rist in
Sanskrit but would be unpronounceable in that language.
It remains to thank those who have belped me with my work. I
owe the most help to the editors of the text, with whom even before the
text was established I had discussed by word and by letter many of the
verses. V. V. Gokhale has been good enough to read a first draft of
my translations and notes to verses 384-806; D. D. Kosambi has kindly
read those and also the translations and notes to 30-338 and 807-1018.
From each of these scholars I have had numerous suggestions on the
interpretation of the stanzas submitted to them. 1tlany of their
suggestions are now embodied in the translation and notes. While I
have tried to give specific credit for suggestions, I must have passed over
some in silence. Even where I have gone my own way over objections
from my scholar friends I have benefited from our exchange of views,
for it has given me assurance that all paths of interpretation have been
carefully explored. For verses 1-29 and 1019-1789 time did not permit
of this double and triple check.
To Professor V. V. Raghavan of Madras I am indebted for brief but
penetrating observations on the text of thirty-five of the verses. I
have accepted most of his suggestions for the improvement of the
text and have so indicated in the notes.
I have improved the translation of several of the verses by subjecting
them to the clear, unsanskritic eyes of my daughter, RacheL One of
my favorite pieces of the collection, 1207, owes its present English shape
to my son, Daniel.
Last but not least I must thank that ancient abbot, Vidyikara, for
furnishing me the happiest hours of labor that I have yet known.
DANIEL H. H. lNuALLS
Harvard University
1963
VU)
Contents
General Introduction
The Anthology
1. The Buddha 57
2. The Bodhisattva Lokesvara 62
3. The Bodhisattva Maiijugho/?& 66
4. Siva 68
5. Siva's Household 84
6. V~Qu 98
7. The Sun 108
8. Spring 110
9. Summer 120
10. The Rains 126
11. Autumn 186
12. Early Winter 142
13. Late Winter 145
14. Kama 149
15. Adolescence 153
16. Young Women 164
17. The Blossoming of Love 178
18. Words of the Female Messenger 192
19. Love in Enjoyment
198
20. The Evidence of Consummation 211
21. The Woman Offended 216
22. The Lady Parted from her Lover 230
23. The Lover Separated from his Mistress 242
24. The Wanton 252
25. The Lady's Expression of Anger
at her Messenger 259
26. The Lamp 262
27. Sunset 268
28. Darkness 269
I- IX
Preface
The index of words treated in the notes contains, in the order of the
Sanskrit syllabary, all words that I have treated in the note in other
connections than that of textual criticism. I have indicated in the
notes all words and senses which are unrecorded in Bohtliugk and Roth s
Sanskrit Wiirterbuch and also those words which are quoted there onl)
from lexica.
Throughout the translation and notes I have used the .-\OS-RAS
system of transliteration except in the following case. \\ ith.in an
English sentence I write Krishna for Kr~I).a and Brahma or brahma for
brahman. In all cases I write Hanuman, Bhagavan, etc. ince the
pedantic forms Hanumant, Bhagavant, etc. not onl. do not exi t m
Sanskrit but would be unpronounceable in that language.
It remains to thank those who have helped me with m~ work. I
owe the most help to the editors of the text, with whom e,'en before the
text was established I had discussed by word and by letter many of the
verses. V. V. Gokhale has been good enough to read a first draft of
my translations and notes to verses 334-806; D. D. Kosambi has kindl
read those and also the translations and notes to 30-333 and 807-1018.
From each of these scholars I have had numerous suggestions on the
interpretation of the stanzas submitted to them. Many of their
suggestions are now embodied in the translation and notes. While I
have tried to give specific credit for suggestions, I must have passed over
some in silence. Even where I have gone my own way over objections
from my scholar friends I have benefited from our exchange of views,
for it has given me assurance that all paths of interpretation have been
carefully explored. For verses 1-29 and 1019-1739 time did not permit
of this double and triple check.
To Professor V. V. Raghavan of Madras I am indebted for brief but
penetrating observations on the text of thirty-five of the verses. I
have accepted most of his suggestions for the improvement of the
text and have so indicated in the notes.
I have improved the translation of several of the verses by subjecting
them to the clear, unsanskritic eyes of my daughter, Rachel. One of
my favorite pieces of the collection, 1207, owes its present English shape
to my son, Daniel.
Last but not least I must thank that ancient abbot, Vidyakara, for
furnishing me the happiest hours of labor that I have yet known.
DA1'o"'IEL H. H. L'iGALLS
Harvard University
1963
VU1