An Ornament for Jewels: Love Poems For The Lord of Gods, by Venkatesa

200 Pages·2007·0.72 MB·English

by  Steven P. Hopkins

An Ornament for Jewels
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An Ornament
for Jewels
Love Poems for the Lord of Gods
by Veda¯ntadesika
translations with commentary by
steven p. hopkins
1
2007
1
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LibraryofCongressCataloging-in-PublicationData
Vexkatanatha,1268–1369.
[Poems.Polyglot.Selections]
Anornamentforjewels:lovepoemsfortheLordofGods/
byVedantadesika;[editedandtranslatedby]StevenP.Hopkins.
p.cm.
IncludestranslationsfromTamil,Sanskrit,andMaharastriPrakrit.
Includesbibliographicalreferencesandindex.
ISBN978-0-19-532639-0; 978-0-19-532640-6(pbk.)
1. Vishnu(Hindudeity)—Poetry. 2. Religiouspoetry,Indic—
TranslationsintoEnglish. 3. Vexkatanatha,1268–1369—
TranslationsintoEnglish.
I. Hopkins,StevenP. II. Title.
PL4758.9.V4255A22007
891'.21—dc22 2006053259
9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
PrintedintheUnitedStatesofAmerica
onacid-freepaper
For Raimon Panikkar
and
in memory of A. K. Ramanujan
(1929–1993)
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And Vexkatesa, the poet
composing these verses
of praise
for You
shines
a singer of Truth!
—Vedantadesika, Devana¯yakapa˜nca¯sat 53
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Preface
These translations andthis labor to cross overthree distinct South
Asian languages—Sanskrit, Tamil,and Maharaqtr¯ıPrakrit—into the
foreign territories ofAmerican English,is thework ofover adecade
thatbeganwithaconversationIhadonemorningwiththelatescholar
and poet A. K.Ramanujan. We were walking through thestreets of
Cambridge, Massachusetts, from the Center for theStudyof World
Religions, where we wereboth living at thetime, to Harvard Yard.
I had been givingRaman myown poetry,and wasstrugglingto
find therightfocusfor my dissertationwork. He told methen that
everything he hadthought or written about Indian culture,folklore,
or literaturebegan with theact oftranslation;that thisencounter
formedacenteraroundwhichhisthinkingandhisoriginalpoetryin
English andKannada always turned.He told me to finda poet, or
a bodyof poetry, preferably in a vernacularlanguage, thatI could
translate,andinthiswayIwould‘‘keepthepoetry’’inmyownvoice,
through thevoicesofother poets, while I pursued myscholarly
studiesand an academiccareer.And indeed, reading Ramanujan’s
remarkable translations from the Tamil ofNammalvar andthe
(cid:1)
‘‘classical’’ Tamil caxkam poetry had first inspired me to study the
originals, and to seek my own voice as atranslator-poet andscholar.
After thisconversation,it wasnot long before Ifoundmy poet,
Vedantadesika,withthehelpofCSWRcolleagueandfellowSanskrit
studentTamar Reich. I began then atask I continue today:translat-
ingpoemsfromSanskrit,Tamil,andPrakritbyafourteenth-century