Nala And Damayanti And Other Poems Part 15

Strong and firm his cable wound he--round and round on either horn: And the fish, all conquering raja!--with that twisted cable bound, With the utmost speed that vessel--dragged along the ocean tide.

In his bark along the ocean--boldly went the king of men: Dancing with the tumbling billows--dashing through the roaring spray, Tossed about by winds tumultuous--in the vast and heaving sea, Like a trembling, drunken woman--reeled that ship, O king of men.

Earth was seen no more, no region--nor the intermediate s.p.a.ce; All around a waste of water--water all, and air and sky.

In the whole world of creation--princely son of Bharata!

None was seen but those seven Sages--Manu only, and the fish.

Years on years, and still unwearied--drew that fish the bark along, Till at length it came, where lifted--Himavan its loftiest peak.

There at length it came, and smiling--thus the fish addressed the sage: "To the peak of Himalaya--bind thou now thy stately ship."

At the fish's mandate quickly--to the peak of Himavan Bound the sage his bark, and ever--to this day that loftiest peak, Bears the name of Manubandhan--from the binding of the bark.

To the sage, the G.o.d of mercy--thus with fixed look bespake: "I am lord of all creation--Brahma, higher than all height; I in fishlike form have saved thee--Manu, in the perilous hour; But from thee new tribes of creatures--G.o.ds, asuras, men must spring.

All the worlds must be created--all that moves or moveth not, By an all-surpa.s.sing penance--this great work must be achieved.

Through my mercy, thy creation--to confusion ne'er shall run,"

Spake the fish, and on the instant--to the invisible he pa.s.sed.

Vivaswata's son, all eager--the creation to begin, Stood amid his work confounded:--mighty penance wrought he then.

So fulfilled that rigorous penance--instant Manu 'gan create-- Instant every living creature--Raja! he began to form.

Such the old, the famous legend--named the story of the Fish, Which to thee I have related--this for all our sins atones.

He that hears it, Manu's legend,--in the full possession he, Of all things complete and perfect--to the heavenly world ascends.

NOTES ON NALA.

[Footnote 1: p. 3. l. 4. _Over, over all exalted_. This repet.i.tion is in the original.]

[Footnote 2: p. 3. l. 5. _Holy deep-read in the Vedas_. All the perfections, which, according to the opinions and laws of the Hindus, distinguish the sovereign from the rest of mankind, are here ascribed to the hero of the poem. The study of the Vedas must be cultivated by the three superior castes, and ensures both temporal and eternal beat.i.tude. In the laws of Menu it is said, "Greatness is not conferred by years, not by grey hairs, not by wealth, not by powerful kindred."

The divine sages have established this rule--Whoever has read the Vedas and their Angas, he is among us great. (JONES'S MENU, ii. 254).

Of all these duties, answered Bhrigu, the princ.i.p.al is to acquire from the Upanishads a true knowledge of the one supreme G.o.d: that is the most exalted of all sciences, because it ensures immortality, (xii.

85). For in the knowledge and adoration of one G.o.d, which the Veda teaches, all the rules of good conduct before-mentioned in order, are fully comprised, (ib. 87.)

The study of the Vedas is considered the peculiar duty of kings, (vii.

43). The Upanishads are doctrinal extracts of the Vedas.

The Indian law demands in the most rigorous manner from every one of n.o.ble birth, the mastery over the _senses_. Menu says, c. ii. 93, "A man by the attachment of his organs to sensual pleasure, incurs certain guilt; but having wholly subdued them, he thence attains heavenly bliss. v. 94. Desire is never satisfied with the enjoyment of desired objects; as the fire is not appeased with clarified b.u.t.ter; it only blazes more vehemently. v. 97. To a man contaminated by sensuality, neither the Vedas, nor liberality, nor sacrifices, nor strict observances, nor pious austerities, ever procure felicity." The control over every kind of sensual indulgence is enjoined upon the king. vii. 44. Day and night must he strenuously exert himself to gain complete victory over his own organs; since that king alone whose organs are completely subdued, can keep his people firm to their duty.

Skill in the management of horses and chariots, which in a subsequent part of the poem is of great importance to Nala, is often mentioned as a praiseworthy accomplishment of kings. In the Ramayana, for instance, in the description of king Dasaratha, which likewise contains the above-mentioned traits of character--"In this city Ayodhya was a king named Dusharutha, descended from Ikshwaku, perfectly skilled in the Veda and Vedangas, prescient, of great ability, beloved by all his people, a great charioteer, constant in sacrifice, eminent in sacred duties, a royal sage, nearly equalling a Muhurshi, famed throughout the three worlds, mighty, triumphant over his enemies, observant of justice, having a perfect command of his appet.i.tes." CAREY and MARSHMAN'S translation, sect. vi. p. 64.]

[Footnote 3: p. 3. l. 5. _--in Nishadha lord of earth_. I have accented this word not quite correctly Nishadha, in order to harmonise with the trochaic flow of my metre. It appears to be the same as Nishadha-rashtra and Nishadha-desa. See Wilford's list of mountains, rivers, countries; from the Puranas and other books.

Asiatic Researches, vol. viii. BOPP.]

[Footnote 4: p. 3. l. 6. _Loving dice, of truth unblemished_. The Sanscrit word Akshapujah is differently interpreted. Kosegarten renders it in a good sense as "fearing heaven." He argues that it is the poet's object in this pa.s.sage to describe the good qualities of Nala, and that he does not become a gamester till possessed by the demon Kali. Bopp gives the sense in the text, which seems to connect it with the history of king Yudishthira, to whom it is addressed.]

[Footnote 5: p. 3. l. 7. _Sense subdued_. The highest notion of this favourite perfection of Indian character, may be given in the words of the author of the Bhagavat-Gita: "The highest perfection to which the soul can attain, is action without pa.s.sion. The mind is to be entirely independent of external objects; to preserve its undisturbed serenity it should have the conscious power of withdrawing all its senses within itself, as the tortoise draws all its limbs beneath in sh.e.l.l."

Action is necessary, but action must produce no emotion--no sensation on the calm spirit within; whatever may be their consequences, however important, however awful, events are to be unfelt, and almost unperceived by the impa.s.sive mind; and on this principle Arjuna is to execute the fated slaughter upon his kindred without the least feeling of sorrow or compunction being permitted to intrude on the divine apathy of his soul. Some of the images in which this pa.s.sionless tranquillity of the spirit is described, appear singularly beautiful:

As to th' unrais'd unswelling ocean flow the mult.i.tudinous streams, So to the soul serene, unmov'd--flow in the undisturbing l.u.s.ts.

And then again the soul, in this state of unbroken quietude,

Floats like the lotus on the lake, unmov'd, unruffled by the tide.]

[Footnote 6: p. 3. l. 8. _Best, a present Manu he_. Manu, or Menu, the representative of the human race; the holy, mythological ancestor of the Hindus. In the Diluvium, the Indian version of the Deluge, (see the latter part of this volume), Manu is the survivor of the human race--the second ancestor of mankind. The first Menu is named "Swayambhuva, or sprung from the self-existing." From him "came six descendants, other Menus, or perfectly understanding the Scripture, each giving birth to a race of his own, all exalted in dignity, eminent in power." Laws of Menu, i. 61. The great code of law "the Hindus firmly believe to have been promulged in the beginning of time by Menu, son or grandson of Brahma, or in plain English the first of created beings, and not the oldest only but the n.o.blest of legislators." Sir W. JONES'S preface to Laws of Menu; Works, vii. 76.

In the Ramayana, in like manner, king Dasaratha is compared to the ancient king, Menu. The word Manu, as the name of the ancestor of men, is derived from the Sanscrit root Man, to know (WILSONin voce); in the same manner as the Sanscrit Manisha, knowledge, Ma.n.u.shya, Man--as also the Latin Mens, and the German Mensch. According to this etymology, Man, Mensch, properly means "the knowing," the Being endowed with knowledge. The German word, Meinen, to mean, or be of opinion, belongs to the same stock.]

[Footnote 7: p. 3. l. 9. _So there dwelt in high Vidarbha_. This city is called by our poet Vidarbha Nagara, the city of Vidarbha, and Cundina. According to Wilford it is Burra Nag-poor. BOPP. Colebrooke, Asiatic Researches, remarks, that some suppose it to be the modern Berar, which borders on the mountain Vindhya or Gondwanah. The kingdom of Vidarbha, and its capital Kundini, are mentioned in the very remarkable drama Malati and Madhava. WILSON's Hindu Theatre, ii. 16; and extract from Harivansa, in LANGLOIS Monumens de l'Inde, p. 54.]

[Footnote 8: p. 3. l. 9. _Bhima, terrible in strength_.

Bhima-parakrama. There is a play upon the words, Bhima meaning terrible.]

[Footnote 9: p. 3. l. 11. _Many a holy act, on offspring_. He made offerings and performed penance, by which blessings were forced from the reluctant G.o.ds. In India not only temporal, but eternal happiness, depends on having children. The son alone by the offering of the Sraddha, or libation for the dead, can obtain rest for the departed spirit of the father. Hence the begetting of a son is a religious duty, particularly for a Brahmin, and is one of the three debts to which he is bound during life. After he has read the Vedas in the form prescribed by Law, has legally begotten a son, and has performed sacrifices to the best of his power, he has paid his three debts, and may then apply his heart to eternal bliss. MENU, vi. 36. By a son a man obtains victory over all people; by a son's son he enjoys immortality; and afterwards, by the son of that grandson, he reaches the solar abode. MENU, ix. 137.

This last pa.s.sage is immediately followed by the explanation of the Sanscrit word Puttra, son, by "the deliverer from h.e.l.l." Since the son (trayate) delivers his father from the h.e.l.l, named put, he was therefore called puttra by Brahma himself. This explanation, which it given by the Indian etymologists, appears nevertheless, as is often the case, rather forced; since the final syllable, tra, which is translated by deliver (or preserve, WILSON, in voce) is a common ending of many words, without the peculiar signification of delivering: as with this final syllable on the word Pu, to be pure, is formed the noun Puwitra, pure. WILKINS, Grammar, p. 454; KOSEGARTEN.

The affix with which this last is formed however, is not tra, but itra, and it affords therefore no ground of objection to the usual etymology of Puttra. WILSON.

The Indian poetry is full of instances of this strong desire for offspring. In the Ramayana, king Dasaratha performs the Aswamedha, or offering of a horse, to obtain a son. "To this magnanimous king, acquainted in every duty, pre-eminent in virtue, and performing sacred austerities for the sake of obtaining children, there was no son to perpetuate his family. At length in the anxious mind of this n.o.ble one the thought arose, 'Why do I not perform an Ushwamedha to obtain a son.'" CAREY and MARSHMAN's translation, sect. viii. p. 74. Compare the Raghu Vansa, canto i., and all that is done by king Dilipa to obtain a son: and the poem of the death of Hidimbha, published by Bopp.]

[Footnote 10: p. 3. l. 14. _--in his hospitable hall_. Hospitality to a Brahmin is of course one of the greatest virtues. "A Brahmin coming as a guest, and not received with just honour, takes to himself all the reward of the housekeeper's former virtue, even though he had been so temperate as to live on the gleanings of harvests, and so pious as to make oblations in five distinct fires." Sir W. JONES, Menu, iii.

100.]

[Footnote 11: p. 3. l. 22. _--as around great Indra's queen_. Sachi.

Sachi, soft as morning light, Blithe Sachi, from her lord Indrani hight.--Sir W. JONES's Hymn to Indra.]

[Footnote 12: p. 4. l. 2. _Mid her handmaids, like the lightning_.

There are two words of similar signification in the original; one of them implies life-giving. Lightning in India being the forerunner of the rainy season, is looked on as an object of delight as much as terror. BOPP, from the Scholiast.]

[Footnote 13: p. 4. l. 2. _--shone she with her faultless form_. Sri, or Lakshmi, the G.o.ddess of beauty and abundance, at once the Ceres and the Alma Venus of India.

Daughter of ocean and primeval night, Who fed with moonbeams dropping silent dew, And cradled in a wild wave dancing light.--Sir W. JONES's Ode to Lacshmi.]

[Footnote 14: p. 4. l. 4. _--never mid the Yaksha race_. The Yakshas are demiG.o.ds attendant on Kuvera, the G.o.d of wealth, descendants of Kasyapa by his wife Khasa. They inhabit mountains, and have intercourse with the Apsarasas, or heavenly nymphs. Sometimes they appear not altogether as good beings, sometimes entirely harmless.

"The souls of men enslaved to their pa.s.sions will rise no higher than the Yakshas." MENU, xii. 47. The subject of the Meghaduta, or Cloud-Messenger of Kalidasa, so elegantly translated by Mr. Wilson, is the regret of a Yaksha for his beloved wife. Compare Mr. Wilson's note on the Yakshas, Cloud Messenger, p. 69.]

[Footnote 15: p. 4. l. 7. _Nala too, 'mong kings the tiger_. Nara Sardula, the Tiger warrior. I have retained the literal meaning, though, according to Bopp, it means _in fine compositi, Optimus, praestantissimus_. Mr. Southey's Young Tlalala, in Madoc, is the "tiger of the war."]

[Footnote 16: p. 4. l. 8. _Like Kandarpa in his beauty_. Kandarpa is the G.o.d of love. Kama, Love, or Kam Deo, G.o.d of Love. Dipaka, the Inflamer. Manmatha, Heart-disturber. Ananga, the Incorporeal.

G.o.d of each lovely sight, each lovely sound.

Soul-kindling, world-inflaming, star y-crowned, Eternal Cama! or doth Smara bright, Or proud Ananga give thee more delight--SIR W. JONES, _Ode to Camdeo_.]

[Footnote 17: p. 4. l. 12. _Thus of each, O son of Kunti_. Kunti was the mother of King Yudishthira, to whom the poem is related. I have usually omitted this address, which is sometimes made to Yudishthira under the t.i.tle of Bharata, i. e. descendant of Bharata, or other appellations.]

[Footnote 18: p. 4. l. 15. _There the swans he saw disporting_. In the original this is a far less poetic bird, and the author must crave forgiveness for having turned his geese into swans. If, however, we are to believe Bohlen, in his learned work, Das Alte Indien, the translators are altogether mistaken; they have been misled by the similarity of the word Hansa to Gans--a goose. The original, he a.s.serts, to mean a mythic bird, closely resembling the swan, or perhaps the tall and brilliant flamingo, which Southey has introduced with such effect in one of his rich descriptions in the Curse of Kehama. The goose, however, according to the general opinion, is so common in Indian mythology, that this must be received with much caution. In the modern Tamulic version of the story, translated by Mr.

Kindersley, are subst.i.tuted, "Milk white Aunnays, descending from the skies, like an undulating garland of pearls." The Aunnays are supposed to be a sort of birds of paradise. They are represented as milk white; remarkable for the gracefulness of their walk; and endowed with considerable gifts. Mr. Wilson, in his Meghaduta, has given me a precedent for the change of geese into swans; see p. 27, v. 71, with the note. And Mr. Ellis, Asiatic Researches, vol. xiv. p. 29, has the following note on the subject: "There are three distinctions of Hamsa; the Raja-hamsa, with a milk-white body and deep red beak and legs, this is the Phenicopteros, or flamingo; the Mallicacsha-hamsa, with brownish beak and legs; and the Dhartarashtra-hamsa, with black beak and legs: the latter is the European swan, the former a variety. The gait of an elegant woman is compared by the Hindu poets to the proud bearing of a swan in the water. Sonnerat, making a mistake similar to that in the text, translates a pa.s.sage in which this allusion occurs, in words to the following purport, 'Her gait resembled that of a goose.' Other writers have fallen into the same error." The swans, ou Plutot les Genies ailes, play the same part in an extract from the Harivansa, translated by M. Langlois, in his Monumens Litteraires de l'Inde, _Paris_, 1827, p. 158. The first part of the Harivansa has just appeared, under the auspices of the Oriental Translation Committee.]

[Footnote 19: p. 5. l. 4. _Like the Aswinas in beauty_. See Asiatic Researches, i. 263; ix. 323. Ramayana, i. 226.]

[Footnote 20: p. 5. l. 7. _Gandharvas_. Celestial choristers, of beautiful forms and complexion, usually seen in Hindu sculptures attendant on the deities.

Celestial genii tow'rd their king advance (So called by men) in heaven Gandharvas named, For matchless music famed.