Sahitya-kaumudi by Baladeva Vidyabhushana
by Gaurapada Dāsa | 2015 | 234,703 words
Baladeva Vidyabhusana’s Sahitya-kaumudi covers all aspects of poetical theory except the topic of dramaturgy. All the definitions of poetical concepts are taken from Mammata’s Kavya-prakasha, the most authoritative work on Sanskrit poetical rhetoric. Baladeva Vidyabhushana added the eleventh chapter, where he expounds additional ornaments from Visv...
Text 4.45
यथा वा,
yathā vā,
bījaṃ mukti-taror anartha-paṭalī-nistārakaṃ tārakaṃ dhāma prema-rasasya vāñchita-dhurā-sampārakaṃ pārakam |
etad yatra nivāsinām udayate cic-chakti-vṛtti-dvayaṃ mathnātu vyasanāni māthura-purī sā vaḥ śrīyaṃ ca kriyāt ||
bījam—the seed (the foundational cause); mukti-taroḥ—of the tree of liberation; anartha—of useless things; paṭalī—a multitude; nistārakam—delivers; tārakam—the Tāraka potency; dhāma—the locus; prema-rasasya—of the rapture of love; vāñchita—of desires; dhurā—a multitude; sampārakam—fulfills; pārakam—the Pāraka potency; etat—this [pair]; yatra—[the city,] wherein; nivāsinām—of those who dwell; udayate—arises; cit-śakti—of transcendental potencies; vṛtti—of functions; dvayam—pair; mathnātu—may it churn (destroy); vyasanāni—misfortunes; māthura—existing in the district of Mathurā; purī—city; sā—that [city]; vaḥ—to all of you; śrīyam—the wealth [of prema][1]; ca—and; kriyāt—may it make.
This is another example:
Tāraka, the seed of the tree of liberation, delivers a person from impediments. Pāraka, the substratum of prema-rasa, fulfills desires. May the city of Mathurā, where those two functions of the transcendental potency arise for the residents, end your troubles and give you the wealth of prema. (Stavamālā, Mathurā-stava 3) (Padyāvalī 123)
Commentary:
Almost anything can be the object of a rati. For instance, Mammaṭa shows a verse and comments that praising the Earth is technically called bhū-viṣayā rati (affection for the Earth) (Commentary 5.6). Similarly, a recurrent element of old poetry is rāja-viṣayā rati (affection for the king). However, the above verse only features Daṇḍī’s āśīḥ ornament (blessing).
Footnotes and references:
[1]:
In his commentary on Stavamālā, Baladeva Vidyābhūṣaṇa glosses śriyam as prema-sampadam. He quotes many verses from the pātāla-khaṇḍa of Padma Purāṇa regarding Tāraka and Pāraka. For instance, although present in Mathurā, Tāraka is based in Kāśī: tāraka-mantro’yaṃ yas tu kāśyāṃ pravartate, sa eva māthure devi vartate’tra varānane. For more details, consult Kṛṣṇa-sandarbha 82 and Caitanya-caritāmṛta 3.3.257.