2023-02-23 18:49:30 by ambuda-bot
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THE CANDIŚATAKA OF BĀŅA
293
'O¹ lovely lady (Candi), leave the <arrow> and <crescent> alone,
but throw [at me] the (Ganges), River of the Gods, who is
thy co-wife;
The game [is played] with two <dice> or <nooses> ; throw another
one; have done with that one <die> or <noose> for me;
[As for your <trident>], a <pang> has just come into my head,
since thou, <a woman», «without an army»," fightest with
me.'
<Clever> [though Mahisa was] with these shafts of derisive"
speech, Umā (Candi) with her eye burnt up that Dānava,
[who was accordingly] <consumed>.
May Umã (Candi) protect you!
Notes. 1. Each of the first three padas contains, punningly, a reference
to some one of Candi's weapons-the arrow, noose and trident-and this
underlying notion of the weapons, together with Mahişa's scorn of them,
is the only thing that gives coherence to the stanza. 2. A certain type
of arrow is called ardhacandra, 'half-moon,' presumably because its barb
is shaped like the cusp of the crescent moon. 3. Siva wore both the
crescent moon and the Ganges on his head; cf. Süryaśataka, stanza 42,
note 10, and Canḍiśataka, stanza 3, note 2. Mahişa implies that there is
jealousy between Ganga and Candī, inasmuch as they are rival wives of
Siva. See Mayūra's stanza, entitled 'The Anger of Uma' (p. 240, above),
where Uma's (Candi's) jealousy of Ganga is again alluded to.
4. Ac-
cording to the commentary, fala means 'a weapon and a disease.' 5.
The commentary reads: 'Since thou, a woman, fightest with me, this is a
śala having the form of a disgrace; or, since I have an army (sabalaḥ
sasainyaḥ), and thou art alone, without an army, this is indeed a fala
having the form of a disgrace clinging to my head.' As applied to the
weapons, fala means 'trident,' and we may translate: 'A trident entered
my head, when you fought [historical present] with me.' This pada offers
difficulties at best. 6. The cleverness refers to Mahişa's ability to pun.
7. The scorn was for Candi's weapons.
28
vaktrāṇām viklavaḥ kim vahasi bata rucam skanda ṣaṇṇāṁ
viṣaṇṇām
anyāḥ ṣaṇ mātaras te bhava bhava sakalas tvam śarīrāndha-
labdhyā
jihmām hanmy adya kālīm iti samam asubhiḥ kaṇṭhato nirgatā
gir
293
'O¹ lovely lady (Candi), leave the <arrow> and <crescent> alone,
but throw [at me] the (Ganges), River of the Gods, who is
thy co-wife;
The game [is played] with two <dice> or <nooses> ; throw another
one; have done with that one <die> or <noose> for me;
[As for your <trident>], a <pang> has just come into my head,
since thou, <a woman», «without an army»," fightest with
me.'
<Clever> [though Mahisa was] with these shafts of derisive"
speech, Umā (Candi) with her eye burnt up that Dānava,
[who was accordingly] <consumed>.
May Umã (Candi) protect you!
Notes. 1. Each of the first three padas contains, punningly, a reference
to some one of Candi's weapons-the arrow, noose and trident-and this
underlying notion of the weapons, together with Mahişa's scorn of them,
is the only thing that gives coherence to the stanza. 2. A certain type
of arrow is called ardhacandra, 'half-moon,' presumably because its barb
is shaped like the cusp of the crescent moon. 3. Siva wore both the
crescent moon and the Ganges on his head; cf. Süryaśataka, stanza 42,
note 10, and Canḍiśataka, stanza 3, note 2. Mahişa implies that there is
jealousy between Ganga and Candī, inasmuch as they are rival wives of
Siva. See Mayūra's stanza, entitled 'The Anger of Uma' (p. 240, above),
where Uma's (Candi's) jealousy of Ganga is again alluded to.
4. Ac-
cording to the commentary, fala means 'a weapon and a disease.' 5.
The commentary reads: 'Since thou, a woman, fightest with me, this is a
śala having the form of a disgrace; or, since I have an army (sabalaḥ
sasainyaḥ), and thou art alone, without an army, this is indeed a fala
having the form of a disgrace clinging to my head.' As applied to the
weapons, fala means 'trident,' and we may translate: 'A trident entered
my head, when you fought [historical present] with me.' This pada offers
difficulties at best. 6. The cleverness refers to Mahişa's ability to pun.
7. The scorn was for Candi's weapons.
28
vaktrāṇām viklavaḥ kim vahasi bata rucam skanda ṣaṇṇāṁ
viṣaṇṇām
anyāḥ ṣaṇ mātaras te bhava bhava sakalas tvam śarīrāndha-
labdhyā
jihmām hanmy adya kālīm iti samam asubhiḥ kaṇṭhato nirgatā
gir