2023-02-23 18:49:34 by ambuda-bot
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312
THE CANDĪŠATAKA OF BĀŅA
kṣiptaḥ pädena devam prati jhaṭiti yayā kelikāntam vihasya
dantajyotsnävitāänāir atanubhir atanur nyakkṛtārdhendubhā-
bhir
gauro gaur eva jātaḥ kṣaṇam iva mahiṣaḥ sã 'vatād ambikā
vaḥ
'Thy old bull,¹ O Bhava (Siva), is no [longer] capable; let this
one now be the vehicle of Your Highness.'
As [Ambikā (Candi)] uttered these words, laughing in pleased
amusement, [Mahişa] was at once kicked over to the god
(Siva) by her foot;
[For] the mighty Mahisa, by reason of the not small masses of
light [emanating] from his teeth-masses that dimmed the
splendor of the crescent moon-
Became shining white (gäura), and so actually a bull' (gaur)
for an instant, as it were.
May that Ambikā (Candi) protect you!
Notes. 1. The bull was Siva's vehicle. 2. 'In pleased amusement' is
my rendering of kelikantam, which I take to be an adverbial accusative.
3. The word atanur, 'mighty,' despite its position, must modify mahişaḥ;
if, however, any hesitation is felt about so taking it, an emendation to
atanunyakkṛtä-, forming a compound, may perhaps be suggested. This
change would not affect the meter, and the translation would be: 'that
dimmed in no slight degree, etc.' 4. For the splendor of Mahişa's
teeth, cf. stanza 50. 5. Lit. '[being] shining white, became actually a
bull.' 6. The reason for Ambika's (Candi's) amusement lies in a pun
whose force it is very difficult to convey in translation. It consists in the
idea that the black buffalo (mahişa) turns into a white bull (gäur), the
metamorphosis being attained as follows: A buffalo, being a gaura (the
bos gaurus, a species of buffalo), is therefore momentarily a bull (gdur);
momentarily, because gaura is gaur, before its final syllable -a is pro-
nounced. The rendering of the pun is further complicated by the fact
that the other meaning of gaura-shining white'-must be used in the
translation in order to make the stanza read intelligibly. It may be added
that as Siva's bull was white, a white (gaura) substitute would be accept-
able to him.
V.L. (c) dantajyotsnävitānāir alabhata tanubhir.
49
prāk kāmam dahatā kṛtaḥ paribhavo yena trisamdhyānatāiḥ
serṣyā vo 'vatu caṇḍikā caraṇayoḥ svam pātayanti patim
THE CANDĪŠATAKA OF BĀŅA
kṣiptaḥ pädena devam prati jhaṭiti yayā kelikāntam vihasya
dantajyotsnävitāänāir atanubhir atanur nyakkṛtārdhendubhā-
bhir
gauro gaur eva jātaḥ kṣaṇam iva mahiṣaḥ sã 'vatād ambikā
vaḥ
'Thy old bull,¹ O Bhava (Siva), is no [longer] capable; let this
one now be the vehicle of Your Highness.'
As [Ambikā (Candi)] uttered these words, laughing in pleased
amusement, [Mahişa] was at once kicked over to the god
(Siva) by her foot;
[For] the mighty Mahisa, by reason of the not small masses of
light [emanating] from his teeth-masses that dimmed the
splendor of the crescent moon-
Became shining white (gäura), and so actually a bull' (gaur)
for an instant, as it were.
May that Ambikā (Candi) protect you!
Notes. 1. The bull was Siva's vehicle. 2. 'In pleased amusement' is
my rendering of kelikantam, which I take to be an adverbial accusative.
3. The word atanur, 'mighty,' despite its position, must modify mahişaḥ;
if, however, any hesitation is felt about so taking it, an emendation to
atanunyakkṛtä-, forming a compound, may perhaps be suggested. This
change would not affect the meter, and the translation would be: 'that
dimmed in no slight degree, etc.' 4. For the splendor of Mahişa's
teeth, cf. stanza 50. 5. Lit. '[being] shining white, became actually a
bull.' 6. The reason for Ambika's (Candi's) amusement lies in a pun
whose force it is very difficult to convey in translation. It consists in the
idea that the black buffalo (mahişa) turns into a white bull (gäur), the
metamorphosis being attained as follows: A buffalo, being a gaura (the
bos gaurus, a species of buffalo), is therefore momentarily a bull (gdur);
momentarily, because gaura is gaur, before its final syllable -a is pro-
nounced. The rendering of the pun is further complicated by the fact
that the other meaning of gaura-shining white'-must be used in the
translation in order to make the stanza read intelligibly. It may be added
that as Siva's bull was white, a white (gaura) substitute would be accept-
able to him.
V.L. (c) dantajyotsnävitānāir alabhata tanubhir.
49
prāk kāmam dahatā kṛtaḥ paribhavo yena trisamdhyānatāiḥ
serṣyā vo 'vatu caṇḍikā caraṇayoḥ svam pātayanti patim