A History of Sanskrit Literature c14.s7: 7. Kalhaṇa's Style

A History of Sanskrit Literature c14.s7

Language: English

7. Kalhaṇa's Style

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We need not regret that Kalhaṇa was not permitted by his subject to indulge in the Kāvya style of description; we have sufficient examples of it in such pictures as that of Yudhiṣṭhira's departure into exile and Sussala's entry into the capital to realize that we have lost nothing of value in being spared more of these stereotyped and colourless imitations.¹ Much, indeed, of the rest of the poem is mere versified prose, comparable, but for the beauty of the language itself, to medieval chronicles, but the true poetic power of the author is revealed in many episodes. The account of Bhoja's terrible journey over the snow-clad mountains in A.D. 1144 to the Dards,² the funeral of Ananta and Sūryamatī's Satī, the dialogue between the Brahmins whom he has injured and Jayāpīḍa who is to perish by their curse, above all, the tragic tale of Harṣa's isolation and misery, redeemed from sordidness by the courage of his last defence and the magnanimity which spared the life of one of his murderers, are all conclusive instances of Kalhaṇa's power of simple, yet deeply affecting narrative. The use of dialogues or set speeches lends not merely variety but dramatic power; thus Uccala is made to expound his claim to the throne and Harṣa to defend his political conduct.³ Or the situation is brought vividly before us, as in the dialogue of Ananta and Sūryamatī before her suicide; or the feelings of the bystanders, as in the comments of the soldiers and the Dāmaras on Bhikṣācara's fall.⁴ On the other hand must be set an unquestionable obscurity, arising in part from the metaphorical expressions which take the place of plain statements of fact, in part from the poet’s indifference to the ignorance of posterity of the exact conditions of Kashmir in his own day. This leads him to assume our knowledge of situations which, therefore, are referred to in terms conveying now no clear impression, and to the use of words in technical senses without any explanation, as *kampaṇa*, army, command in chief; *dvāra*, frontier watch station, command of the frontiers; *pādāgra*, high revenue office; and *parṣad*, corporation of Purohitas. Another source of trouble is the use of varying forms of the same name, as Loṣṭhaka, Loṭhaka, and Loṭhana, and the mention of individuals either by the title of their office, or by the title of an office no longer held.

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¹ Cf. i. 368 ff.; v. 341 ff.; viii. 947 ff.; 1744 ff. He imitates Bāṇa rather freely.

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² viii. 2710-14. Stein compares Claudian, *de bello Getico*, 340 ff.

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³ vii. 1281 ff., 1416 ff.

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⁴ vii. 423 ff.; 1704 ff., 1725 ff.

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Kalhaṇa is fond of diversifying the flow of the narrative by ingenious similes, by antitheses, by occasional plays on words, and by the expedient of varying the simplicity of the Çloka metre by interposing more ornate stanzas of moral or didactic content, in which the language is more intricate, but often graceful and elegant, while the ideas, if not original, are not rarely just and weighty. The value of poetry strikes him forcibly and happily in:

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*bhujataruvanacchāyāṁ yeṣāṁ niṣevya mahaujasām*
*jaladhiraçanā mediny āsīd asāv akutobhayā*
*smṛtim api na te yānti kṣmāpā vinā yadanugraham*
*prakṛtimahate kurmas tasmai namaḥ kavikarmaṇe.*

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‘Homage we pay to the innate wonder of the poet’s art, without whose favour are forgotten even those mighty kings in the shadow of whose strong arms the earth, girdled by the ocean, lay secure as under the forest trees.’ Or in different form:

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*ye ’py āsann ibhakumbhaçāyitapadā ye ’pi çriyaṁ lebhire*
*yeṣāṁ apy avasan purā yuvatayo geheṣv ahaçcandrikāḥ*
*tāṅl loko ’yam avaiti lokatilakān svapne ’py ajātān iva*
*bhrātaḥ satkavikṛtya kiṁ stutiçatair andhaṁ jagat tvāṁ vinā.*

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‘Without thee, o brother, the craft of true poets, the world would not even dream of those ornaments of the world who rested their feet on the foreheads of elephants, who attained riches, and in whose halls dwelt maidens, moons of the day;

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without thee, I say, this world is blind ; not hundreds of eulogies could extol thee becomingly.' The evil deeds of Tārāpīḍa ended in his attacking Brahmins and death :

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*yo yaṁ janāpakaraṇāya sṛjaty upāyaṁ : tenaiva tasya niyamena bhaved vināçaḥ* *dhūmam prasauti nayanāndhyakaraṁ yam agnir : bhūtvāmbudaḥ sa çamayet salilais tam eva.*

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‘ The man who devises a plot shall assuredly perish thereby ; the smoke that the fire sends up to blind the eyes, turning into a cloud, quenches with its water the fire itself.’ The goddess Bhramaravāsinī, whose shrine was guarded by bees, who reduced to bones the mortal who sought it, appears in lovely form :

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*bhāsvadbimbādharā kṛṣṇakeçī sitakarānanā* *harimadhyā çivākārā sarvadevamayīva sā.*

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‘ Her lip was red as the Bimba, black her hair, moonlike her face, lionlike her waist, gracious her aspect : so seemed she to unite all the gods in one.’ Here the epithets suggest the gods Sūrya, Kṛṣṇa, Soma, Hari, and Çiva. A biting attack on women's conduct as opposed to their beauty runs :

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*avakāçaḥ suvṛttānāṁ hṛdaye 'ntar na yoṣitām* *itīva vidadhe dhātā suvṛttau tadbahiḥ kucau.*

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‘ Since in women's hearts there is no room for good conduct, the creator in his mercy hath guarded them with their rounded breasts.’ The wise king recognized the transitory character of prosperity :

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*gobhujāṁ vallabhā lakṣmīr mātaṅgotsaṅgalālitā* *seyaṁ spṛhāṁ samutpādya dūṣayaty unnatātmanaḥ.*

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‘ Fortune, the beloved of kings, who dallies on the back of her elephant (in the arms of one of low degree) creates eager desires and brings to ruin the man of high mind.’ The flatterers of kings are effectively denounced :

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*karṇe tat kathayanti dundubhiravai rāṣṭre yad udghoṣitaṁ* *tan namrāṅgatayā vadanti karuṇaṁ yasmāt trapāvān bhavet* *çlāghante yad udīryate 'riṇāpy ugraṁ na marmāntakṛd* *ye ke cin nanu çāṭhyamaugdhyanidhayas te bhūbhṛtāṁ rañjakāḥ.*

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‘They whisper in his ear what is proclaimed in the town with beat of drum; with body bent, dolorously they tell what makes him ashamed; boastfully they say cruel things, cutting to the quick, such as no foe would say; whoever are embodiments of falsity and foolishness, they are the flatterers of princes.’

Linked texts (1)

Rājataraṅgiṇī — Kalhaṇa, Sanskrit