Translation of Lord Vishnu's own words
Today, I went to the Hindu Temple of Lake County Illinois, for a little peace of mind. The statue of Rama had attracted me a lot. The smile on His face was amazing.
Anyways, I am a great admirer of Pothana of Bammera, who translated the Veda Vyasa's Srimadh Bhagavatam into Telugu. His poetry is endowed with great gift of using the metaphors (alankaras). I do not think any of the Adi Kavi's of Telugu can match the poetic exuberance of Pothana. Here is an interesting note from Pothana's life I heard so many times from various sources. He wrote the whole Bhagavatam with a great devotion. While writing the famous "Gajendramoksham" portion of the God's Story, there was a scene in which the author, Pothana had to describe the interior of Vaikunta, the paradise of Vishnu. Pothana suffered an immense pain, as he could not find the right words to describe the abode of the great Vishnu. In modern times, you could say he faced a writer's block. He could not visualize something people only dream of seeing, the ultimate destiny for liberation, the Vaikunta. He left the book there and he went for a stroll to attend to his agricultural duties, as farming was his livelihood. When he returned, he saw that the poem that describes the interior of Vaikunta to his bewilderment!! When he enquired his daughter on who wrote that in his absence, she mentioned that he (Pothana) himself came and finished those lines and went back. Pothana then realized that the great Vishnu Bhagavan, Himself came to his rescue and completed the poem. That is probably the reason, Pothana says: palikinchedi vadu Ramabhadrudata (i.e. the one who is speaking on my behalf of this Bhagavatha is Rama Himself!!) and dedicated the epic to Bhagavan Rama.
Here is the original poem in Telugu. I had dared to attempt to translate it to English, after trying to identify the most appropriate words in English for the beautiful verse in Telugu, which like Pothana, I believe the God wrote Himself:
అల వైకుంఠపురంబులో నగరిలో నామూలసౌధంబు దా
పల మందారవనాంతరామృత సరః ప్రాంతేందుకాంతోప లో
త్పలపర్యంక రమావినోది యగునాపన్నప్రసన్నుండు వి
హ్వలనా గేంద్రము పాహి పాహి యనఁగుయ్యాలించి సంరంభియై.
Yonder in the great city of Vaikunta, further within the interior of chief quarters of the august palace, to the left side, inside the dense woods of the fragrant Crown flower trees, on the shores of the ambrosial (lactescent) lake called the Amrutha Sarovaram, reclined over the couch adorned by the consorts of the Moon- the blue lotuses, the unperturbed, the pleased and the gracious Vishnu, rejoicing with Lakshmi, swung to His feet in haste, when He heard the cry, “Save! O Save”, of the distressed and shaken Elephant King !!
Anyways, I am a great admirer of Pothana of Bammera, who translated the Veda Vyasa's Srimadh Bhagavatam into Telugu. His poetry is endowed with great gift of using the metaphors (alankaras). I do not think any of the Adi Kavi's of Telugu can match the poetic exuberance of Pothana. Here is an interesting note from Pothana's life I heard so many times from various sources. He wrote the whole Bhagavatam with a great devotion. While writing the famous "Gajendramoksham" portion of the God's Story, there was a scene in which the author, Pothana had to describe the interior of Vaikunta, the paradise of Vishnu. Pothana suffered an immense pain, as he could not find the right words to describe the abode of the great Vishnu. In modern times, you could say he faced a writer's block. He could not visualize something people only dream of seeing, the ultimate destiny for liberation, the Vaikunta. He left the book there and he went for a stroll to attend to his agricultural duties, as farming was his livelihood. When he returned, he saw that the poem that describes the interior of Vaikunta to his bewilderment!! When he enquired his daughter on who wrote that in his absence, she mentioned that he (Pothana) himself came and finished those lines and went back. Pothana then realized that the great Vishnu Bhagavan, Himself came to his rescue and completed the poem. That is probably the reason, Pothana says: palikinchedi vadu Ramabhadrudata (i.e. the one who is speaking on my behalf of this Bhagavatha is Rama Himself!!) and dedicated the epic to Bhagavan Rama.
Here is the original poem in Telugu. I had dared to attempt to translate it to English, after trying to identify the most appropriate words in English for the beautiful verse in Telugu, which like Pothana, I believe the God wrote Himself:
అల వైకుంఠపురంబులో నగరిలో నామూలసౌధంబు దా
పల మందారవనాంతరామృత సరః ప్రాంతేందుకాంతోప లో
త్పలపర్యంక రమావినోది యగునాపన్నప్రసన్నుండు వి
హ్వలనా గేంద్రము పాహి పాహి యనఁగుయ్యాలించి సంరంభియై.
Yonder in the great city of Vaikunta, further within the interior of chief quarters of the august palace, to the left side, inside the dense woods of the fragrant Crown flower trees, on the shores of the ambrosial (lactescent) lake called the Amrutha Sarovaram, reclined over the couch adorned by the consorts of the Moon- the blue lotuses, the unperturbed, the pleased and the gracious Vishnu, rejoicing with Lakshmi, swung to His feet in haste, when He heard the cry, “Save! O Save”, of the distressed and shaken Elephant King !!
Siddartha Pamulaparty
Nov 04, 2007.
Comments
this translation and also other translations are wonderful indeed. GO AHEAD with this attitude of learning the real life of a perfect MAN!
NANNA
Pothana padhyaalu , Prahlada sthuti padhyaalu chaala bagunnai.. Thanks a lot.