Describing seasons

[Prakash Raj Pandey]

Pranam to all vidvans,

Sanskrit literature, puranic and others, records how the change of season ushers changes in physical environment and on emotions.  

Such descriptions can come only from the keen observations of nature and human behaviour.

Any attempt to correlate those descriptions with present day variations in physical environment and on human behaviour would be very interesting.

Now the question is --

Has there been such endeavours in recent days?

Regards,

Prakash

[G S S Murthy]

A well- known Sanskrit poet of the 19th-20th century has published a collection of his poems in Sanskrit "prakRitivilaasam". I am unable to remember his name or fame. That may meet your requirements. 

Regards

GSS Murthy

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[Nagaraj Paturi]

Books of this kind may be helpful :

https://archive.org/details/modern-sanskrit-literatuew-a-birds-eye-view-dr.-subhrajit-sen

Modern Sanskrit Literature : A Bird's Eye View

by

 

Dr. Subhrajit Sen

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Nagaraj Paturi

Hyderabad, Telangana-500044

 

 

 

[G S S Murthy]

" maarjaaraakShyaH sthalakamalaruggaNDapaaliimanojnyaaH

saayaM kraamyantyudadhipavanaM sevituM vaaranaaryaH|"||

I am surprised by the manner the lines sprang up in my mind.

Thanks and Regards

Murthy

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[Anunad Singh]

Using AI, I got it transliterated into Devanagari and translated into Hindi. From the upamA_s used in it , it seemed to me that it might be composed by some 'modern' poet. But to my surprise, AI told that it was composed by दण्डी in 'काव्यादर्श' and that it has 'स्वभावोक्ति' अलंकार.

सत्यमेव प्रसिद्धः 'दण्डिनः पदलालित्यम्' । 

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[G S S Murthy]

The verse describes women of Caucasian stock, easy virtue strolling in the beach. I have read the poem in print. I had the book too. I might still be having it. I cannot recall the name of the poet. It is not DaNDii.

Regards,

Murthy

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[shankara]

Murthy ji,

The author of the kavya 'prakriti-vilasa' is K. S. Krishnamurti Sastry. BTW, the kavya contains descriptions of Nature rather than seasons. Attaching a pdf copy of the kavya with this post.

regards
shankara

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[Govindarajulu]

I searched with Ai and got this ......

maarjaaraakShyaH sthalakamalaruggaNDapaaliimanojnyaaH saayaM kraamyantyudadhipavanaM sevituM vaaranaaryaH|

This Sanskrit verse describes a scene of beautiful women strolling by the seaside in the evening. It is often cited as an example of the 

Prithvi metre (pṛthvī chandaḥ) in Sanskrit prosody.

Translation and Breakdown

The verse can be translated as:
"Women with eyes like those of a cat, beautiful with cheeks as pink as land-lotuses, stroll in the evening to enjoy the sea breeze."

• mārjārākṣyaḥ (मार्जारक्ष्याः): Women with eyes like a cat (bright or yellowish-green).
• sthalakamala-rug-gaṇḍapālī-mano-jñāḥ (स्थलकमलरुग्गण्डपालीमनोज्ञाः): Those who are heart-stealing (manojñāḥ) with the luster (ruk) of land-lotuses (sthalakamala) on their cheeks (gaṇḍapālī).
• sāyaṃ krāmyanti (सायं क्राम्यन्ति): They stroll in the evening.
• udadhipavanaṃ sevituṃ (उदधिपवनं सेवितुम्): To enjoy/serve themselves with the sea breeze.
• vāra-nāryaḥ (वारनार्यः): Courtesans or beautiful women.

Technical Context: Prithvi Metre

This specific verse is a classic textbook example used to illustrate the Prithvi metre. In Sanskrit poetics, this metre follows a strict pattern of 17 syllables per line (pāda), structured by the formula: Jasajayayalgāḥ vasuhayaiśca pṛthvī. 

• Structure: It consists of the gaṇas (groups of three syllables) Ja-Sa-Ja-Sa-Ya, followed by a short (laghu) and a long (guru) syllable.
• Pause (Yati): There is a caesura (pause) after the 8th syllable and the 9th syllable (8+9=17). 

You can find more detailed discussions on Sanskrit metres

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Forwarded  

N.Govindarajulu

[G S S Murthy]

Thank you very much, Si. Govindarajulu. You have made my day. despite my error of avyapti

Regards

Murthy

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[G S S Murthy]

 Thank you very much Shankara ji. You are truly jnaanavaaridhi.

Regards

Murthy

[संस्कृत संवादः]

This verse is a fascinating piece of modern Sanskrit poetry. It offers a vivid, somewhat exoticized description of European (British) women as observed by a traditional Indian poet during the colonial era, likely walking along a beach promenade (like the Marina Beach in Chennai or Marine Drive in Mumbai).

Here is the complete breakdown, translation, and grammatical explanation of the verse.

Source Citation

[Kṛṣṇamūrttiḥ Śāstrī, Prakṛtivilāsaḥ, Verse 24]

Padaccheda (Word-Splitting)

To properly parse the syntax, we must dissolve the sandhi combinations:
कैश्यम् पिङ्गम् कतिचन वहन्त्यः अपि सन्दर्शनीयाः ।
पुम्भिः सार्धम् सरस-विहृतौ निस्त्रपाः गौर-वर्णाः ।
मार्जार-अक्ष्यः स्थल-कमल-रुक्-गण्ड-पाली-मनोज्ञाः
सायम् क्राम्यन्ति उदधि-पवनम् सेवितुम् हूण-नार्यः ॥

Word-by-Word Meaning

• कैश्यम् (kaiśyam): Hair / mass of hair.

• पिङ्गम् (piṅgam): Reddish-brown / blonde / tawny.

• कतिचन (katicana): Some (referring to the women).

• वहन्त्यः (vahantyaḥ): Bearing / having (present participle feminine plural).

• अपि (api): Even though.

• सन्दर्शनीयाः (sandarśanīyāḥ): Pleasing to the sight / beautiful to look at.

• पुम्भिः (pumbhiḥ): With men (instrumental plural of पुंस् - puṃs).

• सार्धम् (sārdham): Along with / together (an indeclinable used with the instrumental case).

• सरस-विहृतौ (sarasa-vihṛtau): In pleasant or amorous recreation/strolling (सरस - sarasa = charming/romantic; विहृति - vihṛti = roaming/sport).

• निस्त्रपाः (nistrapāḥ): Uninhibited / bold / without shyness (निस् - nis = without; त्रपा - trapā = bashfulness).

• गौर-वर्णाः (gaura-varṇāḥ): Fair-complexioned / white-skinned.

• मार्जार-अक्ष्यः (mārjāra-akṣyaḥ): Having eyes like cats (मार्जार - mārjāra = cat; अक्षि - akṣi = eye).

• स्थल-कमल-रुक्-गण्ड-पाली-मनोज्ञाः (sthala-kamala-ruk-gaṇḍa-pālī-manojñāḥ): Charming (मनोज्ञ - manojña) because the region of their cheeks (गण्ड-पाली - gaṇḍa-pālī) possesses the radiant hue (रुक् - ruk) of the land-lotus (स्थल-कमल - sthala-kamala - known for its bright pinkish-white color).

• सायम् (sāyam): In the evening.

• क्राम्यन्ति (krāmyanti): They walk / they stroll.

• उदधि-पवनम् (udadhi-pavanam): The ocean breeze.

• सेवितुम् (sevitum): To enjoy / to experience.

• हूण-नार्यः (hūṇa-nāryaḥ): The Hūṇa women (referring to European/Western ladies).

Overall Translation

"In the evening, the Hūṇa (European) women stroll out to enjoy the ocean breeze. Though some bear blonde (tawny) hair, they are highly pleasing to look at. Fair-complexioned and lacking traditional bashfulness (uninhibited), they engage in pleasant recreation alongside men. They possess cat-like eyes, and look charming with their cheeks glowing like the pink land-lotus."

Explanation and Poetic Context

1. The usage of हूण (Hūṇa):
In classical ancient Sanskrit, the word हूण (hūṇa) referred to the Indo-Hephthalite tribes (White Huns) who invaded India during the Gupta empire. However, in 19th and 20th-century Sanskrit literature, traditional scholars repurposed the term हूण (hūṇa) to designate Europeans, specifically the British.

2. Cultural Contrast and Observation:
The poet is viewing these foreign women through a strictly orthodox Indian aesthetic lens:

• Hair & Eyes: In traditional Indian Kāvyas (poetry), the ideal of beauty involves jet-black hair and eyes shaped like lotus petals or doe eyes. Here, the poet notes their blonde hair (पिङ्गं कैश्यं - piṅgaṃ kaiśyam) and light-colored "cat-eyes" (मार्जाराक्ष्यः - mārjārakṣyaḥ). By saying "वहन्त्योऽपि सन्दर्शनीयाः" (though they have blonde hair, they are still beautiful), he acknowledges a different paradigm of beauty.

• Social Behavior: The phrase "निस्त्रपाः पुम्भिस्सार्धम्" (nistrapāḥ pumbhissārdham - uninhibited alongside men) highlights the stark cultural contrast. In orthodox Indian society of that era, women did not casually stroll and mingle with men in public spaces. To the poet, this confidence and lack of traditional bashfulness (त्रपा - trapā) is a striking, defining characteristic of the Western women.

3. Grammatical Beauty (Samāsa):
The compound स्थलकमलरुग्गण्डपालीमनोज्ञाः is a beautiful long descriptive compound (बहुव्रीहि-गर्भित-तत्पुरुष - Bahuvrīhi-garbhita-tatpuruṣa).

• Analogy (उपमा): Just as poets compare red lips to the Bimba fruit, the poet cleverly uses the Sthala-Kamala (the land-lotus, Hibiscus mutabilis) to describe their cheeks. The land-lotus famously changes color, turning a rosy pink, perfectly capturing the natural blush on the fair cheeks of the women in the cool evening sea breeze.

ITRANS Format

kaishyaM pi~NgaM katichana vahantyo.api sandarshanIyAH.

pumbhissArdhaM sarasavihR^itau nistrapA gauravarNAH.

mArjArAkShyaH sthalakamalaruggaNDapAlImanoj~nAH

sAyaM krAmyantyudadhipavanaM sevituM hUNanAryaH

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