eight distinct cases, whereas English has case only marginally.Inflection allows the word order to be variedendlessly. Unaccented function words in English, such as“a,” “the,” “<strong>of</strong>,” and “from,” are denoted in Sanskrit by achange in the inflectional syllable. Thus, for the threeEnglish words, “<strong>of</strong> the book,” Sanskrit has only one,“pustakasya,” in which the genitive singular marker“asya” represents “<strong>of</strong> the.” Thus, inflection allows anunusually concise structure.Sanskrit poetics emphasizes imagery and tone.Nothing is st<strong>at</strong>ed explicitly; it is always suggested.Indirect suggestion (dhvani) is a fundamental aestheticprinciple. <strong>The</strong> poems are impersonal. No names are mentioned,as any public acknowledgment would be sociallydisapproved and in bad taste. <strong>The</strong> form <strong>of</strong> the poem is anindependent stanza <strong>of</strong> two or four lines (muktaka),expressing a single mood (rasa). Often the stanza consists<strong>of</strong> a single sentence.Sanskrit erotic poetry is best appreci<strong>at</strong>ed if thereader has some familiarity with the conventions <strong>of</strong> theerotic mood spelled out in such texts as V<strong>at</strong>syayana’sKamasutra (A Manual on the Art <strong>of</strong> Love, 3rd c.) orKalyanamalla’s Anangaranga (<strong>The</strong> Stage <strong>of</strong> the LoveGod, 16th c.). It has few equals, with the possible exception<strong>of</strong> the erotic poems in <strong>The</strong> Greek Anthology (10thc.) compiled by the Byzantine scholar KonstantinusKephalas. Sanskrit poetry was the product <strong>of</strong> a sophistic<strong>at</strong>edurban civiliz<strong>at</strong>ion.Let us look <strong>at</strong> an anonymous poem, “<strong>The</strong> Sheets,”from the Amarus<strong>at</strong>aka (Amaru’s One Hundred Poems,7th c.), an influential anthology <strong>of</strong> erotic verse.kvacittambulaktah kvacidagarupankankamalinahkvaciccurnodgari kvaccidapi ca salakttakapadah |valibhangabhogairalakap<strong>at</strong>itaih sirnakusumaihstriya nanavastham pr<strong>at</strong>hay<strong>at</strong>i r<strong>at</strong>am pracchadap<strong>at</strong>ah||14Smudged here with betel juice, burnished therewith aloe paste, a splash <strong>of</strong> powder in one corner,and lacquer from footprints embroidered inanother,with flowers from her hair strewn all overits winding crumpled folds, the sheets celebr<strong>at</strong>ethe joy <strong>of</strong> making love to a woman in everyposition.<strong>The</strong> word “sheets” has long been part <strong>of</strong> the euphemismsfor lovemaking. Expressions include “shaking <strong>of</strong> thesheets,” “between the sheets,” and “possess a woman’ssheets.” Social conventions, however, prohibit the poetfrom describing the various positions. He gets around theprohibition by describing the traces left by the woman,who is probably a courtesan, on the bedsheets duringlovemaking. <strong>The</strong> telltale marks on the bedsheets —“betel juice,” “aloe paste,” “splash <strong>of</strong> powder,” “lacquerfrom footprints,” and “flowers/ from her hair” — bearwitness to a night <strong>of</strong> wild lovemaking by the couple. Byconcentr<strong>at</strong>ing almost entirely on the background, the poetforces the reader’s <strong>at</strong>tention on the foreground — thecouple’s lovemaking in “every position.” In hisSrngaradipika (<strong>The</strong> Interpret<strong>at</strong>ion <strong>of</strong> Love, ca. 1400),one <strong>of</strong> four commentaries on the Amarus<strong>at</strong>aka,Vemabhupala 15 identifies each <strong>of</strong> the telltale marks with aspecific position: the “betel juice” with the “position <strong>of</strong>the c<strong>at</strong>”; the “aloe paste” with the “position <strong>of</strong> the elephant”;the “splash <strong>of</strong> powder” with the “position <strong>of</strong> thecow”; and “lacquer from footprints” with the unorthodoxposition, muliere superior, the woman on top <strong>of</strong> the man.<strong>The</strong> Kamasutra (part 2, chapters 6 and 8) <strong>of</strong>fers the classicdescription <strong>of</strong> these positions. <strong>The</strong> poem is a textbookexample <strong>of</strong> the Sanskrit poet’s use <strong>of</strong> indirect suggestion(dhvani). Each reader, however, completes the poem inhis or her own mind. Often in life wh<strong>at</strong> we cannot see isfar more powerful than wh<strong>at</strong> we can actually see.<strong>The</strong> poem is a feast <strong>of</strong> olfactory delights. It recognizesthe erotic possibilities <strong>of</strong> scents such as arom<strong>at</strong>icherbs and perfumes in lovemaking. Other cultures areequally explicit on this m<strong>at</strong>ter. Proverbs 7:17–18 says: “Ihave perfumed my bed with myrrh, aloes, and cinnamon.Come, let us take our fill <strong>of</strong> love until the morning; let ussolace ourselves with loves.” 16 <strong>The</strong> Anangaranga calls<strong>at</strong>tention to the importance <strong>of</strong> a fine environment forlovemaking: “the sheets should be sprinkled with flowersand the coverlet scented by burning incense such as aloesand other fragrant woods. In such a place, let the manascending the throne <strong>of</strong> love, enjoy the woman <strong>at</strong> easeand comfort, gr<strong>at</strong>ifying his and her every wish andwhim.” 17<strong>The</strong> sense <strong>of</strong> total abandon with which the couplemake love all over the bed is brought home by the insistentrepetition <strong>of</strong> the adverb “here” (“kvacit”). <strong>The</strong> entirepoem is one sentence, in which the subject, “the sheets”(pracchadap<strong>at</strong>ah), is deliber<strong>at</strong>ely withheld till the veryend to add to the suspense. <strong>The</strong> poem is an erotic masterpiece.Sanskrit prosody is quantit<strong>at</strong>ive like the prosodies<strong>of</strong> Greek and L<strong>at</strong>in; it is based on a succession <strong>of</strong> shortand long syllables and not, as in English, on stress. Ashort syllable consists <strong>of</strong> a short vowel (a, i, u, r, . l) . fol-<strong>Transl<strong>at</strong>ion</strong> <strong>Review</strong> 65
lowed by a consonant. A long syllable consists <strong>of</strong> a longvowel (a, i, u, r, e, ai, o, or au) or a short vowel followedby two or more consonants. A short vowel becomes longwhen it is followed by an anusvara (“after-sound”: avowel nasality indic<strong>at</strong>ed by a superscript dot), a visarga(“giving up”: voiceless aspir<strong>at</strong>ion indic<strong>at</strong>ed by two dots,one below the other, after the syllable), or a conjunctconsonant.<strong>The</strong> stanza form (padya) most common in classicalSanskrit poetry comprises four identical metrical lines or“quarters” (pada). <strong>The</strong> quarter is determined by the number<strong>of</strong> syllables (aksaras) or by the number <strong>of</strong> syllabicinstants (m<strong>at</strong>ras). Each quarter has from eight to twentyoneor more syllables. A syllabic instant denotes the timetaken to utter a short vowel. A short vowel equals onem<strong>at</strong>ra; a long vowel or diphthong equals two m<strong>at</strong>ras.Each quarter is arranged in units <strong>of</strong> three syllables calledsyllabic feet (ganas). <strong>The</strong> order <strong>of</strong> short and long syllablesin each unit varies. <strong>The</strong>re are eight syllabic feet,each represented by a letter <strong>of</strong> the Sanskrit alphabet:1. na: ∪ ∪ ∪ (tribrach)2. ya: ∪ - - (bacchiac)3. ra: - ∪ - (cretic)4. ta: - - ∪ (palimbacchiac)5. ma: - - - (molossus)6. bha: - ∪ ∪ (dactyl)7. ja: ∪ – ∪ (amphibrach)8. sa: ∪ ∪ - (anapest).<strong>The</strong>re are two other syllabic feet: the first comprises asingle long syllable, represented by the letter ga (-), andthe second, a single short syllable, represented by the letterla (∪).Each <strong>of</strong> the four lines <strong>of</strong> the poem “<strong>The</strong> Sheets” hasseventeen syllables th<strong>at</strong> have an identical metrical p<strong>at</strong>tern,with a caesura (y<strong>at</strong>i), represented by a vertical bar(|), after the sixth syllable:ya ma na sa bha la ga∪ - - - - -|∪ ∪ ∪ ∪ ∪ - - ∪ ∪ ∪ -kvacittambulaktah kvacidagarupankankamalinahya ma na sa bha la ga∪ - - - - -|∪ ∪ ∪ ∪ ∪ - - ∪ ∪ ∪ -kvaciccurnodgari kvaccidapi ca salakttakapadah |ya ma na sa bha la ga∪ - - - - -|∪ ∪ ∪ ∪ ∪ - - ∪ ∪ ∪ -valibhangabhogairalakap<strong>at</strong>itaih sirnakusumaihya ma na sa bha la ga∪ - - - - -| ∪ ∪ ∪ ∪ ∪ - - ∪ ∪ ∪ -striya nanavastham pr<strong>at</strong>hay<strong>at</strong>i r<strong>at</strong>am pracchadap<strong>at</strong>ah ||where the macron (-) stands for a long syllable and thebreve (∪) for a short syllable.Sanskrit meters have fanciful names such as “<strong>The</strong>Tiger’s Sport” (sardulavikridita) and “Indra’sThunderbolt” (indravajra). Often the name <strong>of</strong> a metertells us something about its flow, for example, mandakranta(“slow moving”). <strong>The</strong> long syllables <strong>of</strong> thismeter suggest p<strong>at</strong>hos. Kalidasa’s poem <strong>The</strong> CloudMessenger (Meghadutam) <strong>of</strong>fers some fine examples. In“<strong>The</strong> Tiger’s Sport,” the meter mimics the leap <strong>of</strong> a tiger.A long leap is followed by a caesura after the twelfth syllable,and the quarter ends on a short leap. <strong>The</strong> meter <strong>of</strong>our poem is “<strong>The</strong> Excellent Lady” (sikharini), comprisingseventeen syllables in each quarter. <strong>The</strong> second,third, fourth, fifth, sixth, twelfth, thirteenth, and seventeenthsyllables are long; the rest are short. <strong>The</strong>re is acaesura after the sixth syllable. Each quarter consists <strong>of</strong>the following syllabic feet: ya, ma, na, sa, bha, la, andga (∪ - - - - - ∪ ∪ ∪ ∪ ∪ - - ∪ ∪ ∪ -).In the transl<strong>at</strong>ion, the four lines <strong>of</strong> Sanskrit haveexpanded to seven lines in English th<strong>at</strong> vary in lengthfrom nine to fourteen syllables. <strong>The</strong> classical meter isreplaced by free verse. <strong>The</strong> rhythms are those <strong>of</strong> speech,not song. This is no doubt an impoverishment, but it isalmost impossible to reproduce the quantit<strong>at</strong>ive meters <strong>of</strong>Sanskrit in a stress-timed language such as English.Though my transl<strong>at</strong>ion is no more than a faint echo <strong>of</strong>the original, I think it is an English poem in its ownright. Its rhythmic flow is unmistakable and so is itsuninhibited celebr<strong>at</strong>ion <strong>of</strong> erotic love between a man anda woman in the true spirit <strong>of</strong> the Kamasutra. Englishdoes not have a tradition <strong>of</strong> erotic poetry comparable toth<strong>at</strong> <strong>of</strong> Sanskrit or Greek. <strong>The</strong>refore tone becomes <strong>of</strong>utmost importance in communic<strong>at</strong>ing the erotic mood <strong>of</strong>the Sanskrit poem. It has to be carefully modul<strong>at</strong>ed tosound right to an English ear without being <strong>of</strong>fensive. Intransl<strong>at</strong>ing from Sanskrit into English, one transl<strong>at</strong>es notjust the text but an entire worldview which remains hiddenlike so many roots bene<strong>at</strong>h the text.Here is another anonymous poem, “<strong>The</strong> Pledge,”from the Subhasitar<strong>at</strong>nakosa (<strong>The</strong> Classic Anthology <strong>of</strong>Fine Verses, ca. 1100):g<strong>at</strong>e premabandhe hrdayabahumane vigalitenivrtte sadbhave jana iva jane gacch<strong>at</strong>i purah |66 <strong>Transl<strong>at</strong>ion</strong> <strong>Review</strong>
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TRANSLATION REVIEWNo. 66, 2003TABLE
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I could about the period. I tried t
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NOT GETTING IT RIGHTBy David Ferry[
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songs of the dead,” but it’s no
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oscilla ex alta suspendunt mollia p
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- Page 42 and 43: ON THE CATHAY TOUR WITH ELIOT WEINB
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