Text
Honored King[5] ...
Wealth and youth are guests, heroic husband,
In no time at all they're gone,[6] you must realize, Bharthari.
You must realize, Bharthari Panvar of Dhara Nagar,[7] You're my wedded lord, but
You've gone and left me destitute.[8]
In Dip Nagar lived King Ranjitk[9] Oh yes[10] ...
Who had a son, a prince.
[5] Rajaji...; this address, always sung prolonged as Rajajiiiiii ... marks the beginning of each verse sung in the Rajaji rag . For part 1 it is the single opening verse; in part 2 it continues throughout several sung segments; in part 3 it is a frame, coming at the beginning and end. It is thus the sole rag to appear in all three parts of Bharthari.
[6] The meaning of these lines, as of the words they contain, is open to more than one interpretation. Bhoju consulted Madhu and Shivji Nath, who concur that Queen Pingala is "explaining" to Bharthari that he ought to enjoy the good things of life during their brief duration. This exegesis interprets maya as "wealth" rather than "illusion" and gives it a positive valuation. The opposite, yogic, thrust to these words would be: don't put your faith in transient, illusory pleasures.
[7] Panvar (which Madhu Nath pronounces sometimes Punvar , or Punvar , and the RSK lists as a variant of Paramar ) is a lineage (kul ) of the Sun branch of Rajputs. Here and throughout the text it is used as Bharthari's surname. Along with Avanti or Avantipuri, Dhara Nagar is identified with the modern city of Ujjain that will be founded by Bharthari's father the donkey in this birth story.
[8] These two lines are part of Pingala's lament, foreshadowing the action in part 3. A wife without her husband is totally destitute.
[9] Ranjit is Bharthari's father's father, according to Madhu; Dip Nagar, literally "Lamp City," is his place. I found no references to him or his city' by these names in other versions.
[10] Characterizing the rag of Bharthari part 1 only is the refrain hanjiiii , literally "yes sir...," in a prolonged drone that recurs after every several lines of narrative song. To avoid the military ring of "yes sir" but retain whatever positive meaning accrues to this repeated affirmative, I simply use "Oh yes...."
The king had plays performed
In the Chapala Garden[11] But the father wouldn't let his son watch.
Oh yes...
The son, too, had plays performed,
and the king didn't watch.
Oh yes...
Now one time it chanced
that the young prince hid
in the Chapala Garden
in a bamboo clump.
Oh yes...
He sat and watched the play, and
the king his father said,
"Today the play is spoiled!"
Oh yes ...
"Run and look, servant lads!"
But they couldn't find
the young prince anywhere.
Oh yes ...
Then one servant ran
to the bamboo clump
where the young prince sat.
Oh yes...
He seized the prince
and took him to the king.
Oh yes ...
Then the king said, "Gandaraph Syan,
Why were you watching my play?"
Oh yes...
"Father, I liked your play,
I thought it was wondrous,
That's why I watched it!"
Oh yes...
[11] Chapala can mean a pipal tree and is also a name of the goddess. It seems to be a generic name for a garden near a city. The "Chapala Garden" is where Pingala burns in Bharthari 2 and appears in Gopi Chand's Gaur Bengal as the place where Jalindar and other yogis camp, not far from the palace.
The king cursed him:
"Gandaraph Syan,
you spoiled my play.
Oh yes ...
"You must go right now
in a donkey's vagina."[12] Oh yes ...
The father cursed the son.
Oh yes ...
As soon as he cursed him, Gandaraph Syan
fell over and died.
Oh yes ...
Ahead is Ganga City.
In that city lived a Potter[13] and that Potter had a she-ass.
In that she-ass's belly
the young prince fell.
Oh yes ...
One month passed for the she-ass,
Oh yes ...
Then the second and third months passed,
The fifth month passed for the she-ass.
Oh yes ...
Now nine months passed for the she-ass[14] and her Prince Khukanyo was born.
Oh yes ...
"Tibhu tibhu,"[15] the prince brayed.
Oh yes ...
Shiv! Gorakh![16] (Bh 1.1.s)
[12] That is, take birth as a donkey.
[13] Within Madhu Nath's tales I capitalize caste names such as Potter; they occur both as social types and as surnames.
[14] Such recounting of the passage of months during human gestation is common in tales and songs. It repeats below for all three pregnancies of Bharthari's mother.
[15] This sound is always a bit comical particularly linked with "prince" as it is here, or "yogi" or "king" as it will be in Gopi Chand.
[16] Madhu often closes a sung portion with a chanted invocation to deities or gurus.
In Dip Nagar lived King Ranjit, and he had a son, Gandaraph Syan. The young prince was a boy often or twelve years. That king's habit was to have plays performed in the garden. The father didn't let his son watch his plays. And the young prince had plays performed that he didn't let the king see.
So matters went along in this way. But once the ruler was having a play performed in the Chapala Garden—a play that he wouldn't let his son see.
And it chanced that the young prince thought to himself, "What kind of plays does my father have performed? Let me just sneak in and see today."
In the garden, a little distance away from where the play was proceeding, the young prince found a bamboo clump, and he slipped into it and sat down.
So over there the king was seated on his chair, and over here the young prince was watching, and the play was going on. But the king got suspicious. "Uh oh! What obstacle is interfering with my play? The play is no good today. The play is spoiled."
"Grain-giver,[17] the play is just fine," the players said. "It's fine, it's great."
"No, today the play is spoiled!"
The king said to his Royal Servants,[18] "O Royal Servants, run into the garden and see if the young prince is watching the play."
The Royal Servants ran off. Five or ten of them went looking. He had slipped into a clump of bamboo and was watching. Who? The young prince. As soon as they found him, they grabbed him by the arm and took him to His Majesty.
His Majesty said, "Why were you watching my play?"
"Father, I liked it, I liked it. I said to myself, 'What are my father's plays like? How does he have them performed?' I found it very beautiful. So that's why I sneaked in and watched."
"All right, sister-fucker![19] You go into a donkey's vagina!"
So the father cursed his son—his son, whose name was Prince
[17] annata; a term of address used for any master, king, god, superior person, or power.
[18] daroga; I translate this caste name always as "Royal Servant." In the sung section above, the king used a term for servant (chakar ) that is not caste-linked.
[19] bahin-chod; this is Madhu Nath's favorite insult. It does not have quite the shock power in Hindi or Rajasthani, where it is common, that it does in English.
Gandaraph Syan. He cursed that boy, and as soon as he uttered the curse, his son dropped dead on the spot. As soon as the father cursed, "Go to a donkey's vagina, go!" the son breathed his last.
In another city there was a Potter named Pachyo Potter. He had a she-ass, and Prince Gandaraph Syan fell into that donkey's belly.
He fell into her belly, and one month passed, two months passed, three months passed—the fifth, sixth, seventh, eighth—and in the ninth month the she-ass had a child. The she-ass had a child and he cried, "Tibhu tibhu!" and suckled the breast.
Now one month passed and two months passed and three months passed and six months passed, and he grew into a fine healthy colt. He was a healthy colt, and then he began to speak with Pachyo Potter. The donkey's son began to bray at midnight.
(Bh 1.1.e)
At midnight he brayed, "Tibhu, tibhu! Listen Pachyo Potter, go ... you have a king: marry me to his daughter. She has grown into a blooming maid, and her braids are turning white.[20] So go and tell your king to marry me to his daughter. And if he marries her to a donkey, then I will surround his city with double ramparts of copper and brass. And I will build him a gold and silver palace, and I will excavate mines of seven metals.
"But, if he won't marry Pan De[21] to me, I'll knock his country and his city upside down with my hoofs."
This is the vow the donkey made to Pachyo.
When he heard this, Pachyo said, "Sure! I will marry this girl to a donkey!"
He took his wheel-turning stick and began to raise welts on him. On whom? The donkey.
He said to the donkey, "Some neighbors might be listening, and if they go to the king and tell him that the Potter's donkey is saying, 'Marry me to the Princess Pan De,' then he will send me flying from a cannon's mouth, or else he will bury me and have me trampled by horses. My son![22] You are saying very improper things! What if the king finds out?"
[20] In other words, it is high time she gets married.
[21] This is the princess, Bharthari's mother; her name does not occur in other tales of Bharthari's parentage. In Rajasthani folklore, but not in ordinary life, the suffix "De" is very common after women's names.
[22] maro beto; a "small insult."
So he took his stick and beat him, and the donkey was quiet. But the next day came, and the next midnight. And the donkey did the same thing. He kept doing this for six months, calling "Tibhu tibhu" every midnight. Who? Khukanyo, the Potter's donkey.[23]
So the Potter regularly raised his stick, "Take that, your mother's ...,[24] you Khukanyo, sure I will get you married!" And he beat him badly every day.
Matters continued this way, and the Potter grew distraught because the donkey called him every night. So he decided to leave the village.[25]
"What to do? Let's leave this city. Let's go somewhere else and settle there, ten or twenty miles[26] away, and let's take the donkey with us. There won't be any king in that village, so the donkey won't call out."
The next day the Potter and the Potteress loaded up the donkey and the buffalo and filled a cart with all their bedding and junk. Then they left the village. "Let's go, or else the donkey will be the death of us."
(Bh 1.2.e)[27]
Pachyo Potter reached the outskirts of the city.[28] But when he got to the border, ten or twenty persons had gathered there.
"Oh no, we have only one Potter and he is leaving the village. And he doesn't say what the trouble is. Why has he left?[29] Suppose someone dies tomorrow ... where will we get our new clay utensils? We will need water pots and other vessels.[30]
[23] Here I delete a repetition of the entire midnight scene.
[24] A serious insult if completed: "your mother's vagina."
[25] Here and throughout both tales Madhu Nath interchanges the terms "village" (ganv ) and "city" (H. sahar , which he pronounces sair ); his stories take place in cities but his orientations, like those of his listeners, are to villages.
[26] A measurement of distance used throughout both tales, kos (H. kos ) equals two miles. I double the numbers Madhu uses to translate in miles.
[27] Although omitting each part's sung segments between the first and final one—except those that significantly advance the narrative—I number every new segment of explanation so the reader remains aware of where Madhu Nath makes his breaks.
[28] phalsa; the agricultural land belonging to a particular populated area, but without dwellings; it lies between the actual city or village and the border of its residents' landholdings.
[29] The neighbors believe that Pachyo leaves to protest mistreatment or underpayment, a familiar yet extreme recourse for members of artisan or servant castes who are unhappy with working conditions.
[30] After a death in a household, all clay utensils are broken and replaced because they are polluted.
"Now we have a Potter, but if he goes there won't be one. Let's bring him back. He won't tell us what the trouble is, and this is a very fine city of ours. Is it because of grain? But everyone gives him grain, every month.[31] And the king is very good, the king doesn't cause any trouble, so then why has he quit the village and gone?"
So ten, twenty, forty, fifty villagers gathered at the boundary and they blocked the Potter's path.
"Brother Potter, we won't let you go! Tell us your trouble, whether it's from the city or from the king. What's the matter? If someone hasn't given grain, then we will give it. And if it's trouble with the king, then he has a court and we will go and have that trouble removed. But, Potter, we won't let you go, brother."
"Grain-givers, I have no trouble with the city. I have only one answer."
"Oh my son! Whatever answer you give us, we'll accept it."
"Yes, Grain-givers, I'll give it to you."
"So what's the matter? Let's go back."
"I'll give you a really powerful answer."
The Potter saw that he had an opportunity to reveal his trouble. So he joined his hands[32] to all the village elders[33] and all the people of the village, and said, "Grain-givers, I am joining my hands to you. Take me back if you like. But I can't speak about my trouble. Just sleep outside my place tonight. All of you, elders and villagers, sleep outside my place, and you yourselves pronounce judgment. You yourselves listen, and you will learn about my trouble—it is so bad that I can't speak of it."
How could the Potter tell that—about marrying the king's daughter?
"Fine, we'll sleep outside your place, one day or five days."
They took him back. The villagers didn't let him go. They brought his carts and bedding, and the donkey, and they unpacked everything and put away all his junk. Evening came and everyone brought their bedrolls over there. "Brother let's go to the Potter's house—we'll sleep
[31] The social context for the dismay over Pachyo Potter's departure is the traditional patron-client or jajmani system where artisans such as Potters serve the agricultural castes in exchange for fixed shares in the grain harvest.
[32] To press one's palms together is a gesture of respect and entreaty (as well as ordinary greeting).
[33] panch; according to context this may be translated as village council or as the elders who constitute such a body.
in that Potter's courtyard." There they sat. And they said, "OK, brother Prajapat,[34] tell us your trouble."
"Grain-givers, wait until midnight, and then listen!"
Now midnight came and all the people of the city were there, and now the donkey speaks.
(Bh 1.3.e)
At midnight that donkey, Khukanyo, began to bray. "Tibhu tibhu, tibhu, tibhu," he brayed. "Listen Pachyo Potter."
"Brother Khukanyo, I'm awake. Tell me your news."
Pachyo Potter turned to all who were sitting there, "Listen, this is the very trouble that made me go ... but I couldn't speak of it myself, so now listen, people of the village!"
"Listen, Pachyo Potter, go and tell your king that his daughter Pan De's braids will be white, and he should marry her to me, the donkey. Brother, if he marries his Pan De to me, then I will build a palace of silver and gold for that king, and I will excavate mines of seven metals and I will surround the city with double ramparts of copper and brass, nine yards[35] tall.
"But, if he doesn't marry the Princess Pan De to me, listen Pachyo Potter, three days from today I will use my hoofs on this city and knock it upside down. I won't spare a single animal, nor will I spare a single human being. I'll really knock this city upside down."
After making this vow, that was it; the donkey was silent.
Then the Potter said, "O Village Elders, this is my trouble, this is why I am leaving. Grain-givers, this is why I shall go, this is why this city is impossible for me. So, Village Elders, think about this."
"But what's there to think about? Three days from now he will knock the city down, and he won't spare a single man or woman, not a single animal, nothing. So why die over here? Let's leave with Pachyo, let's leave, tomorrow even. We'll go together and leave the whole village deserted."
Some filled carts with their grains and bedding, and some loaded up buffalo.
"Let's follow that Potter. No one will be left here but the King, all alone."
[34] Prajapati is the name of a Vedic creator-god. As Potters, too, shape things out of formless substance, they may be politely addressed as "creator."
[35] gaj; a unit of measure equal to three feet.
Because who is going to tell the king: Marry your daughter to the Potter's donkey?
"If we tell him that, he'll send us flying from a cannon's mouth."
So, the next morning at the break of day, the whole village set forth with their donkeys and buffalo and carts loaded up with grains and bundles. The whole village was emptied.
And now they went and complained to the king. Who? The Royal Servants who stayed behind.
(Bh 1.4.e)
The only people left were in the fort, where the king and a few Royal Servants remained. Where would they go?
The others had filled carts with their bedrolls and grains and all. They took their livestock—their oxen and all—and they went forward until they reached the border.
Meanwhile, a couple of Royal Servants addressed the king: "A complaint, a complaint! Great King."
"O Royal Servants, what complaint have you brought?"
"Grain-giver, over whom are you ruling here? Only owls are left here in the village, only owls hooting.[36] The whole city is empty. Not even a child remains."
"Why?"
"Who knows why they left. But, I'm telling you, sir, there are no human beings left here."
"So they left. Well what was troubling them?"
"Who knows? They told of no trouble. They left and went to the border. So you'd better send your agents, brother, and if they can't go, then you yourself go. Find out what the trouble is. Take every care."
So the king asked for his horse and mounted it and galloped ahead until he reached the border. There the king turned around and blocked their path. He blocked their path and said, "Why brothers, who gave you trouble? Where are you going?"
"Grain-giver, we have quit this city, and we ask your forgiveness."
"Why are you asking forgiveness? What is your trouble? Are my land taxes too big? Am I taking too much royal food? Are my guards or my messenger[37] afflicting you?"
[36] A hooting owl is an inauspicious omen.
[37] Syana bami; this pair of terms recurs throughout Bh 1. It refers to two positions held by servants of the king: guard (variously syana; sahana; sana; hana ) and crier or messenger (bami; bhambi ). The latter is a caste name for a group of weavers, who have traditionally held the role of town crier or king's messenger. The implication of the king's question is: Are my men abusing their privileged place by giving the populace a hard time, extracting bribes and so forth?
"Grain-giver, you're a very good king. We're troubled neither by taxes nor by your guards and messenger."
"So why are you going then? Why are you quitting this city?"
The king got off his horse and stood in the way of their buffalo and carts.
"I won't let you go, you can't quit the city, what is the meaning of this? Tell me the meaning of this meaningless act."
Then all the villagers, five elders,[38] gathered.
Here is our chance, they thought. They said to the Potter, "Here is a chance for you to tell him, like you told us."
The elders of the city sat in council, and then they said, "Graingiver, are you taking us back?"
"Yes, I shall take you back, I won't let you go. You may go only if you tell your trouble."
"Grain-giver, our trouble is unspeakable, and that's why the city is impossible for us. But if you want to take us back, then pitch your tent at Pachyo Potter's house today. There sit and listen to our trouble. Otherwise, you're wasting your efforts in trying to bring us back."
"Hey you sister-shamed[39] people of the city, you want me to stay one night at Pachyo Potter's?"
"Yes, please stay for one night, and then you will hear our trouble."
"Why only one night? I'd stay for five. Is Pachyo Potter's house such a bad place? Let's go, O city people!"
So they turned around. "I will listen at Pachyo Potter's house. We will pitch twelve tents there. You people of the city, come there too."
"All right, we will each go to our own houses first, and then we'll sit with you over there. Let's go."
So the ruler brought them back.
He was the king, and so he made them turn around and bring back
[38] It takes five elders (although many more may come) to constitute a council meeting.
[39] banka margavo; an insult Bhoju translates as Hindi bahan ke dvara mare hue or "beaten on account of one's sister"; someone whose bad reputation is attributable to his sister's bad character.
their livestock—women and husbands and boys and girls, all returned, and he left them at their own houses, at their doors.
The people said, "Let's not bother to unpack because tomorrow we'll have to leave again. Will the king marry his princess to a donkey? Why should we waste our efforts unpacking?"
Now the king, with his courtiers, came to Pachyo Potter's place and set out his mattress and pillow. "Now let me hear your trouble! What is the people's trouble?"
All the villagers came to Pachyo Potter's house. They wanted to listen and see what the king would say. All the villagers came, from every house. The courtyard filled up, and the king too was there, sitting and talking, and midnight came. The donkey began to bray. And the people said, "Hey Grain-giver, Your Majesty, listen! Everyone be quiet!"
(Bh 1.5.e)
And the donkey brayed at midnight: "Tibhu tibhu tibhu. Listen Pachyo Potter, are you asleep or awake?"
"Brother, I'm awake! Donkey, tell your news!"
"Go to your king and tell him that his daughter is full grown, and he should marry her to me, to the donkey. The Princess Pan De should marry me, and I will make the king a gold and silver palace. And I will excavate mines of gold and silver inside the palace. And I will surround the city with double ramparts of copper and brass, nine yards tall. He should marry the Princess Pan De to me.
"If he doesn't, then three days from today I will use my hoofs to knock the city upside down. And I won't spare a single human being. Not a man will I spare—no livestock, no animals, none at all. Your castles and your court and your houses, I will scatter like little pebbles. I won't leave a trace of a human being."
He said this and was silent. Who? The donkey. Now the whole population said to the king, "Grain-giver, this is the problem. This is our trouble, King-Father, this is why we were leaving. Keep your princess and we will leave. You may stay by yourself, Grain-giver."
Now the king was silent, thinking: My son! Is this some kind of a ghost or is it a donkey? It seems to me to be a ghost. My son! "I will turn the city upside down, the whole place, and I will marry the princess, and I will build a gold and silver palace. And I will excavate mines. And I will surround the city with double ramparts, nine yards tall, of copper and of brass." Now how will he make them?
"People of the city, say something."
"Hey, Grain-giver, if you have any hope then tell us. If not, we won't unload our carts. Tomorrow, along with Pachyo Potter, we go, and you stay and die. You stay alone, with your princess and your queens. Keep your Royal Servants with you, and die. Let him turn you upside down, day after tomorrow. Who wants to stay here and die?"
Now the king thought, Son of a ...[40] If I marry the princess to this donkey, the world will say it's bad. They will say that the king married his daughter Pan De to a donkey. But if I don't marry her, then he will kill us. Now what to do?
Then the king said, "O people of the city, what do you want?"
"Grain-giver, you tell us—our only hope is to fill our carts and leave tomorrow along with Pachyo Potter. If you marry her, then we'll stay—if you marry your daughter to the donkey. Otherwise, tomorrow morning we'll go."
The king saw how it was. "Son of a ... All the people will go. Then there will be a couple of Royal Servants and my queen and princess, and we alone will remain. Day after tomorrow is the third day, and he will turn us upside down with his hoofs. Then there will be nothing left for us but to die. I should save the city."
"Grain-giver, we won't stay here and die. Why should we? We will go to another country, there are many—why do we need your fields and wells and land and charity? It's not worth dying for."
The king thought, If I marry the princess to him, he will build gold and silver palaces and excavate mines of gold and silver. Then what else do I need? I'll have wealth and riches in abundance. And I'll have double walls for the city. What else do I need? I'll marry the princess to him.
Then the king said, "People of the city, this is my decision."
"Yes, Grain-giver."
"If, within three nights from today, he builds me a gold and silver palace, and if he excavates mines of seven metals, and if he makes double walls of copper and brass, then on the fourth day I will marry him to the princess. But first he must do all this.
[40] mara beta ki , literally "my son's ...." The feminine possessive ki implies "my son's daughter," making this a variant on "father of a daughter." Although the unfinished English expletive "Son of a ..." is not a perfectly literal rendering, I believe it achieves a similar level of irritated or surprised but not enraged speech.
"And if he doesn't, then I will bury this Potter and his wife and children and let horses trample them, or else I will send them flying from a cannon's mouth."
Now all the people of the city agreed: "Grain-giver, marry her if in three days and three nights there's a gold and silver castle and mines of seven metals and double walls."
"And if not, I will bury this Potter and Potteress and their boys and girls in the ground and have horses trample them, or I will send them flying from a cannon's mouth.
"So now a judgment was reached.
Then the king and his Royal Servants picked up the cots and quilts they had spread, and the villagers, too, went to their houses. The women asked their husbands, "What happened?"
"The Potter and Potteress are dead."
"Why?"
"Because on the third day he will bury them and have horses trample them. It has turned out strangely. The poor Potter and Potteress! He will kill them for sure."
Now Pachyo Potter took his little stick in his hand, the one he used to turn his wheel, and he began to beat the donkey: "For many days you've been calling me, Khukanyo: 'Marry me to the princess or else I will turn the city upside down.' You will be the death of me. What can be done in three days? You had better build a gold and silver palace, and excavate gold and silver mines and build double ramparts today! Then I'll have faith; if not, then you will have been the death of me."
(Bh 1.6.e)
Pachyo Potter took his wheel-turning stick and whap whap whap, he beat him.
"Your mother's ...! Khukanyo, six months have gone by while you've been calling me, but now we have reached the conclusion. Sure, you'll get married ... the king says 'Build it in three days,' and on the fourth day I'll die. Who has that kind of patience? If you don't build it, then I'm dead. The king is gone and the people are gone and what can happen in three days? So, I shall beat you till your flesh flies, or else you make good today."
Then the donkey spoke, "Listen Potter, it won't get built by beating."
"Yeah, so will it be built in three days? Who can do it?"
"Don't beat me, but do what I tell you to do: load me with one saddlebag of yellow dirt[41] and one saddlebag of ashes. And take me outside the village and poke a little hole, this big, in each bag, and make me run all around the city. Then I shall make the double ramparts."
At once, Pachyo Potter filled up one saddlebag with yellow dirt and he filled up the other one with ashes, and he took the donkey outside the village. He took him outside the village, and ... as if he were starting from that tamarind tree[42] ... he made two lines, and circled all around the settlement until the lines met. The Potter remained inside the lines.
The donkey brayed, "Tibhu tibhu," and recited the name of the Sovereign Guru Gorakh Nathji.[43] And with a "Tibhu tibhu," he stamped his hoof.
Then double ramparts of copper and brass sprang up, nine yards tall—even a bug couldn't get out of walls like those, with no windows. He left no opening.
Then Pachyo Potter said, "Father of a daughter![44] Donkey, we need a window or a door."
The donkey said, "I won't make those before the marriage. First I'll marry the Princess Pan De, then I will make a door. Don't agree to do it."
Then the Potter had some faith. "Son of a ...! Really he is some kind of deity." So he took him to the fort.
He took him to the fort, and "Tibhu tibhu tibhu," the donkey brayed three times, and stamped his hoof and took the name of the Sovereign Guru.
Then up rose a sparkling gold and silver palace, and mines of seven metals were excavated. The palace was so big and so tall, and there was a lot of gold and silver in the mines, enough wealth to really throw around!
[41] pili; a particular kind of dirt often used, mixed with cow dung paste, to plaster courtyards for cleanliness, auspiciousness, and beauty.
[42] Madhu Nath points to a large tree that grows behind the compound where we are seated, helping his audience to envision an encompassment of our village.
[43] To avoid confusion, I translate raja as "king" and maharaj —used to describe and address Gorakh Nath and other yogi gurus throughout—as "sovereign." All the donkey's magic is accomplished in the name of Gorakh Nath but Madhu Nath never explained the connection between this guru and Gandaraph Syan.
[44] A mild curse with obvious sexist implications.
Finally the Potter had some faith. "Wow! The donkey, my son! He's a miracle worker! He called me and said, 'Marry me to Pan De!' And now I see that he's a miracle worker."
"Now, Potter, go and wrap yourself in a twelve-foot blanket and sleep without care; don't wake up! When someone has to go to the latrine they will beat their head on the wall. As for the livestock, how will they take them to graze? Where will the people go to shit? When it's dark they can squat near the wall, but where will they go once it's light?"
So Pachyo Potter gave the donkey some fodder and wrapped himself in a twelve-foot blanket and lay down. That was it, he slept, snoring peacefully.
Then the people started to go out to wash their hands and faces.[45] Those that went in the dark squatted, but now it was daylight and where could the others go? "Oh no! What has happened?"
There was no window anywhere, no window and no door. So how could they go out? And they needed to take the livestock to graze, but where could they take them? Sheep, goats, cows, buffalo, oxen, all stayed inside. How could people get to their fields when there were ramparts, nine yards high?
Now the whole village gathered. "Oh, what has happened?"
They saw no window, no door. "So let's go." The whole city gathered and went inside the fort. They said, "Grain-giver, where is the window or door? There isn't one anywhere, tell us if there is. We have to shit, to wash our hands and faces, but there is no place to do it. And our sheep and goats are bleating, and our cattle are mooing, and our oxen are right here; how can we take them to the fields and forests?"
"Say brothers, what has happened?"
"We'll tell you what happened: double walls nine yards high! And a sparkling palace, of gold and silver! So, Grain-giver, you're the king, you've got a gold and silver palace and you're feeling happy. But as for us, we're in trouble. How can we get out, how can we go to the fields and jungle?"
"So go and call Pachyo Potter, brother. He's my in-law[46] now. Go wake him up and bring him."
[45] The most common euphemism in the village for going to defecate.
[46] biyai; any person with whom one is connected through marriage.
So the messenger and the Royal Servants went to Pachyo Potter's.
"Let's go, the king is calling."
"Brothers, I'm still sleeping. I'm sleeping right now because all night I was awake. Right now I won't go."
"Come on, get up, elder brother, our animals are bleating, and you're sleeping!"
"Brothers, I can't come now, go back."
So they went back and the king asked, "What did he say?"
"He said, 'Right now I'm sleeping.'"
"Bring him, brothers, bring him!" So they went back again.
Then he said to Khukanyo, the donkey: "They keep calling me, one after another they keep coming, so what should I say?"
"Refuse: Wedding rounds[47] before I pierce a single door!"
"But what if they say, 'First the window and the door, and then we'll get you married'?"
"Let the girl be mine, then a window's fine! Tell them this: 'I won't open any door anywhere, until you agree to the marriage.' If you like, say that the donkey refuses and says he must be married first."
So Pachyo Potter hurried to the fort, and the king said to him:
"Hey Pachuji[48] Potter. Father of a daughter! why didn't you leave a window? Why didn't you leave a door?"
"Grain-giver, what could I do? That donkey didn't leave one. That was it! He made ramparts nine yards tall that neither man nor animal can climb, and there is no hole big enough for an ant to get out. But why should you be unsatisfied? You have a sparkling palace of gold and silver. And you have mines of seven metals."
"Yes, that's true, but you must make a hole."
"First the marriage, sir. He refuses and says:
Wedding rounds before,
I pierce a single door!
That's all there is to it, sir! Without the marriage, he refuses to open it, King. He says, 'First I must take my marriage rounds; otherwise I won't open it.' "
[47] phera; the culminating and binding moment of the marriage ritual: the turns round the sacred fire taken by bride and groom, knotted together and led by the priest.
[48] The king now uses this form of address, echoed later by the princess and her servants; it combines intimacy and perhaps a patronizing or ingratiating respect.
"But what about the villagers? Father of a daughter! They have to stay in here for the whole day?"
"Yes, let them stay here. And let all the prenuptial rites and feasts[49] take place today. Half the village can sit on the bride's side, and half the village can go with the groom's party, the donkey's party. Just cut wet bamboo[50] and don't bother about it. Prepare the lady with turmeric and henna."[51] (Bh 1.7.e)
Now over here the princess was adorned with henna and rubbed with turmeric. And over there they held henna and turmeric ceremonies for the donkey.
So usually the rounds are held on a different day from the feasts, but he got married all in one day.
Half the village came to the Potter's place and prepared to join the donkey's wedding party. And half the village stayed over there, on the bride's side.[52]
Then they ornamented the donkey and made him a groom and brought him up to the fort and he really did a nice job of striking the marriage emblem.[53] And they had the Vedas and Shastras[54] recited. They set up a fire altar and called Brahmans and—the king got the donkey married with great celebration. After all, he was a king. So he gave a lot of gifts[55] to Pan De, in fine fashion: he gave land gifts,
[49] Two kinds of feasts are referred to here, the manda and the mel . The former is given by the groom's father to non-castefellows two days before the departure of the groom's party for the bride's village, and to castefellows one day before departure. The latter is a feast given by the bride's father to his own castefellows.
[50] ala tila bans katar; a local expression used for doing something in a hurry, without elaborate preparations, and by implication not in proper fashion.
[51] pithi mandi; pithi refers to any anointment that softens and beautifies the body, but in the context of wedding festivities it means rubbing the bride's body with turmeric paste to make her "fair" — usually done several days before the wedding. The application of henna (mandi ) to her hands and feet, often in elaborate designs, is a separate event that usually takes a whole evening. Both have counterparts in the groom's village. Wedding arrangements in rural Rajasthan are affairs of many days and many stages. This paragraph's purport is that the wedding of Pan De and Khukanyo will be done in a most improper hurry.
[52] manda tala , literally, "beneath the manda ," here refers to part of a temporary structure erected for the wedding ceremony.
[53] toran; a wooden emblem placed above the door to the bride's house that the groom strikes with his sword before entering to participate in the rituals.
[54] Sanskrit texts of prayers and laws.
[55] dan; a term specifically applied to gifts made for religious reasons, sometimes connoting the transfer of inauspiciousness from donor to receiver.
he gave gifts of wealth, he gave cow gifts. He was attentive to dharma, so he gave her slave girls too. He gave a chariot and oxen and Royal Servants.
And now, the wedding rounds were over, and he was ready to give them a send-off. Then the king said to Pachyo Potter, "Brother, Pachuji Potter, now you have become my in-law. And now you have to leave this village. Go tomorrow, brother, I'm giving you a send-off: leave the village and settle in whatever village pleases you."
Right after the marriage Pachyo Potter took the donkey, who brayed "Tibhu tibhu" in all four directions and four doorways opened. And he said to the people, "Stay well. That's it, my donkey is married."
And so, driving the chariot with the donkey tied behind, Pachyo Potter left that village. Now he is going toward the jungle, and all the people said, "O brother Pachyo Potter, keep well brother! Now we can't stop you. Now that the king married his princess to you, no one can stop you."
They went twenty-four plus twenty-four, forty-eight miles into the desolate wilderness. But then the donkey balked. What's going on? The Royal Servant is driving the chariot, and Princess Pan De is seated inside behind a curtain, and the donkey is tied to the back of the chariot, and they are going twenty-four plus twenty-four, forty-eight miles into the wilderness.
(Bh. 1.8.e)
They had come to a desolate place, and little remained of the day. The donkey was tied to the princess's chariot. And the driver was driving, but the donkey stood stock still; he stopped short and wouldn't move.
The oxen didn't stop, they kept pulling, and so the donkey slid along. The princess saw this, and said, "Tell Pachuji Potter[56] the donkey isn't going."
Then the Royal Servant said, "Pachuji Potter, that donkey isn't going, and he's begun to slide."
So the Potter got his wheel-turning stick and gave him a few blows. But even so he just sat down. He sat down and then they began to drag him, and then the princess, Queen Pan De, said, "Tell my father-in-law Pachyo Potter: Let's stay right here. Let's pitch our tents right
[56] She addresses the Potter indirectly, via the Royal Servant; village etiquette prescribes that a new bride shall never speak to her father-in-law.
here and do our cooking, and our Royal Servants will keep watch. Let's spend the night here. Don't beat my husband-god.[57] He doesn't want to go on, so let's stay right here."
So they pitched their tents right there and did the cooking and fetched water. For forty-eight miles in each direction wilderness was all around them. But they cooked and washed and ate and drank and went to sleep.
At midnight the donkey brayed, "Listen Pachyo Potter, are you asleep or awake?"
"I'm awake."
"Why, Pachyo Potter, where are you taking me? Where are you taking me by beating me?"
"There are some villages ahead, so we can get out of the jungle."
"But here in the jungle we can have houses. Who will give you housing in the villages? Listen to what I say, load my saddlebags on me and fill one with black clay and fill one with yellow clay and we'll build our own city right here in the jungle. We'll rule right here. So make me run around four, eight, or ten miles—we'll make the ramparts."
So he loaded the donkey and filled one saddlebag with yellow mud and one with black mud and poked small holes in them. Then he went over here ... here is Khejari and Napa Khera and over here, Mori and then as far as Sawar,[58] and so right there he settled the city of Dhara Nagar.
And when the two lines met, the donkey took the guru's name and stamped his hoof and double ramparts of copper and brass rose up, nine yards high.
Then he said to the Potter, "Now draw the market square." So Pachyo Potter made the donkey run around, and he drew a magic circle,[59] and he made the streets. In the middle he put a mark for palaces. Then the donkey took the Guru Sovereign's name and brayed "Tibhu tibhu" and stamped his hoof. Up rose a golden and silver palace, along with several bungalows and gold and silver mines. In the middle of the city he stamped his hoof and took the
[57] pati dev; the conventional respectful term for husband.
[58] Madhu Nath is mapping out a circular area by naming local villages.
[59] kar ghalano; kar often refers to a circle inscribed on the ground by exorcists to contain spirits or protect those within from spirits outside.
Guru Sovereign's name and copper mansions rose up. There were streets going this way and that way, with copper mansions all of a kind.
The donkey said to the Potter, "O Pachyo Potter, let's go into the jungle." And he opened up a big doorway in the wall, and he took the Guru Sovereign's name and stamped his hoof. Throughout the jungle, wells and step-wells[60] with stairways emerged from the ground.
Then the donkey said to Pachyo Potter, "You be my chief minister," and he sent the queen into the palace.
"I am Gandaraph Syan, that's my name. King Gandaraph Syan is ruling."[61] As soon as the day broke, he sent his Royal Servants to all the villages in different directions: "Bring tenant farmers. Tell them there are ready-made mansions, mansions of copper and brass, for them to live in, and there are wells and step-wells for their care. Let them clear the land. For five years I will forgive the taxes, and I'll support this land and take care of these mansions."
So a copper city was built: Dhara Nagar. In Dhara Nagar there are mansions of copper and brass. So all the people's minds were spoiled[62] and they abandoned their grass huts.
"Let's live here! There are fine, beautiful copper and brass mansions and we can keep them, and there are fine wells and step-wells and no taxes for five years, no taxes at all! In this kingdom you can earn and eat and enjoy life."
Well sir, within twelve months that city filled up, people crowded together like a folding gate. The whole city was populated, and there were numerous markets, and tenant farmers came and began to farm. Its name was Dhara Nagar.
And Princess Pan De lived in the Color Palace, and the donkey was tied up nearby and fed on betel leaves. King Gandaraph Syan's orders were law, and Pachyo Potter was the chief minister.
[60] kua are the round deep wells most Westerners can picture; bavari , which I translate as "step-wells," are wells with stairs going down into them. These pleasant places for washing and drinking are vital to the system of irrigation by bullock and bucket still used in much of Rajasthan.
[61] This first reference to the original name of Bharthari's father since his soul was transported into the donkey comes, significantly, after he has established his kingdom.
[62] By greed.
Now let's see, midnight came and let's see what things come to pass.
(Bh I.9.e)
The donkey was tied up on the terrace[63] with betel leaves for fodder, and the queen was inside the gold and silver castle, sleeping on a cot.
Midnight came and the donkey brayed, "Tibhu tibhu tibhu," and he said to the queen, "Come, Queen Pan De."
"Brother, is the donkey calling?"
"It's the donkey, who else could it be?"
So the queen came and asked, "Grain-giver?"
"Grab the tips of my ears and pull."
So the queen grabbed the tips of his ears and pulled.
As soon as she pulled ... a man came out, as splendid as the full moon. Oh my! the queen thought, he is like one of the sun's rays, and the queen shut her eyes tight. Oh my! Now I'll have some good fortune.[64] I am a human being and my father married me to a donkey, but now I'll have a better fate.[65] The queen shut her eyes tight.
Then they went inside, and she fixed him a meal, and they talked.
"Grain-giver, how did you come to be in a donkey's skin? Are you a deity of some kind or other? How did you get into a she-ass's vagina?"
"Queen, I was cursed by my father, he gave me a curse. My father said, 'Gandaraph Syan, sister-fucker, go into a donkey! You saw my play and so you will go into a she-ass's vagina.' It's because of my father's curse that I am in a donkey's skin. Don't tell anybody that I can become human. I won't see the sun's rays. I must go back into the skin when the morning star rises and the rooster crows. I must be in the donkey's skin before I see the sun's rays or I'll breathe my last.
"Don't be ashamed, no matter what the world says of you. You have enough, I am a king, there is no trouble. You have wealth and goods and no losses. You have a gold and silver castle, and gold and
[63] cobara; an open-air "room" on the roof that the RSK notes is used by newlyweds for sleeping quarters.
[64] bhag khulgyo apno; literally, "my future destiny has opened up."
[65] tagdir; another word for fate, of Urdu origin, yet common in Hindu speech. Here it seems interchangeable with bhag , from Sanskrit.
silver mines, and many tenant farmers have settled here. So what's your loss? There is none."
"Grain-giver, I was married so you are my husband-god." So that's how they lived and kept on living.
(Bh 1.10.e)
So she pulled the tips of his ears, and Prince Syan came out, bright as a full moon, and they played a lot of parcheesi[66] and feasted in the night.
Then the queen got pregnant. One month passed, the second month passed, the third and fourth and fifth and sixth, the seventh and eighth, and in the ninth month King Bharthari was born, a young prince! The Brahmans came and carefully found a name,[67] and they read the Vedas, and many meritorious gifts[68] were made: horse gifts and grain gifts and diamond and ruby gifts. And in all the houses of the kingdom there was joy and celebration.
"Oh my! A prince was born in the castle! A prince was born!" But the women, they said [Here Madhu is chuckling and the audience is chuckling and making remarks ]: "But how can a donkey sire a prince? What has happened? What impropriety has happened, that a donkey fathers a prince. It's weird! We have a donkey's prince." The women said these things: "A donkey's prince! Oh my! What has become of our queen's good character?"
(Bh 1.11.e)
One and a quarter years later the queen was pregnant again. One month passed, two months passed, three, four, five, six, seven, eight months passed, and in the ninth month the hero Vikramaditya[69] was born. He was born and they gave lavishly: horse gifts, elephant gifts, gold and silver gifts. Then they called the Brahmans to find a name. They found the name Vikramaditya and said, "Queen, now you'll have a good future destiny. A very fine prince is born, under
[66] "Playing parcheesi" appears in many Rajasthani stories and songs as a euphemism for sexual intercourse.
[67] By custom all villagers, not just royal families, consult a Brahman astrologer to determine if not what name, then with what letter the name of a new child should begin, according to his or her horoscope.
[68] dan-pun .
[69] bir Vakaramadit; for this legendary king and his part in Bharthari's legend see chapter 3.
a very good sign,[70] and his name will be known in the world: Hero Vikramaditya. It is a future of riches. Your future destiny is good."
But people put their mouths close together: "So, a donkey fathered a prince!" [Snickers from the audience ] Who can stop people from talking?
Well, sir, one and one-quarter years later a princess was born.
(Bh 1.12.e)
A princess was born, a maiden, and they named her Manavati.[71] After a few months, Queen Pan De wrote a letter and sent a man. She thought, Now my own mother and father ought to feel joyful. I've had three children, boys and a girl, but others take care of me. They married me to a donkey and sent me away. And since then no mother comes, no father comes, no one comes to take care.
So she thought, I will send a man. She wrote a letter and sent it. The letter reached the king, and the king read it. "I had three children, boys and a girl, and I'd like to see you and the queen. Please come! Even though you haven't taken care of me, you are still my mother and father. You married me to a donkey and didn't take care of me."
Then the king was very angry. "Who needs a daughter like that? Yes, I married her to a donkey, so where did these princes come from? [Madhu snickers ] Three children! Two princes and one princess ... I won't travel in that slut's direction."
But her mother said:
Though sinner she be
She belongs to me!
The flames of love are greater in a mother. "Fine, Grain-giver, you don't have to go, but I will go. Harness the chariot and I'll go and take care of the princess. I'll get there and see what it's like and come back."
So the queen harnessed the chariot, and Pan De's mother went to visit her.
(Bh 1.13.e)
Now the queen
harnessed her chariot.[72]
[70] nakhataran; Hindi naksatra .
[71] Thus Manavati Mata, Gopi Chand's mother and Bharthari's sister, is born. She plays no further part in Bharthari's tale.
[72] This begins the final sung segment of Bh 1.
Oh yes ...
They hung up a curtain
And the queen sat behind.
Oh yes ...
When she reached Copper City[73] She ascended to the palace.
Oh yes ...
Mother met daughter,
Mother met daughter.
Oh yes ...
Now the daughter Pan De spoke:
"You didn't come see me for so many years!"
Oh yes ...
"Daughter, your father
is angry at you! Oh yes ...
"A donkey fathered a prince?
Where did you get this prince?"
"Mother, listen to my news
Just wait till the day's end.
Oh yes ...
"Then I will show you the king
At the day's end."
Oh
yes ...
The queen went in the night,
pulled the tips of his ears.
Oh yes ...
and the king came out
Like a full moon. Oh yes ...
The king entered the castle
And prostrated to his wife's mother.
Oh yes ...
Now this queen saw and wondered
"How did he come from a donkey's skin?"
Oh yes ...
(Bh 1.14.s)
[73] Tambavati; yet another name for Ujjain, used only here, deriving no doubt from the copper mansions already described.
She drove in her chariot to Copper City. She drove into Copper City and got down from her chariot and ascended into the palace, and mother and daughter met each other.
And they conversed. "Mother, I've had three children but you never came to visit me. You married me to a donkey and didn't take care of me."
"Daughter, what could we do? It was your written destiny.[74] We had to marry you to a donkey. But you wrote a letter and sent a man and your father got angry: 'A donkey's son? How does it happen?' From whom did you get this boy?"
"Mother, you won't believe the truth. But just spend a few days here, and then you'll see! Let the end of the day come, and in the night I will show you your son-in-law."
So in the night the queen pulled on the tips of the donkey's ears, and he came out, shining like the full moon, a bright light shone in the castle. And then he went and prostrated himself, respectfully greeting his mother-in-law: "Mother-in-law, you have come to visit us after so many days?"
The queen squeezed her eyes shut: "Oh my! What kind of event has taken place?"
Then she asked him, "Bridegroom-prince, what are you doing in a donkey's skin?"[75]
"Mother, my father cursed me. Because of this curse I am in a donkey's skin, I had to take a donkey birth. Otherwise I am King Gandaraph Syan, Gandaraph Syan is my name. My father cursed me."
Thus the queen-mother-in-law spent five or ten days, and she saw how her daughter pulled the ears nightly. And they spent the nights very pleasantly, eating and playing a lot, and having fun. But that was it! When the morning star rose and the rooster crowed, then he returned to his donkey skin.
Now she saw how they lived. Who? The mother-in-law. And she said to Pan De, "Son,[76] this is what you should do: divert his mind
[74] lekh .
[75] From this point the explanation goes beyond the final sung segment, as often happens at the end of a major part. I am unsure whether this happens because Madhu is in a hurry to finish and skips the singing, or because no sung portion matches the events narrated.
[76] Mothers often call their daughters "son" when they want to express closeness and care.
and take the donkey skin and burn it up. Throw it on kindling and burn up the donkey skin. Light a wick to it. Then rub that skin into powder between your hands and scatter it to the wind from the castle roof. Do that, and then he will stay a man, he won't go back in the donkey skin. He will stay a man."
This was the trick she taught her. She will make her a widow.
The mother spent five or ten days with her daughter, and then she went back to her own place. They gave her a send-off. But meanwhile she had told this cleverness to her daughter, to Pan De. So when her mother had gone, Pan De did this: she obtained a bundle of firewood. Then she pulled on his ears and when he was a king they played a lot of parcheesi and feasted and lay down. Afterwards the king went to sleep.
She said [to her servants], "Bring a bundle of kindling."
"Why, Princess, what are you going to do?"
"Oh don't call out. Don't tell."
/Yes, bring it quietly./
"Bring it quietly." While the king was sleeping she asked for a bundle of kindling, and she put it on top. What? The donkey skin. And then she lit it and burned it up, sir. So the donkey skin burned up and turned to ash.
When it had turned to ash, the queen rubbed the ashes between the palms of her hands and put them on a platter and went to the roof of the palace and scattered them, and her hands were printed with the sun and the moon.
She scattered them. Then the king awoke and the rooster crowed, and he said, "Queen, Queen, oh bring my skin!"
"O girls, where did you put it? O girls, slave girls where did you put it?"[77]
But she was calling "Bring the skin" meaninglessly. If there were a skin they could bring it; but where will they bring it from?
"Oh, the girls put it somewhere, Grain-giver, who knows where they put it? Where did you put it, girls?"
"We know nothing about it."
Then day began to break.
"Oh, you slut, what's going on? Tell me what really happened."
"Well, Grain-giver, my mother came, and she told me this trick:
[77] Pan De pretends she knows nothing.
'Light a wick to it, and burn it on kindling.' So I burned it and rubbed it and this moon and sun were printed on me and I scattered it from the roof."
"Oh you slut, what have you done? You made yourself a widow. You destroyed the skin with your own hands, and now I have no hope of living. When I see the light of day my life is over."
"It is?"
"Yes. You made yourself a widow with your own hands. It seems you called your mother-widow[78] here just to kill me."
There was no cure. As soon as he saw the sun's rays, Gandaraph Syan's life was over.
"Oh, the king died, the king died, our king died, King Gandaraph Syan died!"
They sat King Bharthari on the throne, and he performed the cremation rites.
(Bh 1.14.e)
[78] manrand; an insult