Ashtapadi

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Aṣhṭapadhi - It is lyrical poetry in 12 chapters, which is further sub-divided into 24 divisions called Prabandhha. Each Prabandhha is again sub-divided into two, comprising eight couplets called Aṣhṭapadhis.

Each song of the Aṣhṭapadhiis set in a special rāga and thāḷa. It is a rhyme of eternal love and supreme devotion. The literal meaning of "Aṣhṭapadhi" is "eight steps".

Gītha Govindha composed in the 12th century by Indian poet Jayadheva in Sanskrit language is a lyrical poetry in twelve chapters, sub-divided into twenty four divisions called Prabandhha. The songs in Gītha Govindha symbolize the eternal love of Lord Kriṣhṇa and his beloved Rādhhā and the sublimation of love in God through complete surrender.

Chapter one and chapter two, four, five and twelve contain two Aṣhṭapadhis each; chapters three, six, eight, nine and ten contain only one Aṣhṭapadhi each. Thus there are twenty-four Aṣhṭapadhi. These Aṣhṭapadhis can be set to music in different melodious ragas, which were appreciated and followed by the poets later period. On which more than hundred commentaries has been written in Sanskrit and over fifty more than hundred commentaries have been written in Sanskrit and over fifty in regional languages in India also in many foreign languages.

Since the Gīthagovindha was composed specifically for dance performance during the night worship of Lord Jagannātha, the composition is so deftly made as to be sung to the beats of a dancer's foot movements. The author himself at the end of the Kāvya again states this fact, where he again emphasizes that the poem was intended to be a prop for meditation on Viṣhṇu and it is clothed in Śhrungāra rasa by the kavi Jayadheva panḍitha immersed in the contemplation of Krishna. The poem became so popular that within a century or so, it spread to all corners of the country from east to south, west and north and was adapted to dance, music, painting and temple worship.

In short, these songs describe the celestial love between Rādhhikā and Kriṣhṇa, The egoistic nature of Rādhhikā, Her anger towards Kriṣhṇa, Her viraha thāpam (sorrow in separation), reunion and their Sallāpam.

 

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Chapter – One:

 

Aṣhṭapadhī – 4: Sāmodha Dhāmodharam

 

Chandhana Charchitha

 

Composer: Jayadheva

Language: Sanskrit

Meanings-Word by word & Overall:www.sanskritdocuments.org/sites/giirvaani

Alignment, Diacriticals & consequent spelling changes, Language & grammar editing, if any and necessary, of existing meaning: Team Ambalam

 

 

Chandhana Charchitha Nīlakalevara Pītha Vasana Vanamāli

Kelichalanmaṇi Kunḍala Manḍitha Gandayugaha Smithashālī||2||

 

Haririha Mugdhha Vadhunikare Vilasini Vilasathi Kelipare ||Dhhruvam||

Pīnapayodhharabhārabharena Harim Pariramya Sarāgam |
Gopavadhhūranugāyathi Kāchidudanchithapanchamarāgam ||3||

 

Kāpi Vilāsa Vilola Vilochana Khelana Janitha Manojam |

Dhyayathi MugdhaVadhhūradhikam Madhhusūdhana Vadhana Sarojam ||4||

 

Kāpi Kapolathale Militha Lapithum Kimapi Shruthimūle |

Charu Chuchumba Nithambavathi Dhayitham Pulakairanukūle ||5||

 

Kelikalā Kuthukena Cha Kāchid-Amum Yamunāvanakūle |

Manjula Vanjula Kunjagatham Vichakarṣha Kareṇa Dhukūle||6||

 

Karathala Thāla Tharala Valayāvali Kalitha Kalasvana Vamśhe|

Rāsarase Saha Nrthyaparā Hariṇau Yuvathihi Praśhaśhamshe ||7||

 

Śhliṣhyathi Kāmapi Chumbathi Kāmapi Kāmapi Ramayathi Rāmām|
Paśhyati Sasmitha Chārutharam Aparām Anugacchati Vāmām||8||

 

Śhrī Jayadheva Bhaṇithamidham Adbhutha Keśhava Keli Rahasyam|

Vrundhāvana Vipine Charitham Vithanothu Śhubhāni Yaśhasyam ||9||

 

 

 

Meaning:

Chandhana Charchitha Nīlakalevara Pītha Vasana Vanamāli

Kelichalanmaṇi Kunḍala Manḍitha Gandayugaha Smithashālī

 

Chandhana - with sandal paste;

Charchitha - bedaubed;

Nīlakalevara - on bluish, body;

Pītha - pale brownish yellow,ochre;

Vasana - silk clothes,clad in;

Vanamāli - one who wears a garland of basil leaves and flowers;

Kelichalanmaṇi - while playing [while romping,] moving [swaying];

Kunḍala - gem studded knobby ear-hangings;

Manditha - embellished;

Gandayugaha - cheeks, pair;

Smithashālī - of smiling on with such disposition [gleeful one];

 

Haririha Mugdhha Vadhunikare Vilasini Vilasathi Kelipare ||Dhhruvam||

Pīnapayodhharabhārabharena Harim Pariramya Sarāgam |
Gopavadhhūranugāyathi Kāchidudanchithapanchamarāgam ||

 

Haririha - Kriṣhṇa, now;

Mugdhha - coyly;

Vadhunikare - damsels, in group [amidst coterie];

Vilasini - ravishing damsels;

Vilasathi - frolicking;

Kelipare - in game

Pīnapayodhhara - bosomy, bust;

Bhārabharena - weightiness;

Harim - Kriṣhṇa;

Pariramya - in over [arching manner,] hugging [cleaving to];

Sarāgam - with, longing;

Gopavadhhūranu - milkmaid damsel;

Gāyathi – sings;

Kāchid= someone;

udanchita - in a heightened;

Panchama - fifth [note, octave];

Rāgam - melodiously;

 

He, whose sapphire-bluish body is bedaubed with sandal paste, clad in ochre silks, and garlanded with a garland of basil leaves and flowers, and whose both cheeks are embellished by the sways of his gem-studded knobby ear-hangings, while he is romping, Someone, a milkmaid, eager to ease the weightiness of her bosomy bust is cleaving to Kriṣhṇa in a overarching manner, and then in a heightened octave she is singing melodiously, in tune with his fluting. He, that gleeful Kriṣhṇa is now amidst a coterie of ravishing and coyly damsels, in a rapturous ronde.

 

Note: And pītha ambara and vanamālā are not just rustling ochre silks and garland of wild leaves, but those basil leaves and silken garments are also the removers of sins.

 

 

Kāpi Vilāsa Vilola Vilochana Khelana Janitha Manojam |

Dhyayathi MugdhaVadhhūradhikam Madhhusūdhana Vadhana Sarojam||

 

Kāpi - someone, even;

Vilāsa - by romantic gesticulations

Vilola - verily, flustered;

Vilochana - wide, eyes;

Khelana - by their play [of eyes, slanting, side glances];

Janitha - caused;

manojam - mind, cause of [one who can give rise to love-god, Kriṣhṇa, personified passion]; 

Dhyayathi - highly [fixatedly,]

Mugdha vadhhū - meek damsel,one who is an inexpert in romancing;

Adhikam - contemplating.

Madhhusūdhana - demon Madhu’s eliminator [Kriṣhṇa’s];

Vadhana - face;

Sarojam - lake, born [lotus, beautiful lotus like beautiful face];

 

Even someone, a meek damsel, is impassioned for she is there, and by her inexpert gesticulations of romance, like her slanting and sliding glances with her flustered wide eyes, she caught a sight of the beautiful face of Kriṣhṇa, beautiful like a lotus, from then on she fixatedly contemplated on that face, for she is an expert in contemplation, (Thus, that gleeful Kriṣhṇa is now amidst a coterie of ravishing and coyly damsels, in a rapturous ronde)

 

Kāpi Kapolathale Militha Lapithum Kimapi Shruthimūle |

Charu Chuchumba Nithambavathi Dhayitham Pulakairanukūle||

 

Kāpi - someone;

Kapolathale - on cheek’s, surface;

Militha - on reaching;

Lapithum - to say;

Kimapi - something, even;

Śhruthimūle - ear, base of [at earhole];

Charu - amusingly;

Chuchumba - kissed;

Nithambavathi - one with big buttocks;

Dhayitham - her lover [Kriṣhṇa];

Pulakai - by tickles;

Anukūle - made convenient [when Kriṣhṇa’s face is tickly, his cheek is bent for her convenience to kiss it];

 

Even someone with her big buttocks neared him as though to say something in his ear, and on reaching her lover Kriṣhṇa, his tickly face conveniently turned sideways in all ears for her, thus she kissed his cheek conveniently and amusingly, (Thus that gleeful Kriṣhṇa is now amidst a coterie of ravishing and coyly damsels, in a rapturous ronde)

 

Kelikalā Kuthukena Cha Kāchid-Amum Yamunāvanakūle |

Manjula Vanjula Kunjagatham Vichakarṣha Kareṇa Dhukūle||

 

Keli - plays of passions;

Kalā - artistry;

Kuthukena ca - with enthusiasm, also;

Kāchid - someone;

Amum - him;

Yamunākūle - river in bank;

Manjula - beautiful;

Vanjula - Aśhoka tree;

Kunja - bower;

Gatham - one who has gone there;

Vichakarṣha - lugging along.

Kareṇa - with her hand;

Dhukūle - by his dress;

 

 

Someone, another milkmaid, enthusiastic in the artistry of plays of passion, and passionate to play in the waters of river Yamunā with Kriṣhṇa, found him frolicking in a beautiful bower at that Aśhoka tree, and she is gleefully lugging him along by his dress with her hand, (Thus that gleeful Kriṣhṇa is now amidst a coterie of ravishing and coyly damsels, in a rapturous ronde)

 

Karathala Thāla Tharala Valayāvali Kalitha Kalasvana Vamśhe|

Rāsarase Saha Nrthyaparā Hariṇau Yuvathihi Praśhaśhamshe ||

 

Karathala - hand, surface - with palms;

Thāla - by clapping rhythmically;

Tharala - moving;

Valaya - [valaya angada] - heavy wrist metal roundlets;

āvali - a group of, a set of;

Kalitha - intermingling [touching one to one, clanking, clanks mingling with fluting];

Kalasvana - un-definable dulcet clanks;

Vamśhe - one who has a flute - name of Kriṣhṇa’s bamboo flute;

Rāsa - in plays of passion, rāse - zealous [Kriṣhṇa];

Saha - along with;

Nrthyaparā - in dancing, engrossed;

Hariṇau - by Hari, Kriṣhṇa;

Yuvathihi - a maiden;

Praśhaśhamshe - commended.

 

While a maiden is engrossed in ronde dancing, along with zealously dancing Kriṣhṇa, she is clapping her palms in rhythm to his fluting, while doing so the sets of her heavy wrist metal round lets are clanking in un definable dulcet clanks, and those rhythmic clanks are intermingling with that fluting, and that flautist of mohana vamshi, the divine flute, namely Kriṣhṇa, is singing the praises unto her, (Thus, that gleeful Kriṣhṇa is now amidst a coterie of ravishing and coyly damsels, in a rapturous ronde)

 

Śhliṣhyathi Kāmapi Chumbathi Kāmapi Kāmapi Ramayathi Rāmām|
Paśhyati Sasmitha Chārutharam Aparām Anugacchati Vāmām||

 

Śhliṣhyathi - such as he is, he that Kriṣhṇa;, even;

Shlisyati - cleaves to;

Kāmapi - someone

Chumbathi - kisses;

Rāmām - delightful damsel;

Ramayathi - delights [her];

Sasmitha - beaming;

Chārutharam - beauty, in high degree [most beautiful lass];

Aparām  another one;

Paśhyati - sees to her, pay attention to;

Vāmām - leftist, querulous one;

Anugacchati - goes after in tow;

 

Such frolicsome Kriṣhṇa is even cleaving to someone, and even kissing someone, and even delighting someone, a delightful damsel, and paying his attention to another beaming and most beautiful damsel, and he is going in tow after one with her slanting glances, Thus, that gleeful Kriṣhṇa is now amidst a coterie of ravishing and coyly damsels, in a rapturous ronde…

 

Note:

·         Here the word Rāmām is generative from root Ramu - Ramu Krīḍāyām - one who gives and takes delight in which she is delighted.

·         The word vāmām - is displeased, irritated, peeved, vexed, querulous girl. Even if she were to be so, he can tame her shrewdness and bring her round by going after her.

 

Śhrī Jayadheva Bhaṇithamidham Adbhutha Keśhava Keli Rahasyam|

Vrundhāvana Vipine Charitham Vithanothu Śhubhāni Yaśhasyam ||

 

Yaśhasyam - endowing gloriousness [if sung or danced to its tunes];

Vrundhāvana Vipine - in brindavan, woodlands [what that happens];

lalitham - exquisite [pleasure giver];

Adbhutha - admirable;

Keśhava - krishna’s;

Keli Rahasyam  plays of passion, arcaneness of;

Idham - this;

Jayadheva Bhaṇithamidham - by jayadeva, articulated;

Śhrī - shrii suukti - felicitous lyric,

Śhubhāni Vithanothu - prosperities, let it radiate

 

This song, which endows gloriousness to the devotees of Kriṣhṇa, if sung or danced to its tunes, and which contains the arcane-ness about the exquisite plays of passion of Kriṣhṇa in the equally arcane Vrindhāvan, is articulated by Jayadheva, thus let it radiate prosperities to one and all.