(in achan's narration)
There was a princess. She was a big vidushi. Nobody could defeat her in a duel (of words).
...
Then there was a competition. Whoever defeats her in a duel would marry her. The competition would be word duels between her and another scholar. There we many other vidwans as judges.
...
The competition started, and went on for days. Nobody could defeat the princess. The defeat of all the men scholars turned many vidwans who lost sore.
...
Then they decided that they had to do something. They started looking for something to do. When they were walking around, they saw a man in the forest. He was cutting a branch of a tree - but, he was standing on the branch that he was cutting!
...
The scholars dressed the guy up and took him for the duel!
...
On entering the hall, the guy saw pictures of ravana and his brothers on the wall. He goes "ambambada rabana, kumbhakarna, vibeeshana! (the 'ambambada' could be a translation into malayalam, i don't think kalidasa knew malayalam :-) The princess was not amused - she says 'Fool'! Now the judge vidwans, who were pretty sore with the ever winning princess, catches on. They argue - that kumbakarna and vibeeshana has a 'b' in it, so, may be, the real name of ravana is rabana! At the end of the story, the princess loses, and marries the fool!
...
The fool turns out to have been a shepherd. In sleep, the princess realizes that she has married a shepherd - no scholar - because makes shepherding sounds in his sleep. She throws him out of the palace. She advises him to go to the kali temple and come back as a vidwan
...
The guy goes to the kali temple and sees the door of the sanctum sanctorum open. He gets in and shuts the door
...
Then comes kali, who had gone out of business - she sees her door shut. She asks "who is inside"? Out comes another question "who is outside"? Kali says that it is Kali outside. The guy says "Then it is Kalidasa inside". He tells Kali that he will open the door only if she makes him a vidwan. Kali asks him to show his tounge - he puts his tounge out through the door - and she writes something on his tounge through with her sword! Ooh la la la - The great poet Kalidasa was born!
...
He lives to be one of the biggest poets of the time, adorning the court of king Vikramaditya ...
...
He becomes wasted though, a big womaniser, creating trouble even for the kings and other affluents ...
The king passes an order to execute him. But he goes hiding.
...
Two lines of a sloka is circulated. Whoever completes it must be kalidasa.
kusume kusumolpathi (flower from a flower)
sruethe na cha drishyathe (seen, or heard of?)
...
Kalidasa, who predictably was in the house of a lady, falls in the trap and unknowingly completes the sloka as soon as he hears it. There was a price on his head - dead or alive. The lady kills him and claims the prize.
baale thava mukhambhoje (beauty, from your face)
nethram indeevara dwayam (your eyes ...)
There was a princess. She was a big vidushi. Nobody could defeat her in a duel (of words).
...
Then there was a competition. Whoever defeats her in a duel would marry her. The competition would be word duels between her and another scholar. There we many other vidwans as judges.
...
The competition started, and went on for days. Nobody could defeat the princess. The defeat of all the men scholars turned many vidwans who lost sore.
...
Then they decided that they had to do something. They started looking for something to do. When they were walking around, they saw a man in the forest. He was cutting a branch of a tree - but, he was standing on the branch that he was cutting!
...
The scholars dressed the guy up and took him for the duel!
...
On entering the hall, the guy saw pictures of ravana and his brothers on the wall. He goes "ambambada rabana, kumbhakarna, vibeeshana! (the 'ambambada' could be a translation into malayalam, i don't think kalidasa knew malayalam :-) The princess was not amused - she says 'Fool'! Now the judge vidwans, who were pretty sore with the ever winning princess, catches on. They argue - that kumbakarna and vibeeshana has a 'b' in it, so, may be, the real name of ravana is rabana! At the end of the story, the princess loses, and marries the fool!
...
The fool turns out to have been a shepherd. In sleep, the princess realizes that she has married a shepherd - no scholar - because makes shepherding sounds in his sleep. She throws him out of the palace. She advises him to go to the kali temple and come back as a vidwan
...
The guy goes to the kali temple and sees the door of the sanctum sanctorum open. He gets in and shuts the door
...
Then comes kali, who had gone out of business - she sees her door shut. She asks "who is inside"? Out comes another question "who is outside"? Kali says that it is Kali outside. The guy says "Then it is Kalidasa inside". He tells Kali that he will open the door only if she makes him a vidwan. Kali asks him to show his tounge - he puts his tounge out through the door - and she writes something on his tounge through with her sword! Ooh la la la - The great poet Kalidasa was born!
...
He lives to be one of the biggest poets of the time, adorning the court of king Vikramaditya ...
...
He becomes wasted though, a big womaniser, creating trouble even for the kings and other affluents ...
The king passes an order to execute him. But he goes hiding.
...
Two lines of a sloka is circulated. Whoever completes it must be kalidasa.
kusume kusumolpathi (flower from a flower)
sruethe na cha drishyathe (seen, or heard of?)
...
Kalidasa, who predictably was in the house of a lady, falls in the trap and unknowingly completes the sloka as soon as he hears it. There was a price on his head - dead or alive. The lady kills him and claims the prize.
baale thava mukhambhoje (beauty, from your face)
nethram indeevara dwayam (your eyes ...)
2 comments:
I happened to see your blog. Thank you very much for it gave me the last line of the stanza Kalidasa had uttered last before he was killed ( the legend goes like that) It was in praise of the prostitute with whom he was spending his last days. When ever I tell this story I fall short of in my narration because I have forgotten this last line and can not effectively present the same.
By the way the story was some what different in what I had heard of. and in a nut shell it goes like this.
Kalidas was banished from the kingdom by the king because he drew (as per the instruction of the king in the first place) a naked picture of his favorite queen.Obviously the picture is to be from the imagination only. While drawing he inadvertently put a black mole on the right inner thighs of the picture and retained it in the final outcome because he felt that it is possible for mole to be there naturally as per his judgement; and it was turned out to be true also.
King doubted his integrity and the chastity of the queen and though he was a dear friend, Kalidasa was banished from his kingdom. After a few days some one explained to the king how it is possible to predict such things scientifically. A remorseful king wanted Kalidasa back in his kingdom
When he felt that it was rather difficult to find him out by sending his troops allover he came with another strategy. He coined the first two stanzas of "Kusume...." and announced that whoever complete the remaining two with suitable verse will be rewarded and announced a big prize money too
As in your story the prostitute comes to know about the competition and knowing fully about the proves of Kalidasa who was staying with her veiling his time away drinking heavily,approaches him and recites the first stanzas. Hearing and looking at her beautiful face Kalidasa blurts out spontaneously the other two stanzas. Without knowing the real meaning of the lines this ambitious woman kills kalidasa and takes the poem and offers it as her own creation. But alas the situation when she utters them doesn't carry any meaning at all.
King immediately realizes that this can only be the creation of kalidasa and asks her about his whereabouts. Finally when she was forced she explains the story and what happened to that great poet Kalidasa.
This Riddle story and the Bhoja Raja and Kalidasa episode was told to me and gave it me on a piece of paper by Great Taatha Sri KN Viswanatham, now 102 years old. I have loved this great grand old man, who has some excellent records. Has served in Indian Railways and on his retirement at 58, he joined a private company and served there till he was 95. A great fete
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