Birds, Flowers and Trees

The following birds, flowers and trees are mentioned in the text in the connection indicated:

Birds

Cātaka: a kind of cuckoo, perhaps Luculus melanoleucus,—said to drink only drops of water as they fall from the clouds.

Cakravāka: Anas casarca,—pairs are said to sleep apart at night.

Crow: kāka, bāyasa, Corvus splendens,—messenger of separated lovers: also (LXXIII) an eater of leavings.

Garuḍa: a mythical bird, usually represented with a parrot’s head and partly human body: the vehicle of Vishnu and the enemy of all serpents.

Koil or kokila: parabṛtaka, Indian cuckoo, Eudynamys honorata,—its cry is kuhu, kuhu, delightful to united, and distressing to divided, lovers. Its ‘pancam-note’ is the ‘dominant’ of Nature’s chorus.

Parrot: kīra,—“Parrot noses are invariably associated with heroes and great men, while, among female figures they are to be seen only in images of Sakti.” (A. N. Tagore, loc. cit.).

Partridge: cakora, Perdrix rufa,—said to feed on the rays of the moon.

‘Peewit’: pāpihā, the hawk-cuckoo, Hieroccyx varius,—its cry is piu, piu, ‘Beloved, Beloved.’

Peacock: mayūra, Pavo cristatus,—delights in rain.

Wagtail: khañjana, Montacilla alba,—restless movement.

Flowers and Trees

Ashoka: Jonesia asoka,—herald of Spring.

Bandhūka: Pentapetes phœnicia (or Leucas linifolia?)

Betel: pān, tāmbūla, Piper betle,—leaves used for chewing.

Bimba: Momordica monadelpha (or coccinia?),—bright red fruit.

Gañja: Abrus precatorius, seeds used as jeweller’s weights.

Honey-apple: bel, shrīphala, ‘Bengal quince,’ Aegle marmelos,—large round fruit.

Jasmine: several varieties are mentioned, as cameli, Arabian jasmine J. sambac; campak, Michelia champaka; mālatī, clove-scented jasmine, Aganosma caryophyllata (or perhaps J. grandiflorum); kunda, Indian jasmine, J. pubescens,—all mentioned for their scent.

Jujube: badarī, Zizyphus jujuba,—small round fruits.

Kadamba: Anthocephalus cadamba,—the haunt of Krishna.

Keshara: safflower, Crocus sativa,—a herald of Spring.

Kimshuk: Butea frondosa,—tree with beautiful flowers, a herald of Spring.

Labanga-vine: labaṅga-latā, Limonia scandens,—a herald of Spring.

Lotus and water-lily: many varieties are mentioned, as aravinda, and kamala which are day-flowering, and kubalaya and kumudini, which flower at night. We have used the names ‘lotus’ and ‘water-lily’ indifferently for all varieties.

Mādhavi: Gaertnera racemosa,—herald of Spring.

Mango: Mangifera indica,—tender shoots and herald of Spring.

Orange: naraṅga, Citrus aurantum,—round fruits.

Pātal: trumpet-flower, Bignonia suaveolens,—herald of Spring.

Pital: a yellow flower not identified.

Plantain: kerā, Musa paradisaica,—smooth straight stem.

Pomegranate, granate: dāṛima, Punica granatum,—white smooth seeds.

Shālmalī: silk-cotton tree, Salmaria malabarica,—the thorns are used in the tortures of hell.

Sandal: candana, Santalum album,—which affords a fragrant powder for the body, much appreciated, and hence stands for the best of anything.

Screw-pine: ketakī, Pandanus odoratissimus,—fragrance.

Shirīsh: Acacia sirissa,—tenderness.

Tamāl: Garcinia zanthochymus,—straight stem, dark leaves (the colour of Krishna).

Tāla: palmyra, Borassus flabelliformis,—round fruits.

Note

One and the same lyrical tradition is the common inheritance of all Hindustan; it finds expression now in poetry, now in music, and now in painting. Hence it is that the schools of painting, though they are local, illustrate all the ideas of the Vaishnava poets as directly as the songs themselves. Amongst Rājput paintings it would perhaps be possible to find an appropriate illustration to every line of Vidyāpati, or of any other Vaishnava singer; not that Vidyāpati was known to the western painters, but their and his experience was the same. Just as the Vaishnava songs are word-painted miniatures, rather than narative, so with the Rājasthānī and still more with the Pahāri Rājput paintings; these are likewise musical delineations of brief moments of the soul’s history. It is hoped that the reproductions given here will help to actualise the meaning of Vidyāpati’s words, for those who are unfamiliar with the Vaishnava tradition.

Facing page 19: A Pahārī (Kāngrā) painting of the early XIXth century, representing a girl bathing.

Facing page 27: A Pahārī (Kāngrā?) painting, of the earlier part of the XVIIIth century, representing Krishna with his flute, beneath a kadamba tree, and beside him are two milk-maids with offerings of curd and betel.

Facing page 33: This is the only one of our eleven illustrations which is not absolutely appropriate to the text. It is taken from an MS of Keśava Dāsa’s Rasikapriyā, and represents the ‘Clandestine Meeting’ (Pracchanna samyoga). It is, however, Mughal in style, notwithstanding its Hindū subject; and while in a general way it illustrates the quoted text, its sentiment is more secular and realistic, and a further objection appears in the fact that the text implies a night and indoor environment.

Facing page 43: A Pahārī (Kāngrā) painting of the late XVIIIth century, representing a dutikā leading Rādhā (or any heroine) across a starlit courtyard to her lover’s house.

Original in the collection of Babu Gogonendronath Tagore.

Facing page 71: A Pahārī (Kāngrā) painting of the late XVIIIth century representing Krishna and Rādhā seated on a bed of plaintain leaves in a flowery grove.