Appeasement of Radhika Read online

  Ila provoked him with further thrusts.

  143. ‘The ardent lady

  Continued making love

  Vigorously,

  Like lightning flashing against dark clouds,

  She covered Krishna with her body

  Rigorously.

  144. ‘Like snowflakes dropping from darkened skies,

  Jasmine from her dark tresses rain over him.

  Like nectar dripping from laden flowers,

  Sweat drips from her shining face.

  Like a ripe guava plucked by parrots,

  Her red lips are marked by his teeth.

  Like water blemishes on polished vessels,

  Her breasts are marked by his nails.

  145. ‘Declaring a war of passion

  Engaging in intercourse

  With love, lust and desire

  The lady revelled in the act of love

  With her sweet Murari.

  146. ‘Passionate embraces, fervent embraces,

  Scratching with nails

  Pleading and besieging

  Soft murmurs, satisfied sighs, she urged

  “My Lord! How wonderful. That’s fantastic!

  More, so don’t stop now,”… and such words.

  Oh! What can one say?

  147. ‘Offering great happiness,

  Fulfilling desire through physical love,

  Culminating in Brahmananda,

  Hari gave himself up

  To ecstasy.’

  Thus ends the second chapter of the sringara prabhandam, Radhika Santawanam, written by Muddupalani, well versed in literature, music and dance with the blessings of the young Krishna and her preceptor Tatacharya, and under the tutelage of Raja Pratapsimha of Tanjore, who showered her with pearls, gold, jewellery and other precious gifts.

  Chapter Three

  Ila pleads with Madhava to give up Radhika

  Radha’s growing jealousy of Ila

  Parrot says Krishna is obsessed with Ila

  Radha curses her fate

  Parrot narrates how Ila’s love has transformed Madhava

  Radha’s unbearable anger

  Maids pacify Radha

  Seeking Manmatha’s help

  Maidens console Radha

  Krishna spies the parrot

  Krishna worries, thinking of Radhika

  Brother-in-law taunts Krishna

  Madhava explains his love for Radha

  Krishna ridicules Manmatha

  Maids placate Krishna

  Hail to young Krishna,

  Ruler of women’s hearts

  Lord of kings and giver of boons

  King of the three worlds!

  1. ‘Listen carefully,’ continued Suka, son of Vyasa,

  One who had experienced God.

  Looking at Raja Janaka

  With unsurpassed sweetness

  Spoke these words:

  2. ‘Unrelenting, overwhelmed with desire

  Breasts pushing against her blouse

  Lotus face shining

  Fragrant with perfume and paan

  Enticing and coy,

  Ila pressed herself against his broad chest

  Over and over again.’

  From early childhood, Ila had been jealous of the proximity and hold Radha exercised over Krishna but, very cleverly, had never revealed her feelings.

  Overhearing a conversation between Radha and Madhava, where Krishna dismisses her as being ‘a novice’, Ila bides her time. After the wedding, she uses every trick in the book to make her new husband happy, to the extent that Krishna acknowledges her as his Queen of Love, agreeing in a moment of weakness to even leave Radha.

  3. ‘Making love rigorously

  The lotus-eyed lady prayed fervently

  And at the exact moment of ecstasy

  To her lover and lord saying,

  “My dear lord, promise me true,

  To give up Radhika forever!”

  And Madhava, consumed with bliss,

  Agreed and assured her,

  Rather readily.

  4. ‘Ah, but do promises made by men ever hold good?

  Is there ever any truth in their words?

  Do they keep their commitments?

  My dear doe-eyed damsel,

  It’s only your love

  If only you know

  That will keep growing.’

  5. On hearing the parrot’s words, like swans on hearing the sound of thunder, like deer hearing the roar of tigers, like a parrot at the sound of a cat, like elephants at the roar of lions, her body trembling, heart racing, disturbed and worried, her love for Nandabala’s son causing her endless trouble, Radha swooned and fell in a faint.

  Seeing this, the maids surrounded her, concerned and worried. Wiping sweat off her brow, applying fresh scented water, fanning her, applying cool karpuram, they revived her and advised her that ‘her Krishna could no longer be trusted’.

  6. Well into noon did Radha open her eyes

  Heaving deep sighs, hissing like a snake,

  Nose twitching, her moon-like face flushed with anger,

  Lips quivering like a fresh bud blown by winds

  Eyes red with anger and grief,

  Sorrow personified.

  Tired and distressed,

  She asked her parrot,

  Quiet and in control but

  In a trembling voice:

  7. ‘Did I hear it right?

  Ila said this to him, without fear?

  And that unfeeling Gopala agreed?

  O Rama! Well then, what else transpired?

  Isn’t it enough if they live happily ever after?

  8. ‘Has she forgotten that she learnt

  To sing like the nightingale from me?

  Has she forgotten she learnt to write poetry from me?

  Has she forgotten she learnt to play musical instruments from me?

  Has she forgotten that she even learnt to make love from me?’

  9. ‘Has she forgotten the lashings

  I gave her when she was my pupil?

  Now that she has Murari,

  Has she forgotten everyone and everything?

  10. ‘Yesterday’s little grain is today’s scorpion—

  Is this her motto?

  That little chit of a girl,

  What temerity to go against me!

  Barely out of her infancy,

  It’s like a sparrow challenging a tigress

  As if the very sheep I raised

  Has turned around to strike me.

  11. ‘Just what is her status?

  Who does she think she is?

  If she can talk thus, can’t I do worse?

  A finger may bloat to the size of a sickle

  But if the sickle bloats, how large can it get?

  12. ‘If it bites, it’s a scorpion,

  Else it’s only a kummari bird

  I could happily poke her eyes out with her own finger,

  Had I an option, O parrot!

  13. ‘Like sheep taking on the mountain,

  Like small fish trying to swallow big ones

  Like oxen taking on more burden than they can bear,

  She will pay for this …

  Dearly

  For sure!

  14. ‘Is it enough to recite a few poems?

  Let her attempt elegant kavyas!

  Is it enough to merely strum the veena?

  Can she melt stone with music?

  Is it enough to sing a few ragas?

  Can she compose kritis?

  Is it enough to dance a few steps?

  Let her attempt the nava rasas!

  Is it enough to know the techniques of love?

  Can she understand the depth of his mind?

  Fie! For this amateur,

  He’s ready to forsake me, my little parrot?

  Me?

  15. ‘O! No more talk now

  I can tie that Krishna to my sari

  If I don’t make Souri stop seeing her

  If I don’t cru
sh her pride

  If I don’t crumble her beneath my feet

  If I don’t seek retribution,

  My name is not Radha,’ she vowed.

  16. On hearing this, the parrot objected:

  ‘Dear lady, how can I describe her arrogance?

  She has style and attitude,

  Radiant with happiness,

  Shining with intelligence.

  Listen, she’s now become a part of Krishna …

  17. ‘Her mere glance has intensity

  Her gait unusual grace

  Her manner is especially pleasing

  All newly acquired by our young Ila.

  18. ‘She oozes confidence now,

  No longer has she time

  For the likes of me.

  Like a newly wealthy imbecile,

  Asking for an umbrella at midnight, beautiful Radha!

  19. ‘Did I not warn you my lady,

  Seeing her feigned act of humility and modesty?

  Did I not tell you?

  Did I not advise you,

  To not teach her the arts,

  To not make a lady of her?

  Now that very little girl, she’s become a tiger in a goat’s skin!’

  20. Then the maiden named Madhuravani said:

  21. ‘Dear Radha, but this stealer of hearts,

  If he knows her,

  He knows you too,

  That Damodara,

  He knows himself as well,

  If he stays with her and leaves you

  Won’t people laugh at him?

  22. ‘She’s what she is today because of you

  Now she wants to be rid of you

  What audacity!

  In her own shop, she attempts to set up a second business,

  How callous is that, my dear?

  23. ‘How different was she

  Before she got the Lord’s love,

  And how different is she now!

  It’s like insulting the boatman after crossing the river!

  What seems right at first always ends in sorrow …

  24. ‘But how naïve must she be

  To trust those meaningless words

  Of that wily Krishna!

  How inexperienced must she be

  Not to know the ways of men

  Giving herself to him so completely.

  But wait and think:

  If Krishna were to return to you,

  Where would that leave her?

  So why do you weep over trivia?’

  25. As the maiden continued to talk and advise, chatting around her, offering solace and counsel, Radha gave vent to her emotions:

  26. ‘O! But how can one not weep

  Over him with the twinkling eyes

  His divine sandalwood-laden beauty

  He who defeats a thousand Kamadevas

  How can I not mourn his loss?

  27. ‘Can you blame her?

  O parrot!

  It’s him, the destroyer of demons,

  He’s the one responsible!

  If he offers her the sweetness of honey,

  Should we blame her for taking it?

  28./29. ‘Distracted would Nanda’s son be

  Immersed in his love for me,

  Doing something, his mind elsewhere.

  Maids would tease him, saying.

  “Eyes on the aunt and hands on the shop.”

  30. ‘Everything he knows,

  I taught him!

  “Don’t tell Yashoda,” I would say,

  And we would conspire, giggling in merriment …

  A child was he!

  Now I suffer the consequences

  Of my own deeds.

  31. ‘If I sent a message through my maid,

  He’d follow instructions without a murmur.

  If another demanded his time,

  He’d glare angrily.

  He’d fight anyone for me,

  Without hesitation, O flower-bodied one!

  If I mentioned something in passing,

  He would ignore it at his own peril.

  Whatever he was offered,

  He’d offer it to me first.

  Such injustice and by my own lover

  How can I survive this, O cloud-haired one?

  32. ‘He honoured every word of mine,

  Even irate ones,

  He would coax and cajole and appease me …

  Wasn’t that a display of love?

  33. ‘Afraid that it would come between our bodies,

  He refrained from applying sandalwood paste.

  To avoid any disturbances,

  He did not raise the curtains.

  Afraid they would obstruct an embrace,

  He avoided wearing necklaces.

  Afraid that my thighs would hurt,

  He desisted from wearing anklets.

  Close were we, he and I, like ornaments mingling,

  Like a flower and its perfume,

  Like sesame and oil …

  How, O little one! How could he do this to me?

  34. ‘Despite hearing that a son-in-law can’t be good

  And a Golla cannot be loving,

  I still went ahead and trusted him

  And, as expected,

  I ended up falling into a hole, oh dear!

  35. ‘For one who stole from every home,

  Can excuses be a problem?

  For a bhikshu, seeking bhiksha from house to house,

  Does it matter whether the alms are yoghurt or rice?

  36. ‘The one who would not in his wildest dreams

  Stay apart from me

  Has, for an adolescent girl,

  Deceived me.

  What can I say?

  The love of men is so illusory!’

  37. Looking at the tear-laden lotus eyes of Radha,

  Overwhelmed with pity,

  The parrot said, ‘Don’t you know the antics of the Lord?

  His stories beat those of Bharata!

  38. ‘If his tongue touches her lips sharply,

  He worries it will hurt her.

  If his fingers touch her breasts,

  He worries they will pain.

  If he rests his face on her stomach,

  Will it withstand his weight?

  If he runs his fingers through her hair,

  He worries it may pull.

  Like bees enjoying honey,

  He enjoys her body.

  And afterwards, presses her feet!

  Indeed there are lovers who love and are loved

  But none so considerate as him.

  39. ‘Like a delicate, precious, prized possession,

  He holds her in his arms,

  Not leaving her side for a moment,

  He stands guard, not letting her move.

  40. ‘The lady’s sari becomes his upper garment,

  Her skirt his dhoti.

  Her face is his mirror, her mehendi his tilakam

  Her graceful thighs his pillows, her breasts his cheeks

  Her sweat his scented water, her skin his bath scrub

  Her bedroom his durbar, her glances his world

  What more can one say?

  With Ila, Souri has become a true Lord!

  41. ‘Oh, one more thing, my dear maiden.

  Listen carefully …

  He calls Ila his “Goddess of Love”!

  How he says this is beyond me.

  42. ‘She whispers seductively, “Who’s fairer?”

  She insists on knowing.

  “Tell me, do tell, is it Radha or me?”

  “Equal,” he asserts, “in most things

  But in holding me captive,

  There’s none better than you.”

  43. On hearing this, Radha lamented loudly and cursed her fate:

  44. ‘He who rules the world,

  Shining with glory

  And resides in the hearts of wise men

  He who took on even the mighty Indra

  How did he fall prey to this young girl?
r />   45. ‘Can I blame anyone though?

  For I am my own worst enemy!

  I curse my fate …

  Does anything happen without our involvement?

  46. ‘Like the lizard that chirps

  Portending omens to one and all

  While herself falling into the tub,

  I too have fallen!

  Deceived am I!

  Why talk of others?

  Repenting is foolish.

  47. ‘My love, overlooking limits,

  Made them husband and wife,

  Pleased at seeing them thus.

  Like hosting a feast and later repenting,

  I married them off naïvely.

  48. ‘Like the fox caught in darkness,

  I am but to blame.

  Like the pain in the gut,

  I have wrought this upon myself.

  49. ‘Like an elephant chased

  Thorns piercing its body

  Tumbling on seeing a snake

  Bitten by rats and honeybees

  Subsumed in self-pity,

  I have turned into this crazed woman!

  50. ‘You, I thought, could bring back Devaki’s son

  Dear parrot, I sincerely believed so.

  51. ‘Did no plan occur to you

  To rid Souri of her,

  And bring him back to me?

  O dear! Have I lost my mind?

  Uttering such things …

  It’s all karma, sweet parrot!’

  Hearing this and looking at the beautiful Radha, the shattered parrot thought that she had indeed become pathetic:

  52. ‘Oblivious to everything

  Holding each other in tight embrace

  Pressing against each other

  Lips touching

  Satiated

  Facing each other

  Eating paan from one another’s mouths

  Cheeks ashine

  Touching and adjusting

  Clothes and jewels

  Ensuring that the curtain around the bed remains drawn

  They engage in the eighty-four postures …

  How then could I interrupt?

  How then could I drag Krishna out, O beautiful lady?

  53. ‘Head over heels in love

  Is Hari

  Immersed in her

  Her faithful slave.

  Can we still hold out hope?

  Having thrown the water out,

  You want to retrieve it from the pot.

  How is that possible?’

  54./55. Distraught and sad,

  Lips aquiver, and lurching gait

  Sari slipping, hair dishevelled and face dull

  Desire eating away at her heart

  Voice breaking, eyes swollen and red

  Struck by Manmatha

  Yet intense anger rose in her against Krishna.

  56. Flowers fly as she shook her hair open

  Tying and untying

  Removing her jewellery

  Taking off her girdle

  Rubbing off her kumkum, kajal, sandalwood paste