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PĀLI, DHANYA AND CĂRUKEŚİ
(Three of the earliest mentioned Kțsna's sweethearts)
H. C. Bhayani
In the later Krsna-bhakti tradition, we increasingly come across the names of gopis like Višākhā, Lalitā, Candrāvali and several more, some of whom were also Kțşņa's favourites besides Rādhā. In the late puranic literature represented by the considerably later sections of the works like the Padma purāņi, and the Gargasaṁhitā, the name-list has been considerably extended the problem is to locate and date the beginning of the tradition of naming Rādhā's companions who occasionally and intermittently shared Kțşña's loving attention, and as such started figuring in the erotic and religious poetry. Abandoning for the moment Višākhā and Candrāvali, who also seem to be among the names to appear early in literature, I present here the information I could gather about three gopis, each of whom figures in poetry as Rādha's rival. The sources are not later (some may be even earlier) than the 9th-10th century A. D. The names of the three gopis were Pāli, Dhanyā and Cārukesi. Different poets have described Kșsņa as enjoying in the company of one of them, in temporary disregard of Rädhā.
Pāli, Palika/Pālitā, Pālitaka
The earlist milkmaid known from the poetic tradition as Rādhā's rival for Krsna's love is variously called Pāli, Pālikā/Pālitā (Pk. Pāliyā) or Pālitaka. From the references or citations made by four writers we gather that several poetic works in Apabhramsa, Prakrit and Sanskrit, assignable roughly to the period between the eighth and tenth century A. D., contained episodes involving Krşņa, Rādhā and Pali.
The sources of this information are discussed below : 1. Govinda's Apabhraíša poem on Krşņa.carita (Not later than the latter
half of the 9th century A. D.).
Several verses from this lost work are cited by Svayambhū (latter half of the 9th cent.) in his Svayambhūcchandas (SC.). The citation given under SC. IV 11 as an illustration of the Bahurūpā variety of the Apabhramśa metre called Mātrā is as follows:
देइ पाली थणहं पब्भारें तोडेप्पिणु णलिणिदलु, हरि-विओअ-सतावें तत्ती । फलु अण्णेहिं पावि(य)उ, करउ दइउ जं किंपि रुच्चइ ।।
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Pāli, Dhanyā and Cāruke šī
81
Pāli, burning with pain due to separation from Hari, plucks a lotus leaf and places it on the slope of her breasts. The poor fool (?) got her due ! Let the fate (now) do whatever it choses to.'
Like Velankar, I also earlier interpreted Pāli. as gopālikā i. e. a gopi in general. But in the light of the occurrences noted below, I now take it to be a personal name. We must note that another verse from the same poem (SC. IV 10.2) describes Rādhā as Hari's most favourite Gopi and several other verses of Govinda (SC. IV 9.1., 9.3, 9.4) depict the mood of a love-lorn girl.1
2. Bhejjala's Rādha-vipralambha (prior to the 11th cent. A. D.).
Rāsakāńka was one of the types of uparūpakas described, discussed or referred to by several Sanskrit dramaturgists and other writers. Bhoja and Abhinavagupta knew of an actual instance of Rāsakāňka,namely the Rādhā-vipralambha, composed by Bhejjala. They refer to a few incidents and characters in that dramatic work and also give a few citations from it. Besides Krsna as the hero, Candrāyaṇa as the Vidūşaka and Rādhā as the heroine, the play had one more female character named Pālitakā, who was one of Kțşņa's paramours and Rādhā's rival. Kțşņa is depicted as once favouring Palitakā on a moon-lit night, which makes the pining Rādhā go out in search of Kșşņa.3 Abhinavagupta, too, mentions Pālitakā.
Jayavallabha's anthology of Prakrit subhāşitas has sixteen verses in its section on Kșsņa (vv. 590-605), which are partinent to our purpose, because there are several references to 'Kșşņa's other sweethearts besides Rādhā, The very first verse in that section is as follows:
"A TTE:" "Efent fa mp" "mat af !" "f TET!" इय बालियाइ भणिए विलक्खहसिरं हरि नमह.
(Vajjallaga 590). Patwardhan thus translates it : "Oh Rādhā, is it all right, with you? 'O Kamsa, are you happy? Where is Kamsa ?' •Where is Rādhā (either) ? When the young damsel had said thus, Hari (Krsna) smiled with embarrassment. Pay your homage to him!'
The text reads afate (Sk. allfil) in the second line of the verse, and Ratnesvara's Sanskrit commentary explains the word as कयाचन and काचन गोपबालिका.
I think, however, the afoute was not the original, genuine reading. Through scribal error or misunderstanding the original पालियाइ was changed to बालियाइ. In that case this becomes a dialogue between Kșşņa and his particular paramour named Pālikā, and not between Kșşņa and some unspecified Gopi.
This view finds support from the Sanskrit version or translation of the above Gāthä сited in Bhoja's Sarasvatikanthābharaṇa (SK.), discussed hereunder.
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H. C. Bhayani
4. While treating the figure of sound called Vākovākya, Bhoja has cited in
SK. the following verse as an illustration of Naimittiki Vaiyātyokti, which is one of the several sub-varieties of the Vakovākya : TE TE ? feat fa ai ? : 4T ? T AT TIET? 1 इति पारी-प्रतिवचनविलक्ष-हासौ हरिर्जयति ।।
(Under TractUST HOT, 2, 132)
All the editions of SK. read qrêt in the second line. But qrit milking pot' cannot fit here. Obviously it is a corruption of qm. Accordingly the artesang in the above-cited Vaijālagga verse is to be emended as fug.
In this context it is also significant that the verse राधामोहन मन्दिरादुपगतश्चन्द्रावलीfara etc. which is found in some of the Northern mss. of Bilvamangala's Krsnakarnāmsta and which is just an elaboration of the Vajjalagga verse, has Candrávali (instead of Pāli), and not a certain (nameless) gopi as one of the interlocutors.
5. An anonymous verse cited by Bhoja in the Śrngāraprakāśa (first half
of the 11th cent. A. D.) As an illustration of the type of Nayaka who is Dhiralalita, Sadhāraņa, Satha and Uttama, Bhoja has cited in the Srngāraprakāśa the following verse :
निर्मग्नेन मयाऽम्भसि स्मस्मरात् पाली समालिङ्गिता केनालीकमिदं तवाधकथितं राधे मधा ताम्य सि । इत्युत्स्वप्न-परम्परासु शयनै श्रुत्वा गिरं शाङ्गिणः सव्याजं शिथिलीकृतः कमलया कण्ठग्रहः पातु वः ॥
(ŚP., p. 600) “Who give you today the false report that while diving in water, I fired by passion, gave an embrace to Pāli ? Rādhā, you are unnecessarily distressed" :Hearing in the bed these words uttered by Sārngin in sleep, Kamalā meaningfully loosened her clasp on his neck. May that protect you'.
In this instance too the rivalry between Rādhā and Pāli is clearly explicit.
Dhanya, Dhanikā
1. In three of the four verses in the Kaņha-vajjā (Kțşņa-paryāya) of the Vajjālagga which relate to Kțsna's sweetheart called Visakhā, 4 the word visāhiyā, a diminutive form of visāhā (Sk. Visakha) is used with double intenfre. One of these verses is as follows:
किसिओ-सि कोस केसव ? किन कओ धन्न-संगहो मूढ ? । कत्तो मण-परिओसो विसाहियं भुजमाणस्स ? ॥
(Vajjālagga, 600)
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Pāli, Dhanya and Cărukesi
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'Oh Keśava, why have you become emaciated ? O fool, why did you not store food-grains? How can one get mental satisfaction, feeding himself (just) on whatever he obtains ? (or, on what is highly poisonous ?)'. Alternatively, 'O fool, why did you not stick to Dhanyā ? Is it ever possible for one enjoying himself in the company of Visakhā to get real satisfaction ?' Pk. dhanna (Sk. dhanyā) is understood by Patwardhan as beautiful women'. But like Višākha, Dhanyā here is the personal name of a particular gopi who once enjoyed Krsna's favour. This interpretation finds support from two verses cited in the Srågāraprakāśa.
2. The following verse is cited twice in the śrngāraprakāśa. Once it is cited as an illustration of Samākhyābhidhaniki Vyapekṣā wherein the signification of a designation is brought out by means of a sentence. At another place it is cited as an illustration of a designation that is construed meaningfully to convey the relationship of love :
सच्चं धण्णा धण्णा, जा तइया केसवेण गिरि-धरणे । गुरु-भार-वावडेण वि, उज्जुअ-अच्छं चिरं दिट्ठा ॥
Sủngāraprakāśa, pp. 269, 888
'Dhanyā is indeed dhanyā (blessed), who was looked at directly and lingeringly by Keśava, even when he was weighed down with a heavy load due to holding the mountain (i. e. Govardhana) aloft'.
3. The following verse is cited by Bhoja as an illustration of the type of Nayaka who is Dhiralalita, Sādhāraṇa and Madhyama.
दूरे गोकुलनाथ गोकुलमितस्संचार-शून्या दिशस्त्यक्त्वा मां धनिकादयो पि हि गता भारातिखेदालसाः । विस्तीर्णा वनराजिकेयमपरा जाता पुरो निर्गमात । खिन्नाऽस्मि प्रतिपालयेत्यभिहितो गोप्या हरिः पातु वः ॥
(ŠP., p. 611)
"Oh Lord of Gokula, Gokula is far away from here. Dhanikā and other (companions), feeling exhausted and languid under their load have gone away already, leaving me alone. This vast woodland has become strange to me (as it were), before I can get out of it (?) and I am (extremely) tired. Please protect me. May Hari, addressed thus by the Gopi, protect you'.
Here Dhanikā is the name of one of the gopis. It is quite close to Dhaņņā (Sk. Dhanya) of the Vajjālagga verse. Cīrukesi
As an illustration of the Dhiroddhatāsādhāraņa-dhộsta type of hero, Bhoja has cited in ŚP. the following verse.
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H. C. Bhayani
"शौरे कस्माद् विधत्तै दशनपदमिदं चारुकेश्याहितं ते " चारुत्वं कीदृगस्य श्रित- पशु-वपुषा केशिना निर्मितस्य ?" । "नैवं घृष्ट ब्रवीमि व्रजयुवतिमहं" "बाढमेष व्रजामी--" त्येवं गोप्याऽवताद् वः क्ष (कं ? ) पट-धरण-प्रीणितः कैटभारिः ॥
(ŚP. p. 602)
O Sauri, why do you display this tooth-mark impressed on you (i.e. on your lip) by Carukeši (Carukeli-ahitam)' ?
'How can it be beautiful (caru), produced as it is by Kesin (kei), who had assumed the bodily form of a beast ?"
'You brazenly unfaithful! I don't mean that. I am talking of the milkmaid (vraja.yuvatim)'.
'Very well, here I am wooing (vrajami) a young girl".
May the enemy of Kaitabha, thus resorting to chicanery, and delighted by the milkmaid (?) protect you".
The Gopi of this dialogue is possibly Radha, who creates a scene with Kṛṣṇa, who has just returned after spending a night with Cärukeši. Krṣṇa tries to save. himself by resorting to Ślesa on the words Carukesyahitam and vrajayuvatim used by Radha. We can campare with this the Kṛṣṇakarṇāmṛtaa verse (rādha-mohanmandirad etc.) referred to above.
A closely similar repestee between Kṛṣṇa and one of his sweethearts is instanced by the verse vasaḥ samprati kesava kvabhavato etc, cited on p. 607 cf ŚP.).
References
Bhoja Sarasvatikanthābharaña, ed. K. Mishra, 1976. Srigaraprakasa, ed. G. R. Josyer, 1955.
Bilvamangala: Kranakarṇāmpta, ed. F. Wilson, 1975. Jayavallabha Vajjalagga, ed. M. V. PatTardhan, 1969. Bhoja's Spigaraprkasa, 1963.
V. Raghavan
Svayambhu Svayambhücchanda), ed. by H. D. Velankar, 1962.
Footnotes
1.
I have slightly emended Velankar's text orthographically, and my translation differs from his in several points.
2. See V. Raghavan, Bhojas Śrngaraprakāka, (1963), pp. 567, 887-891, where the references and citations are noted and their implications are fully brought out. G. R. Josyer's edition of the Srigaraprakäia silently omits the Prakrit passage given by Raghavan.
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________________ 85 3. Pali, Dhanya and Caruketi An anonymous verse given in Jayavallabha's Vajjalagga (possibly about the 10th cent. A. D.). Raghavan, ibid., p.890 : Farrafa 7751819Ear f4994fHTEIT TIET, 17 qfaat 3. TAPI (= Srgaraprakasa, text, p. 491, 11. 4-5). These are the earliest known verses referring to Visakha, who is known in the Kssna-carita tradition as one of the gopis, which are mentioned as Kssna's favourites and Radhas friends and rivals. The Patala-khanda of the Padma-purana (ch. 70, vv. 4-7) gives the following list (which includes Dhanya) of the light main beloveds of Klsna : Radhika, Lalita, Syamala, Dhanya, Haripriya Visakha, Podma and Candravati