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CHAPTER FOUR. Pothana’s Method of Translation
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CHAPTER FOUR
Pothana’s Method of Translation
Many of the early compositions in Telugu literature are translations from Sanskrit. Attempts to translate works from other languages into Telugu are being continued from then on to the present day, but the number of original compositions has gradually increased. The method of translation followed by the Telugu poets can be classified under three heads, viz., translation of the story, translation of the ideas und translation of the words. Of these the first, translation of the story, seems to be more independent. The translation of Kavitraya belongs to this category. Those three poets were able to make the Telugu Bharata appear like an original composition, following the story of the original but omitting the portions deemed to be unnecessary, introducing new portions wherever necessary and modifying the portions considered to be improper. The second is translation of the ideas, and Shrinatha’s translation of Naishadha belongs to this category. It is a fact that he left off some shlokas here and there without translating and that he added his own ideas and words in the Telugu verses, where the ideas of the Sanskrit shlokas were not sufficient to fill them up. But such instances are very few in his poem. Though he did not translate each and every word he never left out either the story or the important ideas of the original. Some instances are there where he altered the original ideas for the sake of propriety. His composition is neither too independent nor too true to the original. The third is translation of the words. Many modern Telugu translations appear to belong to this category. The writers translate not only the story and the ideas but also the various words. Their translations follow the Originals very closely.
Pothana belongs to the age of Shrinatha. He was familiar with the method of translation followed by the Kavitraya, as well as by Shrinatha. That is why, perhaps, in his translation of the Bhagavatha we find the above two methods. As the Kavitraya tried to abbreviate or delete portions enunciating rules of conduct, philosophy and morals, their translation has been approximately reduced to half the size of the original. The translation of the Bhagavatha has, on the contrary, become double the original in size. The causes for this enlargement are: (i) that Pothana emotionally added his own ideas to the ideas of the original while translating portions full of devotion and of descriptions dealing with the greatness and the good qualities of God, (ii) that he followed not only the original, but also the commentary of Shridhara, while expatiating on profound philosophical matters. and (iii) that he introduced portions of Vishnu Purana, Harivamsha and Nrisimha Purana also, while describing stories common to all of them.
I. Portions enlarged by Pothana:
“The theme of Nrisimha Purana is nothing but the story of Prahlada. Therefore, while describing the story of Prahlada, Pothana has borrowed some ideas from that Purana also. In the same way, while describing the story pertaining to the killing of Narakasura he borrowed some materials from either Harivamsha or Vishnu Purana and dealt at length with the battle fought by Satyabhama, which is not found in the Sanskrit original. In this context, the Impact of Nachana Somana’s Uttara Harivamsha is quite evident. This is the only portion which Pothana borrowed from other works and introduced in the Bhagavatha, in the Sanskrit Bhagavatha, it is merely stated that Krishna, after hearing the request of Indra, went to pragjyotisha, ruled by Naraka on Garuda, along with his wife. The episode relating to Satyabhama’s fight with Naraka is not mentioned there at all. Pothana described it in great detail. He mentioned that when Krishna was starting to fight with Naraka, Satyabhama implored him to take her along with him, that though Krishna first tried to dissuade her from accompanying him, he ultimately agreed due to her persuasion. In the event she fought bravely with Naraka. The conversation that took place between Krishna and Narakasura also is net there in the original.
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II. Portions enlarged, without borrowing from other works:
1. When Hiranyakashipu took Prahlada on his lap and asked him to let him know what he had learnt from his preceptors, the Sanskrit Bhagavatha states that he informed him that he learnt the nine kinds of Bhakti, shravana etc. from them. Pothana enlarged both the question and the reply in this connection, to a great extent. The famous verse, meaning, “Does the bee engrossed in drinking the sweetness of the honey of the Mandara flowers ever go to the Madana flowers? ”’ is found in this context as a reply to the question put by the preceptors of Prahlada whether the peculiar thoughts about Hari were his own or taught by others. It is entirely Pothana’s innovation.
2. When Brahma and other gods kept silent even after hearing the prayer of Gajendra, Lord Vishnu thought of protecting his devotee from the crocodile. In this context the Sanskrit Bhagavatha says: “‘Hearing the prayer of Gajendra, Vishnu came to the place where he was seated on Garuda. Gajendra saw him and raising his trunk prayed to him uttering the words ‘Salutations to you, Narayana, the protector of all’. Then, while the Gods were seeing the spectacle, Vishnu cut off the neck of the crocodile with his disc and slowly drew Gajendra from the lake with kindness. ” Here Pothana wrote. ten or twelve verses of his own which are sweet and full of devotion. This portion is as elaborate as it is pleasant and indicates the extraordinary devotion of Pothana.
3. The Sanskrit Bhagavatha describes Bali’s invasion, of heaven in 12 shlokas. Pothana enlarged this and wrote a long prose piece, full of verbal figures of speech (Sabdalankayas). This is almost his own, as it contains much that is not found in the original. This prose piece has been given a separate heading, ‘Svarga Varnana Vachana’ (prose describing heaven), in some of the palm-leaf manuscripts.
4. In the story of Vamana, the original says that God Brahma knew that Aditi bore Lord Narayana in her womb and praised him in detail. Pothana here describes the pregnant woman before that praise and this description is very natural and speaks much of Pothana’s skill of description. In the same context, Pothana introduces some verses describing the actions and the words of the delighted Aditi, while the boy Vamana was playing, giving vent to childish utterances. This description also is not found in the original.
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5. Pothana described in detail the peculiar actions and the sportive attitude displayed by Vamana, while he was entering the sacrificial hall of Bali and also the manner with which he blessed Bali raising his hand. The reply that Vamana gave to Bali, when he asked him, “O Brahmachari, Who are you? To whom do you belong? And what do you want? ” is very interesting and meaningful as it contains an inward meaning, suggestive of the omnipotence of Lord Narayana.
6. In the eighth chapter of the tenth skandha of the original are described the childish sports of Krishna and Balarama and also various pranks played by them, as reported by the Gopikas to Yashoda. Pothana enlarged this portion very much and the beautiful Kanda verses written by him in this context describing the childish mischief of the infant Krishna are known to every Andhra.
7. In the 30th chapter of the tenth skandha the Gopikas displayed peculiar actions and gestures, while searching for Krishna, overwhelmed by pangs of separation. In this context, Pothana added many of his own ideas to those of the original and made that part of the Bhagavatha extremely pleasant and interesting.
8. In the original the story of Rukmini’s marriage starts with a description of the desire of all the relations to give her to Krishna while Rukmi, her brother, who hates Krishna, wishes to give her in marriage to Shishupala. In this connection, Pothana wrote four or five verses of his own describing the childhood and the youthful elegance of Rukmini. In the same way, he displayed great propriety by indicating Krishna’s love towards Rukmini. The message sent by Rukmini to Krishna contains Pothana’s original ideas and is among the highlights of the work. The verses of the Brahmin describing the exquisite beauty of Rukmini before Krishna are also Pothana’s own.
In this way there are many portions in the Telugu Bhagavatha which Pothana enlarged, though they are very brief in the original, and where he composed his own verses to make the situation more attractive. The descriptions of Naimisharanya in the beginning and of the descent of the Ganges in the ninth skandha of the Bhagavatha are full of long and high-sounding word-compounds and of figures of speech like slesha and virodhabhasa and speak much of Pothana’s skill at description and scholarship.
III. Portions which follow the commentary of Shridhara:
There are many commentaries on the Bhagavatha written by scholars following the three important schools of religious thought, viz., Advaita, Dvaita and Vishishtadvaita, in conformity with the principles of those religions. Of them Bhagavatha Bhavartha Dipika, written by Shridhara, in accordance with the Advaita principles, is more popular than the others. Pothana translated sentences from that commentary also along with the original where the meaning of the original is obscure. This kind of enlargement is mostly seen in portions which deal with philosophy.
1. When Ashvatthama was running away, pursued by Arjuna in the first skandha, the Sanskrit Bhagavatha says: “Rudra bhayad yatha kah” (like Brahma from fear of Rudra). Shridhara commented upon it in the following way: “Kah = Brahma, Mrigo bhutva sutham yabdhum udyatah san, Rudrabhayad yatha palayathe sma” (As Brahma, becoming a deer and eager to sport with his daughter, ran away from fear of Rudra). Pothana translated the commentary completely.
2. Sanskrit Bhagavatha mentions the Avaranas, the Bhutas, the Asvayanas, the Gunas, etc. only with the numbers as Saptavaranas, Pancha Bhuttas, etc. Pothana gives a detailed account of them, with the help of the commentary.
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3. In the second skandha when Brahma was explaining to Narada the manner of the origin of the world, the Sanskrit Bhagavatha says:
Dravyam karma cha kalascha syabhavo jiva eva cha
Vasudeyat paro hrahman na tvanyartheasti tathyatah. (2-5-14)
The words dravya, karma, kala, syvabhava, etc. are expatiated by Pothana according to the commentary (II. 84).
4. In the former half of the tenth skandha the wives of Kaliya praised Krishna in many shlokas beginning with:
Namo anantaya sukshmaya kutasthaya vipaschite.
Shridhara gave a detailed commentary for the words Ananraya, etc. (Anantaya = Aparichchedat; Atah Sukshmaya = Adrishyatvat). Pothana also expanded the meaning of the above shlokas with the help of the commentary.
IV. There are certain portions where Pothana himself expanded simple words of the original, suggestive of a wider meaning even without the help of the commentary:
1. The following shloka is found in the praise uttered by Kunti in the first skandha:
Vishan mahagneh purushad adarsanat
Asatsabhayah yanayasa krichchratah
Mrithe mrithe aneka maharathastrato
Drounyastrata schasma hare abhirakshitah. (1-8-24)
We have been protected from visha (poison), from fire, from the sight of the demons, from the assembly of gamblers, from the trouble of dwelling in the forest, from the missiles of many warriors in various battles and from the Brahmastra of Ashvatthama.
Pothana expanded every word of this shloka and wrote a shisha verse. The line meaning “you have protected me from dying along with my sons in the house built of lac” is the expansion of the word jatugrihat (from the house built of lac).
2. In the first skandha, Bhishma praised Krishna in many shlokas. The following is one of them:
Svanigama mapahaya inatpratignam
Rita madhikartu mavapluto rathasthah
Dhritarathacharano abhyayachchaladgult
Hari riva hantu mibham gatothariyah. (1-9-37)
That Mukunda is my support who, having abandoned his vow and wishing to make my vow truthful, jumped from the chariot in which he was sitting with the disc in his hand and attacked me while the earth was shaking and while the upper garment was falling down, like a lion trying to kill the elephant.
Pothana left off some of the words of the shloka, added some of his own words and wrote the oft-quoted sisa verse, beginning with Kuppinchi egasina kundalambula kanthi.
V. There are some portions in the original Bhagavatha which Pothana abbreviated but their number is very small when compared with those enlarged by him:
1. In the story of Vamana, where the demons occupied the capital of the gods, they left it to hide themselves somewhere according to the advice given by their preceptor, Brihaspati. Aditi was then grieving for the plight of her sons. Kashyapa went to see her and enquired after her welfare. In this connection, the original describes at length the reply given by Aditi to her husband. Pothana epitomized the whole matter saying that: “The sons of Diti and their children have, without any kindness or affection, driven out my children and are ruling over Amaravati. What can I tell you? ” and requested him to bless her sons.
2. When Kashyapa advised Aditi to worship God and derive benefit from Him, she requested him to let her know the manner and the mantras that should be recited at the time of worship. In this context the original describes the ‘Payobhakshana Vrata’ and the manner of doing it in about 40 shlokas. Pothana left all of them and merely wrote that Kashyapa told his wife about the ‘Vrata’, mantras, and the gifts that had to be made in that connection. He might have abbreviated it, because that portion appeared to him to be very dry on account of the details relating to the performance of the ‘Vrata’.
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3. When Aditi performed the ‘Payobhakshana Vrata’, Lord Vishnu was pleased with her devotion and appeared before her. She praised him and requested him to remove the sufferings of her sons. Vishnu consoled her, saying that he would be born as her son. The Sanskrit Bhagavatha describes all this in eight shlokas. Pothana left off the details and pave only the gist of the shlokas in his translation.
VI. Changes introduced by Pothana for the sake of propriety:
1. In the context where Shuka tells Parikshit that the path of devotion excels the other two paths, the Sanskrit Bhagavatha says that the person who does not touch the dust of the feet of God’s devotees is a living corpse and that the person who does not smell the Tulasi placed on the feet of Lord Vishnu is a breathing corpse. As the similes in both happen to be more or less the same, Pothana translated them in the following way removing repetition. “The hands that are no useful for worshipping Lord Vishnu are the hands of corpse and the nose that does not smell the fragrance of the Tulasi placed on the feet of the Lord is a pig’s nose. ”
2. When Bali was prepared to give three feet of land to Vamana, the original says that Shuka told him, “O fool (mudha), how do you live if you give away everything to Vishnu? ” As the address mudha (fool) seemed to be improper, Pothana left it out.
3. When Bali invaded heaven, he got up the chariot given to him by Bhrigu. In this connection, the original compares him with fire shining in the kunda (pit where the sacrificial fire is enkindled). Pothana changed it and wrote that the king of the demons shone like the wild fire ascending the summit of the mountain. Perhaps, he might have felt that it is not proper to compare a man on the chariot with fire in the kunda. Moreover, his simile indicates the fierceness of his valour in a better way.
VII. When the idea of the Sanskrit shloka is not sufficient to cover the whole Telugu verse, Pothana fills up the remaining portion independently and, in doing so, displays his imagination and sense of propriety. In the portion called the ‘Gopika Gitas’ the Gopikas state, while enumerating the help rendered by Krishna to them: “We were protected by you on several occasions from the ocean of poisonous water, from demons, from storm, from electric fire and from many other calamities. ” Pothana translated the above in the following verse meaning, “Having protected us from poisonous waters, from the demon, from the storm of hail-stones, from fire and from many other dangers, is it proper for you to throw us at the mercy of Cupid, in the end? ” As a matter of fact the idea of the original shloka was completely expressed in the first three feet of the Telugu verse, and therefore Pothana added his own idea to fill up the fourth line, which means, “Do you make us die eventually at the hands of Cupid, bearing flowery arrows, having protected us from several fierce calamities? ” This idea is not. only beautiful but also meaningful and adds grace to the original. In the same way, We come across certain verses in the Telugu Bhagavatha, where the last lines or the latter halves are filled up by Pothana with his own ideas, without spoiling the sense of the original.
VIII. Portions where Pothana’s translation is true to the original:
We need not assume from the examples given above that Pothana enlarged, abbreviated or modified the original everywhere. There are several portions, where his translation is quite close to the original like that of Shrinatha, his elder contemporary. The following can be cited as examples:
1. Shriyahpathi ryagnapathih prajapathih
Dhiyampathi rlokapathir dharapathih
Pathir gathi schandhakavrishnisatvatam
Prasidatam me bhagavan satam gathih. (2-4-20)
I worship that skillful God, who is the Lord of Shri (Lakshmi), the Lord of sacrifices, the Lord of the people, the Lord of intellect, the Lord of the worlds, the Lord of the earth, and the Lord of the Yadavas, and also who is my refuge. (2-65. )
2. Yatha bhramyatyayo brahman
Svaya makarsha sannidhau
Tatha me bhidyate chetah
Chakrapaner yadrichchaya. (7-5-14)
Oh, best of Brahmins, my mind melts and providentially whirls round Hrishikesha as iron whirls or staggers in the presence of a magnet. (7-141)
Pothana translated the simile of the original with skill and propriety.
IX. Portions which do not conform to the original:
Here and there in the Telugu Bhagavatha we find some verses or portions, which Pothana wrote differently from the original, cither intentionally or by mistake.
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1. Yaethena puiman nityam
Stan stotrena mam bhajeth
Tasyanvaham prasideyam
Sarvakanavaresvarah (3-9-40)
I shall be always pleased with and fulfil all the desires of that person who serves me praising me with this stotra.
Shridhara gave the meaning “giving all desires’’ to the compound Sarvakamavareshvarah of the original. Pothana translated this as ‘“‘having obtained all desires’? (Avapta stkala kamudanaguchun) and this does not agree with the original.
2. Vayam vratair yachcharanapaviddham
Asasmahe ajam batha bhukta bhogam. (3-14-26)
The compound Charanapavidham has been commented upon by Shridhara as “thrown at a distance by the feet as Nirmalya” (remaining of the offerings made to God). Pothana translated this as “having been born of the feet” and this translation does not conform to the original.
3. Manasas chandrama jato
Buddhir buddher girampatih
Ahamkaras tyvato rudrah
Cittam chaityas tato abhayat. (3-26-63)
Manas has been born of Hridaya, Chandra and Buddhi have been born of Mayas. Girampathi has been born of Buddhi. Rudra and Chitra have been born of Ahamkara and Kshetragna of Chitta.
According to Pothana’s translation, Brahma and Kshetragna have been born of Chitta.
4. Chalatyasakto api nirasramodake. (3-30-22)
In this the compound Nirasramodake (in which there is no Water or resting place) is an adjective to faptavaluke pathi (in the way where the sand is hot). Pothana translated this as “swimming and floating in the water which has no support” and this differs from the original.
Some such differences have arisen by mistake or On account of variant readings. If we can set them aside, which are quite negligible in number, Pothana’s translation is, On the whole, sweet and pleasant and gives extreme delight to readers both scholarly and otherwise.
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