When Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu asked him to explain the meaning of this verse, the champion, very much astonished, inquired from Him as follows. (42) “I recited all the verses like the blowing wind. How could You completely learn by heart even one among those verses?” (43) The Lord replied, “By the grace of the Lord someone may become a great poet, and similarly by His grace someone else may become a great śruti- dhara who can memorize anything immediately.” (44)
Satisfied by the statement of Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu, the brāhmaṇa [Keśava Kāśmīrī] explained the quoted verse. Then the Lord said, “Now kindly explain the special qualities and faults in the verse.” (45) The brāhmaṇa replied, “There is not a tinge of fault in that verse. Rather, it has the good qualities of similes and alliteration.” (46) The Lord said, “My dear sir, I may say something to you if you will not become angry. Can you explain the faults in this verse? (47) “There is no doubt that your poetry is full of ingenuity, and certainly it has satisfied the Supreme Lord. Yet if we scrutinizingly consider it we can find both good qualities and faults.” (48)
The Lord concluded, “Now, therefore, let us carefully scrutinize this verse.” The poet replied, “Yes, the verse You have recited is perfectly correct. (49) “You are an ordinary student of grammar. What do You know about literary embellishments? You cannot review this poetry because You do not know anything about it.” (50) Taking a humble position, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu said, “Because I am not on your level, I have asked you to teach Me by explaining the faults and good qualities in your poetry. (51)
“Certainly I have not studied the art of literary embellishments. But I have heard about it from higher circles, and thus I can review this verse and find in it many faults and many good qualities.” (52) The poet said, “All right, let me see what good qualities and faults You have found.” The Lord replied, “Let Me speak, and please hear Me without becoming angry. (53) “My dear sir, in this verse there are five faults and five literary ornaments. I shall state them one after another. Kindly hear Me and then give your judgment. (54)”In this verse the fault of avimṛṣṭa- vidheyāṁśa occurs twice, and the faults of viruddha- mati, bhagna- krama and punar- ātta occur once each. (55)
“The glorification of the Ganges [mahattvaṁ gaṅgāyāḥ] is the principal unknown subject matter in this verse, and the known subject matter is indicated by the word ‘idam,’ which has been placed after the unknown. (56) “Because you have placed the known subject at the end and that which is unknown at the beginning, the composition is faulty, and the meaning of the words has become doubtful. (57) “‘Without first mentioning what is known, one should not introduce the unknown, for that which has no solid basis can never be established anywhere.’ (58) “In the word ‘dvitīya- śrī- lakṣmī’ [‘a second all- opulent goddess of fortune’], the quality of being a second Lakṣmī is the unknown. In making this compound word, the meaning became secondary and the originally intended meaning was lost. (59)
“Because the word ‘dvitīya’ [‘second’] is the unknown, in its combination in this compound word the intended meaning of equality with Lakṣmī is lost. (60) “Not only is there the fault avimṛṣṭa- vidheyāṁśa, but there is also another fault, which I shall point out to you. Kindly hear Me with great attention. (61) “Here is another great fault. You have arranged the word ‘bhavānī- bhartṛ’ to your great satisfaction, but this betrays the fault of contradiction. (62) “The word ‘bhavānī’ means ‘the wife of Lord Śiva.’ But when we mention her husband, one might conclude that she has another husband. (63) “It is contradictory to hear that Lord Śiva’s wife has another husband. The use of such words in literature creates the fault called viruddha- mati- kṛt. (64)
“If someone says, ‘Place this charity in the hand of the husband of the wife of the brāhmaṇa,’ when we hear these contradictory words we immediately understand that the brāhmaṇa’s wife has another husband. (65) “The statement by the word ‘vibhavati’ [‘flourishes’] is complete. Qualifying it with the adjective ‘adbhuta- guṇā’ [‘wonderful qualities’] creates the fault of redundancy. (66) “There is extraordinary alliteration in three lines of the verse, but in one line there is no such alliteration. This is the fault of deviation. (67) “Although there are five literary ornaments decorating this verse, the entire verse has been spoiled by these five most faulty presentations. (68) “If there are ten literary ornaments in a verse but even one faulty expression, the entire verse is nullified. (69)
“One’s beautiful body may be decorated with jewels, but one spot of white leprosy makes the entire body abominable. (70) “‘As one’s body, although well- decorated with ornaments, is made unfortunate by even one spot of white leprosy, so an entire poem is made useless by a fault, despite alliteration, similes and metaphors.’ (71) “Now hear the description of the five literary embellishments. There are two ornaments of sound and three ornaments of meaning. (72) “There is a sound ornament of alliteration in three lines. And in the combination of the words ‘śrī’ and ‘lakṣmī’ there is the ornament of a tinge of redundancy. (73) “In the arrangement of the first line the letter ‘ta’ occurs five times, and the arrangement of the third line repeats the letter ‘ra’ five times. (74) “In the fourth line the letter ‘bha’ occurs four times. This arrangement of alliteration is a pleasing ornamental use of sounds. (75)
“Although the words ‘śrī’ and ‘lakṣmī’ convey the same meaning and are therefore almost redundant, they are nevertheless not redundant. (76) “Describing Lakṣmī as possessed of śrī [opulence] offers a difference in meaning with a tinge of repetition. This is the second ornamental use of words. (77) “The use of the words ‘lakṣmīr iva’ [‘like Lakṣmī’] manifests the ornament of meaning called upamā [analogy]. There is also the further ornament of meaning called virodhābhāsa, or a contrctory indication. (78) “Everyone knows that lotus flowers grow in the water of the Ganges. But to say that the Ganges takes birth from a lotus flower seems extremely contradictory. (79) “The existence of mother Ganges begins from the lotus feet of the Lord. Although this statement that water comes from a lotus flower is a contradiction, in connection with Lord Viṣṇu it is a great wonder. (80)
“In this birth of the Ganges by the inconceivable potency of the Lord, there is no contradiction although it appears contradictory. (81) “‘Everyone knows that lotus flowers grow in the water but water never grows from a lotus. All such contradictions, however, are wonderfully possible in Kṛṣṇa: the great river Ganges has grown from His lotus feet.’ (82) “The real glory of mother Ganges is that she has grown from the lotus feet of Lord Viṣṇu. Such a hypothesis is another ornament, called anumāna. (83) “I have simply discussed the five gross faults and five literary embellishments of this verse, but if we consider it in fine detail we will find unlimited faults. (84) “You have achieved poetic imagination and ingenuity by the grace of your worshipable demigod. But poetry not well reviewed is certainly subject to criticism. (85) “Poetic skill used with due consideration is very pure, and with metaphors and analogies it is dazzling.” (86)
Deepen your Bhakti-yoga practice, harmonize relationships, and receive guided coaching — all at Vedavarsity.com
