Vidyapati - As the mirror to my hand

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As the mirror to my hand

By Vidyapati(1340? - 1430)

English version by Edward C. Dimock, Jr. and Denise Levertov

As the mirror to my hand,the flowers to my hair,kohl to my eyes,tambul to my mouth,musk to my breast,necklace to my throat,ecstasy to my flesh,heart to my home --as wing to bird,water to fish,life to the living --so you to me.But tell me,Madhava, beloved,who are you?Who are you really?Vidyapati says, they are one another.

 

 

 

 

 

 

-- from In Praise of Krishna: Songs from the Bengali, Translated by Edward C. Dimock, Jr. / Translated by Denise Levertov

Amazon.com / Photo by mikebaird /

 

 

 

 

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Thought for the Day:

Sometimes we need to make a journeyto recognize our home.

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Hi Alan -A belated Valentine's poem by one of India's great bhakti poets, Vidyapati...Vidyapati here is writing from the perspective of Radha who is yearning for her beloved Krishna (Madhava). But, as I've pointed out before, this relationship plays out on two levels simultaneously. On the deeper level, it is a metaphor of spiritual union with the Divine. Krishna is understood to be an embodiment of God, and Radha is the individual soul who has yielded to the love of God.So when Radha enumerates their many intimate connections, finally declaring, "as wing to bird, / water to fish, / life to the living -- / so you to me..." the ardent soul is finally acknowledging that it is the Divine Beloved which is her true nature. The soul sees that, at its core, it is inseparable from God. To then ask, "Who are you really?" is to seek to understand the fundamental nature of

being.Vidyapati's signature line sums it up so beautifully: "They are one another." Lover and Beloved ultimately melt into each other until there is no separation. The soul and God are finally recognized to be of the same essence.IvanA note about mistakes, misspellings, and type-osEvery once in a while I'll have a mistake in a poem. If you notice one, please never hesitate to let me know. I always want to honor the poems as best as I can. As to mistakes in my notes and commentaries -- as in the couple of "it's" that should have been "its" in Friday's message -- well, that's frustrating to me when I notice them only after I've sent the emails out. I like to tell myself those imperfections add to the charm of the emails, letting you know it's (not "its") a real person sending out these emails, a person who is sometimes so enthusiastic for the material that he doesn't always reread his own notes carefully

before hitting the Send button. Do you think I can make the argument that those errors are intentional?

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Ivan M. Granger's original poetry, stories and commentaries are 2002 - 2008 by Ivan M. Granger.All other material is copyrighted by the respective authors, translators and/or publishers.

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