Expressions of joy

The blossoming of the Indian lotus (Nelumbo nucifera) at daybreak, that of the hairy water-lily (Nymphaea pubescens) after sunset, and the rapturous dance of a peacock with its beautiful plumage fanned out as the first monsoon clouds sweep across the sky are popular tropes in Sanskrit literature. In fact, they have been resorted to by so many authors for well over two millennia and so many times by each author that the presence of at least one – and sometimes all three – of them in any literary work that describes mirth and merriment, usually at the occurrence of a highly anticipated event, hardly deserves a comment. The unnamed composer of the following couplet, however, has used all these clichés together in a refreshingly unique way to express their feelings about an important professional group. 

Devanagari text:

दृष्टे रवौ सरसिजं कुमुदं हिमांशौ नीलाम्बुवाहनिबिडे गगने शिखण्डी|
प्रायस्तथा न हि वहन्ति विकासलक्ष्मीं व्याधौ यथा धनवतो भिषजां मुखानि||

Harvard-Kyoto transliteration:

dRSTe ravau sarasijaM kumudaM himAMzau nIlAmbuvAhanibiDe gagane zikhaNDI|
prAyastathA na hi vahanti vikAsalakSmIM vyAdhau yathA dhanavato bhiSajAM mukhAni||

– Anonymous

Loose translation: The lotus unfurls in all its glory¹ whenever the Sun is seen; so do the water-lily when the Moon rises, and the peacock when the sky is densely overcast with dark clouds. But, more often than not, all of the above pale in comparison to the beaming faces of physicians when a rich man falls ill.

Source: Suktimuktaavali (सूक्तिमुक्तावली), literally "a pearl-necklace of splendid utterances", an anthology of Sanskrit poetry, compiled in 1257 CE and attributed to one Bhagadatta Jalhana Deva (भगदत्तजल्हणदेव). However, it is believed that the compilation was actually accomplished by the scholar Vaidya Bhaanu (वैद्यभानु) or Bhaskara (भास्कर) at the behest of Jalhana, minister to King Krishna of the Yadava dynasty of Devagiri that ruled a large part of peninsular India for nearly five centuries.

So the anthologist who decided to include this doctor joke in his compendium was himself a member of the physician caste (Vaidya), and presumably one that could take a joke really well. But what is truly amazing is that, even in the 13th century (or earlier), there were people as trusting and respectful of the healthcare system as some of my friends and family today!

1 The expression that the poet uses to describe these outbursts of joy is वहन्ति विकासलक्ष्मीं which literally translates to "they carry the beauty of blossoming." Yes, it does not translate very well.↩