Professional eaters 2

Feel free to check these (1, 2) out for some background on today's couplet.

Devanagari text:

अग्र्यो भुक्तिमतां प्रयोगसमये मन्त्रेषु पृष्ठं गतः
पाकागारगतस्तु पाचकमनस्तोषाय वाचस्पतिः|
उच्चायां निरतो रतोऽर्भकगणे पिण्डेषु दत्तादरो
नानाश्राद्धगणैकचालितमना भट्टोत्तमो राजते||

Harvard-Kyoto transliteration:

agryo bhuktimatAM prayogasamaye mantreSu pRSThaM gataH
pAkAgAragatastu pAcakamanastoSAya vAcaspatiH| 

uccAyAM nirato rato(a)rbhakagaNe piNDeSu dattAdaro
nAnAzrAddhagaNaikacAlitamanA bhaTTottamo rAjate||

– Anonymous

A. A. Ramanathan's translation, as quoted in the Mahasubhashitasangraha: The foremost among the eaters, but lagging behind in the use of mantra-s at the proper time, when in the kitchen he is the lord of speech to please the cooks[;] taking delight in the fee, interested in the children (of the donor) and careful in the balls of rice, the best of priests shines with his mind drawn to the various items of the sraddha.

Source: Subhashita Ratnakara Verse 3 of Chapter 109 entited bhikSukaguNAH (भिक्षुकगुणाः), "the qualities of beggars"; Subhashita Sudha Ratna Bhandagara, (सुभाषितसुधारत्नभाण्डागार) Verse 382.3; Subhashita Ratna Bhandagara Verse 3 of Chapter 96 entitled bhikSuka (भिक्षुक), "the beggar";  Mahasubhasitasangraha Verse 246.

Notes: Showing an interest in the patrons' children is perhaps just a ploy to ingratiate oneself with the parents -- I do not think the poet is insinuating anything more sinister than that.

Some of the words used in this verse deserve special comments.

• vAcaspati (वाचस्पति), translated above as "the lord of speech": This is, in fact, the literal meaning of the word which occurs as a name repeatedly in the Rigveda. And, as is the case with most Rigvedic names, it is difficult to ascertain whom or what this word actually refers to. But, since the Puranic age, it has mostly been used as an appellation of Brihaspati.
• uccA (उच्चा), translated above as "fee": It literally means "high / tall", "loud" or "intense" (feminine), and its occurrence in this context would be utterly baffling in the absence of a gloss. Fortunately, the editors of Subhashita Ratnakara and Subhashita Ratna Bhandagara both comment that उच्चा is a code word (सांकेतिकः शब्दः) for dakSiNA (दक्षिणा), "a priest's remuneration", that is used and understood exclusively by vaidikas (वैदिक), i.e. priests adept in Vedic ceremonies. I have no way of verifying this claim.
• bhaTTottama (भट्टोत्तम), translated above as "the best of priests": Obviously, it is used sarcastically here. For a detailed exposition of the honorific bhaTTa (भट्ट), see this post.

Professional eaters 1

The job description of a Brahmin includes being treated to ritual meals as part of socio-religious ceremonies such as shraaddhas (श्राद्ध: solemnities honoring deceased ancestors), as hinted at in my previous post. There have always been men, Brahmin by birth but lacking any scholarly virtue, whose sole professional skill is to partake of such meals. In Bengali, there is a slightly pejorative term for an individual of this type: pholaare baamun (ফলারে বামুন​) where baamun is a modification of brAhmaNa (ब्राह्मण), and the adjective pholaare comes from pholaar (ফলার), "a (lacto-)vegetarian meal devoid of rice, ritually served to a Brahmin", which in turn derives from Sanskrit phalAhAra (फलाहार), "fruit-meal". Needless to say, these people were / are not held in high esteem by most of their peers, which brings us to today's quote.

This verse needs some background to be fully appreciated. While describing a skilled warrior wreaking havoc on enemy troops, it is quite common for a poet to compare him or her to a wildfire decimating a forest, or Indra's thunderbolt ripping mountains apart (perhaps an allusion to the well-known myth which states that every mountain could fly until Indra lopped their wings off with his weapon of choice to prevent these flying rocky behemoths from ruthlessly crushing lesser creatures whenever and wherever they alighted), or sometimes the rishi Agastya (अगस्त्य), also called Agasti (अगस्ति), drinking the ocean dry (in order to uncover demons who had taken refuge in its murky depths -- this legend might be based on the "calming of the waters" of the Indian Ocean with the rise of the star Agastya). 

Another point worth mentioning here is the use of two words that sound very similar:  (1) bhaTTa (भट्ट), a respectful term of address for, and an honorific often affixed to the name of, a learned Brahmin (or sometimes a prince), and the origin of present-day surnames like Bhattacharya (भट्टाचार्य) and perhaps Bhat; (2) bhaTa (भट): a soldier or hero (or, more appropriately, a mercenary, according to Monier-Williams). 

 Devanagari text:

अगस्तितुल्याश्च घृताब्धिशोषणे दम्भोलितुल्या वटकाद्रिभेदने|
शाकावलीकाननवह्निरूपास्त एव भट्टा इतरे भटाश्च||

Harvard-Kyoto transliteration:

agastitulyAzca ghRtAbdhizoSaNe dambholitulyA vaTakAdribhedane| 

zAkAvalIkAnanavahnirUpAsta eva bhaTTA itare bhaTAzca||

– Anonymous

Loose translation: Those who are comparable to Agasti in sucking up oceans of ghee, to the thunderbolt in obliterating mountains of vadas, and to a conflagration in consuming forests of vegetables are truly bhaTTas, the rest are merely bhaTas.

Source: Verse 176 of the Mahasubhasitasangraha (महासुभाषितसङ्ग्रह), "the great collection of good sayings", edited by Ludwik Sternbach and published in 1974. It is also available in many modern anthologies including Subhashita Ratnakara as verse 164 of the chapter on miscellaneous verses (मिश्रप्रकरण); Subhashita Sudha Ratna Bhandagara, (सुभाषितसुधारत्नभाण्डागार) compiled and annotated by Pandit S. Kaviratna and published in c. 1928 (samvat 1985), as verse 382.2;  Subhashita Ratna Bhandagara as verse 2 of the chapter  entitled bhikSuka (भिक्षुक), "the beggar".

Notes:  The (synonymous) reading वटिकाद्रि instead of वटकाद्रि in the second quarter is also found. For additional notes on South Asian savory cakes, please refer to this post.

The juxtaposition of the words bhaTTa and bhaTa deserves a few remarks. Although bhaTa primarily refers to a (hired) soldier, it does have a plethora of derogatory meanings recorded by lexicographers, such as "slave" and "a degraded tribe" (म्लेच्छभेद, नीचभेद, पामरविशेष, रजनीचर). It has also been postulated that bhaTTa and bhaTa are cognate, via the Prakrit languages, with bhartR (भर्तृ: "sustainer", hence "master" or "benefactor") and bhRta (भृत: "sustained", hence "servant" or "beneficiary") respectively. Moreover, perhaps in the poet's mind, the repetition of the hard consonant T (ट्) in bhaTTa connotes a greater weight (hence, greater importance) than the single occurrence of the same in bhaTa. Whatever the rationale, it is a safe guess that the poet uses "the rest" (इतरे) in the last quarter of the verse to refer to 'other' individuals whose destructive abilities might be described using similes similar to those in the first three quarters, i.e. actual warriors, and suggests that these warriors are inferior (bhaTas) to 'destroyers' of food (bhaTTas). And, of course, all this is pure sarcasm. This multi-level wordplay would be completely lost in translation.

It would be very remiss of me if I did not mention the other important meaning of the word bhaTTa: "a mixed caste of hereditary panegyrists" (Monier-Williams), called bhaats (भाट) in many North Indian languages and often mentioned along with the chaarans (चारण). However, I do not think this meaning is applicable here since I have never found any references to these bards being treated to lavish feasts or being gluttonous in general.

A. A. Ramanathan's translation of this distich, as recorded in the Mahasubhasitasangraha: "They only are Bhatta-s [a class of good eaters] who are similar to the sage Agastya in drying up the ocean of ghee, and thunderbolt in breaking [munching] the mountain of Vataka-s [savowries [sic]] and of the form of fire in burning [consuming] the forest of vegetable [dishes]. Others are merely Bhata-s [common fighters]." I do not know the basis for translating "Bhatta-s" as "a class of good eaters".

The Fortnight of Obsequies

In many parts of South Asia, the dark fortnight over which the monsoon season gives way to early autumn is dedicated to ancestral spirits who are said to roam the earth at this time of the year. It has many names including pitripaksha (पितृपक्ष), "the fortnight of the manes", and shraaddhapaksha (श्राद्धपक्ष), "the fortnight of obsequies". During this period, ritual offerings consisting mainly of food and water are made to the deceased; Brahmins, men of the priestly caste who solemnize these ceremonies and are thus the only individuals who can make sure that those poor hungry souls get their dues before they are obliged to return to the afterworld, are also treated to lavish feasts and showered generously with gifts. The solemnities culminate on the new moon night called mahalayA amavasyA (महालया अमावस्या), which is followed by the great autumnal festival in honor of the Goddess -- feeding Brahmins is not an integral part of the latter festival.

In today's quote, a Brahmin waxes wistful about the pitripaksha after it is over, and in doing so gives us a valuable insight into what he truly cares about in life, as someone who is supposed to be a paragon of virtue, dignity, and scholarship.

Devanagari text:

भोः श्राद्धपक्ष सकलद्विजकल्पवृक्ष
क्वास्मान् विहाय गतवानसि यच्छ वाचम्|
डिण्डीरपिण्डपरिपाण्डुरपायसानि
को दास्यति त्वयि गते घृतलड्डुकानि||

Harvard-Kyoto transliteration:

bhoH zrAddhapakSa sakaladvijakalpavRkSa
kvAsmAn vihAya gatavAnasi yaccha vAcam| 

DiNDIrapiNDaparipANDurapAyasAni
ko dAsyati tvayi gate ghRtalaDDukAni||

– Anonymous

Loose translation: O Fortnight of Obsequies! You are verily a divine wish-granting tree to all twice-born men (i.e. Brahmins)! Pray tell, where have you gone, leaving us behind? With you gone, who will now treat us to rice-and-milk pudding, as thoroughly white as cuttlebone, and laddoos prepared with clarified butter?

Source: Verse 195 of Subhashita Manjusha (सुभाषित-मंजूषा), "a box of good sayings", a multilingual (Sanskrit, various Hindustani dialects, Farsi) anthology compiled by Chaudhari Ram Singh, member of the Punjab Legislative Council, and published in 1924 CE: the first quote in the chapter titled मनोरञ्जन, "entertainment".

Notes: DiNDIra (डिण्डीर) or hiNDIra (हिण्डीर) refers to the white oval internal shell of a cuttlefish that often washes up on the shore and is used as a dietary supplement for pets. In both India and China, it has long been believed to have curative properties (for humans). In Sanskrit literature, it is frequently used in similes to describe something white. Another name for it is samudraphena (समुद्रफेन), presumably because it was thought to be congealed sea-foam.

The above anthology Subhashita Manjusha also quotes a pair of Hindi couplets in the same vein:

गये कनागत फूले कांस| ब्राह्मण रोवें चूल्हे पास||

श्राद्ध गये आये नौराते| ब्राह्मण बैठे चुप चपाते||

These roughly translate to "The fortnight of the forefathers is gone, wild sugarcanes are all abloom, Brahmins are weeping next to their (fireless) ovens. The obsequies are over, the nine-night festival is upon us, Brahmins are sulking." The common Hindustani name for this fortnight, kanaagat (कनागत), derives from Sanskrit kanyAgata (कन्यागत) - an allusion to the fact that the Sun is in the zodiac sign kanyA or Virgo during this period.

The Subhashita Ratnakara records a slight variant of today's quoted verse (verse 131 0f the chapter on miscellaneous verses):

भोः भाद्रपक्ष सकलद्विजकल्पवृक्ष क्वास्मान् विहाय गतवानसि देहि वाचम्|

डिण्डीरपिण्डपरिपाण्डुरवर्णभाजां लाभः कथं त्वयि गते घृतपायसानाम्||

This is, I think, a better version from a grammatical or stylistic point of view, although it does not mention laddoos :)