Literary tobacciana 1

Disclaimer: This is not an endorsement of the consumption of tobacco in any form, but the documentation of a lesser-known sub-genre of Indic literature.

Ever since its introduction by Portuguese traders in the early 17th century, tobacco has been used in many forms and for various purposes across the Indian Subcontinent. The word tobacco (or, more appropriately, the original Portuguese tabaco) has been adopted and transmogrified variously by the speakers of different Indian languages, and has thus found its way into writings in Sanskrit (or Sanskritized vernaculars) as tamAkhu (तमाखु), tamAkU (तमाकू), tamAla (तमाल) which correctly refers to a few types of black-barked tree (mainly this), and tAmrakUTa (ताम्रकूट), "copper-crest", or tAmrakuTTaka (ताम्रकुट्टक), "copper-cutter" – possibly folk etymology for Hindustani tambaaku (तम्बाकू), Bengali tamak (তামাক), etc.! At least one commentator has also identified kalanja (कलञ्ज) occurring in some treatises as a word for tobacco although this term has other usages too.

The name hookah for the popular class of contraptions for smoking tobacco vapors was borrowed from Hindustani by the British, although it is ultimately of Arabic origin. Various styles of hookah have been used by different socio-economic groups in South Asia, but the most popular variety in rural Bengal is the simple handheld hookah – "a coconut shell or an earthen pot with a short wooden or bamboo pipe fixed on it and a chilum [sic] on the top of the pipe. A chilum or kalki is a hollow cone-shaped container to hold the dressed tobacco and alight charcoal on it. . . . Smoking by ordinary hooka is conducted by inhaling through a hole made on the upper part of the shell or pot. As one inhales, the burned tobacco releases smoke from the chilum and goes down the chilum through the pipe and into the mouth of the smoker via the bubbled water in the shell or pot." (Banglapedia: see figure on the page; also, to be clear, it is the smoke, not the tobacco, that goes down the pipe and bubbles up through the water into the user's mouth).

The following verses invoke spiritualism and erotism, respectively, in extolling the virtues of this humble artifact.

(1) This verse was, in all probability, meant to be a riddle.

Devanagari text:

लोकानां गदशान्तये समजनि श्रीताम्रकूटोऽमृताद्
ब्रह्मेशोऽपि कमण्डलुं श्रवणतो धुस्तूरपुष्पं ददौ|
श्रीकृष्णो मुरलीञ्च वह्निवरुणौ तत्रावतीर्णौ स्वयं
वीणावादकनारदो गुड़गुड़ं ब्रह्माक्षरं गायति||

– कविचन्द्र

Harvard-Kyoto transliteration:

lokAnAM gadazAntaye samajani zrItAmrakUTo(a)mRtAd
brahmezo(a)pi kamaNDaluM zravaNato dhustUrapuSpaM dadau| 

zrIkRSNo muralIJca vahnivaruNau tatrAvatIrNau svayaM
vINAvAdakanArado guDaguDaM brahmAkSaraM gAyati||

– Kavichandra

Loose translation: In order to allay human suffering, His Holiness Tobacco is born from the elixir of immortality; Brahma has offered his water-pot, Shiva a thorn-apple flower from behind his ear, and Krishna his flute; Vahni, the fire-god, and Varuna, the water-god, have incarnated themselves while Narada, playing his vina, chants mystical syllables therein (see notes below). 

Source:  Udbhata Sagara Part III Verse 395; Vidyakara Sahasrakam gives a slight variant, where tobacco is not mentioned at all, in Verse 869 :

लोकानां गदशान्तये भुवि मुहुः स्वर्वासिनां मन्त्रणे ब्रह्मेशोऽपि कमण्डलुं श्रवणतो धुस्तूरपुष्पं ददौ|

दैत्यारिर्मुरलीञ्च वह्निवरुणौ तत्रावतीर्णौ ततो वीणाभिर्ननु नारदो हरिरिति ब्रह्माक्षरं गायति||

(I have slightly modified the reading from the printed text I consulted to eliminate obvious grammatical errors.)

Notes:  The poet attributes the genesis of the handheld hookah to the collaborative effort of several divinities, perhaps in facetious imitation of the popular myth of the Mahishamardini incarnation. This is more evident in the Vidyakara Sahasrakam version which states that the Trinity embarked on this project on the earth (भुवि) following the counsel of the denizens of paradise (स्वर्वासिनां मन्त्रणे). Brahma's kamandalu is the water-bearing shell or pot at the base of the contrivance, Shiva's thorn-apple (Datura) flower is the funnel-shaped chillum on top (note that these flowers are also called devil's trumpets for their horn-like shape), and Krishna's flute is the pipe that connects them. The incarnation of the fire-god alludes to the burning of tobacco in the chillum and that of Varuna refers to the water in the pot, the burblings of which are likened to the incantations of the itinerant divine sage-musician Narada. It must also be mentioned that the thorn-apple is highly toxic, and its seeds have historically been abused in many parts of South Asia as narcotics (hence the association with Shiva), so the author might also be alluding to the stimulating and addictive nature of tobacco vapors when he mentions this plant.

I found the second quarter of the couplet a bit confusing at first, but I think it should be read as: ब्रह्मा कमण्डलुं ददौ, ईशोऽपि श्रवणतो धुस्तूरपुष्पं (ददौ).

The anthologist Purnachandra De identifies the author simply as Kavichandra – this name is shared by many littérateurs who lived in Bengal in different periods of history. I believe our poet is the Kavichandra (possibly a pen-name) who had gained reputation as a humorist and extempore versifier in 19th century Bengal.

(2) Devanagari text:

तल्पानल्पविभूषणा रसजुषां यूनां मनोमोहिनी
नेत्रान्तैरपि दृश्यते सुरसिकैः स्तोकं गुरूणां भिया|
अन्तर्लोलरसा बहिःकठिनता स्पर्शात् प्रमोदप्रदा
हुक्केयं नवकामिनीव रमते ब्रूते कलं चुम्बिता||

Harvard-Kyoto transliteration:

talpAnalpavibhUSaNA rasajuSAM yUnAM manomohinI
netrAntairapi dRzyate surasikaiH stokaM guruNAM bhiyA| 

antarlolarasA bahiHkaThinatA sparzAt pramodapradA
hukkeyaM navakAminIva ramate brUte kalaM cumbitA||

– Anonymous

Loose translation: She is a grand ornament for the bed, and enchants the minds of youthful epicures; bons vivants, afraid of their elders, still keep stealing glances at her out of the corner of the eye; filled with turbulent fluid (or restless passion) inside, she is tough on the outside but gives excessive joy when touched, and warbles sweetly when kissed – this hookah is just as delightful as a new bride!

Source:  Udbhata Shloka Maalaa, Chapter on "additional verses" (परिशिष्टश्लोकाः), Verse 66.

Notes:  If it was not clear already, the "tough" exterior is that of the coconut-shell or earthenware bowl that contains water, and this water gurgles when someone "kisses" the tiny opening in the upper part of the bowl close to the pipe. When not in use, the hookah is often left on the bed. And young addicts are forced to eye it only briefly and furtively since smoking (or even expressing the desire to do so) in the presence of seniors would be inappropriate.