This is a sequel to my previous post on the drunken "pastimes" of Balarama. And, as a bonus, here's some footage of an instance of Balarama's Raasa Yatra (रासयात्रा; রাসযাত্রা), one of the very few festivals dedicated primarily to this deity.
(1) This salutation to Balabhadra was probably meant to double as a cautionary tale about how inebriation prevents one from performing extremely important (and rewarding) duties.
सुरापीतो गोत्र*स्खलनपरिवृद्धाधिकरुषः
प्रसादं रेवत्या जनयितुमनीशः कथमपि|
विचम्बुन् संश्लिष्यन् स्तनवसनमस्यन्नविरतं
मधून्मादाविष्टः स किल बलभद्रो विजयते||
*This is almost surely an error; I think it should be गात्र (gAtra), and I have translated accordingly.
प्रसादं रेवत्या जनयितुमनीशः कथमपि|
विचम्बुन् संश्लिष्यन् स्तनवसनमस्यन्नविरतं
मधून्मादाविष्टः स किल बलभद्रो विजयते||
– लक्ष्मीधर
surApIto gotraskhalanaparivRddhAdhikaruSaH
prasAdaM revatyA janayitumanIzaH kathamapi|
vicumban saMzliSyan stanavasanamasyannavirataM
madhUnmAdAviSTaH sa kila balabhadro vijayate||
prasAdaM revatyA janayitumanIzaH kathamapi|
vicumban saMzliSyan stanavasanamasyannavirataM
madhUnmAdAviSTaH sa kila balabhadro vijayate||
– Lakshmidhara
Loose translation: Having quaffed spirituous liquor, his anger progressively intensified by his (own) body-parts faltering, unable to gratify (his wife) Revati by any means, (in spite of) kissing (her) eagerly, holding (her) in a tight embrace, and persistently casting away the cloth covering her breasts – glory to that Balabhadra who is overwhelmed by alcohol-induced intoxication.
Source: Saduktikarnamrita Verse 236.
Source: Saduktikarnamrita Verse 236.
(2) An accomplished poet's take on a drunk man's gibberish:
भभभ्रमति किं मही ललललम्बते चन्द्रमाः
कृकृष्ण ववद द्रुतं हहहसन्ति किं वृष्णयः|
शिशीधु मुमुमुञ्च मे ववववक्त्रमित्यादिकं
मदस्खलितमालपन् हलधरः श्रियं वः क्रियात्||
– पुरुषोत्तमदेव
Harvard-Kyoto transliteration:
bha-bha-bhramati kiM mahI la-la-la-lambate candramAH
kR-kRSNa va-vada drutaM ha-ha-hasanti kiM vRSNayaH|
zizIdhu mu-mu-muJca me va-va-va-vaktramityAdikaM
mada-skhalitamAlapan haladharaH zriyaM vaH kriyAt||
– Purushottama Deva
Loose translation: "Why is the (surface of the) earth t-t-turning around? Why is the moon d-d-d-dangling? K-Krishna! Tell me quickly why the Vrishnis are l-l-laughing! W-Wine! L-Leave my m-m-m-mouth![see notes]" – as he spews these words muddled by intoxication, may the Plow-bearer bring about your welfare.
Notes: Since the word शीधु, "spirituous liquor (especially that produced from molasses)", has the neuter gender, शीधु is one of its acceptable (singular-number) vocative forms. Hence, I have interpreted the part []शीधु []मुञ्च मे []वक्त्रम् as follows: In a passing moment of clarity, Balarama realizes that his current predicament is due to alcohol, and that he needs to get it out of his system; but, being still heavily drunk, he decides that verbally instructing the beverage to depart from his mouth is the best course of action!
The alternate reading []शीधु []मुञ्च मे []पानपात्रे स्थितं can be translated as "let go of the liquor contained in my drinking vessel", i.e. Balarama is asking someone to stop trying to snatch his wine cup away from his hand; this person could be Krishna himself since he is addressed explicitly in the second quarter of the verse (in this reading, शीधु is in the singular-number accusative case).
(3) The appeal of the following nugget of surreal humor relies on one polysemous word dvijarAj (द्विजराज्): The two specific meanings applicable here are "greatest among the twice-born" and "the Moon". The word dvija can be applied to a male initiate of any caste that practices an initiation ceremony or rite of passage regarded as a second birth, specifically the upanayana (उपनयन) or sacred thread investiture; but, usually, it refers only to a practicing Brahmin. In most Indic moral codes, the consumption of alcohol is strictly prohibited for Brahmins.
I am not sure what the dvija in dvijarAj means when the latter serves as an appellation of the Moon.
Devanagari text:
Or
"Is the (surface) of the earth t-t-turning around? Is the moon d-d-d-dangling? K-Krishna! Tell me quickly whether the Vrishnis are l-l-laughing! W-Wine! L-Leave my m-m-m-mouth!" – as he spews these words muddled by intoxication, may the Plow-bearer bring about your welfare.
Source: Subhashita Ratnakosha Verse 127: Verse 24 of Chapter 6 (हरिव्रज्या, "the chapter on Hari"); Saduktikarnamrita Verse 238: भभभ्रमति मेदिनी . . . मुमुमुञ्च मे पपपपानपात्रे स्थितं.
The alternate reading []शीधु []मुञ्च मे []पानपात्रे स्थितं can be translated as "let go of the liquor contained in my drinking vessel", i.e. Balarama is asking someone to stop trying to snatch his wine cup away from his hand; this person could be Krishna himself since he is addressed explicitly in the second quarter of the verse (in this reading, शीधु is in the singular-number accusative case).
(3) The appeal of the following nugget of surreal humor relies on one polysemous word dvijarAj (द्विजराज्): The two specific meanings applicable here are "greatest among the twice-born" and "the Moon". The word dvija can be applied to a male initiate of any caste that practices an initiation ceremony or rite of passage regarded as a second birth, specifically the upanayana (उपनयन) or sacred thread investiture; but, usually, it refers only to a practicing Brahmin. In most Indic moral codes, the consumption of alcohol is strictly prohibited for Brahmins.
I am not sure what the dvija in dvijarAj means when the latter serves as an appellation of the Moon.
Devanagari text:
निष्पात्याशु हिमांशुमण्डलमधः पीत्वा तदन्तःसुधां
कृत्वैनं चषकं हसन्निति हलापानाय कौतूहलात्|
कृत्वैनं चषकं हसन्निति हलापानाय कौतूहलात्|
भो देव द्विजराजि मादृशि सुरास्पर्शोऽपि न श्रेयसे
मा मुञ्चेति तदर्थितो हलधरः पायादपायाज्जगत्||
मा मुञ्चेति तदर्थितो हलधरः पायादपायाज्जगत्||
– रामचन्द्र
Harvard-Kyoto transliteration:
niSpAtyAzu himAMzumaNDalamadhaH pItvA tadantaHsudhAM
kRtvainaM caSakaM hasanniti halApAnAya kautUhalAt|
kRtvainaM caSakaM hasanniti halApAnAya kautUhalAt|
bho deva dvijarAji mAdrzi surAsparzo(a)pi na zreyase
mA muJceti tadarthito haladharaH pAyAdapAyAjjagat||
mA muJceti tadarthito haladharaH pAyAdapAyAjjagat||
– Ramachandra
Loose translation: Having felled the lunar orb swiftly, he guzzled all the nectar contained in it, and (then), with a smile, made it his cup for drinking booze[see notes], out of curiosity; "My Lord! It is not propitious for such a dvijarAj as myself to even come in contact with spirituous liquor! Please let go of me!" – thus besought by the Moon, may the Plow-bearer deliver the world from destruction.
Notes: A word for "spirituous liquor" recorded by many lexicographers is hAlA (हाला), often described as a provincial / rustic term; the poet here has, evidently, used the variant halA (हला) to fit the meter. I do not think this should be considered a serious defect since hAlA is not part of "standard" Sanskrit vocabulary anyway.
In mythology, the moon is the "repository and producer of nectar or ambrosia, which is supposed to be distilled in its rays" (Monier-Williams); there are several names of the moon derived from this belief: sudhAMzu (सुधांशु), sudhAkara (सुधाकर), etc. This might have something to do with the (alleged) connection between the phases of the moon and the enigmatic soma creeper [see also this] which is the source of the soma drink frequently glorified in Vedic literature. Balarama's desire to drink liquor – and that, too, of the provincial variety (as indicated by the use of the word halA) – after having tasted the most sublime of all beverages is quite amusing.
Source: Padyaracana Chapter 2 Verse 20.
Notes: A word for "spirituous liquor" recorded by many lexicographers is hAlA (हाला), often described as a provincial / rustic term; the poet here has, evidently, used the variant halA (हला) to fit the meter. I do not think this should be considered a serious defect since hAlA is not part of "standard" Sanskrit vocabulary anyway.
In mythology, the moon is the "repository and producer of nectar or ambrosia, which is supposed to be distilled in its rays" (Monier-Williams); there are several names of the moon derived from this belief: sudhAMzu (सुधांशु), sudhAkara (सुधाकर), etc. This might have something to do with the (alleged) connection between the phases of the moon and the enigmatic soma creeper [see also this] which is the source of the soma drink frequently glorified in Vedic literature. Balarama's desire to drink liquor – and that, too, of the provincial variety (as indicated by the use of the word halA) – after having tasted the most sublime of all beverages is quite amusing.
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