Kerala Mural: ‘Bird series’ by Vishnu Vikraman
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EXCERPTS FROM KOKILA SANDĒŚA – PŪRVA BHĀGA

‘Sky-flyer,
your path across the heavens
will be shot through with the radiance
that flares forth from your wings,
blue as Śiva ’s neck.
Parting the sky,
it will draw in a clear blue line above Kṣīrasindhu
the graceful coursing flow of an imaginary Yamunā
come to meet her
due to the love one river bears for another.

‘When they see you going from mango bud to mango bud,
the gardens bordering the river
will grow loud with the chatter of ringing anklets –
a joy to listen to –
as slender girls kick the young aśoka trees
with their pink feet.

‘When you see –
and they ’re a sight worth seeing –
the beautiful Dramiḍa girls on the river ’s banks
emerging from their bath,
the beauty of their round breasts set off by drops of water,
their sacred marital threads
stained with fragrant turmeric paste,
you will I expect be delayed,
my friend,
if only for a moment.

‘After that you must visit the agrahāra south of the river.
There the surrounding trees have become grey
with the billowing smoke of sacrifice.
The schools ring with sound of Vedic recitation,
powerful and faultless
it purifies all those that hear it.
And the whole area is criss-crossed by ponds
sanctified by the ritual bathing
of the settlement’s venerable Brahmins.

‘What mastery over the Vedas,
how deep their knowledge of each and every śāstra,
what an inexhaustible stream of flawless poetry –
but why dwell on this?
The very parrots
perched atop the trees in front of each house
reciting it all
will make it abundantly clear.

‘Cross that settlement
and sate the Cola women’s eyes,
luxuriant as brown kuvalayas,
their long lashes curling upwards
as they strain their necks to look at you.
Then enter Vilvakṣetra and Śiva’s shrine.
The breezes from the Nīvā
seem to be fluttering the tips of the flags
in the temple courtyard
to summon you there.

‘As you proceed further into this province,
leaving the Cola land behind,
you’ll see dense forests turned tamāla-black
by the eyes of flighty does,
where petal beds in every bower
strewn with broken necklaces of guñjā berries
tell of the lovemaking of śabara couples.

‘The breezes there,
dribbling a stream of flower nectar,
slipping in the incessant spray of waterfalls
and doted on by woodland deities
playing on creeper-swings
will serve you as gently undulating camara fly whisks.

‘Kissing fresh nectar-filled blossom
as if it were bimba-like lower lip,
embracing flower buds that resemble breasts –
doing just as you please,
take a moment to enjoy each of the mango saplings there.
When his sweetheart’s passion ripens,
can any man resist?

Notes

Cola – the Cola region is named after the great Tamil dynasty.

Kuvalya – blue water lily

Vilvakṣetra – The Vilvanatheshwarar Temple in Thiruvalam, near Vellore in Tamil Nadu, is near the Pennar or Nīvā river.

Tamāla – the bastard cinnamon or Cinnamonum tamala, which has dark black bark and pale flowers.

Guñjā – jequirity or Abrus precatorius, a creeper with beautiful but poisonous red-black berries.

Śabara – a mountain dwelling people

Camara – yak tail fly whisks. The fluffy white tail of the yak (Bos grunniens) is used to make camaras.

Bimba – ivy gourd or Coccinia grandis, a plant with mini-cucumber like fruits that turn red and are thus compared to women’s lips.