Written by London
swaminathan
Research Article
No: 1831
Date: 27 April 2015;
Uploaded in London at 17-21
Sanskrit and
Tamil poets were great poets and yet they were very humble. We may find several
examples in our literature that show their humility. Let us look at a few
examples:
VARAHAMIHIRA
Varahamihira
who authored two encyclopaedic works’ Brhat Jataka’ and ‘Brhat Samhita’ among
others, says in the concluding chapter of Brhat Samhita,
Jyotih
sasstrasamudram pramathya matimandaraadrinaatha mayaa
Lokasyaalokakarah
saastrasasaangkah samuthksipthah
“Having churned
the ocean of astrology with the Mandara mountain of my intelligence, I have
taken out the moon of science that affords light to the world.
Then in the
next verse he says,
“I have not
discarded the works of ancient seers while writing this scientific work. Hence,
O ye good men, you may by all means compare mine with theirs, and accept
whichever you like
He
continues,
“Good men,
on finding some excellence, though slender, in an ocean of faults, proclaim it,
while the mean minded do the contrary. This is the nature of the good and the
wicked
Durjanahutaasataptam
kaavyasuvarnam visuddhimaayaati
Sraavayitavyam
tasmaaddusta janasya prayatnena
“The gold of
poetry being heated by the fire of wicked men gets purified. Hence, it should
be read to the wicked by all means”.
KALIDASA
Kalidasa, the
greatest of the Indian poets, in his Raguvamsa Kavya, says,
“The dynasty
originated from Sun; with the meagre intellect of mine, I am wishing to go across this unnavigable
ocean called the solar dynasty by a small boat.
“Will I
become the butt of ridicule if I were to covet the celebrity of an eminent
poet, like a short fellow overstretching his arms for a fruit obtainable only
by the tall, because I am still a dunce in this subject matter?
“But my
course in depicting this dynasty might as well be easy through the gateway
already crafted by the earlier poets, like a diamond bore holed by a
diamond-edged tool for an easy passage of thread”.
In Malavikagnimitra,
he says,
“Every old
poem is not good simply because it is old; nor is a poem without charm, because
it is new; sound critics favour the one or the other, after proper examination;
while a blockhead is guided by another’s judgement”.
KAMBAN
Greatest of
the middle age Tamil poets Kamban in his Tamil Ramayana says in Balakanda,
“I wanted to
write the story of Rama. My desire is like a cat licking the milky ocean
(thinking it could drink the full ocean).
“Are you
people wondering at my endeavour of writing the great story done by Valmiki--
full of penance? He wrote the story of great Rama who pierced the seven strong
trees with a single arrow which never miss the target like the curse of great
people.
“I know the
world will ridicule me; but my intention is to highlight the greatness of Valmiki
who wrote flawless divine poetry”.
PURANDARADASA
The famous
Kannada saint and composer Purandaradasa says in one of his songs
“There ought
to be traducers. Without them the glory of the virtuous would not gain
celebrity. For example the paddy grain would be worthless without its slender
thorn”.
Varahamihira concludes by saying
“With my
intellectual power blessed by the Divine Sun, the sages and my preceptor, as a
result of my having made obeisance to their feet, I have only summarized this
science. Hence I offer salutations to the ancient authors”.
Bowing Modi
“Gunaprakarso
vinyaadavaapyate”
“All virtues are enhanced with humility” –
Subhasita ratna bhandakaram 3-869
Manmohanji Namaskar
Manmohanji Namaskar
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