Page 15 - Appreciating Sanskrit
P. 15
SANSKRIT
THE LANGUAGE OF INDIA’S SOUL
kaḥ khagaughāṅcicchaujā jhāñgyo'ṭauṭhīḍaḍaṇḍhaṇaḥ |
tathodadhīn papharbābhīrmayo'rilvāśiṣāṁ sahaḥ ||
कः खगौघणङ्चच्छौजण झणञ्ग्यतोऽटौठीडडण्ढर्ः
ेथोदधीन ्पफबणणभीमणयतोऽररल्वणमिषणं सिः
Who is he, the lover of birds, pure in intelligence, expert
in stealing the strength of others, leader among the
destroyers of the enemies, the steadfast, the fearless,
the one who filled the ocean? He is the king Maya, the
repository of the blessings that can destroy the foes.
This verse is given as an example by the author
King Bhoja in his encyclopedic 11 th century
work Sarasvatī-kaṇṭhābharaṇa, among many other
examples of word-play, specifically under the
category or varṇa-citra (roughly, verses interesting
because of the letters in them), under the broader
k
umbrella of citra- ā v y a ("stunning poetry").
