Kumarasambhavam( The Birth Of the War-god) Translation by Ralph Griffith

How do you deal with hypocritical praise or criticism? The both have never gone well with the Browbeaten Bookkeeper. It's all seen in political fanatics irrespective of their orientations, in reviews, in society-everywhere, wherever there is some sort of  power of judgement given to a person less deserved. And they do with all heart and soul, to prove the shrewdness even if it is without a sense.

The latest furor filled in me as i was poking around the pages of the 1853 translation of ' Kumārasambhava'( The birth of the War-god) by Mr.Ralph T.H.Griffith (1826–1906), a scholar of Indology( yes, that's what his wikipedia page says). The original work belonged to, as we all know, to the greatest Sanskrit poet and dramatist Kalidasa.

I had picked up the book from a road-side shop in the Abids area of Hyderabad a couple of years back only because of the age of the translation, as i had always wanted to read the original version of the book.( I feel, with every passing edition the genuineness of the version loses). But never the keenness, since then became a tidal bore in me untill a recent upheaval in my life, which i have no intention to chuck here up.

Anyway, after a lovesome caressing on the quondam cover page, i went forward to the preface that started well, depicting the apparent greatness of the Legend, saying him as one of the 'Nine precious stones' that shone in the court of Vikramaditya. But as i proceeded, i was bounded in brow-raising words. Mr. Griffith was judging him with his so-called European standards, finding him bald and prosaic,yes, those were the exact words stated in the book.

Though this was probably the first time Kumarasambhabam was getting European attention, but not Kalidasa. Sakuntala( Abhigyanasakuntalam or 'The Sign Of Sakuntala' was already familiar. Goethe, Humbolt, Schlegel and many literary legends mentioned 'sakontala' in their works in the earlier Eighteenth Century. The monologue 'Vikramorvasie' or 'The Hero and the Nymph' was already popular. Abhigyanasakuntalam was, if i am not wrong, was translated by Sir William Jones, a judge who worked in Bengal and have a long list of involvement with Indo-European languages and literatures, and the translation, as cited by many achieved a celebrity status in Europe.

Anyhow, i managed to digest the criticism thinking as always it everyone's right and moved on to Cantos one- Uma's Nativity or the description of Parvati's nascence, Parvati being referred as the daughter of the Himalaya. , so words rained down on the the mountain range which is well evident in Cantos one. 

The others- Cantos two an address to Bramha, Cantos three- The death of love, Cantos four-Reti's lament, Cantos five- Uma's reward, Cantos six-Uma's espousals, Cantos seven-Uma's Bridal, these are the seven cantos available out of the 22 originals.

Through out the marathon reading, not for a second i had any objection on the translation, the words being added with perhaps the most beautiful way possible.

Kumārasambhava, the epic poem originally written in the holy language Sanskrit by the 4th Century poet and dramatist Kālidāsa. The poem is considered as one of the finest example of Kāvya poetry where  abundant usage of Figure of speech, metaphor, Simile, hyperbole to create emotional effects. The war-god or the Kumara is an reference to son of Lord Shiva and Parvati, Kartikeya and the seven cantos implicate Sringara Rasa or the aesthetics. 

Ralph T. H. Griffith, is a sanskrit scholar educated in Oxford who accounts translations of Vedic literature such as Rigveda, Ramayana apart from Kumarasambhava of Kalidasa to his credit.