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A few years ago, when I wrote about Samasya Pooranam here, and here, I had no clue one day I could try these word games too. But over the last year, thanks to the wonderful lessons and posters on Padyapaana, I did make some effort in this direction. And I thought of presenting a few of those in this post.
Samasysa Pooranam refers to the art of completing a verse in a specified meter when one line of the verse is given. The given line in isolation may often border on being meaningless or ridiculous. It is up to you to solve the puzzle, and bring sense into the senseless line in an effective way.
The open nature of the problem can result scores of interesting solutions. Here are some of my recent trials at Samasya Poorana:
Question: “ರಾಮಗಾಗದ ಕಾರ್ಯ ಕಪಿಗಳಗುಂಪಿಗತಿ ಸುಲಭ ” - “The task easy for a bunch of monkeys is impossible for Rama”
This is the 3/6 line of a verse in written in Bhamini shatpadi meter. How can the almighty Rama be inferior to a bunch of monkeys? Oh Well, hold on. Didn’t a bunch of monkeys build the bridge across the ocean during Ramayana? True, but then how about solving the question a little differently?
ನೇಮದಲಿ ಹಂಬಲಿಸೆ ಸೀತೆಯು
ಕಾಮ ವೈರಿಯ ಮಡದಿ ಮಂಗಳ
ಧಾಮೆ ಗೌರಿಯ ಲಕ್ಷ ಪೂಜೆಗೆ ವಾನರರ ಸೈನ್ಯ
ಆಮರೀಮರಕೆಲ್ಲ ನೆಗೆದಾ-
ರಾಮದಲಿ ಹೂಗಳನು ಬಿಡಿಸಿರೆ
ರಾಮಗಾಗದ ಕಾರ್ಯ ಕಪಿಗಳಗುಂಪಿಗತಿ ಸುಲಭ!
When Seeta wanted to perform the Laksha Pooje for Mangala Gouri, who else but the monkey army could climb up trees and bushes and pick all those flowers? Certainly Rama could not have done it so fast. Right?
Since we’re on the topic of Ramayana, here is a related samasya poorana – this one in mattebhavikreedita meter:
ಪತಿಗಳ್ ಸೀತೆಗದೆಷ್ಟು ಮಂದಿ ಗಣಿಸಲ್ಕೇನೊರ್ವರೇ? ಇರ್ವರೇ?
Sounds on the border of being offensive – Right? This kind of talk definitely not befit Seeta, who is considered the epitome of virtue!
I had to send Seeta to her Physics classroom to solve this 
ಹಿತದೊಳ್ ತೋರ್ಪೆನು ಶಾಸ್ತ್ರಪಾಠಗಳ ನಾಂ ನೀ ಬೇಗಬಾರೆಂದೆನ-
ಲ್ಕತಿಸಂತೋಷದಿ ಬಂದ ಸೀತೆ ಮುದದೊಳ್ ಕಣ್ಣಲ್ಲೆ ಕಣ್ಣಾಗಿ ಜಾ-
ಗೃತಿಯಿಂ ಪಟ್ಟಕಮಂ ತಳೆರ್ದಿರೆ ಮೊದಲ್ ಬಾನಲ್ಲಿ ಕಂಡರ್ ದಿವ-
ಸ್ಪತಿಗಳ್ ಸೀತೆಗದೆಷ್ಟು ಮಂದಿ! ಗಣಿಸಲ್ಕೇನೊರ್ವರೇಯಿರ್ವರೇ ?
What did Seeta see in her Physics class when she turned the kaleidoscope towards the sky? A hundred (or more) Suns! Definitely qualifies for the adjective “uncountable”!
(ಪಟ್ಟಕ = prism, but used here to mean a kaleidoscope ದಿವಸ್ಪತಿ = literally, the “lord of the day”, or the Sun)
OK, now let me move from Ramayana to Bharata, that is to India, more specifically today’s India. One of the samasya poorana lines given during the Shatavadhana in Dec 2012 was “ಭಾರತದಿ ದುಶ್ಯಾಸನನೆ ದ್ರೌಪದಿಯ ಸಖನಲ್ತೆ!” – “Truly, Dushyasana is a friend of Draupadi”.
Here is my solution, which unfortunately, is based on what happened in Delhi during Dec 2012:
ನಾರಿಯೋರ್ವಳ ಬೀದಿಬೀದಿಯ
ಲಾರು ಕೇಡಿಗ ದುರುಳರು ಬಲಾ-
ತ್ಕಾರಗೈದಿರೆ ಗೈದಿರೆ ಯಾರು ಕಾಯ್ದರು ರಾಜಧಾನಿಯಲಿ ?
ಕೌರವನ ಖಳಸಭೆಯಲೆನ್ನಯ
ಸೀರೆಯನ್ನೆಳೆದವನೆ ಲೇಸೀ
ಭಾರತದಿ ದುಶ್ಯಾಸನನೆ ದ್ರೌಪದಿಯ ಸಖನಲ್ತೆ !
In one of my earlier posts on this subject here, I’d sort of mixed up two distinctly different puzzlers: Dattapadi and Samasya poorana. Let me not dwell into that, but suffice it to say that while Samasya Poorana refers to completing a verse when one of the lines is given, Dattapadi refers to composing a verse that includes set of given words are given, on a specified topic – Not unexpectedly, often the words totally unrelated to the topic are given.
Here is one such example - How would an experienced politician advice an upcoming politician to take the right ways to success ? Since this is the internet era, the solution must contain the words: e-mail, chat, phone and gram!
Here are two different solutions I came up with in the Bhamini shatpadi meter:
ಗ್ರಾಮ ಪಂಚಾಯ್ತಿಯಲಿ ಕಾಲಿ-
ಟ್ಟಾಮೆಯಂತೆಯೆ ಬೆಳೆಸು ಚರ್ಮವ!
ಸಾಮದಲ್ಲಿಯೆ ಗಳಿಸಿ ಫೋನಲಿ ಸೋನಿಯಳ ಕೃಪೆಯ!
ನೇಮದಲ್ಲಿರೆ ಹೈಕಮ್ಯಾಂಡಿನ
ಮೈಮೆಯಲೆನೀ ಮೇಲಕೇರುವೆ!
ರಾಮನೇ ನೀ? ಬೇಡ ಸೇವೆಯ ಗೀಳು! ಹುಚ್ಚಾಟ!
ರಾಮರಾಜ್ಯದ ನೆಪದಿ ನೀಕು-
ಗ್ರಾಮದಲೆ ಮುಂದಾಳುವಾಗು! ನೋಡೈ
ನಾಮಹಾಕುತ ಜನಕೆ ಮಾಡುತಲಷ್ಟು ಕಿರುಚಾಟ!
ನೇಮವಿಡೆ ಮೇಲ್ನವರ ಫೋನಾ-
ರಾಮದಲ್ಲೇ ಹುದ್ದೆ ತರುವುದು!
ಗೇಮೆಯಲ್ಲೇ ಮೇಲಕೇರ್ವುದು ದಿಟದಿ ಬಲುಕಷ್ಟ!
And now, how about describing an outdated mode of transportation 
– such as a bird using some modern vehicles? The question here is to describe the well known story of Gajendra Moksha, using the words “Cycle”, “Van”,”Lorry” and “Car”.
Here is my attempt at answering the question in a pancha mAtrA choupadi – a traditional 4 lined meter:
ಅಸುವು ಹೋಗುತಲಿಹವು ವ್ಯಾನಾದಿ ಪಂಚಕವು
ತುಸು ನೀನು ಕರುಣಿಸೈ ಕಲ್ಲಾಗಿಸದೆ ಮನವ
ಮೊಸಳೆಯಿಂದೆನ್ನುಳಿಸಲಾರಿಹರೆನಲು ಗಜವು
ಎಸೆವ ಕಾರ್ಮುಗಿಲಿಂದ ಗರುಡವಾಹನ ಬಂದ!
Here is another small variation of the same question to describe Gajendra Moksha episode, using the words “Auto”, “Rickshaw”, “Volvo” and “Lorry”.
ಮೊಸಳೆಯಾರ್ಭಟವೇನು! ಆಟೋಪವಿನ್ನೇನು!
ಹಸುಳೆಯಾನೆಯ ಬಾಳೆಗಿಡದವೋಲ್ವೊರಗಿಸೆ
ಅಸುವ ಕಾಯೆಂಬ ಮೊರೆಗೆಲ್ಲಾರಿಗೂ ಮೊದಲು
ನಸುನಗುತ ಹರಿಯಂತರಿಕ್ಷದಲೆ ಪೊರೆದ!
But to really enjoy Samasya Poorna, Dattapadi and many more interesting poetic puzzles in Kannada, I must urge you to visit Padyapaana, a great resource of fun in learning prosody. I’m sure you’ll definitely be astounded by the variety of answers to each such puzzle on Padyapaana. I strongly encourage you to go and checkout a few posts here.
-neelanjana
(Picture courtesy: Wikipedia; Gajendra Moksha sculpture on the walls of Dashaavataara temple, Deoghar)
Here is an article about Stellarium, that appeared on today’s issue of Kannada daily Samyukta Karnataka (9/27/2012). Click on the image for a enlarged view. My article is at the bottom of the page:
If the full page view is hard to read, you may choose to click on the following image, for a better resolution, but without the graphical elements:
(I wrote this article last year for ಅರಿವಿನ ಅಲೆಗಳು by Sanchaya).
By the way, I did not even notice another year has gone by for my blog. Surely, this has been the most inactive year for me on ಅಲ್ಲಿದೆ ನಮ್ಮ ಮನೆ!
Today’s issue of the Kannada daily Prajavani has an article about my Kannada blog “Hamsa Naada” in it’s weekly section covering Kannada bloggers
Prajavani-article-about-my-blog (PDF version)
http://prajavani.net/include/story.php?news=9368§ion=56&menuid=13 (e-paper link)
Much water has flown through Kaveri and Hemavati in the last two decades when I’ve lived mostly outside Karnataka – but still Prajavani has an emotional attachment, being the daily I grew up with, and of course it feels good to see this article there!
An android app for my book Hamsanada, a collection of my translations from Samskrta verses is available on Google Play, thanks to the good folks at Saaranga Infotech:
You can download this free app on your android device from the following page. Once you go to the install page, you can choose between a Unicode version or a baraha/nudi version for devices that don’t support Unicode.
With this app, you can read many of the translations included in my book on your phone.
However if you’re a bibliophile like me, and prefer to read stuff from a book, I strongly recommend getting a hard copy of the book from Akruti Books web store.
Happy reading! I look forward to get your feedback.
Balamukundashtakam is a collection of 8 Samskrta shlokas that describe some episodes from the childhood of Krishna. Although the first of the eight shlokas is found in Bilwamangala’s (also called Leelashuka) work Krishnakarnamrta, the rest of the shokas are not to be found there. I’m not aware if there is a agreement on the authorship of this work. Anyway, the ashTaka is very attractive, to say the least.
Here is the text in dEvanAgari script:
करारविन्देन पदारविन्दं मुखारविन्दे विनिवेशयन्तम् ।
वटस्य पत्रस्य पुटे शयानं बालं मुकुन्दं मनसा स्मरामि ॥१॥
संहृत्य लोकान्वटपत्रमध्ये शयानमाद्यन्तविहीनरूपम् ।
सर्वेश्वरं सर्वहितावतारं बालं मुकुन्दं मनसा स्मरामि ॥२॥
इन्दीवरश्यामलकोमलांगं इन्द्रादिदेवार्चितपादपद्मम् ।
सन्तानकल्पद्रुममाश्रितानां बालं मुकुन्दं मनसा स्मरामि ॥३॥
लम्बालकं लम्बितहारयष्टिं शृंगारलीलांकितदन्तपङ्क्तिम् ।
बिंबाधरं चारुविशालनेत्रं बालं मुकुन्दं मनसा स्मरामि ॥४॥
शिक्ये निधायाद्यपयोदधीनि बहिर्गतायां व्रजनायिकायाम् ।
भुक्त्वा यथेष्टं कपटेन सुप्तं बालं मुकुन्दं मनसा स्मरामि ॥५॥
कलिन्दजान्तस्थितकालियस्य फणाग्ररंगे नटनप्रियन्तम् ।
तत्पुच्छहस्तं शरदिन्दुवक्त्रं बालं मुकुन्दं मनसा स्मरामि ॥६॥
उलूखले बद्धमुदारशौर्यं उत्तुंगयुग्मार्जुन भंगलीलम् ।
उत्फुल्लपद्मायत चारुनेत्रं बालं मुकुन्दं मनसा स्मरामि ॥७॥
आलोक्य मातुर्मुखमादरेण स्तन्यं पिबन्तं सरसीरुहाक्षम् ।
सच्चिन्मयं देवमनन्तरूपं बालं मुकुन्दं मनसा स्मरामि ॥८॥
The shokas are notable for the extra-ordinary lilting quality, that makes even a simple reading of it makes you feel like you’re listening to a song! Such a delicate structure, does not make it an easy target for translation, and it is hard for any translation to make full justice to the original.
Anyway, I had made an attempt to translate this ashTaka into Kannada a while ago. I see a translation as a means for someone who doesn’t understand the original to get some familiarity and exposure. That translation features in my book Hamsanada as well.
Recently I made a renewed attempt to update the translation to follow metrical rules, thanks to Padyapaana – and here is the result. It is set in choupadi meter (4 liners):
ಕೈಯ ತಾವರೆಯಿಂದ ಕಾಲದಾವರೆಯನ್ನು
ಬಾಯ ತಾವರೆಯಲ್ಲಿ ಇರಿಸಿದವನ
ಮಾಯದಾ ಶಿಶು ಆಲದೆಲೆ ಮೇಲೆ ಪವಡಿಸಿದೆ-
ಳೆಯ ಮುಕುಂದನ ನಾನು ನೆನೆವೆನಿಂದು ||೧||
ಜಗಗಳನೆ ಕೊನೆಗೊಳಿಸಿ ಆಲದೆಲೆ ಮೇಗಡೆ ಮ-
ಲಗಿಹಂಥ ಕೊನೆಮೊದಲು ಇಲ್ಲದವನ
ಜಗದೊಡೆಯ ಜನರೆಲ್ಲರೊಳಿತಿಗೈತಂದವನ
ಮಗುಮುಕುಂದನ ನಾನು ನೆನೆವೆ ಮನದಿ ||೨||
ಕನ್ನೈದಿಲೆಯ ನೀಲ ಕೋಮಲಾಂಗದ ಹರಿಯ
ಮುನ್ನ ಇಂದ್ರಾದಿಗಳ ಪೂಜೆವಡೆದ
ಚೆನ್ನಾಗಿ ಆಸರೆಯಲಿಹರನ್ನು ಕಾಯ್ವಂಥ
ಚಿನ್ನ ಕಂದನ ನಾನು ನೆನೆವೆ ಮನದಿ ||೩||
ಮುಂಗುರಳಲೆಸೆಯುವನ ಸರಗಳಲಿ ಮೆರೆಯುವನ
ಸಿಂಗರದಿ ಮೂಡಿರುವ ಸುಲಿಪಲ್ಲ ಚೆಲುವ
ತೊಂಡೆತುಟಿಯಲಿ ಕೊಳಲ ನಾದವನು ತುಂಬಿರುವ
ಚಂದಚನ್ನಿಗ ಮುಕುಂದನ್ನ ನೆನೆವೆ ||೪||
ಚೆಲುವೆ ಗೋಪಿಯರೆಲ್ಲ ಮನೆಹೊರಗೆ ಹೋಗಿರಲು
ನಿಲುವಿನಲಿ ಹಾಲ್ಬೆಣ್ಣೆ ಮೊಸರೆಲ್ಲವನ್ನು
ಸುಳಿವು ಬಿಡದೆಲೆ ತಿಂದು ಕಪಟದಲಿ ಮಲಗಿರುವ
ಖಳನಿವನ ಮುಕುಂದನನೀಗ ನೆನೆವೆ || ೫||
ಕಾಳಿ ಯಮುನೆಯೊಳಗಡಗಿರುತಿದ್ದ ಕಾಳಿಯನ
ಏಳುಹೆಡೆಗಳ ಮೇಲೆ ಕುಣಿಯುತ್ತಲವನ
ಬಾಲವನು ಹಿಡಿದವನ ಚಂದಿರನ ಮೊಗದವನ
ಬಾಲಕನ ಮುಕುಂದನ ನಾನು ನೆನೆವೆ || ೬ ||
ಒರಳುಕಲ್ಲಿಗೆ ಬಿಗಿದು ಕಟ್ಟಿರಲು ಶೌರಿಯಿವ
ಮರವೆರಡನೊಟ್ಟಿಗೇ ಬೀಳಿಸಿಹನ
ಅರಳಿರುವ ಕಮಲ ಹೂದಳದಗಲ ಕಣ್ಣಿರುವ
ಪೋರನಿವ ಮುಕುಂದನ ನಾನು ನೆನೆವೆ ||೭||
ಮೊಲೆಹಾಲ ಕುಡಿಯುತಲಿ ತಾಯಮೊಗದಲ್ಲಿ ಕಂ-
ಡೆಳೆನಗುವ ನೋಡುತಿಹ ಕಮಲಾಕ್ಷನ
ಅಳವಿರದ ಮೊದಲುಕೊನೆಯಿಲ್ಲದಿಹ ಚಿನ್ಮಯನ
ಎಳೆಯನ್ನ ಮುಕುಂದನ ಮನದಿ ನೆನೆವೆ ||೮||
While in the original ashTaka, all the shlokas end with the same pAda – बालं मुकुन्दं मनसा स्मरामि – in the translation they are all changed but in line with the rest of the content of the shloka. Otherwise, I have tried to be follow the original as much as possible.
Your comments & feedback welcome!
-neelanjana
Picture taken from:http://www.wallpapershigh.com/66/janmashtami-wallpaper-and-krishna-janmashtami-wallpaper/krishna-wallpaper-get-together-with-people/
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