NARSINH MEHTA : AN INTRODUCTION TO HIS LIFE AND WORKS
Narsinh Mehta (1414? - 1481? AD) is undoubtedly the most loved poet of Gujarat. Gujarati people have crowned Narsinh Mehta as their adi Kavi - the first poet of Gujarat. It was not that they did not have poetry or poets before Narsinh, but because there was no poet before who had captured the imagination of the Gujarati people before him. The noted poet and critic, Umashankar Joshi (1975:73-167) has correctly pointed out that it is in Narsinh’s poetry that the Gujarati language finds its true voice for the first time. A great bulk of pre-Narsinh literature exists composed by the Jain Sadhus in the form of ras and fagu. Yet, all this exists only in the cloisters and bhandaras of monks rather than on the tongues or in the memory of people. Narsinh is preserved orally for over half a millenium and his songs are sung with devotion and love all over Gujarat even today and will undoubtedly continue to do so. It means that Narsinh’s poetry hardly required any patronage other than people’s love. Thus he is essentially a people’s poet and belongs to the masses rather than just to the sects or bhandaras. His greatness lies not only in the fact that he wrote some of the most wonderful songs ever written in this country, but also in the fact that he was among the earliest poets to democratize the language of spirituality. One of his forte is the ability to express complex philosophical ideas in a simple, accessible and yet extremely beautiful language. The superb word music of his composition combined with his philosophical, ethical and social vision has also played an important role in securing his incontestable place as a poet in Gujarati literary tradition. The language of his compositions shows a remarkable synthesis of influence of the pan-Indian Sanskritic literature and the local folk idiom. Perhaps this is the reason why he appeals to the elite as well as the masses. As his poems were handed down from generation to generation orally, they were preserved in people's memory. Hence, these compositions have a definite place in cultural memory of Gujarat. His poetry is an integral part of the historical evolution of the Gujarati language and the growth of the individuality of the language. He can be called one of the best representatives of bhakti movement in India. The movement was at once literary, philosophical and reformist movement and Narsinh can be placed besides Tulsidas, Kabir, Meera, Basavanna, Dyaneshhwar and other great saint singers of medieval India.
No composition is found ‘written’ by Narsinh and the oldest manuscript of a composition is dated 1594 AD (Shastri 1971: 214). The language of the composition too has evolved, as mentioned earlier, and the language in which they are found is today’s Gujarati as they were preserved orally and handed down generation after generation in this way. Thus, Narsinh’s poetry is an integral part of the historical evolution of the Gujarati language and the growth of the individuality of the language. It also has permanent place in the memory of the Gujarati culture. Many poems were written on various miraculous incidents associated with his life by later poets like Vishwanath Jani (1682 AD), Premanand, and Meera. His legendary life is depicted in many films and his poems have many imitators. His influence on the later poets is very great. Some of the incidents of his life have even become the names of some the welfare schemes of Government of Gujarat, for instance Kuvarbai nu Mameru Yojna. Not to mention the immense popularity of his Vaishnava Jana to, because of Gandhiji. The word harijan promoted by the Father of the Nation for the neglected and the exploited sections of the society first gained currency due to Narsinh’s poems. Whatever may be the political angle, it can hardly be overlooked that Narsinh is still alive in the memory of the Gujarati people. Besides the fact that he was a brilliant poet, leaves no doubt in our mind that he should be known as the adi kavi of Gujarat.
Indeed, Narsinh has always existed in popular imagination as a person in flesh and blood, close not only to the heart of his Lord, but also to the hearts of millions of Gujarati people. Yet, as in the case of most of the Indian poets of antiquity, there is hardly any definitive and concrete evidence about details of his life. Consequently, there is a wide divergence among scholars as to the poet’s life.
Like most of the bhakta poets of India, Narsinh has become a legend. The narrative of his life is woven with many ‘miracles’ and has provided material for many later poets who have sung about many incidents of his life. Based on his autobiographical compositions like Putra No Vivah, or Mameru or Hundi Na Pado there are many later poems by poets like Vishwanath Jani (1682 AD), the famous Premanand (1636-1734 AD) and the great Rajastani poet Meera (1499-1547 AD).
Tradition places Narsinh’s date of Birth as Margasira (Nov-Dec) in Vikram Samvat 1470, i.e. 1414 AD. The date has given birth to a very lively debate among critics some of them of formidable scholarship like K.M.Munshi, K.K.Shastri, and Umashankar Joshi. The details of the debate are too elaborate to be discussed here. However, a well accepted version of his life says that Narsinh was born in Talaja, Bhavnagar District of Saurashstra, in Nagar brahmin community. This community was well known for its scholarship, as well as for its rigidity, orthodoxy and exclusiveness. The poet always seems to refer to it with a touch of irony. His father’s name was Krishnadasa and Narsinh was the youngest of the three brothers. He was born when his father was quite old and he lost him at the tender age of three. Then he went with his mother to live with his paternal uncle Parvatdas, a devout Vaishnava who probably lived at Mangrol. By then, Narsinh had taken to the company of sadhus and Saints. K.M.Munshi, who tried to shift Narsinh’s traditional date of birth to somewhere between 1474 A.D. and 1522 A.D. is of the opinion that it was during these years that the young poet came into contact with sadhus from Vrindavan who lit the torch of sakhi bhava or gopi bhava, a kind of bhakti - a psychological stance of being a beloved of the God in Narsinh (1935:149). However, the critics who disagree with Munshi believe that Narsinh’s kind of bhakti was derived directly from the Vaishnava Canon comprising of the Srimad Bhagwatam (between 500 & 900 A.D.), Srimad Bhagwad Geeta, Jayadeva’s immortal masterpiece Geet Govind (twelfth century) as well as from Varkaris and Namdharis, wandering saint-minstrels from Maharashtra and other great poets like Kabir.
Whatever may have been the case; the young Narsinh danced and reveled in the company of Sadhus, saints, women, lower caste people, and, at times, even wore the clothes of women (Trivedi, 1938:43). The conservative Nagar community was shocked and his would-be father-in-law broke off his betrothal with his daughter, as he thought that his prospective son-in-law was no good in business or studies.
There is hardly any definite account of Narsinh’s early life and his education. A small cave near Talaja, dating back to second century A.D. is called ‘Narsinh Nishal’ or ‘Narsinh’s school’. It is quite possible that the young poet went there for seclusion and reflection. From his compositions, we can make out that he had some knowledge of Sanskrit and a thorough knowledge of Vaishnava Canon. He is also deeply influenced by Vedantic philosophy. His handling of sringar -the erotic rasa- shows that he is also probably familiar with classical Sanskrit court-poetry - kavya Literature. He was also an excellent musician. Narsinh may not have been educated to be a businessman or a priest but he was certainly well equipped to be a major poet.
After the death of his mother (about 1425 AD), Narsinh married Manekbai probably in the year 1428 A.D. and soon he lost his uncle. Narsinh and his wife went to stay at his cousin Bansidhar’s place in Junagadh. However, the cousin’s wife, his bhabhi, was a particularly ill-tempered woman, always taunting, and insulting Narsinh. When he could take it no longer, he left the house and went to a nearby forest where he fasted and meditated for seven days by a secluded Shiva Lingam until Shiva appeared before him in person. On the poet’s request, the lord took him to Dwarka and showed him the eternal rasa leela of Sri Krishna and the gopis, the cowherd girls of Vrindavan. A legend has it that the poet transfixed by the spectacle burnt his hand with the torch he was holding but he was so engrossed in the ecstatic vision that he was oblivious of the pain.
Then the Lord Krishna pleased with his devotee's love placed his hand on his head to bless his devotee. The poet says,
`My throat choked and I was speechless.
I who was unconscious before became conscious
The worldly sins receded and my primal speech
awoke from its sleep `
Narsinh, as the popular account goes, at Sri Krishna’s command decided to sing His praises and the nectarous experience of the rasa in this mortal world. He resolved to compose around 22,000 kirtans or compositions. After this dream-like experience, the transformed Narsinh returned to his village, touched his bhabhi's feet, and thanked her for insulting him.
In Junagadh, Narsinh lived in poverty with his wife and two children, a son named Samaldas, and a daughter for whom he had special affection, Kunwarbai. He revelled in devotion to his hearts’ content along with sadhus, saints, and all those people who were Hari’s subjects -Harijans irrespective of their caste, class or sex. It also seems that he must have fallen into a somewhat ill repute for his close relations with Lord's sakhis and gopis, Narsinh’s women followers, with whom he danced and sang (Trivedi, 1973: 33-34).
The Nagars of Junagadh despised him and spared no opportunity to scorn and insult him. Once during his regular visit to the holy tank of Damodar temple near the foot of Girnar Hills, some people belonging to the so-called lower castes, requested him to sing and dance the Lord’s kirtana. The saint was very happy to accept the offer, for all who were Hari’s subjects -Harijans- were beloved to him. Scandalized Nagars said:
‘O what kind of person are you, O Mehta!
You care not for caste, you care not for creed, and you care not for discrimination!’
(5.3.4.1)
To this Narsinh ironically replied:
We are like that-yes we are like what you say!
We are indeed base, baser than the basest in the world!
Say what you will; we are neck-deep in his love!
We are like that-yes we are like what you say!
I, Narsaiyyo, am a man of base deeds, for I love Vaishnavas
Who ever distance themselves from harijans
Have wasted their births!
We are like that-yes we are like what you say!
By this time, Narsinh had already sung about the rasa leela of Radha and Krishna. The compositions are collected under the category of sringar compositions. They are full of intense lyricism, bold in their erotic conception and are not without allegorical dimensions, this saves the compositions from being something of erotic court poetry of medieval India.
Soon after his daughter Kunwarbai’s marriage (around 1447 AD.) to Sringara Mehta’s son, Kunwarbai became pregnant and it was a custom for the girl’s parents to give gifts and presents to all the in-laws during the seventh month of pregnancy. This custom, known as Mameru, was simply out of the reach of poor Narsinh who had hardly anything except intransigent faith in his Lord. How Krishna helped his beloved devotee is a legend depicted in ‘Mameru Na Pado’. This episode is preserved vividly in the memory of Gujarati people by compositions by later poets and films. Other famous legends include ‘Hundi (Bond)’ episode and ‘Har Mala (Garland)’ episode. The episode in which none other than Samalsha Seth (The Dark one as Seth) cleared a bond written by poverty stricken beloved, is famous not only in Gujarat but in other parts of India as well. The Har Mala episode deals with the challenge given to Narsinh by Ra Mandlik (1451-72 AD.) a local king and a vassal of Delhi’s Sultan, to prove his innocence in the charges of immoral behavior by making the Lord Himself garland Narsinh. Narsinh depicts this episode. How Sri Krishna, in the guise of a wealthy merchant, helped Narsinh in getting his son married is sung by the poet in ‘Putra Vivah Na Pado’.
Around 1451 AD, Narsinh lost his wife and his son. He took the traumatic losses in a philosophical way.
My wife and my son died soon
The people of the city wept and cried
I said,
‘One whose moment has arrived departs
My mind is not in the least grieved...”(Mameru).
In his later life, Narsinh sang about renunciation, significance of bhakti and ethics. His later compositions show his real genius as they have a variety of metaphorical and allegorical dimensions as compared to the cloying monotony of his earlier erotic works. He has an uncanny knack for expressing abstruse metaphysical concepts in an amazingly simple language. His works are immensely popular in Gujarat and give Narsinh the unparalleled status he has in Gujarati canon of literature.
Mahmud Begada (Mahmud Shah I) 1458-1511 AD, invaded Junagadh in 1467 AD and soon after many a sporadic Muslim raids, the city was annexed to the Gujarat Sultanate. Perhaps to escape the consequences, he went to Mangrol where, at the age of 66, he is believed to have expired. The crematorium at Mangrol is called ‘Narsinh Nu Samshan’ where perhaps one of the greatest sons of Gujarat was cremated.
His was a life of poverty, of art, of visions, of love and of rebellion. It was also a life of intense music and immense passion; in short, a life meant to be a legend. Till today, one can still hear the voice of Narsinh Mehta, going for a holy dip in the sacred tank of Damodar Temple at the foot of Girnar Hills.
The Works of Narsinh Mehta
One of the most important features of Narsinh’s works is that they are not available in the language in which Narsinh had composed them. They have been largely preserved orally. The oldest available manuscript of his work is dated around 1612 AD, and was found by the noted scholar K.K.Shastri from Gujarat Vidyasabha. Because of the immense popularity of his works, their language has undergone modifications with changing times. This undoubtedly has problematized the notion of ‘originality’ as a quest and a privilege, as a central concern in traditional scholarship. That also means that Narsinh has been continuously ‘translated’ in newer and newer forms of Gujarati with the passage of time. Authenticity of many of his works has been questioned and some scholars have even suggested that there might have been more than one Narsinh. All this is of course very common in the case of ancient and medieval Indian poets.
For the sake of convenience, the works of Narsinh are divided into four categories:
I. Autobiographical compositions: Putra Vivah, Mameru, Hundi, Har Same No Pado, Jhari Na Pado, and compositions depicting acceptance of Harijans. These works deal with the incidents from the poet’s life and reveal how he encountered the Divine in various guises. They consist of ‘miracles’ showing how Narsaiyya’s Lord helped his devotee in the time of crises. Putra No Vivah (Son’s Marriage) deals with the incident of his son’s marriage and depicts how the poet, like Sudama, went to Dwarka to seek Lord’s assistance and how Sri Krishna himself attended the marriage procession. Mameru depicts the incident in which the penniless father prayed to Lord Krishna, as he had no money to do ‘Mameru’ - the custom of giving gifts to the girl’s in-laws by her parents in the seventh month of her first pregnancy. Krishna of course turns up and saves his devotee's honor. Hundi Na Pado describe the episode when some Nagar pranksters pointed out to Narsinh when some pilgrims bound to Dwarka wanted a bond (a hundi) which could be encashed at Dwarka as the journey was quite dangerous one. The poet who had full faith in his Lord wrote a hundi and, wonder of wonders, it was accepted by Samalsha Seth (The Dark One) in the guise of Seth. Jhari Na Pado depict an incident in Narsinh’s life when, during one festival, he felt extremely thirsty and a woman named Ratnabai came to give him water from a Jhari (a water pot with a sprout). So fascinated was the sensitive poet by her beauty that he saw his own Beloved in His Mohini form or Vishnu in the form of an enchantress. Har Same Na Pado deals with the challenge given by the king Ra Mandalik to Narsinh in order to prove his innocence in the charges of immoral behavior by making Lord Krishna garland the accused poet in person. This work is of doubtful authenticity and probably interpolated later. Then there are compositions dealing with the episode of Harijans. These compositions deal with the conflict Narsinh had with his caste-men. Once Narsinh was invited to celebrate and dance kirtana by sweepers who belonged to a lower caste and the saint who believed that caste, class or gender is of no consequence in bhakti, readily accepted and thus invited the wrath of his Nagar community
II. Miscellaneous Narratives: Chaturis, Sudama Charit, Dana Leela, and episodes based on Srimad Bhagwatam. These are the earliest examples of akhyana or narrative type of compositions found in Gujarati. These include:
(i) Chaturis, 52 compositions resembling Jaydeva’s masterpiece Geeta Govinda dealing with various erotic exploits of Radha and Krishna.
(ii) Dana Leela poems dealing with the episodes of Krishna collecting his dues (dana is toll, tax or dues) from gopis who were going to sell buttermilk etc. to Mathura.
(iii) Sudama Charit is a narrative describing the well-known story of Krishna and Sudama.
(iv) Govinda Gamana or the Departure of Govind relates the episode of Akrura taking away Krishna from Gokul.
(v) Surata Sangrama, The Battle of Love, depicts in terms of a battle the amorous play between Radha and her girl friends on the one side and Krishna and his friends on the other.
(vi) Miscellaneous episodes from Bhagwatam like the birth of Krishna, his childhood pranks and adventures.
III. Songs of Sringar. These are hundreds of padas dealing with the erotic adventures and the amorous exploits of Radha and Krishna like Ras Leela. Various clusters of padas like Rasasahasrapadi and Sringar Mala fall under this head. Their dominant note is erotic (Sringar). They deal with stock erotic situations like the ossified Nayaka-Nayika Bheda of classical Sanskrit Kavya poetics.
IV. Songs of Devotion, Philosophical poems and Didactic works.
These are the works of a mature poet and bring out the best in him. He can express abstruse metaphysical concepts interwoven with traditional imagery in an amazingly simple language. This then is the secret of Narsinh’s popularity. It is these poems that have earned Narsinh the place he has in Gujarati literature and religious life. They deal with stock themes of bhakti literature like the qualities of a true devotee, futility of scholarship, outward rituals and the worldly pleasures, importance of bhakti, ethical purity, renunciation and so on. While most of them are typical of Bhakti literature, some of them have a refreshing quality mainly because of the use of metaphors and allegorical treatment of material from daily life, e.g. Ram Nama Nu Aosad Mare (the Name of Rama is my medicine); or Ame Vehvariya Rama Nama Na.. (We are the dealers of Rama’s Name...). Other excellent pieces are the dramatic lyrics dealing with metaphysical concepts. Vaishnava Jana to.. .’ which is purely a didactic poem which is popular throughout India, mainly because it was the favorite of Gandhiji.
One of the most important features of Narsinh’s works is that they are not available in the language in which Narsinh had composed them. They have been largely preserved orally. The oldest available manuscript of his work is dated around 1612 AD, and was found by the noted scholar K.K.Shastri from Gujarat Vidyasabha. Because of the immense popularity of his works, their language has undergone modifications with changing times. They have become an integral part of the historical evolution and the growth, identity and personality of Gujarati language.
For the sake of convenience, the works of Narsinh are divided into four broad and often overlapping categories: i) Autobiographical compositions like Putra Vivah, Mameru, Hundi, Har Same No Pado, Jhari Na Pado, and compositions depicting acceptance of Harijans, ii) miscellaneous narratives like Chaturis, Sudama Charit, Dana Leela and episodes based on Srimad Bhagwatam iii) songs of sringar or erotic and love poems, and iv) songs of devotion, philosophical poems and didactic works.
Narsinh's poems are essentially songs and are meant to be sung. His grasp of the Indian classical music has given his songs permanence. Poetry and music are inseparable in Narsinh’s compositions. While music may be one of the features that has kept Narsinh's poems alive, it has even played a significant role in keeping Gujarati language alive. Narsinh's rhetoric always foregrounds the musicality of compositions. His poetic diction profuse with figures of sound like alliteration, rhymes onomatopoeia is employed in way to embellish the word music of his poems. His vocabulary shows the enriching confluence of two streams of tradition: one of Sanskritic heritage and other is the local folk heritage. As the musical effect is one of the prime considerations in Narsinh’s poetry, he selects words that embellish these effects. In love songs, he is very fond of using ‘sweet’ words. This is very much in the tradition of Vaishnava bhakti which considers Krishna as Madhuradhipati - the Lord of Sweetness- about whom it is said Madhuradhipati akhilam madhuram (Everything is sweet about the Lord of Sweetness). This bhakti is madhurya bhakti - the sweet love for the Lord is a distinct characteristic of Narsinh’s love songs.
Narsinh resourcefully handles an extensive range of poetic devices from both folk lore and the pan Indian Sanskrit literary heritage. His use of conventional symbolic imagery of mango tree, the folklore motifs associated with spring for example, bees, flowers, honey, and blossoming trees is particularly striking:
"In my garden the mango tree has blossomed
And mangoes ripe are dripping with nectar!
Wake up and relish them, my slender Lord,
I'll pluck them for you and you enjoy!"
Fair one, in the middle of the night,
How your jingling anklets chime!
"In my garden are juicy grapes, sumptuous citrus fruits, and betel vines,
O Narsaiyya's Lord come to my place
For my heart is tender and mad!"
Fair one, in the middle of the night,
How your jingling anklets chime!
The erotic undercurrent of the image is obvious. The fruits symbolize the libidinous pleasure. Indeed, it is an invitation to love. It is a very common device in folk and tribal literature. The image of the mango tree is one of the many recurrent motifs in Narsinh’s poetry. In classical and medieval Indian literature as well as folk literature, the seasons function as signifiers for various moods, or to use Ramanujan’s phase, they function as `correlative-objectives’ which unlike objective correlatives are conventional and traditional (Ramanujan 1996:239) Spring is a well known signifier for erotic feelings and signals the celebration of life and desire. The other often-used motifs are also connected with spring; for example, bees, flowers, blossoming trees, and honey, which function to reinforce the erotic mood. Narsinh's dramatic love lyrics depict various vicissitudes of erotic encounters of Radha and Krishna. Depiction of raas leela itself carries suggestions of foreplay and the whole description becomes symbolic. In spite of frank eroticism, the songs never become crude as they involve a masterly artisanship. Yet, sexual love itself is symbolical of the metaphysical and the mystical Love in Bhakti literature. Narsinh's final couplet in his love poems always reveals this allegorical aspect of the immortal love affair. The deep influence of the classical Sanskrit poetry or the kavya literary tradition on Narsinh is seen in his use of many conventions of kavya tradition, for instance, the convention of `astanayika' or eight types of heroines and the stereotyped descriptions of woman's body. This influence, though it has given Gujarati literature some beautiful love poetry, has made many of his compositions monotonous.
In the traditional Indian rasa shastra, the erotic rasa is divided into two major types of shringar on the basis of the situation depicted. The first type is called viparalamba or the erotic rasa of separated lovers and the sanyog or the erotic rasa of their union. Narsinh’s poetry is replete with both these types of shringara. Narsinh’s Radha sings about the pain and desolation of the separation from her beloved:
Today, dear, this harsh winter closes in
And scares the frail ones like me.
My frozen little body sets our being ablaze!
But for my love, who will slake me?
Cold, cold is my bed in winter!
But for my love, who will embrace me passionately?
An interesting contrast between the fire of desire and the chill of desolation is depicted in the above pada. The paradoxical state is heightened when the very chill of desolation fans the fire of desire.
A good example of sanjog sringara is this pada:
Don't wake me up vigorously, O Madhukar!
You will break my delicate waist, my love!
As if smeared with vermilion
My lips have turned crimson with your bites!
I swear, I am exhausted and about to drop,
But the wicked one does not listen to me!
Don't wake me up vigorously, O Madhukar!
You will break my delicate waist, my love!
As is well known Krishna must be around the age of ten and Radha in her late teens, so the sanjog shringar in Narsinh becomes quite bold at times.
Don’t untie the threads of my choli, my love
The fruits of my breasts are not good enough for you!
Ananga, the god of love, stirs not in the unbloomed youth
There can be no ecstasy without lovemaking.’
Don’t untie the threads of my choli, my love
The fruits of my breasts are not good enough for you!
Hearing the words of the dark girl,
Narsaiyya's lord clasped her to his heart
And played many love games with her during their first union.
The frank depiction of eroticism in Narsinh has led many present day critics to grope for Metaphysical and occult explanations. Umashankar Joshi and others have rightly termed it as ooghado Shringar - ‘Open Eroticism’.
His dazzling use of the form of pada has left a deep impact on the development of later Gujarati lyrical poetry. In the use of the pada form, Narsinh shows a distinct influence of Jayadeva (twelfth century AD) and his great Geet Govind, which was already popular in Gujarat before Narsinh. Jaydeva's is the most influential treatment of Radha-Krishna love story and it almost started a tradition of this theme with followers in almost all the major languages in India. Vidyapati in Bengali, Narsinh in Gujarati, Soordas in Hindi are some names in this great tradition of love songs of Radha and Krishna. This tradition was preserved and enriched by later Vaishnava poets in various languages.
Narsinh is also given credit for developing narrative poetry, though his narratives are not so elaborately crafted as those of Premanand and those who succeeded him. Krishna-Sudama legend and the autobiographical narrative poems of Narsinh have an important place in Gujarati literary tradition as they are the examples of the earliest narrative and autobiographical verse in Gujarati. Besides, his autobiographical poems also shed some light on the personality of Narsinh, though their authorship is not always considered authentic. Bhakti poetry was not a sacrifice of individual style at the altar of community style as is commonly believed because much of it is personal and abounding with autobiographical elements. If a genealogy of autobiography in Indian literatures is drawn up, bhakti poetry will have to be given an important place.
Yet, the real greatness of Narsinh Mehta lies in his sublime philosophical songs. The poems in which eroticism becomes mystical are extremely engaging. Narsinh was deeply influenced by the Vedantic philosophy of advaita or the non-duality between the soul and the lord, yet bhakta and the poet within him always got better of the philosopher. Even when singing about the Vedantic ideas of the God and the world, he never slips into arid philosophizing which he despises. Love, unconditional love for the divine, is what Narsinh values and not logical or rational wrangling and hence he is not worried whether he adheres to Shankaracharya's version of advaita or Ramanujacharcya's version. His Vedanta is lovers' Vedanta and a bhakta's Vedanta.
Narsinh is not merely a philosopher, he is primarily a bhakta, and so he reminds his Lord that even His existence is dependent on His devotee’s existence. Bhakti always has a subversive slant to it. The Self and the Other, the Devotee and the Lord, the Lover and the Beloved are mutually dependent on each other for their existence. The state of advaita, Narsinh says, is the indescribable state of Complete Bliss’. The metaphor used by Narsinh for describing the state of advaita is a popular one, known also as luna-neer nyaya or the illustration of salt and water where after dissolution one cannot know one from the other.
In advaita there is loss of the self as well as the Other and Narsinh depicts this mystic state in one of his extremely beautiful ‘Love Songs’:
The bliss of my lord's closeness lasted as long as the night.
Then it vanished, my lord's bliss, when my arch enemy-the Sun did rise.
I became indistinguishable from the light, and in no time, my beloved too was gone.
In tracing his footsteps, in searching him, I lost myself.
The bliss of my lord's closeness lasted as long as the night.
Then it vanished, my lord's bliss, when my arch enemy-the Sun did rise.
In this seemingly strange play, my eyes turned inwards
I left my small selfhood as I lay utterly vanquished.
The words can't express this experience, which the scriptures call Ineffable.
The bliss of my lord's closeness lasted as long as the night.
Then it vanished, my lord's bliss, when my arch enemy-the Sun did rise.
The state of Advaita is analogous to the orgasm; it cannot be described using words, for the human language is incapable of it. The sun is the arch enemy not only because he is the busy old foole and a spoil sport but as the sun is a symbol of knowledge, Narsinh seems to be pointing out that knowledge itself becomes a sort of impediment to attainment of the Knowledge. Reason and logic are not means to attain knowledge but hurdles in the path. This anti-scholastic, anti rational attitude is typical of bhakti.
No one seems to believe the wonder of what I say, but those who have attained this state know it well.
The sea of Being is of absolute Oneness, and Narsinh relishes it enrapt.
The bliss of my lord's closeness lasted as long as the night.
Then it vanished, my lord's bliss, when my arch enemy-the Sun did rise.
This obvious closeness of the abstract metaphysical conception of Advaita with the concrete and physical experience of sexual union has helped many Indian medieval saint-singers sing of the former without going very far from the latter and the other way round. Narsinh indeed is no different. Yet, it is significant to note that this type of erotic allegory in the form of beautiful songs came into predominance only with Narsinh’s poetry in Gujarati literary tradition.
The philosopher in Narsinh also gave him insights into some of the philosophical problems the classical brahminical system of thought, for instance, the problem of the One and the Many, the conflict between Monism and Pluralism.
In this entire universe, you alone exist, Shri Hari,
Yet, in infinite forms you seem to be!
This composition is an excellent illustration of the essential Vedantic idea of underlying Unity behind the apparent plurality. This is one of the most popular songs of Narsinh. It is of course a statement made by a Vaishnava Vedantist but it is also in the form of a very beautiful lyric. The irreducible plurality and heterogeneity of the Cosmos can baffle even a layman. Nevertheless, Narsinh sees that the Lord creates this plurality Himself, as a part of His leela.
Only to taste the nectar of being manifold,
You created the jiva and the siva and countless other forms!
In this entire universe, you alone exist, Shri Hari,
Yet, in infinite forms you seem to be!
According to Narsinh, the Lord for His Enjoyment creates the world. In the same pada, he gives another classical Vedantic illustration, his personal favourite:
Ornaments differ not from what they are made,
As the Vedas and other scriptures truly say,
Only their names differ once their forms are cast,
Gold is always gold in the end!
In this entire universe, you alone exist, Shri Hari,
Yet, in infinite forms you seem to be!
The conception of the ‘creation’ as sung by Narsinh is particularly significant, as it distinctly shows the influence of post-Sankara Vedantism, especially that of thinkers like Ramanujacharya and other bhakti saint-singers like Namdev and Dynaneshwar (see Y.J Tripathi. Kevaladvaita in Gujarati Poetry, 1958).
Sankara had distinctly rejected the idea of ‘creation’ because the world itself was nothing but an illusion arising out of avidya or ignorance. Narsinh frequently uses terms like Satchiddananda, which have lead many to believe that he was influenced by Vallabhacharya’s Shuddhadvaita though the time in which Narsinh composed his songs was much earlier than the time in which Vallabha preached his doctrine. Besides, Vallabha’s influence reached Gujarat even later. The critics who have given a thought to this problem draw attention to the fact that the germ of this version of Vedanta existed before Vallabha himself, especially in the compositions of Dynaneshwar and songs of Namdev. Yet what is still significant is that Narsinh was even influenced by Sankara as can be seen from some of his songs. He was not worried much about doctrines and seems eclectic in his philosophical thinking.
In his hauntingly beautiful song ‘Jagi Ne Jou To Jagat Dise Nahi...' Narsinh sings about one of the Sankara’s favourite ideas - Maya:
When I wake up, the world recedes from my sight.
Only in sleep, its bewildering miseries and enjoyment perplexes me!
My being is a play of the Consciousness:
The brahman playing with the brahman!
The metaphor of sleep and awakening has a crucial significance in the Vedantic thinking, especially that of Sankara. The plurality and the relativity of the phenomenal world arose out of ignorance hence was compared to the experience of dreaming where one mistook dreams for reality and once one is awake, one realizes that what one saw in sleep was unreal. Hence the knowledge that the brahman alone exists is compared to awakening.
The image of the brahman frolicking with the brahman is a strikingly original one. Another rather original image is in his famous song Nirakh ne Gagan Ma ..:
Which pales even the brilliance of gold,
There Satchitananda frolics in joy
And happily swings in the glorious cradle of gold!
Look, who is roving in the sky!
I am He, I am He, the echoing word replies!
The poet is looking up in the sky and sees his beloved Lord in the brilliant sun rising in the morning. The composition evokes the ancient idea of Vishnu as the Solar God. He is also the Logos -the Word, the Shabda, who is chanting So'ham, So’ham or “He am I”. A very original image is that of the Satchitananda in the form of Golden Child rocking in the cradle of gold. The rhetoric of the whole poem is very dramatic and reaches to the point of being sublime. These are the poems which express Narsinh’s philosophy which is Upanishadic in its outlook.
Narsinh is too much of a bhakta to be a pure Sankaracharian. In another poem, he gives an important place to Radha in the form of Shakti, the Divine Creative Power.
Yet he is not alone, he is not distinct from his creation,
Which is his all-encompassing energy!
Sri Krishna is without the beginning,
Total bliss is his nature and Radha his ravishing beloved!
You alone are the beginning, the middle, and the end!
You alone, you alone, Sri Hari!
As can be seen, the bhakta in Narsinh makes him see the whole philosophy of Vedanta in a different light. The concept of moksha is of considerable importance in the Vedantic thought. Moksha or the ultimate release from the bondage of this afflicted World and the cycles of births and rebirths, is one of the purusharthas or the purposes of being in the Hindu scheme of life. However, for a true bhakta like Narsinh, it is of minor importance, a by-product:
Those who love Hari long not for the ultimate release,
Instead, they desire to be born over again
To sing forever, to dance forever,
To celebrate forever and to gaze forever at Nanda's darling!
Great is the wealth of bhakti found only on the earth,
Not found even in the realms of Brahma!
This utterance with rather Dionysian overtones is indeed a radical departure from the conventional Vedantic thinking which lays great emphasis on attainment of the moksha, from the cycles of births and rebirths. While the scholastic and conventional Vedanta is Apollonian in its outlook emphasizing jnana or knowledge, dhyana or meditation, control of emotions and senses and karmakanda or rituals, the bhakti is Dionysian with its rebellious, celebratory nature and its faith in unconditional love. Hence for Narsinh, bhakti is the key to the great metaphysical lock.
Blessed is the land of Vraj, blessed is his eternal sport,
Blessed are the people of Vraj as eight magical powers
Wait at their doorsteps and Mukti becomes their maid!
Great is the wealth of bhakti found only on the earth,
Not found even in the realms of Brahma!
The eight siddhis are the eight types of magical powers which yogis, the adepts, are supposed to attain after rigorous discipline and austerity:
True fulfillment of my birth is in loving my beloved forever!
Never with dry rituals and harsh austerities
Would I torture my tender body!
All the time I’d play the games of love with my beloved!
True fulfillment of my birth is in loving my beloved forever!!
Rejection of austerities and rituals is one of the recurrent themes in the bhakti literature:
Yoga and austerities has he reserved for the detached yogis
But sheer enjoyment has he in store only for his lovers.
Penance and rituals he has reserved for the insensitive ones
The sap of the earth has spread through the branches
The god of love in the eyes has come to dwell...!
The bhaktas also reject bookish learning and armchair speculation of pundits and philosophers, for they are poor substitutes for Love. Narsinh admonishes the scholars :
You won’t fathom it at all without being truly pure!
This is not the way to find the essence of Truth, O Pundits!
You won't fathom It at all without being truly pure!
You go for dry empty husk and cast away the grains!
One cannot appease hunger by mere dry chaff!
Experience of the brahman, first hand, and nothing else will work for Narsinh; everything else is sheer waste of time.
So what if you have taken a holy bath or offered twilight prayers and worship?
So what if you have stayed at home and given alms?
So what if you keep matted locks and smear ashes?
So what if you have plucked hair on your head?
Unless and until you have grasped the essence of the Self
Vain are all your efforts and like unseasonal rains, you have wasted your human birth.
So what if you indulge in recitation, penance or go on a pilgrimage?
So what if you count beads and chant the holy name
So what if you put on a tilak or worship Tulsi?
So what if you drink the water of Ganga?
So what if you speak of the Vedas or grammar?
So what if you enjoy yourself and have a good time?
So what if you have grasped the distinctions between the six systems of philosophy?
So what if you have adhered to the distinction of caste?
All these are worldly pursuits for filling one’s belly
Until you have seen the absolute brahman.
Says Narsinh, without beholding the Essence
One wastes his birth precious as Chintamani Jewel.
Unless and until you have grasped the essence of the Self
Vain are all your efforts and like unseasonal rains, you have wasted your human birth!
Narsinh's bhakti rejects all austerities, rituals, bookish learning, and artificial divisions of caste, and creed. A true devotee never considers such divisions. This great idea of social equality, of samdrishti (lit. vision of equality) had a democratizing impact on society. This radical social outlook brought him into a bitter conflict with the brahminical establishment and he was ostracized. Narsinh Mehta the lover and the poet was a natural rebel. Poetry of Narsinh happens to be the poetry of an outcaste Brahmin. His didactic compositions display his moral seriousness and earnest desire to reform the society. His ability to express complex metaphysical and philosophical ideas in a melodious language that is extremely beautiful, simple and accessible to people has conferred immortality to his compositions.
Just as Narsinh repudiates all conventionality and artificiality of the social norms, he also seems to have questioned the norms of sexuality and gender. The legend has it that when Narsinh had the vision of the Divine ras-leela of his beloved Lord so engrossed and involved was he in that vision that he identified himself with the dancing milkmaids and even became the Sakhi or the girlfriend of Radha and Krishna.
O torchbearer is Narsaiyyo!
Torchbearer of Hari!
With mind brimming with deep love
And nectar on his tongue,
O torchbearer is Narsaiyyo!
Torchbearer of Hari!
The girls enjoy the very thing they so relish,
And their glances are playful and inviting,
In such an engrossing moment,
Narsaiyya's manliness has vanished!
O torchbearer is Narsaiyyo!
Torchbearer of Hari!
This dissolution of masculinity in bhakti is expressed elsewhere too.
The Absolute Purushottama passionately plays as his lovers plead!
And by being his girlfriend, Narsinh relishes the very nectar
The women of Vraj so delightfully revel in!
You alone are the beginning, the middle, and the end!
You alone, you alone, Sri Hari!
So many times in his love songs, the persona is that of a gopi or Radha, talking to her girlfriend. In one of his padas, Narsinh talks about the ‘Fortune’ of being a woman:
Essence of essence is the birth of the weaker sex,
For her strength alone can please the mighty hero!
What's the use of this manliness, friend,
When it is of no use to the lord at all?
Essence of essence is the birth of the weaker sex!
A man might attain the ultimate release,
If he sticks to the path of virtue,
But to indulge in the scrumptious joys
Of pretended anger
And the lord pleading to make up and other such games,
You simply have to be a woman!
Essence of essence is the birth of the weaker sex!
For her strength can please the mighty hero!
Even the gods like Indra and the great sages
Revere the very dust of gopis' feet,
Considering themselves lesser than the gopis
As they find their manhood insipid!
Essence of essence the birth of the weaker sex,
For her strength can please the mighty hero!
Woman, the treasure trove of fortune
Experiences and enjoys all day and night
The very nectar, the Vedas and the Scriptures
Struggle to express!
Essence of essence is the birth of the weaker sex!
Let my dreams come true
My dark one, my lifter of the mountain, life of my life!
For just like the master dragging the meek beast
The leash of love draws Narsinh!
Essence of essence is the birth of the weaker sex,
For her strength can please the mighty hero!
This may seem to be one more expression of the hypocritical attitude of the patriarchal Indian society. Though the idea of `woman’ in these poems look stereotyped, Narsinh by upholding Woman as a model and an ideal for bhakti, is actually subverting the monopoly of men in the field of religion. `Manliness’ for Narsinh is an impediment in the path of bhakti. In spite of the fact that Narsinh is upholding woman as a model for the relationship with the divine, his depiction of erotic in the poems is very much chauvinistic, one has only to consider the gross description of woman's body in his poems.
The language of his erotic and love poems can be deceptively simple. The closer attention to words at times reveals very rich ambiguities. For instance, Narsinh's very famous composition, `prem ras paa ne....'contains an interesting example of ambiguity. Narsinh says `tatva nu tupanu tuchh a laage..' in which the word `tupanu' is interpreted by the critics in two ways: i) as `tu -panu' as `you-ness' to signify the otherness or separateness of the Lord as an entity in the conventional philosophical discourse and ii) as the noted critic Anantrai Rawal (96:1994) has observed it indicates the chaffing or producing useless husk which metaphorically denotes arid and futile philosophical debates disliked by Narsinh who lays great stress on affective rather than rational relationship with the divine. These interpretations are not mutually contradictory as both denote the things Narsinh disliked and hence have negative associations, but while the first one is distinctly Vedantic as well as erotic, the other interpretation is more appropriate in the context as the next line uses the metaphor of husk and grain, and had to be retained in translation.
Serve me the draught of love's ambrosia
One bedecked with peacock feathers!
This futile threshing of arid philosophies tastes so insipid!
These emaciated cattle crave merely the dry husk,
They pine not for the ultimate liberation!
One bedecked with peacock feathers!
Another interesting example of ambiguity arises from the clever use of the word bhog which can mean not just enjoyment but also suffering in the well known philosophical poem Jaagi ne jou to jagat dise nahi, oongh ma atpata bhog bhaase. It means that when I am awake spiritually I cannot see the phenomenal world, but only in sleep do I perceive the bewildering temptations/woes. Sleeping and awakening of course are used as metaphors for the states of ignorance and enlightenment respectively. It turns on the head the conventional belief that we can perceive the phenomenal world only when we are awake. The cognition of the phenomenal world and all its temptations and woes is actually a dream and illusion born out of the sleep of ignorance.
In the poem `Sundariratna-mukhchandra avalokva....’ there is an another instance of ambiguity. The composition borrows Sanskrit phrases from the Geet Govind. In the second stanza Narsinh puts a Sanskrit phrase twamasi mam jeevan in the mouth of the charming milkmaid, Radha, to which Krishna replies using Sanskrit phrases twamasi shringar mam, twamasi mam. Krishna is lavishly praising Radha through out the poem and in the end Narsinh Mehta says Narsaiya no swami sukhsagar, eh ni stuti eh karta. Eh ni stuti eh karta can mean two things first he is praising her and at the same time it can mean he is praising himself. This deliberate ambiguity suggests the fundamental oneness within difference between Radha and Krishna. They are separate yet they are one. Krishna in praising Radha is actually praising himself! This is due to the clever use of pronouns in Gujarati. Ambiguity, however it should be added, in Narsinh’s poetic language is not merely a product of clever use of rhetorical devices or accidental vagueness but is product of his entire artistic vision.
The poetic language in most of his compositions remains very sweet, and melodious. However, in some of his other devotional and didactic poems the language tends to become harsh and rough:
Wayward progeny of a lewd whore, what teaching will bring you to your senses?
Blind teacher and on top of that, a deaf disciple, how on earth can they grasp the knowledge of brahman?
Wayward progeny of a lewd whore, what teaching will bring you to your senses?
Not very often does Narsinh refer to a guru and there is hardly any information about his guru or whether he actually had one.
At times, the language becomes bitter and ironic. In one allegorical composition, there is a disconcerting depiction of funeral procession of the human soul in terms of marriage ceremony. The comparison is elaborate and Narsinh creates the eerie effect by juxtaposing what is inauspicious and life-denying with what is erotic, auspicious and life affirming. This type of pada contains a rare feeling of bitterness which is unbecoming of poets like Narsinh.
Girls merrily watch the procession of a handsome young groom!
How pure and clean he looks with tilak adorning his forehead!
How attractive are his consorts!
How happily they sprinkle vermilion around!
Girls merrily watch the procession of a handsome young groom!
The pada goes on to describe one procession as if it is the other and tells us how the `bridegroom’ decides to stay at his in-laws, a thing that is looked down upon in the Hindu culture. Finally, Narsinh gives the key to the allegory:
The Jiva is being whisked away by the heralds of Death!
See how they have tortured his mortal remains!
It is good if one meets Narsaiyya's Lord, for He alone can rescue you from the world of woes!
Girls merrily watch the procession of the handsome young groom!
His other didactic compositions are extremely popular. His Vaishnava Jana To.. has earned a world wide fame. It is a conventional bhakti poem enumerating the qualities of a true devotee and true saint in the manner of Kabir who had earlier sang of the qualities a true sadhu should possess. It is noteworthy that Narsinh’s definition of the true Vaishnava begins not on a typically religious note. One who knows the pains and sufferings of others is a true Vaishnava not the one who is ‘religious’ in observing karma-kanda. Religion for Narsinh is humanitarianism.
Some of his poems at times have existential overtones. For instance his poem on the onset of old age and humiliation associated with it, has rare poignancy:
Who has sent the old age? I thought youth was here to stay!
Even threshold seems a mountain now
The outskirts of the village seem distant like foreign lands to me.
Even the small pail is now the mighty Ganga for me
And the hair on my body has irreversibly grayed!
Who has sent the old age? I thought youth was here to stay!
The poem goes on to recount more miseries one has to face in the old age. The tragic note is unmistakable:
Nine ganglions have come away and my hour has finally arrived.
Women disparage and children swear at me, such is the final moment!
My sons have at last arrived at the door
Only to take the purse from my chest and depart!
Who has sent the old age? I thought youth was here to stay!
The children come to meet the old man not to bid a loving farewell but to take his purse! The futility of samsara, the mundane world of attachment, miseries, and small pleasures is depicted with a rare feeling and insight.
His oeuvre has extraordinary range and originality. His innovative ability to bring the heterogeneous cultural heritage of our society into play in his extremely rich poetic language places him along with the best of the bhakti poets of our country. It is in Narsinh, we find that Gujarati poetry beginning to explore its potential and possibilities with remarkable energy for the first time. He seems to have laid a true foundation to the Gujarati literary tradition. Though a huge bulk of the Jain literature existed before Narsinh, it could not find a lasting place on the tongue of the Gujarati people, nor could it find a place in their cultural memory. Narsinh has found an abiding place in the hearts of people because he had fathomed the true roots of Gujarati culture - the roots which are deep into the elemental concoction of the erotic, the austere, the orality, the performitivity, the metaphysical and the ethical dimensions of the human existence. This was something that the pre-Narsinh Jain literature could not completely do justice to. Because of his ability to express complex philosophical ideas in a simple language of the masses, and his radically democratic outlook towards caste, class, and gender, he caught the imagination of the illiterate, the poor and the neglected along with the elite minority. Narsinh indeed is the first poet of Gujarat, a pioneer of a tradition and a legend that has become an inseparable part of the Gujarati ethos.
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