Page 15 - Appreciating Sanskrit

SANSKRIT

THE LANGUAGE OF INDIA’S SOUL

kaḥ khagaughāṅcicchaujā jhāñgyo'ṭauṭhīḍaḍaṇḍhaṇaḥ |

tathodadhīn papharbābhīrmayo'rilvāśiṣāṁ sahaḥ ||

कः खग।घणङमलच्छ।जण झणञ्ग्योऽट।ठीडडण्ढर्ः ।
्

तथोदधीन पफबणभीमयोऽररल्वणमिषण सिः ॥
ण
ं
ण
्

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

umbrella of citra- ā v y a ("stunning poetry").
k