First three verses from Book Ten

[madanmohandas]

The King said;
Great deeds of mighty kings who trace
Their origin from the solar race,
And from the moon, to me,
At length has been described by thee.
And thou hast told, O holy sage,
How, in noble Yadu's lineage,
By a portion of himself appeared
Lord Vishnu, by the gods revered.
What were the deeds, I pray thee tell,
Of him in whom all creatures dwell,
The universal soul, when He
Took birth in Yadu's dynasty.

[Nitaidas]

You are our bard, madanmohanji. Thanks for posting this.

[madanmohandas]

You're welcome. I struggled with the next one, but here's what I've got so far. Somehow I could not squeeze in the ' compound epithet' Uttamasloka.

Who but a butcher from such recitals would abtsain,
Where self-control'd ascetics perpetuate the strain,
Which like a potent medicine physics all life's ills,
Captivates the ear, and the mind with rapture fills?

You may notice, Nitai, that I managed to include more feet in the lines for this one in keeping with the original change in the measure. I must admit I'm quite chuffed only there is still some eighteen thousand to go!

[Ldd]

we need to have this published in book form.

[Nitaidas]

the offer to our bard is always open from Blazing Sapphire.

Good job, madanmohanji. Yeah, somethings just won't fit. Still, it is good to vary the metre to give some idea of variations in the original.

[madanmohandas]

By his gracious favour my grandsires could cross o'er
The formidable Kuru host, a sea without a shore;
Where he who made the awesome god-like vow became
The terrible Leviathan whom none might hope to tame.
Yet they that ocean crossed as one would safely pass
A tiny calf's hoof puddle impressed upon the grass.


He who made the god-like vow is Bhisma as Devavrata. The vow being perpetual continance.
The Leviathan is the Timingila or an English equivalant. A gigantic 'mythical' sea creature.

[Nitaidas]

Bravo, madanmohandasji. Keep up the good work!

[madanmohandas]

Thanks Nitai.

[Ldd]

more more Shakespeare.

[madanmohandas]

When scorcht within my mother's womb I lay,
And she his refuge sought that he might stay
The Brahma miscile launched by Drona's son,
Intent to take my life ere yet it were begun;
He with his whirling discus entered in sublime,
And, saving me, upheld the Pandu and the Kuru line.

O learned one, the heroic deeds to us relate
Of him who as Purusha does all beings permeate
Within, and who outside is manifest as Time,
Dealing death to these, to those the life divine;
Recount his holy fame and glorious enterprise,
When he, deluding all, assumed a man's disgiuse.

[Nitaidas]

Delightful, baba. More! More!

[Ldd]

Bravo. Recess now, the bard is getting ready to knock dem out with the next 2 verses.