46. Lall Dedh: Dami dyeethim...

دمی ڈیٹھم ند وُہ ونی

دمی ڈیوٹھم سُم نہ تہ تار

دمی ڈیٹھم تھر فولہ ونی

دمی ڈیوٹھم گل نہ تہ خار

دمی ڈیٹھم گٔج دز وُنی

دمی ڈیوٹھم دہ نہ تہ نار

دمی ڈیٹھم پانڈون ہنز موج

دمی ڈیٹھم کرأج ماس

(دمی ڈیٹھم بانِ کرأج)

Transliteration:

Dami dyeetthim nad wuhwunie

Dami dyoothum sum ne te taar

Dami dyeetthim thaerr pholwunie

Dami dyoothum gul ne te khaar

Dami dyeetthim gaejj dazwunie

Dami dyoothum duh ne te naar

Dami dyeetthim pandavan hinez mouj

Dami dyeetthim kraaej maas

(Dami dyeetthim bane kraaej)

Vocabulary:

ڈیٹھم: to saw

وُہ ونی: Raging

سُم: bridge

تار: plank bridge

تھر: stalk on which flowers grow

خار: thorn

گٔج: hearth

کرأج: Potteress

Grierson's translation:

One moment I saw a little stream flowing,

another moment I saw neither a bridge, nor any other means of crossing.

At one time I saw a bush blooming,

at another time I saw neither a flower nor a thorn.

At one moment I saw the mother of the five Pandavas,

at another moment I saw a potter's wife's aunt.

‘Nothing in this world can last’

The subject is the impermanence of everything material.

“But pleasures are like poppies spread,

You seize the flower; its bloom is shed;

Or, like the snow-fall in the river,

A moment white, then melts forever.”

The Pandavas, the famous heroes of the Mahabharata, were kings, and their mother, Kunti, was a queen. Yet, through treachery, they were all at one time reduced to the direst misery, and wandered hungry and thirsty till they came to the city of King Drupada. Here, with their mother, the Pandavas, disguised as mendicant Brahmanas, found refuge in the hut of a potter, and supported themselves by begging. Lalla adds that, the potter's wife, or her children, called Kunti their aunt. This is contrary to the Mahabharata story, for it would make out that the Pandavas and their mother posed as potters, not as Brahmanas. It is a curious fact that the stories of the great Indian epics, as told in Kashmir, sometimes differ widely from the Sanskrit texts current in India proper. For instance, in a Kashmiri Ramayana, Sita is represented as the daughter of Mandodari, the wife of Ravana.

Jiya Lal Koul's translation:

Now I saw a stream flowing;

Now neither bank nor bridge was seen.

Now I saw a bush in bloom;

Now neither rose nor thorn was seen.

Now I saw a hearth ablaze;

Now I saw not fire nor smoke.

Now I saw the Pandava Mother;

Now she was but a potter’s aunt.

Nand Lal Koul's translation:

ابھی ایک ندی بہتی ہوئی

ابھی چار سو عالم آب تھا۔

جو دیکھا تو پل تھا نہ ساحل کہیں

نہ تھا سيل دم میں نہ وہ جوئے آب۔

ابھی ایک جھاڑی تھی پھولوں سے پُر

ابھی پھر جو دیکھا نہ گُل تھا نہ رُخسار۔

میں نے دیکھا ایک چولہے میں تھی آتش شعلہ ور

دم میں دیکھا آگ اُس میں تھی نہ باقی کچھ شرار۔

تھی ابھی ماں پانڈاوؤں کی میرے آگے جلوہ گر

دم میں تھی خالہ کمہار کی میرے پیش نظر۔

My translation:

One moment I saw a brook raging (with waters);

Very next there was no sign of bridge or crossing plank.

One moment I saw a stalk blooming with flowers;

Very next there was no sign of flowers or thorns.

One moment I saw a hearth full of fire;

Very next there was no sign of smoke or fire.

One moment I saw (her) as mother of Pandavas,

Very next she was potteress aunt.

(Very next she was utensil selling potteress)

Explanation:

As the Kashmiri proverb goes, "ati shah ati gada" (A king in a moment, the slave in very next), nothing lasts forever and turning of tide from worse to good and vice versa takes no time. The last couplet seems to me wrongly put in this Vaakh. I reason it on two grounds. One, Kashmiris have always tried to rhyme verses, be it in poetry, proverbs or even riddles. In this case when the rhyme was readily available, I don’t think it could have been foregone by the author. Mouj rhymes perfectly with Kraej. Second, Kunti, the Pandavas’ mother would sell pottery goods(especially utensils) and we have seen we usually call such lady as Baane Kraej not simply Kraej! The poem tells that one moment Kunti was very strong being queen and mother of Pandavas and when the tide turned against them, she had to help sell pottery goods of the lady who gave them refuge.