Bhanusingher Padabali
In the dense flower orchard,
The sweet symphony of Shyam’s flute carries her away.
My friend, come, drowning all fears,
all shame, all inhibitions,
Come along, and unite with Him.
With the beauty and charm of her calm, blue attire
She carries in her heart the bountiful blossoms of love
In her doe-eyes, she carries an untainted smile,
Come along, in the lush, dense forest, in search of your love.
The flowers of the orchard pour in their luscious fragrance
The birds on the boughs pour in their melodies galore,
The moon in the firmament pours her sweet elixir,
The pure, silvery beauty of the night lingers on.
The sweet chirpings of the swallows,
the buds blooming in the grove fill with delight.
The bakul, jasmine flowers bloom in abundance in the boughs.
Behold the beauty of Shyam and Radha, his beloved,
Their eyes brimming with pure love,
Their divine, charming faces, like the sweet nectar of heaven
Like the moon’s tranquil beauty, unblemished.
Come, dear maidens, come along to witness
The divine Shree Govinda,
Bhanusingha, the humble one offers his prayers
At the lotus feet of his lord, Shyam.
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গহন কুসুম কুঞ্জ মাঝে
মৃদুল মধুর বংশি বাজে,
বিসরি ত্রাস লোকলাজে
সজনি আও আও লো,
গহন কুসুম কুঞ্জ মাঝে।।
পিনহ চারু নীল বাস
হৃদয়ে প্রণয়কুসুমরাশ,
হরিণনেত্রে বিমল হাস,
কুঞ্জবনমে আও লো।
গহন কুসুম কুঞ্জ মাঝে।।
ঢালে কুসুম সুরভভার
ঢালে বিহগ সুরবসার,
ঢালে ইন্দু অমৃতধার
বিমল রজতভাতি রে।
মন্দ মন্দ ভৃঙ্গ গুঞ্জে
অযুত কুসুম কুঞ্জে কুঞ্জে,
মন্দ মন্দ ভৃঙ্গ গুঞ্জে
অযুত কুসুম কুঞ্জে কুঞ্জে,
ফুটল সজনি পুঞ্জে পুঞ্জে
ফুটল সজনি পুঞ্জে পুঞ্জে
বকুল যূথি জাতি রে।
গহন কুসুম কুঞ্জ মাঝে।।
দেখ লো সখি শ্যামরায়
নয়নে প্রেম উথল যায়,
মধুর বদন অমৃতসদন
চন্দ্রমায় নিন্দিছে।
আও আও সজনিবৃন্দ
হেরব সখি শ্রীগোবিন্দ,
আও আও সজনিবৃন্দ
হেরব সখি শ্রীগোবিন্দ,
শ্যামকো পদারবিন্দ
ভানুসিংহ বন্দিছে।
গহন কুসুম কুঞ্জ মাঝে
মৃদুল মধুর বংশি বাজে,
বিসরি ত্রাস লোকলাজে
সজনি আও আও লো,
গহন কুসুম কুঞ্জ মাঝে।।
Translator’s Note
I was immersed in the beauty, the divine charm and mystic philosophy of the the songs/lyrics of Tagore’s ‘Bhanusingher Padavali’ (The Hymns of Bhanusingha) since my college days when I had learnt some of the songs by heart. Like the poems and songs of his ‘Gitanjali’, which fetched Tagore the coveted Nobel Prize in 2013, the songs and lyrics of this magnum opus volume are highly sought after for their romantic, yet mystic poetic outpourings which become the essence of these Vaishnava song offerings.
In the song ‘Gahana Kusuma Kunja Majhe’, the poet chronicles the divine love and romance between Lord Krishna and his paramour Radha, which is traditionally the subject of Vaishnava songs, lyrics and philosophy and also the subject of a vast body of Indian love poems. The main theme of the lyrics of this song, the interconnection between the beauty of nature and the strong interplay of human emotions in the description of Radha and Krishna gives the poem/lyric its remarkable beauty and makes it all the more memorable.
Biographers and researchers of Tagore have remarked that ‘Bhanusimha Thakurer Padabali’ written by Tagore in the language Brajabuli under the pseudonym Bhānusiṃha at age sixteen happens to be his first significant poetry publication (published in 1884). They have also found that while the anthology had 22 songs, only nine exists in Swarabitan (Vol. XXI), the prized collection of notations of Tagore’s music. It is my great pleasure and honor to bring out the inner essence of this timeless composition of Tagore through my humble translation, on the auspicious occasion of his birth month in May (Baishakh according to Bengali calendar).
Rabindranath Tagore (1861-1941) was the youngest son of Debendranath Tagore, a leader of the Brahmo Samaj, which was a new religious sect in nineteenth-century Bengal and which attempted a revival of the ultimate monistic basis of Hinduism as laid down in the Upanishads. He was educated at home; and although at seventeen he was sent to England for formal schooling, he did not finish his studies there. In his mature years, in addition to his many-sided literary activities, he managed the family estates, a project which brought him into close touch with common humanity and increased his interest in social reforms. He also started an experimental school at Shantiniketan where he tried his Upanishadic ideals of education. From time to time he participated in the Indian nationalist movement, though in his own non-sentimental and visionary way; and Gandhi, the political father of modern India, was his devoted friend. Tagore was knighted by the ruling British Government in 1915, but within a few years he resigned the honour as a protest against British policies in India.
Tagore had early success as a writer in his native Bengal. With his translations of some of his poems he became rapidly known in the West. In fact his fame attained a luminous height, taking him across continents on lecture tours and tours of friendship. For the world he became the voice of India’s spiritual heritage; and for India, especially for Bengal, he became a great living institution.
Although Tagore wrote successfully in all literary genres, he was first of all a poet. Among his fifty and odd volumes of poetry are Manasi (1890) [The Ideal One], Sonar Tari (1894) [The Golden Boat], Gitanjali (1910) [Song Offerings], Gitimalya (1914) [Wreath of Songs], and Balaka (1916) [The Flight of Cranes]. The English renderings of his poetry, which include The Gardener (1913), Fruit-Gathering (1916), and The Fugitive (1921), do not generally correspond to particular volumes in the original Bengali; and in spite of its title, Gitanjali: Song Offerings (1912), the most acclaimed of them, contains poems from other works besides its namesake. Tagore’s major plays are Raja (1910) [The King of the Dark Chamber], Dakghar (1912) [The Post Office], Achalayatan (1912) [The Immovable], Muktadhara (1922) [The Waterfall], and Raktakaravi (1926) [Red Oleanders]. He is the author of several volumes of short stories and a number of novels, among them Gora (1910), Ghare-Baire (1916) [The Home and the World], and Yogayog (1929) [Crosscurrents]. Besides these, he wrote musical dramas, dance dramas, essays of all types, travel diaries, and two autobiographies, one in his middle years and the other shortly before his death in 1941. Tagore also left numerous drawings and paintings, and songs for which he wrote the music himself.
Biography source
Lopamudra Banerjee is an author, poet, translator and editor, currently living in Dallas, Texas. She is originally from Kolkata, India.
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