Bhrngadutam
Encyclopedia
Bhṛṅgadūtam (2004), literally The bumblebee messenger, is a Sanskrit
Sanskrit
Sanskrit , is a historical Indo-Aryan language and the primary liturgical language of Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism.Buddhism: besides Pali, see Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit Today, it is listed as one of the 22 scheduled languages of India and is an official language of the state of Uttarakhand...

 minor poem (Khaṇḍakāvya) of the Dūtakāvya (messenger-poem) genre composed by Jagadguru Rāmabhadrācārya
Jagadguru Rāmabhadrācārya
Jagadguru Ramanandacharya Swami Rambhadracharya, born 14 January 1950 as Giridhar Mishra, is a Hindu religious leader, educationist, Sanskrit scholar, polyglot, poet, author, commentator, philosopher, composer, singer, playwright and Katha artist based in Chitrakoot, India. He is one of four...

 (1950-). The poem consists of 501 verses in the Mandakrāntā metre divided in two parts. Set in the context of the Kiṣkindhākāṇḍa of Rāmāyaṇa
Ramayana
The Ramayana is an ancient Sanskrit epic. It is ascribed to the Hindu sage Valmiki and forms an important part of the Hindu canon , considered to be itihāsa. The Ramayana is one of the two great epics of India and Nepal, the other being the Mahabharata...

, the poem describes the message sent via a bumblebee by Rāma
RAMA
Rama is a first-person adventure game developed and published by Sierra Entertainment in 1996. The game is based on Arthur C. Clarke's books Rendezvous with Rama and Rama II and supports both DOS and Windows 95. It is the second Rama game to be produced...

, spending the four months of the rainy season on the Pravarṣaṇa mountain in Kiṣkindhā, to Sītā
SITA
SITA is a multinational information technology company specialising in providing IT and telecommunication services to the air transport industry...

, held captive by Rāvaṇa
Ravana
' is the primary antagonist character of the Hindu legend, the Ramayana; who is the great king of Lanka. In the classic text, he is mainly depicted negatively, kidnapping Rama's wife Sita, to claim vengeance on Rama and his brother Lakshmana for having cut off the nose of his sister...

 in Laṅkā
Lanka
Sri Lanka is the name given in Hindu mythology to the island fortress capital of the legendary king Ravana in the great Hindu epics, the Ramayana and the Mahabharata...

.

A copy of the poem, with the Guñjana Hindi
Hindi
Standard Hindi, or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi, also known as Manak Hindi , High Hindi, Nagari Hindi, and Literary Hindi, is a standardized and sanskritized register of the Hindustani language derived from the Khariboli dialect of Delhi...

 commentary by the poet himself, was published by the Jagadguru Rambhadracharya Handicapped University, Chitrakuta
Chitrakuta
Chitrakuta is a town and a nagar panchayat in Satna district in the state of Madhya Pradesh, India....

, Uttar Pradesh
Uttar Pradesh
Uttar Pradesh abbreviation U.P. , is a state located in the northern part of India. With a population of over 200 million people, it is India's most populous state, as well as the world's most populous sub-national entity...

. The book was released on August 30, 2004.

Narrative

Like Meghadūtam
Meghaduta
Meghadūta is a lyric poem written by Kālidāsa, considered to be one of the greatest Sanskrit poets.A short poem of 111 stanzas, it is one of Kālidāsa's most famous works...

 of Kālidāsa
Kalidasa
Kālidāsa was a renowned Classical Sanskrit writer, widely regarded as the greatest poet and dramatist in the Sanskrit language...

, Bhṛṅgadūtam is divided in two parts. The first part is titled Pūrvabhṛṅgaḥ (literally, the earlier journey of the bumblebee) and consists of 251 verses. The second path is titled Uttarabhṛṅgaḥ (meaning the later journey of the bumblebee) and is composed of 250 verses. The actual message from Rāma is contained in 174 verses (2.71–2.245) of the Uttarabhṛṅgaḥ.

Part I: Pūrvabhṛṅgaḥ

One day while residing on the Pravarṣaṇa mountain with Lakṣmaṇa
Lakshmana
Lakshmana was the brother and close companion of Rama, and himself a hero in the famous epic Ramayana...

, Rāma comes to a lake to perform the morning Sandhyā
Sandhyavandanam
Sandhyavandanam is a religious practice performed by Hindu men initiated into the rite by the ceremony of Upanayanam, and instructed in its execution by a Guru . Sandhyavandanam consists of excerpts from the Great Vedas that are to be recited thrice daily...

. After the ritual, Rāma chooses a bumblebee (Bhṛṅga), a manifestation of his mind, as his messenger (Dūta) to Sītā. Rāma asks the bumblebee to have a pilgrimage of the pure land of Bhārata, before embarking on his journey to Laṅkā, saying the pilgrimage of this holy land absolves one of all sins. He asks the bumblebee to first visit Mithilā
Mithila
Mithila was a city in Ancient India, the capital of the Videha Kingdom. The name Mithila is also commonly used to refer to the Videha Kingdom itself, as well as to the modern-day territories that fall within the ancient boundaries of Videha...

, to take some dust for Sītā from her birthplace. After seeing all the vividly described people and places of Mithilā related to the events in the Bālakāṇḍa of Rāmāyaṇa, the bumblebee is instructed to see all the rivers, hermitages and forests en route to Ayodhyā, which are described in detail by the poet. In 75 verses, various places and people of Ayodhyā are described, and the bumblebee is asked to bow to each one of them. Then after seeing Bharata
Bharata (Ramayana)
In the Hindu epic Ramayana, Bharata was the second brother of the main protagonist Rama, and the son of Dasaratha and Kaikeyi. Dasaratha was the Emperor of Ayodhya and belonged to the Suryavansha or Solar Dynasty...

 and Śatrughna
Shatrughna
Shatrughna was the youngest brother of Lord Rama in the Hindu epic Ramayana . He is the twin brother of Lakshmana.-Birth and family:...

 performing penance with their wives in Nandigrāma, the bumblebee is asked to fly over the route of Rāma's journey to Citrakūṭa as described in the Ayodhyākāṇḍa - the Śṛṅgaverapura kingdom of Guha; the confluence of the rivers Gaṅgā, Yamunā
Yamuna
The Yamuna is the largest tributary river of the Ganges in northern India...

 and Sarasvatī
Sarasvati River
The Sarasvati River is one of the chief Rigvedic rivers mentioned in ancient Hindu texts. The Nadistuti hymn in the Rigveda mentions the Sarasvati between the Yamuna in the east and the Sutlej in the west, and later Vedic texts like Tandya and Jaiminiya Brahmanas as well as the Mahabharata...

 at Prayāgarāja; and finally Citrakūṭa are described in detail. The Pūrvabhṛṅgaḥ ends with the bumblebee asked to depart southwards from Citrakūṭa.

Part II: Uttarabhṛṅgaḥ

In the initial part of the Uttarabhṛṅgaḥ, the places of the events starting from Araṇyakāṇḍa are described. The poet presents the narrative of Rāmāyaṇa along with the directions Rāma gives to the bumblebee for his. The hermitages of various sages, whom Sītā, Rāma and Lakṣmaṇa met, are first described, leading to the banks of the river Godāvarī
Godavari River
The Godavari is a river that runs from western to southern India and is considered to be one of the big river basins in India. With a length of 1465 km, it is the second longest river in India , that runs within the country and also the longest river in South India...

. The bumblebee is then instructed to see the locations of Jaṭayū
Jatayu
Jatayu could mean:*Jatayu , the bird in the Hindu epic Ramayana.*Jatayu Airlines, an Indonesian airline company.*Jatayu , a character in the Feluda stories by Satyajit Ray....

's liberation and the Āśrama
Ashram
Traditionally, an ashram is a spiritual hermitage. Additionally, today the term ashram often denotes a locus of Indian cultural activity such as yoga, music study or religious instruction, the moral equivalent of a studio or dojo....

 of Śramaṇā
Shabari
Shabari is an elderly woman ascetic in the Hindu epic Ramayana. According to the Ramayana, she was an ardently devoted woman who received Rama's darshan and blessing due to her Bhakti to Him.- Story :...

 (the Śabarī woman). The locations of Kiṣkindhākāṇḍa come next - the description of the Ṛṣyamūka mountain, (where Hanumān
Hanuman
Hanuman , is a Hindu deity, who is an ardent devotee of Rama, a central character in the Indian epic Ramayana and one of the dearest devotees of lord Rama. A general among the vanaras, an ape-like race of forest-dwellers, Hanuman is an incarnation of the divine and a disciple of Lord Rama in the...

 and Rāma met) and other places in Kiṣkindhā
Kishkindha
Kishkindha is mythical the monkey kingdom of the Vanara King Sugriva, the younger brother of Vali, in the Indian mythology of Ramayana times...

. Then the bumblebee is asked to fly further south over the kingdoms of Karṇāṭaka
Karnataka
Karnataka , the land of the Kannadigas, is a state in South West India. It was created on 1 November 1956, with the passing of the States Reorganisation Act and this day is annually celebrated as Karnataka Rajyotsava...

, Āndhra
Andhra Pradesh
Andhra Pradesh , is one of the 28 states of India, situated on the southeastern coast of India. It is India's fourth largest state by area and fifth largest by population. Its capital and largest city by population is Hyderabad.The total GDP of Andhra Pradesh is $100 billion and is ranked third...

, Madra
Tamil Nadu
Tamil Nadu is one of the 28 states of India. Its capital and largest city is Chennai. Tamil Nadu lies in the southernmost part of the Indian Peninsula and is bordered by the union territory of Pondicherry, and the states of Kerala, Karnataka, and Andhra Pradesh...

 and Kerala
Kerala
or Keralam is an Indian state located on the Malabar coast of south-west India. It was created on 1 November 1956 by the States Reorganisation Act by combining various Malayalam speaking regions....

 to Laṅkā. The bumblebee is asked to recognize Sītā in Laṅkā by her emaciated and weakened, yet lustrous, appearance.

The message for Sītā, to be delivered by the bumblebee, starts at verse 71 of the Uttarabhṛṅgaḥ. The message first describes the pathos of separation. This is followed by an assurance about Rāma heroism, which will convince Sītā to hold on to her life till Hanumān arrives to Laṅkā with another message and a ring from Rāma. The message ends at verse 244 of the Uttarabhṛṅgaḥ, and the poem ends in the next six verses.

Play on Sanskrit grammar

The work has several verses which deal with Sanskrit etymology, wherein the composer poetically explains derivations of names of characters and places of the Ramāyaṇa. Some examples are -

Two origins of the word Ūrmilā and how they fit the character of Ūrmilā (1.120)




Devanagari
Devanagari
Devanagari |deva]]" and "nāgarī" ), also called Nagari , is an abugida alphabet of India and Nepal...



नो निर्वाति क्षणमपि सखेऽद्यापि नीराजनास्याः

सत्याब्राह्मीस्थितिरिव सतो लक्ष्मणप्राणिकायाः ।

ऊर्मीर्लान्ती दयितजलधौ राम भक्तेर्लुनन्ती

कूर्मीः क्रूराः भवभयभृतामूर्मिलेवोर्मिलैव ॥




IAST
IAST
The International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration is a transliteration scheme that allows a lossless romanization of Indic scripts as employed by the Sanskrit language.-Popularity:...



no nirvāti kṣaṇamapi sakhe'adyāpi nīrājanāsyāḥ

satyābrāhmīsthitiriva sato lakṣmaṇaprāṇikāyāḥ ।

ūrmīrlāntī dayitajaladhau rāma bhakterlunantī

kūrmīḥ krūrāḥ bhavabhayabhṛtāmūrmilevormilaiva ॥





The derivation (Prakriyā) of the word Lakṣmaṇa, and how it is apt for the character of Lakṣmaṇa (1.121) -




Devanagari
Devanagari
Devanagari |deva]]" and "nāgarī" ), also called Nagari , is an abugida alphabet of India and Nepal...



आरार्तिक्यं तव विगणयन्हर्तुमार्तिं जनानां

सेवालक्ष्ये धृतशुचिमना लक्ष्मणोऽन्वर्थनामा ।

सम्प्रत्येश्यन्मयि च मनसो लोपयित्वानुबन्धं

संज्ञासिद्धिं स्वभजनबहुव्रीहिकारं चकार ॥




IAST
IAST
The International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration is a transliteration scheme that allows a lossless romanization of Indic scripts as employed by the Sanskrit language.-Popularity:...



ārārtikyaṃ tava vigaṇayanhartumārtiṃ janānāṃ

sevālakṣye dhṛtaśucimanā lakṣmaṇo'anvarthanāmā ।

sampratyeśyanmayi ca manaso lopayitvānubandhaṃ

saṃjñāsiddhiṃ svabhajanabahuvrīhikāraṃ cakāra ॥





Suggestion of alternate names apt for Nandigrāma (1.153) -




Devanagari
Devanagari
Devanagari |deva]]" and "nāgarī" ), also called Nagari , is an abugida alphabet of India and Nepal...



क्रन्दिग्रामः किमु न करुणैः क्रन्दितै रामबन्धो-

र्वन्दिग्रामः किमु न चरितैर्माण्डवीजानिगीतैः ।

स्यन्दिग्रामो भरतनयनस्यन्दिभिः किं न नीरै-

र्नन्दिग्रामः प्रति विदधते चित्रमुत्प्रेक्षितानि ॥




IAST
IAST
The International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration is a transliteration scheme that allows a lossless romanization of Indic scripts as employed by the Sanskrit language.-Popularity:...



krandigrāmaḥ kimu na karuṇaiḥ kranditai rāmabandho-

rvandigrāmaḥ kimu na caritairmāṇḍavījānigītaiḥ ।

syandigrāmo bharatanayanasyandibhiḥ kiṃ na nīrai-

rnandigrāmaḥ prati vidadhate citramutprekṣitāni ॥





The meaning and Prakriyā of the word Gaṅgā, and how the name is apt for the name of the river (1.196) -




Devanagari
Devanagari
Devanagari |deva]]" and "nāgarī" ), also called Nagari , is an abugida alphabet of India and Nepal...



त्रातुं जीवान्प्रकृतिकुटिलान्घोरसंसारसिन्धो-

र्या कौटिल्यं श्रयति गमनेऽप्यङ्गगङ्गन्ति गां च ।

डित्सामर्थ्याद्भमभिदधती प्रत्ययं नानुबन्धं

गङ्गेत्याख्यानुगुणचरिता जुष्टपार्षोदरादिः ॥




IAST
IAST
The International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration is a transliteration scheme that allows a lossless romanization of Indic scripts as employed by the Sanskrit language.-Popularity:...



trātuṃ jīvānprakṛtikuṭilānghorasaṃsārasindho-

ryā kauṭilyaṃ śrayati gamaneऽpyaṅgagaṅganti gāṃ ca ।

ḍitsāmarthyādbhamabhidadhatī pratyayaṃ nānubandhaṃ

gaṅgetyākhyānuguṇacaritā juṣṭapārṣodarādiḥ ॥





Four origins of the word Grāma, and how they suit the village of Guha (1.202) -




Devanagari
Devanagari
Devanagari |deva]]" and "nāgarī" ), also called Nagari , is an abugida alphabet of India and Nepal...



ग्रामो रामो गत इत अतो ग्रामनामा सुधामा

ग्रामो रामप्रतिमवपुषा श्यामशस्येन ग्रामः ।

ग्रामो रामामितगुणगणो गीयतेऽस्मिंस्ततोऽयं

ग्रामो रामो रम इह मतो विग्रहैर्वेदसञ्ज्ञैः ॥




IAST
IAST
The International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration is a transliteration scheme that allows a lossless romanization of Indic scripts as employed by the Sanskrit language.-Popularity:...



grāmo rāmo gata ita ato grāmanāmā sudhāmā

grāmo rāmapratimavapuṣā śyāmaśasyena grāmaḥ ।

grāmo rāmāmitaguṇagaṇo gīyateऽsmiṃstatoऽyaṃ

grāmo rāmo rama iha mato vigrahairvedasañjñaiḥ ॥





Three origins for the word Kāmada, and how they fit the Citrakūṭa mountain (1.247) -




Devanagari
Devanagari
Devanagari |deva]]" and "nāgarī" ), also called Nagari , is an abugida alphabet of India and Nepal...



कं ब्रह्माणं मधुमथनमं मं महेशं नियच्छ-

न्यच्छन्नृभ्यो मदमलपदाम्भोजसेवैकसेवाम् ।

द्यन्वै कामं शुभगुणहरं शात्रवं सज्जनानां

भूतार्थे नोल्लसति ललितः कामदः कामदेन ॥




IAST
IAST
The International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration is a transliteration scheme that allows a lossless romanization of Indic scripts as employed by the Sanskrit language.-Popularity:...



kaṃ brahmāṇaṃ madhumathanamaṃ maṃ maheśaṃ niyaccha-

nyacchannṛbhyo madamalapadāmbhojasevaikasevām ।

dyanvai kāmaṃ śubhaguṇaharaṃ śātravaṃ sajjanānāṃ

bhūtārthe nollasati lalitaḥ kāmadaḥ kāmadena ॥





How the Samāsa
Sanskrit compounds
One notable feature of the nominal system of Sanskrit is the very common use of nominal compounds , which may be huge , as in some modern languages such as German...

 Sītārāma is both Samānādhikaraṇa and Vyadhikaraṇa (2.234) -




Devanagari
Devanagari
Devanagari |deva]]" and "nāgarī" ), also called Nagari , is an abugida alphabet of India and Nepal...



दम्पत्योर्नौ विलसतितमां रूपतश्चात्रभेदो

भावो भामे भुवनभवनौ विद्युदब्दोपमानौ ।

सीतारामाविति समुदितौ द्वन्द्वरीत्या नृलोके

सीतारामो व्यधिकरणतस्तत्पुमान्वा समानः ॥




IAST
IAST
The International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration is a transliteration scheme that allows a lossless romanization of Indic scripts as employed by the Sanskrit language.-Popularity:...



dampatyornau vilasatitamāṃ rūpataścātrabhedo

bhāvo bhāme bhuvanabhavanau vidyudabdopamānau ।

sītārāmāviti samuditau dvandvarītyā nṛloke

sītārāmo vyadhikaraṇatastatpumānvā samānaḥ ॥




Comparison with other Sanskrit Dūtakāvyas

Some features of the epic compared with previous Dūtakāvyas
Poem Composer Metre Parts Verses (poem) Verses (message) Messenger Sender Recipient Messenger's journey
Meghadūtam Kālidāsa Mandākrāntā 2 114 12 A cloud An unnamed Yakṣa
Yaksha
Yaksha is the name of a broad class of nature-spirits, usually benevolent, who are caretakers of the natural treasures hidden in the earth and tree roots. They appear in Hindu, Jain and Buddhist mythology. The feminine form of the word is ' or Yakshini .In Hindu, Jain, and Buddhist mythology,...

An unnamed Yakṣī Rāmādri to Kailāsa (Central and Northern India)
Haṃsasandeśaḥ
Hamsa-Sandesha
Hamsa-Sandesha or "The message of the Swan" is a Sanskrit love poem written by Vedanta Desika in the 13th century AD. A short lyric poem of 110 verses, it describes how Rama, hero of the Ramayana epic, sends a message via a swan to his beloved wife, Sita, who has been abducted by the demon king...

Vedāntadeśikācārya
Vedanta Desika
Vedanta Desika was a Sri Vaishnava Guru. He was a poet, devotee, philosopher and master-teacher...

Mandākrāntā 2 110 16 A swan Rāma Sītā Pampā
Pampa Sarovar
Pampa Sarovar is a lake located in Koppal district near Hampi in Karnataka. Located to the south of the Tungabhadra River it is considered sacred by Hindus and is one of the five sacred sarovars, or lakes in India. In Hindu mythology Pampa Sarovar is regarded as the place where Pampa, a form of...

 lake to Laṅkā (Southern India)
Haṃsadūtam Śrīla Rūpagosvāmī
Rupa Goswami
Rupa Goswami was an Indian devotional teacher , poet, and philosopher from the Gaudiya Vaishnava tradition of Hinduism. Alongside his brother Sanatana Goswami, he was considered the leader of the Six Goswamis of Vrindavan associated with Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, the Hindu saint believed to be the...

Śikhariṇī 1 142 75 A swan Lalitā, a companion of Rādhā
Radha
Radha , also called Radhika, Radharani and Radhikarani, is the childhood friend and lover of Krishna in the Bhagavata Purana, and the Gita Govinda of the Vaisnava traditions of Hinduism...

Kṛṣṇa
Krishna
Krishna is a central figure of Hinduism and is traditionally attributed the authorship of the Bhagavad Gita. He is the supreme Being and considered in some monotheistic traditions as an Avatar of Vishnu...

Vraja to Mathurā (Northern India)
Bhṛṅgadūtam Rāmabhadrācārya Mandākrāntā 2 501 174 A bumblebee Rāma Sītā Pravarṣaṇa to Laṅkā, via Mithilā, Ayodhyā, Citrakūṭa and Daṇḍakāraṇya
Dandakaranya
Dandakaranya is a spiritually significant region in India. It is roughly equivalent to the Bastar District in the central east part of India...

(Northern, Central and Southern India)


External links

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