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| Wednesday, 16 June 2004 |
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Graceful glow of Gira Sandesha by Somapala Arandara Poet Kalidasa pioneered the Sanskrit Sandeshas in the 6th century A.D. in India, with 'Meghaduta' using an inanimate object, a cloud, as the courier conveying a certain devil's grief of separation from his sweet-heart for one year.
Sinhala Sandesha poetry, moreover, enriched Sinhala literature with a secular bent as against the spiritual discipline dominant from Anuradhapura Period to Gampola Period. Gira Sandesha is one of the five great Sandeshas written during the reign of Parakramabahu, the Sixth of Kotte 15th century A.D. Gira Sandesha is unique in that it looks up to God Natha as benefactor, who is Awalokitheswara Bodhisatta worshipped in Mahayana Buddhism. The belief in God Natha probably came to be rooted in Sri Lanka with the arrival of Mahayanism. Author The author of Gira Sandesha is not known and is in dispute. Rev. Weliwitiye Soratha's opinion is this: "It can be inferred that (Wettewe Thera) confined his description of the king to only one verse in Guttila since he had done justice to it elaborately in Gira Sandesha. It is not impossible to say that both Gira Sandesha and Guttila were composed by one poet. The maturity appearing in Guttila may have emerged with the experience gained in composing the former (i.e. Gira Sandesha). I cannot, however, ascertain single authorship." Martin Wickremesinghe holds that the poets of Hansa and Gira were followers of two schools (Wanawasi and Gramawasi?) who tried to undermine each other's glory. (Development of Sinhala Literature p. 254). Gira Sandesha commences with the usual wish for long life to the courier: "Saerada kira rada sanda..." This greeting is followed up by a praise of the parrot. Errand The messenger parrot runs on errand from a temple in Sri Jayawardenepura to Wijayaba Pirivena at Thotagamuwa with a message to Sri Rahula Thera. Unlike in other Sandeshas, save Hansa, here the message is not carried direct to a God but to a high priest requesting him to invoke the blessings of God Natha. And the message is to be disclosed after the courier meets the illustrious Bhikkhu: "Tewata wandanisuru Wijayaba terindu hata Thera who is well-versed in the threefold Dhamma. I'll tell you what that message is after you get there." Departing from Jayawardenepura, the courier goes past coastal towns, villages, fords, etc... and reaches Thotagamuwa in four days. Glory In describing the glory of Jayawardenepura, the poet likens the grace of its women's breasts to swans in a new way: "Piyakaru tenen paradi pivisi wana wila "The breasts of the ladies in this city are more charming than the swans. The swans, therefore, being jealous of them have left the garden-ponds. Noticing the absence of the swans, the ladies thought that they had run away ashamed of being outdone by the belles' beauteous bosoms. So it seems, the ladies there have cloaked their breasts with brassiers, intending to get the swans back." The poet's dexterity in word - painting with precision is commendable as in stanza - 27. The alliteration and the rhythm effectively suggest the march of an over-whelming army: "Werala iglila tula rala waela lesa ulela "The (Sinhala) forces who had conquered the hideous Kerala armies, brandishing their shields like waves outstretching the shores, gathered in that city." The simile of the lion portrays King Perakumba's prowess graphically in stanza - 29: "Wiridu niridu matagaja kumba migidu." "King perakumba defeats his adversaries like a lion prancing on elephants in their heating period." The King's greatness is obvious in the fact that the lion does not leap onto an innocent elephant but a ferocious one. Everybody knows that an elephant in its heating period is violent. This king attacks his enemies only when provoked. This aspect enhances his valour in defending his domain harassing nobody willy-nilly. Stanza-42 sharply resembles stanzas 124 and 126 in Guttila in the treatment of the dancing girls in the Royal Council: "Suramba lesin dana mana net aeda wetata Similarity The terms in Gira Sandesha like "Suramba lesin", "Salamba gosin," "Nalamba tosin" are, if not the same, almost the same as the corresponding ones in Guttila: "Suramba lese," "gosakara ran mini salamba," "nalamba natati tose." This type of striking similarity throws some light on the single authorship of gira sandesha and guttila which can be ascribed to Wettewe Thera. Stanza-55 seems to contain a clue to the authorship of Gira Sandesha which implies that the anonymous author of Gira Sandesha lived in the monastery where the then Prelate and a host of other Bhikkhus resided: "Awut yali sondura wisituru Weheratura," This "Wehera' was the "Maha Wehera" )Main Monastery) lying in close proximity to the capital, Kotte, where Sri Rahula Thera was the chief incumbent. Having spent the first night at Pepiliyana, the parrot enjoys the dazzling dawn. The simile used here thrills the reader. "Randa muhudu ranmini kiranin wesesa "You'd better climb down the tree on seeing the sun rising in the east as if spreading over the eastern rock, its myriads of rays erubescent with gems and gold on the sea bed." The poet henceforth enumerates villages with their endemic features like the ford at Panadura from where ships at sea are sighted like dark clouds in the sky. Water-sports is a sine-qua-non in Sandeshas infested with stereotype comparisons. Gira Sandesha, however, has a few instances to the poets's credit. Stanza - 88, for example, has a novel concept in portraying the bathing belles: "Nandana dana net pachae lanu la pita "Men on either side of the river are admiring the water-sporting women. Their lewd looks are like lassos with which they seem to trap the women towards them." Ecological sense The description of night in stanza - 97 exposes the poet's ecological sense of a high order: "Turuwaela udula sandaraes piri nuba gaebada "Dear friend, while you were rejoicing at the splendid sight of the sky radiant with the moon and stars, the blue forest-stretch with blooming flowers hypnotizing vagrant bees and the sea overflowing with foamy ripples ..." The view of brilliant white foams on ripples breaking over the silvery sands is bewitching while the forest-cover cloaked with moonlight assuages one's mind. The aroma of night-blossoms is tempting. The poet's imagination catches fire in calling up these images of supreme bliss as hinted in Omar Khayyam's Rubaiyat: wine, women, music and the dark. A taunted feeling of not doing ample justice in describing the King seems to have tormented the poet. Hence the innovation of 'ambalama' in Gira Sandeshaya. Here the poet employees the technique of persona in the form of travellers gathered at the inn for the night for praising the King's grandeur. This scene is as effective as that of the Tabard Inn in Chancer's Canterbury Tales. Gira Sandesha outshines others in this matter. Are not the innovation of the carnival at udeni in Guttila and that of the Ambalama in Gira Sandesha probable pointers to the same authorship? An account of Thotagamuwe Wehera comes next. The poet's creative talent is unsurpassable in stanza - 208: "Tuni yatiyen hunu paeti lehenun raegena "That monastery is adorned with young novice priests picking up tiny squirrels fallen from trees, feeding them with water from leaf-cups while cuddling them and stroking their bodies gently." This stanza produces a visual and tactile image vividly. The diction is simple, the situation memorable. Innocent joy manifests here. The poet evokes passionate feelings with the single, plain word, 'paetiyena' meaning innocent and young. This word also portrays the wistful women in stanza - 61: "Wehesa tanana rana tisara paetiyena" (The women tire their baby swans of breasts jolting them in their hasty run). The poet adds a cherubian sense here. On arrival at Thotagamuwe Wehera, the parrot is relieved of its mission of requesting the Chief Incumbent (Sri Rahula Thera) to invoke God Natha to protect King Perakumba and the country from enemies, epidemics and demonic disturbances and to uphold Buddhism for five thousand years. Gira Sandesha comes to a close with a parting benediction on the courier parrot. **** Back **** |
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This is of North Indian origin. Later on, the South Indian Dravidian
and Bengali followers of this genre began to use animate objects, birds,
as couriers carrying messages to Gods. Sinhala Sandesha poets seem to have
been inspired by the South Indian tradition. But the poets of Gira
Sandesha and Hansa Sandesha digressed from it regarding the recipient.
They replaced the recipient Gods by Buddhist monks.
