Brilliance of Srila Rupa Goswami Part - 11
Rupa Goswami’s Citra Kavitvani – an amazing Sanskrit Poetry
Rupa Goswamis Stava Mala consisting of 12 verses
Some of the verses were composed using one or two consonants only
Some of the verses generate enchanting images from its letters
For full details view this video
I offer my humble obeisances unto my gurus.
May Sri Rupa, the mighty king of poets, who composes poetical verses that are extremely difficult to compose, grant me the wealth of intelligence (needed to understand them).
The word dushkara (difficult to compose) is a generic term used in the Agni-purana to describe the different varieties of chitra-kavya. Therefore, here the words dushkarni kavitvani are the same as chitra-kavitvani.
In this context, the word chitra means amazing or a picture.
Chitra-kavitvani means poetical verses that cause astonishment like
“Wow! How did he compose a verse using only two consonants? (or)
How did he compose a verse using only one consonant?”
Alternatively, the chakra (wheel) formation and so on are called chitras and thus chitra-kavitvani could also mean poetical verses which have these formations. This is in accordance with Bharata Muni’s statement: “Chitra is that in which the syllables, being situated in a particular arrangement, reveal the forms of a sword, wheel and so on.”
Srila Rupa Gosvami, one of the six Gosvamis who were Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu’s disciples, composed Stava-mala. Stava-mala means a garland of stavas. Stava is generally translated as a prayer. But it is different from stotra which is also a prayer.
The difference is that stotra is a prayer composed by previous acharyas and one recites it for the pleasure of the Lord, whereas the stava is one’s own personal outpouring of one’s heart for the Lord.
Sri Rupa Goswami’s Stava-mala contains chitra-kavitvani, amazing or picture verses. Srila Baladeva Vidyabhushana, a great acharya and scholar in Gaudiya-Vaishnava-sampradaya, wrote a Sanskrit commentary on Stava-mala - Stava-mala-bhushana.
The content of this article is taken from a video presentation on Stava-mala by the
Please click here for video presentation on Stava-mala
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Sarvato-bhadra
The following verse reads the same backwards and forwards as well as upwards and downwards like a magic square! Thus the name sarvato-bhadra (good on every side).
Verse 11
Another way to depict this verse is:
This one is really almost impossible to make and the meaning is again very wonderful.
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