Nectar Gaze and Poison Breath: An Analysis and Translation of the Rajasthani Oral Narrative of Devnarayan (South Asia Research)

578 Pages·2005·5.95 MB·English

by  Aditya Malik

Nectar Gaze and
Poison Breath:
An Analysis and Translation
of the Rajasthani Oral
Narrative of Devenarayan
ADITYA MALIK
OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS
t NECTAR GAZE AND POISON BREATH t
SOUTH ASIA RESEARCH
series editor
Patrick Olivelle
A Publication Series of
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The Early Upanisads
Annotated Text and Translation
Patrick Olivelle
Indian Epigraphy
A Guide to the Study of Inscriptionsin Sanskrit, Prakrit,
and the Other Indo-Aryan Languages
Richard Salomon
A Dictionary of Old Marathi
S.G. Tulpule and Anne Feldhaus
Donors, Devotees, and Daughters of God
Temple Women in Medieval Tamilnadu
Leslie C. Orr
Jimutavahana’s Dayabhaga
The Hindu Law of Inheritance in Bengal
Edited and Translated with an Introduction and Notes by Ludo Rocher
Nectar Gaze and Poison Breath
An Analysis and Translation of the Rajasthani
Oral Narrative of Devna¯ra¯yanfi
Aditya Malik
N G
ECTAR AZE AND
P B
OISON REATH
An Analysis and Translation of the
Rajasthani Oral Narrative of Devna¯ra¯yanfi
ADITYA MALIK
S´r¯ı Hukama¯ra¯mBhopa¯,the singerof the narrative.
1
2005
1
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LibraryofCongressCataloging-in-PublicationData
Malik,Aditya.
Nectargazeandpoisonbreath:ananalysisandtranslationoftheRajasthanioral
narrativeofDevna¯ra¯yanfi /AdityaMalik.
p.cm.—(SouthAsiaresearch)
InEnglish;includestranslationfromMarwari.
Includesbibliographicalreferencesandindex.
ISBN-13978-0-19-515019-3
ISBN0-19-515019-8
1.Folkpoetry,Indic—India—Rajasthan—Historyandcriticism.
2.Epicpoetry,Rajasthani—Historyandcriticism.3.Devana¯ra¯yanfi
(Hindudiety)—Cult—India—Rajasthan.4.Devana¯ra¯yanfi (Hindudeity)—
Poetry.I.Title.II.SouthAsiaresearch(NewYork,N.Y.)
PK2708.2.M352004
398.2'0954'401—dc22 2004050140
2 4 6 8 9 7 5 3 1
PrintedintheUnitedStatesofAmerica
onacid-freepaper
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Preface
t t
M
y interest in the narrative of Devna¯ra¯yanfi began when I was doing field-
work for my Ph.D. dissertation on the pilgrimage center of Pusfikar in
Rajasthan. During 1984 and 1985IspentseveralmonthsconsecutivelyinPusfikar
andanumberofvillagessurroundingit.MyvisitstovillagesaroundPusfikarwere
focused on detailsof thevillages’history,andtheirrelationship—ifany—toPusfi-
kar or more specifically to what was defined as the Pusfikara-ksfietra (sacredfieldof
Pusfikara). One of the larger villages I spent most time in was Pisa¯n˙gan, about20
kilometer west of Pusfikar. It was here that I became acquainted with Pusa¯ Na¯th
Da¯n˙g¯ı, who then must have been in his late forties. Pusa¯ Na¯th belonged to the
caste of Dama¯m¯ıs, or drummer-genealogists, for Rajput (warrior or aristocratic
caste)families.Heandhisancestorshadbeenintheserviceofthera¯ja¯ofPisa¯n˙gan.
Pusa¯ Na¯th was well known in Pisa¯n˙gan and in many villages in thesurrounding
area. My meeting with him was quite unplanned, as were many acquaintances
and friendships I made during field trips. On one of my first trips to Pisa¯n˙gan I
visitedtheolddilapidatedgafirh(fort)ofthera¯ja¯ ofPisa¯n˙gan.WhileIwaswalking
along the ramparts of the outer wall—rather lost—I was spoken to by Laksfiman
Singh, the purohit (chaplain) of the ra¯ja¯ of Pisa¯n˙gan, who was accompanied by
the ra¯ja¯’s son. I told him that I was doing research on Pusfikar and the villages
surrounding it. I asked him whether he knew of anyone who might be able to
assist and accompany me in my work. Laksfiman Singh suggested I get in touch
with Pusa¯ Na¯th Da¯n˙g¯ı, whom he then personally introduced me to. Pusa¯ Na¯th
hadmarriedasecondtimeafterhisfirstwifedied.Hehadtwogrown-updaugh-
ters who were married a few years later, and a son who was then about10years
old.Pusa¯ Na¯th’ssecondwifewasquiteopenintellingme(infrontofPusa¯Na¯th)
that she had salvaged (“saved”) Pusa¯ Na¯th’s life: “If it hadn’t been for me this
fellow would have been a wreck!” Pusa¯ Na¯th didn’t argue with this statement,
although he didn’t find it very flattering. Hissolecommentwasthathissonwas
theanchorinhislife,who’dsavedhis“headbeingeatenup”bythethreewomen
inhishome!Itcameasnosurprisethenthatallthemenlefttheirhomesasearly
as possible to gather among themselves at tea stores and under trees, safe from
the imagined domestic dominance of their wives,wherestoriesofmanlinessand
heroism could flow freely and be believed in.
One of the villages we visited was Paga¯ra¯, which was about 4 kilometers
awayfromPisa¯n˙gan.ItwasherethatPusa¯Na¯thintroducedmetoBhopa¯Harida¯s
Maha¯ra¯j,whowasthekeeperoftheDevna¯ra¯yanfi templeinPaga¯ra¯.Bhopa¯Harida¯s
was a temple-bhopa¯, in contrast to pafir-bhopa¯s, who sang the narrative of Dev-
na¯ra¯yanfi professionally. At that time I had not heard of Devna¯ra¯yanfi. My real
interest was in (oral) stories or legends about Pusfikar. I was specificallyinterested
innarrativesaboutGa¯yatr¯ı,thesecondwifeofBrahma¯(thechiefdeityofPusfikar),
since Ga¯yatr¯ı—so the legend goes—belonged to the Gujar community. Before
Bhopa¯ Harida¯s actually told me a story about Ga¯yatr¯ı and Brahma¯, he, and also
some other Gujar men who would meet at the temple, began singing sections
of the Bagarfia¯vat,1mostlyfor“recreational”andnotexactlyritualpurposes.Later
Pusa¯ Na¯th took me to another village much further away in the district of Pali,
where he introduced me to another acquaintance of his, Bhopa¯ La¯bu¯ Ra¯m.
Bhopa¯ La¯bu¯ Ra¯m was both temple and parfi-bhopa¯.He belongedtotheKumha¯r
or potter community. He must have been in his early forties then. I recorded a
numberofhoursofthenarrativefromhim,whichhesanginaloudandpowerful
way, accompanied by the stringed double-gourd instrumentcalledb¯ınfi.Although
I didn’t follow the words completely, I was deeply impressed by the strength of
the melody and Bhopa¯ La¯bu¯ Ra¯m’s sincerity. Back in Heidelberg,Iwouldlisten
tothetapes,bringingbackthepowerfulspiritandatmosphereofthesong.Ithen
decided to go back to Rajasthan, after my dissertation, on a research project
focused on the narrative of Devna¯ra¯yanfi.
After completing all my Ph.D. dissertation formalities in April 1990, I ap-
plied for a research project on Devna¯ra¯yanfi to be financed by the DeutscheFor-
schungs Gemeinschaft (German Research Council). The project was sponsored
and supported by Gu¨nther-Dietz Sontheimer, who had also supervised my dis-
sertation work. The funding was granted in early 1991, and I left for Rajasthan
for a six-month field trip in March 1991. Since I had already recorded some
hours of the narrative from Bhopa¯ La¯bu¯ Ra¯m, my plan was to continue work
with him. I visited Pusa¯ Na¯th in Pisa¯n˙gan, and we set out on a local bus to
Dhaneriya¯, the village where La¯bu¯ Ra¯m lived. Bhopa¯ La¯bu¯ Ra¯m was out on
tour then, and no one knew exactly where he was. We decided to find him,
withthehelpofhiselderbrother,whoalsosangsectionsofthenarrative,though
in the role of the second singer, “answering” the lead singer’s lines.
After some bumpy, dusty, and hot bus rides we arrived in a village where
we were told that the bhopa¯ was performing in the next small village called
A¯sarla¯¯ı, which was about 10–12 kilometers away. There being no transport to
this village, the only option we had was to walk the sandy tract in thecompany
ofthornybabultrees.MidwaywehaltedatthehutofaGujarfarmerwhoknew
La¯bu¯ Ra¯m. After a midday meal we continued on our way to A¯sarla¯¯ı.InA¯sarla¯¯ı
we finally met Bhopa¯ La¯bu¯ Ra¯m, who was sitting with a group of men at the
hatha¯¯ı, a raised platform with a thatched roof that functioned as the community
meetingplace.Itwaslateafternoon.La¯bu¯ Ra¯mhadperformedthenarrativetwo
nightsearlierinanotherpartofthevillage.Asecondperformancewasscheduled
for the same evening. Bhopa¯ La¯bu¯ Ra¯m was accompanied by his elder brother
Parbura¯m on this occasion. On the earlier occasion it had been his nephew.
Preface
viii