Natyasutra Online

Where God Wielded the Poet’s Pen

The ancient and medieval Indian works of devotional poetry are well-crafted stories, impressive in themselves because of their sheer musical beauty and literary elegance. What make them even more interesting are the beautiful tales that swirl around their creation! The ability to compose divine poetry may be a God-given gift, but even the most gifted of poets are sometimes at a loss for words. Yet all is not lost, as devotional poets of the bygone era would agree, for God works in wonderous ways!

Perhaps nothing can better describe this amazing phenomenon than the fascinating tale that swirls around how Poonthanam Namboodiri composed his famous poem, Jnaanappaana. Poonthanam, the incomparable bhakt-kavi of Kerala and devotee of Lord Krishna (Guruvayoorappan) once struggled when he was unable to describe Vaikunta, the abode of Lord Vishnu. One night Guruvayoorappan Himself appeared in Poonthanam’s dream and showed him the celestial realms! The roadblock removed, the poet could easily complete his work!

A similar story is said about the composition of Jayadeva’s celebrated devotional song, Gita Govinda. Such is the depth of God’s valsalya or tender love towards His poet-devotee! Jayadeva was deeply troubled by a phrase he had written for Prabandh (Ashtapadi) 19, where he presented Sri Krishna as subservient to His devotees. The poet was plagued by doubts: Would it be inappropriate? Or worse, irreverent to his beloved Lord? Was he taking undue freedom in the portrayal of his idol? Confused, Jayadeva went out to take a bath. When he returned, lo and behold! There it was, the line he had not added yet: – dehi pada pallava mudaram . In Jayadeva’s absence, Lord Jagannath had entered the house disguised as the poet and added the phrase Himself, thereby giving Gita Govinda His divine endorsement!