Kashi Through a Poet's Eyes: The Forgotten Travelogue of Adhibatla Narayana Dasu

written by jogi
edited by pranav md 

Adhibatla Narayana Dasu, who is remembered as "Harikatha Pitamaha" in the Telugu diaspora, was famous for his storytelling on Bhagavata and other Hindu epics (Harikatha), and he also institutionalized this art form in his era. Unfortunately, his talent for storytelling overshadowed his other contributions, especially to the Telugu language. He coined so many Telugu words as alternatives to the existing, adapted Sanskrit words of his age, which he called "Naatu Telugu" (generally the word "Achha Telugu" is used to describe pure Telugu, but it has mostly Sanskrit words (Nannaya era Telugu), and even "Zanu Telugu" is not free from Sanskrit or Prakrit words, though it reduced their usage mostly (Tikkanna and Palkuri era). Dasu garu created pure Telugu words which have neither Sanskrit nor Prakrit origins, hence he insisted on calling his Telugu "Naatu Telugu," as the word "Achha" also has Sanskrit origins).

But he also authored several works in Sanskrit, one of his unique poetic works being "Kasi Satakam," 100 Sanskrit poems describing the city of Kashi. This is unique, as the travelogue on Kashi previously written by several Telugu personalities before him was usually written in prose. For instance, in the year 1822, EIC translator and interpreter Venellakanti Subbarao undertook the Kashi pilgrimage hoping for a change in his ill health and wrote about his Kashi journey in his autobiography, "A Life Journey of Vennelacunty Soob Row." Then the most famous travelogue written in Telugu literature is "Kashi Yatra Charitam" (1830), the journey of Enugula Veeraswamy to Kashi, who was an interlocutor and civil servant to the EIC. He travelled from Madras to Kashi on a palanquin, but it is a travelogue from the perspective of an influential personality. The Kashi Satakam of Dasu garu, however, is completely unique. His approach is completely new, as the Satakam is a collection of 100 or 108 poems with a makuta (crown) ending the poem with the same word (example: Sri Kalahastishwara, Vemana and Sumati, Nilakanteswara), and sataka has created an impression among the masses, as this form of literature is mostly philosophical or poems written to praise a god or patron. But Dasu garu uses the Satakam genre to describe the lifestyle, habits, experiences, and information regarding landmarks in Kashi.

He visited Kashi in the year 1913 along with his wife; he doesn't give details regarding which month he started travelling or the duration of his stay.

Kashi as described by him:

Situated far from the ocean and located between the Himalayas and Vindhyas, where wheat grows in plain grounds, there are no mountains or forests in Varanasi, and it is densely populated with tamarind trees and bamboo bushes. Near the banks of the Ganga, a naked sanyasi with a radiant face and reddish-brown hair braids resides there, resembling Shiva, and the bull which is eating the leaves resembles Nandi. After the bath in the Ganga, people perform japa on the ghats. The dead bodies which float near the Ganga frighten the people, reminding them of the uncertainty of human life.
Barbers, beggars, people who sell flowers, and the people who apply lotions to wounds, and crows (crows consume pindas), are dependent on the pilgrims who visit the banks of the Ganga. People shave their heads at Manikarnika and pay tax to officers, then take a dip in the Ganga along with their partners.

He compares the lanes of Kashi to a padmavyuha, as anyone new to the city will reach their destination with great difficulty. Among the lanes there are 64 ghats with different names, and the bathing ghats were built with stone. The streets in the east and west of the city are quite small, and those in the north and south are vast, with very little gap between the mansions. At the bottom of buildings, shopkeepers loot the money of pilgrims, and from the top, monkeys snatch their belongings and fruits from their hands; with some mischievous idea, the monkey, wanting to get food daily, returns the clothes of people only after some food is offered to it. Money, so dear to the human heart, is spent, and despite bearing the struggles all the way to a foreign land, there is no peace for the pilgrims.

The city was destroyed during the rule of the mleechas; after the advent of the British, it was being slowly restored to its glory. There are huge gardens, schools, wells, and mansions with beautiful sculptures, the best of silks, tasty jamun fruit, and huge crowds of monks, which one can only find in Kashi.

One of his unique observations is the absence of coconut trees in Kashi and of an underground sewage system; the water used by the people was disposed of into the Ganga through underground pipes (the underground sewage system in Kashi was started in 1891 and completed in 1917, from when sewage and waste water was disposed of in the Ganga, which was the beginning of the pollution of the sacred river).

Temples

Vishwanatha is the most special among the gods in Kashi. He resides in a gold-gilded temple and is worshipped by the people of three worlds. Vishwanatha was consecrated in the form of a linga in every house, and Dhundi Ganapati is prayed to first to get permission to have the darshan of Shiva. In the Kalabhairava temple, the priest holds the kalasutra (a stick made with peacock feathers) as a blessing; he beats it on the head of the pilgrim, saying, "Everything will be auspicious for you."

Evenings at Kashi

In the evenings, people are seen with garlands around their necks, and people who recite the puranas are seated on exalted seats surrounded by listeners, and the scholars of different sects argue with each other all through the day and night. People on the boats at the Ganga leave lamps on the river; it looks as if this group of diyas is mocking the galaxy of stars in the sky, and the prostitutes sit near the windows of their mansions, tempting the men with their gaze. Especially on the evenings of Friday, people worship Maheshwara with camphor waving, making auspicious sounds.

Night of Shiva

On the day of Shivaratri, right before sunrise, Dasu garu bathed in the Ganga, and with great difficulty was able to perform abhisheka to Shiva. He was amused by the beautiful scene where a lot of young Vedic scholars chanted hymns in praise of Goddess Gowri in the Annapurna temple, and then he reached his place with great difficulty. Describing the festival atmosphere in Kashi, he writes: "On this occasion, the city of Varanasi echoes with the names of Shiva; on this day, even a sinner behaves like a saintly person. Even the prostitutes and thieves were enchanted on Shivaratri, and with devotion and the sacredness of chanting they become virtuous by the grace of Vishwanatha." People stayed awake all night listening and enjoying the dance and music, and the temples of Shiva were filled with abhisheka water which reached the knees of those standing inside, and bulls were eating the piles of bilva leaves which were dumped outside the temple.

Life in Kashi

He writes that Kashi is the birthplace of civilization, where women cover themselves with purdah and men wear a turban. The streets in the city of Kashi are like a wish-fulfilling creeper: whatever one desires can be acquired immediately, and if any person desires to feed one lakh brahmins at once in Kashi, they can acquire the required groceries at once. Several kings started choultries in Kashi to feed pilgrims, where even Dravida brahmins were served delightful meals. In the whole of Bharatavarsha, Kashi is the best city, where both rich and poor can gain peace.

People

In the city of Kashi, people of all four classes live a normal and peaceful life; one cannot find any person without manners. The language of the locals there, the music, and the dressing of the people there — there is sweetness in everything, in all the places, at all times.
Dasu garu compares the generosity and character of the people with the tall minarets of Bindu Madhava, which touch the sky (here, minarets refers to the Alamgir Mosque, which was built after destroying the Bindu Madhava temple). The people here feed students selflessly without expecting anything in return.
Kashi learned ahimsa from Buddhism, the practice of wearing purdah from Muslim rule, and worldly wisdom from the English, as the city itself is naturally a place of curiosity (asakti). Philosophically, the wheel of samsara works on the trigunas, similarly to how the bullcart in Kashi works on three bulls, conveying it metaphorically.

Education

The pandits of Kashi were initially trained in the six shastras; they also have knowledge of secular topics, as he says Kashi is the birthplace of Sanskrit. To highlight the greatness of education in Kashi, Dasu garu writes that Kashi is the place of the Sandipani ashrama, where Krishna studied (actually, this is a Telugu perspective; in the Telugu retelling of Krishna's life it was written that Krishna studied in Kashi, but it was actually Ujjain).

Vyasa Kashi and the darbar of Kashi Naresh

People who are new to Kashi cross the river with great fear to have the darshan of Vyasa (consecrated in the form of a linga in Vyasa Kashi), and the king who lives in opulence equal to Indra. In the durbar of the Maharaja of Kashi, a tawaif sang and danced so beautifully, like a swan, that she stole the hearts of the people, and one day in the early morning a prostitute was singing in Bhairavi raga, captivating the people in court.

Festivals

The city of Kashi always has a vibe of festivals; it gives joy at every season, as Vishwanatha and the Ganga reside in the city.

Holi

On the shukla paksha of the Phalguna month, the people of Kashi celebrate Holi; they sing praises of Lord Krishna and collect logs to celebrate Kamadahana Utsav, celebrating it for days by smearing vermilion on each other. Dasu garu also writes about the grand festival of Budda Mangal Utsav, as it is celebrated on the banks of the Ganga — perhaps this festival is today mostly unknown. This used to be celebrated on the Tuesday after Holi, commemorating the day Hanuman destroyed Lanka. It is also called Bada Mangal. People of Kashi celebrate it for a week by dancing and singing on several boats on the Ganga. Mandapaka Paravateesa Sastry also writes about this festival in his journal, about rajas of Bobbili and Vijayanagaram participating in this festival; unfortunately, there is not much information about this festival online.

Most of the information regarding Narayana Dasu garu was written by himself; mostly, his students and admirers only saw him as a divine being, calling him Gandharva and Pumbhava Saraswati (Saraswati in masculine form), which is not an exaggeration, as he contributed to the fields of music, language, and Ayurveda. He spoke nearly 8 languages and translated famous Persian and English works into Telugu. But his interesting life mostly went undocumented; the only existing information about him was available from his autobiography, "Naa Yeruka," where he documents his triumphs and travails and wrote honestly about his addictions and habits, but also about the struggles and travels. One of the most interesting travelling stories he writes in his autobiography is about his pilgrimage to Puri, where he, along with his family, travelled from his village to Puri to clear the debts of his father, and where he writes about life, culture, food, and habits. Other than that, he documented his Kashi experiences in Kashi Satakam. This article is an attempt to introduce important observations from his Kashi Satakam; this is not a complete English translation of his poems.

Reference: kashi satakam written by srimad ajjada adhibatla narayana dasu garu, which was republished by vvit gunturu (2019),  under editorship of modugula ravi Krishna