The Narmamala of Ksemendra: Critical Edition, Study and Translation.

• Author: Gerow, Edwin
• Position: Book review

The Narmamala of Ksemendra: Critical Edition, Study and Translation. By FABRIZIA BALDISSERA. Beitrage zur Sudasienforschung, Universitat Heidelberg, no. 197. Wurzburg: ERGON VERLAG, 2005. Pp. xliv + 142.

The Narmamala is one of several poetical "satires" attributed to the Kashmiri polymath Ksemendra (eleventh century), perhaps a pupil of Abhinavagupta himself--though this is perhaps not too significant, inasmuch as Abhinava is said to have had "1200" students ... Its target is, principally, the kayastha, here understood as the 'law-clerk', but evidently also an entire class of sycophants who lorded over the justice system through their monopoly on drafting 'writs'. Tarred with the same brush are the familiar denizens of the Indian demi-monde, here associates of the 'clerk'--dishonest merchants, greedy courtesans, playboys, fraudulent ascetics, etc.

"Satire" is perhaps a bit tame here: "parody" comes closer, if not "farce." The only redeeming virtues the kayastha appears to have are revealed in numerous punning verses that liken him to Lord Siva, or at least the "dark" side of Lord Siva-- "... all pervasive, unborn, devoid of qualities, you who carry the digit of the moon, who are responsible for everything, the swallower of all poisons" c'est-a-dire: "... whose tenacles stretch everywhere, of low birth, you who have no virtues, who take a cut in everything, who are the chief counsellor, you whose daily bread is deception" (1.8, pp. 42-43). Many of the puns with which the work abounds are similarly gross--bawdy sexual innuendo is their stock-in-trade. (The translator has had the genial idea of translating both versions in facing columns on the same page.)

Subtlety is not a characteristic of this genre--apart from the linguistic gamesmanship that is everywhere at issue. Ksemendra states, like every good satirist, that his purpose is to uphold virtue, but an overt political motive is not to be ruled out--for the reign of King Ananta's predecessor had been noteworthy for the role played therein by the kayastha. Then too, the curious inversion of types that is the stock of "satire" suggests some interesting parallels with the Tantrism very much in vogue in Kashmir at the time. Ksemendra's vituperation is also directed at the pretended virtue of the Left-Hand schools (the Kaula, of which Abhinava was an adherent), who took such inversions seriously. Ksemendra is said to have been a "convert" to Vaisnavism, a much safer niche to occupy for the...