Poetry at Sangam

SangamHouse

 










KHAJURAHO by Kunwar Narain, translated by Apurva Narain

Entering the garbhagriha
in the womb of a temple
a sudden dream arose—what 
if the ingress were to close 
forever, untying me
from the light outside
and leaving me
all alone inside 
        with these statues and glyphs,
        abducted into their dreamland
        enamoured of their allure
        entranced by postures of love, divinity
        … captive to this splendour of beauty,
        somewhat like these maidens
        apsaras devadasis shardools
        lion-bodied griffins and tree-nymphs
        couples entwined in desire
        virgins looking sideways
 
and outside the archways
stoical time
was left waiting like a slave,
        but the womb of the temple
        never opened again—
 
        And then, suddenly it felt
        a commotion of clattering statues filled up
        mandapa, antaraala, ardhamandapa;
 
        whereupon all of them came to life
        and with the crude force
        of a birth pang
               pushed me into the dazzle 
                      of the light outside


NOTE

A maṁḍapa (temple hall) lies between an ardhamaṁḍapa (entrance porch) and mahāmaṁḍapa (great hall), leading to the garbhagriha (sanctum sanctorum or ‘womb’) via an antarāla (vestibule). These liminal architectural elements between the exterior and divine worlds often have erotic carvings in Khajuraho, like those of the apsarā (celestial nymph), devadāsī (female attendant of God) and śāl bhanjikā (sylph grasping the śāl tree).

Excerpted from Witnesses of Remembrance: Selected Newer Poems, trans. Apurva Narain, Eka, Westland, 2021


KUNWAR NARAIN, TRANSLATED BY APURVA NARAIN