№ MMXXVI

RACHNA · A LIVING ARCHIVE

Rachna by M.

Loading the archive

MM · XXVI

Canvas
Krishna and Radha in a Monsoon Landscape

Shringara

पावस रितु बृन्दावनकी

Pavas Ritu Brindavanki

Bihari Lal
1 min read 1 versesवृंदावनvrindavanवर्षा-ऋतु

1 verses · ~1 min

पावस रितु बृन्दावनकी दुति दिन-दिन दूनी दरसै है। छबि सरसै है लूमझूम यो सावन घन घन बरसै है॥१॥ हरिया तरवर सरवर भरिया जमुना नीर कलोलै है। मन मोलै है, बागोंमें मोर सुहावणो बोलै है॥२॥ आभा माहीं बिजली चमकै जलधर गहरो गाजै है। रितु राजै है, स्यामकी सुंदर मुरली बाजै है॥३॥ (रसिक) बिहारीजी रो भीज्यो पीतांबर प्यारीजी री चूनर सारी है। सुखकारी है, कुंजाँ झूल रह्या पिय प्यारी है॥४॥

इति

Bihari Lal

The Poet

बिहारी

Bihari Lal

1595 · 1663

Bihari Lal remains one of the most masterful practitioners of classical Hindi poetry. Born in Gwalior around 1595, he became the defining voice of the Ritikal or ornamental period of Hindi literature. Serving in the court of Mirza Raja Jai Singh of Amber, Bihari achieved immortality through a single monumental work known as the Bihari Satsai. This collection of approximately seven hundred couplets in Brajbhasha is universally celebrated for its breathtaking concentration of meaning. Critics often describe his style as filling an ocean into a small pitcher. He did not write lengthy epics. Instead, he crafted exquisite miniatures that explored the delicate nuances of romantic love, devotion, and worldly wisdom. His ability to capture the fleeting glances of lovers or the beauty of the changing seasons within just two lines remains unparalleled. He passed away around 1663, but his couplets are still studied as the absolute gold standard of poetic compression and aesthetic grace in Indian literature.

Krishna and Radha in a Monsoon Landscape

Paired Painting

Krishna and Radha in a Monsoon Landscape

Open the viewer →

If this held you

Four more, in the same key.

Chosen for their rasa and their register, not their popularity. Each one carries some part of what Pavas Ritu Brindavanki carries.