अत्तुं वाञ्छति वाहनं गणपतेराखुं क्षुधार्त्तः फणी
तञ्च क्रौञ्छरिपोश्शिखी च गिरिजासिंहोऽपि नागाननम् ।
गौरी जह्नुसुतामसूयति कलानाथं ललाटानलो
निर्विण्णः स पपौ कुटुम्बकलहादीशोऽपि हालाहलम् ॥
attuṁ vāñchati vāhanaṁ gaṇapater ākhuṁ kṣudhārttaḥ phaṇī
tañ ca krauñcharipoś śikhī ca girijā-siṁho’pi nāgānanam |
gaurī jahnu-sutām asūyati kalānāthaṁ lalāṭānalo
nirviṇṇaḥ sa papau kuṭumba-kalahād īśo’pi hālāhalam ||
(Unknown source)
“His snake, stricken with hunger, tries to eat Gaṇapati’s [i.e., Gaṇeśa’s] mouse.
Krauñcharipu [i.e., Kārtikeya’s] peacock tries to eat the snake, and Girijā’s [i.e., Pārvatī’s] lion tries to eat Nāgānana [i.e., Gaṇeśa, lit., “he of elephant head”] himself.
Gaurī envies the daughter of Jahnu [i.e., Gaṅgā, who dwells on his head].
And the fire on his forehead envies the moon [on his crown].
Disturbed by household quarrel, Īśa [i.e., Śiva] drank poison!”
Commentary
A kavi light-heartedly for the sake of humor construes Śiva’s entourage as being troublesome to him: The snake (phaṇī) on his shoulders, stricken with hunger (kṣudhārttaḥ), tries (vañchhati) to eat (attuṁ) Gaṇeśa’s (Gaṇapater) mouse-carrier (ākhum vāhanaṁ). Kārtikeya’s (krauñcharipoś) peacock (śikhī) tries to eat the snake (tañ), and (ca) Gaurī’s lion (girijā-siṁho) tries to eat Gaṇeśa himself, as he has the face of an elephant (nāgānanam). His wife Gaurī (Gaurī) envies (asūyati) Gaṅgā (Jahnu-sutām), who Śiva carries on his head, and the fire on Śiva’s forehead (lalāṭānalo) envies (asūyati) the moon he wears on his crown (kalānāthaṁ). Thus disturbed (nirviṇṇaḥ) by household quarrel (kuṭumba-kalahād), Lord Śiva (sa īśo) drank (papau) the poison produced by the churning of the ocean (hālāhalam)!”