120 Birds in Sanskrit Literature It has been regarded as one of the auspicious birds of augury and its call or resonant drumming was a very welcome sound.: "मङ्गल्यार्थप्रदेः शब्दरन्ववर्तन्त सर्वशः । सादसा: शतपवाश्च हंसाच मधुसूदनम्" ॥ -महाभारत “चकोरैः शतपत्रैश्च भृङगराजैस्तथा शुकैः । श्रोवरम्यं सुमधुरं कूजद्भिवाप्यधिष्ठितम् ।" 4. 3. The beautiful Golden-backed Woodpecker (11") is one of the best known in the whole group as it is found all over the country from the Hima- layan foot-hills downwards. Its pied plumage, bright crimson crest, rich golden yellow back and the loud call never fail to attract the attention of persons with eyes and ears to see and listen. The कल्पद्रु synonymy includes two additional adnouns दारुण ( having a very powerful call ) and कर्बुराङग for a Woodpecker and these are not found in M. Williams and other lexicons. कर्बुर means 'variegated' and 'gold' so that the name or epithet कर्बुराङ्ग means having botha variegated and a golden body' and it is submitted that the name applies to this common bird. The subject of the following descriptive verse of अश्वघोष is most probably this Woodpecker:-- - मार्कण्डेयपुराण and महाभारत “रक्ताभिरग्रेषु च वल्लरीभिर्मध्येषु चामीकरपिञ्जराभिः । वैदूर्यवर्णाभिरुपान्तमध्येष्वलङ्क ता यत्र खगाश्चरन्ति ।। -सौन्दरनन्द The red crest ( रक्तवल्लरी) in front golden yellow in the middle, and brown elsewhere in the plumage hardly fits any other bird, and the poet appears purposely to have avoided the rather harsh sounding common names for it, and he certainly knew that the name शतपन belonged to a different variety of Woodpecker. 4. The Speckled Piculet (4 inches) and the Rufous Piculet (3.5 inches) are tiny Woodpeckers. • first is found throughout the Himalayas and the adjoining plains and the second from Nepal Eastwards. They haunt bamboos and bore holes in them for nests, the entrance hole being bored just below a node (Smythies). कीचक means 'bamboo and also a kind of bird' in M. Williams, and the कीचक birds of Rāmāyana and some of the Purānas are the beautiful little Piculets whose voices are a quaint little piping imitation (or querulous miniature) of their larger brethren (S. 2. 5.83-25, 3. 6.18-19:3,158, 52-54. See also महाभारत 3.108.8 9 139 86; पद्मपुराण, सुष्टिखण्ड 42.64. 10.30. Woodpeckers Baker). The following verses help to bring out the difference between कीचक as a bamboo-clump and कीचक as a bird:- Commentators and many lexicographers have missed the meaning of कोचक as a bird simply because their mind was obsessed with the dry bamboos of Kālidāsa in which holes had been bored by the black bees and which when blown over by a high breeze produced whistling sounds :- "शब्दायन्ते मधुरमनिलैः कीचकाः पूर्यमाणा: " (मेघदूत ) 10 5. Finally, I may be forgiven for the wild guess I offer below in respect of a couple of verses in the अथर्ववेद "कोयष्टिकंआर्जुनकैः शतपत्रैच कीचकः । एतैवान्यैश्च बहुभिर्नादितं तद्वनं महत् ॥" (रामायण) 8 "कीचकैश्च सुधोपैश्च कूजितं भ्रमरैरपि ।" (स्कन्दपुराण ) ● "तटे कीचकगुल्मैच तथा वृक्षैत्र शोभितम् ।" (Ibid) “झिल्लीशब्दश्च क्रेश्कारैः कीचकानां रवैस्तथा" (Ibid ) # "रवः कीचकवेणूनां मधुरीकृतकाननम् ।" ( ब्रह्माण्डपुराण ) ● ( AV. ) 11 In an attempt at interpreting the above verses the following may well be borne in mind:- "यवाश्वत्था न्यग्रोधा महावृक्षाः शिखण्डिनः तत्परेताप्सरसः प्रतिबुद्धा अभूतन यत्र वः प्रेखा हरिता अर्जुना उत यत्राघाटा: कर्कर्य: संवदन्ति तत्परेताप्सरसः प्रतिबुद्धा अभूतन" "क्रिमिजिन्वत्पृथिवि । यद् यदेजति प्रावृषि.... ( AV. ) 1 where insects and other creeping things so much in evidence in the wet season, are mentioned, and "ये गन्धर्वा अप्सरसो ये चाराया किमीदिनः।" (AV. ) 13 where certain malignities are described as गन्धर्वा and अप्सरस: In English translations of these Sūktas, the terms गन्धवं and अप्सरस् are 5. 3.75.12. 6 वंशाखमाहात्म्य 18.19. 7. 8 121 18.22. 18.27. 9. मध्यम भाग 22.50. 10. 56. 11. IV.37. 4-5. 12. XII.1.46. 13. XII.1.50.
