6. Yoga and bhoga in PadmAvat. These two terms run after each other, confront each other, escape from each other, combine and make verses with each other throughout the poem. Yoga, in the avadhI forms jog/jogU, usually stands for "asceticism" or "penance"; however, as will be shown below, it can also revert to the etymological meaning of "union" in the stanzas describing the two lovers' meeting. Bhoga, respectively in the forms bhog/bhogU, almost always means "enjoyment", "pleasure", etc. Occasionally, jog has a more particular meaning: as an adjective, yogya, it means "worthy", "suitable" or "useful". In one instance (xix.4,8), the expression ras-jog is used to mean "inclined to pleasure/enjoyment (of love)": in this compound form it occurs much less than its counterparts, ras-bhog and ras-bhogU, "tasting the flavour/nectar (of love)", or ras-bhogI, "(he who) tastes etc." In only rare passages (as in xxiv.3.2.), bhogI is used in the technical sense of "vassal", "feudatory" (sAmant), or "usufructuary" (upabhogI) of lands granted by the king. Very often the term biyog/biyogI occurs in the meaning of "renunciation to the world for love's sake" / "(he who) renounces the world etc.". More frequently it is used to stress the element of penance or suffering in the term jog/jogI; sometimes it stands in contrast with bhog/bhogI, for instance in the delicious and malicious verses no. xxvi.9,8-9, where bracelets and anklets moan over the separation from the loved one (biyog), and implore Padmavati to assume a particular erotic posture so that even those remote parts of the female body might be involved in the union.⁹³

Almost the entire first part of PadmAvat is marked by the juxtaposition of jog and bhog. This contrast is especially stark in the 11^th and 12^th chapters, which are conventionally entitled "Love" and "The Ascetic". They tell how Ratan'sen falls in love with Padmavati after hearing a description of her divine beauty, and then decides to renounce "reign and pleasure (rAj au bhogU)" in order to embrace asceticism. In the references made by different characters throughout the poem, jog and bhog maintain their basic reciprocal opposition, and only rarely an attempt is made to harmonize them both at a higher level. In one instance, the parrot Hiraman, who had previously lamented having been captured from the branches of the "pleasure tree" (bhog-birikh, v.6,4), refers both to the irreconcilable character of jog and bhog and to the possibility that real bhog could be actually attained through jog: "If enjoyment could be attained by accumulating enjoyment, nobody would ever practice asceticism and abandon enjoyment".⁹⁴ It is therefore necessary, according to Hiraman, to transcend conventional enjoyment in order to reach the ultimate enjoyment through asceticism. Ratan'sen's mother similarly observes that bhog as an established habit makes jog impossible to practice: "You used to spend your days amidst pleasures, so how can you practice yoga and asceticism (so kaise sAdhava tapa jogU)?"⁹⁵ Ratan'sen's reply confirms the fundamental opposition between these two different approaches to life, as well as his resolve to become an ascetic: "If reign and enjoyment were good things, Gopicand would have never embraced asceticism".⁹⁶ In the following stanza (XI.6.2), the queen Nag'mati uses both terms in feminine form while describing the change in her condition before and after her husband's "conversion": "Now, who will give me enjoyment? I will also become an ascetic (joginI) together with you". Again, in the chapter dealing with the crossing of seven seas between the mainland and the island of SiMhal, Jayasi himself comments on this issue: "the mind hankers for riches and pleasures, which make one lose his way and destroy asceticism".⁹⁷ Soon thereafter (xv.10,5-7), however, the poet describes Ratan'sen's joyful landing on the island along with his princes-disciples and for the first time the process of elevation from jog to bhog is clearly outlined. Bhog, here in the compound form ras-bhog, is seen as a natural outcome and crowning of jog: "He who arrives [here] after having thus practiced yoga and asceticism (tapa), will get all his hopes fulfilled and will experience the enjoyment of the taste of love".

In the following sections upto the crucial chapter xxvii ("The meeting"), references to the jog/bhog contrast continue (e.g.: xxii.2,4; xxii.3,7; xxvi.2.4). Ratan'sen's true nature comes to be revealed as that of a king, and the princess has already chosen him as her spouse; and yet, he finds himself in an ambiguous situation, for he is still an ascetic and again a king, and bears on himself the limitations of both. He is two, and must become one.

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