Thursday, May 19, 2011

she neither stood nor walked.....

तं वीक्ष्य वेपथुमती सरसाङ्गयष्टिर्
विक्षेपणाय पदम् उद्धृतम् उद्वहन्ती।
मार्गाचलव्यतिकराकुलितेव सिन्धुः
शैलाधिराजतनया न ययौ न तस्तौ॥
काळिदासकृताद् कुमारसंभवात्
 

taṁ vīkṣya vepathumatī sarasāṅgayaṣṭir
vikṣepaṇāya padam uddhṛtam udvahantī|
mārgācalavyatikarākuliteva sindhuḥ
śailādhirājatanayā na yayau na tastau||
kāḻidāsakṛtād kumārasaṁbhavāt

Parvathi is doing penance to woo Siva and Siva comes to her hermitage in the disguise of a brahmachari (initiate unmarried youngster). After a mock quarrel, the divine couple recognize each other and Siva holds the hand of Gauri(Parvathi). Her immediate reaction is described in the last stanza of Brahmacharipravesa sargam  of Kumarasambhavam
"On seeing him (Siva) Parvathy is overcome by shyness and she is shivering, and just trying to lift her one foot  to run towards  the hermitage. But after seeing Him her heart does not permit her to leave him either. She is filled with goose-pimples of lajja (shyness). Her lifted foot remains  in such  raised condition without moving ahead. It is like the Sindhu river just trying to flow onwards but is confronted by  a mountain face to face and is   hesitant to proceed further. Therefore,  the daughter of the monarch of mountains (sailadhirajathanayaa) just does not   stop, neither does she run away ( na yayau na thasthau)- " 


The natural shyness of a nubile girl in the presence of the most beautiful man in the world prodding her to run away on the  one hand  and  her unwillingness to move away from her dearest lord on the other hand locks her in the horns of a dilemma. This  is vividly portrayed by the inimitable Kalidasa through the simile of the mountain and the sindhu.

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