Thursday, July 22, 2010

she is fire

नाग्निम् मुखेन धमेत् नग्नां नेक्षेत च स्त्रियं
नामेद्द्यम् प्रक्षिपेदग्नौ न च पादौ प्रतापयेत्
nāgnim mukhena dhamet nagnāṁ nekṣeta ca striyaṁ
nāmeddyam prakṣipedagnau na ca pādau pratāpayet

सुभषितशतकत्रयं
subhaṣitaśatakatrayaṁ

One should not try to put off the fire by blowing at it direct with his mouth.  One should never look at a woman who is not without any clothes. One should not throw dirty things into fire and one should never spread his feet toward the agni (fire) to get them warm.

The sloka is in recognition of the great potency  and greatness of the fire God, and the basic tenet that one should not show disrespect to fire. Of course there is great danger in blowing out fire direct, and there is even greater danger in inhaling the products of tobacco etc being burnt by the fire.  If we throw dirty things into the fire, atmospheric pollution, unbearable stink etc will be the result. Showing our legs at a respectable person is considered a heinous crime in our culture.  The most important part of this sloka is that the respectability of a woman is equated to that of fire.  It is not only in this sloka but in many dharmasaastras it has been reiterated that one should never cast his eyes on a woman when she is not decently dressed. In fact the prohibition applies even to a husband or a son. The intention is to uphold the dignity,  virtue and greatness of womanhood.  The nudist culture of the present generation , the medieval architecture and literature with graphic descriptions and portrayal of nudity and the ultramodern hypocrites like Hussain may disagree. I personally agree that it is a crime  to show any disrespect to the female. Perceptions can vary.  If you watch the abhishekam of divine mother in temples, you would find that sensible aacharayas always cover Her body  with red clothes  during such occasions. May be the mother is so beautiful that our dark minds may  for a moment  veer around to sinful thoughts..

--
।श्रीकृष्णो रक्षतु।
|śrīkṛṣṇo rakṣatu|
Have a nice and happy day
with profound respect and warm regards
K V Ananthanarayanan
(kanfusion)
blog   http://kanfusion.blogspot.com/
त्यजन्तु बान्धवाः सर्वे निन्दन्तु गुरवो जनाःI
तदापि परमानन्दो गोविन्दो मम जीवनंII
let all my relatives abandon me, let the great people insult me, still I am in supreme bliss since my life  is GOVINDA alone.
Iकृष्णात् परं किमपि तत्वं अहं न जाने"I

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