This verse is evidently a parody of the countless erotic compositions in Indic languages that use a slew of (mostly pompous and hackneyed) similes to describe the physical features of beautiful young women.
Devanagari text:
मर्कटमुखि मरिचस्तनि मुरजोदरि मुष्टिमेयकटिदेशे|
मार्जारशावनयने स्मरामि कान्ते त्वदङ्गानि||
मार्जारशावनयने स्मरामि कान्ते त्वदङ्गानि||
Harvard-Kyoto transliteration:
markaTamukhi maricastani murajodari muSTimeyakaTideze|
mArjArazAvanayane smarAmi kAnte tvadaGgAni||
mArjArazAvanayane smarAmi kAnte tvadaGgAni||
– Anonymous
Loose translation: Oh sweetheart! I am thinking of your body parts – your apelike face, your breasts that are as tiny as a pair of peppercorns, your midriff that resembles a (barrel-shaped) muraja drum, your hips that are narrow enough to be spanned by a single hand, and your eyes that look like those of a kitten.
Source: Suktimuktaavali Chapter 89 Verse 25.
Notes: The alliteration in m is quite noteworthy.
I also like the comparison of the eyes to those of a kitten (मार्जारशाव) rather than to those of a cat, which is probably intended to suggest that the eyes are small in addition to having a non-black color. Or perhaps, it is just a mockery of the oft-used adjective mRgazAvAkSI (मृगशावाक्षी), "fawn-eyed woman", found in both the Mahabharata and the Ramayana. Incidentally, according to Varahamihira's Brihat Samhita, the physiognomic significance of a woman's tawny (पिङ्गल, piGgala) or brown (श्याव, zyAva) eyes is that she has bad character (Chapter 70 Verse 19).
Source: Suktimuktaavali Chapter 89 Verse 25.
Notes: The alliteration in m is quite noteworthy.
I also like the comparison of the eyes to those of a kitten (मार्जारशाव) rather than to those of a cat, which is probably intended to suggest that the eyes are small in addition to having a non-black color. Or perhaps, it is just a mockery of the oft-used adjective mRgazAvAkSI (मृगशावाक्षी), "fawn-eyed woman", found in both the Mahabharata and the Ramayana. Incidentally, according to Varahamihira's Brihat Samhita, the physiognomic significance of a woman's tawny (पिङ्गल, piGgala) or brown (श्याव, zyAva) eyes is that she has bad character (Chapter 70 Verse 19).
Very nice! Reminds me of this verse that Mallinātha purportedly wrote to his wife :)
ReplyDeleteतिन्त्रिणीदलसमानलोचने देवदुन्दुभिसमानमध्यमे ।
अर्कशुष्कफलवद्घनस्तनि रामवैरिभगिनीव राजसे ॥
Hahahaha! Are you talking about the same mallinAtha who wrote commentaries on ...... basically everything :)?
DeleteIs 'tintriNI' = tamarind? I have not encountered this word before but it sounds similar to 'tintiDI', hence my guess.
Yes, it the same MallinAtha and tintriNI is tamarind as you correctly guessed :)
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