Morning rituals

Many South Asians start their day on the edge of a body of water in the open air, bathing, washing and performing religious rites, and have been doing so for centuries. This coming together of individuals from different walks of life to engage in activities that might be considered private in many cultures creates unique opportunities for some to actualize their ignoble intentions with little fear of being caught.

Devanagari text:

स्नायं स्नायमनारतं धनवतामग्रे निरीहव्रताः
प्रायो मृत्तिलदर्भसंग्रहरताः सम्मोहयन्तो जगत्|
अम्भःकेलिकृतावतारतरुणीनीरन्ध्रवक्षोरुह-
द्वन्द्वालोकनकूणितेक्षणयुगं ध्यायन्त्यमी दाम्भिकाः||

Harvard-Kyoto transliteration:

snAyaM snAyamanArataM dhanavatAmagre nirIhavratAH
prAyo mRttiladarbhasaMgraharatAH sammohayanto jagat|
ambhaHkelikRtAvatArataruNInIrandhravakSoruha-
dvandvAlokanakUNitekSaNayugaM dhyAyantyamI dAmbhikAH ||

– Anonymous

Loose translation: Taking repeated ritual baths (in the river¹), making a great show of their avowed non-possession in the presence of the affluent², often engaged in gathering (religious paraphernalia such as) sacred earth, sesame seeds, and sacred grass, beguiling the whole world, these sanctimonious scoundrels sit (on the river's edge) with their eyes half-closed in a pretense of meditation to get a good view of the (full) breasts, each pair tightly pressing together³, of lasses who have come down (to the river) to frolic about in the water.

Source: Suktimuktaavali (13th century) Chapter 89 Verse 8.

Notes: Within the span of a single distich, our cynical poet has effectively dismissed multiple ascetic / priestly practices as calculated ruses to achieve either artha, "resources and power", (by impressing potential moneyed patrons) or kama, "sensual pleasure", (voyeuristic pleasure, in particular) under the guise of pursuing dharma, "piety and rectitude".

This snippet bears an uncanny resemblance to a line in the first chapter of the Bengali novel Bishabrikkha (বিষবৃক্ষ), "the poison tree", penned by Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay, where the author describes in great detail the riverside activities of villagers at daybreak, as seen by the protagonist from his boat:

ব্রাহ্মণ ঠাকুরেরা নিরীহ ভালমানুষের মত আপন মনে গঙ্গাস্তব পড়িতেছেন, পূজা করিতেছেন, এক একবার আকন্ঠনিমজ্জিতা কোন যুবতীর প্রতি অলক্ষ্যে চাহিয়া লইতেছেন।

"Putting on a facade of innocence, honorable Brahmins were absorbed in reciting hymns dedicated to the Ganges, solemnizing religious services, and casting furtive glances at the occasional young woman immersed up to her neck."

1 The author does not expressly mention a river. Any other body of water, like a natural lake or a man-made tank (except the ocean), considered sacred would also fit the description.^↩

2 This is my interpretation of the segment धनवतामग्रे निरीहव्रताः, "observing a vow of desirelessness before the wealthy".^↩

3 This is my interpretation of नीरन्ध्र, "without openings", hence "dense" or "firmly closed" (Monier-Williams). It is reminiscent of Kalidasa's description of Uma's breasts in Kumarasambhava Chapter 1 Verse 40:

अन्योन्यमुत्पीडयदुत्पलाक्ष्याः स्तनद्वयं पाण्डु तथा प्रवृद्धम्|

मध्ये यथा श्याममुखस्य तस्य मृणालसूत्रान्तरमप्यलभ्यम्||

"Of her, the lily-eyed one, the two breasts yellowish white, having black nipples and pressing against each other, were so rounded that as much space as could be occupied even by a lotus fibre was impossible to be found between them." – Translation by M. R. Kale.^↩