Here's another batch of lowly lechers' ludicrous lamentations.
(1) Devanagari text:
(1) Devanagari text:
सुरतं तदेव सुरतं यत्नाल्लब्धं यदन्यनारीषु|
सन्तत्यै दाररतिः कण्डूशमनाय चेटिकागमनम्||
सन्तत्यै दाररतिः कण्डूशमनाय चेटिकागमनम्||
surataM tadeva surataM yatnAllabdhaM yadanyanArISu|
santatyai dAraratiH kaNDUzamanAya ceTikAgamanam||
– Anonymous
Loose translation: That which is obtained from "another woman" after much effort is real lovemaking; intercourse with the wife is just for procreation, and with maidservants (or slave-girls), it is (like) scratching an itch!
Source: Samayocitapadyamalika (समयोचितपद्यमालिका) "a wreath of verses appropriate for (various) occasions", i.e. "a collection of quotable verses", 5th ed. (published 1914), verse 20 of the chapter focusing on words that start with the consonant k (क्).
Source: Samayocitapadyamalika (समयोचितपद्यमालिका) "a wreath of verses appropriate for (various) occasions", i.e. "a collection of quotable verses", 5th ed. (published 1914), verse 20 of the chapter focusing on words that start with the consonant k (क्).
(2) Devanagari text:
इन्दुर्यत्र न निन्द्यते न मधुरं दूतीवचः श्रूयते नोच्छ्वासा हृदयं दहन्त्यशिशिरा नोपैति कार्श्यं वपुः|
स्वाधीनामनुकूलिकां स्वगृहिणीमालिङ्ग्य यत्सुप्यते तत्किं प्रेम गृहाश्रमव्रतमिदं कष्टं समाचर्यते||
स्वाधीनामनुकूलिकां स्वगृहिणीमालिङ्ग्य यत्सुप्यते तत्किं प्रेम गृहाश्रमव्रतमिदं कष्टं समाचर्यते||
induryatra na nindyate na madhuraM dUtIvacaH zrUyate nocchvAsA hRdayaM dahantyazizirA nopaiti kArzyaM vapuH|
svAdhinAmanukUlikAM svagRhiNImAliGgya yatsupyate tatkiM prema gRhAzramavratamidAm kaSTaM samAcaryate||
– Anonymous
Loose translation: Neither is the moon cursed (see notes) nor are the sweet words of a go-between ever heard (see notes); his heart is never scalded by his own warm sighs, and his body does not waste away. He just sleeps with his arms wrapped around his docile and faithful wife. Is this love? (No!) He is just, religiously and painfully, performing the duties of a householder.
Source: 14th century Shaarngadharapaddhati Verse 3782 – the final verse of the asatIcaritram (असतीचरित्रम्), "the exploits of the adulteress".
Notes: The moon is often portrayed as a tormentor of separated lovers in spite of being a delight to the rest of the world. So, when the poet talks about the revilement of the moon, they are alluding to pining for the beloved – an idea elaborated on by references to sighing and withering away later in the first half-verse.
The dUtI (दूती), a female negotiator dispatched by a lover to convey their longing and pain to their love interest and hopefully set up a tryst, is a stock character in romantic compositions; the entire sub-genre of dUtakAvyas is a highly imaginative take on this messenger trope. For star-crossed lovers forced to stay apart, the dUtI is sometimes the only confidante and so her words are the only relief for their aching hearts.
It can be argued that this snippet is not necessarily expressive of a craving for extra-marital affairs; it could just be read as the wistful musings of a person tired of their humdrum married life and wishing that they were instead involved in a youthful romance with all its pains and pleasures. But since the most celebrated love stories in Sanskrit belles-lettres are of the scandalous kind (at least from a modern reader's point of view), I would say that the anthologist Shaarngadhara is justified in including this stanza in his chapter on adultery.
In the Subhashita Ratna Bhandagara, the words nopaiti (नोपैति) towards the end of the first half are replaced with the synonymous expression no yAti (नो याति).
Source: 14th century Shaarngadharapaddhati Verse 3782 – the final verse of the asatIcaritram (असतीचरित्रम्), "the exploits of the adulteress".
Notes: The moon is often portrayed as a tormentor of separated lovers in spite of being a delight to the rest of the world. So, when the poet talks about the revilement of the moon, they are alluding to pining for the beloved – an idea elaborated on by references to sighing and withering away later in the first half-verse.
The dUtI (दूती), a female negotiator dispatched by a lover to convey their longing and pain to their love interest and hopefully set up a tryst, is a stock character in romantic compositions; the entire sub-genre of dUtakAvyas is a highly imaginative take on this messenger trope. For star-crossed lovers forced to stay apart, the dUtI is sometimes the only confidante and so her words are the only relief for their aching hearts.
It can be argued that this snippet is not necessarily expressive of a craving for extra-marital affairs; it could just be read as the wistful musings of a person tired of their humdrum married life and wishing that they were instead involved in a youthful romance with all its pains and pleasures. But since the most celebrated love stories in Sanskrit belles-lettres are of the scandalous kind (at least from a modern reader's point of view), I would say that the anthologist Shaarngadhara is justified in including this stanza in his chapter on adultery.
In the Subhashita Ratna Bhandagara, the words nopaiti (नोपैति) towards the end of the first half are replaced with the synonymous expression no yAti (नो याति).
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