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Post 8

Dear sri vaishNava perunthgaiyeer,

 

We were seeing how seethaa exhibits her ‘lakshaNa saasthra knowledge’ – her learning-s on the saasthram of ‘beauty descriptions of parts of a lady and phalans’ and how raavaNan looks at her beauty – as divine first and then with lust - alternating - and he expresses ‘Is it that you are a goddess?’ first and then ‘whatever part of you I see, my eyes gets locked there itself’. 

 

While we have seen description of seethaa’s parts of the body like face, eyes, shoulders chest, arms, legs etc, we have not seen any description of seethaa’s stomach [raavaNan comments as palm waist but not on stomach] [of course on the naval seethaa herself comments as part of the lakshaNa saasthram].

 

For that perhaps we have to go aaraNya kaaNdam where soorpanakaa describes seethaa as ‘nirNatha udharee’ – a shallow stomach – means not bulging – going inside – raavaNa says palmful waist – means the stomach is so small and getting inside between the upper and bottom portions being appropriately bulgingly shaped, the waist appears as though can be held by palm.

 

Soorpanakaa says to raama --

imaam viroopaam asatheem karaalaam nirNatha udhareem |

anEna saha thE bhraathraa bhakshayishyaami maanusheem || 3-17-27

 

meaning: ‘Shall I eat up this disfigured, dishonest, diabolical human female with a shallow stomach along with him, that brother of yours to make you free’.

 

Comment: LakshmaNa will use the very same wording in the next sargam - chapter when retorting soorpanakha.

 

Ethaam viroopaam asatheem karaalaam nirNatha udhareem |

bhaaryaam vrudhDhaam parithyajya thvaam Eva Esha bhajishyathi || 3-18-11

 

meaning: lakshmaNa says to soorpanakha, ‘On discarding her, who is disfigured, dishonest, diabolically deleterious, old wife, with a shallow stomach, that Raama will adore you alone’.

 

Notes: Lakshmana tolerates anything but lets no fly to fly over Seethaa. He may defy his brother Raama, but never tolerates belittlement of Seethaa, and lets none to insult her. So now he is retorting soorpanakha in the same words she used in previous sargam – chapter - when she was speaking about seethaa.

 

On this slOkam Govindaraja interprets as lakshmaNa saying,

viroopaam asatheem karaalaam nirNatha udhareem |

vrudhDhaam thvaam parithyajya Enaam bhaaryaam Eva Esha ||

meaning: 'oh, soorpanakha you are un-shapely, unworthy etc., so Raama will leave you off, and adores his own wife, Seethaa only...' Govindaraja.

 

Next, Maheshvara Tirtha interprets on the same verse with reference to Seethaa, as:

vi + roopaam = visEsha roopaam = thri lOka sundhareem = with a particular excellence in her beauty in all three worlds;

a + satheem = na anya pathivrathaa syaath samam vaa adhikam = none, equalling or better in husband-adoration;

karaalaam = karaalO dhanthurE thungE dhaaruNE api cha = cleaving as under, tall  

nirNatha udhareem = shallow-stomached, slender-waisted, the first attribute a comely lady should have;

vrudhDhaam = j~naana, seela, guNa samvrudhDhi = 'abounding with intellect, character, conduct etc., not just years of age...'

 

meaning: Seetha is one with a particular excellence in her beauty in all three worlds, none is equalling or higher to her in husband-adoration, a tall lady, slender-waisted and in her enriched are intellect, character and conduct... how can she be left off for your sake?'

This is the innuendo of LakshmaNa's wording -. Maheshvara Teertha.

 

Dear raama bhakthaas, enjoy the beautiful interpretations as above on the same slOkam on beauty of seethaa. Now we will see how hanumaan looks at beauty of ‘mother’ seethaa. See slOkams by vaalmeeki how hanumaan sees her --

 

poorNa chandhra aananaam su-bhroom chaaru vruththa payO dharaam || 5-15-28

kurvantheem prabhayaa dhEveem sarvaa vithimiraa dhisa: |

 

thaam neela kEseem bimba oshTeem sumadhyaam suprathishThithaam || 5-15-29

seethaam padhma palaasa aksheem manmathasya rathim yathaa |

 

meaning: Hanumaan saw Seethaa,

§         with a face like full moon,

§         with beautiful eyebrows,

§         with graceful rounded breasts,

§         the radiance making all directions without darkness,

§         goddess like with black hair,

§         with lips like bimba fruit,

§         with a good waist, very firm,

§         with eyes like lotus petals, like Rathi the consort of god of love.

 

ishTaam sarvasya jagatha: poorNa chandhra prabhaam iva || 5-15-30

bhoomou suthanum aaseenaam niyathaam iva thaapaseem |

 

meaning: Hanumaan saw seethaa, ‘As the light of full moon, dear to all world, like an ascetic woman leading austere life, sitting on bare ground with a good body’.

 

imaam asitha kEsa anthaam satha pathra nibha eekshaNaam |

sukha arhaam dhu:khithaam jnaathvaa mama api vyathitham mana: || 5-16-28

 

meaning: hanumaan says to himself, ‘Knowing Her with black ended hairs, with lotus like eyes, deserving of comforts, and in sorrow, my mind also is gloomy.”

 

sa thaam asitha kEsaanthaam susrONeem samhatha sthaneem |

dhidhrukshu: asitha apaangam upaavarthatha raavaNa: || 5-18-32

 

meaning: [when hanumaan was watching], ‘that RaavaNan neared Seethaa with black hair, with charming limbs with well-knit breasts, with black corners of eyes, wishing to see Her. [this is vaalmeeki’s description of raavaNan nearing seethaa]

 

Ekayaa dheerghayaa vENyaa sobham aanaam ayathnatha: |

neelayaa neeradhaapaayE vana raajyaa maheem iva || 5-19-20

 

meaning: [when raavaNan sees her vaalmeeki gives a long list of comparisons and are of high poetic value – example is taken here] With a long single plait, shining without effort, Seethaa was like the earth with dark groups of trees at the end of rainy season.

 

Point: 1. In all these references, the black hair of seethaa is adequately described. Just recall seethaa also in her own description says, ‘my hair is black, soft, gentle, equal’ etc – which comes in for description as the first point in her learnings – also described by all – raavaaNan, raama, hanumaan, vaalmeeki. That slOkam is repeated for clarity.

 

kEsaa: sookshmaa: samaa neelaa, bhruvou cha aasangathE mama |  6-48-9 
-- is the first line.

 

2. So it is clear that the beauty of a lady is commensurate with her ‘hair’ and ‘its style’. Perhaps this particular aspect is learnt adequately by our ladies [of present generation], more than other things.

 

3. Also note the description in slOkam 5-19- 20 - “Seethaa was like the earth with dark groups of trees at the end of rainy season”. Of course the sargam is full of such comparisons but this is something special.

 

When the rainy season ends, all the leaves in the branches would have fallen, the bare stems only protruding in the trees. Also since all rainwater would have run off, the ground also looks afresh with all tell-tale signs of the flow of water, bereft of greenery, because of the washout. And perhaps the ground anticipates the arrival of tender sprouts and waits, even though it has enough wetness to allow sprouting of greenery.

 

Here seethaa also is in same position – awaiting arrival of hanumaan to give her the required rejuvenation – though he is very much there, just sitting there, waiting for right moment, he is yet to announce his arrival. Also a fresh ‘strong blow’ of wind may cause that barren leafless tree to get a beating and fall, even before rejuvenation with all its inherent capabilities. That is what is just going to happen – raavaNan arrives and blows up. And seethaa leads herself to praaNa thyaagam – then hanumaan stops that act by the gentle uttering of raama naamam and his glorious story etc.

 

Another meaning is also very apt – the golden body of seethaa is bereft of jewelry, only with the black soft gentle hair tied as lone plait – Eka vENi – that remind vaalmeeki as seethaa’s body is like the new and fresh bright earth [with all dirt and silt washed away in rains], and, the single plait with black individual hairs is like dark group of trees - so a great poetic description in this ‘one line’ for us to enjoy.   Enjoy seethaa’s beauty and vaalmeeki’s great slOkams. Rest in next post.

 

Dhasan

Vasudevan m.g.

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