Text 7.91

(7) [This is an example of sandeha (ambiguous):]

आर्या मात्सर्यम् उत्सर्य कार्यम् एतद् विचार्यताम् |
नितम्बाः सुभ्रुवां सेव्याः किंवा क्षितिभृताम् इह ||

āryā mātsaryam utsarya kāryam etad vicāryatām |
nitambāḥ subhruvāṃ sevyāḥ kiṃvā kṣitibhṛtām iha ||

āryāḥ—O venerable persons; mātsaryam—envy (ill will, prejudice); utsarya—abandoning; kāryam—the matter; etat—this; vicāryatām—should be considered; nitambāḥ—hips (or slopes); su-bhruvām—of women (“they have beautiful brows”); sevyāḥ—should be served; kiṃvā—or else; kṣiti-bhṛtām—of mountains (“they support the Earth,” i.e. they are a haven for life during a massive deluge); iha—in this world.

Venerable men, give up all prejudice and consider the issue: Should the hips (nitamba) of beautiful women be served or should the slopes (nitamba) of a mountain range be served? (adapted from Kāvya-prakāśa, verses 133 and 262; Śṛṅgāra-śataka 36)

atra śānta-śṛṅgāriṇoḥ ko vakteti prakaraṇābhāvenāniścayāt sandehaḥ.

Without a context, a doubt occurs here because there is no certainty: Is the author a man in śṛṅgāra-rasa or in śānta-rasa?

Commentary:

In this variety of artha-doṣa, the word artha means the Purport (tātparya artha): Is the purport of the statement the glorification of śṛṅgāra-rasa or of śānta-rasa?

The difference between the sandeha of artha-doṣa and the sandeha of pada-doṣa (7.12) is that in the latter there is an ambiguity regarding the separation of letters. In the sandeha of vākya-doṣa (7.32) there is an ambiguity regarding the possible meanings of one word.