Text 7.22

अथ समास-गतं श्रुति-कटु यथा,

atha samāsa-gataṃ śruti-kaṭu yathā,

This is an example of śruti-kaṭu (hard on the ears) in a compound:

pracakrame vikrama-vikrayaṃ bhruvā suvakrayāsau rati-cakram akramāt |
suniṣṭhura-ṣṭhyūna-kaṭākṣa-sauṣṭhavā goṣṭhādhirājasya sute visaṃṣṭhule ||

pracakrame—She began; vikrama—of [masculine] vigor; vikrayam—[the multitude,] in which there is a sale (a loss); bhruvā—with the brow; su-vakrayā—which is very crooked; asau—She (Rādhā); rati—of love games; cakram—a multitude; akramāt—after doing the opposite procedure (i.e. after mounting in the male position^[1]); su-niṣṭhura—in such a way that it is very harsh; ṣṭhyūna—which is ejected (sent) (ṣṭhyūta); kaṭa-akṣa—in the matter of a sidelong glance; sauṣṭhavā—[Rādhā,] who has excellence; goṣṭha—of the cowherd village; adhirājasya—of the king; sute—toward the son; visaṃṣṭhule—who is unsteady (He was below Her).

Reversing the usual procedure, Rādhā, positioned atop Kṛṣṇa, who was unsteady, began a series of love games which involve a loss of the man’s prowess. With Her crooked eyebrows, She had expertise in casting harsh sidelong glances. (Alaṅkāra-kaustubha 10.32)

evam anyac ca parīkṣyam.

Other instances should be examined in the same way.

Commentary:

The phonemes are expressive of ojas guṇa whereas in this context, śṛṅgāra-rasa, phonemes of mādhurya-guṇa should be used. Baladeva Vidyābhūṣaṇa also shows this verse as an example of śruti-kaṭu in a sentence (7.53). The phonemes of ojas guṇa are listed in text 8.23 and the phonemes of mādhurya-guṇa in text 8.21. Alternatively, there is no fault because the hard phonemes evoke the harshness of Her sidelong glances (7.121).

Footnotes and references:

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[1]:

Viśvanātha Cakravartī explains akramāt as: sva-krama-viruddhaṃ puruṣa-kramam āruhyety arthaḥ. lyab-lope pañcamī (Subodhinī).