Text 10.39

रूपकादेर् अलङ्कारान्तरस्य योगात् त्व् इयम् अतिचारुतां भजति. यथा,

rūpakāder alaṅkārāntarasya yogāt tv iyam aticārutāṃ bhajati. yathā,

An utprekṣā is exceedingly charming when it is combined with another ornament, such as rūpaka (metaphor). For example:

govardhanaṃ girim upetya kaṭākṣa-bāṇān karṇa-sphuran-maṇi-śilopari saṃkṣṇuvānā |
kā bhrū-dhanur-dhuvana-sūcita-luñcaneyaṃ vyagrī-karoty ahaha mām api sambhrameṇa ||

govardhanam—to Govardhana; girim—mountain; upetya—after arriving; kaṭākṣa—of sidelong glances; bāṇān—arrows; karṇa—as the ears; sphurat—appearing; maṇi—[in the form] of jewels; śilā—stones; upari—above; saṃkṣṇuvānā—sharpening; kā—which woman?; bhrū—of the eyebrows; dhanuḥ—the bows; dhuvana—by means of shaking; sūcita—is subtly indicated; luñcanā—She by whom a theft; iyam—She; vyagrī-karoti—makes excited; ahaha—how amazing; mām—Me; api—even; sambhrameṇa—with confusion.

[Obstructing the gopīs at Govardhana on the pretext of imposing a tax on their milk goods, Kṛṣṇa sees Rādhā and speaks to a friend:]

Who is this girl that has come to Govardhana Hill and is hinting at the theft by shaking the bows of Her eyebrows while sharpening the arrows of Her sidelong glances above the grindstone of the jewels of Her ears? She is even making Me excited out of confusion. (Dāna-kelī-kaumudī 30) (Ujjvala-nīlamaṇi 14.3)

evam anyac ca prekṣyam.

Other instances of fanciful imagination can be looked into in this way.

Commentary:

The utprekṣā in the verse is a dharma-svarūpotprekṣā (imagining that a fanciful action is actually done by someone): “She is sharpening the arrows of Her sidelong glances above the grindstone of the jewels of Her ears.” The imagination is obvious, therefore a word expressive of utprekṣā is not required. It is not the virodha ornament (semblance of a contradiction) because it is quite possible to say that someone sharpens arrows and because by definition virodha only occurs when there is a semblance of a contradiction between two elements, and not between three elements and so on (10.127128). Rūpa Gosvāmī shows the above verse to illustrate madhurarati (the sthāyi-bhāva of śṛṅgāra-rasa). According to Viśvanātha Cakravartī, the sense is Her eyes are continuously coming and going at the corners of Her eyes due to Her desire to see Kṛṣṇa, and that is suggestive of Her love for Him.^[1] This utprekṣā (fanciful imagination) is implied: Owing to that desire, the corners of Rādhā’s eyes reach Her ears.

The metaphors are “Her arrows are Her sidelong glances” and “Her ears are jewels which are grindstones.” The wording “by shaking the bows of Her eyebrows” is an instance of the pariṇāma ornament (modification) (11.47) because it does not make sense to shake bows, therefore the bows, the upamāna, need to assume the nature of the eyebrows, the upameya, in order to make sense of the locution.

Another implied sense is: If He is excited merely by seeing those arrows, what will happen when He will be pierced by them?^[2] This is an implied arthāpatti ornament (presumption) (11.35).

Footnotes and references:

[1]:

netrāntasya kuṇḍala-paryantaṃ punaḥ punar yātāyātena śrī-kṛṣṇa-darśana-spṛhā tayā ca tad-viṣayā ratiḥ sūcitā (Ānanda-candrikā 14.3).

[2]:

vyagrī-karotīti śaratejana-dhanur-dhavana-darśanenaiva tāvad ahaṃ vyagro vikala-citto’bhūvaṃ na jāne śarair viddhaḥ kīdṛśo bhaviṣyāmīti bhāvaḥ. mām api śūrāṇāṃ śiromaṇim apīti bhāvaḥ (Ānanda-candrikā 14.3).