Sahitya-kaumudi by Baladeva Vidyabhushana

by Gaurapada Dāsa | 2015 | 234,703 words

Baladeva Vidyabhusana’s Sahitya-kaumudi covers all aspects of poetical theory except the topic of dramaturgy. All the definitions of poetical concepts are taken from Mammata’s Kavya-prakasha, the most authoritative work on Sanskrit poetical rhetoric. Baladeva Vidyabhushana added the eleventh chapter, where he expounds additional ornaments from Visv...

उदाहरणम्,
लाक्षा-रसाङ्कम् अलिके गिरि-धातु-चित्रे
  वक्षस्य् उरोज-मद-लक्षणम् अम्बुदाभे |
राधालयाद् उपगतस्य हरेः प्राभाते
  कैश्चिन् न नीति-निपुणैर् अपि पर्यचायि ||

udāharaṇam,
lākṣā-rasāṅkam alike[1] giri-dhātu-citre
  vakṣasy uroja-mada-lakṣaṇam ambudābhe
|
rādhālayād upagatasya hareḥ prābhāte
  kaiścin na nīti-nipuṇair api paryacāyi
||

lākṣā—of red lac; rasa—of the juice; aṅka—of marks; aṅkam—the mark; alike—on the forehead; giri—from the mountain; dhātu—because of mineral pigments; citre—[the forehead,] multicolored; vakṣasi—on the chest; uroja—from the breasts; mada—of musk; lakṣaṇam—the mark; ambuda—[is like the luster] of a cloud; ābhe—[the chest,] whose luster; rādhā-ālayāt—from Rādhā’s place; upagatasya—who had arrived; hareḥ—of Hari; prabhāte—in the early morning; kaiścit—by some [persons]; na—not; nīti—in political wisdom (or moral precepts); nipuṇaiḥ—by those who are expert; api—even; paryacāyi—was discerned.

In the early morning, Hari came back from Rādhā’s place. No one, not even the experts in tactics, discerned that His cloud-like chest had a spot of musk from Her breasts nor that His forehead, multicolored because of mineral pigments from Govardhana, had a mark of red lac. (Govinda-līlāmṛta 17.32)

atra śyāmatvaṃ nijaṃ gairikaṃ tv āgantukam.

Both varieties are illustrated in this verse. The darkish luster of His chest is an intrinsic characteristic, and the multicoloredness because of mineral pigments from Govardhana Hill is an extrinsic characteristic.

Commentary:

This is Rudraṭa’s example of mīlita where the characteristic is intrinsic:

tiryak-prekṣaṇa-tarale susnigdhe ca svabhāvatas tasyāḥ |
anurāgo nayana-yuge sann api kenopalakṣyeta ||

“Though she has passion in her eyes, how could it possibly be noticed? Due to being very affectionate by nature, they cast fickle sidelong glances” (Kāvyālaṅkāra 7.107).

Footnotes and references:

[1]:

lākṣāṅka-pālir alike (Govinda-līlāmṛta).

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