Text 11.18

यथा वा,

yathā vā,

Here is another example (this is the second variety of ullekha):

ānamrām asita-bhruvor upacitām akṣīṇa-pakṣmāṅkureṣv
  ālolām anurāgiṇor nayanayor ārdrāṃ mṛdau jalpite |
ātāmrām adharāmṛte mada-kalām amlāna-vaṃśī-svaneṣv
  āśāste mama locanaṃ vraja-vidhor^[1] mūrtiṃ jagan-mohinīm ||

ā-namrām—very curved; asita-bhruvoḥ—as regards the two blackish eyebrows; upacitām—enhanced; akṣīṇa—thick; pakṣma—of eyelashes; aṅkureṣu—as regards the sprouts^[2]; ālolām—restless; anurāgiṇoḥ—passionate; nayanayoḥ—as regards two eyes; ārdrām—melted; mṛdau—soft; jalpite—as regards speech; ā-tāmrām—very red; adhara-amṛte—as regards the nectar-like lips; mada-kalām—intoxicated; amlāna—unwithered, clear; vaṃśī-svaneṣu—as regards the sounds of the flute; āśāste—longs for; mama—my; locanam—eye (eyes); vraja-vidhoḥ—of Kṛṣṇa (“the moon of Vraja”); mūrtim—the form; jagat—the world; mohinīm—it bewilders.

My eyes long for the form of Kṛṣṇa, the moon of Vraja. His form has a nice crookedness, on the blackish eyebrows; an enhanced perfection, in His beautiful eyelashes; fickleness, in His passionate eyes; softness, in the gentle way of talking; redness, on the nectar-like lips; and rapture, with regard to the steady sounds of the flute. His form enchants the world. (Kṛṣṇa-karṇāmṛta 54) (Bhakri-rasāmṛta-sindhu 1.3.37)

Commentary:

The words “My eyes long for Kṛṣṇa’s form” is an instance of the virodha ornament (semblance of a contradiction). On the whole, the verse exemplifies ullekha because Kṛṣṇa’s form is described differently with regard to different objects.

Viśvanātha Kavirāja says Daṇḍī’s hetu-rūpaka ornament (a metaphor with a reason) is a saṅkara of rūpaka and ullekha.^[3]

This is Daṇḍī’s example:

gāmbhīryeṇa samudro’pi gauraveṇāsi parvataḥ |
kāmadatvāc ca lokānām asi tvaṃ kalpa-pādapaḥ ||

“You are an ocean by your profundity, a mountain by your gravity, and a wish-fulfilling tree since you fulfil people’s desires” (Kāvyādarśa 2.85).

This is Paṇḍita-rāja Jagannātha’s illustration of the second kind of ullekha,

upari karavāla-dhārākārāḥ krūrā bhujaṅgama-puṅgavāt |
antaḥ drākṣā-dīkṣā-guravo jayanti ke’pi janāḥ ||

“Some persons are supereminent: Outwardly they look like a sword—they can be harsher than the most ferocious snakes—yet inwardly they are gurus who can give ripe grapes initiation in sweetness” (Rasa-gaṅgādhara, KM p. 275).

Footnotes and references:

[back to top]

[1]:

vraja-śiśor (Kṛṣṇa-karṇāmṛta) (Bhakri-rasāmṛta-sindhu)

[2]:

The word “sprout” applies to the original reading of the verse, which refers to Bāla Kṛṣṇa.

[3]:

“gāmbhīryeṇa samudro’pi gauraveṇāsi parvataḥ” ity-ādau cānekatvollekhe gāmbhīryādiviṣaya-bhedaḥ prayojakaḥ. atra ca rūpaka-yogaḥ (Sāhitya-darpaṇa 10.37).