Canonical Ref: SL 52
Sanskrit (Devanāgarī)
गते कर्णाभ्यर्णं गरुत इव पक्ष्माणि दधती
पुरां भेत्तुश्चित्तप्रशमरसविद्रावणफले ।
इमे नेत्रे गोत्राधरपतिकुलोत्तंसकलिके
तवाकर्णाकृष्टस्मरशरविलासं कलयतः ॥ ५२॥
पुरां भेत्तुश्चित्तप्रशमरसविद्रावणफले ।
इमे नेत्रे गोत्राधरपतिकुलोत्तंसकलिके
तवाकर्णाकृष्टस्मरशरविलासं कलयतः ॥ ५२॥
English Scholarly Translation
O bud who is the crown-ornament of the Himālaya king's lineage! These two eyes of yours — extending to
the vicinity of your ears, bearing eyelashes like wings, whose fruit is the melting away of the
tranquillity of the mind of Śiva the Triple-city-destroyer — display the sport of Kāma's arrows drawn to
the ear [i.e., a fully-drawn bow-and-arrow].
the vicinity of your ears, bearing eyelashes like wings, whose fruit is the melting away of the
tranquillity of the mind of Śiva the Triple-city-destroyer — display the sport of Kāma's arrows drawn to
the ear [i.e., a fully-drawn bow-and-arrow].
व्याख्या / Traditional Commentary & Notes
Classical Exegesis
【Title: The Eyelashes as Wings of Arrows】
The image is precise: the elongated eye (āyata-nayana), a celebrated
feature of Sanskrit poetics, extends toward the ear at the outer corner — like an arrow drawn back to
the archer's ear before release. The eyelashes become the feather-vanes (pakṣa = wing) that
stabilise the arrow's flight. The phrase ākarṇa-ākṛṣṭa (drawn to the ear) is a standard
compound for a "fully drawn bow" — here it describes the eye at the moment of its maximum lateral
extension, which is also Kāma's arrow at maximum tension before striking. The verse thus captures the
instant of maximum erotic power (smara-śara-vilāsa) in the Goddess's sideward glance.
Padaccheda: गते · कर्ण-अभ्यर्णम् · गरुतः इव · पक्ष्माणि · दधती · पुराम्-भेत्तुः · चित्त-प्रशम-रस-विद्रावण-फले ·
इमे · नेत्रे · गोत्राधर-पति-कुल-उत्तंस-कलिके · तव · आकर्ण-आकृष्ट-स्मर-शर-विलासम् · कलयतः
Canonical CTS URN Reference
Saundaryalaharī, SL 52. Poorvam Open Research Engine (PORE) Corpus.