Canonical Ref: SL 53
Sanskrit (Devanāgarī)
विभक्तत्रैवर्ण्यं व्यतिकरितलीलाञ्जनतया
विभाति त्वन्नेत्रत्रितयमिदमीशानदयिते ।
पुनः स्रष्टुं देवान् द्रुहिणहरिरुद्रानुपरतान्
रजः सत्त्वं बिभ्रत्तम इति गुणानां त्रयमिव ॥ ५३॥
विभाति त्वन्नेत्रत्रितयमिदमीशानदयिते ।
पुनः स्रष्टुं देवान् द्रुहिणहरिरुद्रानुपरतान्
रजः सत्त्वं बिभ्रत्तम इति गुणानां त्रयमिव ॥ ५३॥
English Scholarly Translation
O beloved of Īśāna! This triple of your eyes — with three distinct colours produced by playfully applied
collyrium — shines like the triad of guṇas (rajas, sattva, tamas), bearing them so as to create anew the
gods Brahma, Viṣṇu, and Rudra who had dissolved at the end of the cosmic cycle.
collyrium — shines like the triad of guṇas (rajas, sattva, tamas), bearing them so as to create anew the
gods Brahma, Viṣṇu, and Rudra who had dissolved at the end of the cosmic cycle.
व्याख्या / Traditional Commentary & Notes
Classical Exegesis
【Title: The Three Eyes as the Three Guṇas】
Traivarṇya refers to three distinct colours present in the three eyes:
the right (solar) eye is reddish-golden; the left (lunar) eye is white/silver-blue; the third eye is a
golden-brown-fiery tone. The añjana (collyrium/kohl) applied playfully (līlā) as
eye-make-up creates a mixed effect (vyatikarita), making the colour boundaries deliberate yet
artistic. The word vyatikarita (intermixed) is from the root kara (mixing) with the
prefix vi-ati (thoroughly pervading), suggesting that the kohl has been applied as an aesthetic
act of mixing the three colour-registers.
Padaccheda: विभक्त-त्रैवर्ण्यम् · व्यतिकरित-लीला-अञ्जन-तया · विभाति · त्वत्-नेत्र-त्रितयम् · इदम् · ईशान-दयिते ·
पुनः · स्रष्टुम् · देवान् · द्रुहिण-हरि-रुद्रान् · उपरतान् · रजः · सत्त्वम् · बिभ्रत् · तमः · इति ·
गुणानाम् · त्रयम् इव
Canonical CTS URN Reference
Saundaryalaharī, SL 53. Poorvam Open Research Engine (PORE) Corpus.