Canonical Ref: SL 68
Sanskrit (Devanāgarī)
भुजाश्लेषान्नित्यं पुरदमयितुः कण्टकवती
तव ग्रीवा धत्ते मुखकमलनालश्रियमियम् ।
स्वतः श्वेता कालागुरुबहुलजम्बालमलिना
मृणालीलालित्यं वहति यदधो हारलतिका ॥ ६८॥
तव ग्रीवा धत्ते मुखकमलनालश्रियमियम् ।
स्वतः श्वेता कालागुरुबहुलजम्बालमलिना
मृणालीलालित्यं वहति यदधो हारलतिका ॥ ६८॥
English Scholarly Translation
Your neck — forever goose-bumped from the embrace of the arms of the Subduer
of the Triple City — bears the beauty of the stalk of the face-lotus. Below it, the
pearl-necklace-creeper, naturally white yet darkened by the mud of abundant black aloe-wood perfume,
bears the graceful delicacy of a lotus-stalk.
of the Triple City — bears the beauty of the stalk of the face-lotus. Below it, the
pearl-necklace-creeper, naturally white yet darkened by the mud of abundant black aloe-wood perfume,
bears the graceful delicacy of a lotus-stalk.
व्याख्या / Traditional Commentary & Notes
Classical Exegesis
【Title: The Neck and the Pearl Necklace】
Kaṇṭakāvatī ("having thorns") is the poetic term for
romāñca (horripilation, goose-bumps), one of the eight sāttvika bhāvas (involuntary
signs of aesthetic emotion) catalogued in the Nāṭyaśāstra. The neck is permanently goose-bumped from
Śiva's embrace — not just during the embrace but always, as a lasting imprint of love. This permanent
romāñca is the Goddess's body's testimony to a joy that has become its normal condition. The comparison
of the neck to a lotus stalk (kamala-nāla) is anatomically apt (long, graceful, slightly
curved) and cosmologically meaningful (the face-lotus grows on the neck-stalk).
Padaccheda: भुज-आश्लेषात् · नित्यम् · पुरदमयितुः · कण्टकवती · तव · ग्रीवा · धत्ते ·
मुख-कमल-नाल-श्रियम् · इयम् · स्वतः · श्वेता · काला-अगुरु-बहुल-जम्बाल-मलिना · मृणाली-लालित्यम् · वहति ·
यत् · अधः · हार-लतिका
Canonical CTS URN Reference
Saundaryalaharī, SL 68. Poorvam Open Research Engine (PORE) Corpus.