saundaryalaharI - 6

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shrI lalitAyai namaH

 

dhanuH pauShpaM maurvI madhukaramayI pa~ncavishikhAH

vasantaH sAmanto malayamarudAyodhanarathaH

tathA.apyekaH sarvaM himagirisute kAmapi kR^ipAM

apA~NgAt.h te labdhvA jagadidamana~Ngo vijayate 6

 

 

himagirisute: O daughter of the snow-clad mountain, shrI devI,

dhanuH: the bow

pauShpaM: made up of flowers (i.e., very soft)

maurvI: the bow string

madhukaramayI: made up of line of bees

pa~nca: five (only)

vishikhAH: arrows

sAmantaH: ally

vasantaH: vasanta (in time: spring season)

AyodhanarathaH: the chariot used in the war

malayamarut.h: breeze from the Malaya mountain (laden with

sandalwood fragrance)

tathA.api: to do that way

ana~Ngah: manmatha (also meaning without body, and without strength)

ekaH: alone

te: Your

apA~NgAt.h: from the corner of the eye

kAM api: some (inexpressible)

kR^ipAM: compassion

labdhvA: having got

idaM: this

sarvaM jagat.h: all world

vijayate: is victorious

 

 

O daughter of the snow-capped mountain;

manmatha, the God of love has only a bow made of flowers,

with its string comprised of a cluster of honeybees, and

has only five arrows. The spring season is his ally, which

is short in duration; his war chariot is the breeze from the

south. These equipment is frail and is not suitable for the

war. He is ana~Nga (body-less) and alone. Yet, he triumphs

over the entire jagat, having obtained Your favor through

Your side-glance.

 

 

Commentary

 

It was stated in the previous verse that the formless manmatha,

due to the grace of shrI devI (obtained through his upAsana),

is very successful in raising passions in the minds of even

the great sages. In this verse, it is described how the same

manmatha, ill-equipped as a warrior, is able to triumph over

the entire jagat, again with the grace of the side-glance of

shrI devI.

 

It is well known that manmatha was burnt to ashes by the fire

of shiva's third eye when manmatha tried to kindle passion in

shiva towards pArvati. In response to prayers by ratIdevI,

shrI devI restored manmatha back to life but without a body.

 

Hence manmatha is body-less. In his preparation for war, his bow

is made of flowers. Flowers are soft and get wilted just by touching.

Such a bow is not amenable for pulling and keeping under tension.

The bow-string is a line of honeybees. Honeybees do not touch each

other. Hence a group of honeybees do not have the property of a

string; and that too a bow-string. He has only five arrows and these

too are made of flowers (aravinda, ashoka, cUta, navamallika, and

nIlotpala) and these five are not at all sufficient to conquer

the world.

 

Manmatha's ally and mate in this war is the spring season which

lasts only for two months a year. Hence the ally is of doubtful

assistance and the ally is also not there for continuous consultation.

Manmatha's chariot in this war is the southern breeze. This is formless

and invisible, and does not blow all the time, and can hardly be used

as a chariot.

 

In addition to all these frail war equipment, manmatha is without a

body and cannot avail himself of even these frail equipment. But with

all these disabilities, and not-very-useful war equipment, manmatha is

still able to conquer the entire world. And manmatha is able to do this

because of the gracious blessing of shrI devI through Her side-glance.

That is, even the impossible can be achieved with the omnipotent grace

of shrI devI.

 

Manmatha is one of the celebrated devotees of shri devI (please see

commentary on verse 1 for listing of celebrated upAsakAs of shrI devI).

The manmatha or kAma vidya was revealed to manmatha by devI Herself in

response to his prolonged worship and meditation. It is said that

shrI devI conferred on manmatha, parts of Her own bow and arrows.

 

 

Regards

Gummuluru Murthy

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