Soundarya Lahari--Verse 59

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Sphurad-gandAbhoga-pratiphalita-tAtanka-yugalam

Catus-cakram manye tava mukham idam manmatha-ratham;

Yam aruhya druhyaty avani-ratham arkendu-caranam

mahAvIro mArah pramatha-pataye sajjitavate

 

 

This face of Thine, with the pair of TAtanka-s [ear-ornaments]

reflected on Thy glistening cheeks, I fancy, to be the four-wheeled

chariot of Manmatha, mounted on which, MAra, the valiant warrior that

he is, confronts the Lord of the Pramatha [hosts] who [once] got

ready [for battle, mounted on] the Earth-chariot with the Sun and the

Moon as its wheels.

 

The comparison of the Devi's face to a four-wheeled chariot is

realistic, the face being the body of the chariot, and the two

TAtanka-s, ear-rings, suspended from the ear-lobes, and their

reflected images cast on her cheeks forming the four chariot-wheeles.

The implication is that Manmatha, taking advantage of the beauty of

the Devi's face, used it as his chariot an dnot only challenged the

redoubtable Field Marshal of the Pramatha-gana-s, who using the earth

itself as his chariot, mounted on the Sun and the Moon as its wheels,

once confronted the three Pura-s but also vanquished him with the

adventitious aid of the Devi's beauty. KaivalyAsrama suggests

that 'Asritya' would be a better reading for 'Aruhya', remarking that

it would be highly improper to conceive of Manmatha mounting on the

Devi's countenance.

 

 

 

 

Yantra image in : SS homepage.

 

http://www.shaktisadhana.org/Newhomepage/sadhana/Commentaries.html

 

The Saundarya-Lahari of Sri Samkara-Bhagavatpada.

By Pandit S. Subrahmanya Sastri and T.R Srinivasa Ayyangar.