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xlviii
Bhaktimandākinī
of black serpents (dancing) by the side of their mother, the ear ornament
vālikā. [41]82 Let the two creepers of the brows of Visnu, the Lord of Laksmī,
efficient in producing a multitude of prosperity, protect us. They carry the
glory of the hue of bees, waiting for the lotus of the eyes, they are hidden
in the blossom, which was closed at the rise of the crescent moon which is
the luminescent forehead, marked with the black spot of the mass of curled
hairs. They bear a resemblance to a bow string the stringed arch for (the
arrows of) side glances targeted at the host of the gods. [42]
The Urdhvapundra (upward mark) on the forehead The decoration
of the upward mark on the forehead of Vișnu, the Lord of the three worlds,
rises upward between the creepers of his eyebrows. It looks like a linga of
Śiva made of crystal, worshipped and decorated with garlands of blossoming
lotuses that are the side glances of Lakṣmī, languid by the multitude of sharp
arrows of Kāma streaming forth from his bow of sugarcane. Let this mark,
eradicating the darkness of birth and death, be a bestower of prosperity for
me.[43]83
After the installation of the Sivalinga in the form of Vișnu's crown on
the pedestal made of the roots of his curled hairs, the talented swift dancer
that is our intellect would come out of the (green room) tent made of cloths,
manifest in the form of the ignorance of the soul [removing the veil of the
ignorance of the soul], and she would appear clearly visible so as to present
a vivid view of all of her parts, on the stage made of the very spacious
surface of the forehead of Viṣṇu, the enemy of the demon Kaitabha, for the
enactment. May this dancer enact the nāṭikā type of play that is meditation
(bhāvanā).[44]84
82 The eyebrows of the cosmic body are identified with the abode of Brahma or satyaloka.
They are conceived here as young twin serpents by the side of their mother, who is the
serpent-shaped ear ornaments (vālikā). In the next verse, the same eyebrows are conceived
as the creepers bearing our prosperity, and also as a bow with the arrows of the side-glances
of Visnu fixed in it, targeted at the multitude of Gods. In the first half, they are described
as a bee caged at night inside a lotus, waiting for it to open at sunrise. The forehead is
conceived as the moon spotted with the curled hairs, closing the lotus.
83 The upward mark on the forehead of Vișnu is conceived as the crystal linga of Siva
installed on it. The commentator brings out the full import of this fancy: Lakṣmi is
worshipping the linga of Śiva with the lotuses of her side glances, to gain control over her
own lust (Kama), as Śiva is the only God who conquered Kāma. This mark is identified
in his cosmic body with the hymn Savitrī, otherwise known as Gayatrī (Rgveda. II, 62,
10).
84 Again in this verse, the same imagery of worshipping the Sivalinga is applied to the
crown on the head of Vișnu. Here, the imagery is more complete and perfect than the
Bhaktimandākinī
of black serpents (dancing) by the side of their mother, the ear ornament
vālikā. [41]82 Let the two creepers of the brows of Visnu, the Lord of Laksmī,
efficient in producing a multitude of prosperity, protect us. They carry the
glory of the hue of bees, waiting for the lotus of the eyes, they are hidden
in the blossom, which was closed at the rise of the crescent moon which is
the luminescent forehead, marked with the black spot of the mass of curled
hairs. They bear a resemblance to a bow string the stringed arch for (the
arrows of) side glances targeted at the host of the gods. [42]
The Urdhvapundra (upward mark) on the forehead The decoration
of the upward mark on the forehead of Vișnu, the Lord of the three worlds,
rises upward between the creepers of his eyebrows. It looks like a linga of
Śiva made of crystal, worshipped and decorated with garlands of blossoming
lotuses that are the side glances of Lakṣmī, languid by the multitude of sharp
arrows of Kāma streaming forth from his bow of sugarcane. Let this mark,
eradicating the darkness of birth and death, be a bestower of prosperity for
me.[43]83
After the installation of the Sivalinga in the form of Vișnu's crown on
the pedestal made of the roots of his curled hairs, the talented swift dancer
that is our intellect would come out of the (green room) tent made of cloths,
manifest in the form of the ignorance of the soul [removing the veil of the
ignorance of the soul], and she would appear clearly visible so as to present
a vivid view of all of her parts, on the stage made of the very spacious
surface of the forehead of Viṣṇu, the enemy of the demon Kaitabha, for the
enactment. May this dancer enact the nāṭikā type of play that is meditation
(bhāvanā).[44]84
82 The eyebrows of the cosmic body are identified with the abode of Brahma or satyaloka.
They are conceived here as young twin serpents by the side of their mother, who is the
serpent-shaped ear ornaments (vālikā). In the next verse, the same eyebrows are conceived
as the creepers bearing our prosperity, and also as a bow with the arrows of the side-glances
of Visnu fixed in it, targeted at the multitude of Gods. In the first half, they are described
as a bee caged at night inside a lotus, waiting for it to open at sunrise. The forehead is
conceived as the moon spotted with the curled hairs, closing the lotus.
83 The upward mark on the forehead of Vișnu is conceived as the crystal linga of Siva
installed on it. The commentator brings out the full import of this fancy: Lakṣmi is
worshipping the linga of Śiva with the lotuses of her side glances, to gain control over her
own lust (Kama), as Śiva is the only God who conquered Kāma. This mark is identified
in his cosmic body with the hymn Savitrī, otherwise known as Gayatrī (Rgveda. II, 62,
10).
84 Again in this verse, the same imagery of worshipping the Sivalinga is applied to the
crown on the head of Vișnu. Here, the imagery is more complete and perfect than the