Vasinyadi Vagdevatas describe the glorious attributes of Sri Mata before giving an account of the terrible war She waged against the evil minded Bhandasura and his train. In fact the very purpose of the emergence of Devi is to accomplish the work of Devas! “ Deva karya samudyata”. She has drenched the entire universe with Her dazzling red color! She wields the bow and arrows of Manmatha as if to control all 'ragas’ or attachments! She is decked with Champaka and Asoka flowers! The ‘mriganabhi’ mark on Her moon like face resembles the spot on the face of the real moon itself! She has exceptionally beautiful eyes resembling the fish crisscrossing the lake! Her nosegay defeats the brilliance of the stars in the sky! While the sun and the moon adorn Her ears as thatankas, Her ‘Kapola’ reflects like the mirror of Padmaraga stone!
She has beaten the music of the Kachchapi Veena of Goddess Saraswathi by Her amazing mellifluous voice! She has drenched the ‘Manas’ of Kameswara with Her sweet seductive smile! She is blessed with incomparable 'Chubuka’ or chin! She shines brightly with the ‘mangalya’ tied by Kamesa! Sankara is not at all satisfied with the general description of Her beauty. He delves deep into the basic emotions of people related to Devi. Thus he brings in Her father, Himavan and spouse Kameswara who have fondled Her! Sankara imagines how Himavan would have touched Her chin and exhibited his filial affection! He also conjures up the picture of Kamesa romancing Devi in an intimate way!
“Anakalitha sadrusya chubuka Sri virajita”-this statement fires the imagination of Sri Sankara! He sees in his mental eye the way in which Her father and spouse moved with Her and enjoyed Her company. Says Sankara, “ O the darling daughter of Himavan! How many times Your father would have lifted your ‘chubuka’- chin with the tip of his fingers out of filial bond and affection! How many times Your husband would have lifted up Your Chubuka- chin again and again after failing to kiss Your lower lip! Your ‘Chubuka’-chin has become the incomparable handle for Iswara to look into the mirror of Your face!! To what can we compare and describe Your ‘chubuka’? It is unequalled and incomparable!”
Sankara touches on the filial bond of affection of a father as well as the intimate Sringara rasa of the husband! It is quite natural for the father to pass his hands on the cheeks of his darling daughter and lift up her chin when she is angry or out of her mood. When children, especially girls, are exceedingly beautiful, parents indulge in touching their cheeks and lifting up the chin of the girl. Since Devi’s beauty is indescribable, it is no wonder that Himavan would have lifted Devi's chin quite a number of times!
Sankara imagines that Iswara would have failed many times to kiss the lips of Devi! To get to Her lower lip he would have lifted up Her chin a number of times! Description of romance between Gods and Goddesses is common in Hindu mythology and epics. Jayadeva's “Gita Govinda” glorifies the ideal, spiritual love between Krishna and Radha! The Ashtapadis are highly erotic and full of Sringara rasa.The Bhagavata Purana describes the “Rasa Leela” where Krishna takes innumerable forms to dance with the Gopikas! Kalidasa in his Kumarasambhava describes the love between Siva and Parvati! Poets have their license and none can question them! Sankara is a poet par excellence and it is pure devotion to the Supreme Being that makes him feel like that!
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