The description of of the form of Sri Lalitambica by Vasinyadi Vagdevatas is highly figurative and a challenge for any proper explanation! They describe that Devi has won over Kamesa by Her l smile! Her chin or Chubuka has no parallel anywhere! Her voice is so mellifluous that Goddess Saraswathi had to withdraw and cover up her Veena Kacchapi! Devi's shoulders are beautified by the ‘angadas and Keyuras'! The description of Devi's breasts is really amazing! They are spoken of as the fruits borne by the innumerable creeper like ‘romas’--hair originating from her navel! They symbolize the Love of Her Spouse Kamesa! To add to Her ethereal beauty, She has diamond studded ‘kinkinis’ and garlands all over Her body! Her waist seems to be supported by several creeper like hair- ‘romas’! Thus it is very slender! Her thighs are described in an erotic indirect manner! It is Kamesa alone who has known the softness of Her thighs! She has defeated the glow and brightness of the lotus by the radiance of Her feet! Not only these, She has the jingling diamond “manjiras’’ on her feet! Above all She has the royal and dignified gait of the female Swan!
After describing the Divine breasts in his own amazing and inimitable manner, Sankara dwells on Her exceptionally slim and delicate waist! He has described the Navel of Devi as the steady whirlpool on the Ganga! The navel is the support for breast buds supported by the creeper hair! It is also the “homa kunda” for the fire- passion of Manmatha as well as the walking place for Rati , spouse of the Love God! Her waist, according to Sankara, is naturally emaciated and bent with the weight of Her heavy breasts! It gives the impression that it may snap at any moment and is like the swaying tree on the edge of the river bank which has given way!!
In this eightieth sloka Sankara goes a little deeper in to his imagination to describe the waist and the adjacent parts! Says Sankara, “O Parvati! You sweat profusely as you meditate on Iswara! The blouse You wear is getting tightened by the rubbing of the golden ‘kalasa’ like breasts! To prevent any injury to Your slender and delicate Waist by the breasts created by Manmatha, it is tied in three folds by white creepers!”
Sankara's poetic imagination is running riot in this sloka! He visualizes Devi in deep meditation of Her husband Iswara! As a result of such severe penance, She sweats profusely! The large and heavy breasts, by their movement, tighten Her blouse to the point of breaking it! Sankara is afraid that the slender waist of Devi may be injured by the heavy breasts! Hence it is tied three folds by the white creepers!
Sankara considers Manmatha as the creator of Devi's breasts as “kanaka kalasas”! Indirectly he hints that Brahma, being very old is incompetent to create them! The words “ tanubhuva” mean by Manmatha! Sankara's incisive imagination visualizes even the sweat that forms on Her sides! More astonishing is the description that the blouse She wears has reached its breaking point on account of the movement of the heavy breasts! There is no doubt that the average reader is very much annoyed at these erotic descriptions of the ‘angas’ of Devi! But we have to take them as fanciful images that are conjured up by poetic imagination which cannot be questioned! The famous Bengali poet Jayadeva commemorates the Divine Love of Radha and Krishna in “Sringara rasa” in his “Ashtapadis!” He is one step above Sankara in describing the erotic love between Radha and Krishna! We find such treatment of Love in another great work “Krishna karnmruta!
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