പദ്മ രാഗ ശിലാദർശ പരിഭാവി കപോല ഭൂഃ - Lalitha Sahasranama Discourse Part 86

Now we are going to the twenty third mantra of the Lalitha Sahasranama,
padma rāga śilādarśa paribhāvi kapola bhuḥ
[whose cheeks excel mirrors made of rubies in their beauty.]
She whose cheeks excel mirrors made of rubies in their beauty. Her cheeks are like mirrors made of ruby. It is said that the beauty of the heart is reflected in the face. The heart of Devi is pure and tender. Her cheeks are clear and beautiful, without any kind of blemish. Her ruby red cheeks, shining like spotless mirrors are described by Shankaracharya in this manner.
sphurad-gaṇḍābhōga-pratiphalita-tāṭaṅkayugalaṃ
chatuśchakraṃ manyē tava mukhamidaṃ manmatha-ratham ।
yamāruhya druhyaty-avaniratham-arkēndu-charaṇaṃ
mahāvīrō māraḥ pramathapatayē sajjitavatē ॥
Saundarya Lahari 59
Your face with a pair of earrings that reflect on Your lustrous cheeks appear to me as the chariot of Manmatha with four wheels. Manmatha sitting on this chariot fights against Śiva, who uses earth as His chariot and sun and moon as its wheels.
It is said that long ago, Manmathan, The God of love, went to war with lord Sri Parameshwara. In no manner what so ever was he an opponent fight to fight with Parameshwara. His armory consisted of five bows with flower tips, a bow made of sugarcane. He was assisted by the season of spring and a gentle breeze. For Lord Parameshwara, the earth herself had become his chariot when he waged war and destroyed the three asuras of Tripura. The sun and moon became the wheels of his chariot and the four Vedas became the horses. Brahma and lord Vishnu assisted him. Crores of Bhuthaganas were his servants. Amorous Desire was an emotion that was absent in him. How could such puny Manmatha fight against such a Maharathi (Lord of a vast and well equipped army) as Sri Parameshwara? Shankaracharya Swamigal says that he travelled to wage war in the chariot that was Devi’s face. How can we describe this chariot? Devi wears two large earrings. Reflected in the ruby red mirror of her cheeks, they become four. The wheels of Manmathas chariot are four. There is no force greater than the face of Devi. Manmatha had such a chariot to ride in. It would definitely attract the heart of lord Parameshwara. Seated in a chariot Manmatha seemed to be a warrior mightier than lord Paramashiva. Initially Lord Shiva reduces Manmatha to ashes. But with the compassionate glance and blessings of Devi, Manmatha is able to kindle desire in the mind of lord Paramashiva to Parvathi Devi. This is the story behind the birth of Shiva kumara (Lord Kartikeya). Manmatha wins the second time. The reason for his victory was his confidence in the unsurpassed strength that was in the chariot of Devi’s face. With the grace of the lotus face of Devi, with the auspiciousness granted by the sight of her unsurpassed loveliness, victory is assured. This is how Shankaracharya Swami describes the beauty of her face, with ruby red cheeks surpassing the glow of spotless mirrors.
nava vidruma bimba śrī nyakkāri radana cchadā
[whose lips excel freshly cut coral and bimba fruit in their reflective splendor.]
This is the twenty fourth mantra. She whose lips excel the beauty of freshly cut coral and tender Bimba fruit. The lips of Devi are beyond comparison. They are red in color.
prakṛtyā raktāyāstava sudati dantachChadaruchēḥ
pravakṣyē sādṛśyaṃ janayatu phalaṃ vidrumalatā ।
na bimbaṃ tadbimbapratiphalanarāgādaruṇitaṃ
tulāmadhyārōḍhuṃ kathamiva vilajjēta kalayā ॥
Saundarya Lahari 62
O! Devi, the One with beautiful white teeth! I want to establish similarity between Your beautiful parting lips that are red in colour with something else (that is known to common man). I want to give benefit to the coral creeper and not to the bimba fruit, as bimba fruit simply reflect the redness of Your lips. Will not the bimba fruit be embarrassed at least by a bit, when this comparison is made?
Shankaracharya Swami describes the lovely lips of Devi in the following manner. If at all her lovely lips can be compared to something, it’s to the freshly cut coral and the beautifully red Bimba fruit. Lips are often compared to coral, for example we say “Pavizhaadharam”. But it is not possible to compare the loveliness of Devi’s lips to the coral and Bimba fruit. It is said that the women of Devaloka sometimes eat the Bimba fruit. Devi also ate one Bimba fruit. It is said that the Bimba fruit marveled at the beauty of her lips and felt ashamed of itself. It is said that the red of Devi’s lips was reflected in the bimba fruit near her. Even with the reflected red of Devi’s lips, the bimba fruit could not stand up to comparison with the tender and shiny red of Devi’s lips.
The description is continued in the comments section...
#Lalita #LalithaSahasranamam.

[@Amritapuri]

Description continued… The bimba fruit felt very shy and it was evident that it could not stand up to comparison with the red of Devi’s lips. Or, even if there was a coral plant and it bore a coral fruit, the loveliness of the lips of Devi was beyond comparison with it. The beauty of her lips are unrivalled. The nearest that we can compare it to would be a Coral fruit or a Bimba fruit. Her lips excel the freshly cut coral and the Bimba fruit in their exquisite beauty. We are listening to the description, from head to toe of the divine features and the attributes of Devi. We are explaining the principles underlying each mantra that describes her physical form. We shall listen to more mantras in the coming episodes. To be continued…

[@deva_646]

Beautiful explanation by Swami ❤

[@ambema4611]

Thank you for uploading ❤