Chapter Eight: Literature of the Rasika Tradition in Hindi

Meditation upon Sri Sita

Set with gems and filled with radiance, her many ornaments shine;
every beautiful and generous limb is like a treasury of refined gold.
Dark curls glimmer upon her back, beautified by an artful braid—
the very boundary of loveliness, appearing like a royal line of bees.
Her hair-parting is dressed and adorned in many exquisite ways,
bearing immense beauty like the flowing stream of a celestial river.
Strings of ornaments and great, brilliant pearls gleam—
stars shining in the midst of dense darkness.
A jeweled head ornament, fashioned and set with gems, casts its shade;
graceful earrings rest upon her two lovely ears.
Her bright and exquisite forehead admits no adequate comparison;
it appears to be the supreme abode of the good fortune of marriage.
A beautiful gorocanā tilaka has been artfully placed;
her elevated, shapely nose shines with a lovely ring.
Her eyebrows, broad eyes, and gentle glance purify the world;
her lovely face appears like a fully opened lotus.
Beneath red lips, the row of teeth seems exceedingly beautiful;
upon her shapely chin a tiny dark beauty mark casts its glow.
Jeweled lights adorn her neck, together with a superb pearl garland;
a lovely pendant wrought of shining gold rests upon her broad breast.
A fine crimson sari woven with golden thread embraces her form;
her skilfully patterned bodice shines in many saturated colours.
Splendid armlets lend radiance to her lovely upper arms;
colourful bangles upon her hands form an exquisite bracelet-array.
Two bracelets set with rubies and blue sapphires shine—
like rows of bees hidden among lotus flowers.
A deep and splendid sash encircles her waist,
bearing waves of many colours—crimson, dark, white, and yellow.