Chapter Eight: Literature of the Rasika Tradition in Hindi

Their khañjana-bird eyes shoot arrows that steal away Kamadeva’s pride.
A fresh bridal nose-ring adorns each lovely nose.
Their red lips put bimba fruit to shame, and rows of teeth gleam between them.
From lovely cheeks and sweet speech, flowers seem to rain upon the mind.
Twin dark beauty-spots shine upon their paired chins,
as though Rahu had come to the moons and made a lasting friendship.
Splendid jewelled necklaces darken the beauty of their chests,
while graceful lines mark their necks beneath masses of ornaments.
Armlets and bracelets are set upon Shyama’s arms,
and ornaments of every kind beautify the fair lady’s arms.
Their knowing hands, reddened with jāvaka, glow like betel leaves;
fair and dark hold flowers and prepare fresh betel quids.
Their breasts are fragrant with camphor, sandalwood, and saffron.
Even the gods are powerless to describe the beauty of the Couple’s waists.
The fine lines of hair are rows of bees hastening toward fragrance;
at the meeting of Ganga and Yamuna, bees circle the navel’s pool.
New girdles are adorned with tiny bells,
resounding sweetly as though Kama and Rati were playing a vīṇā.
Excellent anklets adorn their feet, and their ankles are beautifully rounded.
Their paired lotus feet seem surrounded by divine bee-devotees.
Fair and dark are treasuries of nectar, putting Kama and Rati to shame.
Every limb glows with fresh colour and ever-new youth.
Kripanivas’s one discerning hope is to obtain their personal service.

The dark lover and fair lady sleep happily upon the bed.
Life, body, mind, and attachment have contracted into their embrace; their faces nestle together in one place.
Their arms entwine beautifully, like a creeper of love encircling a flawless tree of bliss.
Eyelids closed, their lovely faces are like fish submerged in a lake of nectar.
At the proper hour, amid coolness, gentle fragrance, and purity, the companion performs every service with understanding.
Kripanivas says: my eyes implore the service of Sita’s lotus feet.

That companion sings to the Couple of the delight of their own rasa.
Filled with love and happiness, she makes known her intimate purpose.
Sometimes they hear her words and sometimes they do not; sometimes they attend with mind and body, and sometimes she receives a word of refusal—