Chapter Eight: Literature of the Rasika Tradition in Hindi

Śrī Sītārāma-śobhāvalī Prema-padāvalī

Sri Sitaramsharan Ramrasrangmani

This eighty-page work by Sri Ramrasrangmani Ji was printed at the Deshopakarak Press in Lucknow in 1902, at the prompting of Sri Sitaramsharan Bhagavanprasad Ji. A complete copy can no longer be found; only a damaged copy has been obtained. These books were printed upon paper so brittle that it breaks apart as soon as it is touched, and they must therefore be read with exceptional care.

Ramrasrangmani Ji plunged deeply into the ocean of love that is madhura-rasa. This book is supremely valuable from the standpoints of literature, spiritual practice, and doctrine alike, and it greatly assists our understanding of the tradition’s discipline of rasa. It begins with an enchanting and vivid description of Sri Sita from toenails to crown. This is followed by an expansive, rasa-saturated description of each of Sri Rama’s limbs, then by the monsoon swing recreation and the spring recreation. At the end comes an exceptionally delightful section on the festival of the rāsa. It can be said without hesitation that Ramrasrangmani Ji achieved extraordinary success in this work.

Description of the Parting of the Hair

A lovely crescent shines upon her head; Rasrangmani says the eyes that behold it possess immense good fortune.
Its light is woven with excellent pearls, like brilliant stars awakened amid masses of darkness.
Uma, Lakshmi, and the other goddesses worship her daily, asking from her own parting the blessing of married felicity.
Abundantly filled with vermilion, such is the radiant and auspicious parting of Sita, the eternally wedded lady.

Description of the Braid

The loving heart does not care to compare it to a female serpent.
Rasrangmani says it is a row of bees forming a line of adornment upon a golden mountain.
Bound with red silk and gleaming with white flowers, it is like a triple confluence of supreme beauty.
Exquisitely arranged for her beloved, the braid of Videha’s daughter shines resplendent.

Description of the Forehead

Bright and lovely, painted with fine sandal paste and bearing a gracious, radiant dot,
It is the vessel of fortune, the beloved’s field of love, and a golden tablet that houses all wedded felicity.
Or it is a half-moon, an enchantment diagram whose immeasurable power brings even the Supreme Lord under her control.
Rasrangmani says the noble forehead of Mithilesh’s daughter is a treasury of splendour.

Description of the Eyes

Dark lotuses in the lake of beauty, they shatter the wagtail bird’s pride.
Beneath bow-like brows, those captivating eyes are treasure-houses of glances, filled with the stimulants of love.