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Wednesday, May 23, 2012

150 Did priest sooth-sayers see Sita's breasts and thighs?

Vol. 6 , Book of War between rAma and rAvaNa, i.e. yuddha kAnDa.
Chapter 48 i.e. sarga 48.
Verses 1 to 15, i.e. SlOkAs 1 -15.


CONTEXT
rAvana abducted protagonist rAma's wife SItA.
rAma and lakshmaNa with the help of forest-dweller vAnaras trace sIta in lanka.
They reach lanka, building a bridge, and wage a war with rAvaNa.

SItA was sitting captive in the garden of 'aSOka trees' of rAvaNa.

According to initial erroneous war news, Sita heard that rAma and lakshmaNa were slain.
She started lamenting. Verses 1 to 15, chapter 48, were these.

Some priest-sooth-sayers (brahmin sooth-sayers), told Sita, when she was in ayOdhya as a princess-waiting-tobe-queen, that she had great imperial future,as she had all the physical marks required by a queen.

Now, having heard about the death of her husband and lakshmaNa, she recalled those marks on her body which made the brahmin sooth-sayers to forecast a great future for her and that everything had gone astray.

Two sample verses from the set of the verses:

6-48-10.
shankhE netrE karau pAdau
gulphAv UrU ca mE citau
anuvrittA nakhAh snigdhAha
samAsh ca angulayO mama.

6-48-11.
stanau ca aviralau piinau
mama imau magna cUcukau
magnA ca utsanginI naabhih
paarshva uraskam ca mE citam.

...
...
...
6-48-14.
adhirAjyE abhiShEko mE
braahmaNaih patinA saha
krita anta kushalair
uktam tat sarvam vitathii kritam.




GIST of the three verses
my temples, eyes, hands, feet, ankles and thighs are homogeneous and well-famed. My fingers are well-rounded. My nails shine. They have the right length.
My breasts are close to each other (stanau, aviralau) and robust (pInau). They have depressed nipples (cUcukau). My navel has a deep dent. My flanks and bosom are well-formed.
...
Why all that was told by the Brahmins, that I along with my husband, would be consecrated on the imperial throne, went bad?
...


ybrems
Why Sita was think about the imperial throne? Was Sita so too simplistic to believe the words of brahmin-sooth-sayers? How could close robust breasts with depressed nipples entitle a lady to sit on imperial throne?

She could have recalled some happy moments she spent with rAma and lakshmaNa. At least, she should have recalled the scene of rAma handing her the steaks of meat to her mouth, saying that it was succulent. Pl. see post No. 133.

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