Comments on Sita's appearance

by SomeProfile Thu Oct 30, 2014 12:43 am

Apparently, there is an anonymous poem in which few females comment on Sita's appearance when they see her for the first time:

गौरी तनुर्; नयनम् आयतम्; उन्नता च

नासा; कृशा कटि-तटी; च पटी विचित्रा ।

अङ्गानि लोम-रहितानि हिताय भर्तुः

पुच्छं न तुच्छम् अपि कुत्र समस्त-वस्तु ॥

gaurī tanuḥ; nayanam āyatam; unnatā ca

nāsā; kṛśā kaṭi-taṭī; ca paṭī vicitrā |

aṅgāni loma-rahitāni hitāya bhartuḥ;

pucchaṃ na tuccham api kutra samasta-vastu ||

“She’s rather pale, [isn’t she?] Wide eyes, and quite a high

nose; how thin her waist is! Strange clothes, too.

And she doesn’t have any fur at all! Maybe her husband likes it that way,

but leave all that – she doesn’t have even a bit of a tail!! [How could she possibly be considered beautiful!]”

Guess who those female commenters were? They were the wives of the vaanaras, the monkeys! Razz

by Kris Thu Oct 30, 2014 1:03 am

SomeProfile wrote:Apparently, there is an anonymous poem in which few females comment on Sita's appearance when they see her for the first time:

गौरी तनुर्; नयनम् आयतम्; उन्नता च
नासा; कृशा कटि-तटी; च पटी विचित्रा ।
अङ्गानि लोम-रहितानि हिताय भर्तुः
पुच्छं न तुच्छम् अपि कुत्र समस्त-वस्तु ॥
gaurī tanuḥ; nayanam āyatam; unnatā ca
nāsā; kṛśā kaṭi-taṭī; ca paṭī vicitrā |
aṅgāni loma-rahitāni hitāya bhartuḥ;
pucchaṃ na tuccham api kutra samasta-vastu ||
“She’s rather pale, [isn’t she?] Wide eyes, and quite a high
nose; how thin her waist is! Strange clothes, too.
And she doesn’t have any fur at all! Maybe her husband likes it that way,
but leave all that – she doesn’t have even a bit of a tail!! [How could she possibly be considered beautiful!]”
Guess who those female commenters were? They were the wives of the vaanaras, the monkeys!

>>>What are you trying to say? Smile

P.S.

gaurī tanuḥ; nayanam āyatam; unnatā ca

nāsā; kṛśā kaṭi-taṭī

>>> Does that mean she is not Tibetan?

by Merlot Daruwala Thu Oct 30, 2014 1:32 am

Ya..Sita was a pale-faced, buck-toothed, pigeon-chested, knock-kneed Northindian. Knowing that the citizenship issue has been settled should set Pravu's heart aslosh with the milk of devotion for Sita-maiyya.

by Guest Thu Oct 30, 2014 9:44 am

reminds me of the african tribal guy's description of the white lady in the movie, 'gods must be crazy'. Smile

by indophile Thu Oct 30, 2014 10:08 am

Kinnera wrote:reminds me of the african tribal guy's description of the white lady in the movie, 'gods must be crazy'.

It seems Mughal king Akbar had a somewhat similar comment when he first met a white guy. He asked if the guy had a skin disease leukedermia (bolli in Telugu), the kind that Michael Jackson claimed he was afflicted with.

by Guest Thu Oct 30, 2014 10:16 am

Forget different animals or tribes. I get subjected to similar speculations by my kids and their classmates. I avoid going to their classroom for the same reason. Not fun when entire 3rd grade is staring at you and whispering to your kid. Happened with older, happens with younger.

by Marathadi-Saamiyaar Thu Oct 30, 2014 11:26 am

indophile wrote:
Kinnera wrote:reminds me of the african tribal guy's description of the white lady in the movie, 'gods must be crazy'.
It seems Mughal king Akbar had a somewhat similar comment when he first met a white guy. He asked if the guy had a skin disease leukedermia (bolli in Telugu), the kind that Michael Jackson claimed he was afflicted with.

Actually, ALL white guys suffer from it - in varying degrees. Otherwise they would not be white.

by MaxEntropy_Man Thu Oct 30, 2014 3:39 pm

glad to see this topic. when it comes to poetic imagery about the epic's royal couple, there is no beating kamban.

i post two verses from the gangai padalam below. the overall effect of the imagery, the stunningly beautiful rhythm of the meter (called edugai and monai in tamil) is nonpareil. meanings to follow later tonight.

வெய்யோன் ஒளி தன் மேனியின்
விரி சோதியின் மறைய,
பொய்யே எனும் இடையாளொடும்,
இளையானொடும் போனான் -
‘மையோ, மரகதமோ, மறி
கடலோ, மழை முகிலோ,
ஐயோ, இவன் வடிவு!’ என்பது ஓர்
அழியா அழகு உடையான்.

அளி அன்னது ஓர் அறல் துன்னிய
குழலாள், கடல் அமுதின்
தெளிவு அன்னது ஓர் மொழியாள்,
நிறை தவம் அன்னது ஓர் செயலாள்
வெளி அன்னது ஓர் இடையாளொடும் -
விடை அன்னது ஓர் நடையான் -
களி அன்னமும் மட அன்னமும்
நடம் ஆடுவ கண்டான்.

i'll post the full meanings later, but for now, poyyO enum idaiyALodum iLayAnodum pOnAn is a fragment of poetry that i will NEVER forget. poi - lie, idai - waist, iLayAn - younger brother, pOnAn - he went. he walked (in the forest) with her, the woman whose waist was a lie, and his younger brother.

by pravalika nanda Thu Oct 30, 2014 9:07 pm

Kris wrote:
SomeProfile wrote:Apparently, there is an anonymous poem in which few females comment on Sita's appearance when they see her for the first time:

गौरी तनुर्; नयनम् आयतम्; उन्नता च
नासा; कृशा कटि-तटी; च पटी विचित्रा ।
अङ्गानि लोम-रहितानि हिताय भर्तुः
पुच्छं न तुच्छम् अपि कुत्र समस्त-वस्तु ॥
gaurī tanuḥ; nayanam āyatam; unnatā ca
nāsā; kṛśā kaṭi-taṭī; ca paṭī vicitrā |
aṅgāni loma-rahitāni hitāya bhartuḥ;
pucchaṃ na tuccham api kutra samasta-vastu ||
“She’s rather pale, [isn’t she?] Wide eyes, and quite a high
nose; how thin her waist is! Strange clothes, too.
And she doesn’t have any fur at all! Maybe her husband likes it that way,
but leave all that – she doesn’t have even a bit of a tail!! [How could she possibly be considered beautiful!]”
Guess who those female commenters were? They were the wives of the vaanaras, the monkeys!
>>>What are you trying to say?

P.S.

gaurī tanuḥ; nayanam āyatam; unnatā ca
nāsā; kṛśā kaṭi-taṭī
>>> Does that mean she is not Tibetan?

Certainly not. I'm not going to rely on a couple of monekys from SL to determine where she's from. Besides all they're saying is that she doesn't look like them. How could she? She's from Nepal, which in those days was inhabited by the Tibetans and Burmese.

Also, I suspect that though they're called "monkeys" in reality they are referring to the Sri Lankan or Southern Indian peoples. Those guys who wrote the book are absolute bigots.

Maybe there are descriptions of her at the swayamavara and all but I'm sure they must've already made it up and said she had big eyes. In those days, you weren't allowed to speak your mind. If someone said she had teeny-weeny eyes and was prepubescent looking, they would've been suppressed.

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