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find out if any of them mention an ornament as a thing stimulating
the poet directly. 36. The almost exclusive engagement with the beauty of eyes in stanzas
100 (vāmākṣi, bhrū-latā), 280 (msgākşi), 287 (kuvalaya-drs), 336 (vāmanayanā) and 341(atrasta-kuranga-śāva-nayanā) should also be noted
in this context. 37. The only difference in Miller 1967:61 is at this point and it is
minor. Her translation there reads "and sport." 38. I have adopted the following translation by Bailey (1996:206) with changes necessitated by the grammar of the original:
“Eyes curved by her dextrous brows, side glances, affectionate words, laughs ending in coyness, playfully languorous whether moving or still.
This is both ornament and weapon of woman.” 39. This naturally makes me wonder about what India of our times
has done to herself with a rather vulgar interest in ostentatious jewellry seen even is the educated middle class and with the rejection of natural ornaments such as flowers in many parts of north India. How did the transformation come about if indeed there was a transformation
on a large scale ? 40. Cf. Miller 1967:XXV-xxix, 1990: 12-13, particularly the remark in
the former essay: "... the sententious, reflective epigrams (of Bhartrihari] are not folksy bits of wisdom in verse form. They too are dominated by strict aesthetic controls and a self-conscious idea of art.” Bailey (1994:15-25, 1996:202-218) offers several sensitive and insightful analyses of the art present in BH's poems, occasional overreading
apart. 41. Miller happily exploits the ambiguity of “attend upon” to connect
the items connected in the original with nitamba. Cort (1983:19) provides a pun similar to that of nitamba but translates the rest more freely (albeit appropriately):
“Dispel my doubts, pandit. Which is better? Which is proper? Should I frequent the flanks of a far mountain or the flanks of a woman
smiling in the embrace of passion?'' 42. I find Miller's (1967:91 = 1990:74) translation of this stanza a
little too free.
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