Lalit Vistara

Author(s): Rajendralala Mitra
Publisher: Asiatic Society

Page 85

CHAPTER V.
88
of a lady must she be who is to be the mother of the Bodhisattva ?(1)
They then, taking flower-garlands in their hands, in great curiosity repaired to the house of the king. Taking flowers and unguents they joined their ten fingers in salutation. (2)
With dishevelled dresses and of playful form they pointed at her the palm and finger of their right hand, and said "behold Máyádeví in repose, and well observe the beauty of a human female. (3)
"We pride ourselves on the exquisite beauty and form of the Apsarases, but, beholding the wife of the king, we should renounce all such ideas. (4)
"This meritorious lady, who is to be the mother of the noblest sonl, is like another Rati. Even as jewels are best set on a proper article, even such is this lady in the house of the Deva.(5)
"From the sole of her foot and the palm of her hand to the top of her body every part is delightful to excess; looking at her the eye can never be satiated, the more you behold her the more the mind and thought are delighted. (6)
"Iler noble face is resplendent as the moon on the sky, and her body is resplendent with light. She is stainless as the sun, lustrous as the moon, and her spirituality casts its radiance over her.(7)
"Her complexion is lustrous even as the precious metal gold, or as burnished gold. The soft sweet-sccuted tresses on her head rival the black bee in colour.(8)
"In her eyes rests the glory of the lotus petal, while her pure teeth own the lustre of the sky. Slender is her waist like the bow, and swelling are her sides without a depression.(9)
"Her thighs and legs represent the trunk of the elephant; her knees are well-formed, and the limbs are becomingly tapering; even and rosy are her palms and soles: verily she is a goddes manifest and no other."(10)
Seeing the lady, the mother of Jina, dwelling thus, the heavenly nymphs sprinkled flowers on her, respectfully walked round