The Marriage of Kama

Verse 1 (shiva.rudra.24.1)

नारद उवाच । विष्णुशिष्य महाप्राज्ञ विधे लोककर प्रभो । अद्भुतेयं कथा प्रोक्ता शिवलीलामृतान्विता

nārada uvāca | viṣṇuśiṣya mahāprājña vidhe lokakara prabho | adbhuteyaṁ kathā proktā śivalīlāmṛtānvitā

Narada said: O disciple of Vishnu, O greatly wise one, O Vidhi, maker of the worlds — you have told me this wondrous story, filled with the nectar-like sport of Shiva.

Verse 2 (shiva.rudra.24.2)

ततः किमभवत्तात चरितं तद् वदाधुना । अहं श्रद्धान्वितः श्रोतुं यदि शम्भुकथाश्रयम्

tataḥ kimabhavattāta caritaṁ tad vadādhunā | ahaṁ śraddhānvitaḥ śrotuṁ yadi śambhukathāśrayam

O dear one, tell me now what happened after that — I am filled with eagerness to hear more, finding refuge as I do in these stories of Shambhu.

Verse 3 (shiva.rudra.24.3)

ब्रह्मोवाच । शम्भौ गते निजस्थाने वेधस्यन्तर्हिते मयि । दक्षः प्राहाथ कन्दर्पं संस्मरन् मम तद्वचः

brahmovāca | śambhau gate nijasthāne vedhasyantarhite mayi | dakṣaḥ prāhātha kandarpaṁ saṁsmaran mama tadvacaḥ

Brahma said: When Shambhu had gone to his own abode and I, the Creator, had vanished, Daksha then, calling to mind those very words of mine, spoke to Kandarpa.

Verse 4 (shiva.rudra.24.4)

दक्ष उवाच । मद्देहजेयं कन्दर्प सद्रूपगुणसंयुता । एनां गृह्णीष्व भार्यार्थं भवतः सदृशीं गुणैः

dakṣa uvāca | maddehajeyaṁ kandarpa sadrūpaguṇasaṁyutā | enāṁ gṛhṇīṣva bhāryārthaṁ bhavataḥ sadṛśīṁ guṇaiḥ

Daksha said: 'O Kandarpa, this maiden, born from my own body, is endowed with excellent form and virtue. Take her for your wife, she who is your equal in every quality.'

Verse 5 (shiva.rudra.24.5)

एषा तव महातेजाः सर्वदा सहचारिणी । भविष्यति यथाकामं धर्मतो वशवर्तिनी

eṣā tava mahātejāḥ sarvadā sahacāriṇī | bhaviṣyati yathākāmaṁ dharmato vaśavartinī

'O one of great splendor, she shall be your constant companion forever, ever obedient to you and abiding by dharma, according to your wish.'

Verse 6 (shiva.rudra.24.6)

ब्रह्मोवाच । इत्युक्त्वा प्रददौ तस्यै देहस्वेदाम्बुसम्भवाम् । कन्दर्पायाग्रतः कृत्वा नाम कृत्वा रतीति ताम्

brahmovāca | ityuktvā pradadau tasyai dehasvedāmbusambhavām | kandarpāyāgrataḥ kṛtvā nāma kṛtvā ratīti tām

Brahma said: Having said this, he named that maiden, born from the sweat of his own body, Rati, in the presence of all, and gave her to Kandarpa.

Verse 7 (shiva.rudra.24.7)

विवाह्य तां स्मरः सोऽपि मुमोदातीव नारद । दक्षजां तनयां रम्यां मुनीनामपि मोहिनीम्

vivāhya tāṁ smaraḥ so'pi mumodātīva nārada | dakṣajāṁ tanayāṁ ramyāṁ munīnāmapi mohinīm

O Narada, having married her, Smara too rejoiced exceedingly, in that lovely daughter of Daksha, who could bewilder even sages.

Verse 8 (shiva.rudra.24.8)

अथ तां वीक्ष्य मदनो रत्याख्यां स्वस्त्रियं शुभाम् । आत्मागुणेन विद्धोऽसौ मुमोह रतिरञ्जितः

atha tāṁ vīkṣya madano ratyākhyāṁ svastriyaṁ śubhām | ātmāguṇena viddho'sau mumoha ratirañjitaḥ

Then, beholding Rati, his own auspicious wife, Madana himself, pierced by his own power, became infatuated, enraptured by Rati.

Verse 9 (shiva.rudra.24.9)

क्षणप्रदाभवत्कान्ता गौरी मृगदृशी मुदा । लोलापाङ्ग्यथ तस्यैव भार्या च सदृशी रतौ

kṣaṇapradābhavatkāntā gaurī mṛgadṛśī mudā | lolāpāṅgyatha tasyaiva bhāryā ca sadṛśī ratau

She, fair of hue, doe-eyed, joyous, of restless glances, radiant even for that one moment — his beloved wife became, in the very play of desire, his perfect match.

Verse 10 (shiva.rudra.24.10)

तस्या भ्रूयुगलं वीक्ष्य संशयं मदनोऽकरोत् । उत्सादनं मत्कोदण्डं विधात्रास्यां निवेशितम्

tasyā bhrūyugalaṁ vīkṣya saṁśayaṁ madano'karot | utsādanaṁ matkodaṇḍaṁ vidhātrāsyāṁ niveśitam

Beholding the arch of her twin brows, Madana felt a doubt arise — as if the Creator had set upon her very face his own bow, drawn to full curve.

Verse 11 (shiva.rudra.24.11)

गतिं दृष्ट्वा कटाक्षाणामाशु तस्या द्विजोत्तम । आशु गन्तुं निजास्त्राणां श्रद्दधे न च चारुताम्

gatiṁ dṛṣṭvā kaṭākṣāṇāmāśu tasyā dvijottama | āśu gantuṁ nijāstrāṇāṁ śraddadhe na ca cārutām

O best of brahmins, beholding the swift motion of her glances, Madana no longer trusted even the grace of his own swift-flying arrows.

Verse 12 (shiva.rudra.24.12)

तस्याः स्वभावसौरभ्यं धीरश्वासानिलं तथा । आघ्राय मदनः श्रद्धां त्यक्तवान् मलयानिले

tasyāḥ svabhāvasaurabhyaṁ dhīraśvāsānilaṁ tathā | āghrāya madanaḥ śraddhāṁ tyaktavān malayānile

Having caught the scent of her natural fragrance and the gentle breath of her breathing, Madana lost all faith even in the breeze from the Malaya mountain.

Verse 13 (shiva.rudra.24.13)

पूर्णेन्दुसदृशं वक्त्रं दृष्ट्वा लक्ष्मसुलक्षितम् । न निश्चिकाय मदनो भेदं तन्मुखचन्द्रयोः

pūrṇendusadṛśaṁ vaktraṁ dṛṣṭvā lakṣmasulakṣitam | na niścikāya madano bhedaṁ tanmukhacandrayoḥ

Beholding her face, like the full moon, marked with its own beauty-spot, Madana could not resolve the difference between that face and the moon itself.

Verse 14 (shiva.rudra.24.14)

सुवर्णपद्मकलिकातुल्यं तस्याः कुचद्वयम् । रेजे चूचुकयुग्मेन भ्रमरेणेव वेष्टितम्

suvarṇapadmakalikātulyaṁ tasyāḥ kucadvayam | reje cūcukayugmena bhramareṇeva veṣṭitam

Her two breasts, like the buds of a golden lotus, shone with their pair of nipples as though encircled by a hovering bee.

Verse 15 (shiva.rudra.24.15)

दृढपीनोन्नतं तस्याः स्तनमध्यं विलम्बिनीम् । आनाभिलम्बिनीं मालां तन्वीं चन्द्रायितां शुभाम्

dṛḍhapīnonnataṁ tasyāḥ stanamadhyaṁ vilambinīm | ānābhilambinīṁ mālāṁ tanvīṁ candrāyitāṁ śubhām

The firm, full, and raised space between her breasts, and the delicate, moon-bright, auspicious garland hanging down to her navel —

Verse 16 (shiva.rudra.24.16)

ज्यां पुष्पधनुषः कामः षट्पदावलिसम्भ्रमाम् । विसस्मार च यस्मात्तां विसृज्यैनां निरीक्षते

jyāṁ puṣpadhanuṣaḥ kāmaḥ ṣaṭpadāvalisambhramām | visasmāra ca yasmāttāṁ visṛjyaināṁ nirīkṣate

— restless as a line of hovering bees, so like the string of his own flower-bow that Kama, gazing upon it, forgot his own bowstring altogether, and could look at nothing else.

Verse 17 (shiva.rudra.24.17)

गम्भीरनाभिरन्ध्रान्तश्चतुःपार्श्वत्वगावृतम् । आननाब्जेक्षणद्वन्द्वमारक्तकमलं यथा

gambhīranābhirandhrāntaścatuḥpārśvatvagāvṛtam | ānanābjekṣaṇadvandvamāraktakamalaṁ yathā

Deep within her navel's hollow, encircled on every side by her skin, red as a lotus, like the two lotus-eyes of her own lotus face —

Verse 18 (shiva.rudra.24.18)

क्षीणमध्येन वपुषा निसर्गाष्टापदप्रभा । रुक्मवेदीव ददृशे कामेन रमणी हि सा

kṣīṇamadhyena vapuṣā nisargāṣṭāpadaprabhā | rukmavedīva dadṛśe kāmena ramaṇī hi sā

— with her body slender at the waist, its natural golden luster, that lovely woman appeared to Kama like a very altar wrought of gold.

Verse 19 (shiva.rudra.24.19)

रम्भास्तम्भायतं स्निग्धं यदूरुयुगलं मृदु । निजशक्तिसमं कामो वीक्षाञ्चक्रे मनोहरम्

rambhāstambhāyataṁ snigdhaṁ yadūruyugalaṁ mṛdu | nijaśaktisamaṁ kāmo vīkṣāñcakre manoharam

Long as the trunk of a plantain tree, smooth and soft, her two thighs — Kama beheld them, knowing them to be as lovely as his own power itself.

Verse 20 (shiva.rudra.24.20)

आरक्तपार्ष्णिपादाग्रं प्रान्तभागं पदद्वयम् । अनुरागमिवानेन मित्रं तस्या मनोभवः

āraktapārṣṇipādāgraṁ prāntabhāgaṁ padadvayam | anurāgamivānena mitraṁ tasyā manobhavaḥ

Beholding the redness at the heel and the tips of her two feet, Manobhava (Kama) took it, as it were, for a friend and confidant of his own passion.

Verse 21 (shiva.rudra.24.21)

तस्याः करयुगं रक्तं नखरैः किंशुकोपमैः । वृत्ताभिरङ्गुलीभिश्च सूक्ष्माग्राभिर्मनोहरम्

tasyāḥ karayugaṁ raktaṁ nakharaiḥ kiṁśukopamaiḥ | vṛttābhiraṅgulībhiśca sūkṣmāgrābhirmanoharam

Her two reddened hands, their nails like the blossoms of the kimshuka flower, were made most lovely by fingers round and delicately tapered.

Verse 22 (shiva.rudra.24.22)

तद् बाहुयुगुलं कान्तं मृणालयुगलायतम् । मृदु स्निग्धं चिरं राजत्कान्तिलोहप्रवालवत्

tad bāhuyugulaṁ kāntaṁ mṛṇālayugalāyatam | mṛdu snigdhaṁ ciraṁ rājatkāntilohapravālavat

Her lovely pair of arms, long as lotus stalks, soft and smooth, gleamed with the enduring luster of polished coral.

Verse 23 (shiva.rudra.24.23)

नीलनीरदसङ्काशः केशपाशो मनोहरः । चमरीबालभरवद्विभाति स्म स्मरप्रिया

nīlanīradasaṅkāśaḥ keśapāśo manoharaḥ | camarībālabharavadvibhāti sma smarapriyā

Her lovely mass of hair, dark as a rain-cloud, gleamed like the flowing tail of a chamari deer, upon that beloved of Kama.

Verse 24 (shiva.rudra.24.24)

एतादृशीं रतिं नाम्नीं प्रालेयाद्रिसमुद्भवाम् । गङ्गामिव महादेवो जग्राहोत्फुल्ललोचनः

etādṛśīṁ ratiṁ nāmnīṁ prāleyādrisamudbhavām | gaṅgāmiva mahādevo jagrāhotphullalocanaḥ

Such was Rati whom Kama, his eyes wide with wonder, took to himself — just as Mahadeva once took the Ganga, born of the snow-clad mountain.

Verse 25 (shiva.rudra.24.25)

चक्रपद्मां चारुबाहुं मृणालशकलान्विताम् । भ्रूयुग्मविभ्रमव्राततनूर्मिपरिराजिताम्

cakrapadmāṁ cārubāhuṁ mṛṇālaśakalānvitām | bhrūyugmavibhramavrātatanūrmiparirājitām

Her arms lovely as the lotus and its stalk, adorned with fragments of the lotus-fibre, and made radiant by the rippling play of her arched brows —

Verse 26 (shiva.rudra.24.26)

कटाक्षपाततुङ्गौघां स्वीयनेत्रोत्पलान्विताम् । तनुलोमाम्बुशैवालां मनोद्रुमविलासिनीम्

kaṭākṣapātatuṅgaughāṁ svīyanetrotpalānvitām | tanulomāmbuśaivālāṁ manodrumavilāsinīm

— filled with the rising surge of her sidelong glances, adorned with her own lotus eyes, bearing the fine down like moss upon a pool, one who sported in the very tree of the mind —

Verse 27 (shiva.rudra.24.27)

निम्ननाभिह्रदां क्षामां सर्वाङ्गरमणीयिकाम् । सर्वलावण्यसदनां शोभमानां रमामिव

nimnanābhihradāṁ kṣāmāṁ sarvāṅgaramaṇīyikām | sarvalāvaṇyasadanāṁ śobhamānāṁ ramāmiva

— her deep navel like a pool, slender-waisted, lovely in every limb, the very abode of all grace, radiant as Lakshmi herself —

Verse 28 (shiva.rudra.24.28)

द्वादशाभरणैर्युक्तां शृङ्गारैः षोडशैर्युताम् । मोहनीं सर्वलोकानां भासयन्तीं दिशो दश

dvādaśābharaṇairyuktāṁ śṛṅgāraiḥ ṣoḍaśairyutām | mohanīṁ sarvalokānāṁ bhāsayantīṁ diśo daśa

— adorned with the twelve ornaments, bedecked with the sixteen embellishments of love, bewitching all the worlds, illuminating the ten directions —

Verse 29 (shiva.rudra.24.29)

इति तां मदनो वीक्ष्य रतिं जग्राह सोत्सुकः । रागादुपस्थितां लक्ष्मीं हृषीकेश इवोत्तमाम्

iti tāṁ madano vīkṣya ratiṁ jagrāha sotsukaḥ | rāgādupasthitāṁ lakṣmīṁ hṛṣīkeśa ivottamām

— beholding Rati thus, Madana eagerly took hold of her, as Hrishikesha (Vishnu) takes hold of the supreme Lakshmi, who comes to him drawn by love.

Verse 30 (shiva.rudra.24.30)

नोवाच च तदा दक्षं कामो मोदभवात्ततः । विस्मृत्य दारुणं शापं विधिदत्तं विमोहितः

novāca ca tadā dakṣaṁ kāmo modabhavāttataḥ | vismṛtya dāruṇaṁ śāpaṁ vidhidattaṁ vimohitaḥ

At that time Kama, lost in his joy, said nothing to Daksha, for in his infatuation he had even forgotten that terrible curse given by Vidhi (Brahma).

Verse 31 (shiva.rudra.24.31)

तदा महोत्सवस्तात बभूव सुखवर्धनः । दक्षः प्रीततरश्चासीन्मुमुदे तनया मम

tadā mahotsavastāta babhūva sukhavardhanaḥ | dakṣaḥ prītataraścāsīnmumude tanayā mama

O dear one, then a great festival arose there, increasing everyone's joy; Daksha was exceedingly pleased, and my own daughter too rejoiced.

Verse 32 (shiva.rudra.24.32)

कामोऽतीव सुखं प्राप्य सर्वदुःखक्षयं गतः । दक्षजापि रतिः कामं प्राप्य चापि जहर्ष ह

kāmo'tīva sukhaṁ prāpya sarvaduḥkhakṣayaṁ gataḥ | dakṣajāpi ratiḥ kāmaṁ prāpya cāpi jaharṣa ha

Having attained the greatest happiness, Kama was freed from all his sorrow; and Rati, Daksha's daughter, having obtained Kama, rejoiced greatly indeed.

Verse 33 (shiva.rudra.24.33)

रराज च तया सार्धं भिन्नश्चारुवचाः स्मरः । जीमूत इव सन्ध्यायां सौदामन्या मनोज्ञया

rarāja ca tayā sārdhaṁ bhinnaścāruvacāḥ smaraḥ | jīmūta iva sandhyāyāṁ saudāmanyā manojñayā

That sweet-voiced Smara shone forth together with her, just as a rain-cloud shines at twilight together with the lovely play of lightning.

Verse 34 (shiva.rudra.24.34)

इति रतिपतिरुच्चैर्मोहयुक्तो रतिं तां हृदुपरि जगृहे वै योगदर्शीव विद्याम् । रतिरपि पतिमग्र्यं प्राप्य सा चापि रेजे हरिमिव कमला वै पूर्णचन्द्रोपमास्या

iti ratipatiruccairmohayukto ratiṁ tāṁ hṛdupari jagṛhe vai yogadarśīva vidyām | ratirapi patimagryaṁ prāpya sā cāpi reje harimiva kamalā vai pūrṇacandropamāsyā

Thus did the lord of Rati, filled with great rapture, take Rati to his heart, as a seer of yoga grasps true wisdom; and Rati too, her face like the full moon, having obtained her foremost husband, shone forth like Kamala together with Hari.