[Advaita-l] Incorrect comparisons?

[Rajaram Venkataramani]

On Mon, Dec 19, 2011 at 9:33 AM, Shrisha Rao <shrao at nyx.net> wrote:

> El dic 18, 2011, a las 11:19 p.m., V Subrahmanian escribió:
>
> >> In Swami Vidyaranaya's Sankara Digvijayam introduction, he says
> > "those who
> >
> >>> are proud due to the wealth that is attained by the dancer of unsteady
> >>> mindlakshmi, who appeared in the milk ocean". Lakshmi devi cannot be
> said
> >>> to be of unsteady mind because when the milk ocean was churned and the
> >>
> >> It would be best to look at the actual words used in the original before
> >> attempting to reason in this regard.  The translation (or recollection
> of
> >> it) may not be correct, and a different parsing of words/phrases ("those
> >> who are of unsteady mind are proud due to the wealth of Lakshmi," etc.)
> >> would easily resolve the issue.
> >>
> >> Regards,
> >>
> >> Shrisha Rao
> >>
> >
> > Here is the portion of the verse I guess that Shri Rajaram has in mind:
> >
> > धन्यंमन्यविवेकशून्यसुजनंमन्याब्धिकन्यानटी-
> > नृत्योन्मत्तनराधमाधमकथासंमर्ददुष्कर्दमैः ।   7 of the first sarga
> > (upodghaataH)
> >
> > As I do not have a translation and as the verse is tough in my view, I
> > leave it to the scholars to come up with a proper translation.
> > Nevertheless the verse seems to be denoting Lakshmi as 'abdhikanyA'.
>
> It would be nice to see the classical commentary if any.  However, अब्धि
> simply means "ocean" (or by extension any large body of water, or any large
> quantity that can be described as ocean-like).  It does not mean
> "unsteady."  There is hardly any obvious reason, other than literal
> proximity, to take अब्धि as an adjective for कन्या at all, or to take कन्या
> (with or without that adjective) as an epithet of Lakshmi (it is, after
> all, not a common epithet).  Perhaps we could instead take कन्या-नटी-नृत्य,
> etc., as causes of intoxication among the worst of humans (नराधम) who are
> called विवेकशून्य and languish in the ocean (of saMsAra), are given to
> worthless/evil discourse (अधमकथा), and suffer greatly because of the bad
> filth (दुष्कर्दम) of worldly existence.
>
> Regards,
>
> Shrisha Rao
>
> Rajaram: My question is based on the tamil translation by Shri N.S.
Anantha Krishna Sastry and this work has Shrimukham by Sringeri Periyava.
The author has used the tamil term sanchala subhavamulla (unsteady nature)
but do not know which word in the original he translates in to this. I
think he rightly takes abdhi-kanya as a compound that refers lakshmi
because she appeared when the milk ocean was churned. The full translation
of the clause is parkadalil thondriya lakshmiyagiya sanjalasubhavamulla
naattiyapen narthana seivadhinaalundana selvathinaal migavum
serukkadaindhavargalum. It does not seem to be a literal translation but
perhaps based on commentaries.