All 100 ślokas/Śloka 56

ŚLOKA 56 / 100

Fish, lotuses, and Her eyes

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SOUNDARYA LAHARI

ŚLOKA 56

tavāparṇe karṇejapanayanapaiśunyacakitā

tavāparṇe karṇejapanayanapaiśunyacakitā
nilīyante toye niyatamanimeṣāḥ śapharikāḥ ;
iyaṃ ca śrīrbaddhacchadapuṭakavāṭaṃ kuvalayaṃ
jahāti pratyūṣe niśi ca vighaṭayya praviśati . 56 .
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About these study notes: English meanings and explanations were generated with AI assistance and have not been independently reviewed by a Sanskrit scholar. Sanskrit text follows the cited source editions.

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9 selected phrases

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Selected phrases and English meanings for Śloka 56
Selected phraseMeaning in context

O Aparṇā, [your eyes] whispering near the ears

frightened by the eyes’ tale-bearing

A closer look

The frightened ones are the fish named in the next line. The image imagines the Goddess’s long eyes reaching her ears and reporting rivals to her beauty.

hide in the water

the little fish, always unblinking

and this beauty, the blue lotus

with its petal-doors shut

leaves at dawn

and at night

opens them and enters again

About these phrase meanings

Short phrases and parts of compounds, not a complete word-by-word translation. Original sandhi and spelling are retained; some words continue across printed lines. Read the entries together. Brackets in the English supply context rather than additional Sanskrit words.

The English explanations are editorial study aids and have not been reviewed by a Sanskrit scholar. Consult a teacher or full commentary for grammatical and interpretive detail. Telugu-Vigananam keeps its printed spellings, hyphens, and variant readings; the English follows the base Sanskrit unless a note explains a difference.

A first understanding.

Unblinking fish hide in water, afraid that Her eyes will report their borrowed beauty to Her ears. The blue lotus seems to receive that beauty at night and release it at dawn.

CONDENSED EDITORIAL PARAPHRASE

How the verse unfolds.

The eyes near the ears are imagined as whispering informants. Fish, whose unblinking appearance resembles the eyes, hide in water as though frightened that their borrowed beauty will be reported.

The blue lotus enters a second small drama, opening its petal-doors at night to receive beauty and releasing it at dawn. Natural appearances become actions in a playful story. These fancies praise the eyes as the source from which familiar comparisons borrow.

EDITORIAL EXPLANATION · NOT A TRADITIONAL COMMENTARY

A question to carry.

How does personifying a familiar natural form change the kind of attention you give it?

A REFLECTIVE INVITATION

Connected themes

Editorial lenses; a verse may invite other readings.

Associated Tattva

Form and awareness

Fish and lotus cease to be static comparisons and become participants in a story about beauty.

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Which detail turns a comparison into a story?

Keep a question, a phrase, or an observation. This note belongs to Śloka 56.

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English study notes are editorial interpretations. Sources & reading notes →