Today's Beautiful Gem: `Samdhya (Dusk)' by Valmiki from Ramayana.

"cancat candra karaspars'a
harSonmIlita tArakA
ahO rAgavatI samdhyA
jahATi svayam ambaram"
| "Touched by the rays of the quivering moon,
| the stars are shining with happiness;
| Behold the crimson-hued dusk
| leaving the sky by itself."

or

"cancat candra karaspars'a
harSonmIlita tArakA
ahO rAgavatI samdhyA
jahATi svayam ambaram"
| "Touched by the arms of the quivering lover,
| her eyes are shining with happiness;
| Behold the passionate woman in love
| shedding off the garments by herself."


Note: There are not many slokas of desriptive love in Ramayana.
However, there are some passages dealing with the natural beauty,
the seasons, etc. particularly in Aranya and Kishkinda kAnDAs.
In fact, the above sloka is not found in all versions of Valmiki
Ramayana. The figure of speech in the above stanza, in addition
to `sleSa' or pun, is `samAsokti' or model metaphor. Not only
Samdhya is personified as a woman, but the attributes of a woman
like beauty, eyes, love, and dress are mentioned. Those words
with two meanings are:
kara = ray, hand; tAraka = star, eye;
rAgavati = red-coloured, passionate; ambaram = sky, garment.

om s'aantih: Peace! - J. K. Mohana Rao

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