SAUNDARANANDA 4.7: Yin & Yang

taaM sundariiM cen na labheta nandaH
saa vaa niSheveta na taM nata-bhruuH
dvandvaM dhruvaM tad vikalaM na shobhet'
aanyonya-hiinaav iva raatri-candrau

= = - = = - - = - = =
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4.7
If Nanda had not won Sundari,

Of if she of the arched eyebrows had not gone to him,

Then the pair would surely have seemed impaired,

Like the night and the moon deprived of each other.

COMMENT:
raatri (night) is feminine, and candra (moon) is masculine. So the 4th line seems to speak of the combination of the feminine and masculine principles, or yin and yang, the passive and the active. This theme of masculine and feminine elements being joined together is picked up more conspicuously in the following verse.


EH Johnston:
Had Nanda not gained Sundari or had she of the arched eyebrows not been united to him, the two of them would certainly have failed to reach the perfection of beauty, like the night and the moon if deprived of each other.

Linda Covill:
If Nanda had not won her, Sundari, or if she, arch-browed, had withheld herself from him, then the pair would surely have appeared impaired, like the night and the moon without each other.

VOCABULARY:
taam (acc. sg. f.): her
sundariim (acc. sg. f.): Sundari
cen na: ind. if not
labheta = 3rd pers. sg. optative labh: to take , seize , catch ; to meet with ; to gain possession of , obtain
nandaH (nom. sg. m.): Nanda

saa (nom. sg. f.): she
vaa: if
niSheveta = 3rd pers. sg. ni -√sev: (with acc.) to frequent , inhabit , visit , serve , attend , honour , worship , follow , approach , enjoy (also sexually)
na: not
tam (acc. sg. m.): him
nata-bhruuH (nom. sg. f.): she of arched eyebrows
nata: mfn. bent , bowed , curved
bhruu: f. an eyebrow

dvandvam (nom. sg. n.): the pair
dhruvam: ind. firmly , constantly , certainly , surely
tad: ind. then, in that case
vikalam (nom. sg. n.): mfn. deprived of a part or a limb or a member , mutilated , maimed , crippled , impaired , imperfect , deficient in or destitute of (instr. or comp)
na: not
shobheta = 3rd pers. sg. optative: to beautify , embellish , adorn , beautify one's self ; look beautiful or handsome , shine , be bright or splendid ; (with na , " to look bad , have a bad appearance , appear to disadvantage ")

anyonya-hiinau (nom. dual): deprived of each other
anyonya: mfn. one another , mutual
hiina: mfn. left , abandoned , forsaken ; left behind , excluded or shut out from ; bereft or deprived of
iva: like
raatri-candrau:: (nom. dual): the night and the moon
raatri: f. night , the darkness or stillness of night
candra: m. the moon