SAUNDARANANDA 6.22: Two Little Ducks

maa svaaminam svaamini doShato gaaH
priyaM priy'-aarhaM priya-kaariNaM taM
na sa tvad-anyaaM pramadaam avaiti
sva-cakravaakyaa iva cakravaakaH

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6.22
Ma'am! Do not accuse your beloved husband,

A doer of loving deeds who is deserving of your love;

He has eyes for no woman other than you,

Like a chakra-vaka drake with its chakra-vaka duck.

COMMENT:
LC notes that doShato gaaH is a conjecture, but one that is supported as idiomatically authentic by RaamaayaNa 6.93.13 (a modern adaptation of which, by the way, is currently being serialized on BBC Radio 4).

maa doShato gaaH tam seems to mean "do not go to him from a fault;" i.e. "do not act towards him on the basis of a fault," and hence, "do not accuse him [of infidelity]."

What is going on here? A silly person of superficial understanding (see my comment to 6.19) is liable to think that Sundari's main problem is a romantic one. That being so, so long as Sundari is assured that on a romantic level Nanda's heart is still hers alone -- so long as she is able to maintain her romantic idea -- then she might not react too badly, in practice, to the news that Nanda has gone forth into the wandering life.... We will see shortly.

Speaking of silliness, can it only be coincidence that verse 22 of this canto features two little ducks?

And speaking of the antidote to silliness, one-pointedness, it is more than thirty years ago that I first heard, in the context of karate training, the teaching of concentrating one's power in "the cinnabar field" (Japanese: tanden. Chinese: dan t'ien). But I still have no idea how to do that. If I know anything about it, I know what such concentration of power is not. It is not shortening and narrowing the back and pulling the legs into the pelvis.


EH Johnston:
Do not, mistress, blame your beloved master, who is worthy of affection and ever acted out of love to you. He never looks at any woman except you, like the ruddy sheldrake with its mate.

Linda Covill:
Madam, do not accuse your dear husband, who is worthy of your love, and who always acts lovingly. He never notices any other woman except you, like a chakra-vaka bird with its mate.


VOCABULARY:
maa: ind. a particle of prohibition or negation
svaaminam (acc. sg.): m. (fr. sva + min) an owner , proprietor , master , lord ; a husband , lover
svaamini (voc. sg.): f. a proprietress , mistress , lady (used in addressing a queen or a king's favourite wife)
doSha-taH: ind. from a fault or defect
gaaH = 2nd pers. sg. injunctive gaa: to go , go towards , come , approach

priyam (acc. sg. m.): mfn. beloved, dear
priy'-aarham (acc. sg. m.): worthy of love, deserving of your love
priya-kaariNam (acc. sg. m.): who acts out of love/kindness
priya: mfn. fond of attached or devoted to (in comp. , either ibc. or ifc.); n. love , kindness , favour , pleasure
kaarin: mfn. doing , making , effecting , producing , acting
tam (acc. sg. m.): him

na: not
sa (nom. sg. m.): he
tvad-anyaam (acc. sg. f.): other than you
pramadaam (acc. sg. f.): a woman
avaiti = 3rd pers. sg. pres. ava- √i: to go down, go to ; to look upon , consider ; to perceive , conceive , understand , learn , know

sva-cakravaakyaa (inst. sg. f.): with a chakra duck of its own
sva: mfn. his own, its own ; m. a man of one's own people or tribe , a kinsman
cakravaakii: f. the female of the chakra(-vaka) bird
iva: like
cakravaakaH (nom. sg. m.): m. the chakra bird (Anas Casarca, ruddy sheldrake ; the couples are supposed to be separated and to mourn during night)