milk, taste and eloquence

[phijag at zelacom.com]

>Dear Indologists,
>
>	Sorry to interrupt the useful exchange on pc fonts with an
>amateurish question. Part of my research deals with the use of the five
>senses in Christian though and imagery, especially taste, touch and smell.
>I am at present studying the theme of the lactation of Saint Bernard, an
>apocryphal legend which appeared from the 12th century onwards, less than
>a hundred years after Bernard's death, and spread throughout Christianity.
>In a vision the Virgin Mary herself pressed her breast to give some of her
>milk to saint Bernard. There are many versions, texts and images; in some
>it is a statue of the Virgin, rather than the Virgin herself, who sends
>her milk; some versions of the legend mention three drops, while images,
>from the 13th to the 17th century, tend to show a continuous jet of milk
>directed to the saint's lips. In the traditional interpretation the scene
>stands as an expression of the divine eloquence bestowed upon Bernard who
>was acclaimed as a defender of the Virgin. 
>
>I am not trying to track down influences, but would like to know if the
>story, or rather the ideas on which it is based, appear only in the West.
>I know that the statues of Hindu gods have swallowed rather than projected
>milk, but I would be very curious to know if stories similar to Saint
>Bernard's lactation have ever circulated in Hindu literature. If so how 
>was the taste and meaning of milk described? How distinct is it from cow 
>milk?
>
>		My anticipated thanks for any suggestion.
>
>
>		Francois Quiviger
>		Warburg Institute
>		University of London
>
Two incidents in the Indian tradition which come immediately to mind are: 1)
Shankaracharya was fed milk from the Devi's breast when he was 3 years old
and 2) the child saint Jnanasambandar was given milk in a silver cup by the
Devi.
John