Hamsa

[jkirk]

Yes, in fact if one checks on descriptions of the attributes of gorgeous 
women in the classics, she who walks like an elephant or a goose could 
easily have been of that overly zaftig build--in some descriptions her 
breasts are so heavy that they pull her shoulders down ~~:  and she has 
difficulty running away from male pursuers. But then, elephants are said to 
be fast runners.
Joanna
=============


When my mother and aunt stayed with me in Pune for a week back in 1983, they 
remarked about my Tamil maid, a woman of full figure approaching middle age, 
"She walks like she were Queen Mary."  I think the poets with their talk of 
geese and elephants were referring to something of the sort.

Allen



Allen W. Thrasher, Ph.D., Senior Reference Librarian
South Asia Team, Asian Division
Library of Congress, Jefferson Building 150
101 Independence Ave., S.E.
Washington, DC 20540-4810
tel. 202-707-3732; fax 202-707-1724; athr at loc.gov
The opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect those of the Library of 
Congress.