Re: [INDOLOGY] gajagāminī and other elephant similes in early kāvya

[James Hartzell]

HI Jim

Thought perhaps not directly relevant, Apte's Dictionary lists under
Hastini a quote from the Ratimanjari, a text from the Kamashastra tradition
which includes a description of the classic types of women lovers.
Ratimanjari 8 describes the 'elephant-like' woman.  Here's a possible
translation of the quote:  "With thick womb, thick buttocks and lips, thick
fingers, thick breasts, amiable, eager for love, delighting in intense
sexual passion, a tremendous eater, (unusually short), indeed the hastini
is, she is considered the female elephant."
The other three classic Kamashastra types are Shankini, Citrini and
Rupini.

These same typologies appear in some of the Buddhist tantras, with
sometimes amusing, relatively unflattering male yogi versions to match.
See for example Kalacakratantra/Vimalaprabha, Abhishekapatala vss 138-144,
wherein the 'Elephant' yogi is described as a passionate lover who also
moves slowly, is extremely foolish, and has a putrid smell.

Cheers


On Wed, Aug 14, 2013 at 2:45 PM, Klaus Karttunen <
klaus.karttunen at helsinki.fi> wrote:

> Dear Jim,
> according to my notes, some early references about female gait resembling
> that of an elephant include Bhavabhūti MM 9, 27, Dhūrtaviṭasaṁvāda after
> 16, Pādatāḍitaka 88, Kumāradāsa Jānakīh. 1, 29, and Manu 3, 10. For male,
> princely gait already in the Rāmāyaṇa (e.g. 1, 47, 2 and 2, 38, 6). In 3,
> 44, 18f.  Sītā’s thigh is smooth as an elephant’s trunk.
>
> Best,
> Klaus
>
> Klaus Karttunen
> South Asian and Indoeuropean Studies
> Asian and African Studies, Department of World Cultures
> PL 59 (Unioninkatu 38 B)
> 00014 University of Helsinki, FINLAND
> Tel +358-(0)9-191 22674
> Fax +358-(0)9-191 22094
> Klaus.Karttunen at helsinki.fi
>
>
>
>
>
> On Aug 14, 2013, at 3:21 PM, Jim Mallinson wrote:
>
> Dear All,
>
> A colleague not on the list has asked me to post the following:
>
> The comparison of a woman's walk to that of an elephant was celebrated in
> MF Husain's film 'Gajagamini'.  The expression is usually thought to come
> from Kalidasa but I've not found it in a cursory search of his work.  The
> earliest occurrences seem to be in the Mahabharata.  Any confirmation of
> texts using gajagamini and details of elephant similes in kavya would be
> welcome e.g.  women's thighs like elephant trunks, breasts like elephants'
> bosses.
>
>
> Yours, with best wishes,
>
> Jim Mallinson
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-- 
James Hartzell, PhD
Center for Mind/Brain Sciences (CIMeC)
The University of Trento, Italy


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