[INDOLOGY] a statement about respectable women

[adheesh sathaye]

Dear Gaia and list members,

Iin the Bṛhatsaṃhitā of Varāhamihira (78.8), (and reused in the Vetālapañcaviṃśati of Śivadāsa (3.16)), the opposite is given as an indication of a woman who has lost her passion - viraktaceṣṭā:

स्पृष्ट्वाथवालोक्य धुनोति गात्रं 
करोति गर्वं न रुणद्धि यान्तम् । 
चुम्बाविरामे वदनं प्रमार्ष्टि 
पश्चात्समुत्तिष्ठति पूर्वसुप्ता ॥ १६ ॥

a free translation: 

As soon as you touch her, or even look at her, her body shakes in fear, 
She’ll be prideful, and not stop you when you’re leaving. 
She’ll wipe her face after you’re done making out, 
She’ll fall asleep before you, and wake up later. 

hope that might be helpful in your analysis! 

all best wishes,
Adheesh


—
Adheesh Sathaye
University of British Columbia




> On Aug 2, 2023, at 00:41, Gaia Pintucci via INDOLOGY <indology at list.indology.info> wrote:
> 
> Dear list members, 
> 
> I encountered the following statement: 
> kulāṅganā hi caramaṃ śāyinyaḥ prathamaṃ prabodhinyaś ca bhavanti
> and it was marked with an iti. 
> (A variant wording has caramaśāyinyaḥ prathamāvabodhinyaś for caramaṃ śāyinyaḥ prathamaṃ prabodhinyaś.)
> Unfortunately my grepping yielded no result, therefore if someone among you happens to know the source for this sentence or has a hunch of the type of source which could include a similar statement, I would be very grateful to hear from you. (I am thinking that dharmaśāstra might be the right place to search for it, but it would be nice to first narrow down the range of texts to examine.)
> Beside that and regardless whether the above really is a verbatim quote or not, do any of you know more about the prescription/usage, in the ancient Indian context, that women, if they are respectable, wake up first and go to bed last?
> 
> All the best, 
> Gaia Pintucci
> 
> 
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