[INDOLOGY] vulture simile

[Blinderman, Radha]

Dear Professor Ferrari,

I think this is similar to the Sanskrit upamābahuvrīhi गृध्रदृष्टि, which
is used in the *Mahābhārata, *parvan xii, verse 5309 (Bombay ed.), or
12.138.62 and several other texts. It is helpful to check  SEARCHABLE
AGGREGATE LIBRARY of SANSKRIT ETEXTS
<https://searchable-sanskrit-library.org/CM-LIBRARY-ROOT/CM-LIBRARY-MAIN.php>,
where you can find:

ānandakanda
 line: 28150 :   kurute dantadārḍhyaṃ ca dṛśau gṛdhradṛśāviva /
<https://searchable-sanskrit-library.org/CM-LIBRARY-ROOT/CM_create_selected_file.php?file_url=.%2FETEXTS%2FGRETIL%2FGRETIL+Oliver+Hellwig%2F%C4%81nandakanda.html&search_string=%2Fg%E1%B9%9Bdhrad%E1%B9%9B%C5%9B%2Fu&file_url=./ETEXTS/GRETIL/GRETIL%20Oliver%20Hellwig/%C4%81nandakanda.html&search_type=#a1>

 rasendracūḍāmaṇi 3-5 7-16 by somadeva
<https://searchable-sanskrit-library.org/CM-LIBRARY-ROOT/CM_create_selected_file.php?file_url=.%2FETEXTS%2FGRETIL%2FGRETIL+Oliver+Hellwig%2Frasendrac%C5%AB%E1%B8%8D%C4%81ma%E1%B9%87i+3-5+7-16+by+somadeva.txt&search_string=%2Fg%E1%B9%9Bdhrad%E1%B9%9B%C5%9B%2Fu&file_url=./ETEXTS/GRETIL/GRETIL%20Oliver%20Hellwig/rasendrac%C5%AB%E1%B8%8D%C4%81ma%E1%B9%87i%203-5%207-16%20by%20somadeva.txt&search_type=#a1>
 line: 239 :  kurute dantadārḍhyaṃ ca dṛṣṭiṃ gṛdhradṛśāviva /
<https://searchable-sanskrit-library.org/CM-LIBRARY-ROOT/CM_create_selected_file.php?file_url=.%2FETEXTS%2FGRETIL%2FGRETIL+Oliver+Hellwig%2Frasendrac%C5%AB%E1%B8%8D%C4%81ma%E1%B9%87i+3-5+7-16+by+somadeva.txt&search_string=%2Fg%E1%B9%9Bdhrad%E1%B9%9B%C5%9B%2Fu&file_url=./ETEXTS/GRETIL/GRETIL%20Oliver%20Hellwig/rasendrac%C5%AB%E1%B8%8D%C4%81ma%E1%B9%87i%203-5%207-16%20by%20somadeva.txt&search_type=#a1>
You may also find several other references on the same platform, copied in
the PDF below.  From what I understand, though literally it means
“vulture-eyed”, it suggests that the person has a probing or eager, greedy
look, since गृध्र also means “covetous”, and the bird is called गृध्र
because it’s understood to have such a look. In the case you are analyzing
the simile seems to suggest that Radha has an eager, covetous look like
that of a female vulture. Is Kṛṣṇa perhaps gently teasing her here?

Sincerely,
Radha

Radha Blinderman
College Fellow, Harvard University
Office: 1 Bow St, Room 323, Cambridge, MA 02138
Email: rblinderman at fas.harvard.edu
Phone: 617-496-1802


On May 5, 2026, at 2:49 AM, Fabrizio Ferrari via INDOLOGY <
indology at list.indology.info> wrote:


Dear colleagues,

while reading the Śrīkr̥ṣṇakīrtana, a pre-Caitanya text attributed to Baṛu
Caṇḍīdāsa, I found a passage in which Kānāi/Kr̥ṣṇa compliments Rādhā by
comparing her ears to those of a (female) vulture: gidhinīsadr̥śa tora
dekhõ dui kāna (ŚKK, Dānakhaṇḍa, 16.1d). While I believe gidhinī (Sanskrit.
gr̥dhrī) is probably the gyps bengalensis, I am not familiar with this kind
of simile. Are you aware of this or similar expressions in either Sanskrit
or vernacular literature?
Any suggestion would be appreciated.
With kind regards,
Fabrizio



Fabrizio Ferrari

Professore ordinario di Storia delle Religioni

Presidente del Corso di Laurea Magistrale in Scienze delle Religioni
<https://www.dissgea.unipd.it/didattica/corsi-di-studio/corso-di-laurea-magistrale-interateneo-scienze-delle-religioni>


Dipartimento di Scienze Storiche, Geografiche e dell’Antichità (DiSSGeA)

Università degli Studi di Padova

Palazzo Liviano, Piazza Capitaniato, 7

35139 Padova

Tel. 049.827-4577

E-mail: fabrizio.ferrari.1 at unipd.it

https://unipd.academia.edu/FabrizioFerrari

Link ricevimento via Zoom: https://unipd.zoom.us/j/92913939701

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