[INDOLOGY] vulture simile

[Will Tuladhar-Douglas]

Dear Fabrizio,

We don't know very much about the distribution of the various vultures in the 
past except that they were all much more widely distributed and common.

 I would be cautious assuming that the bird in question is G. benghalensis. K 
N Dave (2005, p.190) notes that the Red-headed vulture (Sarcogyps calvus, 
which he calls a Black Vulture, confusingly) is noted for its ear-lappets. 
This vulture (now also critically endangered) is known to have roamed all the 
way down into SE Asia and would surely have been known in Bengal.

That doesn't actually help you with your interpretation - but it does give at 
least a little indication that one kind of vulture was known for its rosy 
ears.

In Pali and Tibetan sources, vultures can be strongly positive images but for 
completely different reasons  So it could be a teasing reference, or it might 
(as Nagaraj suggests) refer to a local awareness of sensory acuity.

Be well,

—WBTD.
- - -- --- ----- -------- -------------
Will Tuladhar-Douglas
will at tending.to


On Tuesday, 5 May 2026 07:48:23 BST Fabrizio Ferrari via INDOLOGY 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-magi
> strale-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


-- 
Be well,

---WBTD.
- - -- --- ----- -------- -------------
will at tending.to
Will Tuladhar-Douglas
https://tending.to/garden