Masterly exposition. 

But (I already used this twice, sorry), there is always a but lurking there, somewhere behind the screens. 

How do you measure 'desire'? 

To my uneducated (no Amarakoṣa in the list of necessary readings) mind the desiderative form itself guarantees the connection between the word and the idea of desire. 

 'lipsā' - ‘labdhum icchā’ is self-explanatory.

How intense the desire is - it's all a matter of context. 

Let me guess: in certain contexts 'lipsā' could be used to describe a momentary, inconsequential wish, to obtain something without explicit effort ; in other contexts, perhaps, the wish to obtain something of lasting value, the act itself coldly planned for. 

Same for ‘bubhukṣā’ - intensity of the desire depends on the context.

Who bubhukṣāṃ jayate  - that person overcomes the feelings, the emotions that are linked with enjoyment of food. In our example - quite strong emotions, considering "the season of great difficulty". 

"The choice of food metaphor in the context of bliss hails from a tradition going back to Upaniṣads, where the experience of bliss was linked with enjoyment of food" [V. Aklujkar, Sharing the Divine Feast, in: R.S. Khare (ed.), The Eternal Food: Gastronomic Ideas and Experience of Hindus and Buddhists, 1992, p. 99]

The epic story tellers  do not want their heroes to be perfect, and go around trying to do things in the "grammatick" way; they supply them with words - to use as they see fit, not always properly; their heroes act, they are full of, more often than not, only dimly felt emotions, and they act on them, and are known to commit mistakes. 

And that is why we like them, and want to hear more about them, again and again

Let them have their emotions. 

Best, 

Artur

2016-04-26 3:37 GMT+02:00 Nityanand Misra <nmisra@gmail.com>:


On 25 April 2016 at 18:58, Howard Resnick <hr@ivs.edu> wrote:
The desiderative at times is used to indicate strong desire. Example: desiderative forms of labh — lipsu, lipsA. In MW, this can mean the simple desire to gain or obtain, or “longing for”. To long — to have “a strong wish or desire.”

Best,
Howard


Monier Williams has errors. An example is meaning of the gavī as an “independent word” for speech and the citation of Śiśupālavadha 2-68 which is incorrect. In this case (‘lipsā’) there is no precise citation also. 


The etymology (yoga) of ‘lipsā’ (‘labdhum icchā’, labh + san + a + ṭāp) does not suggest any intensity in the desire. If one wants to go for usage (rūḍhi), it is better to cross-check with Sanskrit Koṣa-s and attested usages than take M-W for granted.


As per Amarakoṣa (1-7-27,28), there is a clear distinction between ‘lipsā’ which is listed with words for desire, and ‘lālasā’ which is explained as intense desire or longing (grammar would confirm this):


……………………………………………………………. dohadam

icchā kāṅkṣā spṛhehā tṛḍvāñchā lipsā manorathaḥ

kāmo’bhilāṣastarṣaśca so’tyarthaṃ lālasā dvayoḥ


The Vyākhyāsudhā on above verses explains that the first twelve are synonyms of ‘icchā’ (and also ) and the word ‘lālasā’ is a synonym of ‘atiprīti’


If any other authentic Koṣa or commentary on a Kāvya usage confirms that ‘longing’ or ‘intense desire’ is also a meaning of ‘lipsā’, M-W can be accepted. Same for ‘bubhukṣā’.