The Shringara Rasa

 

This is a short story that used the Rasa/ Bhava of Shringar and emotions of

Sphota (explosiveness),

Sanyasa (detachment),

Bhakti (devotion) and

Moksha(salvation)

 

Indhumathi, the exquisitely beautiful Devadasi

Danced in the temples and courts of the town

Her extremely captivating and vivacious looks

Her elegance and her graceful dance movements

Mesmerized anyone and everyone who saw her

Her enchanting and bewitching smile,

Her kohl lined expressive black eyes

And a small mole on her attractive chin

Her pink petal like thin lips

And her tresses tied into a long plait

Bridled with jasmine

Could evoke the Bhava of passion (Rati )

and ‘Shringara Rasa’ ( passionate love) in anyone

 

The temple was chiming with ‘Bhakti rasa’

As Indhumathi and her Sakhis danced to the song

Taaye Yashoda ……mother Yashoda and Baby Krishna

 

Mahant Shashi Shekhar was the guest of honor of the evening

He was a recluse sage, a sanyasi, who had denounced the world

And was spending his life drowned in

the bhakti of his deity-the Durga

His face glowed with a divine aura of brightness

His broad forehead housed a big red vermilion tilak

Which had an element of mystique coupled with charisma

Everyone stood with awe as he entered the hall

Indhumathi came with a garland of red flowers

and as both pairs of eyes met

There was a whirl, a windstorm of sorts

No one could waver his emotions till date

What was coming over him?

He was feeling an ocean of upheaval

There already had started an inner turmoil

A ‘sphotak’, which if exploded would shatter his dignity,

His peace, and even his years of celibacy….

He closed his eyes in guilt and prayed aloud

He asked God to guide him, to show him the way

Tears started flowing from his eyes

As if there was washing of the sin he had committed

A catharsis…

 

The second bhajan was being sung in the background

Sarasijanaabha… Muraare, a bhajan based on raag… Hanumatodi -the raga which helps to calm down a restless mind.

Amidst an ocean of emotions inside and outside

Shashi Shekhar fell down… on the floor… with thousands of devotees witness to this very unusual attainment of ‘moksha’ by him.

Lalita Vaitheeswaran