A History of Sanskrit Literature c16.s2.39

c16.s2.39

‘“I love thee no more.” “‘Tis true, slender one, (your connexions approve me), for my mother-in-law adores me.” “Neatly said, but I repeat a second time: Thou art not pleasant in my eyes.” “But, dear one, just look; I am not adorned with the Nameru flowers.” So Çiva silenced the smiling mouth of the daughter of the Himālaya with his equivoke; may he be gracious to you.’ The first pun here depends on the ambiguity of *nābhimato*, the second simply on the fact that Çiva interprets *na me rucitas* as *nameruṇā citas*. We must suppose that Ratnākara felt that, as men delight in these refinements, so the offering of his poem to the gods would evoke their pleasure. His epic gives no ground to doubt the sincerity of his devotion to Çiva.