Vada in Theory and Practice: Studies in Debates, Dialogues and Discussions in Indian Intellectual Discourses c10.s10.3

Vāda in Theory and Practice: Studies in Debates, Dialogues and Discussions in Indian Intellectual Discourses c10.s10.3

Language: English

c10.s10.3

The fifth canto of *Kumārasambhava* of Kālidāsa presents a fascinating debate between Śiva disguised as a *brahmacārī* (celibate) and Pārvatī. The former, having learnt that Pārvatī is performing extremely rigourous penance to obtain Śiva as her husband, feigns surprise and starts condemning Śiva. His arguments are — Śiva is given to inauspicious things, he wears elephant hide dripping with drops of blood, he lives in cemetery ground, he besmears himself with funeral ashes, rides on an old bull. He then concludes by saying:

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Linked texts (1)

Kumārasaṃbhava — Kālidāsa, Sanskrit