Texts 29-30
kāmātmajaṁ taṁ bhuvanaika-sundaraṁ
śyāmaṁ piśaṅgāmbaram ambujekṣaṇam
bṛhad-bhujaṁ kuṇḍala-kuntala-tviṣā
smitāvalokena ca maṇḍitānanam
dīvyantam akṣaiḥ priyayābhinṛmṇayā
tad-aṅga-saṅga-stana-kuṅkuma-srajam
bāhvor dadhānaṁ madhu-mallikāśritāṁ
tasyāgra āsīnam avekṣya vismitaḥ
kāma — of Cupid (Pradyumna); ātmajam — the son; tam — Him; bhuvana — of all the worlds; eka — the exclusive; sundaram — beauty; śyāmam — dark blue in complexion; piśaṅga — yellow; ambaram — whose clothing; ambuja — like lotuses; īkṣaṇam — whose eyes; bṛhat — mighty; bhujam — whose arms; kuṇḍala — of His earrings; kuntala — and of the locks of His hair; tviṣā — with the glow; smita — smiling; avalokena — with glances; ca — also; maṇḍita — ornamented; ānanam — whose face; dīvyantam — playing; akṣaiḥ — with dice; priyayā — along with His beloved; abhinṛmṇayā — all-auspicious; tat — with her; aṅga — physical; saṅga — because of the contact; stana — from her breasts; kuṅkuma — having the kuṅkuma; srajam — a flower garland; bāhvoḥ — between His arms; dadhānam — wearing; madhu — springtime; mallikā — of jasmines; āśritām — composed; tasyāḥ — of her; agre — in the front; āsīnam — sitting; avekṣya — seeing; vismitaḥ — amazed.
Bāṇāsura saw before him Cupid’s own son, possessed of unrivaled beauty, with dark-blue complexion, yellow garments, lotus eyes and formidable arms. His face was adorned with effulgent earrings and hair, and also with smiling glances. As He sat opposite His most auspicious lover, playing with her at dice, there hung between His arms a garland of spring jasmines that had been smeared with kuṅkuma powder from her breasts when He had embraced her. Bāṇāsura was astonished to see all this.
Bāṇāsura was amazed at Aniruddha’s boldness: the prince was calmly sitting in the young girl’s quarters, playing with Bāṇa’s supposedly unmarried daughter! In the context of the strict Vedic culture, this was an unbelievable thing to witness.