प्रकृत्या रक्तायास्तव सुदति दन्तच्छदरुचेः
प्रवक्ष्ये सादृश्यं जनयतु फलं विद्रुमलता।
न बिम्बं तद्बिम्बप्रतिफलनरागादरुणितं
तुलामध्यारोढुं कथमिव विलज्जेत कलया॥

prakṛtyā raktāyāstava sudati dantacchadaruceḥ
pravakṣye sādṛśyaṁ janayatu phalaṁ vidrumalatā |
na bimbaṁ tadbimbapratiphalanarāgādaruṇitaṁ
tulāmadhyāroḍhuṁ kathamiva vilajjeta kalayā ||

prakṛtya āraktāya – natural red; tava sudati – Your beautiful white teeth; danta cchada ruceḥ - parting of (Your) beautiful lips; pravakṣye sādṛśyaṁ - identify the similarity; janayatu phalaṁ - giving benefits; vidrumalatā – coral creeper; na bimbaṁ - not the bimba fruit ( Cephalandra Indica); tat bimba pratiphalana rāgāt aruṇitaṁ - that bimba fruit reflecting the redness of Your lips; tulām adhyāroḍhuṁ - attaining the state of equality; katham iva – nevertheless; (na) vilajjeta kalayā – not embarrassed; kalayā – even by a bit.

“O! Devi, the One with beautiful white teeth! I want to establish similarity between Your beautiful parting lips that are red in colour with something else (that is known to common man). I want to give benefit to the coral creeper and not to the bimba fruit, as bimba fruit simply reflect the redness of Your lips. Will not the bimba fruit be embarrassed at least by a bit, when this comparison is made?”

Śaṁkarācārya had the Divine vision of Parāśakti. When one is able to visualize a form with great concentration, such visions are possible. As Śaṁkarācārya was contemplating Her form all the time, he could easily enter into trance and experience Her vision. Though contemplation is necessary, one has to mandatorily enter into the state of trance, to have such Divine visions. How to enter into trance has already been explained in the article HOW TO ATTAIN DIVINE GRACE. Trance is the result of living in the state of Bliss. Only a purified mind is all that is needed to enter into the state of Bliss. Therefore, whatever Śaṁkarācārya says in Saundaryalaharī is not his imagination, but due to the divine visions he had. Imagination has limitations and minute details cannot be ideated so meticulously. From the way he describes Her, clearly proves that he was able to “see” Her, whenever he wanted to have Her darśan. This verse goes to prove that he composed this verse by sitting before Her (in his mind). A close similarity can be drawn between the origin of Vedas and many of Śaṁkarācārya’s compositions. Both were composed only mentally, by connecting to Divinity.

This verse says that Parāśakti has beautiful white teeth. The beauty of Her white teeth is seen through Her parted lips, that are dark red in complexion. Her lips are always parted because, She always smiles at Her devotees. Śaṁkarācārya wanted to compare at least to a certain extent, the deep red complexion of Her lips to some of the objects known to common man like us. He thought about two things; coral creeper and bimba fruit (also known as kanduri-ki-bel). Coral creeper does not yield fruits and hence, it cannot be compared. The only alternative is bimba fruit. However, he is not satisfied with this comparison, as he feels that bimba fruit merely reflects the redness of Her lips and these fruits do not have natural redness. Unimaginable poetic parlance! As bimba fruits know that they do not have natural redness and when they are compared to the lips of our own and ever Gracious Parāśakti, bimba fruits feel embarrassed for comparing them to the gracious lips of Lalitāmbikā.

If someone contemplates on the narration of this verse, he or she is bound to have Her Grace.