Vamana Purana — Chanda & Munda Discover Katyayani, Shloka 7
Chanda and Munda Discover Katyayani; Mahishasura’s Proposal and the Vishnu-Panjara Protection
मध्यं च तस्यास्त्रिवलीतरङ्गं विभाति दैत्येन्द्र सुरोमराजि भयातुरारोहणकातरस्य कामस्य सोपानमिव प्रयुक्तम्
madhyaṃ ca tasyāstrivalītaraṅgaṃ vibhāti daityendra suromarāji bhayāturārohaṇakātarasya kāmasya sopānamiva prayuktam
O lord of the Daityas, the middle of that woman—rippling with the three folds—shines with a beautiful line of hair, as though it were a staircase set in place for Kāma (Love), who is anxious to climb, trembling in fear (of you).
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FAQs
The verse is primarily aesthetic (śṛṅgāra) rather than didactic; it portrays desire (kāma) as a force that ‘ascends’ when beauty is perceived, while still being constrained by fear/respect toward power (addressed as daityendra).
This is not a pancalakṣaṇa core-topic unit (sarga/pratisarga/vaṃśa/manvantara/vaṃśānucarita) by itself; it functions as narrative ornamentation within an episode (ancillary to vaṃśānucarita/ākhyāna context, depending on the surrounding chapter).
The ‘three folds’ (trivalī) and the hair-line (romarājī) are classical beauty markers; the ‘staircase for Kāma’ metaphor symbolizes desire’s stepwise intensification, while ‘fear’ suggests the social/moral boundary that checks passion.