Shloka 34
कामविवाहवर्णनम् / Description of Kāma’s Marriage
इति रतिपतिरुच्चैर्मोहयुक्तो रतिं तां हृदुपरि जगृहे वै योगदर्शीव विद्याम् । रतिरपि पतिमग्र्यं प्राप्य सा चापि रेजे हरिमिव कमला वै पूर्णचन्द्रोपमास्या
iti ratipatiruccairmohayukto ratiṃ tāṃ hṛdupari jagṛhe vai yogadarśīva vidyām | ratirapi patimagryaṃ prāpya sā cāpi reje harimiva kamalā vai pūrṇacandropamāsyā
Thus the Lord of Desire (Kāma), overcome with infatuation, clasped that Rati to his heart, as a yogic seer embraces true knowledge. And Rati too—having attained her foremost husband—shone resplendently, like Lakṣmī beside Hari, her face lovely as the full moon.
Suta Goswami (narrating to the sages at Naimiṣāraṇya)
Tattva Level: pashu
FAQs
It contrasts moha-driven attachment (Kāma clutching Rati) with the yogin’s higher clinging to vidyā (liberating knowledge), implying that desire can imitate devotion but only knowledge and Shiva-oriented awareness lead beyond bondage.
By showing the charm and bondage of desire, the verse indirectly points the devotee toward Saguna Shiva worship (Linga-upāsanā) as a stabilizing focus that purifies the heart and redirects longing into bhakti rather than moha.
A practical takeaway is to replace grasping desire with yogic remembrance—japa of the Panchākṣarī (Om Namaḥ Śivāya) and meditative fixation on Shiva’s form/Linga—cultivating vairāgya and clarity like “vidyā” held in the heart.