Saundarya Lahari - Preface

I was introduced to the Saundarya Lahari in the 1980s, and have been drawn to the composition over time, often after long gaps. In spite of its allure it did not make much sense to me. Later I was involved in proofreading, indexing and publishing. A serious study only began in 2009. Earlier I had pondered over the text, admired friends who understood its meaning and hoped to have a better understanding myself someday. I had worked on the Index and Bibliography of Nataraja Guru's commentary and I also contributed to the cover design and the structural diagrams for the first 24 verses..

In 2009 I began to chant the first ten verses every evening before retiring for the day. After several weeks of this practice, I began to notice a quantitative change in my consciousness. It was as if something new was being revealed, which was also giving me a very different perspective of life. It was around this time that my good friend Sashi Chandran suggested that I give an introductory class to an interested group in Coimbatore. As we were deciding on a convenient date, I met university scholars in Bangalore and Delhi who were involved with the Saundarya Lahari. It was as if inner and outer circumstances were aligning themselves and gradually the commentary began to yield glimpses of structure and meaning. I found myself feeling a little confident to attempt an interpretation of the first three verses. These verses subsequently became the first class given to a group of twelve women at the Nitya Gurukula, Coimbatore, on 2nd April, 2010. (They are yet to be transcribed for the blog).

The outcome both surprised and inspired me to continue the study and interpretation of the text. It has not morphed into an online commentary which will, I hope, by the Grace of the Supreme Goddess, culminate in a book in due course of time. It is an interesting coincidence that I am commencing this writing in Cambridge, Massachusetts, not far from Harvard University, where Prof. Norman Brown translated and commented on the Saundarya Lahari in 1958 as part of the Harvard Oriental Series.