Wednesday, March 29, 2006

And now for something completely different

Here is a different list.
It is a list of things I learnt while reading a translation of two passages: one in the Valimiki Ramayana and one somewhere more arcane.
Here is the list:
  1. Kousalya, contrary to her usual weepy-woman image, was actually quite fun-loving. Quite so.
  2. Much of the mantras chanted in the yajnas consists of playful abuses of a risque nature
  3. In the good old days, the chief queen (Mahishi) was not the favourite wife of the king. Never. The favourite wife was someone else. Always. And there was a rejected wife too. Always.
  4. The aroma of well-cooked meat (to be specific, horse lard) washes away all sins.
  5. Brahmins have been great cooks since those days.
Here is the relevant context. I never knew that just two paragraphs could be so enlightening.

To reiterate, Kousalya actually played with it all night.