शुक्लाम्बरधरम् विष्णुम् शशिवर्णम् चतुर्भुजम्|
प्रसन्नवदनम् ध्यायेत् सर्व विघ्नोपशान्तये||
श्रीगुरुभ्योनमः
अक्षुद्रमिक्षुचापम् ।परोक्षमवलग्नसीमनि त्र्यक्षम् ।
क्षपयतु मे क्षेमेतर मुक्शरध प्रेम पक्ष्मलम् तेजः ॥(कामेशीस्तुति–आर्याद्विशति)
stanabhāra-dalaṇ-madhya-paṭṭa-bandha-vaḷi-trayā
Stanabhāra – the weight of the breasts
Dalat – breaking / straining
Madhya – waist
Paṭṭa-bandha – bands tied around
Vaḷi-traya – three folds (creases)
Meaning:
Salutations to the Mother whose waist bears three graceful folds, resembling
bands tied around it, as though to support it from breaking under the weight of
her breasts.
In the Āryāśataka portion of Mūkapañcaśatī, the Mother’s firm, full, and majestic breasts—likened to strong sacred vessels—are repeatedly described. Due to their weight, three folds appear on Her waist. These folds look like supportive bands, as if tied to prevent the waist from bending under that burden.
This same idea is expressed in the Lalitopākhyāna as:
“Atipīvara-vakṣoja-bhāra-bhaṅgura-madhya-bhūḥ”
(Her waist appears delicate due to the immense weight of Her breasts.)
To understand what binds or supports this waist, we take refuge in Śaṅkara Bhagavatpāda (Ādi Śaṅkarācārya).
In Saundarya Lahari, verse 80, he describes the Mother’s waist—bending under breasts like golden pots—as exquisitely beautiful, soft, luminous, and white like a tender creeper, bound as though by Cupid himself using the creeper of love and grace.
Kālidāsa’s Description
मध्येन सा वेदिविलग्नमध्या वलित्रयम् चारु बभार बाला ।
आरोहणार्थम् नवयौवनेन कामस्य सोपानमिव प्रयुक्तम् ।
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In Kumārasambhavam (Canto 1, Verse 39), the great poet Kālidāsa compares the Mother’s waist to a sacrificial altar, and the three folds on it to steps created by Cupid, meant for ascending the freshness of youth:
Because the waist bends, the body assumes the posture known as tribhaṅga—the threefold graceful curve.
Two points are noted here:
1. When one hears tribhaṅga, the image of dark-hued Lord Krishna, holding the flute and standing with crossed legs, naturally comes to mind. But She and He are one and the same—a truth already discussed earlier. Among Krishna’s names is “Tribhaṅgī-madhurākṛta” (He whose form is sweet with three bends).
2. पाशाङ्कुशेक्षुकोदण्ड पञ्चबाणलसत्करा
ललितासैव कामाक्षी काञ्च्यम् व्यक्तिमुपागता ॥
(Brahmanda Purana Uttara bhagam 3-39-23,24)
It is stated in the Brahmāṇḍa Purāṇa that Lalitā Tripurasundarī herself manifests as Kāmakṣī in Kāñcipuram. Anyone who beholds the form of Kāñci Kāmakṣī inevitably remembers the graceful curve of Her waist.
From the Mārkaṇḍeya Purāṇa – Kāmakṣī Vilāsa
The Golden Kāmakṣī is described thus:
परा फालाक्षीसंभूता कामाक्षी स्वर्णविग्रहा
द्विनेत्रा द्विभुजा श्यामा दक्षहस्तालसच्चुका
लम्बा वामकरांबोज त्रिभंगी दक्षकुंचिता
सा धनुर्विग्रहतन्वी सर्वाभरणभूषिता
A slender waist with three folds is said to be an excellent auspicious bodily sign (uttama sāṃudrika lakṣaṇa). These three folds symbolize the three guṇas (sattva, rajas, tamas). The deeper significance of this will be explained in the next divine name.
Finally, praying to the Mother, who shines with the three folds at her waist, who is beyond the three guṇas, and who alone can free devotees from bondage caused by those three guṇas—
श्रीमात्रेनमः
