Grooming well goes a long way

To dress well seems well worth a thought, In merit, dress matters a lot: Dressed in silk, to Vishnu so suave, Father Ocean his daughter gave, In tiger skin, Shiva a venom-pot. _____________________ Translation |22.10.2024| dress, clothes, daughter, marriage Poet’s note: Sanskrit has thousands of verses of wisdom called Subhashhitam. This one asks a question, why should one dress well? And then proceeds to answer it by illustration. During samudra manthanam (Great Churning of Ocean), goddess Lakshmi when came out, father ocean gave her in marriage to Vishnu who was well dressed and well groomed, not to Shiva who was clad in tiger skin, and smeared with ash . Later when venom came out, it was only Shiva who could neutralize it. Think, both were eminently suitable otherwise. The transliteration of the Sanskrit verse follows: Kim vaasasaa tatra vichaaraneeyam, Vaasah pradhaanam khalu yogyataayaah | Pitaambaram veekshya dadau sva-kanyaam, Charmaambaram veekshya vishham samudrah ||