आपातरमणीयत्वं कल्प्यते केवलं स्त्रियाः । मन्ये तदपि नाऽस्त्यत्र मुने मोहैककारणम् ॥ ८ ॥
āpātaramaṇīyatvaṁ kalpyatē kēvalaṁ striyāḥ | manyē tadapi nā’styatra munē mōhaikakāraṇam || 8 ||
Translation
Only a beauty at first sight is imagined in a woman; and I think, O sage, that even that is not there: its only cause is delusion.
Word by word
- āpāta
- at first sight
- ramaṇīyatvaṁ
- a beauty
- kalpyatē
- is imagined
- kēvalaṁ
- only
- striyāḥ
- in a woman
- manyē
- I think
- tad
- (tat) that
- api
- even
- na
- not
- asti
- is there
- atra
- here
- munē
- O sage
- mōha
- delusion
- ēka
- its only
- kāraṇam
- cause
Meaning
The charm of a woman is āpāta-ramaṇīya, lovely "at first sight", without reflection; and Rāma goes further: even that is not in her, but in moha, delusion. The commentary makes the comparison of the shell and the silver: when a shell is taken for silver, there is at least a shell there; here the beauty imagined has no ground at all but ignorance. The claim is about attraction, not about persons: the glamour desire sees is projected by desire.