Gadda chevulu = Vulture Ears is a Telugu idiom in reference to keen sense of hearing
On Tue, May 5, 2026 at 5:58 PM Blinderman, Radha via INDOLOGY < [email protected]> wrote: > Dear Professor Ferrari, > > I think this is similar to the Sanskrit upamābahuvrīhi गृध्रदृष्टि, which > is used in the *Mahābhārata, *parvan xii, verse 5309 (Bombay ed.), or > 12.138.62 and several other texts. It is helpful to check SEARCHABLE > AGGREGATE LIBRARY of SANSKRIT ETEXTS > <https://searchable-sanskrit-library.org/CM-LIBRARY-ROOT/CM-LIBRARY-MAIN.php>, > where you can find: > > ānandakanda > line: 28150 : kurute dantadārḍhyaṃ ca dṛśau gṛdhradṛśāviva / > <https://searchable-sanskrit-library.org/CM-LIBRARY-ROOT/CM_create_selected_file.php?file_url=.%2FETEXTS%2FGRETIL%2FGRETIL+Oliver+Hellwig%2F%C4%81nandakanda.html&search_string=%2Fg%E1%B9%9Bdhrad%E1%B9%9B%C5%9B%2Fu&file_url=./ETEXTS/GRETIL/GRETIL%20Oliver%20Hellwig/%C4%81nandakanda.html&search_type=#a1> > > rasendracūḍāmaṇi 3-5 7-16 by somadeva > > <https://searchable-sanskrit-library.org/CM-LIBRARY-ROOT/CM_create_selected_file.php?file_url=.%2FETEXTS%2FGRETIL%2FGRETIL+Oliver+Hellwig%2Frasendrac%C5%AB%E1%B8%8D%C4%81ma%E1%B9%87i+3-5+7-16+by+somadeva.txt&search_string=%2Fg%E1%B9%9Bdhrad%E1%B9%9B%C5%9B%2Fu&file_url=./ETEXTS/GRETIL/GRETIL%20Oliver%20Hellwig/rasendrac%C5%AB%E1%B8%8D%C4%81ma%E1%B9%87i%203-5%207-16%20by%20somadeva.txt&search_type=#a1> > line: 239 : kurute dantadārḍhyaṃ ca dṛṣṭiṃ gṛdhradṛśāviva / > <https://searchable-sanskrit-library.org/CM-LIBRARY-ROOT/CM_create_selected_file.php?file_url=.%2FETEXTS%2FGRETIL%2FGRETIL+Oliver+Hellwig%2Frasendrac%C5%AB%E1%B8%8D%C4%81ma%E1%B9%87i+3-5+7-16+by+somadeva.txt&search_string=%2Fg%E1%B9%9Bdhrad%E1%B9%9B%C5%9B%2Fu&file_url=./ETEXTS/GRETIL/GRETIL%20Oliver%20Hellwig/rasendrac%C5%AB%E1%B8%8D%C4%81ma%E1%B9%87i%203-5%207-16%20by%20somadeva.txt&search_type=#a1> > You may also find several other references on the same platform, copied in > the PDF below. From what I understand, though literally it means > “vulture-eyed”, it suggests that the person has a probing or eager, > greedy look, since गृध्र also means “covetous”, and the bird is called > गृध्र because it’s understood to have such a look. In the case you are > analyzing the simile seems to suggest that Radha has an eager, covetous > look like that of a female vulture. Is Kṛṣṇa perhaps gently teasing her > here? > > Sincerely, > Radha > > Radha Blinderman > College Fellow, Harvard University > Office: 1 Bow St, Room 323, Cambridge, MA 02138 > Email: [email protected] > Phone: 617-496-1802 > > > On May 5, 2026, at 2:49 AM, Fabrizio Ferrari via INDOLOGY < > [email protected]> wrote: > > > Dear colleagues, > > while reading the Śrīkr̥ṣṇakīrtana, a pre-Caitanya text attributed to Baṛu > Caṇḍīdāsa, I found a passage in which Kānāi/Kr̥ṣṇa compliments Rādhā by > comparing her ears to those of a (female) vulture: gidhinīsadr̥śa tora > dekhõ dui kāna (ŚKK, Dānakhaṇḍa, 16.1d). While I believe gidhinī (Sanskrit. > gr̥dhrī) is probably the gyps bengalensis, I am not familiar with this kind > of simile. Are you aware of this or similar expressions in either Sanskrit > or vernacular literature? > Any suggestion would be appreciated. > With kind regards, > Fabrizio > > > > Fabrizio Ferrari > > Professore ordinario di Storia delle Religioni > > Presidente del Corso di Laurea Magistrale in Scienze delle Religioni > <https://www.dissgea.unipd.it/didattica/corsi-di-studio/corso-di-laurea-magistrale-interateneo-scienze-delle-religioni> > > > Dipartimento di Scienze Storiche, Geografiche e dell’Antichità (DiSSGeA) > > Università degli Studi di Padova > > Palazzo Liviano, Piazza Capitaniato, 7 > > 35139 Padova > > Tel. 049.827-4577 > > E-mail: [email protected] > > https://unipd.academia.edu/FabrizioFerrari > > Link ricevimento via Zoom: https://unipd.zoom.us/j/92913939701 > > _______________________________________________ > INDOLOGY mailing list > [email protected] > https://list.indology.info/mailman/listinfo/indology > > > _______________________________________________ > INDOLOGY mailing list > [email protected] > https://list.indology.info/mailman/listinfo/indology > -- Nagaraj Paturi Hyderabad, Telangana-500044
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