बिम्बा / बिम्बाफल —Bimbā / Bimbāphala

Sanskrit verse in Devanagari

उत्तरमेघः — श्लोक २२

तन्वी श्यामा शिखरि-दशना पक्वबिम्बाधरोष्ठी
मध्ये क्षामा चकित-हरिणीप्रेक्षणा निम्ननाभिः ।
श्रोणीभारादलसगमना स्तोकनम्रा स्तनाभ्यां
या तत्र स्याद् युवतिविषये सृष्टिराद्येव धातुः ॥ २.२२॥

Transliteration 

tanvī śyāmā śikhari-daśanā pakva-bimbādharoṣṭhī
madhye kṣāmā cakita-hariṇī-prekṣaṇā nimna-nābhiḥ |
śroṇī-bhārād alasa-gamanā stoka-namrā stanābhyāṃ
yā tatra syād yuvati-viṣaye sṛṣṭir ādyeva dhātuḥ || 2.22 ||

Plant part in the verse

 English translation

She is slender, dark-hued, with delicate pointed teeth, and with a lower lip like the ripe Bimba fruit. Her waist is thin, her eyes are startled like those of a deer, her navel is deep, her movement is slow because of the weight of her hips, and she bends slightly under the fullness of her breasts. In the matter of feminine beauty, she seems to be the Creator’s first and finest creation.

Why did Kālidāsa select Lal Asoka?

1. For exact colour

The ripe Bimba fruit is bright red. Kālidāsa needed a natural object that could represent the fresh redness of the beloved’s lower lip.

2. For shape and softness

The fruit is small, smooth, oval and soft-looking. It gives not only colour but also shape and texture.

3. For ripeness

The word पक्व is crucial. A green Bimba fruit would not work. The ripe fruit gives fullness, sweetness and maturity.

4. For contrast with the beloved’s complexion

The Yakṣiṇī is described as श्यामा, dark-hued. Against that complexion, the red Bimba-like lower lip becomes especially vivid.

5. For emotional intimacy

This is not a public garden scene; it is the Yakṣa’s private description of his beloved. The fruit comparison makes the portrait tender and sensuous.

6. For literary familiarity

Bimba was already a recognised poetic plant for lip comparison. Kālidāsa uses it with precision and economy.

Kālidāsa selected Bimbā because its ripe red fruit is the perfect living simile for the beloved’s lower lip. It carries redness, freshness, softness, ripeness and sweetness in one compact image.