Raindrops

कालिदास is describing पार्वती who's meditating hard to win Lord Shiva, in this श्लोक:

"StithaaH xa.Nam paxmasu taaDita-adharaaH payodhara-utsedhanipaata-chur.Nitaavaleeshu tasyaaH skhalitaaH prapedire chire.N naabhim prathama-oda-bindavaH"

The above shloka rearranged as prose:
"Prathama-oda-bindavaH tasyaaH paxmasu xa.Nam stithaaH taaDita-adharaaHpayodhara-utsedhanipaata-chur.Nitaa valeeshu skhalitaaH chire.N naabhim prapedire"

Literal word-by-word meaning:
prathama-oda-bindavaH = first water drop
tasyaaH = her
paxmasu = on eyelids
xa.Nam = momentarily
stithaaH = stayed
taaDita-adharaaH = fell on the lips
payodhara-utsedhanipaata-chur.Nitaa = shattered on hard breasts
valeeshu = in the tri-valley (triple fold on the belly, a mark of beauty)
skhalitaaH = slid
chire.N = in a long time
naabhim = in the navel
prapedire = disappeared

Translation:
The first drop of rain stayed momentarily on her eyelids, slid down to her lips, shattered on her hard breasts and trickled across her triple fold, and after an eternity disappeared in her navel.

The use of time is lyrical and almost hypnosing!


Acknowledgement to Shashikant Joshi for the literal translation, at this site:
http://www.cs.colostate.edu/~malaiya/kalidas.html