纪录片《大英博物馆世界简史》 068湿婆与雪山女神像（6）

 

"Parvati is a very good wife, who doesn't like people making fun of her husband. So worshippers have to be a little bit careful always to give respect to Parvati first, and then approach Shiva. That's considered to be the respectable thing to do, and the safe thing to do. But both of them are very, very munificent¹. You don't have to do much to please them, and they give [to] you very, very liberally."

This smiling sensuous² image doesn't just show us a model couple that any earthly husband and wife might emulate³, the sculpture of Shiva and Parvati is something more. It's a meditation⁴ on the very nature of God, for they are, as Shaunaka Rishi Das explains, the same person manifest in two different forms:

"God is male and female. And the thinking behind that is that God cannot be something less than we are. God cannot be 'not' female, because there are females here, so God has to have a female aspect."

神亦男亦女。这一想法的思维基础是，神是高于我们的存在。神不能摒弃其女性身份，因为世间有女性，所以他必须有女性的分身。

雪山女神是一位贤妻，不喜欢世人对她的丈夫不敬。因此信徒必须小心行事，务必先敬拜雪山女神，再敬拜湿婆。这才合乎礼数，并且不会出错。他们都十分慷概。你并不需要付出很多来取悦他们，他们会大方地回馈于你。

 

1 munificent   

adj.慷慨的，大方的

参考例句：

• I am so happy to get munificent birthday presents from my friends.我很高兴跟我朋友收到大量的生日礼物。
• The old man's munificent donation to the hospital was highly appreciated.老人对医院慷慨的捐赠赢得了高度赞扬。

2 sensuous   

adj.激发美感的；感官的，感觉上的

参考例句：

• Don't get the idea that value of music is commensurate with its sensuous appeal.不要以为音乐的价值与其美的感染力相等。
• The flowers that wreathed his parlor stifled him with their sensuous perfume.包围著客厅的花以其刺激人的香味使他窒息。

3 emulate   

v.努力赶上或超越，与…竞争；效仿

参考例句：

• You must work hard to emulate your sister.你必须努力工作，赶上你姐姐。
• You must look at the film and try to emulate his behavior.你们必须观看这部电影，并尽力模仿他的动作。

4 meditation   

n.熟虑，（尤指宗教的）默想，沉思，（pl.）冥想录

参考例句：

• This peaceful garden lends itself to meditation.这个恬静的花园适于冥想。
• I'm sorry to interrupt your meditation.很抱歉，我打断了你的沉思。