Click on the image to open:
जानुद्वयं तव जगत्रयनाथ मन्ये मारस्य केलिमणिदर्पणतामुपेतम् ।
आलोकयन् यदवदातमनोज्ञवृत्तं रूपं निजं कलयते विपरीतमेषः ॥५५॥
T: Oh Lord of the three worlds, Śrī Varadarāja, Your two knees appear to me like the play handmirrors of Manmatha. The reason is that Manmatha, seeing them as round and attractive, misconstrues them to be his own but distorted images (left-right inverted).
Explanation: When looking into a mirror, we find that our image is left-right inverted. This is a type of distortion according to some. Here, the Lord's idol has well-rounded and shining knees. They, in fact, look like ornamental handmirrors with gem-studded frames, belonging to Manmatha, with a penchant for beauty. But Manmatha finds his image inverted. The poet is hinting that in comparison to the Lord's form, Manmatha now thinks that the mirrors are showing him to be somewhat ugly. This is the poet's way of extolling the supreme beauty of the Lord's image. The figures of speech are Utprekṣā and Kāvyaliṅgālaṅkāra.