ଶ୍ରୀ ବାଲା ସ୍ତୋତ୍ରମ୍ ୨

Three long verses in the shardulavikridita metre, and among the most personal of the Bala texts: each names what is being asked for before it names her. The first asks for lordship such as the mind wishes, gentle speech, gravity, high standing, the keeping of good conduct, the long life the Veda speaks of, prosperity, growth of intelligence, the happiness of children and wife, and a very high dispassion — a list that puts worldly comfort and detachment in the same breath. The second is pure description: you who conquer Kama's arrows, charming with the chatter of the parrot at your hand, your face the moon risen from the churning of the sea of beauty. The third has her white as camphor and the moon, holding the book and the gestures of the boon and of fearlessness.