Ride a Sad Eyed Lion

 

Durga.

Luminous like the moon is her face,
and a sight of it charms away many a woe.
Her hair hangs like Shivji's serpents;
her eyes are the envy of both the lotus and the gazelle.
Her brows are in the manner of a bow;
her lashes like the arrows.
She has the waist of a lion
and marches with the majesty of a royal tusker.
She abides on the mountain-top;
none can resist the splendor of her charms.
She holds a sword in her hand and rides a lion;
Flaming like gold is her presence.
In another hand she carries a bow of war.
The fish are shamed by her restless energy;
The lotus and the gazelle by the softness of her eyes;
The parrots by her nose;
The pigeons by her neck;
The cuckoo by her voice;
The pomegranate by the pearly row of her teeth.
Touching the person of the goddess,
The moonbeams have become more lustrous.

- lines from Var Sri Bhagauti Ji Ki (popularly named Chandi-di-Var) written by tenth Guru of Sikhs, warrior-poet, Guru Gobind Singh.  This translation (from Punjabi) by Harbans Singh, can be found in his book 'Guru Gobind Singh' (1966). I came across them in 'The feminine principle in the Sikh vision of the transcendent' by Nikky-Guninder Kaur Singh (1993)[Google Books].