सा हेमवर्णा नीलाङ्गं मैथिली राक्षसाधिपम्।
शुशुभे काञ्चनी काञ्ची नीलं मणिमिवाश्रिता॥
sā hema-varṇā nīlāṅgaṁ maithilī rākṣasādhipam
śuśubhe kāñcanī kāñcī nīlaṁ maṇim ivāśritā
sā hema-varṇā = of golden hue; nīla-aṅgam = on the dark-bodied; maithilī = Maithilī; rākṣasa-adhipam = lord of the rākṣasas; śuśubhe = glittered; kāñcanī = a golden; kāñcī = strap; nīlam maṇim = a sapphire; iva = like; āśritā = on.
Maithilī of golden hue on the dark-bodied lord of the rākṣasas glittered like a golden strap on a sapphire.
1 So this verse would mean: “Maithilī of golden hue on the dark-bodied lord of the rākṣasas was not beautiful, like a golden strap on a sapphire.” Rāmāyaṇa-bhūṣaṇa: rajatam eva nīla-ratnasya para-bhāgakaram iti prasiddhiḥ. tena kāñcanasya nīla-maṇi-śobhā-tiraskārakatvāt śuśubha iti vyatirekoktyā na śuśubha ity arthaḥ. nety anuṣaṅgo vā.
It is well known that only silver forms a good complement to sapphire. Because gold belittles the beauty of sapphire, it is understood that śuśubhe [which can mean “was beautiful”] means “was not beautiful” [in this context].1