In my country many marriages were done on the basis of the looks, if the bride beautiful, then marriage gets fnalized. It is the common practices that, human easily get attracted towards the outer appearance, rather than looking the inner beauty. This may lead suffering in later stage. My Dad always insist on looking the intrinsic quality of the person rather than straying away through people looks. Intrinsic qualities, such as character, values, and inner beauty, are more important than outer appearance for human development and well-being. While external beauty can be fleeting and superficial, intrinsic qualities offer lasting value and contribute to personal growth and relationships.
The ancient Sanskrit has following verses to highlight the same topic :
कोकिलानम् स्वरो रूपं स्त्रीणां रूपं पतिव्रतम् |
विद्या रूप कुरुपाणां क्षमा रूपं तपस्विनाम् ||
Kokilaanam swaro roopam streenaam roopam pativratam,
vidya roop kurupaanaam kshmaa roopam tapiswanim.
i.e. A nightingale is recognized by its sweet voice, a woman by her loyalty towards her husband.Ugly looking persons get recognition by their being learned and a sage by his rigorous self discipline.
Swaroop = outwardly appearance of a person or object.
Roopa = Ordinarily 'Roop' means beautiful outward appearance, but here it denotes the hidden and intrinsic qualities in a person, which give him reecognition inspite of not being good looking outwardly.
Kokila = a nightengale. although in outward appearance it resembles a crow, but is recognised by its sweet voice as against the harsh voice of a crow.
Streenam = of women.
Pativratam = loyalty and fidelity towards her husband by a woman.
Vidya = learning.
Kurup = a person whose outwardly appearance is not impressive. The prefix 'ku' added before a word denotes just the opposite meaning. So 'kuroop' means being not beautiful in outwardly appearance.
Kshmaa = forgiveness, not feeling any grudge against others.
Tapaswi = a sage - a person who has renounced all worldly desires and possessions in the pursuit of purifying his Soul (Aatman) and attain Nirvaan (to be united with God Almighty) ].
The underlying idea behind this Sanskrit verses is that it is the intrinsic quality and not the outwardly appearance or beauty of a person which brings him recognition.
@queenart