2023-02-23 18:48:45 by ambuda-bot
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THE SŪRYASATAKA OF MAYÜRA
appears. 4. The lotuses close at sundown, and the closed bud-like
form resembles two hands folded in the añjali; for a similar conception,
see stanza 20, note 4. 5. The meaning appears to be that the lotus
blooms 'bend' themselves into different shapes, changing from bud to
blossom at sunrise, and from blossom to bud again at sunset. 6. The
kalpavṛkşa, one of the five trees that stood in Indra's paradise, was fabled
to grant one's every wish; cf. Amarakośa, 1. 1. 50 (ed. by Durgāprasad,
Parab and Sivadatta, in the Abhidhana-Sangraha, part 1, Bombay, 1889);
Mahabharata, 3. 281. 5; Kumarasambhava, 6.6 (ed. by Vasudev Pansikar,
Bombay, 1908); Visnu Purana, 5. 30 (Wilson, vol. 5, p. 95). The other
four trees were the mandara, the pārijāta, the samtāna, and the harican-
dana; cf. Amarakośa, as just cited. The parijata tree, which was a
product of the churning of the ocean, cf. Vişnu Purana, 1.9 (Wilson, vol.
I, p. 144), is mentioned again in Süryaśataka, stanza 42 (note 14). 7.
Lit. 'wish-trees for [granting] wishes more widely extended than one's
own thought'; or, if prathita is read instead of prathima (cf. V.L.), we
may render as 'wish-trees for [granting] the rather numerous wishes dis-
played in one's mind.' 8. Lit. nirvikalpam means 'without admitting an
alternative'; it is glossed by asamsayam, 'without doubt'; I have rendered
as 'in no doubtful fashion.' 9. The term ketavaḥ, which ordinarily
means 'rays' or 'flags,' is here glossed by vinafakaḥ, 'destroyers.' The
lexicographers give also the meaning 'enemies' for ketavaḥ.
122
V.L. (a) The Kāvyamālā text reads natirasabaddha-, VJ nativaśabad-
dha-, HB nativasavaddha-. (b) VJHB -ambhojaşandafayeva. (c) VJHB
te yuşmakam; the Kävyamālā text and J read -prathitapṛthutara-, VHBK
-prathimaprthutara-.
11
dhārā rāyo dhanāyāpadi sapadi karālambabhūtāḥ prapāte
tattvālokāikadipās tridaśapatipuraprasthitāu vithya eva
nirvāṇodyogiyogipragamanijatanudvāri vetrāyamāṇās
trayantām tīvrabhānor divasamukhasukhā raśmayaḥ kalmaṣād
vaḥ
The rays of the Hot-rayed (Sürya) are streams of wealth
[capable of satisfying] at once the pangs of avarice,¹ and
are like the support of a hand on a precipice,³
And are the sole lamps [by which] one may discern real truth,³
and are verily paths on the journey to the city of (Indra),
Lord of the Thirty" (Gods),
And appear as doorkeepers at the door of (Sürya), their own
body, which is the pathway for yogins making efforts
towards nirvāṇa,8
appears. 4. The lotuses close at sundown, and the closed bud-like
form resembles two hands folded in the añjali; for a similar conception,
see stanza 20, note 4. 5. The meaning appears to be that the lotus
blooms 'bend' themselves into different shapes, changing from bud to
blossom at sunrise, and from blossom to bud again at sunset. 6. The
kalpavṛkşa, one of the five trees that stood in Indra's paradise, was fabled
to grant one's every wish; cf. Amarakośa, 1. 1. 50 (ed. by Durgāprasad,
Parab and Sivadatta, in the Abhidhana-Sangraha, part 1, Bombay, 1889);
Mahabharata, 3. 281. 5; Kumarasambhava, 6.6 (ed. by Vasudev Pansikar,
Bombay, 1908); Visnu Purana, 5. 30 (Wilson, vol. 5, p. 95). The other
four trees were the mandara, the pārijāta, the samtāna, and the harican-
dana; cf. Amarakośa, as just cited. The parijata tree, which was a
product of the churning of the ocean, cf. Vişnu Purana, 1.9 (Wilson, vol.
I, p. 144), is mentioned again in Süryaśataka, stanza 42 (note 14). 7.
Lit. 'wish-trees for [granting] wishes more widely extended than one's
own thought'; or, if prathita is read instead of prathima (cf. V.L.), we
may render as 'wish-trees for [granting] the rather numerous wishes dis-
played in one's mind.' 8. Lit. nirvikalpam means 'without admitting an
alternative'; it is glossed by asamsayam, 'without doubt'; I have rendered
as 'in no doubtful fashion.' 9. The term ketavaḥ, which ordinarily
means 'rays' or 'flags,' is here glossed by vinafakaḥ, 'destroyers.' The
lexicographers give also the meaning 'enemies' for ketavaḥ.
122
V.L. (a) The Kāvyamālā text reads natirasabaddha-, VJ nativaśabad-
dha-, HB nativasavaddha-. (b) VJHB -ambhojaşandafayeva. (c) VJHB
te yuşmakam; the Kävyamālā text and J read -prathitapṛthutara-, VHBK
-prathimaprthutara-.
11
dhārā rāyo dhanāyāpadi sapadi karālambabhūtāḥ prapāte
tattvālokāikadipās tridaśapatipuraprasthitāu vithya eva
nirvāṇodyogiyogipragamanijatanudvāri vetrāyamāṇās
trayantām tīvrabhānor divasamukhasukhā raśmayaḥ kalmaṣād
vaḥ
The rays of the Hot-rayed (Sürya) are streams of wealth
[capable of satisfying] at once the pangs of avarice,¹ and
are like the support of a hand on a precipice,³
And are the sole lamps [by which] one may discern real truth,³
and are verily paths on the journey to the city of (Indra),
Lord of the Thirty" (Gods),
And appear as doorkeepers at the door of (Sürya), their own
body, which is the pathway for yogins making efforts
towards nirvāṇa,8