2023-02-23 18:49:00 by ambuda-bot
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THE SURYASATAKA OF MAYŪRA
subject-matter of the Süryaśataka, see Introd., p. 84. The following twelve
stanzas-viz. 50 to 61-are devoted to the praise of Aruna, the charioteer.
168
V.L. (b) VJHB tanattanaiḥ; VHB -mukharucacyotata, J -mukha-
rucahś cyotata. (d) B hemadrihṛdyadradruma-.
50
prātaḥśäilāgrarange rajanijavanikāpāyasamlakṣyalakṣmir
vikṣipyā 'pūrvapuṣpāñjalim uḍunikaram sūtradhārāyamāṇaḥ
yāmeṣv ankeṣv ivā 'hnaḥ kṛtarucișu caturṣv eva jātapratiṣṭhām
avyāt prastāvayan vo jagadaṭanamahānāṭikāṁ sūryasūtaḥ
The¹ charioteer of Sürya [appears] on the top of (Meru), the
Dawn Mountain, [as on] a stage, with his splendor revealed
by the removal of the curtain of night,
And, coming forward² as the director, scatters multitudes of the
stars as handfuls of wonderful flowers,*
And utters the prologue of the great drama [whose action com-
prises] the wandering [of Sürya] over the universe-
[A drama] that verily produces fixed arrangement in the four
divisions of the day," whose splendor is [successively] un-
folded as if in [four successive] acts.
May (Aruna), the charioteer of Surya, protect you!
Notes. I. Stanzas 50-61 are especially devoted to the praise and descrip-
tion of Aruna, the charioteer of Sürya's car; cf. stanza 8, note 1. In this
stanza appears another of the rather elaborate similes that occur here and
there in the Süryaśataka (cf. stanza 14, note 1). The 'Wandering of
Sürya over the Universe' forms the subject of a drama. The stage is the
top of Mt. Meru. Night is the curtain. Aruna, the Dawn, is the director,
who appears on the stage, scattering the stars instead of the customary
flowers, and utters the prologue. It is of course quite apropos that Dawn,
the forerunner of Sürya, should give the prologue where Sürya is to be
the chief actor. The four periods of the day are the four acts. The tech-
nical words națika, 'drama'; ranga, 'stage'; javanika, 'curtain'; sutra-
dhara, 'director'; anka, 'act'; and prastavayan, ''uttering the prologue,' are
readily recognized by students of the Sanskrit dramatic literature.
With sutradhārāyamaṇaḥ, 'coming forward as the director,' compare the
similar formations, vetrāyamāṇāḥ, 'appearing as the doorkeepers,' in stanza
II (note 6), and padmaragayamaṇaḥ, 'appearing as the ruby,' in stanza 56
(note 5). 3. I have rendered sutradhara by 'director.' It is more com-
monly translated as 'stage-manager,' but the real term for the latter seems
to have been sthapaka; cf. Konow and Lanman, Rajaçekhara's Karpura-
2.
subject-matter of the Süryaśataka, see Introd., p. 84. The following twelve
stanzas-viz. 50 to 61-are devoted to the praise of Aruna, the charioteer.
168
V.L. (b) VJHB tanattanaiḥ; VHB -mukharucacyotata, J -mukha-
rucahś cyotata. (d) B hemadrihṛdyadradruma-.
50
prātaḥśäilāgrarange rajanijavanikāpāyasamlakṣyalakṣmir
vikṣipyā 'pūrvapuṣpāñjalim uḍunikaram sūtradhārāyamāṇaḥ
yāmeṣv ankeṣv ivā 'hnaḥ kṛtarucișu caturṣv eva jātapratiṣṭhām
avyāt prastāvayan vo jagadaṭanamahānāṭikāṁ sūryasūtaḥ
The¹ charioteer of Sürya [appears] on the top of (Meru), the
Dawn Mountain, [as on] a stage, with his splendor revealed
by the removal of the curtain of night,
And, coming forward² as the director, scatters multitudes of the
stars as handfuls of wonderful flowers,*
And utters the prologue of the great drama [whose action com-
prises] the wandering [of Sürya] over the universe-
[A drama] that verily produces fixed arrangement in the four
divisions of the day," whose splendor is [successively] un-
folded as if in [four successive] acts.
May (Aruna), the charioteer of Surya, protect you!
Notes. I. Stanzas 50-61 are especially devoted to the praise and descrip-
tion of Aruna, the charioteer of Sürya's car; cf. stanza 8, note 1. In this
stanza appears another of the rather elaborate similes that occur here and
there in the Süryaśataka (cf. stanza 14, note 1). The 'Wandering of
Sürya over the Universe' forms the subject of a drama. The stage is the
top of Mt. Meru. Night is the curtain. Aruna, the Dawn, is the director,
who appears on the stage, scattering the stars instead of the customary
flowers, and utters the prologue. It is of course quite apropos that Dawn,
the forerunner of Sürya, should give the prologue where Sürya is to be
the chief actor. The four periods of the day are the four acts. The tech-
nical words națika, 'drama'; ranga, 'stage'; javanika, 'curtain'; sutra-
dhara, 'director'; anka, 'act'; and prastavayan, ''uttering the prologue,' are
readily recognized by students of the Sanskrit dramatic literature.
With sutradhārāyamaṇaḥ, 'coming forward as the director,' compare the
similar formations, vetrāyamāṇāḥ, 'appearing as the doorkeepers,' in stanza
II (note 6), and padmaragayamaṇaḥ, 'appearing as the ruby,' in stanza 56
(note 5). 3. I have rendered sutradhara by 'director.' It is more com-
monly translated as 'stage-manager,' but the real term for the latter seems
to have been sthapaka; cf. Konow and Lanman, Rajaçekhara's Karpura-
2.