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ŚB 1.11.27

Devanagari

सितातपत्रव्यजनैरुपस्कृत:
प्रसूनवर्षैरभिवर्षित: पथि ।
पिशङ्गवासा वनमालया बभौ
घनो यथार्कोडुपचापवैद्युतै: ॥ २७ ॥

Text

sitātapatra-vyajanair upaskṛtaḥ
prasūna-varṣair abhivarṣitaḥ pathi
piśaṅga-vāsā vana-mālayā babhau
ghano yathārkoḍupa-cāpa-vaidyutaiḥ

Synonyms

sita-ātapatra — white umbrella; vyajanaiḥ — with a cāmara fan; upaskṛtaḥ — being served by; prasūna — flowers; varṣaiḥ — by the showers; abhivarṣitaḥ — thus being covered; pathi — on the road; piśaṅga-vāsāḥ — by the yellow garments; vana-mālayā — by the flower garlands; babhau — thus it became; ghanaḥ — cloud; yathā — as if; arka — the sun; uḍupa — the moon; cāpa — the rainbow; vaidyutaiḥ — by the lightning.

Translation

As the Lord passed along the public road of Dvārakā, His head was protected from the sunshine by a white umbrella. White feathered fans moved in semicircles, and showers of flowers fell upon the road. His yellow garments and garlands of flowers made it appear as if a dark cloud were surrounded simultaneously by sun, moon, lightning and rainbows.

Purport

The sun, moon, rainbow and lightning do not appear in the sky simultaneously. When there is sun, the moonlight becomes insignificant, and if there are clouds and a rainbow, there is no manifestation of lightning. The Lord’s bodily hue is just like a new monsoon cloud. He is compared herein to the cloud. The white umbrella over His head is compared to the sun. The movement of the bunch-hair fan of flukes is compared to the moon. The showers of flowers are compared to the stars. His yellow garments are compared to the rainbow. So all these activities of the firmament, being impossible simultaneous factors, cannot be adjusted by comparison. The adjustment is possible only when we think of the inconceivable potency of the Lord. The Lord is all-powerful, and in His presence anything impossible can be made possible by His inconceivable energy. But the situation created at the time of His passing on the roads of Dvārakā was beautiful and could not be compared to anything besides the description of natural phenomena.