________________
98
SETUBANDHA 89. As Vişņu turned over while asleep on the serpent Ananta, the latter propped its large massive hoods, flattened by the heavy weight, against the mountain, with the lustre of their gems52 spreading over the foot-hills.
90. The moon, clinging to the mountain-side, was seen with the conspicuous shadow of its deer looking like a cavity, with the rays manifest on either side, as if the lunar orb had been hollowed out by the cascades rushing down from the summit. 53
91. All the three worlds lay round the mountain, like the three bangles round the massive and lofty arm of Vişņu,54 closefitting alike and hollowed in the middle.55
92. The tracks of the sun, marked by the withered trees, could be recognised as well as those of the moon, pleasant and cool with the lush woods. The faint trail of the stars through the woods only remained untraced.
93. There, the wind scattered the Tamāla leaves that were spread by the nymphs on slabs of stone and crumpled (during their amorous sports), and were redolent of their perfumed locks, and gave out a sweet smell as they withered away.
94. The clouds, swept into the caves by the wind, drove in the opposite direction; and as they rose aloft quaffed for a moment the waters of the cascades, and ascended the sky again.
95. 96. The ardour of the nymphs did not flag as they frequented the sapphire rocks, resonant with the cascades pouring down the lofty slopes. Here, the lion sprang up after being stunned by the impact of a falling rock, pushed down by an unseen elephant; and the Kinnara couples sank to the ground and clung to each other, appalled at a tiger's growl.
52. i.e., the gems supposed to be embedded in the hoods of serpents. Ananta sustains the weight of the earth, and is sometimes represented as the couch of Vişnu.
53. The lunar spot is fancied as a hole torn by the cascades pouring down the mountain-side.
54. Vişnu as Trivikrama in the Dwarf incarnation
55. i.e., the mountain seemed to have emerged, piercing its way through the nether regions, the earth and the sky.
Jain Education International
For Private & Personal Use Only
www.jainelibrary.org
