________________
e de ce like the stump of
SETUBANDHA
103 round like the stump of the severed tusk of an elephant of the gods turned towards the earth.
36. Thereupon the sky, covered with clusters of dim stars, with the darkness routed by the rays of the moon, looked like a rock strewn with numerous flowers.
37. The trees, partly touched by the moonbearns, and variegated by the partly dissolving darkness, with the smaller branches partly visible, cast partly formed patches of shadows.
38. The orb of the moon, growing white as it matured, and discarding its tender aspect, became capable of traversing the sky, having assailed and extirpated the darkness with its strengthened rays.
39. With the mountains standing as before, and the rivers flowing straight as ever, the earth, with its vast regions, seemed to be carved anew by the moon, by digging up the accumulated mass of darkness.
40. The shadows of the trees, with their outlines distinctly perceived even in the dense darkness, were hemmed in but could not be seized by the rays of the moon. .
41. The moon only parted the petals of the night lotus; it was the bees that clearly ripped it open, without waiting for one another, opening out the petals by striking on the top.
42. The darkness seemed to be wiped away without leaving a trace; seemed to melt away, driven all at once by the massive rays; seemed to be totally covered up, and ruthlessly engulfed by the moon.
43. Having dug up, as it were, the mass of darkness, resembling thick mud, that obscured the regions of the sky, and seemed capable of being grasped with the hand, the radiance of the moon seemed to give a dappled look to the firmament.
44. With the darkness vanishing like a rainy day, the partly distinct woods, with lovely foliage, seemed to be dripping as the moonbeams came scattered through the branches.
45. The bees that had heavily pressed the flowers of the trees, and partaken of the streaming ichor of the great elephants
Jain Education International
For Private & Personal Use Only
www.jainelibrary.org
www.jainelibrary.org
