Yoga Vāsiṣṭha 1.25.7

Translation

Śeṣa, white as a digit of the moon, and the stream of the Gaṅgā in its three courses: these two are the sacred thread, worn on the left and on the right, on the breast of the world.

Word by word

śēṣaḥ

Śeṣa

śaśi

of the moon

kalā

as a digit

śubhrō

(śubhraḥ) white

gaṅgā

of the Gaṅgā

vāhaś

(vāhaḥ) the stream

ca

and

tau

these two

tridhā

in its three courses

upavītē

the sacred thread worn on the left

avītē

and on the right

ubhau

both

saṁsāra

of the world

vakṣasi

on the breast

Meaning

Now the dancer's ornaments, which are the universe itself. Śeṣa, the white world-serpent, and the triple Gaṅgā, which flows in heaven, on earth and in the underworld, hang across the world's breast like the sacred thread, worn over one shoulder or the other. The images make the cosmos the costume of fate: everything that seems permanent is an ornament on a dancer.