अथ तूष्णीं स्थितवति रामे राजीवलोचने । तस्मिन् रघुकुलाकाशशशाङ्के शशिसुन्दरे ॥ १२ ॥
atha tūṣṇīṁ sthitavati rāmē rājīvalōcanē | tasmin raghukulākāśaśaśāṅkē śaśisundarē || 12 ||
Translation
Then, when lotus-eyed Rāma, the moon of the sky of Raghu's line, lovely as the moon, had fallen silent,
Word by word
- atha
- then
- tūṣṇīṁ
- silent
- sthitavati
- had fallen
- rāmē
- when Rāma
- rājīva
- lotus
- lōcanē
- -eyed
- tasmin
- that
- raghu
- of Raghu's
- kula
- line
- ākāśa
- of the sky
- śaśāṅkē
- the moon
- śaśi
- as the moon
- sundarē
- lovely
Meaning
The sentence of verses 12 and 13 tells of the flowers. Rāma is the moon (śaśāṅka) in the sky of the Raghu dynasty, and "lovely as the moon" (śaśi-sundara), the image of 1.31.27 carried on: cool, clear, shedding light without heat. And he "stood silent" (tūṣṇīṃ sthitavati). The silence after the discourse is itself part of it. Nothing happens in the assembly until the heavens answer. The reader may value such a silence, after something true has been said, before anyone rushes to reply.