आकल्पं सिद्धसेनासु भ्रमद्भिरभितोदिवम् । अपूर्वमिदमस्माभिः श्रुतं श्रुतिरसायनम् ॥ २४ ॥
ākalpaṁ siddhasēnāsu bhramadbhirabhitōdivam | apūrvamidamasmābhiḥ śrutaṁ śrutirasāyanam || 24 ||
Translation
"Through all the ages, as we have roamed about the heavens in the armies of the Siddhas, we have never heard anything like this, a nectar for the ears."
Word by word
- ākalpaṁ
- through all the ages
- siddha
- of the Siddhas
- sēnāsu
- in the armies
- bhramadbhir
- (bhramadbhiḥ) as we have roamed
- abhitō
- (abhitaḥ) about
- divam
- the heavens
- apūrvam
- never anything like
- idam
- this
- asmābhiḥ
- we
- śrutaṁ
- have heard
- śruti
- for the ears
- rasāyanam
- a nectar
Meaning
The Siddhas speak. They have wandered the whole of heaven (abhito divam) since the beginning of the cycle (ākalpam), in great companies, and they have heard much: hymns, teachings, the talk of gods. But nothing like this (apūrvam). The commentary: words dear to the ears like nectar, or the very essence of the Vedas, heard only today. The word śruti-rasāyana carries both senses: "an elixir for the ear" and "an elixir from scripture". The reader may ask why the perfected beings would find a boy's account of disillusion so new. The text's answer is in the next verse.