अग्रस्थितमनुत्सृष्टरणद्वीणं मुनीश्वरम् । पयःपीनघनश्यामं व्यासमेव किलाऽन्तरा ॥ ५ ॥
agrasthitamanutsṛṣṭaraṇadvīṇaṁ munīśvaram | payaḥpīnaghanaśyāmaṁ vyāsamēva kilā’ntarā || 5 ||
Translation
At its head was the lord of sages, Nārada, never letting go of his sounding vīṇā; and in its midst, they say, Vyāsa, dark as a cloud swollen with water.
Word by word
- agra
- at its head
- sthitam
- was
- anutsṛṣṭa
- never letting go
- raṇad
- (raṇat) sounding
- vīṇaṁ
- of his vīṇā
- munīśvaram
- the lord of sages
- payaḥ
- with water
- pīna
- swollen
- ghana
- as a cloud
- śyāmaṁ
- dark
- vyāsam
- Vyāsa
- ēva
- indeed
- kila
- they say
- antarā
- in its midst
Meaning
Verses 5 to 10 describe the descending company, and the commentary reads them as one picture. Nārada leads, his vīṇā always in his hands and always sounding (raṇad-vīṇa): the sage of song and devotion. Vyāsa, the arranger of the Vedas, comes in the middle, dark as a rain cloud (the commentary says he holds a water-pot). The two together stand for the two great streams of the tradition, the one that sings God's name and the one that orders the scriptures. The reader may notice that both come to listen.