क्वचित् प्रेतेशमहिषमहिम्ना वामनाम्बुदम् । क्वचिदश्वैस्तृणग्रामशङ्काग्रस्तासिताम्बुदम् ॥ ५३ ॥
kvacit prētēśamahiṣamahimnā vāmanāmbudam | kvacidaśvaistṛṇagrāmaśaṅkāgrastāsitāmbudam || 53 ||
Translation
in one place with clouds made small by the size of the buffalo of the lord of the dead; in another with dark clouds seized by horses that took them for heaps of grass;
Word by word
- kvacit
- in one place
- prētēśa
- of the lord of the dead
- mahiṣa
- of the buffalo
- mahimnā
- by the size
- vāmana
- made small
- ambudam
- with clouds
- kvacid
- (kvacit) in another
- aśvais
- (aśvaiḥ) by horses
- tṛṇa
- of grass
- grāma
- for heaps
- śaṅkā
- that took them
- grasta
- seized
- asita
- dark
Meaning
Yama, the lord of the dead, rides a buffalo so huge that clouds look small beside it; and the sun's horses snatch at dark clouds, mistaking them for grass. The imagery is playful.